Trans Students Have Better Options On College Applications Now
They’re changing their questions about prospective students’ sex.
The post Trans Students Have Better Options On College Applications Now appeared first on ThinkProgress.
thinkprogress.org/education/2016/04/26/3772722/trans-students-college-applications/
HRC Arkansas Works to Create Safer Worship Spaces for the LGBTQ Community
Post submitted by Rev. Dr. Denise Donnell, Senior Faith Organizer
Earlier this month, more than 75 local and visiting lay and clergy persons convened in Little Rock, Arkansas for a weekend “Embracing and Affirming LGBTQ Diversity and Inclusion within the Black Church.” HRC Arkansas and the Church Within a Church Movement presented the conference at the New Millennium Church. HRC Arkansas designed the flow for the three-day event, working to educate, celebrate and draw LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ people of faith together in covenantal relationship.
The guest speakers for the event were Bishop Tonyia Rawls, founding pastor of Sacred Souls Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina and Rev. Dennis Wiley, co-pastor of Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ in Washington, D.C.
Currently, “self-avowed, practicing” gay and lesbian persons cannot be ordained in The United Methodist Church. According to the Book of Discipline: “The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. Therefore self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be certified as candidates, ordained as ministers, or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church.” Although some regions still raise obstacles, gay and lesbian persons who take a vow of abstinence are eligible for ordination according to church law.
At the end of our time together, Rev. Gilbert Caldwell (retired United Methodist clergy) asked the gathering to endorse a statement calling on the United Methodist Church to end this discriminatory stance. The attendees resoundingly agreed and signed their names in support of this request.
The legislative branch of the United Methodist Church—the General Conference—meets every four years to set church policy. The General Conference will convene next month from May 10-20 in Portland, Oregon. Approximately 1,000 delegates (half lay leaders, half clergy) will gather to consider revisions to the Book of Resolutions, which makes pronouncements on social issues, and the Book of Discipline, which details church law. Decisions of the General Conference cannot be questioned until they are raised at its next convening.
For more information on how to become involved with HRC Arkansas, click here.
For more information about the United Methodist Church and the LGBTQ community, click here.
People look to their faith as a source of guidance and inspiration – and LGBTQ people and our family and friends are no different. The HRC Religion and Faith Program is working to create a world where nobody is forced to choose between who they are, whom they love and what they believe. Learn more here.
Same-sex marriage finally approved in Isle of Man
The Isle of Man has finally approved same-sex marriage.
The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Amendment) Bill had its third and final reading in the Legislative Council of the British crown dependency that sits between the UK and Ireland.
Six members voted in favor, and three were against.
The bill allows same-sex couples to get married and opposite-sex couples to civil partnerships. The latter is currently not available to straight people in the rest of the UK.
In October 2015, Chief Minister Allan Bell revealed he had been in a relationship with another man for the past 21 years.
He said legalizing same-sex marriage would draw a line under the Isle of Man’s ‘dark days’. In the 1980s, a campaign to decriminalize homosexuality (which punished gay sex with life imprisonment) was met with bigotry from the Manx parliament. Homosexuality was finally decriminalized in 1992.
Bell said: ‘Everyone who loves their partner, whether same-sex or otherwise, must have equal rights to share their lives. It’s a totally logical human right and human expectation that straight couples and gay couples should be able to enjoy life with the partner that they choose and I totally support that.’
England and Wales first introduced same-sex marriage in March 2014, with Scotland following in December of the same year. It is not available in Northern Ireland.
The post Same-sex marriage finally approved in Isle of Man appeared first on Gay Star News.
www.gaystarnews.com/article/sex-marriage-finally-approved-isle-man/
corAcor concerto chiesa di San Tommaso
iKen Onlus posted a photo:
Napoli Rainbow Choir – PJ iKen APS O.N.L.U.S.
What’s Your Favorite Broadway Standard? Tell Us And You Might Win A Prize
DVD: “Son Of Saul,” “Hunter,” “India Blues,” & More!
Foreign, queer and prestige titles head up our week’s home entertainment highlights.
Powerful Oscar-winning Foreign Film Son Of Saul sees an Auschwitz prisoner on a desperate mission, while India Blues (above) follows a pair of gay men through the life and death of their relationship. Finally, a gay New York millennial and his gal pal vie for the affections of a sexually ambiguous stranger in Hunter.
Now for trailers and details!
($24.99 DVD; Ariztical)
One night, 20-something friends Gavin and Amy discover a cute yet unconscious young drifter, Carter, on the former’s NYC doorstep. After inviting the guy in, the pair soon compete for his attentions, especially the love-starved Gavin. What’s the deal with this guy, anyway? Director Ian Samplin was just 23 when he directed this 2013 film, making it a truly a millennial-era LGBT entry.
($24.99 DVD; I Have My Art)
Originally titled India Blues: Eight Feelings, director George Markakis charts a relationship between a German and Greek using eight different feelings and emotional states as his map, from love to pain to anger to happiness. With a nonlinear structure and avant-garde filmmaking influences like Jean-Luc Godard, plus some hot and reasonably explicit gay sex to boot, this is a departure from your typical boy meets boy flick!
($34.99 Blu-ray, $30.99 DVD; Sony)
Winner of the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, this harrowing, haunting Hungarian feature is set during 1944 at Auschwitz where prisoner Saul is keeping himself alive by helping to dispose of fellow Jews as member of the Sonderfommando. When he realizes that one of the new arrivals may be his son, so begins an urgent personal mission. Shot in such a way to only expose audiences to what Saul sees himself, this is masterful and intense filmmaking. Extras include a commentary, deleted scene, and Q&A.
ALSO OUT:
Jane Got A Gun
Krampus
Ride Along 2
Hot In Cleveland: Season 6
feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/LNMnKnJgqB8/dvd-son-of-saul-hunter-india-blues-more-20160426
‘Book Ball’ Tops and Bottoms: Power Ranking ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ 08×08 — RECAP
Now this is a top four! I don’t understand folks complaining about this season’s crop of queens. If anything, this might be the most well-balanced group of contestants we’ve seen in a while. The beauty queens can do comedy. The clowns can serve look. They’re savvy. They’re passionate. They take criticism and use it to push themselves. I might have my personal pick to win it all, but I would be happy to see any of these gals snatch that crown.
Or maybe I’m just in a particularly good mood because my least favorite queen is no more.
Tell ‘em boy, bye, and see what happened in our SPOILER-y recap and rankings below.
First things first, it’s time to reach out and put your hand up somebody. That’s right, it’s puppet time. The mini-challenge is a classic: Read a fellow queen by dragging out a puppetfied version of your competitor. Bob fired off the most successful one-liners on Kim Chi, but Chi Chi picked up the win with a silly take on Bob’s overwhelming personality. The real story though was how Derrick and Naomi exchanged blows, barely even trying to make jokes, opting instead to trade stinging insults.
This week’s main challenge tasked the girls with creating three autobiographical looks. There’s baby drag, which comes along with oversized high heels and jewelry, drag odes to their mothers and an unconventional materials dress using books and paper. Sibling judges Amy and David Sedaris joined the judging panel for the night, calling for a special group lip sync performance to a song all about Jerri Blank. (Move over, Lin-Manuel Miranda!)
Who slayed, who stayed and who sashayed? Let’s dig in to this week’s rankings:
1. If anything, Bob’s bottom two performance tonight only served to humanize this season’s clear frontrunner. Her march to the crown needed a moment to show how Bob overcomes adversity, especially on such a small critique. Her lip sync was perfect, and it illustrated the difference between performing and performing drag. Every second we saw Bob’s sync, it was entertaining. In fact, the whole time on the runway was a showcase for Bob’s talent. (My favorite moment may have been when she told the judges she considered wearing a wig, “but eh.” Gold.) And for the record, I really don’t think Bob’s makeup is a problem. Is it sensational? Nope. But it’s not going to be a hindrance either.
2. The exact order for the remaining queens is really neck and neck. I’d say Naomi is the surest lock for the top 3 given her consistent performance across categories. She can serve look, she can paint for the gods and she can give a competent performance (as long as it’s not of New York). Off the runway and in interviews, she’s more clever than she initially seemed, and her love for her mother is very endearing. She even came around to rising above and helping Derrick with those brows. (Though, I mean, did she help? Is that what they looked like with her help?)
3. Given Kim Chi’s complicated relationship with her mother, her second look was beautiful and somber and artful in a way we’re not used to seeing on this show. It should go down as one of the series’ most memorable moments. It was a brilliant touch to add a unifying theme to her three looks, comparing her own growth to that of a seedling. Kim Chi’s looks and story this week were stunners, but, at this point, she feels like a surefire winner for Miss Congeniality. If this season follows a similar trajectory to Drag Races past, one of the final big challenges will be a dance-heavy, acting-heavy music video. That’s not in Kim’s favor. I don’t know why Ru seems convinced this show will out Kim to her mother (is her conservative Korean mother really watching that much Logo?), but the one thing that is certain is Kim will be an even bigger star going forward.
4. I’m glad they stopped editing Chi Chi as sort of over the competition. She rose to the challenge throughout last night’s episode. Although I think Bob had the better puppet performance, Chi Chi had some good digs (the best of which was the one that came after she was announced the winner, using her Bob puppet to claim to win everything). Her final book dress was easily her best (and the best on the runway), plus I loved her as Jerri Blank. My gut tells me we won’t be seeing Chi Chi in the top three, but I wouldn’t be mad if she made the upset. Go on, country queen!
5. Ding dong, the ding-dong’s gone. Derrick finally got the deserved boot. His racially-charged ignorance aside, last night’s episode pushed Derrick’s primary shortcoming in this competition to the forefront. This is not RuPaul’s Female Illusion Race. I mean, those brows. THOSE BROWS. It was the worst paint job in Drag Race herstory. How, HOW did that happen in the top five?! Ridiculous. The lip sync only reinforced what we already knew. Derrick can dance like a pop star, but not as a drag superstar of the world. Don’t serve Britney when I ordered Sylvester, honey. With Naomi, Derrick’s insecurity made her mean-spirited when the shade was supposed to be fun. In the end, Derrick is simply simple, which in so many ways is opposite of the charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent necessary.
How would you rank the queens this week?
The post ‘Book Ball’ Tops and Bottoms: Power Ranking ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ 08×08 — RECAP appeared first on Towleroad.
Ted Cruz Literally Tells Transgender People They Should Only Pee At Home
If transgender people have to go to the bathroom, they have to go home to do it, Ted Cruz believes.
The post Ted Cruz Literally Tells Transgender People They Should Only Pee At Home appeared first on ThinkProgress.
thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/04/26/3772708/ted-cruz-transgender-bathrooms-at-home/
National Republicans Break With North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory After He Signs Discriminatory HB 2
Yesterday, the North Carolina General Assembly reconvened after weeks of pressure to repeal HB 2 from civil right advocates, hundreds of businesses, entertainers — and now a growing list of national Republican leaders. Gov. McCrory, Senator Berger and Speaker Moore have become increasingly isolated as high-profile members of their own party have spoken out and urge for the repeal of HB 2.
Over the last few weeks, Donald Trump, John Kasich, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Chris Christie, Hugh Hewitt, Kathleen Parker, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, Sen. Mark Kirk and Sen. Rob Portman have all spoke out against HB2 – a measure so extreme even Donald Trump has announced his opposition.
To date, the only national Republican to back McCrory is the notoriously anti-LGBT Ted Cruz — who thinks transgender people should only use restrooms at home.
But actions speak even louder than words. South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard recently vetoed an anti-transgender bill in South Dakota similar to North Carolina’s HB 2. Daugaard joins a long line of Republicans from around the country and major companies that have opposed HB 2.
And last week, the Chair of the Republican Governor’s Association cited a “scheduling conflict” and canceled a trip to North Carolina that was intended to show support for Gov. McCrory.
To date, more than 180 leading CEOs and business leaders urging Governor Pat McCrory and the North Carolina General Assembly to repeal the radical provisions in the deeply discriminatory law that was rammed through the legislature on March 23. A copy of the updated letter, calling for the repeal of HB 2, which was first made public on Tuesday, March 29, can be found here.
HB 2 has eliminated existing municipal non-discrimination protections for LGBT people and prevents such protections from being passed by cities in the future. In addition, the legislation prevents transgender students in public schools from using restrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity. It also compels the same type of discrimination against transgender people to take place in publicly-owned buildings, including in public universities, major airports, and convention centers.
Gov. Pat McCrory and state lawmakers are under increasingly intense pressure to repeal the discriminatory HB 2. Mayors and governors across the country are banning travel to the state, musicians are cancelling concerts, and theNew York Times editorial board called North Carolina a “pioneer in bigotry.” Major film studios and corporations, from PayPal to Deutsche Bank, have stopped investments in the state because of the new law. The United Kingdom’s Foreign Office has even warned its LGBT citizens of the risks of traveling to North Carolina.
PHOTOS: The Bare, Vulnerable Truth
www.advocate.com/photography/2016/4/26/photos-bare-vulnerable-truth
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