Monthly Archives: July 2015
Unveiling the Secret (Smutty) Queer Stories of Centuries Past
Unveiling the Secret (Smutty) Queer Stories of Centuries Past
Over a hundred years later, the shade drawn over classic gay literature is finally being lifted so the work can get the spotlight it’s always deserved.
Matt Baume
www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2015/07/20/unveiling-secret-smutty-queer-stories-centuries-past
I am a Christian. You Are Something Else.
I am a Christian. You Are Something Else.
We both go to church. We both believe in Jesus. I am a Christian. You are something else.
Such is the message I often hear from organized religion, and as a gay man and ex-fundamentalist, I find it divisive and presumptuous. Just recently, I read the following post on Facebook:
“My family and I are Christians. My sister is a Jehovah’s Witness. We all gathered to pray over our food, but my JW sibling did not participate. Why not?”
I grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness, and questions of this sort definitely hit home. My reply to the person who posted this question was, “Funny that you refer to yourself as “Christian” and your sis as something else. Your sister would use that same language. In her mind, she is the Christian and you are something else. Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t recognize any level of righteousness on the part of non-Witness religions. They don’t recognize your faith as being from God, so there is no point in participating in your prayer. Your prayer doesn’t mean anything to her, just as her prayer would not mean anything to you.”
Just as this self-proclaimed Christian has identified Jehovah’s Witnesses as being non-Christian, she would likely have the same view of me. Gay people can’t possibly be Christian, in the minds of many religious people today. There is a large, visible and vocal element of Christianity in this country that has this message for people like me: We are Christian. You are something else.
I no longer believe in God or religion. I am an atheist. But even if I were to belong to one of the Christian faiths who welcomes the LGBT population, many other religious denominations would deny my inclusion into their realm. I can’t ever be a Christian and be gay, they preach.
Several decades ago, I once had a telephone conversation with an ex-girlfriend about my homosexuality. The conversation was prompted by my mistaken belief that honesty was long overdue and would be appreciated. It was an excruciatingly long conversation, well over an hour, when I explained that recognition and acceptance of my homosexuality was the reason why I had ended our relationship a few years prior. We talked about my childhood as a Jehovah’s Witness and my countless years of praying to God, asking Him to cure me. We talked about her conviction in the superiority of the Baptist faith, and their inability to accept homosexuality as an acceptable way of life. I reminded her that I had spent most of my adolescence fervently praying to God, asking for help, a fact that she dismissed as irrelevant. I had not been praying properly, or to the correct form of God, she informed me. Praying to God as a Jehovah’s Witness didn’t count, she insisted. Only if I had been a Baptist, and in her words, “accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior” would my prayers have had any remote chance at validity. She also assured me that, should I follow her instructions, as given by her Baptist faith, God would help me refrain from what she referred to as the homosexual lifestyle. I only needed to join her faith in order to receive that help. The God of certain religions seems to be very selective that way.
Since then, I’ve had other conversations, similar in tone, with people of other religious preferences. Catholics, Mormons, Evangelicals. All declared my years of prayer as a Jehovah’s Witness to have been meaningless. I’ve even switched things up a bit in those conversations and claimed to have been a member of a faith I had never belonged to. Okay, sure, that means I lied a couple of times. For example, in a conversation with a Mormon, I claimed to have been Catholic when I prayed to God to cure me of what I viewed at the time to be sexual deviance. Those prayers were futile, I was informed by the Mormon, simply because they were given while I was Catholic. Mormons don’t really respect Catholics, I discovered. In conversations with the Evangelicals, I once claimed to have been a Mormon when I sent countless prayers to heaven. It didn’t take long to learn that the Evangelicals don’t care much for the Mormon faith. Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are both cults, as far as the Evangelicals are concerned, and once again I learned that my prayers, purportedly given while a Mormon, weren’t valid in the eyes of Evangelicals.
Today, the world is a more welcoming place for young people who are struggling to determine who they are. Thankfully, for those who wish to believe in God, there are religious denominations who embrace, rather than condemn, differences in sexuality, but that wasn’t true when I was growing up under the thumb of the Jehovah’s Witness ideology.
Sadly, many religions today still claim ownership of Christianity, and use such ownership to condemn people like me who don’t conform to their interpretation of biblical law. Those that fall into this lifestyle of delusional self-superiority have the most difficult time with people like me who have embraced our sexual identity and abandoned organized religion. Even more disconcerting to them is the recognition that some Christian faiths accept the LGBT population with open arms. Certain mainstream religions don’t know what to do with the gay and lesbian population, or the transgender or bisexual community, other than offer their proprietary religious dogma as a cure for what they think ails us. Delusions of self-superiority such as that can’t be reasoned with. It can’t be refuted by logic, or facts, or kindness or graciousness. Only a humble acceptance of diversity in the human existence can lead people to tolerance. Sadly, many religions have not yet found this sense of humility. I believe there are some biblical passages which could cure them of this problem, should they care to read them. Of course, I no longer remember specifically where those passages are in the Bible, given that I am now “something else” and no longer read it.
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Caitlyn Jenner says it’s ‘a relief’ to have ESPYs speech behind her
Caitlyn Jenner says it’s ‘a relief’ to have ESPYs speech behind her
Caitlyn Jenner has received a lot of praise for her speech at last week’s ESPYs during which she was presented with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.
What the millions who watched did not know was the level of fear Jenner had about giving the speech despite decades as a sought-after motivational speaker.
‘As a dyslexic kid, my biggest fear in life was to go in front of the class and read because I just wasn’t very good at it — and that stays with you through your whole life,’ Jenner writes in her latest WhoSay column posted on Monday (20 July).
‘That’s why all of my speaking engagements through the years have been always off the cuff. I’m better off getting up there knowing what I’m going to say and doing it.’
But this could not be an off the cuff night.
‘I really had to stick to the prompter because I only had a certain number of minutes to make it right, to get my points across. I practiced, and practiced, and practiced, and practiced to make sure I’d nail it.’
She also had never given a speech wearing a dress.
Jenner (pictured below with her family) revealed that her dress was designed by Donatella Versace who asked for the assignment an it was made in Italy.
‘It was like every fantasy of my life come true,’ she writes. ‘Getting glamorous for the ESPYs was a big process to go through, but it was amazing and so much fun. I really wanted to feel real comfortable up there (although there was a corset under that dress, so I don’t know how comfortable I was!). I wanted to feel good. I wanted to feel pretty. I wanted to be myself.’
The post Caitlyn Jenner says it’s ‘a relief’ to have ESPYs speech behind her appeared first on Gay Star News.
Greg Hernandez
www.gaystarnews.com/article/caitlyn-jenner-says-its-a-relief-to-have-espys-speech-behind-her/
Here’s A Lesson In Trans Terminology You AND Your Parents Will Enjoy
Here’s A Lesson In Trans Terminology You AND Your Parents Will Enjoy
We admit even we sometimes slip up on pronouns and terminology when conversing with our transgender friends or discussing the trans issues of the day, but a respectful intention to “get it right” goes a long way.
Related: “Why Is It So Offensive To Just Say That Transgender Women Grew Up As Boys?”
For people with little to no exposure to trans people in real life, it’s a lot to get adjusted to. The fact that many are trying is a beautiful thing.
Below, get a hilarious (and informative) lesson in the trans lexicon from Funny or Die. This is a great one to forward to your parents back in Idaho:
Dan Tracer
Miss Piggy Gives Rihanna a Run for Her Money in ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ Cover – VIDEO
Miss Piggy Gives Rihanna a Run for Her Money in ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ Cover – VIDEO
Rihanna had better watch her back, because one of our foremost divas is poised to snatch her crown.
Vulture has given us a gift that keeps on giving: a Miss Piggy cover of “Bitch Better Have My Money.” RiRi stans take note: formidable as a champagne bottle may be, it’s no match for Piggy’s mighty pimp slap. Piggy’s tight-and-right disco perm in these classic clips will have you asking “Beyoncé who?”, “Gaga, what?” To be honest, you’ll have a hard time even remembering the original “BBHMM” video once Piggy gives you picture hat, after picture hat, after picture hat.
Check out the video below, and be prepared to let out a resounding “yaaaas, pig.”
For those of you eager to dive deeper into the Miss Piggy “discography,” who could forget her gritty electroclash roots? Here is another classic mash-up, with Piggy covering Peaches’ “Fuck the Pain Away”:
HI-YAAAH!
The post Miss Piggy Gives Rihanna a Run for Her Money in ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ Cover – VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.
Jake Folsom
Miss Piggy Gives Rihanna a Run for Her Money in ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ Cover – VIDEO
Comedian George Lopez: Donald Trump Is a 'Faggot'
Comedian George Lopez: Donald Trump Is a 'Faggot'
The Mexican-American comic responded to Donald Trump’s offensive comments about Mexicans with ugly words of his own.
Bil Browning
www.advocate.com/politics/election/2015/07/20/comedian-george-lopez-donald-trump-faggot
This Berlin apartment features its own secret escape route
This Berlin apartment features its own secret escape route
Escaping your mother-in-law has never been as easy as in this Berlin apartment – simply dash behind the bookcase, slide down the fireman’s pole and you’re in your home office.
Hidden behind the bookcase, guests have to look twice before noticing that there’s more to it.
Stretching over the fourth and fifth floor, the rooftop extension, of a residential block in Berlin Kreuzberg, the apartment – named Haus JJ – features more than just quick escape routes.
Designed by Berlin-based design studio NOWlab, Haus JJ is divided into two main zones: the fourth floor is designed as the private zone and hosts the family bedrooms as well as more quiet areas to work and relax.
The lower floor bathrooms – one for the kids, one for the parents – impress with modern yet unique designs.
On the open plan fifth floor, the public zone compromises of a grand kitchen, dining area and spacious living room, ideal to entertain friends and family without having them to close to your private space.
At the apartment’s heart, the skylight and staircase connect distinct zones rather than just floors.
Sitting under a large skylight, the spiral staircase connecting both areas turns into the apartment’s central element, the pivot point, clearly distinguishing between different zones – not just between floors.
It’s unique color scheme, paired with slim treads and a rope balustrade, turn the staircase into a piece of furniture rather than a necessity.
Inspired by Kreuzbergs Brandwaende (fire walls) – often decorated with graffiti or taken over by urban foliage – the staircase’s herringbone floor incorporates vibrant colors next to neutrals, rising halfway up the stairs before they fade out.
The floor’s colorful pattern emulates foliage growing on fire walls.
As for the fireman’s pole, founder Jörg Petri told Dezeen the owners wanted a slide, but the floor plan did not allow enough space for it – so they came up with a smaller, but equally as fun way to travel between floors.
The post This Berlin apartment features its own secret escape route appeared first on Gay Star News.
Stefanie Gerdes
www.gaystarnews.com/article/this-berlin-apartment-features-its-own-secret-escape-route/
Nick Jonas Got Chained Up In A Gay Bar In London Over The Weekend
Nick Jonas Got Chained Up In A Gay Bar In London Over The Weekend
What did you folks do over the weekend? Cool, sounds fun, but it doesn’t compare to the fun Londoners had Saturday night. Nick Jonas continued his tour of every gay bar/event/party in the universe and gave every gay man what he’s fantasized about the past few months by indulging in some S/M play on stage while performing his latest single “Chains” during a set at G-A-Y at London’s Heaven. Attitude reports the pop star wasn’t tied up the entire time and drag queens Baga Chipz and Mary Mac gave him a hand with those shackle. Admit it: you’re all a little jealous now.
Related: Nick Jonas Is A Man And Doesn’t Need To Shave His Body
Watch the chain reaction unfold below.
Jeremy Kinser
Gawker Editors Quit in Protest, Blast Founder Nick Denton After Story Outing Media Exec Pulled
Gawker Editors Quit in Protest, Blast Founder Nick Denton After Story Outing Media Exec Pulled
Gawker.com editor-in-chief Max Read and Gawker Media executive editor Tommy Craggs have both submitted their resignations in protest of the removal of last week’s controversial story allegedly outing a high-profile media executive.
The story was removed by a 4-2 vote of the company’s managing partners. Founder Nick Denton subsequently issued an apology of sorts for publishing the story, saying “it is a decision I regret.”
Wrote Craggs in a letter to the editorial staff:
…none of the partners in a company that prides itself on its frankness had the decency or intellectual wherewithal to make the case to the executive editor of Gawker Media for undermining (if not immolating) his job, forsaking Gawker’s too-often-stated, too-little-tested principles, and doing the most extreme and self-destructive thing a shop like ours could ever do.
You are this company,” Craggs continued. “Nick [Denton] forgot that, and I hope he one day remembers it. You are, you will always be, the best argument for a company that no longer deserves you.”
Max Read’s memo to the managing partners read in part:
I am able to do this job to the extent that I can believe that the people in charge are able, when faced with difficult decisions, to back up their stated commitments to transparency, fearlessness, and editorial independence. In the wake of Friday’s decision and Tommy’s resignation I can no longer sustain that belief. I find myself forced to resign, effective immediately.
This was not an easy decision. I hope the partnership group recognizes the degree to which it has betrayed the trust of editorial, and takes steps to materially reinforce its independence.
Nick Denton’s reaction to the resignations can be read here.
The post Gawker Editors Quit in Protest, Blast Founder Nick Denton After Story Outing Media Exec Pulled appeared first on Towleroad.
Kyler Geoffroy
Gawker Editors Quit in Protest, Blast Founder Nick Denton After Story Outing Media Exec Pulled
