Twenty-six years ago, a little girl disappeared from the summer camp at Forestlands Lake in Upstate New York. A year later, Willa Dunn and Lee Chandler were summering with their families at the lake. Just as they were in the middle of realizing there might be more to their friendship, a tragedy strikes Willa’s family, tearing them apart.
Today, Willa is a popular young adult novelist whose ghost stories have captivated the hearts and minds of kids and adults alike. She hasn’t been back to Forestlands Lake in 25 years, but her family’s old cabin feels like the perfect place for a writing retreat. Willa also brings her teenage sister, Nicole, with her. Nicole’s been acting out and their mom can’t get through to her, so Willa’s hoping they’ll be able to reconnect so Nicole can return to the happy, loving kid she used to be.
Willa’s surprised to learn that Lee still lives at Forestlands Lake and she runs a summer camp for LGBTQ youth. Lee’s also a single mom, raising an amazing teenager of her own. And that spark between them? It never went away.
Willa couldn’t have picked a better spot for ghost story inspiration, since people have been whispering for decades that Forestlands Lake has a ghost or two of its own. There’s certainly weird stuff going on, like a mysterious girl running around, and footsteps in the water when no one else is around. Can Lee and Willa grasp their second chance at love while getting to the bottom of the strange occurrences?
The Other Side of Forestlands Lake has a little bit of everything: romance, family drama, ghosts, and intrigue. These elements are balanced well and keep things interesting, whether the reader is following Willa and Lee’s relationship, Willa and Nicole’s reconciliation, or all the spooky things around the lake. That said, while the bulk of the story takes place in the present day, it’s important to know that almost a quarter of the story takes place when Willa and Lee are teenagers, first falling in love.
Because there are so many plates balancing in the proverbial air of this story, there isn’t a lot of character development for Willa or Lee. This also makes sense because they’re both around 40, have established careers, and are emotionally stable. Instead, personal growth is demonstrated in a couple of other areas. Namely, Nicole grows from a young woman with a massive chip on her shoulder into someone who genuinely wants a relationship with her family. Also, Willa and Lee’s relationship has its own development hurdles as the women have to reconcile their feelings now with the scars of not being able to be together twenty-five years ago.
The ghost story and suspense elements are strong, making The Other Side of Forestlands Lake a fun, compelling reading. Its only weakness is the last fifteen percent of the story because it feels a little like the characters are dropped into a different story. While the ending successfully wraps up all the threads that had been laid out, the tone doesn’t match the rest of the book, which may be a little jarring for some readers.
Overall, The Other Side of Forestlands Lake is worth checking out, even taking into account the tone shift at the end. The characters are compelling, the relationship growth is heartwarming, and the supernatural elements are intriguing without ever veering into true horror territory. Given what we’ve been collectively living through in the last year, it’s a great choice for anyone who wants to read something immersive, so they can ignore the troubles of the world.
Grindr has been fined £8.5 million for illegally selling user data, including tracking codes and precise locations, in a serious violation of European privacy law.
The Norwegian Data Protection Authority revealed on Monday (25 January) that the global hook-up app had shared users’ private details with at least five advertisers, including Twitter’s own advertising platform, which may in turn share data with more than 100 partners.
The app had illegally transmitted users’ IP address, advertising ID, GPS location, age and gender, essentially tagging individuals as LGBT+ without obtaining their explicit consent.
The fine of 100 million Norwegian kroner (£8.5m or $11.7m US) is the highest ever issued by the authority and amounts to around 10 per cent of Grindr’s estimated global annual revenue, reflecting the “very severe” nature of the breach.
The agency notes that, as the world’s most popular gay dating app, Grindr is active in nearly every country in the world; the privacy violation could have put users at serious risk in countries like Qatar and Pakistan, where homosexuality is criminalised.
“If someone finds out that they are gay and knows their movements, they may be harmed,” said Tobias Judin, head of the Norwegian Data Protection Authority’s international department.
“We’re trying to make these apps and services understand that this approach – not informing users, not gaining a valid consent to share their data – is completely unacceptable.”
In a statement to the New York Times, a spokesperson for Grindr said the company had obtained “valid legal consent from all” of its users in Europe on multiple occasions and was confident that its “approach to user privacy is first in class” among social apps.
“We continually enhance our privacy practices in consideration of evolving privacy laws and regulations, and look forward to entering into a productive dialogue with the Norwegian Data Protection Authority,” they added.
Grindr has until 15 February to officially respond to the ruling, after which the Data Protection Authority will make its final decision in the case.
Legislators in Montana advanced two bills Monday focused on transgender youth: House Bill 112 would prohibit transgender student athletes from participating on teams that correspond to their gender identities, and House Bill 113 would prohibit health care professionals from providing gender-affirming care to trans minors.
“If passed into law, HB 112 and HB 113 will cause irrevocable harm to trans youth,” Caitlin Borgmann, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana, said in a statement. “If these discriminatory bills pass — we will sue, and we will win. Trying to defend laws in court that stigmatize and target trans youth doesn’t seem like a good use of taxpayer dollars to us.”
University of Montana cross country runner Juniper Eastwood, center, warming up with her teammates at Campbell Park in Missoula, Mont., on Aug. 15, 2019. The proposed ban is personal for people like Eastwood, a transgender woman and former member of the University of Montana’s track and field and cross-country running teams. She said the legislation “would make it impossible for other young Montanans like me to participate in sports as who they are.”Rachel Leathe / Bozeman Daily Chronicle via AP file
The bills working through Montana’s Legislature are among an estimated 21 anti-LGBTQ measures that have been filed or pre-filed for 2021 state legislative sessions, according to Freedom for All Americans, an organization advocating for LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections. Many of the bills, like those in Montana, focus on transgender youths.
“I think the volume of bills is going to dramatically increase, particularly because of what is happening at the federal level,” said Kasey Suffredini, CEO of Freedom for All Americans. “For the opposition, this is the only avenue for their narrative that treating LGBT people with dignity and respect is a problem for the country.”
Chase Strangio, deputy director of transgender justice for the American Civil Liberties Union, agreed.
“We often see backlash” after advancements in LGBTQ rights, he said, citing the flurry of measures targeting LGBTQ people after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, which expanded the scope of federal nondiscrimination law to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
Strangio said that with fewer opportunities to roll back LGBTQ rights at the federal level under President Joe Biden — who has signed multiple pro-LGBTQ executive orders — he’s not surprised that opponents are zeroing in on the states.
Anti-LGBTQ bills
Republican legislators in over a dozen states have proposed legislation that targets LGBTQ people. The bills touch on athletics, health care and a grab bag of other issues related to queer rights and recognition.
Legislators have also introduced bills to restrict transgender participation in student athletics in Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Dakota, New Hampshire and Florida. The trend carried over from last year, when lawmakers took up the issue in several states. Idaho is the only state to have adopted such a law, and it did so just last year.
Proponents of such bills say it’s about fairness, while opponents say the measures are discriminatory.
Bills that would penalize or criminalize medical professionals for providing trans youths with gender-affirming care have been introduced in Utah, Missouri, Indiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas.
“Criminal health care bans are unlike anything we have ever seen before,” Strangio said. “To cut someone off from their health care and make it a crime is pretty much unparalleled.”
In Kentucky, SB 83 would prohibit “discrimination” against any health care provider who refuses to administer care because of a religious objection.
In New Hampshire, HB 68 would expand the definition of “child abuse” to encompass parents’ provision of gender-affirming care, while bills in Alabama, Missouri and Indiana would make it a crime for physicians to give any gender-affirming care to a minor.
Research released in September in the journal Pediatrics found that transgender children who receive gender-affirming medical care earlier in their lives are less likely to experience mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
Strangio said he is alarmed by “how far-reaching these bills are becoming.” For example, a bill introduced by Mississippi state Sen. Angela Burkes Hill would criminalize access to care for young adults up to age 21.
Hill defended the bill on social media as necessary in the face of Biden’s pro-LGBTQ policies: “It should have been passed last year. Who is going to fight for your daughters not to be cheated by biological males deciding to identify as a girl?? Women shouldn’t have to change clothes in front of men either. That federal money will be the carrot. Get ready.”
Other bills that have alarmed LGBTQ advocates include Indiana’s HB 1456, which aims to prohibit transgender people’s access to bathrooms that match their gender identities; South Dakota’s HB 1076, which would require birth certificates to reflect biological sex; North Dakota’s HB 1476, which would codify discrimination against LGBTQ people; and Iowa’s Senate File 80, which would require schools to alert parents if their children are asked by school employees about their “preferred” pronouns.
Pro-LGBTQ legislation
For LGBTQ advocates, the news from legislatures isn’t all bad.
Suffredini expects several states to advance nondiscrimination protections, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Michigan. In Michigan, advocates collected over 400,000 signatures to put a measure on the ballot to extend such protections, and the Legislature has 40 days to amend existing nondiscrimination legislation or the issue will appear on the November 2022 ballot for voters to decide.
Advocates in Arkansas — one of only three states that have no hate crimes law, along with South Carolina and Wyoming — hope an LGBTQ-inclusive hate crimes bill makes it to the governor’s desk this session. Conservatives tried to derail the bill this month because it includes protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
In Indiana, the state’s first openly gay legislator, Sen. J.D. Ford, has proposed legislation that would outlaw conversion therapy for minors by licensed counselors. If the bill becomes law, Indiana would join 20 other states and 80 cities in banning the widely discredited practice.
North Carolina cities and municipalities have begun to pass nondiscrimination measures after the end of a moratorium on such local ordinances as a result of a 2017 compromise bill that repealed HB 2, the controversial “bathroom bill.”
New York Senate Democrats are advancing a bill that would strike down an anti-loitering statute, also known as the “walking while trans” law, which allows police to arrest and detain sex workers merely for being on the street. LGBTQ advocates say that the statute is used to harass transgender women of color and that its repeal is necessary to end targeted discrimination. The legislation is on track to pass next week.
Maryland legislators introduced a measure that would make it easier for transgender people to legally change their names.
State Sen. Scott Wiener, an openly gay lawmaker from California, has introduced a bill that would prohibit medically unnecessary surgical procedures on intersex children before age 6. If it passes, the law would be the first of its kind in the U.S.
An ally in the White House
Since he took office last week, Biden has taken several actions applauded by LGBTQ advocates, including issuing an executive order that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity across federal agencies and another that rescinds former President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people’s serving openly in the military.
“The Biden administration is by far the most supportive of LGBT people in U.S. history,” Suffredini said. “He took action on day one to extend protections on day one. No other president has done that. That is a first.”
With Biden in the White House and Democrats in control of Congress, Suffredini and other advocates are optimistic about passage of pro-LGBTQ federal legislation, including the Equality Act, which would grant LGBTQ people federal protections from discrimination in employment, housing, credit, education, use of public space, public funding and jury service.
“We are in the best position we have ever been to update federal civil rights law,” Suffredini said. “Our dedicated opposition knows this, and they know this moment could be coming. This is a last gasp.”
Declaring “God is on your side,” a Roman Catholic cardinal, an archbishop and six other U.S. bishops issued a statement Monday expressing support for LGBTQ youth and denouncing the bullying often directed at them.
“All people of goodwill should help, support and defend LGBT youth,” said the statement released by the Tyler Clementi Foundation, named for the Rutgers University student who took his own life in 2010 after being recorded on a webcam kissing another man.
Among those signing the statement were Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, and Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
According to Catholic teaching, gays and lesbians should be respected, loved and not discriminated against, but homosexual activity is considered “intrinsically disordered.” The church leadership in the U.S. vigorously opposes same-sex marriage and has not supported efforts to boost acceptance of transgender people.
The bishops’ statement said LGBTQ youth attempt suicide at much higher rates, are often homeless because of families who reject them and “are the target of violent acts at alarming rates.”
“We take this opportunity to say to our LGBT friends, especially young people, that we stand with you and oppose any form of violence, bullying or harassment directed at you,” it read. “Most of all, know that God created you, God loves you and God is on your side.
Along with Tobin and Wester, the statement was signed by Bishops John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky; Robert McElroy of San Diego; Steven Biegler of Cheyenne, Wyoming; and Edward Weisenberger of Tucson, Arizona, as well as two retired auxiliary bishops, Thomas Gumbleton of Detroit and Dennis Madden of Baltimore.
After the statement was issued, another auxiliary bishop, John Dolan of San Diego, also endorsed it.
The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest whose book “Building a Bridge” advocates for greater LGBTQ inclusion in the Catholic church, hailed the statement as “an historic step forward.”
“It’s a reminder that Jesus always stood on the side of the persecuted,” Martin said, expressing hope that more of the country’s over 400 active and retired bishops would endorse the statement.
Stowe and Wester had been scheduled to attend a conference last June, organized by Martin, to address LGBTQ inclusion in the church, but it was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Among those welcoming the bishops’ declaration was Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage.
″I am appreciative of this reaffirmation of the Church’s care for those who are struggling with sexual identity issues, especially when they are targets of bullying and suffer rejection even from the very ones who should love and support them,” he said via email. “The Church stands in solidarity with them, and all of her children, to help them live a life of virtue.”
The country of late has seen mixed messages, for transgender youth in particular, in terms of acceptance.
President Joe Biden on Monday signed an executive order rescinding former President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people joining the military.
In more than a dozen Republican-governed states, meanwhile, lawmakers have proposed bills that would bar young transgender people from playing on school sports teams that reflect their gender identity or from obtaining certain types of gender-related medical treatments.
Covid-19 News for SeniorsSee the announcement in the next section about our Thursday senior zoom group on February 4th when a coronavirus and vaccine expert will join us to provide information and answer our questions. Sign up now to be informed of when you can be vaccinated. Marin County has a form online where you can sign up to be notified when vaccine is available for you. Since supplies of vaccine are limited, people 75 and over as well as healthcare workers and those in residential facilities are prioritized. As more becomes available, additional populations will become prioritized. Sign up for notification here. The best place to get Coronavirus updates and vaccine updates for Marinhere and here, respectively. California Covid Vaccine Update. The latest California-wide information on the vaccine rollout, safety and more:here. Free, pop-up Covid testing sites in seven cities around the county: Bolinas, Larkspur, Novato, San Anselmo, San Geronimo, San Rafael, and Sausalito. You can see a schedule for each site and read more here. California is now offering covid vaccines to anyone over 65-years old & older. You can read more about the new policy here. Contact your healthcare provider for more information. A new allotment of Rental Assistance comes to Marin for those economically impacted by the pandemic. Read about it here and the new Eviction Moratoriumhere.
To join the Spahr Senior GroupMonday, 7 to 8 pm,click the purple button below the Butterfly Heart. New participants are warmly welcomed!
Topical Thursdays12:30 to 2 pm January 28What the World Needs Now Is …What does the world need now? We’ve experienced our world turned practically upside down in these past years. What would begin to make it right? Yes, changes in D.C. will bring some change, but much of our problem is local, neighbor to neighbor, people to people. Washington alone cannot fix all our problems. What wisdom would we share with the world as the elders we are if we could talk to it directly? February 4Covid and Vaccine Expert Joins UsTyler B. Evans, MD, MS, MPH,Deputy Public Health Officer; Chief, COVID-19 Immunization Branch, Marin County Health and Human Services Agency, will join our group to speak about the pandemic & the vaccine rollout. There will be plenty of time for him to answer our questions. Coming soon: Beyond the Binary: Gender and Pronouns IINancy Flaxman facilitates soon
Check-in Mondays7 to 8 pm We catch up with each other on how we’re doing and have unstructured conversations focused on listening and deepening community.
Buz Hermes is offering Aging Gayfully, his popular class, free through the Santa Rosa Junior College. And there’s a Continuing Class for those who have taken it in the past. It’s called a class but indeed, it’s as much a vehicle for community building and growth for LGBT seniors. You can sign up past the date of the first class. The Continuing class is evidence of the community-building and heartfulness of the experience seniors have in the class. You can reach Buz here: garydhermes@comcast.net
The Adventures ofPriscilla, Queen of the DesertSunday February 7 @ 7 pm A worldwide hit that’s become a cult classic, the 1994 Australian road comedy follows two drag queens played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce and a transgender woman, played by Terence Stamp, as they journey across the Australian Outback in a tour bus that they have named “Priscilla”, along the way encountering humanity in that remote part of the world as well as in themselves. You can watch the trailer here. On the off chance that we need to laugh aloud, we can watch Priscilla and have our hearts warmed at the same time. Rated 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and worth watching again if you’ve already seen it. It feels like Schitt’s Creek in different drag. – Bill Blackburn
Not Another Second: LGBT+ Seniors Share Their Stories. A new photography exhibit features LGBT seniors who had to live much of their lives hiding in the closet. Now liberated, their stories may well reflect some of our own. You can read great articles about it – and us – by clicking the following: NYT and NBCNews.
We encourage you to consider offering a song or a poem, play a favorite piece of music or maybe a tap dance, comedy routine or drag number. Jerry, our impresario, is incredibly skilled and patient in recording our acts on zoom well ahead of the show, making sure we performers are satisfied with the result. He will then strings them together to be shown in late February. Jerry Schmitz can be reached at jschm117@aol.comDebbie Alcouloumre at socialcommittee@comcast.net He already has three performances recorded and is looking for more…
The Social Committee has been consistently offering fun events to offset the boredom of the pandemic. They want to celebrate your birthday if you’ll let them know when it is. They offer a women’s coffee plus a number of times to gather on zoom over games and conversation. To sign up for their emails, click here.
California Department of AgingThe 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.
The Spahr Center has a number of tablets, i.e., small mobile computers, available to give to seniors for free!We’re also seeking ways to help teach seniors how to use them. If you would like to receive a tablet, please let Bill know: 415/450-5339 orbblackburn@thespahrcenter.org. The tablet would enable you to join our senior groups on zoom with video as well as access other parts of the internet. Please Note: We’re hoping to have the tablets individuals have requested begin to be available soon.
Also in this email (below):Spahr has skilled therapists ready to work with seniors on a sliding-scale basis.Nutrition ResourcesBisexual Support zoom group forming through The Spahr Center.
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
Spahr’s skilled therapists are available to work with seniors on a sliding-scale basis. Write toinfo@thespahrcenter.org. A Bisexual Support Group is forming with The Spahr Center, facilitated by a therapist. Let Bill Blackburn know if you are interested. Whistlestop, renamed Vivalon, provides 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. They also offer free classes on zoom including zumba, yoga, chair exercises, & ukulele! Click 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
The Spahr Center has opened its Food Pantryto 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. Contact The Spahr Center for more information: info@thespahrcenter.org or 415/457.2487
Revry celebrates Black History Month with an entire February calendar highlighting incredible Black Queer content made by and for the community.
“Black History Month is a time to celebrate the rich heritage and contributions of Black Americans. It is especially poignant in this moment in history because we are so divided as a nation,” says Black Revry Co-Founder and Army Veteran, LaShawn McGhee. “Taking the time to highlight Black Americans and more specifically Queer Black American voices that unappologeticlaly explore the Black Queer experience is a necessity, and I’m proud to be able to do that through Revry.” To kick off Black History Month, Revry will premiere three new powerfully entertaining documentaries on February 1st: We Can’t Breathe, Voguing the Message, and Heavenly Brown Body. Throughout the month, brand new content will continue to premiere including series like Miseducated, Boys Hurt Too, His Story and Exhale. In addition, Revry Originals will also be featured including Linish about international trans DJ phenom; the Australian comedy Little Sista; To Be Me starring Emmy winner Kim Estes; and the powerful intersection of Black and Queer conversation series, Amplify Voices.
The global Queer TV network, 75% founded by people of color and 50% Black women, has already been specifically championing Black voices with its existing Black Lives Matter curation of films, series, and music videos. This month is an opportunity for audiences to find even more free Black entertainment playing on Revry’s Live Linear channels and On-Demand at www.watch.revry.tv. The full calendar of events is below, including hyperlinks on titles available to watch immediately.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH CALENDAR ON REVRY Monday, February 1, 2021 We Can’t Breathe – During a global pandemic, the killing of one man sparks the biggest social movement in history. In Los Angeles, a queer black woman is determined to capture the movement through her lens, so she hits the streets, camera in hand. What she discovers is a diverse world of impassioned protesters from all walks of life, coming together to make themselves heard. Voguing the Message – A pre-Madonna primer that raises questions about race, sex and subcultural style, and traces the roots of this gay Black and Latino dance form, which appropriates and plays with poses and images from mainstream fashion. Linish – A Revry Original documentary following the life of the legendary and inimitable DJ Lina Bradford. Heavenly Brown Body – This Grand Jury Prize for Short Documentary at Outfest 2020 uses the poem “Litanies to my Heavenly Brown Body” by poet Mark Aguhar (she/her) as the text for a queer liturgy with mysterious seers who use the words of the poem as the liturgy for their ritual of cleansing and healing,
Friday, February 5, 2021 Single Record – After reaching his dream of having a hit song, a talented and arrogant rapper learns that his record label will drop him if his next song isn’t a hit. His desperation to save his career will force him to confront his identity, sexuality and bring him to new lows that could cost him everything. America in Transition – America In Transition, an award-winning, Sundance-backed Revry Original documentary series, explores the community, family, and social issues of trans people of color across the United States – capturing real life for a veteran turned activist, an immigrant seeking home, a woman living with HIV healing from trauma, and a model navigating family life.
Sunday, February 7, 2021 Trade– ‘Trade’ tells the story of two men, one a streetwise hustler, the other a straight-laced lawyer, who meet and form a relationship that brings to light who they really are Miseducated – It’s time to relive, reimagine, and reblog the gay high school experience. Anton tries to avoid the often isolating halls of high school by dropping out. But his best friend Dillion makes the decision tough, reminding Anton that inside and outside of the halls, all they have are each other. Boys Hurt Too – Following the death of Jake his brother Bobby and best friend Colt struggle to move on from the high school legend. They soon begin to learn about the monster Jake truly was.
Tuesday, February 9, 2021
Shorts Block (About Face,Pea Pod, Engaged, Iconoclast, Innocent Boy,Not Black Enough, My Name was January, Light in Dark Places) My Trans Life Season 1 – Being trans is a mental, physical and emotional journey and MY TRANS LIFE showcases inspiring trans individuals on their journeys of acceptance. From preparing for major surgery, to tackling love lives, to campaigning for equality, MY TRANS LIFE follows transgender people facing the world in the body they were meant to be in. Friday, February 12, 2021
To Be Me – To Be Me tells the story of a young, mid-western African American who struggles with their gender identity. Played by Kate Rose Wilburn, a non-binary trans female, along with Emmy award winning actor Kim Estes as their father, this Revry Original series is here to shed light on the under represented and supported subject of gender identity. Music Block (Mila Jam, Madison Rose, NEO 10Y, Ze Taylor, Cakes da Killa, Alsace Carcione, Davy Boi, Khaos Da Rapper, Lafemmebear, Matt Palmer)
Sunday, February 14, 2021 Her Story – Her Story is about two trans women in Los Angeles who have given up on love, when chance encounters give them hope. Violet is drawn to Allie, a reporter who approaches her for an interview. Career-driven Paige meets James, the first man she’s considered opening up to in years. Will they risk letting what they are stand in the way of being loved for who they are? His Story – In this novel series we enter the fantasy of Noah and Chris, two step brothers who get a reality check in a story of lust. Gina Yashere: Laughing To America – Filmed live in San Francisco, CA, UK’s premier Black female comedian, Gina Yashere, has come to America! Her unique take on being a cultural insider and outsider never fails to raise the roof as she gives us her take on the news gripping the nation. Threesome – A poly couple, Vanessa & Justin, search for the perfect woman to join their relationship, which proves easier said than done. Along the way, they must navigate through sex addicts, crazy women & the negative opinions of friends in this comedic digital series.
Tuesday, February 16, 2021 My Trans Life Season 2 – Being trans is a mental, physical and emotional journey and MY TRANS LIFE showcases inspiring trans individuals on their journeys of acceptance. From preparing for major surgery, to tackling love lives, to campaigning for equality, MY TRANS LIFE follows transgender people facing the world in the body they were meant to be in. Cheetah in August – A riveting story about a former high school track athlete whose distorted views on love, negatively affects the people closest to him. Clash– A critique on the lack of QPOC representation in UK television and film, highlighting inequality and the absence of media engagement with Britain’s colonial past.
Friday, February 19, 2021 Amplify Voices – Amplify Voices is a Revry original series determined to pass the mic to incredible humans you should know more about, and embrace conversations and debates that achieve heightened intersectional understanding across the Queer and POC global community. Little Sista – In this Revry Original series, commitment-phobe Charmaine must learn to grow up when she is paired with an at-risk youth in a Big Brother, Big Sister programme.
Sunday, February 21, 2021 Exhale – New – In such chaotic times, viewers escape into the tranquil world of Exhale. As viewers relax they sit back and witness as Marion’s cheating ways interrupts his zen. Change in the Family – This documentary chronicles the transgender-transition of Zo Thorpe and the sympathetic response of his family. This is a story of celebration, health, and unconditional love. A much-needed portrayal of trans and gender-nonconforming lives in America. She – “She” follows Tanesh Nutall, a 50-year old black transgender woman from Rahway, New Jersey. In February 2016, Tanesh was confronted by a city employee for using a women’s restroom in Downtown San Francisco. Throughout the film, Tanesh seeks justice and make amends with family members that were not accepting of her gender identity. Not only does “She” discuss queer people in urban spaces but one’s ability to accept themselves despite the odds against them.
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 My Trans Life Season 3 – Being trans is a mental, physical and emotional journey and MY TRANS LIFE showcases inspiring trans individuals on their journeys of acceptance. From preparing for major surgery, to tackling love lives, to campaigning for equality, MY TRANS LIFE follows transgender people facing the world in the body they were meant to be in. Vintage: Families of Value – Claiming a space for representations of lesbian and gay African Americans, three sets of queer siblings, provide an unprecedented opportunity for black families to address issues of sexuality, identity, and personal history.
Friday, February 26, 2021 Suicide Khale – While having lunch with another couple, new couple Jasmine and Penny stumble upon an anonymous suicide note and proceed to work to uncover the identity of the author. Missed Connections– Two strangers meet and form a bond at a festival, but they forget to exchange contact info. As they search for one another and through viral posts, they navigate their careers, lives, and society’s expectations of them as Black, female, and transgender. Scales – Remy and his two best friends have an epic breakdown in their journeys of finding stable relationships outside of each other.
Sunday, February 28, 2021 Don’t Break Yourself – Everybody’s gotta work. Calen and Tye decide to work smart. Tired of retail, Calen hatches a plan to keep his rent paid while Tye searches for a way to save his dying moving business. Along their journey the two are bonded by their struggle. Giving Me Life – A dramedy series about six Black and Latinx friends of diverse sexualities as they struggle to live and love in New York City.
ABOUT REVRYWatch Queer TV 24/7 with the first LGBTQ+ digitall cable TV network. Revry offers free live TV channels and on-demand viewing of its global library featuring LGBTQ+ movies, shows, music, podcasts, news, and exclusive originals all in one place! Revry is currently available globally in over 250+ million households and devices and on seven OTT, mobile, and Desktop platforms. Revry can also be viewed on nine live and on-demand channels and Connected TVs including: The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, Comcast Xfinity X1, Dell, XUMO TV, Zapping TV, STIRR, TiVo+, and as the first LGBTQ+ virtual reality channel on Littlstar (available on PlayStation devices). The company–an inaugural member of the Goldman Sachs Black and LatinX Cohort–is headquartered in Los Angeles and led by a diverse founding team who bring decades of experience in the fields of tech, digital media, and LGBTQ+ advocacy. Follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @revrytv,Revry.tv
A lesbian who was forced to flee Zimbabwe after facing death threats from her own family has been denied refugee status in Ireland.
In April 2019, an International Protection Officer (IPO) recommended that the woman – who has not been named – be denied asylum, arguing that her claim lacked credibility.×
The woman said she forced into two separate marriages as a child in Zimbabwe at the ages of nine and 13. She claimed she was forced to flee her home country after her family found out that she was a lesbian, leading to threats of violence.
The woman subsequently brought judicial review proceedings in an effort to have the 2019 IPO recommendation overturned – however, Justice Tara Burns denied her request on Friday (22 January), The Irish Timesreports.
In her appeal, the woman argued that her sexuality was a “core element” of her asylum claim and that the IPO had failed to determine her sexuality when it recommended that she be denied asylum.
Before making a recommendation on her asylum claim, the IPO asked her questions about her sexuality and found that she was not aware of any LGBT+ support groups in either Ireland or Zimbabwe.
The IPO used her responses to questions about her sexuality, and other information about the woman, in reaching a recommendation that she should be denied asylum in Ireland.
In her ruling, Justice Burns said the IPO had reached a determination on the question of her sexuality. Her appeal to have the IPO recommendation overturned was denied.
She can now appeal the matter at the International Protection Appeals Tribunal, the judge said.
The case comes just months after a bisexual healthcare worker who fled anti-LGBT+ discrimination in Zimbabwe had her application for asylum in Ireland rejected because she doesn’t “seem bisexual”.
That ruling sparked international backlash, with the healthcare worker and another queer Zimbabwean woman speaking on condition of anonymity to CNN about their experiences seeking asylum in Ireland.
The Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) told PinkNews that it is “appalled” by recent decisions for LGBT+ refugees.
“The Irish state assumes to have the authority to validate or invalidate a person’s sexual orientation in order to deny them protection,” said spokesperson Bulelani Mfaco. “Nowhere in Irish law or practice would the Irish state treat its own citizens in such a manner.”
Mfaco said the Irish government “ignores the difficult and life-threatening conditions LGBTQ+ asylum seekers escape in their home country”. He said queer people in some countries could face prison or death if they were to join an LGBT+ organisation.
“The Irish government doesn’t have the authority to validate a person’s sexual orientation,” Mfaco added.
California lifted regional stay-at-home orders across the state Monday in response to improving coronavirus conditions, returning the state to a system of county-by-county restrictions, state health officials announced.
The order had been in place in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, covering the majority of the state’s counties. The change will allow businesses such as restaurants to resume outdoor operations in many areas, though local officials could choose to continue stricter rules. The state is also lifting a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew.
“Together, we changed our activities knowing our short-term sacrifices would lead to longer-term gains. COVID-19 is still here and still deadly, so our work is not over, but it’s important to recognize our collective actions saved lives and we are turning a critical corner,” Dr. Tomas Aragon, the state’s public health director, said in a statement.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to address the public later Monday.
The decision comes with improving trends in the rate of infections, hospitalizations and intensive care unit capacity as well as vaccinations.
Newsom imposed the stay-at-home order in December as coronavirus cases worsened. Under the system, a multi-county region had to shut down most businesses and order people to stay home if ICU capacity dropped below 15%. An 11-county Northern California region was never under the order. The Greater Sacramento Region exited the order last week. The state makes the decisions based on four-week projections showing ICU capacity improving, but officials have not disclosed the data behind the forecasts.
During the weekend, San Francisco Bay Area ICU capacity surged to 23% while the San Joaquin Valley increased to 1.3%, its first time above zero. The huge Southern California region, the most populous, remains at zero ICU capacity.
Early last year, the state developed a system of color-coded tiers that dictated the level of restrictions on businesses and individuals based on virus conditions in each of California’s 58 counties. Most counties will now go back to the most restrictive purple tier, which allows for outdoor dining, hair and nail salons to be open, and outdoor church services. Bars that only serve beverages cannot be open.
Bernie Sanders’ iconic inauguration mittens, immortalised in countless memes, were handmade by a lesbian teacher.
Some of the United States’ most powerful political figures turned out on Wednesday (20 January) to watch Joe Biden and Kamala Harris be sworn in as the new president and vice-president of the United States.
But Sanders ultimately stole the show with his cosy, casual look, expertly tied together with a pair of woolly mittens. Social media went into overdrive, and it wasn’t long before the Vermont senator found himself supplanted into every meme going.
Now, the creator of those mittens has come forward to claim some much-deserved glory for her gorgeous creation.
Jen Ellis, 42, told Jewish Insiderthat she is a longtime admirer of Bernie Sanders, and decided to gift him with the mittens in 2016 after he lost his bid to become the Democratic nominee for the presidency to Hillary Clinton.
The lesbian second grade teacher, who lives in Essex Junction outside Burlington, where Sanders served as mayor in the 1980s, revealed that she saw a unique opportunity to gift the Vermont senator in 2016.
At that time, Ellis’ daughter was attending a pre-school where Sanders’ daughter-in-law worked as a director. Ellis was making some of her special homemade mittens – which she calls “swittens” as she makes them from old sweaters – for staff, and decided to make a pair for Sanders too.
“I was making mittens for holiday gifts for the preschool teachers, and I made an extra pair for Bernie,” she said, explaining that she gave them to Sanders’ daughter-in-law to pass on to him.
Ellis – who has never met Sanders in person but agrees with his politics – added: “He must really like them if he chose to wear them.”
She said that she is a “fan” of Sanders, adding: “I’ve always voted for him. I agree with his politics. As a teacher, I work with people from all walks of life, and I can see how a lot of people need more help and support.
“Some of the things that Bernie talks about, like forgiving student loans and free education and just a lot of his humanitarian ideas and things, really align with what I see as a need in our country every day.”
The lesbian teacher said she hopes to one day meet Bernie Sanders, adding: “I want him to keep doing what he’s doing and fighting the good fight.”
Sadly for fans of Ellis’ “swittens”, it won’t be possible to get a pair anytime soon. She has received more than 6,000 emails from people wanting to buy a pair of her handmade creations, but she doesn’t have the time or inclination to mass-produce them.
“I’m not going to quit my day job. I am a second grade teacher, and I’m a mom, and all that keeps me really busy.”
President Joe Biden on Monday signed an executive order repealing the ban on transgender people serving openly in the military, a ban that former President Donald Trump had put in effect, the White House said.
In a statement, the White House said Biden’s order “sets the policy that all Americans who are qualified to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States should be able to serve.”
“President Biden believes that gender identity should not be a bar to military service, and that America’s strength is found in its diversity,” the White House said.
Biden’s order “immediately prohibits involuntary separations, discharges, and denials of reenlistment or continuation of service on the basis of gender identity or under circumstances relating to gender identity,” the White House said
The order also directs the immediate “correction of” military records for any who had been affected by Trump’s ban.
Biden’s action to reverse the ban had been widely expected. He had vowed to reverse the Trump administration’s transgender military policy “on Day One” of his administration, and White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Inauguration Day that the move was imminent.
Psaki said last Wednesday that the action would be among the “additional executive actions” that will be taken “in the coming days and weeks.”
During his Senate confirmation hearing last week, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he supports reversing the ban. “If you’re fit and you’re qualified to serve and you can maintain the standards, you should be allowed to serve, and you can expect that I will support that throughout,” he said.
Human rights groups immediately lauded the move by Biden.
“Today, those who believe in fact-based public policy and a strong, smart national defense have reason to be proud. The Biden administration has made good on its pledge to put military readiness above political expediency by restoring inclusive policy for transgender troops,” said Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Center, a nonpartisan organization that studies LGBTQ military issues. “The ban will now be replaced with a single standard for everyone that, as in the successful previous policy, will apply equally to all service members.”
“President Biden’s reversal of the Transgender Military Ban is a huge step towards full equality for the LGBTQ community and serves to make us stronger as a nation,” said Erin Uritus, the CEO of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, a LGBTQ workplace equality advocacy organization.
Trump, in a series of unexpected tweets in July 2017, announced transgender people would be barred from serving in the military “in any capacity,” reversing a policy decision announced by the Obama administration in June 2016.
While the Trump administration maintained its policy was not a “ban,” it did prevent transgender people who plan to pursue gender-affirming hormones or surgery from enlisting. Transgender individuals who were already serving openly were grandfathered in, meaning they could continue to serve. But those service members who came out as trans after the policy could not pursue transition and were required to serve as their assigned sex at birth.
Thousands of transgender people already serve in the military. A 2016 Department of Defense survey estimated that 1 percent, or 8,980, active duty troops were transgender. Using the same data, the Palm Center, which studies LGBTQ people in the military, estimated that an additional 5,727 transgender people were in the Selected Reserve, bringing the total estimated number of transgender troops serving in 2016 to 14,707.
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