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Former President Jimmy Carter Believes Jesus Would Be In Favor Of Gay Marriage
I believe Jesus would approve gay marriage, but that’s just my own personal belief. I think Jesus would encourage any love affair if it was honest and sincere and was not damaging to anyone else, and I don’t see that gay marriage damages anyone else.”
— Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in an interview with HuffPo
Jeremy Kinser
Transgender Warhol Icon Holly Woodlawn Fights for Life; GoFundMe Campaign Launched to Ease Battle
Transgender Warhol icon Holly Woodlawn is fighting for her life at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, too weak to undergo a biopsy to determine the cause of liver and brain lesions, reports Seth Abramovitch at The Hollywood Reporter.
Woodlawn is now the subject of a GoFundMe campaign launched by her friend and fellow Warhol star Penny Arcade which has reached more than $43,000 as of this posting.
Donations would cover nursing care, and, should it come to that, funeral and burial expenses. Informed of the outpouring of support, Woodlawn was “gobsmacked” by the news, Arcade tells The Hollywood Reporter.
“We just want to create an amount of money that can take care of Holly,” says Arcade, confident the campaign will hit its $50,000 goal. “She gave of herself to the world, she inspired many, many people, she saved many lives and she entertained us. For all of that she deserves to be taken care of at her weakest.”
Writes Arcade on the GoFundMe page:
Holly’s has made it clear that she wants to return home, surrounded by friends and if she must die, she doesn’t want to die in a nursing home. We who love Holly, hope to raise enough funds to continue her care and hopefully bring Holly home with 24 hour nursing care , after she recuperates in a nursing home. Currently, we have no means to achieve these goals, which also include provisions for her funeral and to secure her last resting place. Holly gave visability long before it was comfortable to do so and also gave thousands of people both hope and pleasure.
Woodlawn starred in Warhol’s films Trash (1970, opposite Joe Dallesandro) and Women in Revolt (1972) as well as many theatre productions and later bit parts in films such as Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss. Director George Cukor mounted an unsuccessful Oscar campaign for her work in Trash.
Abramovitch also notes that she was the subject of one of Lou Reed’s most famous hits:
“Holly came from Miami, F.L.A.,” the late rocker sings in the 1972 classic. “Hitchhiked her way across the U.S.A. Plucked her eyebrows on the way. Shaved her legs and then he was a she. She says, ‘Hey, babe, take a walk on the wild side.’ “
You can find the GoFundMe campaign here.
The post Transgender Warhol Icon Holly Woodlawn Fights for Life; GoFundMe Campaign Launched to Ease Battle appeared first on Towleroad.
Andy Towle
Transgender Warhol Icon Holly Woodlawn Fights for Life; GoFundMe Campaign Launched to Ease Battle
STUDY: Bisexuals Have Worse Health Than Gay, Lesbian, or Straight People
A new study confirms bisexuals are facing a health crisis.
Eliel Cruz
(Gender) Transitioning From No to Yes
The shift from No to Yes began for me with a talk at Chicago Ideas Week, when I mentioned my sex change surgery on stage before a thousand people. I decided to say No to the muzzle that political correctness imposed and speak out.
How can anyone understand being transgender without feeling free to ask whatever questions they desire? Outrage without justification serves No one. So let’s talk about sex (change)! Where there’s nothing to hide, any shame must fade.
After all, life is (sex) change. At least it was in my case. No more euphemisms or indignation for me, thank you, not when it comes to a medically necessary procedure. What purpose do terms mean if they fail to communicate the ideas behind them?
As a transgender woman, my idea is that men rock – not all, of course, but at least the ones who see past gender. Take, for instance: my dad who called me every day in Thailand after my operation, my surgeon there, more than a dozen Y-chromosome bearing attorneys back home who mentored me as a young lawyer and encourage me to this day, a bunch of male friends and peers in my profession, and a handful of guys I’ve dated seriously since transitioning. There is No question about their manhood; our interactions transcend transgender altogether.
Which begs the question: am I transgender anymore? I feel proud when I read about other transgender women – and men – who live, love and strive to make a go of it just like anyone else. No one is more, or less, than a human being, against all odds, simply human. Aren’t we all too human?
So to hell with keeping secrets out of fear. No to skin and bones in the closet. I want my blood “light,” as the Egyptians refer to people who uplift others. Out, out, damn clot – out, out of the way.
My grandma believed that the purpose of life is to serve other people. For me, work saves the ego from too much introspection by saying No to the self and Yes to the needs of someone else. Every case I handle as a lawyer is of consequence to that particular client’s life – and each story is a personal one thrust into the legal vacuum that feeds on lies of truth and justice.
The aim is always to keep learning through growth. The human experience is a teacher whose lesson remains the same: saying Yes is about living without regret, to the extent that such an ideal is possible, and especially when it comes to moments that make up memory. My mind, for instance, harbors a first kiss that took 21 years to fluoresce.
Yes, I say. Yes.
Yes to the ferocity that surfaces over lost time. Disappointment persuaded me to believe hell hath no fury like a transwoman scorned – but rage catalyzes expression, which in turns bridges one heart to another. I want young transgender people to feel less alone than I did; the genderevolution today is their renaissance.
But lest my enthusiasm be misunderstood, my Yes includes acknowledging sadness in a river of (LGB)Tears. So I confess: Yes, I do long for embrace – a completeness that the Austrian author Hermann Broch described in writing of a young woman losing her virginity in The Guiltless thusly: “And there follows (after a little awkwardness and a little pain, but with the gravity of the self-evident) the primordial surprise, the eternal surprise which – even when it does not, as now, occur for the first time, but has become usual and customary – is always irradiated with the shine of the first time and must always, invariably, come as a surprise: the sinking, the fitting, of two human bodies into one another.”
Yes, I say. Yes I will acceptransgender to the point where I can believe it when a man loves a transgender woman.
Yes from these transgender lips of mine. Yes to sharing in an effort to chip away at stigma until nothing but a statute of Lady Justice is left: in one hand she holds a pair of scales to weigh reality; and in the other, there is a sword for cutting away preconception to reveal Yes at the quick.
Yes, as Edward Gibbon observed in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: “…the energy of the sword is communicated to the pen, and it will be found by experience that the tone of history will rise or fall with the spirit of the age.”
Yes.
This blog entry concludes Part II of the Being Transgender – Naked project. A collection is available here.
If you have enjoyed this project, please check out my book There Is Room For You – Tales From A Transgender Defender’s Heart.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Thomas Burgess And His Hot Teammates Become Unlikely Allies Of Australian Marriage Equality
Here’s one excellent tactic in the fight for Australian marriage equality — enlighten the national pastime with a history of homophobia on the issue, then stand back and let them be the perfect ally.
The most convincing arguments come from the places you’d least expect, so when the National Rugby League decided to join 400 organizations to formally support a campaign encouraging Federal Parliament to pass same-sex marriage, people listen.
Related: This Might Be The Most Rousing Marriage Equality Speech You’ll Hear
Even better, players themselves are entering the conversation. Imagine what it must feel like as a gay youth in Australia to see the culture’s sports idols advocating on behalf of marriage equality. Excuse us, we’ve got — ahem — something in our eye.
Rabbitohs star Thomas Burgess, 23, spoke recently to the Sydney Morning Herald, applauding the NRL’s decision.
“It’s ignorant and old-fashioned [to think] if you’re male you can only love a female,” he said, adding, “Nowadays, anyone can love anyone. And people just need to get over it.”
Speaking about his own gay friends, Burgess reasoned, “I wouldn’t want them to be unhappy in life.”
“One of the NRL’s core values is inclusiveness and we have put in place practices and policies to support and recognise the rights of our LGBTI community. Accordingly, the NRL supports marriage equality,” NRL chief operating officer Suzanne Young said.
Related: PHOTOS: Nude-Selfie-Taking Rugby Hunk Could Find Himself “Working In A Gay Bar”
Burgess also addressed homophobic slurs on the field, saying that players “don’t actually think about what they’re saying. It’s more just a bit of stupidity, really.”
He hopes awareness will help them to “understand that it’s not right.”
“They need to be more educated about it.”
Dan Tracer
Brody Jenner: ‘Caitlyn Is Just A Much Freer Person’ Than Bruce – WATCH
On The Today Show, Brody Jenner opened up about what his relationship with Caitlyn Jenner has been like since her transition.
Jenner, who also has a new show titled “Sex With Brody” that aims to be a more PG13 version of Howard Stern’s talkshow, revealed that his relationship with Caitlyn far surpasses his relationship with Bruce:
“Well, growing up, I didn’t really have the greatest relationship with Bruce,” Brody explained to TODAY’s Hoda Kotb. “I didn’t see him that often. And Caitlyn is just a much freer person. It’s incredible to see the difference between Caitlyn and Bruce.”
“Bruce and I kind of didn’t really get along. And Caitlyn? It’s literally like trying to get to know somebody — like your dad — over again. But in a better way.”
Jenner adds that part of the reason why there was so much distance in his relationship with Bruce was because, “Bruce had so many secrets, and so many things building up.”
Watch the interview below:
The post Brody Jenner: ‘Caitlyn Is Just A Much Freer Person’ Than Bruce – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
Sean Mandell
Brody Jenner: ‘Caitlyn Is Just A Much Freer Person’ Than Bruce – WATCH
Watch This Texas Couple Get A Marriage License From The County Clerk Who Denied Them
A Texas couple is rejoicing after getting a marriage license from the same county clerk’s office that tried to deny them their legal right to marry.
Jim Cato and Joe Stapleton wanted to get a marriage license in Granbury, Texas, after last month’s Supreme Court ruling in favor of nationwide marriage equality. But Hood County Clerk Katie Lang refused to issue any same-sex marriage licenses on the basis of her religious beliefs, the Star-Telegram reported.
“We live in Granbury. We pay our taxes in Granbury,” Cato said from outside the courthouse in Granbury’s town square last week. “We do not feel like we have to travel somewhere else for our marriage license. We will stick it out here until we get our license in Granbury.”
The situation reached a boiling point on Monday, when the couple filed a federal lawsuit against Lang for turning them away multiple times. Shortly after the filing, the clerk’s office granted the couple’s marriage license, NBC Dallas-Forth Worth reported.
Cato and Stapleton, who have been together for 27 years, proudly held up the coveted document for reporters gathered outside the courthouse.
“Jim Cato and Joe Stapleton are delighted that they finally have been issued a marriage license and can get married in their home county,” their attorneys, Jan Soifer and Austin Kaplan, said in a statement. “It’s a shame that they needed to hire lawyers and file a lawsuit to make that happen.”
Lang’s office reportedly claimed it couldn’t issue the license initially because of “software issues” and a “lack of guidance” about how to use forms for same-sex couples, The Texas Tribune reported. Lang later said that while she would “personally refrain” from issuing the licenses, others in the office could do so once “the appropriate forms have been printed and supplied to my office.”
Judges and clerks in states across the country are facing similar litigation after refusing to issue marriage licenses on the basis of their religious beliefs after the SCOTUS ruling, CBS News noted.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
LGBTI Chinese government workers say they can’t come out at work
LGBT Government workers in China have said they continue to find it very difficult to come out at work due to the conservative nature of Governmental offices, reports Global Times.
Although some foreign and private companies in the country are waking up the benefits of embracing diversity and inclusion practices, polls have revealed that traditional attitudes persist in Government offices and Government-affiliated workplaces.
A survey undertaken in late 2014 by Shanghai-based WorkForLGBT revealed that only 2% of respondents (from a sample of 8,000 gay people) in State-owned enterprises (SOEs) had disclosed their sexuality at work.
This compares poorly to those working in foreign companies, where 9% had told their boss and 27% had told colleagues about their sexuality.
Earlier this year, China hosted its first LGBT careers fair. Although a sign of progress in itself, it was foreign companies, including Google, IBM, Ford, Starbucks, Microsoft and McKinsey, that featured heavily among the exhibitors.
Cheng He (a pseudonym), gave Global Times an insight into why he chose to remain in the closet.
‘It’s impossible for me to disclose my sexual orientation at the office.
‘I don’t think it’s necessary and my colleagues would not accept me being gay anyway,’ said 25-yeard-old Cheng, who works in a Government-affiliated research center in Beijing.
Governmental jobs convey respectability and relative financial security, meaning that they remain a desirable choice with many young Chinese citizens.
Cheng said that he had previously had a boyfriend, who also worked in a Governmental office, but they broke up when his boyfriend decided to marry a woman – an option that many gay men choose in order to conceal their true sexuality.
Cheng himself was so upset by the split that he was unable to hide his sorry, and told his family he’d ‘broke up with a girl’.
Cheng says that many gay men marry lesbians in order to conform to traditional expectations, and that he had lost count of the number of times that colleagues had shown him pictures of single women and tried to encourage him to go out on dates.
He said that if a man is over 30 and still single, even his boss is likely to try and arrange dates for him with suitable single women.
Blackmail is another potential threat for those who stay in the closet, while the risk of being overlooked for promotion is another reason for some to stay quiet.
‘If I wanted to be promoted, I would not accept any interviews to talk about homosexuality, even on condition of anonymity,’ said Cheng.
Another worker, Mi Tao, was one of the small number of gay civil servants who was out at work. However, he knew of a closeted colleague who had been denied promotion because of his apparently close friendship to Mi Tao; something that had aroused the suspicions of his superiors.
According to late 2013 figures, China has 7.2million civil servants, and a further 31.5million public sector workers employed by institutions such as schools and hospitals.
Same-sex sexual activity is legal in China, but there is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships and there are no laws preventing sexual orientation discrimination.
The post LGBTI Chinese government workers say they can’t come out at work appeared first on Gay Star News.
David Hudson
www.gaystarnews.com/article/lgbti-chinese-government-workers-say-they-cant-come-out-at-work/
Historic Marriage Equality Ruling Generates Momentum for New Non-Discrimination Law
Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, LGBT Americans lack explicit protections in federal law that prohibit discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
HRC.org
Confederate Flag-Loving Lawmaker Freaks Out About Gay Marriage On House Floor
While debating whether the state should stop flying the Confederate flag over its capitol, South Carolina Sen. Lee Bright pulled a Becky Wegner Rommel and self-detonated on the house floor.
Lawmakers were discussing whether the battle flag was a racist symbol (spoiler alert: it is!), when Bright got up to say his piece.
“Members of the senate,” he began, “I heard our president sing a religious hymn. And then Friday night I watched the White House be lit up in the abomination colors! … It is time! It is time for the church to rise up!”
Bright was referring to when the White House was illuminated with rainbow colors after the Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality on June 26.
“The Bible is clear,” Bright continued. “This nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and they are under assault by men in black robes who were not elected by you!”
What exactly does this have to do with South Carolina removing the battle flag from outside its capitol, you ask? The answer: Absolutely nothing. But that didn’t stop Bright from continuing with his antigay rant.
“Our governor called us in to deal with the flag that sits out front, let’s deal with the national sin that we face today,” he bemoaned. “We talk about abortion but this gay marriage thing, I believe, will be one nation gone under like President Reagan said. If we’re not one nation under God, we’ll be one nation gone under.”
“The devil is taking control of this land!” Bright warned. “Now, I believe that the Christ teaches us to love the homosexual, but he also teaches us to stand in the gap against sin!”
Watch Bright meltdown in the video below.
h/t: Mother Jones
Graham Gremore
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