The Smallest of Minorities!
Joëlle-Circé Laramée, Mercredi,
The Smallest of Minorities

It is never easy to say that one is intersex/transsex, a feminist and a lesbian.

This is by no means a new 'thing, or 'style'. Besides being intersex, many of us are lesbian identified. Many intersex women identify as lesbians.

A question which is often asked is; why do you want to become a woman in order to be with a woman? Now this is a very revealing question, one which distinguishes between gender and sex and the whole question of identity. If at first the person had one type of body ( biological & sociological ) that, on the surface, seemed to command respect and authority, only to now have one that is seen as more submissive and fraught with a thousand potential outside dangers, imagine on top of this that the body in question never fit within the parameters of either male or female because it is intersex.


~

Gay priests ‘acceptable’
By William B. Depasupil, Reporter


AT least two prominent personalities of the Catholic Church voiced their support for homosexuals interested in becoming clerics but underscored that they need to practice chastity like the others.



~

Two former Mobile County jailers charged in inmate assault
The Associated Press


MOBILE, Ala. -- Two former Mobile County corrections officers have been charged with assaulting a homosexual inmate earlier this year at the jail.

Jamie Godsey and Sean Etheredge have been charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, according to Mobile County Metro Jail spokeswoman Christina Bowersox. She said after an internal investigation, Godsey was fired and Etheredge resigned.

Inmate Jayson Payne said after he was booked into the jail in March he told jailers he was gay.

Now serving a burglary sentence at Fountain Correctional Facility near Atmore, Payne said he was verbally harassed by the two former Mobile County officers and physically assaulted in his cell.




~

Why can't I love a girl, asks Ela
ROHIT WADHWANEY
TIMESOFINDIA.COM


NEW DELHI: Section 377 of the IPC says homosexuality is unnatural and, hence, illegal. Why, asks a JNU student. "A woman has two hands, two legs, hair, nose, ears, just like a man. Why can't I be attracted to the same sex? We're all human beings after all," argues Ela.

Even though the Delhi High Court on Wednesday rejected their plea for review of the infamous Section 377, gays in India have not given up their fight.

"We appeal to the Supreme Court," said Shaleen Rakesh of Naz Foundation, an NGO working for sexual rights in the country.

But why focus on such legal niceties? After all, how many people have been arrested under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (that dates back to 1860)? Only one.


~

CHILEAN STUDENTS EXPELLED FOR ALLEGED LESBIANISM
Sexual Discrimination Still The Norm In Chilean Schools?


(Nov. 5, 2004) Chile’s public debate about the sexual preferences of its student population was back in the headlines this week, with two more schools taking disciplinary action against young women for their alleged lesbianism.

L.F.L., 13, and M.R.D., 15, were expelled last week from the Escuela de Niñas España in Concepción, Region VIII, for their alleged lesbian conduct, while four girls in Valdivia, Region X, were told they won’t be readmitted to classes in 2005 because of a picture that shows them kissing.

These two cases come on the heels of two other highly publicized cases that received national attention earlier this year.

In Concepción, a school inspector caught L.F.L. and M.R.D. coming out of a bathroom together and reported this to the general inspector, Patricia Navarro, who decided to expel the students until the end of the year. Schoolmates allegedly saw the two girls kissing in the bathroom.




~

Bermuda To Ban Homophobia


(Hamilton, Bermuda) The Bermuda government has announced legislation to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

Community Affairs Minister Dale Butler said the bill will be presented to the House of Assembly during its summer term.

“The changes will take us out of the dark ages and create an awareness about living openly rather than hiding these things in the closet,” said Butler.


~

Selling Our Souls to the Right
By LOUI ITOH


I thought Christianity taught us to love our neighbors and to feed the hungry. I thought we were supposed to care for the sick and give alms to the poor. Although the Bible says that it’s easier for a camel to fit through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to go to heaven, millions of evangelical Christians across the country voted for a president who gave tax cuts to the rich while other hardworking people lost their jobs and healthcare. As a Christian myself, I find it disappointing that many Christians do not see that the basic principles that guide the Democratic Party are consistent with their faith and could improve their lives, yet cast their votes based on their opposition to abortion and gay marriage.