WASHINGTON (CNN) — In a much-anticipated ruling issued Thursday, the California Supreme Court struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. (Ya think?)

Several gay and lesbian couples, along with the city of San Francisco and gay rights groups, sued to overturn state laws allowing only marriages between a man and a woman.

“There can be no doubt that extending the designation of marriage to same-sex couples, rather than denying it to all couples, is the equal protection remedy that is most consistent with our state’s general legislative policy and preference,” said the 120-page ruling.

This is fantastic news. We (as a proud Californian, I get to say We) are the second state in the United States to allow same-sex marriage. It’s about damn time! I first heard about it on the radio. Then I got a few exuberant calls. Then I made a few ebullient calls. Posted it to Twitter. Sent a few e-mails and a link to the CNN article. Seems like everyone’s a-twitter about it:

iRobyn: Court overturns same-sex marriage ban
Life, Law, Gender: California allows same-sex marriage!
Pam’s House Blend: California Supreme Court Ruling: Thumbs UP On Marriage Equality
Radical Atheist » California Supreme Court overturns gay marriage ban

The Republic of T: Speechless

A new magazine is designed to advise lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups and organizations how to be fully welcoming of transgender people.

The publication, “Opening the Door to the Inclusion of Transgender People: The Nine Keys to Making Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Organizations Fully Transgender-Inclusive,” is a joint effort of The National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

The magazine examines the need for advocates to support gender identity and expression in public policy, programming and legislation.

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080504/NEWS01/679397678/-1/news

While not technically an event that is related to bisexuality, the Masturbate-a-Thon advocates sexual safety and awareness, something we should all take an interest in.

(reposted from my main blog, warning, nsfw)

A fundraiser commited to advancing sex education and safety, the 2008 Live Masturbate-a-Thon was started by Good Vibrations (one of my favorite toy stores), one of the fun events to raise awareness during their National Masturbation Month—another reason to love May.

Founded and directed by Dr. Carol Queen, the seventh annual Masturbate-a-thon will be held in San Francisco on Sunday, May 25th, 2008. That’s a long way for most of us. But! You can participate from home by downloading a pledge form and having your friends sign up. Masturbate a lot on May 25th, and collect your pledges. You can send the money in yourself, or direct people to the donate page.

Want to watch? Sign up to access the live masturbation event feed on-line. Totally free. If you feel guilty and pervy, donate.

Dr. Carol Queen and Dr. Robert Lawrence donate all proceeds to the non-profit Center For Sex & Culture.

Yes, I’m still here.  Or back, rather. What better way to kick off a new season (or has it been two?)  of short posts by featuring Day of Silence? 

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is an education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students. April 25, 2008, the Day of Silence event will be held in memory of Lawrence King, who was shot and killed because of his sexual and gender orientation.  The premise is simple: students are asked to express the silence that is imposed on LGBTQ students by anti-gay groups and individuals.  There are some excellent tips on how to go about advocating during this event.

From the FAQ:

As the days popularity and exposure have increased, many misperceptions have spread about what the Day of Silence is, why the day exists and what participating in it means. Here are 4 truths that address common misinformation about the Day of Silence.

1. The Day of Silences purpose is to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment and effective responses. The goal of the Day of Silence is to make schools safer for all students, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. In a Harris Interactive study on bullying, students said two of the top three reasons students are harassed in school are actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender expression. Additionally, 4 out of 5 LGBT students experience harassment at school. Students across the country participate in the Day of Silence to bring attention to this problem, let students who experience such bullying know that they are not alone and ask schools to take action to address the problem.
2. Hundreds of thousands of students of all beliefs, backgrounds and sexual orientations participate in the Day of Silence. Anti-LGBT bullying and harassment affects all students. Slurs such as faggot and dyke are commonplace in school. The Day of Silence is an example of students, from middle school to college, working together proactively to bring attention to the anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment experienced by LGBT and straight students alike. GLSEN, the Day of Silences organizational sponsor, encourages participants to be counted by registering at www.dayofsilence.org. Students from nearly 5,000 middle and high schools registered for the 2007 Day of Silence. GLSEN protects the privacy of students and does not publish a list of students who have registered or their schools. Many students who participate also belong to Gay-Straight Alliance student clubs, of which nearly 4,000 are registered with GLSEN. The first GSA was created by a straight student nearly 20 years ago, in the fall of 1988.
3. Day of Silence participants encourage schools to implement proven solutions to address anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment.
   • Adopt and implement a comprehensive anti-bullying policy that enumerates categories such as race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and gender expression/identity.
   • Provide staff trainings to enable school staff to identify and address anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment effectively and in a timely manner.
   • Support student efforts to address anti-LGBT bullying and harassment on campus, such as the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance.
   • Institute age-appropriate, factually accurate and inclusive curricula to help students understand and respect difference within the school community and society as a whole.
4. The day is a positive educational experience. The Day of Silence is an opportunity for students to work toward improving school climate for all students. GLSEN advises students interested in participating to discuss their intentions with their administration and teachers long before the event. The day is most successful when schools and students work together to show their commitment to ensuring safe schools for all students. Many schools allow students participation throughout the day. Some schools ask students to speak as they normally would during class and remain silent during breaks and at lunch. There is no single way to participate, and students are encouraged to take part in the way that is the most positive and uplifting for their school.

DAY of SILENCE: News

I was having lunch with a few friends of mine a week or so back.  We were at a cafe that has a lot of regulars, so you get to know people if you go there often enough.  So when one of my friends waved a guy over to our table, I didn’t even blink.  He sat next to me and we exchanged the usual introductory bull.  Around us, the talk had turned to the upcoming Pride Fair (this weekend, June 9 and 10, 2007), and I mentioned that I was no longer with an advocacy group and probably wouldn’t be going this year.

“You’re a lesbian?” my new tablemate asked me.

Used to a touch of consternation (or outright shock, for all that this is Los Angeles) that new acquaintances display when confronted with my sexual orientation,  I told him, no, I was bisexual.

“Oh.  Well, I’m married,” he declared.

I was baffled, until it dawned on me that this guy thought I was hitting on him.  But—why?  I didn’t immediately connect his declaration with my answer to his question.

“You think because I’m bisexual, I’m hitting on you?”

“Aren’t you? All women say that,” he told me.  I detected a smugness that set my teeth on edge.

“No,” I told him flatly. “And probably, neither were any of the other women.  I mean, you’re not really all that.”

Catty, surely.  But fuck that.  Since when has my sexuality, or anyone’s really, constituted an invitation?  I’m not sure who I should be more pissed at, the guy who assumes that bisexuality is a ploy to lure all these poor, unsuspecting men in, or the one—possibly two—women who gave him that impression?  I’m under no illusions, I know that there are women who play the bi card, and play it hard.  It works, because, let’s face it, this is something that is not only featured in porn but splayed across our TV shows, movies, and magazines.  Of course it doesn’t work with all men, and he was surely trying to let me know he wasn’t one of them.  But then again, it worked its arcane magic on his ego, and that, to me, is all the more insulting.  “Haha, I know you want me, but I know your game.”  See this finger?  Spin, baby. 

Maria Angeline of the Daily Dose of Queer is saying goodbye and DailyDoseofQueer.com is up for sale. I’ve been getting my dose of queer almost daily for over a year. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. I hope that whoever takes over the blog does it justice; I’ve alway counted on it as a informal news source, or maybe a good friend, sending interesting bits of info my way. This might seem odd to most people, but reading a few of the posts in the mornings and afternoons has always injected some normalcy into my otherwise heterosexual-crammed day. There’s a feeling of comfort, knowing that there’s some place (even a virtual place) where I can go to feel at home, without the annoying reactions of the strait-laced.

So if you have the means and the will, here’s the perfect opportunity to follow in a wonderful woman’s footsteps–and make your own place in our freaky little world.

Sue George wrote about the “otherness” that pervades bisexuality. We’re the sexual minority, often unheard, glossed over, seen as the promiscuous, dirty side of homosexuality. Quite often you read about the lesbian community, the gay community, the transgender community, or the LGBTQ community that includes all of us. On very rare occasions do you see the term “bisexual community”, since, as such, we don’t quite have one. While inclusivity within the Rainbow is wonderful, many of the issues we deal with as bisexuals are distinctly different from those of other sexualities. Even within the bi-o-sphere, men and women are viewed differently. Women are hypersexualized, glamorized as “bi chicks”, eminently desirable as a gateway to fulfillment of that ol’ threesome fantasy. Bisexual men are vilified or seen as unattractive. To many in the gay and lesbian communities we’re seen as “straddling the fence”, unable to shake loose the bonds of heterosexuality. Rather than straddling it, however, we see both sides much more clearly.

I’ve been told many times not to expect to be “taken seriously” because of my bisexuality, and I’m sure many of you are familiar with that old myth, “bisexuals just don’t exist”. I think that attitude is due in large part to “strictly” homosexual people, both gay and lesbian, that use bisexuality as a stepping stone on their way to fully coming out. They are the ambivalent ones, but we carry the brunt of their insured and insecurity, thus making it harder for us to be seen as a real community. Having starlets using it as a ploy to gain more media attention doesn’t freaking help, either. And then there are women who see bisexuality as a way to garner attention from men for themselves. With both homosexual and heterosexuals using it as a phase, it’s no wonder bisexuals aren’t taken seriously.

So what to do about it? The only ones who can change this perspective are bisexuals. Break down the fence. Your sexuality is yours, not something that someone else decides. Don’t let others speak for us. Make your voice heard. Say it here, say it on your blog, say it anywhere. Whisper it quietly to yourself. It counts, even if you’re the only one to hear.

As you may have noticed, I’ve invited a new author to join this blog: cheerios. I’d capitalize that, but I’ll stick with the submissive lowercase he chose. He’ll be able to give a unique male perspective that I can’t provide, being female and all. Sue George’s blog, Bisexuality and Beyond, is the only other blog out there that’s a non-personal blog (and still the best, Sue!) specifically about bisexuality. If you’ve ever searched for relevant information about bisexuality in the blogosphere, you’ve come across her site. That’s how I came upon it, and as much as I adore her writing, I’m frustrated by the lack of bi-perspective I find on the internet. There are many, many resources and blogs out there about bisexuality—as an adjunct to homosexuality, almost a tagged-on afterthought. With Cheerios writing for the guys, and I for the girls, I hope we can shine a brighter light on bisexual experiences. So, welcome, stud!

Warm greetings, everyone. Mercy has been kind enough to let me join her bisexuality blog, so you’ll get a chance to know me through my posts. I have to warn you up front, I’m a guy, so if you were just looking for hot girl on girl discussion, you’ll have to ignore me.

I think a common misconception is that bisexuality is just about sex, attraction and lustful desire. I haven’t heard much discussion about loving people of both genders, but I know it happens. My first love (and my first lover) was a guy, and my best friend.

Jayson and I were both 12 years old, almost 13 really. We lived in the same apartment complex, and did everything together. He went on family vacations with us, I went with him to stay at his dad’s farm for a week over Christmas. Every day after school we would go fishing in the pond behind the apartments, and there is even a picture in our 8th grade yearbook with our arms around each other’s shoulders. “Like peas and carrots,” as Forrest Gump would say, and at some point friendship turned into more.

The way we ended up having sex is, I assume, pretty common. Boys being boys, and curious, we started masturbating with each other in the room when we had sleepovers. Jayson couldn’t yet ejaculate, so he was fascinated by the fact that “goo” would come out of my dick, and things progressed from him watching me jerk off to him jerking me off to see me cum. That was as far as things went for a very long time (for a pre-teen, that is). It was almost 6 months before we had the conversation.

“Well, I’d put one in my mouth, I guess, uh, just once, just to see what it was like.” - c
“Yeah, I guess I would too. I sure do wanna fuck somebody!” - j
“Me too.” - c
“Hey, I’ve got an idea, do you want to buttfuck?” - j

And there it was. He had put it out there, as brave as hell for a 13 year old. Needless to say, I ended up getting my anal cherry popped that night. Things didn’t work the other way, though. Like I said, I was more developed than Jayson, and my 13 year old pecker was just too big for him. It kinda always worked that way. Sexually, Jayson had all the power over me, and he knew it. Not in a kinky kind of way, though I did beg him to paddle me with the flat wooden stock from my Daisy Red Ryder BB gun a couple of times, but in a he controlled the timing, the pacing, and set the boundries as to what was acceptable and what would make us “queers” as he put it, kinda way.

For example, I wanted to kiss Jayson so bad that my lips would swell whenever he walked in a room. I begged him to kiss me, with his tongue, on a daily basis, but he refused. He had two excuses that he would whip out on different days. First, he thought kissing put us in danger of “being gay”. I’m not really sure how pumping his dick in and out of my ass didn’t pose a threat, but hey, whatever. The second was that he “wanted to leave something for (me) to experience with a girl”, but he only started using that one after he got his first girlfriend. They would make out behind the parked school buses during lunch. Still, he came to me for what she wouldn’t give him. I had become second choice. He was still my first.

Eventually, Jayson’s mother remarried and he moved to Florida. I never did get that kiss, not from him anyway, and I regret that. I bet it would have been fantastic. Not some aggressive, mega-macho, face smashing BrokeBack Mountain man kiss, but just the right mix of affection and desire; a kiss of gentle insistence, like the tugging at my heart reminding me that I did love this person as he packed up the moving van one August morning.

–cheerios