Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyJune 11th, 2011
TODAY’S AGENDA:
The Reality of Will and Grace: A Refutation of the Ex-Gay Movement: Asheville, NC. Exodus International;s annual “Freedom Conference” wraps up today outside of Asheville, while The Reality of Will and Grace counter-conference continues today at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 20 Oak St, with SoulForce founder Mel White giving a keynote address beginning at 8:00 p.m. The doors open at 6:00 p.m., for an exhibit consisting of informational panels on Paul Cameron and Richard Cohen, Exodus International and other groups, SB-106 (the North Carolina constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage), and a memorial to David Kato Kisule, the Ugandan LGBT advocate who was murdered earlier this year.
Pride Celebrations This Week: Albany, NY; Albuquerque, NM; Blackpool, UK; Boston, MA; Brisbane, QLD; Brooklyn, NY; Des Moines, IA; Edmonton, AB; El Paso, TX; Erie, PA; Key West, FL; Long Island, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, WI; Newark-Essex, NJ; Olympia, WA; Oxford, UK; Philadelphia, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Rome (Europride); San Antonio, TX; Saskatoon, SK; Shreveport, LA; Spokane, WA; Talin, Estonia (Baltic Pride); Tel Aviv, Israel (Friday); Thunder Bay, ON; Tulsa, OK and Washington, DC.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:
Wilma Burgess: 1939. It may be a much-needed morale-booster for young LGBT country music fans to hail Chely Wright as the first country star to come out as a lesbian, but it’s not historically accurate. Wilma Burgess was openly gay throughout her career. She enjoyed recording romantic ballads, but in a break from most “girl singers,” she generally avoided recording gender-specific songs whenever she could. A southerner from Orlando, Wilma wasn’t much interested in country music when she first began singing professionally. But when she attended an Eddie Arnold concert, she was struck by the emotional honesty of Arnold’s music. She made her way to Nashville in 1962 where she cut her first single. “Confuses” didn’t really go anywhere, but it got her a contract for Decca Records.
After a several singles, she landed pay dirt in 1965 with “Baby,” which peaked at #7 in the country music charts. That same year, she purchased Patsy Cline’s old home in Nashville. In 1966 she recorded two more notable hits, “Don’t Touch Me” and “Misty Blue,” which became her signature song. That song was eventually covered by the man who inspired her to perform country music, Eddie Arnold. She had several more top forty country hits, but by the mid-1970s she decided to retire from the music business. She then opened the Hitching Post, Nashville’s first lesbian bar, where she regularly performed. She also purchased Patsy Cline’s old home. She died suddenly in 2003 of a massive heart attack.
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Erin
June 12th, 2011
I know this must have been discussed before, and I know it’s just Google ads putting anything up with the word “gay” in it, but isn’t there some filter that turns off the half-naked, sometimes bare-assed men ads? I like this site. I consider it a respectable place to read debates about what affects the gay community. You got new traffic here for your recent Kirk Murphy story. I’m thinking those ads aren’t helping the seriousness you’re trying to get across, and new people here trying to learn more about gay issues might buy more into the stereotype that we’re all a bunch of sex fiends if they can’t even visit a gay issues commentary site without seeing men’s asses.
I was introduced to this site by my now partner when I first met her. I am her very first same-sex partner. She has been on a long journey to figure out who she is. She came to sites like this one to learn more about the challenges she would face if she decided to face her true self head-on. I think there may be people out there like her looking for sites like this all the time, people who are more temperamental than she. Maybe I’m overly concerned about nothing, but I think you guys do great work here. If those ads are spotted quickly, it could make people move on to the next site. Then another person would have missed out on all the discussion, and the valuable work you all do debunking anti-gay talking points.
John
June 13th, 2011
If you use firefox then you can download adblocker, which is very effective in blocking ads you don’t like. I have no idea about a fix for ie or Chrome though. Of course, that won’t fix the problem for other people, but at least you won’t have to look at them.
Jay Jonson
June 13th, 2011
Erin, I think you are overconcerned about nothing. A site like this needs every bit of ad revenue it can find. Until we support educations and serious glbt sites better, we can’t complain about having to see men’s asses. What I think might be a serious issue is some anti-gay, ex-gay, Mormon ads that sometimes appear on gay sites.
Erin
June 13th, 2011
I’m not bothered by the ads. I have seen plenty of men’s asses. Don’t ask me why. I just think it drops you a few credibility points only for those people who see them first and foremost. The content on here is credible. I know I’m not the only one who has pointed this out. I’ve also seen the anti-gay ads too.
Timothy Kincaid
June 13th, 2011
Erin, I agree it isn’t ideal. In addition to the risque boy shots (and from a friggin upscale Four Seasons Vegas hotel??), we regularly get shocked and angry comments from folks who see an Ann Coulter ad (for some reason, Google thinks we are a good fit).
But it isn’t free to host a site like this (especially when we get a huge traffic surge like we’ve gotten with the Kirk Murphy story). And I don’t really know what the solution is.
Perhaps some day Wells Fargo or AT&T will decide to sponsor us (hint hint to any ad execs at fortune 500’s).
Chris McCoy
June 13th, 2011
Timothy Kincaid said:
Let your readers sponsor you! As I’ve mentioned before, a simple, minimalistic PayPal link “Donate Here” is all it takes.
I’m not naive enough to believe that donations will immediately supplant ad revenue, but I’m optimistic enough to believe it could supplement.
While I don’t mind Google Ads, I do occasionally browse the page at work, the gratuitous butt shots on the Palm Springs ads are a troublesome grey area. I am unable to install adblockers on my work PC due to strict Windows Group Policies.
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