Getting LGBT History Right: Films That Did and Didn't
Trudy Ring
www.advocate.com/film/2015/10/06/getting-lgbt-history-right-films-did-and-didnt
Daily Archives: October 6, 2015
5 Older Celebs Get Real About Sex After 50
5 Older Celebs Get Real About Sex After 50
People over 50 aren’t just older and wiser — they also know a thing or two about mind-blowing sex. After all, practice makes perfect.
Here are five older celebs and their blush-inducing lessons on sex:
1. Jane Fonda, 77, has been in a relationship with music producer Richard Perry, 73, since 2009.
2. Betty White, 93, was married to TV personality Allen Ludden from 1963 until his death in 1981. When asked about marrying again, White said, “When you’ve had the best, who needs the rest.”
“I’m still just as horny as I’ve ever been.“
3. Lisa Rinna, 52, has been married to actor Harry Hamlin, 63, since 1997.
4. John Stamos, 52, was previously married to actress Rebecca Romijn.
“I’d rather have a woman have ten orgasms than me have ten orgasms.”
5. Sting, 63, has been married to actress Trudie Styler, 61, since 1992.
“I like the theater of sex. I like to look good. I like her to dress up. I like to dress her up.”
Also on HuffPost:
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Booted out Vatican insider: More than 50% of priests are gay
Booted out Vatican insider: More than 50% of priests are gay
Employing gay priests ‘works exceptionally well’ for the Catholic Church, a German theologist has said.
David Berger, an openly gay publicist who formerly worked for the Vatican, said the number of gay men working in the Catholic Church was well above average – even more so in the papal state.
‘In the Vatican, I experienced the number of gay men to be even higher,’ he said in an interview with German magazine Stern.
‘I guess around half [of the men working there].’
In the interview, Berger also said employing gay men worked ‘exceptionally well’ as they guilt-trip themselves into being better priests.
‘On one hand it’s down to homosexuality being demonized in the Church. It’s a very severe sin,’ he said.
On the other hand, the image of a celibate priest, who is never questioned about not having a wife, was very attractive for gay men, Berger continued, as they wouldn’t have to explain themselves and wouldn’t be bothered into marriage.
‘So you have the advantage of having many gay men with a guilty conscience. They do their best to be especially smart, loyal to the pope and hard working,’ he said.
‘Which is why they have the best chances for a career and, through this, get into the Vatican.
‘There, they find a network of gay men in which people help each other out.’
Berger also said the biggest rule in the Vatican was while people could have gay sex, in public they should always remain true to the Church’s principles and not talk about it.
‘I think that may be down to being gay being an important apparatus of power,’ Berger told the Stern.
‘After a coming out, those in power don’t have anything left with which to hold you down. That’s a disaster beyond all expectations.’
The post Booted out Vatican insider: More than 50% of priests are gay appeared first on Gay Star News.
Stefanie Gerdes
www.gaystarnews.com/article/booted-out-vatican-insider-more-than-50-of-priests-are-gay/
An Asian Antigay Bill Could Have Global Repercussions
An Asian Antigay Bill Could Have Global Repercussions
Advocates focused on the human rights of LGBT people internationally often think of this work as two steps forward, one step back. While this year Nepal amended its constitution to explicitly protect LGBT people and President Obama appointed Randy Berry as the first special envoy for the human rights of LGBT people, in 2014 we watched another country, Brunei, get added to the list of countries in which consensual same-sex activity can carry a death sentence.
As we win big victories in the United States like nationwide marriage equality, many LGBT Americans are paying more attention to the big stories happening on the international scene. But many may yet not realize that a dangerous moment is in our near future: a law that is moving forward that would set a new and frightening precedent with the potential to reignite a wave of anti-LGBT legislation in its region. The place is Kyrgyzstan, and while it may not be on the radar for most of the world, it must be now. This small Central Asian country is on the verge of passing a law that would be the first of its kind — a “propaganda” law that would result in people being thrown in jail for expressing the most basic sentiments about their own identities.
In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower first invoked the metaphor of falling dominoes to depict the spread of communism across Southeast Asia. Sixty years later, as this hate spreads across Central Asia, it is a picture that once again seems fitting.
In the lead-up to 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the newly enacted Russian law banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” to minors outraged international human rights activists. LGBT Russians were already experiencing its effects, but with the impending arrival of thousands of athletes, spectators, and global leaders, predictions varied on how the law would be enforced at and around the games. Many hoped that the limelight would drive Russian leaders to reconsider their commitment to what the global community viewed as legalized homophobia, but in the end, the Kremlin didn’t bat an eye.
A year and a half later we are faced with resulting irony that is hard to swallow: an event that was created to foster amity between nations may have become a springboard for homophobia across borders. In the small amount of time since the closing ceremonies, a bill emulating Russia’s ban on so-called LGBT propaganda has advanced from a legislative rumor in the halls of Kyrgyzstan’s Parliament to the precipice of becoming law. And this bill is not an outlier — in Eastern Europe and in neighboring nations in Central Asia, legislators from Latvia to Armenia have explored similar moves towards codifying homophobia at home.
The Kyrgyz version of the propaganda law is far more dangerous than its Russian counterpart. On first glance, the Kyrgyz version of the propaganda law seems to be a carbon copy of its Russian predecessor — certain sections, in fact, seem to be directly copied and pasted from Russian documents. But expanding upon what it emulates, the Kyrgyz law introduces newly conceived criminal penalties carrying prison sentences of up to one year.
The Kyrgyz draft law also significantly broadens the scope of its application, expanding its terms to include a widespread ban of all forms of public information about nontraditional sexual relations rather than limiting the ban to information accessible to minors. In effect, the sweeping nature of the bill could land journalists, artists, and human rights defenders in jail simply for exercising their freedom of speech. In practice, it could go as far as to shutter gay clubs, ban LGBT gatherings, and even allow Kyrgyz police to arrest workers at HIV/AIDS clinics for distributing informational materials to patients.
As LGBT Russians will tell you, passage of this propaganda law will have a significant negative impact that goes beyond legal hurdles, arrests, and courtroom sentences. Since the Russian law went into effect, bias-motivated crimes against the Russian LGBT population have become more commonplace and more brazen, and, worse yet, have met with indifference on the part of officials.
With the draft bill moving through Parliament, Kyrgyz LGBT people are already experiencing increased violence and discrimination. In the south of the country, LGBT residents are treated as if the law has already passed, with police attempting to arrest and fine people under the legislation. In April a leading LGBT organization was fire-bombed by young nationalist thugs in the nation’s capital, Bishkek, and on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia a peaceful group was attacked by members of the hate group Kalys. It is clear that even the consideration of such anti-LGBT laws results in a validation of homophobia and the violence it inspires.
As Kyrgyzstan holds elections this weekend, the bill awaits its third and final reading in the new session of Parliament, and that is likely to occur this month. With little doubt that it will pass — legislators voted 90-2 in favor on its second reading — the LGBT population is now looking to President Almazbek Atambayev to intervene. His options are limited both by his country’s legislative process and by his people’s homophobia, but there is hope. If he chooses to not sign the bill when it arrives on his desk, he can either return it to Parliament for edits and clarification or issue a veto. When that day comes, we hope that global leaders, especially the Obama administration, will continue to urge him to stand on the side of human rights.
The impact of this bill becoming law would surely be disastrous for the entire region. Kyrgyzstan’s neighbor to the north, Kazakhstan, has previously considered a propaganda bill of its own. Though it was voted down, reintroduced, and then coincidentally tabled by officials during an Olympic bid process earlier this year, the Kazakh LGBT community suspects that a victory for the Kyrgyz bill would pave the way for Kazakh lawmakers to reintroduce similar legislation. Like Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan has deeply rooted feelings of enmity for LGBT people, manifesting in violent attacks and refusal of basic services. Members of Parliament have gone as far as to call for legislation to classify LGBT Kazakhs as “criminals against humanity.”
With the first domino set to fall in Kyrgyzstan, it is critical that the United States and its allies put productive pressure on Atambayev and extend critical support to the Kyrgyz LGBT community. To let the bill pass and allow LGBT people to be incarcerated would be a historic step back for Kyrgyzstan, the region, and global human rights.
SHAWN M. GAYLORD is advocacy counsel at Human Rights First, leading its initiative to advance the protection of the human rights of LGBT people globally.
Shawn Gaylord
www.advocate.com/commentary/2015/10/06/asian-antigay-bill-could-have-global-repercussions
Third Australian state to recognize overseas gay marriages
Third Australian state to recognize overseas gay marriages
The state Labor government of Victoria has announced plans to go ahead and recognize same-sex marriages performed overseas while LGBTI Australians continue to wait for the Australian Government to move on the reform.
Under the proposal by the Victorian Government’s Minister for Equality Martin Foley same-sex marriages would be recorded in the state’s relationship register so long as at least one of the people in the relationship is a resident of the state.
The register was created to allow same-sex couples to formalize their relationships for legal purposes in the absence of a formal legal institution for them to do so.
The Victorian Government also announced today that it would ask its newly formed LGBTI Taskforce and Justice Working Group to consider further reforms to strengthen the recognition of same-sex relationships in the state in the current term of Government.
Local LGBTI rights group the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (VGLRL) has been urging lawmakers to create a civil partnership scheme for couples in the state in the absence of a federal same-sex marriage law.
‘Today’s announcement by the Andrews Government will ensure Victorian couples who have travelled overseas to be married or enter a civil partnership will be legally recognized and protected under Victorian laws,’ VGLRL co-convenor Sean Mulcahy said earlier today.
‘While marriage equality remains a federal responsibility, these reforms are a great step forward by the Victorian Government to provide practical legal protections for LGBTI couples. We particularly welcome the removal of the requirement that both of the couple live together in Victoria for 12 months, which recognises that some couples due to work or family commitments don’t both live in the same location for extended periods of time.’
The VGLRL see civil partnerships as an important option for those couples who wish to make a formal commitment but do not wish to be married.
‘When marriage equality is achieved in Australia, there will still be couples who may choose not be married for a range of reasons,’ Mulcahy said.
‘We expect the Taskforce to carefully explore how Victoria may implement and even improve on civil partnership schemes like Queensland, ACT and the UK as a matter of priority.’
Australia’s new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has pledged to keep to the policy line of the man he deposed, ex-Prime Minister Tony Abbott – which is that same-sex marriage will not be voted on again by the Parliament until a popular vote can be held on the issue and only after the next election is held.
Turnbull had previously been a vocal supporter of passing the reform by a speedy vote by MPs and many believe he agreed to put off any reform as part of a deal with his party’s right wing in order to secure becoming Prime Minister.
The post Third Australian state to recognize overseas gay marriages appeared first on Gay Star News.
Andrew Potts
www.gaystarnews.com/article/third-australian-state-to-recognize-overseas-gay-marriages/
WATCH: Danny Pintauro on How He Contracted HIV
WATCH: Danny Pintauro on How He Contracted HIV
After having revealed to Oprah Winfrey that he’s been HIV-positive for 12 years, former child star Danny Pintauro has disclosed how he believes he contracted the virus — through oral sex.
The onetime Who’s the Boss? cast member says he was religious about safer-sex practices because he was so paranoid about HIV, but he let his guard down because of his drug use — he was at one point addicted to crystal meth.
“Believe it or not, with this guy [from who he contracted the virus], I was actually safe,” he told Us magazine in a video interview posted online Monday. “We did use condoms. I got it another way, which was through oral sex, which is a complicated story. When you put all these things together, like a compromised immune system, having been up for a long time, rough sex, lesions in your mouth, maybe, mixing of bodily fluids, it’s that easy.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Infection notes that the risk of HIV transmission during oral sex is not as great as during anal or vaginal sex, but oral sex is not risk-free. “Even though oral sex carries a lower risk of HIV transmission than other sexual activities, the risk is not zero,” the CDC’s website cautions. “It is difficult to measure the exact risk because people who practice oral sex may also practice other forms of sex during the same encounter.”
“Performing oral sex on an HIV-infected man, with ejaculation in the mouth, is the riskiest oral sex activity,” the site further states. “Factors that may increase the risk of HIV transmission through oral sex are oral ulcers, bleeding gums, genital sores, and the presence of other sexually transmitted diseases.” Risk can be reduced by using condoms or other barriers during oral sex or by avoiding ejaculation in the mouth, the CDC adds.
The CDC also notes that while injection-drug use is a direct route of transmission, other types of drug use lower inhibitions, making people more likely to engage in risky behavior.
Pintauro did not provide additional details about the transmission or his sexual partner in the encounter, but said he is trying to find the man. He had forgotten the man’s name until he ran across it in an email, he told Us.
Below, watch the interview, in which Pintauro also discusses how he met his husband, Wil Tabares; the challenge of finding an understanding partner when you’re HIV-positive; and the support he’s received from Who’s the Boss? cast mates Judith Light, Tony Danza, and Alyssa Milano.
Trudy Ring
www.advocate.com/hiv-aids/2015/10/05/watch-danny-pintauro-how-he-contracted-hiv
Tennessee Republican official offers apology to God to avoid wrath for gay marriage in America
Tennessee Republican official offers apology to God to avoid wrath for gay marriage in America
A Tennessee county local government will today debate a formal apology to God over America’s legalization of same-sex marriage because one of it’s members fears God is poised to punish America with his wrath.
Blount County commissioner and Republican Karen Miller put the apology on today’s agenda, fearing that God will punish America like he did in the Old Testament stories of Sodom and Gommorah and the Passover in which God took the lives of all the firstborn children of Egypt.
In her ‘Resolution condemning judicial tyranny and petitioning God’s mercy,’ Miller writes that, ‘we the Blount County Legislature call upon all of the officers of the State of Tennessee, the Governor, the Attorney General, and the members of the Tennessee Legislature, to join us, and utilize all authority within their power to protect natural marriage, from lawless court opinions, and the financial schemes of the enemies of righteousness wherever the source and defend the moral standards of Tennessee.’
‘We adopt this resolution before God that he pass us by in his coming wrath and not destroy our county as he did Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities. As the Passover Lamb was a means of salvation to the ancient Children of Israel, so we stand upon the safety of the Lamb of God to save us.’
‘We adopt this Resolution begging his favor in light of the fact that we have been forced to comply and recognize that the State of Tennessee, like so many other God-fearing states, may have fallen prey to a lawless judiciary in legalizing what God and the Bible expressly forbids.’
The post Tennessee Republican official offers apology to God to avoid wrath for gay marriage in America appeared first on Gay Star News.
Andrew Potts
