Pictured Lesbian comic Suzanne Westenhoefer. Photo by Rex Wockner
'It was kind of like a turning point when I was like, `Yo, this is my cousin. I love him and I've been discriminating against gays.'' — Kanye West, 27, saying 'gay' has become an antonym to hip-hop—and that it needs to be stopped. During an interview for the MTV special All Eyes on Kanye West, the rapper discussed hip-hop and homosexuality while talking about 'Hey Mama,' a song on his new album, Late Registration. West says that when he was young, people would call him a 'mama's boy.' 'And what happened was, it made me kind of homophobic, 'cause it's like I would go back and question myself.' West says he changed his ways when he learned one of his cousins was gay.
'Fred Phelps' curious message is hardly Christian, and only fuels societal bigotry toward those who espouse genuine Biblical views on social issues like homosexuality and abortion. Of all the potential targets for their protests, they have chosen funeral services where the bereaved are mourning the loss of loved ones. It is hard to conceive of a more inflammatory presentation of a false Gospel than his. Politically and culturally speaking, Phelps and his protesters serve as a crude caricature of pro-family traditionalists who oppose the normalization of homosexuality. Fred makes an easy target for the media and secularists who are tempted ( partly by their own prejudices ) to paint any opposition to 'gay rights' as hateful. For this reason, I have sometimes wondered if Phelps and his lawyerly clan are 'gay plants.'' — Illinois Family Institute Executive Director Peter LaBarbera in a statement denouncing Phelps, according to 365Gay.com . LaBarbera and IFI attack gay organizations on a regular basis, including sponsors of the Gay Games in Chicago. Phelps has protested at gay prides and funerals of gays, and now is protesting at the funerals of any soldiers who die in the Iraq war because Phelps claims the military is teaching tolerance of gays.
'We went to Joan's bedroom. ... Crawford had a gigantic orgasm and shrieked like a maniac. ... Next time I saw Crawford she wanted another round. I told her straight out I didn't much enjoy doing it with a woman. After I turned her down, she became spiteful. An English poet best describes it: hath no rage like love to hatred turned; and hell hath no fury like a woman scorned—most people wrongly credit that to Shakespeare. William Congreve is the author. That's me, Marilyn Monroe, the classical scholar.' — Marilyn Monroe in tapes recorded at her home in 1962 for her psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson. A transcript was published in the Los Angeles Times on Aug. 5. It was provided by former Los Angeles prosecutor John W. Miner, who was head of the district attorney's medical-legal section when Monroe died. Miner compiled the transcript after Greenson played him the tapes during an interview he conducted as part of the investigation into Monroe's death.
'When I worked with Willie Nelson, who is just about the nicest man I've ever worked with in my life, the sweetest, kindest man, I thought, 'If I'd have been gay, it would have saved me millions, just because we'd still be happily married.'' — Burt Reynolds on NBC-TV's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, July 21.
'Abortion is not a gay issue in practice or in principle. In practice, gay couples are the least likely in the land to produce an unwanted pregnancy. Procreation for gay couples typically involves months of planning and thousands of dollars in investment, requiring the use of sophisticated reproductive technology or the cooperation of a surrogate parent. 'Oops' babies are simply not a phenomenon of gay life. Gays thus have less practical need for the option of abortion than do heterosexuals. Yes, a gay woman could become pregnant through rape or through heterosexual sex. She might then want an abortion. But this no more makes abortion a 'gay' issue than the fact that gay people die in plane crashes makes federal aviation safety standards a gay issue.' — Syndicated gay-press columnist Dale Carpenter, Aug. 1.
'When are we going to stop this nonsense of refusing to see a connection between what the right wing does to women and 'GLBTquestioning' people? Honey, it just gets more tedious and boring each year. I'm not Black and won't be hung from a tree for being Black, but I'm sure as hell quick enough to figure out that the same people that would hang a Black man from a tree would hang me from that same tree for being queer. Perhaps some of these pissy 'abortion isn't my issue' queens need to read a few Supreme Court decisions starting with Griswald ( 1960s birth control case ) , Roe v. Wade, and the gay-rights cases to see just how much the Court references the right to privacy in reproductive matters to build a case for gay rights. Trust me, the same Supreme Court that allows abortion to be illegal again is the same court that refuses to recognize gay marriage and other GLBT rights ( read: you and I will be dead long before the Bush appointments all leave the Court and gay marriage is a U.S. reality ) . Sounds like Miss Carpenter didn't survive a recent plane crash.' — Terry Cosgrove, executive director of the Illinois pro-choice group Personal PAC, responding to Dale Carpenter's column.
'Screw her! She's useless. ... She makes gays look weak. Being supportive of her dad isn't a bad thing. But just standing beside him without disagreeing with amendments to the Constitution that prohibit us from getting married and refusing gay adoptions—that's pathetic. She's guilty by complacency.' —Lesbian comic Suzanne Westenhoefer on Mary Cheney, the daughter of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, to the Dallas Voice, July 29.
'During her lesbian days, I always thought she was very sincere. We get very sensitive about lesbians in the public eye. But the truth is, women who become lesbians for a little while—that's a reality, and we all know it. ... But I don't go for those little femme girls. The women I've been with are pretty butch, and they have always been lesbians.' — Suzanne Westenhoefer on actress Anne Heche, Ellen DeGeneres' ex, to the Dallas Voice, July 29.
