VIDEO: SNL on Insanity of Anti-Trans Bathroom Madness

If you thought Saturday Night Live wasn’t paying attention to Houston’s defeat of the proposed anti-discrimination ordinance called HERO, you’d be wrong.

During last night’s “Weekend Update” segment, anchor Colin Jost reported on the many Houstonians who were fleeced into thinking HERO — which would have protected 15 classes of minorities, including sexual orientation and gender identity — was all about male sexual predators sneaking into women’s restrooms.

Jost introduced commentator Pete Davidson, who eviscerated that oft-heard and malicious argument.

“The theory is that men, in their relentless quest to watch women go to the bathroom, are going through years of hormones, surgery, changing their name, their wardrobe, coming out to their family, all for that big payoff of peeing in a room without urinals,” Davidson says.

Watch the clip below:

Neal Broverman

www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/11/15/video-snl-insanity-anti-trans-bathroom-madness

REVIEW: Longhorns

Longhorns is a light-hearted period-piece comedy.

Set on a Texas university campus in 1982, writer/director David Lewis brings us the story of Kevin (Jacob Newton) – a young guy fighting against his gay sex fantasies, determined to be straight.

Increasingly confused by his homo-erotic friendships with buddies Justin (Kevin Held), Steve (Dylan Fox), and Danny (Stephen Matzke), it’s not until Kevin meets Cesar (Derek Efrain Villanueva) that he begins to accept that he’s gay.

1982 is an interesting point in time in which to set a gay coming-of-age comedy. It was 1982 when the world began to realise the havoc that the HIV virus was causing to the health of gay men. It seems strange that Lewis specifically sets the story in 1982 but makes no reference to AIDS or the growing hysteria that was being fuelled by the emergence of the HIV virus.

Putting historical context to one side, Longhorns seems to have its heart in the right place, the cast and characters are likeable, and there’s plenty of full-frontal male nudity.

Read more from Gareth Johnson

Read more movie reviews

The post REVIEW: Longhorns appeared first on Gay Star News.

Gareth Johnson

www.gaystarnews.com/article/review-longhorns/

Thousands of Mormon Faithful Resign From Church In Support of LGBT Community

Ban on baptism for the children of same-sex couples spurs mass resignation
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/thousands-of-mormon-faithful-resign-from-church-in-support-of-lgbt-communit?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Hundreds of Mormons Resign in Mass Protest of Church’s Anti-Gay Rules: WATCH

Hundreds of Mormons took part in a rally at Salt Lake City’s City Creek Park on Saturday and resigned from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in disagreement with the church’s policies regarding gay people.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the turnout was larger than expected and overwhelmed organizers:

At one of several tables, attorney Mark Naugle helped Mormons expedite their paperwork to resign their memberships in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their forms were then dropped into a file box, which was rapidly filling 90 minutes after the event began, for mailing to nearby LDS Church headquarters to have those members’ names removed from the faith’s rolls.

“We’ve talked to at least 800 people,” Naugle said. “It’s absolutely more than I expected.”

At its peak, the line to drop off resignation papers snaked through the park along State Street, turned east along 2nd Avenue, then curved slightly north along Canyon Road.

This week the LDS Church clarified rules in its handbook regarding children of same-sex parents after news of the rules sparked an uproar and inspired the mass resignation that took place Saturday and is still ongoing.

The new rules said that members of the church in same-sex marriages will be considered apostates against whom leaders of the church must enforce discipline.

Additionally, children of members in same-sex marriages will be barred from baptism and church membership until they pass the age of 18 and disavow same-sex cohabitation and marriage. Also, entrance into the church would then have to be approved by church leaders.

On Friday, LDS Church leaders sought to quell the uproar by clarifying the rules, though the clarification is unlikely to satisfy most who are angry about them.

 Watch a video report from the Salt Lake Tribune:

The post Hundreds of Mormons Resign in Mass Protest of Church’s Anti-Gay Rules: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Andy Towle

Hundreds of Mormons Resign in Mass Protest of Church’s Anti-Gay Rules: WATCH

Fired gay priest: Catholic church ‘needs its own Stonewall’

Catholic priest Krzysztof Charamsa, who was defrocked after publicly coming out as gay, has said the Catholic Church needs a revolution led by homosexual Christians.

Formerly a high-ranking Mosignore in the Vatican, Charamsa was fired from all positions on 3 October, after he came out as gay; more than two weeks later he was defrocked by a Polish bishop.

Speaking to Austrian TV channel Servus TV’s chat show Talk im Hangar 7, in a discussion on the situation on the Catholic Church and whether Pope Francis is set to fail, Charamsa said he felt the church had to apologize to him.

‘I told my church: I’m gay and I demand for you to respect me, and I’m not going to ask anyone for forgiveness. Not even you, my dear church,’ he said.

‘Because it’s you who has to ask me for forgiveness for all the hate and the oppression you brought into my heart while I entrusted myself to you and served you.’

The Vatican, Charamsa said, had been ‘infiltrated by a political war’ going against everything the evangelium stands for.

‘It’s hard, if not impossible, to change something in the Vatican. The Vatican is not going to be able to free itself,’ he said.

‘It needs international help – control and reforms. Those introduced by the pope are currently being counteracted.

‘The Vatican is an institution where a downright pope-phobia rules.’

As for changing things, the former Monsignore said he believes the only way to bring on change would be in the form of a revolution – or, as he put it when speaking to the Washington Post, the Catholic Church needs its own version of Stonewall.

‘I’m convinced that the church needs a revolution of homosexual believers who are being discriminated against, whose lives are destroyed,’ Charamsa said.

‘These days I receive many mails and letters from those believers who are opening their hearts to me, saying: finally. Finally there’s someone telling the Church it’s enough.’

The post Fired gay priest: Catholic church ‘needs its own Stonewall’ appeared first on Gay Star News.

Stefanie Gerdes

www.gaystarnews.com/article/fired-gay-priest-catholic-church-needs-its-own-stonewall/

Madonna Gives Tearful, Defiant Speech on Paris Attacks at Stockholm Concert: WATCH

On her Rebel Tour Saturday night at the Globe Arenas in Stockholm, Sweden, Madonna put her guitar down and offered a tearful, touching, and powerful tribute to Paris and condemned the terrorists who brutally took lives on Friday night.

Said Madonna:

“This whole show is about celebrating life. And standing up for your rights. Fighting for what you believe in. It’s been very hard for me to get through this show and not forget about what happened last night. So I need to take this moment to acknowledge the tragedy. The tragic killings, assassinations and the senseless ending of precious life that occurred last night in Paris In many ways, I feel torn. Like why am I up here dancing and having fun when people are crying over the loss of their loved ones?”

She added:

“However, that is exactly what these people want to do. They want to shut us up. they want to silence us. And we won’t let them….As much [terrrorism] that does occur, there’s more goodness. We are here to claim it.

I was going to cancel my show tonight but then I thought to myself, why should I give that to them. Why should I allow them to stop me, to stop us, from enjoying freedom? All of the places that people were killed were places that people were having fun – were enjoying themselves, eating in restaurants, dancing, singing, watching a soccer match. These are freedoms that we take for granted of course, and we must not. But they are freedoms that we deserve!”

There are people who have a respect for human  life, and there are people that do atrocious, degrading, and unforgivable things to other human beings. But we will never ever ever change this world we live in, if we do not change ourselves, if we do not change the way we treat one another on a daily basis…in the simplest ways. we must start treating every human being with dignity and respect.”

RELATED: More Than 120 Killed in Coordinated Terrorist Attacks in Paris

Madonna led the crowd in a long moment of silence during which she wept. Upon resuming the concert, she asked the crowd to join her in singing “Like a Prayer”.

Watch:

The post Madonna Gives Tearful, Defiant Speech on Paris Attacks at Stockholm Concert: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Andy Towle

Madonna Gives Tearful, Defiant Speech on Paris Attacks at Stockholm Concert: WATCH

A Trans Sisterhood
Co-written with my sister: Rachael Ball

My parents had a surprise; tiny, so beautiful. My new baby sister. How wonderful it would be having another girl to talk to, to share my secrets with. Here was someone that was sure to see me, the real me. I could only hope that she would someday understand.

We were as close as a brother and sister could be. Saturday morning cartoons, I’d cling to his back watching all kinds of shows together; from He-man to Care Bears. He’d occasionally shrug me off his shoulders, but I just wanted to be close to the brother I admired so.

Saturday morning cartoons, as it was for many children of the 80’s, was always a fun filled day. Having my sister there gave me an excuse to watch all of the shows that typically appealed to young girls like us. My favorite had to be Rainbow Brite. It was so unapologetically girly.

Bath time always turned into an all-out war, with various small toys representing soldiers on opposing sides. He was a little mean always adjusting the rules to favor his side. Whenever I had an awesome force field, he had the one and only force field breaker.

I never understood why my sister looked different from me. While I was still in Kindergarten our parents had us take baths together, usually while mom washed our hair. But I was confused, frustrated even. Looking at her I knew that I wasn’t like most girls. I thought that perhaps it may just fall off.

Huddled beneath our grand fortress of blankets, I sat entranced by the shadows cast upon my bedroom wall by my brother’s flashlight. Holding his hand in front of the light, he wove a fairy tale. The giant and his unusual friend the magic pail. I laughed at his silly voices forgetting my fears, protected by his presence; drifting into a blissful sleep.

A bit of a frightened child, I could never stand to see her scared, or upset; what sister would? As our bond developed, I found that I could ease her frenzied mind by telling her stories. I never read books to her; instead I preferred spinning my own tales of magical lands, where nothing could harm us.

He always had the best ideas. We had many adventures in our backyard. An overgrown neglected grass became a jungle as we crouched low in the underbrush with our custom made bug hunting gear. I could even face the creepy ones with him by my side.

Of all my childhood memories, the important one at least, she was there. From our bug safaris to our entrepreneurial adventures with “Spookies,” our Halloween themed gambling casino, and our sisterhood couldn’t be stopped. In most respects we were best friends. She saw me differently, she couldn’t really see me.

Summertime meant vacation. We watched as the countryside passed us by. Hours on the seemingly endless road. Whether we were camping out under the stars, swimming in hotel pools, or visiting family; I had my big brother there to make anywhere feel like home.

In the years spent traveling on the road we had many adventures. I delighted in my ability to sound just like my sister; much to the chagrin of my parents. We’d fall asleep in the back seat, one atop the other. As a teenager in Vegas I was brave enough to buy my first dress, which I had to give to my sister after my mother discovered it.

Childhood passed us by; mine came to an abrupt stop. At 16 I was pregnant. My big brother seemed to look at me differently that day as I broke the news. I had rarely seen him cry and yet he wept. I faced a new challenge scared and afraid but, my big brother enlisted and sailed far away. I wanted to hold onto him…. life had other plans for us both.

Only months before my sister’s unexpected pregnancy, I survived a suicide attempt. I couldn’t bear to live, to look my family in the face pretending to be their son. My parents didn’t need another shock. I made the choice to leave and moved to Japan with the Navy. I am so sorry sissy for leaving you when you needed me most.

I settled into married life and motherhood, as he got to explore the world. Years past, together at our childhood home; up late camping in the living room, he told me what he had longed to say. He was my big sister and always had been. Confused but supportive I watched as she modeled her outfits. It dawned on me, I had never seen him this truly happy until I really saw her.

In my travels across the planet I never stopped longing to be myself, to be a big sister. Long after I left the service, I found myself standing nervously in a dress, in front of my sister; the truth of my life laid before her. Then, as I had always hoped to do, to be… she accepted me as her sister.

Watching her lay there in a hospital bed, through her winces of pain, I was relieved; happy to share this moment with her. She had been reborn. Now everyone would see her. As my brother she’d always looked out for me. Now I was there to hold her hand. The sister I had always dreamed of, there all along. I see you Sissy and you are amazing!

Throughout our lives, all I ever wanted was to be a big sister. As I was wheeled into my gender confirmation surgery, I took comfort in knowing that my family was there. That when I woke up, she would be there to support me, her big sister. And to you, sissy, thank you for seeing me, for accepting me, and for loving me.

— 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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This Lesson On Sexual Consent Is The Most British Thing You Will Ever See

Consent: It’s important.

Like, really, really important.

But we hope you already knew that.

What you probably didn’t know, though, is that you can teach the basic principles of sexual consent with a tea analogy.

The result is the most British thing you will ever lay your eyes on.

Watch below:

Dan Tracer

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/6kejq5iMP9I/this-lesson-on-sexual-consent-is-the-most-british-thing-you-will-ever-see-20151115

Actor Riley Carter Millington is first trans man to claim top spot in 2015 Rainbow List

Trans actor Riley Carter Millington took first place in the Independent on Sunday’s 2015 Rainbow List.

After becoming the first trans actor playing a trans character in a continuous role on British television when he landed a role in long-running soap East Enders, Millington now also became the first trans man to take the Rainbow List’s top spot.

The jury said the actor and his success in mainstream television represented ‘a tipping point for the representation of transgender people in the media’.

‘We received thousands of nominations, and the decision meeting with a panel of highly respected judges was a brilliant, loud, hotly debated day,’ said Lisa Markwell, editor of the Independent on Sunday.

‘This year we’ve worked hard to find people – both well-known and unsung heroes – who really are inspiring and I’m delighted that the list is bigger, better and more diverse than ever before.’

Released on Sunday, November 15, the list annually honors and celebrates the 101 most influential lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people in Britain.

For the first time in its 15-year history, the 2015 list also included intersex people and the jury placed great emphasis on this – with the result of three intersex people landing spots in the top ten.

Runner-up to Millington is intersex advocate and drugs therapist Sarah Graham, who described being intersex as ‘part of all creation’ when she publicly spoke about her experiences as an intersex woman.

Holly Greenbury and Dawn Vago, co-founders of Intersex UK, were awarded fifth place in recognition of their work in educating, informing and campaigning in a big to remove social prejudice and ignorance surrounding intersex people.

Rugby league player Keegan Hirst, who came out this summer, the UK’s youngest MP Mhairi Black, as well as model Cara Delevigne, trans actor Rebecca Root, star of the BBC’s trans sitcom Boy Meets Girl, and Great British Bake-Off finalist and anesthetist Tamal Ray.

The post Actor Riley Carter Millington is first trans man to claim top spot in 2015 Rainbow List appeared first on Gay Star News.

Stefanie Gerdes

www.gaystarnews.com/article/actor-riley-carter-millington-is-first-trans-man-to-claim-top-spot-in-2015-rainbow-list/