LGBT

Electronic Arts comes out against Defense of Marriage Act

Electronic Arts has joined a coalition of American businesses opposing the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

The game publisher said in a statement Wednesday that it was joining dozens of business in signing an amicus brief that urges the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to find the 1996 law unconstitutional. In part, the statement reads:

DOMA presents a number of problems for businesses like EA, as it creates regulatory, tax, and discrimination complications for employers, and that's why we're standing against it. … Read more

Google to governments: Legalize gay love

Please note the correction at the end of this post.

When even corporations can see that a piece of social legislation makes sense, you'd think that the politicians who ultimately work for those corporations would listen. Especially in America.

And yet the path of gay marriage has not been smooth.

Yesterday, though, Google -- which has repeated expressed support for gay marriage, for example in this year's Valentine's video (embedded) -- decided to confront politicians publicly by launching a global campaign called "Legalize Love."

As Dot429 reports, Google announced its intention yesterday at a Global … Read more

The 404 1,058: Where CNET fans for the win (podcast)

Congratulations to all of our colleagues at CNET TV for winning a Webby Award in People's Voice Award in the Technology category at last night's ceremony.

Plenty of celebrities including Bono, George Lucas, Al Gore, Buzz Aldrin, and more were on hand to pay tribute to Steve Jobs and celebrate the best of the Web. None of CNET's programming would be useful without viewers to watch it, so thanks to you for tuning in!… Read more

EA stirs controversy by adding gay characters to Star Wars game

Game maker Electronic Arts is adding more diversity to its new multiplayer online role-playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic -- characters in same-sex relationships and plot lines.

Because of this, the company is coming under fire from some unlikely contingents for the gaming world -- anti-gay conservative groups such as the Florida Family Association and the Family Research Council.

"There were no LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender] characters in any of the Star Wars movies," the Florida Family Association declared on its Web site. "So if BioWare, the maker of Star Wars video games, adds LGBT … Read more

Anti-gay Twitter hashtag hijacked by wit

Twitter encourages self-expression and prides itself on not censoring that self-expression.

There are many sorts of selves in the world. So who would be surprised that there appeared a Twitter feed called @LGBTfacts, whose intention is to offer, well, facts about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community?

Because Twitter feeds are also subjective, you might wonder about the definition of the "facts" part of this feed.

For example: "Pedophile priests in the Church are closet liberal homosexuals acting out fantasy & trying to tarnish Church's rep #LGBTfacts #lgbt #ssm."

Here's another: "In … Read more

The 404 848: Where Jeff's still walking down 5th Avenue (podcast)

In the words of Governor Andrew Cuomo, we're all proud to be New Yorkers, but we reached a new level of social justice this weekend with the vote to legalize same-sex marriage. Indeed, Jeff may still be celebrating on 5th Avenue today following yesterday's gay pride parade.

We invite our old friend and colleague Joseph Kaminski, aka Ozone, to fill in as we chat about LGBT rights, Pixar's "Cars 2," a Black Eyed Peas video game from Ubisoft, and a lightbulb that can also transmit wireless audio to any room in your house.

The 404 Digest for Episode 848

Comparing news headlines: New York Post vs. New York Daily News. Google shuts down Health and PowerMeter. Your TV set-top box might cost you more on your energy bills than your refrigerator. Put your DVR on an energy diet. Black Eyed Peas finally get their own video game. New lightbulb carries wireless audio.

Episode 848 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Apple criticized for approving 'gay cure' app

Apple is facing criticism from a gay rights group after the company approved an iPhone app from a religious ministry that encourages people to "cure" themselves of homosexuality.

Advocating "freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus," Exodus International launched its app last month to spread the word about its cause. The app connects users to the ministry's Web site and offers links to its latest news and blog posts.

But Exodus' message and its app have triggered complaints from Truth Wins Out, a nonprofit group whose stated goal is to fight anti-gay religious extremism. … Read more

LGBT researcher calls for action to combat cyberbullying (podcast)

As fellow CNET blogger Elizabeth Armstrong Moore reported, a recent survey by researchers at Iowa State University found that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth are more likely to experience cyberbullying than their heterosexual counterparts.

The survey found that 54 percent of LGBT youth reported having been cyberbullied within the past 30 days.

Study coauthor Warren Blumenfeld, an associate professor at Iowa State, pointed out during an interview that much of the bullying is taking place in chat rooms but also on social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. Many of the young people interviewed want to see these sites … Read more

Cyberbullying hits LGBT youth especially hard

We all have coming-of-age bullying stories.

Mine started in junior high, when I was called a "sailor's dream" by the same boys who ogled me after that glorious summer before 9th grade, when you-know-what finally sprung forth. Then a new kind of torment began, and when I rejected the hot football quarterback, the lesbian rumors flew.

That was the mid-'90s, when hardly anyone even had e-mail. So what's it like in the age of Facebook, sexting, and the ability to taunt and be taunted 24-7? And moreover, what's it like for the kids who … Read more

The 404 320: Where we're cleaning up this pigsty

Jason Howell, from Bore Out Loud, keeps us classy in this very special episode of The 404. We make our big videocasting announcement. That's right! The 404, podcast of the future, is going to become a video podcast, so you'll be able to watch as Wilson looks deeply/creeply into the camera every morning. Plus, we get into some studio shenanigans as we prepare to revamp this place. And CNET TV is nominated for a Webby!

On today's show, find out why you should never eat Domino's pizza, especially if you live in New York City. It's all about the Ray'z Pizza, man. Also, Amazon says it had a homophobic "glitch" that caused several LGBT books to be removed from its listings. We think Nazis did it.

On the second half of the show, it's Tuna Tuesday! (Please listen to the show to find out what that means.) Nintendo releases an add-on to the Wiimote that makes it even longer and more precise. TWSS. Also, a 79-year-old Japanese man has the greatest job in the world.

By the by, is Miramax sending the right message to a girl who couldn't find a copy of "Adventureland" on bittorrent by giving her free tickets to see the movie? Or is it all a ploy to get her arrested? Finally, be sure to check out your RSS and iTunes feeds for our little "404 presents."

Keep sending in your best survival stories and character voices to the show at 1-866-404-CNET (2638). Be sure to RSVP for The 404 and Buzz Out Loud Meetup here in New York City. Alison Rosen, Jason Howell, Natali Del Conte, Kenley Bradstreet, and so many more are going to be making their appearance. Maybe you can buy them a drink? (Be warned: Jason is ours though.)

EPISODE 320 Download today's podcast | Subscribe in iTunes | Subscribe in RSS… Read more