#AM_Equality Tip Sheet: October 19, 2015

Start the week off right with today’s top headlines.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/am-equality-tip-sheet-october-19-2015?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Hillary Clinton Posts Amazing Letter She Received From Budding Feminist Child With Two Dads

Hillary Clinton has posted a remarkable letter that she recently received from Olivia, a young girl with two dads who wants to grow up in a world where all women receive equal rights:

Clinton’s response to the letter:

Thank you for writing to me; it put a smile on my face. … Please know that I join your dads in cheering you on for great success. Keep up the great work, always care deeply about what you believe in, and never stop reaching for the stars!

H/t: LGBTQ Nation

Jeremy Kinser

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Broadway Dreamboat Aaron Tveit Will Make You Feel Wicked with Cover of ‘Defying Gravity’ – WATCH

Actor Aaron Tveit may be known to you for his roles in Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables, teen soap opera Gossip Girl, or contemporary Broadway classic Wicked (as Fiyero from 2008-9). Now, the crooning dreamboat has covered one of that show’s most iconic hits, originally sung by Idina Menzel (aka Adele Dazeem), “Defying Gravity.”

Watch as Tveit soars in the western sky, below:

The post Broadway Dreamboat Aaron Tveit Will Make You Feel Wicked with Cover of ‘Defying Gravity’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

Broadway Dreamboat Aaron Tveit Will Make You Feel Wicked with Cover of ‘Defying Gravity’ – WATCH

WATCH: Brody Jenner Hassled in Public About Caitlyn's Transition

Brody Jenner and Matt Deichl went to a Walgreens in Southern California on Sunday to pick up a pair of reading glasses. Another customer, recognizing the E! celebrity, decided to seize the opportunity harass Jenner about Caitlyn’s well-documented transition. Jenner is one of Caitlyn’s sons.

Earlier this year, Jenner opened up about his post-transition relationship with hs famous father, who was known as Bruce before transitioning. “Growing up, I didn’t really have the greatest relationship with Bruce. I didn’t really see him that often,” Jenner said during an interview on the Today show in July. “And Caitlyn is just a much freer person. It’s incredible to see the difference between Caitlyn and Bruce. Bruce and I just kind of really didn’t get along, to be honest, and [with] Caitlyn it’s literally like getting to know… your dad all over again, but in a better way.”

Watch below as an unknown woman taunts Jenner about his family in a video he posted to his Instagram account.

 

Hanging with my homey @mdeichl at Walgreens trying to figure out what whack ass glasses fit on his face and then this shit happens. #typical

A video posted by Brody Jenner (@brodyjenner) on Oct 17, 2015 at 5:51am PDT

 

Bil Browning

www.advocate.com/television/2015/10/19/watch-brody-jenner-hassled-public-about-caitlyns-transition

Do Hotter People Have Better Sex Lives?

Each week HuffPost Gay Voices, in a partnership with blogger Scout, LGBT HealthLink and researcher Susana Fajardo, brings you a round up of some of the biggest LGBT wellness stories from the past seven days. For more LGBT Wellness visit our page dedicated to the topic here. 

Hotter People Have Better Sex Lives

Science found out what most of us already know: hotter people have better sex lives. A study of LGB (no T) individuals found that people who thought they were more sexually attractive had more sexual partners, better self-esteem, more sex and when they had sex enjoyed it more.

Feds: No Research Supports Conversion Therapy

This week SMHSA, a federal agency, released a groundbreaking report calling for the end to conversation therapy, a practice they say is harmful and has no scientific backing. Thanks to SAMHSA for going public on this point.

Aydian Dowling Doesn’t Win Men’s Health Cover

The winner of the Men’s Health “Ultimate Guy” cover contest was announced and, sadly, transgender fitness enthusiast and model Aydian Dowling didn’t win the top spot. Aydian was a fan favorite and would have been the first transgender man to grace the cover of Men’s Health. Still, congratulations to him on his amazing effort.

Breast Cancer Research Lacking For Transgender Individuals

We know it’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month from all of the pink ribbons popping up everywhere. While public support has never been higher, there is still a huge gap in research for breast cancer in transgender people. And in case it hasn’t yet been said… pink may not fit all of us.

Circumcision Doesn’t Affect STI Likelihood

Good news! Circumcision probably doesn’t affect STIs. A new study found no difference in overall STI rates between circumcised and uncircumcised young black MSM.

Electronic Health Records To Allow LGBT Status

Hallelujah to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for releasing a new rule that soon vendors developing electronic health record systems must allow providers to record information on sexual orientation and gender identity. As just one example of what this might affect? It’s the first step in allowing us to finally collect LGBT cancer data.

Also on The Huffington Post:

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Early Voting Begins Today in Houston

Now is the time to vote for equality. Protect the Houston Equality Rights Ordinance.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/early-voting-begins-today-in-houston?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Up Close & Personal With Dancer Mark MacKillop

Performer and internet selfie sensation Mark MacKillop currently performing his one-person show – A Night With Mark MacKillop – in cities around the country. Singing standards from the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s, MacKillop takes the audience on his journey this past year from an aspiring musical theater performer to a world famous taker of scantily-clad selfies in this self-deprecating, tongue-in-cheek guide to becoming “famous” in 2015. We recently had the pleasure of participating in our first Mark MacKillop interview, and we even obtained some great selfies.

See more of Mark and find his exclusive interview on The Underwear Expert.

Photo Credit: Mark MacKillop – Exclusively for The Underwear Expert

Underwear Expert

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Country Music Duo Brothers Osborne Salutes Gay, Interracial, Older Couples in New Video: WATCH

Country music duo Brothers Osborne released a video last week for their new single “Stay a Little Longer” which offers something rare in country music: a look into romantic moments between gay, interracial, and older couples.

The brothers, T.J. and John, spoke to Rolling Stone about the song, co-written with Shane McAnally, back in March:

“That song gives [audiences] everything that we are. It starts off and the verses are really emotional and fragile. You don’t want to be alone, you’re making the phone call [to an on-again, off-again lover], taking the trip to the house and then you’re tearing t-shirts off and it’s this electric thing,” T.J. says. “But then, boom, you’re by yourself again: ‘I’m lying here wishing you could stay a little longer.’”

The video features a window (literally) into those situations with a variety of couples.

A Towleroad reader noticed, and directed us to the clip: “Heard the tune and like it for its solid country fundamentals, but also because it was gender neutral — could imagine it applying to many situations. Lo and behold, the music video includes mixed race, mixed age, and same-sex couples. Very progressive for the genre. The Brothers Osborne deserve some props.”

Indeed.

Watch:

 

The post Country Music Duo Brothers Osborne Salutes Gay, Interracial, Older Couples in New Video: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Andy Towle

Country Music Duo Brothers Osborne Salutes Gay, Interracial, Older Couples in New Video: WATCH

Why You Should Go Out To Eat Alone

The prospect of purposefully eating alone in public might seem daunting to some, but an increasing number of Americans are reserving tables for one.

According to a recent analysis by OpenTable, single table reservations have gone up 62 percent in the last two years. Maybe it’s the plethora of must-Instagram food available in every city around the country, maybe its a craving for some alone time in this hyperconnected age, or maybe it’s a little bit of both. Whatever it is, the practice is worth toasting. Alone).  

Vice’s Nell Frizell has gone so far as to argue that eating alone makes you a better human:

[…] to concentrate on what you’re consuming, to be able to take in your eating environment alone, is one of the cornerstones of self-sufficiency. You are free from bullshit food shame, from other people’s boring diet restrictions, from small talk, from having to meet someone so late you’ve eaten the napkins before the starters arrive and, most importantly, from compromise. You are an island.

Yes, dining solo can be a great pleasure, and it can be good for you, too. Below, we’ve rounded up five reasons to eat alone:

1. You’ll get to experience some solitude.

Alone doesn’t mean lonely, and going solo has some major benefits. Spending time with number one (that’s you, friend) can boost your creativity and make you like yourself more. Plus, a table for one means you don’t have to fake-offer the last fry to anyone. It’s all yours.

2. No small talk necessary. 

Small talk is inevitable when meeting up with a friend for a meal. How was your day, what’s up with your cat, blah, blah, blah. It’s a ritual that is even more exhausting after a long day of feigning interest in other people’s affairs at work. A break from surface-level chitchat will give your brain a chance to contemplate other issues worth talking about. And it’s the substantive talk that makes people happier in the long run.

3. Your brain will have a moment to unwind and focus on Just. One. Thing.

We are a multi-tasking race, to a fault. Much research confers that multi-tasking isn’t possible, that when we try to do two things at once we’re actually just slowing down the process of completing either of the two tasks. Eating alone allows you to focus on the deliciousness of your meal and savor it — no need to prevent awkward silences in between messy, mindless bites of kale salad.

4. You can turn that savoring into a meditation. 

The exception to the no multi-tasking rule above is meditating while dining out alone. Give yourself the gift of fully tasting the flavors you’re paying for. You can meditate with any kind of food (check out this coffee meditation for the play-by-play) by focusing on the taste of the dish, the sound of your chewing and the smell steaming off your plate. You’ll be better for it.

5. You’ll make healthier choices.

You won’t have to worry about being a Negative Nancy when someone suggests dessert and you’re either not hungry for it or don’t feel like paying for a spoonful of creme brûlée. Your dinner = your rules. Better yet, studies show that people mimic the eating patterns of their dining companions, meaning if they eat more (or less), so will you. Eating alone means eating at your own pace and claiming fullness when you feel it.

Also on HuffPost:

— 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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