A radical lesbian feminist whose trailblazing vision and ebullient personality were the spark for movements with far-reaching impacts, the legacy of Sally Gearhart has also largely been erased from history. From the defeat of the Briggs Initiative to the founding of the first Women’s Studies program in the nation, to groundbreaking writing on lesbian separatist communities, Gearhart was a fierce-hearted San Francisco political preacher at the center of many iconic movements of the 1970s and 1980s.
“Feminism has done more to save the lives of women in the last 20 years than Jesus Christ did in 2,000 years of Christianity.” –Sally Gearhart Sally Gearhart spearheaded the 1970s and 80s lesbian feminist movement making an indelible impact on LGBTQ Equality and Women’s Rights; a brilliant sexy superstar who inspired thousands. So why have you never heard of her? From the defeat of the California 1978 Prop 6/Briggs Initiative to the founding of the Women’s Studies program at SF State (one of the earliest in the nation,) to Wanderground, her novel that inspired lesbian separatist communities all over the world, Gearhart was a fierce-hearted San Francisco political preacher at the center of movements for social change. Deftly weaving archival footage with interviews spanning decades, Sally! illuminates the personal and political context that defines Gearhart’s legacy, humorously and thoughtfully celebrating her while also confronting the controversies and limitations of lesbian separatism. Sally! is a rare watch that honors its subject as both an icon and a beloved, complex individual.
The Utah Public Auditor has been “unable to substantiate” a single violation of the state’s anti-transgender bathroom ban out of over 12,000 complaints.
The state auditor released a form in May for the public to report transgender people who use the changing rooms and restrooms that align with their gender identity to state authorities. The form was meant to be a method of enforcing a recently enacted state law that levies criminal penalties against people who use “changing rooms” that do not align with their biological sex in government-owned and run buildings.
HB 257 changed the state’s legal definitions of “female” and “male,” defining the terms based solely by one’s reproductive organs. It defines a “women’s bathroom” and “men’s bathroom” as spaces exclusively designated for females and males, respectively. Government facilities impacted include public schools, courthouses, libraries, recreation centers, airports, and some sporting arenas.
The form was quickly flooded with memes and joke reports upon its launch. Now, nearly two months later, the form still has not led to a single substantiated complaint after over 12,000 filings. Only five reports were deemed “plausible” enough to investigate, and each inquiry turned up nothing, the Utah Public Auditor announced in a statement Wednesday, via the Salt Lake Tribune.
The state auditor’s office has struggled with how to enforce the bathroom ban since its passage, noting in its statement that it still does not have a “privacy compliance plan” in place. Privacy violation has been a key concern since the law’s passage, as the form enables people to upload pictures to provide evidence of “incidents” while requiring the submitter’s name and email address.
Despite the overwhelming failure, the Utah Public Auditor insisted it would keep the form up and continue to investigate the few reports it deems serious.
“During June, almost all of the complaints we received were also frivolous complaints,” the statement continued. “We have completed our investigations and are not investigating any other complaints at this time. As we identify credible or good-faith complaints, we will investigate those pursuant to the statutory requirement.”
I’m publicizing the recent June digital release of one of last year’s breakout indie film festival hits, BIG BOYS, an utterly joyous LBGTQ+ comedy of a teenage boy who develops an unexpected crush on his cousin’s boyfriend during a weekend camping trip in the majestic mountains of California. A Queer, Body-Positive comedy inspired by Welcome To The Dollhouse & Heartstoppers, set amidst the majestic wilderness of Northern California, BIG BOYS is the underdog indie comedy release of 2024.
Written, directed, and produced by self-professed ‘big boy’ Corey Sherman, BIG BOYS features a beautifully unexpected ending. This heartwarming and critically acclaimed film is a fresh and body positive take on the teenage coming-of-age while coming-out story. The Guardian called it “an achingly brilliant queer coming-of-age classic” and Attitude said it’s “an instant crowd pleaser.”
Peter Debruge from Variety called it ‘deliciously uncomfortable…Corey Sherman’s endearing debut feature introduces breakout Isaac Krasner as a teen with a huge heart and an unspoken fascination with manly men.”
BIG BOYS features a standout performance from teen Isaac Krasner (Outfest, Oustanding Performance Award), and naturalistic comedic performances from Dora Madison (Friday Night Lights), David Johnson III (Apple+ series Lady in the Lake), Taj Cross (PEN15) and Emily Deschanel (Devil in Ohio, Animal Kingdom, Bones). Inspired by the filmmaker’s experience as a chubby closeted teen, he decided to tell the story he wish he’d seen back then. Said Corey, ‘I wanted to showcase the very funny, thrilling, and tender experience of a chubby teen going through a life-altering experience and allow him to be a fully-developed, nuanced character. I hope that all audiences who see the film can feel more celebrated and understood, including all the Big Boys who have never seen their story on screen before.” Full of vivid and natural light-infused cinematography, it is set amidst the exquisitely photographed backdrop of pristine mountains, lakes, and forests of California’s famed Lake Arrowhead. Featuring a vibrant electronic score by acclaimed LGBTQ+ musician Will Wiesenfeld, better known as Baths.
BIG BOYS marks the directorial debut for Sherman, after writing and directing numerous award-winning comedic shorts and television writing for Adult Swim, and also for producer Allison Tate, a veteran U.S. LGBTQ+ journalist and media producer.
BIG BOYS world premiered in 2023 to sold-out screenings at the BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, and went on to a critically acclaimed and award-winning festival run, including Outfest (Audience Award, Best Narrative Feature & Grand Jury Prize, Outstanding Performance for Isaac Krasner), Frameline, Palm Springs IFF, and many more.
Audiences who made Netflix’s Heartstopper a hit should gravitate to this. – The Hollywood ReporterAn achingly brilliant queer coming-of-age classic. – The Guardian An instant crowd pleaser, Big Boys is heartwarming and sweetly comedic. – AttitudeA sensitive coming-of-age drama, which relies heavily on the significant appeal of emerging lead actor Isaac Krasner. – Screen
Corey Sherman is a writer and director for film and television based in Los Angeles. Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim recently hired Corey to write a pilot script for his animated horror-comedy series, Monster Night Live, to be co-written with Matt Maiellaro (Aqua Teen Hunger Force). Prior to that, Corey wrote and directed Francis, Cheap, and Out of Control, an episode of Adult Swim’s 12 Oz. Mouse, which premiered on the network’s April Fools’ Day programming event. Corey worked as a writer and director at the video network Tastemade, where he created Authentic, a comedic series that has received over 100 million views on Facebook. Corey has also written and directed several award-winning comedic short films, such as Hot Take, and had his work featured on the front pages of Reddit, Vulture, and NoBudge.
A recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling deemed frozen embryos to be children under state law. This led most clinics in the state to immediately halt in vitro fertilization (IVF) due to fears of legal repercussions under Alabama’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. This ruling is just one in a series of attacks on reproductive rights in the United States that affects both queer and heterosexual people aspiring to parenthood.
The ruling also compounded existing inequalities in access to fertility treatment faced by queer women, single women and transgender men, in particular. A 2023 Human Rights Watch investigation found that heterosexual couples are covered by at least three major U.S. insurance companies’ fertility policies, while lesbian couples face significant hurdles and must demonstrate multiple failed rounds of self-funded fertility treatments to qualify for coverage. In what one woman aptly described as a “queer tax,” this makes fertility treatment cost up to $30,000 more for queer couples.
Discrimination against queer and single women who want to start and protect their families is a global issue.
In Japan, parliament recently considered a draft law that would restrict access to fertility treatment to women who have a husband, explicitly discriminating against single women and lesbians. In both the U.S. and Italy, the authorities have taken steps to remove non-gestational lesbian mothers from their children’s birth certificates. In February 2023, an Oklahoma court removed Kris Williams from her son’s birth certificate, ruling the sperm donor is the child’s second legal parent. In an eerily similar attack on queer motherhood, a state prosecutor in Italy ordered the cancellation and re-issuance of 33 birth certificates of lesbian couples’ children in January 2023, removing the non-gestational mother. Though a court ruled in March 2024 that the government could not simply remove women from their children’s birth certificates, a similar case in Milan indicates that a precarious, back-and-forth legal battle may ensue.
Despite the barrage of bad news and court cases, the British government committed in 2022 to a 10-year strategy to end discrimination against “female same-sex couples” seeking fertility services. This change, thanks in large part to queer women’s activism, would remove the requirement that lesbians seeking publicly funded fertility treatment prove infertility by self-funding 12 rounds of artificial insemination, including 6 in a clinical setting. Doing so has historically cost lesbian couples around £26,000 – yet another queer tax – while heterosexual couples could prove infertility by simply attesting to having had two years of unprotected sex. The strategy does not, however, define “same-sex” or “couple,” leaving it unclear if those in civil partnerships, as well as transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people qualify. It is also silent on the treatment of single women.
The lack of policies around the globe to protect single and queer women who wish to become parents points to the grim reality that many rights – parental and otherwise – are still allocated to women based on their proximity to men.
Doctors in several U.S. states still ask women for “spousal consent” before performing hysterectomies. Almost half of countries limit women’s property rights, and 44 countries prioritize sons in land inheritance, meaning that a woman’s only path to generational wealth is often through a husband. To add insult to injury, even for women who do marry men, more than 100 countries still deny them the right to inherit their husband’s land. Several countries allow fathers to prevent unmarried daughters from traveling abroad, and some ask women to produce evidence of a male guardian’s “permission” to rent an apartment.
A lesbian activist in Kyrgyzstan told me she was coerced into marrying a man at 19 and wasn’t allowed to move out of her parents’ home until then. Paradoxically, she explained, “there is no path to freedom if you don’t marry a man.”
Around the world, attaching oneself to a man legally, financially, and socially is a prerequisite for a host of rights.
It would be easy to assume that fertility treatment is a privileged woman’s issue, something lesbian and trans activists would only advocate after they had achieved other, more seemingly foundational LGBTQ+ rights. Traditionally conceptualized, this would include the decriminalization of same-sex conduct and marriage equality. However, in interviews I conducted across 26 countries, I found that queer women raised fertility, parental rights, and women’s rights in custody battles as often or more than they did police abuse, criminalization, marriage equality, and employment discrimination.
Lesbians in Kenya and Malawi, two countries without marriage equality and where same-sex conduct is a criminal offense, told me that having children and protecting their rights as legal guardians was “what kept them up at night.” They questioned not only why their ability to become parents was dependent upon marrying a man but also why it had to follow a normative LGBTQ+ rights advancement ladder.
Governments should reform discriminatory fertility laws, introduce anti-discrimination legislation, and remove disproportionate barriers to accessing reproductive treatments. States should also abolish laws that prevent single women and unmarried couples from adopting, and pass queer-inclusive parental recognition bills that explicitly recognize the legal parenthood of non-gestational lesbian parents.
As LGBTQ+ advocates and allies globally, we also need to center women’s autonomy, including advocacy on behalf of single women, in the struggle for queer justice. The LGBTQ+ rights advancement playbook, as we normally speak of it, doesn’t tell the whole story for queer women.
Erin Kilbride is a researcher with the LGBT rights and Women’s rights programs at Human Rights Watch.
As theDemocratic National Convention approaches, set to take place inChicagofrom August 19-22, an undercurrent of inclusivity runs through its planning stages.
According to a convention spokesperson, over 20 percent of the Democratic National Convention Committee staff identify asLGBTQ+, with five department directors among them. This is not just a statistical footnote; it’s a deliberate manifestation of the Democratic Party’s values of diversity and inclusion, the organizers say.
Senior director for communications Matt Hill is one of the key architects of this inclusive vision. Hill has a storied history with the President Joe Biden’s team, having served as a spokesperson on Biden’s 2020 campaigns and as a senior spokesperson for the Biden Presidential Inaugural Committee. His role now involves overseeing thepress, surrogates, and studio teams, ensuring that the convention’s narrative is crafted and disseminated effectively.
“We are changing a lot of the ways we do things here at the convention to make sure we have the opportunities for the Democratic family to create content and meet people where they are,” Hill explained in an interview with The Advocate. His team’s efforts include welcoming 15,000 media members to Chicago and providing equal access to content creators. Hill’s strategy is forward-thinking, aiming to integrate traditional media with digital influencers to reach a broader audience.
Then there’s Liz Stovall, the venue technology project manager. Managing everything from construction to printing, Stovall is also the heartbeat behind ChiPride, the DNCC’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group. “I’ve been a leader in the queer community for years, and stepping into this role felt like a natural progression,” she shared with The Advocate.
ChiPride is more than just a resource group; it’s a sanctuary for support, advocacy, and shared experiences. Under Stovall’s leadership, it’s become a beacon of inclusivity within the DNCC, Stovall said.
“There’s a lot of desire to make people feel like they belong here,” Stovall said.
The convention’s commitment to LGBTQ+ representation extends to its business partnerships. Revel Global Events, a local women and LGBTQ+-owned business, has been tapped to manage the convention’s events, showcasing the best of Chicago’s vibrant enterprise scene. Additionally, the Chicago 2024 Host Committee is championing local LGBTQ+ businesses through a meticulously curated vendor directory and venue map.
KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Stovall is a proud Chicagoan and an advocate for the city’s rich queer history. “Chicago hosted the first Pride parade, and our Gerber/Hart Library and Archives is a treasure trove of our history,” she said.
Other notable LGBTQ+ staff members include Gino Generelli, the lead systems administrator with over 20 years of experience in the Apple technology ecosystem and Chicago’s small business community. Mario Parker-Milligan, the associate director for constituency & allied groups, hails from Portland, where he managed the state party’s caucuses and constituency groups. He has extensive experience in student voter registration and progressive candidate recruitment. Damon Ngô, associate director for allied group outreach, previously managed coalitions at the Democratic National Committee, focusing on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders and youth and climate outreach and engagement.
Hill and his team are not just resting on their laurels but innovating. “We are creating state-of-the-art studios inside the United Center, where surrogates can talk to battleground state press, content creators, or tape their digital content,” Hill explained. This forward-thinking approach is designed to meet audiences where they are, making the convention’s message more accessible than ever.
The stakes are high, and the DNCC is poised to deliver a narrative that underscores the achievements of the Biden administration, particularly its pro-LGBTQ+ policies. “This administration is the most pro-LGBTQ in history, and we’re proud to showcase that,” Hill asserted. The convention will highlight past accomplishments and draw a stark contrast with the opposing party’s stance on important issues, including LGBTQ+ issues.
The Biden-Harris administration has a notable track record on LGBTQ+ rights, including signing comprehensive executive orders to prevent discrimination, reversing the ban on transgender service members, and signing the Respect for Marriage Act. The administration also established the White House Gender Policy Council and appointed the first LGBTQ+ Cabinet member, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Biden’s team put forth ADM Rachel Levine as the first transgender person confirmed by the Senate to an administration position and appointedKarine Jean-Pierre as White House Press Secretary.
Volunteers are being called upon to join this historic effort. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Stovall said. “Being part of the DNC, especially with such high stakes, is truly remarkable.”
Hill said the DNCC’s inclusive approach and innovative strategies promise to make the Democratic National Convention in Chicago a landmark event.
“It’s your chance to be a part of history, especially since the stakes are so high with this election,” said Stovall.
Transcendence Theatre Company continues its 2024 summer season, Broadway in Sonoma, with the world premiere of Don’t Stop Us Now.The brand new production is a creative collaboration between MidAtlantic Men, Queenz That Rock, and Transcendence Theatre Company, conceived and directed by beloved Transcendence performers Simon Pearl and Emily Yates. Don’t Stop Us Now features an exhilarating combination of British and American tunes, a trio of rock divas, and an explosion of song, with Pearl and Yates performing alongside a talented cast of musical artists, each bringing their unique flair and energy to the stage. For one weekend only, California Wine Country’s award-winning premiere entertainment experience will present Don’t Stop Us Now, Thursday, July 25 through Sunday, July 28, in Sonoma’s Field of Dreams in Fazio Field, just steps away from downtown Sonoma.The Queenz That Rock, a dynamic trio of rock powerhouses, features the incredible talents of Charis Gullage, Ruby Lewis, and Emily Yates. The MidAtlantic Men, composed of J.D. Daw, Julian Diaz-Granados, and Simon Pearl, deliver the best hits from the UK and the US with their tight harmonies and soaring vocals.
The stellar cast has a range of unique experiences on Broadway, in National Tours, and beyond. Emily Yates is an award-winning vocalist who has performed since the age of eight when she made her debut in Babes in Toyland. She’s held lead roles in 42nd Street and Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and has wowed audiences across the US and abroad. Simon Pearl’s extensive career has taken him from Broadway (Les Misérables) to Nickelodeon cartoons, Nurse Jackie, Blacklist, and stages throughout the US and the United Kingdom. The duo has worked with Transcendence for three years. J.D. Daw is known for his Off-Off-Broadway role in I Love My Family, But… and extensive regional experience. Julian Diaz-Granados makes his Transcendence debut and brings his Broadway and National Tour experience from Dear Evan Hansen. Charis Gullage, a native New Orleanian, debuts with Queenz That Rock, having recently performed in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical and Hairspray. Ruby Lewis, celebrated for her Broadway and Las Vegas performances, adds her talent with credits like Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour and the North American tour of Queen’s We Will Rock You.”I can’t wait to bring our collaborative show to Sonoma this summer! Simon and I have worked tirelessly for years to make these groups individually successful, and now with Transcendence joining us, this show is unstoppable!” said Yates. “As part of Queenz That Rock, we’ve been rehearsing and adding new songs in collaboration with MidAtlantic Men specifically for Sonoma, and they will blow you away. I’m thrilled with the talented artists we’ve brought together to perform in Sonoma. I’m incredibly proud of the hard work everyone has put in to ensure you have The Best Night Ever, and an unforgettable journey!”
“Transcendence has been a place of creativity and exploration for so many artists over the years. Having cultivated so many relationships at TTC that have had a massive impact on our producing, it is wonderful to come full circle and bring those shows back home,” Pearl added. “I am so thrilled that Transcendence is continuing its tradition of innovation by bringing us in and giving the audience something they’ve never seen before: a show that will have you laughing, cheering, and on your feet. Both MidAtlantic Men and Queenz That Rock are all about breaking the fourth wall and getting to know the audience as much as they get to know us. In the true spirit of Sonoma we can’t wait to build even more community at the field of dreams this summer!”With Pearl and Yates leading as directors of Don’t Stop Us Now, the creative team includes Justin Partier (Lighting Designer), Nils Erickson (Sound Designer/Engineer), and choreography by Sarah Crane,Sierra Lai Barnett, and Sara Garfinkel. Transcendence’s music supervisor, Matt Smart (A Christmas Carol, SF Tour; Hamilton, And Peggy Tour), will serve as the music director, and the performance will feature musical arrangements by Jonathan Brenner, Jacob Kerzner, James Olmstead, Francesco Varatti, and Smart, and additional music by Jeremiah Ginn, Brandon Lambert, Ben Lurye, Alejandro Senior, and Robby Wingfield. The creative team also includes Daniel Simons (Production Manager), Jeffrey Porter (Technical Director), Sarah E. T. Jackson (Production Stage Manager),and Michelle Tuite (Assistant Stage Manager).Special community night performances for Don’t Stop Us Now include Family Night on Sunday, July 28, and Pet Lifeline Night on Thursday, July 25. Each Sunday performance this summer, Transcendence will host a special Family Night, when youth tickets are available for $5 with the purchase of a full price adult ticket. At Pets Lifeline Night, Transcendence’s Broadway in Sonoma partner, the girl & the fig, will generously donate 15% of all ticket sales for this performance to Pets Lifeline, an animal shelter based in Sonoma that protects and improves the lives of cats and dogs in need.
The Transcendence ExperienceWith Sonoma Plaza a mere walk from Field of Dreams, guests are encouraged to enjoy dinner, shopping, world-class wine tastings, and all that Sonoma has to offer before and after the show. This season, food trucks will not be on-site at the Field of Dreams. The RBC Wealth Management Gold Lounge at Fazio Field will open at 5:30 p.m. before each performance for Gold level tickets. Fazio Field will open at 6:30 p.m. for all other ticket levels. Guests can enjoy artisanal wines, local beer, and other beverages before the show begins at 7:30 p.m.For the Broadway in Sonoma summer series, Transcendence Theatre Company has partnered with several surrounding parking lots near the Field of Dreams. All patrons who plan to drive must make a parking lot reservation before arriving at the show, either through the online checkout process or by calling the Transcendence Box Office at 877-424-1414 Ext. 1.Individual tickets range in price from $35 to $190. Three-show subscribers will save 20% and receive priority seating and subscriber benefits. Groups of 10 or more will save up to 20%. Both tickets and subscriptions are available now online at BestNightEver.org, or by calling the box office at 877-424-1414 Ext. 1.
The 2024Broadway in Sonoma season sponsors include RBC Wealth Management; Benziger Family Winery; The Press Democrat; Sotheby’s International Realty; Redwood Credit Union; La Crema (Jackson Family Wines); The Alan and Susan Seidenfeld Charitable Fund; Kaiser Permanente (KP); Amaturo Sonoma Media Group, Bank of Marin; Exchange Bank; Jeffrey D. Bean, DDS; SOMO Village; Perry, Johnson, Anderson, Miller, and Moskowitz LLP; Friedman’s Home Improvement; Sonoma Valley Inn; Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn; Parkpoint Health Club; and Sonoma Valley Authors Festival.The 2024 Season also includes:August 15 – 18Dancing in the StreetA sizzling summer block partySeptember 19 – 22The Gala: A Sentimental JourneyA tribute to classic Broadway and more
About Transcendence Theatre Company: Transcendence Theatre Company is California Wine Country’s premiere entertainment experience, thirteen years and counting. Presenting a season of original outdoor musical revues under the stars, an indoor holiday show every winter, and more, our mission is to create extraordinary evenings featuring the best talents from Broadway and beyond. From its primary home within the majestic open-air ruins of the historic winery in Jack London State Historic Park to other remarkable and stunning settings throughout Wine Country and the community, Transcendence Theatre Company is dedicated to providing the joys and benefits of musical theater to all through one of a kind performances, community engagements, and arts education programs.Through its Transcendence For All initiatives, the company partners with local nonprofits to make the arts accessible to youth, seniors, people with disabilities, and more. Transcendence offers free performances and workshops, as well as accessibility features at its productions. BestNightEver.orgFor 10 years, Transcendence Theatre Company (Transcendence) held its summer season at Jack London State Historic Park. However, ongoing compliance with the litigation settlement between the California State Park Ranger Association and the State of California Park Department over the environmental review process and permitting has kept Transcendence out of the park for both the 2023 and 2024 summer seasons.
If you’ve ever driven into Hollywood south on the 101 freeway, following signs for the Hollywood Bowl and Highland Avenue, then you were met with the sight on your right of the iconic Gothic bell tower at the Hollywood United Methodist Church.
Dedicated in 1930, as Hollywood boomed and Los Angeles stretched west to the Pacific, the church has been “a sanctuary of hope” since the first congregants started to organize in 1909.
That tradition famously took the form of two enormous red ribbons hung on the bell tower in the 1990s.
“Our church has been proud supporters of our LGBTQIA+ family for decades,” Associate Pastor Devon Jones tells LGBTQ Nation. “Especially back in the early 1990s during the AIDS crisis, when people were being turned away from family and friends.”
In response, “We put two huge red AIDS ribbons on our bell tower, letting the community know they were loved and accepted.”
For years, the Hollywood United Methodist Church has pulled out all the stops for the annual LA Pride Parade, which stepped off a stone’s throw from the church on a route through the heart of Hollywood in 2023.
They requisitioned a double-decker Hollywood tour bus for the occasion, spreading a message of joy and celebrating 30 years since they raised those iconic red ribbons that are a clarion call for love and acceptance in the Southland.
“We want everyone to know there are communities of faith like ours that celebrate and are affirming of our LGBTQIA+ family,” Jones says.
“We are the LGBTQIA+ community, and we also have many allies who love and support us. We believe in a loving God who made us all just how we were meant to be.”
Roberta Kaplan, a legendary lawyer in the realm of LGBTQ+ rights and feminism, has resigned from the firm she founded “after clashing with her partners over her treatment of colleagues,” The New York Timesreports.
She opened New York-based Kaplan Hecker & Fink in 2017 after 25 years with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, a major corporate law firm. She once said Kaplan Hecker & Fink operated “on the principle that there always must be someone to stand up to a bully,” according to the Times.
Kaplan told the Bloomberg news service she was leaving the firm because “it grew in size and complexity beyond what I had in mind, and I wanted to get back to something nimbler.” She is starting a firm called Kaplan Martin with Tim Martin, a partner in Kaplan Hecker & Fink, and two other friends, Steven M. Cohen and Mitra Hormozi, both former federal prosecutors.
But the Times story details tensions at Kaplan Hecker & Fink. “Her departure was announced after The Times informed her personal lawyers that it was preparing to publish an article about Ms. Kaplan that would shine a light on complaints about what some employees said was an unprofessional office culture that she presided over,” the paper reports. Kaplan had been removed from the firm’s management committee, according to the Times.
“Several people whom she worked with told The Times that she had insulted employees, inappropriately commented on their looks and threatened to derail people’s careers,” the article continues. Kaplan’s lawyers said this was not the case. They also told the Times, “There is nothing more unremarkable than trial lawyers using colorful language, criticizing their peers and representing diverse clients with no expectation of ideological purity.”
Kaplan herself gave a statement to the paper, saying, “The work I do is high-stakes and challenging, requiring both toughness and precision.” Because she had fought “some of the world’s biggest bullies, there are people who don’t like me, which comes with the territory, particularly when you are a woman,” she added. “I am proud of my record as a lawyer, colleague and mentor.”
She has been involved in controversies before. In 2021, she resigned as cochair of the board of Time’s Up, an organization founded to assist survivors of sexual harassment and assault, after it was revealed that she had advised then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on his response to allegations that he had sexually harassed employees. Kaplan helped found Time’s Up and its legal defense fund in 2017. Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 after a report from New York State Attorney General Letitia James found the accusations against Cuomo credible and concluded that he and his associates had committed unlawful retaliation against one of his accusers. Both Cohen and Hormozi have “close ties” to Cuomo, Bloomberg reports.
Kaplan Hecker & Fink will be renamed Hecker Fink as of Monday. “It was Robbie’s decision to leave the firm,” partners Julie Fink and Sean Hecker said in a statement to the Times. “We wish her the very best and look forward to working with her and her new firm in the future.”
Aiden Cordero, 18, was suspended from her Florida high school in February for using the girls’ bathroom.
Cordero is a transgender girl and a senior at Frank W. Springstead High School, in a suburb of Tampa, where, she said, she’s been using the girls’ restroom for the last three years without issues. However, one of a few laws targeting LGBTQ students or topics Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in May 2023 requires that she use either the boys’ restroom or the single-occupancy restroom in the school’s clinic, which she said is far from her classes.
In February, she had an emergency, so she went to the nearest bathroom, which was the women’s restroom, she said. When she returned to class, she said, two classmates told an administrator she had used the girls’ restroom, and she wassuspended for the day.
As a result of her suspension, Cordero said, she wasn’t allowed to join the rest of her classmates on a senior trip, which she had paid $180 for. Before the incident, Cordero was considering staying in Florida for college, because she was awarded a Bright Futures Scholarship, which would have paid partial tuition at an in-state university. Due to her experiences in high school, as well as the passage of state legislation targeting LGBTQ rights, she decided to leave Florida and attend college in New York, even though doing so would mean additional expenses.
“I feel like if I went to college [in Florida], I would have to face that for four more years. If I stayed in a dorm out here, I have to be in a male dorm, using male bathrooms,” she said, referring to a Florida Board of Education rule implemented last year that broadened the May 2023 law.
A spokesperson for the Hernando County School District declined to comment on Cordero’s suspension, citing student privacy.
Aiden Cordero, 18, was suspended from her Florida high school in February for using the girls’ bathroom.Bill Angelucci / NBC News
NBC News spoke with Cordero and other students, teachers and parents in Hernando County throughout the most recent school year about effects of laws targeting the LGBTQ community, including what critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which was expanded in May 2023.DeSantis signed the first version of the law, the Parental Rights in Education act, in May 2022. The original law prohibited “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity” in kindergarten through third grade “or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
The expanded measure prohibits sexual orientation or gender identity instruction in prekindergarten through eighth grade, restricts reproductive health education in sixth through 12th grade and requires that reproductive health instruction “be age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” The law applies to both public and charter schools.
The LGBTQ students and teachers who spoke with NBC News said the resulting climate has been one of confusion about what exactly violates the law and increased hostility toward anything LGBTQ-related.
Hernando County School District Superintendent John Stratton sent out an email in May 2023 that said teachers should familiarize themselves with the Parental Rights in Education law, according to a copy of the email shared with NBC News. He sent another email shortly thereafter, which was also shared with NBC News, that directed school staff members not to “display any items that can be considered classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity (flags, posters, stickers, etc.).”
Florida teacher Ian Wald removed a rainbow sticker that was behind his desk at the end of the 2022-23 school year.Bill Angelucci / NBC News
Ian Wald, a digital cinema production teacher at Nature Coast Technical High School in Brooksville, about 50 miles north of Tampa, said he removed a rainbow sticker that was behind his desk at the end of the 2022-23 school year, shortly after Stratton’s email was sent out.“I wasn’t trying to convert anybody; I was just trying to let students know that they were safe in my classroom,” said Wald, who doesn’t identify as LGBTQ.
However, teachers who are a part of the LGBTQ community, like Alyssa Marano, said the expanded law made them feel they had to hide who they are. Marano, who was also a teacher at Nature Coast, left her job at the end of the 2022-23 school year because of the political climate surrounding LGBTQ issues in Hernando County and at the state level and got a job as a marketing manager at a local gym.
After having missed the first half of the school year, she returned to the classroom in January.
“When I decided to leave at the end of last year, there were so many emotions, and it was really just a heavy time,” she said. “So I had to put it down.” Now, she added, she’s picking her teaching career back up, hopeful that it will be “a little lighter.”
Alyssa Marano missed the first half of this past school year because of the political climate surrounding LGBTQ issues.Michael Gemelli / NBC News
In March, Florida education officials and civil rights attorneys reached a settlement in a lawsuit challenging the parental rights law that allows students and teachers to speak freely about sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms as long as it’s not a part of class instruction. The settlement will also allow schools to create anti-bullying policies related to sexual orientation and gender identity and create LGBTQ clubs, such as gender-sexuality alliances. In April, a judge in a separate lawsuit temporarily blocked the restriction on teachers’ use of pronouns that don’t align with their birth sexes. However, that injunction blocks enforcement of the law only against two of the teachers who sued.The settlement doesn’t affect the part of the parental rights law that bars teachers from using names and pronouns for students that don’t align with their sexes assigned at birth or the law restricting trans students’ bathroom use.
Florida has also passed a number of other bills targeting trans youth, including one that restricts trans students’ participation in school sports. Several of the state’s LGBTQ-related bills, however, have been temporarily or permanently blocked in court, including a measure that restricted gender-affirming care for minors and adults, which a judge largely struck down this month. In an emailed statement, DeSantis’ deputy press secretary said the governor’s office plans to appeal the ruling.
Some Floridians have moved out of the state or considered moving as a result of the so-called Don’t Say Gay law. In a report published in January, before the law was expanded, the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law found that 56% of 133 LGBTQ parents surveyed in Florida said they had considered moving out of the state because of the measure. Another Williams Institute report, which was conducted in March 2023, when the bill’s expansion was being debated, surveyed 106 Florida parents, both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ, and found 40% said they had considered moving out of the state as a result of the law.
Jon Harris Maurer, the public policy director at Equality Florida, an LGBTQ advocacy group founded in 1997, said that this year the organization heard concerns from more parents and families than ever before.
“Families were afraid to send their children to school because protections had been eliminated, bullying was on the rise, and teachers were being forced back into the closet,” he said. “On top of that, school districts were telling teachers to remove ‘safe space’ stickers and to strip books off the classroom and library shelves.”
School board members from one-third of school districts in the state, representing the majority of Florida’s student population, also reached out to Equality Florida during the 2023-24 school year to say their districts had struggled to interpret the laws and that the state is “refusing to clarify them, amplifying confusion and fear,” Harris Maurer said.
Cordero, who graduated in May and decided to pursue college in New York City, said that though New York isn’t perfectly safe, she hopes to be able to live her “best life” there.
“I’m able to use the women’s bathrooms, I’m going to be able to stay in women’s dorms — just be myself basically,” she said. “When I’m in New York, I’m going to be free.”
