So far this year, we have gathered new members and talked about all kinds of things.
Specifically we have talked about the Campbell's soup ad with 2 dads, and Halsey.
We also had guest speakers- Steve Caldwell and Joe Levine- to talk about their musical and their journey through life as gay men in the 50's to present day. We discussed doing an art piece to display in the school, perhaps a sculpture or a quilt or something involving dragons. We started to plan a open house for Spectrum in the front hall to attract new members. We threw dragons at each of the members (handmade by the complaining duo and a tiny freshman. Mostly the tiny freshman.) We are looking forward to this year of supporting each other and making our school into an even better place for us all to live, and of course, actually updating this thing... maybe. Please come by whenever you want, Thursdays after school in room 337.
6/11/2015
We're BACK!
Hello! Welcome to the blog once more!
For those of you who missed today's meeting, we are using this blog, that we haven't used in a long time, for updates, weekly books, movies, tv shows, and basically lots of fun things.
A recap of today's meeting:
We had a visitor today from student senate and gender equality club.
She talked about a gender panel that will be happening next year. So that's pretty cool considering how we wanted to do that. If you want to take part, plan, set up, or be on the panel; talk to her cwallis16@colonial.net.
She also talked about Social Justice week next year and we will, hopefully, be a part of it.
Glitter Rainbow Princess suggests the movie "Boy Meets Girl", yes it's on Netflix,
For those of you who missed today's meeting, we are using this blog, that we haven't used in a long time, for updates, weekly books, movies, tv shows, and basically lots of fun things.
A recap of today's meeting:
We had a visitor today from student senate and gender equality club.
She talked about a gender panel that will be happening next year. So that's pretty cool considering how we wanted to do that. If you want to take part, plan, set up, or be on the panel; talk to her cwallis16@colonial.net.
She also talked about Social Justice week next year and we will, hopefully, be a part of it.
Glitter Rainbow Princess suggests the movie "Boy Meets Girl", yes it's on Netflix,
http://www.boymeetsgirlmovie.com/
Also yes, the big day is here... PRIDE
This Saturday is Pride, the parade starts at noon, the festival starts at 11, and a lot of us Spectrum-ites are going to the youth dance at 6 pm, tickets are still available. If you need a ride, Glitter Rainbow Princess can drive people after he takes the ACT. President Bubbles, Nine Colored Fox, and others will be there as well. Here is a link to the calendar events: http://www.bostonpride.org/calendar/
We should all thank President Bubbles for bringing this blog back so round of applause to you,
Stay awesome, Spectrum-ites, and don't be afraid to ask questions
4/04/2012
Book Recommendation of the Week IV: My Most Excellent Year
My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger
A fellow Bostonian, Kluger loves to set his stories in known territory (Boston), so the landscape should be familiar for locals. The charm of the book, though, is not in the location but in the characters: T.C. Augie, Ale, Andy, T.C.'s Dad, Lori, and of course, Hucky. T.C., Augie and Ale narrate the novel in turns, but letters from T.C.'s dad and Lori appear sometimes as well. Though focusing mainly on the romance between T.C. and Ale and between Augie and Andy, it manages to cover many other heart-warming story-lines. This book is a feel-good book, especially perfect for days when a little cheer is in order.
The novel takes place in Freshman year for T.C., Augie and Ale. Ale is the daughter of a diplomat who has been trained to follow her family, even though she dreams of pursuing dance. T.C. ( short for Anthony Conigliaro) loves baseball, particularly the Red Sox, loves his mother, who died when he was six, and loves his best friend Augie; he must mature quite a bit before reaching his full potential, though. Augie is T.C.'s best friend, newly discovering his sexuality while continuing his passionate love affair with the theater. Most adorable, though, is Hucky, the boy T.C. befriends after a baseball game. Hucky is deaf, so T.C. must learn sign language to communicate with him, and the friendship between the two is both sweet and humorous in turn.
In the midst of all of their character development, T.C. wants Hucky to meet Mary Poppins, Ale is starring in Kiss Me, Kate and all three are working through the government to restore the baseball diamond at Manzanar, an internment camp where Japanese-Americans were held during World War II. Sometimes the characters are a little too good to be true, but that fact can be easily looked over.
There's a lot to read and a lot to love in this book. From the GLBT perspective, there are GLBT characters, but the characters don't struggle with their identities as much as similar characters might in other books. There are some problems, but they're all addressed relatively easily and quickly. This isn't a book about exploring the main issues of sexuality, but it does a wonderful job showing two people in love regardless of age or gender. My Most Excellent Year is definitely worth the read, and if you enjoy it, Kluger has written three more fictional novels and one nonfiction book as well.
A fellow Bostonian, Kluger loves to set his stories in known territory (Boston), so the landscape should be familiar for locals. The charm of the book, though, is not in the location but in the characters: T.C. Augie, Ale, Andy, T.C.'s Dad, Lori, and of course, Hucky. T.C., Augie and Ale narrate the novel in turns, but letters from T.C.'s dad and Lori appear sometimes as well. Though focusing mainly on the romance between T.C. and Ale and between Augie and Andy, it manages to cover many other heart-warming story-lines. This book is a feel-good book, especially perfect for days when a little cheer is in order.
The novel takes place in Freshman year for T.C., Augie and Ale. Ale is the daughter of a diplomat who has been trained to follow her family, even though she dreams of pursuing dance. T.C. ( short for Anthony Conigliaro) loves baseball, particularly the Red Sox, loves his mother, who died when he was six, and loves his best friend Augie; he must mature quite a bit before reaching his full potential, though. Augie is T.C.'s best friend, newly discovering his sexuality while continuing his passionate love affair with the theater. Most adorable, though, is Hucky, the boy T.C. befriends after a baseball game. Hucky is deaf, so T.C. must learn sign language to communicate with him, and the friendship between the two is both sweet and humorous in turn.
There's a lot to read and a lot to love in this book. From the GLBT perspective, there are GLBT characters, but the characters don't struggle with their identities as much as similar characters might in other books. There are some problems, but they're all addressed relatively easily and quickly. This isn't a book about exploring the main issues of sexuality, but it does a wonderful job showing two people in love regardless of age or gender. My Most Excellent Year is definitely worth the read, and if you enjoy it, Kluger has written three more fictional novels and one nonfiction book as well.
3/19/2012
An Excellent Example of Protest
From the Huffington Post:
"Two men who kissed one another were kicked out of presidential candidate Rick Santorum's rally Friday evening at Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights.This is a very positive way to send a message against those who believe that LGBTQ people are lesser human beings. It is a sign of love, which any reasonable person would never condemn. A kiss is quite simple, and if any straight couple were to do so during the rally, it would go unnoticed. If anything, they might even be praised for demonstrating strong "family" values, or something along those lines.
Santorum was 15 minutes into his speech when the two men shouted and got the attention of the crowd. They exchanged a kiss, prompting guards to eject them and the crowd to chant "U-S-A" while they were leaving the gym.
When asked whether the kiss was a public display of affection or merely a symbolic act, Timothy Tross of Lombard and Ben Clifford of Algonquin, declined to comment.
'I don't think the message should be about what my sexuality is," Tross said. "It's the message that he's saying about sexuality that matters.'"
3/14/2012
Book Recommendation of the Week III: Eon by Alison Goodman
Eon (Two Pearls of Wisdom) by Alison Goodman
Eon, unlike the other two books recommended before, is not as directly related to the LGB part of LGBT. It deals more with gender identity and the duality (or lack thereof) between male and female.
Eona is in training to be a Dragoneye in a world where there are twelve dragons, each bonded to an Eye and his apprentice (It is he since all of the Dragoneyes are male). At the start of the novel, Eona is just days away from the ceremony where the Rat Dragon will appear and pick the next Dragoneye. Eona is not known to the public as Eona, though, but as Eon. Only males are allowed to become Dragoneyes, so she and her master conceal her sex from everyone. Making matters worse, she was also partially crippled by an accident. During the ceremony, though, the Mirror Dragon, lost for centuries, reappears and chooses Eona to be its Dragoneye. Eona balances her training, despite some serious setbacks, with her new life at court and the politicians who inhabit it, such as the Emperor and Prince Kyo.
Eona struggles with trying to be male while reconciling herself with her female side throughout the book. However, she is not the only one in an atypical situation. There is a courtier, Lady Dela, who is a Contraire, or a man with a woman's spirit. Her tribe considers her fortunate to have both male and female spirits within her, but Lady Dela is subject to some discrimination at court. In the modern world, she would probably be considered transgender, but such terms do not exist in the setting of the novel. Lady Dela is an excellent character, and her role is crucial to the plot. Also present is Ryko, Lady Dela's bodyguard whose feelings are not exactly platonic.
While the book is certainly not perfect, it is a captivating read, and Goodman's interpretation of the Chinese Zodiac makes for an interesting concept. Eon is followed by Eona, also an excellent novel. This is a young adult novel, but it can certainly be enjoyed by someone of any age.
Eon, unlike the other two books recommended before, is not as directly related to the LGB part of LGBT. It deals more with gender identity and the duality (or lack thereof) between male and female.
Eona is in training to be a Dragoneye in a world where there are twelve dragons, each bonded to an Eye and his apprentice (It is he since all of the Dragoneyes are male). At the start of the novel, Eona is just days away from the ceremony where the Rat Dragon will appear and pick the next Dragoneye. Eona is not known to the public as Eona, though, but as Eon. Only males are allowed to become Dragoneyes, so she and her master conceal her sex from everyone. Making matters worse, she was also partially crippled by an accident. During the ceremony, though, the Mirror Dragon, lost for centuries, reappears and chooses Eona to be its Dragoneye. Eona balances her training, despite some serious setbacks, with her new life at court and the politicians who inhabit it, such as the Emperor and Prince Kyo.
Eona struggles with trying to be male while reconciling herself with her female side throughout the book. However, she is not the only one in an atypical situation. There is a courtier, Lady Dela, who is a Contraire, or a man with a woman's spirit. Her tribe considers her fortunate to have both male and female spirits within her, but Lady Dela is subject to some discrimination at court. In the modern world, she would probably be considered transgender, but such terms do not exist in the setting of the novel. Lady Dela is an excellent character, and her role is crucial to the plot. Also present is Ryko, Lady Dela's bodyguard whose feelings are not exactly platonic.
3/12/2012
Transgender Woman Sues
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-transgender-woman-sues-20120312,0,7345902.story
This story is just one of many examples of harassment today against transgender people. It's truly sickening to hear about events like this.
This story is just one of many examples of harassment today against transgender people. It's truly sickening to hear about events like this.
3/11/2012
Gay Person of the Month: Alan Turing
Alan Turing (1912-1954) was an English mathematician, scientist and cryptographer best known as in inventor of the Universal Turing Machine. His work was critical in the later development of the modern computer as we know today. During World War II, he lived in Bletchley Park doing cryptanalysis work, where his work with the Enigma was indispensable. Additionally, he also
created the Turing Test, and his paper "Computing Machinery and Intelligence" published in Mind in 1950 which discussed the possibility of artificial intelligence and thinking machines, is one of the best known and most highly regarded papers on the subject even today.
He had at least discovered he was gay by the time he was eighteen since he developed feelings for a slightly older boy in high school, although the boy, Christopher, soon died.
During the war, he was saved from persecution because of his homosexuality because he talents were so essential to the war efforts. After the war, however, when he reported a break-in to the police, he admitted to have been sexually active with a man, Charles Murray, who had actually assisted with the break-in. Instead of being sent to prison, he elected to receive female hormones (a sort of castration designed to cure him of his homosexuality), since homosexuality was in illegal in the UK in 1952. His security clearance was also stripped, as it was believed that homosexuality was associated with communists.
In 1954, he died of cyanide poisoning. A partially eaten apple was found next to him, and there is some speculation that the apple itself contained the cyanide. While his family refused to believe that he had committed suicide, thinking instead that the apple had become accidentally poisoned because some chemicals he used were stored poorly. Still, one of his favorite fairy tales was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and the apple left near him is reminiscent of the way the Queen tried to kill Snow White.
In 2009, Gordon Brown officially apologized for the treatment Turing received post-war. The apology came after a petition signed by 30,000 people went forward asking for an official apology. A statue of him was unveiled in 2001, and his status as one of the most influential people during the war has been recognized. Even more recently, he was featured in a series of stamps which featured "twelve Britons of distinction." He was denied a posthumous pardon, however, because, according to the British government, what he did at the time was illegal, and he knew it was illegal, even though the laws were incredibly cruel and inhumane.
He had at least discovered he was gay by the time he was eighteen since he developed feelings for a slightly older boy in high school, although the boy, Christopher, soon died.
During the war, he was saved from persecution because of his homosexuality because he talents were so essential to the war efforts. After the war, however, when he reported a break-in to the police, he admitted to have been sexually active with a man, Charles Murray, who had actually assisted with the break-in. Instead of being sent to prison, he elected to receive female hormones (a sort of castration designed to cure him of his homosexuality), since homosexuality was in illegal in the UK in 1952. His security clearance was also stripped, as it was believed that homosexuality was associated with communists.
In 1954, he died of cyanide poisoning. A partially eaten apple was found next to him, and there is some speculation that the apple itself contained the cyanide. While his family refused to believe that he had committed suicide, thinking instead that the apple had become accidentally poisoned because some chemicals he used were stored poorly. Still, one of his favorite fairy tales was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and the apple left near him is reminiscent of the way the Queen tried to kill Snow White.
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