“I’m a gay mormon”: BYU students make an It Gets Better video
This has been circulating the interwebs the past couple of days — 22 students from Brigham Young University have released an It Gets Better video for fellow students at BYU and other gay Mormons out there, and it’s pretty powerful.
The producer told WaPo of the group’s intentions:
“In our religion, there is a lot of misunderstanding and ugliness about homosexuality,” said Kendall Wilcox, a former BYU faculty member who produced the video and serves as an adviser to the school’s unofficial gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender support group. “We wanted to send this message that God loves you just as you are.”
Being openly gay was grounds for expulsion at BYU until 2010, when they removed their ban on “advocacy of homosexuality” — though Jamil at MHP points out that “homosexual behavior” is actually still punishable at the school.
Nonetheless, the group has made a bold statement to the university and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about LGBT Mormons, and will no doubt encourage other folks in the Mormon community who are struggling to reach out. But what I love about the video most (and why it resonates) is the way it challenges the idea that because some major organized religions do openly ostracize the LGBT community (like LDS does), that means it’s impossible to both be gay and have faith. And dare I say this video does make me hopeful that a younger generation can help usher their religion into a more inclusive and progressive space. Kudos to them.
MSNBC Talks To And About Trans People For An Hour, Doesn’t F*ck It Up
We’re only about 30 seconds into MSNBC’s 20-minute “Transgender in America” segment when host Melissa Harris-Perry describes herself as “cis,” explaining that “cis” means that “the sex of the body I was born with, the gender I was assigned at birth, and my personal identity all match. She then pointed out that “being ‘cis’ does not make me “normal” or “natural,” it just makes me cis.” After last week’s shitshow with Barbara Walters and Jenna Talackova, the last thing anybody expected from a mainstream (if left-leaning) news organization was to hear the definition of “cisgender” on National television. It gets better from there.
The National Center for Transgender Equality, in its press release, said of the MSNBC program that:
“For the first time in recent memory, a major television network will dedicate an hour-long panel to discussing transgender social and political issues. NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling will be a featured guest on the show joining other recognized experts on trans issues. The panel will focus broadly on advancing transgender equality and other political issues.”
“When we see transgender people like Chaz Bono or others in the media, we’re often encouraged to see the spectacular, not the person,” Harris-Perry explained before introducing three guests: author and activist Kate Bornstein, the aforementioned Mara Keisling and Mel Wymore (a Democratic candidate for the New York City Council). She later brings out Allison Kilkenny of Citizen Radio who also chimes in on issues within the LGBT community that don’t really apply to the “T.” The importance of non-discrimination policies were addressed at length, including the Prison Rape Elimination Act, as well as the importance of inclusiveness within the LGBTQ community. They went into how issues like same-sex marriage and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell have very different impacts on different segments of the LGTBQ umbrella and how crucial it is that the LGBs understand that.
After going over some of the harrowing statistics about discrimination against transgender people in housing, employment, school and the criminal justice system, the story of African-American transgender Crishuan “CeCe” McDonald is introduced. CeCe was, as Kate Bornstein describes it, “beaten savagely by a group of folks and she fought back and ended up, in self-defense, killing one of her attackers. She was charged with second-degree murder, and put in the slammer, and that’s that.” Harris-Perry compares CeCe’s situation to that of Trayvon Martinand Kate mentions the online petition that you should all sign to get her out of jail.
“Transgender people are just normal people in most ways,” Keisling declared. “but nature loves diversity.”
The ensuing 15 minutes, which were devoted to discussing the Obama administration’s refusal to sign the executive order against discrimination by employers with federal contracts based on gender identity and sexual orientation, which Jillian T.Weiss writes about on the Bilerco Project today.
All-in-all, a pretty solid program and an excellent antidote to the Barbara Walters situation. (Although I was a little surprised by the section where Kate and Melissa seemed to imply that most trans people don’t use/like binary-identified pronouns — what did y’all think of that part?) In response to the Jenna Talackova 20/20 interview, many hoped that the sort of horrifying way in which that was covered would at least open up a door to discussing trans issues in a more serious and less sensationalistic way. This piece would suggest that the door is opening, and that people are walking through it. And that’s pretty fucking awesome.
| — | Charlie Brooker, in ‘Some people are gay in space. Get over it’, comments on the reaction to news that video game players can now identify as LGBT. (via guardiancomment) |
Some internet celebs have teamed up with FCKH8.com to create their own spin on the “It Gets Better” campaign - specifically for that deeply oppressed group of anti-gay crusaders out there.
The video features Shane Dawson (2.9M Subscribers), Glozell (486K Subscribers), Miles Jai (98K Subscribers), Chris Thompson (288K Subscribers) and Tyler Oakley (135K Subscribers) as they taunt the anti-gay community, cursing like an openly gay sailor.
My favorite line: “You get a gayby - and you get a gayby.” Top that Oprah.
DEAR LADY A: The people I know who claim they’re bi are attention-seeking and creepy. I honestly think, of the “bisexuals” I know, the guys are just gays who can’t emotionally handle being gay, and the women are trying to keep potential boyfriends interested with…
Video: Crip Sex, Crip Lust, and the Lust of Recognition by Mia Mingus
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha and Ellery Russian talk about Crip Sex. This video is part of a blog post and has a transcript available here.
