'Mrs. Doubtfire' Musical Is in the Works
Hello, deary! Composer Alan Menken has announced that he and Harvey Fierstein are adapting the gay-inclusive Robin Williams film for the stage.
Brandon Voss
www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/theater/2015/01/23/mrs-doubtfire-musical-works
Why Are Whites Always the Bottom in Interracial Porn?
Ever notice how hard it is to find blacks bottoming for whites in interracial porn? With few exceptions, porn studios seem to think there is only one acceptable way to show interracial sex: The hyperaggressive African-American top and the submissive white bottom.
Is gay porn racist? Or is it a benign form of stereotyping?
If searches on the Internet didn’t lead me to those questions, my experiences while trying to make the video version of my gay sex advice book, How to Bottom Like a Porn Star, did. I spoke to several porn producers about using an interracial couple to dramatize the how-to points in the book, and they all told me it wouldn’t work unless the black guy topped the white guy.
“You’d be breaking an unwritten rule in gay porn,” one producer said. “Most of the white guys who watch interracial porn want the fantasy of submitting to a tough street thug.”
“Well,” I said to him, “I like interracial porn, and I’d like to see more versatility.”
The producer insisted I was in the minority and that my video wouldn’t go viral if I insisted on having a white top.
“But what about African Americans?” I asked. “Are you telling me there isn’t a black guy out there who wants to see white tops?”
“Not our market,” he said. “They don’t buy or rent interracial porn anywhere near the amount that whites do.”
And there you have it, the reason it’s so uncommon to find porn that presents black men in full sexual versatility, according to porn studios: The buyer is white, and he doesn’t want to see it. He wants the Mandingo experience: a forceful submission to a hypersexual, superaggressive, hung-like-the-Florida-Panhandle street thug.
Like all stereotypes, there is a degree of truth in that characterization of gay white men. My friend Mike, who’s African-American, recounts many a disappointed look in the faces of white guys who hit on him. Mike looks a lot like the black guy many whites fantasize about having sex with: he’s good-looking, tall and big. But once they hear him speak, a lot of white guys lose interest, because Mike is highly educated and doesn’t exactly talk like a tough guy from the streets. Seeing their thug fantasies evaporate, these white guys lose interest and walk away.
Are Porn Studios Right? Whites Don’t Want to See Black Bottoms?
Before we go any further, it must be stated that there are porn studios that feature African Americans bottoming for whites. But even porn producers admit it’s uncommon. There are two questions that come to my mind. First, are porn studios right that whites don’t want to see black bottoms? And second, if it’s true, why?
While there are no surveys (that I know of) of white preferences in interracial porn, I seriously doubt that the full glory of sexual variety stops at interracial sex — that whites want to see blacks in one and only one role. As for the second question — why so many whites want to see the Mandingo version of interracial sex — there are some intriguing possibilities.
First, the nature of topping. It’s often about power and domination. If you were going to build the ideal top, you’d probably say he has to be bigger than you are, in terms of height, weight, and package size. And you might say that since topping is about exerting control, he should also be more aggressive and take-charge than you are.
Enter the black stereotype.
He’s taller, weighs more and has a bigger dick than white guys. Hence, if you’re going to show intercourse, as almost all porn does, then it makes sense that the top is going to be the black guy. The thing is that that’s a stereotype that is empirically not true. Blacks aren’t taller than whites. They don’t weigh more. And they don’t have bigger dicks. Consider these stats from the CDC for non-Hispanic white and black males between the ages of 20 and 39 (the most likely age of porn stars):
Black:
Mean weight: 85.9 kg. (189 lbs.)
Mean height: 70.0 in. (5-foot-8)
Mean BMI: 27.1
White:
Mean weight: 86.2 kg. (190 lbs.)
Mean height: 70.2 in. (5-foot-8)
Mean BMI: 27.1
And to completely upend the stereotype that blacks have bigger penises, I invite you to look at the latest penis-size study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine:
Black:
Mean penis length: 14.66 cm. (5.77 in.)
Mean penis circumference: 12.29 cm. (4.83 in.)
White:
Mean penis length: 14.18 cm. (5.58 in.)
Mean penis circumference: 12.25 cm (4.82 in.)
The difference in length and circumference between the races is statistically insignificant. The study found that characteristics such as race or sexual orientation weren’t good predictors of a man’s penis size. The study is relatively consistent with the results of prior surveys.
The Power of Stereotypes
Fiction is more alluring than fact. Even when presented with empirical data that blacks aren’t bigger than whites — in any department — the stereotype persists. Since most white guys haven’t had a wide variety of African-American partners, their perceptions are almost completely formed by porn, which only shows performers with penises so big they’re mixing drinks in the next room.
Porn studios claim that they’re only catering to what the market wants, but in reality they’ve created that market by systematically perpetuating the idea that blacks are bigger than whites, even though it is demonstrably not true.
Colby Alexander, a writer who happens to be half-white and half-black, wrote a remarkably candid “Open Letter to Gay Porn Studios,” in which he shows how porn producers can make a simple tweak in their videos that would revolutionize interracial porn. Will porn executives listen?
Probably not. So if you want to see more versatility in interracial porn, you’re going to have to spend hours on the Internet finding it. Or you can click here to see a list of interracial porn videos showing African-American men bottoming for white men. (This link does not take you to porn sites; it merely identifies where you can find the videos). It took my team three hours to assemble. Out of the hundreds of videos featuring interracial porn, we could only find about three dozen with white tops (10 to 15 percent of the total).
There is hope for versatility in interracial porn. A relatively new, small studio specializing in fully versatile African-American performers, Harlem Hookups, has emerged. Hopefully other studios will follow and make our list obsolete.
Federal judge strikes down Alabama's gay marriage ban
Attorney General plans to appeal but marriages could begin Monday since judge did not place a stay on decision
gregh
www.gaystarnews.com/article/federal-judge-strikes-down-alabamas-gay-marriage-ban240115
Hey 2015! Girlfriend Tag Part Two (LGBT, Engaged Couple)
Hey Subbies!! We’re Back for the New Year with Our Girlfriend Tag Part Two! && In The Spirit Of "New Year, Better Year", We Will Be Uploading Videos EVERY MONDAY & FRIDAY… Yes, Twice a Week …
Federal Judge Strikes Down Alabama Marriage Ban
The decision was not accompanied by a stay, which means same-sex couples could start marrying as soon as county clerks’ offices open.
Sunnivie Brydum
The Promise of the Affordable Care Act Must Reach All Communities
Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law, more than 15 million Americans have received some type of health coverage. This open enrollment period alone has seen almost 7 million new sign-ups. Still, there are many more to reach, especially in the Latino community, where one in four remains uninsured.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Latino population is a community that is especially vulnerable to disparities. They often require special health care needs, and in some instances the ACA now provides important protections and benefits to ensure LGBT people can access that care.
New civil rights provisions in the ACA expressly prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, class, sex, age, disability, and certain other categories. The provision, known as Section 1557, applies nondiscrimination protections to any and all health programs that receive funding from the federal government. The federal Health Insurance Marketplace and the plans sold through it are all covered under this nondiscrimination provision.
For many LGBT people living with HIV, diabetes, cancer, or other chronic conditions, even obtaining health coverage has long been a challenge. Before the ACA, having a preexisting condition meant that someone could be legally barred from getting insurance. Now companies must adhere to strict rules that disallow companies from refusing health care to anyone with any preexisting condition.
Reaching communities that are especially susceptible to our health system’s disparities is paramount if the promise of the ACA is to be fulfilled. We must communicate what the ACA means and connect eligible individuals to information and resources necessary to understanding their options for enrolling in a plan that meets their budget and needs. Let’s work to make sure the promise and benefits of the ACA reaches our entire community!
The deadline to enroll in coverage through the Marketplace is February 15, 2015. To learn more, head to healthcare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596.
This was first posted to the NCLR Blog.
Protest launched over Google Translate use of anti-gay slurs
More than 27,000 people sign online petition demanding Google remove slurs
gregh
www.gaystarnews.com/article/protest-launched-over-google-translate-use-anti-gay-slurs240115
BREAKING: Federal Court Strikes Down Alabama Ban on Marriage Equality
Today U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. Granade ruled in favor of equality, striking down Alabama’s discriminatory constitutional amendment banning same-sex couples from marrying.
HRC.org
Christian Organizations Misguidedly Defend Denver Bakery Owner for Refusing to Create Anti-gay Cake
Marjorie Silva (far left above), the owner of Denver’s Azucar Bakery who refused to bake an anti-gay cake for bigoted customer Bill Jack and is now facing a state investigation into the matter, is finding some unusual supporters of her decision not to bake the hate cake.
NBC reports that Worldview Academy, a prominent nondenominational Chirstian organization in Midland, Texas that lists Jack (right) as a faculty member and cofounder, says it disagrees with his complaint and stresses that Jack filed it as a “private citizen.”
“Worldview Academy believes that God unconditionally loves every person,” it said in a statement. “We also believe in liberty and justice for all. Consequently, we support the Colorado bakery owner’s right — and the right of all other bakery owners — to not undertake work which would violate their core beliefs.”
The virulently anti-gay Christian legal firm Alliance Defending Freedom, which fights for the right to discriminate against gays in the U.S. (and put them in jail overseas), is also siding with the bakery, Buzzfeed reports:
“It was clearly Ms. Silva’s right to decline to promote a message with which she so clearly disagreed,” Jeremy Tedesco, senior legal counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), said in a statement to BuzzFeed News. “Ms. Silva should not be forced to use her artistic abilities to further a message with which she sincerely disagrees.”
Tedesco’s group, although not involved in this latest case, has represented bakers in two similar recent cases in which the business owners were Christian: In Colorado, Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips refused to sell a cake to a same-sex couple, and in Washington State, Arlene’s Flowers is currently being sued for denying gay men flowers for their wedding.
ADF’s token support of Silva in an attempt to appear consistent in its position that private citizens shouldn’t have to do things they disagree with, however, doesn’t really hold water, as Buzzfeed notes:
On the other side of the courtroom in both past cases — Masterpiece Cakeshop and Arlene’s Flowers — the American Civil Liberties Union represented the customers. Now the ACLU, which is also not directly involved in this newest case, supports the baker’s right to refuse service.
“Folks are trying to compare the Azucar Bakery story to the Masterpiece Cakeshop case… but in fact the two situations are quite different,” ACLU staff attorney Amanda Goad said in an email to BuzzFeed News.
The baker refusing service, she said, is “based on a neutral standard of taste that she would apply to any customer,” and is different from barring customers “not because of what the desired cake looked like, but because of who they are.”
In other words, if Silva had refused to bake Jack a wedding cake because he’s heterosexual, things would be different. As it stands, Silva wouldn’t have made a cake with a hate message for anyone – gay or straight – so the two cases are apples and oranges. She’s already said she would have made a cake with a Bible on it no problem.
In related news, Silva has created a Gofundme page to help the bakery with legal expenses related to the complaint which you can visit and donate to HERE. The page has been up for less than 24 hours and has already raised over $5,300.
Kyler Geoffroy
