Deadpool’s invisible pansexuality
The superhero movie Deadpool’s red-suited anti-hero, played by Ryan Reynolds, certainly hints he’s a little bit more than straight, but why doesn’t he say it out loud? The Mary Sue complains that homoerotic subtext is no fun without homoerotic, well, text. The New York Post agrees, saying there’s no point in a character who’s theoretically pansexual when all he does is have sex with women.
Manny Pacquiao fired by Nike over anti-gay comments
Philippine superstar boxer and politician Manny Pacquiao has been dropped as a spokesman by Nike after he said in a television interview that gay people were “worse than animals.” After being fired, Pacquiao doubled down on his statement, posting Bible quotes condemning homosexuality.
California agrees to nix condoms for oral sex in porn
After outcry from the porn industry, California health and safety officials have agreed not to force porn performers to wear condoms or dental dams during oral sex. The proposed rules would have mandated protection wherever there was contact between performers’ mucus membranes, meaning oral sex might have to even include goggles for protection. The porn industry protested that the rules were unrealistic and would simply drive production underground.
Read more from the Associated Press.
Six Rentboy.com charges dropped
US officials have dropped charges against six lower-level employees of Rentboy.com, but say they will continue to prosecute the chief executive for money laundering and promoting prostitution. Prosecutors say the website was essentially an internet brothel, while gay rights activists say the raids were discriminatory persecution of gay sexuality.
Read more at the New York Times.
Australian religious leaders fear divisive marriage referendum
Australian religious leaders are asking Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull not to go through with a referendum on same-sex marriage, essentially saying that it will make them look bad. In a letter, mostly Christian leaders argued the debate could “distance leaders from lay people” and “marginalise faith communities from broader society.”
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