Category Archives: Gay News
Gay New York-Fire Island – INVASION OF THE PINES
Mascara, Mirth & Mayhem is a collection of photographs taken by renowned photographer Susan Kravitz over the past thirty years at the annual LGBTQ event known as the Invasion of the Pines.
The Invasion of the Pines occurs every July 4th and involves participants from the Fire Island communities of Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines. It began in 1976, when a member of the Cherry Grove community had been refused service in a Pines’ restaurant because he had been dressed in drag. In protest, a small group of Cherry Grove residents cross-dressed and took a water taxi to the Pines on Independence Day of that year, to stand up against this “height of insult” by “invading” their neighboring community. Four decades later, the Invasion has evolved into a uniquely raucous event that joyfully celebrates human rights and freedom of expression by thousands of people, straight and gay.
Kravitz’s photographs capture the rebelliousness, the high camp, and the joy of the Invasion. They are provocative, introspective, sad and funny, and tinged with sexual innuendo. Yet they also reflect another journey, one that gives insight into the LGBTQ movement itself.
From the fearful, AIDS-ridden years of the 1980s and 1990s, to the joyous years of this decade when LGBTQ people are out and proud (and, if they choose, legally married), these Invasion photographs celebrate a day to be free, to be whoever you want to be, and to be gay.
“My photographs are as much about the times I which they were taken as they are about the people who populate them. Ultimately, they are about human rights and freedom of expression seen through the lens of the Invasion.” said Kravitz of her eighty-eight color and black and white photographs.
Susan Kravitz is a social documentarian of daily life. Over the past thirty years she has exhibited her photographs in galleries and museums in the United States and abroad, including China, South Korea, Russia, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and the Czech Republic. Her Cherry Grove photographs were recently featured on the New York Times Lens blog (A Gay Haven on Fire Island) and in the International New York Times, Paris edition.
The book comes out next week! 148 pages, available in softcover or hardcover.
Book is available now on http://www.
CAZWELL Loose Wrists GAY MUSIC
NYC-based rapper Cazwell is back with “Loose Wrists”, the first single from his new music label Snow Cone, and hopes to “make America femme again.”
Cazwell performs much of the clip with his dancers in a set of pastel lace rompers designed by Hoza Rodriguz that have already gone viral on social media.
“We have a president that wants to take us off of the census and a vice president that believes shock therapy will cure gayness. At the end of last year, I vowed to be as gay as possible with my music and videos. We have to be more visible than ever and I hope I inspire that.”
WATCH AND SHARE
March for Equality 2017
Supporters of LGBT rights marched and rallied in the nation’s capital and dozens of other U.S. cities on Sunday, celebrating gains but angry over threats posed by the administration of President Donald Trump.
The centerpiece event, the Equality March in Washington, was endorsed by virtually every major national advocacy group working on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.
Activists have been embittered by the Trump administration’s rollback of federal guidance advising school districts to let transgender students use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice.
They also complain that Trump, who campaigned as a potential ally of gays and lesbians, has stocked his administration with foes of LGBT rights, including Vice President Mike Pence, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.
Throngs of marchers, many thousands strong, paraded past the White House and toward the Capitol, trailing behind a giant rainbow flag near the head of the procession.
Two 15-year-old marchers, Jessica Dodge and Shekinah Aho, held hands and wore shirts that said, “Make America Gay Again.”
The Los Angeles pride parade was renamed the ResistMarch, and tens of thousands turned out in Hollywood, some carrying rainbow flags or signs reading “Love Trumps Hate.” Speakers included Mayor Eric Garcetti, U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff, Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi, and RuPaul, the host of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
Waters led the crowd in a chant of “Impeach 45.”
“We’re going to take our country back from him,” she said. “I know that you have the strength. I know that you have the courage. And I know that each of you understand you have the power.”
Back in Washington, the activist leaders on hand included Sarah Kate Ellis, president of GLAAD, which monitors media coverage of the LGBT community.
She noted that Trump, breaking from the practice of Barack Obama, has declined to issue a proclamation in honor of Pride Month, and that the Trump administration has deleted questions about sexual orientation from planned federal surveys.
“If you look at their prioritization, we’re really low on it,” she said. “There absolutely is a resistance aspect to this march.”
READ MORE HERE
PULSE in Orlando…1 year Later
From the Washington Post –
For the first time since the massacre last June, when Orlando’s Pulse nightclub went from patrons’ safe haven to nightmare in a matter of seconds, owner Barbara Poma turned on the building’s outside lights Sunday — reminding mourners what it looked like before everything closed down.
Hues of pink and purple splashed across the bar’s black exterior and blue-green spotlights illuminated palm trees. The club’s logo — a large “P” — was projected on the wall.
It had been a year since the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history stole 49 lives there and scarred countless others; a year since Pulse, a safe space for Orlando’s gay community, fundamentally changed.
From CBS News –
Church bells throughout Orlando will ring 49 times at noon Monday, a year after the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Gov. Rick Scott ordered U.S. flags around Florida to be flown at half-staff, a giant rainbow flag will be unveiled at the Orange County government building, and three separate services at the Pulse nightclub will be held as well as a large evening gathering in the heart of downtown Orlando to honor the 49 patrons massacred at the gay nightclub.
The first service, closed to the public, was held for survivors, local officials and club employees, overlapping with the exact time gunman Omar Mateen began firing shots — a little after 2 a.m. on June 12, 2016 — during “Latin Night” at Pulse, reports CBS Orlando affiliate WKMG-TV.
“Just after 1 a.m. the angels walked through the parking lot and surrounded the nightclub,” the station says. “The same people dressed in wide, white angel wings protected family and friends in the days after the shooting last year so they could mourn in private. … Soft music played and the angels held candles, their backs facing the club as family gathered behind them.”
LIVE PROUD 2017 AT&T and GLAAD
Happy Pride! As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and Pride season, we at AT&T have launched our fifth-annual Live Proud campaign that celebrates self-expression and being bold (announcement release).
This year, from June 1 to July 31, friends, allies and members of the LGBT community are invited to participate in exciting sweepstakes and share affirming messages of freedom, confidence and unity to declare definitively that We Are Bold.
Participants can join the campaign in the following ways:
- Fans can post what We Are Bold means to them on their social channels, using either #ATTLiveProud or #WeAreBold on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, and AT&T will make a $1 donation to GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, for each post up to $50,000, the fundraising goal.
- When consumers click on a “Support GLAAD and Shop AT&T” offer at att.com/liveproud, AT&T will donate $5 to GLAAD toward the fundraising goal.
- Fans can also take part in the AT&T Live Proud Sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to New York City for themselves and a guest to attend a live taping of Bravo’s “Watch What Happens L!ve with Andy Cohen.” To enter the sweepstakes, visit att.com/liveproud.
- Select national Pride festivals will also feature Live Proud activation experiences where guests can participate in the campaign by having their #WeAreBold portrait captured and learn about AT&T’s long-standing commitment to the community. Visit att.com/liveproud to learn which Pride events you can find AT&T at this summer.
There’s also a “We Are Bold” video that features these employees (check it out here). Fans can follow the images throughout the campaign with the hashtags #ATTLiveProud and #WeAreBold.
SKITTLES Limited Edition for LGBT Pride
SKITTLES the classically rainbowtastic candy has decided that “only one rainbow deserves to be the center of attention” and that belongs to us!
This is the second year Skittles has dropped its rainbow colors in an expression of solidarity with LGBT Pride, writing in its promotion, “Only one rainbow matters this pride. Give the rainbow, taste the rainbow. All the lentils are white in celebration of pride. Enjoy the mystery mix.”
Some folks have slammed Skittles for choosing white as the color for candy meant to praise equality. I don’t know….what do you think?
Say No To Male Circumcision
We keep this site non-pornographic. So I hope that can see this post as educational.
Most of the world is intact (not circumcised).
In the US, I believe, it has always been about the $$$. Doctors brainwashed American mothers and fathers, that it HAD TO BE DONE. And most times, insurance companies paid for it. But who really pays? THE MAN.
Circumcision removes valuable specialized erogenous tissue. Foreskin feels REALLY good. Without the foreskin, the glans becomes dried, toughened, and less sensitive. The normal slack skin gives a man and his partner an exquisite plush frictionless rolling/gliding sensation.
Luckily we can undo some of the damage with non-surgical foreskin restoration.
It’s great to undo the damage of circumcision and the benefits of foreskin restoration are awesome, but for some the real healing comes from working to end child circumcision. Activists working to protect the right of all boys, girls, and intersex children to remain intact and free of non-therapeutic forced genital cutting are called intactivists. You can help. There is lots of information HERE. And there are numerous resources HERE I encourage you to check out.
If you know someone having a baby, PLEASE, if it’s a boy, encourage them NOT TO CIRCUMCISE. Let the boy decide later. It’s his body!
New York Gay Pride on ABC
NYC Pride today announced that for the first time WABC-TV will broadcast the 48th NYC LGBT Pride March on Sunday, June 25th.
The march, which has 350 marching contingents and had more than 2 million spectators in 2016, takes place from 12 – 3 pm. ABC7 will broadcast it live and stream it live on abc7ny.com.
Said Chris Frederick, NYC Pride Managing Director: “We’re excited to have Tri-state viewers welcome us
into their homes for what will be an unprecedented opportunity for the LGBT community’s collective
voices to be heard.”
ABC7 will also provide coverage of PrideFest – the annual LGBT street festival, Pride Luminaries Brunch, the Rally, and Pride Island – a new three-day LGBT cultural experience.
Will & Grace RETURN! Sneak Peaks
NBC’s “Will & Grace” returns for a 12-episode run beginning this Fall.
But, what is more important, is THIS SHOW,
shaped public opinion, of gay people!
Throughout its eight-year run, Will & Grace earned 16 Emmy Awards and 83 nominations. All four stars each received an Emmy Award throughout the series, making it one of only three sitcoms in the award’s history to achieve this feat. In 2014 the Writers Guild of America placed the sitcom at number 94 in their list of the 101 Best Written TV series of all time.
Do You Take This Man GAY MOVIE NEWS
Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired North American rights to the gay marriage drama “Do You Take This Man,” starring Anthony Rapp, Alyson Hannigan, and Jonathan Bennett.
The film had its U.S. premiere at Outfest, and went on to play the Cleveland International Film Festival, Reeling-Chicago and Out in Film: Atlanta.
Joshua Tunick directed from his own script. It’s very well done, filmed epertly, and has an amazing ensemble cast! Joshua is also producing with publicist-turned-producer Eric Kops and Dave Perkal. Breaking Glass is planning a July limited theatrical followed by a VOD/DVD release.
The story follows an intimate group of friends and family gathering at the home of two gay men — portrayed by Rapp and Bennett — to celebrate their nuptials. When the wedding hits a snag, the group helps the grooms to see that all marriages have their challenges.
Variety first reported on the project in 2015 as shooting was starting in Los Angeles, when the film was titled “Modern Love.” Thomas Dekker, Mackenzie Astin, Alona Tal, Hutchi Hancock, Marla Sokoloff, Lee Garlington (from the Magicians) and Sam Anderson also star.
“The Supreme Court’s decision on marriage equality came down on the last day of filming ‘Do You Take This Man,’” said Kops. “With the recent shift in the political climate, the story is as timely as ever.”
Canada Anniversary Stamp Celebrates Gay Marriage
The Canada Post has issued a new stamp celebrating same-sex marriage.
As part of Canada’s 150th birthday celebrations, the agency unveiled the stamp on Tuesday at a LGBT community center in Toronto.
CTV reports:
The maple-leaf-shaped stamp shows an image of a rainbow flag and the words “marriage equality” in both French and English.
Canada Post is issuing 10 special stamps to honour key moments in Canada’s 150-year history.
It says the day in 2005 when same-sex marriage became legal across the country is one of the milestones that have shaped Canada.
The stamp will be available on June 1st, just in time for PRIDE MONTH.
Tom Daley & Dustin Lance Black MARRY
GAY MARRIAGE NEWS
SO SO HAPPY for Tom Daley & Dustin Lance Black!
After that little scandal with Tom back in February…but hey, he is SO YOUNG. DLB forgave him and the couple seem happy as can be!
The fairytale wedding took place in the stunning surroundings of Bovey Castle in Dartmoor National Park.
And according to reports, there was a Romeo and Juliet theme, with Tom calling out ‘Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?’ from a balcony!
Posting the 2 pictures, above, on Instagram, Tom wrote: “On 6th May 2017, I married the love of my life, @dlanceblack ❤️ We shared the day with 120 of our closest friends and family, from Texarkana to Plymouth! Thank you to everyone who made this weekend the most special weekend of our lives!”
SIR JET aka Joel Evan Tye
SIR JET!
Singer Joel Evan Tye aka Sir JET.
The mysterious and alluring gender-bending Sir JET aka Joel Evan Tye is a popstar like no other. With his super-hero body and love for skin tight costumes and anime, he is what has been referred to as “Nick Lachey meets Ziggy Stardust.” The online article “The Boy Who Talked Like a Girl,” is the story of JET’s childhood struggle with gender anxiety that lead him to become an agoraphobic mute for almost a decade to only rediscover his voice again at age 20 and become the man you see today.
JET’s mission in life is to help people who struggle with their identity and to encourage them to find their true selves by going within like he did. In addition to being referred to as the “Madonna Crotch” by Patti Stanger when he appeared on BRAVO’s last season of Millionaire Matchmaker, JET is also a heavily sought after model, including appearing on the boxes of LASC’s first line of underwear, and modeling for Mike Ruiz’s Pretty Masculine series a total of four times.
About 5 years ago, he did an EP, a collection of songs with themes based on concepts from his book I’m Enough: How to Live Life Like a Popstar and Find Your True Self in the Process. You can get his highly popular and dance-able “Shout-out to the Lonely” on iTunes. Watch the video on YouTube.
What is a popstar?
A popstar is a person who embodies all the qualities we love: they always look their best, behave with total confidence in everything they do, and exert a sense of love to all they come in contact with. This book is about how to discover how you can become a popstar in your own right, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
I’m Enough will give you the skills to embrace everyday as a chance to express yourself while finding the beauty in everything you do and everyone you meet. If you’ve ever felt like you weren’t good enough to do the things your heart desired, if you’ve ever felt like you weren’t good enough to make friends because you were too different, or if you ever felt like you just can’t win, this book will help you see that all you need to do, is shift your perception. The material in this book is everything I have learned over the course of my life about humanity and the self, and what I could do so that little by little, everyday, I would become more and more inline with the universe and my true purpose. I’ve discovered that I am good enough to do the things I want to do, be the person I want to be, and now I want to show you how to as well.
He explores many soul searching topics on his YouTube channel. Happiness; Depressions issues, Finding joy; Mending a broken heart, etc.
“I am a role-model for youth who are in need of a male celebrity who embodies the masculine and feminine energies they wish to express themselves. The idea is that the struggle we have with equality in our society started when somewhere along the road of life we were taught to feel unequal. I wish to help people see that the path to equality starts from within, coming to terms with the male and female energies we all possess.
Sir Jet has some idea’s and wants to get back in the studio!
Any producers out there reading this – contact him!
Get your free download of “Bend that Gender and Explode!” the tour remix exclusively at www.reverbnation.com/iamsirjet
Sir Jet SOUNDCLOUD
Facebook Page – with tons of hot and sexy images!
Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party
I have an expression I use ….
Christian with a “K”
(as in Khristian).
To me, it means Christians who really are not Christian. They are “married to Christ” act holier than thou….you know the type?! They hate gays, they don’t drink, they don’t have fun in life. Because GOD is their life. GOD controls them. Hey, I am not against religion. But the extremists, the one’s that want to take away our rights, the on’e that hate on gay people – I have NO USE FOR!
In Stephen Cone’s “Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party”, a 40-something mom of two nearly-grown kids, confesses to her daughter, “Something happened to me and I’m not sure what I’m becoming.” Every single one of the 20 characters has a similar moment at one point or another during the course of Henry’s party, which takes place over an afternoon and evening. Stephen Cone is a humanist; he can’t help but perceive that every person, even those we might write off as “types,” has complexity.
This may sound like “Henry Gamble” is a dreary psychological drama, but it’s not. It’s a rambunctious, often hilarious, and carefully-constructed story about a teenage boy starting to question his sexuality in the midst of his Evangelical Christian world. Instead of keeping the focus tightly on Henry, Cone widens the scope, giving each character a unique arc. There are times when the film plays like a French farce, or a suburban version of Jean Renoir’s “Rules of the Game,” with different couples running in and out of different rooms, having whispered melodramas before leaping back into the pool. Underneath the exuberance, the film roils with turmoil.
A lot of low-budget films have a similar setup to “Henry Gamble”: they take place in one location and focus on interpersonal relationships. But “Henry Gamble” is huge in comparison. It’s about people in the process of “becoming.”
Get a sneak peak HERE, Watch on Netflix, Stream it Amazon hereHenry Gamble’s Birthday Party OR Buy the DVD here Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party
GAY NEWS – PLEASE Like Me!
PLEASE LIKE ME!
What a GREAT SHOW!
Somehow, this slid under my radar. I just discovered it and binge watched it all! I can’t wait for more episodes! Can not get enough of this show!
Twentysomething Josh is going through a number of big changes as he navigates his first decade of adulthood. After being dumped by his girlfriend, he comes to the realization that he is gay.
After that shocker, he moves back into the family home to help care for his mother, who has previously attempted suicide. He later moves out and into a house with best friend Tom. With his life in disarray, big challenges await Josh in his immediate future, which are especially hard for someone like him, who with a natural aversion to drama and emotion. So he deals with it all — only in his own awkward, self-centered way.
Please Like Me is an Australian television comedy drama series created by and starring Josh Thomas. He is genuis! The show is funny, touching, creative…LOVE IT!!! Thomas also serves as a writer for most episodes. The series premiered on 28 February 2013 on ABC2 in Australia.
Thank God for HULU!
France Presidential Hopeful Emmanuel Marcon
Gay News Flash!
In case you haven’t heard, France is in the throes of an intense presidential campaign between two polar opposites: Emmanuel Macron, a young, pro-LGBTQ liberal, and Marine Le Pen, the antigay daughter of a Nazi sympathizer. The candidates are currently running neck and neck.
This week, Garcon, a bi-monthly magazine that caters to gay men, featured a topless Macron as the cover boy. Underneath him is the headline: “Coming out: a necessary fight.”
Reporter Tristan Barreiros, who writes for Garcon, tells Mashable that the picture was photoshopped and that the decision to run the cover story on “coming out” was meant to be ironic.
39-year-old Macron is straight but he is a longtime supporter of same-sex marriage, which is something his opponents have tried using against him. Throughout the campaign, they have accused him of being closeted, spread rumors that he was having a gay affair, and suggested he is backed by “a very wealthy gay lobby.”
Read more at QUEERTY
Dan Savage IMPEACH TRUMP
GAY NEWS –
Dan Savage is using his disdain for President Donald Trump for great causes.
The LGBTQ rights activist and author announced April 18 that he’d raised $100,000 for three organizations that are in direct opposition to Trump policies through the sale of ITMFA, or “Impeach The Mother F*cker Already,” merchandise.
Savage, 52, made the announcement on the weekly Seattle newspaper, The Stranger, and on his personal Instagram.
I’m mailing out checks today—and not just to the IRS. This morning I had the distinct pleasure of mailing off checks to Planned Parenthood ($33,333.34), the ACLU ($33,333.33) and the International Refugee Assistance Project ($33,333.33)—money we raised selling ITMFA (“Impeach The Mother Fucker Already”) buttons, t-shirts, hats, stickers, coffee cups, and lapel pins at www.ITMFA.org and www.impeachthemotherfuckeralready.com. And I got to mail those checks out because nearly 10,000 Savage Love readers and Savage Lovecast listeners have ordered #ITMFA gear over the last eight weeks! The best part of wearing ITMFA buttons or t-shirts or hats or lapel pins or all of the above? Or the second best part, I should say, after helping to raise money for three critically important and hugely effective organizations fighting Donald Trump? The interactions you have with friends, co-workers, neighbors, at anti-Trump marches, on the bus, etc. Because when people are going to ask you what ITMFA stands for and YOU GET TO TELL THEM it stands for ‘Impeach The Mother Fucker Already!” (If there are kids around you can go with “Malicious Fascist” or “Malodorous Fart” or “Malignant Fraud.”) We sell the buttons in ten packs (ten for $10) so you can share buttons with people who absolutely have to have one after they find out what it means!
I’m A Gay Catfish – And Just Want to be Loved
Vlogger Davey Wavey put out a call for a gay “catfish” several months ago. For those unfamiliar with the term, which originated in a 2010 documentary by Nev Schulman about people who use other people’s photos to establish fake identities in order to carry on online relationships with strangers. In the documentary, and subsequent MTV series, producers seek out the catfish and out them in the company of their targets.
Wavey has posted a video of an interview with a man who confesses to being a catfish.
Writes Wavey to Towleroad: “I found him by reaching out to guys who catfish through a Facebook post. Rather than vilify these guys, my intent was to explore their motivation and logic. Overwhelmingly, many of these men told me that they feel invisible. And if they don’t catfish, they’d have no interaction with other gay men. Rather than be angry or outraged at these men for wasting our time or playing games, it may be more productive to question the role that each of us plays in making these men feel invisible.
The catfish said that he made a fake profile using the photo of a guy he’d been following on Instagram with a “gorgeous” body and face. His motivation was to get attention from men who would normally see him as invisible because he is overweight.
WATCH THE VIDEO
READ the rest at TOWLEROAD
Harvey Fierstein J Lo LGBT Youth
“I think [younger LGBTQ people] think that the big struggle was getting gay marriage passed. Young people growing up right now see Zachary Quinto or Neil Patrick Harris in major motion pictures or on television, and think it’s always been this good. I think they have no idea how we would be arrested in the streets, and kept from ever feeling normal. I grew up when people didn’t believe it when you told them Liberace was gay. Liberace!
Now there are museums, community centers and so many resources. There are plenty of books that didn’t exist before. Our history was just so sucked away from us and not allowed, and now we’re reclaiming that history. But remember, there were gays in Hitler’s army, and then all of a sudden you turn around and we’re in concentration camps. You cannot forget that. You need to know that that can happen at any moment.”—Harvey Fierstein, talking to The Hollywood Reporter
I have to agree. Many young people do not know their roots and LGBT history.
IN OTHER NEWS…..
Jennifer Lopez is set to star as Rosie in NBC’s next musical event, Bye Bye Birdie Live! with HARVEY FIERSTEIN!
Now Harvey Fierstein, who is adapting the book and lyrics for the song-and-dance show, has revealed that he is making it less ‘sexist and old-fashioned’.
The 1960 Tony-winning Broadway musical, which inspired the 1963 film, centers on married songwriter-agent Albert and his sweetheart-lover secretary Rosie.
They stage a publicity stunt for famous singer Conrad Birdie (originally based on Elvis Presely) before he’s drafted to the army.
‘I want to be true to the time it takes place but at the same time, having Rosie be Albert’s secretary whom he’s having an affair with, is a little sexist and old-fashioned,’ Harvey said in the interview published in The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday.
‘I didn’t see any reason for that. So I changed that.
‘I made them both high school teachers…He’s the English teacher who writes a song, and she’s the music teacher who says, “I’ve got a great kid with a great voice.”
‘He ends up being Conrad Birdie, who’s supposed to only take one summer off to promote the record but turns into a star,’ he added.
‘It’s been eight years and Rosie just wants to go back to their real lives. It really makes a lot more sense that way.’
The song that opens the musical, An English Teacher, will be altered to suit the new story line, and some of the scenes and songs will be re-ordered to fit live television.
J-Lo also wanted the story to highlight Rosie’s struggle as a Puerto Rican woman about to hit middle age in a relationship with a man afraid of commitment.
That plotline was in the original musical but was cut out of the 1963 film.
Harvey added: ‘Jennifer Lopez knows what she wants out of performing.’
NBC will air Bye Bye Birdie Live! in December but has yet to reveal the exact date.
Gilbert Baker Passed Away
SAD SAD DAY IN GAY HISTORY
Gilbert Baker, a self-described “gay Betsy Ross” who in 1978 hand-dyed and stitched together eight strips of vibrantly colored fabric into a rainbow flag, instantly creating an enduring international symbol of gay pride, was found dead on Friday at his home in New York City. He was only 65.
Cleve Jones, a friend and gay rights activist who confirmed the death, said that Mr. Baker had a stroke several years ago but had not been sick recently.
As the gay rights movement spread from San Francisco and New York in the 1970s, Mr. Baker was often asked by friends aware of his creative talents to make banners for protests and marches. His creations, like others during that time, often included the pink triangle, which protesters had claimed as an icon after its initial use by the Nazis to identify gay men in concentration camps during World War II.
Before a gay pride parade in 1978 in San Francisco, Harvey Milk, a city supervisor and gay rights leader who was assassinated that year, joined others in asking Mr. Baker to create an emblem to represent the movement.
Mr. Baker, with help from volunteers, filled trash cans with dye in the attic of the Gay Community Center in San Francisco and pieced together the first flags, unveiling them in the parade on June 25, 1978.
“We stood there and watched and saw the flags, and their faces lit up,” Mr. Jones said in a phone interview on Friday. “It needed no explanation. People knew immediately that it was our flag.”
The first flags had eight colors, each stripe carrying its own significance: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sun, green for nature, turquoise for magic, blue for peace and purple for spirit.
“A flag translates into everything, from tacky souvenirs to the names of organizations and the way that flags function,” Mr. Baker said in an interview in 2008. “I knew instantly when I saw the reaction that it was going to be something. I didn’t know what or how or — but I knew.”
In recent weeks he had finished creating 39 nine-color flags — the eight original colors, plus lavender to represent diversity — to commemorate the 39th anniversary of the first rainbow flag.
Mr. Baker refused to apply for a trademark for his creation. “It was his gift to the world,” Mr. Jones said. “He told me when the flag first went up that he knew at that moment that it was his life’s work.”
Source – NY TIMES
I never got to meet Gilbert – we had been talking the last few weeks about his lavender addition to the flag and were supposed to meet and have drinks this summer in NYC…sadly, that will never happen. But I have a piece of the 25th anniversary flag, autographed by him, hanging proudly in my home. And will cherish it, as long as I live!
TRUMP will NOT Protect Federal LGBT workers
LGBT NEWS FLASH
President Trump has flip-flopped once again on his promise to protect LGBT workers who work for federal contractors from workplace discrimination. – I am so tired of this shit talker – when can we impeach him???
Trump signed an order on Monday revoking protections signed into law by President Obama in 2014. Obama signed an executive order banning LGBT discrimination among federal contractors; he concurrently signed an order requiring contracted businesses prove they’re complying with federal laws and executive orders. President Trump rescinded the latter order, making it much more difficult to know whether a business has committed to ending LGBT bias in hiring, firing, and promotions.
Lambda Legal condemned Trump’s actions, saying, “This administration has made it extremely difficult to enforce these federal laws as applied to federal contractors.” “It’s sending a message to these companies,” said Camilla Taylor, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, “…that the federal government simply doesn’t care whether or not they violate the law.”
Read more at ADVOCATE
Mitchell Gold Takes Aim at North Carolina
GAY NEWS
Mitchell Gold Takes Aim at
North Carolina’s HB2 in Statement
Faith in America calls on North Carolina legislators to leave religious beliefs on LGBT people at the door
Mitchell Gold today released a statement opposing North Carolina’s Legislators and NC clergy and churches that offer despair and exclusion to NC LGBTQ youth. HB2 must be repealed and North Carolina’s youth must be embraced:
I’m writing today as Co-Founder and CEO of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Home Furnishings, and Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Faith in America to express my support for a FULL repeal of HB2 immediately. As leaders in our state, it would immediately signal that NC is open for business to everyone, and more importantly send a lifesaving message to the vulnerable LGBT teens in North Carolina that you care about their lives.
Today in North Carolina, you can still be fired, denied housing, or refused service simply for being gay or transgender. It’s bad for the economic sustainability of North Carolina. We have close to 1 million SF of manufacturing and warehouse facilities and over 600 employees in western North Carolina where we proudly make all our upholstered products. We can’t afford to have barriers in place when it comes to attracting and retaining the top talent we need to succeed. Especially for senior level talent, competitors in other states already have these protections in place, giving them a distinct advantage in recruitment and attraction. Recent decisions by the NFL, NCAA, and NBA to move or not award big events to places lacking equal protections has made this issue even more salient when it comes to North Carolina’s reputation and economic sustainability.
The principles of non-discrimination are rooted in core conservative values of fairness, equality, and opportunity. Everybody should have the chance to earn a living and provide for themselves and their families. Nobody should have to live in fear that they can be legally fired for reasons that have nothing to do with their job performance.
I want to state clearly that the issue of risk associated with transgender people using the restroom of their choice is an irresponsible and reckless witch-hunt. If you are concerned about safety for a problem that has not existed (and believe me, transgender people have been using the restroom of their choice for years), then implement stronger harassment or peeping Tom laws. But don’t underestimate the immense harm you are causing to vulnerable transgender people. Put yourself in their shoes! Have compassion for a transgender teen who suffers mental anguish from the pressures of their everyday life.
Finally, those who would like to be able to discriminate do so with a foundation in religious beliefs that LGBT people are sinners and consequently immoral and not deserving of full equality. These kinds of outdated religious teachings are extremely harmful to the over 1.5 million LGBT teenagers in America. LGBT teens are 4-6 times more likely to suffer immense mental anguish, attempt or commit suicide, or abuse drugs and alcohol than their straight peers. In conservative or anti-LGBT religious homes and churches, this number jumps to 8 times. You can bet that is the statistic in North Carolina. Equal rights legislation says to these precious individuals that the state recognizes their worth. I know from personal experience such leadership saves lives.
As you might be faced with opposition to full repeal, please look carefully into who and why they are opposed to treating LGBT people with dignity. We know from history that using religious teachings to cause harm or marginalize others was mistaken. Please don’t allow yourself to fall prey to their pressure.
Thank you for your commitment to a North Carolina that respects, protects, and celebrates all who live, work, and play in this great state.
Sincerely,
Mitchell Gold
