Drew Berrymore bought a gay club!!

Hilarious! Drew Berrymore bought a gay club in Hollywood. Just read an article on pinknews:

"During the last US Presidential election, Ms Barrymore vocalised her support for now President Barack Obama. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Drew Barrymore said that Obama’s “sensitivity” on the issue had won her over:

“When I heard him speak about a gay person never having to sit outside the hospital room with their loved one sick inside, I burst into tears because so many people I care about are homosexual and it was profound to have someone be sensitive to that,” she said."

Labels are for clothes

Labels are for clothes. Exactly my point.

Advertise under the ground!

Here is a genius ad from London! :)

Here are two men.
One of them is gay.
Think you can tell which?

Stereotypes are the views of the small-minded.

...to lawmakers in St. Petersburg

Just to continue the previous post... so, what is the point in protesting against this horrible bill? Ok, I mean what can be the result? Actually, the bill won't become law until it's signed by the Governor. 

 

So, here is a list of facts, based on the article on All Out (link here): 

No. 1: St. Petersburg is one of Russia's number one tourist destinations. True. That's why an international storm of bad publicity will force the Governor to think twice about the cost of signing this bill. Worth the risk? 

No. 2: Conservatives in St. Petersburg passed this "gay gag rule" despite condemnation from world leaders - and even the country's own international treaty obligations respecting freedom of expression. But at the same time, Russian leaders recently announced that they want to invest $11 billion dollars to build their international reputation and attract tourists from around the world. St. Petersburg, Russia's cosmopolitan "window to the west" is key to that strategy. 

Silencing everything connected to "gay" is not really a western thing... so, I can only show my support, go on with the protest!

As in case of last week, there was another solidarity protest in Budapest, right outside the Russian embassy. This time the demonstration was accompanied by a drum show, just to highlight how important it is to raise your voice. Though the video is pretty dark, the message is clear: "we cannot be censored, banned or silenced" -- in various languages. 

Against the Russian "propaganda law"

Let's start with clarification: this is not an action organized by me, I did not even join but I show my support. 

I do think it is important to say some words -- what is going on with this issue? It already became known that the governor of St. Petersburg (Georgiy Poltavchenko) signed the homophobic law (gay gag law) imposing administrative fines on the so-called "propaganda of sodomy, lesbianism, bisexuality, transgenderism" and paedophilia to minors. The lawmakers passed the notorious "propaganda" law to silence any reading, writing, speech or debate on anything "gay." The goal? To make LGBT people disappear. No question.

Having read the article (link here) posted onto ILGA-Europe's site, I can only quote it, because it perfectly summarizes what the problem is:

"In fact, this law has little to do with protecting minors. Today, neither homosexual people, nor human rights defenders, nor lawyers can answer the question of how this law is going to be applied in practice, due to its vague nature and non-legal terminology. To talk about existence of homosexuality, to publicly denounce homophobic violence, to develop sense of self-awareness and dignity in homosexual people, to promote tolerance – all of these acts can fall under the "propaganda" law. This law will serve directly to further isolate and marginalize the gay community and encourage hate towards a social group."

There was a banner-making afternoon nearly two weeks ago -- oh yeah, how to be creative but serious: spread your message and raise your voice.

There has already been a "sympathy" protest last week outside the Russian Embassy in Budapest and another demonstration is to be held tomorrow. What is the aim? To show rage against condemnation of this bill and also to pressure the governor to withdraw the law. In addition, it is an opportunity to show solidarity with the Russian LGBTQI community.