Diversity Rules Magazine

July 2012 My Two Cents by Jim Koury, Editor Welcome to the July issue of Diversity Rules Maga- zine. This month's issue features Aiden Leslie, an amazing musician who is going to dominate the charts soon enough! to the music scene with his first single in two years, "Worlds Away." The track has managed to resonate with fans around the world as it has recently risen to the number one position on Logo-TV's Click List and stayed there for a consecutive 4-week reign and was immedi- ately put in rotation on MTV and VH1. Aid- en recently released his anticipated follow-up to "World's Away," the pop anthem "Trying to Leave Now" which is quickly rising on the charts. Aiden first appeared in Diversity Rules in the July 2011 issue and I am honored to have him back as the feature cover interview! I hope you enjoy reading about Aiden as much as I en- joyed interviewing him. Coming off another Queer Pride month, I am compelled to reflect on where we are as a movement. Since the days of Stonewall, we have come a long way. We are on the verge of winning full equality with the certain demise of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). It is just a matter of time before that vile piece of trash is thrown on the dust bin of history. We have made great strides forward legislative- Diversity Rules Magazine PO Box 72 James R. Koury, Editor/Founder 607.432.1179 Oneonta, NY 13820 Blog: www.diversityrulesmagazine.blogspot.com E-Mail: info@diversityrulesmagazine.com Website: www.diversityrulesmagazine.com Copyright 2012 Diversity Rules Magazine All Rights Reserved Two Aiden's ultimate mission as a performer is to share his story and experiences. Aid- en Leslie recently returned ly, but I must say there is something missing in the contemporary queer rights movement. Today's queer rights movement lacks the pas- sion and zeal of the Stonewall Rebellion par- ticipants and the spirit of Harvey Milk. The mainline organizations fighting for equality seem to have been co-opted by the corporate supporters, and the movement seems to be grounded in a non-offensive, and non-confron- tational activism. I find this disturbing. Great achievements have always been ground- ed in the spirit of the people, organizing in the streets and expressing themselves in a boister- ous and very noticeable fashion. While I do not advocate violence or destruction of public and private propery, I long to see that passion and "fired up" spirit that so epitomized the early queer rights movement. If it were not for that passion on the night of June 27, 1969, I believe we would certainly not be where we are at today. Our movement must get back to its roots. While I unabashedly support organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, and the Empire State Pride Agenda and similar groups, they seem to lack that inherent passionate spirit for equality that Harvey Milk and the others capi- talzied on to mobilize the masses and foster significant changes for the better. Yes, we are in the year 2012, the era of political correct activism and civility. I am all for that to a certain degree, but I fervently wish that our movement could rekindle the early days of the queer rights movement and just rock the house down with a good old fashioned protest or two or three or more! Featured in this issue: Cover Story: Aiden Leslie LGBT Youth in America's Schools Milton Wendland: Inqueeries Terry Ludwig: Keep Up Now Sara Sneath: Girl and Unlocked Lesbian.com Donny Winter: Who's To Blame? Trans-Feminism Tarringo Vaughn: PHobia Lee Lynch: Dyke Caves Tragic Glamour Queer Resource Directory

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