Wanda Sykes: "I'm Proud To be Gay"

LAS VEGAS — Comedian Wanda Sykes says the passage of a same-sex marriage ban in California has led to her be more outspoken about being gay.

"You know, I don't really talk about my sexual orientation. I didn't feel like I had to. I was just living my life, not necessarily in the closet, but I was living my life," Sykes told a crowd at a gay rights rally in Las Vegas on Saturday.

"Everybody that knows me personally they know I'm gay. But that's the way people should be able to live their lives," she said.

Sykes, who is known for her feisty and blunt style, said the passage of California's Proposition 8 made her feel like she was "attacked."

"Now, I gotta get in their face," she said. "I'm proud to be a woman. I'm proud to be a black woman, and I'm proud to be gay."

Sykes' appearance at the Las Vegas rally surprised organizers. She was in town performing at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

Comments

[FJRinLA]

PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENTS HAVE CHRISTIAN FATHERS

DEMS should know how much today's Progressive Movement owes to aggressive Christian activism. Gay activists sometimes seem to leap right from Jesus to Andrew Sullivan with occasional nods to Gandhi or King.

Slavery was an economic system that most early Christians from both Virginia & Massachusetts wanted abolished in the Declaration of Independence. They kept it to be unanimously against the British. So slavery did not continue on here because of Christianity; but in spite of it.

And in that beginning, all Christian-based opposition to unjust laws began. The Abolitionist Movement was clearly a fundamentalist Christian Movement created solely to cause the end of slavery through activism. Like the Suffragette and Temperance Movements which followed, it was fueled primarily by white female Christians before they could even legally vote.

And of course, the Civil Rights Movement came from Black church members who also couldn't really vote, and birthed both the modern Feminist and Gay Rights Movements of the '70s.

These Christian-based political protest movements sought to make the law conform to a more Christ-like vision.

Are today's gay activist teachers on-message or off? Their overreaching interpretation of the right to marry was already creeping into public schools, and the Mormons just shed a light on it. They continue to conflate being black with being gay, knowing it infuriates most AAs. And they've yet to present an endgame narrative for their agenda that the most tolerant Christians can agree upon is Christ-like.

[scottowego]

Sorry, I don't agree.
There were just as many Christians in the south as in the north. Slavery was an economic issue for christian slave owners. The Black civil rights movement was not just because of christian churches. Many whites and gays protested also. And as for your comment "over reaching interpretation of the right to marry".... I just don't know where you get your facts unless you are actually believing the lies that were told on tv by the "christian right" about children learning about gay marriage in schools. It's just not true. You seem to want to see the world through your own tinted glasses. Compare your views with actual history and current facts and you'll see you are wrong.

[RealityBeatsDenial]

Here's a suggestion:

Take "Marriage" out of the government statues altogether. Leave that for the Christian and other religious institutions. Make it "Civil Unions" available to all citizens wanting to enjoin under the law.

By our Constitution, there is no valid argument against "gay civil unions." In fact - the opposite.

And you said - "They continue to conflate being black with being gay " ........ only to the point that there have been and are civil rights violations being enacted.

And since all of the prior "Christian activism" that you noted and are commending was IN FAVOR of those being oppressed - but on Prop 8 - was OPPOSING them .....
isn't your entire argument that "gays" are not "acceptable" to Christians and should thereby be stripped of their Constitutional Rights?

If so - just how is that "Christ-like?" Save it for your fellow "Christians."

[TheBlackCat]

I'm not saying you are wrong...but the reason activism has been born out of Christianity is because most Americans are Christian. That means on BOTH sides of the divide. Quakers fought AGAINST slavery, and Baptists fought FOR it. The reasoning against civil rights and interracial marriage was mostly Christian based rhetoric...as was the reasoning FOR civil rights and interracial marriage. And of course, almost ALL the rhetoric against women's rights was coached in Christian literature about wives obeying their husbands.

The Bible is an enormous library of documents written by scores of different people with different ideologies. If you went looking, you could find reasons for or against virtually anything in the Bible. Which is why it is a rather difficult to follow rule book.

[HillbillyBob]

The proper term for those people is KKKreestian, the real Christians I know were and are advocates of equality for all.
The Prop 8 supporters lied about churches being sued, it is the legal rights we want not to make people who hate us perform the marriage rite. We are not interested in that. We have many ministers that will do the job if we want a religious ceremony or we can go to the magistrate.

[klwnstl]

Just to think a twisted prop. in a twisted country. I voted NO on prop 8 ....I voted Absentee because I am still a resident of California but in school in another state. And as a CA registred voter I was so dissapointed in the out come. I would move to CT but I hate cold weather. I will just have to stand up and FIGHT. You can knock us Down but you will never knock us OUT.....I want to be married in California and DamIt I will be.Even if it takes as long as it took to get a Black president .....

[klwnstl]

Just to think a twisted prop. in a twisted country. I voted NO on prop 8 ....I voted Absentee because I am still a resident of California but in school in another state. And as a CA registred voter I was so dissapointed in the out come. I would move to CT but I hate cold weather. I will just have to stand up and FIGHT. You can knock us Down but you will never knock us OUT.....I want to be married in California and DamIt I will be.Even if it takes as long as it took to get a Black president .....

[truthfulb]

I am curious what is more important to you having the same rights as married people civil union or the word? I have nothing against civil union and I do believe gay marriage will be allowed in every state or most states eventually. I just believe right now is not the time for the word gay marriage. But what do I know

[truthfulb]

I keep responding to these types of articles, I do not think your color has anything to do with your understanding of the homosexual life style nor do I think your religion for the most part has anything to do with it either. I can not speak for any other state but I can speak what I observe in the city of Birmingham in the state of Alabama and you see more gay people involved in the church than anything. I think people views are influenced for the most part by their exposure to the gay lifestyle in the sense of if you know a gay person. I believe religion is used as an excuse to justify their prejudiced beliefs.

As a black man I knew that religion was used to justify enslaving blacks and religion was also used to pacify enslaved blacks in America into believing that someday as long as they do as they were told God will come and set them free or when they passed away they would be allowed into heaven. I also know in the name of God there have been many a war fought and many lives taken and I did not use Wikipedia to find that out just read a history book. Now I believe in God I question the bible because to me its just a book of stories told to either control or inspire people depending on who is doing the reading?

[Lief]

I don't know if anyone posted this yet. Clip of Wanda's actual speech.

http://vodpod.com/watch/1171352-wanda-sykes-at-las-vegas-rally-im-gay-and-im-pissed

[Giada]

Thanks for the post ....

I feel the same way Wanda does ...Now that you p***ed us off, we're won't be through until every state is secure and we can marry in every one.

[Killjoy]

Wow....gay relationships must me easier than straight. What the hell is going on here? Are some selective people out there being used as test subjects without their knowledge?

[InspiredbyObama]

Tee hee!

[LollieDotCom]

Proud of you Wanda. Please share this page:
http://www.freedomtomarry.org/pdfs/mildred_loving-statement.pdf
with everyone.

I believe if California had been papered with this during the week before the vote, gay and lesbian marriage would be legal there today. I hope to live to see a day where everyone learns the story of Mrs. Loving and it changes our world for the better. Speaking of which, when is now a good time to make the movie that begins and ends with her statement? Or at least when is now a good time to make the movie that ends with her statement?

I know, I know, a year or two ago would have been better, but now is better than later.

http://www.freedomtomarry.org/pdfs/mildred_loving-statement.pdf

[sonshine]

My friend, justice is never late. Let's keep the fight going!

[kewps]

Excellent article-it says it all, doesn't it.

[taxiq]

The first time I saw Wanda on TV my gaydar started pinging like crazy. As someone said " Welcome out Wanda"! Having her join this fight for our rights is great. Humor is a powerful teaching tool. And congratulations to her on her marriage!

[jwatso7]

Good for Wanda. If a couple of dozen celebs like her came out of the closet, it would go a long way to easing mainstream acceptance of gays and lesbians. AIDS was someone else's problem until Rock Hudson. Then mainstream Americans felt like they "knew" someone with the disease. A bunch of famous gays coming out could be a landmark shift in this debate.

[sonshine]

Wanda,

This will be a third fight for you in a way. First as a black person, we are winning that one, next as a woman, we are winning that one and now as a gay person. Let's keep up the fight so that we can soon, very soon say that we are winning that one too.

I'm heterosexual but I think it's equally up to people like me to make a social difference in the fight for equality for gays. I have done my best to make sure that my two children understand that discrimination against gays is disgusting. I intend to do all I can so that gays can have equal rights.

Don't let people blame blacks for prop. 8 either. We gotta understand the issues and analyze them in the social context that is the reality for each groups. Even black gays sometimes are so brainwashed by the community that they are anti-gay. I speak of what my child attending a predominantly black school with gay students tells me. Education and acceptance are key to winning this battle.

I love you Soror Sykes!

[LeeCalif]

In fact, Schubert reads HuffingtonPost.

They placed ads on HuffingtonPost supporting the discriminatory Prop 8 .
Remember seeing the ads Yes on 8 just a few days before the election.
Yes, Schubert's P.R. firm placed the ads here.
So, if you have something to say to these liars, say it.
Remember, they had to lie to get this discriminatory proposition to pass.
And they are very proud of their victory over the California gay & lesbian community.
It's quite the feather in their cap as far as the Republican Party is concerned.

[DeSwiss]

Wanda Ilove you! And I'm pissed too.

And it ain't over by a long shot.

BOYCOTT THE MORMONS!!!!

http://www.postmormon.org/exp_e/index.php/discussions/viewthread/11815/#202962

http://www.mazeministry.com/frontpage/finances.gif

http://www.exmormon.org/mormon/mormon410.htm

[LeeCalif]

Way to go, Sykes !!

The discriminatory Prop 8 was managed by a guy named Schubert. Hired by the Mormons.
Schubert has a P.R. firm with offices in Orange County & Sacramento.

They have been on the side of big business, anti-union, conservative Republican, anti-consumer initiatives. In New Jersey, Oregon & California.
It was Schubert's P.R. group, Schubert Flint Public Affairs with offices in Sacramento & Orange County that lied their way to victory on this one, folks. He is STILL the front man for this in TV and print interviews. They made a TRUCKLOAD of money on this.

Their tack is to control public opinion for their client by molding & shaping public opinion..
That is done by having "operatives" write letters to the editors of hundreds of newspapers, getting those newspapers to editorialize on their client's behalf, and to manufacture commercials that seem homey
& quaint & protective of 'plain Americans'. All the time lying without compunction. They use sponsorship names that sound like grassroots organizations but are anything but.

They have been extremely successful. They are extremely dangerous.

We need to start a P.R. offensive of our own.

[madinirose]

Let me tell you something. Whenever you put a proposition on a ballot that's actually adversial (and not affirmative); you will have some confusion.

To vote for a proposition that is actually against something is a very clever ploy. Did you know that the subconscious mind can't actually understand the word "not". This is part of the problem. And then when you add any advertisement, etc - there's trouble.

[Mygirl]

toyoman115,
I am a Christian and I harbor no hate for Gay people. As a Christian I can certainly speak out about something that God has deemed a sin. He did say that you can not serve two. I am also speaking out for my grandchildren and other young children who I feel should not have to have this explained to them. I don't care how fashionable it is for some people to go out and get the book ( Heather has Two Mommies ) to read to their pre-schooler. We now have teenagers experimenting because they don't know who they are. I am Black and I am insulted that California is angry because the majority of Blacks voted for Proposition 8. I read where someone said Blacks voted for it becaused we are not educated enough about Gays. I guess Wanda Sykes just shot that theory down.

[sonshine]

There were "Christians" like you when it came time to give blacks equality and there were "Christians" like you when there was the time to give women equality. "Christians" like you will not stop gays from obtaining equality no matter how much you refer to the bible.

They deserve equality! They are people. As for experimentation, wake up. That's been going on forever. You had whites "experimenting" with blacks, and etcetera. What does that have to do with the fact that this nation promises that all are created equal? Gays are not threat to you or me or my husband or my children. They are just people like the rest of us and they deserve all of the pretections, rights and priviliges provided by the constitution. I they want to join us in the institution of marriage, why not? We heterosexuals have been a thorough failure at making it work and it is clear that the government uses marriage to provide benefits to married people and their families. Open your eyes, and shed the scales of discrimination. How is a gay person a threat to anything in this world? They are not! Leave them be and we will be a better people for it. Please don't quote the bible because it has been used for every attrocity, descriminatory practice, unlawful exclusion...Please, don't quote the bible with regard to how our society is required to treat it's citizens.

[kjstjohn]

Mygirl, I'll go toe to toe with you on the Christian thing. And my God does NOT deem an expression of love between His gay children to be sinful. I struggled and prayed for years over this issue. I read about a hundred books by theologians to learn more about the Bible and Biblical interpretation. My entire church went through the most intense soul searching you can imagine several years ago and decided to ordain a gay man and hire him as associate pastor. We were thrown out of the Southern Baptist Convention as a result.

Is it any wonder that my church was also at the forefront of advocating the equality of blacks in the 1960's and almost got kicked out of the Convention back then? I don't think so. The eighty-year- old people in my church who favored ordaining a gay man said that God had shown them the path of love in the 1960's when they struggled with and ultimately overcame their racial prejudices. Accepting gay people as complete equals was simply the next step in the evolution of our understanding of God's love for his children.

[sonshine]

Ignorance without the effort to become informed should be a sin. Talk to mygirl, kjstjohn. Talk!

[sonshine]

Hey do you have a neat little excuse for the "curse of Ham" that justified slavery? What about women as chattel. Justify in the bible and then tell me how you get around that we were made from the rib of man and are their "helpmate"?

Now you have to find a new way to get around the bible's discrimination against gays. So sad you don't get that people who lived thousands of years ago didn't understand a fraction of one percent of what humanity has learned since then. Clear your head and think about why you think you should rely on a book written by all men in a man's world without the benefit of the science and experience that we have today.

Feel silly? You should.

[WCDR]

The christian right has no business telling others how to live their life. If you don't believe in gay marriage....Don't have one.
It is a fact of life, maybe God's way of natural birth control. So, you can sit back and pretend with your children that it does not exist, evidently like your parents did, or you can, at the appropriate time explain to your children that there are many different people and beliefs in this world and it's important to be tolerant and accepting of those that are different from ourselves. I AM FURIOUS THAT ANY CHURCH CAN CONTOL MY STATE....SHAME ON THE MORMONS, and all others that backed prop. 8. It's not your right to force your beliefs down our throats.
Even though I was not a member for long, about 4 years and inactive for about 6, I have officially quit the mormon church under protest for their involvement in Prop 8. Cannot think of a better way to leave that controlling church. I say go after Schubert and his PR group...

[sonshine]

Amen!

[LollieDotCom]

Then I hope you'll want to read this.

[thankulord13]

I personally don't care about Wanda Sykes sexuality... what I care about is that she is funny, but I do feel bad for her that she is going through life with three negatives... Black, Woman and Gay. But what better person to fight this fight against discrimination a Woman who happens to be Black and Gay. I am really starting to wonder if one's sexual preferences is really a choice or genetics because why would a person of color or a woman want to choose to be treated even worse than they already are because of their race and gender but their sexuality too. We as a society have to get it together and really work on ending any form of discrimination.

[BeltwayInsider]

My gay brother often jokes about sexual orientation being a choice: "Of course it's a choice. I grew up wanting to be the most hated kid on the block..."

[sonshine]

Great point! I cannot even imagine what a friend of mine in the first grade who was obviously gay, went through when he made this choice to be discriminated against all through school even to graduation. I wonder where he is today with his crazy choice.

This anti-gay foolishness has got to stop!