Story Type: News and Media

Astraea Honors Colleagues

Astraea honors the committed work and invaluable contributions of our colleagues Alex and Beverly, as both transition from Astraea staff to Astraea friends and ardent supporters.

Beverly and Alex

Over the last three years as Philanthropic Partnership Officer, Alex has expanded and deepened relationships with individual donors and made lasting contributions to our mission.  She been a tremendous value to Astraea and we will miss her frank and gentle honesty. Beverly has, in just a year as Director of Development, helped to increase institutional support, coalesced staff and has been instrumental in laying the groundwork for the year ahead.

As Alex and Beverly embark in exciting new directions, both will stay connected to Astraea.   Beverly said, “”Working for Astraea has been a way to live with passion and purpose.  It is a life-long commitment.””  Alex said, “”Astraea is an expression of my deepest personal political commitments, and I’m’ eager to enter a new phase of collaboration.””

If you’’d like to join the Astraea team and build on the work of these women, please apply.

Astraea Grantee Partners Speak Out about Sex-Test Controversy

Astraea grantee partners including Lesbian & Gay Equality Project, Engender and Intersex South Africa added their support to a joint press statement decrying the controversy surrounding Caster Semenya’s gold-medal win.

Caster Semenya and Gender Discrimination:

the ‘Elephant in the Room’

As seen on sangpulse.net

Caster Semenya: National Heroine

“Caster should not be having to deal with a world controversy over her win. She should be unreservedly basking in the glory of her and our incredible victory. No doubt she has experienced this humiliation and discrimination at other levels before and has become somewhat hardened to its effect, but we wish her, her friends and her family strength in dealing with this blatant gender discrimination. As Caster Semenya and our other gold medal winner, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, return – congratulations on your amazing wins and Caster, you have our full support. For the rest, to Caster’s detractors or apologists, hang your heads in shame for not ‘naming’ the issue for what it is and for perpetuating gender stereotypes and discrimination in her individual case and in society as a whole.”

August 26, 2009—: We write in response to the controversy surrounding the 800m women’’s world running champion, Caster Semenya and the flurry of articles surrounding this sad saga.

Some of those championing Caster’s cause accuse those wanting to sex-test Caster of imperialism and racism (as well as sexism). Others plead for the us to wait before ‘reaching a verdict’ arguing that the realities of sex testing are enormously complex.

Firstly to address the issue of terminology, over which there seems to be confusion. Gender is the dominant society’s views on how women and men should look, behave, what roles they should play in society, how they should perform and frequently what rewards they receive – hence gender inequity. This has usually led to lower status and discrimination against girls/women but has increasingly been seen as limiting the options and potentially harming boys/men too. Gender is not a politically correct term for sex. Sex testing would be just that–establishing whether a person is biologically female or male. So gender testing is not the term that should be used this case, but sex testing.

Secondly, to tackle the science issue, as this tends to obscure the real issue of gender stereotyping and discrimination so evident in this case. Professor Tim Noakes, an international sports science expert says the issue of ‘unfair advantage’ which is the only thing that should be at play here as it is in the case of drug use,is simple to establish. He states that the issue that needs to be clarified here is whether the person concerned is a man masquerading as a woman or not. This could be established by a simple physical examination ‘handled within the usual constraints of the doctor/patient domain–not in the public domain” (Cape Argus, ‘Why the world should leave Caster alone’ Fri Aug 21, 2009:21), as has happened in the harmful manner in which the IAAF has handled this.

As for the rest, he says there is great variation. All other possible tests including chromosome testing are indeterminate and should be left well alone. The calls for more to be done in dealing with this issue and await judgment are therefore erroneous and cloud the issue in a shroud of inappropriate so-called scientific enquiry.

The third issue relates to what lies at the heart of the matter, social norms. While issues of racism and imperialism have and will continue to apply in various circumstances and have a sensitive history in terms of women’s bodies particular in Africa, focusing on these issues in the current context obscures the much neglected ‘elephant in the room’ – gender discrimination. Comments within the press and on talk shows are unwittingly guilty of this same problem in placing ‘blame’ at Athletics South Africa or her coach’s door. (article in sportsscientists.com and editorial in Mail and Guardian ‘Racing to conclusions’, August 21-27 2009:20). They argue that the authorities should have pre-empted this situation, given her prior experiences (at the hands of the teachers, members of the public and previous authorities). ‘Pre-empting the situation’ would fall prey to the exactly these same prejudices – pandering to what people perceive to be ‘normal’ for girls or women. This is akin to what might have happened during the apartheid era where actions may have tried to stave off racism by negotiating black people’s entry into racially reserved sporting or cultural events before the time. Many white girls who do not ‘look’ as society expects will tell similar humiliating stories of being stopped from entering female public toilets or being questioned as to whether they are male or female. At the core of this issue are ideas about gender – how girls/women and boys/men ‘look’ and ‘behave’ and perform (in this case perhaps a young woman winning by 2 seconds ahead of the field is not seen as ‘normal’).

This is what has been so hard to address locally in South Africa, despite our progressive constitution, due to deeply held dominant ideas about what is ‘female’ and ‘male’. It is these ideas and actions that promote gender discrimination. This leads to men, who in societies’ terms do not look ‘masculine enough’, being called ‘sissies’ and women who look not ‘feminine enough’ being labelled ‘butch’. In our own society, this has led to violent attacks on some women and in our own and other countries to violent attacks on some boys/men. This is what we need to clearly point to as underlying this case and name it for what it is. Framing the discrimination as racism or imperialism, without reference to gender discrimination as the main issue risks reinforcing gender stereotypes.

Societies have a long way to go in terms of changing the dominant ideas on how women and men should ‘look’ and behave and perform and in some cases, dress – and allow for variations in ‘looks’ and roles to be underpinned by what people would like to be and do, rather than societies’ current dominant expectations. There are many excellent organisations in our own country and abroad that have worked with women and men on this issues, but as it is all to obvious from this and other cases, much work is still needed for these choices and this freedom to take root in the broader society as a whole.

Caster should not be having to deal with a world controversy over her win. She should be unreservedly basking in the glory of her and our incredible victory. No doubt she has experienced this humiliation and discrimination at other levels before and has become somewhat hardened to its effect, but we wish her, her friends and her family strength in dealing with this blatant gender discrimination. As Caster Semenya and our other gold medal winner, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, return – congratulations on your amazing wins and Caster, you have our full support. For the rest, to Caster’s detractors or apologists, hang your heads in shame for not ‘naming’ the issue for what it is and for perpetuating gender stereotypes and discrimination in her individual case and in society as a whole.

As we once again approach the 16 days of activism against violence against women, let us bear these issues in mind and not mouth platitudes in our struggle against gender inequity and discrimination.

Yours Sincerely,

Diane Cooper – Director, Women’s Health Research Unit, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town

Leslie London, Director, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town

Elinor Sisulu, South Africa

Prudence Mabele, Positive Women’s Network, South Africa

Nomfundo Eland , Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) Women’s Rights Campaign

Glenn de Swardt, Health4Men

Lisa Vetten, Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre to End Violence Against Women

Gertrude Fester, Feminist Forum/ Women’s and Gender Studies,University of Western Cape

Naeemah Abrahams, Gender and Health Research Unit, Medical Research Council, South Africa

Pamela Scully, Women’s Studies and African Studies, Emory University & Deputy Editor, Women’s History Review

Sipho Mthathi, Human Rights Watch South Africa

Carrie Shelver, People Opposing Women Abuse, South Africa

Deborah Byrne, Foundation for Human Rights (FHR)
Akosua Adomako Ampofo, University of Ghana

Lebohang Letsie, University of Botswana

Amina Mama, Barbara Lee Distinguished Chair, Mills College, USA Jane Harries, Associate Director, Women’s Health Research Unit, University of Cape Town

Jennifer Moodley, Women’s Health Research Unit, University of Cape Town

Lillian Artz, Director, Gender, Health and Justice Unit, University of Cape Town

Liesl Theron, Gender Dynamix

Dipika Nath, Human Rights Watch

Sheila Meintjes, Political Studies Department, Wits University

Ilse Ahrends, the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children

Phumi Mtetwa,the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project
Marion Stevens, Health Systems Trust

Angelica Pino, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation

Shireen Hassim, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa

Phyllis Orner, Women’s Health Research Unit, University of Cape Town

Sumaya Mall, Women’s Health Research Unit, University of Cape Town

Ntobeko Nywagi, Women’s Health Research Unit, University of Cape Town

Sheila Cishe, Women’s Health Research Unit, University of Cape Town

Chelsea Morroni, Women’s Health Research Unit, University of Cape Town

Regina Mlobeli, Women’s Health Research Unit, University of Cape Town

Jane Bennett, African Gender Institute, University of Cape Town

Mary Jansen (KIWIA) Khoe San Indigenous Women in Action
Shirley Walters, University of Western Cape, South Africa

Linda Cooper, Centre for Higher Education and Development, University of Cape Town

Cathy Mathews, Medical Research Council

Fareeda Jadwat,African Gender Institute, University of Cape Town

Ilse Ahrends, Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children, South Africa

Di McIntyre, NRF chair, Health Economics Unit, University of Cape Town

Andrea Rother, Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health Research, UCT

Nomfundo Mlisa: President – Gender Forum: University of Fort Hare, Alice

Masiphile Community Project: Tsengiwe Village, Cala

Johanna Kehler, Director, AIDS Legal Network, South Africa

Ayanda Rapita, the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project
Melissa Steyn, Department of Sociology, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Gabi Jiyane,the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project

Marion Heap, Health and Human Rights, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, UCT

Balise Mahlanguthe, Lesbian and Gay Equality Project

Bernadette Bredekamp, Division of Family Medicine, University of Cape Town

Larissa Klazinga and Rhodes Gender Action Project

Laura Pollecutt, South Africa

Sokari Ekine,London

Natasha Primo

Alex Kent

Annemarie Hendrikz

Jon Weinberg, Cape Town

Eva Hunt, South Africa

Shirley Gunn, Cape Town

Susan Holland-Muter, South Africa

Tara Weinberg, Cape Town

Lavona George, South Africa

Gille de Vlieg, South Africa

Michael Weinberg, Cape Town

Anne Schuster, South Africa

Jenny Radloff, South Africa

Kathy Watters, Cape Town

Sakina Mohamed, South Africa

Nicolene McLean, Gender Action Project

Carla Tsampiras, Rhodes History Dept

Corinne Knowles, GENACT

Alan Kirkaldy, NTESU

Carol Thomas, thewomanspace

Thava Govender, Human Development Consulting Agency,KZN, South Africa

Richard Matzopoulos, Medical Research Council and UCT Public Health

Bernedette Muthien, Engender

Sally Gross,Intersex South Africa

Surplus People Project, South Africa

Sharon Stanton, S.L Stanton Attorneys

Tessa Lewin, Institute of Development Studies, UK

Marjorie Jobson, Khulumani Support Group

Charlotte Young, South Africa

Melanie Judge, South Africa

Lin Helme, Adult Learning Forum, South Africa

Thembi Luckett, Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town

Mohamed Jeebhay, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town

Elaine Salo, Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies. Univ of Pretoria

Marinda Maree – Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies – Univ of Pretoria

Rory DuPlessis – Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies – Univ of Pretoria

Owen Sichone – Department of Anthropology & Archaeology – Univ of Pretoria

Kammila Naidoo – Department of Sociology- Univ of Pretoria

Sven Ouzman – Department of Anthropology & Archaeology – Univ. of Pretoria

Rehana Ebrahim-Vally – Department of Anthropology & Archaeology – Univ of Pretoria

Feminist Alternatives

Ingrid Meintjes, African Gender Institute & Perinatal Mental Health Project

Mary Hames – Gender Equity Unity, South Africa

Desiree Lewis

Vasu Reddy, Gender and Development Unit – HSRC

Sophie Oldfield

Lubna Nadvi, UKZN, Durban

Josette Cole, Mandlovu Development Trust, South Africa

Thava Govender, Human Development Consulting Agency,South Africa

Charlotte Young, South Africa

Ashnie Padarath, Health Systems Trust

Simone Honikman, Head, Perinatal Mental Health Project, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town

Cherryl Walker, Department Chair Sociology and Social Anthropology, Stellenbosch University

This work’s Creative Commons license

TIME Highlights Efforts of Grantee Partners and Allies in Asia

Astraea grantee partners around the world are charting the course for a global social-justice-feminist movement.  On nearly every continent, in myriad languages and cultures, they are collectively seizing opportunities and laying the groundwork for LGBTI people to live freely and safely.  Today’s TIME Magazine story investigates changing tides in Asia and highlights Sunil Pant, longtime grantee partner-turned-legislator in Kathmandu, Nepal.

With the Blue Diamond Society, Sunil has helped move the climate from violence towards acceptance for third-gender people in Nepal.  TIME also highlights victories and movements in India and those stirring in China, invigorated by the Astraea-funded leadership training camps for lalas (lesbian, bi, and transgender).

 

Why Asia’s Gays are Starting to Win Acceptance

By Jyoti Thottam for Time Magazine

Sunil Babu Pant is a schoolteacher’s son who grew up in the rough green mountains of central Nepal. The youngest of six children, indulged by his family, Pant remembers feeling attracted to other boys. But he wore that knowledge lightly, with the innocence of a sheltered child. Boys and girls played separately; Pant thought that his friends must feel just as he did. “It didn’t appear as a problem to me growing up in the countryside,” he says. “Even though I knew about myself, I couldn’t define it.”

By 28, Pant had a word for what he felt, and in 2000 he moved to Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, to find other gay people and some sense of belonging. What he discovered horrified him. After dark, a small underground subculture of gay men and women would meet each other in a few of the city’s parks and ancient courtyards, gatherings that took place under a constant threat of violence by the police. A law against “unnatural sexual conduct” was often used as a pretext for harassment, he says. “It was such an unseen, unspoken tragedy that was going on every day.”

Pant could have chosen to live as other gays do in Asia’s conservative societies, hiding his sexuality behind a sham marriage while leading a dangerous double life. Instead, he decided to come out and to work against discrimination. “There was a choice to make,” he says, “whether you feel threatened and live your life with misery, or you live with courage.” In 2001, Pant and a few friends organized the Blue Diamond Society — named after the Diamond Sutra, a well-known translation of Buddhist teachings emphasizing compassion — to distribute information about HIV. The group later began documenting human-rights abuses against gay people, and its members sued to overturn Nepal’s law criminalizing homosexuality. In December 2007, Nepal’s Supreme Court ruled in their favor. Four months later, Pant, who was the main petitioner in the case, became South Asia’s first openly gay member of parliament. By the end of 2008, the Supreme Court issued its full judgment, which not only nullified the old law but also established a “third gender” category for government documents. A newly formed government advisory committee is studying the possibility of legalizing gay marriage. In less than a decade, Nepal, a poor and devout Hindu kingdom, had become what the Indian writer and gay activist C.K. Meena calls “a gaytopia.”

Read the entire article

Summer eThreads!

Read inspiring stories featuring Astraea’’s strategic work and our incredible community of grantees from cultural workers to policy wonks.

Don’t miss eThreads, Summer 2009 edition. Read inspiring stories featuring Astraea’’s strategic work and our incredible community of grantees from cultural workers to policy wonks. Watch these stories come to life through photo galleries and even a short film. Connecting communities is at the core of our work, and we hope that eThreads will strengthen, even further, our connection with you.

Visit eThreads.org

Astraea Receives 10K Social Media Grant

Astraea is pleased to announce our receipt of a $10,000 Social Media Grant from Fenton Communications.  Astraea, Let’s Get Ready and the Volunteer Consulting Group were selected from a pool of 240 applicants.  Dean Hollander, Senior Vice President and head of Fenton’s interactive and new media services said, “We chose our three grantees because we believe each of them demonstrated a commitment to using social media and a willingness to innovate.”

FENTON AWARDS $30,000 IN FIRST-EVER SOCIAL MEDIA GRANTS
The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, Let’s Get Ready and Volunteer Consulting Group Selected

Grants Draw Response from More than 240 Nonprofits Seeking to Raise Their Web 2.0 Profile in Tough Fiscal Times

NEW YORK – July 9, 2009: An organization that serves low-income high school students, a nonprofit that helps other nonprofits find board members, and the only foundation in the world solely dedicated to funding LGBTI organizations are the three recipients of Fenton Communications’ free Social Media Grants to New York City-based nonprofits.

Fenton first announced the grant offering, which comes with $10,000 in social media strategy and related services, in late May and received more than 240 applicants.

“The enormous response these grants received shows how willing nonprofits are to experiment and innovate – especially in a recession,” said Lisa Witter, Chief Operating Officer of Fenton, the country’s largest integrated public interest communications firm. “Nonprofits recognize that social media can be a powerful and nimble tool for growing membership, raising money, and ultimately, making change. These grants are designed to help them make the most strategic use of this explosive technology for good.”

In these challenging economic times, many organizations lack the resources to explore the exciting opportunities of social media tools like Twitter and Facebook. Fenton offered these grants to help organizations harness the power of social media for social change.

About the recipients:

Let’’s Get Ready (LGR): Let’s Get Ready provides low-income and under-represented high school students with the support they need to successfully complete the college admissions process. Using volunteer college students who act as tutors, mentors and role models, LGR provides its students with intensive SAT tutoring and critical assistance through the college application process. Fenton will help LGR raise the profile of the organization among potential participants, volunteers, and funders by building and strengthening online and offline networks.

Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice (ALFJ): The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice is the only foundation in the world solely dedicated to funding LGBTI organizations both in the US and internationally. Their grantmaking and philanthropic advocacy programs help lesbians and allied communities work around the world to achieve racial, economic, gender, and social justice. Fenton will help Astraea develop a long-term engagement and fundraising strategy that starts with converting current offline membership to online and then leveraging those relationships to expand the profile of Astraea within the philanthropic and donor community.

Volunteer Consulting Group, Inc. (VCG): Volunteer Consulting Group, Inc. works regionally and nationally to strengthen the governing and management capability of nonprofit boards of directors. Fenton will help VCG clarify brand promise and use new media to help recruit and connect new leaders, trustees, funders, and board members.

Each grant recipient will receive a social media audit and strategic recommendations including:

Social Media Analysis–A review of how their organization and/or issue area is being talked about online, what topics and/or frames are driving the most conversation, and where the conversation around an organization’’s issue is most prevalent.

Campaign Development–A specific campaign concept(s) designed to drive conversation and social media engagement through Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and other social networks.

Engagement Strategy–A plan of action to drive social media participation through email outreach, Search engine optimization, online advertising, Facebook, Twitter, blogger relations, and video distribution.

An overview to Fenton’s approach to Social Media Campaign Strategy can be found in our newest guide: WATTA? What Are They Talking About: Social Media, Web 2.0, and Your Online Engagement Strategy.

“Many nonprofits are testing the waters by putting up a Facebook page or Twittering.  But these applications have much more potential as research tools that can provide critical insights as to how organizations are most likely to engage people around their issues, where they are talking about their issue, and what outreach tactics should be integrated into a social media campaign strategy. We chose our three grantees because we believe each of them demonstrated a commitment to using social media and a willingness to innovate,” said Dean Hollander, Senior Vice President and head of Fenton’s interactive and new media services.

Due to the high demand, Fenton plans to announce new scalable social media service offerings for nonprofits and will release a report on how New York City area nonprofits are investing and using social media later this summer.

About Fenton Communications – With more than two decades of serving the public interest, Fenton offers integrated communications services to nonprofits, foundations, educational institutions, and socially responsible businesses. In partnership with our clients, we protect the environment, transform markets, improve public health, and advance human rights and social justice. http://fenton.com

Delhi High Court Overturns ‘Sodomy’ Law

Astraea celebrates the Delhi High Court ruling overturning the ‘Sodomy’ Law.  The Court ruled that Penal Code Section 377, enacted during British Colonial Rule, was unconstitutional and violated international human rights conventions.  We applaud our grantee partners and the myriad and creative ways they work to advance justice for LGBTI people in India.

New York Times: Indian Court Overturns Gay Sex Ban

Read International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission’s action alert in support of the court decision.

Human Rights Watch’s In Depth Report
India: Court Strikes Down ‘Sodomy’ Law
Government Should Uphold Decision of Delhi High Court

The ruling today by the Delhi High Court that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) can no longer be used to treat consensual homosexual conduct between adults as a criminal offense is a victory for basic rights to privacy, non-discrimination, and liberty, Human Rights Watch said today.

The ruling of the two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court, consisting of Chief Justice A.P. Shah and Justice S. Muralidhar, means that Section 377, which criminalizes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature,” will no longer apply to consensual sexual activity among adults. This is the first time that a senior court in India has issued a decision on the law. While the ruling applies to New Delhi, it is likely to influence the legal establishment across the nation.

“This legal remnant of British colonialism has been used to deprive people of their basic rights for too long,” said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. “This long-awaited decision testifies to the reach of democracy and rights in India.”

Human Rights Watch urged India’s government not to contest or appeal the decision. Human Rights Watch also urged India’s Lok Sabha (Parliament) to move quickly to scrap Section 377 nationwide, and to replace it with laws that would provide full, gender-neutral protection for children and adults against sexual abuse and assault. Existing Indian “rape laws” do not recognize anything but penile-vaginal penetration as sexual assault, which leaves many adults and children, including male children, unprotected.

The case has been before the Delhi High Court since 2001. Hearings began in May 2008, and the bench has been deliberating its judgment since November 2008. The petitioners, Naz Foundation (India) Trust, were represented by Anand Grover of Lawyers Collective (who was appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health in July 2008). The petitioners argued that Section 377 violated not only tenets of the Indian constitution, but also international human rights standards. They drew special attention to the fact that the law did not distinguish between consensual and non-consensual sexual acts. They also argued that the law impedes HIV and AIDS prevention and outreach by driving underground already vulnerable populations, such as men who have sex with men.

India’s Ministry of Home Affairs opposed changes to the law on the grounds that decriminalizing homosexual conduct would “open the floodgates of delinquent behavior.” However, the affidavit filed by the National AIDS Control Association of India – part of the Ministry of Health – took a contrary stand, supporting the petitioners’ statements about the need for decriminalization in the fight against HIV and AIDS. More recently, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss supported decriminalization for similar reasons.

Voices against 377, a coalition of women’s rights, children’s rights, LGBT rights, and human rights groups in India, intervened in support of the petitioners. It pointed to cases of arrest, abuse, and harassment of LGBT people to support the argument that Section 377 violated the fundamental rights of a vulnerable community.

As Human Rights Watch documented in a 2008 report, “This Alien Legacy: The Origins of ‘Sodomy’ Laws in British Colonialism,” British colonizers introduced Section 377 to India in 1860. It became a model for similar sodomy laws imposed on other British colonies, and comparable provisions survive today from Singapore to Uganda.

“Most of the world’s sodomy laws are relics of colonialism,” said Long. “As the world’s largest democracy, India has shown the way for other countries to rid themselves of these repressive burdens.”

Colonies and countries that retain versions of this British sodomy law include:
• In Asia and the Pacific: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, India, Kiribati, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Myanmar (Burma), Nauru, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Western Samoa. (Governments that inherited the same British law, but have abolished it since include Australia, Fiji, Hong Kong, and New Zealand.)
• In Africa: Botswana, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Swaziland, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Eleven former British colonies in the Caribbean also retain sodomy laws derived from a different British model than the one imposed on India.

IN THE LIFE features Astraea Executive Director in Summer of Stonewall Series

Watch Astraea Executive Director Katherine Acey featured on IN THE LIFE’s Summer of Stonewall Series.  “Two of our movement’s longest serving executive directors – Katherine Acey of Astrea and Lambda Legal’s Kevin Cathcart – discuss their lives as activists, the impact of Stonewall on their generation, and the passion that keeps them advancing the movement.”

Watch the Episode

Visit IN THE LIFE for the full series, Civil Disobedience

We don’’t know for sure what happened when police officers raided the Stonewall Inn.  What is known is that on that historic night, when LGBT patrons united to fight back against harassment and brutality, a movement was born. This month, IN THE LIFE looks at how this historic act of civil disobedience ignited a movement for LGBT civil rights.

CENTER SPACES
Before Stonewall, few LGBT groups publicly assembled despite their constitutional right to do so. But when they began to, these pioneering activists needed spaces to gather in. Our lead segment highlights the LGBT centers that have sheltered the movement and its organizations, providing refuge, legitimacy – a home – for LGBT people since Stonewall.

In A CONVERSATION WITH two of our movement’’s longest serving executive directors—–Katherine Acey of Astraea and Lambda Legal’’s Kevin Cathcart—–discuss their lives as activists, the impact of Stonewall on their generation, and the passion that keeps them advancing the movement.

STORME DELARVARIE
In this episode’’s final story, we profile Storme Delarvarie, the activist, organizer, and celebrated drag performer who—–legend has it—–threw the punch that started a revolution.

Lesbian Writers Fund Deadline Extension: July 15th

Calling all lesbian poets and fiction writers!  The Lesbian Writers Fund deadline has been extended to July 15th.  Awards range from $10,000 for two winners to $100 for honorable mentions.  The Lesbian Writer’s Fund supports the work of emerging lesbian poets and fiction writers across the U.S.

Too often, lesbian writing is marginalized by literary venues and funding sources, resulting in exceptionally talented artists unable to receive the nurturing and support so vital to their craft. The Lesbian Writers Fund is attempting to remedy this – and with good results. A former grantee used her award to purchase a computer, and no longer had to write by hand; and another attracted the attention of a prominent agent who facilitated the publication of her first novel.

Apply to the Lesbian Writers Fund

Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice Raises $4 Million as part of Global Campaign that Surpasses $150 Million Goal

The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice announced today that it has raised 4 million dollars as part of an historic global fundraising campaign to raise the bar on giving to women and girls by high-net-worth women.  The money raised is part of a total of $176 million raised in the U.S. and around the world by the Women Moving Millions campaign, far surpassing the campaign goal of $150 million.

Over a three-year period more than 90 women have each committed $1 million or more to one or more of the 145 members of the Women’s Funding Network, of which Astraea is a co-founder. These gifts will support women-led solutions to issues from poverty and human security to advancing access to health care and education.  Together, the gifts of these committed donor-activists to Astraea amplify each other, ensuring that human rights, dignity and freedom are secured for LGBTI people globally.

“We are delighted, but not surprised, by the fact that—–against the bleak backdrop of the global recession–—women have stepped forward to raise the bar on giving to women and girls.  They recognize that giving more, not less, is what is needed when we are in the midst of economic crisis,” said Helen LaKelly Hunt, co-founder of the Women Moving Millions campaign.  “Never before have women of wealth written large checks to fund women’s causes. This is an historic moment in the world of women’s philanthropy.”

“Now more than ever, at this time of crisis, investing in LGBTI-led work is critical,” said Katherine Acey, Executive Director of the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, “Lesbian and gay couples and their families in the U.S. are much more likely to be poor than heterosexual couples due to discrimination against women and LGBTI people.  Our grantee partners tackle these issues and generate creative solutions for economic justice.  The results we’’ve seen suggest that LGBTI-led solutions are the savviest way for donors to propel lasting community and social change.”

The Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice is the only foundation in the world solely dedicated to funding LGBTI issues in the U.S. and internationally.  Our grantmaking and philanthropic advocacy programs help lesbians and allied communities claim their human rights.

The Women’s Funding Network is a global network of 145 women’’s foundations that raise money and make grants to create lasting social change through the advancement and leadership of women and girls.

www.womenmovingmillions.org

# # #

Media Contact: Melissa Hoskins, Communications Associate
Phone: 212.529.8021 x26 Email: communications@astraeafoundation.org

SF Chonicle Features Grantee Partner Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project

The San Francisco Chonicle featured longtime Astraea grantee partner, Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project (QWOCMAP) as they ramped up for their fifth Queer Women of Color Film Festival, held June 12-14 in San Francisco’s Brava Theater. QWOCMAP promotes the creation, exhibition and distribution of new films and videos that address the vital social justice issues concerning women of color and their communities, authentically reflect their life stories, and build community through art and activism. Most of the films of the weekend were produced though their free training program for queer women of color.

Watch film selections from the Festival.

Films Seek to Heal Wounds By Crossing Borders

Justin Berton for the San Francisco Chonicle

Sunday, June 7, 2009–Five years ago, the first Queer Women of Color Film Festival took place in the Rainbow Room at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center. With a handful of screenings and a few hundred in attendance, the one-night affair could have been described as quaint.

Now, the growing festival – spread out over three days and representing filmmakers from all over the world – has taken the step from annual artistic showcase to one with larger, social-justice-based aspirations. This year, to go along with the festival’s theme of immigration, a “Community Convening” will be held on Saturday afternoon, designed to bring together what the festival’s founder, Madeleine Lim, calls the gay community’s “multiple borders.”

The idea is that representatives from organizations such as Black Alliance for Just Immigration and the Chicana/Latina Foundation will attend and build stronger ties with Lim and other representatives from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community; in the wake of divisive policies, such as the campaign against same-sex marriage, Lim said, it’s important that the gay community develop a cohesive coalition.

“Our hope is to impact these issues on a national level,” Lim said of the convening. “We’re trying to bring these disparate communities together to talk to each other and ask, ‘What’s next?’ and ‘How do we move forward?’ ”

Many of the festival’s filmmakers explore the theme of healing old wounds caused by crossing borders – be it on land or within relationships.

In “Mi Casa es Mi Casa,” director Marta Martinez describes the effect of gentrification within her Mission District neighborhood. In “A Letter Home,” director Shahrzad M. Davis visits Iran and writes letters to her Iranian mother. In “Look Again,” directed by Jennifer Lin, a lesbian couple try to build a relationship despite being chased by immigration agents and attempt to stay together by forging immigration documents.

Lim, who fled her native Singapore at age 23, is no stranger to the feelings of an outsider in a distant land.

Lim left the country in 1987 during a time of social unrest; government agents began arresting citizens they deemed Marxists.

“It was artists, priests, lawyers, teachers – all were dissidents,” Lim recalled. “The people being arrested kept getting closer to me. It was then that I decided I had to leave before I couldn’t leave anymore.”

Shorty after arriving in San Francisco, she began taking night classes at San Francisco City College and eventually graduated from San Francisco State University’s film program.

In 1997, Lim released “Sambal Belacan in San Francisco,” a documentary about three Asian lesbians and their difficulties establishing new lives and identities in America. That year, Lim’s film was accepted at the Singapore International Film Festival, but was removed by government censors just before it screened.

Lim was never given an official reason why the film was censored and ultimately banned in her homeland.

“Some people thought it was a badge of honor to have your film banned,” she said. “But I felt really upset. … I had a sense it wasn’t just the sexuality, but the race issues discussed.”

On the same day Lim talked about the banning of “Sambal” (which will screen at the festival), the California Supreme Court had upheld Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage, and San Francisco residents were protesting outside City Hall. The day’s events appeared as prime content for a filmmaker, perhaps one who would submit to future festivals, holding that blend of art and social justice.

“That’s one of the reasons I like art,” Lim said. “Art is very proactive. Like with the decision that happened this morning: We do need to rally. We do need to speak out. We do need to be in the streets. But with art, you can come at it from a proactive place. You can envision (in a film) how you want your perfect wedding to be. These are the films that come out of Hollywood every day, but just from a slightly different perspective.”

Queer Women of Color Film Festival: Fri.-next Sun. Brava Theater, 2789 24th St., San Francisco. Screenings are free, with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Opening-night party, fundraising party and closing-night party: $5-$20 each. For screening and party schedule, go to www.qwoc maporg or e-mail festival@qwocmap.org.

This article appeared on page R – 24 of the San Francisco Chronicle