Queerty

WATCH: Gloria Estefan Camps It Up With Susan Lucci, Drag Queens

Evan Mulvihill — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:19:06 +0000

¡Dios mio! La reina del música pop Gloria Estefan has released a kitschy new track, “Hotel Nacional,” and damn if Miss Sound Machine isn’t trying to court the gays.

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Tagged: Gloria Estefan, Music, Susan Lucci, Video, watch

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Winter Pride Heats Up In Whistler

gcdan — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:26:47 +0000

This weekend hit the Whistler slopes (in whatever feathery attire you feel best suits the mood) for Winter Pride. We’re sure even if you don’t know your way around a pair of skis, there will be plenty to keep you busy in the flurry.

Check out more gay ski weeks on tap around the world, or visit the GayCities event guide to find what’s happening near you.

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Tagged: gaycities weekender, Pride, whistler, winter pride

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Four Gay Fashion Designers And Their Boy-Toy Boyfriends

Dan Avery — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:21:35 +0000

Once upon a time, you couldn’t be an out homosexual even in a tres-gay profession like fashion. Seriously—designers had to either marry or present themselves as fussy confirmed bachelors. (Even Calvin Klein tied the knot with a lady person.)

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Tagged: Calvin Klein, Fashion, Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, New York Fashion Week

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Romney Boasts About Being Tough On Gay Marriage

Evan Mulvihill — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 20:07:38 +0000

Really?

The guy who almost walked in a Gay Pride parade is boasting about being tough on gay marriage?

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Tagged: CPAC, gay marriage, Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney

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Kellan Lutz Is Totally Into Fashion, You Guys

Evan Mulvihill — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:13:37 +0000

Coming out to New York Fashion Week, I have so many friends in the fashion world, like Bernardo Rojo, who designs everything for Joseph Abboud. And Simon Spurr is a good friend, he’s over working with Tommy Hilfiger.

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Tagged: Fashion, joseph abboud, Kellan Lutz, New York Fashion Week

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Vice Magazine Ranks The 10 Hottest Homophopbes On Facebook

Dan Avery — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:35:24 +0000

We remember reading Vice magazine in high school and laughing our asses off over the Do’s and Don’ts. We were kinda perpetually high back then, so we thought maybe the mag wasn’t as funny as we remembered. But we recently came across a feature by writer Jamie Lee Curtis Taete (we’re gonna assume that’s a nom du plume) that confirms Vice as a source of outrageously un-p.c. guffaws.

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Tagged: Facebook, Homophobia, Vice Magazine

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Gore Vidal Confirms That Katharine Hepburn Was A Very Slutty Lesbian

Evan Mulvihill — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:27:06 +0000

Out politico Gore Vidal is vouching for his buddy Scotty Bowers, who claims that he set Katharine Hepburn up “with over 150 different women” in his book Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of Stars.

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Tagged: Celebrities, Gore Vidal, katharine hepburn, rumors, scotty bowers

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PHOTOS: Inside The Big Gay Atlantis Cruise

R. Scott Wallis — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:00:56 +0000

GayCities/Queerty co-founder Chris Bull and Swish Edition podcaster R. Scott Wallis were on the Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world—along with Idina Minzel, Bruce Vilanch, Alex Mapa, Tupperware queen Dixie Longate and thousands of gay men (and 78 women!), ranging from 20-year-old twinks to 80-year-old grandads.

The Atlantis Events cruise sailed last week from Ft. Lauderdale on a seven-night itinerary that included ports of call in Labadee, Haiti and Costa Maya & Cozumel in Mexico. With countless bars, multiple restaurants, a huge gym, concerts and performances, and of course the usual all-night dance parties, the big ship was rocking in more than one way from start to finish.

The Allure staged a spectacular high dive show as well as a pared down version of the musical “Chicago.” Travis Wall & Nick Lazzarini from TV’s “So You Think You Can Dance” fame taught the cruisers how to move–as if the boys needed lessons! And a gaggle of comedians like Alec Mapa, Erin Foley and Bruce Vilanch were a highlight.

“It’s mostly bottoms that come to our shows, so they are very receptive,” New York City-based comedian Chris Doucette quipped.

The jubilant mood was dampened on Friday, however, when the ship’s captain announced that passenger Kenneth John Gemmell from Ireland went overboard in what is being described by Royal Caribbean as an apparent suicide.

Here’s a small, mostly G-Rated, sample of all the goings on.

Click through for images from the Atlantis Events Cruise of the Caribbean

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Tagged: alec mapa, Atlantis Events, gay cruise, listen, party haus, Photos, Swish Edition

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NYC Man Wins Five-Year Battle To Change Sex On His Birth Cerificate

Dan Avery — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:00:26 +0000

When we read David Hassan had finally gotten Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan to change his birth certificate from ~~male to female~~ female to male, we assumed he was a trans man who had scored a personal victory.

But as it turns out he was just correcting a typo from almost 30 years ago.

Hassan, who was born male, was accidentally listed as female on the birth certificate issued by Lenox Hill in 1983. Apparently nobody noticed (or cared) until Hassan tried to get a driver’s license in New Jersey in 2007. Even after presenting a letter from the hospital indicating Hassan was indeed in possession of an XY chromosome, he was flagged by the DMV and denied a license. They insisted he get a letter from the hospital admitting they made a mistake.

Have you ever gotten a medical professional to admit they made a mistake?

Finally, Hassan had to resort to requesting a court order to force Lenox Hill to do a mea culpa. With the hospital fearing bad press, it suddenly started taking Hassan’s calls and a spokesperson said they were in touch with the city and Hassan’s lawyer to resolve the matter.

That all sounds fine, except for a comment from Hassan’s lawyer, Peter Madison, expressing his disbelief that the bearded Iraq War veteran had to go through so many hoops: “Have you seen him?” said Madison, “He’s not the bearded lady from the circus.”

Right, because the only person trying to change the gender on their birth certificate besides someone in Mr. Hassan’s predicament would be a circus freak? Nice way to crap all over trans men and women who deal with an inordinate amount of bullshit trying to clarify their paperwork.

The government may have proof your client has a penis, Mr. Madison, but we just got verification you’re a total dick.

Photo: Stew Chambers

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Tagged: Birth Certificates, new york city, NYC, Trans

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PHOTOS: San Franciscans Celebrates A Blow To Hate With Prop 8 Ruling

gcdan — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:11:00 +0000

While the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal’s Prop 8 ruling doesn’t automatically mean a win in California, it’s certainly a step in the right direction. And before we begin to fret that the right to marry in the Golden State now rests with a right-wing Supreme Court clique (who never invites us to eat lunch with them on the playground), there was plenty of hootin’ and hollering when the verdict was announced.

Click through for photos from the San Francisco courthouse as the decision was read.

Images via Dina Boyer

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Tagged: California, marriage equality, party haus, prop 8, Proposition 8, San Francisco

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Ian Somerhalder Comes Within Biting Distance Of Paul Wesley On EW Cover

Dan Avery — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:10:27 +0000

Not since True Blood‘s blood-splattered menage a troi Rolling Stone cover from 2010 have we seen such a lusty threesome as on the new cover of Empire Weekly, which teases us with the sexy cast of that other fang-banging drama, The Vampire Diaries.

The magazine released three different covers for the collector’s issue, but its this one that makes our blood run hot. And don’t think it wasn’t shot with an eye to the gay market. If you fold it over like an old MAD Magazine you pretty much get Ian Somerhalder naked in bed with co-star Paul Wesley. (No offense, Nina.)

Somerhalder’s never been shy about showing off his rockin’ body. After starting out as a model, he’s become a natural at taking his clothes off in shows like Lost and Tell Me You Love Me. After the jump are the other shots from the EW spread, plus some choice images of Somerhalder as TVD‘s Damon. Good thing he’s not really a vampire or he’d never show up in photos!

Click through for images of Ian Somerhalder and the cast of The Vampire Diaries

Photos: Ruven Afanador, Bob Mahoney/The CW

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Tagged: Ian Somerhalder, Morning Goods, Paul Wesley, Photos, Television, the cw, the vampire diaries

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Forget the Grammys, Here’s 7 Queer Indie Bands You Should Be Listening To

Dan Avery — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:09:20 +0000

The Grammys are coming up on Sunday, and though America’s most prestigious music honors will see gay faves (Adele, Lady Gaga, Pink), bisexuals (Nicki Minaj) and even those who brag about kissing a girl (Katy Perry) vie for awards, it’s probably the least gay of the EGOT (Emmy, Tony, Oscar, Grammy) series.

So here I’m going give some much-deserved attention to bands and solo acts that will probably never get any recognition by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. But they deserve to be recognized by you. Make some room on your iPod for Jonsi (above) and other all-too-often overlooked queer acts.

Click through for the lowdown of some of today’s hottest queer indie musicians

Photos: Mercury Records, Parlophone

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Tagged: Diamond Rings, hunx and his punx, Jonsi, kele, Patrick Wolf, People at Parties, perfume genius, the grammys, Track Record

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Obama Banks $1.4 Million For Campaign War Chest At LGBT Fundraiser

Dan Avery — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:01:46 +0000

Its looking gleefully like the GOP presidential nominees will wind up killing each other by inches, but President Obama isn’t taking any chances now that his campaign is heating up in earnest. Last night he paid a call on the Washington, DC, home of Karen Dixon and Nan Schaffer for a $35,8000-a-head LGBT fundraiser that earned a cool $1,432,000 for the Obama Victory Fund.

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Tagged: Barack Obama, Election 2012, laura ricketts, Politics

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WATCH: A Twink Named Brandon Hilton Has Created The Gay Equivalent Of Rebecca Black’s “Friday”

Evan Mulvihill — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:53:35 +0000

Electro-pop twink Brandon Hilton has released a video for his autotuned-to-death single, “Set Fire To The Night,” and holy hell is it god-awful. Maybe even Rebecca Black awful. Enjoy the schadenfreude.

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Tagged: brandon hilton, set fire to the night

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Porn Kingpin Michael Lucas: Gay Activism In Homophobic Russia Is A Lost Cause

Evan Mulvihill — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:52:25 +0000

Laws like [St. Peterburg's ban on "public promotion of homosexuality"] are typical in Russia. There is a dark and cruel streak in Russian society. Many people hate anything that’s different and that very much includes gay people. Even in Moscow, which likes to think of itself as a cosmopolitan place, the gay scene is all about don’t ask, don’t tell.

I would support tearing down the law, but I think the chances are slim. There is really nothing Western activists can do—look at how Russia is ignoring not just the West but most of the world on Syria. I hardly think they will suddenly listen where LGBT people are concerned. Their own activists are pretty much silenced and the majority of Russian gays are determined to be apolitical.

I left Russia precisely because Russian people are incredibly intolerant of minorities, sexual or ethnic. It’s dangerous to be gay, it’s dangerous to be Jewish and its dangerous to have dark skin. They’re a cruel people. I remember well how they tortured me in school, being both Jewish and gay. Just because some Russians are fed up with Putin does not mean at all that suddenly freedom as we understand it will bloom.”

Russian expat Michael Lucas weighs in St. Peterburg’s just-enacted anti-gay law

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OPINION: The Case Against Pinkwashing, Or Why I’m Gay For Israel

Dan Avery — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:15:59 +0000

Imagine a nation that prohibits workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation, allows gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military, provides domestic-partner benefits in the private and public sectors, recognizes gay adoptions (and gay marriages performed abroad), has LGBT celebrities whose careers haven’t been hurt by their coming out, and saw more than 100,000 people attend its most recent Pride parade—even though the whole country is smaller than the state of New Jersey?

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Tagged: first person, Israel, Jayson Littman, Opinion, Palestinians, pinkwashing, Tel Aviv

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Andrew Christian “Pool Party” Underwear Ad Deemed Too Gay-Sexy For YouTube

Evan Mulvihill — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:15:27 +0000

Is this sexy pool-party video too racy for YouTube?

Underwear designer Andrew Christian is peeved that the site removed his latest underwear ad, “Pink Paradise,” and, to add insult to injury, suspended his channel for two weeks because of it.

In an open letter to YouTube, Andrew Christian accuses the video giant of permitting “blatant female nudity and sexual scenarios with millions of views,” wondering, “are you being homophobic or is it something else?”

In any case, the video is hot hot hot and we’re glad the free-wheeling Vimeo is around to host it. And, to be fair to YouTube, we can see clear outlines of dick through those boys’ wet undies, especially when there are closeups of them getting out of the pool. Not that we mind!

If Andrew really wants to pull the homophobic card on YouTube, he might have to tone it down just a wee bit. Andrew claims this Playboy mansion pool-party video shows as much female skin, but there’s not wet T-shirt contest aspect to it, as there is here. But there are a bunch of poorly-shot wet t-shirt vids—maybe the HD realness of Andrew Christian’s (and the fact that exposed penis is far less charted territory than exposed boob) got YouTube’s goat?

NEXT: Click through for Andrew Christian’s open letter in full.

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Tagged: Andrew Christian, Pool Party, sexy boys, Underwear, Vimeo, YouTube

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6-Year-Old Taken From Australian Dads Accused Of Being Part Of Child-Porn Ring

Dan Allen — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:14:43 +0000

A gay Australian couple has had their 6-year-old son taken away child protective services officials in Los Angeles, as the FBI and Australian police investigate claims the men are part of an international child-porn ring.

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Tagged: Australia, child pornography, Pedophilia

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Famed Barneys Department Store May Go The Way Of The Purple Dinosaur

Evan Mulvihill — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:04:21 +0000

Barneys might go bankrupt!

The ultra-classy department store, beloved by Carrie Bradshaw and gay men on both coasts, has hired restructuring/bankruptcy law firm Kirkland & Ellis to help renegotiate a $200 million loan due in September, reports WWD.

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Tagged: Barney's, chapter 11 bankruptcy, istithmar

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EXCLUSIVE: True Blood‘s Denis O’Hare Calls Chris Christie A “Fat F**k… In The Most Poetic Sense”

Evan Mulvihill — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:31:29 +0000

Out actor Denis O’Hare (right) has been making waves as True Blood’s villainous vampire Russell Edgington, a role—spoiler alert!—he’ll be resuming next season.

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Tagged: Celebrities, chris christie, Denis O'Hare, Exclusive, True Blood

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LISTEN: Howard Stern Defends Ellen And Rosie, Says Santorum And Bachmann Should Be “Spit On”

Evan Mulvihill — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:08:55 +0000

Using One Million Moms’ calls for Ellen to be fired as JCPenney’s spokeswoman as a jumping-off point, Howard Stern went into full-on anti-homophobia mode on his show this week.

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Tagged: Ellen DeGeneres, Howard Stern, jcpenney, Michele Bachmann, one million moms, Rick Santorum, Rosie O'Donnell

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Uganda Government Says It Doesn’t Want “Kill The Gays” Bill, But Will Debate It Anyway

Dan Avery — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:51:37 +0000

Don’t think that just because the infamous “Kill the Gays” bills is still being discussed in the Uganda Parliament that the Legislature supports it. That’s just silly!

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Tagged: Africa, kill the gays, Uganda, Yoweri Museveni

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The Situation Is Going To “Rip Snooki And JWoww A New One” For Calling Him Gay

Evan Mulvihill — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:30:04 +0000

There are a number of ways for a celebrity to respond to gay rumors and it looks like The Situation has chosen to go with “angry denial.”

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Tagged: Gossip, Huffington Post, jersey shore, jwoww, snooki, the situation

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Marriage-Equality Bills Coming Up In Australia, But Support Is Disorganized

Evan Mulvihill — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:08:47 +0000

It’s great that Australia is finally coming around to gay marriage, but what the heck is up with their government’s bill-sponsoring process?

According to News.com.au, four (4!) gay-marriage bills are scheduled to come up next Monday. Here’s the breakdown:

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Tagged: Adam Bandt, andrew wilkie, Australia, gay marriage, kangaroos for equality, marriage equality, Sarah Hanson-Young, Stephen Jones

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Queer Art Dominates Los Angeles In February

Oscar Raymundo — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:17:00 +0000

Gay Angelinos are squeezing culture out of that concrete: Two art exhibits and a one-man performance art show proves this month has the most gay-friendly art L.A. has seen since Elizabeth Taylor’s shine was erected in the Abbey.

Originally curated in San Francisco by local street artist Jeremy Novy, A History of Queer Street Art gets the Hollywood treatment this month thanks to L.A.-based artist Homo Riot. The exhibition opens today and will run through February 29 at the Physical Goods gallery. Using stencils, stickers and installations, History recreates the street art experience but from a queer point of view.

As the gallery text details:

In street art world, being queer isn’t okay. The scene is dominated by misogynistic and homophobic heterosexual men. This exhibit, intended to counter the world of hegemonic street art, sheds light on the constant bullying of queer street artists and depicts the lineage of queers in street art and graffiti.

Artists showcased in the exhibit include OBEY’s Shepard Fairey (right), the video game-inspired Space Invaders and European art couple Adrian & Shane (above). “I hope this show will be seen as an important milestone in the queer artistic history of Los Angeles,” said Homo Riot.

Photo: The Site Unseen

NEXT: Cruising the Archives

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Tagged: adrian and shane, Art, homo riot, ian mckinnon, jeremy novy, Los Angeles

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Want To Be Part Of The Gay Media Elite? Queerty’s Looking For Interns!

Dan Avery — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:02:49 +0000

Our attempts at cloning have proven fruitless, so Queerty is looking for real-life humans to work as interns in the Big Apple.

Responsibilities would cover a variety of editorial and administrative duties and, while it’s an unpaid internship, you’d get great on-the-job experience, good clips and access to some of the greatest cultural, entertainment and nightlife events in New York City.

Plus, the hours are very flexible and interns generally operate from home. Where else can work in your pajamas?

The internship would involve:

Interviewing sources and covering parties, press conferences and other events when possible

Contacting publicists to schedule interviews, procure images and products

Maintaining databases and helping with site infrastructure

Reaching out to media outlets to promote Queerty content

Writing occasional posts and moderating comments

Applicants should have:

Interest in and knowledge of the LGBT community and its issues

Good writing and grammar skills

A professional demeanor

Familiarity with blogs, blog technology and software, including WordPress

Basic experience using PhotoShop

Interested? Send a resume and cover letter to danavery@gaycities.com. Writing samples are not required but accepted.

Photos: NBC, Texas Tower PR

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What Comes After The Bachelor And Dancing With The Stars For Jake Pavelka? Chippendales, Duh!

Dan Avery — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:01:17 +0000

When you’re a sexually ambiguous reality-TV star who’s run out of shows to do, what’s your next move?

No, not porn (not this time, anyway)—you join the Chippendales show at the Rio in Las Vegas.

Jake Pavelka, former Bachelor bride-seeker and Dancing with the Stars contestant, has signed on to be the host of the all-male revue for a month. Did we mention he also popped up on Bachelor Pad and VH1′s Famous Food?

“I will be guest hosting the show for four weeks, getting the audience excited for the show as well as closing out the show,” Pavelka tells The Hollywood Reporter. “You know, I’ve always loved the idea of a live audience. Hosting in front of an unpredictable crowd forces you to draw from the energy of the crowd. It’s challenging but also exciting to work off that kind of adrenaline, knowing no two shows will be the same.”

Sadly, he won’t be dropping trou, but these photos should satisfy your flesh lust for now. “I am the guest host for the run of those weeks, so I’m leaving it to the professionals who have kept this brand thriving since the 1970s,” he says.

After Pavelka was on The Bachelor, much hay was made about the fact that he and TV fiance Vienna Girardi never consummated their relationship in the six months they were together. Even Girardi commented, “I don’t think Jake is into girls.”

Photos: ABC/Craig Sjodin

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Tagged: ABC, Chippendales, dancing wit the stars, jake pavelka, Reality Television, The Bachelor

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Toronto’s Gay Community Teams Up To Save Glad Day Bookshop

Oscar Raymundo — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:01:05 +0000

There is a new uplifting volume in the saga of independent gay bookstores: Yesterday it was revealed that Toronto’s Glad Day Bookshop has a new owner, or 17 to be exact.

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Tagged: Books, bookstore, Canada, gay bookstores, glad day, lgbt bookstores, Literature, Toronto

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Al Sharpton Tells Marriage-Equality Foes To Get Out Of The Way In New HRC Video

mrbrodybrown — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:00:09 +0000

Yesterday, the Human Rights Campaign unveiled another video from its new series promoting same-sex marriage. This ones features that frequently outspoken defender of civil rights, Rev. Al Sharpton. It comes just days after the HRC released a video featuring chief executive of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Bankfein.

As the African-American community and religious leaders are frequently seen as roadblocks on the road to equality, Sharpton is inarguably a strategic voice to speak to both—and particularly to target their overlap. “As a Baptist minister, I don’t have the right to impose my beliefs on anyone else,” he says in the clip. “So if committed gay and lesbian couples want to marry, that’s their business. None of us should stand in their way.”

Though he has long been recognized as an advocate for the black community, Sharpton has become more vocal in his support for the LGBT community and his opposition to homophobia for several years. It’s a big change from the old Sharpton—the one who, in 1994, allegedly described “white folks” in Socrates’ time as “Greek homos,” and in the late 1980s angrily called an audience member on The Morton Downey Jr. Show a “punk faggot.”

Welcome to the fold, Rev. Al.

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Tagged: Al Sharpton, HRC, marriage equality

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UPDATE: Identity Of Man Who Jumped Overboard On Atlantis Gay Cruise Revealed

Dan Avery — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:11:21 +0000

Last Friday, we reported on the unnamed man who went overboard the Allure of the Seas, the Royal Caribbean cruise ship chartered by Atlantis Events. He has now been identified as 30-year-old Kenneth John Gemmell of Bailieborough, Co Cavan, Ireland.

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Tagged: allure of the seas, Atlantis Events, Cruises

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BREAKING: Washington Becomes 7th State to Legalize Marriage Equality

Chris Bull — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:46:55 +0000

One day after the Ninth Circuit Court invalidated California’s ban on same-sex marriage as a violation of the state’s equal protection clause, the Washington state legislature this evening easily passed a bill providing full marriage equality.

In a prepared statement, Gov. Christine Gregoire, a Democrat who has pledged to sign the bill, announced:

With today’s vote, we tell the nation that Washington state will no longer deny our citizens the opportunity to marry the person they love. We tell every child of same-sex couples that their family is every bit as equal and important as all other families in our state. And we take a major step toward completing a long and important journey to end discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The road to equality is hardly without obstacles, of course, even in the politically and culturally liberal West Coast. Marriage equality opponents are appealing the California decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the always predictably anti-gay Maggie Gallagher, co-founder of the National Organization for Marriage, vowed to present same-sex marriage to Washington State voters. NOM is funding efforts to hold a referendum in November aimed at repealing the Washington law before it would go into effect.

“This decision fires up the base and the resentment that elites, political and judicial, are imposing gay marriage without the consent of the governed,” Gallagher told the Chicago Tribune. ”I think it’s going to make it easier, not harder, to get the signatures and to put it to the people.”

photo by R. Alton

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Tagged: California, Christine Gregoire, Maggie Gallagher, marriage equality, ninth circuit court, U.S. Supreme Court, washington state

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Ellen Rags On “One Million Moms” In Hilarious Segment

Evan Mulvihill — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:17:01 +0000

After remaining silent on the calls from hate group “One Million Moms” for JCPenney to fire Ellen DeGeneres as its spokesperson, the out comic has hit back at her detractors with a hilarious segment.

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Tagged: Ellen, jcpenney, one million moms

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CNN Suspends Roland “#TeamWhipDatAss” Martin For Homophobic Tweets

Evan Mulvihill — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:17:20 +0000

Roland Martin messed with a David Beckham underwear ad, and it just got him fired (at least temporarily) from his plum gig as a CNN commentator.

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Tagged: CNN, roland martin

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Brandon White, Victim Of Brutal Atlanta Bashing, Speaks Out At Press Conference

Dan Avery — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:06:58 +0000

Brandon White, the 20-year-old gay man whose savage beating in Atlanta on Saturday was captured on video, addressed the media at a press conference today.

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Tagged: Atlanta, brandon white, Gay Bashing

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In-Your-Face Ad Addresses Issue Of Male Rape And Sexual Abuse

Dan Avery — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:41:14 +0000

Rugby is probably the toughest sport in the world, so it makes sense a new public-service advertisement is using the sport in a no-holds-barred campaign aimed at male rape and sexual abuse.

“Real Men Get Raped,” reads the ad, run by the group Survivors UK, “and talking about it takes real strength.”

Copyranter weighed in on the spot, but questions whether its the right tack to take on the issue:

The campaign launches this week as the 6 Nations Rugby Tournament gets underway. Posters will be up in the London Underground and other OOH sites. Anybody know if rugby players are specifically targeted for rape? And, besides another rugby player, who’s stupid enough to try?

I just don’t know about that headline. Ad agency: Johnny Fearless, London. See four previous rape ad misfires here.

We’re just not sure what the visual is representing: Anal penetration? Defeat? Pain and suffering? Is it a British thing?

The ad was designed by UK marketing firm Johnny Fearless, which has also crafted campaigns for Toshiba and the anti-racism initiative 2sox1goal.

Photo: Survivors UK

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Tagged: Advertising, Rugby, Sexual Abuse, survivors UK

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Enter GayCities Valentine’s Kiss Photo Challenge And Win A Vacation For Two!

Dan Avery — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:40:50 +0000

The battle for equality has many fronts but after all is said and done, it’s just about love. The ability to love and be loved, and to love whom we choose.

Cupid’s coming to town so, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we’re calling on friends and lovers of all sorts to submit photographs depicting good old-fashioned LGBT affection in the GayCities Valentine Kiss Photo Challenge.

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Tagged: Contest, Gaycities, valentine kiss, Valentine's Day, Win

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Meet Jamar Rogers, The HIV+ Bronx Man Speaking Out And Singing Loud On The Voice

Evan Mulvihill — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:06:25 +0000

Usually singing-competition shows aim for some milquetoast backstage drama with their contestants, like a lost relative or a handicap overcome. Breaking the mold is The Voice crooner Jamar Rogers, an HIV+ former meth addict who came clean with his story in his introductory bit above.

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Tagged: cee-lo green, HIV, jamar rogers, NBC, the bronx, The Voice

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Dharun Ravi Faces Possibility Of More Jail Time In Tyler Clementi Bias-Intimidation Case

Evan Mulvihill — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:26:56 +0000

With just two weeks left to jury selection, Judge Glenn Berman has discovered an error in one of the prosecution’s charges against Dharun Rhavi, the college student accused of harassing Tyler Clementi.

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Tagged: bias intimidation, Dharun Ravi, New Jersey, Tyler Clementi

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Our Plans To Start A Russian Gay Mag Called St. Petersboiz Are Totally Foiled

Evan Mulvihill — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:21:21 +0000

St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, approved a law that imposes fines of up to $16,700 on “promotions of homosexuality” today, reports Ria Novosti.

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Tagged: anti-gay laws, international LGBT rights, promotions of homosexuality, rossiyskaya gazeta, Russia, st. petersburg

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NH Republicans Hold Pointless Anti-Gay-Marriage Rally In State Capital

Evan Mulvihill — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:54:11 +0000

Apparently, there are enough anti-gay New Hampshire Republicans (about 200, according to Patch) to hold a rally for a bill that would strike down marriage equality in the state and return gays and lesbians to civil-union status.

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Tagged: marriage equality, New Hampshire, Republicans, state politics

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