A gentle notice to all progressive souls who need to be reminded that not all anti-gay writing comes from white heterosexual Christian Western males. On allAfrica.com, Pamela Ankunda pens a piece "Homosexuality is Against Nature and African Culture," that pleads for Westerners to realize that "Africa has got its own societal values and morals."
Continue reading "Homosexuality against African culture, says op-ed" »
The story by Greg Hernandez in a recent issue of The Advocate tells of famed infomercial psychic Miss Cleo's coming out.
She says she’s actually not a psychic but more of a spiritual counselor or spiritual adviser.
“I’m more a shaman, an elder in a community who has visions and gives direction to people in their village. My clients and my students are my village. I take care of this community. If you sit down at my table, you have to take away a lesson and not just learn what is going to happen tomorrow. I also perform weddings—both gay and straight marriages—and house cleansings and blessings.”
According to this news report, the Cherokee Nation has banned gay marriage:
(Tahlequah, Oklahoma) The Cherokee Nation Tribal Council has passed a law banning same-sex marriages. The vote followed a public outcry after two women were granted a marriage application by a tribal court last month.The motion passed unanimously, but it was shrouded in secrecy until moments before council members were asked to vote on it. Several members later said they should have had more time to consider the motion and its implications.
An article in the Salt Lake Tribune explains that the fluidity of gender rules in Native American cultures presents challenges for HIV/AIDS and public health education. Here's a clip:
American Indians are flexible about letting people choose gender roles -- social roles rather than biological identity -- not always based on their sexual identity, Thomas said.
"The Western perspective is a binary gender class," [Wesley] Thomas [a Navajo who is co-editor of the book, Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality] said. "You're either a man or a woman. It's so inflexible; it's static. Native Americans have more flexibility."
In this world of movable gender lines, the label "gay" for men who have sex with men doesn't always fit. If a man has sex with a male who presents himself to the world as a female, he may not call himself gay.
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