The issue of homophobia in sport is still one of the biggest problems that the LGBT community has to deal with, however this Sunday the Chicago Blackhawks will be doing their bit to try and improve that with Brent Sopel, his wife, his four kids, and the Stanley Cup marching to represent the team in Chicago’s Gay Pride parade.

Discussing the decision to have the cup sent from the NHL Draft in LA to the March,  President John McDonough said:

“The power of the Cup is incomprehensible, and we recognize the importance of doing this. It’s important for the city and important for the franchise…The Stanley Cup has become the biggest celebrity of all. It has its own personality and charm. We will be proud to participate in the parade. And Brent Sopel is one of the truly great guys. To have the cup part of the parade is just another great part of the celebration.”

Marching in honor of the hockey star Brendan Burke who was killed in a car earlier this year after having coming out publicly, Sopel spoke of the need for increased tolerance in society:

“When Brendan came out, Brian stood by him, and his whole family stood by him, like every family should. We teach our kids about accepting everybody. Tolerate everybody, to understand where everyone is coming from.”

Via Towleroad, photo by betsyweber

(Left to Right) Brian Geldin, Michael Stever and Ben Sander at BigVisionEmptyWallet.com Launch Party on May 1, 2010.

Directed and produced by filmmaker Michael Stever, Boy Butter’s new commercial is definitely one not to be missed, thanks to Hedda Lettuce, New York City’s premiere drag-debutant and six-time Drag Queen of the Year Award-Winner.

Showcasing Hedda Lettuce in that trademark green wig, the advert sees her singing a somewhat racy patriotic tune in front of the American flag whilst declaring just how much she approves of Boy Butter. And if that’s not all enough to get you watching you’ll get to see something which was a first for Stever – the blowing up of his very first drag queen, something he jokingly says sees as a real milestone in this career:

“Now I know I’ve arrived. Hedda kept me in stitches throughout the shoot with her impeccable comic timing, and I’m extremely glad to have had this opportunity to add this colorful commercial for Boy Butter to my production repertoire.”

Well known on the New York City circuit, Hedda Lettuce has performed in classic cabaret venues such as Caroline’s on Broadway, FEZ and her classic movie night at the Clearview Chelsea, as well as working on Comedy Central, MTV and HBO, and in a handful of Off-Broadway plays, whilst Stever has most recently documented the now historic George A. Romero family reunion at the Saturday Nightmares Horror Expo (coming soon to DVD on Amazon.com) at the landmark Jersey City Loews where he interviewed stage and screen star Adrienne Barbeau, actor John Amplas and filmmaker Roy Frumkus.

Stever also shot and edited the recent Actors Fund benefit reading of Valley of the Dolls. On May 1, he appeared with actor Ben Sander (The Brini Maxwell Show) at the Launch Party of the new website, BigVisionEmptyWallet.com, and he’ll be returning to The Drama Desk Awards on May 23 as the ceremony’s official cameraman for the second year in a row.

Among the many highlights of Stever’s productive 2009 were his filming of legendary stage and screen star Debbie Reynolds’ induction into the Friars Club, a “making of” featurette on composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz’s “Séance on a Wet Afternoon,” and the 2009 audition reel for “America’s Got Talent” aerial violinist/soprano Janice Martin, just to name a few. Earlier in 2009, Stever was invited to lend his voice and lens to the precedent-setting ‘Defying Inequality’ Broadway Concert where he interviewed Lynda Carter, Gavin Creel, Jonathan Groff, Tamara Tunie and more. In addition to working with these incredible performers, Stever also created, filmed and edited industrial promos for ABLE Rigging Contractors’ brand new website, which he’ll continue to do throughout 2010. He also recently wrapped a shoot of a staged reading of Broadway veteran, recording star, and TV/film performer Billy Porter’s new play, “The Untitled Sex Project.”

Stever’s short film, “Ghosts Of Zion & Michael Nyman,” was recently featured at the independent film website, ShootingPeople.org. He is currently developing “Ghosts of Zion” into his first feature-length film. Having worked successfully as an actor for nearly twenty years, Stever is now merging the perfect union of industry smarts and technical savvy as a full-time freelance cameraman, filmmaker and writer shooting and editing mini-DV projects all over New York City. For nearly three years, he worked as Unit Production Manager on the critically acclaimed documentary, “Broadway: The Golden Age” and its two sequels. Recent clients include Broadway vets Mary Bond Davis as well as Judy McLane at West Bank Cafe’s Laurie Beechman Theatre, the Screen Actors Guild’s BookPals group, Barnes & Noble and PlayBill magazine columnist Ellis Nassour. He is also the official cameraman for The Brini Maxwell Show podcasts. And he also recently directed and edited the DVD seminar, “How to Get and Keep an Agent” for Actors Connection, which is now available on Amazon.com.

Photo Credit: Deneka Peniston

Making up a group of nearly 30 players and coaches, the  Players’ Association project entitled “inclusion and diversity” campaign is timed to coincide with May 17th International Day Against Homophobia, and is being seen as a very positive step forward following research by Victoria University showing Australian rules is seen to be the sport that most gay men feel too threatened to play.

Seeing the players and coaches photographed with handwritten signs calling for great acceptance, this is a follow on from a campaign by gay-oriented rugby union club, the Sydney Convicts who teamed up with Australia’s national rugby union team, the Wallabies in the fight for great acceptance.

A similar campaign was planned for English football, however it apparently failed because their football players weren’t big enough or clever enough to want to participate.

Via Gay News Network.

Blake Skjellerup, the New Zealand  short track speed skater who competed in this year’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver has announced that he is gay in an interview with Australian gay magazine DNA.

Speaking of how he didn’t hide his sexuality at the games, and walked hand in hand with his boyfriend around the venues, Skjellerup said he would have come out if asked, but did not look to do so as he was more focused on the competition. He did though comment on how surprised he was to be the only competing athlete to visit the PRIDE house, the gay meeting point at Whistler:

I was a bit shocked that I was the first competing gay athlete from these Olympics to visit, especially since I wasn’t able to make it there (owing to scheduling conflicts) until after I had finished competing. But it was great to see such a thing. If I had felt like I needed a space to be myself away from the Olympic village, it would have been there. I hope the idea can grow from Olympics to Olympics.

Whilst Skjellerup has felt that now is the time for him to speak publicly about his sexuality, he doesn’t disclose the name of his boyfriend who is also  a competitive athlete, and also acted to point out the amount of homophobia that still existed in the sports world:

“’We are not yet at the point in society where being gay sportsperson is not a big deal. If I was asked during any of my twenty-something interviews at the Olympics whether I had a boyfriend or a girlfriend — in the same sentence — I would have replied honestly, but I may have replied hesitantly,’”

and the need of role models to combat this:

“Gays are too often given a stereotype. Back when I was 18, and becoming serious about my sport and my Olympic goals, if I could have seen an athlete like myself out there – with whom I could relate to – my journey would have been a lot easier.

“[American figure skater] Johnny Weir meets a specific stereotype, I meet a specific stereotype and [Welsh rugby player] Gareth Thomas meets another. Being gay is just like any other personality trait: it’s multifaceted. I can’t personally relate to Weir or Thomas, and nor will many other young gay athletes out there. But maybe some of them will see something in me to relate to. The more types we provide, the more we’ll appeal to people [who are struggling with their sexuality.”

Via Outsports.

Are you one of those jet setting types that makes the rest of us who have to stay put jealous? Fed up with having to constantly work out how you’re going to make sure all of those toiletries of yours compile with that incredibly long list of airline liquid restrictions? A new New York based company has come up with the perfect solution.

Giving themselves the name 3floz, this online boutique is doing something very clever and very special – it’s only selling beauty and grooming products in TSA-approved sizes only, hence the name.

Offering products for both men and women, all of the products they sell come in 3 fluid ounces (100 ml) or less, and as well as being a lot more practical also allow you to try out top end products without having to spend a fortune. You can get the products sent internationally and they’ll even get them sent direct to your hotel.

You can check out their full range at 3floz.com

The University of Pennsyvania has announced that it’s latest insurance plan, to be introduced in the fall will absorb the cost of transgender reassignment surgery.

Covering triadic treatment (the three step process that makes up gender confirmation), The Daily Pennsylvanian reports that the plan will cover up to $50,000 worth of surgery, something which more than covers the average cost of  surgery which Transgender At Work found totalled around $20,000.

The introduction of the initiative by the previous Lambda Alliance board, chaired by College senior and Daily Pennsylvanian columnist Dennie Zastrow, came following an assessment by the board that, according to Zastrow, there was a:

“problem with LGBT advocacy at Penn in the past had been that we overlooked the needs of transgender students,”

According to the American Medical Association, a lack of proper treatment for transgender individuals can lead to “significant psychological distress, dysfunction, debilitating depression and for some patients without access to appropriate medical care and treatment, suicidality and death.”

Believing this initiative would act to ensure the transgender community’s needs were more closely met, the proposal was last brought to the Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee last semester and approved by the Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Vincent Price this week.

This new insurance plan acts to bring the University of Pennsylvania in line with Stanford who have also acted to extend  their transgender insurance benefits.

Photo by mathplourde

Remember the horrific case of Janice Langbehn not being able to visit her partner Lisa Mary Pond, who had suffered a massive stroke,  in hospital because they were in what the social worker called an “anti-gay city and state”? Sickening and a huge sign of disrespect to a couple who had been together for 18 years and had four children, this sadly highlighted a situation that has occurred far too many times around the country.

However thanks to a new order from President Obama, who is currently in our bad books concerning his non action over DADT in 2010), this may soon come to an end as he has now ordered there be new rules put in place for LGBT families and patients concerning hospital visits we are willing to give him a few gay points back again.

Sent by email for the White House press office, this Presidential Memorandum on Hospital Visitation was based around the subject of “Respecting the Rights of Hospital Patients to Receive Visitors and to Designate Surrogate Decision Makers for Medical Emergencies” and sent to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Highlighting that medical emergencies are frightening time when we all need support, compassion and companionship, the memorandum from the President highlights how for many, including gays and lesbians this currently isn’t so:

There are few moments in our lives that call for greater compassion and companionship than when a loved one is admitted to the hospital. In these hours of need and moments of pain and anxiety, all of us would hope to have a hand to hold, a shoulder on which to lean — a loved one to be there for us, as we would be there for them.

Yet every day, all across America, patients are denied the kindnesses and caring of a loved one at their sides — whether in a sudden medical emergency or a prolonged hospital stay. Often, a widow or widower with no children is denied the support and comfort of a good friend. Members of religious orders are sometimes unable to choose someone other than an immediate family member to visit them and make medical decisions on their behalf. Also uniquely affected are gay and lesbian Americans who are often barred from the bedsides of the partners with whom they may have spent decades of their lives — unable to be there for the person they love, and unable to act as a legal surrogate if their partner is incapacitated

Moving on from acknowledging this to then asking the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure it isn’t allowed to continue to occur, Obama states:

It should be made clear that designated visitors, including individuals designated by legally valid advance directives (such as durable powers of attorney and health care proxies), should enjoy visitation privileges that are no more restrictive than those that immediate family members enjoy. You should also provide that participating hospitals may not deny visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

And he doesn’t stop there, acting to ask for further action to be taken concerning the LGBT community:

Provide additional recommendations to me, within 180 days of the date of this memorandum, on actions the Department of Health and Human Services can take to address hospital visitation, medical decisionmaking, or other health care issues that affect LGBT patients and their families.

The downside of all this is that none of what Obama is asking to occur is enforceable by law, however the fact that he is saying it does send out a very important message to health care organizations across the US. Now if Obama would like to write another memorandum based around DOMA and DADT….

Via AmericaBlogGay. Photo by arriba.

Dan Le Batard has today written a piece for The Sacramento Bee on how the gossip world of journalism that has made it’s home in the entertainment world has now started to make it’s dark and dirty way into the sports world.

Using the case of how Alex Rodriguez being caught in a lift with a blonde who wasn’t his wife back in 2007 made mainstream news Le Batard talks about how this resulted in

“…hundreds of Red Sox fans behind home plate taunted Rodriguez as he walked to the batter’s box by wearing blond-haired masks. It felt, all at once, creepy and voyeuristic and funny and unfair.

We didn’t quite climb into Rodriguez’s bed, but we were giggling outside with our ears pressed to the wall. “None of our business” had rather literally become our business. Rodriguez eventually divorced.”

Going on to say he could “sort of/maybe/kind of understand” the media attention if it was concerning politicians or people of real power, Le Batard suggests that it shouldn’t be something that should be happening in the sports world, believing the behaviour is seen and judged differently if it is part of the sporting world or entertainment world, citing Tiger Wood’s 13 minute confessional to the US nation compared to Charlie Sheen not having to do a thing after holding a knife to the throat of his wife.

It is obvious from the article that Le Batard is unhappy with the way sports journalism is heading feeling that it is selling it’s soul and principles to draw the readers in and in turn make a profit, and the reality is with TMZ Sports on the horizon he’s probably right, not only in the way that sports journalism is heading, but also that it’s very likely that one of the first moves by TMZ Sports is going to be to out a gay male athlete.

The question is is it fair for them to do it? Entertainment sites like TMZ are more than happy to tell the world they believe someone is gay and the result tends to be the person in question will say no, we’ll all start gossiping but then we’ll forget about it. If TMZ Sports does the same thing is Le Batard right in his prediction that the result will be much harsher and more damaging to the athlete in question?

If the example of Irish hurling star Donal Og Cusack who came out last year is anything to go by then the answer would be yes. Speaking about the reaction to his sexuality from spectators, Og Cusack spoke of how whilst there had been a positive reception off the pitch, it is was quite a different story on with his mother would now no longer attend the matches because of the abusive and homophobic chants heard from the terraces. Would this happen to an actor performing on stage in a theatre? Would crowds gather outside awards ceremony just to direct homophobic slurs at them? Maybe in small numbers but not in the way you see from sporting spectators.

The sad thing is that this does look like what the future of sporting journalism is going to be. On the positive side it may lead to more sportsmen and women being as brave as Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas and Donal Og Cusack to come out of the closet before they pushed out which could make the sports world a less homophobic place but for it to have to happen via journalism that breeds in the gutters does indicate a rather sorry state of affairs.

Ladies (and also gents who like to wear eye makeup), don’t you just hate how you put on your eye make-up beautifully first thing in the morning then by the time you make coffee halfway through the morning it looks like you didn’t put any on at all? Annoying doesn’t even describe half how irritating it is right?

Well there’s some good news on the horizon and it comes in the form of “Stay Don’t Stray” from Benefit.

Sounding a bit like a safety warning, this new make up product is actually the answer to all your eye make up disappearing problems, because this rather clever powder primer has been formulated to make sure your eyeshadow not only stays put, but also stay vibrant, and it doesn’t just end with your eye makeup. Fed up with your concealer not concealing for more than nanosecond? Now it’s going to stay put all day long.

So how does it work?

Well it’s actually reaalllllly simple. You just pop your Stay Don’t Stray on your lids and under your eyes, let it set then get on with your normal make-uping duty, with the only difference now being instead of it looking like you never bothered to put on any make-up people will no be wondering how you keep managing to top up your make-up without having ever left your desk!

Sound like the heavenly make up solution you’ve been searching for? There’s no better time to buy than now because the lovely people at Benefit have given us a code to share with you that’ll get you yours with FREE shipping within the US, and all you need to do is enter the discount code STAYPUT9 when you order.

Not based in the US? Well whilst we can’t offer you the same offer we can offer you FREE international shipping when you spend over $85 (believe us that’s not hard at Benefit!), and all you need to do is enter the discount code CONCEAL9.

Both codes are valid until 11.59PM (PST) on 9th March 2010.

Click here now to order your Stay Don’t Stray Eye Primer from Benefit.

Following a stem transplant from a donor carring a gene mutuation that provides natural resistance to HIV  a 42 year old man who has leukaemia now appears to have no detectable HIV in his blood.

A report on the stem cell  transplant in the New England Journal of Medicine says that since  it has occurred the patient has not tested positive for HIV, with the Dr. Gero Hutter of Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin in Germany confirming:

“Today, two years after his transplantation, he is still without any signs of HIV disease and without antiretroviral medication.”

Performed in Germany on an American, the transplant was performed not to treat the HIV, but the man’s leukemia, however they did deliberately chose the donor with the naturally occurring gene mutation that confers resistance to HIV. Causing the resistance via a mutation (CCR5 delta32) which cripples the CCR5 receptor on the surface of T cells, that is normally attacked by HIV, this is a mutuation found only in 1 percent to 3 percent of white populations of European descent. Some people only have one copy of CCR5 delta32 which results in them taking longer to get sick or develop AIDS if infected with HIV.  If they however have two ( a copy from each parent) then they may not become infected at all.

The patient in this case was given a transplatn with two copies of  CCR5 delta32 and whilst his findings are very promising, the reality according to  Dr. Jay Levy, a professor at the University of California San Francisco, is that it won’t help the majority as the treatment is too extreme to be used as a routine treatment. He also believes that the transplant won’t have completely cured the patient as it is likely the HIV may infect other cells and resurface at a later time. Whilst this may be true, it is important to note  that the patient was also found to be infected with low levels of a type of HIV known as X4 that does not require the CCR5 receptor before the surgery , but these have shown no sign of developing.

Admitting they had no real explanation for what has happened, Hutter said the “… finding is very surprising.”, however he has agreed with other researchers that it shouldn’t be used to treat HIV alone, with Levy suggesting  “A more logical — and potentially safer — approach would be to develop some type of CCR5-disabling gene therapy or treatment that could be directly injected into the body”.