Facebook buys Instagram for $1 billion. Mark Zuckerberg announcement.
White House announces Pride Month Champions of Change video challenge.
The death of Judyism: “I mean, I know she used to be important to gay guys, but I don’t see what she has to do with being gay anymore, except she did sort of remind me of Whitney and Lindsay and Britney. You know, train wrecks. The whole play was like that YouTube video where Britney goes after that car with her umbrella. Some gay guys do seem to like that kind of thing.”
Zac Efron's Easter Egg hunt.
VIDEO: James Franco loves you like a love song, baby.
Rescued baby dolphin is the cutest thing you'll see all day.
Chile to improve how the Census reflects the LGBT community: "Today, the MOVILH launched a national campaign urging same-sex couples to register as such in the 2012 census under the theme of 'Acknowledge the other half of your orange' ('Tu media naranja' or 'Your half orange' is a common term of endearment used in Latin America to refer to one's partner)."
Joel Edgerton strips down at Bronte Beach in Sydney, Australia.
Anne Hathaway chopped all her hair off for Les Miz.
Study: Homophobes likely to be closet gays. "The study, which analyzed four separate experiments conducted in the US and Germany, provides empirical evidence to suggest that in some individuals homophobia is the external manifestation of repressed sexual desires they feel towards their own gender."
Obama to attend $2500/ticket LGBT fundraiser in Hollywood, Florida: "Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz; DNC National Political Director Jeffrey Lerner; Jaime Citron, national LGBT vote director of the president’s re-election campaign; Obama for America National Finance Director Rufus Gifford and Obama for America Florida State Director Ashley Walker will brief supporters before the president arrives. Obama will then attend a general fundraiser at the Westin Diplomat Hotel before he returns to Washington, D.C."
Support marriage equality in the UK.
Male model fix: Eric Belanger.
The First Time I Heard: Novelist Scott Heim's new book series on aural histories.
John Kerry urges DHS to stop deportation of married lesbian Pakistani national: “I know that you and I both believe that every family is worthy and recognition and respect, and that no family should be torn apart based on a discriminatory law,” Kerry writes. “Abeyance will allow this remarkable young couple to move forward with their dream of building a life together at home in Massachusetts.”
Former Philadelphia Eagle Don McPherson speaks out against homophobia, sexism: "We learn to communicate in our organizations, with rules. But when we talk about social issues, we don’t do that. Very often, we remain silent about things, even when we see them happening right in front of us..."
Hacker group Anonymous claims successful hack of 2,725 emails belonging to Tunisia's ruling Ennahda party, including those of the prime minister: "In a video posted on a Facebook page belonging to Anonymous TN, a hacker wearing the trademark activist 'Guy Fawkes' mask, said the emails were released in protest against Ennahda's alleged failure to protect the unemployed and artists who were attacked by Salafi Islamists during a recent protest."
@Caliban...Really interesting comment!
Posted by: Damien | Apr 9, 2012 11:26:08 PM
Ghetto culture so gets on my nerves: the obsession with looks and bodies, group think, contempt for character, internalized homophobia, refusal to stop hiv, and endless ageism.
Now the ageism is back in this contempt for Garland. She's a part of our history and deserves respect if for no other reason. Instead, we get to listen to the ragging of ageist twinks. They remind me of my 'freinds' thirty years ago making fun of the 'old trolls' in the clubs.
After leaving the Castro some twenty years ago, I thought I wouldn't have to see any more ghetto culture. Thanks to the net, it's back.
Posted by: Wilberforce | Apr 9, 2012 11:27:47 PM
@Henry Holland
You do realize that the shows I was talking about are from the 70s and the bands you're talking about are from the mid-80s, right?
In that 70s to 80s crossover period except for "the gay episode" on Donahue that was about it for most of America.
Even in the early to mid-80s Morrisey was still claiming he was celibate so his sexuality was largely unexamined. And the lead singer of Bronski Beat had a falsetto so was hardly a stereotype buster. I worked in a record store during high school so you don't need to tell me about the changes happening then.
As far as I can tell that was the first time that homosexuality wasn't a dirty secret but talked about openly.
Posted by: Caliban | Apr 10, 2012 12:24:36 AM
@ CRAIG
I love Frank also...gay icon he is then!
Then theirs Billy,Ella,Judy,Peggy,Doris,Barbra!
Did I somebody out before the 1970's ?
Posted by: SOLUS | Apr 10, 2012 8:40:10 AM
Is the fascination with female entertainment divas among many gay men all that mysterious? Isn't it ultimately about what might be characterized as a strength and power typically associated with male or masculine energy emanating from a female form? Homosexuality was once called the "middle sex" for the very reason that, in many instances at any rate, it represents a less binary, more integrated version of male and female energy. Most "gay divas" are explicit symbols of this integration, or axis, of energies. Vulnerability and being a personal life train wreck are entirely incidental. Streisand, Midler, Madonna – there are plenty of examples of highly-empowered gay divas with no trace of victimhood.
As a young teenager in the late 70s I became obsessed with Judy Garland, but it had nothing to do with her personal life story, about which I knew nothing. I was already heading toward an involvement in musical theater, I revered the American Songbook, and Judy was very simply the most riveting talent I had ever seen. End of story.
Is is sad that the younger gay generation has no knowledge of, or interest in, our icons of the past? Perhaps. But I daresay Madonna and Britney and whomever else comes along will someday be the subject of precisely the same fate.
Posted by: rascal | Apr 10, 2012 8:44:35 AM
"You do realize that the shows I was talking about are from the 70s and the bands you're talking about are from the mid-80s, right?"
Of course, that's why I put "by the time I came out to my parents in 1985".
"Even in the early to mid-80s Morrisey was still claiming he was celibate so his sexuality was largely unexamined"
Right, the guy who wrote the lyrics to "Handsome Devil", his sexuality was such a mystery. [rolls eyes]
"And the lead singer of Bronski Beat had a falsetto so was hardly a stereotype buster"
Where did I mention stereotypes? He was openly gay, full stop, his singing style or whether he was a total nelly queen were irrelevant.
"As far as I can tell that was the first time that homosexuality wasn't a dirty secret but talked about openly"
Learn some history, Mr. Record Store Employee. Google Jobriath.
"I worked in a record store during high school so you don't need to tell me about the changes happening then"
Oh get stuffed, I was just sharing my experiences.
Posted by: Henry Holland | Apr 10, 2012 10:35:32 AM
Whitney Houston had a very good voice, but not anywhere near Judy Garland's giant talent. Britney Spears is a no talent hack compared to Garland. Whitney and Britney don't even belong on the same page as Judy Garland and never will. Golden voices like that come along once in a century. Besides Barbra Streisand, there are no singers today that can even match Garland. Most of them need a lot of electronic manipulation and over engineering to even sound good.
Posted by: Brad | Apr 11, 2012 12:28:22 AM