One of the most common questions and objections of those who oppose gay marriage is: “How do I explain it to my children?” American comedian Jimmy Kimmel decided to turn the question directly to children on the streets. Their answers are delicious and of course, in Jimmy Kimmel’s style, absolutely hilarious!
The Airbnb Video That Invites To Host LGBT Couples
Celebration of “traveling to open your mind” also towards those who host LGBT families or couples, this video published by Airbnb in coincidence with the legalization of gay marriage in the USA has generated appreciation and many controversies, as it was easy to imagine.
It actually highlights a big problem for LGBT travelers: being able to simply be themselves anywhere in the world. A desire still far from being reality. This is why it is #HostWithPride, it proudly hosts the hashtag / appeal addressed to users of the widely used app, this year sponsoring the San Francisco Pride for the second consecutive year.
Queer Short Film, Pink Moon
In a society where heterosexuals are persecuted and abortion is forbidden, two teens are forced to hide.
Brandon Tyler Harris, Thomas Roberts, Cole Johnston, Adam Jepsen, Sandy York, Shawn Parr, and Riley Suter, confronts the issues of bullying, LGBTI equality, and abortion / reproductive rights.
Winner: Best Short Film (Big Apple Film Festival)
Date: 2015-06-22 21:15:07
Duration: 00:17:35
Anticipation grows for ‘Girl/Girl Scene’ season two
If you haven’t seen the series, Girl/Girl Scene, you have time to catch up on season one episodes before the season two release in July. Girl/Girl Scene premiered their first 45 minute episode in June 2010 and quickly garnered the attention of the LGBT community, gaining instant fans.
Tucky Williams is the creator, writer and lead actress of the series. She started in the industry after auditioning for the indie horror film, Shadows Light where she not only landed her first role but also was cast as the female lead. Unfortunately, a common story among actresses emerged; she was not getting parts she related to or wanted to play. That’s when executive producer and friend Nick Brown stepped in and encouraged her to write. She wrote the first episode the night they spoke and he helped her to its fruition. “We had just made the first episode and I was surprised it even got made, and we put it out online and all my wildest dreams came true and people loved it, and embraced it, and watched it; and I still can’t believe that it happened to me; that I got so lucky; to find that success so quickly,” said Williams.
The show is shot guerilla-style in her home state of Kentucky and has no budget or affiliation to a studio or TV network. “I’m really lucky to have the talented cast and crew that we have,” Williams said. “We have very limited amounts of money. The show is very low budget and I watched the dailies and they’re beautiful. We have this amazing talent; we do have this tiny budget and it looks like we have a huge budget; so we’d love to have more money to put into it but … we’ve done so much with so little,” Williams continued.
Most recently, Williams caught the eye of producers from Showtime’s The Real L Word. They mic’d her during a New York engagement and during her hosting gig at The Dinah in Palm Springs this year. “I don’t think I was cast, it was more like I was there, and I wasn’t going to be a dick and say no you can’t mic me and you can’t put me on camera,” said Williams. The impromptu appearance on the show seemed to confuse the members of The Real L Word, that hadn’t seen Girl/Girl Scene. They looked on quizzically as her fans approached her for pictures and hugs. She imagined they thought she was someone’s girlfriend.
The Dinah event in Palm Springs also lead to the casting of American pornographic actress and lobbyist for the adult entertainment industry, Kayden Kross. “I met Tucky on one of the red carpets at the Dinah last year. I was hosting the special for Here! TV and she was walking it and we kinda met mouth first. There’s YouTube footage,” said Kross. “Her producer emailed me out of the blue and asked if I’d be interested. I figured it would be fun and had the free time.” In comparison to her day job, Kross found some similarities and differences, “The mood seemed very similar though. For the most part it’s relaxed and there is a cohesiveness in the group effort involved in getting wrapped on time. The difference is we don’t wrap on time on porn sets,” said Kross.
Another new member to the cast is Abisha Uhl from the band Sick of Sarah. “The first time I met her she ran up to me and gave me a hug; she was just really sweet and so I asked her to be on the show in episode eight, and we flew her out here and she did one scene and I was like, ‘Oh My God’ because she was amazing, and so then she became a cast member in season two, because she was that good; she’s hilarious,” said Williams.
That one episode has Uhl’s music fans eager for more; so much so that a promo photo of Uhl and Williams kissing spread like wildfire on Tumblr and viewership instantly increased. “Well, they haven’t even seen much yet, but so far the response has been great! I’m thinking they like seeing me kiss girls. My character really develops more this next season. I’m excited for the response,” said Uhl. With acting experience under her belt and touring with her band, expect to see more of Uhl. “I would love to do both. My band is my main thing, but acting is something I’ve always wanted to explore,” Uhl added.
“I think we’re just taking it up a level and it’s the same show and at the same time it’s more fun, more engaging, but we still take it to those dark places plus we got some really really awesome new cast members for season two” says Williams, enthusiastically. One of the themes that will be explored in season two is epilepsy which she hopes more public figures will speak out about. “So many people are in the closet about having it and it makes me crazy because [there’s] just such a stigma over it,” explains Williams.
As the anticipation for the new season grows there are two things to learn from Williams, Uhl and Kross. One, if you want to be on Girl/Girl Scene make sure to give Williams a kiss and/or hug when you see her and two, if you want something, go for it, live your dreams and if you’re good, the fans will follow.
You can watch Girl/Girl Scene on blip.tv, girlgirlscene.blip.tv and/or on GGS’ official Web site, girlgirlscene.com. For more about Tucky Williams go to tuckywilliams.com.
For more information about Kayden Kross go to clubkayden.com and/or follow her on Twitter @kayden_kross.
For more information about Abisha Uhl and her band, Sick of Sarah, go to sickofsarah.com.
Short URL: http://lgbtweekly.com/?p=24847
For one openly gay Muslim, a pilgrimage to Mecca carries threat of death
The struggles normally associated with making an independent documentary are largely associated with costs; the cost of paying for equipment and rentals, the cost of paying the actors and crew and keeping them fed, the costs associated with marketing and promoting the film. But for openly gay Muslim, Parvez Sharma, the costs associated with making his documentary A Sinner in Mecca included the very real threats to his life. “For a gay filmmaker, filming in Saudi Arabia presents two serious challenges: filming is forbidden in the country and homosexuality is punishable by death.”
The documentary, which filmed, among other things, the mass pilgrimage to Mecca by Muslims – known as the “Hajj” – with two smuggled cameras and iPhone, put the Indian-born filmmaker in constant fear for his safety. But, as he told the Indian portal Scroll.in recently: “As a filmmaker and an activist intent on reforming Islam, it was important for me to challenge Saudi authority ‒ this is the most corrupt and secretive regime in Islam and they have an insidious and longstanding project to export their version of an 18th century Islam called Wahabi Islam, which is an Islam of fear. It is an Islam that reserves the death penalty for openly gay Muslims like me.”
And according to OpposingViews.com, which picked up on the story, the film also explores “the brash commercialization of the five-day Hajj experience, the harsh treatment of Shia Muslims by Sunni Muslims and the filthy conditions created by the mass overcrowding for the event, which Muslims are expected to attend at least once in their lives.”
Meanwhile, The Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival has implemented strict security measures for next week’s world premiere of A Sinner in Mecca. Hot Docs Communications Director Jonathan Da Silva told The Hollywood Reporter about hiring personal security for Sharma, “Hot Docs strives to ensure that all guests feel safe and secure while attending the festival, and out of an abundance of caution we felt this measure was appropriate.”
Short URL: http://lgbtweekly.com/?p=59632
Appeal For Trans Sex Worker
A crowdsourcing campaign has been launched after CJ Palmer — the HIV-positive transgender sex worker arrested in Sydney recently after a client made an HIV transmission allegation — was denied bail and detained in a male prison in Perth.
Managed by peer-led advocacy group People for Sex Worker Rights in Western Australia, the online appeal aims to raise $7,000 so that Palmer’s family (who live overseas) can be flown to WA to support her. A report for the Guardian describes Palmer as being “very distressed” amid fears she may be put in solitary confinement.
While Sex Worker Rights WA cannot comment on a case before the courts, its president, Rebecca Davies, said: “We have continually seen, both within Australia and globally, that prosecuting people for cases of this nature result in poorer public health outcomes, and a reduction in people going in for sexual health testing.”
Davies also criticised the media reporting of the Palmer case. “It has been extremely disappointing to see the media actively encouraging stigma towards people living with HIV, transgender women and sex workers,” she said. “Such reporting only serves to create fear and misinformation, when it should highlight the need for drastic improvement in public health sex education.”
Gay Star Network AU
Former BP CEO, Lord Browne invests in Gay Star News
LGBTI Web site, Gay Star News announced today that former BP CEO Lord Browne of Madingley has become a shareholder in the business, taking a 12.5% stake.
Seven years after his resignation as CEO of BP, Lord Browne wrote The Glass Closet, a book about the acceptance and inclusion of LGBT people in business. He has since become a high profile advocate for greater openness in the corporate world.
Lord Browne said: ‘When I wrote The Glass Closet, I always hoped that it would grow into something more than just a book. Gay Star News provides the perfect platform for that growth.
‘I am looking forward to bringing the messages of The Glass Closet to a wider audience, supporting Gay Star News in its next phase of development, and improving the environment for LGBT people in business around the world.’
Tris Reid Smith, editor and co-founder of Gay Star News which is headquartered in London said: ‘I am immensely proud we have a business leader of the international standing of Lord Browne joining our team of shareholders.
‘This is a milestone in the development of Gay Star News – coming after a January in which we celebrated our third anniversary and saw over 5 million readers visit the site.
‘Lord Browne’s involvement will help us offer even more to readers, clients and stakeholders.’
Short URL: http://lgbtweekly.com/?p=56409
Japanese transgender couple… Japan LGBT community
Japanese transgender couple promise and reality of country’s LGBT community
Step by seemingly immeasurable step, Japan is beginning to acknowledge its country’s sexual minorities, an act at once both radical and surprisingly belated. And no one seems to represent those conflicted cultural strains more emblematically than 26-year-old Kazuki Osawa and his partner Shoi Osawa, a childhood friend. What makes this relationship so different is that Kazuki was born a girl and given the birth name Yumiko Higuchi.
“As a teenager, it gradually dawned on me that I was not normal. And the idea that I would have to live the rest of my life pretending to be the person I’m not, in conformity with others, tore me apart,” said Osawa.
But in a country known for its relative stability, any act of non-conformity is considered subversive. And nothing appears quite as subversive as declaring oneself a member of the LGBT community. So much so that TV shows routinely humiliate the LGBT community by depicting men as swishy eccentrics and lesbians and tool-toting, hyper-aggressive women. It’s a message that goes unchallenged in a nation unaccustomed to challenging well-established societal boundaries. And to drive that point home, the message is pervasive, not only in the lack of any meaningful civil protections for the LGBT community but that fact that bullying and intimidation are understood to be a consequence for going against the grain.
“In Japan, once you’re branded abnormal, it’s almost impossible to start over again,” he said, noting the nation’s conformist culture often makes sexual minorities balk at coming out for fear of discrimination.
But things are changing. According to JapanTimes.co.jp, an increasing number of companies and municipalities are open to greater diversity and [becoming] more tolerant toward members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population. Thursday, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo (which has one of the highest concentrations of Japanese LGBT members), unveiled its as yet unapproved proposal to issue certificates declaring relationships of its same-sex couples being “equivalent to marriage,” an unprecedented move that, if realized, is expected to make life significantly easier for LGBT ward residents. (Many believe it will be approved. No vocal opposition has been mounted or is expected.)
But while this may seem like a historic first step, the realities are far less encouraging, the paper notes: “Equality Forum, a Philadelphia-based nongovernmental organization seeking to enhance the civil rights of LGBT ranks, reported in 2012 that a record 484, or 96.8 percent, of the top 500 companies ranked by Fortune magazine included sexual orientation in their employment nondiscrimination policies. In contrast, a 2014 survey on corporate social responsibility conducted by Japanese business magazine Toyo Keizai showed that 114, or just 18.7 out of 607 major listed companies in Japan, make efforts to protect their LGBT employees.”
Meanwhile, Kazuki and Shoi are taking the route many same-sex couples take who cannot have their relationships recognized by the state. They are adopting a child. As a result, they can register with the koseki family registry unit. This allows them to be treated as immediate family if one of them should be hospitalized. (The koseki family registry is required by Japanese law. All households are legally bound to report births, acknowledgements of paternity, adoptions, disruptions of adoptions, deaths, marriages and divorces of Japanese citizens to their local authority.)
“Some people dismiss same-sex marriage as meaningless because we wouldn’t be able to make babies,” Shoi said. “But a lot of opposite-sex couples in Japan opt not to have kids and are still allowed to marry. It’s unfair that we’re not.”
Short URL: http://lgbtweekly.com/?p=56466
Top UK department store goes gender neutral
Selfridges, one of the U.K.’s top department stores in London’s Oxford Street is going gender neutral the Huffington Post reports.
The high-end store is removing its separate men and women’s departments and will instead have three floors of unisex clothing, according to The Daily Mail. Some of the brands featured will include KTZ, Trapstar and Hood By Air.
According to Selfridges management the move comes in response to the large number of women buying men’s clothing.
Selfridges isn’t stopping at clothing. The store will also say farewell to its current mannequins and revamp its beauty products and accessories.
“We want to take our customers on a journey where they can shop and dress without limitations or stereotypes,” Selfridges told The Times Of London. “A space where clothing is no longer imbued with directive gender values, enabling fashion to exist as a purer expression of ‘self.”’
Chinese face first ever gay workplace discrimination lawsuit
In what is believed to be the first of its kind, ChinaPost.com.tw is reporting that a man, known pseudonymously as Mu Yi, has filed a 50,000 yuan (US$8,000) gay discrimination lawsuit against a former employer after a video he was in went viral revealing his sexual orientation. “We’re very optimistic,” Liu Xiaohu, a lawyer for the plaintiff, told Agency France Presse (AFP), adding that the case “will definitely have an impact” on views of gay rights in China.
Mu, who is gay, was filmed by police in October arguing with another gay man on a Shenzhen street. The video went viral soon after it was posted online, with some users making their own videos playing on a speech made by the other participant in the dispute, who was wearing a “little red hat.” A week later, Mu was fired from his job as a designer.
Currently, there are no workplace protections for the Chinese LGBT community. Furthermore, despite growing acceptance in the larger metropolitan cities, this still deeply conservative nation frowns upon homosexuality.
For their part, the employer, who was not identified in the report, maintains that Mu’s firing was not linked to his sexual orientation, and says it dismissed him for reasons including his “poor service attitude” and improper attire.
In a study in 2010 by Tom Mountford entitled, “China: The Legal Position and Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People in the People’s Republic of China,” he noted that: “the Chinese government has remained largely silent on the issue of homosexuality. That silence has had two main effects. First, it has stalled any further developments in removing legal discrimination against LGBT people in China. Secondly, it means that the legal status and position of LGBT people is unclear, with varying official treatment across different parts of China.”
The ‘Little Red Hat’ case is expected to be decided in the next three months and could have enormous repercussions.
