LGBT Celebrities
Bea Arthur's Lasting Gift to Fight LGBT Homelessness
Published August 18, 2009 @ 03:15PM PT
Earlier this year the world lost one of its biggest gay icons, when former Golden Girl Bea Arthur died. Arthur was ever the champion of LGBT causes, so much so that her name will now carry on in the fight against LGBT homelessness.
The Ali Forney Center, which for the past seven years has worked to serve the LGBT homeless population in New York City, announced today that they would rename one of their shelters after the legendary television and theater performer. The official renaming will take place at a memorial service at the Majestic Theater, and will commemorate Arthur for her work to end homelessness among LGBT youth.
In 2005, Arthur said that her work to support organizations like the Ali Forney Center stemmed from wanting to make the world a better place for vulnerable kids. "I'm very, very involved in charities involving youth and the plight of foster children. But these kids at the Ali Forney Center are literally dumped by their families because of the fact that they are lesbian, gay, or transgender."
It's partly that dedication to fight for the rights of LGBT youth that made Bea Arthur such a beloved figure in the LGBT community. Homelessness is a pandemic among LGBT youth, with statistics saying that up to 25 percent of LGBT teens are rejected by their families and face a life on the streets.
Everything can and should be done to prevent that. And that's something Arthur recognized. And for that, while it seems kind of cheesy, it seems like the most appropriate thing to say is, "Thank you for being a friend," to the LGBT population yet again.
Lady Gaga as Gay Culture Warrior
Published August 14, 2009 @ 07:49AM PT
Say what you want about Lady Gaga, but the woman certainly loves her gays. She's the cover story on Out Magazine (after already hitting the covers of Rolling Stone), and she's got a message for the globe: I want to turn the world gay.
It’s not an underground tool for me. It’s my whole life. So I always sort of joke that the real motivation is to just turn the world gay.
Lady Gaga (born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, which is a lot harder to fit on a driver's license) is quickly becoming the next big gay icon. And she notes that in large part, it's because she's always been surrounding by LGBT teachers and mentors.
I had a few gay piano teachers. I was in acting class and ballet from a very young age, and I remember being around a lot of gay boys in dance class. I feel intrinsically inclined toward a more gay lifestyle.
So yeah, it's not the hard-hitting news that LGBT activists are questioning Bill Clinton, or that marriage equality advocates are gearing up for quite the battle in Maine. But I think we all have to admit that if Lady Gaga can succeed in making the world even the slightest bit more gay, we're all better off. :)
Stewie Griffin Becomes World's Youngest Openly Gay Person
Published August 13, 2009 @ 02:25PM PT
At one-years-old, Stewie Griffin has likely made history for becoming the youngest openly gay person ever. Sure, he's an animated cartoon character from the TV show "Family Guy," but still....
But it's true. "Family Guy" creator Seth McFarlane outed the character in an interview with Playboy hitting newsstands. Not only is Stewie gay, but there was almost an episode where Stewie traveled back in time to rewrite a Biblical passage often misquoted by anti-LGBT activists. Here's what McFarlane told Playboy:
We had an episode that went all the way to the script phase in which Stewie does come out. It had to do with the harassment he took from other kids at school. He ends up going back in time to prevent a passage in Leviticus from being written: ‘Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind. It is an abomination.’ But we decided it’s better to keep it vague, which makes more sense because he’s a 1-year-old. Ultimately, Stewie will be gay or a very unhappy repressed heterosexual...He has a lot of aggression, which comes from confusion and uncertainty about his orientation."
Kind of sounds like some Republican politicians, perhaps....
Billie Jean King and Harvey Milk Get Presidential Medals Today
Published August 12, 2009 @ 04:18AM PT
Two of the most influential LGBT people in the last fifty years are due to get the Presidential of Freedom Medal today. Billie Jean King, the legendary lesbian tennis player, and Harvey Milk, the legendary gay San Francisco politician who was assassinated in 1978 after becoming the first openly gay man elected to political office in the country, are due to be honored by President Barack Obama today.
There are many other power players receiving awards today, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, renowned physicist Stephen Hawking, former Irish President Mary Robinson, Senator Ted Kennedy, and actor Sidney Poitier. Looking at that list, there are a couple of very LGBT-friendly straight allies (Tutu, Kennedy) getting medals, too.
Obama called all of this individuals "Agents of Change," which as a blogger at change.org is definitely a term I'm pleased by :) But when it comes to talking about how significant it is for both Billie Jean King and Harvey Milk to win these awards, it goes even a bit further. Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund President Chuck Wolfe said that in Milk's case, his award is both a chance to remember what might have been if Milk weren't killed, but also a chance to remember that Milk represented the aspirations of all Americans.
This is a moment that will transcend identity politics because Harvey Milk represents the aspirations of all Americans. More than 200 years ago Washington, Jefferson and Adams fought to create a more perfect union. They probably had no idea that their vision would be embodied in the late 20th century by a gay, Jewish camera shop owner in San Francisco...
Milk's murder could have had a chilling effect on the then burgeoning gay rights movement...Instead it's a testament to American idealism that in the 30 years since Milk's assassination, we have continued to appreciate and honor his political work.
In her own right, King is thought to be the first female athlete to receive this honor, a testament to both her amazing ability as a sports star, as well as her commitment to equal rights. King commeted to the Associated Press in the wake of the announcement that she'd receive the Presidential Medal:
I think it's the first time the LGBT community has been acknowledged. It's another breakthrough.
Agents of change, breaking through and being honored by the highest office in the United States. Yup, today is going to be one of those days where LGBT history gets written.
Daniel Radcliffe Says No To LGBT Suicide
Published August 10, 2009 @ 06:30AM PT
When it comes to celebrity support for LGBT rights, Daniel Radcliffe is giving everyone a run for their money. Two weeks ago Radcliffe gave an interview to the UK's Attitude magazine, where he talked about how much he loathed homophobia, and the people that foster it. Now he's giving a major donation to one of our favorite organizations, The Trevor Project, to combat suicide among LGBT youth. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is.
The Trevor Project announced today that Radcliffe would be joining its circle of major donors, to help support the organizations work among LGBT youth. Trevor works on a number of different issues, from combating violence against LGBT youth to fostering education programs that spotlight issues facing LGBT youth. They are perhaps most famous for their Trevor Helpline, a 24-hour suicide hotline for LGBT youth. That Help Line provides an invaluable service for LGBT populations, and the organization has said that call volume to the suicide hotline is up more than 300 percent since last year. Wow.
Maybe that's one reason why Radcliffe wants to support the organization so badly. There's perhaps never been a more critical time to deal with the issue of LGBT suicide, especially among young people. Here's what Radcliffe said in announcing the donation:
It's extremely distressing to consider that in 2009 suicide is a top three killer of young people, and it's truly devastating to learn that LGBTQ youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. I deeply hope my support can raise the organization's visibility so even more despondent youth become aware of The Trevor Helpline's highly trained counselors and Trevor’s many other resources. It's vitally important that young people understand they are not alone and, perhaps even more important, that their young lives have real value.
LGBT lives have real value. What a message for the most famous 20-year-old in the world to proclaim loudly. For more information on The Trevor Project, check them out here.
Was Julia Child Homophobic?
Published August 07, 2009 @ 11:55AM PT
A lot of people are about to make a lot of money this weekend, with the release of Nora Ephron's Julie & Julia, the new movie starring Meryl Streep as the iconic Julia Child. But as Julia Child is remembered this week for her lasting impact on the world of cooking, a few publications and bloggers are pointing something else out about the late chef: she might have been a bit homophobic, too.
JoeMyGod harkens back to an 2007 Boston Magazine article, which features some comments from chef Child that are not only a bit mean-spirited, but quite colorful in how they refer to gay people.
Homophobia was a socially acceptable form of bigotry in midcentury America, and Julia and Paul participated without shame for many years. She often used the term pedal or pedalo—French slang for a homosexual—draping it with condescension, pity, and disapproval. “I had my hair permanented at E. Arden’s, using the same pedalo I had before (I wish all the men in OUR profession in the USA were not pedals!),” she wrote to Simca. Fashion designers were “that little bunch of Pansies,” a cooking school was “a nest of homovipers,” a Boston dinner party was “peopled by 3 fags in an expensive house…. We felt hopelessly square and left when decently possible,” and San Francisco was beautiful but full of pedals—“It appears that SF is their favorite city! I’m tired of them, talented though they are.”
That excerpt certainly is vivid. But it doesn't exactly tell the whole story. Yes, reading the Boston Magazine article, it's pretty clear that Child wasn't entirely comfortable with how "gay men" populated the cooking business was during the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. But it also seems that late in her career, Child started to have a change of heart when it came to the issue of homosexuality. And it was mostly influenced by the onslaught of HIV/AIDS. Here's more:
But by the 1980s, when the AIDS crisis began to unfold, the horror of what was happening to people she knew, and people she loved, dealt a significant blow to her longtime prejudice. “Last year my husband and I stood by helplessly while a dear and beloved friend went through months of slow and frightening agony,” she told a crowd at the Boston Garden in 1988 during an AIDS benefit sponsored by the American Institute of Wine and Food. “But what of those lonely ones? The ones with no friends or family to ease the slow pain of dying? Those are the people we’re concerned about this evening. And food is of very special importance here. Good food is also love.”
Hmm...so is she or isn't she homophobic? It's a tough call. As a few others have noted, Julia Child had a lawsuit filed against her in 1992 for $3 million, after allegedly preventing an openly gay man from taking over a leadership position at American Institute for Wine and Food, which she helped launch. Child and a few allies dismissed the lawsuit, with Child telling the LA Times that she had nothing to do with the hiring practices of the Institute.
So the truth probably remains a bit of a mystery. But here's something that's definitely factual: Meryl Streep, who is taking on the role of Julia Child in Julie & Julia, is probably one of the most vocal Hollywood supporters of equal rights for LGBT folks. She even decried President Bush's efforts to pass a federal same-sex marriage ban at the 2004 Golden Globes.
Whatever Child's legacy may be, and it seems a bit of a mystery, Streep's legacy certainly isn't in question.
Brad Pitt on Gay Marriage: Everyone Should Have the Same Rights
Published August 05, 2009 @ 06:21PM PT
A few years ago, Brad Pitt said that he wouldn't marry Angelina Jolie until everyone had full and equal access to marriage, specifically committed gay and lesbian couples. To stand by that decision, Pitt even gave a significant sum of money to help defeat Proposition 8 in California last fall.
A few years later, Pitt is still standing by his words. He's interviewed in this coming week's issue of Parade Magazine, and among other things he waxes on about, he dishes a little on his thoughts about marriage. Here's the quip:
I have love in my life, a soul mate - absolutely. When someone asked me why Angie and I don't get married, I replied, 'Maybe we'll get married when it's legal for everyone else.' I stand by that, although I took a lot of flak for saying it - hate mail from religious groups. I believe everyone should have the same rights. They say gay marriage ruins families and hurts kids. Well, I've had the privilege of seeing my gay friends being parents and watching their kids grow up in a loving environment.
Pretty cool to have probably the most famous male celebrity in the world take such a progressive stand on marriage equality.
Incidentally, Pitt also talks a bit about the subject of love. His thoughts are pretty relevant to his positions on marriage equality. Namely, true love should be fostered and protected at all costs. And everyone deserves that. Take it away, Bradley:
Do you know how you tell real love? It's when someone else's interest trumps your own. I like to put it that way: trumps your own. Love of somebody else--of family, of your kids--becomes the most important, most worthwhile thing in your life. It's what you foster and protect. You have to recognize real love when it's there and know that in going after it there is always risk. To live with love, you have to chance losing it. That's also true when you decide to have kids. It's the risk you take for love.
