Madonna discusses the Boy Scouts ban on gay members and presents the Vito Russo Award to Anderson Cooper earlier this month. Note that Madonna expresses herself quite freely so keep that in mind when / if you watch the clip.
The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their lives.
The Theater Offensive’s annual fundraiser ClimACTS! Unbound is later this week on Wednesday, March 20th. This year’s fundraiser includes an incredible line up including, drag performer, Sherry Vine, as emcee and performances by New England native, Cazwell and comedienne Marga Gomez.
More about the Theater Offensive: The Theater Offensive’s mission is to form and present the diverse realities of queer lives in art so bold it breaks through personal isolation and political orthodoxy to help build an honest, progressive community.
Hillary Clinton has made a video for the Human Rights Campaign to voice her support for marriage equality. This follows her vocal support for gay rights that she voiced as Secretary of State. If you’ve not seen this video, check it out here.
Be sure to get your daily dose of green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.
I’m not a huge fan of denim shirts, but Chad White can wear just about anything and get my attention.
The Boy Scouts ban on gays which has increasingly seemed out of step with their own values (let alone the general public’s perception) has been the subject of much scrutiny and the butt of many jokes. Ellen DeGeneres perhaps put it best when she said on her popular TV show earlier this year, “…they won’t let their members be gay or openly gay anyway, but they’re letting them wear neckerchiefs and green short shorts?”
However, it is entrepreneur and philanthropist, Bill Gates, a former Boy Scout, who put it best when he was asked earlier this week at the first installment of Politico’s new interview series, Playbook Cocktails, if he believed the organization should move forward with lifting the ban on gay members.
Gates quickly responded “absolutely” and when Politico’s D.C. bureau chief Mike Allen asked “Why?” Perhaps it was his delivery or how succinct, but I loved his response.
“Because it’s 2013.”
Bill and Melinda Gates (as well as the company he founded, Microsoft) have long been supporters of LGBT rights, but I never have taken his stalwart support for granted and neither should you. While Ellen can woo America (and thank God she does), business leaders like Gates and others have made being gay okay in corporate America and we owe them a debt for their support. They have done more to advance and protect LGBT rights in the workforce than they get credit for. Keep in mind that you may be fired if you are gay in 29 states in this country. So whether it is regarding a Boy Scouts ban or legislation that allows discrimination, I’d like to point out I’m fed up with writing about these issues… “Because it’s 2013”.
Keeping with the theme of my previous post, I figured it was time to publish another “suddenly it makes sense”. I can’t think of a better way to drive home the point that there are elements in all sporting events that are more gay than an episode of Ru Paul’s Drag Race.
Many American children grow up idolizing athletes who play professional sports. Recently, there has been a lot of conversation about homophobia in American sports so I was intrigued when I saw Conor Gaughan’s article on HuffPost Gay, Out of the closet and into the locker room: The business of coming out in the pros.
The growing acceptance of our small minority in the US means that it is not a question of “if” someone comes out but “when” and all signs seem to point to a time sooner rather than later – in spite of some senseless comments by professional athletes who are “uncomfortable” about having a homosexual in their locker room – to which my only response is “you’ve got to be kidding me.”
Would there be a financial incentive to cash out because of their status as an out professional athlete who is playing in a major sport in the US? Perhaps but earlier this month I wrote about Ben Cohen (a retired professional rugby star) who commented that a fellow competitor, Gareth Thomas, was rumored to have been dropped by Reebok because he is gay. It is hard to say exactly what the response would be for that first athlete to come out but it seems like for the first time advertisers and media are ready and you know what, I think America is too.
This isn’t exactly the reason why this popular chain is often referred to as homo depot, but then again its not exactly doing anything to discredit the nick name either. I’ll meet you in aisle 15.
Recently it came to my attention that a very good friend has been struggling to have his family accept the fact that he’s gay. While his family is Roman Catholic, I don’t buy the fact that it is his family’s personal faith – despite the church’s teachings one can see in poll after poll that Roman Catholics support gay marriage by a larger margin than American voters. Tens of millions of devout Catholics have concluded that the church is out of step on this issue.
I’ve concluded (perhaps incorrectly) that his family must view his sexuality as a matter of choice, which really sets my head spinning. I can’t figure out how one comes to such a conclusion. It seems like such an illogical argument. Do heterosexuals struggle with their sexual identity so much so that they think its a choice we all make? If that is the case, I would appreciate the chance to lobby Ben Affleck and George Clooney to reconsider their choice. I can make a persuasive argument to stop choosing to be heterosexual – but I digress.
Really the only choice a gay / lesbian / bisexual person has is will they be honest to themselves and those people in their life. Whatever the outcome of my friend’s on going dialog with his family, I applaud him, and I hope he finds peace.
The Fenway Health Clinic hosted their annual Men’s Event this weekend in Boston. The event, which raised more than a half million dollars, draws more than 1,300 gay men and their allies. This year Marc Solomon was recognized with the Congressman Gerry E. Studds award.
Marc is currently the national campaign director for Freedom to Marry but is best known here in Massachusetts for serving as executive director for Mass Equality.
The sold out evening was a success for The Fenway Health Clinic, which will now focus on the upcoming Women’s Dinner Party next month. If you missed this year’s Men’s Event but would like to make a donation, link here.
As usual, I’ve created a video based on the photos taken by Sergio. Apologies in advance but it seems YouTube won’t allow this to be viewed on phones 😦
As much as I love Boston, I realize you will never hear someone say “I love Boston’s nightlife”. My fair city’s nightlife ranks right up there (or should I say down there) with our weather. That doesn’t mean Boston lacks great bars, but it does mean you may have to go and hunt for them on occasion. Keeping that in mind, I was pleasantly surprised to learn each Sunday night Ecco Restaurant and Martini Bar in East Boston gets a friendly gay crowd who sip martinis and chat with friends and acquaintances. Who would’ve thunk it? East Boston?
Apparently there is a group on Facebook for anyone living in or near East Boston, that you may want to “like” (I did) to keep you posted on updates like when the GLBT community in that neighborhood congregate to sip martinis.
Later tonight I’ll be dusting off my tuxedo as Sergio and I make ready to attend the annual fund raiser for Fenway Health Clinic – The Men’s Event. The Fenway as most refer to it here in Boston is one of the largest most comprehensive clinics focused on GLBT health issues in the country.
I’ve often jokingly referred to this annual event as the “gay prom” but it does serve an important purpose to help The Fenway raise unrestricted dollars to help fund research and programs that are important to our community here in Boston and beyond. I’ve included a video from last year’s party to share a bit of what is in store tonight.
BosGuy 