Gay Music Director Files Discrimination Complaint Against Illinois Catholic Church – VIDEO

Jim Redmond

www.towleroad.com/2014/12/gay-music-director-files-discrimination-complaint-against-illinois-catholic-church-video.html

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton Unloads On 'Hate Mongering' Against Transgender Students
Gov. Mark Dayton (D) slammed opponents of the Minnesota State High School League’s vote this week to allow transgender students to play on girls’ sports teams, according to The Uptake.

The Minnesota Child Protection League had taken out newspaper ads that claimed the sports association’s policy change would lead to the end of all girls’ sports. A commentary in the Minneapolis Star Tribune had conjured up the image of an “adolescent counterpart” to Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews getting on a girls’ team by declaring, “My long hair is evidence of my sincerity and my feminine self-expression.”

But Dayton, speaking on Thursday, was having none of it. He denounced the opposition as “hate mongering,” “despicable” and “absurd.”

The full transcript of the governor’s remarks, via The Uptake:

Dayton: I don’t know the details of the policy, but I applaud the [High School] League for taking this on in a very serious, careful-minded way. From what I understand of it, if this is correct, it’s inclusive in a responsible way that they should be … again I would applaud them for doing so.

I think some of the hate-mongering that was going on was just despicable. I mean the idea that Clay Matthews is going to change gender status to go trample young girls on a basketball court, I mean, it’s just so … it’s ludicrous. But it’s not funny because it’s so hurtful to kids out there struggling with their own identities and parents who are struggling with those challenges, and I think anyone who would think they would wish this on themselves or their kids is just, just absolutely … The embellishment it would take for that far-fetched, absurd, not even hypothetical possibility and [to] turn that into an attack on trying to help some kids who need a chance to be like every other kid in terms of their school activities — it’s just … I can’t comprehend how people … how some people in this state can want to spend their time on something that’s that destructive to other people’s lives and misstate it in such a way that is really appalling.

The High School League oversees high school athletics in Minnesota. Its new transgender policy passed by an overwhelming margin, with 18 of the 20 board members voting yes. The measure, which will take effect in the next school year, makes Minnesota the 33rd state to adopt a formal transgender student policy, according to the Star Tribune.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/06/mark-dayton-transgender_n_6281232.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Gay Iconography: Feel The Funk For Chaka Khan

Bobby Hankinson

www.towleroad.com/2014/12/gay-iconography-feel-the-funk-for-chaka-khan.html

WATCH: Minn. Passes Much-Debated Trans Student Athlete Policy

Emotions ran high at this week’s meeting of the Minnesota State High School League as the board voted on a trans-inclusive policy that’s ignited national debate.

read more

Mitch Kellaway

www.advocate.com/sports/2014/12/06/watch-minn-passes-much-debated-trans-student-athlete-policy

Alex Minsky Celebrated Naked Friday, Terry Miller Ditched His Beard And More On Instagram

This week, Benedict Cumberbatch had a great idea to honor Alan Turing, Michael Sam addressed the elephant in the room and Barbra Streisand fired back when she was blamed for global warming hysteria (!!). Here’s what happened on Instagram:

Is “Be Naked Friday” a thing? Alex Minsky thinks so and no one is complaining.

#flexfriday #benaked

A photo posted by Alex Minsky (@mminskyy) on Dec 12, 2014 at 1:59pm PST

For Ricky Martin and sons it’s another day, another city.

  #travelday #selfie #minime #AnotherDayAnotherCity #G5 #MexicoCity por ahí vamos. #OneMinuteAtATime #OneFeelingataTime final stretch before holiday break. :0)   Una foto publicada por Ricky (@ricky_martin) el Dic 12, 2014 at 7:00 PST

 Beauty, thy name is Raul Castillo.

Thanks @caravannyc for the great shots!! We are so excited to work with @officialraulcastillo from @lookinghbo It’s such an awesome show you should watch Season 2 Premiere in January @hbo ! Check our #blog post about #Raul & see our #photoshoot with him @thecarltonny #barBordeaux & #Millesemme Thanks to @buffalojeans & #Arizona for this incredible look! A photo posted by Raúl Castillo (@officialraulcastillo) on Dec 12, 2014 at 11:51am PST

Andy Cohen went cruising in Boston.

  Thank you Palm Boston! @brucebozzi & I are forever cruising to Ptown on your wall and that makes me happy. Dat Shnoz Doe! #TheAndyCohenDiaries   A photo posted by Andy Cohen (@bravoandy) on Dec 12, 2014 at 2:07pm PST

Time marches on for all of us — even the Jonas brothers.

#triplets   Una foto publicada por Jøe Jønas (@joejonas) el Dic 12, 2014 at 4:14 PST

Michael Lucas: The College Years.

#TBT A fan recently sent me this picture he re-discovered from when I was 23. What was I thinking with that hair?! #collegeyears #michaellucas #lucasentertainment Una foto publicada por Michael Lucas (@michaellucasnyc) el Dic 12, 2014 at 9:36 PST

Madonna reminds us of a lesson we should have learned long ago.

#dontfuckwithme

A photo posted by Madonna (@madonna) on Dec 12, 2014 at 9:14am PST

Tyson Beckford teased his upcoming stripper epic Chocolate City.

Scenes from @chocolatecitymovie coming 2015! #beckfordbar #fit Zdj?cie zamieszczone przez u?ytkownika Tyson C. Beckford (@tysoncbeckford) Gru 12, 2014 at 11:24 PST

Terry Miller lost his beard.

Time to debeard.

A photo posted by Terry Miller (@terrysphots) on Dec 12, 2014 at 2:01pm PST

Bianca Del Rio is all hands.

@emcandrews2231 #leprechaun #goodtimes #grateful #douchebag

A photo posted by Bianca Del Rio (@thebiancadelrio) on Dec 12, 2014 at 3:12am PST

Jeremy Kinser

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/uO21lL48Xf4/alex-minsky-celebrated-naked-friday-terry-miller-ditched-his-beard-and-more-on-instagram-20141206

Check Out This Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer Remade With Original Trilogy Footage: VIDEO

Kyler Geoffroy

www.towleroad.com/2014/12/check-out-this-star-wars-the-force-awakens-trailer-remade-with-original-trilogy-footage-video.html

Lily Tomlin to Receive Kennedy Center Honors Tonight

​Tonight, Lily Tomlin will be the first publicly out lesbian honoree at the Kennedy Center Honors.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/lily-tomlin-to-receive-kennedy-center-honors-tonight?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

8 Events To Titilate Your Christmas Spirit

While San Francisco’s December temperature may seldom dip below a brisk 55 degrees, that doesn’t prevent the Christmas Spirit from taking hold. From shimmering snowflakes on Market Street lightposts to Santas in their undies, San Francisco knows how to fab it up for the most wonderful time of the year.

If you have time to spare, be sure to check out the events and the snazzy guide from SF Travel that list’s all the things not to miss.

Santa Skivvies Run

Strip down to your skivvies for a good cause. The Santa Skivvies Run (Dec. 6), an annual romp down Market Street from UN Plaza to the Castro, benefits the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and is sponsored this year by Lookout Bar.

Cocktails and Crafts

The California Academy of Sciences NightLife becomes a shopping bonanza (Thursday, Dec. 11), hosting local artisans and craftsmen peddling local wares in time for gift-buying season. That’s in addition to a full bar and super-cool science exhibits. Not that they’ll make much sense after a few fizzy drinks.

If You’re a Fan of Peppermint Patty

…then you’re in luck, Chuck! The “Peanuts” gang is paying a visit to the San Francisco Symphony (Dec. 19 – 24) for a stunning, live-action performance “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. Get ready for some jazzy tunes, dazzling vocals and mesmerizing animated backgrounds—and, of course, a feel-good holiday story.

Bending Minds and Bodies

You may have already noticed Cirque du Soleil’s whimsically colored tent bedecking the overflow parking lot at AT&T Park. They’ve been in town since Nov. 14, and will tightrope walk their way through San Francisco’s Indian Summer until Jan. 18. Sure the show is not exactly Christmas fodder, but the indoor venue is a perfect spectacle for friends, family and out-of-town visitors who may have gotten tired of the other spectacle that is Castro Street.

Kinky Boots

San Francisco’s Orpheum Theater is being taken over by drag queens and fetishists Dec. 2 – 28 with Harvey Fierstein and Cindy Lauper’s raved-about musical, “Kinky Boots.” About a flagging shoe factory that finds its saving grace in a drag queen, this show is pretty much home away from home for anyone who loves a shimmying, singing chorus of boys dressed as girls.

Make the Yuletide Gay

Join the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and Well-Strung, a highly versatile string quartet, for less-traditional renditions of holiday favorites. The Chorus is hosting three fabulous events—on Dec. 12, 13 and a not-to-be-missed extravaganza on Christmas eve, featuring local drag celebrities, a 1980s Nativity and a de rigeur ugly sweater contest. Watch out for gay hipsters in their natural habitat.

A Bit of “Light” Drama

This year, San Francisco is home 16 high-tech “dramatic light art installations” scattered across the city as part of Illuminate SF. Through January 2015, ditch the drama on television and experience it in a more positive way in neighborhood art tours, illuminated walks, artist talks and other events. Check out the schedule of events on their website.

Bonus: Pointy, Large and Covered in Fir

If you’re into pointy, large things covered in fir—namely, Christmas trees—you’re in for a treat. San Francisco’s festive Christmas trees are springing up all about town: Displays at Union Square, Pier 39, and Ghirardelli Square are ideal outdoor distractions on a holiday walkabout of the City by the Bay.

mr_brennan

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/fgfdSK7zWFQ/8-events-to-titilate-your-christmas-spirit-20141206

Dancing Diva Brendan Jordan Strikes a Pose in New American Apparel Ad

Kyler Geoffroy

www.towleroad.com/2014/12/dancing-diva-brendan-jordan-strikes-a-pose-in-new-american-apparel-ad.html

The Day I Held My Boyfriend's Hand
I held my boyfriend’s hand the other day. I caught it and held it until we reached the main gates of University College Cork, as I usually do on campus, only this time I didn’t let go after we’d passed through. We moved along the Western Road, toward Washington Street, and as we reached the innards of Cork City, something strange lingered over me.

I had become anxious, and soon I wasn’t speaking. I was afraid.

In my silence, I shot glances around, searching for anyone who might do us harm. I felt an unease as cars slowed down next to us. I wondered whether they would shout “Faggot!” or “Queer!” at us, as they had done before when I had been in previous relationships or had otherwise felt like showing my love and affection through the simple act of hand holding. I wanted to keep holding because it was cold, and my boyfriend’s hand felt so comforting, but I did not want to put him through the hurt and pain that words can cause. It was then that, having consulted my conscience, I almost let go.

But something very different happened. I felt a torrent of anger at the world. I felt angry at society for making me feel this way, for telling me that I can’t hold my boyfriend’s hand without feeling fear, without feeling trepidation, without feeling a niggling sense of shame. And I felt angry at myself for even entertaining the idea that this was not something that I should be doing. Suddenly I felt proud, and yet despite the fact that no one had yelled slurs at us, I still felt like it could happen any minute.

That day I felt so scared that I became angry at the homophobia that I had ignored since my teens, and I felt so angry that I couldn’t let go. I held my boyfriend’s hand all the way to Paul Street in the center of the city. I felt defiant, and elated that it felt normal to me, but I still felt afraid. I still felt anxious. I still felt homophobia.

Homophobia is the secret that we share, and a secret of a “civilized” society.

I’m very proud to be a part of UCC LGBT*‘s #HumansofHomophobia campaign, a campaign to highlight the very human face of the effects that this heinous behavior has on people, real people, people like me, who just want to hold their boyfriend’s hand. In the cloud of promises and notions of being “good” people, #HumansofHomophobia aims to deliver a stark and visual reminder of the reality of homophobia in our society.

I’ve heard many say that homophobia doesn’t really exist anymore. To those people I say that so long as I feel that tremor of fear as I take my boyfriend’s hand in public, homophobia exists. I felt that fear because I’d stepped outside that little box that society put me in, demanding that I be “normal,” do what others do, not show the smallest dram of affection in public.

I call on people to engage and share the campaign. The visual aspect of it is so important in raising the issue beyond just words and empty sentiment. Homophobia is the ghost of our oppressive past. Let’s not continue to create an oppressive future.

It is important that this conversation happen now rather than later. So much time has been spent discussing and wishing the problem away. Institutionalized homophobia is something that I am not OK with anymore.

I am someone who would have always said I never really experienced very bad cases of homophobia growing up, but this campaign has showed me that not only have I experienced homophobia but I live it on a daily basis when I feel that fear as I walk into Paul Street holding hands with my boyfriend.

And that is not something that I am OK with feeling anymore.

An earlier version of this post appeared on olanharrington.wordpress.com.

Since UCC LGBT* launched #HumansofHomophobia, the photo below, along with the story behind it, has gone viral on social media.

You can share the campaign on Facebook here.

www.huffingtonpost.com/olan-harrington/the-day-i-held-my-boyfriends-hand_b_6271910.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices