8.25.2012

Queer Manila Exhibit in Makati today at 3pm




When: August 25, 3pm.
Where: Manila Contemporary, Whitespace, 2314 Chino Roces Ave Extension (formerly Pasong Tamo extension, Brgy Magallanes, Makati City.

RSVP Iris Ferrer 632 576 5024. 
email: i.ferrer@manilacontemporary.com.

Queer Manila attempts to create a visual discussion around gender and sexuality within local contexts and internationalised LGBT discourse. It explores the understandings, misunderstandings, conflicts, humours, loves, eroticisms, deviances, spectacles, and dilemmas within Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgender identities.

Identity and gender have always been in processes of flux, subjected to numerous influences and social behaviours that change over time, creating different sites for cultures, politics, psychologies, spiritualities and biologies to define who we are. The show, therefore, is about activating and including multiple audiences in a visual conversation about how we look, exchange ideas and comment on gender and sexuality within LGBT communities. It is about processes of othering and reclaiming, through contemporary art’s ability to share, question, and develop these identities. As such, artists have been invited to contribute personal stories, as well as comment on the notion of body politics, activism and culture across generations through various media.

To compliment the exhibition and diversify this conversation, a programme of performances, films, talks and events has been organised that will take place in the gallery over the duration of the exhibition. For a summary of this program, see the schedule below:

OPENING DAY
25 August, 2-9PM
Performances by Maya Munoz in collaboration with Julie Tolentino, Jef Carnay and Martin Lorenzo de Mesa, with a poetry reading by Danton Remoto, Chairman Emeritus of Ang Ladlad

FILM PROGRAMME (Upstairs Gallery)
Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (2005)
Directed by Aureus Solito and written by Michiko Yamamoto. Produced by UFO Pictures.
September 9 and 16, 1PM

Zombadings (2011)
Directed by Jade Castro, also co-written with Raymond Lee, Michiko Yamamoto.
September 9 and 16, 3PM

EVENTS AND TALKS
Book signing by J. Neil C. Garcia (Editor) of “Aura”: The Gay Theme in Philippine Fiction in English
A collection of gay-themed short stories and novel excerpts from Philippine fictionists in English. Featuring the works of Jose Garcia Villa, Bienvenido N. Santos, NVM Gonzalez, Nick Joaquin, and Edith L. Tiempo etc.

September 1, 5PM

Talk by Enzo Camacho + Amy Lien
Sharing their processes as creative partners and performers
September 8, 12NN

Hubad: Mga Kwento ng Kalayaan
Guerilla theater event by LeAP! (Lesbian Activists Philippines)
September 15

——————————————
This exhibition is in kind collaboration with:
Ang Ladlad (https://www.facebook.com/LadladPartyListOfficial)
LeAP! (https://www.facebook.com/LeAPPhilippines)
Origin8 Media (http://www.origin8media.com/)

source here.

8.24.2012

Oral Sex Risks!!!

scary! BUT but better to be safe than sorry. take pap smear, hpv tests, consult a trustworthy gynecologist, if you or your partner had multiple sex partners already. being on a girl-to-girl sexual relation DOESN'T guarantee we are free from STD. if you love your partner, you will get tested and ensure she's safe and protected.


CDC Warns That Oral Sex Is Still Risky: How Queers Who Like Vaginas Can Keep Them Safe

 

"... teens and young adults have more oral sex than vaginal intercourse (as we mentioned in the NSFW Sunday). According to the report, this discrepancy is a result of a desire to maintain virginity, avoid pregnancy and avoid risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection. But the CDC notes that because young people perceive oral sex as a risk-free behavior,  they are "placing themselves at risk of STIs or HIV before they are ever at risk of pregnancy."

Saliva does not carry HIV, but your mouth is a mucous membrane, and according to Gay Men's Health, "cells in the mucous lining of the mouth may carry HIV into the lymph nodes or the bloodstream." Clark-Flory writes that while HIV may be people's biggest fear, it's actually easier to transmit herpes, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis and HPV. Less risky but still possible are Hepatitis A, gastrointestinal infections, and parasites.

health risks associated with oral sex are extremely relevant to the interests of the queer community. It seems that in general, blow jobs are riskier than cunnilingus, but according to Professor Christopher Hurt of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, you are just as likely to contract syphilis, herpes, or HPV from a vagina as from a penis, “Since these infections can occur both inside the vagina and on the skin surface.” So queers, please take note: being on a vagina-only diet does not a risk-free lifestyle make.

 ... an important thing to keep in mind when you are deciding whether or not to use protection with a partner. What we can take from this study is that a queer person who encounters penises in their mouth is more likely in general to have contracted an STI than a queer person who doesn't. So if you or your partner fits this description, you might consider taking an extra measure of protection. And if you have multiple partners, it's even more important, because your risk increases with every additional person you add to your sexual network.

If you don't use protection with your partner, you are what is known as "fluid-bonded." This means that you have agreed to share your bodily fluids with each other. And with that agreement, much like the power to shoot webs from your hands, comes great responsibility. You should definitely get tested before doing so — if you don't have health insurance, get on the internet and find your nearest free health clinic. If you're in college, your health center should provide testing services. It's possible to be fluid-bonded to one person while having multiple partners whom you are not fluid-bonded to, but you have an obligation to your fluid-bonded partner to use protection with everyone else. The key here is going to be communication. It's not really fair to the people you are having sex with to have secrets that could put them at risk."

source and full story here


8.23.2012

Ang Ikaklit sa Aming Hardin , lez-themed kiddie book is OUT!

remember this post about the first ever children story in the Philippines with lesbian parents in the characters and the theme? many of you expressed that you want to buy once available. well, happy news! the book is OUT! *buti pa sya. ako kaya kelan. hehe.* 


Ang Ikaklit sa Aming Hardin

 


Ang karaniwang pakahulugan sa pamilya ay yaong binubuo ng ama, ina, at mga anak, na nananahan nang sama-sama. Ito ang namamayaning depinisyon at kalakhan sa atin ay dito namulat kung kaya nagmimistulang ito lamang ang natatanging imahen ng pamilya na dapat sundin. Gayumpaman, hindi maitatanggi ang pag-iral ng iba pang anyo ng pamilya na labas sa depinisyong ito. Mayroong mga pamilyang isa lang ang tumatayong magulang, may mga anak na nagmula sa ibang magulang, mayroon din namang mga batang dalawa ang nanay o tatay, may mga pamilyang malayo sa isa’t isa, at iba pa. Patunay ang mga ito ng pangangailangang magluwal ng mas masaklaw na kahulugan ng pamilya. Isang depinisyong hindi nakatali sa larawang nakasanayan bagkus ay tumatanaw sa esensiya ng isang tahanang mapagkalinga, mapang-unawa, at ginagabayan ng pagmamahal.

Maraming anyo ang pamilya. Tulad ng mga bulaklak sa isang halamanan, mayroon itong iba’t ibang itsura, kulay, bango, at laki. Sapagkat ang anumang uri ng pagsasamang nakasandig sa pag-ibig ay dapat kilalanin bilang pamilya. Isa rito ang kuwento ni Ikaklit. Bagaman iba sa trasdisyunal, maituturing na pamilya ang samahang bumibigkis sa kaniya at sa dalawa niyang ina. 
 


Available  in the following bookshops:

IBON BOOKSHOP
#114 Timog Ave., Quezon City
(632) 927-7060 | 927-7061 | 927-7062

POPULAR BOOKSTORE
#305 Tomas Morato Avenue, Quezon City
(632) 372-2162

UP PRESS BOOKSTORE
E. de los Santos Street
UP Campus Diliman, Quezon City
(632) 926-6642

MT. CLOUD
Casa Vallejo, Upper Session Rd., Baguio City
(074) 424-4437
(Simula Agosto 26, 2012)

You can also email publikasyong.twamkittens@gmail.com to get a copy of the book, "Ang Ikaklit sa Aming Hardin."

Book launch is on 
September 13, 2012, 3:00-5:00pm, 
Claro M. Recto Hall, College of Arts & Literature 
UP Diliman. 

EVERYONE's invited! :)

Det Neri, author

8.22.2012

Two women Tie the Knot in Taiwan

while i was busy with my work turnover, THIS happened. =) as the Dutch proverb says, "When a door closes, a window opens." For their case, even though there is no same sex marriage law yet, who says they can't get married if they want to?! truly! LOVE FINDS A WAY. tayo nang magbakasyon sa Taiwan! *let's go visit Taiwan!*



 "We decided to get married last year," Huang told Agence France Presse July 11, 2012.
“After being together for six years, we feel we need to make a life-long commitment to each other.”


and they did!


Lesbian couple celebrate Taiwan's first Buddhist same-sex  wedding


TAOYUAN, Taiwan – Two women tied the knot on Saturday, August 11, in Taiwan’s first same-sex Buddhist wedding, a move rights groups hope will help make the island become the first place in Asia to legalize gay marriage.

Fish Huang and You Ya-ting , who have been together for seven years, exchanged vow and prayer beads instead of rings at a monastery in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan, accompanied by chants from nearly 300 Buddhists.
 



Shih Chao-hwei, a Buddhist master and university professor, offered to perform the ceremony herself after the couple approached her to ask if their faith condemned homosexuality.



“We are witnessing history. The two women are willing to stand out and fight for their fate… to overcome social discrimination,” said Shih, a well-known advocate for social justice.

You Ya-ting, left, and her partner Huang Mei-yu stamp their names in front of a statue of Buddha in the prayer hall as they are married in the first Taiwan same sex Buddhist ceremonial wedding in Taoyuan, Taiwan, Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012. Taiwan still does not legally recognize same sex marriage.

 

“Some people might find it astounding [a woman performing the ceremony] but Buddhism does not engage in ideological struggles and I am used to strange looks from my own experience in the social movement,” she said.

 colorful as their love :)


The couple’s parents were notably absent from the ceremony, in an indication of the pressure facing some homosexuals and their families.


“Our parents initially agreed to attend and they regret that they couldn’t be here. We understand that people have different acceptance of media exposure and we want to give them more space,” Huang said shortly before the wedding.




“We hope with the master’s support, the wedding will change many people’s perspective even though it is not legally binding,” said the social worker. “We hope the government can legalise same-sex marriage soon.”
Taiwan is one of the most culturally liberal societies in East Asia, and gay and lesbian groups have been urging the government for years to make same-sex unions legal.

Aiming to create awareness about the issue, about 80 lesbian couples tied the knot last year in Taiwan’s biggest same-sex wedding party, attracting about 1,000 friends, relatives and curious onlookers.



Fish Huang told the Taipei Times last month: 'We are not only doing it for ourselves, but also for other gays and lesbians.'


 


The first public gay marriage in Taiwan took place in 1996 but this is the first known Buddhist wedding.

Gay rights groups are pushing for President Ma Ying-jeou to legislate for same-sex marriage and to allow gay couples to adopt before his term ends in 2016.

8.12.2012

Lesbians/Bi Pro Athletes

with the oLympics fever in London, sharing some of the best and the famous kickass lesbians/bi athletes to make us prouder and more importantly, inspired. =)


Professional Kickass Athletes and they're Lesbians/Bisexual


Megan Rapinoe
U.S. women's soccer team midfielder Megan Rapinoe publicly announced that she is a lesbian for the first time on Monday, less than a month before the London Olympic Games.

Rapinoe, 27, who is best known for her stellar athletic skills and upbeat personality, wants her coming out story to empower LGBT people, USA Today reported.

Though she has been openly gay to her family and teammates for quite some time, she candidly spoke about her sexuality during an interview with Out: "For the record: I am gay," she told the gay magazine.

"To be honest, I've been thinking about it for a while, trying to find a time that works. Now leading up to the Olympics, people want to get personal stories," she says. "Our team in general is in a position where people look up to us and kids look up to us. I embrace that and I think I have a huge LGBT following. I think it's pretty cool, the opportunity that I have, especially in sports. There's really not that many out athletes. It's important to be out and to live my life that way.

"It's about standing up and being counted and saying you're proud of who you are."

Rapinoe, who also plays for the Seattle Sounders of the Major League Soccer women's division, told USA Today she has been getting "positive" feedback after her announcement.

"It's been good," she says. "It's all been extremely positive, which makes me really happy."

Rapinoe came out on the same day Anderson Cooper did as well in a letter that was published by the Daily Beast's Andrew Sullivan.





Martina Navratilova
The Prague-born tennis pro, who came out as bisexual in 1981, is credited with having "expanded the dialogue on issues of gender and sexuality in sports," according to ESPN. 


"Martina was the first legitimate superstar who literally came out while she was a superstar," Donna Lopiano, executive director of the Women's Sports Foundation, said. "She exploded the barrier by putting it on the table. She basically said this part of my life doesn't have anything to do with me as a tennis player. Judge me for who I am."

At the age of 55 and after a string of tempestuous love affairs, Martina Navratilova has finally embraced motherhood. She has become a parent to her girlfriend’s two young daughters, an arrangement she referred to as her ‘instantaneous family’.

The gay tennis star, who won Wimbledon a record nine times, has spoken of her happiness and admitted that motherhood has changed her life.

Miss Navratilova has been in a relationship with former Russian beauty queen Julia Lemigova, 41, since 2006, and the couple were first pictured together in 2009.







Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King won her first championship at age 15. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 14 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. She is the first woman to earn more than $100,00 from any sport. She was ranked No. 1 in the world five years.
Billie Jean King had married her college sweetheart Larry King. As her career grew, the two remained married, but Billie began having affairs with women. In 1981 an ex-lover outed Billie Jean King and filed a palimony suit. Billie Jean King, afraid of losing her tennis endorsements and her career called the affair a "mistake" and stayed deep in the closet. Even with that admission, Billie Jean King lost almost all her commercial sponsors.
 
In 1998, Billie Jean King finally came all the way out of the closet. In 2000 she was the coach of the US Women’s tennis team. She was the first open lesbian to coach an Olympic team.
At 64, this lesbian icon is still at it and went to the conservative Muslim sheikdom of Qatar to promote gender equality in sport during the women’s tennis tour”s year-end championships won Sunday by Venus Williams.

Billie Jean told the Associated Press that a shift toward gender parity in sport is a gradual process that requires respect for all cultures and religions: "Human rights is very important. But it is going to take generations to have a shift. Things do not happen quickly, but we have to start someplace."

Later in her life King said  this concerning the personal cost of concealing her sexuality for so many years,
"I wanted to tell the truth but my parents were homophobic and I was in the closet. As well as that, I had people tell me that if I talked about what I was going through, it would be the end of the women’s tour. I couldn’t get a closet deep enough. I’ve got a homophobic family, a tour that will die if I come out, the world is homophobic and, yeah, I was homophobic. If you speak with gays, bisexuals, lesbians and transgenders, you will find a lot of homophobia because of the way we all grew up. One of my big goals was always to be honest with my parents and I couldn’t be for a long time. I tried to bring up the subject but felt I couldn’t. My mother would say, "We’re not talking about things like that", and I was pretty easily stopped because I was reluctant anyway. I ended up with an eating disorder that came from trying to numb myself from my feelings. I needed to surrender far sooner than I did. At the age of 51, I was finally able to talk about it properly with my parents and no longer did I have to measure my words with them. That was a turning point for me as it meant I didn’t have regrets any more."

On August 12, 2009, King was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for her work advocating for the rights of women and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community. "This is a chance for me — and for the United States of America — to say thank you to some of the finest citizens of this country and of all countries," President Obama said.
 








Sarah Vaillancourt
As a freshman at Harvard, Sarah Vaillancourt simply decided to stop hiding her sexual orientation.
Whenever the subject of dating or relationships arose, she spoke frankly.

"If they weren't going to accept me on the team," she said, "I wasn't going to stay."

It helped that Vaillancourt quickly established herself among the top scorers on her college hockey squad and a rising star for Team Canada back home in Quebec. But she knew that as a lesbian, she would encounter challenges different from those facing gay male athletes.

On the plus side, she grew up with role models such as Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova in tennis, Sheryl Swoopes in basketball and Rosie Jones in golf. Fans have come to expect a certain percentage of gays in women's sports.

This expectation also counts as a negative. In some circles, athletic women are automatically presumed gay, which can spark resentment among straight athletes.

Vaillancourt, so candid at Harvard, acknowledges she is more cautious around the Canadian national team.
"They don't want me to talk about it so much because if one person comes out, everyone's [going to be labeled] a lesbian," she said. "My whole team is not lesbian."
 



Rosie Jones
In a letter to the New York Times, Rosie Jones admitted she is a lesbian on March 21, 2004, in part to accept a sponorship from Olivia, a lesbian music and travel agency.

Golf Career: Jones has won 13 Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) titles. She has been on the tour since 1982. She had four top-three finishes in 2002. In 2003 she won the Asahi Ryokuken International Championship at Mount Vintage.

On Being a Lesbian: Rosie said in her letter to the New York Times, "I've been very comfortable with the fact that I'm gay. I came out to my family when I was 19, and my friends and associates on the Tour are all aware that I am gay."

On the Risks of Coming Out: Rosie said, "As any gay person can tell you, coming out involves making yourself incredibly vulnerable. Every gay person knows other gay people who have been rejected by family or friends."

On Coming out at Age 44: Rosie came out at age 44 after a long and successful career in the LPGA. For those who would criticize her for coming out so late, she says, "I'm sure people will criticize me for coming out so late. To them, I say simply, I wasn't ready until now. If the gay-rights movement is about anything, it should be about letting people come out on their own timetable and on their own terms."





8.09.2012

too stupid

something really stupid to distract me from the misery that is typhoon. oh wait, yeah, there is no typhoon! dang! just torrential rains brought about by either climate change or what the more stupid people assume as God's wrath/disapproval of RH Bill. 


Matt Bomer Is Too Gay For 'Fifty Shades Of Grey,' Says Bret Easton Ellis

The Huffington Post  |  By Posted: Updated: 08/08/2012 11:02 am  A sizzling turn in this summer's "Magic Mike" may have helped Matt Bomer earn a spot on the short list for the much-anticipated movie adaptation of "Fifty Shades of Grey," but one bestselling author isn't backing it.

"American Psycho" scribe Bret Easton Ellis slammed the possible casting of Bomer as Christian Grey as "absolutely ludicrous" because the actor is openly gay, tweeting: 


Bret Easton Ellis

Okay I'll say it. Matt Bomer isn't right for Christian Grey because he is openly gay. He's great for other roles but this is too big a game.
The author, who recently announced that he was out of the running as a possible screenwriter for the film, didn't stop there:

Bret Easton Ellis

I am NOT discriminating Matt Bomer because of his sexuality. Fifty Shades of Grey demands an actor that is genuinely into women. Get it?!?

Bret Easton Ellis

I think Matt Bomer is incredibly handsome and a good actor but I think he comes off totally gay in White Collar. And that is why no to CG...
The 34-year-old Bomer has been hotly linked to the movie version of E. L. James's bestseller, although Ryan Gosling and "Vampire Diaries" star Ian Somerhalder are also said to be fan favorites for the male lead. The "White Collar" star has been praised in both the media and the blogosphere for acknowledging his sexuality, which had been the subject of rampant media speculation, in a surprisingly subtle way when he thanked his partner and children at an awards ceremony in February.

"I never really endeavored to hide anything," Bomer told E! Online host Marc Malkin earlier this summer. "But there were times I chose not to relegate my history to the back page of a magazine, which to me is sort of akin to putting your biography on a bathroom wall."


Ellis' opposition to Bomer's casting may come as a surprise to some fans, given that the author has frequently declined to label his own sexuality in interviews. "I definitely don't identify as gay," he told Metro Weekly in 2002. "So I can't commit an answer."


Still, earlier this year, Ellis told The Paris Review, via Out magazine: "I was fairly bisexual in college -- I had girlfriends, I had boyfriends."

SOURCE HERE

my favorite comments:

Any actor in their right mind would TURN DOWN an offered role to be in this PRONO! Especially when it's based off a poorly written fan fiction to begin with...- Rachelsniff
**************
He should be grateful any actor would be willing to act in the movie adaptation of that literary failure.  - DelphinesBlackRoses
 **************
okay, flag on the play.......obviously he hasn't seen him in Magic Mike. Just because he is openly gay doesn't mean he cant play straight....that's why it's called acting. The same way one of the top TV shows, How I Met Your Mother, has an openly gay man playing a womanizer.....and it works! Wait a minute....does that mean Zoe Saldana isn't a blue alien! Is Arnold not a cyborg from the future? they just play them in movies! Good Lord........  - Eva Munet
 **************
Someone needs to explain to Mr. Ellis the definition of acting. Does he think Christian Bale was interested in murdering people? Lack of interest in murder didn't particularly hinder him in playing Patrick Bateman, did it? Then why would lack of interest in women hinder Matt Bomer in playing Christian Gray?

By the way Neil Patrick Harris is gay in real life but plays an excellent womanizer on How I Met Your Mother, so maybe it's about the actor's skills and not orientation. - kwyang 
 **************
I know this piece of junk is a hot "literary" item right now, but in the long run, Bomer will probably end up being grateful if he doesn't cast in this thing.

On the other hand - comments like this are the obvious reason why so many performers stay closeted. Shameful.

But - still - any decent actor should be relieved to not having anything to do with this book - although I suspect the money offered will be too high to turn down. - waitingforlifeafterbush
 **************
Doesn't matter what Easton Ellis thinks - in spite of grovelling around to anyone who would listen - he wasn't shortlisted for the Director's chair on this movie.

His comments, and the twisted explanations they prompted, are too weird and laughable to even go after him. Obviously, someone forgot to tell him that the actors in movies are acting...that's why they are actors and some are better at their craft than others. - tippisheadrun
 
 **************
I wouldn't cast Matt Boomer for that part either, he just doesn't fit it. Not because he's gay but because he is just not dark enough, or because he just seems too nice. If Colin Farrell was a bit younger I'd cast him. In reality I won't watch the movie anyway, I only barely made it through the first book it was boring and very repetitive. -sparkle44 
 **************
"...he comes off totally gay in White Collar."

I had no idea he was gay before reading this article. There's nothing gay about his character unless you generalize a sharp dresser and connoisseur of the finer things in life as "gay". I never saw him with a woman on screen and thought "That dude likes dudes."
 **************
I must admit though, if I had to pick a dude to be gay with, he'd be at the top of the list. - pyrobryan 

It has something that obviously works for many readers. Didn't work for me at all, but I'm very happy to see so many reading a novel. I'm seeing those new readers trying other books as a result, too. This is great! - Takae 
 **************
What he means is, "I obsess so much over an actor's sexuality that it affects my suspension of disbelief."

In other words, it's BEE's problem, not MB's.

Unfortunately, casting directors and studio execs expect BEE's obsession to be the standard reaction to casting a gay man in a straight role, particularly a leading role. This is one of the reasons many actors choose not to come out -- and one of the reasons we should laud the courage of those who do. - CBLoughry
 

8.04.2012

Ink Exclusive Party

an interesting kind of exclusive party :)





The only TATTOO showcase is here!

Get ready to flair...


- SHOW YOUR INK! -
Exclusive Dance Party for WOMEN


AUGUST 4, 9:00pm Saturday (tonight!)
at KYSS Lounge Bar
Makati Avenue corner General Luna Streets, Makati City
(beside A-Venue Mall parking lot)


Featuring:

  • OPEN BAR from 9pm to 10pm only!(Free Flowing Drinks)
  • Gorgeous and sexy ledge dancers
  • LIVE tattoo art from the coolest artist ANA KNICOLAI MENDOZA.
  • Get ready to groove to the beats and sound of DJ PHIL
  • Hold your breath & dance your heart out for our special guest DJ ALEX MONTEMAYOR of General Luna.

be the lucky winner, Show your TATTOO and take home amazing cool prizes!

Don't miss this unforgettable one night of THRILL, FUN and EXCITEMENT!

for discounted tickets and party info:
0926.7042233 / 0922.898.9997