Rainbow Crosswalk Vandalized (Again) In Canadian Community (Vernon, British Columbia) The rainbow crosswalk at Kal Beach in Coldstream has been vandalized yet again. White paint was poured on the crosswalk and witnesses say the paint was still wet Saturday morning, indicating the crime occurred sometime over night. The brightly colored crosswalk was installed in 2017 as a sign of inclusion for the LGBTQIA2S+ community. This is not the first time vandals have targeted the crosswalk. In July 2019, white paint was poured over the crosswalk. Police investigated the matter, but no charges were ever filed. In September 2017, the rainbow crosswalk in downtown Vernon was also vandalized, with the word 'Queer' spray painted on it.
State Department Mum On Whether Central America LGBTQ Groups Will Receive US Aid State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Friday did not say whether any of the $4 billion in aid the Biden administration hopes to use to mitigate the causes of migration from Central America’s Northern Triangle will go to LGBTQ rights groups or HIV/AIDS service organizations. El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are the three countries that comprise the Northern Triangle. Activists in the region with whom the Blade has spoken say violence, discrimination and poverty are among the factors that prompt LGBTQ people to flee and seek asylum in the U.S. and other countries.
LGBTQ Representation in the 2021 Awards Season Historically, many of Hollywood’s major award shows have been dominated by older, white, heterosexual, cisgender men. The same types of film and music were celebrated, and the same types of creators were honored time and time again. Real life was only reflected in the idealized popular culture pieces for a very specific demographic. While Hollywood still has a long way to go in terms of nearly every facet of proper representation, the slow but steady increase in nominations for LGBTQ+ community members as well as people of color and women is indicative that change is on the way. While finding themselves reflected in the media used to be extremely difficult and limited to indie arthouses and underground festivals, marginalized peoples are slowly becoming able to see a piece of themselves in more mainstream media.
Number of Nations With Anti-Gay Laws Drops To 71 The world is continuing its slow march toward full recognition of the importance of the human rights of LGBTQ people. With last month’s repeal of the anti-sodomy law in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, the number of countries with anti-LGBTQ laws dropped to 71, down from 92 early in this century.
10 Amazing Classics and Fairytale Queer Retellings You Need To Read Retellings are amazing because authors take well-known stories and make them their own. Lindsay King-Miller said it best: “Revisiting a story gives us an opportunity to explore universal experiences from the perspective of those who weren’t represented in the original”. And boy do we know that some of these original stories lack representation. But that’s okay, because nowadays there are dozens of authors that revisit and rewrite those stories to show how diverse humans are. That’s how some of these queer retellings were born. They give us a fresh, real look at the classics and fairy tales that they are revisiting; using LGBTQ+ characters to reclaim those stories and reasserting that diverse people exist, and that they deserve to see themselves in the books we read.
In Modern Times of Protest, Out Writer James Baldwin’s Meditations On America And Race Still Resonate It was Baldwin’s willingness to accept the risks that come with unapologetic honesty — in his own words, “to bear witness” — that made him one of the foremost advocates for racial and personal freedom. This wisp of man — big-eyed, gap-toothed and all of 5-foot-6 — called out America’s hypocrisy and depravity again and again, shaming its need to cling to its creation myth of freedom and democracy while ignoring the racism and genocide at its root.
Miami-Dade Government Employee Who Wrote Tirade Against Trans People Suspended For 3 Days The media aide at the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners who wrote a slur-laden column against transgender people was suspended for three days without pay this week as a result of the tirade. John Labriola, 49, has worked in county government since 2006. According to a disciplinary report, Labriola acted with “conduct unbecoming an employee of the county on or off duty” and violated provisions of his department’s rules when he wrote an opinion against the “Equality Act,” which the House of Representatives passed last month and would amend civil rights laws to include protections from discrimination for LGBTQ individuals, specifically related to sexual orientation and gender identity.
LGBTQ Drama "Moffie" Nominated for BAFTA - Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director or Producer South African drama Moffie is due to release in select U.S. theaters and on digital and VOD platforms via IFC Films on April 9. “Moffie” is a potent and derogatory Afrikaans term for homosexual.
Written and directed by Oliver Hermanus, the movie explores the life of a closeted young boy serving his mandatory military service during Apartheid in 1980s South Africa. An adaptation of André-Carl van der Merwe’s iconic memoir, the film exposes the psychological violence of institutionalized homophobia.
WATCH: "Moffie" Trailer
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