Drag Queens and Facebook

Evidently, the agreement…or whatever it was…that was reached with drag queens and facebook over fake names/profiles wasn’t as strong as everyone thought it was. I didn’t have high hopes for it.

‘In the eight months since this debacle began, it has become clear that Facebook’s apology was empty and their promise to make any real change to their policy was a lie,’ the petition statement reads.

‘To this day the malicious reporting against our community continues as thousands of LGBT users are locked out of their accounts, lose access to their photos, news feeds, and are cut off from their social network.‘

Even though I use my own name and identity in my Facebook profile, I can say for certain that I have always, always walked on those proverbial eggshells there. I self-censor all status updates, and I even go so far as to remove things people have tagged me in because I’m not sure the content is passable. I keep it G-rated just to avoid any issues. 

I rarely ever take Facebook seriously for anything but quick connections with people I’ve come to like. As for promotional value it’s a complete waste of time. I’m approaching one million hits on my web site and about 2% of those hits actually came from sharing a post, daily, on Facebook. Most hits have come from random google searches, or searches related to blog posts I’ve written.

You can read more here. I wonder what kind of bullshit Facebook will come up with now as an excuse to tide things over.

Cher’s Last Appearance on Letterman

I think most people know I’m not big on “gay icons.” I honestly don’t get most of them, including Judy Garland, Bette Midler, and Cher. But I like Cher, I LOVE Chaz, and I am a huge fan of Letterman. I used to watch his show as a kid when he came on after Johnny Carson. And I remember one show in particular where Cher came on with Sonny and they sang “I’ve Got You Babe” totally unrehearsed. It was actually a great TV moment…one that wouldn’t be possible to reproduce. At the time it was considered “retro” because they were already divorced for years and they’d both moved on with their lives and careers. 

And now Cher paid a surprise visit to Letterman because he’s leaving the show at the end of the month.

Cher’s first appearance with Letterman was 29 years ago when his show was on NBC and she memorably called him as ‘asshole.’

But even more memorable was her 1987 appearance with ex-husband Sonny Bono when the former singing partners sang in public together for the last time.

Cher wore her hair in the same style Wednesday as that 1987 appearance and even wore the same sweater that she wore that night (see video below).

Although Cher had teased Letterman often during their many appearances over the decades, she did not want him to leave the air without saying: ‘From the bottom of my heart, I really love you and I’m going to miss you.’

You can read the rest here, where there’s a video of this last Cher appearance. And there’s also one from the 1987 show with Sonny. I still don’t think it’s icon-worthy, but it’s damn good in spite of that.

Transgender Lawsuit and Barnes and Noble

Here’s one that’s not only LGBT related, it’s also book related. A trans woman working in an old time brick and mortar bookshop allegedly told management she wanted to transition and they allegedly fired her. The woman filed a lawsuit for discriminatory treatment. But this time you really do have to read the entire article.

‘I loved my job at Barnes & Noble,’ said Victoria Ramirez in a statement.

‘I put myself through college working there. I thought this company shared my values of hard work, integrity, and respect for all people. But when I came out as transgender, they didn’t live up to those values — instead they responded by mocking me and forcing me to hide who I really am. After giving six years of my life to Barnes & Noble, I was devastated when I was fired simply for being myself. I lost my livelihood, my financial stability, and my confidence.’

Ms Ramirez worked for six years at two Barnes and Noble stores in Florida between July 2007 and July 2013.

Barnes and Noble did reply:
 
While it is our policy not to comment directly on individual employees, it is important to point out that Barnes & Noble has a history of supporting and employing transgender individuals,’ said Barnes and Noble spokesperson Mary Ellen Keating when approached for comment.

‘When an employee informs us that he or she will be transitioning, we work directly with the employee to provide the support they need to feel comfortable in the work place.

‘We also work with the other employees and managers in our stores to ensure they are educated about the transition process and what to expect.

The rest is here. It’s mostly about how Barnes and Noble has a past history of supporting trans people in transition. It should be interesting to see how this one turns out. I have a feeling we’ll be hearing more from other transgender employees who have been treated with positivity.

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