A Curious Eye

When Pat Matthews turned 65, her declining health led her in search of a place that could offer increasing levels of care as she grew older.

And Matthews had one other requirement: She wanted to bring Carol Bosworth, her partner of nearly 20 years. At the very first place they visited, that was a problem.

“They didn’t say we couldn’t come. But they said that we would be best off if we were sisters,” Matthews says. “We crossed them off our list, because that’s not the way we want to live.”

As lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people age, finding suitable retirement housing can be a unique challenge. Some facilities allow only married couples to live together, and many gay seniors fear a cold shoulder from staff or fellow retirees.

But some retirement homes have begun catering specifically to LGBT seniors. Matthews and Bosworth found a more welcoming reception at one such facility, the Rose Villa retirement community in Portland, Ore.

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A federal judge has ordered a Missouri school to cease blocking internet content that affirms LGBT people and educates about LGBT identities. The ACLU of Eastern Missouri had filed suit last summer on behalf of PFLAG and other LGBT groups against Camdenton R-III School District for using a website filtering software that blocked access to sites like the “It Gets Better” campaign, The Trevor Project, and the Gay Straight Alliance Network. Sites that condemn LGBT people and promote harmful ex-gay therapy were allowed, however, because they were categorized under “religion” instead of “sexuality.” The judge found that the school’s filter, URL Blacklist, constituted viewpoint discrimination and granted a preliminary injunction. 

The rainbow flag, the very the symbol of gay pride, represents both our aspirations and the diversity of our population.  Yet the top of the gay community’s rainbow — the leadership tier of LGBT non-profit organizations — is more awash in white than any other color. 

At the executive director position, LGBT groups have historically been led almost exclusively by white men.  A step down at the board level, gay non-profits have tried for years to recruit members who better match the racial diversity of America. After all this time talking about the need for greater racial inclusion, it’s time LGBT entities did better in finding leaders who represent the full spectrum of colors.

The figures are troubling, especially at the very top.  In 2008, only 4% of executive directors of LGBT organizations were people of color. That figure comes from The Pipeline Project, a group formed to develop LGBT leaders who reflect our multicultural, multiethnic community.  It is a far cry from the 36% of the U.S. population who self-identifies as a racial minority.  And our 4% is one-third less than non-profit groups in general.  While I have not come across more recent statistics, it’s hard to imagine racial diversity among executive directors has dramatically improved in the past few years. 

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Washington Governor Chris Gregoire (D) pledged to make an appeal to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) over same-sex marriage legislation.

Gregoire, who is expected to sign a recently passed gay marriage bill on Monday, said she’s been touched by the response she’s received over her support of same-sex marriage. During a radio interview with the Wall Street Journal program The Daily Wrap, Gregoire said she “would feel very comfortable” sharing her experience as a same-sex marriage proponent with Christie.

“I respect him as a fellow governor,” Gregoire said. “I would feel very comfortable sharing with him my personal journey, the overwhelming response that I’ve received and how good I feel about myself today.”

Three years and three months have now passed since California voters amended their state constitution with Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriage throughout the state.  The first legal challenge began the next day, and others followed — first in state court, then in federal court.  Many who have been following the case have assumed, perhaps from the beginning, that the controversy would ultimately reach the Supreme Court.  After the ballot measure was struck down this month by the Ninth Circuit Court, a California newspaper, the Orange County Register, asked: “Next stop: the Supreme Court?”  Maybe not, or, at least, maybe not for a while.

The Ninth Circuit Court has a system (in some ways peculiar to that court) allowing other judges potentially to second-guess a three-judge panel’s decision like this one, and the system does not really depend upon what the lawyers involved ask.  The Court can go en banc on its own, in a limited form, and then it can go en banc once again, in a broader form.   It might do so in reaction to a request from some of the lawyers involved, or it might do so on its own without waiting for a request.  Either way, it could take a considerable amount of time before there is something final to take to the Supreme Court in Washington.

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“Which begs the question, is it possible to be gay or lesbian without considering yourself “a member of the LGBT community”? In fact, it is possible, and not just among “closet cases.” Elmhurst is not asking “Are you gay or lesbian (or bisexual or transgender), but a far more politically correct question with collectivistic assumptions (we are all inherently part of the group borg that subsumes our individuality). Even those who socialize with other gay people may not accept the designation of an “LGBT community,” fraught as that phrase is with so many political implications.”

“Increasing diversity is part of our mission statement,” Rold told the Chicago Sun-Times. “This is simply closing the loop, in many ways, of another group who has a very strong identity. It may not be race and religion, but it’s an important part of who they are.”

Full speed ahead Washington! We got this

danielextra:

As if you needed any more reason to love him, Maroon 5 lead Adam Levine went and told Out magazine:

What’s always pissed me off about Idol is wanting to mask that [the contestant’s gayness], for that to go unspoken. C’mon. You can’t be publicly gay? At this point? On a singing competition? Give me a break. You can’t hide basic components of these people’s lives. The fact that The Voice didn’t have any qualms about being completely open about it is a great thing.

But better yet, he get’s real:

A lot of people don’t want their kid to be gay and will fight it at all costs. But I’ve got news for you—it’s a losing fucking battle. The more you fight it, the more fucked-up your kid’s gonna be. You’ve just gotta embrace it from the beginning. That’s the only way to deal with it as a family. Otherwise, you’re just screwing yourself over, and you’re gonna make your kid miserable.

+ here

(via projectqueer)

A new argument about the intersection of ageism and homophobia