Celebrating LGBTQ History Month: June 30, Albus Dumbledore

June 30 is the last day of LGBTQ History Month and I wanted to celebrate someone that has had a significant impact in the area of social justice in the past decade.  The Sorcerer’s Stone was released exactly 14 years ago today.  Today I would like to honor and pay tribute to Albus Dumbledore.  While he may be a fictional gay character, the impact he has had on an entire generation of youth regarding integrity, character, and social justice is profound.

While J.K. Rowling assumed that we all knew Dumbledore was gay, it was not until The Half-Blood Prince that we learn about Dumbledore’s love interest. In an article from the website The Leaky Cauldron and The Associated Press, Rowling said:

Calling any Harry Potter character gay would make wonderful strides in tolerance toward homosexuality…. By dubbing someone so respected, so talented and so kind, as someone who just happens to be also homosexual, she’s reinforcing the idea that a person’s gayness is not something of which they should be ashamed.

What I love about Dumbledore being gay is that his sexual orientation becomes immaterial, which I believe is the goal.  We should be appreciated for our character and how we repair the world, rather than judged by with whom we fall in love.  Unfortunately, we are not even close to the goal of sexual orientation being immaterial, thus we must be visible and out!

Consequently, I cannot underscore enough how important it is that as we read the Harry Potter series and watch the movies, we keep in the back of our minds that the Headmaster of Hogwarts, the kind, sensitive, wise, caretaker Dumbledore is gay.  I, for one, am celebrating that fact.  Of course, I have to leave off with one of my favorite quotes from Dumbledore:

It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. [and this one] No, I was merely reading the Muggle magazines,” said Dumbledore. “I do love knitting patterns.

There are still many other voices that need to be recognized and celebrated within the LGBT community.  I hope you will continue to look to TSM as we search out and spotlight LGBTQ voices that work for social justice and I hope TSM inspires us all to become activists–to eradicate racism, misogyny, homophobia, and bigotry.

Celebrating LGBTQ History Month: June 29, Alex Sánchez

Today I would like to honor and pay tribute to Alex Sánchez. Sánchez is a Mexican-American author of award-winning novels for teens and adults. His first novel, Rainbow Boys (2001), was selected by the American Library Association (ALA), as a “Best Book for Young Adults”. Subsequent books have won additional awards, including the Lambda Literary Award.

My first introduction to Sánchez was his short story, If You Kiss a Boy, in the marvelous collection of short stories, 13.  I was so impressed with Sánchez and 13 I started using them as required reading for middle school students.

Sánchez uses is own life experiences to write compelling stories about LGBTQ youth: their struggles, families, opponents, friends, and allies. He also addresses other challenges for young adults such as abuse, peer pressure, and body image. His characters are complex and real, making his books a compelling read for teens and adults alike. Because of his unflinching honesty about the lives of young adults, especially the LGBTQ community, most of Sánchez’ books have faced challenges in libraries. His Rainbow Boys trilogy includes three of the most banned books of the last decade.

The Alex Sánchez website welcomes readers in this way:

Welcome! Here’s where you’ll find info about: gay teen books, gay Christian teens, gay teens coming out, bi teens, gay youth resources, books about gay teenagers, where to buy books for gay teens, gay young adult books and novels, gay coming of age books, gay teen novels, and banned books … Enjoy! Peace, Alex

He includes resources for all of these issues as well as a link to his It Gets Better video. I want to thank Alex Sánchez  for being a strong voice for LGBTQ youth, for providing hours of reading pleasure, and for providing his readers and their peers with resources to get through their struggles more safely and less alone.

Celebrating LGBTQ History Month: June 28, Monica Marquez

Today I would like to honor and pay tribute to Monica Marquez.  Marquez is the first Latina and openly gay member of the Colorado state Supreme Court.  She was sworn in by her father, retired Judge Jose D.L. Marquez.  There are only 5 openly gay state supreme court justices, two of whom are in the state of Oregon. The first openly gay state supreme court justice in the nation was Oregon’s Rives Kistler. The second openly gay state supreme court justice was Oregon’s Virginia Linder.

Marquez has been a consistently visible force for social justice, including LGBT equality. She  is a past president of the Colorado GLBT Bar Association and a board member of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association and served as chairperson of the Denver Mayor’s GLBT Commission.  Regarding marriage equality and her role as a state supreme court justice, Marquez says:

On the bench, of course, my allegiance is to the law, not to any particular constituency…which is fine, because the law — and the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1996 decision in Romer vs. Evans, which overturned Colorado’s repeal of anti-gay discrimination laws.

I want to thank Justice Marquez for her dedication to social justice and for being visible.  Our being visible helps LGBT youth see the possibility of an end to discrimination.  Click here to read an article regarding Marquez.

Celebrating LGBTQ Month: June 27, Sir Ian McKellen

Today I would like to honor and pay tribute to Sir Ian McKellen.  McKellen came out in 1988 and has been been a dedicated activist for the LGBT community, thus making him an ideal person for TSM.  While McKellen is a staunch supporter of and fundraiser for AIDS research, as well as a vocal opponent to nuclear weapons, he reserves much of his energy to be a strong advocate for “ legal and social equality for gay people worldwide.”

Here are just a few reasons why I consider McKellen to be a wonderful and courageous hero.  McKellen shows that growth and empathy are possible regardless of where you are in your journey of life:

A year ago, I was one of those men, content to be gay, but unaware that I might have any relevance to the lives of other gays, whose lives are more vulnerable than mine to homophobia.  I’d never joined a Gay Pride March; ignorant even of the significance of the word ‘Stonewall.’  Nor had I ever read Capital Gay!

McKellen talks about how his friend Carole encouraged him to become an activist:

Carole took me to meet the Arts Lobby, the sort of people I like best – articulate, funny and concerned.  Their concern, in January, was to fight Section 28 by highlighting its threat of censoring the arts. Most of them were gay — those who weren’t lesbians, that is.  Sharing their views and under their guidance, I became a trainee activist.

I love that McKellen was willing to be drawn out of his comfort zone and willing to use his voice for the greater good.  In McKellen we see humanity–we see the the evolution of empathy and “planting trees of which we will not enjoy their shade.”  McKellen shows us why we must be visible:

Good acting is so dependent on projecting sexuality that American film producers don’t risk confusing an audience’s fantasies by allowing their stars publicly to be anything but straight as Hollywood Boulevard.  And in the British theatre too, even 40 years after Gielgud was named, we are not allowed to declare which half of our best actors here are privately lesbian or gay.  (Half our theatre impresarios, too – and half the theatre critics.)

What  a very sad commentary here, which sends the message to our youth that it is not safe or acceptable to be gay.  We must change the message.  Thank you Ian McKellen for your activism, your talent, and your voice.  Click here to learn more about Sir Ian McKellen.

Celebrating LGBTQ History Month: June 26, Jose Antonio Vargas

Today I would like to honor and pay tribute to Jose Antonio Vargas.  A Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, Vargas recently outed himself as an undocumented immigrant.  You probably recognize Vargas’ name; he was a former reporter for The Washington Post and shared a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings.

TSM has addressed the issues of inequities before in how we treat undocumented youth. Vargas came to the United States as a young boy from the Philippines.  At age 16, Vargas realized, quite by accident, that the documentation he had been given by his grandfather (green card) was fake.  Not wanting to hurt or betray his grandfather:

I decided then that I could never give anyone reason to doubt I was an American. I convinced myself that if I worked enough, if I achieved enough, I would be rewarded with citizenship. I felt I could earn it…But I am still an undocumented immigrant. And that means living a different kind of reality. It means going about my day in fear of being found out. It means rarely trusting people, even those closest to me, with who I really am. It means keeping my family photos in a shoebox rather than displaying them on shelves in my home, so friends don’t ask about them. It means reluctantly, even painfully, doing things I know are wrong and unlawful. And it has meant relying on a sort of 21st-century underground railroad of supporters, people who took an interest in my future and took risks for me.

Vargas started working on what would be an amazing career at Mountain View High School, joining the choir and the speech and debate team while keeping the secret that his social security card was a fake and photocopied at the local Kinkos.  Being an undocumented immigrant was not the only secret Vargas was carrying:

Later that school year, my history class watched a documentary on Harvey Milk, the openly gay San Francisco city official who was assassinated. This was 1999, just six months after Matthew Shepard’s body was found tied to a fence in Wyoming. During the discussion, I raised my hand and said something like: “I’m sorry Harvey Milk got killed for being gay. . . . I’ve been meaning to say this. . . . I’m gay.”

Being openly gay just added to the enormity of being in the country without documentation.  He was unable to accept an internship with the Seattle Times and endured a struggle to work within the system and lawyers to make him a citizen all to find out, “My only solution, the lawyer said, was to go back to the Philippines and accept a 10-year ban before I could apply to return legally.”  Consequently, Vargas decided to keep under the radar and continue to pursue a career in journalism.

Finally, after acquiring the needed documentation, Vargas was able to secure a position with the Washington Post.  I celebrate Vargas today as a part of LGBTQ History month for his courage and perseverance.  He told NPR that refused to marry a woman so that he could stay in the country legally, “Living with one lie is enough.”  I will be eagerly awaiting to see what happens to Jose Antonio Vargas.  Click here to read the NYT Article.

Celebrating LGBTQ History Month: June 24, Lady Gaga

Today I would like to honor and pay tribute to Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, better known as Lady Gaga.  Gaga identifies as bisexual, a group that often is misunderstood or neglected. TSM tries to focus on issues around social justice and LGBT issues; Lady Gaga falls into both categories and deserves to be celebrated for her highly visible and fierce dedication to civil rights.

Her detractors leave me nonplussed.  I don’t see many 25 year olds, or many people in general today, who are willing to take serious risks and stand up for a population that is marginalized.  Gaga took a very strong stand for LGBT rights.  She defended Adam Lambert from a homophobic attack, and she joined the fight against the discriminatory DADT policy.  She organized a rally to repeal DADT and offered a wonderful speech regarding discrimination.

I was particularly impressed with the stand she took against Target.  What other celebrity would break a contract to stand by their convictions?  And of course, her latest album Born This Way, which was so compelling that my husband and I actually bought the album.  We have not purchased any music in years.  Many of the songs on Born This Way address inequality and discrimination.  The song Americano is about two women who are in love.  I also love that the song addresses immigration rights and I certainly don’t see a lot of folks talking about immigration discrimination! While I like the lyrics, I have to admit I really also enjoy the music. II thank Lady Gaga for her advocacy, her visibility, and her courage.

Celebrating LGBTQ History Month: June 22, Walt Whitman

Today I would like to honor and pay tribute to Walt Whitman.  There is no way we could celebrate this month without celebrating one of my heroes, Walt Whitman.  In my darkest times, I try to read parts of Leaves of Grass to help ground me.  While there are still some who debate Whitman’s sexual orientation, it seems likely that he did have an affair with Peter Doyle.  Edward Carpenter recounted his intimate interlude with Whitman to his friend Gavin Arthur, who then recorded the affair in his journal.

Whitman’s poetry fills me with optimism about humanity; his words often pull me out of my misanthropic woes.  When I read:

I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise,
Regardless of others, ever regardful of others,
Maternal as well as paternal, a child as well as a man,
Stuff’d with the stuff that is coarse and stuff’d with the stuff that is fine,
One of the Nation of many nations, the smallest the same and the largest the same,

I feel enveloped in a part of humanity that is flawed, but connected.  The connectedness is the rich good stuff–the stuff that gives me hope and optimism.

I am the poet of the Body and I am the poet of the Soul,
The pleasures of heaven are with me and the pains of hell are with me,
The first I graft and increase upon myself, the latter I translate into a new tongue.

I am the poet of the woman the same as the man,
And I say it is as great to be a woman as to be a man,
And I say there is nothing greater than the mother of men.

For me, this is my religion, Whitman’s words here seem sacred and again his sharing of how connected we are, for me, seems to show how natural and fluid sexual orientation is, and the softness of the lines of gender identity–how natural.  In some respects, Whitman is responsible for TSM blog.  If you have not read two of my favorites, Leaves of Grass or Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, I strongly encourage you read these poems.

Celebrating LGBTQ History Month: June 21, President James Buchanan

I would like to thank my friend, historian Brad Fairchild for contributing a great deal of research for this article.  Apparently, History has set the record a bit too “straight.”  Yes, while I realize President Buchanan represents, perhaps, one of the worst presidents in American history, he also represents America’s first gay president.  His relationship with William Rufus King was common knowledge in the country’s capital.  Unfortunately, there are few primary resources regarding Buchanan, as he ordered his letters to be burnt upon his death.

We do know that Andrew Jackson and others referred to Buchanan and King as “Miss Nancy” and “Aunt Fancy.”  Vice-President King, under President Pierce, was referred to as “Miss Nancy,” while President Buchanan was referred to as “Aunt Fancy” and “Mrs. Buchanan” by James Polk.  In and around Washington, the two were also called  “Siamese twins,”  which was slang at the time for gays and lesbians.

Initially I was worried there would not be enough information, or a lack of sources regarding Buchanan’s sexual orientation.  Much of what I have gleaned here was from The Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct. 15, 1999 that my friend Brad shared with me.  However, Buchanan’s being gay seems to now be commonly accepted knowledge.  There are a handful of website and articles, and even Wikipedia talks about his romantic relationship with King. I used four different sources for this specific article.

While I try to only include LGBT people that are dedicated to issues of social justice and the common good, I had to celebrate President Buchanan for being the first gay president.  Click here to learn more about President Buchanan.

Celebrating LGBTQ History Month: June 19, George Takei

Today I would like to honor and pay tribute to Geroge Takei.  TSM followers will remember that we celebrated Takei’s heroism in November when he recorded a stern Public Service Announcement that resulted in a bigoted school board member resigning. Known to many for his roles as Lt. Sulu on Star Trek and Capt. Nim on The Green Berets, Takei has been quietly active in gay causes since the 70s and has become much more visibly active since his coming out in 2005.

Takei’s sexual orientation and long-term relationship with partner Brad Altman were open secrets among the Hollywood community and Star Trek fan base. Shortly after coming out in Frontiers magazine, he said,

It’s not really coming out, which suggests opening a door and stepping through. It’s more like a long, long walk through what began as a narrow corridor that starts to widen… [LGBT people] are masculine, we are feminine, we are caring, we are abusive. We are just like straight people, in terms of our outward appearance and our behavior. The only difference is that we are oriented to people of our own gender.

Takei has taken a number of very public stands, including recording public service announcements opposing the Kobe-esque rants of former NBA star Tim Hardaway and the despicable former Arkansas school board member Clint McCance. He and Altman have worked hard to raise the visibility of gay couples by appearing as the first-ever same-sex couple on a celebrity episode of the Newlywed Game (which they won) and appearing on a number of other shows.

The couple are also marriage pioneers. They were the first same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license in West Hollywood.They were married on September 14, 2008 at the Democracy Forum of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, of which Takei is one of the founders. Married before the passage of Prop 8, which both men have actively opposed, their marriage stands in California law.

George Takei deserves our thanks for being a visible, active, Asian-American gay man and for regularly mixing seriousness and humor to support gay rights. To learn more about his great work for gay rights and civil rights for Japanese Americans, click here.

Celebrating LGBTQ History Month: June 18, Alice B. Toklas

Today I would like to honor and pay tribute to Alice B. Toklas.  TSM followers will remember that we celebrated Toklas’ birthday back in April. Toklas deserves to be celebrated for having the courage to live her life openly as a lesbian.  In 1907, Toklas became an expatriate and moved to Paris.  She and her life-long partner, Gertrude Stein, were together for close to 40 years until Stein’s death.

The Toklas/Steins played host to many artists and literati of the time.  Their famous Salons would include such greats as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Paul Cezanne,  Sherwood Anderson, and the very closeted Thornton Wilder who was having an affair with the writer/pornographer Sam Steward, also a friend and frequent guest of Toklas (Secret Historian, Justin Spring).

Toklas consistently encouraged people to live their lives honestly  and to be their best.  She seems to have been quite the optimist, despite having lived in France during the Nazi occupation.  Toklas published a memoir, The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook.   Perhaps the most famous recipe in the cookbook/autobiography was ”Haschich Fudge,” a mixture of fruit, nuts, spices, and marijuana, often served at her Salons.  I thank Toklas for her courage, wisdom, and her support of many rather famous LGBT people struggling with their own journeys of coming out.