Catholic Block: Church fights to keep weddings swinging one way.

The authors of the D.C. gay marriage bill are sensitive folks. While they’re eager to grant gays and lesbians the right to get hitched in the District, they don’t want to upset conservative churches in town. So they threw an exemption into the pending gay-marriage bill [PDF]: No church will be obligated to wed same-sexers. It’s a ceremonial loophole that’s not nearly wide enough for the D.C. arm of the Catholic Church. “The language of the bill only protects us on the day of,” says Susan Gibbs, communications director for the Archdiocese of Washington. “But for us, that day is the launching point for the rest of your life. It’s not a day-long event. It’s a life-long journey.”

Read More “A Guide to Gay Wedding Discrimination” »

Last month, I argued against the provision in the D.C. same-sex marriage bill that would phase out domestic partnerships. In short: A lot of couples, gay and straight, don’t want to have to opt into that problematic “marriage” business in order to secure our rights. Marriage still comes with a lot of unwanted shit, like an implicit reinforcement of outdated religious and social implications, not to mention our grandmothers’ expectations for a big ‘ol wedding.

Good news: Yesterday, a revised draft of the marriage bill was released that will retain domestic partnerships (for now, at least). Bad news: the revised bill also allows churches to refuse to make their facilities available for those same-sex couples who actually are into that whole “marriage” business.

Read More “D.C. Gay Marriage Bill Preserves Domestic Partnerships” »

“If I can get cereal easy, why can’t I get condoms like that?”

The D.C. Council’s Committee on Health recently completed a survey of about 250 District high school students’ thoughts on sex ed. The results reveal some interesting rifts between the male and female sex ed experience. Below, differing perspectives on sex ed—from condom use to LGBT acceptance—from the District’s young men and women. (You can read the full study here [PDF]).

Read More “The Sex Ed Gender Divide” »

According to a recent Pew Research study, the District of Columbia has the lowest marriage rate in the country. Only 23 percent of women and 28 percent of men and in D.C. are married, compared to 48 and 52 percent nationwide. The rates in D.C. are so low that they lie entirely off the Pew map’s color key. The closest states to D.C.’s numbers are Rhode Island, where 43 percent of women are married, and Alaska, where 47 percent of men are married.

Why aren’t D.C. residents getting hitched?

Read More “D.C. Has Lowest Marriage Rate In Nation, Largest Percentage of Same-Sex Couples” »

Sure, Mickey Meece started it. Her female workplace bully story—or as I like to call it, “How the recession is making bitches bitchier“—was a derivative, sexist, non-story recession trend piece for the ages. But now, WJLA is gunning to one-up Meece with its own derivative, sexist, non-story recession trend piece: How the recession is still making bitches bitcher—but this time, it’s local!

First, WJLA cites the obligatory statistic from a Workplace Bullying Institute (!) study—which found that “40 percent of bullies are women and of those, 70 percent target other women.”

What does it all mean? Well, it means that most bullies are men, and victims of bullying are split nearly half-and-half between women and men. Now that we’ve established that, let’s just completely ignore the facts and only interview women about how horrible it is that only women pick on only other women all the time. Ha ha, do women ever actually work?

First reporter to get six “local” quotes proving their premise wins!:

“Most men are blunt. They’ll tell you how [they] feel. Women will try different methods that don’t always work,” said Kelly Jones, a D.C. resident. (ONE)

“I’ve seen a lot of cattiness,” said Shari Flowers, a D.C. resident. (TWO)

“Women tend to be sort of undercutting in the workplace,” added Claire Lebrun, an Arlington resident. (THREE)

And unlike many men, female victims tend to suffer in silence. “It makes you feel helpless sometimes,” said Jones. (FOUR)

“It makes it harder for your job and then you feel uncomfortable coming into work,” said LaShawn Jones, a D.C. resident. (FIVE)

“It just very much brings down morale,” added Elissa Frankle, a Rockville resident. (SIX)

Ding ding ding! Wow, you had to go all the way out to Rockville to do it, but there you go. D.C. resident Shari Flowers has “seen a lot of cattiness,” and somebody—somebody reaaaallly high up—better be in the pocket of the Workplace Bullying Industry, because if nobody is getting any kick-backs for continuing to report on this bullshit, I will be very disappointed.

Beers for queers: Not just in gay bars anymore

This week, Metro Weekly reported on three local gay social activists who have been organizing a monthly “Guerilla Queer Bar” in D.C. for the past five years. The concept is simple: Get a bunch of gay people together, descend upon a traditionally straight bar, and declare “We’re here, we’re queer, we want a beer.” Then, like, drink the beer.

Read More “Gay Guerillas Descend on Straight Bar, Possibly for Last Time” »

Finally, the debate is over, and we may finally know who is truly to blame for HIV!

As promised, blogger Black Informant has posted a response to my response to his response to my response to his call for a debate based on my response to a blog post he wrote about the District’s new HIV numbers, thus concluding our virtual tête-à-tête. Let me begin by saying that it’s been a blast, and I hope that Black Informant has a great summer and never changes.

Since Black Informant’s post was to be the final one in our debate, which spanned fisting, rimming, irresponsible hedonism, and the importance of a good education, I won’t respond to the points he’s made here. If anyone would like to weigh in in the comments—by all means. Below, I’ve collected the greatest hits of Black Informant’s closing statement.

Read More “The HIV Blame Game: The Last Word!” »

Blogger Black Informant, with whom I disagree.

Yesterday, I wrote a post calling out Black Informant, a blogger who called out homosexuals for the striking new HIV/AIDS numbers in the District. The blogger then proceeded to call me out, in a post titled “Calling Amanda Hess of the Washington City Paper.” Black Informant wanted to debate. Well, here we go!

Read More “The HIV Blame Game: Let the Debate Begin” »

And all I know so far is that they want me to pay for it. Ms. Magazine has announced its intentions to open a Washington bureau, in the form of a standard fundraising missive. Let’s take a look at Ms.’s plans:

Dear [Possible Donor],

Feminists have an unprecedented opportunity to move forward. At this transformational time in history, Ms. is determined to be on the frontlines, keeping feminists armed with the knowledge we need at this historic time.

Ms. is opening for the first time a Washington Bureau—and we need your help. [Link to page suggesting a donation of $35 to $5,000, by Visa, Mastercard, or American Express to help open Washington Bureau].

Read More “Ms. Magazine Considers Washington Bureau” »

As the inauguration nears, Craigslist has been a-flutter with the romantic overtures of dudes looking for inauguration ball arm-candy and other dudes looking for inauguration week couch-surfing-with-benefits. Your best bets:

* This man-seeking-man inauguration ticket offerer has a range of interests, including “hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, snowboarding, reading, writing, cooking, dining out, watching movies, dancing, exploring the city and good conversation.” Could you be his other interest? “I tend to like younger, or at least youthful, intelligent, energetic, interesting, skinny/lean guys who look at the world differently,” he writes. Interested parties could get more than just a dance: “I’m also well-endowed and pretty damn good in bed.”

Read More “Inauguration Date Round-Up: Sex, Couches, and French Cuisine” »