While the media has a long history of sensationalizing stories involving trans people, in the last few months a number of debates have erupted in response to mainstream media figures asking prominent trans women invasive and inappropriate questions about their bodies during interviews. While the response from those media figures to criticism over this line of questioning has varied from equivocat…
One great thing about having Netflix in the British Isles is that you find out there’s a lot more to BBC programming than Doctor What and Benadryl Cucumber. If you don’t have regular access to British television and you like television shows that feature lesbians who are not teenagers or Los Angeles residents, then you’re missing out. Let me introduce you to the fantastic show you’re sleeping on:
Yes, McMillan got far less time than the seven years she could have faced. But any time in prison for this act which was clearly self-defense is completely unjust. Furthermore,…
A federal judge just struck down Oregon’s ban on same-sex marriage, hours after an appeals court denied the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage’s request for emergency stay. Couples in the state can begin marrying immediately.
Last week was a crazy one for marriage equality advocates in Arkansas. First, on May 9, Pulaski County Circuit Court judge Chris Piazzastruck down the state’s same-sex marriage ban, allowing couples to apply for an estimated 500 marriages statewide over the next seven days. County clerks in some districts questioned the ruling, citing a separate law prohibiting them from issuing marriage…
Carmen Carrera, a transgender model and activist, is set to star in a brand new docuseries about a group of young trans women living in Chicago. The series, produced by Tyra Banks, will debut its eight hour-long episode run in late 2014 or early 2015. The show, called TransAmerica, will air on VH1.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, “the series is described as an earnest look at a group of millennial women — who happen to be transgender — living, loving and building their careers. The series will explore how their sexuality impacts their lives.” Now, I’m pretty sure they mean “how their gender impacts their lives,” but hopefully the show will also have a diverse range of sexualities among the women.
This week, Pentagon officials announced that they’re considering transferring the incarcerated Chelsea Manning from a military facility to a civilian one, ostensibly so that Manning can pursue hormone therapy. The Pentagon’s reasoning is that she can’t be given medical treatment specific to her status as a trans woman according to military policy because the military doesn’t allow trans people to serve, and so if her status were recognized Manning would need to be discharged. Manning’s attorney, David Coombs, has released a statement explaining his skepticism about this transfer and what benefit it might offer Manning.
Back in April, the Gay-Straight Alliance of Craig High School in Janesville, Wisconsin participated in the Day of Silence, and showed a video to accompany it: the viral hit “Kids React to Gay Marriage.”
In an ideal world, this wouldn’t be news, and the showing of the video itself wasn’t. But this week, the Janesville School District superintendent issued an apology to the community. The district’s policy says that in the case of “controversial or political issues,” the school is required to give a platform to “all sides” of the matter.
This morning, members of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, including SRLP membership director Reina Gossett, took over the stage at the HxRefractored Conference in New York City to demand that the New York State Department of Health repeal the 1998 regulation barring transgender people from accessing healthcare through state Medicaid coverage.
Tomorrow is Give OUT Day, a national initiative to encourage donations to LGBTQ organizations. Coordinated giving efforts like this one bring visibility to individual organizations and the larger movement, and everyone from local grassroots groups to the Human Rights Campaign are participating. Last year, the first Give OUT Day raised more than $600,000 for more than 400 organizations. This year, organizers hope the day will bring in more than $1 million for organizations around the country, said Jason Franklin, the executive director of Bolder Giving, which is putting on the event.
A 16 year-old transgender teenage girl has been locked up in an isolated mental health unit of the York Correctional Institution since April, despite not being charged with any crimes. She was recently moved to another buildingthat the Connecticut Department of Children and Families hopes will better suit her needs. However, advocates for the girl say that the new location isn’t any less isolated and still isn’t a suitable place for her. Additionally, the fact remains that Jane Doe, as she is known because she’s a minor, hasn’t been charged with any crimes, has mental health needs that aren’t being met and has been locked up in an adult prison since last month. Some documents suggest that DCF may even be misleading the press and the public as to their treatment of Doe, and wish to cover up the fact that they tried (and failed) to have Doe transferred to a men’s prison.
Today Idaho became the latest state with a ban on same-sex marriage to have it declared unconstitutional by a federal judge. Four same-sex Idaho couples had filed a lawsuit against the state, and Judge Candy Dale ruled on the side of their argument that banning same-sex marriage violated the rights guaranteed by the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the constitution. Sue Latta and Traci Ehlers, Lori and Sharene Watsen, Shelia Robertson and Andrea Altmayer, and Amber Beierle and Rachael Robertson, the four couples who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, have a range of experiences: two of the couples are already married, but in other states, and Idaho refuses to recognize their marriages; two couples are raising children together. As long as no higher court intervenes, the state can no longer enforce any laws that restrict same-sex couples from marrying, nor can they refuse to recognize marriages from out of state.
Michael Sam, former University of Missouri defensive lineman and last year’s All-American and SEC Defensive Player of the Year, became the first openly gay athlete to get drafted into the NFL on Saturday. ESPN captured Sam’s joyous reaction to being the 249th pick in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams. As you all saw on your social media feeds, Sam celebrated by embracing and kissing his boyfriend, Vito Cammisano.
Once again, our favorite and most reliable news publication, The Daily Mail, has released a desperately important story regarding the romantic activities of a female celebrity. In this case, the lady in question is Our Lady Of The Moment, Ellen Page. Page was spotted in New York City yesterday holding hands with a “mystery blonde.”
