World Cup Organization Livid at Mexican Fans’ Homophobic Slurs
FIFA has announced that it has opened disciplinary hearings in response to an antigay chant used by supporters of Mexico’s World Cup team.
www.advocate.com/sports/2018/6/20/world-cup-organization-livid-mexican-fans-homophobic-slurs
Gender dysphoria no longer called a “mental disorder” in latest World Health Organization update
The new policy will be fully adopted globally by 2022.
Michael Cohen Quits RNC Committee, Distances Himself from Trump
Michael Cohen
Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who many expect to flip and cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, resigned from the RNC Finance Committee today and also distanced himself from Trump for the first time.
ABC News reports: “In his resignation letter to Ronna McDaniel, the RNC chair, Cohen cited the ongoing special counsel investigation as one reason for his departure…Cohen also criticized the administration’s policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the southern border, the first time he’s distanced himself from the president.”
CNN spoke to one of Cohen’s personal friends who said that he is now willing to give up info on the president.
The post Michael Cohen Quits RNC Committee, Distances Himself from Trump appeared first on Towleroad.
Michael Cohen Quits RNC Committee, Distances Himself from Trump
Gay Pride – 24. CSD Nordwest – Oldenburg 2018 (Lower Saxony / Germany) – – In preperation: our CITY CENTER one day before !
tusuwe.groeber posted a photo:
– more photos will follow in the next few days !!! –
Photos of this series : tinyurl.com/ybfjtt84
` OLDENBURG ´ – is an independent city in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany.
Population 165.000 ( Dec. 31. 2015 ) ( Metropolitan Region `Bremen / Oldenburg´ 2.4 million people )
Wear Your Provincetown Pride with this New Collection From Blade + Blue
Whether you’re lovin’ summer or doing some summer lovin,’ nothing beats spending the warmer months in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Now, you can wear your love for P-Town on your (metaphorical) sleeves with sexy, stylish tanks and tees from Blade + Blue.
The limited edition, handcrafted collection is equal parts chic and cheeky, celebrating Provincetown’s unique culture with designs created in a collaboration between Blade + Blue founder Peter Papas and artist Andrew Sedgwick Guth.
Papas discovered Guth after the artist tagged Blade + Blue in an Instagram post. Papas was inspired by Guth’s bright, sexy art and reached out for a collaboration.
“When Andrew and I were getting to know each other, we realized that we both had a deep connection with Provincetown, and we kept coming back to our love for this place,” Papas said.
This year marks the second collection dedicated to Provincetown. Fans of last year’s capsule will be glad to see new iterations of popular designs and more creative interpretations of life in P-Town.
Blade + Blue Founder Peter Papas with models.
One of last year’s most sought-after designs was a slice of pizza in a leather harness with the words “Pizza Fetish.” This year’s design pushes the envelope further with a pizza-themed jockstrap illustration. (The fictional brand on the tag? Meat Lovers, of course.)
“Andrew and I were insistent on having another pizza themed tee,” Papas said. “I mean, what’s a trip to P-Town without cruising in front of Spiritus after the bars close?”
Other T-shirt designs include an ode to the nude beach (“Sun’s Out Bun’s Out“), copper bicycles, a trio of whales, a sexy sail “On the Lookout,” and a celebration of tea dances and kiki-ing with your best Judys (“Spill the Tea”).
As for the tanks, guys can self-identify as (or attract) a “Beach Dad” or a “Seal Pup.”
“Andrew and I kept laughing at how we were now ‘daddies’ and the younger guys referred to themselves as ‘pups,’” Papas said. “We then drew a straight line to the little seal pups resting on Provincetown’s beaches who are so irresistible but we were not allowed to touch them … Sounds just like a lot of the boys we know, too!”
Like all Blade + Blue items, nothing is mass produced. Each of the six tees and two tanks in this year’s collection are handprinted by Guth and come hand signed and numbered. After hand carving each design, Guth creates the ink and personally pulls the ink for every garment, making each shirt even more special.
The T-shirts will retail for $50 and the tanks are $45. Plus, $2 from each tee goes to the Provincetown Library.
Towleroad readers can save 15 percent on their order using the code ‘TOWLEROAD’ at checkout.
In addition to this summer’s hottest tees and tanks, Blade + Blue offers a slew of handsomely designed and expertly tailored menswear, including a summer short-sleeve shirt collection inspired by the Hawaiian islands (“Rhythm of the Heat“) and the most luxurious, stylish men’s underwear you’ll find. (Finally, a tailored boxer short that’s easy to wear with a skinny pant!)
Check out the full line of Provincetown-inspired tees and tanks below, along with some of our favorite Blade + Blue pieces.
More from the Blade + Blue collection:
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Wear Your Provincetown Pride with this New Collection From Blade + Blue
Museum curator brings the Egyptian civilization to students via Skype
Abdelrahman Othman is curator for the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo. He was recently named best curator in Egypt for 2018. For years he’s been spreading history and culture to those who visit the museum. On top of curating he’s also found a way to bring the invaluable museum tour experience into classrooms via Skype. He was kind enough to answer a few questions for us about his background, the museum, and how he’s using Skype in the Classroom to share history with students around the world.
Tell us a little bit about your background and the work you do.
My name is Abdelrahman Othman, curator for the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and director of the Department of Community Outreach. The museum’s goal is to build bridges between the museum itself and local and international communities through museum activities, and to use cultural best practices to create a successful learning environment, to which museums contribute significantly.
On top of that, I’m project manager of an initiative called “My Museum in Your Classroom” working with other museum curators who also offer virtual tours in their museums. Our aim to provide educational activities around Egyptian museums, Egyptian archaeological sites, and educational institutions in and outside Egypt, removing borders and obstacles for education. We use Skype in the Classroom for this project.
What is your favorite aspect of connecting with classrooms over Skype?
My favorite part of this work is communicating with Egyptian and international educational institutions, where I feel like I’m a complement to a teacher’s role within the classroom. I can make an impact on the lives of students. Through the museum I can change some of the perceptions students have and provide them with valuable new information, which might even affect the way they learn.
In what way do you see your work having an impact the world?
Of course, the nature of my work can be very important to Egyptian culture both in the near term and in the long run. Through my work as director of the Department of Community Outreach, I can offer museum-goers and students alike unique insights into the Egyptian civilization spanning many historical periods—and with Skype I can bring museum experiences to anyone in the world at little cost.
On a Skype call, I can bring Egyptian history into your classroom, wherever you are, and this experience is trending in classrooms all over of the world. Even students in small villages who are studying Egypt within their curriculum can have this experience. And if, for any variety of reasons, these students cannot go to Egypt to see what they are studying, I can be that link for them, in an entertaining way.
Where did you get the idea to use Skype in your line of work?
The idea to use Skype for tours began when I joined Skype in the Classroom. I could create a virtual tour for anyone’s use within this application since it’s such a high quality virtual communication tool.
Skype allows me to create virtual tours of the halls of the museum and bring these halls to an endless number of educational institutions around the world. Additionally, this helps with marketing and promoting the museum as well as archaeological sites.
In fact, I didn’t know the importance of this wonderful application until I subscribed to the Microsoft Educator Community. It gave me the opportunity to communicate with educational institutions in and outside Egypt in a simple and easy way—without the technical difficulties that often hinder communication tools. Now that I do all my virtual tours of the museum through Skype, I feel like it’s become part of my life!
We see from your photos that you are using the latest mobile version of Skype. What features do you enjoy?
I like the image and file sharing feature. Classrooms are always asking for pictures from our virtual tours. I take snapshots during the walking tours, and I can share them with the class. The Gallery feature also makes finding the images simple and easy.
What do students around the world enjoy most about your tours?
They love seeing and recognizing elements from the Egyptian civilization they’ve studied, all the artifacts and eras. They can see the pyramids, Tutankhamun, the tomb of Ramses II, the royal mummies, and Amro Abnelass Mosque—and a lot of the Egyptian museums!
Where can people learn more about what you are doing at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization?
Microsoft offers a window into our program with Skype in the Classroom, where one can publish tours and promote them through a large database featuring millions of users from more than 145 countries around the world. You can coordinate between educators and guest speakers via the contact details they provide. This coordination ultimately helps educational tours like ours succeed.
The four largest museums in Egypt participate in this project—the National Museum for Egyptian Civilization, Egyptian Museum of Liberation, Coptic Museum, and Museum of Islamic Art (and recently the Sadat Museum, which is part of the Library of Alexandria, joined the initiative). Each museum has an activity page that tells briefly about their history (the speakers for these museums are fully accredited), and we have made virtual tours for each museum, so people can experience this project fully. We have found it’s greatly popular both in and outside Egypt.
We love hearing how you use Skype technology to spread culture and enhance knowledge and understanding. Tell us your story by tagging @Skype on social media—and we might even feature you.
Educators: Request a virtual visit to one of our partner museums from around the world to delve into stories about the museum’s collections and uncover history.
The post Museum curator brings the Egyptian civilization to students via Skype appeared first on Skype Blogs.
Honor the Radical Legacy of Pride by Bailing Out LGBT Prisoners
Mass incarceration is most certainly a queer issue, Margaret Goff of the Justice Policy Center writes.
www.advocate.com/commentary/2018/6/20/honor-radical-legacy-pride-bailing-out-lgbt-prisoners
Love Between Black Men Faces Impossible Odds in ‘Sugar in Our Wounds’ and ‘Pass Over’: REVIEW
Two playwrights addressing the subjugation of Black bodies in America show how little has changed in more than a century, with bracing and powerful new plays that opened off-Broadway this week. The system of oppression that enslaves Black characters in Donja R. Love’s Civil War-set Sugar in Our Wounds assumes a more amorphous shape on the present street corner of Antoinette Nwandu’s Pass Over — but the men there are just as surely trapped.
Love’s cruel fable, set at the base of a tree grown massive from the blood of those who’ve hung from its branches, is part of a trilogy the playwright describes as “a surrealistic voyage through queer love during pivotal moments of Black history.” The first installment opened last night in a Manhattan Theatre Club production, directed by Saheem Ali, at City Center Stage II.
James (Sheldon Best) shares a small shack with Aunt Mama (Stephanie Berry) — neither his aunt nor his mama, but “probably older than God,” so in charge all the same — and Mattie (Tiffany Rachelle Stewart), the light-skinned daughter of their master and another slave. The master’s legitimate daughter, Isabel (Fern Cozine), a brutal beauty, is teaching James to read. When Henry (Chinaza Uche), a brawny runaway, shows up on the plantation, he and Henry quickly fall in love.
“It’s uh beautiful thing ta know yaself,” Aunt Mama tells James after she discovers his love for Henry, admitting she’s kissed many women’s lips. “And I ain’t talkin’ ‘bout da ones on day face kneever.” (Go off, Aunt Mama!)
Love paints in broad strokes, but draws on Afrocentric narrative traditions to conjure a rich palette. His characters are near archetypes — naive James, shrewd Mama, noble Henry, vicious Isobel — but tenderly drawn. The ensemble buoys them with flesh and blood, rendering an unlikely romance all the more sweet and its harsh circumstance that much more painful.
That the play’s outcome feels almost overdetermined only underscores the grace of James and Henry having found love in a hopeless place. “Turn dis ugly inta ya beauty,” Mama tells them, speaking generations into the future.
In the dreamscape of Pass Over, which opened at Lincoln Center’s Claire Tow Theatre Monday night, Nwandu draws parallels between histories of persecution and perseverance, all within a freewheeling riff on Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, sharply directed here by Danya Taymor.
For Moses (Jon Michael Hill) and Kitch (Namir Smallwood), two men whose days unfold on concrete under a streetlamp rather than moss beneath a tree, finding joy in everyday life means looking out for each other. They trade rapid-fire quips in a raw vernacular that borders on poetic, a style with echoes of Suzan-Lori Parks. (Moses: “man/ what’chu fixta do today/ man damn” Kitch: “man/ I’on know man/ what’chu fixta do” Moses: “got plans/ you feel me/ big ol plans” Kitch: “got plans to stand there/ stroke yo dick”)
The two also share an intermittent determination to get off the block, or “pass over,” and reach their full potential. They just as frequently put their hands up and freeze, quaking in fear, as cops patrol the street.
Instead of God, they’re visited by polarized emblems of white authority, both played by a shiver-inducing Gabriel Ebert. The first wanders on in an ivory suit with a picnic basket, Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf in one, greeting their generous use of the n-word with a “gosh golly gee” sheen of wholesomeness and hospitality.
“Who are you boy/ you goin somewhere?” is the police officer’s refrain, though he already has his own answers: They’re hoodrats, hardly human and headed nowhere — trapped by his perceptions as much as by his gun. Though Moses and Kitch are free men on the street, their circumstance is hardly a far cry from James and Henry’s, though they’re bonded by a different sort of love.
In the face of overwhelming injustice, it’s fitting that Love and Nwandu both unleash forces of magic in their stories — the kind that defies the impossible, like a sort of wish-fulfillment, and the kind that startles you awake to see the world as it really is.
Recent theatre features…
The Grit and Heart of the 2018 Tony Award Winners Show Theatre Is More Relevant Than Ever: RECAP
Starry Broadway Revival of ‘The Boys in the Band’ Lends Gay History a High Sheen: REVIEW
Time’s Up? Not So Fast: ‘Carousel’ Is Back on Broadway: REVIEW
Get in, Losers: The ‘Mean Girls’ Musical Is Fun as Hell: REVIEW
In ‘Three Tall Women’ and ‘Yerma,’ Stunning Portraits of Women on the Verge: REVIEW
Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane Star in Electrifying ‘Angels in America’: REVIEW
Follow Naveen Kumar on Twitter: @Mr_NaveenKumar
(photos: joan marcus, jeremy daniel)
The post Love Between Black Men Faces Impossible Odds in ‘Sugar in Our Wounds’ and ‘Pass Over’: REVIEW appeared first on Towleroad.
Love Between Black Men Faces Impossible Odds in ‘Sugar in Our Wounds’ and ‘Pass Over’: REVIEW
#AM_Equality Tipsheet: June 20, 2018
TODAY — HRC MARKS WORLD REFUGEE DAY WITH POWERFUL VIDEO OF GAY ASYLUM SEEKER FLEEING PERSECUTION: Robel Hailu, an HRC Global Innovator from Ethiopia, was forced to flee his home country simply because he publicly discussed his sexual orientation. HRC is also marking the day with a Twitter takeover by Rainbow Railroad at 4 p.m. ET — a Canadian-based international organization that helps LGBTQ people around the world escape persecution and violence. Said HRC President Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin). “As the Trump-Pence administration turns away people fleeing barbaric persecution and unconscionably rips away children from their immigrant parents at the border, Americans must stand united in sending a powerful message that their cruel actions do not represent our values. We are a proud nation of immigrants, and refugees should be welcome here.” More from HRC and HuffPost.
SHAMEFUL — TRUMP-PENCE ADMINISTRATION WITHDRAWS U.S. FROM THE U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL: The U.S.’s absence will embolden those who violate human rights, including those who target the LGBTQ community. HRC joined a letter of condemnation of the Trump-Pence administration’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the U.N. Human Rights Council, alongside national and international human rights groups. The letter reads, “[W]ithout strategic U.S. engagement at the Council as a member, the U.S. loses a
platform to influence the course of human rights globally for the better and the victims of human rights abuse globally will fall prey to the machinations of governments that will take advantage of this strategic vacuum.” Read the full letter here.
WHAT WE’RE READING WEDNESDAY — USING STORYTELLING TO HELP YOUTH SUPPORT THEIR LGBTQ PEERS: Scott James (@scottjames) describes how storytelling — through books, television, movies and through telling your own story, can fuel the fight for equality, particularly among younger generations. Said HRC Welcoming Schools Director Johanna Eager: “If you really hear a compelling story about someone suffering as an L.G.B.T.Q. person, that can change someone’s heart or mind quickly.” More from The New York Times.
ON PAGE ONE OF USA TODAY — HRC’S SARAH MCBRIDE SHARES HER PAINFUL #METOO EXPERIENCE: Said McBride (@SarahEMcBride): “[T]here’s this extra unique barrier that transgender people face around this notion that … we are somehow so undesirable that people wouldn’t sexually assault us, which is a fundamental misunderstanding of both who transgender people are and how sexual assault works.” Studies suggest that around half of transgender people will experience sexual violence at some point in their lifetimes. More from USA Today.
This is front page of the USA Today. This is honestly still very difficult for me to talk about publicly, despite being very open in other ways. But we must recognize just how pervasive sexual assault is in this country and world. t.co/C4v7jIR1CZ pic.twitter.com/OvkjTcvl5M
— Sarah McBride (@SarahEMcBride) June 19, 2018
MUST READ FROM HRC YOUTH AMBASSADOR ZOEY LUNA — “TRANSGENDER TEENS NEED TEACHERS TO STAND UP FOR THEM”: Luna shares her story of being blocked from participating in gym class because she is transgender, and her school’s attempt to expel her. Her experience, she writes, “makes it all the more painful to watch the Trump-Pence administration, and its Department of Education, abandon its commitment to stand up for all students — including and especially transgender students… Because of my case, my teachers received training on how to support transgender youth like me, allowing me to walk into my first day of high school knowing that I was Zoey, and that no one could take that away from me.” Read her full story from Teen Vogue.
MARYLAND TRANS TEEN WILL HAVE ACCESS TO CORRECT FACILITIES AT SCHOOL FOLLOWING COURT SETTLEMENT: Max Brennan, a 16-year-old transgender teen from Maryland, will have permanent access to the facilities aligned with his gender identity. More from The Washington Post.
PRIDE MONTH ROUNDUP
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA, RALLIES BEHIND LGBTQ COMMUNITY AFTER ANTI-LGBTQ POSTERS POSTED NEAR LIBRARY: The posters attacked the Palo Alto City Library for promoting its collection of LGBTQ-themed books for Pride Month. City officials have denounced the posters and reiterated support for the city’s LGBTQ community. More from Palo Alto Online.
GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS
HORRIFYING — MEXICAN LGBTQ ACTIVISTS MURDERED IN TAXCO: Rubén Estrada, Roberto Vega and Carlos Uriel López were kidnapped and then killed during an attempted robbery outside of a local nightclub. Pink News reports that Estrada, 35, was the main organizer of Taxco’s annual Pride march and a local gay beauty contest, while Vega and López, who was his partner, were also activists. Reports indicate their bodies were found on a dirt road near the main highway between Mexico City and Acapulco. More from Washington Blade, The Associated Press and Pink News.
TERRIBLE — ACTIVISTAS LGBTQ MEXICANOS ASESINADOS EN TAXCO: Rubén Estrada, Roberto Vega y Carlos Uriel López fueron secuestrados y luego asesinados durante un intento de robo en las afueras de un club nocturno local. Pink News informa que Estrada, de 35 años, fue el principal organizador de la marcha anual del Orgullo de Taxco y un concurso de belleza local de personas gay, mientras que Vega y López, quien era su pareja, eran activistas. Los informes señalan que sus cuerpos fueron encontrados en un camino de tierra cerca de la carretera principal entre Ciudad de México y Acapulco. Más de Washington Blade, The Associated Press y Pink News.
FOLLOWING HOMOPHOBIC WORLD CUP CHANTS, FIFA OPENS DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS AGAINST MEXICO: More from The Chicago Tribune and USA Today.
NINETY-SIX PERCENT OF LGBTQ IRAQIS FACE PHYSICAL OR VERBAL VIOLENCE, according to a new report from IraQueer. The report noted that these circumstances are heightened for transgender Iraqis. More from Pink News.
PHILIPPINE SUPREME COURT HEARS ARGUMENTS IN MARRIAGE EQUALITY CASE: More from The Strait Times.
ONE-THIRD OF BRITISH EMPLOYERS ARE LESS LIKELY TO HIRE A TRANS PERSON: Less than 20 percent of British employers have a transgender-inclusive non-discrimination policy and only nine percent support legal non-discrimination protections for transgender employees. More from Reuters.
IRISH GOVERNMENT POISED TO APOLOGIZE FOR HISTORY OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST LGBTQ PEOPLE: More from The Journal.
READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!
Allure interviews artist and actress Janelle Monáe; NPR sits down with Egyptian advocates amid the country’s crackdown on LGBTQ people; Outsmart Magazine reports on a Houston-based camp for LGBTQ teens; San Francisco Chronicle covers an LGBTQ elders competency training for local longterm care facilities
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-june-20-2018?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
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