A person wearing a black San Francisco 49ers jacket stands with a neutral expression while another person's hand rests on their shoulder.

People Will Talk: The ABH Edition (anything but Harvey)


By Nancy Ford

“‘We’re less threatening, I think,’ Annise Parker, the mayor of Houston from 2010 to 2016, told me in a recent telephone interview. She said lesbians don’t deal with anything precisely like ‘the long-dispelled shibboleths about gay men being sexual predators.’â€
—Frank Bruni, noting Victory Fund’s analysis that LGBT women who run for political office have an almost ten-point higher win rate than LGBT male candidates (70.3 to 60.9). Via NYTimes.com

“This is a safe zone and safe spot for LGBT community and youth. It’s a place that helps so many. Not having a safe zone or people to talk to, or be around others in the same position is toughest thing ever.â€
—WNBA star from the Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner, on why she donated $5,000 that she earned for winning the WNBA’s Cares Community Assist Award to the one.n.ten center that serves Phoenix’s LGBT youth. Griner, who is openly lesbian, also started a social media campaign to help raise more money for the organization that lost electronic equipment, food, camping equipment and other items in a fire that occurred in July. Arson is suspected. Via AssociatedPress.com

“Every year we’re hopeful that we will actually see change. Unfortunately that hope has not quite been realized.”
—University of Southern California professor Stacy L. Smith, who is the lead author of Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. The initiative releases an annual study measuring the demographic makeup of every speaking or named character from each year’s 100 highest-grossing films at the domestic box office. This year, the study noted that LGBT females were excluded from 91 of the top 100 films of 2016. Thirty-six percent of films featured gay speaking characters, up from 19 percent in 2015. Seventy-six of the 100 films had no LGBT characters. Zero films featured transgender characters. Via AssociatedPress.com

“A union private made $13 a month, which doesn’t seem like a lot of money. But no
women’s employment at that time, except prostitution, would yield a higher paycheck. And then there were women who enlisted for the same reasons men did. They were patriotic and wanted to serve their country and because of the era they lived in, the only way they could do this was to pretend to be men.â€
—DeAnne Blanton, co-author of They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War which documents women—perhaps hundreds of women—Blanton says, who joined the military presenting as men. Via TheGuardian.com

“Some of those advocating for change to the definition of marriage have confused faith convictions with bigotry; however, they must understand that Christian and other religious beliefs are extremely important to those who hold them and in fact are vital to a tolerant and free society. Sadly, some also use Christianity to alienate and even condemn those who are gay and dismiss their desire to pursue happiness. As a Christian pastor, I will always teach and preach according to Scripture and my personal convictions, but I cannot make other people’s choices for them.â€
—Australian Hillsong Church Senior Pastor Brian Houston. In 2015, Houston stated in a blog post that homosexuals are welcome to attend Hillsong services, but maintained that the church will not “affirm their lifestyle.†Via ChristianTimes.com

“The thing about this conversation that really has me anxious is that we are having a very civil conversation essentially normalizing a man who is trying to, and has been successful in indoctrinating America and people globally around very fascist, racist, neo-conservative ideas. This is dangerous stuff. I think that’s what we need to be focusing on as opposed to trying to dissect and rationalize and really give some celebration to the strategy of this crazy lunatic.â€
—Aisha Moodie-Mills, the president and chief executive officer of Victory Fund, regarding former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon’s rumored future plans for “aggressive expansion†of his alt-right website, Breitbart.com. Via MSNBC.com

“If we protect LGBT behavior, what other behaviors are we going to protect? Are we going to protect pedophilia? Are we going to protect polyamorous marriage relationships? Are we going to protect people who have fetishes? What’s the logical extension of this? It can’t be that we’re going to protect LGBT and then we’ll pull up the ladder. We’re not thinking the consequences of these decisions through.â€
—Sam Clovis, Iowa talk show host and Donald Trump’s pick to be chief scientist for the Department of Agriculture. Via CNN.com

“No matter what you do in life, one of the most important things is to be true to who you are. There are so many people who identify as LGBT in the NFL, as in any business, that do not feel comfortable being public about their sexual orientation. The more we can create an environment that welcomes all types of people, no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, the more we can help ease the pain and burden that many carry every day.â€
—San Francisco 49ers assistant coach Katie Sowers, the NFL’s first openly LGBT coach—male or female. Via Outsports.com

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