“Kinky Boots” Tackles Bathroom Bills With New Original Song, “Just Pee”

God bless Broadway!
From: NewNowNext

 The cast of Broadway’s Kinky Boots takes a swipe at the so-called “bathroom bills” plaguing America right now in a heartwarming new video set to the tune of a new original song — “Just Pee.”

In the video, posted to Facebook and Twitter today, the cast gleefully files into a single genderless bathroom to pee and celebrate the thought of a utopian society where people’s genders aren’t policed at the restroom door. And because this is Broadway, they naturally break out into song.

They sing: 

“Just pee 

Where you want to be 

 Never let them tell you who you ought to be 

I’m me 

 I don’t need I.D. 

 To tell me who I am and where I ought to be.”

A minute into the video, Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper appear to deliver a message.

“All we’re asking for is a little bit of sanity. People have to pee!” says Lauper. Fierstein adds: “Instead of fighting, maybe we can use this moment to learn a little something.”

As they speak, the camera pans to a sign displayed outside the bathroom at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. It reads: “Gender diversity is welcome here. Please use the restroom that best fits your gender identity or expression.”

In April, Lauper said she wouldn’t follow other musicians’ lead and consider boycotting North Carolina in lieu of its transphobic bathroom bill, which bans transgender people from using restrooms that match their gender identity.

“I think that people would need us there,” she told TMZ at the time. “Wherever there’s a shut out, wherever people don’t accept other people, the other people need you.”

Check out the new video for “Just Pee” below:

You change the world when you change your mind. #JustPee #KinkyBootshttps://t.co/Y1ZOB0vKgT

— Kinky Boots (@KinkyBootsBway) June 3, 2016

Google Doodle for June 3, 2016

Copa América Centenario

Today marks the 100th year of the Copa América Games! This year, for the first time, the United States will host the longest running fútbol tournament of the Americas. Starting today, 16 teams will compete in 32 matches across 10 U.S. cities. Today's fiery matchup takes place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara  — right around the corner from Google headquarters in Mountain View. We'll be listening for the roar of the crowd!

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

1967

Estelle Parsons 

as

Blanche Barrow

Bonnie and Clyde

Estelle Margaret Parsons (born November 20, 1927) is an American stage, film and television actress, Today Show television series host, and occasional stage director.

After studying law, Parsons became a singer before deciding to pursue a career in acting. She worked for the television program Today and made her stage debut in 1961. During the 1960s, Parsons established her career on Broadway before progressing to film. She received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Blanche Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde (1967), and was also nominated for her work in Rachel, Rachel (1968).

She worked extensively in film and theater during the 1970s and later directed several Broadway productions. More recently her television work included playing Beverly Harris on the sitcom Roseanne. She has been nominated five times for the Tony Award (four times for Lead Actress of a Play and once for Featured Actress). In 2004, Parsons was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.

100 Treasured Chests: Hairy Edition

From: OUT

Ricky Martin

Singer

Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), commonly known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, actor, and author. Martin began his career at age twelve with the all-boy pop group Menudo. After five years with the group, he released several Spanish-language solo albums throughout the 1990s. He also acted on stage and on TV in Mexico, becoming a modest star in the country. In 1994 he starred on the American TV soap opera General Hospital, playing a Puerto Rican singer.

In late 1999, after releasing several albums in Spanish, Martin performed "The Cup of Life" at the 41st Grammy Awards show, which became a catalyst in bringing Latin pop to the forefront of the U.S. music scene. Following its success, Martin released "Livin' la Vida Loca" which helped him obtain enormous success worldwide and is generally seen as the song that began the Latin pop explosion of 1999 and made the transition easier for other Spanish-speaking artists to move into the English-speaking market. Since its release, the song has sold over 8 million copies, making it one of the best selling singles of all time. His first English-language album (also titled Ricky Martin), has sold 22 million copies and is one of the best selling albums of all time. His other studio albums include: Me Amarás (1993), A Medio Vivir (1995), Vuelve (1998), Sound Loaded (2000), Almas del Silencio (2003), Life (2005), Música + Alma + Sexo (2011) and A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015).

The Pioneers of the Leather and Biker Scene

From: The Advocate

Chicago's Leather Weekend Got a Little Out of Control

From: Advocate

The sudden realization that you are the lunch meat.

#THINKIN

70th Tony Awards - Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

And the nominees are:

 Danielle Brooks 

The Color Purple 

as 

Sofia Johnson

 Renée Elise Goldsberry 

Hamilton 

as 

Angelica Schuyler Church

 Jane Krakowski 

She Loves Me 

as 

Ilona Ritter

 Jennifer Simard 

Disaster! 

as

 Sister Mary Downy

Adrienne Warren 

Shuffle Along 

as 

Gertrude Saunders / Florence Mills

Olivia Newton-John! Ranking Her Essential 67 Songs

From: NewNowNext

15. 

HEART ATTACK

1982

Olivia released her Greatest Hits Volume 2 in 1982, and the first single became another major hit, and earned her another Grammy nod.(U.S #3 UK: #46)

The Essential Stevie Nicks: Ranking Her 66 Greatest Songs

From: NewNowNext

55. 

Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind 

First single from the maligned Street Angel, it peaked at a disappointing #57 on the Hot 100.

55 Power Couples You Should Know

From: OUT

Jesse Tyler Ferguson

 & 

Justin Mikita

Attorney Justin Mikita and his husband, Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson, launched Tie the Knot, a marriage equality movement charity that raised funds selling whimsical bow ties. They both tied theirs a year later, in 2013.

50 Businesses That Have Supported The LGBT Community

From: Huffington Post

Betrolli

...and finally Bertolli. What a branding moment!

50 BODIES THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE BANGIN’: AN INTERACTIVE TREASURE HUNT FOR FACE PICS

From: Manhunt Daily

tobin_corey

Kings Cross, New South Wales, Australia

...

...

48 GUYS YOU MIGHT POSSIBLY WANT TO FUCK

From: Manhunt Daily

johnn99

San Diego, California

Hello

Ask and you shall receive...

Four Decades of NYC Gay Pride. Were You There?

From: Advocate

Looking Back/Looking Forward: NYC’s Gay Pride Parades 1979 - 1995

Hudson County Community College

The Benjamin J. Dineen, III and Dennis C. Hull Gallery

Groovy Flashback: TIME Covers 1990 - 1999

From: Deep Dish

Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan, You've Got Mail) - March 8, 1999

The 30 Worst Music Videos Of All Time

From: NewNowNext

#3 

“Rock Me Tonite” 

Billy Squire

AKA “The music video that destroyed a career,” “Rock Me Tonite” was actually Billy’s biggest hit song on the pop chart (although I’m still surprised Foreigner never sued for ripping off “Cold As Ice”), peaking at #15 in September 1984, but the video became one of the most infamous in music history.

There is a debate about who’s more to blame for the disaster, Billy or director Kenny Ortega, but the damage was done. You can read a lengthy history of how the debacle happened on Wikipedia, but it boils down to “Squier himself, and many other observers, believe its blatant homoeroticism alienated a significant portion of his fan base (predominantly teenaged boys at the time) and ruined his career.”

Stacey Dash: Transgender People Should Just Pee In The Bushes

"We’re chipping away at what it is to be a woman and to be feminine."

From: NewNowNext

Clueless star and Fox News contributor Stacey Dash has once again stuck her foot in her mouth with a round of controversial statements, this time on transgender rights and the power of feminism.

Dash made the statements in an interview on Entertainment Tonight when she stopped by to promote her new memoir, There Goes My Social Life: From Clueless to Conservative. The book, which details her life in Hollywood, also expresses her disdain for celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner and Lady Gaga, who promote a “liberal agenda” to the masses.

When pressed about her dislike for Jenner, Dash commented that she was bothered by the star’s use of the women’s restroom, stating that trans inclusion in public bathrooms is a form of “tyranny by the minority.”

“Why do I have to suffer because you can’t decide what you wanna be that day?” Dash continued. “It’s your body! So, it’s your decision, right? We all make choices.”

When ET’s Nischelle Turner rebutted, saying that being trans is not a choice, Dash replied that the entire trans rights movement has begun to “infringe” upon her “rights” as a citizen.

“OK, then go in the bushes. I don’t know what to tell you, but I’m not gonna put my child’s life at risk because you want to change a law,” Dash responded. “So that you can be comfortable with your beliefs—which means I have to change my beliefs and my rights? No.”

Of Gaga, Dash called her a “hypocrite” whose message of tolerance and acceptance is all a ruse to promote her own “liberal agenda.”

“If [Gaga’s intentions were pure] then it wouldn’t have brought up all that other stuff, you know? All the other things that came in wouldn’t have come into play,” she went on. “It would’ve just been, ’This is what I wanna say and this is it.'”

Confusing and misdirected attacks aside, Dash concluded that celebrities like Jenner and Gaga are transforming traditional gender roles, and not for the better.

“What we’re doing is we’re chipping away at what it is to be a woman and to be feminine,” she stated. “And what it is to be a man and be masculine. We’re chipping away at that. I wish we could go back to Mad Men days. I love those days. Men were men. And I love them.”

Ex-‘Survivor’ contestant to face trial on child porn charges

From: WOOD-TV

Former “Survivor” contestant Michael Skupin has been ordered to trial in Michigan on child pornography charges and other crimes.

A suburban Detroit judge on Friday said there’s enough evidence to send Skupin to Oakland County court. He was charged in February.

Investigators say child porn was discovered on Skupin’s laptop while they were looking into an alleged Ponzi scheme in which money from new investors is used to pay earlier investors.

Defense attorney Steven Lynch says police can’t prove that Skupin owned or even used the computers.

Skupin was rescued by helicopter after falling into a campfire and burning his hands in 2001 on “Survivor II: The Australian Outback.” He returned for “Survivor: Philippines” in 2012.

30 Days of Gay Pride

President Obama Praises Gay And Lesbian Soldiers At Air Force Graduation

"We live our values when our military, like America itself, truly welcomes the talents of all people."

From: NewNowNext

 President Obama followed up his Pride proclamation from earlier in the week with a salute to gay and lesbian service members at the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs.

“We live our values when our military, like America itself, truly welcomes the talents of all people,” he said in his commencement address.

“We are stronger when our gay and lesbian cadets and troops can serve their country, a country they love, without hiding who they love.”

In 2011, Obama was instrumental in removing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the policy that kept openly gay, lesbian and bisexual service members out of the Armed Forces.

But while both he and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter have said they support lifting the ban on trans people in the military, the May 27 deadline for the ban’s end has come and gone.

Philip Faustino

25 Life Lessons From The Unbreakable Titus Andromedon

From: NewNowNext

24

But sluts are forever.

New German TV Ad Has A Heartwarming Gay Twist

A sweet soccer love story.
From: NewNowNext

Deutsche Bahn (DB), Germany’s state-owned rail company has released a soccer-themed TV ad to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their high-speed InterCity Express (ICE) trains. The ad features a soccer super fan using the rail system to follow his favorite soccer team around Germany.

The advertisement also features the fan watching a game at home and shows a framed picture of him and his favorite player together.

But, at the end of the commercial it turns out that he’s actually more than just a fan of the athlete.

Watch the touching video below:

Muscled Israeli CrossFitters Rock Gender-Neutral Sports Bras At Championships

"Our competitors are an amazing example of how CrossFit brings people together and creates new friends."

From: NewNowNext

The hunky Israeli team competing at the World CrossFit Regional Championships in Madrid last week made a powerful statement in support of gender-neutral clothing, ripping off their shirts to reveal the multicolored sports bras they were sporting underneath.

A commentator narrating the bold reveal, which happened mid-competition as one of the men bent down to perform a snatch, called it “the craziest thing he’d ever seen.”

Another noted it was “an interesting choice of attire for…the male athletes” and “very gender neutral.”

“Who cares what they’re lifting, they’re getting the crowd to cheer based on their attire,” the commentators continued. “I think this is the first time I have done any competition where I have seen the male athletes rocking the sports bra. So good on them.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it and if you back it up with lifting like that, I’m a happy camper. You can wear whatever you want if you’re throwing this kind of weight around.”

Some wondered if the gesture was somehow a celebration of Tel Aviv Pride, which kicked off Sunday in the Israeli capital, but it turns out the guys — Avi Yona, Ram Dover, and Gil Lior — just wanted an extra pop of color in their wardrobe.

“We wanted to have fun and show everyone that CrossFit is more than just muscles and lifting heavy stuff,” the team’s manager, Tal Mager, told Mic in an email. “We wanted to add some color to a very serious event. Our box is a community and our competitors are an amazing example of how CrossFit brings people together and creates new friends.”

But as Mic’s Evan Ross Katz points out, the real gift here is the commentator’s reaction:

“Perhaps more notable then the gesture itself was the way in which it was received, not just by rabid pandemonium from the crowd, but by the men commenting on the competition, who rather than trivialize the gesture, normalized the act by keeping the focus on the sport at play. Smart, considering the team crushed it.”

Check out a video of the major moment below:

Mark Salling Leaves Bank with $100,000 Check Before Heading to Court for Child Pornography Charges

From: People

Mark Salling was spotted taking out a large sum of cash from Chase bank on Thursday, just one day before his scheduled arraignment for child pornography charges. 

The former Glee star – who now has just hours until his arraignment on today– was seen exiting the facility with a $100,000 check made payable to the Clerk of the U.S. District Court.

A federal grand jury indicted Salling, 33, on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography on his laptop computer and a flash memory drive. According to Department of Justice's release, receiving child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years. Possessing child pornography also carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. 

On Tuesday it was announced that Salling, who is best known for playing Glee's Noah "Puck" Puckerman, had been fired from his upcoming miniseries Gods and Secrets, after a federal grand jury indicted him on child pornography charges. 

"He has been cut from the miniseries," executive producer Adi Shankar wrote in a statement. "I will personally be paying for the reshoots, and I hope that Mark finds inner peace."

Meat and Greet the International Men of Leather

From: Advocate

Thanks to photographer Matt Baume for bringing us so many photos from the IML weekend that we will give them to you in three parts. These are all from the first days of the event, which according to the program included: International Mr. Bootblack Competition, IML Leather Market, LORE Sober Recovery Dinner, Chicago Rubbermen Meet and Greet,  IML Opening Ceremonies, Gear Blast 2016, San Francisco Party, and a Leather Recovery Meeting. Whew.

Hair Ball of the Day: Yoga Dude

From: Accidental Bear

BAKERS DOZEN :: Top 13 Rugby Hotties of All Time

From: Wicked Gay

James Pritchard

13 Reasons Provincetown Is The Best Gay Vacation Spot In America

From: NewNowNext

7

They Sell More Than Rainbow Windsocks

The shopping is actually incredible. A few spots to check out:

Loveland 

120 Commercial Street

Owner Josh Patner has a perfect eye for furniture, art and things that you never knew you wanted until your laid your eyes on it.

MAP 

141 Commercial Street

 The best men’s clothing and accessories selection, hands down.

Marc Jacobs

184 Commercial Street

Some surprisingly cheap stuff can be found here, like rain boots and visors.

Marines Specialties

235 Commercial Street

Some even cheaper stuff can be found here, like a nightshirt from the 50s, a starfish, military goggles and other things you need for your Fagbash costume, drag brunch outfit or a jumpsuit that weirdly looks really good on you.

Kiss and Makeup 

244 Commercial Street

Cosmetics for everyone. Owner Christine Gero Horovitz knows her stuff.

Other place to hit up include Yates and Kennedy (368 Commercial Street), Tim Scapes (208 Commercial Street), John Derian New England (396 Commercial Street) and Breakwater Goods (various locations).

Condoms Spread HIV, Claims Kremlin Researchers

"Experts" say Russia's fight against HIV is based in "conservative ideology and traditional values."
From: NewNowNext

A study funded by a Kremlin-backed organization says that condoms are to be blamed for the spread of HIV in Russia and that the best defense against the virus is to be in a committed heterosexual relationship.

The study was released this past Tuesday by the ultra-conservative Russian Institute for Strategic Research in response to national concern over the rise of HIV and AIDS in the country. This concern first arose last year when Russia’s leading AIDS expert Vadim Pokrovsky cautioned that the virus could affect upwards of 2 million citizens by 2020.

In a statement made at the time of the study’s release, RISR Deputy Director Tatyana Guzenkova said the HIV epidemic was nothing more than an “information war” waged against Russia by the West.

Igor Beloborodov, who co-wrote the report, agreed, saying that health industries are using the spread of HIV as a fear-mongering tactic to sell more condoms.

“The contraceptive industry is interested in selling their products and encouraging under-aged people to engage in sex.” He argued that it’s this increase in sex that has led to the rise in cases of HIV, adding that the only way to fully protect against the virus is to “be in a heterosexual family where both partners are loyal to each other.”

According to local paper Kommersant, Guzenkova said that the West focuses too much on “neoliberal ideological content” in their fight against HIV/AIDS. In her opinion, this lends a certain “insensitivity towards national sensitivities and over-focus of certain at-risk groups, such as drug addicts and LGBT people.” Russia’s fight, on the other hand, is “based on a conservative ideology and traditional values.”

AIDS expert Pokrovsky says it’s this conservative focus that has caused such a sharp rise in HIV cases in Russia. He reports that roughly 930,000 Russians have HIV today, up from 500,000 in 2010.

“The last five years of the conservative approach have led to the doubling of the number of HIV-infected people,” Mr Pokrovsky told AFP.

Pokrovsky estimates that nearly 100,000 Russians a year contract HIV and that these numbers will only increase if the government continues their crusade against condoms.

8 Habits of People With Hidden Depression

From: SOURCEREAD

4

Misses Work a Lot

 

A depressed person will miss work or school frequently because of the condition. The person may be dishonest about the illness, or he or she may be secretive about it.

7 Ways to Have Safer Sex Even Without a Condom

From: plus

Being Healthy

What does being healthy have to do with safer sex? A lot. We're not talking about whether you or your partner have HIV, we're talking about your overall physical and mental health. Numerous studies have shown that those dealing with mental health issues like anxiety or depression have greater risk of becoming HIV-positive. Using substances — from alcohol to injection drugs — or having an active sexually transmitted infection can also raise your risks. If you want to have safer sex without a condom, it starts with you and your partner being healthy. 

#GiveSpockABoyfriend: 5 Same-Sex Relationships We’d Like To See In Summer Blockbusters

From: NewNowNext

4

Ben Hur

 and 

Messala 

in

“Ben-Hur”

The 1959 version of this sword-and-sandals epic had plenty of gay subtext: Screenwriter Gore Vidal explicitly stated that Ben and former BFF Messala were lovers before the latter betrayed the former.

Will we see a sex scene between Jack Huston and Toby Kebbell in Timur Bekmambetov’s “re-imagining” of the story? It might take a miracle.

Jonny Biznass

I love posing in my jock. Imagining a wet tongue deep in my ass.

Chicago's Leather Weekend Got a Little Out of Control

From: Advocate

Now that everyone got a chance to meet up and sniff around on the second day of the International Mr. Leather weekend, things started to get a little friskier. The day was packed with events, support, and raunchier fun later in the day and night. Here’s what the program listed:

LA&M President's Reception, Leather Recovery Meeting, That Puppy Thing: A discussion of the Pup and Leather Communities, Erotic Hypnosis Reception, People of Color Leather Caucus, Puppy Yoga, Chicago Hellfire Club Annual IML Cocktail Social, LA&M Women's Leather History Program Reception, Off Leash: The Pup and Handler Romp, LORE Sober Recovery Mocktail Party, BLUF Social, IML Pecs and Personality Contest, International Bootblack Reception, and the Leather Recovery Meeting.

Olivia Newton-John! Ranking Her Essential 67 Songs

From: NewNowNext

16. 

LOVE AND LET LIVE

1988

Olivia was the first major mainstream artist to address AIDS with this powerful entry from The Rumour. Trivia: It was written by the late Alan O’Day, who gave us “Undercover Angel,” and Helen Reddy’s “Angie Baby.”

Adidas Launches New 2016 Pride Collection

"Proceeds from all sales will go towards creating a world where every single person can be accepted without exception."

From: NewNowNext

 Adidas is celebrating LGBT Pride month with a brand new line of Pride-themed apparel for the second year in a row.

The Portland-based company announced the new line of products, some of the brand’s most iconic sneakers and athletic wear re-imagined with a rainbow paint splatter, in a statement on its website Wednesday.

The new line of products, called the “Pride Pack,” includes an updated version of the classic Superstar sneaker for $100, a colorful new line of track suits and tees for prices ranging from $30-$70, and accessories including hats and backpacks that start at just $15.

We’ve partnered with @stonewalluk for this year’s Pride Pack. Proceeds from all sales will go towards creating a world where every single person can be accepted without exception. Available at adidas.com/originals now.

A photo posted by adidas Originals (@adidasoriginals) on Jun 1, 2016 at 5:50am PDT

Adidas writes: “Channeling the energy of the global movement, the collection places the iconic trefoil logo against a vibrant rainbow background, whilst an exclusive footwear release subverts the Superstar 80s classic silhouette with a kaleidoscopic splatter effect. True to the roots of a world-changing movement, the Pride Pack takes classic three-stripes style and completely breaks the mold.”


The Pride Pack rolled out in stores nationwide and became available for purchase online on June 1.


In a statement on Instagram, Adidas announced a portion of the line’s sales will benefit the UK LGBT advocacy group Stonewall, and “go towards creating a world where every single person can be accepted without exception.”


The company’s unabashed support for LGBT equality also made headlines earlier this year, when Adidas CFO Robin sent a very public message to the company’s celebrity athlete ambassadors that being openly gay wouldn’t negatively impact their contracts.