Mic

The ‘Real Housewives’ has a long history of homophobia and...

Sat, 16 Dec 2017 14:41:35 -0500

The ‘Real Housewives’ has a long history of homophobia and transphobia. Here it is.

After the most recent seasons of Real Housewives of Orange County andReal Housewives of Dallas sparked controversy among LGBTQ viewers for airing what some saw as anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, a Mic reporter decided to take a deep dive into Housewives history, rewatch old episodes and rethink the impact of the many plotlines that have played out over the years. It wasn’t long before she realized that the Real Housewives of nearly every city have a lengthy, well-documented past of problematic LGBTQ moments that have largely been ignored by Bravo in the name of entertainment. Here is an annotated timeline of every homophobic and transphobic moment on ‘Real Housewives.’

The far-right thinks a violent antifa overthrow is coming Nov....

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 19:03:06 -0400

The far-right thinks a violent antifa overthrow is coming Nov. 4, but the truth is far stranger

“The nightmare must end,” the full-page ad in the New York Times announced on Wednesday in bold, block letters. It called on thousands of people to take to the streets. “Nov 4. It Begins.”Less than one year ago, as protesters flooded Washington, D.C., for President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Refuse Fascism materialized, seemingly out of nowhere, brandishing their now-iconic black and white “NO!” posters. Since then, the anti-fascist organization has become a mysterious yet omnipresent force throughout the past year’s wave of protests. As demonstrators have continued to spill into the streets with anti-Trump resentment, Refuse Fascism frequently emerges with signs, shirts, pins, and orators primed with a megaphone. Read more.

Candace Towns, transgender woman, fatally shot in Macon,...

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 19:02:03 -0400

Candace Towns, transgender woman, fatally shot in Macon, Georgia

Candace Towns, 30, of Macon, Georgia, was first reported missing on Sunday. Two days later, on Tuesday, her body was found at the top of a hill on Macon’s Rosecrest Avenue, the Telegraph, a local Macon paper, reported on Tuesday.Towns had been fatally shot, making her at least the 23rd transgender person killed so far in 2017. Lonnie Miley, the Bibb County chief deputy coroner, told the Telegraph that he was sure Towns’ death was a homicide. Read more.

Mississippi school named after confederate leader to be renamed...

Thu, 19 Oct 2017 11:09:45 -0400

Mississippi school named after confederate leader to be renamed in Obama’s honor

A small public elementary school in Mississippi announced it would make a big change in 2018 by changing its name to honor former President Barack Obama. And while this is a nice gesture on its own, it becomes even more significant when you consider the school is currently named after Confederate president Jefferson Davis. Read more.

Meet 3 black men who could change your perception of single...

Wed, 18 Oct 2017 18:00:20 -0400

Meet 3 black men who could change your perception of single fatherhood

After Mason Parker finishes up his typical 10-hour shift as an assistant manager at a mattress store in Charlotte, North Carolina, he jumps in his car to make the half-hour trek back home — but not to rest. Instead, he might shower, change clothes and make the 80-mile drive to Winston-Salem for a daddy-daughter breakfast at his child’s school. After the breakfast and business meetings for his budding entertainment career, he rushes back to Charlotte to pick up his son for the weekend. Read more.

Online dating apps like Tinder are linked to sharp increases in...

Wed, 18 Oct 2017 17:20:10 -0400

Online dating apps like Tinder are linked to sharp increases in interracial marriage, study finds

Online dating apps like Tinder and OkCupid have become the second-most common way straight couples meet, and researchers think it could be drastically altering our society. Specifically, a new study suggests that online dating might be responsible for several spikes in interracial marriages throughout the last 20 years or so, which has potentially huge implications for the health of our society more broadly. Read more.

Green card holders cannot enlist in the Army Reserve “for the...

Wed, 18 Oct 2017 17:15:24 -0400

Green card holders cannot enlist in the Army Reserve “for the time being,” Army confirms

An Army official said green card holders cannot enlist in the Army Reserve “for the time being,” responding to a Mic report from Tuesday about previously unreported changes to Army recruitment policies.The change is due to a Department of Defense policy announced Friday, which requires green card holders to have completed background checks before shipping off to basic training. Kelli Bland, director of public affairs at the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, said green card holders can still enlist as active duty members of the Army. Read more.

An artist in Missouri is creating dolls with vitiligo and...

Thu, 05 Oct 2017 19:20:34 -0400

An artist in Missouri is creating dolls with vitiligo and albinism to celebrate diverse beauty

While the fashion industry is slowly opening up to models with various skin conditions — models such as Winnie Harlow, who has vitiligo, and Shaun Ross, who has albinism — an artist based out of Kansas City, Missouri, is making sure the doll industry follows suit. Read more.

The Justice Department just reversed a policy prohibiting...

Thu, 05 Oct 2017 18:40:33 -0400

The Justice Department just reversed a policy prohibiting discrimination against transgender workers

United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions has directed the Justice Department to reverse a federal policy protecting transgender workers from discrimination.According to a memo dated Wednesday that was obtained by BuzzFeed, Sessions has instructed U.S. attorneys and the heads of federal agencies to stop interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as a protection on the basis of gender identity. Read more.

Preteen drag superstar Desmond Napoles’ advice on being...

Fri, 29 Sep 2017 14:19:06 -0400

Preteen drag superstar Desmond Napoles’ advice on being yourself

“To be beautiful. To be a little sassy. Not much. Beautiful. Friendly,” that’s how Desmond Napoles, a 10-year-old drag veteran, defines being fierce — a word one be hard-pressed not to use when describing the precocious pre-teen.Drag found Napoles at the ripe young age of 2. “I used to get Mommy’s towels and everything and put them around my head and face,” he said. “And then clomp in her big heels — just clomp around the house, and it was fun.” He cites Pepper LaBeija and “realness” as inspirations for his looks. Read more.

Why the idea that perfume is for women and cologne is for men is...

Thu, 28 Sep 2017 13:28:45 -0400

Why the idea that perfume is for women and cologne is for men is an archaic mindset

Perfume is for women and cologne is for men — that, for many, is what we’ve been taught for most our lives. Walk through a department store and you will likely see strict gender lines. The colognes are in displays with male models or a heterosexual couple in deep embrace, with the cologne itself being stored in a black or industrial-looking bottle. Perfumes, meanwhile, are advertised with images of women or a couple that looks loving and sensual, with the perfume itself in a bottle that is white or pink or purple. Read more.

Trump says he’s considering lifting 1920 law keeping foreign aid...

Wed, 27 Sep 2017 17:06:26 -0400

Trump says he’s considering lifting 1920 law keeping foreign aid from reaching Puerto Rico

Appearing before the press Wednesday afternoon, President Donald Trump announced he was considering lifting the so-called Jones Act, a 1920 maritime law preventing foreign ships from bringing much-needed aid to the storm-struck island of Puerto Rico. “We’re thinking about [lifting the Jones Act],” Trump said. “But we have a lot of shipments and a lot of people that work in the industry that don’t want the Jones Act lifted, and we have a loft of ships out now.” Read more.

By promoting “bumper-sticker patriotism” Trump is buying into...

Wed, 27 Sep 2017 14:32:33 -0400

By promoting “bumper-sticker patriotism” Trump is buying into what the NFL has sold for years

Sportscaster Bob Costas criticized President Donald Trump Monday for engaging in empty “flag-waving” with his attacks on NFL players who protest racism during the national anthem, telling CNN that patriotism isn’t solely the property of the military. Read more.

Trailblazing plus-size male model Kelvin Davis lands himself a...

Wed, 27 Sep 2017 11:16:14 -0400

Trailblazing plus-size male model Kelvin Davis lands himself a contract with Bridge Models

Kelvin Davis, one of the few successful plus-size male models in the United States, who’s been in seen in ads for Chubbies as well as that ill-fated #AerieMAN April Fools’ snafu, has finally been signed to a modeling agency.Over the weekend, Davis broke the news to Mic that Bridge Models, a curve modeling agency based in London, has signed him as one their influencers and models. Read more.

Arrests, sit-ins, shouting — activists plan a week of nationwide...

Fri, 22 Sep 2017 12:40:32 -0400

Arrests, sit-ins, shouting — activists plan a week of nationwide protest to fight Graham-Cassidy

Since early March, when the first Republican effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act was introduced in the House, activist groups have driven millions of phone calls and thousands of protesters to Washington.To push for the bill’s defeat, they led numerous rallies on Capitol Hill, occupied Senate offices, shouted in the Capitol building — and even learned, if they made enough noise, senators could hear them outside the Capitol.Whether that activism is remembered as a force that helped drive the defeat of “repeal and replace” will be decided in the next week. And organizers plan to employ all their past tactics over the next few days. Read more.

It was a record season for plus-size and transgender models at...

Fri, 22 Sep 2017 10:40:27 -0400

It was a record season for plus-size and transgender models at NYFW

Watching New York Fashion week this season, we had a certain inkling that we were seeing more models of color on runways than ever before, and more plus-size and transgender models too. It felt like this season was signaling turning point for New York.According to a new report from the Fashion Spot, which meticulously tracks diversity on fashion week runways, we were right. Read more.

Trump’s poll numbers are up since the hurricanes. They’re still...

Fri, 22 Sep 2017 10:00:35 -0400

Trump’s poll numbers are up since the hurricanes. They’re still historically bad.

President Donald Trump’s approval rating is on the upswing, now standing at 41% in the RealClearPolitics average — an uptick pollsters say is attributed to how voters view his response to the recent spate of devastating hurricanes as well as bipartisan deals to fund the government.However, while Trump’s approval rating is better than the dismal 37% low he faced last month, it’s still bad compared to his recent predecessors. Read more.

EXCLUSIVE: Hillary Clinton says, “no one, including me, is...

Tue, 19 Sep 2017 18:21:41 -0400

EXCLUSIVE: Hillary Clinton says, “no one, including me, is saying we will contest the election”

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she’s not going to contest the results of the election, clarifying a comment she made Monday on NPR in which she said wouldn’t rule out questioning the legitimacy of the outcome of the 2016 presidential campaign.“I think no one, including me, is saying we will contest the election,” Clinton said Tuesday during a roundtable interview with Mic in its New York office. “I’m in the very large group of people who believe that, you know, there’s no legal basis, no constitutional basis for that.”However, Clinton also said there are “serious questions being raised by the congressional investigation,” as well as the inquiry headed by special counsel Robert Mueller. Read more.

Trump says US may have “no choice but to totally destroy North...

Tue, 19 Sep 2017 12:40:22 -0400

Trump says US may have “no choice but to totally destroy North Korea” during UN speech

President Donald Trump will “totally destroy North Korea” if it threatens the United States or its allies, he said in his first address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.“The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea,” Trump said. “‘Rocket Man’ is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime.” Read more.

Trump hints that US will pull out of Iran deal in UN speech On...

Tue, 19 Sep 2017 11:59:30 -0400

Trump hints that US will pull out of Iran deal in UN speech

On Tuesday, the first president in generations to question whether America should be a world leader will offer his first address to the United Nations. President Donald Trump already said Monday he wants to, “make the United Nations great.” His speech will focus on reforming the U.N. to have more buy-in from member nations by urging “burden sharing” among the world’s countries. And a cornerstone of Trump’s speech will be a push for resolution of the North Korean threat. The White House said Trump will urge nations to not be “bystanders in history” and join the U.S. in pressuring North Korea to end its nuclear program. Read more.