'When We Rise' Falls Again in Ratings; 'Eyewitness' Canceled
Low ratings continue to plague LGBT television shows.
www.advocate.com/media/2017/3/02/when-we-rise-falls-again-ratings-eyewitness-canceled
Daily Archives: March 2, 2017
Do you think this gay bar’s name is transphobic?
Do you think this gay bar’s name is transphobic?
A gay bar opening next week in Burlington, Vermont has found itself at the center of considerable controversy due to its proposed name, which some people are finding offensive and transphobic.
Mister Sister will be the first exclusively gay bar to open in Burlington in eleven years.
Related: Some People Are Calling The Trailer For Zoolander 2 “Transphobic”
As Towleroad reports, owner Craig McGaughan insists he meant no offense and wanted to come up with a name that supported inclusivity.
As he wrote on Facebook:
Like all names, Mister Sister will have different associations, interpretations and will be perceived differently by individuals.
My interpretation of Mister Sister is one of inclusiveness. It is a term that has been used among gays and Drag Queens for decades intended to be positively gender-bending.
Mister Sister is for the Misters and the Sisters, those that identify as both and everyone in between.
The official description of Mister Sister is “a gay bar for him, her and them”. I have been very intentional in using a pronoun that isn’t specifically male or female as a way to include anyone that identifies as part of the LGBTQ community.
Thank you to all of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans folks and our allies that have been supportive of Mister Sister. We look forward to welcoming everyone on March 10th when we reopen Oak45 as Vermont’s only LGBTQ bar.
He adds that “the LGBT community in Vermont has been missing a place to call our own and through luck, a lot of support and hard work, we have the space to offer that.”
But some people think the name is offensive to the transgender community.
Talking to the Burlington Free Press, resident Wiley Reading said he feels “‘mister sister’ is a transmisogynistic slur, and it is deeply uncomfortable.”
Josie Leavitt, interim executive director of the Pride Center of Vermont, agrees.
“Personally, I do find the name offensive,” she said. “I know Craig, and Craig is a good man. … His unwillingness to meet is what I’m finding to be the most troubling.”
The drama has led to the resignation of two board members, Timer Adams and Bailey Cummings, who, according to the Argus Press, said “they won’t be part of an organization that won’t take a stance on issues that affect the people it serves.”
Do any of you think the name Mister Sister is offensive to the transgender community, or is this whole controversy much ado about nothing? Sound off in the comments below.
Watch LIVE: Attorney General Jeff Sessions Holds Press Conference Amid Calls for Recusal, Resignation
Watch LIVE: Attorney General Jeff Sessions Holds Press Conference Amid Calls for Recusal, Resignation
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is scheduled to hold a press conference at 4 pm ET amid calls for his recusal and resignation.
The post Watch LIVE: Attorney General Jeff Sessions Holds Press Conference Amid Calls for Recusal, Resignation appeared first on Towleroad.
HRC Statement on Jeff Sessions
HRC Statement on Jeff Sessions
HRC released the following statement on Attorney General Jeff Sessions:
HRC President Chad Griffin: “The Attorney General bears a sacred responsibility for enforcing our laws, upholding the Constitution and protecting civil rights that are crucial to our community. We must be able to trust that our nation’s top law enforcement official will respect and abide by the rule of law. It is now clear that Jeff Sessions gave false testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing that was misleading at best, and perjury at worst. Given that he has violated both the public trust and the law, we believe he should resign.”
www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-statement-on-attorney-general-jeff-sessions?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
13 Politicians Who Want Jeff Sessions to Resign or Go to Prison
13 Politicians Who Want Jeff Sessions to Resign or Go to Prison
The anti-LGBT — and allegedly racist — attorney general is in steaming hot water over his lies to the Senate regarding his Russian connections. Will he be gone by Monday?
www.advocate.com/politics/2017/3/02/11-politicians-who-want-jeff-sessions-resign-or-go-prison
Mais Glitter pfvr
You need to let this strapping hula-dancer take over your life
You need to let this strapping hula-dancer take over your life
Hawaiian entertainer Robert Cazimero evidently has a keen eye for talent.
Related: Muscly Tongan Flag Bearer Demonstrates The Magic Of Coconut Oil On Male “Today Show” Host
While performing at Concerts at The Shops, a monthly series open to the public and featuring artists from all over the Hawaiian Islands, the pianist/singer was accompanied by a strapping hula dancer, who treated guests to some truly superior dance moves.
Related: WATCH: Just Try Not To Stare At The Banana In This Smoothie Tutorial
At one point, Cazimero crows, “Folks, I think you’re missing the point here… He’s telling you a story and you’re supposed to be watching the hands.”
It’s understandable why the audience doesn’t know quite where to look — except everywhere.
Watch:
h/t OMG
NEW MUSIC: Ride, Communions, The Orwells, Xiu Xiu
NEW MUSIC: Ride, Communions, The Orwells, Xiu Xiu
This week in New Music: 90s shoegaze act Ride are back with the gorgeous single “Home is a Feeling,” 80s/90s-leaning indie rock with no twist from Communions, The Orwells are not Terrible Human Beings they’re just very naughty boys and Xiu Xiu (above) follow up their Twin Peaks tribute album with the cryptic Forever.
Ride – “Home is a Feeling”
When promised a follow-up to Ride‘s 1996 album Tarantula, those old enough to remember how fantastic they were may have been apprehensive at best. What could a bunch of middle aged men have to say and how could they improve on albums like 1990’s classic Ride.
Happily, based on earlier track “Charm Assault” and “Home is a Feeling,” the lads haven’t lost it.
This, indie kids, is how you do it.
Perfect!
Communions – Blue
Communions is an indie pop/rock outfit from Copenhagen, Denmark.
Their debut album Blue holds no great surprises but if you like your rock wispy with a hint of summer via 80s nostalgia you can’t go far wrong.
Although the band would appear to be aiming for Strokes credibility, songs like “Passed You By” and “Got To Be Free” verge on straight out 80s pop acts like Deacon Blue whereas “Don’t Hold Anything Back” and “It’s Like Air” are clear rip offs of Oasis. Which is fine really because Oasis were a rip off of the entire history of rock.
That’s possibly the point with bands like Communions – indie pop/rock has been done to death and there’s really nothing new to say.
However, the Danish quartet have a knack for keeping it light and while the album is never, ever clever it’s an earworm from first listen.
The Orwells – Terrible Human Beings
And as if to prove that bands like Communions can be successful despite having nothing new to say while saying it prettily we have Terrible Human Beings, the third album from Chicago-based indie rock wannabe bad boys The Orwells.
As with Communions, The Orwells wear their influences heavily and without irony but more Weezer than Oasis.
“Good boys come in last/Bad girl by my side/Poppin’ pills on the fly/Cold grave when I die” they sing on “They Put a Body in the Bayou” and that sums it up.
The Orwells seem to think they are indie rock gods who could well throw a television from a hotel bedroom window if they had one too many Coors Lights but listening to Terrible Human Beings you know they won’t really because mom might find out.
The Orwells are significantly more successful than Communions for no other reason than luck and marketing.
If either band gets featured by Zane Lowe on Apple Music they’ll be huge.
Album highlight – “Black Francis” because Black Francis would be proud.
Xiu Xiu – Forget
Following on from last year’s excellent and timely tribute album Plays the Music of Twin Peaks, Xiu Xiu (above) return with Forget which in many ways seems to be a distillation of the band’s concerns over the last two decades.
For the uninitiated, Xiu Xiu do what the hell they want and it tends to be loud, obsessive, glitchy and experimental. On Forget think Brian Ferry on crack with David Byrne in the background trying to calm frontman Jamie Stewart down.
Be warned – Xiu Xiu are not for everyone and some might be offended by some of Stewart’s lyrics but if you want something completely different and generally fancy a touch of of Montreal or Joan of Arc give it a go and prepare to be mesmerized by the sheer audacity of it all.
The post NEW MUSIC: Ride, Communions, The Orwells, Xiu Xiu appeared first on Towleroad.
HRC Global Partners with LGBTQ Advocates in Nicaragua
HRC Global Partners with LGBTQ Advocates in Nicaragua
Post submitted by HRC Global Deputy Director Jean Freedberg
For the past year, HRC Global has been working shoulder to shoulder with an alliance — Grupo Consultivo — of LGBTQ advocates in Nicaragua. We have collaborated with them to raise their visibility, build allies, and increase political and community support for their efforts to gain legal non-discrimination protections. HRC staff have conducted seven in-person workshops in Managua and held hours of remote online consultations to share our lessons learned from more than three decades of advocacy promoting LGBTQ human rights and protections in the U.S. and beyond.
The LGBTQ community in Nicaragua is active, organized and has achieved some legal protections, most notably the creation of an LGBTQ ombudsperson in the current administration. However, it nonetheless suffers from widespread social exclusion and discrimination, and a lack of visibility. As a result, it is working to translate its gains into broader support and visibility for municipal and national protections.
This program is the first one that HRC has conducted with our partner, the National Democratic Institute (NDI). NDI is a U.S.-based nonprofit that works in more than 60 countries around the world to help citizens strengthen their democracies and ensure political and social inclusion of vulnerable populations. HRC was invited by NDI to work with the Grupo Consultivo on a USAID-funded program to help them leverage the results of a national study on LGBTQ people into greater protections for the community.
Working together with our HRC colleagues in Project One America, we developed a model based on our highly successful “All God’s Children” campaign conducted in a number of southern U.S. states. We were able to demonstrate the impact of using a values-based approach to reaching communities to change hearts and minds, especially in deeply religious areas.
Our Nicaraguan colleagues chose to launch a media and visibility campaign entitled “En La Vina Del Senor, Todas y Todos Somos Sus Hijos”, which translates to “In the Vineyard of the Lord, We are All God’s Children.” The campaign is based on sharing the emotional and moving testimony of allies from all walks of life as they express their love and support for their LGBTQ family members, friends and colleagues. This will help build societal acceptance, which can then be leveraged to help pass legislative and policy protections.
The alliance has created a striking visual campaign for a nationwide audience through TV, print and social media. Thousands have watched the powerful testimonies and the alliance enlisted the support of local media personalities, such as Eveling Lambert, whose morning television show is widely watched across the country. They have created a widely liked Facebook page and a website that encourages others to share their stories and their journeys.
In addition, through the efforts of dozens of volunteers, the alliance launched a massive outreach and pledge campaign that has reached all corners of Nicaragua.They have gathered close to 10,000 signatures that will form the foundation of their appeals to municipal and national political leaders. They have reached out to small business owners to encourage them to create zero-discrimination zones and are working in coalition with other LGBTQ groups in Nicaragua to ensure a unified approach.
HRC Global is proud to be working with such creative, courageous and effective advocates. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with NDI and with the alliance over the upcoming months to gain even greater recognition and acceptance for the LGBTQ community in Nicaragua.
To find out more about HRC Global’s work, visit hrc.org/global.
Unions, national education and civil rights orgs standing strong with transgender students
Unions, national education and civil rights orgs standing strong with transgender students
In addition to the outpouring of support from celebrities, national education and civil rights organizations have also come out strongly in support of transgender students in response to the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw guidance outlining protections for trans students under Title IX.
In a brief Thursday, unions representing millions of teachers, including the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Service Employees International Union, and the School Social Work Association of America, showed even more solidarity and support for 17-year-old Gavin Grimm–who is suing his school district for discrimination under Title IX because the school singled him out and treated him differently simply for being a transgender boy–and thereby standing with transgender students across the country, declaring:
“Educators are, above all, advocates and protectors of their students. Compelling them to discriminate against and harm their students runs counter to everything about their personal and professional mission.”
Below are statements released immediately following the announcement that the Trump Administration had decided to rescind guidelines protecting trans students under Title IX.
National Education Association: “Schools have a legal and a moral duty to support all students, including transgender students. In fact, states, school districts, and schools nationwide are supporting and affirming transgender students, and we believe they will continue to do so with or without guidance from the Trump administration.” Read the full statement. NEA President Lily Eskelsen García added:
“Every student matters, and every student has the right to feel safe, welcomed, and valued in our public schools. This is our legal, ethical and moral obligation. The Trump administration’s plans to reverse protections for transgender students by rescinding the Title IX guidance, is dangerous, ill-advised, and unnecessary. We reject this discriminatory plan because it is a drastic departure from our core values. We don’t teach hate, we do not tell people how to pray, and we do not discriminate against people based on their religion, gender, or identity. Period.”
National Parent-Teacher Association: “National PTA is extremely disappointed that the Administration has rescinded the guidance. Every child deserves to receive a great education in a setting free from discrimination, harassment and violence. The vast majority of LGBTQ students, however, are bullied, physically assaulted and feel unsafe in school because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or identity. There is a need for explicit protection of LGBTQ youth as it is critical to their overall health and well-being and long-term success.” Read the full statement.
The American Federation of Teachers: “Reversing this guidance tells trans kids that it’s OK with the Trump administration and the Department of Education for them to be abused and harassed at school for being trans. We want to be clear to those kids: It is not OK with your teachers or with us at the AFT, and we will continue fighting to protect you.” Read the full statement.
National Association of Secondary School Principals: “In rescinding the guidance, President Trump sends an equally strong and opposite message. It diminishes the value of transgender students, discourages educators’ efforts to support them, and emboldens their harassers. Principals will continue their efforts to support transgender and all other students in the face of new opposition and, sadly, with the knowledge that their president might not share their concern for the needs of each student.” Read the full statement.
National Council of Jewish Women: “Rescinding this guidance doesn’t change the law — transgender students are still protected under Title IX — but it does send a clear message to these students that their safety does not matter to this administration. Further, by couching this as a state issue, it also ignores the historic and critical role the federal government plays in protecting students from discrimination. NCJW denounces the rollback of this important guidance, which will make going to school more difficult for many students. We urge President Trump, Education Secretary DeVos, and Attorney General Sessions to reconsider their role in protecting vulnerable children seeking a safe education.” Read the full statement.
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights with the National Center for Transgender Equality, GLSEN, the National Women’s Law Center, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., the ACLU, the Human Rights Campaign, and MALDEF uniformly condemned the administration’s decision to withdraw the guidance: “By rescinding the guidance today, the Trump administration has taken the opposite stance. They have sent a deeply troubling message to students that the administration will not stand up for students’ civil rights. We condemn the administration’s decision, vow to fight to enforce Title IX, which continues to protect transgender students, and call on individual schools and districts to treat students consistent with their gender identity and consistent with the rescinded guidance that accurately explained the law.” Read the full statement.
In May 2016, under President Obama, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice issued guidance to all public schools explaining that Title IX, the Federal non-discrimination law that prohibits sex discrimination in education, should be interpreted to mean that transgender students must be treated fairly and equally in school. This week, the same Departments under Trump reversed this guidance, which sends the message that states and local districts may choose to discriminate against trans students.
On March 28, the United States Supreme Court will hear Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., a case about a 17-year-old transgender student named Gavin Grimm who is suing his school district for discrimination under Title IX because the school singled him out and treated him differently simply because he is transgender.
According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, transgender students already face extremely high rates of harassment and bullying in schools.
- The majority of respondents who were open about being transgender while in school (K-12) experienced some form of mistreatment, including verbal harassment (54%), physical attack (24%), and sexual assault (13%)
- 17% experienced such severe mistreatment that they withdrew from school
- Forty percent of respondents (40%) have attempted suicide, nearly 9x the rate in the U.S. population (4.6%)
- Seven percent (7%) attempted suicide in the past year nearly 12x the rate in the U.S. population (0.6%)
This strong show of support from national education and civil rights organizations with unions representing educators indicates an understanding that all students should have the opportunity to learn in safe and affirming school environments.
March 2, 2017
Issues: