Odessa Pride: Ukranian City Holds First LGBTQ March Amid Nationalist Threat

Odessa Pride. Via YouTube, NBC Out.

The first LGBTQ Pride march in the Ukrainian city of Odessa was held on Saturday, after officials initially banned the event, bringing out over 50 community members who marched with rainbow flags and signs and chanted, “Everyone’s different, everyone’s equal.”

It was only the second city in all of Ukraine to hold such an event, the first being in Kiev.

Related: Remembering The First Gay Pride March To Commemorate Stonewall Riots

“Today you are making history,” Zoryan Kis, an LGBTQ activist and one of the organizers of Kiev Pride, told the crowd. Kis said Odessa Pride would have been impossible just one year ago. In fact, a march had been planned in Odessa but had been cancelled over security concerns.

The event had been cancelled the day before, with local authorities citing safety concerns as far right activists were planning to gather there as well. Organizers told NBC Out that this is a popular tactic to cancel public events in the city.

Odessa Pride March. Via YouTube, NBC Out.

The marchers were protected by 700 police officers, reports Transitions Online. The march was held in a different location – near the historic Potemkin Stairs – than originally planned to help ensure it could take place.

“We know that there is a threat from small extremist groups that operate in Odessa,” Anna Leonova, an organizer of Odessa Pride, told NBC OUT. “But I don’t believe that in our city there are forces that…may constitute a danger for us.”

Nationalist youth clashed with police at Odessa Pride after trying to attack those marching. Via YouTube, NBC Out.

A group of white nationalist youth tried to break through the police barrier to attack the marchers, but they were stopped. 20 of them were detained by police, but allowed to go free after two hours of conversation at the police station.

Related: Antigay Protesters Use Gas On LGBTQ Activists In Kiev

According to Dumskaya, a local news site, the attackers introduced themselves as members of the organization “Sokol” (“Falcon”), whose self-description is “a public organization for athletic-nationalistic youth, [which] is not indifferent to the fate of the white race and the national idea.”

“Guys are shedding blood there [in eastern Ukraine where the conflict with Russia continues], but you protect gays,” one of them said while clashing with police.

“First separatists took your town, now gays. Who is next?” one of the nationalists is seen saying in the video below.

Most of those trying to disrupt the march were members of the local football club, who hold right-wing views, NBC Out reports. Some were also involved in massive clashes that took place in the city two years ago between pro-Russian supporters and Ukrainian government supporters, which resulted in a fire that left dozens dead.

In response, a march “in support of traditional values” was also held in Odessa on Sunday, with more than 100 participants. Activists, as well as representatives of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches were present.

Related: Unintentional “Pro-Homosexual” Church Sign Sparks International Controversy

“We will not allow [pro-gay] propaganda,” an organizer said.

Watch video footage of the march, as well as the police handing the nationalists, below.

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/K1PmVavm4rU/odessa-pride-ukranian-city-holds-first-lgbtq-march-amid-nationalist-threat-20160816

Chris Kelly Makes SNL History as First Out Head Writer

The promotion of the Other People director and co-lead writer Sarah Schneider could mark a new era for Saturday Night Live.

www.advocate.com/television/2016/8/16/chris-kelly-makes-snl-history-first-out-head-writer

How Anderson Cooper Helped Apple CEO Tim Cook Come Out As Gay

Tim Cook (l), photo by Valery Marchive (LeMagIT) and Anderson Cooper (r), photo by Craig ONeal on Flickr. CC 2.0.

Apple‘s Tim Cook said Anderson Cooper had an important influence on his decision to come out as gay, which he did in 2014, making him the first CEO of a Fortune 500 company to do so.

Cook spoke with the Washington Post in a wide ranging interview on Saturday, and answered questions about his coming out process. Cook says it took about a year.

Related: See The Exact Moment Anderson Cooper Realized His Mother Had A Lesbian Affair

“Just thinking through what to say, how to say it, where to say it, how to do that in a way that advanced what I was trying to do,” Cook said.

“I wanted it to be in a business [publication]. That’s what I know, that’s who I am,” Cook continued. “There was a lot of work there. I visited people. I talked to Anderson Cooper at length — multiple times. Because I thought that the way that he handled his announcement was really classy. I was getting advice from people who I thought were really great people who had really deeply thought about it.”

Cooper came out in 2012 in an email exchange with his friend, gay libertarian blogger Andrew Sullivan. Cooper explained that he wanted to maintain some privacy for personal and professional reasons, such as to keep himself and those he works with safe while reporting from dangerous places.

“I have found that sometimes the less an interview subject knows about me, the better I can safely and effectively do my job as a journalist,” he added.

Related: Ten Coming Out Moments From The Last Decade That Helped Shape Modern LGBTQ Acceptance

But his concerns for what message he might be unintentionally sending prompted his coming out.

“Recently, however, I’ve begun to consider whether the unintended outcomes of maintaining my privacy outweigh personal and professional principle. It’s become clear to me that by remaining silent on certain aspects of my personal life for so long, I have given some the mistaken impression that I am trying to hide something—something that makes me uncomfortable, ashamed or even afraid. This is distressing because it is simply not true,” he wrote.

When asked who he was thinking of when he decided to write the op-ed in which he came out, Cook said he was thinking of LGBTQ kids.

“I was getting notes from kids who knew I was gay, or assumed I was, because of something they had read on the Web. And they were kids who were distraught. Some had been pushed out by their families. They thought they couldn’t achieve anything. They couldn’t do anything. They were seeing the national discourse around it and feeling isolated and depressed. And I just thought — I’ve got to do something,” he said.

Related: Trans Model Stands Tall In Dress Made Of Flags From Countries Where Being LGBTQ Is Illegal

“If hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it’s worth the trade-off with my own privacy,” Cook wrote in his op-ed.

Cooper also mentioned the bullying of young people as one of his motivations for going public with his orientation.

“I thought it would minimally say you can do pretty good in this world and be gay,” Cook told the Washington Post. “That it’s not a limiter. It’s okay to be. That it’s okay to be honest about it. I figured if I could help one person, it would be worth it.”

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/7epRDcAuQYo/anderson-cooper-helped-apple-ceo-tim-cook-come-gay-20160816

This Gay Guy Is Definitely ‘With Her’

Most enthusiastic Hillary supporter ever. Via YouTube, TBS.

Anyone who says there aren’t any enthusiastic Hillary Clinton supporters have clearly never met this man. He’s as with her as you can possibly be, going so far as to say, “I would totally bottom for that b*tch, you know?”

Hillary has been cycling through slogans – “I’m With Her,” “Stronger Together,” “Love Trumps Hate,” “Make America Whole” – but something tells us that one won’t find its way onto any officially licensed t-shirts anytime soon.

“I’ve been with her since like 1992,” he tells a correspondent with Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. “My mom let me skip school to watch the convention and the election happen, because I was such a huge Clinton fan at the time. And then in ’93, when homegirl basically took that thing over. Like, she was doing policy left and right.”

“I feel like we have found the single repository for all the missing Hillary enthusiasm,” concludes the interviewer.

Watch the exchange in the video below.

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/IDi5treTce0/gay-guy-definitely-20160816

Caitlyn Jenner, Grindr, Todrick, Ellen DeGeneres, Michael Moore, ‘Arrival’: HOT LINKS

TELEVISION. Caitlyn Jenner’s E! reality show I Am Cait has been cancelled: “Caitlyn and E! have mutually decided not to move forward with another season at this time. She will always remain a part of the E! family, and we look forward to continue following her journey as she appears on Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”

After 2 amazing seasons of @IAmCait, it’s time for the next adventure. Thank you E! & thank you to the best girlfriends I could ask for!

— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) August 16, 2016

FASHION. Grindr has its own line of clothing now: “The Grindr collaboration sits squarely on the athletic side of the sartorial spectrum; so you’ll find a jockstrap (of course), colorful swimming trunks, mesh tank tops, sweatshirts, and a coach’s jacket in the app’s signature shade of yellow. And if all of that weren’t sportif enough, proceeds from the sale of these items will benefit Athlete Ally, an organization working to combat homophobia and transphobia in sports.”

RIP. Legendary host of the McLaughlin group John McLaughlin has passed away at 89: “McLaughlin hosted the Sunday morning public affairs shows since 1982 and only missed one episode: last week’s. The McLaughlin Group went on the air January 1, 1982 and for the next 26 years was produced at NBC’s WRC in Washington, D.C.”

MOVIES. New full-length trailer for alien thriller Arrival starring Amy Adams.

LOINCLOTH NEWS. Case surrounding gay San Diego’s man’s arrest for wearing a loincloth (with thong underwear on underneath) during Pride makes its way up to the 9th Circuit: “I have no idea why they didn’t just tell me ‘We’re sorry that we did this to you.”

TRUMP. Michael Moore says the Donald never wanted the presidency, is sabotaging his candidacy on purpose, just ran to get more money out of NBC for his Apprentice deal: “‘Simply put, he wanted more money,’ Moore continued. ‘He had floated the idea before of possibly running for president in the hopes that the attention from that would make his negotiating position stronger.’”

WEDDED BLISS. Ellen DeGeneres celebrates 8 year anniversary with Portia de Rossi.

MUSICAL. Todrick Hall is headed to Broadway to play Lola in Kinky Boots.

TOO HOT FOR TUESDAY. Team USA fencer Miles Chamley-Watson.

The post Caitlyn Jenner, Grindr, Todrick, Ellen DeGeneres, Michael Moore, ‘Arrival’: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.

feeds.towleroad.com/~r/towleroad/feed/~3/Zxo-hoZvRZ8/

U.S. Navy Makes History By Naming Ship After LGBTQ Civil Rights Leader Harvey Milk

Today, at a ceremony in San Francisco, the U.S. Navy made history by naming a new Military Sealift Command ship after Harvey Milk, the former Navy diver and pioneer in the LGBTQ civil rights movement who was assassinated in 1978. In another historic first, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus selected transgender Navy veteran Paula Neira as a sponsor of the ship, along with U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). HRC released the following statements in response to the momentous event.

“Today’s historic ceremony is so much more than naming a ship after the legendary Harvey Milk. It is further evidence of the profound progress on LGBTQ equality we continue to make as a nation,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “In his bold and unabashed advocacy, Milk inspired LGBTQ people for generations. And in her tireless career and service, Paula Neira has played a major role in lifting the ban on transgender service members. As we work to achieve our shared vision of equality for all LGBTQ people, we are grateful to the United States Navy and Secretary Ray Mabus for their continued leadership in ensuring all sailors have the dignity and respect they deserve.”

“Like Harvey Milk, hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ service members have defended our freedoms by serving in the military,” said HRC spokesperson Stephen Peters, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and spouse of an active duty Marine. “Secretary Mabus’ decision to name a ship after Harvey Milk, as well as select transgender Navy veteran Paula Neira as one of its sponsors, speaks volumes about his inspiring commitment to strengthen our military and its future — a future where all service members are respected and supported for the selfless sacrifices they make each and every day.”

During World War II, Harvey Milk served aboard the submarine rescue ship, USS Kittiwake. He also served as a Navy diving instructor before being discharged at the rank of lieutenant junior grade in 1955. In 1977, Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming one of the first openly gay people elected to public office. He was assassinated in City Hall a year later. During his life, Milk was a major advocate for people coming out and is often remembered by one of his most powerful quotes, “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door in the country.”  In 2009, Milk was posthumously awarded the U.S. Medal of Freedom and, in 2014, the U.S. Postal Service honored Milk with a postage stamp dedication. HRC’s San Francisco Action Center and Store in the Castro District is located in the historic home of the civil rights legend. The location is the former home of Milk’s Castro Camera, where Milk worked, lived, and organized the political campaigns that eventually led him to his historic election.

Paula Neira graduated with distinction from the United States Naval Academy in 1985 and served another six years before resigning her commission in order to live as her authentic self. A qualified Surface Warfare Officer, she served at sea and ashore including mine warfare combat during Operation Desert Storm. After leaving the Navy, she became a registered nurse, certified in emergency nursing and specializing in adult emergency and trauma care. She is also an attorney and member of the Maryland bar. For more than a decade, Neira has served as one of the nation’s leading experts on transgender military service. She is also the first transgender Navy veteran to have her official military service record corrected to reflect her proper name.

Senator Feinstein served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors with Milk, and discovered his body after hearing the gunshots that killed him and Mayor George Moscone. Feinstein, who succeeded Moscone as mayor, has been a strong supporter of LGBTQ rights, earning a perfect score of 100 in HRC’s latest Congressional scorecard.

www.hrc.org/blog/u.s.-navy-makes-history-by-naming-ship-after-harvey-milk?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Salt Lake City's Out Mayor Weds Partner in Mormon Church's Backyard

NCLR executive director Kate Kendell officiated this weekend’s beautiful wedding of Jackie Biskupski and Betty Iverson.

www.advocate.com/marriage-equality/2016/8/16/salt-lake-citys-out-mayor-weds-partner-mormon-churchs-backyard

Olympics Point Out Big Disparity in Basketball

Out women basketball players competing in the Olympics speak out about why there is not a single out player in the NBA.

www.advocate.com/sports/2016/8/16/olympics-point-out-big-disparity-basketball