The Reading List for Jan 20, 2014

It’s Monday, so that means time to wake up with The Reading List.

Here are some links to get your brain going and clear out the cobwebs.

– First, something a little fun and silly: check out the trailer for Date and Switch, an atypical buddy movie where two friends decide to help each other lose their virginity before they graduate high school. The “switch”? One of the dudes is gay, while his friend is into the gay guy’s ex-girlfriend.

– BuzzFeed’s Saeed Jones wrote an op-ed for the pop-culture site, entitled “Transgender People Are Paying the Price for the Media’s Willful Ignorance.” An excerpt:

“Recently, my editor-in-chief — arguing that I should try to be a bit more understanding of people who don’t really ‘get it’ — said, ‘Saeed, you’re three years ahead of most people when it comes to thinking about transgender issues.’ But I’m not ahead. I’m late. We are all so late. And while we, as readers, writers, and citizens, either attempt to play catch up or come up with more excuses as to why respecting the lives and realities of transgender people is just so hard, transgender people themselves are paying the price for our tardiness.”

– In an interesting and somewhat controversial move, Queerty reports that Falcon Studios is planning on digitally removing condoms from an upcoming film release.

– And a New York Times story that illustrates that everyone needs a little reminder when it comes to sexual health, no matter what your age. STI infection rates seem to be going up among those in their golden years, similar to those in the 20- to 24-year-old age bracket.

Journalist, writer, blogger, producer.

Keep Reading

In “Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt,” Brontez Purnell balances on a knife edge between hilarity and despair

Purnell's new memoir turns heaviness into humour, and exposes the bleakness under what seems silly and light

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 16, Episode 12 power ranking: Designing women

Who among our top five will fall short of the finale?

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 16, Episode 12 recap: Bathroom babes

The infamous room design challenge returns, this time with … restrooms?

Bollywood flair quickens the tender heart of ‘The Queen of My Dreams’

Filmmaker Fawzia Mirza discusses her feature debut and how the intergenerational drama echoes much of her own life