Today on Towleroad: Libya, Shakespeare and Transgender Activists

The fallout from yesterday's attack in Libya continued today. Sean Hannity voiced his opinion and it was very predictably anti-Obama, he went so far as to call the President a "wimp". With Anti-American protests appearing across the Middle East, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton condemned of the anti-islamic film that may have sparked the attacks. 

As the press has probed into the film, entitled Innocence of Muslims, it has been discovered that the actors were kept in the dark about the film's content — and those actors included a gay adult film star. 

A new episode of Anderson Cooper's new show has trans activists up in arms. Today on Anderson Live, Cooper spoke with a man who claims that hair loss treatment caused him to identify as a woman. Check out what transgender activists had to say about the episode. 

There has been much written about William Shakespeare's possible homosexual tendencies. Check out scholar Stephen Greenblatt's take on the the chances that the Bard dabbled in same-sex love. 

Apple's new iPhone 5 was revealed yesterday. Last night Jimmy Kimmel gave everyone a sneak peak. Take a look. 

The new season of The X-Factor also premiered last night and it already has a potential fan favorite in Jillian Jensen. The contestant knocked it out of the park last night and detailed her struggle to overcome bullying. 

Watch New Trailer For 'RuPaul's All Star Drag Race': VIDEO

Hang onto your wigs, because Logo just released the new trailer for RuPaul's All Star Drag Race, season ageless.

Get ready for some serious shade AFTER THE JUMP...

The Full Trailer for Steven Spielberg's 'Lincoln' is Here: VIDEO

It's the  other Lincoln movie of the year — the one in which he isn't a vampire hunter — and damn if Daniel Day-Lewis isn't the spitting image, but will there ever be a movie that touches on Lincoln's rumored homosexuality? We'll see.

If Tony Kushner won't touch it, who will?

Screenplay by Kushner based partly on the book A Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, the film also stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Jackie Earle Haley, Jared Harris, Lee Pace, James Spader, David Strathairn, Sally Field, and John Hawkes.

Watch the full trailer, AFTER THE JUMP...

In 2004, C.A. Tripp published a controversial book suggesting Lincoln was gay, which I covered at the time of its publication:

According to the NYT review, among Tripp's assertions are that Lincoln had a "youthful affair" of four years with Joshua Speed, had a homosexual relationship with bodyguard David V. Derickson, shared a bed with a man named Billy Greene who told Lincoln's law partner that the president's thighs "were as perfect as a human being Could be," and "wooed" fellow lawyer Henry C. Whitney "to close intimacy and familiarity."

The book argues that it was Lincoln's homosexuality that led to his volatile relationship with Mary Todd Lincoln and describes an account by bodyguard Derickson's commanding officer: "Captain Derickson, in particular, advanced so far in the president's confidence and esteem that, in Mrs. Lincoln's absence, he frequently spent the night at his cottage, sleeping in the same bed with him and — it is said — making use of his Excellency's night-shirts!"

But that will likely be fodder for another movie...

DC Campaigning For Trans Respect

Following a recent spike in anti-trans hate crimes, the District of Columbia recently launched a new campaign aimed at combating anti-transgender discrimination.

In their first ad, unveiled today at BuzzFeed, the city introduces us to Kisha, who tells us, "I love wandering through Smithsonian museums, eating on H Street with friends, and going to shows at Howard Theatre."

She goes on: "I’m a transgender woman and I’m part of DC. Please treat me the way any woman would want to be treated: with courtesy and respect."

Kisha says her first experience with true discrimination came when she left the house, "Growing up in a household with a single mother and nine siblings, my mother always taught us about equality. When I started living as a transgender woman outside of the home, [that] was the first time I saw the discrimination [against LGBT people]." She also told the site that she believes the campaign will finally put relatable faces on transgender people. 

"People will see transgender people," she said." They’re going through everyday life, everyday struggles — the same as straight people, rich people, everyone. Getting the message out there … is going to be great." Let's hope so.

Barney Frank Sees No Good Coming From Richard Tisei Win: VIDEO

Republican Richard Tisei desperately needs to win over some Democrats if he wants to represent Massachusetts' 6th District in the U.S. House next year. And winning over those Democrats will require proving to voters that he's not like the national Republicans who lean ever-more to the right.

That ideological break was made even more clear today when Tisei, who is openly gay, asked his state's GOP to reject the national party's homophobic platform.

The platform "espouses beliefs that exclude many in our party, includ­ing myself," Tisei wrote to state Republican chairman Robert A. Maginn Jr. "As a ‘live-and-let-live’ ­Republican, my philosophy is that the government should get off our backs, out of our wallets, and away from the bedroom." 

MassGOP told The Boston Globe that they're all about "big ideas, and there is no shortage of opinions within the party," but "ultimately, we all share one goal, which is electing more Republicans in ­November."

Meanwhile, Barney Frank, the retiring U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, weighed in on Tisei and said that no matter how LGBT-friendly he may be, his election would maintain GOP control in the House and therefore hurt LGBT people, which is why voters should support Democratic incumbent John Tierney, the straight man in the middle.

"John Tierney’s election as opposed to Rich Tisei’s is better for the advancement of the legal equality we are seeking because if Republicans gain contain control of the House, no bills advancing our rights will come up,” said Frank.

Tisei got the last word, though, telling The Daily Item, "I think I will be able to carve out an identity for myself that’s separate from the party and that most people support me on." Unfortunately such identities are often assimilated or undermined upon arrival in Washington.

On a related note, Tierney yesterday released his first political ad in which he aligns Tisei with the Tea Party. Check it out AFTER THE JUMP.

Towleroad Guide To The Tube #1207

SCARE TACTICS: Camp Romney warns "China is beating us".

MAMA MIA: Trailer for Guillermo del Toro's new horror flick.

'MASS EXODUS': Extremist EW Jackson wants Christians to flee Democratic Party.

AT IT AGAIN: Todd Akin thinks President Obama apologized to Libyan protesters and dislikes America.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.