It’s Sunday Funday, Do You Know Where Your Baby Tiger Is?

Happy Sunday Funday! I turned 21 this week and a bunch of celebrities are making the world happier, gayer, and a little better. That means it’s time for Mimosas! And brunch. With your girlfriend, on a rooftop balcony.

Gay People Are Making Strides in Your Government

I know there’s a huge debt crisis on but stop worrying about it. Because right now, where you are, there are a couple of gay people potentially getting involved in the issues you care about. And even better, they’re women.

++ In Charlotte, North Carolina, LaWana Mayfield is running to become to first openly LGBT member of the City Council. Ever. Mayfield is an out lesbian and raised $6,000 for the contest between April and June. She is a community organizer challenging a four-term incumbent in the primary. Does it get any more badass?

+ And just because it might come in hand: Equality Illinois has recognized 23 local and international law firms committed to LGBT equality in their workplaces. So if you’d like to be one of these lesbian frontrunners one day, it might be a strong starting point.

This Man is Making Things Easier for Gay People Around the World

Hector Gomez came to Quebec City as a refugee, claiming that status because his native Colombia wouldn’t protect him from violent gay-bashing. Now, he leads a nonprofit in Montreal to bring gay people to the “safe haven” of Canada. He named it Beyond the Rainbow, and it’s also a support group for recent immigrants who feel alone:

“When you come to Montreal as a gay political refugee, there isn’t anyone waiting for you at the airport with open arms. You feel abandoned and alone .. If you don’t speak French or English, you can easily isolate yourself in circles where you’ll find the same homophobia you tried to leave behind,” says Gomez. …

“The most difficult challenge with these meetings is convincing newcomers they are in a safe environment and that it is okay to be gay in Montreal … It often takes two or three meetings before new people open up and start making new friends.”

 Same-Sex Marriage is Still Legal in New York State

Gay marriage is legal in New York…still. And everyone is really excited! …Still. And people are doing it, all over the place. Getting married that is. Still.

+ 24 gay couples got to be married at Pop-Up Chapels in Central Park, which sounds both cute and like a good excuse for picnics and scheduling rides on sailboats.

+ Michael Markiewicz, CPA and Certified Financial Planner, has been hired by Fogel Neale Partners, an accounting firm, to cater specifically to LGBT married couples in New York City. He brings perspective because he’s a homogay, too.

+ Alaric Flower Design in Manhattan will give a discount to the first 10 LGBT couples purchasing wedding flower arrangements from them this week.

Mad Men is Finally on Netflix Instant Watch

On July 27, I turned 21 and received a gift from the Internet: Mad Men on Netflix Instant Watch.

Because it was my 21st, I immediately looked up Mad Men cocktail recipes. I love Dry Martinis:

+Cracked ice

+2 1/2 ounces London dry gin, such as Beefeater

+1/2 ounce dry vermouth, preferably Noilly Prat

+Green olive for garnish

In mixing glass or cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine gin and vermouth. Stir well, about 20 seconds, then strain into martini glass. Garnish with olive and serve.

Hollywood

I love California, and prepared for my eventual life in Los Angeles by going through every page of this gorgeous, retro, introspective piece on Hollywood by Slate.

Ellie Goulding: Starry Eyed

The US version of Ellie Goulding’s “Starry Eyed” is here:

Amy Winehouse Belongs to The World

Mitch Winehouse stood outside of his daughter Amy’s flat to give her clothes to her fans:

“There are Amy’s T-shirts. This is what she would have wanted – for her fans to have her clothes,” Mitch told the crowd. As he handed out the items, a pair of Amy’s signature ballet shoes were visible in his back pocket, reports MTV.com. 

“God bless Amy Winehouse,” Mitch added before riding away in a taxi. 

Before leaving, he’d dispersed several of the “Rehab” singer’s tanks tops, sunglasses and other trinkets, reports the Sun, which also said Amy’s family kept her prized guitar and notebooks. 

Denise Richards Had A Lesbian Affair

Charlie Sheen’s ex-wife and one of the most beautiful women in the world ever, Denise Richards, opened up on Howard Stern about having a lesbian affair, saying she and the other woman involved were “curious.” She wouldn’t reveal the other woman’s identity but noted that she was a well-known figure as well. I’m not actually that interested in who it is, but I bet she enjoyed this scene from Wild Things, one of Richards’ many lesbian movie scenes:


Neon Hitch Announces A Really Gay Tour

Neon Hitch has been described as a “firecracker” and is a former trapeze artist. And now, she’s coming to a gay club near you – because she’s going on a monthlong gay club tour that commenced on the 28th. Find out if she’s hitting your city.

Baby Tigers

Because not everyone likes lions, apparently.

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Carmen

Carmen spent six years at Autostraddle, ultimately serving as Straddleverse Director, Feminism Editor and Social Media Co-Director. She is now the Consulting Digital Editor at Ms. and writes regularly for DAME, the Women’s Media Center, the National Women’s History Museum and other prominent feminist platforms; her work has also been published in print and online by outlets like BuzzFeed, Bitch, Bust, CityLab, ElixHER, Feministing, Feminist Formations, GirlBoss, GrokNation, MEL, Mic and SIGNS, and she is a co-founder of Argot Magazine. You can find Carmen on Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr or in the drive-thru line at the nearest In-N-Out.

Carmen has written 919 articles for us.

34 Comments

  1. THANK YOU for letting me know that Mad Men is on instant now. This site is a never-ending font of knowledge.

  3. BABY TIGERS! You, I read these every week and just always comment on the cute baby animal pictures at the end. Sorry.

  4. I love all this marriage equality news. The Sunday Morning Show my grandma watches–I don’t know if it’s got a more specific name than that, it airs at ass o’clock AM and it’s narrated by a very boring man in a bow tie–anyway, even they had a segment about a NYC civil marriage license office. Kind of reminded me of a very weird and upbeat DMV where everyone visits in pairs and giggles to one another about how much they love each other.

    No visibly queer couples, though. Grandma fast-forwarded past all those. Someday I am going to have so much fun sending her really gay Christmas cards she’ll be forced to politely display on her mantel.

  5. I like lions AND tigers! But ligers scare the shit out of me. That thing is 1000 pounds! He can eat your head in one bite without having to open his mouth all the way!

    This is my unpopular opnion for the day: I hate Mad Men. There. I said it. It’s sexist and racist, and yes I realize that’s a sign of the times, but when I tried to watch it I felt like a large part of the fanbase and even the writers at times were using the ’60s as an excuse to indulge their own sexism and racism. Also, I just don’t enjoy watching that. Just because it was common, doesn’t mean it was right or even okay. It’s gross. I just can’t get past that enough to see what’s supposedly good about the show.

    • I kind of agree with the racism aspects, but I actually think it’s one of the more feminist-friendly shows on television. The men are sexist, but it’s only a sign of the times (there is something to be said for historical accuracy) and even then Peggy proves everyone wrong. It’s an honest perspective on what it was to be in Peggy’s position back then, and every victory she has is a victory for all the women of the time, and it just feels SO GOOD when she wins. The women characters are very well-rounded and honestly written, and the show has a lot of female writers on staff to keep it that way.

      But racism, yes. I don’t think the writers are racist, per se, and the few moments they’ve touched on race issues have been well done (Pete’s idea to appeal to Black people in their advertisements, which gets shot down; Kinsey’s ill-advised civil rights bus ride, which kind of exposed his white male privilege and “open minded” hypocrisy) but there should be more of it. There’s really not an excuse why they can’t have at least one Black copy writer or artist at the agency, and it’d make for a very interesting storyline.

    • Yeah, I can definitely understand this. I am only about six or seven episodes into the first season (my girlfriend likes it a lot), and while I think it’s getting more interesting and complex than it was initially, your criticisms still seem totally valid to me. Like, there are times when it really does seem like they’re engaging in stereotypes about the early ’60s, while simultaneously engaging to some extent in the prejudices *of* the early ’60s, while simultaneously wanting to poke fun at the attitudes of the early ’60s. And I guess in general I flinch at entertainments that serve as vehicles for such easy self-congratulation on the part of their audience — that are so clearly designed to provoke a knowing chuckle at how dumb and prejudiced those people were back then.

      But like I say — it’s started to hold my interest a little better, I think there are moments and storylines that really do go deeper than that, and a few of the actors are doing really stellar work, so I will probably keep watching and see where it goes.

  6. Happy birthday, Carmen! Baby tigers and dry martinis are two of the best things ever. We have the same birthday, so given the tiger/martini appreciation maybe astrology is real?

  8. CARMEN.

    We have the same birthday, and are the same age.

    Y U NO CELEBRATE WITH ME?

  9. Lions and tigers. Are bear cubs up next week?
    Also Also Also… Happy Birthday Carmen!

  11. 1. Ellie Goulding rules, saw her on SNL a while back…swoon.
    2. Giving Amy Winehouse’s clothes away…can’t say I’ve heard that one before. Cool gesture by her dad, I bet her fans appreciated that one.
    3. Happy Birthday Carmen! Best birth date ever…I turned 19 on the 27th. (Drinking age = win)

  12. A friend of mine used to tour with Ellie Goulding. Apparently she’s lovely.

    (Also, baby felines abound for Carmen’s birthday!)

  13. The Neon Hitch tidbit was perfectly timed – I saw her at the Crib in san francisco the other night. She was hot!

  14. “Talking on Howard Stern’s radio show, the gorgeous Denise Richards has conjured up the fantasy images of a whole generation of men by revealing she has had a brief lesbian affair with a well known celebrity.”

    I can’t begin to describe how much this sentence infuriates me, but it’s Sunday Funday so i’ll try not to dwell.

    Happy Birthday Carmen!!

  16. where can i get that guy’s hoodie? that is the best rainbow hoodie i have ever seen!

  17. i had a huge crush on jasmine when i was five. when we played aladdin i was always aladdin. mostly i think i just wanted a girlfriend with a fucking tiger.

  19. The new (and unnecessary) Ellie Goulding video makes it look like both her and her boyf have cataracts….just saying!

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