Critics slam newspaper’s new ‘gender issues’ section: ‘A forum for hate’

A section of an Australian newspaper’s website devoted to the gender spectrum — sounds like a step in the right direction, yeah? Well, check out some of the headlines recently included in the rollup:

• “Transgender project ‘out of balance’”
• “PM canes transgender policy”
• “They’re castrating children”
• “‘Corrupting kids’ thinking’”

Understandably, the online section has sparked a firestorm of backlash since editor Bernard Lane announced it on August 8. “The Australian newspaper’s obsession with humiliating trans people is disgraceful,” Equality Australia said in a tweet. “The rights and existence of trans people is not up for debate.”

The organization explained that “conservative religious fringe groups are determined to divide Australia using misinformation and fear mongering about trans people.”

Related: Newspaper names ‘Trump Gays’ two of 2018’s Men of the Year

Joan A. Westenberg, a trans creative director who has written for the San Francisco Chronicle, also called out the News Corp-owned newspaper’s new section. “Bernard, when the trans teens that I talk to every day come to me and ask why people are angry at them, threaten them with homelessness and abuse them, this is the kind of content that instigates it,” she tweeted. “I’m too disappointed and sad about this to be angry. Because I’m tired.”

Nevertheless, she persisted. “I need you and your colleagues to understand how much it hurts people like us when this kind of thing happens,” Westenberg added. “And I need you to understand that if you don’t take ownership of a responsible public conversation, you implicitly take ownership of the negative repercussions. People are going to struggle because of editorial choices that, far from being in the public interest, are harmful and antisocial.”

Related: Newspaper faces huge backlash for publishing story about closeted bi soccer star’s male lover

We’ve included more Twitter reactions to the section below. Don your protective gear — serious burns ahead.

A forum for hate, inside a forum for hate.

— ?Richard O’Brien (@RichardAOB) August 10, 2019

did you guys somehow run out of racial minorities to vilify

— thomas violence (@thomas_violence) August 10, 2019

They just hate the Trans community and it fits into their agenda so they want to encourage people to “take a side”

— ? Sleeping Giants Oz ? (@slpng_giants_oz) August 10, 2019

The article is behind a paywall and I refuse to send 1 red cent to Murdoch in order to read a transphobic diatribe.

— Helen Barton ?? ??? she/her (@helenba59288022) August 10, 2019

Words cannot begin to describe how appalling I find this. Not unlike the Australian’s despicable campaign against the great Safe Schools campaign.

— chris younger (@Funkyfetlock) August 10, 2019

Adding to our society’s human misery. If you had ANY idea about the effect of hate speech…???…but perhaps you actually do, and you just don’t care. Vile

— Kathryn Skidmore (@kathy_skidmore1) August 10, 2019

You’ve created a forum specifically to attack trans people. The vile hate you call opinion pieces now given an entire individual platform for discrimination. You deserve nothing but hate for this pathetic fear-mongering outdated bigotry.

— Brendan Maclean (@macleanbrendan) August 11, 2019

Feel free to spend the time developing some skills of empathy and a sense of personal responsibility, Bernard.

— Steve Dow (@dowsteve) August 11, 2019

www.queerty.com/critics-slam-newspapers-new-gender-issues-section-forum-hate-20190814?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Fifty Years Ago, Jimi Hendrix’s Woodstock Anthem Expressed the Hopes and Fears of a Nation

One of the most powerful, searing renditions of the national anthem ever recorded, Jimi Hendrix’s iconic Woodstock anthem, almost never happened.

In his memoir, Hendrix’s drummer, Mitch Mitchell, admitted that the band “hadn’t rehearsed … or planned to do ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ at Woodstock.”

The festival was supposed to wrap up on Sunday night, but a series of delays, traffic jams and rainstorms had postponed the closing set until 9:00 a.m. the next day. Hendrix hadn’t slept the night before.

Hendrix played for more than an hour that Monday morning before introducing his regular concert-closer, “Voodoo Child (Slight Return).”

“Thank you very much and goodnight,” he said, as the band continued to jam. “I’d like to say peace, yeah, and happiness.”

But then, instead of wrapping up his set, he launched into his iconic take on Francis Scott Key’s song.

Fifty years after Hendrix performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock, the rendition still serves as an exemplar of music’s political potency. It inspired my own scholarship on the past, present and future of the national anthem.

What made Hendrix’s rendition so remarkable was his ability to fuse protest horror with patriotism and hope.

A living, breathing anthem

Roused by the heroism of the soldiers who repelled the British attack on Baltimore’s Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key wrote the song in September 1814. Using a well-known melody, the lawyer-poet composed a new set of lyrics to fit the tune.

In the 19th century, it was common practice to write new lyrics to old songs as a way to comment on politics and culture – a tradition known as broadside balladry. So far my research has identified roughly 200 songs written to the tune of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The abolitionist lyric “Oh Say, Do You Hear?” is one particularly powerful example.

Hendrix, in a way, continued this tradition, updating the tune to say something about the world around him.

Rather than change the words, however, Hendrix transformed the musical arrangement.

Mining the anthem’s many meanings

Some might think Hendrix’s Woodstock Banner was an on-the-spot improvisation. But he had actually been experimenting with the song for over a year, and he would continue to perform the anthem up until his untimely death in September 1970.

In all, Hendrix performed the piece at least 70 times, with his last known performance taking place almost a year after Woodstock – in Hawaii, on Aug. 1, 1970.

Hendrix sometimes titled his anthem renditions “This Is America,” and his arrangements were as flexible as they were potent. They could be as short as three minutes or as long as six-and-a-half.

Building off the traditional melody, Hendrix could paint a picture of patriotic pride or commercial corruption.

Hendrix knew how to celebrate the nation. For example, his studio version of the anthem is a patriotic fireworks display, bursting with overlapping layers of the traditional melody. It’s decorated with sparkling trills, extra melodic passing tones and extreme octave shifts.

At the other end of the symbolic spectrum are his four anthem renditions that he recorded live at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom in October 1968. They begin with dark, atmospheric improvisations, punctuated by Mitchell’s explosive drums, and include raucous quotes of TV advertising jingles and a distorted, out-of-tune version of the melody that devolves into the Civil War lament “Taps.”

Hendrix also knew how to blow up the anthem.

Fusing horror with hope

Woodstock was a social experiment – a cultural response to a decade of protest and fear.

On one side, there was America’s youth, outraged by racial injustice and war in Vietnam. On the other side, there was an establishment terrified by the social revolution taking place: new attitudes about sex, drugs, spirituality, racial equality and communal living.

This generational collision came to a head on the wooden stage built at Max Yasgur’s farm.

Hendrix was an unlikely countercultural hero. He was a mixed-race, rock icon who had served in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne, earning his “Screaming Eagles” patch as a paratrooper. While he escaped the military to pursue his musical career, he still had friends in Vietnam.

In his Woodstock anthem, Hendrix seems to mimics explosions, machine gunfire and a wailing emergency siren – musical images of horror.

But these departures from the traditional melody don’t dismantle the anthem. Instead, he plays notes that intone the words “bombs bursting in air” and “rockets red glare.” He depicts, rather than destroys, the song.

Hendrix then plays the “Taps” melody, a tune traditionally performed at military funerals to honor the sacrifice of service.

Finally, he returns to the traditional anthem melody, offering a full and faithful conclusion to the song. He lingers on several words, extending the note sounding the word “free” for six full seconds. His musical conclusion seems to echo the optimistic, if not triumphant, themes of the festival.

When 400,000 arrived for a concert designed for, at most, half that number, a public health disaster loomed. Shortages of food, water, gas, and medical supplies, compounded by an impassable traffic jam foretold of suffering if not violence. Yet the community pulled together and a temporary city appeared. Rivers of mud made utopia impossible, but attendees persevered. Extra food was donated, volunteer doctors from the U.S. Army and Red Cross were flown in by helicopter, patience and peace reigned. Music held the world together.

Hendrix used Key’s anthem to reflect the America he experienced at Woodstock that weekend. It was a nation mired in contradiction, but also a community capable of pulling together.

It was a cry of anguish and a vision of “peace, yeah, and happiness.”

[ You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors. You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter. ]

Mark Clague, Associate Professor of Musicology, University of Michigan

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The post Fifty Years Ago, Jimi Hendrix’s Woodstock Anthem Expressed the Hopes and Fears of a Nation appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Fifty Years Ago, Jimi Hendrix’s Woodstock Anthem Expressed the Hopes and Fears of a Nation

17 Fresh and Trigger-y Glimpses From the New Edition of PNPPL Magazine

www.advocate.com/media/2019/8/14/17-fresh-and-trigger-y-glimpses-new-edition-pnppl-magazine

Bus driver leaves passengers stranded after deciding vehicle is gay and he is offended

A public bus driver in Norwich, England caused quite a scene when he decided mid-route that the vehicle he was driving was gay and, therefore, he could no longer operate it.

The unnamed driver allegedly turned off the engine and told passengers, “This bus promotes homosexuality and I refuse to drive it!”

He was referring to the rainbow-colored service number on the front of the vehicle.

Confused passengers were then forced to wait until another bus–one without a rainbow-colored service number–was brought to appease the homophobic driver.

Passenger Rebecca Sears posted about the experience on Twitter:

Today I was waiting for the 501 bus to thickthorn and we were told by the driver we had to wait for him to swap buses as “this bus promotes homosexuality and I refuse to drive it” due to the multicoloured “501” sign @nparkandride Norwich doesn’t appreciate homophobia pic.twitter.com/YwDPOT0jeJ

— Becca (@becca_sears) August 9, 2019

When Sears contacted the station, she claims they knew exactly who she was talking about but didn’t seem too concerned about it:

I complained to the staff at the station and they were already aware of who I was talking about, so why has nothing been done? I’m aware everyone is entitled to their own views however, if you can’t do your job properly because of your bigotry, maybe you need rethink your choices

— Becca (@becca_sears) August 9, 2019

She then encouraged others to contact the bus company to complain:

@nparkandride @BBCLookEast please call out a system that allows homophobes and bigots to get away with things like this, it’s 2019 people need to grow up and be more accepting

— Becca (@becca_sears) August 9, 2019

Konectbus eventually responded by saying, “Our management team has been made aware and it is being taken very seriously. We find this attitude, behaviour and level of customer service completely unacceptable.”

Meanwhile, the bus operator Go East Anglia put out a statement that read: “Go East Anglia prides itself on values that support diversity and inclusion and has been a champion of Norwich Pride since 2017.”

It added, “We particularly want all customers of whatever background or sexual orientation to feel comfortable on our services. As a company we do not condone any behaviour from our drivers that does not support this view.”

The driver has been suspended as the company conducts a full investigation into the matter.

Related: Bus driver films himself mocking a man for wearing high heels

www.queerty.com/bus-driver-leaves-passengers-stranded-deciding-vehicle-gay-offended-20190814?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

‘Straight Pride’ Organizer Insists Event Will Happen, Says City Council ‘Chummed the Waters for Violence’ — WATCH

Don Grundmann, the co-organizer of a Straight Pride event in Modesto, California, insists that his hate group will still hold an event despite the fact they were denied a permit.

Said Grundmann to CBS13: “There’s many many new plans, five at least, maybe ten. We’re just waiting for the bureaucratic response, the bureaucratic wheels to grind, and they can grind very slowly.”

Modesto City Council denied the permit for the ‘Straight Pride’ rally at a local park days after the event’s co-organizer went viral for causing the City Council chamber to erupt in laughter when he argued, “We’re a totally peaceful racist group.”

Said Modesto spokesperson Thomas Reeves: “We still have the requirement of insurance and a new location that will be more conducive to this type of event. … We are certainly not telling him or his supporters that he does not have a right to gather.”

Grundmann also blamed the City Council for any violence that might occur: “The violence is all an issue because the City Council lady smeared us. And essentially, in fishing terms, she chummed the waters for violence.”

The post ‘Straight Pride’ Organizer Insists Event Will Happen, Says City Council ‘Chummed the Waters for Violence’ — WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

‘Straight Pride’ Organizer Insists Event Will Happen, Says City Council ‘Chummed the Waters for Violence’ — WATCH

Head Back To School With LGBTQ Competency

Ensuring that schools are as inclusive and welcoming as possible for LGBTQ students is personal for longtime LGBTQ advocate Garry Bevel. 

“My inspiration came from my own experience as a gay man,” Bevel told HRC. “When I first started my professional career and I represented kids in foster care, I noticed there were many more young people of color who were gender non-conforming or queer-identified that were getting treated in a way that wasn’t affirming of who they were.” 

Bevel, who is a children’s ombudsperson at the Children’s Home Society of Florida, is one of HRC Foundation’s – All Children All Families’ master trainers in LGBTQ competency and has been on the ACAF Advisory Council for several years. He works with the HRC Foundation to create safe spaces for LGBTQ students and implement LGBTQ competent policies with educators, social workers and welfare agencies. 

As children and educators head back to school, Bevel knows that a supportive environment is important to the well-being of LGBTQ young people. A new CDC report found that there are health benefits that reach far into adulthood when an LGBTQ student has support both at home and school. 

“We’ve seen the difference it can make for parents when they’re being supportive. From asking questions about what to do when they have a young person who identifies as LGBTQ to prospective parents who identify as LGBTQ … Our commitment is to ensure that in our work with schools, our work with home placements and our work with other people that we are advocating and celebrating the benefits of welcoming LGBTQ people,” he said. 

This approach has proven successful. Bevel recalled the story of a transgender teen who said that if it wasn’t for working directly with staff at his high school, he wouldn’t be in his currently positive position. Through counseling services and having the support of educators and counselors who welcomed LGBTQ students, he was able to thrive. 

“I always like to share with [educators that] environments that are supportive of LGBTQ youth are better for all youth, because at their core they are more accepting and more responsive to the individual needs of students, and the more we do this, whether it is because of gender, ability and religion … the more we create a broader sense of equity and inclusion, everyone will thrive,” Bevel said.  

Through his work with ACAF, Bevel has traveled across the country helping social workers, teachers, educators and psychologists find a common ground that provides safe and welcoming environments. 

“ACAF is a great training as it provides people a safe space … and gives them a chance to open their minds and be more intentional about practicing welcoming behaviors,” he said. “Because of the type of work that we’re doing, we always find people that are open to provide an opportunity to LGBTQ youth … it [also] makes people aware of the great work HRC is doing that they might not have been made aware of … as well as lead them to other resources that can help them in their work.” 

To learn more about HRC Foundation’s ACAF program and its trainings visit hrc.org/acaf.

www.hrc.org/blog/head-back-to-school-with-lgbtq-competency?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Gay Man’s Super-Romantic Marriage Proposal Goes Viral: WATCH

Naisa Lasalosi, a singer/songwriter and former contestant on Australia’s The X Factor, went viral over the weekend after posting a romantic video to Twitter of his fiancé Adam Price proposing to him at Rocky Point, near Sydney.

The clip shows the couple descending a rock formation that has been covered in rose petals and fairy lights to a blanket spread out below.

According to Lasalosi, he told Price “baby there’s someone having dinner down there” not realizing it had all been decorated for him.

“Baby, it’s for us,” replied Price. The clip unfolds from there.

Full video . How beautiful is love??!! I said yes!!!! pic.twitter.com/4LSCzYy50S

— Naisa Lasalosi (@OyNAISA) August 12, 2019

He proposed.. and I said yes pic.twitter.com/pvmYjKp4Wc

— Naisa Lasalosi (@OyNAISA) August 12, 2019

The post Gay Man’s Super-Romantic Marriage Proposal Goes Viral: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Gay Man’s Super-Romantic Marriage Proposal Goes Viral: WATCH

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: August 14, 2019

HRC AND COALITION PARTNERS SUBMIT OVER 130,000 PUBLIC COMMENTS ON TRUMP’S PROPOSED ATTACK ON TRANS HEALTH CARE: “The Trump-Pence administration’s proposal undermines crucial non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people provided by the Affordable Care Act and puts LGBTQ people at greater risk of being denied health care solely based on their sexual orientation or gender identity,” said HRC President Alphonso David (@AlphonsoDavid). “We oppose this proposal in the strongest terms.” More from HRC.

HRC ANNOUNCES FELLOWSHIP TO ADVANCE PUBLIC HEALTH LEADERSHIP FOR TRANS WOMEN OF COLOR: Elevate  is a pilot program that seeks to develop the leadership capacity of transgender women in the South to increase career opportunities and improve public health systems. “Black and Latinx transgender women are often overlooked within the workforce, specifically in public health,” said HRC Foundation’s Director of HIV & Health Equity J. Maurice McCants-Pearsall (@McCantsPearsall). “As we seek to give voice to those who have been pushed to the margins, it is important that we develop and expand access to equitable professional development opportunities.” More from HRC.

.@HRC Foundation’s Elevate Fellowship, rooted in skills building and professional and leadership development, works to improve health outcomes within the Black and Latinx transgender community in the South.

Application deadline is September 13. t.co/JQx2SyFaxl

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) August 14, 2019

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NC’S SPECIAL ELECTION IN THE 9TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: There’s a stark difference between  HRC-endorsed candidate Dan McCready and his Sept. 10 opponent, Dan Bishop:

• Bishop is the chief architect of HB2, legislation that barred people in the state from using bathrooms, locker rooms and other public facilities that align with their gender identity;
• The passage of HB2 resulted in an estimated $3.76 billion in lost business in North Carolina;
• Bishop was an investor in Gab, a social media site that serves as a forum for white supremacists, neo-Nazis and far right extremists; and, as if that wasn’t enough;
• Bishop opposes expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which could provide coverage for up to 600,000 low-income North Carolinians.

More from HRC.

TOMORROW — IN FIRST ACT, NEW HRC PRESIDENT ALPHONSO DAVID TO MAKE SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT IN RICHMOND: David will make a special announcement regarding the 2019 Virginia legislative elections — his first action as president,  and first media availability since joining the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization. To RSVP or get a livestream link, email [email protected]

APPALLING — ANTI-LGBTQ ARIZONA ELECTED OFFICIAL RUNNING FOR STATE SENATE: Ron Gould has made disturbing anti-LGBTQ comments. More from Phoenix New Times.

1/ As an elected official, Ron Gould serves thousands of Arizonans, including LGBTQ children and families.

They deserve ������������ than his hateful attacks on the LGBTQ community. t.co/RwGnL4SUP9

— HRC in Arizona (@HRCaz) August 13, 2019

WHAT WE’RE READING WEDNESDAY — LGBTQ KIDS & FAMILIES DESERVE SCHOOLS THAT ARE FULLY INCLUSIVE: “Back to school season means extra work and anxiety for queer parents, parents of a queer kid and LGBTQ students,” writes Amber Leventry (@AmberLeventry) in a powerful piece for Romper. “That needs to change and that change has to come from educators and school administrators.” Read the full piece here. 

• To assist educators in making their classrooms and schools inclusive of LGBTQ families, HRC Foundation’s Welcoming Schools suggests seven positive steps to implement this fall. Learn more here.

OHIO TEEN ARRESTED AFTER THREATENING TO SHOOT LGBTQ BAR AND PLANNED PARENTHOOD: Justin Olsen, 18, was found at a residence with an estimated 10,000 rounds of ammunition. More from ABC.

• And in Las Vegas, the man arrested for threatening to attack LGBTQ and Jewish communities is scheduled to appear in court on August 23. More from KTVQ.

HENRY BELOLO, CO-FOUNDER OF ICONIC DISCO GROUP THE VILLAGE PEOPLE, PASSED AWAY EARLIER THIS MONTH: More from The New York Times. 

VIRGINIA RESTAURANT SERVER HARASSED FOR BEING LGBTQ AWARDED $20,000 IN DISCRIMINATION SUIT: More from Pink News.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

CAMEROONIAN LGBTQ ACTIVIST MARC LAMBERT LAMBA DIES UNEXPECTEDLY: Read more about his life and work from Robbie Corey-Boulet (@rcoreyb) at The Nation. 

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

NewNowNext interviews and advocate working to make NYC’s homeless shelters more LGBTQ-inclusive; Out Magazine mourns Miriam Rivera, known as the world’s first transgender reality television star; NewNowNext reports that unpublished works by Marcel Proust with LGBTQ themes will be published

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-august-14-2019?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

We Must Uplift Black LGBTQ People Through Economic Empowerment

“We believe that if you give folks the tools that they need to succeed, they’ll be successful,” writes Sean Coleman.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2019/8/14/we-must-uplift-black-lgbtq-people-through-economic-empowerment