High School Boy In Drag

Here’s the story of a guy in high school who wanted to perform a drag number for the school. At first he was turned down, but he continued to pursue it. It’s a real life story about his passion, and what he loves. And he wasn’t going to let anyone change his mind.

The young man’s performance of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” on his last day of high school has wasted no time in going viral, and rightly so. 

16-year-old Philipp Penning originally wanted to perform as Edna in Charlton School’s production of Hairspray. 

You can read the rest here. I know a guy who has always been open and out with his family about being gay, however, to this day he’s never once told them he does drag shows. There’s still a stigma there.

“Its Gets Better” and Bullying Not Working?

A few years ago a lot of famous names jumped onto the “It Gets Better” bandwagon and their videos went viral. It reminds me of recent episode of Veep where sleazy politician, Selina Meyer, tells a talk show host she’s working for AIDS…because Selina knows AIDS will get her more praise and attention from the public, which is exactly what Selina needs.

In any event, now there’s a study out that questions whether or not “It Gets Better” is actually something that works…or even helps. It worked for the high profile names that made the videos, but does it work for the stressed out kids who suffer the bullies?

We’re sure Dan Savage and Terry Miller had only the best intentions when they launched the It Gets Better project back in 2010. And they certainly had a lot of support, with everyone from Ellen Degeneres to Hillary Clinton to President Obama jumping on board to promote the anti-bullying catchphrase. But new research finds the project might actually be doing more harm than good.

 …a study from the University of Arizona suggests simply wishing for a brighter future where people are nicer and homophobia no longer exists may not actually be an effective tool for young people who are struggling. 

You can check that out here. It brings up a few interesting points, especially when it talks about coping strategies.

5 Minute Will and Grace Trailer

I don’t think you can go anywhere online these days and not see something about this Will and Grace revival. This seems to be the year where Hollywood pulls out all the oldies, with the American Idol thing, and even Roseanne. I actually have a feeling there will be more. Hollywood will do that when there’s nothing left to try.

But right now the focus is on Will and Grace.

Here’s yet more evidence that Will & Grace will be steamrolling back into our lives this fall. 

NBC just released a five-minute trailer that finds the gang in fine form — being alternately catty, neurotic, oddly staid, and winsomely flamboyant. 

You can check out the trailer here. For me, it felt a lot more like 5 hours than 5 minutes. The comments so far seem divided about whether or not this is a good thing. Will and Grace was good TV produced for the mainstream about gay men. Even though there were stereotypes, the stereotypes were accurate. I see nothing wrong with stereotypes if they fit in with the story. I’ve done it myself, and I make no apologies for it. Unlike HBO’s, Looking, a well written TV show where the story focused on real gay men and targeted a certain gay male audience, Will and Grace has its mainstream audience and it will most likely always remain more popular with the general public than excellent TV shows like Looking.

I also think it’s a good example of how “It Gets Better” fails in some ways. It doesn’t always get better for some gay people, especially not with some TV, not by any means. You just learn how to cope with it differently, is all.