Monday Meme: Cracks

allison meme

Happy birthday Dorothy Allison! This literary powerhouse turns 67 today! Author of the award-winning novel Bastard Out Of Carolina, Allison is an open lesbian, a proud advocate of independent authors and small presses and a winner of several Lambda Literary Awards. Allison writes openly about her own physical and sexual abuse as a child as well as tackling the topics of gender, feminism and poverty. Hugely influential, Bastard Out of Carolina continues to be a much-discussed and beloved novel for both book clubs and literature students around the globe.

Greg Louganis Finally Gets His Wheaties Box

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Four-time Olympic diving gold medalist and five-time world champion Greg Louganis can now be found in the cereal aisle at your local grocery store. After a 30 year career, Louganis will be featured on one of three Wheaties box honoring Olympic legends. Swimmer Janet Evans and hurdler Edwin Moses, respectively, can be seen on the other boxes. In previous interviews, Louganis has said he understood he wasn’t featured on Wheaties boxes during the 1980’s because he didn’t fit the brand’s wholesome image. Louganis came out as gay and HIV-positive in 1995. “[It’s] so incredible to be honored with the likes of Edwin Moses — we were in our first Olympic games in 1976 together,” Louganis told NPR’s All Things Considered. “Janet Evans — we trained at Mission Viejo together — I watched her grow up.” Louganis is the only man to sweep Olympic diving events in consecutive games, winning gold medals  in both platform and springboard diving at the 84′ and ’88 Olympics.  Louganis’ career is an inspiration to contemporary divers like Tom Daly, who is also openly gay. Daly told NPR,””I would have always wanted someone like him as a role model on the front of a cereal box,” Daley told NPR’s Ari Shapiro. “He’s a great model and forever will be the greatest diver to walk this earth.”

A recent Change.org petition, which garnered over 45,000 signatures to get Louganis his own Wheaties box, didn’t play a part in this recent series however. “We were aware of the petition, as we see this all the time from fans wanting their favorite athlete on the box,” Mike Siemienas of General Mills said. “But appearing on a Wheaties box is not a popularity contest. Wheaties chooses athletes based on their achievements on and off their field of play.” Although decades after his appearance at the Olympics, Louganis is thrilled that his Wheaties moment is happening now. “Back in ’95, I wasn’t expected to live very long because we thought of HIV-AIDS as a death sentence, so to be here today, now 56, the box means so much more to me than it would have then because I feel like I’m being embraced as a whole person, not just for my athletic achievements.”

Openly Gay Police Chief Sworn In

033016magnusDSC_7068In a few weeks filled with bad news for the LGBT community, here’s something to smile about! Although he’s been serving as Tucson’s top cop for the last two months, Chris Magnus was officially sworn in last week. Magnus, an openly gay man, previously served as police chief in Richmond, CA. Magnus married Terrance Cheung in 2014 and is believed to be the first gay police chief to ever get legally married. “I’m grateful and proud that I can now serve the people of Tucson,” he told a crowd of about 120 city officials last Wednesday. Prior to being sworn in, Magnus had to pass a series of tests administered by the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board. According to the Tucson Sentinel, “Assistant Chief John Leavitt said that Magnus has been the ‘first to arrive and the last to leave’ at headquarters each day, and that despite the budget crunch that the city faces, Magnus is allowing the department to tackle projects ‘that we never thought possible.'” Tucson is Arizona’s second largest city with over 525,00 residents.

Monday Meme: Rainbow

maya meme

Had she lived, Maya Angelou would be 88 years old today! Angelou was a poet, writer and civil rights activist. She also turned the contemporary autobiography on its head with the release of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings in 1969. She’s also remembered for reading her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” at Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993. Around these parts, however, we love Maya Angelou for providing a treasure trove of quotes like the one in today’s Monday Meme!

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Greenland Ushers in New Era Of Marriage Equality

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If you needed proof that marriage equality is spreading to the far corners of the Earth, look no further than Greenland!  The country’s same-sex marriage law went into effect on April 1st.

Last year, the country unanimously passed a marriage bill,which is an adoption of Denmark’s matrimonial laws. After taking two years, the bill was finally approved after a series of starts and stops, like the stepping down of Greenland’s Prime Minister had put the bill on hold. The marriage bill was approved by the Greenlandic Parliament on a vote of 27-0. An autonomous Danish Territory, Greenland can now celebrate same-sex weddings with the approval of Greenland’s Bishop. The Bishop has welcomed the arrival of a gender neutral marriage law and the Church of Greenland “worked closely with the government to amend the portion of the Danish law that covered same-sex blessings in religious weddings. The joint adoption clause that was included in Greenland’s new Marriage Act will go into effect on July 1st,” according to Out.com.  Nivi Olsen, the Minister of the Church in Greenland, wrote on the Greenlandic Parliament’s website:

“We have long waited for this day. To have the opportunity to enter into marriage means a lot to many couples regardless of the gender of one’s partner. I am therefore pleased that a united Parliament adopted in 2010, finally made it a reality. The Government warmly welcomes this new opportunity and the national church rejoices that we are ready for the new era.”