Ellen Unveils Extended 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Trailer – VIDEO

Kyler Geoffroy

www.towleroad.com/2015/04/ellen-unveils-extended-star-wars-the-force-awakens-trailer-video.html

7 Up-And-Coming Stars Who Are Changing How We Think About Gender
Some of the most provocative discussions about gender identity aren’t happening inside a classroom, they’re on the Internet — often thanks to influential personalities who use their platform trying to help make the world a safer and more welcoming place for transgender, intersex, gender non-conforming and cisgendered people. (Not sure what any of those terms mean or how they’re different? Start your self-education here.)

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/25/stars-complicating-gender_n_7139094.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

61 Percent of Americans Believe Same-Sex Couples Should be Able to Marry

HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/61-percent-of-americans-believe-same-sex-couples-should-be-able-to-marry?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

The Ins and Outs (and Ins and Outs) Of Prostate Pleasure

For centuries, moral leaders have proclaimed anal sex a sinful, immoral act despite, or perhaps because of, the immense pleasure it can provide. They claimed it was obvious God did not create the anus for sexual stimulation. As recently as 2003, several states criminalized sodomy.

We beg to differ. In recent years even straight men are finally realizing what power bottoms have known all along. Anal penetration is the only way to reach your prostate. And your prostate is a huge source of sexual pleasure.

But why and how does an anally-accessible, walnut-sized organ bring you so much bliss? Here’s a handy guide to your prostate, and how you can get the most out of it.

1. It makes your jizz

Your prostate produces a zinc-heavy fluid that comprises about 30 percent of your semen. Prostatic fluid helps keep sperm alive and swimming in a vagina. The first spurts of an ejaculation consist of this fluid along with most of the sperm.

2. It makes your orgasm

Or at least, a significant part of it. In a small 2011 study, almost 40 percent of men who had their prostate removed reported being unable to orgasm. A larger 2014 study found only five percent were unable to orgasm after prostate removal, but 60 percent of men reported less intense orgasms. So while the science is unclear, the evidence suggests prostates are necessary for orgasms to be their best. Which leads us to …

3. It MAKES your orgasm

While so far all we have is anecdotal evidence (and personal experience), many men report prostate stimulation leads to body-convulsing, scream-inducing, mind-blowing orgasms. The prostate is full of nerve endings, and proper stimulation leads to intense sexual pleasure. In fact, some men are able to orgasm from prostate stimulation alone.

4. It’s in your butt? 

Technically it’s just outside your rectum. If you insert a finger (lubed – always lubed), gently into a man’s anus, it’s about two to three inches deep. Apply pressure toward the belly button, gently massage, and you’ll feel it. And so will he.

5. Be patient – and careful

Dr. Jack Morin, author of Anal Pleasure and Health, says one of the hardest parts about prostate stimulation is learning to relax your anal sphincters. Take your time — a few hours of solo exploration to get used to the feelings and sensations so you can fully let go. Go to a local sex toy store and speak with a trained salesperson who can find the plug/dildo/vibrator/new best friend you need to help you along. Stop if there’s any pain and see a doctor if it persists. And again, use lube. Lots and lots of lube.

And soon, after some practice, you will be ready for the real deal and singing the praises of your prostate! We definitely wish we had found ours sooner. If we weren’t made for anal penetration, it’s strange that it can feel so damn good.

Shed any shame you might have about prostate play! Watch Alex and Xander explore their prostates and give you some advanced tips and techniques to try out on yourself and a lover.

You can also see past Science of Sin posts on the evolution of homosexual men, the wonder of the penis, the science of weight loss, marijuana and your family jewels. Visit our YouTube channel for more sinful videos.

Alex Liu

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/K_reRfyYvPU/the-ins-and-outs-and-ins-and-outs-of-prostate-pleasure-20150425

WATCH: Bruce Jenner's Groundbreaking Interview with Diane Sawyer – FULL INTERVIEW

Kyler Geoffroy

www.towleroad.com/2015/04/jennerfull.html

PHOTOS: Finding Your Body and Soul

Burkhardt’s photography book Body & Soul reminds us all that we may have talents we have not yet begun to explore.

read more

Christopher Harrity

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/books/2015/04/25/photos-finding-your-body-and-soul

Bruce Jenner's Special With Diane Sawyer On ABC's 20/20 Sets New Bar For Reporting On Transgender Issues
Before Diane Sawyer’s blockbuster interview with Bruce Jenner aired on ABC, she told George Stephanopoulos, “This is a family love story.”

Indeed, when the interview ran on Friday night, there was something different about the way 20/20 covered Jenner’s coming out as transgender. There was none of the sensationalism of Piers Morgan’s 2014 interview with trans activist and writer Janet Mock, whom Morgan insisted “was a boy until 18” and “formerly a man.” Mock took exception to the characterization on Twitter, firing back that she was born “a baby” and noting, “As I grew up, I discovered my girlhood, I discovered my womanhood, and I proclaimed and defined myself for myself.”

Sawyer did not, as Katie Couric had, fixate on the status of Jenner’s genitals and pose invasive questions about gender reassignment surgery, fueling the culture’s voyeuristic obsession with trans people’s bodies, as if to know someone’s anatomy is to know their soul. Nor did the ABC special go the route of The Daily Mirror, which dedicated an entire article to the topic, saying Jenner “reportedly plans to KEEP his penis at first” (the capitalization is theirs, of course). Instead, 20/20 tweeted that “genitals don’t equal gender” and featured Dr. Johanna Olson after the show to answer viewer questions.

ABC Breaking US News | US News Videos

The two-hour special also did not, as is so often the case, equate gender identity with sexual orientation like the New York Daily News’ Don Kaplan, who wrote that Jenner’s “sexuality has become public fodder” and “subject matter this personal should be kept more private.” Instead, 20/20 went out of its way to differentiate gender and sexuality, while also providing links to educational resources.

Furthermore, ABC did not, as Morgan and CNN did, assemble a panel of talking heads to pontificate about the transgender experience without including a single trans person.

Or exploit Jenner like The New York Daily News did when it published paparazzi photos on its front page of Jenner alongside the headlines “First look at the new Jenner” and “Bruce in a dress,” treating the mere image of a (then still alleged) trans person as a spectacle to gawk at and inviting readers to feel shock. CNN, it should be noted, also aired the photos.

What Diane Sawyer and ABC did do was give Jenner something transgender people are so often robbed of: the opportunity to define and speak for themselves. Sawyer treated Jenner with respect, kindness and empathy, going to great lengths to let Jenner tell his own story.

ABC’s 20/20 provided important context at key moments, including several discussions about trans people and pronoun choice. And the show tackled the big-picture issues facing the community, including the high rate of suicide in the community and lack of anti-discrimination protections, which allow transgender people to be fired for their gender identity in 32 states.

But most important, Sawyer listened.

As journalists and editors, we like to think of ourselves as the storytellers — gatekeepers entrusted with taking the world’s cacophony of images, ideas and events and piecing them together in ways that reveal greater truths. That’s part of it, sure. But the best journalists know that sometimes the most responsible way to tell a story is to get out of the way and let a person tell it themselves, especially when that person comes from a community that is all too often forgotten, ignored or erased. That is what ABC did yesterday, and it’s an example we in the media should follow.

This is not to say the interview was perfect. Some in the trans community found its approach didactic and patronizing. And as Fusion’s Kay Ulanday Barrett notes, Jenner’s announcement only provides a “limited portrayal of transgender lives; there isn’t one exceptional experience, but a plethora of pathways to be trans.”

Trans writer and activist Meredith Talusan also highlighted the fact that Jenner is in a position of privilege:

And 2. Not enough discussion of how not everyone can afford surgeries, clothes, etc. to rock it and be conventionally beautiful / fabulous.

— Meredith Talusan (@1demerith) April 25, 2015

For non-transgender journalists, covering these issues is tricky for a simple reason: We’re often ignorant. While some trans people have selflessly dedicated themselves to educating the rest of us, it is as much our duty to educate ourselves, for starters, by reading GLAAD’s guide for journalists on covering the transgender community. And unlike Piers Morgan, who had Janet Mock on his show again a day after the original interview only to attack her for being offended, to be humble and eager to listen and learn when we mess up, which even those of us with the best intentions will do.

Finally, perhaps the most important thing to note about Diane Sawyer’s Bruce Jenner interview is that his story is only one of many, and that those of us in the media have a duty to highlight the diversity of the trans experience. We need to cede the stage to — and help shine a light on — trans people themselves, particularly those of color and those facing the most marginalization with the least visibility and resources, whose voices are most often silenced. By doing so, we can help bring about new understanding and awareness of what it means to be transgender and reveal how diverse and beautiful those experiences can be, one powerful story at a time.

Note: Though Jenner has come out as “for all intents and purposes a woman,” he has not yet indicated that he would like to be known by a new name or female pronouns, so this story uses male pronouns.

Huffington Post Voices Editorial Director Noah Michelson contributed to this report.

More from The Huffington Post about Bruce Jenner coming out as transgender:

– Bruce Jenner Comes Out As Transgender
– Bruce Jenner’s Ex-Wife: How Living With and Loving Bruce Jenner Changed My Life Forever
– New Reality Show Will Show Bruce Jenner Living Life As Transgender Woman
– Celebrities React To Bruce Jenner’s Diane Sawyer Interview
– Bruce Jenner Says Kim Kardashian Accepted Transition With Help From Kanye West
– Bruce Jenner Says Time He Won Olympics He Was ‘Scared To Death’

Gabriel Arana is senior media editor at The Huffington Post.

Follow @gabrielarana

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/25/bruce-jenner-diane-sawyer-media_n_7141434.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

These Students In Ohio Don’t Care About Gay People, Advertise Eight Day “Straight Pride Week”

It’s not easy being white, middle class, and heterosexual. Just ask the students at Youngston State University in Ohio. Earlier this week they began distributing posters advertising “Straight Pride Week” from May 1 to May 8. (Not to nitpick, kiddos, but calling your eight day festival a “week” is inaccurate. Technically, it’s a week and a day.)

The posters, which were plastered anonymously across campus, called for students to kick off finals week “by not annoying the shit out of everyone about your sexual orientation,” and not “telling everyone how ‘different’ you are.”

The bottom of the poster read: “Brought to you by the students that are sick of hearing about your LGBT pride. Nobody cares about what you think you are, or what you want to have sex with. We have nothing against your sexual orientation. We just don’t give a fuck.”

Related: Straight White Guys In Ohio Feel Oppressed, Plan To Hold “Straight White Guy Festival”

The posters were quickly removed by school officials, who called the idea of a university-sanctioned straight pride week “completely bogus.”

“Reaction has ranged from concern to outrage,” Ron Cole, the university’s public information officer, told The Huffington Post. “While we recognize the right to free speech, this is counter to our mission of being a diverse and accepting campus.”

Several students felt rattled by the homophobic signage.

“This feels like it came out of nowhere,” Lisa Ronquillo, vice president of YSUnity, said. “I honestly feel blindsided by it. It’s not something that I expected from our student body. Everybody for the most part, they’re angry, they’re confused.”

The YSU student government association released the following statement in response to the posters:

When individuals belong to dominant societal cohorts (Caucasian, male, heterosexual, etc.) it is very easy to state “We have nothing against your sexual orientation” and to claim that efforts to raise awareness are “annoying.” For minorities who every day face discrimination and marginalization, such efforts are necessary — without zeal and persistence, sociology teaches that minority concerns very easily go by the wayside. Thus, dismissing the efforts of LGBTQIA students to push for equitable treatment as unnecessary is dangerous because it catalyzes discrimination, whether meant to do so or not.

“There’s no room for this on a university campus,” Ronquillo said. “It’s unprofessional, it’s childish and we need to get people to see we’re just like you, we’re not trying to force an agenda. We need to pull together as a community.”

Related: What Does A Straight Pride Parade Look Like? Ask Sao Paulo

Graham Gremore

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/O6Q8gjZ8O5w/these-students-in-ohio-dont-care-about-gay-people-advertise-eight-day-straight-pride-week-20150425

HRC Warns 12 States ‘Don’t Repeat The Mistakes Of Indiana' In New Media Campaign

Anthony Costello

www.towleroad.com/2015/04/hrc-warns-12-states-dont-repeat-the-mistakes-of-indiana-in-new-paid-media-campaign.html