What is Slovakia’s stand on homosexuality? They definitely don’t seem to have an official one.

In general, homosexuality remains taboo. For gays, it would be very difficult to live openly in most Slovak towns or villages.

A recent survey conducted by the MVK agency for the daily SME indicates that 50 percent of parents do not want a homosexual teaching their child. However, 35.9 percent of respondents have never met a homosexual and more than 28 percent stated that they do not care about the sexual orientation of the people they meet. Only 19 percent have met homosexuals on occasion.

Sociologists say that available statistics on homosexuals in Slovakia do not reflect the real situation of the gay community. Based on a recent survey conducted within the gay community, more than 46 percent of gays hide their orientation from their families. At least half of them hide their orientation from colleagues and neighbours, as well as physicians.

However, sociologists claim there is a general tolerance towards homosexuals in Slovakia.

What is Slovakia’s stand on homosexuality?

I mean there’s a lot of things that as a man I can’t do simply because I’m a man, a lot of things women can’t do because they’re women. But to run around and say I’m being denied civil rights or denied this or that? There are certain things that I’d love. I’d love to be a member of certain golf clubs and I don’t know why I’m not, but maybe it’s because they think of me. What am I going to do about it, run around and make an issue of it? It’s just the way things are. I’m not comparing marriage to a club. I’m saying it is a specific thing. It has a specific definition. Marriage between people that are not of different sexes is not marriage. No matter what you call it, it isn’t marriage. You’re being phony with the marriage. You’re just pretending to be married because you literally can’t be. It’s like two plus two is not five, except when you think so in certain public schools.

From How To Argue Against Gay Marriage

This AS post is dedicated to Robert Richie for reminding us we’re not accepted and it’s no time to get lazy.

Since your newspaper regularly publishes articles and letters supportive of homosexuality, I feel obliged to write in opposition to this practice.

Since the homosexual relationship is sterile by definition, it is destructive of the family. It is the opposite of the family. The No. 1 enemy of the family.

To thwart the fecundity of the sexual relationship is an evil. The sexual act exists in the natural order of things for the fecundity of the family and thus for the expansion of mankind. God’s precept to early man was “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth.” Hence, there is the need for fecundity in sexual relationships, which are legitimate only within marriage. There is no marriage and above all there is no fecundity in homosexuality.

Homosexuality is completely contrary to the natural order and therefore contrary to the family. All the propaganda in the world in favor of homosexuality cannot change natural law.

ROBERT RITCHIE
SPRING GROVE

From ydr.com

Mexico’s national campaign against homophobia (by the Health Ministry’s anti-AIDS agency) starts to spread their anti-homophobic message across the land.

MEXICO CITY - “You look so in love, my darling,” a mother tells her son in a radio commercial that has sparked a controversy here. “I can’t wait for your partner to come to dinner. What is your partner’s name again?”

“Oscar, Mama,” a male voice replies, revealing to the listener that his lover is another man.

The commercial, which has been dubbed The dinner, is part of Mexico’s first-ever national campaign against homophobia, which was recently launched by the Health Ministry’s anti-AIDS agency.

continue reading

What else ya got for me? This:

*J’lem gay parade delayed to avoid clash with disengagement
*Mass. Democrats Approve Gay Marriage Plank
*Anti-gay legislator accused of molesting young boys
*Fight to ban gay marriage heading to next round
*Gay supporters denied Communion

The modern world has put a new twist on homosexuality in that, because of the new defense that gayness is “natural” (which again, is not a good defense, but rather admittance that sin is a natural part of all of us), it is now an entire culture, whereas previous societies only focused on the homosexual acts themselves. Because of such, this modern “gay culture” seeks to attach many attributes to the homosexual person in order to better defend this reasoning of being “natural.” Hence the lisps, the bright-colored shirts, the TV shows, the art galleries, etc.

From On Homosexuality

Ronny Almog’s play, Somewhere In Between (Ben L’ven), talks about gender and sexual identities in a series of short scenes, each offering a different take on the subject. It’s been running all over the country since its successful debut at the Tel Aviv Tzavta during Gay Pride Week in 2003.

Now the play is spreading its wings. Over the next three months, an English-language version by Almog and cast member Oren Dolphin will travel to the Warmer Mai Festival in Zurich, the National Queer Arts Festival in San Francisco and the Fresh and Fruits Festival in New York.

Somewhere In Between “talks about what is a man or a woman; what is male or female. The emphasis is not so much on gender or sexual externals but on what goes on inside,” says Almog, adding that when the play opened, the press was more interested in the subject than the substance, “but now it’s the content that draws people, and we get all kinds of audiences.”

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Somewhere In Between is the first play in Israel to address transgender issues.

*I’ve been skipping over a lot of great articles from The Jerusalem Post because of the required registration. I thought having to register would annoy a lot of you. It annoys me. But I finally got sick of being teased with article titles and signed up. You should do the same because I’m sure I’m gonna post about more of their pieces in the future.

Indian films provoke more than entertainment over at nowrunning.com touches on how queer is gaining popularity in Bollywood.

The increasing psychoanalyses of Bollywood underway clearly indicate that it is being taken more and more seriously. Lavina says Thomas Waugh at Concordia University has even done a paper on “Queer Bollywood? Patterns of Sexual Subversion in Recent Indian Cinema”.

click over to nowrunning.com

What else ya got for me? This:

*“Positively Gay: New Approaches to Gay and Lesbian Life”
*Queer Eye for the Sheepskin
*Film on transsexual trauma to compete in Durban fest
*Spanish Prime Minister Defends Gay Marriage Against Catholic Church
*Gay and not so proud

I can’t believe I’m just running into this now.

“You can’t swing a dead cat at a bridal shower without hitting a straight chick who’s slept with another woman, who’s thought about it, or who’s ready to make the move as soon as someone breaks out the booze.”

Such are the incisive pearls of wisdom to be heard from straight chick and girl-on-girl dabbler Jen Sincero, author of The Straight Girl’s Guide to Sleeping with Chicks. A deliciously sexy how-to guide, it gives curious straight women the complete inside scoop on girl-on-girl action — from pickup lines and virgin jitters to threesomes, techniques, and toys. Drawing on personal experience and hundreds of interviews with straight girls who’ve slept with lesbians, straight girls who’ve slept with straight girls, lesbians who’ve slept with straight girls, and straight girls who’ve done both or neither, Sincero covers the A to Z of the experience including:

· Obtaining a visitor’s pass to the girls-only club

· The super-huge importance of sticking your hand down your pants

· The straight girl’s starter kit — from nail clippers to cocktails to get her in the mood

· “Gettin’ Some 101″ — positions, techniques, and instructional photos

· “And Boy Makes Three!” — how to have a threesome that’s fun for all

· Suggestions for further viewing and reading and much, much more

Packed with expertly toned advice that is at once laugh-out-loud hilarious and fundamentally practical, The Straight Girl’s Guide to Sleeping with Chicks is ideal for any woman looking to spice things up with a boyfriend, break the ice with a best friend, or simply add a few just-in-case items to her sexual menu.

I do have to wonder, though, how straight women have required the privilege of keeping their identity no matter what their behavior entails. When a lesbian sleeps with a man, she’s no longer a lesbian to most people (unless you’ve got the look - then you’re forgiven for anything). What I can’t figure out is who’s in charge of that one. Is it straight men (specifically, those who just can’t believe anyone wouldn’t want their dick) or lesbians? No, I’m not willing to entertain the thought it may be the fault of any other groups.

ON GAY MARRIAGE: “Heterosexual marriage, procreation, and the nurturing of children form the bedrock of the family, and the family unit lies at the heart of every society. To extend the meaning of marriage beyond a union of a man and a woman, their procreative capacity, and their establishment of family represents a misguided understanding of marriage.” - public statement on marriage, February 2004.

From Quotes From Archbishop Levada

If you’re not a real big fan, maybe you’ll enjoy Showtime shows ban “butch”: Does The L-Word love lesbians? Personally, I’m sick of the complaining. Want a show with butch characters? Then I guess you know where you should direct your energy. Seriously… *so many* people have problems with The L Word’s representation of lesbian life. Why not work together and create something else?

I’m sad to see season two come to an end, but I’d give up the show completely if it kept Queer as Folk on the air. The season premier of Queer as Folk airs May 22 at 10 PM on SHO. This will be their last season.