Christianity and Queerness

'For The Bible Tells Me So' is a documentary made to help open the discussion about where being gay/lesbian/bisexual fits within Bible teachings.

We meet five Christian families, each with a gay or lesbian child. Parents talk about their marriages and church-going, their children's childhood and coming out, their reactions, and changes over time. The stories told by these nine parents and four adult children alternate with talking heads - Protestant and Jewish theologians - and with film clips of fundamentalist preachers and pundits and news clips of people in the street. They discuss scripture and biblical scholarship. A thesis of the film is that much of Christianity's homophobia represents a misreading of scripture, a denial of science, and an embrace of quack psychology. The families call for love. -IMBD

I was recommended this film by a friend who spent a large chunk of her life in conflict with her Christian beliefs and her sexuality. I have a mother who is strongly religious, this film gave me a lot of information about what the scripture actually says about the topic and is surprisingly different to mainstream belief. I highly recommend it and you can even watch it online without needing to pay for it. All you need to do is download the player and refresh the page.

Watch  'For The Bible Tells Me So'.

Sexuality Q&As

Better Health Channel - Sexuality
This page contains links to different kinds of relevant info on lesbian and gay issues. It asks those questions you might feel a bit silly asking someone else and provides straight-forward answers. For example:



Can you tell if a woman is a lesbian? 
You probably won’t know if a woman is gay until she tells you. There is no way you can tell whether a woman is a lesbian just by looking at her. The way people dress is about their personal identity, not their sexuality.

Gay relationships
The major difference between gay and straight relationships is that there are two men instead of a man and a woman. Gay men fall in love and form committed relationships. Like all relationships, there will be both good and bad times. There are no rules you have to follow in gay relationships. Everyone is free to make up their own rules. 


I found it great to read, even years after I found some of the answers to the same questions.

Reach Out!

Reach Out is a web resource made specifically for young people. There's lots of information about spirituality, self-esteem, mental health, sex-ed, relationships, personal stories and experiences, etc. 

An extert from Empty Black Book:
"A friend gave me a present when I was in hospital once- an empty black book and a black pen. It came with a little tag that said 'use it however you need to'...My book isn't beautiful, in fact I am probably one of the worst drawers in the world, but it didn't matter to me. And neither did the fact that most of what I wrote would not make sense to anyone else, because my book is for me."
 
I really like the articles on this page: Help Yourself

This is an Australian website, so some of the phone numbers and services aren't available in NZ. If you need someone to talk to:

call Youthline on 0800 37 66 33 (24hours/7days a week) or txt 234
call OUTLineNZ 0800 OUTLINE (10am to 9pm Weekdays, 6-9pm Weekends)

call Lifeline 0800 543 354 (24hours/7days a week)

I've listed a few different helplines because one might fit you better than another. Helplines, like counsellors or friends, aren't a onesize fits all and so try a few and see which one(s) you prefer. 

It Gets Better Project

Many LGBT youth can't picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can't imagine a future for themselves. So let's show them what our lives are like, let's show them what the future may hold in store for them.

There's a handful of awesome celebrities who have made videos to pass on their messages to Queer youth. Watch the videos here.

http://www.itgetsbetterproject.com/

Critic: Queer Issue

This week Otago University's student magazine, Critic, is publishing a Queer edition of their magazine. It covers interviews with 2 trans guys, queer theory, 10 questions we hate hearing, an interview with a queer muslim woman and other fabu-gays! 

Click here to read it online - Critic Issue 25

Think NZ's a bit queer? Here's proof!

"The national-level Youth2000 study reported a prevalence rate of 8.8% for non-heterosexual students, using a sexual identity question (Le Brun et al., 2005). The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study found that 24.5% of females and 10.7% of males of a Dunedin birth cohort reported any same-sex attraction by age 26 (Dickson et al., 2003). In comparison, the Christchurch Health and Development Study found that by age 25, 12.5% of a Christchurch birth cohort reported any same-sex attraction, any same-sex behaviour, or a lesbian, gay or bisexual identity (Fergusson et al., 2005)."

Source found here.

TUMBLR!

I've been a bit obsessed with this site lately. So many wonderful images of queer and beautiful people, photography and fashion. Some of these blogs have bizarre names, but I kind of love that. There's a handful of really good sites and SJ can help add some more suggestions too! 

This is an example post of just a picture of queer stuff:

Sometimes the posts are more along the lines of regular text blogs:

How to Be a Heterosexual Ally of the LGBT Community

1. Be secure in yourself. You know you are straight. Who cares if others may think otherwise. Is it even their business? There are also women who are turned on by gay men, which may work to your advantage.
2. Know how far you want to go as an ally. Going drag every third Friday of the month to raise trans awareness can be emotionally grueling - as with most bold action associated with social movements. Consider how much action...

A directory listing of Queer tumblrs can be found here.

These ones I recommend:

http://hellagay.tumblr.com/
http://fuckyeahlgbt.tumblr.com/
http://genderqueer.tumblr.com/
http://neonico.tumblr.com/
http://dashofpower.tumblr.com/
http://fuckyeahasiandykes.tumblr.com/ (<----I'm responsible for this one, woo!)
http://fuckyeahbisexuals.tumblr.com/

Or you can be really rad and start your own tumblr and find some followers yourself!