Open Question: Do gay people realize, that pride parades make them look bad?
Ever since I attended the Gay Pride Parade in New York, I’ve understood why there are still people who are against gays.

I can picture a nice, decent family man driving into the city one day, probably doesn’t know there’s a Gay Pride Parade going on that day, and then seeing the parade. He probably doesn’t have an opinion on gay rights, probably never knew many gays in his life, and never gave it much thought. And upon seeing the way people act at their parades, he must think “My God! If my state supports gay marriage, all these people are going to be living right nextdoor to me! I have to keep my children safe from this!” And in a matter of two seconds, he goes from not having an opinion to being against gays.

I’ve always been aware of this, but I never knew gays were aware of it too, until I read Thomas’ question (again, can’t post the link because Y!A censoring is going bonkers), where he acknowledged it. So I’m just wondering if most gays are aware of this or not?

I would ask this in the LGBT section, but unfortunately, the people there are just like the ones who attend gay pride parades. I’ve gotten VNs for asking questions which try to understand the plight gays go through before.

answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20151103161642AAVGdol

Empire’s Jussie Smollett Is On Top Where You Like Him

Recently Black Dynasty, AKA Empire, gave us another Jamal Lyon set piece, wherein an artist, whom Jamal describes as the “next Andy Warhol,” photographs him at the piano.

Jamal: “What do you want me to play?”

Artist: “I want you to play whatever you’re feeling. I want to be inside you.”

OMG, we love this show.

Maybe Jamal flips like your dream boyfriend, so there’s some chance you’ll get in like the next Andy Warhol.

Artist: “God, you’re gorgeous.”

Or you’ll be the one with legs in the air.

Jamal is equal parts hot and adorable Jussie Smollett, also gay, a caramel-colored Jewish/African/Native American/Northern Euro mashup from a big acting family that also gave the world Denise, the Olsen twins’ best friend on Full House.

Jussie sings as well as acts, so was a natural for the show’s singing/songwriting Jamal, one of three brothers hoping to take over dad Lucious Lyon’s hip-hop empire.

Cue Shakespearean power struggles.

Daniels came up with a big coming out party for Jamal in Season 1, a gigantic club number that left jaws gaping on and off the show; it was maybe the splashiest gay declaration ever on television.

But since then, Jamal’s orientation has been less declarative and more fact-of-life.

For instance, he makes out a lot with cha-cha boyfriend Rafael de La Fuente. Like real, deep, hard, man-on-man kissing. This is on broadcast television. This is on Fox.

Thanks, Rupert!

Here are some more favorite Jussie Smollett looks from Empire and around the Internets, because we can’t get enough of him and he’s definitely one to watch, probably looking up. Ask the next Andy Warhol.

1. How you first met Jussie, with a Fox publicity shot. Adorable, and ruthless.

2. He wants his Empire.

3. Instagramming with Empire mom and co-star Taraji P. Henson, OK?

4. And Gabourey Sidibe.

5. Jamal really is the hottest brother.

6. Jussie starred in 2012’s gay indy The Skinny.

7. In bed with Empire boyfriend Michael. Their romance es en fuego.

8. Young and skinny. Look at that waist!

9. Jussie likes his social media, and looks good square.

10. Cute fan art.

11. Jussie is also an excellent model when he wants to be. For Essence…

12. InStyle…

13. GQ…

15. And CR Fashion Book.

16. You know Denzel’s looking at him like, damn, I remember when I was 32, ummhmmm.

Until next week, Jussie. 

greg gillbergh

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/H5IPgam5dPc/empires-jussie-smollett-is-on-top-where-you-like-him-20151103

News: Chelsea Manning, Dancing, Jon Stewart, The Game, ‘Chemsex’

> Chelsea Manning writes surveillance reform bill from behind bars: “The sweeping legislation would abolish the shadowy court used to oversee American intelligence operations and release much of its work to the public. Writing the draft bill was ‘the most difficult undertaking’ of Manning’s since she was sent to prison in 2013, she wrote.”

> The crew on American Horror Story: Hotel can’t tell the difference between all the hot brunette men on the show. 

> This Calculus teacher slayed as Drake from “Hotline Bling.” 

> Justin Bieber continues his childish antics. 

> Jon Stewart signs 4 year deal with HBO to create short form content. 

> 20 year-old man pleads guilty to “criminal sexual conduct” resulting from an encounter with a 15 year-old he met on Grindr.

> Dancing with your friends is good for your health: “Not surprisingly, those who did full-bodied exertive dancing had higher pain thresholds compared to those who were seated in the low-exertion groups. But curiously we also found that synchronization led to higher pain thresholds, even if the synchronized movements were not exertive. So long as people saw that others were doing the same movement at the same time, their pain thresholds went up. Likewise, synchronized activity encouraged bonding more than unsynchronized dancing, and more energetic activity had a similar effect – it also made the groups feel closer.”

> Amazon opened its first physical book store today.

> Was T. Rex a cannibal? “A 66-million-year-old fossilized tyrannosaur bone unearthed in Wyoming’s Lance Formation in June is providing new evidence that T. rexes were sometimes cannibalistic. A recent analysis of the bone revealed tooth marks in the pattern of a typical T. rex’s chompers, according to Loma Linda University paleontologist Matthew McLain, who presented the findings at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Baltimore on Sunday.”

> Paul Ryan promises a “very specific agenda” of Republican ideas in the coming months. 

> Alabama says $200K bill for fighting gay marriage is excessive. 

> Sneak peek at NBC’s The Wiz Live! starring Elijah Kelley, Ne-Yo, David Alan Grier, Mary J. Blige, Common, and Queen Latifah.

> Ireland moves to decriminalize drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, and heroin: “It would remain a crime to profit – from either the sale or distribution of illegal drugs – but drug takers would no longer be criminalised for their addictions.”

> Jon Hamm and Amy Poehler once hosted an Emmys loser party.

> The Game is showing off his package on Instagram again. 

> Twitter changes “favorites” to “likes.” 

> Hillary Clinton wants to raise the minimum wage to $12 / hour: “Let’s not just do it for the sake of having a higher number out there. But let’s get behind a proposal that actually has a chance of succeeding.”

> Harvard Professor Lawrence Lessig has ended his presidential campaign after failing to get a spot in Democratic party’s primary debates.

> Public healthy officials in London issue warning over rise of “chemsex”, predominantly among city’s gay population:

The post News: Chelsea Manning, Dancing, Jon Stewart, The Game, ‘Chemsex’ appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

News: Chelsea Manning, Dancing, Jon Stewart, The Game, ‘Chemsex’

Massachusetts Leads the Nation in LGBT Economic Opportunity

The first state to legalize same-sex marriage a decade ago is making LGBT history again. The governor of the commonwealth of Massachusetts today said “I do” to LGBT equality in economic opportunity, reports The Republican, a newspaper in Springfield, Mass. 

Gov. Charlie Baker issued an executive order Tuesday making Massachusetts the first state to include LGBT-owned businesses in a program that requires contractors bidding on a state project costing more than $150,000 to commit to spending a percentage of the money on diverse subcontractors and suppliers.

“The goal is to provide a much higher quality product by opening up opportunities for others to play who know they can do the work but have been basically shut out because of a series of very complex and in most cases unnecessary barriers to participation,” Baker said.

Speaking to a group of reporters, Baker later said the changes are about “leveling the playing field,” not about giving a leg up to preferred businesses. “The people who have a leg up are people who have resources and infrastructure to meander their way through a very complex and at times somewhat nonsensical procurement process here in Massachusetts.”

The National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce will certify businesses as LGBT-owned for the state. Jonathan Lovitz, the NGLCC’s vice president of external affairs, told Fortune magazine that for a company to be considered, 51 percent or more of the firm must be owned by lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individuals.

Although Baker’s order recognizing LGBT-owned businesses is the only statewide initiative of its kind, ​Fortune reported the NGLCC boasts of several success stories with state agencies and municipalities, including the California Public Utilities Commission as well as Essex County, N.J., and Cleveland. 

According to a 2006 report from the Hackett Group, companies that focus heavily on supplier diversity generate a 133 percent greater return on procurement investments than a typical business. About one-third of Fortune 500 companies also recognize LGBT-owned enterprises in their contracting processes, according to the NGLCC.

Massachusetts introduced the supplier diversity initiative in 2010 to provide minority- and women-owned businesses with equal access to state contracts.

Businesses owned by service-disabled veterans were added in 2013, and Baker’s executive order expands that to all veterans as well as people with disabilities and companies owned by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. 

Dawn Ennis

www.advocate.com/business/2015/11/03/massachusetts-leads-nation-lgbt-economic-opportunity

Gay Dartmouth Athlete Is Running A Marathon For A Great Cause

One night last winter, as I lay in bed, unable to sleep, I decided to go for a walk around the pond north of campus. As I walked, the bitter-cold air piercing my clothes, I contemplated the emptiness I felt in my heart, the inability to care, and my frustration with not being able to feel anything. I was exhausted from living with a constant aching inside me, from having my friends and family comment on how sad and aloof I seemed, from being the person I had become. In the quiet of this cold New Hampshire night, I reached my breaking point.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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Open Question: Was Bisexuality Common (LGBT)?
In Hollywood? I have read several books where the subject is discussed

James Dean
Cary Grant (allegedly)
Laurence Olivier (maybe)
Charles Laughton

Were all apparently bisexual, none of my favourite actors ever were though

answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20151103145055AAKuk9u

WATCH: HRC President Chad Griffin Talks HERO on MSNBC

This afternoon, HRC President Chad Griffin sat down with MSNBC to discuss the vital protections provided under the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/watch-hrc-president-chad-griffin-talks-hero-on-msnbc?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Child Threatened With Expulsion For Talking About Her Gay Dads

Two men have asserted they were forced to yank their 7-year-old daughter out of her private Christian school after she openly spoke in class about her parents being gay.

The girl in question — neither her name nor the last names of her parents are being printed to protect their privacy — was allegedly sternly reprimanded by administrators, who insisted she never speak of such things again, or she’ll be expelled.

Brendan, one of her fathers, only came out recently. He initially enrolled his daughter at Foundation Christian College with his ex-wife:

“I was told that they don’t promote ‘gay’ at the school and [my daughter] was unable to talk about my life between [my partner] and me. She could mention my name, but she couldn’t talk about us being gay or relating to us as a couple, so … we were forced to say that she wasn’t allowed to talk about Daddy or [my partner] at all.”

“I told them that I expected my daughter to be able to talk about home life like any other kid in the class.”

Brendan claims the principal, Andrew Newhouse, told him he felt fooled at the interview.

“He said to me that ‘If we knew you were gay at the interview you would never have got in this school.’”

Related: Things People Ask Gay Dads (But Probably Shouldn’t)

The two men decided to yank her from FCC and enroll her in public school to avoid further harassment.

“Why does my daughter have to go through this and lose her best friends due to the person I am?” Brendan asked. “I carry a lot of guilt and I hate that my daughter has to deal with her dad not being accepted.”

Newhouse told Mandura Mail that children of same-sex parents are indeed not welcome at the school.

“The [school] board are firm in their view that families have a mother and father who raise children jointly. The board also has a strong view that families with same-sex parents do not support a Christian world view. I mentioned to the parent that if his daughter was to continue this topic of discussion with her peers, then it would be in both his and his daughter’s interests to move to a school that would support his world view.”

Newhouse further elucidated to 9 News, saying the girl was openly discussing “her disappointment with Tony Abbott, the then-prime minister, not allowing her dad and his partner to marry.”

In a letter to parents, he wrote that the “Christian values being taught in the classroom were being undermined. It’s not helpful to confuse children at such a young age with complex and controversial issues.”

“She’s the one who brought it up,” argues Kim Simes, Midwest regional manager for the national nonprofit Family Equality Council,
so clearly it’s not confusing to a 7-year-old.”

She tells Yahoo Parenting:

“I think as adults, we’re the ones who muck it up and make these issues controversial. The kids are fine with it. That’s one of the worst forms of bullying there is — to be given the message of ‘your family isn’t worthy,’ and that this is not a safe place to talk about it. [It’s] horrific, and it breaks my heart to know that school officials, who are supposed to have the best interest of kids in mind, are using tactics like that.”

Despite the fact that it’s a Christian school, many parents disagree with the administration’s stance. They’ve emailed the school or posted their views on Facebook.

More than 20,000 have signed a Change.org petition, which urgse the local Minister for Education in Australia to “ban schools rejecting kids based on homophobia,” especially since the private school receives “millions of taxpayer dollars.”

 

H/t: LGBTQ Nation

Jeremy Kinser

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Gus Kenworthy’s Publicist Is Making Him ‘Cool It’ With the Shirtlessness: LISTEN

Recently out gay Olympian Gus Kenworthy said we might not be seeing too many more photos of him shirtless in the near future if his publicist gets their way.

Kenworthy spoke candidly about his exhibitionist tendencies with Michelangelo Signorile on his Sirius XM radio show on Tuesday:

“I need to cool it with that — according to my publicist,” Kenworthy said with a devilish smile while gesturing to his rep, sitting nearby. “But I don’t know, I guess I just felt like for so long, kind of pretending to be straight and lying in interviews, and everything that I was doing to try and fit in, I felt like I was like — I know it’s not actually clothes — but I felt like I was covering myself, and covering myself, and covering myself, and really censoring myself. So when I got to the point where I was really telling people that I was gay and I knew that I was going to come out publicly and stuff, it was sort of nice, and I guess freeing, to do something like that that was kind of off-brand for me, and something fun and I guess kind of objectifying, but still something that was fun and different.”

He added: “And I think I was insecure at that time. I mean, I was excited to come out but I was scared for what everyone was going to say and I knew that it was something that was happening very soon. And maybe, on a lower level, I guess I needed a little bit of attention.”

RELATED: Gus Kenworthy is a God Among Olympians and Here are the Photos to Prove It

Kenworthy also responded to criticism he received about one of his Halloween costumes (not the mouse or the cop) in which he dressed up as a Native American:

“I didn’t think for a second when I did it that I was being offensive,” he explained. “I would’ve never done anything that I thought was going to offend anybody.”

After he deleted the photo, Kenworthy Googled around, where he said he learned a lesson.

“I went on my phone and I Googled — like an idiot — but like, ‘Is it racist to dress up like a Native American?’ And, I guess the answer is yes… It’s sort of a vague line, because if you’re a character, then it’s not really racist but if you’re just, like, an Indian, then it’s sort of racist. But at the same point, even a character, like Pocahontas or someone, for example, is still sort of based on a racial stereotype and sort of a misinterpretation of a culture. I felt guilty that I had done it. I also feel that sometimes people do really overreact. It’s Halloween. It’s a night to dress-up. But I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable or feel like I was being rude or insensitive. So I took it down… I feel like, lesson learned and I won’t do it again.”

Listen to Kenworthy address his shirtlessness and his Halloween costumes, below:

RELATED: Gus Kenworthy Falls Hard For Fall in NYC’s Central Park: PHOTOS

The post Gus Kenworthy’s Publicist Is Making Him ‘Cool It’ With the Shirtlessness: LISTEN appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

Gus Kenworthy’s Publicist Is Making Him ‘Cool It’ With the Shirtlessness: LISTEN