Youth Activisim for a Better Tomorrow

via HuffPost Gay Voices, by Warren J. Blumenfeld

It was a brilliantly sunny, though rather cool, mid-June afternoon in Boston. Banners flying, music blasting, people of all walks of life assembled, reuniting, greeting, embracing, kissing, catching up on lives lived in the space between.

The signal was given with a contagious cheer rising from the crowd, and for the next few hours the streets would be theirs:

Dykes on Bikes revving their engines; shirtless muscled young men dancing to a disco beat atop flatbed floats winding their way down the streets; dazzling drag queens in red and gold and silver; the Freedom Trail Marching Band trumpeting the call;

a black-and-white cocker spaniel wearing a sign announcing "DON'T ASSUME I'M STRAIGHT"; lesbian moms and gay dads pushing strollers or walking beside youth of all ages; Gays for Patsy Klein decked out in their finest country duds, two-stepping down the boulevard;

AIDS activists falling to the pavement of those same boulevards in mock death to expose governmental and societal inaction, which is still killing so many; married same-sex couples walking hand in hand;

Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG) proclaiming "WE ARE PROUD OF OUR LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER SONS AND DAUGHTERS";

alongside political, social, and service organizations, business and religious caucuses of all stripes and denominations, and of course, bystanders watching the procession, holding court from the sidelines.

And in the midst of this merriment and this protest, the humorous posters and angry placards, the enormous rainbow balloon sculptures arching overhead, and the colorful streamers and glistening "fairy dust" wafting down from open windows, amid the shiny black leather and shimmering lamé,

the multicolored T-shirts and the drab business suits, came the youth, their radiant young faces catching the rays of the sun, marching side-by-side, hand-in-hand, their middle school, high school, and college Gay/Straight Alliance banners waving exaltedly in this storm of humanity, announcing their entry, their solidarity, their feisty outrage, and yes, their pride, chanting

"Two, Four, Six, Eight, Queer is Just as Good as Straight, Three, Five, Seven, Nine, LGBTs are Mighty Fine;" then, gaining intensity, singing, "Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Homophobia Has Got to Go," and then, as if hit by an all-consuming revelation, shouting, "We're Here, We're Queer, We're Not Going Back, We're NOT Going Back, WE'RE NOT GOING BACK!"

And indeed, they will not go back into those dank closets of fear and denial that stifles the spirit and ruins so many lives. Oh, they will physically return to their schools and their homes.

They will continue to study and play sports, to watch movies, listen to their iPods, and write about their days on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

Some will most likely continue to serve as community organizers, and some will go on to become parents, educators and political leaders once their school days are behind.

The place they will go to, though, is nowhere that can be seen. It is a place of consciousness that teaches those who have entered that everyone is diminished when any one of us is demeaned; that heterosexism, sexism, and bisexual, intersex, and transgender oppression (as well as all the other forms of oppression) have no place in a just society.

From the sidelines of the parade, beginning as a whisper and gaining to a mighty roar of support: "We are so glad you are here," came voices from the crowd.

"We wish we could have done this when we were in grade school and in college," cried others too numerous to count. "Thank you so much for your courage!"


Read the rest

Halloween: America's Gay Holiday

via HuffPost Gay Voices, by Irene Monroe

Halloween is America's gay holiday.

In the words of the lesbian poet and scholar Judy Grahn, Halloween is "the great gay holiday."

And this weekend of lavish costumed theatricality will attract everyone, but especially lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) revelers.

Back in the day Halloween, the night before All Hallows Day (All Saints Day), was linked to the ancient Celtic festival Samhain in the British Isles, meaning "summer's end."

And because the celebration is associated with mystery, magic, superstition, witches and ghosts, the festivity, not surprisingly, was limited in colonial New England because of its Puritanical belief system.

But today it's an LGBTQ extravaganza that rivals -- if not out-showcases -- Pride festivals.

Long before June officially became Gay Pride Month and October became Coming Out Month for the LGBTQ community, Halloween was unofficially our yearly celebrated "holiday," dating as far back as the 1970s, when it was a massive annual street party in San Francisco's Castro district.

By the 1980s, gay enclaves like Key West, West Hollywood, and Greenwich Village were holding their annual Halloween street parties.

And the parades the night of Halloween did and still do draw straights and gay spectators out to watch.

Gay cultural influence on Halloween has become such an unstoppable phenomenon here and abroad that anthropologist Jerry Kugelmass of University of Florida published a book in 1994 on the new trend, titled Masked Culture, describing Halloween as an emerging gay "high holiday."

"The 'masked culture' first developed by the gays of San Francisco has reached across the lines of orientation -- and now jumped across the boundaries between nations and languages.

It's not just a party. It's an ideal of personal emancipation, self-expression and self-fulfillment -- an ideal that loses none of its power when it takes the form of a sexy nurse's outfit," CNN contributor David Frum wrote last year in "Halloween craze started in gay culture."


Read the rest

Gay Pride: It's every choice we make.

As Pride month comes to an end, I want people to reflect on their inner "pride" and the journey it took to get there. I believe that My Fabulous Disease really captures that journey in this PSA..



For more.

Here’s to the Memories

 By D' Ontace Keyes

As I pick out my outfit for this year’s Pride celebration, I think about my first Pride celebration in 2005. I was 15 years old and so FRESH! I was a hungry boy waiting to get a taste of the gay culture.

At the time I was sheltered from everything “gay”, forced to live what could be considered a normal suburban life. Not so bad because I was able to excel in things like my education, but horrible when it came to trying to express myself. I felt colorless, trapped in a closet of evening plaid.

 Luckily, I had a boyfriend that would steal me away to the city. I was amazed at the amount of young people that would frequent the streets of Boyztown, voguing the night away on Halsted Street and just being free. I, too, wanted to be free.

The day I decided to attend Pride was actually the day I found out I was being cheated on. I was so upset, and I wanted to attend only to catch him in the act. I decided that I must find a way to attend Pride. I wasn’t out at the time, so I couldn’t tell my guardians I was going to a Pride celebration, no matter how much I thought they weren’t aware of my sexuality.  Actually, they were aware; they just tried to “straight-wash” me, believing that one day I would break away from my “path with the devil.” 

 So I worked out the typical “I’m somewhere I’m not” plan and left after church to visit “grandmother’s house” and made sure I prayed away the sins for the day, just for my parents’ sake!

It was a long ride up to Boyztown, but at that moment, I didn’t care. I was so excited for the experience that nothing could really bring me down. 

I met this lesbian while I was on the train that was so very pretty. She said I was cute too, like a girl.  She made me feel “cunty”, as the young queens will say today. We switched numbers in hopes to hang out later. I figured I had nothing to lose so why not.

I got to Boyztown, wondering where I should go and what to do. The parade was over and I was clueless as to what to do next. Strange and not so strange men were hitting on me and I LOVED It! I felt like my “Pride” has begun!

I called the lesbian I met earlier and she invited me to meet her at Montrose Beach. She was there with her friends and thought it will be cool to hang out. We met up and I was amazed at the sight of people freely showcasing their pride.

I didn’t hang with her very long, and I walked down the stroll for the rest of the time I was there. I got hit on a lot, and shamelessly switched numbers with people too. 

The surprising moment was when I ran into a friend of the family. I was scared boots! I wanted to run but he quickly spotted me. We greeted each other, a greeting that could be mistaken for flirting. We switched numbers, promising to keep word, and to hook up later. 

The day was getting late and I needed to get home before curfew. I never caught my boyfriend because we played cat and mouse the whole day. Its alright, we didn’t last much longer after that because I found someone to offer me something more substantial. 

Luckily, I got home before curfew and I thought I got away with murder. NOT!

So you remember the family friend? Well he outed me! WTF! Of course I denied the whole thing despite the evidence. They never believed it and I was crowned the queen of the town. Looking back, it’s all so funny to me.  Well, here’s to the memories.

Hillary Lovin' on the Gays

Human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights.



Worth watching… Hillary Clinton addressed State dept. workers and others yesterday to mark Pride. In her speech she speaks extensively (and passionately) on international LGBT issues.

Chicago Blackhawk to March with Stanley Cup in Pride Parade

Michael Sneed is reporting that Blackhawks President John McDonough is rerouting the Stanley Cup from the NHL draft in L.A. to the Chicago Pride parade Sunday . . . and Blackhawk defenseman Brent Sopel has volunteered to represent the team. "I am honored to do it," said Sopel, who will be accompanied by wife, Kelly, and his four kids, Jacob, 12, Lyla, 8, Jayla, 6, and Paul, 20, whom they adopted three years ago after Paul's parents died within six months of each other.

Read the rest...

Around June 18? Come to Stonewalled: A Benefit for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago

Stonewall changed us all, whether we were alive or not. In the 1960's, mad men and mods, hustlers and hypocrites alike all congregated at the Stonewall Inn - one of the only venues in New York City where you could be openly gay. It was here that LGBT Americans came out of the darkness and fought the hatred entrenched in society at that time.

Come celebrate Stonewall and help raise funds for AFC June 18th at the Beauty Bar - be there or be oh so square.

Featuring long-time LGBT activist Vernita Grey Retro Sets by LifeLube's own Pistol Pete & FKA’s DJ Reaganomix MC'd by the Fierce Lois Bates Followed by JD Samson of Le Tigre & MEN!!!

Stonewalled
June 18
6-10pm
Beauty Bar
1444 W Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL

Check out the event page on Facebook

Swedish Gay Pride Highlights the Stinkiness of Heteronormativity

[click to enlarge - yes, that's piles of poo on the dinner table. who speaks swedish?]

via Carnal Nation

Gay Pride in Stockholm, Sweden was held from July 27 through August 2. Tens of thousands of revelers hit the rainbow-flag-festooned streets of the Swedish capital, including active-duty soldiers in the Swedish military appearing in their uniforms (they can 'tell' if they want to, but nobody really cares). What made this year's event so interesting was its theme: hetero. The organizers decided to highlight heteronormative culture and its implications for members of the LGBT community.

What is heteronormative culture? It is the automatic assumption, often unconscious, that everyone is heterosexual. As the Stockholm Pride website states, "Heteronormativity creates expectations about how a person should behave and be interpreted regarding gender and sexuality. Its limitations can cause the individual to enter a self conflict. More often than others, [LGBT] people must ask themselves whether they should adapt to the norm or break it. It is emotionally costly to always have to make such conciderations [sic]." How heteronormative are you? Well, Stockholm Pride even created a Twitter game to help you find out. The Swedes think heteronormativity stinks, which explains the "interesting" national ad campaign (one example pictured right).

National ad campaign? Yes, Sweden, which grants gays the right to marry among many other legal protections, is so open about sexuality that Pride is advertised nationally, including on television. That's a lot to celebrate. Also watch the festivities, too.

Obama's White House LGBT Stonewall Event: Transcript, Guest List

[note - AIDS Foundation of Chicago's David Munar (right) - representing the National Association of People with AIDS - was among the guests at this event.]


via Towleroad

President Obama hosted 250-300 LGBT leaders in the East Room of the White House today, billed as a celebration marking the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion and Pride month. Obama acknowledged gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny, to whom the government recently apologized for firing in 1957, because he was gay.

Read the rest.

The Gay Pride Charade

by Pistol Pete

I regret the fact that I am young enough that I only know the bastardized version of Gay Pride.

The golden age of the real pride of the 70’s and 80’s seems a lifetime away from the shallow, commercialized sex fest we have today. I mean, getting drunk and rowdy can be fun and all, but should this event stand as the crux of the LGBT movement? I mean really guys, haven’t we strayed just a bit far from the political roots of our forbearers?

I want to be clear that I believe this is a generational problem, not so much a gay problem; and that it’s not everyone in my age group, but simply a careening trend of apathy and self-absorption. I’ll be the first to admit that I loathe my Paris Hilton-loving, money-obsessed, politically-indifferent, self-entitled peers whose deal-breakers are related to body fat percentage, waist and dick size, but curiously not IQ or personality. Call me old fashioned, but I long for the time when people actually gave a shit about each other: when drag queens and trannies led the Stonewall Riots and beat the snot out of an abusive New York City police force, or when angry gay men and women took to the streets to protest an apathetic government response to the AIDS crisis. There was a real sense of community and support amongst LGBT’s, something that is rather absent today.

The gay prides of today feature naked dancing men, corporate floats, political candidates, and the remnants of the gay prides of yester year – HIV/AIDS and LGBT organizations. It’s a cesspool of lascivious activity and highlights all the worst of American society. I know I sound like a crotchety old man, and I wouldn’t particularly care about all that if the 500,000 people that congregate in Boystown would actually do something useful first and then get on to the debauchery, but I know that’s asking too much. Tell them many of the corporations that support the Pride Parade also donate to anti-gay causes, remind them that all those politicians passed a state budget that cut funding to HIV/AIDS services by 50% or more (we still don’t know the final damage, but it is bad), and all you’ll get is a shoulder shrug and a flippant response that Gay Pride is about fun, not politics. God, GET A FUCKING CLUE!

I don’t know what it will take to get my generation to wake up. Perhaps they think that homophobia is dead, or that constantly getting laid will really bring them happiness, or maybe they don’t believe they have any power to change things. But the facts remain: in 2009 we do not have domestic partnerships, civil unions or gay marriage at a federal level; in fact, more than 35 states have gay marriage bans. We do not have an Employee Non-Discrimination Act that includes sexual orientation or gender identity, and we’re still seeing alarming rates of HIV infections among gay men. Indifference I can comprehend, but this generation has a death wish.

I fear what the future of the LGBT movement will look like if the young folks won’t lift a finger except to down their Cosmo. The occasional bout with helplessness, hopelessness, or carelessness is understandable – we are, after all, human beings who are discriminated against every day of our lives. But if we don’t stand up and take ownership of our lives, if we don’t fight for equality and respect, nothing will change – either inside our community or in society at large.

Stonewall at 40: The Voice Articles That Sparked a Final Night of Rioting

via The Village Voice

Earlier this month, the New York Times published for the first time several photographs that were taken on July 2, 1969, the final night of the Stonewall uprising. The Times noted that few photographs exist of the six-day disturbance, so it was significant to find images all these years later that captured some of the action on the uprising's final night. The initial police raid on the Stonewall that started the riots happened five days earlier, on June 28. But on Wednesday, July 2, there was a new wave of anger and rioting. The cause: the Village Voice. That day, two articles appeared on the Voice's front page describing the struggle happening both inside and outside the Stonewall Inn. Voice reporter Howard Smith's piece described how he found himself trapped inside the Stonewall with police officers as they came under violent attack by the crowd -- at one point, Smith wishes he had a gun to defend himself, just like the cops. Writer Lucian Truscott IV reported on the agitated street scene outside the building. "Limp wrists were forgotten," Truscott writes, but his use of words like "faggot" and "faggotry" enraged gay activists. Anger at the pieces ran so high, rioters marched on the Voice office itself. Four decades on, here's another opportunity to see what caused all the fuss.

Read the rest.

On the rocks, with a twist

Every Pride Sunday, techno music blasts out of loudspeakers, drag performers strut their stuff, politicians beam their megawatt smiles, volunteers pass out safer-sex info, and thousands celebrate. Yet these festivities take place not just in Boystown but at the decades-old—yet largely off-the-radar—Rocks Party, which annually attracts around 15,000 mostly black LGBT Chicagoans to Montrose Harbor in Uptown.

Read the rest on TimeOut Chicago.

Who's that Queer?

Brought to you by Pistol Pete

Alexandra Billings, actor, teacher and activist is the Grand Marshal for this year's Chicago 40th Annual Pride Parade. Alexandra has dozens of stage, television and film roles to her credit. In the last few years she has had guest-starring roles on hit television shows including and in 2007 she completed her first film, "Socket" directed by Sean Abley.

Alexandra has starred in numerous plays at the Torso Theatre, Bailiwick Theatre, Healthworks Theatre, Light Opera Works and also the Steppenwolf Theater. She also appeared in plays in New York City and Los Angeles, including Larry Kramer's pivotal AIDS piece, "Just Say No" playing Nancy Regan to Gregg Louganis' "Jr." That year (1999) she shared a cover of the Advocate with Gregg Louganis, she had a feature in POZ magazine, and she was chosen as one of the Chicago Tribune's Top 10 People of the Year.

Alexandra, who along with her wife Chrisanne, moved to California in 2004, returns to Chicago frequently where she is a (summer) teacher at Steppenwolf Theater. She is also an Artistic Associate at the Bailiwick Theatre and About Face company member.

Alexandra will be riding in a classic car near the front of the Pride Parade on Sunday June 28.

Sources: Chicago Pride Calendar; Wikipedia

Why is Gay Pride so GAY

via National Sexuality Resource Center, by Eric Anthony Grollman
Blogs & Talk › black queer thoughts › why is gay pride so gay?

Excerpt:

In order to gain full sexual liberation, LGBT and queer people must challenge the repressive heteronormative standards of sexuality. What good does acceptance do us if we still have to play by the heterosexual majorities’ rules? Is that true equality?

Read the whole thing.

Barack shows some love for the LGBTs

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER PRIDE MONTH, 2009

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans.

LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. There are many well-respected LGBT leaders in all professional fields, including the arts and business communities. LGBT Americans also mobilized the Nation to respond to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and have played a vital role in broadening this country's response to the HIV pandemic.

Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement, more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before. I am proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration. These individuals embody the best qualities we seek in public servants, and across my Administration -- in both the White House and the Federal agencies -- openly LGBT employees are doing their jobs with distinction and professionalism.

The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect.

My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security. We must also commit ourselves to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the number of HIV infections and providing care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS across the United States.

These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

BARACK OBAMA
# # #

Register now for Proud to Run 2009

6/27/09 8:04am

Proud To Run is a 10K run, 5K run and 2 mile fun walk that celebrates lesbian and gay pride. We welcome everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, who wishes to join us in the celebration and show their support. Proud To Run also raises funds to help health and service organizations. Proud To Run is presented in association with Frontrunners/Frontwalkers Chicago, Chicago's LGBT running and walking club. This will be the 28th annual event. Click here to learn more, and to register.

Newly Out Gay Man Overdoing It

"Mark, we've accepted that you like the dick, so just shut up and be gay already."


October 9, 2002
(this satirical item is an evergreen dearly beloved by LifeLube - from the Onion - and we reprint it here in honor or Gay Pride.)

PENSACOLA, FL—Calling his flamboyant air and effeminate mannerisms "a bit forced," friends of recently out-of-the-closet homosexual Mark Glynn, 23, say he's overdoing it.

"When Mark first told us he was gay, everybody was totally cool with it," longtime friend Rich Eddy said. "We figured he'd basically be the same old Mark, except he'd be dating guys. Boy, were we wrong."

Though Glynn's friends expected him to become comfortable and open with his sexuality, they did not expect him to go to such great lengths to proclaim his preference for men at every conceivable turn.

"We just figured he'd start saying stuff to us at bars like, 'Check out that cute guy's butt,'" Eddy said. "But he takes pains to telegraph his gayness 24 hours a day. Last night, a bunch of us were talking about what's going on with Bush and Iraq, when, out of nowhere, he says, 'You know what Bush needs? A good ass-fucking. That'd relax him.' It's like, 'Okay, Mark, we get it already—you're gay.'"

Continued Eddy: "It's like he's scared that if he doesn't wear hot pants and say 'You go, girl!' a lot, somebody might think he's straight."

Lydia Richter, another longtime friend of Glynn's, has also noticed the change.

"We can't have a conversation without him mentioning some aspect of gay culture," Richter said. "No matter what it is—art, comedy, movies, restaurants, philosophy—he goes off on how it affects him as a gay man. Mark, we've accepted that you like the dick, so just shut up and be gay already."

Even Andrew Storch, a gay coworker of Glynn's who recently went on several dates with him, said Glynn is "laying on the gay a little heavy."

"After Mark came out, he said he'd been attracted to me for a long time," Storch said. "We went out a few times, but he constantly acted like he had something to prove. Everywhere he went, he was mincing around like RuPaul at Wigstock. And, Lord, you should have seen the shoes he was wearing on our second date. I realize he's excited about being out of the closet, but you don't have to make up for those lost years of gayness all at once."

Added Storch: "I hope I wasn't like that when I came out."

Of all the aspects of Glynn's life, friends say his wardrobe has undergone the most drastic change. Instead of wearing khakis and understated dress shirts, Glynn now opts for brightly patterned sleeveless T-shirts and tight short-shorts.

"Two weeks after he came out, he showed up at a party in little pink biker shorts and an open button-down shirt with nothing on underneath," Eddy said. "This is a guy who once said wearing blue jeans made him feel 'weird.' Now, he says he's saving up to buy a whole leather get-up with harnesses and metal studs. I don't know where he got the idea that real gay people actually wear that stuff in their daily lives."

Glynn has adopted a number of other stereotypically gay affectations, including finger-snapping, a "swishy" walk, and calling everyone "sweetie" or "girlfriend."

"I guess he's picking it up from some of the gay guys he meets when he goes out, but it's just not him," Storch said. "A few times, I've actually caught him doing the limp-wrist thing. All that's missing is the lisp."

Even Glynn's drinking habits have taken on a gay tone.

"Mark used to be a single-malt scotch drinker," Eddy said. "Now it's Cosmos or Mai Tais. I didn't realize that liking men altered your taste buds."

According to Dirk Yunger, author of You're Here, You're Queer, Get Used To It: The New Millennium Guide To Coming Out Of The Closet, it is common for "late bloomers" like Glynn to over-embrace homosexuality.

"Mark has been hiding his true sexuality for so long, he can't help but want to shout it out to the world," Yunger said. "His friends should give him time to figure out how his newfound sexual openness will fit into his larger persona. Eventually, he will level out and become more like the Mark they used to know. In the meantime, his friends will have to endure a lot of annoying conversations about 14-inch dildos and what he'd like to do to Rupert Everett. Christ, I don't envy them."

Get Your Pride On

PRIDE CELEBRATION

Center on Halsted

Friday, June 27 ~ 5:30pm to 9:30pm ~ Music by Ron G


The celebration continues across the street at Circuit, 10pm.


[Click here to purchase tickets online.]

Delhi's First Time

[LifeLube shares this notice from the organizers of the first-ever Queer Pride in New Delhi, India. Much love to Queer Delhi!]

Delhi Queer Pride '08

This June, for the first time, Queer Pride celebrations will erupt on the streets of Delhi, alongside simultaneous marches in Kolkata and Bangalore!

Queer Pride is a celebration. It is about loving who we are, whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, hijra or straight, and affirming everyone's right to be respected for their own sexual choices.This year, queer people, friends, and allies take this message to the streets!

5:30pm Regal Cinema, CP this coming Sunday, June 29th

We'll gather at Regal Cinema on the CP Outer Circle, then parade our pride along the Inner Circle, through Central Park, down Janpath and right to Jantar Mantar, where we will have celebrating, singing, speeches and a candlelight vigil.

**If you want to be out on the street and yet under cover, we will provide masks to cover your face, or bring something along yourself. Nevertheless, please remember this is a public event.**

Tokyo Pride Parade this Saturday

Pride vs. prejudice

By JAMIE FINDLAY

Special to The Japan Times

Japanese people take 10 months to gestate, have longer intestines and higher body temperatures. And there are no gays in Japan.

If anyone still believes this last piece of rubbish, they are in for a shock if they find themselves crossing paths with the Tokyo Pride Parade in Harajukuor Shibuya this Saturday.

Several thousand lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgendered and their friends are expected to turn up for the event.

It's a sight you're more likely to expect in gay capitals Brighton or Sydney, which makes the Tokyo parade all the more refreshing.

After all, it's possible to live in Japan all your life and see little evidence of a gay community.

So what is the Japanese attitude to homosexuality? Between Holland and Afghanistan, where does Japan lie on the scale of tolerance?

According to the Lonely Planet guide to these islands, Japan has "the most enlightened attitude towards homosexuality in Asia" bar Thailand. Yet the book "Queer Japan" claims that " 'doseisai' (same-sex love between men) has never been legally nor (sic) socially accepted in Japan." So where does the truth lie?

On the one hand, Japan has a large lesbian and gay community, and it's becoming more visible. Two years ago, Osaka Prefectural Assembly member Kanako Otsuki came out as a lesbian and has since married her partner (though the marriage is not legally recognized). And Setagaya Ward's Aya Kamikawa has become the country's first transsexual politician.

Japan has no laws prohibiting same-gender sex, and Tokyo actually has a law banning discrimination on the grounds of sexual identity. Homosexuality was only briefly criminalized in the Meiji Era (due to Western influence), and there is little or no homophobic violence.

There are a number of high-profile gay celebs: the twins Piko and Osugi, drag queen Akihiro Miwa, and former pop idol Kenichi Mikawa, among others. However, their celebrity is often based on their sexuality -- on their "difference" from their supposedly 99.9-percent straight audiences.

There is discrimination. No recognition of same-sex relationships exists in law; in Miyazaki Prefecture, antidiscrimination laws were passed in 2003, only to be repealed last year; and young people find themselves under great social pressure to marry, and are often forced to meet prospective partners through the arranged-marriage system; and people who are married (to the opposite sex) can earn higher salaries some Japanese firms.

Some politicians seem to believe that sexuality is an area where they can preach intolerance.

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara has declared war on Shinjuku's Ni-Chome area, as though it were somehow the gay equivalent of Kabukicho. And, most bizarrely, there is LDP Tokushima Prefectural Assembly member Motohiro Takeuchi, who declared that "Japan will collapse if it encourages homosexuals by listing the names of boys and girls together," when plans were announced to mix the names of boys and girls on school registers. Quite how this could "turn" schoolchildren remains unclear.

These are all reasons why the Pride Parade in Tokyo is needed -- to demonstrate the existence and strength of sexual minorities and their friends.

Like all such marches, the parade has no political agenda, just the desire to say, as the pamphlet declares: "We're here! We're happy!"

Anyone is welcome, which is why this year the name of the event was changed from "Lesbian and Gay Parade" to simply, "Tokyo Pride Parade."

Among the gay community in Ni-Chome, there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm.

"I want to go to show Ishihara that I exist and pay his wages," said Toshi, a Dragon pub regular.

At the London Pride parade, Mayor Ken Livingstone usually puts in an appearance, so -- who knows? -- on Saturday you might even get a chance to give Mr. Ishihara a piece of your mind.

The festival starts in Yoyogi Park at 11 a.m., and the parade kicks off at 3 p.m.