Will you join me and pledge to go purple in support of LGBT youth?

Last fall, a young person named Brittany McMillan wanted to do something about the LGBT teens who died by suicide. So she put a call out via a social network for people to wear purple on October 20th in support of LGBT teens and called it spirit day. She thought that only a few hundred at most would wear purple. She never imagined that thousands would respond by wearing purple. But her idea went viral quickly. The cast of Glee dressed up in purple as well as a few of the hosts on The View. Even Anderson Cooper and Dr. Phil got in the purple spirit of spirit day. It was inspiring to see a young person have so much impact.

This year, Brittany is asking the world again to dress in purple. She hopes that the LGBT teens who walk into their classrooms on October 20 to see their teachers and classmates wearing purple will give them a feeling of hope. Again, this year I’m joining Brittany on spirit day by wearing purple. It is such an easy way to help bring hope to young people in our San Francisco Bay Area community. I hope that you also choose to pledge to go purple on October 20 too. Then I hope you will put a call out to your synagogue, school, organization or company to observe Spirit Day as well. Do me a favor, email me at work {lisaf @sfjcf.org} or tag me on facebook with pictures of you dressed in purple so I can continue to create a poster of how our Jewish community dresses up to support LGBT causes.

Together, we can show LGBT teens that they are supported. By pledging to wear purple on October 20, LGBT teens can find you, remember who you are and if they ever need someone to trust in coming out they know you can be a safe advocate and friend to connect with.

What is Spirit Day? How can you celebrate LGBT Teens in your Jewish community? Learn more.

Related articles

• LGBT Teen Suicide (somegirlslikegirls.wordpress.com)
• Cyndi Lauper Opens Homeless Shelter for LGBT Youth (inquisitr.com)
• Mayor Declares Stand Up Against Bullying Week! (queerdallas.com)
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Teens and Stress (teens.webmd.com)
• Top 10 LGBT Websites and Blogs (qjew.wordpress.com)
• MTV Special for gay youth! (queerlandia.com)

During a gathering at the San Francisco Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) LGBT Advocate, Jessica Trubowitch, with Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) speaks with another proud LGBT San Francisco Jewish leader, Rebecca Prozan!

Me with another proud 2010 Spirit Day supporter, LGBT Jewish leader, Jamie Wolfe at the San Francisco Contemporary Jewish Museum!

 

Top 10 LGBT Websites and Blogs

my new flatmate works in pr and marketing and already knows that i am a geek with social media stats. in his natural kindness he sent me this interesting list of the most popular LGBT websites and blogs. the list was compiled in june 2011 by a group called compete.com in partnership with a media database group called cision. they ranked the sites listed below by unique visitors per month (uvpm).

if you are also a social media geek or if you simply want to know where folks are going to get their lgbt related news and gossip take a look…

1. Advocate.com 290,315 uvpm
2. AfterEllen.com 203,924 uvpm
3. Towleroad 200,477 uvpm
4. Queerty 196,806 uvpm
5. AfterElton.com 145,255 uvpm
6. The Bilerico Project 78,459 uvpm
7. homorazzi.com 77,342 uvpm
8. gay.com 71,360 uvpm
9. Outsports 68,573 uvpm
10. GayGamer.net 56,550 uvpm

if you’re looking for a blog on how to bake the perfect challah, how to properly observe a jewish holiday, like yom kippur which begins this evening, or how to how to date a homosexual femme jewess, i must confess, that i don’t have a top ten list of bloggers for you based on uvpm stats. i can highly recommend this leading transdenominational jewish website for the most comprehensive jewish information… tell me, friends, do you know where i can find reliable uvpm stats on jewish blogs?

Related articles

• Op-ed Contributor, Lillian Faderman asks, If You Take Down Israel, What Else Goes With It? (advocate.com)
• Out Athletes (outsports.com)
• Sister Mischief follows a Jewish Lesbian teen who loves hip-hop (afterellen.com)
• AfterElton: More Changes to LGBT Blogosphere (bilerico.com)
• Man Crush: Brandon Barash! A Gay Jewish Hunk from St. Louis, MO! (homorazzi.com)
• The Top 20 Most Important LGBT Figures in History (bilerico.com)
• did god drunk text us last week? ask rabbi yehuda levin and michele bachmann (gay.net)
• gays have kids too (qjew.wordpress.com)
• Sappho Islands, The Only Gay Bar In Uganda, Closes (queerty.com)
• ‘Out and Around’ Highlights Global LGBT Advocacy (bilerico.com)
• David Badash: The Fate of Gay News Sites & Blogs (bilerico.com)
• Celebration is Over (are we through) (lezgetreal.com
• LGBT Social Media Ethics: Is That Really You? (bilerico.com)

 

gays have kids too

During these days between the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur, Jews are told to reflect on what really matters to us. So here it goes, one thing that really matters to me is continually bringing the stories and realities of everyday LGBT Jewish leaders into the mainstream. Many LGBT folks don’t always have the big life concepts mapped out for them. By the way, when I write “them”, I do mean me as well.

I often look to the experiences of my family to help me navigate this world but a few things don’t always translate. Some translations on expectations and roles get lost on me. Not so much because of discrimination any more, but more often the nuance of difference. I work to find community and friendships with other LGBT Jewish leaders, in part because they model one of the many ways that I might too have a healthy same-sex relationship, how to raise children, how to present the gender identity that works for me, or how to juggle the demands of chosen family versus biological family.

Something else that matters to me is a love of democracy and the drama of politics. So when I saw this ad yesterday, pairing my love of politics with a story that brings a local queer Jewish family into the mainstream – I had to link to it. So in honor of speaking out to what matters to me during the Jewish High Holiday’s as well as embracing October as LGBT History Month please take a look at this 33 second ad featuring our LGBT lives having mainstream visibility. The ad features a gay and Jewish former city supervisor, Bevan Dufty running for mayor of San Francisco, proudly introducing himself in his most important identity role: a father.

Related Stories

• Autostraddle, Bevan Dufty Reminds Us Gay Candidates Have Kids Too (link)
• I Want to be a (Gay) Dad, Celebrating LGB Parents (link)
• Queer Landia, Gay SF Hopeful features Daughter in New Ad (link)
• Towlroad, Gay SF Mayoral Hopeful Bevan Dufty Features Daughter (link)
• The Stir, Gay Candidate for Mayor ‘Exploits’ Kid By Admitting She Exists (link)
• David Mixner Blog, Impressions (link)
• Politco, Ben Smith’s Frontiers of Gay Politics (link)
• Gay Politcs, Bevan Dufty in Someplace New (link)
• San Francisco Bay Guardian, Bevan Dufty loves MUNI (link)

 

sweetness follows

we of course, all witnessed the seas of political activists empowered to change their worlds this past year. as we approach the jewish high holidays this evening, i stop for a moment to revisit some of the more local advances and news that i witnessed this past year.

overall folks within my community seemed to mostly agree with natalie portman in not wanting anything to do with john galliano. we wrestled through a few of the more challenging conversations with courtesy from tony kushner’s views on israel to ballot measures seeking to outlaw circumcision. we saw the demise of don’t ask don’t tell celebrated in the streets and hardly had time to pay attention to a new state law created by jewish gay leader, mark leno that requires lgbt history be taught in california textbooks. within a more hyper-local perspective we celebrated everything out and proud about gertrude stein, marched to honor 30-years of AIDS activism, watched allen ginsberg howl on-screen and sang our good-byes to both elizabeth taylor and debbie friedman.

still thinking locally, it has been a great year for many of our outstanding lgbt jewish leaders to shine. just to name two of the many deserving leaders, roberta achtenberg, was appointed as the first lesbian to the federal civil rights post and bevan dufty, whom if elected in november, would be san francisco’s first gay (and possibly third jewish) mayor. while we still can’t beat the reputation of states like new york that decided everyone can get hitched there this year we did just learn that our dear city of san francisco did not loose first place in hosting the highest concentration of gay and lesbian couples over the past decade.

at my synagogue, congregation sha’ar zahav, i participated with 40 other members in the year of civil discourse and learned together through the training how to disagree with people i respect but don’t always want to listen to. on a even more personal note i moved once again back into the castro.

as i am approaching my own sense of sweetness on this last day of the Jewish month of elul 5771, i pause to remember that not everyone’s life is so full of honey right now. this morning i watched with sadness as alyssa rodemeyer, the sister of jamey rodemeyer, discussed the continued bullying of her late brother after he took his own life this last week at the age of 14. it made me realize that we still have a lot of work to do together. i look forward to seeing what sweetness we can create together in community in 5772.

Related articles

• Alyssa Rodemeyer Talks About Continued Bullying Of Late Brother Jamey (lezgetreal.com)
• Jewish New Year Brings New Music (npr.org)
• Hundreds Attend 14-Year-old Who Committed Suicide, Jamey Rodemeyer’s Funeral (perezhilton.com)
• Jamey Rodemeyer’s Sister Talks About the ‘We’re Glad You’re Dead’ Chants at Homecoming Dance: VIDEO (towleroad.com)
• Celebrating life, legacy and 5 foot tall lesbians (qjew.wordpress.com)
• Gay Ugandan refugee finds home in Jewish Bay Area (qjew.wordpress.com)
• PHOTOS: Gay Jews And Pals Party Like It’s 5772 For Rosh Hashanah (queerty.com)
• Obama, Rick Perry, others greet the Jewish New Year (thehill.com)
• Lady Gaga towers over Obama fundraiser in Northern California (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
• Curve Magazine Calls Bevan Dufty an International Supergay (blogs.sfweekly.com)
• Big Girls, Small Kitchen: The 9 Best Jewish Dishes For The High Holidays (huffingtonpost.com)
• One Drop of Honey Sweeter Than The Last (beittshuvah.wordpress.com)
• Curve Magazine Calls Bevan Dufty an International Supergay (blogs.sfweekly.com)
• Big Girls, Small Kitchen: The 9 Best Jewish Dishes For The High Holidays (huffingtonpost.com)
• One Drop of Honey Sweeter Than The Last (beittshuvah.wordpress.com)

 

Gay Ugandan refugee finds home in Jewish Bay Area

Yasher Koach and Todah Rabah to Avi Rose & Jewish Family and Children Services of the East Bay as well as all of those that were involved.

Do you remember when a few Americans got involved in launching a political movement to eliminate homosexuality in Uganda? How about when The Rachel Maddow Show covered this anti-gay hysteria with the catchy title, “Uganda Be Kidding Me“? Do you remember learning about the murder of David Kato after a Ugandan media outlet published his name and photograph along with 99 additional Ugandan leaders with the corresponding title, “Top 100 Homosexuals – Hang Them”? (read more)

It was within this mishigas that Bay Area LGBT Jewish community leader, Avi Rose with Jewish Family and Children’s Services of the East Bay (JFCS) began to take action. Now, Danny Dyson, a Ugandan refugee who gained asylum status based on all of this anti-gay persecution, is living here in the Bay Area.

What’s next? Gay refugees settling in our community from Iran? Yes! I understand more LGBT folks will be joining us from both Iran and Uganda soon thanks again to Avi Rose, JFCS, a few philanthropists and the Direction of Neil Grungras with the Organization for Refuge Asylum and Migration (ORAM). These amazing leaders and advocates truly help make our Jewish community shine…

Related articles

• Learn more about our new Bay Area community member Danny Dyson, in a article by Matt O’Brien, Gay Ugandan Refugee Finds Home in Bay Area (Contra Costs Times)
• Ugandan ‘Kill the Gays’ Bill Is Back (Bilerico.com)
• Network with Bay Area LGBT Jewish Professionals over a free five-series lunch and learn! (Jewish Community Federation)
• What is the group that advocates for refugees fleeing sexual or gender based violence all about? (ORAM)
• Tulituuka Women’s Group : Uganda (Kiva.org)
• Queer and Jewish? Looking for something to do in San Francisco? Take a look at our LGBT Calendar! (Jewish Federation)
• Uganda Is Trying To Sneak The “Kill The Gays” Bill Under Our Noses (queerty.com)

 

Celebrating life, legacy and 5 foot tall lesbians

Each time I walk by one of the many billboards across town proudly showcasing a rather butch-presenting 5′ tall Gertrude Stein, I have a little self-loving-pride moment. I have a feeling that I am not the only 5’3″ Jewish woman who finds the sight similarly validating. But sadly, this spectacular pride-filled San Francisco Summer of Stein will come to a close at both the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and the Contemporary Jewish Museum (CJM) on September 6 (event listing)… So, folks, go to the exhibitions soon or you will miss it… Need a little nudge to get there? Take a look at a few shots of folks in our community who have already enjoyed a little Parisian summer time fun…

Don’t let the summer go by without experiencing how the City of San Francisco is celebrating the life, legacy and lesbianism of two Jewish icons, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas on view now through Sept. 6 (learn more). Continue to get to know who makes up this incredible queer Jewish community by tagging yourself and your friends in these and more of the photos from the summer on facebook.

Related articles

• SFist Reviews: Four Saints in Three Acts (sfist.com)
• Volunteers are my personal hero’s and further, they are serious superstars! Thank you for your help. (qjew.wordpress.com)
• Lesbian couple ejected from Gertude Stein exhibit (jta.org)
• Gertrude Stein Through Artists’ Eyes (npr.org)
• The infamous brownies of Miss Alice B. Toklas. (inaparisstateofmind.wordpress.com)
• After Anti-Gay Incident, Let’s All Hold Hands At SF Museum (lezgetreal.com)
• be here or there or there rain or shine (qjew.wordpress.com)
• Exhibition Shows Fierce Art Patronage of the Fierce Steins (nytimes.com)
• SFMOMA ‘Steins Collect’ – labels tell more (sfgate.com)

 

where is harel skaat staying when he visits san francisco?

After overhearing the music of Harel Skaat flooding through my office wall all afternoon my colleague in the office next door poked his head into my office to tell me, “his music is great…” I smiled and asked if he would join me at his concert in Palo Alto (details) but before he responded he paused giving me a rare and almost-shy-smile. He then quickly asked, “do you know if he or his boyfriend need a nice place to stay in the Castro while they are in town? I have a place in the Castro…”

So of course, I wanted to see why such a fine gentleman would be so courteous to offer up his home to a couple of strangers. That is when I learned that the boyfriend of Harel Skaat is the Israeli model, Idan Roll. I stopped wondering and just responded with a smirk….

I don’t know where Idan and Harel are staying (or if they are coming to the Bay Area together) but I do know that all before the age of 30, Harel Skaat has become one of the leading and most sought-after male-vocalists in Israel. His Yemenite and Iraqi Jewish roots formed his distinctive sound within a particular genre of pop music and his work in the music industry has received all possible Israeli accolades. He has also received attention in the New York Times (story) not only for his musical talents but his attention to fashion too. Sadly, Harel’s visit to the Bay will be short this time with limited performances but you can keep track of the whereabouts of this gay israeli musical icon on his website (link).

 

Interested in a comp ticket to schmooze over cocktails while celebrating the remarkable life and legacy of Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein?

 

I hope that you have been able to participate in this spectacular summer of Stein. If you have not yet seen the exhibitions at the Contemporary Jewish Museum and SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) , no more excuses folks: you have got to get out and see how San Francisco is all about celebrating the life, work and art-centered-legacy of the once-local Jewish Lesbian, Gertrude Stein, z”l.

 

Here is your chance. Via my work at the Jewish Community Federation I have one comp ticket to give away to Thursday’s art-filled-LGBT-centered-celebration called, An Evening in Gay Paris. Interested in being my plus one? Let me know and I will enter you into our raffle for the ticket.

 

Related blogs 

• Contemporary Jewish Museum to Host “Hand Holding Day” This Sunday (sfist.com)
• The Personalities of Paint in The Steins Collect (blog.sfmoma.org)
• There will be no gay hand holding at the Gertrude Stein exhibit in San Francisco (vol1brooklyn.com)
• Lesbian Couple Told to Stop Holding Hands at Gertrude Stein Exhibit in San Francisco (towleroad.com)
• wayne koestenbaum takes on the stein’s as a queer historian (qjew.wordpress.com)
• Picasso’s Portrait of Gertrude Stein: Mona Lisa of the Twentieth Century (cjmvoices.blogspot.com)
• Sitting with Alice B. Toklas (blog.sfmoma.org)
• Lesbians Kicked Out of Gertrude Stein Exhibit for Holding Hands [Ironic] (gawker.com)
• The Steins Collect: Back to the Bay Video (blog.sfmoma.org)
• After Anti-Gay Incident, Let’s All Hold Hands At SF Museum (lezgetreal.com)
• Another spectacular Stein opening (qjew.wordpress.com)

 

An Evening in Gay Paris!

Professional networking, going to tres-gay parties, chasing movies and cute movie goers at Frameline and San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, AIDS Walking and schmoozing have dominated my queer Jewish summer thus far but don’t worry – plenty more options are already on the calendar that will further entice you into this incredible Bay Area Jewish community I work and live in. Just in case you missed it here are a few of the highlights I promoted recently at work…

A Great day-time opportunity: This coming fall the LGBT Alliance is inviting all Bay Area Jewish community professionals to a LGBT Networking Lunch series. Each of the five lunches will take place at the San Francisco Federation and Endowment building (learn more).

Not to be missed next week: An Evening in Gay Paris a party at SFMOMA and the Contemporary Jewish Museum. To get $4 off the entrance you can enter the promo code “JCFLGBT” when you purchase your tickets online. Also, don’t worry, the Jewish Film Festival still has one more screening of Tomer Heymann’s documentary The Queen Has No Crown as well as this summer’s Jewish Film Festival popular musical hit, Mary Lou will return to the Castro Theater in September.

Shabbat Shalom and here are some Related articles

• The Bay Citizen: A Film Festival Revisits an Audience’s Outcry (nytimes.com)
• Frameline Opens Tonight with a host of LGBT Queer Jewish filmmakers to support! (qjew.wordpress.com)
• ‘Between Two Worlds’: Jewish identity turf wars (sfgate.com)
• Frameline festival celebrates 35th year (sfgate.com)
• Jewish Film Festival lauds Kirk Douglas at Castro (sfgate.com)
• PHOTOS: Oscar-Winning Heartthrob Takes The Stage At Castro Theatre (huffingtonpost.com)
• After Anti-Gay Incident, Let’s All Hold Hands At SF Museum (lezgetreal.com)
• Volunteers are my personal hero’s and further, they are serious superstars! Thank you for your help. (qjew.wordpress.com)
• After Anti-Gay Incident, Let’s All Hold Hands At SF Museum (lezgetreal.com)

 

although we live with hope we still plan on walking next year too

This summer marks thirty years of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and according to the SF Chronicle, more than 28,840 San Franciscans have been diagnosed with AIDS, and it has claimed the lives of more than 19,000 San Franciscans.

Although our local community is strong and learning how to thrive and live within this epidemic we still need to walk to raise awareness, walk to celebrate those who live with the disease, walk to remember those whom we have lost and walk to find a cure.

This summer our Jewish Community AIDS Walk Team, organized by the San Francisco based Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund, was just one of the nearly 1,000 teams that helped raise over $3 million for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

Together our Jewish Community team was able to raise over $3,000. Our collective donation will be dispersed by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation as grants to strengthen HIV prevention efforts as well as for advocacy, medical care, housing and social services programs for people living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS.

Thank you to those who were able to show up this year and spend a wonderful day in the sun for a good cause! I received a commitment from the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund to help organize our Jewish community to walk together again in 2012 (details) so save the date to join us again.

In the meantime, take a look at more of our photos on facebook and take a look at our video of the great time we had together:

Related articles

• taking a step forward 30 years later. sunday is the san francisco aids walk. (qjew.wordpress.com)
• Workplace policies are critical in ending AIDS (sfgate.com)
• The State of AIDS CHART: Learn the numbers, facts and stats about HIV/AIDS (one.org)