Jay Valle

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LGBTQ people find confidence and community in self-defense classes

Self-defense classes geared toward LGBTQ people can be found sprinkled across the United States, and instructors and students say the skills these classes provide are giving attendees a boost of confidence and a sense of community in a fraught political environment. “Pretend someone’s coming for you. How would you kick them if you were fighting for your life?” an instructor at Queer Fight Club in St. Louis asked attendees during a recent self-defense class. Tori Lohmann, who is nonbinary, was among the nine students in the class. Lohmann said they never imagined joining a self-defense group but found themselves drawn to Queer […]

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These knitters are keeping thousands of LGBTQ homeless youths cozy this winter

Knit the Rainbow founder Austin Rivers, right, and Shamus MacFarlane, the organization’s administrative assistant.Jay Valle / NBCU Academy Like many who took up new hobbies during the pandemic, Austin Rivers found comfort in knitting. But his craft took on a larger meaning when he realized his scarves and hats could also support his New York City queer community.  He was particularly eager to help homeless LGBTQ youths, who comprise up to 40% of the country’s homeless youth population. “I don’t have the capacity to build a shelter, the network or the connections to help in that way, but what I can do […]

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A digital library offers hundreds of free LGBTQ books in response to wave of school bans

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When Sara Katherine moved back to her hometown of Valparaiso, Indiana, from New York, she noticed a lack of support for LGBTQ youth. So she started volunteering as a mentor at a local nonprofit, chatting with queer teens who hadn’t seen LGBTQ people reflected much in media or in their community. Then she came across a resource gold mine: the Queer Liberation Library, a digital catalog of over 1,200 LGBTQ books for anyone across the country to access. “I was able to tell them, ‘Hey, guess what? I have something free for you, and it’s thousands of books you can read where […]

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How queer Indigenous youth are finding safety and support after Nex Benedict’s death

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In the summer of 2015, an 8-year-old Choctaw child named Twelve walked in their first Two-Spirit LGBTQ Pride parade, recognizing Native people with a male and female spirit within them. They wore their hair in braids and a black suit, their mother and auntie by their side. Out and proud adults waved hello to Twelve from their colorfully decorated floats. The streets of Oklahoma City were filled with music, dancing and drag performances. It was a celebration that seemed like a step toward a future of acceptance for Oklahoma’s Indigenous queer community.   “That memory sticks in my mind — seeing someone that […]

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Police search for rider accused of punching nonbinary person on NYC subway

New York City police are searching for an unidentified individual who was recorded harassing a nonbinary person and allegedly punched them on a Manhattan subway.  Hunter Greer, 27, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, said they were attacked Sunday night by two people sitting next to them on the 1 train. Greer said the attack began after they accidentally bumped their elbow against one of the people. That person then stood up and began verbally harassing Greer, at one point using a homophobic slur. “They were continuing to yell slurs at me, and she threatened to break my nose if I didn’t […]

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Two Florida LGBTQ centers vandalized with anti-LGBTQ messages and hate symbols

Murals at two LGBTQ centers in Orlando, Florida, were defaced with anti-LGBTQ messages and hate symbols over the weekend. The LGBT+ Center Orlando, a nonprofit located downtown, published a photo of the vandalism on its Facebook page Saturday morning, calling the incident “sad and infuriating.” The image shows a colorful rainbow heart mural defaced with black spray paint that includes a homophobic message, a Bible reference and a Celtic cross, which is a widely recognized symbol associated with white supremacy. “It’s not the first time it has happened and even though is frustrating, we are not going to stop being a beacon […]

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Texas lesbian bar denied insurance for hosting drag shows, owner says

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The owner of Houston’s only lesbian bar says her business is in jeopardy after it was denied insurance coverage, and she’s putting the blame, in part, on an anti-drag bill moving through the Texas Legislature. “They outright denied us, the underwriters, because we host drag shows,” Julie Mabry, the owner of Pearl Bar, said in an interview with NBC affiliate KPRC of Houston.  Mabry has insurance through December, but she decided to switch agents a few months ago and shop around for a new policy, she told KPRC. It was during that process that her agent received the denial email, which […]

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Chicago gay bars boycott Anheuser-Busch for distancing itself from Dylan Mulvaney

Beer drinkers visiting Chicago gay bars may have a difficult time finding popular brands like Bud Light, Stella Artois and Michelob Ultra. That’s because at least five LGBTQ venues in the city are boycotting the brewing company Anheuser-Busch and its products after the company distanced itself from transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Mulvaney, best known for her “Days of Girlhood” TikTok series, partnered with the company during the NCAA’s March Madness basketball tournament. The partnership, which consisted of a sponsored post on her Instagram account promoting Bud Light, spawned a right-wing backlash. The company’s response to that backlash led to accusations that it was […]

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Grindr joins major public health push to distribute free at-home HIV tests

The world’s most popular gay dating app, Grindr, is participating in a nationwide effort to distribute free at-home HIV testing kits to populations most affected by the virus.  “If you’ve got a way that you are testing, and it’s really working for you, then that’s great, and you should stick with that,” Jack Harrison-Quintana, director of the app’s social justice division, Grindr for Equality, told NBC News. “If you don’t, this is an additional way for you to get tested in a way that’s just about as easy as doing an at-home Covid test.”  Grindr, which reports 12 million monthly active […]

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10 LGBTQ Indigenous trailblazers who are making history

From the halls of Congress to popular films and TV shows, Indigenous queer people have long made historic contributions to politics, art and advocacy — and they continue to do so.  November marks Native American Heritage Month, and the following 10 LGBTQ+ Indigenous trailblazers are bringing important representation to TV, challenging traditional gender expectations at powwows and elevating issues affecting Indigenous people, such as the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Sharice Davids Rep. Sharice Davids, a member of the Ho-Chunk nation, became the first LGBTQ Native American elected to Congress and one of the first Native American women […]

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