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  In the early days of internet at my high school Net Nanny programs handily blocked many of my tame searches for the likes of “gay pharoah” or “breast cancer” (yes, breast was blocked in the 90s). Not someone who regularly works with teenagers I don’t really know how restrictive today’s internet is in secondary schools. But one thing is becoming fairly clear, not all access is created equal.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has launched a project that asks public high school students to inform them if their school blocks access to pro-gay websites and doesn’t anti-gay websites.
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  When I was a rowdy tweenage baby dyke we used to run through the streets of downtown Portland asking strangers if they could define lesbian sex, a question that often mystified these adults. And though most of us have it often enough (hopefully anyway) there still isn’t a strictly agreed upon definition.
But while this sexual fluidity and lack of sexual definitions is familiar to the ladies (even straight ones, just watch Clerks or ask Bill Clinton) gay men are more well known for having rigidly defined roles. One of the most important bedroom roles has been whether you’re a top or bottom. But what happens if you don’t even particularly like anal sex at all? Is that the only way to be gay? 365 gay columnist Michael Corvino not only asks that question but answers emphatically no saying,
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  Self Portrait by Brian Patrick from the 2010 contest Every year Just Out has an amateur photo contest; I was even a judge last year. Now it’s time to gear up for 2011. Here are the deets below:
Entries are limited to 10 per person. Any means of snapping that award-worthy original shot is fine: iPhone, digital camera or that old fashioned standard picture-taker, but we must receive a printed/hard copy — no digital submissions accepted. (We’d prefer you didn’t mat the image.)
On that note, no print size is too small or large — however, as we caution every year, your masterpieces will not be returned. To repeat, you won’t get ‘em back.
What you will get is recognition, one way or another. A winner will be selected for each of the six categories listed below, and all submissions will be displayed throughout the month of July at Q Center. Details on a forthcoming artists’ reception to come.
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  "Gay caveman" ‘Transgender’ skeleton discovered– A 5000 year old skeleton identified as male by preliminary examination was buried in a manner usually reserved for females.
The skeleton, which dates back to about 2,500 to 2,800 B.C.,[was part of a culture that] was very finicky about grave rituals, reported Iranian news network Press TV, which visited the excavation site….Corded Ware males were usually buried on their right sides with their heads facing east [accompanied by weapons] This man, however, was buried on his left with his head facing west [accompanied by household items] — a traditionally female position.
Discussion still continues about news outlets calling it a ‘gay caveman.’
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  Bell Hooks Today I have had this “Less Hate More Love” crap shoved down my throat. Now that I have your attention- let me tell you- I think the world does need a lot of love. Our society causes many of us to be broken, traumatized, fragmented, and isolated. Good politics and good practices should help us heal, bring us closer, and should inspire us to love openly. However; the idea that we should approach all of our interactions and root our analysis only in love is not only simplistic- it is anti-feminist, silencing, and counters much of what we value throughout history.
Most of my feminist upbringing and socialization is directly related to the works of bell hooks. I love bell hooks and her contributions to race, class, and gender politics are invaluable. However; in the past couple of years she has turned her attention away from political struggle to more of an individual and spiritual look of oppression. She has also not pushed herself to engage with queer/gender/sex positive theories and practices. I recall some of her analysis of BDSM and feminism to be downright sex negative. However; for a long while as a youth I took nearly everything she said as gospel and still hold her near and dear in my heart. Even some of the spiritual woo-ness that she espouses has sort of a place in revolutionary political struggle. However; that place is not in the foreground. Her most recent article Building a Community of Love upsets me for many reasons. Her revisions radical history, her conclusions of radical work, and the simplistic nature that she posits valid political struggle get to my point of why it is positing our world in a love vs. hate is damaging and ineffective.
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 If you don’t wake up on time, you’ll pay the price. And if I know myself at all Westboro Baptist Church is going to be rolling in it…
 From the wonderfully messed up minds at ThinkGeek:
Wake up to the smell of…Animosity…
Connects via WiFi to your online bank account, and donates YOUR real money to an organization you HATE when you decide to snooze!
For years the masses have told you that if you snooze you lose. You never believed them. You held your head high and slept in whenever you wanted to, always without fear of loss. Well, dear friends, the times have changed. The ingenious sages at ThinkGeek Labs(TM) have finally created the Ultimate weapon against snoozing – the Sn?zNL?z(TM). People who enjoy sleeping in are cowering in fear all across the globe – it’s finally true, when you snooze, you lose!
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  Teenage dream Kaia wilson sings songs from her 90s rock roots Friday at Mississippi Pizza Thursday
Neal Morgan, Hungry Ghost, STLS & New-Dadz DJ Association – Get in the drum line for this booming early show at The Know (2026 NE Alberta). Percussion punk is alive and well in Northeast.
The Cafeteria with guest DJ Mr Charming – Lunch trays and crunk gays is the perfect neighborhood dance spot for the almost weekend. In case you’ve missed Mr Charming at any of her other super successful parties and appearances lately you get another chance. She and DJ Lunch Lady made it rain downstairs at Blow Pony last weekend and this will be the same, except smaller and more elite.
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  Ask the meat man I was inspired to write about Berlin Reed aka the Ethical Butcher because of his BCN/PDX Spring Slabs deals, but Berlin is a busy guy and I just had to take this opportunity to ask him a whole host of queries. Luckily, he was amenable to answering all my questions ranging from butchery to blogging.
Scroll down to the bottom and hit up page 2 for full information on how to order your spring slabs and descriptions of their mouthwatering flavors. Act soon because ordering ends Thursday!
qPDX: What made you decide to bring Slabs and Slices back to Portland? Where else have you brought it?
Berlin: Well, I do these bacon cures and bacon events as part of one of my projects, The Bacon Gospel. I have been doing installments of the project for over 2 years now, this is just the latest one. I did the Winter Slabs & Slices back in December and now it’s time for Spring Slabs! I am really liking the seasonal aspect of it, it sort of gives it a little more structure to BCN/PDX, the Portland leg of the project, and lets me time events through the year a little more predictably. I did Bacon Gospel events in Brooklyn, Seattle, Portland, Cincinnati in the first year, and returned to Brooklyn in February.
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  DJ Freddie Fagula holds a feminist icon sculpture in support of Planned Parenthood Planned Parenthood has been in the news a lot lately, fighting for there very existence. But even when PP is “completely” funded, there scope is technically limited to the prevention of baby-making. Lots of women take advantage of their medical services, contraceptives and other resources. But not every woman needs the meds or paps because she has sex with men, and while plenty of us fudge the truth in order to get services local PP workers knew that this policy was unfair and wanted to do something about it. That’s why they created the Equal Access Fund.
The Equal Access Fund, established by PPCW, gives low-income lesbians, bisexual women and trans people the same access to affordable annual exams and Pap tests as low-income heterosexual women, and increases access to health care to an underserved population. The fund removes the requirement of seeking contraception to access no-cost annual exams.
I a recent survey in three Portland health centers, front-line staff members estimated that in a single month, six lesbians decided not to access services because they could not afford them and were not eligible for CCare. We estimate that annually 150-175 women in our service area decide not to access services because they cannot afford it.
We also suspect that man more low-income lesbian, bisexual and trans patients at PPCW request and take home contraception they don’t require because they need help from FPEP to pay for their services This subterfuge puts up additional barriers between patients and their health care providers, making an honest discussion about relationships, sexual behavior and risk factors even more difficult for women who may be already hesitant to speak freely.
Consistently facing financial woes, the completely donor funded EAF is holding a trivia night benefit tomorrow night at Crush (1400 SE Morrison). We got a chance to sit down with some of the organizers on the eve of their big fundraiser to ask a little bit more about the program.
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  Everyone knows that Apple is pretty picky when it comes to allowing apps in their tightly controlled marketplace. But though you won’t be able to see any racy gay sightseeing recommendations you can be cured of “the gay.” This has some folks hopping mad, including Truth Wins Out founder Wayne Besen, who recently wrote a piece for the Huffington Post condemning the app.
Exodus International, the notorious “ex-gay” organization, recently released an iPhone app that, according to its website, is “designed to be a useful resource for men, women, parents, students, and ministry leaders.” The Exodus website further boasts that its app received a 4+ rating from Apple, meaning that it contains “no objectionable content.”
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Love and Rage: A guest editorial from Katey Pants
Bell Hooks
Today I have had this “Less Hate More Love” crap shoved down my throat. Now that I have your attention- let me tell you- I think the world does need a lot of love. Our society causes many of us to be broken, traumatized, fragmented, and isolated. Good politics and good practices should help us heal, bring us closer, and should inspire us to love openly. However; the idea that we should approach all of our interactions and root our analysis only in love is not only simplistic- it is anti-feminist, silencing, and counters much of what we value throughout history.
Most of my feminist upbringing and socialization is directly related to the works of bell hooks. I love bell hooks and her contributions to race, class, and gender politics are invaluable. However; in the past couple of years she has turned her attention away from political struggle to more of an individual and spiritual look of oppression. She has also not pushed herself to engage with queer/gender/sex positive theories and practices. I recall some of her analysis of BDSM and feminism to be downright sex negative. However; for a long while as a youth I took nearly everything she said as gospel and still hold her near and dear in my heart. Even some of the spiritual woo-ness that she espouses has sort of a place in revolutionary political struggle. However; that place is not in the foreground. Her most recent article Building a Community of Love upsets me for many reasons. Her revisions radical history, her conclusions of radical work, and the simplistic nature that she posits valid political struggle get to my point of why it is positing our world in a love vs. hate is damaging and ineffective.
Continue reading »