[VIDEO] Actor Trevante Rhodes (@_Trevante_) Says, ‘I Easily Could Have Been Born Loving Men’

Actor Trevante Rhodes is the rising star of “Moonlight” a new drama that is in limited release but will be released nationwide on November 4^th of this year. The drama is written and directed by Barry Jenkins and is about a young African American boy named Chiron. The movie follows Chiron’s journey from his teenage years to adulthood growing up as a gay male in Miami.

Trevante plays Chiron as an adult in the movie who is still struggling with his sexuality and his place in society. Trevante is a former track star who attended the Univeristy of Texas. Rhodes was discovered by a casting director while jogging on campus. Trevante told People Magazine about his experience while filming.

“I feel like I’m kind of spoiled, because everything about the film was so incredibly special and I know that’s not something that happens all the time. It talks about a subject matter that is prevalent today. Being a black man in America is relatively difficult right now, being a gay man in America is incredibly difficult and so being a black, gay man, like I’ve said before, can be perceived as the worst possible thing right now. So it is something that we need, that the world needs, and I’m thinking it’s a beautiful thing that people are receiving it. I didn’t think we were ready for something like that. And it’s really surprising and really refreshing to me to see that people are.”

“…it got to the point where it got a little too stank…” Kordell Stewart (@KSlash10) Discusses His Sexuality & Porsha Williams (@Porsha4Real) in Interview w/ Steve Harvey (@IAmSteveHarvey)!

It has been awhile since we heard from Kordell Stewart, nearly three years to be exact. Then, Kordell had just filed for divorce from Porsha Williams and it was playing out on The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Needless, to say it was messy and apparently it still is as Kordell came on to The Steve Harvey Show and discussed his ex-wife and those old, prevailing rumors about his sexuality.

via People:

The former NFL quarterback, who was married to the Bravo personality from 2011 to 2013, reveals to talk show host Steve Harvey on Wednesday’s episode of The Steve Harvey Show that his past relationship with Williams could be described as a “rocky road.”

“When it comes to the institution of marriage, I think it is the highest levels of the Super Bowl of a relationship. And you have that someone that you say, ‘You know what, I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Your breath stinks and all. I want to just be with you forever.’ And that breath that I was smelling was the one that I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. But it got to the point where it got a little too stank,” he explains of being married to Williams in an advance clip. 

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Designer Claudia Li (@claudiali) Debuts Spring/Summer 2017 Collection for New York Fashion Week!

As New York’s Fashion Week kicks off New Zealand designer, Claudia Li shows us fashion has no gender. With an array of pieces that both men and women can easily pair, her collection displays a palette of neutrals, reds, and blues to prepare us for this upcoming spring and summer trends. Known in shows prior to focus mainly on denim, this year there was much more of an emphasis on shoulder slits, lace, trench, embroidery, and oversized garbs. Through the use of 25 models standing on floral covered pedestals one cannot help but notice the diversity of race and sex that show outfits which can transition from day to night. More importantly, with the introduction of male models to her show masculine and feminine lines are blurred in an expression to represent one’s individual sexuality and empowerment.
Check out my top 3 favorite looks from the presentation

1. (Gold Jacket/Gold Culottes w/ Matching Burnt Acrylic Orchids)
2. (Pinstripe Layered “Some Guy’s” Sweatshirt w/ Pinstripe Oversized Cuff Pants)
3. (Pinstripe Orchid Print Silk Shirt w/ Shoulder Slits & Red Knit Bralette & Shorts)
For more information about the designer follow her on IG @claudia_li_official and begin shopping her latest collection September 10, 2016 at http://www.claudia-li.com.
Written By: IG @BradVintage (NY Fashion Correspondent)
#claudiali #kontrolmag #newyorkfashionweek #fashion #spring #summer #trends #NYFW #BradVintage

[VIDEO] Television Is “Making Kids Gay?” At Least That’s What Lil Boosie (@BOOSIEOFFICIAL) Says in Interview!

Can you really “make children gay?” Rapper Lil Boosie definitely thinks so, revealing his beliefs in an interview with DJ Vlad on VladTV. Apparently, Boosie blames the appearance of gay characters on television, namely cartoons for indoctrinating children into homosexuality.

“They tryna make everybody fucking gay,” He says. “They putting it on our culture. They’re putting it everywhere. Gay stuff is everywhere. I think that they’re just trying to do it to make a monetary gain. They’re not doing it for the gays. They’re not really fans of the gays. They’re doing it for monetary gain, man. They try to make money off these people, man.”

Frank Ocean Speaks Out on Orlando Massacre in Powerful Post

It has been quite a while since we have heard anything from or about Frank Ocean. His hit album Channel Orange had us all rethinking sexuality and how much more inclusive rap and hip-hop can stand to be. As you recall, ahead of the release of his aforementioned album he released a letter revealing he was once in love and in a relationship with another man. Now, Frank has not been one to label himself anything–in fact the only real label anyone can call him lately is that of a recluse.

Well today Frank returned with yet another powerful letter, this time aimed at the senseless shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, where forty-nine people lost their loves for being gay. Read his powerful letter below:

via Frank Ocean & ThatGrapeJuice.net

“I read in the paper that my brothers are being thrown from rooftops blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs for violating sharia law. I heard the crowds stone these fallen men if they move after they hit the ground. I heard it’s in the name of God. I heard my pastor speak for God too, quoting scripture from his book. Words like abomination popped off my skin like hot grease as he went on to describe a lake of fire that God wanted me in. I heard on the news that the aftermath of a hate crime left piles of bodies on a dance floor this month. I heard the gunman feigned dead among all the people he killed. I heard the news say he was one of us.

I was six years old when I heard my dad call our transgender waitress a ****** as he dragged me out a neighborhood diner saying we wouldn’t be served because she was dirty. That was the last afternoon I saw my father and the first time I heard that word, I think, although it wouldn’t shock me if it wasn’t.

Many hate us and wish we didn’t exist. Many are annoyed by our wanting to be married like everyone else or use the correct restroom like everyone else. Many don’t see anything wrong with passing down the same old values that send thousands of kids into suicidal depression each year. So we say pride and we express love for who and what we are. Because who else will in earnest?

I daydream on the idea that maybe all this barbarism and all these transgressions against ourselves is an equal and opposite reaction to something better happening in this world, some great swelling wave of openness and wakefulness out here. Reality by comparison looks grey, as in neither black nor white but also bleak.

We are all God’s children, I heard. I left my siblings out of it and spoke with my maker directly and I think he sounds a lot like myself. If I being myself were more awesome at being detached from my own story in a way I being myself never could be. I wanna know what others hear, I’m scared to know but I wanna know what everyone hears when they talk to God.

Do the insane hear the voice distorted? Do the indoctrinated hear another voice entirely?

When this man pens a letter it is always something powerful! Homophobia and violence against people because of their sexuality is not solely isolated to Orlando, Florida. It is clearly a global issue. We have got to do a lot better people. Frank, if you’re reading this, we need you and your music back in action. Kudos Frank, Kudos!

“Point Of Vue”–Accepting My Sexuality

The recent mass shooting in Orlando have deeply affected us all. Besides the senseless murders of 49 people, this tragedy only proves that hate still pervades American society. So how does one combat hate? Simple enough with love, and as the late great Whitney Houston knew “The Greatest Love Of All” begins with you. Thus, we should celebrate when someone learns to accept themselves, it  is the first and final act of self-love and a truth so sincere nothing can daunt it! While strolling through my Facebook timeline today I came across Lawrence Obie’s profile and saw he had written a note entitled Point Of Vue.

Besides the interesting way “view” is spelled, the first line of the note: “I have to say, writing this is one of the most daring things I’ve ever did in my life:” Naturally, I had to read more to  find out what was so difficult. What I initially thought would be some simple announcement of some simple change in his life became one of the most profound coming out stories I have ever read. This man eloquently claimed and affirmed his identity as a Black and gay man, spurred in part by the Orlando shootings, but more so due to the hate he has witnessed in its aftermath via social media. “I’d been wanting to do this for awhile actually he stated. After the shooting I just kept hearing people say stuff like God wanted that to happen because they were gay and it’s a sin while trying to connect the story of Sodom and Gomorrah to the massacre. It was just ignorant and I wanted to have a voice but feared I would be outting myself at the same time! I’m come from a large family of Christians with multiple aunts, uncles and cousins who hold credentials as pastors and all did not know. I myself am a avid church attendee here in New York. As a Christian I’ve done my research and I know enough to know God did not destroyed the city because of homosexuality but because the city was corrupt and filled with hatred and injustice. I came out to my family a couple years ago, but lately I’ve just felt like that was not enough. Most people dont agree masculinity and homosexuality. I know whom I am and now I feel I have a voice able to speak up for my community without feeling ashamed….”

 

As aforementioned, Lawrence penned an amazing coming out letter that has been met with positivity and support. It is a true testament to his amazing spirit, while simultaneously tackling issues of masculinity, sexuality, and the stereotyping of Black Gay Men in the media.

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Bobby Brown (@KingBobbyBrown) Reveals Whitney Houston Was Bisexual

Whitney Houston‘s sexuality was in question for years but Bobby Brown has now turned speculation into validation.

Brown’s new memoir, Every Little Step, confirms that the late icon was indeed bisexual.

“I know,” Brown told the magazine in regards to the alleged romance between Houston and her friend and assistant Robyn Crawford. “We were married for 14 years. There are some things we talked about that were personal to us.”

Crawford met Houston when she was a teenage and were close until her untimely passing.
Rumors regarding their relationship carried throughout Houston’s career, but legendary pop star consistently denied she was gay.

“Listen, I took a lot of grief for shit that wasn’t me, OK, ‘cause I had friends, ‘cause I was close to people,” Houston told Out in 2000. “But that ain’t me. I know what I am. I’m a mother. I’m a woman. I’m heterosexual. Period.”

Brown told US Weekly he believes that if Houston’s relationship with Crawford had been welcomed, her tragic death would have never happened.

“I really feel that if Robyn was accepted into Whitney’s life, Whitney would still be alive today,” Brown says. “She didn’t have close friends with her anymore.”

Crawford, who is openly gay and married with children, has never addressed her alleged same-sex relationship with Houston.
Brown’s memoir will be available for purchase on June 13th. Are you getting a copy?

1/16/2016- “The New Gay?”

Hey Mikey,

How are you? I hope 2016 is finding you well. Listen, my daughter is doing the most right now–with two men! Yes, it is what you think, but her husband does not think anything of it. In fact, they have moved him in and are talking about having a “commitment ceremony” with this other man, where all three of them will be “spiritually married” and raise children together. I did not raise her to live like this. When she got married I was so happy to give her the wedding of her dreams and this is how she repays our family with this. I almost wish she was gay sometimes, then people would not be whispering things like “THOT” about her. I think her husband is having sex with this man too. I know this is small minded, but I don’t want her catching anything! Mikey, please talk some reason into my daughter.

-Overdone Momma

        

***Overdone Momma, no one will ever fault you for being protective of and concerned for your daughter. However, what she is  doing is not unheard of. Does the term, “Polyamory” ring a bell? These are people who do not believe that their true love has to be just one person. It is usually a committed three way relationship. An already committed couple usually picks a “third”–the other person they want to be in their relationship and they are all together just like it would be if they were a regular couple. Now this is not something I am into. I have yet to master the traditional sense of a romantic relationship. Interestingly this seems to be the new gay and growing in popularity. Just check out shows like Girlfriend’s Guide To Divorce and Mistresses. Both shows take a serious pro-polyamorous stance on the fictional relationships they have featured, depicting the good and bad. Nevertheless, at the end of the day your daughter is an adult, and married. If I’m not mistaken someone once said the marriage bed is undefiled, so whatever she and her husband condone is between them. Honestly, there is nothing any of us can say about it.

☆Need advice? Simply leave your question in the comments section of this post, or email me at  HeyMikeyATL@gmail.com. Be sure to pick a pen name! Thanks for checking me out! -Mikey ♡

6/27/2015- “Gay, Black, & PROUDLY Bittersweet”

Hey Mikey,

Yesterday was a really momentous event for people like me, but it was also a sad day for people like me as well. I am African-American and gay, and yesterday I attended the funeral for the Charleston 9 and was deeply saddened and fearful about what it means to be Black in America nowadays. It seems like every time I turn on the TV there’s a new hate crime or brutality against us. Like so may others I have peacefully protested and pushed the moniker “#BlackLivesMatter,” but I just don’t feel like anyone is really standing with us. I am happy that the Supreme Court has now made it legal to marry the man I love, but where are they with the other issues I face as a Black man?

When I try to discuss these issues with my White gay friends, they don’t seem to get it. They don’t even think the Klan and other groups like them are even terrorists. They look at them as just hate groups. They feel badly about what’s happening to Black people, but I don’t see the protesting and rallying or justice the wat they did with their rainbow flags yesterday; the way I have stood by them in the past. I guess I’m actually asking you how do I rectify the inner turmoil I’m feeling at this moment?

-Doubly Conscious

***Doubly Conscious, you would do better to upgrade your consciousness to a triple level–a racial, national, and sexual one. Although these categories should not matter, they do, and they play a huge part in how society views us and how we view ourselves. Accepting multiple levels of consciousness is something people of color have had to grapple with for hundreds of years. The answer is to accept that although you wish for all of these aspects of your life to be equal; they are not! You must learn to prioritize which form of consciousness is appropriate for the situation at hand. Do not feel guilty about celebrating yesterday’s ruling, but at the same time acknowledge and reflect on the lives that have been lost in Charleston. I too dream of a better world where one consciousness–a human one–is the sole category we all belong to. Until then fight on! Whether you’re Black, American, or gay there are still social injustices to fight. We need people like you to reach more people. 

4/2/2014- “Lap Love”

Mikey,

First of all I’m not a homophobe. But I have to say I’d rather my son not be gay because I don’t want his life to be so hard, for people to hate him. Yesterday I came home from work and found him and his best friend laying on the living room sofa. He had his in his friends lap talking to him while they were watching TV together. When he noticed me standing there he didn’t stir or anything. They both just spoke to me like nothing awkward was going on. I really wanna address this with him. How should I go about it?

-Trista

***Trista, I see why you might find the position they’re in to be homoerotic. However, I have to say that’s a position I’ve seen a lot of close friends and family members in. I myself have laid on my little brothers legs and talked to him about something that was bothering me. I think you’re a question is about his sexuality. I think you should find a tactful way ask him about it. Although I don’t think there’s anything romantic going on here. I noticed you said they didn’t stir or move from there position when they knew you were there. Most couples, this includes straight ones,  would’ve adjusted their position or quickly tried to explain. As a aforementioned, a simple conversation will lay all this to rest.

☆Need advice? Simply leave your question in the comments section of this post. Be sure to pick a code name! Thanks for checking me out! -Mikey♡