North Carolina lawmakers advanced legislation on Wednesday that would prohibit classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for some public school students, a move decried by opponents as harmful to LGBTQ youth.
The “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” a broad piece of legislation that opponents say mirrors Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay bill, cleared the state’s Republican-led Senate and will head to the House of Representatives, which also has a Republican majority.
It could reach the desk of Governor Roy Cooper as soon as this week. Cooper, a Democrat, has spoken against the bill and is all but certain to veto it.
Advocates and civil rights groups have tracked hundreds of bills this year across state legislatures directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, including many that target transgender youth specifically.
Florida measure, officially titled the Parental Rights in Education Act, was signed into law in March. In April, the governor of Alabama signed a bill prohibiting classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grades, and similar measures are being considered in Louisiana and Ohio.
The North Carolina measure would prohibit mention of sexual orientation or gender identity in curricula for students from kindergarten through third grade. Schools would also have to notify parents if a student requests to be addressed by a different name or pronoun.
The UK’s respected Office for National Statistics says that the number of young people (aged 16-24) who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual has almost doubled in just four years. It’s risen from 4.1% in 2016 to 8% in 2020.
The figures come from an analysis of the country’s large-scale Annual Population Survey, which surveys around 320,000 households annually.
Breaking down that 8% figure, 2.7% of 16-24 year-olds identified as gay or lesbian, and 5.3% as bisexual.
Looking more broadly at all age groups, the proportion of all adults identifying as LGB stood at 3.1% in 2020. This is an increase from 2.7% in 2019 and nearly double the 1.6% in 2014 when the UK’s official estimates began.
Clearly, more and more people feel able to be their true selves – especially younger generations.
The number of adults identifying as heterosexual was 93.7% (a fall from 95.3% in 2014).
As a region, London had a higher number of people identifying as LGB than anywhere else in the country.
The survey did not ask about trans and non-binary identities.
The figures echo a trend seen elsewhere. An IPSOS survey of 27 countries released for Pride last summer, polled 19,000 people online. It found that 18% of Generation Z (born after 1997), identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual or asexual (compared to 9% overall).
Four percent of Generation Z in that survey also identified as trans, non-binary or genderfluid, compared to just 1% of those over 40.
In the US, in a Gallup poll conducted in 2020, the proportion of LGBT people in the US was estimated at 5.6%, an increase from 3.5% in 2012. The data drew from 15,000 interviews with Americans aged 18 and older.
The UK figures, produced by a government agency, are significant because they draw from such a large sample size.
Robbie de Santos, Director of Communications and External Affairs at British LGBTQ advocacy charity Stonewall, told Queerty: “It’s wonderful to see that an increasing number of LGBTQ+ people can be their authentic selves. It’s important to remember that the number of LGBTQ+ people has not risen but these statics are a heartening sign that people are freer to be their true selves.
“Over the past decade, we’ve also seen an incredible increase in LGBTQ+ representation on our screens and in our culture – from Drag Race to It’s a Sin. Representation that normalizes being LGBTQ+ matters, and often helps people better understand who they are.”
Thanks to victories in primary runoffs Tuesday, Texas is poised to have its first Black gay male state legislators — and one Black lesbian, who won a special election just weeks ago to fill a vacancy, is likely to be elected to a full term.
Before Jolanda Jones’s victory in the special election, Texas had never had a Black member of the LGBTQ+ community in the state legislature. She won the special election May 7 in the Houston-area Texas House District 147 to succeed Rep. Garnet Coleman, who retired in February; that gave her the seat through December. In the Democratic primary runoff, she defeated Danielle Keys Bess, who had also been her opponent in the special election. In November’s general election, Jones will face Republican Damien Thaddeus Jones, but the district is heavily Democratic, so she is expected to win.
Jolanda Jones is a former member of the Houston City Council and the city’s school board. “Yet again, voters were excited by Jolanda’s exceptional experience and qualifications, proven track record and vision for the future,” Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which had endorsed Jones, said in a press release. “She is a natural leader and fierce advocate who has dedicated her professional life to increasing fairness and equity in Texas, from increasing access to quality health care to improving public schools to safeguarding our right to free and fair elections. She knows how to build winning coalitions and get meaningful change done for her community. With so much prejudice plaguing our society, Jolanda’s win tonight is a beacon of hope and demonstrates voters are motivated to elect leaders that reflect the real America who are ready to enact meaningful change. We are confident Jolanda will continue being an effective leader and lawmaker and that her continued success will inspire many more LGBTQ and Black people to run for office.”
Venton Jones and Christian Manuel-Hayes are positioned to be the first Black gay men in the Texas legislature. Jones easily prevailed over Sandra Crenshaw in House District 100, in the Dallas area. No incumbent was in the race, and Jones’s only opposition in the general election will be Libertarian Joe Roberts. Jones, a veteran advocate for social justice and for HIV treatment and prevention, will be the first out HIV-positive member of the legislature.
Manuel-Hayes won in House District 22, centered on Beaumont. It was a narrow victory over Joseph Trahan in another race with no incumbent. One Republican and one independent are running in the general election, but again, the district is largely Democratic. Manuel-Hayes was a longtime staffer to the retiring incumbent, Joe Deshotel, eventually rising to chief of staff.
“In state legislatures across the country — and certainly here in Texas — we are seeing a disturbing rise in anti-Black and anti-LGBTQ laws passed by legislative bodies that do not represent our community,” Parker said in a statement. “Tonight, primary voters responded to those attacks by shattering a lavender ceiling and sending Venton and Christian to a general election where they are poised to make history. These two LGBTQ leaders are fighters and are determined to create a more accepting and equitable Texas and America. When they win in November, it will send a strong message that bigotry will not prevail long-term.”
Thursday, June 9 6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m. In-person program The Tenderloin Museum 398 Eddy Street, San Francisco $10 | $5 for members
Gay bars were often hidden, unmarked enclaves for only those in the know. Often veiled behind tinted glass, with narrow entrances to allow doormen to screen patrons, they needed to hide the goings-on within from the general public, and the police, as a matter of survival. In the late 1960s, bars started coming out of the dark, announcing themselves with neon signs. In this talk co-presented by the GLBT Historical Society, historian Jim Van Buskirk will be joined by Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan of San Francisco Neon Historic Sign Preservation to discuss vintage photographs of San Francisco bars. Most of the photos were taken by Henri Leleu and are in the GLBT Historical Society’s archives. They capture the dawn of San Francisco’s gay bars and clubs in the 1960s and 1970s. Come prepared to share your personal histories of these long-gone (as well as a few surviving) sites. GLBT Historical Society members are entitled to $5 off the general admission price, available when ordering tickets online. Tickets are available online here.
Sunday, June 12 – Wednesday, June 15 In-person program Hosted by San Francisco State University 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco $30–$100
The GLBT Historical Society is delighted to be cohosting a groundbreaking conference in June gathering researchers, educators, community organizers and history enthusiasts from across the United States and beyond to showcase new directions in the histories of same-sex sexuality, transgender identities and gender nonconformity. The conference will take place on the campus of San Francisco State University from June 12 to 15. The conference—the second national conference of the Committee on LGBT History of the American Historical Association—will survey the LGBTQ past across more than 500 years. The majority of panels will take place in person, though some will be remote and hosted on Zoom. Tickets are available online here.
Quick updates from the GLBT Historical Society:
To celebrate the Pride season, the GLBT Historical Society has four free museum days scheduled for June! These free days are made possible by the generosity of the following sponsors: the Bob Ross Foundation, Castro LGBTQ Cultural District and Big Run Studios, Inc., as part of Doors Open California. Online tickets are not available; just come to the museum during normal business hours and you will be welcome. Wednesday, June 1Saturday, June 4Saturday, June 11Sunday, June 12
Flag in the Map LGBTQ people from around the world, including repressive societies, share anecdotes about what the rainbow flag means to them
Out in the World A curated selection of 12 stories organized around six themes explore the experience of LGBTQ members of the vast Irish diaspora.
Queeriosities Our own “cabinet of curiosities” highlights a selection of unusual, rare objects from the Art and Artifacts Collection. Stories of Our MovementHistoric headlines, cover images, articles and ads from the LGBTQ newspaper the Bay Area Reporter in honor of its 50th anniversary.
AIDS Memorial Quilt Display Golden Gate Park June 11 & 12
Marking the 35th Anniversary of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, formerly called the Names Project Quilt, nearly 3000 memorial panels will be on display in the park’s Robin Williams Meadow. A ceremonial Quilt unfolding begins at 9:30 am Saturday and a closing ceremony takes place at 4 pm Sunday. The opening ceremony will be followed by the continuous reading of the names of those whose lives have been lost to AIDS. There will be several community villages for visitors including a panel-making workshop and Quilt history village, a volunteer village, a social media and storytelling village, a conversations village, and a community service village with more than 35 non-profit organizations joining together. The display will be the largest in over a decade and the largest ever in SF history and will feature panels from the early days of the epidemic as well as from recent times, reminding us that the epidemic is not yet over. More details here.
The San Francisco AIDS Walk is coming up onJuly 17. A full 80% of the funds we raise goes to The Spahr Center! We’ll carpool from Marin, walk as a team and have lots of fun along the way. There is also the option to participate in a virtual walk from the comfort of your home.
Save the date! Save the date, too, for the LGBT+ Senior Picnicat Miwok Park in Novato on June 11 sponsored by our community’s beloved Social Committee! Reconnect with old friends, make new ones. The last picnic drew over 50 of us together in a beautiful setting. Please check the flyer below for more important information.
UPCOMING EVENTS(more info below)
June 1 Pride Flag Raising at Novato City Hall9 – 11 am / coffee and snacks providedJune 2Why Pride? senior zoom group topicJune 4Pride Flag Raising San Anselmo 2 pmJune 5LGBTQIA Meetup** June 8Spahr Center Mixer at San Rafael Joe’s4:30 to 6 pm Happy hourMust RSVP to Will: wboemer@thespahrcenter.org
June 10 Pride Proclamation Board of Supervisors9 am – 12 pm / BOS Chambers, Civic Center June 11Senior Picnic at Miwok Park* **noon to 2 pmJune 14Second Tuesday In-person at Mgt. Toddwatch for more detailsJune 16Senior Breakfast Club at Sam’s Place*June 21Games Day at Sam’s Place*June 24Men’s Brown Bag Lunch at Spahr Centernoon – 1:30
June 24 Seniors Learning Together about Our Transgender Friends**
June 31 Women’s Coffee at Sam’s Place*July 17AIDS Walk San Francisco
Save the date!*Social Committee event, RSVP required;to RSVP or get on their email list, write to them atsocialcommittee@comcast.net;find a link to their calendar and flyers below** See flyer below
To join the Spahr Senior Groupon ZoomMondays, 7 to 8 pm, &Thursdays, 12:30 to 2 pm,click the purple button below the Butterfly Heart or here:
New participants are warmly welcomed!If you’re zoom-challenged, let me know and I’ll work with you!
Topical Thursdays12:30 to 2 pmJune 2 Why Pride? Why do we talk of pride in claiming our identity?
Living Room Mondays7 to 8 pmWe share with each other about how we’re doing and have unstructured conversations focused on listening from our hearts and deepening community.
Coronavirus UpdatesThe Spahr Center has coronavirus rapid home test kits and they are available for free in the office – 150 Nellen Avenue, Suite 100, Corte Madera 94925; 415/457-2487. The office is open 10 am – 3 pm weekdays. Only vaccinated people may come to the office and masks must be worn inside the building. Any staff person can direct you to the kits. This is a great resource we are pleased to offer, please don’t hesitate to get these kits! You can also order free at-home covid tests from the USPS by filling in the form here. In order to keep track of new infections, the County asks that we report self-test resultshere. To see Marin County’s latest pandemic information, click here. The mask recommendations of the Mask Nerd– an aerosol scientist who studies mask effectiveness – are featured in this article and highly informative video. May we all be safe and well!
Community Notices
We had a great first meeting of the Men’s Brown Bag Lunch at the Spahr Upstairs room on Friday, April 29, with perhaps 15 guys participating. It will recur every Last Friday of each month. Mark your calendars now!
Vincent Stadlin & Ken Graham, for those of you who know and love them, are missing community in a big way. Vincent’s cancer has returne and Vince & Ken are feeling isolated. Vincent’s immune system is struggling and their close social contacts have shrunk. They would love to hear from you and to know that our community supports them. Their phone number and address is provided here (with their permission) to facilitate contact with them: 415-612-4042; 415 San Paulo Way, Los Robles Mobile Home Park, Novato 94949. They send their love to all.
Social Security Opens to Survivors of Same-Sex Couples Who Could Not Marry The Social Security Administration now allows lesbians and gay men to receive survivor’s benefits if we can show that we were in a committed relationship and would have married had that been possible. More information here.
The Spahr Center’s Food Pantryis open to seniors who need support in meeting their nutrition needs. We want to help! Items such as fresh meats, eggs and dairy, prepared meals, pasta, sauces, and canned goods are delivered weekly to people who sign up.
The Social Committee has been consistently offering fun events to offset the boredom of the pandemic. Everyone born in any month will be celebrated in that month’s email – including yourbirthday if you’ll let them know when it rolls around! Their Breakfast Club takes place at 9:30 on June 16th, Games Day is at 2 pm on June 21, and Women’s Coffee on 10 am June 31 all at Sam’s Place in Novato. They request that participants please be vaccinated and healthy. Please RSVP ahead of time as participation is limited to 20 people.To see their June calendar and flyers, click here. To sign up for their emails or register for events, clickhere.
Vivalon Resources for Seniors Whistlestop, now renamed Vivalon, offers many resources for us seniors, now listed in this easy-to-print one-page guide. Access to rides, food, classes, activities, resources, referrals, and more. Membership not required for most classes and services during the pandemic. Some in-person events are being planned. To get Vivalon’s listings, click here.They also provide access to resources including rides for older adults. Please note: there is a 3-week registration process for the ride program so register now if you think you may need rides in the future. Click here for their website. The Jackson Cafe has great specials, a roomy dining room, small tables and big round tables for groups. Open 11:30 to 1:45; $6 for members, $10 for guests, with takeout readily available. You can find their daily changing menu and more information here.
Building Community in the Midst of Sheltering-in-PlaceSee old friends and make new ones! Join us!The Spahr Center’s LGBT Senior Discussion Groupscontinue everyMonday, 7 to 8 pm& Thursday, 12:30 to 2 pm on zoom
To Join Group by Video using Computer, Smart Phone or TabletJust click this button at the start time, 6:55 pm Mondays / 12:25 pm Thursdays:Join GroupAlways the same link! Try it, it’s easy!
To Join Group by Phone CallIf you don’t have internet connections or prefer joining by phone,call the following number at the start time,6:55 pm Mondays / 12:25 pm Thursdays:1-669-900-6833The Meeting id is 820 7368 6606#(no participant id required)The password, if requested, is 135296#If you want to be called into the group by phone, notify Bill Blackburn at 415/450-5339
California Department of Aging ResourcesThe CDA has a website that is packed with information and resources relevant to the lives of seniors in our state. From Covid-19 updates to more general care for age-related health issues, access to legal assistance to getting home-delivered meals to help with housing, you may well find answers to your questions by clicking: here.
Adult and Aging Service’s Information and Assistance Line, providing information and referrals to the full range of services available to older adults, adults with disabilities and their family caregivers, has a new phone number and email address: 415/473-INFO (4636) 8:30 am to 4:30 pm weekdays473INFO@marincounty.org
“Frameline—the world’s longest–running and largest showcase of queer cinema—announced Frameline46: The San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, taking place June 16–26, 2022.
“With this year’s theme, ‘The Coast is Queer,’ Frameline46 will expand its footprint with screenings taking place in-person at a record number of theaters and venues throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Castro Theatre, Roxie Theater, SFMOMA, and AMC Kabuki in San Francisco; the New Parkway Theater and Landmark’s Piedmont Theatre in Oakland; and more.
“Tickets for Frameline46 will go on sale to the general public beginning Wednesday, May 25, 2022. For more information, visit www.frameline.org.
“Highlights of Frameline46 include:
Over 90 films spanning narratives, documentaries, and shorts, and representing more than 30 countries, including Brazil, Norway, Georgia, Australia, Chile, and more!
A national Streaming Encore available to cinephiles anywhere in the United States from June 24–30, 2022.
Frameline Talks, a curated series of live panels and thought-provoking Q&As with filmmakers, celebrity guests, and community personalities.
A glittering Opening Night Gala featuring a silence auction and Centerpiece Party!
Frameline Awards, including First Feature Award and Audience Awards. This year, Frameline is adding awards for Best Narrative Short and Best Documentary Short, as well as presenting the inaugural Out of the Silence Award which will be given to a film that highlights brave acts of visibility.
A vibrant new website to improve the Frameline46 experience.
This Pride Month, following two years of subdued celebrations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sonoma County residents are getting ready to don their rainbow garb and spread the love at in-person events and festivals.
Sparked by the 1969 Stonewall uprising in Manhattan and the first Pride march in New York City in June the following year, LGBTQ+ pride celebrations have long been held in June across the United States to recognize the impact of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people and the intolerance they often face.
Sonoma County has its own unique LGBTQ+ history. While there has long been a prominent LGBTQ+ community in the county, it took years — and several failed attempts — for activists to get supervisors to recognize Pride Week in May 1992.
Today, pride flags fly high and LGBTQ+ life is celebrated year-round in Sonoma County, not just in June. But there are also special events planned to honor the month this year. Here’s what the county has in store for this year’s Pride Month.
June 1-5: Sonoma County Pride Parade and Festival
After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Sonoma County Pride will hold its 35th annual Sonoma County Pride Parade and Festival in downtown Santa Rosa on June 4, with other special Pride events happening throughout the week. The theme of this year’s celebration is “We Are Family,” to salute bonds in the community.
The organization will kick off Pride Month with a pride flag raising on top of the Rosenberg Building at 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 1, on the corner of Mendocino Avenue and Fourth Street in Santa Rosa.
Sonoma County Pride and sponsors will host a Pride Movie Night with a free showing of the romantic comedy-drama “Love, Simon” starting at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 2, in Santa Rosa’s Old Courthouse Square.
From 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday, June 3, there will be a Pride Happy Hour in Old Courthouse Square, featuring DJ Rotten Robbie and performances by singer-songwriter-guitarist Melissa Levi and modern jazz singer Spencer Day.
The Pride Parade will run along Fourth Street in Santa Rosa from 11 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 4, with the festival kicking off at noon and continuing until 5 p.m. in Old Courthouse Square. Brent Farris and Debbie Abrams of KZST will be the parade’s masters of ceremonies and “Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneider will be the grand marshal. Honorees include Sonoma County LGBTQ+ historian Tina Dungan, owner of the LGBTQ+ tour and event company Out In The Vineyard Gary Saperstein, Healdsburg Mayor Osvaldo “Ozzy” Jimenez and Santa Rosa Mayor Chris Rogers. Parade floats and performances will be judged by a panel, and awards will be presented on the Festival Stage at 2 p.m.
Local LGBTQ+ social networking group Santa Rosa GayDar will host a Reunion Queer Dance Party from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday, June 4, at La Rosa Tequileria & Grille on Fourth Street. A drag show will begin at 10:30 p.m. featuring hosts and drag queens Lolita Hernandez, Maria Twampson and Shania Twampson, with DJ Ron Reeser. The party and show is for adults age 21 and older. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased on Eventbrite at bit.ly/3PJgydO.
A Wigs & Waffles Drag Brunch will be held starting at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 5, in the 630 Park steakhouse at Graton Resort & Casino in Rohnert Park. A drag show will begin at 11:30 a.m. with DJ host Juanita MORE! and performances by Rahni NothingMore, Mary Vice and Princess Panocha. Tickets are $85 and can be purchased on Eventbrite at bit.ly/3PEVWmW.
RuPaul’s Drag Race star Rock M. Sakura will host a Pink Pool Party from 1 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 5, at Graton Resort & Casino. Entertainment will be provided by DJs Lady Char, Hector Fonseca and Jimmy Hits, with special guest Natascha Bessez. General admission is $30, with other ticket options for poolside daybeds and cabanas with Champagne, fruit plates and amenities packages. Tickets are available on Eventbrite at bit.ly/3GiDcVX.
Healdsburg’s Cāpo Creek Winery will host a pride celebration on its estate with wine, food and special drag performances from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 4. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased at capocreekranch.com/product/Event–Pride.
A gay music teacher in Iowa was forced to resign from his high school after a blackmailer threatened him.
Matthew Gerhold began working at Valley Lutheran High School in Cedar Valley, Iowa last year. Although he told school officials that he was gay before he was hired, they later compelled him to resign or face termination after he was blackmailed.
Gerhold’s phone was hacked in January 2022 and the hacker blackmailed him by threatening to share private information about his sexuality publicly. Gerhold alerted the school about the hack and the blackmail, then resigned from his position at the high school after being told he would be fired following a school board meeting anyway, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
Just after he reported the attempted blackmail, photos from his phone were posted to the school’s Facebook page. He was called to an administrator’s office and put on leave.
Gerhold had initially been told he could not disclose his sexuality or even date while employed by the school.
He said that he believes the school and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod view homosexuality as a problem and a choice, not an “involuntary attraction to one sex or another.”
“My sexual identity has absolutely nothing to do with my career in music and my love for music,” he said. “If the church as a whole doesn’t want to use me for whatever they are striving to achieve, then I shall go somewhere else that would love to have me to live out my vocation for others.”
After his resignation, he applied for and was granted unemployment benefits.
The school appealed that decision and a hearing was held on May 2 in front of Administrative Law Judge Blair Bennett, who ruled that Gerhold had a right to unemployment benefits as he had not violated in any way the conditions of his employment, nor had he been accused of workplace misconduct.
The “argument breaks down to [Gerhold] being told he would no longer have a job because of the actions of a third party, not controlled by [Gerhold], completely outside of work,” Bennett ruled.
A pair of vans, cosmetically weathered but carrying an unmeasurable amount of personality along with over 12,000 lbs of food, medicine, and hygiene supplies, were used by a motley group of heroes to deliver critical supplies to two towns still under attack in northeast Ukraine.
Agatha Williams, a metal fabricator from Denver, Colorado turned front-line aid worker aiding civilians amid the Russian invasion, joined the relief effort for the first time. Piloting one of the vehicles, Williams, who goes by the pronouns they/them and identifies as queer, left the United States for the first time to make a difference in the lives of those suffering through the daily horrors of war.
Members of the self-styled Renegade Relief Runners, 3XR for short, have been driving those vehicles across the war-ravaged countryside for the better part of two months, providing humanitarian aid in places that few international groups know exist.
On a recent trip to Zolochiv, which has a population of about 45,000 when counting the surrounding villages, the 3XR team rolled in, making their second trip in two weeks to the local administrative center.
Agatha Williams handing out supplies in Kharkiv Oblast.
With tattoos running down the sides of their face, and stretched holes where gauges once sat in their ears, Williams cuts a striking figure, especially among the usually staid Ukrainian populace. On the day of the delivery to Zolochiv, they and their fellow members of the 3XR were given a heartfelt welcome by the town’s vice mayor. After offloading the first 4,000 pounds of food to residents dealing with the worst kind of food insecurity, Williams and the crew moved on to the local hospital.
After taking an in-depth tour around the destroyed medical complex, the chief doctor asked Williams and another 3XR member, Ken Brady from Oregon, to inspect the hospital’s generator system. As the sounds of artillery explosions thundered in the air above them, they tried to figure out why the generator was emitting diesel fumes.
Seeing how well they worked together, how did Brady think his openly LGBTQ associate was being received in the seemingly conservative nation?
“I admit some trepidation myself, about being out of place as a snarky, tattooed Asian-American, but together we have experienced zero prejudice that I’m aware of,” Brady responded.
He continued, “Ukraine needs and appreciates all help, and each of us is here to provide exactly that. In addition to Agatha, many of my LGBTQ friends at home will be equally surprised and, I hope encouraged, by the presence of a transgender reporter asking this question. Traveling to some of the hardest hit areas with members of the queer community has shown me Ukraine is not messing around, and that help is welcomed despite identity.”
On 3XR’s second day of deliveries, the mission took them west to Parkhomivka. This time more than 8,000 pounds were offloaded under the guidance of the town’s relief coordinator while the mayor came by to express his appreciation for the group’s lifesaving work.
Again, Williams was in the middle of the action.
Agatha Williams carrying supplies in Parkhomivka.
While directing logistics, and bringing comfort to those around them, William’s body language expressed the clear sentiment of feeling ill at ease in the role of hero. Yet their teammates were full of praise for them.
Drew Luhowy, the 3XR’s resident Canadian, observed, “The collective diversity of those who came here to Ukraine to help push back against Russia has been strengthened because we found each other as a team, and thanks to our individual identities, we’ve been able to accomplish much of what we’ve set out to do so far.”
3XR’s Chris Tiller, an airline pilot from Nashville, Tennessee, who has been in Ukraine since early April and was the initial member of the Renegade Relief Runners, spoke directly to the challenges facing Williams on their mission.
“As soon as Agatha made their concerns known as to what adverse impact their identity could have on us in a country such as Ukraine that is thought of as conservative, we made it known, that not only would they never face repercussions for living their truth when we were together, we’d take 100% of Agatha if given the chance.”
“I don’t think my identity played a role in me coming here. It was more a product of how I grew up, in foster care,’ Williams said after everything was handed out and prior to departing Kharkiv with the others. “I’ve identified as queer, and have been Agatha for twenty years, and I’m 37 now, so I’ve always been me. The main reason I came, was to try to help do something to alleviate this senseless suffering.”
“Yes, people seem to keep a distance when they see me, but that is probably as much because of the war and them keeping to themselves as it is about how I look or who I am. Working with people here, Ukrainian or otherwise, has never been a problem.”
As they prepared to depart, I asked the four members what came next. Luhowy was succinct.
“Who knows? We’re all just here to help Ukraine.”
Members of the Renegade Relief Runners. From left in back: Ken Brady, Drew Luhowy, Chris Tiller, Agatha Williams. Front row: Ukrainian civilians Andre and Anna
As volunteer fighters Oleksandr Zhuhan and Antonina Romanova pack for a return to active duty, they contemplate the unicorn insignia that gives their uniform a rare distinction — a symbol of their status as an LGBTQ couple who are Ukrainian soldiers.
Members of Ukraine’s LGBTQ community who sign up for the war have taken to sewing the image of the mythical beast into their standard-issue epaulettes just below the national flag.
The practice harks back to the 2014 conflict when Russia invaded then annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, “when lots of people said there are no gay people in the army,” actor, director and drama teacher Zhuhan told Reuters as he and Romanova dressed in their apartment for their second three-month combat rotation.
“So they (the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community) chose the unicorn because it is like a fantastic ‘nonexistent’ creature.”
Zhuhan and Romanova, who identifies as a nonbinary person with she/her pronouns and moved to the capital from Crimea after being displaced in 2014, met through their theater work.
Neither was trained in the use of weapons but, after spending a couple of days hiding in their bathroom at the start of the war, decided they had to do more.
“I just remember that at a certain point it became obvious that we only had three options: either hide in a bomb shelter, run away and escape, or join the Territorial Defense (volunteers). We chose the third option,” Romanova said.
Russia says its forces are on a “special operation” to demilitarize Ukraine and rid it of radical anti-Russian nationalists. Ukraine and its allies call that a false pretext for a war of aggression.
For Zhuhan and Romanova, their vocation gives them an added sense of responsibility.
“Because what Russia does is they don’t just take our territories and kill our people. They want to destroy our culture and … we can’t allow this to happen,” Zhuhan said.
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‘No Bullying’
Their first tour of duty around Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, about 135 km (80 miles) from the port of Odesa, changed their lives. They fought in the same unit and found it terrifying, Zhuhan contracted pneumonia, but, the couple says, their fellow fighters accepted them.
“There was no aggression, no bullying… It was a little unusual for the others. But, over time, people started calling me Antonina, some even used my she pronoun,” Romanova said.
There was much back-slapping as they joined their new unit at Kyiv’s central station for a second three-month stint. Some of the team Zhuhan and Romanova knew but the commanders were not at the station.
“I’m a little worried about that,” Zhuhan said, the mood becoming more somber as the unit headed towards their train as dusk fell. “I know that in some units, the rules are more strict … It wasn’t like that in our (first) unit.”
Zhuhan’s unease lifts as one commander makes clear his refusal to tolerate homophobia, and a more senior officer says the only important thing on the front line is to be a good fighter, he subsequently tells Reuters by phone.
But one overriding fear, voiced back in their apartment, remains.
“The thing I’m worried about is that in case I get killed during this war, they won’t allow Antonina to bury me the way I want to be buried,” Zhuhan said.
“They’d rather let my mum bury me with the priest reading silly prayers … But I am an atheist and I don’t want that.”
To celebrate the Pride season, the GLBT Historical Society has four free museum days scheduled for June! These free days are made possible by the generosity of the following sponsors: the Bob Ross Foundation, Castro LGBTQ Cultural District and Big Run Studios, Inc., as part of Doors Open California. Online tickets are not available; just come to the museum during normal business hours and you will be welcome.
