White House Appoints First Openly Transgender Staffer

The White House made good on its promises to tackle transgender issues and appointed its first openly transgender staff member to the Office of Presidential Personnel this Monday reports The Wall Street Journal.

Former trans advocacy and policy adviser for the National Center for Transgender Equality’s Racial & Economic Justice Initiative Raffi Freedman-Gurspan is now taking the role of outreach and recruitment director for the president’s personnel office, overseeing presidential appointments and recruiting candidates for services within the government.

Gay former Massachusetts lawmaker and Executive Director of the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts applauded the White House’s appointment of Freedman-Gurspan and lauded her achievements:

“Among her many contributions, she was instrumental in helping pass the Transgender Equal Rights Law. I am proud to see her continue to lead by example, as she takes her voice and her passion to the White House. Her hiring is a symbol of progress for the transgender community, but without a doubt I know it will be her skill and hard work that will benefit many.”

Although the Obama administration already has several transgender people employed in federal government positions, Freedman-Gurspan is the first official transgender White House staffer employed by the federal government.

President Obama’s appointment of Freedman-Gurspan comes at a critical time as violent incidents against transgender people have accelerated in the month of August alone and increased overall from last year. Obama was also heckled in June at a Pride event by a transgender attendee calling for justice for deported trans individuals.

(Photo via Facebook)

The post White House Appoints First Openly Transgender Staffer appeared first on Towleroad.

Anthony Costello

White House Appoints First Openly Transgender Staffer

STUDY: Half of British Young Adults 'Not 100 Percent Heterosexual'

According to researchers, almost a quarter of Britons surveyed say they are not exclusively heterosexual, and for adults age 18-24, that number jumps to almost half.

read more

Bil Browning

www.advocate.com/bisexuality/2015/08/18/study-half-british-young-adults-not-100-percent-heterosexual

White House Hires Its First Openly Transgender Staffer

President Barack Obama’s administration has appointed the first-ever transgender White House staffer.   

Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, a transgender woman, is the Outreach and Recruitment Director for Presidential Personnel in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. She started her new job Tuesday.

Previously, Freedman-Gurspan was a staff member at the National Center for Transgender Equality, where she served as policy advisor for the organization’s Racial and Economic Justice Initiative.

“President Obama has long said he wants his Administration to look like the American people,” NCTE Executive Director Mara Keisling said. “That the first transgender appointee is a transgender woman of color is itself significant.”

Valerie Jarrett, a White House senior advisor, echoed Keisling’s sentiments.

“Raffi Freedman-Gurspan demonstrates the kind of leadership this Administration champions,” Jarrett said in a statement. “Her commitment to bettering the lives of transgender Americans, particularly transgender people of color and those in poverty, reflects the values of this Administration.”

Dylan Orr was the first-ever transgender presidential political appointee in 2009, serving as a special assistant for the Labor Department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. The following year, Amanda Simpson became the first openly transgender female political appointee when she became the Senior Technical Adviser to the Commerce Department. 

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Stunning family home turns Chicago church inside out

If, upon stepping through the doors of a church, you expect to encounter pews made of rustic wood rather than sleek, hyper-modern family home, this Chicago project will show you that things are not always as it says on the tin.

Old meets new: in the entrance hall, a bench stands reminiscent of the building’s former purpose.

Designed and created by Linc Thelen Design and Scrafano Architects, the 5500 square foot church was transformed from a place of worship into a busy family’s hip new home.

The great room, hosting a dining area, kitchen and lounge, is the home’s heart.

Boasting seven bedrooms and six baths, the family of five makes the most of the church’s 5500 square feet (510.96 square meters), with enough space for guests – or a new family member, for that matter.

The master suite is only one of seven bedrooms in the converted church.

Showcasing the property’s historic details, including its original, stunning stained-glass windows, exposed brickwork and ceiling turnbuckles, the property doesn’t cut back on modern conveniences – there is, after all, enough room for both.

Modern fittings meet stained glass: a recurring topic throughout the home.

A great number of interiors, including the kitchen, the kitchen island’s light fixtures and dining room table, have been designed by Linc Thelen; some of them were fabricated by Thelen, too, while others were custom-made by Home Things.

A great number of furnishings were made especially for the conversion.

Elegant, high-quality floor tiles and vanities mixing vintage elements with modern bathroom fittings give the bathrooms an atmosphere of sophistication without being impractical.

The bathrooms are a prime example of combining vintage ideas and modern fittings.

The children’s bedrooms are cheerful, with bright wallpapers from Spoon Flower and Serena and Lily, and offer plenty of room to play and grow – the highlight being a rock-climbing wall integrated into the boys’ bedroom.

Guaranteed to make others jealous: the boys’ bedroom comes with a rock climbing wall.

A see-through fireplace, cladded in quartz from Transceramica, and sleek furniture from DWR link comfort and contemporary design in the living room, while the kitchen’s quartz worktops and light color scheme contribute to the great room’s open, airy feeling.

A see-through fireplace makes it possible to look through walls – into the kitchen.

Its soaring 25 foot (7.62 meter) high ceilings are as much part of the property as the 7 foot (2.13 meter) height in the more intimate rooms; throughout the home, history and modernity clash to create an eclectic, exciting mix.

Like the nursery, the more intimate rooms feature normal-height ceilings.

In order to give the home its unique atmosphere, extensive restoration was needed – from exposing the great room’s timber beams, making them a focal point, to inserting a floating steel staircase offset against more rustic elements.

The historic bell tower has also been integrated into the new home: once housing the furnace, it has been transformed into a perch overlooking downtown Chicago by adding new windows and a glass floor.

All pictures courtesy of Jim Tschetter for Linc Thelen Design.

The post Stunning family home turns Chicago church inside out appeared first on Gay Star News.

Stefanie Gerdes

www.gaystarnews.com/article/stunning-family-home-turns-chicago-church-inside-out/

White House Appoints First Openly Transgender Official

This morning, the White House announced that it has appointed its first openly transgender official.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/white-house-appoints-first-openly-transgender-official?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Republican Lawmaker Who Pretended To Be Sleeping With A Rentboy Has Biblical Meltdown

Here’s a shocker: The Michigan lawmaker who was caught fabricating a gay sex scandal to cover up his actual affair is proving himself to be a little unhinged. Who would have thought?

Rep. Todd Courser (R), a tea party lawmaker, has now taken to Facebook to…apologize? Well, not quite. Resign? Oh, definitely not. Squirm around in his own guilt and shame for no real apparent reason? Yeah, something like that.

Related: Republican Lawmaker Fakes His Own Gay Sex Scandal To Hide Real Sex Scandal, Fails

“I am now the poster boy for those who would say ‘God is dead,’ or ‘Christians are failures,’ or ‘Christians are hypocrites,’” he writes. “Instantly I have been shown to be a hypocrite in my life, a liar, a laughable joke; much if not all of that is presently justified.”

Then there’s lots of to-be-expected Christ talk, which reads as typical guilty remorse. “He is still Holy and still righteous and still gave His all on the cross at Calvary so we can have salvation in Him,” Courser preaches from his keyboard.

Related: Grindr Screenshots Reveal Antigay Pastor Is A Top Who Likes To Cuddle

Though he’s a first-time legislator, Courser has already pulled the Jesus card when voting on issues like marriage equality and abortion rights (as did Cindy Gamrat, the married fellow Tea Partier he was actually sleeping with), so we aren’t exactly sympathetic to his little scheme not going smoothly.

“The most brutal things I have had to endure in my life have been brought from and thru this experience – the public humiliation was small and insignificant when compared to having telling [sic] my wife and children and my family – death will be a much richer reward,” he continues in the scripture-filled post.

Boo-hoo.

Dan Tracer

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/CQGFwNSkxF0/republican-lawmaker-who-pretended-to-be-sleeping-with-a-rentboy-has-biblical-meltdown-20150818

Philly Gay-Bashing Case Delayed as Accused Homophobes Consider Plea Deal

The trial of three individuals accused of attacking a gay couple in Philadelphia last fall has been delayed as the defendants consider a plea deal from prosecutors.

Kevin Harrigan (26), Kathryn Knott (24), and Philip Williams (24) are charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, conspiracy and recklessly endangering another person. It was almost one year ago that we reported on the heinous assault that left one of the victims with a broken jaw.

After a judge granted the accused a continuance on Friday, allowing them more time to consider the plea deal, their trial was tentatively scheduled for September 17.

Philadelphia Gay News reports on the status of the plea deals:

The District Attorney’s Office has offered plea deals to all three, the details of which they have declined to make public. Prosecutor Michael Barry told PGN this week that “there are still some discussions regarding a non-trial disposition on going,” prompting the request for a continuance.

Meanwhile, attorneys for the defendants insist their clients “steadfastly maintain their innocence” even as they consider the deal from prosecutors, as The New Civil Rights Movement points out.

[h/t TNCRM]

The post Philly Gay-Bashing Case Delayed as Accused Homophobes Consider Plea Deal appeared first on Towleroad.

Sean Mandell

Philly Gay-Bashing Case Delayed as Accused Homophobes Consider Plea Deal

Obama Appoints First Trans Woman to White House Post

Raffi Freedman-Gurspan will be the first transgender appointee to work in the White House.

read more

Bil Browning

www.advocate.com/transgender/2015/08/18/obama-appoints-first-trans-woman-white-house-post

Why Am I Really Wearing This Dress?

Gendered clothing is a huge facet of our society. It was only in the past hundred years that a woman wearing pants was considered socially acceptable, and it was instilled in me at an early age that men do not wear dresses and women do. These ideas stem from transmisogyny, homophobia, strict gender roles and really salty unfashionable people. If you ask anyone why things had to be this way, would they have a practical reason for it? Or would they make up some weird gender-normative shit about women giving birth or doing housework more easily in a dress? 

On an average summer day, I wear dresses because they are usually much easier to put on than pants. Regardless, the association of dresses with femininity is still a part of our culture. People will inevitably think of me as more feminine and gentle just based on this dress as opposed to sweaty and desiring air ventilation.

— 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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