I'm From Driftwood

Do any of you guys know about any transitional housing available to queers?

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:00:16 -0400

homoarigato:

queerhousing:

Something for people currently residing in unlivable conditions who most likely don’t have the cash to fork up for rent just yet? Or perhaps a website/tumblr that helps queer folks find temporary shelter? Anything of that nature?

Please, let us know or signal boost this for us?

All listed are programs or housing specifically for LGBT youth in the U.S.

See the list under the cut

THIS IS AN INCOMPLETE LIST

Read More

Holy shit yes. Signal boost!

womenwhokickass: Reina Gossett: Why she kicks ass She joined...

Thu, 23 May 2013 05:20:14 -0400

womenwhokickass:

Reina Gossett: Why she kicks ass

She joined the Sylvia Rivera Law Project in July 2010 as the membership coordinator, and staffs the newly created Movement Building Team, working to develop SRLP’s membership and community organizing work.

Formerly, she was the director of the Welfare Organizing Project at Queers For Economic Justice, and is a Soros Justice Fellow at Critical Resistance.

She also has numerous writing credits, including The Scholar & Feminist Online and Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex.

"When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his..."

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:40:16 -0400

“When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help. That’s the message he is sending.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh (via thisblueboy)

Photo

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:20:15 -0400

Actually helpful tips on how to get through the day with depression

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:40:13 -0400

Actually helpful tips on how to get through the day with depression:

mentalillnessmouse:

“It’s bad enough without people ramming Happy Tips at you through facebook. There is no miracle behaviour change that will flip that switch for you. I know, I’ve tried.

A friend of mine suggested that I write something from my point of view because, surprisingly, I manage to give an outwards impression of having my shit together. I was shocked to hear this. And I find this comical, but I see her point. I’m functioning. I’ve adapted. I’m surprisingly okay. I think the medical term is “resilient”.

So, here it is.”

This is great! Thank you! I’m gonna post it for our followers to read!

chatpdx: “Together we can end HIV stigma, but we need to be...

Wed, 22 May 2013 16:00:08 -0400

chatpdx:

“Together we can end HIV stigma, but we need to be able to TALK ABOUT IT. Share this graphic to continue the conversation and encourage your network of friends to speak up!” :D

Stephen Gross, “I’m From Keokuk, IA” Stephen tells of the...

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:51:47 -0400

Stephen Gross, “I’m From Keokuk, IA”

Stephen tells of the difficulty of growing up as a gay, Jewish boy in Keokuk, Iowa—a small town in the ’50s and ’60s.

Share your story with us!

delicate heresy: STREET TRANSVESTITE ACTION REVOLUTIONARIES RESOURCE LIST

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:50:47 -0400

delicate heresy: STREET TRANSVESTITE ACTION REVOLUTIONARIES RESOURCE LIST:

delicateheresy:

BOOKS, INTERVIEWS, AND ARTICLES

Stonewall - Martin Duberman

The Gay Militants: How Gay Liberation Began in America, 1969-1971 - Donn Teal

“Sylvia Rivera: A Woman Before Her Time” - Liz Highleyman (from Smash the Church, Smash the State: The Early Years of Gay Liberation)

“Marsha P. Johnson: New York City Legand” - Tommi Avicolli Mecca (from Smash the Church, Smash the State: The Early Years of Gay Liberation)

“Queens in Exile, The Forgotten Ones” - Sylvia Rivera (from GenderQueer: Voices from Beyond the Sexual Binary)

“Rapping With a Street Transvestite Revolutionary: An Interview with Marcia Johnson” (from Out of the Closets: Voices of Gay Liberation)

‘I’m glad I was in the Stonewall riot’: Leslie Feinberg interviews Sylvia Rivera

Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries - Leslie Feinberg

“A Woman for Her Time” - Riki Wilchins (from The Village Voice)

Sylvia Rivera: 1951-2002 - Michael Bronski (from Z Magazine)

Sylvia Rivera soundportraits interview (from New York Times Magazine)

Sylvia Rivera soundportraits update from July 4, 2001

Remembering Stonewall soundportraits transcript

Sylvia Rivera New York Times obituary

“Sylvia and Sylvia’s Children: a Battle for a Queer Public” - Benjamin Shepard (from That’s Revolting: Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation)

Sylvia Rivera’s talk at LGMNY, June 2001

“Still at the back of the bus”: Sylvia Rivera’s struggle - Jessi Gan

The Gay Liberation Youth Movement in New York: “An Army of Lovers Cannot Fail” - Stephen L. Cohen

“Queens, Hookers, and Hustlers: Organizing for Survival and Revolt Amongst Gender-Variant Sex Workers, 1950-1970” - Mack Friedman

“Eliding trans Latino/a queer experience in U.S. LGBT history: José Sarria and Sylvia Rivera reexamined” - Tim Retzloff

“Sylvia Rivera: Fighting in Her Heels: Stonewall, Civil Rights, and Liberation” - Layli Phillips and Shomari Olugbala (from The Human Tradition in the Civil Rights Movement)

“History or Myth? Writing Stonewall” - Benjamin Shepard

Transgender Warriors: making history from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman - Leslie Feinberg

“From Community Organization to Direct Services: The Street Trans Action Revolutionaries to Sylvia Rivera Law Project” - Benjamin Shepard

“Sylvia Rivera: She was more than Stonewall” - jerimarie liesegang

“Amanda Milan and the rebirth of the Street Trans Action Revolutionaries” - Benjamin Shepard (in From Act Up to the WTO)

“Transvestites: your half sisters and half brothers of the Revolution” - Sylvia Rivera (from Come Out! Magazine 1971)

“Sylvia Goes to College: ‘Gay Is Proud’ at NYU” - Arthur Bell (from the Village Voice, October 15, 1970)

“Street Transvestites for Gay Power” (October 1971)

FILMS

Pay it No Mind: The Life and Times of Marsha P. Johnson

Sylvia Rivera: Trans Movement Founder

Sylvia Rivera speaking at the 1973 Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade after being mocked and repressed by lesbian feminists and gay men

Clip from Market This featuring Sylvia

Sylvia Rivera at World Pride 2000

Changing House (a short documentary on Transy House)

Randy Wicker Interviews Sylvia Rivera on the Pier

Marsha P. Johnson home video

Marsha P. Johnson - People’s Memorial

Marsha P. Johnson In Person

Marsha P. Johnson at Baltimore Pride 1991

PHOTOGRAPHS

Marsha P. Johnson photo collection (by Randy Wicker)

Sylvia Rivera photo collection (by Randy Wicker)

buzzfeedlgbt: Yesterday afternoon New Yorkers participated in a...

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:40:04 -0400

buzzfeedlgbt:

Yesterday afternoon New Yorkers participated in a Rally Against Hate, organized by members of New York’s LGBT community. The rally was organized in response to a recent number of hate crimes, most notably the murder of Mark Carson, a gay man who was shot in the West Village neighborhood on May 18.

“His Name Was Mark Carson”:NYC Rally

Asexuality Exists: asexualhelp: lets do some basic vocabulary and key words to help you...

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:00:26 -0400

Asexuality Exists: asexualhelp: lets do some basic vocabulary and key words to help you...:

asexualhelp:

lets do some basic vocabulary and key words to help you identify yourself!

there is something called the “asexual spectrum” many different sexualities fit under this umbrella term aside from asexuality, like demisexuality. many asexuals do not approve of the term “asexual…

Art of Transliness: From the APA regarding the switch to Gender Dysphoria: An outline of the condition

Wed, 22 May 2013 05:20:24 -0400

Art of Transliness: From the APA regarding the switch to Gender Dysphoria: An outline of the condition:

Characteristics of the Condition

For a person to be diagnosed with gender dysphoria, there must be a marked difference between the individual’s expressed/experienced gender and the gender others would assign him or her, and it must continue for at least six months. In children, the desire to…

suchagoodexcuse: Today for International Day Against Homophobia...

Wed, 22 May 2013 02:40:28 -0400

suchagoodexcuse:

Today for International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, I’m wearing glitter and denim, hanging with one of my favourite queers, reading some fabulous queer and trans writers, and keeping close thoughts of the wicked queer and trans folks in my life. Tomorrow, 365 more days of struggle towards queer liberation. #queer #IDAHT #LGBT #LGBTQ

qbits: The TGEU map [above] shows countries in blue that...

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:20:28 -0400

qbits:

The TGEU map [above] shows countries in blue that require no sterilization, orange for countries that require sterilization and red for countries where trans people can not legally change their gender.

More at the source link.

fuckyeahsexeducation: Kelly Mizrahi (and Leiomy) speaking...

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:40:24 -0400

fuckyeahsexeducation:

Kelly Mizrahi (and Leiomy) speaking about violence against gay and trans* People of Color. She highlights the disparity in the treatment and coverage for Black queer people facing the violence versus that of white people.

I think that this dialogue is super important in light of more states legalizing same sex marriage. Same sex marriage isn’t stopping hate crimes, it’s not stopping homelessness, it’s not stopping abuse, and it’s not stopping the racism within the LGBTQAI+ community. We can’t let ourselves become content just because some of us now have the right to marry, because many of us won’t even make it far enough to find a partner they want to get married to.

I'm From Union City, CA

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:00:24 -0400

I'm From Union City, CA:

by Austin Yu

Over 15 years ago, I came out to my parents while in high school. Specifically, to my mom after a heated argument about whether or not I can go play miniature golf with a few friends over the summer. Specifically, with Rob, my cross-country teammate and otherwise blond Adonis. For one reason or another, my mom did not want me to go, and the abridged conversation went like this:

Me: I really want to go.
Mom: No.
Me: But I already told Rob that I wanted to go.
Mom: Tell him you can’t.
Me: But I love him.

And thus began my decade-plus long struggle for us to come to terms with the fact that I am gay, and that they have a gay son.

Through my later teen years and into early adulthood, we revisited the issue a handful of times. Not to say that it didn’t run as an undercurrent through every waking moment of our lives, we just outwardly addressed it a handful of times. Though some conversations may have started out peacefully and even with good intentions, all of them devolved into shouting, tears, and frustration. We approached the topic like a cold war, two diametrically opposed parties with tension brewing just beneath a veneer of calm, ready at any given moment to detonate and scatter the pieces of our quasi-happy existence into the great unknown.

We’d fight, endure a few days of silence, then resume our regularly scheduled repression. Through two significant relationships, I learned rather adeptly how to separate my romantic life from my familial one, how to tend to one while keeping an eye on the other, hoping to never let either know that they are essentially being compartmentalized, quarantined. East is East.

Then, 2008 rolled around.

On one nondescript Sunday towards the end of May, I decided that I would accompany my mom and dad to church. My parents have regularly attended church for years, and I knew that my mom appreciated my company there, even if my faith was conspicuously absent. That morning, we sat fourth row from the podium, right off the center aisle.

Little did I know that I inadvertently stumbled upon an entire “sermon” on the “sanctity” of marriage and how it was under attack by the homosexual liberals and their Prop. 8 shenanigans. How dare we?

I’ve heard enough of this kind of rhetoric to immediately pick up on where it was heading. The light bulb in my head was Pavlovian. The “pastor,” Bill, began talking about Rebecca and Isaac, the miracle of matrimony and childbirth, and how modern day times are constantly trying to reinterpret and redefine these tenets. I was like a dog, salivating at the sound of a bell; I knew what was coming.

I wriggled uncomfortably. My eyes darted around the room to see if anyone was nodding along, as church-going people are wont to do during sermons, I’ve noticed. Finally, it became too much to bear. I stood up, looked Bill directly in the eyes as he prattled on, grabbed by jacket, and stormed down the seemingly endless aisle with my head held high and eyes fixed on the door in the back. I let it slam as audibly as possible on the way out. Very diva.

Knowing I could not walk back into the church without it symbolizing some sort of defeat, I stood by the back door and listened. It was nothing but the usual diatribe, appalling and boring. When, finally, the service ended, I found my parents rather quickly. No discernible expression on their faces, and they said ‘hi’ as if nothing had happened, as if I had not disappeared in a huff just half an hour ago. This further fueled my simmering rage.

Bill walked over and schmoozed with them, and they smiled and laughed in return. The pit of my stomach was an active volcano of ire. Then Bill turned to me, extended his hand, and introduced himself.

I had but two milliseconds (nano, if I want to be dramatic) to decide what to do. Though the issue may be my war, this was not my battle, or my grounds. I could let Bill know exactly what I thought of him, his “sermon,” and my absolute disgust that he would turn a place of worship into his own political platform. But I could walk away from him, never see him again and never feel the repercussions of my actions. My parents, however, would face a different outcome.

So with my hands anchored at the bottom of my pantpockets and a stare that I hoped could melt glaciers, I said, “I know who you are.” His hand lingered in mid-air for a moment longer, and then he awkwardly excused himself.

My parents were livid.

I later discovered through my sister that they were mostly angry because I was rude to Bill. Unbelievable, I thought, though not entirely unexpected. It was safer for them to focus on trees when the forest was a great, and decidedly anti-great, unknown.

I fumed about it to Sam, my partner, that evening. Always the same approach, always the same conclusion. And so, after much deliberation, I decided to try a different tack.

I called my parents a few days later, and presented the terms as calmly as I could muster: Accept me for who I am, and understand that there is no changing me: I love men. You do not have to accept all gays and lesbians of the world, and you do not have to join PFLAG or march down Market Street in June. But meet my partner. Embrace my friends. Play a part in this part of my life, or you don’t get any other. Should we ever speak again, you must comply.

And thus began a month of silence. Sam asked if I had picked the right battle. I had no other battles. Over the course of 15 years, there was nothing but this battle. Only the stakes have changed: all of me, or none. No more compartments. As bad as this sounds, I felt justified in throwing a tantrum and laying down this ultimatum. It was the right thing to demand.

The stakes were high, though, and the odds were stacked against me (if the past decade and a half were any indication). Yet, I knew that we could not go on dancing around the same bush. If I were to completely cut ties with them, I could do it knowing that I stood up for what I believed in and did the best I could.

A few months later, my parents and sister, along with 5 gay guys including me and Sam, had dinner at Naan ‘n Curry together in Union Square. It was surreal.

Two years later, I turned 30, bought a house, somehow managed to get Sam to buy me a ring without even trying. All within a month. My parents have now met all of my close friends, and they see Sam on a regular basis. They ask about him when he’s not around. We have talked about my being gay and gay issues in general and we’ve ended those conversations with peace in our hearts and a deeper understanding of who we are as people. I have much to be thankful for.

When Sam and I began construction to add an additional bathroom to the upstairs level of our loft, we were told it was a small job, requiring less than a month’s time with minimal disruption to our lives.

But as construction projects go, the scope crept until it disappeared into the horizon, and we were displaced after the second night without a place to sleep. We took my parents up on their offer, moved in with them, and left 40 days later.

It was a rare opportunity for my parents to get to know Sam, and vice versa, and they all developed a level of comfort with each other that may have taken a lifetime to develop otherwise. My mom discovered that Sam likes yogurt, so she went to Costco and bought two 24-count boxes of Activia. My dad made a pan-fried soy and ginger halibut dish that he knew was Sam’s favorite. Twice. After dinners, my mom would brew a pot of jasmine tea, something to which Sam has quickly grown accustomed. And throughout these 40 days, they welcomed him, and us, into their home and lives, and allowed themselves into ours.

On the weekends, I was typically the last one out of bed in the morning. As I would shuffle through the hall and down the stairs for breakfast, I often heard my parents laughing, and Sam laughing, and conversation lobbying back and forth like an effortless round of tennis. I was thankful to have been an outsider during those moments, observing unnoticed, but listening to what I interpreted as family.

-(Share your story with us!)

thepeoplesrecord: 1,500 rally for Mark Carson in NYC - It was...

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:48:42 -0400

thepeoplesrecord:

1,500 rally for Mark Carson in NYC - It was New York City’s largest LGBT rally in years, according to organizers. On Monday at least 1,500 people showed up to honor the life of Mark Carson and make a stand against the hate that led to his death. Carson was an openly gay 32-year-old black man who was shot and killed over the weekend in what authorities are investigating as an anti-gay hate crime.

The randomness of Carson’s death has shocked the city’s LGBT community. “Mark is not going to die in vain. We are not going to get beat up in vain,” one rally participant told Mother Jones. “Gay rights, we’re still fighting for them, and the fight is not over. We need to protect each other.”

gaywrites: Thousands of people rallied in New York City on...

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:48:31 -0400

gaywrites:

Thousands of people rallied in New York City on Monday to protest a recent string of anti-gay violence in the city. Participants included openly gay City Council speaker Christine Quinn and DOMA plaintiff Edie Windsor. (via The Advocate)

"The successful, pragmatic strategy of gay activists has been to assert that same-sex marriage will..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:48:20 -0400

“The successful, pragmatic strategy of gay activists has been to assert that same-sex marriage will not change the institution itself. Their argument is that there is no need to defend marriage against loving same-sex couples, because these couples don’t want to alter it; they just want to participate in it. But as we race to a victorious finish, it is time to begin forcefully articulating that, in fact, maybe we do want to change marriage—because while marriage should be a choice, it should not be an imperative. For decades, LGBTQ communities have generated new forms of family built on foundations of shared commitments, collective responsibilities, nonconjugal love and parental devotion not predicated on shared genetics. Shut out of social-normative options for making families, they queered the very idea of family. It would be tragic to allow marriage equality to destroy or marginalize the pioneering work of queer families who have taught us that family is more complicated and more fulfilling than traditional models of marriage can ever capture.”

- “What Difference Will Same-Sex Marriage Make?” -Melissa Harris-Perry
(via tropicalfishgigi)
Yes!!!!
(via queerintersectional)

Photo

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:00:22 -0400

"As a trans woman, not many things give me a headache the way the entire concept of passing does...."

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:20:15 -0400

“As a trans woman, not many things give me a headache the way the entire concept of passing does. Passing is the idea that if a trans woman (or any person who is presenting as a woman) looks, dresses and acts a certain way, people won’t be able to tell they are anything other than a completely “normal” woman. If you look at online trans communities or forums, you’ll find tons of tips on how to pass better – everything from hair removal tips to workouts to how to walk and sit more femininely.
All of this presupposes that there is only one right way to look like and be a woman. And it’s infuriating. On the one hand, whenever I go out in public or post pictures online, a part of me is deathly afraid that I’ll be insulted or worse. I desperately want to be accepted as the woman I am. On the other hand, I hate that in order to feel safe, I’m expected to fit into the very narrow box that is labeled “woman.” Tips on how to pass always seem to say that you should avoid building muscle mass and avoid wearing clothes and makeup that are too costumey, that you should try to hide your shoulders and soften your features. Trans women are often told that if we want to pass, we have to try our hardest to be petite, soft, have just the right amount of femininity, and not stand out too much. But what if I want to be a different kind of woman? What if I want to look like Grace Jones or Kate Moennig? What if I want to look like Beth Ditto or Dolly Parton? They’re all cis women; don’t they pass?”

- Meyllen Djneres (via muffinsandcouture)

The moral of “passing” discussions always seems to be:

If you get bashed it will be your fault.

(via charthebutcher)