Laws Proposed to Protect Trans Youth As Leelah Alcorn's Death Rallies Thousands

Thousands have been called to action after the death of a transgender teenager.

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Dawn Ennis

www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2014/12/31/leelah-alcorn-rallies-thousands-laws-proposed-protect-trans-youth

Film Review: <i>Two Mothers</i> or 'How Do Lesbian Birds Make Babies?'

“How do lesbian birds make babies?”

“They don’t.”

“Are you sure?”

Such is the conversation between Katja (Sabine Wolf) and Isa (Karina Plachetka), two middleclass German women in their late 30s who are happily wed and now want to go one step further: motherhood.

Anne Zohra Berrached’s Two Mothers (Zwei Mütter) engagingly chronicles the duo’s obstacle-strewn journey, which is based upon the actual experiences of several lesbian couples identified in the end credits. Adding to the reality is the casting of many of the subsidiary characters (doctors, sperm donors, a pharmacist) with their real life counterparts. For example, Dr. Marten Van Santen is portrayed by Dr. Marten Van Santen, and very convincing he is.

Commencing in the first few minutes with tender lovemaking, the film quickly changes focus and concentrates on Isa’s fruitless phone calls to various sperm banks everywhere from Munich to Hamburg. Apparently, while Germany has sanctioned “registered life partnerships” for same-sex couples (Eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaft) since 2001, full marital unions have still not been legalized. Although approaching an evenhandedness in most areas, some rights are still not completely in the grasp of gay couples. So it is with artificial insemination for the LGBTQ crowd, which the screenplay claims is only administered by five to six doctors across the country. After locating an MD who will service lesbians, the not-affluent Katja and Isa discover they must also meet financial requirements that do not apply to heterosexual couples.

Finally, an amenable physician is found, and the costly treatments begin. Eleven inseminations and many months later, the relentless Isa, who will be the birth mother, is still barren, but she’s not the only one distraught. Increasingly, Katja is stressing out about how both the financial and emotional costs of this tot-trek are affecting their once perfect relationship. For example, in the kitchen, perusing Isa’s shopping bag, she notices over a half dozen pregnancy tests and only one cucumber.

Isa finally does come around, acknowledging the economics of their situation. Forced to entertain a less certain fertility route, she enters an apothecary and states, “I’m looking for something that can inject sperm into the vagina.” The woman at the counter showcases several syringes and then recommends that Isa see a veterinarian.

Instead, a home impregnation kit is purchased, and the couple sign onto a sperm donator web site. Now the interviews begin with a motley group of candidates, some who desire to directly ejaculate into Isa as opposed to into a jar. Worse, some of the more desirable applicants insist on becoming part of the forthcoming child’s life if one of their spermatozoa unites with an egg of Isa’s.

“I want to be the daddy,” Katja murmurs. Stepping into Ingmar Bergman territory, Katja begins withdrawing. What role will she play if Isa is the mother and a man shows up every once in awhile claiming to be the father? And what about the vacations she and Isa used to take — and the hugging and loving that are deteriorating a bit with Isa’s ascent/descent into motherhood.

Splendidly acted, Two Mothers is a brisk 75-minute, matter-of-fact look into the inevitable risks of complete assimilation into what was once considered a “heterosexual” lifestyle. With marriage comes the possibility of divorce. With children comes the possibility of an ebbing intimateness. Yes, there are also the joys, the Legos, the hugs, the anniversaries, and the family trips to the Black Forest and Disneyland Paris, but that would be another film.

(Available January 13th on DVD. Available for preorder.)

www.huffingtonpost.com/brandon-judell/how-do-lesbian-birds-make-babies_b_6396978.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Matt Barber: 'Non-Discrimination Policies Are Discriminatory Against Christians'

Anthony Costello

www.towleroad.com/2014/12/matt-barber-non-discrimination-policies-are-discriminatory-against-christians.html

PHOTOS: Scotland Rings In First Same-Sex Weddings

The law establishing full marriage equality took effect Wednesday in Scotland.

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Michelle Garcia

www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2014/12/31/photos-scotland-rings-first-same-sex-weddings

Everyone's <i>Not</i> an Expert: Resolving to Listen to Ourselves in 2015
Helen is a middle-aged, self-proclaimed sex expert.

Simply put, she has a lot of sex — and she didn’t start until she was in her 40s. Before blossoming into a promiscuous risk-taker, she was an obese, unhappily married house-frau who eked out a marginal living doing odd jobs for some of Hollywood’s rich and lazy. She disliked sex with her schlub of a husband and openly joked about how infrequently she’d “put out” for her under-endowed spouse. From the ashes of their divorce papers, however, rose a woman whose sexual awakening found her in bed with dissatisfied married men, on barroom floors with restaurant staff and in parking lots groping lonely online hookups. Her early disinterest in bedroom sports evolved into a penchant for dangerous sex that gave wings to a self-labeled “specialist.”

Gliding into the new year, my resolution is to be more discerning about the people from whom I accept advice and counsel. I love to hear from folks who have had extraordinary experiences or who have lived through situations that pique my interest — and I respectfully listen to their thoughts on a variety of television and radio shows each week. More than once in 2014, though, I took dating tips from good looking relationship gurus on TV who gave extremely general advice that wasn’t tailored to my temperament or sensibility. Needless to say, I mistakenly let a couple of good guys get away.

I will no longer be so easily influenced by the “experts” who flood the media with the answers to everything. I will cut through the noise and rely more on my own thoughts than the ocean of other opinions that surround me. Yes, there are certainly bona fide professionals out there whose knowledge and experience should not be discounted, but I endeavor to be a “self specialist” — someone who knows me better than any disconnected flapping gums on the tube.

As a marketing executive with more than 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry, I myself have made appearances on various broadcast programs to comment on issues related directly to my profession. Both my communications degree and my two decades of on-the-job training qualified me to offer theoretical and practical points of view. However, when I was asked to talk about subjects covered in my first book, a memoir, I was careful to make clear that I could not be credited as an expert on sexuality, coming out, bullying or dating. Sure, I could offer experiential and anecdotal material that would entertain and inform, but my decision to share personal details in my book did not uniquely qualify me to advise others on similar matters. Could someone learn from my triumphs and mistakes? Absolutely. Might my stories provide value to people with similar struggles? Without question. But, am I an “expert” because I chose to be forthcoming about my life? Hardly.

Helen began curating online pornography sites, writing blogs and positioning herself as a sex and relationship pundit. Nobody questioned her credentials; in fact, she was featured on a number of podcasts, radio shows and even one national morning show as an “educator” and “love coach.” Publishers of erotica, sex toy manufacturers and lubricant companies began sending sample products to her Philadelphia apartment in hopes that she would test drive them and publicly extol their attributes.

“Everybody says I would be good at this,” she answered when I inquired about the 14,000-pound, terrestrial animal with a swinging trunk that was standing in the room with us.

“That’s great,” I said, “but what about the qualifications necessary to be dispensing advice and recommending personal health products to the public?”

“Eh, who cares? Look at all of these people on television. Do you think they are clinically trained or formally educated?”

Helen had a point. In the “scream culture” of contemporary television — marked by an endless parade of shrieking “authorities” appearing daily on national and cable news outlets — everyone is an expert. There are so many talking heads throwing insights our way that even a certain horseman from Sleepy Hollow could land a guest spot on “chat TV.”

But, while Helen made a very small amount of sense, would I hire a “get-rich-quick” infomercial pitchman to manage my finances? Or a car salesman to map out my road trips?

Did Helen hold a doctorate in human sexuality? Nope. A masters in psychology? Unh-unh. An undergraduate degree in, um, anything? That’s a negative.

Helen’s confidence in her “qualifications” came largely from the fact that so many friends encouraged her to turn her new passion (ahem) into the money that had eluded her throughout adulthood. While the people around us, for the most part, are encouraging, they are not usually objective in their enthusiasm and good wishes. They often say things that make us believe that what they find appealing or unique about us is marketable to the public at large. If I had a nickel for every time that every friend told me that my sensibility belonged on every television show, in every bookstore and on every radio network, I’d be sipping tea and eating every croissant in the south of France while living a life of leisure on my bottomless bank account.

With all due respect to Helen, I jumped out of a swing once, but I still haven’t signed a contract with Cirque du Soleil.

www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-sabarra/everyones-not-an-expert-r_b_6396910.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Which City Has The Best Gayborhood? Vote Now And Win A Trip For Two

Gayborhoods around the world are changing, and fast. The rent goes up, the bars get straighter and the sex shops turn into Starbucks.

That’s why we love the nominees for best gayborhood in this year’s Best of GayCities — they’ve held onto their charm and are still great places to be unapologetically yourself.

There’s San Francisco’s Castro, NYC’s Hell’s Kitchen, Zona Rosa in Puerto Vallarta, Boystown in Chicago. Florida has Wilton Manors and Philadelphia has a hopping Gayborhood too.

Vote for your favorite ‘hood and win a chance at a free trip for two to any destination in the continental U.S., courtesy of our friends at Hyatt.

Voting is easy. Just sign into your GayCities account and make your selections. You’ll automatically be entered into the prize sweepstakes.

Polls close January 5. You must be a U.S. resident to win the prize. See the complete rules.

Dan Tracer

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/cI9qnpB4MGs/which-city-has-the-best-gayborhood-vote-now-and-win-a-trip-for-two-20141231

Outsports names Tony Dungy 'A–hole Of The Year': VIDEO

John Wright

www.towleroad.com/2014/12/outsports-names-tony-dungy-asshole-of-the-year.html