Quickies: Same-Sex Couples in Ads, “Leelah’s Law,” “Female Husbands”

• Australian Jewelry Co Ad Features Same-Sex Couples During Super Bowl – (Warning: autoplay.) The ad, which features multiple same-sex as well as mixed gender couples ends with the line, “We don’t care what kind of love you’re into. We just want to make sure you get your fair share.”
• Hallmark Ad Featured Lesbian Couple – Hallmark’s ‘Put Your Heart To Paper’ Valentine campaign features several real life couples, including Eugenia and Corinna. You can watch the ad at the link.
• “Leelah’s Law” Petition Hits Threshold for White House Response – The White House petition advocating for a ban on “conversion therapy” has gathered over 100,000, the amount required to guarantee a response from the Obama administration. So far, only California, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C have banned the practice which is considered harmful and ineffective by all major health organizations.
• “Straight Couple Arrested for Gay Sex in Tanzania” – A trans man and his female partner were arrested and are awaiting charges after neighbors told police they suspected the couple engaging in same-sex intimacy, which is against the law in Tanzania.
• UK Department Store Goes Gender Neutral – Selfridges is phasing out men’s and women’s sections in favor of three floors of unisex apparel. “‘We want to take our customers on a journey where they can shop and dress without limitations or stereotypes,’ the store said in a statement.” This could be very good, or an empty attempt at what is considered trendy, depending on the ranges of sizes and cuts they carry.
• “Here’s Everything You Need to Know About What’s Going on With Bruce Jenner in One Sentence” – Which could be shortened even further to, “It’s none of your business”, though kudos to Michelson for packing so much context and education into one sentence.
• The “Female Husbands” of the 18th and 19th Century – NPR has literary history professor Sarah Nicolazzo outline several stories that share a common theme for 18th and 19th century American and Great Britain, that of the “female husband.” These women (and trans men and nonbinary folk) would often live out their adult lives as men, including getting married to women, which sometimes lead to their outing.

Featured image: James (Abigail) Allen via NPR