Asterisk

The sports world is none too happy with three-time National Figure Skating Champion Johnny Weir. He’s just too flamboyant for men’s figure skating.

I’m glad Bryan Safi addressed this, because it’s been pissing me off. I mean, come on. It’s figure skating, for goodness sake.

ESPN’s LZ Granderson (who has the most fantastic locs in the universe) tackles the issue from a different and equally important angle.

[...] if some of us would take off our black-and-white blinders long enough — and perhaps stop acting the way we think we’re supposed to act — we might actually begin to see and appreciate the diversity within the lexicon of manhood. This philosophy isn’t just about creating an environment in which it’s comfortable for gay men to compete in sports. It’s also about creating a space in which it’s OK for straight men not to.

So with regard to the Olympics, I don’t think the question we should be asking is whether or not Weir being gay hurt his medal chances. That’s too surface for my taste. No, the real question is why so many dudes ignore, and are even threatened by, the possibility that Weir could be straight. Now that’s a conversation only real men can have.

Defining FABULOUS

On a side note, Tom and Lorenzo have ripped the Olympic Men’s Figure Skating costumes in their own inimitable way. (Ladies too!)

Yesterday we learned that this year’s Miss Beverly Hills, Lauren Ashley, thinks we should obey Leviticus 20:13 and kill gay people.

So I figured, why not see how far she takes this Biblical literalist point of view. Turns out, not far.

For example, here’s what she says about praying for youth and beauty, from a series of interviews Miss Beverly Hills did with Dr. Steve Burres of BuyingBeautyTV.com.

Dr. Burres: Has your Mom thought about doing procedures?

Miss Beverly Hills: [...] My Mom, actually, she is gorgeous and she’s 50 and everywhere we go everyone says “That’s your sister.” When she was 45 she thought about it, um, she’s 51 now, but she actually…I don’t know if you know, like, if you know any spiritual–anything about Jesus or anything [...] She would sit in God’s presence, like, invite God and like, she would come out brand new, like look brand new! Like, she looks so young, and she says it’s all because of that.

Dr. Burres: Because she prays. Or does she pray to look young?

Miss Beverly Hills: Both. God [unintelligible]. And it works, and she’s gorgeous.

Of course, there’s no mention of Proverbs 31:30 (“Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last”), or 1 Samuel 16:7 (“People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”), or Matthew 16:23 (“You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”).

But enough about her mother. Let’s look at how Miss Beverly Hills is dressed.

It's just so wrong.

In short, it’s too short. And cut too low. And the fit is kind of tight. And it’s red. And that’s a fancy necklace she’s wearing. And I think she colors her hair. Has she never read 1 Timothy 2:9 (“And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves”)?

Let me be clear: I don’t have a problem with what Miss Beverly Hills is wearing, at least not from a scriptural standpoint. And I don’t have too much of a problem with her mother wanting to look pretty and/or younger.

But if she wants to quote Biblical passages out of their historical and cultural context, she should get herself in order first.

Oh, beauty pageant contestants. When will you learn?

Last year it was Carrie Prejean, and it looks like Miss Beverly Hills Lauren Ashley is this year’s model.

They photoshopped the shit out of her face

From FOX’s Pop Tarts:

“The Bible says that marriage is between a man and a woman. In Leviticus it says, ‘If man lies with mankind as he would lie with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death and their blood shall be upon them.’ The Bible is pretty black and white,” Ashley told Pop Tarts.

“I feel like God himself created mankind and he loves everyone, and he has the best for everyone. If he says that having sex with someone of your same gender is going to bring death upon you, that’s a pretty stern warning, and he knows more than we do about life.”

In the 2007 documentary For The Bible Tells Me So, Rev. Dr. Laurence C. Keene (Disciples of Christ) says, “There’s nothing wrong with a fifth-grade understanding of God — as long as you’re in the fifth grade.”

I don’t want to be mean, but has anybody checked Ms. Ashley’s school records?

Okay gays, gather round. We need to get something straight.

I’d hoped this meme would go away, but bloggers keep claiming that in his State of the Union Address President Obama promised a repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) this year.

The simple truth is that President Obama didn’t say that. Here’s what he said (Don’t worry, it’s cued for that sentence):

This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.

Now forgive my mangling of terminology, but I remember from school that a sentence must make sense without the prepositional phrases. Removing President Obama’s long ass prepositional phrase, we have this:

This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.

He did not say they would repeal the law this year. He said they would work on it this year. Of course, I hope DADT repeal happens this year, and I’m cautiously optimistic of our chances.

I also think Obama is wise to let highly decorated women and men in uniform make the case on camera to Congress rather than open the way for Republican outcries of partisan politics.

But the Wordsmith-in-Chief didn’t make the promise of repeal in 2010, no matter how much we wish he had.

In the past, you may have seen me mention Joey Heath, the young gay man who was denied a transfer of membership in the United Methodist Church a few years back. His challenge of that decision put him at the center of the UMC’s controversy about LGBT inclusion.

Joey was interviewed for the PBS series Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. It airs tomorrow (check local listings) on PBS, but the segment was made available online today.

I met Joey a few months back in Washington, D.C., and I can tell you that he’s as contagiously optimistic as he appears on PBS.

Please watch before you read on. I’ll have some spoilers and a pop quiz immediately after. (Here’s a link in case the embed doesn’t work.)

Okay, hands up all who knew Bob Perdue was “ex-gay” before they mentioned it. Everybody? That’s what I thought.

It’s a good piece, and I’m glad PBS is tackling the issue, but I’m eternally frustrated by the presentation of “ex-gay” as a viable, healthy choice. The fact that the “ex-gay” industry has convinced Rev. Perdue that he was abused into being gay and needed to be repaired is heartbreaking.

I warn him, though, that passing that lie on to new victims is a dangerous, unGodly, and anti-Christ path to tread. Being gay is not a sickness, is not like alcoholism, and does not keep someone from “experiencing life to the fullest.”

(Also, if you’re going to reference Leviticus 18:22, I’ll quote Leviticus 20:13 right back at you. Pick up a rock and get to it, sir.)

Those statistics on homeless LGBT kids have been floating around for a while, but I hadn’t heard the one-in-three statistic for New York City. It’s so sad that so many parents are willing to throw away their kids. I daresay it’s a side effect of teaching such as Rev. Perdue’s.

Kudos to Joey and the others on the side of God who were interviewed for this piece. You’re a wonderful example of what The Church should be.