Confessions Of gay Jocks and Movie Blackbird; Fat Burner Supplements; Naked, Guitars and Sam Stanley

Confessions of Gay Jocks and Movie Blackbird

This is another one of those meme things where gay athletes talk about what it's like to be gay today. I'm starting to look forward to them as a regular feature. They're short and sweet and get the message out there. I've also posted about an LGBT movie below...Blackbird.

But “better” doesn’t necessarily mean “good.”
Below, hear from guys on Whisper who are dealing with being gay in the still largely homophobic arena that is team sports:

Here's one I thought was excellent...


Being gay doesn't define my athletic abilities or my masculinity. The guys on my team get intimidated by me because I'm pretty built. They know not to mess with me or who I love. 

The others are all good, too, but I think I like the one above the most because it's the gay man you never hear from in the mainstream. It's the gay man I write about in most of my books, and the gay man so many don't understand...yet.

There's a film I watched on NetFlix titled, "Blackbird," that reminded me of a lot of these quotes. And if you check out the link for Blackbird, and then do a simple search, don't pay attention to the rotten tomato reviews. They suck just like most things on rotten tomatoes that are gay oriented. The film is good and if you don't love it you'll like it. It's very m/m romance oriented. I thought the ending was happy.

Fat Burner Supplements

This is clearly an advertorial, but I'm linking to it because one of the things I see most in social media deals with people who are trying to lose a few extra pounds. I personally stick to a strict protein diet and rarely ever have a carb...and that includes pasta, pizza and doughnuts. I can't even remember the last time I had any of those foods. It's almost a joke. But it works for me, I love how I feel, and I can still wear jeans I wore when I was in college. I run every morning and that helps, too. But everyone is different and if someone finds a way that works better for them I'm all for it.

With so many “fat burner” supplements on the market, it’s hard to consider which is the right one for you. Walking into your local supplement store can be an intimidating experience if you don’t know what you are looking for. Many head to the weight loss section and look for the flashiest label in hopes of a saving grace. What some don’t know is that fat burners take on different mechanisms of action. Some contain stimulants, some work with the body’s natural processes, and some come from our diet.

I advocate nothing here and I suggest before starting any diet plan you consult with your doctor first. I'm just passing the link along. I don't use it myself and can't comment on it personally.  

Here's the link. 

Naked, Guitars, and Sam Stanley

It's Labor Day and the unofficial end of summer. Here's something worth checking out with Sam Stanley in case you didn't have any plans today.

Not only is 23-year-old Stanley a great athlete (he’s represented England a total of five times internationally), courageous enough to come out publicly in a homophobic sport, but he’s super cute to boot, with his olive complexion, honey brown eyes, and full head of curly hair.

Oh, and did we mention he’s a pocket gay who he sings and plays guitar?

You don't see any real nudity, which is fine with me, but it's worth checking out because he is adorable...seriously adorable. I love guys like Sam Stanley with at least a little hair. I will never get this trend with gay men who buzz off all their hair. Those ultra short haircuts are only attractive on a few people, but not most. Someone should tell these guys they don't have to do that.

New Release

When A Man Loves A Man

Amazon Link

BBC Star and Same Sex Couples Dancing; Liza Minnelli Leaves NY; Ellen and Caitlyn Jenner

BBC Star and Same Sex Couples Dancing 

I've posted about this topic before. I think it was back when Michael Sam was on Dancing With the Stars here in the US and I was hoping he'd dance with a man. I honestly don't know how that turned out because I didn't watch. However, I've been hoping that one of these mainstream dance competition shows would have men dancing with men the way real life gay men dance with other men in real life. Evidently, that's not about to happen soon.

In this case a BBC star is alleging they wouldn't allow him to dance with a man on the UK TV show, Strictly Come Dancing. I think this is the first time anyone's actually addressed the issue and spoken up about it in public in detail. But I could be wrong about that. Either way, it's still newsworthy.

A gay quizzing star on the BBC has claimed Strictly Come Dancing rejected him because he wanted to dance with a man.

Eggheads’ CJ de Mooi, who claims he was being considered for the show, said he would appear but only if he would dance with a male professional.

Jeremy Vine, the presenter of Eggheads, was chosen as a contestant.

Speaking to the Mirror, he said: ‘I can’t believe they picked Jeremy over me. I’m quite upset. It’s because I wanted to dance in a same-sex couple.

‘Someone at the BBC told me at least for the foreseeable future neither Strictly Come Dancing or the US version Dancing With The Stars will have a same-sex couple on. How disappointing.’

The article goes on to state they want to keep these shows family shows, with quotes from a BBC spokesperson. You can read the rest here.  


Liza Minnelli Leaves NY

I know this is being headlined as gay icon Liza Minnelli leaves NYC, but I think of it more as a pop culture story. Even though I've never totally understood the gay icon mindset with performers like Bette Midler and Cher, I do think Minnelli is as important to pop culture as Andy Warhol was.

And now Minnelli is leaving NY for sunnier weather in LA.

But that’s about to change. The EGOT-winner has just sold her posh Upper East Side pad for a cool $8.37 mill (check out the amazing photos here) because she hasn’t been spending much time in the building, which was also home to Joan Crawford at one time.

The lady is heading west to live in eternally-sunny L.A., where she was raised as show biz royalty as the daughter of Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli.

Of course she will be back in NY for work related reasons. You can read more here. 


Ellen and Caitlyn Jenner

I didn't see this interview with Ellen and Caitlyn so I can only go by this link and what I've read.

Caitlyn Jenner, divorced three times when she was Bruce, has admitted to Ellen DeGeneres that she used to be against same-sex marriage.

‘I have to admit – I remember 15 years ago, 20 years ago whenever it was when the whole gay marriage issue came up – at first I was not for it,’ Jenner says in an interview to air on Monday (7 September).

‘I mean I thought I’m a traditionalist. I’m older than most people in the audience. I kind of like tradition and it’s always been a man and a woman. And I’m thinking I don’t quite get it. But as time has gone on, I think like a lot of people on this issue have really changed their thinking here to I don’t ever want to stand in front of anybody’s happiness. That’s not my job.’

I can't say the same for myself. I've always been for legal same sex marriage. However, I do know other gay people who weren't always on board much the same way Jenner describes it above. But they are now. So I think this might be a generational thing and it all needs time to evolve.

The comments are mixed, and very strong at times.  

In any event, there's more here. 

New Release

When A Man Loves A Man

Amazon Link

Donald Trump vs Bobby Jindal On Kim Davis; Pope Francis and Gay Children's Book; Boxer Briefs For Women

Donald Trump vs Bobby Jindal On Kim Davis

Say what you will about Donald Trump, but in this case he seems to be zeroing in on the main point regarding the Kim Davis grandstanding with such a simple reply it's almost an art form.

The large Republican presidential field remains over the jailing of Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis for her refusal to obey a judge’s order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Current front-runner Donald Trump said on MSNBC Friday (4 September): ‘I would say the simple answer is let her clerks do it. Now from what I understand she’s not letting the clerks do it either.’

The Governor of Christians, Bobby Jindal, replied to Trump's reply like this:

He tweeted: Hey @realDonaldTrump you can’t make America great again by throwing the Christians in jail. I understand asking forgiveness from God and respecting communion is a personal decision. But even really rich New Yorkers should oppose jailing Christians for their religious beliefs.

So far Trump has not replied.

You can read more here, with a few comments. 

Pope Francis and Gay Children's Book

I've stopped trying to speculate on what Pope Francis will say or do about anything. I actually like him and I think he's made great strides in the short time he's been Pope. So, this piece on Pope Francis praising a gay children's book in Italy doesn't surprise me.

Pope Francis has reportedly written a letter of support to a children’s author whose book featuring same-sex families was banned by the mayor of Venice.

Piccolo Uovo (Little Egg), written by Francesca Pardi, tells the tale of an egg who encounters a variety of different family set ups including gay penguins, lesbian rabbits, a mixed race dog couple, a inter-species adoption between kangaroos and polar bears, and a single parent hippo.

Piccolo Uovo – featuring diverse families

The book was one of the 49 books to be banned in Venice by mayor Luigi Brugnaro, prompting widespread backlash and attracting attention across the globe.

The rest is here. It's actually a longer piece and contains some interesting material. With all due respect to His Holiness, I think the main point of the article is that people are writing some great books out there for children with LGBT content. 

Boxer Briefs For Women

A company that seems to be focused on non-gender clothing (I think) just won an award for creating boxer briefs for women. 

An LGBT-owned business that specializes in producing clothing for ‘tomboys’ and women who want a wider choice in non-gender stereotypical apparel has scooped a national award and $10,000 in funding.

Seattle-based wives and business partners Fran Dunaway and Naomi Gonzalez launched TomboyX in 2013 following a successful Kickstarter campaign. The company produces underwear, clothing and accessories, including plenty of TomboyX-branded hoodies, caps and boxer shorts.

I could be wrong about this because I'm no underwear expert but I remember doing research for a book I set during the Edwardian era and women did wear long undergarments similar to boxer shorts. They called them "drawers" or "knickers."  

And, if you check out this link you'll notice that the photo of these "new" women's boxer briefs isn't that much different from what women wore to the beach in 1915.  Just an observation.

Here's the link from which I quoted.

When A Man Loves A Man

Amazon Link

 

When A Man Loves A Man; Kim Davis In Federal Custody; Bisexual Israeli Guys; PrEP Study and HIV

When A Man Loves A Man

I'll update with more links as I get them, but for now I'm linking to the publisher's web site for the release of When A Man Loves A Man. It's the most recent book in the Glendora Hill series. And this one is focused on a couple of new characters that are introduced, one of whom is an openly gay cowboy and country western singer. I never hear anything mainstream where men sing love songs about other men and I wanted to do that with fiction with this book.

There's an interesting twist to this one that is sort of the opposite of coming out of the closet as gay. In this particular case, without giving spoilers, it's the opposite of what you might think.  

Here's the blurb:

Clayton's two passionate dreams in life are marrying the man he loves, Bobby Joe, and making it big as an openly gay country western singer. He thinks life is simple until he surprises Bobby Joe one weekend in Glendora Hill at the Marshall Ranch and discovers a few secrets Bobby Joe's been keeping from him all along.When Bobby Joe's dad rejects him with obvious contempt, Clayton's not sure how to deal with him or the rest of Bobby Joe’s unexpected family. His plans to ask for Bobby Joe’s hand in marriage fall through each time he comes close to the right moment.With the help of recurring characters like Sebastian, Judd, and Avery, Clayton finds some comfort in Glendora Hill, but not nearly as much as he'd hoped for. Will the obstacles that stand in his way of marrying Bobby Joe be too hard to fight? And will Bobby Joe's hateful dad ever get over the fact that a strong handsome gay cowboy like Clayton wants to marry his precious son?

Ravenous Romance Link

Kim Davis In Federal Custody

The Kentucky county clerk, Kim Davis, who has been defying legal orders to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples based on her religious convictions, was taken into federal custody today. I'm sure the saga is going to continue.

A defiant county clerk was sent to jail for contempt Thursday after insisting that her “conscience will not allow” her to follow a federal judge’s orders to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

“God’s moral law conflicts with my job duties,” Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis told U.S. District Judge David Bunning. “You can’t be separated from something that’s in your heart and in your soul.”

The judge said she left him with no alternative but to jail her, since fines alone would not change her mind. A deputy escorted her out of the courtroom, although not in handcuffs, to be turned over to the custody of federal marshals.

The hard part for me with all this is that while I understand her religious convictions, I don't understand her outright contempt for the law. And that's as far as I'm taking this. It's the law. The law has nothing to do with how you feel, think, or what you believe. If that were the case and everyone acted the way she's been acting we'd all be living in absolute chaos.

You can read the rest here.

Bisexual Israeli Guys

There have been studies lately that seem to indicate that there are a lot more people who identify as something other than heterosexual. This one is about Israeli guys...

The Israeli website Mako teamed up with the Pannels Institute to conduct a study in which they asked 600 non-religious Israeli Jews over the age of 18 about their sexual preferences, and the results may delight you.

Researchers found that 67 percent of respondents considered themselves to be heterosexual, but only 3 percent of that 67 percent said they were “100 percent homosexual.” The remaining 30 percent said they were somewhere in-between straight and gay.

I'm not all that shocked. I've been posting for ages about how many "straight" guys I dated when I was single, many of whom now have wives and kids. They always told me, at the time, they were bisexual. One was a big strong Marine who shocked me when he started showing interest. It's something that wasn't talked about as much in the 90's as it is now...or accepted as much.

There's more here, with a few photos.

PreP Study and HIV

I've posted about this before. It's about gay men taking the drug, Truvada, as a prophylaxis. I think this is one of the first studies to actually get results that's not considered a clinical trial.

Over 600 people have been found to not have contracted HIV after using PrEP for two and a half years.

Researchers at the Kaiser Pemanente Medical Center in San Francisco have given over 600 people Truvada to use daily.

No one contracted HIV.

The average age of the study participants was 37, 99% were gay or bisexual men and the average length of individual usage was 7.2 months.

You can read more here. 

The article goes on to mention the same arguments they've been discussing all along. One group supports PrEP while another considers it a "party" drug designed to keep people from using condoms. My biggest concern is the cost of the drug and the fact that like all other drugs there are side effects. However, even though it's not something I would personally do because I don't like taking ANY medications at all, I do think that if it helps anyone out there either emotionally or physically it's worth the try.


 

Doylestown, PA Trans Surgery Temporarily Halted; Josh Duggar Allegedly Missing From Rehab; Rehab; Manspreading In Oxford English Dictionary

Doylestown, PA Trans Surgery Temporarily Halted

This happened right here, about 10 miles from New Hope where I live, in Doylestown, PA. I'm not totally surprised, given the large LGBT population here and the fact that we have one of the best transgender surgeons only steps away from our local shopping center in New Hope.

In any event, Christine Kitzler, a male to female transgender person, wound up in court today in Doylestown because her parents wanted to halt her surgery. At a glance, it's actually a complicated case in some respects, however, for those who understand it better it's not so complicated.

A Bucks County judge has dismissed the petition to block the surgery filed by the parents of Christine Kitzler, who said she would rather die on the operating table than continue living with male anatomy.


Kitzler, 48, said during a break in the emergency hearing that the risk factors her father raised — including complications from her HIV and Hepatitis C diagnoses — were worth enduring to have her body match the gender she's identified with since growing up in suburban Cleveland, Ohio.

Given the potential medical complications, I think it's one of the most emotional cases I've seen in a long time. However, when you read some of the quotes, and the fact that she's 48 years old and not getting any younger, I think it will convince you just how much Christine needs this surgery.

I'm glad the judge is allowing her to proceed. You can read the rest here.

I just wish I'd seen this in some of the larger gay publications. It's a good example of how those coming from huge privilege like Caitlyn Jenner get all the most sensational attention and how other significantly important trans cases are completely ignored by the media...including the LGBT media.  Most have the highly sensationalized pieces up about Kim Davis today, but not one about this. Maybe it will be in later this week, but what a shame even then, because a small blogger like me had to report it first.

Josh Duggar Allegedly Missing From Sex Rehab

No one is certain what's really going on here, but it's being alleged that Josh Duggar either didn't show up for rehab or he left.



Josh hasn’t attended any of the mandatory prayer meetings or church services.

“Josh definitely wasn’t there,” an inside source told Radar Online. “It was very strange.”

Raw Story added: “Not a soul in Rockford, Illinois has actually spotted Josh Duggar among the individuals receiving treatment at RU.”

In fact, they're saying he "vanished."

You can check this out here, with comments.

Manspreading In Oxford English Dictionary

On the lighter side, the word manspreading was recently added to The Oxford English Dictionary. For those who don't know, manspreading is when a man sits down and opens his legs almost as wide as they can go...a natural reflex. 

The venerable Oxford English Dictionary just issued its quarterly update of new words that have gained enough widespread use in the English language to merit being added to its ever-growing database, and “manspreading” made the cut.

You'll want to check this out, here, just for the photos. Trust me...and there are comments.

Frankly, even though I'll admit to being guilty of manspreading in my time, I always have to wonder how some women can sit with their knees so tightly pinned/locked together and still be comfortable. It's like they're guarding the crown jewels.

I don't think I ever saw Ellen sit with her knees pinned together that way. Just an observation.

The Rainbow Detective Agency: On Fleek

Amazon Link 

Five Star Amazon Review Excerpt:

“On fleek.” No, it’s not in the dictionary. But it kind of describes how I feel about the fourth Rainbow Detective Agency novel titled ON FLEEK. Just when I thought I had these two detectives figured out … or maybe I should say their creator Ryan Field … I found myself shaking my head in wonder. Yeah, and delight too.

In many ways, this little jewel is what the title says: Perfect. On fleek.




 

Kim Davis' Constant Refusal; The Danish Girl Eddie Redmayne; 12 Year Old Gets Support From Andrew Goldstein

Kim Davis' Constant Refusal

On Tuesday in Rowan County Kentucky, that clerk, Kim Davis, flatly refused to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples in yet another attempt to defy the law.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene in the case, leaving Davis no legal grounds to refuse to grant licenses to gay couples. A district judge could now hold her in contempt, which can carry steep fines or jail time.

If you watch the video, you'll see this is not a humble woman nor is she in any way remotely saint-like. From her expression to the tone in her voice, you'll see absolute hatred for same sex couples. 

I've seen and heard a lot of discussion about this on social media, from both sides. The bottom line, whether you agree with her or not, is that she's violating the law. This isn't about being mean to her. You might not agree with a 55 mph speed limit based on your religious beliefs, but if you don't adhere to it you'll wind up paying a price. And I think that's what going to have to happen here. You either have respect for the law, or you don't.

You can read the rest and see the video here. 

The Danish Girl Eddie Redmayne

Eddie Redmayne has done it again in an upcoming film titled, The Danish Girl, and this time with a trans character he's nailed better than anything I've seen before in a movie trailer.  It really is the kind of artistic culture that makes dealing with these back fence Christians like Kim Davis tolerable. It shows there's always a balance between the most absurd and the most magnificent.

This time he headlines as Lile Elbe, the Danish painter born Einar Wegener and considered one of the world’s first trans women and who underwent the first gender reassignment surgery in 1930. The dramatic love story, adapted from the book by David Ebershoff, opens in New York and Los Angeles on November 27, and in additional cities in December. We can’t wait!

You can see the trailer here. 

12 Year Old Gets Support From Andrew Goldstein

This is a great story about a 12 year old athlete, Braeden Lange, who came out as gay in a moment of sheer frustration online...while others were making gay jokes. I see the idiots make them all the time on Twitter and sometimes I go after them, sometimes I don't. The best one I've seen so far was this straight guy comparing gay men to light beer. I went after that one. I think that sometimes...we should tell them. In any event, after Lange came out online his parents received all the notifications he'd received from friends and he wound up basically coming out to the entire world.

He endured nothing but homophobia in the days that followed. His parents did embrace him, after the initial shock wore off, and his dad told him about Andrew Goldstein, another pro athlete who came out about 20 years ago.

“It really gave me some hope knowing that if he could do it, I could probably do it too,” Braeden remembers.

Braeden’s dad reached out to Goldstein, who is now a post-doctoral researcher at UCLA, via email to see if there was a chance he’d talk with Braeden.

Andrew sent Braeden a video message, telling him, “You’re the bravest kid I’ve ever heard of.” He also sent Braeden the helmet he wore during the period he came out. “I think it belongs with you so you know I stand with you,” Andrew told him.

I post often about how pro athletes like Goldstein and Michael Sam inspire younger people, however, I don't always have good examples to give. Here's one. Pay attention to it, especially those of you who insult us each and every time you tell us that labels don't matter. Being gay matters to this kid and millions more like him.

You can read more here.

The Rainbow Detective Agency Box Set

by Ryan Field

Amazon KU FREE

 

 

Genital Check For Trans Athletes; Billy Ray Cyrus on Pansexual Miley; Candis Cane and Curb Your Enthusiam

Genital Check For Trans Athletes

In S. Dakota there's an absurd law maker who wants to inspect genitals...of high school students.

A South Dakota lawmaker is hoping to pass legislation that could mean trans athletes could have their genitals inspected before they compete in high school sporting events.

Roger Hunt, a Republican, believes that birth certificates and looking at people’s genitals is the only way to be sure of someone’s gender. He also claims that gender is determined ‘at conception’.
Comparing his issues of gender with more progressive views in states such as California, Hunt said: ‘This is South Dakota. We haven’t adopted the East Coast culture. We haven’t adopted the West Coast culture. We maintain our own culture.’

Or rather, his own lack of culture.


You can read more here.

Billy Ray Cyrus on Pansexual Miley

Miley Cyrus came out as pansexual recently, which basically means she doesn't identify as a boy or girl and she isn't concerned with whether or not her partner is boy or girl. To paraphrase google, pansexual basically means you're not limiting yourself to any sex or gender...or gender identity. I remember the first time I saw the term used was when Ravenous Romance, one of my publishers, had a pansexual category for books. I'm not even sure that category is there any longer.


In any event, Billy Ray Cyrus, her dad, said this...

‘We’ve always been very open-minded,’ he told E! Online at Sunday’s VMAs. ‘Listen, it’s all about love and light. Forget the negativity and the haters. She’s rocking and rolling and having a good time. What the world needs is love. There’s too much hate…The world needs positive influences.’

This is not just an attitude Billy Ray has adopted in recent years.

‘Even when she was a little girl, we told her, “Hey, baby, do what you do and have fun doing it. Do it because you love it, not because you have to.” Seeing her happy is the greatest thing ever.’

You can read more here. 



Candis Cane and Curb Your Enthusiasm

I have to hand it to Candis Cane with this one. I'm not sure I would have done something like this, especially with a show that I love, created by a man that I find close to comedic genius. But Cane actually walked out on a part while shooting a scene in Curb Your Enthusiasm.

‘The part was for a trans woman who had to go to the bathroom really bad and decided she was going to go in the men’s line because it was quicker,’ Cayne recalls in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

In front of the show’s creator and star Larry David, Cayne decided to gracefully bow out.

‘I said, “Thank you for writing a trans part, but I can’t audition because a trans woman wouldn’t do this. I have to honor my community,” and I walked out of the audition, exiting with,  “But I love the show!”‘

This is a tough one for me because I "get" Larry David's humor and I've always liked the way he deals with issues social like this...and manages to bring humor to them. He's one of the few that I think has managed to move forward with his comedy, where others have failed.

You can read more about it here.

The Rainbow Detective Agency Box Set

by Ryan Field

Amazon KU FREE