Pride - Is It Needed Now?

This past June was Pride month in the United States and during that month Pride festivals were held all around the country. In addition, the Supreme Court of the United States decided to strike down DOMA as unconstitutional - and so this year's festivals after that decision were probably some of the biggest and most attended in a long time. This also means that they have and will get a lot of attention. There seems to be a lot of confusion on what exactly Pride is, what it stands for, and its purpose so hopefully I can explain some of that here.

Grindr - Degrading?

Since my last post on Grindr, I have received some feedback about people who think Grindr is just degrading to anyone who uses it for hookups. This they say is regardless of their sexual orientation. In regards to the app, one person had this to say "In my opinion its disgusting and just another way to find a hookup, and everyone that I known to use it only uses it to hook up with other men. Needless to say, Im not a fan." The same person clarified, after a response from myself, saying "What I'm saying is its degrading to use if you're using it for hook ups (which most do); no matter what your sexuality is."

Now I am not one to say that nobody can hold this opinion. You certainly can. And I won't say that you can't or try to force you to not hold this opinion, but I think it is an interesting point of discussion. I find it particularly interesting because there are even those who are feminists who hold similar views. The general view seems to be that these apps when used for hooking up is degrading.

NOM Spokesperson on being friends with LGBT people and Tyler Clementi

Maybe some of you remember this; just before thanksgiving NOM spokes person, Jennifer Roback Morse, released a video on NOM's Ruth Institute warning those in college settings to avoid being friends with LGBT youth.

Now Morse has apparently reversed her position on the issue. Apparently earlier this month Morse spoke to students at Iowa State University and encouraged them to be friends with those who are 'confused' (she doesn't recognize that there is a different sexual orientation from heterosexual) so as to save them from being lonely and confused.

Homelessness, A Tragedy

This is an interesting and thought provoking photo. Just looking at the photo how true do you think that poster is? In my experience it certainly seems true. I've lived and been in NYC plenty and been to many major cities in the US (Chicago, Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Berkley, Ann Arbor, Houston, etc.) and there are homeless in all of them.

Obviously there are more in some places than others but they are there regardless of where you are and regardless of where you are people tend to have the same reaction to them. People are disgusted, or look down on them, some pity, and some empathize, but most commonly people just ignore them. Selective attention is a powerful thing and that seems to be exactly what people have when walking around these places that are literally littered with homeless.

Gay Rights in the Wrong Places?

Gay Rights. Whats the first thing you think of? If your in the US, I'm betting its either 'marriage' or 'bullying' and if you're in the UK, I'm sure it's 'marriage'. Marriage, an important issue for sure to many people; but more and more I have hear rumblings of discontent from those in the community. Don't get me wrong, most I talk to think marriage is something that homosexuals ought be able to do, but many are starting to question whether or not that should be the priority or where we put the spotlight for our movement/community.