2015 LGBT SUSPENES MOVIE
WATCH: Michael Sam Shares Story for #IAmUnbroken Campaign
WATCH: Michael Sam Shares Story for #IAmUnbroken Campaign
Sam tells a story of resilience in the face of disappointment as part of a video campaign launched in conjunction with the new film Unbroken.
Annie Hollenbeck
www.advocate.com/sports/2014/12/15/watch-michael-sam-shares-story-iamunbroken-campaign
AIDS In Tunisia Is No Myth, Even If It's Rarely Talked About
AIDS In Tunisia Is No Myth, Even If It's Rarely Talked About
Ghalia had dressed up for the occasion.
The woman, who is homeless and HIV-positive, was participating in a press conference organized by the Tunisian Organization for the Fight Against STDs and AIDS (ATLMST) on Dec. 2, World AIDS Day. On the stage, professionals were discussing the crisis using acronyms — HIV, MSM (Men who have Sex with Men), UID (Users of Intravenous Drugs). We had to listen carefully just to follow along. Few journalists showed up.
Ghalia, who asked to remain anonymous because many of her friends and family members don’t know she’s HIV-positive, says her husband infected her in 2006. Ghalia claims her husband knew he carried the virus, but never told her. “He said it was out of love,” she explained. She says that’s how she realized he had been cheating on her.
AIDS infection rates in Tunisia are generally low. According to UNAIDS, 3,400 people are living with the virus. ATLMST says Tunisia’s Ministry of Health puts the number at 1,900.
Professor Ridha Kamoun, ATLMST’s director, credits various societal taboos for the country’s low infection rate. “We quickly noticed the link between conservative mores and a low infection rate,” he said. Others argue, however, that taboos represent more of an obstacle than an opportunity, and that the numbers could be much lower if it weren’t for those taboos.
The epidemic mostly affects parts of the population that are already heavily stigmatized, like sex workers, gays and intravenous drug users. These groups are not only marginalized by society, but also criminalized by the justice system. The sentence for drug use, for example, is one year in prison. Sodomy is also a charge in Tunisia, and can lead to three years in prison.
Since the state is legally prohibited from working with criminalized populations, prevention work is left to other organizations — quite a paradox for a country that guarantees free medical treatment to its citizens.
Funded in part by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, the few Tunisian organizations that are active in the field concentrate on outreach work. These volunteers, for the most part HIV-positive, are active in their communities and organize workshops.
ATLMST recently started two shelters for drug users in the cities of Nabeul and Melassine.
Boxes filled with lubricant, clean syringes and condoms are stacked in ATLMST’s offices, waiting to be unpacked and distributed. The symbol of the fight against AIDS, the red ribbon, decorates the walls and computers.
ATLMST follows about 400 people. Ridka Kamoun says many of the patients talk about their lives in terms of “before” and “after.” Kamoun says many of them struggled before getting infected: drug users experienced trouble with the police, gays had trouble with their social status, and sex workers often had trouble with money.
Most of them lost their jobs after being diagnosed. Some have lost their families or their friends. They’ve all lost part of their health.
Ghalia belonged to the middle class and worked in the pharmaceutical industry before her diagnosis. Since then, she has resigned from her job, unable to tolerate the discrimination any longer — at one point she was banned from using the public restrooms at her workplace.
Her family knows and accepts her situation. From time to time she goes to eat at her parents’ house, where her brothers and their families also live. After finishing the meal, she says, her sisters-in-law throw out the plate and silverware she used.
Ghalia has made several attempts to take her own life.
Past studies have indicated that the suicide risk among HIV-positive patients may be higher than for those with other chronic illnesses. The risk can increase in particular during the initial weeks following a diagnosis of the disease, and when a patient’s health declines. It appears that since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), suicide among HIV-infected patients may be mediated more often by factors other than HIV, including depression, alcohol or other substance-related disorders.
In the past, Dr. Kamoun encouraged infected individuals to tell their friends. Now, he’s changed his mind. Even among the activists working for his organization, there are many who keep their status private. Their stories are hard to tell. “It’s hard, sometimes too hard, to hear their stories,” Kamoun says.
This piece originally appeared on HuffPost Tunisia and was translated from French.
www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/15/tunisia-aids_n_6309342.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices
Ryan Seacrest goes from Kardashians to new docu-series My Transparent Life
Ryan Seacrest goes from Kardashians to new docu-series My Transparent Life
Series centers on teen who learns his parents are getting a divorce and his dad is becoming a woman
gregh
www.gaystarnews.com/article/ryan-seacrest-goes-kardashians-new-docu-series-my-transparent-life151214
Olympic Hopeful Comes Out as Gay
Olympic Hopeful Comes Out as Gay
Olympic hopeful and national swimming champion Tom Luchsinger came out in a letter on OutSports today.
HRC.org
www.hrc.org/blog/entry/olympic-hopeful-comes-out-as-gay?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
Minister Who Performs Gay Weddings Stays Positive In The Face Beheading Threats And Harassment
Minister Who Performs Gay Weddings Stays Positive In The Face Beheading Threats And Harassment
“When you’re here and the phone rings, and there’s heavy breathing and two seconds later the doorbell rings and then somebody’s throwing rocks through the windows. All those things combined create fear.”
That’s the unbelievable new reality for Rev. Jackie Carter of First Metropolitan Community Church in Wichita, KS.
When her state’s ban on gay marriage was struck down by a federal judge last month, Jackie began marrying same-sex couples, exercising her unfaltering message of love. Kind of like — oh what’s that guy’s name again — long robe, big beard, light of the lamb. Give us a minute, it’ll come.
But for some in her community, the mere act of officiating a union of same-sex love and commitment is so offensive that the only conceivable response is to lash out with vandalism, harassment and threats of murder. AKA the unChristian thing to do.
And while broken windows are inexcusable, threats like, “I’m going to chop your head off and put it on a stick and carry it around the town square,” verge on psychopathic.
Still, Rev. Carter strongly believes she is doing the right thing, and isn’t about to let a few village idiots have victory.
The church has ramped up security, and Carter pledges she’s, “not going to change my message of inclusion, I’m not going to change my message of love, and I’m not going to stop marrying people. I’m going to keep it up!”
She adds, “This is ridiculous hatred that has no place in this city or state or this country.”
via KSN
Dan Tracer
Jamaican Pastor Angers Congregation by Washing Feet of Lesbian, Trans Visitors
Jamaican Pastor Angers Congregation by Washing Feet of Lesbian, Trans Visitors
Honoring a tradition established by Jesus more than 2,000 years ago, a pastor in Jamaica is getting major push-back from his flock after controversial foot-washings.
Thom Senzee
7 Tips for Surviving the Holidays With a Broken Heart
7 Tips for Surviving the Holidays With a Broken Heart
All the winter holidays hold one thing in common: a celebration of light. It makes sense, really. During the coldest, darkest time of year, here come the holidays, with their Diwali lamps, menorahs, and Yule logs, to set our hearts aglow.
Or not.
Let’s be honest: for those of us nursing a recent (or even not-so-recent) heartbreak, the holidays can be an emotional minefield.
Five months ago, my wife and I separated. Usually, at this time of year, we would be designing our family’s holiday cards and planning our annual party. Instead, I’m testing out self-care strategies to help me through this tender time.
In addition to twice-weekly yoga classes and my fledgling meditation practice, I’ve found these seven simple actions have a surprisingly powerful impact on my mood:
1. Eat Good Food
Anyone who has pulled an all-nighter fueled by Red Bull and Oreos (Anyone? Anyone?) knows how food can affect one’s mood.
Even though I’m tempted to eat chocolate chip cookies for dinner on the nights my kids stay at their other mom’s house, I know I will feel better — physically and emotionally — if I give my body the nutrients it needs.
So: kale. Lots and lots of kale. Kidding! (Sort of.)
2. Get Enough Sleep
“Take a nap; you’ll feel better when you wake up.” I used to get so mad when my mom said that. But she was right. (Did you read that, Mom? You. Were. Right.)
Sleep deprivation messes with my brain chemistry, even after just a couple nights of broken sleep. So, no matter how deep the urge to check one more item off my to-do list (or, you know, watch one more episode of Transparent), I’m adamant about getting the sleep I need.
3. Stay Warm
Anticipating that cold + dark = lonely, I have promised myself I will not be cold this winter.
Drinking hot tea, bundling up in a favorite hoodie, sleeping with an extra blanket (or three) — these actions send my psyche the message that even during the darkest, coldest months, I am warm, cared for, and loved.
4. Get Moving
Whenever I feel stuck in a problem, I find the nearest steep hill and hike up it. Something about pushing my body’s limits — it grounds me in the moment, releases me from useless thinking, and leaves me with a fresh perspective on life.
Every. Single. Time.
5. The 90-Second Rule
In her book My Stroke of Insight, brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor shares a surprising fact about the physiology of emotional responses: they last 90 seconds.
Recently I heard Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön discussing the ramifications of this idea:
An emotion like anger that’s an automatic response lasts just 90 seconds from the moment it’s triggered until it runs its course. One and a half minutes, that’s all. When it lasts longer, which is usually does, it’s because we’ve chosen to rekindle it.*
Fascinating, right?
So as the holidays approach, with their many emotional triggers, I’ve been experimenting with the 90-second rule. When I notice big feelings rising up, I let them.
Here’s how Pema Chödrön describes the process:
Acknowledge the feeling, give it your full, compassionate, even welcoming attention, and even if it’s only for a few seconds, drop the story line about the feeling. This allows you to have a direct experience of it, free of interpretation. Don’t fuel it with concepts or opinions about whether it’s good or bad. Just be present with the sensation. Where is it located in your body? Does it remain the same for very long? Does it shift and change?*
Guess what? It doesn’t remain for very long. It does shift and change.
Science is rad.
6. Tap Into Universal Love
Okay, here’s where I reveal myself to be the granola-eating, tree-hugging California-born-and-bred hippie gal you probably already suspected me to be:
I believe love lives not only in the particular relationships I have with particular people, but everywhere.
I believe love is like the air that surrounds us. All I need to do is breathe it in.
And thank goodness (note: I did not say “thank goddess”) I believe that, because on nights that could otherwise feel unbearably lonely, I have an endless supply of love, just waiting for me.
(Go ahead, hum “Kumbaya.” I can take it.)
7. Light Candles
If so many major religions agree on it, maybe there’s something to this whole “celebrate light in winter” thing?
This much I know is true: I need more light, literally and figuratively.
So: candles.
Their warm glow, the way the flames flicker, moving shadows around the room — candles create a presence that invites reflection and meditation.
Watching a candle burn, I imagine all the people throughout history who–long before electricity and S.A.D. happy lights — lit fires to ward off winter’s dark.
Watching a candle burn, I call to mind the winter holidays’ messages about resilience, triumph, faith, and renewal.
Slowly, I begin to feel less like a single person nursing a private heartbreak and more like I am part of a larger, collective effort to lean toward love, light, and hope.
(Go ahead, hum “Kumbaya.” I can take it.)
This post originally appeared on VillageQ.com
Out actor Andy Mientus set to debut as gay super-villain Pied Piper on TV's The Flash
Out actor Andy Mientus set to debut as gay super-villain Pied Piper on TV's The Flash
‘I feel like I’m representing a whole community … it is a lot of pressure’
gregh
Can James Franco And Seth Rogan’s Gay 3-Way Kiss Distract Everyone From The Sony Hack? (No)
Can James Franco And Seth Rogan’s Gay 3-Way Kiss Distract Everyone From The Sony Hack? (No)
Seth Rogen and James Franco have been on an impressive Sony hack distraction tour promoting their new film The Interview, even going as far as exchanging a little saliva with each other and Nick Kroll. Amy Pascal who?
Thanks in large part to the hilarious Kroll, dressed as publicist Liz, the sketch is unfortunately much funnier than the preview for the film the stars are out to promote.
Watch here:
Dan Tracer
