Here's The Taye Diggs Fatherhood Rap You've Been Missing Your Whole Life
Actor Taye Diggs has already proved he’s triple threat onstage. And in this new commercial, he shows that he knows a thing or two about fatherhood as well.

In honor of Father’s Day, the dad to 5-year-old Walker teamed up with Dockers to create “#DadJam,” an original rap video about what it takes to be a good parent. In the video, Diggs tells the story of one man’s journey through fatherhood, with lines like “high roller with a stroller giving cheeks a squeeze,” “from pep talk to carpool his dadness never stops,” and “homework and little league, it doesn’t slow his flow.”

Get down with your dad self, indeed.

H/T New York Daily News

Like Us On Facebook |
Follow Us On Twitter |
Contact HuffPost Parents

— 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/2015/06/03/taye-diggs-dadjam-fatherhood-rap_n_7501832.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Caitlyn Jenner Is 'The New Normal' In First Promo for Docu-Series 'I Am Cait' – WATCH

Sean Mandell

www.towleroad.com/2015/06/caitlyn-jenner-is-the-new-normal-in-first-promo-for-docu-series-i-am-cait-watch.html

Courtney Act Is No Dumb Blonde

The Australian queen gets serious about gender norms, younger men, and her new EP, Kaleidoscope.

read more

Gina Vivinetto

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/music/2015/06/03/courtney-act-no-dumb-blonde

Op-ed: Why Is There an Epidemic of Pregnancy Among Queer Youth?

A dearth of information on LGBT health is translating into a shocking number of pregnancies among sexual minority youth.

read more

Lisa Lindley and Katrina Walseman

www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/06/03/op-ed-why-there-epidemic-pregnancy-among-queer-youth

This 68-Year-Old AIDS/LifeCycle Rider Just Might Be The Mother Of The year

At the age of 68, Anne Stacy of Houston, Texas isn’t the oldest rider on this year’s AIDS/LifeCycle (that honor goes to an 86-year-old cyclist), nor did she travel the furthest (several people ventured all the way from China), but she may be one of the sweetest and most endearing moms to do the 545-mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

“When my son did AIDS/LifeCycle last year, he called to say he wanted me to ride with him this year. I said ‘you’re nuts!’ We had done two-day rides together, but I couldn’t imagine doing a seven-day ride! Well, he signed me up anyway and once they sent me the shirt, I figured I needed to do it.”

Her son Gavin Houser, who finished his second AIDS/LifeCycle soon after moving to Los Angeles from Texas last year, has been living with HIV for eight years and says he’s much more fortunate than many other openly gay, HIV-positive guys.

“My mom has been there to help me through some of my darkest moments,” says Houser, 39. “Through it all she has never been anything but loving and supportive of me,” to which Anne replies, in a southern drawl, “I’m originally from Canada, not Texas. How can a mother have anything but love for their child?”

Of course, loving a son or daughter doesn’t typically extend to completing a seven-day bike ride with them.

“There were a few years that were tough for Gavin and me, before he got into recovery,” says Stacy, a grandmother to 3 kids from Gavin’s sister.  “It was the two-day MS ride from Houston to Austin that helped us reconnect. There’s just something about the shared experience of biking that helped make our relationship even stronger. We did that ride for seven years before Gavin moved to L.A.”

This year, though, it’s not just the two of them riding together; they’re joined by Houser’s boyfriend, R.J. Pena, who is HIV-negative. All are members of the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s team “Centerions.”

“We’re riding to support the Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s work to fight HIV stigma,” says Houser, “and to educate people about the value of PrEP. Before I met R.J., I faced the same kind of horrible discrimination many HIV-positive guys face. It’s tough, especially when you’re newly diagnosed, to read some of the shit people write on apps like Grindr.”

The trio are part of a community of nearly 3,000 AIDS/LifeCycle participants — from nearly every state in the union and 21 countries–who have raised $16.3 million to help end AIDS and care for those living with HIV. 

How are the three of them holding up after Day 3 of the ride and having just finished the longest hill, affectionately known as Quadbuster?

“We made it!!” says Houser. “Not only do we still love each other, we all still like each other.  Though, for a few minutes after riding into camp today, when we couldn’t find our gear truck…that was touch and go. But we were all really pumped to ride into camp today and are excited about Red Dress Day on Thursday!”

Houser and his mom will be wearing matching red dresses, designed by his nieces.

Queerty readers can save $55 on registration for next year’s AIDS/LifeCycle by using discount code RIDEWITHUS at www.aidslifecycle.org

Jim Key is Chief Marketing Officer of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Follow him on Twitter at @JamesDKey.

Jeremy Kinser

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/ocURFCBCbRU/this-68-year-old-aidslifecycle-rider-just-might-be-the-mother-of-the-year-20150603

Air Force Captain: Hook-Up Apps Are Helping Me End AIDS
U.S. Air Force Captain Anthony Interrante, 34, refused to let a Middle East deployment stop him from riding in this year’s AIDS/LifeCycle or from finishing the 545-mile ride, which began on Sunday, May 31, as one of the top fundraisers.

How does a critical-care flight nurse serving in Afghanistan raise more than $59,000 to fight HIV? “Easy,” says the built and chiseled native of Philadelphia. “I mostly used Grindr and Scruff.”

“People told me I should send out emails to friends telling them about my training and asking for their support,” says Interrante. “But training wasn’t exactly something that comes easy in Bagram. If I had to talk about training, I’d end up having to pay my own way.”

So the openly gay Air Force officer turned to social media — but not just Facebook.

“I would engage with everyone around the world who would send me a “woof” or whatever, eventually telling them that I was going to be riding 545 miles to help end HIV and that I’d appreciate their support. I was amazed by how generous people were.”

Many users of gay “meet-up” apps feel uncomfortable showing their face in profile pictures and even feel uncomfortable acknowledging use of them. And you’d think that if anyone were to be discreet about their use of such apps, it would be a military officer. But Interrante, who has been out during his entire eight-year career in the military (even before the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell”), is unabashed about his use of online tools to connect with guys.

“Why should we be afraid to talk about using them? We’re all sexual creatures,” he says. “It really kills me when guys say they’re ‘discreet’ and won’t show or send their face pic. It’s ridiculous; I’m not just a torso or a pair of legs. We’re all here for the same thing and shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it.”

Of course, not everyone is using these apps to better the world, but Joey Dube, Vice President of Marketing for Scruff, says, “We’re not surprised by our members’ generosity toward one another and are gratified to know that guys are using Scruff to connect in meaningful ways.”

About $56,000 of the money Interrante raised for the seven-day ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles was from hundreds of strangers — representing every continent, including Antarctica — who were enticed to connect with him online via his sexy swimsuit picture.

“I know I’ve got a lot of ‘thank you’ notes to write, and I’m truly humbled by all the support,” says the Vacaville, California, resident, “and not just for me but for the amazing work of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Los Angeles LGBT Center that benefit from this event.”

The fundraising certainly proved to be easier than the training, since riding a road bike in Bagram wasn’t an option, and not just because of the 100-degree heat. “I did more CrossFit than anyone should, and I learned to own a spin bike for two to three hours at a time,” says Interrante, who didn’t ride an actual bike until the 82-mile first day of AIDS/LifeCycle.

How’s he doing after Day 2? “I’m feeling great,” says the member of AIDS/LifeCycle’s Team Mary, “and I’m feeling even better that we’ve raised more than $16 million to fight HIV. I’ve never lost anyone to HIV, and I’m riding because I don’t want anyone to have to deal with that kind of loss.”

— 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/jim-key/air-force-captain-hookup-_b_7495754.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices