Two More Transgender Deaths Reported; Possible Homicides

A gender-fluid teen was killed in Idaho, and a trans woman was found dead in Maine.

www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/11/15/two-more-transgender-deaths-reported-possible-homicides

Martha Plimpton On ‘The Real O’Neals,’ Being A Gay Icon and More [INTERVIEW]

Let’s get one thing straight: Martha Plimpton makes everything better. Whether you first fell in love with her as tough-talking Stef in The Goonies, a high-strung hostess in 200 Cigarettes or the new reluctant, resourceful grandmother on Raising Hope, the star of stages and screens big and small steals nearly every scene she’s in.

As the reigning matriarch on ABC’s The Real O’Neals, Plimpton might not be the mom every young gay boy wants, but she is certainly close to the mom a lot of us had. Her character Eileen O’Neal is reconciling her Catholic faith, her divorce and her youngest son’s coming out. The show’s refreshing take on the coming out story (aided in authenticity by executive producer Dan Savage) is anchored by strong performances from Noah Galvin and, of course, Plimpton.

We talked to Martha about how her character has grown, the difference between Eileen and Archie Bunker and more. See what she had to say in our exclusive interview, below.

Eileen’s faith is a huge part of what drives the character. She’s been perhaps the most tested on the show so far. How have you seen Eileen grow since the beginning of the series?

Well, I think we’ve seen her grow a lot just in terms of the steady encroachment of reality into her thought processes as far as other people’s truths, learning to accept those truths, and not trying to control them or change them because they make her uncomfortable. This is something that a lot of people experience, whether they’re Catholic or not. This is hard for a lot of parents, to watch their kids grow up and leave the nest, each in their own ways. One of the things that’s really moving me and touching me week after week is hearing particularly from young gay men on Twitter and out in the world who say how much this relationship between Eileen and Kenny reminds them of their own relationships with their moms, and how much it means to them to see that relationship on television and to see those negotiations and those fights and those moments of reckoning played out as normal realities of life. I’ve found that incredibly moving. I’ve also found it moving when I’ve heard from some moms of gay sons who really relate to Eileen and feel like in some bizarre way we’re sort of strangely offering a model and helping them feel like they’re not alone too in this struggle, in this readjustment, in this realization that perfection is not what you think it is all the time. So that’s been really moving, and we get there through these small and gentle forward motions. Certainly on the show I feel like Eileen is experiencing that process week after week.

It’s a delicate balance to keep Eileen truthful without having her come off as hateful. Is that something you try to keep in mind?

I think we all do. The writers do as well. As much as our show is focused on telling the very normal coming-of-age story of a young, gay man, I think our writers are also not just writing for gay kids out there. Because many of them are gay themselves, I think, in some ways, they’re writing for their parents too. They’re speaking to their own parents in the writing. They’re negotiating their relationships in the writing, too. I feel like there’s a natural empathy there that our writers have that is really wonderful. I don’t have to worry too much about being too mean or being a bigot, because she’s not a bigot. I don’t think we’re coming from that perspective. We’re coming from the perspective of how do you approach your life and family relationships in this new reality when what you’ve thought was the way you had to be is impossible? And the new reality provides so much ample opportunity for so much more richness and openness you just didn’t know was there before. That’s what I think makes the show special. She’s not Archie Bunker, but she has elements of that. She is [Kenny’s] antagonist. Archie Bunker was a flat-out bigot. It took him about 10 years to see some glimmers of hope with him. Of course, he’s one of the great characters of all time in television comedy, but Eileen is different. She’s not that kind of antagonist. She loves her kids a lot. She’s a sucker for love, Archie Bunker was not.

You’re a bit of a gay icon and have had a large gay following through a lot of your work. What do you think it is about you that speaks to the gay community?

Well, it’s a funny thing. I don’t know what that is! I’ve grown up in New York City, in the theater world, all my life I have known, loved and been family members — to one degree or another, either blood or otherwise — with all kinds of LGBTQ people, but I don’t know what that is. … Maybe it’s because I’m kind of brassy sometimes. I’m kind of a broad. I think that appeals to people who have grown up in a world in which, to one degree or another, they feel like they need to defend their existence. I’m the same way, in some ways. I admire people who are just themselves, who make no apologies for who they are. Maybe that’s it. I’m not sure. I don’t know. All I can say is I love the idea. It makes me feel so good and delights me, even though I have no way of putting my finger on it.

The Real O’Neals airs tonight at 9:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC.

The post Martha Plimpton On ‘The Real O’Neals,’ Being A Gay Icon and More [INTERVIEW] appeared first on Towleroad.

Martha Plimpton On ‘The Real O’Neals,’ Being A Gay Icon and More [INTERVIEW]

Harry Reid: Trump Should Rescind 'White Supremacist' Appointment

Reid delivered a speech from the Senate floor asking Trump to remove Steve Bannon as his chief strategist.

www.advocate.com/politics/2016/11/15/harry-reid-trump-should-rescind-white-supremacist-appointment

“Shameless” Trans Story Line Is Awkward, Funny & Sweet (You Know, Kind Of Like Real Life)

In a seventh season plot line of the Showtime series Shameless, out teen Ian (Cameron Monaghan) starts dating a new guy named Trevor (Faking It’s Elliot Fletcher), but isn’t aware that Trevor is transgender at first. Since this is TV, Ian finds out dramatically and has something of a personal crisis. He hurls all sorts of drunken questions Trevor’s way, then later has a more levelheaded chat with a LGBTQ group over lunch.

This isn’t just good TV.

In taking up the arc, the show works to portray different sides of the relationship. What is it like for Trevor to come out as transgender to a boy he’s interested in? How does Ian, who struggled with his own coming out as gay, process the initial confusion when he, too, feels romantically drawn to Trevor? And how do outsiders like Ian’s family, who have even less exposure to trans issues, become informed?

For the viewer — who may likely not be gay or trans or know someone who is — empathizing with each character’s conflict can give new dimension to a topic that might otherwise be limited to conversations about bathrooms or Caitlyn Jenner.

Related: Deodorant Ad Perfectly Nails What’s Wrong With The Trans Bathroom Debate

“A few years ago, Ian was being confronted with people who were homophobic or weren’t accepting of his choices, and now it has become normalized. Suddenly he’s on the other side of it now, confronted with this new [trans] situation that he has to learn to accept,” executive producer Nancy Pimental tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Like people had to digest and process his sexuality in the beginning of the series, now Ian has to educate himself. As progressive as he can be in many ways, he can be limited in his exposure to people outside of his world.”

Pimental and the show’s team were also excited to be able to offer the role of Trevor to a trans actor, and were instantly charmed by rising star Elliot Fletcher.

In keeping with the Shameless tone, the relationship is rife with comedy and isn’t afraid to “go there.” In the most recent episode, for instance, Trevor and Ian must navigate their sexual chemistry after it’s revealed they’re both tops.

Related: Do These Films And Television Shows Give Gay Men A Bad Name?

“We were referred to some people who could help us get it right, and also were supportive of us doing it in a non-earnest, very Shameless kind of way,” Pimental explains. “There are other shows who tackle trans storylines in a more straight-line kind of way, but we needed to have somebody who was really supportive of us to make it messy.”

Check out a scene below, in which Lip (Jeremy Allen White) meets Trevor for the first time – and makes an embarrassing gaffe:

www.queerty.com/shameless-trans-story-line-awkward-funny-sweet-know-kind-like-real-life-20161115?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Harry Reid, Anna Wintour, New Balance, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Pence, Tyson Beckford: HOT LINKS

WHITE SUPREMACIST IN THE WHITE HOUSE. Harry Reid blasts Donald Trump appointment of former Breitbart editor Steve Bannon: “If Trump is serious about seeking unity, the first thing he should do is rescind the appointment of Steve Bannon.”

BECAUSE OF COURSE. CNN is hawking a book on the 2016 election called Unprecedented, like its employment of Corey Lewandowski.

SEXIEST MAN ALIVE. Dwayne The Rock Johnson talks about a future White House run: “If I felt like I could be an effective leader for us, and surround myself with really high-quality leaders, then sure, I would.”

BAD BLOOD. Andy Cohen tried to make a joke about Katy Perry to Taylor Swift. 

LOVE IS LOVE. US soccer star Abby Wombach is in a relationship with a Christian mommy blogger. 

POPULAR VOTE. Hillary Clinton’s lead now surges to over 1 million: “Votes are still being tabulated in California, Utah and Washington, according to Tracy Lewis, elections operations manager for the Associated Press. The result in Michigan remains too close to call.”

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA. Anna Wintour and Miuccia Prada talked about the book and the movie once: “For a while it seemed that that association was the only flattering thing about the enterprise, and Miuccia and I never discussed it. Finally, at one of our lunches, she leaned across the table and she said, ‘Anna, that book, it’s good for both of us.’ And the subject has never come up again.”

NOPE. New Balance poorly responds to endorsement from a Neo Nazi blog that called them “The Official Shoes of White People”: “And while they seem to be inching closer towards a condemnation of Donald Trump’s ideologies, they continue to tip toe around the issue that gave rise to this brouhaha in the first place. Why not just say, “We do not want the endorsement of Neo Nazis and if you are a Neo Nazi please stop wearing our shoes.” Is it really that hard to plain and simple condemn Neo Nazis? This seems to be an attempt to not ostracize any customers or even, yes, Trump himself.”

pic.twitter.com/lXtWlCFkIV

— New Balance (@newbalance) November 15, 2016

PHILADELPHIA. 50 Cent hit up a gay club to promote his vodka: “Voyeur, a popular LGBTQ nightclub in the Gayborhood, is co-owned by brothers Billy Weiss and Michael Weiss, who are also the co-owners of Woody’s, across the street. The latter bar has been in the news lately over  alleged covert racism in their dress code policies. But Saturday night, Billy Weiss was all about “reaching out to the community.” […] Interestingly enough, the rapper seems not to want his fans to know he was in the Gayborhood because he hasn’t posted anything about his appearance on social media during or leading up to the event despite doing so excessively for the straight clubs he was also booked at.”

POST TRUMP ADVERTISING. Airbnb preaches and pledges acceptance in new moving ad: “There are 24 faces that only represent a sliver of the diversity we have on the platform,” says Mildenhall. “The film’s power laid in the faces. It’s a lot more difficult to deny to someone while looking them in the eyes.”

CROOKED RUDY. After blasting Clinton Foundation for being corrupt, it comes out that Rudy Giuliani took money from Qatar, Venezuela and Iranian exiles–a move that could present a conflict of interest if Trump appoints him Secretary of State: “In 2011, an exiled Iranian political party called the Mujahedin e-Khalq, known as the MEK, paid Giuliani to give a speech in Washington calling on the State Department to remove the group from its list of terrorist organizations. The MEK recruited a host of other formal officials to its cause and succeeded in reversing the terrorist designation in 2012. A subsidiary of Giuliani’s consulting firm, Giuliani Partners, advised Qatar’s state-run oil company on security at a natural gas plant, The Wall Street Journal reported. Qatar is a U.S. ally that hosts a major American military base but once stifled an attempt to arrest Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, who went on to mastermind the Sept. 11 attacks, according to the 9/11 commission report.”

GIRL, IT’S YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT. Tyson Beckford and Suleiman Yousef to offer “firearms self-defense classes” for free in Miami to LGBT folks:  “Ever since the Orlando shooting @tysoncbeckford and I have been working on some projects to give back to the masses. In mid/late December we will be hosting multiple firearms self defense classes for FREE in Miami Florida to the #LGBT community. Sad to say that we both stand behind our 2nd Amendment but the masses in the industry who preach “God and Country” are EXTREMELY homophobic and we won’t stand for it. We will be posting the dates and location after December 1st.”

EMAILS. Mike Pence–who blasted Hillary on her use of a private email server–is in an email scandal of his own: “The administration is fighting to conceal the contents of an email sent to Gov. Mike Pence by a political ally. That email is being sought by a prominent Democratic labor lawyer who says he wants to expose waste in the Republican administration.”

INSTATHIRST. Brought to you by Phillip.

The post Harry Reid, Anna Wintour, New Balance, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Pence, Tyson Beckford: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.

Harry Reid, Anna Wintour, New Balance, Rudy Giuliani, Mike Pence, Tyson Beckford: HOT LINKS

Today Will Always Be The Day You First Saw This Hunky, Mysterious Gardener

Ssshhtt! Quiet now as we creep nimbly through the brambles, and be mindful of leaves crackling underfoot, lest we frighten away the foundling…

Related: This Week In Leaks: America’s Next Top Model’ Contestant Dustin McNeer Has Something To Show You

Discovered in his natural habitat, the mysterious figure we’ll hitherto refer to as The Handsome Gardener is causing a minor sensation throughout the blurgosphere.

Related: Beefy Argentinean Rugby Player Andres Enrique Lets It All Hang Out

So, what do we know about this Gardener Of Earthly Delights? Well, nothing. He’s handsome. He gardens. He was filmed by a drag queen named Monica Moore, who decided to share his beautiful visage on Facebook.

Related: This Week In Leaks: Gus Kenworthy Has Something To Show You

Have a look for yourself. And don’t worry: absolutely none of this is even remotely creepy.

www.queerty.com/today-will-always-day-first-saw-hunky-mysterious-gardener-20161115?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Ellen Meets Viral Make-Up Artist and First Male CoverGirl James Charles – WATCH

17-year-old aspiring make-up artist and viral sensation James Charles was on The Ellen Show on Monday and talked about coming out, his passion for make-up, and breaking gender stereotypes.

Surprise 😏 tomorrow @ 4PM EST 💕 pic.twitter.com/Aeh6eWwSKl

— James Charles (@jamescharles) November 14, 2016

Charles caught the internet’s attention back in September with his senior yearbook photos that were flawless thanks to the help of his trusty ring light.

CoverGirl then hired Charles to be the brand’s first ever male spokesperson/model.

I can finally announce that I am officially a new @COVERGIRL. 🎉🎈 First boy ever & I am so excited to see whats coming! #COVERGIRLJames pic.twitter.com/0wVHJYQ9M9

— James Charles (@jamescharles) October 11, 2016

Charles told Ellen about the story behind his rise to internet celebrity, coming out as gay at the age of 12, why he loves make-up as a boy, and more.

Watch, below.

The post Ellen Meets Viral Make-Up Artist and First Male CoverGirl James Charles – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Ellen Meets Viral Make-Up Artist and First Male CoverGirl James Charles – WATCH

Meet the Trump Appointees Who Will Take America Straight to Hell

Samantha Bee takes us through the dark comedy that is currently our nation.

www.advocate.com/comedy/2016/11/15/meet-trump-appointees-who-will-take-america-straight-hell