Tag Archives: GLTBQ

NC and Mississippi Laws

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Whether it be through Facebook shares, news channels, Twitter, or whatever; many of us have heard about the LGBT laws recently put into play in North Carolina and Mississippi. In a nutshell, The New York Times reports: in North Carolina, a bill was put into place to override their nondiscrimination laws that were previously in place. It also bans transgender people from specific public restrooms. In Mississippi, a new law has been enacted that allows anyone with religious objections to deny services to gay couples.

Huge objections are being made by large corporations. BuzzFeed posted an ongoing list of the stars and businesses who are refusing to work in these states due to their laws:

  • Pearl Jam
  • Cirque du Soleil
  • Ringo Starr
  • PayPal
  • Bruce Springsteen
  • Etsy
  • Patagonia
  • And a ton more

Big corporations dropping out of whole states completely could potentially be hard on North Carolina and Mississippi’s economies, as well as consumers missing out on companies they enjoy… No PayPal?! Now what?!

New Law for North Carolina

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Recently North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed a new state law that won’t allow local government measures to protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. According to USA Today, the law halts cities and counties from putting their own anti-discrimination policies in place, as it sets a standard for the entire state that leaves out gender identity and sexual orientation.

One criticism warns that the state risks losing money for education due to Title IX Anti-Discrimination regulations. Those who oppose this law also believe that it is a huge step backwards for human rights. Supporters of the law state that it “protects all people from having to share bathrooms with people who make them feel unsafe” as it requires all people to use bathrooms that match what biological sex is on their birth certificate.

Based on what we learned in Chapter 1 of Julia T. Wood’s book, Gendered Lives, biological sex and gender are separate. So is it fair that this law requires people who might identify as a gender that is different from their biological sex to use a certain bathroom? Additionally, what about all people having the right to be protected from discrimination?

So what do you think? Based on what we have learned in class, is this law unfair?

Pacquiao in Hot Water Over LGBT Views

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Boxing legend, Manny Pacquiao is in hot water from the LGBT community, as well as Nike, for his recent comments on his beliefs of same-sex marriage. WVUE of New Orleans recently published an article about Nike cutting ties with Pacquiao over his opposing views.

Pacquiao said, “Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-to-female relations?… If you have male-to-male or female-to-female (relationships), then people are worse than animals.” He went on to say, “I’m not condemning the LGBT, What I am condemning is the act.” Pacquiao states his views come from his Christian faith.

Nike said it opposes any sort of discrimination, and that is the reason they will no longer sponsor or support Pacquiao.

What do you think?

Tolerance vs. Equality?

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[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sVmJKZ85k0[/youtube]

This post is more of something I have had on my mind as I reminisce over this period of “history” that seemed to be so important to our society. NFL player Michael Sam has been deemed a hero as the first openly gay player drafted into the NFL. He came onto national television and made a public announcement in the form of interviews letting the world know that he was homosexual.

Though we can applaud his high level of confidence and self-esteem, I can’t help but wonder if this isn’t another case of egotistic professional athleticism taking the form of a gender social issue to gain publicity, attention, and a title. I don’t doubt that any of the personal information that Michael Sam shared was false. However, it seems that an announcement of this kind goes against the big picture of the “social issue” that Sam seems to be “promoting”.

The general consensus in society seems to be that the goal is for homosexual individuals to be considered no different or non-average than heterosexual individuals. This is equality that we can all agree is not only necessary, but an American and human right. With this being said, it seems counter-productive to go on national television to share your sexual orientation in such a dramatic fashion and welcome the title of a hero or a “first” when no other player in the NFL, gay or not (we don’t know because they don’t feel the need to…) announces who they enjoy on the weekends or being in relationships with.

If equality is the big picture goal, why does personal information need to be shared when it is not the norm for the “average” sexual orientation that people are trying to make apply to everyone to share? This is not to say that people should not express themselves or smother who they are. However, I do not see naming someone a Hero or a historical “first” because of their decision to share information that nobody was asking for or spectating over as a step towards the big picture goal of equality.

I also may not know what I’m talking about.

Gay or Boxed In

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We all have heard that hit song “Same Love” by Macklemore. I was listening to it in the car today, I mean really listening to the lyrics. In the beginning he talks about how he thought he was gay because he could draw and kept his room clean. He associated those skills with being feminine. He was putting him self in the “box” that we have been talk about in class during chapter one. His mom had to tell him it was okay that he has feminine factors about him self and make him relies that does;t make you gay. Later threw the music and lyrics he talks about how we just call each other faggots when we do something stupid or girly and we don’t relies that it can hurt. “Call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board; A word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores it”. If you really listen to this video he really explains the gender box we put ourselves as children or even as adults because we feel trapped to do so by society or even our parents.

No Gays in Sochi? No Problem.

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This past Saturday SNL decided to play a spoof on the controversy of the Winter Olympics in Sochi and Putin’s Anti-Gay Law. Since the popular belief that most male figure skaters are gay, the necessity for a heterosexual backup team seems to be high in the eyes of SNL. Watch and see for yourself.

I just find it interesting how the portrayal of the masculine heterosexual male is so one sided. In the first “performance” you have the skater mocking gay figure skaters by flaunting himself in a delicate manner while skating. Figure Skating is typically seen as a very feminine sport, so all the moves are choreographed, graceful, and poised. So a masculine male would either not know how to skate or just be terrible at it. SNL is implying that straight men cannot skate, which is pretty funny to think of when Evan Lysacek won the Gold in Men’s Figure Skating at the 2010 Olympics and he was heterosexual.

Although it was absolutely hilarious (in my eyes), I think it’s interesting how they associated gender with sexuality. The typical gay man is portrayed as an extremely flamboyant and feminine person with no masculine qualities what-so-ever. Whereas the heterosexual male is portrayed as how they were portrayed in the skit; vulgar, womanizing, uncharismatic, and uninterested. What do you think of this? Other than the fact that it’s funny.

Outting Athletes & Promoting Equality?

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Here’s a thoughtful article written by one of my favorite columnists, LZ Granderson, who writes for ESPN and CNN.  Granderson is gay, so he’s writing from a personal and professional perspective.

He asks here if reporters are, in fact, contributing to the idea of being gay or lesbian as shameful by not reporting on gay or lesbian athlete’s love lives in the same way that heterosexual athlete’s romances are covered (e.g., the extensive coverage of Tiger Wood’s affairs). 

On the other hand, given the bigotry that still exists, Granderson acknowledges that these reporting decisions protect the lives of athletes who are gay or lesbian.  It’s a great question of respecting the rights of individuals or promoting the rights of a group as a whole, since increased coverage demonstrates the acceptance and normalcy of a variety of sexualities.

This article reflects how gender is created through how we culturally link gender to sexuality.

A Gay Man Married A Woman

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This article/video goes along with the fact that sexuality is more complicated than society thinks. It shows an outed gay male, who is physically attracted to males, who married his female best friend and is happy with their intimacy. The video shows how the community of gay males do not accept his decision and therefore say he is “not gay enough” to be considered gay. Watch the video and read the article here!