GOP Gays Reject Trump Prez Bid

It was not surprising when the Log Cabin Republicans representing gay GOPers declined to endorse Donald Trump’s bid for the presidency this Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016.  Yes, there are organized gay Republicans, who came out of the political closet as conservatives in 1977.  Their press release rejecting Donald Trump opens by quoting Ronald Reagan’s famed line, “Trust but verify” as the best approach to the Grand Old Party’s grand old sexist, misogynist, racist candidate of the 2016 presidential campaign. Can we say that? Yes, as long as it’s spelled correctly.

The press release stated that the gay Republicans will wait and see how Trump stacks up on the gay front if he’s elected. We’re not seeing how that qualifies as “trust, but verify.” Sounds more like climb up on the embankment carrying a folding chair and mojito, then wait to see which way the logs roll in this avalanche of sticks, stones, old wood and mud. — Staff

 

The New Boy In Town

Marc by Marc Jacobs

We all know that life is oh so unfair, especially when it comes to our appearance and physiques. There are humans that eat more in one sitting than a pre-hibernation mother bear and still fit snugly into their skinny jeans. There are people like me, who look at food and gain weight. And, we all try our best despite the multiple unexplainable failures. This morning, I tried on at least 15 different outfits and still looked considerably less attractive than the disheveled faux-hippie looking sleepy eyed on the subway.

That’s unfair. But 19-year-old Andrej Pejic is a whole other story. Tall, svelte, perfect bone structure: what makes this model different from other ladies on the runway? Well, she is, in fact, a he: the half Serbian- half Croatian recently donned a wedding dress for Jean Paul Gautier and strutted the Vivienne Westwood catwalk. He’s been sought for editorials in Vogue and is now the new face of Marc by Marc Jacobs —all in womenswear. This boy is now the prettiest girl in town. And I’m laughing myself to tears as I throw my hands in the air, kick back into my chair, and reach for an ice cream tub of self-pity.

What does Andrej teach us? Nothing we haven’t already known (see first sentence) and the additional knowledge that life’s mischief la-dee-da’s over gender barriers. But we’ve known this too. I’ve long tried to ignore the fact that my brother has nicer legs than I do, but I surrender —he’ll be receiving every single pair of my toe-wrenching, high-heeled efforts for longer legs.

We can hate Andrej, or we can love to hate Andrej. The importance in this story is that a boy who used to work at McDonald’s (really, that’s where he was discovered) is becoming an international super star and gender bending while he’s at it. It means that there are different possibilities opening up for different people. And while I do retreat to a certain level of defeatism, there’s a part of me that likes being disproportionate, short, and imperfect. I like complaining and being awkward, it makes me feel human. After all, what would Andrej’s sensationalism and beautiful people in general mean without the beauty of normal people?

Besides, not even the incredible “femiman” icon can’t have it all. He recently said that if offered a contract with lingerie line, Victoria Secret, he would consider a sex change with a nice, perky set of breast implants. “You’d have to, wouldn’t you?” mused Pelic. “I couldn’t imagine doing it any other way.”

Well, you give and you take.

-youmi park

NYC Pop Trio Menya Underwear Dances Down The East Coast

lt’s April, and there’s no better cure for your spring fever than a school night underwear dance party with fifty of your new best friends. Pop trio Menya brings the kind of joyful and infectious fun you want to have from now until Autumn, and like so many of the best things in life, you can enjoy it without your pants on.

Menya’s headlining appearance at Lit Lounge April 14th kicks off the group’s East Coast tour, when they’ll be spreading their brand of neon-colored high-energy dance party love to North Carolina and back. Menya, composed of  Coco Dame, Angie Ripe, and DJ Good Goose, has been around since 2007, when the three met at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Since then, they’ve become established figures in young LGBT nightlife — last year Out Magazine named them a “Need To Know” artist. But although they’ve hit it big with shows at mammoth venues like Webster Hall, Menya isn’t about to forget its roots in the college-aged queer community.  They appeared at NYU’s LGBT Pride Month, and their East Coast tour includes plenty of college cities, including Charlotte, NC, State College, PA, and Providence, RI. “We played all these big venues, and we’ve come full circle,” says singer Angie Ripe. “Our new thing is going to be to play small, sweaty dance parties.” With peppy melodies that sound like the world’s raunchiest cheerleading routines (the song “Diana” includes the refrain “bitch come and get it” includes plenty of hand claps), Menya is the musical equivalent of early Spring sunshine– so make sure your favorite skivvies are clean.

Menya’s playing Lit Lounge on April 14th. Find more tour information on their website, MenyaMusic.com

The Fight Against Queer (In)Justice

“I’m a black, lesbian, feminist from Canada,” Andrea Ritchie said, as she introduced herself to the Sexistentialism journalism class at New York University. The class laughed and Ritchie began recounting how she got to New York, became a police misconduct attorney, advocate and finally first-time co-author of Queer (In) Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States (Beacon Press, Feb. 2011).

The book chronicles the story of queer discrimination in the legal system, giving examples of sex violence, police brutality and prejudice in the courtroom. Since it’s Feb. 15th publication, the work has received many positive reviews. “[This] book is a powerful and productively disorienting book, and essential reading for anyone interested in how queers intersect with the criminal legal system,” wrote Yasmin Nair in Chicago’s Windy City Times. Combining powerful statistics and real-life scenarios, the book tries to make sense of the complicated relationship between queers, social and criminal injustice. “Many of these stories had never been written about in one place,” Ritchie said. “They were like tiles of a mosaic that had never been put together in a big picture.”

How do I know if I am a Feminist?

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I have met many young women who embrace the idea of having: the same rights as men, the same wage as men, and believe that rapists should be punished more severely.  However, if you ask these women if they are feminists, many of them reply “no.”

Halftime Eugenics: Abortion and the Super Bowl

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We look at Pro-life and Pro-choice as opposing views on abortion.  I consider myself pro-choice in most instances.  However jibber jabber about the Super Bowl, specifically relating to Tim Tebow, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback for the Florida Gators, has got me questioning what choice means as context changes.

There were two ads that were submitted to be played during the Super Bowl on CBS, one was an antiabortion message from Focus on the Family with Tebow.  The other was an ad for ManCrunch, a gay dating service.  The Tebow ad was approved while the ManCrunch ad was not.  In all the commentary that followed the announcement of the approval/disapproval, from pro-life advocacy to pro-gay and pro-choice individuals speaking out, there was no discussion concerning the regularity of aborting a fetus doctors deem to be “disabled.”

Welcome to the New Caste System

It was just another Thursday night at one of the seedy gay bars in the East Village. “The Boiler Room” (classy eh?) has been the setting for many a casual drinking night and is about as standard as a gay bar in the City comes – Lady Gaga beats in the background; some dance, others sit watching, and the gay dating caste system manifests….

The caste system has been a wonderful metaphor for many divisions within our society. Ever since Carrie Bradshaw mused in the second season of “Sex and the City” that the New York dating scene is divided into castes based on income and cultural power, I have heard the somewhat misguided notion over and over again. I have never given much heed to the idea until it popped up in my own backyard

PFOX to Gays: “Get back in your closet!”

Last month, a group that calls themselves Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX) distributed hundreds of fliers like the one to the left in several Maryland high schools.

Despite the protests of several parents and students, school administrators hands are tied thanks to a state-wide policy allowing nonprofit organizations to distribute printed materials to Maryland students along with their report cards. To preserve freedom of speech, any materials not deemed “hate speech” must be allowed.

The statement on the inside of the flyer

Sexistentialiste Hits the Internet

Sexistentialiste is the blog for NYU’s undergraduate Advanced Reporting course on sex and gender.  The course is about writing with magazine flair matched with old-fashioned reporting on cutting-edge topics relating to sex, male and female, queer, straight, crooked and bent.  Sexistentialistes have reported on porn stars, swingers clubs, STI’s, going bare, fashion models,  teen pregnancy, eating disorders, rentboys, burlesque,  motorcycle mamas, bears, “tramp stamp” tattoos, straight boy kissing, female rappers, and much more. So stay tuned….