Ariana Grande is ‘raging lunatic’ against homophobia ‘because I just can’t take it’

Singer and actress Ariana Grande takes off on a passionate and expletive-filled rant against homophobia in a new interview.

‘It’s outrageous to me when I see people hate on someone because of their sexuality. I hate the intolerance. I hate the judgment. I hate it so much,’ she tells her Scream Queens boss Ryan Murphy who interviewed her for V Magazine.

Grande’s older brother, Frankie Grande, is openly gay and a performer who made it to the final five on TV’s Big Brother in 2014.

‘Most of my favorite people in my life are gay. It’s something I’m super passionate about, because whenever I would see my friends get bullied, or my brother get hurt for his sexuality, I would become a raging lunatic. I would literally become a raging lunatic because I just can’t take it.

‘When you see someone you love hurting, for such a superficial, bulls–t reason, it’s like, how small and spiritually unenlightened and dumb as f–k can a person be? How much further can your head get up your ass that you’re actually judging someone as a person based on their sexuality before you even have a conversation with them?’

Now 22, Grande was raised to be open and accepting.

‘I wasn’t raised in a household where it was considered abnormal to be gay,’ she says. ‘So for me to meet people who use the word “faggot” as an insult, with a derogatory meaning, I can’t take it. I don’t understand it. It’s so foreign to me.

‘You know, my brother is gay, all of my best friends are gay. When my brother came out of the closet, it wasn’t a big deal for my family. Even my grandpa, who is like, super old-school, was like, Good for you!’

The post Ariana Grande is ‘raging lunatic’ against homophobia ‘because I just can’t take it’ appeared first on Gay Star News.

Greg Hernandez

www.gaystarnews.com/article/ariana-grande-is-raging-lunatic-against-homophobia-because-i-just-cant-take-it/

Margie Winters Reunites with Former Students at HRC Offices

Today, when Margie Winters — who was fired from a Catholic school for being gay — was reunited with two of her first students, there was something almost miraculous about it.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/margie-winters-reunites-with-former-students-at-hrc-offices?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

From Lady Gaga To Twin Peaks’ “Little Person,” Celebrities Are Just Like Us

Let’s Rock

In 1990, I became obsessed with the ABC series, Twin Peaks. Besides being a huge David Lynch fan, I was drawn to this quirky nighttime soap because I had never seen anything like it on TV before. All the characters and storylines were surreal and bizarre, two traits usually linked to Lynch, but never to network TV. Some people loved Leland Palmer or the Log Lady, but for me, the best character was the midget from the dream sequence. Now, I know the term “midget” is politically incorrect, but back in 1990, no one referred to him as the “little person” from Twin Peaks, so shut it.

For a full year, I replayed the scene where this height-challenged man, played by Michael J. Anderson, spoke backwards while dancing in a red-curtained room. Friends knew whenever they came over, they would have to sit through this scene as I sat on the couch in my parent’s paneled basement, repeating, “I’ve got good news. That gum you like is going to come back in style!”  It was easily the best sequence on television, ever.            

As fate would have it, Michael started making appearances at New York nightclubs at the height of the show’s fame. I found out from Michael Musto’s column in The Village Voice that he was slated to appear at The Building one Friday night. The club, located in an old warehouse in Chelsea, was large and cavernous, but had just one VIP lounge. I knew finding him would not be difficult.

The night of his appearance, I got to the club around midnight and started my search. I checked the VIP lounge, the dance floor and each and every bar, but he was nowhere to be found. Around two a.m., I asked a few of the bartenders if “the midget from Twin Peaks was there,” only to have them stare at me like I was speaking Indonesian. Apparently, the rest of the world did not share my latest obsession.

 An hour later, I made my way back to the VIP lounge for one last look. As I passed the velvet ropes, I scanned the room and saw….Michael J. Anderson sitting on one of the couches!  I ran over to introduce myself, and within seconds, he whipped out a joint. “You wanna get high?” he asked. I could not believe what was happening. I was about to get high with the midget from Twin Peaks. We shared a joint and I told him how much I loved him. “You are my favorite character to ever appear on television, with the obvious exception of Rerun from What’s Happening!!, I told him  “Well, I’m glad to know I’m in such esteemed company,” he replied.

I asked him to autograph a picture I had taken of him off the TV, and he readily agreed. He grabbed it and wrote, “To Greg, There’s always music in the air! — Little Mike.” I pocketed the picture and excused myself, thanking him profusely. To this day, I have yet to have a more exciting celebrity encounter, and I doubt I ever will.

Sure, I meet celebrities and musicians every week at SNL but now I’m jaded and couldn’t care less. The last time I had a thrilling encounter was when Lady Gaga was the musical guest back in 2009. On the day of the show, she decided to change one of the songs she was performing, and I had to go into her dressing room to talk about what she would be doing so I could relay the information to the director, who would be shooting her performance sight unseen.             

After telling me what song she would be singing and describing the choreography, she took one look at the lightning bolt pendant I wore around my neck, turned to her manager and said, “It’s going to be alright!  He has a lightning bolt!  The universe is on our side!”  At that moment, I realized Lady Gaga was a straight-up Aries flake like I was, gave her a big smile and told her it would be indeed be alright.      

Celebrities. They’re just like us!

Greg Scarnici is a comedic artist (some confuse him with Fire Island personality Levonia Jenkins) and musician who currently works as an Associate Producer at Saturday Night Live.  His first collection of humorous essays titled I Hope My Mother Doesn’t Read This is now available as an ebook. Find out more about his work and connect with him via his social networks on www.gregscarnici.com. 

Jeremy Kinser

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/QwFSGpOBh1U/from-lady-gaga-to-twin-peaks-little-person-celebrities-are-just-like-us-20150923

Applause Rings Out as Marriage Equality Bill Introduced in Ireland: WATCH

Same-sex couples in Ireland are on track to be able to tie the knot by year’s end with the introduction of the Marriage Bill 2015 earlier this morning. The bill, introduced by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, comes as a result of the country’s historic referendum vote in favor of marriage equality back in May.

The Irish Independent reports members of the pro-referendum group Marriage Equality gathered outside the parliament of Ireland ahead of the vote. Grainne Healy, chair of the group, said it was a “historic day” and “momentous occasion” for the LGBT community in Ireland.

“It’s the end of a long journey – and for those of us in Marriage Equality – it took us 10  years to get here,” she said.

Watch the moment the bill was introduced on the floor in parliament below:

Related, Must-Watch Ireland Ad Urging ‘Yes’ on Marriage Referendum Will Give You Major Feels

The post Applause Rings Out as Marriage Equality Bill Introduced in Ireland: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Applause Rings Out as Marriage Equality Bill Introduced in Ireland: WATCH

Pennsylvania Improving Policies for Housing Transgender Prisoners

New policies which went into effect this week in Pennsylvania may afford greater respect to transgender inmates, who will no longer be sent into solitary confinement based solely upon gender identity, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. 

Pennsylvania, like many other states, had previously housed inmates according to their gender assigned at birth, Shirley Moore Smeal, Pennsylvania executive deputy secretary of corrections, told the paper. 

Solitary confinement, which is often used as punishment, was the only protective option for transgender inmates, who are violence while incarcerated. While LGBT inmates in general are at a nine-times a higher risk for sexual assault according to government data, one 2009 California study found that trans women faced 13 times the risk of other LGB inmates when detained in male facilities.

Although transgender inmates are often placed in solitary confinement “for their own protection” according to prison officials, isolating individuals who are already at an elevated risk of harassment and ostracization can have long-lasting psychological effects, prison reform advocates told The Advocate earlier this year.

Indeed, the mother of one transgender inmate told the Inquirer that her daughter was raped and beaten in the state prison system. “I’m scared I’m going to get a call my child is dead,” Valerie Burton told the paper. “My understanding is they’re supposed to take care of her.”

The changes in policy bring Pennsylvania prisons in line with the 2003 federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, designed to study prison rape and provide recommendations to protect prisoners from attacks. Regarding transgender inmates, PREA recommends that facilities be aware of trans prisoners’ unique safety needs, and assess “case-by-case” how to protect them from sexual assault.

Angus Love, executive director of the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project, told the Inquirer that his nonprofit was working on two cases in which transgender inmates in Pennsylvania were allegedly abused by male guards and inmates. In one case, he said, a transgender woman was forced to walk around naked and was sexually assaulted. He called the state’s policy change “a step in the right direction.”

Advocates seeking prison reform and greater safety for transgender inmates nationwide lauded an April statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, supporting the claims of a transgender woman in Georgia who said the state had acted illegally in denying her hormone treatments. In August, that woman, Ashley Diamond, was released from prison early, in what advocates say is a recognition by the state of Georgia that it cannot adequately care for and protect trans women inside men’s prisons. 

Pennsylvania’s updated policy asks administrators to consider “whether a placement would ensure the resident’s health and safety, and whether the placement would present management or security problems.” Administrators would also give “serious consideration” to whether transgender inmates feel safe. Transgender prisoners will also be allowed to shower privately, according to the document. 

In June, the state created new commissary lists allowing transgender inmates to purchase items such as makeup, barrettes or gender-appropriate underwear, and rescinded its policy prohibiting gender-affirming surgery for inmates, the paper reported.

There are currently 137 transgender inmates in Pennsylvania state prisons, but Smeal said she was not aware of any who were currently in isolation and implied factors at play in this new Pennsylvania policy had already been used to determine where to house them. 

“I wouldn’t say [anyone is] likely to be moved,” she told the Inquirer. “I would say, based on their risk-assessment tool and the interview that was done, they are where we believe they should be,” Smeal told the paper. 

Elizabeth Daley

www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/9/23/pennsylvania-improving-policies-housing-transgender-prisoners

Racism Against Asians And Asian Americans Is Prejudice You Can Still Get Away With
This country is having a national conversation around race that is long overdue. As someone who researches prejudice and racism, I’d like to add an observation to the mix: for the most part, one can still get away with discriminating against, humiliating, and co-opting Asians, Asian Americans, and Asian cultures.

Just a brief glance at media and pop culture and the stereotypes come rushing forth. Exotic? You got it. Extremist? There he is. Nerdy and uncool? Yup. Docile and servile? At last! Most of these go unnoticed, because there’s little chance of being called out on it. Far from merely being a matter of political correctness, research has shown that media images can have a negative and undermining effect on the psychology of children who take in these stereotypes.

It doesn’t stop there. Yoga and meditation are all the rage these days and have undoubtedly helped countless individuals–but there seems to be a troubling trend of denying its historical, cultural, philosophical, and spiritual origins in Asia. It was as if yoga was invented on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, right next to a Starbucks, neatly packaged for your consumption. Further, in the rush to spread “mindfulness,” one can get away with not even mentioning, let alone honoring, the traditions from which these methods sprang. The Buddha is an afterthought. We’ve seen this before; just ask the African American blues pioneers who are rarely credited for their profound influence on rock-n-roll.

But what is at stake here with the “getting away with”? British psychoanalyst and essayist Adam Phillips suggests that the feeling of “getting away with” implies the presence of an authority from whom one is flying under the radar. In the current example, that authority is racial justice, which has largely failed to nab the wily discriminators of Asians. Put simply, it’s easy for people to get away with it. Of course, there are many subgroups within the large and diverse category of “Asian” (Asia is kind of a big place), but what connects them all is the unfortunate reality of having to bear microaggressions and macroaggressions–everything from racist jabs to hate crimes–without many others really taking notice.

Perhaps there is hope to be found in the current national discussion. We can now hope that, one day, there will be a national discussion around producing more thoughtful forms of media and pop culture that avoid perpetuating stereotypes of Asians. Or, one day, there will be a broad discussion around the cooptation of Asian cultures and practices, as we have seen in the aftermath of Rachel Dolezal. Or, one day, there will be a time when official racial profiling of those of Asian descent, such as the type found in the NYPD surveillance program (which targeted colleges such as Yale, where I am a researcher), will be exposed to greater outcry. That’s the future. As for the past, we are left with just wishing, for instance, that the President had also delivered a beautiful message in person–like he recently did in Charleston, SC–at the Sikh house of worship in Wisconsin, where innocent lives were gunned down out of racism and hatred.

Let me be clear, none of this is to take away from the rightful attention given to the African American community, who have faced and continue to face so much untold hardship, nor is it to suggest that the issues facing the two communities are identical. I am not intending another form of cooptation and blurring of important differences. But it is to suggest the possibility of gaining inspiration from one another’s struggles, triumphs, and strategies of protest and resistance. This spirit of intercultural sharing and solidarity finds important precedents in American history. After all, it was not too long ago when a young Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., deeply inspired by the example and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, went on to change a nation.

Moving forward, the question for this country to consider is how it can move away from the practice of “getting away with” prejudice and racism towards Asian Americans, and any group for that matter. The solutions may take different forms, but a key element may be strengthening our Zen-like capacity to see, recognize, and address them head-on–rather than letting them slip away, unnoticed and under the radar.

— 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.

feeds.huffingtonpost.com/c/35496/f/677065/s/4a1c366b/sc/7/l/0L0Shuffingtonpost0N0Cmiraj0Eu0Edesai0Cracism0Eagainst0Easians0Eand0Ib0I81853880Bhtml0Dutm0Ihp0Iref0Fgay0Evoices0Gir0FGay0KVoices/story01.htm

This transgender waitress has the perfect response to a young girl’s questions

An American transgender waitress has shared her experience of being asked about her gender by a young customer.

Posting on Facebook, Liv Hnilicka from Minneapolis, Minnesota, described the moment the young girl’s father approached her as she was filling the water station at her job in a restaurant. 

‘My daughter just asked if you were a boy or a girl. I didn’t want to speak for you so would you like to talk to her?’, the man asked.

Liv’s response clearly struck a chord on Facebook; her original message has already been shared more than 1,000 times.

Speaking to the little girl, she said: ‘I heard you asked if I was a boy or girl. I think the important thing to remember is that everyone can be anything they want to be in this world.

‘And it’s also important to try to be the best selves we can be for our family and friends. And even to strangers.

‘So to answer your question, I was told that I was a boy when I was little and now I live my adult life as a girl. It sounds complicated but it’s actually pretty simple.’

Liv then asked the little girl if she had any further questions. Her response?

‘She looked at me smiling and simply said, “Nope!”‘

Liv added: ‘I walked away from the table feeling really good about parents intentionally engaging their children about possibly difficult topics. And showing that giving people the power to voice their truths in this complicated world is beautiful and healing.’

Liv followed her original post with a clarification, explaining that while it’s simple to talk to children about gender issues in terms of ‘boys’ and ‘girls’, more complex language is needed for conversations with adults.

‘I think while the language I used was appropriate for conversations with children, intersecting sets of identities are beautifully complicated and the way society treats marginalized people (women, lgbt/gnc/intersex people, people of color, people living with disabilities) is complex,’ she said.

Read Liv’s original post in full below:

The post This transgender waitress has the perfect response to a young girl’s questions appeared first on Gay Star News.

Mel Spencer

www.gaystarnews.com/article/this-transgender-waitress-has-the-perfect-response-to-a-young-girls-questions/

HRC Sponsors 23rd Annual Transgender Unity Banquet in Houston

On Saturday, HRC was proud to sponsor the 23rd Annual Transgender Unity Banquet in Houston as a Scholarship level sponsor.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/hrc-sponsors-23rd-annual-transgender-unity-banquet-in-houston?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Where In The World Are Kim Davis’ Alleged Gay Friends?

Kentucky clerk Kim Davis gave her first nationally televised interview on Good Morning America yesterday, where she tried making the case that she’s not a homophobe because, as she put it, “I have friends who are gay and lesbian.”

“They know where I stand,” Davis claimed. “We don’t agree on the issue and we’re okay because we respect each other.”

Related: Kim Davis Hits The Media Circuit, Denies Being Homophobic, Says She Has Gay Friends

The sleuths over at The Daily Beast decided to do some digging. They launched a campaign in search of Davis’ alleged same-sex loving friends.

First, they reached out to Davis directly, but emails sent to her government account went unanswered.

Next, they contacted Davis’ lawyers at The Liberty Counsel. Spokeswoman Charla Bansley said she couldn’t name any of Davis’ alleged gay friends, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the thrice-divorced clerk is lying.

“I don’t think she would lie,” Bansley said. “Someone who goes to jail for her conscience wouldn’t lie about that.”

Related: Kim Davis Is Getting Her Very Own Armed Militia Security Detail

The Daily Beast then tracked down Davis’ first husband, Dwain Wallace, to ask if she had any gay friends back when they were together.

“I wouldn’t have a clue, to be honest,” he replied.

Neighbors of Davis were also unable to confirm whether she had any gay friends. Neither was Brian Mason, the deputy clerk who’s been issuing marriage licenses in Davis’ stead, though he quite professionally said he doesn’t “keep up with her personal life.”

The only person who seemed to believe Davis’ claim was, oddly enough, a lesbian from Morehead, KY named Carmen Wampler-Collins who says her niece, who is also a lesbian, knows the Davis family.

“I grew up in Morehead and it’s fairly common to have people in your life say they love you and still hold deep opposition to you being in a same-sex relationship,” Wampler-Collins said. “It’s a small town and many people just feel it’s best to get along and not make waves, even if they face discrimination.”

Even so, that hardly counts as a friendship.

The LGBT advocacy group Kentucky Equality put out a call for anyone gay people who may be friends with Davis to please contact them.

So far, nobody has.

Related: PHOTOS: More Hetero Guys Make Out To Show Kim Davis Just How Wrong She Is

Graham Gremore

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/DsBe2b6FTGg/where-in-the-world-are-kim-davis-alleged-gay-friends-20150923

India Court Steps In to Protect Transgender Teen from Abusive Parents

The Delhi High Court has intervened in the case of an 18-year-old transgender Indian man who alleges his parents attempted to forcibly marry him off to a man to “fix” him.

BBC reports that Shivy, who prefers to be identified by his first name, has been living in the United States for the past 15 years. He says his parents tricked him into coming to their home in Agra on holiday and proceeded to take away his passport and green card.

The Delhi High Court termed the alleged harassment as nothing short of “bigotry” and said that India was a land of tolerance.

Transgender activists and the support group Nazariya arranged legal counsel and shelter for Shivy in Delhi after he ran away from Agra earlier this month.

Shivy has alleged in his petition that his father and some unknown men posing as police officers came to the residence of the activists who helped him, adding that he fears for their, and his own, safety.

He has asked the Delhi High Court to help him get his passport and green card back so that he can return to the United States where he is pursuing a neurobiology course at the University of California.

Last year, the country’s Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling recognizing transgender people as a third gender.

The post India Court Steps In to Protect Transgender Teen from Abusive Parents appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

India Court Steps In to Protect Transgender Teen from Abusive Parents