May 2nd, 2008
Here’s something new: Three residents from the Greek island of Lesbos are suing the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece for using the term “Lesbian” in their title. Dimitris Lambrou, one of the plantiffs, explains:
My sister can’t say she is a Lesbian. Our geographical designation has been usurped by certain ladies who have no connection whatsoever with Lesbos.
The court papers says that Greece is so ashamed by the word Lesbian that they’ve changed the island name to Mytilini, after its capital. Still, if the lawsuit is successful, the islanders plan to bring about similar lawsuits internationally.
So, I guess that means we should start looking for a new word for gay women—just in case.
I suggest “Albertan.”
May 5th, 2008
Teenagers have some brushing up to do on their sex education after the federal Tories updated the law books this month.
The age of consent—that is, the age at which it is legal to consent to sex—has changed from 14 years to 16 years in Canada as part of an effort to deal with online sexual predators. To stop short of outlawing sex between teens, however, a “close-in-age” exception has also been added so that people fewer than five years apart can still have sex with each other—unless one of the persons is in an authority position or under the age of 12.
That’s for heterosexual couples. (Following me so far?)
For gay guys, the age of consent for… let’s call it backdoor shenanigans—remains firmly set at 18, with absolutely no exceptions, even for consenting teens close in age. Health workers say the inconsistency will prevent teens from seeking information about safe sex, since they’d have to admit interest in illegal activities to obtain such information. While some provincial courts have already ruled the gay sex ban for teens to be unconstitutional, the Tories have so far refused to update the law.
Teens reportedly understand all of this and will immediately change their attitudes and behaviours accordingly.
May 7th, 2008
The American Library Association released their annual list of most challenged books on Tuesday. Topping the list for the second consecutive year is And Tango Makes Three, a true story about a couple of male penguins at the New York Central Park Zoo.
The story is actually pretty cute; the penguins pair off as a couple and begin incubating an egg-shaped rock as if it were their own. Eventually the zoo-keeper takes notice and replaces the rock with a real egg that another penguin had abandoned. The two penguins take turns sitting on the egg until it hatches into an adorable baby chick, which they raise together.
The book, complete with really sweet, colourful illustrations, generated more formal complaints and was pulled off more library and school shelves than any other book since 2006.
Complainants charge that the book leads impressionable children to accept the penguin lifestyle.
May 9th, 2008
I’m extremely pleased to present today’s Guest Slap. The author, who prefers to remain anonymous, is a gay high school science teacher here in Canada. Today, he shares his thoughts and experiences on what it means to be gay in a complex learning environment.
To be out or not to be out: That is the question; whether it is better to suffer the slurs and taunts of outrageous cowards, or take care with every word you say, and keep your true self guarded. This choice is faced by many in my school and every other school. The purpose of high school is all about learning who you are, more than about learning Archimedes’ Principle, conic sections, or how to play the flute. But because of the highly judgmental nature that exists in a milieu of teenagers, the decision of whether or not to come out of the closet is difficult for anyone in a high school, especially someone like me, a teacher.
I bet that many students who read this had never even considered the prospect that the person standing in front of you on Monday morning droning on and on about some dead poet could possibly be gay. After all, everyone knows that teachers live in the school, never take off their work clothes, and disappear in a puff of chalk dust on the weekends, only to re-materialize the following Monday in the teacher’s lounge. They certainly don’t have emotions, parents, friends, social lives, or sex. My students couldn’t believe that I went out for karaoke with my co-workers, and when I told them that—even though I don’t have kids—I bought a Nintendo Wii, they asked “What do you use it for?” So I’m pretty sure that if I were to tell them that I am gay, their brains would implode; it would be that difficult for them to comprehend.
When I was student teaching just a few years ago, I realized that it wouldn’t be long before I would have to make that decision about how out I would be at school. Every school has a different atmosphere when it comes to how well minorities are accepted, and thankfully, at mine both the administration and general student body are relatively open-minded and accepting. For example, on one of the first days of the year, I saw a group of kids surrounding two boys who were scuffling around. Immediately I thought “Oh God, I’m going to have to break up a fight.” But it turned out that they were having a dance-off to a Pokémon song they had invented. Still, no group of teenagers is free of bigotry. Everyone who has gone through high school knows that picking on the minority is an effective way to increase one’s social standing among the majority. So because of that, some gay teachers try to live a completely closeted professional life, and don’t open up their true selves to anyone at school. Others are completely fine with being out and proud to everyone, and even wear their leather outfits to school on Halloween (yeah, I’m not kidding there).
So I made the decision to make no decision; just to be myself. To any colleagues who I consider my friends, I am completely out. I’ve gone out for drinks with them, played Scrabble with them, taken them to see drag shows, and invited them over for dinner to meet my same-sex fiancé. With anyone who I know strictly on a professional level, like the principal of my school, or my students, I haven’t shared that side of my life. But if they find out, or if it comes up in conversation, I’m not going to hide anything; I’ll just be honest about who I am. After all, my students aren’t my friends; we can be friendly, but we can’t be friends. The rare teachers that do treat their students like actual friends, telling them about their night out at the bar… well, they’re just creepy to the exponent creep.
Sometimes I wonder if I would be a better role model for those students who are questioning their sexuality if I were more open about my homosexuality, even though it would mean opening myself up to personal attacks from homophobes. When I was in grade 12, would it have helped me to know that my Canadian History teacher was gay? Would it have helped me to come to terms with my sexuality easier? Would it have hindered my understanding of Wolfe & Montcalme?
Eventually, I just realized that being out doesn’t have to involve being out to everyone—just everyone you care about. So I choose simply to be who I am. After all, isn’t that what coming out of the closet is all about?
Thanks again to today’s special guest author!
May 12th, 2008
Christian Horizons, a government-funded charity organisation, is appealing a ruling that found them in violation of human rights codes. Connie Heintz, a gay Christian, was forced to quit her job after co-workers discovered she was a lesbian. She filed a human rights complaint and won.
Since Christian Horizons is funded with public tax dollars, it is obligated to respect the rights of the public—including gay employees. With this in mind, I’m interested to hear on what grounds the appeal is based. Religious duty has never included ensuring that no employee is gay, even if you object to their orientation.
May 14th, 2008
More than two thirds of gay students in Canada feel their safety is threatened at school according to a survey conducted by Egale Canada. The 1,200-student questionnaire was distributed in schools across the country, except for several Catholic school boards which declined participation.
Further to the banner statistic, the survey also revealed that fourty-one per cent of gay students reported having been sexually harassed at school (as opposed to only nineteen per cent of straight students), that fifty per cent reported having been verbally harassed, and nearly half reported having mean rumors spread about them at school.
Dr. Catherine Taylor, a researcher at the University of Winnipeg, was particularly bothered by the results:
This [sexual harassment] figure is shocking. Homophobia and transphobia is linked to poor performance in school, drop-out rates, and teen suicides.
Helen Kennedy, Egale’s executive director, was also worried by the results, saying that the high numbers could have been prevented:
There’s no issue around sensitivity training so the teachers, we are finding, don’t have the resources that they need to address this issue.
I agree completely, although it will be tough to make educators aware of the problem. Religious lobby groups have already successfully pulled optional diversity training guidebooks from teacher’s lounges.
May 16th, 2008
The California Supreme Court reversed a state ban on same-sex marriages yesterday, allowing gay couples to legally wed in as little as 30 days. Chief Justice Ron George ushered in the ruling with a very nice annoucement:
Our state now recognizes that an individual’s capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual’s sexual orientation, and, more generally, that an individual’s sexual orientation—like a person’s race or gender—does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights.
Religious and social conservative groups are upset, as usual, and will challenge the ruling. They’ve also started the process of introducing a constitutional amendment to ban equal marriage rights, which would undercut the justice system.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has indic—you know, you think I’d be used to that by now, but, seriously, Arnold Schwarzenegger? Anyway, Arnold Schwarzenegger has indicated that he respects the Supreme Court’s decision and will not support a marriage banning amendment.
Congratulations, California! It may not be over yet, but this is a phenomenal and important step.
