Democrat Mike Michaud loses bid to become first openly gay state governor in US history
Openly gay Mike Michaud has conceded defeat in his effort to be elected governor of the state of Maine
andrewp
Week 23 – Charlie – The T in LGBT
Week 23 – Charlie – The T in LGBT
Watch this video to hear why I think that the T shouldn’t be part of the LGBT acronym and why I would much rather call my community Queer. And let me know what you think about this topic in…
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWg5VmjDil0&feature=youtube_gdata
Rose McGowan apologizes for saying gays are more misogynistic than straights
Black on TV
Black on TV
Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve loved television. I’m proud to be working in the industry today, writing and acting on the small screen. I’m also excited about seeing more and more black people on camera (look at the cast of Grey’s Anatomy and Black-ish) and being aware of creators like Shonda Rhimes and Kenya Barris. Today I’m creating my own Web series, and I’m encouraged by what those ladies have done in network television. Of course, it wasn’t always that way. And even now, in this age of new voices and faces of color in the industry, in this age of Obama and Oprah, the struggle continues.
My first encounter with the impact of race on TV was in the ’70s. I was a huge fan of The Brady Bunch and had fantasized about being part of the Brady clan — that is, until I saw a Brady episode that deals with race. A white neighbor adopts two boys, one black and one Asian. They run away from home (to the Brady backyard) because they don’t feel like they belong. It hit me then, watching that episode, that I could never be a Brady kid; I wouldn’t fit in. My presence in that family would be an “issue.” It changed the way I looked at TV.
Today, television has changed, and there are many shows I like that feature black people (The Flash, How to Get Away With Murder). But it’s rare that those shows are as diverse behind the camera as they are onscreen.
While there are many people of color working in writers’ rooms today, there are still plenty of all-white writing staffs. (Next time you’re watching a TV awards show and the winning writers rush the stage, take note.) The truth is that people hire people who share their sensibility, people who are “like them” — and that often translates into a homogenous group. If I had a show, I’d hire people I relate to and who relate to me — on some level that’s the same principle — though I’d undoubtedly have a diverse staff because, as a rule, I hang out with a variety of people. I’d be searching for that balance, because it would “feel right” to me.
When I came to Los Angeles almost five years ago, I arrived as a formally trained playwright and actor, with a goal of getting a TV-writing gig. I had an agent and a manager, and I knew many people in the industry, but there was no job for me. At some point my manager suggested I apply to one of the network’s diversity programs as a way of potentially getting in.
The suggestion made me angry. I hadn’t moved across the country to get into a “program.” I’d moved across the country to get a job. Furthermore, did I really want to be lumped into the “diversity” pile again? Hadn’t I done that all my life? But after considering it, I realized I had nothing to lose. I wrote a new spec script, and I applied to several programs and was accepted into one.
The CBS Writers Mentoring Program changed my professional life. Primarily, it introduced me to the culture of TV behind the scenes. I discovered how writers’ rooms work, what show runners are looking for in employees and how to take a meeting. I was instructed on how to prepare myself for the day-to-day challenge of creating collaboratively. The goal of the program: to help me fit into the culture seamlessly. And, once inside the program, my agent and manager were able to get me out for more interviews. Eventually I landed a gig, as a writer on Covert Affairs, where I spent two seasons.
So much of what I’ve learned as a writer is to lean into what I know. That’s the source of my deepest writing, and it’s my deepest work that makes me most compelling as a creative person. For that reason, it can be difficult to be a writer of color in the world of TV. So often the stories I want to bring, the stories I relate to, the conflicts I imagine, are not the stories that are onscreen. There’s a process of “translation” that is a constant part of the work. The further a writer is from “mainstream,” the bigger the learning curve.
Today I’ve turned my attention to a subject close to my heart and in line with my experience. My current project is called SEND ME. It’s a Web series about a woman named Gwen (Tracie Thoms) who has the power to send black people back in time to slavery — more or less as an “extreme sport.” People who approach her want to go — to test themselves, to find out about their history, to reignite their will to live. This is similar to the way people climb mountains, cliff dive, or jump out of airplanes in order to test their limits. The candidates are extreme personalities, and they’re all in search of some connection to their history that they haven’t experienced. They’re all trying to find themselves and learn more about how they fit into the culture at large. Gwen argues with her husband about whether they should be sending people on this journey at all.
Much of this material mirrors my experience. I have questioned where I fit in. As a studious kid I was accused of not being “black enough.” As a gay man I’ve felt pushback from black people who take issue with my sexual orientation. Today I’m able to celebrate who I am. As a gay black man, I’ve moved through questions around my relationship to the black community, and I’ve wondered about my “obligations” as a writer to other people who look like me. Today I understand that telling the truth about my story can have a positive impact on anyone who reads or sees my work. I’ve had the experience of being followed in convenience stores and being stopped by the police, I’ve been heartbroken and angry about the racism I’ve seen on the news, and I’ve struggled with what to do about all that, just as the characters in SEND ME wrestle with what they’re doing and what they should be doing. These challenges are woven throughout the material I’m working on.
In order to make the first season of this Web series, we’ve launched an Indiegogo campaign for SEND ME. Donors are helping us create this series — to launch audiences into their own questions around race and belonging, about the impact of history and about personal obligations to self and community. I’m combining my skills as a writer with what I know about the organizational mindset that goes with creating television. I’m pushing past what I’ve done before to create something new and out of the box. By taking on this radical and unique subject matter, I’m hoping to present a universal story of belonging and identity.
www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-harper/black-on-tv_b_6109884.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices
After legal ruling, same-sex couples begin to get married in St. Louis
Congratulations to Missouri Couples
Congratulations to Missouri Couples
www.hrc.org/blog/entry/congratulations-to-missouri-couples?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
Nick Jonas Is Hot For Teacher And Crotch-Grabbing
Nick Jonas Is Hot For Teacher And Crotch-Grabbing
If for some inexplicable reason you get tired of listening to Nick Jonas‘ new funk-infused dance jam “Teacher”…
you can listen to this sizzling remix of his first single “Jealousy” and then…
you can watch the burgeoning sex symbol educate you in the fine art of crotch-grabbing.
Seriously, what can’t he do?
Jeremy Kinser
HOUSTON: Judge Orders City To Halt Benefits For Spouses Of LGBT Employees
HOUSTON: Judge Orders City To Halt Benefits For Spouses Of LGBT Employees
HOUSTON: Judge Orders City To Halt Benefits For Spouses Of LGBT Employees.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcjnwpoMdRY&feature=youtube_gdata
N.C. Judges Continue Resigning to Avoid Officiating Same-Sex Marriages
N.C. Judges Continue Resigning to Avoid Officiating Same-Sex Marriages
Due to religious beliefs, magistrates in North Carolina continue resigning from their offices.
Jorge Rodriguez-Jimenez
My Thoughts on the Controversy Over My Comments About the Gay Community and Misogyny
My Thoughts on the Controversy Over My Comments About the Gay Community and Misogyny
Editor’s note: Actress Rose McGowan came under fire today for comments she recently made about the gay community while talking to novelist Bret Easton Ellis. In the blog below, she responds to the controversy.
I was on the Bret Easton Ellis podcast the other discussing sexism and misogyny. I made a dumb generalization, for that I apologize. For everything else I said, no. I will not.
Where does it say that because of a man’s sexual preference, I don’t get to point out character defects? When equal pay for women was voted down by every male Republican there was no LGBT outcry. I wondered why that was? After all, lesbians are women, this affects them, too, right? Misogyny infuriates men and it endangers me as a human. It also endangers the LGBT community. Empathy towards the plight of women isn’t making it better. Your voice will. Could I have articulated my frustration in a better fashion? Undoubtedly. For that I apologize, but I stand by my overall point. The rights that have been earned by the community are simple civil rights. What I want is for gay rights activists to help other disenfranchised groups. These activists are experts while so many other groups flounder. It’s time to share the wealth and knowledge. I may have said it inelegantly, and made a dumb generalization, for which I apologize. Gay men certainly aren’t MORE misogynistic than heteros, but I’ve met some that have come damn close. In some ways it’s more damaging, because it’s coming from supposedly enlightened people. I do expect more from a group of people that understands discrimination.
The LGBT community absolutely needs to combat the misogyny in their midst. I’ve lived and breathed gay rights for as long as I can remember. I’ve seen so much change and now I want more. Women, myself included, have given blood, sweat and tears to the gay rights movement. I’m asking for help in return. Casual and accepted misogyny no longer works for me and it shouldn’t work for you.
Here’s a small example of being the change you want to see: I was with a gay man the other night who was talking about the sexually liberated Blanche Devereux of the Golden Girls. He was going on about what a slut she was. I asked why he’d say that so thoughtlessly? If I’m not supposed to say (and I don’t) “that’s so gay,” surely this man can start thinking about why it’s acceptable to slut shame. He thanked me for opening his eyes. This is how we do this, one on one. Catch it when it’s happening, and challenge it.
By the way, if you want to know what I was doing at the Beverly Hills hotel, just look at the picture. I sent it to the Sultan of Brunei, I’m fairly sure I won’t be getting a response.
And as for those who question my allegiance to the gay community and try to paint me as a gay hater, I have a big eye roll reserved just for you. I’m human, I mess up, but I mess up with love and good intentions. I feel like I’m in a fight with my family.
Now, let’s go do the right thing, myself included.
