Post with 2 notes
I want to know what its like…
(This is from a video.)
I WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT’S LIKE
I want to know what it’s like…
To be normal. To be accepted. To be human. To be equal. To be free.
I want to know what it’s like…
To be open. To be heard. To be loved. To be happy. To be me.
I want to know what it’s like…
To feel like I belong.
To feel like I am strong.
That who I am isn’t wrong.
I want to know what it’s like…
To know that I am here.
That Iʼll make it through the year.
To know I wonʼt disappear.
I want to know what it’s like…
To not have to fight.
To see an end in sight.
To make what is wrong right.
I want to know what it’s like…
To be able to believe.
In a higher power that doesn’t see.
Me as sin or sodomy.
I want to know what it’s like…
To have liberty & justice for all
To break down this dividing wall
To remove homophobia from the law
I want to know what itʼs like…
To have a feeling that isn’t sad.
To have something that I’ve never had.
To have a child call me dad.
I want to know what it’s like…
To not feel like Iʼm a freak
To not feel like I am weak
To not be silenced when I speak
I want to know what it’s like…
To live beyond a closet door.
To see my father once more.
To show him I’m not who I was before.
I want to know what itʼs like…
To donate the blood from my vein
But because Iʼm gay I must refrain.
Why does my sexuality pertain?!
I want to know what itʼs like…
To not BE expelled from school
To not be made to look like a fool.
How is homosexuality breaking a rule?!
I want to know what it’s like…
To undo what’s been done to me.
To give sight to those who cannot see.
That I am no lesser of a human being.
I want to know what itʼs like…
To not be considered a disease.
To not have a majority I have to please.
To freely express my individualiTY.
I want to know what itʼs like…
To live in a land truly of the free.
Not a land that excludes me.
This is not how itʼs supposed to be!
I want to know what itʼs like…
To not be the target of bigotry
To not have you question my sanity
To not succumb to your superiority!
I want to know what it’s like…
To overcome all of my fears.
To uncry these countless tears.
That have been shed over the years.
I want to know what it’s like…
To learn about gay leaders of the past.
In my high school history class.
Can somebody please tell me what is so wrong with that?!
I want to know what it’s like…
To have pride.
To not have to hide.
To not have to lie my whole life.
To not have my sexuality be denied.
I want to know what it’s like…
To not have to feel this hurt inside.
To not think these thoughts in my mind.
To not contemplate suicide.
I want to know what it’s like…
To have this pain in me subside.
To heal this wound that bleeds inside.
To get back the tears that I’ve cried.
To take back the years that Iʼve tried.
To bring back the life that has died.
To unite this world’s divide.
To make change with stride.
To not stand below, but beside.
I want to know what it’s like…
To have this choice you say is mine.
To have science & religion intertwine.
To have love be redefined.
I want to know what it’s like…
To have a government that won’t instate
Unfair laws that provoke hate
For fear society will disintegrate
I want to know what itʼs like….
To live in a world without hate.
A world that does not discriminate.
A world in which I can feel safe.
Whether I am gay bi or straight.
This is the world we must create!!!
These are the decisions we must make.
These are the actions we must take.
The time is now we cannot, we must not, we will not wait.
I want to know what itʼs like…
To have equal opportunity.
To know full equality.
To be one humanity.
I want to know what it’s like…
To be treated equally by my peers.
To stand alongside every queer…
On the edge of a new frontier.
A frontier that no one will dictate.
A frontier where there will be no debate.
A frontier in which everyone can relate.
A frontier made up of love and not hate.
I want to know what it’s like…
To open your eyes so you can see.
The way this world is supposed to be.
We arenʼt so different, you & me.
To My 7th Grade Self
Hey. I’m looking for somewhere to spread a message. Clearly everyone who will read this is probably from the gay community, or just promoting equality and speaking out on homophobia. My friends made a video called ‘To My 7th Grade Self’ in hopes to bring awareness to issues with homophobia. I was hoping everyone could watch the video, which you can find here, and all I ask is that if you like it, can you reblog it? You don’t have to follow me or anything, i just want to spread the word and get this message out, because these people helped me so much.
Thank you, and Cheers
josh
vashuhshuhshuh asked: Do you remember if you posted an article about homophobia in Egypt and two African countries? I'm trying to find it, I think it popped up on my tumblr.
So far, the only one that came up in searching the GayWrites archives for Egypt and Africa are these articles:
http://gaywrites.org/post/3961187866/the-state-of-gay-egypt
http://gaywrites.org/post/16783238684/un-secretary-general-calls-for-end-to-homophobia-in
http://gaywrites.org/post/20594517284/gay-rights-workshop-shut-down-in-cameroon
Hope one of these was one of the ones that had caught your eye! Thanks for reading!
Question with 1 note
eternal-dark-chaos asked: The reason I asked is because I will be attending Ouachita Baptist this fall, near El Dorado. Ouachita also has gay news: 2008, the Equality Riders made a stop there. It's also where Bryce graduated from for Pre-Med. I intend on finding out where he is. From there, I can try to get people to help free him somehow or otherwise blow a few whistles.
Best of luck when you attend Ouachita Baptist! If you learn of anything about Bryce, send us a submission so other people who are interested in finding out what has happened in the past three years can get the update!
Anonymous asked: How do I deal with my extremely homophobic mother who says that majority of gay men are super drama filled & basically have some sort of mental illness to their personality? I'm a lesbian, which she hates too by the way since we "act" like men. I went on birth control to regulate my periods & she said great, now you will probably act more feminine &stop liking girls! Not joking, she seriously thinks we all have hormone and mental problems. What can I do? I'm moving out next semester.(I'm 24)
I’m really sorry that she has continued to believe in these stereotypes and lies about lesbians and gay men. My usual advice is that eventually she’ll see you as the example of a lesbian and give up her stereotypes, but it certainly doesn’t look like that’s going to happen anytime soon. Since you’ll be moving out next semester, just make it through this time by keeping peace and try not to argue her. It’s very hard to change someone’s presumptions by arguing; generally arguing just makes someone more stubborn in their beliefs. It’s possible, and unfortunate, that she may not ever change her mind about gay men and their “drama”. If after you move out, you choose not to see her until she changes her mind, you can give her that ultimatum. If that’s not an option to act on tough love, you may have to argree to disagree, and avoid discussions that broach this topic, in order to keep the peace.
I hope this helps, and let us know how it goes!
eternal-dark-chaos asked: Has there been any updates on Bryce Faulkner, the gay man forcibly abducted by his parents in 09 and forced to go to Exodus International in Pensacola?
I did some research, and to my findings, there haven’t been any updates since 2009. If you’re not familiar with the case, Bryce Faulkner is a gay man in Florida who had a two month relationship with a man until his mother gained access to his e-mail, and then went into Exodus International for reparative therapy to cure his homosexuality. Faulkner’s boyfriend claimed that Faulkner had been coerced into going against his will by his religious parents.
If any readers know of any updates to this case, feel free to pass them on!
purehomosexualart asked: Sometimes I think that the term "marriage" should be reserved for those religious groups that first instituted it. Churches then, of Christian origin should give the title of "marriage" to any couple that meets those churches' various standards. Synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship could also bestow their own titles, "marriage" or otherwise. Should all "marriages" really be civil unions in the eyes of the government then? Legally, should we all be in civil unions? Get what I'm saying?
That is an interesting point. For lots of people, though, religion is a crucial key to their marriages, no matter if they are gay or straight. Separation of church and state should also apply to marriages, but the divorcing of marriage and religion (pardon the pun) would be extraordinarily difficult.
My report of LGBTQ defamation on StumbleUpon to GLAAD
I’m very angry, having just discovered the way that StumbleUpon lets users differentiate between what is Safe For Work and Not Safe For Work and anything LGBTQ-related seems to fall under NSFW. I’ve written to GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), and I wanted to post my letter to them explaining the situation and I’d love this to get spread around and eventually - hopefully - rectified on StumbleUpon.
I’m not sure if this is something that is already of attention, old news that I’ve just heard of, or something that doesn’t fall under the umbrella of GLAADs concerns (that is not meant to read as rude or critical, I honestly am not sure if this counts) But it as literally JUST come to my attention that the popular social media site StumbleUpon.com is categorizing anything LGBTQ-related as “Not safe for work (NSFW)”.
There are not many options for the “not safe for work” label, but most of them are not the expected actually NSFW categories. The list of options, in full & in order is:
-Adult Humor
-BDSM
-Bisexual Culture***
-Bisexual Sex*
-Erotic Literature
-Fetish Sexuality
-Gay Culture***
-Gay Sex*
-Hentai Anime
-Lesbian Culture***
-Lesbian Sex*
-Lingerie
-Nude Art
-Pornography
-Sex Industry
-Sex Toys
-Sexuality***
-Swingers
-Transexual Sex*
*-anything I’ve marked with one asterisk, is something I find potentially understandable, but still find GLARING problems with. Clearly StumbleUpon are stating that specifically only non-heterosexual sex is unsafe. I think we all know that as far as NSFW websites are concerned, anything with sex is probably what you want to avoid, so really it should just have a generic “Sex”. In addition, in the Safe For Work category, they have “Sexual Health” as an option.
***-anything with three asterisks are the obviously offensive items that I’m mainly here to bring to your attention. I’m not going to go into details, because it’s FAR too obvious what is wrong with considering these topics as NSFW. But I will say that, by far, the most offensive aspect of this list is the presence of “_________ Culture”. The implication that ANYTHING to do with Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Culture is sexually explicit and equal to pornography is so infuriating, I’m surprised I’m managing to type anything coherent at all. And let’s not leave unmentioned the fact that, according to StumbleUpon, there is no Transexual Culture, whatsoever.
This implies that any StumbleUpon user could mark anything LGBTQ-related as NSFW, and therefore limiting un-knowing parties from seeing something potentially important. Obama talking about the Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell = Gay/Lesbian Culture. Stephen Fry’s twitter page = Gay Culture. So, how is it that anything involving, for example, Race isn’t in the “not safe for work” category, yet Gay, Lesbian & Transgender CULTURE is? Would it be okay to add “Negro culture” to the NSFW category? What about “Female culture”? This is outrageous, and I have written to their feedback address, and I know I can’t be the first to write to them or GLAAD about this, but I don’t know what else to do, and I can’t just let this happen!
Please let me know what you think, or if I’ve come to the wrong place and if so, where else I should go instead. Thank you so much for your time.
Sincerely,
[my name]
Please reblog.
Bisexual Culture! Bi Lines V: A Multi-Arts Celebration of Bisexual Writing!
Don’t miss New York City’s popular annual celebration of Bisexual Culture! Bi Lines V: A Multi-Arts Celebration of Bisexual Writing
Celebrated bisexual book authors, most nominated for the 24th Annual Lammy Awards, read from their works. Plus live music, performance and art by noted bisexual musicians.
Date: Sunday June 3rd
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Nuyorican Poets Cafe Manhattan’s Lower East Side at 236 East 3rd Street (between Avenue B and Avenue C)
Admission: $8.00
Info: 917-583-1797
Readings:
Barbara Browning: author “The Correspondence Artist” (Finalist! Bisexual Fiction)
Qwo-Li Driskill: editor “Sovereign Erotics: A Collection of Two-Spirit Literature” (Finalist! Bisexual Nonfiction)
Jan Steckel: author “The Horizontal Poet” (Finalist! Bisexual Nonfiction)
J.M. Frey: author “Triptych” (Finalist! Bisexual Nonfiction & LGBT SF/F/H)
Ven Rey: author “Surviving Steven: A True Story” (Finalist! Bisexual Nonfiction)
Ilike Merey author/ illustrator “a + e 4ever: A Graphic Novel” (Stonewall Award Honoree)
Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio: co-editor “Bisexuality and Queer Theory: Intersections, Connections and Challenges” (Finalist! Bisexual Nonfiction)
Ellis Avery: author “The Last Nude” (a 2012 Publication)
Musicians: Viva & Rorie Kelly
Theater Performance: Scene from “Confessions of a Homo Thug Porn Star” by James Earl Hardy (author “B-Boy Blues”) with Jonathan Cedano as Tiger Tyson
Art Exhibit: Art panels from a + e 4ever: A Graphic Novel by Ilike MereyBooks For Sale!
Hosted by the Bi Writers Association (www.biwriters.org). Co-sponsored by the Nuyorican Poets Cafe
Bisexual Books! Bisexual Musicians! Bisexual Theatre! Bisexual Artists! (and click here for the entire list of all 2012 Bisexual Fiction and Non-fiction finalists.)
Question with 1 note
inquiry-and-clarity asked: I am currently enrolled in a children's literature course where my assignment is to write and illustrate my own children's book. I want to write a children's book about a child who is transgender (haven't decided if the child will be MTF or FTM yet). What do you think transgendered individuals would like to see written in the pages of a children's book that properly represents their childhood experiences with being trans* ?
I think this is a question better answered by trans* folk out there who want to chime in. Feel free to respond directly to her, or to send us an anonymous message!
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