Gay Iconography: Paying Mind To Marsha P. Johnson

The release of a trailer for Roland Emmerich’s film Stonewall caused quite a stir this week. Chronicling the uprising that paved the way for the gay rights movement, the trailer focused primarily on a young, white protagonist, sparking outrage from members of the LGBT community for apparently white-washing over the importance of the trans people of color that were at the forefront of the historic event.

A campaign to boycott the film has, at the time of this writing, already earned nearly 19,000 signatures. Stonewall’s star Jeremy Irvine rushed to the film’s defense, saying “I saw the movie for the first time last week and can assure you all that it represents almost every race and section of society that was so fundamental to one of the most important civil rights movements in living history.” Emmerich responded on Facebook: “I understand that following the release of our trailer there have been initial concerns about how this character’s involvement is portrayed, but when this film – which is truly a labor of love for me – finally comes to theaters, audiences will see that it deeply honors the real-life activists who were there … and all the brave people who sparked the civil rights movement which continues to this day.” Even writer and activist Larry Kramer weighed in, adding “keeping your film from being seen is only hurting ourselves.”

We’ll see how Stonewall handles the diversity when audiences see the full film this fall, but one positive effect of this week’s conversation about the movie brought the one-of-a-kind activist and performer Marsha P. Johnson back into the spotlight.

Celebrate Johnson’s life and impact with some of our favorite clips, below:

Whether you’re new to Johnson’s story or you’ve long admired her place in history, the documentary Pay It Not Mind: The Life and Times of Marsha P. Johnson is an excellent and comprehensive look back. Comprised mostly of interview footage recorded with Johnson just days before her death, the 2012 film also includes conversations with friends and LGBT activists. You can watch the entire film above.

Not only was Johnson a fixture on the streets of the West Village in New York City, she was also a performer. Taking the stage with Andy Warhol’s drag performance troupe, Hot Peaches, Johnson was beloved for her outrageous ensembles. Warhol even snapped a Polaroid of Johnson as part of his Ladies and Gentlemen series.

Johnson was much more than just a drag performer. Even as someone who would live on the street or with friends, she was known for sharing whatever she had with other street kids. She co-founded STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) with Sylvia Rivera, was an outspoken member of ACT UP and marched at gay liberation demonstrations. But Johnson’s legacy is largely etched for being one of the first instigators of the original Stonewall riots. According to some, she threw the first brick in the confrontation with police officers.

Johnson was found floating in the Hudson River in July 1992. Her death was originally ruled a suicide, but the NYPD re-opened the case in 2012 as a possible homicide. Antony and the Johnsons, named after Marsha P. Johnson, paid tribute to Marsha and her passing with their song “River of Sorrow,” which includes lyrics like “There is a black river/It passes by my window/And late at night/All dolled up like Christ/I walk the water/Between the piers.”

Currently, trans activist Reina Gossett and filmmaker Sasha Wortzel are raising funds for their film, Happy Birthday, Marsha!. The short film reimagines the hours leading up to the Stonewall riots. Gossett told Ms. Magazine what it was about Rivera and Johnson’s story that resonated: “They were doing something that was so far outside the norm in order to support people who faced a lot of violence and were vulnerable to kind of all these systems [and] that they had to be their full selves in order to do that. That’s always empowering to me.”

The post Gay Iconography: Paying Mind To Marsha P. Johnson appeared first on Towleroad.

Bobby Hankinson

Gay Iconography: Paying Mind To Marsha P. Johnson

Trans Prisoner Suing for Gender Affirming Surgery to Be Released

California officials, who don’t want to pay for Michelle-Lael Norsworthy’s surgery, are now releasing her on parole.

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Neal Broverman

www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/08/08/trans-prisoner-suing-gender-affirming-surgery-be-released

Couple told not to kiss in swimming pool ends in hateful threats

Two men were shocked and ‘embarrassed’ after being told they couldn’t kiss at a local swimming pool in Tehama Ridge, Texas.

The two men Brandon Roper and Giuseppe Cellura say they shared a ‘peck’ while at the local swimming pool.

Afterwards the pool assistant approached them saying: ‘You can’t do that, I’m calling the management’ as quoted in a video uploaded on Tuesday.

The pool manager – who later in the video was revealed to be the assistant’s older brother by three years – asked the couple questions about what happened.

He then insisted it was simply the swimming pool’s policy on PDA, and not: ‘Targeted at any group’.

Roper then turned the camera to show a man and woman in the pool playing in the same manner they’d described.

‘Is there a rule about PDA, or is it just because we’re gay?’ he asked the manager.

Later in the video the five people, which includes Roper’s mom, check the rule board and find no mention of rules against PDA. The manager tells the heterosexual couple to stop playing, but Roper says: ‘It is too later. Nice try. This has already gone viral.’

Belinda Roper, Brandon Roper’s mother, posted the video on a Facebook community page but says she has received threats, and had two men kissing in the pool likened to going swimming with a gun.

She told CBS Dallas: ‘I’m afraid for my life. I’m very afraid for my life.’

Bearfoot Management, who manage the swimming pool, said the attendant was fired. In a statement they said: ‘Bearfoot Management… have reached out to the family and expressed our sincere regret for the incident that occurred.

‘Our company’s policies are to ensure a family friendly environment at each pool we manage. Our expectation is to enforce this practice without discrimination of any sort.’

The post Couple told not to kiss in swimming pool ends in hateful threats appeared first on Gay Star News.

Jack Flanagan

www.gaystarnews.com/article/couple-told-not-to-kiss-in-swimming-pool-ends-in-hateful-threats/

Posters Praising Stabbing at Gay Pride Crop Up in Ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem Neighborhoods

Posters praising last week’s Jerusalem gay pride parade stabbing that led to the death of a 16-year-old girl have begun appearing in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods throughout the city, The Times of Israel reports:

Distributed by an extremist group calling itself “The Faithful Judaism,” the notices applauded the stabbing as an act of holy “self sacrifice.”

“May all of the people of God be zealous as you,” one poster read, as its authors expressed hope that similar acts would be carried out in the future.

Under the headline “And the Plague Shall be Stopped,” another poster praised the deadly attack as an “act of Phineas,” a reference to an Old Testament priest who personally executed an Israelite man and a Midianite woman while they were together in the man’s tent, by running a spear through them both. His action is thought to have brought an end to a plague sent by God to punish the Israelites for sexual encounters with the Midianites.

Yishai Schlissel, the man who carried out the attack, is in police custody. He has already undergone a psychiatric evaluation and has been deemed mentally competent to face trail.

Schlissel was only recently released from a 12 year prison sentence for stabbing three people at a Jerusalem’s gay pride parade back in 2005.

The post Posters Praising Stabbing at Gay Pride Crop Up in Ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem Neighborhoods appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Posters Praising Stabbing at Gay Pride Crop Up in Ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem Neighborhoods

WATCH: Michael Sam's Return to Football

After abruptly leaving the Montreal Alouettes, the out player returns for his first game.

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www.advocate.com/sports/2015/08/08/watch-michael-sams-return-football

Boxers vs Briefs: The Men of Hollywood Drop Their Shorts and Spill – WATCH

The Underwear Expert’s hunky style reporter James Pianka recently took a trip to the corner of Hollywood and Vine to ask male passersby whether boxers or briefs reign supreme in Tinseltown.

Think you know the winner?

The post Boxers vs Briefs: The Men of Hollywood Drop Their Shorts and Spill – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Boxers vs Briefs: The Men of Hollywood Drop Their Shorts and Spill – WATCH