Check out Spinsterhood is Powerful. It’s fab.

Again with the magnets.

What type of message does this magnet send (besides the obvious me butch - you femme - me insert my banana into your donut one)? I’ll tell you what type of message: Butches are the healthier choice; eat a femme a day and you’ll put on 30 pounds in no time.

Hidden anti-femme messages are everywhere. Trust no one.

Props to Beth of Ask Beth, a Boston Globe column, for her response to the below letter from a reader.

Dear Beth:

Your advice to a struggling 12-year-old boy was a dangerous ”mixed message.” You missed the first red flag: his parents entrusting the care of four young boys to a 16-year-old boy. Yikes — a recipe for disaster! You continue on to state falsely that people can’t change their gender attraction. Have you talked to one of the thousands of ”ex-gays” who exist? Your comment that you ”think” he’s too young to become sexually involved is followed by the number for a gay and lesbian hot line? Please, stop trying to be so P.C. and do your homework.

ANONYMOUS

Beth’s response:

I know many 16-year-old boys mature enough to baby-sit. P.C. had nothing to do with it. In a previous column, I elaborated on the hot lines I recommended. I do believe a 12-year-old is too young for sex, but these hot lines don’t focus on sex. Nor do they convert or in any way coerce young people to behave in certain ways. They have people trained to listen and support and make referrals to counselors and resources helpful for young people uncertain about their sexual orientation.

Although some people make claims to be ”cured” homosexuals, no legitimate research to date supports ”conversion” or ”reparative therapy.” Any approach may persuade or scare a person into not acting on his or her desires and attractions, at least temporarily. But no research supports that these feelings can be eliminated.

Further, therapy focused on changing sexual orientation can be damaging, provoking guilt and anxiety in a person as they continue to experience desires that they are trying to repress.

Renee Zellweger wants her marriage to Kenny Chesney annulled and has listed “fraud” as the reason in the court papers. A rumor that Kenny’s one of us and was spotted at a gay bar being overly friendly with another man was heard earlier today on Z100.

Transgeneration starts this Tuesday (9/20) on the Sundance Channel. More from yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle.

Previous posts on Transgeneration are here and here.

The Vatican has requested US Roman Catholic seminaries be checked for gays. I hear those gays are harder to get rid of than fleas.

*NYT registration may be required to view article.

Date.com has announced the launch of specialized chat rooms for gay and lesbian members.

NEW YORK, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ - Date.com (http://www.Date.com), one of the leading online dating services with more than two million active members worldwide, announced today the launch of specialized chat rooms for its gay and lesbian members. Access will be free to all gay and lesbian members of Date.com.

Since Date.com’s inception, there have been more than 750,000 gay and lesbian members worldwide.

“Date.com’s gay and lesbian community has grown exponentially in he past few years,” said Brenda Ross, Date.com’s Relationship Advisor, “and we’re committed to continuing this growth. Date.com’s chat room culture resembles that of a tight-knit community of friends. Members arrange singles outings, get-togethers, dates, and gatherings for celebrations. Throughout the years, our members have had tremendous success flirting, meeting and dating via our chat rooms. We’ve created a safe and fun environment for high quality singles to meet.”

In addition to chat capabilities, Date.com provides our alternative lifestyles members with tailored-specific content in Date Info, such as polls, surveys, topical articles and dating tips, and the Ask Brian column penned by Date.com’s Gay and Lesbian Relationship advisor Brian W. Fairbanks. Weekly relationship and dating advice is also provided in our alternative lifestyles newsletter.

What else ya got for me? This:

*Virginia appeals court hears lesbian custody dispute
*House passes trans-inclusive hate crimes amendment
*Roberts dodges gay rights question
*Here Come the Lesbian Rangers
*DeGeneres back, but without the dancing?
*Lesbian Love Affair Brought Center Stage During Israeli/Palestinian Conflict

Rachel Kramer Bussel seems to have made some people over at DontDateHimGirl.com pretty pissy with this piece.

You remember that commercial, don’t you?

The topic of Oprah’s show this Friday (9/16) is When Your Identical Twin Has a Sex Change . Check out the message board associated with this episode here.

Doesn’t even have a uniform yet, and he’s already doing more than most cops.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Shaquille O’Neal has been credited with an assist away from the basketball court, following a suspect who allegedly assaulted a gay couple and alerting police.

The 7-foot-1 Miami Heat center, who is in the process of becoming a Miami Beach reserve officer, was driving on South Beach about 3 a.m. Sunday.

That’s when he saw the man, riding as a passenger in a silver Honda, yell anti-gay slurs at the couple, said Bobby Hernandez, spokesman for the Miami Beach Police Department.

He then got out of the car and threw a bottle, hitting one of the pedestrians, who was not seriously hurt.

The suspect got back in the car and it sped off, but O’Neal followed.

“He flagged down the Miami Beach officer on duty there, and the officer was able to apprehend the subject,” Hernandez said.

Michael Gonzalez, 18, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and assault with a deadly weapon. A phone number for Gonzalez could not be located and it was not known if he has an attorney. The Honda’s driver was not charged.

O’Neal, who hopes to be a police chief or county sheriff one day, was already being fitted for his Miami Beach police uniform before the incident.

“For this incident I don’t want to be credited as an individual who does police work,” O’Neal said in a statement. “I want to be credited as a Miami Beach police officer.”