This Whole Birth Control Debate is Really Fucking Stupid

I highly doubt there are many people who aren't in the know about the recent birth control debate, but just in case, the gist of it is this: President Obama signed a mandate requiring private healthcare providers to cover the cost of contraception for their clients.  To a vast majority of people this makes a whole lot of sense.  To a small religious minority, private healthcare companies giving the option of taking advantage of a product they claim to never use, this is infringing upon their religious freedom.

Now you can believe what you want, and if you have little use for birth control, then fine.  But I fail to see how making a product that can combat unwanted pregnancies, reduce STD rates, and lower the number of abortions is a major point of contention.  Seriously religious people?  Have you flipped on MTV and watched all the shows about teen moms lately?  And you want to make that easier?  Unbelievable.  All the more reason why that stupid book should dictate as little as possible.

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner Signs on to Mayors for the Freedom to Marry

Dear Alexander,

 

We are currently in the process of signing onto the Mayor’s pledge, and are awaiting confirmation from the Freedom to Marry staff. Thank you for the information on this organization and for making our office aware of this initiative. Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns.

 

Sincerely,

Lindsay Speicher

 

Lindsay Speicher

Director of Constituent Services

Office of the Mayor, City of Syracuse

203 City Hall

Tony Perkins's Face on Your TV Should Send You Into Fits of Rage

I've said it so often that I might as well make a song about it, but a quick recap.  The Family Research Council is an SPLC designated hate group masquerading as a Christian organization that promotes "family values."  What it actually does is defame the LGBT community by publishing discredited studies and misinterpreting legitimate studies to reinforce their beliefs that LGBT are somehow harmful in a variety of ways.

Misinformation and Lies in Virginia

This past week, the Virginia state senate recently passed a bill that would allow adoption agencies to refuse to place children with same-sex parents on the basis of "morality."  This strengthens Virginia's already present (though not as directly intentional) discrimination that prevents non-married couples from jointly adopting children.  (Perhaps not a bad idea in itself, but it does discriminate against same sex couples as they're not allowed to marry in Virginia.)

Displays of Religion

In case you missed it, (and since I'm assuming you don't track hate-mongers and bigots for the sake of tracking them you probably did) Bryan Fischer posted this article about "religious liberty."  Evidently a Rhode Island public high school had a prayer banner (picture after the jump) hanging on one of the walls, a gift from its first class of students.  This did not sit well with an atheist junior who lobbied to have the banner removed.  (She was successful.)  Mr. Fischer took umbrage with that decision calling the girl a "little atheist bully" among many, many other things.

How Do You Deal With LGBT?

It's a question that might offend a lot of LGBT individuals, and I want to make clear that I mean it in pure innocence, not with the implication that we LGBT individuals are a problem that needs to be "handled."  But we are different, and we do challenge the worldview of a lot of people, and I think we need to be aware of that.  It's all well and good to say that prejudice and discrimination shouldn't exist, and that it's everyone else's job to get their facts right, but I don't think that's neither true nor realistic, at least not yet.

Retro Post: BDSM and Feminism

Within me there has been a sort of amicable duel between my belief in gender equality and my position as a Dominant within the BDSM culture.  At first glance, the latter seems to strike down the former.  I believe that my girlfriend has a certain place in our relationship in which she belongs, along with a set of duties and responsibilities.  There is an order to things that suggests a certain lack of equality.

A Cis Take on Transgenderism

For the record, I consider myself to be moderately gender-fluid, but for all intents and purposes am cis-gendered.  Adam, being trans himself and going through the transitioning process can talk on this with more medical and emotional accuracy, but I think it's important to explore things from the perspective of someone who is not transgendered, because that's the perspective a majority of people will view it from.

Not Trans Enough for the TSA

My adventures with the TSA continued today as I attempted to get through security at the Rochester International Airport on my way to my job interview at the lovely, trans-friendly Microsoft. I put my stuff on the conveyor and told the nearest officer that I would prefer to not go through the millimeter wave scanner because I wore a prosthetic that screwed up the scanner. She said "ok, we'll have to pat you down" and didn't offer to let me go through the metal detector instead. So another officer motioned for me to go through the millimeter wave scanner, and I did. Predictably, my dick set it off and they made me go through again. I looked at the scanner and it had squares all over my genitals and I told the lady who is detaining me at that point that I am transgender, I identify as male and I was wearing a prosthetic that screws up the scanner. She asked if I prefer a male or female to pat me down and I said male.

She called a supervisor and the lady who I first asked about going through the metal detector asked me my name. Assuming she meant my legal name, I told her my birth name, not my preferred name. She said "oh well you'll have to be patted down by a female". I said that although my name is not changed legally, I do go by a male name. Then the (male) supervisor came over and told me that because I "present" female, I needed to be patted down by a female. I told him that was certainly open to interpretation and that I felt that I presented male. They argued among themselves for  a bit before the supervisor left to call his supervisor. The one lady called over another lady and asked if I would be "offended" if I was patted down by a female. I told her that was fine, that I just wanted to get out of here. I mentioned again I was wearing a prosthetic that felt like a penis so it was really up to the officer if she was okay with that. They took me into the "private screening" room and patted me down. Everything was fine until they reached my packer. They felt it, squeezed it and started giggling to each other. "How am I supposed to even be qualified for something like this?" said the one lady. I was silent. I later explained to them how I had been through this before and that's why I had planned to go through the metal detector. They said next time to just use Adam and go through the metal detector.

Those who know me know I'm rarely affected by anything, but as I write this I am still shaking. It was traumatic. It was horrible. And I will be writing the ROC Airport to ensure it never happens to anyone again.

The Religious Right is Screwed

Yesterday on the great internets I posed a question to a bunch of "high" profile anti-LGBT individuals, namely Tony Perkins and Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council, Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association, Peter Labarbera of NAFTA, and Thomas Peters, better known as @americanpapist.  The question: "With growing support for same sex marriage among voters and huge support among young voters, what is the conservative plan to combat same sex marriage?"