Salon.com > Homophobia http://www.salon.com Wed, 22 May 2013 00:22:48 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Conservative group says AARP promotes radical “homosexual agenda” http://www.salon.com/2013/05/16/conservative_group_says_aarp_promotes_radical_homosexual_agenda/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/16/conservative_group_says_aarp_promotes_radical_homosexual_agenda/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 16:16:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13300494 The American Family Association has accused the American Association of Retired Persons of being a fringe organization that promotes a "homosexual agenda" that does not represent older American's "values and standards."

Why? Because, in addition to coupons for Outback Steakhouse and discounts on prescription refills, the retiree organization's website has a page to provide "resources, news, and other topics of interest to older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, their family and friends."

As Zack Ford at ThinkProgress notes, LGBT adults and seniors face unique challenges later in life, like navigating Social Security benefits, estate taxes and other issues; AARP's resource center addresses those needs.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/16/conservative_group_says_aarp_promotes_radical_homosexual_agenda/feed/ 27 Moscow rejects petition for gay pride march http://www.salon.com/2013/05/14/moscow_rejects_petition_for_gay_pride_march/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/14/moscow_rejects_petition_for_gay_pride_march/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 17:29:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13298319 Days after a 23-year-old gay man was brutally murdered in what Russian authorities believe to be a hate crime, Moscow city officials have denied a permit request to hold a gay pride memorial march in the victim's honor.

After filing the request on Monday, gay rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev announced a plan to hold the march for Vladislav Tornovoi, “whether authorities grant permission or not."

City officials denied the request, saying there is "no need for such events in the city," as the Moscow Times reports:

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/14/moscow_rejects_petition_for_gay_pride_march/feed/ 15 Gay activists in Russia cite political intolerance as reason for alleged hate crime http://www.salon.com/2013/05/13/gay_activists_in_russia_cite_political_intolerance_as_reason_for_alleged_hate_crime/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/13/gay_activists_in_russia_cite_political_intolerance_as_reason_for_alleged_hate_crime/#comments Mon, 13 May 2013 18:49:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13297340 In what authorities believe to be a hate crime, a 23-year-old gay man was brutally beaten and murdered in the Russian city of Volgograd last week.

The victim's battered body was found in an apartment building Friday morning, with signs of having been burned and sexually assaulted.

Natalia Kunitskaya, a spokeswoman for the Volgograd branch of the Investigative Committee, told Agence France Presse that her agency believed the crime was motivated by the victim's sexuality. A 22-year-old and 27-year-old were detained in connection with the brutal assault.

As reported by AFP:

The Investigative Committee's tersely-worded statement said investigators had opened a murder probe, without commenting on possible motives for the killing.

The attack comes at a time when rights groups are already worried about growing discrimination against homosexuals as President Vladimir Putin seeks to play up traditional values in a bid to rally support during his third term in office...

Russian parliament is considering passing a controversial national law banning "homosexual propaganda" among minors. Critics say the bill's wording is so vague that it could be used to justify any kind of repression against gays.

The law is already in place in several regions including Saint Petersburg.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/13/gay_activists_in_russia_cite_political_intolerance_as_reason_for_alleged_hate_crime/feed/ 0 Really, with the gay jokes? http://www.salon.com/2013/05/08/really_with_the_gay_jokes/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/08/really_with_the_gay_jokes/#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 23:59:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13293169 Bros, you are on notice: No more jokes about gay sex -- at least for the rest of the week. Between "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon's" homoerotic lip-sync skit and Zach Galifianakis' latest episode of "Between Two Ferns" featuring gay marriage as a punch line -- both of which took off today -- we have officially reached maximum capacity for jokes made by straight dudes about guy-on-guy sex.

In case you missed these viral videos, a recap: On Tuesday's "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," the host challenged "The Office's" Krasinski to a lip-sync off. They went back and forth, taking turns performing songs of their choice -- notably, songs by high-pitched women for maximum laugh factor -- and ended with the grand finale of Krasinski pretending to sing "I'll Make Love to You" by Boyz II Men and waving Fallon onto the stage for an intimate embrace. This morning, several publications ran coverage of the skit with the apparently hilarious screenshot of the two faux-crooning with their faces inches apart. (For the record, Salon posted the video, but ran with a different still.)

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/08/really_with_the_gay_jokes/feed/ 29 Orson Scott Card’s long history of homophobia http://www.salon.com/2013/05/07/sci_fi_icon_orson_scott_card_hates_fan_fiction_the_homosexual_agenda_partner/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/07/sci_fi_icon_orson_scott_card_hates_fan_fiction_the_homosexual_agenda_partner/#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 21:41:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13292006 The Daily DotDuring the next six months, you're going to be hearing the name Orson Scott Card a lot. Card is the author of Ender's Game, one of the greatest works of science fiction and children's literature ever written. In November, an all-star film production of Ender's Game is hitting theaters, and along with the buzz, there's sure to be lots of controversy.

Why? Because in addition to being one of the most critically acclaimed writers of science fiction, Card, or OSC, as he's dubbed in sci-fi circles, is also one of the most openly bigoted. Card is the great-great-grandson of Mormon icon Brigham Young, and his politics are deeply linked to his lifelong Mormonism. Card has been openly railing against what he calls "the homosexual agenda" for decades.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/07/sci_fi_icon_orson_scott_card_hates_fan_fiction_the_homosexual_agenda_partner/feed/ 135 Harvard professor issues “an unqualified apology” for anti-gay comments http://www.salon.com/2013/05/05/harvard_professor_issues_an_unqualified_apology_for_anti_gay_comments/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/05/harvard_professor_issues_an_unqualified_apology_for_anti_gay_comments/#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 17:09:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13290088 Harvard professor and historian Niall Ferguson has issued "an unqualified apology" for bigoted comments he made on Thursday when he suggested that the supposed shortcomings of John Maynard Keynes' economic philosophy was a result of Keynes being gay.

Speaking to a group of 500 financial advisers and investors on Thursday, Ferguson explained that the problem with Keynes' famous worldview, "In the long run we are all dead," is that we are survived by future generations who must deal with the consequences of our actions. In an off-the-cuff remark, Ferguson added that Keynes adopted this philosophy because he was a homosexual who could not reproduce.

From Financial Advisor's Tim Kostigen:

Ferguson asked the audience how many children Keynes had. He explained that Keynes had none because he was a homosexual and was married to a ballerina, with whom he likely talked of "poetry" rather than procreated.

Kostigen wrote, "The audience went quiet at the remark. Some attendees later said they found the remarks offensive."

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/05/harvard_professor_issues_an_unqualified_apology_for_anti_gay_comments/feed/ 56 Gay French politician receives death threat over marriage announcement http://www.salon.com/2013/05/03/gay_french_politician_receives_death_threat_over_marriage_announcement/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/03/gay_french_politician_receives_death_threat_over_marriage_announcement/#comments Fri, 03 May 2013 15:28:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13288745 French politician Thierry Speitel was sent bullets in the mail after giving an interview with a local newspaper in which he discussed his desire to marry his partner and adopt children now that France has legalized same-sex marriage and equal adoption rights for gay couples.

Along with the bullets, the Sigolsheim mayor was sent a copy of the interview scrawled over with homophobic slurs. He called the threat "odious."

As reported by English-language French news site the Local, Speitel is not the only French politician to receive death threats as the opposition to marriage equality in France becomes increasingly vocal -- and threatening:

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/03/gay_french_politician_receives_death_threat_over_marriage_announcement/feed/ 6 Wisconsin church bans NFL star over tweet supporting Jason Collins http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/wisconsin_church_bans_nfl_star_over_tweet_supporting_jason_collins/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/wisconsin_church_bans_nfl_star_over_tweet_supporting_jason_collins/#comments Wed, 01 May 2013 16:58:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13286827 Former Green Bay Packer Leroy Butler is reporting that he had a speaking appearance at a Wisconsin church canceled over his tweet in support of openly gay NBA player Jason Collins.

The offending tweet? (Get ready to be scandalized): "Congrats to Jason Collins."

Butler says he was contacted by a member of the church and told that he was in violation of his contract's "moral clause," and was no longer welcome to speak at the church. But, Butler went on to say, the member told him he would be welcomed back to speak if he would delete his pro-Collins tweet and "ask God for forgiveness." An offer that Butler, thankfully, declined.

More here:

[embedtweet id="329447831649800193"]

[embedtweet id="329448734402412545"]

[embedtweet id="329450104945770496"]

[embedtweet id="329450321061482496"]

h/t Raw Story

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/wisconsin_church_bans_nfl_star_over_tweet_supporting_jason_collins/feed/ 39 Young, gay and trying too hard http://www.salon.com/2013/04/18/young_gay_and_trying_too_hard/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/18/young_gay_and_trying_too_hard/#comments Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13274554 In his memoir-cum-manifesto, Yale Law School professor Kenji Yoshino wrote of his college years, “I sensed these bodies knew other bodies the way I knew calculus or Shakespeare,” he said. "On Saturday nights, I would sit in my cement-block dorm room with my face lit green by my IBM’s glow, agonizing not over women, or men, but line breaks." That's because Yoshino was gay and in the closet -- and, according to what's known as the "Best Little Boy in the World" hypothesis, perhaps overcompensating for the stigma he faced as a sexual minority.

This theory holds that closeted young men in bigoted environments often respond by overachieving in certain areas, like sports or academics -- the idea being that it's an adaptive means of finding a sense of self-worth where they can. It can also serve to distract from their sexuality: As Andrew Tobias wrote in his 1976 memoir, "The Best Little Boy in the World," a key "line of defense" was his endless list of activities. "No one could expect me to be out dating ... when I had a list of 17 urgent projects to complete," he wrote.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/18/young_gay_and_trying_too_hard/feed/ 13 Gay marriage advances in France — and so does hate http://www.salon.com/2013/04/12/gay_marriage_advances_in_france_and_so_does_hate/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/12/gay_marriage_advances_in_france_and_so_does_hate/#comments Fri, 12 Apr 2013 21:30:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13269333 There's nothing like progress to bring out the hardcore haters. They see bigotry melting away, they see people being happy, it drives them crazy. It makes them react.

On Friday, the French Senate voted to approve same-sex marriage and adoption, a move that could bring about full change in the country as early as this summer (civil unions have been legal since 1999). France's justice minister Christiane Taubira, a vocal supporter of the measure, said Friday that the move would strengthen society "by granting the simple recognition of full citizenship to homosexual couples" and  "move our institutions towards ever more freedom, equality and personal respect." Yet conservatives in the French government vowed to continue to fight against the bill, declaring that "nothing is definitive and the debate continues."

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/12/gay_marriage_advances_in_france_and_so_does_hate/feed/ 33 Ben Carson cancels Johns Hopkins commencement speech over anti-gay remarks http://www.salon.com/2013/04/11/ben_carson_cancels_johns_hopkins_commencement_speech_over_anti_gay_remarks/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/11/ben_carson_cancels_johns_hopkins_commencement_speech_over_anti_gay_remarks/#comments Thu, 11 Apr 2013 04:50:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13267967 After weeks of unsuccessfully walking back comments comparing gay marriage to pedophilia and bestiality, conservatism's latest best hope Ben Carson has canceled his speech at the Johns Hopkins University 2013 commencement.

During a post-CPAC media victory lap, the Hopkins neurosurgeon told Fox News that "no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality" can change the definition of so-called traditional marriage, which he said is a "fundamental pillar of society."

Carson was rebuked by students, faculty and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Dean Paul B. Rothman over his statement last week, and he sent Rothman a letter stepping down as commencement speaker on Wednesday.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/11/ben_carson_cancels_johns_hopkins_commencement_speech_over_anti_gay_remarks/feed/ 1 Comixology, not Apple, responsible for censoring comic featuring images of gay sex http://www.salon.com/2013/04/10/apple_censors_comic_featuring_images_of_gay_sex_lets_straight_sex_slide/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/10/apple_censors_comic_featuring_images_of_gay_sex_lets_straight_sex_slide/#comments Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:16:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13266922 Update: April 10, 5:07 p.m.

Comixology, the app behind "Saga," has issued a statement saying that they were responsible for the decision not to release issue 12, not Apple. Comixology attributes their decision to a "misunderstanding" of Apple's policies.  The statement in full:

To our customers -

In the last 24 hours there has been a lot of chatter about Apple banning Saga #12 from our Comics App on the Apple App Store due to depictions of gay sex. This is simply not true, and we’d like to clarify.

As a partner of Apple, we have an obligation to respect its policies for apps and the books offered in apps.  Based on our understanding of those policies, we believed that Saga #12 could not be made available in our app, and so we did not release it today.

We did not interpret the content in question as involving any particular sexual orientation, and frankly that would have been a completely irrelevant consideration under any circumstance.

Given this, it should be clear that Apple did not reject Saga #12.

After hearing from Apple this morning, we can say that our interpretation of its policies was mistaken. You’ll be glad to know that Saga #12 will be available on our App Store app soon.

We apologize to Saga creator Brian K. Vaughan and Image Comics for any confusion this may have caused.

All the best,

David Steinberger
CEO and co-founder
comiXology

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/10/apple_censors_comic_featuring_images_of_gay_sex_lets_straight_sex_slide/feed/ 16 When being HIV-positive was a crime http://www.salon.com/2013/04/02/when_being_hiv_positive_was_a_crime_partner/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/02/when_being_hiv_positive_was_a_crime_partner/#comments Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:15:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13258806 The American Independent In the late fall of 1988, state lawmakers and representatives from major insurance and pharmaceutical companies were hard at work addressing the looming AIDS crisis for the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative-leaning think tank that produces state-based business-friendly model legislation.

The efforts of ALEC’s AIDS policy working group were published that year in a 169-page book containing 13 HIV-specific legislative recommendations. Some of those model laws would, after becoming real state laws, go on to effectively criminalize the behavior of people living with HIV and perpetuate a lasting stigma against HIV-positive people. Today, a majority of states have laws on the books that criminalize HIV exposure regardless of whether the virus was transmitted or there was an intention to infect another person with HIV.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/02/when_being_hiv_positive_was_a_crime_partner/feed/ 5 “God loves Uganda,” hates gays http://www.salon.com/2013/04/01/god_loves_uganda_hates_gays_partner/ http://www.salon.com/2013/04/01/god_loves_uganda_hates_gays_partner/#comments Mon, 01 Apr 2013 22:41:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13258352 Religion Dispatches
 While conservative evangelical and Catholic leaders complain loudly about the “persecution” they suffer in the United States, the culture wars they are igniting and supporting around the world subject LGBT people and their allies to very real persecution.

The role that American religious right leaders have played in fomenting anti-gay bigotry in Uganda has been well-documented, but never before with the emotional punch delivered by God Loves Uganda, a new documentary by Academy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

“I love Uganda,” says Kapya Koama in the film’s opening words. But, “something frightening is happening that has the potential to destroy Uganda.”

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/04/01/god_loves_uganda_hates_gays_partner/feed/ 10 There will never be a “gay Jackie Robinson” http://www.salon.com/2013/03/31/why_there_will_never_be_a_gay_jackie_robinson_partner/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/31/why_there_will_never_be_a_gay_jackie_robinson_partner/#comments Sun, 31 Mar 2013 14:00:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13255709 Outsports

For years we've heard about the mythical coming out of the "gay Jackie Robinson": The first publicly out male athlete in one of the big pro leagues. In one fell swoop he's going to change the face of professional sports and open the floodgates for other gay athletes, just like Robinson did for black players.

The problem is, the first out athlete won't be the gay Jackie Robinson. He can't be.

Robinson was a very particular man at a very particular time in history. When we talk about the "gay Jackie Robinson," I'm afraid we diminish both of those pieces. In the process, we set a measuring stick so high we inadvertently push gay pro athletes deeper in the closet.

Robinson first swung a bat in Major League Baseball in 1947. That was eight years before Rosa Parks sat in the "wrong" seat. It was 15 years before the University of Mississippi was forcibly desegregated. The Civil Rights Act wasn't signed until 1964 ... eight years after Robinson retired.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/31/why_there_will_never_be_a_gay_jackie_robinson_partner/feed/ 10 Must-see morning clip: Jon Stewart on DOMA oral arguments http://www.salon.com/2013/03/29/must_see_morning_clip_jon_stewart_on_doma_oral_arguments/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/29/must_see_morning_clip_jon_stewart_on_doma_oral_arguments/#comments Fri, 29 Mar 2013 13:12:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13255554 Jon Stewart summarized the DOMA and Prop 8 hearings this week, "where America's top nine justices spent two full days enjoying gay oral...arguments." He mocked viewpoints from some of those against marriage equality, showing that the argument is not-so-thinly-veiled homophobia:

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/29/must_see_morning_clip_jon_stewart_on_doma_oral_arguments/feed/ 2 GOP official defends sharing article about “filthy” gays and lesbians http://www.salon.com/2013/03/28/gop_official_defends_sharing_article_about_filthy_gays_and_lesbians/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/28/gop_official_defends_sharing_article_about_filthy_gays_and_lesbians/#comments Thu, 28 Mar 2013 18:14:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13254872 A member of Michigan's Republican National Committee used his Facebook page to promote an article about the "homosexual lifestyle" that states, among other things, that "homosexuals live unhealthy lifestyles, and have historically accounted for the bulk of syphilis, gonorrhea, Hepatitis B, the 'gay bowel syndrome', tuberculosis and cytomegalovirus gays and lesbians" and that "many homosexual sexual encounters occur while drunk, high on drugs, or in an orgy setting."

On Thursday, Dave Agema defended sharing Dr. Frank Joseph's “Everyone Should Know These Statistics on Homosexuals” on his Facebook page, explaining in a statement to the Detroit Free Press that the article was "worth sharing given the debate over gay marriage that is happening in the Supreme Court." Agema added: “I strongly maintain my position in support of marriage between a man and a woman and I will not back down from my core beliefs in support of strengthening the family."

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/28/gop_official_defends_sharing_article_about_filthy_gays_and_lesbians/feed/ 15 Ann Coulter: We all have to “pay” for sodomy, single parenthood http://www.salon.com/2013/03/25/ann_coulter_we_all_have_to_pay_for_sodomy_single_parenthood/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/25/ann_coulter_we_all_have_to_pay_for_sodomy_single_parenthood/#comments Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:35:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13251137 Ann Coulter went on "Geraldo at Large" to debate New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's public health initiatives with anti-obesity advocate MeMe Roth, but what started as a conversation about the city's indoor smoking ban and a Bloomberg proposal to keep cigarettes hidden from view in storefronts quickly devolved into a tirade against gay people and single mothers.

Choice quotes from the always classy Coulter include:

I think you're going to have to do something about the gay bathhouses because AIDS is very expensive, and if I'm paying for it, how about discouraging that behavior?

If your argument is "Smoking: we all have to pay," then why not "Sodomy: we all have to pay."

After agreeing (!) with Coulter's assertion that AIDS is a "gay problem," host Geraldo Rivera tried to redirect the conversation to smoking bans, practically begging Coulter: “Can we get off sodomy for a moment?”

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/25/ann_coulter_we_all_have_to_pay_for_sodomy_single_parenthood/feed/ 73 It’s a hard time to be a homophobe http://www.salon.com/2013/03/20/its_a_hard_time_to_be_a_homophobe/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/20/its_a_hard_time_to_be_a_homophobe/#comments Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:40:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13246790 If you want to be a bigmouthed bigot, hey, it's a free country. Just take a few lessons from what's happened to your fellow homophobes this week. Intolerance just isn't as tolerated as it once was.

Let's say, for example, you're a folk singer with a once-strong lesbian following who peaked in the late '80s. Let's say you went all "born-again, sanctified, saved-in-the-blood Christian" a few years back. Then let's say you show up for a gig in San Francisco, a town that is known for being, oh, on the gay-friendly side, at a gay-owned club called Yoshi's. And you reportedly start talking about how you're afraid that the world will be destroyed if gays are allowed to marry, and cap it off by telling the audience "You can go on Twitter and say 'Michelle Shocked says God hates fags.'" 

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/20/its_a_hard_time_to_be_a_homophobe/feed/ 70 “Rainbow equality house” moves in across the street from Westboro Baptist compound http://www.salon.com/2013/03/19/rainbow_equality_house_moves_in_across_the_street_from_westboro_baptist_compound/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/19/rainbow_equality_house_moves_in_across_the_street_from_westboro_baptist_compound/#comments Tue, 19 Mar 2013 17:56:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13245798 Aaron Jackson, a co-founder of environmental and humanitarian nonprofit Planting Peace, had ambitions to become more active in gay rights advocacy but didn't know the best way to do it.

Turns out, real estate was the answer.

After seeing a "For Sale" sign across the street from the anti-gay hate group Westboro Baptist's compound in Topeka, Kansas, Jackson decided to buy the property. Oh, and paint it to look like a rainbow flag.

As Jackson told the Huffington Post:

I didn't know anything about the church or where they were located, but that story kept popping up. And one night I wondered, Where is this church? I got on Google Earth, and I was 'walking down the road,' and I did a 360 view. And I saw a 'For Sale' sign sitting in the front yard of a house. Right away it hit me, Oh my gosh, I could buy a house in front of the WBC! And immediately I thought: And I'm going to paint that thing the color of the pride flag.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/19/rainbow_equality_house_moves_in_across_the_street_from_westboro_baptist_compound/feed/ 13