TresSugar

Adam Lambert: Just Another Provocative Pop Star?

TresSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:30:39 -0800

Last night on the American Music Awards, Adam Lambert gyrated along dancers dressed in S&M inspired costumes. At one point, the American Idol alum pulled a dancer's face toward his crotch. Of course, not everyone was entertained - the spectacle was edited from the West Coast broadcast. Adam has since expressed his disappointment with that decision, saying:

"There's a big double standard, female pop artists have been doing things provocative like that for years, and the fact that I'm a male, and I'll be edited and discriminated against could be a problem. People are scared and it's really sad, I just wish people could open their minds up and enjoy things, it's all for a laugh, it's really not that big of a deal."

So in other words, the public should just think of the performance as a male throwback to Madonna, as BuzzSugar described it. Do you think Adam is being held to a different standard of acceptable sexual expression or was the network right to edit the show?

The Beard (the Other Kind) in Pop Culture

TresSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:28:02 -0800

It's National Beard Month and that doesn't just mean facial hair. Not to us anyway! A whole other beard genre's been growing since the middle of the 20th century - the gay cover-up beard, which is slang for a person of the opposite sex used as a cover for a gay partner. At its best, the beard is mutually beneficial to both partners. At its worst? A life of lies. For a long time the term was as secretive as its roots, but I've been hearing it more and more to describe not only real-life marriages, but also TV and movie couplings.

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Rhode Island Governor Vetoes Same-Sex Funeral Rights

TresSugar — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0800

Rhode Island's state legislature thought it would be a good idea to give same-sex partners the right to plan each other's funerals when one partner passes away. It's a right married couples have, of course. But Gov. Don Carcieri said: not so fast! The socially conservative leader vetoed the bill because it's part of a "disturbing trend" threatening heterosexual marriage. I'm confused. How does a gay person planning a loved one's funeral have anything to do with someone else's marriage?

Those who support the veto point out that Rhode Island recognizes neither gay marriage nor civil unions. Still, many people are shocked that the governor would intervene to deny same-sex partners some comfort during a hard time. The state's attorney general has called the veto "cruel and heartless," and lawmakers in the Democratically-controlled legislature said they would work to override the veto. Hopefully they will succeed!

Front Page: Mormons Help Bring Gay Rights to Salt Lake City

TresSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:00:10 -0800

After the Mormon Church backed Salt Lake City ordinances that would bar housing and employment discrimination against gays, the laws passed unanimously last night. - AP
The American Medical Association is urging the federal government to loosen the classification of marijuana so the drug can be used for clinical research. - LA Times
Some victims said they still didn't feel closure after watching DC sniper John Allen Muhammad die last night of lethal injection. - CNN
Germany is in shock after a star soccer player committed suicide.- AP
Baseball great Sammy Sosa says a skin cream made his skin appear white in recent photos. - New York Daily News

Say What? Portia de Rossi on Why Marriage Matters

TresSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:05:00 -0800

"The thing about being a gay couple is that in the past you referred to your 'wife' and there was quotation marks around it. There was always that chance that people would kind of snigger about it. But now it's fact, it's law. She's my wife. I get to say that she's my wife. And that's just the way it is."

- Portia de Rossi told Oprah yesterday why marriage matters to gay couples. Portia and her wife Ellen DeGeneres got married in August 2008 and they both appeared on Oprah's show to discuss their relationship and careers.

First Openly Gay Bishop Ordained in Sweden

TresSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0800

Swedish meatballs. IKEA. Abba. Free health care and education. As if those riches weren't enough for one nation to hoard, now comes the news that over the weekend, Eva Brunne, above left, was ordained as Sweden's first openly gay bishop. Another female pastor, Tuulikki Koivunen Bylund, was also ordained as Bishop of Härnösand in northern Sweden. Around 75 percent of Swedes belong to the Lutheran church.

Brunne, 55, is in a civil union partnership with another woman and both of them are the parents of a three-year-old child.

Did I mention that Sweden also allows same-sex couples to adopt children and was one of the first countries to marry gay people in a major church? Yeah, I'll stop now, but I could go on. Sweden seriously has it going on.

Which Will Be Legalized First: Pot or Gay Marriage?

TresSugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:00:46 -0800

Can you believe it used to be against the law in America to have a nice cold beer or a refreshing glass of wine? I can't! Perhaps that's what future generations will say when they look back at some of our more moralistic laws, specifically those banning marijuana and gay marriage.

Slate ran a piece yesterday arguing that America will soon get rid of these modern prohibitions. In fact, Maine is voting today on a referendum that would legalize gay marriage and another that would legalize medical marijuana, so I guess we'll get to test that thesis soon.

Now that we have a justice department that will not prosecute medical marijuana possession - not to mention a president who once said: "I inhaled. . . frequently. That was the point." - it's not such a stretch to think Americans might soon be able to get high without fear of the jail time. And while many states still have all-out bans on same-sex marriage, the public seems increasingly supportive of marriage equality. Which do you think has a better chance of becoming fully legalized first?

Awkward! She's Worried Everyone Thinks She's a Lesbian

TresSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0800

Looking around our Confession Booth group I discovered that one reader finds herself in a very awkward situation. Here's what she has to say:

"Last week, I went out with a few of my girlfriends for drinks and we all got a bit tipsy and headed back to one of their homes to sleep. I ended up on the floor next to an acquaintance, and we chatted before we went to sleep. One thing led to another and she kissed me and wanted to take it further. I was tipsy but still realized that I wasn't a lesbian and wouldn't feel happy with myself the next morning, so I said no and went to sleep. The next morning she asked me what it meant and when I replied that it was a silly drunken mistake she got really upset. I later found out she told all of my friends what happened. I don't know what to do and why this is happening, but I'm worried rumors will get around to family and other friends that I am something I'm not."

Do you have any advice for this reader? (And if you have some awkward tales of your own, join our Awkward! group to share etiquette questions and stories with other readers.)

Say What? New Cubs Owner on Coming Out in Her Thirties

TresSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:10:00 -0800

"I think for a long time I wasn't really out to myself growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, to a Catholic conservative family. It took me a while to come out to myself and not long after that I came out to them. I think that it really couldn't of been a better experience. They were all immediately supportive."

- Laura Ricketts, one of the new owners of The Chicago Cubs who happens to be an openly gay woman - a first for Major League Baseball. The Ricketts family bought the Cubs and Wrigley Field from the Tribune Co. for $845 million in a deal. Laura Ricketts is also on the board of the gay rights organization Lambda Legal. To watch a video of the family talking about their acquisition, read more

Say What? Chaz Bono Sheds Light on Transgender Experience

TresSugar — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:00:00 -0700

"I always felt like the male from the time I was a child. There wasn't much feminine about me. I believe that gender is something between your ears not between your legs."

- Chaz Bono, the child of Sonny Bono and Cher, explains why he decided to transition from female to male. In his first interview since announcing his decision, Chaz says that he didn't want to wait until he was an old man to enjoy his life in a male body.