Saturday, June 30, 2012

"Same Gender Loving People - No. 1024"


"Only Love Is Enough... Love Is Everything"


Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.

"Sometimes In Advertising..."


Seen at Motorcity Pride

"Fear Eats the Soul"


"The Truth About Love..."


Love Is Love... Support Marriage Equality



"Fear Eats the Soul"



"The Artist's Corner..."

"Nude Young Man Against The Wall
Acrylic on canvas
Steven Clayton Corry

"Gay PDA Is Okay!"


"Love Is A Beautiful Sight To The Truthful Heart... Live Fearlessly"



Friday, June 29, 2012

"This Made Me Smile..."

June is the traditional month of weddings.  I married my wife in June and my oldest sister was married in June as well.  The husband and I tied the knot in April of 2011.  But in homage to the Month of Marriage...


"The Artist's Corner..."

"I Got You, Babe"
Acrylic on canvas
Steven Clayton Corry

"Gay PDA Is Okay!"


"Let Love Be A Lesson For All... Live Fearlessly"



"The Truth About Homosexuality..."


"Fear Eats the Soul"

"Same Gender Loving People - No. 1023"


"Love Is Beautiful... Love Is Truth"


Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

"The Truth About Hate..."


"Fear Eats the Soul"

"A Sign Of Truth..."


"Fear Eats the Soul"


"Same Gender Loving People - No.1022"


"Love Is Patient... Love Fulfilled"

Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.

"Gay PDA Is Okay!"


"The Beauty Of Love Is Best Seen In The Light Of Day... Live Fearlessly"



"The Artist's Corner..."

"Love"
Digital media
Unknown Artist

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

"Reflections On Married Life - Mad Men..."

I have to admit that the husband and I love the series "Mad Men."  Although we only discovered it this year (a long story that starts with the fact that we don't subscribe to cable tv), it's become something of a guilty pleasure for us... It's the only show that we have to watch together so that we can then spend hours talking about it.

Today on Gawker, Cord Jefferson does an excellent job of deconstructing "Mad Men" and what drives for some, their fascination with it.
Ever since Mad Men captivated the consciousness of a particular subset of the American population a few years back, we—men in particular—have learned to ignore how deplorable most of the male characters on the show are. Among the qualities listed above, the guys in and around Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Price are also rapists, cheats, thieves, pimps, layabouts, anti-Semites, and cowards. It's probably redundant to note that they're unflinching misogynists, but they are that, too, and to a degree so toxic many women flee them in tears or, more seldom, while sashaying to other jobs where they'll actually be appreciated.
The rest of the article is well worth the read.  It speaks to the observations that my husband and I have been making about the show and for us the validation of our views was the point that Jefferson makes in the end - " There are many wealthy white men throughout the world who believe things were better when the power sat solely in their soft, manicured hands." 


While my husband, Ed and I certainly enjoy "Mad Men" we quickly realized that that world - the world of Don Draper had no good place in it for the likes of people like us (remember what happened to Sal?).  To be gay and/or black, (really anything other than white, male, protestant and hetero) meant you had struggles and hardship in the world of the "Mad Men."  If anything, when Ed and I watch it, we're awestruck by the crassness of it all and thankful to have been born after the "Greatest Generation."  


And with that said, time to join the husband on the sofa for an episode of "True Blood" - Love those vampires!


"Fear Eats the Soul" 

"Gay PDA Is Okay!"


"Love And Truth Free The Heart And Soul... Live Fearlessly"



"Sometimes In Advertising..."




Just the other day, I was telling the husband that it was time to end our boycott of Target...




"Fear Eats the Soul"

"Same Gender Loving People - No. 1021"


"The Great Eternal Truth... Love Is Love"


Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.



"In The News Today..."



In a First, Pentagon Ceremony Marks Gay Pride Month





By David S. Cloud, Washington Bureau
June 26, 2012, 9:08 p.m.

WASHINGTON — A year ago, Marine Capt. M. Matthew Phelps might have been relieved of his command in San Diego if the military found out he was gay. On Tuesday, he stood in a packed Pentagon auditorium and openly discussed his sexuality.

"I happen to be gay, but more importantly, I'm a Marine," Phelps said as heads nodded and murmurs of approval swept through the standing-room-only crowd of several hundred people.

For the first time in its straight-laced history, the Pentagon thus celebrated Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Month, a stunning cultural milestone that officially recognizes what has always been true — that gays and lesbians serve inside its fortress-like walls and the rest of America's armed forces.

The ceremony, which was broadcast on an internal TV network to U.S. military bases around the world, was sober and strict — from the rhythmic "hut, hut, hut" of the color guard marching into the auditorium, to pre-taped videos from President Obama and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and a panel discussion on "The Value of Open Service and Diversity."

It was far from an outre gay pride celebration, like the Manhattan parade this month that one blogger said featured "dancing boys, granny boobs, marching bands, rainbow Storm Troopers, babies, feathers, pasties, thongs — heck, even a bunny in a hat."

But if most of the Pentagon audience wore crisp military uniforms or conservative business suits, their joy was unmistakable. Several same-sex couples said they were attending their first Pentagon function together.

"It means acceptance," said Doug Wilson, who stepped down this year as assistant secretary of Defense for public affairs but returned for the event. "It means people can be complete human beings."

Army Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale, a veteran of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, attended the ceremony with his partner and called the event "the right kind of step forward. It's measured. It's done appropriately. It's consistent with the way the military does things."

To be sure, the Pentagon is well behind other federal departments and agencies in observing gay pride month. The civilian Central Intelligence Agency, for example, has celebrated it for the last dozen years, officials said. And Obama recently announced that he supports gay marriage, the first president to do so.

The Pentagon celebration came nine months after the formal end of "don't ask, don't tell," a 17-year-old law that barred gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. Over the years, thousands were expelled. Openly gay civilian employees at the Defense Department faced similar discrimination until 1995 because they often could not obtain security clearances needed to work in national security agencies.

A gay Army officer in the audience said he was angry that none of the service chiefs — the uniformed heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines — attended the ceremony. He also noted that civilians in the audience outnumbered members of the military by a large margin.

Yet the Pentagon is changing in ways that were unimaginable only months ago.


Last Saturday, a Navy chaplain at Joint Base McGuire-Dix in New Jersey performed what officials believed to be the first same-sex civil union ceremony at a U.S. military base. The ceremony joined an Air Force enlisted airman and his civilian partner.

Under pressure from gay rights groups, the Pentagon is looking at broadening benefits for same-sex couples. For now, they lack equal access to military housing, medical care and other benefits available to heterosexual couples.

Opponents said the Pentagon's ceremony showed the Obama administration was pressing an extreme gay rights agenda because it could help his reelection campaign.

"The Pentagon is now honoring something that a year ago was a court-martial offense, and that's a radical shift," said Ron Crews, a retired Army Reserve chaplain. Crews heads a group called Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, which backs a proposed law that would block same-sex marriages on military bases.

But the audience offered nothing but applause Tuesday when Phelps, who enlisted after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, stood on stage by a U.S. flag and recounted how his life had changed after more than a decade in the Marines.

When his unit deployed to Iraq, fellow officers would share stories about their families or girlfriends, he said.

"I'd sit in the back of the room, not talking to anybody," he said. "When everybody else was getting together … I was actually growing more distant from my unit."

He kept quiet until September, when the "don't ask, don't tell" law was rolled back. The next day, Phelps went to work at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego expecting questions from fellow Marines about whether he was gay.

"Nobody asked," he said.

This month, Phelps was invited to the White House for a gay pride reception that Obama hosted.

"I thought to myself how amazing it is," Phelps told the crowd. "Over the course of a year, I could go from being fired for who I am to having champagne with the commander in chief."

*******

"A life lived in fear is a life half-lived..."


Tuesday, June 26, 2012

"The Artist's Corner..."

"Text"
Colored pencil on paper
William Cash

"Sometimes In Advertising..."


From the Facebook page for Oreo Cookies

"Same Gender Loving People - No. 1020"


"There Is Comfort And Peace In Love..."


Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.

"Gay PDA Is Okay!"


"Let There Be No Shame In Love... Live Fearlessly"



Monday, June 25, 2012

"Gay PDA Is Okay!"


"Live Life Well - Love One Another... Live Fearlessly"



"Same Gender Loving People - No. 1019"


"Happiness... One Part Sunshine, Two Parts Love"


Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.

"The Freedom To Love..."


A U.S. Navy Petty Officer is greeted on his return from a six month deployment by his boyfriend.  I cried watching this... What a beautiful thing to see "us" partake in the joy of a loved one's return.  No longer do SGL service men and women have to take that lonely walk through the crowds while their colleagues are welcomed home by friends and family.

"Fear Eats the Soul"



"This Made Me Smile..."


Actually, this is not too far off the mark...

Sunday, June 24, 2012

"The Truth About Marriage..."


Religion and Gay Marriage:
The Amazing Grace of Same-Sex Marriage

From The Huffington Post
Rev. Patrick S. Cheng, Ph.D.
6/22/2012

What is the strongest theological argument in favor of same-sex marriage? The answer, I contend, is that such relationships are visible signs of God's grace -- an amazing kind of one-way love that is a pure gift and cannot be earned. I've come to this realization based upon over 20 years of being together with my husband Michael, through our ups and downs, and for better or for worse.

Same-sex marriages are sacramental because they are a reflection of the larger grace-filled relationship between God and humanity. The classical theological definition of a sacrament -- including baptism, eucharist and marriage -- is that it is a visible and external sign of God's invisible grace. Same-sex marriages are holy because they are vehicles in which we can experience and gain a deeper understanding of God's unearned and unmerited love for us.

Michael and I have experienced a healthy dose of grace in our relationship over the last two decades. First of all, falling in love itself is an act of grace. As most of us have discovered, one simply cannot force another person to fall in love with her or him (that is, outside of the world of Shakespearean comedies and magic love potions). Love -- whether same-sex or opposite-sex -- is a manifestation of God's amazing grace precisely because it cannot be planned or earned. Love is not just a matter of works, but rather of grace.

More importantly, however, my marriage with Michael has survived (and grown!) because of the grace, or unmerited gift, of forgiveness. Over the last two decades, we have both forgiven each other for transgressions big and small, despite the fact that the other might actually be at fault and not "deserve" to be forgiven. I believe these graced moments of forgiveness are a reflection of the larger grace that marks the fundamental relationship between God and humanity.

Indeed, as Augustine of Hippo and Martin Luther have reminded us, grace is the central theme of the Bible, and, for that matter, of Christian theology. The parable of the prodigal son -- who is accepted unconditionally by his father with open arms, despite leaving home, squandering his inheritance, and living with pigs -- is all about grace. Similarly, God's gift to us of making human flesh divine in the incarnation -- despite our propensity to turn our backs on God, from the Garden of Eden to the present -- is also about grace.

As a queer theologian, seminary professor, and ordained minister, I have witnessed the gift of God's amazing grace reflected in countless same-sex marriages and relationships over the years. These marriages -- some of which have lasted decades longer than mine -- are nothing short of miraculous in light of the hatred and rejection that many same-sex couples have experienced from their families, churches, work colleagues, and local communities.

It's surprising to me that the leaders of the religious right -- including Protestant fundamentalists, Roman Catholic bishops, and Mormon leaders -- have overlooked (or ignored) the centrality of grace in their reflections upon same-sex marriage. Their narrow definition of marriage, based upon procreation and the complementarity of sexual organs, is an insult to the larger Christian message about God's extravagant grace-filled relationship with humanity. By focusing so closely upon the trees, they lose sight of the larger forest that is God's amazing grace.

Ironically, by restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples, the religious right is acting just like the narrow-minded zealots who were condemned by St. Paul in his New Testament letters. (Such zealots insisted that Christians had to follow specific religious rules like circumcision in order to attain salvation.) The religious right is proclaiming a gospel of works and not of grace. Its myopic view of marriage is a failure of not only the theological imagination, but also of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love.

It is time that we challenge the false dichotomy that same-sex marriage can only be supported on the basis of legal arguments, and that same-sex marriage must be opposed on the basis of the Christian faith. In my view, the strongest argument in support of same-sex marriage is that it is a visible and external sign of God's amazing grace -- that is, a one-way love that is pure gift and cannot be earned -- that flows extravagantly from God to humanity.

Patrick S. Cheng, Ph.D. is a theologian, seminary professor and ordained minister.  He is the author of the books: 'Radical Love' and 'From Sin to Amazing Grace.'

"Same Gender Loving People - No. 1018"


"Love Is Happiness..."


Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.


"A Sign Of Truth..."


"Fear Eats the Soul"


"The Artist's Corner..."

"God Protect Us From Your Followers"
Acrylic on canvas
Steven Clayton Corry


Saturday, June 23, 2012

"A Thought To Ponder..."

"Sometimes, love and tragedy are one in the same..."

"Love Is Love..."


"A Life Lived In Fear Is A Life Half-lived..."

"Same Gender Loving People - No. 1017"


"Happiness Found In The Arms Of Love..."


Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.



"The Artist's Corner..."

"Gay Cowboy's Dance"
Acrylic on canvas
Steven Clayton Corry


"Gay PDA Is Okay!"


"It's Just The Same,  Love Is Love... Live Fearlessly"



Friday, June 22, 2012

"The Poet's Corner..."


The comforts are so sweet
...When two do meet.
'Tis plenty, peace, a calm
...Like dropping balm;
Love's weather is so fair,
...Like perfumed air.
Each word such pleasure brings
...Like soft-touched strings;
Love's passion moves the heart
...On either part;
Such harmony together,
...So pleased in either.
No discords; concord still;
...Sealed with one will.
By love, God made man one,
...Yet not alone.

From: Fulfillment
William Cavendish (1592-1676)  

"A Sign Of Truth..."


"Fear Eats the Soul"


"Same Gender Loving People - No. 1016"


"Nurture Love... It Grows In The Garden Of Life"


Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.

"Gay PDA Is Okay!"


"Now Is The Time And Place For Love... Live Fearlessly"



Thursday, June 21, 2012

"The Artist's Corner..."

"Bedtime Story"
Acrylic on canvas
Steve Walker

"Same Gender Loving People - No. 1015"


"Love Is Enough..."


Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.

"Gay PDA Is Okay!"


"Let Your Summer Of Love Be Undeterred... Live Fearlessly"



Wednesday, June 20, 2012

"Same Gender Loving People - No. 1014"


"The Beginning Of Life's Joys... To Be Young And In Love"


Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.

"Sometimes In Advertising - NYC"

American Airlines - Bus Shelter Advertisement
NYC

"Gay PDA Is Okay!"


"From Love Flows Freedom... Live Fearlessly"



Tuesday, June 19, 2012

"Same Gender Loving People - No. 1013"


"The Joy Of Love Is Like The Freedom Of Nature... It's Breathtaking"


Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.

"Gay PDA Is Okay!"


"Love Is The Most Beautiful Of Sights To Behold... Live Fearlessly"

PDA: Public display of affection