Step into your finest cowboy boots, get yourself a sturdy lasso and prepare for a wild ride. Atlanta Cotillion kicks off its 2012 season this Saturday with a root-n-tootin’ shindig inspired by the hit ABC show, “GCB.”

The “Good Cotillion Belles” party at Urban Body Studios serves as an unveiling of this year’s class of Cotillion debutantes, the men who will spend the summer hosting parties and fundraisers for Atlanta Cotillion. The Cotillion debs compete to see who can raise the most money for AID Atlanta, with the winner being crowned Queen of the Cotillion at a ritzy ball this fall.

To help solidify the hoedown theme of the kick-off party, Levi Crocker, the rodeo cowboy from “The A-List: Dallas” will be on-hand to show us city folk how to have some country fun. DJ Todd Skelton will be spinning tunes, while the Fifth Ivory will be providing the grub.

The suggested attire for the party is “GCB Chic,” meaning jeans, cowboy hats, spurs and – of course – chaps!

One of the most iconic children’s book writers of the last half century, Maurice Sendak, died early this morning after suffering a stroke.

Sendak, 83, became a childhood fixture with books like “Where the Wild Things Are,” and acknowledged that he was gay in 2008, following the death of his partner of 50 years, Eugene Glynn.

Said gay playwright Tony Kushner, who was a close friend of Sendak’s:

Atlanta’s Stonewall Month schedule just got a whole lot sexier. Ben Cohen, the uber sexy rugby player who has become an activist against anti-gay bullying, was announced as a special guest for the June 11 screening of “Legalize Gay.”

Sponsored by the Out on Film festival and the Atlanta Pride Committee, the film will be screened at the Midtown Art Cinema as part of Atlanta’s efforts to commemorate the Stonewall Riots.

Ever since Atlanta moved its Pride festival from June to October in 2009, the city has earnestly tried to mark the historic gay uprising with events known as Stonewall Week. This year, it’s evolved into Stonewall Month, with events stretching from June 5 to July 1.

Cohen’s addition to the Stonewall Month line-up adds some spice to a schedule that consists mainly of discussion panels, health expos and film screenings.

Paint your faces and get your acts together because it’s time for the Armorettes’ annual Miss Barfly Pageant.

The longtime themed competition allows local (and sometimes not so local) drag queens to show off their campy talents while helping raise money for Atlanta HIV/AIDS organizations. This year’s theme is “Miss Pest Control,” so gather up your metaphorical bug spray and fly swatters. Contestants are asked to identify a “pest” as inspiration for their individual acts.

“It doesn’t have to be the typical bug,” said Armorettes spokesqueen Ally Yankadic. “A pest can be an ex-boyfriend.”

Each queen’s performance, Ally said, should embody how that queen would eliminate her pest.

“Any time you have a theme it forces the performer to think outside the box and try to come up with something new or different,” Ally said.

And the judges will certainly be looking for a unique queen to win the title of Miss Barfly 2012. Along with the title, the winner will receive a guest spot with the Armorettes for two performances.

“It’s fun and funny and offers the opportunity to give back to the community at the same time,” Ally said.

Applications are due May 11, and the pageant will be held May 20 at 8 p.m. at Burkhart’s Pub.
To request an application, send an email to [email protected]

The sports world has moved slower than some religions when it comes to adjusting its attitudes toward gay people, making it one of the last segments of society where LGBT folks – players, fans, coaches – are expected to remain invisible.

However, T.J. Greggs, who is openly gay, has been the head coach of the Kennesaw State University tennis team for seven seasons, and has worked to instill tolerance into the school’s athletic program and student athletes. KSU was recently citedas one of the 10 most gay-friendly college athletic programs in the nation by Compete Magazine, which singled out Greggs for special recognition.

“Greggs is one of the few openly gay tennis coaches in college sports,” Compete noted. “Out coaches and players have a vital role, along with LGBT-inclusive policies, in creating an affirming environment in college athletics.”

While grateful for the honor, Greggs views himself more as a fortunate employee rather than a trailblazer.

“I think it’s just a matter of the environment that’s been created in our department,” Greggs told Fenuxe this afternoon. “We really have put in the effort to be the most welcoming, inclusive department we can be. The reason I’m able to be an out person in our department is because of the fact that I’m allowed to do so.

“It was just a really surprising, but I thought very well deserved, recognition,” Greggs said of being included in Compete’s rankings.

KSU holds annual diversity training for student athletes and coaches, explaining to them how both behavior and language can create a homophobic environment for LGBT student athletes. Last fall, Greggs chronicled his overcoming homophobia in sports in a video for the “It Gets Better” Campaign.

The walls are crumbling at the White House, and soon President Barack Obama will have to decide whether he wants to be buried beneath a rubble of change.

Obama’s infamously “evolving” position on same-sex marriage is not keeping pace with the leaders of his party, and now with some of the highest-ranking people in Obama’s administration.

On MSNBC this morning, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was asked by journalist Mark Halperin whether he supported same-sex marriage.

“Uh, yes, I do,” said Duncan, without flinching.

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Halperin, a writer for Time Magazine who co-authored the book “Game Change,” said that he would be asking the same question to every Obama cabinet member that he interviewed.

An already prickly situation for Obama could become unmanageable if he becomes isolated from those closest two him. Duncan’s departure from the Obama administration’s reluctance to endorse same-sex marriage comes less than 24 hours after Vice President Joe Biden told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he is “absolutely comfortable” with legalizing same-sex marriage.

“I am vice president of the United States of America,” Biden said, establishing a distinction between himself and Obama. “The president sets the policy. I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties.”

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Later Sunday, White House officials tried to spin Biden’s words as though there was no difference between Biden’s comments and Obama’s position. Clearly, there is a difference between what Biden said and anything that Obama has done to support same-sex couples.

What would you do if you were entering an establishment and you heard the doorman and a manager denying admission to a transgender woman because they were afraid she would use the wrong restroom?

No, this isn’t a scenario from the God-awful ABC show “What Would You Do?” – rather it was what a couple of Atlantans experienced when they tried to visit the Pink Pony strip club last weekend.

In a posting on Facebook, Atlantan Hudson Marr details how a transgender friend was denied entry into the Pink Pony because the security guard noticed the transgender woman’s ID indicated she was born male.

“He says it’s a ‘restroom issue,’” Marr wrote on Facebook.

The security guard allegedly said he would have to check with his manager before allowing the transgender woman inside the strip club.

In a video posted on Facebook, a Pink Pony manager is seen waving the transgender woman away from the door while repeatedly saying, “Have a good night.”

The transgender woman, who was unable to be reached by Fenuxe, is near tears as she argues with the doorman and threatens to try to get the club closed down.

“That’s called discrimination,” the woman says in the video.

Atlanta has a human relations ordinance which prohibits discrimination against transgender individuals in a variety of circumstances, including public accomodations.