The Idea That Ghandi Was Bisexual Got This Book Banned... But Shouldn't It Be A Cause To Celebrate, Instead?

I didn't know that Ghandi, while he was a lawyer in South Africa, left his wife to live with a guy in Johannesburg. The guy was Hermann Kallenbach, a German-Jewish architect.

Pulitzer Prize–winning author Joseph Lelyveld writes in his biography of Ghandi, “Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India,"

“... It was no secret then, or later, that Gandhi, leaving his wife behind, had gone to live with a man."

Check out this article in the New York Times about the uproar going on in India about this book and how it is being banned.

Homophobic things are being said on many sides of the world, including in this country. The Wall Street Journal's review said in it's first paragraph:

""Great Soul" also obligingly gives readers more than enough information to discern that he [Ghandi] was a sexual weirdo, a political incompetent and a fanatical faddist—one who was often downright cruel to those around him"

(Note to Andrew Roberts, who wrote that review: Being bisexual does not make someone a sexual "weirdo.")

Evidently, the whole idea of this idol of civil disobedience, peaceful protest, and India's transformation into an independent nation being in any way queer is so disturbing that rather than read and discuss the lingering homophobia in the culture, the powers that be would rather ban the book and keep the "dangerous" information away from the public.

Again, from the New York Times:

"India’s law minister, M. Veerappa Moily, said on Tuesday that “the book denigrates the national pride and leadership,” which he said could not be tolerated. Officials “will consider prohibiting the book,” he added."

The author of the biography writes in this interview in The Times Of India that he personally believes Ghandi and Kallenbach were celibate - in an apologetic tone, as if that would make Ghandi's love for another man somehow 'less gay' - but still says quite clearly:

"I think my discussion of Gandhi's letters to Kallenbach — which have been in the public domain for nearly 20 years — shows very clearly that Gandhi had a deep love for his Jewish friend and wanted him by his side for the rest of his life. He says as much."

And yet, with all the noise about banning this book, and, whatever Ghandi and Kallenbach did or did not do in the privacy of their own home, I have to say:

Ghandi loving a man makes me kind of ridiculously happy.

Ghandi's first name was Mohandas.

A more youthful image of
Mohandas Ghandi than I'm used to seeing

And here's a photo I found of the two men together:

The caption is in German:
"Gandhi mit seiner Sekretärin Sonia Schlesin
und Dr. Hermann Kallenbach kurz vor dem
historischen Marsch von Natal nach Transvaal,
1913," from which I gather it is Gandhi on the left,
his secretary Sonia Schlesin in the middle, and
seated on the right is Hermann Kallenbach.
The picture is from 1913.

Mohandas and Hermann, a lawyer and architect, living together in the largest city of South Africa, and... in love.

Ghandi's always been one of my heroes. And now I discover, he's a queer one.

*Delightedly adding another book to my To Be Read pile*

Namaste,
Lee

Christian, The Hugging Lion

By Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, illustrated by Amy June Bates

From the duo that brought us the wonderful "And Tango Makes Three" comes another true story, about a two-guy couple, Ace and John, who rescue a baby lion, Christian, from a fancy department store and raise him in their apartment.

And the three of them become a family.

"Most of all, Christian loved being with Ace and John. The three of them had become the most unusual family in all of London."

But of course, Christian is a lion, who grows... and grows... and grows!

Pretty soon they realize that Christian should go back to the wild. And they take him there. And he roars for the first time!

Back in London, Ace and John miss Christian's hugs.

They fly back to Kenya to try to find Christian, and they do.

And when the now wild lion, all grown up and with cubs of his own sees them, what does he do?

(detail of one of the beautiful interior pages)

He hugs them!

It's a heartwarming story with a great message that love is what makes a family. There's nothing overt about Ace and John being in love, but then again there's nothing overt about Madge and Bernie Wubbington being in love in the Chowder books. Chowder is a book about a dog and his loving humans, just like Christian, The Hugging Lion is about this lion and his loving humans. The fact that they're clearly a couple and both men doesn't change the truth that the love is the very same thing.

This is truly a picture book that I wish had been read to me when I was a little kid.

Have I convinced you to get this book and read it to a child you love yet? (And don't forget your own inner child!) Well, this should clinch it. Watch this actual video footage of Ace, John and Christian, the Hugging Lion:



Namaste,
Lee

Celebrate Nation Poetry Month with GLBTQ Poems... by our Gender Queer Friend, Lucy! And a Queer Poetry Roundup!

So if you've been following our video series Gender 101, you're familiar with Lucy (also known as Benji, pictured above.) In honor of National Poetry month, ze's kindly agreed to share two poems with me so I could share them with you.

So today, instead of a video discussion with Benji, we have some poetry written by Benji:

The Law of Conservation of Emotion

I am an artist, right?

I write these things and they are art

I have decreed that they be art, and so they shall stay


I swipe the beauty of the October leaves, not given to me

or made by me, and this too becomes art

I take the images dispersed in my brain, originally

chemicals in my veins, and I become a genius

I have never created new matter. Nature

was inspired, and created those leaves, and I take their

dying and create something new, and you take this paper

and continue the assembly line

Perhaps the beauty I absorb today will end up in a farm

in Iowa. Perchance the sadness I diffuse will be one

step in the funeral march of my great-granddaughter.


Yet there’s this passion for redirecting the route of emotions

leaving one's mark on them. That is my art.

and

Literate

I hereby enter the ranks of writers

too important for mere paper

who scrawl lines more important than literature

on the bathroom stalls

we are all nameless, except those initials bordered by hearts

set free to be

-Anonymous

We state our right-or-wrong ideas

for all to judge

but will never hear the criticism

of those not bold enough

to add their own rebuttals

and enter our ranks

our ‘meeting of the minds’

Thanks, Lucy!


And because the month has flown by and we haven't gotten to as much new GLBTQ Teen poetry as I'd planned, here are links to some of my favorite queer poems. Enjoy!





Sappho! Lesbian Poet of Ancient Fame


Rumi -

My Blog's very first "Great Queer Poem"

and

Three More Amazing poems by Rumi

and

More "essential" Rumi!





Quentin Crisp's World War Two Gay Experiences in London: Poetry where you don't expect it!





I Love Gay Poetry! Walt Whitman's "We Two boys Together Clinging" From Calamus

and

Celebrate Gay Poetry! Walt Whitman's "Calamus"

and

Walt Whitman Uncensored! His early Gay experience and the Poem through which it sang through him: "Once I pass'd Through A Populous City"




SHAKESPEARE: The Bisexual Poet and his Two Loves!



Celebrate Gay Poetry! Dennis Cooper's "James Kelly"



Poems can be Laser-like, cutting to the core: Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet"




Celebrate Ancient Epic Gay Poetry! Homer's "The Iliad"




GAY POETRY IS ALIVE! Steven Reigns' "Joe!"

and his poem "Inheritance"




Lord Byron's Love Poems to John Edleston




Muhammed Shams ud-din Hafiz, Drunk with Pleasure



And some more:

A Gay Joke for National Poetry Month



Celebrate Gay Poetry! Robert Friend's "Shirts"


A Gay Pocahontas? A Beautiful Native American Man IS a Poem in Theodore Winthrop's "John Brent!"


CELEBRATING YOUR POEMS! "For Him, Disappearing Before Dawn" by j.e. robinson


YOUR favorite Queer Poems: Mark Doty's "TIARA" and CP Cavafy's "THE GOD ABANDONS ANTONY"


Maurice Kenny (Mohawk)'s Poem on the role of Gay men in Native American tribal life and history.


Celebrate Bisexual Poetry! Rumi's "The King and The Handmaiden and The Doctor"


Celebrate Lesbian Poetry! Paula Gunn Allen's "Some Like Indians Endure"


Jacqueline Lapidus' breath-taking Lesbian poem, "Athens"


Celebrate Transgender Poetry! Aaron Shurin's "Woman on Fire"

Gloria Anzaldúa's "La Prieta" - A Bisexual Poem that blew me away!


Lesbian Teen Poetry: Sarah Laurenson's "First Love" and "How Bare My Soul" - Poetry Across Time

Transgender Poetry 2010: Alex Davis is "Man of The Year"

And of course, some Langston Hughes.

So much queer poetry to celebrate!


Namaste,
Lee

The ALA releases the Top Ten most frequently challenged books of 2010: Let's Make It A Reading Challenge!

Every year about this time the American Library Association comes out with their list of the top 10 most challenged books in America. Books that are seen by some as too dangerous to be in library collections. Books that some people not only want to make sure their own children don't read but these people want to make sure no one else's child gets to read them, either.

Often, these are the books that challenge stereotypes. That tell it like it is. That change (and save) lives. Sometimes they're just a good story that contains something controversial, and sometimes they're, well to some people, challenging.

In 2010, once again the #1 most challenged book in America was one of my favorite picture books of all time, "And Tango Makes Three."

But... They're so cute!

What's "dangerous" about this book? By telling the sweet (and true) story of two male penguins who become a couple and then loving parents, "And Tango Makes Three" directly challenges the stereotype that gay men can't find love - that we can't be parents, and if we do somehow become parents, we can't be good parents. Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, with Henry Cole's heart-warming illustrations, have created a story where it's so clear that LOVE is what makes a family - and with the parallel of penguins - readers see that gay love is that same kind of love.

There are other wonderful books on this list of the top ten most challenged books: "Crank" by Ellen Hopkins, a searing novel in verse about a good teen girl's descent into drug addition. Ellen has gotten so much flack about her books in which teens make bad decisions with sometimes horrible consequences - they're riveting and wrenching and so important - because no one who reads "Crank" is going to think, "wow, I gotta try that stuff. It sounds great." Because it doesn't.

"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie, a wonderful, funny, and not-afraid-to-look-at-the-ugly-stuff novel that I talk about in my Smashing Stereotypes workshops all the time as an example of how writers can deal with stereotypes not by ignoring them but by tackling them head-on.

There are popular books like "The Hunger Games," by Suzanne Collins and "Twilight," by Stephenie Meyer.

There are queer books, like "And Tango Makes Three" and "Revolutionary Voices.

And even a few books I haven't heard of till now. (Sonya Sones! Your books are awesome, but I haven't read this one... yet.)

So I want to put out a CHALLENGE to you:

Let's read them.

Let's read all ten of these books as our protest to the ridiculous notion that books of literary merit should be pulled from library collections to avoid offending certain people.

Here are the ten titles with the reasons given for challenging each:

Top ten most frequently challenged books of 2010

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Reasons: homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group

2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: offensive language, racism, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence

3. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Reasons: insensitivity, offensive language, racism, and sexually explicit

4. Crank, by Ellen Hopkins
Reasons: drugs, offensive language, and sexually explicit

5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
Reasons: sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence

6. Lush, by Natasha Friend
Reasons: drugs, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

7. What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
Reasons: sexism, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

8. Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich
Reasons: drugs, inaccurate, offensive language, political viewpoint, and religious viewpoint

9. Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie
Reasons: homosexuality and sexually explicit

10. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
Reasons: religious viewpoint and violence

Because a book that is challenging shouldn't be challenged - it should be read and discussed.

Leave your update in comments to share how you're doing with the challenge - and I will as well!

Namaste,
Lee

GSA Mondays: The "Gay" Caveman... How Queer People Were Not Just Around 5,000 Years Ago, We Were RESPECTED

So there's been this flurry of news reports of a "Gay Caveman" discovered recently.

And I think it reveals a lot about our culture and media... and the biases still going on.

Here's the scoop. Archeologists found the "Gay Caveman" among these 5,000 year old graves in the Czech Republic.

"During that period, men were traditionally buried lying on their right side with the head pointing towards the west; women on their left side with the head facing east.

In this case, the man was on his left side with his head facing west. Another clue is that men tended to be interred with weapons, hammers and flint knives as well as several portions of food and drink to accompany them to the other side.

Women would be buried with necklaces made from teeth, pets, and copper earrings, as well as domestic jugs and an egg-shaped pot placed near the feet.

The ‘gay caveman’ was buried with household jugs, and no weapons."

It's hit a number of news outlets, and when CNN's article came out, it thankfully included this quote:

"Dudes! I could be wrong, but I think that to have a 'gay caveman,' you need a skeleton that is both gay and a caveman. And this ain't either!" John Hawks, an associate professor of anthropology at University of Wisconsin-Madison, wrote on his blog in bold type.

So it's 5,000 year old skeleton of a man buried in the style close to that honoring a woman. What the rash of media seems to have missed is that a man who lives his life as a woman is not "gay" but rather transgendered. And in fact, as we're trying to show in our conversations about Gender here with our Gender 101 series, Gender is more varied than our current two box system of thought encompasses.

There are so many possibilities of why this genetic man was buried in the style of a woman, but what leaps out at me is that this burial was done with great respect. (Look at that photo.) Their culture all those years ago embraced a gender non-conforming individual, and gave them the burial rite that fit - a little of the ritual for a man, and some of the ritual for a woman.

The media outlets that equate gayness with gender non-conformity are just spreading a stereotype - one of the same stereotypes that made it so hard for me to come out as a gay teen. After all, my logic went, I didn't want to be a woman, so I couldn't be gay. But I was attracted to guys...

In many ways, our society is more advanced than we were 5,000 years ago. After all, we have all this cool technology.

But in burying this member of their community in a manner that respected their gender non-conformity and difference, the culture 5,000 years ago in what is the present-day Czech Republic was a lot more civilized.

What do you think?

Namaste,
Lee

Celebrating Half A Million Visits By GLBTQ Teens And Their Allies... Including YOU! And some other good news!

Well, it's quite a milestone... We just passed 500,000 visits to this blog since I started over three and a half years ago.

While figuring out the number of blog readers one has isn't an exact science (or perhaps it is, but I am no scientist) this is not counting everyone who reads this blog via syndication or their google-readers or any other not-reading-it-here method of reading my posts. This is pure clicks to come here and check things out. To find out about the books for kids and teens with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning characters and themes, and to explore queer teen culture and politics and Children's literature and our world and how to make our world a better place for all of us.

I blogged it. (Today's post is #1,004!)

And you came.

Over half a million visits!

Woot!

To celebrate, I'm opening up an "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?" logo store... where you can get T-shirts, coffee mugs, and other "swag" featuring the amazing blog logo that the incredibly talented Jim DiBartolo designed!

It's fun,

It's fresh,

It's refreshing,

It's even a little bit cheeky,

And hey, it's a stylish way for you to celebrate all the great GLBTQ Teen and Kid Literature that exists today (as well as all the new stuff on the way!) and to show your pride, your smarts, and your support!

But most of all, I have to say thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. 500,000 thank yous.

I am so honored to be here, and to be read by you.

As far as other good news, I'm pretty excited to tell you that this past week two really nice things happened:

1. It's been formally announced that I will be the co-Regional Advisor for SCBWI-Los Angeles starting November 1st, working with the fabulous Sarah Laurenson. (I'm currently the Assistant Regional Advisor for our region.)



Here I am getting my ceremonial "scepter" - and yes, if you must know, it's a toilet plunger wrapped with sequins and a wiffle ball wrapped with tin foil attached with a string to enable me to play the try-to-catch-it game... which leads me to believe my position does double duty as royalty and court jester.

2. Also at our recent SCBWI-Los Angeles Writers Day event this past Saturday, I was given the Sue Alexander Service and Encouragement Award - it's our region's highest honor for acknowledging the contribution of a volunteer in the last year, and I was stunned, and moved, and incredibly honored to receive such an amazing tribute.



And hey, that's an actual lead crystal award - a book! (I joked that perhaps I should call it my "first book" as it's the first book to have my name on the cover - getting my interviews published in CWIM was swell, but I didn't make their cover!)

So it's been a big week - I am so grateful. And I'm excited to say to myself, and to all of you...

Get ready, there's more great stuff to come!

Namaste,
Lee

ps - And Happy Earth Day!
pps - my thanks to Rita Crayon Huang for the great photos of me getting my scepter and book!

It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating A Life Worth Living - The book!

Edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller


So the youtube phenomena is now a book, and I was fortunate enough to get to meet Dan and his husband-in-Canada, boyfriend-in-America Terry at a recent book signing here in California.

The video revolution that Dan and Terry started (here's a link to their first video) has been heart-wrenching and inspiring. I've done one of my own and featured a number of my favorites (of the thousands of videos people have contributed) here on this blog.

At the book signing, Dan shared that they

"know for a fact that these videos have saved lives."

One of the most poignant moments of the evening was Dan sharing that his straight brother was also bullied as a teen, and that Dan didn't want his brother to think that by doing this project Dan was now saying that bullying for other reasons besides queerness wasn't also a terrible thing that needed to be changed.

And his brother responded, saying that the difference between their both being bullied was that

"I had Mom and Dad but you didn't."

Dan and Terry spoke about the spin off version of the project launched in Great Britain, It Gets Better Today.

They read excerpts, including sharing the transcript of this video by Jules Skloot that opens the book:



They answered questions from the audience, gave advice, signed copies and posed for photos

like this one with me!
From left, Terry Miller, Me, and Dan Savage.

All in all it was a great evening.

It's an important book, and one I'm happy to have be the first title in our new virtual bookshelf/category: GLBTQ Teen Non-Fiction.

Add your review of "It Gets Better" - the book in comments.

Namaste,
Lee

Gender 101, Episode Four: "cis," "trans," and "queer": Words To Describe Gender

I'm learning so much from these discussions with Benji, my gender queer activist friend - and I hope you are, too!

Today is our conversation about the word "cis," as in "cisgender" - and about the words we can use to talk about gender.

Enjoy!



Namaste,
Lee

A Gay Teen In Montana Comes Out - And Changes Our World For The Better!

Kevin is 18, a senior in High School, and he's out as a gay teen.

Watch his amazing, honest, heartfelt coming out/it gets better video where he shares his own steps to coming out and talks about bullying and how to deal with it, and what a surprisingly positive reaction he's had to being honest about who he is:



And in the article about him in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, "Out of the closet, onto YouTube," Kevni's Mom says about her son's coming out:

"I'm very proud he has found his voice," Killeen said of Kevin. "I'm just very proud of him, of all of who he is, proud he has the courage to share his story."

Wow. What an inspiration - both mother and son.

Thanks, Kevin, for sharing your story with all of us!

Namaste,
Lee

Must Read: John Amaechi Responds to Kobe Bryant's Anti-Gay Slur

Okay, here's what you need to know from the New York Times:

After Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant directed an antigay slur at a referee Tuesday night [April 12, 2011] from the bench in a game against the Phoenix Suns, the N.B.A. fined him $100,000. Bryant has apologized, saying his words should not have been taken literally. He said he would appeal the fine.

Now go check out this amazing response by openly Gay former NBA player John Amaechi.

Bravo, John!

And my thanks to Asako for sharing this with me so I could share it with all of you.

Namaste,
Lee

Ellen Hopkins: The Exclusive Pre-Conference #LA11SCBWI Interview!

Registration for the 40th Anniversary SCBWI Summer Conference opens today! (And there are some amazing intensive classes that will fill up fast.)

I sat down with New York Times Bestselling Author, SCBWI Board Member and SCBWI Regional Advisor for Nevada Ellen Hopkins and got the scoop:



So go check out the offerings, register, and I hope to see you there!

And remember, you can stay on top of all the pre-conference interviews and news by checking in on our Official SCBWI Conference blog and on Team Blog Captain Alice Pope's indispensable SCBWI Children's Market Blog - bookmark them both!



Namaste,
Lee

"The Princess" Gals’n’Pals Digest Issue #1" - A Featured Review At Prism Comics

by Christine Smith

Prism Comics is is a nonprofit organization (and amazing website) that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) comics, creators, and readers.

I was recently contacted by Prism Comics' Paige and Kevin and asked if I would like to do the occasional review of kid and teen comic books for their "Color Commentary" feature... and I said yes!

My first review (of "The Princess" Gals’n’Pals Digest Issue #1) was published online yesterday,



and today I'm sharing it here:

Feature: Color Commentary
The Princess: Gals’n’Pals Digest Issue #1
by Lee Wind

Seth feels that he’s really a girl and wants to wear a dress. In fact, he’s decided to call himself “Princess Sarah!”

His mom is not supportive, ordering him to change. “PANTS, SETH. NOW.”

His dad (his parents have split) is supportive (bought him that dress), and tells the mom she’s over-reacting. She explains that life is hard enough, and she’s just trying to protect their son.




Seth sneaks out as Princess Sarah (in her dress) and while some kids point and laugh, she makes a new friend, Irma. After Seth explains why he’s wearing the dress to her, Irma says

“So…. You’re a girl. Okay. What should I call you?”

“Sarah!”

“Well all right. Sarah it is!”

“Horray!”

Turns out Irma loves “boy” stuff as much as Sarah loves “girl stuff.” They hang out, watch monster movies together, and become friends.

In the morning, on the way to school, Seth encounters Chuck, who freaks out about Seth wearing a dress and stuffs him in a trash can.

Irma is incensed, and she digs into her costume box and transforms them into The Black Terror (Irma) and The Pink Pixie….err, The Red Bee (Sarah).

The new superheroes face down the villain, and the outcome isn’t what you might expect.

While like most comics on the first blush it looks like it’s just for kids, there was so much here for every reader. Deep issues and themes are at work in Christine’s comic book, smoothly inserted within the plot. From a great analysis of Japan’s fascination with monsters to a plausible cause for why the bully Chuck is a bully after all, there’s so much to think about and love about this comic.

Princess Sarah (Seth) is really likable, with her passion for being herself and not being deterred from that goal by anyone or anything.

Irma is a great best friend, and her open-hearted acceptance of Sarah made me adore her.

The mom’s objections don’t seem cruel to be cruel – she has her reasons to want Seth to conform, and we see her struggle.

It’s nice that the opposing forces Sarah faces aren’t two-dimensional (though they’re drawn that way!) which makes the resolution much more satisfying.

My only quibble is that I thought the color cover was overly pixilated with shading that felt amateurish – and that the cover might hold people back from reading this great comic book. In contrast, the black and white art inside felt more carefully executed, and worked really well in service of the story. The hand lettering helped carry the mood of each speaker, and facial expressions are deftly portrayed. There’s also a nice abstract way that backgrounds are dealt with that fills things in and makes the focus of each panel really clear.

The panels throughout the book stayed the same square shape, eight panels per page, and I’d love to see Christine experiment more with the form - some panels of different shapes and sizes, and perhaps letting some moments impact visually rather than have dialog or text for each one.

Overall, “The Princess” is a comic book that packs a punch: good characters that I cared about, interesting themes that I’ll be thinking about for days, and a fun style.

I’ll be looking for more of Princess Sarah’s adventures, and more from Christine Smith!

Editors' Note - Princess Sarah, Irma, Chuck, and all the rest can be found at http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Princess/ where the story continues Mondays and Fridays! Thanks for reading! - PKA

LEE WIND’s award-winning blog, “I’m Here. I’m Queer. What the Hell do I Read?” covers GLBTQ Teen books, culture and politics, and has had over half a million visits from teen readers and their allies. He is the Advisor for the Trevor Project’s book club and visits middle and high schools to create Safe Space and lead Smashing Stereotypes workshops. His interviews and articles have been published on-line and in print, and he is a founding member of SCBWI Team Blog. A co-Regional Advisor for SCBWI Los Angeles, he is currently writing both a YA and MG novel. You can find out more about Lee at www.leewind.org

The Princess: Gals’n’Pals Digest Issue #1 © 2010 Christine Smith. Review © 2011 Lee Wind.

My thanks to Paige and Kevin for the opportunity.

And please add your review of "The Princess" Gals 'n' Pals Digest Issue #1" in comments!

Namaste,
Lee

Gender 101, Episode Three: A New Vocabulary

Join my continuing conversation with Lucy, my Gender Queer activist friend, as we delve into the world of gender-neutral pronouns.

Get ready - 'cause this is stuff they don't teach in schools!*




*but they will someday, hopefully!

Namaste,
Lee

Jo Knowles on the importance of GLBTQ characters in teen fiction

Young Adult Author Jo Knowles (who wrote Lessons From A Dead Girl) posted this essay for Gay YA: GLBT characters & pairings in YA Fiction, and I thought it was beautiful. She was kind enough to allow me to share it here with all of you:

Last weekend I was driving near the Brown campus in Providence, RI with my family. When we stopped at a light, two male students crossed the street, holding hands. They were chatting away, smiling, like what they were doing was the most natural thing in the world. My husband and I both commented on how nice that was. And how rare.

Because honestly? In most places in this country, you will not see two boys walking along a busy street holding hands. Carefree. Safe.

In most places in this country, there are still boys and girls just like those two ,wondering what’s wrong with them. Wondering if their parents will kick them out of the house if they tell them they’re gay. Wondering if their best friends will still be their best friends. Wondering if they will get the crap kicked out of them if anyone finds out.

I hate that this is true.

When my book, LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL, was banned from classroom use in a Kentucky school, the objection was that the book contained "inappropriate themes, including homosexuality." Calling homosexuality inappropriate is ridiculous. I know this. You know this. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t.

In my latest book, PEARL, a blogger who reviews books wrote that, while she liked the book very much, she couldn’t recommend it because of the homosexual content. A reader thanked her, saying homosexuality in books made her feel “uncomfortable.”

When I read this, I cried. Not because I care about the review, but because of what it says about where we are in this country. The irony about all of this, is that the objectionable piece in the book is about two women who love each other and hide it all their lives because they’re too afraid to be themselves. And why? Because who they are is “inappropriate.” It makes people feel “uncomfortable.”

What message do reviews like this give to gay teens who stumble across them? Keep hiding.

That’s why I cried.

My older brother was gay. He didn’t come out until he was in his twenties. He waited to come out because he was afraid, too. The whole first half of his life he had to be two people. In public, he was one Scott. In private and among a small group of friends, he was the real Scott.

I was lucky enough to know the real Scott. The real Scott had a huge heart. He loved adventure. He loved to travel and eat and read and cook and watch James Bond movies and Dr. Who. He wanted to share all of these things with the people he loved. He used to force me to watch cheesy movies with him, trying to convince me to love them as much as he did. He could put his arm around you and I swear you could feel the unspoken words he meant in that simple gesture. The love he gave in it. But far too few were lucky enough to experience this Scott. This beautiful man who was bursting with love and life and never able to fully share his true self. Because for some crazy reason, for some reason I will never accept, people thought who he was, was “inappropriate.” So he hid that side of himself for years. And that is tragic.

What do we do about this?

That’s my big question. How do we make the world a more accepting place? How do we make our communities, our schools, our classrooms, our homes, more accepting places?

I wish I knew the big answer.

But I think one small one, is books.

The beauty of books is that they show us a new point of view. They show us what it’s like to walk around in someone else’s shoes for a while. They show us the world through a different lens. Sometimes it’s a more frightening world. Sometimes it’s a more beautiful one. Sometimes, it’s a more accepting one. Sometimes, it’s ugly. But even in those frightening, ugly worlds, we see some tiny reflection of ourselves and the world we know. We find connections to what we ourselves believe, and maybe we shift those beliefs just a little. Maybe we step away a little less intolerant, because we’re able to see more clearly the ignorance our intolerance stems from. Maybe we step away able to see the person down the street who we’ve always been a little afraid of, as a little less scary. I don’t know. But I think always, always, we step away changed somehow. For the better. Books do that.

Maybe that’s what people who ban gay books are afraid of. Maybe they just need to read more. It’s a start.

--Jo Knowles

Jo is right. Books are part of the answer. And I'm so glad she's writing some of them!

Namaste,
Lee

What Actually Happens At A Gay-Straight Alliance Meeting: A Little Education For Rhode Island Republican State Representative Dan Gordon

So, here's the skinny:

In Rhode Island, a piece ran in a local-news website about the Tiverton High School's new GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance). It's a really nice article, about how as her school project a gay senior started the GSA, and how it's become so much more for her - mainly a safe space, a catalyst for change, a "family."

The article has gotten a lot of comments (over 300), including one from the above-named elected official. Here's his comment (a second posting) that started the firestorm:

Rep. Dan Gordon
10:22pm on Wednesday, March 20, 2011

Bill, I didn't delete the comment. In fact just got off of the phone with the editor and had a conversation about it. I stand by what I said. Here is again, under my name.

"And this is why if I have anything to say about it, Tiverton will lose school funding to local charter schools. It doesn’t matter if gay or straight, if sexual meet-up groups are being promoted in our schools rather than improving test scores, that school is failing. Is it really more important for our children to get ’sexed-up’, than learning advanced math?"

According to the article about this at Advocate.com,

Gordon went on Providence radio station WPRO Thursday to explain his stance further. He said he is not antigay, that he has a gay cousin and gay friends, and that he served alongside gay people in the Marine Corps. He also said, “Anything of a sexual nature should not be taking place at a taxpayer-funded facility,” adding, “When I was in school, if there was a group for heterosexual students that was going to be meeting after school, I would all day be thinking about who are all the new faces that would be there tonight. That’s just human nature.”

Sexual Meet Up Groups? Getting Sexed-Up?

Wow. I've been an advisor to a Los Angeles area High School's GSA for the last three years, and I can tell you that so much of what is discussed is how to deal with this kind of ignorance and misinformation about what it means to be queer. A GSA meeting is one where students get together in a safe environment and are able to talk about the challenges and triumphs in being themselves - gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and straight allies. They talk about TV shows and homework, racism and homophobia, language and attitudes. In fact, here are 14 weeks worth of topics that many GSAs have used as starting points for their own discussions.

Cynda, the teen who started the GSA, responded to Rep. Gordon , and I like her comment so much I'll share it here:

Cynda
4:56pm on Thursday, March 31, 2011

I figured by now it was high time I post something up. Being the creator of the THS GSA I am absolutely shocked. I am shocked that a representative would say such harsh and insulting comments on a topic he clearly knowns nothing of. As I said on a different article, nowhere in our agenda is there anything about sex, or sex related topics. Not only is the topic of sex completely irrelevent to the purpose of a GSA, but that is not a topic to be discussed. Mr. Forrest, our advisor, and myself, wouldn't allow it. We are here to make a change, to make a difference, in the school and the lives of the students that go here. We're trying to get people to understand that bullying, and not just towards gays, is wrong. We need people (students) to know that if they are having a problem at school, or even at home, and they don't know where they belong, that they can come to us. We will be there to support them no matter what, because we believe in equality. No matter what your gender is, or your sexual orientation, your race, religion, anything..we are all equal. That is what this GSA, and all other GSA's are for. Not for getting "sexed-up." Not even anywhere near that. I am absolutely in shock that Gordon, and those who agree with him would make such an assumption. You claim you are adults. Why don't you try acting like one, and start learning about those things that you don't quite understand before making assumption that aren't only rude, but also insulting and hurtful to others.

Thank you, Cynda.

And really, Representative Gordon. If you're so concerned with education, perhaps you could become better educated yourself about what really happens at Gay-Straight Alliance meetings before assuming that everything to do with gay people instantly becomes all about sex. Presumably, the state government of Rhode Island is full of heteroSEXuals. Would I be correct to assume that you are all able to go about the business at hand without yourselves getting all "Sexed Up" simply by meeting with each other?

I find this combination of ignorance and homophobia so frustrating.

Namaste,
Lee