SuttaCentral
So …
Even when I was a teenager in the 80s I thought beauty pageants were silly. But hey, if that’s their thing, at least they got to meet someone.
And from Japan, a step forward:
I’m proud that the Buddhist community in Australia supported same-sex marriage. We’re not one of those weird-ass religions that spend all day obsessing about other people’s love life.
Now lesbians get to enjoy the same suffering as straight couples, which is absolutely 100% their right!
Fantastic!!! Thank you for sharing this news Bhante🙏
This is good news for queer folks, even if Japan has a long way to catch up yet.
However, I don’t get the title of this post. Is it a pop culture reference I’m missing? It seems a bit exclusionary to other queer women who don’t identify as lesbians.
My guess is that beauty pageants are an opportunity for some folks to explore aspects of gender. (Not that gender and sexual diversity are the same thing but there’s often overlap).This is can certainly be the case within female figure bodybuilding, which I competed in, where you will find a full spectrum of gender expression.
I assume the title was meant to be troll-exclusive, not queer-exclusive
HaHa! That, my friend, is why I am a Buddhist. Though unfortunately, we are one of those “weird ass religions” [or perhaps a deeply held philosophical system of highly organized thought] that do not allow women in certain geo-political regions to ordain-lesbian or not!
Sorry to rain on your parade! 
Gender and orientation can be a very important aspect of attainment of Enlightenment, because Karuna is needed in order to extinguish desire and bring about the Pure Metta of a Buddha. To understand one’s own gender, gender fluidity, or orientation, regardless of which healthy forms of this or these may be for a living entity can Empower an individual to Love and Love Fully just as the Buddha does, without inhibiting who they truly are.
I am happy for these Marriages.
I agree completely. I was born a Trans woman in 1951. And until I met my wife of 42 years in 1980, I was full of self-recrimination and judgment.
But her unconditional love and acceptance allowed me to grow [and not commit suicide] until I found Buddhism and began to understand the implications of gender identity.