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I just came across an article saying that due to the latest changes in the military service regarding transgender soldiers, transgender people that enroll in the military are allowed not only to serve openly, but also to wear clothes according to the gender they identify themselves with. It`s definitely a step forward towards acceptance.
I`m glad to see that Canada has changed its policy concerning trans soldiers, keeping in mind that other countries such as the U.S. still have to decide whether they will or will not allow gay and lesbian soldiers to serve their country openly, because for the moment, soldiers who enroll in the U.S. army are not allowed to do so due to the well-known, discriminatory DADT policy (Don`t Ask, Don`t Tell).
One of the most frequent issues that male-to-female and female-to-male transgender people deal with is their name. At birth, our names were given according to the biological gender, but as we grow up, some of us figure out that the name does not match with our true gender, so to say. Changing your name in such way that it fits the gender you identify yourself with isn`t easy, but it is something that will definitely make your life easier and will avoid any stupid questions.
Unfortunately, the name and surname from the ID/passport can be really nasty for a transgender. I`m saying this because there still are lots of narrow minded people out there, who would have some issues with transgender people, and it`s really unpleasant for you when you look 200% passable and people find out you`re transgender because your surname is typically male.
When we say "LGBT event", the first thing that comes into our minds is gay prides, right? Actually, the list of LGBT events and LGBT holidays is way larger, and it includes days or remembrance for those who lost their lives either due to homophobia or transphobia or to AIDS and many others.
Although the list is not huge, there are several LGBT events which are celebrated worldwide or only in some parts of the world. One thing is for sure: gay prides are the most common and well known LGBT events, and today lots of countries all around the world celebrate gay and LGBT prides yearly. The first gay pride was held 41 years ago, and nowadays gay prides have become so popular that even millions of people started to attend them, like it happened this year at Sao Paolo`s Gay Pride, where more than 3 million people are said to have attended the march.
In my previous article I was saying that the State of Illinois will start legalizing the civil unions beginning with the next year, so I thought it would also be nice to focus a bit on Europe and make a list with the european countries where you can legally get married if you`re gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered, and if not married, at least to have your civil union or registered partnership recognized.
I must say that I totally agree with Ricky Martin when it comes to gay marriage. When he was invited to Larry King Live, Larry King asked Ricky Martin if he would get married, and he said yes, but he would like his gay marriage to be recognized in his country, because otherwise he could get married anywhere if he wanted something strictly symbolic. He`s right, marriage is not a symbolic thing, it also involves a series of rights which are gived to the newly weds, and many other things that so far, are mostly considered heterosexual privileges, unfortunately.
This month, the legislature passed the bill in order to legalize same-sex civil unions, and all it needed was the governor`s signature. Apparently, if things are okay and there`s no problem, it`s very likely that same-sex unions will be recognized in the State of Illinois, beginning with the year 2011.
However, keep in mind that same-sex unions are not synonymous to gay marriages. The textbook definition of the civil union says: "it is recognized legally, and it is similar to marriage". The difference is that marriage has many religious conotations and lots of people are against gay marriage as they stand for the traditional marriage, and this makes me think that a law regarding same-sex unions would be able to pass EASIER than a law regarding gay marriages.
Some of the most known artists and top twitterers such as Kim Kardashian, Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys or Usher have chosen to be "digitally dead" for World AIDS Day. They did this because this way they hope they can raise one million dollars in order to help those affected by HIV/AIDS.
Basically, this Digital Death thing is a fund raising campaign, and if you ask me, they deserve our respect for this. Together, all the artists who agreed to be part of the campaign have more than 30 million followers on Twitter or other social networks such as Facebook, and all of them have agreed NOT to tweet anything/post anything new, until the sum of 1 million dollars is raised. No worries though, all your favourite stars will "come back to life" once the million is raised
Since tomorrow is the World AIDS Day, I was thinking about writing something related to this. Apparently, there is this medication called Truvada, a combination of two other compounds, emtricitabine and tenofovir, both of them being antiretroviral drugs prescribed to HIV-positive patients.
Although so far, there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, the antiretroviral treatment, if taken correctly, can greatly slow down the evolution of the disease, therefore it can provide a longer lifespan to HIV-positive patients.
Image from last year`s march
This Sunday was held the Gay Pride in India`s Capital City, New Delhi. This Gay Pride is the first one to take place after India legalised homosexuality last year.
Gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders but also their allies marched on the streets of New Delhi, while the passers by were watching them. However, this is not the first Gay Pride to take place in India, there were two more in the past who were considered protests, but this was definitely the most significant one.
I happen to see quite often that very many of the LGBT community aren`t as open minded as they thought they are. The textbook definition says that being open minded means being recepted and open to new ideas or arguments, a.k.a. being unprejudiced. On the contrary, being narrow minded is exactly the opposite, and some of us are narrow minded even without knowing it.
A very good example of narrow minded people, those who lack tolerance, are some of the gay men who have something against transgender women or effeminate guys. Okay, you don`t like the idea, you`re totally into men, but that doesn`t mean you have to mock on others that ARE part of the LGBT community, and towards who you should show respect, since you want to be respected. At least this is how I see things. These narrow minded people not only lack tolerance, but also present obvious signs of internalized homophobia (I mentioned about it in one of my previous articles about homophobia and depression, I guess).
The symbol of solidarity for HIV positive people and those living with AIDS.
In less than a week, on December the 1st, people are reminded that the HIV virus hasn`t gone away, it is still there and it continues to infect people. In fact, studies have shown that more than 7 000 people get infected with HIV daily. In addition to this, the World AIDS Day is also about raising money in order to improve the life quality of the HIV positive persons and those who are living with AIDS, as well as finding a cure for the virus.
More than 30 million people worldwide, both adults and children, are infected with the virus, and the World AIDS Day is a good opportunity to fight prejudice against HIV positive people, as well as improving the quality of their health.
