Lesbian // Current TV

Gili Shem Tov (left) and her dancing partner Dorit Milman
Israel has become the first country in the world to feature a same-sex dancing couple to perform on the now global television dance phenomenon. Gili Shem Tov, an openly-gay sports presenter on one of Israel's main TV channels, made a female dance partner a condition of competing in the show."I live with a woman, we are raising my son together and it felt natural to dance with a woman," she said.The TV presenter has teamed up with heterosexual professional dancer Dorit Milman, and the pair says they will take it in turn to adopt the male role in their dancing but will be wearing identical costumes while they perform.Milman who wholeheartedly supports Shem Tov’s decision, hopes that their performance will change peoples’ minds about gay relationships:"Us going on the stage in prime time showing the world that everybody can love everybody, every thing is okay, it's legitimate. Everybody wants to dance… enjoy yourself, enjoy your life,” she said. The dancer did confess that the pair has had to "change the rules" to make their dance routine work."In a 'normal' couple, the man must show his masculinity and the female is very sensual." The two women would focus on their "mutualism", she said, while "still showing the emotions of love and hate, seduction and rejection in the language of movement".But mastering their steps is not the only challenge the couple face, Shem Tov said that although most people have welcomed the idea some are heavily criticising it: "I heard people say they won't let their children watch the show because it's a same-sex couple and they don't like it."It makes me feel I want to do it more. And if only a few people will become more tolerant and open-minded, my work is done here," she said.Milman, her partner in dance agrees and hopes that other countries, including Britain, should learn from their example. “If Israel can do this, then in the next series of Strictly, so should Britain,” she said. The Israeli producers consulted the BBC, owners of the show’s format, on whether there had been a same-sex couple competing in any of the 36 countries where versions of the show have been broadcast."They said we would be the first," said the executive producer, Assaf Gil.There were no ideological objections to a same-sex couple, he said. "We came to the conclusion it would be fascinating and interesting."Israel has a thriving gay scene, based mostly in the liberal, secular and cosmopolitan city of Tel Aviv, whereas Jerusalem and other cities where religious Jews are prevalent are less tolerant of displays of homosexuality. Gili Shem Tov (left) and her dancing partner Dorit Milman Israel has become the... more

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Leslie Klemansky Found Guilty By Jury

Leslie Klemansky, 25-year-old Leslie Klemansky woman from Waco, Texas, has been found... more

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New Hampshire Newspaper Won't Print Gay Marriage Announcements

Greg Gould and Aurelio Tine say they just wanted to share their wedding plans.

So they went one of the largest papers in New Hampshire, where gay marriage is legal and generally accepted, to work up a wedding announcement.

But the New Hampshire Union Leader, the Manchester paper known for its conservative viewpoints, refused to print it, a decision that has sparked anger from the couple and lit up the Twittersphere and the Web.

"I was really disappointed because the Union Leader is a big voice in the state of New Hampshire, and they seem to be so out of touch," Gould told CNN affiliate WMUR-TV in Manchester.

The newspaper, however, issued a statement saying that printing the announcement would be "hypocritical" given its previous practices.

“This newspaper has never published wedding or engagement announcements from homosexual couples," Publisher Joe McQuaid said. "It would be hypocritical of us to do so, given our belief that marriage is and needs to remain a social and civil structure between men and women and our opposition to the recent state law legalizing gay marriage.”

In its full statement, printed online, the paper said firmly that it is not "anti-gay" and because of press freedoms can choose to print - or not print - whatever it wants.

Still, that move hasn't stopped the matter from becoming a controversy, with Democratic Senate candidate Paul Hodes, making it an election issue as well.

Hodes wrote a letter to the paper that read in part: "Mr. Gould and Mr. Tine will become legally married this weekend and they should have the same opportunities as everyone in New Hampshire to have their marriage publicized and recognized. The Union Leader's disgraceful policy of exclusion harkens to a different time in this country when people were denied opportunity because of their race, religion and ethnic origin."

What do you think? Should the paper give gay couples the same chance to announce their weddings? Or does freedom of the press override that, and allow the newspaper to make the decision it did? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Link for Video Interview: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/10/25/newspaper-wont-print-gay-marriage-announcements/?hpt=T2Greg Gould and Aurelio Tine say they just wanted to share their wedding plans. So... more