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Things You Should Never Do In A RelationshipWhen your in a healthy relationship, there’s things you should never do. Whether if that’s disrespecting your partner or picking out their flaws. Little things can affect your relationship in the long run. One thing that I consider in relationships is communicating. Sharing thoughts, whether if they willing to listen or not. Being able to vent and release your feelings. If you can’t communicate with them, because neither one of you can speak without attacking the other one. What’s the point of being together? If you fear your partner.
Being in love should be a 50/50 set up, both partners should be able to connect. If it’s not connecting, somebody lacking in certain areas. It’s up to the other partner to lit them up. It’s a team. If that team is divided then how can the relationship work? Understanding The True Meaning Of Same Sex LoveMany of us do not understand the true meaning of love within the gay community. We’ve been hurt, disappointed, played and rejected. Time after time again, the same results different men. It’s gotten to the point many of us has turned cold inside. Less willing to look nor accept new love.
So we turn towards being wild and living on the edge. Searching for love through promiscuous encounters. Only to soon realize that it doesn’t fill the void in our hearts. We are left once again to wonder, what’s the true meaning of love. |
We’re Namibia’s first gay married couple: any questions for us?Ricardo Amunjera and Marc Themba are a happily married gay couple living in Namibia, where homosexuality is against the law. Relive the best bits of our live Q&A
Ricardo Amunjera, 31 and Marc Themba, 30, the first known gay couple to be married in Namibia. Photograph: International HIV/Aids Alliance Ricardo Amunjera and Marc Themba are credited with being Namibia’s first gay married couple. Though homosexuality is criminalised in Namibia, the pair tied the knot in South Africa and returned to Namibia to become prominent LGBT rights campaigners. |
Douglas Nivens II + Enrique HamiltonBaltimore, Maryland; May 18, 2014
Douglas Nivens II, a budget analyst at a federal agency and Enrique Hamilton, a law enforcement officer, married yesterday at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront in front of friends and family. Their wedding marked the 6th anniversary of them meeting. They met on Myspace and dated for more than four years before Enrique proposed at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial on Nov. 17, 2012. |
Can We Please Get Some Black Gay Male Couples on TV?
BY: XAVIER D’LEAU
My Thing Is: As a person who was practically raised by his television, I’m especially sensitive to the fact that I still see nothing resembling my version of love.
Carl Winslow and Synclaire James taught me tools to ease my temper by either counting to 3 or saying, “Woo-woo-woo.” Chandler, Ross, Rachel, Phoebe and the rest of the gang taught me what my friends should act like and look like. Claire and Cliff Huxtable taught me all about marriage and family and not to let all my kids live in my house past age 18. But when it came to coming to terms with being gay, there was nothing that connected or clicked for me.
As for the reality of what it meant to be black and gay, TV offered mixed signals. I knew that I could turn it on at any given moment and catch Cliff and Claire in a warm embrace, see Martin and Gina with her big head on his shoulder after a bigger misunderstanding, or laugh at awkward-looking J.J. Evans pursuing ladies and randomly shouting, “Dyno-mite!” There were plenty of images of straight black love, and plenty of images of white gay men—lots of them—being free, throwing glitter and just being happy. But on all the hundreds of channels, I couldn’t find any black gay male couple.
This was even more distressing as I came to realize that the square electronic parent I’d come to know and love was more than just a source of entertainment. The media shapes ideas, and its depictions can color our reality.
Why couldn’t my biggest influence show me anyone who was just as happy but who looked like me? Why can’t it, even today, when so much has changed?
My Thing Is: As a person who was practically raised by his television, I’m especially sensitive to the fact that I still see nothing resembling my version of love.
Carl Winslow and Synclaire James taught me tools to ease my temper by either counting to 3 or saying, “Woo-woo-woo.” Chandler, Ross, Rachel, Phoebe and the rest of the gang taught me what my friends should act like and look like. Claire and Cliff Huxtable taught me all about marriage and family and not to let all my kids live in my house past age 18. But when it came to coming to terms with being gay, there was nothing that connected or clicked for me.
As for the reality of what it meant to be black and gay, TV offered mixed signals. I knew that I could turn it on at any given moment and catch Cliff and Claire in a warm embrace, see Martin and Gina with her big head on his shoulder after a bigger misunderstanding, or laugh at awkward-looking J.J. Evans pursuing ladies and randomly shouting, “Dyno-mite!” There were plenty of images of straight black love, and plenty of images of white gay men—lots of them—being free, throwing glitter and just being happy. But on all the hundreds of channels, I couldn’t find any black gay male couple.
This was even more distressing as I came to realize that the square electronic parent I’d come to know and love was more than just a source of entertainment. The media shapes ideas, and its depictions can color our reality.
Why couldn’t my biggest influence show me anyone who was just as happy but who looked like me? Why can’t it, even today, when so much has changed?
Pride Week Celebrated With Dance Theater Couple
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As NY1 celebrates Pride Week, Arts and Culture reporter Stephanie Simon headed over to the Alvin Ailey Studios in Midtown, where an Ailey couple was busy rehearsing. As she explains in this report, this couple reminds us all that in dance and in life, it is important to choose your partner well. By Stephanie Simon Monday, June 22, 2015 A story of friendship, love and pride at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. It is not a new dance piece. It is the real life story of two dancers who met, fell in love and are building a life and artistic legacy together. "We argue, we disagree, but I think the best thing for us is that we know that we love each other, and that dance brought us together, and we’re going to stay together," said Antonio Douthit-Boyd, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Antonio Douthit-Boyd and Kirven Douthit-Boyd met as young dancers at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater more than a decade ago. Two years ago, they married with the full support of their Ailey family. "We kind of got to know each other as we were getting to know the company and touring the world," said Kirven. Now after dancing with Ailey for more than a decade each, the two are about to embark on a new journey as co-artistic directors of a dance school in St. Louis Missouri. Bringing their combined strengths and talents to Antonio's hometown. "We’re such different dancers that, you know, there’s really no competition, more like a learning process between the two of us," said Kirven. "I’m a lot more flexible than Kirven," said Antonio. "A lot more," questioned Kirven. "So I figure, he’s a turner and he can jump and he has so much fluidity," said Antonio. "I’m more of an energetic dancer." In honor of Pride Week, Stephanie Simon thought about one more job for this couple. She asked the two what their dance would look like if they were commissioned to choreograph a Pride Dance. "It would definitely be a celebration really, because I feel like that’s where we are in the world right now," said Kirven. "I think that with a lot of things that are being accepted that, you know, years and years ago we’re kind of unimaginable, I really think that it’s time for a celebration." "Just personally, I think you should be the one to do it. I just think it should be you," stated Simon. "If I had the platform, I absolutely would love to," said Kirven. "Why not?" If life is a dance, why not indeed. |
THE WEDDING OF THE CENTURY |
Justin B. Terry-Smith
Justin B. Terry-Smith has been involved in Gay and HIV Activism since 1999. He is 34 and a U.S. Air Force Disabled Vet. Raised in Silver Spring, MD and he now lives in Laurel, MD with his husband Phil and son. He has worked for Gay orgs such as the National Black Justice Coalition, Human Rights Campaign, Equality Maryland, Us Helping Us, People Into Living Incorporated etc. He earned an AA in Communication, a BA in Political Science and is currently working on a Masters in Public Health. Dec 15, 2010 "When I found out I was HIV positive I wasn’t thinking really about if I was going to ever get married. But just my luck, which was good, I did get married to the most beautiful man in my life, Dr Philip B Terry-Smith. This past summer Phil & I were approached by students at University of Maryland to take part in documentary. The documentary was about marriage and the different kinds of marriages and how they work. The documentary profiles four couples; one couple profiles a heterosexual man and bisexual man, and older couple, a couple which met through internet dating, and gay couple (us). The documentary shows that there are differences and similarities, but also shows that there shouldn’t be a “cookie cutter” of what marriage should be.” |
Timothy Ware & Eugene Barry-HillMay 8, 2014 New Jersey
Every Once in a while, you look up to find that all you need is right in front of you. For the Broadway Couple it happened 10 year old ago. Eugene Barry-Hill tells the story … “Almost 10 years ago, I met Timothy Ware. I could not have known this would be the person I would marry. We met on tour, working together. We had both recently gone thru traumatic breakups. We sought comfort and friendship in each other, and it only continued to deepen as time passed. As the tour ended, we could have easily ended, but there was something there, and it was called love… a seed was planted, that with a little encouragement and trust, would blossom into a lifelong friendship. Tim turned out to be one of the bravest, kindest, sweetest people I had ever met. Not a day has gone by since (2004) that he has not brought me the kind of joy and happiness I had almost come to think could not exist for me. He has me so much more, and one of those things is PEACE. It’s an unknowable thing, to be at peace, unless that is where you are. 5 days from now, we will be kin. I could never want anything more than to be able to say to the world, he is my family. The NEXT 10 years is what I long for. Like I always say to you sweetheart “you are the best man I know” - Eugene Barry-Hill |
Lewis Duckett And Billy Jones, Gay New York Couple, Wed After 46 Years Together
After 46 years of love and commitment, Lewis Duckett and Billy Jones publicly tied the knot in a beautiful wedding ceremony at New York's Riverside Church. The pair has reportedly been together since the days of the Vietnam War, with Jones having been deployed during his first year in the military. In the above video, the couple reminisces on how and they wrote letters back and forth to one another almost every day. Due to public perception surrounding lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals during that time, however, the two were forced to write in code and often posed as members of the opposite sex. "For most of our 46 years together, I don't know where I stop and he begins -- it's been that kind of blending," Jones told The New York Times. Check out the heartwarming story of Duckett and Jones' relationship in the video and get a front row look into their wedding -- it will certainly make your day brighter. |