Billie Jean King is headed to Sochi after all.

The openly lesbian tennis legend was originally named to the U.S. delegation slated to attend the Winter Olympics opening ceremonies on Feb. 7. However, her mother’s failing health forced her to withdraw from the contingent.

AP reports that the White House named King on Friday in an updated five-member delegation that will represent the United States at the closing ceremony on Feb. 23. It will be led by Deputy Secretary of State William Burns.

“I will use this trip to honor the memory of my mother and to further my mission of equality,” King said in a statement to The Associated Press. “I am thankful to President Obama for including me and I look forward to supporting the men and women of Team USA in Sochi.”

King’s mother, Betty Moffitt, passed away on Feb. 7 at her home in Prescott, Ariz., at the age of 91. King and her brother Randy Moffitt were by her side.

The post King to represent U.S. at Sochi closing ceremonies first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Former Italian lawmaker Vladimir Luxuria

BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS
Washington Blade

A transgender former Italian parliamentarian on Monday was reportedly arrested for the second time in less than a day at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Imma Battaglia of the Gay Project, an Italian LGBT advocacy group, told the Washington Blade that four police officers took Vladimir Luxuria and two members of the television crew who were with her into custody as they tried to enter the an arena where a semifinal match between the Canadian and Swiss women’s hockey teams was about to take place.

Initial reports indicate officers asked Luxuria, who was wearing a rainbow suit, not to show a rainbow flag with “being gay is ok” written onto it. Luca Possenti of Famiglie Arcobaleno, a group that advocates on behalf of Italian LGBT parents and those who want to have children, told the Blade that officers arrested Luxuria after she began shouting the slogan in front of cameras.

Read more at Washington Blade

Washington Blade is America’s leading gay news source.

The post Transgender activist arrested in Sochi first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Russia officially welcomed gay athletes and spectators to the Sochi Winter Olympics, but in a country where it’s thought only 1 percent of gay people dare to live completely openly, it appears to be a hollow gesture.

“Dispatches”  gained unique access to the vigilante gangs that target gay men and women. The film depicts a country troubled by disturbing violence and distressing intimidation.

Six months after the Russian parliament unanimously passed a law to protect children from ‘non-traditional’ relationships, this film explores the terror that gay people in Russia are calling ‘hunting season’.

The post ‘Dispatches’ – Vigilante gangs and homophobia in Russia first appeared on Lesbian.com.

As the Olympic flame ignites in Sochi, many Americans are vowing to turn away from the light. They’re refusing to view the Olympics due to the heinous persecution of gays or the killing of stray dogs or the unethical treatment of political dissenters. I understand the outrage. I feel the outrage. But, turning the channel in protest is ineffective and unfair to the young people who’ve worked so hard for this moment.

Do you think Russia really cares if you sit at home and binge watch “Orange is the New Homeland” on your tablet?

“Hey, Vladimir, Martha Sue in Omaha isn’t watching curling. We better stop killing dogs.”

In the meantime, some 19- year-old, whose hopes and dreams have been set on these next 2 ½ weeks will not get the appreciation they deserve.

I understand the depth of feeling. I’m gay and an animal lover and if someone hurt my cats, I’d slice them up with a figure skate and use their disgusting carcass as a bumper at the end of the bobsled run. (All the while wearing rainbow colors and singing “We Are Family”). And, I certainly do not make light of what’s going on there.

Yes, the world should protest but “not watching on TV” is not taking the appropriate people to task. It’s not accomplishing anything. Russia does not care if we don’t watch! It’s only hurting the young people who’ve devoted their lives for an opportunity to represent our country.

Let us also not forget that these U.S. citizens are walking into Terrorist Central in Sochi. They are risking their lives to proudly wear our stars and stripes. When they passed up all those summer camps with friends or sleepovers or “normal” childhoods, they did so with the thought that, one day, the rest of the country would see our flag raised and hear our national anthem because they, in that moment, were better than anyone in the world — even the Russians.

Yes, a few of them will make a lot of money with endorsements. We all know the Shaun Whites, Apollo Ohnos and Michelle Kwans. But the vast majority of those athletes will not get to tell us to “eat fresh” on TV. This is their moment. This is their reward. This is what they’ve been living for. They deserve our support. They deserve to know we are watching them.

We need to do something about what’s going on in Russia. Donate money to organizations that fight for human rights across the world. Write you congressmen. Hell, even tweeting something spreads the word. But, sitting at home, turning the channel and drinking Tequila instead of Vodka aren’t accomplishing anything. NBC has already sold the ad time. They don’t care.

As for Putin, that’s just fewer people watching and complaining about the way he does things. He won’t care. Not watching will not solve anything — unless you use the time to train and qualify for some event in four years. And, then, wouldn’t you want your fellow citizens cheering you on?

Please, watch our athletes. They will be awesome. They may or may not win but they will give 110 percent — it’s who they are as Americans. You know what else they’ll do? They will make you proud. I bet some will even find some creative way to voice their protest but, if you’re not watching, you won’t see it.

Jennie McNulty was named one of Curve magazine’s Top 10 lesbian comedians. She can be heard weekly as co-host of LA Talk Radio‘s “Cathy Is In: The Cathy DeBuono Show.”

The post Sochi 2014: Boycotts miss real target first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Australian snowboarder Belle Brockhoff

BY KELLY MORRIS
TheSeattleLesbian.com

Of the 2,500 athletes competing at the Olympics this winter, only seven are openly gay, all of them are women, and none of them are American.

“Either GLBT athletes are uniquely bad at winter sports, or dozens — perhaps a hundred or more — must be competing in Sochi while in the closet,” the site said.

Read more at TheSeattleLesbian.com

The Seattle Lesbian online magazine reaches more than 188,000 readers per week globally.

The post 7 out lesbians to look for at Sochi first appeared on Lesbian.com.

This ad from the Canadian Institute of Diversity reminds us that the Olympic games “have always been a little gay.”

The post Canadian ad takes shot at Russian homophobia first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Cheryl Maas, who took a quiet stand for LGBT rights (Photo: Christy Chaloux)

BY MORGAN WELCH
dot429

On February 6, Dutch snowboarder Cheryl Maas became the first Olympic athlete to make a (silent) stand on LGBT rights during the actual Games. Maas, a lesbian herself, is married to Norwegian former snowboarder Stine Brun Kjeldaas; the two have a daughter together.

At the kickoff for the 2014 Winter Olympics, during the inaugural slopestyle event, Maas flubbed her second run, meaning she will have to compete again on February 8’s semi-finals to qualify for the finals.

As she walked away to wait for the judges to announce her score, the news cameras focused on her, and she held up a gloved hand—decorated with a rainbow and a unicorn.

Read more at dot429.com

The post Lesbian snowboarder is first Olympic athlete to take LGBT rights stance during games first appeared on Lesbian.com.

The Google homepage featured a Doodle on Thursday of 6 athletes across a rainbow banner, with the following quote from the Olympic Charter: “The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play.”

The Doodle was visible across international sites, including Russia’s, as the Olympic games began in Sochi.

This would not be the first time Google has come out in support of gay rights. In 2012,Google launched “Legalize Love,” an initiative supporting LGBT rights around the world.

Read more at Huffington Post Gay Voices

The post Google’s Olympic ‘Doodle’ speaks for equality first appeared on Lesbian.com.

In the days leading up to the Sochi Olympics, pro-LGBT activists have come up with an interesting protest: a new line of beer.

The founders of Scottish craft brewery BrewDog, James Watt and Martin Dickie, created what they believe to be the first “protest beer,” named “Hello My Name is Vladimir” after Russian president Vladimir Putin. The label features a portrait of Putin, Andy Warhol style, decked out in kitschy eyeshadow and lipstick.

Read more at dot429.com

The post First-ever ‘protest beer’ mocks anti-gay Russian laws first appeared on Lesbian.com.

On February 5, the Human Rights Campaign announced that it will keep a running analysis of NBC’s coverage of Russia’s anti-LGBT activity during the 2014 Winter games in Sochi.

Over the course of the seventeen-day event, it is expected that the station, which has exclusive rights to air the events, will air about 1,500 hours of Olympics-related coverage; HRC plans to report daily on the time spent discussing Russia’s social and legal homophobia at HRC.org/Russia.

Read more at dot429.com

The post HRC to analyze NBC Olympic coverage first appeared on Lesbian.com.