Good morning and welcome to Sunday Funday with Vanessa and Lemon! Carmen is experiencing a computer situation so let’s all send good vibes to her Mac so it has a speedy recovery, mmmkay?
Young Republicans Ask Their Elders To Support Marriage Equality
This week a group of young conservatives from Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry sent a nice polite letter to the Republican National Committee Platform Committee, asking them to please leave opposition to marriage equality out of the platform when they meet for the party convention in Tampa later this month. Here are some extra special parts of the letter, which was signed by Margaret Hoover, a conservative commentator, political strategist and CNN contributor, Sarah Longwell, vice president at Berman and Company, a communications firm in Washington, D.C., and five other conservative advocates for marriage equality.
“Giving people more personal freedom is the foundation of the Republican Party. Which, as the Party of Lincoln, has a proud tradition of expanding liberties. We respectfully request that the GOP honor that tradition as it considers how to address the freedom to marry in its plank.”
“We feel strongly that excluding committed same-sex couples from marriage does not mesh with those principles. Same-sex couples who want to make that commitment in life before family and friends should be able to share in that commitment under law through marriage. And, if we truly believe in family values, then we must value all families.”
via towleroad
Maine Is Potentially Changing The Gay Marriage Game
Marriage equality activists in Maine are trying out a new strategy for the first time, and if it works this could be a game changer for all other states. Basically, instead of defending ourselves, we are going out on the offensive. Matt McTighe, the campaign manager of Mainers United for Marriage, feels confident that the timing for this new move is right, and he also used to play hockey so he makes some great sports analogies.
Apparently Hip-Hop and Gay Rights are Having a Moment
We love spreading fun in the sun on Sunday Funday, but we’re genuinely sad that Carmen isn’t writing this post like usual for the sole reason that this story basically has Carmen Rios written all over it. Pop & Hiss, The L.A. Times Music Blog, wants you to know that for hip-hop and gay rights, we are experiencing a transformative moment.
Across the board, hip-hop is having a change of heart. Either in song or in interviews, one headliner after another — the mogul Jay-Z; Jayceon Taylor, better known as Game — has thrown his support behind the gay community.
Mazel Tov to Ellen and Portia
Ellen and Portia celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary on Thursday of this week! They are the cutest, and will always be the cutest, and Vanessa is obsessed with this photo of their closet. [Ed. note: Lemon is also obsessed with this photo.]
Portia on the left, Ellen on the right
Don’t worry, we’re not gonna mention Ellen and Portia and only show you a photo with a bunch of shoes. Nobody panic — we got this!
via People.com
Ezra Miller is Queer
Indie-darling Ezra Miller came out as queer to Out magazine recently, with the queerest, most adorable statement possible. He said:
I’m queer. I have a lot of really wonderful friends who are of very different sexes and genders. I am very much in love with no one in particular. I’ve been trying to figure out relationships, you know? I don’t know if it’s responsible for kids of my age to be so aggressively pursuing monogamous binds, because I don’t think we’re ready for them. The romanticism within our culture dictates that that’s what you’re supposed to be looking for. Then [when] we find what we think is love — even if it is love — we do not yet have the tools. I do feel that it’s possible to be at this age unintentionally hurtful, just by being irresponsible — which is fine. I’m super down with being irresponsible. I’m just trying to make sure my lack of responsibility no longer hurts people. That’s where I’m at in the boyfriend/girlfriend/zefriend type of question.
Ezra Miller by Bjorn Iooss
21-Year-Old Awesomely Defends Homosexuality With The Bible
This week, a video surfaced of the 21-year-old Matthew Vines advocating “for the acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people within Christian communities and in society at large” with a talk he presented at the church that he grew up with in his hometown of Wichita, Kansas. Vines’ talk was the final product of two years of research on the subject of Christianity and homosexuality.
I’m asking you to ask yourself this: How deeply do you care about your family? How deeply do you love your spouse? And how tenaciously would you fight for them if they were ever in danger or in harm’s way? That is how deeply you should care, and that is how tenaciously you should fight, for the very same things for my life, because they matter just as much to me. Gay people should be a treasured part of our families and our communities, and the truly Christian response to them is acceptance, support, and love.
12 Democratic Women Are Running for Senate and Dominating the Fundraising Scene
Women this cycle are raising more money than ever on the Senate campaign trail. According to Jezebel, Tammy Bladwin, an openly gay candidate from Wisconsin, is receiving a lot of money from LGBT activist groups and almost $4.5M more than her GOP competitor Tommy Thompson. Wisconsin, along with a Massachusetts, is one of the states that has a good chance of swinging the balance of the Senate. There is a good chance that women will hold more seats in both chambers of Congress this go around than ever before. And we all know what that means. Shit will get done, and shit will get done right.
o.b.® Ultras are back
Mean Girls taught us that it’s totally not your fault if you have a heavy flow and a wide set vagina, but it’s still a pain in the ass if you can’t find a tampon to fit your needs. Well ladies with heavy periods can rejoice, because if you’re one of the many women who lamented the disappearance of the mega-absorbent beyond-super-plus o.b.® Ultras, you’ll be happy to know that they’re back in stock! If you’re as excited as we are about this news, head on over to the Autostraddle o.b.® Custom Corner and share your feelings.
Our vaginas say thank you
This Baby Flamingo
Let it be known that Vanessa had her eye on this little video of puppies adorably falling asleep, however, since I have the privilege of editing this post last, here is this hilarious baby flamingo because flamingoes.
ezra miller and i are going to be best friends, just you wait
even if i have to lock him in a gymnasium and shoot arrows at him until he agrees, we will be best friends forever
if you get that reference, thank you. if you didn’t get that reference, please go watch tilda swinton continue to be the goddess that acting doesn’t even deserve in “we have to talk about kevin”
My problem with Tilda Swinton is her support for Roman Polanski.
I was pressed for time this morning when I commented and I thought that what I wrote needed a little elaboration. A lot of people were upset when all those actors and directors spoke out in support of Polanski, but people are pretty quick to forgive their favorite star after a year or two passes and that’s not something I’m capable of doing because of my sense of morality and the fact that I’ve been through abuse myself.
I was sexually abused as a child and my mother was when she was a child, so I don’t feel any sympathy for Polanski.
I get that people like swinton, I did too, but my morals don’t allow me to just forgive something as bad as this.
It really hurts me because I loved Stephen Frears films and I loved Swinton in Orlando and Constantine, but if someone takes the side of that superemly narcissitic, perpetually smirking scum fuck, then they are on my shit list and I won’t support them until they prove to be worth it again.
fuck, i had no idea
and literally just took down my tilda swinton poster
Hey Kate, don’t worry about it. I didn’t intend to step on anyone’s fun or make people feel bad. Whenever I get reminded of Polanski living it up in France, and having all these apologists grovel at his feet, I get set off I guess.
I think you are really awesome and a very talented writer as well as incredibly funny. I’ve started looking forward to it when I see a new post of yours.
Yeah, I want to like Ezra Miller because he seems awesome, but I’m afraid that his face will always look evil to me, ever since I saw that movie.
So I’ve been reading more about Ezra Miller, and what he has to say about being a patrilineal Jew is really wonderful as well. This is probably not as relevant for most of you as the quote about being queer, but I’m sure it is for some of you (and for me).
OK Ezra, you win. I love you, despite your evil-looking face.
I’m with Caitlin. (And Erin). That film was not good but I still have a gut feeling now that associates Ezra Miller with pure evil. It’s kind of like after Donnie Darko when I had to remind myself that Patrick Swayze was not a terrible person.
i LOVE the ezra miller quote.
and omg lemon i fully support you overruling the puppies in favor of that flamingo. but i also suggest everyone go watch that puppy video, because puppies!!
The only thing better than puppies or baby flamingoes is puppies AND baby flamingoes.
that baby flamingo might be all that I need in this world
i dont’ know who ezra miller is, but reading that quote from him just solidifies how excited i am about the movie version of the perks of being a wallflower
Yes! I hope The Perks movie wont be banned in the PI bec I am sooo excited about it too ^^
Baby Flamingo! Yay for diversity!!
Also, love that picture of Ellen and Portia’s closet
ZEFRIEND!! That’s a nice alternative than “genderfriend” or having to explain what a gender-neutral significant other is.
I just wanted to point out that Matthew Vines has been around for a little while now. The Advocate posted a story about his video back in April (maybe March – well before school ended).
I think he did a wonderful, amazing job and I’m happy to see he is getting another round of internet references. I live in Oklahoma (we have the same thunderstorms as Kansas) and many of my friends know it’s right to accept my “way of life” (the sleeping with women part) but don’t know how to reconcile that with their family and the religion they’ve been brought up on.
I know it’s hard for a lot of us to not just say “screw it” to religion like that but many people here are not willing to lose their faith. They don’t know any other way and sometimes feel that they must lose faith completely to be gay.
Matthew Vines deserves every bit of attention that the internet can give him.
Also, props to the church that actually let him give that talk.
The Ezra Miller article on Gawker is a little odd. “It’s especially nice to hear a 19-year-old baby call himself “queer” and back it up. Kids today don’t seem to like that word too much.”
…I feel like kids today are ALL ABOUT the queerness. And all the judgey comments on the article about his mention of adolescent “happy-ending sleepovers” are making me feel weird….
i really dislike that sentence, too. i actually love rich (the author) but i felt like he way missed the mark on that. lemon & i had a conversation about how everyone we know calls themselves queer and it seemed really strange and bizarre for someone to intimate that “kids today” don’t like the word.
i didn’t read the comments because it’s gawker.
yeah why are all these people assuming he was raped? i don’t get it?
Actually, the Matthew Vines video has been around for months on his tumblr and huffpost as well as other sites. I know because I watched it as I was going through a really tough time struggling with deep-seated fears of going to hell. Anyway, it is impeccably argued and I encourage anyone with an interest in queer theology to check it out!
That baby flamingo is hilarious. In my roommates words: “It looks like a naked duck.”
I think Ezra Miller’s comments about being a patrilineal Jew are interesting. But it’s still cool to have full Jews around, too, like his co-star, Logan Lerman.