Two Spirit People

A while ago, I wrote a post about Gay Native Americans, and recently I received an email from one of my allies that further opened my eyes to the challenges facing Two Spirit people in the United States:

"Two recent national philanthropy reports have released information indicating that Gay Funders contributed $37 million in one year to GLBT organizations across the United States. Native American Two Spirit People, the poorest of all the GLBT communities, received only 4 small grants of about $2,500. The average grant to gay organizations nationally is $16,000 a year. Gay funders have a mission to serve all equally, but it's time for a summit with the Two Spirit People here in our ancestral domains to help the funders achieve their mission. Two Spirit People have significant spiritual and ceremonial roles in our Native cultures, and Gay Philanthropy has a significant role to play in realizing a vision of funding-justice and social justice with our people."

Let's please not forget that the white man brought homophobia to North America.

Sometimes, it feels like there are so many battles to fight. It drives me, but also deflates me, sometimes.

Learn more.

The Big Interracial Gay Kiss on Greek

For those of you who missed it, here is the video of Calvin (Paul James) and his new love interest, Michael (Max Greenfield), sharing an on-screen kiss (at roughly the 11:25-11:46 mark) in the 26 May episode "A Tale of Two Parties" on ABC Family's Greek.

Big milestone.

Hat Tip to The Gays of Daytime!

Some Ideas on Living in London and Tokyo by Stephen Taylor and Ryue Nishizawa, Canadian Centre for Architecture

A bit of a diversion.

Check out some of the photos I took last year in Tokyo posted on the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) exhibition website for the show Some Ideas on Living in London and Tokyo by Stephen Taylor and Ryue Nishizawa.

Enjoy!

Trouble in The Gambia

Unfortunate news out of The Gambia.

Last week Gambian President Yahya Jammeh told a political rally that gay people had 24 hours to leave the country or face beheading.

Evidently not a summer holiday destination.

Read more.

German Memorial to be Inaugurated

A Berlin memorial, designed by Michael Elmgreen of Denmark and Ingar Dragset of Norway and dedicated to gay men and lesbians persecuted and killed under the Nazis, will be inaugurated on 27 May. Openly gay Berlin mayor, Klaus Wowereit, is expected to attend the ceremony.

Steps forward.

Read more.

Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position

This is so last year, but also just so happy and well worth a viewing, especially in light of California's new gay marriage laws.



"And I know how you've hurt
And been dragged through the dirt
But c'mon get back up
It's the time to live"

Adorable.

Hat Tip to Anonymous Blogger!

Ethnoculture Montreal, 23-25 May 2008

The past week has been a bit hectic, hence the lack of posts, but I am back on track and excited to tell you about this super event in Montreal happening this coming weekend.

Ethnoculture invites you to share, discover, and learn about stories, testimonials, and activism concerning the experiences of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, transsexuals, transvestites, and queers from ethnocultural communities in Montreal.

- May 23 starting 9PM: Opening party at Complexe SKY, 1474 Ste-Catherine East, Voila room, 2nd floor

- May 24-25, A weekend of conferences, films, theatre, art exhibition, workshops, discussions with community groups... at UQAM, Sherbrooke Pavillon, 200 Sherbrooke West

- May 25 starting 5PM: Closing Cocktail at Bar Fut-Zion, 1441 Amherst

Read more, and see you there!

Interracial Gay Kiss on Greek

On ABC Family's Greek, one of the central cast members Calvin (Paul James) and his new love interest, Michael (Max Greenfield), will share an on-screen kiss in the 26 May episode, "A Tale of Two Parties."

Another milestone.

Read more.

IN THE LIFE - Encore Presentation: Voices of Pride - May 2008

Hosted by John Amaechi, May 2008's In The Life includes a story of Cuban born dancer/choreographer Pedro Ruiz, who came out as gay to the Cuban Military Board.

Check out IN THE LIFE here.

Ronaldo's scandal

In a recent LA Times article, staff writer Grahame L. Jones writes, "It's time someone showed a little compassion" for Ronaldo, the Brazilian soccer star whose highly publicized encounter last week with three cross-dressing prostitutes swept him into a scandal that media outlets around the world have capitalized upon.

On a popular Brazilian television show Ronaldo said, "I'm sorry and ashamed."

Ronaldo committed no crime. He apparently didn't even have sex with the transvestite prostitutes he hired in a country where prostitution is legal. Compassion? Sure. No one needs to have their personal lives under the microscopes of millions. But what exactly was Ronaldo "sorry and ashamed" about? His attempted infidelity to a girlfriend who has since left him? Or was he really just expressing to the world that he was "sorry and ashamed" for being seen potentially as a homosexual? If this is the case, I am not sure how much compassion is warranted for the poor guy.

Why should anyone be "sorry and ashamed" for being gay?

Would I ever apologize for being misperceived by the world as straight? No.

Passionate, Platonic - Straight Men, Gay Men

Recently, I have been watching a lot of Brideshead Revisited reruns in preparation for the new film of the same name coming out later this year with the tagline "Love is not ours to control." And seeing the relationship between the main characters, Sebastian and Charles, has reminded me of the kinds of platonic liaisons I used to have with straight guys in college and university. One of my best friends at the time, a straight man, who now lives far away, once wrote for me the following poem that today continues to fuel my passionate belief that love, amongst persons of varying colors, sexualities, and cultural and ethnic backgrounds, is indeed "not ours to control."

Zodiac

i will never let a horse
into my life
but i have let You
though You squeezed in
through the stable door
the way some horses do

i would never let horses
influence my character
but like them good sense
scatters at your entrance

your lean shoulders
studied with greyhounds
such ball and socket joints
i've seen only in diagrams

i've let greyhounds into my vicinity
nose, paws, ribcages...
i must admit a weakness
for reluctant modesty

i could spend days
lying on the ground with You
contemplating the world
with the perspective of snails
stumbling
through territories of obsession
in the midst of love for You
S.M.

Quotes

Some interesting quotes from some interesting blogs.

a womyn's ecdysis
"Racism, in all of its powerful camouflage, systematically works its oppression for years without much commentary."

dilettante
"The primary role of institutions like schools is education, parents are the ones responsible for their children’s mental and physical health."

picture perfect
"My parents have always questioned my sexuality. And what they did was try to "fix" me. By trying to scare me out of homosexuality. But guess what? I'm still gay, but you know what they did? All they did was make me fearful."

slap upside the head
"I said it before, but it can use repeating: Gay-friendly doesn’t mean gays only."

I Want To Hold Your Hand - Across the Universe

When was the last time you saw in a mainstream film an Asian character yearning to be with a white person of the same sex?

From the 2007 film Across The Universe comes this clip showing Prudence, played by Asian-American T.V. Carpio, singing the Beatles "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as an anthem of her romantic longing for another cheerleader.



Bittersweet, interracial, rife with layers of meaning - one of few milestones.

It Could Happen To You

Keen and funny.

It Could Happen To You, by Alexandra Barreto, Rider Strong, and Shiloh Strong is one of the finalists in MoveOn.org's Obama in 30 Seconds contest.

Click here to vote for the people's choice.