Posted: September 30th, 2011 | Author: Dinah | No Comments »
The Friendfactor blog may have been quiet this week, but the world of gay news certainly was not! (We promise, the radio silence will be worth it… keep an ear out in early October… ) Here’s your weekly cheat-sheet to catch you up for the weekend. In this edition: mostly stuff about TV. But lots of different kinds of TV!
Sports fans with gay friends can do a mighty big wave for this story: The NFL has added language to their anti-discrimination policy to protect folks from harassment based on sexual orientation! The league has made the move quietly, slipping the new protection in with the slew of other changes that came at the end of a collective bargaining marathon in the past few weeks. Homophobia in sports is, unfortunately, a pretty widespread problem. So we’re glad to see such an influential group taking steps to say it won’t be tolerated. Did you know there are currently no out, gay professional athletes in football, basketball, hockey or baseball in the US? Maybe this move will change things.
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Posted: September 23rd, 2011 | Author: Crystal | No Comments »
Want to know the freshest news your gay friends will be talking about this weekend? Look no further! You’re a few short blurbs away from seeming super tapped-in with the world in which your friends live. This week: the world doesn’t end when gay folks serve openly in the military, the freedom to marry receives bipartisan and overseas support, and SQUID. Yeah, that’s right, the octopus’s punchier cousin, right here with the other gay news for straight friends on the Friendfactor blog.
The country's now with the ACLU: No!
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Posted: September 20th, 2011 | Author: Dinah | 4 Comments »
“Repeal Day” celebrations are being held across the country in honor of the U.S. lifting its ban on gay military service today, Tuesday September 20th, 2011.
The former policy, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” was originally intended as a compromise to allow gay citizens to serve, albeit from the closet (not a place I’d personally choose to fight a war from. You know, poor visibility and all). The result of the policy, however, was far from a victory for gay troops. Living in fear of being outed, these men and women selflessly serving their country were forced to hide their identities, despite their willingness to sacrifice so much.
There were also widespread allegations that DADT was used maliciously by service members who wanted peers or superiors kicked out for personal grievances — just the suggestion of being gay could ruin a military career. Count that as another big reason for straight friends to care about gay rights: legalized discrimination puts us all at risk.
After months of controversy over lifting the ban, reports from the military itself indicate the policy shift won’t be a disruption to operations:
Pentagon press secretary George Little said Monday that the military is adequately prepared for the end of the current policy… “No one should be left with the impression that we are unprepared. We are prepared for repeal,” Little said.
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Posted: September 15th, 2011 | Author: Dinah | No Comments »
It’s hard to peg him as the comicbook king of controversy, but we’re about to see the third (third!) Archie wedding to make waves in recent news: the series’ gay character, Kevin, will be getting married after returning home as a war hero.
Interestingly, there hasn’t yet been any huge public outcry against the portrayal of a happy, healthy fictional gay character. Most of the news coverage seems to be hedging on the question of whether there will be controversy:
After a pair of straight weddings — both strangely involving Archie, though in his dreams — drew national attention, the publisher behind the popular stories has confirmed that it’s making room for someone else to walk down the aisle: Kevin Keller, the series’ first openly-gay character.
“Kevin followed in his father’s footsteps and is returning to Riverdale as a war hero, but that’s not all – It’s Kevin’s wedding day!” reads a news release from Archie Comic Publications, promoting an upcoming issue of “Life With Archie.”
In this offshoot series, which runs glimpse-into-the-future storylines based on the lives of Archie, Betty and Veronica, readers soon will be able to discover how Kevin met “Mr. Right.”
(via FoxNews.com)
Archie holds a place of nostalgic Americana for many of us; I’ve seen both my mother and sixteen year-old sister reach for the latest double digest in the check-out line at the supermarket. Keeping in mind the changing attitudes of the country and growing acceptance of gay couples, it only makes sense to include this storyline in the wholesome series.
One could argue the gay character Kevin has a moral leg up on old Archie himself, who just can’t seem to settle down with one girl! Kevin’s will be one Archie wedding without the typical Maryanne/Ginger factious fighting — we can all get behind it. No controversy here, folks: look to every other Archie comic for that.
Take Action: Like this post as a reminder to buy the Archie wedding comic for someone you love! America supports Archie’s gay friend, just like all our other gay friends.
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