Charlene E. Cothran is an American journalist, publisher of the magazines Venus (named after her friend Venus Landin, who was killed by an Ex-Girlfriend in 1993) [1] and Kitchen Table News (not to be confused with the feminist, activist publishing company Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press), and a former Lesbian and Gay rights activist.
Cothran launched the first edition of Venus in January 1995. [2] [1] The magazine was based in Atlanta, Georgia, and distributed to seventy-two locations across the United States and Europe. [2]
Venus was tailored to the interests of LGBT people of African descent. The magazine was credited with breaking ground in several editorial areas, such as educational resources for HIV and AIDS prevention and care, dialogue between closeted and open LGBT populations, politics concerning homophobia, and the relationship between Christianity and homosexuality, among others. [2] [3]
Venus featured a roster of significant writers, contributors, and interview subjects, including Cheryl Dunye (The Watermelon Woman), Jewelle Gomez (The Gilda Stories), James Earl Hardy (B Boy Blues), Shirlene Holmes (1958-2023), [4] [5] Patrik-Ian Polk (Noah’s Arc), and Shay Youngblood (Talking Bones). [2]
Following a religious conversion in 2006, [6] Cothran changed the editorial policy of Venus, and began to promote what is popularly called the Ex-gay movement through the magazine. Cothran's abrupt renunciation of her historical views in favor of evangelical proclamations led to a decline in advertising revenue. [6] Following these events, Venus Magazine ceased operations in 2007. [2] [7]
Charlene Cothran is a former lesbian.
Today I am celibate. Again, I don’t say I will never have a man in my life, I’m not saying I will never be married to a man. Who knows what the Lord has in store for me. But there is one thing I can say and one thing I will go on record and say—I will never be entangled with the bondage of lesbianism again.
— April 2007 interview [1]
Cothran established The Evidence Ministry, Inc., an evangelical mission that encourages people to renounce homosexuality. [8]
Within Christianity, there are a variety of views on sexual orientation and homosexuality. The view that various Bible passages speak of homosexuality as immoral or sinful emerged through its interpretation and has since become entrenched in many Christian denominations through church doctrine and the wording of various translations of the Bible.
Michelangelo Signorile is an American journalist, author and talk radio host. His radio program is aired each weekday across the United States and Canada on Sirius XM Radio and globally online. Signorile was editor-at-large for HuffPost from 2011 until 2019. Signorile is a political liberal, and covers a wide variety of political and cultural issues.
"Gay agenda" or "homosexual agenda" is a pejorative term used by sectors of the Christian religious right as a disparaging way to describe the advocacy of cultural acceptance and normalization of non-heterosexual sexual orientations and relationships. The term originated among social conservatives in the United States and has been adopted in nations with active anti-LGBT movements such as Hungary and Uganda.
Exodus International was a non-profit, interdenominational ex-gay Christian umbrella organization connecting organizations that sought to "help people who wished to limit their homosexual desires". Founded in 1976, Exodus International originally asserted that conversion therapy, the reorientation of same-sex attraction, was possible. In 2006, Exodus International had over 250 local ministries in the United States and Canada and over 150 ministries in 17 other countries. Although Exodus was formally an interdenominational Christian entity, it was most closely associated with Protestant and evangelical denominations.
Chris Glaser has been an activist in the movement for full inclusion of LGBT Christians in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), or PCUSA, for over 30 years. He is currently a minister in the Metropolitan Community Church, or MCC.
OneBodyOneFaith, formerly the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM), describes itself as "UK-based international Charity which challenges homophobia and transphobia, especially within the Church and faith based organisations".
Justin Russell Cannon is an American Episcopal priest, an author, and a theologian.
Anthony Venn-Brown OAM is a former Australian evangelist in the Assemblies of God now and an author whose book, A Life of Unlearning describes his experience in Australia's first ex-gay program. He is also the Co-founder and previous Convenor of Freedom 2b which is a network for GLBTIQ people from Evangelical backgrounds. He is also the founder and CEO of Ambassadors & Bridge Builders International (ABBI).
Justin Lee is an American author, speaker, YouTuber, and LGBTQ Christian activist known for his focus on building bridges between groups who disagree.
Watchmen on the Walls is an international evangelical ministry based in Riga, Latvia. It describes itself as "the international Christian movement that unites Christian leaders, Christian and social organizations and aims to protect Christian morals and values in society." According to a Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) Intelligence report the group's name derives from the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, in which the "watchmen" guard the reconstruction of Jerusalem. "The cities they guard over today, say the contemporary Watchmen, are being destroyed by homosexuality."
The Q Christian Fellowship (QCF) is an ecumenical Christian ministry focused on serving lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, queer, and straight ally Christians. It was founded in 2001 as the Gay Christian Network (GCN) by Justin Lee and is currently administered from Denver, Colorado. It was re-branded in 2018 to better reflect the diversity of the ministry and community they serve. According to the re-branding documents, the 'Q' does not correlate to any particular word. Instead, it is just the letter 'Q' open for interpretation.
The ordination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender (LGBT) clergy who are open about their sexuality or gender identity; are sexually active if lesbian, gay, or bisexual; or are in committed same-sex relationships is a debated practice within some contemporary Christian denominations.
Christian denominations have a variety of beliefs about sexual orientation, including beliefs about same-sex sexual practices and asexuality. Denominations differ in the way they treat lesbian, bisexual, and gay people; variously, such people may be barred from membership, accepted as laity, or ordained as clergy, depending on the denomination. As asexuality is relatively new to public discourse, few Christian denominations discuss it. Asexuality may be considered the lack of a sexual orientation, or one of the four variations thereof, alongside heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, and pansexuality.
LGBTQ people are well documented in various artworks and literary works of Ancient India, with evidence that homosexuality and transsexuality were accepted by the major dharmic religions. Hinduism and the various religions derived from it were not homophobic and evidence suggests that homosexuality thrived in ancient India until the medieval period. Hinduism describes a third gender that is equal to other genders and documentation of the third gender are found in ancient Hindu and Buddhist medical texts. The term "third gender" is sometimes viewed as a specifically South Asian term, and this third gender is also found throughout South Asia and East Asia.
This is a timeline of notable events in the history of non-heterosexual conforming people of South Asian ancestry, who may identify as LGBTIQGNC, men who have sex with men, or related culturally-specific identities such as Hijra, Aravani, Thirunangaigal, Khwajasara, Kothi, Thirunambigal, Jogappa, Jogatha, or Shiva Shakti. The recorded history traces back at least two millennia.
The following outline offers an overview and guide to LGBTQ topics:
The following is a timeline of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) journalism history.
Side B Christians are Christians who identify as LGBT or have LGBTQ+ experiences, but take a traditional view of human sexuality and thus commit to celibacy or a mixed-orientation marriage. The term Side B derives from an Internet forum where Side A Christians, with an affirming view of LGBT sexuality, were contrasted with Side B Christians. Prominent Side B Christians include Eve Tushnet, a lesbian Catholic based in Washington, DC, and Bekah Mason, executive director of Revoice. In particular, Side B Christians reject conversion therapy. Side B is also distinct from Side Y, which does not affirm LGBT identification.
Following the issue featuring my testimony, the gay political machine pressured my ad agency to drop us. ... By Monday afternoon, several thousand dollars' worth of advertising were canceled. My business pretty much died that week.