SOUTHERN WITH A GAY TWIST
02.26.16 V7-04
Kristine W Feels The Love The NEw Gender Binary
MAKING UP THE DRAG MUSICAL,
Kinky Boots
waters edge COVER BY CHRIS KIUIKSON
LGBT NIGHT MAR
3
• Concert ticket • drink ticket + post-concert reception with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Musicians @ Table 1280 Lounge
only $30!
TICKETS
404.733.5000 Use promo code PROUD when purchasing
SIBELIUS: Violin Concerto BLACHER: Orchestral Variations on a Theme by Paganini BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4 Marc Piollet, conductor Augustin Hadelich, violin Presented by:
Contents
FENUXE
02.26.2016
07
CALENDAR: 8 GREAT THINGS TO DO
08
OUT & ABOUT PHOTOS
20
KRISTINE W FEELS THE LOVE
22
THE NEW GENDER BINARY
24
MAKING UP THE DRAG MUSICAL KINKY BOOTS
28
WATERS EDGE
30
HEY GIRL HEY
34
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Friday, February 26th Mistress Kountessa presents a free, extreme fetish event, featuring dominatrices, with burlesque, Grinder shows, miscellaneous performances, go-go dancers, demos and interactive stations, fire and wax, a large dungeon play area and more. 9 p.m.–3 a.m., Atlanta Eagle, 106 Ponce de Leon Ave., www.atlantaeagle. com
Saturday, February 27th OurSong, Atlanta’s Gay and Lesbian Chorus, presents an encore performance of Dan Forrest’s “Requiem for the Living” at 7:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Decatur. This concert will benefit PFLAG, Lost-n-Found Youth, Living Room Atlanta, and Decatur First United Methodist Church, 308 Clairemont Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030
Thursday, March 3rd Building on the activist tradition of consciousnessraising groups, each month Charis invites community members to join The Personal is Still Political: Feminist Vent, a group to talk about issues in their personal lives or in society as a whole. All are welcome. 7:30–9 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore. com
FUN MAR 3
MAR 3
FUN
FEMINIST VENT
NETWORK MAR 1
FEB 28
OUR SONG PERFORMS
VOCALOSITY Sunday, February 28th From the movies to television, a cappella is soaring in popularity. “Vocalosity” captures this excitement live, onstage. Twelve performers, in unlimited combinations, explore styles from oldies to the most YouTubeworthy hits. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St NE, 6:30–p.m., www.foxtheatre.org
METRO ATLANTA ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONALS Tuesday, March 1st Turn your lunch break into a networking opportunity and connect with business professionals to expand your circle of influence and grow your business at Connecting Atlanta. Join MAAP at Egg Harbor Café the first Tuesday of every month from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more info email tcosper@maapatl.org.
SHOW CHARITY MAR 5 05.03.15
UNCHAINED
SHOW
MUSIC FEB 27
FEB 26
FUN
DANCEFLOOR DIVAS
50+ LESBIAN POTLUCK
March 3rd If you have never been to Dancefloor Divas, you are missing out on all of the fun! Come join Phoenix of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” as she hosts Dancefloor Divas at 11:30 p.m. Get ready for the time of your life... and watch out for cuties in the corners! www.burkharts.com
March 5th Bring a great dish and plenty to talk about to the Lesbian 50+ Potluck and Social, 6–8 p.m., Rush Center Annex, 530 DeKalb Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307 www.rushcenteratl.org
CHARITY MAR 5
CALENDAR
PURIM OFF PONCE March 5rd Purim off Ponce is SOJOURN’s (Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity) annual fundraiser. Now in its tenth year, Purim off Ponce has been known as one of Atlanta’s greatest costume parties. This year they honor the work of Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality. 8–11:59 p.m., Le Fais do-do, sojourngsd.org FENUXE.COM : 7
OUT & ABOUT
08: February 26, 2016
PHOTOS
HRC BOWLING @ MIDTOWN BOWL PHOTOS BY: SHER PRUITT
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OUT & ABOUT
10: February 26, 2016
JOINING HEARTS Love On The Rocks
PHOTOS BY: SHER PRUITT
FENUXE.COM : 11
OUT & ABOUT
12: February 26, 2016
PHOTOS
TEN ATLANTA 3 YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY PHOTOS BY: SHER PRUITT
PUT YOUR LOGO ON ANYTHING!!! Did you know that 61% of people hang onto products with your logo on it?!
I’ll Get Your Logo OUT There! CALL ANDREA: 404-680-7460 Pr World
emiere
By ElEanor BurgEss // DirecteD By JErEmy B. CohEn
a smart and funny look at work, love, and get-rich-quick tech start-ups.
February 13–March 6
Tickets @ 404.733.500
alliancetheatre.org/startdown // Groups 404.733.4690
Series on the Hertz Stage
FENUXE.COM : 15
OUT & ABOUT
14: February 26, 2016
PHOTOS
HOTLANTA SOFTBALL PARTY @ FROGS PHOTOS BY: SHER PRUITT
New Townhome Designs Towns at Breton Ridge Townhomes from the mid $300s For more information, please call Heather Isaac at 678.627.0772.
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FENUXE.COM : 15
OUT & ABOUT
16: February 26, 2016
PHOTOS
GOSPEL BRUNCH @ LIPS PHOTOS BY: MIKE STONE
Come View our Decorated Model
Towns at Druid Hills Townhomes from the low $500s For more information, please call Bakari Maxwell or Tarecia Johnson at 404.634.4485.
Limited Time Only! Purchase a New Home and Receive:
20,000
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Use How You Choose on To-Be-Built Homes*
Up To
5,000
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Toward Closing Costs**
Promotions in this ad are available only for homes in the Atlanta Division being marketed by Ryland Homes. *Promotion is available to Buyers of To-Be-Built New homes for purchase agreements written between February 15, 2016 and March 31, 2016. In the Towns at Druid Hills community only, “$20,000” can be used towards Design Center Options, lot premiums, finished basement, and other structural options. **Buyers of both To-Be Built homes and Quick Move-In homes that are written between February 15, 2016 and March 31, 2016 are also eligible to receive “$5,000 towards closing costs”. Promotion is available only to buyers financing through CalAtlantic Mortgage® Corporation and closing through a Ryland Homes preferred closing attorney. Incentives available may vary by community, product and home. Prices, plans, and terms are effective on the date of publication and subject to change without notice. CalAtlantic Homes and CalAtlantic Mortgage® Corporation reserve the right to modify or cancel this offer at any time without notice. See a CalAtlantic Mortgage® Corporation loan office for more details. CalAtlantic Mortgage® Corporation, NMLS ID #203897, holds a Georgia Residential Mortgage License #24225, 8660 E Hartford Drive Suite 200a, Scottsdale, AZ 85255 and branch location 1000 Mansell Exchange West, Suite 210, Alpharetta, GA 30022 License #68278. Homes under contract prior to these offers are not eligible. Promotions may not be combined with other offers. Photographs are for illustration only. For complete details on restrictions and limitations, please contact a Ryland Homes Sales Counselor. © 2016 CalAtlantic Group, Inc. RA2065
FENUXE.COM : 19
OUT & ABOUT
18: February 26, 2016
PHOTOS
BUTTERBALL @ TEN ATLANTA PHOTOS BY: SHER PRUITT
FENUXE.COM : 21
BY: PAUL HUTNICK
Kristine W. Feels the
Love
Vegas showgirl Kristine W has enjoyed a twenty-year love affair with dance music. The community loves her for consistently delivering notes that touch hearts and compel bodies to find the mighty groove out on the dancefloor. Kristine throws the love right back at ‘em, sharing intimate aspects of her life and emotions through song and enjoying a grassroots affection with fans. In her career, Kristine has scored 17 #1 dance hits and a record-setting string of nine consecutive #1s. Billboard Magazine named her #3 among their Best of 2000s Dance Artists. So how did a ranch-raised small-town girl end up as “the most soulful vocalist in dance music, period,” according to All Music Guide? It started when her father, a rodeo champion and country music singer, passed away, forcing her mother to find work, singing in bars. “She showed me a singing career was possible,” says Kristine. “Mom did it because we were babies and it was a matter of survival.” From almost the time she could walk, Kristine was singing in church, talent contests and local Oprys. Somewhere and somehow along the way, the late disco pioneer, Donna Summer, caught her ear.
“Donna’s voice sounded like gospel to me,” remembers Kristine. “It was dance with big background vocals, a jazzy overtone and layered harmonies. When you latch onto an artist like that and immerse yourself in their music, you pick up on all of their nuances.” “She was a huge influence on how I approached my music career.” Following Summer’s lead, Kristine took lessons in guitar, piano, alto saxophone, as well as opera, scat singing and improvisation. These talents would prove fruitful at the Miss America pageant, where Kristine competed as Miss Washington, winning the talent categories. She took her scholarship money from Miss America and headed to Las Vegas. “I was determined to front and lead my own band, just as mom had done.” She heard a lot of ‘you can’t do that, you can’t do this, it’s not gonna happen, you’re going to have to sing with somebody else’s band...’ Of course, Kristine didn’t listen. She launched her band, Kristine W and the Sting, to the Vegas market, eventually performing at the Las Vegas Hilton more than any other entertainer, including Elvis. “I won Entertainer of the Year, Best Singer, Best Band, Best Showband…” she explains. “I had 18 employees! I was the most successful
female bandleader ever, as far as showbands go.” She would use the same tenacity when the record labels began courting her. The A&R reps at some of the biggest labels scouted her Vegas shows. Everyone thought they knew the best direction for Kristine, but she had her own ideas. She eventually signed with RCA, the one label that would allow her at least some autonomy, and the rest, as they say, is musical history. “Music is a gift and I’m thankful for it,” she reflects. “It has definitely made my life very interesting. I’ve gotten to make a difference and bring a lot of joy to the world, and that’s really what’s important.” Lucky for us, Kristine W isn’t done yet. In fact, she is scheduled to release her next full-length album on her own label, Fly Again Music, this year. “Releasing albums on my own is thrilling, but it’s a lot of work,” she admits. “I always going into it saying to myself, ‘Fasten your seatbelt, honey, we’re in for a bumpy ride’”, she laughs. “But, that said, I’m always comforted knowing that anything can happen when you love what you do and you’re doing it for the right reasons.” Visit KristineW.com
OP ED
“Binary: (adj.) consisting of, indicating, or involving two.”
The New Gender Binary
The general public might, maybe, hopefully, be beginning to understand the ridiculousness of the gender binary.
identity any more when he is expressing himself as female and I use the masculine pronouns that he prefers.
For years, I’ve been sharing our family’s story in hopes of encouraging people to loosen up a little about gender, allow it to be fluid and support those who aren’t solely masculine or solely feminine. People can be both or neither or a unique mixture that can vary depending on the day or hour.
He is a boy who likes to wear skirts, lipgloss, sparkly ballet flats and (for now) clip on earrings. He knows what it means to be transgender, he’s watched two of his friends and countless adults transition.
For the sake of my son, I wanted the world to see that there are more than just two options when it comes to gender expression and identity. Laverne Cox, Jazz Jennings, Caitlyn Jenner and others were helping by living publicly, authentically and without shame. They are brave beyond belief and I’m so thankful for them. After all, if people can handle a former male Olympian as a female in a corset on the cover of Vanity Fair, surely they would be cool with my son wearing a skirt while maintaining that he’s a boy. But they weren’t. They aren’t. Things seemed to swing in another direction. Because of the transgender movement, there has become a new binary. Cisgender vs. transgender.
By Lori Duron
Cisgender: (adj.) noting or relating to a person whose gender identity corresponds with that person’s biological sex assigned at birth. (Example: I was assigned female at birth because of my vagina and my gender is female.)
When I first started writing about my adventures in raising a gender creative son, I wasn’t very educated when it came to gender. All I knew is that I wanted everybody to be cool with my then-3year-old son wearing a dress and loving the Disney Princesses. I wanted it to be okay for boys to like feminine things and girls to like masculine things. I didn’t know at first that I was fighting the gender binary.
Every time I write an article or post to social media and use masculine pronouns for my son (whether I’m talking about his desire to be called Mrs. Clooney, get his ears pierced, etc.), people -- no matter how accepting and progressive they think they are -- tell me I’m using the wrong pronouns. They insist that my son is transgender and that I’m not honoring that.
Gender binary: (n.) the classification of gender into two distinct, opposite and disconnected forms of masculine and feminine. Male vs. female. Boy vs. girl. Blue vs. pink. Superhero vs. princess. It seemed like everybody wanted my son to be one or the other. Either or. People were uncomfortable with him living in the middle -- in the no man’s and no woman’s land. Over the years, I’ve watched as things started to change in regards to the public visibility, awareness, understanding and acceptance of differently gendered people. The binary was being busted and I couldn’t have been happier. TIME Magazine even proclaimed that society had reached “the transgender tipping point” and that the transgender movement is poised to challenge deeply held cultural beliefs. Yes! Bring it on! America was finally talking about gender. It’s complexity. It’s fluidity. It’s individuality.
Good for them. Seriously. Good for more people pushing others to honor people who are transgender. But, gender policing me sometimes seems like it isn’t an act of understanding, but rather an act prompted by a lack of understanding. I couldn’t be honoring my son’s gender
He insists that he is not transgender. He identifies as gender nonconforming. He says he’s a boy who only likes girl things and wants to be treated like a girl. He doesn’t like it when people use feminine pronouns to address or talk about him. He loves his male anatomy (as 9-year-old boys are wont to do). In the new gender binary, he has no home. Cisgender vs. transgender. He’s neither. In the old gender binary, he has no home. Male vs. female. He’s neither. So, still, I find myself fighting a gender binary while explaining my son’s gender identity and expression. That’s fine, I will do it until the day I die or until he asks me to stop. It’s just that, when I saw transgender education and acceptance coming to the forefront, I expected things to be different. I thought that if society could see, start to understand and accept transgender people (which some consider to be at the very extreme end of the cisgender-transgender gender binary), that they would have no problem at all accepting all of the people who are “just” gender nonconforming. We have to get beyond trans. Let’s make that the next social movement. Let’s get to the point where we say, “Hey, I don’t know if that person is male or female or both or neither, so I’m just going to treat them like a person” or “My brain tells me to use female pronouns for that person but the person tells me to use masculine pronouns, so I’m going to masculine pronouns because what the hell does it matter to me?!” or “That guy likes to wear skirts. Cool.” Let’s respect every person’s unique gender journey by not believing in any binary. Let’s bust the binary. Once and for all. Follow Lori Duron on Twitter: www.twitter. com/raisingrainbow
INTERVIEW HEALTH
24: February 26, 2016
BY MATTHEW BLANCO
MAKING UP THE DRAG MUSICAL,
Kinky Boots Boots is the Broadway musical K inky about a drag queen and shoe
factory owner who make fabulous boots together and learn a few life lessons along the way. The uplifting show has struck a chord with critics and theatergoers alike, winning six Tony Awards. Of course, in any drag musical, makeup plays a crucial role. La Sonya Gunter gives us the scoop on the ins and outs of drag makeup, the perils of razor burn and the insane amount of moisturizer that’s necessary to combat the hot lights in a show like Kinky Boots. What are the secrets to creating Lola’s look? It depends on the actor playing Lola. I have to study the actor, the structure of his face, the tone of his skin, and then I create. Was Billy Porter the first time you turned a man into a drag queen? Believe it or not, he wasn’t! Before KINKY BOOTS, I worked on the Broadway productions of PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT and HAIRSPRAY. Before that, I had done drag makeup on a few clients, when I worked retail. How would you describe the experience of transforming your newest Lola, Wayne Brady? Amazing! Wayne is fantastic to work with. His bone structure, skin tone and personality are all very different from Billy’s but I love a good challenge. I read that Billy Porter only liked to shave three times a week. That had to be a challenge when putting on makeup! (Laughing) Shaving is always a bit of an issue when it comes to guys and makeup. Do you love every client you work with? (Laughing) I wish! There are times when you simply don’t gel with the person in the make-up chair. In
those times, it’s important to remain professional and get the job done. Then, I can decide whether or not I want to work with that client again. How did you get start on Broadway? I offered to do a fundraiser for a friend. At the time, I had no idea that he designed makeup for Broadway! I was just looking for some experience for my resume. I said ‘hey, if you ever need help with a project, let me know’. And he did! My first Broadway job was on Wicked. It was fun and scary but a really big learning experience. What would you say to someone who wants to pursue a make-up career on Broadway? Be multi-skilled! It’s a very competitive industry. It has always been, but now more than ever, thanks to social media. The market is somewhat over saturated, especially on the Great White Way. On Broadway, hair is the dominant skill. Unless it is a specialty show like Kinky Boots, Wicked, or The Lion King, actors often do their own make-up. If a makeup artist is needed, companies will find an artist who can do both hair and makeup. What makes you stand out from other make-up artists? My signature style is beauty with an edge of drama and glamour. Simple classic timelessness with something fresh added to it. I pay close attention to line, shape, symmetry and detail. I have an eye for seeing the different skin and undertones a person has and I have learned how to work on them all. Oftentimes, when I walk in to do makeup, a client will take one look at my makeup and say, “Oh, yes! She knows what she is doing.” Follow La Sonya Gunter on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/la.s.gunter
OUR PAST OUR PRESENT THE FUTURE SAVE THE DATE
ATLANTA PRIDE 2016 OCTOBER 10-11, 2016 PIEDMONT PARK
FASHION
waters edge BY CHRIS KIUIKSON
FENUXE.COM : 33
Hey Girl Hey! Holler Poodles! This is a continuation of “Casting Couch” from a few issues ago. Check out my facebook page for part 1. Just then, the door flew open and two tough policemen security guards had their nightsticks out and said they had received a call about an awful smell disturbance. I replied my toilet was backed up and I needed to go real bad and this kind young man was about to help me. He started babbling about me taking advantage of him so I accidentally on purpose popped him upside his head with the sofa. I was truly hoping to suck all the creamy delicious filling out of that twinkie but maybe next time. The security guards said “well maybe we ought to call the police” so I knew I had to distract them. As luck would have it, the beefy bean burrito started to quack and I let them have it full force. GrrrrrrmmmmmmmP! They backed up and ran. Unfortunately for me so did the squirts running down my leg. I took a quick sponge bath in the sink and headed over to my next meeting with a producer named Dick Leeker. Really mister? You’re gonna be a producer on an adult movie with a name like Dick Leeker? Inevitably, he started to make the moves on me. He lifted one breast over his shoulder and down his back and the other down behind the couch. I wasn’t sure but I thought I heard mice in the trailer gnawing on my nipple. He kept trying to kiss me but his breath smelled like he had been eating the ass of The Walking Dead. I pushed his head further South so I wouldn’t have to smell his breath but when he pulled my thong down, the last bit of Taco Bell hit my stomach and I just sprayed him down like a popcorn ceiling. He looked like a Jackson Pollack painting come to life. I quickly stripped off my thong and pulled up my pants to make my getaway. As I was stepping out of the door, I heard him say, “aww, honey, don’t leave, it happens to all of us.” Naw hell it don’t MF!!! As I was running across the back lot, I saw a kiddie pool and a guy washing his dog. I made nice with him and “accidentally” fell in so I could refresh myself. Though the guy initially looked horrified, he ended up asking me if I could get out of the pool because he had other dogs to wash for a date. All in a day for your big time celebrity actress… Mary Edith Pitts! Love and lashes,
Mary Edith Pitts Mary Edith Pitts
PS. If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please email me at maryedith99@gmail.com or on twitter @maryedithpitts
MARCH THURSDAY
/17
s ' k c i Paa St.
day party
R E G I N A
S I M M S
P R E S E N T
FENUXE.COM : 35
Gay News At A Glance OVER 70% SUPPORT AN EQUALITY ACT TO PROTECT LGBT INDIVIDUALS New survey also find support for samesex marriage remaining stable following last summer’s Supreme Court ruling A new survey released by the Public Religion Research Institute has found that a convincing majority of people in the US support the idea of an Equality Act.The extensive survey was based on interviews with 42,000 individuals across the 50 states between May and December 2015.
It found that 71% supported laws that would protect gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people from discrimination in jobs, housing, and public accommodations. One in four were opposed to such laws.
found that support was much higher among younger people (74% of 20 yearolds against 53% of 45-year-olds). On average, 66% of Democrats were in favor of same-sex marriage, while only 34% of Republicans said they were in favor.
The survey also looked at attitudes towards same-sex marriage, finding the numbers for and against same-sex marriage legislation remained fairly stable last year.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has been campaigning for the adoption fo the Equality Act. If passed, the Act would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include protections on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and sex. HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy said, ‘It’s long past time for Congress to end a status quo where LGBT people remain at risk in a majority of states of being denied services or fired because of who they are or who they love.
It found that 53% were in favor of same-sex marriage legislation and 37% are opposed. This figure remained approximately the same across the period of the survey – pre and post the SOCOTUS decision. Breaking that statistic down further, it
VIRGINIA MAN FILES COMPLAINT AFTER HE WAS FIRED FOR BEING GAY In early 2015, John Murphy was hired as executive director of St. Francis Home, an assisted living facility in Richmond, Virginia. Murphy says he was to have the clearly secular job of being in charge of raising funds for the home. It was a job that was to be short-lived. Murphy said that it seemed things were ‘going swimmingly’ until the Diocese of Richmond paid him a visit. ‘I jovially welcomed them into a conference room, we sat down and with blunt force and no introduction or background, the (Chief Financial Officer) of the diocese said, “We understand you’re in a same-sex marriage.”‘Murphy confirmed that he is married to Jerry Carter who he 36: February 26, 2016
had met in January 1985. He says the CFO then told him: ‘Unfortunately that renders you unfit for this position and your last day is today.’ ‘It was a punch in the gut and I was dumbfounded,’ Murphy says. ‘It never occurred to me that being gay or being in a same-sex marriage would be an issue or have anything to do with my qualifications for the position.’ After he was fired, he began to hear from those who board members who had refused to fire him. They had told the diocese it would have to fire Murphy themselves. Murphy has since filed a discrimination complaint against the Diocese of Richmond. His husband believes that last year’s US Supreme Court decision making samesex marriage legal in all 50 states – which allowed them to finally get married after 30 years together – has led some to believe the fight for equality is over. ‘John’s experience is a painful but powerful example that that’s not the case,’ Carter said. ‘I mean John was fired simply for being who he is, and how can that be?’
DO LESBIANS EARN MORE THAN STRAIGHT WOMEN? A number of studies have found they do, but why? Workplace discrimination has been a huge problem for LGBTI people, and its effects are ongoing. Almost a quarter of the LGBTI population report discrimination at work, according to a 2011 study. The number was 38% if they were out at work. However, there is one group within this who seem to actually to do better than straight counterparts, gay women. Lesbians earn 9% more than straight women, according to a survey of 29 studies in January 2015 from the University of Washington.
BOXER MANNY PACQUIAO ‘SORRY TO THOSE I’VE HURT’ AFTER SAYING GAY COUPLES ARE ‘WORSE THAN ANIMALS’ Manny Pacquiao says he does not condemn gay people but is ‘praying’ for them Filipino boxer, pastor and national hero Manny Pacquiao has said he is ‘sorry to those I’ve hurt’ after he said gay couples were ‘worse than animals’. The boxing legend, currently running for a senate seat, was
Comparatively gay men earn 11% less then straight men. Data for these findings isn’t neccessarily reliable: it n eeds people to report their sexuality and earnings truthfully, which can be understandably tricky. However, findings like these have triggered two decades of research into why this might be so. In an article on the subject published in the Economist, the author suggests several factors that might contribute to the higher earnings of lesbians. ‘Apossibility is that lesbians might face positive discrimination, perhaps if employers expect them to be more competitive and more committed to work than their straight female colleagues. ‘Another idea is that lesbians are responding to the gender of their likely partner. They might have to work harder to plump up household income in the absence of a male partner.’ He further notes lesbians may be assuming a traditionally
asked about his stance on same-sex marriage yesterday ‘It’s only common sense. Would you see any species of animals who engage in male to male, female to female relations? Animals, then, are better than humans. They know how to distinguish males from females,’ he said. ‘If people then engage in male to male, female to female relations, then they are worse than animals,’ he added. After international outrage, Pacquiao has now apologized – sort of. ‘I’m sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals,’ he said. ‘Please forgive me for those I’ve hurt. I still stand on my belief that I’m against same sex marriage because of what the Bible says, but I’m not condemning LGBT. I love you all with the love of the Lord. God Bless you all and I’m praying for you.’
male gender role, to become financially successful in order to attract women. Lesbians are also less likely to have children and – if they do – are more likely to share parental duties than heterosexual partners. Another study from 2015, this time from American University in Washington, suggests behaving the way you’re expected to could be important to career success. In the study, gay men were penalised if they scored low on ‘masculine traits’, which included ‘avoidance of cooking’ and household chores. Lesbians, meanwhile, were penalised if they scored highlyfor masculine traits, and thus weren’t as feminine.
CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST SIX RENTBOY.COM EMPLOYEES DROPPED US prosecutors dropped criminal charges against six former Rentboy.com employees. They were arrested on charges of promoting prostitution along with CEO Jeffrey Hurant last year. Hurrant was indicted in January and plead not guilty to promoting prostitution and money laundering. If convicted, Hurrant faces up to five years imprisonment and a
fine of up to $250,000. In August, federal authorities raided the Manhattan headquarters of Rentboy.com, which they described as an ‘internet brothel.’ The company had more than $10 million in gross proceeds between 2010 and 2015. More than $1.4 million was seized from six bank accounts in connection with the investigation. ‘This trial has been nothing but a huge inconvenience to me, but now that my case has been rightfully dismissed I can start to put back the pieces of my life that were taken from me,’ Estanol, better known as Eli Lewis, wrote. ‘I am forever grateful to everyone who supported me during the past few months. We will meet injustice with justice.’