HRC wants you to make your voice heard! Please take a few minutes to complete this online survey and share your experiences, concerns and hopes for the future. This survey is completely anonymous and will help the Human Rights Campaign advocate for and represent your generation. They need to hear directly from you—from LGBTQ youth from every corner of the country and from all backgrounds. http://go.hpolsurveys.com/HRC
Do you dance, sing, or play an instrument? Is spoken word your thing? Got some poems to share? If you want to perform to a friendly and chill audience, check out the LGBTQ Youth Space’s “Pieces and Pastries” open mic event next Friday night! :)
Anyone 13-25 is welcome to attend this FREE event! Bring pastries to share if you would like. Coffee will be provided thanks to Crema Coffee’s generous donation.
Pieces and Pastries: Friday, Jan. 27 from 6pm-7:30pm at the LGBTQ Youth Space (938 The Alameda, San Jose, CA 95126).
- President Barack Obama (via cloudsofecstasy)
(Source: debztep)
Transgender prison inmates who did not begin treatment prior to entering federal custody can now receive hormones, specialized mental health counselling and possibly gender reassignment surgery while they are in prison, according to new rules adopted by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons as part of a court settlement.
(Under the bureau’s previous policy, issued in 2005, only federal inmates with a preexisting diagnosis were eligible for transgender-related care, which was limited to treatments that would maintain them “only at the level of change which existed when they were incarcerated.”)
![[image is of a blue background with a gray trashcan. Text above the trashcan reads: “‘To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are.’ - author unknown.” Text along bottom of poster reads “2011 Love Your Body Campaign. www.nowfoundation.org”]
Love Your Body Day is on Wednesday, October 19! The LGBTQ Youth Space wants to put so much body-positivity and self-celebration out there that we’re going to need a whole week and a half…plus YOUR HELP!Starting on Friday, October 7, the Youth Space is going to create some amazing artwork that celebrates all bodies and highlights the importance of celebrating who you are! Various arts and crafts projects will be taking place to express the love we have for our bodies! Come by anytime between October 7 and October 19 to help out! Definitely swing by on October 7 as we kick off the Love Your Body festivities! Anyone ages 13-25 is welcome! No charge for this event and arts/crafts supplies are provided…however, you’re always welcome to bring some artsy goodies to share! :)
The Youth Space is located at 938 The Alameda, San Jose, CA 95126 and we’re open Monday-Friday from 3pm-9pm. More info at www.youth.defrank.org.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsi9dbwmjB1qbx9who1_500.jpg)
[image is of a blue background with a gray trashcan. Text above the trashcan reads: “‘To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are.’ - author unknown.” Text along bottom of poster reads “2011 Love Your Body Campaign. www.nowfoundation.org”]
Love Your Body Day is on Wednesday, October 19! The LGBTQ Youth Space wants to put so much body-positivity and self-celebration out there that we’re going to need a whole week and a half…plus YOUR HELP!
Starting on Friday, October 7, the Youth Space is going to create some amazing artwork that celebrates all bodies and highlights the importance of celebrating who you are! Various arts and crafts projects will be taking place to express the love we have for our bodies!
Come by anytime between October 7 and October 19 to help out! Definitely swing by on October 7 as we kick off the Love Your Body festivities!
Anyone ages 13-25 is welcome! No charge for this event and arts/crafts supplies are provided…however, you’re always welcome to bring some artsy goodies to share! :)
The Youth Space is located at 938 The Alameda, San Jose, CA 95126 and we’re open Monday-Friday from 3pm-9pm. More info at www.youth.defrank.org.
Straight Ally Patch - How To
What you will need:
- A ruler
- A marking tool
- A sewing machine
- Thread
- Acrylic Paint (or fabric paint) in each color of the rainbow, and black
- Paint brushes - Flat 1/2 inch; Fine round brush.
- Sewing Needle
- Fabric of your choice (It can be white, or any color since you’ll be painting over it)
Steps:
- Cut out 4 rectangles from your fabric of the same size.
- Do asmall basting stitch in the center of the rectangle to hold everything together.
- With your marking tool and ruler, mark your fabric off into 6 equal sections
- Paint each section a color of the rainbow. (This may take a few coats.)
- After letting it dry completely, do a zigzag stitch around the whole rectangle 3 times (or until it’s how you like it).
- With black paint, and a fine brush, paint on ‘ALLY’.
- Let dry completely and then using the same color thread you zigzag stitched with, sew your patch onto whatever you like! (Note: When sewing your patch on, sew within the zigzag stitching -if that makes sense-)
Enjoy :D
xoxo Nik
The LGBTQ Youth Space is super excited for our annual Halloween Dance, MASQUERADE BALL, on Friday, October 28th!
Featured at this year’s dance is a *haunted house* full of scary surprises! As always, there will be dancing, food, music, photos, and plenty of chances to hang out with your friends as well as meet new people.
Open to all LGBTQIAP folks ages 13-20. School or state ID required - it will be checked at the door to verify age.
Tickets are $5 at the door but no one will be turned away for inability to pay. No alcohol, smoking, drugs, or weapons.
Also, we are still looking for *gleeful minions* (AKA volunteers) to make the Masquerade Ball and the haunted house a success! If you want to help out with planning, construction, decorations, working the haunted house, or more, please attend Events Committee at the Youth Space on Tuesdays from 5pm-6pm.
If you have any questions about the dance, please contact Cassie at cassieb (at) defrank.org or 408-293-3040 ext. 111. To learn more about the LGBTQ Youth Space, please visit www.youth.defrank.org.
Check out this awesome opportunity to make $$$ and be part of an important study for trans female youth ages 16-24!
Hello hello,
Queer & Asian is hosting the Gender Bender Dance Lesson at LGBTQ YouthSpace at the Billy DeFrank Center on Friday, August 26, 2011 at 6:00pm - 8:30pm! You don’t need to bring a dance partner, you’ll get to meet everyone.
GBDL is an event that Q&A hosts which is a Dance Lesson, in this case is a Swing dance lesson, that is a safe environment for everyone with the freedom to choose whether to follow or lead regardless of gender identity or gender presentation.
for more information go here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=148900835192552
![lgbtadvocate:
tranquality:
[photo: close up photo of an individual holding a small, mostly yellow, circular sticker to the viewer/camera. there is text on the sticker that reads, “I deserve a safe space to learn,” followed by “You Can Help!” The space between the ‘r’ and ‘v’ is taken over by an upside down triangle with the colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple; a yellow star is present in the red stripe. The sticker is created by and the message is supported by GLSEN, whose logo is present above the first sentence. The logo is grey, with the ‘e’ being emphasized by a lighter shade. there is a link: http://www.safespacekit.com]
I just received these awesome stickers in the mail, along with other resources like ThinkB4USpeak posters, an info flyer for GLSEN’s newest project: Changing the Game, The GLSEN Sports Project, the 2009 National School Climate Survey - Executive Summary (the full one can be accessed here), and a whole lotta more inspiration for the upcoming school year to be one of my most productive years as I work with other students, teachers, and faculty to promote an actively safe and opportunistic school year for (actual or perceived) LGBTQ students and their allies.
You may have seen the Safe Space Kit campaign talked about by Chely Wright, or featured on the GLSEN website, or the subject for which GLSEN won a $250,000 prize from the Pepsi Refresh Project, or from me rambling about it from time to time. Though the campaign is no longer in the spotlight or GLSEN’s main news, the chance is still there to sponsor a kit to your school, your kid’s school, someone you care about’s school, or any random school in the country. The Safe Space Kit provides resources for educators and allies to action against school bullying and harassing and towards a positive learning environment for all students. Supportive staff, inclusive curriculum, comprehensive anti-bullying policies, and student clubs such as gay-straight alliances/queer-straight alliances/GLOBAL are all a part of the solution for creating a better climate for students. The 42 page guide section of the Safe Space Kit provides concrete strategies for supporting students and educating about anti-LGBTQ bias.
I can honestly say that if this were around, or even simpler: just having ‘safe space’ stickers, I think my earlier years of high school would’ve been much, much, much better. If I were to have had some teacher (or even my bus driver!) who was willing to step up, and step in, I would’ve been more prone to reporting my experiences with bullying and wouldn’t have been so fearful that no one would listen or worse: do nothing. This kit is much less about ‘saving lives’ than it is about preventing the endangerment of queer and trans* youth and students in the first place. If you’re tired of not hearing about students being bullied until after they’ve completed suicide, or until after their bullies have gotten on national news: you can take action now by promoting this kit. Shoot, you can even download a PDF copy here (and then convince your school, club, or teacher to purchase one because they have awesome stickers and posters ;)).
And I hope that’s something you can get with.
I have had the privilege of working with GLSEN to promote this and many other campaigns this summer. It is so worthwhile to know that we are helping students to stay safe and to feel comfortable and accepted in their schools.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq1t1lUOXU1qb18gbo1_1280.jpg)
[photo: close up photo of an individual holding a small, mostly yellow, circular sticker to the viewer/camera. there is text on the sticker that reads, “I deserve a safe space to learn,” followed by “You Can Help!” The space between the ‘r’ and ‘v’ is taken over by an upside down triangle with the colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple; a yellow star is present in the red stripe. The sticker is created by and the message is supported by GLSEN, whose logo is present above the first sentence. The logo is grey, with the ‘e’ being emphasized by a lighter shade. there is a link: http://www.safespacekit.com]
I just received these awesome stickers in the mail, along with other resources like ThinkB4USpeak posters, an info flyer for GLSEN’s newest project: Changing the Game, The GLSEN Sports Project, the 2009 National School Climate Survey - Executive Summary (the full one can be accessed here), and a whole lotta more inspiration for the upcoming school year to be one of my most productive years as I work with other students, teachers, and faculty to promote an actively safe and opportunistic school year for (actual or perceived) LGBTQ students and their allies.
You may have seen the Safe Space Kit campaign talked about by Chely Wright, or featured on the GLSEN website, or the subject for which GLSEN won a $250,000 prize from the Pepsi Refresh Project, or from me rambling about it from time to time. Though the campaign is no longer in the spotlight or GLSEN’s main news, the chance is still there to sponsor a kit to your school, your kid’s school, someone you care about’s school, or any random school in the country. The Safe Space Kit provides resources for educators and allies to action against school bullying and harassing and towards a positive learning environment for all students. Supportive staff, inclusive curriculum, comprehensive anti-bullying policies, and student clubs such as gay-straight alliances/queer-straight alliances/GLOBAL are all a part of the solution for creating a better climate for students. The 42 page guide section of the Safe Space Kit provides concrete strategies for supporting students and educating about anti-LGBTQ bias.
I can honestly say that if this were around, or even simpler: just having ‘safe space’ stickers, I think my earlier years of high school would’ve been much, much, much better. If I were to have had some teacher (or even my bus driver!) who was willing to step up, and step in, I would’ve been more prone to reporting my experiences with bullying and wouldn’t have been so fearful that no one would listen or worse: do nothing. This kit is much less about ‘saving lives’ than it is about preventing the endangerment of queer and trans* youth and students in the first place. If you’re tired of not hearing about students being bullied until after they’ve completed suicide, or until after their bullies have gotten on national news: you can take action now by promoting this kit. Shoot, you can even download a PDF copy here (and then convince your school, club, or teacher to purchase one because they have awesome stickers and posters ;)).
And I hope that’s something you can get with.
I have had the privilege of working with GLSEN to promote this and many other campaigns this summer. It is so worthwhile to know that we are helping students to stay safe and to feel comfortable and accepted in their schools.
(Source: tranqualizer)
things I heart
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Be Alive.
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Baby koala clinging to a leg.
I want one
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Anonymous asked: Over the summer, I was visting some family. My siblings, cousin and I were playing the game Life. When we got to the wedding square-thing, my cousin who's never seemed to be particularly gay-friendly, says "If you wanna pick a girl peg, that's cool too." It was adorable, if somewhat suprising.
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