Bully For You

Because it's never like this in real life

Ladies, gentlemen, variations thereof, and none of the above, today the student body at my Texas high school shared a common experience, the trauma of which bonded us more closely. Class relationships were strengthened through the laughter, anger, shame, and confusion that this experience evoked in us. Together we suffered, and together we prevailed. Yes, my friends, today the administrators of my high school showed the school their anti-bullying presentation through the morning announcements. Of course, this being Texas and they being school administrators, I have my critiques about this undertaking. You already know the big one. There was absolutely no mention of LGBT bullying.

"It Gets Better? When?" How do we end the gay suicide epidemic?

Jamey Rodemeyer was bullied to death and his
bullies chanted about how happy they were in
front of his sister. (S)

You don't have to look farther than any LGBT-related forum to come across someone who's feeling suicidal. You don't have to read further than the comments section of an "It Gets Better" video on YouTube. And sometimes there are no warning signs at all. Sometimes depressed gay teenagers will just take their lives in silence, leaving it as a grotesque surprise that no-one could have seen coming.

The It Gets Better project was created by Dan Savage back in 2008 to give suicidal teens hope for a better future; to let them know that the way they're feeling now will go away eventually.

And yet, the message of hope is not enough to prevent some from taking their own lives. Again, you don't have to look further than these places to find a teenager asking "when does it get better?" And you don't have to be a scientist with your nose in statistics to know that it's a problem.

If We Don't Have a Queer Agenda, We Better Get One. Fast.

I live in Maine, a state with the question of marriage equality on the ballot. In approximately 72 hours, thousands of LGBTQ individuals in Maine will know if they are allowed to marry in the place they live, ratifying that their state is their home, and that their family is acknowledged and protected by the government. This issue has been building momentum, crescendoing over the past four months, reaching its peak this past week. Hundreds of Yes On 1 (the ballot question in support of marriage equality) supporters have been calling supporters, knocking on doors, and conducting televised rallies in an attempt to assure every LGBTQ individual and ally is voting in favor of Question 1. Plenty No On 1 television commercials have been airing, spreading threatening lies "associated" with equality, such as straight people being fired and persecuted. 

It Does Not Get Better!

Greetings earthlings! Long time no write I suppose, but I do have a valid reason or two.

Today, in honour of Mental Health Week in Australia, I will be talking to you all about the It Gets Better project- one that sadly, my friends and I have taken to mocking every time one of us is having a rough day. Have you ever seen a video of someone else's successes and decided that made your life so much more worth living? Has someone saying little but "it gets better" when you're holding your vodka and asprin ever actually changed your point of view on life, or magically made you want to put the objects down and spend the rest of your days prancing around under rainbows singing the Teletubbies theme song?

For someone who's been on the brink of suicide far too often to count, I'll answer that for you: never.

Pray Away the Gay, French Style

For over three decades, clinics claiming to be able to "cure" homosexuality have done more harm than good to the psyche of countless gay men and women.

The different courses include shock therapy and many other traumatizing procedures to try and "make someone straight". However, although most of these more violent methods have been phased out in these clinics, their treatments remain just as damaging.

Recently, a "Christian" organisation in the U.S claiming to be able to "liberate those bound by sexual and relational brokenness", Desert Stream, announced it would be extending "gay cure" treatments to its branches in 10 countries worldwide, including France, Australia, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, and all over the US.

Living in France, one of the countries threatened by these phony cure clinics, I did more research into the work Desert Stream's French branch, Torrents de Vie (Waterfalls of Life). This involved me going undercover as a gay Christian to converse with a man who has been through the clinics.

In the Beginning, there was... Love

Love is...
 

“Hello, everyone -- my name is Jinx, and I’m a Heterosexual, Leftist/Progressive Christian.”

“Hello, Jinx”

Well -- they say the first step towards recovery is admitting you have a problem.

Personally, I don’t see how any of my self-applied labels constitutes a problem, but then again – I’m a charming little bundle of contradictions. I’m a straight person who believes passionately in gay rights. I’m a pro-choice, evolutionist Christian. (You thought coming out was hard – try explaining that one to your mom!)

My personal code is pretty simple:
Be kind. Be fair. Be NICE! Treat each other well. Stand for those who cannot yet find their footing. Speak for those who cannot yet find their voices. Treat each other well. Be nice. Be fair. Be kind.

Suicidal thoughts: a manual

Last-minute solutions. Maybe give them a chance?

Recently I came across an article that talked about the high suicide rates in Greece. It’s quite shocking, especially when you have in mind that Greece once had one of the lowest suicide rates. So I became curious - what may be the reasons behind the huge suicide statistics? How could we reverse them? And, most importantly, how to handle suicidal thoughts ourselves? I won't be going into things like clinical depression, because I'm not a psychiatrist, but I will try to talk a little about different demographics and different situations that might push a person to the edge, and how we can learn to handle those situations and feelings better. From 16 to 60, from old age to financial problems and bullying - let's break the silence for a moment.

Ending "Gay Cures" - How you can help and why you should

"Gay conversion therapy", sometimes called "reparative therapy" or "gay cures" as they're more commonly known, started back in the 1920s right back at the beginning of psychoanalytic therapy; the era of the world's first psychotherapists such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.

In the 1920s, homosexuality was seen to be pathological and attempts to "treat" gays were seen as appropriate, however the vast majority of psychotherapists believed that it was virtually impossible to change a person's sexual orientation.

Views such as these began to dissipate after the Stonewall riots in 1969, but remain in society today, largely amongst the strongly religious communities even though "gay cures" have been proven to be useless. Now, there's a movement underway to stop them.

Gay Marriage is Stupid

"Gay marriage is stupid."

At least, that is what my father thinks of it and I'm not afraid to say that here. They are actually his own words. I overheard him say it at the weekend when the subject of marriage equality in Britain came on the news. He is, however, in favour of the 'separate but equal' arrangement; domestic partnerships. Yep, separate is equal. That's why racial segregation still exists today! So all hope is not lost. He is accepting of homosexuality to some extent, but rejects the idea that marriage will change anything for same-sex couples and feels equality for all LGBT people has been achieved already. 

This is an opinion that is all-too-common amongst some heterosexuals, who aren't necessarily homophobic. The statement "well there aren't straight pride events" is heard quite often. It is something I have been thinking about and it's something I will try my best to clarify through this post. I have been thinking about why we're fighting for marriage equality and why it's so important to us. So let me share with you, Dad, my findings.

It Does Get Better - The L Project

It's making the hairs on my back stand up. What a brilliant song. Because it DOES get better. Good work girls!

Hate claims the life of Trevor Project intern EricJames Borges

19 year-old EricJames Borges took his own life Wednesday
after relentless discrimination.
Photo from Facebook

On Wednesday, January 11, 2012, hate claimed another young LGBT life. 19 year-old EricJames Borges, an intern with The Trevor Project from Visalia, California, took his own life despite being involved in an organisation created to help people in situations like his.

EricJames was raised in an extremist christian household and was bullied by schoolmates for his percieved sexual orientation on a day-to-day basis from Kindergarten through Elementary, Middle and High school, getting progressively worse. He developed chronic 24-hour migranes amongst other problems. The last straw came in High school when he was assaulted in a full classroom with a teacher present. He dropped out, was home-schooled and started college.

You are loved

If you or someone you know needs help, call the 24-hour help line courtesy of The Trevor Project at 1-888-4-U-TREVOR. For more information about The Trevor Project, visit: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/

For a full list of suicide prevention resources in your country, click here.

"I'm not going anywhere" - Jonah Mowry

This is Jonah Mowry, a 14 year old eighth-grader, who also happens to be gay. He has been bullied every day since 1st grade and called every name imaginable. So much so, that he's scared to go to school, he has self-harmed and he has considered suicide far too many times.

The ‘T’ in LGBT

We can’t deny it. We often forget that the LGBT community stands for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgenders / Transsexuals, yet we don’t always count the transgender members despite the fact that they have a harder time than most of us L’s, G’s and B’s!

Make It Better

"I Support You" - big93scott

Jamey Rodemeyer's Sister Taunted At School Dance

Jamey Rodemeyer - If only...