It’s been a long time coming, but Federal Judge Vaughn Walker overturned the 2008 California ruling that defined marriage in the state as between one man and one woman. The case will most likely be headed to an appeals court–being determined on August 6–but it is an indication that more federal recognition could be on its way. Walker stated in his summation that the proposition was unconstitutional because it violated federal due process and equal protections laws for gay and lesbian people. This follows up a recent Massachusetts ruling that declared the federal Defense of Marriage Act to be unconstitutional on the same grounds.

Using direct action and strong rhetoric to put the LGBT-rights movement back on track
by Kevin Sparrow

Throughout history, different pieces of evolution, society and even thought have become outmoded and re-adapted. The tailbone remains as a reminder that we came from tail-carrying species; aristocracies crumbled because the larger population had needs that were not being addressed; the Earth is no longer seen as the center of the universe or solar system because scholars could prove that it revolves around the sun. One major area that seems slow to learn from the lessons of the past is politics. Civil rights movements from women’s suffrage to African-American equality have required a dedication to their cause by grassroots groups, but these have also become subdued over time–women still consistently earn lower than men and economic disparity effects large portions of the Black community–because the sound of the movement dies down.

The same is happening with LGBT rights today: great strides of visibility that were achieved in the 1970s and ’80s coupled with greater hate crime and protection legislation in the ’90s was due to the work of small groups and organizations, like the Gay Liberation Front, ACT UP and Queer Nation,  who knew that the road to equality was paved with raised voices and confrontation. We are now looking at a movement that tries to lobby political leaders on Washington Hill with mouthpieces such as the Human Rights Campaign and to ameliorate tensions between queer and straight people through media with GLAAD. Working within those systems, both have contributed to a movement that often falters because it does not want to be seen as overbearing or assaultive, so it asks the entire community to be more considerate and patient when no progress on legislation for LGBTs is made and to avoid using strong and even inflammatory rhetoric that our anti-gay counterparts use.

Well, fuck it. The only way to progress toward rights is to not be docile about it; we have to confront the organizations that oppose us directly, whether they be NOM, AFTAH or ultra-bigoted Westboro Baptist Church, by walking right up to them and telling them why their hate is harmful and not being willing to understand a position that discriminates against so many people. Whether or not it changes the minds of those we directly address, it has the indirect effect of influencing others who may become motivated to join an LGBT-rights cause, to fight for particular legislation to end DADT or start ENDA or even make a conversation easier between a parent and a queer child. If silence persists, everyone is left to believe that the issue is solved and LGBT people are complacent with remaining in discrimination. Which we are not.

One upcoming outlet to try this line of direct action is at the Gay Liberation Network protest against the AFTAH academy being promoted in Arlington Heights. Peter LaBarbera’s Americans for the Truth About Homosexuality is launching a series of lectures aimed at youth (around age 14 and up) that details and attempts to indoctrinate them in a discriminatory view that homosexuality is immoral and that, because of its immorality, LGBT people should not be granted equal rights. The protest will begin at 7:30 PM outside the Christian Liberty Academy in Arlington Heights (502 W. Euclid Ave). If you are coming from Chicago, you can meet up with GLN outside Ogilvie Transportation Center (5oo W. Madison) at 6 PM and take the Metra to the suburbs. And once you get there, don’t stop till your voice gives out.

We’ve been braised by the Chicago sun numerous times this summer while standing in multitudinous crowds, but what could one more weekend hurt? Especially when it’s Lollapalooza. The annual music fest is Chicago’s largest, taking place in Grant Park across 7 stages and from before noon on Friday until nearly midnight on Sunday. This weekend, enjoy some of our suggested awesome queer and not-so-queer, but still dear, musical acts.

On Friday, enjoy the oddly melodic Devo (4 PM) and Dirty Projectors (5 PM) if work lets you out to play. Follow up with former Mondayers Chromeo (7 PM), and wrap up the night with your choice of the sexy Strokes or Her Royal Strangeness Lady Gaga.

Saturday brings the sublime Rogue Wave (1 PM) or the spicy Dragonette (1:45 PM), or strategize a way to see Stars (2:15) in the daytime. Savor the afternoon delight of Grizzly Bear (4:15 PM), then dance the night away with Cut Copy (7:30 PM) and Empire of the Sun (9 PM). In the interim, try some of the francophilic pleasures brought by Phoenix (8:30 PM).

If you find yourself able to crawl out of bed and into the morning light on Sunday, might we suggest a toast to HEALTH (11:30 AM)? Take a chaser of Didi Gutman (from Brazilian Girls)’s DJ set (1:30 PM), and then head to Yeasayer at 4 PM. Time your heartbeat to the earthy tones of Erykah Badu at 5 PM and get a bit surreal with MGMT (6 PM). Go out with a blaze with The Arcade Fire (8:30 PM). Hopefully, these recommendations keep your weekend flowing from start to finish.

Instead of focusing on musicians this week since we’re exhausted from the fantastic weekend we spent at Pitchfork, we would like to turn your attention to something equally fantastic, especially in the city of Chicago: slam poetry. Before the National Poetry Slam steals away our local poets in August, two local teams will be battling it out on the mic at Butterfly Social Club (722 W. Grand, off the Grand Blue Line stop)–this event features Team Green Mill (Roger Bonair Agard, Robbie Q Telfer, JW Baz, Tristan Silverman, Amy David) and Team Mental Graffiti (Marty McConnell, Emily Rose, Billy Tuggle, Andi Kauth, John Davis) going head-to-head in a friendly but spirited competition. Stop by tomorrow, Monday, July 19 at 8 PM to see the show; and for those of you who want the opportunity to jam the mic yourself, stop by early to sign up for the open mic preceding the show.

UPDATE: The show was incredible–beyond the Mental Graffiti and Green Mill performers, student performers from Young Chicago Authors competed and rivaled their more established counterparts. Stand-out performances from Tristan Silverman describing the challenges of runner Caster Semenya and Andi Kauth meditating on bulimia were well-matched by amazing poems performed surrounding them from J.W. Baz, Emily Rose and Amy David.

Summer is very often a time of ambivalence: too much gorgeous weather to stay inside, but too hot to disabuse yourself of the air conditioner. Let Cul de sac suggest you take some of the guesswork out of this summer weekend and attend the Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park (off the Ashland-Lake Green Line stop). Here are few highlights for your ears to chill to while your flesh melts:

Robyn (Friday, 6:25 PM) – She’s come a long way from “Show Me Love,” blasting away her old sweet-girl image with a “Konichiwa Bitches.” She is now working on a more fleshed out approach to albums with the multi-part Body Talk series, while still churning out dance floor fodder for your favorite gay bar.

Broken Social Scene (Friday, 7:20 PM) – They may still be your fags, but Broken Social Scene has gone through some changes since their sonic departures over the past few years with solo albums by members Feist, Kevin Drew, and Brendan Canning and separate band project releases for Metric with Emily Haines and Stars with Amy Millan. Their recent release Forgiveness Rock Record expands their atmospheric instrumentation and harmonies with more bombastic rock tones.

Panda Bear (Saturday, 7:25 PM) – Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox strikes off on his own as a lonely panda for this year’s tour. His new album, Tomboy, doesn’t hit the streets till September but enjoy the ambient beats in the shade this weekend.

Beach House (3:20 PM) – The perfect summer locale, the perfect concoction of dream pop, the perfect murder (if this were an R.L. Stine novel). While these may not all be perfect explanations of duo Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally, there is a certain amount of sinister that has to go into how well-crafted are the singles on their 2010 release Teen Dream.

Major Lazer (6:15 PM) – No beach house is complete without a good party, and a good party isn’t complete without rockin’ DJs (oh, the connections!) Diplo and Switch combine their auditory wizardry to break the news that partying is here to stay in the USA, in much more convincing way than Madamoiselle Cyrus.

Sleigh Bells (Sunday, 7:40 PM) – In true Pitchfork fashion, one of the closing evening bands is the much-buzzed–with good reason–Sleigh Bells. Their dissonant noise pop still allows room for lots of danceable beats and singable lyrics, like “keep thinking about every straight face yes/wonder what your boyfriend thinks about your braces” from current hit “Rill Rill.” We hope your straight boyfriend likes your braces, too.

Today may be the first day of summer, but Chicago has already been demonstrating what it proves best at this time: that it is a city with a soul of music. Between the Blues, Jazz and Gospel festivals, the ubiquitous Pitchfork and Lollapalooza ads and the free concerts in Millenium Park, there are plenty of opportunities to witness great performances and hear awesome music. But what if you want to get in on the action yourself and serenade this fair city? Logan Square’s Crown Tap Room has got you covered with a weekly Open Mic, every Wednesday from 9 PM to midnight.

If you’ll take note of the feisty femme with the literally dangerous curves in our sidebar, you’ll see that June 30th is the bar’s first Open Mic contest, awarding audience-picked winners with a recording session, a Japonais gift card and other fun prizes. Mix that with $2 PBRs and tequila shots–it’s better than mixing those things with allergy medication–and a free drink for performers, and that’s a summer night you’ll be singing about with more conviction than 30-year-old high schoolers. Kick back with Cul de sac at Crown Tap any Wednesday you choose and reveal your inner songster, slam poet or awkward dummyless ventriloquist.

Humor walks a fine balance–it can’t be too obvious or too subtle, too clean or too offensive, too niche or too filled with Spaghettios. The following clips may or may not walk that balance depending on how they’re viewed; on the one hand, they utilize stereotypes and caricatures of the LGBT community to provoke laughter. At the same time, the sensibility of these sketches can be seen as acknowledging the social status of LGBTs and making winking fun of homophobia and our heterocentric culture. We’ll let you decide in the comments below, but enjoy this queer romp as you would any other: with a bag of Pixie Sticks.

1. Sassy Gay Friend

This video, and two subsequent sketches, was produced by the Chicago-begotten  Second City network. This is an extreme caricature of the gay male that is common in current popular entertainment, but juxtaposed against Shakespeare’s plots anachronistically, it reveals the ridiculousness of this archetype. The casual misogyny is another factor that may be interpreted as part of the comment, or may just be misogyny.

2a) The Onion – Soccer Officially Announces It Is Gay

Name-calling is never funny, but by commenting on a fear of soccer and a fear of homosexuality, The Onion nicely exemplifies some weird American preoccupations. As a standalone joke, this could be seen as offensive and out of touch, but because it is from an organization that has a history of using aggressive humor as social commentary, especially in regards to support for the LGBT community, its messaging becomes much clearer, as the following video demonstrates.

2b) The Onion – Conservatives: Sex Change Only Barrier Between Gays/Marriage

3) Lewis Black – Queers

Okay, we mostly just like when anyone overutilizes the term “queers.”

Dressed often in cut-off tees, various lengths of facial hair and military garb, the Casady sisters are anything but conventional. The music Sierra and Bianca create as CocoRosie has followed through on this promise with genre-hopping tunes–mixing folk, opera, hip-hop, jazz and Eastern influences, plus a dash of whatever else happens to be lying around–over the course of their four album career. In support of their latest relase, Grey Oceans, CocoRosie is stopping at Chicago’s Metro on Friday, June 18 as part of their tour.

CocoRosie’s newest album focuses more on atmosphere than crafting standalone pop gems, though first single “Lemonade” does the trick. Layered vocals, down-played piano and violin forgo the previous sonic elements of reconsituted childhood toys and guitar, which make a more subsidiary presence here, especially in the diddy “Hopscotch.” Their poetic verse remains as fresh as ever, juxtaposing abstract and sometimes absurd rhymes with very visual imagery, best exemplified in “Smokey Taboo” and “Fairy Paradise.” Check out the gorgeous and creepily Victorian video for “Lemonade” below:

A recent epistle posted to LGBT blog The New Gay, entitled “Note to Heterosexuals,” has courted some controversy on the site itself and around the web for focusing on heterosexual people’s reactions to homosexuals. The post has a list of 24 items addressed to heterosexual people to stop doing in their interactions with queer people, including compelling them to come out or using their relationship with one gay person to assume all other gay people are the same.

Much of the feedback to the post posits the piece as a bitter diatribe that itself generalizes heterosexuals. However, the piece more effectively shows heterosexual hegemony for what it is–a way to gentrify people into the same value system–and highlights that acceptance by straight people for being conventionally gay is an undesirable outcome for seeking equality and liberty in the queer community. We don’t require approval for our legitimacy; we need to strive to have our differences valued and allow ourselves discretion to live our lives without having to justify them to larger society.

With the wave of U.K. female imports that came a few years ago–Lily Allen, Adele, Amy Winehouse, Duffy–Kate Nash may have gotten a little lost in the shuffle. With her new album My Best Friend is You, released April 20, Nash expands and reinvents her sound to stand out a little more from her contemporaries. A few tracks sound like they would fit with Nash’s debut Made of Bricks, like the opener “Paris” and “Later On” as well as the rambling “Pickpocket.” Best Friend introduces an aggressive ’60s girl-group aesthetic with songs like the single “Do Wah Doo” and “Kiss That Grrrl,” in which Nash describes her insecurities with her guy noticing other women. Nash rounds out her sound with an art-punk/new wave aesthetic on “I Just Love You More” and “Don’t You Want to Share the Guilt?” and sometimes finding a place somewhere in the middle of these two styles in a more avant-garde fashion with the spoken-word “Mansion Song” or time-signature change-up “I’ve Got a Secret.”

Kate Nash will be making an appearance in Chicago on May 3 at Lincoln Hall. Her storytelling style and fluid genre shifts are proving a compelling combination and revealing her to be a very strong performer. Nash’s side project, The Receders, picks up on her affinity for punk and will hopefully see her continuing to pave a path for future female artists.