Sylvia Rhue | |
|---|---|
 Rhue at San Francisco Pride in 2011 | |
| Born | 1947 (age 76–77) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Oakwood College UCLA (MSW, 1971) Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality (PhD, 1986) |
| Occupation |
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| Notable work | All God's Children |
Sylvia Rhue (born 1947) is an African-American writer, filmmaker, producer, and LGBT activist. [1]
Rhue was born in Pasadena, California in 1947. Her parents, a railroad worker and a secretary, were Canadian immigrants. [2] Rhue's maternal great-great-grandmother, a slave, was born in Blair House, the President's Guest House. [3] Rhue grew up attending a traditional black church. [4]
Rhue came out as a lesbian in the early 1970s. She had little support at that time, other than one book, Lesbian/Woman . [5]
Rhue earned a degree in Psychology/Sociology from Oakwood College (now University), and a Master of Social Work from UCLA. [2] In 1986, Rhue graduated from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality, becoming the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in Human Sexuality. [1] [2]
Rhue found employment as a psychiatric social worker and as a sex therapist, working specifically with the African American community. [1] In 1988, Rhue helped found the Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum. [6]
In 1996, Rhue co-produced and co-directed (with Oscar-nominated directors Frances Reid and Dee Mosbacher) the documentary All God's Children , which dealt with African American family and religious values, civil rights, and homophobia. [2] The film won several awards, including Best Documentary at the National Black Arts Film Festival, and a Lambda Liberty Award from the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. [7] [8] Other films produced by Rhue include Women in Love, "We Have a Legacy, and Women and Children: AIDS and HIV. [4]
Rhue served with the National Black Justice Coalition from its founding in 2003, as a board member and a director. [1] [2] [6] She spoke out against condemnation of the LGBT community by the religious right, once stating, "Love is the engine of the universe and cannot be boiled down to tab A goes into Slot B." [9] In 2006, she helped organize the Black Church Summit in Atlanta, to promote acceptance of gays and lesbians in black churches. [10]
Rhue has also worked for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Rights and as Director of Equal Partners in Faith. [1] [11] She has contributed articles to The Huffington Post [2] [12] and other publications.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Coming Out Under Fire | Archival film source | Documentary |
| 1996 | All God's Children | Director | Documentary |
| 2002 | Family Fundamentals | Consultant | Documentary |
| 2005 | The L Word | Actress | TV series |
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.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBTQ people in society. Although there is not a primary or an overarching central organization that represents all LGBTQ people and their interests, numerous LGBT rights organizations are active worldwide. The first organization to promote LGBT rights was the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, founded in 1897 in Berlin.
Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric comprises themes, catchphrases, and slogans that have been used in order to demean lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people. They range from the demeaning and the pejorative to expressions of hostility towards homosexuality which are based on religious, medical, or moral grounds. It is widely considered a form of hate speech, which is illegal in countries such as the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
Opposition to legal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people exists throughout the world. LGBT rights opponents may be opposed to the decriminalization of homosexuality; laws permitting civil unions or partnerships or supporting LGBT parenting and adoption, LGBT military members, access to assisted reproductive technology, and access to sex reassignment surgery and hormone replacement therapy for transgender individuals.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Belarus face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Although same-sex sexual activity is legal in Belarus, gay and lesbian rights in the country are otherwise severely limited and homosexuality remains highly stigmatized in Belarusian society. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Belarus provides no anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, nor does it prohibit hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Many Belarusian people believe that homosexuality is a psychiatric illness, and many LGBT persons in Belarus tend to hide their sexual orientation in public. Those who are "out" face harassment, violence and physical abuse.
LGBT stereotypes are stereotypes about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) people based on their sexual orientations, gender identities, or gender expressions. Stereotypical perceptions may be acquired through interactions with parents, teachers, peers and mass media, or, more generally, through a lack of firsthand familiarity, resulting in an increased reliance on generalizations.
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or antipathy, may be based on irrational fear and may sometimes be attributed to religious beliefs.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+)-affirming religious groups are religious groups that welcome LGBT people as their members, do not consider homosexuality as a sin or negative, and affirm LGBT rights and relationships. They include entire religious denominations, as well as individual congregations and places of worship. Some groups are mainly composed of non-LGBTQ+ members and they also have specific programs to welcome LGBTQ+ people into them, while other groups are mainly composed of LGBTQ+ members.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Haiti face social and legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Adult, noncommercial and consensual same-sex sexuality is not a criminal offense, but transgender people can be fined for violating a broadly written vagrancy law. Public opinion tends to be opposed to LGBT rights, which is why LGBT people are not protected from discrimination, are not included in hate crime laws, and households headed by same-sex couples do not have any of the legal rights given to married couples.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Uganda face severe legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for both men and women in Uganda. It was originally criminalised by British colonial laws introduced when Uganda became a British protectorate, and these laws have been retained since the country gained its independence.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Africa are generally poor in comparison to the Americas, Western Europe and Oceania.
Corrective rape, also called curative rape or homophobic rape, is a hate crime in which somebody is raped because of their perceived sexual orientation. The common intended consequence of the rape, as claimed by the perpetrator, is to turn the person heterosexual.
All God's Children is a 1996 documentary film directed by Sylvia Rhue, Frances Reid and Dee Mosbacher. It analyses the relation between Christianity and sexual orientation in the context of the African-American community, and attempts to alleviate stigmatization of lesbians and gay men. Mixed with spiritual music, it tells stories of gays and lesbians in the church and includes testimonies from influential political and religious leaders.
Call Me Kuchu is a 2012 American documentary film directed by Malika Zouhali-Worrall and Katherine Fairfax Wright. The film explores the struggles of the LGBT community in Uganda, focusing in part on the 2011 murder of LGBT activist David Kato.
Racism is a concern for many in the Western lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) communities, with members of racial, ethnic, and national minorities reporting having faced discrimination from other LGBT people.
The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is an American civil rights organization serving primarily Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people. Since 2003, NBJC has collaborated with national civil rights groups and LGBT organizations, advocating for the unique challenges and needs of the African American LGBT community in the United States.
Homophobia in ethnic minority communities is any negative prejudice or form of discrimination in ethnic minority communities worldwide towards people who identify as–or are perceived as being–lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), known as homophobia. This may be expressed as antipathy, contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, irrational fear, and is sometimes related to religious beliefs. A 2006 study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in the UK found that while religion can have a positive function in many LGB Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities, it can also play a role in supporting homophobia.
Cleo Manago is an African American activist and social architect who coined the term same gender loving as an alternative for African descended or black people who do not wish to identify as gay or lesbian due to the perceived Eurocentric nature of the latter terminology and community practices. Along with his activism, he is also a blogger and columnist. Manago rejects the terms gay, bisexual and lesbian because he believes they are white, eurocentric-constructed identities which do not culturally affirm the culture and history of African descended people. Manago is also the founder and CEO of AmASSI Health and Cultural Centers and Black Men's Xchange (BMX).
The African-American LGBT community, otherwise referred to as the Black American LGBT community, is part of the overall LGBTQ culture and overall African-American culture. The initialism LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.
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