2007 Cleveland Gay Pride
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Atlanta Black Pride board member points fingers at AIDS groups
A week before Atlanta's Black Gay Pride is set to begin, a pride board member blasted city AIDS groups for not doing enough to curb infection among African-American gay men. In an angry e-mail to the Southern Voice newspaper, gay pride board member Greg Smith accused Atlanta AIDS organizations of not spending enough money to combat the disease. "The African-American AIDS issue is so trendy now," Smith wrote. AIDS groups, he said "talk HIV case data, advocate for funds, then get the money and do nothing...." Organizations "that give $50 or have millions and give $1,000 should be ashamed of themselves," he added. Smith, who didn't name specific AIDS organization in his e-mail, also blasted the groups for not financially assisting In the Life Atlanta, the organizer of Black Gay Pride, in putting the pride event together.
Breaking: Gay-friendly governor stumps at location where gay ...
The anti-gay folks at the Christian Civic League of Maine are today decrying Governor John Baldacci for including on his campaign website a picture of his appearance at a local Gay Pride Festival. They say: "Incredible as it may seem, the Governor's campaign website features a photo of the Governor at the appalling Gay Pride Festival which was the subject of so much controversy back in June." And they conclude from the image: "The fact that the photo is featured prominently on the Governor's campaign website reveals once again that the homosexual rights lobby is by far the most powerful special interest group in Maine, and that the Governor is ready to cater to their every whim." But here's the thing -- The photo Baldacci has on his site is connected to an announcement that the Human Rights Campaign has endorsed him for governor.
WeHo Pride: Soon to be 90% prouder?
Instead of just blowing the whole load in a weekend of parade festivities, a West Hollywood City Council task force is recommending that the community's gay pride celebration should be expanded into a month-long social and cultural event. Flaggy. Keeping with the suggestion, we think the entire month of June should simply be renamed June Likes Girls, So Get The F**k It Over It. While it may be wordy and a bit annoying for those who like to write out a month's name rather than use its numeric representation, we think it would drive our "We're Here, We're Queer" point home in ways far greater than any flag and float-filled parade could ever hope. So what do we think, world -- summer of '07 begins on June Likes Girls, So get the F**k Over It 21, 2007? We're thinking we're on to somethin'! It's unclear if any other areas of the country will follow WeHo's lead and consider expanding their own pride festivities.
GENDER IS OVER-RATED
At a recent family affair, my philistine cousin was complaining about the gay sex shops in the West Village. He recently moved to New York and finds the openly gay culture "offensive" and "abrasive." Feeling the need to defend the gay community (and being bisexual myself), I said, "Intolerance is rooted in fear. Maybe you’re afraid that one day you’ll be attracted to a guy." His response: "If the guy had breasts and didn’t have a penis and looked like a woman, then maybe I would." He could have been describing a transsexual. "You see how gender is irrelevant?" I said. Ignoring my point, he reiterated his heterosexual pride: "I just want everyone to be like me. Fuck you." Of course I wanted to slap him, but I found enlightenment in his insulting comments. My cousin is an extreme example of the human tendency to perceive gender as a fixed state of being, attached to expected qualities and behaviors.
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