Sarah Prager

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America’s first gay rights group formed a century ago this year & you’ve probably never heard of it

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One hundred years ago, queerness was illegal in just about every way in the U.S. There were laws against cross-dressing and sodomy, being trans or queer was classified as a mental illness, and it was legal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. At the same time, there was a thriving underground subculture of balls, drag shows, and salons.  During the Harlem Renaissance and blues craze, queer people were open in their own circles, but organizing politically for equality was not in the collective consciousness. The community centers, groups, and newsletters that would become the foundation […]

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LGBTQ+ rights have long been at the mercy of public opinion. This November will be no different.

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LGBTQ+ ballot initiatives have long been used as a wedge issue to turn out the conservative vote and to give or take away freedoms that are usually guaranteed by the government. The 2024 election is no different. This November continues a decades-long tradition of leaving LGBTQ+ civil rights up to public debate. New Yorkers will consider whether to add sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression to their anti-discrimination amendment in the state constitution. Reproductive rights are on the ballot in 10 states as well. And California, Colorado, and Hawaii voters will decide if their states will repeal their constitutions’ […]

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Equal parentage laws have never existed. But queer parents always have.

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LGBTQ+ parents have existed for as long as LGBTQ+ people have been around. That is to say, forever.  We haven’t been visible until recent decades and haven’t had any rights until recent years, but we have been here. We have been able to have biological children as bisexual and transgender parents, as well as lesbian and gay parents (from various situations, including relationships before coming out). Before there were any legal rights, we’ve had step-children and children in different configurations of chosen family. And now, we can legally adopt and foster in every state.  But it’s been a long road […]

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These 7 history-making LGBTQ+ Latinx artists were all honored on stamps

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Queer people of Latin American heritage have been making history for centuries, but most of them don’t get official recognition for their work by their national governments. These seven Latine/Latinx LGBTQ+ people have had the honor to have their likeness or their artwork grace an official postage stamp of their country.  Sergio E. Baradat (born 1959) Sergio Baradat, an out gay graphic designer of Cuban descent who grew up in Miami, makes sense to be the person to start off a list about Latine folks on stamps because he is a leader in the postage design world.  ADVERTISING Get the […]

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Drag bans could result in arrests at Pride parades

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Laws banning drag performances have been introduced in legislative sessions in at least 14 states this year, and their potential effects are much more far-reaching than entertaining shows.  An alarming number of anti-LGBTQ+ (particularly anti-transgender) bills continue to be introduced; the ACLU is tracking 278 of them across 33 states. While many target bathrooms, IDs, books, healthcare, education, and sports, a newer trend this year is attempting to ban drag.  Republican state legislators in Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia have all introduced various bills on this theme. Sybastian […]

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18 LGBTQ+ Words added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2022

Language is constantly evolving and dictionaries are always trying to capture the latest additions to how we communicate. Queer language moves quickly and the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) managed to include several new LGBTQ+ entries (including “LGBTQ” itself) this year. You may be surprised at the slang that made it into such a fancy institution and how they chose to define words that mean so many different things to so many different people. Anti-gay and Anti-homosexual The Oxford English Dictionary added a bunch of anti- prefixed words this year, and unfortunately, these two were on the list. Bakla This word is borrowed […]

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While some banned queer books see a sales bump, others quietly disappear

George M. Johnson’s young-adult memoir “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” about growing up Black and queer, appeared on The New York Times bestseller list this month for the first time since its publication nearly two years ago. The spike in sales was undoubtedly fueled by the publicity the title received after being banned in public libraries and schools in at least 19 states, according to Johnson’s count.  Johnson’s book was joined on the Times’ young adult hardcover bestseller list by two other widely challenged books — 2017’s “The Hate U Give” and 2020’s “Stamp” — which made the American Library Association’s 2020 list of Top 10 most […]