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 | It's LGBT Pride Month! Visit PRIDE2011@TheBody.com This June, TheBody.com celebrates Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month by launching our special Pride2011@TheBody.com section. Browse our pages for a compelling, illuminating and thoughtful look at the many issues that the LGBT community face. In Pride2011@TheBody.com, which we'll update throughout the month, you can locate events in your area, read a huge range of first-person perspectives from members of the community and even send your friends LGBT themed e-cards. Featured in Our Pride 2011 Coverage:  Homophobia and HIV Risk: What's Family Got to Do With It? It's a familiar and haunting refrain: People who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) are systematically rejected by their families. And given the norms of many cultures, staying connected to your family is expected. But to maintain these familial bonds, LGBT folks usually don't have the most empowering options. They can either hide their sexual identity from their loved ones by pretending to be heterosexual, or be open with their sexual orientation and endure rejection and disrespect. In some instances, they may choose to cut ties to their family altogether and create new families within queer-affirming communities. In this exclusive two-part roundtable about the role that familial homophobia plays in LGBT people's lives and the connection to HIV risk, our community manager, Olivia Ford, sat down with Sarah Schulman, professor of English, City University of New York, and author of Ties That Bind: Familial Homophobia and Its Consequences; Darnell L. Moore, visiting scholar in the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality at New York University, and project manager of the Sakia Gunn High School for Civic Engagement; and Kara Tucina Olidge, Ph.D., Director of Hetrick-Martin Institute's HMI To Go: Newark. Columns Some of TheBody.com's bloggers, guest contributors and other community members shared their own reflections to commemorate Pride Month.  PRIDE, From a Proud HIV-Positive Lesbian"My running away from home and joining a gang, the things we had to go through in our home with my father, and then having to tell her that I was HIV positive was just enough for [my mother] to handle," blogger Maria T. Mejia writes. "I didn't want to give her one more thing to worry about, and tell her: 'Mom, I am a LESBIAN also!'" In this video blog, Maria shares how finally coming out to her mom was easier than she ever imagined.  I Am What I Am"Because I'm interested in LGBT rights (read: equal rights), and AIDS, both inexorably linked (in the public mind anyway) to sex, there has to be something there; I have to be a closeted lesbian, or something," Aless Piper writes. People are always asking why she's so "into" LGBT issues, to which she replies, "Because it is the right thing to do. If we do not stand up in solidarity with our fellow humans, who will?" Read more exclusive columns and opinions on our Perspectives page. Word on The Street: Pride 2011 Edition To celebrate Pride Month this June, we wanted to know the following: What do you think generations of LGBT folks before and/or after yours need to understand about the way your generation has responded to HIV/AIDS?  Jack Mackenroth, Fashion Designer, HIV Advocate; New York, N.Y.I think the younger generations of LGBTQ folks need to understand the severity of the disease. In the late '80s and early '90s we responded fiercely and militantly because everyone with HIV/AIDS was dying. We had to make a lot of noise because no one was listening and the government and health care system were failing us. People who are now in their 20s and 30s don't remember the devastation and "walking dead" of the first years of the AIDS epidemic. There is an apathy about fighting HIV and about protecting themselves. Of course now the treatment options are much better but I think a lot of young people just think they can take a pill and everything will be fine. While we hope that treatments keep getting better and there is eventually a cure, it's still a potentially fatal illness. Now we are facing federal funding cuts and people will not be getting the care they need. It's time to make noise.  Gary Paul Wright, Executive Director, African American Office of Gay Concerns/ Newark, N.J.Since the day I first volunteered as a "buddy" at GMHC way back in 1985, things have changed, and not necessarily for the better. The fight against AIDS has become complacent; there seems to be a lack of urgency. Back then, our friends were dying right before our eyes and we attended many a funeral. We were a community in mourning, but still a community. And we got angry. ACT-UP was created. Black AIDS Mobilization was created. We marched on Washington; we marched on the United Nations. We created change. But somewhere along the way we've become comfortably numb. Hmmm. It may sound sacrilegious, but I miss the good ol' days - -when activists did a lot of activatin'. Join us throughout June as we celebrate all the LGBT community has achieved -- and acknowledge the walls we have yet to break down. Happy Pride!  About This Email This email update has been sent to iqlalsmile.cara@blogger.com. This is a one-time announcement sent to everyone who is subscribed to our weekly email newsletter. | | |
Celebrate LGBT Pride Month With TheBody.com!
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