Difference between revisions of "Welcome to QueerBio.com"

From QueerBio.com
Jump to: navigation, search
(10 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 4: Line 4:
  
 
<h2 align="center"><em>'''DID YOU KNOW?'''</em></h2>
 
<h2 align="center"><em>'''DID YOU KNOW?'''</em></h2>
<h3 align="center">'''The LGBTQ Presence in the Insurance Industry'''</h3>
+
<h3 align="center">'''The Great LGBTQ Surrealist and Abstract Artists'''</h3>
[[File:lgbtceo.jpg|200px|link=The LGBTQ Presence in the Insurance Industry]]
+
[[File:lgbtqpainting.jpg|200px|link=The Great LGBTQ Surrealist and Abstract Artists]]
  
<p>The insurance industry, as part of the overall financial industry, is very important to the LGBTQ community and its member's lives. However, a majority of LGBTQ individuals don’t feel financial companies or services actually want to help them.</p>
+
<p>Surrealist painting and photography emerged after the second world war as a form of unstructured art that evolves from the consciousness of the artist.  The works contain elements of surprise and the unexpected.  Abstract art is a progenitor of surrealism which elicits emotional reactions through the use of colour, lines, shapes and forms without depicting any visual reality. Both types of art have risen in popularity as society has grown more connected and complicated, reflecting a desire to free oneself from the restrictions of everyday life.</p>
  
<p>Data suggests that the LGBTQ community lags behind the general public in terms of buying insurance productsIn a recent survey, only forty two per cent of LGBTQ respondents indicated they had life insurance, which materially trails the general public at fifty four per centFor many, it is the challenge of being able to afford insurance coverage.  For others, it is based on discriminatory pricing - for example, an individual who is HIV positive, is married to a same-sex partner, or is transgender has more difficulty in obtaining insurance at competitive ratesAs a result, there is a massive distrust of the insurance industry by the LGBTQ community, and many individuals feel dis-enfranchised.</p>  
+
<p>The LGBTQ community has been very prominent in the surrealist and abstract art worldThis could be in part due to the fact that, in the early twentieth century, surrealism and abstraction were considered outside the norm of popular art, and the artists themselves were often bohemian outsiders that lived precariouslyThe LGBTQ artist was able to express their individual sexual orientation and preferences in an abstract wayArt of any form reflects the personal attributes of the artist, often in hidden or discreet ways.</p>  
  
<p>Some suggestions for improvement include: a call-centre language protocol that does not make assumptions about a partner's gender; the depiction of LGBTQ individuals in marketing and advertising; representation of the LGBTQ community in management of the industry; pricing of product that is equivalent to heterosexual individuals; designing of product specifically suited to the needs of the LGBTQ community; and an active program designed to reduce discrimination across the board in the industry.  The life insurance industry needs to do more to rectify this situation and make insurance product more readily available to the community.</p>
+
<p>What makes art abstract or surrealist, of course, is up for debate.  Similarly, one can ask whether there is a definition for queer art that is limited to the LGBTQ artist themselves.  As pointed out below, the characteristics of these works is how they relate to openness, inclusion, diversity, and an overall embrace of new structures of identification and individuality.  The LGBTQ artist could have a unique perspective on this based on life experience, and this can be reflected in their work.</p>
  
<p>To accomplish this, it is important to have LGBTQ individuals within the industry leadershipA star LGBTQ individual in this business sector is the UK's [[Inga Beale]].  She is the first woman and first LGBTQ individual to be President of the Lloyds of London insurance syndicate in its 328 year history.  As well, she is an active participant in the industry's leading LGBTQ interest group LINK. </p>
+
<p>Today, many of these artists have a global profile and their art is widely collectedSpain's [[Salvador Dali]], America's [[Jasper Johns]] and [[Ellsworth Kelly]], Ireland's [[Francis Bacon]], and Canada's [[Agnes Martin]] are but a few examples of these LGBTQ art celebrities.</p>
  
<p>We have identified notable individuals in the insurance industry who identify as LGBTQ from Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, The Netherlands, and the United States.   To read more and see the complete list, click '''[[The LGBTQ Presence in the Insurance Industry|HERE]]'''</p>
+
<p>We have identified notable surrealist and abstract artists who identify as LGBTQ from Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Cuba, Ethiopia, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, The Philippines, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. To read more and see the complete list, click '''[[The Great LGBTQ Surrealist and Abstract Artists|HERE]]'''</p>
  
 
'''Directory of past 'Did You Know?' Articles''' [[Past 'Did You Know?' Articles|See Here]]
 
'''Directory of past 'Did You Know?' Articles''' [[Past 'Did You Know?' Articles|See Here]]

Revision as of 18:57, 19 October 2020

DID YOU KNOW?

The Great LGBTQ Surrealist and Abstract Artists

Lgbtqpainting.jpg

Surrealist painting and photography emerged after the second world war as a form of unstructured art that evolves from the consciousness of the artist. The works contain elements of surprise and the unexpected. Abstract art is a progenitor of surrealism which elicits emotional reactions through the use of colour, lines, shapes and forms without depicting any visual reality. Both types of art have risen in popularity as society has grown more connected and complicated, reflecting a desire to free oneself from the restrictions of everyday life.

The LGBTQ community has been very prominent in the surrealist and abstract art world. This could be in part due to the fact that, in the early twentieth century, surrealism and abstraction were considered outside the norm of popular art, and the artists themselves were often bohemian outsiders that lived precariously. The LGBTQ artist was able to express their individual sexual orientation and preferences in an abstract way. Art of any form reflects the personal attributes of the artist, often in hidden or discreet ways.

What makes art abstract or surrealist, of course, is up for debate. Similarly, one can ask whether there is a definition for queer art that is limited to the LGBTQ artist themselves. As pointed out below, the characteristics of these works is how they relate to openness, inclusion, diversity, and an overall embrace of new structures of identification and individuality. The LGBTQ artist could have a unique perspective on this based on life experience, and this can be reflected in their work.

Today, many of these artists have a global profile and their art is widely collected. Spain's Salvador Dali, America's Jasper Johns and Ellsworth Kelly, Ireland's Francis Bacon, and Canada's Agnes Martin are but a few examples of these LGBTQ art celebrities.

We have identified notable surrealist and abstract artists who identify as LGBTQ from Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Cuba, Ethiopia, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, The Philippines, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. To read more and see the complete list, click HERE

Directory of past 'Did You Know?' Articles See Here


The goal of QueerBio.com is to be the definitive online biographical reference source for the international LGBTQ community. Its database lists over 17,000 contemporary and historical figures who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, two-spirit, or gender fluid (LGBTQ) and includes artists, sports figures, politicians, entertainers, business leaders, academics, activists, and more. The database is widely international in scope and is an ideal source for research and analysis with full search and sort functionality.

The mission is to inspire, educate, and motivate all generations of LGBTQ individuals and others through a collective knowledge of this international community.

Managing Editor: Mark S. Bonham

Search for a Biography

To search for an individual from the database of over 17,000 biographies, simply type the name in the Search Box located in the top right hand corner of this Home Page and click on GO. Similarly, you can search for a common characteristic such as Country, City, Nobel Prize winners, writers, and so on.

Alternatively, you can view and scroll through the entire list of biographies by viewing the All Biographies section.

Library of Congress Historic Collection - LGBTQ+ Studies Web Archive

Loc.png

QueerBio.com has been chosen for the Library of Congress Web Archiving Program - Preserving important cultural artifacts by acquiring, cataloging, preserving and serving collections material of historical importance to foster education and scholarship.

Announcing Our New Documentary Project - Being Different: 101 Global LGBTQ Individuals Who Changed the World

Beingdifferentdoc.png

Despite adversity and discrimination, LGBTQ individuals have excelled throughout history. Yet historians and academics have conveniently participated in the heterosexist erasure of these LGBTQ contributions by omitting the LGBTQ status of prominent historical figures from academic and historical documents. Accordingly, there are relatively few comprehensive projects which document and showcase the influence of these LGBTQ efforts.

Being Different: 101 Global LGBTQ Individuals Who Changed The World will be an original documentary outlining the contributions that members of the LGBTQ community have made, individually and collectively, to changing the world.

We are now Crowdfunding to get this project off the ground. We would love to have you as part of our team. You can help us and SUPPORT THIS PROJECT!

SEE THE TRAILER, READ MORE AND CROWDFUND HERE

Our goal is to make QueerBio.com the go-to website for global biographical information on LGBTQ identified individuals. To do this requires a serious commitment of people and resources, so we need your help to fund and help this project grow.


Click here for more information.

Sign Up for our Bi-Weekly Newsletter

Sign up to receive our informative bi-weekly newsletter. Included in the newsletter is the updated 'DID YOU KNOW?' column, a sample of new biographies added since the previous newsletter, and relevant news features pertaining to QueerBio.com.

SIGN UP HERE

Bonham Centre Awards Gala

Annual Awards established in 2007 to recognize individuals or groups that have made a significant contribution to the advancement and education of human rights issues surrounding sexual education. Click here to find out more about the Bonham Centre Awards, past recipients, and present nominees.

Books Available From QueerBio.Com

NEW RELEASE

It's A Fabulous Morning! My Interviews With Fascinating People in the LGBTQ World (Pearse Murray and Mark S. Bonham, 2019) presents fascinating interviews with individuals from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Two Spirit and Ally (LGBTQ) community. Icons such as Lily Tomlin, Chaz Bono, Melissa Etheridge, Mark Tewksbury, John Cameron Mitchell, Kathleen Wynne, Wanda Sykes, Tony Kushner, David Hockney, Edmund White and more provide their personal stories of the community and their lives within it. Compelling insight into events of the community, such as Toronto’s Bath House Raids, is also provided. 262 pages.

New books available

A Path to Diversity: LGBTQ Participation in the Working World (Mark S. Bonham, 2017) investigates the current state of employment markets around the world for the LGBTQ community. Included is a discussion of equality in the workplace and why it is important to both the employer and employee, the wage gap, which professions are attractive to LGBTQ individuals and why, and the role of unions and government legislation. A survey of seventy five professions provides a status report for each, and seventy two biographies of influential LGBTQ professionals from around the world is included. 242 pages

Notables: 101 Global LBGTQ People Who Changed the World (Mark S. Bonham, 2015) reveals a group of select global Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) individuals whose accomplishments in their profession changed the world in some relevant way. Included are founders of various social movements, innovators in sports, leaders in business and politics, explorers and discoverers, instigators in religious movements, thinkers in philosophy, infamous villains, creators of new academic fields of study, and risk takers in the arts, culture, and entertainment worlds. 212 pages.

Champions: Biographies of Global LGBTQ Pioneers (Mark S. Bonham, 2014) reveals a group of select artists, writers, politicians, lawyers, sports figures, activists, and religious figures from around the world who have helped shape the history of the LGBTQ community. Presented in a convenient notebook format. 114 pages.

READ MORE AND PURCHASE PRINT or EBOOK COPIES HERE

Flamingomarket.png

ALL BOOKS NOW AVAILABLE ON FLAMINGO MARKET

Order for yourself, and the books also make an ideal gift for friends and family while supporting the development of QueerBio.Com