February 2012
3 posts
2 tags
H&R Block openly discriminates against Same-Sex... →
Click the link and find out. Join the cause and spread the word.
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"(Homo)" Legal Matters
(Homo) Normative Legal Discourses and the Queer Challenge - “Recent legal reform in English law has dramatically changed the legal status of the homosexual. Once a social and legal pariah, the contemporary queer finds themselves apparently benefiting from unprecedented legal rights. However, this article seeks to argue that these new-found rights - whether they be in the construction of the...
December 2011
3 posts
7 tags
LGBTQ and Mixed Cultures
This week’s blog is for a special reason. Identity’s new member is from both the Deaf Community and the LGBTQ Community. To celebrate this new comer’s arrival I thought it was appropriate that we do an interview to learn new things from different types of communities and when various communities mix. So I interviewed this person and asked her some questions and these are her responses:
Is being...
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October 2011
2 posts
3 tags
Coming Out and Acceptance
Last week, October 11, 2011, was National Coming Out Day. To support this holiday Identity held a Behind The Rainbow Wall discussion called “Taking Off the Mask.” In this discussion the ones that felt safe to share told their stories of coming out and the out comes and the reactions of the ones they told. I shared a very small part of my story but to go into depth will show you what...
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This is totally awesome. -- A gay game: "A closed... →
Check this out. This is great. The game link is on the bottom of the article
September 2011
1 post
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June 2011
1 post
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Teen Glam Slam
Last Monday was the second annual teen drag show, the Teen Glam slam. Thanks to Merlin’s, a local gay bar, the teens had the perfect location for their fabulous show, and the bar even temporarily switched to a juice bar, which suited our family-based audience. New performers lit up the floor along with some veterans, but everyone had that floor moving. After the kings and queens had their...
May 2011
1 post
6 tags
Pride month message!!
June is Pride month in the City of Binghamton, and Mayor Ryan is again planning to Raise the Pride flag over city hall. Press releases have gone out about events planned for Pride, and hopefully, there will be some news coverage of Pride events. As a proud and active member of the LGBTQ community, I’m proud of this city and it’s government for celebrating this month with us; for celebrating the...
April 2011
1 post
January 2011
1 post
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Identity: Not just, "The Gay Place."
So, I was a little upset to find out that alot of people, outside of those who come here on a regular basis, refer to Identity as, “The Gay Place.” I find this to be really misleading, see as many of the people who come to Identity aren’t gay identitified, and on top of that, all of the topics discussed here are relevant to anyone. If people can’t stop thinking of...
December 2010
2 posts
6 tags
Stereotyping
Wednesday at Identity we talked about the harmfulness of stereotyping. We Peers put on a skit that was pretty hilarious, if I do say so myself :) and afterwards we played a matching game, where we had to match a typeof person with a stereotype. The first group to get them “right,” got first dibs on the candy. While the presentation of stereotypes was funny because they where not...
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Enjoying the Fireworks
I wanted to backtrack a little and focus some more on the “Firework” video by Katy Perry. I know this blog is long overdue, but I just wanted to express how inspired some of the other peer youth educators and I were after seeing the music video.
The video touches on some very important aspects in today’s society—ranging from people struggling with cancer, weight issues,...
November 2010
2 posts
3 tags
Bullying
Bullying has grown to be a serious problem in schools across the Country. Although many kids do complain to those with the power to help them, a larger number of those being bullied don’t report the abuse. Despite the common belief that bullying isn’t that much of a problem, a large number of young people still suffer in silence. A common form of bullying is cyber bullying. Slander...
October 2010
9 posts
3 tags
Halloween Party!!!!
Identity is hosting its annual Halloween Party on Friday, October 29th. Starting at 7pm and lasting to 10pm. Come and enjoy cider, doughnuts, and Halloween candy!! Dance and participate in the costume contest and other games!!!! Can’t wait to see you there!!!!!
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Don't Forget to Wear Purple!
Hey guys. Tomorrow (Wednesday, October 20), you can publicly show your support to the recent suicides by wearing something purple! If you are unaware, there have been several losses in the LGBTQ community. Many of these suicides were a result of homophobic bullying by these kid’s peers.
“On October 20th, 2010, we will wear purple in honor of the seven gay boys who committed suicide in...
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Pot Luck Din Din
So the pot luck dinner was basically amazing. Let’s give a hand to the Cube, who hosted the whole shindig :]. Shout out to the sweet and sour meat balls which were a crowd favorite ;). Over a big bowl of Macaroni and Cheese, we all shared our experiences of coming out, in honor of National Coming Out Day. It was pretty cool to hear about everyone’s different stories, and learn of...
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Come out, Come out...(for National Coming Out Day)
Oh, what to say about Coming Out Day?
There are so many reasons why this national holiday is significant in the lives of LGBTQ individuals. This day has been recognized by the gay community as a means for breaking free from the chains that have been holding us down for so long. Events such as rallies, workshops, celebrations, etc., take place on this day—in honor of those in the LGBT...
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It Gets Better Project
I heard about this cool new project I want to tell you about: Dan Savage (author of a column called “Savage Love”) and his husband have launched a YouTube video project on which they have LGBTQ people talk about how they were bullied in school and how life gets better and how they want all of LBGTQ to hold on. These people talk about how we have rights, even as kids and teenagers....
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Touchable Art
All this month we are doing touchable art—art that is meant to touched! The reason we are doing this is because Identity youth are taking part in a exhibit for The Association for Vision Rehabilitation and Employment, Inc.
The exhibit will be November 5 through November 12, and can be viewed from 8 am to 5 pm at 174 Court Street, in Binghamton, New York.
You can get more information about...
September 2010
2 posts
4 tags
WatchCheck it out and come join us at Identity’s Safer Sextravaganza!
Date: Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Time: 4:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Place: Identity Youth Center, 206 State Street, Binghamton
July 2010
2 posts
3 tags
"Don't ask, don't tell" "Why?"
According to advocate.com the survey asking 400,000 active and inactive troops about their opinion on LGBT living, working, and fighting along side them has been made public.
While reading through the survey I can see were it has “derogatory and insulting wording, assumptions, and insinuations” through out it. It asks questions about if one feels ok with showering next to someone they...
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LGBTQ Families
The modern family has come a long way from the typical family post-WWII family of the 1950’s. With high divorce rates and an increase in single parenthood, the picture of June and Ward Cleaver with Ward and little beaver has seemed to have been replaced with a quintessential village that raises the children. Into this comes the next group looking to prove that they can be just as good of...
June 2010
3 posts
the good, the bad, and the toothy: a woman's...
As you have read in Tomas’s latest blog South African Dr. Sonnet Ehlers has created the perfect woman’s revenge on rapists. I believe this a great idea to drop the number of rape victims and the spread of STDs in South Africa.
My concerns are the same as Tomas’s however. How easy is it to remove the condom? If it is easy to take out, there could be a good chance that the rapist...
the good, the bad and the toothy
South African doctor Sonnet Ehlers recently unveiled Rape-aXe, a female condom with hard plastic barbs or teeth in it that is designed to prevent, stop, and tag attacking rapists. The Condom was invented due to an event that always stuck in Dr. Ehlers’s mind when a woman stated that she wished she had teeth down there in order to stop her rape.
I find this device somewhat interesting and...
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Don't Call My Name.
Alejandro. This video has been stirring up controversy left and right. It’s been called anti-religious, overkill, said to have no story line, typical, not as good as Telephone, overly sexual, brilliant, terrible, and everything in between. So what’s the deal with Alejandro?! Well it’s a lot of things: It’s an homage to Madonna (I mean, the video is directed by Steven Klein for Christ-sake), It’s...
May 2010
8 posts
Family Guy: Quagmire's Dad
Spoiler alert to all you Family Guy fans!!!
This week on Family Guy everyone meets Quagmire’s dad for the first time. Your first impression of him is that he is a stereotypical gay man. Peter tells Quagmire that he thinks his dad is gay and Quagmire denies it. When Quagmire asks his dad though he tell his son that he is not gay, he is in fact a woman stuck in a man’s body.
The...
Seeing is NOT believing.
Looking at a magazine the other day, i began to examine the pictures, in particular, the advertisements. The extent to which they were edited was incredible to me. Every single body part was tweaked, the skin corrected, and completely distorted from reality. And while i believe that these distortions may be visible to most of us, to children, a different perception is to be had. It’s true that the...
Little Swedish Condoms For Kids!
So Switzerland announced recently that it thinks it has found a solution to young teens having unprotected sex: tiny condoms. Statistics suggest that 12 to 14 year olds do not use sufficient protection. I dunno, i kind of think that it has more to do with the fact that they’re kids, but hey, let’s get them some condoms that fit better anyway, i mean, it couldn’t hurt. Anyway, the Swiss are...
April 2010
4 posts
Gender related murder?
On Tuesday, a transgender woman who went by the name Amanda was found naked and strangled inside her Queens, NY apartment. The police have finally ruled her death a homicide. Her body was discovered Tuesday after a relative said that she hadn’t heard from Amanda in a few days. Initially, I wasn’t very outraged by the story, realizing that people are murdered every day. I thought, just because she...
Give a Damn
There is a website LGBTQ and straight people should defiantly check out:www.wegiveadamn.orgIt is easy to join, all you need to do is give them your e-mail, zip code, and first name. You can also follow them on Twitter, Facebook(like I am), or YouTube.It is a very informational website that gives a summary of LGBTQ issues like workplace discrimination, hate crimes, military, marriage, youth in...
March 2010
4 posts
Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives!
In recent news, Israel Luna, director of “Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives” has been the target of some controversy, after his film, scheduled to be premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, has been heavily criticized for it’s depiction of transgender women and over-the-top title. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Deformation has even tried to get the movie removed from the...
School Cancels Prom Over Gay Date
So, a U.S. high school in Mississippi has decided to cancel it’s prom after a lesbian student asked to bring her girlfriend. I feel that this is wrong on so many levels, and that it promotes the ideas that it’s okay to have these awful prejudices present in our daily lives. She was also told that she would be thrown out for wearing a suit. Many people say that the teen who is being...
Gay Marriage in DC?!
On March 3rd same sex couples began to apply for marriage licenses. After a long struggle for the right to marry the LGBT community won in Washington DC. I am surprised and happy about this. I had no idea this had happened until I went to school the next day and a friend told me. She was surprised and happy too. I think people were shocked because it seems as if the LGBT community is in a rut...
The Final Months Of High School
So i am coming up on the end of high school quickly, and there is so much going through my mind. So many deadlines, so much to do and talk about, to prepare for, and to come to terms with. It seems that every day i go to school, i sit through a boring daze of study halls and classes that just drag on and on or what seems like hours. I can’t seem to find anything interesting, and by the end...
February 2010
6 posts
Gay Dating: Common questions on how traditional...
So recently I’ve been asked on a few dates and this brings up the whole series of situations that being a on a same sex date might differ from being on a date with someone of the opposite sex.
The first that always seems to come up is who will pay? I feel the relevance of this question is slowly going away as even in the heterosexual world, the concept of men always paying for dates is going...