From the Overnight Desk

Posted on May 19, 2012 by admin

African-American Pastors Call on Obama to Reconsider Gay Marriage Stance
Christian Post
MP says more rights needed for transgendered Canadians
MetroNews Canada
Protecting LGBT Refugees from Violence
Advocate.com
Gay Activists Attacked in St. Petersburg
International Business Times
Asia’s transgender population in HIV crisis: UN
Radio Australia News
Erasing Bisexuality: Another Kind Of Homophobia
Care2.com (blog)
New Rules Target Sexual Assault Epidemic Among LGBT Inmates
Advocate.com

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106 year old transgender woman speaks at Burma LGBT rights event

Posted on May 19, 2012 by admin

transgenderTransgender, 106 years old . . . perfect fors lgbtSr!

Burma (and it’s nice to hear it called that instead of the militarily imposed “Myanmar“) just had it’s first IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia), no small feat it itself.  Among the speakers was a 106 year old transgender woman.  Best thing in the item?  The authorities did not disrupt the event.

From GayStarNews.com:

The 106-year-old transgender woman who addressed the first ever public gay rights rally in Burma must have seen incredible changes in her lifetime, from living under British colonialism to Burmese independence to military rule to the recent opening up.

At the first celebration of IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia) in the Burmese capital Rangoon yesterday, a local youth brought the centenarian transgender woman to the stage during a section called Paying Respect to Seniors.

Continue at source 

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Interview: Photographer Rick Motzkus

Posted on May 18, 2012 by admin

By Mark McNease

One of the things being editor of lgbtSr has taught me is to stay on the lookout.  I’m always scanning the news very early in the morning, and my “pay attention” gene seems to have multiplied exponentially the past year.  I pay attention to the headlines, attention to what interests me and what I think will interest readers, and I pay attention to others: authors, poets, educators, photographers.

I happened upon Rick Motzkus’s photography in a roundabout way, through another photographer’s images we used as part of an interview.  It gets to the serendipitous nature of life and the pleasures of not knowing what we might discover each day.  Rick’s photography was one of those pleasures.  I was immediately struck by Rick’s series of aging LGBT faces and people and knew this was someone I wanted to introduce to the site’s readers, and to meet myself.  Rick is a clear example of who we are here, continuing to live, declining to be silent or to fade, and following our passions.

MM:  Could you tell us the basics first: where you live, how you got there, a bit about you and your partner Joe?

RM:  I was born 57 years ago inOmaha,Nebraska, but I’ve lived in SouthernCaliforniamost of my life.  I met my husband, Joe, 36 years ago right after I turned 21.  We met at a local disco, Ripples, right before last call, ended up going to coffee afterwards until4:30in the morning.  By the time we left the coffee shop, we knew there was something special going on.  We’ve lived inLong Beachfor the last 26 years, and we have the most wonderful kids:  Buddy and Rosie, two golden retrievers.

In 2006, on our 30th anniversary, we went through a commitment ceremony.  Going into it, I thought it would just be a nice affirmation of our lives together.  However, during the ceremony I found myself crying, Joe was crying, the minister was crying with us, and I realized this was the happiest day of my life.  It was incredible to be in front of family and friends and celebrating our love together.  During the window period before Prop. 8 passed in November 2008, we joined the other 18,000 couples who got legally married.  So many people had fought so hard for gays to marry that we felt we didn’t have a choice but to support our community in any way we could.

Continue reading →

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This week in the ZeitGAYst: Brady Bunch dad Robert Reed dies of AIDS (1992)

Posted on May 18, 2012 by admin

Our weekly small plate from ZeitGAYst.com:

Actor Robert Reed, aka “Mr. Brady”, Dies of AIDS (May 12, 1992)

In the early days of the AIDS crisis it was common to assume that any man stricken with it was gay.  As a result AIDS inadvertently outed a number of its celebrity victims.  Although their close circle of friends may have known about their sexual orientation, the general public was largely unaware.  However, once news that celebs such as Rock Hudson, Anthony Perkins and Liberace had AIDS their “secret life” became known.  It was an unfortunate way of being outed.  And in some cases family members vehemently denied that AIDS was the cause of death.

Madonna’s Documentary “Truth or Dare” Opens (May 10, 1991)

The documentary Truth or Dare followed Madonna on her “Blond Ambition” concert tour as she played Japan, Canada, the U.S. and Europe.  It was shot during her dalliance with Warren Beatty (who she starred with in the 1990 movie Dick Tracy).  Others who appeared in the doc included gal pal Sandra Bernhard and Antonio Banderas (who co-starred with Madonna in the movie version of Evita six years later).  It opened in New York and L.A. the weekend of May 10, 1991.

Joan Crawford Marries Pepsi President Alfred Steele (May 10, 1955)

Alfred Steele was Joan Crawford’s fourth, and last, husband (it was his first marriage).  She was 50, he 54 when they married in Las Vegas.  Steele died of a heart attack four years later.  (Interestingly, all of Crawford’s marriages lasted four years.)  Besides being Alfred’s spouse Joan also served as a tireless worldwide ambassador for the soft drink.  At the time of their marriage Crawford’s adopted daughter Christina was 15.

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LGBT senior housing progresses in Philly

Posted on May 18, 2012 by admin

seniors

An update of sorts:  Philadelphia will soon be the second city in the country to have an LGBT senior living complex.

From Philly.com:

Philadelphia will soon become the second city in the country to have a lesbian, gay, transgendered and bisexual senior living complex.

It’s a project advocates and developers have been pushing for and working on for years.

Today City Councilman Mark Squilla introduced legislation to enable the two-story parking garage currently owned by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority to be redeveloped into a six-story, 56-unit senior LGBT-friendly, affordable housing complex on 13th street between Spruce and Locust, right in the heart of the Gayborhood.

Continue at source 

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RIP Donna Summer

Posted on May 18, 2012 by admin

I was a Crosby, Stills & Nash kid.  Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix.  I was never a fan of disco, with one exception: Donna Summer.  Part of it was her magnificent voice, and part of it was the songs.  ”Last Dance” will forever be as much a place and time for me as perhaps the best disco song ever written.  It chills me to this day when those first few notes play.  She was by all accounts a gracious woman, and by any measure among a handful of truly great singers of her generation, not far removed from mine.  Many a gay teenager found release in her music.  We’re all grown up now, but the memories remain. – Mark/Editor

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‘Aged to Perfection’ guest Cecilia Mills determined to help at-risk LGBTQ youth

Posted on May 17, 2012 by admin


We were treated to another good interview on last night’s ‘Aged to Perfection with lgbtSr’ on BlogTalkRadio.  Our guest was ally Cecilia Mills, who recently got her Master of Public Administration from Arizona State University.  Cecilia is off soon to Los Angeles for an internship at Equality California, and will turning her focus to at-risk and homeless LGBTQ youth.

She wanted to pass on the following information as well:  If any youth experiences homelessness and needs assistance to call 1-800-RUNAWAY that is a 24HR 365DY hotline that will connect youth with their nearest providers. And if anyone needs to find a  LGBTQ homeless youth provider the Ali Forney Center has the most comprehensive list by state here http://www.aliforneycenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=cms.page&id=1007.

Posted in Aged to Perfection, Blog Talk Radio | Leave a comment