Masked Men Smoke-Bomb Ukraine Gay Event

They hurled several bombs into an Odessa venue where an LGBT forum was about to take place, then fled.

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Trudy Ring

www.advocate.com/world/2015/08/15/masked-men-smoke-bomb-ukraine-gay-event

Trans-attracted Men, You Have a Duty to Speak Up
Amber Monroe‘s body was found on August 8th after she was shot and killed. K.C. Haggard was brutally stabbed to death on July 23rd. India Clarke was beaten to death, three days prior. This past Monday, police in Dallas identified the body of Shade Schuler.

This year alone in the United States, thirteen trans women have been murdered, eleven of them were trans women of color. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs documented that 55% of anti-LGBTQ homicide victims last year were trans women, half were trans women of color.

While there are many factors contributing to this epidemic of hate and violence against trans women of color, I want to focus on the role of silence and shame in a group of men that have a special responsibility to speak out against this crisis. I’m talking about men like me.

I am a Black man who is in love with a Black trans woman.

Last summer, I participated in a rally for Islan Nettles on the one year anniversary of her brutal murder. I remember reading her story and collapsing into tears. Islan’s death was the result of hate, hatred of her very existence as a Black trans woman. I realized that the failure to confront the public shaming of trans-attracted men not only has deep psychological impacts on men like me, but far more importantly, it fuels the cycle of violence against trans people by dehumanizing them. Remaining silent about our relationships further entrenches the narrative that they are nothing but a fetish, a shameful secret. This reduces our partners to objects and objectification is at the root of dehumanization.

As a heterosexual cisgendered man in a society that rewards me for these things, I realized I had a duty to share my story without shame.

Ever since I became aware of my own sexuality and began to express myself accordingly, people began labeling me as gay. I knew that I was attracted to trans women, I knew I wasn’t gay, but I didn’t understand gender and sexuality in a way that I could articulate my truth to others. I thought I was the only one who felt this way, I felt alone. In high school, I was teased mercilessly and homophobic slurs were hurled at me on an almost daily basis. I remember an adolescence of desperate attempts to slip under the radar, evade ridicule, and deny myself.

Now I know that there are many other heterosexual cisgendered men who are attracted to trans women, but the lack of any unified voice from our part against the epidemic of anti-trans violence, is indicative of the stigma and shame that surrounds our sexual and romantic relationships.

As someone who is in love with a Black trans woman, it hurts me to think that she could be murdered in the streets simply for being who she is.

Trans women of color are on the front lines of the Movement for Black Lives – marching, organizing, and putting their lives on the line for the liberation struggle of all Black people. We – trans-attracted men – cannot allow society to continue shaming us into silence when that silence makes our partners all the more vulnerable to hate and violence. Openly loving a trans woman might seem like a courageous act, but it is not nearly enough. Circumstances demand that we come out as a community, speak out, and join the struggle to ensure that trans lives truly matter.

— 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.

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Asian pupils, parents and teachers turn schools purple to support LGBTI youth

LGBTI students across Asia are being made to feel safe in the classroom thanks to a new campaign.

Backed by groups including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the campaign, #PurpleMySchool, encourages young people to wear, draw or make something purple in support of LGBTI youth.

‘Many young lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people are bullied over their sexuality or gender identity, and walking into school every day can fill them with fear and dread,’ the Purple My School Facebook page explains.

‘Show that they can feel safe with you, in your classroom or school.’

Students from Harbin Medical University, China wear purple in support of LGBTI youth

Since its launch, to coincide with International Youth Day on 12 August, the campaign has received submissions from students, teachers and parents across the Asia-Pacific region, including Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, China and the Philippines.

These include wearing purple ribbons, creating purple flower garlands, making special t-shirts, or even simply turning up to school in a variety of purple outfits.

But spending the day being creative wearing purple is only an outward sign of three inward pledges all the participants are making to support LGBTI youth.

Anyone sharing a photo is urged to ‘never tolerate or excuse bullying’, to ‘be a person that young LGBTI people can turn to’, and to do what they can to ‘create a safe space for young LGBTI students’.

Students from Samar State University, Philippines, celebrate diversity

From now until 10 December, those taking part in the campaign can submit their photos; the best images will be collated and published in a publication about bullying, with materials available in Indonesian, Chinese, English, Vietnamese, Hindi and Thai.

The post Asian pupils, parents and teachers turn schools purple to support LGBTI youth appeared first on Gay Star News.

Mel Spencer

www.gaystarnews.com/article/asian-pupils-parents-and-teachers-turn-schools-purple-to-support-lgbti-youth/

Production to Begin on Reality TV Series Based Around Iconic WeHo Gay Bar ‘The Abbey’

West Hollywood’s iconic gay bar-restaurant-entertainment complex The Abbey and its staff are the subject of a new reality TV series for which some shooting has already been done, The Wrap reports:

The Abbey founder and president David Cooley greeted 500 of his closest friends at his birthday party at the iconic West Hollywood gay bar on Tuesday night and surprised guests with the announcement he had reacquired 100 percent ownership of the club…The celebration was being filmed and it turns out the cameras capturing his festive occasion were not just for posterity, but the footage being shot was setting the stage for an opening storyline of a reality series centered on the gay bar.

Patrons should be prepared to see cameras at the restaurant “soon”, says The Abbey’s publicist.

The block where The Abbey is located also includes Real Housewife Lisa Vanderpump’s restaurant Pump, which is already the subject of a Bravo reality series, Vanderpump Rules. It’s unclear where Cooley’s show will find a home on TV:

Cooley declined to provide specifics about whether a network, or which one, had commissioned the shooting underway, but did say that he is not self-financing the production. Cooley is working with Banijay, the reality production company headed by former Endemol topper David Goldberg, that also counts “I Am Cait”, the Kardashians franchise, and E!’s “Total Divas” amongst its formats.

Cooley told The Wrap the show would focus on the “positive” aspects of his business: “It will not be ‘who is sleeping with who’ and me yelling as the ‘yelling boss.’”

The post Production to Begin on Reality TV Series Based Around Iconic WeHo Gay Bar ‘The Abbey’ appeared first on Towleroad.

Andy Towle

Production to Begin on Reality TV Series Based Around Iconic WeHo Gay Bar ‘The Abbey’

Madonna Won't Return to Russia Because of Antigay Laws

‘I don’t want to perform in places where being homosexual is tantamount to a crime,’ the singer says.

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Trudy Ring

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2015/08/15/madonna-wont-return-russia-because-antigay-laws

Another trans murder in Detroit

Late last week, an activist organization reported the murder of a transgender individual. According to a Michigan Equality statement, on 14 July the body of 25-year-old Ashton O’Hara was discovered in a Detroit field.

‘Ashton did identify as transgender, and was genderfluid,’ the statement said. ‘He was still using male pronouns at the time of his untimely death.’

Michigan Live reports the Detroit Police Department arrested a suspect, Larry B. Gaulding. He faces first-degree murder charges and a trial starts next month.

According to Ashton’s mother, Rebecca O’Hara, the city’s officers deserve praise for the work on her child’s death.

‘They have been so considerate,’ she said in the Michigan Equality release. ‘I was shocked that they actually care about who he was. They were so sincere.’

This is the second transgender murder in Detroit in the past month. On 8 August Amber Monroe’s body was discovered. The Anti-Violence Project reports that Ashton’s murder is, this year,  ‘the fourteenth homicide of a transgender or gender non-conforming person, 12 of whom were transgender women of color.’

“As we remember Ashton O’Hara and all of the transgender and gender non-conforming we have
lost to violence, we demand immediate action on a national level to end this violent epidemic,’ Shelby
Chestnut, co-director of community organizing and public advocacy at the AVP, said in a statement.

The post Another trans murder in Detroit appeared first on Gay Star News.

James Withers

www.gaystarnews.com/article/another-trans-murder-in-detroit/

Group Leading Boycott Against Ted Cruz-Supporting Gay Hoteliers Shuts Down

A Facebook group that led the efforts to boycott establishments owned by gay hoteliers Ian Reisner and Mati Wiederpass in the wake of a controversial “fireside chat” with Sen. Ted Cruz has announced it will be shutting down later this month.

Read the “Boycott Fire Island Pines Establishments & Out NYC Hotel” page’s final statement in part:

Mr. Reisner and Mr. Weiderpass chose to be LGBTQ community business owners. They chose to build a ‘for-profit’ brand within the LGBTQ community. No one forced them into that arena. Being a part of a community comes with a level of responsibility to the community from which you profit. It means embracing the genuine responsibility to stand with us and not against us. A portion of the community will never step foot inside their establishments again. A portion of the community has shown up regardless. However, many of us believe this is one of those great teachable moments in our movement. We did not go from 25% nationwide public support of same-sex marriage to over 60% in just 15 years without hard work, education, and many teachable moments. We know there are many people who want to “grind” their businesses into the ground, as long as they stay involved. That is a complicated approach. There are other investors, employees, bartenders, waiters, DJ’s, drag queens, and non-profit organizations (just to name a few), all of whom have no attachment to this issue but depend on these businesses for income. There are 500+ homeowners and 1,000+ summer shareholders who have a personal interest in the Fire Island Pines community. The list of complexities goes on and on. […]

We feel at this point in time that nothing further needs to be addressed as we have presented all the facts recently insofar as all the developments that have lead us here. The boycott, whether you were in support of it or against it, was a moment in our history to hold two gay men accountable for their actions. The rest now is up to each of you. It always has been. Personal choices are difficult, especially when they are not popular, but each of us must do what we feel is right for ourselves and the beliefs we hold strongly in our hearts.

While Marriage Equality is now a part of all 50 states, the hate and anger by the GOP continues and it is causing a domino effect in our country. Hate crimes are up and daily we see a stronger support for those who want to work against the rights we won. We have quoted in the past, “victory blindness,” and we must not fall prey to it. There is much work to be done.

The group is set to close August 20.

Related, Gay Hotelier Ian Reisner Lied About Cutting Check for Ted Cruz Presidential Campaign

Edge Media adds:

During the life of the boycott page, it gained the support of LGBT activist groups ACT UP and Queer Nation and even received an endorsement from noted gay author Armistead Maupin (who admitted he had never been to Fire Island). The page garnered over 11,000 likes – an inordinate amount considering that the seasonal population of Fire Island Pines is estimated between 2,500 and 3,000.

Early in the game, the group quickly came under fire for its original lack of transparency in leadership which lead to innuendos that the group was somehow a front being run by Jeff McGovern, a manager under one of the properties’ previous owners Eric Von Kuersteiner who is rumored to have offered to buy Reisner’s share in the properties for an undisclosed figure. This was categorically denied online.

The post Group Leading Boycott Against Ted Cruz-Supporting Gay Hoteliers Shuts Down appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Group Leading Boycott Against Ted Cruz-Supporting Gay Hoteliers Shuts Down