gay-marriage « Ramblings of a Hopeless Khowaga

Tag: ‘gay-marriage’

Another reason to visit Mexico?

Monday, March 19th, 2007

On Friday, the DF (that’s ‘day-efay’ for you non-Spanish speakers; also known as the Distrito Federal), the state-like entity that encompasses a good chunk of greater Mexico City, put into effect its law allowing civil unions for gay couples (story from El Universal, here in Spanish).

First out of the starting gate were Antonio Medina and Jorge Cerpa, who celebrated their union with a much publicized kiss (Spanish only) to the strains of Besáme Mucho:

Here’s a couple of more articles on the subject:

The northern state of Coahuila already started authorizing civil unions earlier this year, and a lesbian couple were the first to register on January 31.

Straight couples who aren’t looking to tie the knot formally can also register, which makes me wonder if the situation will turn out similar to the one in France, where the vast majority of civil unions are now registered between men and women. Stuff that makes you go hmmm.

¡Felicidades a las parejas! Here’s hoping that maybe the rest of us can catch up soon … ?

Tags: boda, gay-marriage, gay-rights, mexico, mexico-city
Posted in Home, Politics as Usual | Comments Off

Christian Chavez’s Wedding

Monday, March 5th, 2007

[jLanguage default=”english”][english][/english][spanish][/spanish]

[english]
¿Buscas al español? Haz click aquí …

‘cuz I’m a giver: I’ve noticed a bunch of people stumbling on my site by looking for the now legendary photos of Mexican pop star Christian Chavez from the group RBD getting hitched to his boyfriend, BJ Murphy, in Canada. And after a few simple keystrokes, I found ‘em: here ya go, boys and girls! Love the kool-aid red hair… And don’t say I never did nothin’ for ya.

P.S. There are some more links to article and interviews below (after the jump if you’re on the main page). Check them out …

Since this seems to be such a popular post, I figured I’d add a little bit more.

I’ll be honest: I still don’t really know who this guy is. I’ve never heard of the band, but since I posted the original item three days ago, hundreds of people have accessed this page looking for more information about him, so this is my attempt at being nice (and keeping the traffic going. Maybe some of you will pause to read some of the other, non-Christian things on the site?).

Note: There is both a Christian and a Christopher in RBD (Christian is the one with fluorescent hair). Christian is the one who is gay, while Christopher is not.

Christian Chávez: A Married, Assuming Rebel, Now Much More Beloved an article (in Spanish) from an Argentine gay magazine.

México Supports Christian for Being Gay (in Spanish) Another positive article in reaction to the announcement. There are additional links to related articles, which I haven’t read, but I do enjoy the one with the title Do I have to congratulate Christian Chavez? It’s so good to remember the important things in life…

You can find much more by doing a search of Google News, which you can do in one click here. Needless to say, there’s far more available if you read Spanish and search Google Mexico (which you can do here).

I haven’t seen any photos of the wedding that are different from the ones posted on LatinoGossip.com at the link above. I think those must be the only photographs of the ceremony itself.

Updated Update (Thursday, March 8):

Christian now claims that someone was trying to blackmail him over his sexuality, which would put him in the same situation as Stephen Gately from the now-defunct Irish boyband Boyzone (and not in the same situation, as much as he’d like to claim that he was, as Lance Bass.) More here from Mexico City’s El Universal (en español): Trataron de extorsionarme: Christian Chávez

Christian says he doesn’t want to be a gay icon in an interview with La Reforma, which I do not have a subscription to. 20 Minutos has a rundown of the pertinent information.

La Opinión Digital calls him “brave and honest” in an editorial.

And, finally, La Crónica de Hoy asks the important question: Who will be the next to come out of the closet?

[/english]

[spanish]

La Boda de Christian Chavez

Wanna read this in English? Click here …

Escribí sobre el “salimiento del armario” de Christian Chavez por primera vez en un articulo llamado “Random Round-up” (en ingles sola), y fue demasiado interés en ello y por eso he encontrado las enlaces aqui.

En este enlace se puede encontrar las fotografías famosas de la boda del Christian Chavez, del grupo méxicano RBD, y su novio, BJ Murphy, en Canada. Hay muchas copias de ellas en la Red (tambien alguien ha hecho un videoclip en YouTube con subtítulos estúpidos), pero todas las fotografías de la boda que he visto están allí. ¡Disfrútalos! (y, ¿¿que pasa con el color de su pelo??)

P.S. Hay más enlaces á artículos y entrevistas que siguen debajo. Mireís …

Eso debe ser uno de mis articulos mas populares, y por eso pensaba en poner unos poquitos enlaces más a la página.

En el espiritú de estar completamente honesto, no conozco a Christián Chavez ni sobre su musica ni sobre su persona. He visto los CDs de RBD en las tiendas (y les presté attencíon por culpa de su pelo rosa fluorescente), pero no los escuchaba. Pero despues de escribir en mi blog sobre su ‘salimiento del armario,’ cientos de personas han visitado mi sitio para saber más, y por eso pensé en usar la Red para su utilidad intendido: accesar a información. Y puedo practicar mi español antés de mi viaje a México por el verano. (¿Y puede ser que algunos de vosotros queridos visitantes pausen á leer unas cosas más que los pocos artículos que hablan de Christián?)

No he visto unas fotografías de la boda que son differentes de los que se puede ver en el sitio de LatinoGossip.com en el enlace encima. Creo que estos deben ser los unicos fotografías de la boda …

Nota: En RBD hay un chaval llamado Christián (él con el pelo florescente) y un llamado Christopher. Es Christián quien ha declarado su homosexualidad, mientras Christopher no es gay.

Christian Chávez: un rebelde casado, asumido y ahora mucho más querido– un articulo de una revista argentina para la communidad GLBT.

México apoya a Christian por ser gay — Este es un otro articulo positivo sobre las noticias. Hay enlaces a articulos relacionados – no los leí, pero me gusta el sigiento titulo: ¿Tengo que “felicitar” a Christian Chavez? Porque sobre todo es muy importante recordar las cosas más importantes en la vida …

Hay mucho mas en una busqueda de Google Noticias que se puede hacer con un click aqui.

El Juéves, el 8 de marzo:

Ahora, Christián dice que alguién trató de extorsionarlo sobre sus preferencias sexuales, que le pondrá en la misma situación que Stephen Gately del grupo musical irlandés Boyzone (y no en la misma situación que Lance Bass). Más aquí de El Universal desde México D.F.: Trataron de extorsionarme: Christian Chávez.

Además, Christian dice en una intervista con La Reforma que no quiere ser un ícono sexual. Porque no tengo una subscripción a La Reforma, hay una versión alternativa aqui desde 20 Minutos.

La Opinión Digital opine que Christian es “valiente y honesto”.

Y, finalmente, La Crónica de Hoy pide la pregunta más importante de todo: ¿Quién será el próximo valiente en salir del clóset?

[/spanish]

Tags: boda, Christian-Chavez, coming-out, gay-marriage, marriage, RBD
Posted in Español - Spanish, Multilingual Posts, Music, Pop Culture | 4 Comments »

The Myth of Community

Sunday, February 25th, 2007

I’ve noticed a trend in this country … well, among human beings generally … wherein one person deigns to speak on behalf of an entire group of people that they claim to represent.

I should probably explain. I’ve run across a number of TV clips and blog postings from gay people (usually gay men) who proudly proclaim that they don’t support the idea of gay marriage. I suppose that’s fine — we all have different opinions about everything, isn’t that what makes this country great? — but what kills me is that it’s usually followed up with a statement akin to: we don’t need gay marriage – the whole point of the gay rights movement is that we don’t want to act like them, anyway. (I should probably explain that “we” are the gay people and “them” are the straight people. We’ve been exposed to a lot of “us” and “them” lately, so I figured that might need some clarification.)

To which I heartily offer the following response: how the hell do you know what I want? I don’t recall ever telling you what my opinion on the subject of gay marriage is, and I certainly don’t recall being polled for the nationwide gay survey that lets you make generalizations on my behalf. Did my ballot get lost in the mail or something?

I rather thought that the whole point of the gay rights movement was that “we” could do whatever “we” wanted, meaning that it’s perfectly OK for those of “us” who want to get married to do so, and those of “us” who don’t want to don’t have to.

I mean, personally, I would be fine with civil unions. I live in Texas, and marriage is such a push-button issue, as illustrated by the gay-marriage ban that went through a couple of years ago (that also, curiously, outlaws straight common-law marriages, although it hasn’t been challenged in court yet). It was a completely pointless measure, since gay marriage was already illegal in Texas, but the new measure went on the ballot anyway, supported by the Christian right who have managed to convince themselves that they’re the ones whose lifestyles are being threatened (wish I were joking, unfortunately I’m not).

What I really want is the normal stuff: tax breaks (I contribute to the mortgage, but I don’t get to claim it as a tax deduction because my name isn’t on the mortgage itself, leading to wildly off-kilter situations like last year when Ray got a $3,500 refund and I owed $300), hospital visitation rights (the one time either one of us has been in the hospital — an outpatient surgery I had a few years back — they were pretty cool about letting Ray hang around, but legally they don’t have to), and knowing that if something happened to Ray I wouldn’t get locked out of the house. That sort of thing. If the rest of my fellow Texans don’t want me to call it marriage, fine. I’m not going to get hung up on semantics.

But that’s just me. Your opinion may be different, and I’m going to be respectful enough not to presume to speak on your behalf. So, to all my fellow queers and fags and dykes and grrls and all the rest of you, please do me the following favor: the next time some interviewer sticks a microphone or a notepad in your face and asks you what your opinion on gay marriage is, please extend the same courtesy to me. Or do “us” all a favor and keep “your” yap shut.

Tags: gay, gay-marriage, gay-rights, politics
Posted in Politics as Usual, Sometimes I don't want to be the bigger person | Comments Off

Life after Christmas

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007

Sometimes in this world you have to have a sense of humor about things or you’ll cry, and sometimes I forget that. Hence last night’s post … but I think I’m better today.

I found myself with an unexpected day off today. The Governor closed all state of Texas agencies in a day of remembrance for Gerald Ford – one of the rare occasions when the University of Texas is considered a state agency (others include budget cuts, the need for layoffs, etc.). Times when we’re not considered a state agency usually include all of those weird holidays that everyone else gets off but we don’t (San Jacinto Day, Texas Independence Day, etc).

They did a crap job of announcing it – we got an e-mail yesterday, but I can think of several people that I work with who don’t check their e-mail at home, so I’m wondering how many people showed up at the office today not knowing that we had the day off. Stuff that makes you go “hmmmm.”

So, instead of going to work, I went to Costco and bought lots of household cleaning products (this not being really connected to any of the above) and a copy of Little Miss Sunshine, which they had on sale. Now I’m on my eleven-teenth load of laundry and marvelling at how large the living room is without a Christmas tree in it (and wondering how it is that every year the stuff never seems to fit back into the same box it came out of).

In other news:

A plane crashed in Indonesia yesterday, and after detailed reports saying that the plane had been found and that there were survivors, “senior officials” have announced that they were wrong and that they haven’t found the plane after all.

Speaking of needing a sense of humor — it’s one thing to say that you think you know where the plane is and then come back and say you were wrong, but it’s another thing entirely to say you’ve found the plane, come up with specific numbers of survivors and fatalities and then turn around and say you were wrong. Something weird is going on there … too bad Mulder and Scully aren’t around anymore.

In other weird news. Wikipedia inadvertantly shut off the ability of everyone in the country of Qatar to edit the site anonymously. I’ll bet this is some sort of weird vendetta against Qatar for defying English grammar by not placing a “u” in their name. Once internet access is available on airplanes, fliers on Qantas Airways better be careful, that’s all I’m saying.

And, back in “bang your head against the wall” territory, the Massachusetts legislature has voted to allow a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage (which is currently legal there) to move forward. One step forward, two steps back … right into dog poo.

Remember to keep smiling.

Tags: costco, gay, gay-marriage, gay-rights, holidays, texas, university, Wikipedia
Posted in Home | Comments Off

Random Round-up

Tuesday, November 14th, 2006

It’s been a while since I’ve just looked at the headlines and made fun of people, so let’s do that now, shall we?

South Africa has become the fifth country to approve gay marriage

This is, of course, monumental on many levels, not the least of which is the fact that all of the gays that are getting thrown out of Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zanzibar, Ghana and all the other homophobic places in Africa will finally have someplace to go. Plus they have great wine in South Africa.

(For the record: Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, and Spain).

Iran boasts that it will be fully nuclear “soon.”

You know, it’s kind of weird that President Bush and President Ahmadinejad don’t get along. They’re both convinced that they’re doing God’s work … in a creepy “don’t drink the Kool-aid” kind of way.

President Bush and Nancy Pelosi have the most awkward meeting since “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?”

Seriously. Does this even require comment?

U.S. Catholic Bishops have backed new guidelines urging gays to be celibate.

They’re also against same-sex marriage, adoptions by gays and lesbians, and contraception (presumably they’re talking about straight sex there). Good to know they’re not letting that whole sex scandal thing get in the way of business as usual.

Bond is Back. And he’s Blond.

… and yummy. I knew Daniel Craig was going to make a good Bond, and I’m quite looking forward to Casino Royale. ‘Specially the scene where he’s in a bathing suit…

Tags: daniel-craig, gay-marriage, gay-rights, politics, religion
Posted in Just. Plain. Weird., Sometimes I don't want to be the bigger person | Comments Off

Tag: ‘gay-marriage’

Another reason to visit Mexico?

Christian Chavez’s Wedding

The Myth of Community

Life after Christmas

Random Round-up

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