Happy National Coming Out Day!

National Coming Out Day (NCOD) Logo created and donated by Keith Haring to the Human Rights Campaign. DLCS

National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is an annual LGBTQIA+ awareness day observed on October 11 and 12 in some parts of the world. Founded in the United States in 1988, the initial idea was grounded in the feminist and gay liberation spirit of the personal being political, and the emphasis on the most basic form of activism being coming out to family, friends and colleagues, and living life as an openly lesbian or gay person. They believe the foundational belief is that homophobia thrives in an atmosphere of silence and ignorance, and that once people know that they have loved ones who are lesbian or gay, they are far less likely to maintain homophobic or oppressive views.

In more recent years, the idea of the “lesbian and gay community” has been largely subsumed into the idea of the LGBT community, and the idea of “coming out” expanded to not only include the voluntary self-disclosure of a lesbian, gay, or bisexual sexual orientation, but also transgender, genderqueer, or other non-mainstream gender identity.

Coming-Out Day has (also) been held in The Netherlands since 2009. Even in a country like The Netherlands, that is incredibly safe and very tolerant and open compared to many other countries, it is necessary to pay attention to creating more awareness for this topic. 

Unlike the Gay Pride and Roze Zaterdag in The Netherlands and The Belgian Pride in Belgium, there is no big central celebration on Coming-Out Day, but in several places smaller activities are organized by local gay and youth organizations, whether or not in cooperation with heterosexual sympathizers. Some information about activities in  The Netherlands today: http://www.coc.nl/comingoutdag2018

I wish you a Happy and safe (inter-) national coming out day, because I believe it is very important that YOU can be yourself. I hope agression and ignorance will one day be minimised.

#ComingOutdag2018
#ComingOutDay2018

And.. ThX Wikipedia.

Advertisements

Flirtation

Flirtation is a “Woman- only- party”  in Amsterdam. I’ve visited this party for openminded women many times and to me it’s one of the best parties in Amsterdam. I’ve never seen so many women partying together. Partygirls, students, housewifes, straight, lesbian and bisexual women, it’s simply a huge mix of 1000 (!) partying women. And no, besides some security personnel, there are NO MEN. All waiters, dj’s and performers are female. I think for every woman it’s a special experience to party without men around.

The party takes place in Club Panama in Amsterdam and the next edition is coming up soon! It’s a Black & White edition with in the big room Miss Sugaware & Lina-Ann with Dj duo CAT CARPENTERS. In the studio DJ duo Cherr du Perr & Darling 10 playing smooth R&B. As always there’s more…dancers of Entertainment Matters, competitions with Nat-2 and the 5 best dressed Flirts will win Lady Gaga’s new black perfume Fame. If you come from outside Amsterdam, Flirtation recommends you to sleep in the unique Lloyd Hotel , which is on a 75 meter walk from Panama. If you visit Flirtation and book your night in the Lloyd Hotel, you will receive 25% discount on the official roomprice.

Flirtation

The next edition is Flirtation Black & White on Saturday October 6.
Location: Club Panama, Oostelijke Handelskade 4, Amsterdam
Time: 23.00-04.00 uur
Dresstip: black en/of white
Tickets: www.flirtation.nl (€ 17,50 euro inclusive ticket fee) or Free Record Shop (17,50 euro exclusief ticketfee)

P.S.: Soon more about the history of Flirtation and the woman behind this concept!

Hong Kong tycoon offers $65 million “marriage bounty” to any man who can win the heart of his lesbian daughter

Just a week after 33-year-old Hong Kong socialite Gigi Chao revealed she is married to her female partner of seven years, her tycoon father has launched a public campaign to marry her off to a man.

Cecil Chao, a Hong Kong shipping magnate and property developer, is offering a HK$500 million ($65 million) marriage bounty to the man who captures Gigi’s heart, the South China Morning Post reported Wednesday. “I don’t mind whether he is rich or poor. The important thing is that he is generous and kind-hearted,” Cecil was quoted as saying by the Hong Kong daily. Gigi last week revealed she married long-time partner Sean Eav in France earlier this year. Same-sex marriages are not legally recognized in Hong Kong. Her father, the 76-year-old owner of Cheuk Nang (Holdings) Ltd., rejected suggestions that Gigi is a lesbian, and described reports she had gotten hitched as “false,” the SCMP said. Cecil Chao is hardly one to be giving marriage advice: he is known in Hong Kong as the “playboy tycoon,” famed for once claiming to having bedded 10,000 women. Gigi, who runs a modeling and marketing company and is a director at Cheuk Nang, is his first of three children with different women.

A photograph posted on Ms Chao’s public Facebook page confirmed that she and her partner were Paris-bound in April this year. “Going to Paris to buy a few businesses,” read the caption to a picture apparently taken in the first class section of a plane. The Facebook profile of Ms Chao, who is a University of Manchester architecture graduate, reads: “Helicopter Pilot. Social entrepreneur. Creator of expressions in colour and emotion.” It also describes her as an executive director at her father’s Hong Kong-based property firm, Cheuk Nang. Ms Chao’s LinkedIn profile says she worked with British architect Sir Terry Farrell for two years.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Mr Chao denied he would force his daughter to marry a man against her will.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Could you imagine (Okay well probably your parents are/were not this wealthy), your parents doing anything similar? Do you think this is just gossip? Would you support your child regardless his or her sexual preference?

Amsterdam Gaypride 2012 Recap

Gay Pride is my new favourite party/festival in Amsterdam! 

Unbelievably enough I had never been to Gay Pride before (The Croatian beach always calls for me in this period), so I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this event hosts the most happy and relaxed people ever, I haven’t seen too drunken people, no agression, the city was booming of positive vibes and good energy..

Of course I was in good company, that helps.

Here’s a summary in pics.

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2012 by DLCS

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2012 by DLCS

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2012 by DLCS

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2012 by DLCS

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2012 by DLCS

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2012 by DLCS

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2012 by DLCS

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2012 by DLCS

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2012 by DLCS

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2012 by DLCS

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2012 by DLCS

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2012 by DLCS

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2012 by DLCS

Amsterdam Gay Pride 2012 by DLCS

Election of lesbICOONingin 2011

Stichting OndersteBoven, Foundation UpsideDown in English, was founded in 2006, because most gay societies were not aiming their initiatives at women. OndersteBoven wanted to change this. Thefoundation aims to encourage the social acceptance women and in particular of lesbian and bisexual women. To achieve this, OndersteBoven tries to make these
women “visible”.

OndersteBoven initiates and stimulates scientific research and organises projects and activities connected to themes connected to the above. Such as e.g.  De Trotse Lesboot (The Proud
Les boat) during the Gay Pride, initiating a LesBian Pride, the introduction of the LesbIcoon (Lesbian Icon) and the election of the LesbICOONingin (Lesbian Icon Queen).

Lesbian Icones are women who are an example for other women with LesBian feelings. You don’t have to be famous to be or become a LesbIcoon. The LesbICOONingin from The Netherlands distinguishes herself from other LesbIconen by the way she expresses her sex and raises awareness for women with lesbian feelings. Previous crownholders were Riek Stienstra (2007) and Anya Wiersma (2010).

Until November 15 you can vote for the LesbICOONingin of 2011. If your (Dutch) Lesbian Icon is not on the list, you can add her too. Click HERE to vote (In Dutch)

The fresh LesbICOONingin of 2011 will receive her crown on December 14 in Amsterdam, at the opening of ProGay’s Pink Christmas  and the relaunch of Zij aan Zij (Zij aan Zij is the first Dutch magazine specificly for lesbian and bisexual women and ofcourse bi-curious women as they’re called in “the” scene).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Amsterdam is such an international city. Why are all these societies, magazines, foundations and companies trying to create awareness in Dutch only? What about all the interested expats, exchange students and other foreigners? Don’t we want them to be aware?

More info (Unfortunately you’ll have to be able to read Dutch) and relevant links;

http://www.stichtingondersteboven.nl

http://www.pinkchristmas.nl

http://www.zijaanzij.nl