Homophobia

Jun

2015

Dear Haters

Yesterday was a bad day for you, wasn’t it? Heh.

I spoke to many people yesterday, more than one dismayed at the Supreme Court ruling. And I did what I always do when confronted with people like you, I tried to engage in a calm debate, and dispelled some of the more outlandish myths you’ve been sold. No, you’re not going to lose your house in a lawsuit if you play piano in church ever again. No, your priest won’t have to resign. No, a thunderbolt from heaven is not going to wipe out the United States.

Credit: fsegundo @ Free Images

And every time I end those conversations, here on my blog, on Facebook or Twitter or anywhere else, generally I’m thanked for remaining reasonable, for respecting your religion or opinion, and for allowing you to say to my face that you think I’m a lesser human being than you are.

And every time, I feel a little bit dirtier. A little bit more disgusted with myself for indulging you.

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May

2015

Building A Better Future #HAHAT #IDAHO #Prizes #HAHABT

So it’s that time of year again, International Day Against Homophobia, and we’re all hopping to show our support. Two years ago, I showed you what homophobia really was. Last year, I encouraged people to share their stories. This year, I want to talk about changing the world, one person at a time.

Read on, there be prizes 😀 Continue reading →

Dec

2014

Make Me Uncomfortable

Anyone who knows me, knows I love books. I was the child reading by torchlight under the covers when I was supposed to be asleep, I was the kid who took a personal library on camping trips and car journeys. I did two degrees in literature and listen to audiobooks in the car. I have been known to sit outside my destination with the engine running for many many minutes, until my friends send out search parties to find me, because “I’m just finishing this chapter.” I’m also a history geek, a data-sponge. I have the sort of mind which remembers that the fastest human ever recorded lived in Australia 17,000 years ago and could sprint through wet mud quicker than Usain Bolt can run the 100m, but can’t remember whether or not I turned the oven off.

If I could only read one type of book ever again, it would either be historical or non-fiction. Whether we’re talking Bronte and Renault, or Ellmann and Wildeblood, I don’t care. I’m as happy reading Wuthering Heights as I am Richard Ellmann’s lyrical biography of Oscar Wilde. One of my all-time favourite books is Peter Wildeblood’s Against the Law. Wildeblood is a name largely lost today, although if I ruled the world, there would be statues of him in every town square. He was the first man in modern history to stand up and state before a court and before the press that he was gay (actually, he used the word “invert”). This was in 1954, and it cost him eighteen months of his life.

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Nov

2014

Time to be Unreasonable

My patience is wearing thin. I am done with the “reasonable” debate about the rights I “deserve,” if falling in love somehow makes me “less” than other people, if I’m safe to be around children. I’m done debating if my landlord has the right to evict me, if my boss has the right to fire me, if I have the right to be upset about people debating my rights. Continue reading →

Sep

2014

Something in the #Facebook Water #MyNameIs

So this all began a week or two ago, when Facebook deleted a ton of accounts en masse, all belonging to drag performers, all for contravening a ‘real name’ clause in their terms. Basically, they can all use their full legal names (and Facebook is requiring legal ID to evidence them), switch their existing profiles to ‘fan pages’, or get off Facebook completely.

Source: Unkle Mikey, Facebook

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Sep

2014

The Gay PDA

Okay, I’m going to talk about something which is going to make many of us uncomfortable: the gay PDA. More specifically, about the reaction to gay PDAs.

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May

2014

Spot the Agenda

I’m bored of hearing about the ‘homosexual agenda’. It seems we can’t turn on the TV anymore without hearing someone from the right wing spluttering about agendas and liberalism and the sheer unfairness of it all.

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May

2014

Share Your Story for #IDAHOT

It’s the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, and the UN is urging people to share their own stories. Here’s mine.

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Mar

2014

Don’t Destroy Fred’s Legacy #WBC #FredPhelps

So Fred Phelps is dead. Ever since Nate Phelps, his estranged son, broke the news of his imminent demise, there’s been an outpouring of viciousness from our community, delighting in his death. Honestly, it’s a little bit sickening.

The WBC made a name for themselves by picketing funerals, first of Matthew Shepard and any other LGBT people they could find, latterly of fallen US troops and LBGT(friendly) celebrities. They have caused untold distress to grieving families since at least 1998. Now one of their own — their figurehead, no less — is dead, the temptation to give them a little bit of tit-for-tat is almost overwhelming.

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Feb

2014

Batten Down the Hatches…

…the backlash is coming.

I’m talking about the battle for LGBT equality, which has picked up dramatically in recent years. Throughout the UK, Europe, and America, it seems there’s legislation and lawsuits being debated all over, and we’ve made incredible leaps and bounds. But sometimes it’s ‘two steps forward, one step back’. There are only the barest handful of US states who haven’t already legislated LGBT equality (same-sex marriage; anti-discrimination laws) or who haven’t got such legislation being tabled right now. There are many reasons for us to celebrate, but it isn’t all plain sailing.

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Dec

2013

What The Duck?

So suddenly social media is going mad over some guy I’ve never heard of, from a show I’ve never heard of, on a channel I’ve never heard of, but apparently he no likes the gayz and I should be bothered.

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Jul

2013

Hate Begets Hate

Some of you may be aware of an incident that occured the other day at Seattle Pride, where a street preacher was attacked by an attendee. While I would never condone resorting to physical violence to solve a problem… Is anyone really surprised that something like this happened? Wasn’t it inevitable?

Just think for a moment of all the abuse LGBT people put up with, day-in and day-out. I’ve been to Prides, I’ve lived in the gay ghetto, dealing with the haters has been a commonplace in my life. Sadly, it’s a commonplace in all our lives. Whatever we do, wherever we are, there’s always someone who wants to judge.

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May

2013

Hop Against Transphobia #HAHAT

My first post marking the International Day Against HOmophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) dealt with homophobia. Today in my second post for HAHAT I’m talking transphobia. There’s prizes to be got, so make sure to read on!

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May

2013

Hop Against Homophobia #HAHAT #IDAHO

Welcome to the hop! Firstly the admin stuff for those new to this. The main purpose of the hop is to generate publicity for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) on May 17th. As readers and writers of queer romance to boot, it is also a chance for us to stand together as a community and fight discrimination against our work. Only in its second year, already the hop is garnering a lot of interest and participation and I for one am proud to be a part of it. I’ve got a series of blogs planned to run over the course of the hop, addressing everything from current events to personal experience and literary theory. There’s also some prizes on offer so be sure to read on!

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May

2012

Casual Homophobia

There’s been enough talk in the media this month about people wanting to round us gays up, put us in camps, beat us straight, take our rights away and otherwise treat us worse than animals. That’s not what this post is about. Instead, I want to think about the casual, everyday homophobia ingrained in our culture. Behaviour people don’t even realise is homophobic. Behaviour by people who, if you called them homophobes, would argue vehemently they are pro-gay and support equal rights.