Really.

(thanks for the link, Sue!)

A new study by psychologist Tom Dickins of the University of East London shows that gay men have more empathy and are less aggressive than heterosexual men, but when it come to things like spreading malicious gossip, men of both groups seem equally as likely to be the guilty party behind *that* rumor floating around about you.

From PHYSORG.COM:

Young men can be aggressive - even during the season of goodwill. Now, a new study by University of East London (UEL) psychologist Tom Dickins shows how patterns of male aggression vary with sexual orientation.

According to the findings of the study, forthcoming in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, homosexual men score higher for empathy and show significantly lower levels of physical aggression than heterosexual men.

However they do show similar levels of non-physical and indirect aggression, that is the ability to inflict pain while avoiding identification and counter-aggression, for example by spreading malicious gossip.

You’ve got until January 3rd to nominate your favorite blog written by a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered blogger for the Best of Blogs’ Best LGBT Blog Award.

A list of finalists will be published on January 10th.

(and all of the other shoe junkies out there)

From comments on It’s Not ALL About the Shoes:

Jen: Can you take pictures of other shoes I don’t know about please?

Denise: I second Jen’s request, Maria!

This is to hold the both of you over until the shoe parade. ;)

Sigh. They really shouldn’t be worn with naked toes. I recommend
Very Vernis Nail Enamel in Violet Laque 16, Rouge Diva 38 or Rouge Diva 38 with them.

According to the Prague Daily Monitor, a new poll shows that 53 percent of Czechs consider homosexuality “something incomprehensible.”

Some 22 percent definitely agreed with the view that homosexuality is something incomprehensible to them, 31 percent said they rather agree with this view and the same part rather disagreed with it, and 15 percent said they definitely disagree with it.

The poll was conducted from April to September or, in other words, before the lower house of parliament approved the bill on registered partnership of same-sex couples. The bill is yet to be passed by the upper house and signed by President Vaclav Klaus to become law.

I previously posted about military surveillance of “don’t ask, don’t tell” college protests here after reading a post by Denise at Life, Law, Gender.

Yesterday, AScribe, a public interest newswire, featured an article titled “Military Surveillance of Gay Student Groups Recalls McCarthy Era Crackdowns; Historians React to Secret Pentagon Database.” Excerpts:

…according to David K. Johnson, a historian at University of South Florida and author of “The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government,” the banner of “national security” has long been used as a pretext to crack down on gay rights and even to spark moral crusades against homosexuality under the guise of national defense…

…Dr. Johnson said the Pentagon’s spying is the latest in a long history of targeting gays and lesbians as subversives despite lacking any evidence for such a charge. “It’s no surprise,” he said. “The federal government began spying on those who challenged its discriminatory policies from the very earliest days of such activism.” He said the FBI investigated the first organizational meeting in 1961 of what became the Mattachine Society, one of the earliest gay rights groups. Government agents took photographs in 1965 at the first gay and lesbian public demonstration in front of the White House against the military’s exclusionary policies. “What is surprising,” he said, “is that in nearly a half century of undercover intelligence gathering, they haven’t yet figured out that these are always peaceful, lawful protests…”

Read a University of Chicago Press interview with David Johnson here.

Robbie Laughlin, star of “Queer Eye for the Straight Girl,” has signed on as the new host of Q Television Network’s “On Q Live” (which, since I know you read ALL of my posts, you saw clip from when you watched the Jenny Shimizu interview I posted about here)

Read “Q Television Network Taps ‘Queer Eye’ Robbie Laughlin as New Host of ‘On Q Live’” for more on Laughlin and Q Television Network.

Bitch | Lab will be hosting the first ever Carnival of Sex-Positive Feminism on January 6, 2006. Visit Bitch | Lab to submit your entries! (see the Get Wet! box)

And don’t forget to get your submissions in for the next Carnival of Bent Attractions too!

I got the CUTEST socks today!

Socks: $5 (at Mandee)
Shoes: I don’t remember the price but it definitely wasn’t $5 (at Luichiny)

Or their twins. I love starting off my day with shoes on my mind!

Edited to add: Okay, so I didn’t realize Bitch | Lab’s header images keep changing. I was talking about these: