Earlier this summer President Biden announced that he’d be appointing a Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons. And while the title may be long, the role is actually quite straightforward and incredibly important in today’s world. According to the White House, the role is “critical to ensuring that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons around the world.” The Special Envoy will be a member of the Department of State. In the formal declaration, it was revealed that Biden had chosen Jessica Stern to fill the role. Stern has long been…
Author: Keith Langston
When Brody Neville came out to his friends, many of them stopped talking to him. The young Calgary resident was left with only two friends, one of whom had a homophobic father who forbids her to see Brody often. With an upcoming birthday, his mother feared that his birthday party would be ruined. According to the CBC, she stated, “I was asking him what he wanted to do for his birthday and he was in tears and said since he came out as gay he lost all his friends, so he didn’t even have people who could come.” She put…
Lance Bass, famous for his time in the hit sensation *NSYNC, has really come into his own in recent years. He publicly came out 15 years ago and has since dabbled in many projects spanning film, music, and television. Most recently, Bass guest-hosted the new summer guilty please, Bachelor in Paradise, and he told Variety that he loved it. In an interview with the publication, he stated, “If you want the most dramatic season ever, do an LGBT version. I think maybe it’s the time for ‘The Bachelor’ to do a gay Bachelor. I think that would be so much fun…And I…
Tobi, a 16-year-old transgender student at Siegel High in Murfreesboro, was harassed and threatened while using the boy’s bathroom at their high school. According to the Daily News Journal, while Tobi was using one of the stalls, a group of boys entered the bathroom yelling slurs and began banging on the stall door. At one point, Tobi had to press against the door with all their weight in order to keep it from opening. When help finally arrived, Tobi was in the stall crying and shaking with fear. Tobi was given permission to use single-person bathrooms in the school, however, on…
The House and Senate are currently fighting over some very big issues, including an infrastructure bill and reforming the filibuster. However, Arizonan Democratic senator, Kyrsten Sinema seems to be siding with Republicans on both measures, hurting protections for LGBTQ people. Infrastructure Bill Sinema is avidly opposed to supporting Democrat’s 3.5 trillion spending bill, claiming that she can’t justify anything so expensive. However, the bill would greatly benefit the lives of all Americans. According to CNN, the bill includes tons of much-needed measures for the country, including funds for America to become more sustainable, universal pre-K, and support for America’s…
This week, it was announced that San Francisco will honor transgender people during the month of August. The city’s mayor, London Breed, stated that San Francisco will create the nation’s first Transgender History Month, which will be celebrated every August. Though it’s nearing the end of the month, the city still has some events planned, including the ‘Riot Party’ block party that will be taking place in San Fransisco’s famously queer Tenderloin District. This is also the neighborhood where much of the trans rights movement began, after a group of trans women decided to fight back against police brutality. According…
In a new lawsuit, Jamii Erway describes the horrific situation she faced at the Raleigh Durham airport back in 2019 when she was the victim of a ‘false positive’ result at the TSA security checkpoint. At the time, Erway, who is transgender, was just 15 years old. Due to the flagging, TSA told her that in order to enter the terminal, she’d have to undergo a strip search and genital search. According to The News and Observer, “A 2019 ProPublica report examined the TSA’s civil rights complaints over a three-year period and found that 5%, or 298 complaints, involved transgender…
The 2020 (2021) Tokyo Olympics set records for having the most openly LGBTQ athletes in Olympic history. Now, the Paralympics are also breaking records. The Paralympics, which are also taking place in Tokyo, will began on August 24th and current reports state that there are 28 openly LGBTQ athletes from eight countries competing in this year’s games. Among them are Robyn Lambird, a wheelchair racer from Australia, and Sir David Lee Parson, an 11-time gold medal para-equestrian from the United Kingdom. The International Paralympic Committee states that a total of 22 sports will take place this summer, including swimming, cycling,…
The news has been dominated by America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and the takeover by the Taliban. One thing that has not been in the news is how LGBTQ Afghans fear for their lives. To be clear, they always were at risk. Even during US occupation, Afghanistan was never the bastion of civil rights. However, the Taliban has made new threats against the LGBTQ community, allegedly telling a Germain tabloid that once in power, gay men will be murdered by being crushed to death. Now, the world is at the dawn of a humanitarian crisis as refugees are escaping to nations…
Earlier this week an appellate court in Illinois upheld a decision from a lower court that Hobby Lobby broke anti-discrimination laws by not allowing a trans employee to use the women’s restroom. The case centers around Hobby Lobby employee, Meggan Sommerville, who has worked at the company for 20 years. Back in 2010, Sommerville transitioned. After identifying as a woman, Hobby Lobby refused to allow her to use the women’s restroom. The lawsuit states that this led to numerous problems for Sommerville, including having to limit how much she drank at work for fear of having to enter the men’s…
The school board of Loudoun County in Virginia passed new rules in a 7-2 vote that will protect LGBTQ students, largely those who are trans and nonbinary. The measure has been hotly debated by the community, with many claiming it infringes on their religious rights (because apparently, Jesus wants people to disenfranchise trans students?) However, the ruling is a very important milestone in the fight for equality because it didn’t take place in a major city. Loudoun county is made up of a collection of small towns over an hour outside of Washington DC. So this wasn’t like Los Angeles…
James Hormel served an important role in political history as America’s first openly gay diplomat. During his tenure, he served as the US Ambassador to Luxembourg, and before that, he was part of the US delegation to the United Nations. His rise to the position was tumultuous, as Senate Republicans refused to accept him as Bill Clinton’s nomination as Ambassador on the grounds of Hormel being gay and being pro-gay rights. His confirmation process began in 1997, and it wasn’t until Bill Clinton decided to use his executive powers to sidestep Congress in 1999 that Hormel was able to begin…
Online dating has come a long way since Match.com first launched back in the 90s. Since then, competitors like eHarmony launched in 2000, and Tinder popularized free online dating back in 2012. However, it’s new brands like Hinge and a resurgence of popularity in OkCupid that are really stepping up for equality and diversity. Both companies have new campaigns aimed at supporting the LGBTQ community. HINGE Hinge is one of the newest dating apps out there. While the site was technically created in 2012, it struggled and almost went bankrupt for years. It wasn’t until 2017 that users gravitated…
Opera singer Lucas Bouk used to be a mezzo-soprano before transitioning. He was worried about making the transition because there was a chance the hormones could impact his voice and singing career in the world of opera. However, Lucas decided to follow his truth and now lives openly as a trans man. He’s also continued singing, sharing his talents with the world. However, on August 14th, Bouk will perform for the first time as a baritone instead of a mezzo-soprano. On August 14 and 15, Bouk will take part in the On Site Opera, an opera pop-up taking place in…
The other day, Matt Damon said something strange in an interview. He opened up about the fact that until few months ago he was still using the word “faggot”. In the interview, Damon revealed that his daughter schooled him on how awful that word is and how he should never use it again. However, what Matt Damon clearly didn’t realize is how horrific it is to still be using the word “faggot” in 2021. Damon has since become a target on Twitter due to what many feel is blatant homophobia. On one hand, this could potentially be a lesson to…
Canada’s women’s soccer team will be heading for the final match against Sweden on Friday, August 6th. Not only was this a monumental win because Canada beat the US team (which was favored to win) but also because one of the teammates on Canada’s team is trans. Quinn, who plays midfielder for the Canadian team, came out last year and began using they/them pronouns. Because Canada is moving on to the final game, it means the team is assured at least a Silver medal, and if they win, they’ll be awarded the coveted Gold medal. This means that regardless of…
On Friday, July 30th, New Zealand’s ruling party introduced a bill that would make conversion therapy (the process of trying to change one’s sexual orientation because it’s believed to be “wrong”) illegal. The nation is going a step further and is even aiming to make the practice punishable by up to five years in prison. According to The Washington Post, Kris Faafoi, New Zealand’s justice minister, stated, “Conversion practices have no place in modern New Zealand. They are based on the false belief that any person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression is broken and in need of fixing.”…
Anita Bryant, one of the most despicable anti-gay bigots in history, was shocked and dismayed recently to discover her own granddaughter is a lesbian. One of Bryant’s biggest public campaigns was to help get gay teachers fired from schools by accusing them of being pedophiles. According to LGBTQ Nation, Bryant stated, “Homosexuals cannot reproduce, so they must recruit.” Eventually, another famous bigot, Jerry Falwell Sr., came to help Bryant in her crusade against the gay community. It should also be noted that Falwell was convinced that the second coming would happen in his lifetime and also believed that the antichrist…
A draft bill has entered Ghana’s parliament that will imprison everyone in the LGBTQ community and anyone who supports them. According to The Guardian, the bill, tentatively titled the “promotion of proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values bill” states that LGBTQ and intersex people are intrinsically wrong, are against God’s wishes, and are hurting society. The bill is even threatening “violators” with “no less than five years” and “up to ten years” imprisonment. According to BBC West Africa (which is written in Pidgin), the bill states, “Anybody wey go use media, technological platform, technological account or any other…
For the first time in Olympic history, three transgender athletes are competing. They are among a total of 160 LGBTQ athletes competing this year, the largest group of LGBTQ athletes in Olympic history. The three trans athletes are Chelsea Wolfe from the USA, competing in BMX Freestyle biking; Quinn from Canada, competing in women’s soccer; and Laurel Hubbard from New Zealand, competing in women’s weightlifting. Laurel Hubbard has caused the biggest controversy, as many conservatives claim that she has an innate, unfair advantage against other women because she was biologically male at birth. CNN lays out the two sides to…
Argentina has just made a change to their national identity documents to show support and acceptance to Argentinians who are nonbinary. According to NBC News, during the ceremony unveiling the new document option, Argentinian President, Alberto Fernández, said, “There are other identities besides that of man and woman, and they must be respected…there are a thousand ways to love and be loved and be happy.” https://twitter.com/ZonaFALGBT/status/1417887280719663104 This move is a first in South America. However, as CNN reports, various other countries around the world already allow gender-nonconforming people to change their gender marker. Such countries include Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In…
The stories, experiences, and history of LGBTQ people have often been suppressed in society. However, despite hundreds of years of oppression, the community has managed to mobilize, fight for equal rights, and usher in a new era that includes greater acceptance and inclusion. Now, The American LGBTQ+ Museum is set to open in New York City and will be located inside an expansion of the New York Historical Society on the city’s Upper West Side. While the physical museum isn’t set to open until 2024, online programming is already underway. The museum will showcase LGBTQ+ history, as well as New…
Last year, the Los Angeles LGBT Center (often referred to as simply “The Center”) raised $1.3 million for queer charities thanks to their Love in Action telethon. To ensure that grassroots nonprofits are able to continue enacting change, the center is putting on another telethon this summer. On Saturday, August 14th from 7-9 pm PT, the Love in Action telethon returns. The center is partnering with the TV station KTLA 5 to broadcast the event, and KTLA 5 news anchor, Cher Calvin, will be joining actress Jane Lynch as host for the evening. The event will have a star-studded ensemble…
Hollywood veteran, Udo Kier (best known for starring in unsettling Lars von Trier films and grindhouse horror classics by directors like Rob Zombie), is taking on an extremely unexpected role in his new film, Swan Song. The movie, which premiers on August 6th, sees Kier play Pat Pitsenbarger, a retired hairdresser who now lives in a dingy retirement home. Once a prominent hairdresser, he’s since become a burnt-out old man simply waiting for death…that is, until he gets word that a prominent former client of his has died and is requesting that he do her postmortem hair and makeup for…
Eduardo Leite, the governor of the southern Brasilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, came out as gay last week. The 36-year-old Leite came out during an interview on national television. According to The Guardian, during the interview, Governor Leite stated, “I’m gay – and I’m a governor who is gay rather than a gay governor. Just as Obama in the United States wasn’t a black president, but a president who was black. And I’m proud of this.” This isn’t just a powerful moment because of Leite’s status as a Governor, but also because he plans to run for president.…
Talk about pronoun usage is hot in society right now. As we continually discover new things about gender and sexuality, pronoun usage has shot to the front of the national conversation. Many people, however, are asking: What exactly is a pronoun? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a pronoun is “a word that is used instead of a noun or a noun phrase” – an example is saying “She said” instead of “Rebecca said”. The folks over at TheFreeDictionary.com have revealed that there actually 100 pronouns, some of which are obvious, like “he” and “they,” and some that might not be…
On the final day of Pride Month, the White House released a statement that the State Department will be changing its passport guidelines. The State Department will be working on a new set of parameters that will make it easier for trans people to change their gender on their passports. According to an article from CNN, People applying for passports will now have the option of selecting their preferred gender and if they’re changing their gender from a previous passport, medical confirmation will no longer be required to issue the change. Furthermore, the State Department is also looking into adding…
According to a joint release from the Campaign for Southern Equality and Equality NC, new protections for LGBTQ people have gone into effect in four different North Carolina Communities. The cities of Asheville, Durham, Greensboro, and the county of Buncombe have all seen new protections go into effect as of today. These new measures help protect the LGBTQ community from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity while in spaces of private employment and in places of public accommodation (such as restaurants and stores). In addition to the four ordinances taking effect today, other measures have already been adopted…
The nonprofit SafeHome.org has created a ranking of the best and worst places for LGBTQ people to live. Their rankings took things like population, crime, employment, and marriage/families into consideration when creating the ranking. According to SafeHome, the key takeaways from their findings include: Vermont and California scored the highest for LGBTQ+ safety, while North Dakota scored the lowest. States with higher populations of LGBTQ+ residents also had higher than average rates of hate crime against the LGBTQ+ community, even in states that scored highly on the index regarding protection in the workplace, healthcare, and community. LGBTQ+ focused adoption laws are…
Model and transgender advocate, Kataluna Enriquez, was just crowned Miss Nevada USA. After winning her state-level competition, she will now compete in the national Miss USA pageant. Enriquez is breaking barriers, becoming the first openly trans contestant in the competition’s history. Upon hearing the news, GLAAD’s Head of Talent, Anthony Allen Ramos today said, “Kataluna Enriquez being crowned Miss Nevada is a huge win for trans visibility and sends a powerful, but simple message to the world: trans women are women,” said Anthony Allen Ramos, GLAAD’s Head of Talent. “Enriquez’s presence on the Miss USA stage later this year will…