Seychelles Decriminalizes Same-Sex Activity

The Seychelles, an island state in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa, today became the latest country to decriminalize male same-sex activity. Female same-sex relations are not criminalized in the country.

The breakthrough followed years of debate, and the government’s commitment in 2011 to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council that it would decriminalize same-sex activity. The pledge came during the island state’s Universal Periodic Review before the UN.

“I am over the moon that we have finally won this long struggle,” Ronny Arnephy, Vice-Chair of LGBTI-Sey, told HRC. “Now that the bill has passed, it paves the way for same-sex marriage and adoption. Our actions won’t stop here, and we will keep moving forward until we have full equality for Seychelles’ LGBTI community.”

Since 1955, Section 151 of the Seychelles Penal Code has criminalized consensual same-sex activity, with penalties of up to 14 years in prison if convicted. The law was rarely enforced.

“This victory gives hope and encouragement to activists around the world,” said Ty Cobb, Director of HRC Global. “We congratulate the LGBTQ community in Seychelles on their watershed accomplishment, and for  joining a host of other nations, including the U.S., that have banished LGBT criminalization laws to the dustbin of history.”

With this vote, the number of countries that criminalize LGBTQ people drops to 74.

Five countries have decriminalized same-sex activity since 2011. In July 2015, Mozambique revised its Portuguese colonial-era code that criminalized same-sex sexual activity. Other countries that have decriminalized same-sex activity in recent years are Lesotho and Sao Tome and Principe in 2012, and Lebanon and Palau in 2014.

While gradual progress continues to be made, there have also been setbacks. India’s Supreme Court re-criminalized same-sex acts in 2013, overturning a lower court’s 2009 ruling to decriminalize by “reading down” the notorious Section 377, which had been declared unconstitutional.

This decriminalization vote follows the release of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) and Logo entertainment’s historic report on global attitudes towards LGBTI people. The report found that 53 percent of respondents say that being LGBTI should not be a crime. This is the first survey showing that a majority of the world’s population supports the decriminalization of same-sex activity.

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Seth Meyers Gives a History Lesson on Bathrooms

Bathrooms have a political history that goes back to the 1800s, says Seth Meyers. 

www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/5/18/seth-meyers-gives-history-lesson-bathrooms

Nation's Largest Latino Civil Rights Group Joins LGBTs in N.C. Boycott

National Council of La Raza pulled its convention from North Carolina protest of the anti-LGBT HB 2. 

www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/5/18/nations-largest-latino-civil-rights-group-joins-lgbts-nc-boycott

This Ad Campaign on Being Asian and LGBT Is Overdue

www.advocate.com/families/2016/5/18/ad-campaign-being-asian-and-lgbt-overdue

5 Reasons Millennial Women Love The CockyBoys

It’s not exactly news that some women, even lesbians, are into gay porn. Remember Julianne Moore awkwardly trying to explain to their son why she and Annette Bening watched gay porn in The Kids Are Alright? And Pornhub has the stats to back it up.

Cosmo recently took a deep dive (mildly NSFW) into the very particular community of female fans who are obsessed with the twinky stars of gay porn studio CockyBoys.

“If it wasn’t for our women fans, I don’t think we would have the level of exposure that we’ve had,” former porn performer George Alvin (a.k.a. Max Ryder) tells the mag. So, what makes these nubile young dudes so appealing to 20- and 30-something ladies?

1. They look like a boy band.
That’s essentially the story’s starting point, positioning the boys as “One Erection.” According to CockyBoy Tayte Hanson, “When these girls were young, boy bands were the ‘in’ thing. They saw the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, and that’s what their brain decided to tell them was attractive and appealing.” The brand’s x-rated, faux boy band mocumentary series aims to cash in on that appeal.

2. Their movies have actual plots.
It’s kind of a cliché that women like porn with a plot, but CockyBoys founder Jake Jaxson says his company’s more ambitious films have “elevated” the genre.

3. They can tell they’re into each other.
“Women definitely have a preference for gay porn where the men look like they are into each other,” says Dr. Lucy Neville, a senior lecturer at London’s Middlesex University. That’s in contrast to straight porn, in which women’s sexual responses often seem fake. “If a man has an erection and he ejaculates, that shows he’s having a good time,” Neville explains.

4. They’ve built a community.
The boys are active on social media, messaging fans and interacting with them on a more personal level. Meanwhile, some of the CockyBoys’ female fans travel from all over the world to meet them at events, and some of these women have even established friendships with each other based on their mutual obsession. “I feel like this is my second family,” one fan admits.

5. The real-life behind-the-scenes drama.
Just like Joan Crawford and Bette Davis’s legendary feud made them gay icons, CockyBoys fangirls lap up the off-camera rivalries and gossip. “A lot of the girl fans thought we were dating in real life, to the point where they would sometimes attack the actual people we were dating on social media,” Alvin (a.k.a. Max Ryder) says of his former co-star Jake Bass. Fans nicknamed the pair “Jax.” “The funny part was we hated each other but on camera had to play off the whole ‘Jax’ [thing].”

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Obama Administration Battles Republicans Over Who Is More Sex-Obsessed

The White House has just thrown some deep shade in response to a Wall Street Journal op-ed that suggests that the administration’s recent decision directing schools to allow trans kids to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity is rooted in a “preoccupation with sex.”

The Washington Times was on hand to get the response from White House press secretary Josh Earnest and, well, it was a read for the ages:

“It’s Republicans in the Congress that have created a special congressional committee to take a look at Planned Parenthood,” Mr. Earnest said. “It’s Republicans who have sued the administration over the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, including as it relates to women being able to get access to their birth control.”

He said the editorial’s accusation was “curious” and didn’t stand up to scrutiny.

Repeat after us: sexuality and gender identity are two different things.

We’ll be glad when people (finally) get the memo, and we’re going to have to side with Earnest on this one.

It’s laughable that the party that has spent the better part of 30+ years trying to police women’s bodies accuses the Obama Administration of being sex-obsessed for attempting to help trans kids be themselves.

But then again, this is the kind of stupidity we’ve come to expect from the GOP, where their actions are constantly inconsistent with what they claim to believe.

Earnest has their number, as does anyone who’s paying attention this election year.

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Mississippi Dept. of Education Caves to Republican Pressure on Transgender Students

The Mississippi Department of Education has reversed its position on President Obama’s guidance regarding how public schools should treat transgender students. While the state DOE previously said it would act in accordance with the recommendations, one of the state’s top education officials did an about-face on Wednesday.

The AP reports: 

State Superintendent Carey Wright made the announcement Wednesday morning in a brief statement, saying the department would “follow the lead of state leadership” and take no action until the state Board of Education could discuss the situation. The move comes as Republicans in a number of other states have opposed the guidance, with some seeking to join legal challenges.

Mississippi education officials had said Friday they would follow the guidance by federal authorities calling for transgender students to be treated consistently with their gender identity. They cited a need for a “safe and caring school environment.”

The reversal is widely being attributed to Republican lawmakers in the state who vocally denounced the President’s actions:

Wednesday, 27 Republican state senators among the GOP’s 32-member supermajority sent a letter to Wright and the Board of Education calling for “swift and decisive action on this urgent matter.”

“The federal government is, in effect, trying to blackmail our state by implying that funding for public schools will be withheld should we continue to recognize biological sex when setting safety and privacy policies for our schools,” the senators wrote. “Dr. Wright made the decision to usurp the board’s authority and unilaterally issue the policy decision to acquiesce to the illegal demands of the federal government. For this, the superintendent must be held accountable.”

That followed a letter Tuesday by 11 Republican House members asking Wright to reverse the department’s position. The group, including five members of the House Education Committee, told Wright that if she didn’t reverse herself, she should resign.

“The policy of allowing boys or men into bathrooms and locker rooms with girls poses a threat to the safety and well-being of every school-aged girl in this state,” they wrote.

On Tuesday, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant called for ignoring the guidance issued by President Obama:

“As I said last week, the Mississippi Department of Education should disregard the Obama administration’s so-called guidance regarding public schools’ bathroom policies. Mississippi’s school children should not be forced to participate in the president’s social experiment.”

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NEW MUSIC: Nothing, pinkshinyultrablast, Modern Baseball

This week in New Music: it’s all about the emo and shoegaze on Nothing‘s second album Tired of Tomorrow, a reissue of early pinkshinyultrablast EP Happy Songs for Happy Zombies and Modern Baseball‘s third offering Holy Ghost.

Nothing – Tired of Tomorrow

Shoegaze has always attracted sad school boys and has a reputation of squall over sense. From early Cocteau Twins to young pretenders pinkshinyultrablast it’s always been about the haze melody. Lyrics are rarely to the fore and song titles often incomprehensible.

On their second album, Philadelphia’s Nothing are changing perceptions. With a touch of EMO and some glittering indie rock interludes, Tired of Tomorrow is concerned with the vagaries of life. Everyone Is Happy is one song. Everyone most certainly is not. “Watch out for those who dare to say that everything will be okay, watch out for those who want to be anything at all” (“Vertigo Flowers”).

There’s a connection somewhere in Nothing with Deafheaven so it makes sense that Tired of Tomorrow is a sumptuous take on shoegaze with a dark undercurrent. At it’s best, the album is similar to the glory days of Smashing Pumpkins.

As with anything labeled shoegaze it’s not going to change the world but it could give some indie kids a lesson in how it should be done.

Pinkshinyultrablast – Happy Songs for Happy Zombies EP

Speaking of pinkshinyultrablast (above), the Russian shoegaze act has just reissued its debut EP Happy Songs for Happy Zombies.

Hailing from St. Petersburg, pinkshinyultrablast released Grandfeathered last month, which followed from debut album Everything Else Matters. Both albums received rapturous praise in some quarters (Everything Else Matters was one of our best albums of 2015).

Although the positive reviews have not translated into world domination, label Club AC30 would appear to be betting on pinkshinyultrablast by re-releasing this EP as a reminder – or appetizer – of just how good the band are.

Weighing in at 4 tracks over 15 minutes, Happy Songs for Happy Zombies does what good shoegaze should: it washes over you, fuzzes out when required and leaves you wondering what just happened and where can you get more.

Modern Baseball – Holy Ghost

While Nothing’s Tired of Tomorrow was allegedly informed by happy thoughts around prison, mugging and violence, indie rock act Modern Baseball’s third album Holy Ghost – while a much happier affair on the surface at least – is apparently a product of  band member Brendan Lukens’ recent battles with addiction, bipolar and self harm. So far so depressing. Must be something in the Philadelphia water.

While Nothing had a shoegaze makeover incorporating emo on their new album, Modern Baseball are all about the emo with a sonic indie rock / pop punk boom. At it’s most raw is the half time track “Hiding” in which we get to the core of Modern Baseball’s concerns: “Drank a lot and danced to the Cure, holding on for dear life.”

At 28 minutes total, Holy Ghost has nary a spare moment. If Blue October had deleted the fluff from Foiled it could have been this compelling. 

Indie kids take note.

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