12/29/09-by Paula Brooks
Despite 2009 being called “year of gay China” by the official China Daily, there are reports coming out of China is has been anything but for about 10 LGBT websites in that country.

“Some of the hosting service providers even told us that gay chatting was illegal,” said Geng Le, the Webmaster of a gay website in Beijing.”

According to Geng, some site owners have been forced to host their websites on foreign servers.

Another Webmaster who goes by the on line name of Chen, said his website in Beijing was closed by his web hosting company, after that company told him gay websites might hold immoral information and pornographic literature.

“I would bet that most gay websites are more ‘clean and healthy’ than websites not closed by the government,” he said.

“As a gay Webmaster, we are more careful about all the information on the website, because we want to remove the prejudice on the gay group. We want to let them know we are healthy.”

According to an article last week in the China Daily, The Chinese Association of HIV/AIDS NGOs, made the statement on Wednesday confirming that gay websites in China have been recently forced to close or had their accounts deleted by their server hosting companies and that it would provide free legal aid to those webmasters …

“More than 20 lawyers in our institute can provide legal aid to those webmasters for free. If the case does not happen in Beijing, we can transfer it to other NGOs,” said Lan Yujiao, an official in Aizhixing Institute, an NGO for protecting the legal rights of special groups in Beijing…. via China Daily.

While the number of gays in China remains unclear, statistics from China’s Ministry of Health in 2004 showed the total number of gay men in China is estimated between 5 and 10 million. However an official statistic, quoted in a news report in the China Daily article, put the figure for the People Republic of China at “approximately 30 million.”

Although the Communist Government repealed the laws against homosexuality or same-sex acts between consenting adults in 1997, there are also no laws in China protecting LGBT’s from discrimination.

It is widely assumed that the official Chinese Government policy towards gay rights issues remains the “Three nos”: no approval, no disapproval, and no promotion and gay in China still undergo prejudice from the justice system and harassment from police, including detention and arrest.

The government in China has also banned many public media items related to gay topics, and denied release of Western films like Brokeback Mountain, considering them to be “going against the healthy way of life in China”.

China is also experiencing a soaring rate of HIV and AIDS infections among all segments of its population, for which many in the government are try to lay the blame on China’s Gay Community. Hao Yang, deputy director of China’s disease prevention and control bureau, said on Wednesday that HIV/AIDS transmission among gay men has been more severe in recent years.

Related articles by Zemanta

• China’s First Official Gay Bar Opens (lezgetreal.com)
• China’s Internet: Two Media Declarations (advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org)
• China drops hepatitis B testing to fight discrimination (ctv.ca)
• Assistant Secretary of State Meets with Advocacy Organizations on Uganda “Anti-Homosexuality” Bill (hrcbackstory.org)

12/9/09-by Paula Brooks
The former editor of the now-defunct gay and lesbian newspaper Southern Voice has announced she will be launching a new publication early next year called Georgia Voice.

Last month, Window Media, which owned the Southern Voice, the Washington Blade and other publications, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, silencing some of the strongest of the voices for the LGBT movement and leaving about a dozen former Southern Voice staffers without paychecks.

Not to be defeated however, Chris Cash, the former owner of the Southern Voice, and Laura Douglas-Brown, the former editor, began a drive to save the publication soon after the Southern Voice was shut down permanently by it creditors and obtained a $12,000 matching grant from the Lloyd E. Grant Foundation of Atlanta.

“It became so clear in such a short period of time how much this publication was needed,” Douglas-Brown told the Atlanta Journal Constitution, last month.

Douglas-Brown has her work cut out for her, and is now busy contacting potential staffers and advertisers.

Douglas-Brown and Cash are also reaching out to the Atlanta LGBT community to help raise more seed money for the new venture at www.savesovo.com and are looking for donations from SoVo supporters to help get their project off the ground.

In an interview yesterday with Atlanta Public Radio station WABE Douglas-Brown said her top priority is making the new publication financially sustainable…

“That will mean certainly a smaller staff than Southern Voice and David magazine shared. It will mean using more freelancers, and it might even mean using volunteers. There are certainly people who have volunteered to help us on a pro-bono basis as we get started.”

Douglas-Brown also said in the interview, while some publications have become Web-only, she really wants to get out a traditional a print version of the publication.

“You want to be first and fast on the Web and sometimes that doesn’t leave as much time to look at the big picture of a story, really get analysis and feedback, and thats what we see doing in the print publication.”

via WABE: New gay publication planned for Atlanta 2009-12-08.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Gay publications in major cities close after bankruptcy (cnn.com)
• Window Media, Nation’s Largest LGBT Publisher, Closes (huffingtonpost.com)
• Washington Blade Shuts Down (mediabistro.com)

8/24/09 by Julie Phineas – Nick’s Parent’s Connect is a website for parents brought to us by Nickelodeon, the popular children’s television network.

Recently, Nick’s Parent’s Connect hosted the 2009 Parents’ Picks Awards, which gave parents from all over the country a chance to vote for their “favorite local family-friendly places”.

The Parents’ Picks are divided into 52 major U.S. cities, and includes everything from Best Dentists and Best Family Restaurants to Best Playgrounds and Parks, plus a Best Blog as well.

This year’s winner for Best Blog in the Houston, TX area is a blog for lesbian moms called “the OTHER mother: letters from the outposts of lesbian parenting” brought to us by lesbian mom Robin Reagler.

Reagler was “in a state of disbelief” over the award, and proudly shared her winner’s badge on her blog which can be found at theothermother.typepad.com.

This is my favorite new youtube channel that I hope you’ll all check out!

For three months now TMatesFTM, a YouTube channel consisting of 13 ladies and one gentleman all dating female to male transgender men, has been educating and enlightening others about the issues, struggles, differences and joys that come along with being in a relationship with an FTM. Jackie, Angie, Amber, Audrey, Brandy, Hannah, Jenilee, Elizabeth, Grace, Deanna, Britney, Sam, Heather and Parker come from seven states, Canada and England. Their men are from the U.S., Canada, England, Ireland and Denmark thus making the channel a truly global affair.
The TMates, as they call themselves, have already covered not only some of the harder hitting topics such as ‘Sex and Sexual Dysphoria’ and ‘Period and Period Dysphoria’, but also some of the lighter more fun topics like ‘Our Favorite Physical Attributes’, ‘Babies’, and ‘Prosthetics: In and Out of the Bedroom’. Some upcoming topics to look for are ‘Top Surgery’ and ‘Keeping Your Autonomy in Your Relationship’.

They aren’t trying to get famous, the TMates are however trying to help as many people as are willing to listen. They already have a library of over one hundred and fifty videos. Enjoy them immediately!

also the URL is http://www.youtube.com/tmatesftm

Celesbian couple Ellen DeGeneres and Portia DeRossi have recently been named the “Most Desired Celebrity Babysitter” by ParentDish.com:

In honor of Mother’s Day, we asked you to weigh in on your favorite celeb mommies, tell us who you think are the worst parents out there and share some of your favorite Mother’s Day traditions. We received over 10,000 votes!

Here’s what you thought:

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi were the celebs you’d trust your kids with most. And surprisingly the winner of this round of Jennifer vs. Brangelina goes to Aniston. You’d rather have Jen take care of your little ones than the parents of six.

You can read all of the results at ParentDish.com.

Recently, online dating site eHarmony was found to be discriminatory towards same-sex couples and forced to create a separate but equal gay dating site which they named Compatible Partners.

Now Compatible Partners is looking for advertisers for their new site and I found an ad buy from them for this site this morning.

The ad buy was not active yet but I did preview the ads. They were gray and red with the slogan “We’re all about great relationships” or “Ready to start a great relationship?” plus the tag “Serious relationships for the gay and lesbian community.”

They are advertising free 6 month memberships for a limited time.

The ad network these ads originate from is the Gay Ad Network, and it is unclear at this time whether Compatible Partners plans to actually activate their campaign or not. I have yet to see these ads on another gay or lesbian website, but will most likely deny the ad buy for this site when it becomes active.

I am curious to know what our readers think so feel free to leave any input on the topic in the comments area below.

For the same-sex singles… do you think you would ever try out Compatible Partners since they are based on eHarmony’s highly successful matching system? Or not?

Here is their disclaimer:

XtraNormal is a website that allows you to create your own cartoons simply by adding text for the pre-made characters to say.

With so much creative control, any message you desire can be passed along cartoon style.

WOOTY99 is a user on YouTube who collects pro-gay XtraNormal cartoons on their channel, and here are a couple of the cartoons WOOTY99 scoped out from the site…

Pat the Clown and Gay Marriage:

The reason she’s still not Miss USA

Another one WOOTY99 collected is “Joe the (plumber) Clown views on gay marriage” which is too crude to place here on our site (they have to be to imitate Joe the Plumber!) and so here is the link for you watch that one.

The website to create your own videos and watch the other ones people have made can be found at www.XtraNormal.com.

**PS This is not a hearing impaired friendly website as many characters of the video use the same mouth movements and there are not sub-titles. I apologize if any of our readers were not able to understand the videos in this post.

I’m curious to know of any other good videos from XtraNormal so if anybody happens to find any feel free to link them in the comments.

From the White House Blog (posted May 1st):

WhiteHouse 2.0

In the President’s last Weekly Address, he called on government to “recognize that we cannot meet the challenges of today with old habits and stale thinking.” He added that “we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent, and more creative,” and pledged to “reach beyond the halls of government” to engage the public. Today the White House is taking steps to expand how the Administration is communicating with the public, including the latest information and guidance about the H1N1 virus. In addition to WhiteHouse.gov, you can now find us in a number of other spots on the web:

• Facebook.com/WhiteHouse
• MySpace.com/WhiteHouse
• Twitter.com/WhiteHouse

The WhiteHouse blog (RSS) will power a lot of the content in these networks, but we’re looking forward to hearing from our fans, friends and followers. Don’t forget these sites as well:

• Flickr.com/WhiteHouse
• Vimeo.com/WhiteHouse
• YouTube.com/WhiteHouse
• iTunes (videos & podcasts)

Technology has profoundly impacted how – and where – we all consume information and communicate with one another. WhiteHouse.gov is an important part of the Administration’s effort to use the internet to reach the public quickly and effectively – but it isn’t the only place.

There’s a lot to talk about right now. From an economic crisis to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the President and his Administration have a full plate – not the least of which is making sure the public stays up-to-date and involved in our efforts.

Here’s an important thing you can do right now. The Department of Homeland Security, as well as the Department of Health and Human Services, supported by the Center for Disease Control, have been working around the clock to make sure that the public has the latest facts about the H1N1 virus. This is a serious situation that demands serious precautions. No precaution is more essential than having the most accurate information, so head over to the CDC page to get the latest news, prevention tips – and tools you can use to promote public health efforts around the web.

Check out this thread of Twitter tweets from Disney tween sensation Demi Lovato regarding the recent suicides resulting from anti-gay bullying:

THIS is what verbal harassment can cause… http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/… Something HAS to be done.2:46 AM Apr 24th from web

It honestly amazes me how schools refuse to take action in verbal abuse.. they SAY they do, but this what ends up happening. So, so sad..2:55 AM Apr 24th from web

I can’t explain what I went through when I left public school to start homeschooling.. One day I will. But right now…2:59 AM Apr 24th from web

.. Just know what you say to someone can effect them for the rest of their life.3:00 AM Apr 24th from web

Perez Hilton re-tweeted her twitter then tweeted a thank you too:

RT @ddlovato THIS is what verbal harassment can cause..http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/… Something HAS to be doneabout 23 hours ago from web

@ddlovato Thank you!about 23 hours ago from web in reply to ddlovato

To which she replied:

@perezhilton Of course.. I’m going to do something to stop this.about 22 hours ago from web in reply to perezhilton

Anyone But Me is a web series online showing us a new generation searching for love and belonging – in the post 9/11 age.

Here is the concept for the show:

When 16 year old Vivian McMillan has to move from New York City to the suburbs, her relationships, past and present, are tested. And her identity goes through seismic changes. The daughter of a NYC firefighter, Vivian has no choice but to leave the city with her dad after health problems that he suffered trying to save people on September 11th forced him to retire. This moving, funny, and relevant new drama speaks to all ages and hearts as it follows the journey of six teenagers and the adults who try to understand them.

Vivian, played by Rachael Hip-Flores, and the character of Aster, played by Nicole Pacent, are a young lesbian couple in the series and have become fan favorites.

Anyone But Me is brought to us by Susan Miller, who is an Obie award winning playwright and was a Consulting Producer on Showtime’s hit series, The L Word. She also wrote for ABC’s thirtysomething (Story Editor); CBS’ The Trials Of Rosie O’Neill (Story Supervisor); and NBC’s L.A. Law, among others.

Judging by the ‘about’ page on the Anyone But Me website, this web series is a must see for all teens.

Here is what the web series is said to be “about”…

1. Hiding who you are.

2. Trying to fit in.

3. Trying NOT to fit in.

4. Dreaming large.

5. How annoying it is to eat in the cafeteria.

6. Wondering who likes you.

7. Making a long distance relationship work.

8. Finding your way in a new place and a complicated world.

9. Fighting stereotypes.

10. Coloring outside the lines

11. Wishing things could be different.

12. Old feelings coming back to haunt you.

13. Being blind to the person right in front of you.

14. Trying not to look like a fool.

15. Generations.

16. How do I look? What do I say?

17. Flirting.

18. Doing the right thing.

19. Making mistakes.

20. Not knowing what you want.

21. Having the time of your life.

22. Belonging.

New episodes of Anyone But Me are set to begin on May 11th, and you can find out more by visiting www.anyonebutmeseries.com.

UPDATE: Here’s a Promo!

]]> http://lezgetreal.com/?feed=rss2&p=9499 2 http://lezgetreal.com/?p=9617 http://lezgetreal.com/?p=9617#comments Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:00:58 +0000 ~Julie Phineas~ http://lezgetreal.com/?p=9617

The folks at Funny or Die are bringing us another web exclusive – Prop 8: The Web Series.

So far three episodes of the series have been uploaded and each highlights a different right granted by the California Constitution, and imagines what it would be like if that right were taken away, such as the way the right to marry was taken from same-sex couples in California with the passing of Proposition 8.

AfterEllen reports:

The first episode, “Religion,” is much less incendiary than the other two episodes released so far. The second episode, “Military,” involves rape, and the third episode shows a young African American woman being taken as a slave.

Here are the first three episodes, let us know what you think…

Episode 1: Religion

A couple returns home from church, effusive in their praise of religion. Just as they’re getting really worked up about Jesus, two Prop 8 Agents burst in and knock them around with a Bible. When they protest that it is within their rights as citizens of California to enjoy religion, one of the agents barks, “No! It used to be your rights. Ever since Prop. 8 passed it paved the way to take it away!”

Episode 2: Military

A couple enjoys a leisurely afternoon together until the Prop 8 Agents knock down the door and commandeer their house for the military use, including making their daughter property of the U.S. Army. This episode isn’t funny to me, because the implication at the end is that one of the Prop 8 Agents is raping the daughter. “Well,” the parents say, “At least gays can’t get married.”

Episode 3: Slavery

A couple interviews a young African American girl for a job as a cook/housekeeper, but when she asks how much it pays, they double over with laughter. They’ll be taking her as a slave, they tell her. She explains that it’s not the 1800s; slavery is illegal. “If this were 2007 that would be true,” the guy says. “But this is the present. The gays lost their rights with the passage of Prop 8, and so did you when we voted to bring back slavery!”

Related articles by Zemanta

• Map of Prop 8 Donors (sfist.com)

Funny or Die has released an exclusive parody video of the National Organization for Marriage’s anti-gay commercial “A Gathering Storm”.

Their version is called “A Gaythering Storm” and it is a celebrity version of the commercial with the original actors being portrayed by the likes of Lance Bass, Lynne Stewart, George Takei, Alicia Silverstone, Liz Feldman, Sophia Bush, Sarah Chalke, Jay Lay, Jason Lewis, Drew Droege, Mike Hitchcock, Daniele Gathier, Erin Foley, and Jane Lynch.

Here is the video… it’s a hoot!

You know what to do everybody… spread the word and let’s make get this one going viral!!

Here’s the link to the video with embed codes on Funny or Die HERE.

Thanks to SheWired for posting this one!

p

The National Organization for Marriage filed a copyright infringement claim with YouTube, saying that a clip of Rachel Maddow’s broadcast which excerpted their anti-gay commercial “A Storm Is Coming” ad was in fact illegal.

Here is what Rachel Maddow had to say about it:

You tell em Rachel!!

Related articles by Zemanta

• National Organization for Marriage Claims Coverage of Its Lie-Riddled Ad Is Illegal (queerty.com)
• Thoughts on Butchness Sparked by Rachel Maddow (bilerico.com)
• Rachel Maddow’s Star Power (3quarksdaily.com)

AfterEllen.com says it’s time to tell the world who lesbian and bi women think are sexy, “because even with all the increased visibility we’ve had in the last decade, heterosexual men and women still dominate the discussion about who and what is attractive, online, on TV, and in magazines like People and Maxim.”

Voting will stay open for two weeks until April 24th, and then they will publish the results on Monday, May 11th.

To keep you entertained in between, they are also going to feature one of the 100 on the blog each weekday from April 27th to May 8th, so you can guess where she landed on the list.

Categories Include:

To nominate someone, you visit AfterEllen.com and fill in ten nominees.

eHarmony has been in the news quite a bit lately, and more recently made the news on Queerty.com for sponsoring The Newlywed Game shown on the Ellen DeGeneres show.

As you can see by the video below, a version of the classic game was played with Ellen and her wife Portia as one of the couples participating in the game. You can clearly see on the front of the seating box for contestant couples that the proud sponsor of the segment is non other than eHarmony.com…

This raises eyebrows with any LGBT who knows what has transpired between eHarmony and non-inclusion of same-sex couples on their site. The mere presence of the eHarmony logo on a seating box that Ellen and Portia are sitting in just seems so wrong.

Widely advertised dating site eHarmony.com will launch a new dating site for the gay community at the end of March called ‘Compatible Partners’.

Says the Boston Globe, “it might be the first dating site whose owners didn’t really want to create it.”

eHarmony claims to have a “scientific method” for matching singles, and initially only offered their matchmaking services to heterosexual couples. The formula used to match customers is based on research of straight, married couples, which is why the site says that membership is limited to heterosexuals.

This practice was challenged in 2005 when discrimination lawsuit was filed asking eHarmony to allow gay members.

eHarmony fought the lawsuit, but after the case was found to have probable cause, the company settled a compromise which resulted in ‘Compatible Partners’, which eHarmony promised to roll out by March 31. “It’s something we’re going to be fully supporting as a line of business,” says Paul Breton, a spokesman for eHarmony.

Members of the LGBT community that are aware of eHarmony’s prior history are not expected to welcome the new gay dating site with open arms.

There are many options for gay and lesbian dating online that are welcoming to the community they service. Many are even gay or lesbian owned, and there are also mainstream sites that are gay and lesbian-friendly. eHarmony initially took a stance that made the site appear to be not so friendly to same sex couples, and even after probable cause towards discrimination was found, eHarmony’s choice to create a separate but equal dating site in the form of Compatible Partners (rather than opening the doors of eHarmony to everybody) still gives of the appearance of anti gay to many gay and lesbian single who are looking for love and know the site’s history.

For those gay singles who may be unaware of the ties Compatible Partners has to eHarmony’s discrimination suit, it will be interesting to see if the matchmakers use the same formula for happiness, and how successful their site is at matching compatible partners together.

Julie Phineas is a work at home mom of 2 who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her by visiting her page on MySpace.

Related articles by Zemanta

• -Unhappy Responses to eHarmony Settlement (answersforthefaith.com)
• The Dysfunctional Marriage of eHarmony and Gay Money (queercents.com)
• eHarmony Couple Joshua and Tanyalee Oppose Gay Marriage (workbench.cadenhead.org)
• eHarmony’s Tanyalee Does Not Oppose Gay Marriage (workbench.cadenhead.org)
• Economy enters same-sex marriage debate (cnn.com)

PhotoBucket.com has been selected as the online destination for The Official Barack Obama Inaugural Book – come see exclusive photos as they arrive!

During the week of the inauguration, a team of award-winning photographers will be assigned to capture the celebration and behind-the-scenes moments of these historic events. The photos will be showcased in a beautiful commemorative Official Inaugural Book.

The 2009 Inauguration Book is not like any other in history!

You can participate by submitting your photos to the gallery at PhotoBucket.com. The best photos will be considered for inclusion in the book so be sure to upload photos showing your experience of the inauguration with a description that tells your story.

Whether you submit photos or not be sure to look into pre-ordering the Official Inaugural Book, as this historic book is a must-have for all Americans and is sure to become sold out quickly!

Julie Phineas is a work at home mom of 2 who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her by visiting her page on MySpace.

Internet Giant Google has join the court fight against Proposition H8 and has filed an amicus brief in several legal challenges to Proposition 8, which made gay marriage illegal in California.

Google argues that it has many gay, lesbian and bi-sexual employees and many come to work for the company because they can get married in California. If those marriages are annulled then the company says it would lose key talent and be placed at a competitive disadvantage.

A statement on the Official Google Blog said….

In the wake of the election many were concerned with the impact Proposition 8 could have on the personal lives of people they work with every day, and on California’s ability to attract and retain a diverse mix of employees from around the world.

That’s why we’ve signed an amicus brief in support of several cases currently challenging Proposition 8 in the California Supreme Court. Denying employees basic rights isn’t right, and it isn’t good for businesses. We are committed to preserving fundamental rights for every one of the people who work hard to make Google a success.”
Google also argues that if proposition 8 is allowed to stand it will cause huge problems internally with payment systems. Health insurance, tax benefits and taxation systems based on the current recognition of gay marriage would have to be reorganized, at considerable cost.

Proposition 8, which makes same-sex marriage illegal under the California constitution, passed by a narrow majority in November after a $20 million campaign orchestrated primarily by churches, got it through.

3Way is “the hottest lesbian comedy NOT on TV”.

Episodes of this lesbian comedy are found exclusively online, with a storyline leading the show to be called the “Lesbian Three’s Company”. For those who are not familiar with it, Three’s Company is an American sitcom that aired from 1977 to 1984 on ABC. The show revolves around three roommates who share an apartment and stories involve their constant misunderstandings, social lives, and struggle to keep up with rent. (It is a remake of the British sitcom Man About the House.)The 3Way storyline involves a recently divorced woman who moves her lesbian best friend into her house as part of a fresh start on life. Her lesbian friend moves her girlfriend in a week later, who has an ex who also enters the situation.

This is what Lindsay Stidham from Tubefilter has to say about 3Way:

Stereotypes aside, the veteran acting and producing on the show is evident. Everyone embraces the schticky sitcom-style writing making the comparison to Three’s Company a fair one. Additionally, the show brings homages to fun TV classics ala the Brady Bunch, and even created fun spin-off shows within the show including Lady Cops, and Young Doctors Who Cry. It’s evident these ladies truly love TV, and if there’s a good, soapy backdrop, even better.

Tubefilter is calling 3Way “hot” and “funny” and we agree!

You can visit the 3WayTV website to find all of their episodes or watch them on their YouTube Channel. You can also find 3Way merchandise in their Zazzle Shop.

Julie Phineas is a work at home mom of 2 who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her by visiting her page on MySpace.

According to Lindsay Lohan’s MySpace Blog “i say everything here on myspace.”

Do you know how rare that is? Many A-List celebrities stray from managing their own MySpace accounts let alone using the service for it’s actual purpose (to connect with others and display your personality through your page and blog). Lindsay Lohan, her sister Ali Lohan, and LiLo’s girlfriend Samantha Ronson (plus her brother Mark Ronson) all have MySpace accounts where they ‘top friend’ each other and you can frequently find Lindsay posting to her blog and making comments to Sam too.

In her latest blog post she says…

so….

today i was out with my friend Jamie and paparazzi wouldn’t stop asking me where samantha was. and i’m not writing this blog because i feel like i need to prove that i’m with my girl to anyone at all. but because it’s just annoying. and i want to vent. and i love myspace because it allows me to vent without having to deal with the noise of the “tabloids” and “stalkerazzi’s” ….

all in all-they should just stop asking altogether, once and for all if she and i are broken up because frankly, if we ever ever did…. i would say it before they could even think of asking. i’d say it here probably… i say everything here on myspace. okay. well, i hope that all the gossip magazines and sites, and lurkers read this cuz it’s not true. ahh! i love myspace because i can just write, and i love writing, and i can prove all the liars wrong…

Of course Ms. Lohan does use her MySpace account for self-promotion purposes as well, yet she shows a different style in that she shares her photos and encourages her MySpace friends to share the pics from her photo albums. You can also find full music tracks instead of just a teaser clip, which is something that frustrates me about certain artists. She puts other artists such as Lily Allen in her top friends, and shows support for other artists in her blog sometimes too.

I love her page and am looking forward to reading more on her blog to get the first hand account of what’s going on between her and Samantha Ronson. You know we got to get the scoop for lesbians everywhere! Anyhow Lindsay’s MySpace page is at www.myspace.com/lindsaylohan… be sure to send her a comment and leave some kudos to show support for her down to earth approach the next time you are online.

Julie Phineas is a work at home mom of 2 who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her by visiting her page on MySpace.

Have you seen our social network lately??

It’s a fun place for lesbians to discuss the topics we present to you here on Lez Get Real, on our discussion forum and also in our discussion groups. When we first started the Lez Get Real social network on Ning.com, we kept the network closed while we set things up.

As of today that has changed!!

We are now opening up the Lez Get Real social network to lesbians worldwide who are interested in connecting with the LGR writers and other lesbians to discuss the topics that are important to them! You have always been able to add a new thread to our discussion forum, but now you can also create your own discussion group as well! Please visit our social network and join our community today. Create a discussion group or forum thread on a topic you are passionate about or get involved in an already existing group or discussion.

Enjoy yourself lezzies and we’ll see you there!

Julie Phineas is a work at home mom of 2 who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her by visiting her page on MySpace.

Someone has not learned their lesson.

We have kept you up to date on the eHarmony fiasco and now it seems like Ancestry.com is going to get itself in the same mess.

One of our brothers tried to join and the system didn’t allow him.

He promptly e-mailed them and this was the response he got:

Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.

Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.

Subject
Domestic Partner

Discussion Thread
Response (Spencer) 12/05/2008 02:48 PM
Dear James,

We appreciate your message.

Please note that same-gender relationships are unable to be entered in our genealogy software (either the Online Family Tree of the Ancestry Family Tree). This is because genealogy trees are intended to trace biological relationships or bloodlines. As two persons of the same gender are unable to have biological children, they cannot be entered as spouses or partners.

If there is anything else with which we might assist you, please let us know.

Spencer
Member Solutions
Ancestry.com
http://ancestry.custhelp.com/

Ok, so let’s say I am a straight chick (OH NO!) and I marry a straight dude (Yikes!) but we can’t have children? The system will obviously take my information, right? Just my wondering mind, don’t mind me.

I haven’t confirmed this, but word on the street was this company is owned by a member of the: L.D.S!(I hope you know, I dropped my voice and an echo resonated). Someone else suggested using Geni.com

Just like eHarmony, if you want to pester them, GO FOR IT! But after they lose the battle, why stay with them?

I say use Geni.com and just shrug your shoulder at this other website that from this point on shall remain nameless from me.

Oh yes, and please pass the word: THIS NAMELESS WEBSITE IS STUCK IN THE ICE AGES AND HASN’T LEARNED FROM eHARMONY!

p.Johanna is a single lesbian who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her and view her photos by visiting her page on MySpace.

The website Point of View has a piece from Dale Buss of the Wall Street Journal. Titled: Discordant Voices Among eHarmony’s Customers.

Apparently eHarmony has lost some of its “loyal customer base” (HAVE THESE PEOPLE NOT FOUND ANYONE?) and it is still involved in some legal mess. Read it to see what they are sobbing about, and send the writer some tissue for his issues, C.O.D would be appropriate.

The following caught my eye:

eHarmony’s success didn’t come from its slick advertising campaigns. It was their high moral standards, because they rose above the ‘hook-up’ mentality of their competitors, and because they were openly helping people find marriage partners. Mr. Duffy is hardly alone among Christian conservatives in his disappointment with eHarmony.

Ok, so we are damned if we do, and we are damned if we don’t. What constantly follows us? That we want to just “Hook-up”. This reputation seems to follow our brothers (the boys) more than us, but since they always use the term “homosexual” it is safe to say that they always group us together. They don’t want us to marry, won’t allow it, yet they say that all we want to do is just hook-up. Make-up your mind. If you won’t allow us to marry, do not categorize us as not having morals, as being promiscuous and using that term “just wanting to hook-up”. I can tell you, that if you laid off of us, all this wouldn’t be happening, but since you pissed off the wrong group, deal with the consequences.

And for Pete’s sake, if this site had a customer base and now they are leaving you, it isn’t because of us joining, it is more that THEY HAVEN’T FOUND SOMEONE TO GET MARRIED TO: MEANING THE SITE IS NOT WORKING! QUIT BLAMING US FOR ALL OF YOUR CRAP!

On that note, Time mentioned eHarmony as one of the 5 Worst Websites:

But if you’ve taken the time to answer eHarmony’s 436 compatibility survey questions and paid its premium charges ($21 to $60 a month, depending on how many months you prepay), and the site then delivers terrible recommendations — or worse, rejects you as unmatchable — what do you tell yourself then? The company’s advice, to stick with it for several months to improve your odds of finding a soul mate, sounds all too self-serving (the longer you use the site the more you pay). The site also discriminates against gays.

My suggestion: Put your request in prayer, fast if you have to, if God sees you as deserving of a loving compatible spouse then He should place him/her in your life. Maybe since you keep messing with us, He doesn’t see it as fit for you to be married.

p.Johanna is a single lesbian who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her and view her photos by visiting her page on MySpace.

The first two rounds of voting for the 2008 Canadian Blog Awards has concluded, and we are now in the final voting round for the best blogs in the Canadian Blogosphere.

James of the Gay Persons of Color blog sports a 1st place badge on his blog from the 2007 Canadian Blog Awards, for Best GLBT Blog, and has advanced to the final round here in 2008.

Other sites that made it to the final round include:

• Moved To Vancouver
• Gay Persons of Color
• GayandRight
• Slap Upside The Head
• Diogenes Borealis
• Queer Thoughts
• Canuck Attitude
  
• Queer-Liberal
• Lez Bang!
  
• The Wry Writer
• Montreal Simon
• Rigo’s Days

Please take a few seconds right now to vote for your favorite site.

Julie Phineas is a work at home mom of 2 who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her by visiting her page on MySpace.

Ah to be a Blogger….

In last weeks election California voters approved a proposition freeing chickens from small cages, but people in California, Florida and Arizona passed measures banning same-sex marriages, while Arkansas voters barred unmarried couples from adopting or being foster parents.

So recently Lindsey Lohan’s main squeeze, Samantha Ronson has been writing blog posts denouncing voters for passing an animal rights proposition, while rejecting gay rights measures, and now says she has been receiving an inbox full of “furious emails” from animal rights activists.

Last week, Ronson wrote this on her My Space celebrity blog comparing the newly approved animal rights to the rejection of several gay rights initiatives in various states….

2 steps forward….. 2 steps back

i guess people care more about farm animals than they do their fellow man, that’s really sad to me.

yes, i am glad that the chickens will have more room and better conditions as they wait to die, but i just think it’s frightening that people show more compassion for tomorrow’s dinner than for the chef.

yup, miss piggy and chicken little may rest easy, but gay people in florida and california can no longer get married and gay couples in arkansas can’t adopt children. g-d forbid a loving family (regardless of sexual orientation) give a needy child a home! there aren’t children out there in dire need of love and shelter, no this country is thriving and no child is in need.

oh well, i guess one out of four ain’t bad!

After that post she began to get hate mail from animal rights activist and Ronson posted this…

been getting a lot of furious emails regarding my blog on prop 8 because I apparently offended some animal lovers. um, really people? i love animals as much as anyone, i don’t eat pork- so for those of you fighting that good fight against me… shut up! i was all for prop 2, however i was just pointing out the fact that people in california seem to care more about animal rights than human rights. that’s all. i’m not running around killing chickens for fun or firing a slingshot at a squirrel, nor was i promoting any such behaviour, i was simply venting…. much like I am now.

Hmmm chickens and not gay people huh?

Ok… I am hungry. Think I will head over to KFC now.

Let the hate mail begin…

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=40137611&blogID=446630409

Paula Brooks lives in the Outer Banks of North Carolina with her partner, their twin daughters and her hearing helper dog, where they own and operate a vacation home rental business. You can visit her Blogger profile here.

The internet just got a shot of amazing from MTV.

I know, its hard to believe, but Mtv has gone and done something right! Even in the beta phase MTVMUSIC.COM still rocks my socks off. EVERY MUSIC VIDEO mtv has, their whole library, is going up on line, on demand, all the time. I love it when the interweb gets something right!

Why aren’t you checking it out yet?

It’s got lightning fast streaming, a sleak hulu-reminiscent interface, and social networking seems destined. Go look already. I’ll be your friend and everything. I can recommend like 80 awesome videos that you must see. Viva la music video revolution!

Jenime is an artist living in the SF bay area. You can watch her musings and ravings any time by visiting her channel on YouTube.

LOGO Online is featuring the new music video by R&B singer-songwriter Beyonce Knowles on their website.

Seeing Beyonce’s picture on the LOGO homepage was a bit disorienting because she is straight, but the seeming reason for her appearance there is that her new video is called “If I Were A Boy”.The video shows the singer as a police officer, taking an aggressive role in her straight relationship to prove a point in double standards for men and women. Frankly, as a lesbian I was not impressed. The whole topic of the song, video storyline, and even the title reminded me of a much catchier song with a much hotter video that us lesbians could appreciate.

Ciara is an R&B singer who released the song “Like A Boy” in 2006.

The video shows the singer letting her boyfriend know that sometimes she wishes she could switch roles and be the “boy” in the relationship. Ciara then proceeds to present a femme and butch version of herself. The outfits Ciara and her dancers wear in the video seem to be inspired from a sexy lesbian clothing line and true dyke fashion. (They’re even wearing lesbian shoes and butch hats.) Beyonce gives us more of the same ’sexy straight girl with lip gloss’ in her video, and seems to be a video aimed more at pissing off Jay-Z then appealing to lesbians. Ciara’s video definately works at appealing to this lesbian!

In any case, judge for yourself. Here are both of the videos for you to watch and tell me, does Beyonce’s video appeal to you as a lesbian, or not so much? Do you like Ciara’s video better?

Here is the Beyonce video “If I Were a Boy”:

And here is Ciara’s video “Like a Boy”:

Comment below, and tell me what you think…

Julie Phineas is a work at home mom of 2 who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her by visiting her page on MySpace.