Articles by: Thomas Waters

Occupy Pittsburgh

Occupy Pittsburgh

Corporate influence is a queer issue! Look at Target Corp and all the $$$ they give to far right politicians and causes. Look at the number of US corporations which do not offer basic non-discrimination, or partnership benefits. Look at the way the US Chamber of Commerce and many large corporations seek to destroy unions and collective bargaining. These are all ways that a corporate dictated government harms LGBTQ Americans. Be a partner for Equality-[Read More…]

October 4, 2011 Comments are Disabled general

New York Gay Marriage: Buddy Valastro Bakes Cake On ‘Cake Boss’ (VIDEO)

New York Gay Marriage: Buddy Va= lastro Bakes Cake On ‘Cake Boss’ (VIDEO) Long Island lesbian cou= ple Dee Smith and Kate Wrede planned to be among the first same-sex couples t= o marry in New York in July after = Gov. Andrew Cuomo legalized gay marriage. Just days before their wedding= , the couple met with New Jersey-based pastry chef Buddy Valastro, owner of C= arlo’s Bakery and the star of TLC’s “Cake Boss,”[Read More…]

October 3, 2011 Comments are Disabled general
Gender: other.

Gender: other.

I’ve often thought of Gender and Gender Roles as two very different and distinct things. I thought of Gender as one’s sex, and one’s body was anatomically, either male, female or indeterminant. Gender Roles were for me, cultural constructions. In some eras of history perhaps, most everyone adhered to the roles culture had assigned, and it was the odd person who lived outside these understood norms. However, since about the second world war, gender roles have been changing and for many in American culture, do not seem as rigid as they once were. P.G.P.’s call this into further question and suggest that Gender itself may be a construction or open to interpretation.

October 3, 2011 Comments are Disabled general
Rick Perry’s racism issue misses the real point.

Rick Perry’s racism issue misses the real point.

How deeply connected has the GOP in general, and the Perry family been with racism, and for how long?

October 3, 2011 3 comments general

Next LGBTQ/QUILTBAG meeting is this Saturday!

Rayden Sorock, with the help of others organized a highly successful community meeting that he nicknamed “QUILTBAG.” The meeting gathered a diverse mix of individuals and representatives from local LTBTQ organizations for a thought provoking, and energized session discussing a five year plan for Queer Pittsburgh. My posts about the first meeting are here, and here. And here are the notes captured at the first meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for this Saturday, 2-4PM[Read More…]

September 29, 2011 1 comment Activism, general
Where are the bisexuals?

Where are the bisexuals?

To many gays, he might be seen as a closeted gay living a double life, but as I have begun to get to know him, I don’t think that is a fair assessment at all. If he identifies as Bi, why not accept that, rather than make value judgements? Self identification, is just that, self identification. It may be true that some people label themselves as Bi during a part of their journey towards self acceptance as gay or lesbian, and it is also true that there are others who simply understand their orientation as bi.

September 29, 2011 Comments are Disabled Activism, general

Homophobia or equal treatment: what is “comfort of all passengers” really mean?

On the other hand, if, what we really want is fair and equal treatment, we are going to have to be held to the same standards as everyone else. If something happens that we don’t like, we can not start shouting “homophobia and discrimination” simply because we are LGBT. And here is where the friction comes. Lesbians. gays, bisexuals, and trans persons are rarely held to equal standards.

September 27, 2011 Comments are Disabled general

The opposition to equality is waning… quickly

The link is to the Prop 8 Trial Tracker site, and content from the Courage Campaign, of a press conference called by Lou Sheldon. Lou is an old-time antyi-gay crazy, listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Watch the video and check out the entire post: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGV1AlF5gVM&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

September 26, 2011 Comments are Disabled general, Homosexual

Religion Poll On Marriage Support

Religion Poll On Marriage Suppo= rt Baylor University’s annual survey on religion reports the above levels of support for marriage equality. Unsurprisi= ngly, the “unchurched” are far and away our best allies. Subscribe to Jo= e.My.God. Original Page: http://joemygod= .blogspot.com/2011/09/religion-poll-on-marriage-support.html S= ent from Feeddler RSS Reader Sent from my i= Phone =

September 26, 2011 Comments are Disabled general

Modern Family isn’t gay.

Modern Family cleaned up at the Emmy’s the other night, but too often, it is talked about as if it were a gay show, and it isn’t as evidenced by the link below. It is about a modern family, where a part of that family- an equally loved, accepted and appreciated part of the family is a gay couple with a child. That is what scares the anti-gay haters so. It isn’t the gay part[Read More…]

September 24, 2011 Comments are Disabled general