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Sir Ian McKellen, urging gay people to be fierce
allies to trans people: "I do hear people—gay people—talk about transgender people in very much the same terms as people used to talk about your common or garden gay. ‘The connection between us all is we come under the queer umbrella – we are queer. I quite like being queer actually. The problems that transgender people have with the law are not dissimilar from what used to be the case for us, so I think we should all be allies really. But you say that, and the wrath of God comes down on you from certain quarters."We cannot ever forget that it was trans women who rioted at Stonewall in 1969. It was trans women who paved the way for the rest of us to fight for our equality. And we cannot, should not, will not, forget them, or let
their struggle, which continues today and is far harder than ours, be only
their struggle. The struggle for equality is for all of us. |
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Devin Ibañez, pro rugby player who played with the
New England Skipjacks, coming out on social
media: “As 2020 comes to a close I took the time to reflect on my
life and what aspects I could control and make positive changes to that would
impact my day-to-day life and happiness. It became clear to me that living my
life with more transparency and openly celebrating who I love would have an
immediate positive impact on me and those I care about. So, I want to start
2021 by celebrating the love of my life and my partner [Fergus Wade] who
has been with me through the highs and the (very) lows of the last three years.
I am openly gay. This is something that is not a secret to those close to me
and even several people not close to me. But I always felt a need to keep it
separate from my rugby career. I always came up with a reason why being more
vocal would be a distraction, detrimental, or unnecessary. As the years went by
no level of success was enough to justify potentially losing opportunities
within the sport, jeopardizing relationships, or making myself a target on the
pitch. The final goal became ‘Once I sign a pro contract I will be more vocal
and become the first openly gay MLR player’. As the day came and went that I
signed [that] contract … I moved the goalposts even further. This was largely
fueled by a narrative I told myself that unless I left no doubt about deserving
my spot that I would be viewed as a token and not a true professional. But what
I considered as casting a shadow I’ve slowly realized can also act as a beacon.
So, I have decided to embrace what I once felt embarrassed of and be proudly
and shamelessly myself. I have met some incredibly talented LGBTQ rugby players
over the years, many of whom were blackballed from playing a high level solely
due to being gay. As of now I am the only openly gay rugby player to earn a
contract with an MLR side. I hope that I will meet others Iike myself playing a
high level of rugby and hoping to inspire the next generation of proud LGBTQ
rugby players. So I will proudly call myself ‘that gay rugger’ in hopes that
one day it won’t sound strange in men’s rugby.” 2021 and we are still struggling to come out because of fear
of what ‘others ‘might think. It’s time to realize that it doesn’t matter about
those ‘others, ‘and that only what makes us happy should be considered. Be a gay rugger. Be a rough looking gay rugger. |
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Demi Lovato, actress and singer, saying that gender
reveal parties are transphobic: “This is not about being politically correct, it’s about
being correct. The refusal to acknowledge this stems from a misunderstanding of
what transphobia is. Transphobia is not just prejudice or violence against
an individual trans person, it is a belief system that presumes non-trans
people to be more ‘natural’ than trans people. Only individual people can self-determine
their gender.” It took me a minute to wrap my head around it, but it makes
perfect sense. Don’t celebrate the gender, celebrate the baby; celebrate the
life, whatever life turns out to be for that child. |
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Taylor Simone Ledward Boseman, accepting a golden
Globe for her late husband, Chadwick Boseman—who won as Best Actor for Ma
Rainey’s Black Bottom—and spoke so beautifully: “He would thank God. He would thank his parents. He would
thank his ancestors for their guidance and their sacrifices. He would thank his
incredible team, Michael Greene, Azeem Chiba, Nicki Fioravante, Evelyn O’Neill,
Chris Huvane, Logan Coles. He would thank his team on set for this film:
Deirdra Dixon, Siân Richards, Craig Anthony, and Andrew Carlone. He would say
something beautiful, something inspiring, something that would amplify that
little voice inside of all of us that tells you can, that tells you to keep
going, that calls you back to what you are meant to be doing in this moment in
history. He would thank Mr. George C. Wolfe, Mr. Denzel Washington, lots of
people at Netflix. He would thank Ms. Viola Davis, Mr. Glynn Turman, Mr.
Michael Potts, Mr. Coleman Domingo, Ms. Taylour Paige, Mr. Dusan Brown. And I
don’t have his words, but we have to take all the moments to celebrate those we
love. So thank you, HFPA, for this opportunity to do exactly that. And hon, you
keep ’em coming. Thank you.” Earlier in the ceremony, TikTok star La’Ron Hines had
a segment asking preschoolers about the entertainment industry. Like most
kids, they knew nothing about show business: One said his favorite actor was
“Captain America,” while another opined that movies were made “from bricks” but
when asked who Chadwick Boseman was every single one said: Black Panther. Everybody knows Black Panther. Everybody misses Chadwick
Boseman. |
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John Bolton, on CNN,
about CPAC and the former president: “If this is the epitome of support for [the
twice-impeached, one-term loser], the straw poll that was taken this weekend
and released just before [the twice-impeached, one-term loser], spoke, showed
of all the participants 55% supported [the twice-impeached, one-term loser], being
re-elected as president. That is a pathetic figure. I would have expected 90%.
So if 55%, one month after leaving office at CPAC, is the best he can do,
that’s a mark of how far he has fallen already.” While, again, Bolton who sat by and allowed
this stain to happen to this country and said nothing until he was fired and
could write a book, can fuck all the way off. But I do love the idea that it was barely half
of the loons at CPAC who want to see the twice-impeached, one-term loser in
office ever again. |
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Al Green, Democrat Congressman from Texas responding
to Greg Steube, GQP Congressman from Florida, during the debate on the
Equality Act : “You used God to enslave my foreparents. You used God to
segregate me in schools. You used God to put me in the back of the bus. Have
you no shame? God created every person in this room. Are you saying that God
made a mistake? This is not about God, it’s about men who choose to
discriminate against other people because they have the power to do so. My
record will not show that I voted against Mr. Cicilline having his rights. My
record will show that when I had the opportunity to deliver liberty and justice
for all, I voted for rights for all.” Steube stood on the floor of Congress in 2021 and said transgender
people are an insult to God, and then read from Deuteronomy 22:5: "A woman must not wear men's clothing nor a man wear
women's clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this." So, he said God Hates. And that’s what we need to stop; hate. Equality is just that and nothing more; it’s not special,
it’s not more, it’s not better; it’s just equal. |
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