Why Can’t We All Just Stop Shopping at Wal-Mart?

November 30, 2007

Last year the American Family Association threatened to boycott the retail chain when they partnered with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. They eventually backed off when Wal-Mart promised not to give money to “support or oppose highly controversial issues.”

But now that the HRC has placed Wal-Mart on their blacklist, the AFA is encouraging members to buy as much as possible from the stores so that the gays can’t “claim victory.” Geez.

Wouldn’t it be really cool if both AFA and HRC members boycotted the mega-store at the same time? And maybe also the ACLU... and the VFW.

The World’s First Real Trans Dating Reality Show

November 30, 2007

Logo’s gearing up for the February premiere of 'Transamerican Love Story', a dating reality show hosted by Alec Mapa (of Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty) and staring Calpernia Adams, a trans author, activist and actress, as the one who will be wooed. We checked out her website and she seems sweet, smart and funny.

Best of all, the male suitors all know that Calpernia is trans, so this won’t be one of those ugly surprise shows. But dating reality shows are still the trashiest of the trash, so I’m sure there will be other unpleasant moments. We’ll probably watch anyway, despite our cringing at the nightmarish debacle of someone trying to find “true love” on TV.

Gays Choose The Golden Girls Over The GOP

November 30, 2007

It’s pretty clear from last night debates that the Republicans will not do a thing to further equal rights for the queers. The military veteran who asked about their views on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, got a lot of flim-flam about Judeo-Christian values and unit cohesion. And while Mike Huckabee said he would accept support from the Log Cabin Republicans, he also said he’d stay stridently anti-gay marriage.

What does this have to do with The Golden Girls, you might ask? Well, technically nothing. Except that we read a nice little blog titled, 7 Things You May Not Know About The Golden Girls, and it mentioned that, “A 2005 study by Simmons Market Research determined that more gays and lesbians watched The Golden Girls than the general population in any given week.”

Let’s do an informal survey to confirm our suspicions:

Dorothy or Giuliani?
Blanche or Huckabee?
Rose or McCain?
Sophia or Romney?

Yeah, that’s what we thought.

Artiest AIDS Benefit This Weekend

November 27, 2007

Ever wanted your own Nan Goldin, John Waters, Kiki Smith, William Wegman or Yoko Ono, but didn’t think you’d be able to afford it? Yeah, us too. Well thanks to the Visual Aids benefit Postcards From the Edge, you too can own a postcard size piece of art from one of these or other artists for only $75. The catch is that you pick a piece without knowing who the artist is until you buy it.

The preview party, where you can hobnob with all the artists, is on Friday, November 30th. But the sales all take place on Saturday and Sunday at the James Cohan Gallery at 533 West 26th St, New York, NY.

Best of all one hundred percent of proceeds go to Visual AIDS, an organization that produces AIDS-focused contemporary art programs and provides supplies and technical assistance to artists living with HIV/AIDS.

Corporations Deal With Gay Discrimination

November 26, 2007

The Wall Street Journal reports on a growing trend of training programs within companies to deal with bias against gays and lesbians in the workplace. The company they specifically mention is called Chubb Corp. (tee hee).

While reading it, we couldn’t help but think of The Office episode “Gay Witchhunt” where Michael tries to make Oscar feel comfortable by suggesting they go out for a beer so he can explain “how he can do that to another man.”

According to the HRC about 41% of big companies surveyed provide this sort of training, but many think that their blanket policy of non-discrimination is enough. I’m not sure diversity training workshops at work will change anyone’s mind, but at least it sends a clear message that subtle homophobic comments won’t be tolerated.

Bronx Congregation Could Lose Their Lesbian Lutheran Pastor

November 26, 2007

There was a great article in the New York Times yesterday about Rev. Katrina Foster and her current plight within the church. Rev. Foster declared at the last assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that she was in a relationship, which is currently forbidden within the church, though being openly gay is not. The assembly will meet again in 2009 and vote formally on the issue.

We love the description of Rev. Foster, “who wears rectangle-shaped eyeglasses a no-nonsense brown ponytail.” But more than that, the article highlights her commitment to the congregation and their commitment to her. One 51 year old congregant, who would protest if Rev. Foster was defrocked, said, “When they explain how she’s living in sin, it’s hard for me to fathom that.” Exactly.

Movie Review: "Enchanted" Pretty Much Sucks, Except for Amy Adams, Who Is a Truly Gifted Actress

November 26, 2007

What with all the shopping tourists and the fact that we're all much fatter than we were on Wednesday, the idea of going anywhere in Manhattan this past weekend was pretty much out of the question. So, we at OUTzone fled to Brooklyn and hid out at the movies. Which was fine until we decided, on a delirious whim, to see "Enchanted."

Here's the thing, the first forty-five minutes are strangely compelling, and almost a little forward thinking. Challenging all those Princess notions, celebrating the idea that New York City is sometimes a magical movie-musical – those parts were great. And then there's a pointless gay joke, where the Prince is leered at by a large guy in biker garb in an Upper West Side apartment, and everyone in the audience goes, "ew…" and things sorta take a turn from there.

"Ya see that kids? That's a homosexual. They dress up like bikers in their lonely little homes, and like to do it to each other. I will laugh. And you can too."

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Go See a Good Gay Show

November 21, 2007

There are many perks to getting out of the house and going out to a show, especially a Chris Garneau show.

Not only is he attractive, but there’s bound to be a bevy of other attractive boys around. Plus his music is far beyond listenable. So even if you don’t make a love connection, you might have a profound epiphany listening to one of his whispering melodic tunes while watching him play the piano by lamplight. Seriously, he brings his own lamp.

You can check out a sample on his Myspace page and then pick one of the following locations most applicable to you:

December 1st – Philadelphia
December 8th, 10th – LA
December 14th – San Francisco
December 16th – Seattle
December 18th – Portland
December 20th – Brooklyn

AIDS Hasn’t Kicked the Bucket Yet

November 21, 2007

Nope. It’s still a horrible reality. And not just for people in other countries. That’s why it’s necessary for a reminder. Saturday, December 1st is World AIDS Day.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States alone there are over one million people living with HIV. An estimated 40,000 Americans are still becoming infected with the HIV virus ever year; a majority of these are young people under the age of 25. Globally, the epidemic has taken the lives of over 25 million people.

In the spirit of ongoing education and recognition of the continuing epidemic, there will be a plethora of TV programs, both fictional and non, airing that weekend. So give yourselves and your friends a kick in the pants by watching one of the many shows that will be airing.

Highlights include:
“Stephen Fry: HIV & Me” – December 1st at 1 pm on the Sundance Channel.
(If only every documentary included Stephen Fry, we’d watch way more of them.)

“It’s My Party” - December 1st at1 pm on LOGO
(Our favorite movie to exorcise that brewing crying jag. Best watched with friends.)

“Jeffrey” – December 1st at 7:30 pm on LOGO
(This is why we love Sigourney Weaver. Well, this and Alien.)

"Battlestar Galactica" Blasts Homophobia Off the Dradus

November 20, 2007

We’ve just finished an epic, obsessive viewing marathon of Battlestar Galactica. Phew. And we know we’re not the only queer person obsessed with this show. (And it’s not just because we think Starbuck is totally frackable.) So it’s nice to know they like us too.

On November 24th, the Sci Fi Channel will air the 2-hour episode Battlestar Galactica: Razor and during the extended episode, a GLAAD 20-second PSA, “Be an Ally & a Friend” will appear. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation spot will feature Jamie Bamber (um, hello, that’s hot-bodied Captain Apollo).

Other versions of the spot feature Rachel Griffiths, Jerry O’Connell, Martina Navratilova, and T.R. Knight among others. They’re short, simple and too the point. Basically, don’t be a jerk, if someone you know comes out. Funny how we’re still having to hammer home that preliminary point.

But back to Battlestar. Will Season 4 have a queer character? We mean aside from the Cylons, who are all a little bi. (Which is cool and all, except that they are sort of the bad-guys.) If you don’t know what we’re talking about, you really should. It’s not just for sci-fi geeks, we swear.

Simon Cowell Defends His Metrosexuality and His Hair

November 20, 2007

The Daily Mail interview with Simon Cowell finally allowed the celebrity judger to deny some rumors that have been flying around. He’s not gay, but yes, he’s had Botox but not in “an obsessive way”. And he does not dye his hair!

And apparently if he were gay and in the closet he would play rugby every weekend to ward off the rumors. Um, okay. Rolling around with sweaty dudes isn’t gay.

Vanity, no desire for marriage, a certain graceful glide. and definitely a bitchy queeniness all epitomize Simon Cowell. But that’s not enough to make him a gay. But who’s disappointed? Then we would just have to feel sorry for his boyfriend.

Runway Returns

November 15, 2007

We couldn't have been more excited that Project Runway came back to us last night -- we were kind of lost without it. The folks down the hall won't let us see any screeners, which is MASSIVELY irritating, but what can we do?

In the Season 4 premiere episode, Heidi Klum and the dreamy Tim Gunn meet the anxious group of contestants in New York City’s Bryant Park, everyone wrestles with fabric, and nobody makes out. Which isn't dissapointing so much as it is true to the form.

This is the season when we're finally going to read some slash fiction about every one of the contestants on a website somewhere. We can just feel it. We got to see Jack Mackenroth in his underpants (applying lotion). And we're way into the ladies, actually, especially the nutty chick.

Check back over the next few weeks, as we start rolling out our interviews with the gayest Runway season ever!

Lance Bass' Book: Our Review

November 01, 2007

Halfway through Lance Bass' "Out of Sync" – some photos yanked from the Bass family albums show us a blond eight-year-old in a “SpaceCamp” t-shirt, wearing awkward sunglasses. These photos are standard memoir fare, and almost always a relief to find. By the time we reach them, Lance and the boys have just signed with a new label, leaving behind the evil empire of Lou Perlman.

Around the same time, Lance recounts his first bold move with a dude, in a way that is surprisingly mum.

Wait. Hold up. We're not going to read graphically about the blond kid from *NSYNC losing his manginity in a seedy hotel room? We're going to instead have to read about... What? Astronaut training? No way, man...

I had previously considered Lance to be flighty and a little plastic, but his memoir begs the question -- if your boyhood dream of being accepted and loved by millions of screaming fans had been realized – would it make you more interesting? Would it have helped any of us overcome the crippling terror that came with realizing we were gay teenagers in an age before even “Ellen?” Or would it have afforded us the opportunity to shoot for the thing we really wanted? Getting blasted into space, say…

Reviews of “Out of Sync” have taken Bass to task for writing a memoir before the age of thirty, for dwelling too much on the music industry, and for generally not telling us whether or not Reichen was, you know, stacked.

Make no mistake, the book is a little bit awkward, and there is the faint whiff of the same *NSYNC hype it was always hard to understand in the first place. One gets the feeling that Lance has not yet figured out how to break free of the world of pop music, other than the fact that he was outed last year, and then offered a book deal.

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