Extremists Brutally Murder LGBT Magazine Editor and Employee in Bangladesh

Two employees of Bangladesh’s first and only LGBTQ magazine, Roopbaan, have been brutally murdered in an apartment building in Dhaka, the country’s capital. The magazine’s editor Xulhaz Mannan, 35, and a colleague, Tanay Mojumdar, were hacked to death by a group of assailants. Mannan was an employee of USAID in Dhaka and a nephew of Bangladesh’s first female foreign minister.

According to the BBC, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has until recently claimed that the group has no presence in the country. Additionally, CNN reported that a local affiliate of al Qaeda also claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that Manna and Mojumdar had been targeted because they were “pioneers of practicing and promoting homosexuality.”

Mannan and his colleague’s murder are part of a wider campaign of violence by extremists in recent years targeting civil society leaders, Hindu and Christian religious minorities, atheists, foreigners and now LGBTQ people. An English professor in the city of Rajshahi and an atheist blogger in Dhaka were murdered in similar attacks in the last few weeks and a total of nine liberals have been murdered in the country this year.

U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat condemned the killings and urged the government “in the strongest terms to apprehend the criminals behind these murders.” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also condemned the “barbaric murders” and described Mannan as a “trusted colleague, beloved friend, and advocate for human rights and dignity in Bangladesh.” USAID Administrator Gayle Smith praised Mannan’s work to deepen political understanding throughout the country and called on the “cowardly attackers” to be brought to justice. The U.S. National Security Council also issued a statement deploring the murders.

“HRC joins the international community in mourning the death of Xulhaz Mannan. His death follows a worrying pattern of attacks targeting secular activists, religious minorities, activists and academics by extremist Islamic groups,” HRC Global Director Ty Cobb said. “The government of Bangladesh needs to take immediate measures to end these attacks and end the sense of impunity among attackers by arresting and bringing them to justice.”

Bangladesh is one of several South Asian countries that continue to criminalize LGBTQ people using an archaic British colonial-era law known as Section 377. Despite the presence of several LGBTQ rights organizations in the country, sexual and gender minorities in the country face severe social and economic challenges and these murders are likely to add to the challenges.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families and friends and the Bangladeshi LGBTQ community. 

www.hrc.org/blog/extremists-brutally-murder-lgbt-magazine-editor-and-employee-in-bangladesh?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

PHOTOS: Ab Fab Movie Promises Cameos (And Legs) For Days

The only thing easier for an agent to do these days than convince James Franco he should play gay in his next film is to sell someone on making a cameo in an Absolutely Fabulous movie.

Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to share some screen time with Patsy and Eddie?

Perhaps that’s why, in addition to the previously reported 96 drag queens who will show up at some point on the ride, there are another 60, yes six-zero, other cameos to look forward to.

Some recently released production stills give us our first hints at what to expect:

1. Lulu

The one and only Lulu made her AbFab debut in the ’90s during a comeback circuit that included a remake of “Relight My Fire” with Take That and a solo single called “Independence.” We’re glad to see the 67-year-old singer has still got it.

2. Dame Edna

3. Kate Moss

Rumor has it she is killed off in the film. Remember kids — dont’ smoke and swim.

4. Dawn French

Dawn is actually a co-creator of AbFab — the show was conceived of as a sketch on a 1990 episode of the French and Saunders Show that she hosted with Jennifer Saunders.

5. Dame Joan Collins

6-8. Daisy Lowe, Lara Stone and Stella McCartney

9-12. Lily Cole, Jourdan Dunn, Alexa Chung and Suki Waterhouse

13. Alesha Dixon

14. Graham Norton

Chris Colfer, Jean Paul Gaultier, Jerry Hall, La Roux, Perez Hilton and many, many others will also pop up in the highly anticipated film, which opens on July 1 in the U.K. and July 22 in the States.

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Patient Falls Madly In Love With Doctor, Says “I Don’t Mind Sharing Him With His Wife”

An asthmatic gay man went to his doctor for help… only to have his breath taken completely away. Now, he’s seeking advice for what he says is much more than just a crush.

“I am 38 years old,” the man writes to advice columnist Andy at the blog Queer-Voices. “I had asthma as a kid and it went away. I’m a little overweight of course. For the past three years, I’ve been having difficulty breathing.”

Related: Bisexual Man Seeks Help After Wife Forces Him Back Into The Closet, Denying Him The D

The man says he visited four different doctors, but none of them could figure out what was wrong with him, until…

“I got a new doctor eight months ago,” he says. “For the first time, I felt like I was being heard. He listened to what I was saying and was concerned. Over the past six months, he has put me through multiple steps to figure out what is wrong with me.”

These steps included a series of tests, x-rays, MRIs, and other procedures. And in the process, the man caught feelings.

“I have spent so much time with him that I might be in love with him,” he confesses. “He’s been through this with me. He’s nice, caring, and funny. I feel there’s a connection. He’s always happy to see me and reminds me that if something’s wrong to call and make an appointment and he’ll see me.”

Related: Man Discovers Naughty Videos Of His Boyfriend Online, Suffers Emotional Breakdown

The man continues, “I know he’s married and I don’t care. I don’t mind sharing him with his wife. I sent him a box of chocolates for Valentine’s; he thought it was for the staff.”

He signs his letter “Conflicted Patient.”

Andy responds by first assuring the man he’s not alone in his longing for his doctor.

“Falling in love with your doctor is a very common problem and it’s called transference,” he replies. “Because of your physical (he examines you half naked) relationship with your doctor, you feel that he’s touching you with a sexual overtone. You think it’s intimate because of the physical contact, the attention you’re getting, and probably his smile.”

Andy continues: “Don’t be worried about it. You don’t necessarily need to change doctors. Just remember that you’re not actually dating him and don’t assume that he wants you in a sexual way.”

Related: Doctors To Patients: Please, For The Love Of God, Stop Texting Us Pictures Of Your Privates!

“This may pass soon,” Andy assures him, “maybe when you have an intimate relationship with a man that will respond to you.”

“Some people have this problem for a couple of months, others go through it for almost a year,” Andy concludes. “Be patient, try not to focus too much on him. Focus on yourself as a whole person. You have to be whole to find your other half.”

What do you think of Andy’s advice? Should the man try to ride things out until his feelings subside? Sound off in the comments section below.

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Fetishizing Gay Mormons Will Not Be Allowed At This Year’s Utah Pride Festival, Organizers Say

When LeGrand Wolf, owner of the new gay Mormon-themed porn site MormonBoyz, applied to be a vendor at the Utah Pride Festival earlier this month, he thought it would be the perfect way to launch his new website. Organizers, however, felt differently.

Two days after applying to be a vendor, Wolf got a confirmation from the organization saying everything was good. But five days after that, he received an email saying the organization had changed its mind and that the board “unanimously agreed [the website] is not something we feel comfortable having,” adding that the website is not representative of Utah’s gay community.

Related: There Are No Gay Mormons, Says Mormon Official

Now, Wolf is speaking out, calling the organization’s move “ridiculous and offensive.”

“We were interested in coming in wearing suit and tie, with missionary name badges, fully clothed, not gyrating in our underwear on a flatbed truck to music and simulating sex,” he recently told CityWeekly. “I don’t know what anyone is so terrified of; no one was asking for an endorsement. How could it be any more perfect for the Utah Pride celebration?”

Others have accused the festival of censorship, a claim executive director of the Utah Pride Center, Carol Gnade, refutes.

“The issue is not about censorship of what they do,” Gnade explained. “It’s the appropriateness of it, and the kind of celebration that we have for our community, and the fact that we have such a broad spectrum of ages.”

She added that Wolf’s initial request was approved by accident by a new hire and was immediately denied as soon as they realized their mistake.

“It came in electronically, and when that person realized that it was not appropriate for the place and the event, they denied it,” she said.

Related: “God” Purchases Two “God Loves Gays” Billboards in Utah For Pride Month

But Wolf isn’t buying it.

“Other adult companies like CockyBoys in New York City and Men.com in Atlanta and others are recruited by the Pride groups to come in,” he argued. “In L.A., they actually have the ‘Erotic City’ a zoned-off section where minors can’t come in.”

To which Gnade fired back by pointing out that “LeGrand Wolf” isn’t even the man’s real name. It’s a pseudonym, and he refuses to disclose his actual identity, which has added to the organization’s trepidation.

“LeGrand Wolf isn’t a person,” she noted. “That disturbs me, that we don’t know who these people are and where they come from.”

Wolf responded by saying the moniker is his “porn name,” noting that “in the adult industry, everyone [takes on] the name that they produce by.” Real names, he says, is “a liability” not to mention “kind of a faux pas.”

Gnade insists that MormonBoyz will not be included in this year’s Utah Pride Festival–no ifs, ands or buts.

“We are firm in our decision,” she said, adding that the festival “remains the biggest festival in Salt Lake City, and is the great celebration of how far we’ve come in GLBTQIA rights.”

Related: Gay Mormon Man Married To A Woman Compares Gay Sex To Donuts

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NEW MUSIC: Sorority Noise, Mary and the Pigeons, The Frank and Walters

This week in New Music: Sorority Noise‘s new EP is a devastating meditation on grief and anything but EMO, Irish cellist Mary Barnecutt’s debut solo album is charming and deeply haunting and The Frank and Walters never grow old on seventh album Songs for the Walking Wounded.

Sorority Noise – It Kindly Stopped For Me

Sorority Noise (above) do not make happy music. To describe their debut album Joy, Departed as EMO would be doing a disservice to songwriter Cameron Boucher’s struggles with addiction and mental illness. On that album, Boucher tells us “I’ve tried to rid myself of my anxious tendency, but I have to accept my head for what it is to me.” The songs were firmly in the emo category but culminated in the relatively happy thought “I stopped wishing I was dead.”

Life gets in the way however, and since then Boucher has lost a number of friends to suicide. That grief is played out on the hushed, toned down 4-track EP It Kindly Stopped Me.

Frankly, you’d be hard pressed to find two releases only one year apart that differ so much. Reflecting Boucher’s state of mind, the songs on It Kindly Stopped Me are obviously utterly heartbreaking. In his grief, Boucher doesn’t just sing about it – the music embodies the depth and desperation of his experience. On the final track “XC” there is some sense of hope. You get the impression that Boucher is really trying to move on and very possibly winning the battle.

Not meaning to be flippant in any way, shape or form, if The First Days of Spring was last decade’s breakup album, It Kindly Stopped Me is a contender for devastation in this one.

Quite frankly, utterly heartbreaking.

Mary and the Pigeons – Into Air

Rather than a change of pace from Sorority Noise, Irish cellist Mary Barnecutt’s debut solo album sees her go down the route of fellow Irish cellist Vyvienne Long’s debut 2010 album Caterpillar Sarabande with a quiet and delicate collection that brings instrumentation to the fore, with occasional forays into hushed vocals.

There is something of an old-school classiness to Barnecutt’s songs that suggests they would be appropriate for soundtracks to anything by Todd Haynes. That suggests, possibly, “charming.”

It is but it’s also somehow mesmerizing and at times dark and unsettling.

The Frank and Walters – Songs for the Walking Wounded

A stalwart in Ireland’s indie pop scene for three decades, The Frank and Walters’ seventh studio album doesn’t do anything new for the genre. However, for a band on the go for 27 years there are some fantastic songs on offer here including “We Are the Young Men” and “Fishes” in which a group of middle aged men sound remarkably sprightly.

At this stage you might be forgiven for assuming the lads would be jaded – stand up James on latest effort Girl at the End of the World. However, Songs for the Walking Wounded is if anything a kick in the ass to young jangly pop pretenders.

It’s not going to change the world but it’ll make you happy.

The post NEW MUSIC: Sorority Noise, Mary and the Pigeons, The Frank and Walters appeared first on Towleroad.

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Glenn Beck Comes Out Against Target's Trans-Inclusive Bathroom Policy

More than 200,000 conservatives have signed a petition to boycott Target. Glenn Beck called the backlash “common sense.”

www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/4/26/glenn-beck-comes-out-against-targets-trans-inclusive-bathroom-policy

This is what happens when you come out in public as a gay Muslim

Since I won the Mr. Gay Denmark in 2012, and thus became the first Muslim participant in Mr. Gay Europe and Mr. Gay World 2013, there have been many different reactions. Furthermore I won the title Mr. Congeniality in Mr. Gay Europe and the ‘activist prize’ in Germany in 2013.

While people now are well aware of the existence of Christian and Jewish gay communities, the issue concerning gay Muslims is still a closed area for many. This taboo also got a lot attention in the Danish press Politiken and also in the program DR3 Gay Studies which followed me through the Mr. Gay competition, and focused on my ‘Muslim life’, and how I live as a minority in a minority.

However it got as expected, major consequences for me to come out as gay Muslim.

It ended up as headlines on Facebook with thousands of comments. My husband and I were subjected to extremely hateful comments.

The media in Denmark was more interested in the attention the story got than me as a person. So when people wrote despicable things to me and my husband, the newspaper did not care about removing the really offensive comments.

We had three death threats, which we reported to the police.

We had the names of the three who had sent the death threats we also knew where they worked. Despite of this, the police did nothing. The only comment we have received from the police, was ‘it’s good that someone is fighting for this cause and showing the way for others in similar situations.’

Our car was vandalized, scratched all around, and had ‘faggot’ written on it.

The insurance did not cover all the expenses which were estimated to €5,000 ($5,600).

Additionally my family was worried, frustrated and very upset. They made it very clear that I should stop participating in interviews or programs, instantly for our own safety.

In spite of the fact that the gay media Out & About and the Danish newspaper Politiken wrote about several hate crimes we have been subjected to, we have not been supported by any LGBTI organizations. Although one might think that Denmark is a very liberal country, we still have a long way to go.

The positive results of being open about my Muslim identity also got me accepted and included in many Muslim communities, which of course made me proud. This unfortunately resulted in LGBTI people (here with Muslim background), writing offensive comments as many of them had left Islam, and subsequently resulted in being Islamophobic by nature. I came to the conclusion that the price of my fight was too high. I had to think about my family and what this was doing to them.

My husband and I will, regardless, still support LGBTI organizations.

But they need to be ready to support and to open their eyes to the fact that gay Muslims exist. Awareness in this area is highly needed.

We have had correspondence with Bijat Abdellah, who will be the second Muslim participant in the Mr. Gay Europe competition. Of course he has our support, and knows that we will be happy to be at any assistance if needed. We got the impression that he is already going through similar things as I personally experienced.

Michael Sinan was the winner of Mr Gay Denmark in 2012 and a contestant of Mr Gay World 2013. 

The post This is what happens when you come out in public as a gay Muslim appeared first on Gay Star News.

www.gaystarnews.com/article/happens-come-public-gay-muslim/

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” Recap Realness: I Wanna Text You Up

The weekly return from the lip sync has become routine for the contestants, and it shows. Everyone says that this was an emotional elimination, but they’re all either too drained or too jaded to tangibly demonstrate any sense of empathy. They’ve become fabulous robots programmed to talk about how sad they are that Thorgy is gone. Luckily for the editors, their anger and desperation are still very real, especially in Derrick’s case. Chi Chi hangs the piñata by being the first to voice surprise that the Vegas Vacancy wasn’t on the chopping block, but Naomi ends up taking the most swings with her wiffle bat. For an audience tired of watching better queens sashay in favor of the Halfwit Brit-Brit, it’s a welcome catharsis.

Tensions are running so high that the next morning, we get another conversation-free entrance. It’s pretty much just a shot of Bob’s purse and then a cut straight to Ru’s video PSA about literacy. (Are you happy, Serena Cha Cha? #readabook) Luckily, the extended length of this episode means that there’s no rush to explain why we’re talking so much about libraries and reading when we done already done had that mini-challenge. So let’s kill some time with a puppet interlude, aka the Reading Challenge part 2! It’s no surprise that the hapless intern shoved behind the glory hole (whose job is, one assumes, usually MUCH more tiring than handing out dolls) gives Naomi and Derrick facsimiles of each other, nor is it shocking that they can’t even wait until the game starts to throw out some choice barbs. Similarly, Bob barely has her Kim Chi puppet in hand before she’s dropping it for comedic effect. But Chi Chi takes the win by delivering essentially the exact same skit that BenDeLaCreme did about Bianca Del Rio two seasons ago, except with a miniature pocketbook. But hey, if the producers are going to recycle the same storylines over and over, then the contestants might as well play along.

Of course, we can only play with toys for so long: the workroom is for working, and Ru has a super-sized assignment to keep her Top 5 on their toes. This week, they’ll be competing in the Book Ball, serving three looks: baby drag, mom drag, and paper drag. The construction is all just backdrop for Naomi and Derrick’s personal death match, of course. I’m not going to bother rehashing all of it, because let’s face it none of it is as funny as what I’ve said in previous recaps. But it is now my personal mission in life to give Leggy Smalls a giant hug for finally pointing out that a certain someone is Not a Twink, Not Yet A Bald Man. Also, for only being 21, she handles the whole interaction with a lot more poise and maturity than her supposedly professional counterpart.

While the ladies stitch and bitch, Ru wanders between tables, hungry for the human tears that keep her young. “Tell me about… your mother,” she whispers through a lurid grin. Unfortunately, no one bites in the moment. She gets Chi Chi to accept her country roots and grills Kim Chi for what seems like hours, but the closest she comes is unearthing a story about Bob’s mom’s health and waiting for her talking head interviewer to finish the job later. (Not shown: the three hooded monks who solemnly collect the precious liquid sadness from her face into a sacred urn that they will transport back to Mathu Anderson’s dungeon.) When Naomi says that being in the bottom two “literally” lit a fire under her ass, I’m inclined to believe her: the Supermodel of the World will stop at nothing to extract the salty lifeblood from your eyes.

Since the combination of high-pressure sewing and parental drama wasn’t enough to drive five people simultaneously into sobbing fits, Ru ups the ante even further by assigning the group a dance routine based on Jerri Blank without even bothering to justify how that connects to the literary theme. Chi Chi is told that she’ll be choreographing as reward for her puppet show earlier, but really it’s a punishment for being so upbeat and composed this week. The rehearsal process for the number is just an excuse to remind us that Kim Chi struggles with coordinated movement because she is a sentient wetsuit full of trained cats.

Since the rest of the workroom footage is just an extended argument about whether Bob or Derrick has the worst make-up (and we all know it’s Derrick), let’s just fast-forward to the mainstage, shall we? The image of a row of queens in cheap wigs and giant toothy inserts briefly causes me to worry that Robbie Turner has sent her clone army to destroy us, but it’s just our top five trying desperately to lip sync through unnecessary dental obstructions. (Seriously, guys: Jerri Blank’s signature underbite can be easily achieved without a Party City hillbilly costume.) The only good parts of the performance are Bob’s delivery of “crack cocaine” and Amy Sedaris’ existence. And really, the fact that World of Wonder could afford to get her into the studio to record this song means that she officially isn’t charging enough for those kinds of bookings.

For the Ball itself, there’s lots to love. Chi Chi steps up her game with her paper couture creation and Naomi remains regal and runway-ready throughout. They can’t compete with Kim Chi, though: by expertly weaving her high-concept looks into a fully realized story, she nails the assignment on multiple levels and soars to the top of the best-seller list. Sadly, the uniformly high quality of everyone else’s offerings makes Derrick’s ineptitude disastrously evident. Her clothes, brows, IQ, and personality are all so collectively underwhelming that she should have just kept walking off the runway, out of the studio, and into the ocean. And Bob did great because she’s Bob and she always does great, but someone’s got to win the lip sync.

And win she does, friends. You don’t take “The Drag Queen” as your last name without being supremely confident in that identity, and her expert delivery of Sylvester’s classic disco anthem gives us a good look at her extensive tool kit. By contrast, Derrick has always been a one-trick pony, and that horse has been dead for so long that there’s nothing left to beat. Lacking the ability to show us something we haven’t seen before, she impales herself on her own Spears and gets sent packing. Bob bids her a loving, heartfelt goodbye, disappointing me for the first time in the competition. I don’t mind if they’re friends, but I do mind having that blonde nobody on my TV for ten more seconds. Hug it out off-camera.

Chris J. Kelly performs under the drag name Ariel Italic and can be seen as one of the cohosts of Nobodies Hosting Drag Race every Monday night at Eastlands in Brooklyn, NY.

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‘Go-Go Boy Interrupted’ Faces Drag Queen Dilemmas – WATCH

On this week’s episode of Go-Go Boy Interrupted, Danny continues on his quest to get his job back at Club PantherWarmth and takes his fight straight to the top.

But first, Danny tries to learn Span-ich with Pablo Hernandez so he can fulfill his lifelong dream of going to Rome  (yes, the one in Italy).

Then, it’s off to Ann Ziety’s office where we encounter Ann (Drew Droege) sans drag.

Will Danny be able to make his way back onto a box in time for Pride weekend?

Watch, below.

Catch up on season 2 of Go-Go Boy Interrupted HERE.

The post ‘Go-Go Boy Interrupted’ Faces Drag Queen Dilemmas – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

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