Cory Booker:
“I shudder to think what would have happened if the civil rights gains, heroically established by courageous lawmakers in the 1960s, were instead conveniently left up to popular votes in our 50 states. … Equal protection under the law – for race, religion, gender or sexual orientation – should not be subject to the most popular sentiments of the day. Marriage equality is not a choice. It is a legal right. I hope our leaders in Trenton will affirm and defend it.”
(Source: nj.com)
Call for submissions: queer teaching anthology
Sibling Rivalry Press is seeking submissions for an anthology scheduled for publication in August 2013. This assignment is so gay: LGBTIQ Poets on the Art of Teaching, edited by Megan Volpert, will be the first-ever anthology to feature an international roster of LGBTIQ poets writing about and from the teacher’s perspective. Whether elementary or collegiate, public or private, the school is an institutional battleground for representations of queer culture. This book will examine the joyous burden that is the experience of LGBTIQ teachers, an inherently valuable and until now relatively invisible piece of the educational puzzle.
Submit up to five previously unpublished poems.
Poems must engage some aspect of teaching, but need not be explicitly queer-themed.
Author must identify as LGBTIQ.
Submission period is open January 1 through June 1, 2012.
Authors can expect reply by July 1, 2012.
As We Are: LGBT Voices from the Bible Belt
Only $70 more needed for As We Are to reach 25% of its fundraising goal! Please reblog this link, even if you aren’t able to donate. It’s a really important project and necessary now more than ever.
PS: You can also follow them on Tumblr for updates — http://aswearebook.tumblr.com/
As We Are: LGBT Voices from the Bible Belt needs your help! (Plus, they’re still looking for submissions.) In the words of Brit, “Growing up in the Bible Belt, there’s tons of pressure to fit into the sexual majority. But guess what? Millions of us just don’t! We may be God-fearin’, sweet tea drinkin’ lovers of football, but we also might be in love with someone of the same sex.
“For nearly a year, I’ve been working to edit a collection of essays by LGBT Southerners with stories to tell. Unfortunately, putting a book together is both time-consuming and pricey. That’s where you come in! You can help make this book become a reality. Not only that, you can help me get copies into public libraries all over the Southeast.”
This project looks amazing! Donate or share if you can : )
(Source: kickstarter.com)
This map is strangely enlightening. And a good refresher, when talking about gay marriage, to see where things stand right now.
In Texas, Republicans are blocking a bill that would repeal the state’s unconstitutional ban on “homosexual conduct.” Eight years after Lawrence v. Texas, here are the 14 states that still have anti-sodomy laws on the books.
On rainy days when you have more grading than you want to think about, and you ran out of coffee, and your lunch has spilled over your textbooks, it’s nice to see something like this and actually laugh out loud. AMAZING. (If anyone knows what the original source is, let me know! I want to give credit where credit’s due.)
Call for submissions - a collection of personal essays from LGBT teens/adults who grew up in the South.
From their description:
“Hi everyone, I am in the process of compiling a selection of personal essays about LGBT teens/adults growing up in the Bible Belt/rural South. I am looking for stories concerned with every angle of experience: living closeted, coming out, feeling acceptance, etc. I am also currently beginning the search for publisher, so right now I am unable to guesstimate how much authors will be compensated. I know it’s a stretch to ask for good writing without offering a specific dollar amount, but truthfully, this is really a labor of love for me - a desire to get some of these stories out on a national level. If any if you are willing to help in any way (whether that’s by sending in an essay, aiding with advertising, etc.) I’ll take it!
“Please feel free to e-mail me (Brit Blalock) to ask questions or to send a submission at aswearebook@gmail.com”
More info here.
