More and more straight guys are engaging in “dude sex”

An interesting phenomenon, but I suppose as valid as any other label out there. I just find it ironic that on the one hand people completely shun labels, while making up new ones. Seems to me they just want to make their mark on the history of LGBT while not doing much of anything, really.

What is dude sex? And how is it different from gay sex? Let’s find out…

Tony Silva is a researcher at University of Oregon who recently did a study on the growing phenomenon and just published a paper called Bud-Sex: Constructing Normative Masculinity among Rural Straight Men That Have Sex With Men about it.

According to Silva, dude sex (or “bud-sex”) is when two guys, usually from a rural area and who identify as straight, hook up together in a discreet, NSA sort of way. They have wives. They have kids. They consider themselves to be heterosexual. But they’re also able to compartmentalize sex in a way that allows them to occasionally bump uglies with other guys without complicating anything.

Silver interviewed 19 white, rural, straight-identifying men who say they’ve had dude sex. He found most of them on the pages of Craigslist’s M4M casual encounter ads. All of the guys came from socially conservative and predominant white populations in Missouri, Illinois, Oregon, Washington, or Idaho, and most of them identified as either “exclusively” or “mostly straight,” with a few identifying as “straight but bi, but more straight.”

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White Couple Sues Sperm Bank After They Were Given Sample From Black Donor

Okay before I get into my commenting, I want to make it clear that I am a white female. Born and raised in the South.

This whole story bothers me. These women should realize that they will have enough of a struggle raising any child in a world where there are still plenty of people who believe that a same sex couple raising a child will immediately make that child gay. That little girl may be too young to understand what’s going on, but even in this day and age, people are finding out that once information is out there on the internet, it’s there forever. So this story appearing in the media is going to stick around and there’s every chance that when the girl is old enough, she could find this information and wonder if her mothers really wanted her.

It’s time those in that predominantly white neighborhood are taught a lesson. They need to learn that tolerance is more than just tolerance about one aspect of a person’s life. Being a parent means your life becomes inconvenient and sometimes difficult. There are hundreds if not thousands of couples across the world who are of different races and come together on purpose to start a family together. They fully accept that their bi-racial children are going to have a struggle. As a parent, you do your best to make life easy for your children because you know when childhood is left behind, everything changes. Instead of suing the sperm bank over this mistake, they need to concentrate on that little girl and making her life as happy as possible. If that means moving, then do so.

Jennifer Cramblett and her partner, Amanda Zinkon, are seeking $50,000 (£30,000) in damages after Midwest Sperm Bank, in Downers Grove, Illinois, sent them sperm from a black man rather than the white donor they had originally chosen.

Cramblett and Zinkon claim that while they love their daughter, Payton, who is now 2 years old, they worry they’ll struggle to bring her up in their predominantly white community.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the lawsuit states: “Jennifer lives each day with fears, anxieties and uncertainty about her future and Payton’s future.”

The suit claims Cramblett grew up surrounded by people “with stereotypical attitudes about non-whites”, and that the 36-year-old “did not know African-Americans until she attended college at the University of Akron”.

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The 25 Best Colleges And Universities For LGBT Students

Just going to punch out the list here and you can read the details on the BuzzFeed article. Each school listed on BuzzFeed has info about their LGBT group.

1. Southern Oregon University
2. University of Southern California
3. Ithica College (NY)
4. University of Illinois at Chicago
5. University of Massachusetts, Amherst
6. University of Washington (Seattle)
7. University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
8. University of Maryland, College Park
9. Washington State University
10. Carleton College (MN)
11. Case Western Reserve University (OH)
12. Connecticut College
13. Macalester College (MN)
14. Oberlin College (OH)
15. Stanford University (CA)
16. Princeton University
17. The Ohio State University
18. University of California, Riverside
19. University of California, Santa Cruz
20. University of Michigan
21. University of Minnesota – Duluth
22. University of Oregon
23. University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
24. Rutgers University (NJ)
25. Portland State University (OR)

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IL Same-Sex Couples Facing Death Can Marry Early

None of us should have to wait, but that’s the never-ending battle, isn’t it?

Starting Monday, Illinois same-sex couples facing terminal illness can marry — nearly six months ahead of the state’s new marriage equality law taking effect, a federal judge in Chicago ruled.

U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman has ordered the Cook County Clerk’s office to immediately issue marriage licenses to all Illinois same-sex couples who can provide a doctor’s declaration stating that one or both of them has a life-threatening illness that would prevent them from marrying after the marriage equality law takes effect June 1.

“When you have a terminal illness, every day is significant,” Camilla Taylor, Marriage Project director for Lambda Legal, said in a statement. “Even though we know the freedom to marry is coming to Illinois, the default implementation date of the new law is too far away for these couples. While no one should be told that they cannot marry for a period of months, for couples who are dealing with a life-threatening medical condition, the delay in implementing Illinois’ marriage law could turn out to be an absolute bar to being married at all.”

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Loyola University Chicago Petitioned To Allow Gay Wedding On Campus

You’d think that with the current pope being a Jesuit and his slightly more liberal stance on homosexuality, things would be different at this Jesuit institution, but apparently not. Besides, who wants to get married on a college campus? Surely there are better places in Chicago?

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to sign his state’s same-sex marriage legislation into law on Nov. 20, but for some local couples, the fight for true equality apparently isn’t over.

Christine Irvine, who identifies herself as a Loyola University Chicago transfer student, is hoping to convince officials at the private Jesuit institution to allow her to marry her same-sex fiancee on campus.

Irvine, who says she is currently planning her wedding to her fiancee Mary, has launched a petition in support of her cause. The petition, which has over 2,400 signatures at present, reads as follows:

We were thrilled by the prospect of holding our ceremony at Loyola. When I called to set up an appointment, I was told that Loyola doesn’t allow same sex ceremonies on campus and I was heartbroken. Because of our sexual orientation, because we are gay, we are banned from celebrating one of the most meaningful days of our lives on Loyola’s campus.

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IL House, Senate Pass Same-Sex Marriage Bill

This just in from my dearest friend in Illinois…

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) — Illinois is poised to become the 15th state to legalize same-sex marriage as both the House and Senate passed the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act.

The bill will become law once it has been signed by Governor Pat Quinn, which he has promised to do.

CBS 2’s Jay Levine was at the State Capitol for the historic vote and reports there were tears of joy for some and deep disappointment for others.

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Gay Marriage Infographic

For your information…

Taken from the Huffington Post