#AM_Equality Tipsheet: October 1, 2019

HRC FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES “SNAP FOR GOOD REWARDS” CAMPAIGN WITH HONEY NUT CHEERIOS: Starting today, Honey Nut Cheerios boxes around the country will have a Snapcode on the back that can be scanned to unlock exclusive Lenses within Snapchat for three organizations, including HRC. As part of this campaign, Honey Nut Cheerios will donate a portion of $100,000 to the three participating organizations — HRC Foundation, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals® (@ASPCA) and Feeding America (@FeedingAmerica). “We’re grateful to General Mills and Honey Nut Cheerios for recognizing the importance of funding our work to achieve full equality for LGBTQ people, and looking forward to seeing how people all across the country use the HRCF Snapchat Lenses,” said HRC Senior Vice President for Development and Membership Chris Speron. More from HRC.

.@HRC has teamed up with Honey Nut @Cheerios for its Snap For Good Rewards campaign.

�� Grab your box of Honey Nut Cheerios
�� Scan the Snapcode on the back
�� Snap & share your photos & videos using our Lens
�� Support the fight for LGBTQ equality!t.co/BJ5RfQObBM pic.twitter.com/KS82CE9tF2

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) October 1, 2019

HRC MARKS THE START OF LGBTQ HISTORY MONTH: This LGBTQ History Month, HRC is proud to honor the trailblazers who helped pave the way for LGBTQ rights and visibility in the ongoing fight for equality over the past five decades. More from HRC. 

Happy #LGBTQHistoryMonth! This year has been a record year for LGBTQ history. From #Stonewall50 to #WorldPride, @HRC is proud to honor LGBTQ visibility and the trailblazers who helped pave the way for LGBTQ rights. ��️‍�� t.co/dSFiHaCuDd pic.twitter.com/L68hMi9NV7

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) October 1, 2019

IT’S NO SURPRISE — TRUMP CONTINUES TO SUPPORT THE DANGEROUS RHETORIC OF ANTI-LGBTQ RELIGIOUS PASTOR ROBERT JEFFRESS: More from The Washington Post and HRC. 

It’s no surprise that Trump continues to support the dangerous rhetoric of Robert Jeffress, who has a history of extreme anti-LGBTQ comments, including saying that same-sex relationships are a ‘perversion’ & comparing marriage equality to Nazi Germany. t.co/1RUpJU6ppd

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) September 30, 2019

IMPORTANT — POPE FRANCIS MEETS WITH REV. JAMES MARTIN TO DISCUSS THE HOPES AND CONCERNS OF LGBTQ CATHOLICS: More from The Washington Post.

NEW PROJECT TO HIGHLIGHT VOICES AND STORIES FROM SOUTHERN VIRGINIA’S BLACK LGBTQ COMMUNITY: Through the Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project, the Queer/Trans People of Color Project: Representation Matters will work to help LGBTQ people of color share their stories publicly. More from The Roanoke Times. 

GET CULTURED – Entertainment, arts and sports news!

TRANS BOXER PATRICIO MANUEL MAKES HISTORY AS NEW FACE OF BOXING GEAR COMPANY EVERLAST: More from OutSports and Mashable.

ALEXANDRA BILLINGS BECOMES FIRST OPENLY TRANS ACTRESS TO PLAY MADAME MORRIBLE IN WICKED: More from Broadway.com.

SOUL SINGER SADE SHARES HER TRANS SON’S JOURNEY AND CELEBRATES HIS TRANSITION: More from Pink News.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

THOUSANDS OF ACTIVISTS CONTINUE TO PROTEST BILLS PENDING IN THE INDONESIAN PARLIAMENT THAT WOULD GREATLY HARM LGBTQ PEOPLE: More from The New York Times and The Jakarta Post.

SCREENING OF FILM HIGHLIGHTING LGBTQ BULLYING IN BUDAPEST DISRUPTED BY NEO-NAZI DEMONSTRATORS: More from Pink News.

CROWD RALLIES FOR UNITY IN TORONTO AGAINST ANTI-LGBTQ GROUP: More from Global News Toronto. 

READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!
NBC shares a photo of gay Tennessee teen Brandon Allen crowned homecoming royalty in a stunning gold dress

Gay high school senior in Tennessee crowned homecoming royalty in gold dress. t.co/33rlnzPcar – @NBCOUT

— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 30, 2019

Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to #AM_Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!

www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tipsheet-october-1-2019?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

MUST WATCH: Peppermint remembers the 19 trans lives lost to violence this year and has a powerful message while hosting the GLAAD Gala San Francisco: “Don’t scandalize or act surprised when you discover someone loves a trans person.”

On September 28, Broadway star and RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Peppermint hosted the GLAAD Gala San Francisco.

During the evening, Peppermint made a powerful speech about the National Trans Visibility March that took place earlier that day. Check out the full speech below:

In her remarks, Peppermint had a powerful message for the room: “I know how lucky I am, but I also know you shouldn’t have to be lucky just to feel safe walking around in your own skin. That should be my right, not my privilege. But we cannot make that a reality; we can’t change the world if we are fighting alone.”

She continued by remembering the 18 transgender women of color who lost their lives to hate violence this year: “This unrelenting cycle of despair puts one in three trans women in extreme poverty and leads many of us to substance abuse, which subjects many of us to violence and survival sex work. Trans women of color are twice as likely to be unemployed and live in extreme poverty as our white counterparts, more than 40 percent of us experience homelessness, and nearly half of Black trans women attempt suicide.”

Peppermint continued, “19 trans women have been murdered already this year, and 18 of those 19 victims have been Black trans women. Many of us escaped murder only to remain inside a cycle of poverty, abuse, and oppression that seems unbreakable. But it’s not unbreakable.”

In the closing of her speech, Peppermint asked for one final request: “Don’t scandalize or act surprised when you discover someone loves a trans person. Our potential partners need to be welcomed into our spaces, not made to feel as though their sexuality is off because they love a trans man or woman.”

 

 

During the GLAAD Gala San Francisco, Paula Abdul was honored with the Ariadne Getty Ally Award, Dan Levy was honored with the Davidson/Valentini Award, and Ali Rosenthal was honored with the Ric Weiland Award. The event featured celebrity guests including the cast of Schitt’s Creek, Alicia Garza, Eva Gutowski, Justin Tranter, Ariadne Getty, August Getty, and more. Singer Garrett Clayton also performed a musical medley during the event.

The GLAAD Gala San Francisco celebrates and features storytellers and tech innovators who accelerate LGBTQ acceptance and helps fund GLAAD’s digital advocacy work to grow LGBTQ inclusion in digital and social media.

The 2019 GLAAD Gala San Francisco is presented by Gilead, Ketel One Family-Made Vodka & Wells Fargo, with official partner Google.

www.glaad.org/blog/must-watch-peppermint-remembers-19-trans-lives-lost-violence-year-and-has-powerful-message

Irish Hospital ‘Regrets’ History of Shock Therapy on Gays

Queens University Belfast continued research on the practice as late as 1973.

www.advocate.com/world/2019/10/01/irish-hospital-regrets-history-shock-therapy-gays

Back in 1953, this daring soul promoted same-sex marriage & monogamy

August 1953 cover of One Magazine, courtesy USC Digital Library Archive

In honor of LGBTQ History Month, we’re looking back at the first gay publication in America—ONE magazine. Launched in Los Angeles in 1953, ONE was published by One, Inc., which grew from The Mattachine Society, the seminal gay-rights group founded by Harry Hay. Its editorial founders were Martin Block, Don Slater, and Dale Jennings, who also served as editor-in-chief. Produced on a shoestring and sold for 25 cents, ONE began to change the course of history with unapologetic exploration of homosexuality and the societal taboo against it. 

This is the first in our series of ONE magazine cover stories.

Volume 1, Issue 8: Homosexual Marriage?

This groundbreaking 1953 cover essay was written under the pseudonym E.B. Saunders, who chastised the nascent gay-rights movement for ignoring the subject of marriage and monogamy. While the tone was scolding, it’s clear is that this prescient author was laying the groundwork for the “assimilation versus rebellion” debate that was to come.

One would think that in a movement demanding acceptance for this group, legalized marriage would be one of its primary issues. What a logical and convincing means of assuring society that they are sincere in wanting respect and dignity!

Equal rights means equal responsibilities. Equal freedoms mean equal limitations.

Nothing in the literature of the Mattachine Society and little of ONE magazine is dedicated to exploring the idea of necessary homosexual monogamy. The idea seems stuffy and hide-bound. We simply don’t join movements to limit ourselves! Rebels such as we, demand freedom!

Of course, Saunders’ stance is riddled with the biases of the day: that monogamy should be a norm, that legal marriage should be the only “respectable” way to enjoy sex, and that heterosexuals are any more naturally monogamous whether married or single. Nevertheless, the author might have been surprised to know that their clarion call would take shape sooner than anticipated and that the US Supreme Court would legalize gay marriage not in 2053 but 2015. They might be just as surprised by the current attitude toward gay marriage not as a stuffy, hide-bound duty, but a choice.

How far we’ve come.

Magazine cover courtesy of One Archives

ONE Archives Foundation provides access to original source material at the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the University of Southern California Libraries—the largest such collection in the world

www.queerty.com/back-1953-daring-soul-promoted-sex-marriage-monogamy-20191001?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Hillary Laughs as Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ Audience Chants ‘Lock Him Up!’ — WATCH

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to talk about their new book, The Book of Gutsy Women. They were greeted by an extremely enthusiastic audience Colbert described as “people who are big fans of the alternate timeline we’re not living in.”

Then, before getting into the book, Colbert got into the Trump impeachment inquiry, asking, “Is it, dare I say, time to ‘lock him up?’”

This of course, prompted the audience to break out the chant.

“Sorry, I created a monster,” acknowledged Colbert before getting into a more measured discussion of Trump betraying the country.

Said Clinton: “I believe strongly that this particular incident has had such a huge impact because we’ve known for a long time that he [Trump] was a corrupt businessman who cheated people, and we’ve known that he and his campaign asked for aid from Russia, we’ve known that. But to see him in the office of the president putting his own personal and political interest ahead of the national security of our country just pierced through whatever confusion or denial people had. And, at that point, Speaker Pelosi rightly said this is something we have to investigate and that’s what’s going on.”

The post Hillary Laughs as Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ Audience Chants ‘Lock Him Up!’ — WATCH appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Hillary Laughs as Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ Audience Chants ‘Lock Him Up!’ — WATCH

HRC Foundation Announces Campaign with Honey Nut Cheerios

HRC Foundation announced it will partner with General Mills and Honey Nut Cheerios on a new campaign to help raise crucial funds in the fight for LGBTQ equality. 

Starting October 1, Honey Nut Cheerios boxes around the country will have a Snapcode on the back of the package that can be scanned to unlock exclusive Lenses within Snapchat. Once the box is scanned, Snapchat will offer users a choice between three organizations, each of which has its own interactive, organization-specific Lens. As part of this Snap for Good Rewards campaign, Honey Nut Cheerios will donate a portion of $100,000 to the three organizations participating: the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) and Feeding America. 

“We are so thrilled to be a part of this significant, fun and interactive campaign alongside such great organizations,” said Chris Speron, Senior Vice President for Development and Membership at the Human Rights Campaign. “Both the ASPCA and Feeding America do important work and we are honored to be included in this campaign with them. And, we hope this campaign spurs important conversations around breakfast tables across the country. We’re grateful to General Mills and Honey Nut Cheerios for recognizing the importance of funding our work to achieve full equality for LGBTQ people, and we’re looking forward to seeing how people all across the country use the HRCF Snapchat Lenses.” 

For years, General Mills has received consistently top marks on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index, the national benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices pertinent to LGBTQ employees. 

More information on the Snap for Good Rewards campaign can be found here. 

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-foundation-announces-campaign-with-honey-nut-cheerios?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

99 Photos of Mostly Hairy Guys Show Themselves for Ryan Stanford

www.advocate.com/photography/2019/10/01/99-photos-mostly-hairy-guys-show-themselves-ryan-stanford

WATCH: Trans pro-boxer features in powerful new sportswear advert

Iconic boxing goods manufacturer Everlast features trans boxer Patricio Manuel in its new ‘Be First’ advertising campaign.

Manuel, 34, from California, is the first trans man professional boxer in the world.

Manuel competed against women up until 2012, including Olympic tryouts. A shoulder injury prompted him to take a break from the sport, and during this time he decided to begin his transition.

Related: Meet the first trans man to model for an Andrew Christian

He competed in his first bout against a man in 2016. He made his professional debut in December 2018, when he defeated Mexican super-featherweight Hugo Aguilar.

In the advert, Manuel says, “When I was a little kid, I always thought of myself as a boy. But you learn really early on that someone like me is immediately going to be told they’re a girl, so I learned to be quiet. I learned to stifle that part of me.

“But the thing is, anything you push down long enough, it will have a bad reaction, and that reaction for me was a complete disconnect from myself.

“I just mentally checked out so that I could continue coping through life. And it was boxing that brought me back into my body and it was boxing that allowed me to be proud of, actually, what I was physically able to do.

“But boxing also taught me to be really introspective and be like, ‘What do I really want? And how am I going to have to work for it?’ Because unfortunately, when you deviate from the norms that society has constructed, you have to fight for that identity. You have to really make it yourself.

Manuel says many people he knew in boxing were incredulous of his decision to transition when he had previously enjoyed great success in the women’s sport.

“They would come to me and say ‘You could have been one of the greatest female world champions … you would throw it all away to be yourself?’ and I tell them, that’s how bad I felt living that lie if it meant that much to me to risk the love of my life: Boxing.

“And then they knew it was something valid. No-one just throws away a possible chance at going to [the] Olympics or being a world champion. Living in your truth is gonna hurt but it’s worth it.

He goes on to talk about the importance of being yourself – offering words queer people everywhere will identify with.

“I want to live in a world where being yourself isn’t seen as this courageous act. I want all of us to be who we are and to be unafraid and not to have to deal with every obstacle just to be our true authentic self.

“So many of us are being forced into these restrictive boxes of identification but very few of us actually fit, and I want to see all of us be celebrated when we fight against those specific restrictive norms.

“I’m the first professional male boxer who is transgender. I may be the first but I’m not the last.”

Related: Father teaches trans son to shave in moving ad for Gillette

Manuel follows in the footsteps of Jack Dempsey and Sugar Ray Robinson in being the face of Everlast.

The sportswear label is not the first major brand to use a trans man for a marketing campaign. Earlier this year, razor and grooming brand Gilette used a trans man for a shaving commercial that went viral on social media.

www.queerty.com/watch-trans-pro-boxer-features-powerful-new-sportswear-advert-20191001?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Matthew Perry Rejected ‘Friends’ Episode in Which Chandler Snuck into a Gay Bar

Writers of the decade-long hit sitcom Friends tried out a storyline which had Matthew Perry’s character sneaking into a gay bar — because he liked the tuna melts it served.

Writer Saul Austerlitz writes about what happened in his book, Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show that Defined a Television Era, the Independent reports.

Wrote Austerlitz: “Perry said no, and the story was shelved.”

The Independent notes that the show has often been criticized for its homophobic and sexist jokes and storylines.

Actress Kathleen Turner,  who played Chandler Bing’s trans parent on the show, told Gay Times in 2018 that she thought the show hadn’t aged well for LGBTQ people.

Said Turner: “How they approached with me with it, was ‘would you like to be the first woman playing a man playing a woman?’ I said yes, because there weren’t many drag/trans people on television at the time.”

Gay Times added: ‘During Friends’ run, the character was never actually acknowledged as trans, and was referred to as either gay or a drag queen. She was often mocked by the other characters – especially for her drag show, which was titled Viva Las Gaygas. “Yeah, people thought Charles was just dressing up,” Kathleen added.’

But the evidence is also there in plenty of other places. Here’s a lengthy clip of some of it by video editor Tijana Mamula :

The post Matthew Perry Rejected ‘Friends’ Episode in Which Chandler Snuck into a Gay Bar appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.

Matthew Perry Rejected ‘Friends’ Episode in Which Chandler Snuck into a Gay Bar

HRC Celebrates LGBTQ History Month

This LGBTQ History Month, HRC is proud to honor the trailblazers who helped pave the way for LGBTQ rights and visibility in the ongoing fight for equality over the past five decades. 

As HRC marked World Pride in New York City in June, we remembered that the first Pride was a riot a little more than 50 years ago. On June 28, 1969, the uprising at The Stonewall Inn, a bar in New York City, was a pivotal marker in the beginning of the LGBTQ rights movement in the U.S. After experiencing police brutality simply for congregating, LGBTQ patrons decided to take a stand and fight back against the brutal intimidation they regularly faced.

Stonewall was the most visible incidence of police brutality against the community, but it was part of a pattern of law enforcement targeting LGBTQ people without cause. Three years earlier and 3,000 miles away, police in San Francisco were arresting drag queens, transgender women and other LGBTQ people at Gene Compton’s Cafeteria. 

These trailblazers took a stand and made our resistance visible and concrete. 

Our movement stands on the shoulders of these early heroes, and their bravery and visibility is inspiring leaders of today, including South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and HRC National Press Secretary Sarah McBride. Buttigieg is is the first openly gay candidate to run for the Democratic presidential nomination. If elected, McBride, who is running for state senate in Delaware, will become the first openly LGBTQ candidate elected to the state legislature in Delaware and the first openly transgender state senator in the U.S. They join others who are ushering in a new era of representation.

Openly LGBTQ leaders and our allies are also helping us achieve tremendous victories. This year, the U.S. House passed the Equality Act, which would provide explicit federal non-protections for LGBTQ people nationwide. While this is a major milestone for equality, we will take our fight to the U.S. Senate and work to ensure that we elect a pro-equality president in 2020 who would sign the bill into law. 

In the political and sports world, LGBTQ people are racking up wins and bringing visibility. The U.S. women’s soccer team won the World Cup, bringing pride to an international platform. LGBTQ players including Megan Rapinoe, Ashlyn Harris, Ali Krieger and more are open, proud and outspoken about equality. 

And while openly LGBTQ athletes are winning on the world stage, trailblazing actors, entertainers and programs are changing hearts and minds for our community. 

This includes the groundbreaking series “Pose”, which showcases LGBTQ visibility and sheds light on important issues impacting the LGBTQ community such as the epidemic of violence against Black transgender women. The show serves as a somber reminder that in 2019 alone, 18 transgender people — primarily transgender women of color — have been murdered. 

Awareness and visibility continue to expand as HRC Visibility Award honoree actor, producer and writer Ryan O’Connell brings intersectional identities to the screen with his hit Netflix show “Special.” As a gay man with cerebral palsy, O’Connell has been an outspoken advocate for both the LGBTQ community and people living with disabilities. His show is based on his 2015 memoir, “I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves,” where he writes about navigating his identities. 

We need trailblazers and visibility more than ever. Despite the strides we’ve made, the Trump-Pence administration continues to implement hateful policies that hurt LGBTQ parents and kids, transgender military service members and more. The administration refuses to condemn anti-LGBTQ regimes and atrocities in Bangladesh, Chechnya, Egypt, Tanzania and elsewhere. Nationally and internationally, the administration continues failing LGBTQ people. 

As we celebrate LGBTQ History Month, we acknowledge that we have a long way to go to achieve full equality. We stand on the shoulders of giants, and we must honor them with action. It starts by centering the stories of our past as we deepen our connection to each other and our commitment to continuing to move equality forward.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-celebrates-lgbtq-history-month-2019?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed