Ruth Bader Ginsburg Officiates Gay U.S. Ambassador’s Marriage Vow Renewal: PHOTOS

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, aka the Notorious RBG, presided over a ceremony earlier this month that saw U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius renew his marriage vows to his husband, Clayton Bond.

Ginsburg performed the ceremony at the couple’s residence in Hanoi, Vietnam, telling the couple that “officiating over the renewal of [their] vows was ‘a joy.’”

The Washington Blade reports:

Osius told the Washington Blade that Ginsburg officiated the wedding of gay friends of his and his husband, Clayton Bond. The two men nevertheless did not know Ginsburg until she arrived in Vietnam earlier this month on a trip sponsored by the State Department’s U.S. Speaker Program where she met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court Truong Hoa Binh and other senior officials from the Southeast Asian country.

Ginsburg accepted the couple’s invitation to stay at their home in Hanoi while she was in the Vietnamese capital. Osius said a colleague suggested that he and Bond ask Ginsburg to renew their vows.

“We thought it might be meaningful not only to us, but to the LGBT community in Vietnam,” Osius told the Blade.

The couple reportedly used the same vows from their 2006 wedding in Canada. On hand at the ceremony were many young Vietnamese LGBT activists.

Check out pictures from the ceremony, via Osius’ Facebook, below:

Way to be, RBG.

The post Ruth Bader Ginsburg Officiates Gay U.S. Ambassador’s Marriage Vow Renewal: PHOTOS appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Officiates Gay U.S. Ambassador’s Marriage Vow Renewal: PHOTOS

Australian Prime Minister Threatens to Sack Ministers Who Vote for Marriage Equality

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott vows to force party leaders to leave their positions if they break ranks and vote for a marriage equality bill.

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Bil Browning

www.advocate.com/australia/2015/08/12/australian-prime-minister-threatens-sack-ministers-who-vote-marriage-equality

Kristen Stewart Won't Define Her Sexuality For You

Kristen Stewart feels no need to define her sexuality for inquiring minds. 

“Google me, I’m not hiding,” Stewart told Nylon magazine. But she is not pandering to the speculation about her sexual orientation. 

If you feel like you really want to define yourself, and you have the ability to articulate those parameters and that in itself defines you, then do it. But I am an actress, man. I live in the fucking ambiguity of this life and I love it. I don’t feel like it would be true for me to be like, ‘I’m coming out!’ No, I do a job. Until I decide that I’m starting a foundation or that I have some perspective or opinion that other people should be receiving … I don’t. I’m just a kid making movies.

She was more explicit about her ideals regarding sexual fluidity, however. 

“I think in three or four years, there are going to be a whole lot more people who don’t think it’s necessary to figure out if you’re gay or straight. It’s like, just do your thing,” she said. 

The 25-year-old’s love life has been at the center of speculation since she was first photographed out with her personal assistant, Alicia Cargile, last year. Her sexuality further became headline fodder in June after Mirror reporter Sharon Feinstein claimed Stewart’s mom outed her daughter during an interview. Jules Stewart later disputed the quotes.   

Read more from Stewart’s interview over at Nylon. 

Also on HuffPost: 

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Yucatán prepares for Latin America’s biggest LGBT business forum

Diversity and inclusion advocates will be convening upon in Yucatán in México next month for the LGBT Confex International Business Forum 2015 – the biggest LGBT business conference in Latin America.

Now in its fifth year, the event will run 18-19 September at the Yucatán Siglo XXI Convention Center in Mérida.

Its aim is to promote the business case for diversity and inclusion, forge alliances between both businesses and LGBT individuals, and highlight the economic power of the LGBT market.

This year’s event will feature lectures, workshops and networking events. There will also be an International LGBT Business Expo and International Congress on Sexual Diversity Studies.

Sponsors of the forum include Marriott, Out & Equal Workplace Advocates and Mundo Cuervo, among others.

Speakers at this year’s event will include: Deena Fidas, Head of Human Rights Campaign’s Workplace Equality Program; Ron Kuijpers, IGLTA Mexico Ambassador; Selisse Berry, CEO and Founder of Out & Equal; and Sahian Barajas and Alejandra Treviño of Aire.

Organizers are hoping for around 300 attendees and at least 35 exhibitors.

Ruben Sandoval, CEO and Founder LGBT Confex told Gay Star Business that the event was being taken much more seriously than when it first launched four years ago.

‘When we started with the first event in Puerto Vallarta in 2011, we had no support from the three levels of government in Mexico. The topic was interesting, but nobody wanted to be involved.

‘Today things have changed. We have built a partnership with different levels of government, business and universities to offer a platform of knowledge and experience for all.’

Sandoval said that this year’s forum will look in detail at tourism, the corporate sector, technology, fashion, film, entrepreneurs, academia and the media. In addition, he was looking forward to working with Out & Equal Workplace Advocates. As part of the advocacy group’s involvement, discussion events on workplace diversity will take place in three Mexican cities (Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey).

Mexico has become increasingly aware of the economic power of the LGBT market in recent years. Last month, Travel Weekly reported that LGBT visitors accounted for 3million of Mexico’s 29.1million visitors in 2014.

The Mexico Ministry for Tourism found that LGBT travellers spend, on average, US$1,550 (€1,383) per person, almost double the $780 (€696) average visitor spend.

This fall, Iberostar Grand Hotel Paraiso in Playa del Carmen will host a one-day certification course on LGBT Destination Weddings, for those in the travel industry looking to capitalize on the growing trend for same-sex weddings and honeymoons. The event has already sold out, reports Travel Agent Central.

Last year, Out Now Consulting estimated that Mexico’s domestic LGBT market – based on an LGBT population of 5.2million – earned approximately US$74.4billion (€66.4billion).

Last year, the US National Lesbian and Gay Chamber of Commerce choose Mexico as the host country of its LGBT Summit of the Americas. It coincided with the launch of the Mexican Federation of LGBT Entrepreneurs (FME-LGBT); a national affiliate of NGLCC Global.

Mexico is the US’s third largest trading partner (behind Canada and China), with over US$1.3billion (€1.16billion) worth of commerce conducted across the border daily. NGLCC said at the time that it has assisted with the formation of FME-LGBT, ‘to build this important relationship and expand opportunities between business owners in Mexico and the US.’

The post Yucatán prepares for Latin America’s biggest LGBT business forum appeared first on Gay Star News.

David Hudson

www.gaystarnews.com/article/yucatan-prepares-for-latin-americas-biggest-lgbt-business-forum/

Homophobe Who Attacked Two Gay Military Academy Grads — And Got His A$$ Kicked — Is Now Behind Bars

A week ago, we told you the harrowing story of Daniel and Larry Lennox-Choate, a married couple who were assaulted by a homophobic thug while shopping in a SoHo bodega. Their tale received nationwide attention, not least because the culprit wound up “covered in his own blood with his tail between his legs” after  hitting Daniel in the face and being summarily pounced upon by Larry. “I handled the situation and tossed him in the street like the coward loser he is,” Larry wrote on Facebook at the time.

Related: Homophobe Attacks Two Gay Military Academy Grads, Gets His A$$ Kicked

You see, the Lennox-Choates both graduated from West Point Military Academy. (They were the first gay couple to ever be married there, in 2013.) Daniel also served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In short, this is a couple you probably don’t want to fuck with.

Related: West Point Hosts First Wedding For Male Couple

“We refuse to be victims and are thankful we can defend ourselves,” Larry said, “but are saddened by the fact that idiots like this guy might not pick two guys who went through Phebe boxing next time.”

This morning, the New York Daily News announced that cops have found and arrested that suspect: a 57-year-old man from Queens named Thomas Clabough, who’s been charged with assault and attempted assault as a hate crime, and is currently awaiting arraignment. We’ll keep you posted on developments as they happen.

Derek de Koff

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Watch This Male Dancer Crush The Competition At Miami Heat Dance Team Audition: VIDEO

Two hundred female dancers recently tried out for the Miami Heat’s dance team, as did one lone male dancer who has an inspirational message for those looking to defy convention.

Keith Wilson, 28, was in fact the only male auditioning to join the Heat’s dance team. He told Miami’s Local 10 news that the reason why he wanted to audition was simple: “Dancing. That’s it,” Wilson replied. “It has no gender, it has no sexuality. It’s just dance. It’s an art.”

Wilson’s performance has already racked up over 380,000 YouTube views since it was posted earlier this month. Wilson hopes that he will encourage others not to let the haters keep them down: “Never let anyone tell you that you can’t do it because of ’this.’ Never let anyone tell you that you’re not good enough, small enough, or fit enough,” he said. “It should always be, ’Go for it.’”

Watch Wilson’s audition and an interview with Local 10 news, below:

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player
[h/t Instinct]

The post Watch This Male Dancer Crush The Competition At Miami Heat Dance Team Audition: VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

Watch This Male Dancer Crush The Competition At Miami Heat Dance Team Audition: VIDEO

Stunning Nude Photos Prove Love Comes In All Shapes And Sizes

Warning: This article contains nude images and may be inappropriate for work.

Photographer Substantia Jones has a pretty simple message: “Fat people deserve love and sex and a good, deep hit of the happy, just like everyone else.”

Jones, a self-described “prudent hedonist,” “uppity fatty” and “flaming gastrosexual” is the lady behind The Adipositivity Project, a platform that encourages the acceptance of various human sizes — adipose means “of or relating to fat.”

On her website, Jones publishes images of various individuals, fat and thin, with the hopes of encouraging discussion and understanding. In one particular series, titled “Valentine Series,” Jones focuses her lens specifically on romantic couples of all races, genders and body types. Above all, Jones wants to communicate to the world that, contrary to what mainstream media often portrays, do not worry, fat people are getting some.

“Fat people are loved and not,” Jones explains in her statement. “Enjoying sexytimes and not. Happy and not. In pretty much the same measure as the general public. The ‘Valentine Series’ informs the doubting world of this. Using visual aids.”

Thank you Substantia! 

Every year, Jones photographs fat people with their partners, simple as that. The couples choose their clothing, which is optional, as well as whether or not they wish to reveal their identities. 

The stunning series captures real life lovey-dovey moments that will make your heart beat faster. And of course, unlike your average rom-com, it has a mission. “For every kid whose parent insisted they’d never ‘land’ [eyeroll] a partner unless they lost weight, have a look. For every fat person who’s let some nimrod convince them their relationship isn’t working because of a jiggly tummy. Have a look. For every casual observer who’s assumed I must be my thin date’s sister or something. Have a look. (And watch us swap spit in a decidedly un-sibling-like manner.) It’s for all those folks.”

Whether her subjects are themselves fighting for self-acceptance, raising a middle finger to the heavens or just showing the world they are in L-O-V-E, Jones is happy to provide the opportunity. 

“I also want to show that just as humans come in all shapes and sizes, so do couples. I’ll never understand why so many believe fat people pair up (or should pair up) only with other fat people, and likewise with the thin. Whom you find attractive is determined by a voluminous assortment of factors. Your own size is not among them. You may be looking for kindness in a partner, or a certain kind of smile. You may test prospective dates on their proficiency in Spinal Tap lyrics. But hunting for someone who matches your weight? That’s criteria for a see-saw partner. Not love.”

See the stunning photos for yourself below.

Also on HuffPost:

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Is this the shower of the future?

The simple act of taking a shower has been around for centuries, with some sources dating it back to ancient Greece, and while technology has evolved, showers have been the same for at least the last 100 years.

Now Nebia, a San Francisco-based start-up, is aiming to change the way millions of people all over the world start their day, by giving the classic shower an overhaul.

‘Not only do we need a more efficient solution, we need an all around better experience in our daily routines,’ Nebia’s co-founder and CEO Philip Winter said.

‘We set out to create a better shower experience first, and save as much water as possible. It turns out the age-old belief that more water equals a better experience isn’t necessarily true.’

In this case, less water is what makes the product so appealing – not only does the showerhead save up to 70% of water in comparison to a classic shower, but it also uses a slightly different technology.

By atomizing the water, which is done through high pressure, the shower creates a mist rather than a stream of water, which also increases the water’s surface area tenfold.

WIRED’s Molly McHugh said stepping into the Nebia ‘feels like hugging a warm cloud’; according to Winter, over 500 testers described it as a different and ‘much more refreshing’ experience.

If all Californians switched to the new shower, the company estimates annual water savings of 200 billion gallons (757 liters) and nearly $4 billion (€3.58 billion, $2.56 billion).

Tests were conducted over 12 months at San Francisco institutions, including Stanford University and the offices of Apple and Google (now Alphabet).

As with so many start-ups, Nebia started as a kickstarter campaign, where a limited number of their product are still available; the product’s full retail price will be $399, with delivery expected to be in May 2016.

The post Is this the shower of the future? appeared first on Gay Star News.

Stefanie Gerdes

www.gaystarnews.com/article/is-this-the-shower-of-the-future/

Robo-Calls Attack Candidate’s Sexual Orientation in Mississippi

Stacey Pickering, the incumbent Mississippi Republican candidate for auditor, is running homophobic attacks against Joce Pritchett.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/robo-calls-attack-candidates-sexual-orientation-in-mississippi1?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed