AMERICAN APPAREL:

The story that American Apparel tells about its models — that they are, to a (half-naked) woman, employees, friends of Dov Charney, “real people” and never professional models — is one much cherished by the company. It’s also a lie. (@jezebel)

FEMINIST HEELS:

An interview with Leora Tanenbaum, a native New Yorker and icon of the third-wave feminist movement and author of Bad Shoes and the Women Who Love Them. (@lemondrop)

GAY SOFTBALL:

Members of a San Francisco softball team disqualified for not having enough gay players on their team are speaking about their experience. Three members of the team, formerly called D2, are suing the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) for discrimination. Under the rules of the gay softball league, no more than two straight members are allowed per team. But the question is, who’s going to ask their sexuality when they sign up? It’s illegal to ask someone’s sexuality for the purpose of excluding them. (@cbs)

RENTBOY:

Steven Colbert also hires his crew from rentboy.com, just like anti-gay Reverend George Rekers!

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FACEBOOK:

Still trying to hide your sexuality on Facebook? Or some other secret, like your “boyfriend Alex” is actually your “girlfriend Alex”? Or that you have six toes? If you told any of this to a friend over Facebook Chat, there’s a very real possibility that any one of your friends could have seen it. That’s because of a just-discovered exploit, shown in this video, that lets anyone playing with their privacy settings to view their friends’ chats in real time.(@queerty)

OLYMPIAN COMES OUT:

Olympic short track speed skater Blake Skjellerup has officially come out as gay in an interview with Australian magazine DNA. He says:

“Gays are too often given a stereotype. Back when I was 18, and becoming serious about my sport and my Olympic goals, if I could have seen an athlete like myself out there – with whom I could relate to – my journey would have been a lot easier. Johnny Weir meets a specific stereotype, I meet a specific stereotype and [Welsh rugby player] Gareth Thomas meets another. Being gay is just like any other personality trait: it’s multifaceted. “I can’t personally relate to Weir or Thomas, and nor will many other young gay athletes out there. But maybe some of them will see something in me to relate to. The more types we provide, the more we’ll appeal to people [who are struggling with their sexuality.”

(@outsports)

ISLAM:

Latino Muslims – Logrono says English-speaking media often ignore the Muslim populations in Central and South America until something bad happens. (@muslimvoices)

PINK:

Is Pink Harmless? – Are we putting girls in boxes or glorifying girlhood? (@jezebel)

HOOKING UP:

True Life: Women Like Having Sex – Why is it that a woman who enjoys casual sex is pegged as “having sex like a man?” (@alternet)

EXPERIMENTS:

Gays Will Be Gay – So I’m like, “Okay, let’s brainstorm. Maybe if we put the mattress in the closet, we’ll have plenty of privacy.” (I failed to see the irony at the time.)(@nerve)

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