I have become more interested in philosophy recently, and spent some free time today looking around online to see what is going on in the area of philosophical research and continental philosophy, when what a surprise but to find a reference on the APA Committee on the Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People in the Profession Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People in the Profession webpage for John Corvino, a classmate of mine during our undergraduate study years ago at St. John’s University. It seems John is quite prolific in his work in and around ethical theory. Small world after so many years of no contact.

Congratulations, John, on your recent tenure!

Technorati Tags: American Philosophical Association, APA, John Corvino, St. John’s University

Kris Wells & Ray Johnson

Policy and Practice - Positive Space

Ray began by reading a poem

He works in a rural area. Policy #795

Race Relations Cross Cultural understanding and Human Rights - RCH liaison

People would call that they wanted to discuss these issues, but the area is so homophobic and rural and fundamentalist, that people would not do this

he wrote a Preamble that did not have the term tolerance, since that term has negative connotations

he has found that this new policy has released the pent up demand, people do not know how to put this into place.

the problem with education is it is hierarchical, paternalistic, and isolationistic, so he stated this is dangerous work for him. Education is very behind the times in Canada, so he is trying to play catch-up. Teacher and parents and students have these rights and have to be trained to use them.

he teaches in an inclusive manner

the

www.egale.ca - the entire policy is there in PDF format and is downloadable.

policy is one thing, and implementation is another. 

it is about moving out of the community, not only working within the community. This wat peeople, such as the divas, can be part of the community and give back to it by working in it and performing for it, since this is about getting out to the larger audience.

once the policy was approved, and the surface barriers were removed. Then comes the real work of addressing the deeper-seated issues that still tend to counter the issues the policy is established to address

the policy is wonderful, but the systemic backlash within those systems shows how it can be very challenging to implement the policy

“You should offer the legitimate voices of equity their own power” 

“He has a place to give voice to who he is.”

It seems the Worldwide Anglican Communion (Episcopal in the US) is becoming more intolerant and traditional by the day. When the invitations from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, went out for their every-ten-year Lambeth Conference, he neglected to invite the two openly gay American bishops, according to the BBC. I suppose Gene Robinson and Martyn Minns are excluded because they are different from the very tradition that the conservative bishops want to "protect." It is a good thing for them that this did not stop Henry VIII from starting the denomination itself, simply because he did not want to hold to the old traditions imposed by formerly Catholic England. Strange, that such power struggles sometimes seems so far away, especially when those who are religious decide who God likes more than others and therefore who has more of a right to having and using his or her voice. Nothing like being silenced by not being invited to participate.

Perhaps what comes around, goes around? More accurately, how soon we forget our history.

So, it appears the pope is ordering Catholic politicians how to vote.

Reuters recounts how the pope spoke about the moral duty of these people (yes, he speaks of politicians as moral), to support the Catholic Church's opposition to gay marriage as "non-negotiable."

Hmm, the pope ordering politicians how to vote? This recalls the American fears that John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic U.S. President, would take his marching and voting orders from Rome. President Kennedy clearly stated he would not do this. It seems that the current pope wants to return to an earlier time when the church dictated global political policy. How else can the statement "non-negotiable" be understood? Wow, what a way to try to maintain the last grip of power over people–by refusing to even discuss an issue. It may be easy for an older man of 79 to demand something and expect others to follow, especially coming from a traditional culture of obeying the orders of your elders. I can only imagine him jumping up and down yelling about it, too!

I just received a contribution request from the Victory Fund, which is an LGBT organization that "provides strategic, technical and financial support to openly LGBT candidates and officials. It is the only national organization committed to increasing the number of openly LGBT public officials at all levels of government."

While this seems like a good mission to me (though I have never heard of them previously), I wonder if they support candidates simply based on the candidate's sexual orientation, or if there is a political agenda they require? Funding somebody only because they are gay seems a bit short-sighted, especially given the complexities in elected office.

I did notice they expect a candidate to:

• Be openly gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender;
• Demonstrate electoral viability;
• Publicly endorse federal Gay/Lesbian Civil Rights Legislation, and similar state and local anti-discrimination laws or legislation;
• Advocate aggressive public policies and positions relevant to HIV/AIDS research, education and treatment; gay and lesbian health and wellness; and women's reproductive freedom.

These are all issues that are very complex and can be understood on many different levels by those of us who are gay or straight. I am not sure there is a single "party line" (as if there is a party) on any of these, so I am still not sure what criteria they are using. Regardless of these issues and where one falls on them, I am not sure what "women's reproductive freedom" has to do with these gay-focused issues. Perhaps there is a larger agenda? After all, the donation request I received was from Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

I wonder if this insistence on advocating a set agenda is any different on the politically left than it is on the politically right? As I try to do for my own piece of mind and my own attempt at critical thinking, should playing the advocātus diabolī be any different here?

Ernie at Little.Yellow.Different. wrote about his experiences, or seemingly lack thereof, of one particular "community" within the "gay community." I replied to his post and started to think about the terminology and its connotations we use in the term "gay community." I wonder if people who use it in fact mean different things at different times? For example, when I think of the "gay community," the only communal, or rather common, element I can think about is being gay. Period. Nothing about fashion or finance or education or zip-code or preferences or bars. Does simply being gay make one a part of the "gay community?" That somehow seems to be too surface-level, but perhaps I am over analyzing this. I think the term "community" has meanings beyond only attraction to one' own sex, but I wonder . . .

What does being part of the "gay community" mean?

The January issue of Out Magazine had an article on nine neglected classics, books selected by today’s literati, as "queer reads." As a qualitative researcher, I wonder what criteria were used for this list, not to mention why these people were asked to select them.

Regardless, they are:

1. The Inheritors by William Golding
2. Nebraska by George Whitmore
3. The Story of Harold by Terry Andrews
4. Fadeout by Joseph Hansen
5. The Last Puritan by George Santayana
6. The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault
7. The Salt Ecstasies by James L. White
8. Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
9. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather

Well, seems this list gives me an interesting selection of books to read, especially since I do not read many books identified as being gay (though the Out article did not qualify what this may mean in this case).

I have always been fond of the work of Willa Cather, and often think about her when I pass 5 Bank Street in New York’s Greenwich Village, where she lived while she wrote her classic work listed above. I hope she smiles down on me as I walk by, as I have spent many a time reading the plaque in her honor in that very location.

It was not lost on me that when I read the December 25-January 1 issue of New York Magazine I noticed that one of the images, the one on the upper left, was of two guys kissing. Remember, it was not too long ago that these types of images in themselves used to raise eyebrows and be a topic of conversation. We have come a long way in a short time.

Nice job, New York Magazine; keep up the work of showing our city in all its diversity.  

BTW, the best for James Ryan and Danny Pollock (pg. 38).