Category Archives: LGBT Reading

attendance is free!

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Bullying Prevention Legislation: Focus on LGBT Youth

Thursday, November 15, 2012 2:30:00 PM EST
Duration: 1 hour(s) 30 minute(s)

Support Anti-Bullying LegislationThe Children’s Safety Network (CSN) and the Network for Public Health Law (NPHL) jointly announce the launch of a new webinar series titled “Advancing Injury Prevention through Policy.” A total of four webinars will be held from November 2012 through May 2013. Each session will feature one injury topic and when appropriate, will include an update on which states currently have laws or policies related to that topic, state experience in gaining passage and implementing the law, and the experience of evaluating the effectiveness of the law.

Presenters will also discuss the challenges faced by state health department injury prevention staff including prohibitions on involvement in promoting enactment of policies, lack of research on effectiveness of injury prevention laws, lack of funds for implementation of legislation; and, how to work with the opposition.

The first session is scheduled for Thursday, November 15, 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST. “Bullying Prevention Legislation: Focus on LGBT Youth” will be presented by Cristina Meneses, JD, MS, Senior Staff Attorney, The Network, Eastern Region, The University of Maryland Francis Carey School of Law and Ellen Schmidt, Assistant Director, Children’s Safety Network, Education Development Center.

Reserve your seat now by following the link below: http://edc.adobeconnect.com/e38b9a18zig/event/event_info.html

read: close range

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I would be lying to you if I didn’t admit up front that my sole purpose for purchasing this book was so that I could read, “Brokeback Mountain.”

That movie is one of my favorite LGBT movies of all time (aside from “If These Walls Could Talk 2″). I felt I just had to get a clear, personal understanding of the literature on which it was based.

Honestly, I wasn’t disappointed at all, and I’d highly recommend this quick read if you’re looking for some light entertainment this weekend.

Close Range is a collection of short stories that all take place in Wyoming, USA. Each short story features characters ranging from bar maid to rancher, and presents a clear picture of the harsh and unforgiving Wyoming landscape, as well as the interactions of the families and communities that reside there. Proulx captures the local dialect without making the conversations seem choppy or exageratingly-colloquial.

One of the things that struck me most was the level of desperate sexual tension/tragedy that existed either blatantly or suggestively in nearly every short story featured within Close Range. I’ve looked online for discussions regarding this pattern and was unable to find anything solid, nonetheless I feel there has got to be a reason for its presence. It is almost as if the author is attempting to demonstrate the wild, desperate nature of Wyoming’s climate manifesting itself within the state’s residents. It was odd, and often times discomforting. At least two of the stories featured men raping girls under the age of 16, there were multiple cases of domestic violence, the one story featuring two homosexual men ended in a violent death, and there was even a story in which two teenage male characters were sleeping with their father’s young wife.

The sexual tension within each short seemed to carry with it, its own purpose and individual message; and I’ll have to be honest and say that I’m not altogether too sure what that message was. Surely, the author wasn’t trying to paint a picture of Wyoming residents as desperate, incestuous, child-molesting rapists?

If you get the chance to read the book, I’ll give you a penny for your thoughts ;)

read: drag king dreams

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“Ruby,” I ask her, “what happened to me?”

“What?”

“It seems like such a long time ago that you and I were up all night on buses going to D.C. for marches, or sleeping on church floors the night before. I was tired, but it was different them. I didn’t feel so worn out. I had so much energy, so much optimism.”

Ruby shrugs, “The revolution didn’t come fast enough for you.”

“No,” I shake my head. “The movement filled up with people who didn’t want you and me in it.”

Ruby brushed off my excuse. “You don’t leave the movement because some people don’t want you in it. If you’re still waitin’ for the Welcome Wagon ladies, you may as well give it up. The movement got up and moved along.”

“I want to work on the march you called for in Sheridan Square. I want to help.”

Her face lights up as though an old friend walked in the door. “Are you comin’ back, Max? Are you comin’ home?”

I shake my head slowly, “I don’t know what home is. But I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. (p. 233)”

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