Posts Tagged: queer
My First Pride Parade
About two weeks ago I attended my first Pride festival in my state’s capital of Austin, Texas. Even though National LGBT Pride Month was declared every June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Riots, Austin likes to be weird and have their celebration in September. I’ve been out for a number of years so it was a surprise to may of my friends that this was the first Pride celebration I’d ever been to. It didn’t feel odd to me however because I’ve never been so vocal about my sexuality to where I felt pride was necessary. I know that sentence may come off as strange because Pride is all about celebrating diversity and acceptance and togetherness but for a long time the thought of publicly waving a rainbow flag around… Read more »
The Queer Factor: Why Comprehensive Sex Education Matters
When I began questioning my sexuality in my teens, I didn’t know how sex between two women “worked.” I felt a lump rise in my throat when I tried to talk to a pretty girl. My face flushed. The hairs on my arms stood on end. But aside from these physical indicators, I was clueless. As far as I knew, lesbians had sex via osmosis or hand holding. My sex ed class wasn’t of much assistance. The small Georgia school system in which I was enrolled followed an abstinence-plus curriculum. Any acts of intimacy referenced in our thin textbooks were of the standard (some might even say boring) penis-in-vagina variety. I eventually learned what constituted queer sex through an awkward independent study course. With the assistance of t.A.T.u.’s infamous “All… Read more »
My Rights are Everyone’s Rights: Five Reasons Why Queers Should Give a Damn About Reproductive Justice
It’s a common question in LGBTQIA groups: Why hop on the reproductive justice bandwagon when I don’t need birth control? Homosexuals cannot even have kids. Remind me what this has to do with us again? Why is this our responsibility? As gender and sexual minorities (GSMs), we’re skeptical. I know I was. As humans, we are highly connected to one another’s oppression. We all have mothers, sisters, and female-identified friends whose rights to healthcare and liberty are constantly being challenged. Additionally, as LGBTQIA individuals, we have unique experiences with the way systems of oppression work. Knowing what we know alone is a call to action. To quote the feminist poet Emma Lazarus, “Until we are all free, we are none of us free.” We at Choice USA believe that reproductive justice… Read more »
