MTV Studios Announces Reboot Of GLAAD Award Winning Series 'Undressed'

MTV Studios is continuing the trend of bringing back past TV series with the news that Undressed, which ran from 1999 to 2002, will get the reboot treatment.

Logging over 200 episodes over six short seasons, the scripted anthology series would feature a new cast each season, and episodes would focus on two or three interwoven storylines.

Created by two-time Oscar-nominated director Roland Jaffe (who will return as executive producer), Undressed was credited for bringing frank discussions about sex to younger television audiences.

The program often used its young characters’ restless energy to dramatize narratives related to the lives of teens and young adults.

While Will & Grace dealt with the issue of sexual orientation, Undressed went full-on exploring sexuality, including several same-sex relationships making it one of the most inclusive series on the air at the time.

In 2003, the series was honored with a GLAAD Media Award for 'Outstanding Daily Drama.'

In addition, the show was the springboard that launched several successful stars of today including Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill), Christina Hendricks (Mad Men), Brandon Routh (Legends of Tomorrow), Jason Ritter (Joan of Arcadia), Max Greenfield (New Girl) and more.

The announcement comes as MTV wraps up it’s 5th consecutive quarter of primetime ratings growth.

“Undressed was ahead of its time and we’re looking forward to developing the series for a whole new generation,” said Pamela Post, head of scripted programming for MTV Studios, MTV, VH1 and Logo. “Much has changed in the dating/relationship world since the series first premiered and we’re excited to showcase how both have evolved.”

MTV also recently announced reboots of popular shows The Real World and Daria.

Progress For Schools Becoming More LGBTQ Inclusive Is Slowing

GSA bus in Pride parade (image via Flickr/jglsongs - CC License)

According to the 2017 National School Climate Survey from GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network), progress in making schools more inclusive and less hostile for LGBTQ students has slowed down after years of improvement.

The survey polled more than 23,000 students across the United States ages 13-21 between April and August of 2017.

The average age of participants was 15.6 years-old and four in ten of those surveyed identified as gay or lesbian.

The results of the survey showed that after years of declining harassment, the improving climate seems to have plateaued (see graphic below).

The data from the survey shows:

• Almost 60% of LGBTQ students felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation; 44% because of their gender expression

• Almost 35% of LGBTQ students say they missed a day of school in the past month because they felt unsafe

• 4 in 10 avoided gender-segregated spaces like bathrooms or locker rooms due to safety concerns

• 98.5% of LGBTQ students have heard the term “gay” used in a negative way; 70% say they hear these remarks frequently

• 70.1% of LGBTQ students say they’ve experienced verbal harassment based on sexual orientation; almost 60% based on gender expression

• Almost 30% say they’ve been physically harassed (pushed, shoved) based on sexual orientation; 24.4% based on gender expression

• 12.4% of LGBTQ students say they’ve been physically assaulted (punched, kicked) based on sexual orientation; 11.2% based on gender expression

• 42.2% of LGBTQ students say they considered dropping out of school due to harassment

• 48.7% of LGBTQ students have experienced cyberbullying in the past year

• 57.3% of LGBTQ students reported being sexually harassed in the past year at school

The majority of LGBTQ students (55.3%) who were victimized in school did not report the incident believing no effective intervention would happen or the situation could become worse.

Of the students who did report an incident, 60.4% say school staff did nothing or told the student to ignore it.

One piece of good news: more students reported having a Gay/Straight Alliance (53.3%) at their school than ever before.

The data shows that when a school offers a GSA, LGBTQ students were less likely to hear homophobic or transphobic slurs; saw more intervention by school personnel; and were less likely to feel unsafe at school due to their sexual orientation.

Head over to GLSEN to read the full report.

NJ Police Veteran Lt. James Tracy Is One Of NBC Out's #Pride30

Lieutenant James Tracy (click image to enlarge)

For Pride Month, NBC Out is putting the spotlight on 30 individuals who are bringing positive awareness to and for our LGBTQ community not only through their actions but living by example.

The series is called #Pride30.

So, meet Lt. James Tracy of the Englewood Cliffs Police Department in New Jersey.

Yes, let's stop and take in the photo and all. It's pretty fab.

Now, aside from the biceps and chest on display (when you got a Porsche, you don't keep it in the garage), Officer Tracy has been instrumental in bringing LGBTQ inclusivity to police departments all across Bergen County in the Garden State.

From NBC Out:

Tracy, 40, helped to initiate the Bergen County Police Academy’s very first LGBTQ bias training program in 2016. Now, the New Jersey native is working to expand this program throughout the whole state.

Last June, during LGBTQ Pride Month, Tracy started an initiative where every officer in his department wore “rainbow pride bracelets." The program was intended to show the town's LGBTQ community that their police officers are dedicated to inclusion and are supportive of everyone's rights. The program also initiated a dialogue between officers and numerous residents who asked questions about the bracelets and how they could get one for themselves.

In addition to LGBTQ equality, Tracy has also been dedicated to engaging with youth and training the next generation of law enforcement officers. Tracy is the co-founder and leader of the Junior Police Academy, which is held annually in Englewood Cliffs. It’s a weeklong summer program that trains young people who may want to pursue a career in law enforcement. The program is now in its 14th year.

In true Pride Month fashion, the 40-year-old police veteran shares that he was 'in the closet' for the first 10 years of his career as a police officer.

Acknowledging he worked with great professionals in the police department, he was still wary of telling his co-workers the truth about his sexual orientation for fear that they would not accept him.

Eventually, the weight of his personal truth became too much to carry and he slowly began to share with his co-workers.

"The relief that I experienced after coming out can't be described with words; it was just this enormous weight off my shoulders," says Tracy. "After experiencing that, I wanted to help other gay officers who may be dealing with the same struggles. Ten years of hiding who I am was much too long; life is too short to hide anything about yourself."

Because of his personal experience, Tracy helped to initiate the Bergen County Police Academy’s very first LGBTQ bias training program in 2016. And now the native New Jerseyan is moving to share that program throughout New Jersey.

Tracy says he finds "do's" and "don't" in bias training shuts down interaction due to fear of saying or doing the wrong thing.

"If you train people from a diversity and inclusion perspective, you don't need to spend a lot of time on 'don't do this' and 'don't do that.' The LGBTQ population is the only demographic that crosses into every race, ethnicity and religion. Essentially, we are a minority within a minority, and if agencies are not providing bias training on LGBTQ issues, they are missing a huge minority segment."

NBC Out closes it's profile of the handsome officer by asking what pride means to him. His answer is spot on.

"Pride to me is about being proud of yourself, accepting yourself, and everything about yourself — regardless of what other people think."

I couldn't agree more.

Make sure you follow NBC Out's series #Pride30 which includes Tracy, Parkland shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez, trans Virginia lawmaker Danica Roem, Hollywood producer Greg Berlanti, and a whole bunch of way impressive/inspiring LGBT folks you should know.

One more thing: I'm gonna say normally I resize photos for The Randy Report so the images fit my blog.

In this case, however, I couldn't bring myself to deprive you of the full-size awesomeness that is Lt. James Tracy.

So click the image to enlarge the pic above.

#HappyPride2018

Olympic Silver-Medalist Gus Kenworthy To Headline DNC's LGBTQ Gala In June

Gus Kenworthy (image via Instagram)

Woofy out Olympic silver medalist Gus Kenworthy will headline the Democratic National Committee's LGBTQ Gala on June 25 in New York City.

From ABC News:

“I couldn’t be more excited to join the DNC at their LGBTQ Gala this Pride season. Over the last year, the Trump-Pence administration has pushed our community to the sidelines, attacking us for who we are and who we love,” Kenworthy wrote to ABC News in a statement.

“It’s time we take a stand against this administration by electing representatives this upcoming November who actively support and believe in equality for everyone,” he said.

The seven-time world champ quite publicly skipped the White House reception for 2018 Winter Olympians last Friday along with fellow high-profile athletes Lindsey Vonn, Erin Hamlin, Adam Rippon and Chloe Kim.

At the reception, Donald Trump told attendees that watching the Paralympics was "tough to watch." Gus was among the Olympians who clapped back at the insult.

All US Olympians and Paralympians are invited to visit the White House and meet the President after the Games. Today is this year's visit and USOC spokesperson says he's never seen so many athletes turn down their invites. The resistance is real. https://t.co/6mKJGicWDS

— Gus Kenworthy (@guskenworthy) April 26, 2018

I miss the days when the Team USA White House visit didn't include a part where the President made fun of our Paralympic team... pic.twitter.com/4QJ5B7kQ58

— Gus Kenworthy (@guskenworthy) April 28, 2018

LGBTQ Inclusion Being Considered By Amazon In Search For HQ2

Apparently there's an unspoken component to Amazon's current search for a location for it's highly coveted second headquarters, known at this time as HQ2.

And that's taking measure of how communities view and treat local LGBTQ folks.

On one recent trip to Dallas/Fort Worth by Amazon, the local team made a point of showing off how inclusive and welcoming the community has been to the Rev. Neil G. Cazares-Thomas, pastor of a predominantly gay megachurch in Dallas, and his 4,000 congregants.

More from The Washington Post:

As Amazon executives recently toured finalist locations to help select what they’ve dubbed HQ2, they asked public officials about what sort of “compatible cultural and community environment” — the wording from the company’s search parameters — each city offers, adding to speculation about whether Amazon will choose a liberal stronghold.

In North Carolina, company representatives asked pointed questions of Gov. Roy Cooper (D) about several state policies such as the “bathroom bill,” which restricted the use of public facilities by transgender people, according to a person in the room. In another city, an Amazon executive groaned at the mention of proposed legislation in Georgia that would restrict funding for same-sex adoption, according to another person who attended the meeting between the company and state and local officials.

Given the publicity and economic impact of the project, including as much as $5 billion in capital expenditures, Amazon’s push on gay and transgender rights may increase pressure on state and local policymakers who have either declined to institute equal-rights rules or passed laws some view as discriminatory.

According to the WaPo, 11 of the 20 finalist cities have anti-LGBTQ laws on the books.

There are those that believe landing HQ2 in a red state might help facilitate positive change towards LGBTQ folks since Amazon would arrive with very pro-LGBTQ policies as a company.

The awarding of the contract for HQ2 will be a huge economic boon for the winner.

Over the past few years Amazon has invested $3.7 billion into the Seattle economy and paid more than $25  billion in salaries.

The new headquarters could mean up to 50,000 new jobs, and $5  billion in capital investments for the city that gets the contract.