The day opened with Oprah interviewing Lady Gaga about her commitment to empowering youth before a packed audience at Sanders Theatre. Lady Gaga then took the stand in a mock trial to testify before a panel of expert “judges” about what she hopes to accomplish with BTWF. Panelists included Deepak Chopra, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, sister of Jamey Rodemeyer Alyssa Rodemeyer, Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree, Psychologist Susan M. Swearer and E! News correspondent and LGBT parent and spouse David Burtka.

“The culture of love is not going to change overnight but youth are the answer to creating a braver, kinder world,” said Lady Gaga. “This might be one of the best days of my life.”

BTWF will address issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring and career development through research, education and advocacy. BTWF will create an environment that allows youth to safely express their individuality and one that provides them with the skills needed to encourage self-expression and promote civic engagement, and the resources and opportunities needed to implement solutions whether it be “online, on-the-road, or down the street.” With a focus on digital mobilization to create positive change, BTWF will lead youth into a braver new society where each individual is accepted and loved as the person they were born to be.

The Born This Way Foundation also announced today that Lady Gaga has made a $1.2 million personal contribution to BTWF, dedicating $200,000 to cover the foundation’s overhead costs. Barneys New York has raised more than $750,000 for the foundation through product sales from Gaga’s 2011 Holiday Workshop, and has donated an additional $100,000. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is also committing $1 million in support, with $500,000 going to the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard to lead research efforts, and the remaining $500,000 directly allocated to BTWF to support online and on-the-road efforts to engage young people in civic life and deter bullying.

“Like everything my daughter has done, this is a grassroots initiative asking for the response of the community to help build this movement and shape it,” said Cynthia Germanotta. “Therefore a safe and trusted online community will allow users to share stories about themselves and their lives. Supporters can draw courage from the words of others as they explore Born This Way Foundation’s online community.”

The John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The California Endowment and Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society are partnering with BTWF to explore the best ways to reach youth and create a new culture of kindness, bravery, acceptance and empowerment.

“MacArthur’s partnership with the Born This Way Foundation will apply what we have learned about the power and potential of digital media to reach and engage millions of young people,” said Connie Yowell, MacArthur’s Director of Education. “In classrooms and communities, online and even on-the-road, this effort will enable teachers, parents, students, and communities each do their part to promote positive civic and online participation.”

To engage youth on-the-road, the Born Brave Bus, with design assistance provided by the innovative youth from YOUmedia’s teen library space, will travel the country to serve as a place where kids can go to feel connected and learn about civic engagement opportunities. The bus, along with onsite mentors, will also accompany Lady Gaga’s next North American concert tour, providing additional resources and a safe space to convene.

“A thorough review of decades of academic research has inspired this strategy and over the next several months, we will be rolling out programs based on that data,” said Dr. David Washington, Sr. Advisor to Lady Gaga & BTWF for Philanthropy & Policy. “BTWF has brought together renowned researchers, practitioners and youth organizations and is committed to leveraging this brain trust in order to make a significant difference.”

Visit www.bornthiswayfoundation.org and join the youth-powered movement to build a braver, kinder world.

About Born This Way Foundation

Led by Lady Gaga and her mother Cynthia Germanotta, Born This Way Foundation was founded in 2011 to foster a more accepting society. The Foundation is dedicated to creating a safe community where individuality is celebrated by connecting youth with the skills, resources and opportunities they need to build a braver, kinder world. BTWF, a non-profit charitable organization, will address issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring and career development through research, education and advocacy. Please Visit www.bornthiswayfoundation.org and join the youth-powered movement to build a braver, kinder world.

About The John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

The MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. MacArthur’s $85 million digital media and learning initiative aims to determine how digital media are changing the way young people learn, play, socialize and participate in civic life. Answers are critical to education and other social institutions that must meet the needs of this and future generations. More information is at www.macfound.org/learning.

About The California Endowment To Empower Youth

The California Endowment, a private, statewide health foundation, was established in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians. The Endowment challenges the conventional wisdom that medical settings and individual choices are solely responsible for people’s health. The Endowment believes that health happens in neighborhoods, schools, and with prevention. And as such, the Endowment has embarked on a ten-year campaign to improve the health of young people residing in vulnerable, at-risk communities through stronger and innovative prevention approaches. For more information, visit The California Endowment’s homepage at www.calendow.org.

About Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University is a research program founded to explore cyberspace, share in its study, and help pioneer its development. Founded in 1997, through a generous gift from Jack N. and Lillian R. Berkman, the Center is home to an ever-growing community of faculty, fellows, staff, and affiliates working on projects that span the broad range of intersections between cyberspace, technology, and society. More information can be found at http://cyber.law.harvard.edu.

About the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Since its founding in 1920, the Harvard Graduate School of Education has been training leaders to transform education in the United States and around the globe. Today, our faculty, students, and alumni are studying and solving the most critical challenges facing education: student assessment, the achievement gap, and teacher effectiveness, to name just a few. Through the Ed School’s 13 master’s programs, two doctoral programs, and extensive executive education programs, the HGSE community is pushing the frontiers of education, and the effects of our entrepreneurship are improving the world. More information can be found at www.gse.harvard.edu.

The non-stop action, the house-packed crazy wild Pool Parties, the sexiest Go-Go dancers, the best DJs, the spectacular entertainment, the celebrities, plus the hottest girls in the world, The Dinah has enough to make any girls’ head spin!

The world’s largest girl party/music festival will turn Palm Springs into the ultimate entertainment hub delivering a spectacular slate of legendary headliners, rising pop stars, and lesbian TV celebrities.

Emceed by E!’ “Chelsea Lately” writer & roundtable guest-host, Fortune Feimster, The Dinah 2012 will be rocked with special performances from headliners Nina Sky, Grammy-Award Winning Music Legend Chaka Khan; Dance Divas Wynter Gordon (“Dirty Talk” w David Guetta), Cece Peniston (“Finally”) and Pussycat Doll Jessica Sutta (“Show Me”); music’s new “it” girl, BC Jean (who penned Beyonce’s mega hit “If I were a Boy”), and up-and-coming pop talents Anjulie, Rye Rye, Meital and Porcelain Black.

Want more? How about the Charlie’s Angels of comedy: veteran comic Suzanne Westenhoefer, stand-up’s fastest breakthrough rising stars Jessica Kirson (Celebrity Apprentice and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno) and Karen Williams? Or America’s most beloved, iconic television actress, Meredith Baxter, up close & personal in an exclusive intimate Q&A session?

A Dinah’mite line-up of A-listers galore also including some of the LGBT community’s favorite lesbian celebrities on Primetime non-scripted reality & game series such as Whitney Mixter, Romi Klinger, Rose Garcia, Kelsey Grace Chavarria, Rachel Rodriguez, Francine Beppu and Sara Bettencourt from Season 2 of The Real L Word, as well as America’s Next Top Model Cycle 5’s very own jaw-dropping Kim Stolz.

Ladies get ready for the ultimate MUST-SEE, MUST-EXPERIENCE Dinah EVER!
A girl-given phenomenon, you just have to do it!

www.TheDinah.com

“Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect in California, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples.  The Constitution simply does not allow for laws of this sort,” Judge Reinhardt wrote.

READ THE DECISION HERE: www.afer.org/legal-filings/ninth-circuit-decision-on-prop-8

The American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) is the sole sponsor of the Perry case.

“Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, as the courts have repeatedly throughout our nation’s history, that singling out a class of citizens for discriminatory treatment is unfair, unlawful and violates basic American values,” said AFER Board President Chad Griffin.  ”Like many other Americans, our plaintiffs want nothing more than to marry the person they love.  Committed, loving couples and their families should not be denied this most fundamental freedom.”

September 16-18 the QFilm Festival will will be showing over twenty films made this year by some of the top independent LGBT filmmakers. Every year is unique and 2011 promises to be another excellent event and even more special with its international block of films.

QFilms has invited Popo Fan, a twenty-six year old Chinese filmmaker to screen “Be A Woman,” a documentary about drag queens who live in Nanning China. Popo follows them from their glittery stage performances in nightclubs to their dressing rooms as they put on and take off their pancake makeup (there is even a catfight!). “Be A Woman” gives an honest and often sad look at queer men in a gender variant subculture and gives voice to their untold and difficult lives. Marginalized by society, disowned by their parents and shunned from family they live for the nights they are able to perform and make the best of their circumstances with resilience, wit and humor.

In 2004 Popo began making films while studying at the Beijing Film Academy. “I went into filmmaking because I was bad at math. They didn’t have the requirements other universities had so I took a class.” He was often around homophobic students and one colleague in particular, a young man, would often make disparaging comments about gays during class. His studies became even more uncomfortable when they later became roommates at the Academy. Popo being true to himself did not hide his sexuality and would openly watch gay films in their room. Eventually his colleague began watching them too and they became best friends. “It was at that time I knew films could change the world!”

Popo initially had no interest in documentaries and instead concentrated on writing for TV. He changed his mind when he went to a gay pride parade in Taipei for a film project. “It was so exciting to be around other gay people. I knew then it (documentaries) was what I wanted to do.”

Later during a sightseeing tour he found himself in Nanning where he met his first drag queens. “I found them beautiful, interesting and very hardworking performers. They had great spirit and opened me up to different ideas about gender and sexuality.”

After leaving school in 2007 he wrote a legal and mainstream published book on LGBT films. It sold over 10,000 copies and instantly gained him respect and notoriety among many in the LGBT community.

Funding is difficult enough for any filmmaker but LGBTQ films made in Mainland China face even greater challengers. In 2008 Popo was awarded a $4,500 grant from the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice and began production of “Be A Woman.” It took him three years to complete.

Be A Woman is special not only for its rare insights but also for the fact that in the era of Chinese censorship, it is practically a miracle that this movie was even made. LGBTQ films are censored by the Chinese government and cannot be screened in mainstream theaters. They find their way to their audiences in living rooms, private venues and LGBTQ centers in cities like Beijing and Hangzhou and in some cases now make their way into universities.

Fortunately Be A Woman has now made it overseas to the QFilm Festival and is being screened Saturday the 17th at 3:00pm. Tickets can be purchased by going to the QFilms website or can be purchased at the door. A special question and answer period will take place after the movie.

COMPLETE SCHEDULE OF 2011 QFILM FESTIVAL & RELATED EVENTS:

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16th
5:00PM FIT at the Art Theatre
7:15pm TOMBOY at the Art
8:00-10:30pm Opening Night Party at The Center Long Beach
9:15pm JUDAS KISS at the Art, followed by Q&A with the filmmakers and cast members.
11:30pm After Party at Paradise Bar & Grill

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17th
12:30pm INSPIRED: THE VOICES AGAINST PROP 8 at the Art, followed by Q&A with the filmmakers and available subjects who appear in the film.
1:00pm I AM at The Center
2:45pm WOMEN IN SHORTS program at the Art, followed by Q&A with available filmmakers and cast members.
3:00pm BE A WOMAN at The Center
5:15pm MEN IN BRIEFS program at the Art, followed by Q & A with available filmmakers and cast members.
7:30pm CHO DEPENDENT at the Art
8:00-10:30pm Saturday Night Party at The Center
9:15pm LEAVE IT ON THE FLOOR, followed by Q & A with the filmmakers and cast members.
11:30pm After Party at Paradise Bar & Grill

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18th
10:30am Brunch at Café Ambrosia
12:00pm PHOTOS OF ANGIE at the Art, preceded by short film CHARLOTTE and followed by Q & A with the filmmakers.
12:45pm BISEXUAL REVOLUTION at The Center, followed by discussion.
1:45pm WE WERE HERE at the Art, preceded by world premiere short film UB2.
Page 3
4:00pm LONGHORNS at the Art, preceded by short film COUPLES THERAPY and followed by Q & A
with available filmmakers and cast members.
6:15pm WISH ME AWAY at the Art
7:00-9:30pm Closing Night Party at The Center
8:00pm HOLLYWOOD TO DOLLYWOOD at the Art

Tickets sell fast so advanced purchase is suggested. Tickets may be obtained at Moxi Roller Skate Shop at  2132 E. 4th Street,Long Beach CA, (562) 439-6694 at the Daily Grind (Big Donut) on 7th Street and on-line at LongBeachRollerDerby.com/tickets. Prices are $20 for Grand Stand Seating and $15 for General Admission which now includes some elevated standing space. Also added for this bout is a special VIP section for $25 .

Photo By: Z.Karnopp

The first 60 VIP ticket holders also have the option to take the Big Red Bus to and from the game for an additional $5. The bus will pick up and drop off at the Tilted Kilt near 2nd St. and PCH.  The VIP section is limited to 100 seats total and are available only on-line at LongBeachRollerDerby.com/tickets.  This is an all ages event with alcohol available with ID. In addition to exciting Roller Derby action there will also be a live band, fire dancing by Sirena Serpentina and food vendors.

Who: Long Beach Roller Derby
What: Banked Track Bout Bixby Rollerettes vs Terminal Island Tootsies
Where: Queen Mary Dome (Derby Dome)
When: Friday August 19th  Doors open at 7pm game at 8:30

The White House announced late Friday afternoon that the repeal of DADT was formally certified by President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen.

“Today, we have taken the final major step toward ending the discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law that undermines our military readiness and violates American principles of fairness and equality,” Obama said in a statement.

The President, as well as the Defense Secretary and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, were required by a law passed late last year to officially sign off on the repeal. The certification will be followed by a 60 day waiting period, set to end on September 20^th.

During the 2008 campaign, President Obama pledged to end the controversial policy barring gays from serving in the military. The march towards its repeal included a survey issued last year asking servicemembers the best way to wind-down the policy and Congressional authorization last December.

Following the President’s stateemnt, a briefing was held at the Pentagon with the Repeal Implementation Team and the Department’s General Counsel, Jeh Johnson. The following was announced:

-Benefits will largely be untouched by the change, since DOMA and other laws restrict the military from recognizing same sex partners. The Department won’t be giving service pay for those honorably discharged for being gay.

-Sexual orientation will not affect where soldiers are deployed.

-Prior to the certification, the Service Chiefs and Secretaries were consulted. A Defense official says they “unanimously” reported that their services were ready for the repeal.

-1.79 million servicemembers have gone through training in preparation for the repeal. Under the law passed in December, training does not need to be 100 percent complete prior to the repeal.

-Commanders will be prohibited from physically segregating gay servicemembers.

-Those who were discharged solely for being gay can re-enlist on September 20^th.

8800 Irvine Spectrum Drive, Irvine, California, USA
August, 13, 2011 Noon to 10pm

OC Pride’s Velvet Lounge Main Stage will include performances by Stacey Q, Speaker Junkies, Transkontinental, Corday and The Cougars, Soul Sisters and many more. Comedian, Ryan Hill and Momma will MC throughout the afternoon. Pride’s Sponsor, AMP FM Radio, will open the Main Stage.
The Club Lucky Dance Tent will include DJ’s Mike Orion, Saratonin, Hazmat, John Joseph, Zach Moos, and Ahmed.
Families with young ones can enter the Kids’ Club where a bounce house, balloon animals, face painting, entertainment, and games may be enjoyed from noon – 6pm.
This year’s OC Pride festival is introducing Rainbow Symposium, a lecture series for those interested in hearing expert speakers discuss topics such as “Transgender Transition”, “Smashing Homophobia 101”, “Lube U”, “How To Answer the Religious Right in their own words….” and others.
Pride also invites non-profit and for-profit booths to sell products, advertise, educate and meet one another. Food and beverages, including alcohol, may be purchased and enjoyed in this park-like setting (across from The Spectrum and next to Verizon Amphitheater).
Tickets are only $10 and can be purchased at the event or at www.prideoc.com. We have limited VIP Tickets for $75- which include hosted food by Border Grill (menu includes a winning recipe from Top Chef Masters) and beverages hosted by Barefoot Wine. Don’t miss this opportunity to be a part of this exclusive area. VIP tickets may ONLY be purchased at www.prideoc.com.
Become Pride’s friend on Facebook www.facebook.com/orangecountypride for the latest updates.
This is the last summer Pride Festival in Southern California. Don’t miss it!
Orange County Equality Coalition (OCEC) is the host of Pride and formed after the Passage of Proposition 8. The mission of OCEC is equality and respect for all people in a progressive Orange County. This is the third year OCEC has hosted Pride in Orange County.

Rosanne Faul, Executive Committee Member, 949/275-6377, rfaul@defendingyou.net, 5405 Alton Pkwy Ste. A-250, Irvine, CA 92604
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The circuitous route to legalizing gay marriage overcame another road block when Chief U.S. District Judge James Ware ruled that former Chief Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling to overturn Proposition 8 should not be vacated on conflict of interest grounds.

ProjectMarriage.com had filed the challenge to Judge Walker’s ruling back in April claiming the Judge was partial in his decision because he himself was in a same sex relationship and stood to benefit from the legalization of gay marriage in California.

In his written decision Judge Ware stated “The sole fact that a federal judge shares the same circumstances or personal characteristics with other members of the general public, and that the judge could be affected by the outcome of a proceeding in the same way that other members of the general public would be affected, is not a basis for either recusal or disqualification.”

Judge Ware publicly acknowledged his 10 year relationship with another man following his retirement from the bench in February but the speculation that he was gay began years before the Proposition 8 appeal came before his court.

There have been numerous occasions where appeals have been filed to disqualify women judges from sexual harassment cases and minority judges from discrimination cases but this is the first attempt to vacate a decision based on a judge’s sexual orientation.

Judge Ware’s decision that no intrinsic bias existed simply because Judge Walker is a gay man advances the effort to repeal prop 8 to the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals where that court will consider the efficacy of Walker’s finding that denying gays and lesbians the right to marry is a violation of their constitutional rights.

For over 30 years, The Center of Long Beach has been a central force and cultural hub for the LGBTIQ community in Southern California. As part of its current renaissance, The Center of Long Beach continues this tradition with “QSpeak” a lecture series that features university scholars, activists, artists, and public figures in the LGBTIQ community once a month throughout 2011. “QSpeak” will host academic talks, interviews and ethnographies on queer studies, art, culture, social justice, and history and become a venue for open discussion to a broad and diverse audience in Southern California. “QSpeak” seeks to inspire, educate, challenge, and entertain its audience and aspires to re-energize the collective consciousness of the LGBTIQ community and their allies so that we may envision a future where there are spaces for everyone to exist and thrive.

Academic Speakers
June 26 – Dr. Marie Cartier
Artist, Lecturer, and Author, Dr. Cartier will present “Baby You are My Religion: Butch Femme/Gay Women’s Bar Culture 1940s to 1980s,” where she will include the tales, testimonies, and photos of pre-Stonewall gay women and men who considered the bar space as an alternative church. Dr. Cartier conducted over 100 interviews for this presentation, many with local women from the Long Beach community.

July 30th – Dr. Judith Halberstam
Dr. Halberstam a professor of English and Gender Studies at USC will present “Pregnant Men, Pregnant Men, Heteroflexible Women, and the End of Gender as We Know It.” She discusses how in the early years of the 21st Century, the press thrilled to the images and testimony of the world’s “first pregnant man.” At the same time, the US acknowledged a huge decrease in marriages and a rise in divorces. This talk is going to offer a map to the new terrain of gender, sexuality and pleasure in a post-marriage, post-heterosexual, post-gay, post-post world. post-heterosexual, post-gay, post-post world.