Word of the Gay: "Dizzy Queen"

A "dizzy queen" is a gay man who can't get his shit together and lacks common sense.

New Grassroots HRC Campaign 'No Excuses'

The Human Rights Campaign has begun their 'No Excuses' grassroots campaign to demand equality on a face to face basis with our representatives. Activists will meet with their lawmakers during the summer recess when politicians are at home in their districts.



http://noexcuses.hrc.org/

Schedule your meeting with your representative and get the resources and tools necessary to ensure their vote on behalf of LGBT equality.

Shameless Self Promotion Sunday

Please feel free to share any links to queer or queer related topics of interest. You can post a blog entry you made, a website you found interesting. Anything goes as long as it is queer in nature.

Word of the Gay: "Mary Ellen"

A "mary ellen" is a pickpocket who pretends to be gay in order to steal another mans wallet.

Blog Spotlight: Ameriqueer

Ameriqueer is a queer current events blog with news pertinent to those living in the United States. They also often find the latest breaking queer news via twitter and post it to their blog to keep us up to speed.

No On 1 - Protect Maine Equality!

Maine residents will vote on proposition 1 which determines the fate of the marriage equality bill passed by the legislature earlier this year. The Maine Freedom to Marry coalition is out in full force to protect equality for all families and come November 4th it is pertinent to vote NO on prop 1.

It's not enough to just vote, the anti-gay side is out in full force collecting signatures, money, and spreading lies about same-sex couples. We must counter this misinformation and ensure that Maine prop 1 does not repeat the mistakes of California's prop 8 which ultimately eliminated same-sex marriage rights.

Find your county to get involved locally in changing hearts and minds.

Out of Staters can also get involved in fighting prop 1.

Donate any spare change to Maine Freedom to Marry so they can ensure equality remains the law.

Open Forum: LGBTQAIZ5123?

Labels for the community have been evolving and continue to evolve to this day. It started with "Gay" which included same-sex attracted males and females, then it branched out to include "Lesbians" as their own separate label. Over time other movements like the "Bisexuals" and "Transgender" populations joined in under the acronym "GLBT". The acronym was thought to be biased towards the "G" and hence the more popularized acronym became "LGBT". Now we see movement to change the acronym so that perhaps the "B" or "T" come before the "L" or the "G" in the sequence of the letters to be more reflective of an inclusive community.

Just when you thought the whole "LGBT" or is it "GLBT" drama was settled we now have new movements boarding the sexual/gender minority bandwagon. "Queer" people who reject the notion that sexuality is fixed and who don't attach binaristic labels want "Q" added to the ever long list of letters in the acronym. People who are "Questioning" their sexuality or are curious want the "Q" to represent the term "Questioning". "Intersex" people don't want to be lumped under the "Transgender" umbrella and want the "I" added to the list. "Asexuals" want to be recognized as a legitimate sexual orientation and have "A" added to the list. "A" has also been representative of those who consider themselves "Allies" to the community.

So we already have a long and varied list with letters overlapping for different communities who want representation. Confusing huh? Well there are also movements by "Polyamorous" families, fetish groups, "Pansexuals", "Two-spirits", and others who want to be part of the acronym.

How far do we go with the acronym, is the label "LGBT" fair and inclusive? Or should we come up with a new term to describe all of these sexual/gender minorities. Is Queer too broad and open so that if we use it nobody will know what we are talking about? Share your thoughts on this ever growing and evolving debate...