PHOTOS: All Across The World People Got Their Pride On Over The Weekend

From New York to London to San Francisco, all across the world people stood up and showed their Pride over the weekend.

Related: Hillary Clinton Makes Historic Appearance At New York Pride Parade

Of course, this year’s festivities took on an extra significance after the massacre in Orlando that left 49 dead and 53 wounded. Many used the weekend’s celebration as an opportunity to show solidarity to the lives lost and send a message to the world that the LGBTQ community will not be silenced by fear and intimidation.

Scroll down for pictures from Pride celebrations all around the world…

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John Oliver Digs Into the Doping Scandal Rocking the 2016 Olympics – WATCH

On Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, John Oliver took a deep dive into the recent doping scandals that resulted in the Russian track and field team being banned from competing in the 2016 Olympics.

Oliver broke down the details of how the Russian government, and in particular its spy agency, helped Russian athletes cover up usage of banned performance-enhancing drugs. The scheme reportedly involved a hole in the wall of a testing lab where samples were clandestinely passed through, a hole that Oliver dubbed the world’s first actual ‘glory hole.’

Oliver brought attention to the systemic problems that currently make it impossible for Olympic sports to be free from doping. As one expert pointed out, there doesn’t appear to be an actual desire among international officials to enforce anti-doping policies.

The problems are so bad, that Oliver said the Olympics are actually “making FIFA look good!”

PREVIOUSLY: John Oliver Reveals the Conspiracy Behind Cadbury Cream Eggs: WATCH

If organizations like the International Olympic Committee (IOC) can’t muster the will to enforce its policies on performance-enhancing drugs, then Oliver suggests that we “at the very least [need to] make our syrupy athlete promos a bit more honest.”

Find out how, below.

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Beauty Really is Skin Deep in ‘The Neon Demon’ — MOVIE REVIEW

Elle Fanning is drop dead gorgeous in The Neon Demon

What are we looking at? THE NEON DEMON‘s first tableau features Elle Fanning, throat slit and reclining on a chaise lounge floating over a pool of photogenic crimson blood. It’s so perfectly lit and shaped it begs to be honored as a metaphoric pedestal exalting her death. Is the obviously smitten man photographing all of this her serial killer who missed his calling as an art director?

No. As it turns out the man is just a naive photographer named Dean (played by rising actor Karl Glusman), and she’s just a 16 year-old amateur model named Jesse (played by perpetually in-demand and newly 18 starlet Elle Fanning) trying to fill out her ‘book’ so she can land a big time modeling agency. And this off-putting but hypnotic opening scene is just writer/director Nicolas Winding Refn’s (Drive) provocative bid to grab our attention. This first image promises a creepy, colorful, sadistic, eroticized visual spectacle about the commodification and objectification and… uh… murder of beautiful women. Whatever sins you might be willing to condemn the movie for committing, you can’t say that it’s a liar. It delivers what it’s promising.

Jesse is immediately well-liked or lusted after by a hot fashion designer (Alessandro Nivola, hilariously dismissive… unless he’s interested), a famous photographer (Desmond Harrington, silent and creepy… did he learn that on Dexter?), and a powerful modeling agency executive (Christina Hendricks, still mesmerizing post Mad Men).  She also befriends two models Sarah (Abbey Lee) and Gigi (Bella Heathcote) who actually hate her – because where would a fashion picture be without diva catfighting? — and a super friendly makeup artist named Ruby (Jena Malone) who exudes both genuine warmth and unmistakable shadiness. Yes, Jena Malone steals the whole picture with that neato acting trick.

The Neon Demon gets progressively weirder and campier as it progresses which should endear certain audiences to it (*raises hand, shamelessly*). And yet it’s also so bereft of ideas beyond juvenile proclamations like “Women are jealous bitches! Men are rapists! Gays are predatory! Fashion world is evil! Beauty is fascism!” that there’s not much to grab on to other than its bold strokes ridiculousness.

In this case the cliché is true: beauty really is skin deep.

Director Nicolas Winding Refn with his star Elle Fanning

The most surreal touches (a wild animal here, a cryptic visual triangle there) don’t totally pay off either. Perhaps the hollow center is Jesse herself? If she’s meant to be more than a cypher (perhaps she’s not) than Elle Fanning’s blank stares and slow-to-get-it dialogue don’t help. As the provocations mount — culminating in a few truly repellent scenes which may yet earn the movie a place in cult history —  they offer diminishing returns. But damn it the movie is Sickeningly Gorgeous. And that’s “sickening” in both the Webster’s and the Gay Vernacular definitions.

Though Nicolas Winding Refn once seemed like an abnormally obsessive auteur (see the violent and very naked Bronson starring Tom Hardy) and then maybe even like a true visionary (see Drive’s minimalist verve maximized by visual flair) his last two pictures, Only God Forgives and The Neon Demon have not exactly made good on his international promise.

The violence is starting to feel like a crutch, for one, a means to its own end. But all that said, Refn hasn’t yet lost his flair for striking iconography, or his aggressive visual confidence in both composition and content … but in the service of what? Those of you who love deranged movies, future cult curios, or the cocky perversity of three name Danish auteurs (see also Lars von Trier) should run to the theater immediately — it’s not that it’s “good” but it’s unmissable if you fall into these categories.

Anyone else may want to steer clear of this bloody show. Sometimes the blood is fake and sometimes it’s real, but either way that catwalk is slippery, and who wants to be fashion roadkill?

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Ultimate Frisbee Players Become Ultimate Volunteers, Lending a Hand to Repeal HB2

Post submitted by Maddie Majerus, TurnOUT! NC Field Organizer

Since launching just three months ago, TurnOUT! North Carolina (NC) has drawn a diverse range of volunteers from across North Carolina and beyond committed to the same cause: The full repeal of the discriminatory HB2. Upon learning that the USA Ultimate College Championship games were being held in North Carolina recently, many of the athletes were concerned, and some even considered boycotting the event. How could they in good conscious travel to and contribute to the economy of the home of discriminatory HB2?

They reached out to local organizations to see if there was anything they could do during their time in North Carolina to help the effort to repeal HB2 and connected with TurnOUT! NC. After discussing their options, the players decided that the best way they could contribute would be to have a door-to-door canvas where they asked people to sign postcards to their representatives demanding the full repeal of HB2.

After flying into North Carolina on a recent Thursday afternoon, players met up with TurnOUT! NC staff at a local park to get trained on canvassing. The athletes, some of whom came straight from the airport to the training, were energetic and eager to help do their part. It was inspiring to see these 30 athletes from so many ultimate teams dedicating the few free hours they had in between games to volunteer for TurnOUT! NC to help repeal HB2. There was a team photographer who decided to join the door to door canvas themselves, as they felt the cause was an important one and wanted to help the effort.

The next day, after playing in championship games all day long, Western Washington University’s Chaos ultimate team trooped into our office to help data enter supporter information. Even after a long day of playing ultimate frisbee, the energy the players brought into the office was contagious.

After knocking out all the data from the Triangle area, the players kept asking if there was more data, or another task they could complete that would help out the effort to repeal.

“Volunteering was not an option in my mind, it was a necessity,” Annie Paden, a student and player, said. “We realized that we were able to go home to Washington at the end of our four-day weekend, but the people of NC live HB2 day in and day out. It was an important step for us to not only realize this, but act on it.”

While many of these players were not North Carolinians, they felt the urgency to get this hateful bill repealed as quickly as possible and decided to spend their few free hours while they were in town helping the effort to repeal HB2.  They joined the thousands of pro-equality North Carolinians that TurnOUT! NC is mobilizing to speak out for full repeal of HB2.

If you live in North Carolina and want to join the efforts to repeal HB2, RSVP for upcoming phone banks and volunteer opportunities. For more information about our work in North Carolina, contact HRC Associate Regional Field Director Ryan Rowe at [email protected].

www.hrc.org/blog/ultimate-frisbee-players-become-ultimate-volunteers-lending-a-hand-to-repea?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

HRC Welcomes Pope Francis’ Apology to LGBTQ People

Today, in response to recent comments from Pope Francis stating that the church should “apologize to the person who is gay whom it has offended,” HRC Foundation released the following statement:

“Pope Francis’ words are a welcome step toward bringing LGBTQ Catholics closer into the Church and healing the wounds of those who have felt pushed away from their Church and its teachings,” said Mary Beth Maxwell, HRC’s Senior Vice President for Programs, Research, and Training. “Pope Francis’ message of inclusion and love for all people continues to bring Catholic leadership more in line with the large majority of American Catholics who believe in full equality for their LGBTQ family-members, friends, neighbors, and fellow parishioners. The vast majority of American Catholics say no to hatred and no to discrimination.”

The apology from Pope Francis came in response to a question about recent comments from German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who said that in the wake of the tragic shooting in Orlando, the church owed an apology to LGBTQ people who have been marginalized by the church.  In his response, Pope Francis said, “I think the church must not only apologize […] to a gay person it offended, but we must apologize to the poor, to women who have been exploited, to children forced into labor, apologize for having blessed so many weapons.”

HRC also welcomes recent statements of support and inclusion from other leaders in the Catholic Church following the Orlando shooting, including in open letters by Bishop Robert Lynch of Petersburg, Florida, and Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago.  In his open letter to Chicago’s LGBTQ community, Archbishop Cupich wrote, “For you […] who are particularly touched by the heinous crimes committed in Orlando, motivated by hate, driven perhaps by mental instability and certainly empowered by a culture of violence, know this: the Archdiocese of Chicago stands with you. I stand with you.”

For more, including polling and other resources for LGBTQ Catholics, visit www.hrc.org/catholic.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-welcomes-pontifex-apology-to-lgbtq-people?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

You’ve Never Seen Someone Read A Magazine Like This

Nobody can accuse Cirque du Soleil’s Andrii Bondarenko of being a couch potato. Even when he is in close proximity to his couch, doing something that seems as lazy as reading a magazine, he’s using every muscle we never had to do some absolutely absurd acrobatics.

Watch below as he shows the proper way to flip through the pages of GQ:

Then there’s the way he gets out of the pool:

How does he do it?! You ask.

Well this should give you some idea — here’s his “warmup.”

His warmup!

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The Number Of Men Who Have Never Had An HIV Test Is Staggering

Judging by new data, approximately one third of gay men don’t know their HIV status, and about one in four gay men have never been tested for HIV in their lifetime.

The information comes from the 2014 National Gay Men’s Sex Survey; the largest sexual health survey of homosexual men in the United Kingdom.

Pink News reports that only 77% of gay and bisexual guys have ever been tested for HIV, and one in four have never ever had an HIV test. About 36% are unaware of their current HIV status.

Related: Honest Confessions From Men With HIV

The website reports that 55% of gay and bisexual men had been tested in the past 12 months, which is up from 36% in the 2010 survey.

Cary James, the Head of Health Promotion at Terrence Higgins Trust, said:

“The Gay Men’s Sex Survey gives us a well rounded view of the landscape in which we’re working, since the data comes from gay and bisexual men themselves. These findings will help shape future sexual health promotion and HIV prevention tactics.

We’re concerned that a third of gay men are not definite about their HIV status – particularly as we know that one in seven men who have sex with men are undiagnosed.

“Knowing your HIV status is key to tackling the HIV epidemic, as people who are on treatment are highly unlikely to pass on the virus, so it’s really important to get tested. Testing is fast, easy and confidential.”

….

“Studies have suggested that condoms have prevented 80,000 infections since the start of the HIV epidemic.

“But this survey shows that perfect condom use is not a reality for everyone.

“We must continue to champion safe sex messages to gay men, but we also need to tackle prevention on all fronts if we are to beat this epidemic.

“That means regular testing, successful treatment and, critically, PrEP – in addition to condoms.”

Related: Want To Attend A “Sex Roulette” Party And Catch HIV From A Handsome Stranger?

Another notable statistic: one in three gay men had had unprotected anal sex with one or more non-monogamous party in the last year.

According to lead researcher Dr. Ford Hickson of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine:

Our findings show that not all men having gay sex are accessing sexual health services regularly.

“Half of the men we surveyed didn’t know that doctors in the UK recommend they test for HIV at least once a year.”

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Lady Gaga, San Juan Pride, Justine Greening, Alaska, Ab Fab, Dalai Lama: NEWS

SHE’S GAY. UK Minister Justine Greening comes out: “Justine Greening, the secretary of state for international development, chose Pride to announce that she was in a same-sex relationship, as up to a million people brought much of London to a standstill for the nation’s biggest annual celebration of the LGBT community.”

POST. A quiet campaign is placing gay people and their rights struggle in U.S. history.

PUERTO RICO. Gay Pride March in San Juan remembers Orlando massacre victims: “Activist Pedro Julio Serrano, possibly the best-known face in Puerto Rico’s gay community and the spokesman for Puerto Rico Para Todas, said he was “tremendously saddened” by the recently reported story of the Puerto Rican father who, “out of shame, didn’t want to claim his son’s body” after the massacre. ‘Today we’re marching for the 23 Puerto Rican victims (in) Orlando and for all the rest, for the survivors, for their families, for my community … because our hearts are shattered,’ said Serrano.”

#WeAreOrlando #SelenaYLosDinos #SelenaQuintanilla #Pride #GayPride #Pride #PuertoRico #SanJuan pic.twitter.com/QfIupY792G

— Angelina Bee (@AngelinaBee1) June 27, 2016

OMAR MATEEN. Still no evidence Orlando shooter was gay: “In an attempt to find an account connected to the killer, the site, Adam4Adam combed through the profile photos of every one of its 300,000 Florida members and researched 20 email addresses used by Mr. Mateen over the years that the company said had been provided by the F.B.I. Adam4Adam came up with nothing.”

RIBBON-CUTTING. Ab Fab’s Pats and Eddy open London Pride.

VISITING. Gay Cuban choir begins first US tour: “On Saturday, the men are scheduled to begin their first U.S. tour, performing a repertoire of Cuban classics, pop hits and the Estefan song with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles. In an era of renewed relations between the U.S. and Cuba, the joint performance would mark another step toward fostering collaboration between the LGBT communities in each country. Both choirs had charted history in their respective countries: GMCLA was founded in 1979 and lost over 150 members during the height of the AIDS epidemic. Mano a Mano was created just two years ago, forging a unique space as one of the only independent gay organizations on the island.”

ANCHORAGE. Altercation with anti-gay protesters mars Alaska PrideFest: “Police estimated about 20 people were involved. They said officers intervened before anybody was hurt. ‘It was reported to police that some pushing and shoving was occurring, and callers were afraid that the altercation was going to escalate,’ a police report said.”

KINDNESS. Lady Gaga and the Dalai Lama had a sitdown. “once a tragic situation happens, not avoid— but look at more deeply, widely. many positive, happy things are there if you look from a wider perspective. if you look real closely, it appears unbearable. but if you look widely, you see other positive things there.”

MONDAY MUSCLE. Den Brillante.

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