Dan Savage on Telling Ben Carson to 'Suck My D–k': 'Sometimes You Have to Fight Fire With Fire' – VIDEO

Kyler Geoffroy

www.towleroad.com/2015/03/savagecarson.html

Access to Care Is a Way to Save Transgender Youth's Lives Today
So far this year, the transgender community has seen a mind-boggling amount of violence and loss.

Whether it is Penny Proud in New Orleans, Louisiana, or Bri Golec in Akron, Ohio, in each case the circumstances are eerily similar: Trans women losing their lives unnecessarily as victims of brutal, violent crimes. Other high profile cases of suicides among transgender individuals, or cases of discrimination suffered by transgender people in either housing or the workplace have captured the nation’s attention by sharing the challenges that transgender people face by being marginalized, othered, harassed, hurt and misunderstood. Collectively these cases have created a rise in social media posts with a poignant and all-too-familiar hash tag, #translivesmatter.

Among all of this loss, it is the Leelah Alcorn case, and others like hers, that I cannot seem to shake from my head as a pediatrician. You may recall that Leelah was the 17-year-old transgender woman who chose to, or was driven to, end her own life. At the time, the case garnered national headlines with the main focus on Leelah’s public social media posts in the weeks preceding her death. These haunting posts discussed her negative experiences with conversion therapy to supposedly “cure” her of her transgender identity.

However, the undiscussed aspect of the Leelah Alcorn case is that access to healthcare, particularly for gender-affirming medical therapies may have saved her life.

Re-read some of her social media posts before she took her life, “I can’t wait until I am 18 to begin transitioning,” and “I can’t wait one more day.” These posts point to her inability to access appropriate healthcare as a potential immediate precipitating factor in her death; one that may have been 100 percent preventable.

I suspect this aspect of the story was not pursued with vigor out of respect to Leelah’s grieving parents, who the media chose to, understandably, not challenge with respect to the rationale behind the decisions they may have made or not made for their child. And it certainly is not my intention to unnecessarily stir the pot, create drama or inflict more pain for on the Alcorn family.

However, there is a larger educational point that needs to be said loud and clear for the benefit of other families and for transgender or gender nonconforming youth. That message is simple: For transgender youth, access to health care services saves lives.

Truth is that in many centers, including the Gender and Sex Development Program that I co-direct at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, adolescents like Leelah shouldn’t have to wait until the age of 18 to begin engaging in gender-affirming care. Youth should and do have the opportunity to begin the process of transitioning in a way that allows them to live life as their authentic self.

Our Gender Program’s multidisciplinary team and other programs models across the country are complete with pediatricians, nurses, child development specialists, mental health providers and endocrinologists all committed to working with youth and families who are seeking advice or guidance in confronting the challenges of raising a gender non-conforming or transgender child. In many instances these individuals are not familiar with sources of support in the community or options related to medical therapies and interventions.

The Endocrine Society and World Professional Association of Transgender Health Professionals (WPATH) have what are now considered widely-used clinical care guidelines that support the use of pubertal blocking medications in certain gender non-conforming children or early adolescents based upon pubertal and developmental age. They also support the initiation of cross sex hormones in transgender young people as young as 16 years of age (and in some case and some centers even younger).

It is not unusual for teams such as ours to encounter parents or families of children that do not initially support these medical interventions — often due to a denial about the child’s authentic gender identity, a lack of education about the safety of potential medical interventions or a deeply rooted personal, religious or cultural objection. In the overwhelming majority of these cases (but certainly not all), we can work effectively with families and individuals to find a common path moving forward, or at the very least finding a path that ensures the safety and well-being of the child or adolescent.

Centers like ours strive to dispel myths that label being transgender as an affectation or pathology as opposed to the stable identity it represents for most individuals. We also work with families to see their children through a broader and more realistic lens than the spectrum of dysfunction that is too often the focus of negative media attention.

For, while it remains true that too many transgender youth are the victims of hate crimes, and too many become homeless or contemplate suicide, this spectrum of dysfunction does not capture the strength, perseverance, pride and resilience that in my professional opinion more accurately captures the spirit of the young transgender people I see each and every day.

Alongside educating families, it is important to educate the adolescents themselves about their individual rights with regard to medical decision-making particularly as it relates to mature minor statutes on the state level or legal emancipation as a last resort for those who may be at the point of crisis or self-harm.

In essence, for many individuals like Leelah, access to one of the many centers across the country that care for gender non-conforming children or adolescents could literally be a lifeline to a future as their authentic selves.

And most importantly, access to care at these sites can save lives starting today.

www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-robert-garofalo/access-to-care-is-a-way-to-save-transgender-youths_b_6824276.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Can You "Out" Someone If The Public Already Assumes That They're Gay?

Charles Pulliam-Moore

www.towleroad.com/2015/03/can-you-out-someone-when-the-public-already-assumes-that-theyre-gay.html

Dan Savage To Ben Carson: 'Suck My D**k' To Prove Being Gay Is A Choice
Responding to Ben Carson’s remarks this week that being gay is a choice, columnist Dan Savage invited the Republican presidential prospect to “suck my dick” to prove it.

Carson on Wednesday told CNN that prisoners are an example of how homosexuality can be a choice, so Savage challenged Carson in an open letter:

If being gay is a choice, prove it. Choose it. Choose to be gay yourself. Show America how that’s done, Ben, show us how a man can choose to be gay. Suck my dick. Name the time and the place and I’ll bring my dick and a camera crew and you can suck me off and win the argument.

Carson later apologized for his remarks, but not before catching major heat for his exchange with CNN’s Chris Cuomo. He said in the interview there was no comparison between civil rights and gay rights because citizens have no choice of their race, while homosexuality is “absolutely” a choice. “A lot of people who go into prison, go into prison straight, and when they come out they’re gay,” he said.

In his essay, published March 4 in The Stranger, Savage, who writes a syndicated sex column, wrote how religious conservatives use the “choice” argument to deny civil rights to the gay community.

“Like truthers (9/11 was an inside job), birthers (Barack Obama was born in Kenya), and deathers (Osama bin Laden is alive and well and living in West Hollywood), choicers are another group deranged conspiracy theorists who can’t be dissuaded by science or evidence or facts. They insist that being gay is a conscious choice that a person makes,” he wrote.

Carson, a retired neurosurgeon who recently finished fourth among potential 2016 GOP presidential candidates in a straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference, has previously compared homosexuality with bestiality and pedophilia. He apologized for those comments as well.

H/T Raw Story

www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/08/dan-savage-ben-carson_n_6825848.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

PHOTOS: MTV’s “Best Shirtless Performance” Award Celebrates The Finest Nipples Of Hollywood

Now that all the real awards shows are over, we can finally get to the MTV Movie Awards (airing April 12), aka the categories that matter. You know like, “Best Scared-As-Shit Performance,” “Best WTF Moment,” and the ever-objectifying “Best Shirtless Performance.”

But since it’s out there, we figured hey, why not take a closer look at this year’s shirtless nominees.

For art’s sake.

Here they are:

Zac Efron, Neighbors

We could probably just stop here, because Zac proved once and for all in this movie that his body has fully transformed into well, this. He certainly gets our vote, but we owe it to the competition to check out the rest of the goods, don’t you think?

Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy

Are we the only ones who kind of prefer Chris in his pre-sixpack Parks and Rec days? That’s not to say we’d kick her out of bed or anything, but maybe we just aren’t fully used to this beefed up funnyman yet. Perhaps Jurassic World will make it sink in.

Channing Tatum, Foxcatcher

Normally we’d be all over a shirtless Chan like glitter on a unicorn, but his role in the character drama Foxcatcher is a little bit creepsville. Which sort of just confuses us, which we guess is exciting in its own way. This is Chan’s second time being nominated in this category — in 2013, his Magic Mike chest lost to Taylor Lautner’s in Breaking Dawn. We’re sure he was just devastated.

Ansel Elgort, The Fault In Our Stars

We aren’t really sure how to feel about this one. On the one hand, breakout star Ansel Elgort gives a great performance, and is nice to look at in or out of a shirt. On the other hand, the film depicts Ansel as a cancer patient who shares a romantic journey with another cancer patient. Touching, inspiring, thought-provoking? Yes. Hot? No.

Kate Upton, The Other Woman

Hey, what do you know? An actual woman! Kate’s cleavage does actually drive the plot forward in The Other Woman, so maybe she’ll bring it all home come awards night. We doubt it, though.

Dan Tracer

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/w21QeUQpXxg/photos-mtvs-best-shirtless-performance-award-celebrates-the-finest-nipples-of-hollywood-20150308

Britney Spears' Red Catsuit Makes Its Vocal Debut in Music-less Rendition of 'Oops! I Did It Again' – VIDEO

Kyler Geoffroy

www.towleroad.com/2015/03/spearsmusicless.html

Kevin Frayer, Photographer, Showcases Stunning Drag Queens In China (PHOTOS)
Even though queerness may manifest itself and be understood differently in China than other parts of the world, the country still has some very recognizable emblems of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community — including drag queens.

Photographer Kevin Frayer provided The Huffington Post with this compelling compilation of photographs documenting drag performers in the Nanning, Guangxi Province of Southern China. All of these drag queens operate out of the same night club, with many of them living and building community with one another outside of work.

The Huffington Post chatted with Frayer this week about his experiences documenting these performers. Check out some of the photographer’s work below, as well as a brief interview.

The Huffington Post: Why did you decide to embark on the project?
Kevin Frayer: I am always looking for a unique view of China. Things exist here just as they do everywhere else, and it’s important to highlight all elements of society — to give a fuller view. And often they are wonderful stories to share.

Who are the drag queens involved in the project? Do they all primarily operate out of clubs?
The drag queens showcased in my photographs work in the same night club. Some of them live and socialize together, and some are in relationships with each other. They are really wonderful people — warm, engaging, honest and inviting. It is nice to share their experience with others.

What is life like for a drag queen in China?
They have the same daily challenges as anyone else but also have the struggle of trying to navigate obstacles and attitudes. China is not an easy place sometimes, but for many they face the greatest difficulty in finding acceptance from their families.

What do you want people to take away from these images?
Primarily, I want people to see that there is more to life and living in China than the cliché view. With the drag queens, it is simply a small vignette of their lives… how some came from other cities and towns and are finding a sense of acceptance and community, as well as creative fulfillment in performing together.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/08/kevin-fayer-drag-queens-c_n_6763674.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

15 Classics Guaranteed To Enliven The Deadliest Dive Bar And Get You The Daddy You’re Cruising

Each Monday night I have a standing date with a couple of buddies to meet at our neighborhood dive bar and discuss the weekend’s debauchery over stiff cocktails. While the local watering hole where we convene caters mainly to a clientele of a certain age, the bartenders are known for their generous pours and the jukebox is loaded with just about every song ever recorded. We go there, throw back a few stiff ones and reminisce while listening to the favorite hits of our collective hey days. It’s become our weekly communion. However, during our most recent outing a gentleman jerk invaded our home turf, tried to impress the cute bartender by flashing a wad of cash then parading over to the jukebox in which he stuffed enough cash to play an hour’s worth of “music.” Fair enough, we don’t own place, but we were soon confronted with 60 loooong minutes of dirges ranging from Grateful Dead stoner anthems to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds funereal compositions. Everyone knows you don’t play these songs in a gay bar, right? I wouldn’t wish this aural assault on my worst enemy. Well, maybe I would, now that I think about it. Regardless, my pals and I started thinking about songs that are sure to change the energy level in the most somber of taverns and undoubtedly impress that hot young-ish daddy you’ve been cruising so without further ado…

Here are some of the songs from yesteryear guaranteed to get the joint jumpin’ and singing along. You’re welcome.

Diana Ross, “It’s My House”

Sure, you could also select “It’s My Turn,” “The Boss” or “Upside Down,” — just please avoid the over-played “I’m Coming Out,” it’s for amateurs — but this lesser-known yet equally compelling 1979 slow jam, which has been sampled by the likes of Snoop Dog and Eddie Murphy, is more likely to impress hardcore fans of the supreme Miss Ross.

Barbra Streisand, “The Main Event/Fight”

Extra! Extra! Gay men really do love Barbra. The legendary entertainer’s theme to her popular 1979 rom-com provided her first foray into disco. Later that year she had another mega-hit in the genre with her equally-enduring duet with Donna Summer on “No More Tears (Enough is Enough).”

Blondie, “Call Me”

The propulsive theme from Richard Gere’s American Gigolo provided a massive number one hit for Blondie and Euro-disco genius Giorgio Moroder in 198o. Get ready to be covered in kisses, baby.

Queen feat. David Bowie, “Under Pressure”

Let’s say you have only a buck to spare and can’t decide between Freddie Mercury and David Bowie, this 1981 hit featuring intertwining vocals between the two will solve your dilemma. The bass line is so irresistible it even gave cheesy rapper Vanilla Ice a chart-topper in 1989 when he sampled it on “Ice Ice Baby.”

Rick James, “Super Freak”

There are so many reasons to play this 1981 funk classic: that seductive hook (“She’s a very freaky girl”), backup vocals from the Temptations, you can count on watching the most staid bar patron unleash his inner bad boy by the time the chorus begins, but mostly you should choose this one because he’s Rick James, bitch.

Olivia Newton-John, “Twist of Fate”

It’s impossible to go wrong with the beloved Aussie entertainer. Trust, gays of a certain age still worship her and this bouncy hit theme song from her ill-fated (sorry) 1983 rom-com Two of a Kind with John Travolta will definitely cause the most lethargic bar habitué to perk up.

Culture Club, “Church of the Poison Mind”

The lyrics of this 1983 single don’t make much sense, but who cares? This rousing pop masterpiece features fiery backup vocals by the long-missing Helen Terry and just might be the finest moment from Boy George and company.

Eurythmics, “Love is a Stranger”

Annie Lennox’s distinctive powerhouse vocals provide the perfect complement to the catchy synth-pop of this exquisite track, which was released in 1983 as a follow-up to Eurythmics’ number one “Sweet Dreams.”

Chaka Kahn, “I Feel For You”

The R&B legend’s dynamic 1984 recording of an early Prince composition added the introductory rap by Melle Mel, which started with the stuttering repetition of Khan’s name and offered a killer harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder.

Fine Young Cannibals, “Suspicious Minds”

This 1985 cover of the Elvis Presley hit helped put the Brit-soul band on the radar plus there’s the bonus of the unmistakable and incomparable Jimmy Somerville singing behind Roland Gift’s expressive lead vocals.

Salt-N-Pepa, “Push It”

This joyous, libidinous hip-hop jam from 1986 is 100 percent guaranteed to get any party started. It gets extra props for coming from three ladies, many years before Missy Elliott and Lil’ Kim chartered these same lusty waters. Play it and work up a sweat.

The Communards, “Don’t Leave Me This Way”

Jimmy Somerville’s angelic falsetto gives this 1986 cover the edge over disco diva Thelma Houston’s version of the classic first recorded by soul band Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.

Echo and the Bunnymen, “Bring on the Dancing Horses”

The Pretty in Pink soundtrack is still the greatest of all time — don’t even try to argue otherwise. This is probably the most ethereal, haunting song on it and continues to speak to our inner sullen teen selves nearly 30 years later.

Lisa Stansfield, “All Around the World”

Whatever happened to Lisa Stansfield? She seemed poised for gay icon-dom in 1990 but soon went M.I.A. Along with her other gem “This Is the Right Time,” Stansfield’s hushed spoken word intro and sweeping orchestral arrangement make this sound as fresh as it did a quarter century ago.

Hole, “Celebrity Skin”

Courtney Love was once taken very seriously as a kick-ass rock star and this 1998 ode to the under-belly of fame and fortune is one of her most blistering anthems.

Jeremy Kinser

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/W7KTqEGotVc/15-songs-guaranteed-to-enliven-the-deadliest-dive-bar-and-get-you-the-daddy-youre-cruising-20150308

Rand Paul: Calling Same-Sex Unions 'Marriage' Really 'Offends' Him and Others – VIDEO

Kyler Geoffroy

www.towleroad.com/2015/03/rand-paul-calling-same-sex-unions-marriage-really-offends-him-and-others-video.html

Dallas Mayor Joins Marriage Equality Supporters

Mike Rawlings, previously reluctant to join the fight, banded with mayors from cities large and small in filing a pro-equality brief with the Supreme Court.

read more

Trudy Ring

www.advocate.com/politics/politicians/2015/03/08/dallas-mayor-joins-marriage-equality-supporters