Rainbows and gay pride: How the rainbow became a symbol of the GLBT movement

in: http://www.slate.com/

Each color of the rainbow "gay pride" flag was designed with a specific significance in mind

Jonathan Nackstrand/Getty Images.

Streets around the world will be decked in rainbows this week as the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community celebrates LGBT Pride Month. Why is gay pride represented by rainbows?

Closeted gay people historically used bright colors to signal their homosexuality to each other. 

Oscar Wilde was famous for wearing a trademark green carnation on his lapel, and the flower is thought to have been used by him and other Londoners and Parisians of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries to quietly express their orientation. 

Novelist Robert Hitchens described the phenomenon in 1894’s The Green Carnation, and the book in part spurred Wilde’s trial for sodomy. Yellow was used for the same purpose in Australia. 

According to the book Sunshine and Rainbows, a study of gay culture in Queensland, “If you wanted to attract the attention of the same sex, displaying a pair of bright yellow socks often did the trick.” 

During the Holocaust, gay men were forced to wear pink triangles, and that symbol has since been reclaimed by the gay community. 

Purple also became a popular symbol of gay pride in the 1960s and 1970s, when San Franciscans tried to make a symbol of “the Purple Hand” and gay Bostonians put up posters emblazoned with a purple rhino.

The rainbow, however, wasn’t popularized as an official symbol of the gay community until the 1970s. 

In 1978, San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker designed what is believed to be the first modern gay pride flag by combining eight stripes, each a different color with its own symbolism: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, blue for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for the human spirit. 

When he wanted to manufacture the flag for sale, he found that hot pink wasn’t as available as the other colors, and so the flag dropped to seven colors. 

Baker later dropped indigo to maintain an even number, and the flag arrived at its contemporary six colors. When San Francisco gay activists marched to protest the 1978 assassination of city supervisor Harvey Milk, they marched with Baker’s flags.

Of course, rainbows and rainbow flags carry significance outside the LGBT community. The rainbow is an important symbol in the Bible, representing a promise of peace from God to Noah, and some Christian groups have used that symbol in their iconography. 

The German anti-Lutheran leader Thomas Müntzer flew a rainbow flag during the Peasant Warin an effort to show that God was on his movement’s side. 

Hippies sometimes used a rainbow flag when marching for peace in the 1960s and 1970s, which may have helped inspire Baker’s design.

Pop culture also gave the rainbow resonance with gay activists, perhaps because of Judy Garland and her signature song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” 

Garland was a major star to the gay community throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Gay men came out in droves for her performances, and, from World War II forward, many in the LGBT community referred to themselves as “friends of Dorothy,” a phrase that seems to have derived from Garland’s performance in The Wizard of Oz. 

The pivotal riots at the Stonewall Inn occurred just hours after Garland’s funeral, and her death may have helped provoke the unrest. 

Garland had earlier bragged, “When I die I have visions of fags singing ‘Over the Rainbow’ and the flag at Fire Island being flown at half mast.” 

Garland died in 1969, before the popularization of the modern LGBT flag, but some Fire Island houses were reportedly draped in black.

Got a question about today’s news? Ask the Explainer.

http://www.slate.com/

Gay codebreaker Alan Turing remembered in stamp series

in: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/

The work of codebreaker Alan Turing, who died in 1954, two years after being prosecuted for homosexuality, is to be celebrated on a commemorative stamp this year.

The computer pioneer’s legacy will feature as part of a series of ten ‘Britons of Distinction’.

Turing, who worked at Bletchley Park during the World War Two, was prosecuted for his sexual orientation in 1952 and obliged to undergo chemical castration. He committed suicide two years later, aged 41.

His invention of the Turing machine helped Allies crack the German codes created by the Nazis’ Enigma machine, enabling them to decipher intercepted messages and considerably aiding the war effort.

In 2009, after a campaign led by Richard Dawkins, Stephen Fry, Peter Tatchell and supported by PinkNews.co.uk, 30,805 people demanded that the then prime minister Gordon Brown issue an apology for Turing’s treatment on behalf of the British government. Mr Brown agreed to do so.

In 2009, he said: “It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of World War Two could well have been very different.”

The Queen unveiled a monument at Bletchley Park this summer to commemorate the work undertaken by the codebreakers.

Other Britons celebrated on the stamps include SOE heroine Odette Hallowes, composer Frederick Delius and the Golden Jubilee of Coventry Cathedral, which is marked by honouring its architect Sir Basil Spence.

Last month, a petition was launched to officially pardon Turing for his conviction of “gross indecency” which now has nearly 20,000 signatures.

Oxford University Raises the Rainbow Flag For The First Time In 900 Years

in: http://www.queermagazineonline.com/

While Oxford University is lauded for its heavy-handed traditions and Hogwarts-style buildings, the 38 colleges that make up the prestigious academy all have their own reputations. Wadham College, a 17th-century castle at the center of the university, is often considered the progressive college. This week it proved worthy of that reputation by flying a rainbow flag over its spires to mark the annual weeklong celebration Queerfest. While the gay community is supported at Oxford, the flying of the flag is thought to be the first official symbol of LGBT support displayed in the university’s 900-year history.

Michael Brooks, a 19-year-old undergraduate and organizer (or organiser, if you will) of Queerfest told Pink News that the idea to raise the flag was welcomed

“Putting up the flag was such a simple thing to do, but it had a huge effect on Oxford. I heard many people from different colleges talking about it. I saw tourists stopping outside Wadham to take photos of it… It challenges the stereotypes people have of Oxford and I hope that it will make those within Oxford who do hold very conservative views concerning LGBTQ rights to think differently.”

We hope that flying the rainbow flag becomes a tradition for the next 900 years.

http://www.queermagazineonline.com/

Pesquisa revela que 21% dos jovens gays já tentaram o suicídio e que situação é pior em meios conservadores

http://www.revistaladoa.com.br

O estudo “The Social Environment and Suicide Attempts in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth” (O ambiente Social e tentativas de suicídios na Juventude Lésbica Gay e Bissexual, realizado com 32 mil alunos do ensino secundário no estado de Oregon, nos EUA, entre os anos de 2006 e 2008, revelou que gays e crianças em ambientes mais conservadores tem mais propensão ao suicídio. O estudo foi conduzido pelo pesquisador Mark Hatzenbuehler, psicólogo da Universidade Columbia, e apontou que as áreas politicamente republicanas (mais conservadores) ou com menos apoio às questões LGB tem maiores índices de tentativas de suicídios de adolescentes.

Segundo o estudo, entre os jovens que não sofriam por depressão ou tivessem sofrido opressão violenta, 21,5% dos jovens LGBT tinham tentado o suicídio, enquanto apenas 4% da comunidade geral estudantil teriam tentado se matar. Apenas nas áreas conservadoras, separando os que se consideram Democratas e Republicanos, os números disparam e o risco de suicídio é 20% maior em jovens LGBTs e 9% maior no restante dos jovens da população Republicana. O estudo concluiu que "ambientes que são bons para jovens LGB também são bons para os jovens heterossexuais" e foi publicado hoje no jornal Pediatrics da Academia de Pediatria dos EUA.

http://www.revistaladoa.com.br

Archdiocese cancels LGBT event at Minneapolis church

in: http://minnesotaindependent.com/78097/archdiocese-cancels-lgbt-event-at-minneapolis-church



Photo: Alan Light, Flickr

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis forced the cancellation of an LGBT event Saturday at the St. Frances Cabrini Church in Minneapolis. Pressure on the Archdiocese came from an anonymous Catholic who created a fake press release for the event and sent it to select religious media outlets, eventually prompting a campaign from CatholicVoter.org.

A spokesperson for the Archdiocese confirmed with the Minnesota Independent on Wednesday that an event at the Franklin Avenue parish for the Catholic Association of Lesbian and Gay Ministries (CALGM) was canceled late Tuesday. The Archdiocese declined to discuss the incident further.

CALGM was hosting a fundraising dinner at the church complete with an LGBT chorus and silent auction.

In a blog post titled “Dissent: Catholic Parish in Minneapolis to host Gay & Lesbian fundraiser with ‘same-sex marriage activist’ pastor,” blogger Thomas Peters called for the event to be canceled.

“Practically speaking, this event should be canceled because it deceives Catholics into thinking the Church does not teach what it does about the homosexual lifestyle,” he wrote. “I would prayerfully urge the Archdiocese to take action.”

He added, “Priests like [Cabrini's Father Leo Tibesar] and organizations like CALGM cannot continue to be allowed to deceive Catholics and lead them into sinful lifestyles while simultaneously claiming to be Catholic. It’s really that simple.”

It’s not the first time Tibesar has created controversy over his support for the inclusion of LGBT people in the Catholic church. In 2006, conservative Catholic bloggers attacked him for his support of Minneapolis-based Dignity, a group that works for LGBT inclusion. In 2007, those same bloggers claimed that Tibesar was blessing same-sex marriages, a charge that turned out to be false. Also in 2007, the Archdiocese called for the cancellation of a talk by a Catholic lesbian and her 82-year old father.

According to Michael Bayly of the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM), someone using the pseudonym “Peter Canisius” had forged a press release to make it appear to come from the CALGM group.

“It seems to me that it was clearly meant to be a low-key event – the aim of which was not to question or challenge church teaching on homosexuality but to simply raise funds for a rather non-activist Catholic group that, from my experience, does its utmost to work within the church to promote respect for LGBT people – efforts that are actually mandated by the Roman Catholic Church,” wrote Bayly. (On its website, CALGM states that it strives “to clearly present Catholic doctrine on homosexuality” and lists the church’s doctrines and “core magisterial teaching on sexuality and sexual orientation from the last four decades.”)

He noted that the anonymous “Peter Canisius” had been behind a press release that distorted the event, as he has done in the past.

“This latest media release concerning the fundraiser for CALGN was deceptively written to sound as if it came from those organizing the event; to sound as if, in other words, it was an ‘official’ media release,” wrote Bayly. “Yet sprinkled among the legitimate information (time, place, venue, purpose, etc.) are clear attempts to stir-up the local traditionalists to inundate the chancery with calls demanding that this ‘scandalous’ event not take place on church property.”

He added, “That this stirring-up is undertaken using misinformation and outright lies seems not to bother [Peter Canisius].”

Bayly added that “Peter Canisius” has engaged in a campaign of deception and lies when it comes to events promoting respect for LGBT people within the Catholic church.

“His actions are nothing less than despicable,” he wrote. “He pretends to represent a group of people with whom he is clearly at odds; he deceives and spreads lies; and he causes hurt and pain to fellow Catholics who, in good conscience, are attempting to interact with LGBT persons in a spirit of ‘respect, friendship and justice.’”

CALGM, the group organizing the event, did not return requests for comment.

Archbishop John Nienstedt, whose office called for the cancellation, has moved the Archdiocese in a decidedly anti-LGBT direction since he took over in 2007.

“I believe that the dissent and theological speculation of the 60s and 70s is on the wane,” Nienstedt told the Catholic World Report in response to questions about dissent in the Archdiocese over LGBT rights. The magazine ran a lengthy profile of Nienstedt in its February edition.

He says that outrage over his decision to send out 400,000 anti-gay marriage DVDs in the weeks before a major election is surprising.

“In my recent attempt to catechize our Catholic people on the question of the theology of marriage, I have been quite surprised at the overt rejection to the teaching of the Church by a number of people who consider themselves good Catholics,” he added. “They appear to have been seriously impacted by the secularization of our time and the influence of the media. For example, when the media scooped the mailing of our DVD on marriage, the most hostile letters I received were within the first week of the media announcement. The DVD did not actually arrive in the homes of our Catholic people until later because we had sent it bulk mail in order to save money. This indicated to me that the people who wrote such negative commentaries had not even viewed the DVD before condemning it…I never thought that I would see in my lifetime a new persecution of the Church in this country. But there are signs around us that this is certainly a possibility.”

http://minnesotaindependent.com/78097/archdiocese-cancels-lgbt-event-at-minneapolis-church

Opus Gay - Inauguração em Évora do projecto "Alentejo de Diversidades"

http://alentejodediversidades.wordpress.com/

A Opus Gay obteve um financiamento do QREN (Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional) para trabalhar a temática da violência homofóbica e doméstica em casais homossexuais, criando mecanismos de apoio e aconselhamento psicológico e social para vítimas deste tipo de violência e desenvolvendo acções de informação, sensibilização e prevenção sobre estas matérias.

Vai ter como parceiros a Cooperativa Pelo Sonho é que Vamos (cooperativapelosonho@gmail.com) e a Câmara Municipal de Évora aonde vai sediar o projecto que tem como limite todo o Alentejo por ser uma região deprimida.

A Opus Gay esta aberta a outras parcerias locais, nacionais ou estrangeiras e a outro tipo de apoio, associações ou voluntariado para levar a bom termo este projecto que tem duração de 3 anos.
Contactos:
António Serzedelo – 96 2400017
Cooperativa Pelo Sonho é que Vamos – 21 227 2364 (Seixal)

Entidade quer tirar bandeiras arco-íris de postes do bairro LGBT Castro, em São Francisco

in: http://paroutudo.com/noticias/2010/12/28/entidade-quer-tirar-bandeiras-arco-iris-de-postes-do-bairro-lgbt-castro-em-sao-francisco/

A defesa por LGBTs de uma das áreas gays mais conhecidas do mundo está sob prova. Uma entidade de moradores luta para que as cerca de 40 bandeiras arco-íris que ficam em postes no distrito Castro, em São Francisco, sejam retiradas. De acordo com a organização, a legislação local só permite que bandeiras sejam penduradas por um determinado período e não indefinidamente.

A Associação da História LGBT de São Francisco (vejam que nível de organização e autovalorização) é contra retirada das bandeiras, que ornam a área há cerca de 30 anos. Em tempo: esse símbolo arco-íris foi criado na cidade, em 1978, por Gilbert Baker e Jomar Teng.

http://paroutudo.com/noticias/2010/12/28/entidade-quer-tirar-bandeiras-arco-iris-de-postes-do-bairro-lgbt-castro-em-sao-francisco/


No site change.org está disponível uma petição para impedir que as bandeiras arco-íris (símbolo da população LGBT) e conhecidas como «bandeiras lgbt»/«bandeiras gay» sejam retiradas do famoso bairro LGBT Castro, em S. Francisco, Califórnia, nos EUA, bairro que desempenhou (e desempenha ainda hoje) 1 papel importantíssimo na história e na vida da população e associações LGBT:

http://www.change.org/petitions/view/rainbow_flags_in_san_francisco_may_have_their_days_numbered#