Dolce & Gabbana Creative Director Resigns Over Antifamily Comments

The creative director of the Dolce & Gabbana-owned online magazine Swide quits over the fashion designers’ recent put-downs of nontraditional families.

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Raffy Ermac

www.advocate.com/families/2015/03/17/dolce-gabbana-creative-director-resigns-over-antifamily-comments

Daniel Franzese Landed a New Role: HIV/AIDS Awareness Advocate

Portrait by Daniel Jack Lyons

Big things are happening for Daniel Franzese. He publicly came out, created a string of popular parody videos on YouTube, landed his role on Looking, and is now an ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. I got the chance to to talk to Mr. Franzese about his new role in HIV/AIDS advocacy.

Phillip M. Miner: I learned you’re now an ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and you’re out spreading the message about making HIV-related issues more prevalent in TV and the movies. Why is having HIV-positive characters on TV important?

Daniel Franzese: I’m learning a lot about HIV and AIDS. That’s what got me this passionate and involved. When this season of Looking started, I was playing the only HIV-positive character on scripted television, which to me seemed so odd and not right. GLAAD has reported that since the mid ’90s there have been very few HIV-positive characters on TV, and right now Eddie is only one of two in all of scripted television. I know the power media has. I know the effect filmmaking, television, and stage work have on spreading the word and educating people. I have a memory of growing up and seeing The Ryan White Story and seeing a couple of very special episodes that were meant to educate us. There was a real movement in late ’80s and mid ’90s in television of helping people understand what was happening with HIV and AIDS and understanding how to protect yourself. When HIV-positive characters were more prominent on TV, the exposure and education was directly affecting the decline in new infections.

Portrait by Daniel Jack Lyons

PM: What do you think changed?

DF: I think there were other things in the gay rights movement that also deserved attention. Hollywood started exploring other stories of gay life — gay couples and families — and now trans characters. However, the stories about HIV and AIDS cannot be ignored. I think it’s time Hollywood recommit itself to telling these stories until we’ve eradicated the disease.

PM: Speaking of exploring other aspects of gay life, I love how Looking is telling Eddie’s story. It’s great to see a story about an HIV-positive person that’s about him living his life.

DF: The creators of Looking did not want Eddie to be portrayed as a victim but rather as someone who’s capable of being pursued and falling in love. His story ignites hope.

Portrait by Daniel Jack Lyons

PM: You’ve said there need to be more HIV-positive characters. What type of character would you like to see?

DF: Playing a big guy on Looking, I know that I represent an underrepresented group of people within the gay community. Now that I am playing someone HIV-positive, I realized how underrepresented this demographic is too. I’d love to see an African-American female character with HIV, as they are one of the groups who are at greatest risk right now. We need to see more serodiscordant couples — more of them, and different types of them, and how they’re making it work. People need to see what it would be like to be in a mixed-status relationship.

PM: My day job is writing for an LGBT health center, and we talk about PrEP frequently. I know PrEP is revolutionizing people’s attitudes toward serodiscordant couples.

DF: I’ve learned a lot about PrEP too, and the ways it’s become much easier for those with different HIV statuses to have a sexual relationship. I thought I was protecting myself correctly, but I came to realize — through my experience with HIV-positive friends, the role on Looking, and as an ambassador to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation — that I was actually misinformed in a lot of ways about PrEP. After learning the facts, I realized I need to be vocal and help inform those who don’t have the proper information. PrEP is definitely something a lot of gay men don’t have the facts on. I feel like the biggest misconception is people can have unprotected sex if they’re on PrEP. That’s definitely something I didn’t understand. Also, heterosexual people might not know PrEP is available to them. Right now we have the tools to end new infections by 96 percent if we use them. If Hollywood recommits itself to using its influence, then we can start to see a real change with the numbers.

Portrait by Daniel Jack Lyons

PM: Here in New York we have the goal of ending AIDS by 2020. It’s an aggressive goal.

DF: But possible! I think that’s the exciting thing, when people realize it is possible to end HIV and AIDS. When everyone is getting tested, and people who are positive are receiving the care and medicine they need, and those who are positive are utilizing the tools available to not transmit the virus, we can do this! We’re in a new day and age, and information can reach people a lot quicker this time. We can stop HIV and AIDS once and for all!

PM: When I type this up, every one of those sentences is going to have an exclamation point. You’re fired up.

DF: Yes, I am fired up! When I learned that the numbers of new infections were declining when HIV-positive people were being more accurately represented in film and TV, and once they were portrayed less, the numbers rose, this was a wake-up call, proving the influence Hollywood has on this issue. Now that Hollywood is slowly starting to integrate modern-day stories of HIV-positive characters back into the forefront, it’s now time for the public to be proactive and take the steps to educate, protect and prevent. I want to say to everyone who reads this: Get out there and start the conversation with your friends, talk to your doctor, get informed, know your status. These are the first steps to putting an end to HIV/AIDS.

Portrait by Daniel Jack Lyons

For more information, go to elizabethtayloraidsfoundation.org and glaad.org/HIVF, and follow Daniel on Twitter and Instagram @WhatsUpDanny.

www.huffingtonpost.com/phillip-m-miner/daniel-franzese-hiv-aids-awareness_b_6858792.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Anti-Transgender Bill in Florida Continues to Advance in House

Today, the House Government Operations Subcommittee held a hearing on an anti-transgender bill (HB 583) in Florida.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/anti-transgender-bill-in-florida-continues-to-advance-in-house?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Gay Atheists Should Be Treated Like Drug Addicts, Pat Robertson Says

A concerned mother didn’t know what to do after her son came out as gay and an atheist (talk about a doubly whammy!), so she turned to 700 Club’s resident dinosaur Pat Robertson for help.

“Dear Pat,” the mother wrote, “Not so long ago my son ‘came out of the closet’ and a year later he told us he was becoming an atheist. I want him to follow the path of Christ, but it’s so hard. What should I do?!”

Without missing a beat, Robertson began vomiting his opinion on the matter, comparing the woman’s son to a drug addict and calling her his “enabler.”

“You cannot go along and say, ‘I agree with your lifestyle,’” Robertson instructed. “So don’t be an enabler, any more if he’s a drug addict. You don’t enable people to continue in their drug habits.”

Robertson’s solution?

“You’ve gotta let him know that you don’t approve of things that he’s doing.”

Watch the video below.

Related stories:

Pat Robertson Says You Can Get AIDS From Towels

Pat Robertson Thinks Gay Sex “Is Not Very Pretty”

Pat Robertson Thinks SF Gays Carry Special Rings To Transmit HIV

Graham Gremore

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/KRbGi4Xy8ns/gay-atheists-should-be-treated-like-drug-addicts-pat-robertson-says-20150317

Homophobic 'Religious Freedom' Bills Defeated in West Virginia

Charles Pulliam-Moore

www.towleroad.com/2015/03/homophobic-west-virginian-house-and-senate-legislation-dies-on-the-vine.html

Facebook Clarifies Violence, Nudity Policies

The social media site attempts to clarify what will get users banned.

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Neal Broverman

www.advocate.com/politics/media/2015/03/17/facebook-clarifies-violence-nudity-policies

6 Things I Need My (Gay) Son to Understand

1. You Are Bound by Nothing.

Your future is limited only by your desire to succeed and work hard. Want to be a star athlete? Work your ass off. Want to join the military? Aim high. Want to be president? Go for it. Being gay in America no longer prevents you from doing anything you want to do. You just have to want it bad enough and work for it tirelessly. Don’t be afraid of failure; it often teaches us far more than success ever could. Live authentically.

2. Being Gay Is a Big Part of You, But It Isn’t All of You.

Yes, you’re gloriously, fabulously gay! Your sexuality influences just about every aspect of your identity, but you are not a gay young man. You are a young man who is gay. You are not my gay son. You are my son who happens to be gay. If you get married, it won’t be a gay marriage, just a marriage. Oh, and for the record, I want grandkids. Don’t think being gay lets you off the hook on that one. It may define you, but it isn’t the sole definition. One day I hope it will be as irrelevant as your eye color. In the meantime, know that while there may be those who give you grief because of it, far more will not give it a second thought.

3. Know Your History.

You are fortunate to live in a loving, accepting environment where the fact that you’re gay is irrelevant at home and largely unremarkable at school. It hasn’t always been this way, and it still isn’t easy for everyone. There was a time not long ago when being openly gay was not just detrimental to success, it was potentially deadly. Countless numbers of men and women have fought for the relative safety and comfort you enjoy today. The modern gay rights movement, from Stonewall to Windsor, cost a lot of people real blood, sweat and tears, and it isn’t over. For many people around the world, being gay is still a deadly proposition. You need to honor those who came before you by fighting for those who will come after you.

4. HIV Is Still Deadly.

HIV/AIDS may seem like some obscure bit of history that only older gay men have to deal with. It isn’t. Young people account for nearly a quarter of all new HIV infections. Don’t be complacent. Treatment has gotten much better, but people still die from AIDS. Don’t think it can’t happen to you; it can. Don’t be afraid of sex, but know how to keep yourself safe and always assume anyone you’re with could be carrying something. He may not even know it. You are responsible for keeping yourself healthy. Play safe and get tested regularly.

5. Understand the Difference Between Lust, Love and Friendship.

Men, by and large, will eagerly participate in sex. Know that just because a guy is willing to get naked with you, it doesn’t mean he is interested in anything else. Frankly, it doesn’t even mean he’s gay. Also, don’t assume a guy wants to get naked just because he’s friendly. There will be men who think you’re cool or funny or whatever, but it doesn’t mean they want to get physical. They may just want to be your friend. Work to understand the difference. One day, you’ll find someone who is all those things and he’ll feel the same about you. Don’t settle.

6. I Love You.

Last, and most importantly, I love you. My love for you is unquestionable, unconditional, and unending. Never forget that.

www.huffingtonpost.com/patrick-roth/6-things-i-need-my-gay-son-to-understand_b_6882884.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices