Quitting Myspace

I first opened my Myspace account back in 2004 just so that I could look at someone else’s profile (you had to be a member to do that back then – they had rules). At that time Myspace was all the rage with the cool kids, so I decided to keep it.

I was 16 and my social networking skills were at an all-time low. But it turned out that my profile customizing skills were top notch. I had the page with all the cool graphics and music playlists. I had a place to display my pictures so that the entire world could see how cool I had become.

Now I’m 23 and over it. I haven’t used Myspace in ages. So the other day I put “delete Myspace” on my list of things to do.

But the next day I signed on to the site for the first time in a year and a half and everything looked different. Myspace has changed so many things about the layout of the home page and the navigation that it actually looks a lot more like Facebook. All of this change piqued my interest, so I went surfing around Myspace’s never-ending web of friendships for one last hoorah, just to see what I’d been missing.

Quitting Myspace

LGBT history seen from the trenches

Writing for Wisconsin Gazette has made me think about the news I’ve covered and the many changes I’ve witnessed since I first had stories published in the GPU News and Amazon, Milwaukee-based publications, in 1977.

The year I began writing for gay and lesbian presses, Anita Bryant was leading her crusade against a civil rights law covering sexual orientation in Florida. It was also the year that Harvey Milk emerged as a major figure in San Francisco politics. Hundreds of thousands of women marched on Washington in support of the Equal Rights Amendment.

The spirit of Anita Bryant is certainly still alive in the land, but civil rights provisions incorporating sexual orientation and gender identity have spread exponentially across the US in villages, cities, counties and states.

Harvey Milk was assassinated in 1978 by a bitter, woeful wreck of a man whose light sentence shocked the nation and who later committed suicide. Today, hundreds of openly LGBT individuals serve in public office and continue to seek office with hardly a raised eye from any quarter.

The ERA was defeated by a right-wing campaign of fear and misrepresentation promoted by the same players who worked to defeat gay rights laws. Yet, over the past three decades, a plethora of legislation has been passed eliminating inequities based on sex from civil and criminal statutes. Enforcement is another matter, of course, and there is still no excuse for not enshrining the principle of sexual equality in our constitution.

LGBT history seen from the trenches

Scott Walker’s dismal fiscal record

WiG reported on June 17 that Republican candidate for governor Scott Walker would oppose the state’s domestic partner registry as well as benefits for same-sex partners of state workers. In fact, last year Walker vetoed an effort to extend benefits to Milwaukee County employees and their domestic partners. This follows Walker’s pattern of pandering to some of the most extreme elements of the right wing in the run up to an election. Unfortunately, LGBT employees and their families have paid the price for Walker’s grandstanding.

The LGBT community is certainly diverse, including in the areas of political and ideological beliefs. There are some in the community who favor what may be called a fiscally conservative approach to public policy, while at the same time remaining socially progressive. The Log Cabin Republicans are an example of this. But even if groups like LCR choose to ignore Walker’s anti-LGBT record, what redeeming value would they find in his fiscal record?

Walker’s rhetoric on fiscal matters does not match the reality of his performance. If Log Cabin Republicans truly value smaller government, it is difficult to fathom how they could support him. During his time as Milwaukee County executive, county spending has increased 35 percent based on Walker’s own proposed budgets. Earlier this year, the progressive group One Wisconsin Now did an analysis comparing the rate of Walker spending to that of Gov. Jim Doyle and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. It showed that Walker’s spending increases surpassed both of them.

Scott Walker fiscal record

The real ‘L’ mentors

A recurring topic in my columns is the importance of advocates and role models in today’s media for young gay people. As the oldest of 12 siblings, I understand that one does not always choose to be a role model. Sometimes people just look up to you, whether you like it or not.

People in the media should understand that by choosing to be on television, they’re positioning themselves as role models, whether they like it or not. I don’t think a lot of them realize this.

When I heard that a new show called “The Real L Word” was coming to Showtime, I made time to see it with the hope that one of the stars would have her life together enough to deserve the responsibility she was taking on as an openly lesbian role model.

The “Real L Word” is a reality show that follows six Los Angeles lesbians through their friendships, relationships and careers. The episode begins with each of them taking turns telling about their first sexual experience with another woman (or another girl – as in the case of Whitney, who was only 9 and whose sex partner was 11). The characters vary from the girl who has a lot of random hook-ups to the lesbian couple planning their wedding, giving viewers a wide enough range of personalities from which to find one to identify with.

Angel Sevilla opinion, LGBT role models