Archive for April, 2011
Kahlil Gibran once wrote, “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” Gil Croy, local artist and organizer of Artisan’s Circle, strongly subscribes to this philosophy of self-created experience and embodies it fully as a man living with HIV.
Back in our April 2 issue, I wrote in my Editor’s Note column, “Marching backward to the beat of a despotic drum,” that attempts to write discrimination into state constitutions across the nation could — and, in fact, already have — very easily transform into harsher and harsher forms of [...]
SC Equality, the Palmetto State’s LGBT advocacy group, will meet in Aiken, S.C., tonight with U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles, FBI officials and local law enforcement. From the group: On Wednesday, SC Equality joins US Attorney, Bill Nettles, FBI and local law enforcement for a free and open to the public [...]
While it would be difficult to overstate the importance of AIDS Walk fundraisers in the battle against HIV and AIDS, the events themselves couldn’t be much simpler.
Although Charlotte has been hosting Pride festivities since the 1970s, the process of creating a thriving LGBT community hasn’t been easy. In 2005, the non-profit Charlotte Pride organization dissolved after facing intense anti-gay backlash. But since 2006, when the Lesbian & Gay Community Center took charge of the event, Pride Charlotte has grown immensely, jumping from Gateway Village to the N.C. Music Factory and now, for 2011, to the very heart of the Queen City — Uptown Tryon St.
April 23, 1961 will mark the 50th anniversary of what was probably the greatest evening in show business history. Over 3,000 lucky people packed the world-famous Carnegie Hall in New York City to see Judy Garland. We are lucky enough that this evening was recorded live and complete and has been transforming fans for the last 50 years to front row seats to hear and experience Judy Garland, her charm, charisma, presence and her truly marvelous voice in full form.
Growing up gay can be hard. That’s especially true if you grow up in the South or other rural, conservative settings. Despite these hardships, many of us LGBT Southerners still long for a piece of home or clamor to embrace what we consider our “roots.” Being gay and Southern — or “country,” “redneck,” “cowboy” or whatever term of endearment you choose to identify yourself — has never been mutually exclusive.
Though I have no idea how he personally feels about LGBT people — and, therefore, cannot call him a bigot — one thing is clear: McCarley’s actions and legal opinions have significantly harmed our community and prevented any substantial and concrete forward movement on LGBT inclusion in city policies and ordinances. In short, McCarley is an enabler of continued bigotry, discrimination and prejudice.
We Americans like to express ourselves with our chests. I’m not speaking of Jane Russell or even Arnold Schwarzenegger. I’m talking about our proclivity for wearing T-shirts with slogans on them. Americans have been human billboards for decades.
This issue’s QPoll: Federal courts have ruled consistently that students’ rights to free speech and expression while at school extend to their wardrobe. LGBT students have benefited from these rulings, but should other students be allowed to wear clothing with anti-LGBT messages?
Readers respond to Matt Comer’s April 2 column, “Marching backward to the beat of a despotic drum.”
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) led 11 colleagues in an April 6 letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano urging immigration equality for legally married same-sex couples who are currently discriminated against under the Defense of Marriage Act.
This year, amidst the rise of a Republican-led legislature which has already brought an anti-LGBT constitutional amendment to the floor of both chambers, Equality North Carolina (ENC) has it’s plate full.
Students and youth gathered at Open Eye Cafe, 101 S. Greensboro St., at an open mic Speak Out after the Day of Silence. It was sponsored by iNSIDEoUT.
Time Out Youth prepares for its 20th anniversary. Plus: Charlotte couples wed in D.C.
The eastern North Carolina governing body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) gave a thumbs down to a proposal from the national church body to allow gay and lesbian clergy.
“And stretch one more time, finding your edge and pushing a little bit more, even if it is just an inch or a micro-inch,” Elijah says to his enthusiastic crowd of 25 aging yoga participants at our local YMCA. Downward dog, looking like my Labrador retrievers as they wander into our bedroom with their morning yawn and stretch, I put my head down, push back on my heels, hips up toward the sky, legs and hands outstretched.
“Hey y’all!” as one of my favorites, Paula Deen, would greet her folks. And, welcome back to my little neck of the woods — here since the fall of 1996! Oh my goodness, that’s a lot of drag and pageants. This time, I will talk about the three main pageants that I mentioned going to in the last Rag and, also, start off with a show that I failed to mention.
Take the bull by the horns when the Sun stampedes into Taurus. It is time to lasso and brand your personal message on the world. Grab what you want by the tail and don’t let go. Hey, nice tail.
Tired of being spurned by hook-ups, a reader asks Trinity, “What’s up with open relationships?”
