Tag Archives: Abby Wambach

Daily Juice: Soccer Star Abby Wambach Marries Blogger Glennon Doyle Melton

Soccer player Abby Wambach has married her fiance, Christian blogger Glennon Doyle Melton. Much the same way that Wambach and Doyle Melton announced their engagement, the couple took to Instagram to share their newlywed status. (Equallywed)

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The trailer for Battle of the Sexes starring Emma Stone and Steve Carell has been released. The film follows the competition between tennis pros Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, which captured the zeitgeist back in 1973 when, at 29, the No. 2 ranked King beat the 55-year-old retired former Wimbledon champion. (Variety)

81-year-old actress, Amanda Barrie says she kept quiet about her sexuality throughout her time on British soap, Coronation Street, because she would have been sacked had she come out. (Diva-Magazine)

She said that while friends knew she was bisexual, she lived in constant fear, and was “absolutely terrified” of anyone she worked with finding out.

The fear people went through – me included. Absolute terror. The horror of being found out. And it stayed with me throughout Coronation Street, until I left, because I would have got the sack. It was the attitudes of some people in it. They wouldn’t have worked with you if they knew.”

Evan Rachel Wood and Adam Lambert were the hosted a prom for queer kids and it looked amazing. (Buzzfeed)

The event was held by Buzzfeed and was attended by high school seniors and celebrities, in order to create more safe, celebratory spaces for the LGBT+ community.

And finally Marissa Farina has been Arielle Scarcella tips on how to be a good top in bed.

Daily Juice: Kristen Stewart Confirms ‘Breaks Up With French Singer Soko’

According to the UsWeekly, Kristen Stewart has broken up with her girlfriend Stephanie ‘Soko’ Sokolinski. The two ended their relationship after having dated for ‘a few months’.

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On a more positive note, Stewart is set to make her directorial debut with a short film about the power of women. She’ll be teaming up with Refinery29 for their ShatterBox Anthology, to direct Water, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Ruby Rose heads up new Urban Decay advert

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ESPN has hired Abby Wambach to do some sports coverage and a new podcast.

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Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange to play feuding Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in Ryan Murphy show.

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Bustle’s Lea Rose Emery discusses what it means to be a bisexual in a Lesbian relationship, and the lack other bisexuals dating women.

And Obama’s administration has sent a legal threat to North Carolina Governor over anti-LGBT law.

 

Finally, Barbie Is Now An Out Football Playing Lesbian

Mattel has unveiled a new Barbie design based on out football player Abby Wambach.

Kim Culmone of Barbie Global announced the new doll at the MAKERS conference, which is celebrates women in business.

Culmone announced:

We believe play is important… and that’s for a very good reason. Play is a way that a girl goes on her own personal journey of self-discovery. That’s a journey sparked by inspiration – and that’s our job as the current leaders.

Play is the way they learn to push the boundaries of possibility, and discover their own limitless potential.

Makers and Barbie are really thrilled to honour a woman who’s redefined what’s possible through her own effort, her bravery, and her accomplishment.

I want you to meet the Abby Wambach doll. This doll will inspire young girls to be as incredible as the woman who has inspired us all.”

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The new doll honours Wambach, who retired from football this year after 15 years as part of the US women’s national soccer team.

Wambach is one of the most visible out female sports stars in America, having helped win two Olympic gold medals and the Women’s World Cup champion – and has been named US Soccer Athlete of the Year six times.

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Examining the doll, Wambach praised the faithful approach to her short hair and presentation, saying

I’m not going to lie, you guys might not believe this… but I was a Barbie kid. I played with Barbies my whole life.

I know about playing with Barbies who may or may not have looked like I felt – and I feel like this is a really impactful statement.

It just proves we really are getting somewhere.

Not everyone is treated equal: if you are out there and your doll doesn’t look exactly like you, here’s another option!”

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She added:

Her hair’s even shaved! All the cool kids are going to want this.”

It’s not the first new diverse Barbie – the doll recently got a make-over with a number of different shapes and sizes.

 

Abby Wambach’s Touching Goodbye Message Is Simple: ‘Forget Me’ (Video)

Abby Wambach accomplishments read like a laundry list of greatness.

She is seen, as THE most successful US soccer player the world has ever known.

For those who watched her play know she did things that won’t necessarily show up in the record books, but those things played such a massive part to the outcomes of countless games.

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But, Wambach’s era of dominance and brilliance has come to end. The two-time Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion retired from soccer this week, playing her final game against China.

China may have won the match 1-0, ending the U.S. Women’s team’s 104-match unbeaten streak on home turf, but the real winner of the game was Wambach.

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Named FIFA’s World Player of the Year in 2012, Wambach ends her career with 184 goals in international play, the most by any woman or man in history.

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So many who walk away from a career, be it soccer, basketball or any other profession, want their greatness to be remembered forever.

They want to be etched in the fabric of their crafts for decades and centuries to come.

Not Abby Wambach.

As the 35-year-old Rochester, New York native walks away from the game for good, her farewell message is simple and poignant:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGQZ5FfvP3E

Selfless, humble and successful, there will never be another Abby Wambach.

And that’s perfectly fine with her.

 

7 Of The Biggest Things To Affect Women in 2015

It’s hard to believe that the year is almost over. 2015 has whizzed by like super progressive blur as so many important political decisions were made and so many important discussions were had about equality.

But what were the most influential? And which events made the most headlines?

Read on for our round up of the biggest things to affect women that happened in 2015.


1. Viola Davis’ Emmy Win

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On this very site, we’ve mentioned countless times how Hollywood is happy to exclude and refuse to hire actors of colour altogether. So naturally, we (and many other people around the world) for ecstatic when Viola Davis won an Emmy Award for her role as bisexual lawyer Annalise Keating.

Making history as the first African-American woman to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Viola Davis’ also gave an incredible speech that not only quoted abolitionist and humanitarian Harriet Tubman but it also name-checked other black actresses (such as Gabrielle Union and Kerry Washington) and called on Hollywood to offer the same opportunities to women of colour as it does to white women.


2. Misty Copeland Becomes the First Principal Dancer at the American Ballet Theatre

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The ‘principal dancer’ is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company; it’s the role that every ballet dancer would love to hold and it’s one that Misty Copeland, who has been a dancer at the American Ballet Theatre for 14 years, especially wanted to achieve. In her 2014 memoir, Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, she revealed that “if I don’t rise to principal, people will feel I have failed them”.

But Misty Copeland needn’t have worried to much as in 2015 she was finally promoted to the role of principal dancer in a round of summer promotions. In her role, she became the very first African-American woman to become a principal dancer in the American Ballet Theatre’s 75 year history and of the achievement.


3. Supreme Court Same-Sex Marriage

Californians React To Supreme Court Rulings On Prop 8 And DOMA

In other historic news from 2015, in June, the United States’ Supreme Court finally had a vote on same-sex marriage. Previously, it had been up to each state in the country to decide individually whether or not same-sex couples could get married putting couples in a difficult position as it meant that they may have to travel hours away from home just to enjoy the same ‘big white wedding in a church’ privilege that opposite sex couples got to enjoy.

Thankfully, on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court voted to make same-sex marriage a right nationwide. This meant that one great obstacle on the road to equal rights had been defeated and that anywhere in the country, same sex couples could marry each other.


4. FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015

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Another big event making headlines over the summer of 2015 is the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Here at KitschMix we were excited not just because it’s always wonderful seeing talented women do what they do best but because many out athletes such as Megan Rapinoe, Casey Stoney and Abby Wambach would be taking part as well.

Not only did the England women’s national team reach their highest ever position in the tournament (they got 3rd place) but the final, where the USA beat Japan 5-2 also became the most watched football match in US history as it had 25.4 million viewers, beating the 18.2 million viewers who tuned into watch the US men take on Portugal the year before.

(That said, the tournament was also marred by criticism as FIFA made the women play on astro-turf unlike the men’s tournament which was played entirely on grass).


5. Hillary Clinton Running for President

Hillary Rodham Clinton Signs Copies Of Her Book 'Hard Choices' In New York

One of the dominating stories at the beginning of the year was whether or not Hillary Clinton – who had once tried to run for president in 2007 – would run for president again. In an official announcement video in April, Clinton confirmed that she’d be running for president and that she wanted to be a “champion” for “everyday Americans”.

While Clinton hasn’t always been so progressive (she was once against same-sex marriage), nor is she regarded as progressive as (fellow presidential candidate) Bernie Sanders, she has lots of viewpoints that could do some good. Clinton wants to reform the criminal justice system, offer comprehensive immigration reform with a “pathway to citizenship”, she supports LGBT equality and she hopes to close the wage gap between men too.


6. The Rise of the ‘F’ Word

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Feminism, by definition, is the “advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of equality of the sexes” and while there are still plenty of people who do still think that it’s about women having more rights than men, in 2015, lots of influential women revealed why they were feminists,

These include Harry Potter star Emma Watson, girl group Fifth Harmony whose ‘Worth it’ music video included pro-women quotes and Taylor Swift who has spoken out about misogyny in the media and has championed powerful women with her ‘girl squad’ of friends including Serena Williams, supermodel Karlie Kloss and singer and actress Selena Gomez. Admittedly, a lot of the feminist rhetoric this year has surrounded cis, white women and has completely ignored the struggles of trans women and women of colour but it’s a positive step forward at least.


7. The MTV VMAs 2015

2015 MTV Video Music Awards - Press Room

And finally, we had the MTV Video Music Awards 2015. Hosted by professional headline-grabber and former Disney star Miley Cyrus, the MTV VMAs 2015 were always going to get serious attention and while they offended just as much as they did good (one example is comedian Rebel Wilson making light of police brutality), they did give us plenty to talk about.

In the run up to the show, Nicki Minaj called out MTV for ignoring her Anaconda music video saying that the company only “celebrates women with very slim bodies” and overlooks the contributions of black women. Then Taylor Swift got offended and accused the rapper of pitting women against each other and Miley Cyrus then chimed in saying that Minaj’s comments were “not polite”.

During the show, Nicki Minaj called Miley Cyrus out, before criticising her again in the days after the show, saying that Miley enjoys black culture without wanting to address the issues that face black people. It led to some very important and very necessary discussions about race in the media.

Also at the MTV VMAs, Blac Chyna and Amber Rose went as each others dates dressed in outfits emblazoned with things they’d been called (e.g ‘whore’, ‘bitch’, and ‘golddigger’) seemingly in an effort to reclaim those slurs. As eye-catching as their getups were, again, they got people having serious conversations.


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LGBT Women Lead This Year’s Out 100 List

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

Carrie Brownstein – Artist of the Year

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Cynthia Nixon – Actress / Out100 Pioneer

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Lily Tomlin – Legend

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Jess Glynne – Musician

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Raven-Symoné – Actor, Musician, Talk-Show Host.

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Jana Hunter – Musician

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Hannah Hart – Comedian & YouTube Star

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Andrea Bernstein & Nancy Solomon – Radio Journalists

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Diana Nyad – Long-Distance Swimmer, Author, Motivational Speaker

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Alicia Garza – Organizer & Writer

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Abby Wambach – Athlete of the Year

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The Fun Home Family – Alison Bechdel, Roberta Colindrez, Beth Malone, Joel Perez, Lisa Kron

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Roxane Gay – Writer

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Holly Miranda – Musician

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Juliana Huxtable – Artist, Model, Activist

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Sarah Kate Ellis – President & CEO of GLAAD

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Aisha Moodie Mills – President & CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund

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Chai Feldblum – EEOC Commissioner

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Niki Nakayama – Chef

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Kelly Bush Novak – Publicist

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Close Games, Unbelievable Goals, and Last-Minute Heroics: Why This Year’s Women’s World Cup Rocked

This year’s Women’s World Cup has been nothing short of awesome. We’ve seen close games, unbelievable goals, and last-minute heroics.

Even if you’ve missed some of it, here are the highlights.


1. It was a openly gay event and an inspiring model of inclusiveness in sports.

There will be at least 17 publicly out women – 15 players and two coaches – at the 2015 Women’s World Cup this year. Including four out players and a head coach in the world cup-winning American women’s team.

While the men’s professional game has been reluctant to be fully inclusive and supportive of anyone within the game who identifies as LGBT its generally regarded that football is much more accepting of women who are lesbian or bisexual.”


2. For the first time in Women’s World Cup history, the final was a rematch!

Just four years ago, the U.S. lost in a heart-breaking final match to Japan, decided on penalty kicks. However, on Sunday, the team lined up to do battle. This time team USA were the victors.


3. Record Breaking Matches matches

Carli Lloyd stunned football fans Sunday by scoring two goals in the first five minutes of the Women’s World Cup final against Japan.
It was the first hat trick in a Women’s World Cup final, as well as the fastest three goals for a single player in any World Cup game

Her secret to success?

I’ve just been training my butt off for the last 12 years,”


3. The English Team Proved Their Doubters Wrong

A Fara Williams penalty in extra time secures England the bronze medal in the third-place play-off against Germany at the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Edmonton.

It represented their first win over Germany in 31 years, and secured the best World Cup finish by any England team since the men’s side won the competition in 1966.


4. The highest turnout in history

Over million people supports cheered their teams on, making this the best attended Women’s World Cup in history.


5. Plenty of Goals

Germany was the tournament’s top scores, scoring 20 goals in total. Sadly Ecuador conceded the most goals – 17 in this tournament.

 

 

Awwww, Abby Wambach Celebrates US World Cup Victory With A Loving Kiss With Her Wife

What a perfect way to celebrate the U.S. win over Japan, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalising gay marriage.

Abby Wamback, who has been called the “soul” of the U.S. team, celebrated her countries World Cup win by rushing to her wife, Sarah Huffman, to share a loving embrace.

Wambach told the Daily Mail:

To be quite honest, I felt like I was in a dream sitting there on the bench watching Carli Lloyd go off and I’m so proud to be on this team and proud to be a part of something that in my opinion is really special.”

She embraced her wife last night in front of the sold-out crowd in the BC Place stadium.

In October 2013, Wambach married Sarah Huffman – former midfielder for the Portland Thorns and United States national team – in Hawaii.

Huffman came out that year on the LGBT non-profit organization website, Athlete Ally.

The two were teammates on the Western New York Flash.

This was Wambach’s last chance at earning the title of World Champion, she entered her final international game in the 79th minute as a substitute, with fans chanting her name.

I would give up all my individual awards for what we just did tonight and it’s the truth. It’s the wholehearted truth.”

She claims two Olympic Gold medals, a record of most international goals scored in the sport’s history and the 2012 title of FIFA World Player of the Year.

Wambach was presented the captain’s armband by team-mate Carli Lloyd, before both Wambach and Christie Rampone raised the championship trophy- the first Americans to do so since 1999.

Congrats to Abby and the entire U.S. Team!

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Women’s World Cup Hopeful Abby Wambach Opens up About Why She Never Came Out Publicly

Abby Wambach is an athlete that has managed to dodge the spotlight on her sexuality for her entire career.

For years, rumours and speculation followed her, but she never spoke out. When her U.S. women’s teammate Megan Rapinoe came out, many of her loyal lesbian fans expected her to do the same. But she didn’t.
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It wasn’t until her 2013 marriage to Sarah Huffman that she even broached the subject openly, and the wedding was done with little fanfare.

In speaking candidly in a recent New York Times article, Wambach explained why:

I never felt like I had to have this huge party for myself about my sexuality. To make a party for something that I think of as normal, for me, that just didn’t seem authentic. I wanted it to be as normal as possible.”

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According to the article, Wambach added that she wanted to show that a same-sex marriage could be as typical and routine as a heterosexual one. She also explained how her attention shifted from soccer to soccer and family:

I’ll be honest. After I got married, I definitely had a shift in emotional devotion. Forever, it was just soccer — passion, life, love. Then I got married, and I had to transfer some of my energy. I want to be my best for my country, but I also made a really big promise and choice to be the best in my marriage. That has not always been the easiest thing to manage.”

This summer may very well be Wambach’s last chance to go for gold at the Women’s World Cup.

Even though she never intended to make a bold statement regarding her sexuality, the entire world will be watching her.

Watch | Out US Soccer Stars, Megan Rapinoe and Abby Wambach Share Their Stories of Success

This year the women’s world cup comes to Canada, and we can’t wait to see the superb female athletes do their thing.

To gear up for the massive event, the U.S. Women’s National Team have created some great videos for fans to learn more about them.

The series is called “One Nation. One Team. 23 Stories.”, and features out US athletes Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe.

Both women discuss their families and the influence they have had on their careers.