A Drawing of Rainbow Families Posted to Social Media Gets 26 Year-old Yulia Tsvetkova Prosecuted for "Pornography" and Violating Russia's "Gay Propaganda" Law

Illustration reading, "Family is where love is. Support LGBT+ families.” © 2019 Yulia Tsvetkova

The drawing seems so sweet. But images of love - our LGBTQ love - and the people who create and share them are being silenced by Russia's terrible "gay propaganda" law.

There's a petition to help Yulia over at AllOut. Here's the message of it:

When Yulja heard about a same-sex couple who had to flee Russia with their two adopted children after being targeted by the authorities, she drew a picture (see above – the text reads “Family is where love is. Support LGBT+ families.”) to show her solidarity.

After she shared this and other drawings promoting inclusivity on social media, the authorities brought trumped-up charges against her for violating the Russian "gay propaganda" law and distributing pornography, fined her 50,000 rubles (around 800 USD / 722 €), and put her under house arrest. She could face up to six years in prison.

She is not the first person to be targeted under the "gay propaganda" law. But with your help, she might be the last.

If enough people speak up, the charges might be dropped – and the "gay propaganda" law abolished once and for all.

Please consider signing Yulia's petition, run in conjunction with the Moscow Community Center. And spread the word. Images of our families should be celebrated, and not used to persecute people.

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

The Transgender Story of Coy Mathis is Edited Out of the Russian edition of "Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls"

This was reported last week in Huffington Post's Queer Voices by Daria Litvinova, LGBTQ People Erased From Books In Russia Under ‘Gay Propaganda’ Law: A story written by trans activist Coy Mathis is missing from the Russian edition of a new children’s book.

Image from this beautiful post about the original "Good Night Stories For Rebel Girls" on MommyShorts

According to the article,

Liza Lazerson, a feminist blogger who owns a copy, said she was surprised to see that while the cover promised 100 stories the book contained only 99 and one blank page - supposedly for the reader to add their own.

“But then a follower sent me a photo of Coy Mathis’s story from the French edition,” Lazerson, who is based in Moscow, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in written comments.

Mathis, an 11-year-old transgender girl from the United States, won a landmark victory in a 2013 case against her school allowing her to use the girl’s bathroom.

Bombora, which printed the book in Russia, did not immediately respond to requests for comment....

Francesca Cavallo, one of the authors of “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls,” said she was “deeply saddened that Coy’s story has been left out.”

It's sad and frustrating that children and their families in Russia won't have access to this empowering story of a young girl who was born with a boy's body, and how her parents (and ultimately, a judge) were so supportive of her being allowed to use whatever bathroom she felt most comfortable using at school.

In these times where governments create darkness, every bit of light becomes more important, and more powerful. 

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

The iphone as a Gay Pride symbol

Last week, on October 30, 2014, Apple CEO Tim Cook came out as gay - though it had been known, and he'd been included in gay press rankings of 'most powerful' LGBTQ people since at least 2011 - it was a definitive, public statement that, not only was he gay, but that:

"I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me."

The day after his coming out article was published, a Russian group of companies called ZEFS dismantled the Steve Jobs memorial they had put up back in January 2013 outside a St. Petersburg college.

The Steve Jobs memorial, before it was taken down. Photo from here.

The over 6-foot tall iphone sculpture had to be taken down, ZEFS said, because:

"After Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly called for sodomy, the monument was taken down to abide to the Russian federal law protecting children from information promoting denial of traditional family values."

It would be almost laughable if it weren't so horrible.

Being proudly gay is not a public call 'for sodomy' - and actually, what the heck would that be? He's not asking for straight people to suddenly become gay. Nobody is. And really, making a man's coming out as gay all about sex (by calling it 'sodomy') is a way to demean gay and lesbian relationships by saying they're not about love, they're only about sex. This perpetuates the idea that gay people are different than hetero-normative people, that we're less than.

We're not.

Our relationships and our loves are just as powerful, just as meaningful, just as 'regular' as hetero relationships. And guess what? We have families, too. We're children, and brothers, and sisters and aunts and uncles and cousins and yes, even parents. And as a gay parent, my early mornings are all about making my daughter's lunch for school, and helping her get ready so my husband can take her to the bus stop. Crazy gay life, huh?

And how is this new twist in the anti-gay policies of Russia even tenable? What happens now to the millions of Russians who have iphones?

Because, whether they intended to or not, this action has made the iphone a symbol of gay pride.

I'll continue to use mine proudly. And maybe I'll add one of these, too:

Gay Pride Rainbow iphone case!

Russian Broadway Shut Down - Broadway Artists Put On A Show To Protest Russia's Homophobic Laws

This video made me laugh, think - and I even got all choked up at one point. (Thanks, Jonathan Groff!)

With the Winter Olympics starting tomorrow, it's well worth watching, and sharing. Dah.

Brave Russian Man Arrested As He Holds Up A Rainbow Pride Flag As The Olympic Torch Goes Through His Hometown of Voronezh, Russia

Pavel Lebedev being detained by an Olympic security person (this photo ran with the AP/USA Today story, with the byline: Andrei Nasonov)

The Associated Press and USA Today are reporting that:

MOSCOW (AP) — A gay Russian protester was detained on Saturday [Jan 18, 2014] for unfurling a rainbow flag during the Olympic torch relay as it passed through his hometown of Voronezh, 560 miles north of Sochi, where the games will begin Feb. 7.

This story makes me think so much about how we all need to stand up when injustices happen - like Russia's new law where Gay people can't be openly themselves and where Russian youth aren't supposed to know LGBTQ people exist.

There are petitions you can sign to protest Russia's laws and actions, like this one to the International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, and this one to Coca-Cola and all Olympic Sponsors.

You can also check out the Uprising of Love project (partnered with the It Gets Better Project and Google+) for discussions of what's going on in Russia, Athletes and LGBT Equality, LGBT youth and more!

I think the photo, of the security guy in his Olympic hat, holding Pavel who's clutching the Rainbow flag is powerful. Not a good publicity moment for Russia or the Olympics.

And I think each of us need to ask ourselves: In the same position, would I be as brave as Pavel?

I hope I would.

Namaste,
Lee

#LoveAlwaysWins - A Video Highlighting Russia's Anti-LGBTQ Laws And How That Will Impact Olympic Athletes

Watch this, discuss and share...



It's a good question:

What if living your dream meant living a lie?

Let's speak up and stand up - not just for the Olympic athletes who will be traveling to Russia for the winter games, but for all the LGBTQ people in Russia who are now living under these repressive laws.

Namaste,
Lee

Parents of a Gay Man Stand Up For LGBTQ Rights While In Russia

Tourists - and impromptu activists - Richard and Rochelle Cohen

I liked this story, My Parents Who Believe Being Gay Is Okay Went To Russia And This Is What They Did.

It explains how tourists Richard and Rochelle Cohen (parents of gay pinknews founder Benjamin Cohen) held up a "Gay OK" sign in their photos in the Russian city of St. Petersburg.

I'm glad Ben's parents weren't arrested, and I'm proud of them for doing something.  For standing up.

That's how we'll change our world (and the situation in Russia.)  If enough of us stand up for what's right.

Let's all stand up!

Namaste,
Lee