ohmygay:

lycanpedia:

bmckinney:

k-troll:

saafz:

Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Let Gaga Be Great

1. Denial- This isn’t happening. She’s not real. “Just Dance” has to be a forgery. She has to be sampling. Oh, I know, this is a cover. No? It’s all her? She writes her own songs? Plays the piano? Actually sings? I refuse to believe this. Believing this would mean believing some girl in her early twenties isn’t your run-of-the-mill Piano Princess, and understands the dynamics of pop music well enough to compose an iconic first hit.

2. Bargaining - In addition to “Just Dance,” I’m just going to like “Papparazzi,” but that’s it! I refuse to be a predictable consumer of pop music. I refuse to like all of her radio singles. There’s no denying the girl is good, but she’s not that good. Wait. Her part in Wale’s “Chillin” is pretty decent. “Poker Face” is growing on me. Okay, pop music puppeteers, I’ll like “Chillin” in exchange for liking “Poker Face,” but I refuse to submit to the rest of Gaga. Never.

3. Contempt - I’m beginning to think this bitch killed Michael Jackson…and look at her…standing up for civil rights, and stuff, who does she think she is? How uppity. Does she think she’s, like, important? Well, she’s not. She’s still just a Pop Princess. She still makes soulless pop music that will mean nothing in a couple of years.  She’s not great.

4. Acceptance - Lady Gaga is alright. Not a fan or a hater, just an observer- an observer that’s very doubtful of whether she’ll ever produce anything better, or as good as her debut.

5. Obsession - FAME MONSTER leaks. Holy shit. I think the Universe’s water just broke. Birth of a motherfucking icon. I love this woman. I want to be this woman. I want to go to war for this woman. I want to buy her merchandise, and wait up at ungodly hours of the night to see her perform. There is nothing holy in this world, or as sacred as Gaga. Oh hey, shrine. So I have a shrine in my closet of Lady Gaga? This woman is amazing. I’m going to liveblog my reactions to everything she ever does. I want to meet her. I wonder if she has a secret tumblr I don’t know about.

im still on 1,2 a bit

ohmygay:

It’s a topic that has caused a lot of debate, even within the Queer community. What causes someones sexual orientation? Is it nature? Nurture? both?

I’ve decided to explore a few ideas on the issue. First I’ll look at the Nurture side.

Nurture

1. Freud: Who doesn’t love Freud? The pioneer of psycho analysis thought that an overbearing mother and absent father caused men to be gay. However if this were the case there would be lot more men out there who were raised solely by there mother who are gay. It would also mean that gay men wouldn’t come from families where the mother was either absent or withdrawn. This just isn’t the case so unfortunately Freud’s thoughts on the matter don’t add up.
2. Traumatic Experience: This is a favourite of evangelicals. That homosexuals have had some childhood trauma that led them to be gay, and that the ones that deny it are just repressing some experience. Well it’s sort of to argue that one hasn’t been abused to someone who is dead set on the idea that you have been. It’s sort of like trying to explain to them (the evangelicals) that the Earth has to be older than 10,000 years because science proves it. They simply argue back that the devil has made it appear that way to trick us. Logic like this is ridiculous. In anycase obviously Homosexuality is not the cause of childhood abuse because a) no where near all Queer people were abused as a child and b) there are loads of straight people who were abused as a child and they’re still straight.
3. Unpleasant Experience with the Opposite-sex: This by very definition is odd. Yes if I were to have sex with a woman it would be an upleasant experience - likely for both of us - BECAUSE I’M GAY! Obviously I’m not going to enjoy throwing my junk into something I want nothing to do with. Also some homosexuals who have had sex with opposite sex have enjoyed the experience but were simply not attracted to their partners - or they are a little bi. In anycase this idea doesn’t hold up because people have had good experiences with the opposite sex, and also because straight people have had really bad experiences with the opposite sex and they’re still straight. Similarly Queer people have sure had their fair share of bad experiences with the same-sex but guess what - still Queer.
4. Parents Allowed Child to do Not Gender Conforming Activities: Examples: Boy puts on mom’s make-up, high heels, or plays with dolls. Girl plays baseball, wears pants, plays with trucks. I’ll refute this using myself as an example. I played a number of sports, had trucks and cars galore, G.I. Joes, and loved and thing that went bang/crash/smash/boom and I’m Gay. This is the case with many Queer people. Also a number of straight and Queer people didn’t gender conform when they were young. However the concept of gender for a young child typically doesn’t have the rigid lines we have in our minds as adults.
5. Couldn’t Get a Member of the Opposite-Sex: A) Portia de Rossi B) Neil Patrick Harris C) All the hot Queers out there. It’s not a matter of can’t get. It’s that we just don’t want.

Nature

1. It’s in the Genes (DNA): This is the favourite arguement of many within the Queer community and of those who support it. Basically the theory is that sexual orientation is determined by our genetic make-up. A combination of a number of different genes that play a role in who we are attacted to - even down to whether we prefer blondes or brunettes. A number of studies have shown some genetic link to sexual orientation including an increased likelihood of having a homosexual child if there is a history of homosexuals on the mother’s side, an increased prevelance of homosexuality among deaf people, dramatic increase in prevelance among identical twins (70%), and an increased prevelance of homosexuality among those who are left handed. While I personally agree that genes play a role in sexual orientation I don’t believe it is in the same way that most people do, but I’ll get into that later.
2. It’s Natural: Homosexual relationships can be seen in hundreds of different species across the planet. It is quite prevelant within bird and mammals. Swans who mate for life will mate with member of the same sex and at a percentage higher than the 10% often cited for humans. Dolphins, Chimps, Penguins, Cats, Dogs, Horses, the list literally goes on and on. This isn’t something that is “unnatural”. For more on this see either my Oh My Gayvolution or Queer Animals, It’s a Big Gay Old World posts.
3. Hormone Imbalance: This theory was popular in the mid 1900’s but was quickly discredited when hormone injections into homosexual patients didn’t work. - Oh the good old days when we were subjected to barbaric experiments.
4. Prenatal Hormones: My personal favourite theory goes like this; Prenatal Hormones released between the 3rd and 5th month of pregnancy cause/influence ones sexual orientation. The hormones released can vary causing someone to be mostly straight, bi, totally homosexual, etc. This theory accounts for the varying sexual orienations (or fluidity) that we have today (it’s not just heterosexual, bi, and homosexual). It also accounts for why in some cases one identical twin is heterosexual but then the other is homosexual. Each twin has it’s own amniotic sac in the whom and subjected to different levels of prenatal hormones and this accounts for difference in sexual oriention. Now I mentioned before I still think genes play a role, and I do… with the mother. It believe the reason we can see an increased prevelance of homosexuality on the mothers side if there have been relatives who are homosexual is because genetically the mother is more likely to produce prenatal hormones that would cause one to be homosexual. Genes may also play a role in how susceptible the fetus is to those hormones as well. So it would appear sexual orientation is very complex - and that’s because it is.

Most importantly in this debate is while every single Nurture argument can be refuted by simple examples of real people who don’t fit into it the Nature side of the coin is much harder to refute or disprove.

Whatever the cause of sexual orientation ends up being it will be very complex guarenteed. In the end we shouldn’t be so concerned as to why or how but instead accept ones sexual orienation for what it is and move on.

Slainte!

Statistics

LGBTQQ young people often feel unsupported, isolated, and invisible. A hostile environment that often regards them as immoral or sick reinforces these feelings. Unlike other victims of oppression, LGBTQQ youth often cannot turn to their families for support — indeed, the family may affirm the hostility of the larger environment, including forcing the young person from the home.

The following statistics provide a vivid illustration of the reasons we all need to be concerned with the experiences of LGBTQQ youth.  They are arranged by suicide, verbal harrassment, isolation,depression, violence, homelssness, substance abuse and transgender-specific statistics.

SUICIDE

• 36.5 % of GLB youth grades 9-12 have attempted suicide. 20.5% of those attempts resulting in medical care. (Robin, L., Brener, N.D., Donahue, S.F., Hack, T., Hale, K., Goodenow, C. (2002). Associations between health risk behaviors and opposite-, same-, and both-sex sexual partners in representative samples of Vermont and Massachusetts high school students. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 156(4): pp. 349-55.)
• Gay and lesbian youth are 2 to 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual young people. (Rotheram–Borus, M., Hunter, J., & Rosario, M. (1994). Suicidal behavior and gay-related stress among gay and bisexual male adolescents. Journal of adolescent research, 9 (4), pp. 498 – 508.)
• As many as 1 in 3 gay and lesbian youth have attempted suicide. (Remafedi, G., Farrow, J.A., & Deisher, R.W. (1991). Risk factors for attempted suicide in gay and bisexual youth. Pediatrics, 87, pp. 869–875.)
• In a 1998 health survey conducted by Youth Pride, Inc. aimed at LGBTQQ youth, 58% of respondents reported that they had felt suicidal as teenagers.
• According to a 1999 study reported using data collected among Massachusetts high school students in 1995, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning high school students were more than three (3.41) times more likely to report having attempted suicide than their straight peers. (Garofalo, R., Wolf, R.C., Wissow, L.S., Woods, E.R., Goodman, E. Sexual orientation and risk of suicide attempts among a representative sample of youth. Archive of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine. 1999 May;153(5):pp. 487-93.)
• A 2002 survey found that 21% of men who have sex with men had made plans to attempt suicide; 12% reported actually having made the attempt, and of those, nearly half had made multiple attempts. Most who attempted suicide had made their first attempt before age 25. (Paul, J., Catania, J., Pollack, L., Moskowitz, J., Canchola, J., Mills, T., Binson D., Stall R. Suicide attempts among gay and bisexual men: lifetime prevalence and antecedents. American Journal of Public Health. 2002 Aug;92(8):pp. 1338-45.)

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VERBAL HARASSMENT

• 84% of LGBT students report being verbally harassed (name calling, threats, etc.) because of their sexual orientation.
• 91.5% of LGBT students report hearing homophobic remarks, such as “faggot,” “dyke” or the expression “that’s so gay” frequently or often.
• 44.7% of LGBT youth of color report being verbally harassed because of both their sexual orientation and race/ethnicity.
• Students who experience frequent verbal harassment because of their sexual orientation are less likely than other students to plan to attend college. 13.4% of LGBT students who report verbal harassment do not intend to go to college, twice the figure of those LGBT students who report only rare or less frequent verbal harassment (6.7%).
• 82.9% of LGBT students report that faculty or staff never intervened or intervened only some of the time when present and homophobic remarks were made.
  (All from GLSEN. (2003). The 2003 national school climate survey: the school related experiences of our nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.)
• A 2006 report by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force describes the ‘Hell Houses’ created by right-wing religious groups as an alternative to traditional haunted houses, with the intention of scaring children into a sin-free life. Homosexuality is featured as a damnable sin in these displays, with depictions of the ‘sinner’ burning in Hell, a lesbian teenager committing suicide, and a male couple at their marriage being forced to swear never to believe that they’re ‘normal.’ It is estimated that 1.6 million people, some as young as 10 years old, visited ‘Hell Houses’ in 2006. (Kennedy, S. and Cianciotto, J. (2006). Homophobia at “Hell House”: Literally demonizing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. New York: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute, http://thetaskforce.org/downloads/reports/reports/Homophobia_Hell_House.pdf.
• In a 2005 GLSEN survey of LGBT youth, 90% reported experiencing verbal or physical harassment or verbal assault in the past year. (Harris Interactive & GLSEN (2005). From teasing to torment: School climate in America - a survey of students and teachers. Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.)
• 97% of high school students report hearing homophobic remarks regularly from peers. (Massachusetts Governor’s commission on gay and lesbian youth. (1993). Making schools safe for gay and lesbian youth.)
• 53% of students report hearing homophobic comments made by school staff. (Philadelphia lesbian and gay task force. (1992). Discrimination and violence towards lesbian women and gay men in the Philadelphia and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.)

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ISOLATION

• 80% of gay and bisexual youth report severe problems with cognitive, social, or emotional isolation. (Hetrick-Martin Institute (1992). Fact file: lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth. New York.)
• 50% of lesbian and gay youth report parental rejection because of their sexual orientation. (Remafedi, G. (1987). Male homosexuality: the adolescent’s perspective. Pediatrics, 79, 326–330.)
• 4 out of 5 students in school don’t know 1 supportive adult in their school environment. (Massachusetts High School Students and Sexual Orientation Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2001.)
• A 2002 study of recent participants in an ‘ex-gay’ conversion program reported that, out of 202 participants, only 8 reported being completely ‘cured.’ Out of those 8, seven were employed by the program as counselors, four of whom were paid. 176 of the participants were classified as ‘failures,’ and of these, 155 reported significant long-term harm, including depression and suicidal thoughts, complete loss of religious faith, and deteriorating relationships with family and friends. 18 of the participants were forced to undergo shock therapy and induced vomiting. (Shidlo, A & Schroeder, M. (2002). Changing sexual orientation: A consumer’s report. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 33(3), 249-259.)

DEPRESSION

• In a study of depression and gay youth, researchers found depression strikes gay youth four to five times more severely than their non-gay peers. (Hammelman, T.L. (1993). Gay and lesbian youth: contributing factors to serious attempts or considerations of suicide. Journal of gay and lesbian psychotherapy, 2(1), 77-89.)
• Eighty-three percent of respondents in YPI’s 1998 health survey considered themselves depressed.

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VIOLENCE

• 64.3% of LGBT students report feeling unsafe at their school because of their sexual orientation. (GLSEN. (2003). The 2003 national school climate survey: the school related experiences of our nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.)
• In one study, 41% of self-identified gay and lesbian young people reported violence at the hands of families, peers, or strangers. (Hunter, J. (1990). Violence against lesbian and gay male youths. Journal of interpersonal violence, 5(3), 295-300.)
• Sexual minority students were more than twice as likely to report being in a physical fight at school in the prior year (31.5% of sexual minority students vs. 12.9% of others).
• Sexual minority students more often reported that they had missed school in the past month because they felt unsafe (19.1% of sexual minority students vs. 5.6% of others).
  (Above two from Massachusetts Department of Education. (1999). The 1999 Massachusetts youth risk behavior survey (MYRBS). Massachusetts department of education HIV/AIDS program and the disease control and prevention (CDC)).
• A 2002 study found that bisexual students were three to six times more likely than their straight classmates to be threatened or injured with a weapon at school. (Robin L., Brener N.D., Donahue S.F., Hack T., Hale K., Goodenow C. Associations between health risk behaviors and opposite-, same-, and both-sex sexual partners in representative samples of Vermont and Massachusetts high school students. Archive of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine. 2002 Apr. 156(4):349-55.)
• FBI data shows that in 2005, 13.8% of hate crimes in the U.S.A., a total of 1,213 attacks, were motivated by bias against the victim’s sexual orientation. 61.3% of those were committed against men who were or were perceived to be gay, while 1.9% of victims were or were perceived to be straight. (Robin L., Brener N.D., Donahue S.F., Hack T., Hale K., Goodenow C. Associations between health risk behaviors and opposite-, same-, and both-sex sexual partners in representative samples of Vermont and Massachusetts high school students. Archive Pediatric Adolescent Medicine. 2002 Apr. 156(4):349-55.)
• A 2001 study found that LGBQ teenagers are more likely to experience, witness, and/or perpetrate violence than their straight peers. (Russell S.T., Franz B.T., Driscoll A.K. Same-sex romantic attraction and experiences of violence in adolescence. Adolscent Journal of Public Health. 2001 Jun. 91(6):903-6.)
• A 2002 study found that LGB students who are victims of violence at school have elevated risk of suicidal and other health-risk behavior. (Bontempo, D., D’Augelli, A. (2002). Effects of at-school victimization and sexual orientation on lesbian, gay, or bisexual youths’ health risk behavior. Journal of Adolescent Health. May;30(5):pp. 364-74.)

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HOMELESSNESS

• According to a 2006 report, between 20 and 40 percent of homeless youth in the US identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. 26% of LGBT youth who come out to their parents are told to leave home. Many also report experiencing abuse both from family members and in shelters. (Ray, N. (2006). Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth: An epidemic of homelessness. New York: National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute and the National Coalition for the Homeless. )
• 65% of 400 homeless LGBTQ youth report having been in a child welfare placement at some point in the past. (Berberet, H. (2006). Putting the pieces together for queer youth: a model of integrated assessment of need and program planning. Child Welfare Jounral. Vol. 85, No.2, 2006.)
• 26% of gay youth are forced to leave home because of conflicts with their families over their sexual identities. (Remafedi, G. (1987). Homosexuality: the adolescent’s perspective. Pediatrics, 79, 326-330.)
• Up to half of the gay or bisexual men forced from their homes engage in prostitution to support themselves, greatly increasing their risk for HIV infection. (Savin-Williams, R. C. (1988). Theoretical perspectives for accounting for adolescent homosexuality. Journal of adolescent health care, 9 (2), 95-104.)
• Half of a sampling of gay and lesbian young people in out-of-home care reported having been homeless at some point in the past. (Mallon, Gerald, P. (1998). We don’t exactly get the welcome wagon: the experiences of gay and lesbian adolescents in the child welfare systems. Columbia University Press.)

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SUBSTANCE ABUSE

• 68% of adolescent gay males use alcohol and 44% use other drugs. 83% of lesbians use alcohol and 56% use other drugs. (Hunter, J., et al. (1992). Unpublished research by the Columbia University HIV center for clinical and behavioral studies.)
• According to a 2005 report, alcohol dependence is greater among LGBTQ people, especially for women. The report emphasizes the need for including sexual orientation as a subgroup when monitoring alcohol abuse in population studies. (Drabble L., Midanik L.T., Trocki K. Reports of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems among homosexual, bisexual and heterosexual respondents: results from the 2000 National Alcohol Survey. Journal of Study of Alcohol. 2005, Jan;66(1):111-20.)
• A 2004 study found that “mostly heterosexual” adolescents and lesbian and bisexual girls are more likely to smoke than their heterosexual counterparts. (Austin S.B., Ziyadeh N., Fisher L.B., Kahn J.A., Colditz G.A., Frazier A.L. Sexual orientation and tobacco use in a cohort study of US adolescent girls and boys. Archive of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine. 2004 Apr;158(4):317-22.)
• A 2002 study found that LGB students who are victims of violence at school have elevated risk of substance abuse. (Bontempo D.E., D’Augelli A.R. Effects of at-school victimization and sexual orientation on lesbian, gay, or bisexual youths’ health risk behavior. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2002 May;30(5):364-74.)

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TRANSGENDER-SPECIFIC STATISTICS

• 33.2% of transgender youth have attempted suicide. Clements-Nolle K., Marx R., Katz M. (2006). Attempted suicide among transgender persons: The influence of gender-based discrimination and victimization. Journal of Homosexuality, 51(3): 53-69.)
• 55% of transgender youth report being physically attacked. (GLSEN. (2003). The 2003 national school climate survey: the school related experiences of our nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.)
• 74% of transgender youth reported being sexually harassed at school, and 90% of transgender youth reported feeling unsafe at school because of their gender expression. (GLSEN. (2001). The 2001 national school climate survey: the school related experiences of our nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.)
• In a survey of 403 transgender people, 78% reported having been verbally harassed and 48% reported having been victims of assault, including assault with a weapon, sexual assault or rape. (Wilchins, R., Lombardi, E., Priesing, D. and Malouf, D. (1997) First national survey of transgender violence. Gender Public Advocacy Coalition.)
• In 2002, a study was published that found that bisexual students in Massachusetts and Vermont were three to six times more likely to use cocaine than their straight classmates. (Robin, L., Brener, N., Donahue, S., Hack, T., Hale, K., Goodenow, C. Associations between health risk behaviors and opposite-, same-, and both-sex sexual partners in representative samples of Vermont and Massachusetts high school students. Archive of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine. Apr;156(4): pp.349-55.)