Gay marriage law’s impact on Iowans subtle, yet powerful DesMoinesRegister.com -Gay marriage law’s impact on Iowans subtle, yet powerful
The April marriage ruling hasn’t enticed Jean and George Huffey’s two gay children to move back to Iowa from Wisconsin and Indiana, as the two parents had hoped.
Not many same-sex couples have relocated here in the two short months since the Iowa Supreme Court ruled on April 3 that both gay and straight couples have equal rights to marriage, anecdotal evidence suggests.
“It’s going to take time,” said Des Moines real estate agent Mindi McCoy, who had two same-sex clients from New York City look at properties, then decide against purchasing. “We’re still in kind of this honeymoon stage, no pun intended.”
Gay culture is sharply in focus this weekend as thousands gather to celebrate at the Capital City PrideFest in Des Moines. The Des Moines Register interviewed dozens of gays and lesbians to identify early trends since the first marriages took place April 27, including the effects on the ease of coming out of the closet, family relationships, religion, business, politics and the underground gay sex scene.
The changes in Iowa since the ruling are subtle but powerful to the individuals affected, according to both advocates and opponents.
Same-sex married couples who live here said they are already experiencing firsthand how Iowa law still treats them differently from opposite-sex couples.
Of the hundreds of same-sex Iowa couples who are now married – no state agency tracks the number of same-sex unions – some said they feel less guarded about holding hands or sharing a kiss in certain public settings.
“At your job, you don’t feel like you can’t have a picture of you and your partner up,” said Des Moines resident Justin De Vries.
Marriage seems to have been embraced mainly by same-sex couples with a history together: five years, a decade, 20 years or more. Some faith leaders have committed acts of quiet rebellion to marry them, even as their churches remain locked in debate over same-sex weddings.
“People are taking this as a very serious issue,” said Sharon Malheiro, a Des Moines lawyer. Couples are asking: ” ‘If we get married, what will the impact be? What are our obligations to each other?’ They’re not being nonchalant about it.”
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Assaulted lesbian musician posts online video alleging homophobia
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Gay and Lesbian Times
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Adam Lambert Openly Gay, Planning ‘Coming Out’ Mag Cover
‘American Idol’ runner-up Adam Lambert is not only openly gay, he is planning a Rolling Stone cover to confirm it after months of speculation, reports the NY Post.
‘Idol’ judge Kara DioGuardi is on a pretaped ‘View’ airing Friday, and during her sit-down she says he is out.
“I don’t think that Adam was ever in [the closet],” she tells the ladies. “I think he was always openly out.”
Meanwhile, Friday’s NY Post reports he will be on the cover of next week’s Rolling Stone.
“AMERICAN Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert has steadfastly refused to talk about his sexuality despite photos of him on his Web site tongue-kissing men and dressed in full drag — but not for much longer. A well-placed magazine source tells Page Six that Lambert will be coming out officially on the next cover of Rolling Stone.
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Straight Teens: Oral Sex and Casual Prostitution No Biggie
They don’t give their names, but viewers can see their faces plainly and what these teens are saying is shocking parents. “I ended up having sex with more than one person that night and then in the morning I was trying to get morning-after pills,” one of the girls said. “I was, like, 14 at the time.”
It’s just one of dozens of stories from teenage girls in a new documentary by Canadian filmmaker Sharlene Azam that aims to shed light on the secret, extremely sexual lives of today’s teens.
After four years researching for the documentary, Azam told “Good Morning America” that oral sex is as common as kissing for teens and that casual prostitution — being paid at parties to strip, give sexual favors or have sex — is far more commonplace than once believed.
“If you talk to teens [about oral sex] they’ll tell you it’s not a big deal,” Azam said. “In fact, they don’t consider it sex. They don’t consider a lot of things sex.” See Teens: Oral Sex and Casual Prostitution No Biggie * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Why It Matters that Adam Lambert is (Probably) Gay
It matters that Adam Lambert, the heir apparent as the next American Idol, is apparently gay — precisely because it doesn’t matter.
First, whether Lambert is homosexual or not, he definitely is “queer,” a word many GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered) people have reclaimed from the dustbin of history as a proud self-identification. He gender-bends, he sings high notes, he wears makeup and jewelry. For a show about creating the next typical pop star, he is atypical. Simply being gay is, perhaps, no big deal — but Lambert flaunts his gender non-conformity. As he himself said, when photographs of Lambert kissing other men surfaced on the Internet, “I have nothing to hide. I am who I am.” Bravo!
This bravado stands in sharp contrast to previous generations of androgynous pop stars, who vociferously denied their gayness even as their obvious queerness was leveraged into worldwide pop success. Clay Aiken, George Michael, even Boy George all used to deny their sexualities — and Elton John hid behind “bisexuality” for many years as well. To most of us in the gay community, this was ludicrous; at the same instant these male stars were protesting the awful insinuations about their manhood, they flaunted their gender-bending and/or androgyny as part of their appeal. Not Lambert. He is who he is, and it’s fabulous.
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Why It Matters that Adam Lambert is (Probably) Gay
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Why women are leaving men for other women
Lately, a new kind of sisterly love seems to be in the air. In the past few years, Sex and the City’s Cynthia Nixon left a boyfriend after a decade and a half and started dating a woman (and talked openly about it).
Actress Lindsay Lohan and DJ Samantha Ronson flaunted their relationship from New York to Dubai. Katy Perry’s song “I Kissed a Girl” topped the charts. “The L Word,” “Work Out,” and “Top Chef” are featuring gay women on TV, and there’s even talk of a lesbian reality show in the works.
Certainly nothing is new about women having sex with women, but we’ve arrived at a moment in the popular culture when it all suddenly seems almost fashionable — or at least, acceptable.
Statistics on how many women have traded boyfriends and husbands for girlfriends are hard to come by. Although the U.S. Census Bureau keeps track of married, divorced, single, and even same-sex partners living together, it doesn’t look for the stories behind those numbers.
But experts like Binnie Klein, a Connecticut-based psychotherapist and lecturer in Yale’s department of psychiatry, agree that alternative relationships are on the rise.
“It’s clear that a change in sexual orientation is imaginable to more people than ever before, and there’s more opportunity — and acceptance — to cross over the line,” says Klein, noting that a half-dozen of her married female patients in the past few years have fallen in love with women. “Most are afraid that if they don’t go for it, they’ll end up with regrets.” http://CNN.com
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Gay Students at a Kentucky High School Report Not Being Able to Use the Restroom because of their Sexual Orientation
Kentucky Equality Federation received reports that a Franklin County High School official allegedly sent an email to teachers instructing them not to allow homosexuals to leave class to use the restroom.
Frankfort, KY — Kentucky Equality Federation received reports that a Franklin County High School official allegedly sent an email to teachers instructing them not to allow homosexuals to leave class to use the restroom.
The email was allegedly sent after two female classmates were caught kissing in the public restroom.
In response, 15 students protested outside the school yesterday.
“My daughter was involved in a protest at Franklin County High School yesterday for their right to use the restroom,” stated Michelle Sexton.
“I have been in contact with one of the parents of the children involved in the protest and we support their constitutional right to assemble peacefully,” stated Kentucky Equality Federation President Jordan Palmer. “We call on the media to investigate this issue further and shed light on the discrimination gays and lesbians face throughout the Commonwealth. Kentucky Equality Federation will also be contacting the other parents of the children involved in today’s protest.”
Though Superintendent Harrie Buecker stated steps are being taken to address the students’ concerns, Kentucky Equality Federation is concerned they will not be addressed properly. Though not directly connected, Kentucky Equality Federation has received similar complaints in Casey, Pulaski, and Powell counties about unfair treatment of gay and lesbian students and teachers.
“I’d like to know what level this mentality, that gay and lesbian students should not be treated equally is coming from. An incident in one county could be called an isolated incident, but we now have similar reports in three other Kentucky Counties,” stated Kentucky Equality Federation Managing Director Laura Reed.
Kentucky Equality Federation will continue its own investigation and assist parents or students in filing any necessary complaints with Kentucky officials.
Palmer added that assembling together in a peaceful manner is the most basic right granted by the Kentucky Constitution, and that Kentucky Equality Federation had contacted the Office of Helen W. Mountjoy, Kentucky’s Secretary of Education for assistance in resolving the issues.
Kentucky Equality Federation offers an online complaint system for people around the Commonwealth to report discrimination or harassment. The online complaint system can be located at www.kyLGBT.org, or www.kyequality.org.
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Kentucky Equality Federation is Kentucky’s largest statewide, grassroots LGBTI civil rights organization.
Kentucky Equality Federation is the sponsor of Marriage Equality Kentucky. For additional information, visit http://www.marriageequalityky.org/.
Kentucky Equality Federation is a member of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (“ILGA”). Composed of over 600 member organizations around the world, ILGA is to this day the only international non-profit and non-governmental community-based federation dedicated to achieving equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people at the United Nations.
Kentucky Equality Federation is a member of Marriage Equality USA.
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17 gay couples bus to Iowa, marry, go back to Missouri
Iowa City, Ia. — Friday was a long, busy day for 17 gay and lesbian couples from Missouri.
They were awake by 4 a.m., hopped on a bus to Iowa City around 6 a.m., said “I do” in the afternoon and were unmarried by the time they returned home Friday evening.
The couples took advantage of the Iowa Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage in the Hawkeye State. But, back home in Missouri, where a constitutional amendment defines marriage as only between a man and a woman, their Iowa certificates documenting a legal bond carries little weight. “We knew when we get back there our legal status will be the same as it was,” said Julie Brueggemann, 35, of St. Louis. “Hopefully, one day in the not too distant future, Missouri will be as open as Iowa is.”
The Unitarian Universalist Society in Iowa City hosted the 17 weddings. Each couple, one by one, stood before a minister, said vows, were pronounced wed and kissed.
“It’s a unique experience. How many other people can say they got married with 16 other couples?” said Kim Coleman, 32, of Florissant, Mo. She and Kimberly Banks-Brown, 38, have been together for five years. “But, it’s a logistical nightmare.”
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Sacha Baron Cohen: The men in his life
His latest alter ego, a gay Austrian fashionista, is already hailed as a work of genius. But can Sacha Baron Cohen ever just be himself?
Photo: Sacha Baron Cohen as the fashion journalist Brüno
They didn’t know, the Alabama National Guard. Never realised that allowing a German documentary-maker into their high-security training camp 65 miles east of Birmingham would go so wrong. They certainly couldn’t have guessed, when they agreed to let him take part in training, that this curiously effeminate man would adorn his US military uniform with a white D&G belt, or strip in front of a locker room-full of crew-cut squaddies to reveal a camouflage thong.
Ron Paul didn’t twig, either, that a TV interview that was supposed to be about Austrian economics might end in a candle-lit hotel bedroom, where a blond male journalist would proffer cheap champagne before attempting to seduce him. Never, in his wildest dreams, could the 73-year-old hero of the Republican right have envisioned that a predatory homosexual would have the gall to suddenly drop his trousers. That’s why Paul ran away shouting: “This is ENDED!”
Then there was the crowd lured to a fairground in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on the promise of one-dollar beer and “blue-collar brawling”. They expected to spend the evening watching good, old-fashioned fisticuffs. Instead, the cage-fighting took an unexpected turn when a contestant called “Straight Dave” and his opponent stopped wrestling and started, in the words of a police report, “stripping down to their underwear, kissing and rubbing” each other.
How could that crowd have guessed? How could they possibly have realised, in a town where men are men and “gay” is a form of insult, that a pair of tough-guys would start canoodling, and force them to watch? Little wonder they promptly started a riot. Whoever you happen to be, what other emotion, except extreme anger, is the natural reaction to being “punked” by Sacha Baron Cohen?
It’s been a while, now, since this ludicrously talented British comedian burst onto the scene. A decade since his character Ali G first demonstrated that you can make highly intelligent people say incredibly revealing things by asking them the stupidest questions imaginable. Three years since his Kazakhstani alter ego, Borat, toured Middle America exposing staggering levels of misogyny, anti-Semitism, and public ignorance.
But now he’s back. This summer, Baron Cohen will complete his trio of “mockumentary” films with a movie following the flamboyant exploits of Brüno, an outrageously camp fashion reporter from Klagenfurt, whose “MeinSpace” page proudly declares: “If I vas a Starbucks drink, ich vould be a tall, skinny Austrian mit a great personality und a really big brains.”
The film boasts the extended title Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt. That pretty much sums up what the film is about. Firstly, Brüno’s preposterous vanity will expose the excesses of a fashion industry (and celebrity culture) obsessed with body image and consumerism. Secondly, his overbearing homosexuality will be used as a tool to generate, expose, and thus satirise public homophobia.
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Hollywood Bonkers Over Lipstick Lesbians and Bisexual Hotties
“The fantasy has become a reality. Between ads, movies, music, books and TV shows, society just can’t get enough bisexuality. As witnessed in the famous Madonna-Britney-Christina kiss and MTV star Tila Tequila’s adventures, society is fascinated by those who “bat for both teams.”
Bisexual pursuits have become so seemingly commonplace that one would think the world has gone “bi.” But the research on bisexual numbers paints a very different picture:
By all indications, true bisexual orientation is rare.” Yvonne K. Fulbright/ Fox News “Sexpert”
Fullbright is spot on, one sure-fire way to spice up a show and spike the ratings is to have one of the female leads fall in love with a beautiful woman. We can’t get enough of Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson, and we still don’t get bored when a TV station replays the Madonna/Britney Spears kiss for the millionth time.
But the Fox News Sexpert fail to mention, for politically-correct reasons, that Americans are only fascinated by bisexual women. Ninety nine percent of straight men, and most women are fascinated by lipstick lesbians, but 99.99 of straight men and 99.99 percent of women are repulsed by the onscreen depiction of men making love to men.
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