December 2014 Suggested Retail Price $2.95

Scott Turner SchofieldShredding Labels With a Wink and a Smile

ISSN: 2372-2207Photo Credit: http://www.scott-t-schofield.com

2 Diversity Rules MagazineDecember 2014

My Two CentsBy Jim Koury, Editor

Inside This Issue (partial listing)

inQUEERies ................................................... Page 3 Feature Interview: Scott Turner Schofield....... Page 4 Billy Glover ......................................................Page 8 Parallel Lines ................................................... Page 10 Amazon Trail ................................................... Page 11 AMPA Fights for Veteran’s Rights .................. Page 14 Robert Saldarini .............................................. Page 16 Let’s Go to Portland, OR ................................ Page 17 Boy Meets Girl ................................................ Page 19 Resources and Diversions .................................Page 22

Welcome to the December issue of Diversity Rules Magazine. It is so hard to believe another year is quickly coming to a close. Where does the time go!?

I welcome this month’s feature inter-viewee, Scott Turner Schofield and what a remarkable individucal he is. I am honored to have him included in this month’s issue.

Scott is an award-winning performer and highly acclaimed diversity speaker on Transgender issues. Inviting a pre-sentation, workshop, reading or per-formance guarantees high-level, in-depth exploration of the T in GBLTQ aimed at welcoming beginners, af-firming communities, and equipping advocates. At least, that’s what univer-sity administrators, artistic directors, and HR departments have been say-ing for over a decade now.

He brings a generous heart, and an intersectional approach - and a knack for winning over conservative, tradi

tional audiences - to clarify questions and provide practices for respectfully coexisting with men, women, and ev-erybody else.

There are some other great features in-cluded in this month’s issue as well. If you have not yet done so I would en-courage you to subscribe so you don’t miss any of these exciting features.

I want to also thank all those who contributed to the Indiegogo Cam-paign and helped spread the word on their Facebook pages and other social media. While the goal of $5,000 was not reached, the $1,000+ will cer-tainly help to bring Diversity Rules Magazine’s print edition back and to help with some other projects. If you missed the campaign, never fear, as their will be another opportunity to suport the magazine with the “perks” left over from the campaign. Stay tuned!

Wishing you all a Merry Xmas, happy holidays and New Year!

Diversity Rules MagazinePO Box 72

Oneonta, NY 13820James R. Koury, Editor/Publisher

607.435.1587

Websitewww.diversityrulesmagazine.com

Blogwww.diversityrulesmagazine.blogspot.com

E-Mailgeneralinfo@diversityrulesmagazine.com

Copyright 2014 Diversity Rules MagazineAll Rights Reserved

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If you have a question or comment regard-ing this issue or future issues of Diversity Rules Magazine, the publisher would love to hear from you! Feel free to contact Di-versity Rules using the e-mail above or mailing address listed above. Content sub-mission are always welcome too!

All submissions become the property of Diversity Rules Magazine. However, origi-nating authors reserve all rights to their creative works.

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Diversity Rules Magazine does not assume any fnancial responsibility for typographi-cal errors. If any errors are found, please notify Diversity Rules Magazine immedi-ately. Materials in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without writ-ten permission from the publisher.

3Diversity Rules MagazineDecember 2014

Susan K. Thomas is a lecturer in English at the University of Kansas where she spreads the good gay word through LGBT literature and first year composition cours-es. She is currently re-searching the impact of HIV/AIDS on the LGBT community in Kansas. She has two cats, Hannah and Hamlet (Ham).

Q. My partner and I have been together just a short while (about a month). About eight months ago, his boyfriend at the time drugged and raped him. My boyfriend is working through it all with counseling, but what I can I do to be a supportive partner? Alexander

A. Wow. That is an intense situation, but you’re doing the right thing by asking what you can do to help. The first thing is to listen to your boyfriend. Listen to him if and when he wants to speak about the assault. While the act of rape appears to be primarily about the physical, the emotional trauma can last much longer for those who have been assaulted. And although your boyfriend was drugged at the time and may not remember what happened (or he may only be able to re-call bits and pieces), his fears and inse-curities following the rape are valid. There is a block of time when he had no control and had to succumb to the power of another. The trauma fol-lowing this experience is definitely real.

The next thing that you can do is to ask questions. Ask him what he needs. Too often when a friend or partner goes through a traumatic experience, we are so over-whelmed that we just kind of shut down. We’re afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing, so in response we just do nothing. Fight the urge. Ask your boyfriend what he needs. He might just need somebody to listen to him when he wants to speak about the rape.

Follow your boyfriend’s lead in the physical aspect of your relationship. Ask him how he feels about you ini-tiating sexual activity. Realize that there may be times where he simply does not what to be intimate. Re-member that this has nothing to do with you, so don’t take it personally. If he would like to talk about how he is feeling, let him.

You will clearly want him to feel safe both physically and emotionally. This may mean that he will want to secure his living space if he hasn’t already. He may ask for help installing new locks on doors and windows, motion detection lights outside, and even a lock on the bedroom door. Even though he was raped by a former boyfriend who had access, he may need to do these things to feel safe. Be supportive and do as he asks. If the two of you move in together, don’t be surprised if he asks to secure that location as well.

I am glad to hear that he is currently involved in counseling. I would also suggest that you look into support groups for friends and family of rape victims. Although you were not vic-timized as your partner was, you will more than likely have feelings about the incident, especially as your re-lationship moves forward. You may have very strong emotions about the rapist, the assault, and how both have affected your relationship with your partner. A support group can help you to share your own feelings as well as guide you into helping your partner.

For more answers to how you can help a friend, part-ner, or family member after a sexual assault contact your local rape crisis center. While many believe that these services are strictly for women, the fact is that the people who work there have been trained to help men who have been raped as well. Good luck to both you and your partner, Alexander.

“inQUEERies” is an interactive column. Readers are encouraged to submit ques-tions for Susan to answer! Contact Susan

directly at:

s.k.thomas183@gmail.com

inQUEERiesBy Susan Thomas

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