Book Marks: Are You my Mother?, Ill Will, the Song of Achilles
by Richard Labonte "Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama," by Alison Bechdel. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 304 pages, $22 hardcover. Bechdel's first graphic memoir, "Fun Home," focused with dark humor and candid introspection on the [...]
Landmark gay rights case courtroom drama explored in new book
By Arnold Fleischmann Dale Carpenter's new book, Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas, examines the history of the June 2003 case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled state sodomy laws unconstitutional. It's [...]
The Trouble with Adam Lambert
Remember the fuss Adam Lambert caused when he tongued his keyboardist in front of the world? Of course you do. The controversial kiss drew both homophobic outbursts and so-what shrugs, and it's an American Music [...]
Josey Greenwell: Your Hot Host
Josey Greenwell is a male specimen of the highest rank: dreamy eyes, Southern boy charm and the body of a Greek god. And he's the Motor City Pride host, which means you'll be seeing a [...]
Deep Inside Hollywood
By Romeo San Vicente Colin Firth is a coward. Noel, that is. Academy Award winner Colin Firth is going back to his roots by playing yet another gay man. A pioneer in the "who cares, [...]
Be you, Leo!
By Jack Fertig Q Scopes The Sun and Mercury in Gemini both quincunx to Pluto in Capricorn aggravate grievances with power and bureaucracy. Resist the urge to argue. Pressing your point will not help. Be [...]
Dani Rice: Local Music Maker
By Jerome Stuart Nichols The road to pop stardom is a rocky one. If you're going to make it, you need five things: a YouTube page, great hair, abs, drama and, of course, a little [...]
Jessica Sutta: The Empathetic Ally
As a former member of the Pussycat Dolls, the most successful female dance music group of all time, Jessica Sutta is well aware of her gay following. That hasn't changed since she went solo. "Being [...]
Friends of Dorothy
Across 1 Strap-on for a diver 6 NG: Give relief to a thief 10 Digital-rectal, for example 14 NG: Sports 15 Cole Porter's Indiana hometown 16 NG: Painter Magritte 17 He often screws actors 18 [...]
Akil Patterson’s project
By Dan Woog The OutField When University of Nebraska assistant football coach Ron Brown made anti-gay comments recently - among other things, he threatened the Omaha city council with eternal damnation if it passed a [...]
Get your blonde wig ready
By Dana Casadei ROYAL OAK - Intermission is usually a time to get up and move around, but on June 7 at Stagecrafters leaving is the last thing audience members will want to do. Strutting [...]
“Xanadu”: a place you should totally dare to go
By Jenn McKee In the interest of full disclosure, I feel compelled to reveal, before critiquing Meadow Brook Theatre's new production of "Xanadu," that in 1980, a certain 9-year-old girl - ahem - fell wildly, [...]
A love letter and a workplace comedy
By Martin F. Kohn Every backstage play ends up being a love letter to theater. It can also be something else, probably should be if it knows what's good for it - a romance, say, [...]
Michiana Art Competition to exhibit same-sex marriage artwork
BERRIEN SPRINGS - Ara Lucia, a bisexual, has had two photographs selected for inclusion in the Michiana Annual Art Competition 2012. The pieces include "Lil' Red Revised" and "Almost," the latter inspired by the fight [...]
Snyder appoints REC’s Hughes to statewide commission
LANSING - On May 29, Gov. Rick Snyder announced the appointment of Laura Hughes to the Commission on Community Action and Economic Opportunity. Established in 1981, the commission seeks to mitigate the causes and effects [...]
LGBT Midwest Job Expo planned
FERNDALE - Save the date for the first ever Midwest LGBT Job Expo to be held at Affirmations Community Center June 21, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Over 20 companies throughout the midwest region [...]
From bullied youth to national heroine
As a victim of bullying, Katy Butler was used to people telling her "It gets better." Her response to them was "It can't get better if you don't make it better." And while she may [...]
Garcia video asks community to come together
By Crystal Proxmire FERNDALE - "We need to realize that our movement rises and falls with all of us," said Affirmations executive director Dave Garcia in a video released over the weekend in response to [...]
Leadership Project Profiles
Desiree Cooper is a lawyer, an award-winning columnist and a former public radio personality. She is currently a new media content specialist who helps non-profits communicate the extraordinary impact they have upon the people they [...]
Leaders of Color Visibility Project
An exciting media partnership is bringing the stories of young LGBT leaders of color not only to the state's gay press readership, but to mainstream media and the circle of arts, culture and philanthropy as [...]
GSA works to change lives in Jackson
JACKSON - Some LGBT students at Columbia Central High School in Jackson County have quietly dealt with harassment for most if not all of their high school career. That is starting to change since Dylan [...]
The great debate of 2012: Corvino and Gallagher discuss same-sex marriage
By Bridgette M. Redman DETROIT - In the often bitter debate over marriage equality, it can be difficult for the two sides to find common ground - or even speak civilly to one another. The [...]
A changing of the board at Affirmations
By Crystal Proxmire FERNDALE - With four members departing and a new president at the helm, the Affirmations Board of Directors is poised to support the growth and evolution of the LGBTQ community center that [...]
Activists push legislators to pass rights bill
LANSING - Equality Michigan hosted an Equality Action Day May 24. Nearly 80 activists form all over the state gathered for training, lobbying and to voice support for MI Sen. Rebekah Warren's (D-Ann Arbor) bill [...]
Victory Fund endorses two candidates in Michigan races
The Victory Fund is providing support and endorsement for two county-level races in Michigan for the 2012 election: Kevin Howley for Oakland County Executive and Craig Covey in his bid for re-election to the Oakland [...]
Arson against honeymooning lesbians’ home: How you can help
By Crystal Proxmire NOVI - In the early morning hours of May 14, while Stacy Barker and Tawana Williams were celebrating their honeymoon in Las Vegas, someone broke into their house, allegedly scrawled anti-gay slurs [...]
A month of support: REC partners with local businesses
DETROIT - Pride month conjures up images of parades, festivals and celebrations of all that is LGBT in the world, but it can also be a reminder that there are LGBTQ people who are vulnerable [...]
Reaching the movable middle with inclusive justice
By Crystal Proxmire LANSING - How can we help people we love who are voting against us because they feel torn between acceptance and their faith? That was the question addressed by the Inclusive Justice [...]
Bible study could change Grand Rapids perceptions
By Crystal Proxmire GRAND RAPIDS - A Grand Rapids pastor is changing the way people are reading the Bible, with a seven-week Bible study class for the entire community. Over 20 people came out to [...]
Make it better – sign, educate and vote
BTL Editorial It was 40 years ago this month I participated in my first gay pride march. We were a rag-tag bunch of mostly young, disenfranchised gays and lesbians marching up Sixth Ave. in New [...]
Tony Perkins
Creep of the Week I wince every time I see Tony Perkins's face on TV. Perkins, the president of the vehemently anti-gay Family Research Council, often has a microphone shoved in his face whenever there's [...]
Here comes Pride season
Heard on Facebook Pride means not being afraid to hold my partner's hand as we walk with our daughter through Hart Plaza. -Julie McKeeman Pride is a good chance of seeing people like you without [...]
Pages past tense #12
Parting Glances During my out-and-about first gay summer I learned from 'Gee Gee' (Gorgeous George) that Harper Hospital was training recent high school graduates to become operating room technicians. "You'd look great in scrub greens. [...]
Revolution and changing demographics
Compiled by Howard Israel S/he Said "Each of the movements before the gay movement was seeking citizenship in the liberal state. Women and racial minorities did not necessarily ask the dominant society to love them [...]
Obama Pride 2012
By Eric W. Rader Speak Out As we move into the month of June, our community once again prepares to celebrate LGBT Pride. While much of the focus during Pride celebrations is on letting ourselves [...]
Straight pastor, Evangelical church break the mold with ‘Masks’
By Dana Casadei ROYAL OAK - Authors often speak about what inspired them to write their book or play, ranging from family to a place that they once lived, but Bill Barnwell's motivation is quite [...]
Focus Features launches ‘Ten Years of Celebrating Pride’
During Pride month, Focus Features is celebrating its 10th anniversary by releasing their unforgettable collection of LGBT films On Demand beginning June 1, 2012. See their video for "Ten Years of Celebrating Pride" here: http://focusfeatures.com/video/ten_years_of_celebrating_pride. [...]
Prop 8 case will not be reheard by Ninth Circuit
By Lisa Keen A glimmer of politics showed through Tuesday (June 5) when the full Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals declined a request from supporters of California's ban on same-sex marriage to review a [...]
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Rock of Ages’ Director on Tom’s Butt, Gay Kiss & John Waters’ Advice
How do you come off a musical that has John Travolta doing drag? You make sure the next one, "Rock of Ages," gets Tom Cruise in butt-baring chaps. "I thought we would cover it up [...]
China LGBT Community Leader Conference debates the future of the movement
From a press release BEIJING, China - On June 16 - 17 the China LGBT Community Leader Conference successfully took place in Beijing. In an historic first, the conference managed to gather a varied selection [...]