Brazilian Gay Pride

Carrying a rainbow flag, people march during the 9th annual Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade in Sao Paulo, Brazil.


Hundreds of thousands of people jammed the streets of the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, in what may have been the largest gay pride parade in the world.

Revelers carried giant rainbow flags and danced to music blasting from sound trucks carrying drag queens and go-go boys, in the ninth annual parade down Avenida Paulista in the city's financial district.

Police estimated that 1.8 million people attended the event while organizers put the crowd at about two million – including 700,000 foreign tourists.

Legalize gay civil unions, crowd demands

Organizers stressed that the parade was in part a march for gay rights.

The main demand was for the government to legalize civil unions for gay couples. Legislation to do so has been stalled in the legislature for a decade.

"There have never been so many people at the Gay Pride Parade," said Pedro Almeida, a spokesman for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender group that organized the parade.

"This shows true support for our cause, that of civil unions of people of the same sex."

Parade organizers want to get 1.2 million signatures on a petition by November to force Congress to vote on the law.

The Roman Catholic Church opposes gay marriage and Brazil is the world's largest Catholic country.

Brazil also leads the world in murders of homosexuals, Almeida said.

(With a report from Agence France-Presse)

Day Of Silence

As the day’s popularity and exposure have increased, many misperceptions have spread about what the Day of Silence is, why the day exists and what participating in it means. Here are 4 truths that address common misinformation about the Day of Silence.

1) The Day of Silence’s purpose is to bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment and effective responses.

The goal of the Day of Silence is to make schools safer for all students, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. In a Harris Interactive study on bullying, students said two of the top three reasons students are harassed in school are actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender expression. Additionally, 4 out of 5 LGBT students experience harassment at school.

Students across the country participate in the Day of Silence to bring attention to this problem, let students who experience such bullying know that they are not alone and ask schools to take action to address the problem.

2) Hundreds of thousands of students of all beliefs, backgrounds and sexual orientations participate in the Day of Silence.

Anti-LGBT bullying and harassment affects all students. Slurs such as “faggot” and “dyke” are commonplace in school. The Day of Silence is an example of students, from middle school to college, working together proactively to bring attention to the anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment experienced by LGBT and straight students alike. GLSEN, the Day of Silence’s organizational sponsor, encourages participants to be counted by registering at www.dayofsilence.org.

Students from nearly 5,000 middle and high schools registered for the 2007 Day of Silence. GLSEN protects the privacy of students and does not publish a list of students who have registered or their schools. Many students who participate also belong to Gay-Straight Alliance student clubs, of which nearly 4,000 are registered with GLSEN. The first GSA was created by a straight student nearly 20 years ago, in the fall of 1988.

3) Day of Silence participants encourage schools to implement proven solutions to address anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment.

Adopt and implement a comprehensive anti-bullying policy that enumerates categories such as race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and gender expression/identity.

Provide staff trainings to enable school staff to identify and address anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment effectively and in a timely manner.

Support student efforts to address anti-LGBT bullying and harassment on campus, such as the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance.

Institute age-appropriate, factually accurate and inclusive curricula to help students understand and respect difference within the school community and society as a whole.

4) The day is a positive educational experience.

The Day of Silence is an opportunity for students to work toward improving school climate for all students. GLSEN advises students interested in participating to discuss their intentions with their administration and teachers long before the event.

The day is most successful when schools and students work together to show their commitment to ensuring safe schools for all students. Many schools allow students’ participation throughout the day. Some schools ask students to speak as they normally would during class and remain silent during breaks and at lunch. There is no single way to participate, and students are encouraged to take part in the way that is the most positive and uplifting for their school.

Excitement!

Hey everybody! Well me and Alex are super excited about our upcoming 1st meeting! I hope we have a few people coming to check it out. I briefly spoke to Mr.Barth about our new GSA and he seems pumped for it too. This blog is linked to his and Mr. Dewar's. Don't be afriad to check theirs out too. Be sure to read Mr. Dewar's blog about Cheeze-It's. It's pretty interesting.

Welcome To Norton High's GSA Blog!!!

Welcome to Norton Highs first Gay-Straight Alliance [blog]. As co-founder and president, Kim Roderick, I have created this blog for people in and outside of Norton High to share experiences, post discussion questions, or whatever. My dear friend and Norton Highs other co-founder and president, Alex Clegg has created a Myspace for any one who would like to add it to your friends.The link will be posted in due time. Feel free to send in pictures to it, or anything else that may be relevant. We will both be updating the blog and the Myspace at least once every week. We'll start holding meetings on April 28, 2008. After every meeting we'll upload photos, and information from the meeting. If you have any questions please feel free to contact either Alex or myself. [And please refrain from leaving negative comments, it is rude and we don't appreciate it. We do not discriminate against any one.]


Thanks,
Kim & Alex.