The Carnival of Bent Attractions highlights blog posts on articles of interest to the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, trans and queer communities. It was great reading through this range of posts. I’m sorry that the Carnival isn’t continuing on.

Identity
In “queer butch” does not equal “lesbian,“ Sinclair of Sugarbutch Chronicles, writes about her frustration in being forced to change her bio for a poetry competition from “queer butch” to “lesbian”:

I suppose, under all the frustration and hurt cracking feeling in my chest, this is reminding me why I do this kind of work, why I want to be visibly queer, why I want to use words like butch and dyke and cunt and queer, words that have power. This is exactly why I need to go to that competition, to walk in and LOOK like a queer butch dyke and then talk and sound like an articulate, emotional, thoughtful POET.

Because I seek to be a bridge. I want to become suspended between worlds, create new pathways over which to travel.

SarahS writes about The Myth of “Bisexual Privilege” posted at Pam’s HouseBlend:

The comments thread on How the L Word gives women the gay has quickly devolved into a discussion about how bi women who date men get showered in priviledge. I’m not sure how or when this myth got started but I feel compelled to point out that it is 100% bullshit.

Or to put it simply, there is no such thing as bisexual women leaving their girlfriends and then getting to frollick off into the sunset with their male partners while getting doted on by straight society and living happilly ever after.

It doesn’t work like that. Not remotely. But for some reason, lesbians of the world seem to firmly believe that it does.

Over at Polyamorously Perverse, Tom Paine writes about his frustration with labels like ‘bisexual’ and ‘poly’ in Intersecting Sets:

Rather than reiterate that I’m a “mass of contradictions,” C. suggested I’m really a case of “intersecting sets.” We all should remember intersecting sets from math and science classes. It describes two groups that share some, but not all qualities or properties. Polys and swingers are often described as “overlapping,” so why not as intersecting sets? C. and I both have some poly qualities (me far more these days than her), yet neither of us would be comfortable at a poly pride event or another one of their dreadful “munches.”

Personalities
salty femme, in changing the context, writes about one of literary heroes, Joan Nestle:

Joan Nestle is a hero of mine, and her article about femme identity in the Persistent Desire: A Femme-Butch Reader (published 1992, edited by Nestle, and out of print, unbelievable – you can buy it used though) has been a source of learning and growth for me for as long as I have known the word femme. I don’t know why I was so shocked to learn that I learned so many of my notions (not to mention my confidence) about femme identity and femininity from Nestle.

Elizabeth McClung of Screw Bronze!, writes about transgendered female game designer Danielle Berry (the former Dan Bunton). Dan was known as the designer of the games M.U.L.E. (an inspiration for Will Wrights’ The Sims) and the Seven Cities of Gold. Her work was ahead of its time and paved the way for player to player interaction, now an essential part of gaming. When Dan came out of the closet as a woman in the early 90’s, he lost his career and his family became estranged from him; he died in 1998 of cancer, still estranged from his family. In her post, “Dani: First Female in AIAS Hall of Fame (and why AIAS kept it secret),” Elizabeth writes about the honor granted to Dan Bunton, and not Danielle Berry:

You may be thinking, ‘Okay, a nice and courageous woman by why is her story so important?’ It is important because yesterday, the sixteen men making the board of The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) wiped that story away; and they did it with an award. AIAS is a collection of the most powerful people in gaming software; you can’t even become a voting member until you have demonstrated your excellence in gaming through credits and experience. And annually the members vote to give out gaming awards, while the sixteen members of the Board of Directors decide which single person should be added to the Hall of Fame. This year, that person, inducted yesterday Feb. 9th 2007 was Dan Bunten. You can listen to the Academy’s President in a January interview as he announces that yes, Dan Bunten, great designer that HE was, will be entered into the hall of fame. Sid Meier, creator of Civilization (who worked under Dani), accepted the award on his behalf, talking only about DAN Bunten, “He thought games could become social experiences, I told him he was out of his mind.” The official press release (now reprinted worldwide) from AIAS is that Dan Bunten was honored that night (“Bunten’s legacy is more recognized for the gaming technologies he pioneered,” said the release by the AIAS.”). The older (estranged) son thanked everyone for honoring his “dad.”

Nina of Queercents (a personal finance blog) writes about financial personality Suze Orman (Suze Orman: for the Young, Fabulous and Gay! ), who came out of the closet earlier this month, in a New York Times Magazine interview:

Over a year ago I wrote a post about how I loved hearing the “born-agains” go on and on about following the advice of Suze Orman. Those of us with gaydar have known for years that she was a bona fide lesbian. The haircut was the first clue… all “golf lesbians” that I know wear that style, plus if you poke around the scrapbook section of her web site it was easy to figure out that she had a “partner” and a knack for sporting visors as a fashion accessory. Trust me; straight women do not wear visors unless they’re playing the back nine on a windy day.

DADT
In Felons Yes, Gays No, Michael Crawford, posts at Bloggernista about the military’s DADT policy:

Aaron Belkin makes a great point in a post at Huffington Post about the military lowering its to accept felons while kicking out soldiers found to be gay. Apparently its okay with the Pentagon leadership if you have a record of drug abuse, its not okay if you love a member of the same sex. Yeah, that makes a whole lot sense. Not!

Barry Mahfood of The Price of Rice!, writing on One More Thing God Got Wrong, has some thoughts about two recent stories involving transgendered folks losing their jobs over changing their sex:

These stories started me thinking about the fierce and ongoing debate between Bible-based religion and those who want society to accept homosexuality as a legitimate sexual preference. Of course there are many people who are Christian and homosexual. However, those who believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible are correct in saying that the Bible condemns homosexual activity as sinful. This is where I think the Bible has it wrong. Again.

Two posts on Tim Hardaway and his homophobic outburst. Bloggernista’s Michael Crawford writes about in Tim Hardaway Booted From NBA Event:

Of course, Tim has now issued a statement (ie excuse for his homophobia) today that begins “As an African-American, I know all too well the negative thoughts and feelings hatred and bigotry cause.” And you didn’t realize that before you went all stupid on the gays?

Self-described ‘reasonable conservative’ Tom Swift weighs in on the Tim Hardaway controversy, in his post Tim Hardaway Makes Homophobia Look Bad:

With the recent furor over Tim Hardaway’s antigay remarks, John Amaechi’s book and the Snickers Superbowl commercial, suddenly everyone wants to know what athletes think of gay people. I think this situation has gotten out of hand, which is why I am proposing that the commissioners of all the major athletic organizations immediately impose a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy: journalists, don’t ask athletes what they think of gay people and athletes, don’t tell us.

Personal Improvement
Paula Gregorowicz of Coaching4Lesbians, has two posts about self care and avoiding burnout. First she writes about the space in between all the do-ing that we have going on:

We all need space in all areas of our lives to create the magic. We need that space to allow the air to flow and for us to breathe. Without it, our internal fire diminishes until it is extinguished. If you’re stressed and booked to the max you have no space to feed your internal flame. Without that flame, you are unable to contribute to the world in the way you were meant to. You are unable to enjoy your rich relationshps. And, without that flame the technicolor from life fades to dim shades of gray.

In her second post, Is Your Mind Churning Like the Waves?, she suggests using guided mindfulness meditation to help quiet the chatter in our minds:

There’s nothing “woo-woo” about meditating. There are thousands of ways to meditate and whatever is the right fit for you is the “right” way. It’s not just for new age gurus either. Take any truly successful athlete and I would bet they have a form of meditation and visualization they do to ensure their peak performance. Ask a really successful person who is living life by her own design and I’d bet she has some form of meditative practice in her daily habits even if she doesn’t call it that. The simple truth is that quieting the chatter of our minds and getting still is the single most powerful way to get more comfortable in your own skin and have more of what you want to do, be, or have in your life.

At Queercents, Paula has Ten Money Questions for Deborah Nicholson, who has launched a new online movie rental service specializing in serving the LGBT community called Womynsmovies.com:

What is your most significant memory about money? As a child I used to collect and return glass lemonade bottles to Freddy’s sweet shop, and to me that was like being handed free money for very little effort. I just realized in answering that question that I only value money that I have to work hard for. If I don’t have to work hard for it, or if I feel undeserving of it, then that money has a different value to me.

Thank you for the opportunity to host the Carnival of Bent Attractions.

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