Same Sex Marriage In Scotland

These statistics allegedly come from the Scottish government, not a study or research. And please keep in mind that not everyone in Scotland is out of the closet, so I would expect this to go even higher in the next ten years.

Of the 3,889 unions recorded since same-sex marriage came into effect in December 2014, 462 of them were between people of the same sex. 

Meanwhile, the total number of marriages – gay or straight – was 340 more than in the same period of last year – that’s a rise of 9.6%.

You can read the rest here. There’s an interesting comment about the opponents of same sex marriage.

James Franco On Playing Ex-Gay Activist

Our almost gay bud, James Franco, hasn’t been making much news lately so when I spotted this I figured I’d link to it. I’m not totally sure why he’s so interested in gay subject matter and I don’t think anyone can speculate on that. But when I post about cultural appropriation like this I’m usually more focused on the straight privilege with respect to gay content. In other words, I know many gay artists out there who would love a chance to get recognized with gay content like Franco’s, but the straight white man coming from a place of privilege still trumps the gay artist…even when the subject matter is gay.

If you don’t get that, you can read more about black people and cultural appropriation here. 

James Franco has said he was not out to vilify the ‘ex-gay’ activist he plays in his new film I Am Michael.

He plays Michael Glatze, the man who went from gay, proud and founder of a gay twink magazine to become a pastor and the poster boy for the ‘ex-gay’ movement.

Now I think I’ll write a script about someone white and straight who was an activist. But first I’ll have to use a pen name and go back into the closet with that pen name. That’s called privilege.

You can check the rest out here. 

David Baker Removed From School For Questioning His Sexuality

This is important because it breaks the stereotypes, and it shows more courage than the likes of James Franco will ever know.  My ultimate hope is that voices of young men like Baker will overpower the voices of appropriation that have given men like Franco so much attention. David Baker is a bright, attractive young gay man who also happens to be a Republican active in politics. He’s written a short but fascinating piece about what inspires him to remain out in his world.

The three taboo topics in America are sex, religion, and politics. As a gay Mormon working in Republican politics, I have spent my career pushing against these taboos, sometimes by merely continuing to breathe.

However, I am only able to continue pushing for equality because I stand on the shoulders of LGBT giants who came out in an era where it was even more difficult to be gay.

I grew up in religiously conservative Utah and attended Brigham Young University, a private university owned by the Mormon Church. When, as a student, I started to question my sexuality I was removed from school.

The rest is here, where he goes into more detail about his experience, and he talks about the John Browne book he’s promoting that seems to be about coming out. As a gay man who was raised in a strict Catholic setting I can both understand and sympathize with him on every count. The only difference is that I do think it’s easier now than twenty years ago.

The comments are unusual with this one, mainly because some LGBT people don’t understand being gay, Mormon, and conservative. I get that they don’t understand. It’s not always easy for me either. It is a new concept. However, I do think we’ll be seeing more young men and women like Baker getting voices, and they are voices that deserve to be heard, too.