Lesbian Website AfterEllen to Be Run by Straight Men?

Editor in chief Trish Bendix says she was denied severance after The Advocate republished her commentary.

www.advocate.com/media/2016/9/21/lesbian-website-afterellen-be-run-straight-men

‘Revenge Porn’ and Finding Prince Charming’s Robert Sepulveda Jr.

Logo TV is running a sort-of reality show called Finding Prince Charming. I hear it’s absolutely terrible. It looks a lot like ABC’s The Bachelor, except Logo’s version is about gay men.

Its star is a statuesque man named Robert Sepulveda Jr., a model, interior designer, and, apparently, a former escort. Because Mr. Sepulveda is on television trying to become famous, a celebrity gossip website thought it was “newsworthy” to publish explicit photos of him from his escort days without his consent. The photos have now been “unpublished.”

If these photos were not already generally available, the website should not have published them. Posting graphic or explicit photos of another without his or her consent is called “nonconsensual pornography” (NCP), more commonly known as “revenge porn.” And it is a crime in 35 jurisdictions and counting.

Most NCP victims are women. But gay men are frequent victims, as well. Lokies Khan, a gay Singaporean man, had a sex tape posted online without consent. Speaking on the YouTube channel, ‘Dear Straight People’, Mr. Khan said he felt “violated,” “scared,” and undermined by the incident: “Things that I post on Instagram are things that are within my control, are things I want people to see, [that] I’m comfortable with people to look at. But these gifs of me on Tumblr are not within my control. I did not give consent. I did not know it was there.”

In my own research, I have spoken to more than 20 gay male victims of NCP. It usually happens in one of two contexts:

1. As with many cases of NCP, generally, ex-boyfriends sometimes post nude or graphic images of their former partners on Craigslist, pornography websites, or use them to impersonate victims on social networking sites.
2. Some gay male NCP victims participate in gay social networking apps. Those apps require their users to post a profile photograph, but social norms on the platforms often make sharing more intimate photos a de facto requirement of participation.

One person I spoke to was a victim of NCP at the hands of a photographer who enticed the victim with promises of free professional headshots for casting calls. Many victims felt “vulnerable”; others felt angry about a person stealing their photographs. Almost all of them found different ways to express how NCP is a devastating erosion of trust.

Victims sent intimate photos to their former partners when they were apart, as kind of modern day love letters. And many victims were indignant when their friends, acquaintances, or online commenters blamed them for taking and sending the not-suitable-for-work photos in the first place. On gay social networking apps, in particular, a background trust exists. As one man said to me, “We’re all gay on here. We’re all part of the same tribe, looking for community and companionship in a tough world. You are expected to share photos, with your face and your body. If you don’t, people don’t talk to you. To have that thrown back in your face is really devastating.”

NCP can destroy its victims, as Danielle Citron and Mary Anne Franks have described at multiple points in their work. The fact that photos may be “unpublished” does not make the situation any better. The original publisher may have changed his mind, but the photos, once available online, could have been downloaded, uploaded, and reposted thousands of time. Nor is it a publisher’s First Amendment right to publish anything he wants about others. Even celebrities enjoy a right to privacy, which, in fact, fosters more, better, and diverse speech.

Despite having his private photos (if they truly were private) published online, Robert Sepulveda may be doing fine; he hasn’t, as far as we know, experienced the kind of professional, personal, physical, and emotional abuse faced by many NCP victims. But he has been the subject of repeated ridicule online for his past as an escort.

The attacks have been a combination of different types of shaming (those who both look down on male escorts and those who think he is a poor role model for the LGBTQ community). Whatever we think about escorting or “sex work” or his reportedly excruciating show, no one deserves to have his or her privacy invaded by transforming them into the subject of the prurient interests of others without consent.

The post ‘Revenge Porn’ and Finding Prince Charming’s Robert Sepulveda Jr. appeared first on Towleroad.

‘Revenge Porn’ and Finding Prince Charming’s Robert Sepulveda Jr.

Out Magazine Profiled Gay White Supremacist Milo Yiannopoulos and Twitter Issued a Take Down

Out Magazine has profiled, interviewed and provided a photoshoot to notorious racist, Islamophobe, transphobe, and all-around bigot Milo Yiannopoulos.

Towleroad has previously covered Yiannopoulos’ banning from Twitter, his ‘Gays for Trump’ party at the RNC, his attempts to profit from his racism with a reality TV show, and his seemingly corrupt scholarship foundation. Writing an opinion piece for this site, I have also looked at Yiannopoulos’ proclivity for fame-whoring at the expense of human decency. 

Out‘s profile, titled “Send In the Clown: Internet Supervillain Milo Doesn’t Care That You Hate Him”, elicited swift backlash online.

I just read the full @outmagazine profile of Milo. It’s so fucking flowery I don’t even think there’s any journalism in it.

— Zack Ford (@ZackFord) September 21, 2016

At multiple junctures, Out appeared to go out of its way to normalize Yiannopoulos, rather than highlight the ways in which he is the very definition of an extremist.

In the article’s headline, Yiannopoulos is described innocuously as an “Internet super villain.” As if this were a comic book and his actions didn’t have actual repercussions outside ‘the internet.’

And in the magazine’s photoshoot, Yiannopoulos is dressed and styled to amuse. Appearing in drag and also in a clown costume, the photos suggest that their subject is someone we should be entertained by rather than someone with whom we should be disgusted. Far from depicting Yiannopoulos as the anti-gay homocon white supremacist that he really is, he comes across as playful and harmless.

What most disturbs me about the Milo imagery is that he’s being sexualized — another instance of white guy getting a pass bc of thirst. pic.twitter.com/MxVpkMAydM

— Mathew Rodriguez (@mathewrodriguez) September 21, 2016

No publication, but ESPECIALLY not a gay one, should be glamorizing Milo like this. Just shockingly bad judgment. pic.twitter.com/Vd75pnV17s

— Carlos Maza (@gaywonk) September 21, 2016

The profile left many wondering why Out would provide Yiannopoulos with an additional mouthpiece to spread his hatred, and why they would physically portray him so benignly. To look at the images and to read the interview, Yiannopoulos is a mere provocateur. Not the racist infantile xenophobe he has proven himself to be.

Out provided an editor’s note to try and explain its decision to interview Yiannopoulos:

“It should not need saying that the views expressed by the subject of this piece in no way represent the opinions of this magazine, but in this era of social media tribalism, the mere act of covering a contentious person can be misinterpreted as an endorsement. If LGBTQ media takes its responsibilities seriously we can’t shy away from covering queer people who are at the center of this highly polarized election year, and we ask you to assess Milos Yiannopoulos, the focus of this profile, on his own words without mistaking them for ours.”

lol ok, @outmagazine pic.twitter.com/UA54JiLYm5

— shannon keating (@__keating) September 21, 2016

Reaction was immediate.

“If LGBTQ media takes its responsibilities seriously.” Fuck you @outmagazine. Your only responsibility is covering Nick Jonas’ abs. pic.twitter.com/daUXZUjVsk

— Ira Madison III (@ira) September 21, 2016

That editor’s note is such a cop-out. From the jokey clown costume to the very decision to offer Milo a platform, editors made these choices

— Gabe Gonzalez (@gaybonez) September 21, 2016

“Not an endorsement” @outmagazine, yet your author @Chadwick_Moore is all on Instagram with racists by the pound? pic.twitter.com/U98BVQhBZB

— Ira Madison III (@ira) September 21, 2016

The decision to feature a racist such as Yiannopoulos so prominently in Out came across as particularly tone-deaf given the endemic killing of innocent young black people at the hands of police officers in this country, to say nothing of the fact that the Republican nominee for president has elevated white supremacists to an alarming position of privilege within his own campaign.

I’m sorry, but black people are dying in the streets, and Out gave Milo a platform.

— Brandon Taylor (@brandonrambles) September 21, 2016

We have to stop pretending that elevating the trash antics of clowns like Milo and Trump to the level of discourse is anything but violence.

— Brandon Taylor (@brandonrambles) September 21, 2016

It is a farce, and it is violence. I don’t understand how this is difficult for people to grasp. DO. NOT. GIVE. TROLLS. PLATFORMS.

— Brandon Taylor (@brandonrambles) September 21, 2016

Acknowledging that someone uses racism and sexism to bolster their brand and then giving them a platform is tacitly endorsing them.

— Charles Pulliam (@CharlesPulliam) September 21, 2016

Out‘s profile on Yiannopoulos was also compared to Jimmy Fallon’s recent interview with Donald Trump, given the way each normalized their respective subjects.

I propose we trademark this type of buddy-buddy hair mussing of white supremacists in the media as “Falloning.”

— JuanPa (@jpbrammer) September 21, 2016

Out‘s piece on Yiannopoulos also revived a long-standing conversation about racism in LGBT media and the LGBT community more broadly speaking.

Queer people of color already knew about white supremacy in the LGBTQ community, but @outmagazine has propelled it forward by normalizing it

— Mathew Rodriguez (@mathewrodriguez) September 21, 2016

The post Out Magazine Profiled Gay White Supremacist Milo Yiannopoulos and Twitter Issued a Take Down appeared first on Towleroad.

Out Magazine Profiled Gay White Supremacist Milo Yiannopoulos and Twitter Issued a Take Down

Federal Court Win for Transgender Students in Wisconsin

Yesterday, a federal ruled that Ashton Whitaker, a transgender high school student in Kenosha, Wisconsin, could use the restroom that corresponds to his gender identity.

Whitaker filed a federal lawsuit against the Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD) in July after he was denied access to the boys’ restroom. Additionally, school staff and security were recruited and instructed to prevent Ashton from using the boys’ restroom.

“U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper read her decision aloud from the bench, holding that Ash would continue to suffer irreparable harm if KUSD continued to deny him access to the boys’ restroom during his senior year,” Transgender Law Center reported. “In her decision, Judge Pepper explicitly recognized the emotional, psychological and physical harm Ash has endured under KUSD’s discriminatory policy and the importance to transgender people of being treated in accordance with their gender identity.”

The suit alleged that school personnel refused to used his name and pronouns, and the district also proposed he and other transgender students to wear green bracelets identifying them as transgender. This gross violation of rights goes against theDepartments of Education and Justice’s guidance directing public schools to allow transgender students to use facilities that correspond with their gender identity.

Last month, the Supreme Court of the United States placed a stay on a ruling from a lower court requiring a Virginia school district to permit transgender students to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. The 5-3 order in Gloucester County School Board v. Grimm allows the school board’s discriminatory policy to remain in place while the Supreme Court considers whether to hear the case. A final decision in the case would likely occur well into the school year.

HRC congratulates Pledl & Cohn, S.C., Transgender Law Center and Relman, Dane & Colfax on this immense victory. 

www.hrc.org/blog/federal-court-win-for-transgender-students-in-wisconsin?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

AfterEllen to effectively shut down this Friday

www.glaad.org/blog/afterellen-effectively-shut-down-friday

North Carolina at Center of National Debate Again, This Time Over Race

Keith Lamont Scott was fatally shot by police in Charlotte — already in tumult over the anti-LGBT House Bill 2 — only days after an unarmed black man was killed by police in Tulsa, Okla.

www.advocate.com/crime/2016/9/21/north-carolina-center-national-debate-again-time-over-race

LISTEN: The Antigay Interview That Got American Hate Pastor Arrested In Africa

www.lgbtqnation.com/2016/09/listen-anti-gay-interview-got-american-hate-pastor-arrested-africa/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Daniel Radcliffe: Hollywood Is Still Homophobic and Racist – WATCH

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe – recipient of LGBT mental health charity The Trevor Project’s Hero Award in 2011 – has said gay actors fear coming out because they could be typecast in gay roles.

In an interview with the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire, Radcliffe said that although “Neil Patrick Harris has made a career as playing the straightest guy on television…it is sad, but there is a kind of line where people say ‘Oh no people won’t buy him as straight anymore.”

Daniel Radcliffe – “Hollywood is undeniably racist” t.co/OJsfs6CpAc #VictoriaLIVE pic.twitter.com/S0pJWxLDNs

— Victoria Derbyshire (@vicderbyshire) September 20, 2016

Speaking about his role in the thriller Imperium, he added that it is “pretty undeniable” that Hollywood is racist. In the film, Radcliffe plays Nate Foster, an FBI agent who goes undercover to infiltrate a white supremacist group. He said that while the film industry likes to think of itself as being “very, very progressive,” it has been “lagging behind in all sorts of areas.”

PREVIOUSLY: Daniel Radcliffe Banned from Manscaping for Gay Sex Scene – VIDEO

Addressing rumors that the London stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child could be turned into a film, the actor said he is currently not interested in reprising his role but added “maybe if 30 years had passed I would be thinking differently.”

Daniel Radcliffe’s here – on in a mo on @BBCTwo pic.twitter.com/PWTRjNGzwq

— Victoria Derbyshire (@vicderbyshire) September 20, 2016

Radcliffe also said it’s unbelievable that Donald Trump, a “wealthy, privileged man has somehow managed to convince people that he is not part of the elite and that he is sort of a man of the people.”

Watch the interview and a trailer for Imperium below.

The post Daniel Radcliffe: Hollywood Is Still Homophobic and Racist – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Daniel Radcliffe: Hollywood Is Still Homophobic and Racist – WATCH