Monthly Archives: May 2018



You Might Like

Videos | Dating

Live Cams | Live Chats

 

NEWS

A New Special from Tig Notaro, Michelle Wolf, ‘Killing Eve’ Wraps and More TV This Week

A New Special from Tig Notaro, Michelle Wolf, ‘Killing Eve’ Wraps and More TV This Week

Check out our weekly guide to TV this week, and make sure you’re catching the big premieres, crucial episodes and the stuff you won’t admit you watch when no one’s looking.

Out comedian Tig Notaro already cemented her legacy as one of the best stand-ups of her generation with her incredible album Live, but hear the latest material from the former star of One Mississippi in her new special Happy To Be Here Tuesday on Netflix.

We’re dealing with a top six following a shocking double Shantay you stay on RuPaul’s Drag Race. How will the remaining queens handle this season’s makeover challenge featuring social media stars (and the utterly insufferable Frankie Grande). Find out Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern on VH1.

Danielle Macdonald is a revelation as the titular aspiring rapper in Patti Cake$, but the real reason not to miss this charming ode to defiant dreamers everywhere is the powerhouse dramatic performance from cabaret comedian Bridget Everett. Catch the cable premiere Saturday at 8 p.m. Eastern on HBO.

Avert your smokey eyes, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, comedian Michelle Wolfe is hitting the small screen with a new weekly series The Break with Michelle Wolf premiering Sunday on Netflix.

You could tune into Killing Eve for the cat-and-mouse thriller, the queer tension between the leads or for queer actress Fiona Shaw, but the best reason not to miss this critical darling is Sandra Oh. The actress, whose talents should earn her a place beside the Big Little Lies leads as some of TV’s best, gets to do some of her most challenging and best work in this spy drama wrapping its first season Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern on BBC America.

What are you watching this week on TV?

The post A New Special from Tig Notaro, Michelle Wolf, ‘Killing Eve’ Wraps and More TV This Week appeared first on Towleroad.


A New Special from Tig Notaro, Michelle Wolf, ‘Killing Eve’ Wraps and More TV This Week

NEWS

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: May 22, 2018

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: May 22, 2018

MICHIGAN CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION AFFIRMS THAT SEX DISCRIMINATION INCLUDES SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY: “This is a welcome step forward in the fight for equality that will have a real impact on the lives of LGBTQ Michiganders who are not explicitly protected from discrimination,”  said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “Consistent with federal courts across the country, today’s decision affirms that discrimination against an individual based on their sexual orientation or gender identity is fundamentally a form of sex discrimination — which is prohibited both under federal laws, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Michigan’s Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act.” More from HRC, Detroit Metro Times and M Live.

PAKISTAN ENACTS MONUMENTAL LEGISLATION PROTECTING TRANSGENDER PEOPLE: The “Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2018” went into effect this past weekend, providing comprehensive protections for transgender people across several important aspects of life, including employment, education, healthcare, housing, public transportation and a host of other areas. “This is a truly historic moment as Pakistan joins the ranks of a growing number of countries with non-discrimination laws that protect the transgender community,” said Ty Cobb (@tywesleycobb), director of HRC’s global program. “These are explicit, nationwide protections that we have yet to achieve here in the United States. Transgender people around the globe face high levels of discrimination, stigma, and violence, and Pakistan has now taken a historic step in addressing this heartbreaking tragedy.” More from HRC and Reuters.

BIDEN FOUNDATION AND THE YMCA LAUNCH LGBTQ EQUALITY INITIATIVE: In a powerful oped, Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) and YMCA CEO Kevin Washington (@KevinWashYMCA) write, “Every American deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, but too many in the LGBTQ community are denied this basic human right today. This is unacceptable in a country founded on the belief that we all are created equal. Equality and opportunity for all is the way to a brighter future, and at the Biden Foundation and the Y, this is the future we are working to create.” More from CNN.

MORNING MUST WATCH: BuzzFeed released an exhilarating new video on the history of LGBTQ dance. From underground ball culture dominated by LGBTQ people of color as far back as the 1960s to modern, more mainstream depictions of LGBTQ joy, dance has always been a tool for expression and activism in the LGBTQ community. Watch the full video here.

JOIN THE NATIONAL BLACK JUSTICE COALITION FOR A TWITTER CHAT ON MASTERPIECE SCOTUS CASE: Today at 3 p.m. ET, use the hashtag #CakeToCare to join the conversation on Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, one of the most significant cases to be heard this session by the Supreme Court of the United States. The court’s decision, expected by the end of June, could have sweeping consequences for every LGBTQ American: the justices will either protect the fundamental equality of LGBTQ people — or set a dangerous precedent giving businesses a license to discriminate.

SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST WORKERS’ RIGHTS IN EPIC SYSTEMS CORP. V. LEWIS: Yesterday’s decision by the SCOTUS said that companies can use arbitration clauses in employment contracts to bar workers from joining forces in legal actions over problems in the workplace. This means that workers who are experience wage theft, are discriminated against or harassed are barred from utilizing lawsuits to achieve justice. More on this damaging decision from The New York Times.

1) Today’s #Gorsuch #EpicSystems will only encourage more employers to adopt forced arbitration policies. This is a terrible outcome, and it will make it harder to challenge harassment and other forms of discrimination.

— Fatima Goss Graves (@FGossGraves) May 21, 2018

CAN’T MAKE IT UP, FOLKS — WISCONSIN TAXPAYER $$$ USED TO SEND STATE ATTORNEY TO A CONFERENCE SPONSORED BY AN ANTI-LGBTQ HATE GROUP: Wisconsin Deputy Solicitor General Kevin LeRoy used more than $1,000 of taxpayer money to attend the Alliance Defending Freedom’s (ADF) Summit on Religious Liberty in California. More from Wisconsin Gazette.

OLYMPIAN ADAM RIPPON AND JENNA JOHNSON WIN ‘DANCING WITH THE STARS’: More from People.

From an Olympic medal to a mirrorball trophy, Adam Rippon slays all day. Congrats on your #DWTS win, @AdaRipp! ���� t.co/XyX2nt3csu

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) May 22, 2018

DOCUMENTARY TACKLES ANTI-LGBTQ PREJUDICE IN SPORTS: Alone in the Game, which premieres June 28, features Robbie Rogers (@robbierogers), HRC honoree Gus Kenworthy (@guskenworthy) and Megan Rapinoe (@mPinoe). More from NewNowNext.

LYFT DEACTIVATES DRIVER WHO OBJECTED TO SAME-SEX COUPLE KISSING:  The driver had ordered Ben Martella and Alec Jansen to exit their Lyft. The company also refunded the couple for the cost of their ride. More from IndyStar and NewNowNext.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

FIJI BECOMES FIRST COUNTRY IN THE PACIFIC TO HOST AN LGBTQ PRIDE PARADE: More from Gay Star News.

NEW REPORT DETAILS EXPERIENCES OF LGBTQ BOTSWANANS: HRC Global Innovator Tashwill Esterhuizen was involved in the new report.

NEW PHOTO SERIES CHRONICLES LGBTQ LIFE IN CUBA: More from Michael Lavers (@mklavers81) at Washington Blade.

Mi album de fotos sobre mi viaje a #Cuba acabo de publicar en el sitio web del @WashBlade. Tendré notas basadas en las entrevistas que hice en el país en las próximas semanas t.co/HPxpEne8i3 @LosAngelesBlade #LGBTI

— Michael K. Lavers (@mklavers81) May 21, 2018

READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!

Loudwire honors LGBTQ rockstars; The Spectrum covers the recent Equality Celebration held by Equality Utah; Reuters explores a Chinese charity’s run to support LGBTQ people; GhanaWeb interviews three local LGBTQ advocates; The Hollywood Reporter interviews Mishel Prada (@MishelPrada), star of the show ‘Vida’

Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to #AM_Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!

www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tipsheet-may-22-2018?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

MISC

GLAAD’s sixth annual Studio Responsibility Index sees alarming drop in LGBTQ characters in major studio films

GLAAD’s sixth annual Studio Responsibility Index sees alarming drop in LGBTQ characters in major studio films

GLAAD

This morning, GLAAD released its sixth annual Studio Responsibility Index (SRI), a report that maps the quantity, quality, and diversity of LGBTQ people in films released by the seven largest motion picture studios and their subsidiaries during the 2017 calendar year.

READ THE FULL 2018 STUDIO RESPONSIBILITY INDEX NOW. 

GLAAD found that of the 109 releases from major studios in 2017, only 14 (12.8%) of them included characters that are LGBTQ. This represents a significant decrease from the previous year’s report (18.4%, 23 out of 125), and the lowest percentage of LGBTQ-inclusive major studio releases since GLAAD began tracking in 2012. Not one of the 109 releases included a transgender character, a drop from the one transgender character portrayed in 2016, who only served as a punchline.

While the number of LGBTQ characters dropped substantially year over year, there was a welcome increase in racial diversity of LGBTQ characters. In 2017, the majority of LGBTQ characters were people of color (57%, 16 of 28). However, there were no Asian/Pacific Islander LGBTQ characters in major studio releases in 2017.

In this year’s Studio Responsibility Index, GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis called on the seven major film studios to make sure that 20% of annual major studio releases include LGBTQ characters by 2021, and that 50% of films include LGBTQ characters by 2024. The GLAAD Media Institute will unveil a roadmap for Hollywood to grow LGBTQ inclusion in film during an event hosted by global entertainment agency WME and Endeavor Content later today. The event will feature remarks from GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis as well as a panel discussion on LGBTQ images in film. Panelists include Emmy-winning writer, producer, and actor Lena Waithe (“Master of None,” “The Chi,” “Ready Player One”), director and writer Kay Cannon (“Blockers,” “Pitch Perfect”), and actor Nico Santos (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “Superstore”) who will address LGBTQ creators and industry executives.

“With wildly successful films like Wonder Woman and Black Panther proving that audiences want to see diverse stories that haven’t been told before, there is simply no reason for major studios to have such low scores on the Studio Responsibility Index,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President and CEO. “At a time when the entertainment industry is holding much needed discussions about inclusion, now is the time to ensure the industry takes meaningful action and incorporates LGBTQ stories and creators as among priorities areas for growing diversity.”

20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures both received an ‘Insufficient’ rating; Paramount Pictures, Sony Entertainment, and Walt Disney received ‘Poor’ ratings; and Lionsgate Entertainment and Warner Brothers received ‘Failing’ ratings.

GLAAD shared recommendations for the film industry to reach the benchmark of 20% of annual major studio releases including LGBTQ characters by 2021:

  • Studios must do better to include more LGBTQ characters, and construct those stories in a way that is directly tied to the film’s plot. LGBTQ characters in mainstream films are still minor – in both screen time and substance. This has been a consistent problem every year since GLAAD began tracking LGBTQ characters in Hollywood releases six years ago. Of the 14 inclusive films distributed by major studios in 2017, seven (50%) included less than five minutes of screen time for their LGBTQ characters, with the majority of those falling under three minutes.
  • Far too often LGBTQ characters and stories are relegated to subtext, and it is left up to the audience to interpret or read into a character as being LGBTQ. Audiences may not realize they are seeing an LGBTQ character unless they have outside knowledge of a real figure, have consumed source material for an adaptation, or have read external press confirmations. This is not enough. GLAAD updated its report methodology this year to explain our focus in on-screen representation. Our stories deserve to be seen on screen just as much as everyone else’s, not hidden away or left to guess work, but boldly and fully shown.
  • Comic book films must reflect the diversity of their source material. There are so many LGBTQ heroes in comics – enough for GLAAD to up its Outstanding Comic Book award category from five to ten nominees to reflect the quality and quantity of what we are seeing – that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to ignore that LGBTQ people remain almost completely shut out of Hollywood’s big budget comic films. There have been several films in recent years that have erased a character’s queer identity as they moved from page to screen. In 2017, Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok and DC’s Wonder Woman both included characters who are queer in the source material, but did not include any on screen confirmation of their identities. This must change going forward.

“Though wide release films this year like Love, Simon, Annihilation, Blockers, and Negasonic and Yukio’s relationship in Deadpool 2, have raised the bar for LGBTQ images, studios must still do more to ensure that LGBTQ storylines and characters are included in fair and accurate ways. We hope that these films are the start of an upward trend of sustained progress, and not just a blip in the radar of next year’s SRI,” said Megan Townsend, Director of Entertainment Research and Analysis at GLAAD.

GLAAD’s Studio Responsibility Index reviews films based on GLAAD’s “Vito Russo Test”, a set of criteria analyzing how LGBTQ characters are situated in a narrative. Named after GLAAD co-founder and celebrated film historian Vito Russo, and partly inspired by the “Bechdel Test,” these criteria represent a minimum standard GLAAD would like to see a greater number of mainstream Hollywood films reach in the future.

The Vito Russo Test criteria:

  1. The film contains a character that is identifiably lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ).
  2. That character must not be solely or predominantly defined by their sexual orientation or gender identity (i.e. the character is comprised of the same sort of unique character traits commonly used to differentiate straight/non-transgender characters from one another).
  3. The LGBTQ character must be tied into the plot in such a way that their removal would have a significant effect. Meaning they are not there to simply provide colorful commentary, paint urban authenticity, or (perhaps most commonly) set up a punchline. The character should matter.

Of the 14 LGBTQ-inclusive major studio releases in 2017, only 9 (64%) passed the Vito Russo Test, the same number of passing films as the previous year.

With this annual report, GLAAD will continue to track the industry’s progress. To view and download the full report, click here. 

May 22, 2018
Issues: 

www.glaad.org/blog/glaads-sixth-annual-studio-responsibility-index-sees-alarming-drop-lgbtq-characters-major

MISC

The Herndon Climb Captivated Annapolis Yesterday and Was as Wet, Shirtless and Greasy as Ever: WATCH

The Herndon Climb Captivated Annapolis Yesterday and Was as Wet, Shirtless and Greasy as Ever: WATCH
herndon climb

U.S. Naval Academy freshman in Annapolis competed in the annual Herndon climb yesterday afternoon, where they are required to place a hat atop a 21-foot obelisk greased with lard. It took them 2 hours and 9 minutes to do so. Watch the live video above.

The WaPo reports: “The annual tradition marks the end of their hellacious “plebe” year at the academy, the country’s premier training ground for Navy and Marine Corps officers. But that year is only over once the freshmen, known as plebes, manage to replace a “dixie cup” cap perched at the monument’s tip with an upperclassman’s hat….The ‘capper’ was Peter Rossi from Phoenix.”

More:

It’s 1,000 college students climbing a greased-up monument and we can’t get enough.

Meet @NavalAcademy‘s #HerndonClimb: t.co/FV5c1RmDIS

(?: @wbaltv11) pic.twitter.com/ptczocX0jq

— WTHR.com (@WTHRcom) May 22, 2018

Another *close* attempt… wait for the high-five from upper classmen at the end ?#WJZ #HerndonClimb pic.twitter.com/VJq4IAHCCr

— Devin Bartolotta (@WJZDevin) May 21, 2018

Class of 2021 Herndon Climb
Plebe no more! pic.twitter.com/3wBD6YUSxk

— Bonnie Monninger (@Bonterp) May 21, 2018

The post The Herndon Climb Captivated Annapolis Yesterday and Was as Wet, Shirtless and Greasy as Ever: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.


The Herndon Climb Captivated Annapolis Yesterday and Was as Wet, Shirtless and Greasy as Ever: WATCH

You Might Like

Videos | Dating

Live Cams | Live Chats