CALIFORNIA:
Seemingly against all odds, the bill that would require social studies curriculum in the state of California to include gay history and role models is moving closer to becoming a reality. This week it passed the state Senate, and now heads to the general assembly, where it is widely expected to pass.
We’ve talked about this bill before; how amazing it would have been to see people like us in the pages of our history books, or to even be allowed to know that those people existed. Openly gay senator Mark Leno, the sponsor of the bill, has explained it like so: “This selective censorship sends the wrong message to all young people, and especially to those who do not identify as straight. We can’t tell our youth that it’s OK to be yourself and expect them to treat their peers with dignity and respect while we deny them accurate information about the historical contributions of Americans who happened to be LGBT,” he said.” Countless studies have proven that the more gays that straight people know and are familiar with, the more likely they are to empathize with their struggles and support them instead of viewing them as a threat. If kids were able to see how much of our country’s history is based on the contributions and hard work of gay as well as straight people, it could go a long way towards a generation more open and accepting of queer people than any before it.
Perhaps most surprising and most gratifying, however, is that this is all happening in California. During the Prop 8 campaign, much of the Yes on 8’s information and messaging was outright wrong – a popular lie that millions of Californians really believed was that without Prop 8, their children would be “taught homosexuality” in their schools. In actuality the language of the marriage equality legislation related only to, you know, marriage, but huge numbers of voters went to the polls sincerely unaware of that.
And we all know how that worked out. Prop 8 is still in a sort of seemingly endless legal limbo, in which it seems unlikely to last much longer but couples still can’t marry. But in the meantime, this bill – the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful Education Act – might actually happen. Voters’ greatest fears – that marriage equality would somehow erode their own families and way of life – hasn’t come to pass, and never will. But their fear that their children might leave the public education system knowing that homosexuality exists, and that gay people are just as real as they are? That’s looking very possible right now. And that’s great. Because knowledge isn’t something we should ever be afraid of, and knowledge of their own place in history is something everyone deserves.
ADAM LAMBERT:
It seems like everyone has something to say about the J. Crew Toenail Painting Incident. Unsurprisingly, Adam Lambert’s response is spot on. “Gender confusion?” he tweeted to his nearly 1 million followers. “I don’t think it’s that deep – children should have full freedom of expression. It’s everyone else who’s confused… If society didn’t work so hard to reinforce gender role stereotypes we would have a much more well-adjusted & open-minded future generation.”
LILO, COACHELLA:
It turns out Coachella was this weekend and I didn’t get to go, but Lindsay Lohan did! I feel like huge floppy hats were really in or something.
KOBE RESPONSE:
If you haven’t read gay former NBA player John Amaechi’s open letter to Kobe Bryant in response to the gay slur he used on the court last week, it’s inspiring and worth your time. “A young man from a Los Angeles public school e-mailed me. You are his idol. He is playing up, on the varsity team, he has your posters all over his room, and he hopes one day to play in college and then in the N.B.A. with you. He used to fall asleep with images of passing you the ball to sink a game-winning shot. He watched every game you played this season on television, but this week he feels less safe and less positive about himself because he stared adoringly into your face as you said the word that haunts him in school every single day.”
LADY GAGA AT NEWNOWNEXT:
Hey what did you think about Gaga’s new single, “Judas”? Well then, what about her NewNowNext Awards acceptance speech?
BISEXUAL JESUS NOVEL:
James Frey is most famous for making Oprah mad and writing a partially fabricated memoir. But now he’s writing a new book where Jesus returns to Earth as an openly bisexual man who dates a prostitute and otherwise proves himself to be the opposite of what the religious right would imagine him to be. It sounds interesting, at the very least!
MICHIGAN DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS:
Michigan benefits for domestic partners have so far survived a vote trying to repeal the policy. “A proposal to rescind the policy failed to receive the required two-thirds vote in the house of representatives Thursday. Sixty-six members voted in favor of repeal, eight short of the number needed. A repeal measure had passed the senate by the required margin.”
GAY BRITISH KISS-IN:
Two men at the John Snow pub in London had the worst first date ever. At first, the date was going so well that they kissed, at which point the pub kicked them out. The pub’s actions led to a kiss-in that caused the bar to close and lose a night’s revenue. The couple has a second date planned.
ANITA BRYANT:
Don’t ask me how, but I found this video of Anita Bryant being hit in the face with a pie. You’re welcome.
KITTENS:
Also, duh, kittens. #weareallmadeofkittenshadows
OTTERS:
James Frey leaves a bad taste in my brain. From being yelled at by Oprah, to writing that crap book I Am Number Four and polluting my movie theater with it, and now attempting to “shock” us with equating sex with love in a biblical fanfiction. I’m so frustrated by the idea that there are tons of talented people with fantastic stories to tell that don’t get the chance to, yet Snookies and James Freys climb the bestseller lists.
Although he did lie about it being a memoir, “A Million Little Pieces” is still a damn fine book! He should have just been straight with it and not let his publishers talk him into releasing it as non-fiction or whatever.
Oh I hated that book. The funky punctuation and capitalization was horrid. Also, that boy was just way too into his own greatness. I never could figure out why everyone loved it so much. But maybe that’s just me.
whispers – “I loved “I Am Number Four” and can’t wait to see the move”…please don’t hate me!! :)
BTW – I did not know he wrote it until you said this! Weird right?
Oh you guys, don’t tell me this is the first time you’re seeing the video of Anita Bryant getting hit in the face with a pie. It’s a classic.
You should probably watch The Times of Harvey Milk here. Also last month it was restored and re-released on DVD.
That was the first time I had seen it, definitely a classic.
Lady Gaga is really more into herself than any cause. It’s all about her how many times did she say me, me, me, me, me. She did not deserve this award there are many other ppl out there working very hard for equal rights. She gives one speech yelling at that and gets this award? How about all the others that contributed much more of themselves and their time, raised $ for this cause and other worthy causes. Lady Gaga is a phony.
+1 for glambert
OMG the otters! Can I have them please?! SO cute.
OTTERS.
GLAMBERT.
I <3 Sunday Funday. (And Autostraddle)
Also that open letter is really moving and I hope Kobe uses it, to (loosely) quote sassy gay friend, to look at his life and his choices.
Love the kiss-in article, but the comments below it are fairly back-assward.
I know it’s not a YouTube vid, but whenever I read comments like the ones from the kiss-in article, I think of this clip from stand-up comedian, Pete Holmes, about YouTube comments:
http://comedians.jokes.com/pete-holmes/videos/pete-holmes—internet-sleuth
Yeah, I just read that also and then got about half a page into the comments before I experienced a strong desire to smash face into wall…
thank you for kitten video it helped.
That letter to Kobe is so on point, perfect. But I doubt Kobe would agree with any of it, sadly.
Go Adam! A+
John Amaechi’s letter was PHENOMENAL! It was eloquent, moving, and right-on! I LOVED it!! It literally almost brought tears to my eyes! Good for him!!!
I am so sick of celebrities thinking they can behave however they want and it will have no consequences! That is NOT true! Because of Kobe some kid, some where will now think it’s ok to call someone the F-word because “Kobe said it so it must be ok”. It’s NOT!
Kobe, instead of trying to appeal your fine why don’t you step up, accept it and give us a sincere, gentlemanly apology! I would have a lot more respect for him if he did THIS rather than trying to tell the world “it wasn’t that big of a deal” or “we(meaning the world) misunderstood” and trying to appeal it! Why doesn’t he show kids around the world that he made a mistake instead of trying to act like he did nothing wrong!
I, as a mother and a lesbian, am appalled that he is seen as a role model for our youth and then behaves in THIS manner! My children will NOT be having anything to do with him until he steps up and does the right thing and apologizes for his abhorrent behavior!
Pretty sure D.H. Lawrence already wrote that book. It’s a short novel called either “The Man Who Died” or “The Escaped Cock,” with the latter being the author’s preference (plus, funnier!). Jesus survives the crucifixion, wakes up, and goes around dating sexy pagan priestesses and stuff. Good times.
kobe just lent more credence to the way i pre-judge people based on their favourite basketball players, which is to say my only criterion is anyone but kobe.