beacon of social justice

June 24th, 2011. Gay marriage passes in NY.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: "New York is a beacon of social justice."

anna wintour for marriage equality

Love her. HRC site for New Yorkers for Marriage Equality. Let's make this happen.

barack obama: it gets better

shoutouts

My friend Noah Michelson's revealing interview with Perez Hilton on Out.

It lost this year's Booker prize but I really loved Damon Galgut's In A Strange Room. The book is finally out in the US through Europa editions. Check out reviews here. And here. Interview in The Paris Review, where portions of the novel originally appeared.

I'm currently enjoying the short story collection Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self. Read about the author Danielle Evans here.

Word is that the Obama administration will appeal historic DADT ruling. I don't really understand Obama's master plan with all of this. Read Aaron Belkin's impassioned plea for letting DADT die.

Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan premiere Never Let Me Go in London. Can their outfits be any cooler?

31 Days of Horror on The Awl.

pretty in pink

Rachel Bilson at Christian Dior in Paris. Love her style.

The recent sad wave of gay youth suicides on Towleroad and on Out.com.

Loving Bagpoor's fall issue. Featuring my preview of the film Black Swan.

Becca's blog is back!

Amanda loves Halloween.

A nice defense of the very gifted poet Elizabeth Alexander on The Rumpus.

Matthew Hittinger remembers John Stahle.

don't ask, don't tell

Today's vote, led by John McCain, was beyond despicable. Once again the GOP shows their complete disdain for LGBT Americans. I hope everyone contacts President Obama and their local Senators to express their views on what should be a non-issue.

don't carry me back to ole virginny

If you haven't watched your dvred episode of Sunday night's Mad Men, stop reading, but those who have ... remember who got fired this week?

Joe. My. God. posted a clip from a debate between Creigh Deeds and Bob McDonnell. McDonnell flat-out says he would overturn Mark Warner's order banning discrimination against hiring on the basis of sexual orientation.

I am outraged that McDonnell would want to revert his state back to the Mad Men era. There has been a lot of griping about Obama's slow movement to change LGBT issues. Yet there is a lot happening at local levels that could have devastating consequences for the community. I hope my home state will turn out for Deeds, but so far, McDonnell, flush with money and an admittedly effective moderate makeover, is in the lead.

nobody's perfect

Watching Billy Wilder's comic masterpiece Some Like It Hot last night at Film Forum with my friend Katie (she writes about the experience here), got me thinking about how little Hollywood has progressed. Mainstream cross-dressing comedy hits like 1982's Tootsie and 1995's Too Wong Foo... seem mild in comparison to the ribald nature of Wilder's film. Wilder took a risk by not re-editing after a bad test screening. According to Jack Lemmon, Wilder said, "I don't panic over one bad preview. It's a hell of a movie." Indeed it became a sensation. The film was banned in Kansas and condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency. The production code died soon after its release. In relation to other films of its time period, it seems risque. Besides all the gender-bending and playfully violent mafia subplot, curvy (she was reportedly pregnant at the time) sex kitten Marylin Monroe is shot in the most revealing dresses (Oscar winning designs by Orry-Kelly). There is plenty of overt sexual innuendo as well.

Besides Wilder's snappy direction (it looks gorgeous in black and white, especially on the big screen), the film really belongs to its performers. Jack Lemmon zips through it with his zany energy and incredible physical comedy skills. Tony Curtis, as his droll sidekick, is at times touching and at his comic best with an imitation of Cary Grant (an imitation within an imitation). And Marylin Monroe is perfectly funny and vivacious, cooing through her now legendary musical numbers. It's a classic one-of-a-kind trio.

Fifty years later and the issue of gay marriage is finally on the table. The National Equality March is this weekend in D.C. I just got an email from moveon.org about protecting marriage rights in Maine. In one of the best endings in cinematic history, Some Like It Hot's last line--"Well, nobody's perfect"--seems as apt as ever. Sometimes it takes a good comedy to remind us how silly our hangups can be.

-Jeffery Berg

high hopes

The Advocate on Obama and LGBT rights.

fashion statement

new Marc Jacobs T-shirts on sale.