This bearded man puts on a dress and has the perfect attitude to the trans bathroom bills

When the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, the US took an incredible step forward. But with these bathroom bills targeting the trans community, it is two steps back in the name of equality.

But not everybody agrees with these horrific discriminatory laws like in North Carolina, the ‘religious freedom law’ in Mississippi and the law that will actually jail trans people for peeing in public bathrooms in Oxford, Alabama.

Jeremiah Traeger, who lives in Boulder, Colorado, took to Facebook to show how ridiculous the politicians who want to attack trans people who just want to pee.

He said: ‘This is me, an actual man in a dress (right now). I’m not a trans man or a trans woman, that is something different. I am a man. Not cause of what’s between my legs. Because I know myself. There’s a difference.

‘The argument seems to be that someone like me, a cis male, could more easily infiltrate a bathroom looking like this and assault a kid. Ok then, walk me through the steps. I think I’m missing something:

‘1. Wear a dress.
‘2. Walk into a women’s bathroom.

‘Then what? Don’t women’s restrooms have stalls? Wouldn’t I be a perv if I looked in them REGARDLESS of me being a man? If I was a pedo wouldn’t it be EASIER for me to stay in the men’s room? Isn’t assault ALREADY ILLEGAL?

‘I don’t understand how letting me into a certain bathroom makes it any easier. I’ve never seen anyone’s genitals in my bathroom visits, I doubt it’s any different in women’s bathrooms. If I’m doing something pervy or illegal, it’s going to be OBVIOUS and WRONG, regardless of how I was born. My genitalia and my clothing are a NON-FACTOR. If someone is peeping under the stalls, THE DRESS DOES NOTHING!

‘Here’s the difference: tonight I can take off the dress, put on some pants, and be myself tomorrow. I can use the bathroom of my identity without fear of assault. I have it super easy. For a trans woman she may have to live a lie every day if she doesn’t want to take that risk. They have to choose between dysphoria, depression, and anxiety or having an elevated risk of being murdered.

‘I am informed about this issue, and to me it’s settled and obvious. It’s not about safety and it never was. It’s about control and irrational fear. I care more about people and their safety than what’s between their legs.’

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Judge Calls Dennis Hastert 'Serial Child Molester' in Sentencing Him to 15 Months (Video)

www.advocate.com/crime/2016/4/27/judge-calls-dennis-hastert-serial-child-molester-sentencing-him-15-months-video

First transgender swimmer to compete in 1st Division intercollegiate games shares inspiring story

Harvard University’s Schuyler Bailar, joined our favourite daytime host, Ellen DeGeneres, at The Ellen Show to share about his journey from being a top female competitive swimmer in the nation to the first transgender athlete to compete in NCAA Division 1.

The 19-year-old collegiate swimmer from Virginia told Ellen that he has always known that he’s transgender, just that he didn’t have the right words to describe his experience when he’s younger.

‘I think it’s something I’ve always known, but I didn’t always have the vocabulary to explain it,’ Bailar explained.

It was only during the gap year he took after graduating from high school when he started discovering his true identity.

‘I don’t think that I hated my body because of how it looks,’ he said. ‘I didn’t like it because it didn’t represent the gender that I feel.’

On the surface, Bailar was a successful student athlete in competitive swimming. But he revealed to Ellen that he was actually struggling with an eating disorder.

However, by overcoming the eating disorder and coming to terms with his gender identity, Bailar was finally able to break free and be more comfortable with himself.

Talking about his swimming coaches and teammates, Bailar expressed gratitude for their full acceptance and support.

And even though he is no longer one of the top swimmers in his new team with the other boys, Bailar shared his newfound joy in the sports and also the glory of diving in as his true self.

‘I’m not winning anything like I used to and that’s definitely humbling. But it kind of has helped me develop something I was working on before, which is to love swimming just for swimming.

‘I think that there’s a lot of other kinds of glory in that.’

Watch the inspiring segment on Bailar’s remarkable journey here:

You can also know more about Bailar and his experiences with transition on his Instagram:

A photo posted by Schuyler Bailar (@pinkmantaray) on Mar 11, 2016 at 8:56am PST

A photo posted by Schuyler Bailar (@pinkmantaray) on Mar 29, 2016 at 11:27am PDT

A photo posted by Schuyler Bailar (@pinkmantaray) on Feb 28, 2016 at 7:02pm PST

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Caitlyn Jenner makes statement by peeing inside ladies room at Trump Tower

The reality series I Am Cait has wrapped up its second season but star Caitlyn Jenner still has the cameras on her.

Jenner, 66, posted a video on social media Wednesday (27 April) in which she put to the test Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s recent remark that Jenner and other trans people could use the restroom of the gender of which they identify at any of the Trump-owned properties.

‘Last week Donald Trump said I could take a pee anywhere in a Trump facility,’ Jenner said as she walked up to Trump International Hotel And Tower in New York City.

‘So, I am going to go take a pee in the ladies room.’

A camera follows Jenner as she walks into the building and asks for directions to the ladies room. She is directed without incident and enters the room with a ‘W’ on the door.

As she emerges she says to the camera: ‘Thank you Donald, I really appreciate it. And by the way Ted (Cruz), nobody got molested.’

Trump had said there is no need to have transgender-specific toilets because ‘that would be discriminatory’ and ‘unbelievably expensive for businesses and for the country.’

Cruz, the US Senator from Texas trying to thwart Trump’s presidential run, had his campaign quickly create a television ad taking Trump to task essentially for not being transphobic.

Trump had been speaking in the context of North Carolina’s HB2 which bans transgender people from using the bathroom of their gender identification.

States the Cruz ad: ‘Should a grown man pretending to be a woman be allowed to use the women’s restroom? The same restroom used by your daughter? And your wife? Donald Trump thinks so. It’s not appropriate and it’s not safe. It’s PC nonsense that’s destroying America. Donald Trump won’t take on the PC police. He’s one of them.’

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Is Anderson Cooper Kelly Ripa's Next Cohost? (Video)

www.advocate.com/media/2016/4/27/anderson-cooper-kelly-ripas-next-cohost-video

Are Gay Guys More Masculine Than Straight Guys?

One trait commonly associated with masculinity is the behavior of seeking other male attention for approval. Think team sports, which as described in the below video, is “all about dude-on-dude approval.”

But gay guys often strive to achieve a similar end, also regularly seeking validation from other men. The tactics may differ, however.

Does that make gay men, by definition, hyper-masculine?

Related: DC Gay Party Group Is Totally Inclusive, As Long As You’re White, Young And Masc

In the latest release from ASAPThought, this question is broken down to reveal that the answer isn’t so black-and-white.

Perhaps a more fitting question is: Why does society place a value system on gendered traits, historically rewarding the masculine and downgrading the feminine?

Watch below:

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/TjHXTIJQe5U/are-gay-guys-more-masculine-than-straight-guys-20160427

Nobody Wants To Work Out At Madonna’s Toronto Gym, Owners Forced To Rebrand

Madonna is no stranger when it comes to bizarre business ventures. Whether she’s promoting Kabbalah propaganda disguised as children’s books, hawking a line of bargain bin perfume named after her 1991 documentary Truth or Dare, or releasing a Japanese skincare line inspired by her 2012 album MDNA, she’ll try anything if she thinks it’ll make her a buck.

Related: Rebel Heart: Madonna’s Most High Profile BFF Breakups And What We Can All Learn From Them

In 2010, the Queen of Pop launched a fitness franchise called Hard Candy Fitness, named after her 2008 album Hard Candy. Gyms were opened in cities around the world, including Berlin, Mexico City, Sydney and Toronto, among others. Each one features colorful disco balls, non-stop EDM music videos, and oversized pictures of Madonna everywhere. In the lobby. In the hall. In the locker room. In the weight room. In the cardio room. In the yoga studio. In the bathroom. Everywhere you turn, there’s Madonna, watching you, judging you.

But it looks like the party is ending at one of the locations. Fitness fanatics in Canada, it seems, have had enough of the 57-year-old chanteuse staring down at them while they’re doing squats and bicep curls. Because Leonard Schlemm, the owner of the 42,000-sq-ft gym in downtown Toronto, says he’s rebranding. Immediately.

“Madonna was fabulous,” he tells Torontoist.

Not fabulous enough, however, to make people pay $100 a month plus a $69 “administrative fee,” or $28 for a day pass, to hang out at her gym. Schlemm says dwindling memberships, a lack of support from the franchise and the fact that people couldn’t seem to wrap their heads around the concept of a Madonna-themed fitness center have all played into his decision to rebrand.

Related: 15… No, Um, 10… No, Seven Times Madonna Was A Really Great Actress

“People couldn’t figure out where Hard Candy was and then they were turned off by the brand because they thought it was a dance studio,” he says.

We’re sure negative Yelp reviews accusing the club of being too loud, having crappy customer service, charging stiff cancellation fees and being “much like its founder, Madonna … highly over-rated, pretty on the outside, but low on substance” also didn’t help.

Oh, and then there was the issue of people, often tourists, constantly coming in and taking selfies next to the giant pictures of Madonna and then leaving.

“We are in the business of providing fitness to people who want to be in shape,” Schlemm adds. “We aren’t a destination for you to come and take a selfie.”

So, he says, he’s closing Hard Candy this weekend and reopening on Monday as Aura Fitness. He says it will be “one of the nicest [clubs] in the world.”

“If I had to pick a place to workout in for myself,” he says, “I’d choose this one.”

While the overall look of the gym won’t change too drastically, the makeover does mean the giant pictures of Madonna, every single one of them, will be ripped down.

We sure she’s going to be just devastated.

Related: Madonna Lyrics Reimagined As Motivational Posters

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/R7Lt7Od7FF4/nobody-wants-to-work-out-at-madonnas-toronto-gym-owners-forced-to-rebrand-20160427

‘Snowden’, Andy Cohen, Tom Daley, Faroe Islands, Gay Games, Apple, 98 Degrees: NEWS

MOVIES. First trailer for Oliver Stone’s Snowden arrives.

HISTORY. Gay rights group Mattachine Society sues federal government for details on President Eisenhower’s anti-gay order: “The suit in U.S. District Court accuses the government of conducting an inadequate search for the material and of groundlessly withholding some records on the basis of national security. Executive Order 10450 allowed broad categories of federal workers, including those with criminal records, drug addiction and “sexual perversion,” to be singled out for scrutiny and termination as threats to national security.”

TELEVISION. Andy Cohen has a new show coming your way on Bravo, Then And Now: “Each episode focuses on a defining year in history and dissects the biggest news stories, pop culture moments, and hottest trends to show how these pivotal events from the past affect how we live today.”

So excited that Bravo picked up #ThenAndNow !! Can’t wait to make more! @WorldOfWonder t.co/MymKxn4uF1

— Andy Cohen (@Andy) April 27, 2016

GAY GAMES. Hong Kong wants to host the ‘gay Olympics’ to improve LGBT rights in China: ”Hosting the games in Hong Kong will make change because the guy in Starbucks or the taxi driver will have a completely different awareness of the LGBT people.”

RIO 2016. Tom Daley helps unveil Team GB’s new uniforms for Rio 2016 designed by Stella McCartney.

GAY MARRIAGE. Same-sex marriage bill advances in the Faroe Islands: “After a long debate which included a proposal for a referendum that was later withdrawn, the Faroese Legislature approvedtheir same-sex marriage and adoption bill during its second reading on a vote of 19-14. According to the parliamentary calendary, the final reading is scheduled for Friday.”

POLITICS. Bernie Sanders campaign to cut hundreds of staffers after Tuesday night losses.

APPLE. Body found in conference room at the tech giant’s Cupertino compound: “According to reports, a female employee was involved in an argument and had gotten a head wound, from possibly a gun. Some reports say a body was found in the conference room from a ‘possible suicide.’”

NORTH CAROLINA. 98 Degrees refuses to perform in the Tar Heel state because of anti-LGBT law, HB 2.

pic.twitter.com/o6V7yocF7n

— 98 Degrees (@98official) April 27, 2016

MIDDLE CLASS SQUEEZE. 47% of Americans are unable to come up with $400 in cases of emergency.

ACTUAL CANNIBAL. Some poor guy got punched in the face because he was mistaken for Shia LaBeouf. 

WAYBACK WEDNESDAY. Recall some of Matt Bomer’s hottest moments on White Collar. 

AWKWARD. Prince William and Duchess Kate hurriedly removed a plaque beneath a painting they thought might offend President and Mrs. Obama before their visit to Kensington Palace recently: “The title of the painting is ‘The Negro Page.’”

HUMP DAY HOTTIE. Athlete and trainer Arran Arogundade.

The post ‘Snowden’, Andy Cohen, Tom Daley, Faroe Islands, Gay Games, Apple, 98 Degrees: NEWS appeared first on Towleroad.

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Tenn. Gov. Signs Bill Allowing Psychologists to Turn Away LGBT Patients

Tennessee will allow mental health professionals to deny service to prospective LGBT patients if it conflicts with their religious convictions.

www.advocate.com/health/2016/4/27/tenn-gov-signs-bill-allowing-psychologists-turn-away-lgbt-patients

Anti-LGBTI ‘religious freedom’ bill is effectively dead in Missouri

Missouri won’t be enacting a so-called ‘religious freedom’ law – at least not this year.

Senate Joint Resolution 39, which sought to make it legal for clergy and wedding vendors to decline to participate in a same-sex wedding, was voted down by the House Emerging Issues Committee on Wednesday (27 April).

If the bill had passed both houses of the Missouri legislature, it would have been put on the ballot for voters to decide on.

‘I am deeply disappointed that Missourians will not have the opportunity to vote on protecting religious freedom,’ Senator Bob Onder, who sponsored the proposal, said in a statement.

He pointed out that seven weeks ago the Missouri Senate stood through the longest filibuster in state history and voted 23–7 to advance SJR 39.

‘House members caved to pressure from special interests and killed the religious freedom amendment,’ he stated. ‘It is wrong that Missouri voters will be denied a voice in the decision-making process.’

But House Minority Leader Jacob Hummel applauded the House committee.

‘The ultimate issue here is whether our state constitution protects all Missourians or grants special rights to some to detriment of others,’ he stated.

‘In the years to come, I am confident today’s action will be remembered as being on the right side of history.’

H/T: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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