Nuclear gender, a GAYTM, and NPH’s undies

Your Daily Package of newsy and naughty bits from around the world


The gay Academy Awards

Neil Patrick Harris hosted the Academy Awards Feb 22, at one point stripping down to his underwear, and also becoming the first Oscar host to have appeared fully naked in one of the nominated films. Gay-rights themed film The Imitation Game won for best adapted screenplay, but many other popular gay films of the year didn’t get nominations.

Pope: Gender theory is like nuclear weapons

In an interview released in a new Italian book, Pope Francis says that modern theories of gender are like nuclear weapons or genetic manipulation, inventions that cause mass destruction of humanity. “With this attitude, man commits a new sin, that against God the Creator,” he said about theories that say gender is on a spectrum. “The true custody of creation does not have anything to do with the ideologies that consider man like an accident, like a problem to eliminate.”

Read more at the National Catholic Reporter.

Gay Games most profitable ever

The ninth Gay Games, held in Cleveland and Akron, Ohio in 2014, were the most profitable ever according to the organizing body. The games will leave $150,000 to local LGBT legacy funds. “The ability to give back to the community is a testament to the Gay Games 9 board’s leadership, which placed importance on operating in a fiscally responsible manner,” the games’ executive director told 19 Action News.

Do you want your child to be gay?

Some people hope their children will be straight to avoid the trials of homophobia. Many say they don’t care. But is it OK to hope your child is gay? Sally Kohn, at the Washington Post, says it’s fine, and the real trouble is people who perpetuate the idea that being gay is a disadvantage.

 

Jamaican singer: Singers just use homophobia to get applause

Jamaican singer Queen Ifrica, who was cut from a New York concert last year due to her anti-gay lyrics, says Jamaican musicians just use homophobia to get applause. “A lot of artists would perform on stage and if they weren’t getting a response, they’d turn to that medium because they knew that it would get a reaction,” she says. “And a lot of the time, some of the people applauding in the audience were homosexuals themselves.” Despite a well-documented wave of violence against gay people in Jamaica, Queen Ifrica says the country is safe for gays.

Read more at The Voice.

GAYTM vandalized by queer activists

An ATM in Ponsonby, New Zealand which was decorated in rainbow colours and called a “GAYTM” by banking company ANZ was vandalized by a queer group who objected to “pinkwashing” and “commercialization.” The bank initially assumed the vandalization was motivated by homophobia, but a local group called Queers Against Injustice claimed responsibility, saying they “object to the representation of queer identity in terms of consumptive and wealthy citizens.”

Editor’s note: This post was corrected on Feb 23 to remove the reference to Neil Patrick Harris again hosting the Oscars. Though he has hosted many award shows, this was his first time hosting the Oscars.

Niko Bell

Niko Bell is a writer, editor and translator from Vancouver. He writes about sexual health, science, food and language.

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