European Union Rules Asylum Seeker Tests For Homosexuality Unlawful

Jim Redmond

www.towleroad.com/2014/12/european-union-rules-asylum-seeker-tests-for-homosexuality-unlawful.html

Sex-Segregation in Schools Is Bad Policy
The New York Times reports that the practice of separating public school students into classrooms based on traditional definitions of sex has increased in recent years. The article leads with describing decorations in two classrooms — pink and cheetah print for the girls’ classroom, racecars and footballs for the boys’. In case anybody was fooled that sex-segregation would give male and female students the same opportunities, the decorations in themselves show a clear reinforcement of gender stereotypes that plague the American workforce and create sex-based inequality. Sex-segregation in public schools is not only an archaic policy, it also threatens the safety of trans students and institutionalizes patriarchal definitions of gender that harm our entire society.

Though policies allowing sex-segregated classrooms claim participation must be voluntary — the pressure trans children feel to assimilate and conform to external expectations about male or female behavior is incredibly strong. The policy is such that if a student was able to identify themselves as trans and and have the courage to articulate their identity to school officials, they would hypothetically be placed in a classroom that reflects their identity. There are blatant problems with these assumptions.

Trans students already feel isolated by a social structure crafted around genital-based segregation. Bathrooms, even for small children, are segregated by sex and clothing, starting in infancy, is separated based on perceived sexual identity. Though the Department of Education confirms that schools must respect students’ gender identities in single-sex classrooms, the reality is that young children do not often know they are trans and should not be put in a situation where they have to decide their sexual identity and articulate why they may not feel comfortable in their bodies or traditional sex-based roles to authority figures. Policies that separate children based on their genitalia isolate trans children and create an environment where children who already feel discomfort with their sexual or gender identity are asked to forfeit their opportunity to learn and develop next to peers of varying sexual identities.

As an elementary school student, I did not have the emotional capacity or language to identify my discomfort with my body as a part of being trans and would never have been able to articulate this to school officials. If presented with sex-segregated classrooms, I likely would have gone along with it, burying my discomfort with existing feelings of disassociation with my peers. I can only imagine how limited my experience would have been in a female-only classroom and the increased pressure I would have felt to conform to female expectations.

Trans students, however, are certainly not the only population disadvantaged by sex-segregated classrooms. Sex-segregation in itself is a product of an oppressive sexual binary that limits sexual identity to “male” and “female” silos. Male individuals — rather those people our culture defines as “male” — have historically dominated society physically and hierarchically. One response to male domination is to separate female-identified individuals and create female-exclusive spaces, like female-only classrooms. Some might mistake this as a brand of feminism. But feminism without intersectionality isn’t feminism, and separating children with vaginas from children with penises (and completely ignoring intersex children) isn’t empowering.

Rather than separating students and teaching children to relate to peers based on similarities or differences in their sex, we should confront rampant inequality, misogyny and sex-based oppression across American society and beyond head on. Laws that regulate what people can do with their reproductive organs, legislation that denies health care for trans bodies and general acceptance of widespread sex-based violence are the forces in our society that create the inequality and misogyny that trickles into our school systems. If we want our female children to have the same opportunity as male children, separation and isolation are not the answer. Honest discussion about what sexual identity is, how it defines our cultural norms and how traditional sex and gender roles limit our collective development will offer real opportunities for creating safe and non-discriminatory public schools.

www.huffingtonpost.com/lucas-waldron/sexsegregation-in-schools_b_6256708.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Australian Mom Uses Classified Ad to Show Support for Transgender Son

A mother in Queensland, Australia used a birth announcement to show her support for her 19-year-old transgender son.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/australian-mom-uses-classified-ad-to-show-support-for-transgender-son?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Hey Brits, You Can Perform And Watch These Sexual Activities, Just Don’t Film Them

Adult videos online in the United Kingdom are being forced down the vanilla highway, thanks to a newly beefed up law.

New York magazine reports that Britain’s Audiovisual Media Services Regulations 2014, a statute that regulates which naughty acts can and can’t be filmed in the U.K. for release on DVD has expanded the mandate to include videos recorded for online consumption.

The list of things you can no longer do on the Web in the U.K. include:

• spanking
• caning
• aggressive whipping
• penetration “associated with violence”
• physical or verbal abuse (even if consensual)
• strangulation
• urolagnia (or, as you and I like to call it, “water sports”)
• facesitting
• fisting

While local anti-censorship groups are up in arms (but no doubt shying away from verbal abuse, lest it be filmed and aired in some online news segment), the law doesn’t affect what is viewable in the U.K., only what is filmed.

Perhaps British porn companies can outsource their fisting, spanking, and strangulation to India, like American companies do with technical support and human resources.

Winston Gieseke

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/ESIXxP-vr8A/hey-brits-you-can-perform-and-watch-these-sexual-activities-just-dont-film-them-20141202

Veteran Major League Baseball Umpire Dale Scott Comes Out as Gay

Andy Towle

www.towleroad.com/2014/12/veteran-major-league-baseball-umpire-dale-scott-comes-out-as-gay.html

Sam Smith: I Want to Be More Than a Gay Spokesman

‘I want to be a spokesperson for everyone,’ he said during an appearance on Ellen DeGeneres’s show. ‘I don’t want to be limited.’

read more

Jase Peeples

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/television/2014/12/02/sam-smith-i-want-be-more-gay-spokesman

Whitney Biopic's Yolonda Ross Talks About Playing Houston's Rumored Lover
Yolonda Ross is becoming quite a familiar face, and one you can look forward to seeing in the upcoming Lifetime Whitney Houston biopic.

Her ever-growing resume includes TV shows like “Treme” and “Law & Order,” and celebrated features such as Denzel Washington’s “Antwone Fisher.” Now, Ross is taking on a role in Lifetime’s “”I Will Always Love You: The Whitney Houston Story” — and HuffPost caught up with the bicoastal artists to talk about her experience filming the much-anticipated biopic.

Ross plays Robyn Crawford in the movie, Houston’s longtime assistant and best friend. Houston and Crawford’s relationship — one The Daily Beast likened to that of Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King — roused questions in the media surrounding Houston’s sexuality and swirled rumors around the legendary singer’s personal life.

But it’s no surprise Ross took on such a role as Crawford, considering her passion for cultural understanding through storytelling.

Last Friday, the actress participated in a free reading of Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, held by “Fruitvale Station” director Ryan Coogler, as well as “Newlyweds” director Shaka King. Coogler, founder of the non-profit organization Blackout for Human Rights, dedicated the event to slain New Jersey father Eric Garner as part of the Blackout Black Friday national boycott , which aligned with protests in Ferguson and around the country.

Ross joined a stage of performers at the Lincoln Center in New York City, including Michael B. Jordan and original “Do The Right Thing” cast members Frankie Faison and John Tuturro. The actress explained to HuffPost why she felt compelled to be a part of the reading.

“I wanted to take part in the reading to support NOT spending money on Black Friday, but spending time and thought on issues that matters,” Ross said. “#BlackLivesMatter, WE do matter and I was so glad we had a wonderful and relevant free event to celebrate those lives that were lost but not forgotten.”

Ross talked with The Huffington Post about what is was like taking on the role of Robyn Crawford. Read her insightful responses below.

Photo credit: Jack Zeman

What drew you to this particular project and role?

The opportunity to portray a person so significant in Whitney Houston’s Life and being directed by Angela Bassett.

Are you a Whitney fan? Have you always been a Whitney fan? How has your understanding of her changed over the course of filming this project?

YES. I am a Whitney fan and have always been a Whitney Fan. My top 3 Whitney songs are “Saving All My Love For You”, “You Give Good Love,” (which I believe, now that I know what Robyn looks like, is one of the two women singing backup in the video), and “I Have Nothing.”

I feel that during the process of this film I learned that this person, “Whitney Houston”, was a lot stronger than I think a lot of us remember her due to the drug usage. She had a very firm understanding of the entertainment business, and really did see herself, in my opinion as having two sides, the performer and the private Whitney which, really didn’t have much private as she became more and more famous then marrying Bobby Brown and becoming a mother while being a woman of color that was smashing records all over the place by starring in a top grossing movie at the time and simultaneously having the number one record in the country out. You would have to have her strength and conviction to make it through that. Her life was not for the weak.

What do you think is so important about your character’s inclusion in this life story? What about Crawford’s character and/or relationship to Houston did you feel was most important for you to bring on screen?

I think it is very important to have the inclusion of the Robyn Crawford character because she was such a key part of Whitney’s life, personal and work wise. With all the criticism and backlashing against this person it needs to be shown that at the base of it all, you had two people that respected and cared for each other since their teenage years through the time period when Whitney rose to her iconic level. When the world is whipping around you, those are the people you want near, to keep you and your life in check. While portraying Robyn, it was important to me to respect the closeness of these two and show that in both the personal and public arenas.

What have you learned from this role, and this film?

Surround yourself with people that carry positive energy and light. That goes for the people working with you to the loved ones in your life. It’s too hard out here to move forward. Don’t let negativity bring you down.

How did you prepare for this role?

I scoured the internet for whatever I could find on Robyn. Though I had heard about her for years, I had never actually seen her so I wanted to get an idea of her but make sure I wasn’t mimicking her in any way. So getting a little insight on her having a strong presence and being supportive helped. I kept that in mind while playing her and really just worked off what a friendship between two people that had known each other for so long is really like as it changes with each obstacle that presents itself.

What do you think, if anything, about this biopic’s portrayal of Black female experience in show business translates to the entertainment industry’s climate today?

Though the story is of a Black female in showbiz, I don’t think the issues that are brought in this story are race issues. I feel this Whitney Houston experience is dealing with an age old problem in entertainment, which tends to hit women more so in dealing with loneliness, wanting a companion, [and] family while still trying to stay on top in your business and sometimes not being able to escape that constant grind in a positive way. In many cases drugs are turned to, for numbing, for filling the void and that’s no different today.

Follow Yolonda Ross on Facebook and Twitter.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/02/yolonda-ross-whitney-houston_n_6255358.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Favorite Moments of 2014: Meeting Lennie and Pearl

Each day throughout the month of December, HRC will recognize 31 of our favorite events, people and happenings from over the past 12 months.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/favorite-moments-of-2014-meeting-lennie-and-pearl?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed