Bai Ling Survivor And Bisexual

I became enchanted with Bai Ling when I saw her opposite Richard Gere in the movie Red Corner in which she portrayed Gere's defense attorney in a murder trial in China.

Her range of acting in the film went from subdued and obedient follower of Chinese law and politics to one of defiance when she realizes Gere's character is being railroaded and framed for a murder he didn't commit and her character becomes an activist of sorts against the Chinese court system, its secrecy and the way it handles those accused, guilty until proven innocent.

I had lost track of Ling until she appeared on the reality TV show Celebrity Rehab on VH1. When she first appeared I was not only shocked but saddened as to what had happened to this wonderful actress since making Red Corner.

As she said on the show “When I drink champagne, everyone is my friend. I'm allergic to alcohol, I shouldn't even drink at all. I feel dangerous and scared and I need help.”

What came out of that rehab was being able to combat the past deep seeded demons of sexual abuse by her military superiors when she was a teenager and in the People's Liberation Army. Not only was she sexually abused but became pregnant and underwent an abortion according to an interview she did with the Associated Press in 2011. "Because of the Chinese culture of obedience, you don't ask questions. ... You follow and obey."

Because she can now discuss that very dark period of her life she is now helping others through the organization LACF according to a press release earlier this year, She will be speaking with women and young girls, who have or are currently dealing with sexual abuse, in groups.

Bai Ling hopes to be able to pull from her own personal experiences to help those who are suffering move forward with their lives and have confidence that they no longer need to fear their abusers. She plans to share the details that she can from her own obstacles and how she’s worked to overcome them, offering inspiration to those who need it most.

For those of us in the LGBT community, in particular those who like myself are bisexual, for her to be open about her sexuality will be inspiring. But it is equally, if not more important that Bai Ling can help so many others learning of her ordeal with sexual abuse and becoming a survivor.

And by staying sober help many more. While this may put pressure on Ling to keep all of her demons in check, it may also help her in that difficult task.

In this age of celebrity and the pitfalls which can come with it, right now, perhaps more than ever, we the "fans" have found someone we can root for in her continuing success both personal and career and be damn proud of the fact Bai Ling is one of us.

Judge Won't Marry de Straights

You know one of the unfortunate things about former Presidential hopeful Rick Perry is people paint a broad picture about what the folks in the great state of Texas are like.

Not everyone who lives there are homophobes any more than in any other state. In fact most likely many don't think about those who are pro-LGBT but the LGBTs themselves who live there.

Case in point as reported by The Dallas Voice, Dallas County Judge Tonya Parker who not only rules the bench but does so as an out and proud lesbian.

Tuesday evening she spoke before the group Stonewall Democrats of Dallas during its monthly meeting. Parker herself is a member of the group.

In her remarks as quoted by DV she said, “I have the power, of course, to perform marriage ceremonies,” Parker said. “I don’t.”

She followed up that remark with, “I use it as my opportunity to give them a lesson about marriage inequality in this state because I feel like I have to tell them why I’m turning them away,” Parker said. “So I usually will offer them something along the lines of ‘I’m sorry. I don’t perform marriage ceremonies because we are in a state that does not have marriage equality, and until it does, I am not going to partially apply the law to one group of people that doesn’t apply to another group of people.’ And it’s kind of oxymoronic for me to perform ceremonies that can’t be performed for me, so I’m not going to do it.”

So before you put down Texas because of Perry, the Bush's or even JR Ewing, remember there are a lot of great folks deep in the heart of Texas like Judge Parker.

Beth McDonald Supports LGBTs

Phoenix radio station KEZ 99.9's morning host Beth McDonald has told the Catholic Church, NO ! and will not be hosting a charity event after members of the Catholic Community Foundation questioned her support of the gay community.

McDonald who was to participate on April 21 during the Phoenix Gay Pride Parade told the Arizona Republic newspaper "I had to take a stand".

The CCF was going to honor former and disgraced Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien until abuse victims and families complained and then he opted out of "the honor" according to the article.

McDonald told Donna Marino the chief executive officer of CCF "the gay community has my support".

Brandi Sokolosky, executive director of Phoenix Pride, said that even though the church does not support gay causes, many individual Catholics do. She said that McDonald backed out of this year's parade a week after her participation was announced because of a conflict but that the organization would like to honor her next year.

The Cost Of The Perfect Body

My friends over at Best Gay News have done a five year followup article about the death of Brett Mycles, bodybuilder, fitness model and adult film actor.

Mycles whose real name was Robert Sager died of a heart attack on February 25 in 2007 which his alleged use of steroids and fat burner supplements may have contributed to a family history of heart disease. Days prior to his death he had complained of an irregular heartbeat.

In January of this year an article appeared on the Internet about a survey taken by gay and bi men who would "trade off" several years of their life to have the "perfect body" for a longer period of their life span. CROWOLF wrote a commentary on the subject as did this writer taking a more personal view of the matter.

Gay and bi men have been living in the image age of being pumped up and getting those six-packed abs since the 80's, which in this writer's opinion was not just one of appearing sexy but to hide one's sexuality. After all that guy who was built like a brick shithouse couldn't possibly be gay.

Eventually that gave way to the appearance of being randy and ready for some hot sex as images in gay magazines and adult films portrayed.

When getting to that point went far beyond the gym and adding body building enhancements which had been done by athletes is when the dream of the perfect body started to become a nightmare for some and with deadly results.

Which brings us to the question are you willing to risk all no matter what for that perfect body or are you willing to settle for what you have or can achieve in the weight room alone ?

Unfortunately there are still many out there who would risk everything "to be perfect".