March 26th, 2012
David Hall on Tyler Clementi and his new book
I am proud to share two of my recent publications about important diversity and identity issues in our society today.
First, my latest CNN blog, on what the tragedy of Tyler Clementi teaches us about teens’ sexting, examines the reality of teens’ sexting and the fact that the victims are disproportionately gay or female. You can find my CNN blog by clicking here.
If you are so inspired, please comment on CNN’s page, post, tweet, email, etc.
I am also proud to announce the publication of my latest book, Taking Sides: Family and Personal Relationships. This college text includes chapters on a wide array of issues related to families and relationships: same-sex marriage, same-sex couple adoption, parents choosing the biological sex of their intersex children, undocumented immigrants and public schooling, teens’ sexting, divorce, grandparents’ visitation rights, and much more.
Published by McGraw-Hill, you can find a link for the book here
Additionally, June is coming up, and a lot of you will be looking for Pride Month programs in your workplace. Please do not hesitate to contact me personally if you would like to discuss a program in June or at any other time of the year.
Lastly, the last thing I want is to be a part of anyone’s email clutter. If you would like to be removed from this distribution list, please just respond to this email with the message “unsubscribe.”
Wishing you a great weekend.
My Best,
David
–
David M. Hall, Ph.D.
October 24th, 2011
Actor Zachary Quinto comes out in honor of bullied teen
Source: CNN
October 16, 2011 — Updated 2138 GMT (0538 HKT)
Actor Zachary Quinto acknowledged his homosexuality Sunday, saying the action comes after a gay teen killed himself.
(CNN) — Actor Zachary Quinto, known for playing Spock in the 2009 “Star Trek” remake and his role as Sylar on the television show “Heroes,” acknowledged his homosexuality in a post on his website Sunday, saying the action comes after the suicide of a 14-year-old who killed himself after apparently being harassed over his sexuality.
“When I found out that Jamey Rodemeyer killed himself — I felt deeply troubled,” Quinto posted. “But when I found out that Jamey Rodemeyer had made an ‘It Gets Better’ video only months before taking his own life — I felt indescribable despair.
“I also made an ‘It Gets Better’ video last year in the wake of the senseless and tragic gay teen suicides that were sweeping the nation at the time,” Quinto wrote. “But in light of Jamey’s death, it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality.”
Rodemeyer was found dead September 18 outside his parents’ home in Buffalo, New York. His parents said he had experienced years of bullying over his sexual orientation. His suicide has attracted the attention of such stars as Lady Gaga, who dedicated a song to him at a recent concert.
The “It Gets Better” campaign is aimed at gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered youth who may experience bullying.
“Our society needs to recognize the unstoppable momentum toward unequivocal civil equality for every gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered citizen of this country,” Quinto said. “Gay kids need to stop killing themselves because they are made to feel worthless by cruel and relentless bullying. Parents need to teach their children principles of respect and acceptance. We are witnessing an enormous shift of collective consciousness throughout the world. I believe in the power of intention to change the landscape of our society — and it is my intention to live an authentic life of compassion and integrity and action.”
Rodemeyer’s life has changed his, the 34-year-old Quinto wrote. “While his death only makes me wish that I had done this sooner, I am eternally grateful to him for being the catalyst for change within me. Now I can only hope to serve as the same catalyst for even one person in this world. That — I believe — is all that we can ask of ourselves and of each other.”
August 15th, 2011
Gay man, transsexual woman marry in Cuba
Transsexual bride Wendy Iriepa, left, and her groom Ignacio Estrada leave their Havana ceremony on August 13 in the first transsexual wedding in Cuba.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Couple call their union the first gay wedding in Cuba
- The government pays for sex-change surgeries
- Gay weddings are illegal
Havana (CNN) — The bride pulls up in a vintage American convertible and steps out in her frilly, rented gown. The crowds cheer as they throw rice in her direction.
“It’s the happiest day of my life,” she gushes.
But Wendy Iriepa is not your average bride. She is a male-to-female transsexual. Her groom, Ignacio Estrada, is a gay man who is a gay rights activist and outspoken dissident.
They are calling this the first gay wedding in Communist Cuba.
“It’s a step forward for the gay community,” Estrada told the throngs of foreign journalists and curious onlookers who crowded the steps to the local Marriage Palace.
Landmark wedding on Fidel’s birthdayRELATED TOPICS
The couple held the wedding on Fidel Castro’s birthday as a way to raise awareness about gay rights.
“We want August 13th to be more than our wedding date,” Estrada said. “It’s also a song of freedom. It could mark a new beginning for the gay community.”
At the start of Fidel Castro’s revolution, gays and transsexuals were locked up or sent to labor camps.
Now it’s Fidel’s niece Mariela Castro, the daughter of current President Raul Castro, who is leading the battle against homophobia.
As head of the National Sexual Education Center, she has worked from within the system to educate police and party members, promoting discussions and a colorful but very short parade every year.
With her help, Cuba has been offering free sex changes since 2007.
Wendy Iriepa was one of the first to benefit. Which is why, technically, her wedding is legal.
Despite efforts by Mariela Castro, gay unions are illegal.
Prominent dissident Yoani Sanchez was the maid of honor at Saturday’s ceremony, which was attended by a couple dozen family and friends, many of them from the opposition and gay communities.
Iriepa once worked for Mariela Castro, but they became estranged when she fell in love with Estrada earlier this year.
He argues gays should be allowed to marry and have the right to congregate and march without getting state approval.
But for now, the married couple plans to put politics behind them and enjoy their honeymoon in private.
June 11th, 2011
Will gays be ‘sacrificial lambs’ in Arab Spring?
Source: CNN
By Catriona Davies, for CNN
May 27, 2011 — Updated 1158 GMT (1958 HKT)
Protesters in Beirut, Lebanon, on International Day Against Homophobia 2010. Their banner reads “What do you know about being normal?”
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Some gay people say political unrest in Middle East will bring greater persecution
- Fears that conservative forces will hijack movements for change
- Political changes in region have not resulted in social changes, says U.A.E. activist
(CNN) — The uprisings bringing political change and demonstrations across much of the Arab world have given millions of people hope of greater freedom. But some gay people in the Middle East fear exactly the opposite.
Homosexuality is illegal — enforced to varying degrees — in most Arab countries.
A 2011 report by the International Lesbian and Gay Association reported that homosexuality is illegal in 76 countries worldwide and punishable by death in five, including Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Despite the risks, there are those willing to speak out and campaign for gay rights across the Middle East.
Sami Hamwi, a 35-year-old journalist from Damascus, is the Syrian editor for the website Gay Middle East, but few friends or family know his true sexual orientation.
Hamwi said: “We have been trying in Gay Middle East to start a group to be able to help LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender] people in Syria. It is a work in progress.”
I can think of a million things they can do to me if I was ever arrested.
–Sami Hamwi, Syria editor, Gay Middle East
–Sami Hamwi, Syria editor, Gay Middle East
However, he added: “I am very scared now. I can think of a million things they can do to me if I was ever arrested or investigated.”
Hamwi wants to see reform in Syria, but doubts that any political change could significantly improve gay rights.
“Sheikhs still emphasize that death penalty is the Islamic punishment for gay men,” he said.
“A more open society regarding sexuality needs years, if not decades, of work after Syrians get the freedom they aspire to have.”
Haider Ala Hamoudi, an expert on Middle Eastern and Islamic law at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, in the United States, says that while Islamic law is open to different interpretations, it is generally considered to condemn homosexuality.
“Not every Muslim would adhere to this view but traditionally Islamic law would regard homosexuality as illegal,” he said.
“It seems commonly accepted that the foundational sacred sources (the Quran and the Sunnah) ban homosexuality,” he added. “I do know there are Muslims who take exception to that, it’s not black and white, but the dominant standing pretty clearly condemns homosexuality.”
Some have a more positive view of the situation in Syria.
A Syrian woman who writes a blog called “A Gay Girl in Damascus” has gained international attention for her account of her father protecting her when security forces arrived at night to arrest her for “conspiring against the state.”
The blog’s author, Amina Abdallah, is a 35-year-old English teacher who says she returned to Syria last year after many years in the United States. In an email interview Abdallah said she believed that political change could improve gay rights.
She said: “A whole lot of long time changes are coming suddenly bubbling to the surface and views towards women, gay people and minorities are rapidly changing.”
Abdallah said the reaction to her blog had been “almost entirely positive.”
“What has really startled me has been the fact that I have received no criticism from Islamic sources,” she said. “Instead, they’ve been entirely positive.
“It’s sort of indicative of the sea change that’s happened here; suddenly people are working together, regardless of their other views, to achieve a single goal: a free Syria.
Not everyone shares Abdallah’s optimism.
Dan Littauer, the London-based editor of Gay Middle East, said: “Many gay activists are very scared that the reality of their oppression could get worse.
As long as religion has a big impact on governments around the Arab world, it will always be this way.
–Bertho Makso, Lebanese gay activist
–Bertho Makso, Lebanese gay activist
RELATED TOPICS
“For example, in Egypt and Tunisia there was a lot of hope initially that there would be a more tolerant civil society. Now it seems that the impetus for change will be hijacked by conservative forces who will make the situation worse for gay people and other minorities.
“In Syria and other countries, there’s a fear that gay people could be used as sacrificial lambs.”
One gay American who recently left Syria, where he had been working for several years, said the unrest had made life more dangerous for gay people.
The man, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, said: “It has caused even more skepticism and paranoia for the gay population — just another reason to be harassed and checked.”
Bertho Makso, owner of a gay-friendly travel company in Beirut, said homosexuals in Lebanon had more freedom than those elsewhere in the Middle East.
He said: “As long as religion has a big impact on governments around the Arab world, it will always be this way.”
A 35-year-old gay activist in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, who also spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, said: “Being gay in U.A.E. is keeping yourself discreet and hiding your inner self. One has to be very careful when in public to not draw any attention towards himself in order not to be harassed.
“The political changes occurring in the Middle East are on a political level only and have not resulted in any society changes. All the gay websites are blocked in U.A.E.”
January 9th, 2011
GLAAD to CNN: Keep away from the anti-gay industry
Source: Fridae.com
The US media watchdog Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has on Thursday started a petition to urge CNN to stop inviting ‘experts’ whose “only qualification is that they are anti-gay” to provide ‘balance’ to LGBT-related news topics.
It is a practice that can be observed in media organisations from the United States to Britain to Singapore and possibly elsewhere, at one time or other. Anti-gay advocates from religious fundamentalists to thinly disguised ”conservative family values” campaigners have often been called upon to provide anti-LGBT comments in a misguided attempt to provide a ‘balanced’ view to LGBT-related news stories.
In December, UK’s Pink News took the BBC to task for its decision to feature a supporter of state-sponsored execution of gay men as the sole commentator for its story about the birth of a surrogate son to Elton John and his partner. Stephen Green, of right-wing group Christian Voice, called the new child a “designer accessory” and accused the couple of acting out of “pure selfishness to deprive a baby of a mother.” When contacted, the BBC defended its decision to feature an opposing viewpoint.
In April 2010, CNN, a US cable news channel that broadcasts worldwide, featured ex-gay activist Richard Cohen alongside California Assembly woman Bonnie Lowenthal to discuss a story about efforts to repeal an outdated California law requiring the State Department of Mental Health to conduct research into the “causes” and “cures” of being gay with CNN’s Kyra Phillips. This is despite the fact that Cohen is not licensed and has been discredited by major mainstream psychological associations.
On December 21 last year, CNN’s John King ran a segment on then pending repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and its implementation. During the segment, Peter Sprigg from Family Research Council appeared alongside openly gay former service member Alex Nicholson who gave firsthand accounts of how the policy played out in the day-to-day lives of gay and lesbian service members.
GLAAD however questioned Sprigg’s lack of qualifications given that it appears that he was invited based solely on his job at the Family Research Council, a conservative, Christian right group and lobbying organisation linked to Focus on the Family.” The watchdog noted: “There, Sprigg has worked to advance some of the most hurtful, dangerous, and demonstrably false notions about the lives of LGBT people that our country has seen in recent years. And yet, by pairing him with Nicholson in this segment, CNN told its millions of viewers that both of these men should be seen as equally valuable to this discussion.”
“Out of a desire for ‘balance’ on these issues, CNN turned – as they often do – to the anti-gay industry to provide the counterpoint. Except all too frequently, the network doesn’t book these people because they provide any actual expertise or experience on issues that impact LGBT people; their only qualification is that they are anti-gay.
“Is it important for the media to take these groups on? Of course it is. But that’s not what CNN and other media organizations are doing when it invites these groups to take part in otherwise reasonable discussions. The media is elevating their hurtful messages and attitudes to the level of rational discourse. The media is saying that people like Alexander Nicholson, who can speak to real-life experience and firsthand facts, need to be “balanced” by people like Peter Sprigg, whose claim to fame is arguing that being gay should be outlawed. If CNN wants to interview a gay person who believes being straight should be outlawed, THEN Peter Sprigg would be an acceptable “balance.”
GLAAD further warns that when the CNN and other media outlets invite members of these anti-gay groups onto their programming, they are “doing nothing but exposing their viewers to dangerous anti-gay rhetoric.”
GLAAD finally urges readers to tell the media that “if they can’t find someone who isn’t part of the anti-gay industry to discuss an issue that involves the LGBT community, then the ‘other side’ of that issue isn’t one worth hearing.”
The petition, which has attracted over 2,500 signatures, reads:
Dear CNN: Use experts, not the anti-gay industry.
To sign the petition or for more information, click onto Glaad.org/tellcnn
Dear CNN:,
With the new year upon us, I am asking you to make a resolution to keep anti-gay groups off of your airwaves.
When a story impacts the LGBT community, think about how you would treat the story if it impacted any other group of people. If you were running a story about education, would you seek out the opinion of someone who hates teachers? If you were running a story about agriculture, would you invite a guest who believes farming is a sin? Of course not, yet the anti-gay point of view is one you seek out regularly.
These groups, whose only qualification is their animosity towards LGBT equality, bring absolutely nothing of value to your airwaves – and by inviting them on, you’re only lending them your credibility and elevating their messages. If you are seeking a second opinion on issues of LGBT rights, I ask you to stay away from members of the anti-gay industry, and instead consult actual experts. No matter what the exact topic, you should always be able to find a professional who can offer something beyond animus. Educators, scholars, consultants, psychologists, military historians, medical professionals – no matter what field your story is related to, you can always find an actual expert who can bring something of real value to these conversations.
In this New Year, I am asking you to please stop giving these anti-gay activists a platform for their false and dangerous messages, and instead give your audience the information they need.
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
To sign the petition or for more information, click onto Glaad.org/tellcnn
