Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Wednesday evening we had an unexpectedly amusing stint as the official coat check girls women at a fundraiser for Bruce Kraus' bid for a second term as City Councilor.  To be honest, the whole coat check thing scares me. I prefer to keep my coat close at hand in case a speedy retreat is in order. I […]

You may have heard by now of a recent incident where a local gay man was assaulted while waiting for a bus. The community responded with two rallies and a lot of discussion about interaction between the LGBT community and the police. This is an age old debate that requires self-examination on both sides and that […]

Last night, Ledcat and I attended the “People in Color” film series at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty.  We caught my first performance by Dreams of Hope which was simply mindblowing.  They really are a bright spot in the local LGBTQ community.  We bought their educational DVD which we'll hopefully be able to review […]

File this under WTF? Our home brewed hatefest that is Western Pennsylvania's House Rep Darryl Metcalfe strikes a blow again, literally, for the kind of perverted family values that revictimize victims of domestic violence.  From the Keystone Progress Blog: A simple resolution to recognize October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month by the Pennsylvania House of […]

Ah, Diane Gramley is a wee bit upset that our midWestern cousins have determined that equality means true equality.  At least in terms of state approved marriage.  She's plays her strongest card to push for a marriage amendment in PA — Iowa overturning a DOMA law.  What she doesn't tell you is that, to my […]

Kathi Boyle, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force, wrote in to the Post-Gazette to underscore the importance of a comprehensive, realistic approach to sex ed. I agree completely with Stacie Murphy's March 29 Forum piece, “Quit Clowning Around,” regarding sex education for teens. Abstinence is a wonderful goal, but the reality of how […]

As I've written, I have election fatigue.  Tony Norman persuaded me that Obama “has this” so I'm sort of lacking in the last minute urgency department, probably b/c I have urgent stuff happening on a personal level and there's only so much urgency to go aroud.  Intellectually, I have some sense of guilt when I […]

Chris Potter shares a fascinating glimpse into Carpatho-Rusyn culture in this week's City Paper. Two things struck me.  First, there's the notion of an ethnicity without a nationality as the Rusyns aren't really from anywhere.  Kind of like the Roma.  Minus the hate.  Second, there is the idea of building “postmodern culture” which balances tradition […]