LGBTQ news and entertainment
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| Photo by Jason Russo |
In order to celebrate the 30th anniversary of disco classic “It’s Raining Men,” Sony Music decided to re-release the single with an album cover photographed by Mike Ruiz. And what better way to celebrate the hit than by placing its original singer in the center of a bunch of half-naked, oiled-up muscle-men?
Let it rain, kids, let it rain.
More at Out.com
The United States has never had a publicly out male gymnast participate in the Olympics. Josh Dixon hopes to be the first.
The Stanford grad took a big step toward that goal at the U.S. Men’s Qualifier on Saturday in Colorado Springs, finishing second overall out of the 72 competitors. He also tied for wins in two events: floor exercise and high bar. It was a game-changing come-back performance for Dixon, who tore his Achilles tendon last spring.
Now Dixon is talking about his personal life and sexual orientation publicly for the first time. Like charging at the vault, he’s coming at it at full speed.
Even as he gets closer to his Olympic dreams, and his focus narrows more than ever on his training and competition, Dixon is ready to talk about his sexual orientation.
In his sophomore year at Stanford, one of his best friends on the gymnastics team at the University of Illinois came out to him. Dixon reciprocated the revelation; Instantly, they had a mutual support structure with another gay collegiate athlete.
When he started exploring his sexuality in his junior year, he quickly learned he wasn’t the only gay male athlete at Stanford, as he was soon dating another varsity athlete. When some members of the gymnastics team noticed Dixon was spending a lot of time with one particular friend, Dixon said they were quite comfortable bringing it up.
“Who’s this guy you’ve been hanging out with?” One of them asked.
Josh told them he was dating the other male student.
“Oh that’s cool,” was the response.
In fact, Dixon said he has not had a single negative response “in any way, shape or form.” If anything, the only homophobia he has encountered has been from within himself. He acknowledges he once felt internal pressure about being a gay man in what some label the “gay sport” of gymnastics. He didn’t want to fall into a stereotype. But he’s come to embrace it, and he says his sexual orientation now makes him stand out more at the elite level. While he stands out, he isn’t the only one. Dixon knows of at least three more still competing in college, and he says he is not the only elite-level American gymnast who is gay.
(via outsports.com)
This has been the news all day today.
You can imagine the folks behind the scenes of the campaign preparing to slice and dice every comma and period of each statement coming out so it doesn’t offend one group but also keeps support for others (and you know who I mean).
Good for Andrea Mitchell for patiently waiting to specifically ask the question she was getting to. What a pro.
A letter was published today on the internet that came from then-senate candidate Mitt Romney that was written to the Log Cabin Republicans in 1994.
While we’ve all heard about Romney’s flip-flopping, the letter is kind of stunning in it’s clarity of how “then” Mitt Romney supported rights for gays and lesbians – specifically on the issues of gays in the military and ENDA (Employment Non-discrimination Act).
In the letter he promises – if elected – to co-sponsor ENDA and actually broaden the bill to include housing and credit, and the bill to create a federal panel to find ways to reduce gay and lesbian youth suicide.
He goes on to say that, regarding DADT, “it is the first of a number of steps that will ultimately lead to gays and lesbians being able to serve openly and honestly in our nation’s military. That goal will only be reached when preventing discrimination against gays and lesbians is a mainstream concern, which is a goal we share.”
Where is this Mitt Romney today? And what – other than political considerations – would change his mind on these subjects?
NBC Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd on Monday predicted that President Barack Obama would announce his support for marriage equality before the November election because LGBT donors had become more important to his campaign than Wall Street donors.
“They are so sensitive to Biden doing this because, number one, gay money in this election has replaced Wall Street money,” Todd explained. “What I keep being told is [President Barack Obama is] not ever going to announce his change in his position at a press conference. He’ll do it a more appropriate venue.”
NBC host David Gregory agreed: “I think they are moving this closer and closer to the edge, and things like this are going to happen, that they are going to find these opportunities where they are much more forward-leaning and it’s very difficult to walk back. So I don’t know how they ultimately choreograph this. But the expectation is if they get into a second term, that’s when it will be done.”
But Todd argued that support for marriage equality would come well before Obama’s second term.
“I think this forces the conversation,” the chief White House correspondent said. “I think they do it sooner. I think it will be before the convention.”
(source)
I love Tom Goss, his music AND his sense of humor.
Watch Tom play his song “I Do” not only at a different tempo than written but also with cow bell and train whistle. The fact that Tom would rock and roll with such a scenario just makes me laugh.
Rise Up Against Amendment One
From the YouTube page: A chorus of voices have arisen over the past few months to warn North Carolinians of the harms of Amendment One.
Watch this video, share it, and vote AGAINST Amendment One on Tuesday, May 8th.
Polls aren’t looking good. When people understand exactly what the amendment does more oppose it than support it, but not enough folks seem to know all the facts. Ugh.
In the first Gallup Swing States Poll since Romney became the presumptive GOP nominee, President Obama leads Romney 47%-45%.
Romney also seems to lag in the enthusiasm department: among who see themselves as “very” or “extremely” enthusiastic for their candidate, President Obama leads Romney 55%-46%.
The enthusiasm gap could be significant on election day in terms of “getting out the vote.”
We’ll see…
Returns June 10th.
Does it seem to you something big is coming on this issue?
Vice President, Education Secretary, Housing Secretary…
These seem like the opening act to something.
And you know what I mean. Stay tuned.