Gay Photo Show: The Bear Sessions

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with photographer Joel Benjamin and producer John O’Connell about their new LGBTQ exhibition “The Bear Sessions: Portraiture” a series of photographs being showcased at the Boston Center for Adult Education. BCAE is premiering the show with their second annual “Sip the Rainbow” cocktail reception from 6P-8P on May 17th. The exhibit runs through June 2013. The Bear Sessions resulted in images of over 80 gay men from Cape Cod to Texas reflecting an identity and sexuality not represented in mainstream media. Within the Bear community the photos embrace masculinity in unique and individual ways. They represent strength, passion, joy, vulnerability and most importantly authenticity not represented in iconic gay imagery. In this exhibition of 24 photos from the project’s portraiture their subjects display confidence and self-acceptance encouraging viewers to celebrate those same qualities of confidence, pride and passion within themselves. We talked to Joel and John about their groundbreaking show and issues facing our LGBT community.

When asked what their personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights Benjamin stated, “For me I’d say it’s been a lifetime documentation of the community. I’ve been photographing the Boston LGBT community for probably thirty years now, even before I was a professional photographer. It’s always just been a way to learn and involve myself.” O’Connell added, “For me my commitment really started in college. I went to the University of California Riverside and I actually got arrested in a civil disobedience protest in California for the AB101 Veto Riot in 1991 which was exciting, but actually not a big deal. But I think for us everything we can do to just live our own lives as honestly as possible and, of course, every gala every event we’re at, we’re either documenting or just being a part of, is an everyday part of our lives.”

“Sip the Rainbow” opening reception for The Bear Sessions: Portraiture will be held on Friday, May 17th from 6P to 8P at the Boston Center for Adult Education, 122 Arlington Street, Boston, MA. There is a $20 donation which includes three complimentary unique Grey Goose cocktails created by local mixologists using the colors of the gay pride flag as their inspiration signature cocktails. This is a fabulous way to celebrate the 9th anniversary of marriage equality in Massachusetts and the beginning of the gay pride season. All proceeds to benefit the BCAE.
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Cathy Marino-Thomas & Marriage Equality USA

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Cathy Marino-Thomas, Co-President of the Board at Marriage Equality USA. Cathy has worked on the issue of marriage equality since 1998. She was Executive Director of Marriage Equality New York for 3 years (2005 - 2008) and Board President for 6 years. Cathy speaks all over the country about the rights, privileges and obligations that protect families only through the right to civil marriage. We talked to Cathy about the gay marriage cases before the US Supreme Court, homophobia and other issues currently facing our LGBT community.

When asked her spin on the media hype surrounding NBA Center Jason Collins coming out though tennis legends Martina Navratilova and Billy Jean King came out in 1981, Marino-Thomas stated, “You know I have two minds about this. Number one I think it’s great that we make a big deal out of people coming out and living life in a truthful way no matter what walk of life they come out in. Though he does do a lot for us in that respect, it’s the first time that a male professional athlete has come out and said that they were gay and now he’s going to face criticism and all that, so that’s terrific. But the fact of the matter is that female professional athletes have been coming out for a long time and the same hype and attention is not given to them. I feel that any step forward and any coming out experience is a good one. So for the most part it’s a fabulous thing; I just feel a little slighted on behalf of all the female athletes that have been in fact living out lives for a long time…So it’s two issues Charlotte; it’s coming out is always a good thing and women are less than men even in coming out experiences.”

Cathy Marino-Thomas lives with her wife Sheila and daughter Jacqueline. Sheila and Cathy have been together 18 years. They had a Union Ceremony in 1995, registered as domestic partners in the state of New York in 1996 and married in Massachusetts in 2004. Prior to working with Marriage Equality New York, Cathy spent many years as a Buddy in the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) Buddy Program visiting countless people afflicted with HIV/AIDS and assisting them with daily chores, advocacy and information. Cathy’s love for her family motivates her to continue to pursue the legal right to marry.
For More Info: marriageequality.org 

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Gay Filmmaker Rolla Selbak Speaks OUT

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with award-winning filmmaker Rolla Selbak about her new webseries "Kiss Her I'm Famous". The project stars The Real L-Word’s Tracy Ryerson and Ilea Matthews (The Violent Kind) and is a satirical nod to the sex tapes that catapulted Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian and many other celebrities. At a time where gratuity and fake publicity seem to be able to catapult just about anyone into the spotlight “Kiss Her I’m Famous” is a satire that tackles this very phenomenon in a smart, subtle and entertaining way. We talked to Rolla about her new webseries and her spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what her personal commitment is to LGBT equality Selbak stated, “My personal commitment is very personal since I am gay and then as far as the LGBT community, my community, I have been struggling with that as long as I can remember and things have gotten better and better, but we have a long way to go. I feel that we as content creators and as people in the media have done such an amazing job in the past few years to really help the public open their eyes to our issues. I think it’s a great testament to what we have been able to do as people in the media because in the United States, this is the most acceptance LGBT people have gotten and even republicans are changing their stance on gay people and gay marriage. I think we’ve done an amazing job and of course I think we have a lot more to go but I do credit the media for showcasing gay characters and gay stories. We just need more of that and keep pushing further.”

 Rolla Selbak grew up in the Middle East under the strict social structure of a Muslim family and won critical acclaim for her feature film "Three Veils”, starring Sheetal Sheth (Looking for Comedy in a Muslim World, I Can’t Think Straight), Mercedes Masohn (666 Park Ave) and featuring Eric Avari (Heros, The Mummy). The film addressed arranged marriage, homosexuality and love within the Muslim-American subculture. "Three Veils” won Best Screenplay at San Diego LGBT International 2012, Best LGBT Film at the New York City International Film Festival 2011 and the Rainbow Award at the Honolulu LGBT Film Fest 2011 among others. The Palestinian native has also been invited to speak at multiple panels on independent filmmaking and women in the arts.
For More Info: rollaselbak.com 
 
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Gay Allies Address Mormons In New Novel

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with father and son authors Ross and Ryan Poore about their new novel "The Blood Doctrine" that addresses homophobia and the Mormon Church. This courtroom thriller explores the life of a missionary man whose chosen path is to spread the word of his Mormon religion and the motivations that drive him to brutally murder a gay man in the name of his faith. Utilizing the tool of fiction, Ross and Ryan Poore who are fierce gay allies, explore historical text, documented sermons and the teachings of Brigham Young, Sidney Rigdon, John D. Lee and others within the LDS to unravel the extremist anti gay position of church members and teachings that continues today. In addition “The Blood Doctrine” explains how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints strategically raised millions of dollars to pass California’s Proposition 8 in 2008.

When asked as a heterosexual man what his personal commitment is to LGBT equality, Ross stated, “I come from a family where I have a brother who is gay, I have a nephew who is gay, I have a cousin who is gay and I have a cousin who is transgender. My sister is president of PFLAG (Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays) in Salt Lake City so my commitment is to make sure they have the same rights as everyone else. In Utah the state legislature struck down an effort to just have the rights of gays to have fair housing and have equal rights in employment this session and I’m trying to figure out why that is a threat to society. And what it boiled down to is the (LDS) church didn’t want to be in compliance with those issues. They didn’t want to have to follow that guideline and that law. I think that if anyone’s rights are taken away, my individual rights are also diminished.”

Ross Poore is the son of a coal miner and has earned four degrees from the University of Utah with a doctor's degree in educational leadership. He has served as a high school principal, counselor and teacher. His last professional years were spent as an academic director at a psychiatric treatment center for adolescents. He has been married to Chris for 45 years and has two sons and one grandson. Ryan Poore has worked in the media and entertainment industry for well over 15 years. Because of his media experience he visualizes his stories as virtual film sets before he begins to write.
For More Info: missionarymurder.com 

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Help Fund LGBT Filmmakers In Uganda

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with filmmaker Tim McCarthy about his new Ugandan film project “Voices of the Abasiyazzi - Creating Allies” that he is producing with Pepe Julian Onziema. Abasiyazzi is the Ugandan equivalent of the American word Queer. This documentary will explore the cultural and legal history of homosexuality in Uganda up to the present “Kill the Gays Bill” pending in the Ugandan Parliament. As you know over the past four years Fundamentalist Christian Leaders from America have been transporting homophobia to Africa. The concept is to film LGBT Ugandans sharing their lives with their own clans people, in their own language and cultural traditions. They’ll be spending five weeks starting in May of 2013 traveling around the 5 regions of Uganda sampling positive views of Ugandan Abasiyazzis through their lives and talking with the local straight allies and traditional healers about their views.

When asked if there was a question he wished people would ask him about the project McCarthy stated, “I think people want to know why they should support our Kickstarter project, why they should be worried about Uganda with all the gay issues that exist in this country. The fact of the matter is that’s a false argument. The truth is we need to fight homophobia in every place that it exists. To be very blunt about it the Ugandan situation exists because of Americans. So it’s our obligation to provide them with the tools to solve this themselves, not to go in there and solve it. That’s the big difference with our film. The other aspect of our film is we’re not going in there with an angry position about how you’re trying to kill us. That’s not what is going to create allies in Uganda. What is going to create allies is simply to show them the humanity of their lesbian sisters, gay brothers and their trans partners in their own communities and talking to them in their own language not in English; talking with them with their own traditional healers and traditions that existed before Christianity came to Africa.”

Tim McCarthy is a Gay Video Historian who has traveled the world since April 1990 in search of LGBT Culture in 90 countries so far and all 7 continents. Some of Tim's archival footage appears in the 2012 Oscar Nominated documentary "How To Survive A Plague". He is also an award winning filmmaker. Pepe Julian Onziema is a Ugandan transman presently Program Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) and the recipient of the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative Award who shot the video of the first Ugandan/East African Gay Pride event where people were arrested. The funds raised will go toward producing the film and security.
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Celebrity Moms For LGBT Equality (AUDIO)

In this exclusive audio montage Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with celebrity moms on the Red Carpet at the 24th GLAAD Media Awards in NYC about their dedication to LGBT equality. First we spoke to actress/model Milla Jovovich, followed by MTV’s “Jersey Shore” Nicole “Snookie” Polizzi, then from TLC’s “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” June “Mama” Shannon followed by Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New York City” Countess LuAnn de Lesseps and concluded with Jen Tyrrell who was ousted as den leader of her son's Boy Scout troop just because she’s gay. All the moms hoped for a more inclusive future for their children where they could be who they are no mater what their sexual orientation may be.

When asked what her personal commitment is to LGBT equality Milla Jovovich stated, “You know for me personally I have zero tolerance for any kind of discrimination. Whether it’s racial, religious, sexual preference, we all deserve our civil rights. And now as a mother it’s even more important to me because if my daughter says to me in 10 or 15 years ‘Mom I’m Gay’ I want to know that she’s growing up in a world that supports her and is not going to make her feel less of a human being or someone to discriminate against her; that my daughter is able to be proud and hold her head high with her partner and feel like a normal person in this world and be respected.” New mom Snookie gave LGBTQ teens advise about dealing with bullying stating, “Well I’m totally against bullying. I hate it and just know that you’re a great person and whatever anyone says about you it doesn’t matter. You live for yourself and that’s it.” When asked what her reaction would be if Honey Boo Boo came out to her, June “Mama” Shannon stated, “I would still love her unconditionally. That’s my child and I would love her regardless.” In conclusion Jen Tyrrell who’s in the center of the anti gay Boy Scouts controversy stated, “You can’t build the leaders of tomorrow by using values that were okay 100 years ago. That’s not the future and they are training the future of America and the future is families like mine, honestly. So we don’t want kids to ever go through what my son Cruz has gone through and we’re going to stick through it to the end and we’ll be here as long as they are noncompliant.”

The 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards were held at the Marriott Marquis Theater on March 16th in New York City. Additional awards will be presented in Los Angeles April 20th and San Francisco on May 11th.
For More Info:glaad.org

AUDIO: More Celeb Chats @  NYC GLAAD Awards

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Gay Marriage Architects Speak OUT

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson, host of OUTTAKE VOICES™, talks with Lee Swislow, Executive Director of GLAD (Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders), the architects of gay marriage in this country. After GLAD won marriage equality for Massachusetts gay and lesbian couples in 2004 they were the first to file two DOMA challenges, Gill v. OPM in 2009 and Pedersen v. OPM in 2010, which were both found unconstitutional in federal court. Though their cases were not heard before the US Supreme Court GLAD coordinated the amicus strategy and briefs as well as party briefs for Windsor v. United States the DOMA case that did reach the Supreme Court. We thought we’d get Lee’s inside track on the US Supreme Court cases addressing marriage equality and other LGBT civil rights issues facing our community.

When asked what she would like to see the Obama administration accomplish for our LGBT community in the next 4 years Swislow stated, “There’s a lot in the Obama agenda that isn’t LGBT specific but things like Comprehensive Immigration Reform and implementation of the Affordable Care Act effects members of our communities who don’t have legal status. It effects people who have trouble accessing health care so I certainly support those aspects and I think they’re very important but there are certainly initiatives that are much more targeted to our community that I would like to see accomplished and passing. A good comprehensive Employment Nondiscrimination Act is clearly high on the list and ending transgender discrimination in the military. We got the end of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ but not the end of the entire discrimination facing our community. Providing coverage of transgender health care is another piece I’d like to see him do. So there’s a lot he could accomplish over the next four years that would be very significant to our community.”

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) was founded in 1978 and is one of the leading legal rights organizations dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status and gender identity and expression. Each time GLAD argues a case or tackles an issue they tear down more of the outdated laws and stereotypes that have denied LGBT people and people with HIV basic protections and opportunities in every area of daily life – family, school, employment, housing, government, health care and beyond. Whether it’s marriage for gay and lesbian couples, non-discrimination policies for transgender people in the workplace, or protections for people with HIV, GLAD doesn’t compromise on their belief that every citizen deserves full equality under the law without exception.
For More Info:glad.org

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