Michael Sam lands GQ cover
Openly gay NFL player Michael Sam will appear on the cover of GQ magazine’s “men of the year” edition. Sam was drafted into the NFL as its first openly gay player. He was initially signed by the St Louis Rams, then cut, picked up by the Dallas Cowboys, and then dropped again. He is currently unsigned. Sam blew the football world’s collective mind by kissing his boyfriend in celebration when he was signed.
Read more at The Washington Post.
Stone Butch Blues author Leslie Feinberg dies
Trans, lesbian, Marxist, anti-racist activist and writer Leslie Feinberg has died at the age of 65 from Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. At The Advocate, Feinberg’s partner, Minnie Bruce Pratt, remembers Feinberg’s life of working-class-solidarity activism and writing, including her iconic novel Stone Butch Blues.
Read the obituary at The Advocate.
Michigan gay-marriage case heads to Supreme Court (United States)
If the US Supreme Court accepts a case filed by two lesbian nurses in Michigan, it could end the country’s legal battle over gay marriage once and for all. The nurses are appealing a 6th Circuit Court of Appeal ruling that upheld state same-sex marriage bans in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. While the Supreme Court has rejected gay-marriage cases before, legal experts believe it may accept this case because lower courts are now split. If the court accepts the case, it could settle whether or not states are constitutionally permitted to ban gay marriage.
Read more at the Detroit Free Press.
Benjy the gay bull saved (Ireland)
A campaign to save Benjy, a gay bull destined for the slaughterhouse after failing to inseminate his herd, has successfully raised enough money to house him in an animal sanctuary. One surprise donation of £5,000 came from Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon.
Gay magazine launches teen spinoff (UK)
Gay lifestyle magazine Attitude will launch a new quarterly magazine aimed at gay teenage boys: aTeen will feature interviews, dating advice, safe-sex information and photoshoots of gay stars. For now, it will be available only in a tablet edition.
Video game pulled because of gay character (India)
Video game producer Electronic Arts has cancelled all orders of its game Dragon Age: Inquisition for India, citing local content laws. The game includes a gay character, “Dorian,” with whom a player can form a romantic relationship, but only while playing another male character.
Who has it easier, butches or femmes?
At Slate, Vanessa Vitiello Urquhart takes a look at the ups and downs of being a butch or a femme lesbian. Is it easier to pass as a straight woman and dodge homophobic stigma or to benefit from the respect and power that masculine appearance sometimes affords?
Photo Credit: GQ Magazine
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