46 Days & Counting: Celebrating LGBTQ Progress Under the Biden-Harris Administration Joe Biden ran to be a president for all Americans. A president who supports LGBTQ people. That was no malarkey. Saturday, March 6 will mark the 46th day of our 46th president’s administration. To celebrate what we've already achieved and imagine what we can accomplish together in the next four years, the Human Rights Campaign asked LGBTQ people across the world to reflect on what they’ve seen from the Biden-Harris Administration so far, and share their hopes for the future.
Trans Actress Nava Mau Part of Strong Ensemble in New LGBTQ-themed Series “Genera+ion” The new comedy-drama revolves around a group of school students exploring their sexualities. With the exception of Martha Plimpton and Sam Trammell, most of the cast is newer faces. Nava Mau, a multiracial trans Latina filmmaker, actress and cultural worker, plays Ana, whose relationship with her sister has dissolved since Ana came out as trans. Nonetheless, Ana is trying hard to be a positive queer figure to her sister’s daughter Greta (Haley Sanchez). “Genera+ion” debuts on HBO Max March 11.
LGBTQ Activist and Writer Colin Robinson Dies at 58 Robinson died in Washington DC, of colon cancer. He grew up in Diego Martin, Trinidad, where he graduated from St. Mary’s College with the 1979 open national scholarship in modern languages, and holds university degrees in anthropology and management from New York University and The New School. His writing is a search, as Audre Lorde framed it, for words he does “not yet have”, for desire, belonging, location and language itself.
Rudy Giuliani’s Daughter Caroline Speaks Out About Her Sexuality and Her Path to Polyamory "Finding my wildness as an adult was much more peaceful—it was not reacting or crying out but intentionally searching," she continued, saying that she had known for some time that she was bisexual but hadn't yet explored that side of sexuality. After dating a couple and having a threesome with them, Caroline said that her "heightened response to their energetic flow also started me on the path to identifying as pansexual, which feels more precise than bisexuality... I am attracted to people based on their presence and energy regardless of their biological sex, gender, or gender identity."
LGBTQ Sex Ed 'Leadership Project' Launched This type of information and training opportunities that specifically address the needs of LGBTQ+ youth are seriously lacking The National LGBTQ Task Force launched their Sex Ed Leadership Project March 3rd following the success of two mini-conferences that offered training & programming on LGBTQ+ inclusive sex ed policy work. The project aimed to strengthen local efforts by young LGBTQ activists to advocate for sex education policy changes. It consists of 10 virtual sessions designed to strengthen advocacy skills & focus on navigating democratic processes to enact sex education policy change.
Groundbreaking TV Series 'Pose,' Which Celebrated LGBTQ People, to End With Season 3 "I simply wanted to tell an honest story about family, resilience, and love," said Steven Canals, co-creator "Pose was conceived as a love letter to the underground NY ballroom community, to my beloved New York, to my queer & trans family, to myself. I, along with my incredible collaborators, never intended on changing the TV landscape. I simply wanted to tell an honest story about family, resilience, and love. How fortunate am I to have done that for three seasons. I’m filled with gratitude to our intrepid writers, cast, crew, and producers who worked tirelessly to make Pose come to life, humbled by our loyal audience, thankful to the ballroom community who trusted us to tell their story."
Artists Decorate COVID-19 Masks To Raise $13,500 for LGBTQ Charity Artists came together to decorate coronavirus masks to be auctioned off and ultimately raised more than $13,000 to be donated to Baltimore's LGBTQ Fund Artist Joan Cox created her own "steampunk, post-apocalyptic, Edgar Allen Poe-inspired mask-costume combo" for the event's virtual silent auction, which was spearheaded by Maryland Art Place. People from around Baltimore were encouraged to pick up a canvas base for their mask, and the rest was up to them! "All artists are welcome to create a mask. And even those who don’t think they’re an artist but love to craft and glue and do anything at all are welcome to create a mask," Cox said.
Roxanne Gay: Cancel Culture Does Not Exist But Consequence Culture Does Cancel culture is this boogeyman that people have come up with to explain away bad behavior and when their faves experience consequences. I like to think of it as consequence culture, where when you make a mistake—and we all do, by the way—there should be consequences. The problem is that we haven’t figured out what consequences should be. So it’s all or nothing. Either there are no consequences, or people lose their jobs, or other sort of sweeping grand gestures that don’t actually solve the problem at hand.
Green Lantern Just Came Out As Gay in DC Canon In DC's Infinite Frontier #0, Green Lantern Alan Scott reveals to his daughter Jade and his son Obsidian that after years of hiding it, he is gay Launching into a monologue about time and being honest with himself, Alan can't seem to bring himself to say it. "I'm gay" says Alan Scott. He is warmly embraced by his children, admitting that he felt he couldn't take his new position as the Sentinel without being completely honest with his friends and family.
LGBTQ-affirming Charter School Prepares To Open Its Doors in 2021 Magic City Acceptance Academy, an LGBTQ-affirming charter school in Homewood, Alabama, is preparing to open its doors to students for the first time in the fall Students of all backgrounds are welcome to attend, but the academy is intended to serve as a safe space for students who identify as LGBTQ. Having that in the school's mission statement is a first for Alabama, according to the school Principal Michael Wilson. "We want to create an environment that's very trauma-informed, so that we can help the students through issues they're having," Wilson said.
Imagine Dragons Frontman Dan Reynolds Calls on Brigham Young University to ‘Celebrate Your LGBTQ Students’ In February 2020, Brigham Young University announced changes to the Honor Code after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a new online handbook. Those changes included removing a section of the Honor Code called “Homosexual Behavior.” Questions immediately arose on what the change meant. In early March 2020, the Church and university sent a clarification letter, reading in part: “One change to the Honor Code language that has raised questions was the removal of a section on ‘Homosexual Behavior.’ The moral standards of the Church did not change with the recent release of the General Handbook or the updated Honor Code. “Same-sex romantic behavior cannot lead to eternal marriage and is therefore not compatible with the principles included in the Honor Code.” Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds and former student at BYU, took to Twitter to call on the university to take this as “an opportunity for you to celebrate your LGBTQ students.” He continues, saying, “you call it vandalism, I call it divine intervention.”
Seven Ways To Make A Medical Practice More LGBTQ-friendly Medical care requires vulnerability, a willingness to share intimate details of one’s life and expose one’s body for examination. A welcoming environment makes it easier for patients to interact with physicians so they ultimately get the care they need. This is especially true for the 10 million Americans who identify as LGBTQ, many of whom continue to face health disparities linked to societal stigma, discrimination, and denial of their civil and human rights. “Even with the Affordable Care Act, LGBTQ patients are more likely to be uninsured, live with the burden of chronic disease, have difficulties accessing healthcare, and be more at risk for certain types of health issues such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer,” says Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, the first openly gay person elected to the American Medical Association (AMA) Board of Trustees.
As Hollywood Continues To Cast Straight Actors In LGBTQ Roles, The LGBTQ Community Is Paying The Price Although there aren't any studies on the topic, some mental health experts told Insider that when a younger person who is struggling with their sexual identity or gender watches an LGBTQ portrayal from a straight actor, they may experience disillusionment and confusion. "Seeing straight and cisgender actors portray LGBTQ characters may reinforce the false idea that LGBTQ identity is a choice," Dr. Matthew Kridel, a postdoctoral fellow at Augusta University who specializes in LGBTQ psychology, said. "While straight and cisgender actors can leave behind the struggles of an LGBTQ character at the end of a project, LGBTQ viewers cannot." Kridel said this can lead to "feelings of isolation, shame, and stigmatization for LGBTQ viewers." Dr. Christy Kane, a mental health specialist based in Utah, said the practice can also lead to high levels of anxiety among young people. Kane said she has worked with some patients who felt confused because they identified as gay but didn't act like the gay characters they saw on TV. The problem here, she said, is that some of these actors lean into stereotypes, perpetuating them. Beyond Corden's acting in "Prom," Josh Gad in 2015's "Wedding Ringer" and Sacha Baron Cohen's character in 2009's "Bruno" are other examples of LGBTQ characters crafted out of stereotypes.
LGBTQ Scientists History Beyond Alan Turing When it comes to British LGBTQ scientists, the one name inevitably mentioned is that of mathematician and cryptographer Alan Turing. His story is undoubtedly significant in British history, but this history month I would like to celebrate current STEM personalities who are part of the LGBTQ community. STEM = Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Pandemic Delays Vote on United Methodist Church Split Over LGBTQ Issues Prior to the pandemic, the United Methodist Church was on the verge of splintering over a disagreement on LGBTQ inclusivity. The more conservative branch of the Church opposes same-sex marriage and ordaining LGBTQ clergy members, while a coalition of centrists and progressives wants to welcome LGBTQ people in. This week, the conservative branch of the Church publicly announced more plans for their new denomination, the Global Methodist Church, and expressed a desire for the split to be voted on this May at an online conference. But Church leaders say their plan is to hold the vote at the Church’s next in-person general conference, in August of 2022.
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