Is The Homophobia In Uganda Ignored Due To Racism In LGBT Community?
The western media have focused an enormous amount of media attention about the homophobia in Russia. Since the Winter Olympics will take place in Russia in February 2014 the issue of LGBT rights in Russia has gotten the spotlight.
Perhaps the shock of the Occident is due to the fact Europe is stereotyped as being progressive, tolerant, and modern?
Western people seem to be horrified that Vladimir Putin has created and passed anti gay legislation in Russia.
Where is the press about the anti gay bill in Uganda now becoming law? Where is the GLAAD spokesperson Wilson Cruz? Why isn’t the Human Rights Campaign on television denouncing the anti gay law in Uganda becoming law? Why is there this canyon of silence?
If the Winter Olympics was taking place in Africa, or South America, or Asia, or the Middle East would the western media care about the plight of LGBT people there? Or, is it because Russia although a communist nation, is still a part of Europe and is still a white nation why there is so much press?
The white homosexuals in Russia have it easier than say Jamaican LGBT people, or gay and lesbian people in Iran where gays can be killed.
Although, people like to pretend race doesn’t matter in the obsession of the western media coverage about discrimination of LGBT people in Russia it would be naive to ignore it.
The Russian LGBT people we see on television are white, and western people especially in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada relate to them since they are white themselves.
The homophobia in Uganda is treated and viewed through a different lens by the western media in the mainstream and the LGBT community. Uganda is foreign, it is distant, it is too black, the other, and therefore invisible and treated like an afterthought.
However, Russia’s anti gay laws are terrible. I am not disputing that LGBT people in Russia are not being discriminated against. I am just pointing out there are many countries around the world where the rights of LGBT people are worse! Celebrities like Wentworth Miller, Thomas Roberts, speak out about the homophobia in Russia yet are silent about the discrimination of LGBT people in other countries.
There is this facade that the LGBT community is a monolithic group however this is a DANGEROUS LIE! The racism within the LGBT media is more subtle but it is indeed very real and it exists.
Whenever, I visit message boards and people write about homophobia in African countries there is the usual racist rhetoric that Africans are uncivilized and that’s why they are against homosexuality. However, in the United States, there are racist white Christian groups who travel to the third world to engender homophobia. Why doesn’t the bigotry of American Christian groups not getting more media attention? I recall during my undergraduate days at York University, I learned that American Evangelical Christian groups travel to Uganda, and other African countries and provide funding for Christian groups there. The homophobia in Uganda didn’t just emerge out of nowhere.
The Rachel Maddow show is one of the rare American television shows which have provided a space for dialogue about the homophobia in Uganda.
The Ugandan government has passed the anti gay bill. However, I don’t recall GLAAD, or Human Rights Campaign, or LGBT celebrities speaking out about the homophobia in Uganda.
Since the majority of the LGBT community in Uganda are black Africans or South Asians due to the issue of race they don’t receive the same media attention.
Could it be, because Russia is a white European nation, gay and lesbian organizations in the west relate to Russia easier? Uganda isn’t the only nation with terrible anti gay laws countries such as Iran, Malaysia, and the Middle East gay people have NO RIGHTS!
Sorry if I sound cynical, but I can’t help sense there is an element of racism by the LGBT power elite organizations like GLAAD about Uganda and other third world nations in relation to gay rights.
Is The James Franco & Seth Rogen Parody of Kanye West Video Homophobic?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCGZ6tJdtmc
Although the James Franco & Seth Rogen parody of Kanye West new video is considered funny is it really? The immediate reaction people have is Franco & Rogen are just being funny making fun of rapper Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s arrogance.
Franco and Rogen are homophobes, except they utilize humour as a mask to conceal their anti gay prejudice.
Franco has used male homosexuality as a gimmick to get free publicity, yet he clearly has no respect for gay men!
The subliminal message is still homophobia against male homosexuality is palatable if the homophobes are young white heterosexual male actors. We live in a racist, homophobic world where the obnoxious behaviour of white heterosexual men is giving a free pass. Imagine, if two young black male actors made this parody video? Would the mainstream media and public be so accepting of it or would they scorn them?
Some people might argue, that it is simply a joke not be taken seriously. However, humour has a subtext, a message that is beneath the surface. The homophobia Franco and Rogen are engendering is that male homosexuality is wrong.
The anti gay message Franco and Rogen are spreading must be challenged and not dismissed as just comedy.
The general public is laughing at the fact two famous young male actors are kissing and being affectionate with each other. People are not just laughing at Kanye West, they also have a platform to being homophobic because Franco and Rogen provided the space for this to occur. Male homosexuality is ridiculed, gay men being affectionate with each other is seen as a joke. Since Franco and Rogen are both white, heterosexual men, they utilize their white male privilege to humiliate gay men.
Once again, two men kissing is considered funny and disgusting at the same time. Although, James Franco claims to be an ally of the gay community he has a propensity to be an opportunist. Franco is no friend of the gay male community, he utilizes male homosexuality to shock his heterosexual audience. James Franco is a bigot, but his bigotry is covert not overt. Franco’s art about gay male sexuality which he manipulates for his personal game is an example of his prejudice.
Since Franco is heterosexual, some gay men fall for Franco’s prejudice they give him a free pass for mocking male homosexuality.
Franco has white male skin privilege and since he is handsome, gay men ignore his anti gay prejudice. However, just because Franco is a good looking man, does this give him a pass for being a jerk?
Franco isn’t as gay positive as some gay men assume. For instance, Franco’s short film Interior Leather Bar, was created to alarm heterosexual audiences since he was recreating portions of the 1980 cult gay classic Cruising. Of course, Franco was not involved in any of the gay male sex scenes.
Franco’s so called art is meant to shock, he feels comfortable exploiting male homosexuality for his own personal fame. However, Franco won’t get too close to male homosexuality and he is quick to point out he isn’t gay. Franco’s coy attitude about his sexuality is lame and pathetic. Franco needs a new gimmick and move on from male homosexuality he is a coward.
Only a coward would claim to be an ally of the gay male community yet consistently use homosexuality to alarm the general public. There is no substance behind Franco’s art, it lacks true meaning.
Male homosexuality is just a prop for Franco, a joke, not to be taken seriously. In addition, since Franco has never clarified his true sexuality, he is assumed to be heterosexual. Franco utilizes his heterosexual male privilege to mock, humiliate, and discriminate against gay men.James Franco is the enemy of gay men he is not an ally.
Shocking News: Transgender Teen Murdered By Violent Mob In Jamaica!!!
Associated Press | 13/08/11 4:52 PM ET
MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — Dwayne Jones was relentlessly teased in high school for being effeminate until he dropped out. His father not only kicked him out of the house at the age of 14 but also helped jeering neighbours push the youngster from the rough Jamaican slum where he grew up.
By age 16, the teenager was dead – beaten, stabbed, shot and run over by a car when he showed up at a street party dressed as a woman. His mistake: confiding to a friend that he was attending a “straight” party as a girl for the first time in his life.
“When I saw Dwayne’s body, I started shaking and crying,” said Khloe, one of three transgender friends who shared a derelict house with the teenager in the hills above the north coast city of Montego Bay. Like many transgender and gay people in Jamaica, Khloe wouldn’t give a full name out of fear.
“It was horrible. It was so, so painful to see him like that.”
International advocacy groups often portray this Caribbean island as the most hostile country in the Western Hemisphere for gay and transgender people. After two prominent gay rights activists were murdered, a researcher with the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch in 2006 called the environment in Jamaica for such groups “the worst any of us has ever seen.”
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Local activists have since disputed that label, but still say homophobia is pervasive. Dwayne’s horrific July 22 murder has made headlines in newspapers on the island and stirred calls in some quarters for doing more to protect Jamaica’s gay community, especially those who live on the streets and resort to sex work.
Advocates say much of the homophobia is fueled by a nearly 150-year-old anti-sodomy law that bans anal sex as well as by dancehall reggae performers who flaunt anti-gay themes. The island’s main gay rights group estimated that two homosexual men were killed for their sexual orientation last year, and 36 were the victims of mob violence.
For years, Jamaica’s gay community has lived so far underground that their parties and church services were held in secret locations. Many gays have stuck to a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy of keeping their sexual orientation hidden to avoid scrutiny or protect loved ones.
“Judging by comments made on social media, most Jamaicans think Dwayne Jones brought his death on himself for wearing a dress and dancing in a society that has made it abundantly clear that homosexuals are neither to be seen nor heard,” said Annie Paul, a blogger and publications officer at Jamaica’s campus of the University of the West Indies.
Some say the hostility partly stems from the legacy of slavery when black men were sometimes sodomized as punishment or humiliation. Some historians believe that practice carried over into a general dread of homosexuality.
But in recent years, emboldened young people such as Dwayne have helped bring the island’s gay and transgender community out of the shadows. A small group of gay runaways now rowdily congregates on the streets of Kingston’s financial district.
Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller’s government has also vowed to put the anti-sodomy law to a “conscience vote” in Parliament, and she said during her 2011 campaign that only merit would decide who got a Cabinet position in her government. By contrast, former Prime Minister Bruce Golding said in 2008 that he would never allow homosexuals in his Cabinet.
Dane Lewis, executive director of the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals & Gays, said there were increasing “pockets of tolerance” on the island.
“We can say that we are becoming more tolerant. And thankfully that’s because of people like Dwayne who have helped push the envelope,” said Lewis, one of the few Jamaican gays who will publicly disclose his full name.
Yet rights groups still complain of the slow pace of the investigation into Jones’ murder, despite the justice minister calling for a full probe.
Police spokesman Steve Brown said detectives working the case are struggling to overcome a chronic problem: a strong anti-informant culture that makes eyewitnesses to murders and other crimes too afraid or simply unwilling to come forward.
Even though some 300 people were at the dance party in the small riverside community of Irwin, police have yet to make a single arrest in Dwayne’s murder. Police say witnesses have said they couldn’t see the attackers’ faces.
Dwayne was the center of attraction shortly after arriving in a taxi at 2 a.m. with his two 23-year-old housemates, Khloe and Keke. Dwayne’s expert dance moves, long legs and high cheekbones quickly made him the one that the guys were trying to get next to.
Like many Jamaican homosexuals, Dwayne was careful about confiding in others about his sexual orientation. But when he saw a girl he had known from church, he told her he was attending the party in drag.
Minutes later, according to Khloe and Keke, the girl’s male friends gathered around Dwayne in the dimly-lit street asking: “Are you a woman or a man?” One man waved a lighter’s flame near Dwayne’s sneakers, asking whether a girl could have such big feet.
Then, his friends said, another man grabbed a lantern from an outdoor bar and walked over to Dwayne, shining the bright light over him from head to toe. “It’s a man,” he concluded, while the others hissed “batty boy” and other anti-gay epithets.
Khloe says she tried to steer him away from the crowd, whispering in Dwayne’s ear: “Walk with me, walk with me.” But Dwayne pulled away, loudly insisting to partygoers that he was a girl. When someone behind him snapped his bra strap, the teen panicked and raced down the street.
But he couldn’t run fast enough to escape the mob.
The teenager was viciously assaulted and apparently half-conscious for some two hours before another sustained attack finished him off, according to Khloe, who was also beaten and nearly raped. She hid in a nearby church and then the surrounding woods, unable to call for help because she didn’t have her cellphone.
Dwayne’s father in the Montego Bay slum of North Gully didn’t want to talk about his son’s life or death. The teen’s family wouldn’t even claim the body, according to Dwayne’s friends.
They remembered him as a spirited boy with a contagious laugh who dreamt of becoming a performer like Lady Gaga. He was also a street-smart hustler who resorted to sleeping in the bushes or on beaches when he became homeless. He won a local dancing competition during his time on the streets and was affectionately nicknamed “Gully Queen.”
“He was the youngest of us but he was a diva,” Khloe said. “He was always very feisty and joking around.”
Inside their squatter house, Khloe and Keke said, they still talk to their dead friend.
“I’ll be cooking in the kitchen and I’ll say, `Dwayne, you hungry?’ or something like that,” said Keke while sitting on the old mattress in her bedroom, flinching as neighborhood dogs barked outside. “We just miss him all the time. Sometimes I think I see him.”
But down the hall, Dwayne’s room is empty except for pink window curtains decorated with roses, his favorite flower.
Gay Community Putting Too Much Press On Robbie Rogers To Become Gay Jackie Robinson Of Sports.
Robbie Rogers came out of the closet last month and recently he conducted two interviews with the Guardian and the New York Times. Rogers gave very candid answers he acknowledged that he retired from soccer because he believes he cannot be openly gay and compete. However, on numerous gay websites such as Outsports.com, Queerty, Towleroad, gay men have attacked Rogers calling him a coward. What right do people have to make Robbie Rogers into something he doesn’t want to be? The pressure for a gay male athlete to become the gay Jackie Robinson is a lot of pressure.
How can gay men call Rogers a coward when gay men we know how hard it is to come out? The crabs in the barrel syndrome is so common in the gay community it is disgusting!
Rogers also stated that since he came out no closeted gay male soccer players have emailed him or contacted him he was disappointed. The fear the gay male athletes have in professional sports is very real.
The mainstream media, are very politically correct, everyone is saying the right things, that the time is right for a gay male athlete to come out in a team sport. However, if the time is right why hasn’t anyone done it? Why? Why is it in the year 2013, no professional male athlete has come out in the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB, golf, tennis, soccer? If society is so progressive as people say why is there still this intense fear that the closeted gay male athletes have?
According to Rogers, he only came out to his family in October 2012. The young man is clearly still struggling to accept his homosexuality. In the New York Times, Rogers says he doesn’t go to gay bars and he doesn’t pick up men. Rogers seems brand new, he is still trying to make sense of his life as an openly gay man. Rogers is also a Catholic, his family is very religious.
The gay community we are our own worst enemy. Some gay people place so much expectations on gay celebrities to be role models to push the gay movement forward. Yet some gay and lesbian people, don’t care to understand some gay stars don’t want to be spokespersons for the movement.
For instance, Jodie Foster the Academy award-winning lesbian actress refuses to be a gay role model and I applaud Foster’s decision. Foster is a very private woman, and she’s living her life on her own terms not for the gay community but for herself. In Robbie Roger’s case, he knows more about the homophobia in professional soccer than the general public. Rogers says the straight male soccer players are hypocritical, on the one hand they claim to support Rogers yet he says they also make gay jokes in the change room.
I think people expect too much from gay celebrities, we place our goals, dreams, and aspirations on these people yet we forget they are people too. Robbie Rogers has done a lot of good just by coming out. If Rogers doesn’t want to compete in professional soccer again it is his personal choice. No one has the right to lecture to Rogers that he must become the gay Jackie Robinson. Rogers is cognizant, he will be subjected to homophobia from fans, and perhaps even other soccer players if he competed again. Rogers feels he can’t handle dealing with gay slurs and negativity when he is competing. Rogers is being honest, he probably doesn’t want to be placed on to a pedestal and have the media put so much scrutiny on him. The pressure to be perfect would be overwhelming.
Patrick Chan Deserved Fourth Place Did Not Deserve To Win World Figure Skating Championships.
Okay, I guess I am going to be a bad Canadian and be honest, Patrick Chan did not deserve to win his third straight World Figure Skating Championships. The reason Chan won is due to his reputation as a top skater, Canadian nationalism, and of course dirty figure skating politics. I don’t like Patrick Chan, there I said it! I find Chan’s attitude to be extremely arrogant and he just comes across as someone with a lot of entitlement. Chan actually told the press he “deserved to win”. Nobody “deserves” to win, you either win because you are the best or you don’t. Patrick Chan deserved to be off the podium but of course this did not happen.
Chan’s free skate was sloppy, the guy fell multiple times. However, since Chan’s short program score was so inflated by the judges he was ensured a victory. What is the point watching men’s figure skating if poor skating can win the gold medal? The poor judging is a joke, and of course the Canadian media aren’t going to be critical of Chan’s victory. After all, a Canadian won a title at the World Figure Skating Championships in Canada so the Canadian press is happy. The nationalism is ugly, because the best skater did not win.
The World Figure Skating Championships took place in London Ontario, did anyone honestly believe Patrick Chan wasn’t going to win? Sure, Chan is a top elite male skater, but the judges knew if he didn’t win the Canadian media would have a field day.
If Chan did not win, the Canadian press would be attacking the judges saying they are biased against Chan. However, I thought Patrick Chan should not have won a medal I would have put him in fourth place. I thought Dennis Tan deserved the gold but since he’s unknown the judges aren’t going to let him win. I also believe Javier Fernandez deserved higher than third place.
Am I bad Canadian for admitting how I feel about Chan? One of the reasons I tuned out of figure skating is due to the subjective judging. Since figure skating judging is subjective, it means personal biases, prejudices, and politics are involved. I prefer sports like tennis, or golf, or even basketball which aren’t subjective there is a winner and a loser there is no in between. In figure skating, often a skater wins a competition due to reputation, or his or her’s physical appearance, or something superficial such as the skater’s clothing or choice of music.
The figure skating world is also surprisingly enough, very homophobic, and I think Patrick Chan is being held up by the powerful forces within the skating community because he is heterosexual. There is a stereotype which exists that all male figure skaters are gay. Of course, this is not true, plenty of male skaters are straight such as Elvis Stojko. However, there are gay figure skaters like Johnny Weir, Brian Orser, Brian Boitano.
The figure skating elite, believe homosexual male skaters tarnish the sport and make the men’s figure skating look queer. Remember, the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, when Johnny Weir placed sixth despite a decent short and long program. Many observers thought, Weir’s scores were down graded because he is gay.
In this case, Patrick Chan’s scores were inflated because he’s heterosexual and Chan helps promote the figure skating world’s image to the media and public that a straight man can dominate the sport.
Former world figure skating champion Todd Eldredge is correct, Patrick Chan did not deserve to win the men’s title at the World Figure Skating Championships. However, since the World Championships took place in Canada, and Patrick Chan is a Canadian I am not surprised he won. I watched Chan’s performance and it was horrible. Chan fell multiple times, and yet he still won the competition. What does this say about figure skating? It seems the more things change the more they stay the same which is sad. The judges are human beings they have their own prejudices, biases, and also are fearful of the media. Patrick Chan knew he was going to win but his victory is a disgrace to figure skating and a hollow win.
Sports Journalist Mike Florio Says Manti Teo Gay Rumours Worry NFL Executives & Mangers.
According to NBC sports journalist Mike Florio, NFL executives are secretly worried that Manti Te’o is gay. Florio tells radio host Dan Patrick that the NFL teams are fearful of signing Manti Te’o because they are worried his sexuality might be a distraction. The conversation starts at the 2:50 mark. Florio states that, NFL teams want to know Manti Te’o sexuality because they are concerned whether he is a risk or not. However, Florio’s comments about the NFL are disturbing but not surprising.
The level of homophobia in men’s professional sports is still a serious problem. Manti Te’o already told Katie Couric a few weeks ago he isn’t gay. Unfortunately, some people in the NFL don’t believe Manti Te’o is telling the truth. Why should Manti Te’o sexual orientation matter anyway? Why do people care? Florio does make a cogent argument the lockeroom is a homophobic place where the straight men are fearful of gay men. A gay male athlete still has not come out in one of the four major team sports in America. I think this Manti Te’o controversy proves the men’s sports culture is still extremely homophobic. Even if Manti Te’o isn’t gay, he is going to be crucified and criticized by opposing teams when he reaches the NFL.
Associated Press Article: California Bans Gay Conversion Therapy For Teens More States Might Follow.
More states could join California’s ban on gay teen ‘conversion’ therapy
California Gov. Jerry Brown speaks to congregants celebrating Yom Kippur at Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)
Published Monday, Oct. 1, 2012 7:11PM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO — Gay rights advocates are making plans to get other states to join California in banning psychotherapy aimed at making gay teenagers straight, even as opponents prepared Monday to sue to overturn the first law in the nation to take aim at the practice.
After months of intense lobbying, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill late Saturday that prohibits licensed mental health professionals from using so-called reparative or conversion therapies with clients under age 18. Brown called the therapies “quackery” that “have no basis in science or medicine.”
Two New Jersey lawmakers already are drafting similar legislation, while groups that helped get the California law passed are sharing research, witnesses and talking points with counterparts in other gay-friendly states, said Geoff Kors, senior legislative and policy strategist for the San Francisco-based National Center for Lesbian Rights.
“There are lots of folks today who are looking at this, now that the governor has signed it,” Kors said. “We’ll be reaching out to all the state (gay rights) groups, especially in states that have had success passing LGBT rights legislation.”
The law only applies to licensed therapists, not ministers or lay people who counsel teens to resist same-sex attractions.
Two Christian legal groups, meanwhile, said they would sue in federal court in Sacramento to prevent the law from taking effect on Jan. 1.
The lawsuits will be filed on behalf of therapists whose practices include efforts to help clients change their sexual orientations or reduce their attractions to people of the same-sex; parents who have sought such therapy for their children; and teenagers who currently are undergoing it, lawyers for the California-based Pacific Justice Institute and Florida-based Liberty Counsel said.
Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver said his organization plans to argue in court that the law infringes on the First Amendment and equal protection rights of individuals to give and receive information that matches their personal and professional beliefs.
“What this law does is tell minors that they can no longer receive information about same-sex attractions that they have been receiving and that they find beneficial to them,” Staver said. “It also puts counsellors in a situation where they must present only one viewpoint of this subject.”
The law Brown signed states that mental health providers who use sexual orientation change efforts on clients under 18 would be engaging in unprofessional conduct and subject to discipline by their respective state licensing boards.
Mainstream associations representing psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers have dismissed reparative therapy in recent decades as being ineffective and potentially dangerous to the mental health of teenagers and young adults who are led to believe their interest in same-sex partners is wrong.
As originally written, the bill introduced by state Sen. Ted Lieu, also would have required therapists to warn adult patients of the practice’s risks and limitations and to obtain their written consent before engaging in it.
Lieu dropped the informed consent provision, however, after a number of mental health associations in California — including the California Psychological Association and the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists — complained that it interfered with the therapist-client relationship.
Both groups, as well as the other leading professional groups, ultimately endorsed the ban for juveniles.
It remained unclear how many practitioners and patients the law would affect.
David Pruden, vice-president of the California-based National Association for Research and Therapy on Homosexuality, a professional association that supports treatment for homosexuality, estimated there are two dozen therapists statewide who engage in efforts to change sexual orientation, and not all of them treat adolescents.
The association plans to be a plaintiff in the Liberty Counsel lawsuit, with its support based mostly on the law’s symbolic effect than its consequences for large numbers of California teens and their counsellors, Pruden said.
“If you said, realistically, how many hamburgers did you think you weren’t going to sell at McDonald’s because of the new pickle law, the answer is not very many,” he said. “Then the question becomes should we be legislating pickles.”
Staver thinks the law could impact hundreds of licensed Christian psychotherapists and their teen clients from religious families nationwide. Depending on how it’s enforced, California therapists who treat clients in other states via Skype, and therapists in other states who conduct telephone sessions with California residents could be investigated for misconduct, he said.
Homophobic Wannabe Celebrity Paris Hilton Says Gay Men Are Disgusting & Spread AIDS!!
Paris Hilton defends ‘gay guys’ comment
Paris Hilton under fire for gay comments
- “Gay guys are the horniest people in the world,” Hilton says in secret recording
- “Paris Hilton is a huge supporter of the gay community,” Hilton’s publicist says
- A cab driver recorded Hilton talking to a gay friend, RadarOnline says
- Hilton was expressing dangers of unprotected sex, says publicist
(CNN) — Paris Hilton’s comments about gay men who use a cell phone app for sexual hook ups were expressions of concern about the dangers of unprotected sex, not homophobic slurs, her publicist said Thursday.
The Hollywood socialite said, “Gay guys are the horniest people in the world,” called them “disgusting” and suggested “most of them probably have AIDS” in the short conversation secretly recorded by a New York cab driver two weeks ago, according to RadarOnline.
The online celebrity gossip site did not identify the driver or reveal how much, if anything, was paid for the recording published Thursday.
Hilton’s publicist, in a statement sent to CNN Thursday, confirmed the recording was authentic, but said, “It was not her intent to make any derogatory comments about all gays.”
Paris Hilton’s time in the spotlight“Paris Hilton is a huge supporter of the gay community and would never purposefully make any negative statements about anyone’s sexual orientation,” the statement said.
Hilton was riding in a cab with “an openly gay male model” during New York Fashion Week in the early morning hours of Friday, September 7, RadarOnline reported.
The gay friend was showing Hilton the iPhone app Grindr, which advertises itself as the “most popular all-male location-based social network out there,” offering “quick, convenient, and discreet” connections, RadarOnline reported.
“Say I log into Grindr, someone that’s on Grindr can be in that building and it tells you all the locations of where they are and you can be like, ‘Yo, you wanna f–k?’ and he might be on like, the sixth floor,” the male voice is heard saying.
“Ewww! Gay guys are the horniest people in the world,” Hilton said. “They’re disgusting. Dude, most of them probably have AIDS. … I would be so scared if I were a gay guy. You’ll like, die of AIDS.”
“Paris Hilton’s comments were to express that it is dangerous for anyone to have unprotected sex that could lead to a life threatening disease,” her publicist said.
America’s most overexposed celebs
RadarOnline was “only provided a portion of the conversation,” the statement said of the 50-second-long clip.
“The conversation became heated, after a close gay friend told her in a cab ride, a story about a gay man who has AIDS and is knowingly having unprotected sex,” the Hilton statement said. “He also discussed a website that encourages random sex by gay men with strangers. As she was being shown the website, her comments were in reference to those people promoting themselves on the site.”
Ironically, a sex tape was a major factor in boosting Hilton’s celebrity status. The great-granddaughter of hotel mogul Conrad Hilton was captured in a grainy video having sex with boyfriend Rick Salomon. It surfaced in 2003, just days before the debut of her reality TV series “The Simple Life,” which subsequently registered high ratings.
Disappointing News: Yunel Escobar Only Gets A Three Game Suspension For Homophobic Anti Gay Slur!!!
(/Reuters)
ROBERT MACLEOD
The Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Sep. 18 2012, 3:28 PM EDT
Last updated Tuesday, Sep. 18 2012, 3:46 PM EDT
Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar has been suspended for three games for displaying a gay slur written in Spanish on his face during a home game on Saturday.
The measures were announced just before a news conference at Yankee Stadium Tuesday afternoon before the Blue Jays opened a three-game series against New York on Tuesday night.
The Blue Jays also announced that the salary lost by Escobar during his suspension will be directed by the You Can Play and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
The team said that Escobar will participate in an outreach initiative to help educate society about sensitivity and tolerance to others based on their sexual orientation.
Escobar will also participate in a sensitivity training program in accordance with the Blue Jays and the MLB.
The incident stemmed from Saturday’s game at Rogers Centre against the Boston Red Sox in which Tu Ere Maricon was written on an eye black sticker that Escobar wore.
The phrase’s most common English translation is ‘You Are A Faggot’.
It went unnoticed that Escobar was displaying the slur until several pictures began being posted online Monday afternoon clearly show the player with the message written on his eye black, a black patch athletes wear under their eyes to reduce the sun’s glare.
Escobar was scratched from Sunday’s game after the team reported he had come down with “flu-like symptoms” and the Blue Jays had an off-day on Monday.
Associated Press Article: Eighteen Year Old Gay Football Player Says He Got Kicked Off Team For Kissing His Sixty Five Year Old Boyfriend.
By James MacPherson, APJamie Kuntz, posing for a photograph Tuesday at a football field in Dickinson, N.D., says he was kicked off the North Dakota State College of Science football team because he was gay. School officials say he was dismissed from the team for lying to a coach.
By James MacPherson, AP
Jamie Kuntz, posing for a photograph Tuesday at a football field in Dickinson, N.D., says he was kicked off the North Dakota State College of Science football team because he was gay. School officials say he was dismissed from the team for lying to a coach.
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DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) — A concussion kept Jamie Kuntz from suiting up for his first college football game. A kiss from his much-older boyfriend at that game led the freshman linebacker to be kicked off the team, he said.
North Dakota State College of Sciences in Wahpeton acknowledges Kuntz was disciplined by the team, but says it wasn’t because he is gay. Football coach Chuck Parsons told Kuntz in a letter that he was removed from the team for lying about the kiss.
Kuntz, 18, and on a partial football scholarship, left the college in southeast North Dakota this month after his dismissal from the team.
“Football didn’t work out, so there was no reason to stay,” said Kuntz, who lives with his mother across the state in Dickinson.
Kuntz said he and his 65-year-old boyfriend were in the press box at the game against Snow College in Pueblo, Colo., over Labor Day weekend. Kuntz was videotaping the game for the team. His Wildcats were down by more than 40 points when “the kiss just happened,” he said. The team would eventually lose 63-17.
“People around here aren’t exposed to it,” Kuntz said of homosexuality. “People expect gays to be flamboyant, not football players.”
A teammate apparently saw the kiss and told coaches, Kuntz said. When Parsons confronted Kuntz on the bus ride back to North Dakota, Kuntz told him the man he kissed was his grandfather.
“I lied,” Kuntz said.
Later, he felt guilty about lying and came clean to his coach.
In a Sept. 3 dismissal letter obtained by the Associated Press, Parsons told Kuntz he was being ousted from the team under the “conduct deemed detrimental to the team” category outlined in guidelines in the team’s player’s manual. Parsons specifically noted the manual’s section on “lying to coaches, teachers or other school staff.”
“This decision was arrived at solely on the basis of your conduct during the football game; and because you chose not to be truthful with me when I confronted you about whom else was in the box with you,” Parsons wrote. “Any conduct by any member of the program that would cause such a distraction during a game would warrant the same consequences.”
Kuntz doesn’t believe he was dismissed simply for lying.
“I know if it was a girl in the press box, or even an older woman, nothing would have happened,” he said. “If it was an older woman, I would have probably been congratulated for it from my teammates.”
School officials told the AP that they were investigating whether this was the first such instance of someone being kicked off the football team for lying.
John Richman, North Dakota State College of Science president, said other players have been kicked off the team for various reasons, though he couldn’t say whether any before had been booted specifically for lying.
“I don’t know of every single case where coach Parsons has had to discipline a young man,” Richman said.
Other behavior that the player’s manual says could lead to dismissal includes criminal violations, fighting and repeated absences or tardiness to class. Richman said he believes Kuntz’s case was handled “fairly and consistently” by the athletic department.
“I’m very confident that with the information that’s been provided to me by our football coach, Chuck Parsons, by our athletic director, Stu Engen, that the thought process, the facts that were reviewed, have led them to an appropriate and the right decision in this case,” Richman said Tuesday in an interview at the college.
Parsons recently joined the school’s diversity council as a faculty representative, according to Sybil Priebe, an English and humanities professor who heads the council. Its programs include events for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. Priebe said Tuesday she had not heard much about the incident with Kuntz.
Kuntz said he told his mother that he was gay at the same time he told her he was kicked off the team.
“I’m struggling with it,” said Rita Kuntz, choking back tears. “I love Jamie and I’m proud of him, but I know what the school did was wrong.”
Rita Kuntz said she has accepted that her son is gay, but she believes he was taken advantage of by his boyfriend, who is more than three times her son’s age.
Jamie Kuntz said he met the man online more than a year ago. Kuntz said the man, whom he would not identify, lives in Colorado and the two have met there a few times in recent months.
As far as his football career, Kuntz says he’s not giving up. He may pursue it as a walk-on at another university outside North Dakota.
“I miss it already,” he said.
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