Finland's Citizens Successfully Rally To Enact Marriage Equality
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö signed a bill that permits gender-neutral marriage in the Nordic country.
Raffy Ermac
www.advocate.com/politics/2015/02/24/finlands-citizens-successfully-rally-enact-marriage-equality
'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 7 Premieres In NYC
With exactly one week to go before the airing of the first episode “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the queens of season seven packed the Diamond Horseshoe in New York City last night for the official NYC “Drag Race” premiere party.
Though the entire cast won’t be present for the full duration of the cross-country “Meet The Queens” tour, all 14 contestants attended last night’s event and (most of) the first episode of season seven of the hit reality Logo TV show was shown.
The Huffington Post chatted with four of the girls throughout the night, with a focus on the queens that haven’t been receiving as much press in the build-up to the season seven premiere (plus we also snagged a response from the legendary Lady Bunny).
As we approach the seventh year of drag on mainstream television, HuffPost Gay Voices had a very specific question for these girls: “As drag becomes increasingly more mainstream, do you think drag, as an art form, still has the potential to be as subversive or political as it has historically?”
Check out some of their responses as well as photos courtesy of Santiago Felipe below.
Max
“I know that, although drag has gotten a lot more mainstream in the American media’s eyes and in a lot of other countries that have a bit more freedom speech, press media and self-expression — it’s definitely mainstream. But there is always room for growth and there is already room to expand peoples’ minds. I’m proud to be a part of the empire that is continuing to grow in terms of drag and the LGBT community and over-the-top self-expression. It’s all the rage and I don’t think it’s going to die down anytime soon.”
Ginger Minj
“I think with anything, once you start to go more mainstream there’s certain things that get taken for granted. Once you make steps of progress it’s hard to go back and say “no, no no, this is still serious. We’re still delivering the same message we were twenty years ago.” It changes. But I also think it is important that we are going so mainstream. I’m the show director of Hamburger Mary’s Orlando and 90% of our clientele are straight families with children… I think that because RuPaul has been knocking down so many walls and barriers, it is safe and comfortable and not scary for children and families to come in and experience drag.”
Jasmine Masters
“Drag has changed over the years because people are starting to recognize it as a job and as an art -– not just guys who want to dress up or be women. They’re really seeing the craft or the art of it. It really shines a good light onto the world because [people are seeing] drag as something besides what they see in their minds. Not every drag queen wants to be a woman… and I think the world has gotten a good glimpse of that now.”
Kasha Davis
“The great thing about drag is that you can do pretty much anything. Everybody’s got their favorite type of drag and there are some people who like to push the lines and do that type of thing. And then there’s other old-school, seasoned gals like myself who like to bring you a little Liza Minnelli and Tina Turner.”
Lady Bunny
“Drag does have the potential [to be subversive or political] but that’s not what anyone is looking for from ‘Drag Race.’ Sharon Needles was a bit political, a vegetarian, outspoken on a variety of issues, more evolved, enlightened thinking, but this is basically about runway and attitude. So I don’t think there’s much politics. I also think that when I was growing up in the ‘70s and even in the ‘80s, drag was something that gay men went to see in gay bars. So just the very fact that gay people could not be out of the closet, it was very freeing for gay men to go into a club and say, “Wow! There’s someone that’s not only not afraid to be gay, but they’re walking around as a transsexual.” So I think for my generation drag was a very “F YOU” to the conventions that kept us in the closet. But now we’re not longer in the closet and drag is on TV, so just doing drag in itself is not subversive at all anymore. It could be! I’m very interested in politics, but at the age of these queens I wouldn’t even like your political post on Facebook! Especially if it had nothing to do with gay rights. But this show isn’t political in any way.”
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” will air on Logo on Monday, March 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Visit Logo’s official site for more info. Head here for the full list of queens and check out more photos from the NYC premiere below.
Bill Promoting Psychological Abuse of LGBT Children Moves Forward in Oklahoma
Today an extreme anti-LGBT Oklahoma bill seeking to legitimize the dangerous and discredited practice of so-called “conversion therapy” passed the Oklahoma House Committee.
HRC.org
PHOTOS: Inside Chicago’s Arcade Party
Neverland, Chicago‘s most notorious gay dance party, pumped life into the bitterly cold Midwestern air with “The Arcade,” a video game-themed dance party. The event featured a giant cast of characters from some of the most nostalgic video games of all time, including Mario, Street Fighter, Megaman, Mortal Kombat, and Donkey Kong. DJ Alexander (LA) and DJ Carlos G (Miami) headlined the body-swiping dance floor, while hosts Jodie Harsh, Kim Chi, Shea Coulee, and Trixie Mattel (season 7 of RuPaul‘s Drag Race) entertained the crowd.
View all the pictures in the full GayCities gallery…
Gabe Cooper
feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/UaIa5kfWvq0/photos-inside-chicagos-arcade-party-20150224
10 Ways To Get Some At The Gym: VIDEO
The guys over at Randy Blue have put together a guide for how to add a little more action to your workout.
Get your heartbeat pumping with Caleb Strong and Scotty Marx as they walk you through their top 10 tips for getting some at the gym, AFTER THE JUMP…
Sean Mandell
www.towleroad.com/2015/02/10-ways-to-get-some-at-the-gym-video.html
AndyP's Short Films Bruce Jenner, Lgbt & Protecting daughters from douches of any age not just lum
WATCH: Dear White People's Gay Writer Wins at Independent Spirit Awards
Filmmaker Justin Simien gave a moving acceptance speech on on the importance of putting minority stories ‘in the culture.’
Daniel Reynolds
Navigating Gender Roles With the Straight Dad of a 4-Year-Old Boy
I am not the straight dad. I am the gay uncle.
The 4-year-old in question is my nephew, Nathan. In my unabashedly biased opinion, he is the most remarkable little fella on the planet — smart, funny, cuter than most kids his age, and absolutely destined for amazing things. He is obsessed with hockey, Star Wars Legos, Rescue-Bots and Sponge Bob Square Pants. He loves cars, Iron Man, Transformers and R2-D2. His backpack is adorned with Spider Man, his t-shirts are branded with Avengers and his fairy wings are pink and green, with sequins that shimmer and dance if the light catches them just so…
It started in October, when his dad, Chris, took him shopping for Halloween. Nathan desperately wanted a Captain America costume, but also positively and absolutely needed to have a set of green and pink fairy wings. He is, like most 4-year-olds, prone to rash decisions and changing his mind at a moment’s notice, so Chris was hesitant to shell out for a set of green and pink ferry wings that may or may not have been forgotten about in six or seven minutes — no matter how fabulous they were. They decided to wait, check in with Mom, and come back in a few days.
Chris says he wasn’t surprised that Nathan wanted the fairy wings because they had something similar at daycare that the kids ran around in all the time. “I know how quickly he changes his mind, so I thought it was best to wait. If he was still asking about them the next day, and the one after that, it’d be a different story.”
It was a different story when Nathan announced that he wanted a dress.
Unfortunately, one of the first thing that crosses most people’s mind when they hear that a little boy asked for a dress is that he must be gay.
We live in a rampantly heteronormative world, where little boys are supposed to do little boy things and little girls are supposed to do little girl things. Any deviation from this norm is, more often than not, greeted with derision and fear. Because nonconformity to established gender norms is highly stigmatized around the world, it is difficult to pinpoint exact numbers. However, most studies have found that a vast majority of men who wear women’s clothing are heterosexual, not gay. The perception is far different. Attitudes are changing, but slowly, and definitely not quick enough for this protective father.
“Did it cross my mind? Of course it did. But not for the reasons you may think. I don’t care if he’s gay, I really don’t. I care that he has an easy life and growing up gay is not an easy life.”
Chris’ brother, my husband, was mercilessly bullied as a child because he was different. More effeminate than the other boys, shy, quiet, and labeled as a “queer” at an early age, his primary school years were filled with physical violence and unimaginable torment.
“There’s nothing crueler than a schoolyard full of kids, they’re like a pack of hyenas circling their prey. I witnessed, first hand, the kind of Hell my brother went through and I don’t want that for Nathan.”
Chris is in no way homophobic or intolerant. He was his brother’s best man when we got married and is the closest thing I have to a best friend. We jokingly call each other “fag” with no intent to harm and our differing sexualities have little or no consequence on our family’s dynamic. He is a good man and a loving father whose only concern is for the well-being of his son. I admire and appreciate his honesty when talking about these sensitive things.
Eventually, after Nathan kept pressing, his mom Julie took him shopping and he now has a dress.
As it currently stands, with dad at least, Nathan is not allowed to wear his dress in public — to be fair he’s not allowed to wear his Optimus Prime onesie in public either. “They are costumes,” Chris says. “And costumes stay at home.”
He is not prepared for his son to be a social experiment. There is an inherent, biological need to protect his son. Whether Nathan is straight or gay, or some combination thereof, a cross dresser or a drag queen or just a little boy exploring what makes him tick, it only matters that he is allowed to do it safely. If leaving the dress or the fairy wings at home keeps him from being bullied, or teased or made to feel like there is something different or wrong with him, Chris is ok with the ramifications. “People can say whatever they want, that I’m ashamed or embarrassed or whatever. It’s not about my reaction, because I honestly could care less. It’s a boy in a dress, so what? It’s about other people’s reactions and how that affects Nathan.”
It’s a different story with mom. “I’ve taken him out wearing all sorts of things. I don’t care. He wore his dress to the library the other day. He just likes to play dress-up. It’s fun for him. Right now, he likes princesses and princess dresses because they are pretty and fun to play with. Next week it might be a Chewbakka costume. It’s no big deal.”
When faced with this dichotomous reality, Chris tries to explain why it exists: “Julie didn’t have to deal with the same situation I did, with my brother. She’s more inclined to believe in people’s inherent kindness than I am.”
They both understand that it is bound to happen, sooner or later, that someone bursts his bubble. It might be a group of kids his age that whisper and snicker and point. It might be a look of disapproval from a family that looks remarkably similar to their own. It might be an “in your face” sort of thing, where some obtuse troglodyte decides to stick their nose in where it doesn’t belong. Eventually, some ignorant, narrow-minded, do-gooder is going to say to him little boys aren’t supposed to wear dresses. It doesn’t matter how, it matters that it is coming: “that moment” when Nathan is made to feel ashamed because he is not conforming to society’s preconceived gender roles.
The collective “we” that make up Nathan’s family are doing everything in our power to raise a well adjusted, free thinking, non judgmental young man, who is, above all else, happy. It’s easy, within the context of our small group. It’s when you bring in the rest of the world that it gets a little dicey.
“We can do everything within our power to protect him from ignorance,” Chris says. “We can instill in him a strong sense of self and provide an unflappable support structure, but when “that moment” comes… well, it’ll be up to Nathan… how he reacts. If he’s made to feel ashamed or bad about himself, is it wrong to try to delay that as long as possible?”
He doesn’t have anything to worry about, yet.
The other day, after some quality Uncle Robbie time, I asked Nathan about his dress.
“Do you pick out your clothes for school or does your Mommy?”
“Meow.”
He’s really into pretending he’s a kitty right now.
“Hey kitty cat,” I tried again. “Who picks out your clothes in the morning?”
“I do.”
“Do you ever wear your dress to school?”
He looked at me like I’d grown a second head. “No.”
“Why not?”
“It’s too pretty. I don’t want to ruin it.”
A dad and his little girl just walked into the coffee shop where I am sitting and writing. She is wearing a black leather jacket and a pink tutu with tights. Two people in line have already smiled at her and remarked at how pretty she looks. She is lapping it up. Nobody bats an eye. Life goes on.
And now, a dad and his two sons… They are decked out in soccer gear; cleats with socks up to their knees, Man U jerseys, the whole nine yards. Someone just asked them if they can “bend it like Beckham.” The boys are shy. Everyone is laughing. Life goes on.
Chris and Nathan are here now. He’s wearing his dress and his nails are painted bright red…
ICYMI: Young Immigrant Delivers Powerful Speech on Racism
At HRC Foundation’s second annual Time to THRIVE conference, HRC Foundation youth ambassador Giovanni Blair McKenzie spoke about his experiences with racism and homophobia as an LGBTQ youth of color growing up in Jamaica and in Portland.
HRC.org
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