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queerVOICE
An Idea Whose Time Has Come: The Barbara Gittings School for Equality
James Duggan copyright 2008 |
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The great French writer and poet Victor Hugo once wrote "on résiste à l'invasion des armées; on ne résiste pas à l'invasion des idées" which literally translates to "one withstands the invasion of armies; one does not withstand the invasion of ideas," or loosely to "nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come"
Today's common usage of this now famous phrase is often found used by those who are seeking to promote a particular brand or message. Even I have often used this phrase in presentations but now I use it for something more important--the education of queer kids and the preparation of future queer leader.
The Barbara Gittings School for Equality is definitely an idea whose time has come--a regional high school for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning and allies.
In 1985 the Hetrick-Martin Institute in New York City established the Harvey Milk High School to serve "at-risk youth, particularly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning." In 2002, the school became the first fully accredited queer public high school in the nation. Harvey Milk High School is now administered by the New York City Department of Education.
This month the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has announced that it intends to open a queer public high school in the Windy City.
According to Windy City Times, the Greater Lawndale Little Village School for Social Justice High School-Pride Campus will be "a voluntary public high school that would implement a college prep curriculum in all subject areas, [and] will open in 2010. It would serve LGBTQA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and allied) students from all over the city [of Chicago]."
Proponents for queer-centric high schools will point to the shocking statistics on anti-queer bulling that clearly reflects that the environment queer students are forced to learn under are unjust; and that queer students, many who are forced to drop out due to fear, are denied a safe and welcoming learning environment which is their right.
Opponents for such high schools include the usually suspects, as well as, queer advocacy groups. These queer opponents believe that queer-centric schools are a form of segregation and be could be harmful and will hinder the progress of understanding of queers.
Over the years I have listened to personal stories from queer students who had been mercilessly bullied. All were subjected to endless verbal attacks, some where physically or sexually abused, and others dropped out because the burden, the pain, became much too great.
How many of us have the same memories; faggot, dyke, homo, sissy, lesbo, or the new favorite, that's so gay.
What potential has been lost by such anti-queer bulling? What achievements missed?
The reality of the situation is that we have a very long way to go before our public schools become a welcoming, safe education environment for queer youth and their allies.
In knowing this, what should we do?
If we sit back and wait for our schools to become safer for queer youth what happens to those who suffer from anti-queer bullying between now and then?
Too many have suffered; too much has been lost already!
The Harvey Milk School in New York City showed us it is possible. Chicago Public Schools have embraced the possibility. They have taken action. So must others.
Queer youth deserve our talent, our knowledge and our resources. How can we not stand up to make a difference?
Philadelphia, the cradle of liberty, freedom and justice, for all, needs to join New York City and Chicago in this progressive movement in public school education with the founding of
The Barbara Gittings School for Equality
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12th Street Gym |
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Bullying Stats |
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Biased language was frequently heard in Pennsylvania schools
- A vast majority of Pennsylvania students reported hearing homophobic remarks such as "faggot" or "dyke" (82%), or the expressions "that's so gay" or "you're so gay" (93%) from other students in school.
- Sexist remarks and negative comments about someone's gender expression (e.g., saying a male student acts "too feminine") were heard frequently-80% of students heard other students use sexist language, and almost two-thirds (61%) heard remarks regarding gender expression.
- Many teachers and other school staff did not intervene when hearing students use biased language. A third or more of Pennsylvania students reported that faculty and other school staff rarely or never intervened when homophobic, racist, or sexist remarks were made in their presence (37%, 34%, and 33%, respectively).
- Students heard teachers and other school staff use biased language as well-about a fifth of students heard school staff make sexist (20%) and homophobic (18%) remarks.
Bullying, name-calling, and harassment are serious problems in Pennsylvania schools
- Forty-one percent of Pennsylvania students said that bullying, name-calling, and harassment were serious problems in their schools, and less than half (47%) of Pennsylvania students reported that they felt very safe in their schools.
- Forty-one percent of students reported that they felt unsafe in school because of a personal characteristic, such as their physical appearance or sexual orientation.
- Nearly two-thirds (62%) of students reported that they had been verbally harassed in the past year, and nearly one-fifth of students reported being verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation (17%) or their gender expression (18%) in the previous year. One-fifth (20%) of students reported that they had been physically harassed or assaulted in the past year.
Comprehensive policies and resources in Pennsylvania schools are lacking
- Half (51%) of respondents who experienced harassment or assault at school never reported the incidents to a teacher, principal or other staff person. About a third (30%) of students did not report an incident because they believed that teachers or staff would not address the situation, or that reporting would only make the situation worse. Of those who reported an incident, less than half (47%) said that school authorities took some sort of immediate action was taken to appropriately address the situation.
- Only 12% of Pennsylvania students reported that their school had a GSA or other type of club addressing LGBT student issues, which is far lower than the national percentage (22%).
- Students at schools with comprehensive anti-harassment policies were more likely to report that school personnel intervened in response to hearing homophobic and racist language. They were also more likely to report incidents of harassment and assault to school personnel than students at schools without such policies.
Source: glsen.org
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What it Looks Like From Here
Thom Cardwell copyright 2008 |
As the classic Beatles song goes, "I read the news today, oh boy," and I wanted to share with you (and, yes, direct you to read some interesting, entertaining and distributing articles about all kinds of aspects, attitudes, assumptions, truisms and, unfortunately, even lies about queer life.
Personally, I have to wade through a lot of newspapers, magazines, pamphlets and books (yes, I still like actually holding all of these "things" versus reading a lot of articles online) but I don't get to allocate enough time and often enough to catching up with, literally, the piles of tear sheets that I collect from publications of all kinds.
I guess that I'll start out recommending a personal and entertaining article, "We'll Marry Each Other as Often as Needed," (The New York Times, August 24, 2008) by Bob Morris, a former columnist and author of "Assisted Living," who shares with readers his transformation from believing that he (and we) should avoid "marriage" as "a hetro-normative institution that clumsily mixes property and the State with the divine and ethereal ideals of love" and, finally, giving into same-sex marriage to his domestic partner and tying the knot in California.
"I found my cynical self fighting tears as we exchanged rings and offered vows. Then I sang 'Till There Was You' while strumming my ukulele, just as I had very early on in our courtship" said Morris. It's a charming, endearing piece by someone who I would call "a hopeless romantic."
Switch to a very complex, distributing, complicated and sad report, "When is a Hate Crime, Not a Hate Crime?" (New York, November 12, 2007) by Bob Kolker, with the subtitle, "It looked like a classic case of gay-bashing [that, unfortunately, ended in murder]. Then the basher announced that he was gay, too."
The opening paragraph of Kolker's seriously toned reportage caught my attention: "Anthony Fortunato and his friends wanted some pot, and Anthony thought he knew how to get it.
He said that he's done it before, lots of time. He'd meet a gay guy in a chat room and pretend to be gay, too, then flirt a while and arrange a meeting, maybe in a hotel room, then take off with their pot and their money. This time, he and his friends would all show up. Either they'd smoke with the gay guy and leave--or, if the guy didn't have pot after all, just take his cash and run." The end result of this presumed sexual encounter and pot smoking party ended in the murder of a young, African-American, an out man named Mike Sandy.
But the intriguing twist in the story is that later, in the process of the murder trial for a hate crime, one of the accused (there were two other coconspirators), the mastermind of the violent plot, came out to his lawyer, parents, friends and the judge. Yes, Anthony Fortunato, the 20-year-old native Brooklynite came out as a queer.
The trial and case got turned on its head. It's a tragic, loathsome, real-life tale but one to know about.
Is he? Isn't he? Well, that's what journalist Anna David writes, "What If You Only Thought You Were Gay?" (Details, September 2008). She recounts the lives of comedian Dan Rottenberg who in his early twenties was having, truly, a gay old time in San Francisco's Castro.
Her subtitles tell it all: "For some men, the trouble starts when they realize they're actually straight."
Well, that's kind of perplexing to me, but then there are other matters of sexuality and sexual orientation that I honestly still don't understand and/or appreciate. But when problems and challenges aren't your own, it's easier to ignore them.
David writes, "Fifteen years later, he [Rottenberg] sits outside a West Hollywood Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf reminiscing with a woman about his days as an out-and-proud gay man. The woman happens to be his wife."
Since the story isn't about gay-brainwashing or anti-queer or even being an ex-gay in that evangelical way, it's more intriguing and brings us back to our community's all-embracing "diversity" in a somewhat different sense than we usually imply or celebrate.
Well, now, let me get back to more articles in that still tall pile next to my bedside so I can direct you to some more interesting reading in a few weeks.
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Lift The Ban |
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Sapphire Fund |
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2008 Tony Sparacino Memorial Scholarship
Award Ceremony To Be Held Today
 Sapphire Fundwill award the Tony Sparacino Memorial Scholarship at Mazzoni Center on Friday, September 19, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.
On the same night, Mazzoni Center will dedicate an examination room in Tony's memory.
The Sapphire Fund created this scholarship in honor of local activist and business owner Tony Sparacino. The $1,000 scholarship is awarded to a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered or queer (LGBTQ) student -- or a student supportive of the LGBTQ community -- who is majoring in the arts at a Philadelphia college or university and who has a history of community service.
The 2008 recipient is John Davenport, a student attending the University of the Arts majoring in theatre design. It was John's intricate costume work that won over the scholarship committee - which consisted of Tony's family and friends.
"John's dedication to his art and his volunteer commitment best captured the spirit of this scholarship. Sapphire is excited by the decision of the scholarship committee." said Wayne Hamilton, President of Sapphire Fund.
Sparacino was deeply involved with Philadelphia's LGBTQ, arts and business communities. A founding member of the Sapphire Fund, he helped to shape its mission of raising funds to address health and social issues within Philadelphia's LGBTQ, and more broadly, its HIV/AIDS communities. His passion and hard work helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollar
To support this scholarship, please donate online at sapphirefund.org/scholarship.php
For more information about Sapphire Fund visit sapphirefund.org
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Back Talk on the Qt
a place where readers share their views |
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As a former President of the Log Cabin Republicans of Philadelphia, I had more than a passing interest in the proceedings last week in Minneapolis-St. Paul, as well as the Presidential endorsement decision of the National Log Cabin organization. Sadly, both left a whole lot to be desired and I found them very troubling.
During the course of the Republican Convention, the National Log Cabin organization endorsed Sen. McCain for President. As reported, the vote by the National board was 12-2 in favor of this endorsement. To me, this is unfathomable. Sen. McCain is not, nor has he ever been, a friend to our community. In fact, as recently as last winter, he had to be prompted by an aide as to what the acronym L/G/B/T meant!
In the year 2008, for a United States Senator to not know what L/G/B/T is and what it means is unbelievable. McCain is either completely uninformed or suffering borderline senility.
In announcing its' support for McCain, the National Log Cabin cited McCain's opposition to the Federal constitutional amendment as it's sole justification for its' endorsement. McCain opposed the constitutional amendment more to cement his "states rights" bonafides than out of any support or respect for the L/G/B/T community.
McCain, alone among influential US Senators, continues to support the military's failed "Don't Ask-Don't Tell" policy. Extraordinarily (and correctly), the National Log Cabin organization has funded litigation, presently before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, challenging this policy. How can they now turn around and endorse, by a 12-2 vote no less, a candidate opposed to fair treatment of our servicemembers-- gay or straight?
This fall, California voters will vote on Proposition 8, whose passage would define marriage, in California's state constitution, as a union between a man and a woman. Passage would effectively throw out the recent state court decision legitimizing same sex marriage. Virtually every CA politician of note opposes Proposition 8, including Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, Sen. McCain has announced his support of Proposition 8.
Finally, the nomination of Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican Vice Presidential nominee signifies to me that the hijacking of the Republican Party, by the lunatic fringe, is now complete. I would strongly urge my gay brothers and sisters, Republican or Democrat, to cast their votes this November for Sens. Obama and Biden and finally put behind us these past, disastrous eight years. A vote for McCain/Palin would almost guarantee a continuation of the failed Bush policies... or worse!
P. Salometo - Palm Springs, CA
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Gay & Lesbian Survey |
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participate in the largest LGBT Community Survey in history, and help demonstrate the growing Power in Our Pride
Join with QUEERtimes and take the survey today!
Ask your friends help make history with you; get them to take it too.
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I Wish I Had Said That: |
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Alan Ball, queer Academy Award winning first-time screenwriter, creator and sometimes director of "Six Feet Under," and now first-time director of "Towelhead," his first feature film, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2007, based upon the controversial novel by Alicia Erian, told Aaron Hillis (MovieMaker, Issue 76, Volume 15) about his filmmaking technique: "When I'm working, I'm telling the story of these characters. I don't really think about any meta aspect or engaging in any sort of conceptual dialogue with the audience because I don't respond to that kind of work myself."
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Billie Jean King, queer tennis star, dubbed by Time's "100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century" and lifetime activist for women's rights and fighting sexism in sports and society, recently released her new book, "Pressure is a Privelege: Lessons I've Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes," told Dawn E. Warden (Main Line Today, September 2008) about her heroes and "sheroes" (her word): "So many who came before me have done so much for me. My parents, Bill and Betty Moffitt, my brother, R. J. Moffitt, and my partner, Ilana Kloss, inspire me to be a better person. I had teachers who guided and shaped me as a young person, coaches like Clyde Walker and Alice Marble who taught me so much more than tennis--and people like Rev. Bob Richards influenced many in so many positive ways."
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Queer co-founder Marc Adams of HeartStrong (heartstrong.org), a non-profit educational foundation to provide hope and help to GLBT high students bullied in an environment of faith-based religious schools: "Our mission is. . .to invite outreach and support to GLBT students from religious schools. . .and to educate the public about what can and does happen in these schools. . .[including] anti-GLBT bullying and persecution. . .I realized that people were really clueless about what is allowed to go on in these schools in the name of religious freedom, and how horrible it is that these kids go through this stuff."
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Chiropractic and Sports Rehabilitation |
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Thoms' Closet
A Qt Exclusive
Thom Cardwell copyrighted 2008 |
 Fashionistas unite with the celebration of the return of the 15th annual Phashion Phest at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, 1200 Market Street, in Center City, Philadelphia, on September 22 at 6 p.m.
Presented by Wachovia and produced by creator Sharon Phillips Waxman of SPW Productions, the retail fashion runway brings together the Philadelphia area's upscale retailers, salons, and accessory boutiques to promote the fashion and beauty industry in the Delaware Valley.
"Each year this show gives the public a real sense of what's available for Fall in the Philadelphia region," said Waxman.
The always stylish event will feature upscale retailers from Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. These will include: upscale Bloomingdale's (King of Prussia and Willow Grove), Douglas Cosmetics (Philadelphia), Hats in the Belfry (Philadelphia), King of Prussia Mall (King of Prussia), Senor/Senora (Philadelphia),Shimmer (Haddonfield, New Jersey), Shopmamie.com (Wilmington, Delaware), South Moon Under (Philadelphia), The Shops at Liberty Place (Philadelphia), Van Cleve Collection (Paoli) and Zinman (Marlton and Pennsauken, New Jersey, Ardmore, Wayne and Montgomery).
Prior to the runway show, guests will be treated to a top-shelf open bar cocktail reception from 6:00-7:30 p.m. during which the hottest trends in hair and make-up will be featured by Breathe Spa Fitness Salon (Philadelphia) Phoenix Salon & Spa (Philadelphia), Rapunzel's Salon & Spa (Lansdale), Richel D'Ambra Spa & Salon (Philadelphia), Salon DeSante (Springfield), Salon L'etoile (Jenkintown and Philadelphia), Salon Rouge (Cherry Hill, New Jersey), and Studio Artur - C.L. (Philadelphia).
Phashion Phest will mark its sixth year presenting the Fresh Face Model Search competition. "An open call for aspiring models in Philadelphia was held on August 20, 2008 at the King of Prussia Mall in search of nonprofessional, fresh-faced females to take part in this year's Phashion Phest and all of its satellite events," explained Waxman.
Waxman said that ten finalists have been selected and will have the opportunity to get beauty tips, hair trends, and application techniques from the salons & spas participating in Phashion Phest 2008. Each model will be completely made over prior to the Phashion Phest satellite events and will be debuted on the Phashion Phest runway on the night of September 22.
One Grand Prize Winner will be selected the night of Phashion Phest to be escorted by an agency scout to New York City to interview with several of New York's top agencies, according to Waxman. She said that the winner will also receive a photo shoot by a local photographer and a makeover by a participating Phashion Phest salon.
A charity pet project of Phashion Phest, Waxman is asking attendees to bring a dry-cleaned article of business clothing for a man or woman to be donated to Project H.O.M.E, an organization that provides formerly homeless and job-trained individuals with appropriate interview and work clothes. For every article donated to Project H.O.M.E, donors will be granted one entry into a drawing to win a special gift.
This year's participating sponsors include Absolut 100, American Laser Centers, CN8 The Comcast Network, DeKuyper, Evantine Design, IBEW Local Union 98, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Philadelphia Magazine, Philadelphia Weekly, Silver Marketing Group, Southern Wine & Spirits of Pennsylvania, Sauza Tequilla, Starbucks Coffee Liqueur, Starbucks Cream Liqueur, and 95.7 Ben-FM, and NOW 97.5 FM.
Phasion Phest is open to the public. Tickets are $75 in advance, $85 at the door, $60 each for ten or more and $45 for students with valid ID.
For information, call 215.670.4323; or visit phashionphest.com
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Women's Campaign International |
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Philadelphia Empowers Women Worldwide
Philadelphia based non-profit Women's Campaign International is hosting a wine tasting and light fare event at Kildare's Irish Pub to share its work with Philadelphia.
Women's Campaign International is a 501(c)(3) organization that works throughout the world to remove political, social and economic obstacles that limit women's active involvement in decision-making processes. WCI's programs increase the number of female elected officials, ensure their effectiveness once elected, and build the capacity of advocacy and civil society organizations to improve the lot of women and their families.
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Gay Day @ SixFlags |
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