Pope Francis is unlikely supporter of gay children’s book

Pope Francis has reportedly written a letter of support to a children’s author whose book featuring same-sex families was banned by the mayor of Venice.

Piccolo Uovo (Little Egg), written by Francesca Pardi, tells the tale of an egg who encounters a variety of different family set ups including gay penguins, lesbian rabbits, a mixed race dog couple, a inter-species adoption between kangaroos and polar bears, and a single parent hippo.

The book was one of the 49 books to be banned in Venice by mayor Luigi Brugnaro, prompting widespread backlash and attracting attention across the globe.

As well as receiving backing from celebrity supporters including Sir Elton John, who shared his support for one of the banned titles on Instagram earlier this month, the banned list has now attracted the attention of Pope Francis, who praised Pardi for her work in a letter written by his staff, seen by The Guardian.

‘His holiness is grateful for the thoughtful gesture and for the feelings which it evoked, hoping for an always more fruitful activity in the service of young generations and the spread of genuine human and Christian values,’ wrote Peter B Wells, a senior Vatican official, in a letter sent to Pardi’s Milan home dated 9 July.

The Pope’s letter was in response to a parcel of children’s books sent to the Vatican in June by Pardi, including stories featuring LGBTI characters and same-sex couples. She also included a letter, in which she described the negativity she has faced in the past months.

‘Many parishes across the country are in this period sullying our name and telling falsehoods about our work which deeply offends us,’ she wrote.

‘We have respect for Catholics … A lot of Catholics give back the same respect, why can’t we have the whole hierarchy of the church behind us?’

Pardi said she was surprised to receive the letter, but did not think the reply to her parcel represented a change in the Vatican’s attitudes towards homosexuality.

‘It’s not that I think that he’s for gay families, because there’s the Catholic doctrine, but we mustn’t think that we don’t have rights,’ she said.

Pope Francis is noted for his more liberal stance on homosexuality than his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, famously saying in 2013: ‘If someone is gay and searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?’

Despite this, the Vatican said the closing blessing of the private letter was addressed to Pardi, and not written in support of teachings which went against church doctrine.

The post Pope Francis is unlikely supporter of gay children’s book appeared first on Gay Star News.

Mel Spencer

www.gaystarnews.com/article/pope-francis-is-unlikely-supporter-of-gay-childrens-book/

Former Rentboy’s Powerful Reminder Why Escorting Isn’t Always About the Sex: WATCH

This past Tuesday, New York police officers and agents of the Department of Homeland Security raided the Manhattan offices of Rentboy.com. Federal authorities also arrested the company’s CEO and six other executives accusing them of prostitution among other charges.

From our own Ari Ezra Waldman’s legal perspective on the raid:

Setting aside the broader discussion over (de)criminalizing prostitution, this story is another example of how we have to accept that internet life is part of “real” life, subject to the same laws as offline transactions and the cause of very real harms to real people. Rentboy.com cannot escape liability simply because it tossed up a disclaimer saying none of its advertisements are for sex-for-pay. Websites that facilitate prostitution still promote the same culture of victimization that New York has decided is bad enough to merit restricting the freedom of voluntary sex workers.

Related, Rentboy CEO: ‘I Think We Do Good Things’ – VIDEO

But as we continue to debate whether sex work should be a crime and whether the raid was handled properly, it’s important to keep in mind those escorts and their families whose livelihoods depend on this line of work.

In this video “The Politics of Sex” by Jake Jaxson, former RentBoy Rob Yaeger shares his own story why he decided to get into escorting.

From the video’s description:

And to all the judgmental moralizers, self haters, double speakers, and glass housers, watch this and ask yourself before you pick up that next rock. Are you now and will you ever be half the man that Rob is? Before you again say one thing and do another, ask yourself if your clever wordsmithing will ever match up to the selflessness of this man.

The post Former Rentboy’s Powerful Reminder Why Escorting Isn’t Always About the Sex: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Former Rentboy’s Powerful Reminder Why Escorting Isn’t Always About the Sex: WATCH

Sex crime case against US gay activist will be dismissed

It seems the sex crime case against a major US LGBTI political donor, who helped create a number of gay rights organizations, will be dropped early this week. Terry Bean and his former boyfriend, Kiah L. Lawson, are accused of having a 2013 September sexual encounter with a 15-year-old boy. The alleged victim, who is now 17, refuses to testify.

Authorities claim Bean and Lawson used the iPhone dating app Grindr to set up a meeting with the unnamed minor. Both are charged with two counts of third-degree sodomy, a felony, and third-degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor.

According to The Oregonian, the boy refuses to accept the subpoena that would force him to to appear at the trial’s start. His lawyer, Lori Deveny, says he does not want to testify and has attempted suicide because he’s fearful he’ll be forced to.

Known only as MSG, the alleged victim is upset his sexual orientation was made public to family and friends.

‘My client was outed by the detective in this case,’ Deveny said to The Oregonian. ‘That undermined his support system.’

Lane County Chief Deputy District Attorney Erik Hasselman told the court the state cannot proceed without the victim. However, the attorney added MSG maintains there was a sexual encounter between him, Bean, and Lawson.

Circuit Judge Jay McAlpin will make a ruling this Tuesday.

Bean has made no public statements, but his lawyer, Derek Ashton, insisted his client is not guilty.

‘Terry Bean is innocent, and we will be ready on Tuesday,’ Ashton said, according to the paper. ‘We’re looking forward to the end of this process. Terry will have more to say when this is concluded.’

Bean helped create a number of LGBTI organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign, Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, and Gay Games. He’s also a donor to the Democratic Party.

The post Sex crime case against US gay activist will be dismissed appeared first on Gay Star News.

James Withers

www.gaystarnews.com/article/sex-crime-case-against-us-gay-activist-will-be-dismissed/

Enjoy This Hot Workout Video from Two of Instagram’s Most Muscular Stars

Instagram personality, dog lover, and hair stylist Kyle Krieger hit the beach this week with Australian fitness and fashion expert Nathan McCallum to demonstrate ways to workout without a gym and engage in a bit of competition as well.

Watch as the two fit gents demo the rope climb, muscle up, parallel bars, kip pull-ups and strict pull-ups, and see who comes out on top.

McCallum has a following of more than 235,000 on Instagram (slightly less than Krieger’s 244,000. He spoke to Sydney’s Pace magazine about why he does what he does:

I would say there is definitely some element of vanity in what I do…not so much in a “heck I think I’m good looking” way, but more of; this is a pursuit of better aesthetics… in the way I dress, and look, and live. I can definitely understand how it would come across as completely vain to an outsider, but I think when people read through my blog and insta a little further they get a feel for who I am, and hopefully some of the pretentious vanity disappears. Hopefully…It’s an incredible thing having people writing to me saying how I have influenced their life for the better, not just in the way they dress, but in their own self confidence and self worth. I use the tumblr platform for bangarangblog as it allows me to directly interact with my followers, I would hate to be seen as some unachievable personality. I’m just another guy, who has been lucky to find support in what I do. Hopefully I can give that support back to others.

Along with their shirtless athletics, they’ll answer a few questions. If you’re wondering about cheating on food, flexing, functional vs aesthetic muscles, and how to get a bubble butt, you’re in luck.

Enjoy their hot workout video below, along with a few extra shots for good measure.

RELATED: Matthew Dempsey and Kyle Krieger are Back With Advice on How To Become Friends with Your Ex: WATCH

(h/t World of Wonder)

The post Enjoy This Hot Workout Video from Two of Instagram’s Most Muscular Stars appeared first on Towleroad.

Towleroad

Enjoy This Hot Workout Video from Two of Instagram’s Most Muscular Stars

Sir Ian McKellen kisses male fans at Manchester Pride

Sir Ian McKellen knows how to celebrate Manchester Pride, taking full advantage of his position to kiss male fans along the route.

The X Men and Lord of the Rings star was the grand marshal, leading the parade throughout the northern English city in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators.

He had also designed the Gay Star News Pride tote bag, with the words ‘You Shall Not Pass… Anti-Gay Laws!’, taking on Gandalf’s famous line from the Fellowship of the Ring.

Speaking to GSN, in an exclusive interview, he gave his thoughts on the new Stonewall film, dressing in drag and being thrown out of Taylor Swift’s apartment.

He also gave his thoughts on Pride.

He said: ‘I suppose Pride is different for every person. Some people are just gawping. For me it’s a celebration: being out and not giving a damn. Being grateful that we’re in a country where that’s possible. But it does make me think. Three hours away in Moscow, they’re not going to have another pride march for 100 years, it’s been banned. I wouldn’t like to be growing up gay in Russia.

‘People say it’s all over here, but in Northern Ireland it’s not. Gay people can’t get married in Northern Ireland. Southern Ireland voted [yes] in the referendum and everyone was very proud. But in the north… So I think Pride’s about realizing you can’t take your rights for granted. Coming out, for me, and for a lot of people – it does politicize you. It makes you take an active interest in politics, because you watch the way your life and other gay people’s lives can be affected by it.

‘Politics is really about making connections. We’re all brothers, whatever we look like, however old we are or what our gender is. Rather than a community, it’s an international movement. And there will be some people today who come out. They come in from the countryside and by the end of the evening have made friends and think ‘I’m not on my own.’

Check out more of the best pictures from the Pride parade here.

Here’s McKellen in action, along with stars of popular UK TV soap Coronation Street, which is set in Manchester, newly out Rugby League star Keegan Hirst and other pride-goers:

The post Sir Ian McKellen kisses male fans at Manchester Pride appeared first on Gay Star News.

Joe Morgan

www.gaystarnews.com/article/sir-ian-mckellen-kisses-male-fans-at-manchester-pride/

Sex Abuse Charges Against HRC Co-Founder Terry Bean to be Dismissed

Terry Bean, a prominent Democratic Party fundraiser and co-founder of the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund who was arrested last November on sex abuse charges involving a 15-year-old boy will have his case dismissed because the alleged victim refuses to testify.

Bean and his ex-boyfriend Kiah Loy Lawson were each charged with two counts of third-degree sodomy and third-degree sexual abuse.

The Oregonian reports:

The boy, now 17, has been on the run from detectives trying to serve a subpoena that would have required him to appear at the trial, which is scheduled to start Tuesday.

The boy doesn’t want testify and has attempted suicide because he’s traumatized by the prospect of being forced to appear, said his attorney, Lori Deveny.

Without him, the state can’t proceed.

Lane County Chief Deputy District Attorney Erik Hasselman said he met with the teenager earlier this month and assured him that the state won’t compel him to return for the trial. The boy lives in San Diego.

The prosecution will reportedly ask Circuit Judge Jay McAlpin to dismiss the case without prejudice so that the state has the possiblity to refile charges. Bean’s lawyers want the case dismissed outright.

The post Sex Abuse Charges Against HRC Co-Founder Terry Bean to be Dismissed appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Sex Abuse Charges Against HRC Co-Founder Terry Bean to be Dismissed

WATCH: 5 LGBT Celebrities Share Their Coming-Out Stories

The process of coming out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or any other non-heteronormative sexual identity can be both daunting and cathartic. Even after mustering the courage to vocalize your truth, there is no crystal ball to anticipate the cacophony of reactions you might get — or how you might feel yourself. But the truth is that being who you really are always feels better than wearing a mask, as these celebrities can attest.

In the videos below, five LGBT stars open up to HuffPost Live about their coming out experiences. While no two accounts are the same, there is a common thread: All of their lives drastically improved once they embraced who they are.

Sir Ian McKellen is among today’s most recognizable LGBT icons. He’s been out publicly since 1988, which clearly hasn’t impeded a vastly successful career. And he remembers well the beautiful feeling of relief that came with announcing his sexuality. “[Coming out] was the best thing I ever did in my life, as every gay person will tell you. I grew up overnight, and was born again. Everything went better, and it felt as if a great millstone had dropped from my back that I didn’t know had been there.”

“I was about 12 when I realized what gay meant and that I had it. It felt like a disease to me,” Lynch remembered about discovering her sexuality. But she hopes that her own work through the years, most notably playing Sue Sylvester on “Glee,” can become signs of hope for the LGBT youth of today. “I’ve obviously turned out okay, I’m doing well. But I’m glad that [‘Glee’] and the fact that I’m out and open about it will perhaps ease the hearts and minds of some kids where it’s not so easy.“

For Major League Soccer star Robbie Rogers, coming out for the first time was easier with someone he didn’t know at all. He was at a London bar when he met a stranger who casually asked if he was gay or straight. After so much time spent hiding his identity, Rogers finally spoke his truth. “I had been thinking about it a lot. I just was so sick of lying that I wanted to get the ball moving. So then I said it and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that felt so great to say that.’ … It felt so amazing, and I’m sure [this woman] didn’t realize what was going on.” He came out to his family a month later. 

“I was an angry person. I tried to control it. It’s interesting, some of my straight liberal friends urged me to not come out when they knew I was planning it, because they thought it would diminish my ability to be effective on other issues after I came out,” said former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank. “[They] said, ‘Well, we’re glad you did it, because you’re better at the job. You’re easier to get along with, you’re less likely to get angry, you accommodate disagreement better.‘ And I think that’s probably right.”

Also on HuffPost:

— 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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Anti-gay Texas group asks for donations to support law that has already passed

A Texas anti-gay group have started fundraising to show their support for a ‘pastor protection law’ – which has already been signed into Texan law back in June.

The ‘pastor protection act’ allows clergy to refuse to officiate same-sex marriage on ‘religious’ grounds, and has received tremendous media coverage since Gov. Greg Abbot signed the act into law on 11 June, and will go into effect on 1 September.

Despite the previous publicity the act has found, Texas Values president Jonathan Saenz is asking his followers for $25,000 ‘to educate and empower every Texas pastor and church to boldly proclaim God’s truth about marriage.’

In an open letter on his group’s website, Saenz says: ‘America today is occupied territory. The enemies of religious freedom occupy every power center from government to academia.

‘So it’s not enough for only a few well-informed pastors to know about our state’s new Pastor Protection Law. Every member of the Texas clergy and every Texas church must know they’re shielded against being forced to solemnize, perform, or celebrate a same-sex ‘marriage’ in violation of their beliefs.

‘Every dollar will ensure more pastors, churches, and fellow Texans are equipped with the protections of this new law.’

Clergy are already allowed to refuse to perform same-sex marriages under the US constitution.

Saenz, whose ex-wife left him for another woman, is an avid supporter of ‘gay cure’ therapy.

He has also claimed that LGBTI people want to throw Christians into ‘concentration camps’ and has said that same-sex marriage will lead to people ‘marrying their stepchildren’.

The post Anti-gay Texas group asks for donations to support law that has already passed appeared first on Gay Star News.

Ashlee Kelly

www.gaystarnews.com/article/anti-gay-texas-group-asks-for-donations-to-support-law-that-has-already-passed/

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, Just Ask One Of These Guys

Comma, comma, down dooby doo down down
Comma, comma, down dooby doo down down

Breakin’ up is hard to do

If you’ve experienced the exquisite joys of building a life with a lover, chances are you’v also endured the indescribable pain that comes with a breakup.

To appreciate the highs you must experience the lows, or some bullshit like that.

Below, guys who are going through it vent on Whisper.

What’s your worst breakup nightmare story?

Dan Tracer

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/s0X3pnFUFsc/breaking-up-is-hard-to-do-just-ask-one-of-these-guys-20150830

Rugby union star Sam Stanley comes out as gay

England Rugby Sevens star Sam Stanley has come out as gay – the first English professional rugby union player to do so.

Stanley, who has represented England five times internationally, has spoken of his anguish at hiding his sexuality.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Stanley said: ‘I was 10 or 11 when I realised I was different to my friends.

‘I didn’t want to accept it, I felt that being different wasn’t right. I had a girlfriend and I was thinking that, like some people say, maybe it is just a phase.’

Stanley has also revealed he attempted suicide after fearing his sexuality would end his rugby career.

He told the Sunday Times: ‘I was standing on a bridge about four or five years ago, overlooking a motorway in Essex… However, looking back, the idea that I would jump was ridiculous but it was as if I was thinking that I could get rid of the pain in one go.

‘You are so worried about what people will think and I thought I couldn’t be a macho rugby player the way I was, and there was nothing else I wanted to do with my life.’

Saracens, where Stanley was a player between 2010 and 2014, have shown support to their old teammate, tweeting: ‘So #proud of @Stanley_13. Always a member of the #SarriesFamily.’

Sam’s brother Michael Stanley, who plays for Samoa, has also spoken of his pride for his brother, tweeting: ‘So proud of my little brother, not easy in this days society! Love you uce, be proud of who you are #FtheHaters @Stanley_13’

Stanley has come out less than a month after rugby league player Keegan Hirst, who had also struggled with being gay but has since received a lot of support.

The first rugby union player to come out as gay was former Wales captain Gareth Thomas, who came out in 2009.

The post Rugby union star Sam Stanley comes out as gay appeared first on Gay Star News.

Ashlee Kelly

www.gaystarnews.com/article/rugby-union-star-sam-stanley-comes-out-as-gay/