Alleged Hate Group Member Charged in Shooting of Trans Woman in Indiana
Crystal Raquel Cash survived a violent assault that left her with a broken jaw, but local news can’t help but turn its attention to irrelevent discussions of sex work.
Daily Archives: July 17, 2016
Stepping Out
Gay Men Talk PrEP, “Chem Sex” and HIV Drug Smuggling
Gay Men Talk PrEP, “Chem Sex” and HIV Drug Smuggling
The most stunning facet of the MSM pre-conference (“Gay Day”) at AIDS2016, the international conference happening now in Durban, South Africa, was that so many of the gay men in attendance had the courage to show up at all. Held Saturday, the gathering featured hundreds of gay HIV advocates, including those from countries in which they risk dire consequences for being open about their sexuality – or for even providing services to other gay men.
In his first installment of video coverage from AIDS2016, blogger Mark S. King gets personal with these advocates about their lives back home. He also chats with a “chem sex” expert from the United Kingdom about the surprising rates of crystal meth use among gay Londoners, and even engages in a little PrEP drug smuggling with a German who is taking the prevention medication even though PrEP has yet to be approved in his home country.
Chris Beyrer, the openly gay president of the International AIDS Society, the conveners of the massive AIDS2016 conference, also has some strong words about the language around “ending AIDS,” while hailing PrEP as the most powerful and effective new prevention tool since the condom.
Queerty is featuring Mark’s coverage this week, which continues with planned marches, activist protests, and trips to the eye-popping Global Village. “The Global Village represents everything inspiring and creative about AIDS activism from around the globe,” Mark says. “It’s like ‘It’s A Small World’ for AIDS. I can’t wait to show it to you.”
Related: Ten Things Poz Guys Want Negative Guys To Know
Find out more about the work of MSMGF, the sponsors of the MSM pre-conference, or get more information about AIDS2016 or HIV/AIDS at the most comprehensive HIV resource on the net, TheBody.com.
What’s The Best Thing About Being Married?
What’s The Best Thing About Being Married?
If marriage was always just like the below shares on Whisper, it’d be a wonder anyone would ever be single.
Of course, reality is rarely a perfect reflection of one’s hopes and dreams. Sorry to burst the bubble (not really that sorry).
Still, the positives may very well outweigh the challenges — just ask these guys:
feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/Z5cpIRDAG5A/whats-best-thing-married-20160717
Victory for Pride
Methodist Church Elects First Openly Gay Bishop
Methodist Church Elects First Openly Gay Bishop
The United Methodist Church elected its first openly gay bishop on Friday, the church reports:
Oliveto, 58, was elected July 15 at the jurisdiction’s quadrennial meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. She was elected on the 17th ballot with 88 votes after the Rev. Dottie Escobedo-Frank and the Rev. Walter “Skip” Strickland withdrew from the election. The Rev. Frank Wulf, another openly gay candidate, had withdrawn earlier.
“I think at this moment I have a glimpse of the realm of God. I want to thank the candidates who I have journeyed with these past few days, for the grace with which we walked with each other. And know I stand before you because of the work and prayers of so many, especially those saints who yearned to live for this day, who blazed a trail where there was none, who are no longer with us, and yet whose shoulders I stand on,” Oliveto said after her election.
She especially thanked the delegates of the Western Jurisdiction “who dared to live into this Kairos moment. Today we took a step closer to embody beloved community and while we may be moving there, we are not there yet. We are moving on to perfection,” Oliveto said.
She said as along as people “walk by our churches and wonder” if they belong, because of race, sexuality orientation, ethnicity, social class or immigration status, then “we have work to do.”
“Are we able? Yes. Amen,” Oliveto said.
The church continues to have a ban on same-sex marriage.
And objections to Oliveto’s election rose immediately, the UMC adds:
On the heels of Oliveto’s election, members of the South Central Jurisdiction voted late on July 15 to ask the Judicial Council for a declaratory decision regarding same-sex church leaders.
There was some immediate negative reaction to Oliveto’s election.
The Rev. Rob Renfroe, president of Good News, an evangelical United Methodist organization that upholds the church’s current stance on homosexuality issues, said the election and other actions by annual conference this summer ignored the Council of Bishops’ proposal for a commission to examine all church law dealing with human sexuality. Renfroe said that proposal called for a “pause for prayer to step back from attempts at legislative solutions and to intentionally seek God’s will for the future.”
“Instead, these conferences have moved ahead with legislative enactments pledging non-conformity with the Book of Discipline, culminating in the election of a practicing homosexual as bishop,” said Renfroe. “If the Western Jurisdiction wanted to push the church to the brink of schism, they could not have found a more certain way of doing so.”
But the reaction at the Western Jurisdiction was a celebration.
“We just blew the socks off the denomination,” said Lynn Magnuson, laity from the Pacific Northwest Conference.
(photo via Twitter)
The post Methodist Church Elects First Openly Gay Bishop appeared first on Towleroad.
Gus Kenworthy Shines With Beau, Rami Malek Back Stealing Hearts, Prince Harry’s Live HIV Test
Gus Kenworthy Shines With Beau, Rami Malek Back Stealing Hearts, Prince Harry’s Live HIV Test
Gus Kenworthy and his older, sexy boyfriend Matthew Wilkas looked dashing as ever as they strutted the red carpet at the ESPY awards. Gus was nominated for Best Male Action Sports Athlete, which he did not win. But he won our hearts, and isn’t that what matters?
This puppy has all sorts of puppy love for a George Michael hit. We know the feeling.
Mr. Robot made its season two return to the small screen, and with it, our crush on star Rami Malek is back with full force.
Out musician St. Vincent has apparently remade the Golden Girls theme song. Funny, she could have fooled us — we’re not exactly sure what we’re listening to.
I remade the “Golden Girls” theme song into a dirge. #thankyouforbeingafriend pic.twitter.com/1UaKx6oGgk
— St. Vincent (@st_vincent) July 11, 2016
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is now a fixture of the London stage. The story picks up 20 years after the last book ends, focusing on Harry and Hermione’s son. OK, we get it, we’re old.
Prince Harry took to Facebook Live to get a very public HIV test. What’s your excuse?
If you didn’t understand Snapchat before, you definitely won’t after seeing Ariana Grande perform using only filters from the app.
Olly Murs says “You Don’t Know How To Love” in his new video.
Someone let Katy Perry provide the official NBC Olympics anthem. Er, OK.
Lost Photos Of Queer Ally Mae West Prove, Indisputably, That She Was A Drag Queen
Lost Photos Of Queer Ally Mae West Prove, Indisputably, That She Was A Drag Queen
Mae West in batwings? Suddenly, life has meaning again.
Dangerous Minds has generously collected a slew of “vintage visual treats” in the form of Mae West film stills and production shots from the ’30s, all of which effortlessly affirm why she’s a timeless gay icon with a singluar style that’s influenced everyone from Madonna to Siouxsie Sioux.
Working overtime in fashionable fripperies like batwings, butterfly wings, and sinister spider legs, West’s next-level stylings are, in her own words, “tight enough so I look like a woman, loose enough so I look like a lady.”
See what she’s talking about here:
Brimming with pride
Why Do So Many Guys On Grindr Act Like Complete Idiots?
Why Do So Many Guys On Grindr Act Like Complete Idiots?
Why do so many guys on Grindr behave like complete a-holes? That’s what one writer wants to know. And rightfully so.
“Like most gay men, my relationship with the app is a complex one,” Christopher T. Conner writes in a new op-ed titled Notes On The Meat Grindr. “I am caught between Grindr’s promise to connect me to other gay folks–yet disgusted by its ability to bring out the worst in us (myself included).”
Conner praises the app for its impact on the gay dating scene, revolutionizing how men meet and interact. But all that is not without a cost.
Related: Coming Soon: An HIV Filter On Grindr???
“Grindr shapes us into the stereotypical gay ‘tribe’ (twink, bear, otter, etc.) of our choosing,” he says. “The result is often an exaggerated performance where we try to present ourselves as caricatures of ourselves (often in hyper-sexualized, extremely masculine ways).”
And what exactly is wrong with that?
Well, Conner says, not only is it disingenuous, but it tends to make people act like shallow, superficial douchebags who hold no accountability for their behavior.
“As Grindr reduces us to our profiles, the lack of rules where no one is held responsible for their actions of behaviors also promotes racist, ageist, and hyper-masculine behavior,” he says. “One need look no further than douchebagsofgrindr.com for examples.”
Related: Bottom Shame With A Side Of “No Asian”: A Message For All You Racist Grindr Users Out There
But not just that. Conner believes the app is also starting to show a generational gap between its original adopters and new users in their late teens and early 20s. He recalls a recent conversation with a young man:
One 23-year-old male I recently spoke with had never been to a Pride festival, even though he was out to friends and family since age 18 and has an older gay brother. In his own words: ‘I had no idea Pride could be so much fun. I always thought going to gay bars was about getting black-out drunk and hooking up. I never thought about going out as being more than that. I also never thought about knowing gay folks outside of my hookups.’
Ultimately, Conner feels, Grindr “detours us from living fully empowered and open lives.”
“We need to put down out phones, go out, be social, meet new people and allow ourselves to experience the things in life which make it worth living,” he says.
What do you think? Does Grindr bring out the worst in people? And is the app totally killing our ability to interact with people in the real world? Share your opinions in the comment feed below…
feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/_InLdTAwF74/many-guys-grindr-act-like-complete-idiots-20160717
