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5. Never-Happen-in-Toronto Pride Stories

Jul-09-2010 | Comments Off

Bird’s-Eye: Last week was Pride week in Toronto, which was dominated in the media by the flip-flop on whether Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QAIA) would be allowed to march, (in the end, they were). What a contrast Toronto is to Madrid’s Gay Pride Day, (in which Israelis were banned!), to Budapest’s (in which some police sided with homophobic attacks on marchers) or to Chicago’s (in which hockey’s Stanley Cup was part of the parade )

* Madrid Gay Pride March Bans Israelis Over Gaza Flotilla Raids The Guardian

A delegation of gay residents of Tel Aviv has been banned from joining a gay pride march in Madrid because authorities in the Israeli city have not condemned the recent attack on the Gaza flotilla.

“After what has happened, and as human rights campaigners, it seemed barbaric to us to have them taking part,” explained Antonio Poveda, of Spain’s Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transexuals and Bisexuals.

* Extreme Right Attack Against Budapest Pride Budapest Pride 2010

A small group of people wearing extremist symbols assaulted several participants of the 15th Budapest Pride festival…Riot police appeared in large numbers, but they surrounded the victim and demanded that he identify himself, while the perpetrators walked away from the scene….

Several organisers of Budapest Pride heard one police officer using impermissible language, saying that the Festival was provoking the extreme right group with our flag, and that: “I’m not calling anyone [for assistance], they should take their faggot flag down” – he said to another police officer, using the most derogatory term in Hungarian, which denotes rape victims in prisons.

* The Stanley Cup comes out NBC Sports

The Chicago Blackhawks organization struck a huge blow for gay and lesbian equality by agreeing to participate in Chicago’s Gay Pride parade on Sunday, June 27. Defenseman Brent Sopel volunteered to represent the team by carrying the Stanley Cup in the parade.

5. GLBT Pride, and Shame

Jul-02-2010 | Comments Off

Bird’s-Eye: As the 30th annual Pride Day takes place this weekend in Toronto, we look at pride and shame around alternative sexual modalities.

* I Hugged a Man in His Underwear. And I am Proud.

I spent the day at Chicago’s Pride Parade. Some friends and I, with The Marin Foundation, wore shirts with “I’m Sorry” written on it. We had signs that said, “I’m sorry that Christians judge you,” “I’m sorry the way churches have treated you,” “I used to be a bible-banging homophobe, sorry.” We wanted to be an alternative Christian voice from the protestors that were there speaking hate into megaphones.

What I loved most about the day is when people “got it.” I loved watching people’s faces as they saw our shirts, read the signs, and looked back at us. Responses were incredible….

* Doctor Treating Pregnant Women With Experimental Drug To Prevent Lesbianism The Stranger

Pediatric endocrinologist Maria New—of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Florida International University—isn’t just trying to prevent lesbianism by treating pregnant women with an experimental hormone. She’s also trying to prevent the births of girls who display an “abnormal” disinterest in babies, don’t want to play with girls’ toys or become mothers, and whose “career preferences” are deemed too “masculine.” Unbelievable

* Iceland PM Ties Knot As Gay Marriage Legalized Asia One News

Iceland Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir married her long-time partner on Sunday as a new law legalising homosexual marriages came into force. Sigurdardottir, in her late 60s, formally married writer Jonina Leosdottir after the couple submitted a demand for their civil union to be transformed into a marriage, the RUV broadcaster said.

Iceland’s parliament on June 12 unanimously adopted legislation allowing gay marriage, in a law that came into force on Sunday.