GAY SHAME Seeks Nominations for Annual Shame Awards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 18, 2003 (San Francisco)

Gay Shame, the radical alternative to the corporate takeover of gay pride, seeks nominees for our second annual "Gay Shame Awards." With Gay Shame groups erupting from New York to Stockholm, Toronto to Barcelona, Gay Shame is the new voice in progressive queer activism, a voice dedicated to social justice for all.

Held in late June near the time of the Pride Parade, the awards ceremony will be a festival of resistance, a queer takeover of the bland, whitewashed gayborhood and a chance to express our queer identities in ways other than just buying a bunch of crap. Nominees will be invited and yes, oh yes, there will be press.

We encourage you and your organization to nominate those institutions and individuals who should be ashamed of their disservice to the queer community, progressive politics and social justice - in other words, the CEOs, the landlords, the cops and the dot-com criminals who make "gay" sound glum. We are particularly interested in the ways some gays and lesbians have traded their movement's radical roots for "a place at the table." It's a movement, not a market - and we need your help to make sure the right people get the recognition they deserve.

To get you started, here are some possible categories for this year's awards:

Gender Fundamentalism
Model Minority Award
Propagation of Lesbian Bed Death
The "In" Award
Commodification of the Male Gays
The "Ewww" Award
Voice of the Powerful Media Award
Lifetime Achievement
Racist Profiling Award
Body Fascism
Facilitation of the Congregation of Gay Police

If there's a story or a situation that doesn't seem to fit the list above, please send it along anyway. There's no set list of categories (after all, this ain't the Oscars). All we promise is that the Gay Shame Awards will be wickedly humorous and devastatingly relevant.

A list of last year's nominations and awardees can also be found by clicking the Awards link at the bottom of the page .

To submit your nominations, email us at awards@gayshamesf.org, send us a FAX at (415)345-8057 or complete the form. Please be sure to include your name and contact info!

For gay shame news, visit these links: http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/03/1581748.php
http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/02/1571034_comment.php#1573516
http://www.indybay.org/news/2003/03/1587086.php

Witnesses, photos and video urgently needed.
Please contact us by email or telephone if you were a witness to the police attacks on protesters outside the GLBT Center on February 6th or elsewhere.

gayshame@gay.com
(415) 794-4393

www.sfbg.com/37/20/news_ed_cops.html
www.sfbg.com/37/20/news_shame.html

Friday February 07, 2003 at 10:55 PM
Press Release

SFPD Beats Queers at Gavin Newsom's Gay Gala

What: A Press conference
Where: To be held at the Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant
When: At Noon on Monday, February 10, 2003
Why: Nonviolent protestors were beaten and arrested while drawing attention to Gavin Newsom's event at the GLBT Community Center and two are being held on hyped up and excessive felony charges.

At The Hall of Justice at noon on Monday, February 10th, Gay Shame-- the radical queer group who organized thursday's demonstration-- will hold a press conference to address the unwarranted beating and arrest of peaceful protestors who were handing out informational flyers. The police attack left one at the hospital with stitches and a shattered tooth, two thrown face down in the street, and four more arrested-- two facing hyped up felony charges.

We will be there to answer media questions and to demand that District Attorney Terrence Hallinan drop the charges immediately.

We will be joined by members of numerous community organizations.

For more information, please call: (415) 794-4393