skip to main |
skip to sidebar
A slimy manager at a TriBeCa McDonald's harassed two teenage employees, asking them to bare their buns on a gay Web site his buddy ran, a lawsuit against the burger giant charges.
The manager and his flamboyant assistant manager also discussed how they wanted the heterosexual boys to appear in a gay porn movie together, how "cute" they were, speculated about whether they dated men and leered at them, the Manhattan Supreme Court sex-harassment suit claims.
"This is obviously a feeding ground for these guys [the managers]," said Joseph Tacopina, the ex-employees' lawyer. "These are young kids being preyed upon."
Tacopina said McDonald's ignored prior complaints of lewd conduct from manager Jose Irizzary and assistant manager Joffrey Rodriguez at the restaurant at 169 Chambers St.
One plaintiff, Michael Lucena, now 20, said Irizzary asked him to be photographed in the nude for the gay Web site for $200.
McDonald's spokesman Bill Whitman said the lurid claims "are baseless" and added the company never received any prior sex-related complaints about the two managers.
from The New York Post
VATICAN CITY - An Italian magazine report which sought to prove that what some priests tell Catholics in the confessional is not always what the Church preaches in public has enraged the Vatican.
To write the cover story in this week's L'Espresso, reporter Riccardo Bocca visited 24 churches in five large Italian cities and confessed sins he never committed or invented ethical dilemmas for the priest.
In one confessional in Naples he told the priest he felt guilty over his father's death after the family allowed a doctor secretly to detach a respirator. The father had for years been paralysed, confined to a bed and unable to breathe autonomously.
Although euthanasia is officially condemned by the Church, the priest told him not to worry too much because God would be the ultimate arbiter.
"If I had a wife, a father or a son who for years was alive only because of artificial life support, I would pull the plug too," said the priest, who then gave him absolution.
In another confessional box he faked being HIV positive and was told by a priest that whether or not he used a condom in order not to pass the virus to the woman he loved was "a very personal matter of conscience".
The Church teaches officially that abstinence and monogamy -- not condoms -- are the best way to stop the spread of AIDS.
The author said the article was a piece of investigative reporting, but the Vatican reacted with scathing vehemence.
NO DISRESPECT
An editorial in the Vatican's newspaper, l'Osservatore Romano, said the report had "profaned" the sacrament of Penance, also known as Reconciliation, in the name of "an ignoble scoop".
"Shame -- there is no other word to express our shock over something that is disgusting, unworthy, disrespectful and particularly offensive," the newspaper said.
Bocca said it was not his intention to show disrespect for the Catholic church or its sacraments.
"What I wanted to show was the difficulties facing these priests as they try to carry out their duties in good conscience," he told Reuters. "The differences I found were shocking even to me."
On homosexuality, one priest told him: "Well, homosexuality is a tendency which is a valid human expression. There are even homosexual priests and lesbian nuns."
Asked if he should openly declare his homosexuality, the priest told him: "Generally the best thing to do is to be yourself. Come clean. Do what the English call 'coming out'."
The Church teaches that homosexuality is not a sin but homosexual acts are.
Apart from abortion -- which all 24 priests unanimously condemned -- he received conflicting advice on moral issues such as divorce, stem-cell research and prostitution.
from Reuters
An immigration judge who previously denied a gay man's asylum bid on the grounds that he could conceal his sexual orientation if he returned to his native Mexico reversed the decision Tuesday.
In allowing Jorge Sota Vega to remain in the United States, Judge John D. Taylor said that gays should not be required to dress or act a certain way to avoid persecution and that Vega's lawyers proved he would be at risk if he were deported to Mexico.
Vega's case attracted attention from national gay rights groups when Taylor denied his application and said that Vega could live safely in Mexico because he did not look gay and could hide the fact that he was.
"It seemed to us this is a real double standard," said Jon W. Davidson, legal director of Lambda Legal. "Courts don't deny asylum to someone based on their political beliefs by saying, 'If you just didn't tell other people what you believed, you would be fine.'"
Vega, 38, lived in Tuxpan and Guadalajara before he fled to the United States. He said in his 2004 asylum bid that he was beaten by police and told by authorities in Mexico he would be killed.
Now a New York resident, Vega appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The San Francisco-based court sent the case back to immigration court last year.
from The Associated Press
An Italian man keeled over with a heart attack and almost died after his wife slipped Viagra pills into his wine hoping it would improve his performance in bed.
Fifty-five-year-old construction worker Frederico di Angelino from Frosinone in central Italy said: 'I had been under stress because of my job for quite a while and my 50-year-old wife felt a bit abandoned.
'She tried to secretly give me a bit of extra "motivation" in bed with two pills of Viagra in a glass of wine.'
He was treated by doctors who confirmed he had suffered a massive heart attack.
Di Angelino added: 'I'm not angry with her over it.
'In fact, the whole episode of having a heart attack has made me cut down the stress in my life and pull back at work. And because of that our sexual relationship has got better.'
from Metro UK
An anesthetic spray more than doubles the "lasting" time for men with premature ejaculation, according to a study by the company that makes the experimental spray.
The metered-dose, aerosol spray is a mixture of the anesthetics lidocaine and prilocaine. It is spritzed onto the tip of the penis 15 minutes before sex.
Before using the spray, the 54 heterosexual men in the study ejaculated, on average, one minute after vaginal penetration.
In the test, on four occasions, half the men used the anesthetic spray 15 minutes before sex, the other half a placebo with no active ingredients.
The men or their partners used a stopwatch to measure the time from vaginal penetration to ejaculation.
The results:
--Lasting time increased to two minutes or more for 55 percent of the men who got the spray and 35 percent of the men who got the placebo.
--Lasting time increased to three minutes or more for 40 percent of the men who got the spray and 13 percent of the men who got the placebo.
--Lasting time increased to four minutes or more for 20 percent of the men who got the spray and 13 percent of the men who got the placebo.
--On average, men who got the spray lasted 2.4 times longer than those who got the placebo.
Premature ejaculation isn't defined by a specific time until ejaculation. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV), premature ejaculation is "persistent or recurrent ejaculation with minimal sexual stimulation before, on, or shortly after penetration and before the person wishes it."
About 70 percent of men who used the spray and just under 50 percent of the men who used the placebo said they had longer time to ejaculation.
About 60 percent of the female partners of men who used the spray, and about 30 percent of the partners of the men who used the placebo, said the men had better control over their ejaculation.
The spray is called TEMPE -- topical eutectic mixture for premature ejaculation -- by manufacturer Plethora Solutions Ltd. London, which funded the study. It is not yet available on the market.
"TEMPE 'as required' has the potential to offer a convenient, novel treatment option for men with premature ejaculation," conclude researchers Wallace C. Dinsmore, MD, of Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, Northern Ireland, and colleagues.
The spray had few side effects.
Four of the 26 men who used TEMPE did report side effects. Three had numbness of the penis, and one reported erectile dysfunction.
Only one of the men's sex partners reported a side effect: a mild burning sensation during intercourse.
Emla, from AstraZeneca, is also a mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine. It comes in a cream formulation and must be used with a condom. TEMPE does not require condom use.
The study appears in the February issue of the urology journal BJU International.
from Fox News
Is a common epithet for homosexuals becoming a new N word, verboten in civil discourse?
Grey's Anatomy actor Isaiah Washington got into a world of trouble last week for twice using a homophobic slur starting with the letter F to describe castmate T.R. Knight, who was not pleased. Neither were gay and lesbian groups and Washington's bosses at ABC. The actor apologized and entered counseling.
But the media hubbub about the f-word — not that other f-word — has spotlighted a subtle shift in the national culture, showing how language and attitudes are connected and how the definitions of what is and isn't acceptable are changing.
"We are in a place where the words traditionally considered the most obscene — sexual and scatological words — are viewed as less and less offensive, while words that are ethnic and religious slurs have increased in offensiveness," says Jesse Sheidlower, editor at large of the Oxford English Dictionary.
The more we care what blacks, Hispanics or gays think, he says, "the more attuned we are to slurs against them."
Grey's co-star Katherine Heigl, Knight's pal, says the word should be "obliterated."
"It breeds hate," she said backstage at Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards.
It's not clear how the f-word came to have a homophobic meaning, Sheidlower says. Five hundred years ago, "faggot" meant a bundle of twigs or kindling, which gave rise to the British colloquialism "fag" for cigarette.
But, as is common in the English language, words with the same spelling and pronunciation can mean something entirely different. "No one knows the origin, but there's some evidence that (the term) may have referred to a bad-tempered woman in the 16th century," Sheidlower says.
"What is clear is that it is a word now used to denigrate and dehumanize people — and not just gay people," says Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). "It's a tear-you-apart kind of a term."
But "queer" isn't, or at least not anymore. Not with Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Queer as Folk on television, "queer studies" in universities, and groups such as the Queer Association of Scientists and Researchers.
"It's very different from the f-word because it's tied to (the meaning) 'strange' or 'odd,' " Giuliano says. Young gays "have reclaimed it and used it to self-identify."
In any case, both the f-word and the n-word have been heard on TV recently. In this week's episode of the tabloid drama Dirt, on cable's FX, a character uses the f-word to refer to a macho action star about to be outed. It has been used on episodes of The Sopranos, and gay activist/writer Larry Kramer titled his 1978 satirical novel Faggots. And the n-word, perhaps the most offensive of all slurs, was used — by black characters to other black characters — in recent episodes of Dirt and NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
"Context is everything," Dirt producer Matthew Carnahan says. "We certainly are not trying to spread anything even remotely resembling hatred or bigotry of any kind. This show is all about everyone being flawed, wild and crazy."
What if Washington had used "queer" instead of that f-word?
"It would have been just as bad because it was in the context of a put-down," Giuliano says. "The fortunate aspect of this unfortunate situation is that many more people will see that casual and mean-spirited use of this word is unacceptable."
from USA Today
Concerned about the promotion of sex to youngsters, a conservative group is encouraging students to celebrate Valentine's Day this year with a "Day of Purity," marking a commitment to abstain from sex until marriage.
The Day of Purity is a project of the Liberty Counsel, a religious non-profit organization. Organizer Rena Lindevaldsen told Cybercast News Service the group decided to launch the event after being contacted by a mother in Michigan who said she was concerned about her children's school having a national "coming out" day for homosexual students.
Lindevaldsen and her staff had then coordinated a program which had its debut four years ago.
The first three years' events had seen thousands of students and members of church groups joining with organizations to celebrate sexual purity, she said. A similar response is expected this year.
Since love and relationships are intertwined with Valentine's Day, the Day of Purity gives students a chance to see that there are ways to show love other than through sexual activity, said Lindevaldsen.
In a statement, the organizers say, "We are a country that kills our unborn, puts a governmental stamp of approval on sinful lifestyles, and prohibits discrimination against all religious beliefs except Christianity.
"Plainly, America is morally challenged, having turned from the moral traditions of our country. The Day of Purity gives us all an opportunity to stand together in respect for the human dignity and worth of each individual," they added.
The Dayofpurity.org website offers such promotional material as LivePure wristbands and t-shirts. It also includes links to other resources and provides informative flyers on related topics.
Syed Gardezi, a recent graduate of George Mason University in Virginia, said while he liked the idea of promoting abstinence, "I honestly don't see this working for our young generation. You are planning to turn Feb 14th into a day of purity but what about Prom night, or minors going to movies unattended?
"The problem we are facing these days cannot be addressed with only one day of awareness. It is like we have an AIDS day but that is not the only day we should be educated about it," said Gardezi.
Not everyone agrees with the focus on abstinence.
According to a study published in the April issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, teens who pledged virginity until marriage are more likely to have oral and anal sex than others who had not had intercourse but had also not taken an abstinence vow.
"Efforts to promote abstinence should be provided within public health programs that provide adolescents with complete and accurate information about sexual health," the American Public Health Association says in a policy statement.
"Sexuality education should be non-judgmental and support parent-child communication and should not impose religious or ideological viewpoints upon students," it adds.
APHA declined to comment for this article.
The Liberty Counsel is optimistic about the project's effectiveness and ongoing success.
A promotional DVD is to be released with Christian singers like Mark Hall of the Casting Crown expressing his views of the matter, and plans for 2008 are already in the works with a live national webcast planned.
"I really see this as an opportunity for the youth to stand up and tell the adults that we can choose and we are choosing, because so many think that kids can't make that choice, and I have heard the opposite," Lindevaldsen said.
"I have had kids contact me and say 'Thank you for doing this' and 'Thank you for believing in us,' and that's just been such an encouragement."
from Cybercast News Service
While developing ideas for the sequel to his critically acclaimed debut novel, A Time Before Me, author Michael Holloway Perronne went through what is often a traumatic experience for many gay men living in a youth obsessed culture. He turned thirty. The turning of thirty, which many in the gay community consider “middle-aged”, led not only to the author’s self reexamination of his life but to the plot of his follow-up book, Falling Into Me.
“Turning thirty years old freaked me out at first. Fairly or unfairly, I began going over all the details of my life and compared it to where I thought I would be this age,” Perronne says. “I felt like I had to shake things up which led me to almost moving to the other side of the planet, rethinking career goals, becoming obsessed with yoga to hopefully find my inner being, and overanalyzing my love life or lack thereof.”
“In addition, the gay community and media often places such an emphasis on youth that after turning thirty a gay man can be left wondering what his place is in gay culture. You’re not the fresh new kid on the block or the “daddy” type- but somewhere lost in the middle. So, I began exploring where I thought the character in my first novel, Mason, would be at this age. When readers last saw Mason he had just turned 18, and it was 1992. How had his voice changed? His goals? How did he feel now about love and romance? Most importantly what did he think of the man he had become?”
In his own life, Perronne found turning thirty to be the most liberating event in his life. “I had friends who had already turn the big 3-0 tell me the positives of it, but it wasn’t until going through it that I discovered they were right. I became much more focused on my goals, less self-conscious, more present in the moment, truer to myself and my values. I accepted me…instead of trying to fit into molds that didn’t fit me to please others.”
In Falling Into Me, during a return visit back home to New Orleans, a gay man reexamines his life after turning thirty.
from Press Release
COLORADO SPRINGS - As soon as the visitor from Denver walked through the church doors Sunday morning, heads turned. Word spread quickly: He was here.
Just about every person who offered him a handshake said the same thing: Welcome, thank you and God bless.
About 14,000 people pour into New Life Church in Colorado Springs each Sunday, so anonymity is not difficult to achieve.
One exception is when you are Mike Jones, the former male prostitute whose allegations of a three-year sexual liaison with church founder Ted Haggard triggered national scandal and led to Haggard's fall.
Jones attended services Sunday at New Life Church on a reconnaissance mission for his forthcoming book and said he was greeted warmly. Haggard, in an apology to the church, had urged members to forgive and thank Jones for exposing deceit.
"I had read a lot about the church, but there's nothing like seeing it for yourself," Jones said. "It wasn't to rub anyone's face in it by any means. I was wanting to get some perspective, to see where they are coming from, what the magnet is."
Jones had been invited to New Life several times by church members since Haggard resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals and was fired from the church after admitting in November to "sexual immorality."
Jones was accompanied Sunday by members of a New York- based theater troupe, the Civilians, who are in Colorado Springs researching a project on evangelicals. Church leaders were told in advance of the visit.
"A couple of ladies cried when they were touching me," Jones said. "I was thanked for exposing the church, for helping Ted Haggard. A couple of them said they hoped I get God into my life. And they all said 'God bless you,' every one of them."
But Jones - who came forward out of anger toward Haggard's political stances against homosexuality - said he wasn't impressed on the whole. If the Gospel message is enough, he said, why the loud music and MTV-quality production?
"There seems to be something missing, some realism, in my opinion, because it's so vast, like some kind of self-contained city," said Jones, who said he was raised Methodist but is estranged from organized religion.
When associate pastor Rob Brendle encountered Jones in the foyer, he commented, "The last time I saw you was on the other side of a split screen" during TV interviews.
Brendle characterized Jones' presence as a reminder of both grief and God's faithfulness.
"I told Mike, 'I don't want to impose my religious beliefs on you, but I believe God used you to correct us, and I appreciate that,"' Brendle said. "The church's response to him was overwhelmingly warm. One of the wonderful and enduring truths of Christianity is to love people the world sets up to be your enemies."
Haggard and his wife, Gayle, have completed a counseling program at an Arizona treatment center and are back in Colorado Springs awaiting direction from a panel overseeing what has been termed Haggard's "restoration," Brendle said.
from The Denver Post
NEW JERSEY - The Collingswood School District has reached an agreement with the gay high school teacher who filed a federal discrimination lawsuit after losing his job three years ago.
Daniel Curcio of Philadelphia will get $270,000 as part of the district's offer of judgment, which he accepted on Monday. The figure includes attorney fees.
"The offer of judgment includes no admission of liability and the board did not concede liability," said a statement released by attorney Lisa Grosskreutz of Parker McCay on behalf of the school board. "Without exception the board has treated, and continues to treat, all of its employees in a fair and egalitarian manner. The board does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by law."
Curcio, who is now a therapist, said he didn't see it that way.
"I look at it as a total victory," Curcio said.
His attorney, William Hildebrand, could not be reached for comment. In the lawsuit Curcio filed in October 2004, the Spanish teacher said he was reprimanded for telling his students in March 2002 he was gay.
Curio also said his colleagues called him a "troublemaker" and made jokes about his sexuality and the school district erased his Web page because it mentioned he is gay.
In November 2002, Curio said he began experiencing stress-related panic attacks and in January 2003, he took a paid leave of absence from his job.
"That's all because of the fact that the harassment got so bad that I couldn't take it anymore," he added.
But the district did not allow Curio to return after his six-week leave unless he agreed to undergo a fitness-for-duty examination performed by a doctor of the school board's choosing, according to the lawsuit.
Curio refused and in March 2003 the district did not renew his teaching contract.
Court records show Superintendent James Bathurst said he did not allow Curcio to return to work because he did not know if his disorder made him "dangerous to staff and students."
In its statement, the school board denies having discriminated against Curcio and agreed to a judgment against the district only to avoid costly litigation.
from The Courier-Post
Long before he became a co-star on the hit TV show "Grey's Anatomy," Isaiah Washington distinguished himself as an actor with an intellectual bent. In an essay published in Essence magazine a little more than a decade ago, he lamented the shortage of good roles for black male performers. After complaining about being offered five "drag-queen" roles in less than a year, Washington expressed his determination to "infuse the characters I play with some level of complexity and humanity."
In eloquent, thoughtful prose, Washington assured readers that he had no problem with gay characters or characters in drag. He recalled his first amateur acting job, the role of Sweetie Pie, "a flaming drag queen and gospel singer." Later, as a member of a touring repertory company, he played a cross-dressing character with AIDS. "That role gave me a firsthand look at gay-bashing," he wrote. "I was the target of angry expletives, jeers and nervous laughter and was even spat upon by a junior-high-school student who took my performance just a little too seriously."
He went on to praise the gay transvestites shown in the documentary "Paris Is Burning" while condemning Hollywood's "narrow depictions of African-American male characters."
That essay and other comments strongly suggested that Washington was a man of sensitivity and conscience, not just another hunk with cheekbones and charm. He confirmed this early impression with memorable appearances in films such as HBO's "Always Outnumbered" and Spike Lee's "Get on the Bus." In that film, Washington played one half of a gay couple.
All of which makes his recent meltdown as puzzling as it was repulsive. In a brief, tumultuous span, Washington notoriously invoked the word "faggot" -- twice -- with regard to a gay castmate. His cruel slur-slinging makes one wonder if his previous musings on "complexity" and "humanity" were merely pleasantries spun from a publicist's clever imagination.
Television and movie stars are seldom confused with brain surgeons, and hardly a news cycle passes without some dimpled dimwit choking on his or her own foot. Still, Washington, who won an NAACP Image Award just last year, has never seemed a likely candidate for such an appalling celebrity stumble. Unlike, say, Mel Gibson, whose father had been linked to anti-Semitic sentiment, or former Sen. George Allen, who had been known to keep a noose in his office, Washington had never toiled under a cloud of suspicion. If anything, he was known as a performer who could be counted on to say the right thing.
Describing himself as "always sensitive to my own community," he told the theater magazine Backstage, "I finally decided, 'I'm no longer going to play thugs or debauched cops that I can't possibly make complex characters. I'm bigger than that."
Now it seems that Washington has become a complex character himself; he doesn't just play one on TV. While rumors of his imminent dismissal swirled through cyberspace, Washington ran the gauntlet of repentance now required of errant celebrities: He fired his publicist, issued an abject apology and rushed to meet with representatives of the aggrieved party.
Officials from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network met with the actor on Jan. 22. As might be expected, they've adopted a polite, time-will-tell stance. GLSEN executive director Kevin Jennings said Washington "seemed to particularly appreciate the impact these words have on young people in schools and expressed an interest in becoming an ally in GLSEN's effort to educate young people about the negative impact of name-calling and bullying." Young people like that junior-high student who spat on Washington some years before.
Such a mission would certainly have appealed to that forthright essayist in Essence magazine, who impressively asserted, "I've always viewed acting as a way to explore important issues of the day, such as gender differences and sexuality." That's the kind of performing we'd all like to see from Washington, instead of merely acting out.
from The Washington Post / Jabari Asim
Author, Janice Scott-Blanton, filed a $250M copyright infringement lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The complaint alleges that similarities between her novel My Husband is on the Down Low and I Know About It and the Academy Award winning motion picture film Brokeback Mountain 2005, are more than coincidence.
To support her allegations, Scott-Blanton has cataloged over 50 substantial similarities between the two bodies of work; these similarities range from subtle to the stark. During an early bar scene in the movie, Scott-Blanton saw an occurrence that reminded her of a scene from her novel but she gave it the benefit of the doubt. While continuing to view the movie, Scott-Blanton recognized during the first sexual encounter between Jack and Ennis another similarity; the scene reminded her of a sex scene from her novel; this was not a coincidence. 
She placed the movie on pause and retrieved her novel. After reviewing the scene from her novel, she realized the scenes were eerily similar. A coincidence at this point but this caused Scott-Blanton to view the remainder of the movie with a more critical eye.
A more stark similarity is exhibited after James' and Annette's ninth wedding anniversary, when Annette from Scott-Blanton's novel confronted James regarding his homosexual activity. James told her that he had purposely written a confession in his journal because he knew she had been secretly reading it; he did not know of any other way to tell her about his secret. This scene transpires in a kitchen setting. After Thanksgiving dinner, in the movie Brokeback Mountain, Alma confronts Ennis (her husband) regarding his homosexual activity. Alma told Ennis she had purposely written a note and put it on the end of his fishing line for him to find. This scene also transpires in a kitchen setting.
Scott-Blanton intends to prove in court that there are substantial similarities in the domestic life, characters, plot, thematic expressions, sequence of events and the total look and feel of Brokeback Mountain as compared to her novel My Husband is on the Down Low and I Know About It.
from BlackNews.com
Click Image For Video
Sykes, guesting on Friday's episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," made fun of the fact that Isaiah Washington was going to "rehab" after his homophobic comments about "Grey's Anatomy" co-star T.R. Knight. "Gay rehab? That sounds like traffic school. You should be able to do that online."
After opining on the irony of the whole situation, Sykes joked, "Maybe gay is the new black now."
from TMZ
YONKERS, NEW YORK - A teacher has been barred from classes after having his seventh-grade students draw male genitalia on the blackboard during health class, a school spokeswoman said Friday.
The teacher, whose name was not made public, was assigned to administrative duties and Superintendent Bernard Pierorazio will ask trustees to fire him, said Yonkers school spokeswoman Jerilynne Fierstein.
"There was no way we were going to let him be in front of children," she said.
Fierstein said the state's seventh-grade curriculum calls for lessons in human anatomy and sexuality, but "as a teacher you have to be sensitive and you have to look at the age-appropriateness of any activity that you ask a child to do. And this was just not appropriate."
Pierorazio said the teacher had began his lesson by asking students to volunteer to come to the board to draw male anatomy.
Fierstein said the administration learned of the drawings, which occurred in a class of boys and girls at the Pearls Hawthorne school, when a parent complained.
Trustees will consider the teacher's firing at a March 21 meeting, she said.
Jon Klibonoff, a father of a student at the school, said he did not believe the material was inappropriate.
"This is biology, it's anatomy, it's human sexuality," he said. "They're in puberty. They're aware of it on one level or another."
Fourth-grader Noah Klibonoff disagreed.
"They're not supposed to know what it's supposed to look like at this age yet, so I think it's a little embarrassing and it's also a little inappropriate," he said.
Pierorazio issued a statement saying, "I will not tolerate insensitive, inappropriate behavior by any staff member toward our students. Every student's physical and emotional well-being is paramount in our decision making, therefore immediate action was taken."
from The Associated Press
Click Image For Video
A lot of anger is being directed at the owner of Woody's restaurant after the revelation that the longtime gay establishment would be turned over to a Mexican restaurant chain on Feb. 3. That's less than two weeks away.
The prospective new operator has reportedly indicated to one person that he will "cater to the community" — and, while it may be wishful thinking that the "community" he refers to will be Laguna's gay community, it's a nice thought.
Some who are angry want to punish Woody's owner by refusing to patronize other establishments he operates.
They are furious that he apparently took no steps to try to find a gay owner to keep the place operating as a gay haven.
The soon-to-be-former owner, Joel Herzer, has responded that he didn't want to launch a public search for a new gay owner because he didn't want to alarm his employees and also because he felt it would be a futile effort.
Herzer points to the year-long effort by the owner of the Boom Boom Room and Coast Inn to find someone in the gay community to take over that location, to no avail.
It would be unrealistic to expect Herzer or any property owner in Laguna Beach not to engage in sound business practices when looking to sell.
Property values in Laguna Beach have gone through the roof, and it's very difficult to find someone with deep pockets who wants to serve a relatively small segment of Laguna Beach.
The new owner of the Boom Boom Room and Coast Inn reportedly has big plans for the spectacular ocean-view property, and the Boom Boom Room will have to go.
Somehow, the sudden demise of cozy little Woody's — remembered by many as "Little Shrimp" — has hit people harder than the long-drawn-out death of the legendary nightspot where Rock Hudson held court.
It's as if a safety net for gays in Laguna and beyond has been pulled away. It's a stab in the tender heart of a community that has survived many hard times — including having the highest per capita incidence of AIDS and HIV in the nation.
Optimists point out that the climate for gays and lesbians has changed, and, in the New Millennium, gays and straights mix together as never before.
The social segregation that many of the older generation grew up with and take for granted has been all but erased by a new generation that doesn't see what the big deal is in being straight or gay.
Still, it's very hard to give up a longtime security blanket, and intimate, friendly Woody's was one.
When Woody's is no more, and an Avila's El Ranchito restaurant is in its place, we'll see if gays feel comfortable there or not. We doubt you'll see same-sex couples holding hands and openly flirting.
The fact is that Laguna Beach is fast losing its status as a sanctuary for the gay community — and that is sad.
from The Coastline Pilot
Yesterday and today there was much speculation as to whether ABC would fire Isaiah Washington. Would they or wouldn’t they? To my mind, as soon as word leaked of Washington’s meeting yesterday with GLAAD and GLSEN (via joint press release) the writing was on the wall. My gut tells me ABC does not plan on sacking Washington. Instead, the network is doing what it can to rehabilitate his tarnished image. They enlisted the help of two established gay rights groups to do just that.
Turns out ABC was responsible for arranging the GLAAD/GLSEN meeting with Washington yesterday. Something they would not have done if they were truly planning on firing him. And maybe I’m a cynic, but the result of this ceremonial powwow was a foregone conclusion. It’s quite possible they had the press release drafted before the meeting ever started. The headlines read “Gay Leaders Applaud Washington for Willingness to Meet With Them.” Or “Washington Makes Amends with Gay Community“
I confess, I’m discouraged (though hardly surprised) that GLAAD (and GLSEN) would participate in this white-washing. But I do see the logic to it: GLAAD’s influence over the media establishment is limited. To get a (non-voting) seat at the table they must horse-trade with the very organizations they are tasked to monitor.
The trade provided here was effectively rubber-stamping Isaiah Washington’s “road to rehabilitation” and thus clearing a path for ABC to keep him. They do this in return for a few public service announcements and to bolster perceptions of their legitimacy and influence in the cultural landscape. I should clarify, I’m not knocking GLAAD and GLSEN’s objectives. They do very important work. Horse-trading is simply a necessary evil to achieve their honorable larger goals. Only, in this particular instance I’m not sure they made a good trade.
For their sakes, I hope Isaiah Washington doesn’t revert to homophobic form down the line — making fools of everyone involved in this rehabilitation charade.
In the meantime, looks to me like Washington stays on Grey’s Anatomy. Does anyone else think that may be the optimal result for the LGBT community? There’s a surprisingly large segment of the population that already sees him as the victim. Booting him from Grey’s only makes him a martyr.
from AfterElton / Dennis Ayers
Lance Bass' gay lover Reichen Lehmkuhl is glad Isaiah Washington's "faggot" outburst has turned the public against the actor - because it will hopefully prompt people to think twice before using the 'f' word. The former model has written a new book about his nightmare experiences as a homosexual in the military, and he believes the Washington controversy will further help people understand what gay men have to put up with. Lehmkuhl says, "It (Washington's controversy) dumps a lot of emotion on me. I think it brings the issue to light. A lot of people learn, when you use this word now, it's not OK." Washington has officially apologised for his use of the 'f' word at the Golden Globe Awards last week , admitting, in a statement released last week , he needs help. The controversy first came to light last October when Washington referred to gay Grey's Anatomy castmate T.R. Knight as a "faggot" in a heated on-set row with co-star Patrick Dempsey.
from Contact Music
A New Mexico State University freshman was charged last week with sexually assaulting another student.
Joshua Cox, 18, of El Paso, was indicted last week with pending charges of sexual penetration, kidnapping and battery.
Lt. Ruben Barreras of the NMSU Police Department said Cox persuaded the victim to go to his room at Garcia Hall on Sept. 2, after drinking alcohol together. At the dorm room, the victim fell asleep and woke up to find Cox reportedly performing oral sex on him.
Barreras said the alleged victim could have fallen asleep due to possible fatigue or alcohol.
Within the same day, Cox was reported drinking with another male who was in the military. Cox then convinced the man to go back to his dorm room, but upon arrival, the man changed his mind, Barreras said.
After grabbing the man by his shirt, Cox tried to pull him into his dorm room, Barreras said.
Cox let the victim flee after the man pulled out his military badge and claimed to be a police officer, Barreras said.
Cox was not arrested, but is sentenced to appear in district court to enter his plea.
The 5'9," 250 lb. male student does not have a criminal record, but Barreras said he could go to prison from one to 10 years, if he's convicted.
Barreras said not many sexual assault cases are typical per year, and not often reported to the police.
"Reported [cases] we receive may be about two per year, if I had to guess," Barreras said.
Crime Rate Statistics given from the NMSU PD reported five cases of aggravated battery/assault in 2004, meaning the amount of aggravated battery/assault incidents have decreased since past years.
Barreras said he attributes much of campus safety to the curriculum taught and the discipline enforced by student services.
"If something ever happens, they're going to take care of it," Barreras said.
Francisco Leon, a freshman who lives at Garcia Hall, said he feels safe on campus. "There is a lot of police here," he said.
Leon's friend, freshman Felipe Payan, agreed. "I feel safe here," Payan said. "I've never seen or heard of any crimes."
Missy Kameli, who helps oversee NMSU Housing and Residential Life, said there is staff available on call every night, as well as supervisors on call 24 hours a day to assist students in any kind of situation. There are also intern counselors who live on campus to assist students.
"Students always have the opportunity to contact a staff member if they need anything," Kameli said.
from The Round Up
An Argentinean football fan is suing a tattooist who drew a penis on his back instead of his favourite team's badge.
The teenager, who cannot be named, asked to have the Boca Juniors logo on his back.
But the tattoo artist was a supporter of rival team River Plate and decided to have some fun at his young customer's expense.
The victim told Terra Argentina: "I could not see what he was tattooing because he didn't have a mirror. I only saw it when I got home and showed it to my parents."
A police spokesperson said: "The tattooist supports Boca Junior's rival, River Plate, so he got annoyed when the teenager asked him to tattoo Boca's symbol and decided to tattoo a penis instead.
from Independent Online
A gel which stops the HIV virus from reproducing itself and spreading within the body has passed its first clinical trial in Brazil.
Derived from the algae Dictyota pfaffii, which is found off the coast of Brazil, the gel was found to stop 95% of HIV replication in immune-system cells.
Microbicides like this gel can be used by women to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS without the knowledge of their partner. They will be of particular help in poorer countries where infection rates are rising, but where condom use is not widely accepted by men.
Researchers are planning a second round of tests in February, and hope the gel will become available in seven years.
An affordable version of the treatment would greatly reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS in hotspots like central and southern Africa, they say.
The gel contains dolabelane diterpene, which inhibits two enzymes which are involved in virus replication and the spread of viruses to other cells.
Other microbicides are also in the pipeline in Europe and North America, and may come to market within five years.
from Healthcare Today
Dear Abby: I have a 15-year-old nephew I have suspected is gay for a long time. I recently saw his profile on myspace.com because I search there often, checking on my daughter. I found that he is on there and has listed his sexual orientation as "Bi."
I am sure that his mother, my sister, is not aware of this. I think I would like to know if he were my son, but I am unsure how to handle this. I don't think his parents will take this too well. Is it my responsibility to tell her?
Distressed Aunt in Miami
Dear Distressed Aunt:
If your nephew were engaging in self-destructive behavior, I would say tell his parents. However, identifying one's sexual orientation doesn't fall into that category. Unless you are the self-appointed town crier of Miami, it is not your responsibility to "out" your nephew - especially since you don't think his parents will take it well.
Your sister and her husband may already suspect, but your nephew should be given the courtesy of announcing his sexual orientation when he is ready. My advice is to keep your mouth shut. When people are told something they don't want to hear, they often resent the messenger.
from The Gainsville Sun
Dear Amy:
I recently found out that my two children are bisexual. The last eight years have been a test of my "true grit" and inner fortitude.
On top of my 20-year marriage ending because of infidelity, I have suffered family betrayal and my small business has failed.
Now I have to learn that my children are bisexual. My daughter is 19, attending community college and living with her much-younger boyfriend, his mother and the mother's live-in lover. I never suspected that she was a bisexual until recently.
My son is 15 and has several girlfriends that he hangs out with. They are always calling the house at all hours, wanting to talk with him, but to be honest, I have some suspicions that he might be gay.
Could this be inherited? I have read that there is a tendency for homosexuality to run in families. My ex-husband had so many "dirty little secrets" that eventually came to light and caused our marriage to end. Throughout our marriage, I sometimes wondered about his sexuality. He never acted very masculine.
In light of all that has happened during the last eight years, I feel even more overwhelmed about how to handle the bisexuality issue. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Overwhelmed in Appalachia
So far, you haven't presented any evidence that your children are bisexual, but let's concede for the sake of argument that they are. Sexuality isn't always a fixed state. People fall at every point along the spectrum. Whether sexual orientation is inherited is the source of some debate, but for your purposes it doesn't matter. It is what it is.
Young people sometimes go through periods of trying different things before settling in with a long-term partner. You should assume that your children's lives are as chaotic as yours has been. You should focus more on trying to provide some stability for yourself and your family, and less on questions of their sexuality. You can't influence your children's sexuality, but you can influence their life choices.
from The Washington Post
USC freshman Jarod Wunneburger views 2006 as a breakthrough year for the gay community, with the popularity of Oscar-nominated films such as "Brokeback Mountain" and "Transamerica" and the public debate over states banning same-sex marriage.
So to Wunneburger, a UCLA report released today about the attitudes of college freshmen nationwide came as no surprise. Acceptance of same-sex marriage grew from 2005 to 2006.
The study found that 61% of incoming freshmen last year agreed that same-sex couples should have the right to marriage, up 3.3 percentage points from 2005.
Based on a paper questionnaire given to 271,441 first-time, full-time college students at 393 schools nationwide in 2006, the annual survey was conducted as part of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program under UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute. The researchers statistically adjusted the data to reflect the demographics of the 1.3 million incoming freshmen entering four-year schools throughout the U.S. in 2006.
The findings on gay issues reflected the experiences of Wunneburger, 18, a sociology major who works at USC's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center.
"Most students here don't have a problem with people being open about their sexuality," said Wunneburger, who recalled the acceptance he felt after coming out to a Christian campus group he recently joined. "I think most people my age know being gay is something out there and are more open to accepting it."
The UCLA study surveyed opinions on a variety of social and political issues.
Researchers say today's freshmen are more vocal about their political ideologies than in previous years, with 33.8% saying they've recently discussed politics, up from 25.5% in 2004, when the question was last asked.
"Freshmen also appear to be moving away from a moderate position in their political views," said John H. Pryor, director of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program.
The percentage of students identifying themselves as "liberal," 28.4%, is at its highest level since 1975, and those identifying as "conservative," 23.9%, at its highest level in the survey's 40-year history.
However, the majority of 2006's freshman students, 43.3%, consider themselves "middle-of-the-road," the lowest percentage since first measured by the research program in 1970.
Hot-button issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage, sharply divide liberals and conservatives, the survey found.
While the majority of freshmen overall support same-sex marriage, the issue divides students along ideological lines. Four out of 5 liberals support same-sex marriage, compared with 1 out of every 3 conservatives.
Regarding abortion, 78.4% of liberal freshmen agree that the procedure should be legal, compared with 31.8% of conservative students.
The common ground between liberals and conservatives can be found on affirmative action in college admissions, where 53% of conservatives and 45% of liberals agree that the practice should be abolished.
The two groups strongly agree in similar proportions that "dissent is a critical component of the political process," supported by 63.2% of conservatives and 66.1% of liberals surveyed.
Researchers also noted that fewer freshmen were attending their dream colleges. In 2006, 67.3% attended their first-choice institutions. Only 1988 had a lower figure, when 66.7% attended their top choices.
The freshmen said they picked their first-choice institutions based on, in order of importance: academic reputation, potential job after graduation, a campus visit, school size and social environment.
When it came to the second choice or lower, students instead focused primarily on tuition costs and financial aid offered, the survey reported.
from The Los Angeles Times / Francisco Vara-Orta
By now you've probably heard of the incredible tension and controversy on the set of TV's hit series "Grey's Anatomy", involving a particularly unsavory homosexual slur allegedly made to a fellow castmate by actor Isaiah Washington. Gay and lesbian groups are outraged, calling for Mr. Washington's immediate termination from the show.
Now, far be it from me to chime in on other people's business, but just like the man standing in line for a movie overhears a stranger behind him whom he knows has confused the finer points of the film "Throw Mama From The Train" with those of "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot!", sometimes you have to turn around and butt into a situation that doesn't concern you in order to offer a little bit of assistance.
ABC may fire Mr. Washington, and it seems as if the pressure to do so is mounting by the day. They may also choose to placate all parties involved with some well-constructed press releases and the soothing touch of time, but in my mind, neither outcome succeeds in making any strides in promoting the tenets of tolerance and understanding.
I would like to offer my suggestion for a solution; produce an episode of Grey's Anatomy in which Mr. Washington's character, Dr. Burke comes out to his friends and colleagues as a gay man!!! What better way for an actor to get to the roots of his discrimination than by portraying the very the subject of his own ire for the remainder of his contract? That'll learn ya!
from JohnMayer.com
Arizona's gay and lesbian students need better protection against harassment, a national study says.
That study, titled "From Teasing to Torment: a Report on School Climate in Arizona," is the cornerstone of a local symposium that begins today on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered youth in Arizona schools.
Scholars, attorneys and community members will gather for the two-day event, said University of Arizona Associate Professor Stephen Russell, with the hope of creating progressive social policy from a foundation of academic research.
"What are the possibilities of thinking about system-level changes in schools and school policy?" Russell asked. "Having said that, there are great examples in Arizona, mostly in Tucson, of inclusive, nondiscriminatory and anti-harassment policies."
In 2004, the Tucson Unified School District adopted a policy that strictly prohibits harassment based on "real or perceived race, color, religion (creed), national origin, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or on the basis of association with others identified by these categories."
The report is authored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, a national education network and nonprofit organization focused on school safety for gay and lesbian students. It is based on interviews with 3,450 students across the country. Released in June, the national study also focused on 12 states, including Arizona.
"Given that only half of Arizona students reported being protected by comprehensive anti-harassment policies in their schools, it is imperative that lawmakers and school officials create state-level safe-school legislation that offers explicit protection to students who are targets of bullying, harassment and assault based on personal characteristics such as sexual orientation and gender identity/expression," the report's summary and recommendation states.
The report also found that "biased language, especially homophobic and sexist remarks, were commonly heard among students and often overlooked by teachers and other school staff. Biased language was even heard from some teachers and school staff."
There were 154 respondents from Arizona. More than half identified themselves as Anglo students and more than a quarter as Latino. A majority were male students at public schools in urban or suburban areas and 9 percent identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, higher than the national average of 6 percent.
The study found fewer than half of the students surveyed reported feeling very safe at school, 44 percent reported bullying, name-calling and harassment and more than 60 percent reported peers being harassed because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, their looks or body size and gender expression.
Fifty-two percent of the surveyed students said they were protected by a comprehensive anti-harassment policy that specifically mentioned sexual orientation or gender identity. About a third of surveyed students reported hearing school personnel make sexist comments while more than 20 percent reported homophobic comments from school staffers.
Students said teachers or staffers were never or rarely present when racist or homophobic language was used, but nearly half noted that teachers and school staffers rarely or never corrected or criticized homophobic remarks made in their presence.
"Having students feel they belong in their school is an indicator of success," said Joe Kosciw, research director for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.
If students don't feel safe, attendance could drop, grades will suffer and aspirations will sink, Kosciw said, explaining the need for policies to establish a comfortable, safe atmosphere.
from The Arizona Daily Star
HOLLYWOOD - Grey's Anatomy star Isaiah Washington has accepted he needs help after "marring" his castmates' magical night at the Golden Globe Awards on Monday by using an anti-gay slur in a press conference.
The actor grabbed the microphone in the press room, after picking up the Best TV Drama prize with his costars, and attempted to address ongoing reports about his on-set spat with fellow TV surgeon Patrick Dempsey.
Last October's fight started after Washington called gay costar T.R. Knight a "faggot," with Knight coming clean about his sexuality following the incident.
At the Globes, Washington blurted out the 'f' word as he foolishly insisted he never used the derogatory term, calling it "vile."
Knight has since appeared on TV talk show Ellen to confirm Washington did indeed refer to him as a “faggot” on the Grey's Anatomy set.
Bosses at ABC, which airs the show, have issued a statement criticizing Washington for his Golden Globes gaffe, with Washington coming forward to further apologize for his comments.
In a statement, released late yesterday the actor, who played a gay man in Spike Lee's Get on the Bus, said, "I apologize to T.R., my colleagues, the fans of the show and especially the lesbian and gay community for using a word that is unacceptable in any context or circumstance.
"By repeating the word Monday night, I marred what should have been a perfect night for everyone who works on Grey's Anatomy. I can neither defend nor explain my behavior.
"I can also no longer deny to myself that there are issues I obviously need to examine within my own soul, and I've asked for help.
"I know the power of words, especially those that demean. I realize that, by using one filled with disrespect, I have hurt more than T.R. and my colleagues. With one word, I've hurt everyone who has struggled for the respect so many of us take for granted."
Washington has accepted an invitation to meet with gay activists and hopes to talk to them about "what I can do to heal the wounds I've opened," adding, "I intend to let my future actions prove my sincerity."
As WENN went to press, more than 9,000 Grey's Anatomy fans had signed an Internet petition urging ABC bosses to fire Washington over his comments.
from Hollywood.com
NEW YORK - The estranged wife of former New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey, who in 2004 stunned the nation by announcing he was gay and resigning from office, is writing a memoir. Dina Matos McGreevey's "Silent Partner" is scheduled to be published this spring by Hyperion Books.
"I've had a lot of requests for interviews and appearances, but thought it best for my daughter (Jacqueline) and myself to stay out of the public maelstrom," Dina McGreevey said in a statement released Thursday by Hyperion.
"But two years have passed and still I am the subject of much speculation as to the nature of my relationship with my husband. Enough is enough."
James McGreevey's memoir, "The Confession," came out last fall. He wrote in the book that he was forced to quit after a man he loved threatened to reveal his homosexuality unless he was paid millions to stay quiet.
from The Associated Press
A provocative public service campaign intended to help halt the spread of HIV is drawing attention because of who is delivering the message as well as for the frank nature of what they have to say.
The video, radio and online campaign enlists four celebrities to deliver candid, no-nonsense remarks that link unsafe sex and drug use to the rising rate of infection for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, among gay men. The stars – Whoopi Goldberg, Amanda Peet, Rosie Perez and Susan Sarandon – urge the audience to change their behavior for the better by loving and respecting themselves and each other.
In fact, “Look, listen, love, respect” is the theme of the campaign, which is appearing on two national cable television networks, Here and Logo, and on local cable TV systems owned by companies like Cablevision, Cox Communications and Time Warner.
There are plans to run the commercials on video screens in clubs and bars in cities around the country as well as to produce audio versions of the spots for the national Out Q channel of Sirius Satellite Radio.
The Internet is also a central focus of the campaign, which includes a dedicated Web site, and video clips of the commercials, which can be watched on youtube.com and MySpace.
Although the campaign has a national distribution, it began as a collaboration between two organizations in New York, HIV Forum NYC and the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center. Financial support for the ads is coming from two other organizations, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, representing the theater community, and Cable Positive, for the cable TV industry.
The campaign offers a twist on the time-honored tactic of celebrity endorsements for causes as well as for commercial purposes, both intended to sprinkle a bit of stardust on the brands or organizations being promoted.
Almost from the days that stars first began to be paid to peddle products, they also lent a hand – free of charge -- to raise money for charitable organizations. The list of beneficiaries includes the March of Dimes, the Will Rogers Institute, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
More recently, celebrities have started to promote causes that are less mainstream and sometimes touch on hot-button issues. Among them are abortion rights, fighting global warming, ending poverty and preventing AIDS.
The four stars in the new campaign join other celebrities who have appeared in pro bono campaigns about AIDS and HIV including Bono, Richard Gere, Heidi Klum, Sharon Stone and Elizabeth Taylor.
“Our primary objective is to stimulate dialogue around HIV and gay men’s health,” says Dan Carlson, co-founder of HIV Forum NYC, who developed the campaign with Jay Laudato, executive director of Callen-Lorde, and Colin A. Weil, a writer, director and producer.
“HIV prevention these days is more nuanced from back in the day when it was, ‘Wear a condom, wear a condom, wear a condom,’” Mr. Carlson says.
“Everyone knows condoms prevent HIV, but infection rates have increased since 1999,” he says, adding: “It’s not an issue of education. It’s behavior, more of a commitment to personal health and to each other.”
The idea was that women could best “change the conversation about condom use,” Mr. Carlson says, “that it’s not a barrier or an inhibition or about feeling less, it’s an act of self-love, everyone’s responsibility, an act of respect for each other.”
Why women? “For gay men, we love our female icons,” Mr. Carlson says. “We felt these honest, direct, loving messages would be heard best if told by women we can see as our mothers, best friends, sisters.”
“They can tell us things we may not be ready to hear from each other,” he adds.
Another reason for women to appear in the campaign, Mr. Laudato says, is that “the message would be clouded if there were men” because the target audience may have wondered “Is he straight? Is he gay? Is he hot? Is he not?”
“We wanted people of stature,” Mr. Laudato says, “and frankly, I don’t think we would have gotten men of similar stature” because well-known actors may have been more reluctant “to talk about controversial things” than the actresses are.
To say the four actresses touch on controversial topics in their eight commercials is an understatement.
For instance, in one of the two commercials featuring Ms. Perez, she declares: “Safe sex can be hot sex. I mean, trust me. It just takes a little imagination.”
One of the two spots with Ms. Sarandon begins with her saying: “You’re at a club. You just met. He’s really hot, and you go home together. Now, the moment of truth. Do you talk about HIV?”
In the other commercial, Ms. Sarandon discusses what research shows is a correlation between the growing use of the drug crystal meth (methamphetamine) and the increase in HIV infection rates.
That subject is brought up in other spots, too. Ms. Peet says, “Be a friend, say something” if someone you know is using the drug. Ms. Perez asserts, “You can join the party without losing your head.”
Ms. Goldberg may be the frankest of all. “Come over here, we need to talk,” she says at the start of both her spots. One focuses on drug use: “Do you really think doing crystal meth makes you cool? Meth makes you do dumb stuff like barebacking” – that is, have sex without a condom.
In her other commercial, Ms. Goldberg mocks the idea that barebacking is cool by countering that “fighting back” and “love and respect” are actually cool.
Mr. Weil praises the actresses for agreeing to deliver what he calls “compassionate and caring messages” that, by using women rather than men, are “not clouded by sex per se.”
Gay men are vexed by “self-image uses, self-esteem issues, isolation issues,” Mr. Weil says. “At the end of the day, they’re not taking care of themselves because they feel they’re not worth it.”
So the campaign, along with others from organizations like GMHC (Gay Men’s Health Crisis), which carry themes like “HIV stops with me,” is intended to say, “We’re all part of the problem and we’re all part of the solution,” Mr. Weil says.
That approach has generated considerable debate within the gay community, centered on the concept that ads deemed judgmental of behavior can be counterproductive because the target audience tunes out the criticism as nagging, scolding or simplistic.
Some computer users who posted comments about the campaign on a popular blog, Towleroad (towleroad.com), were quite critical.
“Everyone needs to show responsibility in their sexual behavior, not just gay men,” one poster wrote. Another poster made a snide remark about Ms. Peet’s acting abilities.
A third poster wrote: “Selecting four random women to deliver the message feels a lot like Nancy Reagan’s ‘Just say no’ campaign. Frankly, when an old woman tells me not to do something, it just makes me want to do it more.”
Mr. Laudato says he was “horrified” by some of the posts. Mr. Carlson says he was surprised by the tone the complainers took because “from my perspective, they were missing the message.”
“For many years, we’ve been told we’re not valued and our relationships were not valued,” he adds. “A more positive message might be a little difficult to hear, even from people like Susan and Whoopi, who’ve been with us for many years and come to this with a tremendous amount of credibility.”
A second round of commercials is being considered, the three creators of the campaign say, which they hope would be out for the annual series of gay pride events in June.
Mr. Weil says they are “open to a different type of cast” next time, “maybe out gay actors.”
No fair asking a catty question like, “Will they hold the casting call inside a phone kiosk?”
from The New York Times
