Canada or the US?

I'm guessing, as most of my readers are of American origin, that most of you are screaming: WHOA WHOA WHOA, AMERICA IS SO MUCH BETTER.

However, I - a wholly British citizen - am on a much more unbiased debating ground and therefore feel I should express my opinion here.

"What does this have to do with gays and lesbians?" you ask.

Well, the more literature I read about gay marriage in both Canada and the United States, the more I am pushed away from the US and pulled toward Canada.

Of course, we all know that gay marriage is legal everywhere in Canada, not just in 6 poxy states like it is in America. But there is more to the matter.

For instance, in the article I just read by Clifford Krauss, (click his name for a link to the article), he explains that once gay marriage was legalized in Canada, there was little concern or backlash against it. I mean, of course there was some when it came to super, super Catholic parts of the church, but it was nothing compared to the States.

Krauss writes "When Massachusetts' highest court ruled for gay marriage, the issue loomed over American politics." He also reveals how even the most democratic, liberal Presidential candidates vowed to be unsupportive when it came to homosexual marriage.

All this makes me think of how closed-minded America seems. A lot of the opposition against gay marriage's legalization wasn't even from the opinions of those Americans who were overly religious. Some of the opposition came from people who had just been 'brought up that way'. That is, brought up to hate, or at least dislike, gay people.

With Canada's current social and politic state, it seems relatively easy to conclude that Canada would be a much more welcoming place for gay people and their families to live.

However, I wonder if this is not the case, and some of the things I've been reading are misleading?

If you're from either Canada or the United States, please comment and tell me your thoughts on this issue. I am extremely curious, but to me, Canada seems to be winning here.

Please prove me wrong - or right!

Top Lesbian News of 2010.

I know I usually do this blog in December, but I thought it would make more sense doing it in January, just so I don't miss anything.

Obviously at the top of the gay news list for 2010 is the fact that Don't Ask, Don't Tell was repealed, giving gay service members in the US the right to fight for their country.

Helping the cause along the way was Adam Bouska's 'NOH8' campaign, in which hundreds of celebrities got their picture taken (as seen above) to support the marriage and civil service rights of gay people.

In a less up beat, positive side of politics, Constance McMillen made headlines this year refused to go to her high school prom, as the school would not let her take her girlfriend along with her.

Of course, there's always a silver lining - Constance's battle with homophobia from her school was so shocking that it earned her a place on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, in which she was interviewed and respected like any other celebrity. Props, Ellen.

On the entertainment side of things, there were a lot of 'outings' this year. (Take singer Ladyhawke and Amy Winehouse, for example.) But there were also a couple of fake outings that made the media headlines.

Yep, that's right, Nicki Minaj was outed this year as 'bisexual', which excited lesbian fans of hip/hop and r&b everywhere. But Minaj later dismissed the rumours, tweeting that 'us ppl r simple'.

Lesbian fan favourites 'Calzona' are still going strong on Grey's Anatomy (and by 'strong' we mean haven't been killed of yet), whilst, as far as I know, the young lesbians on Pretty Little Liars are also doing the gay community proud.

Lesbian favourite and The L Word alum Jane Lynch continued to be nominated for several awards and was a fan-favourite on Glee in 2010 - her success being something which she finds so surreal.

Although this 'news' is possibly something negative, lesbian reality show The Real L Word started this year, created by our favourite(?) lesbian producer, Ilene Chaiken.

Fabulous (again '?') news for next year too - The Real L Word is back for a second series in 2011, with Whitney apparently being at the forefront. Hmm... Only time will tell, ladies.

So what did I miss? Anything worth noting?

Top Lesbian News of 2009.

Yep, we're back for a second year with the top lesbian news of the year. With one difference: this year we'll be talking about 2009. Duh.

So what makes your top 5?

As it often features in the blog, I'd like to point out the arrival of Jessica Capshaw as the only lesbian character on television.

Grey's Anatomy got rid of one lesbian character last year and faced a lot of backlash from the gay community. But when Arizona came along, no one was complaining. Will we see the arrival of any more lesbians on TV in 2010?

In other television news, it seems that beloved(?) cable network show The L Word went off air this year.

The L Word paved the way for lesbian visibility way back in 2004, being the first show star an all female, mostly lesbian cast. However this year, the L Word showcased its final season. And boy, did it go out with a bang. For all the wrong reasons, of course.

We all saw a whole host of celebrities come out this year, too. From Brandi Carlile to Kelly McGillis, Clementine Ford to Megan Fox, 2009 was very good for the visibility of out, famous females.

Teens will obviously be very grateful for the lesbian romance portrayed on TV drama Skins between Naomi (Lily Loveless) and Emily (Kathryn Prescott).

Good news for 2010 too: they're back! And it looks all very dramatic too. Check out the E4 Website if you want to know more.

Of course, we also saw the re-administration of Proposition 8 in California this year. Bad news for all the gay and lesbian couples who were hoping to get married. Good news for the ones who took advantage of the law being overturned previously - they were allowed to stay married legally.

So what was the best (or worst) lesbian news for you this year? And what are you hoping happens next year?

Top Lesbian News of 2008.

Firstly, I'm gonna say Happy Holidays to all you lovely ladies! Whether it's Christmas, Hanukkah or something else, I hope you have a good one!

As 2008 is drawing to a close, I was thinking about the best lesbian/bisexual news throughout the year. What would be in your list of top 5 lesbian headlines?

How about 'Portia becomes Mrs. DeGeneres?'


It's great when a lesbian couple are as mainstream as Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia De Rossi, but when it is big news that an openly gay couple are getting married, it just makes me feel even more proud to be a raving homosexual.

Contrastingly, amongst your list of biggest gay headlines in 2008 may be the passing of proposition 8 in California; abolishing the rights of marriage to homosexual couples in one of America's biggest states.

However, the passing of this discriminative law is not all bad: it pushed actress and comedian Wanda Sykes to officially come out of the closet once and for all.

Since she came out, Wanda ensured the both gay and straight communities that she was 'proud to be a black woman, and proud to be gay.' Recently married in California whilst it was legal, Sykes hated the fact that her rights were being stripped away and she has given many inspirational speeches to gay audiences since.

Talking of being stripped away, take Grey's Anatomy. Yes, Grey's Anatomy, which frequently displays gay story-lines and even has a gay actor (T.R. Knight) among the cast, recently took away one of the shows best loved characters, Erica Hahn, without so much as a goodbye.

Brooke Smith (below left, with on-screen lover Sara Ramirez, who plays Callie Torres on the show) was fired from Grey's with no explanation, to many lesbians' disappointment. Some people even began petitioning for the return of the couple!

So what do you guys think? What has been the best - and worst - lesbian and bisexual news this year? And do you think next year will be just as action packed?