Antigay Senator Shuts Down Government Dept. Over Lesbian Appointee

Chai Feldman won confirmation to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2010, but Mike Lee calls her views “radical.”

www.advocate.com/politics/2018/12/21/antigay-senator-shuts-down-government-dept-over-lesbian-appointee

Actor Penn Badgley is so over “privileged ass white” actors playing gay roles
“At the end of the day you’re getting a real portrayal.”

www.queerty.com/actor-penn-badgley-privileged-ass-white-actors-playing-gay-roles-20181221?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Tom Of Finland and Slava Mogutin’s ‘Sexy XXX Files’ Challenges Tumblr Ban

When some artists heard the news that Tumblr was going to begin banning all explicit content on December 17th, many who use the platform began to worry about where they could migrate their content.

Exiled Russian artist Slava Mogutin worried about the impact this ban will have on queer art.

“For me, the personal is political and the political is personal,” Mogutin said in a statement. “At a time when our fundamental constitutional rights are under attack, I believe that queer imagery can serve as the most effective weapon against hypocrisy, bigotry, and censorship. When they censor my work either on social media or in real life, my response is always double up on the queer, double up on the fight and what they don’t want to see. I want to shine light on the darkest corners of human nature and sexuality as a way to understand and peacefully coexist with each other, because being different is a blessing, not a curse.”

Slava Mogutin  was granted political asylum in the U.S. with the support of Amnesty International and PEN American Center in 1995. He and other queer photographers like Ryan McGinley  both defined and documented the brash, sexy, and gritty beauty of  the downtown  East Village scene in New York.

In a 2013 interview, Mogutin told The Advocate he was born Yaroslav Yurievich Mogutin in the industrial city of Kemerovo, Siberia. He was 14 years-old  when left home and moved to Moscow, where he worked as a journalist and editor. Mogutin traded in controversy and defied authority so vehemently that by age 21, he was charged with “open and deliberate contempt for generally accepted moral norms,” “malicious hooliganism with exceptional cynicism and extreme insolence,” “inflaming social, national, and religious division,” and “propaganda of brutal violence, psychic pathology, and sexual perversions.”

You know. A bad boy.

Mogutin says he curated SLAVA MOGUTIN: XXX FILES with the Tom of Finland Store — as well as a run of signed, limited-edition prints — as a response to censorship across social media.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

There used to be a platform for Queers artists and a place to make Queer friends. It was a sex-positive space. No more. Remember to logoff #Tumblr today for 24 hours. TWITTER @ TomsFoundation

A post shared by Tom of Finland Foundation (@tomoffinlandfoundation) on Dec 17, 2018 at 4:50pm PST

SLAVA MOGUTIN: XXX FILES special edition of prints are exclusively available at the Tom of Finland store December 18^th through January 18, 2019. You can check the exhibition, much of which is NSFW here. 

Cover photo above BRANDON GOGO RED EYES, NYC (2006) by Slava Mogutin.

The post Tom Of Finland and Slava Mogutin’s ‘Sexy XXX Files’ Challenges Tumblr Ban appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Tom Of Finland and Slava Mogutin’s ‘Sexy XXX Files’ Challenges Tumblr Ban

Defense Sec Mattis Quits, After Going Along With Trump on Trans Ban

James Mattis had helped provide justification for the transgender military ban, perhaps reluctantly.

www.advocate.com/politics/2018/12/20/defense-sec-mattis-quits-after-going-along-trump-trans-ban

‘Chill’ Is Unapologetically Black and Gay

“But,” Chill Editor-in-Chief Gerald Garth told Towleroad, “We’re unapologetic about a lot of things. When we look at race, sexuality, interests—we look at the many layers of what it is to be a millennial man of color.”

Chill debuted a year ago and won two prestigious Folio Awards (they’re like the Oscars for magazines): For both Best Editorial Team (That includes The Advocate Magazine and Plus magazine) and  for best new magazine launch. “At Chill, we set out to do a number of things. I always say, we are here to invite people into spaces they might not normally go,  from fashion to music to entertainment.”

“But even beyond that,” Garth continues, “In subjects like health, sex and relationships, we make it a point to highlight innovative and interesting things in Chill. We want to showcase diversity across the board.  We are also growing the brand with new partnerships, stronger digital, more distribution and some exciting new events.”

The 4th issue of Chill featuring Charlamagne Tha God

Garth explains some terminology that some cis gender white gay or straight men may not completely understand and that’s the adoption of the term same gender loving (SGL) which some Black men prefer as opposed to gay. “For a long time, many Black men did not feel included in the rainbow; the gay experience did not include Black men. Black people have had to deal with racism—direct and implicit, and much of the efforts for inclusion did not speak of Blackness. Also too, so much of media and messaging showed one type of gay, and that was generally white. Even more, gay meant white, male, fit, attractive, able-bodied, and wealthy. The phrase “same gender loving” serves a few purposes. The phrase creates a dynamic for the Black man that shows his humanity.  The phrase looks at him beyond sexual exploits and experiments. The phrase builds in the Black men in relationship, not just experience.”

One of the other things that’s clear is the magazine’s emphasis on health generally and HIV prevention and treatment in particular. “Health continues to be a major part of the lives of millennial men of color, particularly Black and Latino men. Many of us know how these lives are impacted by inequities like HIV and sexual health, mental health, and drug use. But we must be responsible and look at why we see what we see. At Chill, we make it a point to unpack issues and experiences that impact health, health choices and health outcomes.”

Garth pauses, “With that too, we have to be innovative and mindful of how we deliver health messages. We’ve seen the scare tactics, the shame tactics, we’ve seen what ignoring and not representing us can do.  At Chill, we are unapologetically showing our readers that you are here. And you’re not going anywhere.”

The post ‘Chill’ Is Unapologetically Black and Gay appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

‘Chill’ Is Unapologetically Black and Gay