Lesbian couple stages in-flight photo shoot in front of anti-gay politician
When two gay Russian women found themselves sitting in a plane in front of legendary anti-gay zealot Vitaly Milonov, they decided to document the occasion. While Milonov dozed or hid behind his tablet, the women photographed a make-out session in the foreground. Milonov is famous for his gay propaganda laws, which were signed by Vladimir Putin in 2013.
Gay in the North Dakota oil fields
What’s a gay guy to do in a world of oil wells, roughnecks and pipelines, where being out can cost your job and the nearest gay bar is nearly a state away? Grindr helps, apparently. At Vice, Cole Stangler reports on the gay men of North Dakota’s Bakken shale fields and the fleeting connections they make there.
Oregon bakery guilty of discrimination
The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries has ruled that a bakery discriminated against a gay couple by refusing to bake a cake for their wedding and that the owners will have to pay the couple up to $150,000 in compensation. An exception in Oregon law allows religious organizations to refuse service to gay people, but although the bakery’s owner is religious, the bureau says a bakery does not qualify.
The Imitation Game debate
In The Imitation Game, Benedict Cumberbatch played gay British mathematician Alan Turing, who was responsible for breaking German encryption and helping to win the Second World War. The Human Rights Campaign has thrown itself behind the film, supporting Cumberbatch’s campaign to pardon other gay men who were convicted of gross indecency. At The Daily Beast, however, Tim Teeman calls the movie “cowardly” and “wrong-headed” and says it scrubs away too much of Turing’s gay identity to stand as a gay-rights banner.
Texas gay teen told to delete video blog or leave school
A Texan teenager had to switch schools after his principal told him to either erase his popular YouTube channel or face expulsion. The principal told Austin Wallis and his mother that if he wanted to stay at the private Christian school, he would have to go back into the closet to avoid damaging the school’s image. In a YouTube video, Wallis said, “When I came out, I knew I was going to have bullies, and I knew people were not going to be okay with it. But I never expected it to be from the people who were supposed to protect you from the bullies.”
Buddhist teacher: Sexual orientation has nothing to do with enlightenment
A Bhutanese Buddhist teacher says sexual orientation has nothing to do with the search for truth, and gay people are just as likely as straight people to reach enlightenment. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche was talking to students about the role of cultural values in Buddhism. “You could be gay, you could be lesbian, you could be straight, we never know which one will get enlightened first. Probably lesbians. We never know,” he joked.
Photo credit: Instagram/infinitykseniya
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