Are Asian Men “Desexualized And Emasculated” By The Media? This Guy Thinks So.

On the whole, is the portrayal of Asian men in American media “desexualized and emasculated”?

That’s the stinging accusation made by actor and self-professed “basketball junkie” Jake Choi in a fascinating interview with Salon published this week.

Related: Asian Man Fed Up With Being Ignored By The “White-Painted Gay Community”

Choi–who plays a gay stylist (the romantic lead) in the upcoming summer rom-com Front Cover–spends much of the lengthy interview lamenting the dearth of Asian roles for actors, and the overall lack of Asian American representation in entertainment. (It’s a concern echoed in recent social media campaigns like the #whitewashedout and #starringJohnCho hashtags, and the in-depth New York Times feature on Asian-American invisibility.)

Related: Margaret Cho Blasts AbFab Movie For Casting White Actor As Asian Character

The actor–who in 2013 apologized for facetiously using the term “No Homo” by saying “I’m the most gay friendliest straisian there is”–has a number of incisive insights into the current state of Asian representation.

Here’s Choi on the conspicuous lack of Asian male sex symbols:

Asian woman can be with a white man because you’re not compromising white male sexuality and dominance and perception and straight white male insecurity. Asian men are emasculated. Ads do a better job than films to portray sexy Asians. When Jet Li and Aaliyah made “Romeo Must Die” they shot a kissing scene, but it was cut from the film. An Asian man kissing a woman is never shown, which is the emasculation.

On the difficultly in getting lead male roles because of his ethnicity:

I feel like studios or networks or producers will ask the casting offices, put “open ethnicity” for the breakdown so they don’t get criticized. It may be a SAG-AFTRA law. They bring in ethnic and non-ethnic actors they know, but once they do that, they cast it straight white, but ethnics get seen. My white friends who are actors say that I’m lucky that I got the audition, but I say, “Look who got the role!” 

On how the media portrays Asians (in the rare instances that it does):

We are all human beings. It’s not like it won’t serve the story if the characters are not Caucasian. Asians are just as human and three-dimensional as everyone else. Mass media is not reflecting that. Asian men are not seen having a girlfriend or a boyfriend, but in real life you see Asians with black, white, Latino partners. The media portrays it in another way, and it changes perception of and for Asians and non-Asians. There are people who are conscious of it, but others are conditioned by it.

What do you think of Choi’s commentary? How can studious improve the amount of roles–and the quality of representation–for Asian-Americans? Weigh in in the comments below…

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New Video Gives ‘The Breakfast Club’ The Queer Twist You Always Wanted

You definitely won’t forget about this.

We’re not quite sure who Shura is, but she’ll have our hearts forever with What’s It Gonna Be?, her new video that gives The Breakfast Club a gay spin in a modern day high school. It’s kinda like if Allison and Claire happened to fall for each other in chemistry class, and Andrew and Brian fell in love out on the field.

Related: The Classic ‘Son Of A Preacher Man’ Gets A Surprising Gay Twist In This Powerful New Music Video

It’s adorable fluff, and the references are definitely intentional. They even go to Shermer High School!

If you don’t get that reference, or the one I lobbed at you at the beginning, please go stream The Breakfast Club right now because we’ve all failed at keeping the flame of its pop culture relevance burning bright.

Watch below, and you can check out What’s It Gonna Be? on Itunes and pre-order Shura’s upcoming album Nothing’s Real here.

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80s Teen RomComs Get a Gay Twist in Shura’s New Music Video – WATCH

If you ship teen romantic comedies of the John Hughes variety, you’ll likely enjoy a new music video from Shura for her song, “What’s It Gonna Be?”

The London-based, Russian-born artist riffs on themes of young love in the video which features two best friends, a guy and a girl, who are plotting to gain the affection of ‘the popular girl’ and ‘the jock’, respectively. They even have a flowchart for how to do it!

But what starts as a heteronormative 80s love story takes a queer turn halfway through as Shura and her male friend each fall for the other’s object of desire.

Said Shura of the video,

“‘What’s It Gonna Be?’ is about having a massive crush on someone, so it made sense to go back where to school, where it all began. But it was important for us to explore those archetypal characters – The Jock, The Nerd, The Dork, The Popular Kid – and then flip expectations. ‘What’s It Gonna Be?’ is based on my personal experience as a kid; thinking you’re in love but then realising that’s maybe just because you feel you should be (and ending up with someone totally unexpected).”

Shura is no stranger to showing same-sex affection in her videos. Her previous effort “Touch” featured two of her male friends locking lips.  

Soak in The Breakfast Club references til your fingers get pruney, below.

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Liberal Redneck Trae Crowder: Trump Is the Quentin Tarantino of Being a Rich Douche – WATCH

Trae Crowder, aka the ‘Liberal Redneck’, is back and this time taking Donald Trump head on.

Crowder has had enough of Trump’s bigotry and xenophobia. But he cautions liberals against writing Trump off and assuming he will lose the general election. Says Crowder,

“I’m starting to worry about how quickly people on the left are to dismiss him and his legion of misspelled sign toting fans. Look, y’all, I’ve been confused by it too, Because for literally my whole life, this dude has been the Quentin Tarantino of being a rich douche. He has truly revolutionized the form.”

PREVIOUSLY – Liberal Redneck Trae Crowder Schools Bible-Bearing Christians Terrorizing Target Stores: WATCH

When it comes to trying to understand why poor Americans support Trump, Crowder says it’s not quite as simple as “‘Well, they’re a bunch of ignorant bigots. Trump’s the king bigot. Who wants kombucha?’” Crowder points out that NATFA and free trade hurt a lot of middle class working families in places that now support Trump.

And while Trump is wrong on just about every issue he has weighed in on, Crowder warns against expecting that to get in the Republican’s way. “Right wingers are not about to start letting some trivial sh*t like facts get in the way of how they feel about stuff,” Crowder says. “That’s kind of their whole thing.”

Watch, below.

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Madonna, Sominex. Fireball, Emojis, Britney Spears, Bernie Bros: NEWS

2016 ELECTION. Following Hillary Clinton’s blistering speech on Donald Trump, Trump comes for Hillary, compares her to Sominex:

NYT: “Speaking at a campaign rally here, he began by calling her speech ‘pathetic,’ dismissing it as a stunt and saying, ‘It had nothing to do with foreign policy.’”

Meanwhile, violence took place outside:

Watch: The moment a Trump supporter, surrounded by protesters, is egged in the face, hit by other food. pic.twitter.com/qYFdwJWvrS

— Jacob Rascon (@Jacobnbc) June 3, 2016

I called 911 but no one answered. Donald trump protest in San Jose, CA pic.twitter.com/LwaWyeYZfq

— Marcus DiPaola (@marcusdipaola) June 3, 2016

Big fight breaks out pic.twitter.com/Ld8via9LTF

— Joe Perticone (@JoePerticone) June 3, 2016

PUBLIC POWER FOR PERSONAL GAIN. Trump visits Scotland: “On Wednesday, the tycoon announced that he would travel to Scotland on June 24, the day after the United Kingdom casts its vote on Brexit. But this timing is purely coincidental. Trump’s trip isn’t an attempt to advertise his diplomatic skills. Rather, on a day that could transform the political and economic life of a core U.S. ally, the GOP nominee will be presiding over the grand reopening of the Trump Turnberry golf resort.”

PHILADELPHIA. “Wrecking crew” of Bernie Bros plans to disrupt convention: “Some 20,000 protesters are reportedly planning anti-Clinton protests outside of the convention hall. But interviews with members of Sanders’ New York delegation reveal that supporters of the Vermont senator are also considering bringing some of those protests inside the Wells Fargo Center itself — raising the prospect of an embarrassing spectacle on prime-time TV. These are not the kind of people who just fall in line.”

LEGAL VICTORY. Madonna wins Vogue sampling lawsuit: “On Thursday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals made it easier for musicians to sample small portions of song recordings by giving Madonna and her producer Robert “Shep” Pettibone a victory in a long-running lawsuit over the 1990 hit “Vogue.” The decision affirms a 2013 ruling by a California federal court that held on summary judgment that a 0.23 second sampling of a horn hit from the 1976 song called “Love Break” was de minimis, meaning small enough to be trivial.”

MEXICO. President Enrique Peña Nieto talks about why he acted on marriage equality: “Building a Society of Rights means there is no room for first- and second-class citizens. It means choosing inclusion over discrimination. It means creating unity from diversity.”

TRANS RIGHTS. Why trans rights nationwide are only a matter of time. “It is difficult to deny the humanity of a group of people if someone close to you belongs to that group. And according to a 2015 Pew Research Center poll, 90 percent of heterosexual millennials report personally knowing someone who identifies as lesbian or gay. That includes 58 percent who have a close friend or family member who is out to them as lesbian or gay.Trans people are just beginning to benefit from this support-by-personal-contact effect because there are seemingly fewer of us than cisgender lesbian, gay and bisexual people – and fewer of us are out.”

AIR SHOW. Pilot took quick action when a jet went down after the Air Force Academy graduation: “Air Force spokeswoman Lt. Col. Michal Kloeffler-Howard said Thursday the pilot ejected. There was no information on the pilot’s condition. No injuries on the ground were reported.”

SPACE. Fireball lights up Arizona sky: “Nasa films a fireball so bright that it blinds all-sky meteor cameras as far away as western New Mexico. The meteor – 5ft wide and weighing a few tonnes – entered Earth’s atmosphere over Arizona early Thursday morning at a speed of 40,200m [64,700km] per hour, lighting up the pre-dawn sky for a few seconds”

IT’S BRITNEY BITCH. In a new interview with Marc Malkin:

BABY BABY BABY. Justin Bieber spotted with pacifier in mouth.

* Another photos of Justin Bieber in France. [June 1] #JustinBieberUpdates pic.twitter.com/h3eAvmFpxP

— Justin Bieber Update (@NothingLikeMyJB) June 2, 2016

EMOJIS. 72 including bacon, owl, and a scary clown are set to be released: “Other symbols that will be in the version 9.0 release include a soaring eagle, a salad, a shark, clinking champagne glasses, whiskey on the rocks, an egg, a pregnant woman and — particularly important for Californians — an avocado.”

A bacon emoji is among 72 new characters coming to your phone 🙌 t.co/M3rctg9Qi5 pic.twitter.com/Ey2kMwS1mU

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) June 3, 2016

FRIDAY FLESH. Igor Soddi.

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HRC Officially Adopts Use of “LGBTQ” to Reflect Diversity of Own Community

“Queer” is a word with a complicated modern history – both used in a defiant chant originated by LGBTQ rights activists more than a quarter century ago to confront bigotry, and hijacked by hate-mongers doubling down on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

While we have been using the “Q” in much of our work for years, HRC has now officially embraced the word’s positive evolution, joining other advocates, supporters and new-generation activists who are taking back “queer” from those who still seek to use it as a slur.

“We celebrate the journey of this word, and our movement, reclaiming with others what was once used as a cudgel against us, and recognizing the reality of how more and more LGBTQ people identify themselves,” said HRC President Chad Griffin.

In HRC’s groundbreaking 2012 survey of self-identified LGBTQ youth, hundreds of respondents used “queer” to describe their sexual orientation or “genderqueer” to describe their gender identity, and many others wrote in their own descriptions of more fluid identities. The reality captured by the survey prompted HRC to begin using LGBTQ in its youth-related programs and work, including HRC Foundation’s annual Time to Thrive conference for teachers, counselors, social workers and other adults who work with LGBTQ youth.

“Queer” serves as an umbrella term that encompasses many people as it intersects with sexual orientation and gender identity. It includes anyone who does not associate with heteronormativity, rather they have non-binary or gender expansive identities.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-officially-adopts-use-of-lgbtq-to-reflect-diversity-of-own-community?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Charlotte-Area Small Business Owners Urge Repeal of HB2

Yesterday, TurnOUT! North Carolina (NC) and the Small Business Majority continued our multiple city tour of North Carolina featuring Small Business leaders detailing the real economic harm they are experiencing as a result of HB2. Starting on Wednesday in Raleigh, traveling yesterday to Charlotte, and heading to Greensboro next week, our “Small Businesses for the Repeal of HB2” tour is highlighting HB2’s direct impact on small businesses, small business owners, their families and employees.

Recent statements by Lt. Governor Dan Forest scoff at the impact that HB2 is having on the state’s economy implying that the bill has not done real harm to business in the state. Despite reports from the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce that Mecklenburg County could lose as many as 1,300 jobs and is suffering a loss of $285 million as a result of HB2, elected officials in Raleigh are clearly not paying attention to the reality they created.

Kevin Giriunas, owner of Advent Coworking and member of the Small Business Majority, hosted yesterday’s press conference at his coworking and event space. He is disappointed in the passage of HB2 and fears that this discriminatory law will discourage growth in the use of his space which caters the small business owners, entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals.

Russell Ferguson with the Plaza Midwood Merchant Association has benefited from the growth of Charlotte and the influx of visitors, but is seeing business being driven away because of HB2. Joining Russell was Lesa Kastanas the owner of CLTCH, a boutique retail space in Charlotte’s Plaza Midwood neighborhood where they “open our doors to everyone, everyone!”

“It’s clear that HB2 was a bad decision. It’s hurt businesses from the smallest, like ours, to the largest,” Kastanas said. “It’s created a toxic, hateful, and suspicious environment in a state that considers itself the progressive new south. This decision has come with a pricetag.”

Debra Bost, whose family owns Southland Parking in downtown Charlotte, spoke about the negative impact that the fallout from HB2 has had on their business. The company relies on daily and nightly parking by tourists and visitors who come to Charlotte for conventions, sporting events and concerts. With more and more events being canceled in Charlotte, like Maroon 5 and Bruce Springsteen concerts, along with at least 13 conventions and events that have been relocated, they are losing thousands of dollars of monthly income. Bost is also concerned that sporting events, like the NBA All-Star game, will pulled from Charlotte because of HB2.

James Funderburk talked about how HB2 is making it harder to attract and retain the right kinds of talent to Charlotte. His business, The Home Collection, provides furnished corporate apartments for rent.

“The Home Collection is run by a transgender man who is absolutely the most dynamic, talented person my business has ever hired,” he said. “And we are really doing great things with him on board. I want this state to be a safe place where he will stay with my company for years but I frankly wouldn’t blame him if he had to leave and go some place more welcoming.”

In closing, James stated what all the other speakers firmly believe: “It’s time for our legislature and our governor to repeal HB2.”

This is why TurnOUT! NC, which is a coalition of HRC, Equality North Carolina, the ACLU and the Campaign for Southern Equality, is working to mobilize thousands of North Carolinians for the full repeal of HB2. TurnOUT! NC has field organizers based in Asheville, Charlotte and the Triangle area. Additionally, HRC staff is on the ground working with coalition partners across the Tar Heel State. There are daily opportunities to volunteer with weekly phone banks and weekend canvassing opportunities.

If you live in North Carolina and want to join the efforts to repeal HB2, RSVP for upcoming phone banks and volunteer opportunities. For more information about our work in North Carolina, contact HRC Associate Regional Field Director Ryan Rowe at [email protected].

James Funderburk, Owner of The Home Collection

Kevin Giriunas, Owner of Advent Coworking

Lesa Kastanas, Owner of CLTCH

Matt Hirschy from Equality NC

Russell Fergusson with Plaza Midwood Merchant Association

Matt Hirschy from Equality NC and Ryan Wilson from HRC with local advocate Veleria Levy

www.hrc.org/blog/charlotte-area-small-business-owners-urge-repeal-of-hb2?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed