Dagens Ungdom om LGBT
Takk til Robin F, Jan G og Jonas E! Dette er en video som handler om LGBT samfunnet der ungdommer blir intervjuet om temaet LGBT. ———- Today’s Youth about LGBT This is a video about…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoLi9oKBH0A&feature=youtube_gdata

Alaska Couples Finally Able to Legally Marry

After becoming one of the first U.S. states to ban same-sex marriage via constitutional amendment in 1998, Alaska embraced the freedom to marry Monday.

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Sunnivie Brydum

www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2014/10/21/alaska-couples-finally-able-legally-marry

Why Amazon's <i>Transparent</i> Is Binge-Watch Worthy

Whether you’re transgender or not, Amazon’s new series, Transparent, will suck you in like the display case at Georgetown Cupcake. You’ll find yourself lying in bed at midnight, clutching your TV remote and rationalizing “one more” that will likely turn into two or possibly three more should you suffer from insomnia like I do. But I promise: unlike a good cupcake binge, you won’t hate yourself afterward.

Jeffrey Tambor, is phenomenal in his role as Maura, the 68 year-old patriarch-turned-matriarch of the Pfefferman clan who finally begins her transition while officially coming out to her ex-wife and three adult children, each one dysfunctional in their own way. Tambor may be the headliner, but he is surrounded by an amazing cast. And it’s the way they adjust to the news and come to terms with their own identity issues that makes this series so watchable. The character development is masterful and the performances are, in a word, real.

There is nothing trite about the script. And while you don’t have to be trans to appreciate the realness of both the situations and dialogue, as someone who has transitioned, I can tell you first hand that the writing and acting is legit.

The scene where Maura comes out to her oldest daughter, Sarah (played by Amy Landecker), is a perfect example. Sarah is not only dealing with the shock of seeing her father in full make-up, wig and flowing silk caftan, but is also struggling to make sense of what she’s just been told. “Are you saying that you’re gonna start dressing like a lady all the time?” she asks. Maura sums it up perfectly, stroking her daughter’s hair like a mother would do. “No honey, all my life — my whole life — I’ve been dressing up like a man.”

Nailed it.

The reason Transparent is so spot on? Jill Soloway, the show’s creator. She too had a parent come out to her as trans, which is what inspired her to bring this dramady to life. Though not without help from transgender consultants like author Jennifer Finney Boylan, filmmaker Rhys Ernst and artist Zackary Drucker, who also appears in the series as the trans support group facilitator. Soloway casts transgender actors to fill trans roles wherever possible including Alexandra Billings who plays Maura’s friend and mentor, Davina, and comedian Ian Harvie who cameos as a professor pursued by Maura’s sexually curious daughter, Ali (Gaby Hoffmann).

Even still, Soloway has been criticized for not casting a trans woman to play the role of Maura. As someone who transitioned, I get it. But as an ad guy who has cast over a hundred TV commercials, I also understand the need to go with the best actor for the part. The acting is what’s going to make the show work and engage an audience. And with the right talent, it shouldn’t matter whether or not the actor is trans. Especially with transgender consultants there to help. Plus, in this particular show, Maura is 68 and just beginning her transition, so realistically, it makes sense that she looks and seems more like a cis man (male born) than a trans woman. Transitioning is an awkward learn-as-you-go process and Tambor’s 6’1″ gawky frame further accentuates the character’s struggle to be comfortable and confident in her femininity and ability to pass. After watching this show, I can’t imagine the role of Maura being played by anybody else.

So let’s celebrate a series that gets it right. Grab your smart TV remote and order Amazon Prime if you don’t already have it. Transparent alone is worth the annual fee-both for it’s entertainment value and educational value on the trans topic.

www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-edwards/why-amazons-transparent-i_b_6021322.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Working Toward LGBT Inclusion in the Armed Forces

Yesterday, researchers and legal and policy advocates from around the world attended a day-long conference to discuss transgender military service.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/pushing-for-transgender-military-service?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Looks Like We May Never See Michael Sam Play In The NFL After All

Things looked so good for Michael Sam when he became the first openly gay football player drafted in the NFL.

The Rams picked him up, and there were endorsement deals, talk of TV shows, and national media attention all pointed at the young star player. And who could forget about that super hot boyfriend?

Sure, there was that whole Grindr photo leak, and that super awkward ESPN report on his showering habits, but things were still going great.

Except then the Rams cut him, and he lost his spot on the 53-man roster to fellow rookie Ethan Westbrooks, “one of nine defensive linemen the Rams kept.”

But no worry, Michael quickly signed on with the Cowboys, telling the Daily Mail, “I’m just looking forward to being a Cowboy, my focus is on making the team.”

Well we’re sorry to report he did not make the team, after all. After spending the first seven weeks of the season on the Cowboy’s 10-man practice squad, they’ve decided to drop him to make way for linebacker Troy Davis, a second-year pro from Central Florida.

On the bright side, now he’s free to explore reality television with Oprah again. Assuming, of course, she’ll still take his call.

Dan Tracer

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/M_fF4Bh3KhA/looks-like-we-may-never-see-michael-sam-play-in-the-nfl-after-all-20141021

Ricky Martin Rocks 5 Looks in His Speakeasy-Themed 'Adios': MUSIC VIDEO

Andy Towle

www.towleroad.com/2014/10/ricky-martin-is-a-one-man-speakeasy-in-adios-music-video.html

As Advocates Gather in D.C., Pelosi Endorses Trans Military Service

This week House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi became one of the first politicians to officially come out in support of trans people serving openly in the U.S. military.

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Mitch Kellaway

www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2014/10/21/advocates-gather-dc-pelosi-endorses-trans-military-service

Michael Sam Released By Dallas Cowboys, Vows To Keep Fighting For NFL Job
Michael Sam is looking for a new team and another opportunity to prove he can play in the NFL after the Dallas Cowboys cut him from their practice squad. The team announced the release of Sam, the first openly gay football player ever to be drafted into the NFL, from their 10-man practice squad on Tuesday.

Sam took to Twitter and told his thousands of followers that he will continue fighting “for an opportunity to prove that I can play every Sunday”:

I want to thank the Jones family and the entire Cowboys organization for this opportunity, as well as my friends, family, teammates, (1/3)

— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) October 21, 2014

and fans for their support. While this is disappointing, I will take the lessons I learned here in Dallas and continue to fight for an (2/3)

— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) October 21, 2014

opportunity to prove that I can play every Sunday. (3/3)

— Michael Sam (@MichaelSamNFL) October 21, 2014

Sam, the 2013 SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and former All-American at the University of Missouri, was selected by the St. Louis Rams with the 249th pick in the seventh round of the 2014 draft. But Sam didn’t end up making the Rams’ 53-man roster or their 10-man practice squad. Shortly after his release, the Cowboys signed him to their practice squad. Cutting Sam frees up a spot for linebacker Troy Davis, per the Cowboys’ official website.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/21/michael-sam-cowboys-released_n_6023506.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Beautifully Intimate Portraits Of Gay Couples From The Height Of AIDS Hysteria

In the Summer of 1986, photographer Sage Sohier set out to document the lives of gay and lesbian Americans in their homes. It was the peak of AIDS hysteria, and her intimate photos stood (and continue to stand) in humanizing defiance to the horrible rumors and fears circulating about the gay community in mainstream society.

Sohier’s father was also gay, though he couldn’t quite say those words. Looking back on this series, titled “At Home With Themselves: Same-Sex Couples In 1980s America,”Sohier has come to see her work as a vehicle to connect with her dad.

“After I showed my father the pictures, he teared up, he looked moved, and seemed grateful,” she told The New York Times. “There was a sense of relief. I felt that I was sort of saying to him that I understood what was going on and that I was OK with it.”

Here is a selection from the portfolio, which is now also a book. More info on that here.

Tim and Chuck, Key West, FL, 1987

Gordon and Jim, with Gordon’s mother Margot, San Diego, CA, 1987

David and Eric, Boston, MA, 1986

Brian and Hanns, Key West, FL, 1988

George and Tom, with Samantha, Key West, FL, 1987

Chris and Cris, Provincetown, MA, 1986

Jean and Elaine, Santa Fe, NM, 1988

Sue and Shelley, with four of Shelley’s five children, San Carlos, CA, 1988

Reno and Lee, Fire Island, 1988

Sheila and Dorothy, Santa Fe, NM, 1988

Herb and Dana, Quincy, MA, 1988

Bruce and Don, Washington, D.C., 1987

Cindy and Barb’s Wedding, Boston, MA, 1986

Bill and Ric, with Ric’s daughter Kate, San Francisco, 1987

Lloyd and Joel, San Francisco, 1987

Stephanie and Monica, Boston, MA, 1987

Linda and Nancy, Key West, FL, 1988

© Sage Sohier 2014

Dan Tracer

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