Love. The most elusive and misunderstood emotion. And the one thing that everyone searches for. But, to quote 80s pop star Howard Jones, what is love anyway? We know its a many splendored thing, but what does that even mean? What else are you splendoring these days? Love permeates every cell and pore of our culture, whether its the promise of love that will come with a set of abs and swollen biceps, the subtext of a commercial for expensive perfume, or the glossy, unbelievable cinematic depictions of romance.

In music, love and its foibles are written about more than any other subject. There are over 3.400 songs with the word love in the title. On my iPod alone, there are 78 of them, and this doesn't even include the songs that are about love. Love is a word for any emotions that connect to strong affection. For example, I love my dog, I love Stephen Amell, I love sushi, I love my family and friends and I’m madly in love with my boyfriend.

These are all valid examples of love but they are all wildly different. The diversity of these meanings combined with the intricate workings of the emotions involved makes love nearly impossible to define. We use the word love so loosely when speaking that it's focus and power becomes diluted. Saying that you love this season of Mad Men and saying that you love your mom are two completely different things, right? But the word is still the same. For the sake of this column, however, we are going to deal strictly with the simplest example: romantic love.

Read more: Pecs and the City

The Maids
Playing until November 8th at Dennis & Cheryl Woods Theater
Fresno State University

Written by Jean Genet 
Directed by Ruth Griffin

Show dates:
Thursday, November 6 at 8:00 PM
Friday, November 7 at 8:00 PM
Saturday, November 8 at 8:00 PM

Whoa… not so fast!

As the celebration of marriage equality winds down our community appears poised to pivot toward, and bring the primary focus of our formidable influence, to the fight for passage of the newly introduced Equality Act, which would provide more comprehensive protections against anti-LGBT discrimination than its predecessor the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).  It may seem the obvious course.  After all, as the saying goes, a gay or lesbian person can get married in the morning and fired in the afternoon…or refused a hotel room, be barred from senior housing, declined service in a restaurant, denied a joint auto loan, etc.  However there is a need more urgent, one literally of life and death–namely homeless lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.  The time is now that they be not just A priority at long last, but THE top priority moving forward.

Fully 20-40 percent of the approximately 1.5 million homeless youths in America identify as LGBTQ, based on numerous studies.  Over the past almost two decades I have been engaged on this issue these dismal statistics have proven stubbornly resistant to change.  Studies also show that a youth’s LGBTQ identity is often a major contributing factor to becoming homeless, if not the cause altogether.  Once homeless, LGBTQ youth face a myriad of risks, including: suicide, violence, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, prostitution, and substance abuse/dependence.

Greater access to LGBTQ specific and LGBTQ- friendly services, with the necessary competencies and experience, are sorely needed.  There are a number of amazing foundations and service organizations around the country, such as Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Foundation, the Ali Forney Center in NYC and Larkin Street Youth Services in San Francisco attempting to raise awareness and/or directly address the plight of homelessness among our youth.  Yet these organizations have been de facto charged with the responsibility for addressing a crisis that in scope and scale is far beyond their resources and capabilities.

Read more: We Need To Get Our Priorities In Order