Marcus Bachmann: Born This Way

Marcus "Little Monster" Bachmann shows
his wife how to "Put Her Paws Up"

"Gay people who point out how fruity Bachmann is aren’t saying there’s something wrong with being fruity, or with being gay, or with guys who look, speak, walk, or dance the way Bachmann does. A lot of us look, speak, walk, and dance that way. And we don’t think there’s anything wrong with us for looking, speaking, walking, or dancing that way. I’ve never met a gay man who objected to Modern Family’s Cam, who looks, speaks, walks, and dances the Bachmann way. And we certainly don’t think there’s anything wrong with being gay. But Marcus Bachmann sure does. He thinks there’s a whole lot wrong with being gay. And when we point out that this same Marcus Bachmann acts like a huge homo—like a huge, messy, married, dishonest, closeted version Cam—we’re not mocking the fruits. We’re hoisting that pansy with his own hateful petard.

Marcus Bachmann is attacking us and we’re claiming him. We’re embracing him, we’re saying that we recognize ourselves in him, we’re turning the stigma Marcus Bachmann promotes back on Marcus Bachmann."

... Dan Savage: Marcus Bachmann, Queen for a Day

SLOG (via)

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Tim Gunn - "It Gets Better"

From Dan Savage, the creator of the fantastic "It Gets Better" project:

"Okay, celeb videos have been pouring in over the last 24 hours, and I'm floored and thrilled. But this one made me scream like a little girl".

On a more somber note, national treasure Tim Gunn admits that he too attempted suicide as a gay teenager...

Related: Click HERE to read my dear friend Dan's remarkable story which, sadly, also involves a suicide attempt.

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You Gotta Give 'Em Hope

Dan Savage has launched a YouTube channel called the It Gets Better Project, in which adults can post videos aimed directly at LGBT youths who are facing harrassment at school and/or at home. Savage was prompted to take action after the recent suicide of 15 year-old Billy Lucas (below) - who hung himself after being tormented by his classmates for being perceived as gay.

Savage writes:

"My heart breaks for the pain and torment you went through, Billy Lucas," a reader wrote after I posted about Billy Lucas to my blog. "I wish I could have told you that things get better." I had the same reaction: I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better.

But gay adults aren't allowed to talk to these kids. Schools and churches don't bring us in to talk to teenagers who are being bullied. Many of these kids have homophobic parents who believe that they can prevent their gay children from growing up to be gay—or from ever coming out—by depriving them of information, resources, and positive role models.

Why are we waiting for permission to talk to these kids? We have the ability to talk directly to them right now. We don't have to wait for permission to let them know that it gets better. We can reach these kids. So here's what you can do, GBVWS: Make a video. Tell them it gets better. I've launched a channel on YouTube to host these videos. My normally camera-shy husband and I already posted one...

I think this was a fantastic idea. I was bullied a little bit in elementary school for being a "sissy", but by the time I got to middle school I had figured out how to mask it just enough to fly under the radar and I retreated into the closet. But it would have been so reassuring to hear from actual gay people telling me that it'll get better.

And it DID get better. I went to college, and although I spent most of that time closeted - I made a ton of friends and slowly began to creep out of the closet and into the light. And by the time I moved to New York City a couple years later, I felt downright FABULOUS.

Anywhore, kudos to Dan Savage for this great idea. I hope there are gay kids locked in their rooms watching these videos right now - and learning that it DOES indeed get better.

Via Joe.My.God.

Homophobia In The African-American Community?

California's Proposition 8 voting (by race):

Writer Dan Savage voices some concerns that many of us in the gay community are having right now:

"African American voters in California voted overwhelmingly for Prop 8, writing anti-gay discrimination into California’s constitution and banning same-sex marriage in that state. Seventy percent of African American voters approved Prop 8, according to exit polls, compared to 53% of Latino voters, 49% of white voters, 49% of Asian voters.

"I’m not sure what to do with this. I’m thrilled that we’ve just elected our first African-American president. I wept last night. I wept reading the papers this morning. But I can’t help but feeling hurt that the love and support aren’t mutual.

"I do know this, though: I’m done pretending that the handful of racist gay white men out there—and they’re out there, and I think they’re scum—are a bigger problem for African Americans, gay and straight, than the huge numbers of homophobic African Americans are for gay Americans, whatever their color.

"This will get my name scratched of the invite list of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, which is famous for its anti-racist-training seminars, but whatever. Finally, I’m searching for some exit poll data from California. I’ll eat my shorts if gay and lesbian voters went for McCain at anything approaching the rate that black voters went for Prop 8." - Dan Savage.

I can't help but agree. I would assume that "Civil Rights" would apply to everyone - and I am surprised that gays and lesbians have fewer allies in the African-American community than we thought.