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There’s no nudity or funny business in it, but that’s not stopping numerous airlines censoring the key hook-up scene in Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart. Comfortably one of the best films of the year is Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut, Booksmart. If you’ve not had the pleasure yet, just track down a copy. It’s on DVD and digital download in the UK – you’ll need to import from Australia or the US if you want a Blu-ray – and it’s very much worth the effort. In a bizarre and troubling piece of censorship though, it turns out that some major airlines have chopped the film for its in-flight entertainment system. It’s been reported on Twitter by an assortment of its users that apparently Delta, Etihad and Emirates have shown a version that excludes the film’s lesbian hook-up scene. The whole scene. She added further in the conversation chain that a different movie had a heterosexual hookup scene left entirely in tact. This has now come to the attention of Olivia Wilde too, and as she pointed out, there’s no nudity in the scene. There’s nothing troubling about it at all, in fact, and compared to other films that airlines show relatively untampered, sadly it looks like the fact that it’s a hook up scene between two women that’s the heart of the problem. The airlines concerned haven’t yet commented. At the very least, we can but hope that the publicity this generates will encourage more people to see out one of the best films of 2019. But still: sheesh. Source

A pastor in Chicago has come under fire to telling a person in drag to leave the church during a service. Antonio Rocquemore, of Power House International Ministries, can be seen telling the individual to “put on man clothes” in a video shared to Facebook. “Can you leave my church and go put on man clothes? And don’t come here like that no more,” he says in the video. “I hold a standard in here. Whatever you do on the outside is your business, but I will not let drag queens come in here.” The audience can be heard saying “Amen” and “Jesus” and applauding the pastor. Rocquemore says in the video: “I don’t do no bashing, because everybody is struggling with something. The video has been shared thousands of times, with many criticising the pastor’s actions. Afterwards, Rocquemore shared another video to his personal Facebook page, in which he appeared unapologetic. He said the person at the service had been a member of the church for several months. The pastor said: “First of all, anybody that know me … I don’t bash nothing. “The reason why I don’t bash nothing because when you start bashing things then you’re separating them. I don’t separate sin. Sin is sin.” Source

A Los Angeles woman was assaulted late last month at a local fast food restaurant, ABC 7 reports. Police are treating the incident as a hate crime. Sabrina Hooks, 26, says a group of five men and women attacked her and her girlfriend, Morgan, in a downtown Jack in the Box. “They said, you know, I’m a dyke and I’m gay and I had to keep my ’hoe in check’ and just for no reason,” Hooks recalls. Hooks says the verbal attack escalated into physical violence after she tried to defend her girlfriend from the abuse. She was repeatedly punched and kicked in the head. “It was like a horror movie, except I wasn’t watching it… I was in it,” Hooks tells Fox 11. “It’s not even about my sexuality, it’s about human decency.” Hooks, whose face was left swollen from the beating, was hospitalized with serious injuries. Her front tooth was knocked out and there is possible permanent damage to her left eye. “Looking at her makes me want to cry every single time I look at her,” says Morgan, who adds that no one at the Jack in the Box came to their aid. “To just assume that two guys can seriously put their hands on a female, it’s shocking.” “For it to get violent and, like I said, no one helped, that’s just what really stunned me and it still hurts,” Hooks continues. “It makes me fear just to walk down the street.” The LAPD is currently following up on leads and studying video surveillance footage from the scene to help track down the suspects. “Just a little justice would be nice,” Hooks says. “Just so the next person doesn’t have to worry like I do.” Source

Originally published in independent.co.uk *This piece contains spoilers for Game of Thrones Season Seven, Episode Two* As it so often does, Sunday night’s Game of Thrones left me screaming at my television screen. Now in its seventh season, showrunners David Benioff and D B Weiss probably assume we’re used to the unpredictable horrors they routinely inflict on the denizens of Westeros. But Sunday night was different, and has me wondering whether I can stomach watching this show again. As they sailed for Dorne at Queen Daenerys’ behest, Yara Greyjoy and Ellaria Sand – two of the handful of LGBT characters the show has given us – begin flirting. It looks like the two are about to hook up when Euron Greyjoy (Yara’s brutal uncle and rival for the throne of the Iron Isles) attacks their fleet. Euron manages to kill most of their sailors and get a knife to Yara’s throat, but the episode leaves Yara’s and Ellaria’s fates unknown. They must survive. Game of Thrones is a brilliant show that has me and millions of other viewers on the edge of our seats week after week, but it has a horrible record of writing same-sex couples. The only other real same-sex couple was brought down way back in season two, when Renly Baratheon was killed by a shadow demon birthed from the womb of Melisandre. The symbolism of a vagina demon killing a gay man told gay audiences everything we needed to know – homosexuality leads heterosexual retribution. This became even more obvious when, at the end of last season, Renly’s partner Loras was arrested for “buggery” and put on trial by a far-right religious cult which demanded heterosexuality or death. In the end, that cult was blown to smithereens by Queen Cersei, but it was of little consolation as Loras was killed along with them. My problem isn’t so much that same-sex loving characters don’t get a happy ending on Game of Thrones. No one really does. But same-sex love is treated as a plot device on this show. None of the lesbian, gay, or bisexual characters we encounter are main characters. Instead, they are background players who, for the most part, serve to further the storylines of the main – and straight – characters. When same-sex love is shown, it is often portrayed as something decadent or weak – such as when Oberon’s bisexuality was considered as a Dornish eccentricity rather than a valid sexuality. He was shown to be a promiscuous dandy, but we didn’t see him form any meaningful relationships with men. His relationship with Ellaria was fleshed out, though. Of course, that was before he had his head smashed in. Yet another LGB character that meets a grizzly fate. This was a common trope in 20th century literature and television, where homosexuality was seen to lead to tragic ending. So taboo was showing same-sex love in a positive light that E.M. Forster held off on publishingMaurice until he was dead, afraid editors and the public wouldn’t accept it. But we don’t live in the 20th century, and gay and bisexual characters – and audiences – deserve better. Game of Thrones loves playing with gay and bisexual trauma as a plot device, but it doesn’t ever seem willing to actually let us be fully formed people with our own agencies and in charge of our own destinies. When two characters finally do find a little joy – such as Yara and Ellaria sharing a kiss – they are immediately attacked or killed. We never get to see what might have been. Which is why I’m rooting for Ellaria and Yara to survive. I don’t know what’s going to happen to them, but I hope it ends with them ruling Dorne and the Iron Isles as coregents. I’ll settle for them actually becoming fully formed, dynamic characters who serve as more than a plot device in Daenerys’ quest for the Iron Throne.

Originally published on Bellanaija.com, the following write-up penned by Harold Writes and titled Feminism, Homosexuality & Having a Strong Voice, was a topic I jumped unto as soon as I saw it, believing it'd show support and solidarity for the LGBT community. In its centre, I began to relate it to another article I' d read here few days ago, thinking it was leading me a place where we judge because we dont understand and vice versa. But... I finished reading, seeing more biased and with every opposite feeling from my initial. And...Well I'll just allow you make your own opinion of this entire thing. * There is a saying that, just as our palmar flexion creases are different, so are we all different from each other. Different faces, backgrounds, experiences, mindsets, beliefs and voices. No two people are the same. Globalisation and civilisation has tried to bridge the gap between our differences. What used to be unique and special to an individual or a certain group of people, has now assumed a status of global awareness and in some instances, global acceptance. Foreign cultures, ideas and beliefs are now being shared across the world and some have slowly seeped into the consciousness of the locals. It is no longer an “Us vs. Them” situation. The world is now a global village. We all now have common knowledge, understanding and acceptance about certain things. Concepts which were once foreign and strange, are no longer so. Concepts like democracy, artificial baby womb, climate change, surrogacy, feminism, LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender)… The last two mentioned concepts – feminism and LGBT – are current topical issues, especially in Nigeria. We, as a people, have not completely accepted them as a way of life. I think they will continue to occupy the debates fora for a very long time. And this is where your voice is important. I have my opinion on each of the topics and I have written several articles on them, especially modern day feminism and homosexuality (I know LGBT is a larger “family”). As for feminism, I have nothing against equality between the sexes. I have constantly expressed my views on the original tenets of the concept and the modern day adaptation and actualisation of same. I have called for more robust movements like humanism and equalism etc. I do not attempt to recap all my thoughts on the topic here, but if I must highlight why concepts like humanism and equalism should be better considered and why modern day feminism is faulty, just take a look at modern trends in the human sexuality. We no longer have just male and female genders anymore. We now have cisgenders, transgenders, neuter-genders, non-binary genders and other non-traditional genders in the world. If feminism is a concept that promotes equality amongst men and women, whither lays the fate of, and equality for the other genders? And by the way, what the (insert explicit word here) is a cisgender, neuter-gender and non-binary gender? At what point will modern day civilisation draw the line? This is why your voice is important. Let the world know where you stand. I know it is becoming increasingly difficult to pitch your tent with one camp when faced with strong topics like the foregoing. But you have to, for the sanity and advancement of humanity. We need these conversations. Once upon a time, colonialism was legitimate until people started speaking out. And it was abolished. In the same vein, once upon a time, people tried to sabotage and belittle the woman and her role in the society until feminism emerged and spoke. Today, feminism has attained global acceptance, liberated the society in general and the women folk in particular and has even fostered other discussions like humanism and equalism. Talking about having a strong voice, I have never been a supporter of homosexuality – the aspect where two people of same gender make love and have sexual intercourse. But it seems everywhere I turn to, the world is trying to shove it down my throat to accept it as normal. Almost every movie or series on TV nowadays has a homosexual love story in it. Some go as far as broadcasting the make out session. Today, the angle of homosexuality which is been packaged and sold is “love conquers all”… “let people love who they want to love”. The love angle. You can hardly fault that. Love is actually a beautiful thing and you cannot blame anyone for falling in love. For even God Himself, so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son… Fine. Let love be. But no matter how beautiful the story of homosexuality is portrayed, I will never condone or accept as normal, the act of two same gender people having sex. But guess what again? The fact that, I do not condone the sexual act itself, does not translate to me wishing death, hurt or hate on a homosexual. No, no, no. Homosexuals are humans with flesh and blood like you and I. They were created by the same God that created you and I. If they choose to do what I consider as gross, that is my cup of tea, as much as it is theirs. It would not stop me from treating them any less of a human. What I do not condone is the attempt to make me accept the sexual act itself as normal. My life experiences and upbringing have wired me to believe the act is not normal. The only type of love-making I have been exposed to, is the one between a man and a woman. My voice is important too. I can love, treat and relate with homosexuals as fellow humans without necessarily condoning or accepting their type of sexual activity. We should be able to condemn those who want to see homosexuals dead or hurt. Let them understand it is not their duty to take the life of another just because they disagree with their manner of love-making. We should also speak with homosexuals. Make them understand it is not okay for them to want to force their sexual preferences/choices on another. This is the essence of conversations. There are several other topics engulfing the world right now. Topics like artificial baby wombs, capital punishment, right of self determination etc. Do not be silent. Participate in these conversations. Help shape the world. Be civil in your contribution. And most importantly, do not betray your voice in a world that is constantly trying to drown you. Be heard.