Strollerderby : LGBT

Tennessee Public School Computers Block LGBT Websites

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:30:00 GMT

Whoopsie! It turns out that the computers of the Tennessee public school system are inexplicably biased against gay rights. How the heck did that happen? School administrators are completely baffled by the embarrassing snafu, but say that it must be the fault of their filtering service, Education Networks of America.

But the ENA has clearly stated that they are off the hook. "The decisions on whether to block certain websites are made solely by the school districts,” the ENA attorney said. “ENA does not participate in these decisions in any way and is instead simply told which websites to block." Huh. Is it possible that homophobia had something to do with this?

Some of the blocked Web sites include Human Rights Campaign--with such inappropriate messages for kids as, “In a world defined by difference, our strength depends on our common humanity”--and the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, which creepily “envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people.” Not all Web pages dealing with gay people were blocked, however. Tennessee schoolchildren are more than welcome to peruse such sites as People Can Change and The Americans For Truth Against Homosexuality.

As Jezebel points out, the silver lining of this rather shocking homophobic agenda is that no one wants to take the blame for it, showing how much public opinion has progressed in favor of gay rights.

Photo: britannica.com

Chicago LGBT High School Update

Shannon LC Cate — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:00:00 GMT

The Chicago School Board is set to vote October 22 on the opening of 17 new schools, including the "School for Social Justice Pride Campus, according to the Tribune. The school has received the support of most public school system leaders in Chicago, who argue that research shows that lgbt students face a difficult time in high school, dropping out at a higher than average rate and missing school for fear of violence.

The debate still rages on the sidelines that if such a school is opened, it will ghettoize lgbt students, lightening the burden on all schools to make themselves safe for all students.

I can't help but still feel that such a school--with no more than 600 students drawn by lottery--would, rather than ghettoizing queer kids, give them a secure setting in which to learn the history of sexual minorities, find out about the kind of work being done to further queer liberation in our culture and from which to take strong youth leadership roles in the community. So many queer youth grow up in a vaccuum, not knowing the history of struggle for justice for "their" people and hearing themselves referred to only in perjorative ways.

A district that prioritizes the needs of these students so much as to open a campus to serve them specifically is making a statement about the value of these kids and their potential for unique contributions to society. I do hope that having the school in the district will make for more inclusive curricula in all the schools. With only 600 slots available at the Pride campus, plenty of queer kids will still find themselves mainstreamed into general student populations. And it's not only lgbt kids who need to learn about lgbt issues, it's the kids who toss "that's so gay" around without thinking.

Watch this space for an update after the vote in a couple of weeks.

Also on this topic:

LGBT "Magnet" Schools: Help or Hurt?

McCain Talks to the Gays: Part One, Marriage

Shannon LC Cate — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 23:50:00 GMT

Okay, he didn't actually talk to us. He had someone on his campaign staff fill out a questionnaire from the Washington Blade and send it back. But hey--that's more than any other republican candidate for president has ever done. And a progressive republican he is! McCain doesn't want to have us stoned in the public square. Well, not unless a state decides that's our appropriate fate. McCain is a strict federalist, he says and certain things should be left to the states:

"My home state of Arizona shouldn’t be compelled to recognize a marriage from California or Massachusetts. Those states can decide that issue by themselves. "

Of course he doesn't say this, but what he means is Arizona shouldn't be compelled to recognize same-sex couples married in California or Massachusetts. And that makes so much sense, since marital status changing from state-to-state has worked so well throughout U.S. history so far. Oh wait, never mind.

Straight, married readers, how would you like to have to check that wedding ring at every state line you cross? Imagine this: road trip from New Jersey to Vegas, you're married today, single tomorrow, married today... Or this, ladies: hubby's traveling for business and really isn't married when the woman in the slinky dress in the hotel bar asks. Or seriously, this: you're filling out those federal tax forms, a marriage certificate from your state hanging over the kitchen table. Which box do you check? Both "married" and "single" are a legal lie.

If we are going to keep awarding people rights and privileges based on their family formations (which we shouldn't, but that's a post for another day), marriage should most certainly not be left up to the states. Anyone--republican or democrat--who says so is weaseling out of supporting queer families without coming clean and saying so outright.

LGBT "Magnet" Schools: Help or Hurt?

LilySea — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:44:00 GMT

The HRC reports that “A group of over 200 people met last week to discuss a proposal to open the city’s first high school for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. The Social Justice High School Pride Campus would focus on core college-preparatory curriculum but cater to LGBT youth in the Chicago public school district. Critics fear that the school would allow district administrators to neglect the responsibility to make all schools safe for LGBT students."

I admit, I didn't think of the catch when I saw a similar headline on a local LGBT paper in a box on the corner. Regardless, I still think such a school, modeled on the Harvey Milk High School in New York, is a great idea. I once taught in an urban high school where, in spite of the presence of a popular out and proud gay vice principal, kids still threw around the usual “that's so gay/he's a fag/what a dyke” insults as freely as any other place I'd taught. Also in spite of the vice principal, every queer teacher in the school except me was deeply closeted. I was chastised more than once for being “too open” about my “lifestyle” by a supervisor with a poster-sized black-and-white photo of his shirtless self and his tank-top-clad wife hanging over his classroom where most teachers have a world map or a “say no to drugs” poster.

While I do believe every school should be safe for every student, properly organized and run, a magnet-type program for young queers and their allies could set a friendly tone for an entire school district while nurturing the next generation of leaders in queer freedom movements.

"Pregnant Man" Beattie Loves the Limelight

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:50:00 GMT

I am becoming increasingly convinced that Thomas Beattie (better known as the “pregnant man”) is a bit of a publicity whore. This isn’t necessarily a problem, so long as the publicity he seeks does more good than harm for the transgender community—and for his daughter, born on June 29.

In the latest Beattie media frenzy, September Films, a London firm, has beat out four other production companies in winning the rights to make a documentary telling Beattie’s story. The hourlong film will air on Channel 4, with rights to the film licensed globally. The Discovery Channel is currently seeking exclusive U.S. rights.

With his Oprah appearance, his memoir-in-progress (including tales of participating in beauty pageants in his youth), and now this film, Beattie seems keen on maintaining a large spot in the limelight. This is certainly not unusual in these days of reality TV and "It Happened to Me" bestsellers, but it becomes a bit more complicated when there is a child involved. I just hope the widespread publicity of Beattie’s unusual situation helps establish more tolerance for transgender folks and their children, not more hatred.

Photo: livenews.com

Trans Community Worries About “Pregnant Man” Bad Press

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Tue, 06 May 2008 03:02:00 GMT

When Oprah gets involved, people get famous. And in the case of transgender man Thomas Beattie, the results of this fame are, so far, neither fortune nor glory. Since Beattie first wrote about his unorthodox decision to stop taking testosterone and become pregnant because his wife is unable to carry a child, the media has (unsurprisingly) had a field day with what quickly became dubbed the “pregnant man” story. The Oprah Winfrey Show, the BBC, Good Morning America, and People are only a few of the mainstream outlets to cover Beattie's pregnancy.

According to an update from The Advocate—the LGBT magazine that broke Beattie’s story—not everyone in the transgender community is pleased with Beattie’s decision to go public. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to Beattie, who said that he contacted several transgender organizations before writing a first-person account of his decision to carry a child in The Advocate. Half of the organizations never responded, and most of the others urged him to stay out of the limelight, worrying that publicity would only harm the Beattie family and the transgender community at large.

Specifically, many trans activists worry that Beattie’s unusual story will cause an already less than tolerant public to label all transgender people “freaks” and “disgusting,” two terms that flooded the blogosphere in the wake of Beattie’s story. (The comments on my first article about Beattie’s pregnancy are a case in point.) Even more concerning are fears that this media frenzy could be used to fuel legislation curbing transgender rights, just as many states passed anti-gay marriage legislation after the Massachusetts supreme court upheld gays’ right to marry.

On the other hand, some LGBT activists applaud Beattie’s decision to stretch the limits of the public’s tolerance. As Beattie wrote in the Advocate—and Oprah quoted to a supportive studio audience—“[O]ur situation ultimately will ask everyone to embrace the gamut of human possibility and to define for themselves what is normal.”

While I am supportive of Beattie’s optimism that his story will open the public’s eyes to the many forms a healthy, loving family can take, I fear that this shift in perspective is unlikely to happen fast enough to shield his child from discrimination throughout his or her youth. With many bloggers expressing not only disgust but violent hatred for Beattie and his unborn child, I’m afraid we’ve got a long way to go.

Photo: ABC News

Online Activism for LGBT Parents

Karen Murphy — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 12:57:00 GMT

It's so easy to become an activist nowadays when there's a cause you believe in. There are no more signs to make, and very little marching around in small circles is required. But you do have to have something you believe in (or want to fight against), because if you do, then activism is just a click away. Mombian has a bunch of great ideas about making a difference for the LGBT community by becoming an online activist that translate well into almost any cause. Here are some of them:

1. Email your politicians. Whew, that was easy, wasn't it? You can find pertinent addresses (and names, too, if you're like me and you're not quite up on who all your representatives are) at Congress.org.

2. Comment on parenting blogs and forums (like this one!). Use terminology that fits the theme of your particular perspective, if it's LGBT or something else. Help set people straight who seem to be misinformed. Help create community by putting yourself out there.

3. Participate in parenting social networks, like AtHomeDad.org, Café Mom, Dad Daily, Maya’s Mom (for moms and dads), Minti, Mothers Click, Mommy Buzz, and Parents Connect.

By becoming more visible to the mainstream, LGBT parents can close the gap that many non-LGBT people see simply from ignorance. This form of online activism is a great way to bridge this chasm and to help people understand that we're all pretty much the same despite shallow differences.

Today is the 11th Annual LGBT Day of Silence

Karen Murphy — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 19:03:00 GMT

I thought it was quiet around here today. According to Mombian, it turns out that thousands of students are holding silence today in honor of the 11th Annual Day of Silence which is hoped to bring attention to the problem of anti-LGBT bullying, harrassment, and discrimination in schools. Students and teachers alike are observing the day in silence to echo the silence that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered kids and their allies face everyday. Some of the silent kids will pass out "speaking cards" to spread word about and explain what they are doing.

I don't know, when I was a kid, I never thought much about activism. Who wants to stand out, let alone take a stand? The closest I got was to refuse to say the "Pledge of Allegiance" every morning (ooh, I know, I was such a rebel). But these kids, and they're not necessarily LGBT to take part in today's silence, are courageously taking a stand against something that most people won't talk about, let alone do something to bring it to people's attention.

Bullying should be stopped, no matter who is the victim. I applaud these kids and teachers for what they are doing today, and I hope that the increased awareness that it brings will help someone, many someones, even if it's just one kid who's saved from a miserable existence because he's no longer being bullied and harrassed.