Hillary Clinton Tells Mormons She'll Defend 'Religious Freedom'
The fraught phrase is usually the stuff of Republicans, but the top Democrat has her own twist.
www.advocate.com/election/2016/8/11/hillary-clinton-tells-mormons-shell-defend-religious-freedom
Newspaper Claims Two Male Olympians Hugging Is Unmanly; Internet Goes Bananas
“Steady on chaps! Britain’s victorious synchronized divers hug for joy after winning gold – while China’s bronze medalists settle for a manly pat on the back.”
Related: Everyone’s Pissed At This Straight Journalist Who Used Grindr To Out Gay Athletes In Rio
So reads a recent caption in the UK’s Daily Mail, clearly inferring that the hug shared between synchronized divers Jack Laugher and Chris Mears — who scored gold for Team GB with a 3-meter synchronized dive — was effete, wimpy; not the stuff that makes a man.
Needless to say, this was more than enough to (rightly) send social media over the edge:
This is such a dangerous & detrimental view of men/ masculinity.
Hugs/ emotion are not “unmanly”.#TeamGB #diving pic.twitter.com/ZhfpTMHnoU— RedSoc (@gifofred) August 11, 2016
#SortItOutDailyMail – lovely homophobic article criticising a hug between two athletics and describing it as unmanly… @DailyMailUK GROW UP
— ?? dan. (@TheeDanielJames) August 11, 2016
I know we’re all outraged at the daily fail calling hugging unmanly…. But that aside….
???????????? pic.twitter.com/WBwW4yI2Hp
— David James (@DJN85) August 11, 2016
Congratulations, boys. And there’s not a thing “unmanly” about either of you; don’t listen to the stupid press. t.co/4CdEpQtAxl
— J.A. Fludd (@jafworlds) August 11, 2016
Stop having feelings, boys, it’s unmanly. Go chop something or find a war to fight in. t.co/AhCygKuDNv
— Rebecca Reid (@RebeccaCNReid) August 11, 2016
@WayneDavid81 I guess I should take back all the unmanly hugs I had at my mates wedding last Saturday.
— stewart foster (@stewfoster1) August 11, 2016
Apparently hugging is not very ‘manly’. This backward view of gender behaviour and casual homophobia has to stop. pic.twitter.com/nuJl1RCMxd
— WayneDavid (@WayneDavid81) August 11, 2016
Our #TeamGB divers won GOLD but #DailyFail thinks athletes should celebrate with ‘manly pats on the back’.
PISS OFF! pic.twitter.com/OwBlbP6c97— Gerry Stergiopoulos (@GerryGreek) August 11, 2016
The Daily Mail thinks one of these celebrations is not “manly”…#Rio2016 #everydayhomophobia #everydaysexism pic.twitter.com/MXluxBUbyW
— Jon Bradfield (@JonBradfield) August 11, 2016
This is considered not “manly” according 2 @DailyMailUK it’s emotion of hard work to me! @JackLaugher @ChrisMears93 pic.twitter.com/Pz05jOMdGq
— Jake Jackson (@jakejackson90) August 11, 2016
All genders, all sexualities, all ages, Olympic medalists – everyone should be able to hug without shame! pic.twitter.com/Ew6j4kUm8N
— Robbie Lawlor (@Robbie_Lawlor) August 11, 2016
Between that awful Grindr piece & ‘British divers hug too much’ I’m beginning to wonder whether Gay Shaming is the newest Olympic sport?
— Chris McCrudden (@cmccrudden) August 11, 2016
When two young lads win Britain’s first ever gold medal in Olympic diving and you’re rattled by a celebratory hug ?? t.co/KEgPGy0Yhy
— Liam (@liamnowen) August 11, 2016
“Just won an Olympic medal haven’t we but I SHALL NOT HUG A MAN LONGER THAN IS PROPER” t.co/3hN4eOzceG
— Emma (@scousepie) August 11, 2016
Related: Watch: Ad Championing Transgender Athlete Chris Mosier Drops During Olympics
Meryl Streep: Gay Audiences Especially Will Connect With New Film ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’
Not to over-generalize too much here, but let’s be clear: the gays love Meryl Streep. And you’ll be glad to know that the feeling is mutual. The gays, Meryl gets you. She really really gets you.
In a recent interview, Meryl opened up about her queer roles, like in Angels in America and her role in 1979’s Manhattan. Surprisingly, she only discovered she’s a gay icon in 2012, when she caught wind of a show where gay men were performing her scenes. She’s a little touchy about encountering Meryl impressions — she says it feels a bit like her kids making fun of her — but she can’t help but feel a connection to the queer community.
After all, she says, LGBT folks were always in her life, from childhood piano teachers on up to today. And her new role, as Florence Foster Jenkins in the film of the same name, should be particularly resonant.
“Well, to the extent that anybody tells you that you can’t be a certain way or you shouldn’t be a certain way. You know, I think the limits other people put on you are the least valuable,” she said. “I feel that way about everything, but certainly LGBT audiences will understand that.”
The movie concerns a society lady who decides that she wants to be a professional singer — despite being really terrible at it. But she perseveres, despite the critics, because it’s what she loves. The whole story is based on a true tale of a woman who refused to give up.
Watch the trailer below:
DNC Blasts Trump for Attending Orlando Anti-LGBT Rally on 2-Month Date of Pulse Massacre
The Democratic National Committee denounced Donald Trump and Marco Rubio for attending an anti-LGBT religious rally taking place today and tomorrow in Orlando, on the two-month anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub massacre.
The organizers of the “Rediscovering God in America Renewal Project”, a gathering of anti-LGBT pastors, have said Trump will make a “surprise” appearance. Rubio is the headliner.
DNC Chair Donna Brazile and DNC LGBT Caucus Chair Earl Fowlkes released a joint statement to Towleroad:
“Instead of honoring the memory of those we lost at Pulse two months ago, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio have come to Orlando to headline a gathering of some of the nation’s most incendiary anti-gay bigots. We at the DNC join all people of good conscience in expressing our solidarity with the Orlando LGBT community as they continue to grieve the deadliest shooting in American history. We suggest Trump and Rubio disavow these anti-gay extremists who have likened gay people to Nazis and characterized HIV/AIDS as divine ‘penalties’ for being gay. Failing to do so will be yet another example of the utter lack of judgment that makes Trump unfit to serve.”
A coalition of groups are holding demonstrations against Trump and Rubio outside the venue today and tomorrow. Here are a few social media reports on the action earlier today:
@marcorubio & @realDonaldTrump shamefully show <3 for guns & homophobes in Orlando today. #ForThe49 pic.twitter.com/kHwdb3nGbR
— Organize Now! (@OrgNow) August 11, 2016
#forthe49 #donaldtrumpstopthehate @equalityfl pic.twitter.com/0HSMjWMLRs
— Carlos Esquivel (@onuvelez) August 11, 2016
#forthe49 pic.twitter.com/1AOFOhlthk
— (((Scott Cromar))) (@scc_lrocs) August 11, 2016
The post DNC Blasts Trump for Attending Orlando Anti-LGBT Rally on 2-Month Date of Pulse Massacre appeared first on Towleroad.
Straight Journalist Cruises Grindr at the Olympics, Outs Athletes From Anti-Gay Countries
A straight journalist from The Daily Beast has landed in hot water after using Grindr to write a piece on gay hook-up sex among Olympians in which he provided telling details about the athletes he chatted with, effectively outing them. Some of those athletes come from countries that are notoriously anti-gay.
The journalist in question, Nico Hines (right), perused Bumble, Grindr, Jack’d and Tinder while in Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics. While Hines says he did not set out to write specifically about gay athletes, his piece focused almost entirely on them. Hines provided enough details about certain athletes he interacted with to be able to identify them.
After backlash emerged online, editors began to heavily scrub his piece. Among other things, the headline and header image have been changed since publication. Originally, the Grindr logo was blended with an image of the Olympic rings–an image which further underscored that the piece was all about gay hook-up sex.
On Twitter, many have denounced Hines for his invasion of what some have termed a gay safe place. Hines was also accused of mocking and deriding gay sex and jeopardizing the safety of gay athletes.
lets just do a fun piece where we give identifiers of queer athletes from homophobic countries wanting to go about their business in peace
— Bec Shaw (@Brocklesnitch) August 11, 2016
the private lives, spaces & safety of LGBTI people do not exist for your fluff pieces @NicoHines
— Bec Shaw (@Brocklesnitch) August 11, 2016
i fixed this @NicoHines pic.twitter.com/KDIGTuUvmC
— Bec Shaw (@Brocklesnitch) August 11, 2016
Hines admits in his article that he didn’t tell people he met on Grindr that he isn’t gay–or that he would be publishing intimate details about them.
For the record, I didn’t lie to anyone or pretend to be someone I wasn’t—unless you count being on Grindr in the first place—since I’m straight, with a wife and child. I used my own picture (just of my face…) and confessed to being a journalist as soon as anyone asked who I was.
There were dozens of eligible bachelors listed on Grindr within a few hundred yards of where I was standing at the entrance to the athletes’ village. One posed in his full team kit. Others referred to their elite sporting status more furtively, but they included one of the world’s top equestrians and a track and field athlete a few days away from competing.
Salon writer Mary Beth Williams pointed out many of the edits that were made to the original story.
More quiet editing of original identifying details in the @NicoHines @thedailybeast story. pic.twitter.com/dUwl19lp0u
— Mary Beth Williams (@embeedub) August 11, 2016
Another example of how @NicoHines @thedailybeast has been quietly edited of details that never should been there. pic.twitter.com/XCTtE7IcBl
— Mary Beth Williams (@embeedub) August 11, 2016
In an article, Williams also took Hines to task for his reporting:
And what dangerous arrogance, what horrifying irresponsibility, to cavalierly all but out these men for engaging in private consensual behavior. What a prurient, loathsome thing to do to them, and to their families, especially to those coming from places Hines acknowledges are intolerant to gay people. And for what? Clicks? An excuse to look at photos of a “black guy with a perfect six-pack”? Un. Be. Lievable.
Hines, who last year wrote a Daily Beast story claiming “Sexual Frustration Driving Kids to ISIS,” came to The Daily Beast three years ago. At the time, Tina Brown praised him as “a first-rate reporter whose wit and flair will be right at home on The Beast.” Remind me how much wit and flair it takes to write an ogling piece that puts the safety of other individuals in jeopardy.
Daily Beast Editor in Chief John Avlon responded to criticism of the piece in an editor’s note, writing,
There was some concern that the original version of this story might out gay male athletes, even by implication, or compromise their safety. This was never our reporter’s intention, of course. No names were ever used and some of the profiles described were of straight women. But there was a concern that even mentioning the home nation of some gay athletes could compromise their safety. As a result, we have removed all descriptions of the men and women’s profiles that we previously described.
The concept for the piece was to see how dating and hook-up apps were being used in Rio by athletes. It just so happened that Nico had many more responses on Grindr than apps that cater mostly to straight people, and so he wrote about that. Had he received straight invitations, he would have written about those.
Hines himself has not yet responded.
[h/t ONTD]
The post Straight Journalist Cruises Grindr at the Olympics, Outs Athletes From Anti-Gay Countries appeared first on Towleroad.
Disgraced Gay Congressman Mark Foley Spotted in Crowd at Trump Rally: WATCH
Mark Foley, who resigned from Congress in 2006 after it was revealed he had sent inappropriate, sexually-explicit emails and instant messages to underage teens who were serving as Congressional pages, was spotted at a Donald Trump rally earlier this week.
Trump, who was commenting on the attendance of the Orlando shooter’s father at a Hillary Clinton rally, turned around to those behind him in his audience, including Foley, and noted that those seats are given to people who “sort of know” the campaign.
“How many of you people know me?”, Trump asked. Foley was among those who raised his hand.
Foley told NBC News’ Thomas Roberts immediately after the rally via text message that “yes” he is a Trump supporter. “He’s been a friend of mine for 30 years and one of my biggest contributors,” Foley wrote.
Clinton disavowed Seddique Mateen’s support in the aftermath of her rally. Campaign spokesman Nick Merrill told NBC News that Clinton “disagrees with his views and disavows his support.”
Trump’s campaign, when asked if they or the candidate knew Foley was there and seated behind Trump, did not immediately respond.
Watch:
The post Disgraced Gay Congressman Mark Foley Spotted in Crowd at Trump Rally: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
New CDC Data: LGB Teens Face Startling Rates of Violence, Bullying and Suicidality
Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) teens are far more likely to experience violence and bullying, and attempt suicide, than their heterosexual peers, according to new national data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The data show just how deeply stigma and discrimination affect LGBTQ youth, how urgently they need their communities’ support and affirmation, and how far we have to go in protecting them.
For the first time ever, the biannual Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) asked young people about their sexual orientation, allowing researchers to assess how being LGB affects teens’ risk of problems including depression, drug use and violence. The results are sobering:
All of these problems were much less common among heterosexual teens participating in the survey.
Mary Beth Maxwell, the HRC Foundation’s Senior Vice President for Programs, Research and Trainings called the findings a “call to action.”
Maxwell continued, “from the messages youth receive at their kitchen table, in their classroom, and on prime-time T.V., we all must do more to put an end to anti-LGBTQ stigma. Policymakers, for one, can start with the passage and implementation of local, state, and federal anti-bullying policies and nondiscrimination protections.”
The YRBS is considered especially accurate because it randomly surveys teens—15,713 in 2015—in high schools across the country. Asking about sexual orientation gives advocates and researchers the most accurate picture yet of the challenges facing LGB youth, as well as information necessary to crafting solutions to combat bullying, discrimination and violence.
Researchers believe that anti-LGBTQ stigma is a major cause of problems including depression, violence and substance abuse among LGBTQ young people. They also know that studies show support from peers, family and other important adults helps enormously. HRC’s Welcoming Schools program works to reduce stigma and bullying starting in elementary school. Through the All Children – All Families project, HRC trains child welfare workers to support LGBTQ youth. Last month, HRC partnered with the American Counseling Association to release the first of five online learning modules for counselors who work with LGBTQ young people. HRC’s annual Time to Thrive conference gives youth-serving professionals the tools they need to promote LGBTQ youth well-being.
While this report gives insight into the plight of LGB youth, it is not a complete picture: a number of states eliminated sexual orientation questions from their surveys.
Additionally, the YRBS still does not identify teens who are transgender or gender-expansive—even though previous research suggests that transgender teens are more likely to experience violence and other serious problems. The CDC is expected to add these questions in the future.
Despite these gaps, the data make one point clearer than ever: that stigma and lack of social support remain at crisis levels for too many LGBTQ youth. Each of us—parents, professionals, peers and community members—must support and affirm the LGBTQ young people in our lives, whether as mentors, advocates, or simply by lending an ear.
To learn more about HRC supports LGBTQ young people at school, at home and in their communities, visit www.hrc.org/explore/topic/children-youth.
#AM_Equality Tip Sheet: August 11, 2016
TODAY, TWO MONTHS AFTER PULSE NIGHTCLUB TRAGEDY, DONALD TRUMP AND MARCO RUBIO COURT ANTI-LGBTQ ACTIVISTS IN ORLANDO: Today Donald Trump and Marco Rubio will be campaigning with anti-LGBTQ activists in Orlando — two months after the shooting at Pulse Nightclub claimed the lives of 49 LGBTQ people and allies. When it comes to opposing LGBTQ equality, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio are two dangerous peas in a pod: They both oppose marriage equality and transgender equality, support Kim Davis-style, taxpayer-funded discrimination, and have vowed to revoke President Obama’s executive orders protecting LGBTQ employees. Earlier this week, HRC Senior Vice President of Policy and Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof blasted the candidates saying, “Donald Trump and Marco Rubio are seeking votes from people who fundamentally believe we are not equal, who support dangerous and harmful conversion therapy and who have worked to export anti-LGBTQ hate abroad.” More from HRC.
“HB2 IS NOT WHO WE ARE. WE ARE A PEOPLE OF INTEGRITY”: In an op ed for The News and Observer, NC Rep. Chris Sgro writes about the very real costs of the state’s discriminatory HB2 law, including damage done to families like Hope Tyler and her transgender son. Sgro writes that Hope’s son was well on his way to being comfortable in his own skin, when HB2 thrust him into the spotlight, forcing him to use bathrooms inconsistent with his gender identity. “McCrory owes the LGBT community, and all North Carolinians, a public conversation about the need to fully repeal HB2,” Sgro writes. “The status quo is hurting us every day. North Carolina needs real leadership now.” More from The News and Observer.
ALA. JUSTICE ROY MOORE’S SUPPORTERS BOO WIDOWER: On Monday, supporters of anti-LGBTQ Justice Roy Moore repeatedly heckled, booed and laughed at a man speaking about his late husband during an HRC press conference about the harms caused by the disgraced justice. The incident occurred after Moore’s ethics hearing before Alabama’s Court of the Judiciary on charges he repeatedly defied federal marriage equality rulings. See the troubling video, and read more at AL.com in John Archibald’s revealing piece, “Those who claim Alabama’s moral authority don’t have it.”
BELIZE’S HIGHEST COURT DECRIMINALIZES SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIPS: Yesterday, the highest court in Belize ruled that criminalizing male same-sex sexual activity is unconstitutional, and ordered the law amended. A plaintiff in the case, Caleb Orozco said: “We won on all grounds of dignity, right to privacy, right to freedom from discrimination, freedom of expression and the equal protection of the law.” More from HRC and BuzzFeed.
EGYPT’S GOVERNMENT TARGETING LGBTQ PEOPLE: At least 250 LGBTQ people have been arrested in Egypt since 2013, when its first democratically-elected president was overthrown and replaced with former Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Egypt has no law forbidding same-sex activity, but the LGBTQ community is targeted for arrest under laws prohibiting “habitual debauchery,” with penalties of up to 12 years in prison. More from The New York Times.
U.S. STATE DEPT. TAKES EXCEPTION TO PHILIPPINE LEADER’S ANTI-LGBTQ SLUR: State Department officials summoned Manila’s envoy in Washington to complain after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte reportedly used an anti-LGBTQ slur when describing U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg, according to Agence France-Presse. The US State Department said that the Filipino charge d’affaires, Patrick Chuasoto, was summoned Monday to discuss Duterte’s comments.
DISTURBING SURVEY SHEDS LIGHT ON ANTI-LGBTQ HATRED IN INDONESIA: A new survey finds that Indonesians consider the LGBTQ community the most hated group in the country, and documents the alarming anti-LGBTQ rhetoric in the country, saying “The rights of Indonesian sexual and gender minorities have come under unprecedented attack in 2016… [a] combination of government officials, militant Islamists, and mass religious groups stoking anti-LGBT intolerance led to immediate deterioration of the human rights of LGBT individuals.” More from TIME.
UK SUPREME COURT TO HEAR CHALLENGE TO DISCRIMINATORY LOOPHOLE IN PENSION LAWS: LGBTQ couples in the UK are challenging a loophole in pension laws that put them at a disadvantage when acquiring pension benefits to pass on to their partners. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case in November. More from Pink News.
READING RAINBOW
NBC reports that the WWE plans to “integrate LGBT characters” into its programming; Denver officials are considering turning the First Unitarian Society of Denver building into an LGBTQ rights landmark, according to KUSA; ThinkProgress details the new wave of oppression facing the LGBTQ community in Uganda; and USA Today highlights how a transgender model is using her gown to stand up for LGBTQ equality.
Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to A.M. Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!
www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tip-sheet-august-11-2016?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
MTV to air special Orlando remembrance featuring "Hands" during "True Life: We Are Orlando"
Photo Credit: MTV
During MTV’s True Life: We Are Orlando special this upcoming Monday, August 15 at 8pm ET/PT, MTV will also air a special remembrance to the 49 victims who lost their lives in the massacre. The remembrance will feature the musical tribute “Hands,” which GLAAD released in partnership with Interscope Records following the attack.
On July 6, GLAAD and Interscope Records released “Hands” as musical tribute for victims in Orlando. “Hands” features major artists like Britney Spears, Selena Gomez, Adam Lambert and Troye Sivan. A lyric video was released on the one-month anniversary of the Orlando massacre, featuring countless YouTube stars, in addition to survivors of the Orlando attack and other victims of gun violence across the country. Proceeds from “Hands” benefit Equality Florida, the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida, and GLAAD. You can purchase “Hands” now, available for digital download via iTunes.
True Life: We Are Orlando is dedicated to four of the survivors of the Orlando massacre: Tony Marrero, Patience Carter and Tiara Parker, and Joshua McGill. The hour-long special will give viewers an inside look at the lives of these four survivors and how they plan to move forward. In addition, the special features members of the LGBTQ community who were present at Pulse nightclub or who were affected by the shooting in some way.
For more information on the True Life: We Are Orlando special, check out GLAAD’s blog post.
Prior to the Monday night episode, MTV will continue to share exclusive digital content across their social media platforms. Be sure to watch the full special on MTV, August 15 at 8pm ET/PT.
You must be 18 years old or older to chat
