Antigay Michigan State Rep Warns of Gay Journalist's 'Agenda'
Michigan Rep. Gary Glenn seems to think a gay journalist can’t report the news objectively.
Dawn Ennis
www.advocate.com/politics/2015/03/23/antigay-michigan-state-rep-warns-gay-journalists-agenda
Elizabeth Taylor Would Be 'Horrified' To Learn Of Current HIV Rates In Young Gay Men, Granddaughter Claims
Elizabeth Taylor would be “horrified” to learn about current HIV/AIDS rates in young gay men, the actress’s granddaughter revealed in a new interview.
Naomi deLuce Wilding, 40, tells The Telegraph that “a real complacency” regarding HIV/AIDS in the gay community had already set in before her legendary grandmother’s death at the age of 79 in 2011.
“Even before she died, when my grandmother was pretty ill, she was horrified to see that,” Wilding said. “Sadly I don’t think she had the strength to say what she really felt at that point.”
Describing Taylor as a “very intuitive woman,” Wilding said, “When she saw that people — friends of hers and fellow actors — were being stigmatized [for being HIV-positive], she recognized an opportunity to use her voice and fame to speak up for those who were being discriminated against.”
That mindset, Wilding implied, prompted Taylor to establish the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (or ETAF) in 1991, following the 1985 death of her good friend, Rock Hudson, due to complications from HIV/AIDS.
During her lifetime, Taylor was reportedly critical of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s response to the HIV/AIDS crisis, and lobbied celebrity fans like Michael Jackson and Elton John for support in her cause.
“It is bad enough that people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance,” Taylor, who became known internationally as a prominent figure in the fight against HIV/AIDS, is quoted as saying.
Indiana House Passes Anti-LGBT Religious Discrimination Bill
The Indiana House of Representatives today voted in favor of a sweeping bill allowing individuals to use religion as an excuse to discriminate against LGBT people and other minorities
HRC.org
Australian Rugby Star Takes A Mid-Game Stand Against Homophobia
Australian rugby star David Pocock took a stand against homophobic language during a recent match, and his passionate outcry is being met with both admiration and criticism.
Multiple players on the Brumbies informed their teammate Pocock that a player on their opponents’ team, the Waratahs, was using derogatory antigay slurs to put them down.
26-year-old Pocock, who was formerly the captain of Australia’s national team, has a track record of advocating for LGBT rights, and approached a referee mid-game to bring attention to the situation, informing him that two players had been called “faggots.”
He said afterwards:
“As players, we’ve said the Brumbies aren’t going to tolerate any homophobic slurs, I just made that clear to the referee that it’s unacceptable. You can be the toughest man in the world, but it’s got nothing to do with using that sort of language.”
The incident played out in front of 27,000 fans, with the referee stating the it was “unacceptable.” No official punishments were doled out, though an investigation is currently underway.
While many (including us) praise Pocock for taking a stand, his actions have come under fire from some rugby fans. Here’s the general argument:
“Says Rod, of Surry Hills: “Has sport come to this? I don’t agree with comments like that, but neither do I agree with making such an issue of it. Pocock knows the player(s) involved, and he’d be better served having a stern word to them during the game, or after the game. To bring the referee into it is unnecessary, in my view, although I’m sure plenty of the PC crowd will disagree.”
Pocock naturally has a different take. He said:
“In many ways what happens in sport reflects what’s happening in society. The tide has turned on this, becoming more inclusive and moving towards acceptance and marriage equality at some point is going to happen. I very much see sport playing a role in that.”
Dan Tracer
Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1711
ACCIDENTAL BEAR: Mike Enders hits the beach with Drag Race alumni Tammie Brown
GUN SHOP: What would happen if one was opened in NYC?
ANGRY TORTOISE: Don’t interrupt his love-making
UPTOWN FUNK: Sexy treadmill dance version
For more recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.
Kyler Geoffroy
www.towleroad.com/2015/03/towleroad-guide-to-the-tube–5.html
60 sec LGBT Days Charlie's Angels
Cyber Suitors: Shattered Illusions Along the Information Superhighway
“I love you.”
Men have said those words to me before, but none with as much heartfelt sincerity as Lucas.
“I mean it,” he continued. “You’re everything to me.” Included with that text message was a snapshot of the “Full Lucas,” a nude selfie that was, as he put it, taken to reiterate how much he trusted and cared for me. After all, our relationship had been on fire for three months, and it was time to take things to the next level.
“I love you, too,” I said, attaching a close-up of my smiling face. I had never taken sexually suggestive photographs with my phone, so Lucas’s fully extended, ahem, “enthusiasm” had to speak for both of us. Not to mention that I was tentative about saying the “L word;” it was a big step for me — especially considering that Lucas and I had never actually met. In person, that is.
The Internet has, indeed, made the world a very small place; conversely, it has deepened the dating pool to the point that scuba gear might soon be required. Lucas hadn’t applied any geographic parameters to his online dating search and, likewise, was sifting through potential mates across the entire United States — even some of Europe and Asia.
“I think it’s really hard to find love,” he told me, when he first reached out with a flattering, gushing message on Match.com, “So I don’t want to limit myself to men in only my city. Unlimited calling plans, texting and FaceTime have made it easier to meet ‘The One.'”
This wasn’t the first time that I’d been contacted by someone out of state or enjoyed flirty rapports with gentlemen in various parts of the world. There was Stephen in London, Derek in Salt Lake City and Tom in Columbus. But, we all tired of the novelty after a week or two — except for Lucas in Denver. He was persistent and tenacious, and I was an easy mark.
At 40, I dream of having a solid, monogamous relationship with a mature, culturally literate man. In my one long-term relationship — which lasted five years — I didn’t feel unconditionally loved or supported. Being new to romance at that time, I didn’t really have an understanding of my needs and expectations. I was aware enough to know, however, that an emotional component was missing. After an amicable break up, I was desperate to find the comfort and security of a substantial lover, a man who was forthcoming with compliments and affection. I became the terminally single friend who whined to his inner circle about being alone; I was a gay Sex and the City episode without the Jimmy Choos.
It was no wonder, then, that I was so easily taken with Internet dating. Each “like,” “wink,” and message saw the potential for everything I wanted. My fantasy man was sitting out there somewhere behind the bright light of a 17″, MacBook Pro computer screen, iPad or Kindle. So what if he was 1,000 miles away? I wanted so much to bond romantically with another human being that I undervalued the courtship process and eschewed traditional dating protocol for the promise of someone who decided I was worth loving without even having laid eyes on me.
I talked and texted with Lucas daily, discussing my work life in Los Angeles and his as a father to two foster children in Colorado. He would send me school pictures and updates about his family, and we would talk a number of times each week. We even found ways to satisfy each other sexually through phone calls and video chats, another way that the Worldwide Web has brought us all only eight inches apart. My overwhelming desire for a connection swept me into a cyber romance that I actually started to believe in. Lucas seemed to be a reliable, honorable man and I began to think that Denver might not be such a bad place to live.
“I assume that you’re not seeing or sleeping with other men,” Lucas announced one month after first reaching out to me online. I actually hadn’t thought about making that declaration, but I also hadn’t felt the desire to explore anyone else. “I think we should commit to this and see where it takes us,” he said.
I was warmed and excited to hear how taken with me he was; this almost-stranger recognized my value from a distance, and my need for love and approval pushed me into the very arms I wouldn’t be able to touch until one of us got on an airplane to see the other.
Two weeks after we exchanged “I love yous” — just about four months since “meeting” — I couldn’t seem to get Lucas on the phone. His texts and e-mails trailed off, and I was enveloped in a dreary sense of loss that, looking back, seems misguided for a love affair that started, lived and ended on a smart phone. In a quick text, he finally admitted that he had met another man in Denver and had been seeing the gentleman for a month. Apparently, what I wished would be something real was merely a stop-gap for Lucas. Oddly, the dissolution of my relationship with him felt equally as profound as the end of my relationship with my previous, long-term partner.
Diana Ross was supreme enough to tell the world that “You can’t hurry love; you just have to wait.” She was right. So, instead of speeding along the information superhighway, looking for the latest home remedies AND love, I’ve decided to take the surface streets. No more of these online illusions and fantasies of dream men who are waiting for me in every city BUT Los Angeles. I want the real thing, with a real person with real motivation and genuine interest. And, for that, I may just have to stick close to home.
Georgia House Subcommittee to Hear Anti-LGBT Bill Tomorrow
S.B. 129 would empower individuals to use their religion to pick and choose which laws they want to follow, unleashing an anticipated wave of lawsuits and discrimination targeting the LGBT community.
HRC.org
Gay Men Are More Prone To Skin Cancer Thanks To Fake Baking, Study Says
In case you needed another reminder to always wear sunscreen, a new study has found that gay and bisexual men in the United States are twice as likely as heterosexual men to develop skin cancer, USA Today reports. The reason? Fake baking, of course. The study also found that gay and bisexual men are more likely to hang out in cancer boxes tanning beds.
“The primary reason that men and women engage in indoor tanning is because of the cultural association of tanning with a healthy look and overall attractiveness, ” researcher Sarah Arron, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco, says. “We need to dispel the myth of the healthy tan.”
Researchers looked at government health surveys conducted in California between 2001 and 2009 and found a higher number of cases of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers among gay and bisexual men than heterosexual men. They also found that gay and bisexual men in California reported being three times more likely to engage in indoor tanning than straight men were.
Researchers then looked at national health surveys for 2013 and found similar results. Gay and bisexual men were twice as likely as in straight men to develop skin cancer, and about 5 percent of them said they had engaged in indoor tanning in the past year compared to just 1.7 percent of straight men.
“While unfortunate and alarming, the findings are not all that surprising,” says Fred Sainz, vice president for communication at the Human Rights Campaign. Sainz suggests gay men tan because they are vain and want to look “youthful and attractive.”
“It’s short-term gain vs. long-term pain,” he says.
So breakout the SPV 50, fellas. Unless, of course, you want to look like this:
Or this:
Related stories:
Tan Mom Is Making A Gay Porn —You Read That Correctly
Bad News For Bottoms: New Study Finds Too Much Penetration Can Cause Cancer
The Economy Must Be Improving If People Are Being Paid To Watch You Tan
Graham Gremore
LGBT issues not top-of-mind at the NFL Annual Meeting
With no NFL players having come out as gay in the last year, LGBT issues are not at the forefront of the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix. Last year Michael Sam made it a hot topic. This year,…
