Nic Austin

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Breaking boundaries in gender-free fashion with Stuzo Clothing

In the bustling streets of New York City, the heartbeat of Stuzo Clothingresonates with the vibrant spirit of inclusivity and self-expression. Founded by the visionary Stoney Michelli Love, Stuzo emerges as more than just a fashion brand; it’s a sanctuary where all individuals find solace from judgment and labels. And with Women’s History Month coming to a close, it turns out that celebrating the women that came before and creating gender-free apparel go hand in hand.

Stuzo Clothing’s “Live Your Truth” T-Shirt is available to shop on ThePrideStore.com

With a mission to challenge societal norms, Stuzo Clothing embraces the concept of gender-free clothing, or as Stoney affectionately puts it, “clothes without organs.” In a recent interview, Stoney shared insights into the genesis of Stuzo: “In 2008, during my final year of graphic design studies in the Bronx, I faced homophobia, racism, and sexism, which became a wellspring of inspiration.”

Stoney’s personal experiences with prejudice fueled the creation of Stuzo, culminating in a brand that champions diversity and authenticity. “My shopping experiences were divided by gendered sections, creating a sense of exclusion,” she recalls. “Shopping in spaces lacking a middle ground was frustrating.”

At the core of Stuzo’s philosophy lies an organic creative process, reflecting Stoney’s commitment to authenticity and fluidity. “My creative process is organic. It comes to me,” she explains. “I allow myself to be inspired by anything and everything.”

Drawing inspiration from sources as diverse as royalty and reality TV, Stoney crafts designs that resonate with the bold and non-conforming. “I let things speak to me and things inspire me, and I live my life,” she adds.

Yet, Stuzo’s journey hasn’t been without its challenges. Stoney reflects on the pivotal moment when she redefined the brand as gender-free after a period of self-reflection. “I had to take a step back and check in with myself,” she shares. “After this realization, Stuzo became a gender-free company again.”

Stuzo Clothing’s “FemBoi” Tank is available to shop on ThePrideStore.com

Navigating through personal and professional growth, Stoney acknowledges the transformative power of embracing one’s truth. “There’s a lot of unpacking, learning, relearning, and regaining power,” she affirms. “But I ended up being a better business person because I was able to come back to my truth and values, so I’m grateful for that.”

As Women’s History Month unfolds, Stoney reflects on its significance for Stuzo and herself: “It’s celebrating the female humans that came before us, and fought for our equal rights. It’s celebrating those with us in the now that continue the fight and fighting by simply being themselves. And it’s about celebrating the youth, who are the future ones leading the charge for the balance in humanity.”

Through Stuzo Clothing, Stoney Michelli Love epitomizes the resilience and creativity of women entrepreneurs, inspiring individuals to embrace their authenticity and rewrite the narrative of fashion.

Receive free shipping with promo code “LUCKY” (valid thru 3/31) when you shopThePrideStore.com.

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LGBTQ-affirming high school in Alabama has its first graduating class

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In Birmingham, Alabama, families, and friends of students of Magic City Acceptance Academy attended the charter school’s inaugural graduation ceremony. MCAA is a charter school that promises an “LGBTQ-affirming learning environment” for students who “have dropped out, are not thriving at traditional schools.”

Although the classes are small, 12 seniors graduated this year, the hearts of the school’s community remain large as crowds of families cheered on the graduates with lots of pride, appreciation, and love.

In its early stages, MCAA overcame three rejections from the Alabama Public Charter School Commission. However, the school won its approval and opened its doors in 2021 in the Birmingham suburb of Homewood with 250 students in grades six through 12.

Mike Wilson, the school’s principal, noted that when students first arrived at MCAA, they were “wrapped up in their trauma.” The students came from environments where they’d been bullied and marginalized. At the Academy, the staff and faculty worked to educate and empower their students.

One graduating senior, Clover, said it wasn’t until they came to the Academy that they saw their grades improve. Along with good grades, Clover has also created strong bonds with other students that they never thought they’d have.

Clover’s mother, Rachel, said that from the beginning of the school year she’s seen a change in her child. Previously, Clover was “miserable” in school, and there weren’t many options. But when Rachel discovered MCAA, she thought it could be a solution. And she was right.

MCAA creates an environment that focuses on both the mental and social development of students by creating a trauma-informed space. Trauma-informed care helps professionals change their focus away from asking questions like “what’s wrong with you?” and instead asks questions like “what happened to you?”

Along with trauma-informed care, MCAA also focuses on social justice initiatives, restorative justice, and social and emotional learning, while also providing strong academics.

MCAA has already seen the payoff of these focus areas during both the graduation ceremony and an eighth graders’ promotion ceremony where students seemed full of joy as they played with friends and went to teachers to offer them heartfelt goodbyes and handwritten letters.

The Academy has been a beacon of support within the community, already amassing its target enrollment of 350 students. The school plans on adding more staff in the future to meet the needs of more students.

MCAA comes at a time when bullying in schools have reached the need for intervention. The ACLU has stated it’s illegal under federal law for public schools to ignore anti-LGBTQ harassment of students.

“Public schools that fail to adequately protect LGBTQ students from severe bullying and harassment can be held liable under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause. Cases thathave found school districts are liable for anti–LGBTQ bullying as a result of their deliberate indifference have led to damages awards and settlements as high as $1.1 million for students whose schools failed to protect them from anti–LGBTQ harassment,” an open letter to schools states.

It looks like MCAA is solving that problem and is a leader in education when it comes to anti-LGBTQ bullying initiatives.

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Transgender journalists refuse to provide Pride coverage for The Guardian due to transphobic content

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Two transgender journalists are pulling out of the Guardian’s Pride special coverage due to the paper’s alleged “ingrained prejudice against trans women.”

In a letter to the U.K. newspaper’s bosses, freelance journalists Freddy McConnell and Vic Parsons said they were declining all future work with The Guardian. They were commissioned to write pieces about their experiences of being transgender for the paper’s upcoming Pride special.

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Related: Trans man is fighting to not be called “mother” on his child’s birth certificate

The pair say they have a “moral duty to stand in absolute solidarity” with transgender women and trans feminine people who are receiving negative attention from the paper, adding they will “no longer write for The Guardian until it changes its trans-hostile and exclusionary stance.”

The letter continues: “For far too long, the UK’s supposedly most progressive mainstream media outlet has routinely monstered trans women, undermined non-binary people, and misrepresented our desire to simply live in peace and safety.”

“It has amplified conspiracy theories about trans healthcare and trans and gender non-conforming children and has contributed to attempts to smear those working to support trans people. On social media, it’s even worse, with prominent writers routinely amplifying and generating misinformation about trans women, trans men, and nonbinary people.”

McConnell and Parsons say they believed a recent opinion piece was “misleading and discriminatory” about cisgender lesbians dating transgender women and said it was “the final straw” for them.

The opinion piece was published in The Guardian’s sister paper The Observer and online on The Guardian’s website. The article has been criticized as anti-trans, with the author of the article repeatedly calling transgender women “biologically male” and labeling transgender campaigners working for transgender equality as pushing “gender ideology.”

McConnell said that he was “disgusted” by the article, “I was like, oh God, here we go again. I’m still shocked that the Guardian is putting out pieces that are so obviously incorrect, inaccurate, and offensive. What is going on?”

In their letter to newspaper bosses, the writers claim the article “contravenes The Guardian’s editorial code on fairness, verification, accuracy, and discrimination,” as well as going against the paper’s “foundational values.”

“This decision was not reached quickly or easily,” they write, adding, “since 2017, trans writers, staffers, and allies have been working politely and tirelessly to help editors understand the harm that misinformed hostility to trans equality is doing, both to trans people and to the paper itself.”

“When I saw that opinion piece I was just like – why? Not again. I was sent it by multiple people and it’s exactly why I’ve had to stop reading the news for the past few months,” Parsons said. “It was impossible for me to go ahead and write something for the Pride edition, knowing that the organization had supported that article.”

The two journalists call on other writers, especially LGBTQ writers, to end their working relationships with The Guardian “until it stops attacking trans women and trans equality,” they say that all of the newspaper’s transgender staff have already left.

“The Guardian can no longer point to trans staffers as evidence of not having a transphobia problem because they’ve all left, either wholly or partly due to said transphobia,” the letter claims.

McConnell and Parsons have several demands within their letter. They want The Guardianto change how it approaches transgender people. They also ask for a change in the editorial stance to reflect that transgender women having rights does not disadvantage cisgender women.

Both writers don’t have any regrets when it comes to leaving The Guardian. When asked if leaving could lead to transgender people being silenced, or more anti-transgender negativity in the newspaper, both McConnell and Parsons said “no.”

“We’re not included in the debate at this point anyway, and certainly not by The Guardian,” Parsons said. “This is a statement against the continued exclusion of our voices from the debate – not us removing ourselves from a debate that we were included in.”

They added: “If you call yourself a trans ally, this is the moment for you to do something. Yes, it might come at a financial cost to not have a working relationship with The Guardian, as it does for me and Freddy, but sometimes you have to do what’s right.”

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Gay couple beaten at chicken restaurant during Pride weekend

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A California gay couple was attacked during Pride weekend in midtown Sacramento’s LGBTQ-friendly Lavender Heights district. The couple was enjoying a night out at Kiki’s Chicken Place before a homophobic man began attacking the pair because of a discarded cigarette.

In a video, it can be seen that the perpetrator of the attack threw a punch landing on one of the victims before a brawl broke out involving several of the restaurant’s patrons. Customers of the establishment broke up the fight before the attacker could do even more damage to the couple.

After the incident, the couple immediately gave a statement to police to investigate the attacker who had disappeared after customers had intervened in the fight. Now, the couple is speaking out about the attack and the ongoing investigation.

“I’m just hoping for justice. I’m hoping there is someone out there who can help identify who these people are,” Derek, one of the victims, told ABC 10.

The search for the suspect is still ongoing, so the victims have not gone public with their last names or images. The only problem is that Sacramento PD has suspended their case.

“I’m mostly upset at Sac PD (Sacramento Police Department) at the moment, due to the fact that there are plenty of leads. I would like more attention from Sac PD. I would like them to re-open the case and do something about it,” the second victim, Jose, said in a statement.

Police have confirmed that the investigation was briefly closed but has now since been reopened. Police said the case will be investigated by detectives assigned to the Bias Crimes Task Force. This task force specifically looks at hate crimes and Derek and Jose’s case qualifies as a hate crime against LGBTQ people.

“As a department, we take all allegations of bias-related crime seriously and remain committed to conducting a comprehensive investigation into this incident,” Sacramento Police Department said in a statement.

The couple discusses the fear they experienced when enjoying a regular night out in their favorite neighborhood.

“It’s scary to think about going out at night to a restaurant or for a drink and not feeling comfortable in the city you are living in,” Derek said.

The couple said this started when a customer at Kiki’s Chicken Place threw a cigarette on the ground.

“I don’t like litterbugs,” Jose said. “So, I went and picked it up and threw it away inside the restaurant. He started approaching me with a very intimidating attitude. He started telling me if I had a problem to let him know because he can go ahead and smoke us both.”

The situation escalated when the perpetrator began shouting gay slurs at Derek and Jose, and the attacker, seen on the video provided by the couple, is shown punching Derek in the face.

Jose is seen jumping up and fighting back. He ended up covered in blood with scratches, bruises, and a broken nose. The couple said they filed a police report after the incident on Friday only to learn the case was suspended days later for a so-called lack of evidence.

Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester called the couple to speak to them directly. Now that the case has been reopened, the hope is that Derek and Jose will receive the justice they deserve.

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Out tennis legend Billie Jean King receives France’s Legion of Honor award

Tennis legend and LGBTQ rights activist Billie Jean King received France’s highest civilian honor, the Legion of Honor, on Friday.

King, who is attending the French Open, received the award in recognition of her contributions to women’s sports, gender equality, and the rights of LGBTQ people in athletics. She was a part of a short ceremony at the presidential Elysee Palace where French President Emmanuel Macron was in attendance.

King returned to the main clay court at the Paris tennis complex that hosts the French Open for a ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of winning the 1972 tournament title.

In 1971, King risked her career to start the Virginia Slims Tour for professional women players. It led to the creation of the Women’s Tennis Association in 1973 as the organizing body for women’s professional tennis.

King has continued since then to be a champion of women, especially transgender women. It wasn’t that long ago that she showed her support for transgender athletes playing with members of their gender.

Back in 2020, King was one of 174 other female athletes who signed an amicus brief in support of transgender girls and women playing sports as their gender identity.

“As women and LGBTQ+ athletes,” says their brief, they “submit that all youth deserve an equal opportunity to participate in sports alongside their peers. Such equal opportunity benefits the entire sports community.”

The brief was filed in Hecox v. Little, a lawsuit brought against the state of Idaho, which passed a law this year banning transgender girls and women from competing in school sports as girls and women.

The law also allows for female student-athletes gender to be “challenged” and requires the athlete to undergo medical exams to “prove” it. A doctor, the law says, will have to examine the athlete’s genitalia, hormones, and DNA and make a determination of their gender, something that Democrats pointed out is not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Boise State University athlete Lindsay Hecox, who is transgender, and the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit against Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) to overturn the law.

“There is no place in any sport for discrimination of any kind. I am proud to support all transgender athletes who simply want the access and opportunity to compete in the sport they love,” wrote King. “The global athletic community grows stronger when we welcome and champion all athletes – including LGBTQI+ athletes.”

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Discovery+ is opening the Book of Queer & LGBTQ celebrities couldn’t be prouder

When it comes to LGBTQ history, there is a lot missing from the standard texts taught in school. The Book of Queer aims to fill in those gaps with colorful sketches about LGBTQ historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Bayard Rustin. For queer historian Eric Cervini, who executive produced the series, shining light on these monumental individuals is what it is all about.

“Above all, The Book of Queer is about representation and authenticity. In Hollywood, these things have been missing and so many of our stories that have been told have forgotten the real queer people behind the stories,” Cervini told LGBTQ Nation, adding that he expects audiences will be surprised. “These stories go back to the dawn of humanity, stories we’ve always been a part of.”

Related: Woman surprises fans by proposing to girlfriend at a basketball game

Cervini appears in The Book of Queer along with LGBTQ celebrities who lend their voices as narrators for the series, including Pose’s Dominique Jackson and legendary actor Leslie Jordan. They all have different reasons for wanting to be a part of this groundbreaking series.

For Jackson, “Any time there is anything about bringing visibility to the community, I want to be a part of it. Queer people believe that they’re not a part of history but they are.”

And she knows exactly why that is.

“So many people try to erase our history and I want our community and all the younger people a part of it to know that they do have a place in history and a history they can look up to,” she told LGBTQ Nation.

For Jordan, it was an incredible learning experience. And he wonders why it wasn’t made before. Cervini can answer that question.

“Most LGBTQ history that is taught is tragic, most people know that and they primarily focus on that history. But there’s a lot of joy in LGBTQ history. We wanted to show that and share these different stories. So, we finally decided it was time to tell our history and created a television series with the largest out LGBTQ cast in television history.”

And for Cervini, Jackson, and Jordan, The Book of Queer is a necessity for the media landscape. And a lot of that has to do with Cervini’s main purpose: representation.

“So often, non-LGBTQ creators have profited off our tragedy and now Hollywood has a moral obligation as creators to be a better example of how representation should work,” he said.

Jackson echoes those sentiments, adding, “When we search for anything these days, everything that pops up is nothing but negative things. Our community isn’t solely about tragedy and sex. We have a history that is filled with accomplishments and achievements.”

For Jordan, he sees the series as a necessary move forward when considering all of the anti-LGBTQ legislatures that are sweeping the country.

“We’ve been through so much and for the longest time, being who we are was against the law,” he told LGBTQ Nation. “And it’s so timely now with everything that is going on. I hope that this series is able to reach people within and outside our community to better understand us and work to protect us.”

TLC/Discovery
TLC/Discovery

A lot of what Jordan says is what Cervini hopes is found in a viewing audience.

“If there’s one goal we had creating this series, then it’s that we make history fun. Most of the writers behind The Book of Queer are comedians. Regardless of the audience watching, we hope that what we portray is funny. That people will love what we have to show and care to make a difference.”

A lot of what Cervini speaks to is what he and both Jackson and Jordan hope audiences take away from The Book of Queer.

“I want audiences to feel hopeful while watching this series. I want them to find this series and learn about the history of their community. I’ve already received so many notes of praise from students and their parents who are grateful to have this resource,” he stated warmly.

Jackson and Jordan hope The Book of Queer becomes a great resource also.

“My hope is that anyone viewing this will know parts of our history. We shouldn’t be discriminated against and yet we’ve been fighting for years for visibility and now I hope people can feel visible,” Jackson said proudly.

Jordan wants this to be an education of sorts.

“It’s entertaining but there is an importance to learning so many things that aren’t a part of history that should be taught.”

But all three have a message for anyone at home watching:

“We have a duty to continue telling our history, especially in states that are trying to erase our history. We’re so passionate about this series because of the anti-Trans legislature and the Don’t Say Gay bill. By learning history, we are better equipped to go up against this legislature with strength and not shame.”

And that’s a call to action. The Book of Queer premieres 6/2 on Discovery+.