16 million women married to gay men ... in China
Professor Zhang Bei-chuan of Qingdao University said that about 16 million women in China are married to gay men. This would mean 3% of all marriages in China are shams.
In 1997, homosexuality was decriminalized. In 2001, it was delisted as a mental disorder. However, there are no protections for members of the gay community, and it is still condemned by many.
Bei-chuan said that many of the men get married because of societal expectations, and it isn't a positive experience for either partner.
Xiao Yao, a 29-year-old who was married to a gay man, even started a support website for other women who have gone through what she experienced.
“Most gay men’s wives I’ve known are silently suffering at the hands of husbands who could never love them, and like me, some even got abused by husbands who were also under great pressure," she said. “The website makes them feel they’re not alone and empowers them to make the right choices.”
Some within the gay community are crying foul over the research. Xiao Dong, a gay man involved in HIV/AIDS prevention, challenged the results as “unsubstantiated” and “pointless."
In unrelated news, China has seen an increase in the number of 'married men only' clubs.
China: 16 million women ‘married to gays’ [PinkNews]
No brains, no service
A bistro in Knoxville, Tennessee is doing its part for gay rights. It refused to serve state Sen. Stacey Campfield following his recent comments that straight people seldom get AIDS.
Martha Boggs, owner of the Bistro at the Bijou, asked the Republican legislator to leave her restaurant Sunday.
"He's gone from being stupid to dangerous," Boggs said on Monday. "It's just my way of standing up to a bully."
Campfield is the man behind the controversial Don't Say Gay bill, which would ban schools from teaching anything about homosexuality. Only sexuality involving "natural human reproduction" would be permitted in classrooms.
Then he made news last week after claiming the AIDS virus developed after men had sex with monkeys. He also stated that the disease was "virtually impossible" to contract via heterosexual intercourse.
So when Campfield walked through the bistro door during Sunday brunch, Boggs told him he wasn't welcome.
"I asked him to leave the restaurant to take a stand for the gay community and to let him know what it feels like to be discriminated against," said Boggs."He didn't have much to say. He left graciously."
On Monday, the sign in front of the Bistro today read, "Today's Special: Fried Chicken. Crispy Chicken Livers. No Stacey."
Sen. Stacey Campfield asked to leave Knoxville restaurant [WBIR]
Tennessee Senator Thrown Out of Restaurant for Antigay Stance [The Advocate]
Are 'Respecting Differences' clubs good enough?
Ontario, Canada has been struggling for some time with the issue of Gay-Straight Alliance clubs in its Catholic School Board. The Board is publicly funded, and the provincial government has stated that all schools must provide for “equity and inclusive education" to battle bullying and homophobia.
With this in mind, a Catholic think tank had been looking at ways to comply to the government's demand while not offending the Vatican. And providing clubs that were pro-gay didn't sit well with many people involved in the system.
This week a decision was made, with the think tank suggesting anti-bullying groups be called “Respecting Differences" clubs.” However, the committee also insisted on a few requirements for such a club, including the presence of a staff advisor committed to the Catholic faith, and that no “activism, protest or advocacy of anything that is not in accord with the Catholic faith foundation of the school” be permitted.
“This is about helping kids feel safe against bullying, not as advocacy for a lifestyle,” said Nancy Kirby, president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees’ Association. “We have nothing against homosexuals, but it’s the (homosexual) act that is in contradiction of the teachings of the church.” (Seriously, these people need a new line.)
“It highlights the difference, rather than the similarities, and it should be about more than just respect — it should be about accepting people as they are,” countered Grade 12 student student Leanne Iskander. She lobbied for a gay-straight alliance in her school but was denied.
Kirby insisted that Catholic schools were committed to supporting students bullied because of their sexual orientation. However, the "Respecting Differences" clubs would stress issues of sexuality within the context of Catholic morality.
In other words: we love you, God loves you, but what you're thinking about doing makes us sick. Yeah, that should make school life so much better for gay youth.
Gay-straight alliances become Respecting Differences clubs [The Toronto Star]
Group worried about 'undesirable gays'
There is a group of residents in south London, England, who are frightened that the location of the gay Pride House event at this year’s Olympics will prove to be a “magnet for undesirable elements of the gay community."
The green space being proposed for the event is also being used by Pride London, meaning the area will be used “exclusively” by gay, bi and trans people for two and a half weeks.
Of course, Friends of Clapham Common is not objecting because of any disdain they feel for gays in general. It's just that all communities have “undesirable elements," it said.
The event being planned would include live music, entertainment, and sports. Creator Chad Molleken said it will “welcome athletes, dignitaries, media, Londoners and visitors from around the world with a dynamic and entertaining programme in support of the LGBT community."
However, the Friends countered that the Pride House event would not “raise a decent income for [the area] since much of it will be for charitable purposes benefiting the LGBT causes." Damn you charity!
“Reference to ‘undesirables’ is incredibly offensive and exposes the real motivation for this objection," explained Christopher Wellbelove, a local councillor. "This is a huge opportunity for Clapham and Lambeth to participate in London 2012, showing their support ... during the games together with LGBT athletes from around the world."
Lambeth Council agreed with Wellbelove. “Lambeth has a very diverse cultural community," it said in a statement. "The Council welcomes the important cultural, economic and social contribution the LGBT makes to the wellbeing of the borough.”
To be fair, if the Friends are referring to gays who take up half the dance floor when they bust a move (and you know who you are), then it has a point ...
Group fears ‘undesirable gays’ at Olympics event [PinkNews]
Is Cynthia Nixon an idiot?
Cynthia Nixon (who played Miranda Hobbes in Sex and the City) is raising eyebrows with some recent comments she made during a New York Times interview. She indicated that, for individuals like herself, being gay can definitely be a choice.
She said: “I gave a speech recently, an empowerment speech to a gay audience, and it included the line ‘I’ve been straight and I’ve been gay, and gay is better.’ And they tried to get me to change it, because they said it implies that homosexuality can be a choice. And for me, it is a choice.
"I understand that for many people it’s not, but for me it’s a choice, and you don’t get to define my gayness for me. A certain section of our community is very concerned that it not be seen as a choice, because if it’s a choice, then we could opt out. I say it doesn’t matter if we flew here or we swam here, it matters that we are here and we are one group and let us stop trying to make a litmus test for who is considered gay and who is not.
"Why can’t it be a choice? Why is that any less legitimate? It seems we’re just ceding this point to bigots who are demanding it, and I don’t think that they should define the terms of the debate"
Activists too touchy over word 'batty'
Sometimes companies need to be reminded to be a little more thoughtful when working on their ad campaigns. Other times activists need to relax a little and stop taking everything as a personal slight. A recent British bmi ad is an example of the latter.
The British airline is being forced to defend the use of the word “batty” in a new radio ad. The term refers to the company's prices.
In the ad, a spokesman says: “Barmy prices in the bmi sale! Heathrow to Nice from a batty £48 one-way, Moscow from a bonkers £199 return and Marrakech from a zany £135 return, plus lots of other vaguely loopy deals!”
However, some listeners to the station have started to complain, calling use of the term batty a "disgrace."
“I’m furious at bmi’s reference to their new prices being ‘batty’ on their radio adverts, which have started this week," said listener Richard Smith. "I think it’s a disgrace they would use this word."
It would seem he took the meaning of the word from the Jamaican slang for "faggot."
A bmi spokesperson disagreed, and explained that "the concept of the advert was built upon the idea that bmi have got ‘crazy’ prices in the sale. We have used several different words to articulate this – Barmy / Zany / Bonkers etc and the word ‘Batty’ was included and used as per the definition given in the Collins World English dictionary.”
It's called "context," Mr. Smith. Yeesh.
BMI ‘batty’ ad defended [PinkNews]
'Ex-gay' admits ex-gays don't exist
The head of the Florida-based ex-gay group Exodus International admitted that the most people he has met who have gone through reparative therapy are still gay.
“I would say the majority, meaning 99.9 percent of them, have not experienced a change in their orientation or have gotten to a place where they could say that they could never be tempted, or are not tempted in some way or experience some level of same-sex attraction,” Alan Chambers (pictured) confessed during the Gay Christian Network (GCN) earlier this month.
Eight years ago he was singing a very different tune. At the time he claimed to be “one of tens of thousands of people whom have successfully changed their sexual orientation. Change is possible and I am living proof. I used to be homosexual and today I am not.”
“We’re not using change as a slogan anymore,” he now says. “I’m very, very clear to say, we used ‘Change is possible’ for so many years, and it was used on me, and we used it, and the people who used it wanted it to mean something more than it did . . . but we don’t use that phrase anymore.”
Wayne Besen, the founder and executive director of Truth Wins Out, a non-profit organization that challenges ex-gay ministries, is skeptical of Chambers’ sincerity.
“This is somebody who is so serially dishonest, and changes what he says so frequently, his words are essentially meaningless,” Besen said. “We’re gratified that he has confirmed what we’ve been saying since the founding of our group in 2006: that efforts to change are ineffective.”
Normally, when someone starts softening their position like this, there's a reason; as with so many ex-gay leaders, is someone planning to come out as ex-ex-gay?
World's Top "Ex-Gay" Leader Finally Confesses That Conversion Therapy Doesn't Work! [Instinct Magazine]
Ex-gay leader admits changing sexuality is unlikely [Xtra West]
British men found guilty of promoting hate
In the first trial of its kind in Britain, three Muslim men were charged with stirring up hatred against a sexual minority after they handed out leaflets saying that the punishment for homosexuality was death.
In order to convict, the jury had to be convinced the leaflets were more than simply insulting or abusive, but were actually “threatening”, and designed to stir up hatred. Yesterday, the three were found gulty of doing just that.
One of the pamphlets, 'The Death Penalty?,' included an image of a mannequin hanging from a noose. It stated that the cure for homosexuality in society was capital punishment.
The men admitted they created and distributed the flyers, but claimed there was nothing threatening about them.
“We are living in a society and if we don’t stop it, something like a tsunami will happen here, something on that scale,” argued Kabir Ahmed. “We are trying to stand and voice on these issues. I am part of this country – I was born here. You can think of it as a little vigilante thing.”
"They incite violence and I would even say it's incitement to murder," countered one gay man. "It lists various methods of executing homosexuals from burning alive, stoning, hanging or being thrown from a tall buidling and I felt that was directed at me."
The three men will be sentenced in February. They face 7 years behind bars and an 'unlimited' fine.
Group of US mayors fight for gay marriage
A group of more than 75 mayors from cities across the United States are banding together to push for marriage equality. And though the politicians may not be able to directly change marriage laws, they are hoping that together they can influence change.
"Mayors are the elected officials closest to the people, and they know what's going on in their communities and they see that marriage strengthens communities," said Marc Solomon, the National Campaign Director of Freedom to Marry.
The group was created in response to other, anti-gay organizations that are trying to strip away gay rights.
The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) for example, which argues that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman, has promised $250,000 to help fund primary challenges of any Republican lawmakers in Washington who vote in favor of gay marriage. They are offering another $500,000 in New Jersey to support lawmakers who oppose gay marriage.
The Freedom to Marry movement has not pledged any money, but is hoping to use political influence to make its voice heard. Democrats make up the bulk of mayors aligning with the group, but notable Republicans have also signed on, including Jerry Sanders, the mayor of San Diego.
"Allowing loving and committed couples to join in marriage has benefits not just for couples and their families -- but also for society," Sanders said. "Marriage encourages people to take responsibility for each other, provides greater security for children, and helps our country live up to its promises set forth in our founding documents."
Since when did mayors become so smart?
Michael Bloomberg To Advocate Same-Sex Marriage Equality At Mayors' Conference [Huffington Post]
Big-City Mayors Press for Same-Sex Marriage Rights [Wall Street Journal]
The right to bare arms (and butts)
Canadian Brian Coldin, a naturist in Bracebridge, Ontario, got into a little trouble for showing off his goods in all the wrong places around town. In one instance, he walked naked through a doughnut shop's drive-through hoping to place an order.
Coldin’s lawyer failed to convince the court that his client was not really naked because he had been wearing sandals. The lawyer added that public nudity was protected by freedom of expression laws, making the charges unconstitutional.
The judge didn't quite agree. Justice Jon-Jo Douglas decided that sandals were not enough to protect Coldin in this case, stating that a person's level of dress depended, in part, on one's location and how it would be received by others in the area.
"Defendant Coldin not only chooses to go unclothed, but clearly chooses to do so in places and in a manner that more or less ensures he will be confronting the clothed," Douglas said in his ruling.
As for Coldin's personal right to express himself through his clothing, or lack there-of, Justice Douglas decided that in this case Coldin's nudity was not an act of personal expression, and therefore was not protected 'speech.'
“It’s sad for Mr Coldin because he really believes in what he was fighting for,” said Stéphane Deschênes, from the Federation of Canadian Naturists. “Unfortunately, what he was trying to do was a little too far and too much. I think he was right, but I think as naturists we recognize that most of society has issues with their bodies. It’s wrong and odd, but I think we have to convince them, not force them, to accept it."
Coldin was sentenced to two years probation and fined a total of $3,000 on four counts of public nudity.
He may appeal the decision, but may want to reconsider the crotchless suit next time he appears before a judge.
Ontario judge upholds public nudity law [xtra]
Naturist fights for right to remain naked in landmark challenge to nudity laws [The National Post]
Gay priest might sue Anglican Church for discrimination
The Dean of St Albans, Dr. Jeffrey John, has threatened to sue the Anglican Church after being denied the chance to become a bishop on two separate occasions. In both cases, he felt his sexuality was the deciding factor.
In 2003, John was forced to step down from becoming Bishop of Reading when his sexuality became the point of protest for Church traditionalists. Seven years later his candidacy for the position of Bishop of Southwark was rejected; evidence, in the form of a leaked memo, seemed to indicate his homosexuality was the reason.
Reverend George Pitcher said that John's plan of legal action was a huge mistake, and that it "threatens, in his impatience and ill temper, to put back the cause of homosexuals in the church by a couple of decades, maybe more."
"Dr John's putative litigation smacks of naked ambition dressed up as equality campaigning," he added. "His cause isn't served by taking the Church of England to court and polarising Anglican prejudices again."
In 2011, the Church of England reviewed its policy on whether gay clergy could be ordained as bishops. It was determined that there was no explicit ban in place, as long as the individual being considered was not sexually active while in the priesthood. (And didn't lisp. And didn't enjoy RuPaul. And didn't like pink. And didn't ... well, you get the picture.)
Jeffrey John can't be a bishop just because he's gay [Daily Mail]
Drag queen versus trans community
Drag queen Sandee Crack, featured in a recently-pulled “transphobic” tampon advert in the Australia, is pissed. He is calling members of the transgendered community "dragphobic" for complaining about the ad; Sandee said the commercial had nothing to do with them.
A petition was circulated saying the ad was “very stereotypical and discriminates on so many levels against transgender woman and women of all kinds."
Tampon manufacturer Libra stated it regretted any offence the spot caused.
Sandee wrote, “I feel hurt that representing myself as a drag queen on television and playing out a common place scenario in my life has lead to a clear “dragphobia” among some transgendered individuals who wish to pull the plug on something that reflects true honesty about the life of a drag queen.
“A drag queen is a man in women’s clothing and if that offends a trans woman I am afraid I cannot apologise, as by doing so I am apologising for being me.”
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