Stooshe and Lucy Spraggan added to Manchester Pride line up
They’ll be joined by DJ Graeme Park
jamiet
www.gaystarnews.com/article/stooshe-and-lucy-spraggan-added-manchester-pride-line080515
Category Archives: NEWS
On V-E Day, Watch a Gay Holocaust Survivor Recount His Experiences
On V-E Day, Watch a Gay Holocaust Survivor Recount His Experiences
Seventy years after the Allies defeated the Nazis, hear the story of a gay man who lived through Buchenwald.
Neal Broverman
www.advocate.com/world/2015/05/08/v-e-day-watch-gay-holocaust-survivor-recount-his-experiences
With Gay Marriage Likely, HRC Fights Bigotry In States — Launches DC Fundraiser Featuring Comic Erin Foley
With Gay Marriage Likely, HRC Fights Bigotry In States — Launches DC Fundraiser Featuring Comic Erin Foley
Erin Foley at the Funhouse, Portland 2013 /Oregon Music News/ Photo by John Rudoff
Even with the odds increasing after last month’s Supreme Court arguments that the court will lift the ban on gay marriages nationwide, most states still can discriminate against gays with impunity.
“So in many states, a person could marry someone of the same gender and then get fired for being gay,” NPR recently pointed out.
“Most states have no nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people,” David Stacy, the government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign, a gay-rights group, told NPR. “With limited or no federal protections, an LGBT person can get legally married in most states, but then be evicted from an apartment and denied a home loan.”
With 1.5 million members, the Human Rights Campaign is the largest civil rights organization fighting discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. Even with growing tolerance about gay marriage, especially among younger people, it’s striking just how much rampant discrimination still exists. There are no statewide protections at all in 29 states, while some others just have pockets of local anti-discrimination laws, as in Bloomington, Indiana.
That’s where, for instance, comedian Erin Foley recently played to packed nightclub audiences over a weekend as she does so often across the country. Like Tig Notaro and James Adomian, she’s a comic who happens to be gay with wide cross-over appeal and routines that aren’t primarily defined by her sexuality. Of course, you may hear more gay-themed material than usual — with, say, joking references to hair-braiding — at tonight’s show in Alexandria opening the Capital Queer Women’s Summit. Her material lampoons everthing from her own sports mania (also on display at her Sports Without Balls podcast) to boho faddishness and the challenges of being single, coupled with hilarious satiric thrusts at right-wing lunacy.
The crowds are drawn to Foley both by impassioned word of mouth — I first saw her as a feature act opening for Maria Bamford at a women’s comedy festival in Boston and have talked her up ever since — and her charismatic, killer appearances on late night shows such as Conan and her own Comedy Central special. Now she’s coming to the Artisphere in Alexandria, Friday, May 8th, to kick off the Capital Queer Women Summit, co-sponsored by the lesbian Tagg Magazine and HRC. The opening night event also featuring comedian Dana Goldberg, whose material plays off her sexual identity more than Erin’s does, but still can make anyone laugh.
In some recent interviews, including one I did with her for an Oregon Music News podcast, and one with Portland’s Queer Voices magazine, Foley explained how she views her comedy. “For me, being an out comic has been great. I don’t like being labeled a ‘gay comic’ or a ‘female comic'”. I’m just a comic. I happen to be gay, I happen to be a lady. Both of which influence my act, but don’t define it. I started talking about being gay on stage around year seven,” she said. “I definitely talk about being gay and my relationship with my girlfriend. I try not to politicize it too much because I don’t want to alienate anyone. Most of my audiences are straight so my goal is for them to laugh with me and realize that there’s no difference between being gay and straight. Except that gay men are much more fashionable than everyone. And that lesbians know a lot about sports. But, you get my point…”
Any comedy buff — gay, straight or in-between — shouldn’t miss one of Foley’s rare Washington, D.C appearances. I recently cited her as one of five great women comics who deserve their own Netflix specials and she won a standing ovation at an under-promoted event at Catholic University well over a year ago, but this show should be even better. (Fast-selling discount tickets for the “Ladies and Laughter” event can be found here.)
Whether getting discounted or full-priced tickets, you don’t have to be a lesbian to look forward to an event described like this: “Kick off your Friday evening with a cocktail, a few hors d’oeuvres and a night full of laughs at the annual Ladies & Laughter Comedy Show featuring headliners Dana Goldberg and Erin Foley, newly added local comedian Curt Mariah, and your hilarious host, Chelsea Shorte. We’ll keep the party going with a post-show reception featuring DJ Jai Syncere!”
The fund-raiser money goes to a good cause and enrolls you as member of the Human Rights Campaign. There’s still plenty of hard battles to be won. As Michelangelo Signorile pointed out in a Washington Post column:
Even if marriage equality comes to all 50 states in June, after all, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people still won’t be protected against discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, nor under any federal statute, a sad reality that often surprises people. There are no statewide protections in 29 states. Which means that in some states, gay and lesbian individuals have exercised the right to marry one day, only to be fired from their jobs the next after their employers learned about it. Opponents of LGBT rights have been working to keep anti-discrimination laws from being passed as well as exempt themselves from any such laws that do pass.
In the meantime, as groups such as the Human Rights Campaign and the advocacy organization, GLAAD, fight the good fight for the one of the leading civil rights causes of the 21st Century , it’s worth supporting their work — and enjoying a great comedian, Erin Foley, as part of one’s commitment to progessive change. Start by sampling one of her classic routines, on gluten-free diets, that displays all the qualities of writing, performance and smart, fresh thinking that make her so entertaining:
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Gay Acrobat Proposes to His Boyfriend in Groundbreaking Moment Live on Italian TV: WATCH
Gay Acrobat Proposes to His Boyfriend in Groundbreaking Moment Live on Italian TV: WATCH
In a moment never before seen on Italian TV, a gay couple got engaged.
The proposal took place on Italia’s Got Talent, after Les Farfadais, a troupe of acrobatic dancers, performed a routine to “The Power of Love”. One of the dancers then got down on one knee, and after his boyfriend said “yes” the couple kissed on stage.
The judges Vanessa Incontrada, Claudio Bisio, Nina Zilli, Luciana Littizzetto and Frank Matano, were as stunned as the audience, who cheered for the couple.
Said the show’s host: “I swear that this marriage proposal was not in the lineup.”
Watch, AFTER THE JUMP…
Italy, of course, does not have marriage equality but has been making modest moves toward it in recent months.
In February, Italy’s highest appeals court ruled that same-sex marriage is not a constitutional right but that gay couples are entitled to certain rights and protections.
Rome’s Mayor married 16 gay couples last October in defiance of Italy’s laws. Rome has also created a register of civil unions for same-sex couples. Bologna came out in favor of recognizing same-sex unions in September.
Ecco la proposta di matrimonio avvenuta in diretta pochi minuti fa! #IGTPowerOfLove
Posted by Italia’s Got Talent Official on Thursday, May 7, 2015
Andy Towle
Michigan College in Tumult After Mass Antigay Email
Michigan College in Tumult After Mass Antigay Email
The chaplain at Hillsdale College wants students, faculty, and alumni to pray away ‘evil’ same-sex marriage.
Neal Broverman
www.advocate.com/education/2015/05/07/michigan-college-tumult-after-mass-antigay-email
NYPD Releases Video of Suspect in Dallas BBQ Assault on Gay Couple in Manhattan's Chelsea District: VIDEO
NYPD Releases Video of Suspect in Dallas BBQ Assault on Gay Couple in Manhattan's Chelsea District: VIDEO
The NYPD has released a video of the suspect in the assault of a gay couple in a Dallas BBQ restaurant in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood of NYC Tuesday night in hopes that someone can identify him.
Watch the video, AFTER THE JUMP…
The suspect was captured on film violently beating a gay couple over the head with a chair inside the restaurant on 8th Avenue and 23rd Street after an altercation in which homophobic slurs were allegedly used.
The incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
Andy Towle
Bryan Fischer: 'Gay Conservative' Is a 'Dangerous' 'Oxymoron'
Bryan Fischer: 'Gay Conservative' Is a 'Dangerous' 'Oxymoron'
Fischer earns his Phobie credentials once again in denouncing gay conservative commentator Guy Benson.
Trudy Ring
www.advocate.com/politics/2015/05/07/bryan-fischer-gay-conservative-dangerous-oxymoron
Out Athletes Telling All And Kristin Wiig’s Provocative Gay Baby Mama Drama Whet Our Appetite For Outfest 2015
Out Athletes Telling All And Kristin Wiig’s Provocative Gay Baby Mama Drama Whet Our Appetite For Outfest 2015
LGBT movie buffs will join dozens of filmmakers from around the globe when they descend upon Hollywood to laugh, cry and find inspiration during OutFest: The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Celebrating its 33rd anniversary this summer, the film screenings, parties and special events will take place between July 9-19.
Here’s a look at the gala screenings announced today. Much more info to come as the festival draws closer, but this is an intriguing first taste of the program:
Opening Night: Tig
“Good evening. Hello. I have cancer,” comedian Tig Notaro famously announced in front of a stunned audience in 2012. “Is everybody having a good time?” In just 30 minutes, Notaro not only revealed her grave prognosis to the world, but she also delivered the news with a disarming mixture of humor and vulnerability. The standup set became a media sensation and critical smash overnight and, as Kristina Goolsby and Ashley York’s new documentary reveals, helped push the beloved comedian past a series of setbacks and into the limelight.
U.S. Dramatic Centerpiece: Nasty Baby
Hipsters beware: “Nasty Baby” plays nice until a disturbing twist flips the film – and with it the entire quirky-cute indie canon – on its head. A certifiable shocker at the Sundance Film Festival, Sebastián Silva’s biting and provocative black comedy has already inspired both walkouts and accolades, including the prestigious Teddy Award for Best Feature at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival.
An attractive gay Brooklyn couple, Freddy (Silva) and Mo (Tunde Adebimpe, “Rachel Getting Married,” TV On The Radio), ask their best friend Polly (Kristin Wiig) to become their surrogate. As the three hipsters contemplate becoming one big progressive family, and as Freddy and his assistant Wendy (Alia Shawkat, “Arrested Development”) create what they’re convinced is a brilliant art show, signs of danger and instability, primarily from a disturbed neighbor named The Bishop, intrude upon the film’s squeaky-clean surface.
International Centerpiece: Eisenstein in Guanajuato
This film kicks dust in the face of the rickety biopic, injecting life into all things rich, wild and deliciously taboo. Revered filmmaker Peter Greenaway (“The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover”) brings out the best of his acclaimed and controversial filmmaking style in this bold and sexually explicit celebration of Sergei Eisenstein’s gay coming-of-age during what is now considered his transformative trip to Mexico during the 1930s. Temporarily free of Soviet constraints, the famed Russian director (played by Elmer Bäck) discovers his wild side upon meeting and bedding a gorgeous tour guide named Palomino (Luis Alberti, “Carmin Tropical”). What starts as a work-related trip becomes a dizzying journey into the mind of a visionary who, at the peak of his artistic power, discovers romance for the first time.
International Centerpiece: The Summer of Sangaile
Winner of the World Cinema Directing Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, Alante Kavaite’s “The Summer of Sangaile” is arguably one of the year’s most visually stunning films. It also happens to be one of the most romantic. Set against the bright summer skies of Lithuania’s countryside, the story begins with a chance meeting between two restless youths – the quiet, angst-ridden Sangaile and her polar-opposite love interest Auste, a beguiling and beautiful fashionista. Sangaile dreams of flying one of the stunt planes that speed through the clouds above her parent’s home, but her vertigo keeps her aspirations grounded. It’s only when Auste prods her to accompany a pilot’s trip that Sangaile forces herself to take a leap of faith.
Documentary Centerpiece: Best of Enemies
While violence erupted in the streets during the long hot summer of 1968, two literary giants faced off in an intellectual clash of the titans — with no holds barred. Directors Morgan Neville (the Oscar-winning “20 Feet from Stardom”) and Robert Gordon take us back to an electrifying moment in history, as the third-place ABC network took a bold step for TV news: Take ideologically opposed pundits Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley and allow them to debate the issues every night. Live. Never at a loss for words, the authors faced off with equal fervor and venom, culminating in the famous exchange in which Vidal labeled Buckley a “crypto-Nazi,” leading Buckley to respond by calling Vidal “queer” on national TV. This captivating Sundance favorite shows us what these legendary combatants had in common — both were intellectuals and failed political candidates from patrician backgrounds — mixing interviews with their friends and enemies along with Vidal and Buckley’s public and private writings (narrated by John Lithgow and Kelsey Grammer). These legendary TV battles represented both the decline of intellectual discourse in the mass media and the rise of right-vs.-left talking heads masquerading as news.
Documentary Centerpiece: Out To Win
One of the final frontiers for LGBT visibility in this country is the locker room, and “Out To Win” celebrates the pioneers who have worked to make the world of sports a more diverse and inclusive one. Screening his fourth consecutive documentary at Outfest Los Angeles, filmmaker Malcolm Ingram (“Continental,” “Bear Nation,” “Continental”, Outfest Jury Prize–winner “Small Town Gay Bar”) takes an expansive look at out-and-proud champions, from early envelope-pushers like Billie Jean King and David Kopay through current superstars like Jason Collins and Brittney Griner to the college athletes who are defying conventions and opening minds.
Closing night: The New Girlfriend
From the visionary mind of Francois Ozon (“8 Women,” “Swimming Pool”) comes his one-of-a-kind gender-bending melodrama, which both shocks and delights in equal measure. Steeped in suspense and indebted to the eye-popping visuals of Pedro Almodovar, Alfred Hitchcock and Brian De Palma, “The New Girlfriend” blends the macabre with a heartfelt romance in the tale of soft-spoken Claire and her love affair with a mysterious stranger. After mourning the loss of Laura, her childhood friend (and unrequited love), Claire comes across Laura’s husband dressed head-to-toe in his late wife’s clothes. Unsure whether his new guise is the result of foul play, she threatens to reveal David to Laura’s family. But the more time she spends with him, the more Claire becomes seduced by his beautiful new incarnation. As the two become inseparable, Claire wonders whether she is falling for David’s alter-ego, or perhaps a part of Laura’s resurrected soul.
Dan Tracer
Netflix's 'Sens8' Is A Sci-Fi Exploration Of Individuality And Identity: WATCH
Netflix's 'Sens8' Is A Sci-Fi Exploration Of Individuality And Identity: WATCH
The first trailer for Sens8, the new Netflix original sci-fi series created by the Wachowskis has dropped, and it looks phenomenal. Sense8 tells the story of eight strangers from across the world who inexplicably develop a telepathic bond with one another. Their gestalt mind not only allows them to share thought and memories, but it also challenges them to question what it means to be an individual.
“It’s a global story told on a planetary scale about human transcendence and what it ultimately means to be human in a contemporary society,” Sens8 co-creator Joe Straczynski explained to Buzzfeed.
Sens8’s cast is as diverse as its settings, connecting the lives of a handful of different men and women in ways that digs into how we traditionally think of our identities. Imagine if you, a gay man, suddenly began to experience the thoughts and memories of a straight, black transwoman you’d never met before. Everything you know about yourself begins to suffuse with a foreign identity and soon enough, you’re not quite sure who you are anymore. That’s the kind of experience Sens8’s characters find themselves faced with, Straczynski explains.
“It starts off with sensory input, then gradually, it becomes more and more literal where you’re in a room by yourself, but there’s somebody else there and you’re in San Francisco, but that character is in Seoul,” he elaborated. “You see each other in the same room no one else can see, but you can see them and you have a conversation and that person knows parts of you and knows things about you.”
In 1999 Lana and Andy Wachowski changed the way that we think about science fiction films with the Matrix. Ever since the duo first introduced us to cinematic bullet time and the magic of wire fighting, they’ve worked hard to recapture filmgoers’ wonder with a series of subsequent films that have landed rather flat.
Depending on who you ask, time was one of the things that stood in the way of the Wachowski’s Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas, and Jupiter Ascending. Working within the confines of a film studio’s direction, many Wachowski fans insist, ultimately led to their post-Matrix films not living up to all the hype. Perhaps with twelve eight hour episodes to tell their next epic tale, the Wachowskis can strike gold once again.
Check out the first trailer for Sense8 AFTER THE JUMP…
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Oregon to Ban 'Ex-Gay' Therapy for Minors
Oregon to Ban 'Ex-Gay' Therapy for Minors
The Oregon Senate today followed the House in passing a bill banning the practice, which Gov. Kate Brown is expected to sign into law.
Trudy Ring
www.advocate.com/ex-gay-therapy/2015/05/07/oregon-ban-ex-gay-therapy-minors
