This week's Bay Area Reporter is on newstands!

This week in the Bay Area Reporter I investigate a closely linked criminal and civil discrimination: “Man who filed bias suit against city is arrested” and I report about award winning out scientists: “Two Bay Area gay scientists honored.”

For more news and entertainment visit the Bay Area Reporter online or pick up an issue at your local independent or queer bookstore.

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This week's Bay Area Reporter is on newstands!

This week in the Bay Area Reporter I look into HIV/AIDS in the Black gay male community: “AIDS rates among blacks puzzle researchers”; I report about the NAACP’s award from the EQCA: “NAACP honored by EQCA”; and I explore queer building families: “Adoption agency builds rainbow of families.”
For more news and entertainment visit the Bay Area Reporter online or pick up an issue at your local independent or queer bookstore.

"Winter of Love" celebrates it's thrid anniversary with the Marriage Equality Story Quilt

San Francisco – Mayor Gavin Newsom and Marriage Equality USA kicked off the third anniversary of the “Winter of Love” with a gala event at City Hall on February 12.

Participants in the civil case pending in California’s Supreme Court stood along side Mayor Newsom, Assemblymember Mark Leno, Senator Carole Migden, and other marriage equality activists as they unveiled the Marriage Equality Story Quilt.


“I’m so proud to be a San Franciscan. I’m so proud to participate in this remarkable ideal…as we try to advance our principles and advance our values… and say we want to live our lives with dignity,” said Mayor Newsom. “It’s so much richness and so much deeper than just a gay and lesbian issue. It’s about America.”

The hope is in the air that marriage equality will win. Assemblymember Leno reintroduced bill AB43 the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act in December 2006. The legislation proposes to change the language in the California Family Code from marriage being a relationship between a “man and a woman” to “two persons,” has 44 Democratic votes in the Assembly and the civil case pending at the California Supreme Court gives a feeling that marriage equality is within Californians grasps.

“It’s just a reminder of how important it is for us to keep at it,” said Molly McKay, media director of Marriage Equality USA. “San Francisco really started something and it’s spreading.

McKay continued, “This is a super bowl year. We have a decision that is in the California legislature [and] through the California Supreme Court. We can have marriage equality. It’s all about this year. We need to keep at it. Whether we get marriage equality this year it’s totally up to us.”

The "Marriage Equality Story Quilt" will be on display in San Francisco's City Hall this month. The Quilt was produced by Maya Scott-Chung, 46, outreach director for LGBT parents for MEUSA. She developed the concept of the quilt as a part of her public health master's degree project at San Francisco State University.

Scott-Chung perceives the quilt as a tool to "bring alive" and "tying together the connections of communities, ethnicities, and families" and represent the impact of the 1,138 federal rights that marriage automatically provides for couples and their families.

She modeled the quilt after the AIDS Memorial Quilt because of the impact and the historical meaning. The quilt commemorates the three-year anniversary of the "Winter of Love," when Mayor Gavin Newsom ordered city officials to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples; the 36th anniversary of the beginning of marriage counter demonstrations when LGBT couples began requesting the right to marry; and the 40th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned laws against interracial marriage.

Scott-Chung told the B.A.R. that marriage wasn't a high priority for her and her partner, Mei Beck Scott-Chung, until it became available at City Hall. Mei Beck Scott-Chung was two months pregnant at the time and they were on their way to a doctor's appointment, but ended up getting married at City Hall on February 13, 2004. It all became crystal clear to her in an instant what marriage meant and how family would be affected culminating, in "being good and responsible parents."

Since then she has been a marriage activist.

Request for Participants:

Research study about same-sex women relationships

You are invited to participate in a University of Rhode Island research study to explore the effects of closeness in relationships between women romantically involved with other women. The information gained through this research will be used to better understand how women relate in romantic relationships and how they define, view and experience closeness in their relationships. Your participation in this study is completely voluntary, confidential and anonymous. In order to participate, you must be:1) at least 18 years old, 2) English speaking, and 3) a woman (in terms of gender or biological sex) 4) in a monogamous, romantic relationship with another woman. This study is not concerned with the way you may identify in terms of your sexual orientation. Therefore, you may identify as lesbian, gay, straight, bisexual, or any other term you choose. It is only important that you are currently involved in a monogamous, romantic relationship with another woman and have been for at least the past year.
Just click the below link and you'll be directed right to the survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=964993146878

I am a clinical psychology doctoral student at the University of Rhode Island currently collecting online data on closeness in female couples who have been together for at least one year. Could you please post the below request for participants to any university and/ or women's list-serves to which you may have access? Thank you, in advance for your help in completing my goal of at least 200 participants by March, 2007.For questions, please contact Cassandra at: c_h_ride@hotmail.com, not the one posting this for her.

Thank you in advance for your help and please forward this invitation to others who may either meet the criteria or know people who would.

Please complete this survey by February 20th, 2007. Thank you!

Job Opening:

Social Workers
Family Builders for Adoption

Family Builders is a non-profit, licensed foster care and adoption agency, serving children in the foster care system. Family Builders by Adoption is predicated on the belief that every child has the right to grow up in a permanent, nurturing family. Family Builders educates the community about the needs of waiting children, advocates on their behalf and places children with permanent, secure families, through adoption and other forms of permanency.

Family Builders welcomes traditional families, single parent families, both men and women, gay and lesbian families, transracial and multiracial families and all other families as prospective parents. Family Builders is committed to serving all families equally with dignity and respect.

We have several social work positions open in our Oakland and San Francisco offices. All positions require MSW/MA or equivalent.

Social Work Supervisor in our San Francisco office. The Social Work Supervisor is responsible for the daily operation of the Adoption SF Project which provides recruitment, training and home studies for San Francisco county. Includes clinical supervision, managing work flow and assignments, and providing a direct link with SFDHS unit supervisors.Adoption Social Worker who will conduct home studies, as well as provide training and support to families as they prepare to become adoptive parents. This position will be based in our SF office, and will serve families throughout the Bay Area.

Permanency Social Workers. The social worker will work directly with older youth in the foster care system to create a permanent family. They will work with birth families and permanent families; provide clinical support services to youth and families and facilitate support groups for youth and families.

Family Builders offers an excellent benefit package including medical, dental, vision, acupuncture, chiropractic, mental health, pension and a generous holiday schedule.

Please visit our website at www.familybuilders.org

To apply please send resumes to Family Builders by Adoption, 528 Grand Ave., Oakland, CA 94610, email kids@familybuilders.org or fax 510-272-0277.People of color and former foster youth strongly encouraged to apply! EOE.

Have your voice heard about female same-sex sexuality!

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School are seeking lesbian, bisexual, women-loving-women, and transgendered women who have been in a same-sex relationship for at least 6 months to complete a survey about sexuality.

We ask that you be 18 years of age or older and reside in Canada or the United States to participate in the study. We are interested in learning more about women's sexual orientation, sexuality, sexual trauma history and relationships in order to further understand the complexity of lesbian and bisexual women's sexuality.

This survey is confidential. If you would be interested in participating please go to (http://www.lesbianandbisexualsurvey.com) and complete the online survey which is approximately 45 minutes long.

If you have questions, please email Shana Hamilton, Ph.D. at
svhamilton@umphysicians.umn.edu.

This week's Bay Area Reporter is on newstands!

This week in the Bay Area Reporter I search for the answer to lasting love: “Many couples find lasting love”; I look into the ongoing case for the Castro Halloween shooting: “Judge orders DA's office to produce pictures of Halloween suspect”; and I review one of the lastest bisexual books: “Bisexuals are doing it for themselves.”

For more news and entertainment visit the Bay Area Reporter online or pick up an issue at your local independent or queer bookstore.

Journal of Bisexuality Announces New Editor

by Ron Suresha, 2/5/07

Regina Reinhardt, who assisted bisexuality expert and advocate Dr. Fritz Klein at the Journal of Bisexuality, recently announced that Jonathan Alexander, PhD, has been named the new Editor of the quarterly Journal of Bisexuality, published by the Haworth Press.

Jonathan is an Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, and edited (with Karen Vescavage) the groundbreaking 2003 double issue of the Journal, "Bisexuality and Transgenderism: InterSEXions of the Others."

According to Regina, who remains the JoB assistant editor, Fritz made the appointment shortly before his death in 2006. They are resuming work on earlier ideas for journal themes, and are looking for support to keep the Journal going: "It is Fritz's greatest legacy," said Regina.

A complete list of the table and abstracts of the Journal of Bisexuality is located on Bisexual.org.

More information on the Journal is also available at the Haworth Press.

NWSA Lesbian Caucus

Graduate Student Scholarship Award

Are you aware that each year the Lesbian Caucus of the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) makes an award of $500 to a graduate student conducting research towards a Master’s Thesis or a Doctoral Dissertation?

Attached is a copy of the flyer and application cover sheet for the annual NWSA Lesbian Caucus Graduate Student Scholarship Award. This same information can also be viewed online at http://www.nwsa.org/scholarship/lcguide.php where applicants who are NWSA members can process submissions electronically. (Information on other NWSA scholarship & award opportunities can be found at http://www.nwsa.org/scholarship/index.php).

March 1st is the postmark (or electronic postmark) deadline for submissions so there’s still plenty of time to prepare and submit an application packet! Students making submissions to any of the NWSA award competitions are encouraged to apply also for NWSA travel grants (deadline February 15th) so that in the event they are selected a winner they can be considered for a travel grant.

The winner of the 2007 Lesbian Caucus scholarly research award will be invited to attend the annual NWSA Lesbian Caucus Breakfast Reception during the 2007 conference and will be welcome to submit a related article/essay for publication in NWSAction (Fall 2007).

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. For further information, feel free to contact me at lcchair@lists.nwsa.org.

Best,
Lisa Burke

Disclaimer: Unless explicity stated otherwise, the opinions and perspectives contained within this e-mail are my own and should not be construed as representative of NWSA or any of its constituency groups.

Call for Submissions:

The Journal of Lesbian Studies

Special Volume of The Journal of Lesbian Studies
The Lesbian Image in International Popular Culture
Guest Editor Sara E. Cooper, California State University Chico

This special volume of The Journal of Lesbian Studies is seeking essays that explore a wide variety of lesbian images in a global context. Essays may address the lesbian image as it appears in literature, art, film, music, television, Internet, the news media, marketing, or any other venue of International Popular Culture. Essays may concentrate on one particular culture or be comparative in nature. Although no one specific theoretical approach is preferred, essays should critically and carefully examine the images discussed, including a commentary on the cultural or national context in which they appear, as well as discussion of related issues (e.g. intended audience, reception, political or commercial agenda, and the implications thereof). We also welcome creative contributions, including personal accounts, oral histories, feminist theory, research, fiction, poetry, etc. Authors may use a pseudonym if they prefer. Please let your friends, colleagues, and members of your community know about this project.

The concept of “lesbian” increasingly has been theorized, debated, and studied in the last four decades. Images marked as “lesbian” create desire in men and women alike, sell commercial products and services, and stir up controversy on many levels. Despite enormous international interest in the idea and image of lesbian, however, I believe that most people have only a limited understanding of what it is to be lesbian in a global context. In part, this limited perspective is due to the unavailability of images of the broad diversity of real women-centered women. For instance, in United States mainstream popular culture, images often portray a middle to upper class, thin, fashionable “lipstick lesbian,” as is the case in the television series The L Word and the predominantly gay male series Queer As Folk. Even some first-rate imported films such as Fire and Aimee and Jaguar show a lesbian image that conforms to the Western concept of beauty, although they complicate the paradigm of what is “normative” in terms of lesbian life and community in other places and eras. Japanese manga and anime, on the other hand, frequently contextualize girl-girl love within the High School arena, a fact which demonstrates a cultural reality in which such romances are considered “safer” (compared to opposite-sex attractions) and less likely to be consummated at that age. Some portrayals of female-female desire go even further to challenge commonly held views as to what is lesbian, such as the excellent Internet sites maintained by Male to Female and Female to Male transgender lesbians across the globe.

All thematic issues of the Journal of Lesbian Studies are simultaneously reprinted in book form by Harrington Park Press, the book affiliate of Haworth Press. We hope that the resulting book will be used in women’s studies courses and will be available in feminist bookstores.

Please send a one-page overview of your proposed contribution to Sara E. Cooper at scooper@csuchico.edu by February 28. 2007. Proposals will be evaluated for originality and writing style, as well as how all the contributions fit together.
Essays of 15-30 pages (including bibliography), maximum word count 9000, as well as creative submissions (flexible page and word limit) as Microsoft Word attachment will be due by August 31, 2007.

This week's Bay Area Reporter is on newstands!

This week in the Bay Area Reporter I investigated the suspicious death of a trans woman: “Family questions SFPD probe in trans death”; announced Saturday hours for a queer youth health clinic: “Dimensions Clinic expands to Saturdays”; and reported on finding LGBT seniors: “Seeking LGBT seniors.”

For more news and entertainment visit the Bay Area Reporter online or pick up an issue at your local independent or queer bookstore.

VISIBLE: A FEMMETHOLOGY

an anthology of writing on queer femme identity

Editor: Maria Angeline

Publisher: Merge PressSubmissions

Deadline: March 15, 2007

Anticipated Publication Date: Spring 2008

Femmes are still invisible. Society can't see past our heels to hear our stories, so we must continue to build platforms for our voices. Visible: A Femmethology, a forthcoming anthology about the power and complications in presenting femme as a gender and breaking the traditional meaning of feminine, aims to showcase blunt, personal essays exploring what "femme" means to those who claim it as an identity.

Give me your experiences, your inner dialogues, your theories and practices. Please do not send fiction, poetry, erotica, or any material to which you do not fully own the rights. I am seeking prose that is thoughtful, analytical, raw, challenging, exploratory, and uniquely you.

Submissions must be sent as Word files with text in 12 point Times New Roman font. Essays must be previously unpublished, 1500-6000 words in length, and typed double-spaced. You may submit more than one essay.

Author maintains and controls the copyright of their essay and licenses their First North American Rights to Merge Press for publication purposes. Author retains the right to reprint the material in any publication. Contributing writers will share 25% of the net profits of Visible: A Femmethology and receive a free copy of the anthology.

Send SUBMISSIONS ONLY to femmethology at mergepress dot com. Include your legal name, pseudonym (if any) you wish to use, address, phone number, email, and the bio you would like to appear in the book if your selection is chosen for publication. Put the title of your essay in the subject line of the email. Each essay must be emailed separately.

Send questions to maria.angeline at mergepress dot com.

Visible: A Femmethology, an anthology of writing on queer femme identity, is expected to be released in 2008. Do not email to inquire about the status of your submission after you receive a confirmation that it has been received. It is not possible to respond to all email inquires. Once selections have been made, every person who has submitted work will be sent an announcement. Please do not submit material if you do not regularly check your email.

Visit Femmethology.com for project updates.

The Sylvia Rivera Law Project is seeking a Staff Attorney.

Mission: The Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) works to guarantee that all people are free to self-determine their gender identity and expression, regardless of income or race, and without facing harassment, discrimination, or violence. SRLP is a collective organization founded on the understanding that gender self-determination is inextricably intertwined with racial, social and economic justice. Therefore, we seek to increase the political voice and visibility of low-income people of color who are transgender, intersex, or gender non-conforming. SRLP works to improve access to respectful and affirming social, health, and legal services for our communities. We believe that in order to create meaningful political participation and leadership, we must have access to basic means of survival and safety from violence.

Responsibilities: The staff attorney will work on direct services, impact litigation, public education, policy work, and community organizing support to advance the rights of low-income transgender, intersex, and gender nonconforming people of color. The staff attorney will focus on the areas of discrimination in sex-segregated facilities (such as foster care group homes and homeless shelters), Medicaid coverage, name and gender changes on identity documents, and immigration. Responsibilities include all aspects of developing and pursuing impact litigation; supervising legal interns; providing direct services to a caseload of clients; drafting know your rights materials and conducting trainings of community members and service providers; negotiating with agencies to change policies that hurt our communities; and supporting campaigns of community organizing projects through such means as coordinating legal observing for actions or conducting on-site clinics. The staff attorney will also share general administrative and collective-wide duties with other staff. This position is currently temporary and available for one full year, with a possibility for continued permanent employment following the first year.

Qualifications: Required:Law degreeCommitment to gender self-determination and racial and economic justice Willingness to work in a collective environment with consensus-based decision-makingPreferred:Fluency in Spanish and EnglishAdmission to practice in New YorkSubstantial civil rights litigation and/or civil legal services experienceFamiliarity with low-income transgender, intersex, and gender nonconforming communities of colorPublic speaking experienceExperience negotiating with government agencies

Compensation: Consistent with our values as a collective, all full-time staff have the same base annual salary, currently $42,848. An increased salary is possible based on need, such as for people supporting family members. Three weeks vacation time, full medical and dental benefits, and payment of professional fees also included. The start date is April 2nd, 2007.

Application: To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, and writing sample to Staff Attorney Hiring Committee, Sylvia Rivera Law Project, 322 8th Ave., 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10001 by March 5, 2007.People of color, trans people, women, people with intersex conditions, people who have lived in poverty, people with disabilities, immigrants, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer people are strongly encouraged to apply.

Call for Submissions:

Sinister Wisdom: A Multicultural Journal by and for Lesbians http://www2.blogger.com/www.sinisterwisdom.org

Sinister Wisdom #72
“Two Spirit Women of First Nations”

Deadline: March 1, 2007 Guest Editors: Chrystos (Menominee) and Sunny
Birdstone (Ktunaxa)

Submissions, inquiries, etc. should be sent to sbirdstone@hotmail.com or to Chrystos & S. Birdstone at 3250 S 77th, #8, Tacoma, WA 98409 USA.


Colonialization has marginalized Indigenous women (as well as men), making Native Dykes almost completely invisible. We celebrate the survival of Two Spirit women of First Nations in this issue.

Submissions may be in any format - taped interviews, dialogues, as well as fiction, poetry, etc. Please respect certain definitions, which have often been violated - i.e. we ask for work from lesbians who are Native in this lifetime only, recognized by their tribes or communities (although a BIA number is not required) and willing to use their name rather than a pseudonym (this is to help prevent submissions of non-authentic work).

We define indigenous Dykes as coming from the Americas, as well as the Pacific (Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia), with a land base (i.e. reservation, ranchero, etc.) and a tribal affiliation (Maori, Koori, Cree, etc.). Government recognition of tribal status is not necessary (i.e. we recognize the Duwamish). We are particularly interested in stories from dykes who were in residential schools, Elders, incarcerated, & in honor of those who have passed on (Barbara Cameron NationShield, Smiley Hillaire). Edited by Chrystos (Menominee) and Sunny Birdstone (Ktunaxa). Megwetch.

This week's Bay Area Reporter is on newstands!

This week in the Bay Area Reporter I discovered that being out to your doctor remains an issue for queer youth: “Queer youth out in the world, but not to doctors”; announced Chris Daley’s plans to leave TLC as they look for their first-ever executive director: “Daley leaving TLC”; and working-poor and impoverished LGBT families will soon have legal support: “NCLR launches Family Protection Project.”

For more news and entertainment visit the Bay Area Reporter online or pick up an issue at your local independent or queer bookstore.

Survey of lesbian/gay Asian Americans

in the San Francisco Bay Area

I am a second year MSW student at San Francisco State University and am conducting a needs assessment survey of lesbian/gay Asian Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area. The goal of my research is to determine both what social service/support network needs lesbian/gay Asian American have and how they are getting those needs met.

I need to ask for the help of the members of this list in completing the questionnaire.

I am hoping to gather a sample of at least 30+ participants. The more people who complete my brief questionnaire the better, I am trying to get a sample from people all over the Bay Area, so everyone's answers are important to me. The questionnaire is completely confidential. I will not be keep records of names, email addresses or any other identifying information. However if you would like to receive a copy of my thesis when it is completed you can request one and I will keep your request separate from the questionnaires.

Thank you for your help. I can e-mail you a copy of the survey or if you would prefer to receive a copy via snail mail please contact me off list at khoid@yahoo.com or khoidang@sfsu.edu.

Thanks for your help,

Khoi Dang

This week's Bay Area Reporter is on newstands!

This week in the Bay Area Reporter I met the new chair of the GLBT Studies Department of CCSF: “New department chair has bold plans for queer studies at CCSF”; dug into the governor’s health plan: “Governor's health plan faces details and competition”; learned about both sides of the abortion debate with a queer bent: “Roe at 34 hotter than ever”; and religions are opening their eyes to trans faith: “First ever trans religion summit this weekend.”
For more news and entertainment visit the Bay Area Reporter online or pick up an issue at your local independent or queer bookstore.

CALL FOR PAPERS:

EXAMINING THE LIVES OF GLBTQ OF COLOR

A special issue devoted to the above topic in:

The Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services: Issues in Practice,
Policy & Research

In recent decades, queer scholarship and scholarship on race have begun to examine what it eans to be raced and/or sexed in the U.S. Yet despite this movement, both Queer Studies and Ethnic Studies have often overlooked the existence of gay men and women of color.

This special issue is an attempt to add to the scholarship about lesbians and gay men of color; where lesbians and gay men of color find a "home" and what kind of home they find, what needs are specific to those who are both "raced" and "sexualized" and what are the factors that need to be addressed when working with people marginalized both along racial and sexual lines.

Accordingly, the guest editor of the journal invites manuscripts that address issues relevant to GLBTQ persons of color. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

1. Domestic violence against/amongst lesbians and gays of color.
2. HIV/AIDS prevention with gays and lesbians of color.
3. Disability, sexuality, and race.
4. Class issues for lesbians and gays of color.
5. Racism in the gay community.
6. Homophobia in racial/ethnic communities.
7. Negotiating lesbian and gay identities with racial
identities.

Manuscripts should be one or more of the following types: empirical (quantitative and qualitative); conceptual, addressing theoretical model development or research methodology needs, strategies, or innovations; reviews of empirically-based knowledge, or theoretical pieces. Exceptional personal essays will also be considered. Papers that explore the experiences of two or more racial groups are especially welcome.

The references and format of the manuscript should follow the style of the American Psychological Association and include an abstract of less than 100 words. Authors should submit three hard copies as well as an electronic copy (either on disc or through e-mail as a word document). Manuscripts will be peer-reviewed by at least two anonymous reviewers and returned with comments. Deadline for submission is July 31, 2007 with a planned publication in 2008.

Submissions should be sent to:

Chong-suk Han, Guest Editor
Department of Sociology
Temple University
713 Gladfelter Hall
1115 West Berks Street
Philadelphia, PA 19122

Early submissions are encouraged and appreciated. Inquiries for the special issue should be directed to the guest editor at chan@temple.edu or cwhan@u.washington.edu. (215) 204-7751.
Further information about the journal may be obtained at www.haworthpress.com or contacting the editor Michael Sullivan, Ph.D. at msulliv3@utk.edu or (901) 448-4475

This week's Bay Area Reporter is on newstands!

This week in the Bay Area Reporter I learned about crystal meth: “Porn actors set to star in meth campaign”; and I witnessed the ushering in of new leadership for the Board of Education: “Sanchez elected school board prez.”

For more news and entertainment visit the Bay Area Reporter online or pick up an issue at your local independent or queer bookstore.