Tag Archives: gay

Texas GOP Speaker of the House under fire for homophobic insult in leaked audio

Texas GOP Speaker of the House under fire for homophobic insult in leaked audio

via YouTube

Texas Republican House Speaker Dennis Bonnen has come under fire for a leaked recording in which he referred to a married Democratic representative as “gay,” and offered to sell media accreditation to a lobbyist firm.

In the recording, Bonnen requests gossip from a lobbyist about other members of the Texas legislature. Of Democratic Rep. Jon Rosenthal, Bonnen said Rosenthal’s wife was “gonna be really pissed when she learns he’s gay.” Bonnen also refers to colleagues as “a piece of sh*t” and “vile.”

In an ironic twist, conservative radio host Michael Quinn Sullivan made the recording and released it to his website. Sullivan also works as CEO of Empower Texans, a petroleum lobbying group that donated $4.7 million to far-right candidates in 2018. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Bonnen can also be heard begging Sullivan to keep the conversation private.

Related: Unsolicited nudes are now against the law in Texas

In the recording’s most damning passage, Bonnen offers quid pro quo with Sullivan, exchanging access to the legislative floor in exchange for campaign donations. “Let me tell you what I can do for you. Real quick, you need to hear what I want to do for you,” Bonnen says. Empower Texans had previously been blocked from attending legislative sessions due to its status as a lobbying firm.

Bonnen released a statement addressing the recording saying “no laws were broken: This was nothing more than a political discussion—the problem is that I had it with that guy. My colleagues have always deserved the facts and context this recording provides, and with clear evidence now disproving allegations of criminal wrongdoing, the House can finally move on.”

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That time literary lion Norman Mailer admitted his homophobia

That time literary lion Norman Mailer admitted his homophobia

One Magazine Vol 3 Issue 1

Courtesy of USC Digital Library Archive

In honor of LGBTQ History Month, we’re taking a deep dive look-back at the first gay publication in America—ONE magazine. Launched in Los Angeles in 1953, ONE was published by One, Inc., which grew from The Mattachine Society, the seminal gay-rights group founded by Harry Hay. Its editorial founders were Martin Block, Don Slater, and Dale Jennings, who also served as editor-in-chief. Produced on a shoestring and sold for 25 cents, ONE began to change the course of history with an unapologetic exploration of homosexuality and the largely unexamined societal taboo against it. 

This is the third in our series of ONE magazine cover stories.

Volume 3, Issue 1: The Homosexual Villain

Imagine scoring one of America’s top novelists to pen an essay for your fringe publication. That’s exactly what happened when Norman Mailer wrote this cover story in 1955:

Those readers of ONE who are familiar with my work may be somewhat surprised to find me writing for this magazine. After all, I have been as guilty as any contemporary novelist in attributing unpleasant, ridiculous, or sinister connotations to the homosexual (or more accurately, bisexual) characters in my novels.

Mailer admits that, for most of his life, he knew homosexuals only in passing, and tended to quickly disregard them. His first two novels, The Naked and the Dead, and Barbary Shore, both featured queer antagonists. Then, he and his wife became friends with their neighbor, a gay painter, and his eyes began to open.

Shortly after, he received a free copy of ONE, which prompted him to borrow his neighbor’s copy of Donald Webster Cory’s The Homosexual in America.

I can think of few books which cut so radically at my prejudices and altered my ideas so profoundly…. With this came the realization that I had been closing myself off from understanding a very large part of life. … For the first time I came to understand homosexual persecution to be a political act and a reactionary act, and I was properly ashamed of myself.

Mailer goes on to describe how he suddenly wished to rewrite a “ludicrous” homosexual character in the novel he was then finishing, The Deer Park. But since the novel was almost done, he found it impossible to redraw the character from scratch, so instead, he tried adding a more human dimension to him.

The difficulty of finding a character who can serve as one’s protagonist is matched only by the difficult in finding one’s villain, and so long as I was able to preserve my prejudices, my literary villains were at hand. Now, the problem will be more difficult, but I suspect it may be rewarding too, for deep down I was never very happy nor proud of myself at whipping homosexual straw-boys.

Pretty impressive. Mailer may have never gotten around to similarly deepening his female characters, but hey, nobody’s perfect.

Thanks to One Archives for making this series possible. ONE Archives Foundation provides access to original source material at the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the University of Southern California Libraries—the largest such collection in the world.

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College swimming champ says he was kicked off team for being gay

College swimming champ says he was kicked off team for being gay

Via Youtube

Two-time NCAA champion swimmer Abrahm DeVine has leveled charges against his former Stanford University swimming coaches, claiming they kicked him off the team because he is gay.

DeVine graduated from Stanford this year, but he was eligible to swim for the team again as a postgrad. He claims the university didn’t invite him back because of his sexuality.

“Plain and simple: There are surface-level reasons I was kicked off the Stanford swim team,” he alleged via Instagram, “but I can tell you with certainty that it comes down to the fact that I am gay.”

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As many of you know, I’m an openly gay swimmer and I am the only one at my level. I want to use this post to call out some of the homophobia that I’ve experienced being an athlete, and encourage everyone to be thoughtful and intentional about changing some of the homophobic aspects of the athletic culture that exists today. While I have many specific examples of micro aggressions and outright aggressions that I’ve experienced, homophobia is ultimately much more than an accumulation of experiences. In fact, it is a denial of experience. While I feel like I’ve tried to convey this to many people, many of whom deny any possibility that they contribute it, I’ve started to ask myself: Why is it my job to educate coaches and athletes at the most resourceful university in the world? I cannot continue to try to engage people in this conversation when there is so much fragility to obscure my humanity and character, so much rhetoric to keep me silent. Everyone says they support me, and yet, for the millionth time, I am the only one speaking up. To my coaches who sport the pride flag on their desk, to the athletes who liked my pride photo on Instagram, I need you to wake up to what’s happening around you. How can you say you support me and my equality? How can you not see how Stanford Swim has treated me and used me over the last 4 years? Am I invisible? Plain and simple: there are surface level reasons I was kicked off the Stanford swim team, but I can tell you with certainty that it comes down to the fact that I am gay. This is a pattern. Homophobia is systematic, intelligently and masterfully designed to keep me silent and to push me out. I am a talented, successful, educated, proud, gay man: I am a threat to the culture that holds sports teams together. I want something to change, because I can’t take it anymore. My story is not unique. There are queer voices everywhere and all you have to do is listen. I am asking, begging for some sort of action. If you are reading this, this post is for you! Gay or straight, swimmer or not. None of us are exempt from homophobia. It is your civil duty to educate yourself. If you choose not to, it is at my expense.

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“This is a pattern,” DeVine further charged. “Homophobia is systematic, intelligently and masterfully designed to keep me silent and to push me out. I am a talented, successful, educated, proud, gay man: I am a threat to the culture that holds sports teams together.”

He continued, “I want something to change, because I can’t take it anymore. My story is not unique. There are queer voices everywhere and all you have to do is listen. I am asking, begging for some sort of action. If you are reading this, this post is for you! Gay or straight, swimmer or not. None of us are exempt from homophobia. It is your civil duty to educate yourself. If you choose not to, it is at my expense.”

DeVine’s former Stanford coaches, Greg Meehan and Dan Schemmel, have both denied any homophobic motives in not inviting him back to the team.

“Abe wasn’t invited back to train with us this fall, as a postgraduate, for reasons entirely unrelated to his sexuality,” they said in a joint statement. “We take pride in the inclusivity and supportiveness that exists on both our men’s and women’s teams, but we will continue to strive, as always, to improve those aspects of our culture.”

Devine previously won NCAA championship for the 400-meter individual medley in 2018 and 2019, and represented Team USA at the World Aquatics Championships in South Korea.

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Queer US athlete wears rainbow sneaker at Qatar championships

Queer US athlete wears rainbow sneaker at Qatar championships

 

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A US heptathlete wore her trademark sneakers with a rainbow strap during her appearance last night at the IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Qatar has a poor record for LGBTQ rights and same-sex sexual activity is punishable with prison.

It’s just one of the reasons – besides the sweltering hot temperatures – why some advocates and athletes have criticized the decision to allow the event to take place in the Middle East country.

Related: Journalist writes about using hook-up apps in Qatar, where gay sex is punishable by death

Yesterday, US athlete Erica Bougard, 26, took part in the heptathlon. During the High Jump part of the event, she wore sneakers with a rainbow strap across the top of one shoe. She has been wearing the same strap for most of this year.

 

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Bougard, who has competed for Mississipi State, has been with her girlfriend for the past year.

Following her appearance, Bougard spoke about her decision to wear the shoes with the pride flag.

“I only did it to show everybody love is love, and whether you’re against it or not, I’m still for it,” she told a Swedish reporter. “And then for all the young people out there, if you’re ever frightened, don’t ever feel sad, don’t ever have suicidal thoughts, because it’s normal to me, so it should be to you, so don’t be afraid to come out.”

Related: Newly out Ryan Russell has something to tell the NFL about LGBTQ athletes

Asked if she’d had any second thoughts about wearing the pride flag in a country like Qatar, she responded: “I didn’t have second thoughts because I didn’t know it was illegal.

“I pretty much forgot what was on my shoe because I’ve been doing it all year. When I pulled my shoes out, nobody said anything upfront when I got checked, so I just wore my shoes, I just went for it.”

The same reporter told Bougard she was probably the first to make a stand in Doha for gay rights. He pointed out she had been applauded for doing so on social media, prompting an embarrassed Bougard to respond, “I love all the praise, and if somebody hates it, then what can you do, what can you say, it’s social media.

“I can cut my phone off and not see what anyone says about me … but sometimes you have to take a stand and that’s what I did.”

Asked by Associated Press if she had concerns about getting into trouble, she said, “I’m not afraid of the consequences. I feel like I’m well protected,” and if anything were to happen, “I’ll be on the first flight out.”

At the end of day one of the heptathlon, Bougard was in fourth place, with Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Great Britain), Nafi Thiam (Belgium) and Kendell Williams (US) taking first, second and third place.

Bougard continues in the heptathlon today, with the long jump, javelin, and 800-meter run.

Good luck, Erica!

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Dad rejected him for being gay but son’s HIV diagnosis changed everything

Dad rejected him for being gay but son’s HIV diagnosis changed everything

Shareef Hadid Jenkins and his father, Roberto Rashid (Photo: Supplied)

A man has shared details of how his family rejected when he came out as gay. However, being diagnosed as HIV has enabled him to forge a much closer relationship with his Muslim father.

In fact, the two men are even planning on creating a father-son clothing line together.

Shareef Hadid Jenkins originally comes from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He now lives in New York City. He told his story in video format for I’m From Driftwood. The site is a groundbreaking online platform that showcases LGBTI stories and oral histories.

Shareef says he always knew he was different when he was growing up, and was bullied at school because of it. When he came out to his mum, she responded, “There’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.”

Related: Muslim father attempted suicide after his son came out, now they’re closer than ever

At age 13, he was sent by his mom to live with his dad, “to make me become a man.”

“When I came out to my father, he was livid. Actually, he went to a frat brother of his who is a psychologist and took me there and said ‘Cure my son.’ And the psychologist told him that I am gay and that he has to accept it.”

“So his version of acceptance was, Okay, we’re gonna take you to the mosque every night, you’re going to learn how to be a man and you’re gonna learn how to have willpower so that you don’t act on being gay, you don’t think about men, and that’s the way it’s going to be.

“And after a couple months of that, I tried to kill myself. So I took a lot of pills and, thank God, I didn’t die. I just woke up and my father was standing over me and he said, ‘Okay, if you’re going to be gay, I can’t do anything about it. You just can’t be gay in my house.’ So that’s when I was on the street without my parents.”

Shareef was taken in by a home for runaway kids. Around 2-3 years later, his father reached out to him and they began to call each other occasionally on holidays. His father still did not wish to discuss his son’s sexuality.

Related: Yes, it’s possible to be bisexual AND Muslim and this guy’s here to prove it

Shareef moved to New York City and lived with a boyfriend. A burst appendicitis led to an emergency dash to the hospital for Shareef – at the insistence of his boyfriend.

“My father came the next day with his wife. He took my boyfriend’s hand he said, ‘Thank you for saving my son’s life.’ And he sat down in the room. It was the first time in my life since coming out that he actively showed that he loved me and that the gay thing wasn’t going to stand in the way of his love.”

His once-in-a-blue-moon five-minute phone calls with his dad turned into ten-minute calls.

A few years passed, and Shareef learned he was HIV positive. Unable to face telling his parents, he instead told them he had cancer. He couldn’t find the words to tell them he had HIV.

“They called me a lot more, they – my dad came up. He took me to dinner. And then I told him I was HIV positive.

“And he cried. He told me that, you know, “You’re my only son. I’m your only father. We only have one life. A week isn’t going to go by without me talking to you.”

“It was almost like him saying, All this homophobia that I was holding onto is not worth not having my son in my life. Because he felt like that was it. I’m about to lose you and I’m not going to take that. And that kind of love coming from parents who threw me out was unexpected. It was what lifted me out of the depression of ‘Oh my God, I have HIV.’ It gave me life.”

“So today, I run a business, a non-binary fashion company. I make harnesses, underwear, jumpsuits. My father designs scarves, bags.

“Interesting, right? The guy who did – who couldn’t accept his gay son does fashion. Pretty amazing.

“We’re working together to start a line of underwear for African American men … kente cloth underwear, boxers.

“That’s coming a long way from being a child who my parents are like, Get out, to actually, like, not only seeing my father for more than five minutes at a time, but working with him on a business, father and son business. And I see this makes him happy and it makes me feel joy.”

Related: How one Oklahoma church decided to push back against Christian homophobes

Shareef told Queerty he still has a rather distant relationship with his mom, but is OK with that.

“We know we love each other but basically we are both adults over the age of 40 who live our own lives and live far away from each other.”

His dad designs scarves and formal accessories under the name, Scarves by Rashid. Shareef designs underwear and harnesses under the brand name Boipkg.com.

“He came to me with the idea that we do a father son project together and so we are in the planning stages of that project, which has brought us together more. He comes to NYC from Philadelphia to go with me to retail conventions and to meet with manufacturers and to pick out fabric.

“My plan is to build both of our brands and create a third father and son brand as well.”

Shareef says his father is still very religious but now has a more live-and-let-live attitude.

“His philosophy is that your life is between you and your god.”

H/T: I’m From Driftwood

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