Transgender Advocate in Arkansas: “I’m Proud to be Who I Am”
Coming out, whether it is as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or allied is a deeply personal journey for each individual. For openly transgender advocate Andrea Zekis, coming out took several decades and is still a part of her everyday life.
HRC.org
Sometimes Hot Things Come In Size XS
Whether it’s underwear, swimwear, or your basic apparel piece, the first and most important thing is how a piece of clothing fits your body. And for guys with narrow waists, size small still doesn’t fit quite right. Enter XS men’s underwear. XS pairs may be hard to come by, since not every men’s brand goes smaller than a small. But there are a few brands that remember XS-sized men. And fortunately, they know a small waist doesn’t always translate to a small package.
You can see more of this photo shoot with model Kai Braden on The Underwear Expert.
Photo Credit: Jerrad Matthew Exclusively for The Underwear Expert
Underwear Expert
feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/AwE5dFmYnmI/sometimes-hot-things-come-in-size-xs-20151014
A court in central France has officially registered a person as being "gender neutral" rater than either male or female – the first ruling of its kind in France.
submitted by Libertatea
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A court in central France has officially registered a person as being “gender neutral” rater than either male or female – the first ruling of its kind in France.
byu/Libertatea inlgbt
‘If You Could Be Straight, Would You?’ – WATCH
Have you ever wondered whether life would be easier if you were straight? Or whether, if it were possible to be straight, you would want to be straight?
This is the subject of a new video that asks 8 queer men and women (identifying across a spectrum of gay, bisexual, lesbian, and pansexual) whether they would want to be straight if they could be. While most agree that being gay is “not the easiest life,” the panel was unanimous when asked if they would be straight if it were somehow possible.
“God no,” said one respondent. Another answered, “I love being gay.” “Not being straight is awesome.” Amen.
Watch the video, below:
The post ‘If You Could Be Straight, Would You?’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
Sean Mandell
margaritasharapova posted a photo:
WATCH: That Time Madonna Helped A Couple Get Engaged
A Canadian couple standing in the front row at Madonna’s show in Edmonton, Alberta Sunday night got the thrill of a lifetime when the Queen of Pop prompted them to get engaged, as Pink News reported.
A YouTube video captured the moment Madonna told a fan named Jan to propose to his boyfriend Chad, before the sold-out crowd of nearly 17,000 fans.
She toyed with Jan at first, telling him “Jan” is “a girl’s name,” to which he replied, “no!” Madonna, who clearly was not out to offend, played with them some more by telling Jan, “You’re the girl,” and Chad, “You’re the boy.” She also briefly mixed-up Chad’s name, calling him, “Jack.”
But the couple took it all in stride, as Jan turned to the mike and shouted to Chad, “I love you with all my heart, Chad. Will you marry me, please?”
Chad gladly and swiftly accepted and Madonna announced, “You may kiss the bride!”
The tens of thousands crowded into Rexall Place cheered and applauded as they watched the newly engaged couple kiss on the arena’s Jumbotron.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada for a decade.
But Madonna wasn’t done: “You forgot the most important part,” she said. “You need to catch the bouquet.”
And after tossing flowers to Jan and Chad, another fan handed Madonna crucifix on a chain, which she promptly put around her neck. “You get a bouquet, I get a crucifix,” said Madonna. “It all works out.”
Watch the proposal from YouTube, below:
Dawn Ennis
www.advocate.com/music/2015/10/14/watch-time-madonna-helped-couple-get-engaged
Religious Right Groups Break Out The Scare Tactics To Keep Discrimination Legal In Houston
On November 3, the city of Houston will vote on the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), which creates city-wide nondiscrimination protections, including for the LGBT community. Opponents of HERO, organized as the so-called “Campaign For Houston,” have been escalating their rhetoric demonizing the LGBT community, and a new ad demonstrates just how far they’re willing to go to suggest that transgender women are violent sexual predators.
A new ad spot posted on YouTube Monday shows a little girl entering a restroom. “Any man at any time could enter a women’s bathroom simply by claiming to be a woman that day,” the ad falsely claims. “Even registered sex offenders could follow women or young girls into the bathroom.” As a man sneaks out of a separate stall and enters the girl’s stall, the ad ironically claims that HERO “goes too far.” Watch it:
The extreme fearmongering in the ad is in line with the other kinds of statements the Campaign for Houston has been issuing of late. Whereas in September, the campaign’s ads claimed that transgender women are “filthy, disgusting, and unsafe” and implied that HERO puts women and children “at risk” and “in harm’s way,” the group’s statements have tried to raise the stakes even more since then.
The Campaign for Houston’s new website claims that “other cities and states with these laws have seen sexual predators use them to violate and hurt women and children,” even though that’s factually untrue. A video displayed prominently on the site features a sermon from Homer Edwin Young (a.k.a. “Dr. Young”), senior pastor at Second Baptist Church Houston, in which he decries HERO as “absolutely godless,” “totally deceptive,” and “deadly.” He also claims that his wife saw a “man” walk out of a women’s restroom. Watch it:
A group of Houston’s pastors used similar high-stakes rhetoric at a rally against HERO last week, hosted by Second Baptist. One pastor, unnamed by ABC 13’s news report, condemned HERO as “deadly, decisive, and damning.” Dr. Floyd Williams Sr., of Antioch Church, said he believes “HERO is the most dangerous thing that’s ever been orchestrated in the city of Houston.”
Houston Unites, the Yes on Prop 1 campaign, is trying to counter this demonizing rhetoric by showing that people all over Houston support the LGBT protections. Richard Carlbom, who is managing the Houston Unites campaign, told ThinkProgress that the opposition’s rhetoric will have an impact, sparking fear and anxiety for voters. “Parents will see this ad — children will see this ad — and will become afraid.”
One ad they’re running to counter these claims features moms from across the city explaining how they’ll benefit from HERO’s pregnancy nondiscrimination protections, noting that the law “protects women from discrimination, victimization, and harassment.” They correct the myths put out by opponents, explaining, “Indecent exposure, harassment, and assault in bathrooms is already illegal. Proposition 1 won’t change that. It won’t allow men to enter women’s restrooms and it won’t allow someone to escape prosecution for criminal behavior.”
Houston Unites has been working with the Houston Area Women’s Center in mythbusting what HERO’s opponents have been saying about sexual violence. “When the opposition puts commercials on air like this,” Carlbom explained, “it really does distract and confuse people in terms of where sexual predators actually operate.” Unlike the scary portrayal in the latest ad, sexual predators are generally not stalking the bathrooms; most perpetrators actually know their victims. “What this does is shift the focus away to something that is just not true, and they’re doing it for political purposes.”
Houston Unites’ latest ad features Ed Gonzalez, a retired police officer and father of four girls. “In cities in Texas with similar laws,” he explains, “there’s been no uptick in public safety incidents.” Another ad features some of Houston’s religious leaders who do support HERO, countering opponents’ narrative that the law would allow “reverse discrimination for people who believe in God.”
One of the most poignant ads supporting the passage of HERO so far introduces Dylan, a contractor who identifies as a transgender man. His coworker Steven explains that when Dylan came out as transgender, he was uncomfortable at first, “but over time, we got past it.” Watch it:
Opponents of HERO, who insist that people use the restroom that matches the gender they were assigned at birth, would ironically require Dylan, a man, to use the women’s restroom. In other words, the Campaign for Houston’s rhetoric not only demonizes transgender women as sexual predators and murderers; it’s also backwards. HERO’s LGBT protections would ensure that transgender men like Dylan can safely use the men’s room.
The post Religious Right Groups Break Out The Scare Tactics To Keep Discrimination Legal In Houston appeared first on ThinkProgress.
Zack Ford
thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2015/10/14/3712002/houston-lgbt-sexual-predator-ads/
Concert Pianist Simon Ghraichy Gears Up For Carnegie Hall Debut
More than anything, Simon Ghraichy is proud to be a citizen of the world.
The 29-year-old concert pianist, who was born in Lebanon to a Lebanese father and a Mexican mother and resides in Paris, sees his Oct. 15 performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall as the fulfillment of a lifelong dream because, more than any other venue, it represents his own unique background.
“Every culture is welcome here,” he told The Huffington Post in an interview. “We have a special appreciation for that in Europe because you don’t find it there. I have a mixed background, and that’s something that’s unusual in Europe. Here, I feel at home.”
Ghraichy, who is openly gay, is currently in support of his forthcoming album, “Duels,” which is slated for release this fall. His Carnegie debut is the first stop in a “Liszt and the Americas” tour that will also take him to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The program will feature “Piano Sonata in B Minor” by Franz Liszt, whom Ghraichy calls a personal inspiration, along with works by Lecuona, Ponce, Godowsky and Villa-Lobos — representing the performer’s diverse talent and tastes.
Ghraichy took time out from his busy rehearsal schedule to speak to The Huffington Post, discussing his renewed outlook as he gears up for his New York debut. Here’s what he had to say.
What are your thoughts about performing in Carnegie Hall?
I can’t express enough how blessed I feel and how happy I am, especially because it’s my first concert in New York City. Carnegie is every boy’s dream. From childhood on, you hear about Carnegie Hall. You watch videos of superstars – not only classical superstars, but also pop superstars – all playing Carnegie Hall. It’s a very mythical place, and to be part of that is really something.
Carnegie is a reflection of the American culture, a culture where everything is still possible. Every culture is welcome here.
How would you describe your musical approach, and how is it unique?
I think that the main characteristic in my work is curiosity. I’m very curious to discover new works.
I think it’s very important to take advantage of one’s background, not only in art, but in anything. It should just be a way of life. I’m very close to my roots, and…to be close to Mexican roots, to my Lebanese roots, to my Jewish roots…and to live as a modern Parisian, a modern Frenchman.
As an out artist, do you feel it is a responsibility to support gay causes?
Gay causes are like any kind of minority causes. They deserve to be supported. The arts are a very close way and very honorable way to support them.
I haven’t got the chance to offer a concert for gay causes… but I would love to, if I had the opportunity. It’s not a matter of sexuality; it’s a matter of humanity.
You’ve accomplished a lot in the classical music world. What areas are you hoping to pursue next?
I think I still have a lot to learn and accomplish. It’s such a vast science. I just let myself be guided by the music.
Now I’ve had many experiences, many stage experiences, many human encounters that [changed] my life. Friendships, people who surrounded me in my career, friends, family, teachers. It’s very important as an artist to have the right surroundings in your daily life in order to focus to give the best of yourself on the stage and in your art.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.
Simon Ghraichy will perform “Liszt and the Americas” at New York’s Carnegie Hall on Oct. 15. For more information, head 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.
Topher Payne’s ‘Perfect Arrangement’ Takes on Govt’s Anti-Gay Witch-Hunt: INTERVIEW
Perfect Arrangement, which opens Off-Broadway October 15 at Primary Stages, gives a lesser-known — and totally terrifying — moment in gay history a clever sitcom treatment. Written by Atlanta-based scribe Topher Payne, the play is set during the “lavender scare” in the 1950s, when the U.S. state department fired hundreds of employees over allegations of homosexuality. The government’s internal witch-hunt, which rode the tide of McCarthyism, deemed gay men and women deviants and national security threats.
Payne’s story finds government higher-up Bob Martindale (Robert Eli) tasked with leading the hunt, along with his secretary, Norma Baxter (Julia Coffey). The thing is, Bob’s got a boyfriend, Jim Baxter (Christopher J. Hanke), and Norma’s got a girlfriend, Millie Martindale (Mikaela Feely-Lehmann) — they’re married to each other’s same-sex sweethearts. Not only that, but they live in adjoining townhouses — connected by a two-way closet (naturally).
The premise paves the way for plenty of revolving-door antics, and ultimately, the threat of serious consequences should the couples’ secret be discovered. Through what Payne calls “the farce of attempting to pass,” the play explores what it means to hide who you are, and why coming out is as political as it is personal. Nearly two decades before the Stonewall riots, the nascent beginnings of the gay rights movement began in reaction to the lavender scare.
I spoke to Payne about his inspiration for the play, the surprising history behind it, and why celebrating “straight-acting” gay people is a problem.
Naveen Kumar: Can you tell me a bit about where you got the idea for this play?
Topher Payne: I read [The Lavender Scare by David Johndon] and was so compelled by the story of what had gone down in the ‘50s and frustrated with the fact that this was not a piece of our history that all of us know.
Topher Payne
In 2009, I got married in Massachusetts and came back to Georgia, where my marriage license was purely decorative. My husband took my name when I got married… it was just smart if something happened to us… It was just easier if we had the same last name to prove that we were family, and then we could just be brothers or cousins or whatever the situation called for. There was such an absurdity to that, which was of course frustrating and soul-sucking, and also just really funny… At some point, the story that became the Martindales and the Baxters really grew out of that.
NK: What was the most surprising thing you discovered about gay and lesbian life in this period, when you dug into the history of the 1950s?
TP: The born-out-of-necessity collusion between the gay community and the lesbian community to protect each other. The first gay bar I ever called home was the one gay bar in Jackson, Mississippi, and because there was just the one, there were no divisions in the community. It was the black gay bar and the white gay bar and the lesbian bar and the trans bar, and everybody was in the pool together. Atlanta, of course, has a much more thriving and diverse queer community, so there’s enough of you to be able to form your own pockets within that community. Unfortunately, that can also result in a breakdown in communication between people who are having divergent life experiences.
So, reading The Lavender Scare, I felt that little piece of home, like, ‘Oh, I remember when we were all in this together.’ And they were in the trenches together, and there was this battlefield mentality of, despite any differences or disagreements, we have to keep each other safe. There’s something quite beautiful in that.
NK: Was there a history of people making the arrangement the couples do in the play, which is to enter a heterosexual marriage in order to have relationships on the side?
TP: Very much so, because it was the ultimate marriage of convenience. I don’t know that they were buying townhouses and connecting them by a closet (laughs). It was the ultimate marriage of convenience, everybody wins! There were many, many examples of that in the era.
NK: The people in the play are well to do, they’re white, they’re middle class. Why did you decide to look at this history from the perspective of people who are “hiding in plain sight” by following conventions rather than, say, more marginalized characters?
TP: I am well aware that this is my first play about a bunch of white people (laughs). That was certainly born out of the oral history that inspired the piece in the first place, which [was given by] government employees, who in 1950, would have been uniformly white and middle class to upper middle class… Of course, there were no people of color represented in popular culture at that time, and because the world of the play is so aspirational — they’re trying to live up to exactly what they see on television — creating this universe where everything is lily-white and exactly what’s on the cover of House Beautiful and TV Guide was really interesting to me.
There’s the moment in the show where Norma says, “You would never stand for this if they were doing this to Negros.” And he’s like, “Well, of course not, because that’s an immutable trait, that’s who they are.” And you see this interesting division in self-perception. Because we’re talking about a time when being queer was considered to be a mental illness at best.
NK: There’s a degree of self-loathing that comes along with being in the closet, whether from lacking the courage to come out or from thinking there’s something wrong with who you are. I thought these dynamics played out very interestingly in the play. Can you speak a bit about that?
TP: By the act of being closeted, you’re effectively colluding with the enemy. They’re telling you that there’s something shameful and wrong about the nature of your existence, and by choosing to fly under the radar, you’re acknowledging the veracity of that argument. They even say in the play, “This will never stop if we keep hiding.”
But I think it’s rea
lly interesting that something so clearly born out of necessity can end up making the problem so much harder to fight, because then you’re not standing together as a community. It wasn’t really until the government did this grand sweep of well-educated, well-spoken individuals who — now that they were marked with this brand and had nothing to lose — that you saw the first stirrings of the Mattachine Society. As in all things, the tactics of your oppressors can also be the very thing that presents an opportunity. And I find that encouraging.
NK: I hate to ask this question of writers, but considering how far we’ve come in the past year with the Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage, what do you hope audiences will take away from revisiting a time when things were so vastly different?
TP: What I hope they would take away from it is kind of the farce that’s built around passing. The gains we’ve made in visibility and respectability in American culture in the past decade are really unfathomable when you think about it. But we, as a queer culture, still place a really high value on passing, on your ability to assimilate into the culture at large. We celebrate our very feminine lesbians, we celebrate our very masculine gay men, we celebrate trans individuals who look like they were born the gender that they are presenting as. And we consider those successes.
One of the things I feel Perfect Arrangement addresses, or certainly attempts to address, is the farce of attempting to pass, attempting to craft yourself in the image of someone that you simply are not, rather than exploring in broader terms the identity you feel genuinely compelled toward.
We have the benefit of history and being able to look back and knowing that, as the characters in the show are starting to experience a world outside of their own home, there’s a long way to go. We’re seven years before the first public demonstrations in D.C. We’re 19 years before Stonewall. I’m so intrigued by that moment before, the moment that people have the first stirrings of, I deserve more than this.
I think in a lot of ways, we’re living in one of those times. Despite the rights that we’ve gained, they’re certainly not unchallenged. It’s an uphill battle, but it’s still a battle, so we can win it. I would love for my play to be less relevant, but frankly there are a lot of things that were introduced into American culture 65 years ago that are still very present today.
Perfect Arrangement is in performances at The Duke on 42nd Street through November 6.
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Follow Naveen Kumar on Twitter: @Mr_NaveenKumar (photos: james leynse)
The post Topher Payne’s ‘Perfect Arrangement’ Takes on Govt’s Anti-Gay Witch-Hunt: INTERVIEW appeared first on Towleroad.
Naveen Kumar
Topher Payne’s ‘Perfect Arrangement’ Takes on Govt’s Anti-Gay Witch-Hunt: INTERVIEW
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