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The day has finally arrived for the follow-up 2008′s smash hit Sex and the City, The Movie, Sex and the City 2! Although the reviews are a bit lacking in positive department, we’re pretty sure you’re going to love it anyway…really, a gay wedding as the opener? Hooray!
Below is an interview done by Towleroad.com, and with one question, their feelings on gay marriage emerge – and we agree, New York of all places should be the first to make it law, permanently!.
Michelle Lagos, photo by Jeffrey Horvitz
Michelle was first introduced to our readers in our first issue of id Magazine, with and article on her volunteer work with the Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center (SMYRC.) She has 14 years experience in hair and makeup, and lucky for you she is offering 45% off haircuts through our ideals program.
Dear Mr. President,
On November 4, 2008, I spent the evening at the Democratic Headquarters of a small town. I watched anxiously as election results poured in from across the nation, nervous and hopeful that enough Americans had believed in the change you promised to bring.
Then it happened. The broadcaster announced that the network was declaring you the winner; the tears welled up in my eyes. Cheers erupted and I turned to hug the person standing closest to me, as we all did.
Balloons and confetti flew, and photographers began snapping pictures. One aimed his camera at me and I turned away. After another attempt, he asked if he could take my picture. I said no. I couldn’t risk having my photo appear in a newspaper because I am a Marine, and the person in my arms was my boyfriend.
We had met nearly three years earlier while I was in Marine officer training. He was working in a clothing store near a bar I went to on the weekends. I wanted a reason to stay and talk to him, so I bought a pair of shoes I did not need. We went on our first date the next weekend, and the rest was history. I was later stationed across the country and we flew cross-country to see each other. When I found out I was being deployed, he came with my family to see me off.
It was my first deployment, and I had no idea what to expect. It is a strange feeling to say goodbye to someone you know you might never see again. When have you hugged enough? How do you know when to let go? How many times do you tell them you love them? How do you convince them everything will be fine when you are not sure it will be?
I looked at my mom and dad, my sister and nephews, and my boyfriend, trying to burn their images into my mind so I would not forget them.
As I looked around the parade deck and saw my fellow Marines kissing their wives and girlfriends goodbye, I felt crushed. I could not kiss my boyfriend of two years goodbye. Worse, he was afraid to even stand too close to me for fear of anyone getting the wrong idea. I was willing to risk it out of my love for him, but he – like the rest of my family – feared being responsible for doing or saying anything that could have jeopardized my career.
Several years earlier, sitting in a Marine recruiting office, my recruiter asked me if I was gay. He had been trying to explain DADT to me and was frustrated by how long it was taking. He said it only mattered if I was gay, so he asked. It was the first time I was confronted with DADT, but it would not be the last.
When you ask a straight Marine if he is gay, he says no without hesitation. When you ask a gay Marine, he either lies or cites DADT and declines to answer. You can sacrifice your integrity or invite suspicion.
When I returned from Iraq, I had trouble adjusting to being home. Like many of my fellow Marines, I had trouble reconnecting to my friends and family. I did not know how to relate to my boyfriend. I had trouble being intimate, trouble sleeping, trouble expressing my feelings. Our relationship suffered.
I became depressed, and we grew apart. I could not seek counseling because my relationship with him was against the law. Talking to a counselor about my relationship would have resulted in my own discharge. I suffered alone and in silence.
When he finally left me, I was devastated. My other half – my partner through school, transfer, and deployment – was gone. After four years he had grown tired of living with the shades closed in the apartment, afraid that neighbors would see us sitting beside each other on the couch. My work suffered and my colleagues noticed a difference in me, yet I had no choice but to lie and cover it up, insisting that I was fine.
Every day, gay and lesbian service members suffer and our loved ones suffer. We are forced to lie to our brothers-in-arms and our units suffer. We lie about our relationships, and our families lie to protect us.
The law renders us second-class citizens by prohibiting us from having or forming relationships – the same type of relationships our straight counterparts form that are hailed as vital to the health and success of our Armed Forces.
While they have family housing, family counseling, family readiness officers, and key volunteers, we serve alone. We are denied access to services and support created specifically to help us with family issues and stress – much of which results from the very policy that prohibits us from seeking help in the first place.
The sacrifices gay and lesbian families make just to get through each day are more than most people can even fathom, and we do it in silence. I live every day with the knowledge that I could be fired simply for being honest about who I am. I lie about my loved ones and myself in order to survive.
Still, my sense of duty and patriotism drive me to serve despite the restrictions this law imposes on my family and me.
Please, Mr. President, work with Congress to end this discriminatory law.
Let me serve honestly, openly, and with integrity.
Semper Fidelis,
A U.S. Marine
(The writer is currently serving and unable to identify himself publicly.)
To see more letters and lend your support, visit the campaign website.
Ok, this video is absolutely Sasha Fierce! We can see that some of Beyonce’s styling from her and Lady Gaga‘s, “Telephone” have spilled over into this video – especially the Betty Page look. The 70′s home movie feel is a nice touch, and we’re stoked that this song was penned with Beyonce’s sister, Solange Knowles.
“Why Don’t You Love Me” – BeyoncĂ© from BeyoncĂ© on Vimeo.
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Wow! The Annie Leibovitz shot Vanity Fair sure knows how to get people interested in soccer! The June cover sports Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba in nothin’ but underwear…On the inside we hear there are other marquee stars dressed in the same way: Landon Donovan of the United States, Kaka and Pato of Brazil and Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon (Cama-Roon!) are two of those inside. The 2010 World Cup proves to be a an event worth watching and fortunately, there are other heart-stoppers other than David Beckham!
The event kicks off on June 11th, hosted by South Africa, the home team takes on Mexico in Johannesburg. The following day the United States has its first game, up against England.
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Courtesy ACLU Wesson Attendance Center student Ceara Sturgis, who is gay, learned on Friday that school officials did not place her in the 2010 yearbook.
From the Jackson Free Press:
When Veronica Rodriguez opened Wesson Attendance Center’s Yearbook on Friday, she didn’t find a trace of her lesbian daughter Ceara Sturgis after a long battle with school officials to include a photo of her daughter wearing a tuxedo in the school’s 2010 yearbook.
“They didn’t even put her name in it,” Sturgis’ mother Veronica Rodriguez said. “I was so furious when she told me about it. Ceara started crying and I told her to suck it up. Is that not pathetic for them to do that? Yet again, they have crapped on her and made her feel alienated.”
The Stranger was kind enough to provide information on how to taker action: Time for an accountability moment: the website for the Wesson Attendance Center is here. Ronald Greer is WAC’s principal and you can email him here. Oscar Hawkins is WAC’s high school principal and you can email him here. The school’s phone number is (601) 643-2221. The school’s fax number is (601) 643-2458.
As for the ACLU? From the Jackson Free Press:
ACLU legal director Kristy L. Bennett said the district referred to a 2004 settlement of Youngblood v. School Board of Hillsborough County, Fla. In that case, former Robinson High School principal Kevin McCarthy refused to alter the school’s senior photo dress code that required female students to wear a scoop-necked drape, which ruled out the possibility of student Nicole Youngblood posing in a suit.


Youngblood sued the Hillsborough County School Board that year, claiming the rule was discriminatory. The resulting settlement allowed seniors 14 days to appeal the dress code prior to photos.

 ACLU attorneys maintain that the Youngblood case made no official reference to the student’s sexuality, however. Shannon Minter, an attorney who represented Youngblood in the 2004 case, said Copiah had chosen a poor foundation upon which to build an argument, considering the school settled with the plaintiff.

”The school agreed to settle the case and changed their policy. That’s the only reason we dropped our appeal,” Minter said. “These policies are blatantly unlawful. Any court of appeals in this country would likely find such policy to be unlawful now.”
In an effort spur support for repealing the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network has been posting letters from service members, addressed directly to President Obama. From their website:
Stories from the Frontlines: Letters to President Barack Obama” is a new media campaign launched to underscore the urgent need for congressional action and presidential leadership at this critical point in the fight to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). Every weekday morning as we approach the markup of the Defense Authorization bill in the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, SLDN and a coalition of voices supporting repeal, will share an open letter to the President from a person impacted by this discriminatory law. We are urging the President to include repeal in the Administration’s defense budget recommendations, but also to voice his support as we work to muster the 15 critical votes needed on the Senate Armed Services Committee to include repeal. The Defense Authorization bill represents the best legislative vehicle to bring repeal to the president’s desk. It also was the same vehicle used to pass DADT in 1993. By working together, we can help build momentum to get the votes! We ask that you forward and post these personal stories.
Here’s Today’s Letter:
April 28, 2010
President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,I was humbled to have earned the title of U.S. Marine just two years ago – my goal since I was 14 years old. But just nine weeks ago, I was informed of my discharge under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law.
Mr. President, if I could be serving my country right now – I would be. Instead, I was fired while you were my Commander and Chief.
The stories we hear of discharged service members are becoming far too common and are based around a primitive law that we should have eliminated years ago. As this injustice continues to hurt our country, we are in desperate need of your support and leadership as we work to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
After I finished my training, I was a 20-year-old reservist. I returned to school to continue working on my undergraduate degree with hopes of becoming an officer. I wish I could tell you about my distinguished service, about stories from the war overseas, or about how being a Marine has changed my perspective on life, but I can’t.
My discharge came from the fear that my sexual orientation was going to be revealed by a third party; a group of unknown Marines who threatened to use my sexuality as a way to retaliate after a dispute in a bar. I had spoken with two fellow Marines from my unit; both of whom I trusted. They calmed me, told me that it wasn’t a big deal, and reassured me that everything was going to be fine.
I returned to drill only to find out that the two Marines – the Marines I confided in — had mentioned it and word had reached my 1st Sergeant and Commanding Officer. They told the two Marines to submit written statements detailing everything I had told them. When I walked in to my 1st Sergeant’s office the first question out of his mouth was, “Are you gay?”
I answered honestly. The investigation was now underway.
The 1st Sergeant proceeded to tell me that there was no way he could protect my privacy in the matter, citing the “grapevine,” and having no control over what people within the unit said or did. I was told by my CO to hang tight and wait to hear from the Battalion Commander.
Ultimately I was discharged, a fate I found out only through my persistent calls and emails. My dreams of being an officer had been shattered and it felt as if the world was tumbling down on me and all I could do was step aside.
Upon earning the title of Marine, I took an oath and vowed to “defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” This enemy is a domestic one, and with your direction as Commander and Chief, this is a war in which we can be victorious.
“Semper Fidelis” is the Marine Corps motto meaning “Always Faithful.” Not only am I willing and anxious to go overseas, but I am prepared to pay the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect our freedoms.
I have remained faithful to my country; please be faithful to me.
Very Respectfully,
LCpl. Danny Hernandez,
USMC (Separated)
I used to read comic books religiously when I was a kid. I remember Archie, but it was tame for my tastes…I remember loving the Saturday morning cartoons, especially Josie and the Pussycats…and that with Archie they had that funky music video-ish number in every episode, Jughead looked really silly and well…just uncool. Today, the nearly 70 year old publication hits a queer milestone: the introduction of its first gay character, Kevin.
I was unaware of the homo-inuendoes made about the comic over the years – namely in Chasing Amy, where Hooper and Banky argue about Archie and Jughead being a closeted couple: (Hooper says)
It’s true. Archie was the bitch and Jughead was the butch – that’s why – Jughead wears that crown-looking hat all the time: he the king, of queen Archie’s world.
Well…ok! If you say so…anyway, kudos to the Archie crew finally bringing the comic up-to-date in the real world. Now that they’ve introduced on gay character, you know what that means? Another one has to be created, because, after all, Kevin has to have a boyfriend, especially if he’s so damn good looking that Veronica wants him!
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Team Oregon will hold it’s monthly meeting Monday, April 26th. The meeting is for team Oregon members, but it is also open to anyone interested in learning about the team and what they are doing to achieve the goal of going to the Cologne, Germany Gay Games. From their meeting announcement:
At each monthly “Get Pumped” meeting, two main things happen:
1. People interested in joining or supporting Team Oregon 2010 can learn more about us and join up!
2. Members can learn about planned activities in which they can participate. Members earn points toward their travel “scholarship” by participating in activities. Of course, this is also a great time to share new ideas.
The meeting takes place at Flying Cat Cafe is located at 3041 Southeast Division Street Portland, OR 97214 – (503) 234-0910 Look here for the official Gay Games Cologne 2010 website.
