Articles

Mar 29 2010

Ricky Martin: “Hoy ACEPTO MI HOMOSEXUALIDAD”

Author: BiancaLaureano

The last time you read about Ricky Martin was when we shared the statement he issued against homophobia. On his own terms, today Ricky Martin has “come out” as a gay Puerto Rican man. Let’s just take a moment to remind ourselves that he is identifying as a gay Puerto Rican man at a time when gay Puerto Rican men get murdered for begin gay, Puerto Rican, and male.

He states on his website (Spanish first then English translation):

Que pasara de ahora en adelante? Quien sabe. Solo me puedo enfocar en lo que estoy viviendo ahora. Estos años en silencio y reflexión me han fortalecido y me recordaron que el amor vive dentro de mi, que la aceptación la encuentro en mi interior, y que la verdad solo trae la calma. Hoy para mi el significado de la felicidad toma otra dimensión

Ha sido un proceso muy intenso, angustiante y doloroso pero también liberador. Les juro que cada palabra que están leyendo aquí nace de amor, purificación, fortaleza, aceptación y desprendimiento. Que escribir estas líneas es el acercamiento a mi paz interna, parte vital de mi evolución. Hoy ACEPTO MI HOMOSEXUALIDAD como un regalo que me da la vida. ¡Me siento bendecido de ser quien soy!-

English:
These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn’t even know existed.

What will happen from now on? It doesn’t matter. I can only focus on what’s happening to me in this moment. The word “happiness” takes on a new meaning for me as of today. It has been a very intense process. Every word that I write in this letter is born out of love, acceptance, detachment and real contentment. Writing this is a solid step towards my inner peace and vital part of my evolution.

I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am.

Continue Reading…

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Jul 22 2009

Yucatan Will Penalize Gay Marriage, Abortion

Author: Jennifer Woodard Maderazo

estasenyucatanPlanning a vacation to the beautiful Yucatan Peninsula this summer? You might want to know a couple of things before you go: 1) it’s hotter than all hell in the summer and 2) Yucatan’s Congress just overwhelmingly approved a ban on gay marriage in the Mexican state. And while they were at it, they managed to ban gay adoption and ensure that abortion be illegal in almost all cases:

With the vote of 24 of the 25 local deputies, the Yucatan Congress raised heterosexual marriage and families to the constitutional level via the approval of amendments to the state’s Civil Code. With this, marriage between people of the is same sex will be penalized as will abortion “unless it is totally justified”.

14 legislators from the PRI, 9 from the PAN and the representative for the Todos Somos Yucatán coalition (comprised of the Convergencia party and local political groups) voted in favor of the grassroots initiative promoted by the Pro Yucatán Network, made up of conservative groups, to reject all efforts by people of the same sex to form a family and adopt children.

In other words, if you aren’t looking a whole lot like the couple in the photo above and you want to get married or just adopt a kid, you’d better not “estar en Yucatán”.

And about that abortion issue: what exactly is a “totally justified” abortion? According to Mexico’s Anodis.com, the only circumstances under which abortion will be “justifiable” in Yucatán are “poverty, having more than 4 children, a terminal illness or risk of death for the mother”. If you have an abortion and don’t fall into any of these categories, you are facing a year in prison.

Meanwhile, PAN politicians attempted to disguise the ban as something other than hateful and discriminatory by alleging that “there still aren’t adequate conditions within Yucatán society to allow for unions between people of the same sex.”

Via / Anodis and AmbienteG

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Jun 01 2009

Gay Latino Teen is Prom Queen in L.A.

Author: Jennifer Woodard Maderazo

It sounds like a script for the feel good movie of the year, but it’s a true story. An openly gay L.A. teen decided it might be fun to be a part of his high school’s prom court, but he didn’t want to be prom king — he thought prom queen would be more up his alley. And instead of being the target of bullying or ridicule, Sergio Garcia’s classmates at Fairfax High rallied around him and made his wish come true:

A few days before the dance and election, the contenders gave short speeches on why they deserved the crown.

“At one time, prom may have been a big popularity contest where the best-looking guy or girl were crowned king and queen. Things have changed and it’s no longer just about who has the most friends or who wears the coolest clothes,” Garcia told the crowd of seniors. “Sure, I’m not your typical prom queen candidate. There’s more to me than meets the eye.”

The audience erupted in applause after his speech, and a group of his female friends spent the rest of the week wearing pink crowns and campaigning for him.

On Saturday night at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, wearing a charcoal-gray tuxedo and a black bow tie, he was named prom queen.

“I felt invincible,” Garcia said.

He’s among the first male students in Southern California to take the title usually owned by female high school beauties.

“It just shows how open-minded our class is,” said Vanessa Lo, 18, the school’s senior class president.

Congrats to Sergio and his classmates. We can only wish that the rest of high schools in America — or in California for that matter — were so cool. Viva Fairfax High!

Meanwhile, anti-gay marriage protests rage in Sergio’s home state.

Via / LA Times

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Mar 18 2009

Obama Administration Will Reportedly Sign UN Gay Rights Agreement

Author: Jennifer Woodard Maderazo

3105057712_feec724e1bNot to be all Obama administration “rah, rah, sis, boom ba!” but after quietly celebrating the latest reversal to the Bush farm worker rule, I’m celebrating this piece of unofficial news as well:

The Obama administration will support a United Nations declaration affirming that sexual orientation and gender identity are included in international human rights protections, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday evening.

According to officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because Congress was still being notified, the Obama administration had reviewed the reasons why the Bush administration opposed the declaration, and decided to notify the French sponsors that the United States would support it.

As you might already know, the U.S. was, thanks to the prior administration, part of a shameful list of oppressive, anti-gay countries such as Saudi Arabia, Uganda, Egypt and the Vatican City. It’s impossible for people in Europe and other places that signed the agreement to understand this kind of hatred. Luckily, with this move, we are a millimeter closer to a more dignified world image.

There’s still a lot left for the Obama administration to do when it comes to gay rights. Namely: approve gay marriage.

Via / Advocate

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Mar 17 2009

A-Rod Goes Gayish (For a Photo Shoot)

Author: Jennifer Woodard Maderazo

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A-Rod might be yesterday’s news for Madonna (who is allegedly now living with her Latin lover Brasileiro Jesus Luz), but Madge’s ex-lover doesn’t look like he’s sulking. In the photo above, A-Rod loses all inhibitions to appeal to Details magazine’s main demographic: gay guys.

But wait, who’s that hot guy A-Rod is getting all kissy with? Oh, it’s…his own reflection! WTF?

I like the photography, and you gotta hand it to A-Rod for being bold enough to do a shoot like this. Baseball is a man’s game and it takes some guts to shake off all that machismo. Way to go, A-Rod!

Via / Details

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Mar 11 2009

Chicago’s Queer Prom 2009: Amor sin fronteras/Love Without Borders

Author: la Macha

If you are in the Chicago area, I strongly recommend making it out to this event or otherwise showing support for it!

“Amor sin fronteras” or “Love Without Borders” is this year’s theme for the only prom for and by LGBT youth in the Chicago area. Queer Prom 2009 will take place on May 29th at the National Museum of Mexican Art.

“We want to provide a feeling of community, an event that identifies the Latin@ community, the gay community and Pilsen as a neighborhood…I think a lot times a young gay person, especially in schools in La Villita [a predominantly Mexican neighborhood] feel isolated from the gay community. The only thing they know is Boystown [a predominantly gay white male neighborhood in Chicago], clubs and the commercial aspects of being gay. We mean to connect them to another aspect of the community, ” said Tania Unzueta, Coordinator of Queer Prom 2009.

…

Queer Prom is more than just a party. The coordinators and attendees feel that they are uniting to celebrate their common experiences, “How beautiful to gay! How beautiful to be Latin@!,” Unzueta finalizes. For more information about Queer Prom 2009 visit www.wrte.org/homofrecuencia or call 312-455-9455 x203.

via the Glaad Blog

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Feb 27 2009

Man kills former girlfriend and her new partner

Author: la Macha

This was just devastating to read about.

A man angry over what cops called a bisexual love triangle gunned down his ex-girlfriend and then shot her new lover on a Brooklyn street Wednesday.

Jeanette Martinez, 23, was getting ready to move out of the Boulevard Houses when her ex ran up and shot her twice in the head as she stood on the sidewalk near her car, friends and police sources said.

Martinez had filed an assault complaint against the gunman, who was not identified, just hours before the 1 p.m. incident, sources said.

“It was an execution, pure and simple. The woman didn’t stand a chance,” a police source said.

The gunman then chased Martinez’s girlfriend of seven months, Keila Ocasio, 19, across five lanes of traffic on Linden Blvd. into an oncoming SUV.

Here is the news clip of neighbor’s reactions to the murder:

This whole thing just makes my skin burn with anger and sorrow. Two young women, both Latinas, are dead because they were lovers and they were women and some man didn’t like either of those things. When will our communities feel that homophobia and woman hatred are important enough to discuss?

Thanks to Angry Brown Butch for pointing me to this story.

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Jan 30 2009

Schools Can Legally Expel Lesbian Students

Author: Jennifer Woodard Maderazo

uniform_415x275.jpgFresh off the heels of the Prop 8 victory, my beloved California is faced with another case of discrimination on the basis of orientation. The California 4th District Court of Appeal has ruled that a Lutheran school was within its right to expel two lesbian students based on their gender preference in partners:

After a Lutheran school expelled two 16-year-old girls for having “a bond of intimacy” that was “characteristic of a lesbian relationship,” the girls sued, contending the school had violated a state anti-discrimination law.

In response to that suit, an appeals court decided this week that the private religious school was not a business and therefore did not have to comply with a state law that prohibits businesses from discriminating. A lawyer for the girls said Tuesday that he would ask the California Supreme Court to overturn the unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal.

The appeals court called its decision “narrow,” but lawyers on both sides of the case said it would protect private religious schools across California from such discrimination suits.

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Sep 08 2008

Lucía Mendez: I Heart the Gays

Author: Maegan La Mala

Miami’s South Florida Blade reports that Mexican pop diva and soap star Lucía Mendez is embracing her status as a gay icon in a recent kick-off of her tour of gay clubs in the U.S.:

A seasoned pro, Mendes (sic) takes her mark at the press conference before the Spanish language television news cameras. She poses and preens behind severe fashion sunglasses, like a red-carpet fashion plate.

Then she began talking.

“I love the gay community,” she says, as the photographers call her name. “The gay audiences have kept Cher and Madonna alive. They buy albums, they listen to my music, and they love me through good times and through bad.”

The Blade reports that Méndez’s statements should put to rest the fears of many a gay fan who believed Lucía to be anti-gay marriage because of this interview:

Yep, that was Lucía basically saying that as a woman of “The Word” (no, not The L Word, the Bible) she is reluctant to comment on the marriage issue. Did you see her face change when they told her gay marriage is now legal in California? Ha-ha.

But now Méndez appears to have changed her stance. With dollar signs in her eyes, she appeared before Spanish language press stating, according to the Blade, “I support [gay marriage]…Equal rights for all is peace.”

How convenient!

Via / South Florida Blade

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Jun 30 2008

Mexico LGBT March Celebrates 30 Years

Author: Maegan La Mala

701628850_d57ea91031.jpgOver the weekend Mexico City’s LGBT march — held each year in the city as a manifestation of solidarity and a chance to decry rights not yet granted to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in Mexico — celebrated its 30th anniversary.

While strides have been made in the movement, like the recognition of civil unions between same sex partners last year, organizers say there is still much to be done. Same sex couples still do not have access to their partner’s social security benefits or inheritance.

Image via Skene on Flickr

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