TLGB Assemble ! (English Version)

Howdy. This is a blog that usually deals with comics and girls. Light in tone, and funny enough, I hope, for you all to have a good time, though quickly forgotten as it may be, I’m sure, drained by the expansive flux of information poured daily into a geek’s life.

Today, however, I am sitting at my keyboard, not necessarily to make you laugh (though I think I might be able to find one or two puns by the of this note), nor to talk about comics, but rather to react, in my own words, to what transpired last Sunday, and more generally to the relentless outbursts, in our beautiful country, of wildly uninhibited homophobia—all under the cover of freedom of expression and demonstration.

It is therefore my turn to express and demonstrate, for it is the least I can do when women are getting beat up defending my rights.

In case you were not aware of it, I am a lesbian (big shocker, I know). I came out of the closet a long while ago, and in my case, it went rather well, regardless of the occasional collateral damage that usually accompany this kind of announcement. I count myself amongst the lucky few who have not been subjected to the brutal, despicable manifestations of homophobia that many of my gay « comrades » had, have, and will have to face one day as they are beaten to death, punitively raped, lobotomized, confined… Indeed, you might say I have been very lucky. I was even able to start a family—a notion so holy in the eyes of religious fundamentalists of all confessions and of politicians out of touch with the reality of their times.

Against all expectations and despite what the aforementioned people might think, I am a distressingly normal being who takes her kid to school every morning before going to work, who pays taxes, shops for groceries at the local supermarket on the most crowded day of the week. And yet, these days, the media have kept, by all means imaginable (talk shows, reports, interviews), bringing to my attention this disgusting wave of homophobes of all kinds who dare make claims to the contrary, and, most of all, dare stand in the way of basic human rights that many other countries have already granted they gay CITIZENS, such as the right to get married, to adopt, in short to finally gain a legal status. For, believe me, we haven’t waited for a law to show up at last before we started our families. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many of us clamouring for it.

The worst part in this equation is that both sides advocate safety for the children. My own son was shocked to see the violence displayed during the anti-gay marriage demonstration, and you can take my word that, at that very moment, he wasn’t feeling safe at all. How uncanny.

What I am getting at here is that lately we have been shown too much anti-, to much hate, to much senseless violence against the gay community, and that the trivialization of homophobia, at a time when it is already strongly present on social networks (just last week someone dropped an #Antihomosexuel hashtag on Twitter), is nowadays reaching the evening news, at the end of the meal.

As a homosexual, as a citizen, and, more than anything, as a mother, I cannot sit idle. I was not sure how I could possibly deliver a strong, yet positive message on my own little level, but you know what they say about small streams making big rivers. And just last night, I dreamed of Alan Moore. I dreamed of what he achieved in 1988, gathering so many artists around the AARGH! (Artists Against Rampant Government Homophobia) initiative, and of the wonderful work that came out of it. All these artists expressing at the time their disagreement in the face of a homophobic, discriminatory law known as Clause 28. Sadly, their collection is still relevant today, nearly 25 years later. Without putting myself anywhere near the great silver-fingered bearded man, I nevertheless decided to revive his extraordinary idea, and to gather all the readers and artists who may read The Lesbian Geek’s Blog and feel inclined to do something against the scourge of homophobia.

I therefore suggest that you grant me a few minutes of your time to write, draw, compose, record, as you will, a personal message against homophobia and for equal rights. Whether you be an aspiring artist or an established talent, whether you read this blog on a regular basis or are just dropping by, let your voice be heard, dammit.

I invite you to send your works directly to my inbox, katchoo86@hotmail.com, and I will publish them, each and every one of them, on December 16^th, the same day the Inter-LGBT plans to march in defense of the right to marriage for everyone.

And, without further ado, may I also ask you to spread this note by all means possible and imaginable (even by carrier pigeon if need be!), for without your help, my initiative will remain a cry with no ears to hear to it.