Extending Arms and Hearts
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Monday, October 12, 2015
Today's Daily Dharma: Extending Arms and Hearts
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día - Flower of the Day 11/10/2015
“Eros, ou força erótica, é uma qualidade da energia vital que se
manifesta somente através da consciência humana. Ele não está presente
no reino animal. Esse impulso gera uma atração que vai além do impulso
biológico. Ele se assemelha à paixão, pois ele é um encantamento; um
fogo que cresce e arrebata. E quando somos arrebatados por esse poder,
somos capazes de fazer muitas coisas em nome dele. Eros é a coisa mais
próxima do amor que o ser humano não
desperto pode experimentar. Ele nos dá uma ‘amostra grátis’ do amor
real, o que impulsiona nossa busca por ele, e consequentemente pela
unidade.”
“AMAR E SER LIVRE - As bases para uma nova Sociedade.”
“Eros, o fuerza erótica, es una cualidad de la energía vital que se manifiesta solamente a través de la consciencia humana. No está presente en el reino animal. Este impulso genera una atracción que va más allá del impulso biológico. Éste se asemeja a la pasión, porque es un encantamiento, un fuego que crece y arrebata. Y cuando somos arrebatados por este poder, somos capaces de hacer muchas cosas en nombre de él. Eros es la cosa más cercana al amor que el ser humano no despierto puede experimentar. Nos da una ‘muestra gratis’ del amor real, lo que impulsa nuestra búsqueda por él, y consecuentemente por la unidad.”
“AMAR Y SER LIBRE - Las bases para una nueva Sociedad.”
“Eros, the erotic force, is a quality of our vital energy that only manifests through human consciousness. This force does not exist in the animal kingdom, as this energy generates an attraction that goes beyond biological instincts. Eros resembles passion, as it casts a spell on us and acts like a fire that grows and consumes us. When we are consumed by this power, we are capable of doing anything in its name. Eros is the closest thing to love that the non-awakened human can experience. It gives us a free sample of authentic love, and fuels our search for this love. In turn, it encourages us on our search for oneness.”
- Love and Be Free: The Foundations for a New Society
“Eros, o fuerza erótica, es una cualidad de la energía vital que se manifiesta solamente a través de la consciencia humana. No está presente en el reino animal. Este impulso genera una atracción que va más allá del impulso biológico. Éste se asemeja a la pasión, porque es un encantamiento, un fuego que crece y arrebata. Y cuando somos arrebatados por este poder, somos capaces de hacer muchas cosas en nombre de él. Eros es la cosa más cercana al amor que el ser humano no despierto puede experimentar. Nos da una ‘muestra gratis’ del amor real, lo que impulsa nuestra búsqueda por él, y consecuentemente por la unidad.”
“AMAR Y SER LIBRE - Las bases para una nueva Sociedad.”
“Eros, the erotic force, is a quality of our vital energy that only manifests through human consciousness. This force does not exist in the animal kingdom, as this energy generates an attraction that goes beyond biological instincts. Eros resembles passion, as it casts a spell on us and acts like a fire that grows and consumes us. When we are consumed by this power, we are capable of doing anything in its name. Eros is the closest thing to love that the non-awakened human can experience. It gives us a free sample of authentic love, and fuels our search for this love. In turn, it encourages us on our search for oneness.”
- Love and Be Free: The Foundations for a New Society
Today's Daily Dharma: The Secret of the Spiritual Path
The Secret of the Spiritual Path
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Saturday, October 10, 2015
Via EQCA.org : Governor Brown Signs Four Bills Advancing Protections for LGBT Californians Posted on October 7, 2015
Sacramento – Governor Jerry
Brown today signed four Equality California-sponsored bills that require
state health and social service agencies to count LGBT people, provide
resources to help teachers support LGBT students, and more. Thus far,
the governor has signed seven out of eight bills sponsored by Equality
California this legislative session. He has until October 11 to sign the
remaining bill, SB 731.
“We are deeply grateful to both Governor Brown and the legislators who authored and got these bills passed,” said Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California. “California continues to lead the nation recognizing and protecting LGBT people as fully equal members of society thanks to their leadership.”
AB 959, authored by Assemblymember David Chiu, requires state health and social services agencies to collect data on sexual orientation and gender identity whenever additional demographic data is collected. Collecting this data helps address LGBT disparities in health and well-being and determine whether government programs successfully reach those in need of care and assistance.
“I am thrilled by our governor’s actions today and overjoyed that because of AB 959 our LGBT communities will now be counted by the state for vital health and well-being services,” said Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco). “The governor has restored California’s status as a leader of LGBT civil rights. After years of being left out of statewide demographic data, LGBT individuals will now be able to share their experiences to provide much-needed data to understand and ultimately reduce long standing health disparities that have disproportionately impacted these communities.”
“We thank Governor Brown for his leadership in signing this first in the nation legislation requiring that data be collected to address the needs of LGBT people,” said Zbur. “LGBT people have been invisible to government agencies that provide social services for far too long, because LGBT people are not counted. This landmark bill will start to give California government and the LGBT community the tools necessary to develop programs to meet the healthcare and social service needs of LGBT people. Once again, California leads the nation in advancing important LGBT legislation and we thank both the Governor and Assemblymember David Chiu.”
AB 960, also authored by Chiu, updates California’s assisted reproduction laws to recognize intended parents using assisted reproduction, whether or not a medical professional is involved. EQCA co-sponsored AB 960 with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Our Family Coalition.
“I am thrilled that the Governor has continued to stand in strong support of our LGBT couples,” said Chiu. “This long-needed fix ensures that equal legal protections are in place for our LGBT couples as they start their families.”
“Parents trying to conceive already face a considerable amount of anxiety — they don’t need to worry that their legal connection to their child is in danger,” said Zbur. “This law strengthens families by recognizing that intended parents are parents, no matter how their children are conceived.”
AB 827, authored by Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell, provides resources and information to aid teachers in identifying and assisting LGBT students in need of support in dealing with bullying or lack of social acceptance. This bill helps address the needs of LGBT youth, who have a higher dropout rate than their straight peers and are four times more likely to attempt suicide.
“My experience as a classroom teacher has taught me one of the most important keys to academic success is a safe and inclusive learning environment,” said Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach), who chairs the Assembly Education Committee. “With the passage of AB 827, we will ensure our LGBTQ students have access to community resources and teachers are able to foster supportive learning environments, improve academic achievement and make our schools safer.”
“Every good teacher wants to see their students thrive and learn,” said Zbur. “This new law will help educators have the resources they need to help LGBT kids who are being bullied or are facing a lack of social acceptance.”
SB 703, authored by Senator Mark Leno, requires contractors doing business with state agencies to offer transgender employees the same healthcare coverage offered to all other workers. EQCA co-sponsored SB 703 with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Transgender Law Center.
“California law already stipulates that employers cannot deny transgender people health care and other benefits, but a loophole in state law has allowed companies that contract with the state to refuse equal health coverage,” said Senator Leno, D-San Francisco. “This bill closes that loophole. Denying equal benefits to employees at the same company based on gender identity is harmful and wrong. It also can jeopardize employee health and strain publicly-funded programs that fill in the gaps when employers don’t provide the same benefits to everyone.”
“With a third of transgender people reporting having been denied healthcare coverage, this law is an important step in improving the health of all members of the LGBT community,” said Zbur. “It also sends an important message. If you want to do business in California, you have to treat all your employees equally.”
During the 2015 legislative session, the number of bills successfully sponsored by Equality California, since its inception, reached 110.
Make the jump here to read the original
“We are deeply grateful to both Governor Brown and the legislators who authored and got these bills passed,” said Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California. “California continues to lead the nation recognizing and protecting LGBT people as fully equal members of society thanks to their leadership.”
AB 959, authored by Assemblymember David Chiu, requires state health and social services agencies to collect data on sexual orientation and gender identity whenever additional demographic data is collected. Collecting this data helps address LGBT disparities in health and well-being and determine whether government programs successfully reach those in need of care and assistance.
“I am thrilled by our governor’s actions today and overjoyed that because of AB 959 our LGBT communities will now be counted by the state for vital health and well-being services,” said Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco). “The governor has restored California’s status as a leader of LGBT civil rights. After years of being left out of statewide demographic data, LGBT individuals will now be able to share their experiences to provide much-needed data to understand and ultimately reduce long standing health disparities that have disproportionately impacted these communities.”
“We thank Governor Brown for his leadership in signing this first in the nation legislation requiring that data be collected to address the needs of LGBT people,” said Zbur. “LGBT people have been invisible to government agencies that provide social services for far too long, because LGBT people are not counted. This landmark bill will start to give California government and the LGBT community the tools necessary to develop programs to meet the healthcare and social service needs of LGBT people. Once again, California leads the nation in advancing important LGBT legislation and we thank both the Governor and Assemblymember David Chiu.”
AB 960, also authored by Chiu, updates California’s assisted reproduction laws to recognize intended parents using assisted reproduction, whether or not a medical professional is involved. EQCA co-sponsored AB 960 with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Our Family Coalition.
“I am thrilled that the Governor has continued to stand in strong support of our LGBT couples,” said Chiu. “This long-needed fix ensures that equal legal protections are in place for our LGBT couples as they start their families.”
“Parents trying to conceive already face a considerable amount of anxiety — they don’t need to worry that their legal connection to their child is in danger,” said Zbur. “This law strengthens families by recognizing that intended parents are parents, no matter how their children are conceived.”
AB 827, authored by Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell, provides resources and information to aid teachers in identifying and assisting LGBT students in need of support in dealing with bullying or lack of social acceptance. This bill helps address the needs of LGBT youth, who have a higher dropout rate than their straight peers and are four times more likely to attempt suicide.
“My experience as a classroom teacher has taught me one of the most important keys to academic success is a safe and inclusive learning environment,” said Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach), who chairs the Assembly Education Committee. “With the passage of AB 827, we will ensure our LGBTQ students have access to community resources and teachers are able to foster supportive learning environments, improve academic achievement and make our schools safer.”
“Every good teacher wants to see their students thrive and learn,” said Zbur. “This new law will help educators have the resources they need to help LGBT kids who are being bullied or are facing a lack of social acceptance.”
SB 703, authored by Senator Mark Leno, requires contractors doing business with state agencies to offer transgender employees the same healthcare coverage offered to all other workers. EQCA co-sponsored SB 703 with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Transgender Law Center.
“California law already stipulates that employers cannot deny transgender people health care and other benefits, but a loophole in state law has allowed companies that contract with the state to refuse equal health coverage,” said Senator Leno, D-San Francisco. “This bill closes that loophole. Denying equal benefits to employees at the same company based on gender identity is harmful and wrong. It also can jeopardize employee health and strain publicly-funded programs that fill in the gaps when employers don’t provide the same benefits to everyone.”
“With a third of transgender people reporting having been denied healthcare coverage, this law is an important step in improving the health of all members of the LGBT community,” said Zbur. “It also sends an important message. If you want to do business in California, you have to treat all your employees equally.”
During the 2015 legislative session, the number of bills successfully sponsored by Equality California, since its inception, reached 110.
###
Equality California is California’s largest statewide lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization focused on
creating a fair and just society. Our mission is to achieve and maintain
full and lasting equality, acceptance and social justice for all people
in our diverse LGBT communities, inside and outside of California. Our
mission includes advancing the health and well-being of LGBT
Californians through direct healthcare service advocacy and education.
Through electoral, advocacy, education and mobilization programs, we
strive to create a broad and diverse alliance of LGBT people, educators,
government officials, communities of color and faith, labor, business,
and social justice communities to achieve our goals. www.eqca.orgMake the jump here to read the original
Via Towleroad: U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford Marries Stephen DeVincent in Copenhagen
U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford married Dr. Stephen Devincent in a ceremony in Copenhagen today.
Writes Gifford in an Instagram post
“Just
married in Copenhagen where the first legal gay partnerships took place
26 years ago. Now heading back to celebrate with our friends and family
from all over the world at our residence under the American flag. Never
in my wildest dreams could I have imagined such a perfect day. Life is
good.”
“Please join us in congratulating
Ambassador Gifford and Dr. Stephen DeVincent on their wedding earlier
today at Copenhagen City Hall.”
Make the jump here to read the original and full posting
Friday, October 9, 2015
Today's Daily Dharma: The Force of Love
The Force of Love
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Thursday, October 8, 2015
Today's Daily Dharma: What Should I Do Today?
What Should I Do Today?
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Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Via Huffington: Every LGBTQ+ Person Should Read This
Dearest Queer Person,
Chances are you don't even know that you are holy, or royal or magic, but you are. You are part of an adoptive family going back through every generation of human existence.
Long before you were born, our people were inventing incredible things. Gifted minds like the inventor of the computer Alan Turing and aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont live on in you.
The imprint that bold and brilliant individuals like Lynn Conway and Martine Rothblatt (both transgender women alive today) made on modern technology is impossible deny as present-day engineers carry their torch in the creation of robots and microprocessors.
More recently speaking, one of the co-founders of Facebook publicly acknowledged his identity as a gay man, as did the current CEO of Apple.
We were so often gods and goddesses over the centuries, like Hermaphrodite (the child of Hermes and Aphrodite), and Athena and Zeus, both of whom had same-sex lovers. In Japan it was said that the male couple Shinu No Hafuri and Ama No Hafuri, "introduced" homosexuality to the world. The ability to change one's gender or to claim an identity that encompasses two genders is common amongst Hindu deities. The being said to have created the Dahomey (a kingdom in the area now known as Benin) was reportedly formed when a twin brother and sister (the sun and the moon) combined into one being who might now identify as "intersex." Likewise, the aboriginal Australian rainbow serpent-gods Ungud and Angamunggi possess many characteristics that mirror present-day definitions of transgender identity.
Our ability to transcend gender binaries and cross gender boundaries was seen as a special gift. We were honored with special cultural roles, often becoming shamans, healers and leaders in societies around the globe. The Native Americans of the Santa Barbara region called us "jewels." Our records from the Europeans who wrote of their encounters with Two-Spirit people indicates that same-sex sexual activity or non-gender binary identities were part of the culture of eighty-eight different Native American tribes, including the Apache, Aztec, Cheyenne, Crow, Maya and Navajo.
Without written records we can't know the rest, but we know we were a part of most if not all peoples in the Americas.
Your ancestors were royalty like Queen Christina of Sweden, who not only refused to marry a man (thereby giving up her claim to the throne), but adopted a male name and set out on horseback to explore Europe alone. Her tutor once said the queen was "not at all like a female." Your heritage also includes the ruler Nzinga of the Ndongo and Matamna Kingdoms (now known as Angola), who was perceived to be biologically female but dressed as male, kept a harem of young men dressed in traditionally-female attire and was addressed as "King." Emperors like Elagalabus are part of your cultural lineage, too. He held marriage ceremonies to both male-identified and female-identified spouses, and was known to proposition men while he was heavily made-up with cosmetics.
Caliphs of Cordoba including Hisham II, Abd-ar-Rahman III and Al-Hakam II kept male harems (sometimes in addition to female harems, sometimes in place of them). Emperor Ai of Han Dynasty China was the one whose life gives us the phrase "the passions of the cut sleeve," because when he was asleep with his beloved, Dong Xian, and awoke to leave, he cut off the sleeve of his robe rather than wake his lover.
You are descended from individuals whose mark on the arts is impossible to ignore. These influential creators include composers like Tchaikovsky, painters like Leonardo da Vinci and actors like Greta Garbo. Your forebears painted the Sistine Chapel, recorded the first blues song and won countless Oscars. They were poets, and dancers and photographers. Queer people have contributed so much to the arts that there's an entire guided tour dedicated just to these artists at New York's Museum of Modern Art.
You have the blood of great warriors, like the Amazons, those female-bodied people who took on roles of protection and had scarce time or interest between their brave acts to cater to the needs of men. And your heart beats as bravely as the men of the Sacred Band of Thebes, a group of 150 male-male couples who, in the 4th century B.C.E., were known to be especially powerful fighters because each man fought as though he was fighting for the life of his lover (which he was). But your heritage also includes peacemakers, like Bayard Rustin, a non-violent gay architect of the Black civil rights movement in the U.S.
We redefined words like bear, butch, otter, queen and femme, and created new terms like drag queen, twink and genderqueer. But just because the words like homosexual, bisexual, transgender, intersex and asexual, have been created in the relatively recent past doesn't mean they are anything new.
Before we started using today's terms, we were Winkte to the Ogala, A-go-kwe to the Chippewa, Ko'thlama to the Zuni, Machi to the Mapuchi, Tsecats to the Manghabei, Omasenge to the Ambo and Achnutschik to the Konyaga across the continents. While none of these terms identically mirror their more modern counterparts, all refer to some aspect of, or identity related to, same-gender love, same-sex sex or crossing genders.
You are normal. You are not a creation of the modern age. Your identity is not a "trend" or a "fad." Almost every country has a recorded history of people whose identities and behaviors bear close resemblance to what we'd today call bisexuality, homosexuality, transgender identity, intersexuality, asexuality and more. Remember: the way Western culture today has constructed gender and sexuality is not the way it's always been. Many cultures from Papua New Guinea to Peru accepted male-male sex as a part of ritual or routine; some of these societies believed that the transmission of semen from one man to another would make the recipient stronger. In the past, we often didn't need certain words for the same-sex attracted, those of non-binary gender and others who did not conform to cultural expectations of their biological sex or perceived gender because they were not as unusual as we might today assume they were.
Being so unique and powerful has sometimes made others afraid of us. They arrested and tortured and murdered us. We are still executed by governments and individuals today in societies where we were once accepted us as important and equal members of society. They now tell us "homosexuality is un-African" and "there are no homosexuals in Iran." You, and we, know that these defensive comments are not true--but they still hurt. So, when others gave us names like queer and dyke, we reclaimed them.
When they said we were recruiting children, we said "I'm here to recruit you!" When they put pink and black triangles on our uniforms in the concentration camps, we made them pride symbols.
Those who challenge our unapologetic presence in today's cultures, who try to deprive us of our rights, who make us targets of violence, remain ignorant of the fact that they, not us, are the historical anomaly. For much of recorded history, persecuting individuals who transgressed their culture's norms of gender and sexuality was frowned upon at worst and unheard of at best. Today, the people who continue to harass us attempt to justify their cruel campaigns by claiming that they are defending "traditional" values. But nothing could be further from the truth.
But now you know they are wrong. Just imagine the world without that first computer or the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, or a huge part of the music you've ever heard from classical Appalachian Spring to classic YMCA (I mean, we've held titles from the "Mother of Blues" to the "King of Latin Pop!"). How much less colorful would the world be without us? I'm grateful that you're here to help carry on our traditions.
So, happy LGBT History Month! I hope to celebrate with you here at Quist. This list of LGBTQ history online resources is a good place to start in exploring more specifics about this heritage.
Lesbianamente*,
Sarah Prager
*Actually a term as a way someone signed a letter for a lesbian organization in Mexico decades ago!
This piece was inspired in part by facts and sentiments from Another Mother Tongue by Judy Grahn (published 1984). Ritualized Homosexuality in Melanesia edited by Gilbert H. Herdt (published 1993) is also referenced. Many of the referenced facts are cited so many places it has become common knowledge. Christianne Gadd contributed significantly to this piece. This post originally appeared in The Advocate.
Follow Sarah Prager on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Sarah_Prager
Chances are you don't even know that you are holy, or royal or magic, but you are. You are part of an adoptive family going back through every generation of human existence.
Long before you were born, our people were inventing incredible things. Gifted minds like the inventor of the computer Alan Turing and aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont live on in you.
The imprint that bold and brilliant individuals like Lynn Conway and Martine Rothblatt (both transgender women alive today) made on modern technology is impossible deny as present-day engineers carry their torch in the creation of robots and microprocessors.
More recently speaking, one of the co-founders of Facebook publicly acknowledged his identity as a gay man, as did the current CEO of Apple.
We were so often gods and goddesses over the centuries, like Hermaphrodite (the child of Hermes and Aphrodite), and Athena and Zeus, both of whom had same-sex lovers. In Japan it was said that the male couple Shinu No Hafuri and Ama No Hafuri, "introduced" homosexuality to the world. The ability to change one's gender or to claim an identity that encompasses two genders is common amongst Hindu deities. The being said to have created the Dahomey (a kingdom in the area now known as Benin) was reportedly formed when a twin brother and sister (the sun and the moon) combined into one being who might now identify as "intersex." Likewise, the aboriginal Australian rainbow serpent-gods Ungud and Angamunggi possess many characteristics that mirror present-day definitions of transgender identity.
Our ability to transcend gender binaries and cross gender boundaries was seen as a special gift. We were honored with special cultural roles, often becoming shamans, healers and leaders in societies around the globe. The Native Americans of the Santa Barbara region called us "jewels." Our records from the Europeans who wrote of their encounters with Two-Spirit people indicates that same-sex sexual activity or non-gender binary identities were part of the culture of eighty-eight different Native American tribes, including the Apache, Aztec, Cheyenne, Crow, Maya and Navajo.
Without written records we can't know the rest, but we know we were a part of most if not all peoples in the Americas.
Your ancestors were royalty like Queen Christina of Sweden, who not only refused to marry a man (thereby giving up her claim to the throne), but adopted a male name and set out on horseback to explore Europe alone. Her tutor once said the queen was "not at all like a female." Your heritage also includes the ruler Nzinga of the Ndongo and Matamna Kingdoms (now known as Angola), who was perceived to be biologically female but dressed as male, kept a harem of young men dressed in traditionally-female attire and was addressed as "King." Emperors like Elagalabus are part of your cultural lineage, too. He held marriage ceremonies to both male-identified and female-identified spouses, and was known to proposition men while he was heavily made-up with cosmetics.
Caliphs of Cordoba including Hisham II, Abd-ar-Rahman III and Al-Hakam II kept male harems (sometimes in addition to female harems, sometimes in place of them). Emperor Ai of Han Dynasty China was the one whose life gives us the phrase "the passions of the cut sleeve," because when he was asleep with his beloved, Dong Xian, and awoke to leave, he cut off the sleeve of his robe rather than wake his lover.
You are descended from individuals whose mark on the arts is impossible to ignore. These influential creators include composers like Tchaikovsky, painters like Leonardo da Vinci and actors like Greta Garbo. Your forebears painted the Sistine Chapel, recorded the first blues song and won countless Oscars. They were poets, and dancers and photographers. Queer people have contributed so much to the arts that there's an entire guided tour dedicated just to these artists at New York's Museum of Modern Art.
You have the blood of great warriors, like the Amazons, those female-bodied people who took on roles of protection and had scarce time or interest between their brave acts to cater to the needs of men. And your heart beats as bravely as the men of the Sacred Band of Thebes, a group of 150 male-male couples who, in the 4th century B.C.E., were known to be especially powerful fighters because each man fought as though he was fighting for the life of his lover (which he was). But your heritage also includes peacemakers, like Bayard Rustin, a non-violent gay architect of the Black civil rights movement in the U.S.
We redefined words like bear, butch, otter, queen and femme, and created new terms like drag queen, twink and genderqueer. But just because the words like homosexual, bisexual, transgender, intersex and asexual, have been created in the relatively recent past doesn't mean they are anything new.
Before we started using today's terms, we were Winkte to the Ogala, A-go-kwe to the Chippewa, Ko'thlama to the Zuni, Machi to the Mapuchi, Tsecats to the Manghabei, Omasenge to the Ambo and Achnutschik to the Konyaga across the continents. While none of these terms identically mirror their more modern counterparts, all refer to some aspect of, or identity related to, same-gender love, same-sex sex or crossing genders.
You are normal. You are not a creation of the modern age. Your identity is not a "trend" or a "fad." Almost every country has a recorded history of people whose identities and behaviors bear close resemblance to what we'd today call bisexuality, homosexuality, transgender identity, intersexuality, asexuality and more. Remember: the way Western culture today has constructed gender and sexuality is not the way it's always been. Many cultures from Papua New Guinea to Peru accepted male-male sex as a part of ritual or routine; some of these societies believed that the transmission of semen from one man to another would make the recipient stronger. In the past, we often didn't need certain words for the same-sex attracted, those of non-binary gender and others who did not conform to cultural expectations of their biological sex or perceived gender because they were not as unusual as we might today assume they were.
Being so unique and powerful has sometimes made others afraid of us. They arrested and tortured and murdered us. We are still executed by governments and individuals today in societies where we were once accepted us as important and equal members of society. They now tell us "homosexuality is un-African" and "there are no homosexuals in Iran." You, and we, know that these defensive comments are not true--but they still hurt. So, when others gave us names like queer and dyke, we reclaimed them.
When they said we were recruiting children, we said "I'm here to recruit you!" When they put pink and black triangles on our uniforms in the concentration camps, we made them pride symbols.
Those who challenge our unapologetic presence in today's cultures, who try to deprive us of our rights, who make us targets of violence, remain ignorant of the fact that they, not us, are the historical anomaly. For much of recorded history, persecuting individuals who transgressed their culture's norms of gender and sexuality was frowned upon at worst and unheard of at best. Today, the people who continue to harass us attempt to justify their cruel campaigns by claiming that they are defending "traditional" values. But nothing could be further from the truth.
But now you know they are wrong. Just imagine the world without that first computer or the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, or a huge part of the music you've ever heard from classical Appalachian Spring to classic YMCA (I mean, we've held titles from the "Mother of Blues" to the "King of Latin Pop!"). How much less colorful would the world be without us? I'm grateful that you're here to help carry on our traditions.
So, happy LGBT History Month! I hope to celebrate with you here at Quist. This list of LGBTQ history online resources is a good place to start in exploring more specifics about this heritage.
Lesbianamente*,
Sarah Prager
*Actually a term as a way someone signed a letter for a lesbian organization in Mexico decades ago!
This piece was inspired in part by facts and sentiments from Another Mother Tongue by Judy Grahn (published 1984). Ritualized Homosexuality in Melanesia edited by Gilbert H. Herdt (published 1993) is also referenced. Many of the referenced facts are cited so many places it has become common knowledge. Christianne Gadd contributed significantly to this piece. This post originally appeared in The Advocate.
Follow Sarah Prager on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Sarah_Prager
Today's Daily Dharma: No Retreat
No Retreat
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Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Today's Daily Dharma: Just Being
Just Being
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Monday, October 5, 2015
Today's Daily Dharma: Always Awake
Always Awake
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Sunday, October 4, 2015
Today's Daily Dharma: Refuge in the Night
Refuge in the Night
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Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día - Flower of the Day 04/10/2015
“Movidas pelo medo e pelo ódio inconscientes, as pessoas se encontram,
mas não sabem o que de fato querem umas das outras. Elas estão buscando
algo, mas não sabem o que é. Elas ignoram que estão procurando uma parte
de si mesmas no outro, e se iludem com a ideia de que o outro é a fonte
da felicidade. Mas essa ideia é a fonte do sofrimento nas relações.”
“AMAR E SER LIVRE - As bases para uma nova Sociedade.”
“AMAR E SER LIVRE - As bases para uma nova Sociedade.”
“Movidas por el miedo y por el odio inconsciente, las personas se
encuentran, pero no saben lo que realmente quieren unas de otras. Ellas
están buscando algo, pero no saben qué es. Ignoran que están buscando
una parte de sí mismas en el otro, y se ilusionan con la idea de que el
otro es la fuente de la felicidad. Pero esta idea es la fuente del
sufrimiento en las relaciones.”
“AMAR Y SER LIBRE - Las bases para una nueva Sociedad.”
“Motivated by fear and unconscious hatred, we interact with one another without even knowing what we truly want from each other. We are all searching for something, but we don’t know what it really is. We forget that we are actually looking for a part of ourselves in the other, and we delude ourselves into thinking that the other is our source of happiness. This very idea is the source of suffering in our relationships.”
LOVE AND BE FREE: The Foundations for a New Society
“AMAR Y SER LIBRE - Las bases para una nueva Sociedad.”
“Motivated by fear and unconscious hatred, we interact with one another without even knowing what we truly want from each other. We are all searching for something, but we don’t know what it really is. We forget that we are actually looking for a part of ourselves in the other, and we delude ourselves into thinking that the other is our source of happiness. This very idea is the source of suffering in our relationships.”
LOVE AND BE FREE: The Foundations for a New Society
Today's Daily Dharma: Embrace Imperfection
Embrace Imperfection
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Saturday, October 3, 2015
Via Salon: Pope Francis met with openly gay couple — and unlike Kim Davis, who ambushed him, he did so intentionally
(Credit: Reuters/Aristide Economopoulos)
Pope Francis met with a gay couple the day before he met with same-sex marriage opponent Kim Davis, CNN’s Daniel Burke reports.
Yayo Grassi and his partner, Iwan — old friends of the pope from Argentina — visited the pontiff and were greeted with warm hugs. In an interview with CNN, Grassi said that “three weeks before the trip, he called me on the phone and said he would love to give me a hug.”
Unlike the publicity stunt manufactured by Kim Davis, her lawyers, and elements within the church hostile to Francis’ agenda, this meeting was both deliberate and purposive.
Referring to the Vatican’s statement about Davis, in which Reverend Federico Lombardi said that “the only real audience granted by the Pope at the nunciature was with one of his former students and his family,” Grassi said “that was me.” Pope Francis taught him at Inmaculada Concepcion high school in Flores, Argentina, from 1964-1965.
Make the jump here to read the original article
Yayo Grassi and his partner, Iwan — old friends of the pope from Argentina — visited the pontiff and were greeted with warm hugs. In an interview with CNN, Grassi said that “three weeks before the trip, he called me on the phone and said he would love to give me a hug.”
Unlike the publicity stunt manufactured by Kim Davis, her lawyers, and elements within the church hostile to Francis’ agenda, this meeting was both deliberate and purposive.
Referring to the Vatican’s statement about Davis, in which Reverend Federico Lombardi said that “the only real audience granted by the Pope at the nunciature was with one of his former students and his family,” Grassi said “that was me.” Pope Francis taught him at Inmaculada Concepcion high school in Flores, Argentina, from 1964-1965.
Make the jump here to read the original article
Friday, October 2, 2015
Via JMG: BREAKING: Vatican Distances Pope Francis From Kim Davis, “Meeting Should Not Be Seen As Support”
This morning the Vatican formally
distanced Pope Francis from Kim Davis in a statement which declares
that his meeting with her “should not be considered a form of support.”
The Associated Press reports:
NOTE: Also complicit here, in my mind, is ABC News. It was their reporter who lobbed that “conscientious objector” question on the papal plane as the Pope departed Philadelphia. And then the next day it was ABC News who somehow had the exclusive interview with Kim Davis. This was probably not a coincidence.
UPDATE: Here is Reuters’ take on today’s bombshell.
After days of confusion, the Vatican issued a statement Friday clarifying Francis’ Sept. 24 encounter with Davis, an Apostolic Christian who has become a focal point in the gay marriage debate in the U.S. In a statement, the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Francis met with “several dozen” people at the Vatican’s embassy in Washington just before leaving for New York. Lombardi said such meetings are par for the course of any Vatican trip and are due to the pope’s “kindness and availability.” He said the pope only really had one “audience” in Washington: with former students and his family members. “The pope did not enter into the details of the situation of Mrs. Davis and his meeting with her should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects,” Lombardi said.
Davis said earlier this week that she and her husband met briefly with the pope at the Vatican’s nunciature in Washington and that he encouraged her to “stay strong.” She later told ABC: “Just knowing that the pope is on track with what we’re doing and agreeing, you know, it kind of validates everything.” The Vatican statement made clear the pope intended no such validation. News of the audience sent shockwaves through the U.S. church, with Davis’ supporters saying it showed the pope backed her cause and opponents questioning whether the pope had been duped into meeting with her and truly knew the details of her case. Initially the Vatican only reluctantly confirmed the meeting but offered no comment. On Friday, Lombardi issued a fuller statement to “contribute to an objective understanding of what transpired.Last night CBS News reported that a Vatican insider says the Pope was “blindsided” by the meeting.
A highly placed source inside the Vatican claims the Pope was blindsided. It is a meeting some charge was orchestrated by the man who lived there, the Pope’s representative here, Carlo Maria Vigano. Not even the Papal Spokesman Federico Lombardi knew about it ahead of time. Nor did the leadership of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which would have opposed it. Others claim the Pope knew about the meeting and had ordered Vatican diplomats, perhaps even Vigano, to set it up. CBS 2’s Vatican source doesn’t think so. A close advisor to Pope Francis tweeted that the Pope was, in his words, “exploited” by those who set up what the CBS 2 source says was a “meeting that never should have taken place.” Some call it an attempt by highly placed church leaders in the U.S. to diminish the impact of the Pope’s visit.Also yesterday Esquire Magazine speculated that Pope Francis was “swindled” into the meeting by his own enemies within the Vatican. That story also blames Vigano and notes that he participated in NOM’s hate march earlier this year.
The man is a real player within the institutional church. He first came to prominence as a whistleblower during one of the several investigations of the Vatican Bank, which may be what got him exiled to this godless Republic in the first place. Despite that fact, Vigano is well-known to be a Ratzinger loyalist and he always has been a cultural conservative, particularly on the issue of marriage equality. In April, in a move that was unprecedented, Vigano got involved with an anti-marriage equality march in Washington sponsored by the National Association For Marriage. (And, mirabile dictu, as we say around Castel Gandolfo at happy hour, one of the speakers at this rally was Mat Staver, who happens now to be Kim Davis’s lawyer.) In short, Vigano, a Ratzinger loyalist, who has been conspicuous and publicly involved in the same cause as Kim Davis and her legal team, arranges a meeting with Davis that the legal team uses to its great public advantage.It will be VERY enjoyable to watch the Liberty Counsel attempt to spin today’s bombshell from the Vatican, which will surely set off a firestorm of inquires about who actually set up the meeting.
NOTE: Also complicit here, in my mind, is ABC News. It was their reporter who lobbed that “conscientious objector” question on the papal plane as the Pope departed Philadelphia. And then the next day it was ABC News who somehow had the exclusive interview with Kim Davis. This was probably not a coincidence.
UPDATE: Here is Reuters’ take on today’s bombshell.
Pope Francis did not ask to meet a Kentucky county clerk who had been jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples and did not offer her unconditional support, the Vatican said on Friday. Looking to limit controversy after last week’s meeting in Washington between the pope and Kim Davis, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said she was one of “several dozen” people who had been invited by the Vatican ambassador to see Francis. A senior Vatican official, who declined to be named, said there was a “sense of regret” within the Holy See over the encounter, which sparked widespread debate in the United States, overshadowing almost all other aspects of the pope’s visit. He added that Davis had been in a line of people the pope had met at the Vatican embassy in Washington before he left for New York. “The only real audience granted by the Pope at the Nunciature (Vatican embassy) was with one of his former students and his family,” the statement said.
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