Christian ‘purity’ leader Joshua Harris distances himself from his faith and apologizes to LGBTQ community

via Joshua Harris / Instagram

In 1997, at just 21 years old, Joshua Harris wrote the Christian book, "I Kissed Dating Goodbye," which instantly made him a leader in the "purity" movement.

At the time, he was a virgin who had been home-schooled his entire life.

His book claimed that dating was a "training ground for divorce" and discouraged teenage relationships in favor of "courting." It also encouraged parental involvement in relationships and forbade any kind of physical intimacy.

The book instilled suspicion about relationships in young people and caused many to marry the first person they "courted." It also promoted the idea that sex was wrong and impure.

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A homophobic ad was placed next to a pizza shop. They messed with the wrong place.

Wiseguise Pizza didn't really want to be embroiled in the middle of a heated social debate. But, when it happened anyway, the pizza shop more than rose to the occasion, with a great sense of humor to boot.

After a polarizing political message appeared on a billboard adjacent to the restaurant in Mowbray, Tasmania, in Australia, the pizza shop could no longer ignore the elephant in the room — or, more specifically, the bigotry on the nearby street sign.

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Taylor Swift's new video is an homage to LGBTQ rights. But critics are calling her a 'performative ally.'

Taylor Swift's new single, "You Need to Calm Down," is supposed to support the LGBTQ community, but some members of the community are calling out Swift for being a performative ally.

The video for the song, which has elements of camp, begins with a Pink Flamingos reference and ends with a plea to support the Equal Rights Act. GLAAD did see a spike in donations after Swift seemingly showed her support, but she's also been accused of missing the point regarding the struggles for acceptance that many gay people experience.

It turns out, there's a lot that's wrong with "You Need to Calm Down." Where do we begin?

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A straight man in Oklahoma wants you to know not all country boys are homophobic.

Cody Barlow on Facebook

There's an unfortunate — but not inaccurate — stereotype that people who live down south don't support LGBT+ rights. The story, of course, is much more complex. In Kentucky, for instance, where I got married because Kim Davis told me I couldn't, the reactions I got from residents ran from "Wow, we're so happy for you!" to "just don't talk about it here," to my brother telling me that maybe I should focus on "not speaking" in one small town which I would have happily moved to (if not for the homophobia) because there was a video rental/tanning salon combo on the main street.

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