9 days of events for Our Bodies, Ourselves... at the M11, 1212 S. 11th St. Suite 24 Tacoma

Factors of our society such as patriarchy -a family, community, or system that is governed and dominated by men- and the concept of human capital places each one of us in a submissive position in our daily lives. Whether woman, queer, person of color, or poor we are either victimized, criminalized, or pacified by the dominant culture. Most of the time this goes unnoticed, and is acknowledged as "just the way it is." There is no solution in perpetuating this sentiment, or merely replacing those who are dominant over others. There is no satisfaction in relying on politicians and the police. Within their existence and infrastructure, they will always be at the top and we will keep sinking lower into the their trenches.

In participating in this week of events, we want to build relationships with those around us that are ready to take an assertive position in taking control over our lives and how we are treated as human beings. There is no expectation of things changing over night, but this is a beginning... This is about communication, mutual respect, and having fun. We hope to see you there, and in the streets.

 http://www.beyondfeminismtacoma.wordpress.com

from the TG Center:The afternoon of June 22nd at 1:40 PM, well-known community member Lance Reyna was attacked at knifepoint and left with a concussion. Lance was in a Houston Community College Central Campus 1st floor restroom when a black male with a shaved head said in falsetto, “Hey queer!” and put a knife to his throat. The attacker then told Lance to give him his valuables and then began beating Lance to the ground. Once Lance was on the ground, the attacker began kicking Lance in the head.

Lance was rushed to the emergency room. As of today, Lance is out of the hospital and being cared for by friends and family. The TG Center is taking up a collection to help offset the medical expenses associated with this attack. If you would like to donate, please come by the TG Center or call our helpline at 713-520-8586. Additionally, you can make a donation via Paypal HERE. [Read Full Story]

Pride @ Work, the Harvey Milk Club, and labor activists held a protest on Saturday, June 19th, to protest the firing of Vincent Atos from Hornblower/Alcatraz Cruises for organizing a union and allegedly (this is an actual quote from Human Resources) acting "too gay" at work. In turn, demonstrators decided to have a picket that was "too gay" for Hornblower. Picketers dressed in sailor suits paraded down a red carpet runway dancing to the music of the Brass Liberation Orchestra.

The 4th Annual Twin Cities Trans March will be Saturday June 26th at 3pm leaving from Stevens Square Park in Minneapolis.  Last Sunday trans march organizers chatted with a TC Indymedia journalist over stencils and spray paint while preparing for the upcoming march.  We discussed the history of the trans march and its relationship to Pride, the theme of this year's march (which is "The Many Aspects of Trans Health") allies, intersectionality, and solidarity.

Next weekend is Pride weekend in San Francisco. On Friday June 25th is the Trans March. On Saturday there is the Dyke March and on Sunday there will be the official parade on Market St. While pride marches started as protests, many activists now see them as celebrations of the status quo. On Sunday at 2pm, Gay Shame will be protesting at the SF LGBT Center against the corporatism and assimilation of the Pride celebrations. On Thursday, June 17th Queers United Against Israeli Terrorism will be protesting at the Castro Theater at 6pm against the Isreali-Consulate sponsorship of the San Francisco LGBT Film Festival.

Arab Queers, write: , "We, the undersigned queer Arab organizations, are appalled by the US Social Forum's decision to allow Stand with Us to utilize the event as a platform to pinkwash Israel's crimes in the region. Stand with Us is cynically manipulating the struggle of queer people in the Middle East through its workshop entitled "LGBTQI Liberation in the Middle East."

Second annual Gay Pride Parade with emphasis on the peace-supporting veterans, both gay and straight. The Inky put out a good story on us in their local section. A YouTube shot by a local person. Our videographer noted thankfully that the rain waited until after the parade to start falling! Local bloggers contributes thoughts and observations about parade. Read More | Related: Pride Parade marches while city closes another Gay club

On June 12, the "Capitol Pride" (GLBT pride) parade marched through what once was DC's traditional Gay neighborhood centered around Dupont Circle. That same weekend, it was reported in the Washington Blade that the DCBRA has temporarily ordered Zigfields/Secrets closed! Video of Pride parade

Today,[6/3] over 200 people of all ages, genders, races and sexualities met hate head on as they confronted the Westboro Baptist Church during their protest of Grant High School.

Around nine or ten followers of the WBC arrived at Grant High School at 7am this morning. Their website (godhatesfags.com) said that they were going to be there until 8am.

Westboro Baptist Church Religious Ministry is planning on holding a local protest on June 1st, 2010. The protest is scheduled to occur at Heritage High School (7825 NE 130th Avenue) from 2:15 pm until 2:45 pm. Theme will be concerns of homosexuality.

Nonviolent Counter-protest in Portland Oregon
Thursday, June 3
Grant High School
2245 N.E. 36th Avenue
7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. (prime arrival time of students)

Addition Info From The Vamcouver Washington Protest:  http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2010/06/399949.shtml

In a response to the gay bashings in the Portland area this weekend, a community forum was held tonight at the Q Center (4115 N Mississippi) by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans, Queer and Questioning (GLBTQQ) community to ask questions, get answers and come up with solutions.

On 5/30/10, three members of the Portland GLBTQQ community were attacked. Two of the three men attacked came to the Q Center to give their account of what happened over the weekend. Around 2am, a group left Red Cap and were walking past Living Rooms Theater including 3 drag queens and 3 queer men. They were attacked by an undetermined group of men. The men yelled, "Faggots" and advanced upon the group. One queen got hit three to four times in the face. The queer group fought back but were continually attacked, not only physically but with remarks like, "I hope you die of AIDS." One man, Birch, was completely knocked out.

From the newswire: "[On May 16th, 2010, Chicago] activists chose to highlight the LGBT rights issues in three African countries – Uganda, Kenya and Malawi – as part of the city's third annual observation of I.D.A.H.O., International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. About 50 marchers held a picket in front of the city's popular Millennium Park interacting with rush hour commuters, several of whom joined the event." Read more / See photos

Related: Whose Liberation? Contrasting Narratives on Saturday's Harvey Milk Day of Action | LGBT Groups Rally for ENDA

On Tuesday, May 18th, local LGBT groups rallied in front of the federal building in San Francisco to call on community members to contact their congressional representatives and urge them to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA. ENDA would ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Currently, it is legal in many states to discriminate against LGBT people and there are no federal laws protecting LGBT people in the workplace.

Two narratives of LGBTQ rights and queer liberation will contrast this weekend. On Saturday, dozens of rallies will be held nationwide calling for equality, legalized gay marriage and the end of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, including one at Loring Park. But that framework and those goals don't speak to everyone--some queer activists will meet to rally in opposition to what they describe as the hijacking of queer revolution and culture, using an anti-white-supremacy lens to move in a different direction than the centralized national mobilization.

The local organizers of Join the Impact's downtown event write that "On October 11, 2009, more than 200,000 people marched on Washington D.C. in the National Equality March with one single demand: Equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states. On May 22, 2010—the anniversary of Harvey Milk's birthday—we will take action again to demand full equality for all LGBT people. The International Day Against Homophobia, May 17, kicks off a week of local actions and on May 22, Equality Across America calls on activists to converge in each of the 50 states for the Harvey Milk Day Action."

But in "Liberation, Not Assimilation," queer organizers write, "Harvey Milk was no hero. He was a straight-pandering Republican, responsible for the gentrification of the Castro and the criminalization of trans sex workers in San Francisco. ... Why pick someone who embodies the 'Just Like You!' attitude of the straight establishment; when there are candidates like Jose Sarria, an openly gay gender variant person of color who actively campaigned against police brutality and gentrification, who even ran for the very same office (S.F. Board of Supervisors) a decade before Milk in 1961?"

In this episode, our 35th, Indy TV interviews Ryan Gromkoski and Noah Wagoner about their experiences as trans men. They start by clarifying the myriad terms that occupy this discourse (ie trans- gendered, gender dysphoria, etc). Watch Here:
Indy TV #35 Noah talks about his family's coming to accept his gender identity:
"My family has never been negative about it, but they don't want anything to happen to me, they want everything to be easy for me and being trans is… it bring about some hardships. Its taking a while, but they're coming along with it, but its hard for them."