Chad Griffin & Roberta Kaplan Make Politico 50
HRC President Chad Griffin and litigator Roberta Kaplan are featured on the annual Politico 50 list out today.
HRC.org
Daily Archives: September 4, 2014
Justin Theroux Explains His Flopping Package On “The Leftovers”
Justin Theroux Explains His Flopping Package On “The Leftovers”
Congratulations to Conan for digging in his heels and asking Justin Theroux the question that’s been on our minds since the premiere of HBO’s The Leftovers.
“There’s a scene where you’re jogging, and [women on my staff] say your package is quite apparent…and I guess it’s a thing that women are talking about…Was there enhancement going on there? Did you put a clock down there?”
Well Conan got it half right. Women may be talking about it, but so are we.
“I’m trying to figure out what the classy way to answer this question,” Justin begins. He stays fairly uncomfortable as he explains that in the second jogging scene — you know, this one — he found two pairs of underwear in his costume. Apparently producers were trying to keep things from moving around too much. Their plan was unsuccessful.
We have more questions for Jennifer Anniston at this point.
Here’s the clip:
Dan Tracer
Malaysian Police Arrest Two Women On Charges of Lesbianism
Malaysian Police Arrest Two Women On Charges of Lesbianism
Two women have reportedly been arrested in the outskirts of the southern Malaysian city of Johor Bahru on charges of violating Shariah codes on same-sex sexual activity, Buzzfeed reports:
Reports by the Malaysian newspaper Sinar Harian suggest the two women were swept up in a broad morality raid launched around the Southeast Asian country’s annual celebration of its independence from Great Britain. The police had gone to what news reports identified as a “budget hotel” and arrested seven apparently heterosexual couples in other rooms for violating laws against adultery and “close proximity.” The police arrested the two women — both identified as university students — under a code criminalizing sex between women after finding a dildo in their room.
Malaysian women’s rights group Sisters in Islam issued a statement defending the two women:
Citing section 26 of the Johor Syariah enactment, SIS legal officer Rashidi Abd Rahim argued that prosecutors must prove that the act had actually taken place.
Rashidi said that based on the report by Sinar Harian, one of the suspects, who was fully clothed, had opened the door, while another was naked in the bathroom.
The news report, Rashidi pointed out, failed to show any criminal element.
It is believed this may be the first time a female couple has been arrested under the country’s prohibition on sodomy. The women face three months in jail, six lashes, and a fine equal to around $1,500.
Back in 2012, the Malaysian government began holding seminars aimed at helping teachers and parents “spot signs of homosexuality’ so that “preventive action” could be taken.
Kyler Geoffroy
www.towleroad.com/2014/09/malaysian-police-arrest-two-women-on-charges-of-lesbianism.html
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Op-ed: Countries That Criminalize Homosexuality Don't Just Hurt Adults
Op-ed: Countries That Criminalize Homosexuality Don't Just Hurt Adults
The social stigma that antigay laws create trickle down to harming our children around the world.
Abongwa Victor
'As One' Opera Brings Husband And Wife Stars Together For Heartfelt Transgender Role
'As One' Opera Brings Husband And Wife Stars Together For Heartfelt Transgender Role
Opera stars Kelly Markgraf and Sasha Cooke are a husband-and-wife team who’ve performed together in venues around the world. Still, they’re set to conquer new territory as the stars of “As One,” a new chamber opera in which they’ll each portray one side of a single transgender character.
The opera, which debuts at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in New York on Sept. 4, depicts the journey of a transgender woman, Hannah, as a stirring rite-of-passage. Markgraf, a baritone, will portray Hannah, who is identified in the early segments of the libretto as “Hannah before,” from her childhood to young adulthood, while mezzo-soprano Cooke gradually takes over as “Hannah after” as the character undergoes her gender confirmation.
Throughout her journey, Hannah struggles with self-acceptance and feelings of personal isolation, and encounters her share of external transphobia, much of which is explored through songs performed simultaneously by Markgraf and Cooke as duets.
“What we’ve really aimed for in crafting the piece is a story which highlights the universally human aspects of being transgender,” Markgraf said. “It’s truly a process of paying attention to one’s heart and coming to grips with who you are, who you want to be and then becoming brave enough to step forward and say, ‘Look, this is who I am.’ Ours is a human perspective.”
Composer Laura Kaminsky began developing the idea for “As One” after reading a 2008 New York Times article about the legal implications of a marriage after one of the parties identified as transgender. Three years later, she met filmmaker Kimberly Reed, who is transgender, and together they began the writing process with librettist Mark Campbell.
Kaminsky, who is a lesbian, says she was struck with “an almost urgent sense” that an opera chronicling the story of a transgender woman would be “emotionally rich” as well as “socially and politically current.” While her opera would be ultimately sympathetic toward its protagonist, Kaminsky hoped that “As One” would also touch on its heroine’s “funny, sad, vulnerable, quirky” sides in a nuanced and non-controversial way, so that all audiences would find the character relatable.
“Perhaps the most important thing for Kim, Mark and me was to find the right tone for Hannah … how to find the right balance of innocence, joy, doubt, fear, courage and humor,” Kaminsky said. The challenges, she added, were ultimately symphonic, as she had to find “the right musical world for Hannah to inhabit so that the full range of her being would be expressed.”
Campbell, whose opera “Silent Night” won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Music, structured much of his libretto for “As One” on Reed’s personal experiences as a transgender woman. The result, he says, is far from the “issue” drama some may expect from its subject matter.
“My greatest pleasure in writing ‘As One’ is what I learned from Kim,” Campbell, who is openly gay, recalled. In addition to co-writing the libretto with Campbell, Reed further fleshed out the story with film segments created exclusively for the show, strengthening the narrative.
“Because we chose to write a story about one person’s search for contentment — and, really, that’s all it is! — and because we use plain-spoken language that shows occasional flashes of humor and self-effacement, it shouldn’t be seen as controversial at all,” Campbell said.
Embodying “Hannah after” has so far been a joy for Cooke, even if she wasn’t sure of her personal relationship to the character at first. As rehearsals progressed, however, she found herself connecting to Hannah’s journey more and more.
“There’s a beauty and a benefit to being an outcast,” Cooke said. As for the ultimate message of “As One,” she was even more straightforward: “Live your truth.”
“As One” plays the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Fisher Fishman Theater in New York on Sept 4, 6 and 7. For more information and tickets, head here.
BELOW: The creative team of “As One,” from left: Kimberly Reed, Mark Campbell and Laura Kaminsky. 
NYC Superstar Chefs Daniel Boulud and Patrick O’Connell Show the Love for DC & LGBT Equality
Family Research Council Thinks the Religious Right Should Be More Like the LGBT Equality Movement: AUDIO
Family Research Council Thinks the Religious Right Should Be More Like the LGBT Equality Movement: AUDIO
On last week’s Family Research Council radio program, FRC Assistant to the President Craig James spoke with Josh Duggar (Kid #1 of TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting) about the success of the LGBT equality movement and how the religious right really should start taking cues from gay advocates in regards to organizational techniques.
Said James:
“I think what we are finding here, Josh, is that there’s a small percent of folks who are really organized and they are absolutely diligent in their task to silence us or to win their way. It’s like in the LGBT community, it’s out recently that the number of proclaimed gays in this country is like 3.3 percent, but it feels like 30 percent, so getting organized and rallying and calling and writing is absolutely critical to helping all of us succeed in this fight.”
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?
Listen, AFTER THE JUMP…
Kyler Geoffroy
Comment: More needs to be done to protect LGBT services against budget cuts
Comment: More needs to be done to protect LGBT services against budget cuts
Comment: More needs to be done to protect LGBT services against budget cuts.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGamus5QiPo&feature=youtube_gdata
Op-ed: Let Gay and Bi Youth Lead in HIV Activism
Op-ed: Let Gay and Bi Youth Lead in HIV Activism
What’s the best way to reduce HIV among gay and bi youth? Give them a seat at the table, says activist Patrick Ingram.
Patrick Ingram
www.advocate.com/commentary/2014/09/04/op-ed-let-gay-and-bi-youth-lead-hiv-activism
