The Advocate

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How can you support transgender and nonbinary youth right now? The Trevor Project has some tips

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Trusting that they know who they are, standing up for them, and not supporting anti-LGBTQ+ politicians are among the best ways to support transgender and nonbinary youth, says a new research brief from the Trevor Project. It’s based on information from the young people themselves. The brief, released Wednesday, which marked the start of Transgender Awareness Week, uses data from the 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People. “With more knowledge about supportive actions and their possible impacts, TGNB youth can be better cared for by parents, caregivers, friends, and community,” the brief says. This support can also help decrease suicide risk, it notes. When asked how […]

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Democrats celebrate LGBTQ+ gains & promise to stand up for trans rights after rough election

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The 2024 election was a tough pill to swallow for Democrats, especially LGBTQ+ Americans. With former President Donald Trump back in the White House as of January 20, 2025, four years after he staged an insurrection against the U.S. government, the road ahead looks daunting. Yet, amid the dark days ahead, Democratic leaders are holding firm on their commitment to equality. In an election cycle that saw an increase in anti-trans attacks and increased LGBTQ+ representation, figures like gay New York U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres and lesbian Vermont U.S. Rep. Becca Balint are making it clear: the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, especially trans rights, is far from over. Fresh off […]

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Despite Republican rhetoric, marriage equality wins big at the ballot box

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Voters in California, Colorado, and Hawaii approved ballot measures amending their constitutions to remove language banning marriage equality by significant margins on Tuesday. In California, Proposition 3, Constitutional Right to Marriage, amends the California Constitution to remove language stating that marriage exists only between men and women. Prop. 3 leads by 61.1 percent to 38.9 percent, with over 95 percent of the estimated vote counted. In Colorado, Measure J removes the language “Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state” from the Colorado Constitution. Measure J passed with over 63 percent of the vote, Colorado […]

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Judge rules the military must cover gender-affirming surgery for members’ dependents

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The Department of Defense’s health insurance plan, Tricare, must cover gender-affirming surgery for transgender dependents of active and retired service members, a federal judge has ruled. The exclusion of coverage for this care violates the equal protection guarantees of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen ruled November 1. The suit was brought by two transgender women in their 20s, identified by the pseudonyms Jane Doe and Susan Roe, who are both daughters of retired military members and are covered by Tricare. Doe and her father filed suit in 2022 in U.S. District Court in Maine, and Roe was added to the suit last year. Doe lives in Maine and Roe in Florida. Both of […]

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7 steps for transgender people preparing for federal crackdowns under Trump

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In the wake of Donald Trump’s election as president, transgender people are left wondering what lies ahead. For this vulnerable community, a Trump administration signals potential disaster: the candidate just won his election after$215 million in anti-trans ads targeting this small minority—a staggering amount that eclipsed spending on other issue-based ads. Now, transgender individuals are searching for ways to protect themselves under a federal government that may view them as top “enemies from within,” a term Trump has used to describe those on the left. I spoke with experts in transgender care and dozens of transgender individuals to identify steps the community can take now […]

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12 Maryland college students arrested in alleged Grindr hate crime video attack

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Police in Maryland have arrested 12 students from Salisbury University for allegedly attacking a gay man targeted and lured using the dating and hookup app Grindr, the Salisbury Police Department said in a press release on Thursday. The 12 students, seven of whom were associated with the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, allegedly targeted the unnamed victim because of his sexual identity. According to charging documents obtained by local CBS affiliates WBOC and WJZ, one of the students set up a profile on Grindr claiming to be a 16-year-old gay male and used the fictitious profile to contact the victim. The age of consent in Maryland […]

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Dorothy Allison, revered and award-winning lesbian feminist author, has died

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Dorothy Allison, the lesbian feminist author of the novel Bastard Out of Carolinaand other noteworthy books, has died at age 75. Allison, who had cancer, died Wednesday at her home in Northern California, Sinister Wisdomreports. “Allison wrote about a queer, poor South with dynamism and ferocious love,” Literary Hub notes. “Her books tangoed frankly with historically taboo subjects, like sexual abuse, and spotlit characters under-glimpsed on the shelves of hegemony.” Her books reflected her life. She was born in 1949 in Greenville, S.C. Her mother was just 15 years old, and Allison “had a difficult childhood marked by poverty and sexual, physical, and emotional abuse,” as Sinister Wisdom puts it. […]

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Scared for the future and LGBTQ+ rights? Here’s how to cope with the election results

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It’s going to get worse before it gets better — but we’ve been there before.  With the results of the 2024 presidential election confirmed, members of the LGBTQ+ community are understandably distressed. Seeing as Donald Trump plans to rollback transgender rights and other protections for queer people, it’s clear why 86 percent of LGBTQ+ voters cast their ballots for Kamala Harris, and why 62 percent said they’d be “scared” for Trump to win. Many are also alarmed that the hateful policies are seemingly what the majority of Americans have endorsed, but Dr. Michelle Forcier, a clinician with LGBTQ+ digital healthcare platform FOLX Health, believes it better to interpret […]

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Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids brings her intersectional experience as an LGBTQ+ Native American to Capitol Hill

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U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat from Kansas, broke new ground in Congress in 2019 as one of the few out LGBTQ+ and Native American members. Representing Kansas’s Third Congressional District, Davids is not only a vital advocate for diverse, marginalized communities but also a bipartisan force. In a spring interview with The Advocate, Davids discussed her commitment to bridging divides in Congress and protecting communities from rising discrimination and bullying, especially toward LGBTQ+ youth. Davids’s experience underscores her groundbreaking role: a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation and one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress, alongside Deb Haaland of New Mexico, now the […]

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Rudy Giuliani’s daughter Caroline opens up on how to mend fences with family after the election

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One of the most consequential outcomes of the 2024 election has nothing to do with who won or lost; rather, families that were torn asunder because of their political beliefs. I know in my own family, I’ve had to keep at arm’s length with some who have been enthusiastic about former President Donald Trump. For me, I think what Trump did was put a magnifying glass on negative issues or personality traits that were ever-present in some family members. They were there all along, but for some reason, their support for Trump made them especially glaring. His refusal to accept blame, […]

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