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Filmmaker Lily Wachowski Comes Out As Transgender

Lily Wachowski, one half of the celebrated filmmaking duo who made the lesbian classic movie Bound, but are best known for The Matrix movies , came out as transgender yesterday in a very inspirational and eloquent statement to Chicago's leading LGBT newspaper Windy City Times.  After been door-stepped by a reporter from the UK's notorious tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail who threatened to out her, Wachowski decided to share the 'news' that her friends, family and work colleagues had known for years.  And after all her sister Lana had gone public with her own transition some years ago.

The very tongue in cheek headline Lily used was Sex Change Shocker -Wachowski Brothers Now Sisters. 

In her statement Lily Wachowski  said "Being transgender is not easy. We live in a majority-enforced gender binary world. This means when you're transgender you have to face the hard reality of living the rest of your life in a world that is openly hostile to you."

She went on to acknowledge the one factor that Caitlyn Jenner has studiously avoided ever since her 'reality tv' showy outing which is that as a wealthy woman she was one of the lucky ones who was able to comfortably afford all the expenses involved in transitioning " Having the support of my family and the means to afford doctors and therapists has given me the chance to actually survive this process. Transgender people without support, means and privilege do not have this luxury. And many do not survive. In 2015, the transgender murder rate hit an all-time high in this country. A horrifying disproportionate number of the victims were trans women of color. These are only the recorded homicides so, since trans people do not all fit in the tidy gender binary statistics of murder rates, it means the actual numbers are higher."

Lily added "And though we have come a long way since Silence of the Lambs, we continue to be demonized and vilified in the media where attack ads portray us as potential predators to keep us from even using the goddamn bathroom. The so-called bathroom bills that are popping up all over this country do not keep children safe, they force trans people into using bathrooms where they can be beaten and or murdered. We are not predators, we are prey."

queerguru applauds Lily Wachowski for her honesty, her bravery and her determination to continue the struggle to completely understand her own identity and this inspiring so many others who need to break free.

P.S. After Lana Wachowski came out as a trans woman, she received the 2012 Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award, and in 2014 she received the Equality Illinois Freedom Award. Lana said about her HRC award: "there are some things we do for ourselves, but there are some things we do for others. I am here because when I was young, I wanted very badly to be a writer, I wanted to be a filmmaker, but I couldn't find anyone like me in the world and it felt like my dreams were foreclosed simply because my gender was less typical than others. If I can be that person for someone else, then the sacrifice of my private civic life may have value." 

#RuleYourself

We had all thought at one time that after appearing in three Olympic Games and winning an unprecedented 22 Medals (of which 18 are Gold that swimming champion Michael Phelps would take it easy.  However he is set to join the American Olympic Team in Rio later this year to hopefully break more of his world records.

He as been very busy out of the Pool too.  He's grown a bushy beard (could he look any hottter?) and got engaged to his fiance Nicole Johnson an ex Miss California,  and they are expecting their first baby son in May.

Yesterday saw the launch of a powerful new advertisement Phelps starred in for Under Armour a sportswear company based in his hometown  of Baltimore.  The video shows Phelps putting himself through all the rigors of highly disciplined training with a very simple theme of #RuleYourself.  The message is one that we would happily share with Phelps:

It's What You Do In The Dark That Puts You In The Light

Naked Boys Reading Brunch Special

Those naked bookworms are at it again this weekend and stripping off for BAPS.   Before you non-Brits go reaching for your Urban Dictionary, queerguru can tell you that 'baps' are a type of floury soft bread roll, a bit like a hamburger bun,  and also an affectionate term to describe breasts and bums.

With hostess Dr Sharon Husbands and the skankiest easy listener of them all DJ the Duchess of Pork, Naked Boys Reading promise "we'll serve you up something "literary" and "delicious" from motorboating to batty washes".   We've really no idea what that means, but hey, those hot naked Brit boys do make for a visual feast of the perfect  Sunday Brunch.

Sunday March 13th from 12 pm to 4pm at Dalston Superstore in London's East End and It's FREE.  For details click HERE

P.S. If you have more refined (and more pretentious?) tastes then you may like to make a note in your Diary of next month's NBR event.  The Boys bare all for the Bard.  Yep, its Shakespeare read in a way that they you were never taught back in school.


7.30pm April 28th @ Ace Hotel  Shoreditch · London

http://nakedboysreading.com/

Peter De Rome Grandfather of Porn : Special Event

There is a new documentary just about to be released about the late great gay film pornographer Peter De Rome whose erotic and explicit intimate sex short movies that he shot in the 1960's have become cinema classics. Despite the fact he and his work were the toast of the homosexual demi-monde in the US at that time, the films were never ever shown back in his native UK until the BFI unearthed them and finally showed them at London's Gay & Lesbian Film Festival in 2012.

Now this new profile talks about this disarmingly and charming gay pioneer and celebrates the resurgence of his excellent work. Filmed with De Rome just before he died on the eve of his 90th birthday,  this profile is somewhat uneven (click HERE for our full review) BUT the man himself and the very explicit clips of his very sensual work are sheer gems and worth overlooking the documentary filmmaker's rather rambling style.

There is a special screening of Peter De Rome Grandfather of Porn on Sunday 13th March at the ICA in London, and it will be followed by a Q & A with  David McGillivray, screenwriter, producer and friend of Peter de Rome. For tickets and information click HERE

Swan Division

When Swan Lake meets Joy Division.  A stunning mash-up from motion graphics designer & editor Evol  of the Mariinsky Theatre Ballet production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake starring Ulyana Lopatkina, with Joy Division's 'Transmission'.  Demi-pliés and Mancunian post-punk go hand in hand for a culture clash.

Hail Caesar ..... and more !

Here is a link to my latest video review filmed for Provincetown TV with the help of my Editor Rik Ahlberg.  

All our other videoed movie reviews can be viewed by subscribing to https://www.youtube.com/c/RogerWalkerDackReportsPtown

Brits always add a Touch Of Class to Award Ceremonies

After the 'big yawn' of the latest around of Award Shows which were so predictable, totally unfunny (except for Chris Rock) and full of tedious speeches thanking  countless executives who none of us have ever heard off (and hardly care about) comes a perfect example of how to really accept an Award properly.

It's British (of course) and from 1994 when actor/comedian/playwright and something of a National Treasure, Spike Milligan was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the British Comedy Awards.  Milligan was best known for  being the co-creator, main writer and a principal cast member of The Goon Show the most successful radio show in the UK in the 1950's and in many ways a precursor to the Monty Python gang who also specialized in absurdist and eccentric British humor.

As Milligan accepted the Award he refused to thank anyone as he said he achieved it all on his own, and then Jonathan Ross the Presenter went on to read a special note of congratulations from a very important fan who couldn't attend the festivities.  Halfway through listening to all this praise being heaped on him, Milligan butted in and called the writer 'the little groveling bastard' which immediately brought the house down.   The letter had been written by none other than HRH The Prince of Wales, who we sure would have loved this response too.  (Milligan later faxed the prince, saying "I suppose a knighthood is out of the question now?")

Of course we Brits always know how to make people remember that we are real 'old-school' stars at Award Ceremonies, even when we may have had a little (!) too much to drink before we come on to the stage to announce the winner.  And who could possibly be annoyed with Elizabeth Taylor the very epitome of Hollywood Royalty when she got confused.  After all, as she reminded us, she was more used to winning Awards than handing them out to others.

Boys Beware

In the 1950's the US Government used to make anti-gay Public Service Announcements to warn cute young boys that getting a ride in a fast car with a stranger may take you much further than you may have wanted.   

Another 'classic' from 1957 called 'As Boys Grow' helps young men come to grips with the challenges and questions of puberty in an earnest and hilarious way.  "Coach" however seems to spend an awfully long time taping the ankle of one of his young charges ...... just saying!  It's a tad slow at the beginning but Coach ensures it ends with a great climax.

KFC Top Management are Not Chicken

queerguru never thought we would say this, but we love KFC!   Well, not the food ...... don't lets get too rash here .... but we have nothing but unfettered admiration for the great big set of  balls that their top Management showed that they had yesterday.

Georgia Carter, 27, from Virginia had gone for a job interview last week at her local branch of the chain chicken restaurant and was offered shift work. She was told she had the job, and so gave the manager her driver’s license to draw up the paperwork.  Carter was so elated and told her boyfriend how happy she was to be an ‘active member of society’ again when she received a call from the KFC manager.

Carter says the manager told her ‘My supervisor and I have a problem because on your license it says “male”.’ When she  explained it was because she was transgender, they said: ‘Oh, we can’t hire you because we don’t know which bathroom you can use.’

Now normally this would have been the end of the story but fortunately the franchise who owned this particular store heard all about it, and immediately launched an investigation. A senior executive  then contacted Ms. Carter and offered her employment at this restaurant or any of their Richmond area KFC restaurants, effective immediately. 

Better still they actually fired the offending manager  for violating the franchisee’s anti-discrimination policy, which is inclusive of gender identity and sexual orientation.  A KFC spokesperson said: ‘KFC’s policy is to treat everyone fairly, equally and with respect, and we do not tolerate discrimination of any kind.'

We take our hats off to KFC as we head off and go grab a bucketful of chicken wings to celebrate with.

Shit Gay Black Guys Say

Whoever thinks that we gay guys all talk the same shit then should just listen to the fast-talking actor/director Tré Melvin. We found this absolutely hilarious video on his You Tube channel and have not stopped laughing since.  He has a language all of his own, which strangely enough we could actually completely understand. 

Subscribe to Tré Melvin's channel HERE

Eddie Redmayne Asks for Help

Oscar winning actor and all-round good egg Eddie Redmayne was in Los Angeles recently hoping that he may collect a second Academy Award for his stunning portrayal of the transgender artist Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl. Ms Elbe in real life was one of first people in the world to undergo gender re-alignment surgery. Although her journey was not easy, she did come from a comfortable middle-class background so life generally was not too rough for her.  

So during Redmayne's visit to Tinseltown he visited  LA's LGBT Center which provides a total support system for LGBT homeless youth, , including a place to stay,  The actor was shocked to learn that 40% of youths experiencing homelessness in the city are LGBT or questioning, and he offered to record this PSA after learning more about how the Center provides to help the homeless youth establish successful and independent lives for themselves.

'The Producers' Bialystock & Bloom are Back

Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick brought back Bialystock and Bloom the other night on the Jimmy Kimmel Live TV Show to do a wonderful parody of the Tony Award winning Broadway Show (and movie) The Producers.  If you will recall the plot its about a pair of con-men Producers who hit on the idea that they could make more money from producing a really bad Show than they could for a big hit as no-one ever investigates the finances of a Loss.  The fly in the ointment was that they had to pick a surefire loser and by plumbing the depths of really bad taste they found one so very dire, that the audiences actually loved it and their plan backfired. 

Now they want to do the same and make some real money running a Presidential campaign if only they could find the worst candidate in history 'a schmuk, a putz, a real grade A world class grade A nicampoop .... but where would be ever find a buffoon like that?" asks Bialystock.

In real life there is nothing remotely funny at all about Donald Trump who queerquru usually totally avoids even mentioning, but seeing Messrs Bialystock & Bloom jump into the fray does make you laugh (a lot) and reinforces the fact of how the man and his ambitions are so incredible ludicrous, but also sadly extremely dangerous.