How Instagram and a Casting Couch Won Jussie Smollett His 'Empire' Role
The gay actor discussed how he landed the role of Jamal Lyons during a panel discussion at Outfest Fusion.
Daniel Reynolds
Daily Archives: March 16, 2015
Florida Proposes "Stand Outside My Loo" Law
Florida Proposes "Stand Outside My Loo" Law
Florida, one of the states known for its infamous so-called “stand your ground” law (“justifiable use of force” law), has now proposed standing its patriarchal ground once again, this time in its “Single Sex Facilities” (what I am calling its “Stand Out of My Loo”) law. If passed by the state legislature, CS/HB 583 would impose criminal penalties on persons who knowingly enter restrooms of a sex not designated on their birth certificates.
Sponsors of this clearly discriminatory bill designed it specifically to ban trans* people from using restrooms that most closely align with their gender identities. Legislators see the writing on the bathroom walls signaling the establishment of gender inclusive restroom facilities throughout the nation, which have existed in a number of nations around the world for decades.
Some may refer to these spaces as “gender neutral,” though “gender inclusive” has become the preferred terminology to describe a space — most notably restrooms and floors in college and university dormitories and in many businesses — denoting a cite of inclusion welcoming individuals of all genders and gender identities and expressions. The terminology “gender neutral” overlooks the actual hierarchal power dynamics among genders, and the implications on the lived experiences of virtually everyone in our society.
Some legislators and community members list a number of objections to gender inclusive facilities: people would become uncomfortable, women would be at greater risk for assault, expense would be great to replace urinals with toilet stalls, it would go (no pun intended) against tradition and other reasons.
Well, let’s take these concerns in order. First, change, any change, often taps into people’s anxieties. As a professor, the beginning of each new semester brings up my anxieties about the materials I have chosen and whether my pedagogical methods have kept up with the state of the art of teaching. After a week or two, I generally relax into a comfortable routine. Actors typically assert that some amount of nervousness actually improves their performances. People often feel anxiety while learning new ideas and concepts, but over time, they accommodate or assimilate this new knowledge into their overall mental library.
Secondly, yes, women have suffered assaults by men entering women’s rooms. Most gender inclusive facilities people are advocating, however, include primarily single-user lockable restrooms. These types of facilities substantially increase safety for all users. In addition, in larger multi-user restrooms, though the clearly stereotypical stick figure wearing the tacky stick dress stuck onto the door announces this as a female-only space, it cannot and has not ensured the occupants’ safety.
Also, cost would not increase or be minimal to change current single-occupant spaces into gender inclusive restrooms. Initial expense would most likely increase to create new single-user restrooms, or if institutions want to convert one or a few current larger multi-user restrooms into gender inclusive facilities, this expense would significantly decrease down the line, and would be outweighed by the benefits.
Gender inclusive restrooms, while nothing new in many locations, in others might be seen as non-traditional, contrary to what has existed before. This is the so-called “lack of prior claim” argument: if it was not here at the beginning of our organization, our culture or our country, then it should not exist now.
We heard this theme voiced and written during the fight against the institution of slavery and against “Jim Crow,” when women began to organize for the right to vote, at the start of labor union organizing, calls for direct voting of U.S. Senators rather than leaving it to state legislators, movements to abolish gender-based clothing mandates and other restrictive gender roles, demands for marriage equality and many other progressive social, cultural and political changes.
The current bifurcated restroom designation contradicts the realities of peoples’ sexed bodies, gender identities and gender expressions. Many intersex people define neither as “male” nor as “female.” Which restroom must they choose, or which are they allowed to choose? The “sex” designation typed onto many trans* peoples’ official records assigned to them at birth simply do not accurately and integrally reflect their actual gender identities. They had no power or control at the time of their birth to list the category that most matched their actual gender identities, and many laws today make it extremely difficult and expensive to permit any changes.
Gender must be seen as a continuum rather than as constituting binary oppositions. Doctors assigned me “male” at birth, but I define myself more as gender-fluid. While I do not specifically identity as “trans*,” I never related to the “he, him, his” personal pronouns. I feel uneasy when anyone refers to me as “a guy” or as “a bachelor,” when men want to talk “man to man,” or tell people to “man up!” These terms are simply social artifice and hold no meaning for me. Thanks to the ground breaking work of my colleague, Davey Shlasko, I am employing the pronouns “they,” “their,” “theirs” as singular pronouns more closely aligned with my gender.
Basically, the criticism of maintaining bifurcated restroom facilities rests upon one primary foundation: cisgender male privilege. By permitting only cis-Johns and not Janes into their Johns, even in single-user facilities, cismen will perpetuate their unearned benefits. The ol’ boys club will remain safe and secure, keeping the gender infidels outside the perimeters as the barricades hold firm.
Other states in addition to Florida are considering similar laws. In Texas, for example, a proposed bill, HR 2801, includes a provision that would offer students $2,000 for reporting and claiming “mental anguish” for having to share restroom facilities with students of another sex.
The proposed laws will further marginalize and intimidate trans* and intersex people, and will function as supplementary reinforcements to the shields guarding cismen their unearned entitlements. They will use these shields to continue to float, as many have always, unconsciously and uncritically down the mainstream of gender inequality.
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Thank you Genny Beemyn for your insightful editorial suggestions.
Jane Lynch proud of Glee's message of urging kids to 'find your own choir room'
Jane Lynch proud of Glee's message of urging kids to 'find your own choir room'
‘There are people in the world who you can trust who love you – find those people’
gregh
Anti-LGBT Bills Defeated in West Virginia, Fairness and Equality Prevail
Anti-LGBT Bills Defeated in West Virginia, Fairness and Equality Prevail
On Saturday in West Virginia, the legislative session came to an end at midnight, in effect killing extreme anti-LGBT bills which had failed to move forward.
HRC.org
Steven Sondheim Reads Gaga, Charlie Hunnam Went Full Frontal On Queer As Folk, And Orlando Bloom’s Male Lip-Lock
Steven Sondheim Reads Gaga, Charlie Hunnam Went Full Frontal On Queer As Folk, And Orlando Bloom’s Male Lip-Lock
Musical theater grand poobah Steven Sondheim calls Gaga’s much-lauded Sound of Music Oscars performance a “travesty.” Why? “It was ridiculous, as it would be from any singer who treats that music in semi-operatic style. She had no relationship to what she was singing. What people liked was her versatility.”
Orlando Bloom locks lips with comedian David Williams on Comic Relief. Must have been one hell of an afterparty.
Modern Family’s Cam and Mitchell, played by Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet respectively, will be seeking a divorce next season, only to discover gay divorce is not yet legal. They may as well just rename the show Postmodern Family.
A new book called Beefcake promises “some of the hottest vintage male imagery from the mid-twentieth century,” like this Trojan below. Link slightly NSFW.
Harry Potter stars Emma Watson and Emma Thompson will reunite in Disney’s live-action Beauty and The Beast. Watson will play the titular Beauty, while Thompson will do her best to step into Angela Lansbury’s shoes as Mrs. Potts (not to be confused with Mrs. Potter).
Charlie Hunnam reminisces about a time before Sons of Anarchy when he was more comfortable baring it all on screen. “I have done full frontal before. I did full frontal when I was 18 on the TV show Queer as Folk. But because I was playing a 15-year-old character, the censorship people wouldn’t allow us to put it on TV,” he said. “I think when I was young, I was a little bit more fearless with that stuff. I don’t know.”
Now:
Vs. then:
Dan Tracer
Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1708
Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1708
METEOR: Streaked across the European night sky on Sunday.
RICK SANTORUM: “Yes We Can” return the Bible to public schools.
DAVID PAKMAN: Colorful language from an anti-trans listener.
JOHN OLIVER: Tears into the NCAA over no-pay collegiate athletes.
For more recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.
Kyler Geoffroy
LGBT Love Stories ~ Official T-Segment Trailer
LGBT Love Stories ~ Official T-Segment Trailer
Watch the T-Segment trailer starring Shelbe Chang. Featuring "Hush & Whispers" by Lunden Reign.
Reform Rabbis Group Installs First Out President
Reform Rabbis Group Installs First Out President
Rabbi Denise Eger is the first openly gay or lesbian president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
Trudy Ring
www.advocate.com/politics/religion/2015/03/16/reform-rabbis-group-installs-first-out-president
Terry Crews On Feminism And The Problem With Male Pride
Terry Crews On Feminism And The Problem With Male Pride
Terry Crews never disappoints when it comes to conversations about feminism and masculinity. In an interview with Dame Magazine published on March 6, the “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” actor and former NFL player dropped some serious knowledge about gender roles and how male pride hurts men.
“The truth is, everyone is equal and valuable, and everyone is necessary, but there tends to be a dismissal of certain groups,” Crews told Dame Magazine.
Crews explained that he first became interested in feminism because of the women in his life, including his wife, four daughters, and five-year-old granddaughter. “I did some serious thinking about the world that they’re coming up in. I want my girls to have every opportunity to do whatever they want,” he said.
Since the publication of his 2014 book on masculinity, the 46-year-old has been very vocal about the problems with masculinity and how men can help break down these gender stereotypes.
“I’m not here to tell guys that it’s their responsibility to come to a woman’s rescue,” Crews told Dame. “Women are more than capable of handling themselves, and have been doing so wonderfully for years. What I am saying is, as one man to another man, examine your own mind-set. Examine what makes you tick. Because if you feel that you are more valuable than your wife and kids, that’s a problem.”
Crews with his wife, Rebecca King-Crews.
Crews believes that male pride a particular toxic force. “My message to all men is that you have to kill pride,” he said. “You’ve been taught that pride is a manly thing, that pride is a good thing. But the problem with pride is that it stops you from growth.When you’re so proud that you won’t change, you’ve got problems. Male pride causes wars; millions of people have died because of male pride, because one man would not back down.”
Although he acknowledged that it can be intimidating for men to get involved in advocacy for women’s issues, Crews explained that men simply need to consider the women in their own lives. “You look at the women in your life — that’s the best way to think of it,” he said. “Most men see the women outside their homes as somehow different from their moms or their sisters. It’s the weirdest thing. The person they’re trying to sleep with and then run out of there — that’s somebody’s mom, or sister, or daughter that someone cares about.”
Crews also summed up why men should feel empowered to engage with feminism even if they don’t know much about the movement. “For guys, if you did wrong, if you were that way, I get it. I was that guy, too. And along with apologies, you have to begin to make amends.“
We tip our hats to you, Mr. Crews.
Head over to Dame to read Crews’ full interview.