Towleroad Talking Points: Mad Men's Gay Mystery

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Bradley Manning is a pale shell of his former self as he arrives at day three of his trial. 

BY SAM GREISMAN

A look back at today's top stories

ENTERTAINMENT

It seems that I am not the only one that is SURE Mad Men's mysterious Bob Benson is secretly gay. I mean, those shorts, right? Lesbian YouTuber Hartbeat is tired of questions about her butch style. Garth Greenwell reviews Jonathan Kemp's "London Triptych" which is all about transactional gay sex in London. Also, rapper Macklemore is the latest celebrity to lend his voice to a campaign that is demanding a bigger separation between Church and State. 

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GAY ISSUES

ExxonMobil has horribly discriminatory practices when it comes to hiring (or not hiring) LGBT employees and it seems they are about to get their comeuppance. Check out the group of mouth-breathers that spouted their hate in front of the HRC headquarters yesterday. 

First Lady Michelle Obama was speaking at a fundraiser in Washington State last night and went head to head with some pretty persistent heckling over her husband's lack of protection for LGBT workers. A new survey shows which countries are the most and least accepting of gays and a new film documents the struggle of gay activists in Uganda. 

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VIDEOS OF THE DAY

Male models may be super hot, but they don't exactly have a lot of stage presence. If you want to seem really informed about the demonstrations in Turkey but don't have a lot of time, this seven minute video should do the trick. 

How great would it be if we could record our dreams?! Also learn all about where wind comes from. Hint...it's not God. 

StudentsFirst Stands with 11-Year-Old Marcel Neergaard Against 'Don't Say Gay' Bill Author

The other day we told you about 11-year-old Tennessee student Marcel Neergaard and his MoveOn.org petition to have StudentsFirst rescind their award to Rep. John Ragan. Today, StudentsFirst responded, and they stand with Marcel. In a statement on their blog, Michelle Rhee wrote:

Protecting our children is a top priority. Without safe learning environments, children can not realize their full potential. At StudentsFirst we believe that strongly, which is why, today, we stand with Marcel in support of the federal Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Non-Discrimination Act and will support similar measures in our active states. We encourage legislators across the country to support these measures to protect kids from bullying and discrimination as well.

In addition to giving Marcel their explicit support, StudentsFirst has stated that they are supporting the TN Dignity for All Students Act and have rescinded their "Education Reformer of the Year" award from Rep. Ragan, co-sponsor of the "Don't Say Gay" bill and "Classroom Protection Act," which would require teachers to out LGBTQ students to their parents and refer them to a psychologist.

(image and story via GLAAD)

Twerking It: VIDEO

Julian Serrano cooks up a twerking masterpiece.

Watch (work-unfriendly), AFTER THE JUMP...

(via buzzfeed)

'Is This Statue Real?' — Video

YouTube user and New Yorker Jeff Greenspan felt that the statue "Human Statue (Jessie)" (2011) by Frank Benson on display in the Meatpacking District wasn't getting the attention it deserved.

So, he placed a tip jar at its feet. See how the tourists reacted, AFTER THE JUMP...

(via Gawker)

Tony Perkins: Gays Are 30% Of TV Characters, Are Make-Believe People

Hate group leader Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, claims that gays make up 30% of TV show characters and storylines, and that "lovable gay characters" - presumably ones like Cam and Mitchell from Modern Family - are Trojan horses used to "desensitize Americans," reports Right Wing Watch.

Said Perkins:

The debate over same-sex marriage has been perfectly scripted by Hollywood. Television shows are full of lovable gay characters, whose dangerous lifestyle is just another funny footnote. Unfortunately for America, those make-believe people are having a real-life impact. In a new survey, almost 20% of Americans credit television with changing their minds on same-sex marriage. And that’s no accident. Homosexuals make up 4% of the population, but they’re a whopping 30% of TV characters and storylines. Liberals are using this barrage to desensitize America and viewers are buying it. Of course, producers don’t show you the reality of homosexuality: the men and women dying of AIDS, or the same-sex couples threatening Christian businesses. They don’t cast the Dan Savages bullying kids or the parents kicked out of school for opposing gay curriculum. Like most everything else on TV, it’s fiction. 

The 30% statistic is pulled from a quote by screenwriter Barbara Nicolosi over at the National Catholic Register, who offers no context or source for her statistic beyond her subjective experiences in Hollywood. Barbara is the Founder and Chair Emeritus of Act One, Inc., a Christian non-profit organization that trains aspiring scriptwriters and producers starting out in Hollywood.

GLAAD calculates a slightly different statistic for the 2012-2013 season at 4.4%, with the five major broadcast networks - ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox, and NBC - offering 31 regular and 19 recurring characters that identify as LGBT in their scripted series and mainstream cable providing 35 regular and 26 recurring LGBT characters.

Chinese Gay Activist Detained for 12 Days Over Pride March: Video

A few weeks ago we reported on the LGBT rights march in the city of Changsha in central China for the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia (IDAHO).

Today, Queer Comrades posted a video of the march to their YouTube account. The march, organized by Xiang Xiaohan, had over 100 participants from several cities and seemed to be well-received by those who witnessed it, though Xiaohan was was punished with 12 days of administrative detention by the local Changsha police for having organized the parade without obtaining Public Security permission.

Said Xiaohan after his release, "Next time they might detain me for 15 days. If that's what it takes to hold another event, then that's fine by me."

Watch the video of the march, AFTER THE JUMP...

(video via qafbeijing)