New Book Releases: June 2015.

23/06/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

LGBTQIA+ CHARACTERS IN YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE

New book releases June 1st (USA)
Love Spell by Mia Kerick — (G,Q)

Love Spell (Cool Dudes Publishing, 2015)

Goodreads Summary: “Strutting his stuff on the catwalk in black patent leather pumps and a snug orange tuxedo as this year’s Miss (ter) Harvest Moon feels so very right to Chance César, and yet he knows it should feel so very wrong.
As far back as he can remember, Chance has been “caught between genders.” (It’s quite a touchy subject; so don’t ask him about it.) However, he does not question his sexual orientation. Chance has no doubt about his gayness—he is very much out of the closet at his rural New Hampshire high school, where the other students avoid the kid they refer to as “girl-boy.”
But at the local Harvest Moon Festival, when Chance, the Pumpkin Pageant Queen, meets Jasper Donahue, the Pumpkin Carving King, sparks fly. So Chance sets out, with the help of his BFF, Emily, to make “Jazz” Donahue his man.
An article in an online women’s magazine, Ten Scientifically Proven Ways to Make a Man Fall in Love with You (with a bonus love spell thrown in for good measure), becomes the basis of their strategy to capture Jazz’s heart.
Quirky, comical, definitely flamboyant, and with an inner core of poignancy, Love Spell celebrates the diversity of a gender-fluid teen.”
Cool Dudes Publishing / Amazon
June 2nd (USA)
*GAY YA’S BOOK CLUB PICK FOR JUNE!*
More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera — (G)

More Happy Than Not (Soho Teen, 2015)

Goodreads Summary: “Part Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, part Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,Adam Silvera’s extraordinary debut novel offers a unique confrontation of race, class and sexuality during one charged near-future summer in the Bronx.
When it first gets announced, the Leteo Institute’s memory-alteration procedure seems too good to be true to Aaron Soto—miracle cure-alls don’t tend to pop up in the Bronx projects. Aaron can’t forget how he’s grown up poor, how his friends all seem to shrug him off, and how his father committed suicide in their one bedroom apartment. He has the support of his patient girlfriend, if not necessarily his distant brother and overworked mother, but it’s not enough.
Then Thomas shows up. He doesn’t mind Aaron’s obsession over the Scorpius Hawthorne books and has a sweet movie set-up on his roof. There are nicknames. Aaron’s not only able to be himself, but happiness feels easy with Thomas. The love Aaron discovers may cost him what’s left of his life, but since Aaron can’t suddenly stop being gay Leteo may be the only way out.”
Amazon / Book Depository / Indie Bound
June 2nd (USA)

Skyscraping (Philomel Books, 2015)

Skyscraping by Cordelia Jensen — (Gay parent)
Goodreads Summary: “A heartrending, bold novel in verse about family, identity, and forgiveness.
Mira is just beginning her senior year of high school when she discovers her father with his male lover. Her world–and everything she thought she knew about her family–is shattered instantly. Unable to comprehend the lies, betrayal, and secrets that–unbeknownst to Mira–have come to define and keep intact her family’s existence, Mira distances herself from her sister and closest friends as a means of coping. But her father’s sexual orientation isn’t all he’s kept hidden. A shocking health scare brings to light his battle with HIV. As Mira struggles to make sense of the many fractures in her family’s fabric and redefine her wavering sense of self, she must find a way to reconnect with her dad–while there is still time.
Told in raw, exposed free verse, Skyscraping reminds us that there is no one way to be a family.
Amazon / Book Depository / Barnes & Noble
June 4th (USA)
The Geek and His Artist by Hope Ryan — (G)

The Geek and His Artist (Harmony Ink, 2015)

Goodreads Summary: “Simon Williams spends his lunch periods drawing his geek and trying not to think about the terrors waiting for him at home. He needs to get away from his abusive father before he suffers the same grisly fate as his mother. Because he’s learned the hard way running away doesn’t work, he’s counting the days until his eighteenth birthday.
Jimmy Bennet should be spending his lunch studying so his senior GPA is good enough to get him into college, but he can’t seem to focus thanks to his distracting artist. When he’s given the opportunity to tutor Simon in Trig and discovers Simon’s home-life nightmare, he wants nothing more than to get Simon out of danger. This need becomes more urgent when Simon comes to school the Monday after their first date with bruises, but it takes a broken leg before Jimmy can convince his boyfriend the Bennets really want him.
But the danger Simon thought was past shows up at the most unexpected time, and he must stand up to the fears he’s held so long to protect not only himself, but the man he wants to spend his life with.”
Harmony Ink Press / Amazon
June 5th (UK)

Starring Kitty (Catnip Publishing, 2015)

Starring Kitty by Keris Stainton (Middle Grade – L)
Goodreads Summary: “Sometimes the greatest love stories happen behind the scenes…
Kitty’s keeping secrets. Like how she’s struggling to cope with her mum’s illness. And how she’s falling for the girl with the purpley-red hair… A fun film competition with her friends Sunny and Hannah seems like the perfect distraction. But then Dylan wants to be more than Kitty’s secret. Is Kitty ready to let her two worlds meet or will she risk losing Dylan forever?
Starring Kitty is the first in a new series about first love and friendship by much-loved teen author Keris Stainton.”
Book Depository

June 9th (USA)
The Rules of Ever After by Killian B. Brewer — (G)

The Rules of Ever After (Duet, 2015)

Goodreads Summary: “The rules of royal life have governed the kingdoms of Clarameer for thousands of years, but Prince Phillip and Prince Daniel know that these rules don’t provide for the happily ever after they seek. A fateful, sleepless night on top of a pea set under twenty mattresses brings the two young men together and sends them on a quest out into the kingdoms.
On their travels, they encounter meddlesome fairies, an ambitious stepmother, disgruntled princesses and vengeful kings as they learn about life, love, friendship, and family. Most of all, the two young men must learn to know themselves and how to write their own rules of ever after.
The Rules of Ever After is the debut novel from Duet Books, an imprint for Young Adult LGBTQ fiction from Interlude Press.”
Amazon / Book Depository / Barnes & Noble
June 11th (USA)

The History of Us (Harmony Ink, 2015)

The History of Us by Nyrae Dawn — (G)
Goodreads Summary: “Sometimes it’s not about coming out, it’s about settling in.
Eighteen-year-old Bradley Collins came out a year ago and hasn’t looked back since. Who cares if he doesn’t know any other gay people? Bradley has friends and basketball—that’s all he needs. Even if that means always sitting on the sidelines when the guys go out looking for girls.
When cute film-boy TJ tries to flirt with Bradley while his friends are doing their thing, he freaks. Yeah, he’s gay, but he’s never had the opportunity to go out with a boy before. He’s never had to worry about how his friends will react to seeing him with a guy.
Bradley accompanies TJ on a road trip to film TJ’s senior project documentary. In each city they visit, they meet with people from different walks of life, and Bradley learns there’s a whole lot more to being honest about himself than just coming out. He still has to figure out who he really is, and learn to be okay with what he discovers.”
Harmony Ink Press / Amazon
June 16th (USA)
Glittering Shadows (Dark Metropolis #2) by Jaclyn Dolamore — (book#1 featured L and A characters)

Glittering Shadows (Disney Hyperion, 2015)

Goodreads Summary: “The revolution is here.
Bodies line the streets of Urobrun; a great pyre burns in Republic Square. The rebels grow anxious behind closed doors while Marlis watches as the politicians search for answers—and excuses—inside the Chancellery.
Thea, Freddy, Nan, and Sigi are caught in the crossfire, taking refuge with a vibrant, young revolutionary and a mysterious healer from Irminau. As the battle lines are drawn, a greater threat casts a dark shadow over the land. Magic might be lost—forever.
This action-packed sequel to Dark Metropolis weaves political intrigue, haunting magic, and heartbreaking romance into an unforgettable narrative. Dolamore’s lyrical writing and masterfully crafted plot deliver a powerful conclusion.”
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Indie Bound
June 23th (USA)

The Rise and Fall of a Theater Geek (Random House Books for Young Readers, 2015)

The Rise and Fall of a Theater Geek by Seth Rudetsky — (G)
Goodreads Summary: “Broadway, New York. The shows, the neon lights . . . the cute chorus boys! It’s where Justin has always wanted to be–and now, with a winter internship for a famous actor, he finally has his chance to shine. If only he could ditch his kind, virtuous, upright, and–dare he say it?—uptightboyfriend, Spencer. But once the internship begins, Justin has more to worry about than a cramped single-guy-in-the-city style. Instead of having his moment in the spotlight, he’s a not-so-glorified errand boy. Plus, Spencer is hanging out with a celebra-hottie, Justin’s best friend Becky isn’t speaking to him, and his famous actor boss seems headed for flopdom. Justin’s tap-dancing as fast as he can, but all his wit and sass might not be enough to switch his time in New York from nightmare-terrible to dream-come-true terrific.
Seth Rudetsky’s second YA novel is endearingly human, laugh-out-loud funny, and for any kid who’s ever aspired to Broadway but can only sneak in through the stage door. ”
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Indie Bound
June 30th (USA)
Under the Lights by Dahlia Adler — (B, L)

Under the Lights (Spencer Hill Contemporary, 2015)

Goodreads Summary: “Josh Chester loves being a Hollywood bad boy, coasting on his good looks, his parties, his parents’ wealth, and the occasional modeling gig. But his laid-back lifestyle is about to change. To help out his best friend, Liam, he joins his hit teen TV show, Daylight Falls…opposite Vanessa Park, the one actor immune to his charms. (Not that he’s trying to charm her, of course.) Meanwhile, his drama-queen mother blackmails him into a new family reality TV show, with Josh in the starring role. Now that he’s in the spotlight—on everyone’s terms but his own—Josh has to decide whether a life as a superstar is the one he really wants.
Vanessa Park has always been certain about her path as an actor, despite her parents’ disapproval. But with all her relationships currently in upheaval, she’s painfully uncertain about everything else. When she meets her new career handler, Brianna, Van is relieved to have found someone she can rely on, now that her BFF, Ally, is at college across the country. But as feelings unexpectedly evolve beyond friendship, Van’s life reaches a whole new level of confusing. And she’ll have to choose between the one thing she’s always loved…and the person she never imagined she could.”

LGBTQ YA by the Numbers: Gender and Genre

23/06/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

After seeing an ask about speculative fiction with LGBTQ+ protagonists on the Gay YA tumblr a few weeks ago, I got curious, so I did what I often do in circumstances like these: I went through the masterlist to figure out just how much LGBTQ+ speculative fiction was on it. Thinking about speculative fiction numbers got me thinking about other numbers, so I thought it might be interesting to do a gender breakdown as well. This turned into a slightly more involved project (“more involved” meaning “I had to count more books”, basically). These numbers are based on the list as it stood on 21 April, 2015; they would look (slightly) different if recalculated today.
Totals
I’m going to go down the list from most books to least books.
Gay: 315 books

male author: 174.5 (55.4%)
female author: 130.5 (41.4%)
non-binary author: 0 (0%)
multi-author anthology: 7 (2.2%)
anonymous: 1 (0.3%)
I couldn’t find out: 3 (1.0%) (two books by M.C. Lee and one by R.J. Seeley)

While a majority of books about gay male characters are written by men, a significant portion of them are written by women (a far, far greater percentage than the numbers for books about lesbians written by men, as we’ll see in a moment).
That said, my initial perception that the majority of the books in the Gay section of the masterlist were written by women was, obviously, very wrong — it’s clear I fell victim to the 17%/33% fallacy (if you’re reading this, are a man, and haven’t heard about this, I’d highly recommend reading the article; it really opened my eyes to the limitations of my perception and is the reason that in contexts like this my approach is to actually count so I have accurate numbers instead).
I’d be very interested to hear from authors about why they chose to write the stories they wrote (as opposed to writing stories about non-straight female characters).
Lesbian: 203 books

male author: 13 (6.4%)
female author: 172 (84.7%)
non-binary author: 1 (0.5%) (S.J. Adams)
multi-author anthology: 15 (7.4%)
I couldn’t find out: 2 (1.0%) (two books by Ari Bach)

These percentages become even starker if you exclude the anthologies: over 90% of the non-anthologies were written by women.
Bisexual: 81 books

male author: 21.5 (26.5%)
female author: 58.5 (72.2%)
non-binary author: 0 (0%)
multi-author anthology: 1 (1.2%)

A further breakdown of the bi books by the gender of the bi character (and character gender vs. author gender) would be very interesting, but that will have to wait for another time.
Transgender: 38 books

male author: 6.5 (17.1%)
female author: 26.5 (70.0%)
non-binary author: 2 (5.3%) (one book by Sassafras Lowry and one by Rae Spoon)
multi-author anthology: 3 (7.9%)

The same note as for the bi books applies here, as well.
Asexual/Aromantic: 19 books

male author: 2 (11%)
female author: 17 (89%)
non-binary author: 0 (0%)
multi-author anthology: 0 (0%)

Caveat: the ace/aro section of the masterlist includes non-YA books, in deference to the rarity of ace/aro representation in YA, so take these numbers with a grain of salt.
Intersex: 6 books

male author: 0 (0%)
female author: 6 (100%)
non-binary author: 0 (0%)
multi-author anthology: 0 (0%)

There are so few books with intersex characters. Hopefully that will change in future.
Genre
I’ve included a gender breakdown here, as well. For the purposes of this list, I counted all forms of speculative fiction: high fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal stuff, science fiction, postapocalyptic and/or dystopian books, magical realism, etc. Not included are things like thrillers, historical fiction, sports books, and the like. Again, I’m going to go through by number of books.
Gay: 76 (24.1% of total)

male author: 39 (51.3% of genre)
female author: 33 (43.4% of genre)
multi-author anthology: 2 (2.6% of genre)
I couldn’t find out: 2 (2.6% of genre) (two books by M.C. Lee)

Lesbian: 58 books (28.6% of total)

male author: 3 (5.2% of genre)
female author: 48 (82.8% of genre)
multi-author anthology: 5 (8.6% of genre)
I couldn’t find out: 2 (3.4% of genre) (two books by Ari Bach)

Bisexual: 40 (49.4% of total)

male author: 5 (12.5% of genre)
female author: 35 (87.5% of genre)

Asexual/Aromantic: 17 books (89% of total)

male author: 1 (6% of genre)
female author: 16 (94% of genre)

As above, these statistics are perhaps a bit dubious considering that the masterlist includes non-YA books with ace/aro characters.
Transgender: 9 books (23.7% of total)

male author: 2 (22% of genre)
female author: 7 (78% of genre)

Intersex: 2 books (33% of total)

female author: 2 (100% of genre)

There are so few of these that these statistics mean nothing, basically.
Comments
Excluding asexual/aromantic and intersex on the grounds that there are too few of them to make any real judgments, the percentage of genre fiction is pretty consistently around 25% for gay, lesbian, and trans books.
So what’s up with the bi books? I mean, that’s awesome if you’re looking for speculative fiction about bi characters (and really, is anyone not?), but still: almost 50% of the books on the masterlist about bi characters are speculative.
This raises two questions that are two sides of the same coin: first, why is it that we can more easily imagine bi characters in speculative contexts than in the real world? And, relatedly: why is it that gay, lesbian, and trans characters are limited (relatively speaking) to realistic (or at least grounded in the real world) fiction?
I think the answers to those questions are related in much the same way the questions are:

the dominant narrative about LGBTQ+ youth is the coming out story, prototypically about gay men, lesbians to a lesser extent, and more recently trans people (cf. Casey Plett’s excellent commentary on the “Rise of the Gender Novel“). Bi young people don’t fit as neatly into this narrative, so fewer versions of it are written.
by the same token, the dominant narrative about LGBTQ+ youth is the coming out story about gay men, lesbians, and trans people. Speculative fiction plots don’t tend to leave as much room for this as realistic fiction does, so less speculative fiction about these groups is written because it’s harder to fit that dominant narrative into speculative stories.

The (relative) overrepresentation of bisexuality in speculative fiction worries me: it’s already easy enough for realistic media to refuse to say the word “bisexual”. Moving to a fantasy world where contemporary labels for sexuality aren’t used or don’t apply can be liberating, but it can also be an uncomfortably convenient way to not engage with real-world questions about identity.
The (relative) underrepresentation of gay, lesbian, and trans characters in speculative fiction has been extensively discussed elsewhere, and I don’t have much to add that hasn’t been said elsewhere, better, before. Speculative fiction allows members of marginalized groups to imagine possibilities for themselves beyond what the dominant group(s) acknowledge, and that’s incredibly important (N.K. Jemisin has an amazing essay on representation that you should go read immediately).
This is not at all to say that realistic fiction isn’t important, because it is. If we take one thing away from this post, let it be that there just isn’t enough LGBTQ+ YA being published. The Gay YA Masterlist is not a complete list, by any means, but it’s fairly comprehensive, and it’s also short enough that it’s not unreasonable for me to sit down and count every book on it. Malinda Lo estimated in 2013 that only “1.9% to 2.4% of YA books published in 2013 include LGBT main characters or are about LGBT issues”.
Realistically, there just aren’t enough LGBTQ+ YA books being published for any of these numbers to be more than vaguely suggestive of questions or trends. How meaningful is it to say more books about bi characters in speculative contexts are being published when only a handful of books about bi characters are released every year? Or that there are “too many” coming out stories when major publishers released only 24 LGBTQ+ YA books total in 2014?
We desperately need more stories. In N.K. Jemisin’s words (seriously, read the essay I linked to above):

We all have futures. We all have pasts. We all have stories. And we all, every single one of us, no matter who we are and no matter what’s been taken from us or what poison we’ve internalized or how hard we’ve had to work to expel it —

— we all get to dream.

Nathaniel | May 28, 2015 at 6:00 am | Categories: Guest Blogs, Updates and Announcements | URL:http://wp.me/p1tHav-Bv

Give Your Characters an Online Presenc

23/06/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

There was a time when you could be all alone even when surrounded by dozens, even hundreds, of people. I’m talking about high school and the time before the Internet and smart phones.

Everyone feels isolated now and then, but true isolation, being ignored while the rest of the world goes about its day, is something teenagers face. Especially LGBT teens. We’re the outsiders, after all. Different. Sometimes special, but very different. Where we look we see a world that was built for heterosexuals and cisgendered people. Seeing a film, watching a commercial, noticing a sign that features two boys holding hands or two girls kissing or androgyny–we remember this as the exception to the norm. Our being different is reinforced every day, sometimes every hour.
When I was an adolescent, the isolation was terrible and terrifying. I know that for many kids that is still the case, but I lacked the technology that could soothe my loneliness. I was closeted. There was no option of a gay-straight alliance. I did not know a single other gay kid except the effeminate boy who surrounded himself with a flotilla of girls. I could not relate to him. I could not tell anyone my secret. Being a nerd did not help matters–nerds talk a lot about science-fiction and fantasy back then, but invariably the conversation would turn to talk about lusting after girls. And I became hushed and alone even among the few friends I found.
As a writer, I think about how life as a LGBT teen has changed because of technology. The Internet brings people together. When you’re LGBT, often you need to construct an artificial family because of issues (real or perceived) with you biological family members. I say artificial but I do not mean to suggest that this constructed kin and kith are less valuable. We want our family to shelter us and nurture us. And a family constructed from people from around the world, who we speak to online, can be incredibly caring and encouraging.
An example: I recently watched the film Romeos (which I give two thumbs-up and recommend). The lead is a young transgender man in

the midst of transitioning. The emotional toll is devastating but the lead goes online and records his own progress, checks in with others through Skype, and watches videos of those who are both ahead and behind him in the transition process. I’m in my 40s now. I had no idea that this vibrant community of transgender folk (I am sure it’s not just teens) existed and that they did so to help others dealing with gender issues. Sometimes the pain expressed in the videos was almost too much to bear, but then there were moments of joy for the lead, as he could see the aftereffects of surgery.
Back to books and why I am writing this blog: when I was a teen, there was no etheric community I could join–likely anonymously to begin with, then identifying myself as my confidence was reinforced. Gay teens of my generation had to either wait until graduation (cars! college! clubs!) or run away to major cities and find the gayborhoods. If you are writing gayYA and it’s set before the Internet, you cannot avoid the issue of isolation. Except for the boys who were flamboyant and hid behind drama and female best friends, few boys would dare come out of the closet.
But now…now, in contemporary YA fiction, there exists an entire realm of friends and acquaintances that can comfort.
I’m certainly not going to suggest that LGBT teens today no longer have to deal with loneliness or being outcasts. An enormous number of runaway teens are queer. But you cannot ignore the role of the Internet in the everyday life of any adolescent. Tumblr. Instagram. Even those hoary old sites like Facebook. Social networking means that a gay kid can find someone to talk to someplace in the world 24/7. The characters in your novel need to have an online presence. Whether they live in a rural state that is highly conservative and religious and they are afraid to come out or they are fortunate to be in a liberal neighborhood and have parents who love them for who they are, that teen will be socializing online. And not just socializing. How do LGBT kids learn about being…well, queer? Straight kids have the heteronormative world that instructs them how to dress, how to speak, how to ask a boy or girl out, how to make out, how to navigate adolescence. Now some of this is patterned off of media like television and movies and has terrible elements (like misogyny) but they have role models to follow. Gay kids have fewer examples to follow and so they need the Internet more than their straight counterparts. Watching a gay short on Vimeo…following a popular blogger…asking dating advice from friends that they have never even met in person. This is a very real and strange (and wondrous) life for so many LGBT teens.
It may seem silly in a blog post to champion the role of the Internet in your fiction. But take a step back and realize why this blog exists. How are queer kids discovering that books they can relate to have been written? Not every baby dyke’s mom is going to be handing her the latest Malinda Lo book. Not every gay boy is brave enough to ask the school librarian if they have anything by David Levithan. And a teen questioning gender? Likely their first investigations will be made online before they can seek professional and clinical help with the decision to transition.
Your queer kids in the book may be loners, may be introverts, but they will also be using the Internet as a lifeline. Don’t deny them that.
—
Steve Berman is a writer of queer speculative fiction for teens and adults, and an editor. Visit him online or follow him on Twitter.

Policing Board publishes update reports on LGB and Transgender human rights recommendations

23/06/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Following the publication in 2012 of the Human Rights Thematic Review on the policing with and for people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual (LGB) and/or Transgender, the Policing Board has now published two reports on how the 18 recommendations made by the Review are being implemented by the PSNI.

The Review looked at how the PSNI engage with LBG and Transgender individuals across a range of circumstances – as members of the public generally; as victims of crime; as suspects; and as employees or potential employees.

Chair of the Policing Board Anne Connolly said: “The Board recognises the positive progress made by the PSNI in this area since we published our Thematic Review in 2012. We know, however, that many LGB and Transgender people in Northern Ireland continue to be the target of hate crimes which can have a devastating impact upon their lives, their families and the wider community. Hate crime is a wider societal issue that cannot be tackled by the police alone yet the police play a critical role in a victim’s experience.

Despite increasing budgetary pressures, the police must therefore continually seek to improve their response, to bring more offenders to justice and to build confidence in people to report incidents and we welcome the fact that tackling hate crime is a strategic priority for PSNI.”

Ends
For further information, please contact the Northern Ireland Policing Board’s Communications Office on 07801738795.

Notes to editors

To view the update report on LGB people click here and the for update report on Transgender people click here.
To view the 2012 report, click here.
In recognition of the fact that gender identity is in no way connected with or related to sexual orientation, a commitment was made in the thematic review that any further reporting on transgender issues would be separate from LGB. Thus two update reports have been produced, one reporting on policing with and for transgender individuals and one reporting on policing with and for LGB individuals.

Notes to editors ends.

Same-sex marriage in the UK and Ireland

23/06/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Same-sex marriage in the UK and Ireland by Gavin Boyd, Policy and Advocacy Manager of The Rainbow Project.
The cause of marriage equality for same-sex couples has been growing globally for a number of years with many European and Latin American countries moving quickly to legislate and with legislation and strategic litigation furthering the cause in the United States. The passing of same-sex marriage legislation in England, Scotland and Wales coupled with the passing of the marriage referendum in the Republic of Ireland has left Northern Ireland as the only region within the UK or Ireland which neither conducts nor recognises same-sex marriages.
These legislative changes which are happening around the jurisdiction of Northern Ireland have led to an increase in speculation as to how or when equal marriage can be introduced. In light of the successful marriage referendum in the Republic of Ireland, many activists and politicians have intimated that a similar campaign could introduce equal marriage in Northern Ireland.
It is, however, important to remember that the referendum in the Republic was used because it was the only way to introduce equal marriage. Had the responsibility to introduce fallen to Dail Eireann, equal marriage would have already been introduced because all of the main political parties supported its introduction. However, the understanding of the government and its legal advisors was that the constitution of the Republic would have to be amended to allow for same-sex marriage and only a national plebiscite or referendum could amend the constitution in this way.
As UK has no written constitution there is not the same tradition of referenda to amend or create laws. In the UK, Parliament is sovereign and referenda are not legally binding. Although referenda may indicate public support for an issue, Parliament still has the authority to give effect to the will of the public or legislate in another way. The Rainbow Project believes that a referendum is not the solution to marriage inequalities in Northern Ireland. We know that there would not be the same consensus among political parties as there was in the Republic, likely leading to a more divisive and contentious campaign, without a certain outcome, which would still have to be voted on by the Northern Ireland Assembly. As the Northern Ireland Assembly has now failed four times to introduce marriage equality, we see no reason that a referendum result would compel those members, who are intractably opposed to its introduction, to vote for a marriage equality bill, even if it was supported by the public.
Due to the barriers which exist to a legislative solution to marriage for same-sex couples in Northern Ireland, The Rainbow Project has turned to strategic litigation. When same-sex marriage became lawful in England and Wales in March 2014, we understood that although couples from Northern Ireland could legally marry in England or Wales, they would only be recognised as civil partners when they returned to Northern Ireland. To us, this creates an anomalous situation where someone has their relationship reclassified against their will when they move to another part of the same state i.e. the United Kingdom. We are of the opinion, that if someone is married in the UK, then they are married everywhere within the UK and that any attempt to reclassify their relationship is an unlawful invasion of their rights to privacy, family life and marriage.
To this end, we are now supporting a couple who were lawfully married in England in 2014 who are seeking to have their marriage recognised in Northern Ireland. We are asking the family court to make a declaration of marriage; essentially stating that their marriage was lawfully conducted and that their marriage remains lawful in Northern Ireland. The role of The Rainbow Project in this test case is to source and support the clients. Our external solicitor had prepared the papers, sought counsel, and engaged with PILS to secure funding for the challenge.
Our clients wanted to be married, they did not want to enter a civil partnership. Had they wanted a civil partnership, they could have entered into one in Northern Ireland. The best option for them was to get married in England, as many people from Northern Ireland do. When they came back to Northern Ireland their relationship was downgraded to a civil partnership. We do not think that this is reasonable. We do not feel that this achieves any kind of legitimate state interest and we strongly feel that there is a public interest in ensuring that a person’s marriage is recognised everywhere within the state they live and cannot be reclassified without their consent.
We are not, at this stage, asking the court to declare that same-sex couples may marry in Northern Ireland, but simply to state that if someone is married they must be recognised as married. The referendum result in the Republic makes the need for recognition of marriages even more urgent. We could now have a situation where a married couple who live in Derry/Londonderry are not recognised as married at home but if one partner travels across the border to work in Donegal, they are recognised as married but the partner who remains in Northern Ireland is not recognised as married. This is a truly unreasonable position for any government to hold and deliberately devalues a same-sex relationship comparative to an opposite-sex relationship without providing any evidence as to why they should be treated differently.
It is important to note that recognition of marriages is only one part of the puzzle, the second is to ensure that same-sex marriages can be conducted in Northern Ireland. However, we believe that the most strategic outcome is to secure recognition of marriages in Northern Ireland and then either allow the Assembly to legislate for marriages to be conducted in Northern Ireland or challenge the failure of the government to introduce same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.
As our recent rally for marriage equality in Belfast City Centre, with our partners Amnesty International and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, demonstrated there is enormous public support for the introduction of marriage equality in Northern Ireland. Thousands of people attended to make their voices heard. If legislative or referendum solutions are not practical to achieving this, then the public interest is best served by strategic litigation.

Reprinted 11th Edition: 22nd June 2015

Unrealistic Gay Beauty Standards

23/06/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

SHUTTERSTOCK / ZURIJETA

A new study of gay men found they had a clear image of their ideal body but on average they felt they needed to look even hotter than their ideal body simply to get dates. The study authors think this is probably leading to eating disorders. Gay men, this bears repeating: nobody’s perfect and that’s okay.

Family Support Helps Queer Teens… Maybe

Corbis

A new study on family support and depression among LGB (no T) teens had some weird findings: queer girls with lots of family support were less depressed but queer boys with lots of family support were more depressed. Why? No idea. More research is needed but until then we should be looking out for all our youth — boys and girls alike.

LGBT people are subjected to hate crimes ‘on daily basis’ in UK rural communities

23/06/2015 By ACOMSDave 1 Comment

The Independent – James Cusick – Tuesday 23 June 2015

Survey reveals that eight in 10 have been verbally abused or harassed, with one in 10 suffering physical assault

The portrayal of the “only gay in the village” as a tolerated and integrated minority, masks a far harsher reality for Britain’s LGBT community who are subjected to everyday bullying including verbal abuse, discrimination and criminal damage to their property, according to a new report.
The study reveals that hate crime, especially in small rural communities, is often a daily occurrence for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
However high levels of under-reporting – out of fear that police will not treat incidents seriously, or that they will be “outed” to families – is leaving vulnerable victims lonely and isolated.
The report by the University of Leicester’s Centre for Hate Studies estimated that 35,000 cases of hate crime against LGBT people fell below the radar of official crime figures.
The report’s author, Dr Stevie-Jade Hardy, paints a picture of intolerance far removed from the BBC TV Little Britain comedy character, Daffyd Thomas, played by Matt Lucas.
Dr Hardy said that the individuals who contributed to the study described being “targeted by young people” in their area, being verbally abused with derogatory names shouted in the street and their homes daubed with offensive graffiti.

She said : “If something was done about it, then sometimes the instances got worse and the targeting levels increased.”
According to the study, LGBT people who were “noticeably different” and living in small rural communities, were more likely to be the victims of hate crime.
Of those who were interviewed at length for the study, 88 per cent reported being victimised. The national figures highlighted in the report showed only 4,267 incidents being recorded by police in 2012-13. The most recent Crime Survey [for England and Wales] showed 39,000 homophobic hate incidents over the same timeframe.
The survey reveals that eight in 10 LGBT people have been verbally abused or harassed, with one in 10 suffering physical assault.
Additional evidence suggested that although victims of transphobia [intense prejudice against transsexual or transgender people] could be targeted up to 50 times a year, only three in 10 individuals bothered to report what had happened to them.
The Leicester study lists the “normalisation” of hate crime, concerns about wasting police time, and “negative experience” of police involvement, including being “outed” without permission, as potential reasons for the substantial under-reporting.
Dr Hardy said her research alongside previous studies had shown a targeted minority who were often scared to go out, scared to reveal their identity and were suffering both emotionally and physically from the impact of hate crimes.
The publication of the new study has been co-ordinated with the launch of new campaign to combat the high incidence of LGBT hate crime and to raise awareness of victimisation.

Matt Lucas as “the only gay in the village”, Daffyd Thomas in BBC’s Little Britain (Rex)
The campaign is being supported by the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Welsh Government and the Crown Office Scotland and is being co-ordinated by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
It is aim is to encourage equality and diversity, eliminate unlawful discrimination, and to protect and promote human rights.
Commenting on the UK campaign which carries the message “Recognise it, Report it”, the deputy chairwoman of the EHRC, Caroline Waters, said “It is a tragedy that there is a still a backdrop of intolerance and abuse which stays largely hidden from society.”
Paul Roberts, the chief executive of the LGBT Consortium, which assists voluntary and community organisations in providing support and services, said LGBT communities were already working with the police to help break down barriers. He added : “But too often LGBT people don’t know they are experiencing hate crime or just shrug it off. Our message today is – recognise it, report it and get support when you need it.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/lgbt-people-subjected-to-hate-crimes-on-daily-basis-in-uk-rural-communities-10337452.html

Humanists have always been champions of LGBT rights

22/06/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Andrew Copson says Humanists and LGBT people are natural allies.

21^st June 2015, 10:26 AM
LAST UPDATED AT 11:38 AM
Andrew Copson

Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association Andrew Copson writes for PinkNews on World Humanist Day.
Humanists are simply people who see the world as a natural place, best understood by science and reason, and who seek to live an ethical life on the basis of reason and humanity. It’s a valuable way of seeing the world – and one which has inspired great commitment to equality. In recent years, society has come a long way, and the UK in particular has become a more diverse, more tolerant, and more accepting place.
But as far back as you can look, you can see that humanists have not just been LGBT-friendly, but champions of LGBT people and their rights.
World Humanist Day, which falls on 21 June each year, provides us with an excellent opportunity to reflect not just on how much humanists have contributed to our society – but also to the struggle for LGBT equality.
Today the British Humanist Association (BHA), which represents humanists across the UK and campaigns on equalities issues, can count prominent LGBT figures such as Stephen Fry, Dr Christian Jessen, Peter Tatchell, and Angela Eagle MP among its Patrons. Other prominent humanists have included queer writers Virginia Woolf and E M Forster, the mathematician Alan Turing, and the economist John Maynard Keynes.
I’m proud of the fact that BHA celebrants were conducting same-sex humanist weddings decades before the legalisation of same-sex marriage. The BHA was later a prominent campaigner for legal same-sex marriages in Britain, working closely with the All Party Parliamentary Humanist Group on the passage of the Same Sex Marriage Act.
The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association, now part of the BHA, also campaigned for legal same-sex marriages since its inception in the late 1970s. In 2001, the group campaigned heavily for gay couples to take part in the London Partnership Register – the policy which later inspired the Civil Partnerships Act and eventually the Same Sex Marriage Act.
When same-sex marriage was legalised in Scotland, the first weddings were humanist ones – as Scotland has the benefit of legal humanist marriages and legal same-sex marriages. England and Wales is still lagging behind in that department, but there is pressure now on Michael Gove to legalise humanist marriages south of the border as well. There’s still work to be done.
Like Humanism itself, the enthusiastic support humanists have shown for LGBT issues cuts across all divides – sexuality, race, and social background.
As Stephen Fry put it in a video he recorded for the BHA last year, ‘Ultimately, morality comes from us.’ We don’t look to religious texts to tell us what’s right or wrong. We consider a particular situation; we look to what the evidence says about it; and we try to think and feel as others might about a situation.
This approach has made natural allies of humanists and LGBT causes. But it’s also led to humanists taking an active role in a wide range of issues – from the anti-apartheid movement to anti-colonialism, animal rights issues, and the campaign to legalise assisted dying.
LGBT people have often adopted a similar approach – which is why the LGBT movement have been such enthusiastic advocates for others human rights causes as well. There’s something about being denied one’s rights, or one’s place in society, or being discriminated against, which teaches us to be aware of other’s feelings; to be conscientious; to try to see things fairly.
It’s an approach which is uniquely prepared to meet novel ethical challenges as time goes forward, but also one which is deeply embedded in our culture and in the way we see the world. Perhaps moreso than any religion. This World Humanist Day I will be reflecting on that long hard road, and the people who have walked it.
Andrew Copson is the Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association.

When should journalists take on the role of activists?

22/06/2015 By ACOMSDave

Are journalists who are silent on issues of privacy and net neutrality doing their jobs correctly, asks Dan Gillmor of the First Amendment Coalition

Posted: 19 June 2015 By: Catalina Albeanu

Credit: Thinkstock

Objectivity is one of the pillars of journalism, ingrained into a newsroom’s editorial processes and taught to trainee journalists from the very first day.

But there is also space for journalists to take a stand on what they believe in, said Dan Gillmor, board member of the First Amendment Coalition and Guardian columnist.

“I don’t believe objectivity really exists,” he said at the GEN Summit today. “It’s kind of a unicorn, it’s a nice idea…”

“But even as we are worshipping at this altar of objectivity or neutrality, there’s some issues where, as journalists, we simply cannot be neutral, cannot be objective and should not try to be.”

He highlighted the freedoms which are under threat in the digital world, freedoms that are essential to journalists and citizens: freedom to associate, collaborate and innovate, all intertwined with the freedom of the press.

He said there is “an attack on the decentralised fundamental nature of the internet” from governments and corporations, as well as mass-surveillance, as revealed by the NSA leaks of Edward Snowden.

“If we’re ok with that, are we doing our jobs correctly as journalists?” he asked delegates.

“We journalists should be using encryption all the time, but we shouldn’t stop there.

“We should be teaching encryption to our audiences, helping them use it themselves.”

He pointed to more issues journalists have failed to deal with “in a fundamental way” while discussing how to fit in with “the world of Facebook”, such as the threat to net neutrality in Europe, for example.

The media industry should recognise the idea of “activism as journalism”, a connection that makes many uncomfortable – some of the finest reporting can be done by advocacy groups and NGOs like Human Rights Watch, he said.

There are however many activists who are pushing out propaganda, but “there is a great role for activism in journalism”.

“Please be activists for those core freedoms… Please campaign against control and please campaign for more open systems and technologies than the ones that are being created around us,” he told delegates

Viva Espana

18/06/2015 By ACOMSDave

This is my first blog entry in relation to my dream to move and live in Spain. Over time I hope to develop my knowledge of Spain, its culture, customs and its language. In the meantime I will keep my eyes open for appropriate and interesting articles to start the ball rolling. Are you moving or living in Spain, if you have interesting stories or have information then please pass it on to ACOMSDave and his Viva Espana.

Want a great work-life balance? Then head to Spain

Author: Ian Clover | June 15th, 2015

There are many Brits who live on the Costa del Sol who never intended for their extended holiday to turn into a decade-long spell in Spain. Those early, carefree days of life in Spain can stretch out across the long and languid summer like the calm seas of the glistening Mediterranean, but there is always that nagging voice inside saying “this will not – cannot – last!”

But while expats who treat life on the Costa del Sol as one long, sun-kissed holidayare in for a shock, those prepared to balance living life with knuckling down will find that Spain is actually one of the best places in the world to strike the right balance…

A recent report published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has found that Spain ranks second behind Denmark at delivering the best work-life balance in the world.

Denmark is a fine country, with excellent public services, high wages and superb beer, but its climate gives Scotland a run for its money in the ‘bleak and chilly’ stakes. Spain, blessed with abundant sunshine and the highest average temperatures in Europe, is a fantastic place in which to enjoy the ideal work-life balance.

According to the study, Spaniards who work full time actually devoted a greater portion of their day to personal care and pursuing leisure activities than any other nation in the world, racking up an impressive 16 hours a day doing things like sports, hobbies, dining, sleeping, meeting with friends or spending time with family.

What’s more, just six per cent of Spaniards worked more than 50 hours a week. And if you’re thinking that this may play a part in Spain’s recent economic woes, then think again – rich, stable, prosperous Denmark has just two per cent of its workforceclocking up more than 50 hours at work each week.

“Finding a suitable balance between work and life is a challenge for all workers, especially working parents,” said the OECD report. “The ability to successfully combine work, family commitments and personal life is important for the well-being of all members in a household.

“Evidence suggests that long work hours may impair personal health, jeopardise safety and increase stress.”

The report formed part of the OECD’s ‘Better Life Index’, which ranks the quality of living in all OECD member nations. Spain scored highly in many other areas, including housing – the country has some of Europe’s finest, most affordable property – community and health, with Spaniards living longer than most other nationalities in the world.

However, there is still room for improvement, with Spain performing below-average on environmental quality, education and income. These things, however, are all improving as the country continues its economic recovery.

The finer things in life – friends, family, health and happiness – Spain already gets right, although most Spaniards would admit that an extra bit of cash in their pocket each month would not go amiss…