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by Angel Collie
The past year has been full of successes like the incredibly inspiring “It Gets Better” project and the strides made towards the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” but that doesn’t mean the struggle for justice and equality is over. All over the world the progression of our steps forward is challenged by intolerance and discrimination. In the last couple of days new amendments have been passed to challenge the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” while legislation proposed in Uganda makes homosexuality a crime punishable by death. The truth is that Uganda, although in the media’s spotlight, is not the only place in which homosexuality is punishable by death. Worldwide, eight other countries have similar legislation. Even where homosexuality is not punishable by death there are 79 countries in the world where it is classified as a crime. Globally, and in the US, homophobia is still alive and a real threat to justice and equality. It’s for these reasons and more that the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia is so important. It is important because it is a global day of solidarity against all forms of discrimination and injustice against all people who are treated unfairly based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
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by Soulforce
“الحب هو الحب”، هي جملة سمعتها وتعلمتها من والدي أثناء نشآتي، والدي هو مثلي الجنسية، وهو متزوج من رجل آخر. في وقتها،كانت تلك الجملة بسيطة جدًا، بل وشديدة الجمال. ولكن منذ انتقلت إلى لبنان، وبدأت أجرب الحياة على حسابي الخاص، أدركت مدى حقيقة هذه الكلمة الثلاث، على الرغم من ليس الجميع من حولي رأى الأمور بالشكل البسيط الذي أراه.
لقد غير الناس من حولي صوت هذه الجملة، معناها، بل حتى ولونها، لدرجة وصلت إلى التأثير علّي وعلى الطريقة التي أحسست بها تجاه هذه الجملة. للكثير من اللحظات، أحسست بأنني قوي بشكل كافي للحفاظ على صورة الحب التي امتلكها في عقلي تجاه حبيبتي، ولكن في الوقت نفسه، أحسست بأنها صورة سهلة الكسر جدًا. لقد كان الأمر شديد الصعوبة علّي إذ أزداد نضجًا في مجتمع يمنع عني حريتي هذه لدرجة تمنعني عن إمساك يد تلك التي أحبها والشخص الوحيد الذي يجعلني سعيدًا، لقد كان الأمر شديد الصعوبة علّي أن أصدق أنني سأصل إلى يوم استطيع فيه أن أكون حقًا “أكثر من مجرد صديقين” كما نتصنع كوننا.
لكم أتمنى أن يدعونا بشأننا، أنا متأكدة أنني سأستطيع أن أظهر لهم أن هذا الحب الذي لا حواجز له، هو الأمر المهم الأكثر في العالم.
ـ داني.
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by Rev. Dr. Cindi Love
The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) is celebrated every May 17. It is coordinated by the Paris based “IDAHO Committee” founded and presided by French academics, Louis-Georges May 17 was chosen as the day of the event because homosexuality was removed from the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 17, 1990. For 2009, the IDAHO campaign was mostly focused on transphobia, i.e. violence against trans people. IDAHO then became the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. In conjunction with LGBT advocacy organizations organizations, and supported by more than 300 NGOs from 75 countries, by 3 Nobel Prize winners (Elfriede Jelinek, Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Luc Montagnier), a new day for complete inclusion was born. Soulforce officially participates in the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in several ways and we invite you to join us in this effort.
As the Executive Director of Soulforce, I am privileged to serve with Dr. Julie Nemecek, one of the individuals who made it possible for trans identified individuals to speak their truth in the United States.
I am also privileged to work on the United Nations Faith Coalition for LGBT Human Rights on a global effort to decriminalize the lives of LGBT people in all countries. Most recently, we have been focused on Uganda and pushing back passage of an anti-gay bill.
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by Jason Conner
This week we commemorate the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia by featuring guest blog posts from around the globe, and turning our website pink for the week. We have also made a donation to sponsor the community space at the upcoming Philadelphia Trans Health conference, the largest Trans specific conference in the world. We invite you to peruse the blog, sign up for our email list, and donate to help us with this and future endeavors!
