We’re all in this together

We talk of gay rights as a singular movement but we’re reminded this week that we’re all connected and we can always use allies:

A Tennessee man is fighting an uphill battle against the company that fired him for being gay but now other employees are coming forward to speak out about the racial and gender discrimination they too have faced. Bigots don’t tend to stop at just one group.

Which is why it’s good to outnumber them. We love to mock unions as unnecessary or even corrupt but, in the wake of the California gay marriage ban, some two-million-odd people have joined forces in support of striking down Prop 8 (an especially welcome move after learning about those filthy lying Mormons). Workers of the world, alright!

But we can’t expect everyone else to fight all our battles for us. AIDS activist Eric Levin produced this ad that reminds us of the work we need to do within our community:

Nuff said. Now I’m not sure you’ll ever find someone who enjoys condoms, but this saucy, squeaky Durex ad certainly does lighten the mood:

One thing that wasn’t wrapped in plastic was the copy of BUTT magazine that an “intrigued” Vancouver mom picked up in an American Apparel store. She says the photos inside horrified her and made her cry. Really? What did she think would be inside a pink magazine called BUTT? Shania Twain? Chicken salad recipes? The contents of last month’s ‘Chatelaine?’ Some people don’t deserve the mall!

 

For them, there’s German prankster ‘Epoxy’ pointing out — though some clever stickering — that real life doesn’t look like Britney Spears, at least not without a lot of Photoshop!

But overall, it’s great to see that younger people now are becoming less homophobic and, in the case of Logan and Brandon, even starting to have fun with it:

But if your TV “grinding” involves women and lots of them, the final season of “The L Word” begins Sunday with the murder of a major character. Drama ensues, but nothing compared to that of “Battlestar Galactica,” returning tonight. When we last saw our sexy mix of angry people and soulful androids, they finally arrived on Earth, only to find it an empty, radioactive wasteland. Awwwwkward!

Whatever your eyes take in this weekend, have fun and we’ll see you Monday!

A former editor of the late, lamented fab magazine, Scott has been writing for Xtra since 2007 on a variety of topics in news pieces, interviews, blogs, reviews and humour pieces. He lives on the Danforth with his boyfriend of 12 years, a manic Jack Russell Terrier, a well-stocked mini-bar and a shelf of toy Daleks.

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