#welcome out

[stopandimagineloveforever]

'Sense8's Brian J. Smith talks sexuality and self-acceptance as he leads Attitude's December issue

The 'World On Fire' star joins Kesha, Bang Bang Romeo, Trevor Bell and Jonathan Agassi in our brand new issue.

[justanothadeadbloginthevoid]

Some hearts for the heartless @kzdipped

[lizoma]

Uppsala Pride… A place to be.

3 days of rainbow flagged streets are over…

Since last year there is a pride festival taking place in the city of Uppsala in Sweden looking for its equals. Not just a parade for LGBTQIA people, but 3 days filled with workshops, discussions and places to meet and connect to people.

I accidentally run into it while visiting a friend here.

It started out on Friday with a great mixture of practical (handcrafting) and theoretical (politics) workshops, as well as great lectures like “How to report sexual assault” or “HIV Education”.

Also there were open groups with coffee and cake (fika) for networking and connecting.

Later there was a super nice “Open Mic” event ongoing for peoples stories, poems, messages, songs, music and speeches. Everybody, especially the more silent and introvert people were encouraged to share their thoughts…

The dynamics and the audience were so nice that exactly this happened. Even I found the courage to read two of my poems.

Next day, Saturday, also fully packed.

I attended a workshop called “Comfortable in your skin and voice” which was a kind of an acting/moving exercise. Surprisingly (especially after my latest ward experiences) I didn’t had much to fight with anxieties and panics. I think this was reasoned in the relaxed and aware atmosphere of the whole place.

One of the highlights of the day for me was meeting Sophie Labelle (creator of the great webcomic “Assigned Male”) in person and listen to her stories.

This person is the most charming gem you can think of. I had no money with me, but a girl I meet the first time in the workshop I joined, jumped in and borrowed me some so I could get a personal signed poster from Sophie.

I was so exhausted and overwhelmed by all the impressions and my own socializing performance that I wasn’t able to join the big “Queer Party” in the evening.

Sunday, Parade day.

Not much to say. Meeting at a park and then marching through the city. I was so astonished about the people…

No one was drunk, almost nobody smoked (I saw 2 people). This was a total new experience for me because in Germany you hardly would find any event without alcohol and nicotine.

We marched to another park where we ended up chilling in the sun and talking. The end of the march was also the end of the pride festival.

So much thank has to go the people from the “Welcomout planning committee” who organized the whole festival and of course every single volunteer: You all did a great job and created the most loving atmosphere. I never felt anything alike in a pride event.

It was the greatest thing to be here at this weekend and I will come back.

[nawanagartime]

ખંભાળિયા પાલિકાની ખાસ સામાન્ય સભા શાંતિપૂર્ણ રહેશે કે જુથવાદ બહાર આવશે ખંભાળિયા પાલિકાની સામાન્ય સભા આવતીકાલે મળનાર છે ત્યારે હાલ પાલિકાના ભાજપના જ સતાધારી જુથના સભ્યો જેમની પાસે તોતીંગ બહુમતિ હોય છતાં પાલિકા ભાજપના જ બે જુથો હોય તથા તેમની વચ્ચે ખેંચતાણ ચાલતી હોય ખંભાળિયામાં હાજર હોવા છતાં સામાન્ય સભામાં પણ પાલિકાના સભ્યો ન જતાં હોય અને ગત મીટીંગમાં તો કફોડી સ્થિતી થતાં ફોન કરીને કેટલાકને બોલાવવા પડયા હતા તો વિપક્ષી જુથે મોટુ મન રાખીને વિરોધ ના કરતા તેમના ટેકાથી ઠરાવો પસાર થયા હતા ત્યારે આવતીકાલથી ખંભાળિયા પાલિકાની બેઠક અંગે ચર્ચાઓ ચાલે છે.

[justawildflicka]

Core Course Week: Uppsala

Before really diving into this post I really should apologize for not posting for a while. Two weeks ago was Core Course week, and so I had the week off from all of my classes except from my core course. When I came back last week and into this week, classes really came back strong with assignments and I was, well, not prepared to say the very least.

So here was my week, two weeks ago:

From the very beginning, everyone at DIS was saying that core course week comes at the perfect time for students and to be completely honest I didn’t believe them. I didn’t think that I would feel any different from core course week. And I really didn’t feel any different until actually going to Uppsala with my core course and getting way for a few days. After being in a new place, even just an hour outside of Stockholm I felt rejuvenated and ready to continue all my studies (well, kinda). But really my core course week was pretty amazing and it just confirmed that I chose the right core course for me. But let me start from the beginning so you can know why I enjoyed last week so much.

During core course week, you don’t have any other class except your core course (makes sense from the name right), so I met with only my Gender, Equality, and Sexuality in Scandinavia course all week. For Monday and Tuesday we were in Stockholm, Wednesday we had off, and then on Thursday we left to go to Uppsala for a few days. Every day (except for Wednesday) we had workshops, sessions, and activities relating to our course in different yet very important ways.

The week kicked off on Monday with watching tv shows and films all day. Rough day, I know. But in all actuality, this day was very informative as it gave us a concrete examples of queer lives in Scandinavia as all that we watched depicted different challenges and issues that queer people have faced throughout history. What I really took away from this day was the fact of using a different form of teaching for us to learn rather than assigning reading. At least for me, I have a hard time really grasping the entire picture when I just read an article so watching movies that depicted queer relationships, issues such as coming out, acceptance or AIDS, as well as a more real depiction of people’s lives helped me understand the content of what I have been reading in class.

On Tuesday we met with the Woman’s Network for fika to talk about how the organization does not only help women in Stockholm but also youth and newly arrived people. It was interesting to hear just all the different aspects and activities that the organization focuses on to help people. In the afternoon we participated in a body movement workshop and this was really interesting to say the least. During the workshop we were supposed to connect to our bodies and feel more in touch with ourselves and it was really an experience to be had.

Wednesday was then a complete free day for me as I had absolutely no plans besides studying all day in preparation for the upcoming week when I would have all my classes again. And while I did do a lot of reading, it was a very relaxing day to have in the middle of the week.

Thursday afternoon we then left for Uppsala where we met with a lot of different organizations. Right when we arrived in Uppsala we attended a workshop with RFSU, an organization dedicated to promoting positive sex and relationships through sex education. When I found out about we were doing this workshop I didn’t entirely know what to think or expect but I didn’t think that at 20 I would attend a sex education workshop or that I would enjoy it as much as I did. What this organization did was teach about sex in such a way that no one felt uncomfortable but rather well-informed and left the room knowing that we had learned something. For the rest of the day we checked into our hostel and then explored Uppsala (which I will talk more about in a later post) before having a group dinner.

Friday was probably our most scheduled day as we first met with an antidiscrimination organization in the morning to learn about what the organization in general does but also to learn more about the different types of discrimination that exist in Sweden and the laws to combat it. We then went to lunch as a group, had a bit of free time and then went on a guided tour of the University Museum.

The important thing about Friday that I have not mentioned is that it was the beginning of Pride in Uppsala but not just any Pride but Welcome Out, a Pride for those who have a more difficult time with coming out such as newly arrived people, international students, and any migrants. Because it was Welcome Out weekend it meant that we also participated in different activities and sessions being held over the weekend, starting with Friday. So Friday night we watched a documentary about how Welcome Out got started and then attended a session with RFSL, an LGBTQ+ organization that supports and fights for rights.

Saturday was the shortest day of the week with us only having one activity, a sex worker session with RFSL and then lunch before hopping on a bus and going back to Stockholm. And although it was one of the shorter days, it was also one of the more interesting with learning about sex workers and their rights, or in a way lack thereof, and to actually hear from some.

Overall, core course was draining but it also a really good experience as we met with different organizations that really made me think and that I enjoyed going to. Also, it was really nice to get out of Stockholm and see another part of Sweden that I don’t think I would have gone to if it wasn’t for Core Course week. But I think it is also important to know that while I had a good experience, that not everyone does and that it could go either way, but you should just go in with an open mind and take everything in as they come.

[ryanpolyblog-blog]

Yesterday, at the Time to Thrive event in Vegas, Ellen Page gave a beautiful, touching speech wherein she outed herself as gay. Welcome out, Ms. Page.