gayrights - Jezebel

posts about #gayrights more →
Counterfeit Condom Factory Found In China • Jaycee Dugard's Family Needs Help
“God Is A Woman And She Is Growing Older”
Girl Athletes Bring In Crowds — So Why Don't Grown Women?
Mixed Feelings About Gay Stereotypes In Brüno
Roxana Saberi Briefly Hospitalized • Big Newborn Almost Kills British Mom
Can America Learn Something From Iowan Tolerance?
Who's "Protecting" Tennessee Kids From The Big Gay Internet?
It's Starting To Look Grim For The Campaign Against Prop. 8
Religious Right Promises A Gay Inaugural Orgy
More Teens In Trouble For Racy Pics • Feces-Throwing Monkey Terrorizes Tampa Bay

Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.

Dsmvwl Admin Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×

la.donna.pietra
11/11/09

In reply to Counterfeit Condom Factory Found In China • Jaycee Dugard's Family Needs Help

Dear Cynthia,

Tell your stupid assistant superintendent that he's 15 years behind the times. I took my girlfriend to prom in 1994. The seas did not boil, the earth did not quake, and society did not instantly crumble. A couple of guys came out of the closet a year later, but I'm pretty sure that would have happened anyway.

Don't back down. Prom is silly, overrated, and damn important in this society.

Love,

la.donna.pietra #condoms
Reply

la.donna.pietra was starred la.donna.pietra was unstarred

formergr
11/11/09

In reply to Counterfeit Condom Factory Found In China • Jaycee Dugard's Family Needs Help
That condom story already had me cringing, but when I got to the part that they were packaged by shirtless men without being sterilized, just....ewww!

I'm guessing the men where shirtless due to it being hot (likely terrible conditions to work in), so I'm picturing them dripping sweat onto the condoms as they are being packaged. Yuck... #condoms
Reply

formergr was starred formergr was unstarred

Tart of Darkness
11/12/09

@formergr: I actually don't think regular condoms are sterilized. Legal ones I mean. There's no reason to sterilize them because what they go on and in aren't sterile areas. #condoms
Reply

Tart of Darkness was starred Tart of Darkness was unstarred

Dancingfrog
11/12/09

@Tart of Darkness: Here's a little thing on how condoms are made. Everyone making them are wearing protective gear and it appears to be a clean zone that the condoms are being made in. Much different from condoms made by sweaty men without any face masks (presumably) and with probably limited hygienic options. Also, there's no use of veggie oil, but instead safer, more long-lasting lubricants.

[www.lifestylesplay.com] #condoms
Reply

Tart of Darkness promoted this comment Dancingfrog was starred Dancingfrog was unstarred

Tart of Darkness
11/13/09

@Dancingfrog: I wasn't implying that they are not properly made under clean conditions as regulated for the kind of medical device that they are, but they are not sterilized. They are made under "clean" conditions, not sterile ones. #condoms
Reply

Tart of Darkness was starred Tart of Darkness was unstarred

Dancingfrog
11/13/09

@Tart of Darkness: Oh, I didn't mean to imply that you said anything. I just wanted to post that link because it's interesting, and your post was the next one up to reply to. #condoms
Reply

Dancingfrog was starred Dancingfrog was unstarred

Tart of Darkness
11/13/09

@Dancingfrog: And I wanted to say I did enjoy your link. When I rewrote my post because my first one was clumsy (er than what I posted) I left that out. People should know how their protection is made. #condoms
Reply

Tart of Darkness was starred Tart of Darkness was unstarred

DutchessOfDork
11/11/09

In reply to Counterfeit Condom Factory Found In China • Jaycee Dugard's Family Needs Help
Jaycee Dugard exploiters will rot. Assholes. #condoms
Reply

DutchessOfDork was starred DutchessOfDork was unstarred

BytheSea
11/11/09

In reply to Counterfeit Condom Factory Found In China • Jaycee Dugard's Family Needs Help
From the article: "But the family remains in need of money for everything from medical bills to rent to food. Big-hearted readers can send checks to the Jaycee Lee Dugard Trust, c/o Viewtech, PO Box 596, Atwood, CA 92811." #condoms
Reply

BytheSea was starred BytheSea was unstarred

sybann
11/11/09

In reply to Counterfeit Condom Factory Found In China • Jaycee Dugard's Family Needs Help
Jimmy Kimmel has a point - the bronze is blobby but if you squint it does look like him. I love Fred.

[www.post-gazette.com] #condoms
Reply

sybann was starred sybann was unstarred

Cimorene
11/11/09

In reply to Counterfeit Condom Factory Found In China • Jaycee Dugard's Family Needs Help
I don't understand how all these prom debacles happen. At my high school, nobody knew who was taking whom to prom until we got there. None of the teachers or administrators asked, we didn't need to tell anyone. And occasionally people went alone, or groups of friends went. I took a girl to my prom (I think she was straight, we didn't ever date or anything even though she was super hot and cool) and my BFF was our other date. Nobody really knew until we got there. Nobody cared, but even if they had we would already have been there, it would have been too late to ban us. #condoms
Reply

Cimorene was starred Cimorene was unstarred

InABook
11/11/09

@Cimorene: Where I went, if you were taking someone from outside the school, you had to get approval-- but i think that was basically to make sure no one older than 21 came. #condoms
Reply

la.donna.pietra promoted this comment InABook was starred InABook was unstarred

twtw
11/11/09

@Cimorene: I think she had to register her date in order to buy a ticket for her since the gf didn't go to the school. #condoms
Reply

la.donna.pietra promoted this comment twtw was starred twtw was unstarred

IBleedGlitter: The High Priestess of Tinsel
11/11/09

@Cimorene: Same at my school. I decided to go to my senior prom last minute because my friend broke up with her boyfriend and needed a date. We didn't alert school officials or anything. What does this principal think is going to happen if they let that girl bring her girlfriend? That everyone is going to start having gay sex on the dance floor? #condoms
Reply

Snizzy-Snazz Bullets
11/11/09

@Cimorene: I know, isn't it bizarre? One year I took a boy, another year I took a girl...

Are there schools where you need to register your date? #condoms
Reply

la.donna.pietra promoted this comment

Elaken
11/11/09

@Cimorene: We only had to give the name of people if they didn't go the school. But I can't imagine my school saying no to a female bringing another female. #condoms
Reply

Elaken was starred Elaken was unstarred

Jenloveshercurves
11/11/09

@Cimorene: Exactly. I went one year with a girlfriend so we could save on tickets (two tickets together were cheaper than buying two separately) and it didn't matter and no one cared.
Reply

Edited by Jenloveshercurves at 11/11/09 5:58 PM Jenloveshercurves was starred

BytheSea
11/11/09

@Cimorene: There was a well known no-same-sex dates at my school (1990s) so one gay couple needed to pair up with an an opposite gay couple, switch partners to buy tix and get in the door,and then switch partners later. Dancing? Well, the girls could dance together but the guys had to keep their distance if they wanted to make it home in one piece.

They were young, but they weren't stupid. They knew what would get them harassed by administrators and students if they pulled it at a school sponsored event. Most gay kids have already been harassed by faculty in school. Of course you ask first, before you buy the dress and shoes and rent the limo. #condoms
Reply

BytheSea was starred BytheSea was unstarred

Jessica Stewart
11/11/09

@Cimorene: I consider myself lucky. Somehow my high school girlfriend was able to bring me, and I had already left the school and was no longer a student. And it was an all girls Catholic School, in Kentucky, no less. None of the faculty or deans said a thing. And it was obvious I wasn't there as her friend and a former student. #condoms
Reply

la.donna.pietra promoted this comment Jessica Stewart was starred Jessica Stewart was unstarred

la.donna.pietra
11/11/09

@Cimorene: We had to give our names and our date's names when we purchased tickets at my prom. The prom committee then wrote all of our names ("Terry and Carrie!") on a giant piece of butcher paper in sparkly glitter ink and hung it up in the hall, so that everyone knew who was going with whom, just in case you weren't paying attention to the gossip.

Which made the top of the list ("la.donna.pietra and Lisa!") particularly interesting, in 1994. #condoms
Reply

la.donna.pietra was starred la.donna.pietra was unstarred

la.donna.pietra
11/11/09

@BytheSea: My school knew damn well that I would call in GLAAD, PFLAG, Amnesty International, Melissa Etheridge, and anyone else I could think of. They didn't even bother giving me shit.

I did get my tires slashed, though. I'm pretty sure that was by a fellow prom-goer. #condoms
Reply

la.donna.pietra was starred la.donna.pietra was unstarred

sassyredhead
11/11/09

In reply to Counterfeit Condom Factory Found In China • Jaycee Dugard's Family Needs Help
Does anyone remember Hot or Not? That BeautifulPeople.com made me think of that. I hated that site. #condoms
Reply

sassyredhead was starred sassyredhead was unstarred

Nariel
09/01/09

In reply to “God Is A Woman And She Is Growing Older”
God is a woman? I wonder what her vagina smells like.
Reply

morninggloria promoted this comment Nariel was starred Nariel was unstarred

morninggloria
09/01/09

@Nariel: A Cinnabon, probably.
Reply

morninggloria was starred morninggloria was unstarred

Lymed
09/01/09

In reply to “God Is A Woman And She Is Growing Older”
When my family's synagogue hired a gay Rabbi over 10 years ago, a number of congregants quit the congregation and formed a congregation of their own. Those who didn't want to come off as homophobic claimed it wasn't because the Rabbi was gay, but because they didn't want their sons Bar Mitzvahed by a woman. The new congregation was denied membership in the Union of Reform Judaism for a number of years, but I think they were eventually allowed to join.
Reply

Edited by Lymed at 09/01/09 4:45 PM Lymed was starred Lymed was unstarred

funnyface
09/01/09

@Lymed: Ah yes, because sexism is more acceptable than homophobia?
Reply

funnyface was starred funnyface was unstarred

Nariel
09/01/09

@funnyface: Religious people tend to ignore the existence of sexism and homophobia. They just call demeaning women and hating gay people biblical.
Reply

HeatherNumber1 promoted this comment Nariel was starred Nariel was unstarred

Pizza!Pizza!Pizza!
09/01/09

@Nariel: 'They just call demeaning women and hating gay people biblical.'

Well, maybe not in this specific case.
Reply

Pizza!Pizza!Pizza! was starred

Nariel
09/01/09

@HeatherNumber1: Maybe not, I shouldn't generalize like that. It's merely my experience.
Reply

Nariel was starred Nariel was unstarred

Lymed
09/01/09

@Nariel: My family's synagogue has survived with a lesbian Rabbi with a congregation that has grown more socially conscious under her direction. We often equate religious with more conservative religious groups, but that is not always the case. Many progressive leaders in our country are religious, they just don't talk about their religion.
Reply

Lymed was starred Lymed was unstarred

Nariel
09/01/09

@Lymed: I agree, the fundamentalists tend to be the loudest.
Reply

Nariel was starred Nariel was unstarred

sportz.star
09/01/09

In reply to “God Is A Woman And She Is Growing Older”
While I don't prefer reform services (bring back the Hebrew!) I do like the way they think!
Reply

sportz.star was starred sportz.star was unstarred

Lymed
09/01/09

@sportz.star: Hey, reform services I go to are about half in Hebrew. It's not all gone.
Reply

Lymed was starred Lymed was unstarred

andBegorrah
09/01/09

In reply to “God Is A Woman And She Is Growing Older”
But She's still Black, right?
Reply

andBegorrah was starred andBegorrah was unstarred

badmutha
09/01/09

@andBegorrah: Damn straight.
Reply

badmutha was starred badmutha was unstarred

Lymed
09/01/09

@badmutha: She's not straight.
Reply

Lymed was starred Lymed was unstarred

morninggloria
09/01/09

In reply to “God Is A Woman And She Is Growing Older”
I say, God is a sock.
Reply

morninggloria was starred morninggloria was unstarred

Lymed
09/01/09

@morninggloria: No, God is the conch shell. The sock is just a follower.
Reply

Lymed was starred Lymed was unstarred

Lymed
09/01/09

In reply to “God Is A Woman And She Is Growing Older”
Reform Judaism is not fringe. There are 1.1 million Reform Jews in America.
Reply

Lymed was starred Lymed was unstarred

legs benedict
09/01/09

@Lymed: I think that Sadie was saying that Rabbi Wenig herself perhaps represents the fringe of Reform Judaism as a lesbian woman rabbi, not that Reform Judaism is "fringe."
Reply

Lymed promoted this comment legs benedict was starred legs benedict was unstarred

Lymed
09/01/09

@legs_benedict: Thanks for giving another reading. I have unfortunately heard people say reform is not really Judaism.
Reply

Lymed was starred Lymed was unstarred

legs benedict
09/01/09

@Lymed: So have I, but if memory of her other pieces on Judaism serves, I would be mighty surprised to hear Sadie say it. Or read it, as it were.
Reply

legs benedict was starred legs benedict was unstarred

dj_chick
09/01/09

@Lymed: I've never had anyone actually say that to my face... though I've heard it in movies and tv shows, generally coming from an Orthodox character. Then again, to the Orthodox, I'm not Jewish at all. :-/
Reply

Lymed promoted this comment dj_chick was starred dj_chick was unstarred

Lymed
09/01/09

@dj_chick: I've heard it, and I've heard it second hand from conservatives. Or not those actual words, but demeaning statements suggesting Reform traditions are not Jewish enough. I understand they are different than Conservative traditions, but I don't think one is more Jewish than the other.
Reply

Lymed was starred Lymed was unstarred

dj_chick
09/01/09

@Lymed: I will assume that I'm fortunate then... where there are so few of us, you'd think everyone would want to band together.
Reply

dj_chick was starred dj_chick was unstarred

GirlyQ is a manta ray
09/01/09

In reply to “God Is A Woman And She Is Growing Older”
I don't think God has a gender, really. I think masculine and feminine are both parts of God's whole.

But, this makes me proud to be a Jew.
Reply

JerseyGrrrl promoted this comment

funnyface
09/01/09

@GirlyQ ain't a-marchin' anymore: Yeah, I'm of the God has no one gender point of view. I mean, "So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." makes pretty clear that a woman is equally an image bearer of God to a man.
Reply

funnyface was starred funnyface was unstarred

morninggloria
09/01/09

@GirlyQ ain't a-marchin' anymore: I sometimes wonder if the insistence that God is male is the logical base for the patriarchy's existence.
Reply

morninggloria was starred morninggloria was unstarred

MizJenkins
09/01/09

@morninggloria: The insistence that God is male or the sneaking suspicion that he isn't? My evidence points to the latter.
Reply

MizJenkins was starred MizJenkins was unstarred

BlueJeans
09/01/09

@morninggloria: I wonder which came first?
Reply

morninggloria promoted this comment BlueJeans was starred BlueJeans was unstarred

morninggloria
09/01/09

@BlueJeans: When I was just a wee Catholic attending CCD classes on Wednesday night, I remember more than one teacher telling us that men are the heads of their family because God is a man and men are made in God's Image and women were made in the image of the dude's sexy, busty, rib.

Most of CCD is blocked from memory, to be honest.
Reply

morninggloria was starred morninggloria was unstarred

BlueJeans
09/01/09

@morninggloria: I must have much more progressive CCD teachers (Baltimore Catholic Kennedy Democrats tend that way, I suppose). Although my strongest memory is of setting the fire alarm with burning papers with our sins written on them because our teacher misinterpreted the lesson plan, mostly our teachers were competent enough to tell us that we could say "God" instead of "He" at mass, since God didn't have a gender.

Surprisingly, I didn't get the "God is a man" bullshit until my (all-girls) Catholic school, when a dropped-out seminarian teaching senior Religion blustered on about how offensive the "God doesn't have a gender" stuff was to him. Between that and his misinterpretations on the Church position on the death penalty, I snapped one day and brought him in thirty pages of excerpts from canon and papal encyclicals. Thereafter, we just watched movies every day in religion class.

Larger point: maybe since most of human history has been determined by who has the bigger gun/stick/rock/fist, and people thought of gods as physical/active powers, men decided god = masculine force?
Reply

BlueJeans was starred BlueJeans was unstarred

Pizza!Pizza!Pizza!
09/01/09

@funnyface: Well, except for all the 'he' stuff.
Reply

Pizza!Pizza!Pizza! was starred

badmutha
09/01/09

In reply to “God Is A Woman And She Is Growing Older”
When will all of the religions of the world understand that being gay isn't a choice and therefore should not be condemned as a sin? It is how God made some people.
Reply

badmutha was starred badmutha was unstarred

willwriteforfood
09/01/09

@badmutha: When people stop thinking they can speak for God.
Reply

willwriteforfood was starred willwriteforfood was unstarred

schweppes
09/01/09

@badmutha: You know, every time I hear that line of thought, it always rubs me the TINIEST bit the wrong way. I'm behind the sentiment, but the fact that the thing that is keeping homosexuals from sinning is the fact that they were born that way seems like it's almost presuming that there's something to apologize/explain about being gay. Being gay isn't a sin because there's nothing immoral about a consenting adult choosing to be romantically and sexually involved with another consenting adult. For instance, we might find down the line that people are born with a predilicition for violence - it would still make violence wrong and wouldn't affect the morality of homosexuality.
Reply

cate3710 promoted this comment schweppes was starred schweppes was unstarred

badmutha
09/01/09

@willwriteforfood: Well if that isn't the damn truth.
Reply

badmutha was starred badmutha was unstarred

badmutha
09/01/09

@schweppes: I see what you are saying. I think it can get very complex if you want to argue the positions. Man obviously does have a predilection for violence, but that violence usually hurts another person. Homosexuality doesn't hurt anyone.
Reply

badmutha was starred badmutha was unstarred

nagumi
09/01/09

@schweppes: Even if gay was a choice, it wouldn't be a sin, yes?
Reply

Her Grace promoted this comment nagumi was starred nagumi was unstarred

schweppes
09/01/09

@badmutha: There are sins (e.g. coveting your neighbor's wife) that don't harm anyone else. I don't know, it just seems like saying things like "It doesn't hurt anyone" or "They are born that way" is what throws the conversation into a tailspin of arguing about whether someone really IS gay or how someone being gay hurts some Utah 5-year-old 2000 miles away. It's like, no.... trying to explain why being gay isn't a sin is just as ridiculous as trying to explain why being straight, dying your hair red, and being left handed aren't sins.
Reply

schweppes was starred schweppes was unstarred

schweppes
09/01/09

@nagumi: Yes, if being gay were a choice, it wouldn't be a sin. In my opinion. Which is always right.
Reply

Edited by schweppes at 09/01/09 4:51 PM schweppes was starred schweppes was unstarred

Pizza!Pizza!Pizza!
09/01/09

@schweppes: I'm the same way when people talk about 'tolerance.' As if that's the best you can do, to simply tolerate someone homosexual or with different colored skin.
Reply

Pizza!Pizza!Pizza! was starred

Her Grace
09/01/09

@nagumi: For some of us, it is a choice. Those of us who are bisexual have the explicit option to act upon our homosexual or heterosexual urges--or both--and effectively do have some choice in the matter of the people we have sex with. We can no more control who we fall in love with than anyone else, and it would certainly break my heart to not be with my girlfriend, but I could have a sexually fulfilled life with a man and quite possibly an emotionally fulfilled one, as well (I can't say for sure, as I have no intention of ever breaking up with my girl). But my decision to date my girlfriend, when I have a legit option to see men, can rightly be construed as a choice.

The notion of sin is silly anyway. Ethics must come from within, not an outside source.
Reply

Her Grace was starred Her Grace was unstarred

Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

SUBSCRIBE TO Jezebel

Login

Reset Password

Register

Submit Your Comment