Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (April 27, 2007)

IT'S TIME FOR ME TO COME OUT—AS A SUPERHERO!
I've often been asked how I manage to do all that I do as AfterElton editor. I conceive story ideas, assign articles, download porn, edit articles, arrange interviews, make Brian fetch me Starbucks, deal with publicists, write articles, play Xbox, make Brian tell me I don't look a day over thirty, and even find time to blog. Why, I almost seem superhuman!

That's because I am and I'm tired of hiding it. Here I am as true self: AfterElton Man!

Don't you love my blue cracking “aura” and how about those rocking baby blue Robin Hood boots! (I can't believe some people question my fashion sense.) My superpowers include the ability to make publicists bend to my will, edit 9,000 word articles at the speed of light, and annoy Brent by wearing really garish colors! BTW, that's my loyal sidekick Pip above my right shoulder (or Brian as you might know him).

You're no doubt jealous of my cool secret identity, but guess what? You can have one of your own! All you need is plenty of free time, a boss who doesn't pay any attention to what you do (this does not mean you, Brian!, and Hero Machine a totally cool website where you too can be as super as AfterElton Man!

YOU SAY POLITICAL CORRECTNESS. I SAY TRANS-BASHING
I happened to be reading the The Advocate‘s interview with Ugly Betty star Rebecca Romijn when they referenced a story we were the first to report. Reporter Brantley Bardin brings up “the fracas” between GLAAD (whom we alerted to the story) and Jimmy Kimmel over some transphobic remarks he made on the air. What was the “fracas” exactly? While interviewing Romijn on his talk show about her role as the transgendered Alexis Meade, Kimmel held up pictures of several transgendered folks and mocked them. But the worst part was when he later joked about learning a transgendered person has a penis and hitting them with an ax. As I said at the time, a hilarious bit. You know: “fracas” type stuff.

Anyway, The Advocate asks Romijn about the interview with Kimmel (no longer available on YouTube, naturally) and Romijn says that “And I think to a certain extent people get a little PC sensitive” and that “with comedians it's all fair game”. Romijn also adds that she understands why folks would get upset over the ax bit—thank heavens for that.

Look, I don't want to dump on Romijn. She is doing a great job as Alexis and is educating folks about trans issues to a great degree. But raising this issue is not being PC, and I wish she—and The Advocate—had spent less time excusing Kimmel's behavior and more time talking about the very real violence faced by the transgendered.

As for GLAAD, they must feel damned if they do and damned if they don't. Here is an example of their speaking out very clearly about a blatantly transphobic statement, getting Kimmel's folks to apologize and issue a statement vowing to be more sensitive in the future, and other folks turn around and minimize it as a fracas by the politically correct. Oy.