Going Catholic On Condoms.

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Perhaps I should say, doing Catholics one better on condoms. The Catholic Church has been telling people, for decades, that condoms don’t prevent HIV at all, and that they are against god. It seems Russia is prepared to outdo them on the misinformation score.

A Russian study actually blames condoms for the spread of HIV. The Russian Institute for Strategic Research (RISR), which was set up by the Kremlin in 2012, presented a report on Tuesday to Moscow’s city council that casts doubt over the validity of well documented statistics showing the spread of HIV in Russia.

It’s worth noting that one of stated goals of the RISR is “Family-based solutions as a strategy for overcoming depopulation.” Which is perhaps why it’s not a surprise to see that the study’s authors alluded to “traditional values” being the route to stopping the spread of HIV, blaming promiscuity and homosexuality for infections.

That certainly sounds familiar. Looks like the U.S. and Russia have a lot on common these days.

Tatyana Guzenkova, deputy head of the organization, presented the report, as according to the Russian daily newspaper Kommersant. It is also not a stretch to imagine this being used by the Kremlin to buttress its ongoing hostility towards Russia’s LGBT movement.

Like most things under the Putin regime, the RISR is hard to see as anything but government loyalists, especially because internal dispute about the study was quite vocal. The head of the Federal Center for fighting AIDS, Vadim Pokrovsky, for example, stressed the importance of focusing on condoms to reduce the spread of HIV.

Via Plus.

The Big Gay Hindu Wedding

Rishi Agarwal and Daniel Langdon, right, pictured here with Agarwal's parents, Vijay and Sushma. Agarwal’s parents have come a long way since Rishi came out in 2004 and hope sharing their story can help other South Asian parents who may be struggling with supporting their LGBTQ children.  (Vince Talotta / Toronto Star)

Rishi Agarwal and Daniel Langdon, right, pictured here with Agarwal’s parents, Vijay and Sushma. Agarwal’s parents have come a long way since Rishi came out in 2004 and hope sharing their story can help other South Asian parents who may be struggling with supporting their LGBTQ children. (Vince Talotta / Toronto Star)

Rishi Agarwal’s story is nothing especially new, but his happy ending is one that’s spreading a message of tolerance and acceptance within a community that desperately needs it.

Agarwal was raised in a devout Hindu home in suburban Toronto by his parents Vijay and Sushma, who both emigrated there from India over 30 years ago. When Rishi came out to them in 2004, they were initially shocked and devastated.

But after opening themselves up and doing some research, the parents changed their opinion.

“There is a cultural kind of a stigma,” Vijay told The Toronto Star. “This is strictly our baggage, what we bring from India,” said Rishi’s mother Sushma. When their son asked them if he should move out of the house after coming out of the closet, they told him absolutely not, and that they still loved him.

Even though his parents’ mother country still frowns heavily on homosexuality—it is illegal to be gay in India and the topic is considered shameful in traditional Indian families—Vijay and Sushma not only learned to embrace their gay son, but also threw him a classically opulent Indian wedding when he decided to marry his boyfriend, Daniel.

Vijay told The Star of the struggle they faced in trying to make the wedding happen, in all its traditional pomp and circumstance. He says he was turned down by seven priests before finding one who would perform the ceremony. “They initially said yes,” he says, “and as soon as they found out that it was a gay wedding, they turned away.”

In spite of this, the wedding was a huge and beautiful bash, replete with all the colorful rituals: matching turbans, the grooms circling a sacred fire, exchanging flower garlands, and getting matching henna tattoos of each other’s initials.

[…]

Now, the Agarwal family is publicizing its story. They have spearheaded their chapter of PFLAG outside of Toronto, which specifically targets South Asian parents of gay children, and Sushma has even written a book about her experience, called Loving My Gay Child: A Mother’s Journey to Acceptance.

Agarwal and Langdon are cheered after exchanging flower garlands at their wedding. “The purpose of that is to welcome each other into each other’s lives,” said Agarwal. “The second that garland has been placed, it’s kind of like the point of no return.”  (Photos by Channa Photography)

Agarwal and Langdon are cheered after exchanging flower garlands at their wedding. “The purpose of that is to welcome each other into each other’s lives,” said Agarwal. “The second that garland has been placed, it’s kind of like the point of no return.” (Photos by Channa Photography)

Via Out, The Star, and Metro.

Christians Are Being Forced Into Spiritual Ghettos.

Family Research Council leader Tony Perkins Bil Browning

Family Research Council leader Tony Perkins. Bil Browning.

So says Tony Perkins, the KKK-affiliated leader of the Family Research Council, a Christian hate group.

Frank Wright, sat down with the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins to discuss “how secularist groups have worked to strip any mention of God and Christianity from the public square,” which Perkins complained was resulting in Christians being forced into “spiritual ghettos.”

“We are not disqualified from engaging in the public square simple because we’re Christian,” Perkins said. “And that’s where we’re at today, where people want us to check our Christian faith at the door of even public service; not just holding public office, but if you’re a fireman, a policeman, a teacher, a football coach, you’re supposed to leave your faith at home or within the confines of the church. [That is] totally contrary to what the founders envisioned and, I would argue, Frank, totally contrary to what God has called us to do.”

When Wright wondered how long it will be before even the private practice of faith is not tolerated by the government, Perkins declared that “we see this administration, we see the left creating these spiritual ghettos where we are forced into, confined to these areas, trying to quarantine faith so it’s more easily controllable.”

Via Right Wing Watch.

Conservative Rabbis Back Transgender Rights.

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Following an onslaught of anti-transgender legislation across the country, the Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism, the international association of Conservative rabbis, made a historic move to protect transgender and gender non-conforming congregants.

Last week, the assembly passed a historic resolution urging officials in all levels of government to review their policies and practices to ensure the full equality of transgender people under the law.

The resolution will impact how Conservative synagogues, camps, schools and affiliated organizations address the safety and explicit inclusion of transgender and gender non-conforming people. It encourages all organizations affiliated with the Conservative Movement “to educate themselves and their employees about the needs of transgender and gender non-conforming people” and provide safe spaces, as well “evaluate their physical site needs, workplace needs, and language that impact gender and gender expression.”

Rabbi Gil Steinlauf, senior rabbi of Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C. and distinguished member of HRC’s Religion Council, expressed “pride” in the Conservative Movement for “its affirmation of the fundamental rights of transgender people within Judaism.”

“Since Talmudic times, our people have recognized that the human condition is not just binary. We have long known that God’s presence is manifest in a multiplicity of expressions of our genders and our lives,” Rabbi Steinlauf told HRC. “I hope this resolution will go far in promoting this deep truth of our religion in our society and in the world.”

Full Story HereJTA also has this story.

Cool Stuff Friday

I Am His Hands. He Is My Eyes.” The Friendship That Built a Forest​. Get your tissues out for this one, folks.

 

This image released by Electronic Arts shows the new diverse characters that will be available on "The Sims 4" the latest edition of "The Sims" video game. (Electronic Arts via AP)

This image released by Electronic Arts shows the new diverse characters that will be available on “The Sims 4” the latest edition of “The Sims” video game. (Electronic Arts via AP)

You can now create transgender Sims in popular video game.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The creators of “The Sims” are opening up gender customization options for the first time in the long-running history of the popular life simulation video game.

“The Sims” publisher Electronic Arts and developer Maxis said a free update available Thursday for “The Sims 4” will remove gender boundaries and allow players to create virtual townsfolk — or Sims, as they’re known — with any type of physique, walk style or voice they choose.

LGBTQ Nation has the full story.

I’m not very good at paying attention to time. I have an alarm clock, but no other clocks in the house. I do have watches, but none of them work, and I don’t like to wear them. I don’t much like the idea of having a clock hanging overhead, either, but have come across a clock which may change my mind…

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The Colour O’Clock by Duncan Shotton. Fabulous! I also quite like his plate-plate collection:

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He has a number of delightful things, go have a look: http://dshott.co.uk/

Finding Middle Ground For Bigotry and Fear.

Maya Dillard Smith.

Maya Dillard Smith.

Maya Dillard Smith, the interim director of the Georgia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, has resigned from her position because she does not support the organization’s fight for the right of transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity.

Smith reportedly said the ACLU is advocating for trans rights at the expense of safety for women and children.

[…]

Smith claimed that transgender rights have “intersectionality with other competing rights, particularly the implications for women’s rights.” She said that when her young daughters shared a bathroom with transgender women, it made her worry the children would be harmed. “I have shared my personal experience of having taken my elementary school age daughters into a women’s restroom when shortly after three transgender young adults over six feet with deep voices entered,” she wrote in the statement.

So, if three young adults, over six feet tall, with deep voices, who were afab entered, that would be okey dokey? This couldn’t possibly be about your own perceptions and prejudices, right?

She went on to say that her “children were visibly frightened, concerned about their safety and left asking lots of questions for which I, like many parents, was ill-prepared to answer.”

So, you’re ill-prepared. What you should have done from there was to embark on an education, learn, go out and meet a few transgender people, listen. Share that education with your children. Oh, but no, can’t have that! Instead, your lack of learning must be enshrined, and your willful ignorance paraded about, spreading fear and lies.

“Despite additional learning I still have to do, I believe there are solutions that provide can provide accommodations for transgender people and balance the need to ensure women and girls are safe from those who might have malicious intent.”

Because transgender people might be people, but they can’t be women! You just can’t take the chance of allowing a woman in a womens’ lav, too dangerous.

In an interview with Atlanta TV station WXIA, Smith argued that cisgender (nontrans) women should not have to share bathrooms with trans women because it could be”traumatic.” “If we have all-gender restrooms which will accommodate trans folks, what do we do about women who are the survivors of rape, for whom it would be traumatic to share a public restroom where you take down your underwear, and there’d be men in the bathroom,” she said.

Auuugh, no, no, no. You do not get to hold up rape survivors as free PR, claiming to care about us, while having the nerve to speak for all of us. By the way, Ms. Smith, a lot of transgender people, including trans women, have been raped. Are you speaking for them, too?

Smith has launched a website called Finding Middle Ground that features a video of a young girl talking about “boys in the girls’ bathroom.” “There’s some boys who feel like they’re girls on the inside and there’s some boys that are just perverts,” says the young girl in the ad. A caption appears on the screen after she speaks that reads “How do we keep ourl ittle girls safe and prevent transgender discrimination?”

This is the same exact shite Ted Cruz was putting out, with absolutely no evidence to back it up.

Full Story Here.

Odisha Becomes First State To Give Welfare Benefits To Transgender People.

Members of the transgender community will be given Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards that will allow them to access benefits under various government welfare programmes. (Representational Image)

Members of the transgender community will be given Below Poverty Line (BPL) cards that will allow them to access benefits under various government welfare programmes. (Representational Image)

Bhubaneswar: Odisha is the first region in the country to give transgender people social welfare benefits – such as a pension, housing and food grains – usually allocated for only the most impoverished, an official said Today.

Niten Chandra, principal secretary of Odisha’s Department of Social Security, said the move to give the transgender community the same benefits as those living below the poverty line was aimed at improving their overall social and economic status.

“Most transgender people are in a very bad condition because of social exclusion. For example, they very often do not get employment easily,” Mr Chandra told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“The government had a consultation with transgender people in April, and they had raised their problems and issues. On that basis, we are now taking many decisions to help them – giving them the Below Poverty Line status is one of them.”

There are no official figures, but activists say there are hundreds of thousands of transgender people in India, many of whom face ostracism and discrimination, as well as verbal, physical and sexual abuse.

A lack of access to education and employment opportunities has meant many male-to-female transgender people – also known as “hijras” – end up forced into sex work or moving around in organised groups, begging or demanding money.

In a landmark judgment in April 2014, Supreme Court recognised transgender as a legal third gender and called on the government to ensure their equal treatment.

The court recognised the community as a marginalised group and directed authorities to implement policies to improve their socio-economic status.

Identity documents such as birth certificates, driving licenses and passports must now recognise the third gender, and a certain number of public sector jobs, seats in schools and colleges must be allocated to third-gender applicants.

Full Story at NDTV and Reuters.

Gosh, it sure would be nice if the ‘greatest country in the world’ could play catch up.

OK, then go in the bushes…

Stacey Dash.

Stacey Dash.

Get ready for a whole lot of  Stacey Dash.

I had a “who?” moment here, I’m terribly clueless when it comes to entertainment personalities. It seems Ms. Dash is an actress, who plays the mayor of Chicago in the upcoming “Sharknado” sequel “The 4th Awakens.” Golly. I’m not surprised  at being clueless in this case. Ms. Dash is also a rabid conservative who loves guns and has a whole lot of hate to share.

When asked on Wednesday about a passage in her book that criticizes Caitlyn Jenner, a fellow conservative, for using women’s bathrooms, Dash — who supports a North Carolinalaw that requires transgender people to use bathrooms that correspond with their birth sex — didn’t hold back.

“It’s tyranny by the minority,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “Why do I have to suffer because you can’t decide what you wanna be that day?” Dash said.

“OK, then go in the bushes,” she continued. “I don’t know what to tell you, but I’m not gonna put my child’s life at risk because you want to change a law. So that you can be comfortable with your beliefs — which means I have to change my beliefs and my rights? No.”

I’m not comfortable with your beliefs, Ms. Dash. They are ugly, hate-filled, bigoted beliefs. No one is putting your child at risk, either. If you’re so worried about that, though, I have an idea – when you and your child have to pee, I suggest you find a convenient bush.

Full Story Here.