LGBTQ* Stories of High School Sweethearts You May Have Missed
Following from DailyMail (& additonal video link):
(trigger warning: language, definitions, confusion of sex and gender terms in article)
How a pageant princess and colonel’s son fell in love…
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To the casual observer, this young couple look just like any other teenagers in love.
But pretty Katie Hill and her boyfriend Arin Andrews share a unique bond - they were both born as the opposite sex.
Katie, 18, spent the first 15 years of her life as Luke, son of a Marine colonel, while Arin, 16, was born a girl called Emerald who excelled at ballet dancing and won beauty contests.
Both struggled with their sexuality all through their childhoods and were teased and bullied but their lives were changed when they both began hormone therapy and later met at a trans support group in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and instantly fell in love.
Katie said: ‘All I saw was a handsome guy. We’re perfect for each other because we both had the same troubles growing up.
‘We’re both size five, so we even swap our old clothes our mum’s bought us but we hated.
‘We look so convincing as a boy and a girl, nobody even notices now. We secretly feel so good about it because it’s the way we’ve always wanted to be seen.’
Pick-up lines for feminists
by Lesley Kartali
making the move
at the bar
the club
the pro-choice rally
or the conference
on women’s rights
in the 21st century
is no easy task
for feminists
young and old.
how do you
subtly ask for digits
while still making it
perfectly clear
that you are fine
being alone
and are certainly
not buying into the idea
that women are worthless
without a significant other?
just remember to smile.
or not.
(depending on if you
feel like it)
and try some
of these lines
on for size:
if i could rearrange
the alphabet
i would put u and i
together
and then we could
work on trying
to think outside
of this male dominated
language.
your paradigm or mine?
you’re so sweet
you put hersheys
out of business.
so sweet
you can bring down
all those
bastard big businesses.
somebody better call
god/allah/buddah/
assorted goddesses/etc.
because he/she/gender neutral being
are missing an
angel/messiah/messenger.
*if atheist this line may not work
did it hurt?
when you fell
from the top
of the hierarchy
when society
identified you
as a woman?
pinch me.
with consent of course.
you are so
third wave
i must be dreaming.
where have you been
all my life?
hopefully fighting
against oppressive
patriarchal systems.
your feet must be tired.
because you have been
running through my
mind and struggling
against the repressive
gender roles
that we have been
socialized into
all day.
if the personal is political
then our getting together
has the potential
to subvert the patriarchy.
what’s your sign?
radical? liberal?
socialist? cultural?
eco?
if these lines fail
don’t worry.
it’s probably just
because our
fascist media
has embedded
said pick-up line
receiver
with the idea
that you are a
crazy
scary
man-hating
castrating
bitch.
just keep telling yourself.
if they haven’t
started questioning
what society
tells them yet.
then maybe
they are not
the one
for you.
I Love My Boo campaign features real young men of color loving each other passionately. Rather than sexualizing gay relationships, this campaign models caring, and highlights the importance of us taking care of each other. Featured throughout New York City, I Love My Boo directly challenges heterosexism and encourages all who come across it to critically rethink our notion of love.
GMHC is the world’s first and leading provider of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and advocacy. Building on decades of dedication and expertise, we understand the reality of HIV/AIDS and empower a healthy life for all. GMHC fights to end the AIDS epidemic and uplift the lives of all affected.
Marriage is Unique
On this one point we agree. Marriage is unique. It is a union of two people in love, for life, to the exclusion of all others. A commitment upon which one can build a home and a family. We just think it should be available to all who want that commitment.
Be Glad of Redefinition
Marriage has not remained unchanged since the dawn of time. It has changed throughout history, adapting to each culture. In western culture it has more recently undergone changes to better protect the rights of women. Funnily enough, the Church of England (of which Lord Carey was head of as Archbishop of Canterbury) introduced divorce into marriage in the UK when it broke from the papacy. Divorce is the antithesis of marriage and the biggest change to the definition of marriage since its inception. Marriage changes all the time, and the churches themselves have been doing it. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Great Consequences
If marriage is redefined (again), those who believe in the modern definition of “traditional” marriage will still be married. They will still have the same sexual-orientation. Peoples’ careers will remain intact, the sun will keep shining, and toast will still have a tendency to land butter-side-down. Couples seeking to adopt or foster will still be assessed based on the needs of the child, as they should be. Also, if we’re very lucky, schools might teach kids not to be massive bigots like their parents, and we’ll be one step closer to a cohesive, mature, civilised society.
For people in the UK who believe marriage should be equally available to two consenting adults, regardless of their gender… Please sign the petition.
Reclaim Valentine’s Day - Date yourself
For some inspiration for taking yourself on a date - ‘How To Be Alone’ : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7X7sZzSXYs
Find this Dame online!
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twitter: @jenncanrelyonme
