Homophobia is not always "in your face".

I posted this article in the LGBT group:

Is It a Big Deal That the Actor Playing the Flash Isn't Straight?

Actor Ezra Miller has been cast as the Flash in Warner Brothers’ eponymous movie, which is slated to premiere in 2018. That's big news even for those who aren't diehard DC Comics fans, because Ezra Miller is also openly queer, making it the first time a non-heterosexual has played the lead in a superhero movie.

Let's get one distinction out of the way: The 22-year-old Miller identifies as queer, not gay. Though the word can mean different things to different people, it’s often used as an umbrella term to mean “somewhere on the spectrum of sexuality that's not 100 percent straight.” In a 2012 interview, Miller told The Advocate “I’m queer... I have a lot of really wonderful friends who are of very different sexes and genders. I am very much in love with no one in particular."

It may seem ridiculous that we’re talking about this in 2014, when it feels like there is no shortage of openly non-heterosexual actors in Hollywood. But the casting choice of a queer man as the lead in a big-budget superhero, the embodiment of traditional American masculinity, is inarguably a huge deal. Queer actors are still up against the surprisingly pervasive idea that a non-straight actor can’t play a straight character. This has historically been true not just of superhero roles, but of all types of straight roles in mainstream American films.

--snip--

You may remember when Bret Easton Ellis tweeted that openly gay actor Matt Bomer wasn’t fit for the role of Christian Grey in the movie version of Fifty Shades of Grey. Ellis opined that “Fifty Shades of Grey demands an actor that is genuinely into women." That's a stubbornly persistent attitude: We love and applaud straight male actors for portraying gay characters, but we apparently don’t trust queer actors to be able to do the reverse.

more: http://www.vice.com/read/its-a-big-deal-that-the-actor-playing-the-flash-is-not-straight-117

The paragraph after the snip is not as uncommon as one might think. Not too long ago, Andrew Garfield, who plays Spiderman in the recent movies, stated something to the effect he wouldn't be opposed to Spiderman being gay. People lost their shit! Before that, it was about making "Sherlock Holmes" gay. Collective shit again lost, and as yet, unrecovered. The idea a fictional character might be written as gay totally pissed people off in a way that is nothing short of an example of homophobia. Many characters in superhero genres have be re-written in a way that changes the characters racial identity, physical abilities, even gender, but sexual orientation? That, for some is just a step too far.

Why is it so hard for some to understand gay people are here to stay and we are part of the fabric of life?

He would have been 38 in a month and a half were it not for murderous homophobes.

Remembering Matthew


Today marks 16 years since the day we lost Matt Shepard. I know from the conversations I’ve had with many of you that those terrible days in October 1998 echo in your memories: where you were, how it felt, the fears, the outrage and the questions you were left with.

In a cold October not so long ago in a sparse and misunderstood place, one of the few things that a senseless act of violence could not take from Matthew Shepard was his honor. In living openly as himself, Matthew encountered a terrible force that countless thousands like himself have faced before and since. The force of hatred. He lost his life to it. But he and we did not lose what was true about him – he had honored himself by being authentic, and honored those few of us fortunate enough to have known him, by being honest.

http://www.matthewshepard.org/

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Matthew Shepard: His Legacy Continues

Even after 16 years the name and story of Matthew Shepard, whose murder, carved into American history, represented a watershed moment that forever changed the conversation about the LGBT experience, not only still resonate but continue to have an impact.

When Matt died in 1998, I was an advocate working for GLAAD. My story and my connection to his death are well documented, most recently in a TEDx talk at Claremont College. The memories and lessons of all I have ever done in relation to Matt's death, and of all subsequent work I've done with regard to hate crimes and so many other issues, inform, inspire and motivate me every day. Legacy.

My experience changed me forever and carries with it a deep responsibility to continue to tell the stories of LGBT people. October is forever bittersweet for me: I celebrate National Coming Out Day with both pride and painful memories of being in Laramie and mourning Matt's death with his friends and fellow students and community advocates, not only bearing witness to moments that were shared around the world though the media but knowing that, in the best way we could, we tried to ensure that the media coverage was as fair and accurate as possible. Legacy.

As Dennis Shepard said at Russell Henderson's plea bargain hearing (Henderson is one of Matt's killers, now spending the remainder of his life in prison), "good is coming from evil." And after 16 years that good continues. Yes, his murder sparked a national conversation not only about hate crimes but about LGBT lives in general. Yes, it began a process where our experience as LGBT people suddenly had more context in the broader culture. (It followed the coming out of Ellen DeGeneres in 1997, making the late '90s a very influential time for the cultural visibility of LGBT people.) In October 2009 I stood feet away from President Obama at a reception following the signing of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Legacy.

more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cathy-renna/matthew-shepard-his-legacy-continues_b_5965980.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices

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Homophobia kills!

National Coming Out Day 2014: LGBT Whisper Users On Acknowledging Their Sexuality In The Open

National Coming Out Day was first celebrated on Oct. 11, 1988, exactly one year after the historic March On Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.

Now in its 26th year, National Coming Out Day remains a time for both celebration and contemplation, giving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people as well as their allies an opportunity to share who they are and encourage an open discussion with those who have yet to come out of the closet.

As part of HuffPost Gay Voices' ongoing partnership with Whisper, we looked for some of the most profound coming out stories shared by the app's anonymous LGBT users -- and the results ranged from touching to distressing.

"I told my mom I was a lesbian when I was 16," one user wrote. "My mom told me, 'As long as you are happy, who am I to tell you who to love?' My mother and I became closer and are still close 8 years later."



more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/11/national-coming-out-day-2014_n_5965714.html

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National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is an annual civil awareness day internationally observed on October 11 to recognize members of the LGBTQ+ community.[1] The process of coming out involves self-disclosure of one's sexual orientation and/or gender identity.