June 12 Named 'Orlando United Day' to Honor Pulse Nightclub Victims
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer made the announcement alongside Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs.
www.advocate.com/media/2017/3/28/june-12-named-orlando-united-day-honor-pulse-nightclub-victims
Daniel Radcliffe, Spinach Heart, Paul Walker, Energy Independence, RuPaul’s Drag Race: HOT LINKS
JARED KUSHNER. Trump son-in-law met Russian bank executives: “A Russian bank under Western economic sanctions over Russia’s incursion into Ukraine disclosed on Monday that its executives had met Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a top White House adviser, in December.”
NYC. Baltimore man who stabbed black man to death in midtown Manhattan gets terrorism charge: “James Harris Jackson, 28, faces life without parole if convicted of the charges filed by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office Monday. Jackson allegedly stabbed bottle-collector Timothy Caughman, 66, Monday at 36th St. and Ninth Ave. at 11:30 p.m. He’d taken a bus to New York from Baltimore on March 17 specifically to kill black people in a place where he thought the act would get greater media attention, officials said.”
“ENERGY INDEPENDENCE” Trump to sign devastating EO on climate change: “This is just a sweeping devastating of climate protections that were already insufficiently robust. And this is the kind of policy that has effects that can’t just be unwound with the stroke of a pen sometime down the road.”
QUEERS. Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss launches series of original shorts for BBC Four: “Grouped together under the title Queers, the eight 15-minute monologues begin with The Man on the Platform, set in 1917 and written by Gatiss himself. The monologues will be staged at the Old Vic theatre in London in July before their television airings.”
JAMES BLUNT. The singer revealed what his hit “Beautiful” is really about: “‘You’re Beautiful’ is not this soft romantic f**king song. It’s about a guy who’s high as a f**king kite on drugs in the subway stalking someone else’s girlfriend when that guy is there in front of him, and he should be locked up or put in prison for being some kind of perv.”
MONTANA. House panel kills anti-trans bathroom bill: “But the Montana Family Foundation, a socially conservative group based in Laurel, said after the vote it will try to place the issue on the 2018 ballot anyway, through a voter initiative.”
GRACE AND FRANKIE. Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda have a new business model for Donald Trump.
RECORDS. RuPaul’s Drag Race brought in nearly 1 million viewers, a record for the franchise after its move to VH1. “The telecast tripled its 8 PM time slot and more than doubled its viewership from last season’s debut on Logo. The Emmy-winning series moved to VH1 as part of the recent restructuring under the networks’ owner Viacom. The Season 9 premiere also performed well on social, scoring its highest Twitter volume ever, according to VH1.”
BARRY JENKINS. Moonlight director will write and direct Underground Railroad series at Amazon.
MALE MODEL TUESDAY. Colin Ryan. More here.
BEATING HEART. Spinach leaf transforms into sheet of beating human heart cells. “WPI research team shows spinach leaves stripped of plant cells can become a vascular network to deliver blood, oxygen and nutrients to grow human tissues like cardiac muscle to treat heart attack patients. This green solution may solve the major problem now limiting the regeneration of large section of human tissues, bone, even whole organs to treat disease or traumatic injuries.”
PAUL WALKER. Two surfer dudes lobby for a Paul Walker statue at San Clemente pier.
TRAILER OF THE DAY. Daniel Radcliffe “The Jungle”.
TOO HOT TUESDAY. Milly Bean (and friends).
The post Daniel Radcliffe, Spinach Heart, Paul Walker, Energy Independence, RuPaul’s Drag Race: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.
Daniel Radcliffe, Spinach Heart, Paul Walker, Energy Independence, RuPaul’s Drag Race: HOT LINKS
Before Transgender Day of Visibility, Highlighting Trans Survivors of Violence
Content note: This post discusses abuse and violence, including sexual violence, against transgender people. It does not describe specific acts of violence.
Each November, transgender people and our allies come together to mourn those transgender people lost to murder during the past year for Transgender Day of Remembrance. The victims we honor are a stark reminder that transgender people—and, at a far disproportionate rate, transgender women of color—face stunning and unacceptable rates of violence.
The importance of mourning murder victims, and commemorating their lives, cannot be overstated. It’s also vitally important to remember that an even greater number of transgender people experience nonfatal violence every year. The National Center for Transgender Equality’s U.S. Trans Survey, the largest-ever study of transgender adults, gives us a sense of just how common these experiences are. Among nearly 28,000 adults who completed the survey, nine percent had been physically attacked due to their transgender identity in the past year alone. One in 10 had been sexually assaulted in the past year, and almost half had been sexually assaulted at some point in their lives.
When we think of violence against transgender people, we often think of attacks by strangers—a real concern, particularly with anti-transgender sentiment stirred up by laws like North Carolina’s HB 2. But transgender people often also experience violence from their own relatives and even their partners. In the U.S. Trans Survey, one in 10 participants who was out to their family had experienced violence from one or more family members, and more than half had experienced intimate partner violence. When it comes to sexual assault, the most common perpetrators are friends and acquaintances, followed by partners and strangers.
The risk for different types of violence seems to be based in part on a person’s other identities. In the U.S. Trans Survey, non-binary people and transgender men were most likely to experience sexual assault at some point in their lives, while transgender women of color were particularly likely to have been attacked in public by strangers, or to have been attacked with a gun. Stunning results from undocumented participants included a 24 percent rate of being physically attacked in the past year, and a 68 percent lifetime rate of intimate partner violence. These findings echo HRC’s Post-Election Survey of Teens, where young transgender and LGBQ people described harassment and fears of violence based not only on their LGBTQ identities but also on their race, immigration status, religion and other characteristics.
The factors that put transgender people at risk for physical attack, partner abuse and sexual violence are similar to those that increase the risk of murder: exclusion from economic opportunities; being pushed out of school; and perpetrators’ belief that transgender victims will not be taken seriously. HRC and the Trans People of Color Coalition’s 2016 report on anti-transgender violence, A Matter of Life and Death, explains how we can begin to address some of these root causes.
While key supports for violence survivors (including domestic violence shelters) too often fail to serve transgender survivors adequately, trans survivors have some protections under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). VAWA funds many programs for people who have experienced sexual assault, intimate partner violence, domestic violence or stalking. These programs must provide equal services to everyone regardless of their gender or transgender status. They also cannot require transgender survivors to hide their gender identity in order to receive services. The National Center for Transgender Equality and National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs have more information on these rights.
Many services across the U.S., including a number of LGBTQ-specific programs, are already well-prepared to support transgender survivors. One such group is FORGE, which offers online self-help resources, a support network, and referrals to trans-affirming therapists. Local members of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs may also be able to help.
To learn more about HRC’s work to end violence against transgender people, read “A Matter of Life and Death,” a 2016 report co-published with the Trans People of Color Coalition.
Was This Veteran Lesbian Journalist Tossed Aside for Millennial Writers?
Karen Ocamb’s former boss gave an interview saying she was too old to write for Frontiers. Now Frontiers is bankrupt and she’s suing for discrimination, while helping start up the nation’s newest queer newspaper.
www.advocate.com/media/2017/3/28/was-veteran-lesbian-journalist-tossed-aside-millennial-writers
Bill O’Reilly Cant’ Hear Rep. Maxine Waters’s Criticism of Trump Because of Her ‘James Brown Wig’ – WATCH
Racist, sexist Bill O’Reilly couldn’t hear Rep. Maxine Waters’s critique of Donald Trump because of her “James Brown wig,” Media Matters reports:
BILL O’REILLY: I didn’t hear a word [Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)] said. I was looking at the James Brown wig. If we have a picture of James, it’s the same wig.
STEVE DOOCY (CO-HOST): It’s the same one.
BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): And he’s not using it anymore. They just — they finally buried him.
[CROSSTALK]
AINSLEY EARHARDT (CO-HOST): No. OK, I’ve got to defend her on that. I have to defend her on that. She a — you can’t go after a woman’s looks. I think she’s very attractive.
O’REILLY: I didn’t say she wasn’t attractive.
EARHARDT: Her hair is pretty.
OREILLY: I love James Brown, but it’s the same hair, James Brown — alright, the godfather of soul — had.
EARHARDT: So he had girl hair.
O’REILLY: Whatever it is, I just couldn’t get by it.
Watch:
The post Bill O’Reilly Cant’ Hear Rep. Maxine Waters’s Criticism of Trump Because of Her ‘James Brown Wig’ – WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.
Child Welfare Organizations Urge Georgia Lawmakers to Reject Anti-LGBTQ Amendment to Adoption Bill
Today, HRC released an open letter from major child welfare organizations — including the Child Welfare League of America, The Donaldson Adoption Institute, FosterClub, North American Council on Adoptable Children, and Voice for Adoption — urging Georgia lawmakers to reject a discriminatory, anti-LGBTQ amendment to an adoption-related bill, HB 159, currently under consideration in the state legislature.
The shameful amendment puts discrimination ahead of the best interests of children in Georgia by granting a special license to discriminate based on an adoption agency’s “mission” — even if the agency receives public funds. The term “mission” is dangerously broad without limitation, and would mean that any belief or practice, religious or otherwise, must be accommodated. For example, in addition to being used to discriminate against LGBTQ people, an agency could turn away prospective families for children because those families are of a different religion than the agency, one of the prospective parents is remarried, or anything else about them that the agency deems to be out of sync with its mission.
“Georgia lawmakers should heed the warning of these major child welfare organizations and put the best interest of the child over discrimination,” said JoDee Winterhof, HRC Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs. “With thousands of children in Georgia in desperate need of permanent, loving homes, all qualified adults who have the room in their hearts and homes to adopt a child should be permitted to do so and treated fairly in the process. Lawmakers must reject this dangerously broad amendment that could swing the door wide open to taxpayer-funded discrimination.”
In the letter, which was sent to the chair and vice chair of the Senate rules committee, as well as the lieutenant governor, the national child welfare organizations state:
The undersigned nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations are dedicated to ensuring the safety, permanency and wellbeing for children and families that are connected to adoption and foster care. This includes providing leadership and education that improves laws, policies and practices through sound research, analysis and advocacy. Eliminating policy and practice barriers for children in foster care awaiting permanent homes is one of our priorities.
We are writing today to request that you take action to remove the recent amendment added to HB 159. Simply put, the amendment puts discrimination ahead of the best interests of children in Georgia who are waiting for a loving home. The amendment would significantly limit opportunities for the more than 2500 Georgia children waiting in foster care for permanent, adoptive homes. Additionally, the amendment sanctions discrimination against LGBTQ children in care. The amendment allows a foster or adoption agency to deny a placement based on that agency’s “mission.” The term “mission” is dangerously broad without limitation – any belief or practice, religious or otherwise, must be accommodated, even if the agency receives public funds. For example, an agency could turn away prospective families for children because those families are of a different religion than the agency, or anything else about them that the agency deems to be out of sync with its mission. Further, an agency would face no consequence if they forced LGBTQ children to engage in religious based counseling, or even subjected them to the discredited practice of ‘conversion therapy,’ if these actions were tied to the agency’s mission.
The amendment to HB 159 stands in opposition to the robust base of professional knowledge that highlights the critical need for the largest possible pool of potentially qualified parents to adopt children languishing in the child welfare system, and the harm to children that results from excluding any class of potentially qualified parents (such as gay and lesbian couples) from that pool. The best interest of children should be the state’s primary goal and no one’s interest is being served when discriminatory practices are endorsed by the state, even allowing taxpayer-funded organizations to insert their personal religious beliefs into their professional mandate to ensure the wellbeing of children.
The reality is, a quarter century of research has found that children raised by lesbian and gay parents fare just as well as those reared by heterosexual parents. Major professional groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association, as well as national and state child welfare organizations, overwhelmingly support adoptions by qualified same-sex parents.
According to a study published in 2013 by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, among same-sex couples with children under the age of 18 in the home, 13% have an adopted child, compared to only 3% of opposite-sex couples. Studies have also documented that lesbian and gay adults are willing to adopt the very children most in need of homes and those who wait in temporary foster care the longest – those who are older and who may have special needs – and these families also do so at a higher rate than heterosexual adults.
There are all too many children in temporary living situations. In Georgia, the most recent statistics from FY 2015 indicate there are 10,935 children in foster care with more than 2500 children waiting in care for a permanent adoptive family. During FY 2015, more than 17,400 children were served by foster care. Nationally, the most recent statistics indicate that more than 21,000 children aged out of foster care without a permanent family structure. The outcomes facing youth who exit foster care on their own as opposed to being placed with a permanent family are staggering; these young people are more likely to flounder in society with higher rates of homelessness and unemployment compared to their peers who are adopted. These numbers illustrate the critical need for the largest possible pool of potentially qualified parents to adopt children from the child welfare system.
Stability and security are vital for children’s healthy development. Allowing agencies that serve waiting children to discriminate against potentially qualified parents limits opportunities for children. It is also essential that children are supported in developing a healthy identity; subjecting children to discredited and abusive therapeutic techniques on the grounds of moral convictions does not serve their best interest. If we truly wish to act in good conscience towards children in care, we must not enshrine discriminatory practices into the law.
Sincerely,
Child Welfare League of America
The Donaldson Adoption Institute
FosterClub
North American Council on Adoptable Children
Voice for Adoption
The attack on fairness and equality in Georgia is part of an onslaught of anti-LGBTQ bills being pushed in 2017 by activists around the country. HRC is currently tracking more than 120 anti-LGBTQ legislative proposals in 30 states. For more information, visit hrc.im/2017legislature.
Martin Duberman’s ‘Jews Queers Germans’ Probes the Gay Underground of Pre-Nazi Germany
Our TowleREAD audio reading series is back this week with Jews Queers Germans, by Martin Duberman.
Duberman, the distinguished historian, author and playwright, has been chronicling the LGBT experience for more than a half-century, most notably in the celebrated books Stonewall, Cures and Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS.
Duberman delves deeper into our collective history with his latest book, Jews Queers Germans (Seven Stories Press).
Before the Nazis ushered in their reign of terror, Germany had a thriving underground homosexual community. Duberman’s meticulously researched book, which covers the years 1890 to 1930, highlights the complicated lives of five remarkable men who were either Jewish, homosexual, German or all three.
The book centers upon Prince Philipp von Eulenburg, closest friend to ruler Kaiser Wilhelm II. In 1907, the Prince is brought to court and accused of homosexuality, a scandal that shakes the Empire. Also profiled are famed sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld, Count Harry Kessler, Foreign Minister Walthur Rathenau, and Ernest Rohm, the gay leader of Hitler’s SA. A non-fiction novel but anchored in documented fact, Jews Queers Germans offers a window onto a time of anti-gay and anti-Semitic persecution that we run the risk of repeating in Trump’s America.
You can order Jews Queers Germans at Seven Stories Press or on Amazon. Follow Martin Duberman on Facebook.
For those of you in New York City, Duberman will be discussing the novel tonight with Alisa Solomon at the New York Public Library. More info here.
Listen to Duberman read and introduce his selection for Towleroad readers:
Former MTV VJ Dave Holmes’ ‘Party of One’ is Music to a Gay Man’s Ears
Garth Greenwell Reads from His Remarkable Debut Novel ‘What Belongs To You’ – LISTENDisclosure: If you buy something through hyperlinks to supporting retailers, we may get a small commission on the sale. Thanks for your ongoing support of Towleroad and independent publishing.
The post Martin Duberman’s ‘Jews Queers Germans’ Probes the Gay Underground of Pre-Nazi Germany appeared first on Towleroad.
Martin Duberman’s ‘Jews Queers Germans’ Probes the Gay Underground of Pre-Nazi Germany
40 and Nobody to Drop Off at Hebrew School
What happens when your life doesn’t like how you imagined it to be?
www.advocate.com/commentary/2017/3/28/40-and-nobody-drop-hebrew-school
