The List: 2011's Most Googled Gays and Lesbians

in: http://artdept.advocate.com/post/14457177043/2011-most-googled-gays

By Scott McPherson

After hours of research, The Advocate Art Department has compiled this year’s list of the most searched gay and lesbian people on Google. Who came out on top? The results may surprise you! View last year’s list here, and see the 2011 list after the jump.

20. Zachary Quinto (pictured)
Actor, “American Horror Story”

19. Suze Orman
Financial Advisor/TV Personality

18. RuPaul
Drag Performer/Actor, “RuPaul’s Drag Race”

17. Portia De Rossi
Actor, “Arrested Development”

16. Jane Lynch (pictured)
Actor/Comedian, “Glee”

15. Nate Berkus
TV Host, “The Nate Berkus Show”

14. Chris Colfer
Actor, “Glee”

13. Jillian Michaels
Fitness Trainer/TV Personality, “The Biggest Loser”

12. Tom Ford
Fashion Designer

11. Rachel Maddow (pictured)
TV Host, “The Rachel Maddow Show”

10. Dan Choi
Iraq War Veteran, discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

9. Alexander McQueen
Fashion Designer

8. Neil Patrick Harris (pictured)
Actor, “How I Met Your Mother”

7. George Michael
Music Artist

6. Ellen DeGeneres
TV Host, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”

5. Adam Lambert (pictured)
Music Artist

4. Marc Jacobs
Fashion Designer

3. Perez Hilton (pictured)
Blogger/TV Personality

2. Elton John
Music Artist

1. Ricky Martin (pictured)
Music Artist

Budapest Mayor Not Thrilled To Be Hosting LGBT EuroGames Next Year

http://www.queermagazineonline.com/news/queerty/41581-budapest-mayor-not-thrilled-to-be-hosting-lgbt-eurogames-next-year


As Budapest gears up to host the annual LGBT sportsfest known as the EuroGames next summer, one thing’s fairly clear: The Hungarian capital’s mayor, István Tarlós, won’t be watching.

In a just-released letter to Berlin’s openly gay mayor Klaus Wowereit, Tarlós says that while he respects the right of the EuroGames folks to do whatever they and their “like-minded people” want, “I disassociate myself from both [the] lifestyle, as well as from the event. It is not for me, in my power, to support them.”

Hungarian media reports that Tarlós has furthermore taken to playing the heterophobia card: “Is this not a discriminatory event, if this tendency is only that such people can participate? Because… this is a form of exclusion.”

Despite the lack of love from the mayor, the EuroGames will take place in Budapest from June 27 to July 1, 2012, with about 4,000 athletes from across the European continent expected to participate.

Photo via tarlosistvan.hu

Queerty

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AfterElton rounds up the most memorable LGBT quotes of 2011 - part 4

in:http://www.afterelton.com/people/2011/12/most-memorable-lgbt-quotes-2011?page=0%2C3

I don’t f*cking care if I pissed off some gays, because if they can take a f*cking dick up their *ss, they can take a f*cking joke.

Tracy Morgan to his audience at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium

Life is too serious to not laugh and enjoy some humor. I now no longer enjoy Tracy Morgan’s humor … I'm not angry ... just very very very disappointed.

From Kevin Roger’s Facebook post, "Why I No Longer 'Like' Tracy Morgan"

I hope for his sake that Tracy’s apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian coworkers at 30 Rock, without whom Tracy would not have lines to say, clothes to wear, sets to stand on, scene partners to act with, or a printed-out paycheck from accounting to put in his pocket.

30 Rock creator Tina Fey reaction

Booooo!

Audience response to a question by gay soldier Stephen Hill at a Republican Presidential debate hosted by FOX News.

Like being a woman, like being a racial religious tribal or ethnic minority, being LGBT does not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are Human Rights and Human Rights are gay rights.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a speech to the United Nations

No country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere.

President Barack Obama in a foreign policy memorandum

I feel that gay people not being able to get married for generations, forever, meant that we came up with alternative ways of recognizing relationships. And I worry that if everybody has access to the same institutions that we lose the creativity of subcultures having to make it on their own. And I like gay culture.

Rachel Maddow discussing her opinion on same-sex marriage.

Being brought up in a Christian home and still identifying as Christian, I get pretty annoyed with the Christian lobbies around the world who say gay marriage destroys the family and all that kind of rubbish. They claim to follow someone who always stood up for the oppressed and marginalised.

Australian rugby player David Pocock. He and his girlfriend say they won't get married until their lesbian and gay friends can.

Sebastian: One of us has a hard luck case of the gay face, and it ain't me.
Kurt: You smell like Craigslist.

From the December 6th epiosde of Glee, "Hold On To Sixteen"

I promise to stand by you unwaveringly through thick and some day, God willing, through thin.

SiriusXM OutQ personality Frank DeCaro broadcasting his wedding vow to husband Jim Colucci

AfterElton rounds up the most memorable LGBT quotes of 2011 - part 3

in: http://www.afterelton.com/people/2011/12/most-memorable-lgbt-quotes-2011?page=0%2C2

A lot of people are curious why I’m a lesbian. Ladies and gentlemen, the cast of Entourage!

Emmy Awards host Jane Lynch

OMG! Is this true? [Marcus Bachmann] has a Christian clinic where he de-programs gay boys & girls! I’m gonna strangle him with my Boa!

Cher on Twitter

I really think, without trying to give us credit that we don’t deserve, I really feel like Kurt and Blaine are a modern version of Lucy and Ricky. Oh, I’m Lucy for sure.

So says multi-hyphenate Chris Colfer

The Democrats want me to live on their plantation as their slave, because I’m a gay person. And I refuse to do that.

A-List: Dallas cast member and Republican consultant Taylor Garrett commenting after allegedly being assaulted.

This show does something very special for the gay community. There’s a message hidden inside the totally gaudy package that is so fun to watch. It’s all about loving and accepting yourself, and every season I’m surprisingly moved by it

Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson shares his thoughts on RuPaul's Drag Race

We speak for the entire Giants organization when we say that there is no place in society for hatred and bullying against anyone.

San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry Zito in the first “It Gets Better” video made by a major league sports team

Dad, I’m gay.

Airman 1st class Randy Phillips phoning his father on YouTube after the demise of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

I kept thinking, this is my first show, I don’t want to get fired. I was young, I was 22. I didn’t know anything. So that sort of started the idea of, okay, well, I’m working a lot, I guess I’ll just keep that gay part of my life on the back burner for now. I went so far as to sleep with women a couple times. It was a very confusing time for me.

Actor Sean Maher reflects on years in the Hollywood closet

I do not comment on my client's personal lives in the media. As for Luke, he did so once, a long time ago when he was an inexperienced, young actor and now with maturity and hindsight, he has learned not to engage the press in his personal life again.

Publicist for actor Luke Evans responds to AfterElton when asked to clarify whether Evans still considers himself openly gay (as he did in a 2002 interview).

AfterElton rounds up the most memorable LGBT quotes of 2011 - part 2

in: http://www.afterelton.com/people/2011/12/most-memorable-lgbt-quotes-2011?page=0%2C1


When I was a kid out here in L.A., I was homeless, I didn’t have any money and I was living in my car. I wasn’t averse to going down to Santa Monica Boulevard and letting a guy buy me a sandwich. Know what I mean?

Hung star Thomas Jane on his early days in Hollywood.

"Niggas is gay. There's millions of gay people in the world. Girls too... I'm a fan of 'Yo, I'm gay. The f*ck.' Like, 2011 you gotta hide that you're gay? Like, you know what I'm saying, like, be real, like 'Yo I'm gay, what the f*ck.' If you gay you gay. Like that's your preference, you know? F*ck it if the people don't like it."

DJ Fat Joe in response to whether he's ever done a song with a gay rapper.

I wanted to show America a different kind of man. If there was someone like me when I was growing up, my whole life would have been different.

Dancing With the Stars contestant Chaz Bono on his elimination from the series.

I’m not ashamed of what I did. It doesn’t define me or who I am.

MTV Real World cast member and former gay porn model Dustin Zito

People from pre-sexual revolution and even from the 60s and the birth of the gay movement still define gay as two men or two women having sex. Our generation defines it from a more emotional standpoint. To be gay means you are drawn to the same sex. But it’s a part of who you are, an identity, not an act.

J. Edgar screenwriter Dustin Lance Black in a WSJ interview.

In the gay world, [relationships] will always be open. There is no curbing the gay man.

Bravo network’s Millionaire Matchmaker Patti Stanger

Well, you show me the science [that being gay is not a choice] and I’ll be persuaded.

Republican presidential aspirant Herman Cain on The View

Is it adultery if I'm committing it at one end of a guy and he's committing it at the other end of that same guy?

Dan Savage when asked by Stephen Colbert if he's ever committed adultery.

AfterElton rounds up the most memorable LGBT quotes of 2011 - part 1

in: http://www.afterelton.com/people/2011/12/most-memorable-lgbt-quotes-2011

In 2011, if they asked, we told. We heard more gay and gay-supportive voices than ever before. There were fights, big and small. But there was also a whole lotta love. Here’s a selection of the most memorable things people had to say about being gay this year.

I'm beautiful in my way 'cause God makes no mistakes. I'm on the right track baby, I was born this way.

Lady Gaga, chorus to "Born This Way"

Make no mistake, I am a Christian and I believe in God and I don’t believe he makes mistakes, so I believe that being gay is not a sin and in fact it’s how you’re made.

Actress Kristin Chenowith appearing on The Joy Behar Show

Remember, the change you want to see in the world, and in your school, begins with you.

Tyler Clementi’s father, Joseph Clementi opening remarks at Rutgers University’s symposium on the use and misuse of social networking

If you don’t like gay marriage, blame straight people. They’re the ones who keep having gay babies.

Sign outside an NYC restaurant

These people who are making a big deal out of gay marriage? I don’t give a f*ck about who wants to get married to anybody else! Why not?! We’re making a big deal out of things we shouldn’t be making a deal out of. They go on and on with all this bullsh*t about ‘sanctity’. Don’t give me that sanctity crap! Just give everybody the chance to have the life they want.

Oscar winner Clint Eastwood

Attention every breeder, you’re invited to the theatre, it’s not just for gays anymore!

Tony Awards host Neil Patrick Harris’ opening number

I'm not ashamed to be a Christian. But you don't have to be in the pew every Sunday to know that there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.

Texas Governor and GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry in his "Strong" campaign commercial

The Republican path to victory is compromised when gay Americans are perceived as being attacked for just being how God created them.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus

He was the up and equal homosexual who would not sit at the back of the bus.

Yale Law Professor William Eskridge, honoring the late gay rights pioneer, Frank Kameny

We need marriage equality in every state in this nation. Otherwise, no state really has marriage equality, and we will not rest until it is a reality.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

Top 10 Christmas songs by LGBT artists

in: http://www.dallasvoice.com/listen-top-10-christmas-songs-lgbt-artists-1097448.html

Yes, Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole will likely make appearances today singing their famous Christmas tunes, but queer artists have their signature contributions as well. I mean, Fred Schneider’s ridiculous humor may not compare with traditional carols, but he proves we need a little disco year round. And Pink Martini can croon just like the best of them.

Here’s a rundown of my top queer Christmas tunes for the day to add your to mix. Bing and Nat won’t mind the company.

10. The Superions — “Christmas Disco” This album is a pure exercise in the absurd, but Fred Schneider’s side project turns the reverent holiday into a flat out house party.





9. Johnny Mathis — “We Need A Little Christmas” Mathis belongs right there with those legendary singers for Christmas tunes, but John-John is ours just as well. He’s adorbs when he gets into the spirit here.




8. Chely Wright — “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” The country star wasn’t out at the time she sang this jaunty tune, but it’s cute to see her still coming into her own as a music star.





7. Band Aid — “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Boy George and George Michael bring the gay to this all-star chorus of pop stars (mostly European) in this anthem to heal the plight in Africa at the time. It’s interesting to see this video in a pre-Twitter, YouTube time. Even then, the video spread rampantly thanks simple old television.





6. Queen — “Thank God It’s Christmas” Freddie Mercury croons to holiday delight in this b-side track to 1995′s “A Winter’s Tale.”





5. Pink Martini — “Do You Hear What I Hear?” (audio) Gay bandleader Thomas Lauderdale nary made a miss on the 2010 holiday album Joy to the World. With lush arrangements steeped in traditional deliveries, they came quite close to perfection.





4. Melissa Etheridge — “Christmas in America” Etheridge delivers strongly in this contemporary, holiday ode to those missing their loved ones serving overseas. How apropos they are finally coming home.





3. Halford — “Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel” (audio) Christmas for metalheads? Sure. Gay frontman Rob Halford breaks away from Judas Priest with his own side project Halford. With a surprisingly effective holiday release in 2009. I mean, we don’t think of guitar solos and the birth of Christ together often, but Halford made it a reality.





2. k.d. Lang — “Hallelujah” Maybe it’s not Christmas Christmas, but Lang hypnotizes you into falling for her version of the Leonard Cohen track that fits perfectly at this time.




1. Wham! — “Last Christmas” You saw this coming didn’t you? Before George Michael was out, he was swooning for the ladies with Andrew Ridgeley in this rather dated and silly video. But the season is not the same without hearing it once. Plus, we’re glad to hear he’s recovered from his pneumonia which makes this no. 1 spot a bit sweeter.

The best lesbian and gay parenting books of 2011

in: http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=columnists&sc=mombian&id=127912

This year brought us several new books, fiction and non-fiction, featuring lesbian- and gay-headed families. While we might hope for greater quantity (and greater diversity across the LGBT spectrum), the quality was at least very good. Here are some of the best.

Children’s books

Donovan’s Big Day, by Lesléa Newman, is a delightful story about a boy preparing for the wedding of his two moms. Newman wrote Heather Has Two Mommies, the first picture book for and about children with lesbian parents, over 20 years ago. Unlike in Heather, however, which shows the girl grappling to understand why her family is "different," Newman left "issues" out of Donovan entirely. The young boy has only the problems any child might face while attending a wedding of any sort. He has to dress up, keep clean, and not fidget. Most of all, he has to make sure to hand his moms their rings at the proper moment.

There is just enough light tension to keep young readers engaged as Donovan goes through each step of his preparations. Illustrator Mike Dutton’s dynamic gouache drawings capture Donovan’s earnest spirit with gentle humor.

Monday Is One Day, by Arthur A. Levine (Scholastic Press), is a gay-inclusive (but not exclusive) poem from a working parent to a child. Each page shows a different family and a different activity as they count down to and through the weekend. The families are white and black, with moms and dads, gay dads, single parents, and one older couple who could be the child’s grandparents. They live in cities, suburbs, and on a farm, and all delight in each other. Julian Hector’s bold, colorful illustrations complement the bouncy rhymes. The book reminds us how much of the parenting experience is universal.

Levine, a gay dad himself, is also a publisher of his own imprint at Scholastic, Arthur A. Levine Books, whose titles include the U.S. editions of the Harry Potter series.

Adult novel

Sing You Home, by New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult, brings the lives and concerns of lesbian prospective moms to a mainstream audience in an engaging and sympathetic way. Picoult’s novel also tries to educate its readers about some of the real-life legal and social barriers same-sex couples face. A spunky fictional attorney from the real-life Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) plays a prominent role. If the book sometimes feels jammed with too many Big Social Issues -- marriage equality, alcoholism, abortion, suicidal teens -- Picoult is a good enough writer to weave them into a coherent and compelling tale.

Memoir

Times Two: Two Women in Love and the Happy Family They Made, Sarah Kate Ellis and Kristen Henderson’s memoir of simultaneous pregnancies, is a welcome addition to the small genre of LGBT parenting chronicles. Ellis is a marketing executive in New York City. Henderson is a founding member of the all-female rock band Antigone Rising. In alternating chapters, they tell their intertwining tale of coming out, falling in love, and starting a family.

Although some might consider the tale of double the hormones, mood swings, and post-partum exhaustion to be more of a cautionary tale, Ellis and Henderson manage to emphasize the positive. Along the way to parenthood, they discover their resiliency as a couple as they bond over the side effects of pregnancy -- heartburn, hemorrhoids, and swollen ankles -- and agree to disagree over issues such as whether to know the genders of their children and whether to try natural childbirth. They tell their story with a warmth and honesty that shows on every page.

Nonfiction

Invisible Families, by UCLA sociologist Mignon Moore, is arguably the most groundbreaking work on LGBT parenting published in recent years. Her work is a valuable corrective to the predominant portrayal in media and research of LGBT parents (and LGBT people generally) as almost entirely white. It will complement the emerging demographic data that shows a high percentage of lesbian and gay parents are people of color.

Mignon takes a close look at the community of gay black women in New York City, drawing on personal observations, interviews, and surveys to perceptively trace the connections among sexual orientation, gender expression, race, and class. While she doesn’t focus exclusively on mothers, many of the women in her study are mothers, and must negotiate the assumptions and expectations of motherhood within black communities while also challenging those assumptions by virtue of being gay.

Mignon deftly explores the overlapping influences on these women’s identities in a work that is both valuable in itself and will serve as a model for future research into LGBT families of all types.

Adoption by Lesbians and Gay Men: A New Dimension in Family Diversity, edited by David Brodzinsky and Adam Pertman of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, brings together experts across several disciplines -- social welfare, psychology, sociology, and law -- to provide a picture of this "rapidly growing new family form." It summarizes our knowledge of lesbian and gay adoptive families, contributes to it, and points out directions for future research, education, and policy changes. It is an academic book, not a light read, but should become an invaluable reference for adoption professionals, researchers, policy makers, advocates, and lawyers.

Lizzy's Christmas Karaoke - ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE!

3 International LGBT Causes to Support at Christmas

in: http://www.care2.com/causes/3-international-lgbt-causes-to-support-at-christmas.html

For Christmas, here are three good causes to consider offering your help to. Two are from Africa and one is to help a gay African desperate for American sanctuary.

1. The Tanzanian group WEZESHA is raising money to support LGBT people who face violence and rejection in Tanzania. The group says that they currently have 25 gay people in Dar es Salaam who were rejected by their families and lost their permanent homes.

They need help in supporting them with accommodation, health services and food.

You can contribute online to help the group here.

WEZESHA is a volunteer-powered organization founded two years ago and run and managed by LGBT.

2. Joseph Bukombe, a San Diego man, has been in detention for two years because his attorney was unable to prove to the court that Joseph was a gay man and by returning to his native Uganda, it would endanger his life. Even though Joseph’s story attracted publicity and a petition organized by his friend Hector Martinez and some other legal advisors, Joseph is a tragic local reminder of how broken the American asylum system really is. The good news is that Joseph can be released from detention if $10,000 can be raised for his bail and allow him a fair trial that will incur additional legal costs.

The St. Paul’s Foundation for International Reconciliation is a San Dieg0-based non profit agency concerned with LGBT global equality and has been supporting the work of Ugandan Bishop Christopher Senyonjo this past year. They are also sponsoring a young transgender Ugandan who was abducted and tortured before being granted asylum.

Any funds raised that are returned or left over from Joseph’s bail and legal fees will be used to support this second victim of Uganda’s horrific anti-gay laws. You can read more about this at blog.stpaulsfoundation.com.

They are looking for 400 people to each donate at least $25 to free Joseph for Christmas. He has been promised his old job and friends will accommodate him until he can get back on his feet.

“We can give one gay man, a fellow San Diegan, the gift of freedom,” said Canon Albert Ogle who co-chaired a holiday party event at LifeHOUSE on Thursday December 15th to pay for Joseph’s bail.

Tax deductible donations can be purchased through the St. Paul’s Foundation for International Reconciliation.

“This money will really help both Ugandans to find a place where they no longer live in constant fear and stress”, said Canon Ogle.

“I can think of no greater gift that we could give to anyone this season than to give someone the gift of freedom. Joseph’s haunting story makes that biblical passage from Isaiah, also used by Jesus in his first public sermon so relevant to this season of Advent: that we are to “bring good news to the poor.. to proclaim release to captives and to let the oppressed go free,” reflected Ogle.

3. Gay Kenya needs donations in making their project “A place we can call our Own” a reality.

Many individuals who come out to their family and friends in Kenya are often thrown out of home, schools, estates and even assaulted because the society is generally intolerant of sexual minorities. With nowhere to go, these individuals are sometimes taken in by abusive relatives and the internal and external pressure push some to the streets and some succumb to depression.

Gay Kenya has enlisted to the GlobalGiving Challenge (a website that supports small organizations to fundraise online). The immediate challenge is to raise $4,000 from a minimum of 50 donors in 30 days (by December 31, 2011). Once this target is reached, the group will then have a permanent spot on the website and continue fundraising for the current and other projects.

The Safe-spaces facility will provide for immediate safety evacuation, an opportunity to engage with career counselors for them to explore beneficial career options and where possible engage with family seeking their reconciliation and reintegration.

Says Elphas Njeru, Board Chairperson:

This is a game changer in advocacy – fear will no longer rule our lives.

You can donate with your Visa card.

To donate by US Mobile Phone, text GIVE 9333 to 80088 to donate $10 to Multi-Purpose Safe-Space Shelter.

See the information on Gay Kenya on how to donate by bank transfer, for both domestic and international transfers, indicate in the notes field that this is a donation to Multi-Purpose Safe-Space Shelter (Project #9333).

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/3-international-lgbt-causes-to-support-at-christmas.html#ixzz1hUxJItdY

Zach Wahls' Speech About His Gay Moms is YouTube's Top Political Video of the Year

in: http://www.towleroad.com/2011/12/wahlswinner.html

Zach Wahls' inspiring speech to the Iowa legislature about his gay moms is YouTube's top political video of the year.

Writes YouTube: "Surpassing the President and various presidential hopefuls in views, the #1 video on our list comes from a young man in Iowa speaking candidly to his government. Zach Wahls’ 3 minute speech defending gay marriage has been viewed more than 18 million times."

Australian Finance Minister Penny Wong announces birth of child

in: http://queermagazineonline.com/news/pink-paper-news/40758-australian-finance-minister-penny-wong-announces-birth-of-child

Australia's lesbian Finance Minister, Penny Wong, has publicly announced the birth of her and her partner's first child.

Wong and partner Sophie Allouache have welcomed a baby girl called Alexandra.

"This is a life-changing experience," said the 43-year-old Senator. "She’s wonderful, just wonderful."

The child was born at Adelaide’s Women’s and Children’s Hospital just days after Wong rallied for gay marriage at the annual Labor Party conference.

The baby, weighing in at 7.1lbs, was conceived from a donor known to the couple, but he will not be identified.

"The PM’s given me a bit of leave, so I’m going to take time off" she told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.

"Hopefully we can get the important things in life, like feeding and nappy changing and sleeping under control."

He told the Australian Broadcasting Commission that the refusal came about because of a misunderstanding on the part of the school principal and parish priest as to the church’s position on the issue.

Mr Trevor Rynne, principal of the Sacred Heart school, confirmed the young girl had been rejected because of her parents’ relationship, but he declined to comment further.

NSW politician John Kaye, from the Greens party, said the school’s action had been offensive and indefensible.