Jake Borelli & Niki Terho Are Adorable in 1st Trailer for Gay Rom-Com

The Thing About Harry is the romantic comedy generations of queer people will wish they had. 

www.advocate.com/film/2020/1/27/jake-borelli-niki-terho-are-adorable-1st-trailer-gay-rom-com

Pro hockey player Zach Sullivan comes out as bisexual

Pro hockey player Zach Sullivan of the Manchester Storm made a bit of sports history over the weekend when he came out as bisexual.

In a statement release on Twitter yesterday, the 25-year-old says he hopes by coming out he “will give other hockey players around the country the same confidence to do the same.”

“I’m not doing this in the hope of any publicity,” he wrote. “I’ve always been a very private guy, but I realize that I have a unique opportunity to do some good.”

“If I can be open and honest about my sexuality, then hopefully that will give other hockey players around the country the same confidence to do the same.”

Sullivan’s tweet was met with over 5K likes, 800 retweets, and 400 comments.

“You’ve lifted a huge weight off your shoulders,” one person wrote. “Step on the ice tonight and be proud, leave us to be loud.”

“You are amazing! We are so proud of you!” another commented.

“It is great that you felt you were able to tell your truth,” a third person said. “You will have the league fans on your side.”

Sullivan’s timing couldn’t have been more perfect either. He coincided it with Elite Ice Hockey League’s first official Pride weekend to promote inclusivity and diversity within ice hockey.

“We couldn’t be happier for our teammate and we 100% have his back,” said Manchester Storm’s captain Dallas Ehrhardt. “The hockey world is a tight-knit supportive community and when something as important like this happens, the whole sport gets better.”

Head coach Ryan Finnerty added that this was a “historic moment” because Sullivan is believed to be the first pro ice hockey player ever to come out publicly while still playing the sport.

“His strength and courage will inspire the youth of tomorrow,” Finnerty said.

Related: Famous athlete’s son comes out as bisexual

www.queerty.com/pro-hockey-player-zach-sullivan-comes-bisexual-20200127?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

SNL’s Bowen Yang Describes ‘Crazy’ Experience with Gay Conversion Therapy

SNL cast member Bowen Yang was profiled bu The New York Times‘ Maureen Dowd over the weekend and revealed that he is a survivor of gay conversion therapy.

Yang said his parents sent him to the ‘gay cure’ doctor in Colorado Springs after discovering a chat he had on AOL which revealed that he was gay.

Said Yang: “The first few sessions were talk therapy, which I liked, and then it veers off into this place of, ‘Let’s go through a sensory description of how you were feeling when you’ve been attracted to men.’ And then the counselor would go through the circular reasoning thing of, ‘Well, weren’t you feeling uncomfortable a little bit when you saw that boy you liked?’ And I was like, ‘Not really.’ He goes, ‘How did your chest feel?’ And I was like, ‘Maybe I was slouching a little bit.’ And he goes, ‘See? That all stems from shame.’ It was just crazy. Explain the gay away with pseudoscience.”

Yang said that his relationship with his parents eventually got better, but only after attending NYU, and finally put his foot down: “I had this second coming out with them while I was in college and went through this whole flare-up again with them, where they couldn’t accept it. And then eventually, I just got to this place of standing firm and being like, ‘This is sort of a fixed point, you guys. I can’t really do anything about this. So either you meet me here or you don’t meet me.’”

Read the full interview HERE.

The post SNL’s Bowen Yang Describes ‘Crazy’ Experience with Gay Conversion Therapy appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

SNL’s Bowen Yang Describes ‘Crazy’ Experience with Gay Conversion Therapy

Straight cis women wants bisexual boyfriend, wonders if she should join Grindr

A straight cis women says she’s “repelled” by heterosexual culture, particularly heterosexual men. She wants to meet a bisexual or bicurious boyfriend who is more sensitive towards women. So she’s seeking wisdom from our friend Rich Juzwiak over at Slate.

“I’ve been thinking maybe I should look for bi dudes/bicurious gay dudes,” she writes, “but I am not sure how best to do that.”

She wonders: “What would you think of a woman being on Grindr or Scruff?”

Oh, dear.

The woman continues, “I do want to be respectful of gay men’s spaces and not horn in where I’m not welcome, but I really would love to find a vers guy with queer politics who would be up for casually dating a woman.”

“What do you think? If you were me, where would you look?”

In his response, Juzwiak wastes no time reminding the woman that “the world is not your bachelorette party” so “don’t try to make something that has been designed to be not about you about you.”

“A general rule of thumb that I wish more people followed is: If you enter a space as someone who is not a member of the demographic for which said space was established, you should behave yourself,” he writes.

“So if you must go the route of using digital spaces dominated by men seeking men, as a cis woman with (no offense?) ostensibly hetero desires, don’t bother people. Let them come to you. Also prepared to have your profile deleted. I actually have seen cis, hetero women on Grindr and the like before, and whenever I do, I think, ‘Well, she’s not gonna last.’ And she doesn’t.”

Juziwak goes on to warn the woman that she probably won’t have a ton of luck on any apps marketed for men looking to meet other men, but she’s welcome to give it a try. Also, just because a guy is gay or bi doesn’t mean he’s any better than the straight dudes she detests.

“There are a lot of shitty men who identify as gay and bi, and their queerness doesn’t automatically absolve them of misogyny,” he writes. “In fact, the misogyny in some of these dudes is compounded by a perceived lack of use for women. At least straight guys will pretend to be civilized for the sake of getting laid.”

What do you think about straight cis women looking for love on Grindr and Scruff? Sound off in the comments section below…

www.queerty.com/straight-cis-women-wants-bisexual-boyfriend-wonders-join-grindr-20200127?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Gay Rights Dispute is Pulling Apart the United Methodist Church, After Decades of Argument

The Methodist Church, the largest mainline Protestant denomination in the United States, is headed toward a divorce.

In early January, mediators from across the United Methodist Church proposed a separation plan to split the church into two separate denominations, with one that will allow same sex marriages and “practicing” LGBTQ clergy.

Members of the General Conference, the church’s legislative body, are expected to pass the proposal in May. If a split occurs, it will be the result of nearly 50 years of failure to resolve the United Methodist Church’s ambiguous position on sexuality.

The origin of the debate

The United Methodist Church was formed in 1968 by the union of the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church.

At that time in the United States, the civil rights movement and the nascent gay liberation movement were both underway. The new United Methodist Church, like many institutions in American society, grappled with the changing American culture, particularly with respect to sexuality.

For much of the 20th century, American society did not approve of homosexuality. As historian Robert O. Self noted in his book, “as late as 1968 homosexual acts remained a felony in every state except Illinois, New York, and New Jersey.”

Nevertheless, by the 1970s LGBTQ Americans made themselves visible both in public spaces and in the church, asserting their rights and dignity.

In 1972, the United Methodist Church adopted into its “Book of Discipline,” or established laws and doctrine, a clause which recognized homosexuals as “persons of sacred worth…entitled to have their human and civil rights ensured.” But there was a caveat: The church did not “condone the practice of homosexuality” and considers it “incompatible with Christian teaching.”

Embracing civil rights for LGBTQ Americans without condoning homosexuality in the church was an attempt at compromise.

As my research on the church’s position on sexuality has shown, the newly unified denomination did not want to split up after just four years.

Sexuality – a divisive outlier

In 1972, liberals in the church introduced a statement in favor of civil rights for the LGBTQ community. Their aim was to officially support the civil rights of persecuted gay and lesbian people.

Though seen by the more moderate and conservative members of the newly united church as radical, their statement was in keeping with many of other liberal Methodist policies.

The denomination – pre-unification with the United Brethren Church – was among the first to ordain women, recognizing womens’ right to preach in 1956. Methodists have supported access to contraception and abortion since 1972.

The church’s very first Book of Discipline opposed slavery, stating it to be “contrary to the golden law of God,” although this was never enforced in the American South.

Likewise, Methodists have been critical of aggressive foreign policy. The church referred to the war in Vietnam as a “crime against humanity” in 1972.

Still, conservatives, who in 1972 represented a slim majority of the church’s membership, defended their position on sexuality. They agreed to the civil rights statement only on the condition that homosexuality be declared incompatible with Christianity.

Building an ambiguous legacy

The path to schism continued into the next decade.

The 1980 United Methodist General Conference was a good one for gay rights, as sociologist Amanda Udis-Kessler has documented. The delegates voted down a measure to ban gay clergy and called on the government to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in federal agencies and the military.

Then, in 1984 the church banned homosexual acts among clergy, essentially forcing LGBTQ ministers to either become celibate or quit.

At their next meeting, in 1988, the United Methodists nevertheless adopted a policy of welcoming “all persons regardless of sexual orientation.”

By popular demand, that year the church also authorized the first concerted effort to study sexuality among Methodists. A committee chaired by Rev. Nancy Yamasaki, a pastor and church administrator, interviewed ministers and parishioners to document experiences and opinions about sexuality and its Biblical interpretation.

When their report was released in 1992 it argued that the Bible did not speak to sexual orientation at all.

Among other conclusions, the report determined that sexual orientation is not a choice made by adults or a personal failing. It also concluded that gay couples practiced monogamy at roughly the same rate as straight couples and were every bit as happy.

In light of these results, a majority of the committee wanted the church to acknowledge that it could not “responsibly maintain the condemnation of all homosexual practice.”

The church accepted that the 1992 report was the product of a valid and fair study but refused to adopt its recommendations.

Global ministry

Church policy on LGBTQ inclusion changed little in the 1990s and 2000s, though the church’s demographics did.

Americans may have drifted toward full inclusion for LGBTQ people, yet since the 1960s fewer have attended mainline churches. For the United Methodist Church this trend really accelerated in the 1990s and 2000s.

Methodists are very diverse, with members from across the political spectrum and the world, particularly in Africa. Today, nearly half of nearly 13 million Methodists live outside the United States.

In May 2020, when church leaders meet to approve their split, 56% of delegates to the General Conference will be from the United States, 32% from Africa, 6% from the Philippines and about 5% from Europe.

International delegates to the General Conference disproportionately oppose LGBTQ inclusion in the church and have demonstrated “overwhelming support” for maintaining the church’s traditional ban on same sex marriages.

“If the bans were eased, the church in Africa would cease to exist,” Rev. Jerry Kulah of Liberia told the media in 2019.

Rev. Forbes Matonga, a General Conference delegate and pastor at the Nyadire Mission Center in Zimbabwe, said last year that support for same sex marriage would cause Africans to leave the denomination.

With opinions on sexuality now evenly split, the church can no longer keep everyone satisfied. In May, Methodists on both sides of the divide will have the opportunity to realize a church that reflects their own values.

[ 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. ]

Scott T. Vehstedt, PhD Candidate in American History, American University

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

The post Gay Rights Dispute is Pulling Apart the United Methodist Church, After Decades of Argument appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Gay Rights Dispute is Pulling Apart the United Methodist Church, After Decades of Argument

HRC to Honor Writer, Actor and Producer Dan Levy with the HRC Visibility Award at the 2020 LA Dinner

Today, HRC announced that Emmy ® -nominated showrunner, writer, actor, director and producer Dan Levy will be honored with the HRC Visibility Award at the 2020 HRC Los Angeles Dinner on Saturday, March 28 at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown. 

“Through his advocacy, his creative leadership, and his hilarious, authentic portrayal as David Rose on Schitt’s Creek, Dan Levy is moving LGBTQ visibility forward by inspiring us to embrace all of who we are,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “By creating and inhabiting the world of Schitt’s Creek as a community where people are welcomed no matter who they are or whom they love, Levy is helping take all of us closer to that reality. We are incredibly excited to honor Dan Levy with the HRC Visibility Award at the 2020 Los Angeles Dinner.”

“I have been a longtime admirer and supporter of the HRC,” said Dan Levy. “To be recognized by this organization means the world to me and I am incredibly touched by the honor.”

Dan Levy is best known for his work on the groundbreaking comedy series, Schitt’s Creek, which he co-created with his father, Eugene Levy. In addition to being the co-creator, showrunner, executive producer, and writer of Schitt’s Creek, Levy stars as the hilarious David Rose, one of the first openly pansexual characters depicted on television. For its fifth season, Schitt’s Creek earned four Emmy nominations including Best Comedy Series, a PGA Award nomination, a GLAAD Media nomination for Best Comedy Series, two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations including Best Ensemble in a Comedy Series, and five Critics’ Choice Award nominations including Best Comedy Series and one for Levy for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Schitt’s Creek airs on CBC in Canada and Pop TV in the United States.

In 2019, Levy was featured on OUT Magazine’s “Out 100” list, which honors the year’s most impactful and influential LGBTQ people. In June 2019, he was also honored on Queerty’s Pride50 list of “trailblazing individuals who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance and dignity for all queer people.” 

Last week, HRC announced that the organization will honor award-winning singer, songwriter, producer, performer, actor and activist Janelle Monáe will be honored with the HRC Equality Award. As a “queer Black woman in America,” Janelle Monáe has been a powerful voice on the importance of LGBTQ visibility and representation. An 8-time Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, producer, performer, activist, and fashion icon, Janelle Monáe is one of the most celebrated artists of our time and is known worldwide for her inimitable style and visionary sound.

Set to take place at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown, the 2020 HRC Los Angeles Dinner, the first since HRC opened its Los Angeles office, brings together HRC’s most active members and supporters in the greater Los Angeles area to raise crucial funds in the fight for LGBTQ equality. Tickets and further information are available at www.hrcladinner.com/.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-to-honor-writer-actor-producer-dan-levy-with-the-hrc-visibility-award?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Must-See LGBTQ TV: The Grammys, ‘Next in Fashion,’ and the final season of ‘BoJack Horseman!’

www.glaad.org/blog/must-see-lgbtq-tv-grammys-next-fashion-and-final-season-bojack-horseman