This Guy Makes A Living Crushing Arguments Against Gay Marriage. Note: He’s Really Good At His Job.

I’m pretty confident that almost everyone that reads anything I ever post is probably pretty ok with the idea of homosexuality and gay marriage… otherwise I’m almost certain you would’ve unsubscribed/blocked me/reported me for spam-against-Jesus by now. But if there’s any of you out there that are somehow still paying attention to me, but convinced that there is a problem with homosexuality, I dare you to watch this.

Still got an argument for me?

Petition | I’ve experienced homophobia in Aussie Rules Football first hand -- now it’s time to end it. | Change.org

Hey lovers, join me in signing this yeah?

monsterpussy:

Dicko’d (Taken with Instagram)

My BFF rocks. Also: don’t rape. Or victim blame. Ever. Otherwise you’ll have us to deal with.

“Dear hypothetically gay son”

I came across this blog post, in response to this heartbreaking letter that someone had received from their own father five years ago and shared on Reddit.

As someone who cares for children - not just because of the way I am, but also as an occupation - it is my view that there is nothing more powerful you can give to a little human than a sense of love, acceptance and safety. That doesn’t stop just because your children grow up - nor because they become different from you. Your children are not you, they are not copies of you, and nor should you expect them to be. They are their own person. They are someone new and precious to the world, and you should be excited about who they might become.

The roughly-scrawled heartbreaking letter is a pure example of a person abandoning their commitments as a parent; commitments to love, to accept, to support, to understand. I cannot fathom the idea that there are parents like this in the world - but sadly there are. And it breaks my heart.

But then there are people like the man who posted the response on his blog. He has a son on the way and, of course, has no way of knowing anything about his child yet - least of all their sexuality. These are the people who understand the complex challenges of what it really takes to love as a parent. These people restore my faith that the world is moving forward towards fairness, equality and acceptance.

Here is the brilliant blog post in full:

Dear Hypothetically Gay Son,

You’re gay. Obviously you already know that, because you told us at the dinner table last night. I apologize for the awkward silence afterwards, but I was chewing.  It was like when we’re at a restaurant and the waiter comes up mid-bite and asks how the meal is, only in this metaphor you are the waiter and instead of asking me about my meal you said you were gay. I don’t know why I needed to explain that. I think I needed to find a funny way to repeat the fact that you’re gay… because that is what it sounds like in my head right now. “My son is gay. My son is gay. My son is gay.”

Let me be perfectly clear. I love you. I will always love you. Since being gay is part of who you are, I love that you’re gay. I’m just trying to wrap my head around the idea. If you sensed any sadness in my silence last night, it was because I was surprised that I was surprised. Ideally, I would have already known. Since you were an embryo, my intent has always been to really know you for who you are and not who I expect you to be. And yet, I was taken by surprise at last night’s dinner. Have I said “surprise” enough in this paragraph? One more time… surprise!

OK. Let’s get a few things straight about how things are going to be. 

1. Our home is a place of safety and love. The world has dealt you a difficult card. While LGBT people are becoming more accepted, it is still a difficult path to walk. You’re going to experience hate and anger and misunderstandings about who you are out in the world. That will not happen here.  You need to know with every fiber of who you are that when you walk in the front door of your home you are safe and you are loved. Your mother is in complete agreement with me on this.
   
   
2. I am still, as always, your biggest defender.  Just because you’re gay doesn’t mean you’re any less capable of taking care of/defending yourself. That said, if you need me to stand next to you, in front of you, write letters, sign petitions, advocate, or anything else, I am here. I will go to war for you.
   
   
3. If you’re going to have boys over, you now need to leave your bedroom door open. Sorry kiddo. Thems are the breaks. I couldn’t have girls in my room with the door shut, you don’t get to have boys.
    
4. You and I are going to revisit that talk we had about safe sex. I know it’s going to be awkward for both of us, but it is important. I need to do some research first, so let’s give it a few weeks. If you have questions or concerns before then, let me know. 

That’s enough for now.  Feel free to view this letter as a contract. If I ever fail to meet any of the commitments made herein, pull it out and hold me to account.  I’ll end with this: You are not broken. You are whole, and beautiful. You are capable and compassionate. You and your sister are the best things I have ever done with my life, and I couldn’t be more proud of the people you’ve become.

Love, 

Dad

P.S. Thanks to a few key Supreme Court decisions and the Marriage Equality act of 2020 you’re legally able to get married. When I was your age, that was just an idea. Pretty cool huh?

Amen.

A beautiful video with an important message. Watch it. I hope you surprise yourself.

Love is love, whatever form it takes.

This is a really, really important message.

Never settle for the mundane. No one ever made a life worth retelling out of the mediocre.

Good night. xo

The most accurate world map I’ve ever seen.

world-shaker:

Maybe we’re doing it wrong.

(via ilovecharts)

icelandwantstobeyourfriend:

Halló, this is Iceland.

I do not know how it is in the country where you live, but the humans who live on me are all the same. They do not care who other humans love. 

Bless bless,
- Iceland. 

P.S. This photo-graph was taken by Ásgeir, put on the Face-book by a Grape-vine, and ríblogged by fuckyeahiceland, who said: “IT’S OFFICIAL: The Lord Almighty shows his support for gay marriage”.

Here here.

Slutwalk: for the free woman in all of us - The Drum Opinion (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Wow.

I never thought I would be saying this, but bravo Catherine Deveny. I completely agree with her view on Slutwalk.

Makes me wish I wasn’t in central Victoria and that I could be there to support the walk.

Good luck Slutwalkers!

A reply to Christina Hendricks

This “open letter to men” written by Christina Hendricks came across my radar today. I read it and my immediate reaction was to feel patronised and stereotyped. For the most part, I take issue with the whole “instruction manual for dumb neanderthal men” approach to the piece.

There are big problems that still exist in the pursuit for equality between men and women, but pieces like this only serve to widen the rift in understanding and true communication between the sexes. Men don’t need pieces like this to remind them just how much they are expected to “not understand women”. And women don’t need to perpetuate the myth that men always need to be told what to do. We’re (as in all of us) better than that.

Some of the specific parts I took issue with…

We remember forever what you say about the bodies of other women. When you mention in passing that a certain woman is attractive — could be someone in the office, a woman on the
street, a celebrity, any woman in the world, really — your comment goes into a steel box and it stays there forever. We will file the comment under “Women He Finds Attractive.” It’s not about
whether or not we approve of the comment. It’s about learning what you think is sexy and how we might be able to convey it. It’s about keeping our man by knowing what he likes.

Here’s something. Most men are not actually polygamous sex-crazed animals who are expected to be unfaithful at the fluttering of an eyelash. You do not need to work at keeping “your” man. You do not need to build some sort of memory bank of what you assume a man finds attractive. Christina makes an earlier point in the post about unconditionally accepting a man, “potbelly” and all. Well, conveying that sentiment is not exclusive to women. When I’m with someone, I’m with them because as a whole person I find them attractive, and therefore I’ll accept them for exactly who they are, including how they look. Anyone who’s ever heard me talk about a girlfriend I’m head over heels for will know that I won’t shut-up about them; how I love talking to them, what they do, how good they look, their little quirks and idiosyncracies that I adore. I’m not looking for (nor finding) faults.

Don’t make it a competition thing. Talk about attractive people together! There will always be attractive people in the world. Embrace it together. It’s not for comparisons, or part of some weird wish list, it can simply be about appreciation.

Never complain about our friends — even if we do. No matter how many times we say a friend of ours is driving us crazy, you are not to pile on. Not because it offends us. But because it adds to the weight that we carry around about her.

This quote could be re-written as: “Women will be bitches. Especially to people close to them. Men will not ever comprehend nor even be allowed to participate in anything that falls under ‘bitchiness’. Men, don’t make women even more bitchy than they already are by being dumb and having an opinion.”

How about both people in a relationship accept that the other might have valuable opinions or insights into people? Sure, if those comments aren’t welcome then that’s fair enough, but if I’m asked for an opinion about someone I’ll be honest. That means I’ll defend them if they are worthy of defending against complaints about them, or I may agree with said complaints. But I’ll use my own brain, thanks.

We want you to order Scotch. It’s the most impressive drink order. It’s classic. It’s sexy. Such a rich color. The glass, the smell. It’s not watered down with fruit juice. It’s Scotch. And you ordered it.

You want me to order scotch? I want someone who would like me to order whatever the hell it is that I want to drink! Impressive drink order??? If I need to rely on what I’m drinking as a way of impressing someone, then I shouldn’t even be wasting my time. And yes, order whatever the hell it is you want too, because I just couldn’t care less about judging you for it.

No shorts that go below the knee. The ones almost like capri pants, the ones that hover somewhere between the kneecap and the calf? Enough with those shorts. They are the most embarrassing pants in the world. They should never be worn. No woman likes those.

If my clothes are comfortable, I’ll wear them. Don’t tell me you’ll accept me for my “potbelly” but then judge me for my choice in shorts! (Or for not drinking scotch…)

You know what’s attractive? Being around someone who’s comfortable. One of the most attractive ways to see someone is waking with them on a Sunday morning with messy hair, smudged (or no) make-up, wearing comfy tracksuits and being natural and relaxed. It’s attractive because they are being completely themselves and they are comfortable to do so around you. Plus I think it’s just really cute.

Maybe that’s just me.

Marriage changes very little. The only things that will get a married man laid that won’t get a single man laid are adultery and whores. Intelligence and humor (and your smell) are what get you laid. That’s what got you laid when you were single. That’s what gets you laid when you’re married. Everything still works in marriage: especially intelligence and humor. Because the sexiest thing is to know you.

Because, really, all we men care about is getting laid. And while you’re at it, we need instructions on how we can best coax our resistant females into bed. Men want sex and women “submit” to men’s want when it suits them. That’s how it will always work.

I can’t even begin to vocalise how frustrating this last one is. Please stop thinking of men as sex-crazed cavemen who “don’t understand” women. Please start thinking of men as people who can be your intellectual, emotional and physical equal - not below you and certainly not above you. I know this rhetoric sounds awfully similar to what many would expect to hear from feminists, and I think that’s just the point.

It’s the same argument for almost every prejudice that exists. Stop thinking so much about the lines that separate us and keep us apart, and start thinking about the things that we can all share and connect to each other through.

Or perhaps this whole reaction is just because I’m cranky today. What do you think?

Australian news outlets continue propagating homophobic rhetoric re: gay marriage. You know what to do internet!

Rupert Murdoch’s mouthpieces are at it again, with News Limited publications The Herald Sun and The Australian both publishing editorials attacking the movement for gay marriage in Australia on the same weekend as the successful equal love rally (Nov 20th & 21st).

Miranda Devine of The Herald Sun writes:

“But in all the talk of “human rights”, no one has explained convincingly what gays will bring to marriage. How will they improve the institution?

One of the consequences of remaking marriage to include gays is that it will be transformed from an institution centred around the wellbeing of children to one centred on the self-fulfillment of adults.”

and Christopher Pearson of The Australian writes:

“But the few remaining privileges reserved for matrimony are there for sound, practical reasons.

Men and women tend to have different needs and priorities when they enter a mature sexual relationship.

Most men are not naturally disposed to be monogamous, for example. One of the purposes of marriage is to bind them to their spouses and children for the long haul and to give the state’s approval to those who enter such a contract and abide by its terms.

Another of the purposes of marriage is to affirm that parenthood is a big, and in most cases the primary, contribution a couple can make, both to their own fulfilment and the public good.

It follows that societies which want to sustain their population size, let alone increase their fertility level, should positively discriminate in favour of stable, heterosexual relationships and assert the preferability of adolescents making a normal transition to heterosexual adulthood.

It should be obvious to unprejudiced observers that, while there are plenty of well-adjusted gays who manage to lead satisfying and productive lives, rational people do not of their own volition choose to be homosexual.”

You know what to do internet.

Read and comment on Devine’s article here

and Pearson’s article here