Mike Huckabee Blasts Obama's Nomination of Gay Man for Army Secretary

Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee slammed President Barack Obama’s decision to nominate an out gay man to lead the Army, claiming the President is “more interested in appeasing America’s homosexuals than honoring America’s heroes,” reports CNN.

“Veterans suicide is out-of-control and military readiness is dangerously low, yet Obama is so obsessed with pandering to liberal interest groups he’s nominated an openly gay civilian to run the Army,” the former Arkansas governor said in a statement released Saturday by his campaign. “Homosexuality is not a job qualification. The U.S. military is designed to keep Americans safe and complete combat missions, not conduct social experiments.”

Obama’s nominee, announced Friday, is Eric Fanning , who has been a specialist on defense and national security issues for more than 25 years in Congress and the Pentagon. As secretary, he would head the Army in partnership with Gen. Mark Milley, named the branch’s top general last month.

Despite Fanning’s qualifications, Huckabee felt the need to highlight his sexuality as an area of concern. The Human Rights Campaign immediately reacted to Huckabee’s statement with one of their own, claiming the former Arkansas governor’s homophobia is a clear indicator he is “unfit to be commander in chief.”

“Mike Huckabee is so blinded by his own bigotry that he would oppose someone with two decades of national security experience just because of his sexual orientation,” said JoDee Winterhof, HRC Senior Vice President of Policy and Political Affairs, in a statement. “Mike Huckabee’s naked prejudice and willingness to smear an experienced public servant shows he is unfit to be commander in chief. Other candidates should make immediately clear they won’t tolerate Huckabee’s bigotry and that they will make these decisions based on Eric Fanning’s experience and on the merits.”

Fanning now awaits confirmation by the Senate. If confirmed he nominee would become the first openly gay civilian secretary of any branch of the military on more than an interim basis.

Jase Peeples

www.advocate.com/politics/2015/9/20/mike-huckabee-blasts-obamas-nomination-gay-man-army-secretary

Writer Jackie Collins dies at 77

Jackie Collins, the novelist who told stories about Hollywood’s bold and beautiful, died yesterday in Los Angeles. She was 77.

Collins was diagnosed with stage-four breast cancer in 2007.

According to the New York Times, the British born writer’s first book was published in 1968. The World Is Full of Married Men was banned in Australia and South Africa because of its open description of extramarital sex.

In a 2014 interview with The Advocate, Collins talked about when she discovered she had a large LGBTI following.

‘I had just written the book Hollywood Husbands and I went on the Tonight Show when Joan Rivers was hosting it,’  she said to The Advocate. 

‘I wore a jacket and a black shirt – with a couple of the buttons undone – and a white tie. It was a very sexy and effective outfit. Then a few weeks later, there was a gay parade in Hollywood and tons of people were dressed as me and Joan Rivers. It was crazy. My friends drove up and down the boulevard taking pictures of them and that’s when I knew.’

Hollywood Husbands was a follow-up to her 2001 Hollywood Wives: The New Generation. That book was made into a 2003 television movie, starring Farrah Fawcett, Robin Givens, Jack Scalia and Melissa Gilbert.

Collins is survived by three daughters, Tracy, Tiffany and Rory, and her older sister, actress Joan Collins.

Her family requests fans to consider donations to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Organization.

The post Writer Jackie Collins dies at 77 appeared first on Gay Star News.

James Withers

www.gaystarnews.com/article/writer-jackie-collins-dies-at-77/

Ansel Elgort Is Bringing the Beat to Bar Mitzvahs with Electronic Smash ‘To Life’ – LISTEN

Ansel Elgort is more than just a pretty face on the silver screen, as the 21-year-old actor also happens to be a talented disc jockey. Under his electronic music moniker Alonoso, the Divergent star has just released his first single “To Life” featuring Too Many Zooz.

HERE WE GO! “TO LIFE” IS OUT NOW!!!! SO HYPE!!!
Get it on @iTunes now!!!
t.co/aF9Bna6xEu
#AnsoloToLife @toomanyzooz @islandrecords

— Ansolo (@Ansolo_Music) September 18, 2015

MTV writes:

“To Life” (or “L’Chaim,” judging by the single artwork of a young Jewish boy participating in a hora dance) is an old-world blaster complete with deep brass squawks and pulsating pounds. It’s a club banger for bar mitzvahs as well as EDM festivals, and that’s cool.

Elgort also teased the upcoming music video for the track:

TO LIFE (Live Video)

COMING SOON . . .
#ansolotolife @TooManyZooz pic.twitter.com/mXZgKFg52r

— Ansolo (@Ansolo_Music) September 18, 2015

Listen below:

Related, Actor Ansel Elgort Addresses Gay Rumors: ‘Be True to Yourself’ 

The post Ansel Elgort Is Bringing the Beat to Bar Mitzvahs with Electronic Smash ‘To Life’ – LISTEN appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Ansel Elgort Is Bringing the Beat to Bar Mitzvahs with Electronic Smash ‘To Life’ – LISTEN

Never Woman Enough: How Trans Women Are Held To Unrealistic Standards
Originally published on Unwritten by Caitlyn Blair.

The word transgender can otherwise be defined as a person whose self-identity does not conform to the conventional notions of being a man or a woman. By definition, being transgender means being a non-conformist. So, it is an excitingly rare occurrence that the issue has been on the forefront of so much media coverage recently. While members of the LGBTQ community are surely welcoming the long-awaited acceptance that icons such as Caitlyn Jenner and Laverne Fox from Orange Is The New Black have received, there are some who can’t help but wonder if all the media attention has resulted in a misrepresentation of the community.

When Caitlyn first announced that she was in the process of becoming a woman, people were more than hesitant about it. It was not until she modified herself to fit society’s standards for being a woman that she was embraced in loving arms. I am thrilled for Caitlyn and am truly proud that she is becoming the person she has desired to be all her life. It touches my heart to know about all the trans individuals whose lives she has enriched and who she has inspired to finally showcase their true selves to the world.

However, for many transgender people, such a dramatic transformation is simply unrealistic and from a practical standpoint, unaffordable. If Caitlyn had come out in 1976, the year she received an Olympic gold medal, such a medal would never have been received. This is because it is of upmost difficulty for a trans individual to participate in sports, being that sports are primarily divided into girls teams and boys teams. Struggles like these are ones that trans people face every day, and that the media often fails to cover.

This became especially evident to me upon my conversation with Delfin Bautista, who is the head of the LGBTQ center at the university I attend and who identifies as being trans, specifically Two-Spirit or genderqueer. For people like Delfin, the only way to attain the proper hormones needed in order to become a “woman” or a “man” in the eyes of the public would be to become properly diagnosed with a mental health problem saying that you need these drugs because of this issue which you are unfortunate enough to have been born with.

“This is who I am. It’s not a diagnosis,” Delfin says, “However, there are many who are willing to, if you will, play the game and admit to having a problem in order to be who they need to be.” While many trans people have sadly developed mental health issues due to the ridicule they have received from their peers or from simply feeling outcast, being transgender in itself is an identity, NOT a mental health issue.

I wish the media would cover more people like Delfin, who, while they identify as genderqueer, proudly wears a beard and lacks outrageously feminine outfits, much unlike the famous trans YouTuber Gigi Gorgeous. Those of you who have heard of her have probably watched her makeup tutorials and envied her long and voluptuous blonde hair. Her name alone perpetuates the hyper feminine stereotype that many women, trans or otherwise, cannot or may simply have no desire to embody. While it is wonderfully empowering that she is conducting herself how she pleases, transgender individuals should not have to feel obligated to follow in her footsteps in order for their gender identity to be fully embraced.

“Women are held to standards that are unrealistic. Trans women are held to those same standards times ten.” – Delfin Bautista

Five years ago, being gay was widely seen as taboo. Three years ago, being bisexual was dismissed as being “confused.” Now, the public is starting to become more comfortable with the transgender idea, but this battle is far from being won. It will not be won until all individuals feel free to love who they want to love and be the person they truly want to be, not an ethnocentrically modified, conformed version of that person.

— 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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Huckabee says Obama only wants to ‘appease homosexuals’ with Mike Fanning nomination

Mike Huckabee has condemned Obama’s nomination of openly gay Mike Fanning for the next US Secretary of the Navy.

On Saturday, the presidential candidate and Christian minister’s campaign team released a statement on the nomination. ‘It’s clear President Obama is more interested in appeasing America’s homosexuals than honoring America’s heroes.’

Fanning’s nomination was announced on Friday, and will now go to the senate to decide.

‘Veterans suicide is out-of-control and military readiness is dangerously low, yet Obama is so obsessed with pandering to liberal interest groups he’s nominated an openly gay civilian to run the Army,’ Huckabee said.

‘Homosexuality is not a job qualification. The U.S. military is designed to keep Americans safe and complete combat missions, not conduct social experiments,’ he continued.

In a statement on his nomination, Obama highlighted Fanning’s experience as a key strength in his nomination. ‘Eric brings many years of proven experience and exceptional leadership to this new role… I am confident he will help lead America’s Soldiers with distinction.’

He has served as Air Force under secretary, deputy under secretary of the Navy, and deputy chief management officer of the Navy.

Most recently he’d been acting under secretary of the Army and as a close civilian adviser to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.

LGBT advocacy group Human Rights Campaign said Huckabee’s comments were based on ‘bigotry’.

JoDee Winterhof, senior vice president of policy and political affairs of HRC said: ’Mike Huckabee is so blinded by his own bigotry that he would oppose someone with two decades of national security experience just because of his sexual orientation.’

‘Mike Huckabee’s naked prejudice and willingness to smear an experienced public servant shows he is unfit to be commander in chief.’

The post Huckabee says Obama only wants to ‘appease homosexuals’ with Mike Fanning nomination appeared first on Gay Star News.

Jack Flanagan

www.gaystarnews.com/article/huckabee-says-obama-only-wants-to-appease-homosexuals-with-mike-fanning-nomination/

U.S. Military Denies Chelsea Manning’s Request to Grow Her Hair Out

Despite the U.S. military’s approval of hormone therapy for Chelsea Manning as part of her gender reassignment, the convicted Wikileaker has been denied her request to grow her hair out to female standards.

Manning tweeted the following earlier today:

Bad news for me: Military continues to make me cut my hair to male standards > = | I’m gonna fight in court

— Chelsea Manning (@xychelsea) September 18, 2015

Military officials cited security concerns as the reason behind the denial.

“Even though the military agrees that allowing Chelsea to grow her hair is a critical part of her treatment plan, they continue to deny her basic human and constitutional rights,” said Chase Strangio, attorney in the ACLU’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project, in a statement. “When we filed our lawsuit a year ago, Chelsea had already waited more than a year for even minimal care to treat her gender dysphoria. We are confident that this decision will be overturned by the court but saddened that Chelsea’s treatment continues to be needlessly impeded.”

BREAKING: Military officials deny Chelsea Manning permission to follow female grooming standards while incarcerated

— ACLU National (@ACLU) September 18, 2015

In September 2014, the ACLU filed a lawsuit demanding that the Department of Defense provide Manning with appropriate medical treatment for her gender dysphoria.

Related, U.S. Army Court of Appeals Rules Military Can No Longer Refer to Chelsea Manning as a Man

The news comes as President Obama nominated an openly gay man, Eric Flanning, to serve as Army secretary.

[photo via Twitter]

The post U.S. Military Denies Chelsea Manning’s Request to Grow Her Hair Out appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

U.S. Military Denies Chelsea Manning’s Request to Grow Her Hair Out

'Every Breath We Draw' Photo Book Explores Identity, Desire And Connection

A new photo book has just been release and it examines the power of identity, desire, and connection through the art of portraiture.

Every Breath We Draw is a striking collection of images from photographer Jess Dugan, who sought out subjects that exhibit, in her words, a form of “gentle masculinity.” Through this work, Dugan complicates traditional notions of masculinity by photographing individuals in intimate spaces as meaningful exchanges took place.

In many ways the project is personal for Dugan, who calls it “one big self portrait” and who reveals that she came to define what masculinity means for herself apart from societal expectations.

“I am interested in a version of masculinity that is more expansive, and more vulnerable, than the kind often represented in mainstream culture,” Dugan told The Huffington Post.

Check out some images from Every Breath We Draw, as well as an interview with Dugan, below.

Head here to see more from Dugan and Every Breath We Draw.

— 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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New children’s book supports ‘invisible’ same-sex parents in Peru

The first Peruvian children’s book featuring same-sex parents will be unveiled on September 30.

Written by activist Veronica Ferrari, ¿Camila tiene dos mamás? (Camilla has two moms?) tells the story of a 9-year-old girl who lives with her two mothers, Lucia and Patricia, and her one-eyed dog. 

The book ‘seeks to make visible all these families of lesbian mothers and of gay fathers existing in Peru, but who are not recognized nor protected,’ the author explained, speaking to TeleSUR.

When Camila starts a new school, her classmate doesn’t understand her family set up, making the young girl feel like an outcast.

All the parents and children at the school start talking about her, and she is called to the Principal’s office as rumors start to spread.

Luckily, a happy ending prevails: Camila’s mothers explain that love ties their family together.

‘For half of the books (we sell), LGBT families will buy it, the other half, it will be conservative groups that threatened to burn it,’ said Ferrari, speaking to TeleSUR

‘After the significant participation in the last Gay Pride we started thinking there must be many homosexual parents that need to themselves reflected in these kind of stories.’

She added: ‘We want to tell them they are not alone and that living with dignity implies being prepared to be visible and confront the consequences with love and courage, and this way helping the fight against discrimination.’

The book is being published by independent publishing house, El Armario De Zoe (Zoe’s Closet), which generates content for LGBTI people in Peru, as well as the wider community.

‘These stories are universal and anyone can identify with them,’ the publishers’ Facebook page explains.

‘We are committed to sharing the experiences of minorities, and getting the word out to more people, especially young boys and girls looking for material relating to their lives and their problems; who want to see a reflection of themselves, but can’t find anything.’

‘We want to contribute to a fairer, more dignified, better country and believe that books are a great way to do it.’

Same-sex relationships are not currently recognized by law in Peru, after the most recent attempt to pass the Civil Unions Bill was officially shelved in April 2015.

Joint adoption by same-sex couples is not possible, and lesbians cannot access IVF if they want to have children.

The post New children’s book supports ‘invisible’ same-sex parents in Peru appeared first on Gay Star News.

Mel Spencer

www.gaystarnews.com/article/new-childrens-book-supports-invisible-same-sex-parents-in-peru/

Lawmakers to Call for Designation of Stonewall Inn as National Park Site

Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) will be among dignitaries on hand at a 2 pm rally outside the Stonewall Inn in NYC’s Greenwich Village that will call for the historic bar, seen as the birthplace of the modern LGBT rights movement, to be designated a National Park site.
Say the organizers: “There are more than 400 national parks in America, two-thirds of which are dedicated to sites of cultural and historic significance.  In Seneca Falls, New York, Women’s Rights National Historical Park tells the story of the first Women’s Rights Convention held there in July 1848. The Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail in Alabama traces the march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the struggle for civil rights. A national park for Stonewall would tell the story of the LGBT community’s fight equal rights in America.”

Said Nadler to the Washington Blade:

“The National Park Service, through national monuments, through national battlefields, all kinds of national things, illustrates the story of this country. It’s important to expand the diversity of this story presented by the National Park Service, in this case, to present the story of the struggle for civil rights of LGBT Americans. There is nothing in the National Park System that deals with this, and that’s a huge omission in terms of the history of this country, the history of this struggle and the ongoing struggle for human rights.”

The Blade adds:

The U.S. government already designated the privately owned Stonewall Inn in 2000 as a national historic landmark, but that’s considered a lower-tier designation given to 2,500 sites throughout the country. Last year, the Department of the Interior announced it was undertaking a theme study to examine ways to incorporate LGBT stories into the the National Park Service. The new effort to have a national monument dedicated to the Stonewall Riots shares a similar goal, but is separate and distinct from the agency-led initiative.

President Obama, under the Antiquities Act, would be able to authorize such a designation. The other option is to have Congress do so through legislation.

The post Lawmakers to Call for Designation of Stonewall Inn as National Park Site appeared first on Towleroad.

Andy Towle

Lawmakers to Call for Designation of Stonewall Inn as National Park Site

REVIEW: Rotisserie du Chambertin – Gevrey-Chambertin, Burgundy

A relatively new restaurant in the attractive village of Gevrey-Chambertin, Rotisserie du Chambertin is well worth booking a table for dinner while staying in the region.

We began with a terrine, then a duck sausage in a rich red wine sauce, finishing with a cheese and herb local speciality, although I had dessert-envy as the lemon souffle looked spectacular.

Highly recommended.

Read more from Gareth Johnson

Read more restaurant reviews

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Gareth Johnson

www.gaystarnews.com/article/gay-star-news-reviews-rotisserie-du-chambertin-gevrey-chambertin-burgundy/