Nico Tortorella gets candid about self-pleasure: ‘I am my own lover’
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HRC Atlanta Joins Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition to Commemorate World AIDS Day

Post submitted by Board of Governors member Percy Brown III.

In honor of World AIDS Day 2018, I was proud to lead a team of HRC Atlanta leaders to administer free HIV testing — a brand new experience for all of us.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta ranks fourth among U.S. cities in new HIV diagnoses within certain populations. The CDC noted that Black gay men are contracting HIV in Atlanta in epidemic proportions. As a Black gay man and Atlanta native, I wanted to do my part to change the narrative. Seeing those statistics sparked my need for action.

To start, we met with a facilitator from the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition (AHRC), an Atlanta-based organization that offers free testing year-round. AHRC operates the only needle exchange program in Georgia. Our small group of HRC Atlanta leaders were trained in basic intake paperwork and how to administer the rapid fingerstick HIV antibody test. After training in pricking fingers and collecting blood, we were ready to provide HIV testing on World AIDS Day.

This past Saturday, we joined coalition partners to provide free HIV testing in our community at a local LGBTQ resource center. We served as staff for the day — administering rapid tests, while our friends at AHRC provided support and counseling to our clients being tested.

World AIDS Day is a vital opportunity to remember those in our communities we have lost to HIV & AIDS and to recommit ourselves to ending the epidemic. HRC Atlanta is ready to continue the conversation about HIV prevention and treatment  in our community — not just for World AIDS Day, but all year long.

We are so grateful to The Spot and The Phillip Rush Center for their partnership. With a few of us now trained to be testers and our new friends at AHRC, we plan to add an HIV testing component to our upcoming MLK Day of Service activities and to other community events we will host throughout the year.

For more information on HRC Foundation’s work to end HIV, click here.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-atlanta-joins-atlanta-harm-reduction-coalition-to-commemorate-world-aid?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

University of Texas student, Kaj Baker won’t give up without a fight following heartbreaking dorm discrimination

Kaj Baker’s parents have always told her to stand up for what she believes in, but she’s never had an opportunity to do so quite like this.

Kaj (pronounced Ky) is the University of Texas, Austin first year student who recently made headlines when she was banned from having any guests visit her in the off-campus residence, the all-women’s Scottish Rite Dormitory (SRD), because she and her girlfriend reportedly made other residents “uncomfortable.”

Confusion turned to disbelief as Kaj was forced to confront her dorm administrator and ask just why she was being punished if she did not break any rules, only to find out that her lack of rule breaking did not matter. What did matter was her sexual orientation. In a voice recording of her meeting with SRD officials, Kaj was explicitly told “other residents” had complained about Kaj being in the dorm with together with her girlfriend. She was told that the comfort and “safety” of other students had to be considered and action needed to be taken.

Kaj Baker.

In what seems like a clear case of discrimination based on sexual orientation, Kaj is still facing pushback from her dormmates and is currently seeking alternative housing due to the hostility she is facing within her dorm. After speaking out, she also faced criticism from classmates who accuse her of “victimizing” herself.

Once a regular college student, Kaj is now forced to publicly fight for her right to live openly—like everyone else, or hide who she is in her own home. She’s choosing to fight by telling her story with GLAAD. She hopes she can teach others that anti-LGBTQ bias still exists, but that LGBTQ youth can overcome it, so that no other person has to experience the discrimination that brought her into the spotlight.

GLAAD is standing with Kaj and you can too by supporting a GoFundMe campaign that her girlfriend set up to support Kaj’s future housing while she continues at the University of Texas. Learn more about Kaj, in her own words, below.

Have you experienced harassment or unwanted negative attention since your story was covered in the news?

I have experienced harassment since my story was covered. Although many people at my dorm have been supportive of my situation, there are others who don’t feel the same way. When the [my] first video [interview] came out, a resident at my dorm told me in a group messaging app, “I hope you feel happy with yourself and that video” and “Kaj is victimizing herself plain and simple”. I’ve also been privately messaged by people at the dorm saying things such as “Why don’t you go to her place instead of bringing her here if you don’t feel welcomed”. I’ve tried to spend one night at the dorm but I don’t feel comfortable, so I’m staying with my girlfriend. I’ve gone back a few times to get my things but I use the back door because I don’t want to run into the girls who have messaged me. However, many people at the dorm have also stood up against resident’s negative comments, and reached out to me to offer their support.

Have you received support since this incident occurred?

I have absolutely received a lot of support from many people since the incident occurred. Many girls at my dorm and even more people outside of SRD (including SRD alumni and many kind strangers/allies) have reached out to me, offering their condolences and letting me know that what SRD did is not okay and that people are on my side. My girlfriend has been my main support system during this time, allowing me to stay at her apartment because I feel unsafe at my dorm. More than that, she is a kind person and has been my rock at times when this has been very overwhelming for me, even though this has also been stressful on her. She has the kindest heart of anyone I know and even started a GoFundMe to support my housing and legal needs.

Kaj Baker and her girlfriend.

What would you say to people who claim you are using this incident to get attention?

I’ve always been a pretty shy and quiet person and this situation has been overwhelming for me. However, I think this is an important story to tell. Many people aren’t aware that discrimination still occurs, even though it’s 2018 and Austin is a very liberal part of Texas. Even though I did want to get my story told, I never expected it to have as much of an impact as it has. I hope this story can help people, as I don’t want anyone else to experience the discrimination that I have experienced.

Do you have a message for other LGBTQ youth who are experiencing discrimination?

A lot of people who are in the LGBTQ+ community, as well as other minority communities, have reached out to me to share their experiences and let me know that I’m not alone. I would want other LGBTQ+ youth who are experiencing discrimination to know that they are also not alone, and I hope that sharing my experience as well can contribute to this. There is an enormous community of people both in your community, as well as allies, who have kind hearts, value equality, and will be a support system for you when life gets too overwhelming.

What do you wish the other students in your dorm knew about you?

I think that if more girls in the dorm got a chance to really get to talk to me and my girlfriend, they would realize that we are good students who follow the rules and are just like anyone else living at the dorm. She’s the sweetest person in the world with a sense of humor that can brighten anyone’s day. At the end of the day, we are more than what is happening at my dorm. To the people who have offered support at SRD, I hope they know how much that means to both of us.

Clare Kenny is the Director of Youth Engagement at GLAAD. She leads GLAAD’s Campus Ambassador Program, Rising Stars Grants Program, and amp series. Clare is a graduate of Skidmore College. Follow her on Twitter @vonkenny.

www.glaad.org/amp/university-texas-kaj-baker-heartbreaking-dorm-discrimination

RuPaul’s ‘Holi-Slay Spectacular,’ Momoa, ‘Mrs. Maisel’ 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.

One of our greatest contemporary comedies returns for a triumphant second season Wednesday on Amazon. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is back to follow along the titular Midge (Emmy winner Rachel Brosnahan) as she continues to conquer the 1960s NYC stand-up scene.

The holiday season is all about family, and Ru’s getting her girls back together for a can’t-miss (non-denominational) Holi-Slay Spectacular. Fan-favorite queens return to battle it out in a very special Drag Race throwdown in hopes they’ll capture the Christmas Queen crown. Load up on eggnog and tune in Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern on VH1.

Attention, professional bakers: YA DONE! The hilarious Nicole Byer is back alongside Chef Jacques for a holiday-themed spate of new episodes of Netflix’s cakefail competition, Nailed It! dropping Friday.

We’ll take all the Dolly Parton we can get, including as the creative force behind the soundtrack of this Netflix original film premiering Friday. Starring Danielle Macdonald and Jennifer Aniston, Dumplin’ follows a plus-size Dolly fan as she bucks tradition by entering the local beauty pageant. Hilarity and heart warming ensue.

Before Aquaman hits theaters later this month, the film’s star, Jason Momoa, will get audiences wet when he hosts Saturday Night Live this weekend at 11:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC. The hunky actor is known for a wicked sense of humor, so expect a strong showing.

What are you watching this week on TV?

The post RuPaul’s ‘Holi-Slay Spectacular,’ Momoa, ‘Mrs. Maisel’ and More TV This Week appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

RuPaul’s ‘Holi-Slay Spectacular,’ Momoa, ‘Mrs. Maisel’ and More TV This Week

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: December 4, 2018

NEW ARIZONA STATE HOUSE SPEAKER RUSSELL BOWERS UNFIT TO SERVE ALL ARIZONANS: “Rep. Bowers has spent his career attacking the LGBTQ community, proving that he will not serve all Arizonans as Speaker of the House,” said HRC Arizona State Director Justin Unga. “Bowers believes that businesses should have a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people, that LGBTQ people should not be protected from discrimination under state law, and that the abusive and debunked practice of so-called ‘conversion therapy,’ — a form of child abuse — should be allowed to continue in Arizona.” More from HRC.

HRC YOUTH AMBASSADOR SHARES POWERFUL STORY ABOUT HER EXPERIENCE WITH SO-CALLED “CONVERSION THERAPY”: “Sharing my story, the first people that I think about are parents who are considering sending their child away to conversion therapy, parents that are scared. Those are the people that I want to reach,” wrote HRC Youth Ambassador Alex Cooper, for The Advocate’s ongoing series, “Can’t Be Converted,” which highlight the accounts of those who endured conversion therapy in states where the practice remains legal for minors. More from The Advocate.

Must read: @HRC Youth Ambassador Alex Cooper shares her powerful story of surviving the dangerous and debunked practice of “conversion therapy” in Utah.

“I had to wear a backpack full of rocks to feel the physical burden of being gay.” t.co/nN0UsjyLPd

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) December 3, 2018

TUESDAY TWEET — HRC FOUNDATION BOARD MEMBER JODIE PATTERSON SHARES EMPOWERING STORY ON RAISING HER TRANS SON: “As a mother, when you see your child in pain, all you want to do is stop the pain. So I told Penelope that however he felt inside was fine by me. And what came next changed my world forever, “I don’t feel like a boy mama, I am a boy.” Those four words changed everything,” writes Jodie Patterson, member of HRC’s Board of Directors and Parent for Transgender Equality Council. More from Refinery29 and from Jodie Patterson (@jodie_GeorgiaNY).

“‘I don’t feel like a boy mama, I  a boy.’ Those four words changed everything.”

A must read from @Jodie_GeorgiaNY, a member of @HRC‘s board of directors and Parents for Transgender Equality council, who penned an honest and moving oped on raising her trans son, Penelope. t.co/JGuA4tT0qO

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) December 3, 2018

HRC’S WELCOMING SCHOOLS PROGRAM LAUNCHES NEW ONLINE STORE WITH FREE BOOK SUPPORTING LGBTQ CHILDREN AND YOUTH: “A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo” provides the opportunity for students to explore the idea that love is love and to see that our differences are what make us special,” said HRC Foundation Welcoming Schools Director Johanna Eager. “We are honored to partner with First Book and Chronicle Books to provide parents and youth-serving professionals this free tool to develop empathy and acceptance of differences among young people, and to start a conversation about negative bias and stereotypes.” More from HRC.

What if somebunny told you that you could get a copy of “A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo” for the cost of shipping while supporting @HRC’s Welcoming Schools program thanks to a partnership with @FirstBook & @ChronicleBooks?

Hop over here to learn more: t.co/CYBDKN1BS3 pic.twitter.com/3iPxc3AFmp

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) December 3, 2018

BUYER’S CLUBS HELP MAKE PrEP AFFORDABLE IN SOME COMMUNITIES: Reuters’ Sonia Elks (@SoniaElks) interviewed Leslie Hall (@MrLeslieHall), Associate Director, of HRC Foundation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Program, who said, “If you don’t have the top-of-the line healthcare plan it can really get expensive. For some people, a buyers’ club is the only way they will have access to this drug.” More from Reuters.

RYAN MURPHY TO FUND “POSE GIVES BACK,” AN INITIATIVE TO DEFEAT ANTI-LGBTQ CANDIDATES IN 2020: “We are going to send a message which says you cannot make discrimination against us a political virtue anymore,” said Murphy, a writer/producer/director and a creator of the television series “Pose.” Read more from Variety.

PARIS LEES TO BECOME VOGUE’S FIRST OPENLY TRANS COLUMNIST: More from BBC.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

THE U.N. CAN DOUBLE DOWN ON PROTECTING LGBTQ RIGHTS: More from International Policy Digest.

TANZANIA’S LGBTQ POPULATION FACES DISCRIMINATION, HATE: As LGBTQ people are forced into hiding and LGBTQ-friendly organizations forced to close, HIV rates can increase. Read more from CNN.

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

The Daily Beast profiles “Pose” star Ryan Jamaal Swain (@RyanJamaal);

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-december-4-2018?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed