The Worst States for the LBGT Community

My friend Erin wrote up this wonderful critique of Gawker's 50 Worst States as it concerns LBGT rights. Erin's thesis is that Gawker's analysis is simplistic because it does not take into account the myriad issues that are important to the LBGT community (which, as far as Gawker> is concerned, is all about gay marriage). I agree that gay marriage, while an important step for legal reasons, is not nearly as important as fighting discrimination in other ways. Erin was right to talk about how ugly the phrase "glittery, gay bandwagon" is.
I would also say, referring to the Gawker article in general, that it is unfair to judge an entire state by the things they are famous for and by googling their latest news. Places and the people connected to them are complex, and often generalizations do more to obfuscate than to enlighten, which unfortunately could also be said for how heteronormative society treats the LBGT community.

Gay Panic, Even in Ice Skating

Johnny Weir has a memoir coming out.  He is proudly gay, and he will be apparently talking about his identity.  Good for him.
What makes me sad about this story is how Weir has been demonized by his own field: ice skating.  His own colleagues don't want him to be out because that means that people will see the sport as "gay."  This is a great example of how inherently limiting gay panic is.  People are so afriad of homosexuality that even if they are not gay, they feel the need to force their assoicates into silence about their sexuality. 
So go Johnny Weir for being brave enough to love who he is, even if it parts of it conforms to stereotypes.  The more people openly out the less people will be afraid to join them.

Shirley Chisholm

There's this nice article mentioning that a building has been named in honor of Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman to run as a major party candidate. She was a pretty incredible woman, so this is a nice honor, considering the building's history, given at the end of the article.

What always surprises (and saddens me) is how frequently people don't know who Chisholm is. I don't think Chisholm is the only often-forgotten important leader, but it's sad so many of the these often-forgotten are People of Color or LBGT or in some way not part of the mainstream power system.