Amplify Featured Diaries

Join the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia Blogathon

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:00 -0400

Thursday, May 17 Is the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia!
A day to put LGBT rights on the global agenda

It is well-known that the LGBT community continues to face discrimination, stigma, and violence worldwide. No less than 76 countries around the world still consider homosexuality illegal and in 5 of them, homosexual acts are punishable by death. In almost all countries, transphobic laws limit the freedom not to act as socially determined by one person's sex at birth.

May 17th provides an opportunity to pay tribute to the progress that has been made towards achieving LGBT rights as well as to draw attention to the persisting and unacceptable inequities still affecting LGBT people around the world and how this impacts LGBT youth in particular.

Now, it's your turn to raise your voice!

From May 16 to 18, Amplify will host the FIRST International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia Blogathon.

You can commemorate International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) by sharing your thoughts on Amplify! Here are some questions to help you think about what you might want to write.

What is it like for LGBT youth in your country?
Do they have education, sexual and reproductive health services, and economic opportunities? Why or why not?
What do you see as priorities for advancing LGBT youth rights in your country?
How can LGBT youth be sustainable agents of change? Tell others about your own or other young people's efforts to improve the rights of LGBT youth.

Join Amplify and write a blog post for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia!

You can also check out the office International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia website at www.DayAgainstHomophobia.org

Want to spread the word? Connect with youth activists worldwide through new media:

Like the IDAHO Facebook Page.
Follow @IDAHOMOPHOBIA on Twitter to get the latest news, events, and resources.
Watch the IDAHO YouTube videos from across the world.
Subscribe to the IDAHO RSS feed.

Additional Resources:

Click here to learn more about gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer (GLBTQ) rights.
Click here to read more about LGBT rights in the Caribbean.
Click here to download GLBTQ-related publications and pamphlets from AdvocatesForYouth.org.

Happy Mama's Day!

Sun, 13 May 2012 11:40:00 -0400

Advocates for Youth is proud to join a coalition of organizations participating in Strong Families’ Mama’s Day 2012 — a campaign to lift up and celebrate the mamas and others among us who do the amazing, inspiring, and often grueling work of raising our kids and anchoring our families.

Mama’s Day is a way to build a new definition of mamahood – a diverse collection of voices to explore and appreciate the complexities of building our families - beyond just Sunday brunch once a year. As Strong Families explains:

We are all engaged in families and communities in motion--from immigration status to sexuality and gender, from health and ability to disability and transformation. Day to day, the most constant thing is a commitment to figuring it out.

We wanted a way to recognize the day that would bring us back to it's roots. Originally a cry against the Civil War, Mother's Day was meant to be a radical revisioning of what is possible when you put mothers at the center of things.

From now through Mother's Day, our blog will feature posts by mamas on an amazing range of topics, from nursing and working, to being pregnant while gender queer, to race, immigration and mamahood. Click here to learn more and get involved.

As the conversation continues through the weekend, we wanted to share a few Mama’s Day stories from Amplify – and to invite you to submit your own. Don’t miss these wonderful posts from Sandra and Ebony – and we can’t wait to hear your own stories soon!

Sandra’s Story

“My name is Sandra Lubian.I am 18-years-old and a senior in high school, and I have a 9-month-old baby named Adrian Giovanni. He has to be the best thing that has ever happened to me. I first found out I was pregnant on my 17th birthday. My boyfriend at the time and I didn't know what we were going to do, and we especially didn't know how we were going to tell our parents. I mean we didn't know what we would need to raise a child, especially since we were still children ourselves…”

Click here to read more.

My Love Letter to You on the Third Day of Motherhood

“Who knew that your heart could expand this much and feel so overwhelmed with love and joy? I know; it feels wonderful and extremely scary at the same time. To hold this little one in your arms and feel the awe of the beauty and perfection that is your son. You helped to create this wonderful being. And now you have the honor, privilege, and the responsibility to care for, nurture, teach, love, discipline, and guide him for the rest of your life. Terror is right on the cusp, as you hold your son tighter with the vow to protect this special little boy with all of your being; because you know that as the mother of an African American male, that your protective instincts will be called upon sooner than you would like.

I know that your initial instinct will be to try to shield him from all that is ugly and unjust, but you know that will be impossible. You can’t keep him locked up from the challenges, ignorance, and fear that he will face because of the color of his skin. I wish that I could have given you this letter the day that we were preparing to take him home, but it has taken me 15 years of motherhood to figure this out for us. The only thing that you can do is to love him, teach him, trust him, and let him go (and I have so much more yet to learn).”

Click here to read more.

Happy Mama's Day!

Young people and President Obama's announcement

Thu, 10 May 2012 08:25:00 -0400

Yesterday, in an exclusive interview with ABC's Robin Roberts, President Obama announced his personal support for same-sex marriage and discussed his journey to acceptance. He observed that changing attitudes among young people had contributed to his own change:

“It’s interesting, some of this is also generational,” the president continued. “You know when I go to college campuses, sometimes I talk to college Republicans who think that I have terrible policies on the economy, on foreign policy, but are very clear that when it comes to same sex equality or, you know, sexual orientation that they believe in equality. They are much more comfortable with it.

You know, Malia and Sasha, they have friends whose parents are same-sex couples. There have been times where Michelle and I have been sitting around the dinner table and we’re talking about their friends and their parents and Malia and Sasha, it wouldn’t dawn on them that somehow their friends’ parents would be treated differently. It doesn’t make sense to them and frankly, that’s the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective.”

We already knew that millennials support LGBT marriage rights more than any other generation. As the President says, anything else simply doesn't make sense to them. Let's hope Millennials' progressive attitudes on sexual health and rights continue to prompt changes in perspective that ultimately lead to equal rights, including but not limited to marriage rights, for LGBT people in our nation.

When Language Changes: Using the @ Symbol

Thu, 10 May 2012 07:50:00 -0400

by Bianca Laureano

“So if you want to really hurt me, talk badly about my language. Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity—I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself.”

Gloria Anzaldúa, “How To Tame The Wild Tongue” in Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza. 2007. pg. 59.

Earlier this week I created a post on The LatiNegr@s Project about our use of the @ symbol. It stemmed from a question about if this was an appropriate term and form to use in a academic paper by a student in college. I was humbled and thankful to be asked this question and responded by providing this statement so the student could have a citation to support their use of the @ symbol.

Since writing that post many folks have had something to say and shared an opinion. For those of you uncertain about how Tumblr works, you can look to the bottom of the page and see who has responded and in what way, sometimes clicking on a person who has “reblogged” the statement can also show more input. I’ll get into some of their suggestions and thoughts in a moment. Before that I want to make a few things clear: The post I wrote was specific to LatiNegr@s. It discussed the code-switching that occurs, as a first language for some of us, in our daily lives and among LatiNegr@s. As a result, many comments and suggestions asked about other ethnic and racial groups using the @ symbol. I think this is fantastic!
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Sandra's Story

Wed, 09 May 2012 13:30:00 -0400

This post is a contribution to Strong Families' Mama's Day 2012 — a campaign to lift up and celebrate the mamas and others among us who do the amazing, inspiring, and often grueling work of raising our kids and anchoring our families. Click here to learn more and get involved.

My name is Sandra Lubian.

I am 18-years-old and a senior in high school, and I have a 9-month-old baby named Adrian Giovanni. He has to be the best thing that has ever happened to me. I first found out I was pregnant on my 17th birthday. My boyfriend at the time and I didn't know what we were going to do, and we especially didn't know how we were going to tell our parents. I mean we didn't know what we would need to raise a child, especially since we were still children ourselves. We went through a series of trials while I was pregnant. School seemed kind of hard — walking around getting glares from people I didn't even know, trying to stay awake during all my classes and keeping up with all my school work, even though I was exhausted.

When some of my friends found out that I was pregnant, some started putting me aside. I didn't know that it was going to be like that. I think many girls don't realize that these things happen when you get pregnant. Lucky enough for me, my baby's father, (my boyfriend), stuck around and helped me through everything. He proposed to me on New Year’s, and a month later after Valentine’s Day we got married. After we got married a lot of people would tell us negative facts about how teen parents that get married don’t last the first year together. Beating the odds, we have now been married for a-year-and-half now and still going strong.

I know that I was very lucky that my husband stayed with me, and I am one of the few of my mother friends that do have that support of a husband. I kept going to school and finished my junior year without any problems. I missed no days of school and aced all my EOCs. When summer came, it didn't even feel like summer. I spent most my days inside because it was so hot and sticky. While the rest of my friends went out, traveled, and did whatever they wanted, I was just stuck at home with my little belly watching TV and eating. I was no longer apart of the social life I once was. I wasn’t invited to any of their pool parties, no more sleep overs, or summer events that I used to attend every summer. My whole life seemed like it had been altered to another universe, but that was nothing compared to what changed my life forever in July!

At end of July after waiting anxiously for 37-and-a-half weeks, and eight hours and fifteen minutes of labor my beautiful son was born. It had to be the most amazing moment in my life, to see this precious little boy that had been growing inside of me these past few months. After I had him I immediately started texting everyone in my phone to tell them that my baby boy had been born. After texting what seemed like a million people, I only got five responses for the people I texted. This moment in my life is also where I realized who really my true friends were. Those same people who came were the only ones that would always text me to see how I was doing my whole pregnancy. I learned then that I would have people come in and out of my life all the time and that the only people I would ever be able to depend on would be my family. That day was one of the toughest for me; feeling depressed about how I once was everyone’s best friend, yet no one really cared about their “BEST FRIEND” anymore ever since she had a baby.

As tough as it was I learned a life lesson and moved on quickly to filling the mother role. Having a baby at a young age is not necessarily a bad thing; it has helped me to mature and open my eyes more to see the reality of life. I have learned to think as an adult and be responsible not only for myself but also for my husband and son. Being a mother will always be a blessing, no matter what situation, whether you’re young or old, single or married, whatever race you are, you will always be appreciated for the sacrifices that you have done to provide to your family.

GOP version of VAWA puts undocumented women in more danger of violence

Mon, 07 May 2012 20:01:00 -0400

Republicans have gotten their briefs in a twist about Democrats trying to update the Violence Against Women Act to be inclusive of Native American and LGBT survivors of violence and to make it easier and safer for undocumented survivors to report abuse. Unsurprisingly, Congressional Republicans- being unable to overcome their misogyny, homophobia, and xenophobia- have come up with their own version of the bill in an attempt to save face. What makes the House GOP version so gross is that aside from ignoring the needs of Native American and LGBT survivors, their bill would allow immigration officers to inform the abusers that their partner has reported them for domestic or sexual abuse and are applying for immigration status, putting them at risk for further or increased violence.

As VAWA is currently written, undocumented spouses of American citizens or legal residents who are experiencing abuse are able to discretely self-petition for a U-visa, a form of legal residency that will allow them a pathway to citizenship. This process is handled by a branch of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, based in Vermont. Their staff are “highly trained in secrecy and in dealing with domestic violence situations.” The ability of undocumented survivors to self-petition protects them not only from additional violence, but from their abusers using their immigration status as a form of control to continue the abuse. There is also a provision that allows undocumented witnesses of the abuse to apply for a U-visa if police or prosecutors can certify that they were helpful to the case.

The Republican proposal for VAWA is drastically different. Their version requires that instead of working with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, undocumented survivors must contact their closest immigration office. These officers, who are not specifically trained to handle domestic violence cases, would be permitted to inform and question the abuser while their partner is self-petitioning for a U-visa. There would also be a 60-day limit on the time a survivor has to report the abuse to immigration authorities. Proving the abuse would also be much more difficult, as the requirement of “a preponderance of evidence” (most likely true) would be increased to “clear and convincing evidence” (obviously true), and undocumented witnesses who are granted U-visas would not be permitted a path to citizenship.

Expecting the undocumented to rely on the kindness of local immigration enforcement officers- especially in states such as Arizona with racial profiling laws like SB 1070- is practically the same as expecting them to not report the abuse at all. The 60-day time restriction is problematic for two reasons; One, it assumes that reporting domestic violence is easy, and something that is generally recognized and acted upon quickly; and two, they’ve ordered that U-visas for witnesses only be made available while the case is open- which puts police and prosecutors at a disadvantage from offering their certification for fear that once they receive the U-visa the witness will be less inclined to involve themselves in assisting the case.
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My Love Letter to You on the Third Day of Motherhood

Mon, 07 May 2012 15:55:00 -0400

By Ebony Ross, Advocates for Youth

Who knew that your heart could expand this much and feel so overwhelmed with love and joy? I know; it feels wonderful and extremely scary at the same time. To hold this little one in your arms and feel the awe of the beauty and perfection that is your son. You helped to create this wonderful being. And now you have the honor, privilege, and the responsibility to care for, nurture, teach, love, discipline, and guide him for the rest of your life. Terror is right on the cusp, as you hold your son tighter with the vow to protect this special little boy with all of your being; because you know that as the mother of an African American male, that your protective instincts will be called upon sooner than you would like.

I know that your initial instinct will be to try to shield him from all that is ugly and unjust, but you know that will be impossible. You can’t keep him locked up from the challenges, ignorance, and fear that he will face because of the color of his skin. I wish that I could have given you this letter the day that we were preparing to take him home, but it has taken me 15 years of motherhood to figure this out for us. The only thing that you can do is to love him, teach him, trust him, and let him go (and I have so much more yet to learn).

On this third day you are wondering about the kind of mother you will be. You are a single, 25-year old mother, and even though you thought that you were ready; after all, you finished college and have your first professional job; you know that you have so much to learn, and no one in your inner circle to turn to for guidance. So you will attempt to reach out to the other mothers (all of them at least 10 years older) at day care and eventually PTA. But most of those mothers will unfortunately be so focused on being the “best” mom and instead of offering you support and guidance, will instead judge and reproach your ideas and way of doing things. They will harp on how they don’t allow their children to eat sugar (ever), and that they only purchase organic fruits and vegetables from their farmer’s market, that their children’s play dates are scheduled from now until they begin their private pre-kindergarten classes that they have been waitlisted for since their second week of pregnancy, and will look at you like you are an abusive parent because your newborn doesn’t have a resume. Please don’t allow their way of doing things to influence how you define yourself as a mother. Please remember that motherhood is not defined by marital status, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. Society (and in my experience other mothers and teachers) will lead you to believe differently. But motherhood is an equal opportunity that welcomes anyone with the desire to care for and love a child.

You, my friend, love your son; trust your gut. You know what feels right. You are a natural at this. If scheduling your son’s every moment for the first 18 years of his life doesn’t feel right to you (and it doesn’t), then find a different way of doing things that feel right for the way that you want to live. Continue reading and seeking like-minded people that believe in the intellectual, spiritual, and nurturing development of your son. Don’t pay attention to the naysayers and ridiculous articles that blame single mothers for an array of societal challenges – because these people obviously have never sat down and really talked to a single mother about the challenges that they address head-on and win on a daily basis. The work that you are doing as a mother is so much bigger than those articles and the hate espoused by extreme conservatives that are trying to shame you for being the super hero that you are.

Instead, tuck in your cape, put your wand in your diaper bag, and keep it moving. You have so many more important things to focus on than how people are judging you. You have a son that is depending on you to prepare him for his contribution to this world. As you continue to grow as a woman and a mother, remember to reach out to and be receptive to other mothers that are seeking the guidance and support that you so desperately sought early on. Be kind, open and giving. Share what you can and be open to learning from them. I am 15 years in, and I am still asking questions, seeking answers and doing whatever I can to give my son the best that I can to prepare him to become the man that I know that he has the potential to be. The love is constant; the terror ebbs and flows. Just keep loving him, trusting your gut, and let go a little bit more each year.

Love,
You

Revolutionizing the 9th Youth Parliament of the Philippines Part 1

Sun, 06 May 2012 13:38:00 -0400

In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.
-Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States of America

Since May 2, 2012 youth leaders across the 7,107 islands of the Philippines have converged in Naga City, Camarines Sur’s Avenue Hotel for the 9th National Youth Parliament (NYP). Since it is only held every two years and first time in recent years it was convened on summer vacation, one can consider it as an ultimate summer experience considering that the host city of Naga is one of the tourist destinations in the Philippines with its pristine white beaches, extreme water sports facilities, and rich cultural and religious heritage as the home of Ina, Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia, Patroness of Bicolandia.

The legal mandate of NYP is stated in Section 13 of the Youth in Nation-Building Act of 1995 (Republic Act 8044) which states that “The Youth Parliament shall be initially convened not later than six (6) months from the full constitution of the Commission, and shall meet at the call of the National Youth Commission (NYC), and thereafter be convened every two (2) years.” With this year’s theme, “Revolutionizing Youth Development,” NYP9 will gather and engage these young leaders from various youth sectors all over the country and empower them to have a stake at innovating solutions to pressing issues according to NYC.
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Weekly Round-Up: 4/29- 5/5

Sun, 06 May 2012 00:22:00 -0400

Amplify has the stories you need to hear! With so many great contributors from all over the world, you definitely don’t want you to miss out on the top insightful and informative stories of the week. Check in each week for a list of must-read posts. Whether it’s a national story or a individual experience, these are the issues you care about!

April 29- May 5

Stats this week: 55 blogs by 31 writers

Top Five Ways to Support Young Activists: Lessons from the “Heart of It All”- by ashthom

Inside this post:

I am not going to lie – in doing the work that I do, I get tired. It is grueling at times, and I get a little sick of older people telling me my generation is apathetic. That’s why it was so refreshing to see two of the most prominent women in the United States praise something that passionate young people organized.

Risk of Negligence- by peepee

Inside this post:

HIV positive youth come from all different backgrounds; however recent studies show that 75 percent of HIV positive teens (13 to 19 years old) were African, even though only 17 percent of all young people are Africans. Unlike young men, the vast majority of young women get HIV through heterosexual sex (sex between a male and female), because Young women are especially vulnerable.

Republicans Further Demonstrate Inability to Address Sexual Health: VAWA edition- by ashthom

Inside this post:

Republicans simply do not support the types of services and policies necessary to prevent violence. Instead they stick their heads in the sand to avoid addressing the root causes of violence, because it causes them to question their privilege and beliefs.

Unconditional- by cavve_sol

Inside this post:

So, I've been volunteering as an Abortion Doula for the past few months, and it's really been amazing. The womyn I meet, the stories we share with each other, the tears that pass, the hands held in the brightly lit sterile room... I've also been battling just as long it seems with others in my life about the supposedly horrible thing I am doing, the kind of work I am dedicating myself to.

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"The Woman of Today"- Reframing an Image

Sun, 06 May 2012 00:12:00 -0400

I was making a feminist argument last night at dinner with my family about the MovieFone article on The Avengers. As part of the “discussion,” my mom asked me, “What would you say is the age of the Woman of Today?” I didn’t really understand how her question was related to the topic, but I basically answered that that was an impossible question. What used to be thought of as “The Woman of Today,” was a thin, white, cisgender, heterosexual, middle-class, college educated, American-born, working woman. Maybe she was married, maybe she had kids, maybe not, but she was certainly someone who could be easily identified. I didn’t think that there was a way to singularly define today’s young women in way that would be inclusive of all backgrounds and experiences.

But then I started wondering: If the idea of the “Woman of Today” from the time when my mom was a young woman was so narrowly defined, what does the inability to do that now mean to the many young women who do not only not fit the old criteria, but are also at a disadvantage to reaching the same positive consequences of being a “Woman of Today?”

Many of today’s women are people of color, a variety of body types and sizes, bi/pan/homo/a-sexual, transgender or gender queer, low-income, undocumented, unable to afford higher education or saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt, and underemployed or unemployed. This being the case for many women today, how do we address the realities that The Women of Today are having a harder time achieving what it means to be a successful woman? Additionally, given that women today represent a much greater diversity, shouldn’t our idea of success reflect that diversity?

As with many things, I think what’s most important is giving women and female-identified people the freedom to define their own gender and their own measure of success. And really, this makes me think that a socially or culturally constructed idea of what “success” means for “women,” is probably inherently problematic because it seems to give “society” (particularly a heteronormative, patriarchal society) the authority to frame images of womanhood and to categorize what qualifies as successful lives for women. I think that given the diversity of today’s women, our society should evolve to represent not only the needs of such a diverse group, but to be represented by those women on their own terms.

~ Samantha
Community Editor

Republican Policies on Rape, Incest, and Abortion

Thu, 03 May 2012 23:28:00 -0400

I’m getting caught up on my DVR news, and on the April 27th episode of The Rachel Maddow Show, Rachel spoke about the extreme anti-abortion bills that we’ve seen in the past year and half. She framed the information around Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, who is pretty much the only person who still wants to be considered for Vice President this November. McDonnell, who approved the transvaginal ultrasound bill that was all over the news this spring, recently clarified a comment from his spokesperson which made him sound more accepting of abortion than he really is. In a radio interview, he made clear that the only situation where he thinks abortion is justifiable is when the life of the mother is at risk. Apparently survivors of rape being able to choose what to do with their body is unjustifiable.

Add to this the fact that the Iowa legislature was one vote shy of eliminating state funding for abortions of pregnancies specifically caused by rape or incest. Since last July (the beginning of their current fiscal year), Medicaid funding has paid for only 16 abortions in Iowa. Ten of these pregnancies were aborted due to severe fetal anomalies, five due to the mother’s life being at risk, and one because the woman had been raped. The total cost to the state was less than $15,000. Apparently, if you’re poor, Iowa doesn’t care about what happens to your body.

Also note that Florida Governor Rick Scott just decided to veto $1.5 million in funding for rape crisis centers. He claims that “nobody was able to make it clear to him why rape crisis centers needed the new funding.” It’s unclear why he would lie about this, given that Jennifer Dritt, executive director of the Florida Council, provided the Governor with information that made the need for funding perfectly clear.

"We gave them information about the number of new survivors we have and we showed them that these rape crisis centers have waiting lists. Survivors are having to wait weeks, sometimes six weeks, in some programs three months to be seen. We included quotes from the programs about the waiting lists and what services they weren't able to offer because of a lack of money. There is clearly an unmet need."

One of the questions that Rachel Maddow posed in her segment was asking where the line is between being extreme enough that you’d be considered adequately conservative to be Romney’s VP pick, and being rational enough that your position wouldn’t hurt the ticket in the general election. But when the answer is, “You must be against access and funding for abortion in all cases (with the occasional exception for life of the mother),” we have to ask ourselves how we got to the point when our decision for President and Vice President comes down to a choice between supporting survivors of abuse or ignoring them. We have to ask why the Republican party has been so extreme about women’s health care.

Is there a problem here that the Republicans are trying to address? Have rape victims just been coddled too much? Have rape victims had it too easy in America? Have they not had enough of other people doing things with their body that they don’t want to do? Is that a pressing problem that is calling out for Republican legislative intervention? Because the Republican party is cracking down on victims of rape and incest right now. They’re not cracking down on “rape” and “incest,” they’re cracking down on the victims of rape and incest.

These confusing laws from around the country may not be easy to make sense of, but if one thing’s certain, it’s that further abusing survivors of rape or incest by denying them affordable access to health care services and timely aid in crisis situations will not be acceptable in November’s general election.

~ Samantha
Community Editor

Media Justice: Why Citations Matter

Thu, 03 May 2012 07:39:00 -0400

by Bianca Laureano

You may want to bookmark this post for future reference. For many of you in school (high school, college, a vocational school) you are most likely going to be expected to write something. Each semester I have students write at least two papers, which is something that we are encouraged to do in an effort to support and expect students to be able to express themselves through writing. With all of the advances in technology, many folks are writing online. When you write, citations are important.

Citations are not just for the reader, but they are also for you, the writer and the folks whose work you find useful. These citations are so important; they shows you have done your research, are open to other perspectives, and can offer ways for the reader to go back and read those citations and make their own opinions. They are also important because naming the people whose thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and work makes them visible. Often youth, working class people, folks with disabilities, who are trans* or people of Color rarely get the attention, support, and simple naming of their work that other folks receive. Our names are powerful and choosing not to name someone, or ignoring their name is a form of erasure. This happens too often, even within and among marginalized groups.
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Think of the Children!

Wed, 02 May 2012 21:38:00 -0400

On May 8th, North Carolina voters will vote on Amendment 1, which, if passed, would amend the North Carolina state constitution to ban marriage equality and civil unions for same-sex couples. To be clear, this is not a vote on whether to allow same-sex couples to marry, but rather to reinforce an already existing law against this right.

There’s been good news and bad news this week. The Bad: The wife of Senator Peter Brunstetter, who wrote the Amendment, admitted to a poll worker that it was written over fear that “the Caucasian race was diminishing,” and that more people needed to reproduce. So their plan was to ban non-procreative marriages? Did it slip their minds that this Amendment does not apply to infertile or childless straight couples? Did they ignore the fact that many same-sex couples do have biological children- with a little outside help? Did they forget that given the high number of children who need to be adopted and the low percentage of people who are openly gay or lesbian, that doubly banning same-sex couples from the rights and protections of marriage would have no effect on the white birth-rate? And don’t even get me started on the fact that gay and lesbian people of color apparently don’t exist in North Carolina!

But there also is The Good: Polling on Amendment 1 shows that support has been dropping and is currently at an all-time low. The most recent PPP poll, released April 24, shows support at 54%, down 6 points from March 29th. Opposition is at 40 percent. In the week since these numbers were released, Protect ALL NC Families (the pro-equality side) has been airing television and radio ads. It looks good that this will further reduce the level of support, because the polling from March also shows that having accurate information about the Amendment makes people more inclined to oppose it.

“…when voters are made aware of what Amendment 1 would actually do, they are opposed to it narrowly; when they're told the amendment would ban civil unions for gay couples, "support goes down 17 points to 41 percent, and opposition rises 4 percent to 42 percent."

I’m very encouraged by this, especially considering that this is from a Southern state.

But the thing that upsets me even more than the idiotic idea of preserving the birth rate is that this has “inspired” the horrifyingly misogynistic message being preached at children about gender conformity. And aren’t they always the side that wants to keep children out of the marriage equality debate?

Pastor Sean Harris, senior pastor at a Baptist church in Fayetteville, spoke at his church on Sunday about beating the feminine out of boys as young as four and covering up the “butch” in girls with perfume and dresses.
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New Action Alert: Tell the Obama Administration to Stop Endorsing a Sexist and Homophobic Curriculum

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:12:00 -0400

Hi All- We just sent this action alert about the Obama administration's decision to officially endorse an abstinence-only-until-marriage program. See the message below…if you have a minute today, click here to take action.

Want to read more about this news? Read our analysis on RH Reality Check.

---
Dear Advocate-

"Everything is just as you have seen it in a million daydreams…The flowers you spent so much time choosing fill the room like soft perfume. Your true love stands at the front. You are ready to trust him with all that you have and all that you are."

The above is not an excerpt from a cheesy romance novel. It's from an abstinence-only-until-marriage program called Heritage Keepers.

Like most abstinence-only programs, Heritage Keepers:

employs gender bias, telling girls they must "dress modestly" so as not to provoke "lustful thoughts" in boys;
misleads young people about protection from HIV, STIs and pregnancy, providing no discussion of the benefits of using condoms and contraception; and
reinforces homophobia: its focus on heterosexual marriage ignores and stigmatizes LGBT youth, who still cannot marry in most states and at the federal level.

And now Heritage Keepers has been included on a very short list of HHS-approved programs eligible for implementation with federal funds by Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative grantees.

TAKE ACTION: Ask Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to remove Heritage Keepers from the list of approved programs.

Heritage Keepers has been assessed at least twice previously and found to be ineffective. Whether the data exist to support the program's effectiveness is still in question, but the egregious content of the program is crystal clear.

President Obama has said he is working toward women's equality and ending sexism. He has shown his support for contraception as a part of basic health care. And he has spoken out against homophobia and bullying of LGBT students. Yet the Administration has allowed Heritage Keepers onto a short list of HHS-approved programs, in direct contradiction of those principles.

The Administration's hypocrisy must end. Students should be given information and skills they can use, not be instructed to fantasize about their dream weddings.

TAKE ACTION: Ask Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to remove Heritage Keepers from the list of evidence-based programs.

Sincerely,

Deb Hauser
President
Advocates for Youth

P.S. Click here to see how these lessons play out in a classroom that might include LGBT students.

In Context: Criticisms of the SlutWalk Movement (trigger warning)

Tue, 01 May 2012 22:43:00 -0400

Last year, I participated in SlutWalk Chicago. I had a great time, met some wonderful people, and reveled in the sex-positive and female-positive atmosphere. It felt so good to feel that I was surrounded by people who wouldn’t judge me for how I express my sexuality. I felt safe, and even during the march, I realized that that shouldn’t have been a new or rare feeling. One of the things I hate most is slut-shaming, and I really wish that for the 1,000 or so people who were there with me that day, that slut-shaming would never be something we would have to worry about. Honestly, I wouldn’t label myself as a slut, but I talk and write about sex, sexuality, and gender so much that some people might label me as a slut, regardless. What I love about SlutWalk is that it provides an environment in which I am free to do, think, and feel about my body however I want- I make the rules.

We’ve reached the time of year where many cities are planning their second annual SlutWalk. In light of this, criticism of the movement has sprung up again, questioning the movement’s effectiveness and even if it ends up doing more harm than good. I follow SlutWalk Chicago on facebook, and they recently linked to an article from “Girls Gone Wise,” which listed five problems they thought made SlutWalk “bad for women.” SWC asked their supporters, “What are your thoughts on this article?”

This is my response.

1) It absolves girls of risk-management responsibility.

Telling a girl to be careful about the way she dresses, where she goes, and how she behaves is about risk management, not victim blaming.

WRONG! Telling young women how to dress, where to go, and how to act is not only problematic because it is further taking control away from them, but it says that if they don’t follow some strict guideline, it is their own fault if something bad happens. The truth is that women and girls are never at fault for being harassed or assaulted, no matter what they wear, where they are, or what they’re doing- even if they’re wearing a short skit at a bar and flirting with a guy on his lap.

SlutWalk wants to send the message that even if a woman is naked, even if she’s had sex with you before, even if earlier she said that she wanted to; if she says “Stop,” and her partner doesn’t stop- it’s rape, and the fault lies with the person who didn’t stop when they were told.

2) It equates sex with power.

It preaches that sex is ultimately the way a girl exerts and expresses her freedom and equality. It intimates that slutty women are powerful women. If a girl wants more power, then she’ll throw off male-defined Judeo-Christian notions about sex.

WRONG! Saying that a women’s power-source is between her legs is demeaning. That way of thinking furthers the idea that women are not much more than sex objects. It also says that a woman cannot be powerful or express her power on her own.

SlutWalk recognizes that rape is about power. It is not desire, but the power to control another human being that causes rape. While many women feel powerful in their sexual expression, that power comes from being in control of their own body and seeking consensual pleasure.
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