HAPPY MOTHERS DAY: ¨...what makes someone a misogynist, and am I one?

Recently a Lesbian, not-so-much-a-friend-as-a-remote-acquaintance, suggested to me that ¨Gay¨ men actually treated women with less respect than their/her due. I was flabbergasted and looked throughout the web for ANY information to back up such a, to me, unfair, blusterous and insulting claim.  There was/is none, zip, empty, void, zero. Today I found this ¨commentary¨ at Bilerico Project and it´s the closest thing I ´ve found on the subject of Gay Misogynist speculating...it´s linked below but I especially identified with this part: ¨...if a friend were to call me out for perceived misogyny, I would no doubt listen, for I have found that I become a better person from examining my failings.¨ I´ve listened, I´m still listening and willing and able to listen. However,  I still think ¨Gay¨ men and our respect, admiration and in most cases great trust and friendships with women is the standard amongst us...that basic warmth and natural acceptance of *others* is most often present in our friendships with Lesbians, Bisexual women and Heterosexual women too. Leonardo Ricardo


Of Mother's Day and Misogyny

By Kergan Edwards-Stout

¨...When I contemplate the word "misogyny," I think of anger, hatred, and dislike, which doesn't remotely correspond with my feelings. And when I think of "women," no negative connotations arise, either. Still, if a friend were to call me out for perceived misogyny, I would no doubt listen, for I have found that I become a better person from examining my failings.

Kergan Edwards-Stout,   Songs for the New Depression  HERE

With a creative work, however, linking artist to art can be tenuous at best. In my novel, each and every word Gabriel utters, whether towards women or men, was carefully chosen for effect; sometimes for humor, sometimes for pathos, and other times to offend. It is his nature to live life unfiltered, but for me, I long ago learned the perils of such behavior, and work rigorously to examine my insecurities and feelings in an ongoing attempt to better myself.

While I'm not convinced that I am, indeed, misogynistic, I'm leaving the door open to that possibility, for the best way I can think of to demonstrate my respect for women is to live authentically, treat others honorably, with my eyes open to opportunities in which I can improve myself, those around me, and the greater world at large...¨ please read it all, HERE (emphasis added)

Happy Mother's Day.

·  Thanks to The Bilerico Project, sidebar
·  Thanks to Kergan Edwards-Stout
·  Thanks to Songs for the New Depression, HERE

Happy Mothers Day to my Mother,  Ardythe Beardsley Clark, R.I.P.

¨A beautiful person in every way¨
Gardenias, Mom´s favorite flower

Misogyny and Gay Rights: ¨Part of the resistance to gay equal rights is ultimately about the beginning of the end of patriarchy¨ Bishop V.G. Robinson

Bishop V. Gene Robinson, Out/Partnered Gay Bishop, The Episcopal Church, Diocese of New Hampshire, U.S.A.

Gay Religion Blogspot Editor's note: The following article originally ran in The Blade's Nov. 14, 2007, issue. We are reprinting it here as part of our Jan. 23 Politics & Religion special issue. Robinson recently gave one of the invocations at the opening celebration of President Obama's inauguration. read it all, click here:

Middle Collegiate Church's annual Pride and Passion conference explored the volatile intersection of homosexuality and theology. The East Village church's two-day event, which included workshops and lectures, couldn't have been more timely. The same week in November, thousands of New Yorkers protested a local Mormon church and rallied against California's gay marriage ban Proposition 8.

As the first openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church, New Hampshire's V. Gene Robinson knows first-hand the religious wrath often directed at the LGBT community. His 2003 election has split the national church.

"Even nonreligious people have to deal with religion on the issue of LGBTI rights [the 'I' stands for 'intersex']," he said. "In no other civil rights movement that I know of has scripture played such a roll. We ignore that at our own peril."

Middle Collegiate Church—part of the Reformed Church of America—has long embraced its LGBTI congregants. "We also have classes about human sexuality," said the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, the church's senior minister. "We talk about faith and sexuality because we think it's a gift from God."

At Middle Collegiate Church, Robinson delivered a talk titled "Dancing in the Temple: Why Religion Matters in Our Fight for Equality," and he engaged in an hour-long Q&A session and also spoke with The Blade. The following excerpts—in his words—are highlighted topics from the bishop's exchanges.

Misogyny and Gay Rights. Part of the resistance to gay equal rights is ultimately about the beginning of the end of patriarchy. The connections between misogyny and heterosexism are astounding. The classic defense against gay bashing is, "He made a pass at me." Can you imagine if we locked up every man who ever made a pass at a woman? But if you treat another man as a woman, well, we take a baseball bat to your head.

A very common thing in the ancient world when one army conquered another was raping and pillaging. But the raping was of another man—one of the most degrading things you could do to a man was treat him like a woman.

In the Leviticus passage [thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind], the sin seems to be for the man to allow himself to be treated as a woman. There seems to be evidence that the insertive partner did not receive the same punishment.

Homophobia vs. Heterosexism. I almost never use the term homophobia. Most people understand phobias as fears. And a lot of people say they don't fear us at all—they just hate us. What we are really talking about is heterosexism. Let's review what an "–ism" is: prejudice plus power. Racism is when white people set the system up to benefit themselves at the expense of others. What I like about using the word heterosexism is that it puts responsibility where it belongs.

The Opposite of Love. One of the principles I operate on is that the opposite of love is not hate, it's fear. I try to remember that [anti-gay people] are coming from a place of fear. The more hateful they sound, the more fearful they are. What I try to do with detractors is figure out what it is they're afraid of.¨

Thanks to Gay Religious Blog (at the right sidebar)
Thanks to The New York Blade
Thanks to Flickr Photosharing