33 Questions White People Have For White People

Critical Report: HRC is a “White Men’s Club”

According to a fascinating report, the HRC seems to be suffering from the ole WHITE MEN'S GROUP syndrome. Employees of the LGBT organization said the work environment is very one-sided, male heavy and not diverse.

Buzzfeed reporter Chris Geidner laid it all out in article this afternoon. He reports:

HRC acknowledged the report on Tuesday, and provided BuzzFeed News with a four-page response on Wednesday. HRC spokesman Fred Sainz told BuzzFeed News that the group commissioned the report “as part of its own self-reflection and is a concrete sign that HRC is committed to doing better both by our employees and the communities we serve.” Three elements of the report, which was conducted by The Pipeline Project, were provided to BuzzFeed from an anonymous source: a snapshot of the findings, a summary of the findings, and a detailed report from the group.

“Leadership culture is experienced as homogenous — gay, white, male,” the report stated. “Exclusion was broad-based and hit all identity groups within HRC. A judgmental working environment, particularly concerning women and feminine-identified individuals, was highlighted in survey responses.”

The Pipeline Project provided the reports to HRC leadership early this year. The key findings of the report are yet to be shared with staff, as was promised by the organization.

Chad Griffin, HRC’s president, provided BuzzFeed News with a statement about the report, saying, “Like many organizations and companies throughout our country, HRC has embarked on a thoughtful and comprehensive diversity and inclusion effort with the goals of better representing the communities we serve — and hiring, nurturing and retaining a workforce that not only looks like America but feels respected and appreciated for the hard work they do every day.”

HRC provided BuzzFeed News with a list of 18 steps it says it already has taken to improve the working environment at the organization since it received the Pipeline Report and 3 additional steps that are “in the works.”

“As we fully anticipated, the report flagged problem areas that the organization has already begun to tackle aggressively,” Griffin said in his statement. “We’ll continue to address them, one by one, as any serious organization recognizing these challenges would.”

There is so much in this article. To be honest, I'm not surprised. The HRC is very white and at times far behind of the matters at hand. Let's hope they actually take the time to get this right.

Why Pronouns Matter for Trans People

I have a small crush on Buck Angel

Bryan Singer's Accuser Admits he's Never Been to Hawaii... But isn't that where his Rape Happened?

Is the truth coming out about this Bryan Singer case?

BuzzFeed got a hold of the 2003 deposition made by Michael Egan (the man claiming that X-Men director Bryan Singer raped him). What's so important about this deposition? A lot.

Michael said the Bryan drugged and raped him in Hawaii. But in the deposition, Michael said he's never been there.

Asked during the deposition whether he had taken any trips outside the continental United States, Egan replied, “Never had any trips outside the continental U.S., no.” Egan then responds to a question specifically clarifying that he had never traveled to Hawaii.

“I’m not sure how he interpreted the continental United States,” Egan’s lawyer, Jeff Herman, said of the portion of the deposition. “I’m not sure what he’s talking about specifically here.”

Herman said that Egan’s mother, Bonnie Mound, told him that she had authorized either Marc Collins-Rector or Chad Shackley — both plaintiffs in the previous lawsuit — to take Egan to Hawaii on at least two occasions. Mound clarified this because, during the deposition, Egan explained that he had never traveled outside the continental United States because his mother would not approve such trips.

Herman said he also confirmed the trips with Egan.

Hmmm, seems to be a crack in this story.

I got featured in Buzzfeed

I was fortunate to be a part in a great post in Buzzfeed.

Here's a piece of the article:

Role models give kids tangible examples of possibilities. And as cultural critic bell hooks has noted, "oppression means the absence of choices." LGBT representation on television has come a long way since "Will and Grace," but everybody isn't going to identify with Chris Colfer or Neil Patrick Harris. The "It Gets Better" videos are great, but have you noticed how few black men appear in them? The fewer choices queer youth have for role models, the more vulnerable they are to the idea that being a successful and proud black, gay male is not a possibility.

We all need and deserve diverse examples of people who have already stared down the darkness. We need to see out gay people of all colors, creeds, and classes thriving on the basketball courts and football fields; we need to see them delivering closing arguments in landmark legal cases and announcing breakthroughs in scientific discoveries; we need to see black gay men on stage, on television, and movie screens, behind the lectern, in the spotlight, and everywhere else a queer kid might hope to end up one day.

Please check it out here