My "Interesting LBGT Articles" Thread

[blackfirefox]

True ^.^ Unless they're houses, in which case we build the box big enough to fit in heehee~

[Jayleia]

Epic Quote: How many more gay people does God have to create, before we ask ourselves whether God actually wants them around? http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/05/06/minnesota-rep-steve-simon-god-made-gays-so-gays-are-awesome/

[MadCat]

Man. I like that quote.

[MadCat]

Cool articles recently:

Light, but has some good points:

http://www.advocate.com/Arts_and_Entert ... er_Binary/

This one makes me very sad, and has a lot of the same opinions as me, in a way:

http://www.danoah.com/2011/11/im-christ ... e-gay.html

An old one, but a good one, about transsexuality and identity:

http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/ ... chor279530

[MadCat]

More on the scientific causes of gender-variant identity:

http://www.gires.org.uk/dysphoria.php

It's been a long-standing saying in the transgender community that "Gender is about what's between your ears, not between your legs." Referring to the fact that your mind, brain, and self-identity is what determines gender, not your genitalia. And there is a growing mountain of scientific evidence that this is exactly true: the sex-differentiated regions of your brain are what determine your sense of identity as 'male' or 'female' in the womb, long before your sexual organs have even developed.

Some data on the statistical prevalence of transsexualism, showing that it's far more common than most people think!

http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/ ... lence.html
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article ... z1fz2xxxmV

I get the feeling that awareness of transgendered people is growing (as evidenced by both the growing amount of media coverage and legal/societal acceptance, and the growing number of transgendered people being murdered around the globe. We're becoming more visible, and finally gaining some legal rights and equalities, though we have a long way to go, as many laws and protections given to the LGB community don't usually extend to their TI members.

Another good article on Transsexualism 101:

http://tranarchism.com/2010/11/26/not-y ... trans-101/

And an interesting article that reflects briefly on the differences between Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sexual Identity, as well as the gender expressions "allowed" to men and women, and how they differ. I'd like to find more research on that sometime.

http://www.gendertalk.com/info/tgism.shtml

[MadCat]

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2011/1 ... story.html

Transgender kids are being listened to and accepted by their parents more often now, and being allowed to transition earlier, freeing them to grow up happy and well-adjusted. I love reading stories like this one, even as they make me sad. Still, yay!

[MadCat]

http://www.glaad.org/blog/homeless-holi ... ir-stories

Homelessness is a huge problem among young LGBT people; many of them are kicked onto the streets, abandoned by their families with nowhere to go. Read more about the Homeless for the Holidays awareness campaign here: http://www.aliforneycenter.org/HFTHcocop4fb.html

[MadCat]

Found a cool blog by a lovely transwoman, Sara Jakubowski; here's a cool post where she answers some questions regarding being trans: http://www.suddenly-sara.com/2011/11/qu ... .html#more and one where she deals with the frustration and anger that comes from it: http://www.suddenly-sara.com/2011/11/fml.html#more

[Zephyr190]

This is an interesting blog post about the relationship between religion and gays (although it goes off to be just about general tolerance for people you disagree with).

http://www.danoah.com/2011/11/im-christian-unless-youre-gay.html

[Zephyr190]

A follow up to that article, featuring the most prominent comments left on the original.

http://www.danoah.com/2011/11/powerful-responses-to-im-christian-unless-youre-gay-blog.html

Also, that second comment has me in stitches. "Being straight takes work and effort", now it may just be me being so damn good at being straight that I don't even have to think about it any more, like a song you've played so many times that your fingers just know what they're doing (I swear my best analogies get posted here), but I'm pretty sure that anyone who's secure in their sexuality has to put no effort into it. I mean, even staying alive requires a basic input of energy, but I just am straight. It's kind of like saying it takes effort to be brunette or to have green eyes (I am on FIRE!).

That is, if you're secure in your sexuality. "Dear Ms. Christian fundamentalist, I have not one iota of regret as I inform you of some potentially upsetting news..."