June 23, 2021
Season 2, Episode 18
Gil and Eric discuss why pride is still necessary
Transcript
Eric:
Hello, and welcome to The Q Lounge Podcast. I'm Eric and I'm Gil. Join us as we discuss news stories and life situations. As they relate to the LGBTQIA plus experience, please visit us at theQloungepodcast.com and hit that subscribe button or listen wherever you get your podcasts while you're there. Please leave us a five star review and don't forget to tell your friends. hello and welcome to the Q lounge. I'm Eric and I'm Gil. And today we are going to just discuss a lot of the stuff that's going on right now in the news and in pop culture. We are still in pride month and so we wanted to discuss how that goes and why we still have a pride. Yes. There's been a lot of mixed feelings and inconsistencies with all of that. So if we wanted to address a little bit of that just a couple of quick things, please leave us a review. Five-star review. Tell your friends about us, leave us a written review, preferably on apple podcasts, because that's what gets most recognized we fancy. Also just to know that we will be taking a summer hiatus, so you will have to miss us for a couple months. We do have this episode coming out and we have one more episode after this and then we will be on hiatus through July and August. But other than that wanted to talk a little bit about The Pulse Foundation, Memorial and Museum. That's
Gil:wonderful.
Eric:Yes, it was passed on the federal level to turn the pulse nightclub into a Memorial and museum.
Gil:We should go once. It's all fine. We should definitely go. That'll be a nice
Eric:little trip. So I know we did a remembrance for the massacre in our last episode. And just just a quick little note on that. I know it actually was June 12th that the massacre happened. We actually recorded our last episode on June 12th, even though it didn't drop for a few days. So if it seemed a little oh, that was a few days ago. That's why, but we still wanted to do that. I know the week before we talked about how. Broke his promise. Yes. Survivors of the Pulse and has now done a way with helping them get the mental health care that they need, that he promised. He promised the victims two years prior that he would not do that. So he broke his promise. Of course.
Gil:That's
Eric:just, it's still a fight. We're still fighting for our place and for our respect. And so that's what pride symbolizes. It symbolizes those fights that we're putting through every day and that we're still going through.
Gil:Just because I think some people get lost in the bubbles, the liberal hubs. And I am from, speaking from a hub and we realized that we think, oh, everything's fine. Everything's fine. Not everywhere. It's like us. In fact, everywhere. It's not like us. Likelihood is it's more like, where you are Eric and it's going to be a lot more challenges. And I think especially the youth where it's yay, you get to speak up when you're in high school, Hey, you get to be out and proud, but it's not like that everywhere now, until we get to that level, we are not to stop fighting or forgetting how we got to where we are, how the liberation movement began. And I think that's just ignorance to a degree, especially with some of the young ones that we're seeing on a lot of social media platforms that I've come across my dashboard a few times. I'm like, what the hell are they talking about? So media platforms, it's very select. I know I'm so selective with it, but yeah, I came across the tiktoks and I saw one and I was like, oh yeah, but some, several youth are talking about it. Just do away with it. What's the point I'm already out and proud. I'm like, no, honey, you're missing the whole picture here.
Eric:You're missing the whole picture. That's because of all this stuff that we're still fighting for, that you're allowed to be out and proud. No, I will say, I don't know. Did you see that story from Spain? I did not. So this students wore a skirt to school and they were expelled. Oh, it was a male student they were expelled. So the teachers, the male teachers started wearing skirts to work, to show their support and solidarity and to protest.
Gil:Oh my God. What the hell?
Eric:I think it's totally fucked up that he was expelled. Don't get me wrong. That was just shit. Yeah. But I do love the fact that those educators were willing to stand up for something. Correct.
Gil:Hopefully they're able to bring
Eric:them back. Yeah. I don't know what the outcome of that was, but I know that they did do that and I know there was some discussion actually, and it's really petty. Cause you're talking, we were talking about how, oh, let's do away with that now and blah, blah, blah. And rather than people like embracing oh, that's really cool that the teachers took a stand they're like, why are they wearing those skirts? Those don't go with their outfits or their shoes. And I'm like, that's not the point.
Gil:Yeah. Like you're missing the big photo
Eric:still. You are missing the whole big picture here. We sit here and talk about yeah. Community and building people up and togetherness and all that other stuff. But the community is still very problematic in itself.
Gil:Correct? Yeah. We have a lot of issues. I think we try not to talk about or did they try to paint it as, oh, everything's kumbaya. Yeah, no, God, no, God, no.
Eric:I have to think about it. It's like everything else. It's a little like microcosm of the bigger picture. Yeah. So you still face a lot of the same things that you face in your daily life as far as like racism and classism and ageism and sexism. The gay culture is still very much built on a racist and misogynistic foundation.
Gil:And you gotta be young 25, just dig yourself a ditch, jump in.
Eric:Yeah, there's a lot of age-ism Oh yeah. In the gay community. I want to say more in the gay part, like the G then in some of the others, but I don't know. I don't live my life as a lesbian or in any of the other alphabet. Yeah. But I know, I see it as a gay man. Oh, yeah. I'm like, I might as well be like buying going coffin.
Gil:I know. I know. It's so different.
Eric:And then you see a lot of people like, oh, it's so easy now. And it's so great. And we can all come out. And the thing is as you were saying, like where you're from, it might be easier for people to come out, but not in a rural town. It's not easy for people to come out. And it all starts to look at like where your, what your culture is and not necessarily ethnic culture, but just like the culture in the area in which you live right. That all plays. Apart.
Gil:Yeah. It's not going to be easy until that day happens. And B it won't be for several generations. It's going to take some time. This is a long process. Change takes time. And it's just every racial fight that we're doing right now. It's hundreds of years after the fact that we're still, it's really there's, we'll talk about this. Yes we are. And going to continue.
Eric:I am all excited. I'm very happy that they've made Juneteenth the holiday. I think it's about damn time. Yeah. So I'm, I am honestly happy about that, but you also have to think that nothing is being done. So like we have states that are passing laws on voter suppression and anti protest and making it illegal to teach race theory and histories that are not white based. So Juneteenth as a holiday while it's great is pure symbolism and a, basically a pat on the head, that's we're going to give you this. So you don't think about all this.
Gil:Yeah, it is. It's nice that they did it. I am totally with you on that. And it's, I agree. It's that smoking glass kind of thing right now where it's look at this, look at that. But the reality is states let's be clear. Republican states are restricting the hell out of people on how we vote, which is like I've mentioned, I think a few podcasts before the irony that a us state, which voted to bomb other nations with regards to democracy and, oh, they don't vote in those places. Are putting the suppression here within your own nation.
Eric:Yeah. And guess what it's going against people of color mainly.
Gil:Yeah. And that's the thing I just don't understand. I don't understand. It's so ironic.
Eric:Don't you think Alanise would agree with you? Although her song was very coincidental, not ironic, which is ironic in itself. Yeah. Maybe
Gil:that was the point. Yeah. I don't know. It just it's we need more remedies with it or more federal protection, I think. But then again, you're going to get it to the state. That's a state issue. You are arguing and I already know that. I could hear that screaming on top of everyone's lungs. We don't all want to be like California. Oh, my kind of you will be in a few years. Don't worry.
Eric:And then you have they're trying to pass. Voter law on the national level, but then you have Manchin. Who's I'm not going to support it unless it's bi-partisan fuck that
Gil:when sorry.
Eric:No, I agree. That's exactly my reaction. When did you see the Republicans saying, oh, I'm not going to support that unless it's bi-partisan and they're like, oh no, we got the majority let's Ram. This shit through. Yeah. Like I said, in one of our earlier
Gil:top,
Eric:they, because
Gil:I made that the Republicans don't mind being the Dom top and the liberals are like, okay, how much further can I bend over? I don't get it. Jesus is Christ. Please be verse happy, pride, everyone.
Eric:No, that's true. That's a good way to put it. Yeah. Let's widen that gap. That's platelets, plow them through sound, sand them down and make them unable to walk for a few days. It's really good.
Gil:And that's the goal? Jesus. So we could tie it all back to the gays. Don't worry.
Eric:Yeah. But even like we were talking about like within our community, there's a lot of the same types of issues. Like we talked about, like you have the Puerto Vallarta gays who were the more wealthy, typically white gays who are like, I'm entitled to celebrate new year's Eve in the middle of a pandemic by going to another country and possibly bringing disease to them. Yeah. Cause it's your
Gil:privilege. Yeah. It's pretty much, you see the same in the advertisement. It's like the, like I've, I think a bitch left or right about it and algorithms within the social media stuff. It's oh, a white guy does the exact same basis dance as a person of color. That guy who's white is going to probably get nine times the likes and advertise board that video's going to pop up on your feed in comparison to someone of color doing exact same thing.
Eric:Yeah. And then within that, you also have shades and it's sad to say but colorism is very much a thing like you and I have talked about this. Like I think since our first season that you and I have light-skinned privilege, and I'm lighter than you are. So I have a lot, I have that privilege of being light-skinned. Quiet
Gil:husband, same thing. Yeah. Everyone assumed he was white. I'm like, no, it's both. His parents are Latino, they are not, he is not white at all. Like me, if I stay out of the sun, I, my, I am actually lighter, but I tan very easily, which people pay for. I, I didn't know that. But even with, within the communities, even within us, within the Asian communities, a lot of us, it's more it's pushed to be fair skinned, lighter. You are the better, the ones who are like super dark in the Philippines. Yeah. They're like, they are looked down upon. We know that. Yeah. I've watched their, he had a girl watching the Filipino channel TFC and all the actors on there are normally American passing. They're very fair skin Filipinos is that natural there, maybe in Metro Manila, but outside of that, There's sun. It's hot.
Eric:Yeah, you can. And you can trace that to pretty much everywhere. Like when we had Sea Zevran on our first season, and he talked about that too he's gotten as a person of color has gotten a lot of accolades, but he also knows that he's lighter skinned. So he's gotten further because of that. And like, when he's completely out of the sun, some people are like, oh wow. You're like pretty much white or at least white passing. And, but no, he's a person of color.
Gil:Yeah. I think it's what it goes out to with street. What is your street color? So if you go onto the street, what do people perceive you as? And I think that's something that, me, I am not as they look at me and they'll say non-threatening, but the darker you are, we know that. Because even it's as liberal as Seattle was, people did look at me because I was the dark, probably one of the darkest people in my neighborhood. And I am not dark, but I was in a 90. I was like 90% white community. Yeah. Oh, it was in queen Anne. If you're familiar with that, I know that I got looked at every single time, as soon as I started raising my voice laughing. Cause I, I laughed loud. Especially when I'm talking to somebody I'm in a cafe, I'm getting death, stares people looking at me like what the fuck? Oh my God, this indigenous person laughing on his phone and I'm in liberal Seattle. Yeah. I could only imagine if I was, somewhere else or if I was, if I was African-American they called the police, but yeah.
Eric:Yeah. You see it everywhere. Colorism is also in Hollywood.
Gil:Absolutely. Cause I know it's come up on the the new was a new movie in the Heights and the Heights. Yeah. That's been drawing some controversy, obviously with the casting and I still feel like it falls on that same issue where with crazy rich Asians. It's that the way that they're, they did all the hiring and all that. It's they're all like us, they are Hispanic Latinos, fair to medium skin tone, but you're missing that whole Afro the Afro Latinos completely. Yeah. Like the
Eric:Dominican. Yeah.
Gil:And then people, if they're from the islands yeah. They were darker. They should be a little bit more on the well tanned side. Yeah. What's a missed opportunity again.
Eric:Yeah. I know Lin, Manuel Miranda has apologized for his casting. But it's still unfortunate. Yeah. Hollywood's an interesting thing to me. And I know we've talked about this. We had Anna on on here and we discussed it with her. We've discussed it with a few other people and probably with each other as well, Hollywood comes off as like very liberal and very supportive, but it's not really, or it is on the surface, but once you like, even just take off that top layer, it's really not.
Gil:I was going to say, it's almost like. The S in sports, the players are very active because they are all people of color, but then what you take out them and look at the owners and the people actually making the donations towards the suppression, voting, groups and, restraining whatever. Yeah. They are completely opposite there. It's very conservative, no matter how liberal you view the sporting world.
Eric:Yeah. No one Hollywood's the same way. I know Ricky Martin came out recently, as far as talking about how, when he did his interview with Barbara Walters, like 10 plus years ago, how he still has PTSD from that. Cause how she questioned him are you gay? And he's here, I'm holding the secret. I'll be like, yes I am. But the world's not ready and willing to accept that for me yet. And he may not have been comfortable in it. I D I don't know. I haven't read the article, but he may not have been comfortable within that within himself. At that moment, it goes back to the whole, now you're outing somebody, you're putting them on the spot to out themselves, or you're outing them
Gil:selfish of them, whatever they do, those kinds of shit. It's because they're trying to generate, viewer sales viewership, try to make the self so relevant or groundbreaking.
Eric:What's groundbreaking about that. Yeah. Sickening. And I know there's been people like, oh, he needs to get over it. And, oh, he has money and blah, blah, blah. No, it's still very stressful. It's a very stressful thing. Just because you are a celebrity and I'm not a celebrity by any means, but it says a lot, like if you are a celebrity or a celebrity status, and at that time he was a huge, living LA Vida loca, like that was. Yeah. And a cup of life Maria yet. Like all those songs, which I love all songs. I'm dating myself, but he was at like the height. Yeah. And he still had to be like very cautious because the world was not going to accept it. Which is all which like, you juxtapose that with what we have a little bit now with a little NAS X, it was like I'm gay. And he came out as gay, like in the middle of having this huge song, correct. I don't want to say he was at the height of his career, but he was having a really big moment and him coming out could have completely derailed it. Correct. Luckily it didn't. And I love the fact that he's now like completely owning it and giving a big fuck you to, I don't mean to flip you off Gail. I'm just gesturing as I'm talking, I'm giving a big fuck you to society. Correct. So it's interesting. We've come a long way, but they're still attitudes. Like I remember when he came out, Lil NAS, X came out and he did that special with Kevin Hart and something else. And Kevin Hart's like, why is it a big deal? And I'm like, Because of people like you saying, why is it a big deal? And however many years ago, prior to that saying that if your son was to play with a doll or a dollhouse, you would beat their head in or bash their head in. That's why it's a big deal. So I understand why, like Ricky Martin had his PTSD from it and oh my God, they're trying to out me as we've discussed outing, somebody is shit. It's bullshit. So I don't know. I just think it's really interesting when you think about Hollywood. Or in celebrity. People are still,
Gil:I was gonna say the celebrity ones, some of them are not surprising when they do come out, but it's, they should come out with their own. David, Archuleta finally came
Eric:out. Yeah. He came out too, just recently. Yeah.
Gil:Which I suspected in oh six, but we were just, I was like,
Eric:but then you have to think like he was raised he's Latino. Yeah. He was raised in a Catholic household, a religious household. It's not that easy. No, it's just come out like that. No.
Gil:And then you get used to wearing that face for so long that mask. And then you have to tell everyone, Hey, by the way, this was all false. So fake mask.
Eric:And then you have to be weary of how they're going to treat you because they're like, oh, you lied to us. And I know we had D on our first season and he was talking about how his mother why didn't you tell me, like, why did you lie to me? And he's I wasn't ready to talk about it yet. Yeah. I was still coming to terms with myself. I was still accepting myself. Yeah. And that's true. I know I've come out later to certain people than I did other people. Cause I was like, I don't know how you're going to react to that. I, yeah. I'm still compartmentalizing and dealing with certain shit myself. And yeah, these people assume it and I haven't denied it. So they already know, but I haven't actually, I have said the words now, but at the time I'm like, I haven't said the words to these people or to the whole general mass, because I'm still figuring shit out. And so I've gone through that. I'm sure you went through that. Oh yeah.
Gil:And so it was refreshing when I got to I'm not gonna lie when I moved to New Mexico because every single person who met me when I went for college, knew me as myself as the authentic Gil versus everyone back home in California, they knew me as a certain way and then adjusting and adjusting. Like I said, it was that happy to tell everyone back home and it was nerve wracking, but that's why I enjoyed being out in eCollege because I was like, oh my God, I'm free. That freeing moment. It was nice not to have anything on your shoulders, a little burden or anything.
Eric:Yeah. Looking at like Colton Haynes who, oh yeah, he's super hot. And he came out a few, like a few years ago, but he just recently put published something. I don't want to say publish. He posted something on IG or he, it was an old photo of him, a modeling photo when he was 15. And that's like a very like sexy photo with him and someone with another guy. And he said that like he spent years trying to hide that photo and make sure that photo never saw the light of day because he was told you can't be gay and be in this industry and have a successful and have a successful. Career. And he was at the time a model transitioning into acting. And so he spent so many years burying that. And then now that he's come out, he's like, why did it take me so long? And now that he's happy with who he is and he celebrating who he is. And now he's very proud of that picture. I know. And I know Ricky Martin has had similar sentiments that like, he would never deny himself that again. Yeah. But we do. And it's interesting too, because you think about people again in the limelight, but you think about like people that are involved in queer shows or movies or communities that are still holding on to Not knowing who they are, like still dealing with figuring their stuff out. I
Gil:was going to say, what's Sean Hayes for will. And grace did not come out. Yeah. Even though he played a character, no, he was a gay guy. Yes. On that show, on that groundbreaking show, he didn't come out till years after the fact. And then he confirmed with everyone, even though he had a partner during that time. Yeah. Because of the sake of the career. Yeah. Like guess there is no timetable when you need to come out. We just want to make sure everyone knows. We support you regardless, but it's scary. And I know for me, I wouldn't want to be under that spotlight all the time where everything you do is micromanaged or magnified or, it's terrifying.
Eric:Yeah. Look at CA Keenan Lonsdale from love Simon
Gil:Bram. Yes. I enjoy him so much.
Eric:He played the love interest of Simon, which in that movie, which is a great movie. Yes. And then he later reported that playing Bram gave him the strength to actually come out later. So like he came out after he made the movie. Yeah. And Alexandra ship from that movie, she played Abby. She just came out by, I think a week ago. Oh, I didn't know that she just came out. And you think about you were in, like you were saying with Sean Hayes, like he was in this groundbreaking show about gay men. Yeah. And he still didn't come out. These people were like in a, I don't wanna say groundbreaking movie, but like in a really awesome movie, correct. About trying to normalize the LGBTQ experience and they still needed time to come out. Yeah. And then you have Billy Porter who is out and very proud and he's in pose, which is a great show. Everybody, you should still see pose if you haven't seen it yet. He just came out as with his HIV status as being positive. He's on this groundbreaking show, but there's still the stigma in the world. Yeah. And that goes for Hollywood. Like I said, it's all these little microcosms that this world seems very liberal and accepting, but it's still really not.
Gil:It's sad, but true. Like I said, the progress is there at least now there's no more guessing if rock Hudson was gay until, decades after and getting autobiographies and testimonies from everyone. But, it's still a reality that they could still lose. Yeah, thank very much can. Or once they're done with that show they're type cast. Oh, he's a gay guy. He'll give like a character's
Eric:and I actually go ahead.
Gil:I was going to say, what about in Michael Cimino is having some backlash currently,
Eric:correct? Oh yeah. From love Victor, Michael Cimino. Yeah, he did an interview. I want to say a few months back where he talked about how he had been getting a lot of homophobic messages and because he plays Victor on Love Victor and he identifies as straight. And so does George Sear who plays Benji and I believe so. Does Anthony Kayvon who plays Rahim, but going back to Michael Cimino he was talking about how he was getting a lot of homophobic messages. He said the shocking thing was is that it was people he knew, like personally knew. Oh, wow. And then recently I want to say it was like within this week. It's, he may have discussed this back then, but I know, I just found out that a lot of those homophobic messages were coming from like family members and they were like, oh, you used to be so cool. And now you're like this gay guy on TV. Yeah. And like he said he's still so proud of the show. Like you just have to like, try to teach them through their ignorance. Yeah. But he's super proud of the show. He seems to be quite the ally. Like I, I got in a discussion the other day, actually on one of the love Victor groups about is it wrong that he's playing a gay character? And I'm like, my response is gay for pay is a very real thing. Yeah. That's where this argument stems from. Like we have this argument a lot when it comes to Hollywood, when it comes to porn straight guys playing gay roles. Correct. And I personally don't have an issue with it. My issue is more with. There needs to be more roles given to gay actors, but they don't necessarily have to be gay parts.
Gil:Yeah, I think it's a like I said. It's part of that. If they come out, will the career be over before it begins or do you come out well after the fact that you already made a career and then, oh, you're gay and then now you typecast into a certain, yeah. I
Eric:mean, look at Neil Patrick Harris, like he's out and he's proud and everyone like thinks of oh, okay. After Neil Patrick Harris, but he was already established. Yeah. Anderson Cooper, same thing. Yeah. There was always talk, but again, it's no one's business. So I know Michael Cimino is also saying recently that he's been getting a lot of death threats because he plays Victor Salazar on love Victor. But the twist is he's getting death threats from the LGBTQ community because they're mad that he's playing a gay character. And when he himself does not identify as gay
Gil:and that's not right. I have not. I'd rather our story be out there. Yeah. And I get trying to have a gig just to make it more authentic. But at the same time, I guess it's part of the acting what you did. I don't know. It's just, I guess I have more issue if more like you're playing a gay character, but then you're the one out on the bow voting completely against our interests, but you're making money off of our story. And that makes it, it's like in a, was a Jake Gyllenhaal for Brokeback mountain. And when they were asking him originally for that role, correct me if I'm wrong, because this was, quite some time ago, but he made some comments that were almost killed the reason or the impact of the movie. Correct. For Beetham what it was. But I just remember being pissed off because you and I were discussing it when it happened, what 2007.
Eric:I don't remember when the movie came out to, I hated that movie I
can't
Gil:stand it, but it was still it was like, oh my God, it's a big role taking a risk and then diminishes
Eric:the whole damn thing. Yeah. He made some off the wall comments about oh, how like weird and uncomfortable it was. And yeah. Yeah. And I'm just like, Ugh, I don't know. And then you look at this is not going to be a love Victor episode. I promise you guys, but you look at Michael Cimino and George sear and they refuse to even have an intimacy coach. Cause they're like, no, we have this chemistry. We've got this. Yeah. So yeah. So I think that is that's. Yeah,
Gil:like I'm sure in time there will be need for the story. Yeah. Time. Yeah. We'll see. This is already progress enough. We're not everyone dies in the movie.
Eric:Isn't that sad that's what we're celebrating. Not everyone dies.
Gil:I know, but for real, if you have not, if people have not watched gay films, it's just seems like everyone dies in some way or ends in some massive tragedy or break up at the, it's always something bad. Never. It's like a happy ending.
Eric:Then you have Patty Harrison, who is a trans actress, who is, I believe in the first, like in a role where she's not playing a trans character. Oh, she's playing a CIS character. Okay. And the movie is called together together and she is a woman who was recruited by us male in his forties. Ed Helms, who is wanting to start a family and he recruits her character to be his surrogate. Okay. That's what we need more of. We need more actors that are in the LGBTQ spectrum to get these roles that are for your cis actors. Yes.
Gil:That's the goal. I think we need to expand.
Eric:Yeah. Cause I know like someone was going off about the gay for pay thing and how they are completely against it. And, but then they're like, oh, but I'm playing in a commercial where I have a wife and kids. I'm like, Yeah. Yeah.
Gil:It's that,
Eric:it's interesting
Gil:to be like, it's acting as acting just as long as the story's out there and it's done tastefully.
Eric:Yeah. I tend to agree with that. I think it's getting the story out there. Yeah. I know we had Rob Williams on our show and he mentioned that too. Like even though he tried to hire gay actors and I think he was very successful in pretty much hiring actors, but when we were talking about like big budget films, you need that name draw.
Gil:You do,
Eric:and you gotta make money. Yeah. You gotta make money, but you need that name draw to get people in the seats into. Here are the story and see the story. And then once they see it, not, everyone's going to be like, oh, I want to learn more about it. Cause that doesn't happen in anything, but you'll have that one to 10 people that are like, oh, let me go find out some more information. Correct. And then they will do their homework and then they can maybe influence their friends and their friends. And I know things take time. And I know sometimes I'm not always about that. I'm like, no, it needs to happen now. Yeah. When it comes to equality, it doesn't need to happen now. But I understand that we don't live in a perfect world or this one where this wouldn't be an issue, which is what all those young tiktokers are saying. That it's not, it shouldn't be an issue. You're right. It shouldn't be, but it still is. It is. It very much is. We still can't donate blood. I'm not going to go harp on that. Cause I harp on that a lot, but,
Gil:but it's yeah, there's still stuff that we cannot do. I said, it's, we're getting there little by little. So we have our gay thing plus our racial part that we still need that stuff. We are in the majority when it comes to being a CIS male, at least in that part, there are certain things as a male, there is some privileges, a lot of privileges that we deal with, but
Eric:yeah. Yeah. And then like we have our light-skin privilege. Yep. We have our hetero passing privilege. I know me. I know I have hetero passing privilege. I have deep voice privilege now with each other though. No, not with each other when you and I are together. Oh, Matt Ross is our soundtrack.
Gil:Yeah. But it's a lot different. It's all flame on boom, full parade. Oh my goodness.
Eric:Craziness. And then there's like the whole religion component. Looking at what the Supreme court just did.
Gil:I am just I don't know how to explain it. I'm floored
Eric:unanimously, including the three liberal judges.
Gil:This is just so we all are aware. It's the Supreme court rules Catholic group doesn't have to consider LGBTQ foster parents. So this happened just a few days ago and it was the Catholic social services was in a battle with with like religious freedom versus anti-discrimination laws in Philadelphia. And then the courts ruled in favor of the Catholics services with this, the
Eric:CSS. So they can deny foster parents that are LGBTQ I a because of their religious freedom, whether it's a good match for the child or not. And then you see a lot of you hear the horror stories of the foster system. Oh yeah. But they're straight. So it's okay.
Gil:I've just, I haven't lost the words for it. I really do.
Eric:I saw this movie and I told you and Chris about it, and I told Chris that he had to make you watch it. That's called fathers. Okay. it's an Asian film. And it's about this guy who he's in a relationship with this other guy, but hence the fathers, but he has a son that he had, I think through surrogacy and the little boy starts getting teased because one of his classmates fathers has an issue with the fact that there's these two men that have the son and the little kid gets mad and then the social worker comes in and she sticks her nose in and does all kinds of drama. And she finds the birth mother. And brings the birth mother in. And then the little boy goes and lives with the birth mother. It's a really, it's a really sad movie. It has a, I don't want to say it has a happy ending. It has an ending. It's not a sad ending.
Gil:It's just an ending.
Eric:It's an ending. I think it hints on the happy side, but it's just an ending, but it's a, it's a good movie though, but it shows like these men loved this little boy and still like they had their rights taken away from them. The one who had rights. Cause it was his son and no, I actually think they, it was an adopted son, but he was the one who was on the paperwork and the other father wanted to adopt. He never liked signed over the paperwork kind of thing. So he had no say it's a really good movie, but it's very similar to what with this. And like with this whole court decision.
Gil:I don't, I just don't understand it because it's just, it's looking at the amount of people. So anti let's say, the atypical, anti-abortion all of that. You heard what
Eric:the Catholic church says about that too, right? With Joe Biden. Oh yeah. That he can't have communion. Now this is why I go off about religion all the time. Like I know there's some great Christians and great Catholics and great every religion, like there's amazing people. Yeah, but the principles of the religion itself seems to suck.
Gil:I think it's the way that people B it's rent is run by people, made by people. So it's going to be inherently flawed. And I think it's just one of those. I think the core of it's love is the base of all the religions and, try not to kill the next person. Yes. But I think it's the way that people execute it. And they, like the religious, the church itself is an institution. The church itself is a building that it's not the religion. It's like me going up to side of my house. And I'm like, oh my garage has the car. No, It's part of the structure, but the physical car is right there and that's not it. That's what I want to consider that the whole thing, a car. And certainly with the religion, the, I think the principle part of the, a lot of them are speaking about love, accepting blah, blah, blah. But the way people are who add stuff to it, their interpretations, because they, God forbid us thinking and using our brains, then you start harping on that's what it says. That's what it says. How many people, and I would genuinely challenge how many people have read it page from cover to end the entire damn Bible. I
Eric:have.
Gil:There's a lot of shit in there,
Eric:but I have only because I had to,
Gil:you had to yeah, your atypical ones out there, screaming and hollering all this bullshit. I would
Eric:challenge most religious people. I know. Have not read the whole Bible cover to cover.
Gil:No, they don't. But they like to preach about it as if they're authorities in it. Yeah. And I think that's the sad part about it also, but when it comes down to the, like the Supreme court and all that, it just it's just baffling for me because they're giving this I understand, it's a religious institution, the Catholics services and whatnot. But when it comes to the foster care system, I think that's where it should be treated differently because this is going beyond, above and beyond the typical services of the church. Yeah. And that's where this service, because they have other people's kids who are, may not be Catholic and probably not, then it should be treated as a very neutral non-religious it treated just as another business endeavor than anything else. That's why it shocked me that they took it as some, as if a, like my personal right as a Catholic could not. Was being infringed to practice. And that's the part I didn't quite understand. I kept reading it and I'm like what are they saying here? And it was unanimous. So I'm like, did I miss something? Am I missing the bigger photo here?
Eric:Yeah. I was really confused and baffled by it too. Especially when it was, I found out that it was unanimous. Yeah. But see, hearing that you had that same like I kept thinking, I was like, am I reading this? What am I missing in this article?
Gil:And no one to dissented. Oh, that's why I was very confused because if you're giving this entity, like I said, if that, that it has rights, it doesn't have rights. It's a service. It's not a person. We have rights institutions, you have corporations, they do not have rights. That is a thing. Yeah. That's the part I don't understand. Cause I'm like, as a, as an American citizen, I have those rights. I am entitled to what that's, what your whole seeing whatever I need to do. Yeah. And those are not infringed to be infringed upon. Yeah. That's the part I'm not understanding. So that's why I'm just like, ah, this is interesting perspective.
Eric:Yeah. It's just so interesting how, like we make all these laws based on religion.
Gil:Yeah. Separation.
Eric:Exactly. Yeah. No but didn't the Supreme court also rule that, corporations are now seen as like a separate entity and have that isn't that what citizens United is all about and they're
Gil:trying to overturn it. Yeah. Yeah. So that they have
Eric:was another one. They have the rights that you and I have now as like an individual. Yeah, because it's its own entity.
Gil:It's so whew.
Eric:But the thing is like going back to this court decision, this is why we protest. And this is why we have pride. Yes. We're still treated like second rate citizens.
Gil:Cause it's not a blanket. Like I said, I really wish we would have written whoever, whoever came with that second amendment and how that has like a blanket immunity. That's what we need. Yeah. We need that same type because it's not, they're like, oh you have a right to this, but we're going to do something to counter attack it or a counter attack. This part of it.
Eric:Awesome. If you, as a gay man and you as a person of color had the same rights as a gun.
Gil:Oh my God. I know. That would be crazy.
Eric:Wouldn't it be amazing if a woman had the same rights as a gun,
Gil:don't get crazy now, Eric,
Eric:or a woman of color. Oh,
Gil:now you're pushing a button that just baffles me. It baffles me that it has like absolute protection. And now
Eric:you're like, you don't in some states you don't even have to have a license. You don't have to have any training. Yeah. You can just carry concealed or not.
Gil:It's mind boggling. I don't know. That's the one.
Eric:Yeah. I long for a day where I have the same rights.
Gil:but we're not there yet. eventually.
Eric:We're not there yet. Did you hear that changing the subject? Did you hear that? Kamala Harris is the first sitting vice-president to ever March in a pride parade. Really? Yeah. in the DC pride parade.
Gil:Awesome. Congrats to her. I'm glad they still had a parade. ours was canceled. So it
Eric:was ours. Although they have a few festivities in Albuquerque or an Albuquerque. Albuquerque is included in New Mexico. New Mexico's opening up July 1st. Oh, they
Gil:are a hundred percent. Oh, awesome. That's good. We opened up officially on the 15th of June. Yeah. So that's been an adjustment. I must say people getting next to me. I'm just like, oh, hello. Especially us. It's that, the honor system. And if they are unmasked, they must've been vaccinated. People weren't masking up when we were supposed to be masking up.
Eric:I know I'm I'm not wearing a mask everywhere anymore, but I'm still wearing it at a lot of places. Like I still wear it out, like at the grocery stores and the stores in general. But like when I go to the gym, I haven't been wearing one. When I teach at the gym, I have to wear one and that's fine. I don't mind. But when I go to the gym, I'm not, I haven't worn one completely. If
Gil:it's highly concentrated, like the city for me, then I tend to wear my mask just in case, even though I've been vaccinated since April, but when I'm in a least dense or densely populated area, that I'm oh, I'm walking around. I'm like a little bit more free. Yeah. We tend to get like one particular group tends to be very. Once without the mask consistently during the pandemic or not. Yeah,
Eric:I hear you on that
Gil:one. Yeah. Cause as soon as that thing went up, oh my God. They were the first through the door. I
Eric:will say though, like once we open up, I hope I get to go to a fucking club. I know I want to go get my dance on.
Gil:Oh my God. I know travels up there with me. So between travel and go clubbing because I missed the dance floor just to, the socialization, the drinking up there to have fun and just,
be
Eric:free. Absolutely. Speaking of being free and being yourself how I did something totally out of character. What did you do? A, I ordered a crop top from my t-shirt lines. I've never worn a crop top before and I actually put it on. And I took photos of it and I posted photos of it. Cause I actually was like, I don't look that bad. So that's you've known me for what? 15 years? Has it been 15
Gil:years. 15 years. Yeah.
Eric:Yeah. You've never, ever, you've seen me wear like tight see-through stuff, but you've never seen me wear a crop. You've never even seen me hint at ever wearing a crop. And the fact that I like posted it online and made it like my profile picture and all that other stuff. That's a huge step for me. Actually. It's a really huge step for me and it's not just oh wow, like he's wearing a crop top. Ha honestly, it's a big step for me. And the fact that I was willing to let other people see it. Yeah. That I'm now comfortable in the fact that in my own skin, that I don't care, that image is out there. Yeah, it's a big deal for me. So I was super proud of that fact, but also funny that it says, cum rag with an arrow pointing up toward my face. It offended some people, I found the humor in it. I know what it is. It's about reclaiming. Yeah. So as I say, reclamation equals liberation,
Gil:which has all your
Eric:other t-shirts that is on. I actually have a shirt with that.
Gil:No, it's all about reclaiming words, things that are offensive and yeah. Yeah.
Eric:Will you do that all the time?
Gil:Yeah. That's the best way. So it'll things will be less taboo and less people flipping out. What do I
Eric:always say about the taboo Gil?
Gil:Oh yeah. Only thing taboo is a taboo itself.
Eric:It's not talking about that. Talk about that, but yes. Yeah. The only thing happened was not speaking about the taboo. Yeah.
Gil:And you've been saying it forever. I've been, I've
Eric:said that forever.
Gil:That's why we've talked about everything and anything.
Eric:Yep. And you're like, I didn't know that. Yeah. I didn't know that
Gil:Let me to the world. I was an innocent young gay man and then here comes Eric.
Eric:He was never that innocent. You got
Gil:at least a few people bought it. They bought the story and I'm like, oh perfect.
Eric:I know like my, one of my absolute best friends bought it for years.
Gil:Oh, that was wonderful. That was a good selling point. I'm like play the innocent kind of oh little old me. I'm
Eric:like, he is way more freaky than I am. His freaking number is way higher than mine is. I don't know if that's true anymore, but at the time that
Gil:was at the time. Yeah. Yeah. I'm married now. I'm like, what,
Eric:what is that? You can be married and still have a high freak number. Yeah.
Gil:No, absolutely. This is how we keep it going we're gay. We're not straight,
Eric:it didn't die, In some cultures to die means to have an orgasm.
Gil:Oh it's always a guaranteed here. You can't fake it while you get, you could, but it just,
Eric:oh, that's good. I'm glad to hear that. That you guys always have a guaranteed orgasm. That's really good. Yeah.
Gil:Or your money back. Jesus. That's really a hundred percent. Yeah, absolutely.
Eric:Nice. Cause I was actually talking about that earlier today with some people about how I haven't had much good sex in my life. I've had some amazing sex, but a lot of it has just been lackluster. And you're just like, okay it's fine. Whatever. But then when you have that really amazing sex, you're like, oh my God, this is what it's supposed to feel like. Yeah. A couple of times.
Gil:Oh yeah. You'll make it happen. You're going to find your Patrick and there'll be a daily thing.
Eric:Yeah. My Patrick's called my right hand.
Gil:You, you will,
Eric:if any of our listeners are single and ready to mingle. Cool. So what about you Gil? Any daring projects or things that you've done?
Gil:Oh,
Eric:any
Gil:tops you're wearing? I know I already crop top. So I'm going to try to get one. For pride, I already took that weekend off. But San Francisco pride, if Kate's guys want to wear was canceled the main parade. So we don't have that going on. We have, there's been like a little side stuff happening here and there. We did B movie nights at Oracle park. It was one of the pride events. Bianca Del Rio was there. So she was hosting. Yeah. Oh my gosh. She was wonderful. She was hosting the movie. Everybody's talking about Jamie. So the movie hasn't premiered technically out yet. That was like it's premiere here in the states. But then it goes international, whatever it's going to be doing, but it's a great film. It's a great film. Definitely. Everyone goes see that once it comes out. Then everybody's talking about Jamie. Yeah, I liked it. I, it's a little bit of a musical IRA. I'm not a fan of musicals generally, but I really enjoyed it. The music was good. Yeah. And like LA land. Oh God. No,
Eric:neither did I actually, sorry. I was like, I didn't go in all the hype was
Gil:about, I don't get it. I really don't. But this one was good. I actually really enjoyed it. The music was catchy and I actually, it I'm sorry.
Eric:I actually do like musicals. Oh, you do? Okay. like Grease, west side story.
Gil:I enjoyed hairspray.
Eric:That's a good one too. In Chicago. I actually have not seen Chicago.
Gil:You'll like it you'll definitely like Chicago. I like Chicago. So yeah, that's what I, we did. We took the week off for prides and it's coming up here soon. Oh, nice. Yeah, we were going to rent a hotel. Micah is coming down. Oh, nice. From season 1, Seattle. Yeah. That's what we're going to go see him. And then I'll see you in October. See me October.
Eric:Yes. We might actually be able to record a show live together in the same room. Yes.
Gil:It's going to be fun.
Eric:That'll be weird. Get
Gil:ready first type way. We're like season two, already 30 plus episodes in at that point
Eric:we'll be in season three, season
Gil:three. Okay. Yeah. Over, over 30 episodes by then. Part-time in October. Yeah,
Eric:We're already over 30 episodes. Yeah. We're going to
Gil:be like our first time ever recording in the same spot. We'll be in different rooms. What we do in
Eric:different rooms. We'll have to watch that be one of those, one of those ones where we have a guest, we'll be like, oh, we're still doing it on zoom.
Gil:Oh, that'd be entertaining. No, we should do that. We'll have fun. So the sneak preview for season three, which your, do you have anything coming up?
Eric:I will probably be going out of town to go visit my friends in Denver coming up. That's my biggest plan. I'm enrolled in another acting class, so that's also fun and that's about it.
Gil:Nice and simple. We'll keep it easy for the summer months.
Eric:Yeah, I think too, my dog is going to be a little jet setter though. Yeah, my dog Leo is going to Pasadena at the end of July. Really? Yeah. He's going to be used in a grooming competition. Oh, awesome. Jealous. He lives a better life than I do. Actually. He's going to Denver and then he's going to Pasadena and then he's going back to Denver and then coming back home. So bougie for two weeks is going to be like going everywhere. I'm a little jealous.
Gil:It's going to come off. It's who are you? Pretty much. Oh, that's exciting. That's so fun though. Yeah,
Eric:he's a great dog.
Gil:Yeah, the summer. I really don't have anything too much planned. Probably more just relax, take it easy. I can't wait to ride the cable car. It's going to be free in August. I'm all like marking out all the free. Yeah. So the cable car is going to be starting again in August and they're going to be running it for free. And in September it goes back to the normal fare. And then September Bart goes back to normal, but Bart for us, we'll be running half fairs. So I'm like money saved. Oh, that'll be good. Yeah. It a little stuff like that. I'm just so stupid now. I'm like, oh my God, restaurants opening. Oh, public transportation, because it's been so barren out here, like other cities where they don't acknowledge science and it's been, full throttle, Texas, for instance, or Florida, we have been like, apocalyptical okay. It's always
Eric:New Mexico. It's the last state to actually reopen. And I remember going to the restaurant for the first time, I was like, Ooh, what am I doing?
Gil:I know we went to Napa yesterday. It was very weird because it was, yeah. Cause it was, people were walking in the streets without masks and it was like okay, we're doing this pretty. And I took off my mask. It was freeing, but it was very nerve wracking. Cause we got some I'm so conditioned now, but I'm probably, I feel like I want to still wear it during the. The cold months, like when flu season kicks in, because I wasn't sick this year.
Eric:That was nice. Actually, it was weird. Like when we were able to start taking masks off more, I actually did get sick. I got a cold. I was like, damn it. I was like, I didn't get sick at all last year. I know. I, my best health, I might actually wear a mask too. I, like I said, I'm actually still wearing them in like stores. And like you said, more densely populated areas. So yeah, for Albuquerque, I don't know that there's really a densely populated area, but
Gil:this day is still is ish. Ish. Yeah. So that's my summer. That's my we going to siesta that's what's going to be happening. Sounds like simple.
Eric:So it sounds like we have one more episode. We will be delivering that to you guys the following week. So I hope you guys will join us for that before we take our little break. And thank you guys so much for joining us and we will talk to you later.
Gil:thank you for listening to us. We hope you enjoyed your time in The Q Lounge. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions on topics, or if you would like to be a guest or contributor, please email us info.TheQlounge@gmail.Com or through our contact page at theqloungepodcast.com. Don't forget to subscribe to continue listening wherever you get your podcasts. If you want to be our sugar, daddy hit that donation button.
Eric:Until next time live in your authenticity.
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