I am Jazz book Reading canceled

I am Jazz book Reading canceled

I just read this. I did see some episodes of ‘I am Jazz’ on the TLC network.
I am Jazz

I have to admit that I still don’t know very much about this subject. I keep looking for more info and learning more and more every day.

Bookreading cancelled

An elementary school in Wisconsin has cancelled plans to read a book about a transgender child.

Mount Horeb Primary Center had scheduled a reading of I Am Jazz, a children’t book written by trans teen and reality television star Jazz Jennings.

On November 19 the school sent a letter to parents informing them of the upcoming reading, which was set to take place Monday. The Capital Times reports that a student at the center is transgender, and the reading was part of an effort to create a more inclusive environment.

“We believe all students deserve respect and support regardless of their gender identity and expression, and the best way to foster that respect and support is through educating students about the issue of being transgender,” read the letter, which was signed by the school’s principal, a counselor, and a psychologist.

However, the reading was called off after “concerned parents” reached out to the Liberty Counsel, which the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies as an hate group and an anti-LGBT group.

The Liberty Counsel sent a letter to the school on November 20, threatening a federal lawsuit if the event was not cancelled. The letter alleges that school administrators were seeking “to subject Primary School students to a discussion of gender confusion and sexuality, under the guise of ‘antibullying,’ ‘diversity,’ and building a ‘safe and nurturing environment.'”
I am Jazz Bookreading cancelled

The letter goes on to misgender Jennings, referring to her as “a male child ‘transgender’ activist, who has been permitted to undergo harmful gender reassignment drug therapy and hormone blockers, resulting in permanent physical changes to his body.”

Her book, which explains to children what it means to be transgender, is characterized in the letter as “false and misleading.” The Liberty Counsel maintains that its reading would result in “confusing many children,” “undermining modesty,” and “promoting non-factual, radical, and controversial assumptions about ‘gender,'” among other so-called harms.

Moreover, the group argues that “the letter [announcing the reading] was sent with one business days’ notice and appears designed to catch parents off-guard, to prevent them from opting their children out of this reading and subsequent discussion.”

As a result, the reading was cancelled. The district released a statement Wednesday, saying the Board of Education needs time “to review the needs of all involved, and address a situation for which the District has no current policy.”

“Please know that our continuing goal is to protect all students from any bullying, harassing or intimidating behavior at school so that all of our students may learn together in a safe and caring environment,” it added.

This is not the first time Jazz Jennings has been the target of right-wing groups. Earlier this year, One Million Moms attacked her TLC show, also titled I Am Jazz, which the group said “is attempting to normalize the transgender lifestyle and make it appear OK while using a young cast member to lure a young audience.”

One Million Moms urged its supporters to contact Revlon, the maker of Mitchum deodorant, which advertises on the show, and demand that the company end its sponsorship.

Thanks to Advocate.com

London Rebel Dykes of the 1980s

London Rebel Dykes of the 1980s

Before there were Riot Grrls, before there were Queer Activists, there were the Rebel Dykes who lived in London in the 1980s.
Rebel dykes1

You won’t find out much about them in the history books, but now a new feature length documentary is set to tell their story. Produced by Siobhan Fahey, an original rebel dyke, and co-directed by Sian Williams and Harri Shanahan, the trailer was released this week – and it looks fantastic.

“This documentary film is being made because the history of the London Rebel Dykes of the 1980s is in danger of being forgotten,” explains Fahey. “Rebel dykes created their own world, made their own rules, and refused to be ignored. We can’t let history tidy them away.”
rebel dykes2

Described as a labour of love, the film has been made with no budget. “We are doing this in our own time on top of work and bands and lovers and life. It is being created in DIY style, with huge support from an online community of 200+ Rebel Dykes.”

Using previously unseen archive material interspersed with interviews, and with a killer soundtrack to boot, Rebel Dykes of the 1980s is essential viewing for dykes young and old, and we can’t wait for the film’s release in Spring 2016.

Thanks to Diva magazine 

Nominations for the 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards

Nominations for the 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards

Nominations for the 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards were announced this morning and the lesbian-themed drama Carol starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara led the way with six nods.

The awards are for independent films made with a budget of under $20 million and they are presented the day before the Academy Awards in a ceremony that takes place in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.

Carol earned nominations for Best Feature, Best Director (Todd Haynes), Best Screenplay (Phyllis Nagy), Best Female Lead (Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara) and Best Cinematography (Ed Lachman).
Carol 6 nominations

Carol is set in the 1950s and tells the story of a woman (Blanchett) unhappily married to a man who is threatened with never being able to see her daughter after the husband learns of her relationship with a young woman (Mara).

Another multiple nominee with an LGBTI storyline is Tangerine about trans woman sex worker named Sin-Dee Rella (played by transgender actress Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) who is released from a 28 day jail sentence and finds out her boyfriend and pimp Chester has been cheating on her with a white cisgender woman.

The film received nods for Best Feature, Best Director (Sean S. Baker), Best Female Lead (Rodriguez), and Best Supporting Female (transgender actress Mya Taylor).

Taylor’s competition in the supporting category includes out actress Cynthia Nixon who is nominated for her performance as a woman dying of cancer in the drama James White.

Nixon, previously best known for her role as Miranda on Sex and the City, has quietly amassed an impressive collection of awards in recent years including two Emmys, a Tony and a Grammy.

‘This year’s nominees are a testament to the strength, vitality and diversity of independent, artist-driven filmmaking,’ Film Independent President Josh Welsh said in a statement. ‘It’s an astonishingly strong group of films and performances this year and we look forward to celebrating them all at the Spirit Awards.’

Here is a full list of Independent Spirit Award nominees. The awards will be presented on 27 February.

BEST FEATURE

Anomalisa, Beasts of No Nation, Carol, Spotlight, Tangerine

BEST FIRST FEATURE

The Diary of a Teenage Girl, James White, Manos Sucias, Mediterranea, Songs My Brothers Taught Me

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000.

Advantageous, Christmas Again, Heaven Knows What, Krisha, Out of My Hand

BEST DIRECTOR

Sean Baker  (Tangerine), Cary Joji Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation), Todd Haynes (Carol), Duke Johnson & Charlie Kaufman (Anomalisa), Tom McCarthy (Spotlight), David Robert Mitchell (It Follows)

BEST SCREENPLAY

Charlie Kaufman (Anomalisa), Donald Margulies (The End of the Tour), Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer (Spotlight), Phyllis Nagy (Carol), S. Craig Zahler (Bone Tomahawk)

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Jesse Andrews (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), Jonas Carpignano (Mediterranea), Emma Donoghue (Room), Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl), John Magary, story by Russell Harbaugh and Myna Joseph (The Mend)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Cary Joji Fukunaga (Beasts of No Nation), Michael Gioulakis (It Follows), Ed Lachman Carol Reed Morano Meadowland Joshua James Richards Songs My Brothers Taught Me

BEST EDITING

Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie (Heaven Knows What), Tom McArdle (Spotlight), Nathan Nugent (Room), Julio C. Perez IV (It Follows), Kristan Sprague (Manos Sucias)

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Cate Blanchett (Carol), Brie Larson (Room), Rooney Mara (Carol), Bel Powley (The Diary of a Teenage Girl), Kitana Kiki Rodriguez (Tangerine)

BEST MALE LEAD

Christopher Abbott (James White), Abraham Attah (Beasts of No Nation), Ben Mendelsohn (Mississippi Grind), Jason Segel (The End of the Tour), Koudous Seihon (Mediterranea)

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Robin Bartlett (H.), Marin Ireland (Glass Chin), Jennifer Jason Leigh (Anomalisa), Cynthia Nixon (James White), Mya Taylor (Tangerine)

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Kevin Corrigan (Results), Paul Dano (Love & Mercy), Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation), Richard Jenkins (Bone Tomahawk), Michael Shannon (99 Homes),

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – (Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)

Spotlight

Director: Tom McCarthy

Casting Directors: Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee

Ensemble Cast: Billy Crudup, Paul Guilfoyle, Neal Huff, Brian d’Arcy James, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, Jamey Sheridan, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci

BEST DOCUMENTARY

(T)ERROR, Best of Enemies, Heart of a Dog, The Look of Silence, Meru, The Russian Woodpecker

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

Embrace of the Serpent, Girlhood, Mustang, A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, Son of Saul

Same sex couples can now adopt in Portugal

Same sex couples can now adopt in Portugal

Same-sex couples in Portugal will soon be able to legally adopt children, after the newly elected Parliament endorsed legislation that has been introduced four times in the past three years.
All left-leaning political parties backed the legislation on its first reading Friday, as did roughly 20 deputies from the nation’s center-right Social Democratic Party, according to Agence France Presse.
Portugal adoptionThe new law, which would also allow improved access to assisted reproduction methods, was introduced by the Socialist party, notes Gay Star News. It was drafted as a pointed rebuttal to the nation’s 2010 marriage equality law, which expressly prohibited same-sex couples from adopting.

“The fact that having homosexual parenting has no harmful effect on children has been scientifically established,” read the proposal introduced for first reading by the Socialist party.

“All children — including children in [foster] care — have a right to have a welcoming family, providing love, stability, security, commitment, and the opportunity to bond and enjoy interactions essential for their development,” said André Silva, deputy leader of center-left political party PAN, according to Gay Star News. “It is clear: in Portugal there is a clear discrimination against this type of parenting.”

“The road to equal adoption rights for same-sex couples in Portugal has been a long one,” said European LGBT group IGLA-Europe’s executive director Evelyn Paradis in a statement. “Today is a wonderful day for families in Portugal, for the LGBTI activists, civil society groups and allies who have worked so hard to eliminate discrimination in adoption law.”
Portugal and gays

In 2013, Portuguese lawmakers approved second-parent adoption for married same-sex couples who already had a child, but still did not allow childless LGBT families to adopt.

AFP notes that the laws given initial approval on Friday also include the repeal of several restrictive abortion laws, removing a criminal penalty for abortions performed after the 10th week of pregnancy, and removing the requirement that women seek counseling before the procedure.

Thanks to advocate.com

New clip movie Carol

New clip movie Carol

Really exited! I found a new clip from Carol the movie!!
Let the countdown to Carol begin. On November 20th, the film that’s been stealing our hearts ever since we learned of its existence will be released, and every new piece of content that’s released gets me even more excited. The film, based on Patricia Highsmith’s famed 1952 lesbian novel The Price of Salt, stars Cate Blanchett as Carol, a socialite who has an affair with a young female shopclerk, played by Rooney Mara. Just today, this new clip from the movie Carol was released of the two instantly connecting. Watch it:

Bit more on Carol

Carol also stars Sarah Paulson, Carrie Brownstein, and Kyle Chandler and has already been receiving rave reviews.
Here the new poster. I looks really GREAT!!
Can’t wait to see this!! The chemistry between Cate and Rooney looks awesome!
I hope this will be the same in the whole movie! I really am looking forward to it!
New clip from Carol

For more on Carol: Click here

Suffragette and women’s rights

Suffragette and women’s rights

In conjunction with the movie Suffragette ,starring Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter, a new social media campaign is out to raise awareness about what the future looks like for young girls, and money for an initiative to promote women’s and girls’ rights.
Good that the movie Suffragette will bring women’s rights more in the media!!
220px-Suffragette_poster

For more about the movie klik here

#HopeForOurDaughters made its debut with an attention-grabbing, if not soul-crushing, video. In a studio setting, girls holding cards that say 1915 and 2015 are given a sad statistic about the female experience and asked if they think that’s how the world was 100 years ago or how it is today.

The result is that the viewer sees the young girls’ crest-fallen faces as they find out about illiteracy, child labor, and poverty. As one girl sadly puts it, “we are equal, but, for some weird reason, we’re not seen that way.”

Watch the video below and post a photo on Instagram holding up a sign that says your hope for the future. Use the hashtag #HopeForOurDaughters, and for every post, $1 will be donated to Equality Now.

Thanks to Shewired.

Lucy Lawless interview

Lucy Lawless interview

Ash vs evil dead

 

I really like Lucy! Big fan since she appeared in Xena Warrior Princes.
I hated the ending of XWP but lately I am watching some episodes again. I have the complete series at home and I used to watch them in marathon sittings. 🙂
I also love Renee!! The two of them together made something almost magical on screen.

On the 15 th of September, celebrating Xena’s 20th Anniversary, Lucy wrote this to her fans:

My darling friends, how can 20 years have passed since Ren and I met on the set of Xena:Warrior Princess?
We worked hard, had a lot of fun and were part of something which seems to have meant a great deal to so many of you.
How did we get so lucky? The show was one of the most formative times of our lives and we thank you for keeping us on
the air for six glorious years.

Having heard many, many personal stories, I honour you for the transformation you have wrought in your
own lives and your communities. The XWP fan base has been an amazing force for good in the world which,
more than anything else, makes me love you back.

I don’t know what the future brings, but I believe Xena and Gabrielle will surely rise again
because the world still needs ’em and the fans are calling them into being.
Hooray for everything!
Lots of love,
Lucy

I am planning to look for more on Lucy and Renee and also I will look into my ‘old’ archives. I am sure I have some videos Xenites will just love! 🙂
xena2

Xena1

 

Ellen DeGeneres is Karla Kardashian

Ellen DeGeneres

Transforms Into Karla Kardashian for Halloween

Dressing as Karla Kardashian on her talk show, DeGeneres was spotted sporting an amazingly impressive cleavage and a curvaceous Kardashian-style butt.

Emmy-winning daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has revealed her costume for this year Halloween on Friday, Oct. 30 episode of her The Ellen DeGeneres Show. During the show, the 57-year-old TV personality dressed as one of the Kardashian clans, introducing herself to the audience as the lesser known Kardashian sister named Karla. So for Halloween Ellen DeGeneres is Karla Kardashian
ellen degeneres

“I bet you’re wondering who I am,” DeGeneres said to kick off her show. “And obviously if you are wondering who I am you didn’t see the latest ad for Keeping Up with the Kardashians. She then added, “That’s right, I’m the lesser known Kardashian sister, my name is Karla Kardashian with a K. Because we’re known for our double K’s. These are double K’s too by the way.”

Getting into her Halloween character, DeGeneres wore a plunging zebra print long sleeve top and black stirrup leggings over running shoes. She covered her pixie hairdo with a voluminous black wig and accessorized with oversized glasses. She, additionally, was spotted sporting an amazingly impressive cleavage and a curvaceous Kardashian-style butt.

“Since I’m the younger sister I get all the hand me downs so these are Kim’s Shape Ups I’m wearing, this is Khloe’s old blouse, and the booty is all mine!” she stated. “I’m a big part of the family, but for some reason I’m always cut out of the show. I understand because they only have 12 reality shows that are on TV 80 hours a week but they didn’t have room for me.”