Wendy's Recaps - Alternative Prom

  Saturday, April 27 was the night of our Alternative Prom and "Somewhere over the Rainbow" was somewhere in Matamoras, Pennsylvania.  And we knew we weren't in Kansas anymore as we followed the yellowbrick road through the Best Western Hotel and arches of rainbow colored balloons created by Dominic Peluso. Those balloon arches were fierce, they must have taken an awful lot of blowin'!  Okay, so we didn't have Dorothy with her ruby red slippers to lead the way, but we had Kris Jarmann instead, in a pair of $7.99 shoes he bought at Walmart that he glitter-glued into the real thing and then some.  Judy Garland would have been proud!  The Grand Ballroom was transformed into our own personal OZ with stunning table decorations, and a DJ who played all the latest dance music, free style, electric slide, old school and anything else you could think of. He even took song requests and actually played them!  Now when does that ever  happen? We were most definitely in Oz! Patty was our Auntie Em and Cary was the Great Oz himself!  And although Toto was nowhere to be found, we had the beautifully coiffed "Steady Mess" working the room, a true vision of loveliness wearing her best baubles this evening while the delicious diva, "Sugar" made a very grand entrance, as we lined the streets of Munchkinland to welcome her.  Sugar, who with her flaming red hair and figure forming frock, reminds us of that relative all the other family members make scandalous remarks about. And if that wasn't enough, there to capture all this magic on film was Alan Kaplan, uber-photographer. If you were feeling more delirious than serious, Flash Shack Photo Booth provided lots of props to take your own pictures with. A big shout-out to all the members of our community who made this fantasy of a prom night come true, once again showing we are "making it better now."

iCARE Workshop LGBT Equality - Tuesday, April 30th

Don't forget! Tuesday, April 30th at 7:30PM is our next iCARE workshop on LGBT Equality. Come down to the Center and inform yourselves about rights, laws and other important factors affecting the LGBT community today.

When Queers Attack...Fighting Back

It really hurts my heart as a transgender woman and as a human being whenever I hear stories like this one from The Advocate. If you don’t feel like clicking through to the link, first of all shame on you for being lazy! Secondly, let me tell you about it in a nutshell. It’s another dreadful case of injustice against the gays! Oh yes, because we never hear enough about that, do we? Luke O’Donovan was arrested after being involved in a New Year’s Eve scrap a couple months ago. A bunch of gay-bashers allegedly chased him down a hill and stabbed him after provoking him with gay slurs. He defended himself and now he’s the one in jail?! Someone please tell me where the sense in that lies? And while we’re on the subject, tell me why this sort of story rings true in so many other cases involving LGBT youths who’ve had enough and decide to fight back? Young, transgender woman Cece McDonald, for instance. In case you’re not familiar with Ms. McDonald’s story...she and her friends were verbally and physically attacked in June of 2011 by a group of racist bigots and in defending herself against the ringleader, Cece ended up killing him with a pair of scissors. She was sent to a men’s prison...essentially for defending herself against a hate crime. 

Why is it that the LGBT community can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to hate crimes? If we depend on law enforcement to help us out, we’re ignored due to the intrinsic homophobia that often exists within such a straight male-dominated structure. If we defend ourselves, we end up in prison. And if we don’t do anything at all...we die. That would all be fine and good for people who aren’t connected to the young kids who end up getting screwed over no matter what they do, but it isn’t fair. Equally unjust is the lack of attention paid to cases like this by the mainstream media. So, if they won’t make noise for us, we have to make noise for ourselves. I never encourage violence, but sometimes things happen that are out of our control and we act in the way we feel is most necessary at the time, we shouldn’t be punished for this and we most definitely should not be silenced or forgotten. Support your fellow LGBT brothers and sisters, don’t turn your backs because if we don’t support one another, no one will. 

For letters of support or donations to Luke O’Donovan, please go here.

For letters of support or donations to Cece McDonald, please go here.

I also urge you all to visit the Gay American Heroes Foundation's "Rainbow Memorial," a traveling exhibit that pays tribute to the countless GLBT souls that have been taken far too soon by the forces of hatred and ignorance.

Where Is The Love?

This morning like most other mornings, I went into my usual routine of checking my Pinterest and Tumblr and Facebook while getting ready for a day of action. Everywhere I looked, I saw beautiful expressions of love between all kinds of people. Virtual Valentine’s Day cards and assorted heart imagery peppered the internet. My single friends cringed. It was a beautiful thing (well, not the cringing of course). Unfortunately however, amidst all that beauty, there was a hideous display of cyberbullying in the form of a video interview with a transwoman I’m proud to call my friend. She appeared on a local news station, after being interviewed about some bit of traffic-related news. The video somehow found its way (possibly illegally) into the hands of one Daniel Tosh, appearing on his comedy show Tosh.0. Taken completely out of context, the video shows the original interview, but Bridgette’s (the woman in question) dialogue is accompanied by a laugh track. Here is the video for those of you who may not have seen it.

So often in the trans community, the more “passable” or “stealth” among us are left alone, while those who are visibly trans become targets...all based on appearance. This hypocrisy is disgusting and needs to give way to a universal acceptance in order for any progress to be made as a species. Because we are a collective of human beings and as such we need to have empathy for one another. An empathetic person would have reflected upon the fact that societal factors have “caged” in many trans people; not only in the wrong body, but also in the wrong financial bracket to afford the exorbitant costs of transition, making “stealth” a more difficult prospect to achieve. An empathetic person would stop and say, “To hell with ‘passing,’ you don’t need to fit some preconceived notion of ‘good enough’ for me to leave you alone, you just need to be you because you’re a human being with a soul and a mind. You’re like me and I love you.” Did Tosh and his cohorts stop and try to empathize with their victim’s circumstances? Not at all. Instead they glossed over her, judging her as not worthy of the decency they’d probably extend to a “less trans” person and they mocked her openly. And because hate begets hate and revels in itself, this set forth a spiral of scathing and moronic comments from his viewers. 

My initial reaction was one of sadness. Watching this unfold felt more like witnessing schoolyard bullying than a comedy show and being helpless to intercede. My second was one of anger. As a transwoman, I could not stand for one of our sisters to be humiliated for the sake of a few giggles. I also began to realize that I wasn’t helpless. In this day and age, you only have as much power as you’re willing to utilize via social media. It’s there, you just need to apply it correctly. So please get the word out about this deplorable act. Write to Daniel Tosh at Tosh.0@comedycentral.com. Spread the word to whatever LGBT and anti-defamation organizations you’re a part of or work with. This was a cut-and-dry case of cyberbullying. This was done without her consent. This was transphobia at its worst. This was not comedy, it was hate. Daniel Tosh needs to issue an apology to the trans community and to Bridgette. And we, as her family need to work towards ensuring that this never happens again.

The Real Meaning Of LGBT - A Short History

Graphic designer Mike Vasilev recently designed this delightful and informative infographic for us. Aside from its charmingly retro flair, it hits upon several integral factoids that many within our community may not be aware of. Sometimes in life we think it's not important to know something unless it directly affects us. Maybe we don't care to learn about "G" issues if we're "L," or "T" issues if we're "B." But we all exist underneath the LGBT umbrella and, as such, it's important we maintain the type of empathy that can only be derived from the comprehensive knowledge of what each facet of that "umbrella" has struggled through. Likewise, many LGBT youth may be so preoccupied with their very real struggles of the moment and fail to see the relevance of our shared history to their lives. It's important to see faces like ours, and to hear voices like ours from every place and time, deriving strength and inspiration from them, all the while, keeping in mind that much of the information provided in this infographic is not taught in schools. We must preserve our own history, embrace it and share the positive changes brought about by the trailblazing pioneers of yesterday because as the old adage states, "those who fail to learn from the past, are doomed to repeat it."

Say hello to your new resident blogger!

Well hello and welcome to the UDGLBT Center’s community blog! 

My name is Miranda and I’ll be using this space to share stories, articles and other findings of interest to the LGBT community. In addition, I'll be helping to manage our Facebook and Twitter pages as well. This is your blog too, so be sure to get involved and share your comments on any entries you find particularly exciting and if you’re interested in providing an article yourself or guest blogging, please use our contact info to e-mail us! 

For our very first entry, I thought it might be nice to let you know a little about myself. After all, we will be seeing a lot of each other, so you may as well know whose rants you’re reading. This is my story...but because I am by nature a “creative eccentric,” it is in narrative poem form. So, brew yourself some tea or shake yourself a cocktail and let’s get reading!

Magic

I’ve always believed in magic. The kind of magic that allowed a little Spanish woman from Honduras, my grandmother, to divorce her ogre of a husband and single-handedly raise two daughters on a seamstress’ income in the United States of the 1970’s, despite only knowing limited conversational English.

I believe in the magic of making something from nothing, just as my grandmother did when she stretched each dollar to ensure that her two princesses were always well-educated, impeccably groomed and treated to those mainstays of American culture…ice cream, movie outings and hamburgers, every once in awhile.

I believe in the magic of supplication. Of asking for help and summoning assistance…be it from God…or one’s family…or one’s own inner reservoirs of untapped fortitude in order to endure the otherwise unendurable. I believe in the magic of family that supports one another in those times of great need, like my grand-uncle helped his sister those many years ago.

I believe in the magic of time travel, for when my grandmother tells me of those days, the past comes alive and through the windows of her eyes I can see every tear, every fear…every unyielding hope that brought her from there to here. I make that journey with her and know that magic exists.

I believe in the magic of filling a grandchild’s Paterson-poor holidays with a treasure trove of toys bought through scrimping, saving and layaway plans. In the magic of multicolored lights, popcorn tins, a glazed ham in the oven and the symphonic strains of friends and family swirling throughout the living room of a tiny third story apartment, stretching it beyond its limits and, for that day, transforming it into the grandest of palaces.

I believe in the magic of inheritance. For that same woman’s magical strength of will has been passed down from mother to daughter to me. I believe in the magic of the undying dream, which resulted in a much sought-after home for my mother and a much sought-after son for my aunt. I believe in the magic of the seemingly impossible and the magic of transmutation, for I became what I ought to have been through the same magic that’s swelled through the veins of three generations of my family’s women.

I believe in the magic of recording this for posterity’s sake, so that this magic never disappears from the world. I believe in the magic of sharing and the way that sharing can make ideas flourish and spread like ivy…so I share this fable, born of magic but grounded in truth with any and all who will listen. I share this magic with you.

Wigsticks Program

Open publication - Free publishing - More 2012

Day of Silence

Day of Silence had its humble beginnings in 1996, at the University of Virginia. With just two organizers and 150 students, the purpose was to bring awareness to the struggles that LGBT persons face on a daily basis in their lives, especially those who are young people and students in grade schools, high schools and colleges. It came about so that that awareness could bring about action on the part of the LGBT community and our allies.

The silence represents the silent lives that many LGBT persons live every single day; living secretly for fear of being physically or emotionally harassed or abused; fear of losing their jobs, housing, or close relationships with family and friends; and silence out of shame about being who we truly are.

For one day, April 16, every year across the United States, persons who observe the Day of Silence remain silent throughout their school or work day; when asked why the silence, we can use cards or other means to educate people about the self imposed silence that many within the community live with each day. Indeed, to have to stay silent about who a person truly is, means that parts of that person fade away each and every day they feel called upon to live in that way. And, is that truly living at all?

The work is not complete at the end of Day of Silence; it is the hope that by raising awareness of others, the work, advocacy and policies will change to create more equality for those of us that are members of the LGBT communities in this country.

Please, do what you can to raise your own awareness, the awareness of others, and to start to create meaningful, effective change that will support the LGBT community and the people within that community. Speak out. Write. Learn. Teach.

Be an ally.

Paragraph 175

As many of you may know, the pink triangle is a symbol that the LGBT community utilizes frequently. The history of it is directly from Nazi Germany, and the symbol that was worn by those that were labelled as homosexual in concentration camps. But, that is not the end of the story..........

Paragraph 175, a clause that existed in German law at the time, prohibited homosexual relations. During Hitler's rule, he extended this law to include homosexual kissing, embracing, even homosexual fantasies. Between 1937 and 1939, some 25,000 persons were convicted under this law. There were initially imprisoned, and then later on sent to concentration camps. Castration was a common punishment for being charged with these crimes under Paragraph 175. In 1942, Hitler declared that homosexuality was punishable by death.

The use of the pink triangle in concentration camps was part of how prisoners there were categorized, each "grouping" was labelled with an alternate color of triangle. Gay Jews were considered to be the lowest of prisoners, and they were labelled with the overlapping of a pink and yellow triangle. Pink triangle prisoners were reported to receive the hardest workloads in the concentration camps, and were most often harassed and beaten by guards and other prisoners.

Later on, when the Allies defeated the Nazi regime, and so many other prisoners in the concentration camps were released, those prisoners that were defined under Paragraph 175- either labelled as or were homosexual- were kept imprisoned while they watched many of their fellow prisoners set free. They remained prisoners for an additional 24 YEARS..........

This symbol of hate has now been embraced as a symbol for the LGBT community, to emphasize strength in numbers and never allowing oppression to cost us our very souls again. Although Nazi Germany seems like a lifetime ago, and there are even those that deny that it happened, similar laws and hateful attitudes are now being seen in the world, most recently in Uganda, where it is legal to put homosexuals to death. Frightening thought about this world in 2010.

This is why the Upper Delaware GLBT Center is so necessary. To create a sense of equality and justice for all.