A lesbian love poem labeled obscene was removed from the In/Out Hong Kong Tongzhi exhibition of gay art before the before the exhibition opened this week.

But with lines like “I’d like to pinch your thighs” and “I’ve no choice but to touch myself,” the poem was classified as a “Class II article” by Hong Kong’s Obscene Articles Tribunal, making it unsuitable for anyone under the age of 18.

One of the artists with work on display at the exhibition commented that “photographs or very graphic scenes” are normally classified as Class II articles, not poems.

Okay, that just sounds bad.

But, yea, we’re, or rather Donald’s ex wife Ivana is, still talking about the feud between Donald Trump and Rosie O’Donnell:

Ivana says she had words for both Ro and The Donald. “I was very diplomatic and at the end of the day, I said, ‘You know, guys, just take the high road, it is so ridiculous,’” Ivana told AP Television. Of course she dispensed her advice in her National Enquirer column, so there’s no way of knowing if the duo heard her sage words. Ivana also told the AP that the pair are just feuding to boost their exposure. “Donald and Rosie, they’re getting fantastic ratings, they’re getting publicity, they’re really using it as a marketing tool, not because they are enemies, and I understand that only too well.”

Just a few posts from the past.

Daily Dose of Queer became a 2007 Bloggies Best GLBT Weblog Award finalist. Click on the image to vote!

Winners will be announced on March 12th.

Robert Julian of the Bay Area Reporter calls Brian Whitaker’s Unspeakable Love – Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East, a book examining gay life in Middle Eastern and Islamic countries, “a book that simply must be read by any homosexual who lives, or contemplates living, in a Middle Eastern country.”

Doug Ireland posted his review of Unspeakable Love – Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East here.

Since Pam posted about the video of “The Bible Says,” an “ex-gay” song by Donnie Davies and Evening Service of Love God’s Way (that has a network of online Christian ministries just waiting to help you take a “journey to normalcy,” btw), on Monday, it has been removed from both YouTube and Google Video. While it’s still available at MySpace, play it now:

Life & Style is reporting that Isaiah Washington agreed to enter a residential treatment facility to examine what’s behind his repeated use of an anti-gay slur towards T.R. Knight.

The married 43-year-old father of three was spotted entering the facility at 9 a.m. today (Jan. 24).

And in a statement released today, Isaiah, confirms this saying, “With the support of my family and friends, I have begun counseling. I regard this as a necessary step toward understanding why I did what I did and making sure it never happens again. I appreciate the fact that I have been given this opportunity and I remain committed to transforming my negative actions into positive results, personally and professionally.”

Is this counseling mentioned in Disney’s antidiscrimination policy?

Denise, Ron, and Jen have each volunteered to host an edition of the Carnival of Bent Attractions. (Thank you! I’ll be in touch shortly.)

Don’t forget, the carnival needs your help to stay alive. If you’d like to host an edition too, contact me and let me know.

Ron’s International Carnival of Pozitivities, a carnival for people living with HIV/AIDS, needs your support too. (I’m volunteering to host an edition here as soon as I hit publish.)

Centre Daily Times:

For the fourth time in 18 months, Penn State is the target of a federal discrimination case filed by a professor.

Attorneys for Constance R. Matthews, 51, filed the newest civil lawsuit on Monday. A former assistant professor in the College of Education, Matthews has claimed that her gender, her open homosexuality or her vocal advocacy on equity issues prevented her from receiving a promotion and tenure.

All three factors may have played a part in the rejection, she alleged in the suit.

…snip…

Among Matthews’ claims:

• An internal climate assessment several years ago found that the college hosted an offensive, hostile or intimidating environment for women and sexual minorities.

• From 1998 to 2004, the college hired three tenured men to be faculty members in the counselor-education program, but it hired no tenured women to teach in the program.

• Matthews openly opposed such an environment, including an attempt to teach students that “conversion therapy” can be clinically appropriate. (”Conversion therapy” attempts to convert sexual minorities to heterosexuality.)

Matthews began her career at Penn State in 1998. At the time she applied for tenure in 2004, she had 20 publications (in print and forthcoming) to her name, many of which concerned counseling around sexual orientation and gender issues. She had also received an award from her state’s counseling association.

Tania Katan, author of My One Night Stand With Cancer, will be reading at the February 15th Girlsalon at The Perch Bar and Cafe in Park Slope. Joining her: Ellis Avery, Cheryl B, Diana Cage, Zaedryn Meade and Janine Avril.

No cover charge. Be there at 6:30pm.

Dee Deirdre Farmer, previously freed from prison last year, will be incarcerated for 28 months for faking her own death to avoid prosecution when she faced new criminal charges. The Maryland Division of Corrections, however, has no housing policy for trans inmates and will not say where Farmer is being held (somewhere at the Maryland Division of Correction) while they determine where she will be permanently placed. You may remember Farmer’s suit against federal prison officials:

In a landmark case, Farmer sued federal prison officials over a 1989 rape that occurred about a week after Farmer entered a federal maximum-security prison for men in Terre Haute, Ind. Farmer had arrived with male sex organs and breast implants, after undergoing estrogen therapy.

The lawsuit claimed the government had violated Farmer’s constitutional right to be free of cruel and unusual punishment by ignoring the risk that a feminine-appearing inmate would be raped by other prisoners.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1994 said that prison officials can sometimes be held liable for inmate assaults revived Farmer’s lawsuit, which had been dismissed by lower courts. After the Supreme Court decision, however, she lost the case at trial.