I love stories where people successfully defend the freedom to read. Via Quillblog comes this amazing response to a patron’s request to remove a children’s picture book about a gay wedding, Uncle Bobby’s Wedding by Sarah S. Brannen, from the Colorado library. Here’s an excerpt:

You feel that a book about gay marriage is inappropriate for young children. But another book in our collection, “Daddy’s Roommate,” was requested by a mother whose husband left her, and their young son, for another man. She was looking for a way to begin talking about this with son. Another book, “Alfie’s Home,” was purchased at the request of another mother looking for a way to talk about the suspected homosexuality of her young son from a Christian perspective. There are gay parents in Douglas County, right now, who also pay taxes, and also look for materials to support their views. We don’t have very many books on this topic, but we do have a handful.

…In short, most of the books we have are designed not to interfere with parents’ notions of how to raise their children, but to support them. But not every parent is looking for the same thing.

…What harm has this book done to anyone? Your seven year old told you, “Boys are not supposed to marry.” In other words, you have taught her your values, and those values have taken hold. That’s what parents are supposed to do, and clearly, exposure to this book, or several, doesn’t just overthrow that parental influence. It does, of course, provide evidence that not everybody agrees with each other; but that’s true, isn’t it?

…I fully appreciate that you, and some of your friends, strongly disagree with its viewpoint. But if the library is doing its job, there are lots of books in our collection that people won’t agree with; there are certainly many that I object to. Library collections don’t imply endorsement; they imply access to the many different ideas of our culture, which is precisely our purpose in public life.

I fully suggest you read the letter in its entirety.

In the US, the House Armed Services personnel subcommittee hearing on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” unfolded into a ridiculous circus of homophobic sentiment, revealing the incredibly unabashed anti-gay doctrine that can come from high up in military administration. The hearing has also revealed that most troops could care less about the sexual orientation and preferences of their fellow soldiers, as long as they are competent and prepared. Given that the military has taken to lowering prerequisite test scores, raising age limits, and even recruiting alcoholics and felons before letting the gays in, it would seem that there’s a disconnect between what’s best for the troops and what’s actually going on.

For those of you who don’t know about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” it is a US Military Policy, implemented by Bill Clinton, that prohibits homosexuals or bisexuals from disclosing their sexual orientation, or from speaking about any homosexual relationships, including marriages or other familial attributes, while serving in the United States armed forces. HuffPo gives us a rundown of the recent hearing on the (archaic) policy:

Last week, some in the Democratic Party with a good sense of historic timing held a committee hearing on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy of excluding gay people from the military. It’s the first such hearing in 15 years. Democrats invited three witnesses, including a retired Navy Captain and a retired Marine Staff Sergeant, both of whom are gay (and one of whom lost a leg in Iraq). A black retired Army Major General also spoke about how the current policy resembled segregation in the military. The Republicans invited retired Army Sergeant Major Brian Jones, and a woman, Elaine Donnelly…

To behold the hysterical anti-gay sentiment from Elaine Donnelly is truly mindblowing. From CBS News:

Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness and anti-gay activist, seems to have exiled her brain to a cave on Mars for the last 20 or so years. Among her many reasons for not permitting gays and lesbians in the military was the prevalence of “inappropriate passive/aggressive actions common in the homosexual community.” She claims that “Don’t ask, don’t tell” contributes to the spread of AIDS. She mentioned a case of “black lesbian” gang rapists who prey on new recruits.

Because sometimes what we all need on a Friday is a good laugh.

According to US Weekly, Tila Tequila (of Shot at Love fame) believes that Gays can now marry in California all thanks to her:

MTV reality queen Tila Tequila says she played a part in California recently dropping its ban on gay marriage.

“It is because of me — I definitely think [my show] has helped the movement,” she told Usmagazine.com at the Hollywood premiere of The Love Guru on Wednesday.

“Before it came out, everyone was still a little apprehensive about [same sex relationships],” she said. “Then they realized, ‘Wow, everyone is really into this stuff, and it is fine.’ The next thing you know, [gay marriage] is legal.”

I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself.

While I’m here, I’d just like to congratulate all of the Californians who’ve made their marriages legal since June 16th, and say a big ol’ F you to McCain for endorsing the ballot initiative that seeks to ban same-sex marriage. (Too bad Obama’s not much better.)

Whether Tila takes credit or Obama endorses it, it is a victory and I’m happy to celebrate it. Regardless of your views on marriage, I think we can all appreciate how important it is that we’re all granted equal rights under the law.

Happy Friday!

Hat tip to Bitch.

Kansas City art-punk brats Ssion (pronounced “shun”) set out to make what singer Cody Critcheloe describes as “the gayest record ever”; what resulted was Fools Gold, an album that is maybe more pomo-hop than homo-pop. But let’s not mince words - it is pure disco-punk dance party mania. Man, I wonder what Sid Vicious would think about how it’s now possible to use a term like “disco-punk” without batting an eyelash. But I digress.

Here’s the video for Street Jizz, a (slightly satirical?) song about the sexual and class dynamics between middle-class men and the street-culture youth they cruise for. Look for the various popular (and unpopular) culture references the band drops - Leonard Cohen (think the album cover of I’m Your Man), Tom of Finland, Sonic Youth, and others I’m probably too dense to notice. Also, when Critcheloe is reading a book called “Women In Rock” in the very first part of the video, it’s more than a cute name-drop - in an interview, he cites female musicians like Courtney Love and Kim Gordon to be among his biggest influences.

From the Associated Press:

Gay couples in Norway will be granted the same rights as heterosexuals to marry, adopt and undergo artificial insemination under a new equality law passed Tuesday.

Norway’s upper house of parliament voted 23-17 in favor of the gender-neutral marriage law on the same day that gay couples were marrying in California.

I’ve been remiss in not posting this sooner, but tomorrow night is the relaunch of Piece of my Heart: A Lesbian of Colour Anthology. Thanks to contributor Dianah Smith for the heads up on this great event!

This is an official Pride Toronto event.

Matters of the Heart: A celebration and relaunch of Piece of My Heart - A Lesbian of Colour Anthology

Thursday, 19 June 2008 (7 p.m.)
The Revival Bar
783 College Street West
Toronto ON

Piece of My Heart was edited by Makeda Silvera and published by Sister Vision Press in 1991. It was the first North American anthology of literature by lesbians of colour and was a finalist for the the American Library Association, Gay and Lesbian Book Award.(more inside…)

I’ve long been a big fan of the Little Sister’s Bookstore in Vancouver. It’s actually where my love of Feminist literature continued and my love of Queer literature really developed, where I discovered great writers like Anna Camilleri and Ivan E. Coyote, and where most of my (few) dollars were spent when I was broke and fresh out of university.

The Globe and Mail has posted an interview with Jim Deva, who opened the store with his partner, Bruce Smyth in 1983. The two have been involved in a 22-year court battle over “the importation of books that customs officials deemed offensive.” As a result, the pair have become heroes of the gay rights and anti-censorship movements.

Deva has some interesting things to say about starting the business:

I was raised on a farm in rural Alberta. My father was very, very right wing. I told him I wanted to open a bookstore. I didn’t give any more specifics. He gave me a small amount of money, which I paid back. But he had no idea that he was financing the first gay bookstore in Western Canada. About three years later, he came to town and he had a conniption. I got disinherited, couldn’t go back to my family. But my father eventually died, and now I do go home and it’s very nice.

Deva and Smyth are selling the business for personal reasons. The Globe and Mail adds: “…the store is now for sale, to the right buyer—someone who will continue the war and keep key staff.”

Via Quill Blog.

“Little Sister’s is a legend in its own time. What fight, what soul, what courage and principled defiance in the face of individual and state thuggery. They stood up for the civil rights of all Canadians—including those who would never have dreamed of crossing their threshold.”
—Ann-Marie MacDonald, author

KY’s new “couples” lubricant Yours+Mine makes some pretty sweeping assumptions about how people have sex and with whom. Two lubricants: “Mine” for her and “Yours” for him. Electric blue for boys and pink—well, okay, purple—for girls.

I’m all for fun sex products, but I’m not so into how branded hetero this product is without a vague awareness that it is. Maybe it’s because it’s the first couples lubricant I’ve ever seen, but I’m really struck by how “sex is for a boy and a girl” it seems while most other products are “personal.” (I also don’t like that the woman’s lube is “mine” because she’s the one buying it in the birth control aisle of her local Shopper’s Drug Mart. While you could argue it’s cool that they’re implying that a woman can be involved in her own pleasure, I’m inclined to think it’s connected to a “women are responsible for birth control” stereotype I’m not a fan of.)

Regardless of what you think of the product, I think it’s really important for us to recognize and critique how often heteronormativity creeps into our daily media.

Harmless on it’s own? Maybe. Part of a larger problem? Sure. Pissing me off? Yup.

First Person Queer, edited by Richard Labonte and Lawrence Schimel (and yes, the shameless part, featuring an essay by me) won a prestigious Lambda Literary Award for best LGBT anthology last night at the 20th annual awards in West Hollywood.

I wanted to take a moment to congratulate and thank all of the truly amazing contributors to the anthology, and of course Richard and Lawrence for all their amazing work and dedication. Also, many congrats to the fantastic (Canadian!) press Arsenal Pulp that put out this book, and for continuing to support queer and independent culture through publishing.

More about the (award-winning!) book after the jump.
(more inside…)