Dr Robert Spitzer apologises for ‘fatally flawed’ study, published in 2001, which claimed gay people could be ‘cured’ if properly motivated
(via Psychiatrist who championed ‘gay cure’ admits he was wrong | World news | The Observer)
From marriage equality to the end of don’t ask, don’t tell, this has been an extraordinary year. Here, Aaron Hicklin, editor-in-chief of Out magazine, looks forward to the end of gay culture
Gareth Pugh, the iconoclastic fashion designer, as Cecil Beaton’s Charles James
(via Gavin Bond’s photos of influential gay figures – in pictures | Art and design | guardian.co.uk)
“Mommy, they are just like me.”
My oldest son is six years old and in love for the first time. He is in love with Blaine from Glee.
For those who don’t know Blaine is a boy…a gay boy, the boyfriend of one of the main characters, Kurt.
This isn’t a ‘he thinks Blaine is really cool’ kind of love. It is a mooning at a picture of Blaine’s face for a half hour followed by a wistful “He’s so pretty” kind of love.
He loves the episode where two boys kiss. My son will call people in from other parts of the house to make sure they don’t miss his ‘favorite part.’ He’s been known to rewind it and watch it over again…and force other to, as well, if he doesn’t think people have been paying enough attention.
This infatuation doesn’t bother me or his father. We live in a very hip-liberal neighborhood, many of our friends are gay, and idea of having a gay son isn’t something that bothers either of us. Our son is going to be who he is, and it is our job to love him. End of story.
He is also six. Six year olds get obsessed with all kinds of things. This might not mean anything at all. We always joke that he’s either gay, or we have the best blackmail material in the history of mankind when he’s a 16 year old straight boy. (Take that naked bath time pictures!)
Then the other day we were traveling across the state listening to the Warblers album (of course), and in the middle of Candles, my son pipes up from the back seat.
“Mommy, Kurt and Blaine are boyfriends.”
“Yes, they are,” I affirm.
“They don’t like kissing girls. They just kiss boys.”
“That’s true.”
“Mommy, they are just like me.”
“That’s great, baby. You know I love you no matter what?”
“I know…” I could hear him rolling his eyes at me.
When we got home I recapped this conversation to his Dad, and we stood simply looking into each other’s eyes for a moment. Then we smiled.
“So if at 16 he wants to make a big announcement at the dinner table, we can say ‘You told us when you were six. Pass the carrots’ and he’ll be disappointed we stole his big dramatic moment,” my husband says with a laugh and hugs me.
Only time will tell if my son is gay, but if he is I am glad he’s mine. I am glad he has been born into our family. A family full of people who will love and accept him. People who will never want him to change. With parents who will look forward to dancing at his wedding.
And I have to admit, Blaine would be a really cute son-in-law.
Beautiful! Parenting: You’re Doin’ It Right!
Activists called on governments around the world to end homophobic bullying and violence, saying Thursday that gay rights are human rights that must be respected by all.
Judy Shepard, the mother of a young man murdered in an anti-gay crime in the U.S. in 1998, told the United Nations gathering that people with different sexual identities and orientations are all human beings with similar aspirations.
Anti-gay violence “is hate, it’s ignorance to single out a group of people,” said Shepard, who with her husband founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation after their son was killed.
Rights activists from Lebanon, Nigeria and Thailand joined several senior U.N. officials on the panel organized by the Netherlands in advance of International Human Rights Day. Saturday marks the 63rd anniversary of the U.N.-sponsored International Declaration of Human Rights.
U.N. members, with their diverse religious and cultural sensibilities, are often deeply divided over the issue of gay rights.
The U.N. undersecretary-general for human rights, Ivan Simonovic, told the gathering that education and information are needed to end anti-gay violence.
Simonovic said a new U.N. study on violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, to be released in the coming weeks, should help.
“The fact that a report of this kind is being published is in itself a sign of progress at the United Nations,” he said. …
