Boston Pride 2014 “Be Yourself, Change the World”

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Sylvain Bruni, President of Boston Pride that takes place June 6th thru June 15th. This is the 44th celebration of Boston Pride and this year’s theme is “Be Yourself, Change the World”. The theme encourages our LGBT community to embrace what makes each individual unique and to use those qualities to change the world for the better. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has been selected as a Grand Marshal of the 2014 Pride Parade this year and The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were also named as Grand Marshal. John Mitzel was named as Honorary Marshal. Boston Pride kicks off on June 6th with the annual Flag Raising ceremony at City Hall Plaza. Highlighting the week will be Pride Day @ Faneuil Hall, Pride Queeraoke, Pride Night at Fenway Park, the Boston Pride Parade and the Boston Pride Festival with Mary Lambert performing and more. There will also be dance parties including the Pride Youth Dance, the Back Bay Block Party and the JP Block Party. We talked to Sylvain about all the fabulous events happening during Boston Pride and his spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what his personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights Bruni stated, “My commitment to LGBT civil rights is being involved and taking part in various activities that are done. I really think that it’s upon everyone of us to actually contribute to the community and do whatever we can and to move the community forward and to bring the services, the awareness, the talent, the skills, the competences that we have to make the overall environment better for everyone. Specifically here in terms of civil rights in the work we do with Boston Pride, we think it is very important that we continue to raise awareness about what’s happening outside of the Boston area and beyond the United States around the world. We have for a couple of years held some human rights panels during Pride Week and think it’s an essential component of programming that we offer because a lot of folks here in the community are not necessarily aware that granted there are lots of improvements that need to occur in Boston, in Massachusetts and in the United States, there is also really a lot of work that is needed outside of the country. It is important for people to know about this and participate if they can. So we’re really delighted to offer this kind of programming because for everyone of us at Boston Pride we resonate personally as a commitment to LGBT human rights around the world.”

Sylvain Bruni originally from France was appointed President of the Board of Directors of Boston Pride in January 2014. Sylvain has been involved with Boston Pride since Pride 2004. Bruni was also the co-chair of the 2012 World Conference of InterPride (the International Association of Pride Organizers), held in Boston in October 2012. He is currently the Co-chair of InterPride’s communications committee. Boston Pride is still looking for volunteers to help with this year's Pride Week activities. Volunteers are needed on June 14th for the Pride Parade and Festival, and on June 15th for the Back Bay and Jamaica Plain Block Parties.
For More Info: bostonpride.org

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ESPN Sports Writer Kate Fagan Speaks OUT

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Kate Fagan, a columnist for ESPN and former University of Colorado basketball player about her new must-read memoir “The Reappearing Act”. This timely book addresses sexual identity in the closeted and paranoid world of big-time college sports. We’ve all been following the coming-out stories of male athletes Jason Collins, Michael Sam and recently Derrick Gordon but it’s rare to hear the experience from a lesbian female athlete. Not only did she have to deal with the homophobic culture of college sports but her best friends were part of Colorado’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes where they ran weekly Bible studies at an Evangelical Free Church. Kate actually joined them for nearly a year while she was struggling with her sexual identity even as they prayed for others “living a sinful lifestyle.” In “The Reappearing Act” Fagan shares her personal coming-out story as she embraces her true self. We talked to Fagan about her new book and her spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what her personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights Fagan stated, “That’s a fine line because I am a member of the media. I’m a columnist and feature writer for ESPN and because of my relationships that I have with folks who do work at the “You Can Play Project” which works to end homophobia in sports and at “Break The Silence” which specifically focus on ending homophobia in women’s sports, I do often get stories about female athletes and male athletes who want to come out and they want me to be the one to tell that story. I think in this day and age in sports that these stories are important and people are interested in them. So it’s actually good business to develop strong relationships with these communities and be able to tell their stories in a sophisticated, mature way and I dance that line of journalism and also wanting to tell these stories in a really strong compassionate way which I think all journalist want to do about any story. But my personal experience of playing women’s college basketball and seeing all of this closeting and fear in all these issues, on a personal level in my own time I do like to support certain groups and speak usually to very small gatherings about women’s sports and how we can tackle some of these issues. So I have a personal commitment to trying the best that I can to help the environment in women’s sports which is where my passion lies because of my personal experience that I write about.”

 Kate Fagan is a columnist and feature writer for espnW, ESPN.com and ESPN: The Magazine. Previously, Fagan spent three seasons covering the 76ers for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Her work was cited in the anthology The Best American Sports Writing 2013 and she has also been featured on Longreads, a site that curates the best in long-form journalism and fiction. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
For More Info: bykatefagan.com

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Gay Filmmaker Addresses Bullying In New Feature Film

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with filmmaker Kim Rocco Shields of Genius Pictures about her award-winning viral short LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED? that’s about to become a full-length feature. The concept of the film follows the life of an ordinary heterosexual girl who is bullied in a world where everyone is gay. Imagine a world where gay was straight and straight was gay. Challenging our current conception of the terms ‘gay’ and ‘straight’ this controversial film written and directed by Shields reverses not only the meaning of the terms but also addresses the social and cultural prejudices that emerge with hate and bullying. We talked to Rocco about her film project and her spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what her personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights Shields stated, “My personal commitment to LGBT civil rights is through the power of cinema; we can make a difference and impact the world. I give this lecture at different universities around the United States about how to use media for social change. In short basically we can track media, television, film, as a springboard to represent minority cultures and bring them to public awareness. It was done with the Afro-American community and it’s been done with several other minority communities and the more we can show these people on cinema we can make them less of an other and more of just part of society. So I dream for a day when we see gay characters on TV and the storylines are not about them being gay. I really think that a film like this can really open up people’s eyes and really make them understand because it allows them to put the shoe on the other foot and really walk a mile in LGBT civil rights issues.”

For the first time GLSEN (Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network), considered one of the most revered anti-bullying organizations in the USA, has partnered with independent film company Genius Pictures and Melke Pty Ltd to co-produce this feature length film version of the multiple award winning viral short LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED?. Also the charitable 501c3 organization From The Heart Production will partner GLSEN, Genius and Melke in their Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign that launched May 13th. This is a fabulous opportunity to get involved and help end the LGBT teen bullying epidemic.
For More Info:roccoshields.com
 
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Celebrities & Allies Come Out For LGBT Equality

In this exclusive audio montage Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with celebrities on the Red Carpet at the 25th GLAAD Media Awards in NYC. First we spoke with GLAAD’s CEO & President Sarah Kate Ellis and her wife Kristen Ellis-Henderson. Sarah talks about clearing up the idea that the fight for LGBT equality has been won and how much more work needs to be done to achieve full equality. Next we talked to Derrick Gordon the first out NCAA basketball player about his NBA aspirations and the future of LGBT athletes. Then we talked with transgender model Geena Rocero about how we need to spotlight the “T” in LGBT and launching her “Gender Proud” campaign. We were then joined by Stafford Arima who was there to present George Takei with the Vito Russo Award and chats about directing his upcoming Broadway musical “Allegiance” starring George Takei. New Orleans bounce performer Big Freedia who won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program in LA talks about the show’s second season. GLAAD National Spokespersons Omar Sharif, Jr. shared his personal story how GLAAD saved his life and programs he’s involved with to deal with the LGBT teen bullying epidemic. Comedian Fortune Feimster hosted the event and gives us her spin on our LGBT issues. Perez Hilton who was there to see global superstar Kylie Minogue and Grammy Award-winning country music artist Kacey Musgraves perform talks about how fatherhood has changed his life. GLAAD National Spokesperson Wilson Cruz informed us about GLAAD’s current projects addressing southerners’ stories and global initiatives.

Transgender actress Candis Cayne who played Ms. Hudson on “Elementary” (CBS) accepted the Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series without a regular LGBT character) Award on behalf of the show. Reality star Sonja Morgan dished with us about her series “The Real Housewives of New York City” on Bravo TV. Actress Robin Weigert who starred in the film “Concussion” which won Outstanding Film-Limited Release talks about how LGBT equality continues to advance. Then actress Yael Stone from “Orange Is the New Black” which won Outstanding Comedy Series talks about the second season of the show. Tony and Emmy winning actress Swoosie Kurtz opened the show and talks compassionately about our LGBT issues. George Takei who received the 2014 Vito Russo Award talks about how honored he is to be recognized with this award named for one of the founders of GLAAD. George and his husband Brad also talk about their new documentary “Being Takei.”

Boy George who was there to introduce Kylie Minogue gave us his advise to LGBT teens that they should not suffer in silence but reach out. Martial arts fighter Jessica Aguilar was there to represent LGBT athletes with her partner Elena Rodriguez. Out Olympic speed skater Blake Skjellerup was also there to represent LGBT people in sports and talks about the advancements we have made in the last year. Actress Alysia Reiner was there to celebrate her show the fabulous Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black” which is changing hearts and minds about our LGBT community. Next we talked to actor Raúl Castillo who appears in “Looking” on HBO that has been renewed for a second season. We concluded with actress Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black) who was honored with GLAAD’s Stephen F. Kolzak Award last month in LA. Laverne talks about how grateful she is for her career and how she wants to create a safe world for her inner child. The 25th Annual GLAAD Media Awards were held at the Waldorf Astoria, New York.
For More Info: glaad.org 

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