Tag: Russian Homophobia

Philadelphia Flyer Ivan Provorov Boycotts Pride Event, Ryan Field Books

 Philadelphia Flyer Ivan Provorov Boycotts Pride Event

In all fairness, I have to admit that I have never been to a Pride event. I’ve seen them happening where I live, and it’s not that I don’t support them. Like many gay men who are out, I just never felt the need to go to one. And I think that’s partly because I only identify as a gay man and I’m not thrilled with what Pride has become. 

And this has nothing at all to do with the LGBTQ community. From what I have seen in the past 20 years or so, straights have been taking over Pride events and profiting big time. In New Hope, PA, alone, I remember all the straight businesses hanging Pride and rainbow items outside their shops so they could exploit us to the fullest, and when Pride was over, all that Pride swag went back inside for another year. 

So I think Pride has become something different, and I’m not always fond of the direction it’s going. 

With that said, this move to boycott Pride by Ivan Provorov appears to be a blatant slap in the face to LGBTQ people. It looks as though it’s because of his Russian religion, but you have to look deeper. He didn’t have to announce it aloud. He could have slipped quietly away and disappeared and no one would have known. Let’s face it, a good many of us don’t know who he is, nor do we care. But he decided to make a point, and it’s loud and clear. 

When I saw this trending the other day on Twitter I also saw so many homophobic comments it was hard to keep track. The homophobic straights were saying things like, “why do they have to shove Pride down our throats?” Or, “they want us all to be gay.” Well, that’s only the way it appears because the media creates this image. The truth is that we really don’t care whether or not you go to Pride, whether you support Pride, or whether or not some dumb hockey player decides to boycott Pride for his Russian religions reasons. We all know what Russia does to gay people anyway, and I guess this guy supports that, too. But in truth, we really don’t care what they think. 

In fact, most gay men like me aren’t too thrilled with Pride events ourselves, but for very different reasons. Here’s where you can read the article. He really does come off as not too bright. There’s a photo of him with his big mouth half hanging open and you just have to wonder if he’s ever read a book from cover to cover. 

Uncertainty on Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”

Uncertainty by [Field, Ryan]

What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

Altered Parts by [Field, Ryan]


The Wizard of Pride




The Straight Pride Parade

 Amazon

Police Break Up Gay Rally in Moscow; Ian Reisner Made the New York Times; Ricky Martin’s Dating Challenges

Police Break Up Gay Rally in Moscow

Remember when many of us refused to support the Olympics in Russia because of the way LGBT people are being treated there? At the time, gay men like Johnny Weir thought we should separate sports from politics, and he supported the Russian Olympics…in the lamest way possible. They even sent a delegation to Russia with some very well known sports names in order to prove some kind of point. Well, they proved nothing and it should have been boycotted. Here’s what’s still happening in Russia to LGBT people.

Police broke up an unsanctioned gay rights rally in central Moscow on Saturday, detaining around 20 people, including anti-gay campaigners who attacked the activists. 

The campaigners had requested permission to hold a gay pride parade today, but Moscow authorities blocked the request for the tenth year in a row – an annual ritual that has come to symbolize Russian authorities’ hostility to public expressions of support for gay rights. 
A 2013 law against gay “propaganda” also sparked an outcry among Russian rights activists and in the West. But partly reflecting the influence of the Orthodox church, many Russians back the law or have negative feelings toward gays.
Ian Reisner Made The New York Times
Yes, this is the same Ian Reisner I posted about yesterday, and several times in the past. Evidently, the New York Times thought this was newsworthy, too. And, there’s more to the story I didn’t see in gay presses.
“In the interest of transparency, I gave Senator Cruz a $2,700 check to show my support for his work on behalf of Israel,” Mr. Reisner said in a statement he provided after The Times learned of the donation from two people with direct knowledge of it. “When I realized his donation could be misconstrued as supporting his anti-gay marriage agenda, I asked for the money back. Senator Cruz’s office gave the money back, and I have no intention of giving any money to any politicians who aren’t in support of L.G.B.T. issues.”
And it gets even worse.
Yet the anger at the hoteliers has been fierce and unrelenting. Mr. Reisner is under great pressure from angry residents in the Fire Island Pines who want him to divest of his interest in the commercial property there. In early May, Eric von Kuersteiner, a businessman on Fire Island who previously owned the properties in the harbor, even approached Mr. Reisner offering to buy him out for somewhere in the ballpark of $2 million.
It’s a more in-depth article, and gives far more information than anything you will read in a gay press.
Ricky Martin’s Dating Challenges
You know, it’s Ricky Martin. He can talk about anything he wants and I’ll listen. In this piece he discusses a few of the dating challenges he’s faced as a single dad. 

“We’re all men. It’s in our DNA to go for it,” he told The Sun. “But I have two boys and I cannot bring different men every day into my house.” 

Martin split from longtime boyfriend, Carlos Gonzalez Abella, in 2014. Still, he remains hopeful he’ll tie the knot one day, saying he loves “the romanticism” of a wedding and that a marriage certificate “is important.” 

The top priority in his next relationship, he added, is a deep, personal connection. 

“I like to have a conversation, looking into someone’s eyes and finding out their sense of humor,” he told the publication. “I’m not saying you have to be an Adonis, but you have to connect.”

Again, it’s Ricky Martin. Do I have to say anything else? The man could have twelve toes and eat crackers in bed and I doubt anyone would fault him for that 🙂 
The rest is here. 

The Rainbow Detective Agency: On Fleek


Police Break Up Gay Rally in Moscow; Ian Reisner Made the New York Times; Ricky Martin's Dating Challenges

Police Break Up Gay Rally in Moscow

Remember when many of us refused to support the Olympics in Russia because of the way LGBT people are being treated there? At the time, gay men like Johnny Weir thought we should separate sports from politics, and he supported the Russian Olympics…in the lamest way possible. They even sent a delegation to Russia with some very well known sports names in order to prove some kind of point. Well, they proved nothing and it should have been boycotted. Here’s what’s still happening in Russia to LGBT people.

Police broke up an unsanctioned gay rights rally in central Moscow on Saturday, detaining around 20 people, including anti-gay campaigners who attacked the activists. 

The campaigners had requested permission to hold a gay pride parade today, but Moscow authorities blocked the request for the tenth year in a row – an annual ritual that has come to symbolize Russian authorities’ hostility to public expressions of support for gay rights. 
A 2013 law against gay “propaganda” also sparked an outcry among Russian rights activists and in the West. But partly reflecting the influence of the Orthodox church, many Russians back the law or have negative feelings toward gays.
Ian Reisner Made The New York Times
Yes, this is the same Ian Reisner I posted about yesterday, and several times in the past. Evidently, the New York Times thought this was newsworthy, too. And, there’s more to the story I didn’t see in gay presses.
“In the interest of transparency, I gave Senator Cruz a $2,700 check to show my support for his work on behalf of Israel,” Mr. Reisner said in a statement he provided after The Times learned of the donation from two people with direct knowledge of it. “When I realized his donation could be misconstrued as supporting his anti-gay marriage agenda, I asked for the money back. Senator Cruz’s office gave the money back, and I have no intention of giving any money to any politicians who aren’t in support of L.G.B.T. issues.”
And it gets even worse.
Yet the anger at the hoteliers has been fierce and unrelenting. Mr. Reisner is under great pressure from angry residents in the Fire Island Pines who want him to divest of his interest in the commercial property there. In early May, Eric von Kuersteiner, a businessman on Fire Island who previously owned the properties in the harbor, even approached Mr. Reisner offering to buy him out for somewhere in the ballpark of $2 million.
It’s a more in-depth article, and gives far more information than anything you will read in a gay press.
Ricky Martin’s Dating Challenges
You know, it’s Ricky Martin. He can talk about anything he wants and I’ll listen. In this piece he discusses a few of the dating challenges he’s faced as a single dad. 

“We’re all men. It’s in our DNA to go for it,” he told The Sun. “But I have two boys and I cannot bring different men every day into my house.” 

Martin split from longtime boyfriend, Carlos Gonzalez Abella, in 2014. Still, he remains hopeful he’ll tie the knot one day, saying he loves “the romanticism” of a wedding and that a marriage certificate “is important.” 

The top priority in his next relationship, he added, is a deep, personal connection. 

“I like to have a conversation, looking into someone’s eyes and finding out their sense of humor,” he told the publication. “I’m not saying you have to be an Adonis, but you have to connect.”

Again, it’s Ricky Martin. Do I have to say anything else? The man could have twelve toes and eat crackers in bed and I doubt anyone would fault him for that 🙂 
The rest is here. 

The Rainbow Detective Agency: On Fleek