The Art of Charles Demuth

October 8th is the anniversary of the death of the painter, Charles Demuth, one of the earliest artists in this country to expose his gay identity through forthright, positive depictions of homosexual desire.

"Turkish Bath With Self-Portrait"

Sailors Dancing

Twelve Nude Boys at the Beach

Three Sailors

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The Art of Paul Cadmus: "What I Believe"

The Art of Konstantin Somov

August 10: Andrew Sullivan

b. August 10, 1963

Andrew Sullivan is an author and journalist who regularly appears on national television and whose commentary is featured in major national publications. He is a leading advocate of same-sex marriage.

"The most successful marriages, gay or straight, even if they begin in romantic love, often become friendships. It's the ones that become the friendships that last."

Andrew Sullivan was born in South Godstone, a small town in southern England, in 1963. After earning a B.A. in modern history from Oxford University he received a fellowship to study at Harvard University, where he earned a masters degree in public administration and a Ph.D. in government.

In 1986, he began at The New Republic (TNR) and in 1991, he was named the magazine's editor, the youngest in its history. In the five years Sullivan was at the helm, the magazine's circulation grew and advertising revenues increased. Sullivan expanded TNR's sphere beyond politics to cover such cultural topics as same-sex marriage and affirmative action. He created a stir by publishing excerpts from the controversial study on race and IQ, The Bell Curve.

In the 1990's Sullivan became known for his writing on gay issues. His article "The Politics of Homosexuality" has been called the most influential article of the decade in gay rights. Virtually Normal: An Argument About Homosexuality was the first book to advocate civil marriage rights for gay couples. Sullivan also publishedLove Undetectable: Notes on Friendship, Sex, and Survival and edited a reader,Same-Sex Marriage: Pro and Con.

As a practicing Catholic, Sullivan has challenged the Roman Catholic Church's position on homosexuality. In Virtually Normal he takes the position that the Bible forbids homosexuality only when it is linked to prostitution or pagan ritual.

Sullivan started his blog, The Daily Dish, in 2000. His articles have appeared in The New Republic, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Postand Esquire. He is a regular guest on The Chris Matthews Show, Charlie Rose, Anderson Cooper 360°, Meet The Press, Face the Nation, Nightline, NPR's Fresh Airand Larry King Live.

Bibliography:

• TIME Magazine Bio

Selected works by Andrew Sullivan:

• Love Undetectable: Notes on Friendship, Sex, Survival. Vintage, 1999.
  
• Same-Sex Marriage, Pro and Con. Vintage, 2004.
  
• The Conservative Soul. HarperCollins, 2006.
  
• Virtually Normal. Vintage, 1996.

21 May: Frank Kameny, Gay Pioneer

 b. May 21, 1925
d. Oct 12, 2011

The momentum is there, and that's not going to be stopped. It's moved from hopes of a grass-roots movement, to the actuality of a grass-roots movement. And it's taken 40 years to do it.

In 1957, the Army Map Service in Washington, D.C. dismissed astronomer Frank Kameny. Though a WWII veteran with an M.A. and Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard University, Kameny was discharged because he was gay. Rather than accept a common practice of the times, Kameny fought for his rights. He successfully challenged anti-gay policies of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the US Department of Defense and the US Civil Service Commission.

Kevin Jennings, Educator/Activist

b. May 8, 1963

"We know that students learn best in a school where they feel truly safe. I am here to make that happen for more kids."

A monumental leader and crusader, Kevin Jennings has dedicated his career to ensuring safe schools for all students. In 1990, he founded the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), the nation's first organization combating discrimination against GLBT students. Jennings currently serves as the assistant deputy secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education.

The youngest of five children, Jennings experienced a childhood deeply rooted in conservative ideology. Poor and in a continual state of transition, his family moved so often that Jennings attended 11 schools in four states. While he displayed impressive academic aptitude, he suffered daily from mental and physical abuse by classmates. “School was a place I both loved and hated,” recalls Jennings. “I loved it because I loved learning. I hated it because I was targeted at a pretty young age for bullying and harassment.”

In 1985, Jennings earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Harvard University, becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college. Later, he earned master's degrees from both Columbia University and New York University.

Following his graduation from Harvard, Jennings pursued a career in education. In 1988, while he was a history teacher at a Massachusetts high school, Jennings spearheaded the country's first Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), a coalition of students fighting against harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Two years later, Jennings expanded the movement to encompass parents, teachers and community members, creating GLSEN.  Beginning as a grassroots volunteers group, GLSEN has developed into a national organization with more than 40 chapters and over 4,500 schools nationwide.

As co-chair of the Education Committee of the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, Jennings challenged the Massachusetts State Board of Education to adopt new policies protecting GLBT students. In 1993, his efforts led to the country's first state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in public schools.

Named by Newsweek one of the top 100 people likely to make a difference in the 21st century, Jennings has authored six books and received a Lambda Literary Award for "Telling Tales Out of School." He co-wrote and produced the documentary "Out of the Past," which won the 1998 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary.

"The process of change is like a relay race," says Jennings. "My job is to ensure that we're further ahead in the race and, like a good relay team member, ready to pass that baton to the next person with a lead toward the end goal of a safe school for every child.”

Bibliography

Archibold, Randal C. "Public Lives: A Gay Crusader Sees History on His Side. The New York Times.6 July 2010.
"Kevin Jennings, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug-Free Schools.” U.S. Department of Education. 6 July 2010.
"Kevin Jennings.” KevinJennings.com. 19 May 2010.
"Kevin Jenning’s Biography.” GLSEN: Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. 9 June 2005.
Thomas, Katie. "When Tradition and Taunts Collide: Gay Hockey Fans Criticize Garden.” New York Times. 6 July 2010.


Books by Kevin Jennings
Becoming Visible: A Reader in Gay and Lesbian History for High School and College Students(1994)
Telling Tales Out of School (2000)
Always My Child: A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Your Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered or Questioning Son or Daughter (2002)
One Teacher in 10 (2005)
Mama’s Boy, Preacher’s Son (2007)


Websites
Department of Education
GLSEN
Support Kevin Jennings Fan Page

Ellen DeGeneres

b. January 26, 1958

Popular comedian Ellen DeGeneres was the first openly gay actor to portray a gay character on a leading primetime television program.

"For me, it's that I contributed . . . that I'm on this planet doing some good and making people happy. That's to me the most important thing, that my hour of television is positive and upbeat and an antidote for all the negative stuff going on in life."

In April 1997, Ellen DeGeneres, the star of her own popular sitcom, "Ellen," took a step that was a turning point in her personal life and her career: she outed herself and her character on primetime television. Her coming out led to a storm of media attention, including her photo on the cover of Time Magazine with the tag, "Yep, I'm gay." There was also criticism that the show was now "too gay." For a time after her public declaration, her career suffered from backlash.

DeGeneres returned to the national spotlight when she was chosen to host the Emmy Awards only a few weeks after the September 11 attacks in 2001. At the ceremony she quipped, "We're told to go on living our lives as usual, because to do otherwise is to let the terrorists win, and really, what would upset the Taliban more than a gay woman wearing a suit in front of a room full of Jews?" She was praised for her poise and decorum in emceeing the awards show.

Ellen DeGeneres attended the University of New Orleans and worked at a variety of jobs before she entered stand-up comedy. Her selection by cable channel Showtime as The Funniest Person in America led to opportunities to appear on television. During her first appearance on The Tonight Show, DeGeneres was the first female commedian ever invited to sit on the sofa and visit with Johnny Carson. She has been labeled a "female Seinfeld" for her quirky observational humor.

In 2003 she launched her daytime television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show. It won 15 Emmy Awards and is the first talk show to win the Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show for its first three seasons.

In 2005 DeGeneres was again selected to host the Emmy Awards, this time just three weeks after Hurricane Katrina. She joked, "You know me, any excuse to put on a dress."

Bibliography:

• Tracy, Kathleen. Ellen: The Real Story of Ellen DeGeneres, Pinnacle Paperbacks, 2005.
  
• Yahoo! Movies

Selected works by Ellen DeGeneres:

• Here and Now, 2003. (DVD)
  
• My Point... And I Do Have One. Bantam, 1995.
  
• The Funny Thing Is . . . Simon & Schuster, 2003.

December 20,

b. December 20, 1933

As long as I have a breath in me, I will continue to fight for the rights of gay and lesbian students.

As a counselor and science teacher at Fairfax High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Virginia Uribe witnessed the troubles of gay students. The plight of one student who had been kicked out of his house and had dropped out of four different high schools because of sexual harassment convinced Uribe to take action. In 1984, she founded Project 10, a drop-out prevention program for GLBT youth.

Gay Marriage for Germany, France?

While the bulk of English language reporting on gay marriage has focussed on three English - speaking countries, the state level battles in the US, the promise of equality for the UK, and on the political push in Australia, there is also important movement in several European countries. Denmark and Finland have expressed their intention to introduce enabling legislation (in 2012 and 2013 respectively), and Luxembourg has already introduced legislation - it is just not clear when the process will be concluded.

Now, there are encouraging reports of progress in the European Union's two major countries, Germany and France:

Tsvangirai still standing firm on gay rights

Zimbabwe MDC leader and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has defended his stance on homosexuals saying their rights need to be respected and protected.

Addressing thousands of villagers at a rally at Pashu Growth Point in Binga yesterday, Tsvangirai said no-one should be persecuted for being a homosexual.

President Robert Mugabe has described homosexuals as worse than pigs and dogs.

ZANU PF has gone on overdrive, attacking the Prime Minister for his remarks during an interview with the BBC over the rights of gays.

“I am not gay,” Tsvangirai said.

“I am not going to prosecute anyone who is gay. I will protect their rights. I will not persecute them.

“It is shocking that ZANU PF want to pursue issues which are not useful which do not bring bread and butter to the table, “said Tsvangirai."

-zimbabwemetro

Related articles

• LGBT Rights to be Embedded in Zimbabwe Constitution? (itsaqueerworld.blogspot.com)
• Can Zimbabwe's PM Undo The Country's 116 Years Of Homophobia? (queerty.com)
• The death-knell for institutionalised homophobia in Zimbabwe? (zomgorlackthereof.blogspot.com)

San Diego SU Offers Undergraduate Majors in LGBT Studies

"San Diego State University announced this week that it had received approval to offer an undergraduate major in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender studies, and would begin accepting students into the multidisciplinary program next spring."

- full report at The Closet Professor

Related articles

• Undergraduate Majors in LGBT Studies (closetprofessor.blogspot.com)
• San Diego State University's LGBT Studies Major Involves Actual Studying (queerty.com)

New Study: Gay Parents = Great Kids

Let’s see, so far, California’s Proposition 8 banning gay marriage has been found to be unconstitutional, unnecessary (or did we miss the collapse of traditional marriage in Massachusetts, Connecticut or the four other jurisdictions in which same-sex marriage is legal?) and just plain bad for the wedding reception industry. Now comes word, courtesy of the journal Family Process, that it’s also bad for kids.A new study by family therapist Arlene Istar Lev shows that children of gay and lesbian individuals and couples are actually better adjusted and have fewer social problems than peers raised by heterosexuals. Before Prop 8–lovers charge reverse bias, there’s a simple explanation for the phenomenon: gay and lesbian parents feel pressure to try harder, lest any shortcomings in their kids be taken as a sign of their inadequacy as parents.

Paradoxically, it may even be harder for the kids of non-straight parents to come out as gay or lesbian themselves. Why? “There is an assumption that the optimal outcome is to produce heterosexual children,” Lev says. “Gay parents may struggle with having gay or transgender children…because of the societal pressure they feel to raise ‘normal’ children.” One more reason for the culture warriors to tend their own gardens and let other parents — gay or straight — tend theirs.

Read more: Time, Healthland

Kevin Jennings, Educator/Activist

b. May 8, 1963

"We know that students learn best in a school where they feel truly safe. I am here to make that happen for more kids."

A monumental leader and crusader, Kevin Jennings has dedicated his career to ensuring safe schools for all students. In 1990, he founded the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), the nation's first organization combating discrimination against GLBT students. Jennings currently serves as the assistant deputy secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education.

The youngest of five children, Jennings experienced a childhood deeply rooted in conservative ideology. Poor and in a continual state of transition, his family moved so often that Jennings attended 11 schools in four states. While he displayed impressive academic aptitude, he suffered daily from mental and physical abuse by classmates. “School was a place I both loved and hated,” recalls Jennings. “I loved it because I loved learning. I hated it because I was targeted at a pretty young age for bullying and harassment.”

In 1985, Jennings earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Harvard University, becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college. Later, he earned master's degrees from both Columbia University and New York University.

Following his graduation from Harvard, Jennings pursued a career in education. In 1988, while he was a history teacher at a Massachusetts high school, Jennings spearheaded the country's first Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), a coalition of students fighting against harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Two years later, Jennings expanded the movement to encompass parents, teachers and community members, creating GLSEN.  Beginning as a grassroots volunteers group, GLSEN has developed into a national organization with more than 40 chapters and over 4,500 schools nationwide.

As co-chair of the Education Committee of the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, Jennings challenged the Massachusetts State Board of Education to adopt new policies protecting GLBT students. In 1993, his efforts led to the country's first state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in public schools.

Named by Newsweek one of the top 100 people likely to make a difference in the 21st century, Jennings has authored six books and received a Lambda Literary Award for "Telling Tales Out of School." He co-wrote and produced the documentary "Out of the Past," which won the 1998 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary.

"The process of change is like a relay race," says Jennings. "My job is to ensure that we're further ahead in the race and, like a good relay team member, ready to pass that baton to the next person with a lead toward the end goal of a safe school for every child.”

Bibliography
Archibold, Randal C. "Public Lives: A Gay Crusader Sees History on His Side. The New York Times.6 July 2010.
"Kevin Jennings, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug-Free Schools.” U.S. Department of Education. 6 July 2010.
"Kevin Jennings.” KevinJennings.com. 19 May 2010.
"Kevin Jenning’s Biography.” GLSEN: Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. 9 June 2005.
Thomas, Katie. "When Tradition and Taunts Collide: Gay Hockey Fans Criticize Garden.” New York Times. 6 July 2010.
Books by Kevin Jennings
Becoming Visible: A Reader in Gay and Lesbian History for High School and College Students(1994)
Telling Tales Out of School (2000)
Always My Child: A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Your Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered or Questioning Son or Daughter (2002)
One Teacher in 10 (2005)
Mama’s Boy, Preacher’s Son (2007)
Websites
Department of Education
GLSEN
Kevin Jennings Social Network
Support Kevin Jennings Fan Page