Please enter your date of birth to proceed.
Four Ways To Make a Classroom Gender-Inclusive
HRC’s Welcoming Schools has compiled a list of tips to help start the school year. It’s easy to create a classroom where students aren’t limited based on gender stereotypes and where all students can reach their full potential.
HRC.org
Former Child Star Accuses Roland Emmerich Of Packing ‘Stonewall’ With Twinks To Quench His Thirst
We’re all for raising questions about gender and race representation in Roland Emmerich’s upcoming Stonewall film, but one unlikely voice has entered the debate with fast-flying accusations that don’t seem to accomplish anything but a sound resembling zing!
Mara Wilson, of ’90s children’s required viewing Mrs. Doubtfire and Matilda fame, fired off a series of tweets accusing Emmerich of personally twinkifying Stonewall because of his own proclivity towards young, white, fit gay men.
Related: Watch These LGBT People Get Excited And Angry While Watching The “Stonewall” Trailer
And look — we’ve never been shy of covering the L.A. A-gay pool parties that have been hosted by the likes of Emmerich and Bryan Singer, but Wilson’s comments still strike us as unnecessary.
Let’s talk about our queer history, let’s remember and praise those who’ve gotten us to where we are today, and by all means let’s criticize a Hollywood whitewashing.
Related: Stonewall Star Jeremy Irvine Comes Out Swinging Against The Proposed Boycott Of His Film
But if we’re going to start going after every Hollywood director who appreciates youthful beauty, we’re going to be here a while.
Here’s what Mara had to say:
Has anyone told Roland Emmerich that Stonewall wasn’t one of the parties at his house exclusively for young, fit, white, gay men
— Mara Wilson (@MaraWritesStuff) August 11, 2015
Wasn’t a purse one of the first things thrown at Stonewall?
— Mara Wilson (@MaraWritesStuff) August 11, 2015
Go ahead and have your parties, but don’t try to alter history. — Mara Wilson (@MaraWritesStuff) August 11, 2015
It’s just sad. — Mara Wilson (@MaraWritesStuff) August 11, 2015
Emmerich has said it was the studios that made him change it, buuuuut somehow I’m not buying it.
— Mara Wilson (@MaraWritesStuff) August 11, 2015
And then there was her affected surprise that anyone would cover her comments:
Kind of sad that my comments on Stonewall are considered news. — Mara Wilson (@MaraWritesStuff) August 12, 2015
Like, it’s great to be on tumblr, but on news blogs?
— Mara Wilson (@MaraWritesStuff) August 12, 2015
I also feel a little weird, as a straight white person.
— Mara Wilson (@MaraWritesStuff) August 12, 2015
Chirp.
Dan Tracer
Alleged Prostitute Charged with Failing to Disclose HIV Status Says He Was Raped by Indiana Mayor
An Indiana mayor posted bond yesterday after facing one count of patronizing prostitute Randy Wigle-Stevens last June.
The case came to light after Wigle-Stevens claimed on July 19 that he had been raped by Batesville City mayor Richard Fledderman (below right).
Fox 19 reports Wigle-Stevens told police that the rape took place while Fledderman was receiving a massage in his home.
Several days later, Wigle-Stevens called Fledderman to demand more money. The two met in a Staples store parking lot in Greensburg, Indiana and Fledderman handed over the money.
Fledderman has insisted that sex between the men was consensual and initially claimed that he had only been seeking a massage. However, he later admitted to police that he also was looking for someone with whom he could have sex.
As part of the investigation, police discovered Wigle-Stevens is HIV positive and had not disclosed his medical status to Fledderman. He has been charged with failure to disclose dangerous communicable disease status, prostitution and intimidation.
Wigle-Stevens maintains that sex between the two was not consensual and says he is now being victimized by the legal system.
Watch an ABC 9 report on the case below.
The post Alleged Prostitute Charged with Failing to Disclose HIV Status Says He Was Raped by Indiana Mayor appeared first on Towleroad.
Michael Fitzgerald
Alleged Prostitute Charged with Failing to Disclose HIV Status Says He Was Raped by Indiana Mayor
Meet The Young Republicans Fighting Their Party On Gay Rights
Given the behavior of some of its current presidential candidates, you’d be forgiven for assuming that the Republican Party is a haven for backward-thinking homophobes.
— 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.
Uganda tabloid claims Gay Star News helped ‘pro-gay’ presidential candidate to raise $1 billion
A Ugandan tabloid has claimed Gay Star News has helped a ‘pro-gay’ presidential candidate to raise $1 billion for his campaign.
This, of course, is not true.
The Red Pepper, famous for publishing the names, faces and addresses of gay people and addresses, on their front page today claimed UK and US backers have offered former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi money in exchange for him pushing rights for LGBTI people.
Their headline was: ‘Mbabazi Funders Named: USA, UK Gay Tycoons Give Amama SHS3.5TN’
‘Our highly placed sources have intimated to us that Mbabazi enjoys a very healthy relationship with the gay community who view him as their beacon of hope as regards advancing their interests and/or rights in Uganda,’ they wrote.
‘The gays are doing anything possible to ensure that Mbabazi achieves his presidential dream.’
They add: ‘The source added that following a series of briefings, the gay community offered Mbabazi a whopping $1 billion (about 3.5 trillion Ugandan shillings) to facilitate his campaign for the 2016 General Elections.’
While we cannot confirm how much Mbabazi has raised for his campaign so far, activists say this amount of money is ludicrous. To compare, Barack Obama raised $750 million for his campaign in 2008. This eclipsed the total amount of money raised by all of the US presidential candidates combined in 2004.
Last month, GSN reported on Mbabazi’s campaign where he said he was ‘opposed to homophobia’. Our headline was: ‘For the first time in history, a Ugandan presidential candidate backs gay rights‘.
Speaking on NDS Television, Mbabazi had said: ‘I am opposed to homophobia. While I believe marriage is between a man and a woman, homosexuality is not something new.
‘I have stated very clearly that there shouldn’t be any discrimination and it is not the biggest threat right now in the country.’
GSN spoke to Edwin Sesange, the director of Africa’s LGBTI Out and Proud Diamond group, who called it a ‘historic moment’. His quote, as well as several edited portions of the article, appeared in the newspaper.
None of the so called ‘gay tycoons’ are named.
Gay Star News was not contacted by any Red Pepper journalist.When we contacted the paper ourselves, we couldn’t reach anyone who would give us a quote.
Mbabazi has yet to comment on the report.
Speaking to us again today, Sesange said: ‘This is wrong for the Red Pepper to claim. I have personally never met Amama Mbabazi in my life and I’m not sure if he has ever met any gay person in the UK privately for a meeting.
‘He has expressed a different opinion from that of the government and other opinion. He wants to stop blaming gay people for everything and concentrate on actual problems.’
He added: ‘It is unbecoming for the Ugandan media to use persecuted LGBTI people and activists in an attempt to condemn and spread lies about any person, politician or otherwise.’
Mbabazi was the prime minister before he was sacked by President Yoweri Museveni. In July, when attempting to hold a political meeting, he was arrested by police for doing it without ‘permission’. His daughter was also arrested with no charges brought against her. They were both subsequently released.
The post Uganda tabloid claims Gay Star News helped ‘pro-gay’ presidential candidate to raise $1 billion appeared first on Gay Star News.
Joe Morgan
My Nightmare of Being Wrongfully Accused, and How to Prevent That From Happening to Others
A career in the entertainment industry didn’t make me an expert on the legal system, but being falsely accused of teen molestation came close. A sex abuse suit was filed against me a year ago, and my journey to exoneration — the accuser’s lawyers paid a seven figure settlement and admitted last month that their client’s claims were “untrue and provably false” — has convinced me that serious reforms are needed in the way courts handle these cases.
From the start, the allegations — that I had drugged and raped a then-seventeen year-old named Michael Egan in Hawaii in 1999 — were absurd: I wasn’t in Hawaii 15 years ago and could prove it. In fact, neither was Egan. And although I do business with steely resolve, in my personal life I’m mild mannered and perhaps even boring.
But none of that mattered. Egan’s cases against me and three others were announced at white hot press conferences bristling with television cameras and mostly uncritical reporters who watched Egan’s mother erupt in tears and vow to “disarm the predators.” Fueled by homophobia, the salacious lawsuits ignited a firestorm at the toxic intersection of a ponderous legal system and a click-bait inflected media culture.
Splashed across home pages and the evening news, the allegations went viral, evoking countless blog comments about the “faggots” who’d supposedly done these terrible things. Egan’s unsupported claims were accepted as self-evident, while our denials were often discounted, downplayed or even twisted to fan the hysteria: “TV Exec Garth Ancier: I Didn’t Rape That Kid” was one of TMZ.com‘s backhanded headlines. Other outlets ran stories without bothering to contact me or the other defendants.
In an instant, my sterling reputation — built up over a forty year career in broadcasting that started at age 16 — was vaporized. I was now unemployable, and advised to accept that I would never work as a media executive again. The personal impact too was devastating, and my health suffered as well.
The stale, wasteful and baseless case against me was only possible because Hawaii eliminated its statute of limitations on teen sex abuse. I abhor sexual misconduct and have tremendous sympathy for victims and their families. But statutes of limitation exist for a reason: memories fade over time, witnesses die, rumors spread, documents are discarded and physical evidence decays or disappears. Recognizing the sensitive nature of these cases, many states have lengthened their statutes — but eliminating time limits altogether is unwise and can put defendants in an impossible position. Could you prove you weren’t in Hawaii in August 1999? Probably not.
Mere weeks after Egan filed his lawsuits, his cases began to crumble in the face of his own prior sworn deposition statements that he’d never been to Hawaii and not been molested by anyone other than three other individuals whom he sued in 2000. Egan’s primary 2014 attorney, Jeff Herman, either didn’t bother to read the deposition or didn’t care, and he himself had previously been suspended by the Florida Bar for dishonesty and banned for life from a federal court for a “credibility problem.” But he was still able to use the media to troll for clients, and even had a list of Hollywood gay men he was targeting for accusations.
That tells us other reforms are needed as well.
First, attorneys in sexual misconduct cases should be required to contact the accused or his lawyers before filing suit and exchanging evidence.
Second, all states should adopt the California requirement that defendants in sexual abuse cases be granted anonymity until and unless a judge finds merit in the case,
Third, judges should develop an expedited procedure for determining this promptly. Press conferences and news releases should be prohibited.
Egan’s lawsuits were finally withdrawn, but that simply left the matter in limbo. To achieve vindication — and regain my standing in the business community — I had to counter-sue for malicious prosecution, a lengthy, expensive and arduous process that has seen Egan scolded by the judge for lying in court and, separately, plead guilty in connection with unrelated federal fraud charges. We also learned Egan had bragged about falsely targeting Hollywood gay men. And although his former lawyers settled, Egan has not, and my case against him continues.
There has to be a better road to accountability. Lawyers who file these cases — particularly if on contingency — should be required to carry hefty malpractice insurance to ensure they can be held accountable for frivolous claims. Plaintiffs’ attorneys in meritless cases should be required to pay defendants’ legal fees. And lying in civil suits should bring criminal indictments for perjury, which today are scarce as hen’s teeth.
This isn’t just about the civil system though. Rolling Stone’s 2014 story of a gang rape at UVA inflamed debate — until the police determined the article had “no substantive basis” and the publisher retracted it as flawed. That incident echoed the 2006 rape allegations against Duke lacrosse players, which ended with all charges dropped and the DA jailed and disbarred. We all need to do more to slow the headlong rush to judgment in sex abuse cases and remember always that allegations aren’t proof.
A year ago, evil landed on my shoulder and dug in its claws. As my nightmare ends, I’m finally free of its grip, but the scars on my psyche and good name will remain for the rest of my life. Perhaps with well-chosen reforms, it won’t have to happen to anyone else.
Garth Ancier currently works as a media consultant for OTT services, as well as linear broadcast/pay television networks.
— 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.
Chelsea Manning faces solitary confinement for having Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair issue
Chelsea Manning is facing indefinite solitary confinement for being found in possession with a copy of Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair issue, according to her lawyer.
The US soldier, who is currently serving a 35-year military prison sentence for leaking secrets to WikiLeaks, has allegedly been charged with four violations of custody rules.
Her lawyers have condemned them as ‘absurd’.
This includes ‘medicine misuse’, which involved having an expired tube of toothpaste’, ‘disorderly conduct’, which meant she swept food onto the floor during dinner, keeping ‘prohibited property’, that’s the Vanity Fair, and ‘disrespect’.
It was also found Manning owned copies of I Am Malala and a novel featuring trans women called A Safe Girl To Love. It is not clear why these have been confiscated.
Manning’s lawyer Nancy Hollander called the charge relating to an expired tube of toothpaste ‘utterly ridiculous’. It had expired in April of this year.
Speaking to The Guardian, she added: ‘I’m concerned that books have been taken from her – those books came to her legally and are clearly not a security threat.’
Chase Strangio, a staff attorney who is handling Manning’s legal dispute with the US military, claimed they were trying to ‘silence’ Manning.
‘Chelsea has a growing voice in the public discussion,’ he said. ‘It would not surprise me were these charges connected to who she is.’
The post Chelsea Manning faces solitary confinement for having Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair issue appeared first on Gay Star News.
Joe Morgan
Actor Joaquín Ferreira Goes Full-Frontal And Shows Off His Massive Appendage In New Netflix Series “Club de Cuervos”
Even if you are not a fan of telenovelas and don’t understand Spanish, you are missing out on a riDICKulously good reason to watch Club de Cuervos. The 13-episode Netflix series, which centers on a family feud among heirs of a soccer club after the patriarch’s death, features Joaquín Ferreira in all of his jaw-dropping “desnudo” glory.
The Argentinean actor portrays “El Porto” and appears completely naked in a few of his scenes. “It was very clear that his character had to be the sex symbol that would have all the girls and gay boys attached to the TV screen,” Luis Gerardo Méndez, the series’ star and producer, explained about Ferreira’s audition, “and when he walked into the room, he got it.”
Yes, he’s got it. Ferreira is, shall we say, very well endowed…and that’s just in his flaccid state. Of course, screenshots of Joaquín’s nude scenes from Club de Cuervos have already found their way onto the Internet. Check out the NSFW images over on Latin Times. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself suddenly craving chorizo after viewing them.
Male full-frontal nudity is still somewhat taboo in Hollywood, so it’s nice to see an actor throw caution to the winds and attack it with so much cocky gusto. Bravo, Joaquín! Hopefully, we’ll be seeing much more of him in the future, but in the meantime, here are a few images from Ferreira’s Instagram account.
Jeremy Kinser
A Shirtless Luke Evans is Tweeting Selfies from the Parks of London
Actor Luke Evans appears to be having a wonderful summer, tweeting the above photo with the caption “#parklife #londonsummer #happydays“. It’s the best ad Tommy Hilfiger has had in a while.
In an interview with WWD last October, Evans appeared to be more forthcoming about his sexual orientation:
Evans finally responded to a question about his sexuality. He responded to a Women’s Wear Daily interviewer asking him if he was setting a new precedent as an openly gay action star: “It’s good for people to look at me and think this guy is doing his thing and enjoying what he’s doing and successful at it and living his life. And that’s what I’m doing and I’m very happy.” The WWD piece makes a note of the fact that Evans’ publicists attempted to keep his sexuality (which they don’t deny) from coming up in the interview, a condition both reporter and subject ignored. And while it may not have been a full-throated declaration of gay pride, Evans’ tacit acknowledgment of his unique status — in a way, he’s been out for years — signals that things may, slowly, be changing for Evans and for gay public figures.
Evans is set to play Gaston opposite Emma Watson in the upcoming live-action version of Beauty and the Beast from Disney.
And just for good measure, here are two more recent shots from Evans’ Instagram feed, bathing in a Soho farmhouse, and striking out on the town in a tank top:
The post A Shirtless Luke Evans is Tweeting Selfies from the Parks of London appeared first on Towleroad.
Andy Towle
A Shirtless Luke Evans is Tweeting Selfies from the Parks of London
You must be 18 years old or older to chat
