The "We Are The Youth" photojournalism project

 

Meet Marina, a senior at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and daughter of a Mexican father and a Southern white woman.  She also identifies as queer and is one of the many young people profiled in a new photojournalism project by photographer Laurel Golio and journalist Diana Scholl called "We Are The Youth".

Through the project, Golio and Scholl hope to chronicle the individual stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in the United States and capture the diversity and uniqueness of the LGBT youth population.

Here is an excerpt from Marina's profile:

I identify as queer. Depending on who I’m talking to, I’ll identify as bisexual, but I think the word bisexual, to me, sort of means two genders, which isn’t necessarily how I see things. I understand two genders exists in society, but they aren’t inherent or necessary. But I go by female pronouns. More or less, I identify as female. That’s how I was raised to identify and how people view me. I’m a linguistics major, so I’ve thought a lot about these terms.

Being queer affects many aspects of my life beyond just sexual orientation. I work at the Center for LGBT Life, and the queer community here is very supportive. Other queer students on campus ended up being a pre-made social circle for me. Through the Office of LGBT Life, I've met so many people that I've really connected with. Almost all of my close friends are queer. Emory is my first experience with any queer community. I didn’t really have that in high school.

The project is still in its infancy and 2011 will bring the launch of a project-specific website.  But I wanted to highlight
it now because I just love the idea behind the project, particularly as it lets young queer youth speak for themselves through images and words.  One of the other current profiles is that of Derrick Martin, who famously challenged his high school to let him take his then-boyfriend Richard to the prom last year.

You can read his take on the media whirlwind that his bravery elicited as well as find out what happened after his parents thew him out of his home here.

It's definitely worth your time to go to the home page and work back from there.  You will meet quite an array of amazing individuals.

RELATED:

• About "We Are The Youth"
• "We Are The Youth" on Twitter
• "We Are The Youth" on YouTube
• "We Are The Youth" on Facebook

NOTE: The photo of Marina I've used for this post has been modified from the original by photographer Laurel Golio and used by permission.

Investigative report on 'ex-gay' therapy centers in Ecuador draws prestigious journalism award

In May of last year, I picked up on a 2-part investigative report that ran in Ecuador's El Universo on a number of unregulated and illegal centers for the supposed treatment of homosexuality ("Ecuador: Kidnapping, torture, confinement at 'ex-gay' therapy centers").

The disturbing articles, which also drew attention from Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bulletin ("Ex-gay torture chambers in Ecuador"), revealed that there were more than 140 centers throughout the country claiming to cure homosexuality. Most heartbreakingly, those who were interviewed at these centers were teens or young adults sent there against their will by their parents. There was also a strong link between religious fervor and the nature of the teachings at these sites.

Today comes word that reporters María Alejandra Torres Reyes and Marjorie Ortíz received a 3rd place mention for Latin America in the prestigious Lorenzo Natali Journalism Prize for both articles. The award, established in 1992 by the European Commission, "is awarded to journalists for outstanding reporting on Human Rights, Democracy and Development", according to press materials. This year, more than 1,000 journalist entries from 133 countries were submitted for consideration.

From the award site:

The investigative report discovered and denounced clandestine centres (which called themselves "clinics"), that offered to "remove" and "cure" homosexuality in exchange for money and, in most cases, with the permission of the family of the supposed "patients". The owners used violent and illegal methods. The "therapies" included beatings, electricity on the genitals, pornographic videos, taking hard drugs and pills for hours or days, and injections of hormones (male or female). Sometimes even rapes occurred. Thanks to this report, the authorities (who were unaware of this issue) closed these torture centres. The media had never spoken of these centres in the country and few people knew that they existed.

El Universo, which reported today on the honors, noted the journalists' reactions.

“I am very happy that a topic as important as this, addressing the gay community of the country, has been recognized internationally," said Marjorie Ortíz. She said that the mention encouraged her to continue investigating after 10 years of working as a journalist.

“We believe that this is also a recognition for those who suffer abuse an torture, such as those we contacted for our reporting," said Maria Alejandra Torres Reyes.

Both reporters were present at the award ceremony that took place on Thursday in Stockholm. Dora Luz Romero Mejia took 2nd prize for a report in La Prensa on twelve women murdered by their partners in Nicaragua, and Joao Antonio Barrios and Thiago Prado took first prize for a series of articles of paramilitary occupation of the shanty-towns of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the police corruption that accompanies it.

I, for one, am thrilled to have found about this tonight and congratulate El Universo and the journalists for the honor. I hope it brings additional attention to the plight of teens who are taken to these type of centers throughout Latin America, often against their will, and that it helps to shut down such illicit ventures once and for all.

Cuba: Independent reporter says a gay rights organization has been launched

In an article posted online on Monday at the anti-Castro portals Payolibre.com and at BitacoraCubana.com, Manuel Guerra Pérez, a reporter for the newly formed Associated Free Agency (ALAS), writes that a new gay rights organization called the Cuban Movement for Homosexual Liberation (MCLH) was launched at a ceremony that took place in Havana's Arroyo Naranjo neighborhood which involved twenty or so participants [NOTE: Pictured are members of ALAS, the journalist association, not of MCLH, the gay rights organization].

Leannes Imber, identified as the president of the new organization, said that the inaugural ceremony began with the group singing the national Cuban anthem as a symbol that gays and lesbians are also part of the Cuban society.

Imber said "The organizers of this movement will denounce the cases of repression and human rights violations to which [gays] are subjected by the government of this island."

Considering Cuba's well-reported persecution against gays and lesbians in the past, there has been mounting evidence that the country's leadership has been changing its ways and being more inclusive and welcoming. But who knows how they will react to an organization that might challenge their record of human rights abuses against gays and lesbians from within?

In related news, an article posted yesterday in MartiNoticias, says that the Cuban government has finally allowed "Los Siete Contra Tebas" - by Cuban playwright Antón Arrufat - to be staged in Habana after being banned for almost forty years.

Arrufat tells MartiNoticias that he never knew the exact reasons why the play had been banned but that he believes it was part of the government's "witch hunt" against dozens of intellectuals and artists who happened to be gay which lasted for decades.

As for ALAS reporter Manuel Guerra Pérez - who reported on the new gay rights organization and who made a living as as a school custodian - he was fired on October 2nd, according to his ALAS colleague Katia Sonia Martin Veliz.

She implies that the firing was related to his journalistic activities and says that his supervisors criticized his "questioning attitude" and "untrustworthiness." Miami-based blogger Marc R. Masferrer, translating the same article, says Guerra was fired for his "anti-establishment attitude."

UPDATE: In a new article by Richard Rosello posted on Bitacora Cubana on October 25th, the name of the leader of the organization is corrected (Leanes Imbert Acosta) and a contact e-mail is given for the organization ( libresparasiempre@yahoo.com ).

Cuban-American journalists on Bush's dole

Remember Armstrong Williams?

Back in January of 2005 a scandal broke out when USA Today ran an article that exposed how the Bush administration was doling out money to the conservative African-American television commentator as part of a stealth public relations effort to sell its policies on education to a public that never knew that Williams was not only being paid but also being told what to say and how often (the Bush government was also producing pro-government television segments made to look as unbiased 'syndicated' journalist reports that often did not have proper attribution to a production team).

Mr. William's star, as the darling of the right due his conservative credentials for his willingness to say what he was being told to say and his access to a much-desired minority population, was in the stratosphere. But the revelations badly damaged his reputation and he was deplored by many, particularly within the African-American leadership in this country.

Well, it's been a week since The Miami Herald announced that ten Florida journalists, some of whom are well known syndicated columnists for several Spanish-language newspapers, were also on the Bush administration's dole for work done for the anti-Fidel Castro US-based Radio Marti and Marti TV. So far, though, the scandal has remained a mostly local issue and has received minor attention from the national Hispanic organizations or political leadership.

Interestingly, it's other journalists that have kept an eye on this outrage including Bob Norman, who writes for the Broward Palm Beach New Times. On Monday, Mr. Norman wrote about the scorn and abuse that the reporter who broke the story, Oscar Corral, has come under since the expose was published. He says that some of the threats posted on Corral's blog have verged on threatening, and ads:

One thing about real hardliners, their hatred has blurred over to other groups, especially Muslims and gays. The most extreme of them are soldiers for the most vicious and repugnant side of the right wing. So it’s not surprising that Corral’s blog became a vehicle for gay bashers-in-print. You can get a taste of the garbage that’s being spewed in the comments under the August 15 post if you want, I’m not going to dignify it by reproducing it here.

Well, we cover homophobic outbreaks in the Latino community from time to time so let's take a look:

Hey PeeWee, i dont think the Cubans on the island want Maimi Cuban faggots to infest that beautiful island with your HIV filth. No liberal faggots like you will be allowed.
Posted by: the Cuban anti-faggot | August 15, 2006 at 09:54 PM

Ah, classy! It must be said, though, that some hard-liners also speak against the homophobic remarks in the comments section as well.

On Wednesday, The Daily Pulp (as Norman's blog is called) reported that the best known of the ten reporters, Carlos Alberto Montaner, had sent a letter to The Miami Herald explaining his role in the scandal questioning why he was being named as one of the so-called "Miami Ten" when he is actually based in Spain and explaining why he didn't see anything wrong in taking the money (Montaner has been a long-time advocate for gay-rights but his logic is similar to that of Mr. Williams whan he claimed that it was ok to take the money since he was in agreement with the government's policies anyway).

Of course, the issue of journalists being paid by the government to espouse views that are beneficial to the government is not only an issue with minority journalists as today's Miami Herald continues to shine a light on. But why is the Latino leadership of this country so quiet on this travesty? Where is the repudiation of the compromise of journalist integrity that was carried out by some if not all of these journalists?

Ah! I forgot, some agencies have been busy know-towing to the Bush government themselves.

UPDATE: Reporter Oscar Corral is not the only one getting "love" from the extreme elements of Miami's expatriate Cuban community. The Miami Herald apparently deemed it necessary to run this editorial on September 15, 2006.

- N.A. contributed reporting from in New York City