Do you want to see James Franco’s lost film starring River Phoenix?
In 2012 James Franco recut the film My Own Private Idaho using a large amount of never seen before footage of River Phoenix and it has only ever been screened at festivals
andrewp
Category Archives: NEWS
Susan Sarandon slams Catholic school teacher for anti-gay Facebook rant
Why White Straight Males Don't Talk About Privilege
Why White Straight Males Don't Talk About Privilege
There’s a common trend when it comes to discussing sensitive topics such as racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and classism. The only people that truly delve into public discourse about such topics are the individuals that are being affected by them.
People of color speak up about racism, women talk about sexism, the LGBT community is vocal about homophobia and transphobia, and individuals of lower economic standing speak up about classism.
Why?
Yes, of course the individuals that are being oppressed by certain systems are going to be the most vocal and obstinate for change. But, wouldn’t the most effective way to change a society be to have members of dominant groups affect cultural and legal changes — since they are the creators of these systems?
In other words, members of the dominant group have to be aware in the ways they are privileged. And yet, the conversation does not start with these people.
African-Americans may talk day and night about the ways race negatively affects them, but what good will it do if it is not understood by the human beings that created and currently sustain the social institutions that have oppressed them for three centuries to the modern day? Why does the conversation about racism not start with white Americans? Why does the conversation about sexism not start with men? What about homophobia and heterosexuals?
It’s almost as if whiteness or maleness is invisible, or an “unmarked category.”
This is power.
The ability to dominate in every single social political and economic institution, and yet be so invisible, questioned by no one and leaving unchecked. This position is so powerful that even the people that benefit from such systems have not even the slightest understanding of how it privileges them.
Power can speak loudly, but also be silent.
This is why often times when people are confronted about their privilege, there are strong responses. A woman in my sociology class discussion explained that she resents the phrase “white privilege” because she feels that in no way she is privileged, due to financial struggles she has endured in her life.
But the problem is: privilege doesn’t mean one hasn’t struggled or suffered. It does not equate wealth and status. It merely means a special advantage or immunity available only to a particular group. So “white privilege” simply means that there are certain unearned social benefits to having white skin whether one sees it or not. This woman conflated these terms and was quick to demonstrate the ways she was oppressed, yet completely blind in the ways that she is privileged. Yes, she suffered socioeconomic burdens, but her poverty will never be attributed to her skin color or her race.
Yet, this would not be the case with perhaps a black woman, who would most likely have that hurtful stereotype imposed on her. This experience demonstrated to me how sometimes systems of oppression can be blind to one another.
I think the first step to truly breaking social barriers in this country is acknowledging the ways in which we are advantaged.
I am an Indian-American woman, and I have been made aware of my “otherness” as a non-white, dark-skinned woman since I was a small child. As a woman of color, I face certain injustices and micro-aggressions, but as a cisgender heterosexual, I do not.
I acknowledge that I am privileged in these ways.
You may ask: why am I privileged?
I don’t have to think about which bathroom to go to, because my gender is validated by mainstream society. My sexuality is validated as well. If I had a significant other, I could freely be affectionate with him in public without thinking twice or having to accommodate the comfort levels of others around me. I have never had gender experiences that did not match the sex I was assigned to at birth. I also come from a financially stable family. I have never had to take up a job to support the family income, take out student loans or go to bed with an empty stomach. My family’s socioeconomic status has allowed me the privilege of growing up in a middle-class neighborhood with good quality schools where I was able to attain an excellent elementary, middle and high school education.
So I recognize my privilege, the next step?
I have to take every initiative to change my language, attitude and behavior towards people who are marginalized in one way or the other. Using my knowledge to try and change the mindsets, and eventually the greater social milieu of the society, and country I live in.
And I believe everyone else should take initiative too.
Then, maybe one day, the marginalized won’t be “marginalized” anymore.
They will just be who they want to be, without question and without labels.
Utah Passes LGBT-Inclusive Antidiscrimination Bill, Religious Exemptions
Utah Passes LGBT-Inclusive Antidiscrimination Bill, Religious Exemptions
Gov. Gary Herbert signed the bill into law tonight; meanwhile, the state will allow some public employees to opt out of performing same-sex weddings.
Trudy Ring
Kathy Griffin Quits 'Fashion Police'
Kathy Griffin Quits 'Fashion Police'
On Thursday, Kathy Griffin announced in a statement via Twitter that she’s leaving E!’s “Fashion Police.”
The 54-year-old comedian, who joined the show following the death of Joan Rivers, wrote:
“After 7 episodes of ‘Fashion Police,’ I have discovered my style does not fit with the creative direction of the show and now it’s time to move on.”
Reps for E! confirmed Griffin’s departure from the show to HuffPost Entertainment in a statement:
We can confirm that Kathy Griffin is leaving E!’s “Fashion Police.” We wish her all the best and are grateful for her time on the show, as well as the many laughs that she gave us all. “Fashion Police” will return, as scheduled, on Monday, March 30 at 9pm with our talented Co-Hosts Giuliana Rancic and Brad Goreski and Executive Producer Melissa Rivers. No further information is available at this time.
Griffin’s exit comes just weeks after fellow co-host Kelly Osbourne left the show in the midst of drama surrounding Giuliana Rancic’s offensive remarks about actress Zendaya’s dreadlocks during a post-Oscars episode of “Fashion Police.” On the show, Rancic said Zendaya’s dreadlocks made her look as if she smelled “like patchouli oil” or “weed.”
On Tuesday, Griffin finally addressed the controversy, telling the Chicago Sun Times’ Splash magazine that, while she doubted there would have been as much backlash had the joke come from her instead of Rancic, she wouldn’t have said it to begin with.
“I wouldn’t have said the joke in the first place. Some dude wrote it for her,” she told the magazine.
Read Griffin’s full statement below:
— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) March 13, 2015
Kathy Griffin quits Fashion Police after just seven episodes
Kathy Griffin quits Fashion Police after just seven episodes
I doscovered that my style does not fit with the creative directon of the show and now it’s time to move on’
gregh
www.gaystarnews.com/article/kathy-griffin-quits-fashion-police-after-just-seven-episodes130315
Rep. Aaron Schock Under Fire for Not Disclosing Companion on Official Trip to India
Rep. Aaron Schock Under Fire for Not Disclosing Companion on Official Trip to India
Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) has come under scrutiny again for bringing Jonathon Link, a photographer and videographer, on an official trip to India paid for by The Global Poverty Project, a private advocacy organization, the National Journal reports.
Under House rules, according to the NJ, a member of Congress can “accept private money for a companion’s travel expenses only if the companion is a staffer, spouse or child. Link was none of those; he didn’t appear on Schock’s official or campaign payroll until September 2014.”
The NJ adds:
The organization offered to pay for the costs of one staffer to accompany Schock as long as the staffer flew economy class, according to the spokesman. Another aide was originally going to come, but the organization noted they were looking for a photographer, and Schock suggested Link, with whom he has worked in the past, the spokesman said. The photos Link took were made available to both Schock and the Global Poverty Project.
Schock never disclosed that Link went on the trip, which is required by law.
The Blue Nation Review reported on Link and the India trip last week.
It also reported on unusual fees paid late in 2014, some of which went to Schock’s ‘personal photographer’:
After voting to freeze salaries for federal workers all the way through 2015 and opposing any minimum wage increases, Congressman Aaron Schock quietly gave huge pay raises and/or bonuses to most of the staff members in his taxpayer-funded office during the last three months of 2014, according to Congressional expenditure reports examined by Blue Nation Review….
…Jonathon Link, Schock’s full time personal photographer, started September 1 and was paid $4,166 for that month, which translates to an annual salary of about $50,000. In the final three months of the year, he was paid $17,500, which translates to an annual salary of about $70,000. In addition to his congressional salary, Link’s photography studio was paid more than $29,000 during the final three months of the year for “Web Dev Hst, Email and Rltd Serv.” Schock’s office also paid “Web Dev Hst, Email and Rltd Serv” through Fireside21—a company that charges just a few hundred dollars per month and actually specializes in web development, hosting, email, and related services for Congressional offices. Was Link double-dipping?
Schock on Wednesday shook off a CNN reporter asking him to explain his “lavish lifestyle.”
Andy Towle
Texas Dems Bake Up a Response to Antigay Lawmakers
Texas Dems Bake Up a Response to Antigay Lawmakers
It was sweet revenge, or at least sweet payback, to counter an anti-marriage equality event.
Trudy Ring
www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2015/03/12/texas-dems-bake-response-antigay-lawmakers
Oklahoma Rep. Emily Virgin Suggests Businesses Post Notice Before Discriminating Against Patrons
Oklahoma Rep. Emily Virgin Suggests Businesses Post Notice Before Discriminating Against Patrons
A Democratic state representative in Oklahoma has offered up an unusual amendment to the state’s Religious Freedom Act that would reportedly give businesses the option to discriminate based on their religious beliefs, but would require those establishments to be upfront about it.
In the amendment, Oklahoma Rep. Emily Virgin suggests that wedding-related companies “not wanting to participate” in a business exchange based on the “sexual orientation, gender identity or race of either party” shall “shall post notice of such refusal in a manner clearly visible to the public in all places of business, including websites,” according to The Gayly Oklahoman.
The amendment continues that the notice “may refer to the person’s religious beliefs, but shall state specifically which couples the business does not serve by referring to a refusal based upon sexual orientation, gender identity or race.”
The proposed amendment has received some praise. Freedom Oklahoma Executive Director Troy Stevenson told Raw Story in a statement, “If the state of Oklahoma is going to protect discrimination, then at the very least, businesses should be required to own their bias, and post it publicly for the world to see.”
The Dallas Voice’s David Taffet wrote that the proposal also had an unintended benefit for heterosexual customers, too: “That way, a straight couple that wouldn’t have been turned away would be notified that they’re doing business with bigots and might want to find an alternate vendor as well.”
As KFOR points out, the legislation was proposed at a time when a number of bakers, florists and other wedding-related businesses have been feeling the heat after their respective owners turned away customers seeking cakes and other services related to same-sex weddings.
