'RuPaul's DragCon' Coming To Los Angeles Convention Center
Are you ready for the next evolution in drag herstory?

Last week the legendary RuPaul and World of Wonder announced “RuPaul’s DragCon.” Described as a mash-up of “Comic-Con,” “BeautyCon” and “Hello Kitty Con,” “RuPaul’s DragCon” will kick off the 2015 Pride season as the “art of drag, queer culture and self-expression for all” in a convention framework.

“DragCon” will act as a platform for fans of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and drag culture in general to meet some of their biggest drag idols and celebrity guests within a safe, queer environment. The convention will also offer a range of programs for participants, ranging from “Lady MacBeth to Lady Gaga: Drag in the Mainstream” to “A Drag Revolution: Stonewall Riots.” This is certainly shaping up to be interesting and uncharted territory for the world of drag.

“I am thrilled to bring this one-of-a-kind event to Los Angeles,” RuPaul said in a statement. “DragCon is not just a showcase for the most talented drag queens in the world. It’s a chance for all lovers of drag culture — young and old, gay and straight — to come together, to inspire each other and to let their freak flags fly high.”

The list of those involved with drag icon is massive, including RuPaul, Lady Bunny, Michelle Visage, Big Freedia, Coco Peru, James St. James, Peaches Christ, Chi Chi LaRue — and, of course, your favorite girls from “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

“DragCon” is slated to occur on May 16-17 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Head here for tickets and more information.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/rupauls-dragcon_n_6738254.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Department of Labor to Enforce FMLA Rule Change Impacting Married Same-Sex Couples

Today, HRC praised the DOL announcement that a final rule change to FMLA will be issued impacting legally married same-sex couples living in non-marriage equality states.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/department-of-labor-to-implement-fmla-rule-change-impacting-married-same-se?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

News: Arkansas, Scott Walker, Spider-Man, Oscars, Presbyterians

Kyler Geoffroy

www.towleroad.com/2015/02/news-12.html

WATCH: Anti-Equality Officials Resort to Increasingly Desperate Tactics

From Arkansas to Texas to Washington, D.C., antigay politicians are frantic for some way to stem the tide of equality.

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Matt Baume

www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2015/02/23/watch-anti-equality-officials-resort-increasingly-desperate-ta

Creating Change for All LGBTQ Advocates and Allies

By Russell Roybal and Sue Hyde

The National LGBTQ Task Force warmly welcomed 4,000 activists and organizers to the 27th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change in Denver, Colorado, which took place on Feb. 4 – 8, 2015. Among them were people from every race, creed, immigration status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. We strive always to have such a diverse and representative gathering at our annual political conference. We are told by many, and we agree, that the Creating Change conference is the most diverse and representative gathering in the LGBTQ movements of the United States.

Last year, we received 800 proposals for workshops, trainings and caucus sessions for Creating Change 2015. We think carefully and purposefully when selecting proposals for scheduling, seeking useful, relevant, innovative, and skills-building sessions. Included in our review process is consideration of the skills, integrity, ethics and principles of session facilitators, especially when the subject matter is such that attendees may make themselves vulnerable with personal disclosures such as immigration status. We are confident in the facilitation skills of the presenters/facilitators for both “Queering Immigration” and “Our Parents Are the Original Dreamers.” We believe that the presenters/facilitators were adept and sensitive leaders for attendees in sessions that both created safe space for personal disclosures, for those who wished to do that, and opened up space for deep discussions of political organizing strategies to reform our very broken immigration system. Both of these sessions were valuable contributions to the program at Creating Change 2015.

Each year at the Creating Change Conference, we, in collaboration with our local Host Committee, organize hospitality suites that serve specific groups of attendees for whom the cost of food may be prohibitive. In Denver, hospitality suites were open and serving no-cost food and non-alcoholic beverages beginning Thursday, Feb. 5 and ending Saturday night, Feb. 7. The hospitality suites welcomed youth, seniors, people of color, disabled people, trans, gender non-conforming people, and bisexual people. With one exception, the youth suite, five of the suites were open to any person who wished to visit them, enjoy no-cost food and beverage, and share in the community being built within those suites. The hospitality suites were launched at Creating Change 1997 for the express purpose of creating greater access for youth and young attendees; the program has since expanded to include other groups of attendees for whom hospitality suites provide both no-cost nutritious meals and a respite from the hurly-burly of Creating Change.

As mentioned above, we received 800 proposals for sessions at Creating Change 2015. Submission of a session proposal is a primary and important way that attendees shape the conference program. The session proposal process is open to anyone and everyone who wants to submit a proposal, on most LGBTQ-related political and cultural topics, for consideration for scheduling. Our link for session submissions is posted at www.creatingchange.org in mid-summer; the deadline for submissions for Creating Change 2016 is September 30, 2015. We invite proposals from all who are interested in presenting sessions at Creating Change 2016.

We aim to create a safe and welcoming space to all who attend Creating Change. If any attendee feels harassed, threatened, or unsafe, there is a standing offer, published in our program book, that we are accessible 24/7 to help folks find resources for on-site assistance, including trained professionals who make themselves available to us, and thus, to conference attendees. We recognize that our attendees can encounter any kind of harassment and threat to personal safety that we experience in our daily lives and in our home communities. No matter how safe any of us may feel at Creating Change, an ugly world is at our doorstep and, sometimes, unfortunately, even in our host hotel. We take seriously that our attendees may be made vulnerable and afraid by the actions of others and we are committed to engaging in productive and constructive follow-up with anyone who feels unsafe at our conference.

For whom do we organize Creating Change? For all of us who commit to building a world where each of us can be ourselves, every day in every environment in which we live, work, study, worship and play. We hope that all who share this goal will join us in Chicago for the 28th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, Jan. 20 – 24, 2016. We hope you will join us.

Russell Roybal is the Deputy Executive Director at the National LGBTQ Task Force and Sue Hyde is the Director of the National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change at the National LGBTQ Task Force.

www.huffingtonpost.com/russell-roybal-/creating-change-for-all-lgbtq-advocates-and-allies_b_6724468.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Graham Moore: Nope, he's not gay

Oscar winner’s ‘stay weird’ speech after win for The Imitation Game screenplay led many to assume

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gregh

www.gaystarnews.com/article/graham-moore-nope-hes-not-gay230215

WATCH: Robbie & Eddie on The People’s Brief

HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/watch-robbie-eddie-on-the-peoples-brief?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Looking At “Looking”: Season 2, Episode 6

Halloween is a distant memory for most of us, but it’s an imminent reality for the tumultuous trio. And like any TV show featuring the spookiest of all holidays, Looking delves into the genre of horror this week. Except instead of grisly murder or suspenseful secrets, they pull out all the stops in an emotional bloodbath.

Things start off simply, with Dom, Ag and Pat arguing over their costumes. The scene is light, but it’s a good reminder that these three are actually friends. While I enjoy the depth of their separate storylines, I’m always happy to be reminded that sometimes they just meander around together and make silly jokes. It’s been a while since they’ve had that opportunity.

When Ag has to bail, there’s a weird moment where Dom and Pat acknowledge that he used to be horrible and is still not that great. To all the people asking, “why would anyone be friends with Ag?” you can take solace in the fact that the characters might not be entirely sure themselves. But since our favorite bearded deviant has shirked his plate-buying duties, Pat has to go to the office to steal some. Because, you know, that’s the only possible place in San Francisco where a person could reasonably come by something as rare and precious as paper flatware.

And of course while he’s there he just has to talk to Kevin. Bossman Cheaterpants is in an understandably iffy place, feelings-wise, but has made the call to move back to Seattle with his boyfriend. For some reason, Patrick feels like he has a say in this, and suggests that the move maybe not happen because, like, what about my needs? It’s a decidedly dodgy move given how he treated Kevin at last week’s office celebration, but don’t worry, he’s just getting started.

After a little drama of who’s-doing-couples-costumes-with-who, everyone gets dolled up and heads to the party and the awkward gets turned right up to twelve. First off, even though Patrick’s Gordon Freeman costume is actually really good, no one gets it. (Though Ag has no right to throw shade since all he did was drape himself in cosplay wigs.) Dom, who presumably still doesn’t like to be called Daddy, shows up in a harness to play He-Man. Whoever thought of that: thank you. We all needed it very badly.

But then the guest list gets a little more complicated. Doris and Malik make an insane Sonny and Cher, but the insinuation of love and marriage has our favorite lady nurse ready to bolt for the door. Turns out they’ve become a proper couple since last time we saw them. Presumably if the show were an hour long, we wouldn’t have to play so much connect-the-dots with the minor characters. Next, Richie and the Ginger arrive in adorably casual Where the Wild Things Are costumes and proceed to be adorably casual with each other. Great for them, but bad for our host.

Since Eddie is never not the best person in the room, he shows up dressed as Bilbo Baggins with a sexy Legolas in tow. He is overt in attempting to set Patrick up with this guy, but the elf is out of luck because Patty’s already selected his date for the evening: ALL THE VODKA. All of it. His only goals tonight are to inflict himself on Richie and tell everyone about the karaoke sign-up sheet ten times each. Emboldened by the booze, he proceeds to destroy a perfectly nice conversation among his friends and their dates about PrEP. Uncalled for, dude! We finally had PrEP being discussed on TV, don’t ruin it for us! Go ruin something else, like your chances with the guy Eddie brought over.

Pat, perhaps mistaking one of Legolas’ braids for implied consent, tries to get a make-out session going on the dance floor. You can’t pull that shit with an archer, though, because you will get shot down. For most people, this would be a low point. But most people don’t invite their partnered boss fuckbuddy to their house party, so we’re nowhere near done yet. Yes, Kevin shows up with Jon right behind him and everything’s about to get very real.

I believe it was Chekov who said that a karaoke machine that gets plugged in during the first act has to be used to hurt multiple close friends during the third act. Fulfilling this prophecy, Patrick puts on his “Season 1 Agustin” costume and gives a long, embarrassing, thoroughly inebriated speech to the helpless crowd. To Dom, he offers a dismissive message about the restaurant that clearly shows how little he believes in its potential. To Ag, he provides a stinging “joke” about the rent that’s not getting paid. To Richie, he deals a low blow about his boyfriend’s choice to take Truvada. And to Kevin, he offers a suspicious story about being alone in the office that finally convinces the onlookers to pull the plug on this unsightly meltdown.

For some reason, Kevin thinks he should have a chat with Patrick right now. They’re all lovey-dovey in a way that they should know is wrong because everyone is telling them it’s wrong. Like, in the moment, as it’s taking place, they are getting clear signals not to do this. Ag tries to prevent the conversation from even happening, and Jon swoops in to stop it almost immediately. Boyfriend’s no fool (despite the literal jester’s hat), he knows something’s up.

We end with everyone’s relationships in various states of disarray. Ag clearly wants more from Eddie, who is unwilling to go there. Malik really wants more from Doris, who seems to want more also but is afraid to give it. Dom is alone on the couch even though he is a kind, hot, single, shirtless, emotionally stable top at a gay Halloween party. Patrick has earned some amount of alienation from pretty much everyone he invited tonight. The exception to this trend is Richie, who makes a clean escape and remains a good man dancing with another good man. My theory? He and his date survived the carnage because they were the only ones in comfortable costumes. Let that be a lesson to you next October, readers.

Chris Kelly

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