Blame It On The Queers
Doomsayers and the things that definitely happened because of LGBTs
Advocate.com Editors
Category Archives: NEWS
Policlips Now: Ben Carson, Bibi's Speech And An Email Controversy
Policlips Now: Ben Carson, Bibi's Speech And An Email Controversy
In this week’s edition of “Policlips Now,” we’re highlighting the best political clips you may have missed while you were busy at work or stuck at home because of snow.
We saw GOP presidential hopeful Ben Carson making an outrageous statement about gay people, President Barack Obama dismissing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress and Secretary of State John Kerry basically saying he doesn’t care about the Hillary Clinton email controversy.
Watch our video above.
Gender Fluid Generation: Evolving Gender Norms At School
Gender Fluid Generation: Evolving Gender Norms At School
Originally published on Youthradio.org, the premier source for youth generated news throughout the globe.
By: Nanette Thompson
The first time I learned that gender could be fluid was in sex ed in the 9th grade. I remember the teacher mumbling under her breath that some people don’t identify their gender with the biological sex they were born with. At the time it didn’t phase me because I’d never known anyone who’d talked about it or felt that way. But now, three years later, I have a 16-year-old classmate who’s trans. His name is Jace McDonald.
“That is the name I have chosen,” said Jace. “It’s what my parents would have named me if I was born biologically male.”
Jace McDonald was born female. But says he always knew there was something different about him. He didn’t like so called girl things, and more than that, he felt like a boy. At 13, he started identifying as transgender, and has become something of an activist.
“Never ask someone who’s trans what their real name is,” he said. “That is so offensive. My real name is Jace. And my birth name is none of your business.”
Jace McDonald laughs with classmates in his high school drama class. He says it’s one of the places he feels most at ease. “People in general need to have a place where they feel safe and where they can be themselves,” he says. Photo Credit: Teresa Chin/Youth Radio>
Jace has thick glasses and short brown hair, and he’s outspoken at school. One time in English class when a teacher stumbled over gender terminology, Jace stepped in to clarify and ended up teaching a whole lesson himself. He sometimes finds himself fed up. “High school is hard enough as it is,” he said.” High school as someone who is non-gender conforming just makes it harder. How many times today am I going to be called a girl?”
In many ways, it seems like gender non-conformity awareness is at all-time high. Last week Congressman Mike Honda announced via Twitter that he was the “proud grandpa of a transgender grandchild.” And according to new polling out last month, young people increasingly see gender as not just limited to male and female. But the torchbearers of gender fluidity aren’t just celebrities or politicians, but kids. But schools are still catching up with the needs of gender nonconforming students. Last year, California’s first law protecting gender nonconforming students went into effect. It gives Jace the right to use the bathroom of his choice.
Last month, Jace and I walked down the hall of the high school that we both attend. He stopped and pointed to set of doors that are our main bathrooms on campus. He says when he uses the bathroom between classes that kids occasionally give him strange looks.
“So if I walk in there are there are people already in there, I’m more likely to hold it and just go to my next class,” he said.
It seems rough, but Jace says this is way better than he used to have it. He’s a junior now, and this is his first year at my school. He’s gone to two other high schools and left because he was taunted and called names like tranny. He says, the schools didn’t let him use the boy’s bathroom, and insisted on keeping his birth name on the roster. At my school, he says he finally feels safe.
Third grader Tomás Rocha, 8, in the hallway of his elementary school. Tomás is often asked if he is a boy or a girl. “Sometimes I say, does it really matter?” he says. Photo Credit: Brett Myers/Youth Radio>
Just a few towns away at Malcolm X Elementary School, teachers start addressing gender identity at a young age, with the goal of making school more safe and inclusive. One of the students there, third Grader Tomás Rocha has shoulder length hair and long bangs. He’s wearing a turquoise My Little Pony t-shirt with black flats. A lot of days he wears dresses, and last year he started using the girls bathroom. Tomás says people regularly ask him if he’s a boy or a girl.
“I just really think i’m really both,” said Tomás. “I really don’t care what people call me . Sometimes I say I’m a girl. Sometimes I say I’m a boy. Sometimes I say does it really matter?”
However, it mattered to his mom Amy. She struggled with Tomás’s gender bending. And at first hoped it was a phase. “His first grade teacher told me that, ‘Yeah I don’t know if this is a phase,'” she said. “And so that scared me because I wanted it to be a phase, because I didn’t want to have to have my child hurt. I wanted him to be what society wants a baby boy to be like when they’re born. You know, tough and want to play sports.“
Her concerns came from her fear of Tomás might get bullied.It’s something Tomás’s teacher Julia Beers also thinks about. Beers was Tomás’ second grade teacher last year — the first year he started wearing dresses to school. When students question Tomás, Beers tries to assume the best — that her students are curious and not trying to be mean. Like when she overhears a student say to Tomás, “Did you know you were wearing a dress to school today?”
“If a student is laughing for example, I might say, ‘Hmm what are you thinking when you laugh like that?'” she said. “And by opening up that question, it can often help that student kinda dig deeper and realize ‘It just seems weird’ or ‘I feel uncomfortable’ or ‘I’ve just never seen someone do that before.'”
According to the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network, 82 percent of transgender young people say they don’t feel safe at school. Struggles, like the ones my high school classmate Jace has been through, are the norm.
For Tomás though, his elementary school’s efforts seem to be working. His mom says his grades and behavior improved after he was given more freedom to be himself.
Youth Radio/Youth Media International (YMI) is youth-driven converged media production company that delivers the best youth news, culture and undiscovered talent to a cross section of audiences. To read more youth news from around the globe and explore high quality audio and video features, visit Youthradio.org
The New York Times: “States Weigh Religious Exemption Bills”
The New York Times: “States Weigh Religious Exemption Bills”
An article today in The New York Times featured the growing number of anti-LGBT bills in state legislatures across the country.
HRC.org
Eighth Circuit Stays Federal Ruling Striking Down Nebraska's Gay Marriage Ban
Eighth Circuit Stays Federal Ruling Striking Down Nebraska's Gay Marriage Ban
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a stay on U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon’s ruling striking down Nebraska’s ban on same-sex marriage. Same-sex nuptials were scheduled to begin Monday barring Eighth Circuit action.
The court will hear oral arguments in the case on May 12 alongside three other same-sex marriage cases from South Dakota, Arkansas, and Missouri.
Developing…
8thCirc issues stay pending appeal in #Nebraska marriage case, will hear w other appeals 5/12 t.co/mZxeEVUy2K @ACLUofNE @NE4Equality
— Equality Case Files (@EQCF) March 5, 2015
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in four same-sex marriage cases challenging bans on same-sex marriage in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee on April 28.
Kyler Geoffroy
#LeanInTogether And Getty Images Team Up To Show What Fatherhood Actually Looks Like
#LeanInTogether And Getty Images Team Up To Show What Fatherhood Actually Looks Like
Stock photos used to illustrate online articles are meant to reflect everyday life. Ironically, they rarely do. Getty Images and LeanIn.Org have a plan to change that.
With the launch of #LeanInTogether — a campaign that encourages men to help women in the fight for gender equality — Getty Images and LeanIn.Org have partnered to bring realistic stock photos of men to online editors, and therefore readers.
The Huffington Post spoke with Sheryl Sandberg about the impact diverse photos could have, and what she hopes the series will achieve. “You can’t be what you can’t see,” she said. “So having men see active pictures of themselves and other men as fathers, as people supporting people at work — I think it’s inspiring.”
Instead of endless photos of white guys in suits — or any other ridiculous and cliche portrayals we so often see in stock photos — the #LeanInTogether shows a different side of fatherhood and masculinity.
“I think people want to do the right thing, they want to portray women the right way, they want to portray men the right way but we often don’t know how,” Sandberg said. “Getty is saying here is a portrayal of women and men that Lean In supports and that we support. And similarly, men are saying here’s a portrayal of what I believe as a man and that this is good for men.”
Here are a few of our favorite stock images from the “Lean In Together” collection:
Jimmy Fallon is Excited for Joe Biden to Speak to HRC Tomorrow. Are You?
Jimmy Fallon is Excited for Joe Biden to Speak to HRC Tomorrow. Are You?
Last night on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Fallon joked about Vice President Joe Biden’s keynote speech to HRC staff and volunteers tomorrow.
HRC.org
'Empire' Actor Malik Yoba Backtracks After Potentially Outing Co-Star Jussie Smollett
'Empire' Actor Malik Yoba Backtracks After Potentially Outing Co-Star Jussie Smollett
Empire actor Malik Yoba has backtracked on his statements about co-star Jussie Smollett’s sexuality after inadvertently outing him as gay last month during an interview with Black Film. The plot revolving around Smollett’s character, Jamal Lyon, has focused primarily on his journey to come out as gay whilst vying for control of his father’s vast fortune. When asked about his own sexuality Smollett has consistently declined to comment.
“I am not willing to confirm or deny anything, I live my life…if anyone is looking to put me in a box, then that’s not going to happen,” Smollett said in an interview with Sway In The Morning. “But if you really want to know about me, just watch, because I don’t hide anything. I just don’t choose to talk about my personal life.”
According to Yoba’s publicist the actor was misquoted in his Black Film interview.
“My reference to Jussie was only about his character and storyline on Empire,” he said in a statement to USA Today.
Smollett’s most recent assertion that his sexuality is an off-limits topic came before Yoba’s statement and subsequent clarification. The actor has yet to publicly comment on the renewed interest in his personal life.
Charles Pulliam-Moore
WATCH: Meet the Singapore Trans Man Whose Life Story Went Viral
Julianne Moore On Success And Why She 'Absolutely' Considers Herself A Feminist
Julianne Moore On Success And Why She 'Absolutely' Considers Herself A Feminist
What does it take to get to the top — without losing your center? Our “Making It Work” series profiles successful, dynamic women who are standouts in their fields, peeling back the “hows” of their work and their life, taking away lessons we can all apply to our own.
Julianne Moore just won her first Oscar two weeks ago and it doesn’t look like she’s slowing down any time soon.
The 54-year-old actress and children’s author currently has three films in the works, is an ambassador for the L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth campaign and she’s raising two teenagers with her husband Bart Freundlich. She’s just a bit busy.
Moore with Eva Longoria, Andie MacDowell, Aimee Mullins and Diane Keaton at the 2014 L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth event.
Moore moved around a lot before her rise to stardom in the the 1990s. She was born at the Fort Bragg army installation in North Carolina and lived in eight different states before moving to Germany during high school, where she discovered her love of theater. She graduated from Boston University in 1983 with a BFA in Theater.
Her breakout role came in 1997 with the drama “Boogie Nights,” for which she earned her first Academy Award nomination. Moore starred in other big hits such as the 1998 comedy “The Big Lebowski,” 2011’s “Crazy, Stupid, Love” alongside Steve Carell, and more recently, in “Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” in 2014 This year, Moore earned the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in in “Still Alice,” a story about a woman who’s diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease.
This past winter, Moore participated as an ambassador for the L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth campaign, which recognizes 10 remarkable women who are making an impact in their communities. Alongside other ambassadors including Eva Longoria, Blake Lively and Diane Keaton, Moore introduced one of the 10 inspirational women honored at L’Oreal’s December 2014 event. This year she’ll be back to introduce one of the 2015 honorees. L’Oreal Paris is currently calling for nominations for the 2015 Women of Worth.
Moore spoke with The Huffington Post about the awesome women of worth she’s met through L’Oreal, how she defines success and her thoughts on feminism.
How would you define success?
Success is personal. I think you feel successful when you’re doing something well that you enjoy. And that can be anything. It doesn’t have to be something that’s paid, it can be something that you really love doing. It can involve your family, it can involve your work, but it’s just the feeling that you’re accomplishing something that you want to accomplish.
By that definition do you consider yourself successful?
Yes, right now I definitely do! I feel very fortunate to have been able to support myself doing work that I love. It doesn’t feel like work to me. And I also have a great family and that’s what I wanted. That was something that I had really hoped to accomplish. So I feel great about that.
Moore introducing Rachel Jackson-Bramwell, one of L’Oreal’s 2014 Women of Worth, at the December 2014 event.
I know you have a young daughter yourself — what advice would you give to young girls growing up right now?
Well, some advice I’d give to young men growing up — and I think it’s important not to be divisive about that — what advice I’d give to both of my kids, I have a 17-year-old and an almost 13-year-old, I’d say I’d want them to find the things that they enjoy doing. To tell them to open themselves up to possibilities and follow their interests and see where their interests lie.
Feminism and the debate over what the term feminist means has been a huge topic of conversation lately. Do you consider yourself a feminist?
Absolutely I consider myself a feminist. I think a feminist is the same thing as a humanist. A feminist is someone who wants gender equality and I think that’s important for all of us right now.
I was actually at the L’Oreal Women of Worth event this past fall and I was hoping you could tell me a little bit about the campaign and what it’s like being a spokesperson?
It’s cool right?
Amazing! I was blown away by the amount of inspirational women.
It really is an amazing campaign. Karen Fondu created it 10 years ago so they’re celebrating the tenth anniversary this year. This was my first year with the campaign and I think I felt the same way that you did, I was very very impressed with the differences these women are making in their lives and the lives in their communities. They’re people who saw a need somewhere and found a way to really help others, often brought on by either something they were experiencing themselves or sometimes something they observed. It’s really a lesson in how every individual can make a tremendous difference by caring and doing.
Moore and me at the 2014 Women of Worth event. (We ran into each other on the bathroom line!)
What do you think are the big issues women are facing? What’s holding us back from gender equality?
Oh my goodness.
I understand that’s a pretty big question.
[Laughs] Yes! What do you think is holding us back from gender equality?!
I think that if we could answer that we wouldn’t be struggling with it. I think just talking about it is what’s most important. I get this question a lot about whether or not this kind of inequality is endemic to show business and I’m like, of course it’s not. We’re talking about what’s happening all over the world. Just the fact that people are acknowledging that this exists is a step in the right direction.
What’s next for you?
Well I have a movie coming out called “Freeheld,” it’s about the women who changed the domestic partnership laws in the state of New Jersey and I made that movie with Ellen Page. It’s probably coming out in the fall, based on the documentary on the same name. And then I’m shooting a movie for Becca Miller, a comedy with Greta Gerwig and Ethan Hawke and Bill Hader.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Head over to L’Oreal to nominate an inspiring woman who is making powerful changes in her community to be one of this year’s Women of Worth.
