Yesterday, Auto News published an article about the increasing visibility of lesbians and gay men in auto ads. (Transfolk? Not so much, though you can glimpse them here and there.) [...]

For decades, Americans have tended to lump the transgendered into two categories: transsexuals like Renée Richards and Christine Jorgensen, who’ve undergone sex reassignment surgery, and drag queens like RuPaul and Dame Edna, who wear the clothing of the “opposite” sex to entertain audiences and who may or may not be homosexual. (Drag kings are an entirely different ball of wax and, to be honest, have often been considered merely “eccentric” rather than transgender.) [...]

This week, Toyota announced plans to pack up its corporate headquarters in Torrance, California — its U.S. base of operations since 1956 — and move to Plano, Texas. The shift could prove a smart one for Toyota, but how will its LGBT employees fare in the Lone Star State? [...]

Paris is a city of contrasts. On the one hand, it’s the magnificent City of Light. On the other, locals eat mayonnaise on their fries. (Which they refuse to call “French fries”, even though you’d think it would be a source of national pride. Then again, they don’t call their frites “freedom fries” either, so maybe it’s a draw.) [...]

It’s St. Patrick’s Day — a day of shamrocks, green beer, and, depending on where you live, a heaping helping of homophobia. [...]

We’re following two LGBT-related news items today — one of them odd, the other, just awesome. Just for kicks, let’s start with the odd. [...]

Formula One racing CEO Bernie Ecclestone has told CNN that he’s totally in favor of Russia’s new laws prohibiting LGBT “propaganda” (whatever that means). [...]

When last we heard from Erin Davies, she and the Volkswagen New Beetle dubbed the “Fagbug” were doing just fine. As you might recall, that Beetle was just a plain ol’ Beetle until 2007 when — on the morning of GLSEN’s annual Day of Silence — Erin walked out to her car in Albany, New York and saw that it had been spray-painted with the words “fag” and “u r gay”. Some people might’ve been demoralized by that double-whammy of homophobia and poor spelling skills, but not Erin: she transformed her car into a rainbow-striped LGBT-friendly beacon, emblazoned with the word “FAGBUG” on both sides. [...]