…especially when it’s a tech company that seems to have a lot of helpful software and basically dominates the internet. But there’s been a lot of uproar lately about Google pulling ads from gay sites. Something like this can be tricky. I haven’t ever heard anything before about Google being any kind of discriminator, or even particularly conservative, but I’m certainly inclined to agree that it appears they’re being at the very least hypocritical here. I was once warned severely from Paypal because a local product I was selling on my now defunct I heart PDX website said that it could be used in bondage. Some people have foot fetishes, doesn’t mean they ban shoes. But that’s beside the point. At least Paypal didn’t seem to be promoting, or allowing adult content elsewhere (well, I guess I never really looked). Google doesn’t censor in general, so why should its AdSense program? Other examples seemed disturbing to me as well. One comment pointed out that many many ex-gay videos appear on Google Video when you search for "gay" but drag show performances are routinely pulled from Google owned YouTube quite readily. I personally think it’s a bit ironic for Google not to allow any sort of mature content in the sites which feature AdSense (there’s a lot that’s mature in the news and other places that may or may not have to do with sex) but if that does need to be their policy I would expect them to treat everyone the same. Until I hear a response from them on this it sounds to me like Google is discriminating against gay blogs. […]
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It’s certainly not local but I’m intrigued by this New York Times article about a cross-dressing talk show host in Pakistan. In socially repressed areas bizarre things can sometimes take shape based on exactly how taboos are enforced. In this case it seems appears more ok for a man to dress as a woman on TV than for a biological woman to be on TV at all. While this is unfair on many levels it is also creating some space for queer people, gender variant people, and hopefully, in an odd and backhanded way, for women as well. The host seems also to be able to tackle some topics that are touchier, racier, and more politically savvy than those that a "more serious" journalist can, simply because he is garbed (pun intended) in the guise of an entertainment provider instead of a news provider. And while we may not have quite as severe rules or taboos here the same concept is evident when you look at personalities such as Jon Stewart, who can often be more poignant, and certainly more scathing, than more stoic and traditional news anchors. […] We all know that the Northwest has a plethora of both gay people and tree-huggers. Occasionally they overlap. But apparently this might not just be a coincidence (or as I like to call it, a nice place or live…) but an effect of the homo-inducing soybean. I really can’t tell if this deadpan delivery is really a humor site, but either way I’m not altogether disappointed that soybeans and gayness may be linked. Just as the sailor with unnaturally bulbous forearms (he was probably gay too) tells you to eat your spinach, so Captain QPDX encourages you to swallow the soy… […] Oh this is rich, really fantastic. We’ve seen a lot of Republican and religious hypocrisy lately from Mark Foley to Ted Haggard. Now, Mary Cheney, daughter of Vice Prez Shoot-’em-in-the-face Dick, is preggers. And while I congratulate her on her and her partner’s forthcoming bundle of joy I can’t help but shake my head that the Cheney family supports shooting themselves in the foot. (Perhaps shooting runs in the family.) And while I do not think anyone in the Cheney family has responded directly, there has got to be some anger with Focus on the Family, a Christian group that has provided crucial political support to President Bush, who released a statement saying gay folks shouldn’t raise children, even if they are white, wealthy and Conservative:
Sorry, Mary, you don’t get a pass! The devil on the left shoulder is almost happy that Cheney’s home state of Virginia has absolutely no laws protecting children of same-sex couples, or the parents for that matter so that she may get a taste of the injustice she has helped create and supports. Nevertheless, while Focus on the Family may be hard on her Miss Mary, because of her wealth and connections, will indeed have an easier time than most middle and working class gay Virginian parents. (OMG, Cheney’s partner, far right, is totally touching her butt in that picture!) […]
The current issue of Just Out does a great feature on surviving 25 years of the disease as well as highlighting local WAD events and organizations and individuals that serve the community battling AIDS. Willamette Week also highlights some events. Cascade AIDS Project is the oldest and largest community-based provider of HIV services, housing, education and advocacy in the area. They’ve been around since 1983 and have many resources for those in need of services as well as opportunities for those who want to donate their time or money to the cause. They also offer hotlines in both English (800.777.AIDS) and Spanish (800.499.6940). Their biggest fundraiser of the year, the Red Ribbon Party, is tonight from 5-8p at 5th Ave Suites downtown (596 SW Washington). But the most important thing to remember every December 1st is that HIV still exists. It has hit our community hard and continues to ravage it and other communities globally. Watching footage of the quilt being laid out on the Washington DC mall was a stark reminder to me that I haven’t had to think about AIDS as much as I once did, but that it is every bit as imperative that we never stop our vigilance. […] Because, just like straight people, our relationships don’t always end as amicably as they should, it’s good to know parents can still believe in the court system to be fair about parental rights moving forward…even from state to state. […] Whether you love or loathe the Christmas season the reality is that most of us will have to buy for someone, no matter how un-Christian we may be, our society usually demands that a lover, a mother, or some other loved one will be waiting for their Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hannukah, or Soltice gift. So if one must give up the contents of one’s wallet, we might as well do so responsibly. Of course this goes year ’round, but if we remind ourselves once a year, perhaps we have a chance fo remembering throughout the year. An though I seldom trust the Human Rights Campaign with terribly much their annual Buying Guide is a good place to start. I believe that it probably is a fairly comrehensive overview of the largest companies treatment of gays and lesbians. And I am all for shopping with gay-friendly companies. I do think it is important, however, to keep in mind that companies with good labor practices in general, both here and overseas, might be even more important. It may suck for gay Americans do be denied domestic partner benefits but it probably sucks worse to be a 5 year old working 16 hour days in a factory. This balancing act can be difficult. The whole American Apparel scandals sent me into a tizzy, wondering if it was better to supprt a worker owned anti-sweatshop company even if the CEO treated his female employees like objects. I’ve also heard the whole schtick is a publicity stunt. I never know quite what to believe, but whatever small part of the stories are true the whole thing does indeed end up degrading to women. That being said, I bet we’d hear less outrage if these things were, again, committed against third world women. So, I begrudgingly accept AA merchandice while acknowledgeing its less than savory persona. […] It might not directly benefit most Oregonians but there may be a precious few among us born in the big apple. And for anyone that was born in NYC you may soon have some amount of control over the sex listed on your birth certificate. As any return readers will know, I believe gender to be a rather fluid and largely superfluous construct to begin with, however many people, including those who are straight, queer, trans and anything in between are quite attached to the concept. Certainly the country as a whole is. So I think this idea is monumental. In actuality, to someone like me, it makes little difference. But to those who feel trapped in an assigned gender this gives an additional freedom and acknowledgment, as well as very real set of legal rights. This, of course, is where many may find a problem. The article brings up the idea of then being able to marry your (newly) opposite gender without surgery. Then again, if the whole idea of legal marriage was reformed in this country this wouldn’t be a problem. And likewise, the idea that surgery changes who you are and how you’re allowed to be documented is scary as well. The article brings up the very important points that not everyone can afford surgery, wants surgery and many surgeries that trans individuals would want simply to do not exist. For example, there really isn’t a wholly effective bottom surgery for FTMs. Unfortunately, I don’t know this these innovations are on the top of the medical science field’s list. I wish it were higher… […] It may not be directly queer related but it’s local, political, interesting and will ultimately affect the local GBLT individual, as the electing of any Governor would. Therefore, I just wanted to pass on this little bit of information provided by the Democratic Party of Oregon and fabulous bow tie wearing Congressman Earl Blumenauer:
[…] I’ve never been a proponent of smear campaign tactics, but if they’re being used against us, and they’re as effective as they appear to be, I suppose one must fight fire with fire. Not only that, but the complaints could be quite valid. I guess we’ll have to see how it plays out. Speaker of the house, and homophobe, Karen Minnis has been smearing opponent Rob Brading for weeks now in television ads. Now he’s fighting back by exposing the possible cover up of of her husband’s alleged attempted sexual assault. And, while elections are quite a serious matter, you have to embrace the humor that does exist. It gets us through the pain. While watching Hardball with Chris Tucker my partner and I were introduced to this ridiculously funny smear campaign ad that has since been pulled from TV. And it has nothing to do with Oregon, but it is hilarious in its horribleness and even mocks the idea that anyone would understand who a transgendered person or an native Aleutian is. And perhaps most Americans don’t understand either of these words, but a politician should be familiar with them. Lucky for us, though the commercial is no longer airing, we can mock it from the comfort of our own computer screens. It is included below. […] |
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"Mary Cheney’s pregnancy raises the question of what’s best for children," said Carrie Gordon Earll, the group’s director of issues analysis. "Just because it’s possible to conceive a child outside of the relationship of a married mother and father doesn’t mean it’s the best for the child."
I was watching a program on Logo the other day with my partner about queer history in America since Stonewall. And while visions of Anita Bryant loomed in the section from the 70s, for the most part post-riot seemed hopeful and celebratory. But when the program hit the 80s the spirit was decidedly more sober. Of course the Reagan years were fretful for many reasons but what the thing that loomed large and frightful at it jumped onto the queer stage was the devastating emergence of AIDS. As we watched the segment where they laid out the quilt, we were both brought close to tears remembering our own experiences of seeing that compelling and visceral symbol of the toll AIDS has had on our community. We, of course, also remembered all the people we knew who that quilt represents, good friends and family who were consumed by the disease. It affected my partner so much that she had nightmares that night and I told her she couldn’t watch any more history shows. But it is crucial that we remember the epidemic and the pain it has caused and continues to cause. It is our history and our present as we look to erase it from our future. That’s why Friday’s