As upheaval continues in Iran, with no clear sense yet of concluson, we checked in, via phone, e-mail and Facebook, with a few of the gay Iranian refugees in Turkey and Toronto profiled in the June/July issue of Out. One of these, Nima, is a young gay male artisan who fled Tehran due to persecution over being gay. We called Nima, who is still living alone in a village in Central Turkey, waiting to hear if he gets asylum status from the U.N. Refugee Agency office in Ankara, which could allow him to eventually come to the U.S. He says he's been getting most of his news from Iran on Facebook. "It's awful how easily they kill and beat people," he said of the government. "It's very violent. But I think there's a fire underneath the ashes, because people are getting mad easily and now they've got the guts to come into the streets."
And yet, Nima feels, even if a new president were to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the situation for LGBT individuals wouldn't necessarily improve overnight. "We have a long way to go," he said. "We have so many basic things we need to solve in Iran about women's rights and children's rights." But, he says, it's hard not to be in Iran right now, part of the protests. "This is actually the first time in my life when I really wanted to be there. I almost cried reading Facebook, seeing almost 4,000 people in the street."
While many gays are none-too-pleased with Obama's sluggish movement on grappling with and overturning Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), our new President has been taking baby steps. He did declare June national LGBT Pride month, recently issued a directive shielding federal employees from
discrimination based on sexual orientation and increasing some
benefits to same-sex partners, and now we've learned that the White House is looking to include same-sex unions in the 2010 Census count.
This is not the first time that the Census bureau has collected data on same-sex unions, but as DOMA was previously interpreted as barring those numbers from being released. The Obama administration will no longer abide by that interpretation.
However, the Wall Street Journal notes that gathering accurate data on same-sex unions may be easier said than done:
"Before the White House's plan emerged, Howard Hogan,
associate director for demographic programs at the Census Bureau, said
data from its 2007 American Community Survey showed more than 340,000
same-sex couples as being in marriages. But according to data from
Massachusetts, the only state that permitted gay marriages in 2007,
about 11,000 marriage licenses were issued for same-sex couples."
Just think how impressive the numbers would be if we could actually get married in more than a handful of states.
The madness -- I can't think of any other word to use -- going on in Iran is difficult for me to even begin to wrap my head around. With such a complex situation made even more opaque by a lack (or blatant manipulation) of information about what's happening, we're forced to watch (or read twitters) and wait for the smoke to clear.
Be Like Others, a new documentary about young Iranian men who are choosing to undergo sex reassignment surgery airing on HBO on June 24, highlights one of the issues at the center of the storm happening right now in Iraq: attempting to live free lives under strict Islamic rule. Unlike homosexuality, which is punishable by death in Iran (read Out's feature story on Iranian gays who have fled to Turkey and Canada), being transgender became legal over twenty years ago when Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa (religious edict) making sex change permissible for "diagnosed transsexuals."
Iranian-American filmmaker Tanaz Eshaghian follows several young men as they seek out help from the country's most prestigious reassignment surgeon, Dr. Bahram Mir Jalali and are counseled by 24-year-old Vida, a post-op woman who claims to be "reborn." The film shows the men as they prepare to undergo their transformations, as well as the aftermath of their decisions. In what is being called an "intimate" and "unflinching" look at life on the edges of -- and trying to fit into -- a unwelcoming society, Be Like Others could not be more timely.
Chastity Bono, or Chaz as he's now known, revealed today via his agent, Howard Bragman, that he is transitioning from female to male. Bragman made the following statement on behalf of Chaz, author, journalist, civil rights activist, and perhaps best known for being the child of the late Sonny Bono and singer/actress/performer/gay icon extraordinaire Cher:
"He is proud of his decision and grateful for the support and respect
that has already been shown by his loved ones. It is Chaz's hope that
his choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public
regarding this issue, just as his 'coming out' did nearly 20 years ago."
In "most ironic place for a privacy request to be made" news, TMZ.com reports Bragman asks that the media does not badger Bono for interviews at this time.
I am but a mere eight hours away from boarding a plane to Switzerland to attend the 2009 EuroPride festivities. Each year a different European city plays host to the month-long event (which culminates in a final weekend of queer craziness) and I managed to wrangle myself a spot on the press trip (courtesy of the fine folks at the Zurich Tourism Board) to Zurich. This is the first time EuroPride is being held in Switzerland and while I'm there I'll be dining with the city's mayor (fancy, right?), enjoying the Pride happenings, and eating as much chocolate as I can afford/get my hot little hands on.
I'll be posting about my activities (well -- most of them -- everything that's fit for print) when I can sneak off to an Internet cafe, but while I'm gone my intrepid partner in Popnog crime, Jessanne Collins, will be (wo)manning the controls to make sure that you get your daily dose of pop culture including a look at Tokyo pride, an investigation of Batman and Robin's relationship, and more.
Finally, if you haven't read Barack Obama's recently released official Presidential proclaimation of June as Gay/Lesbian/Transgender Pride Month, you should. I've heard some people complain that it's an empty gesture -- and yeah -- we've yet to see exactly how things will shakedown with Don't Ask, Don't Tell, gay marriage, and a whole host of other queer issues, but it's still an impressive document in and of itself. Can you imagine the same sort of thing being issued a year ago?
I know we're supposed to keep this place lighthearted and snarky at all times, but I'm having a hard time following through after hearing that the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8 today with six Justices voting for it and one against. If you're near a rally tonight (and they're going to be everywhere), I suggest you go. Text RALLY plus your zip code to 27336 for details on the one closest to you. And for all the latest political news head over to our sister publication, The Advocate.
And ... because I can't think of anything else to write and really just want punch the wall of my cubicle over and over again ... here is the video that made me the happiest when I was 10 years old and already a huge fag. May it bring you a little joy on this big ol' sucky day.
J.W. Lown, the mayor of San Angelo in West Texas, has left his position to follow his heart -- and his partner -- to Mexico. Lown had been serving as mayor for only a few weeks after overwhelmingly winning a fourth two-year term but made a run for the border Tuesday, leaving behind a short resignation letter on his desk.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Lown told the local media that his partner came to the U.S. five years ago and their relationship began in March. When his partner was forced to move back to Mexico earlier this month due to residency issues, the mayor was forced to decide between his job and his lover. He chose his lover.
(1) Faberge Eggs. I mean … (2) Prime Minister Putin topless in those photos. And not just, “Oh dear, where’s my shirt?” topless. We’re talking flexing-muscles topless. While fishing. And you’re hairless, dude. (3) Catherine the Great. (4) Stalin’s 'stache. Muderous old fraud that he was, he sported a fine lip of hair that caused generations of other Russians to wear the same. Like a whole nation of gray terrified Freddie Mercuries. (5) Yentl. (6) Your love of statues of brawny men (and brawnier women). (7) Extravagant fur hats. (8) May Day Parade missiles -- you’re all about those phallic symbols -- don’t think we didn’t notice. (9) Your national anthem. Could it be any more butch? Only if the video that went with it was featured a dancing topless PM… (10) Dr Zhivago.
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