Dykes & Dykery

‘Shower of Stoles’ exhibit supports LGBT [people] of faith

Seven members of First Congregational worked meticulously, well into the afternoon Friday as they hung 100 intricate, ministerial stoles. Their work was for more than just an art project, though.

Shower of Stoles is a traveling exhibit of more than 1,000 religious garments donated by LGBT individuals who serve or have served in ministry but have been defrocked by the church for their sexual orientations. Martha Juillerat started the project when she stepped down from the Presbyterian Church in 1995 and came out, according to the project’s website, www.welcomingresources.org. She asked for other LGBT [people] to send in their stoles to display and received 80 within the first day. The next spring, she had 200, so the first display was held in 1996 in Albuquerque, N.M.

Over the years, clearly, the exhibit has grown. Now it is split up into pieces, and First Congregational is hosting the exhibit for the first time from May 3 to May 15. Member Vickie Spyhalski is one of the seven who helped hang the stoles, which took several hours.

“The purpose is really to show the role that LGBT people play in the church and their role in the ministry,” Spyhalski said.

First Congregational has 100 of the stoles on display. Many of them are coupled with the stories of the people who wore them and the struggles they faced by coming out. Those stories, Spyhalski said, are powerful.

“It’s very moving when you get to see them,” Spyhalski said. “I actually hung a stole of a man who died of AIDS who was a minister. When you hang a stole and you realize he’s no longer with us, really it is a very sacred thing.”

Hoping to get a lift from the changing tides on gay marriage, a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Thursday that would ban job discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, has been introduced in Congress regularly since the mid-1990s without ever being passed. But given the public discussion on gay rights over the past year, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), a co-sponsor, told HuffPost he thinks the bill has about as good a shot as ever in the Senate.

“There’s a growing recognition that discrimination is wrong” against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, Merkley said Thursday. “The same concept that’s driving the marriage debate will help drive success on employment discrimination.”

Gay marriage now has support from all but three Democratic senators — Sens. Mary Landrieu (La.), Mark Pryor (Ark.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.) — as well as Republican Sens. Mark Kirk (Ill.) and Rob Portman (Ohio).

ENDA would bar companies from factoring sexual orientation or gender identity into employment decisions. Employers are already prohibited by federal law from discriminating over race, religion, age, gender or disability. The proposal exempts businesses with fewer than 15 employees as well as religious organizations.

For the ENDA bill, Merkley’s co-sponsors include Democratic Sens. Tom Harkin (Iowa) and Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), as well as Kirk and fellow Republican Susan Collins (Maine). A companion bill has been introduced in the House by Reps. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.).

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Press Secretary of the Kostroma Oblast Court Julia Medvedeva announced the court ruled illegal a ban on gay pride marches in the region and on two rallies against the local law prohibiting propaganda of homosexuality among minors.

‘The Civil Chamber of Kostroma Regional Court granted the appeal of Moscow Pride and events founder Nikolai Alekseev against the decision of Sverdlovsk District Court’, said Medvedeva today (20 March).

According to the court’s statement it found that the rallies and marches did not constitute as ‘propaganda of homosexuality’, rather a method of conveying information to the public.

‘The court’s decision took effect, so gay activists can already apply for these activities’, added the spokesperson.

…

However, Medvedeva also noted that the regional court upheld the previous lower court decision that two pickets in support of LGBT rights in front of the Kostroma Regional Children’s Library and the Regional Youth Library did constitute ‘propaganda of homosexuality’ which can have ‘harmful effects on children’.

Alekseev says he plans to appeal against this decision and continue to fight against all the bans throughout Russia, both through local and international courts.

‘It will take time, but we’ll get there’ he added optimistically

Moscow, March 5 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The pilot issue of a glossy magazine for lesbians has gone on sale in Russia this month, in the face of escalating anti-gay sentiment and a new nationwide law against “homosexual propaganda” expected soon.

Agens, an independent quarterly describes itself as “A Magazine About Women for Women” on its first photo collage cover, as well as carrying an age-18 plus rating.

The magazine — whose title can be translated from Latin as “driving force” — has a print-run of just 999 copies this month.

It claims it is the only printed glossy publication for lesbians in Russia, where social attitudes regarding homosexuality remain far more conservative than in western Europe.

The first 120-page issue has stories about film-making, studies abroad, private business initiatives and a photo session with men’s clothes that fit women, along with shared stories about “coming out” experiences at work.

Agens’ editor-in-chief Milena Chernyavskaya told RIA Novosti the publication aims to be a lifestyle magazine which will help Russian lesbians.

“The LGBT community has to deal with an information blackout,” Chernyavskaya said.

“Russian gay men and lesbians don’t know each other and think that they cannot be happy, because everyone around abuses them,” she said.

Several North Dakota leaders are introducing legislation to protect the LGBT community. Backers of the bill gathered in Fargo to introduce the proposal.

The bill would amend the North Dakota Fair Housing and Human Rights Acts by adding sexual orientation. Current North Dakota laws do not include sexual orientation on the list of banned discriminatory practices.

VICCO, Ky. (WHAS11) — A small town in rural, eastern Kentucky has approved an LGBT fairness ordinance. This is the first one approved in the state in the past 10 years.

The town of Vicco in Perry County, Kentucky now has a measure that prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based upon a person’s actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.

Three other cities in the commonwealth have similar ordinances: Covington, Lexington and Louisville.

Olivia & Saskia, Coffs Harbour by acon online on Flickr.

WARNING: photo of injuries at the link

The 23-year-old was beaten at her girlfriend’s family Thanksgiving celebration.

A Thanksgiving Day assault on a young lesbian in Mobile County, Ala. has infuriated LGBT activists who responded with a viral campaign to get hate crime charges filed against the alleged perpetrator. According to Robin Raven at Yahoo! News, 23-year-old Mallory Owens was invited to celebrate Thanksgiving with her girlfriend’s family. What happened there was anything but festive. According to Yahoo! she was attacked by her girlfriend’s brother, 18-year-old Travis Hawkins, Jr., and sustained a number of severe injuries including, among others, bleeding on the brain, crushed cheek bones, broken nose, and skull fractures.  

0067 by whitneylee on Flickr.

Coming Out of the Pink Closet with (Co-op) Respect! by lgfonline on Flickr.