Part one will take place on March 17th from 9-11 am and part two will take place on March 18th from 9-11 am. Zoom links for both parts will be shared with all attendees.
LGBTQ Connection is pleased to offer their LGBTQ Best Practices Training via Zoom! Our trainers are bilingual and can answer questions in English or Spanish, but this training will be held in English.
LGBTQ Connection is offering the Napa & Sonoma County communities and local organizations a chance to learn from and participate in LGBTQ Connection’s highly reviewed LGBTQ Best Practices training. This workshop helps attendees to better reach and serve lesbian, gay, bisexual, & transgender youth, adults, & seniors.
Don’t miss the opportunity to:
Have a better understanding of LGBTQ identities.
Have more compassion for LGBTQ people & their experiences.
Be more aware of specific issues that affect the mental health of LGBTQ youth & LGBTQ seniors.
Be more confident in your ability to support LGBTQ people.
Gain knowledge of resource and referral information for LGBTQ people.
Be able to identify specific mental health resources accessible for LGBTQ people.
Spots are limited! If you have any questions or want more information please contact Isamar at fernando@lgbtqconnection.org or by calling 707-439-8928.
La primera parte se llevará a cabo el 17 de marzo de 9 a 11 a.m. Y la segunda parte se llevará a cabo el 18 de marzo de 9 a 11 a.m. Los enlaces de zoom para ambas partes se compartirán con todos los .
LGBTQ Connection está contenta de ofrecer su Capacitación de Mejores Prácticas LGBTQ en Zoom. Nuestros entrenadores son bilingües y pueden contestar sus preguntas en inglés o en español, pero esta capacitación se llevará a cabo en inglés.
LGBTQ Connection ofrece la oportunidad, a la comunidad de Napa y Sonoma y a las organizaciones locales, de participar en su capacitación de Mejores Prácticas LGBTQ. Este taller está diseñado a mejorar el conocimiento, el acceso y la inclusión de jóvenes, adultos y personas mayores que son lesbianas, gays, bisexuales y transgéneros.
Participantes saldrán con:
Una mejor comprensión de las identidades LGBTQ.
Más compasión por las personas LGBTQ y sus experiencias.
Concientización de los problemas específicos que afectan la salud mental de las/los jóvenes
LGBTQ y personas mayores LGBTQ.
Más confianza en su capacidad para apoyar a las personas LGBTQ.
Conocimiento de recursos e información de referencia para personas LGBTQ.
Capacidad de identificar recursos específicos de salud mental accesibles para personas LGBTQ.
¡Hay cupo limitado! Si tiene alguna pregunta o desee más información, póngase en contacto con Isamar: fernando@lgbtqconnection.org o llame al 707-439-8928.
Today, Frameline—the world’s longest-running and largest showcase of queer cinema—announced the recipients of the 2020 Frameline Completion Fund, which provides much-needed grants to emerging and established filmmakers to complete projects that represent and reflect LGBTQ+ life in all its complexity and richness. The awardees are: Fanny: The Right To Rock, directed by Bobbi Jo Hart;Hummingbirds,directed by TELOXÍCO Collective;No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics, directed by Vivian Kleiman; North By Current, directed by A. Madsen Minax; and Untitled Feature Documentary,directed by Rita Baghdadi.
The five projects—each receiving $5,000—were chosen out of 131 submissions that included feature films and shorts in documentary, narrative, experimental, and episodic forms. The 2020 Frameline Completion Jury was comprised of filmmakers, all of whom are Frameline Festival alums, including Elegance Bratton (Pier Kids, Buck, and a 2019 Completion Fund grantee), Vicky Du (Gaysians), and Sam Feder(Disclosure and two-time Completion Fund grantee). Since 1990, Frameline has awarded $595,000 to 168 projects to help ensure LGBTQ+ film/video projects are completed and viewed by wider audiences.
“On behalf of Frameline, I am honored to present these five filmmakers with a Completion Fund grant,” said Frameline Director of Programming Allegra Madsen. “Now more than ever, it is critical to support filmmakers whose work explores diverse and complex LGBTQ+ stories. We look forward to premiering a number of these works at this year’s festival.”
FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK Directed by Bobbi Jo Hart | Documentary Feature | Canada FANNY: The Right to Rock reveals the untold story of a Filipina American founded garage band from Sacramento that morphed into the ferocious rock group Fanny, the first band of women to release an album with a major record label (Warner/Reprise/1970).
HUMMINGBIRDS Directed by TELOXÍCO Collective | Documentary Feature | USA In this uniquely collaborative coming-of-age film, inseparable best friends Silvia and Beba emerge at night to escape the cruel summer heat of their Texas border town, wandering empty streets in search of inspiration, adventure, and a sense of belonging. When forces beyond their control threaten their shared dreams and they are faced with an uncertain future, they take a stand and hold onto what they can—the moment and each other.
NO STRAIGHT LINES: THE RISE OF QUEER COMICS Directed by Vivian Kleiman | Documentary Feature | USA Five scrappy and pioneering queer cartoonists journey from isolation and DIY work, to mainstream acceptance, and depicted everything from workplace discrimination and gender, to themes of love, sex, and a bad haircut day. Their work and personal stories are sure to make you laugh – but also make you think about the challenges and triumphs encountered and overcome along the way.
NORTH BY CURRENT Directed by A. Madsen Minax | Documentary Feature | USA North By Current is a visual rumination on the understated relationships between mothers and children, truths and myths, losses and gains. After the inconclusive death of his young niece, filmmaker Angelo Madsen Minax returns to his rural Michigan hometown prepared to make a film about a broken criminal justice system. Instead, he pivots to excavate the depths of generational addiction, Christian fervor, and trans embodiment. Like the relentless Michigan seasons, the meaning of family shifts, as Madsen, his sister, and his parents strive tirelessly to accept each other.
UNTITLED FEATURE DOCUMENTARY Directed by Rita Baghdadi | Documentary Feature | USA LOGLINE NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME
Other projects finished with assistance from the Frameline Completion Fund include: Vision Portraits, Call Her Ganda, Chavela, Pariah, Appropriate Behavior, Call Me Kuchu, To Be Takei, Last Call at Maud’s, The New Black, Brother to Brother, Kumu Hina, The Cockettes, Vito, Freeheld, We Were Here, Ahead of the Curve, and Gun Hill Road. For a complete list of previous recipients, click here.
The Frameline Completion Fund is supported by The Williams & Hart Rainbow Fund of Horizons Foundation.
Dr Igi Moon is a chartered psychologist whose work focuses on psychotherapy, gender, sexuality and emotion. They are also chair of the Coalition for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Against Conversion Therapy, which includes 17 major therapy organisations, such as BPS and UKCP, GPs, NHS England and NHS Scotland, and is pushing for a ban on conversion therapy in the UK.
Moon told PinkNews why a ban on conversion therapy in the UK is vital, and why all healthcare providers “must come together again and fight to stop any of our community being told they need to be ‘cured’”.
Are you a white cis gay man in your mid-60s living in London? Then you may have been given conversion therapy. Against your wishes. Simply because you needed to be ‘cured’.
Are you a Black British transgender woman aged 18 to 24 years old living in London? Or an Asian British cis gay man aged around 16 to 17 years old living in Northern Ireland? Then you are likely to be offered conversion therapy. Right now. In the UK.
As a way of dealing with this you may want to talk it through in therapy with a counsellor or psychotherapist. It is imperative you know you will be safe. But will you?
Later this year all LGBT+ people will hopefully be supporting the government calls for a complete ban against conversion therapy.
Conversion therapies are techniques used to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity and can range from corrective rape to spiritual counselling to ‘cure’ them of being LGBT+.
In 2018, the government said it would bring forward proposals to end the practice of conversion therapy after its own LGBT Action Plan in 2018 (the largest LGBT+ survey of its kind in the world with 108,000 responses) told us that five per cent of respondents had been offered ‘conversion’ or ‘reparative’ therapy, and a further two per cent had actually undergone conversion therapy. If you take time to look at the data, it is shocking.
We already know from the survey that a whole population of people aged in their mid-60s who identify as gay men and lesbians have been harmed by conversion therapy and we hope the government will recognise the damage these people from our community have gone through and address these issues.
But the survey also tells us our LGBT+ youth are being offered ‘the cure’ of conversion therapy. This is a live issue affecting our young LGBT+ people and it needs to be stopped. NOW.
We know that religious leaders of all faiths must come together and address this issue regardless of how painful and sensitive.
Because faith organisations are by far the most likely to offer (53 per cent) or conduct (51 per cent) conversion therapy, according to respondents in the survey.
Even if you consider yourself to be in good health, it’s important to keep up with…
We also know that parents and family members are likely to conduct conversion therapy (16 per cent), so we need to help our young LGBT+ siblings to be aware of this when they are at school. And we need to work with organisations such as Childline to help our young LGBT+ youth know where to turn in a crisis.
However, one shocking finding indicates that healthcare providers or medical professionals also conducted conversion therapy (19 per cent), while a far higher number of trans people reported being given conversion therapy by healthcare providers or medical professionals (29 per cent).
This means that when you see a GP or psychologist or psychiatrist you may be exposed to people who believe you need to be ‘cured’.
This could be by denying treatments such as hormones as part of your gender transition or by a psychotherapist or psychologist believing that being heterosexual or cisgender is preferable to being lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or asexual.
As chair of the Coalition for the Memorandum of Understanding against Conversion Therapy we are united in speaking out against conversion therapy as unethical and potentially harmful.
As sexual orientations and gender identities are not mental health disorders, it would be totally unethical to offer any treatment to ‘cure’ them.
So, we are pleased to represent at least 250,000 medical and healthcare professionals including psychiatrists, psychotherapists, psychologists and counsellors who are affiliated to officially recognised organisations such as the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP), British Psychological Society (BPS) United Kingdom UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC), British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), Northern Ireland Humanists (NIH) and LGBT led organisations such as cliniQ and Gendered Intelligence. Alongside, we have the full support and attendance of NHS England, NHS Scotland and Stonewall.
We are working tirelessly with the government and MPs such as Alicia Kearns– who is doing an excellent job to outline how legislation will look – to bring in a ban and stop conversion therapy before it does more harm.
We have spent the last six years making sure that anyone who has to meet with a counsellor, psychologist, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst or psychotherapist will know that the organisation their mental health professional is affiliated with has signed up to the MoU and is against conversion therapy.
This document can be read here and I would ask you to check it out. We have asked that all organisations dedicate time to training and curriculum development.
Why? Because, believe it or not, very few therapists, analysts, psychiatrists or GPs are trained in LGBT+ healthcare issues.
We ask our organisations to address this shortfall, and if you look at their websites you can see how they are making sure practitioners uphold the highest degree of training.
We aim to make sure you are well informed about the risks of conversion therapy, that healthcare professionals are aware of ethical issues relating to conversion therapy, that all new and existing therapists are trained appropriately, that evidence into conversion therapy is regularly reviewed and that all of us on the MoU work together to achieve these goals.
As a person who was part of that 80s London scene depicted by It’s a Sin, I trained as a counselling psychologist in the 90s to help the mental health of my community as we faced social prejudice, political hatred and the devastation of HIV/AIDs.
We really must come together again and fight to stop any of our community being told they need to be ‘cured’.
We want to live in safety because to live in safety is our freedom and to have our freedom is the greatest form of equality we can share.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said on Monday that she’s “excited” to sign a bill banning transgender girls and women from participating in sports teams that correspond to their gender identity. Her remarks came just moments after South Dakota became the second U.S. state this year, after Mississippi, to pass legislation targeting transgender sports athletes.
HB 1217 is just one among an overwhelming number of similar bills that specifically restrict the rights of transgender and nonbinary youth, and that are currently advancing out of state legislatures. Last week, the GOP governor of Mississippi, Tate Reeves, announced that he’d sign Senate Bill 2536 into law, after the legislation passed through both legislative chambers.
Join us on Saturday, March 13 from 2-4pm for the first of three virtual North Bay LGBTQI Families 2021 Symposium workshops! These spring workshops will align with our Symposium theme of Build, Protect, Advocate, and our first workshop (“Build”) will cover family building topics for LGBTQIA+ people, such as fertility and conception for queer and trans people, the foster to adopt process, and talking to kids about donor conception. Panelists and speakers will include:*Alice Ruby, Executive Director of The Sperm Bank of California*Nico Opper, maker of the documentary film “The F Word: A Foster-to-Adopt Story”*Rebecca Elowen, owner of Hearthstone Midwifery, Lactation & Craniosacral Services*Kayla Flores Tindall, family medicine physician and founding member of North Bay LGBTQI FamiliesAnd more!Register for this free virtual event at the link below to receive the Zoom information the day before the event (note that the event link will not be shared publicly).https://docs.google.com/…/1hqEhnHqVsiRQqYq4oUNOTLF…/edit
Email us at northbaylgbtqifamilies@gmail.com with any questions, and we look forward to seeing you then!
I don’t know about you but I’ve seen a lot of lists of ‘best lesbian films’ or ‘films about bi women that you must see’ which are (almost) entirely comprised of films about white women. Don’t get me wrong- those films are great- but if we don’t also talk about the films that focus on lesbians and bi women of color, we are missing out on some major talent.
Fiona: As an artist, not working in either a corporate environment or an environment where I have to work with other people makes it easier for me to be who I am. I don’t have to say, “oh I have to balance being a woman, with being black, with being queer, with being an immigrant. I’m just all those things all the time.”
This incredible feature length documentary shares the lives and views from various black lesbians on their sexuality, media representation, patriarchy, homophobia, and activism; inspiring honest and progressive conversations and highlighting how black lesbians are viewed, ignored, and affected by society.
Director Tiona McClodden had conversations with almost 50 out, black, lesbians including Filmmaker/Activist Aishah Shahidah Simmons, Hip-Hop Duo KIN, and Author Fiona Zedde.
New Line Cinema
Cleo: That’s what we need to do, rob a bank.
Stoney: That’s stupid; ain’t nobody over here gonna be robbing no bank.
Cleo: We’re gonna end up dead anyway.
This film centers around Cleopatra ‘Cleo’ Sims (Queen Latifah), and her friends Stoney (Jada Pinkett Smith), Frankie (Vivica A. Fox) and T.T (Kimberly Elise) as they plot to go on a bank-robbing spree for four very different reasons. What starts off as a crazy ‘what if’, quickly escalates into murder.
Will they get caught? Whose life is in danger? Will any of them escape?
I Can’t Think Straight
Layla: Have you ever done this before?
Tala: Slept with a woman while my fiancé makes wedding preparations?
This beautiful film features a Palestinian woman, Tala (Lisa Ray), who is currently on her fourth engagement to a man (for some reason the first three just didn’t stick) when she meets her best friend’s girlfriend and emerging writer Layla (Sheetal Sheth).
The two begin an affair and Tala begins to question her sexuality (you see what I mean about those past engagements not working out) but Layla ends the relationship after Tala messes up. Will they end up together or will convention force them apart?
Frida (Amazon Prime)
Tina: Whoever takes the biggest swig [of Tequila] can dance with me.
Frida: *swigs* Shall we?
This biopic of bisexual Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (Salma Hayek) explores Frida’s life and loves against the political and cultural backdrop of the early 20th Century. Although much of the movie does focus on her dysfunctional relationship with fellow artist Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina), we do get glimpses of her affairs with lady loves, like Tina (Ashley Judd).
Circumstance (Netflix Canada)
Atefeh: I can’t do this anymore.
Shirin: Nothing has changed. I love you.
This heartbreaking drama tells the story of how hard it is to be LGBT under the Iranian Regime. It’s the story of Atafeh (Nikohl Boosheri), a rich teen, and her girlfriend Shireen (Sarah Kazemy), an orphan, who love partying and experimenting with drink and drugs (despite the fact that Atafeh’s brother Mehran’s (Reza Sixo Safai) is an ex-addict).
As the girls grow closer, Atafeh’s family tries to tear them apart and Mehran becomes increasingly religious and becomes obsessed with Shireen.
This movie is actually based on the experiences of director/writer Maryam Keshavarz who grew up in Iran. Because the film dealt with a lesbian storyline, fake scripts sent to the Lebanese authorities and the actors had to accept that they may not be able to see their families after the release. That’s pretty heartbreaking in itself.
Stud Life (Amazon Prime)
JJ: You don’t like Elle, do you? You can’t stand to see me with somebody.
Seb: She’s not right for you.
This British indie film focuses on stud lesbian, JJ (T’Nia Miller), and her gay best friend, Seb (Kyle Treslove), whose friendship is tested when she falls for the beautiful diva, Elle (Robyn Kerr). Will JJ be forced to choose between an old friend and a new love? Or can this be worked out?
The Watermelon Women
Cheryl: I’ve [watched] all these films from the 30s and 40s with black actresses in them, like Hattie McDaniel and Louise Beavers and in some of these films, the black actresses aren’t even listed in the credits and I was just totally shocked by that.
I will admit that I find the title of this movie troubling but stay with me here.
This movie follows Cheryl (Cheryl Dunye) a young black filmmaker who works at a video store (if you’re under 18, video stores are like a brick and mortar Netflix) with her friend Tamara (Valarie Walker).
Cheryl watches several films from the 1930s and 1940s and notices that the black actresses in them were not credited (which is typical of the time period). After seeing one particular film in which a Mammy-style character is billed in the credits only as The Watermelon Woman, Cheryl sets out to find out more about the actress and create a documentary about her life.
While working on the documentary, Cheryl meets and falls for Diana (Guinevere Turner), who Tamara dislikes. Then Tamara accuses Cheryl of wanting to be white and Diana, who is white, of having a fetish for black people.
Will Cheryl track down the actress? Will Tamara split Cheryl and Diana up?
Pariah (Netflix)
Focus Features
Alike: I am not broken, I am free.
This is the story of 17-year-old Alike (Adepero Oduye), a butch lesbian who is exploring her sexuality, deciding to dress androgynously, and falling in love for the first time, with femme Bina (Aasha Davis).
Upon coming out, Alike faces violence from her mother, Audrey (Kim Wayans), who cannot accept her daughter and wants her to act ‘feminine’ and be straight. Alike has a choice to make; should she attempt to gain her mother’s approval or leave early for college?
Bessie
Bessie: I ain’t playing second to nobody!
This HBO biopic about bisexual blues singer Bessie Smith (the second entry for Queen Latifah on this list) is truly one for the ages.
It certainly doesn’t shy away from depicting the racism that Bessie was subjected to throughout her life, from vaudeville producers who refused to feature dark-skinned black women in their shows to the attitudes of rich white guests but it is interspersed with tender moments featuring her lover Lucille (Tika Sumpter) and uplifting scenes Ma Rainey (Mo’Nique) taking Bessie under her wings.
In what might be the most epic moment of the movie, Bessie chases off the KKK who attempt to attack her during a show.
The Women of Brewster Place (Netflix)
Theresa: Lorraine, you are a lesbian. A dyke, a lesbo, a butch, all those names that boy was calling you. Yes, I saw it! And you can run in all the basements in the world, and it’s not gonna change anything. Why can’t you just accept it?
Lorraine: I have accepted it! I’ve accepted it all my life! I lost my family because of that, but it doesn’t make me different than anybody else in this world!
This 1989 made-for-TV movie, based on the novel of the same name by Gloria Naylor, tells the story of several black women who live in a rundown housing project.
Lorraine (Lonette McKee) and Theresa (Paula Kelly) are a lesbian couple who fled suburbia due to their sexuality but find that homophobia is just as much of a problem in the city. Although they are not the main characters, their role was ground-breaking at the time.
Bonus: This movie was produced by and stars Oprah Winfrey.
This is absolutely not a complete list and I would love to see your suggestions in the comments for other films about lesbians or bi women of color that you’ve particularly enjoyed so that we can all increase our catalogue of fantastic films.
Young trans people and their families living in Alabama have been warned to “run” after the state banned gender-affirming care for minors.
Marie Willa, who posted on TikTok as MissWilla, pleaded for parents living in Alabama to get their trans children out of the state and to “somewhere safe”.×ADVERTISING
In an emotional video on TikTok, Willa, a trans woman, said: “I come to you tonight on a very serious note with a dire warning and a plea for help.
“If you are the parent of a transgender child that is 19 or under and you live in the state of Alabama, your child lives in the state of Alabama, get out.
“Get your child out to somewhere safe.
“They have just made it a felony to provide any gender-affirming care to any transgender person age 19 or younger.”
She warned the ban would “drive the suicide rate up just astronomically high” and pleaded for parents to “get your children to safety”. Willa also called on the wider community to “help us”.
Alabama Senate votes to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth
On Tuesday (2 March), lawmakers in Alabama passed senate bill 10 (SB10), an anti-transgender bill that will prohibit medical professionals from providing critical healthcare and gender-affirming treatment to trans people under the age of 19.
The bill would bar medical professionals from administering hormones or puberty blockers to trans youth, in addition to prohibiting gender-affirming surgeries for trans minors.
If the bill passes into law, it would make it a Class C felony for medical professionals to provide gender-affirming care to trans minors. This class of felony would result in a 10-year prison sentence or a $15,000 fine in Alabama.
Even if you consider yourself to be in good health, it’s important to keep up with…
The bill would also require teachers and staff at schools in Alabama to share with students’ parents if they learn that a “minor’s perception that his or her gender is inconsistent with his or her sex”. In effect, it would require teachers to “out” trans students to their parents.
The Montgomery Advertiser reported SB10, dubbed the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, passed by a vote of 23-4.
If the Alabama House of Representatives approves its companion bill, HB1, and the proposal is signed by governor Kay Ivey, Alabama would be the first state in the US to pass a bill of this kind.
Republican senator Shay Shelnutt proposed the bill. According to the Montgomery Advertiser, he said he wanted to “protect children” by passing the bill. Shelnutt said: “I don’t think the same way I did at 14 when I was 25.
“You know the male brain – I don’t know when it fully matures, but you know, the human brain is not fully mature, and you know they are going to think differently.”
But the ACLU of Alabama said the bill would “criminalise medical professionals who choose to support transgender youth’s identity, forcing them to choose between the possibility of government prosecution and adhering to the evidence-based clinical guidelines of their field”.
LGBT+ activist and actor Elliot Page called on lawmakers to protect trans kids and vote no on these bills. Page wrote on Twitter: “Efforts to criminalize trans kids are deadly and we need to fight back against Alabama’s HB1/SB10.
“Trans kids’ lives depend on stopping this bill.”
‘Make some noise’
Willa’s initial video received over 310,000 views on TikTok with many people in the comments asking how they could help the trans children and their families affected in Alabama. She posted a follow-up video calling on people to speak up against the oppression of trans and LGBT+ youth in Alabama.
“Silence and inaction of good people has always been the greatest tool used by oppressors of marginalised communities,” Willa explained. “So the best answer I can give you: Make some noise.”
A new study claims that 88 per cent of LGBT+ gamers who are out to their gaming communities receive some form of harassment while playing online.
The study, from gaming website OnlineRoulette.org, surveyed LGBT+ gamers to examine how inclusive the gaming industry is for the LGBT+ community.×ADVERTISING
Out LGBT+ gamers are 21 per cent more likely to receive harassment than those who have not disclosed their sexuality, with 73 per cent of LGBT+ gamers receiving harassment specifically based on their sexuality. That rises to 83 per cent for lesbian gamers, who are harassed more frequently.
It’s no surprise then that 41 per cent of LGBT+ players will avoid certain games and toxic communities due to the harassment they receive.
That’s not to say there aren’t supportive communities for LGBT+ players, however. Almost one in every two gamers surveyed said that Animal Crossinghas the most supportive gaming community. Call of Duty was ranked second (27 per cent) and Minecraft third (26 per cent).
What’s more, 45 per cent of LGBT+ players said they discovered their sexuality through playing games, showing how important games themselves and supportive communities can be. In fact, 71 per cent said that online communities were more supportive of their sexuality than IRL communities.
Representation is also important to the LGBT+ community, with 81 per cent of LGBT+ gamers saying they were more likely to purchase a game with a queer storyline.
It’s a sadder story in e-sports, however, where LGBT+ professionals earn considerably less than their straight counterparts. The top all-time LGBT+ earner is SonicFox ($676,770), but by comparison the top earning straight e-sports players of 2020 have lifetime earnings over $1million (James “Clayster” Eubanks and Ian “Crimsix” Porter).
While the study may not be surprising to LGBT+ gamers, it certainly reinforces not only how toxic gaming communities can be, but also how vital encouraging and supportive communities are to LGBT+ gamers discovering their identity.
A Colorado judge will allow a discrimination complaint against Christian baker Jack Phillips, who refused to make a cake in the colours of the trans Pride flag, but has thrown out a second complaint against him.
After Phillips refused to bake the cake, Scardina filed a complaint against him in 2018 through the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Scardini alleged that Philipps’ refused to create the cake because she is trans.
Phillips then sued the state of Colorado, claiming that he was being persecuted for his religious beliefs as he is Christian. Phillips and the state of Colorado agreed to drop the cases against each other in March 2019.
However, Scardini filed her own lawsuit against Philipps in June 2019, claiming his bakery falsely advertised that it would “be happy to provide a variety of baked goods, including birthday cakes, to all members of the public, including LGBT individuals”.
Scardina’s suit claimed that Phillips violated two state laws, the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) and the Colorado Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) when refusing to create the cake.
Phillips’ attorneys filed a motion asking the court to dismiss Scardina’s case, arguing that she should have gone to the appeals court for a second course of action instead of opening a new tab at the trial court level.
But, in a ruling released on Thursday (4 March), Denver district court judge A Bruce Jones dropped the complaint against Phillips that alleged he had violated CAPA by engaging in “an unfair or deceptive trade practice”.
Scardina’s legal team argued, in response to the controversy, Phillips and his Masterpiece Cakeshop “attempted to exploit the news coverage by stating they would sell birthday cakes to LGBT customers”.
But the judge said: “If [they] were engaged in such a stealth advertising campaign, they successfully disguised it within their speech on a matter of public concern.”
As such, the judgment said Scardina’s legal team “failed to establish an actionable unfair or deceptive trade practice” and found in Phillips’ favour on the CCPA claim.
But Jones did not dismiss the second claim which accuses Phillips of violating anti-discrimination law. The judgment said Scardina “need not establish that her transgender status was the ‘sole’ cause of the denial of services”. “Rather, she need only show that the discriminatory action was based, in whole or in part, on her protected status,” the court document read.
Scardina’s attorneys Paula Griesen said the judge’s decision to dismiss the claim was “a very narrow holding on a certain set of facts related to the Colorado Consumer Protection Act that has no bearing on the discrimination claim”.
“It has nothing to do with the merits of whether or not businesses are allowed to refuse service to the LGBTQ+ community,” Griesen added.
Alliance Defending Freedom general counsel Kristen Waggoner, who represented Phillips, said the decision to dismiss one of the claims against her client is “the first step towards final justice”.
“Jack has been threatened with financial ruin simply because he makes decisions about which messages to create and celebrate — decisions that every other artist in Colorado is free to make,” Waggoner said in a statement. “Tolerance for different opinions is essential. We look forward to defending Jack — and ultimately prevailing — on the remaining claim.”
President Joe Biden has announced two new orders to promote gender equality at the federal level with a new White House Gender Policy Council.
The executive orders are set to be signed by Biden Monday (8 March) to mark International Women’s Day.
The official White House statement said: “The White House Gender Policy Council will be an essential part of the Biden-Harris administration’s plan to ensure we build a more equal and just society – by aggressively protecting the rights and unique needs of those who experience multiple forms of discrimination, including individuals who are Black, Latina, Native, Asian American and Pacific Islander, people with disabilities, and LGBTQI+.”
The statement also highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic “has exacerbated barriers that have held back women, especially women of colour”.
The first order is focused on advancing gender equity and equal opportunities for women and girls. The second is focused on reviewing the Department of Education’s policies to “guarantee education free from sexual violence”.
The executive order establishing the council will require its co-chairs to submit a strategy to address gender policies, programs and budgets across the government. The council will also employ two staff roles specifically focused on preventing and responding to gender-based violence.
The order states it is “intended to advance gender equity and equality, with sensitivity to the experiences of those who suffer discrimination based on multiple factors, including membership in an underserved community.”
The second executive order is specifically focused on “guaranteeing an educational environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex, including sexual orientation or gender identity.”
It highlights “the significant rates at which students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) are subject to sexual harassment, which encompasses sexual violence”. It also specifically notes other intersectional discrimination including “on the basis of race, disability and national origin”.
This order calls on the Education Department to re-evaluate the controversial Title IX regulation which offers protections to those accused of sexual harassment or sexual assault on campus. This was implemented under former education secretary Betsy DeVos during the Trump administration.
The move comes shortly after Biden called for the Equality Act to be passed quickly in congress to prohibit discrimination against LGBT+ people in housing, employment and education, among other areas.
Biden has also recently hired a senior advisor for LGBT+ issues to help aid the administration in its commitment to inclusion, alongside an associate director of public engagement who will also advise on LGBT+ issues.
You may have heard of Abby and Brittany Hensel before, either on Oprah, in Time…
In his victory speech after the 2020 presidential election, Biden promised: “Young, old, urban, suburban, rural, gay, straight, transgender, white, Latino, Asian, Native American… You always had my back and I’ll have yours.”
