PFLAG Prom is HERE!

 
It's that time of year again folks: time to dress up and get down! Pre-Sales are going on right now, you can buy them from me @ AHA during lunch in C124 or you can buy them from Owen @ WHS in his classroom.

 For information on the location try Google Maps. Hope to see you there!

"Let's Talk About Sex" World Premiere

On Saturday April 9th, TLC will be broadcasting the film "Let's Talk About Sex" discussing how Americas obsession and simultaneous refusal to talk about sex is effecting our youth. It specifically confronts the lack of sex education in our schools and how our abstinence only policy leads America's youth to make uninformed and risky decisions about sex.

From the film maker:

While American teens live in a society that uses sex to sell everything from lipstick to laptops, they are rarely afforded opportunities to discuss sex and sexual health in an open, honest way. Through interviews with real parents and teens, health experts, and faith leaders, director James Houston presents a revealing look at how American attitudes towards adolescent sexuality impact teenagers. The United States has among the highest teen pregnancy and STD rates in the industrialized world. Produced in collaboration with Advocates for Youth, LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX is both a catalyst and a tool to initiate healthy conversations in kitchens and classrooms across the country.

Controversial? Defiantly! I can't wait to see it. Students, grab a parent and sit down, this is EXACTLY what we need to be talking about.

The show starts April 9th @ 10pm/9pm Central.

Don't Just Stand There! Stop Bullying NOW (with Flash-mobs)

Click to see the image MUCH bigger!

UNM Queer student day

On Saturday, April 2nd, the UNM LGBTQ Resource Center is going to be hosting a Queer Student UNM Day as a prospective student day for LGBTQ and Ally high school students who may be interested in attending UNM. This will include a campus tour and general information about UNM, but will also focus specifically on what it is like to be an LGBT student here. We will be holding a panel that will include people from a number of the support services departments on campus, such as the LGBTQ Resource Center, Residence Life, Career Services, and representatives from different student groups. I think that much of this information would be useful even to students who may be planning on going to college elsewhere. I think that it's important for LGBTQ students to be aware of the support systems that are in place at universities and to know how to access these services, as it can greatly ease the transition to college, whether that be at UNM or elsewhere.

Ricky Martin Spreading the Love!

Just one year since coming out as a fortunate homosexual man Ricky Martin has experienced a boom in his career, which he spoke about while accepting the GLAAD Media Awards.

Since coming out Martin's twitter account has more then tripled in the number of followers, his new album is a success and he and his two children are happy and healthy. However all of these boons in fortune are not enough for Ricky.

When he accepted the GLAAD media award he proposed a mission "Let's share the love! Let's go to Mexico! Let's go to Columbia! Let's go to Argentina! Let's go to Chile! Let's go to Brazil! We need you GLAAD – we need you down there," he said. "I can help, I can do it! I'll be part of it. I want to be part of it."

It gets better event @ page 1!

If you don't know what the It gets better project is you've clearly been living under a rock, the it gets better project was started as a result of the rash of suicides of gay youth that had been bullied.

The It Gets Better Project has come to Albuquerque! Local book retailer Page 1 is planning an event surrounding the release of the It Gets Better Book!
From their press release:

We will be holding this event on Sunday, April 10th at 2pm. If you would
like to be involved in planning, have some ideas for the event, or would
just like to come and support this event, we'd love to hear from you! You
can contact us at events@page1book.com.

So if you have any ideas that you want to share please contact Page 1, remember Queer youth are heavily effected by bullying, if you see anyone who is being bullied or you yourself are being bullied please talk to an adult and remember IT GETS BETTER!

Gaga on 60 Minutes

Last week CBS anchor, Anderson Cooper, sat down with Lady Gaga for 60 Minutes as a part of an ongoing series of interviews with music superstars. As with anything Lady Gaga does, the interview was more than a little strange. Lady Gaga has long been a advocate for gay rights and recently put out her new single Born This Way, in which she encourages everyone to be strong, brave, and unashamed of who they are. The message pops up again in the interview following:

"Tonight I want you to let go of all of your insecurities. I want you to reject anyone or anything that ever made you feel that you don't belong. Free yourself of these things tonight! Yeah!!!" she encouraged her fans at one show.

"You're hoping to speak to people who feel different, who feel disconnected?" Cooper asked.

"People who feel disconnected from society or disenfranchised, feel like a freak, feel like you don't belong, like you don't fit in, or you'll never be great," she explained.

I like to think, no matter what you think of Lady Gaga's music and fashion, her support of people who are different, is something we can all get behind.

If you would like to see the full interview, check out the 60 Minutes website by following the link below:

60 Minutes: Lady Gaga & The Art of Fame