On Bill Nye Saves the World, everyone’s favourite science guy uses “flavour” to describe a diverse array of sexualities, and the tyrannical attempt to dictate another’s.
In the adorably animated video, “Vanilla” holds a meeting to demand all the other ice creams change their flavour to vanilla too. “As Vanilla, I feel that I am the most natural of the ice creams. And therefore the rest of you should just go ahead and also be vanilla. It’s the one true flavor.” He says.
A Chechen gay has been admitted to France on an “emergency humanitarian visa” and will apply for asylum. French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday pressed Russia’s Vladimir Putin over reports of persecution of gays in Chechnya when the two met on Monday.
Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported in March that the authorities in the Muslim-majority Caucasus region were imprisoning and torturing gay men.
More than 100 gays had been arrested in the region, where homosexuality is taboo, two people had been killed by relatives and a third died after torture, it reported.
Macron said Putin, who agreed to back an investigation into the claims after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this month, promised “the whole truth” about the reported persecution when they met and the French presient insisted France would be “vigilant” on the issue.
But Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday insisted there were “no facts” to back up the reports.
Azmad, the first person to be allowed to come to France on the basis of the reports, arrived on the same day as Macron met Putin.
The 26-year-old was granted an “emergency humanitarian visa” last week, according to Joël Deumier of French gay rights campaign SOS homophobie.
Other cases are being examined, he said.
Both Division I sprinters at one point on Minnesota’s track team, the fierce competitors hardly embody femininity or flamboyancy. Instead, they said their teammates have rationalized the duo’s normality with the general reaction of, “oh, I guess anyone can be gay.”
Neumann and Rabon’s love story is not society’s fairy tale. But it’s their fairy tale. And one that they both hope can shatter stereotypes and save other closeted and misunderstood LGBT people struggling to come to terms with their sexual orientation or be accepted by their peers and loved ones. That’s why they both decided to pen essays at the start of Pride Month in Outsports, a destination for coming-out stories and in some cases, a lifeline url for those deeply struggling beneath the surface.
Neumann and Rabon’s love story started in late 2014. It was Thanksgiving time, and both athletes were down in the dumps emotionally. Rabon, who hails from Milwaukee and was running at the University of Wisconsin at the time, texted Neumann, a friend who he had run against in high school and beat in the 200-meter state title due to a false start. Never fully confronting his sexuality before, Rabon eventually told Neumann he was gay. The response from his seemingly straight friend? “Oh, that’s cool.” Shortly thereafter, Neumann told Rabon he was gay, too. Likewise, he had never told anybody his secret before, mostly due to growing up in the small rural farm town of Peshtigo, Wis., where being gay would’ve potentially cast him out as a leper.
After coming out to each other together, the decision to come out to their friends and families came easier. As did telling their teammates at Minnesota, eventually.
“After we came out to each other, we finally had someone to relate to,” Rabon said. “That changed everything.”
Neumann, who took a bit longer to come out to others, said that being his true self “allowed me to have an open conversation with my teammates, who I knew were conservative or didn’t necessarily believe in gay rights.”
“I think having them personally know me has changed their views,” Neumann said. “And now, when they go around to the next person who doesn’t believe someone who is LGBT should have the same rights, they’ll say, ‘actually, I know Justin and Brad.’ It’s about changing minds like that.”
Freddie Mercury met Jim Hutton at a club in 1984 when he offered to buy Jim a drink, and he politely turned him down. Jim didn’t recognize Freddie but a few months later while at a restaurant his friend told him: “Hey, Freddie Mercury is behind you.” Jim this time accepted Mercury’s drink and the two talked for a while, but nothing happened for another year.
About eighteen months later, the two happened to meet again at the same club. Freddie once again bought Jim a drink and this time they got together. Jim ended up moving in the Garden Lodge with Freddie about two years later.
Even when Mercury was dying of AIDS, the pair were inseparable. The lead singer for Queen even gave him a way out, Hutton was adamant to stay. In a documentary about his death, he said his response was no, and his exact words were “I love you, Freddie. I’m not going anywhere.”
And he didn’t. The hairdresser stayed by him until he passed.
Decades later, even if we haven’t personally seen them, we’ve all experienced them through his music. And these photos sneak a peek into the intimate and secretive life of the rock star.
He received the publicly declared support of almost two-thirds of the parliamentary party, who account for 65 percent of the vote.
Bar any unexpected development, the former doctor will be voted in as Ireland’s prime minister when parliament next sits on June 13.
He said this week: ‘If somebody of my age, of my mixed race background and of all the things that make up my character can potentially become leader of our country, then I think that sends out a message to every child born today that there is no office in Ireland that they can’t aspire to.’
Varadkar’s father Ashok, who is also doctor, was born in Mumbai in India.
He met his wife Miriam, an Irish nurse, in England in the 1970s before moving to Ireland, where their son was born.
On his 36th birthday in January 2015 during an interview on Ireland’s RTÉ Radio, Mr Varadkar spoke publicly for the first time about being gay.
The House of Representatives has voted to pass a bill that would bar licensed health care providers from using so-called gay conversion therapy to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The House voted 69-0 to pass the bill Tuesday, with six legislators not voting. It now moves to the state Senate.
Nevada and Connecticut this month became the latest to ban the practice, joining New Jersey, California, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Vermont and New Mexico.
Rhode Island’s proposal would prohibit psychologists, social workers and other licensed health care professionals from using practices that treat homosexuality as an illness and try to cure it in children under 18 years old. Violations could be subject to disciplinary action or revocation of licenses by the state department of health.
Numerous national and international medical associations, including the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Medical Association Council on Scientific Affairs, the American Psychoanalytic Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists, have issued statements against or otherwise taken action against conversion therapy.
“Conversion therapy is worse than ineffective; it can be extremely harmful, especially in children,” said Rep. Edith H. Ajello (D-Dist. 1, Providence), the primary sponsor of the bill. “Sexual orientation, as well as gender identity, is widely recognized by science and medicine as simply innate to a person. It is no more a disease or a condition that needs to be changed than is race or eye color. Putting someone, especially a young person, through conversion therapy can lead them to a host of serious problems including depression, substance abuse, isolation and suicide.
A dad from the UK decided to write a series of erotic novels intended for his own son so he would be turned on by them and want to have straight se(.
The story was featured on the British podcast My Dad Wrote a Po)no, hosted by Jamie Morton, about a series of erotic novels Morton’s dad wrote. Lindsay, a fan of the podcast, wrote in with a story too crazy not to believe:
Hi guys, I mentioned this podcast to my mum the other week and she told me a story too good not to share. A few years ago my neighbour’s son came out as gay and his dad was less than pleased to say the least. Apparently, in his mind, all this boy needed to save him from this life of sin was some good old fashioned hot sexy straight porn. He searched far and wide but no existing porn was up to the task. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.
We would like to take a moment to remind our readers that there’s nothing wrong with being gay or lesbian. It can be easy to feel like you need to hide your true orientation if you’re gay or lesbian. After all, there’s still a lot of stigma surrounding non-heterosexual orientations. But there’s no need to be ashamed of who you are. Whether you’re just coming to terms with your orientation or you’ve been out and proud for years, being open about your romantic and sexual feelings is an important part of living a fulfilling life. What’s more, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to date or have relationships with people of the same gender. In fact, many gay and lesbian couples that matched on this app report feeling closer and more connected to their partners than heterosexual couples do. So if you’re gay or lesbian, don’t be afraid to embrace your orientation. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.
Varadkar has built a near insurmountable lead ahead of a contest next week to succeed Enda Kenny as leader of the governing Fine Gael and prime minister. At 38, he would also become the youngest person to hold the office.
Supporters are comparing the trained doctor to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and new French President Emmanuel Macron, hoping a straight-talker from the generation hit hardest by an economic meltdown a decade ago can transform the political landscape.
“I honestly don’t think in 1981 when I first got elected that I could foresee a time when an openly gay man might become Taoiseach (prime minister),” former Fine Gael deputy leader Nora Owen, who served as justice minister in the 1990s, told Reuters.
“We have come a long way and the fact that someone like Leo Varadkar, who is an openly gay man, living with his partner, can actually put himself forward for Taoiseach and nobody is batting an eyelid is wonderful and I think it’s a great day for Ireland that we can do that.”
The men’s squad will wear the shirt against Venezuela on June 3 in Utah, while the women will don them for games in Sweden and Norway.
The game-issued shirts will then be auctioned off for charity, U.S. Soccer said.
The shirts are one of a number of initiatives planned for next month in a partnership between U.S. Soccer and the You Can Play Project, which supports equality for athletes of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
Ice cream giant Ben & Jerry’s is fighting for marriage equality in Australia by banning customers from ordering two scoops of the same flavor.
The ban, which covers all 26 Ben & Jerry’s stores across Australia, is part of a campaign to push for swift parliamentary action on marriage equality.
“Imagine heading down to your local Scoop Shop to order your favorite two scoops,” the company said in a statement on its website. “But you find out you are not allowed–Ben & Jerry’s has banned two scoops of the same flavor. You’d be furious!”
“But this doesn’t even begin to compare to how furious you would be if you were told you were not allowed to marry the person you love,” the statement continues.
As part of the campaign, Ben & Jerry’s is encouraging customers to contact their local lawmakers to tell them to legalize same-sex marriage, and is installing postboxes in all of its stores so people can send a letter to their MP then and there. “Make marriage equality legal! Love comes in all flavors!” the company said.
