Linda Harvey, an anti-gay activist and lobbyist on behalf of Mission America, has announced that “there is no proof that there’s ever anything like a gay, lesbian, or bisexual or transgendered child, or teen, or human.” “There are no such humans,” she added. Well, that’s certainly surprise to me, a gay man. If I don’t […]
Continue readingAuthor: Mark
The Skwib: Worth the risk
Pathetic phallacy, a photo by Miss Aniela on Flickr.
Love the quote on the photo’s page (link above):
Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition.
–Timothy Leary
Alltop thinks they’ve spelled fallacy wrong.
Slap Upside The Head: Australia Adopts Trans-Friendly Passport Rules
Australia has adopted new passport regulations that allow trans citizens to select the gender with which they best identify. Until last week, all people had to either list their birth gender (or assigned gender, if their birth gender was indeterminate), or undergo a full sex change operation if they wished to list their identified gender. […]
Continue readingThe Skwib: Pirate Monkey
Tiny Pirate, Monkey of The Seven Seas, a photo by Ape Lad on Flickr.
Combining two of my favourite things in one cartoon!
Slap Upside The Head: Conservative Radio Host Files Police Complaint Over School Anti-Homophobia Initiative
Kari Simpson, an anti-gay activist and conservative radio host, has filed a police complaint against an anti-homophobia program designed to reduce the bullying of LGBT students and foster a safer atmosphere in schools. Slap readers may remember Kari from the time she unsuccessfully launched a class-action human rights complaint against the B.C. Education Ministry for […]
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Canada Mulls Ending Gay Blood Ban
Hot on the heels of the United Kingdom, which ended their gay blood donor ban in favour of a one year deferral last week, Canadian Blood Services is now mulling a similar change. Canada’s permanent deferral on blood donations from men who have had sex with another man—even once—has never been scientifically sound; on top […]
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Dads Win Right To Remove Surrogate From Birth Certificate
Two same-sex fathers in Saskatchewan have won the right to amend their child’s birth certificate, removing the name of a surrogate mother. The surrogate, identified only as Mary, carried the child to term using an embryo created from the sperm of one of the fathers and an ova from an anonymous donor. Despite being neither the child’s […]
Continue readingSpecial Ballots
Regular readers have probably seen a few rants on this topic before, but here’s a wee bit more in today’s Western Star on the bizarre provisions in the Elections Act which allow special ballots in Newfoundland & Labrador to be cast before the elect…
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: UK Kinda Almost Lifts Gay Blood Ban
The United Kingdom has removed its lifetime ban on blood donations from gay men, replacing it with a one year deferral since the last time a donor has had sex with someone of the same gender. So, yeah—essentially, nothing has changed. Well, I suppose at the very least it’s an acknowledgement that the lifetime ban (which Canada […]
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Calgary Mayor Leads Pride Parade For First Time
Calgary may not have the reputation of being a particularly tolerant city, but that perception change sooner than one might think. For one, Calgarians elected a surprisingly progressive mayor last year. Naheed Nenshi won by a comfortable margin thanks in large to an active youth vote, assembled into action via social media. And now, from […]
Continue readingMorning Show addendum
Our political panel on the CBC Morning Show was a bit of fun. Thanks to former Premier Tom Rideout and Dr. Holly Pike for putting up with me and, of course, our host and moderator Bernice Hillier. (I’ll link to the podcast version when available)About …
Continue readingRandom bits, Tuesday morning edition
Hope everyone had a great long weekend. Apologies to (ir)regular readers for another content lapse. I’ve been tweeting more than blogging of late. Follow @mark_watton for more.In the meantime, a few links:1. Tune into the CBC Corner Brook’s West Coast …
Continue readingFurther to previous…
… as the Globe and Mail reports, and with the Labour Day Weekend drawing to a close, Brian Topp’s “recusal” from setting NDP leadership rules continues unabated. You’ll get tired of me saying this, but it is straight out of an Orwell novel, I swear.O…
Continue readingLabour Day Weekend
It’s the start of the Labour Day weekend, so where better to start than with the brewing battle amongst NDP leadership hopefuls about the role its “affiliate groups” will play in the upcoming vote to replace Jack Layton?
For those unfamiliar with the …
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: The Story Of My (Super Gay) Wedding
The following article was one that I originally wrote for the September, 2010 issue of Outlooks magazine. It talks about my wedding last year, and although I’ve now already celebrated my first wedding anniversary, I figured this would be a worthwhile time to reflect on a very special group of lobbyists that tried their hardest […]
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Lesbian Couple Forced to “Unmarry” Before Entering The States
A married lesbian couple has complained to the media after being forced to declare themselves as non-family members in order to enter the United States for a vacation. Karen-Mary Perry and Andrina Perry were married back in 2008, and typically fill out a single US customs form whenever they travel. The forms indicate that “only […]
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Vancouver’s Gay Housing Discrimination Problem
Housing discrimination has always been a little difficult to measure. Yet, even in a city as diverse and vibrant as Vancouver, it’s reported to happen. While it’s illegal to deny a gay couple housing simply because of their sexual orientation anywhere in Canada, proving this kind of discrimination is not easy; landlords don’t normally admit […]
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Australian MP Wants His “Gay” Back
Same-sex marriage has been a fact of life in Canada for so long now that many of us have long forgotten the silly hysteria that led up to it. Yet, alas, anyone reading future history books will find that the mere discussion of allowing equal marriage rights for same-sex couples had prompted all kinds of […]
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Calgary Mom Launches Anti-Homophobia Campaign
A Calgary mom has launched a new anti-homophobia campaign that will be gracing various public transit vessels in the city starting this September. The campaign was originally conceived after a mother, who wishes to only be identified as Grace, became fed up with the harassment her teenage daughter has had to endure. Having worked on […]
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Religious Entitlement For The Rest Of Us
I originally wrote the following article—rated the greatest article of all time by an independent body that I just formed—for the July 2010 edition of Outlooks magazine. Despite being published under the Slap banner, I never actually posted it on this site. Practically unforgivable, I know. But it’s here now! So, enjoy! I’m thinking of […]
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