We all wear our identities in various ways to show the world what tribe we belong to. Go to Toronto and you will see the Bay Street brokers in their slick-cut suits; go to Vancouver and you can tell the granolas by their hippie, back-to-the-land attire. Sexual-orientation-wise, it is usually just as easy to spot …
After a two-year hiatus, the Rainbow column has returned. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GALA), without an active board to keep it running, had gone into a one-year dormancy period; however, GALA is once again an active group and has some interesting projects underway. By the time this column goes to print, the GALA AGM …
I recently attended the Gay and Lesbian Alliance AGM. It was the first meeting in a year. The turnout was really promising and a new board was formed made up of 11 enthusiastic people, the majority of which are male. It should be an interesting board as it has never had a male majority before. …
In the GLBTQ community, a “late bloomer” refers to individuals who come out later in life. They have often had heterosexual relationships, sometimes long-term, but have come to accept their true reality and have made the decision to embrace it. Some late bloomers never pursue a heterosexual relationship but instead choose celibacy until they come …
The fast-paced world we live in means that not only do we have online banking and shopping, but we also have online dating. The old traditional ways of meeting people obviously still exist, but because the Internet has connected us in such profound ways it was inevitable that the potential to meet a mate would …
Kate Reid is on a house tour of the Yukon. Reid, a self-described dyke folk artist, is on this grass roots concert tour put on by Home Routes, an organization that books performers to do concerts in people’s homes throughout the communities. The host provides accommodation and an audience for the performer. Reid has tour …
There has been a lot of emphasis among gay advocates lately to show that gay families are healthy and normal and that children raised in gay/lesbian households are as happy and well-adjusted as any other kids. Of course, it is not unlike ethnic minorities who have to show no weakness, or else that weakness will …
I have been having Facebook discussions with several people lately over the whole bi-curious issue, if we can in fact call it an issue. In the community, the bi-curious are those individuals who are questioning their sexuality and exploring it. This discussion began when I put a flippant comment up on my profile about bi-curious …
The queer community in the Yukon is full of creative and innovative people doing interesting projects in the areas of the arts and business. One of our local lesbians is a filmmaker named Heidy Enka, who has written and directed a film called Trauma Queens. Her film has been chosen to be screened at Entzaubert, …
What is it about humankind that we have this need to pair up? We all seek out relationships and it is a driving force in our lives to do so. When we are younger it often has to do with having a family. As we age, the need becomes more of wanting to have a …
I was watching All Aboard! Rosie’s Family Cruise a while back – a documentary about Rosie O’Donnell’s gay family cruises. In the film they interviewed various people, including the mother of a woman who had accompanied her daughter on this cruise in a show of support. The mother was saying how her husband had refused …
Plans are under way for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance (GALA) annual general meeting in early January. I will post the time and place on our website when the information becomes available. Some of the old board members are stepping aside to do other things, so there is a great need for people to step …
Gayle Haggard published a book about her experience as the straight spouse of a homosexual partner who was outed by a male prostitute.
There has been a YouTube video going around lately with Ellen DeGeneres pleading to end intolerance after a spate of young gay people committed suicide. Even in this day and age of greater tolerance towards all minorities, and even after 40-plus years of the gay rights movement, gay youth still experience bullying and are still …
I received feedback recently on an article I wrote about lesbian breakups. I knew that it was going to touch some nerves … and it did. Gay marriage is very new and it was a hard-fought battle to gain that right. By criticizing lesbian relationships, I am giving ammo to those who say that we …
The whole idea of what is “natural” or “as nature intended” is an argument often used to oppose homosexuality. Even good, well-meaning people will say things like, “I don’t mind gay people, but really, it just isn’t natural.” I do understand this way of thinking. I spent enough years of my life with internalized homophobic …
In Canada, the number of people over the age of 65 has doubled since 1951. Our life expectancy has increased dramatically and now sits at an average of 80 years. Given these statistics, resources for our ageing population has become an issue of importance to the medical community and social support services. One area of …
