Back in 1953, this daring soul promoted same-sex marriage & monogamy

August 1953 cover of One Magazine, courtesy USC Digital Library Archive

In honor of LGBTQ History Month, we’re looking back at the first gay publication in America—ONE magazine. Launched in Los Angeles in 1953, ONE was published by One, Inc., which grew from The Mattachine Society, the seminal gay-rights group founded by Harry Hay. Its editorial founders were Martin Block, Don Slater, and Dale Jennings, who also served as editor-in-chief. Produced on a shoestring and sold for 25 cents, ONE began to change the course of history with unapologetic exploration of homosexuality and the societal taboo against it. 

This is the first in our series of ONE magazine cover stories.

Volume 1, Issue 8: Homosexual Marriage?

This groundbreaking 1953 cover essay was written under the pseudonym E.B. Saunders, who chastised the nascent gay-rights movement for ignoring the subject of marriage and monogamy. While the tone was scolding, it’s clear is that this prescient author was laying the groundwork for the “assimilation versus rebellion” debate that was to come.

One would think that in a movement demanding acceptance for this group, legalized marriage would be one of its primary issues. What a logical and convincing means of assuring society that they are sincere in wanting respect and dignity!

Equal rights means equal responsibilities. Equal freedoms mean equal limitations.

Nothing in the literature of the Mattachine Society and little of ONE magazine is dedicated to exploring the idea of necessary homosexual monogamy. The idea seems stuffy and hide-bound. We simply don’t join movements to limit ourselves! Rebels such as we, demand freedom!

Of course, Saunders’ stance is riddled with the biases of the day: that monogamy should be a norm, that legal marriage should be the only “respectable” way to enjoy sex, and that heterosexuals are any more naturally monogamous whether married or single. Nevertheless, the author might have been surprised to know that their clarion call would take shape sooner than anticipated and that the US Supreme Court would legalize gay marriage not in 2053 but 2015. They might be just as surprised by the current attitude toward gay marriage not as a stuffy, hide-bound duty, but a choice.

How far we’ve come.

Magazine cover courtesy of One Archives

ONE Archives Foundation provides access to original source material at the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the University of Southern California Libraries—the largest such collection in the world

www.queerty.com/back-1953-daring-soul-promoted-sex-marriage-monogamy-20191001?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Hillary Laughs as Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ Audience Chants ‘Lock Him Up!’ — WATCH

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to talk about their new book, The Book of Gutsy Women. They were greeted by an extremely enthusiastic audience Colbert described as “people who are big fans of the alternate timeline we’re not living in.”

Then, before getting into the book, Colbert got into the Trump impeachment inquiry, asking, “Is it, dare I say, time to ‘lock him up?’”

This of course, prompted the audience to break out the chant.

“Sorry, I created a monster,” acknowledged Colbert before getting into a more measured discussion of Trump betraying the country.

Said Clinton: “I believe strongly that this particular incident has had such a huge impact because we’ve known for a long time that he [Trump] was a corrupt businessman who cheated people, and we’ve known that he and his campaign asked for aid from Russia, we’ve known that. But to see him in the office of the president putting his own personal and political interest ahead of the national security of our country just pierced through whatever confusion or denial people had. And, at that point, Speaker Pelosi rightly said this is something we have to investigate and that’s what’s going on.”

The post Hillary Laughs as Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ Audience Chants ‘Lock Him Up!’ — WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Hillary Laughs as Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ Audience Chants ‘Lock Him Up!’ — WATCH

HRC Foundation Announces Campaign with Honey Nut Cheerios

HRC Foundation announced it will partner with General Mills and Honey Nut Cheerios on a new campaign to help raise crucial funds in the fight for LGBTQ equality. 

Starting October 1, Honey Nut Cheerios boxes around the country will have a Snapcode on the back of the package that can be scanned to unlock exclusive Lenses within Snapchat. Once the box is scanned, Snapchat will offer users a choice between three organizations, each of which has its own interactive, organization-specific Lens. As part of this Snap for Good Rewards campaign, Honey Nut Cheerios will donate a portion of $100,000 to the three organizations participating: the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) and Feeding America. 

“We are so thrilled to be a part of this significant, fun and interactive campaign alongside such great organizations,” said Chris Speron, Senior Vice President for Development and Membership at the Human Rights Campaign. “Both the ASPCA and Feeding America do important work and we are honored to be included in this campaign with them. And, we hope this campaign spurs important conversations around breakfast tables across the country. We’re grateful to General Mills and Honey Nut Cheerios for recognizing the importance of funding our work to achieve full equality for LGBTQ people, and we’re looking forward to seeing how people all across the country use the HRCF Snapchat Lenses.” 

For years, General Mills has received consistently top marks on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index, the national benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices pertinent to LGBTQ employees. 

More information on the Snap for Good Rewards campaign can be found here. 

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-foundation-announces-campaign-with-honey-nut-cheerios?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

99 Photos of Mostly Hairy Guys Show Themselves for Ryan Stanford

www.advocate.com/photography/2019/10/01/99-photos-mostly-hairy-guys-show-themselves-ryan-stanford

WATCH: Trans pro-boxer features in powerful new sportswear advert

Iconic boxing goods manufacturer Everlast features trans boxer Patricio Manuel in its new ‘Be First’ advertising campaign.

Manuel, 34, from California, is the first trans man professional boxer in the world.

Manuel competed against women up until 2012, including Olympic tryouts. A shoulder injury prompted him to take a break from the sport, and during this time he decided to begin his transition.

Related: Meet the first trans man to model for an Andrew Christian

He competed in his first bout against a man in 2016. He made his professional debut in December 2018, when he defeated Mexican super-featherweight Hugo Aguilar.

In the advert, Manuel says, “When I was a little kid, I always thought of myself as a boy. But you learn really early on that someone like me is immediately going to be told they’re a girl, so I learned to be quiet. I learned to stifle that part of me.

“But the thing is, anything you push down long enough, it will have a bad reaction, and that reaction for me was a complete disconnect from myself.

“I just mentally checked out so that I could continue coping through life. And it was boxing that brought me back into my body and it was boxing that allowed me to be proud of, actually, what I was physically able to do.

“But boxing also taught me to be really introspective and be like, ‘What do I really want? And how am I going to have to work for it?’ Because unfortunately, when you deviate from the norms that society has constructed, you have to fight for that identity. You have to really make it yourself.

Manuel says many people he knew in boxing were incredulous of his decision to transition when he had previously enjoyed great success in the women’s sport.

“They would come to me and say ‘You could have been one of the greatest female world champions … you would throw it all away to be yourself?’ and I tell them, that’s how bad I felt living that lie if it meant that much to me to risk the love of my life: Boxing.

“And then they knew it was something valid. No-one just throws away a possible chance at going to [the] Olympics or being a world champion. Living in your truth is gonna hurt but it’s worth it.

He goes on to talk about the importance of being yourself – offering words queer people everywhere will identify with.

“I want to live in a world where being yourself isn’t seen as this courageous act. I want all of us to be who we are and to be unafraid and not to have to deal with every obstacle just to be our true authentic self.

“So many of us are being forced into these restrictive boxes of identification but very few of us actually fit, and I want to see all of us be celebrated when we fight against those specific restrictive norms.

“I’m the first professional male boxer who is transgender. I may be the first but I’m not the last.”

Related: Father teaches trans son to shave in moving ad for Gillette

Manuel follows in the footsteps of Jack Dempsey and Sugar Ray Robinson in being the face of Everlast.

The sportswear label is not the first major brand to use a trans man for a marketing campaign. Earlier this year, razor and grooming brand Gilette used a trans man for a shaving commercial that went viral on social media.

www.queerty.com/watch-trans-pro-boxer-features-powerful-new-sportswear-advert-20191001?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29