LISTEN: Kentucky Clerk's Marriage Equality Resistance 'American Way,' Says Rand Paul
Paul stops short of agreeing with Kim Davis, but he supports her right in ‘making a stand.’
Trudy Ring
Daily Archives: September 1, 2015
Which Movie Villain Reminds You Of Kim Davis The Most?
Which Movie Villain Reminds You Of Kim Davis The Most?
Each week online comedian, voice actor and chest hair model Sam Kalidi creates a new meme for Queerty readers. This week, he thinks about the women who have influenced the style, fashion and personality of America’s finest example of Christianity, Kentucky’s favorite daughter, the four-times married Rowan County clerk Kim Davis. Sam looks forward to all your hate mail. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and at your local glory hole.
Jeremy Kinser
Spain Is Winning the Gay Tourist Dollar War
Spain Is Winning the Gay Tourist Dollar War
The Iberian nation beats out France and U.K. as Europe’s biggest draw for LGB travelers.
Neal Broverman
www.advocate.com/travel/2015/09/01/spain-winning-gay-tourist-dollar-war
Queer Eye for the Messiah Guy
Queer Eye for the Messiah Guy
Many modern Christians may be surprised to learn that in the time after the resurrection but before the Prada slippers, those “From Jesus to Christ” years, as the stern but reasoned Frontline narrator said, there was a fierce debate among the early faithful about whether or not physical depictions (statues, mosaics, etc.) of Jesus should be allowed. Those things were for pagan gods, it was argued, not the one true Christ. The Jews didn’t do the idolatry thing and that’s where Christianity came from. So, no statues — too Jewish: statues — too Roman. There were serious brand identity issues going here. Remember, Christianity didn’t instantly dominate the world ala Über. It had more of an Amazonian rise to hegemon status and didn’t really seal the deal until the fifth century.
Some in the pro image crowd argued that rather than buff and towering like the
A-list of the Roman and Greek pantheons, Jesus should be depicted but as more unassuming, a people’s Messiah sort of thing. Others said that was even going too far. One unpleasant critic named Celsus, the name sounds like an intestinal illness, had the audacity to say Jesus was ugly and short.
So, from where did the hottie Jesus of the last thousand years come? One source was a man who thought woman worthless, espoused homophobia and who very well may have tried to pray away his gay: Saint Jerome. I won’t go into too much detail because there are ample scholarly arguments about this poor uptight ancestor of Ted Haggard, Larry Craig and of course, the Log Cabin Republicans. Let’s just posit that poor Jerome, after breaking up with his teenage sweetheart, Rufinus, turned to celibacy. Oh yeah, he had a hand on that too, or rather off it, pun intended.
If you’ve ever read about the lives of the saints, the illustrations often have angels that look like renaissance versions of Versace models, leaning over their canonical shoulders. So, perhaps an image conscious Jesus, via his winged Donatella disciples, slipped into poor Jerome’s repressed mind, what he knew needed to be done to better market his brand: make him smoking hot! Thus enlightened, Jerome, among others, settled the depiction debate once and for all. Christ would be a stud but not interested, kind of like the bartenders at the Abbey in West Hollywood, well unless you direct.
Officially he was as perfect physically as he was in spirit, and to a self-loathing closet case, that meant asexual. Thus, the Christ as anti-sexual sex symbol was born. Only the Catholic Church could come up with such a concept, and whoever invented the Jonas Brothers.
Jesus’ success, because how could he fail, is now inscrutable fact. He is not only the most recognizable person to ever walk the earth, except maybe Lucille Ball, he is also People Magazine’s Sexiest Man of the millennium. Sorry Clooney.
When the renaissance came about and Jesus saw how Michelangelo had made David, a king sure but not Christ, into a gargantuan example of male perfection, he realized the greatest artist of all time had to do the same for him. Via his infallible earthly servant, Pope Julius II, Jesus tapped Michelangelo to further this greatest marketing campaign ever, well until the first Tim Burton Batman movie. The poster was just a batwing, no words, a batwing, how cool was that?
Despite his almost total reliance on buff male models; his showering them with gifts; a vast collection of well-crafted love poems that he quilled where the object of his affection was most definitely male; there is still a debate about whether Michelangelo was gay. Okay. We do know — because Michelangelo wrote it — he believed physical beauty was the outward sign of a beautiful soul. Sound familiar? Gaze upon the Christ of The Last Judgment –Michelangelo’s masterpiece in the most important and Liberace inspiring house of the holy ever built, and remember the loincloth wasn’t painted on the Sistine Chapel’s Magic Mike until after the artist’s death.
Now, to those uncomfortable with sexy Jesus and his potentially wink gay derivation, why not have Paul Giamatti play him next time? — No offense Paul, you’re a genius, but keep your shirt on, know what I’m saying? It’s been tried, sort of… Martin Scorsese gave Willem Dafoe the role –Bomb! Braveheart gave us Jim Cavaziel, — Hit! And Roma Downey, you vixen, you handed the thorny crown to Portuguese soap star / GQ model Diego Morgado! In a bizarre — you can’t make this stuff up — twist, hunky Diego then starred on Satan’s medium, television, as Christ’s arch-nemesis, the dark lord and I don’t mean Ralph Fiennes. Huh?
If gay men — in and out — doing his will were responsible for Jesus’ asexual, sex god status, eye candy depictions are now accepted and embraced by those of all orientations. To not make him a stud would be as blasphemous as not… watching the Super Bowl (straight) or filling out your Oscar ballot (gay). Jesus is just too hot and that is as it should be. It would be nice if we looked beyond the abs once in a while though and not just his but ours too.
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See new trailer for The Danish Girl starring Eddie Redmayne as transgender woman
See new trailer for The Danish Girl starring Eddie Redmayne as transgender woman
Could Eddie Redmayne become the first man since Tom Hanks to win back-to-back Academy Awards for best actor?
It could happen with The Danish Girl, Redmayne’s follow-up film to The Theory of Everything.
The 33-year-old English actor plays transgender pioneer Lili Elbe – one of the first known recipients of sexual reassignment surgery – in the film which will hit theaters in late November.
The film had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival and is screening this month at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The Danish Girl is inspired by the lives of Elbe and Gerda Wegener (portrayed by Alicia Vikander) and directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, Les Misérables).
The film is set in the 1920s and tells the story of a painter named Wegener who was persuaded by her wife, also a painter, to pose in women’s clothing for her. This opened up a whole new world for Wegener, who later began her male-to-female transition and changed her name to Lili Elbe.
Elbe traveled to Germany in the 1930s to have gender reassignment surgery, which at the time was virtually untested. After a series of operations, Elbe died when her body rejected a uterus that had been transplanted with the goal of allowing her to have children.
The post See new trailer for The Danish Girl starring Eddie Redmayne as transgender woman appeared first on Gay Star News.
Greg Hernandez
Kim Davis’ Current Husband Says His Wife Is Just “Standing For God,” Compares Her To Biblical Figures
Kim Davis’ Current Husband Says His Wife Is Just “Standing For God,” Compares Her To Biblical Figures
The fourth husband of Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who’s refusing to issue gay marriage licenses despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling says his wife is committed to her faith and is “standing for God.”
Joe Davis arrived at the Rowan County courthouse Tuesday morning to check on his wife, clerk Kim, shortly after she again denied the licenses to several couples.
Joe Davis says his wife has received death threats, and the couple changed their phone number. But he says he’s not afraid and believes in the Second Amendment.
He said: “I’m an old redneck hillbilly, that’s all I’ve got to say. Don’t come knocking on my door.”
On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to intervene, leaving Kim Davis no legal grounds to refuse to grant licenses. A district judge could now hold her in contempt, which can carry steep fines or jail time.
Joe Davis compared his wife to the biblical figures Paul and Silas, sent to prison and rescued by God.
He pointed to the gay rights protesters gathered on the courthouse lawn and said: “They want us to accept their beliefs and their ways. But they won’t accept our beliefs and our ways.”
H/t: LGBTQNation
By CLARE GALOFARO /Associated Press
© 2015, Associated Press, All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Jeremy Kinser
Bryan Fischer: Anti-Gay Clerk Kim Davis is the Only One Obeying the Law
Bryan Fischer: Anti-Gay Clerk Kim Davis is the Only One Obeying the Law
Right-wing-nut Bryan Fishcer, of the American Family Association, took to his radio show today to spout off about anti-gay Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis.
Fischer was asked on Facebook whether he supports Davis’ defiance of the courts and refusal to marry same-sex couples. After getting off to a bumbling start, Fischer says,
My point is that Kim Davis, the county clerk in Rowan County Kentucky, she is the ONLY one who is obeying the law. This is not civil disobedience on her part. This is civil obedience. In fact I would suggest that she is the only one in this entire scenario who is actually obeying the law. Because a court ruling, ladies and gentleman, is not the same thing as the law. We know what a law is. A law is something that is passed by the elected representatives of the people and signed into law by the chief executive official…the law that’s on the books is the DOMA law passed by Congress in 1996…that’s the last time Congress has addressed this thing in the form of a law…Now the Supreme Court has issued a ruling that is contrary to that, but remember the Supreme Court has no legislative power whatsoever.
Yes, Bryan, but the Supreme Court does have the power to strike down laws that it rules are unconstitutional. Such as DOMA and state bans on same-sex marriage.
Watch Bryan say “LAW” one too many times, HERE. The conversation turns to Davis around the 4:24 mark.
The post Bryan Fischer: Anti-Gay Clerk Kim Davis is the Only One Obeying the Law appeared first on Towleroad.
Sean Mandell
Bryan Fischer: Anti-Gay Clerk Kim Davis is the Only One Obeying the Law
27 Fierce Feminist Prints You’ll Want To Hang On Your Wall
27 Fierce Feminist Prints You’ll Want To Hang On Your Wall
Every feminist needs a little pick-me-up once in awhile. After all, fighting for gender equality isn’t an easy battle. And what’s a better pick-me-up than a bit of textual inspiration?
To brighten every feminist’s day (and their homes), we’ve rounded up some badass pro-gender equality prints. From Audre Lorde quotes, to the notorious RBG and Pussy Riot, there’s something for every equality-friendly person.
Sometimes you just need a reminder to keep fighting the good fight — conveniently placed above your bed or kitchen table.
Scroll below to see 27 awesome feminist prints.
Also on HuffPost:
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Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis explains herself: ‘It is a Heaven or Hell decision’
Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis explains herself: ‘It is a Heaven or Hell decision’
Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis released a lengthy statement Tuesday (1 September) explaining why she has continued to defy a judge’s order that she resume issuing marriage licenses – including to same-sex couples.
‘It is not a light issue for me. It is a Heaven or Hell decision. For me it is a decision of obedience,’ she says in a statement posted by the anti-gay Liberty Counsel which is representing her legally.
‘I have no animosity toward anyone and harbor no ill will. To me this has never been a gay or lesbian issue. It is about marriage and God’s Word. It is a matter of religious liberty, which is protected under the First Amendment, the Kentucky Constitution, and in the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act.’
Davis, who has been married four times, explains that she became a Christian four years ago ‘following the death of my godly mother-in-law.’
‘I went to church to fulfill her dying wish,’ she states. ‘There I heard a message of grace and forgiveness and surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. I am not perfect. No one is. But I am forgiven and I love my Lord and must be obedient to Him and to the Word of God.’
Since the US Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states, Davis has refused to issue marriage licenses to all couples – straight or gay. She was sued by four of the couples and was ordered by a judge to do her job but has remained defiant.
On Monday (31 August), the US Supreme Court refused her request for a stay as she fights a lower court’s ruling against her.
‘I never imagined a day like this would come, where I would be asked to violate a central teaching of Scripture and of Jesus Himself regarding marriage,’ she states. ‘To issue a marriage license which conflicts with God’s definition of marriage, with my name affixed to the certificate, would violate my conscience.
‘Our history is filled with accommodations for people’s religious freedom and conscience. I want to continue to perform my duties, but I also am requesting what our Founders envisioned – that conscience and religious freedom would be protected. That is all I am asking.
‘I never sought to be in this position, and I would much rather not have been placed in this position. I have received death threats from people who do not know me. I harbor nothing against them. I was elected by the people to serve as the County Clerk. I intend to continue to serve the people of Rowan County, but I cannot violate my conscience.’
Davis became County Clerk in January after 27 years as a deputy clerk in the office.
‘I have never lived any place other than Rowan County,’ she states. ‘Some people have said I should resign, but I have done my job well.’
The post Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis explains herself: ‘It is a Heaven or Hell decision’ appeared first on Gay Star News.
Greg Hernandez
HRC Takes Action in Charlotte Ahead of Critical City Council Elections on September 15
HRC Takes Action in Charlotte Ahead of Critical City Council Elections on September 15
HRC organizers have been on the ground in Charlotte for almost two weeks working with members and volunteers ahead of important city council elections scheduled for September 15.
HRC.org
