Just One Look...#105

Cristiano Ronaldo: Sexiest Man Alive

Readers of The Gay Times London have voted for the Sexiest Man Alive and Portuguese football (soccer) player Cristiano Ronaldo took the honors...

Levi's Mannequins Sporting White Knots In Support Of Gay Marriage

LEVI’S is getting in the spirit of the season by dressing its storefront mannequins in white. In Levi’s-owned stores in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco, that means more than just marking the passing of Memorial Day, the traditional date to begin wearing white: in 20 stores, the mannequins’ white Levi’s jeans and shirts are adorned with White Knots, a symbol of solidarity with the same-sex marriage movement.
The symbol was made more timely by the California Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday to uphold Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in the state. Developed by Frank Voci, a digital media consultant, as a response to Proposition 8’s passage last November, the White Knot for Equality is a white ribbon tied in a knot.
It has been worn by the actress Anne Hathaway at President Obama’s Inauguration; Dustin Lance Black, the screenwriter of “Milk,” at the Oscars; and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, at a May 17 Manhattan rally supporting gay marriage. At the GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles in April, the comedian Kathy Griffin wore a bikini with a strategically placed White Knot.
With that kind of visibility and the online support among gays, lesbians and straight allies, the merchandising team at Levi’s was prompted to ask Mr. Voci if the company could use White Knots in its stores.
“Our design team was seeking something that would resonate beyond just fashion but also fit with our white product theme,” said Rene Holguin, senior vice president for global creative services for the Levi’s brand.
Levi Strauss & Company has a tradition of supporting equal rights for gays. Last fall, the San Francisco-based company filed an amicus brief with the California Supreme Court outlining the economic advantages of allowing same-sex couples to wed. The company has also signed on to sponsor a programming block on Logo, the gay cable channel owned by MTV Networks, and developed a marketing partnership with “Milk,” the Focus Features movie about Harvey Milk, the gay civil rights leader.
“We always try to connect to the energy and events of our time,” said Erica Archambault, Levi’s director of brand marketing and public relations. “What’s the pioneering spirit of today? A lot of people are rallying around marriage equality and fighting for that and so many individuals within our company feel so strongly about it.”
The Levi’s stores have no signs or conspicuous messages about the White Knot for Equality organization. Instead, the intent is to encourage customers to talk with employees, who have been briefed on the campaign. “We have weekly calls with our store managers and we sent out detailed information about the White Knot organization and also ways in which we’re supporting marriage equality over all as a company,” Ms. Archambault said.
The point, she said, is for sales staff “to be educated and able to have an informed conversation that’s more interactive than reading off a card or something.”
Mr. Voci said that he decided to create a symbol after seeing a number of rallies opposing the passage of Proposition 8. Inspired by the red ribbon for H.I.V./AIDS and the pink ribbon for breast cancer, he headed to a fabric store and began playing with white ribbon. “I was trying to figure out something different to do with it,” he recalled. “I tied it in a knot and thought, ‘Oh, tie the knot, like getting married.’ ”
“Everyone should have the right to tie the knot,” he said.
His eureka moment also led to the creation of a Web site, WhiteKnot.org. The owner of Voci Media Works, Mr. Voci advises companies like Living Proof, which makes hair- and skin-care products, on Internet strategies. He said he applied his knowledge to develop the WhiteKnot.org site. Volunteers have made thousands of White Knots, and the site features stories about their efforts.
Mr. Voci said he was not interested in turning the White Knot campaign into a major fund-raising operation. Instead, he said, he plans to support the efforts of established organizations like the Human Rights Campaign and Freedom to Marry.
Mr. Voci said he hoped that the White Knot could represent other initiatives promoting gay civil rights. “There’s a larger push for overall equal rights, the repeal of DOMA” — the Defense of Marriage Act — “the repeal of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ the passage of a hate crimes bill and the end of workplace discrimination,” he said. “Marriage equality seems to be the headliner right now, but what we really want is comprehensive civil rights.”
Ricki Lake, the actress, has worn the White Knot to events. “It’s so simple and it says a lot,” she said. “It’s the same thing as the Lance Armstrong LiveStrong bracelet — that simple gesture that gets the word out.”
from The New York Times

Proposition 8 Upheld

LONG BEACH - Proposition 8 proponent James George expected the California Supreme Court to disappoint him.
Instead, the 53-year-old Alamitos Heights resident came out of a business meeting Tuesday morning to find that the justices had ruled in favor of the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage.
"Honestly, I am surprised. I am very happy that they did it, but I am surprised that they did," said George, who attends Cottonwood Christian Church in Los Alamitos. "How many times have there been times like this - when the people vote and the court overturns it?"
George supports domestic partnership laws, but believes the traditional definition of marriage is sacrosanct.
"It is the cornerstone of American society - the family unit," George said. "If you look at the biggest problems facing our society, you can trace it back to the degeneration of the traditional family."
California's high court upheld the most divisive voter referendum in modern state history Tuesday but allowed the 18,000 already performed same-sex marriages to stand.
Though members of the local gay community were still absorbing the news, advocates of same-sex marriage said the court ruling strengthened their resolve.
"The court decision has only made the movement for marriage equality stronger," Long Beach Councilman Robert Garcia said in an e-mail following the ruling. "I am confident that history is on our side, and that our movement fueled by love and compassion will win - and win soon."
Belmont Shore community activist Justin Rudd said he hoped that a future law or court action would override Proposition 8.
"I do look forward to the day when everybody can have the equal right to get married, and I am happy for my friends who get to stay married," Rudd said.
Organized supporters of same-sex marriage plan to put the issue back on a future state ballot and may appeal Proposition 8 to the U.S. Supreme Court.
But clearly Proposition 8 supporters won the first battle in what will likely be a long cultural war.
"I think personally, just as a citizen of the state, that they upheld it the right way," said George Fessler, executive pastor of Life Center Church in Lakewood.
Fessler, who has said in the past that he is OK with domestic partnership laws, said his argument for the definition of marriage, which he regards as between a man and a woman, stems from history.
"It's something that has been trans-cultural," he said. "One man, one woman has been predominate, that's been the historical definition of what has been called marriage."
Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Lakewood, who opposed Prop. 8, reminded that a partial victory was at hand because the court "cannot tear families apart by nullifying same-sex marriages that already exist."
from The Press Telegram

Porn Films Are No Longer A Career-Killer

Appearances by porn performers in mainstream movies usually fall into one of three categories: one-shots (like “Behind the Green Door” star Marilyn Chambers, who starred in David Cronenberg’s “Rabid” before returning almost exclusively to adult fare), stunt-casting (for instance, porn veteran Nina Hartley’s turn in “Boogie Nights,” a movie about the golden age of adult film) or random cameos (gay icon Steve Hammond’s wordless appearance as a personal trainer on the run from a nuclear holocaust in “Miracle Mile”).
While director Steven Soderbergh has been getting lots of publicity for his new film “The Girlfriend Experience” thanks to his casting of 21-year-old porn starlet Sasha Grey in the lead role, it’s too early to tell whether this role will mark Grey’s first of many mainstream projects or not.
What is clear, however, is that in an era when stars like Paris Hilton and Colin Farrell can emerge unscathed from the emergence of secret sex videos — to say nothing of all those next-door neighbors posting their naughty shenanigans on Web sites like XTube — working in porn no longer means that you can’t still aim for a career in mainstream movies and television.
Traci Lords, for instance, has turned up everywhere from John Waters comedies to episodes of “Gilmore Girls,” while Ron Jeremy has become a near-ubiquitous figure in film (especially schlocky straight-to-DVD fare) and TV.
And then there’s actor Dylan Vox: After a successful career in gay porn under the name “Brad Benton,” he’s managed to find work on the campy cable horror soap “The Lair” and in various independent feature films.
“I think people get hung up on where you came from as opposed to where you’re going,” notes Vox, 30, about his unusual entrée into show business. “Elisabeth Hasselbeck was on ‘Survivor,’ and like it or not, she actually has something to say, and it’s been intriguing for people to watch, but they never would have hired her for ‘The View’ if she hadn’t been on ‘Survivor’ first. The industry wasn’t open to her.”
Better than waiting tables
For Vox, entering the world of adult entertainment wasn’t originally part of the Atlanta native’s game plan. But in 2001, when Vox was juggling competitive figure-skating alongside studying for an MBA, the prospect seemed much more attractive, not to mention more lucrative, than waiting tables. Falcon Studios, generally considered the MGM of gay adult moviemakers because of their big budgets and glossy production values, happened to be making a film in Colorado, where Vox was attending school and training on the ice.
In a scenario out of “42nd Street,” one of the performers dropped out, and Vox was approached in a bar by the president of the company to take his place. “And at that time, they actually paid,” recalls Vox, “because the movies were a big deal. Now there’s so much internet and all that stuff, and everybody’s a dime a dozen.”
So he said yes, and for five years, “Brad Benton” won GayVN awards (the adult film industry’s analog to the Oscars) and traveled between Colorado and L.A. to make gay porn. It was an experience that wound up giving Vox his first connections to mainstream show business: “The people behind the scenes were in the industry, they were editors and filmmakers. I remember I did one (film) and one of the sound guys worked on ‘Will & Grace,’ and this was just something he was doing while they were on hiatus, it was just a paycheck for him.”
When the time came for Vox to move to Los Angeles to try to break into more mainstream avenues of acting, he discovered that there were plenty of parallels between erotic filmmaking and the tamer kind. It was only later that he realized, looking back on his first porn shoot, “It was pretty much like any other set — you walk on, and there’s craft services, people were doing makeup and taking care of you, and a lot of sitting around. It was making a movie.” He pauses and chuckles. “With penetration.”
And the lessons he learned making titles like “Blades” (which allowed him to show off his skating prowess alongside the standard porn skill set) and “Camp Freshmen” carried over as well.
“If you’re willing to work, people like to work with you,” says Vox, who continues to pay his dues waiting tables and acting in L.A. stage productions between film and TV gigs. “(Production can be) a very lazy environment, and it’s very easy to say, ‘Oh, I don’t want to do that.’ I work really hard when I’m on set, I put in a lot of time and effort — it’s not just about showing up. People want to see that you’re professional and that you know your lines. I think a lot of it is just about being nice to people. I was successful as an adult actor not because I’m the most beautiful person on the planet but because people liked me, they liked working with me, I was excited to be there and I took every job seriously. A little bit of hard work goes a really long way in Los Angeles, no matter what you’re doing.”
Following in the footsteps of Sasha Grey
The publicity surrounding Sasha Grey’s recent venture beyond porn only confirms Vox’s belief that his past career can only help him as an actor. “Do I think it was really brave for Steven Soderbergh to hire an adult actress to play a prostitute in an indie film? No. But do I think people will go see it because he did? Yes. So from a business standpoint, it’s brilliant.”
As Vox often tells casting directors, “I have a following — it may not be a conventional following, but I have one.”
With two seasons of “The Lair” behind him and two new movies — the comedy “Homewrecker” and the psychological thriller “Pornography” (“Love the movie, hate the title,” says Vox) — hitting the festival circuit this summer, the adult film biz isn’t Vox’s favorite topic, but he acknowledges that people will always be curious about it. “If you go on IMDB, they have all my mainstream stuff and all my other films on the same page,” notes Vox. “And at first I was all, ‘Why did they do that?’ But then I later figured, ‘Well, I did it all. I can’t really say that I didn’t do it.’” He laughs, adding, “Plus, it gives me a really large body of work.”
The idea that anyone might be scandalized, in Vox’s eyes, only calls up society’s hypocrisy when it comes to issues surrounding sexuality. “Winona Ryder shoplifted, and she still gets cast,” Vox notes, going on to name various other working performers guilty of everything from bad parenting to vehicular homicide. “I’ve never done anything bad or anything illegal, so that moral high horse amuses me. I’ll never understand why people in this country are so hung up on sex, whereas drugs and violence, they’ll let it slide.”
For someone just three years out of the adult industry, Vox — who just finished shooting the creature feature “Megaconda” opposite Hollywood veteran Stella Stevens — is still just getting started as an actor, but he’s optimistic about his prospects. “I’m running the same race that everyone else in Hollywood is running, I’m just doing it with one shoe off. Everybody roots for the underdog, so hopefully audiences can root for me to succeed at this.”
from MSNBC

Just One Look...#104

Eight Things Straight Men Can Learn From Gay Porn

I’ve tried to get my boyfriends to watch guy-on-guy porn with me. Yhey’re game to watch pseudo-lesbians paw each other, but they draw the line at man love. But there’s a lot a guy could learn about sex by watching two dudes go at it. So, I’ve decided to give guys the cheat sheet on what they could learn from gay porn.

1. We All Want To Feel Someone: Men take the blame for wanting anal sex, but a lot of women want to do it, too. Men have something back there that’ll get them off—the prostate. All I’m sayin’ is, you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.
2. Be Aggressive: Gay porn can be a little rougher, and still consensual. Something about a man throwing a woman against the wall to kiss you is sexy. It shows you want to do me, with passion. I’m not made of porcelain; I won’t break. Feel free to let me know how bad you want it.
3. Wear Nice Underwear: Packaging does a lot for a package. Leopard banana hammocks are a more of a niche market, but a decent pair of tightie-whities is a total improvement.
4. Role Equality: We both have the ability to be “the top” or “the bottom.” Sometimes, I want to be the one taking the lead, and sometimes I don’t. That doesn’t make anyone less of a woman—or a man, for that matter.
5. Trim Your Hedges: Our secret gardens are always growing, so you’ve got to maintain yours. No one is saying that you’ve got to weed the whole place, but, you know, you gotta keep up with your manscaping.
6. Location, Location, Location: Why don’t we do it in the hall? Or the pool? Or our military bunker? Well, you get the idea.
7. Orgasms Aren’t Optional: It not over until the mutual money shot. We both need to get what we came for.
8. Lube Job: Feel free to use lube. I make it magically, but every bit counts.
from The Frisky

It's Ok To Be Marie Osmonds Gay Daughter

If you expect Mormon Marie Osmond to be anything but supportive of her daughter Jessica, who is a lesbian, you'd be wrong. The entertainer and mother of eight says she's totally supportive of her eldest child.
"I love my daughter! She's my baby girl, come on," she tells Entertainment Tonight. "So what if she's gay? She's my daughter and she's an amazing woman and a good kid. I raised her, she better be good."
Marie adds that her religion is no impediment when it comes to loving her children, regardless of their sexual orientation.
"I think it's sad when we have to separate something from society. Whether it's, 'Oh you're Jewish,' and then it was 'Oh you're a Mormon,' or 'Oh you're gay.' I love real people," she explains. "A lot of women out there have gay children. Who cares? I want love. I'm a Christian and Christ loved everybody."
from OK Magazine

Gay Officer May Be Ousted After 18 Years In The Air Force

An 18-year Air Force officer and fighter pilot is being booted under the Pentagon's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy on gays, the officer revealed last night during a prime-time television interview.
Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach, an F-15E Strike Eagle pilot assigned to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, where he called an investigation board's finding that his homosexuality harmed unit morale, good order and discipline "absolutely false."
"About 4,000 people are assigned to Mountain Home Air Force Base, and only about 10 people on the entire base even knew of my case up until this very moment," he said. "Those were my immediate chain of command, a couple of attorneys in the legal office, and a couple of officers in the Office of Special Investigations. Not one single person that I'm assigned with in my squadron, or that I fly with in my fighter squadron, knew about this case until this moment."
Fehrenbach said that when the Air Force first made its case against him and moved to have him discharged he just wanted it over with.
"I was devastated, absolutely devastated. The Air Force has been my life. I was born on an Air Force base. I was faced with the end of my life as I knew it," he said. "I wanted a quick, quiet, fair, honorable discharge."
But he said he decided to fight the discharge because he believes the policy is wrong, and that his fighting it might help other people.
He said he has been disappointed that President Barack Obama has backed off on his promise while a candidate to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
In a statement issued yesterday by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, SLDN Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis called the Air Force's move to discharge Fehrenbach "an utter waste of talent."
"The Colonel has a sterling combat record, does a fantastic job for his country every day and has all the medals and job performance evaluations to prove it. He did not disrupt unit cohesion or good order. But the bottom line is he's gay, so he's out," Sarvis said.
Fehrenbach's discharge comes two years before he would have been able to take a 20-year retirement.
Fehrenbach said he has nine Air Medals, including one for valor for assaulting an Iraqi ambush position while under heavy anti-aircraft fire during the first days of the invasion. He told Maddow that he and his wingman spotted a dozen armored personnel carriers laying in wait for advancing U.S. troops on their way to Baghdad.
The wingman's plane suffered a malfunction which made it impossible for him to accurately fire his weapons, Sarvis said, so in addition to unleashing his own he guided the wingman so that he could fire on target, as well, all while under fire.
The two knocked out the ambush, he said.
from Military.com

Gay Mom And Kids Kept From Dying Partner

When a loved one is in the hospital, you naturally want to be at the bedside. But what if the staff won’t allow it?
That’s what Janice Langbehn, a social worker in Lacey, Wash., says she experienced when her partner of 18 years, Lisa Pond, collapsed with an aneurysm during a Florida vacation and was taken to a Miami trauma center. She died there, at age 39, as Ms. Langbehn tried in vain to persuade hospital officials to let her visit, along with the couple’s adopted children.
“I have this deep sense of failure for not being at Lisa’s bedside when she died,” Ms. Langbehn said. “How I get over that I don’t know, or if I ever do.”
The case, now the subject of a federal lawsuit in Florida, is being watched by gay rights groups, which say same-sex partners often report being excluded from a patient’s room because they aren’t “real” family members.
And lawyers say the case could affect the way hospitals treat all patients with nonmarital relationships, including older people who choose not to marry, unmarried heterosexual couples and single people who rely on the support of close friends rather than relatives.
One point of contention in the lawsuit is whether a hospital has a legal duty to its patients to always give visiting rights to their designated family members and surrogates.
Robert Alonso, a spokesman for the public trust that runs the Miami hospital, Jackson Memorial, said it typically did not comment on pending litigation, but added that the hospital grants visitation if it doesn’t interfere with other emergency care. “The primary legal point is that the amount of visitation allowed in a trauma emergency room should be decided by the surgeons and nurses treating the patients,” he said.
A similar lawsuit is under way in Washington State, where Sharon Reed says she was denied access to her partner of 17 years, Jo Ann Ritchie, who was dying of liver failure. Although the hospital had liberal visitation policies, a night nurse from an employment agency insisted that Ms. Reed leave her partner’s room, the lawsuit says.
“One of the things her partner said to her was, ‘I’m afraid of dying. Don’t leave me alone,’ ” said Judith A. Lonnquist, a lawyer for Ms. Reed. “That’s why the suffering was so enormous — she felt as if her partner was thinking she had betrayed her trust.”
In both cases, the couples had prepared for a medical emergency, creating living wills, advanced directives and power-of-attorney documents.
As recounted by Ms. Langbehn, the details of the Miami episode are harrowing. It began in February 2007, when the family — including three children, then ages 9, 11 and 13 — traveled there for a cruise. After boarding the ship, Ms. Pond collapsed while taking pictures of the children playing basketball.
The children managed to help her back to the family’s room. Fortunately, the ship was still docked, and an ambulance took Ms. Pond to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial. Ms. Langbehn and the children followed in a taxi, arriving around 3:30 p.m.
Ms. Langbehn says that a hospital social worker informed her that she was in an “antigay city and state” and that she would need a health care proxy to get information. (The worker denies having made the statement, Mr. Alonso said.) As the social worker turned to leave, Ms. Langbehn stopped him. “I said: ‘Wait a minute. I have those health care proxies,’ ” she said. She called a friend to fax the papers.
The medical chart shows that the documents arrived around 4:15 p.m., but nobody immediately spoke to Ms. Langbehn about Ms. Pond’s condition. During her eight-hour stay in the trauma unit waiting room, Ms. Langbehn says, she had two brief encounters with doctors. Around 5:20 a doctor sought her consent for a “brain monitor” but offered no update about the patient’s condition. Around 6:20, two doctors told her there was no hope for a recovery.
Despite repeated requests to see her partner, Ms. Langbehn says she was given just one five-minute visit, when a priest administered last rites. She says she continued to plead with a hospital worker that the children be allowed to see their mother, even showing the children’s birth certificates.
“I said to the receptionist, ‘Look, they’re her kids,’ ” Ms. Langbehn said. (Mr. Alonso, the hospital spokesman, says that except in special circumstances, children under 14 are not allowed to visit in the trauma unit.)
Ms. Langbehn says she was repeatedly told to keep waiting. Then, at 11:30 p.m., Ms. Pond’s sister arrived at the unit. According to the lawsuit, the hospital workers immediately told her that Ms. Pond had been moved an hour earlier to the intensive care unit and provided her room number.
At midnight, Ms. Langbehn says, her exhausted children were finally able to visit their unconscious mother. Ms. Pond was declared brain-dead at 10:45 that morning, and her heart, kidneys and liver were donated to four patients.
In her lawsuit, Ms. Langbehn is being represented by Lambda Legal, a gay rights group. “We want to send a message to hospitals,” said Beth Littrell, a lawyer for the group. “If they don’t treat families as such, if they don’t let patients define their own circle of intimacy and give them the dignity and care to be with their loved ones in this sort of crisis, then they will be held accountable.”
from The New York Times

Cynthia Nixon Engaged

NEW YORK CITY - Cynthia Nixon has announced her plans to wed girlfriend Christine Marinoni. The actress was out rallying for gay rights at the time she broke the news.
Nixon was taking part in the Love, Peace and Marriage Equality rally in New York City when she shared her big news. Nixon and Marinoni became engaged last month. The couple is currently hard at work promoting the new gay rights bill proposed by Governor David Paterson. The bill hopes to achieve equality for same sex unions.
Nixon and Marinoni have been together since 2003. Their relationship came as something of a shock as Nixon had previously been involved with a man, Danny Mozes, with whom she has two children, Samantha, 14, and Charles, 7. Back in 2004, when the news broke that Marinoni and Cynthia Nixon were involved, Nixon told the Daily News, "My private life is private. But at the same time, I have nothing to hide. So what I will say is that I am very happy."
Who would have thought that out of all the women on "Sex and the City," Cynthia Nixon would be the only cast member whose real sex life was more confusing and interesting than her character's? We would have thought that it would have been Kim Cattrall for sure. (Wait, you mean actors and actresses aren't just like the people they play on television? Weird.)
In June, Nixon told the Daily News that she and Marinoni hoped to marry one day but only when gay marriage became legal in New York. At the time, Nixon said, "In an ideal world, we'd like to in New York, when it becomes legalized. Hopefully, it won't take 20 years."
Cynthia Nixon has previously praised Brad Pitt for the donations he gave to support the legalization of gay marriage. Nixon has said, "I think it's great. I think the way Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie always give their money, and the things they give it to, and the enormous amounts they give of it is just incredibly commendable. I think they inspire other people to give as well."
from Actress Archives

McDonald's Settles Gay-Bias Complaint

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - McDonald's restaurant has agreed to pay $2,000 each to two Indianapolis men who complained that they were subjected to anti-gay slurs and discrimination when they visited a McDonald's restaurant on East Market Street in Louisville last year.
The company also will require diversity training for managers at 30 Louisville restaurants, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, which announced the settlement yesterday.
The ACLU had filed a complaint with the Louisville Human Relations Commission on behalf of the two men, Ryan Marlatt and Teddy Eggers, alleging that the comments of an employee at the McDonald's restaurant violated Louisville's Fairness Ordinance, which bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Both men said they were pleased with the settlement.
"The reason we made such a big deal out of this to begin with was because we didn't want it happening to anyone else," Eggers said in a statement released by the ACLU.
The two men alleged that an employee referred to them as "faggots" and used other derogatory terms after they ordered food. When they protested to a manager, she said she didn't see the matter as a "big deal," they said.
A company statement yesterday said that the matter has been resolved and that McDonald's has strict policies against any discrimination in its restaurants.
"We work with our restaurant managers and crew to ensure our policies are followed and that we provide a respectful environment for all our employees and customers," the statement said.
Michael Aldridge, executive director of the ACLU in Kentucky, said his organization decided to file the complaint after Marlatt and Eggers said they had attempted without success to contact the restaurant and McDonald's officials.
Initially, all the men asked for was a refund of the $28 they and some friends spent at the restaurant and an apology, Aldridge said.
Aldridge said he was pleased with McDonald's response and said results show the value of the Fairness Ordinance.
"We're lucky we have protection in Louisville," he said.
Lexington and Covington also have similar ordinances.
from The Courier-Journal

Mormon Beefcake Calendar

LAS VEGAS -- A male model wearing a kilt of black vinyl strips, a red belt with a gold buckle and little else is flexing his muscles amid fake oil derricks and Roman columns in a photo studio. All chiseled pectorals and tanned thighs, he is playing Captain Moroni, a battlefield hero in the Book of Mormon who rallied troops with the Title of Liberty banner
Chad Hardy, who is running the photo shoot, adjusts the model's kilt. Captain Moroni lifts his chin, grips a sword and hoists the banner.
"Flex your abs," Hardy reminds him.
When the model crunches his stomach, Hardy shouts, "That's it!"
Hardy, 32, is the creator of "Men on a Mission," a calendar series that sends up the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with photographs of hunky former missionaries in poses, characters and settings familiar to the faithful.
Like adults of many religions, Hardy has questions about the faith he was raised in, but the entrepreneurial -- and very public -- way he questions it has made him a flashpoint for debate among Mormons.
Hardy's first calendar, which has a shirtless Mormon for each month, was applauded by liberal-minded churchgoers when it was released in 2007. But as time passed and the Mormon Church faced unflattering publicity over a raid on a polygamous breakaway sect in Texas and its support for a gay marriage ban in California, others complained that the calendar was damaging the image of the faith.
One of the kinder Internet posts about Hardy calls him "an attention whore who . . . can contribute to bad LDS stereotypes and raise public disdain of church members."
Mormon officialdom has come down on him hard. He was excommunicated from the church, then barred from receiving his degree from Brigham Young University.
Hardy is fighting back with lawyers and his own website (slogan: "Open Shirts, Open Minds"). He plans to release the third "Men on a Mission" calendar online this month, much earlier than usual, to help pay his legal bills.
A calendar of Mormon mothers styled as sexy (though clothed) pinups is set for release this summer, and although Hardy expects what he calls "Mormon muffins" to outsell the men, he considers the original calendar "my gift to the world."
"It was the perfect secret weapon," he says as a makeup artist dusts the male models' flab-free abs. "It's friendly. It doesn't tear down the beliefs of the church at all. Underneath, it makes people realize, 'Oh, they're sexy Mormons. They're real.' "
Hardy grew up in Palm Springs, which had a small Mormon community. He went to church weekly and told his younger sister, Cherylyn, that he prayed every night for her to make good decisions. But "you're constantly wrapped in guilt," he says, recalling how, when he was a teenager, a church official asked whether he indulged in impure thoughts.
While studying at Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho) and BYU's main campus in Provo, Utah, he felt out of place. "They were all trying to out-righteous each other. It's who can follow the rules the best," he says. He fell into a deep depression. "Those rules, I think, kept me from God."
He left school four credits shy of a communications degree and worked in various cities in event planning and public relations. In 2006, after moving to Nevada, he founded AdVenture Vegas, a company that leads corporate team-building exercises.
The inspiration for "Men on a Mission" was a TV report about a calendar called "America's Heroes," featuring Marines. Hardy told a friend he was thinking about making one that showcased Mormons, and her husband offered to help.
"I felt it would shake people up a little bit," says Fred Brodsky, who runs a prop rental company, "and when you shake people up, that can translate into sales."
Hardy scoured MySpace for potential models. He sent female friends to Mormon dances to look for prospects. They discovered Mr. June 2008. He met up with Hardy in a parking lot near a Mormon temple in Redlands, Calif., and shed his shirt for test photos. On film, Hardy says, the shy model came across as studly.
The 2008 calendar's photo backdrops suggested where the men had served as missionaries. Mr. May, who served in Las Vegas, is framed by the Strip, but a smaller photo shows him in his missionary attire: starched button-down shirt, tie, slicked hair, schoolboy smile. "You know why people love this calendar?" Hardy says. "You go from dorky church boy to hunk."
After the first "Men on a Mission," Hardy got more than 100 applications from Mormons eager to appear in the next calendar, many from men who understood its intended message.
"I don't believe in perpetuating myths or stereotypes," one wrote. "I believe in breaking them, overcoming them and yes -- even parodying them. That's what is so great about this calendar! It parodies that square, asexual box of what a 'Mormon' is supposed to be."
Hardy was emboldened. The 2009 calendar cover resembles a painting of the second coming of Christ. The shirtless model wears a rose-colored sash and white loincloth and is outlined in a celestial glow. Inside, Mr. September stands in front of a chalkboard with a diagram of the Mormon Plan of Salvation. Amid arrows and squiggles, the word "judgment" is clearly visible.
Hardy expected scathing reaction to the calendars from offended Mormons and some awkwardness with family and friends. It was the church itself that stunned him. He figured a calendar that sold about 10,000 copies wouldn't merit attention from a church with 13 million members. But he traded messages with a local church official who said Hardy should give "careful consideration" to stopping publication.
"Though we understand not everyone agrees with the project," Hardy replied, "the individual expressions of those involved have reshaped perceptions, removed walls, and shown . . . . acceptance and tolerance around the world."
Last summer, he faced a two-hour church disciplinary hearing in Las Vegas. Hardy was excommunicated by a panel of church leaders. Mormon officials suggested it was for reasons other than the calendar, though Hardy said that was what the panel questioned him about.
The next day, with his excommunication making headlines, he got 163 orders for the $15 calendar, which is sold in mall kiosks and online. That month, sales totaled nearly $23,000, compared to $440 the month before.
"What can they do to me now?" Hardy recalls thinking. "I'm not afraid. Excommunication made me famous."
Hardy had recently completed online the credits he needed to graduate from BYU. He participated in the university's commencement, and a photo shows him in a navy cap and gown, beaming between his parents. But last fall, the university said it couldn't grant him the degree: His poor standing with the church had violated the school's honor code. On his website ( www.chadhardy.com), Hardy posted the graduation picture -- with the word "DELETED" superimposed.
This year, Hardy met with a dean who said he would reconsider the decision. In an audio recording of the meeting, which Hardy posted on YouTube, he is asked whether he has avoided alcohol, coffee, drugs, pornography and sex outside marriage. Hardy said he shunned them all while a student, but wouldn't discuss his life after 2002, when he left BYU's campus.
BYU graduates must meet both academic and ecclesiastical standards, a university spokeswoman said, and in a letter to Hardy after the meeting, Dean Vernon Heperi said he had come up short.
"In my view," the dean wrote, "the material related to your calendars is offensive and disrespectful."
The returned missionaries are shown "in an inappropriate context" and the women in publicity shots for the "muffins" calendar are portrayed "contrary to the value of living a chaste and virtuous life." (Heperi did not return messages seeking comment. A Mormon Church spokesman declined to discuss Hardy or the calendar.)
Hardy says he is considering legal action against the university. Meanwhile, he has forged ahead with the 2010 calendar. None of his models has faced excommunication, he said. But this time, only a handful of men wanted to pose.
At the photo shoot, Hardy switches between directing models and doing telephone interviews. ("The church makes sex dirty," he is saying, "and we're making it beautiful.") He wears a graphic-print T-shirt, a camouflage hoodie and sneakers with the slogan "Born to Be Free." He is broad-shouldered, round-faced, blue-eyed and self-deprecating.
Several brawny models sprawl in the loft, chatting over blueberry bagels and carrots. Brandon Romain, a 23-year-old BYU student, heard about the calendar from friends in Virginia. While working for the College Republican National Committee in Ohio last fall, he e-mailed pictures to Hardy. For weeks, the dark-haired, blue-eyed Romain hit the gym twice a day.
"It takes a lot more preparation for the judgment to come," he says, anticipating criticism after the calendar is published. He has told only a few friends and his sister that he is posing. Hours before his flight to Las Vegas, he woke up wondering, "Man, should I really do this?"
Mr. September 2009 tries to reassure him. "This wouldn't be noticed without the controversy," says Ken Church, a 24-year-old former substitute teacher in Utah who was overwhelmed by the fan mail he received. "Our faces are all over the world."
Romain likes the idea of shattering stereotypes. "People think we have a bazillion wives and think we're a cult. They think we're all Peter Priesthood and Molly Mormon." Still, he didn't plan to tell his parents until after the shoot.
"Some people think it's porn," says Shawn Perucca, the 27-year-old posing as Captain Moroni, who lives in Los Angeles and was a missionary in Paraguay. But models in Abercrombie & Fitch ads bare more skin, he says with a shrug.
"I'm not going to lie, though," Romain says. "I kind of don't want to go back to Provo."
from The Los Angles Times