James: I am so proud of of this young man for having the courage to face so many powerful adults at this meeting and standing up for his convictions. It's takes a lot of bravery, and I applaud him for it but it is a sad day when kids have to make this argument because enough adults still don't get it. I refuse to stand-by and watch our young people and fellow adults be discriminated against and bullied until those victims take their own life. No more violence, no more hate. We must stand up to these bullies and tell them that we will no longer tolerate our kids being harassed until they think the last option for them is suicide. This is unacceptable.
Regardless of what you think of homosexuality, it is utterly unconscionable for Buddhists to treat gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people as though they are less than human or vile human beings undeserving of compassion. We are called upon to have compassion for all sentient beings.
Even if you believe homosexuality to be a violation of Buddhists precepts (which I don't) it doesn't give you the right to mistreat those people. Buddha had compassion for all beings regardless of their actions. As for those who find homosexuals to be bad people and perhaps unworthy of fair treatment; Buddha had compassion for all kinds of people. Even murderers, and since homosexuals are far from being in the same category as murderers, then surely respecting the life and well-being of homosexuals shouldn't be up for debate in Buddhist circles.
If you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender and need someone to talk to who will listen and not judge, then I am here: jaymur-at-gmail-dot-com. There are many people who love you and want to see the best for you. If you are thinking about suicide, please reach out to someone you trust--now. You are strong than you think. I have faced many moments of depression and suicide and know what it's like to want to end your life. Please stay with us, don't give up!! There is a light at the end of every dark tunnel. You are loved--always.
For those of you with too interesting of lives to care about the latest scheme by Hollywood to sell extra movie tickets, I thought that I would take a few minutes to tell you about the latest movie designed to squeeze a few more bucks out of the pockets of men everywhere: Black Swan.
As much fun as I think that it would be to see Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman kissing anyone in a movie, I do have to object a little bit when they start kissing each other. On the one hand, I find the display visually pleasing, just like any guy would. At the same time, I get the same kind of uncomfortable feeling that I get when I see a pretty waitress at a crowded restaurant spending just a little too much time over at a table full of single guys and bending over just a little too far when she picks up their plates: the waitress might be flirting with them because she likes them, but in my experience she probably just wants a bigger tip.
Hot Waitress: Wants Your Money, Not Your Number
This is the exact same feeling that I get in this case. I can't shake the feeling that Hollywood is making yet another movie with a lesbian kiss, not because they want to express an idea artistically but because they want to sell more tickets to lonely guys who think both Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis are super attractive. This brings me to the whole point of my article: Hollywood and its obsession with "fake lesbians".
Selma Hayek: Another Hollywood Fake Lesbian
Fake Lesbians are Hollywood's Best Friends:
From Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in Black Swan to Denise Richards and Neve Campbell in Wild Things to Katy Perry singing about kissing a girl, Hollywood is very persistent in promoting this illusion that the sell to guys across the world that hot, normal looking, sexy girls are bisexual reservoirs of uncontrollable hormones that need other girls as a safety valve.
Wild Things: Denise Richards & Neve Campbell
The reality is that most real world lesbians that I've ever met fall into the category of either an Ellen Degeneres clone, Rosie O'Donnell's twin sister, or someone who could easily be mistaken for the half man, half woman character from 50 First Dates played by Lusia Strus. For most of these women, the idea of femininity is about as foreign and unrealistic as the idea of me having lunch on the moon.
Tatu: they're not lesbians, they just play them on TV.
Real Lesbians:
Real Lesbians: Sexy, huh?
Not exactly the type that you're likely to see in a movie any time soon.
Another example:
Fake Lesbian: (think Cruel Intentions)
Sarah Michelle Gellar -- Fake Lesbian
Real Lesbian: (think fat arse talk show host):
Rosie O'Donnell -- Real Lesbian
For those guys among you who think that I'm being too harsh here, as Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars Episode III would say, "Search your feelings. You know it to be true." For all of the women who think that I'm being too harsh, well, you either are one or you know one so STFU!
I hope you enjoyed the pictures. Now, if I could only figure out a way to use fake lesbians to make me rich . . .
LONDON, June 17, 2008 (Reuters) — Gay men and straight women share some characteristics in the area of the brain responsible for emotion, mood and anxiety, researchers said on Monday in a study highlighting the potential biological underpinning of sexuality.Brain scans also showed the same symmetry among lesbians and straight men, the researchers wrote in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Brain scans of 90 volunteers showed that the brains of heterosexual men and homosexual women were slightly asymmetric with the right hemisphere slightly larger than the left, Ivanka Savic and Pers Lindstrom wrote. The brains of gay men and heterosexual women were not.
James: This comes as no surprise to me but it is very interesting none the less. Buddhism has been more progressive than many other religions in regards to sexual orientation for the most part. There isn't usually condemning of homosexuals by Buddhists but instead treating them as equals to heterosexuals, as it should be. This view is still radical today as most religions still see homosexuality as very taboo and "evil."
The precept about avoiding sexual misconduct focuses on avoiding causing harm and suffering but does not single out homosexuality, bisexuality or other sexual orientations for being "bad" or deviant. Everyone is advised how to handle sexuality in a compassionate and loving way regardless of sexual orientation.
In fact one of the most revered figures in Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara is often seen as androgynous. In the form of Avalokiteshvara this Bodhisattva is seen as a man but when referred to as Guan Yin (Kuan Yin/Kannon) he/she is seen as a woman. This makes total sense to me as Avalokiteshvara/Guan Yin is seen as the Bodhisattva of compassion and thus seems perfectly natural as that compassion is spread to all beings equally regardless of gender and sexual orientation.
Avalokiteshvara/Kuan Yin is literally the embodiment of non-duality in regards to sexuality.
This is not to say though that homosexuality/bisexuality/intersexuality is automatically seen as acceptable in predominately Buddhist countries. Social and cultural discrimination of homosexuals is found in these countries as they are in most places.
I'd be really interested in reading more about this and about more studies of this nature. The more science learns the more I find it has in common with Buddhism.
