LGBTQ news and entertainment
Lawmakers in France have approved a new law banning the dangerous practice of ‘conversion therapy’ which attempts to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ people. Continue reading “France Bans Harmful, Dangerous Conversion Therapy”
In this week’s episode of The Randy Report podcast: • Chile and Switzerland approve marriage equality, and Tokyo takes a step forward Continue reading “Podcast: Marriage Equality Approved, Conversion Therapy Banned, And More”
Some news items you might have missed: • CTV: Conversion therapy will soon be banned across Canada after Bill C-4 has now cleared both the House of Commons and Senate without changes, in just over a week. Once it receives royal assent, the bill will become law. Continue reading “News Round-Up: December 7, 2021”
Some news items you might have missed: • Pink News: Kataluna Enriquez (above) made history when she was crowned Miss Nevada USA, qualifying her for the Miss USA pageant. Until last night, the competition had never had an out transgender woman walk the runway. While she didn’t make the final 16, she represented with pride. Continue reading “News Round-Up: November 30, 2021”
Actor/singer Demi Lovato (screen capture)
• CBS News: Fox News Media filed a motion to dismiss a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed against it by Dominion Voting Systems over false claims about the 2020 presidential election amplified by some of its hosts. The motion laughingly says Fox’s “responsible journalists covered both sides” of the controversy and that the network’s opinion hosts provided commentary which “a reasonable viewer” would consider as little more than “hyperbole.” • Twitter: Rep. Tim Ryan was DONE with Republican House members who voted against a bipartisan commission to investigate the January invasion of the U.S. Capitol building. The measure passed by a vote of 252-175, with 35 Republicans joining Democrats in supporting the plan. Note – Rep. Greg Pence (R-IN), brother of former Vice President Mike Pence, voted against the bill even though the rioters on January 6 called for hanging his brother.
stop what you are doing and watch this pic.twitter.com/YvPTekXNgR
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) May 19, 2021
Queen Elizabeth II (photo: Depositphotos)
“Measures will be brought forward to address racial and ethnic disparities and ban conversion therapy,” said the Queen.
She added that the government will “strengthen and renew democracy and the constitution” as well as “protect freedom of speech and restore the balance of power between the executive, legislature and the courts.”
Following the Queen’s speech, Liz Truss, Minister for Women and Equalities, confirmed that the legislation would come to fruition after a public consultation.
“As a global leader on LGBT+ rights, this government has always been committed to stamping out the practice of conversion therapy,” she said.
Back in 2019, then-Prime Minister Teresa May pledged to end conversion therapy, but no meaningful action came about. Current Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been pretty silent on the issue except to call the practice “absolutely abhorrent” during a school visit last year. Read the full article at Gay Times. As I’ve reported here many times, conversion therapy, also known as ‘ex-gay therapy,’ has been widely denounced as discredited pseudoscience by leading professional medical associations including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychological Association. Studies have shown that the controversial practice can lead to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness, and suicide.
A group of lawmakers in North Carolina has proposed a package of 4 bills that would improve life for LGBTQ people in the state. The first bill would repeal House Bill 2, also known as the state’s ‘bathroom bill.’ The second piece of legislation would put into place statewide non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people. The third bill would outlaw so-called ‘conversion therapy,’ the dangerous pseudo-science that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. And the fourth bill would prohibit the use of the ‘gay panic’ or ‘trans panic’ defense in legal cases which attempts to justify killing or harming someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. “No one should worry that they can’t buy a home because of who they love or be denied a haircut or a hotel room because of their gender identity,” Rep. Vernetta Alston (D-District 29) told the local ABC News affiliate. Kendra Johnson of Equality NC added, “For too long LGBTQ North Carolinians have lived in the shadow of archaic and outdated laws that impact everyone in our community.” Lawmakers say they are ‘hopeful’ the bills have momentum to pass, but I’ll note that the Republican-controlled state legislature hasn’t previously given queer people much to believe in.
Josh O’Connor & Alec Secareanu in God’s Own Country (promo photo)
• Stonewall Gazette: The veteran LGBTQ blog has returned to the interwebs! Make sure you click over to check out all the content over at Stonewall Gazette. • NBC News: The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced 16 nominees for its 2021 class of inductees. The ultimate inductees for the 36th annual class will be announced in May, with honors set for the fall. 
The 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees
• Instinct Magazine: Dolly Parton has announced she will (finally) guest-star on the upcoming season of Netflix’s Grace and Frankie with former 9 to 5 co-stars Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda. • BosGuy: It’s Furry Friday over at the Boston-based LGBTQ blog and this week features the oh-so-woofy and talented Craig Ramsay. More at the link.
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Merry merry and happy Christmas Eve!
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• Politico: The U.S. has struck a deal with Pfizer to purchase another 100 million doses of the company’s COVID vaccine. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech said they can supply 70 million doses by June 30, 2021, with the remaining 30 million doses delivered by the end of July. • Talking Points Memo: The White House went out of its way to declare Donald Trump was in meetings and working today.
After the White House went out of its way to say President Trump had many meetings and calls today, without listing any, @petermorrisCNN got video of him on the golf course. pic.twitter.com/x3jtrUOMmH
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) December 24, 2020
Dr. Jake Jacob (image via Instagram)Dr. Jake Jacob, an openly gay physician, recently reflected on social media about his process of severing ties with the Mormon Church specifically his decision to stop wearing his ‘temple garments.’
Posting a photo clad in just a white t-shirt and briefs, the beefy doc shared with his 278K Instagram followers that it has been 12 years since he decided to stop wearing the ‘magic underwear’ noting “it made no sense since I was having sex with men which is a mortal sin against the Mormon church’s teachings.”
But rather than a sad moment of reflection, Jacob recalls the decision as “life-altering physically, emotionally, and spiritually.”
“It was my last physical reminder, for good or bad, of my ties to childhood religion,” he continued. “It was liberating for my body to finally remove the oppressive clothing that insisted I always stay covered instead of celebrating the body God gave me.”
For the hunky 39-year-old, shedding the garments represented discarding unnecessary shame and self-loathing that he’d carried for years about who he was and a part of himself that he “can’t and shouldn’t change.”
“It was a necessary step in overcoming years of conversion therapy that taught me I was broken and somehow God was supposed to fix me if I was righteous enough, an ever-moving impossible goal post,” he added.
Jacob also recalled the feeling of “sliding into my sheets without any clothes the first night I felt freedom I’d never experienced before.”
Being able to choose how he presented his body to the world began “a journey of loving my own body, embracing my flaws, of actually looking in the mirror and choosing to like what I see without guilt or forced ‘humility’ which I now know was the quest for impossible constant perfection of body and mind.”
The result was the beginning of loving himself “for who I am independent of a higher power’s approval or acceptance of my peers.”
With good and bad days in the rearview mirror, Jacob’s focus now is on the gratitude he feels having journeyed towards self-acceptance.
“I’m grateful I took a chance stepping into the unknown discovering a life I never dreamed could be so fulfilling,” he writes in closing.
The good doctor offers more than just eye-candy on his social media, although he’s clearly built AF. Check out some other recent posts below and follow the body-conscious Jacob on Instagram here for more of his posts.