As we can all agree, female genitals are mysterious yet amazing things; and here at KitschMix, we’re always on a mission to discover more.
So is Erika Moen, who has created this awesome cartoon, which explains (among other things) how women get erections, not just men.
If you want to know more – check out her work here.
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One of our greatest fashion-music muses – frontwoman Beth Ditto – has created a special collaboration with the French designer, Jean Paul Gaultier to celebrate the announcement of her own clothing line.
Ditto’s designs haven’t yet been revealed, but the announcement was made with the launch of a T-shirt dress featuring a print of Jean Paul Gaultier’s iconic conical corset on the front and back, with a working lace-up back.
Of the collaboration, Ditto says,
Jean Paul is the most generous, positive person, he truly loves women of all sizes and ages and knows how to make everyone feel gorgeous. I love that this shirt is funny and chic at the same time, like all the best people!”
The pair has been inseparable since Ditto walked the Gaultier runway in a custom gown, which was featured in a retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum.
Jean Paul is the most generous, positive person. He truly loves women of all sizes and ages and knows how to make everyone feel gorgeous. I love that this shirt is funny and chic at the same time, like all the best people!”
A portion of the proceeds from sales will go to the Girls Rock Camp Foundation, for which Ditto serves as advisory board member.
Gaultier added in a joint statement
Big girls are beautiful and Beth is super beautiful. Long live the beauty with shapes, boobs and bottoms. This is a new concept, a loose fit corset. And Beth fits it perfectly”.
As for what to expect from Ditto’s full collection, the singer says it will feature “current styling with a vintage flair”, as well as “vibrant prints and well-tailored pieces, with silks, rayons and embroidery that are frequently missing from plus-size lines”.
Ditto adds:
This line is by us, for us, period. It’s my lifelong dream to get to design real clothes for big people, clothes that are comfortable and cool!”
Ditto’s full plus-size collection will be available in February.
The Beth Ditto ♥ Jean Paul Gaultier shirt, $165, available exclusively at BethDitto.com
Hundreds of people have taken pictures of themselves wearing a tie in solidarity of Helena Martins who was attacked in south London last week.
Martins was yards from her home when she was punched in the face and strangled with her tie in what she believes was a hate crime.
In her Facebook post after the attack, she wrote:
I don’t think I’ll be rocking a tie in the near future. Today, one street away from my home, I was assaulted by a man who just went berserk at me, trying to pull my tie off. I’ve got a scratched and punched face, a sore neckline by all the tie pulling and a very bruised soul.”
Martins, who has lost her hearing due to Ménière’s disease, lost her cochlear earplant, which she relies on to hear, in the assault.
She wrote that homophobia and transphobia are “still very much alive”, and said:
If you hear or see someone making fun with pub jokes, harassing or bullying of LGBT people, making comments while watching TV or a movie or whatever… Act. Speak out. Some women wear ties, some men wear skirts. Get the heck over it. One thing is true: I shouldn’t be punched in the face for wearing a tie.”
Her experience has now inspired a friend to start #TieForHelena, asking people on social media to wear a tie on Tuesday 15 December in to show their support.
In a blog post, Patrick Smith wrote:
I think that we should show support for Helena by all of us wearing a tie – so we can all rock that look. If you already wear a tie to work, then great, you’re part of the gang. If you don’t, then for one day, please do. You can wear it rakishly, dashingly, with a suit, with slacks, or maybe even ‘Rambo style’ like we used to on the school playground occasionally. However you wear it, please take a photo and upload it to social media with the hashtag #TieForHelena.”
Sarah Moore from Stonewall, who have called on supporters to wear their ties today, said:
We believe that people of all genders should have the freedom to present their aesthetic and use clothing to express themselves in any way they choose, without fear of confrontation. Helena’s bravery and commitment to transforming this awful incident into something positive is remarkable, and we’re honoured that she is choosing to raise money for us.
Our work to end homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying and hate crime will continue until everyone, everywhere is free to express who they are and is accepted without exception.”
Thanking those who’ve taken part, Helena said:
I didn’t plan to wear a tie today. Last night while doing wife’s tie knot I felt really uncomfortable, but after seeing all the posts on Facebook and Twitter, I’m feeling the love and joy. Love conquers everything – hate included.”
Hundreds show their solidarity for hate crime victim with a #TieForHelena.https://t.co/i0t24Dt8vK pic.twitter.com/5tprGtnwVH
— DIVA Magazine (@DIVAmagazine) December 15, 2015
Proud to be wearing a #TieForHelena at @stonewalluk today. @Helkombi is turning a hate crime into something good 👍🏻 pic.twitter.com/AsI5qNZ4U9
— Sarah 🌹 Join a union (@sarahmoorexo) December 15, 2015
My boy wearing a #TieForHelena because homophobia ain't cool!! pic.twitter.com/8RTAMhWdvC
— lucyhg (@lucyhg) December 15, 2015
Nobody should be attacked because of what they wear, their sexuality or any other reason.#TieForHelena pic.twitter.com/MkqEKDCWw6
— Rach 2.0 🌈✨ (@Rach_2_Oh) December 15, 2015
https://twitter.com/KitDorey/status/676703125735088129
Tennis superstar Martina Navratilova recently wrote a piece for Sports Illustrated. In it she says the “watershed” moment for gay people in sport has been reached – and she’s hoping for an avalanche.
Navratilova writes
We’ve come a long way. In the 1980s I knew an NHL coach who was convinced there were no gay hockey players. Ever. Certainly not on his teams. Why? “This is a macho sport,” he said. Remember Reggie White? In the ’90s, the Packers star appeared in a newspaper advertising campaign to persuade gays and lesbians that they could “cease” their homosexuality. The NFL responded with … a lot of silence.
On her own coming out, she adds
When I came out, in 1981, I didn’t have much public support and I know I lost endorsements. But I never had to worry about losing my job. In tennis, there are no bosses, no general managers and no coaches who can keep players from competing. So I was safe in that regard. For team sports athletes, this is not the case.
A homophobic coach at any level — high school, college or pros — could keep a player from playing. Remember Rene Portland, the women’s basketball coach at Penn State? She proudly boasted she would not allow a lesbian on her team. In the past, that kind of homophobia would have had support from the front office. Why come out when — apart from dealing with all the other complications — it could kill your sports career!”
But the game is changing, more and more stars are choosing to come out, from rugby’s Gareth Thomas to football’s Casey Stoney, support from straight and gay allies is helping to pave the way for sporting to be more inclusive.
But the times changed. Boy, did they ever change.
As Navratilova encourages:
Any revolution starts with a small step. As I see it, this one started with Vikings punter Chris Kluwe and his R-rated (but darn smart and funny) editorial on Deadspin last year. That was a catalyst because it then became clear: Straight players were standing in support of gays in general — and their gay teammates, whoever they might be.
Those gay athletes might have been deeply closeted, but there was unspoken acknowledgement: We know you exist. Kluwe wasn’t shunned or ridiculed for his stance. The tables turned. It was the homophobes who were left standing in the cold, scorned and criticized by fans and the media. How is that for a turnaround in, relatively speaking, a very short time?
She also highlights basketball star Jason Collins for his coming out and how he has paved the way for future generations in sport.
Navratilova wrote
He is the proverbial game-changer. One of the last bastions of homophobia has been challenged. Collins’ action will save lives. This is no exaggeration: Fully one third of suicides among teenagers occur because of their sexuality.”
In 2013, the Brooklyn Nets player was the first active male athlete to come out. Since retiring, Collins has dedicated much of his time to campaigning on LGBT issues in sport.
Now that Collins has led this watershed moment, I think — and hope — there will be an avalanche. Come out, come out wherever and whoever you are. It is beautiful out here and I guarantee you this: You will never, ever want to go back. You will only wonder why it took so long.”
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Cate Blanchett leave us totally seduced and wanting more in this new clip from upcoming movie Carol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk_Xixo_P3g
In an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Price of Salt, Carol follows two women from very different backgrounds who find themselves in an unexpected love affair in 1950s New York. As conventional norms of the time challenge their undeniable attraction, an honest story emerges to reveal the resilience of the heart in the face of change.
The film has generated Oscar buzz since its May premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Weinstein Company, which is distributing the film, is planning a slow platform release forCarol. Distribution won’t go wide until after Oscar nominations are announced in mid-January.
I’m just going to break the ice and start this piece off by being as honest as I can possibly be: I love to masturbate.
I mean, who doesn’t? It’s relaxing, its pleasurable, and it’s fun.
And in an always-busy, always-bustling city like London, masturbation can be the perfect way to let your hair down once you’ve retreated to your cosy bedroom.
Over the years, science has often indicated that routine masturbation is a good thing. There are verified benefits of a regular release including better energy levels, and lower stress levels.
However, apparently just like any good thing, too much can be harmful.
You may not think so, but orgasms are pretty complicated things. It’s easy to assume that an orgasm is the same no matter how it’s achieved, but that’s not the case.
In a study conducted by Dr. Stuart Brody and Tillman Kruger, it was observed that certain hormones released when you come are greater (some times 400% higher) during sex than masturbation, including oxytocin.
Oxytocin is thought to be released during hugging, touching, and orgasm in both sexes. In the brain, oxytocin is involved in social recognition and bonding, and may be involved in the formation of trust between people and generosity.”
So basically, higher levels of oxytocin released in the brain leads to a greater feeling of satisfaction because it offsets dopamine.
Dopamine itself is fine. It’s responsible for our pleasure/reward reactions.
The issue is that when too much dopamine is released too frequently, our brains become desensitized to it.
Any behaviour that floods the brain with dopamine can desensitize us, requiring more of the same behaviour in order to get the same reward.
Brain scans conducted on people with porn addictions found that the part of the brain that lights up is the same part that lights up when a heroin addict has just injected heroin. Yikes.
So masturbation does a great job of flooding the brain with dopamine but it doesn’t produce much oxytocin, which combats the dopamine. This makes excessive masturbation dangerously addictive. Excessive dopamine can even make your brain more stressed out.
Dr. N.K.Lin, adds
Since dopamine is the precursor to the stress hormone epinephrine (adrenaline), excess dopamine results in the adrenal glands overproducing epinephrine and putting the body in a prolonged state of fight-or-flight stress. At the same time, norepinephrine is synthesized from dopamine and released from the adrenal medulla into the blood as a hormone, along with the stress hormone cortisol.”
Epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol fuel the fight-or-flight response, directly increasing heart rate, triggering the release of glucose from energy stores, and increasing blood flow to skeletal muscle. All of this has a severely taxing effect on the body.”
Party poopers
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Hurrah, the nominations for the 2016 Golden Globes Awards, have been announced and leading the charge is Carol – a lesbian romance set in the 1950s – with both Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara being nominated in the same category for Best Actress.
Also vying for the award is Brie Larson (Room), Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn) and Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
Carol is also nominated for Best Director, Original Score and Best Motion Picture.
Lily Tomlin has been nominated for two awards, Best Actress in a Television Comedy for her role in Frankie and Grace, and Best Actress in Comedy Movie for her role in Grandma.
She will be competing with Jennifer Lawrence, Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer, Maggie Smith for The Lady in the Van.
Queen Latifah (Bessie) competes with Lady Gaga (American Horror Story: Hotel), for Best Actress, Mini-Series or TV Movie.
The Danish Girl lead Eddie Redmayne is also in contention for leading Best Actor Drama. He goes up against Bryan Cranston, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Fassbender, and Will Smith.
Orange is the New Black’s Uzo Aduba is nominated for Best Supporting Actress. The show is also nominated for Best TV Series, Comedy/Musical alongside Transparent.
The winners will be announced in a live televised ceremony on January 10, hosted by Ricky Gervais. This year will be the first since 2012 that is not hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, but Gervais is no stranger to the stage; next year will be his fourth time as host.
See below the full list of nominees who made the cut for this year‘s awards:
MOVIES
Best Picture, Drama
Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight
Best Picture, Comedy or Musical
The Big Short
Joy
The Martian
Spy
Trainwreck
Best Director
Todd Haynes, Carol
Alejandro Innaritu, The Revenant
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Ridley Scott, The Martian
Best Actor, Drama
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Will Smith, Concussion
Best Actress, Drama
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Rooney Mara, Carol
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Best Actor, Comedy
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Steve Carell, The Big Short
Matt Damon, The Martian
Al Pacino, Danny Collins
Mark Ruffalo, Infinitely Polar Bear
Best Actress, Comedy
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Melissa McCarthy, Spy
Amy Schumer, Trainwreck
Maggie Smith, The Lady in the Van
Lily Tomlin, Grandma
Best Supporting Actor
Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Best Supporting Actress
Jane Fonda, Youth
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Helen Mirren, Trumbo
Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Best Screenplay
Emma Donoghue, Room
Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, Spotlight
Charles Randolph and Adam McKay, The Big Short
Aaron Sorkin, Steve Jobs
Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight
Best Original Score
Carter Burwell, Carol
Alexandre Desplat, The Danish Girl
Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
Daniel Pemberton, Steve Jobs
Ryuichi Sakamoto & Alva Noto, The Revenant
Best Original Song
“Love Me Like You Do,” Fifty Shades of Grey
“One Kind of Love,” Love & Mercy
“See You Again,” Furious 7
“Simple Song #3,” Youth
“Writing’s On the Wall,” Spectre
Best Animated Feature Film
Anomalisa
The Good Dinosaur
Inside Out
The Peanuts Movie
Shaun the Sheep Movie
Best Foreign Language Film
The Brand New Testament
The Club
The Fencer
Mustang
Son of Saul
TELEVISION
Best TV Series, Drama
Empire
Game of Thrones
Mr. Robot
Narcos
Outlander
Best TV Series, Comedy/Musical
Casual
Mozart in the Jungle
Orange is the New Black
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Veep
Best TV Miniseries or Movie
American Crime
American Horror Story: Hotel
Fargo
Flesh and Bone
Wolf Hall
Best Actor, Drama
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Wagner Moura, Narcos
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Liev Schrieber, Ray Donovan
Best Actress, Drama
Caitriona Balfe, Outlander
Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Eva Green, Penny Dreadful
Taraji P. Henson, Empire
Robin Wright, House of Cards
Best Actor, Comedy
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Gael Garcia Bernal, Mozart in the Jungle
Rob Lowe, The Grinder
Patrick Stewart, Blunt Talk
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
Best Actress, Comedy
Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Jamie Lee Curtis, Scream Queens
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie
Best Supporting Actor
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Damian Lewis, Wolf Hall
Tobias Menzies, Outlander
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Christian Slater, Mr. Robot
Best Supporting Actress
Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Regina King, American Crime
Judith Light, Transparent
Maura Tierney, The Affair
Best Actor, Mini-Series or TV Movie
Idris Elba, Luther
Oscar Isaac, Show Me A Hero
David Oyelowo, Nightingale
Mark Rylance, Wolf Hall
Patrick Wilson, Fargo
Best Actress, Mini-Series or TV Movie
Kirsten Dunst, Fargo
Lady Gaga, American Horror Story: Hotel
Sarah Hay, Flesh and Bone
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Queen Latifah, Bessie
Out bisexual actress Megan Fox Regan is returning to our TV screens (Yes!), with a guest spot on the upcoming final season of New Girl.
Hannah Simone, who plays Cece in the show, shared with TVLine the upcoming storyline:
The first episode that they wrote for Megan revealed that my character and her character had a bit of a romantic past. By the end of that first episode, they’re in the shower together. So yes, her character definitely shakes things up.”
And according to Fox, Cece’s fiancée Schmidt (Max Greenfield) won’t respond well to news of Cece’s girl-on-girl backstory.
Fox added;
Schmidt has a very difficult time dealing with that because he’s so insecure and possessive of her. I have to break him out of the rut.”
So not only do we get to see Megan Fox play queer on our TVs, but it turns out Cece is bisexual. Up until now, Cece has only had relationships with men on the show, most notably her fiancée Schmidt, who is not a fan of Megan’s character.
Reagan’s character is described as “a gorgeous, straight-shooting pharmaceutical sales rep” and despite the “shaking up” she does with her ex-flame, TVLine reports Regan will “have her eye on Nick” (Jake Johnson).
New Girl has only had one lesbian character in its four seasons: Jess’s gynaecologist Sadie (played by June Diane Raphael), who has appeared in six episodes.
Well here’s an adorable May-December romance you might not have seen coming!Thank you Entertainment Tonight for doing your homework on this one and cracking the twitter code.
A few days ago, Holland Taylor confirmed she was dating a woman, and the grapevine wasted no time in identifying her bae as fellow actress Sarah Paulson of American Horror Story and Carol fame.
Taylor, hinted that she was dating a younger gal in an interview with WNYC’s Death, Sex & Moneypodcast, joking,
There’s a very big age difference between us which I’m sure shocks a lot of people, and it startles me. But as they say, ‘If she dies, she dies.'”
According to Entertainment Tonight, the thespian couple has been dating for four months, more or less in plain sight if you noticed their series of incredibly charming tweets to one another.
.@MsSarahPaulson I love your appreciation. It's you with the fine (and beautiful) head…
— Holland Taylor (@HollandTaylor) November 7, 2015
When captions fail… pic.twitter.com/b6ECRSA6D3
— Holland Taylor (@HollandTaylor) November 17, 2015
For the record, @MsSarahPaulson is great. Period. The end.
— Holland Taylor (@HollandTaylor) October 30, 2015
Hey @HollandTaylor get off Twitter and call me. I mean, JESUS.
— Sarah Paulson (@MsSarahPaulson) September 8, 2015
By day-the shortcomings of the phone are glaring. The blood velvet, the lushness, well– I can't tell you.
Smitten. pic.twitter.com/Z0PmQPN1p0— Holland Taylor (@HollandTaylor) February 15, 2015
Paulson, 40, is no stranger to a May-December romance, having dated actress Cherry Jones, some nineteen years her senior. Boom!
Whether you know her from Down With Love, or her work on every incarnation of American Horror Story, or The Spirit or Martha Marcy May Marlene or 12 Years A Slave, you have probably had some great experience with 0ut actress Sarah Paulson by now.
She is an award-winning star who is becoming a household name. In a new interview, Paulson speaks with David Poland in depth about her latest film Carol and a career in acting.
Watch the in-depth interview below:
In a recent interview with WNYC, Holland Taylor – yes, that is Peggy Peabody of The L Word to you and me – discussed for the first time her own sexual preference, and her relationship goals with her partner, who happens to be a women.
When asked about being “enticed by marriage” in her new committed relationship. Her response:
Well, my relationship is with a woman, and I have not — given my generation it would not be something that would automatically occur to me. But she’s mentioned it because just from a spiritual point of view, from a heart point of view, as a — as a — as a deed that has a very rich symbolic gesture to it, it has its attraction. But it’s been a very casual conversation at this point. But it’s not — it would be a very private thing. I would not do that publicly. But as a symbol, as a pledge, as a plighting one’s troth I would see it — that it would be a wonderful thing to do.”
The interviewer asked if Holland wanted to say her partner’s name, and she decided against it, choosing to protect the privacy of her girlfriend.
Well I feel at this point in the conversation it feels kind of awkward. Now I feel very very shy of it. I’ve been really wrestling with this lately because most of my relationships have been with women and I don’t like talking about them because I don’t like talking about the politics of it all because I’m not political about it. I think we’re ridiculous in this country about it. Ridiculous. And so, it’s awkward because if I talk about relationships in my life or people that have been in my life, or somebody I’ve been seeing for a while or this, that and the other thing, I’d like to be able to just say that, without having to stop and say, ‘so have you come out?’ No, I haven’t come out because I am out. I live out.”
However, what she did let slip, was the fact her bae is a much younger woman.
There’s a very big age difference between us which I’m sure shocks a lot of people, and it startles me. But you know, it’s not a statement original to me — I’ve heard it as a joke once in my past, but as they say, “If she dies, she dies.”
Listen to the interview below;
No idea what to get your girlfriend for Christmas? Then check out some of these perfect DIY gifts. The time, effort, creativity, and love you spent on these gifts will make her smile and treasure the gifts for years to come.
Others are store-bought gifts that are satisfying to their personalities and hobbies.
Your girlfriend will totally appreciate these presents no matter their style.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, LGBTQ youth are at an increased risk for suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, and suicide and are often bullied more than their peers.
Alyssa Norris recently explained Yahoo Health
If they’re an adolescent subject to daily bullying who is rejected by their parents, we would expect that these rates would be higher.”
That can make a lasting impression on a person’s psyche, licensed clinical psychologist Alicia H. Clark, who specialises in the treatment of anxiety, added.
It isn’t easy to be different, and the chronic challenges of a non-heterosexual lifestyle can make everything seem harder, leading ultimately to mental health issues.”
The problems may start from the time a person realises his or her sexual orientation is different from the majority’s, she says, and may be exacerbated as a person encounters challenges faced when coming out.
It can be hard to stay mentally healthy along the way.”
Research has shown that gay men in particular have higher rates of body dissatisfaction and shame due to gay male culture’s emphasis on physical appearance.
One study published in the journal Men and Masculinities found that gay men reported significantly more body dissatisfaction and had a significantly smaller ideal weight than heterosexual men.
Another study published in the journal Eating Behaviors found that gay men were significantly more likely to be at risk of disordered eating and were more driven to achieve a muscular body than heterosexual men.
That can create a lot of stress and anxiety for a man, which can even lead to depression.
Clark added
Not only are gay men concerned about societal stigma for their sexual orientation, but gay men can feel intense social pressure from their community to be a picture of physical attractiveness that isn’t always possible. They feel shame about their perceived physical flaws and can also be shamed by their partners, making it hard to come to terms with one’s physical limitations and realities.”
But as the new research and other data have shown, it’s not just gay men who are at risk.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, LGBTQ individuals are three times more likely than others to experience a mental health condition like major depression or an anxiety disorder.
Societal and cultural pressure can generate a great deal of added anxiety and relationship angst. It is isolating to feel different, and although we know so much of sexual orientation is biological, people still harbour a great deal of shame.”
If that anxiety isn’t redirected into realistic values or channelled into productive action, it can create a vulnerability to depression and self-destructive behaviours like substance abuse, Clark says.
However, it’s possible for us to lower our risk of developing a mental illness.
Clark says the most important way is to get educated about the symptoms of anxiety and depression and know your odds of developing each. If you show an early sign of decline, get help.
Don’t let one more stigma (mental health) stand in your way of finding the happiness and satisfaction you deserve to feel in life.”
The BBC’s groundbreaking documentary about a transgender teenage has picked up a BAFTA this week.
Titled I Am Leo, the documentary followed Leo, a 13-year-old boy, as he told his story, and how he encountered bullying from people who could not accept who he is.
Born a female, Leo has lived as a boy since the age of 5, and legally changed his name when he was 11.
The film is set across seven months, following Leo and his family as he undergoes hormone therapy, meeting other trans kids, and eagerly waiting for a new passport that confirms his real identity to the world.
The documentary aired last year, on on the BBC’s childrens’ channel CBBC, which is targeted towards an audience of 6 to 12 year olds.
This week it picked up a prize at the British Academy Children’s Awards in the Factual category.
On the award Leo said:
“I want to thank everyone who nominated I Am Leo for this award, and everyone involved in making it a success.
I’m really proud to have been given the opportunity to make so many people proud by telling my story, and being able to tell it in my way.
I would like to say a massive thank you to Nine Lives Media, and especially to Cat [Lewis] for giving me the opportunity.
To [Phil Niland and Lyndsay Rowan], who I spent much time with, for their support and encouragement, and keeping me motivated throughout the months of filming.
I would like to thank my mum for believing in me, staying positive, and being beside me throughout my journey.”
The now-teenage Leo added that sharing his story has helped many others – with a lot of young trans people contacting him for guidance.
We’ve all heard of the gender pay gap. But how about the gay pay gap?
Studies carried in the US, Europe and Australia have revealed that gay men get paid up less than their straight counterparts.
Lesbians, however, have been shown to make more than their straight female counterparts, with studies estimate the differential to be between 8% to 13%.
Despite this, lesbians still earn less than either heterosexual or gay men, the studies show.
And according to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, transgender people are four times as likely to have a household income under $10,000 and twice as likely to be unemployed as the typical person.
The problem we have and what all the studies concluded is that sexual orientation pay gap comes down to prejudice. Something we are all still trying to tackle.
There are still some many laws around the world that do not support LGBT employees. The fight for equality is still real.
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Everyone’s favourite bisexual actress, Anna Paquin, known for playing Rogue and Sookie, took to the red carpet and tweeted this picture of herself wearing a flowing black dress with a floral pattern for the premiere of her new Pixar movie, The Good Dinosaur.
Then, the haters emerged.
Apparently, wearing a flowing dress, means people can start calling you fat and asking if you’re pregnant – you know, because she wasn’t wearing a skin-tight dress to the premiere of a children’s movie.
Fun fact: Wearing a dress that is not skintight=Pregnant/invites people 2 call u fat. I'm neither so thanks 4 that pic.twitter.com/TZ960m8pPk
— Anna Paquin (@AnnaPaquin) November 18, 2015
People also didn’t like that Paquin stopped dyeing her hair blonde and tanning for True Blood.
https://twitter.com/AnnaPaquin/status/667044774067630080
and her typo…
https://twitter.com/AnnaPaquin/status/667044986689490944
But the haters were soon quashed, as Paquin fans assembled in loving support…
@AnnaPaquin dear anna, those people are blind fucktards. yours sincerely, mama nature.
— Katherine (@kiwikatherine_1) November 18, 2015
@AnnaPaquin pic.twitter.com/s9GVFe1Aar
— Keri & Henry🐾🐾 (@keriqbaum) November 18, 2015
@AnnaPaquin You look gorgeous! How dare you want a dress you can breath in! 😉
— Jamie Rose (@Jamie_Rose89) November 18, 2015
https://twitter.com/AnnaPaquin/status/667045172539060225
As we previously reported, a new study from the University of Essex has found that straight women are pretty unique when it comes to what turns them on physiologically, compared to both straight men and gay women.
The big bombshell? Straight women are likely to be turned on by both men and women – while straight men and lesbians are likely to be turned on only by their stated preferred gender.
For the study, published in Personality and Social Psychology, researchers from Essex, Cornell University, and Northwestern University recruited nearly 500 straight, bisexual, and lesbian women in the United States to come into a lab and have their arousal levels measured in response to various sexual stimuli. The researchers then compared that arousal with each participant’s stated sexual preference.
Women were shown videos of “attractive” men and women while researchers noted subconscious responses including pupil dilation.
The researchers found that the majority of straight women (72%) were aroused by both men and women, whereas the majority of lesbians (68%) were mostly aroused by just women.
Gerulf Rieger, lead author of the study, told The Times
If you’re a man, whatever you tell me you’re attracted to I bet in the laboratory your penis will verify that. If a woman has the same conversation with me and tells me she is straight, even if she believes that, in the laboratory her body will contradict her.”
He added
I would like to stress that we did not find or say that there are ‘no straight women. Rather, we stated in the press release that even though the majority of women identify as straight, they are, in their physiological sexual responses (i.e., genital arousal or pupil dilation to images of attractive men and women) either bisexual or gay, but rarely straight.”
Why might this be? In the study, Rieger, who teaches psychology at Essex, cites one possible – albeit controversial – evolutionary explanation that is heavily debated in the scientific community. This theory is that, many millennia ago, forced copulation was standard practice among humans. And because forced sex is dangerous for a female and can result in injury to her genitals, “the female response to any sexual stimulus could have evolved in part to mitigate this risk.”
He further hypothesized that “women may have physiological sexual responses to a variety of sexual stimuli, including stimuli representing both consensual and forced sexual acts, sexual activities of non-human primates, and male and female sexual stimuli” to protect themselves when sex is unwanted.
Regardless of how it happened, we should all take a moment to acknowledge the possibility that straight women are getting turned on a lot more than popular culture would have us believe.
Let the sexual revolution begin.
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We all know that our Facebook friends list are about 25% real actual friends.
The rest are people we went to school with and people we met and friended while drunk, then never saw again. Also, there are even a surprising number of Facebook friends that you actively dislike.
But, really, do you need or want hundreds of Facebook friends?
Likely today marks the 5th year of National Unfriend Day, a day that makes it socially acceptable (ish) to delete the most annoying of your Facebook friends.
It’s time to clear out the friend clutter. So how do you decide stays and who goes.
Just ask yourself the following questions:
In which case, they can’t post enough photos of their adorable offspring. You can keep them.
If the answer is no then, well, they’re not a friend, are they?
According to online health clinic Euroclinix, an infection transferred during oral sex could overtake smoking as the main cause of mouth cancer.
While smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and chewing tobacco were once the primary risk factors for mouth cancer, recent years have seen an increase in cases caused by HPV, or the human papillomavirus.
HPV can be contracted through unprotected genital, anal or oral sex and affects the skin around the mouth, rectum, cervix and throat.
Shockingly, the HPV virus now accounts for 25% of all mouth cancers globally and 35% of throat cancers.
This compares to only two thirds attributed to smoking – though it is difficult to quantify the effect precisely, due to the testing methods available and the other risk factors involved.
As outlined by the NHS, detecting HPV cells in a patient with oral cancer does not mean HPV caused the cancer.
The virus becomes part of the genetic material of the cancer cells, triggering their growth.
Though the claim that somehow HPV will overtake smoking as the main cause is questioned by some. There are hundreds of HPV strains, most of which do not lead to cancer, but there are around 15 strains which are associated with cancer.
Talking to Metro.co.uk, Fiona Osgun, Cancer Research UK’s health information officer said
Smoking is linked to about 65 per cent of mouth cancers in the UK, whereas only 8 to 14 per cent of cases are thought to be linked to HPV. Around 90 per cent of mouth cancer cases are preventable – things like staying smokefree, cutting down on alcohol and making sure you get your 5-a-day can all help reduce the risk.”
And, according to Euroclinix data, the number of men and women contracting HPV is increasing.
To help prevent contracting HPV during oral sex, the NHS advises women to place a latex square or dental dam over their genitals.
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The judge has removed a baby girl from her foster parents because of their sexuality, even though the biological mother is happy for the couple to raise her child.
April Hoagland and Beckie Peirce – from Utah – are married with two children. The pair had also been hoping to adopt the one-year-old girl they had been fostering for three months.
However, a judge has ordered the Department of Child and Family Services to remove the child from their care within seven days.
Judge Scott Johansen claimed various studies suggested children are better off being raised in a heterosexual households – but the feel the judge used the questionable evidence to force his religious beliefs upon them.
The couple say they are devastated by the ruling, especially as they have not done anything legally wrong.
Talking to KUTV, Ms Hoagland said
We are shatteredIt hurts me really badly because I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Ms Peirce added
He’s never been in our home, never spent time with the child in our home or our other children so he doesn’t know anything about this.”
Brent Platt, Director of the state’s Division of Child and Family Services, said he had not seen the judge’s order – but his caseworkers must comply. At the same time, he wants to make sure his caseworkers don’t break the law by removing the child. He will have his division’s attorneys look at the judge’s order.
LGBT activists have rejected the decision, noting that recent studies prove that sexuality has no negative impact on a couple’s ability to raise a child – in fact, the opposite is often true.
Being a good parent has nothing to do with sexual orientation—thousands of families prove that. https://t.co/xQLh25RAYR
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) November 12, 2015
President of The Human Rights Campaign, Chad Griffin, said in a statement
Removing a child from a loving home simply because the parents are LGBT is outrageous, shocking, and unjust. At a time when so many children in foster care need loving homes, it is sickening to think that a child would be taken from caring parents who planned to adopt.
It also flies in the face of overwhelming evidence that children being raised by same-sex parents are just as healthy and well-adjusted as those with different-sex parents.”
One such study by the University of Texas recently found that same-sex couples actually tend to invest more time in their children than their heterosexual counterparts.
The study – that was launched to tackle prejudice like this.
Margaret Cho was back on the view this week, and she didn’t fail to deliver.
In the Hot Topic segment, Cho was asked about president Obama covering Out Magazine this week.
But Raven-Symoné was quick to highlight she too, was in the issue as well.
This was acknowledge by Cho, but she was quick to ask Symoné about her relationship status. Watch below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIaUp29_xmA
Cho has been making ripples lately with her new song about rape – I Want to Kill My Rapist.
In the video, Cho and a band of 20 young girls, all armed, chase after a rapist to exact their revenge.
I’ve had it with rape. I don’t want the younger generation to grow up with it. I want to be really proactive – and aggressively angry – about the way women’s bodies have been used as public space since the beginning of time.”
A survivor of abuse, Cho had her shoulder-length dark hair shaved off for the video.
Cho is famed for her boldness, her taboo-breaking political humour.
The comedian is currently touring the globe with her stand-up show psyCHO, she also grabbed headlines earlier this year for appearing at the Golden Globe awards dressed as a North Korean dictator.
Although Cho (whose previous musical effort, Cho Dependent, was nominated for a comedy album Grammy) is performing the new song and a few others as part of the show, she insists her goal is not just to shock and amuse.
She says she wants to make beautiful music, too, in the form of songs that resonate with the politics of the time.
Another, called Fat Pussy, is all about being positive about your body, and is only mildly less shocking.
“Nothin’ better, nothin’ wetter,” she sings, and we have to agree with that.
Ever year Out Magazine profiles the year’s most entertaining, heroic, and compelling LGBT people, from all walks of life. This year’s the list is filled with women making a difference.
Here is a selection of our favourite ladies.
Pictured: Aisha Moodie Mills
Tom Leahy is a teacher at a school in Kansas, who has been asked to resign after playing a viral anti-homophobia video to 14 year olds in his social studies class at Conway Springs Middle School.
As part of a history lesson on tolerance for an Eighth grade class, the teacher played short film Love Is All You Need.
Based on the award-winning short film of the same name, the hugely popular anti-bullying clip challenges society by exploring bullying and prejudice in a new light.
Now with more than 12 million views on YouTube, the film is based on the premise of the ‘reversed world’ – where social roles are inverted – ‘gay is straight and straight is gay’ – this unique viewpoint allows viewers to ‘walk a mile’ in another’s shoes.
However, Mr Leahy told the Wichita Eagle that the video had “upset too many people” in the predominantly Catholic town, and that he has been asked to step down despite teaching at the school since 1997.
He added:
I knew something was going to happen. I just didn’t know this would happen.”
Watch the full film below;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ROXTFfkcfo
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Yes, we know it’s a little early for Christmas music, but I think you’ll agree that this music video is certainly an exception to the rule.
Featuring real-life couple and recording artists, Danielle LoPresti and Alicia Champion (along with their cute four-year-old son Xander), this video gives us a fresh spin on the classic Christmas tune I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.
Shared LoPresti:
As a multi-racial, same-sex, foster-adoptive family, Alicia and I are always seeking out examples in the media of other families like ours to share with our child. We looked online and per usual, didn’t find a single video of a family that resembled ours… so we thought that since we have access to the resources, we could have some fun helping to fill that void.”
The video is also a beacon for the LGBTQ community, a love letter to those who are also in “non-traditonal” structures which really have no representation in the familiar spotlights, especially for the holidays. Champion and her family feel that by creating the video, it gives others the opportunity to look at their own relationships and connect.
We wanted to normalize our family experience for the mainstream and show that queer families are no different than any others. As parents… we all miss our private intimate time. Our family life is quite similar, indeed…except that we don’t actually live in a 1950’s Technicolor dreamland, and that Alicia is nowhere near that fem on a regular basis. We do have a lot of fun everyday, and especially after we came so close to losing Danielle two years ago, we try really hard to practice constant gratitude for every moment; we laugh and play a lot.”
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus is the first single off LoPresti’s upcoming album, Winter’s Light.
For more information check out danielleandthemasses.com.
The gap in average pay gap between women and men is around 14.2%. Which means, if you’re a woman who works full time you will effectively be working for free from now until January.
So today is Equal Pay Day – the point in the year at which the average woman in full-time employment is said to stop earning, in effect, compared with male counterparts.
The date changes each year and 2015’s Equal Pay Day is five days later than 2014’s, indicating that the pay gap has narrowed slightly.
Sam Smethers, chief executive of gender equality charity the Fawcett Society, said at the current rate of progress it would take 50 years to close the gender pay gap.
Women should not have to wait that long.”
The ONS figures show the gender gap is widest at the age of 50-59, when it rises to 20.5%.
India’s Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) has issued a notice to a channel fir airing an episode of US drama Grey’s Anatomy.
The scene that caused complaints from viewers involved a female doctor telling her male colleague about failing to please her (female) partner, and asked him to teach her via a physical demonstration.
The industry-lead Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) issued the notice and labelled the medical drama “obscene and vulgar”, and accused of “denigrating women” by screening a “homosexual encounter.”
A senior member of the council said:
Keeping Indian audiences in mind, we felt that the scenes were not tasteful. So we have asked them to respond”.
This is the latest in a string of instances of TV channels being held accountable for broadcasting LGBT content.
Two years ago India made the shock move to recriminalize gay sex in a shock ruling.
Despite the government’s ruling, there is still support for gay people in the country with India’s biggest political party supporting decriminalising homosexuality once again.
Researchers at the University of Essex have suggested Women who think they are heterosexual are actually bisexual or gay and “never straight”.
The research, led by Dr Gerulf Rieger in the Department of Psychology, involved a sample of 345 women who had their physical responses to sexual stimuli monitored, with experts concluding that most women are either lesbian or bisexual, with very few actually heterosexual.
Women were shown videos of “attractive” men and women while researchers noted subconscious responses including pupil dilation.
Participants who identified as exclusively heterosexual were aroused by both men and women, whereas those who identified as lesbian showed much stronger sexual responses to women in the clips shown than to men.
Dr Rieger explains:
Although some lesbians were more masculine in their sexual arousal, and others were more masculine in their behaviours, there was no indication that these were the same women.
This shows us that how women appear in public does not mean that we know anything about their sexual role preferences. Men are simple, but women’s sexual responses remain a mystery.”
According to Pastor Kevin Swanson – a conservative radio talk show host – Disney destroying America. Really?
If I was the Devil what would I do to really foul up an entire social system and do something really, really, really evil to 5- and 6- and 7-year-olds in Christian families around America?… I would buy Disney.”
Ok, so how is Disney causing so much damage? Well, according to Swanson, Disney is “one of the most pro-homosexual organizations in the country.”
At the top of his list of overwhelming evidence is the movie Frozen.
Apparently, the animated film contains hidden messaging that indoctrinates little girls into becoming lesbians.
While he didn’t give specifics, he did talk at length about how terrible it is that parents took their kids to see a movie without knowing they would turn into Evil Gays afterward.
I wonder if people are thinking: ‘You know I think this cute little movie is going to indoctrinate my 5-year-old to be a lesbian or treat homosexuality or bestiality in a light sort of way.’ I wonder if the average parent going to see Frozen is thinking that way.
I wonder if they are just walking in and saying, “Yeah, let’s get my five-year-old and seven-year-old indoctrinated early.” You know they’re not, I think for the most part they’re oblivious. Maybe they do pick up on pieces of it but they just don’t get up and walk out.”
Next week Swanson will be hosting a National Religious Liberties Conference in Iowa, where three (yes three) presidential candidates will be speaking: Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal, and Mike Huckabee. Hurrah!
Rumours has it, that two of our favourite actresses are set to star in a new film about the life Lizzie Borden.
Lizzie Borden was famously tried and eventually cleared of brutally killing her father and step-mother with an axe in 1892. No one else was ever charged.
According to report Kristen Stewart and Chloe Sevigny have signed on to the as-yet untitled psychological thriller, directed by Pieter Van Hees, with Sevigny taking on the part of Borden.
Reports suggest Stewart will play Bridget Sullivan, the Borden family’s live-in maid, who some believe was in a relationship with Lizzie.
Borden’s trial was the subject of much public interest and speculation long after her acquittal, and the deaths of her father and stepmother are remembered as one of the most mysterious murders of all time.
Van Hees’ version is the latest in a long list of film and TV adaptations, most recently starring Christina Ricci as Borden.
Raven-Symoné has been quite the controversy-starter as of late. When former Cosby Show child star came to The View earlier this year, some wondered whether her penchant for heated rhetoric might give the show a bit of a kick in the pants. She would be the youngest co-host with the most interesting hair. And, after her comments to Oprah last year that she doesn’t identify as gay or African-American — though Raven-Symoné’s parents are black and she was dating a woman at the time — some thought Symoné to be a master at fuelling identity-politics hashtag wars on Twitter.
Especially with, comment recently has made about not hiring someone with a “black-sounding”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2k40i1Kwfk
However, now she’s crossed a line, when she weighed in on the video of a Spring Valley High School police officer assaulting a black female student, implying the student brought it upon herself by using her cell phone during school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFLMJJ58xyg
Fed up with Symoné’s commentary, a petition has been launched on Change.org, asking The View creator Barbara Walters to remove Symoné from the show.
And now days after it was posted, the petition has garnered more than 128,000 signatures.
Raven Symone has been spouting her ignorant and self hating spiel on the view for Long enough, from stating that she wouldn’t hire somebody for having a ghetto name, to openly complaining about reverse racism, the final straw was her comment about the recent viral video of the school police officer assaulting the student, where Raven Symone said ‘get off your phone in school then.’ African Americans and black people around the diaspora need a voice representative of their views and not a voice representative of what white people want us to say. We need strong black rolemodels in prominent positions on television an Raven Symone cannot provide that. That is why I ask that we petition to remove her from The View.
The petition was posted by Che Scott-Heron, who said she is the daughter of performer Gil Scott-Heron — the iconic, politically minded black performance artist and author of, among many other works, the The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.
The petition is on track to reach its goal of 150,000 supporters, at which point Barbara Walters will surely get wind of the public’s disapproval of Raven and her uncommon opinions.
The question is, will she oblige the call-to-action?
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