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The 2014 HRC Municipal Equality Index has been released. Pittsburgh residents have gained significant benefit from the 2014 court decision legalizing same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania, but has only made slight actual gains in terms of municipal initiated efforts to address equality. Pittsburgh’s most noticeable ongoing weakness is evident in the “gender identity” indicators. The scoring […]
Earlier in the week, Candice Rose Milligan, a 33-year-old trans activist in Toledo Ohio, was assaulted by three men around 3 PM. Yes, 3 in the afternoon. From NBC24.com According to a police report, Milligan was walking home Monday afternoon when she was approached by three men shouting homophobic slurs. Witnesses say Milligan was […]
There’s a passage in the acclaimed novel The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky that has resonated and haunted me for decades. I read the novel in a graduate seminar on political philosophy in 1993. My reaction to this passage fundamentally shifted the way that I viewed God and my own calling, moving away from academia […]
The NaBloPoMo prompt for today is a good theme to consider “Do you consider yourself a “professional” blogger? Why or why not? What does that mean to you?” In short, no. I am just a blogger, not a professional. After nine years, I’m not an amateur either. I’m just a regular, plain old blogger. The […]
What is art? While growing up in Pittsburgh during the 1970’s and 1980’s, art was seemingly far removed from my everyday life. No one in my family or immediate circle was an artist (that I know of, at least) and we didn’t actively participate in the arts community. Art seemed like something for rich people. […]
Way, way back in 2004, I was an active member of Steel City Stonewall Democrats and I was drafted to help out on Election Day in November. Based on my (ahem) vast social service experience (& lack of experience with poll data), I was put in charge of volunteers. I dutifully began recruiting people to […]
In response to yesterday’s post, Jenna left a very thoughtful comment. Just because someone doesn’t blog solely about LGBTQ issues doesn’t mean you’re the only LGBTQ blogger in Western PA (or Eastern Ohio, where I now live). Lots of us use our social media streams as great forms of sharing and connecting. Many of us […]
Today, November 1, marks the launch of the *real* NaBloPoMo – National Blog Posting Month. This group-blog idea was founded in 2006 as a little sibling to National Novel Writing Month. Now managed by BlogHer, NaBloPoMo has a simple aim – post something every day. They offer blogging prompts, a blogroll and the opportunity to […]
I learned about the murder of the 9th trans woman of color this year (in the US) from an email update. 25-year-old Tajshon Ashley Sherman was found in an empty lot in Indianapolis with “intense head injuries” by a police officer driving nearby. Her body was discovered on October 26. Police have confirmed that she was […]
Many years ago, I ran a modest food pantry in a rural Kentucky county. It was a humbling experience during which I fumbled and stumbled many times as I tried to solicit donations and distribute them with some semblance of dignity. When I returned to Pittsburgh, I learned about Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank – […]
