Tag Archives: West Hollywood

As 20BiTeen comes to an end and another decade wraps up, we want to look back on some of the standout moments for bi+ representation over the last 10 years. We use the term “bi+” as an umbrella term for identities that are not exclusively same-sex attracted or different-sex attracted, such as bisexual, pansexual, queer and sexually fluid.

From the big screen to the small screen, music and sports, we have seen a bigger spotlight on the stories and experiences of bi+ people, who make up the largest percentage of the LGBTQ community.

Here are 10 of our favorite moments for bi+ visibility, in no particular order.

1. West Hollywood hosts a bisexual pride parade.

The 2018 celebration, thought to be the country’s first ever city-sponsored, bisexual-themed pride, was hosted by the City of West Hollywood, HRC’s Los Angeles Steering Committee and amBi.

HRC Los Angeles is Proud to be a Co-Host for this historic event on Saturday! Catch up on the event here: t.co/85DQKvTMFZ

And be sure to join us this weekend! pic.twitter.com/0XAmv8cLfP

— HRC Los Angeles (@HRCLosAngeles) September 21, 2018

2. Janelle Monáe comes out, and the internet exploded with searches.

When Janelle Monáe came out as “a queer Black woman in America” in 2018, it was a moment of visibility that resonated with many — evidenced by the number of Google searches for the definition of pansexual.

3. Ryan Russell brings bi+ visibility to football.

NFL free agent Ryan Russell made history this year by coming out as bisexual in a powerful essay on ESPN. “My truth is that I’m a talented football player, a damn good writer, a loving son, an overbearing brother, a caring friend, a loyal lover and a bisexual man,” Russell said.

4. The Obama administration welcomes bi+ leaders from around the U.S. to the White House.

In 2015 and 2016, the administration held two powerful bisexual community briefings in conjunction with Bisexual Awareness Week to talk about issues facing the bi+ community and to celebrate bi+ identities. HRC staffers were among the featured speakers to share their stories of navigating the intersections of their identities as bi+ people.

5. 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the bisexual pride flag.

For more than 20 years now, the bisexual pride flag has been a symbol of visibility and connection for bi+ people around the world. It was created by BiNet USA’s Michael Page to increase the visibility of bi+ people within the broader LGBTQ community.

For the past 20 years, the bisexual pride flag has been a symbol of bi pride and visibility.

Today, @HRC is proud to celebrate its anniversary with the bi community around the world. �� pic.twitter.com/G97lRqwt6x

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) December 5, 2018

6. Sara Ramirez brings bi+ visibility to the screen and to the frontlines of activism.

From her powerful coming out story in 2016 to her groundbreaking roles in shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and Madam Secretary and her work with organizations such as True Colors United, Ramirez works to create spaces where bi+ people feel safe enough to celebrate one another openly and without fear.

Those of us who love more than one sex/gender use many different labels, but we share a common experience: our presence makes people uncomfortable. Our very existence as #bisexual threatens heteronormativity and the gender binary. —@SaraRamirez #HRCTwitterTakeover

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) March 26, 2018

7. Tessa Thompson creates historic bi+ representation in the Marvel cinematic universe.

While there are many comic characters in books that are bi+, one made her way into Marvel’s cinematic universe. Valkyrie, played by out actor Tessa Thompson, is the first bi+ superhero in the franchise’s movie. “As king, she needs to find her queen,” Thompson said this year.

“As king, she needs to find her queen.”

Actor @TessaThompson_x is bringing visibility to the big screen worldwide playing Valkyrie, @Marvel‘s first LGBTQ superhero! #MarvelSDCC #Thor4 t.co/xdnBnayC5I

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) July 22, 2019

8. “Getting Bi” gets stuck in our heads after watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

The show Crazy Ex Girlfriend created storylines about a diverse group of people, including at least three bisexual characters. A major plot line in the show features Darryl, played by Pete Gardner, who came out as bisexual in a song and dance called “Gettin’ Bi” — an anthem for bi people that dispels myths, debunks stereotypes and gave us epic “singing in the shower” material.

9. Pro-equality bi+ candidates are elected up and down the ballot.

From Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s historic victory in 2016 and Arizona’s Sen. Kyrsten Sinema becoming the first out bi+ person elected to both the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012 and the U.S. Senate in 2018, to leaders like Wisconsin State Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa and Minneapolis’ Andrea Jenkins, bi+ people are moving equality forward at the federal, state and local levels.

�� Making history, @KyrstenSinema wins #AZSen race, becoming the nation’s first openly bisexual U.S. senator. #ElectionResults2018 ��t.co/qZo9s8veCM

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) November 13, 2018

10. MTV’s “Are You The One” becomes the first reality show to feature an all bi+ cast.

In 2019, the MTV show became the perfect match for many LGBTQ people with its bold choice to feature an all bi+ cast. “As a person of color, as a gender non-conforming person … all my life I’ve just wanted to see myself represented just [the] slightest bit — to not only see myself represented but to be the representation that I wanted to see,” Basit Shittu, a Brooklyn-based artist and cast member of the show, who joined HRC at our annual #BiWeek event.

As part of our #BiWeek celebrations, @HRC was proud to host a panel about bi+ visibility in the media with:
��@AREUTHE1‘s @TheBasitShow
��@AdvocatesTweets‘ Khadija Khan
��@HRC’s @PartiallyHelen
��@TransEquality‘s @charlescgirard

and other bi+ community members and advocates pic.twitter.com/bXZa02Xa6n

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) September 20, 2019

For more information about the bi+ community, visit hrc.org/Bisexual.

www.hrc.org/blog/saying-bi-bi-bi-to-a-decade-of-increased-bi-visibility?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

NEWS

After homophobic outburst, reality star claims “50 percent” of his friends are gay

November 5, 2019 GayFriendschat.com

After homophobic outburst, reality star claims “50 percent” of his friends are gay

Jax Taylor is a bartender/cast member on Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules with a penchant for exhibiting homophobic micro-aggressions on Twitter. But he’s not antigay because 50 percent of his friends are homosexual. Or something.

Over the weekend, 40-year-old Taylor got into an online spat with a complete stranger on Twitter.

What started as a thread about Adidas new line of NHL-inspired apparel quickly spiraled into a homophobic tirade with Taylor calling the man “ugly” and “fat” before accusing him of living in his parents’ basement.

“Buddy, again look at your ugly mug, and by the looks of that fat face you [couldn’t] fit into anything [Adidas Hockey] or any athletic apparel for that matter,” Jax raged. “Typical zit faced douche who chips company’s for attention. Go back to your parents basement homie.”

Taylor followed that up with a second tweet accusing the man on being a closeted frat boy who has gay sex with his roommate while wearing boat shoes.

“[You’re] the type of guy who is in frat and claims he loves women, but secretly is bending over his roommate ‘chadd’ while wearing boat shoes. 20 bucks says I hit the nail on the head with this loser.”

The man responded by tweeting screenshots of two different articles, one of which mentioned Taylor and his wife’s antigay pastor and another that mentioned a cheating scandal he was involved in.

“Also, maybe you too should not be the first to cast stones,” he wrote in the caption of his screenshots.

To which, Taylor replied by once again attacking the man’s sexuality, tweeting: “Look at this loser, it’s Friday night homie and [you’re a] straight man looking up ‘Page Six’ looks like I was right.”

After several people accused Taylor of being homophobic, he scrubbed the tweets from his page then insisted he’s not antigay, pointing to the fact that he worked at a gay bar for 15 years and that roughly “50 percent” of his friends are gay.

“I lived in West Hollywood for 15 years, worked at the abbey ( highest grossing bar in the country) (gay bar). I walked in 4 gay pride parades, I had my good friend Lance bass marry us, 50 percent of my friends are gay. But yes, You got me, I am homophobic… people are idiots,” he tweeted.

I lived in West Hollywood for 15 years, worked at the abbey ( highest grossing bar in the country) (gay bar). I walked in 4 gay pride parades, I had my good friend Lance bass marry us, 50 percent of my friends are gay. But yes, You got me, I am homophobic… people are idiots. ? t.co/dIrAoGftMo

— Jax (@mrjaxtaylor) November 3, 2019

He sounds just like Karen, who can’t be racist because her best friend is Black.

Neither Bravo nor Taylor’s boss Lisa Vanderpump, who, herself, came under fire this year for cracking transphobic jokes on television, have issued any comment on the homophobic outburst.

www.queerty.com/homophobic-outburst-reality-star-claims-50-percent-friends-gay-20191105?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

NEWS

Gay Adult Performer Wesley Woods Announces Retirement

October 25, 2019 GayFriendschat.com

Gay Adult Performer Wesley Woods Announces Retirement

Wesley Woods, the gay adult performer who made headlines in 2017 when he came after fellow performer Colby Keller for his support of Donald Trump and in 2018 when he was the victim of an anti-gay hate crime in West Hollywood, has announced his retirement.

View this post on Instagram

Eye contact is so sexy, you can tell who knows themselves based on their ability to communicate through their eyes. @men_just_men

A post shared by Wesley Woods (@thewesleywoods) on Sep 14, 2019 at 8:34am PDT

Woods told AVN: “I can’t get out fast enough. My asshole hairs are burning. I love the industry; I love everyone in it. But definitely the past year, I have treated it much more like work. I show up when I need to and I live my life. I realized I had to start protecting my energy and myself—and sometimes that means backing away. When you’re constantly surrounded on social media by dicks, assholes and bodies it can become toxic, and you have to know when to put your phone down and walk away.”

Woods told Askmen that the anti-gay assault ultimately led him to the decision: “After my assault in August 2018, I felt completely isolated from the world. It’s hard to explain, but I’ll never forget that feeling. The assault stirred up so many emotions and I began to back away from friends, withdrew from family and slowed down on social media. Initially, I didn’t handle the situation very well. I threw myself into work, constantly traveling and drinking. I didn’t feel like myself, and in some ways I took on the emotional energy that it was my fault that this happened, and that I deserved it. It became harder and harder to wake up happy, which was something that once seemed so inherently natural to me.”

“I spoke with a few therapists and after months of intensive work on myself emotionally and mentally, I finally began to allow myself to focus on me what makes me happy, what I want to do, where I want to go and who I want to be,” he added. “My isolation made me seek out a different approach to what I’m doing, a deeper listening to who I want to be, where I want things to go. I want to do more standup, I’d love to somehow help queer homeless youth and I want to be a source of light, love, and inclusivity in our community. I’ve given so much time and energy to the adult film industry, and I want to focus my time and energy elsewhere. This isn’t to say that you can’t do and be it all, I’m just being called to something else. I can feel it.”

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