Dikutip dari: http://www.bbc.co.uk
22 Desember 2011

Pasangan ini mengaku “bahagia” bisa terbuka tentang hubungan mereka.
Dua perwira wanita Angkatan Laut Amerika Serikat menjadi pasangan sesama jenis yang melakukan ritual tradisional “ciuman pertama” di dermaga sejak AS mengakhiri larangan bagi kaum gay untuk menjadi tentara.

Serda Marissa Gaeta, yang baru turun dari kapal setelah 80 hari, menang undian untuk menjadi orang pertama yang memberi ciuman pada pasangannya atau dikenal dengan istilah “dockside kiss.”

Pasangan tersebut mengatakan momen itu “telah lama ditunggu.”

Kebijakan “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ (‘Jangan Bertanya Jangan Bercerita’) angkatan bersenjata Amerika Serikat dicabut September lalu, setelah perdebatan selama bertahun-tahun.

Kebijakan itu menghalangi lelaki dan perempuan yang mengaku terus terang bahwa mereka gay untuk mengabdi di militer.

Dermaga Pantai Virginia di Virginia ramai dengan mereka yang ingin menyambut orang-orang terkasih dari kapal perang USS Oak Hill. Kapal itu baru saja kembali dari Amerika Tengah.

Mereka bersorak ketika Serda Gaeta, 23 tahun, turun dari kapal dan berciuman dengan kekasihnya, Koptu Citlalic Snell, 22 tahun.

‘Gugup tapi senang’
Gaeta mengatakan pada media setempat bahwa para awak kapal melakukan undian secara tradisional sebelum kembali ke daratan untuk mencari nama-nama “pemenang pelukan dan ciuman pertama.”

Pasangan yang bertemu saat latihan itu mengatakan bahagia karena bisa bersikap terbuka tentang hubungan mereka.

“Rasanya menyenangkan bisa menjadi diri saya sendiri. Momen ini sudah lama saya tunggu,” kata Serda Gaeta.

Koptu Snell mengatakan pasangannya telah memberitahu tentang ciuman itu beberapa hari lalu dan ia “gugup tapi senang.”

“Saya sedikit gugup… Tapi saya sudah lama menunggu saat ini sejak ia pergi,” kata Snell.

Seorang juru bicara Angkatan Laut berbicara kepada kantor berita Reuters bahwa militer “tidak terlalu mempedulikan hal-hal seperti itu” tapi ia yakin ini pertama kalinya ciuman tradisional itu dilakukan oleh pasangan lesbian.

“Bagi Angkatan Laut, hal itu hanya sekedar sambutan selamat datang biasa,” kata Letda Sylvia Landis.

@SepociKopi, 2011

Pengarang buku anak-anak kontroversial “Heather Has Two Mommies”, Leslea Newman juga masuk di kategori buku anak dengan buku “Donovan’s Big Day”. Lengkapnya bisa dibaca sebagai berikut:

The best lesbian and gay parenting books of 2011
by Dana Rudolph

Source: http://www.baywindows.com

Children’s books

Donovan’s Big Day, by Lesléa Newman, is a delightful storyabout a boy preparing for the wedding of his two moms. Newman wrote Heather Has Two Mommies, the first picture book for and about children with lesbian parents, over 20 years ago. Unlike in Heather, however, which shows the girl grappling to understand why her family is “different,” Newman left “issues” out of Donovan entirely. The young boy has only the problems any child might face while attending a wedding of any sort. He has to dress up, keep clean, and not fidget. Most of all, he has to make sure to hand his moms their rings at the proper moment.

There is just enough light tension to keep young readers engaged as Donovan goes through each step of his preparations. Illustrator Mike Dutton’s dynamic gouache drawings capture Donovan’s earnest spirit with gentle humor.

Monday Is One Day, by Arthur A. Levine (Scholastic Press), is a gay-inclusive (but not exclusive) poem from a working parent to a child. Each page shows a different family and a different activity as they count down to and through the weekend. The families are white and black, with moms and dads, gay dads, single parents, and one older couple who could be the child’s grandparents. They live in cities, suburbs, and on a farm, and all delight in each other. Julian Hector’s bold, colorful illustrations complement the bouncy rhymes. The book reminds us how much of the parenting experience is universal.

Levine, a gay dad himself, is also a publisher of his own imprint at Scholastic, Arthur A. Levine Books, whose titles include the U.S. editions of the Harry Potter series.

Adult novel

Sing You Home, by New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult, brings the lives and concerns of lesbian prospective moms to a mainstream audience in an engaging and sympathetic way. Picoult’s novel also tries to educate its readers about some of the real-life legal and social barriers same-sex couples face. A spunky fictional attorney from the real-life Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) plays a prominent role. If the book sometimes feels jammed with too many Big Social Issues — marriage equality, alcoholism, abortion, suicidal teens — Picoult is a good enough writer to weave them into a coherent and compelling tale.

Memoir

Times Two: Two Women in Love and the Happy Family They Made, Sarah Kate Ellis and Kristen Henderson’s memoir of simultaneous pregnancies, is a welcome addition to the small genre of LGBT parenting chronicles. Ellis is a marketing executive in New York City. Henderson is a founding member of the all-female rock band Antigone Rising. In alternating chapters, they tell their intertwining tale of coming out, falling in love, and starting a family.

Although some might consider the tale of double the hormones, mood swings, and post-partum exhaustion to be more of a cautionary tale, Ellis and Henderson manage to emphasize the positive. Along the way to parenthood, they discover their resiliency as a couple as they bond over the side effects of pregnancy — heartburn, hemorrhoids, and swollen ankles — and agree to disagree over issues such as whether to know the genders of their children and whether to try natural childbirth. They tell their story with a warmth and honesty that shows on every page.

Nonfiction

Invisible Families, by UCLA sociologist Mignon Moore, is arguably the most groundbreaking work on LGBT parenting published in recent years. Her work is a valuable corrective to the predominant portrayal in media and research of LGBT parents (and LGBT people generally) as almost entirely white. It will complement the emerging demographic data that shows a high percentage of lesbian and gay parents are people of color.

Mignon takes a close look at the community of gay black women in New York City, drawing on personal observations, interviews, and surveys to perceptively trace the connections among sexual orientation, gender expression, race, and class. While she doesn’t focus exclusively on mothers, many of the women in her study are mothers, and must negotiate the assumptions and expectations of motherhood within black communities while also challenging those assumptions by virtue of being gay.

Mignon deftly explores the overlapping influences on these women’s identities in a work that is both valuable in itself and will serve as a model for future research into LGBT families of all types.

Adoption by Lesbians and Gay Men: A New Dimension in Family Diversity, edited by David Brodzinsky and Adam Pertman of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, brings together experts across several disciplines — social welfare, psychology, sociology, and law — to provide a picture of this “rapidly growing new family form.” It summarizes our knowledge of lesbian and gay adoptive families, contributes to it, and points out directions for future research, education, and policy changes. It is an academic book, not a light read, but should become an invaluable reference for adoption professionals, researchers, policy makers, advocates, and lawyers.

@SepociKopi, 2011

“Semua manusia lahir dengan hak azasi yang sama. Tidak peduli di negara mana pun kita berada, sebagai manusia kita memiliki hak azasi. Menjadi manusia LGBT tidak membuat dia lebih rendah daripada manusia lain. Maka dari itu hak azasi bagi kaum LGBT adalah hak azasi manusia, dan hak azasi manusia juga hak LGBT. Juga menjadi homoseksual bukanlah hasil dari budaya barat melainkan kenyataan hidup sebagai manusia.”

Demikian petikan dari pidato Hillary Clinton dalam International Human Rights Day. Pidato lengkapnya sebagai berikut:

Remarks in Recognition of International Human Rights Day
dikutip dari: http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2011/12/178368.htm

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Palais des Nations
Geneva, Switzerland
December 6, 2011

Good evening, and let me express my deep honor and pleasure at being here. I want to thank Director General Tokayev and Ms. Wyden along with other ministers, ambassadors, excellencies, and UN partners. This weekend, we will celebrate Human Rights Day, the anniversary of one of the great accomplishments of the last century.

Beginning in 1947, delegates from six continents devoted themselves to drafting a declaration that would enshrine the fundamental rights and freedoms of people everywhere. In the aftermath of World War II, many nations pressed for a statement of this kind to help ensure that we would prevent future atrocities and protect the inherent humanity and dignity of all people. And so the delegates went to work. They discussed, they wrote, they revisited, revised, rewrote, for thousands of hours. And they incorporated suggestions and revisions from governments, organizations, and individuals around the world.

At three o’clock in the morning on December 10th, 1948, after nearly two years of drafting and one last long night of debate, the president of the UN General Assembly called for a vote on the final text. Forty-eight nations voted in favor; eight abstained; none dissented. And the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted. It proclaims a simple, powerful idea: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. And with the declaration, it was made clear that rights are not conferred by government; they are the birthright of all people. It does not matter what country we live in, who our leaders are, or even who we are. Because we are human, we therefore have rights. And because we have rights, governments are bound to protect them.

In the 63 years since the declaration was adopted, many nations have made great progress in making human rights a human reality. Step by step, barriers that once prevented people from enjoying the full measure of liberty, the full experience of dignity, and the full benefits of humanity have fallen away. In many places, racist laws have been repealed, legal and social practices that relegated women to second-class status have been abolished, the ability of religious minorities to practice their faith freely has been secured.

In most cases, this progress was not easily won. People fought and organized and campaigned in public squares and private spaces to change not only laws, but hearts and minds. And thanks to that work of generations, for millions of individuals whose lives were once narrowed by injustice, they are now able to live more freely and to participate more fully in the political, economic, and social lives of their communities.

Now, there is still, as you all know, much more to be done to secure that commitment, that reality, and progress for all people. Today, I want to talk about the work we have left to do to protect one group of people whose human rights are still denied in too many parts of the world today. In many ways, they are an invisible minority. They are arrested, beaten, terrorized, even executed. Many are treated with contempt and violence by their fellow citizens while authorities empowered to protect them look the other way or, too often, even join in the abuse. They are denied opportunities to work and learn, driven from their homes and countries, and forced to suppress or deny who they are to protect themselves from harm.

I am talking about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, human beings born free and given bestowed equality and dignity, who have a right to claim that, which is now one of the remaining human rights challenges of our time. I speak about this subject knowing that my own country’s record on human rights for gay people is far from perfect. Until 2003, it was still a crime in parts of our country. Many LGBT Americans have endured violence and harassment in their own lives, and for some, including many young people, bullying and exclusion are daily experiences. So we, like all nations, have more work to do to protect human rights at home.

Now, raising this issue, I know, is sensitive for many people and that the obstacles standing in the way of protecting the human rights of LGBT people rest on deeply held personal, political, cultural, and religious beliefs. So I come here before you with respect, understanding, and humility. Even though progress on this front is not easy, we cannot delay acting. So in that spirit, I want to talk about the difficult and important issues we must address together to reach a global consensus that recognizes the human rights of LGBT citizens everywhere.

The first issue goes to the heart of the matter. Some have suggested that gay rights and human rights are separate and distinct; but, in fact, they are one and the same. Now, of course, 60 years ago, the governments that drafted and passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were not thinking about how it applied to the LGBT community. They also weren’t thinking about how it applied to indigenous people or children or people with disabilities or other marginalized groups. Yet in the past 60 years, we have come to recognize that members of these groups are entitled to the full measure of dignity and rights, because, like all people, they share a common humanity.

This recognition did not occur all at once. It evolved over time. And as it did, we understood that we were honoring rights that people always had, rather than creating new or special rights for them. Like being a woman, like being a racial, religious, tribal, or ethnic minority, being LGBT does not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.

It is violation of human rights when people are beaten or killed because of their sexual orientation, or because they do not conform to cultural norms about how men and women should look or behave. It is a violation of human rights when governments declare it illegal to be gay, or allow those who harm gay people to go unpunished. It is a violation of human rights when lesbian or transgendered women are subjected to so-called corrective rape, or forcibly subjected to hormone treatments, or when people are murdered after public calls for violence toward gays, or when they are forced to flee their nations and seek asylum in other lands to save their lives. And it is a violation of human rights when life-saving care is withheld from people because they are gay, or equal access to justice is denied to people because they are gay, or public spaces are out of bounds to people because they are gay. No matter what we look like, where we come from, or who we are, we are all equally entitled to our human rights and dignity.

The second issue is a question of whether homosexuality arises from a particular part of the world. Some seem to believe it is a Western phenomenon, and therefore people outside the West have grounds to reject it. Well, in reality, gay people are born into and belong to every society in the world. They are all ages, all races, all faiths; they are doctors and teachers, farmers and bankers, soldiers and athletes; and whether we know it, or whether we acknowledge it, they are our family, our friends, and our neighbors.

Being gay is not a Western invention; it is a human reality. And protecting the human rights of all people, gay or straight, is not something that only Western governments do. South Africa’s constitution, written in the aftermath of Apartheid, protects the equality of all citizens, including gay people. In Colombia and Argentina, the rights of gays are also legally protected. In Nepal, the supreme court has ruled that equal rights apply to LGBT citizens. The Government of Mongolia has committed to pursue new legislation that will tackle anti-gay discrimination.

Now, some worry that protecting the human rights of the LGBT community is a luxury that only wealthy nations can afford. But in fact, in all countries, there are costs to not protecting these rights, in both gay and straight lives lost to disease and violence, and the silencing of voices and views that would strengthen communities, in ideas never pursued by entrepreneurs who happen to be gay. Costs are incurred whenever any group is treated as lesser or the other, whether they are women, racial, or religious minorities, or the LGBT. Former President Mogae of Botswana pointed out recently that for as long as LGBT people are kept in the shadows, there cannot be an effective public health program to tackle HIV and AIDS. Well, that holds true for other challenges as well.

The third, and perhaps most challenging, issue arises when people cite religious or cultural values as a reason to violate or not to protect the human rights of LGBT citizens. This is not unlike the justification offered for violent practices towards women like honor killings, widow burning, or female genital mutilation. Some people still defend those practices as part of a cultural tradition. But violence toward women isn’t cultural; it’s criminal. Likewise with slavery, what was once justified as sanctioned by God is now properly reviled as an unconscionable violation of human rights.

In each of these cases, we came to learn that no practice or tradition trumps the human rights that belong to all of us. And this holds true for inflicting violence on LGBT people, criminalizing their status or behavior, expelling them from their families and communities, or tacitly or explicitly accepting their killing.

Of course, it bears noting that rarely are cultural and religious traditions and teachings actually in conflict with the protection of human rights. Indeed, our religion and our culture are sources of compassion and inspiration toward our fellow human beings. It was not only those who’ve justified slavery who leaned on religion, it was also those who sought to abolish it. And let us keep in mind that our commitments to protect the freedom of religion and to defend the dignity of LGBT people emanate from a common source. For many of us, religious belief and practice is a vital source of meaning and identity, and fundamental to who we are as people. And likewise, for most of us, the bonds of love and family that we forge are also vital sources of meaning and identity. And caring for others is an expression of what it means to be fully human. It is because the human experience is universal that human rights are universal and cut across all religions and cultures.

The fourth issue is what history teaches us about how we make progress towards rights for all. Progress starts with honest discussion. Now, there are some who say and believe that all gay people are pedophiles, that homosexuality is a disease that can be caught or cured, or that gays recruit others to become gay. Well, these notions are simply not true. They are also unlikely to disappear if those who promote or accept them are dismissed out of hand rather than invited to share their fears and concerns. No one has ever abandoned a belief because he was forced to do so.

Universal human rights include freedom of expression and freedom of belief, even if our words or beliefs denigrate the humanity of others. Yet, while we are each free to believe whatever we choose, we cannot do whatever we choose, not in a world where we protect the human rights of all.

Reaching understanding of these issues takes more than speech. It does take a conversation. In fact, it takes a constellation of conversations in places big and small. And it takes a willingness to see stark differences in belief as a reason to begin the conversation, not to avoid it.

But progress comes from changes in laws. In many places, including my own country, legal protections have preceded, not followed, broader recognition of rights. Laws have a teaching effect. Laws that discriminate validate other kinds of discrimination. Laws that require equal protections reinforce the moral imperative of equality. And practically speaking, it is often the case that laws must change before fears about change dissipate.

Many in my country thought that President Truman was making a grave error when he ordered the racial desegregation of our military. They argued that it would undermine unit cohesion. And it wasn’t until he went ahead and did it that we saw how it strengthened our social fabric in ways even the supporters of the policy could not foresee. Likewise, some worried in my country that the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would have a negative effect on our armed forces. Now, the Marine Corps Commandant, who was one of the strongest voices against the repeal, says that his concerns were unfounded and that the Marines have embraced the change.

Finally, progress comes from being willing to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. We need to ask ourselves, “How would it feel if it were a crime to love the person I love? How would it feel to be discriminated against for something about myself that I cannot change?” This challenge applies to all of us as we reflect upon deeply held beliefs, as we work to embrace tolerance and respect for the dignity of all persons, and as we engage humbly with those with whom we disagree in the hope of creating greater understanding.

A fifth and final question is how we do our part to bring the world to embrace human rights for all people including LGBT people. Yes, LGBT people must help lead this effort, as so many of you are. Their knowledge and experiences are invaluable and their courage inspirational. We know the names of brave LGBT activists who have literally given their lives for this cause, and there are many more whose names we will never know. But often those who are denied rights are least empowered to bring about the changes they seek. Acting alone, minorities can never achieve the majorities necessary for political change.

So when any part of humanity is sidelined, the rest of us cannot sit on the sidelines. Every time a barrier to progress has fallen, it has taken a cooperative effort from those on both sides of the barrier. In the fight for women’s rights, the support of men remains crucial. The fight for racial equality has relied on contributions from people of all races. Combating Islamaphobia or anti-Semitism is a task for people of all faiths. And the same is true with this struggle for equality.

Conversely, when we see denials and abuses of human rights and fail to act, that sends the message to those deniers and abusers that they won’t suffer any consequences for their actions, and so they carry on. But when we do act, we send a powerful moral message. Right here in Geneva, the international community acted this year to strengthen a global consensus around the human rights of LGBT people. At the Human Rights Council in March, 85 countries from all regions supported a statement calling for an end to criminalization and violence against people because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

At the following session of the Council in June, South Africa took the lead on a resolution about violence against LGBT people. The delegation from South Africa spoke eloquently about their own experience and struggle for human equality and its indivisibility. When the measure passed, it became the first-ever UN resolution recognizing the human rights of gay people worldwide. In the Organization of American States this year, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights created a unit on the rights of LGBT people, a step toward what we hope will be the creation of a special rapporteur.

Now, we must go further and work here and in every region of the world to galvanize more support for the human rights of the LGBT community. To the leaders of those countries where people are jailed, beaten, or executed for being gay, I ask you to consider this: Leadership, by definition, means being out in front of your people when it is called for. It means standing up for the dignity of all your citizens and persuading your people to do the same. It also means ensuring that all citizens are treated as equals under your laws, because let me be clear – I am not saying that gay people can’t or don’t commit crimes. They can and they do, just like straight people. And when they do, they should be held accountable, but it should never be a crime to be gay.

And to people of all nations, I say supporting human rights is your responsibility too. The lives of gay people are shaped not only by laws, but by the treatment they receive every day from their families, from their neighbors. Eleanor Roosevelt, who did so much to advance human rights worldwide, said that these rights begin in the small places close to home – the streets where people live, the schools they attend, the factories, farms, and offices where they work. These places are your domain. The actions you take, the ideals that you advocate, can determine whether human rights flourish where you are.

And finally, to LGBT men and women worldwide, let me say this: Wherever you live and whatever the circumstances of your life, whether you are connected to a network of support or feel isolated and vulnerable, please know that you are not alone. People around the globe are working hard to support you and to bring an end to the injustices and dangers you face. That is certainly true for my country. And you have an ally in the United States of America and you have millions of friends among the American people.

The Obama Administration defends the human rights of LGBT people as part of our comprehensive human rights policy and as a priority of our foreign policy. In our embassies, our diplomats are raising concerns about specific cases and laws, and working with a range of partners to strengthen human rights protections for all. In Washington, we have created a task force at the State Department to support and coordinate this work. And in the coming months, we will provide every embassy with a toolkit to help improve their efforts. And we have created a program that offers emergency support to defenders of human rights for LGBT people.

This morning, back in Washington, President Obama put into place the first U.S. Government strategy dedicated to combating human rights abuses against LGBT persons abroad. Building on efforts already underway at the State Department and across the government, the President has directed all U.S. Government agencies engaged overseas to combat the criminalization of LGBT status and conduct, to enhance efforts to protect vulnerable LGBT refugees and asylum seekers, to ensure that our foreign assistance promotes the protection of LGBT rights, to enlist international organizations in the fight against discrimination, and to respond swiftly to abuses against LGBT persons.

I am also pleased to announce that we are launching a new Global Equality Fund that will support the work of civil society organizations working on these issues around the world. This fund will help them record facts so they can target their advocacy, learn how to use the law as a tool, manage their budgets, train their staffs, and forge partnerships with women’s organizations and other human rights groups. We have committed more than $3 million to start this fund, and we have hope that others will join us in supporting it.

The women and men who advocate for human rights for the LGBT community in hostile places, some of whom are here today with us, are brave and dedicated, and deserve all the help we can give them. We know the road ahead will not be easy. A great deal of work lies before us. But many of us have seen firsthand how quickly change can come. In our lifetimes, attitudes toward gay people in many places have been transformed. Many people, including myself, have experienced a deepening of our own convictions on this topic over the years, as we have devoted more thought to it, engaged in dialogues and debates, and established personal and professional relationships with people who are gay.

This evolution is evident in many places. To highlight one example, the Delhi High Court decriminalized homosexuality in India two years ago, writing, and I quote, “If there is one tenet that can be said to be an underlying theme of the Indian constitution, it is inclusiveness.” There is little doubt in my mind that support for LGBT human rights will continue to climb. Because for many young people, this is simple: All people deserve to be treated with dignity and have their human rights respected, no matter who they are or whom they love.

There is a phrase that people in the United States invoke when urging others to support human rights: “Be on the right side of history.” The story of the United States is the story of a nation that has repeatedly grappled with intolerance and inequality. We fought a brutal civil war over slavery. People from coast to coast joined in campaigns to recognize the rights of women, indigenous peoples, racial minorities, children, people with disabilities, immigrants, workers, and on and on. And the march toward equality and justice has continued. Those who advocate for expanding the circle of human rights were and are on the right side of history, and history honors them. Those who tried to constrict human rights were wrong, and history reflects that as well.

I know that the thoughts I’ve shared today involve questions on which opinions are still evolving. As it has happened so many times before, opinion will converge once again with the truth, the immutable truth, that all persons are created free and equal in dignity and rights. We are called once more to make real the words of the Universal Declaration. Let us answer that call. Let us be on the right side of history, for our people, our nations, and future generations, whose lives will be shaped by the work we do today. I come before you with great hope and confidence that no matter how long the road ahead, we will travel it successfully together. Thank you very much.

@SepociKopi, 2011

Transgender sering kali menjadi korban kebencian dan penganiayan yang tak jarang berakhir dengan pembunuhan. The Trans Murder Monitoring melaporkan bahwa sejak tahun 2008 terjadi 755 kasus pembunuhan terhadap transgender di 51 negara, jumlah ini dikuatirkan lebih rendah daripada yang sebenarnya karena masih banyak kasus yang tidak dilaporkan.

Namun hari ini tidak digunakan semata-mata untuk berduka atas kematian mereka yang menjadi korban kebencian, tapi juga merayakan kehidupan. Peringatan ini juga digunakan untuk membangkitkan kesadaran atas perjuangan yang dihadapi oleh transgender dalam hidup mereka.

Berita lengkap:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/20/transgender-remembrance-day

The balancing act of Transgender Remembrance Day
Commemorating the horrifically brutal deaths of victims of transphobic violence is difficult, but vitally important
Natacha Kennedy
Sunday 20 November 2011

The Transgender Day of Remembrance ceremony, held annually on 20 November, was started in 1999, when it became clear that trans people were being murdered in particularly large numbers. It is a day marked by sombre ceremonies in cities around the world.

I have been part of the team organising the London ceremony this year, and it has been a difficult to get right. Our aim is to remember the lives of the trans people who have been murdered – as well as those non-trans people who have been killed as a result of transphobic hatred – in the previous 12 months. But the increasing brutality of these crimes, and the fact that some young trans people attending can be traumatised if the ceremony gets too gory, has given us a difficult balancing act.

Nearly 200 transphobic murders were painstakingly recorded last year by the Transrespect vs Transphobia project. These are widely thought to be the tip of the iceberg: there are still large parts of the world where little or no data is available, and this number also does not include those driven to take their own lives. We need to remember their lives – but also not forget how they died. The manner in which trans people are being murdered, and the places they were killed, may also be a clue to the people who may ultimately be responsible for this carnage.

The countries with the most transphobic murders last year were Brazil, the US and Honduras. So far, statistics in for this year suggest that more than half of the transphobic murders worldwide occurred in Brazil. Yet the country where trans people are most likely to be murdered is Honduras: between 28 November 2010 and 9 January 2011, trans people were being slaughtered there at the rate of one a week, in a country with a population smaller than London.

An analysis of the data from Honduras is revealing; this small central American country has had a very high level of transphobic murders since the autumn of 2008, but only one recorded before then. Trans human rights campaigners in the US have pointed out that this coincided with a surge in “missionaries” being sent there by rightwing religious groups from the American midwest.

Some suggest a systematic targeting of trans people there by these groups, since one of the first victims was Cynthia Nicole Moreno (warning: graphic picture), a prominent trans human rights campaigner in the capital Tegucigalpa, who was executed in the street on 9 January 2009 in broad daylight, shot at point-blank range with three bullets in the chest and one in the head. In addition, one of the main concerns among trans human rights campaigners is to prevent the 2014 World Cup being used as an excuse for the Brazilian authorities to collude in the murder even more trans people, doubtless egged on by religious bigots as they “clean up” the country for foreign football supporters.

The way some trans people were killed – in apparently frenzied, vicious knife attacks, or by being stoned to death – further suggests not only a religious motive but organised executions, and appears to be as the result of particularly psychotic, manic hatred on the part of their killers. The ages of some of the victims is also a cause for concern: this year, we will be mourning the death of 14-year-old Erica Pinheiro de Siqueira, who was shot 11 times on Christmas Day in Maceio, Brazil. Last year we had to read out the name of 16-month-old Roy Antonio Jones III, beaten so hard by his babysitter that his little body suffered a massive cardiac arrest. His killer said he did this because the toddler was not acting “manly” enough.

The results of transphobic hate crime in the worst countries are plain for all to see, the causes of much of it may be getting clearer: organisations that pretend they are there to spread love and understanding but are actually sowing hatred and vicious intolerance. For us, the balancing act is between showing the horror of the killings, remembering those who have died because of transphobic violence, and making the occasion one which can be attended by all.

In the end, it is not just religious-excused bigotry, but social exclusion, systemic violence and official indifference – and in some cases connivance – that we are fighting. Yet the fact that trans people exist suggests that no amount of threats, from any source, are going to get rid of us.

@SepociKopi, 2011

Padahal istilah ‘Seksualiti Merdeka’ digunakan untuk mengingatkan bahwa tidak semua rakyat Malaysia bisa menunjukkan jati diri mereka yang sebenarnya. Setiap orang di Malaysia (dan seluruh dunia—red) seharusnya berhak untuk bebas dari diskriminasi, kekerasan atau gangguan hanya karena orientasi seksual dan identitas gender mereka.

Tidak kurang dari Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir mendukung kegiatan ini dan menyayangkan pelarangan kegiatan Seksualiti Merdeka dengan pernyataan di media bahwa “Seksualiti Merdeka bukanlah pesta seks.”

Seksualiti Merdeka not a ‘free sex party’, says Marina
Sumber: http://thestar.com.my/

PETALING JAYA: Seksualiti Merdeka is about discussion and spreading awareness on the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender (LBGT) community and not a free sex party, said Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir.

Marina, who has launched the event in 2009, said she was upset with the unfair reporting by certain quarters, portraying the event as a “pesta seks bebas”.

“In the past two years, the event was held without a hitch. It only discussed human rights from the LBGT (lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender) community,” said Marina.

She added that the event was filled with talks and activities to spread awareness on the LBGT and also sexual orientation.

She said this after police recorded statements from former Bar Council president Datuk S. Ambiga, Tenaganita executive director Irene Fernandez, Empower Malaysia executive director Maria Chin Abdullah, and Seksualiti Merdeka co-founder Pang Khee Teik.

All of them had their statements taken at the Tenaganita office here Monday.

Ambiga said the LBGT community is a minority that faces discrimination daily and such irresponsible reporting could cause more harm than good.

“The Mak Nyah (transexuals) are one of the minorities, who face a lot of discrimination and some of them even get beaten up for being themselves.

“I am seriously concerned that labelling them negatively can lead to them being abused more frequently,” she said adding that she would take legal action if such reporting continued.

Pang said he would meet with Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar in the next three days to clarify the intentions of the event.

“We are not a perhimpunan haram (illegal gathering) or a pesta seks bebas like certain quarters have suggested,” he said.

Seksualiti Merdeka, an event organised by a coalition of NGOs, artistes, activists and individuals, have described themselves as “Malaysia’s only festival celebrating the human rights of people of diverse sexual orientation”.

The event has been held annually since 2008, and was supposed to host a series of activities to last until Nov 13 at the Annexe Gallery of Central Market.

@SepociKopi, 2011

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Gay Buffalo Teen Commits Suicide on Eve of National Bullying Summit
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/gay-buffalo-teen-commits-suicide-eve-national-bullying/story?id=14571861
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES
Sept. 21, 2011

Jamey Rodemeyer sent out many signals on social networking sites that he was struggling with his sexuality, and although he encouraged others on YouTube to fight off the bullies, things didn’t get better.

The Buffalo, N.Y., boy, 14, killed himself this weekend after posting an online farewell.

A student at Williamsville North High School, Jamey had been tormented for the past 12 months by cyberbullies who made disparaging comments with gay references on his Formspring account, a website that allows anonymous posts.

“JAMIE IS STUPID, GAY, FAT ANND [sic] UGLY. HE MUST DIE!” one post said, according to local reports. Another read, “I wouldn’t care if you died. No one would. So just do it It would make everyone WAY more happier!”

Friends reported the bullying to guidance counselors. But everyone, including his mother, thought he had grown stronger.

His death coincides with a national summit today sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C., an effort to stem the toll of bullying on school children.

Speaking at the second annual Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summit were the parents of Justin Aaberg, a gay 15-year-old from Champlain, Minn., who hanged himself after being bullied. The parents, Tammy and Shawn Aaberg said that one form of the bullying came from a student religious group whose members told Justin that he was going to hell because he was gay.

“Justin was a smiley, happy boy who loved to play his cello,” said his parents. “School systems need to do more to protect LGBT students from bullying, and not turn their back on them because of their sexual orientation.”

“Jamey’s suicide is a tragic reminder of the vulnerability of gay teens,” said Malcolm Lazin, founder and executive director of the Equality Forum, which focuses on LGBT civil rights and education.

“They are bullied and marginalized,” he said. “While some may say that Jamey took his life, it is unrelenting homophobia that murdered him.”

His mother, Tracy Rodemeyer, who did not return calls from ABCNews.com, told the Buffalo News that her son had been questioning his sexuality and had expressed thoughts of suicide, but had also been encouraged by good friends and was a “happy” and “strong” teen.

Friends described him as caring and friendly, and he had been seeking help from a social worker and therapist.

Captain Michael Camilleri of the Amherst Police Department told ABCNews.com he would not release details on how Jamey died.

“The special victims unit is looking into the circumstances prior to his death,” he said. “We are not sure if there is anything criminal or not.”

No bullying laws exist in New York State, according to Camilleri, so police would have to see if aggravated harassment charges fit this case.

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 28 percent of students aged 12 to 18 reported that they were bullied in school during the 2008-2009 school year. Bullying also slows down as children get older from a high of 39 percent of all sixth graders to 20 percent of high school seniors.

The most overwhelming form of bullying is done through ridicule, insult and rumors, rather than physical aggression, according to the report.

The rate of victimization among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students has remained constant between 1999 and 2009, the latest date for which there are statistics, according to the National Climate Survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).

Parents and educators say they face significant challenges in stemming LGBT bullying, particularly at schools where there are fewer resources and support groups such as gay-straight alliances.

“We have seen some positive signs in available resources and supportive educators and society is moving in a good direction,” GLSEN spokesman Daryl Presgraves said. “But it’s still very difficult to be an LGBT youth in school.”

@SepociKopi, 2011

Kabar baik minggu ini datang dari Amerika Serikat ketika pada hari Jumat 24 Juni 2011 gubernur New York Andrew Cuomo menandatangi undang-undang yang memberikan kewenangan  pada negara bagian untuk mengesahkan pernikahan sesama jenis di New York.
New York adalah negara bagian keenam dan negara bagian terbesar yang melegalkan pernikahan sesama jenis di Amerika Serikat. Sebelumnya, negara bagian Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont dan Washington sudah melegalkan pernikahan sesama jenis. Selamat untuk New York!

Berita selengkapnya:

Same-sex marriage is now legal in New York after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that was narrowly passed by state lawmakers Friday, handing activists a breakthrough victory in the state where the American gay rights movement was born.

New York becomes the sixth state where gay couples can wed and the biggest by far.

Gay rights advocates are hoping the vote will galvanize the movement around the country and help it regain momentum after an almost identical bill was defeated here in 2009 and similar measures failed elsewhere in recent years.

The effects of the legislation could be felt well beyond New York: Unlike Massachusetts, which pioneered gay marriage in 2004, New York has no residency requirement for obtaining a marriage license, meaning the state could become a magnet for gay couples across the country who want to have a wedding in Central Park or that honeymoon hot spot of yore, Niagara Falls.

New York, the third most populous state, will join Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the Washington capital district in allowing same-sex couples to wed.

“Once this is signed into law, the population of the United States living under marriage equality doubles,” said Ross Levi, executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda in an interview. “That’s certainly going to have a ripple effect across the nation. It’s truly a historic night for love, our families, and democracy won.”

Though New York is a relative latecomer in allowing gay marriage, it is considered an important prize for advocates, given the state’s size, New York City’s international stature. The gay rights movement is considered to have started with the Stonewall riots in New York City’s Greenwich Village in 1969.

A huge street party erupted outside the Stonewall Inn Friday night, with celebrants waving rainbow flags and dancing after the historic vote. They included Sarah Ellis, who has been in a six-year relationship with her partner, Kristen Henderson, said the measure would enable them to get married in the fall. They have twin toddlers and live in Sea Cliff on Long Island.

“We’ve been waiting. We considered it for a long time, crossing the borders and going to other states,” said Ellis, 39. “But until the state that we live in, that we pay taxes in, and we’re part of that community, has equal rights and marriage equality, we were not going to do it.”

A number of celebrities also praised the vote. Lady Gaga tweeted that she couldn’t stop crying, while Pink tweeted, “congratulations!!!!!!!!! About time!”

The New York bill cleared the Republican-controlled Senate on a 33-29 vote. The Democrat-led Assembly, which previously approved the bill, passed the Senate’s stronger religious exemptions in the measure Friday, and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who campaigned on the issue last year, has promised to sign it. Same-sex couples can begin marrying 30 days after that.

Cuomo made a surprise and triumphant walk around the Senate, introduced like a rock star by his lieutenant governor, Robert Duffy. The filled upper gallery shouted down to Cuomo, “Thank you!”

“Feels good?” Cuomo shouted up with a big smile and thumbs up. “Thank you!”

The passage of New York’s legislation was made possible by two Republican senators who had been undecided.

Sen. Stephen Saland voted against a similar bill in 2009, helping kill the measure and dealing a blow to the national gay rights movement.

“While I understand that my vote will disappoint many, I also know my vote is a vote of conscience,” Saland said in a statement to The Associated Press before the vote. “I am doing the right thing in voting to support marriage equality.”

Gay couples wept in the gallery during Saland’s speech.

“We are leaders and we join other proud states that recognize our families and the battle will now go on in other states,” said Sen. Thomas Duane, a Democrat.

The climactic vote came after more than a week of stop-and-start negotiations, rumors, closed-door meetings and frustration on the part of advocates. Online discussions took on a nasty turn with insults and vulgarities peppering the screens of opponents and supporters alike and security was beefed up in the Capitol to give senators easier passage to and from their conference room.

The sticking point over the past few days: Republican demands for stronger legal protections for religious groups that fear they will be hit with discrimination lawsuits if they refuse to allow their facilities to be used for gay weddings.

On Thursday night, Obama encouraged lawmakers to support gay rights during a fundraiser with New York City’s gay community. The vote also is sure to charge up annual gay pride events this weekend, culminating with parades Sunday in New York City, San Francisco and other cities.

Despite New York City’s liberal Democratic politics and large and vocal gay community, previous efforts to legalize same-sex marriage failed over the past several years, in part because the rest of the state is more conservative than the city.

The bill’s success this time reflected the powerful support of Cuomo and perhaps a change in public attitudes. Opinion polls for the first time are showing majority support for same-sex marriage, and Congress recently repealed the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that barred gays from serving openly in the military.

In the week leading up to the vote in New York, some Republicans who opposed the bill in 2009 came forward to say they were supporting it for reasons of conscience and a duty to ensure civil rights.

Pressure to vote for gay marriage also came from celebrities, athletes and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Republican-turned-independent who has long used his own fortune to help bankroll Republican campaigns and who personally lobbied some undecided lawmakers. Lady Gaga has been urging her 11 million Twitter followers to call New York senators in support of the bill.

While the support of the Assembly was never in doubt, it took days of furious deal-making to secure two Republican votes needed for passage in the closely divided Senate.

Representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox rabbis and other conservative religious leaders fought the measure, and their Republican allies pressed hard for stronger legal protections for religious organizations.

Each side of the debate was funded by more than $1 million from national and state advocates who waged media blitzes and promised campaign cash for lawmakers who sided with them.

But Republican senators said it was Cuomo’s passionate appeals in the governor’s mansion on Monday night and in closed-door, individual meetings that were perhaps most persuasive.

The bill makes New York only the third state, after Vermont and New Hampshire, to legalize marriage through a legislative act and without being forced to do so by a court.

For five months in 2008, gay marriage was legal in California, the biggest state in population, and 18,000 same-sex couples rushed to tie the knot there before voters overturned the state Supreme Court ruling that allowed the practice. The constitutionality of California’s ban is now before a federal appeals court.

18 Mei 2011: Kuatir diserang oleh kaum garis keras, komunitas gay dan lesbian di Indonesia merayakan Idaho (International Day Against Homophobia) hari Selasa kemarin dengan tenang, mencoba mengangkat kesadaran dan penerimaan akan orientasi seksual yang berbeda melalui media.

Hartoyo dari Our Voice, gerakan hak asasi gay yang bertempat di Jakarta mengatakan kepada Jakarta Globe bahwa komunitas lesbian, gay, biseksual, dan transeksual (LGBTQ) percaya kampanye melalui media adalah jalan terbaik untuk memperkecil sikap-sikap homofobia di masyarakat.

“Belajar dari pengalaman kami yang dulu – ketika acara-acara LGBTIQ diserang oleh kaum yang sangat tidak toleran – sekarang kami benar-benar memilih berbicara lewat media untuk memperkenalkan spektrum orientasi seksual yang berbeda kepada masyarakat yang lebih luas,” katanya.

Bagaiamana dengan dirimu, lesbian? Apa yang kamu lakukan saat merayakan Idaho hari Selasa kemarin?

Artikel selengkapnya:

By: Elizabeth Oktofani

Wary of past attacks by hard-liners, the country’s gay and lesbian community chose to mark International Day Against Homophobia on Tuesday quietly, with a view to raise awareness and acceptance through the media.

Hartoyo, general secretary of Ourvoice, a Jakarta-based gay rights group, told the Jakarta Globe that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBTIQ) believed a media campaign was the best way to address growing homophobia.

“Learning from our previous experiences — where LGBTIQ events were attacked by intolerant groups — we now prefer to do a media campaign to introduce the diversity of sexual orientation to the wider community,” he said.

He said the media wielded enormous influence in shaping public opinion, but in the past had often been used to discriminate against marginalized social groups such as the LGBTIQ .

Homosexuality, he said, had often been portrayed as a sexual aberration or deviant behavior, labels used to denounce the LGBTIQ directly and indirectly.

“So we need to work together with a smart media to introduce people to and educate them about what the LGBT community really is about,” he said.

Hartoyo added that the government needed to respect and provide full protection for all citizens regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Dede Oetomo, founder of the country’s first gay group, Gaya Nusantara, said the rise in homophobia had been a recent phenomenon. “Homosexuality is actually part of Indonesia’s history and diversity but, unfortunately, it is not recognized anymore by society because of modernization,” he said.

“It is OK to disagree about things, but it is very important that we respect each other’s beliefs, including on gender and sexual orientation.”

Meanwhile, to prevent a repeat of the imposter “wife” case that shocked a Bekasi community last month, the government is mulling a requirement that couples undergo physical examinations before being married.

Rohadi Abdul Fatah, director for Islam and Shariah law at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, said the requirement was being considered because of the scandal surrounding Rahmat Sulistyo, a?k?a Fransiska Annastasya Oktaviany, who allegedly posed as a woman to dupe a visually-impaired man into marrying him.

The marriage has since been declared invalid and Rahmat is being investigated by police.

Rohadi said the physical checkup idea would be proposed to the minister and, if accepted, would become one of the requirements for Muslim weddings.

“This policy will only be implemented in Islamic weddings, with brides being checked by female officials and grooms checked by male officials at the Religious Affairs Office,” he said.

@SepociKopi, 2011

TEMPO Interaktif, Jakarta – Penelitian Columbia University menemukan remaja yang mengidentifikasi dirinya sebagai gay, lesbian dan biseksual lima kali lebih mungkin mencoba bunuh diri daripada rekan-rekan heteroseksual mereka.

Lebih dari 20 persen dari 1.400 remaja tersebut dalam penelitian itu mengatakan mereka telah melakukannya.

Penelitian ini mendukung studi sebelumnya, yang menemukan tingginya tingkat bunuh diri di kalangan pemuda gay, lesbian dan biseksual.

Tetapi, para ilmuwan menemukan sesuatu yang lain kali ini, bahwa lokasi Anda tinggal bisa membuat perbedaan. Di daerah yang lebih menentang homoseksual, tingkat upaya bunuh diri 20 persen lebih tinggi bagi kelompok remaja tersebut.

Para peneliti, dipimpin oleh Mark Hatzenbuehler, menyurvei 34 wilayah di Oregon. Negara bagian ini dipilih karena ini adalah satu-satunya yang mencatat orientasi seksual dan upaya bunuh diri secara rinci, menurut the Oregonian.

Kelompok remaja ini lebih cenderung untuk mencoba bunuh diri di wilayah yang “kurang mendukung”, tapi yang menarik remaja yang heteroseksual juga seperti itu.

“Pemuda heteroseksual yang tinggal di lingkungan yang kurang mendukung 9 persen lebih mungkin untuk mencoba bunuh diri,” kata Hatzenbuehler pada The Oregonian.

Studi ini diterbitkan dalam jurnal Pediatrics.

@SepociKopi, 2011

17 April 2011: Tak ada yang mengetahui pasti pendorong preferensi seksual seseorang. Namun, berdasar ujicoba terbaru ilmuwan China, ditemukan zat otak pendorong orang menjadi gay.

Serotonin diketahui mampu mempengaruhi perilaku seksual seperti ereksi, ejakulasi dan orgasme pada tikus dan manusia. Senyawa ini biasanya juga mengurangi aktivitas seksual seseorang.

Uji coba ahli saraf Yi Rao dari Peking University dan National Institute of Biological Science di Beijing menunjukkan, serotonin ternyata juga mempengaruhi keputusan pria untuk ‘menggoda’ wanita atau pria.

Rao dan tim melakukan uji melalui pengurangan neuron penghasil serotonin atau protein penting penghasil serotonin dalam otak. Tak seperti tikus jantan lain, tikus yang kekurangan serotonin tak memiliki hasrat seksual terhadap tikus betina.

Sebaliknya, tikus itu malah tertarik pada tikus jantan serta lebih sering menyanyikan lagu cinta ultrasonik. Biasanya, tikus jantan menyanyikan lagu ini untuk menggoda tikus betina agar bisa melakukan seks.

Ketika tim menyuntik zat netralisir pada tikus yang kekurangan serotonin, tikus kembali berhasrat pada tikus betina. Meski begitu, kadar serotonin berlebih justru mengurangi aktivitas seksual tikus, baik pada jantan maupun betina.

Artinya, serotonin dalam otak harus dijaga dalam kadar tertentu guna memastikan seseorang tetap berlaku layaknya heteroseksual.

Menyikapi temuan ini, ilmuwan Florida State University Elaine Hull mengklaim, studi ini bisa mempengaruhi perilaku homoseksual atau biseksual manusia.

Sebelum menyimpulkan serotonin sebagai faktor perilaku homoseksual, Hull memperingatkan, ilmuwan butuh lebih banyak informasi letak persisnya area otak terkait potensi pengembangan serotonin tersebut.

@SepociKopi, 2011