Bill Takes Aim at Discrimination in the Name of Faith
The Do No Harm Act would assure that the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act could not be used to discriminate.
www.advocate.com/politics/2019/2/28/bill-takes-aim-discrimination-name-faith
Get a Glimpse at Why Guests Are So Grateful for Key West’s ‘Island House’
SPONSORED POST
It’s not a stretch to say the best reasons to visit Key West’s Island House need to be seen to be believed. The beloved all-male, clothing-optional resort has long been considered the world’s greatest gay resort, offering gay travelers a unique blend of community, relaxation and a surplus of good times.
We personally couldn’t fully understand the magic of Island House until we spent our own wild weekend there last year. But, thanks to the work of Island House’s Director of Marketing Jeffrey Smead, travelers near and far can get a taste of the Island House experience via the resort’s beautifully produced videos.
“There’s so many untold stories that unfold at Island House, and we love to tell those experiences in a way that gay men can really identify with,” Smead said. “We all have one thing in common, which is actually plenty enough to work with when thinking about what the next video will be about.”
There’s certainly no shortage of selling points to highlight. For starters, the Island House’s clothing-optional atmosphere certainly provides ample opportunities to let it all hang out — literally. A premium open bar and charming hosts ensure a lively time at the raucous pool parties Wednesdays and Sundays.
In addition to the eye candy, there are feasts for the stomach as well as the eyes available at the on-site, 24-hour café, serving some of the best cuisine on the island. (We’re big fans of the tuna tataki and conch fritters.)
Of course, lots of resorts can boast delicious cuisine, world-class accommodations and a relaxing atmosphere. However, it’s the people at Island House that really make it special. The resort is a cornerstone of the local gay community, and locals and guests mingle with ease by the pool, at the bar and in the hot tubs.
The welcoming atmosphere makes it easy to not only drop your swim trunks, but to drop your worries, too. More than the events and the amenities, it’s what keeps guests coming back.
That was the inspiration for one of Island House’s most recent videos, titled “50 Shades of Gratitude.”
Smead described the vision for the video:
“This was by far the most emotionally-charged video we’ve produced. We wanted to show how the Island House experience affects us all so differently. Every generation, every background, every relationship status, the list goes on. If you’ve been to Island House before, you know darn well there’s some aspect of that visit that you remain grateful for getting to experience, whether nostalgia driven, or perhaps a major life event. This video really captures that emotion, and reminds us why it’s so good to have a refuge like Island House available to us these days.”
The sentimental video is more than just marketing pathos. The stories featured in the video are representative of the kinds of things you regularly hear from Island House visitors.
“My favorite memories of Island House all have to do with the people I’ve met there,” we were told by an Island House regular, John, from New York City. “My absolute favorite memory was a moment during a pool party when a several of us were just sitting around and chatting. The conversation wasn’t particularly memorable but the group of people was – we were there with old friends that we had made on a past trip, new friends who we had just met on this trip, and some of our best local Judies who we look forward to seeing every time we visit. I just kept looking around in gratitude for the meeting ground that IH is and the way it provides a space to make connections that last well-beyond the last day of vacation.”
We can personally attest. John is just one of many friends we’ve made at Island House from all over the country. Fellow travelers, locals, couples, young, old, bears, twinks, you name it, we’ve struck up unforgettable conversations over too many vodka-sodas poolside wearing sarongs or less. Cruising happens, sure, but it’s the connection that feels truly magical.
Though romance is not off the table; just ask Smead which Island House memory he’s most grateful for:
“I met my (now) husband James here in 2012 after he just moved to the island from Provincetown. During that first week of dating, I remember the Island House management team was having cocktails together during happy hour. James showed up (looking like the quintessential newbie) and immediately the gang took him under their wing. He instantly found his new circle in his new city. I witnessed it happen over shots of Jose Cuervo, and amidst the obligatory ‘Where did you move here from?’ type of interrogation. Our GM, Steve Silva, looked at me at the end of the night when I was leaving with James, and he said, ‘Jeffrey! I like this one! Tell him he’s gotta stay.’ And he did stay. That’s my favorite, most special memory from Island House.
Give yourself something to be grateful for, and book your next trip to Island House now.
The post Get a Glimpse at Why Guests Are So Grateful for Key West’s ‘Island House’ appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.
Get a Glimpse at Why Guests Are So Grateful for Key West’s ‘Island House’
HRC & NEA Sponsor Jazz and Friends National Day of School and Community Readings
Thousands of parents, educators, elected officials and allies will join in solidarity with transgender and gender-expansive students by hosting school and community readings of I Am Jazz, a children’s book by transgender teen trailblazer Jazz Jennings, as well as additional titles. Following a year of cruel attacks on the rights and dignity of transgender young people — including the Trump-Pence administration’s attempt to erase transgender people from federal civil rights laws — the day of readings helps foster safe and welcoming schools and communities for young people who still rarely hear affirming stories of LGBTQ people.
The fourth annual Jazz and Friends National Day of School and Community Readings is sponsored by the Welcoming Schools Program at HRC Foundation and the National Educational Association (NEA), the country’s largest professional employee organization, representing 3 million educators across the U.S. This year, participants will have the option of reading from several books about transgender and gender-expansive youth of color, including Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love and They She He Me: Free to Be! by Maya and Matthew Smith Gonzalez.
“Transgender and non-binary youth are part of classrooms all across this country and deserve to see their stories reflected in their schools and communities,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “I Am Jazz is a joyful book loved by children of all identities and it serves as a powerful tool for educators, parents and anyone who wants to lead with love during these challenging times. The readings that will take place across the country send a powerful message of support to transgender youth and their allies.”
“Every child in America has the fundamental right to feel safe, welcomed, and valued in our nation’s public schools,” said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García. “As educators, by standing with transgender and non-binary students on Jazz and Friends National Day of School and Community Readers, we are sending a powerful message of inclusion, love and support. Now more than ever, we need to do what is right for our most vulnerable students and continue to strive towards becoming more acceptable and protective in light of the efforts by the Trump administration to threaten and marginalize them.”
In addition to hundreds of readings across the country, Representatives Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Angie Craig (D-MN) will lead a reading on U.S. House Floor today. The event will be streamed live from HRC’s Youtube page.
The international day of readings was inspired by the more than 600 residents of tiny Mount Horeb, Wis., who unequivocally rebuked bigotry and censorship in 2015 by showing up at a public reading of I Am Jazz. A caring parent organized the reading after legal threats by an anti-LGBTQ hate groupforced a local school to cancel plans to support a transgender student by reading the book in class.
Days later, the Mount Horeb school board adopted inclusive measures fully accommodating transgender students. Said one board member: “We will not be intimidated, and we will teach tolerance and will be accepting to everyone.”
HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools is the nation’s premier resource for professional development tools, lessons and resources that help elementary schools across the nation embrace family diversity and LGBTQ inclusion, prevent bias-based bullying and gender stereotyping, and support transgender and gender-expansive students. HRC’s Welcoming Schools has created this guide to help organizers of Jazz and Friends reading events build more affirming and supportive spaces for transgender and gender-expansive youth across the country.
For more information on the Jazz and Friends National Day of School and Community Readings, visit hrc.im/jazzandfriends.
What You Missed: Anti-Trans Statements Made by Trump Administration During House Subcommittee Hearing on Transgender Service Members
Trump Administration officials compare gender-confirmation surgery to cancer surgery or having heart disease
ICYMI: GLAAD sends copies of award-winning documentary TransMilitary to members of the House Armed Services subcommittee, pens letter asking members to support transgender service members
NEW YORK – GLAAD – the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization – today released the following backgrounder to media after the Trump Administration revealed their poor knowledge and understanding of issues important to transgender Americans during a House Armed Services Subcommittee hearing on the Trump Administration’s ban on transgender services members from serving openly in the armed forces. Not only did administration officials use derogatory phrases such as “a transgender,” but they also called gender-confirmation surgery a “disqualifying surgery,” comparing it to having cancer, heart disease, or diabetes.
“No one should be surprised with the Trump Administration’s out-of-touch and out-of-line response to the brave service of transgender patriots putting their lives on the line to protect all of us. Since the start of 2017, President Trump and his team have attacked the LGBTQ community at every turn, including the attempt to ban transgender service members from openly serving in the country’s armed force,” said Zeke Stokes, GLAAD’s Chief Programs Officer.
GLAAD’s Trump Accountability Project (TAP) has catalogued all 95 anti-LGBTQ actions by this administration at www.glaad.org/trump. Take a look below to find all of the Trump Administration’s anti-trans statements from yesterday’s subcommittee hearing.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Trump Administration Officials Anti-Trans Statements Or Comparisons During Subcommittee Hearing
James N. Stewart, Performing the Duties off Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness:
Vice Admiral Raquel Bono, Director, Defense Health Agency:
***Full hearing archived here: www.c-span.org/video/?458284-1/house-armed-services-subcommittee-hearing-transgender-military-service
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Prior to yesterday’s hearing, GLAAD mailed copies of the documentary TransMilitary to each member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel. TransMilitary, which received its world television premiere on Logo in November, is a groundbreaking documentary that won the Audience Award at South By Southwest in 2018 and has racked up a slew of awards and accolades from critics and audiences alike and was nominated for the coveted Humanitas Prize earlier this month. The film chronicles the lives of four individuals (Senior Airman Logan Ireland, Corporal Laila Villanueva, Captain Jennifer Peace and First Lieutenant El Cook) defending their country’s freedom while fighting for their own. They put their careers and their families’ livelihoods on the line by coming out as transgender to top brass officials in the Pentagon in hopes of attaining the equal right to serve. The film is now available on iTunes, Amazon, and other streaming services.
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111 Reverent Photos of Mostly Naked Men by Robert Viccaro
www.advocate.com/photography/2017/12/21/111-stunning-photos-men-mostly-naked-mostly-nature
Gay Couple Featured In Cottonelle Commercial
Cottonelle made the first gay toilet paper commercial.
The message: If you’re going to meet your partner’s parents, you probably want a clean bottom.
The Voice Over says, “Down there care from Cottonelle…down there because today you meet the parents. So before they sit you down give your bootie a confidence boost with cleaning ripples that remove more at once for a superior clean…”
Stay confidently clean and “Down There Care” with Cottonelle®. Cottonelle® Toilet Paper is designed with CleaningRipples Texture for a superior clean that’s soft, strong and effective. Septic and sewer safe, Cottonelle® Toilet Paper uses a patented SafeFlush Technology® that starts to break down immediately after flushing. Start feeling cleaner today with help from Cottonelle®!
The post Gay Couple Featured In Cottonelle Commercial appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.
Does HIV change the ageing process? Panti Bliss explains
You must be 18 years old or older to chat
