Prejudiced in Ohio- Surprise

I grew up 45 minutes away from Ohio University and it for the most part a very liberal school. I would hope young minds would be more open these days but I see that is not true. I guess these hicks do not go up to Columbus which is an hour way. Columbus has the largest gay population in the midwest. Here is a snipet of an article written by a gay student going to Ohio U who was rejected by his future roommate once they found out he was gay via facebook.

"That was when I found out their real motivation. 'Listen, we do not have a friend moving in. We were just trying to be nice; we both just feel really uncomfortable living with a homosexual.' Now what am I to do? I can’t leave because I’m not allowed, and I can’t stay because I fear for my own safety. I’ve been talking back and forth with them and they feel that I am obligated to leave because of their discomfort. I wonder if they realize mine — especially when I read their statuses on Facebook declaring X is a homophobe at 8:58 p.m., and X hates faggots at 9:21 p.m."
(read the whole article)

TheSword: Porn Stars To Producers: Condoms Not Enough!

Interesting and scary story on theSword website:

Almost 30% of gay adult industry performers in the survey were either HIV positive or didn't know their status. While most were comfortable working with HIV positive performers, many were concerned about the lack of discussion surrounding HIV and STDs on set . Over 80% of performers strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that condom-using studios provided adequate safety measures to protect them from HIV, but little more than half of the respondents felt that the they were being protected adequately from non-HIV risks like hepatitis, HPV or syphilis.

Read the rest on the Sword

TV / DVR Alert

Army Sgt. Darren Manzella

Thanks to Andy at Towleroad for pointing this out:


This Sunday, on 60 Minutes, Lesley Stahl will look into the U.S. military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, offering evidence in the form of Army Sgt. Darren Manzella that the armed forces look the other way during wartime, refusing to discharge troops even in the face of "graphic proof" that they are gay.

"God created Adam + Eve, not Adam + Steve."

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Driving down Alton Road, one might notice a large banner in front of a home that some have called homophobic and offensive. It reads: "God created Adam + Eve, not Adam + Steve." The occupant of that house raised it as part of his campaign to become the next mayor of Miami Beach, a city that has a large population of gay and lesbian residents.
"I promise you, when I become mayor, we're going to clean up all this funny business going on down there," mayoral candidate Bill Smatt said about the large presence of gay and lesbians who find South Beach a welcoming place to live, work and party.
Smatt wishes they didn't, and the sign in front of his house confirms it.

"I don't think it should be up there because it offends a certain part of our community and I really think that it should be taken down," neighbor Rosie Menendez said. "It's not right."
The 76-year-old native of Jamaica sees himself as a moral crusader.
"I am bringing back Miami Beach for the families," he said.

Smatt's campaign controversy comes during gay and lesbian pride month. To honor the occasion, city hall has an art exhibition on display, including an autographed photograph that reads, "Love you, Tiffany Hilton."
"Miami Beach is communism," Smatt said.
When pressed as to whether he meant Miami Beach is a communist city, he replied, "Sure it is."
A spokesman for Save Dade said Smatt is not representative of Miami Beach residents and that his views are "bigoted and despicable." Smatt said he is merely willing to say publicly what others say or think privately.(source)

Jerry Falwell Dead at 73

Larry King, Larry Flynt(Hustler) and Jerry many years ago.

Larry is like WTF?

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, who founded the Moral Majority and built the religious right into a political force, died Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University, a school executive said. He was 73.

Jerry was a real winner with quotes like these:

“AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals”

“If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being”

“I hope to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we don't have public schools. The churches will have taken them over again and Christians will be running them.”

Young gay execs look to break "pink ceiling"

By Ben Klayman and Kim DixonMon May 7, 3:07 PM ET (Reuters)
Corporate boardrooms are slowly becoming a somewhat friendlier place for gay executives, but as John Browne's sudden exit from the top job at oil major BP Plc showed when his sexuality became public fodder, there are still challenges to overcome.
Browne stepped down last week when a UK court lifted an injunction preventing a newspaper group from publishing details about his private life. He was scheduled to retire in July, but stepped aside to "avoid unnecessary embarrassment and distraction to the company," adding he had always regarded his sexuality as a private matter.
"There still is a pink ceiling for openly gay executives," said Malcolm Lazin, executive director of Equality Forum, a group that promotes civil rights for gays.
"We are clearly going through a transitional moment, as the black civil rights movement and women's civil right movement went through," he added.
Browne felt the need to keep his sexuality private despite his high profile position, something that likely led to his problems.
"By not being out and being open, you do create a certain amount of questioning around you. Often times it creates a bit of mystery around an individual," said Eric Bloem, an official with the Human Rights Campaign, another gay civil rights group.
And Browne is not alone, according to Kirk Snyder, a lecturer at the University of Southern California's business school.
"Talking with executives and people in the position to become CEO, I have found that there are at least five closeted CEOs in the Fortune 500," said Snyder, author of the book, "The G Quotient: Why Gay Executives Are Excelling As Leaders." He declined to name the executives.
"It's a personal issue," he added. "There are a lot of psychological elements and economical elements."
While there are no known gay CEOs among large companies, many corporate observers said the next generation of gay executives are not willing to hide that part of their lives.
OUT IN THE OPEN
"What you are seeing, is the next generation is unwilling to live in the closet," Lazin said. "Those capable young executives will choose only to go to these places where they believe meritocracy prevails."
Throw in nondiscrimination policies and same-sex health care benefits by a growing number of U.S. companies, and the environment is changing.
The U.S. House recently introduced legislation making it illegal to fire someone because of their sexual orientation, something that is legal in 33 states.
On Friday, former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson apologized for saying at the Republican presidential debate that private employers should be allowed to fire gay employees because of their sexual preference. He later told a morning television show he misinterpreted the question and discrimination was not acceptable.
The American Family Association, which opposes companies giving gays equal employment protection and benefits, cares more where corporate money is spent.
"Our thing is not with the internal hiring practices with corporations," AFA President Donald Wildmon said. "We would have no way of knowing nor would we really care how many gays or homosexuals this company hired. What we care about is using (company) profits to further the political and social agenda of the movement."
However, companies realize that to attract the best talent, they must provide a welcome atmosphere, executive recruiters said.
"I am not seeing any kind of a shakedown at the top saying, 'We want only straight males or females running our company.' It is unheard of," said Seth Harris, executive vice president with Chicago-based Cook Associates. "It's about the success based on past merits and the ability to get the job done."
Nevertheless, Lazin wonders whether Browne would have resigned if he had had a liaison with a woman.
"I do think there is still a double standard there," he said. "It reflects an inequality and a moment in time when society is becoming comfortable around same-sex relationships but is not quite there yet."

Utah Governer Signs Bill to ban Gay Clubs in Schools

The law gives schools the right to reject student clubs that threaten the "moral well-being" of students.
Critics of the measure say the legislation could be used to block the formation of Gay-Straight Alliances, although the bill carefully avoids mentioning any specific group - an attempt to prevent a constitutional challenge.
The new law also requires parental consent before a student can join a club, that school principals be given all information that would be presented to the club a week in advance so parents could review it, and that the state be required to cover the costs of lawsuits involving the restrictions of school clubs. (Read more)

Why gay men make the best bosses?

This has not always been my experience but here is a great article in Details. The so gay straight man magazine! I have had a few good gay bosses but most of them have been backstabbing and power hungry.

Wouldn't that be nice—a boss who actually gave a damn. And while it's not conclusive, evidence suggests that one of the reasons Ollander-Krane is so effective is that he's part of a new breed—gay managers—who could be becoming America's most desirable bosses. (Read here)

Mexican Singer comes out!

A Mexican pop star has revealed to fans he is gay, breaking a taboo in a country where it is highly unusual for celebrities to make such statements.
Christian Chavez, 23, belongs to RBD, a band that emerged from popular TV soap Rebelde (Rebel). (Read More)

Fairytale Wedding at Disneyland but not Walt Disney World?

I guess not all Dreams comes true at the Most Magical Place on Earth hehe. Ok I work there and I already knew that. But I found a very interesting article on AfterElton about how they will not perform same sex ceromonies at Walt Disney World but they do at Disneyland. Read the complete story (here)