Cocaine, Meth Contributed to Centerfold Dirk Shafer's Death
The onetime Playgirl Man of the Year died last month at age 52.
Neal Broverman
www.advocate.com/obituaries/2015/04/30/cocaine-meth-contributed-centerfold-dirk-shafers-death
Category Archives: NEWS
Stunning 'Woman: Redefined' Portraits Show How Breast Cancer Reshaped These Womens' Bodies
Stunning 'Woman: Redefined' Portraits Show How Breast Cancer Reshaped These Womens' Bodies
“The photo shoot was the first time someone looked at me like a person and as not a specimen on the exam room table.”
That’s what one woman photographed for the upcoming book Woman: Redefined told the project’s creators, Kristina Hunter and ML Kenneth. The pair have created a book of portraits featuring women who have undergone breast cancer surgery, which they intend to distribute free of charge to Breast Health centers in the U.S. and Canada.
(Some images below may be considered NSFW.)
Hunter, a college professor, decided to create the book after her own breast cancer diagnosis in the autumn of 2013.
“When the shock wore off, and we began to investigate our options, my husband and I were disheartened to see only very clinical images of women before and after their surgeries,” Hunter told The Huffington Post. “Moreover, these photos were kept in a binder, in a drawer, in an office. Why the secrecy? Are we not talking about 1 in 9 women? Should we not embrace our new bodies? Doesn’t the unfamiliar become the norm by seeing it?”
Hunter teamed up with artist and photographer ML Kenneth to take portraits of women who have undergone a wide scope of breast surgeries. The women included are a diverse group, pulling from all ages and ethnicities.
“The process of working on the Woman: Redefined project has been humbling, profound, and transformative,” Kenneth told The Huffington Post. “Having these brave women share their bodies, stories and hearts with me has changed forever how I feel about art, beauty and life. Each body, imperfectly beautiful, each woman, completely inspiring. Cancer has taught them to not take life for granted. In turn, they have taught me how to LIVE.”
Hunter and Kenneth hope that their book will help women facing breast cancer by reassuring them that they are not alone — and that their bodies will still be works of art after whatever procedures their treatment may require.
Hunter told HuffPost: “We would like to influence the internal dialogue of women and their spouses when going through breast cancer, ‘What will I look like? Will I still feel like a woman? Will I be sexy? Will I be me?’ And if we can influence a broader social dialogue about women’s bodies and help to improve women’s self-esteem by showing real bodies in a beautiful light, then we have done something worthwhile.”
The book will feature women’s words as well as their photographs. The anecdotes will explore how the subjects feel about their bodies and what their experience with cancer has been like.
“As an artist, I refer to myself as a visual storyteller,” Kenneth said. “How profound, that I get to help these women tell their stories.”
Ultimately, Hunter and Kenneth intend for the book to be a source of hope to anyone affected by breast cancer.
“I want women going through breast cancer to see a future for themselves,” Hunter told HuffPost. “To see that they are and will continue to be more than the disease. That they are whole, and beautiful and perfect.”
Learn more about Woman: Redefined here.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Florida House Adjourns, Fails to Pass Anti-LGBT Legislation
Florida House Adjourns, Fails to Pass Anti-LGBT Legislation
In a surprise to many, the Florida House of Representatives earlier this week ended their session three days early as a result of gridlock over a proposed state budget.
HRC.org
PHOTOS: Your Favorite Super Heroes As Gay Fantasy Pin-Up Hunks
PHOTOS: Your Favorite Super Heroes As Gay Fantasy Pin-Up Hunks
While the rest of us are content to just let our superhero fantasies live within the colorful world of our filthy imaginations, artist Fab Ng is busy turning them into reality.
Well, as real as a cartoon can be.
Still, there’s no denying the appeal of his work. You can check more out on his Instagram.
Up, up and away we go:
h/t: GailyGrind
Dan Tracer
Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1733
Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1733
YOUTH: Their thoughts on what’s next for LGBTQ rights after marriage
BERNIE SANDERS: Speaks out on Baltimore protests
RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE: Pit Crew with Detox
WESTBORO: Tells teen vlogger he’s going to Hell for being “fag enabler”
For more recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.
Kyler Geoffroy
www.towleroad.com/2015/04/towleroad-guide-to-the-tube-2.html
EU Court Tiptoes Around France's Gay Blood Ban
EU Court Tiptoes Around France's Gay Blood Ban
The European Union’s highest court refuses to strike down France’s lifetime ban on gay and bi blood donors.
Neal Broverman
www.advocate.com/health/2015/04/30/eu-court-tiptoes-around-frances-gay-blood-ban
How to Talk to Your Kids About Bruce Jenner
How to Talk to Your Kids About Bruce Jenner
A fellow mother of tweens said to me today, “I was driving the kids to school this morning, and just as I was concentrating on a difficult traffic merge, one of them asked, ‘Who’s Bruce Jenner?’ Ugh, I had no idea what to say! So I just said, ‘An Olympic athlete’ and changed the subject.”
In other words, she chickened out.
Never mind that I recently co-authored a children’s picture book, I Am Jazz, which provides a basic explanation of what it means to be transgender. For years I have been urging parents and teachers to start having honest, age-appropriate conversations with kids about LGBT people and families. Not because I personally have any horse in that race — no one in my immediate family identifies as LGBT — but because I have a vested interest in raising compassionate, loving children; and because the LGBT community is here to stay. The slow and steady progression of marriage equality and transgender visibility means that our children will be seeing openly-identifying members of the LGBT community people everywhere they go. We do kids a huge disservice by pretending they don’t exist (and we put teachers in the unconscionable position of having to ignore the LGBT students and families already in their schools).
So how would I have answered the question?
I would have said (and HAVE said, to my own three kids), “Bruce Jenner was a very famous Olympic gold medalist. But now he’s famous for another reason. Now, at 65 years old, he’s finally telling the world the truth about who he is: He has the heart and mind of a girl, even though his body is shaped like a boy. Interesting, right?
“When he was younger, Bruce never knew that other people felt this way, and he was confused and ashamed for wishing he’d been born with a body different from the one he got. But it turns out there are other people who feel this way and there’s even a name for it: transgender.
“Today, doctors understand that being transgender is just the way some people are made — it’s like their brain and their body got mixed messages when they were growing in their mom’s belly — and the good news is that now we have medicines and even operations that, if someone like Bruce Jenner wants them, can make their bodies better match the way they feel inside. But this isn’t always necessary: usually a transgender person feels much better by just being able to change their name and wear the clothes and pick the hairstyle that feels right to them.
“I’m not sure you’ll ever actually meet someone who’s transgender — it’s kind of rare — but I hope if you ever do, you will treat that person with kindness, knowing that it probably hasn’t always been easy for them; with respect, meaning that you don’t ask any invasive questions that YOU wouldn’t want to answer; and with an open heart, accepting them for who they are on the inside, not what they look like on the outside — just like we do with everyone else.”
Ta-da! No muss, no fuss, no anxiety attack.
Here is what I would NOT have said: anything about sex, or sexual orientation. These topics would only confuse the conversation, as they are fundamentally separate from gender identity (in other words, we’re talking about who Bruce Jenner IS, not whom he wants to sleep with).
At the end of the day, dodging the question just means that our kids are going to hear about Bruce Jenner from someone else; most likely an ill-informed classmate on the playground. Better we show respect for our kids by keeping it simple and speaking the truth, just as Bruce Jenner has finally and admirably done.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Crying Out for Change
Crying Out for Change
We cannot fully celebrate advances in equality while members of our community are treated with impunity. We are at our strongest when we are united, when Black and Brown Lives truly do Matter.
HRC.org
www.hrc.org/blog/entry/crying-out-for-change?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
Airbnb Has No Tolerance For Homophobic Hosts, Removes User For Evicting Gay Couple
Airbnb Has No Tolerance For Homophobic Hosts, Removes User For Evicting Gay Couple
Two men claim they were evicted from their Airbnb rental after the property owner learned they were gay.
Jonathan Wang and his partner Brent (pictured) were in Galveston, TX for a wedding. They booked a two-night stay at the properly for $140 per night.
“This home was very gorgeous,” Wang told ABC13 News.
Their host, however, was anything but.
After unpacking their bags and settling in, the couple headed off to the wedding reception. When they returned later that evening, they ran into the property owner, Heather.
“Heather asked me where my wife was. Who is this person?” Wang recounted to ABC13 News. “I said it was my significant other, Brent.”
The host replied by saying she thought he was bringing his wife.
“I didn’t say that specifically,” Wang reminded her.
And that’s when she told the men to get out, saying they made her “uncomfortable” and that it was “not OK.”
Related: B&B Owners Who Denied Gay Couple A Room Lose Yet Again
When the couple tried finding another place to stay, every hotel in the area was booked.
“Everyone was full for the weekend,” he said.
After a long and stressful search, they were finally able to locate a room for themselves. Afterwards, Wang went back to look at the Airbnb listing. That’s when he discovered a tiny mention towards the bottom of the page that read: “BTW FYI we are ‘straight friendly’ hosts.”
In a phone interview, Heather told ABC13: “I’m completely of my legal realms and morals.”
When asked if she discriminates against gay people, she replied, “That’s none of your business. That’s my private home.”
And that’s when Airbnb stepped in. The company immediately removed Heather’s listing from its website, then issued the following statement:
“We have a zero tolerance policy for discrimination on Airbnb. The host in question has been removed from the site. Airbnb has clear guidelines that a host or a guest may not promote hate or bigotry.”
Airbnb also issued Wang a complete refund and paid for the one night hotel stay he was forced to book at the last minute.
As for Heather, we’re sure it’s only a matter of time before she launches her inevitable GoFundMe campaign.
Related: Sorry, Christians, GoFundMe Is Cracking Down On Your Hate Campaigns
Graham Gremore
News: Batman, Mercury, Donald Glover, Tim Cook, Britney Spears
News: Batman, Mercury, Donald Glover, Tim Cook, Britney Spears
U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II, who struck down Kentucky’s gay marriage ban, has passed away at the age of 66 after a battle with cancer.
Pope Francis says it’s “pure scandal” that women earn less than men for the same work.
First full-color photo of Ben Affleck as Batman leaked.
Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro, has invited the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington to perform with the newly formed gay Cuban chorus Mano a Mano.
Jeb Bush is a fan of rapper Pitbull.
Reese Witherspoon talks gay actors taking on straight roles and vice versa. “I think gay people are able to play straight roles; straight people are able to play gay roles. The whole point of being an actor is to transform. If people don’t understand that we need to be malleable in our sexuality, then I think they need to lighten up.”
Leaflets linking homosexuality to Hitler handed out in Dublin ahead of marriage referendum vote.
11 amazing images from the final days of NASA’s Messenger spacecraft.
Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth are reportedly hooking up again.
Maryland state Delegate Patrick McDonough suggests parents who refuse to stop their children from protesting in Baltimore should be taken off food stamps.
Rosie O’Donnell’s estranged wife Michelle Rounds has filed for full custody of their 2-year-old daughter Dakota.
Gallup finds approximately 0.3% of adults in the U.S. are married to a same-sex spouse, with another 0.5% identifying as being in a same-sex domestic partnership.
Former homophobes of Reddit reveal what changed their mind.
A list of all the tv shows cancelled in the 2014-2015 season (so long Looking).
Donald Glover flaunts his abs in new Magic Mike XXL poster.
Laverne Cox posed with POTUS and FLOTUS at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner last weekend.
Britney Spears took a tumble on stage during last night’s Vegas concert.
The Des Moines Register editorial board calls on the Supreme Court to finish the job on gay marriage. “In this case, couples of the opposite sex enjoy a long list of government privileges through marriage, which are denied to couples of the same sex. We do not put the question to voters of whether the Bill of Rights applies to minority groups. Nor should equal protection under the 14th Amendment for minority groups be put to a vote.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook gets to wear a unique Apple Watch that can’t be purchased.
Kyler Geoffroy
