In the very recent past, I lived in sunny Florida for a glorious 12-month stay while I worked at a famous tourist destination. Yeah, that one. And not having been out for very long, I was eager to live the biggest, gayest life I could while I was thousands of miles away from everyone who knew me as straight or questioning.

Being a freshly hatched baby gay, I had no idea how to find girls around me and so there was a lot of late night googling of gay bars and building up my online dating profile, hoping to find someone to guide me around the American scene.

I was shocked to discover that I didn’t need the American scene; I just needed an American girl. Her name was Valentina. She was originally from Chile, lived in Florida and had for years, spoke English perfectly and was fluent in Spanish.

If I’m honest, it was probably the Spanish thing that attracted me to her the most; I’d never heard it spoken so much as when I lived in the states and when I heard her purr it into her phone when talking to her Chilean friends, I died. The ability to flip between languages and lean over to me and whisper something sexy in Spanish was incredibly hot. There aren’t too many Spanish speakers in London, not as many as Florida anyway.

I realized Valentina wasn’t like any girl I’d ever met in England — gay or straight. She had a confidence and a level of honesty that was wholly unfamiliar and although shocking at first, it became refreshing. British people are known for skirting around issues and repressing how we feel, but I felt a great weight lifted off of me in being with someone who I felt I could be honest around and who I knew was being genuine with me.

The next few girls I dated in Florida were just the same, ballsy and open, and it made me feel like I could as brave as they were. They would do things like talk to complete strangers on the street — British people would never dream of doing that! These little cultural difference became the exciting part of dating Americans as I described the exotic landscape of London to them and answered their adorable questions like, “did they show ‘Friends’ in England?” I also enjoyed the variety of accents too, particularly Brittany from Georgia, the Southern Belle who turned out to be not only bisexual but also married — can’t win ‘em all.

On the whole, I’d say that it was their confidence and ability to be friendly to anyone they met; I became addicted to their positive outlook. The other girls I dated in the states all turned out to be very similar. All of them young, confident, sociable people but I’ll admit — the dark hair and ability to speak Spanish popped up a few more times; I definitely developed my type in America.

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The post Why British girls love American girls first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Warren’s win in notable as she won in the traditionally conservative state of Florida.

Her opponent, Orlando, told WUFT news, “It’s very very close, and I ran a great campaign. Kept it to the issues. Didn’t get into her personal life and you know that’s what works unfortunately; it’s very sad.”

Warren has been active in her community for decades with Audubon of Florida, serving as president of the Alachua Audubon Society. Additionally, she’s worked for LGBT rights wtih Equality Florida.

She’s also a Realtor with Prudential Trend Realty and is on the task force for Plum Creek’s Envision Alachua planning process.
Now Warren, 60, is making her first run for elected office. She is campaigning for the at-large seat on the Gainesville City Commission up in March’s election.

The post Lesbian wins Florida run-off election first appeared on Lesbian.com.

A neighbor came to the rescue of a Miami lesbian couple and their eight children after another neighbor, registered sex offender, Braulio Valenzuela-Villanueva, 72, set fire to the couple’s trailer while they slept.

Police arrested Valenzuela-Villanueva, who told police that he “despised the two adult victims for the simple fact that they were lesbians.” His bail is set at $230,000.

In the middle of the night, Valenzuela-Villanueva, who lives next door to the family, allegedly set fire to a mattress leaning on the wall of the family’s trailer, police said.

The neighbor across the street saw the fire and woke up the family who escaped the burning trailer. Other neighbors rallied to fight the fire with garden hoses until fire fighters arrived.

Police have a surveillance recording made by yet another neighbor of the arson, which allowed police to identify Valenzuela-Villanueva, who is charged him with attempted second-degree murder, arson and committing a hate crime.

In a statement to police, Valenzuela-Villanueva said that every time he saw the women kissing, he felt a deep repugnance and in his opinion they did not deserve to have children.

The family has not been named at this point.

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Actress Sharon Gless speaks out in favor of marriage equality in Florida and encourages others to join Equality Florida and GetEngaged.org

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(Photo by Bilerico contributor Michael Emanuel Rajner)

BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS
Washington Blade

Six same-sex couples on Tuesday filed a lawsuit challenging Florida’s gay marriage ban. Catherina Pareto and Karla Arguello, Dr. Juan Carlos Rodríguez and David Price, Vanessa and Melanie Alenier, Todd and Jeff Delmay, Summer Greene and Pamela Faerber and Don Price Johnston and Jorge Isaias Díaz joined their lawyers and representatives from the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Equality Florida at a press conference in Miami Beach. Each of the couples sought to apply for marriage licenses at the Miami-Dade County Courts’ clerk’s office on Jan. 17.

“Florida is our home, it is where we are raising our child, and where we want to get married,” said Pareto, who has been with Arguello for 14 years and with whom she has 15-month-old sonin a press release. “Karla and I wish for our family the same things that other families want. We want to build our lives together, provide a safe and caring home for our child, and share in the responsibilities and protections of marriage.”

Read more at WashingtonBlade.com

Washington Blade is America’s leading gay news source

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What to eat for dinner tonight? Tapas to make Penelope Cruz weep? Fusion tacos? Pizza fired in a wood-burning oven imported from Italy? Or maybe just the best turkey sandwich you ever had? The wealth of choice gets overwhelming when you’re in a foodie town like … Orlando.

That’s right; the town best known for a four-fingered mouse who doesn’t eat much of anything has spawned quite a food scene. There is offbeat funkiness to please the toughest San Francisco Mission District hipster, and gourmet quality to reward epicureans for not fleeing to Miami. If you’ve been letting a fear of heavy fried Southern food or pallid lowest-common-denominator offerings keep you from Orlando, hesitate no longer: Orlando’s dining options are putting the shine back in the Sunshine State.

Orlando Goes Gourmet

Let’s assume you decide you want something somewhat upscale, creative, and maybe even locally sourced. A good cocktail and/or a decent wine list wouldn’t hurt, either. Your best bet is Winter Park, a posh suburb of Orlando.

The town’s Park Avenue is lined with gourmet restaurants and wine bars, but the jewel in the crown is undoubtedly Prato (124 N Park Ave, Winter Park, 407-262-0050, events@lumaonpark.com, Prato-WP.com). The spot is named after a city in Tuscany, and is about as far from lasagna and Chianti as you can get. The owners have imported a pair of custom-made Acunto pizza ovens from Naples, which they use to turn out crackly-crusted beauties ranging from the traditional Margherita to more adventurous creations such as butternut squash and sage pizza, and pies topped with sheep’s milk cheese and egg. A whole meal could also be made from outstanding antipasti such as tender octopus in a squid-ink vinaigrette, and fresh chickpeas with lemon and garlic. The traditional-with-a-twist theme continues at the bar, where familiar combinations such as vodka and cranberry might be spiked with basil, habanero bitters, or lava salt. Most progressive of all, Prato is committed to supporting local providers, and a large hand-drawn map of the state at the front of the restaurant shows the location of the many Florida farms Prato has teamed up with.

In Orlando proper, downtown’s Church Street is home to Spanish-themed Ceviche (125 West Church Street, 321-281-8140, Ceviche.com). The large, warmly lit space features a lovely hammered-tin ceiling, and is dominated by two bars: One for cocktails, and a central island offering a stunning array of cold tapas. Warm tapas are ordered off the menu, and really show the kitchen’s genius. On paper, offerings like Serrano ham with Manchego and aceitunas y pimientos don’t sound that different from the bar snacks of Spain, but here tapas is not just to tide you over for a late dinner. Here, tapas is dinner, and each plate is made with the highest quality ingredients. The restaurant’s namesake ceviche bowls are outstanding. Traditional shellfish and pulpo please purists, but tuna with lime and onion has a taste of Hawaii, and Ceviche a la Rusa includes oysters and is served with a shot of Russian Standard Vodka. The food at Ceviche is diverting enough, but there is also live music most nights, usually of the flamenco variety.

The City Beautiful Gets Funky

Now maybe it’s later in the evening. Maybe cocktails have already been consumed. Maybe you just don’t want to change out the sensible shoes you tromped around Universal Studios in. A sandwich from Pom Pom’s Teahouse and Sandwicheria (67 North Bumby Avenue, 407-894-0865, PomPomsTeahouse.com) will certainly fill you up and may just change the way you feel about sandwiches, as well.

The restaurant is the brainchild of Pom Moongauklang, who was born in Thailand, raised in Orlando, and shaped by adult years living in other cities, including New York. Her pan-ethnic background shows in her sandwiches, which might include ingredients ranging from yellow curry to salsa to peanut butter and banana. Probably the best place to start is with Mama Ling Ling’s Thanksgiving, a hot, savory starch bomb that features turkey, stuffing, potato, cranberry sauce, and cheese. It comes with a side of brown gravy for dipping and tastes like Thanksgiving, or like Thanksgiving would if it came with fewer stressed-out relatives and more blue-haired students and funky artwork.

To really see Pom’s fusion skills in full bloom, though, make a visit to her other Orlando endeavor, Tako Cheena (932 N Mills Avenue, 321-236-7457, TakoCheena.com). The tacos (“takos,” here) are served with traditional soft shells, but the fillings are anything but. Panko-crusted cod takos resemble the Baja version but sweet and sour sauce takes them somewhere else entirely.  Peanut chicken and gingery, cilantro-laden pork belly pockets taste like a backpacker’s tour of Asia wrapped in tortillas. Anything but gimmicky, the Mexican/Asian flavors complement each other in ways that will astound the most jaded foodie.

A Snack on the Wildside

Ever bite a gator? If it never occurred to you that human/alligator chompings could go both ways, try the happy-hour gator plate at Wildside BBQ Bar & Grille (700 East Washington Street, 407-872-8665, WildsideBBQ.com) in the colorful Thornton Park neighborhood. Alligator is a white meat that tastes and chews something like lean pork, and goes well with beer.

A True Melting Pot

To what does Orlando owe this surprisingly diverse food scene? Probably the fact that, like Disney World, Orlando lures visitors from all over the world—but Orlando’s new arrivals come to stay. The city is growing faster than any place in Florida save Miami. Some of these new arrivals are first-timers, but many are boomerangs, who, like Pom, tried other places but somehow found themselves back where they started.

How does this happen? What about this city best known for its vacation-from-reality theme parks attracts and sometimes recaptures people from all corners? I asked Pom, and her answer may surprise anyone who assumes that Orlando is as lacking in a sense of place as the fantasy lands that made it famous. “Well,” she says, smiling as she refilled my cup of Rooibos, “There’s no place like home.”

Originally published by GirlsThatRoam.com

Nicole Clausing first flew at the age of two months, an evacuation from her Kentucky birthplace to Western Massachusetts, where she was raised. Since then, she has lived in seven states and visited more than 30 countries.

The post Alligator bites and Flamenco nights: Exploring Orlando’s dining scene first appeared on Lesbian.com.

BY KELLY MORRIS

In 2004, a woman had her egg fertilized and implanted in her partner to create their child. Two years later the couple split up and the birth mother took their daughter and left the country. Last week, the Florida Supreme Court decided that the woman who donated the egg, the self-proclaimed biological mother, has rights to the child.

“The couple’s actions before and after the child’s birth — including their use of funds from their joint bank account, their statements to the reproductive doctor that they intended to raise the child as a couple, the counseling they underwent to prepare themselves for parenthood, the use of a hyphenated last name for the child, and the joint birth announcement — reveal that the couple’s agreement in actuality was to both parent the child,” the court wrote.

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(Photo: Dennis Dean)

BY MERRYN JOHNS
Curve

When it comes to quick summer escapes, why should Miami get all the exposure? Its sleepy South Florida cousin, Fort Lauderdale, just 35 minutes North, has plenty on offer to make a memorable short stay for lesbians. For a start, Greater Fort Lauderdale has a very green and relaxing coastline, eight beaches to choose from, and far less of the shadow-casting and intrusive high-rise for which Miami is known. Here’s what Curve did on a recent fly-by visit to beat the winter blues.

Where to stay

Lesbians are welcome anywhere in Fort Lauderdale, because this place is gay in a low-key way. If you want to stay in one of the glamorous, big box beachfront hotels, I recommend the W, which has plenty of amenities and a great main pool (the VIP pool is even better, if you’ve splurged on one of the upscale suites). B Ocean is also beachfront with lovely ocean views from most rooms and has everything a girl could ask for–including a manageable walk to your cocktail crawl. There are also a number of superior small lodgings which are gay friendly–but be aware that if they are listed as “gay,” this usually means men only–and clothing optional. However, the Royal Palms (royalpalms.com), a very chic mid-century-style resort, recently began welcoming lesbians. I say join in the clothing optional fun!

Read more Fort Lauderdale travel tips at Curve

Curve, the nation’s best-selling lesbian magazine, spotlights all that is fresh, funny, exciting, controversial and cutting-edge in our community.

The post Where to stay, play and be gay in Fort Lauderdale first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Florida Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll (R)—a former Florida state representative and a Romney surrogate—has been accused of having a sexual relationship with one of her female aides. Carroll denies that the affair ever happened, but her response to the controversy relies on a line of reasoning that simply wouldn’t hold if she were accused of having a relationship with a male aide:

CARROLL: The problem is that when you have these accusations that come out, it’s not just one person you’re attacking. It’s an entire family. My husband doesn’t want to hear that. He knows the type of woman I am. I mean, my kids know the type of woman I am. For twenty-nine years—I’m the one that’s married for twenty-nine years. The accuser is the one that’s been single for a long time. So usually black women that look like me don’t engage in relationships like that.

Read more at ThinkProgress.org

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