Happy Holidays and Happy New Year 2009!

I'm taking a two-week vacation.

2008 has been amazing. Monday through Friday, week-in and week-out, I've enjoyed sharing with over 45,000 of you about Gay Teen books, culture and politics...

And next year, starting on January 5th, 2009, I'll be back with:

New organization to help you navigate this blogsite.

More great Teen books with GLBTQ characters and themes (new ones and cleaning out that "Books still to be posted" list!)

More fun surveys.

My Gay Commentary on American Idol, season 4,382 (what? It's only season 8? Are you sure?)

More Kidlitosphere community-building projects.

Weekly Gay-Straight Alliance Club Topics.

More Great Stories from GLBTQ Hidden History.

Surprises...

And maybe even some more videos!

Who knows exactly what will happen? Not even me.

So come back, and join in, for a wonderful New Year here at "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?"

See you January 5th!

Namaste,

Lee

ps- no, the image above isn't me (much that I wish I could do that kind of balance on the top of a mountain!) But the photo really works for me, the mix of meditative and expansive - Namaste and Fireworks, all in one. It came from here. Happy New Year! Lee

Good News For Gays And Conservatives! Lee's First Video Blog... Ever

I did it! I did it! I wanted to do it before the year ended, and here it is!!!

Presenting, my first video blog...



Okay, I know the audio is challenging, and the overall video may not be IMAX-worthy, but I think it's pretty funny...

I hope you enjoy it. Happy Holidays!

Namaste,
Lee

Everywhere Babies

By Susan Meyers, illustrated by Marla Frazee

In a sweet, rolling rhythm we delight as

"Every day, everywhere, babies are dressed"

"fed"

and

"rocked."

What rocks my world about this board book is how the illustrator, Marla Frazee, included images of two mom families and two dad families amidst the variety of families who hug, feed, walk, and love their babies.



Including our families in such a lovely book for the smallest children among us is wondrous and powerful, and I read it every so often, just to remind myself of how there's so much good out there in the world, for the babies of today and tomorrow to discover.



So, for a great New Year, and for all the babies already here and those yet to come, and for those of us who need to read this to heal and bless OUR inner babies...

This timeless book is a gift.

A wonderful, timely gift for all of us, for the New Year of 2009.

It fills me with hope. And makes me smile.

Thank you Susan.

And especially, Thank You Marla!

To have had this read to me when I was a baby, to grow up knowing that some gay men grow up to be fathers, and have babies of their own... It would have changed my whole view of life. I would have known that I too, as a Gay man, have a place in the "Circle Of Life" and it would, perhaps, have saved me years of inner turmoil.

I so wish I had had "Everywhere Babies" read to me when I was a Kid.

And now, it's a book I get to share with MY daughter.

And that truly ROCKS my world.

I hope you let it ROCK yours!

Why We Lost Prop 8 and How We Can Win Gay Civil Rights and Marriage Equality – A Countdown of Political New Year's Resolutions! #1: Defense

D-Fence. Get it? " De-fense!"

Reason Number One: Defense

Embarrassed by President-Elect Barack Obama’s stance, (Against Same-Gender Marriage but also Against Prop 8.) the “No on 8” campaign failed to let voters know that Obama was against Prop 8. And when, in the last few days of the campaign, the “Yes on 8” campaign misrepresented Obama’s position, by that point it was too late to clarify.

We were playing defense the whole time. With the “No on 8” campaign. And even more, with our entire civil rights strategy.

We need – here and now – to STOP PLAYING DEFENSE. Ours is a civil rights struggle, and we need to play OFFENSE.



Let’s rally to Amend the constitutions of EVERY state, and the Federal Constitution as well, to spell out that we are a country that gives EQUAL rights to ALL our citizens.

If South Africa can include its GLBTQ citizens in their Constitution, shouldn’t the United States of America be up to the call of

“Liberty and Justice for All?”

Didn’t you hear it? President-Elect Barack Obama included us in his acceptance speech the night of the election. When talking about if there was anyone who still questioned the power of our Democracy, the forces that mobilized to elect him as our next President were their answer.

“It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.
We are, and always will be, the United States of America.”

Here's something else President-Elect Obama said during his campaign:




New Years Resolution: We Gay Americans are part of this country. And it’s time to get OUR hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

The Protests against the passage of Prop 8 have been a great example of this in action -








in fact, there have even been some surveys that showed that just 3 weeks AFTER all the protests in the wake of our losing the Prop 8 battle, if the vote were held again, this time a majority would vote in favor of the legality of civil Same-Gender marriage... (check out Keith Olbermann's report on it here.)


Word for 2009: OFFENSE!

Why We Lost Prop 8 and How We Can Win Gay Civil Rights and Marriage Equality – A Countdown of Political New Year's Resolutions! #2: Precedent

Reason Two: Precedent

We failed to make the case that amending the State Constitution by majority vote to decide controversial issues is a dangerous, slippery slope. If all that’s needed is a galvanized minority who go to the polls and achieve a majority of the vote, look for future referendums to change the State Constitution to:

-Privatize all Social Security accounts of California residents.

-Eliminate all private ownership of guns.

-Eliminate women’s reproductive choice in cases of rape or incest.

-Eliminate the non-profit status of churches and other religious organizations.

-Eliminate Affirmative Action and all efforts to integrate public education.

-Eliminate all offshore drilling for oil and natural gas.

Prop 8 presages the end of individual rights and of constitutional democracy in California! We should have had conservatives falling over themselves to vote this one down.

New Year's Resolution: "The tyranny of the majority" is just that. And it cuts both ways.

We need to engage in a broader discussion about the entire system of propositions in California, where actual governance is being destroyed by these majority-vote referendums.

Why We Lost Prop 8 and How We Can Win Gay Civil Rights and Marriage Equality – A Countdown of Political New Year's Resolutions! #3: History

Clio, The Greek Muse of History

Reason Three: History

We missed the opportunity to build a broader coalition of support among minorities. We needed to make the case that this is a battle for ALL of our civil rights.

Like the Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller, a Holocaust survivor, famously said:

"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."

Well, in California they were coming for the Gays. And California Voters didn’t speak up.

New Years Resolution: We need to speak up about the history of minority oppression, and successfully make the case that when ANY minority is denied their rights, it's bad for ALL minorities.

Or, In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., in his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963:

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

SEX EDUCATION Survey Results!

Thanks for your patience while I crunched all your responses!

So what did you all think?

1. Do you think Abstinence Only Education in schools helps to reduce Teen Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and Teen Pregnancies?



Okay, 100% of you said NO. That's pretty resounding.

2. Do you think Sex Education (where they actually discuss Safer Sex) in Schools helps to reduce Teen STDs and Teen Pregnancies?



94% of you think that Safer Sex education actually helps. That's pretty strong agreement as well.

3. Do you think Education about Safer Sex leads to Teens having MORE sex than they would otherwise?



Now I admit I found this result surprising. Some of the major reasons given by abstinence-only advocates (remember Sarah Palin?) are that if you talk to Teens about the safe ways to have sex, you're ENCOURAGING them to have sex. Lots of sex. So for 97% of you to say "NO" to this - that was amazing.

Here's what some of you commented in the survey:

1. teens are going to have sex no matter what you say
2. If it looks like a secret, and acts like a secret, and you can't tell anybody ... then they're going to do it!
3. More knowledge is better even if it does lead to more sex, though I rather doubt that it would. I would rather know kids are having more safe sex than that they are not getting the information they need to have safe sex. I was sexually active when I was 14. We had sex ed that was fairly explicit about pregnancy, but there was nothing about safe sex way back then.
4. Well I don't have conclusive data on the matter but my gut feeling and basic conviction is no. It's the same argument physicians face when not mentioning the word suicide to a depressed patient in fear of awakening suicidal ideation. The latter has been proven to be utterly wrong. In fact, even if teens were to have more sex they would be more healthier in their sexual pratices as studies have shown.
5. Sex education should be a topic for all the disciplines - not only on science class.
6. I think that it is a ridiculous concept that the conservatives hold. Ignorance does not protect you from anything. Teach the children when they are still your captive audience, or you will only seem them put themselves at risk later in life due to their own lack of knowledge.
7. It's not cause-and-effect from abstienence-only, though--abstinence-only is more often found in places where girls feel like they have to validate themselves through sex. That having been said, condom-on-a-banana was a defining experience of my freshman year of high school and I wouldn't want it denied to anyone.
8. I remember being freaked out by all the weird ooky things that could go wrong, so much so that it kind of scared me away from further activity. Unfortunately, the classes came too late - I went to a Catholic school my first two years and I was already "actively engaged" before I switched to a public school. Better late than never, though, because it certainly slowed me down, made me think about the consequences, and showed me how to be safer.
9. Regardless of what is actually happening, there's always the sense that "everyone else is doing it." An important component of sex education needs to be "how to say no, why to say no, when to say no, and what to do when the other person says no."
10. Most teens are physically adults, if still socially on the cusp between childhood and adulthood. You cannot teach them to be asexual. Biology will win over social or religious mores every time. The best you can hope for (if you view teen sex as a Bad Thing) is damage control-- teaching teens how to approach sex in a healthy way.

4. What WOULD reduce Teen STDs and Teen pregnancies? (Check all the ideas you think would help)



One of the really cool things from looking at this data is that if you look at the responses to "Abstinence Only" education, there's a real difference in it's perceived impact, depending on who it comes from:

PARENTS were the most influential. Then
PEERS
SCHOOLS, and lastly,
RELIGION

That's a pretty fascinating window on who has the most influence on Teens and their behavior. And you can see that pattern held true in the numbers on teaching about Safer Sex as well!

There were also some great comments to this question, like:

1. I think sex education programs should make it clear that abstinence is the only 100% surefire way to prevent pregnancy and STDs, but that if you do want to have sex there are ways you should and shouldn't go about it.
2. non-profits yes, religious zealots, no.
3. Anything can help and the more the better. Talking, education and allowing kids to discuss what's going on with them openly will help. If all of this was in place, then there might be a place where each child feels comfortable in talking to someone.
4. All apply but I'd rank teen-led safer sexual education as the most effective and religious organizations offering abstinence as the least. I have worked as a peer educator.
5. Religion is bullshit. Not everyone listens to their parents, or has good rapport with them about sexuality. That leaves the public schools.
6. I don't think abstinence programming is the problem - only when it's presented as the only option. They're fighting against a powerful biologogical drive, more powerful than any religious or moral teaching, and it's naive to think teenagers won't have sex. Those that choose need to know how to handle it. Balanced education that provides options seems the best choice.
7. I think abstinence education-- from all the sources listed above-- could be helpful, but only *in addition* to safer sex education. Abstinence is the right option for some teens and their families, and teens should feel comfortable choosing it, but abstinence should never be taught as the *only* option

5. Would offering Teens free condoms (in schools or elsewhere) help reduce Teen STDs and Teen Pregnancies?


The comments on this question were really great:

1. I think teenagers can get nervous or embarrassed to buy condoms in stores, so giving them out (maybe having them available in the health room at schools or something) would be useful and encourage people to use them (as opposed to having sex without).
2. But only with education on how to use them.
3. Studies of UNFPA.
4. Yes, but only if there is a solid sex education program besides the distribution of condoms.
5. When my boyfriend and I didn't have condoms handy we resorted to kicthen products: saran wrap, baggies, and even (just once) tinfoil. Ouch. Refraining from having sex did not even enter our brains. Access to condoms is vital - there are too many barriers to buying them. They're under lock and key at the grocery store and the pharmacy - even my 40-year-old husband doesn't want to go ask somebody for help to buy condoms.

Tinfoil!?! Ouch!!!


6. Would offering Teens free condoms (in schools or elsewhere) encourage Teens to be more sexually active?



Some of your comments:

1. This would probably be a maybe for me. If they won't do it without a condom - and hopefully the education they get would lead them in that direction, then having condoms freely available might lead to more activity. But I think they'll just decide to do it anyway with or without the condom, so having them available should lead to less pregnancies and STDs. Kids think they are indestructible and nothing bad will happen to them.
2. i've worked with a lot of teenage girls over the years and being an older gal, i've had to educate these girls on safe sex practices. with all of the pregnancy scare i've seen with them, i finally gave them the do's and don'ts due to the fact that they were unaware of safe sex practices. the school system in Maui, Hi promotes abstinence and as i've witnessed, there are too many unwed teenage mothers here. women are being robbed of their teen years due to misinformation or no information. they are already having sex, one might as well inform them of their options.
3. some yes BUT it will be safer and protected
4. Nothing is going to stop them. Not a damn thing. Having a condom around doesn't give them the idea to have sex - it's always there. Having a condom around when the idea pops in prevents negative consequences.
5. Maybe?
6. Teens who really want to have sex will do it whether they have condoms or not. (And those who really want to have safer sex will obtain condoms whether they are free or not.) Making condoms easily available will only encourage safer sex, not more sex.

Thank you all for responding to the survey, for commenting so honestly and with such generosity of spirit.

I'm not sure I'll never get the image of tinfoil out of my mind... but I'm grateful for it because it's a powerful reminder of how strong the body's desires are, and the lengths Teens go...



It's interesting to note: A broad consensus around the teaching of sex education has existed for decades, with 85 percent of Americans favoring sex-ed in schools as early as 1985 (source). The numbers appear to have increased since, as a 2004 poll conducted by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Kennedy School of Government showed that 90 percent of Americans believe that sex education is a “very important” or “somewhat important” part of the school curriculum, whereas only 7 percent believe that sex education should not be taught at all. In the same survey, just 15 percent of Americans supported abstinence-only programs (source).


If you missed taking this "Does Sex Education Make A Difference?" survey, You can still fill it out here">, and/or you can share your reaction and thoughts in comments!

Why We Lost Prop 8 and How We Can Win Gay Civil Rights and Marriage Equality – A Countdown of Political New Year's Resolutions! #4: Civil Rights & God

Reason Four:

GodCivilRights.

Whoops. Let me try that again.

CivilGodRights.

Nope, one more time:

CivilRightsGod.

See, it's sticky.


When a friend of 18 years told us they couldn’t vote against Prop 8 because of their strong religious convictions, despite their love for us and their respect for our being a couple, it made me realize that Prop 8 had become a referendum on whether you were voting against Jesus and God himself by changing the “traditional” definition of marriage.

Never mind that in the Old and New Testament’s definition of marriage, romantic love didn’t play a role at all, and women were pretty much property.

Somehow, allowing Gays to marry would devalue the legitimacy of THEIR marriages. The whole idea of the separation of church and state, that the vote was about CIVIL marriages, was completely ignored. Marriage – the religious tied up with the civil – was sacred, and we Gays were trespassing.

Yet slavery was okay in the Bible, and we’ve decided it’s not okay in our world today.

Divorce was NOT okay in the Bible, and still 34% of born again Christians have been divorced.

Clearly, even evangelicals are able to distinguish between civil and religious laws, which leads us to this

New Years Resolution: We must define our struggle for Gay Rights as a Civil One.

Perhaps this could get our point across: If marriage was exclusively religious for EVERYONE, and the government changed EVERYONE'S "Marriage" to a "civil union," we could truly keep the civil and religious recognition of marriage separate (for gay AND STRAIGHT people!)

Perhaps if all those social conservatives who voted to change California's (and other states') constitutions to prevent Same-Gender marriage were faced with their own marriages being "down-graded" to civil unions, the whole "separate-but-equal" argument would fall on it's face.

Our country has no idea how to do "separate-but-equal."

Civil marriage for everyone.


Or no one.

And let everyone have Civil Unions.

Now there's a rallying cry!

Gay Rights Are Human Rights: The 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights! And WHY couldn't the new Captain Kirk be GAY?

60 years ago today, in 1948, the UN passed "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

It's fascinating reading (go here!), sounding much like the basis for Gene Roddenberry's "Star Trek."

And, much like "Star Trek," there are no gays in this vision of the future.


Sexual orientation isn't mentioned.

But really, Gay Rights ARE Human Rights, and it doesn't take much mental extrapolation to include protections for sexual orientation and/or gender expression under the umbrella of Universal Human Rights that was declared for "Everyone!"

Like it says in Article 2:

"Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status...."

So as you go around your day today, think about how EVERYONE who is human deserves EQUAL RIGHTS.

We have a lot of work to get to where this "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" doesn't read like the science fiction of tomorrow - but sounds like our reality!

And really, why couldn't Captain Kirk be GAY? Especially now that Chris Pine is the actor playing him in the new Star Trek movie coming out next year and already being Trailer-ed???

Chris Pine

I mean, really. We Gay people are part of this world. We were part of the past. We are part of the present. And we will be part of the future, no matter how many beautiful women Captain Kirk ends up bedding.

But personally, I'd love to see this Captain Kirk lip-lock some sexy guy - hmmm... now, who would I cast as the Gay Love Interest?

How about:

Neil Patrick Harris

Yeah, that could work. Hmmm...

Who would you cast?

Ahh, see how much fun Universal Human Rights can be?

Namaste,

Lee

Why We Lost Prop 8 and How We Can Win Gay Civil Rights and Marriage Equality – A Countdown of Political New Year's Resolutions! #5: Out of the Closet

Reason Five: Let's Get Out Of The Closet!

It’s hard to fight for Same-Gender marriage when the ad campaigns don’t feature any Same-Gender couples or any families headed by Same-Gender parents. Where were the images of our families: laughing, at the beach, preparing a holiday meal, waiting for the school bus, standing in line to vote?

The main commercials of the campaign featured a straight latina who gets blocked from getting down the aisle to her waiting fiance, elderly parents of a grown lesbian, and lots of TV screens talking about the other sides' lies.

And when the opposition featured an ad with a child coming home from school all excited about having read “King and King,” a picture book about how a Prince falls in love with and marries another Prince, instead of arguing that Prop 8 doesn’t say anything about teaching children in school about Same-Gender marriage (as if we were agreeing that was a bad thing), we should have been saying “YES! Public schools should teach what is going on in the real world.”

Because legal status or not, and despite all the Disney movies with their heteronormative Happily Ever Afters, we are living our Same-Gender Happily Ever Afters right now.

If parents prefer to keep their kids learning about creationism and heteroSEXual marriage, (see how your mind went to “Sex” there?) they can choose a private religious school for their children’s education.

New Years Resolution: Let's come OUT OF THE CLOSET. In the fight for legal recognition of our relationships, we must show our relationships and show our families. Let's be ourselves, be OUT, and have pride in who we are.

Why We Lost Prop 8 and How We Can Win Gay Civil Rights and Marriage Equality – A Countdown of Political New Year's Resolutions! #6: Words Have Power

Okay, I’ve given it a lot of thought. 52% of California Voters don’t want families like mine to have equal civil marriage rights. The big question is why. How could this happen? How could we raise so much money, have so many people who care, and still be outmaneuvered and out-voted?

There are Six major reasons we lost. And if we’re going to have success in this war for our civil rights, we need to learn these lessons. And we must learn them now.

So for us as individuals and as a community, over the next six days I offer these political resolutions for the New Year...

Reason Six: Words Have Power.

Fighting for “Same-Sex” Marriage already puts us at a disadvantage. The word “sex” creates a short-circuit in the minds of many straight people, and all they think about is how uncomfortable they are with the idea of gay men having anal sex. It triggers their latent paranoia about prison shower rape scenes, and a projected loss of power and masculinity.

We should fight for “Same-Gender” Marriage. Try saying those words out loud. “Same-Gender Marriage” includes the reality of our families being about love, and raising children, and commitment, and heating up leftovers, and driving carpool, and paying taxes, and taking the kids to Disneyland, and the million other moments that make our love the same kind of glue that holds our families together, as holds together heteroSEXual marriages. (Ha! See how your mind went right to what one-man-and-one-woman do in bed?!?)

New Years Resolution: Let’s not allow ourselves, or the media in covering our struggle, to buy into social and religious conservatives’ obsession with what we do in bed.

Let's choose our words more carefully and fight for SAME-GENDER MARRIAGE.

Magic's Price

By Mercedes Lackey

In this third and final book in "The Last Herald-Mage Series," Vanyel has a gay love interest in Stefen.

He has an opponent, a master who wields a dark and forbidding magic.

And only Vanyel, the last Herald-Mage, and his "horse" companion Yfandes, can save the kingdom of Valdemar.

Add your review of "Magic's Price" in comments!

Marc Shaiman's Prop 8 Musical... With Margaret Cho, Neil Patrick Harris, and Jack Black as... Jesus?!?

Watch this star-filled*** under 2 minute musical!

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

And really, is there any better rhyme to "abomination" than that woman calling out, "Obama-nation?"

***The Short Film Stars...

Jordan Ballard, Margaret Cho, Barrett Foa, J.B. Ghuman, John Hill, Andy Richter, Maya Rudolph, Rashad Naylor, Nicole Parker as 'California Gays and The People That Love Them'.

John C Reilly as a Prop 8 leader, and Alison Janney as his wife. Kathy Najimy as his second wife. Jenifer Lewis as a riffing Prop 8'er. Craig Robinson as a preacher.

Rashida Jones, Lake Bell, Sarah Chalke as Scary Catholic School Girls from Hell.

Katharine "Kooks" Leonard, Seth Morris, Denise "Esi!" Piane, Lucian Piane, Richard Read, Seth Redford, Quinton Strack, and Tate Taylor as The Frightened Villagers.

Jack Black as Jesus Christ, and Neil Patrick Harris as 'A Very Smart Fellow'.

Enjoy!

Lee

Magic's Promise

By Mercedes Lackey

Vanyel (who in Book 1, "Magic's Pawn," was just coming of age as a gay man) is now the most powerful Herald-Mage in the history of their world.

But wild magic and dark magic are threatening everything, and when his "horse" companion Yfandes receives a call for help, Vanyel is drawn into the heart of the danger...

"Magic's Promise" is Book 2 in the trilogy: "The Last Herald-Mage Series." Add your review in comments!

Cycler

By Lauren McLaughlin

Most girls get their periods, and can feel maybe... not quite like themselves, for four days a month.

But for Jill, when it's those four days a month, she turns into a boy!

For a long time now, Jill has managed to keep her male alter-identity, Jack, in check.

But now Prom is coming, Jill has a crush, and Jack... well, he's getting restless.


Add your review of "Cycler" in comments!

GSA Monday Topic: Gay-Straight Solidarity. Gay Days in Anaheim - Gay Days in Disneyland's Red Shirts Example!

This week, try brainstorming a way that you and your peers can demonstrate your support for Gay rights.

Could you do a "Everyone wear red shirts to school" day?

Kind of like Gay Days at Disneyland,* where everyone who's Gay or a Gay Ally wears red shirts, and the park is a veritable SEA of red???



It was a powerful experience for me, going to Disneyland, and seeing so many people who supported me, and who would SMILE at me when I held my husband's hand.



Who think two gay men raising a child with love is a blessing.



Who support me being myself.


Heck, even Minnie Mouse wore Red!



I wish EVERYONE who's Gay or a Gay Ally could have the experience of going to Disneyland on Gay Days, and being, for once, in the MAJORITY. Being in a place where our Gay love isn't sexualized, it's just seen and accepted and celebrated by almost everyone to be as much a miracle as straight love.

But, Disneyland's expensive. And far away for most people.

So what can you and your friends do, right at home?

In your school?

Where you work?

Or maybe on the weekend?

How can you feel connected to the community of Gay and Straight Allies, and feel empowered and supported in being YOU?

I'd like to wear my red shirt, and get a lot of other people to wear red, too... Maybe on Valentine's Day 2009?

What do you think? Is taking over that holiday a good idea?

What do you think our virtual Gay-Straight Alliance should do?

What do you think YOU might do?


Let me know what you think,

Namaste,

Lee


*Interestingly, Gay Days at Disneyland is an "unofficial" event. Hmmm...

Books Still To Come (I'll get to them ASAP!)

• After Tupac and D Foster (friends and family of GLBTQ) by Jacqueline Woodson
  
• Blue Coyote (G) by Liza Ketchum
• Box Girl (GLBTQ Parents) by Sarah Withrow
• Boy2Girl (Q,T) by Terence Blacker
• Breaking Boxes (friends and family of GLBTQ) by A.M. Jenkins
• Clay's Way (G) by Blair Mastbaum
• Dare Truth or Promise (L) by Paula Boock
• Desert Sons (G) by Mark Kendrick
• Dream Boy (G) by Jim Grimsley
• Drowning of Stephan Jones, The (Homophobia Theme) by Bette Greene
• Eagle Kite, The (GLBTQ Parent/Caretaker) by Paula Fox
• Earthshine (GLBTQ Parent/Caretaker) by Teresa Nelson
• Finding H F (G,L) by Julia Watts
• Fruit (G,?) by Brian Francis
• Hey, Dollface (L) by Deborah Hautzig
• If It Doesn't Kill You (GLBTQ Parent/Caretaker) by Margaret Bechard
• Into This World We're Thrown (G) by Mark Kendrick
• Jack (GLBTQ Parent/Caretaker) by A.M. Homes
• Just A Boy (G) by Rob Clinger
• Last Exit To Normal, The (GLBTQ Parent/Caretaker) by Michael Harmon
  
• Leave Myself Behind (G) by Bart Yates
• Letters in the Attic (L) by Bonnie Shimko
• Method, The (ensemble includes GLBTQ) by Paul Robery Walker
• My Father's Scar (G) by Michael Cart
• My Heartbeat (G,?) by Garret Freymann-Weyr
• My Tiki Girl (L) by Jennifer McMahon
  
• Name Me Nobody (friends and family of GLBTQ) by Lois Ann Yamanaka
• No Big Deal (GLBTQ Parent/Caretaker) by Ellen Jaffe McClain
• Now That I Know (GLBTQ Parent/Caretaker) by Norma Klein
• Orphea Proud (L) by Sharon Dennis Wyeth
• Out of the Shadows (L) by Sue Hines
• Peter (?,G) by Kate Walker
• Pretty Things (G,L) by Sarra Manning
• Realm of Possibility, The (ensemble includes GLBTQ) by David Levithan
• Ruby (L) by Rosa Guy
• Son Called Gabriel, A (G) by Damian NcNicholl
• Talk (G) by Kathe Koja
• Tomorrow, Wendy: A Love Story (L) by Shelley Stoehr
• Tripping To Somewhere (Q) by Kristopher Reisz
• Twelve Days in August (friends and family of GLBTQ) by Liza Ketchum
• Unlived Affections (G) by George Shannon
• What's In A Name (ensemble includes GLBTQ) by Ellen Wittlinger and John Mathias

Transgender Teen Bookshelf

Browse The Covers, and click to go to the post on that book!











Browse The Titles, and click to go to the post on that book!


Cheeky Angel, by Hiroyuki Nishimori

Luna, by Julie Anne Peters

Parrotfish, by Ellen Wittlinger

On Politics, Equality, and Same Gender Marriage

Why We Lost Prop 8 and How We Can Win Gay Civil Rights and Marriage Equality – A Countdown of Political New Year's Resolutions!

#6: Words Have Power

#5: Out of the Closet

#4: Civil Rights & God

#3: History

#2: Precedent

#1: Defense


Know Your Enemy. Conservative Religious Leaders call for a 40 Day FAST to take away California's Same Sex Marriage Rights


Prop 8A - WHAT IF WE AMENDED THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO ELIMINATE DIVORCE?


He's My Husband!


A Same Sex Wedding Quiz: Why is the Ring Finger the RING Finger? And what does that have to do with Reflexology?


Same Sex Marriage: What the World Needs Now!



Majority Rules: Gay Marriage, Super-Delegates, and the TRUE meaning of Democracy


Countdown to Gay Marriage in California - Our Love Gets Some Respect, back in 100 B.C., and Tomorrow, too!





My President. Your President. Our President... Barack Obama!!!


Barack Obama and John McCain on Gay Marriage - And Why I Can't Hold A Bake Sale


The Inauguration of President Obama - A Place at the Table for Gay Americans!

On Equality

(Martin Luther King, Jr., a Hero of Equality and Justice for All)

Do Native Americans Celebrate Independence Day? Prejudice in the Declaration of Independence

California Court Allows Christian School to expel lesbian students: Is that what Jesus would do?

The Blog The Vote Project

Straight Guys Think, Feel, and Vote, Too!


Ethics, Lawn Signs, and Machievelli's Theory Put To The Test: "Do The Ends Justify The Means?"



MASKS and THE TRUTH: "Trick or Treat?" Where Halloween and Politics collide!



BLOG the VOTE! Vote NO on Prop 8 - listen to Teenagers Who KNOW what's at stake!


BLOG THE VOTE! Prop. 8 - California's Anti-Same-Gender (Same-Sex) Marriage Voter Referendum



BLOG THE VOTE! Another Reason To Vote: PROP 8 in California - A Majority Vote On Adding Discrimination Into the CA Constitution


Levi Johnston is Sarah Palin's Daughter's Baby's Daddy. But More Important Than That: He's 19 and NOT Registered to VOTE!



BLOG THE VOTE! The U.S. Supreme Court is why you've gotta vote on Nov 4!



BLOG THE VOTE! (Why it's so important to register and to vote on Nov 4, and what us BLOGGERS can do to get the word out!)

On Culture, Gay Culture, Sports, and American Idol!

Christian Bale, Tom Daschle, and Michael Phelps - When Idols Fall: Our National Pastime

National Coming Out Day: Saturday October 11, 2008 - A Day To Count My Blessings!


9/11 and our culture of fear: Let's say NO to fear and YES to Living with Joy and Passion!


Superheroes: Were their outfits telling us they were GAY all along?



The World Is Changing - Part 1: The Gay Kiss To Sell Mayonnaise



My Gayest Look: Jay Leno's Gaffe & Ryan Phillippe's Missed Opportunity



On Veteran's Day, Gay Soldiers, and the MYTH of Gay Sissyhood



On Banned Books Week and GLBTQ Teen Novels

On The Olympics and Gay Athletes!

OUR GAY GUY IN BEJING, MATTHEW MITCHAM, WINS GOLD! (And why that's important!)


Lesbian GOLD at the 2008 Bejing Summer Olympics!!!



Eleven Olympians Who Get Our Gold Medals For Being Proud and OUT Athletes in Bejing!

GLBTQ Safe Schools!

Donating Gay (&LBTQ) books to a Junior High School Library? How to Honor the Memory of Larry (Lawrence) King. A Negotiated Solution...


Responding to The Tragedy of Lawrence King: What Can We Do When A Gay 15 year old boy is Murdered by another student?


The Day of Silence for GLBTQ-Safe Schools! (Here's What I have to say)


The National Day of Silence: Teen-Led Civil Disobedience to address Homophobia in Schools and our Culture!

American Idol 2009

This Gay Week On American Idol: So Just How Gay Is This Season Going To Get?

American Idol 2008

American Idol HUG OF SHAME: David Archuleta, Fans, and the Heterosexist Machinery of FAME



Friday Morning Quarterbacking on David Hernandez - Would Being More OUT Have Helped?


American Idol Thoughts #2: Why Danny Noriega Makes Me So Swishily Uncomfortable: How I Need to Embrace My Inner (and outer) Sissy


Calling all American Idol-Aholics! Here are 4 steps to Full Recovery

On Writing and Blogging and... well, Life

(Me, Bruce Coville, and Greg Pincus at the 2008 SCBWI Summer Conference)

On Writing

Take Your Characters To Therapy!



21 Great Things I Learned On My Summer Vacation (or more accurately, at the SCBWI 2008 Summer Conference)



Fictional Characters on Myspace? Lies on Facebook?



The Evolution of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, & Queer Teen Novels



Cell Phone Novels - Japan's Next Big Export?



WHY DO I WRITE? Pyramids, Stories, Magic... and learning how to SPELL


It's A Small QUEER World After All...

On Blogging and This Blog

(Isn't Blogging the ultimate Self-Publishing?)

On Awards... The Oscars and the Premio Dardos Blogger Awards. "It's an honor, just to be nominated. Really."

On Self Publishing and... Graphic Novels!



The Gay Best Friend: On Secondary Characters


On Labels

Some Advice on Life, Goals, and Being YOU

Setting Up for Success in 2008



On Halloween: Masks and the Space To Be Ourselves

Surveys so far!

Michael Phelps Caught Smoking Pot - Can a "hero" be imperfect?

Read about it and take the Survey here!





Why did HBO leave out the GAY inaugural invocation prayer from their exclusive broadcast?




This Survey's closed, but check out the prayer and the results (in the comments section!)



Here are the surveys you can still take, and links to check out what your fellow blog-readers think!


Sex Education: Does It Work?


(Sarah Palin is against sex education in schools - and her daughter got pregnant while a junior in high school!)


Read about it and Take The "Does Sex Education Make A Difference?" Survey

See The Survey Results



Miley Cyrus: Can/Should a 15 year old be SEXY? (She's 16 now, and I think the question still stands!)




Read about it and Take The "Miley Cyrus: Girl or Woman?" Survey

See the Survey Results





Bejing's Olympic-Sized Closet: If the Athletes are not coming OUT, what's going on?



Read About it and Take The "Olympic-Sized Closet" Survey


See the Survey Results



Transgender Children: How Old Do You Have To Be To Know Who You Are?



Read about it and Take The "Transgender Children" Survey

See the Survey Results