Voting Now Open for Icon Challenge 162 at Otherworldlyric

[red_satin_doll]

http://otherworldlyric.livejournal.com/222404.html

What it says on the tin - vote now for your favorite entries in the challenge contest (link above because I'm away from home and this PC hates me *grrr*). And then check out challenge 163 now up. I may have to enter that one as well because I'm having way too much fun with this; and the song lyrics the mods choose have endless possible uses.

I'm eager to see which icon win - and in fact I don't care if I win because I'm genuinely pleased with the icon sets I did for this challenge and I can't wait to share them with y'all.

In other news - a friend told me this morning that Ellen Page, self-proclaimed "little Canadian", just came out of the closet. Which, no surprise to me (my dyke detector was off the charts when I saw her in Juno) but I'm still tickled lavender because it's still a risky thing to do, even if more states in the US and more countries around the world have gay marriage laws. (Spain? Uruguay? SRSLY?) Things really are getting better but in terms of discrimination and prejudice we're not all the way there by a long shot.

Kudos to eilowyn btw for turning me on to Ellen's fierce feminist politics and humor a few months back.

Comments

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was completely unsurprised by Ellen Page coming out. Hopefully, she won't get a hard time for it. Isn't it about time people stop caring who other people love? I mean, seriously. Why is gay marriage a problem? It's not like only a finite number of marriages are allowed and straight people have to worry about gay couples snagging all the spots in the quota or anything. Why does it bother people? Same goes with people being gay in the first place. Why does it enrage people? I honestly don't get it.


Gabrielle

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

And every time I think you can't possibly get more awesome than you already are....

It's not like only a finite number of marriages are allowed and straight people have to worry about gay couples snagging all the spots in the quota or anything.

This is BRILLIANT.

To be honest, I have NO IDEA why it bothers people, aside from religious prejudices. I don't get it either and I've been out as a lesbian at least 20+ years.

I have a friend who is Christian, a wonderful, open-hearted woman who is savvy about socioecomic and racial injustice, wanted Al gore to run for president again, etc etc...and who says she is ok with the idea of "civil unions" but not full marriage. And can't give a logical reason for it beyond discomfort.

Well, newsflash, boys and girls - if a hetereosexual couple get married in the United States, that IS a CIVIL UNION. It's a union recognized by the state (as opposed to just the church). Period and end of sentence.

And yet she loves me as a friend; and my sweetie's very conservative Christian sister and brother in law have been nothing but loving and welcoming to me.

When it comes from people who are admittedly very conservative or reactionary it's one thing; at least I know where I stand. And sometimes those folks can be surprisingly open minded in conversation (and sometimes not.) But when it's supposedly "liberal" folks who behave as if gay people have "cooties" and don't want us invading their treehouse (and yes I include Bill Clinton and Barack Obama in that) then I have no idea how to process that. AT. ALL.

The idea that "gay marriage" will destroy the institution is laughable. The divorce rate in this country is what, close to 50%? Straight people seem to be destroying it just fine all on their own.

I highly recommend ozma914's (mark fields) "Straight Talk on Gay Marriage" which is one of the best things I've seen on the subject from a very sensible libetarian perspective. (I'm not libetarian myself but Mark's opinion makes so much sense, and that's what is lacking from those who are homophobic - plain common sense.)
http://ozma914.livejournal.com/609081.html