Tag Archives: LGBT advocates

See, This Is Why People Like Alec Baldwin Is No Ally To The LGBT Community

Featured, Opinions and Rants, , , , , , , , , , ,

baldwin_alec

An ally is someone who is able to not only empathize with the oppression and plight of a group of people but also actively seeks out solutions to bring about advocacy for equal rights. Allies are instrumental in helping a group or community eliminate discrimination. And if/when said person(s) has said or done something that is insensitive or harmful against said community, they reach out to understand the error in their ways to prevent any other insult. They openly challenge those that condemn us and are a bridge to a solution, not the cause of our problems.

What allies don’t do is belittle and compare us to stereotypes that are based in hate. They do not call us toxic little queens and threaten to sodomize us with foreign objects and then fetishize how much we would enjoy the pain. And they certainly wouldn’t tell us that we use our coming out stories as a way to have credibility and popularity within the gay community.

See that is what Alec Baldwin should have done when he was confronted about his latest twitter rant by journalist Anderson Cooper. Baldwin felt it was necessary to tell a photo jornalist earlier this summer to stop being a toxic little queen this summer after his wife was reportedly tweeting during a funeral. During Baldwin’s tirade to try to defend his wife while publicly shaming the photog was weak for being gay and tried his best to demean the man by his sexuality, and not by any unethical practices. Soon after Cooper spoke out against Baldwin and his insensitive statements that were homophobic in nature.

But Baldwin had to respond to Cooper’s comments by making even more insensitive, homophobic statements on the Howard Stern radio show:

“What I realize about [Cooper] is, everybody in media, they have a job to do. Anderson Cooper has a job to do. And that job is to try to reinforce his credibility in the gay community after the fact that you couldn’t get him out of the closet for 10 years with a canister of tear gas. Now he’s the sheriff. Now he’s running around writing everybody a ticket!”

Sounds less about addressing the nature of the business and more about an actor that has an inflated appraisal of his talents going on to again attack the ibe thing he feels he has dominance and power over Cooper, his sexuality. Never mind that the process of coming out is different for all of us and takes years, sometimes decades to reconcile the constant unending judgement that you cannot (and should never be taught to) get rid of. There are still men and women that take their entire lifetimes to gain clarity in accepting something society constantly shames you for.

Why is it whenever someone confronts people like Baldwin, they have a tendency to claim the person opposing their view is some politically correct zealot that is just trying to win points with a group thereby warranting them to  invalidate the truth? Was the fact that Baldwin felt he had to talk about a gay man as feminine and someone who’s prone to drama as he did in his latest twitter rant? Or how we talked about this man that accused his wife of tweeting at a funeral as someone that needs to be kicked in his rectum but would like that, because he apparently believes that we gay men love to sexualize violence.

The entire time Baldwin and his statements were about comparing homosexuality to femininity because they were implying that feminine is weak, which is the typical rhetoric of a bigot. And it is misogynist because it places not just femininity in gay men as a weakness, but all women as well. Claiming that you’ve had a long running history with helping numerous unnamed LGBT organizations does not exclude you from having a prejudice mindset or enacting in dialogue that is problematic, hypocritical and downright harmful to this community.

There is no timetable for it because we each have to accept it in our own time. But Baldwin, a straight man that never has to deal with anything other than being a mediocre sitcom actor, feels like he can postulate on the complexities of one’s coming out process. Snide remark aside, let’s go along with this assertion made by Baldwin of Cooper coming out merely to gain favor with the gay community. In a time when there are still LGBT youth that are still openly attacked, bullied, dismembered, driven to a point where they want to end their lives, then any visibility that eliminates the stigma and negative stereotypes that Baldwin promotes, then I still welcome it. Even if it is to gain some sort of status it is a whole lot more than anything Baldwin has ever done for this community.

So please tell me, how someone who can so easily trivialize the process of coming out could ever be an ally. Save the speeches and blanket apologies for someone that truly believes you give a damn, Alec Baldwin. You are no better than the bigots that openly try to oppress us. But at least they’re honest about it. We are now in a time when instead of a person admitting the error in their prejudiced ways they would rather double down on their idiocy while claiming they know the real complexities of a struggle they themselves are lucky enough to never have to experience. So they make even more insufferable, uneducated comments to try to cover up their ignorance their privilege of being a member of the majority has given them. And they look like insensitive, uncaring, completely unaware  fools while doing so.

I for one am exhausted from so called allies that deem themselves as a good guy that had a rough day who was simply using their offensive manner in a different context that we are just too simple to understand. Sorry but you aren’t that good an actor. Claiming that they can so easily discern the reasoning behind someone coming out is laughable and to refer to the process of coming out as a bargaining tool for popularity is not only insulting, it’s disgusting. It’s paramount that so called allies like Baldwin be called out so when they make their mea culpas that are supposed to make us forget their numerous transgressions.

You see the best quality about an ally is that they are willing to listen, because they know no matter how much they are made aware of the oppression and discrimination a group or community face, that they still will never know exactly what the experience feels like. So they must always be willing to accept that there will be times that they see nothing wrong with their behavior when it in fact is very problematic. And since Baldwin seems too keen on ignoring that aspect. we can not call him an ally.

GLAAD, What Else Are You Doing Other Than Selling T-Shirts? Same Question For You HRC

Featured, Opinions and Rants, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

gay queer

The title is harsh but it is an honest question. Too often I feel that the LGBT community is nowhere near as united as it used to be or like it should be now. When we talk about the various issues within a community I feel that the problem starts with the most visible. The ones that are given a platform to be the voice of us and our concerns. In this case that would be both GLAAD and HRC. Still with all the issues I have with these organizations I know that they are successfully doing more than selling really cool shirts.

I’ll start off by saying that I feel these organizations are about more than selling shirts and having lavish parties with celebs. I love a great party just like the next gay. And they have done some great work with suicide prevention and made great efforts to end bullying. That work does help save lives and I am always thankful for any measure that saves live and look forward to seeing their techniques advance for the next generation of LGBT people.

But all my praise for these organizations stops there. Any other problems that affect our community are either met with endless delays, fall by the wayside or completely forgotten. Efforts only become about parties and advancing the rights of some members of this community instead of all members.  This train of thought entered my mind again tonight as I was about to do a quick summary about GLAAD teaming up with American Apparel and how this is a great step in giving this community visibility but I’m not too sure I feel that way about it now. I love the simplicity in the shirts and applaud the efforts made by American Apparel but GLAAD’s association with this leaves me with more questions than answers.

Not to be pessimistic but before reading the article my first thoughts were what exactly will GLAAD be doing with the proceeds? Are they donating it to a cause or is this purely for profit? Will they use transgendered men and women in their campaigns? Will all models be a size 28 with chiseled jaws and perfect abs? Kind of sad that those were the first questions that popped into my head when I read about GLAAD’s involvement. But it’s not like those thoughts and concerns aren’t coming from a history that has not been that favorable for them in terms of truly representing this community. Both organizations have done some questionable things in recent years.

I also began to think about how this upcoming week can be a huge week in advancing equality for our community and our society as a whole and if the Supreme Court rules in our favor we will be the closest to being truly recognized as citizens in this country in the eyes of the law.  We are on the cusp of great change within our society, regardless of what the decision the Supreme Court makes this week but somehow it does not feel like a united, uniformed effort. The time is now to work on the issues going on within this community that you and other pompous leader’s parade around saying you know diversity when you clearly don’t. The reason we are stronger as a community is because people are speaking out and standing up no matter what.

Just this year GLAAD named Brett Ratner Ally of the Year for doing a modicum of work. This is was only a year after he was in hot water for using gay slurs during a rehearsal. Think someone was probably more deserving than someone that threw some of his celebrity friends in a video to promote equality. Don’t get me wrong the efforts he made since his comments were admirable as it helped bring more recognition to this community but still not enough for an award many were more deserving of at the time.

It took GLAAD until this year to add transgendered men and women to their official mission statement. My only question is why did it take so long to do this? What possible explanation is there that provides a real authentic answer and not a bunch of red tape and colorful jargon to deter us from recognizing this exclusion.

My point is that one of the biggest problems with organizations like GLAAD and HRC is in how they choose to represent this community. There is little to no diversity in terms of race/ethnicity. Even less lesbian and bisexual representation. And virtually no representation of transgendered at all (unless they are again accused of discriminating against them by not allowing transgendered members in LGBT rallies like they were accused of during the Supreme Court DOMA/Prop 8 hearings). We are tired GLAAD (and HRC as well) of you saying that you are going to do more to show how diverse we truly are but you keep agreeing to ads like this which is the same, nearly monotone aka safe advertising and it has to stop. Is it that hard to have a team of people within your organizations that are willing to do actual research into the real issues of this community or am I and the other concerned members of this community talking to thin air?

I often think about the time of Harvey Milk and how I wish we were seeing the same passionate multifaceted approach of his generation but we are anything other than the successors of this great man. He truly stood for the differences among all of us and it often feels that these organizations don’t. Let’s not forget that in 1995 HRC were perfectly willing to exclude transgender men and women in order to have ENDA passed. So yes this community has a history of struggling to be united when fighting for equal rights. Some may argue that it is the past, but the past sets precedent and when no mass collective effort has been shown to include all members, how else are the rest of us supposed to feel?

Why is it that you and HRC are not working on a more visible campaign for ENDA (Employee Non Discrimination Act)? Why is it barely mentioned and only given a few paragraphs and the only time that you may bring it up is when there is an LGBT member. Why aren’t these organizations using their grand platform to speak to the community to reach out to Senate Democrats who keep stalling out on progressing ENDA through Congress? How much longer will we have to wait before we ensure LGBT members of this country have federal protections against discrimination instead of endless parties, fundraisers where it isn’t made clear where the money is going, and awards to undeserving people? Both groups said virtually nothing during the Immigration Reform Bill as well that excluded LGBT members from receiving the same benefits.

My words are harsh and blunt, but it’s what you need to hear. Maybe I am being so forward because I am waiting with as much anticipation about what this week could mean for us a community and it has me thinking of what else needs to be done that has not been done yet. I know both organizations have done some great work in promoting change and fighting for equality. But we need to do just as much work, if not more within the community. We need to work on these issues now and that starts with talking about them openly and honestly.

If you continually make members of this community who are not gay Caucasian males not feel welcomed or a part of this community then it’s reasonable to be at the very least frustrated with how these organizations operate. Whatever the decision is next week know that we all have so much more to do. We have to do more. So let’s start now.

Chris Pine Talks About Taking On Gay Roles

Of Interest, , , ,

Some of you may know my deep, unwavering love of Chris Pine. The man is just..mmmm. It’s hard for me to disguise my affection for him whenever his name comes up because besides those piercing blue eyes his personality seems to be so endearing and cautiously inquisitive about the world. And in his latest interview in OUT Magazine, you’ll understand why this man fascinates me so much. Here’s more:

Pine reveals he sought out a role in HBO’s adaptation of Larry Kramer’s “The Normal Heart,” which is set to star Julia Roberts, Mark Ruffalo and Matt Bomer, but a deal didn’t work out because of scheduling. “I would have done that in a fucking heartbeat,” he says. “Right now I just want to play good roles, and if the role happens to be a gay man, that’s not of any import other than is it a good story? Does it say something that’s interesting?”

Of his “Star Trek” co-star Zachary Quinto, who came out in a 2011 New York magazine profile, Pine noted, “It was something that I knew about Zach from the moment I met him … It was something that we kind of tiptoed around and I just took it as a given, because that’s what he wanted.”

When Quinto did come out, Pine said he was “so happy for him, oh man. I thought it was rad. It was really, really cool. He did it on his own time, on his own schedule.”

See? What a perfect answer that you want to hear from our straight allies; completely not threatened all the while being supportive and accepting of the various stages we go through.  He’s just..perfect. While I’m here, these are some of my favorite pics from his GQ cover shoot:

chrispine

 

And I don’t know where this is from but dear God, its so hot.

This one too.

chrispineeI want to be his friend so so badly.

 

Comedian And All Around Cool Guy Joel McHale Addresses Gay Rumors

Entertainment, Featured, , , , ,

Actor, TV host and resident comedian Joel McHale has always welcomed jabs at other celebrities. And when presented with the numerous jabs about his sexuality, McHale not only takes it with gumption, but actually feels like it’s a compliment. Here’s more”

Comedian Joel McHale is not bothered by rumors that he is gay. In fact, he takes it as a compliment.

The “Community” star sat down with the Advocate to talk about the fourth season of his NBC show. He previously told the magazine that people think he is gay because he is so well-dressed (you will usually see him in suits and button downs), but he doesn’t take the assumptions as criticisms.

“Oh, I still see that on Twitter every day,” McHale said regarding the gay rumors. “It’s flattering. I always find it really weird when guys flip out over someone thinking they might be gay. If a guy gets offended by that, there’s something’s wrong with him. I take it as a compliment.”

Now how standup is this standup comedian, eh? No. Okay, I’m not the greatest with delivering a comedic jab but in all seriousness I applaud the way that McHale addressed these rumors about being gay. If only others in Hollywood could be so gracious and loving to the LGBT community the world would be a much better place. And look at that body. Thanks Joel for the support!

Beyonce Speaks Out For Same-Sex Marriage: “We all should be able to put a ring on it”

Entertainment, Featured, , , , , , , , , ,

Over the past week during the initial Supreme Court hearings regarding the Prop 8 and DOMA cases calling into the question of banning same sex marriage is unconstitutional, many celebrities voiced their support. We knew we have always had the support of some that spoke up like  music icon Madonna and NFL star from the Baltimore Ravens Brendon Ayanbadejo.

But with others that are given high social status we are not always so sure until recently, as is the case with Beyonce, who finally spoke up in support for same sex marriage. The multifaceted musician, actress, and business mogul took the opportunity to let her fans know that it is time for us as a society to ensure that we all have the right to love whomever we want:

This does come as a big relief to many of her fans that are LGBT and have wondered for so long why she chose to not vocally state what her opinion was on the issue. Coupled with the fact that her husband, Jay-Z has expressed numerous times his support of marriage equality, alongside President Obama last year, Beyonce’s silence did make some wonder if she did not share the same view.

Some believed it was out of fear of how some of her fanbase would react to her supporting same sex marriage. But that would be problematic as a sizable portion of her fans are gay men. Yet Beyonce has never been an artist to give too much credence to the opinion of others, no matter how respect and appreciation she may have for their support so it’s reasonable to believe that this latest gesture is genuine. .

But in typical, methodically honed timing, the triple threat decided to vocalize her opinion in her own way and own time. And that is why we love her. As it should be for anyone, they should be able to express how they feel in whatever way they see fit. Can’t help but respect that.

Madonna Makes A Statement At The GLAAD Awards By Wearing A Boy Scouts Uniform

Entertainment, , , ,

b7e62b428eae11e2b1c522000a9f18eb_7

Innovative and Iconic have always been adjectives to accurately describe music legend and actress Madonna. And just as much as she’s known for her ability to change her musicality she has always been an important and vital ally for the LGBT community. Tonight was no different when she appeared those in attendance to the annual GLAAD Media Awards when Madonna showed up in an altered but still recognizable Boy Scouts uniform, no doubt making the statement to the organization that still bans openly gay members as well as volunteers.  We’jj have her speech up as soon as it’s readily available!

Kristin Chenoweth Just Wants Us Gays To Get Married Already

Entertainment, , , , ,

 

chenoweth

Blunt, sarcastic, with a little bit of funny, Broadway and tv actress Kristin Chenoweth talked about how she feels that we haven’t made enough progress in LGBT equality (and we could not agree more with that sentiment). Here’s more:

Beloved long-time LGBT ally Kristin Chenoweth does not let her Christianity get in the way of her unwavering support for marriage equality.

In an interview with Gay Star News, the Tony and Emmy award-winning star, who’scurrently on tour in the U.K., said: “…I just want it [gay marriage] to hurry up and not be an issue anymore! I’m very proud of the work that has been done so far, I want us to hurry it up a bit more. I think it’s important to say this because a lot of people think if you’re religious or you have any sort of faith, you’re automatically against equality in marriage.”

Chenoweth, who was honored with GLAAD’s Vanguard Award in 2011 and was raised in the southern Baptist church, , went on to call marriage equality the “biggest equal rights issue” in the U.S. and that Christians who oppose same-sex marriage are “very anti-Christian.”

“It is the antithesis of what I believe. It is the antithesis of what you should believe if you believe in Jesus. It’s not what he taught, it’s the opposite of what he taught,” Chenoweth said. “If Jesus was to walk the Earth today, or Buddha or anybody, they would be horrified. Those people saying they’re doing it in the name of God? No no no no no.”

I love how Chenoweth is openly speaking out how bigotry is the exact opposite of what many faiths, including Christianity, were founded on. Take a note GLAAD, this woman is what a real ally that you should be praising more looks like. Not some guy that made a few videos.

WOOF! Come Stare At Tyson Beckford & Rob Evans While It Rains

Of Interest, , , , , , ,

evans15 It has been a hectic week for everyone. I don’t know if it’s because of Mercury being in retrograde, or the full moon or all the gloomy whether but everyone has been so tense. So I decided to listen to some music and relax and a Toni Braxton song came on and I began fantasizing about one of her videos. You know the one where she’s talking about love while channeling Barbara Streisand. And her love interest was Tyson Beckford. One of the HOTTEST MALE MODELS EVER.
beckford5

This man just screams pure, hot, steamy sex. I mean what else do I need to say here? Let’s continue to some of this best work

beckford7

 

This of course from that infamous music video.  Sigh

beckford2This is sorta what he looked like in the dream I had last week when Beckford, along with Chris Pine and Colin Farrell were all a part of my quartet that completely seduced the audience and it. was. AMAZING. I bet the words just linger off his lips. And let’s not forget that Beckford was the host of the tv show that started the incredibly hot Ronnie Kroell and his career so we have to show this man some respect.

bevkford8

 

And to think this smoldering good looks that just seduce you to thinks you’ll say you regret the next morning *but in fact you were wanting to do those things all along. Plus Beckford helped influence this guy’s career

evans12

 

Rob Evans. Another insanely hot international model that has that smolder down to an artform and just makes certain things..harder for us.

evans11

Sporty and maybe a little dangerous. The good kind. He just probably makes it all seem bad. And can we talk about these please?!

evans1

 

And this one

evans7

Mmmmmmmm

evans9

 

Makes crappy days like this more bearable. And hotter.

 

Creator Of Spartacus: Blood And Sand Steven DeKnight Wards Off Homophobia On Twitter

Entertainment, Tweet Of The Day, , , , , , , , ,

DeKnight_Inked

I always try to find people that stand out and exemplify what an advocate for the LGBT community that don’t get enough recognition. And creator, writer of the STARZ hit Spartacus series Steven DeKnight is one of those people. He doesn’t do it as some in thing to do. He supports LGBT rights because like us, he knows that they are human rights. The Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel writer does an incredible job as a straight man illustrating gay men and women because he understands that we the same as everyone else.

DeKnight has dealt with relentless homophobia from so called fans of the series because of the fearless approach he takes in developing LGBT characters and their love lives. Most notably the homophobia comes as a result of the story of Agron And Nassir, two men that are high ranking generals in Spartacus’ rebellion against Rome. Some fans have been bold (or ignorant or both) to criticize how authentic the relationship is because of their love scenes as well as day to day interactions that every couple have each day.

DeKnight is quick to call out homophobia on twitter. Usually with a quick quip or flat out blunt honesty, he gets across that he is not a fan of bigotry or hate in any form. Even today he commented on an asinine tweet asking him to diminish the gay soldiers’ role on the hit tv drama. Here’s a few examples you can see on his twitter page:

deknight2

deknight1

 

He even takes the naysayers to task on Facebook, setting boisterous derelicts with nothing better to do than to disparage how two people should be able to express love to each other in whatever way they so choose:

It’s not hard to find examples of DeKnight’s honesty and compassion for equal rights. And that is what makes him an advocate and an ally to our community.  Thanks again Steven for all that you do. Gratitude.

..plus he’s worked with Joss Whedon so that makes him extra cool.

Let’s Hear About How James Franco Doesn’t Have A Gag Reflex

Entertainment, , ,

James-3-james-franco-3943659-1000-1253

Known to be off the cuff and even what some called brazen, actor James Franco has never been one to be short on details about anything. Ever. And today is not different as he goes in depth about his innate talent to shove things down his throat without puking…I have no idea why that may interest some gay men. I’m kidding naturally. Here’s more from HuffPost

In “Spring Breakers,” Franco is shown deepthroating a pistol, an action he spoke to Details about. “Guess I’m a natural,” he said. “It was my first time.” After an interviewer reminds Franco of his role in “Broken Tower,” the actor responds, “Oh sh-t, you’re right! It wasn’t my first time.”

He also spoke to Details about his character in the film, Alien, saying, “Alien and that film are having their cake and eating it. Engaging with pop culture, but also going deeper. Alien is what happens if we get all our wishes: unrestrained consumerism, ego, id, sex …”

“Spring Breakers” has been the subject of endless buzz as of late. Franco’s deepthroating scene is just the beginning, as the film includes the threesomes and debauchery that Americans and MTV viewers have come to associate with the annual collegiate migration.

Despite his eccentricities and what some call questionable approach I appreciate an actor that does not feel inhibited by gay culture, gay characterization or gay anything. In fact he seems completely at ease with it. As it should be. Is it bad that I want to see him do this? No shame (okay maybe a little and that makes this whole thing that more tantalizing)