There are certain places you might not want to go to in the UK if you happen to be a little, shall we say, “flamboyant”. But a pub in the heart of the capital, surrounded by passing gay customers is not somewhere you’d expect to be confronted by a splash of homophobic sentiment.

It might be fair to expect a little icy attitude in a mining town or a rural farming pub, but not in the capital of our country, surely?

For those who don’t know, Soho in London is the capital-of-the-capital when it comes to the gay scene. It’s right up there with Camden for the alternative and liberal. This little area of our fabulous city is the place we all go whenever we’re in town. In the summer it is the epicenter of everything in gay culture, pretty much.  The music is pumping, the men are often shirtless and the women are ogled by all the straight locals as they enjoy a cuddle on the grass.

The place is packed with bars and restaurants, and the majority display insignia and rainbow colors to signify their welcoming attitude. Statements like “Gay Friendly” and “Gay Owned and Operated” are not uncommon, because it makes sense to appeal to your largest target audience, doesn’t it?

The Landlord and Landlady of the John Snow pub in Broadwick street Soho don’t seem to think so. They must have so many customers that they can afford to throw out the poof’s and the queen’s. Or perhaps they just missed a marketing for dummies seminar that they really should have attended?

They certainly don’t seem too bothered about letting down their operator – the Samuel Smith Brewery – through embarrassment and the inevitable negative press this will gain them.

It all began late one night as two cute boys on their first date chose to stop by in the John Snow for a drink after their enjoyable dinner. Johnathan Williams and James Bull had been having a thoroughly nice evening by the sounds of things, nice enough to enjoy a little snogging at their table. Cheeky fellas.

Now what would normally be considered uneventful in a London pub – in Soho – appears to have upset the off-duty Landlord (is that like an off-duty cop?) who interrupted the pair and asked them to stop because they were “bothering him”. How seeing two people kissing can bother a person is anyones guess. Perhaps the fella was jealous, who knows?

They ignored the unhappy chappy and continued their drink, enjoying another peck on the lips before heading off, only to be confronted again by a woman in branded uniform claiming to be the landlady. Apparently she advised them that they had to leave because they were being obscene.

After leaving (while being guided by hands on lapels, no less!) a Police report was filed. It later emerged that a couple (straight no less!) were also asked to leave shortly after for daring to question the Landlord and Landlady’s attitude!

Wow, it’s a double whammy of professional ineptitude isn’t it?

The witnesses to this (lets call it what it is) bigotry, have stated that no one else seemed to mind the young male couple loving it up, all except for this one man, and apparently his partner too.

Despite the nastiness of the Pub staff, it’s refreshing to see another couple stepping forward to show their support. They didn’t have to say anything about it, they could have just done what many others do when they see racism, homophobia or general bigotry and just pretended it wasn’t happening. But they didn’t, they stood up for them.

And that is the Soho I know and love!

I guess it might be wise for the Samuel Smith Brewery to hire an expensive PR company in an effort to rectify the damage – this only happened on Wednesday 13th, but the damage to brand and reputation is spreading fast!

With just over two months until Soho is inundated with us “Obscene” people celebrating Gay Pride, they couldn’t have chosen a worse time to reveal their homophobia. The first week of July should be one of their busiest weeks of the year, and I have a feeling it won’t be.

If you happen to be attending this year, join me and we’ll pop in just to tell them that we’re heading to the Admiral Duncan instead :)

No jokes about finding gay skeletons in a closet. Although that’s quite deep and could spawn a meaningful story of youth lost through fear, that’s not what this is all about. I’ll save that for a later date.

A 5,000-year-old skeleton has been uncovered in the Czech Republic which seems to suggest that the remains were that of a gay man, transsexual or a male otherwise viewed by his society as female.

No, there were no feather boas, no male nurse uniform or hair stylist implements. Rather, researchers suggest that the burial of the body reflects traditions more associated to female members of society than males.
So here’s the “facts” part (which you should read instead of just taking my word for it)

Males were traditionally buried with food and drink (no beer cans reported as of yet), weapons and hunting tools, and their bodies laying on their right side with their heads facing West. Whereas women were buried on their left side facing East, surrounded by jewellery, their pets (which is really creepy, did they die together on the morning poop walk?) and cooking vessels. Notably, females were buried with an egg shaped container near their feet. Although not many of the typical items expected to be found with a female were present in this grave, there were no male-associated implements or offerings there either, only an egg shaped vessel.

Now it seems that no one really knows what that egg shaped thing means. But as they are traditionally buried with women, is it not fair to assume that this symbolises a mother figure? Someone noticed that birds lay eggs, they care for those eggs until they hatch and they are suddenly a mother. Therefore it’s fair to guess that this is where that egg shaped thing comes from, am I right?

Does this show that they had some confusion when deciding whether this person was male or female, or does it perhaps depict their place in society? It seems that this guy was not seen as a warrior or fighter, and it seems there were no hunting skills here either. So what did he do? What was his place in society?

You might not think it’s important. I mean, how does this minor discovery affect any of us? But there is at least one way in which this nameless guy can help us…

Think of the next time you meet a bigot. And now instead of using the same old “Look at the Romans” you can go back even further and say “Look at the Czechoslovakian cavemen!”

Okay, so it doesn’t quite have the same power, but it does show that the roles of gay people in society have always been on the mind. Even 5,000 years ago they were perhaps debating the role of gender and sexuality in society, and by the looks of things they were accepting it too. This man obviously had his place, he was respected enough to have equality, and there probably wasn’t even a fight to gain it. You’d think that if homosexuality was a punishable offence 5,000 years ago, this guy certainly wouldn’t have been buried with respect. In fact he would probably not have lived much beyond his teenage years.

I think that what it should remind us of most of all, is that – if this man was gay, which we don’t really KNOW (lets not out him just yet) – sexuality was never really a problem for numerous societies throughout the history of Mankind. Whether it’s a tribe in South America who encourage male mutual masturbation as a form of bonding, or the Greek warriors fighting alongside their male lovers while their wives worried at home, many societies throughout history never really considered what was right or wrong when it came to sex.

So when did things change? When did we suddenly “socially devolve” and decide that the right to sleep with another adult was open to public discussion and judgement?

Yep, I think we all know the answer to that, don’t we?

Butch, femme, lipstick lesbian, soft butch, chapstick lesbian…what do these all mean and how should you identify yourself within the lesbian community? Queer women, lesbians and bisexual women may claim these identifiers or may not. Some women may find these nothing more than a physical description implying dress and appearance, while others integrate them more fully into their personal identities and relationships. Labels among lesbian and queer women are very often related to gender presentation and dating preferences.

Butch is a label claimed by those who wear masculine clothing and cultivate masculine behavior and personality traits. A soft butch typically favors androgynous clothing or masculine styles; however, may present in a somewhat more feminine manner. A stone butch may be sexually unavailable, preferring not to be touched. Many butch lesbians date much more feminine women by preference, although this certainly is not exclusively true. Some individuals who embrace the butch label may not be comfortable with female gender pronouns or gendered references.

Chapstick lesbians, tomboy femmes, and soft butches all fall within a somewhat androgynous gender presentation. Clothing choices are practical and comfortable, cosmetic use may be minimal, and activity is often more important than appearance. Skirts, dresses and high heels may be worn occasionally, but so can an old pair of men’s 501s and a fleece pullover. Lesbians and queer women rarely use these labels as social identifiers, but rather to simply qualify that they are neither butch nor femme.

You can find high heels, full make up and push-up bras in lesbian circles among femmes. A femme may identify as queer or lesbian, but she is consistently feminine. Femmes date butches, playing up the dichotomy between masculinity and femininity in their relationships. Femme is often very much an identity, incorporated into personality, sexuality and daily life. Social groups and websites exist to match up butches and femmes, as well as provide social get togethers within this subset of queer culture.

Lipstick lesbians may appear just as feminine as their femme counterparts; however, they don’t date butches. Lipstick lesbians typically date equally feminine women. The L-word is often cited as an example of lipstick lesbians. While butches and femmes are a distinct social subset, lipstick lesbians are less apt to integrate their sexuality into their personal identity.

While some professional and amateur sports have a reputation for being homophobic, every sport has skilled and talented gay athletes. Moreover, many sports welcome and celebrate gay and lesbian team members and individual athletes. Even in a more welcoming environment, it can be difficult to come out to a sports team, and finding opportunities to enjoy your sport that are gay friendly can be a challenge, especially for gay men. Major public sporting events, like the Olympics, do include gay athletes and at least 19 out gay and lesbian athletes have won medals in their sports.

While there are GLBTQ individuals in many mainstream sports, one of the biggest events for a gay athlete is the Gay Games. The Federation of Gay Games runs this event every four years and gay athletes of all ages, skill levels and physical challenges may compete in the Games. Winning is defined as achieving your personal best, regardless of age, health or HIV status. Find more information about the Federation and the Games at gaygames.org. The next event is scheduled to occur in 2010.

You can also find gay sporting leagues in many major cities to ensure that your team is a happy and welcoming environment. You might check local resource centers or a simple search engine search to find a team in your area. You might also check listings and information at gay.com/fitness/sports. If you are looking for a team that is inclusive, but not specifically seeking out homosexual members, it can be more challenging. You might find it helpful to simply call or email and ask the coach or team representative. You are, after all, playing for fun and it will not be fun if your sexual orientation is an issue.

While there are gay professional athletes in every sport, including male dominated team sports, not surprisingly many choose to remain in the closet at least until their careers are over. Unfortunately, the culture of games like basketball, baseball and football remains unfriendly to gay team members. Some activities are an exception to this and are, on the whole, welcoming of GLBTQ individuals. The WNBA, women’s golf and tennis are among these. Some of the best known gay athletes in the world today include skater Rudy Galindo, tennis player Billie Jean King, Olympic diver Greg Louganis, tennis player Martina Navratilova, and NBA player John Amaechi.

Young queer athletes should know that while being active in their sport, depending on the sport, can pose some challenges, the sports world is becoming more accepting. More and more gay and lesbian athletes are choosing to be public about their sexuality, encouraging their teams, sports and the public as a whole to accept that gay and lesbian people can be great athletes and bring a lot to their sports.

Well, it’s 2009. You’re going to lose weight, get organized, stop smoking, eat right, get a promotion, get a boyfriend, be a better girlfriend, and possibly save the world. Okay, so I have a significant other, don’t smoke, and I hope I’m a decent girlfriend. I usually make it about 3 weeks with the New Year’s resolutions, but keep making them every year nonetheless. I have a new planner, got the Wii Fit out of the closet, and have a pile of new recipes to try.

Which resolutions have a chance of sticking? Probably none of mine, if we’re all honest. That said, there are resolutions that work. Do you need to spend more time with friends and family? This one sticks, for many people. If you’ve resolved to learn something new, and take active steps to get started, you might manage to keep this one as well. Taking steps now, while you’re enthused and energetic about your resolutions can help you to keep them. Schedule regular time with friends today and enroll in that class or order the book.

Consider enlisting a friend or significant other for support. You may simply need someone to help keep you on track or you may want to find a friend with a similar resolution for the New Year. Getting to the gym is more likely if you have someone to go with you and eating right is easier if you’re all having salad. If you’ve committed to improving at work, make an appointment to talk to your boss and ask for a review or ask a coworker for their honest assessment. Consider hiring a personal trainer, nutritionist or organizer if you think it would help you. For some of us, putting our money where our resolutions are can make all the difference.

My partner didn’t make any resolutions. There was a speech about constant self improvement, not just at New Year’s. I don’t know that I believe this. New to do lists have appeared on my refrigerator and entries in that long ignored blog. I am glad not to be the only one hoping for a bit of self improvement in our house this year.

I’ve ticked things off my to do list, including writing this today. I’ve made a healthy dinner and called my mother. I’m off to try to figure out how to use that Wii Fit I’ve had for six months and then I think I’ll go reward myself with a brownie. I meant to bake more this year, after all…

Just think the Nation itself will have one great New Year’s Resolution accomplished bringing in a New President and hopefully seeing a brighter economy and more peace in the world.

Each school year brings some of the most interesting news when it comes to college fraternities and high school sports hazings.  Last month, several high school football players were accused of sodomizing six younger teammates with a broomstick (size queens) during training camp.  What brings on this sort of thing in testosterone driven sports and initiations in frat houses?

‘Hazings’ are also known as ‘initiations’ – things that one group of people will do to another person in order for that person to be allowed to join a group, gang or even a Fraternity. The word derives from a 17th century Scottish word meaning to frighten, scold or beat cattle while driving them, and from the French Haser, to tease or insult.

No surprises then that Hazings have received some bad press as many initiation ceremonies go further than just simple teasing, and include harassment, humiliation and even physical abuse. You may have seen movies such as The Skulls (2000) which took entry into a college fraternity as its theme – the guys there started out with fun and adventurous rituals to perform, such as stealing the weathervane from a tower. But these soon started to turn nasty and dangerous, both physically and emotionally, for the characters. And that’s the warning.

Hazing has been a popular activity in school and sports institutions for many years, especially among the male of our species. I can remember innocent things which we now call hazing; having to carry someone’s bags, or being dared to do something only slightly mischievous like make a face at a teacher behind his back. Now though these things are becoming increasingly more brutal and institutions and individuals are finding themselves in court over what they have allowed to happen. Here is an example from nola.com, dated May 2008: “Five members of a Tulane University fraternity were arrested Tuesday and five others are being sought on felony battery charges in an alleged hazing incident in which two pledges received second- and third-degree burns from boiling water and crab-boil being poured on their bodies.”

But not all hazings involve such extreme measures and there can be a lot of pleasure to be gained from viewing home videos (on the Tube sites for example) and realty movies on some adult sites – particularly as hazing is fast becoming a fetish genre in the adult industry.

Here’s an example: I searched out collegehazing.com a site dedicated to the practice of sexual humiliation among new guys at college. Images here ranged from guys who were simply ‘mooning’ (showing off their asses) to being bound and stripped. Having to flash one’s dick to the general public is a fairly common and innocuous activity, but licking someone’s ass in order to be accepted in to a football team may leave a nasty taste in the mouth, particularly if you’re a straight guy. Many of these initiations happen during parties, or certainly when there is alcohol around and it is not uncommon to see guys who are unconscious through too much drink being stripped, and even masturbated, while the others look on and the cameras click away.

So is it always a homoerotic pastime I ask myself? Is there always a sexual side to hazing? No, not always but it does seem that even the straightest of football players will stand by and watch as another guy gets naked. It may build team spirit and help the guys to bond but how far will they go to be in a team? Cyd Zeigler Jr., on outsports.com points out: Many of the acts that younger players are submitted to are also homoerotic or homosexual. Licking each other’s bodies, simulating sex acts, forced sodomy with various objects – these acts work on two levels. First, they reinforce the notion that same-sex affection is weaker; the subjected men are rarely “hazed” with forced affection from someone of the opposite sex. Second, they serve to satisfy the latent homosexuality of many of the players involved.

So hazing, in these all male situations, is about domination, both of the body and the mind. It can be seen on various levels: fun, when innocuous; sexual, when nudity, simulated and even actual sex is involved; and powerful as, at the end of the day, the group, the herd, tribe, sports team or gang is the thing that holds the power to accept or reject the person fighting for the right to join them. The trouble is, in the wrong hands or when out of control it can simply go too far.

This is it for me, folks. Thank you for making the last two years amazing ones, and please don’t be strangers!

http://www.mariaangeline.com/contact

I miss you all already.

I’m scheduled to host the International Carnival of Pozitivities, a blog carnival for people living with HIV/AIDS, on May 10th. Is anyone out there interested in taking my place?

I posted about Lambda Legal’s “Life Without Fair Courts” illustration contest here. Entries are due on March 15, 2007. Find out more about the contest by clicking on Lambda Legal’s ad in our sidebar.

See ya on Monday!

It’s been a wonderful two years around here. This blog’s most recent accomplishment, becoming a 2007 Bloggies finalist, was a completely unexpected and amazing surprise. I’ve also been able watch traffic triple since December 06:

2/12/07 – 2/18/07: 14,326 visitors, 7,504 unique visitors, 96,845 page views

01/07: 41,120 visits, 19,990 unique visitors, 379,817 page views

10/06 – 12/06: 52,585 visitors, 21,867 unique visitors, 182,985 page views

2006 (all): 203,875 visits, 80,912 unique visitors, 609,963 page views

06/05 – 12/05: 57,731 visitors, 17,172 unique visitors, 162,402 page views

I’ve had a great run with this site, but it’s time for me to give all my time and energy to other projects.

My last post here will be in the near future, possibly as soon as the first week of March. I will be starting conversations with potential buyers immediately.

The ideal purchaser of this site is someone with existing advertising contacts and/or agency connections for ad placement. At the present rate of growth, this site will be averaging 500,000 page views monthly by March; this sale is a perfect opportunity for someone to establish or extend a personal brand without having to start from scratch. This site’s domain name has been renewed through 2008. All software, script customization, images, posts, comments and site registrations are negotiable.

Interested parties should contact me here with any questions. I will respond to all inquiries within 48 hours.

If you have a blog, please link to this post to help spread the word that this site is for sale. The more people who know, the more attractive of a sale offer is possible. As my last post here draws closer, I’ll have more information for you on what’s next for DailyDoseofQueer.com.

Do you have a site for sale? Please also contact us and maybe we can combine the offers.

Queercents has announced the launch of its weekly series titled Money Mondays. The series will offer tips and hints beneficial to surviving tax season.

You can read the first two installments of Money Mondays here and here.

Queercents is the host blog of the current edition of the Carnival of Bent Attractions. Don’t forget: submissions for the next edition of the Carnival of Bent Attractions, which will be hosted at Viviane’s Sex Carnival on March 10th, are due before 12:01AM on March 2nd.

NEW! Make sure you read through our new gay money section. 

Thanks for nominating Daily Dose of Queer for the 2006 Koufax Best Single Issue Blog Award, Winter!

In pictures.

Nichelle, a Cupcakes Take the Cake blogger, posted about these Red Betty Boop Adidas at her personal blog.

Best Lesbian-ish Day Ever covered Michelle Rodriguez’s Fashion Week accessory: a court-ordered ankle bracelet she has worn since being convicted of drunk driving in Hawaii last year.

Via FabSugar, the Betsey Johnson Avril beaded peep toe pumps.

Over at BetseyJohnson.com, I found the Betsey Johnson Merri Shoes.

Luxist featured Roberto Cavalli’s Laser Cut Metallic Clutch as a Handbag of the Day.

Miss Malaprop wrote about eco-friendly bags here. She links to ENVIROSAX, where this bag from their Retro collection is a favorite of mine.

Arvind Devalia suggests starting off 2007 by sending some of your old shoes to show heaven.

Andrea Dickson at Wise Bread gives an example of how to personalize a handbag.

This woman is doing it. And many of the people who commented on this post have lived on less.

When you’re struggling it often feels like you’re alone in your money problems. While it’s depressing to hear the news, it’s also nice to know there are many other people living in way less than desirable situations.

Thank you for the link, Jen!

Have you seen the results a Google image search of my name yields? This is one of them. A pussy pop from New Mexico. Awesome.

(The pussy pop was a gift I sent to Jen, btw. She sniffed it and gave it to her dad. This may be the best post I have ever written.)

If you’re a queer musician interested in performing at LA Pride, get an entertainment application at LAPride.org. Wanna know of other ways you can take part? Contact the organizers at info AT lapride DOT org.

“Snickers Commercial Blamed for Death of Four Gay Men” via Netscape’s Gay & Lesbian channel:

NOSHEILA, NEW ZEALAND – Two New Zealand men (Johnson DeLarge and Randy Pecker) admitted to beating four gay men to death with baseball bats after watching the Snickers Commercial that ran during the Super Bowl.

“After watching the American Superbowl and seeing those two menses kissing in that Snickers Commerical, I just had this uncontrollable urged to beat-up and kill some gay guys.” said Johnson DeLarge, one of the New Zealand men arrested for the murder of four gay New Zealand men.

“Yeah, we were only going to beat up and kill one gay guy. But, Snickers Candy Bars gave us so much energy and vitality, we decided to kill FOUR gay guys instead.” said Randy Pecker, the other New Zealand man arrested for the murders.

New Zealand authorities have condemed Americans and American television over the incident. “We just wish you Americans would keep your hate and prejudice filled entertainment products in America instead of exporting that kinda stuff to New Zealand.” said New Zealand’s Prime Ministeress.

Story tagged: gay, men, humor, funny

Yet I’m not laughing.

If you’re behind on the Snickers news, previous posts are here and here.

Many of you fell in love with the Rakku Shoe Wheel featured in the premier edition of the Carnival of Shoes and Bags. Here’s your chance to win one: Style IT is giving away a Rakku Shoe Wheel.

Hurry. The contest ends tomorrow!

The Carnival of Shoes and Bags

Submissions for the next edition of the Carnival of Shoes and Bags are due on Feb. 10th.

You can submit anything shoe or bag-related, including posts on: unusual finds; manufacturers that have a strict no-sweat-shop policy; shoes or bags made from only environmentally-friendly materials; shoes or bags made by small-time craftspersons who also have an interesting personal story; art museum exhibits that focus on shoes or bags as art pieces; essays that connect shoes, sexuality, and power; trends in shoes and work protocol, like should doctors wear open-toe sandals, etc.

The 2/1 Carnival of Shoes and Bags can be found here.

Edition #2 is here.

If you missed the premier edition of the carnival, you can read it here.

Renting Designer Fashions in NYC

NY1 recently covered Wardrobe NYC, a business in Tribeca where you can rent designer fashions, including designer shoes and bags, for 15 percent of retail price. Watch the segment here.

Jen posted about Texas’ “obscene device law” back in October, when the Supreme Court refused to consider whether the law is unconstitutional.

Marti found this Dildo Diaries video (it’s an eleven-minute edit of the full documentary) at YouTube. If you can’t look at dildos online at work, don’t watch it. But come back when you get home.

Read my “Ten Money Questions” interview with Nina of Queercents here.

Very important articles about gays and money:

1.  Couples and Credit

2.  Credit Cards for Gays

3.   Setting a budget

To the shoes and bags we go…

Thanks for reading! The next edition of the Carnival of Shoes and Bags will be hosted right here on February 15th. Submit your posts here. Please contact me if you would like to host a future edition.

“Kind of the opposite of Perez Hilton, really.”

And he can already read Freakonomics. I’m such a proud mommy.

Violet Blue posted her top five sexy SF date restaurants at Metroblogging San Francisco earlier this month.

The four non-sushi restaurants (because I’m a sushi hater): Absinthe, Ajanta, Millennium and El Mansour.

This woman should just give up heterosexuality.

In late December 2006, a military appeals court reduced the penalty given to an HIV+ male Coast Guard officer who had unprotected vaginal intercourse with a woman who did not know his HIV status.

Lt. Christopher Upham was found to be HIV+ in 1998. He has been receiving antiretroviral therapy, resulting in a very low but not undetectable viral load count. He was counseled about the need to use condoms to avoid transmitting HIV. In the early morning hours of October 7, 2003, he twice engaged in intercourse with a woman without using a condom or disclosing his HIV status.

…snip…

Upham pled guilty to one count of conduct unbecoming an officer in violation of Art. 133, but refused to plead guilty to the count of committing an aggravated assault in violation of Art. 128. His position was that the sex was consensual and that the risk of transmission was small enough that he need not have used a condom or disclosed his HIV status.

The appeals court disagreed with an earlier ruling from a military judge stating that “a person who willfully and deliberately exposes a person to seminal fluid containing HIV without informing that person of his HIV positive status and without using a condom has acted in a manner likely to produce death or grievous bodily injury” after hearing testimony on the likelihood of Upham transmitting HIV via unprotected, non-violent vaginal intercourse.

Read more details of U.S. v. Upham in “Military Appeals Court Reduces Penalty for Unprotected Vaginal Intercourse” on page 16 of the January edition of the Lesbian/Gay Law Notes.

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.

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.)

On February 10th Queercents will host the 15th edition of the Carnival of Bent Attractions. Viviane’s Sex Carnival will play host in March. In April, Our Descent Into Madness will bring us edition #17. I can’t say what will happen after that.

The interest in this carnival just isn’t there, folks. So, please, if you enjoy the Carnival of Bent Attractions and want to see it stick around, submit your favorite posts monthly and consider hosting an edition at your blog.

Daily Dose of Queer will be updated on weekdays only for a little while (or maybe for a long while). See ya on Monday!

January 19, 2007 – March 31, 2007

39 W 14th Street, New York, NY

Transfigurations is a powerful, beautiful and groundbreaking photographic series on the transgender community. Compassionate and revealing images explore transsexual men and women, their notions of masculinity and femininity as they change genders,and transformative practices on the body, creating a reality beyond ordinary experience.

* Cocktail Party: February 2nd, 2007, 5-7pm ($50 general admission, $25 student/low income, free with press pass- please RSVP)
* Opening Reception: February 2nd, 2007, 7-9pm (free)
* Artist Lecture with Jana Marcus followed by Q&A and film screening of Just a Boy, Q&A with filmmaker Aidan Orion Crawford: Saturday, February 3rd, 2007, 3-6pm ($10 general admission, $5 student/low income)

To purchase tickets, contact Identity House.

Em & Lo:

We’re looking for ten couples (aged 20-40) to feature in Glamour who are willing to chat with us about their sex live — in exchange for a gorgeous professional portrait. You don’t have to share anything X-rated or raunchy — unless you’d like to, of course! You could, for example, just tell us about how often you do it or who usually initiates or whether you like the lights on or off. The point is not to be shocking, but just to create a portrait of the sex lives of American couples. All couples will be considered: newly dating, happily married, shacked up, in an open relationship, gay, bi, straight, etc. The couples chosen will take part in a (fully clothed!) photo shoot, complete with hair/makeup/stylist, by a renowned photographer, and they’ll get a print of their portrait!

Contact Emma Taylor and Lorelei Sharkey for more information.

(Heel click: Lusty Lady)

The first edition of the Carnival of Shoes and Bags is featured in today’s Carnival of Chocolate.

Michael Petry “takes an abstract approach” in a work that responds to the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy soon to be featured in New York’s Sundaram Tagore Gallery.

In the installation titled “Monument to an Unknown Soldier: Portrait of an American Patriot,” Petry allegedly asked a gay American veteran to provide a sperm sample which appears to have been splashed on the flag. The stains were then used as a pattern for embroidery to be sewn into the flag.

You’ve got until March 15, 2007, to submit an entry to the Life Without Fair Courts Illustration Contest, presented by Lambda Legal, Prism Comics, and The Advocate. Lambda Legal’s “Life Without Fair Courts” monthly cartoon series “depicts what life would be like if courts had not upheld the Constitution in past landmark cases.”

(Heel click: Gay News Blog)

“New lesbians” — apparently they are quite a problem.

Today’s edition of the Carnival of Shoes and Bags is here.

A link to the second edition of the Carnival of Shoes and Bags is coming soon. In the meantime: Love It or Hate It?

The Brooklyn Museum will be hosting a free event exploring “how Dr. King’s message translates to people of all ages and races in the 21st century” today from 4-7pm.

Michael Silverman, executive director and general counsel of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, will take part in a panel discussion, along with other multi-ethnic and cross-generational leaders and thinkers.

This event also includes live musical performances. Get all the deets here.

A San Francisco company has introduced a product called Meth Coffee. Here’s a, um, commercial:

2006 Koufax Awards nominations for Best Blog, Best Blog — Pro Division, Best Blog Community, Best Writing, Best Post, Best Series, Best Single Issue Blog, Best Group Blog, Most Humorous Blog, Most Humorous Post, Most Deserving of Wider Recognition, Best Consonant Level Blog, Best Expert Blog, Best New Blog, Best Human Equality Blog, Best Coverage of State or Local Issues and [...breathe...] Best Commenter are now open.

Jackadandy (who is featured in the January edition of Curve Magazine!!) recently asked some questions about the Carnival of Shoes and Bags: Will you accept posts on not-new shoes? Will you accept posts on not-women’s shoes? Will you accept posts on what people do with shoes? Will you accept old posts?

Yes. To all of them.

And while we’re here, I want to encourage you once again to submit anything shoe or bag-related, including posts on: unusual finds; manufacturers that have a strict no-sweat-shop policy; shoes or bags made from only environmentally-friendly materials; shoes or bags made by small-time craftspersons who also have an interesting personal story; art museum exhibits that focus on shoes or bags as art pieces; essays that connect shoes, sexuality, and power; trends in shoes and work protocol, like should doctors wear open-toe sandals, etc.

If you’re still unsure about a type of post, please feel free to leave a question in the comment section.

San Francisco is 49 square miles surrounded by reality. – Paul Kantner

I’m missing the city I once called home tonight.

January’s Carnival of Bent Attractions features posts from Black Looks, Desperate Kingdoms, A Delicate Boy, Aman Yala, Jon Swift, Ask Simon, Box Turtle Bulletin, Republic of T., Coaching4Lesbians, Mombian, Dorothy Surrenders and Queercents (the carnival’s next host). Read it here.

Thanks for another great edition of the carnival, Dana!

Submissions for the next edition of the Carnival of Bent Attractions are due by 12:01am on February 2nd. Submit posts here.

OurChart, a social network for lesbians from the producers of The L Word, just went live, and more queer online social networks will soon follow. Gayster, QueensSpeech, SocialButter and Glee are all coming soon.

In beta: Olivia.com/connect and DowneLink

(Heel click: Mashable)

TheLesbianQuestion.com is a blog where you can “ask, answer, write or contribute anything about (or to) the lesbian community.” Click on The Lesbian Question ad in our sidebar to check it out!

April 5-7, 2007: Philadelphia’s 6th Annual Trans-health Conference

Conference Highlights:

• FREE Health and Wellness Clinics, including HIV testing and cholesterol and blood pressure screenings.
• Providers Day (Thursday, April 5), which offers trainings to health care, mental health and social service providers.
• Community Days (Friday and Saturday, April 6 & 7), which consist of over 50 workshops and social events, delivered by transgender people and our allies, for transgender people and our allies. This years workshops address a myriad of health care, mental health, identity, advocacy and community related issues.
• Keynote speeches by nationally recognized transgender and non-transgender advocates and practitioners: Dr. Norman Spack, Jamison Green and Pauline Park.

July 24-27, 2008: The 10th International Conference on Bisexuality

The 10th International Conference on Bisexuality is confirmed for the dates Thursday, July 24 – Sunday, July 27, 2008, to be held on the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston campus in beautiful midcoastal Rhode Island. 10ICB is hosted by The University of Rhode Island’s 14th Annual Symposium on GLBTIQA Issues.

[More info TK]

There’s still one more day of the DoubleCrossed Holiday Sale left!

And for anyone interested in purchasing a print to donate to Picture The Cure, a cancer charity founded by Toronto photoblogger Irina Souiki, Tanja-Tiziana of DoubleCrossed would be happy to get the print to them for you. She’ll also match each donation made with one of her own!

Favorites:
Bird on a Wire / The Lone Bird Sings
the gothic or microscopic

(Heel click: Modern Fabulousity)

I’m totally kidding. We blog for the attention. And awards get us more of it.

Lots of blog award news:

• Jen nominated Daily Dose of Queer for The Lesbian Lifestyle’s Lesbian Blog of the Year Award. After you’re done leaving your snarky comments, you can read more about the award here. Nominations for the TLL Lesbian Blog of the Year Award close on January 31st. Voting will start on February 2nd and last for one week.

  

• Nominations for the 2007 Bloggies are now open, and will remain open until January 10th. If you’re wondering if I’m telling you this because I want you to nominate Daily Dose of Queer, I am.
• Koufax Awards nominations should be opening soon. Should there be a category Daily Dose of Queer fits in, see above bullet.

AussieBum, an Australian underwear company, launched an underwear line called Wonderjock, that promises to have men “seriously looking bigger and feeling amazing,” in late 2006.

“The design of the underwear separates and lifts. The fabric cup protrudes everything out in front instead of down towards the ground,” said Wonderjock designer Sean Ashby.

“There is no padding, rings or strings,” said Ashby, a co-founder of AussieBum.

Ashby said the idea for the “Wonderjock” was the result of online feedback from customers who expressed an interest in looking bigger, just like women using the Wonderbra.

It was only a matter of time before I started Friday Cat Blogging.

I followed a link at PageOneQ to The Gay Parenting Show #29. This edition of The Gay Parenting Show is the first one I’ve ever listened to, and I highly recommend checking it out.

It’s a 71-minute show, so it’s perfect to listen to while you work!

The Gender Genie “uses a simplified version of an algorithm…to predict the gender of an author.”

I submitted the text of “Keeping up with the Donald” to the Genie. The results:

Female Score: 99
Male Score: 237

The Gender Genie thinks the author of this passage is: male!

This must be why I get so much satisfaction out of knowing I’m bigger.

(Heel click: Transgender Forum)

I sent Dana over at Mombian an email that included a link to the first edition of the Carnival of Shoes and Bags earlier today. In her response, she shared this article about Amazon’s new shoe and handbag site that offers free overnight shipping (!) and return shipping: Endless.com

The new Web site will carry over 250 brands for women and men, from Donald J Pliner and Enzo Angiolini to Reebok and Columbia Sportswear. It will compete with a plethora of online rivals, including popular Web sites Zappos.com, Onlineshoes.com and Shoes.com, which all offer free standard shipping and returns.

Christian Travel Finder’s “Tour Focus on the Family” Google ad supports a gay blog.

Daily Dose of Queer is now available in German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Swedish, Russian, Greek, Dutch and Arabic. Just click on the appropriate flag in the sidebar!

Clicking the American flag always returns the site to English.

Thanks to everyone who made Daily Dose of Queer the Best Gay News Blog of 2006 over at Best Gay Blogs!

I really am right when I tell other bloggers that my readers are better than theirs.

Welcome to the first edition of the Carnival of Shoes and Bags! If you missed my previous posts about the Carnival of Shoes and Bags you may want to try our site search…

To the shoes and bags we go…

• Favorites first, and I absolutely love these shoes by Christian Lacroix. Their price — not so in love with it.
• Don’t have $1100 either? Bari J. makeup bags are super cute and only $14 each.
• Another favorite: Submissions from regular readers!Nina Smith from Queercents submitted “Dyking up Like.com” and commented: Like.com is a great concept and frugal too. However, I was disappointed when I checked it out for myself. Why? I’m never going to want to carry a purse like Paris Hilton, wear shoes like Mischa Barton and some might find this unbelievable, but I don’t even know what show or movie made Jessica Biel famous and therefore why would I want to copy any of her accessories. In my opinion, Like.com needs to dyke up the site a bit…Jami of Not THAT Different submitted a link to the Jax Sandal by Valentina.Marti Abernathey blogged her favorites from John Fluevog.Jen (who just added a shoe page to her Amazon store) created a photo set titled Boots and Pills for upcoming posts at A Life Less Convenient and The Nervous Breakdown.
• Pursed Lips’ countdown to the New Year today included their Top 5 Ugliest Bags list:
  Ugly Bag #1: Louis Vuitton Monogram Mink “Bum” Bag
  Ugly Bag #2: Dooney & Bourke Bumble Bee Bag
  Ugly Bag #3: Anthropologie “Romper” Hobo
  Ugly Bag #4: Kathy Van Zeeland Catwalk Satchel
  Ugly Bag #5: Coach Soho Signature Stitched Flap
• Love it (I’m a little shocked at how much I really do want one) or think it should be Ugly Bag #6, there was no way the Anya Hindmarch Squirrel Change Purse wasn’t making it into this carnival.
• Continuing on with the cuteness, from an old post at ShoeSense:[Everybody say Awwwwww.]
• Head over to FABSUGAR for some handbag and shoe matches, and check out their Stella McCartney Ribbed Fabric Platform Pumps post and their Hollywould Red Ava Peeptoe Pumps post too.
• Luxist posted about the Rakku Shoe Wheel, which holds up to 30 pairs of shoes, here.
• MissMalaprop got a pair of handcrafted, wooden shoes from Mohop and blogs about them here. There’s a lot of love in shoes that come from Mohop: Annie makes each pair of shoes by hand in her Chicago studio, crafting a shoe base from Finnish birch wood and rubber soles made from recycled tires. Each shoe has a beautiful image on the footbed, all original designs by Annie that she screenprints herself and then seals off with a veneer finish. Not to mention the fact that she is always really careful to use the most environmentally friendly materials possible when creating these masterpieces.
• The shoes in this Lusty Lady post remind me of my Alice Shoes from Trashy.
  
  
• Also at Lusty Lady: A link to Rachel Kramer Bussel‘s interview with Meghan Cleary, author of The Perfect Fit: What Your Shoes Say About You, and an excerpt from Rachel’s anthology Sexiest Soles: Erotic Stories About Feet and Shoes.
• What’s better than cuddling up with a shoe book? Cuddling up with a shoe book and some chocolate! CHOCO CHOCO HOUSE is known for their little chocolate handbags:And check out the chocolate shoes in their Femme Collection:

More in Shoes:
SHOEBuytes: Ballerina Flats
Fashiontribes.com: Twiggy
Shoewawa: Shoemissy.com’s customised shoe service
Shoebunny: Bronx T-Strap Flats
Shoe-n-Tell: FLY London Women’s Fruitcake Stacked Pump with Flap

More in Bags:
The Purse Blog: Goldenbleu Natasha Saddle Bag
Purseuing: Rafe for Target Satchel
Couture in the City: Handbag Locator – The Visual Luxury Handbag Locator for eBay
SheFinds: Handbag Holder

Thanks for reading! The next edition of the Carnival of Shoes and Bags will be hosted at MartiAbernathey.com on January 15th. Submit your posts here. Please contact me if you would like to host a future edition.

The next Carnival of Bent Attractions will be hosted at Mombian on January 10th. Submissions are due by tomorrow at midnight!

Submit your posts here.

But isn’t the rest of the place looking just great?

Kortney Ryan Ziegler published her last post at blac(k)ademic on December 18th. I blame the fact that I have neglected to wish her well on holiday chaos. I’ve never met Kortney, but I enjoyed her site and I know she must be an amazing woman (she was born on the same day as me).

Kortney may still need help funding her film, so please try to contact her if you are interested in making a donation.

As many of the posts you come across here are of interest to the lesbian community, Daily Dose of Queer has joined the Blogads Lesbian Bloggers Ad Hive. I’m not showing up on the hive page at the moment, but I will be soon.

If you’re interested in joining the Blogads Lesbian Bloggers Ad Hive too, shoot me an email and I’ll forward it to the hive administrator. I can’t guarantee you membership, but it never hurts to ask!

Happy Birthday, Lobal Warming!

From one of the many bloggers thrilled to have you in the 20%.

The premier edition of the Carnival of Shoes and Bags will be hosted here at DDOQ on January 1st. Submissions are now closed for this edition; anything you send now will be part of the January 15th edition that will be hosted at MartiAbernathey.com.

Submissions are not, however, closed for the January edition of the Carnival of Bent Attractions. So please keep sending them in!

I didn’t know of JasmyneCannick.com until I read “The cyber mafia” in January’s Advocate. And I almost missed the mention — I did have to read past Perez Hilton calling himself “a new phenomenon, a new thing, a new creature, this rogue renegade character” and taking credit for the Bass People cover story. But, I’m glad I kept going (to the very, very end, where the Advocate decided they’d put that part about the lesbians).

Seven-layer cookies, anyone?

You may know MeetGayCouples.com as a place to meet gay and lesbian couples. The site has now expanded and offers new features, including The Gay Love Coach, Ask Angelo, and Get The Nurse, in addition to its social networking tools.

Since many of you are still shopping, and we all prefer to spend our dollars at businesses that listen to our needs, I have to take this opportunity to rave about WaterField Designs. And, no, I’m not getting paid for this.

I ordered a laptop sleeve from WaterField on a Saturday. What seemed like five minutes after my order had been placed, I received an email from Gary, the company’s founder, with my order tracking information in it, letting me know that the sleeve would ship that night. My order arrived that Monday morning (I did not pay for express delivery service).

This week, almost a month after I placed my order, I emailed WaterField because the sleeve I ordered was a very tight fit for my computer. I thought it might loosen up with some use, but no luck. A WaterField employee responded to my email, asking an additional question about my computer to help her select a better-fitting sleeve for me, within ten minutes. They mailed me a larger size sleeve that day, before I shipped the one I had back to them. It has already gotten to me and is the exact size I needed.

I’m not the only one who’s more than satisfied with the service I received. So, while you’re spending, stop by WaterField and take a look around!

You can find Maria on MySpace here and read her current call for essays on femme identity here. Pick up Queer Shorts, her new anthology, at MergePress.com.

A mention of Cheryl B.’s forthcoming anthology Coming Out of the Closet Again: Queer Women on Loving Men got me looking around for any word on when it will be released. One thing I found during my unsuccessful search is an article, from 2001, titled “Coming out of the closet — to be straight” (only half of this piece is available to those who are not Salon.com Premium members).

Melissa Levine was 28 when she realized that she had no sexual interest in women (though she had exclusively dated them) and only wanted to be with men; that she was straight.

I love women; I connect with women. Three times in eight years, I have fallen in love with women — women I would have committed my life to, if I could have. And for me, this love translated into romance, and then into sex, though only briefly.

I wanted the lesbian life, complete with herbal tea, incestuous friendships and golden retrievers. I cherished the emotional intimacy and craved the freedom, power and joy of the queer community, which looked like home. But when I finally had that dream within my reach, I couldn’t do it. I was in love with my girlfriend, but I didn’t want to have sex with her.

I have no idea how difficult it is to come out as straight to those you’ve shared a lesbian life with. I do, however, remember the outrage, years ago, when I dated a trans guy for the first time. I was “working my way back.”

Do you know anyone who came out as straight? I’m wondering what their experience was like. I do believe that it’s probable you will lose people when you come out, as anything. The good thing is you’ll lose the right people.

Perez Hilton’s traffic quadrupled in one week. Why? Do you know? Anything to do with Britney “stuff?”

I’d settle for doubling my traffic in a month. But I’m just not willing to “share” in a Britney kinda way. Not on this website, anyway.

I’m kidding.

Maybe.

The next edition of the Carnival of Bent Attractions will be hosted at Mombian on January 10th. Submissions are due by 12:01am on January 2nd. Get them in soon!

Also, you may have noticed while looking at the carnival page that we need hosts for future editions! Please contact me if you would like to host a future edition.

You can read the current edition of the Carnival of Bent Attractions here.

You can find Maria on MySpace here and read her current call for essays on femme identity here. Pick up Queer Shorts, her new anthology, at MergePress.com.

Please add one more recipient to those already on your holiday shopping list.

Sylvia’s Place, a NYC emergency night shelter for queer youth from 16 to 23 years of age, is currently in need of the following:

1) A lamp – ours died and we can’t turn off the overhead light while the
kids are sleeping unless we have a lamp by the staff table.

2) dishes for christmas dinner – esp. side dishes, desserts, soda, and
cider.

3) Bike locks and chains- several of our kids are working as bike
messengers, but without locks and chains, their bikes are in jeopardy.

4) Underwear, esp. boxers.

5) deodorant, razors, soap, and other hygiene supplies

6) Cough drops and cold medicine -we’re having an epidemic.

7) Breakfast foods – bacon, sausages, cereal etc

8) Supplies for making ornaments – wooden shapes, paint, brushes, markers

9) wrapping paper and ribbons for the santa project

10) glitter glue pens for decorating stockings

11) laundry markers so we can get people back their own socks

12) laundry detergent – the kids call the bulk stuff from the food bank
“itching powder”

13) Construction supplies for the Johnson Center – our new 24 hr drop-in
center is under construction! To keep costs down, we need donations of stuff
like paint, carpet, plywood, screws etc – email me for a detailed list.

14) Fish tank – one of our young men moved into his first apartment and has
fish, but wants a 35-45 gallon tank. They’re too expensive for us to buy
one, but if anyone has an old one hanging around, let me know.

15) Towels and wash cloths – there can never be enough!

Donated items can be be mailed to, or dropped of at, 446 W 36th St., NY, NY, 10018.

You can find Maria on MySpace here and read her current call for essays on femme identity here. Pick up Queer Shorts, her new anthology, at MergePress.com.

Kelli Dunham couldn’t find an online support group for queer caregivers of people living with cancer, so she started her own. QueerCancerCare is for “all queer caregivers of folks with cancer…whether that person is your spouse, partner, mistress, best friend, shortstop on your softball team, parent, child, however you define family.”

You might be a queer caregiver of a person with cancer if…

You’ve had to explain to emergency room personnel that no, you’re not sisters, but yes you are family.

You’ve been tempted to write a love song for Zofran.

You’ve overheard your parents tell their neighbors “oh she’s just a little upset because her room-mate has cancer.”

You’re afraid that if one more person asks “what are you doing to take care of YOURSELF” you might commit an act of violence.

You’ve ever been mistaken for “the one with cancer” because people think your extremely short haircut looks like you are post-chemo.

You’ve ever yelled at hospital personnel “of course she’s on a lot of narcotics. She has cancer!”

You can find Maria on MySpace here and read her current call for essays on femme identity here. Pick up Queer Shorts, her new anthology, at MergePress.com.

Because it’s got to be hard for transgender Republicans to find each other, here’s a link to the blog of a Republican trans woman.

Do you know of other blogs by transgender Republicans? Leave links in the comment section.

You can find Maria on MySpace here and read her current call for essays on femme identity here. Pick up Queer Shorts, her new anthology, at MergePress.com.

I recently learned about some difficulties of hosting this year’s Koufax Awards while reading the comments to a post at Shakespeare’s Sister.

This is part of a comment left by Nanette of Human Beams:

As this is a linky sort of thread, I am hoping it’s okay to post here that if we are to have the Koufax awards this year, Wampum (the people who put them on each year) needs help? They are seriously considering not having them at all this year, due to various factors, not the least of which is that they can’t afford to do it on their own, and a prior request went unnoticed.

Over at Wampum, MB Williams writes, in “Too depressed to think of one”:

I’m just wicked stressed at the moment over money issues, and the thought that, should the hard drives fail in the middle of the awards (when, of course, we’ll then receive a ton of shite from some Koufax-only readers indignantly bleating “why didn’t you address this problem before dragging my busy self over here?”) we’ll have to cough up cash we just don’t have to fix them so as to finish what we started.

A new post discussing the Koufax Awards is up here. Please stop by Wampum to donate to help with the costs of hosting the Koufax Awards and/or share your ideas.

About the Koufax Awards:

The Koufax Awards are named for Sandy Koufax, one of the greatest left handed pitchers of all time. They are intended to honor the best of the left of blogtopia (ysitp). At its core, the Koufax Awards are meant to be an opportunity to say nice things about your favorite bloggers and to provide a bit of recognition for the folks who provide us with information, insight, and entertainment usually for little or no renumeration. The awards are supposed to be fun for us and fun for you.

You can find Maria on MySpace here and read her current call for essays on femme identity here. Pick up Queer Shorts, her new anthology, at MergePress.com.

You see that text up there in my welcome message.

Please vote for Transcending Gender and A Life Less Convenient!

C’mon, it’s my birthday wish. Yes, I can make a birthday wish a day early.

You can find Maria on MySpace here and read her current call for essays on femme identity here. Pick up Queer Shorts, her new anthology, at MergePress.com.

Queer Foundation offers to the winners of the 2007 high school English essay contest $1,000 scholarships to attend the college or university of their choice in the 2007–08 academic year to study queer theory or related fields.

The theme of the 2007 high school English essay contest is pink ink (“We write not only about different things; we also write differently”—Brecht).

Suggested approaches:

1. We’re Here and We’re Queer: Interviews with Queer Teenagers and Their Friends
2. Living Healthy as Queer Teenagers
3. Getting Smart: Education Issues of Queer Teenagers

Click here for contest rules, judging criteria, and to find out how to submit an essay.

You can find Maria on MySpace here and read her current call for essays on femme identity here. Pick up Queer Shorts, her new anthology, at MergePress.com.

Daniel Gonzales of Ex-Gay Watch talks about the therapy he went through with Dr. Nicolosi, the co-author of A Parent’s Guide to Preventing Homosexuality, in the speech he wrote for the press conference at Love Won Out Atlanta (video below).

From his speech:

Dr. Nicolosi practices what’s called “reparative therapy”. He actually wrote the book on reparative therapy. The basic idea behind that is that your own sense of masculinity is somehow broken, and you try to make up for that deficiency by being attracted to people who represent the things that you feel you’re lacking. And part of that therapy is that you take those attractions when you have them and you try to figure out what they represent about yourself that you’re somehow lacking.

Makes you wonder…

What’s the plan for “fixing” a super-masculine gay man? And how would Dr. Nicolosi explain why men with “broken” masculinities don’t look to masculine females to find what they are “lacking?”

You can find Maria on MySpace here and read her current call for essays on femme identity here. Pick up Queer Shorts, her new anthology, at MergePress.com.

The anniversary edition of the Carnival of Bent Attractions is up at Spectrum Bloggers!

Read it here.

THANK YOU for hosting, Carsen!

The next edition of the Carnival of Bent Attractions will be hosted at Mombian. Get your submissions in by 12:01AM on January 2nd!

You can find Maria on MySpace here and read her current call for essays on femme identity here. Pick up Queer Shorts, her new anthology, at MergePress.com.

No Fauxxx is a “sex-positive, pansexual alternative porn site with cute pin-up girls, hot boys, chubby chicks, gorgeous BBW babes, steaming hot couples, punk, goth, hippy, natural, pierced, tatooed, shaved and unshaven models, sexy transgender/transexxual models (FTM & MTF), erotica, straight, gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual models, black models, asian models, soft-core, hard-core, and realistic SM and bondage.”

No Fauxxx’s 2007 wall calendar is on sale here.

The No Fauxxx LJ community is here.

Links NSFW.

Also: “I Heart Brooklyn Girls”

You can find Maria on MySpace here and read her current call for essays on femme identity here. Pick up Queer Shorts, her new anthology, at MergePress.com.

Because I am one.

The I Heart Brooklyn Girls 2007 calendar, soon to be featured on HERE TV’s Lesbian Sex and Sexuality, includes photos of twelve of Brooklyn’s hottest femmes.

Metro New York:

Four friends who put the “I heart Brooklyn Girls” 2007 calendar together — a photographer, a stylist, a hair and makeup artist and a graphic designer — wanted to use their skills to celebrate their passions: their borough, vintage pinups and femmes from their lesbian community.

“Femmes are underrepresented,” said Bensonhurst-native Erica Beckman, 29. “Sure, there’s the ‘L-Word,’ but the women on that show are very different from the toughness of the femme girls in Brooklyn.”

To recreate 12 decades of pinups, they mined photos from the New York Public Library’s archives and from their own Playboy collections and juggled photo shoots around their day jobs.

Part of every I Heart Brooklyn Girls purchase supports the NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti Violence Project. Visit the IHBK MySpace page to find out how to get a free I Heart Brooklyn Girls T-shirt.

Miss Bensonhurst:

See all the girls of the I Heart Brooklyn Girls 2007 calendar here.

More: “iheartbrooklyngirls = sexy femme pinup love”

You can find Maria on MySpace here and read her current call for essays on femme identity here. Pick up Queer Shorts, her new anthology, at MergePress.com.

As you know, Daily Dose of Queer was up against 429 News, PageOneQ, Queerty, and towleroad for the 2006 Verve Best GLBT News Blog Award.

Guess what?

Best GLBT News Blog:
Daily Dose of Queer

(View the entire list of winners here.)

To each and every one of you who voted for Daily Dose of Queer: THANK YOU!

I also want to send a huge CONGRATS over to Modern Fabulousity, the winner of the 2006 Verve Best Arts and Culture Blog Award and one of my personal favorites.

You can find Maria on MySpace here and read her current call for essays on femme identity here. Pick up Queer Shorts, her new anthology, at MergePress.com.

2006 Weblog Awards voting is now open!

So get over there and vote for Transcending Gender here and for A Life Less Convenient here.

And don’t forget to vote for The Spicy Cauldron here, too.

Now for the boring (for me) part of the post, where I’m not telling you what to do anymore. Instead, voting notes:

* Polls close at 11:59 PM (US – Eastern) December 15, 2005.
* You may vote once every 24 hours in each poll.
* After voting in an individual poll you will be locked out from voting again in that poll (on the computer you voted from) for 24 hours.
* Each poll has it’s own separate 24 hour lockout control. Voting in, for example, Best Blog will not lock you out of voting in other categories.
* Vote totals are not final until certified.
* Vote totals are subject to periodic correction for identified cheating.
* Cheaters will be banned from the site.
* We reserve the right to close some or all polls earlier than the posted end date.

Oh, I lied. Do one more thing: Please vote every day until December 15!

Jen’s first-born blog-baby is 2!

Happy Birthday, jenburke.com Transcending Gender

And, Jen, your blog took my blog’s toy and I’m canceling all future play dates until it returns Ice Bat. Being a few months older than Daily Dose of Queer does not make it okay for TG to bully my blog-child.

Jen’s Transcending Gender is a 2006 Weblog Awards Best LGBT Blog Award finalist!

A Life Less Convenient, the site her book A Life Less Convenient: Letters To My Ex is based on, is a 2006 Weblog Awards Best Medical/Health Issues Blog Award finalist!

2006 Weblog Awards voting begins tomorrow and ends on December 15, 2006. Results are certified on December 18, 2006.

You can view the finalist in all categories here.