Ask yourself what you are worried about if same-sex marriage is legalized. Whatever your answer is, ask yourself if you really believe what you just came up with. Homosexuality is not going to spread. It is not communicable. Society is not going to turn into a Lady Gaga video. Most gay couples I know are just as boring as you and I. They sit on the couch and watch television. They work at the post office, the hospital, the grocery store, and at real estate agencies, just like heterosexuals do. They eat out at restaurants and shop at Target. Many have pot bellies and don’t have much fashion sense, just like me. They own pets, and go to church. They volunteer, sing Christmas carols, and buy Girl Scout cookies. What are you afraid of? What is going to change by allowing these people to commit to one another and enjoy the benefits that you and I enjoy: tax breaks, insurance breaks, bereavement leave, medical leave to care for a sick partner, domestic violence protection, visitation of partner in the hospital, burial determination, medical decisions on behalf of partner. Really sexy stuff. You and I take these things for granted. Nobody wants to go through life not knowing how they will deal with some of these difficult moments in life. Imagine if you were denied any of the above rights when the time came for you and your spouse to exercise that right? I’ll tell you what it would feel like. It would feel like you were a second-class citizen.
—Why A Heterosexual, Married, North Carolinian Father Of Three Cares About LGBT Equality (via blua)
(via 472239364)
“There are people who have said that I’m being brave for being openly supportive of gay marriage, gay adoption, basically of gay rights but with all due respect I humbly dissent, I’m not being brave, I’m being a decent human being. And I don’t think I should receive an award for that or for merely stating what I believe to be true, that love is a human experience not a political statement. However, I acknowledge that sadly we live in a world where not everybody feels the same. My family and I will help the good fight continue until that long awaited moment arrives, when our rights are equal and when the political limits on love have been smashed.” - Anne Hathaway
Always reblog.
(Source: fuckyeahanniehathaway, via absterabs)
Asia's Gay-Friendliest Nation?
“ It’s increasingly common for gay men and women to marry heterosexually, preserving the all-important Roman Catholic nuclear family, and seek love outside of marriage.” —> What, what?! I mean, I know of a couple (Hello Ogie Diaz!) but “increasingly common”??
Also, tolerance =/= acceptance. JJR got it right.
“ Many gay men have followed his advice in part—acting straight, marrying, having children, and going to Catholic mass. But in their own time, they don’t hide their attraction to men.” —-> Again, WHERE IS THIS DATA FROM?!
“ threats as Benigno Aquino’s plan to pass a controversial reproductive health bill permitting the state to distribute contraceptive devices” —> Oh yes, BECAUSE THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH BILL IS ALL ABOUT DISTRIBUTING CONDOMS. Fuckers. Also, President Aquino was all for the bill when he was a senator, now he’s the President he seems to have lost his nerve in supporting this bill.
The following day, I attended a workshop about preventing gender violence, facilitated by Katz. There, he posed a question to all of the men in the room: “Men, what things do you do to protect yourself from being raped or sexually assaulted?”
Not one man, including myself, could quickly answer the question. Finally, one man raised his hand and said, “Nothing.” Then Katz asked the women, “What things do you do to protect yourself from being raped or sexually assaulted?” Nearly all of the women in the room raised their hand. One by one, each woman testified:
“I don’t make eye contact with men when I walk down the street,” said one.
“I don’t put my drink down at parties,” said another.
“I use the buddy system when I go to parties.”
“I cross the street when I see a group of guys walking in my direction.”
“I use my keys as a potential weapon.”
The women went on for several minutes, until their side of the blackboard was completely filled with responses. The men’s side of the blackboard was blank. I was stunned. I had never heard a group of women say these things before. I thought about all of the women in my life — including my mother, sister and girlfriend — and realized that I had a lot to learn about gender.
—
Why I Am A Male Feminist (via newwavefeminism
I always have pepper spray in my bag.
Rape culture is 1 in 6 women being sexually assaulted in their lifetimes. Rape culture is not even talking about the reality that many women are sexually assaulted multiple times in their lives. Rape culture is the way in which the constant threat of sexual assault affects women’s daily movements. Rape culture is telling girls and women to be careful about what you wear, how you wear it, how you carry yourself, where you walk, when you walk there, with whom you walk, whom you trust, what you do, where you do it, with whom you do it, what you drink, how much you drink, whether you make eye contact, if you’re alone, if you’re with a stranger, if you’re in a group, if you’re in a group of strangers, if it’s dark, if the area is unfamiliar, if you’re carrying something, how you carry it, what kind of shoes you’re wearing in case you have to run, what kind of purse you carry, what jewelry you wear, what time it is, what street it is, what environment it is, how many people you sleep with, what kind of people you sleep with, who your friends are, to whom you give your number, who’s around when the delivery guy comes, to get an apartment where you can see who’s at the door before they can see you, to check before you open the door to the delivery guy, to own a dog or a dog-sound-making machine, to get a roommate, to take self-defense, to always be alert always pay attention always watch your back always be aware of your surroundings and never let your guard down for a moment lest you be sexually assaulted and if you are and didn’t follow all the rules it’s your fault.
—
Shakesville: Rape Culture 101 (via loveyourchaos)
It’s never the guys fault for being an animal.
So proud to be a part of my family right now…
…but especially of my 87 year-old grandmother.
My grandmother’s always been hardheaded and blunt. She’s also always been very literal - what her Southern Baptist preacher says to her is what God means, and there’s no getting around that. Ever since my grandpa died in 2002, she’s gotten more and more outspoken about what she thinks - and less and less tactful (for example, at my cousin’s wedding last month, she shouted out “Who cares!?” at the man of honor’s toast). So when my dad asked me if I’d heard what my Grandma J had done today, I could only cringe with anticipation.
At church today, her pastor was railing on and on against gay people (I’m assuming this was inspired by the bill for equal marriage passing in New York this week). He spoke about how they were all going to hell, and how they didn’t deserve to have the right to marry.
My grandmother stood up in the middle of his sermon and said (very loudly, I assume), “You know, they’re people too. They should have the same rights as everyone else.”
With that, she stormed out of church.
I’m a lucky girl to have such accepting and stubborn roots. :)
(Submitted by scomet)
New York residents Richard Dorr, 84, and John Mace, 91, have been together for 61 years. Thanks to last night’s victory, they will soon be able to marry in their home state.
“We thought about getting married in Massachusetts, but it just didn’t seem to jibe right,” said Dorr. “It should be in the state where you live.”
They plan to seek a marriage license as swiftly as possible but don’t envision a lavish ceremony.
“Just a couple of witnesses and a justice of the peace,” Dorr said.
When they fell in love, back in 1950, “marriage never crossed our mind,” he added. “It was just that we had to be together. We could not stay away.”
(via benedragon-cumbersmaug)
Nice view
And today the empire state building threw up rainbows \o/
NIGHTNIGHT by DEDDY
