On gay characters in gay films

I’m noticing a trend in underground and independent films with predominantly gay themes and subjects: our gay characters are flat and one-dimensional.

Now, when I say “gay characters,” I’m really talking about gay male protagonists. I’m a big fan of queer cinema, and based on some of the recent underground films I’ve seen, I actually think lesbian, bisexual, and trans* protagonists have largely avoided the stunted character development that seems to be plaguing films that focus on gay males.

I keep running into gay protagonists that are nice, family oriented, hardworking guys who just want to “fit in” to society and raise a family in peace. They, for the most part, are human manifestations of the argument that “gay guys are just like everyone else! They’re not so different from you. They espouse family values and they really just want to get married like straight couples.”

I don’t think that argument is all the way invalid, though I think it does smack heavily of queer assimilation. Some gay guys really do just want to settle down and live a life that more or less mirrors that of a Southern Baptist straight couple except with two dudes instead of a man and a woman. But that’s not the subject at hand here. What I’m saying is that the mainstream gay rights movement, a movement that seems to be almost entirely focused on gay men being able to get married, is killing interesting gay characters in film.

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Who Killed David Kato?

jpbrammer:

What does American Evangelicalism have to do with the murder of Uganda’s most prominent LGBT activist? More than you’re probably comfortable with.

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Western influences on homophobia in Africa.

To Austin With Love

Dear Austin,

I met a boy.

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Can We Agree to Disagree?

I just don’t understand people who say, “don’t let politics get so personal! We can disagree without being disagreeable.”

Like… what the fuck do you even mean by that?

Maybe it’s just because I live in Oklahoma where they tried to reinstate DADT for the National Guard, declared that personhood begins the moment a sperm touches an egg, and banned Sharia law even though we have more cows than practicing Muslims, but I still feel like I need to get this point across.

Here’s a sobering dose of reality for all you “can’t we all just get along” folks -  politics get personal.

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Dear Internet Libertarians

You know what really gets on my fucking nerves? Those Internet Libertarians, specifically of the affluent white straight male variety, who think they’re so above it all when they say, “Democrat, Republican, who cares? They are basically the same. Two sides of the same coin. Two wings on the same bird of prey. Two components of the same stupid metaphor I am now employing because I took one political science class and I know the things. That’s why I’m not voting.”

Oh, enlightened Internet Libertarian whose basic human rights will definitely not be violated by a Romney presidency, please teach me to be more like you! I see now that I am but a sheep mindlessly following the flock over a cliff called American politics.

You are clearly more intelligent than I. That much I am not here to dispute. But do you think you could maybe answer a few of my questions first? Just a few. Yes? Maybe? Okay.

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Anti-Gay Bullying: My Experience

I held the gun up to the side of my head and took a look at myself in the mirror. It felt awkward in my hand - it was a lot heavier than I had expected it to be and I was struggling to hold it steady. Or maybe I was trembling. Either way, the heaviness was a good thing. It was the weight of the choice I had to make, and it certainly felt like the power of life and death was in my hand.

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A secular gay’s thoughts on Christianity

Because I am a gay rights activist, and because I am gay, people often assume I am an atheist. If I am arguing with a Christian over gay rights, they will oftentimes casually refer to me as a “non-believer” before it is ever established what I do or do not believe. And I don’t usually bother to correct them either.

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My Final Rant on Chick-Fil-A

My original intent for this article was to write a thoughtful analysis of the craziness that was Chick-Fil-A appreciation day. But nope. You will get none of that from me. Because I am frustrated, very frustrated, with how this all went down.

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“Gay Rights Advocates will Bring About the Next Holocaust

progressively-liberal:

WND Columnist Warns Gay Rights Advocates will Bring About the Next Holocaust | rightwingwatch.org

justinspoliticalcorner:

WorldNetDaily columnist and regular Fox News guest Erik Rush warns that the protests against Chick-fil-A by gay rights advocates represent a reappearance of the Nazi Party’s tactics against Germany’s Jewish population. He said the left wants to use the issue of gay rights to distract from economic problems, turning Christians into scapegoats that are targeted for extermination: “the goal here is absolute power, the primary objective to supplant God with government. To achieve this, religious doctrine must be eradicated, and the chief impediment to that is Christianity.”

He claims that homosexuality is a tool to grow the size of government, arguing that “replacing normalcy with deviance and morality with immorality are simply methods toward disenfranchising Christians, resulting in the convenient byproduct of a populace that is governed by its basest instincts – and thus easily controlled. As we have seen, such populations become willing to tolerate – and even participate in – all manner of atrocities.” “It began with a boycott of their businesses” Rush writes, “and the rest is history.”

h/t: Brian Tashman at RWW

LGBT vs. Conservative Christians: Two sides of the same coin?

The LGBT community and the Christian conservative community are not two sides of the same coin with extremes that are just as bad as the other. When an LGBT activist and a Christian conservative “agree to disagree,” they walk away from the argument with the status quo unchanged. This is a status quo undeniably, irreconcilably, and ridiculously tilted in favor of the religious person.

Because religious people enjoy rights that an LGBT does not. All kinds of rights. They literally take it as persecution when they are not allowed to control things using their religion as a foundation for law. Also, mischaracterization of LGBT people and Christians does occur - but let’s dig deeper into that, because those are not equivalents either. Mischaracterization of a Christian may manifest itself into being called a “bigot” or a funny cartoon in The Onion. Mischaracterization of a gay person may result in accusations of pedofilia, “sinful” behavior, and even death/hate crimes.

So what bothers me the most about this argument of false equivalency is that both sides are just as bad as the other and in order to be “middle of the road” let’s call out the “bad stuff” in the LGBT community because surely they are just as bad as the “bad stuff” in the Christian conservative community! I mean, we’re both just two sides in the culture war, right?

Except one side is fighting for rights, and the other side is fighting to take those rights away. One side has come up with attack after attack along the lines of “let’s put gay people behind electric fences” and “gay people deserve death” while the other side comes up with a “well god isn’t real and you’re a bigot.”

One side has a higher murder rate, suicide rate, and hate crime rate. The other side cries persecution when gay people push BACK.

I agree with being civil. I agree with trying to change people’s minds we don’t agree with. They are, in fact, the people we NEED to be reaching.

I don’t agree with doing that at the expense of our convictions, with appeasing the other side by saying “our extreme is just as bad as yours,” and pretending like we are just two players in a game of chess who have reached a stalemate.

Because we are winning, after all. So far. We have a president who just came out in favor of same-sex marriage. We have a major party who has just added marriage equality into their platform. We have every reason in the world to be optimistic - and I, for one, would like to win our rights without having to throw ourselves at the mercy of those who have, time and time again, proven they just don’t fully recognize our humanity.

“Wow. You know, it’s funny. Gay people preach about tolerance all the time but then don’t give it to Christians and people who dare to disagree with them. Just because I don’t approve of your sinful lifestyle doesn’t make me a bigot.”

…..

Chick-Fil-A’s Statement

We apologize for the damage we’ve caused to the gay community…

From now on, Chick-Fil-A will not associate itself with documented hate groups…

We’re sorry…

We treat all our customers with respect.

Evangelicals: Less like Jesus, More Like Guys Who Crucified Him

American Evangelical Christians are a lot less like the apostles of Jesus, and a lot more like the guys who nailed him to a cross.

Now, I may be an agnostic homosexual (read: heathen sodomite), but I did go to Catholic school for what seems like forever. And I am from Oklahoma. And, yes, I have read the Bible. So when it comes to Jesus…. sure, I know the guy.

And you know what? He seems pretty cool. I like him. Why? Because, to me, Jesus was the kind of person who stuck up for the little guy. According to the Bible he was big on healing the sick and helping the poor. What’s there not to like about that?

Another thing I like is that he was willing to go against the status quo. He rolled with a posse of smelly homeless dudes and a prostitute. He had his own ancient Breakfast Club! He also preached against the evils of greed and violence. I mean, he was a real rebel! So much so that the Roman Empire, the biggest upholder of the status quo at the time, labeled him a threat.

Sure, Jesus has been painted in several different lights to fit several different religious and political ideologies. I get that. But from everything I’ve read, I think it’s safe to say that Jesus was at least a real mover and shaker. For me, he’s right up there with the other “radicals” like Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Because, well, Jesus was a man who was interested in changing things.

Hmm… changing things. Let’s keep that in mind as we flash-forward to his modern day fan club. 

Who is the church of Jesus today? Well, that’s difficult to say. There really are all kinds of Christians out there. There are Catholics, Baptists, Pentecostals, Christian hipsters who frequent coffee shops… But you know what’s easier to answer? Who is the LOUDEST church of Jesus today? That’s easy, we say in unison - the Evangelicals.

And who are the Evangelicals? They’re the ones on your TV screen asking for money, first of all. Many of them are also fundamentalists. But beyond that, they are a large Christian group with a lot of power in American politics. 

And what are their politics? We call it social conservatism: the idea that morality can be and should be regulated by the government. AKA the “small government” Republicans trying to regulate your bedroom activities.

This group often cites Jesus as the spiritual guide for their beliefs. In this way, they can justify being against certain things.

And, let me tell you, in the history of American Evangelicalism and Christian fundamentalism… they have been against a lot of stuff.

Remember when the super-duper Christian South realized slavery was against the teachings of Jesus and immediately freed all their slaves? No? Oh. That’s probably because they were against the Emancipation Proclamation.

Remember the civil rights movement in the 60’s? When Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference sought out “the promised land” and equality in this country? Yeah. They were against that.

Remember when two people of different races could finally celebrate their love openly and get married? … They definitely weren’t for that.

How about when feminists said women deserve the right to vote? Well, Evangelical Christians were kind of hoping they would just stay in the kitchen. You know. Where “God” told them to be.

And what about today? What about gay people trying to get equality and respect in a world that has historically oppressed them?

Even the president came out and said he was for that! But not Evangelical Christians. No. See, they would kind of prefer it if gay people just died out.

And, FYI, they’re still pretty shitty about racial issues and women’s rights.

Have you noticed a pattern here? No? Maybe? I think you do, but I’ll spell it out for you just in case.

Evangelical Christians are very interested in keeping things the same.

No matter how bad it might be for someone else, they are interested in keeping the status quo.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on now! What’s the deal?! 

If Jesus was in the business of changing things… why is such a sizable chunk of mainstream Christianity trying to keep things the same?

If Jesus was all about the poor and downtrodden, then why are Evangelical Christians all about oppressing them?

If Jesus was against the status quo, then why have Evangelical Christians become guardians of the status quo?

But, then again, when have people ever been interested in actually following the teachings of some guy in a bathrobe preaching peace and love?

Between the times of Jesus of Nazareth and today, there has been so much bloodshed and acts of hatred carried out in the name of Christianity that it would make your head spin. 

So, yeah… maybe this is nothing new. Still, I can’t help but think that if Jesus had been alive today instead of back then, and he was still trying to meddle and go about changing things, then his biggest enemies wouldn’t be agnostics or atheists. They would be Evangelical Christians.