Monday Meme: Madonna

madonna meme

We’re celebrating the Queen herself, who turns 58 tomorrow, with a Monday Meme dedicated to asking for what you want. An LGBT ally and AIDS activist long before it was the cool thing for pop stars to do, Madonna also provided the coming out soundtrack for an entire generation. Far from perfect and at times misguided, Madonna has nevertheless been a vocal ally and big time fundraiser for LGBT causes for several decades. Towleroad came up with 25 of her best LGBT ally moments last year if you need further proof.  Happy birthday, Madonna and if you’re looking to say what you want with an amazing card, check out our selection here! 

Olympian Isadora Cerullo Gets Engaged at Rio Rugby Field

olympics-enjoyment-1With a massive number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender athletes currently competing in the summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the inspiring stories have flooded the internet. Our current favorite? The unique and very Olympics-style engagement of rugby player Isadora Cerullo. As the winners of the first ever women’s sevens finals were announced, Cerullo became the first athlete to accept a marriage proposal at the Games. Per the Independent:

Marjorie Enya, a 28-year-old volunteer manager at the stadium, proposed to her girlfriend, rugby player Isadora Cerullo, in a rousing speech on the pitch met with a round of applause, following the medal ceremony of the inaugural rugby competition.

Ms Cerullo, 25, is a member of the Brazil squad who finished ninth in the tournament after failing to beat Japan.

“The Olympic Games can look like closure for me but it’s starting a new life with someone,” Ms Enya told the BBC.

“As soon as I knew she was in the squad I thought I have to make this special,” she said. “I know rugby people are amazing and they would embrace it.”

“She is the love of my life.

“I wanted to show people that love wins.”

Ms Cerullo, who has been in a relationship with her fiancé for two years, grew up in the US and holds dual Brazil-US citizenship.

She and Ms Enya moved to Sao Paulo in order for her to focus on making Brazil’s squad for the Rio Games.

The Rio Olympics will also see the first ever same-sex couple compete together. “British hockey players Kate Richardson-Walsh and Helen Richardson-Walsh will be competing in the Olympics for the fourth time this year after helping Great Britain win its first Olympic hockey medal in London in 2012,” according to the Independent.

Check out our medal-worthy selection of awesome greeting cards right here! 

Monday Meme: Andy

andy meme

Had he survived a routine operation in 1987, Andy Warhol would have turned 88 on August 6. The bold artist, the shrewd business person and the mythological creature that was Andy Warhol was unlike anything the world had ever seen. Warhol changed the way we think about art, commerce and celebrity. An openly gay man, Warhol had a 12 year relationship with interior designer Jed Johnson. Warhol famously captured gay icons like Liza Minnelli, Elizabeth Taylor and Judy Garland but now is undoubtedly a gay icon himself.

Navy Names Ship After Harvey Milk

MTMwMzE3NjA0ODMyMjAwNzE0Last week, the U.S. Navy confirmed that it will name a ship after LGBT activist and icon Harvey Milk. Milk served in the Navy during the Korean War as a diving officer and earned an honorable discharge in 1955. Per CBS News:

USNI News, a U.S. Naval Institute website, cited a congressional notification it obtained, signed by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, as saying the second in a new class of fleet oiler ships would be named the USNS Harvey Milk.

An oiler is a combat logistics ship that can replenish other ships with fuel, ammunition and other supplies while underway, CBS San Francisco reports.

The John Lewis-class of ships, named for longtime civil rights activist Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, will be named after other civil rights leaders.

Others in the class still to be built include former Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, whose court desegregated U.S. schools, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, women’s rights activist Lucy Stone and abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth.

Naturally, the decision by the Navy has already caused an uproar with conservative groups like the American Family Association who are asking followers to contact elected officials to express their outrage.  Milk was the first openly gay politician to be elected to office in California when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. He and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by former Supervisor Dan White inside San Francisco City Hall just 11 months later.

Monday Meme: Cool

coolmeme

Happy Monday! The order of the day? Staying inside and staying cool! We turn to gay young adult author Tim Federle for Monday Meme inspiration. Federle recently published The Great American Whatever, a coming of age tale that the New York Times calls “laugh out loud funny.” The novel, which tells the story of 17 year-old aspiring screenwriter Quinn who loses his sister and best friend, is one of many recent young adult books where the coming out of the gay protagonist is a non-issue. Hooray for progress!

Get the coolest cards for weddings, anniversaries and any old occasion right here.