Madonna’s “Sex” Book Inspired This Guy To Come Out 22 Years Ago So He Did This To Thank Her

Twenty-two years ago Madonna was more inescapable than ever. Her pulsating single “Erotica” was climbing the charts, an album of the same name had just been released (and it was even more sexual than any of the the singer’s past work), and the anticipation for her Basic Instinct knock-off ill-fated sensual thriller Body of Evidence was still high. But the project that was really causing a commotion was Sex, the icon’s notorious coffee table book filled with provocative S/M images of the entertainer cavorting with adult film stars, celeb friends — often completely nude — and indulging in all sorts of activities usually not explored outside of an urban fetish club.

It was a liberating time for scores of the pop queen’s gay fans. Among them was Greg Scarnici, familiar to Queerty readers by his pretty lady drag persona Levonia Jenkins, who felt so inspired by all the pro-sex and mostly pro-Sex coverage in the media that he swung open his mirrored closet door and told his friends and family that he was a big queen.

“Seeing a huge pop star shooting at The Gaeity Male Burlesque with my favorite porn star at the time, Joey Stefano, made me realize it was not only okay to be gay, but it was also okay to embrace my sexuality,” Scarnici tells HuffPo.

As the book remained a source of inspiration, Scarnici decided to pay homage to the 1992 tome by creating his own slightly more twisted version, which he’d appropriately title Sex in Drag. He donned a blond wig and enlisted a group of pals including Chris Harder, Dallas Dubois, Logan Hardcore, Bob The Drag Queen, Quamin Ellis and Z100’s “Uncle Johnny for a sordid sexy shoot in Fire Island.

Scarnici describes those few days to HuffPo as a blast to recreate. He recalls:

“Even though a lot of the images were sexual, we were all hysterical laughing while shooting it: ‘Is my bush showing through the vodka bottle?’ The whole thing was so much fun. And while we were shooting it, no one on Fire Island batted an eye! They just looked at us like it was normal to see a naked man/woman eating a slice of pizza at the Cherry Grove pizzeria.

Learn more about the book or purchase your own copy here. See a few of the less explicit images from Sex in Drag below.

Jeremy Kinser

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/4sFvb_ADq_c/madonnas-sex-book-inspired-this-guy-to-come-out-22-years-ago-so-he-did-this-to-thank-her-20141021

Judge Upholds Puerto Rico's Ban On Same-Sex Marriage: READ

Sean Mandell

www.towleroad.com/2014/10/judge-upholds-puerto-ricos-ban-on-same-sex-marriage-read.html

Dagens Ungdom om LGBT
Takk til Robin F, Jan G og Jonas E! Dette er en video som handler om LGBT samfunnet der ungdommer blir intervjuet om temaet LGBT. ———- Today’s Youth about LGBT This is a video about…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoLi9oKBH0A&feature=youtube_gdata

Alaska Couples Finally Able to Legally Marry

After becoming one of the first U.S. states to ban same-sex marriage via constitutional amendment in 1998, Alaska embraced the freedom to marry Monday.

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Sunnivie Brydum

www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/2014/10/21/alaska-couples-finally-able-legally-marry

Why Amazon's <i>Transparent</i> Is Binge-Watch Worthy

Whether you’re transgender or not, Amazon’s new series, Transparent, will suck you in like the display case at Georgetown Cupcake. You’ll find yourself lying in bed at midnight, clutching your TV remote and rationalizing “one more” that will likely turn into two or possibly three more should you suffer from insomnia like I do. But I promise: unlike a good cupcake binge, you won’t hate yourself afterward.

Jeffrey Tambor, is phenomenal in his role as Maura, the 68 year-old patriarch-turned-matriarch of the Pfefferman clan who finally begins her transition while officially coming out to her ex-wife and three adult children, each one dysfunctional in their own way. Tambor may be the headliner, but he is surrounded by an amazing cast. And it’s the way they adjust to the news and come to terms with their own identity issues that makes this series so watchable. The character development is masterful and the performances are, in a word, real.

There is nothing trite about the script. And while you don’t have to be trans to appreciate the realness of both the situations and dialogue, as someone who has transitioned, I can tell you first hand that the writing and acting is legit.

The scene where Maura comes out to her oldest daughter, Sarah (played by Amy Landecker), is a perfect example. Sarah is not only dealing with the shock of seeing her father in full make-up, wig and flowing silk caftan, but is also struggling to make sense of what she’s just been told. “Are you saying that you’re gonna start dressing like a lady all the time?” she asks. Maura sums it up perfectly, stroking her daughter’s hair like a mother would do. “No honey, all my life — my whole life — I’ve been dressing up like a man.”

Nailed it.

The reason Transparent is so spot on? Jill Soloway, the show’s creator. She too had a parent come out to her as trans, which is what inspired her to bring this dramady to life. Though not without help from transgender consultants like author Jennifer Finney Boylan, filmmaker Rhys Ernst and artist Zackary Drucker, who also appears in the series as the trans support group facilitator. Soloway casts transgender actors to fill trans roles wherever possible including Alexandra Billings who plays Maura’s friend and mentor, Davina, and comedian Ian Harvie who cameos as a professor pursued by Maura’s sexually curious daughter, Ali (Gaby Hoffmann).

Even still, Soloway has been criticized for not casting a trans woman to play the role of Maura. As someone who transitioned, I get it. But as an ad guy who has cast over a hundred TV commercials, I also understand the need to go with the best actor for the part. The acting is what’s going to make the show work and engage an audience. And with the right talent, it shouldn’t matter whether or not the actor is trans. Especially with transgender consultants there to help. Plus, in this particular show, Maura is 68 and just beginning her transition, so realistically, it makes sense that she looks and seems more like a cis man (male born) than a trans woman. Transitioning is an awkward learn-as-you-go process and Tambor’s 6’1″ gawky frame further accentuates the character’s struggle to be comfortable and confident in her femininity and ability to pass. After watching this show, I can’t imagine the role of Maura being played by anybody else.

So let’s celebrate a series that gets it right. Grab your smart TV remote and order Amazon Prime if you don’t already have it. Transparent alone is worth the annual fee-both for it’s entertainment value and educational value on the trans topic.

www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-edwards/why-amazons-transparent-i_b_6021322.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Working Toward LGBT Inclusion in the Armed Forces

Yesterday, researchers and legal and policy advocates from around the world attended a day-long conference to discuss transgender military service.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/pushing-for-transgender-military-service?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Looks Like We May Never See Michael Sam Play In The NFL After All

Things looked so good for Michael Sam when he became the first openly gay football player drafted in the NFL.

The Rams picked him up, and there were endorsement deals, talk of TV shows, and national media attention all pointed at the young star player. And who could forget about that super hot boyfriend?

Sure, there was that whole Grindr photo leak, and that super awkward ESPN report on his showering habits, but things were still going great.

Except then the Rams cut him, and he lost his spot on the 53-man roster to fellow rookie Ethan Westbrooks, “one of nine defensive linemen the Rams kept.”

But no worry, Michael quickly signed on with the Cowboys, telling the Daily Mail, “I’m just looking forward to being a Cowboy, my focus is on making the team.”

Well we’re sorry to report he did not make the team, after all. After spending the first seven weeks of the season on the Cowboy’s 10-man practice squad, they’ve decided to drop him to make way for linebacker Troy Davis, a second-year pro from Central Florida.

On the bright side, now he’s free to explore reality television with Oprah again. Assuming, of course, she’ll still take his call.

Dan Tracer

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/M_fF4Bh3KhA/looks-like-we-may-never-see-michael-sam-play-in-the-nfl-after-all-20141021

Ricky Martin Rocks 5 Looks in His Speakeasy-Themed 'Adios': MUSIC VIDEO

Andy Towle

www.towleroad.com/2014/10/ricky-martin-is-a-one-man-speakeasy-in-adios-music-video.html

As Advocates Gather in D.C., Pelosi Endorses Trans Military Service

This week House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi became one of the first politicians to officially come out in support of trans people serving openly in the U.S. military.

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Mitch Kellaway

www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2014/10/21/advocates-gather-dc-pelosi-endorses-trans-military-service