Tag Archives: Sexuality

Study Concludes ‘Most’ Straight Women Are Turned On By Other Women

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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Research Suggests Women Are Either Bisexual Or Gay But ‘Never Straight’

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.”

Selena Gomez Talks Lesbian Rumours And Questioning Her Sexuality

Selena Gomez is stepping into her power and taking control.

The 23-year-old singer has moved on from her split from Justin Bieber, and from the sound of it, she plans to remain happily single for a while as she focuses on herself and her career.

Selena Gomez 03

In a new interview, Gomez talks about gay fans and friends, including out model/actress Cara Delevingne. When asked how she felt about lesbian rumours that were sparked by her hanging out with Cara, she joked,

I’ve made it! … Honestly, I loved it. I didn’t mind it. Especially because they weren’t talking about other people in my life for once, which was wonderful. Honestly, though, she’s incredible and very open and she just makes me open. She’s so fun and she’s just extremely adventurous, and sometimes I just want that in my life, so I didn’t mind it. I loved it.”

As to if she’s ever questioned her sexuality, Gomez said,

Oh, I think everybody does, no matter who they are. I do, yeah, of course. Absolutely. I think it’s healthy to gain a perspective on who you are deep down, question yourself and challenge yourself; it’s important to do that.”

Selena also said she has a “long list” of women she’d choose to play her on-screen love interest, but does note she’d choose definitely pick model Suki Waterhouse.

Gomez’s new album, Revival, is out now.

Singer Jess Glynne Doesn’t Want Her Sexuality Labelled

Jess Glynne has previously spoken of how her debut album was inspired by breaking up with an ex-girlfriend.

I’ve only ever been with one girl in my life and that’s the girl from my album.”

However, in a recent interview, she explained she doesn’t want her honesty to mean she is branded as straight, lesbian or bisexual – instead, she wants to avoid labels all together.

Talking to the The Daily Star Sunday, the singer said.

It was hard at the beginning of the relationship, because until then I had only ever gone out with guys. But I am who I am. I’m never going to put a label on my sexuality and people should never feel uncomfortable about who they love.”

She later explained why she was so honest with fans over her sexuality and the inspiration for her songs.

I wanted my album to be as honest as possible. I’ve laid all my cards on the table and gave the truth. There was never a question of hiding the story behind it. I pray one day we get to a point where it’s no longer a thing.”

Study Claims Women ‘Three Times More Likely To Be Bisexual’

A study has found that women have a more fluid approach to relationships and sexuality, and therefore more likely to change their sexual preference over time, compared to men.

Scientists in the US followed 5,018 women and 4,191 men through adolescence and into young adulthood for a major study into sexual behaviours.

While the vast majority of men claimed to be 100% homosexual or heterosexual, women have a much more open-minded approach, and base their relationship choices on the personality of a partner rather than their gender.

They found that women were more likely to become bisexual if opportunities arose to explore same-sex relationships, while men were more likely to stick to their originally stated sexual orientation.

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Lead researcher Dr Elizabeth McClintock, University of Notre Dame, suggested many women might feel some attraction to both genders, even if they never act on it.

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Women with some degree of attraction to both males and females might not be drawn into heterosexuality if they have favourable options in the heterosexual partner market.

Women who are initially successful in partnering with men, as is more traditionally expected, may never explore their attraction to other women.

However, women with the same sexual attractions, but less favourable heterosexual options might have greater opportunity to experiment with same-sex partners.”

Over a Third of Bisexuals in the UK Have Been Sexually Harassed or Assaulted Because of their Sexuality

Wow – A psychotherapist told a woman that because she’s bisexual, it was her fault she had been raped. This is just one out of the many things bisexual respondents to a survey have reported.

A new report, launched by Scottish LGBTI charity Equality Network, has suggested that bisexuals are likely to be harassed on the assumption they are ‘promiscuous’ or ‘unfaithful’.

38% of the 515 people survey said they had experienced sexual harassment, while nearly half had experienced bi-phobia will accessing mainstream services across the UK.

Researchers found two thirds (66%) of respondents feel they have to pass as straight and 42% said they felt they needed to pass as gay or lesbian when accessing services.

Nearly a third (28%) also felt uncomfortable telling their doctor they are bisexual.

One respondent said:

A nurse refused to treat me due to being bisexual. My mother overheard him saying to the senior nurse, “I refuse to treat her, she’s not normal and just greedy, she needs to decide what gender she loves, it’s unnatural to love both”.”

However, it was not just mainstream services, a quarter said they had experienced prejudice when accessing services for the LGBTI community.

One respondent reported being told that bisexuals are ‘confused’ and not as good as ‘real gays’.

Tim Hopkins, director of the Equality Network said:

Unfortunately, as the report findings show, bisexual people are often misunderstood and discriminated against by many services.

This leaves them at high risk of not getting appropriate information and support. We hope that this report will help services to better understand and assist bisexual people.”

Sam Rankin, intersectional equalities coordinator and lead author of the report, said:

When explaining why bisexual equality is important and how people are discriminated against it is vital that we have robust data and real life examples to illustrate our points.

Now that we have these we, and others, will be better able to take more effective steps in providing appropriate, inclusive services.”

Understanding and Accepting Your Sexuality (Video)

TeenLine has a great video called LGBTQ: Understanding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identities.

It is an educational video, which focuses on the lives of several LGBTQ teens in Los Angeles. The video discuses their coming out process, the support (or lack of support) they received, and how the learned to embrace their identities.

As we know some LGBTQ youth are more likely than their heterosexual peers to experience difficulties in their lives and school environments, such as violence.

Negative attitudes toward lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people put these youth at increased risk for experiences with violence, compared with other students. Violence can include behaviours such as bullying, teasing, harassment, physical assault, and suicide-related behaviours.

LGBTQ youth are also at increased risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviours, suicide attempts, and suicide. A nationally representative study of adolescents in grades 7–12 found that lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth were more than twice as likely to have attempted suicide as their heterosexual peers.3 More studies are needed to better understand the risks for suicide among transgender youth. However, one study with 55 transgender youth found that about 25% reported suicide attempts.

For youth to thrive in their schools and communities, they need to feel socially, emotionally, and physically safe and supported. A positive school climate has been associated with decreased depression, suicidal feelings, substance use, and unexcused school absences among LGBQ students.

Schools can implement clear policies, procedures, and activities designed to promote a healthy environment for all youth. For example, research has shown that in schools with LGB support groups (such as gay-straight alliances), LGB students were less likely to experience threats of violence, miss school because they felt unsafe, or attempt suicide than those students in schools without LGB support groups. A recent study found that LGB students had fewer suicidal thoughts and attempts when schools had gay-straight alliances and policies prohibiting expression of homophobia in place for 3 or more years.

 

Watch | Raven Symoné Supports Miley Cyrus on Not Wanting to be Labeled Bisexual

While serving as a guest host on “The View,” Raven-Symoné said she supports Miley Cyrus‘ desire not to be labeled for her sexuality, but added: “Miley, I agree with you and, girl, I said it first.”

Symoné was filling in for Whoopi Goldberg, who was dealing with a family issue, when Cyrus’ recent interview, in which she said she has relationships with both men and women, but does not want to be labeled “gay” or “straight” came up.

Also read: Miley Cyrus: “I’m Not Hiding My Sexuality”

“I think I heard that somewhere,” Symoné said. She then played a clip from a 2014 interview she did with Oprah Winfrey.

I don’t want to be labeled gay. I want to be labeled a human who loves humans. I’m tired of being labeled. I’m an American. I’m not an African-American. I’m an American.”

Speak on the view, Symone said of the backlash she received after the interview

They thought I said I wasn’t black and I didn’t want to be labeled. Miley, I agree, we should not be labeled because it creates tension between people and you feel like you can look down, like that’s this type of person and this is how I should feel about you.”

Also read: TV World Gets Another Diverse Lesbian Character as Raven-Symone Guest Stars in ‘Black-ish’

Co-host Rosie Perez added

I think it’s a generational thing because I think that there was a time where labels were necessary because we were disenfranchised. We were ostracized from the conversation. So to put ourselves into the conversation, to take our seat at the table, there was a need to say, ‘Wait a minute, I am this. I’m not ashamed of it and I’m going to speak out'”

What It’s Like To Be Intersex

Intersex is an umbrella term referring to people born with differences in their sex characteristics.

These differences can occur in places like their genes, chromosomes, genitalia, reproductive organs, hormones, or secondary characteristics (like body hair). It is a totally natural, not infrequently encountered medical condition, but despite this their is unfortunately a lot of shame and secrecy within our communities, perpetuating the invisibility. So many intersex people have been instructed by our doctors, parents, and friends not to tell anyone about our conditions, which makes people feel shameful and unworthy.

Watch this powerful video on what is actually like to be intersex…

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Why Queer People Shouldn’t Care What Straight People Think

In the last decade or so, LGBTQ people have made massive strides on the road to establishing our rights.

For example, across the United States more than 70% of the population lives in a place with marriage equality (same-sex couples are now entitled to benefits too), other countries like England and Scotland have also passed marriage equality laws, anti-discrimination laws now protect many millions of people from being treated badly because of their gender or sexuality; and there has been an increase in LGBT adopters due to improved laws about same-sex adoptions.

Each and every one of these achievements was made possible with the help of straight people! Wait, what? Don’t worry I’m just kidding – but the idea that the LGBTQ rights movement would not have happened without our straight, cisgendered allies is a familiar, yet incorrect opinion.

Some people argue that because straight, cisgendered people are a majority, queer people should cater to them and be careful not to step on their toes since being nice to heterosexuals is the way to full equality.

But this is not a viewpoint shared by me. I ask the question of why should queer people care what straight people think, when they took our rights away in the first place?

Why should we sit around campfires holding hands and singing kumbaya with these people, when just a few years ago they were happy for LGBTQ people to be treated like second class citizens; second class citizens who once less human rights than animals.

And two queer people I spoke to – Ebony and Jess – had answers.

Ebony explained that catering to straight people “makes it seem like [queer people are] doing everything we can to make [straight people] feel comfortable when they’re the oppressors. It’s backwards and it should be them saying ‘yeah we know we oppressed you and now we want to help you in a respectful way'”.

Meanwhile, Jess added that “[straight people] don’t tone their sexuality for us so why should we do it for them? It defeats the point of the legalisation of gay rights because it makes you feel ashamed, it gives you sense of being oppressed because although you’re considered equal in law, in society, you’re not as liberated as it implies.”

Not only is a softly softly approach unfair to queer people, as Jess and Ebony have said, it also doesn’t work.

People pull up similar arguments when it comes to racial inequality, asking why people of colour don’t just cross their fingers and hope that someday all white people will be accepting and we’ll live in a harmonious society: The simple truth is that the people with the power don’t care and they’re happy to carry on oppressing us all since it doesn’t make a difference to them.

If anyone got anywhere by playing nice and twiddling their thumbs, inequality across the board would have been eradicated long ago.

In addition, if queer people were to sit back and deal with it every time a straight person treated them badly or spoke micro-aggressions (e.g you’re pretty for a trans girl! Or, why do all lesbians dress like men?) then we’d be faced with them all the time. The only way to stop these things from happening is to be clear: we will not tolerate this.

LGBTQ rights are more important than heterosexual feelings and if our straight allies are as invested in helping as they say they are, they should recognise this instead of asking us to play nice.

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Two women kiss in front of anti gay crowd

New Zealand Lesbian Couple Rejected For Job Because Of Their Sexuality

A lesbian couple from New Zealand say they’re the victims of discrimination after they were turned down for a job because of their sexuality.

The couple,Emily Carter and Danika Te Moananui, say their skills and experience counted for nothing when they applied to manage Whitianga’s Mercury Bay Holiday Park, and were told they weren’t a traditional male/female couple so their application to manage a holiday park was rejected.

The holiday park owner told them:

“A man is required to attend to male aspects of our clientele, and similarly a female for feminine issues. If you better read and understood the position you were applying for then you could have saved yourself whatever embarrassment may have occurred, none on my part.” 

The ad never specified a man and woman; it simply asked for a “multi-skilled couple”.

“There’s no such thing as a traditional couple anymore. There’s just people who love each other and we’re all people.”

Emily Carter and Danika Te Moananui

Emily-Carter-and-Danika-Te-Moananui-01

New Zealand’s Human Rights Commission wouldn’t talk about this case but said:

“It is illegal to discriminate on the grounds of sex in New Zealand unless there is a genuine occupational requirement.”

A Reality Show Looking To Shift The Lines Between Gender And Sexuality

Could Marcus Parker be the next big reality star? Yes – I watched the first minute of the below show reel and was hooked.

Marcus Parker is a husband, a Christian and father to three young children, but he’s hardly traditional. Why, because Parker is also drag queen called Flame Monroe, who happens to be bisexual that is married to a lesbian butch, and also self-identified a transgender person, having had surgical interventions to create breasts and other feminine characteristics – WOW!

Post by Rasheda Daniel.

“Before I had children, I was living a whole ‘nother life—I was living as a girl 24 hours a day. My sacrifice came when I had children and their mom left, and I had a choice: Do I take my career, or do I take my children?

I’m a transgender man who lives his life now as a man, so that my children can have some kind of normalcy in their lives. Because I’m already extreme.”

Marcus Parker

I guess what makes the story line so interesting the shifting lines between gender and sexuality. Parker’s political and moral commitments challenge the idea that all queer people must share the same values.

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This story throws out so many questions – is he a trans* woman or a drag artist? Does his living as a man mean he’s doing a male drag act at home? And what is the correct label to use about his sexuality considering his relationship is now with a female soft-butch lesbian.

But deep down, what is clear, is a show like this demonstrate that these kinds of questions don’t really matter. Parker has made a family and a life for himself that clearly brings him joy, so the details shouldn’t concern us.

And as we advance as a culture and society these individual cases will become less unique – gender and sexuality will not be an issue.

Comedian Sabrina Jalees: “I Came Out and My Muslim Dad Stood By Me”

This video by with Comedian Sabrina Jalees and her father Sayed is a great example for struggling parents of LGBT children, no matter their background.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdMl5k2S1K0

“Before I realized I was gay, I was kind of homophobic. I mean, that’s disgusting! Two women—together? Ugh. Really, I guess, I was just afraid that that was me.”

Sabrina Jalees

Jalees grew up in a multi-ethnic home (her mother is from Switzerland, and her father is from Pakistan) in Toronto.

Comparing her ‘Coming Out’ to cliff diving, Jalees knew that tell her family about her sexuality would be hard, but she felt very strongly that she needed to tell her parents.

“I came out to my parents, because I wanted to keep my relationship with them.”

Sabrina Jalees

Right after she told her father, she remembers him, after a long stretch of shocked silence, saying, “Well… We didn’t raise you guys to be liars”, and from that moment on, Sabrina knew things were going to be reasonably all right.

While she was growing up, Sabrina’s family played host to her various aunts, uncles and cousins, moving to Canada and the US from Pakistan, and Sabrina became very close with her extended family.

Even though she knew it was difficult, she believed very strongly that to be true to both herself and her relationship with her family, she needed to tell them about her life and her recent marriage.

In an email to her aunts, uncles and cousins, she wrote:

I got married this past summer to an amazing woman named Shauna. Although some of you do know, I’ve found it hard to be open with all of you about this part of myself. I really avoided “coming out” for a long time because I love all of you and didn’t want anyone to see me in a different light or judge me. I do not want to keep hiding this from you because I feel that if I continue “not mentioning” this part of my life I’ll completely drift away from you guys.

There were no responses. Sabrina quickly realized that none of her extended family members were planning to write back to her. Many de-friended her on Facebook. Eventually, she heard from one of them that the official family line was, “our support for Sabrina ends here.”

“I thought there would be more of a conversation around it. I never expected them to just shut off and throw me out.”

Sabrina Jalees

Her parents embraced her life, and made sure the rest of the family knew it.

 

‘Boys Meets Girl’ is a Queer, Trans-Inclusive Love Story

Girl has boyfriend, girl meets girl, two girls become friends and they eventually fall for each other. Think that’s another example of that queer movie trope? Think again as both girls turn out to be bisexual and one of the women is actually transgender.

That’s the plot of ‘Boy Meets Girl’, a hilarious upcoming indie.

http://vimeo.com/95299762

Starring Ricky Jones (played by trans woman Michelle Hendley) as a twenty-something fashion blogger in Kentucky, Ricky soon meets rich girl Francesca who, after moving back from boarding school has bagged herself a Marine with issues as her fiancé. As the story goes, Ricky and Francesca strike up a friendship and despite having only ever dated boys, the relationship between the two women soon develops into something more.

Having been wheeled out at a recent spate of queer film fests, ‘Boy Meets Girl’ has received rave reviews. Not only does the film provide a refreshing take on gender identity (Ricky’s identity as a trans woman is discussed but the people in her rural town are accepting and it’s not really a big deal), it also deals with bisexuality well.

As well as addressing bisexuality, ‘Boy Meets Girls’ tackles the idea that sexuality is fluid, with none of the creepy biphobia or sudden gay awakenings that we’ve come to see from other queer media including ‘Glee’ and ‘Imagine Me and You’.

Furthermore, ‘Boy Meets Girl’ is also breaking ground by casting a trans actress in a trans role (and in starring the character as the lead). As has been discussed on the blog, this is a startling rarity so the fact that director Eric Schaeffer has also said the following is music to the ears:

“I also wanted to make sure every moment of this story rang true and was never false. Doing a lot of research in the transgender community taught me a tremendous amount and taught me there are many differing viewpoints within that community about certain issues. Having a transgender actress play the part made me feel confident that while the story could not reflect every transgender woman’s experience, at least I would not be making up an experience from my imagination that was not vetted by a transgender woman so I could make sure it was at least germane and authentic to her experience and therefore valid.”

Eric Schaeffer

‘Boy Meets Girl’ is set to be released next year, so we’ll keep you posted once we know more.

A Touching, Inspiring and Funny TedxTalk by Lesbian Comedian Sabrina Jalees

Throughout history, comedians have used humor to shed light on subjects that are typically considered to be uncomfortable or taboo.

In this recently posted TEDxTalk, comedian Sabrina Jalees approaches the topics of racism and sexuality, as she tells a coming-of-age story.

After working up the courage to tell her Muslim family that she was a lesbian, Sabrina learned that being true to herself and taking pride in her individuality would not only enhance her material, as a comedian, but that ultimately it would lead to a happier life.

Jalees is a Canadian comedian, actor, keynote speaker, writer and host of ‘My Sexy Podcast”. Now based in Brooklyn, she started her comedy career early at the age of just sixteen, when she took the stage and performed on open mic night at the Yuk Yuk Comedy Club in Toronto.

This talk is positive, insightful, and funny. Hell, the opening lining is…

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“Legally I do have to tell you, by the end of this talk, you’ll all be lesbians.”

Sabrina Jalees

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Dita Von Teese clarifies Her Sexuality to Huffington Post

Burlesque performer, designer and model Dita Von Teese joined HuffPost Live to talk a little about her past and in particluar how has dated both genders as well.

In this interview, Dita clarifies that she has ‘experimented’ in the past (“I thought it was cool”) but is “not a lesbian.” What about bisexual, Dita?


Dita Von Teese: ‘I’m Not A Lesbian’

Raven Symoné; A Woman With a Clear Sense of Who She Is and Isn’t

Raven Symoné is woman who has a very clear sense of who she is and isn’t. Watch this clip from the Oprah Show, and Raven Symoné discuss sexuality and race.

 

Raven has been relatively quiet about her personal life, but when pressed by Oprah, she gives a careful answer.

“That was my way of saying I’m proud of the country. But, I will say that I’m in an amazing, happy relationship with my partner. A woman. People in my family, they’ve taught me to keep my personal life to myself as much as possible. So, I try my best to hold the fence where I can. But I am proud to be who I am and what I am. But I am proud to be who I am and what I am.” Raven Symoné

The actress says she has known who she is before she was even a teenager.

“In that topic of dating… I knew when I was, like, 12. I was looking at everything. I don’t want to be labeled ‘gay,’. I want to be labeled ‘a human who loves humans.’ I’m tired of being labeled,” she says. “I’m an American. I’m not an African-American; I’m an American.” Raven Symoné

The remark seems to catch Oprah off guard. “Oh, girl. Don’t set up the Twitter on fire… Oh, my lord. What did you just say?” Raven explains…

“I mean, I don’t know where my roots go to. I don’t know how far back they go… I don’t know what country in Africa I’m from, but I do know that my roots are in Louisiana. I’m an American. And that’s a colorless person. I don’t label myself. I have darker skin. I have a nice, interesting grade of hair. I connect with Caucasian, I connect with Asian, I connect with Black, I connect with Indian, I connect with each culture.” Raven Symoné

 

P.S – Raven Symoné New Look – Loving it

A carregar

 

Chillin in chitown @liketoknow.it www.liketk.it/vuLO #liketkit Ver no Instagram

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Little fashion for a trip. Tonight at 9/8c #wherearetheynow #own #unicorn @liketoknow.it www.liketk.it/vuTG #liketkit

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New York Senates Blocks a Bill That Would Ban Gay Conversion Therapy

While plenty of people are simply debating how a person’s queerness came to be; whether they were born this way or if the environments they were in influenced their sexuality, plenty of others just want to know ‘how can we stop the person in question from having a non-heterosexual identity?’. For whatever reason, it’s more heard of than not for the people around said queer person (or for the queer person themselves) to turn to gay conversion therapy; therapy that seeks to ‘cure’ their queerness via methods that can only be described as offensive and deeply concerning.

Many people who have gone through gay conversion therapy have actually found that said conversion didn’t work and that they only ended up suppressing their feelings in the hopes of following a heterosexual life and indeed, it’s young queer people who are the most vulnerable as they have no way to escape should their parents see them put into the therapy program. That’s why so many people have been lobbying to have the conversion therapy banned for minors.

One of these places is New York, the typically liberal leaning state in America. However, when two LGBT-related bills made it to the floor of the New York Senate on Friday night (including the conversion therapy ban), the Senate failed to vote on either of them, despite the Senate session even being extended.

Advocates even called both bills “life saving” but GOP Senate leaders blocked the bills before they could go to the floor for vote, somewhat unfortunate considering that supporters of the bill say they had the votes for the two bills to pass, citing support from Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The second bill was the Gender Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), which looked to protect trans* New York citizens from gender based discrimination in terms of housing, benefits, public transportation and employment, something that would be greatly needed considering the high rates of LGBT youths who are homeless or in poverty as a result of stifling discrimination.

The bills aren’t going to be forgotten about though, despite this setback as Allison Steinberg, communications director at Empire State Pride Agenda says that “we will not stop fighting for these bills until they pass,” and that “even when the Legislature is not in session, we will work to educate and build support for these bills and we are looking to election season this Fall, which could end up impacting bills like ours in the next session,” so we can look for both bills to return to the New York Senate in the hopes that they will pass soon.

 

La Roux Opens up About her Sexuality or Lack of it

Pop star La Roux has opened up about her sexuality, saying she does not identify with any of the LGBT labels…

‘I don’t feel like I belong to any of those. So I’m not going to put myself in that camp, or under that title. I don’t feel one thing or the other, I don’t feel man, I don’t feel woman – that’s where the androgyny comes from. I probably feel more feminine than I do masculine… but if people want to hold me up as a gay role model, absolutely, I’m proud to be that, but I don’t feel the need to say that I’m gay to do it.’ La Roux

La Roux’s, real name Elly Jackson, sexuality has been speculated about since the start of her career. The singer is famous for her androgynous style, and in a recent interview with the newspaper The Guardia, she said she is reluctant to talk about her private life in case the paparazzi harass her partners.

‘But the problem is, if I say, ‘‘I’m straight’’ nobody will come around to my house and take a picture of my boyfriend. If I say, ‘‘I’m gay’’ then somebody will come around and try to take a picture of my girlfriend. It’s all very well people telling me to be open about it, but it will impact on my life. Why should I have to bear the brunt of what would happen? All I know is that if it’s not something I have any interest or desire to talk about, then that needs to be my only reason.’ La Roux

Watch La Roux new single ‘Let Me Down Gently’

Source

Collier Schorr’s 8 Women – Exploring Gender and Sexuality

Born in 1963, Collier Schorr grew up in Queens, New York and studied at the School of Visual Arts. Schorr’s photographs examine the way nationality, gender and sexuality influence an individual’s identity. Known for her portraits of adolescents, Schorr’s pictures often blend photographic realism with elements of fiction. 

8 Women is Schorr’s third photo book, following Jens F. and Blumen and it spans her work from the mid-nineties and includes her appropriated adverts from fashion magazines. Described as “a new 8-track photograph”, this series of photos features a variety of subjects, all of whom are involved in performance, be it as artists, models or musicians.

 

Collier Schorr About Her Photography

Venus – Inspired by shifting notions of sex, sexuality and physicality

Inspired by shifting notions of sex, sexuality and physicality and paying tribute to the work of cult illustrator Mel Odom, ‘Venus’ explores and explodes our postmodern boundaries of gender through fashion film, photography and expressive illustration, alongside interviews with a trio of key contributors.

Nick Knight explores sexuality and gender in all shapes and forms through a series of expressive fashion film vignettes featuring supermodel Kirsten McMenamy.

See for more insight – http://showstudio.com/project/venus

  • Photography and Direction: Nick Knight
  • Styling: Nicola Formichetti
  • Models: Kristen McMenamy at DNA, David Agbodji at D1, Mario at Elite, Bruno and Sam Lawson at Select, Harry at AMCK, Andre J, Danni Daniels and Benjamin Warbis.

Nick Knight’s editorial images, featured in Arena Homme Plus Winter/Spring 2011, alongside previously unpublished stills.