News Round-Up: March 20, 2018

(image via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Timeout Magazine shares its 2018 round-up of the 20 Hottest Dancers on Broadway including Mr. Adam Perry (above).

• From one lesbian to another: Former New York City council speaker Christine Quinn slammed Cynthia Nixon "as an unqualified lesbian" a day after the actress announced her run for New York governor. Quinn later walked her comments back.

• HUD Secretary Ben Carson told a House Appropriations committee today that transgender people in a homeless shelter make others uncomfortable.

• An openly gay Marine Corps veteran is running for a seat in the Alabama state House.

• Michelangelo Signorile explains why it matters that a gay man helped Trump backers exploit Facebook data.

• Justin Timberlake and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser welcome the thousands of protesters who are expected to descend on the District for the “March for Our Lives” rally Saturday.

I’m so inspired by the #MarchForOurLives students out there owning their voices. We need to demand action. Get out there and join the march this Saturday — more info here: https://t.co/PviopFKjAo pic.twitter.com/7sQxjLUyQX

— Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) March 19, 2018

Facebook Post Of The Day: Michelangelo Signorile

Why is this still being a called a "protest"?
Posted by Michelangelo Signorile on Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Michelangelo Signorile On Why HERO Failed Last Night In Houston

LGBT activist and SiriusXM host Michelangelo Signorile gives his (spot on, in my opinion) analysis on why Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance failed at the ballot box last night:

Political strategists warned LGBT activists in the days ahead of the vote: There was little Spanish-language outreach, no big ad buy in Spanish-language media -- in a city that is 44% Hispanic -- countering the lies of the opposition, who'd certainly been doing their own outreach. Monica Roberts, a long-time African-American transgender activist, warned of little outreach in the black community, which makes up 24% of the city. There was little emphasis by the LGBT rights coalition on the terrible economic impact that a "no" vote to equality would have on the city -- something else that political strategists warned was lacking in their campaign as well. And no ads by LGBT rights proponents held the equal punch that the nasty hate ads embodied. Instead, they overwhelmingly ran nicey-nice ads about good neighbors and equality and human dignity.

And so, it wasn't a shock, really, that the vote wasn't even close last night. LGBT rights were clobbered, hammered, devastated in the city of Houston by voters, as the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) was repealed.

Michelangelo goes on to note that the haters opposing Prop 1 were extremely successful in recasting the entire issue as "men" using ladies rooms.

The campaign by LGBT advocates lacked the "bite" that our opponents brought to the fight. We played too nice, mimicking what happened in 2008 in California with Prop 8.

Michelangelo warns of "victory blindness" many seem to be suffering from after years of success bringing marriage equality to the country.

Truly, it is time to shake that off and realize we still have great work to do on behalf of equal rights for LGBTs.

Read the entire essay at Huffington Post.

Caller To Radio Show: SCOTUS Marriage Decision Made Me Feel That I Matter As A Person Now

From the Michelangelo Signorile Show on Sirius XM Radio:

On Friday, the Supreme Court handed down it's historic ruling on marriage equality in the US.

Michelangelo Signorile took calls from listeners and Robert in Wisconsin told him how his parents left him money is their will for him to finally get married.

Robert said during the call that the SCOTUS decision "Made me feel that I was valued, and that I matter as a person now."

New Read: "It's Not Over" By Michelangelo Signorile

LGBT activist and author Michelangelo Signorile has written a powerful new book, It's Not Over.

A long-time personal hero of mine, Signorile chronicles the gay rights movement in regard to not only where we've been, but where we go from here. The book serves cautionary notice that the fight is far from over, noting in Chapter One - "Victory Blindness," that folks can suffer from what he calls "Victory Blindness."

Speaking to the Huffington Post, Signorile shares this:

"Victory blindness is something we all succumb to at times. It's a term I use to describe the phenomenon in which we focus on the wins, so starved for validation, that we allow them to blind us to the continued bigotry we face. We become enthralled, intoxicated -- spellbound by even a little bit.

"The effect is that it obscures our reality -- literally our vision -- and it makes us lose our gumption, not wanting to rock the boat, fearful that we'll lose what we've gained and not get what little bit we think we need, when in fact we need a lot and we should be strong and confident knowing our allies will stay with us.

"In that chapter I use a vivid example, in a section titled "A Story of Victory Blindness," in which too many activists, claiming that we'd gotten a lot and had a banner couple of years, asked us to accept a situation that validated bigotry and urged us to be "magnanimous," fearful that the right would portray us as going too far -- but in fact this only allowed the backlash to grow because we seemed disjointed and that made us seem weak. We were and are still hated and despised by many -- despite having so many allies now -- and we have no rights in most states nor federal protections.

"So this is victory blindness, and it can have the terrible effect of actually allowing the backlash to grow because it telegraphs that we will back down.

Other chapters include "We Don't Serve Fags Here," "Hiding In Plain Sight," "Not Up For Debate" and an epilogue "Charting A Path Forward."

The entire book is required reading in my opinion. Eye-opening, compelling, and powerful, Signorile is exhilarating in his honesty, and illuminating with his insight.

A definite "must-read." Period.

Available online and in major book stores today.

Michelle Bachman: Marriage Equality is "Boring"

Michelle Bachmann just told me re: gay marriage, “it’s not an issue anymore,” runs off,adds, ‘In fact it’s boring.’ #ValuesVoterSummit

— Mike Signorile (@MSignorile) September 26, 2014

Michelangelo Signorile, of SiriusXM, married today

Michelangelo Signorile, of SiriusXM Radio, just tweeted this announcement.

Congrats to the happy couple!

Would a positive SCOTUS ruling on marriage equality be a blessing for the GOP?

A lot of smart political writers are coming to the same conclusion that a ruling in favor of marriage equality by SCOTUS would actually be a favor to much of the Republican party. The thinking seems to be that many GOP pols are "trapped" in toeing the party line but would much rather move on from a subject whose future seems clear.

Note two recent but separate essays by Michelangelo Signorile and Josh Barro. Both smart guys, both know the subject and politics well.

First, from Michelangelo Signorile, writing for the Huffington Post.

"Are GOP leaders secretly hoping that the Supreme Court, after it hears arguments on marriage equality next week, rules in favor of equality? That's certainly what a few were saying at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week, though not for attribution. [snip]

"The remark this week from Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus that it is kind of ok now for Republicans to support marriage equality -- or at least that they wouldn't be thrown under the bus -- combined with Scott Walker's mixed messages on the issue, Rick Santorum's continued belligerence, Marco Rubio's defensiveness (opposing gay marriage "does not make me a bigot") and Senator Inhofe's sheer speechlessness underscore that the GOP is in turmoil on the issue.

"The GOP's only hope, it seems, is for the Supreme Court to take the issue off the table entirely. It's ironic (and grotesque) that the party that has been the most vociferously anti-gay, the party that brutally attacked LGBT people for decades and exploited homophobia for political gain, may be praying that the justices next week begin the process of giving gays full equality."

Michelangelo Signorile on Cardinal Keith O'Brien

Michelangelo nails the hypocrisy best:

"Powerful closeted gay men, driven by an almost pathological fear of being exposed, many times engage in two often destructive activities: 1) speaking out against gays and homosexuality, or courting those who are anti-gay, in a desperate attempt to show they are not gay themselves, and 2) seeking sex through risky channels, feeling they have no choice because they're unable to freely have sexual encounters via public, every day social situations, like dating or going to bar or public places.

"We've seen this over and over again: the homophobic hypocrite caught trying to have sex in public restroom stalls or posting nude photos online. Another way the powerful and closeted seek sex, however, is by engaging in workplace sexual harassment and abuse against men who are compromised (sometimes, but not always, closeted and conflicted themselves) and fearful of being fired from their jobs if they rebuff sexual advances." - Michelangelo Signorile, writing for the Huffington Post.

Michelangelo Signorile, of SiriusXM Radio, chases down bigot after being called "disgusting" on NYC street

Michelangelo Signorile chased down a bigot in Chelsea who called him "disgusting" after he kissed his partner:

"I've not come to this age in my life, to this stage of the game in the fight for LGBT rights, to have someone call me 'disgusting' in my own neighborhood. And it's time none of us let them get away with it. I'm not saying that I or anyone should stand up to everybody engaged in a homophobic act every time. Obviously you have to be wise and safe. But whether it's on the streets of Chelsea or in Columbus, Ohio, all of us, straight and gay, must speak up when we can. Stand up and fight back. Because if we don't, they win."

Geraldo Rivera predicts GOP will move toward marriage equality in near future

Fox News' Geraldo Rivera speaks with Michelangelo Signorile about the GOP position on marriage equality and where he believes the issue is headed in the near future.

Signorile: Gays who criticize other gays

"Like the classic case of the bully who picks on people because he's afraid, deep down, that he is the one who actually is weak, it appears that these guys beat up others in the community to divert attention from themselves and to show that they're down with everyone else who's doing the bashing. In the case of [Richard] Grenell, it's particularly interesting because if you watch a video of him being interviewed you'll see he is not exactly the standard of masculinity. And that's totally fine -- few men are, gay or straight. But for him to then criticize a lesbian for not meeting a standard of femininity does reveal a certain 'lady doth protest too much' quality.

"We've seen similar kinds of tweets about Maddow from Chris Barron, one of the founders of the conservative gay group, GOProud, who once mocked her for looking like a 'dude.' He's also tweeted that Barney Frank is 'catty,' has a 'purse' and wants to 'sit in Scott Brown's lap.' Curiously, Barron also obsessively tweets about his gym workouts and tweets many photos of his worked-out abs, in what seems like a desperate exercise in overcompensation, as if to say, 'See, I really am a real man, really!'" - Michelangelo Signorile, writing for Huffington Post.
(via JMG)