The Advocate

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Black Trans Woman Shahere ‘Diamond’ Jackson-McDonald Fatally Shot

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Transgender woman Shahere “Diamond” Jackson-McDonald was found shot to death in Philadelphia the morning of November 24, Thanksgiving Day. Jackson-McDonald, 27, was discovered at her mother’s apartment in the Germantown neighborhood, Philadelphia’s NBC affiliate reports. She had been shot several times and was pronounced dead at the scene. It didn’t appear that anyone had forced their way into the apartment. “We are here today to honor a promising life that was violently ended by a person or persons that Philadelphia Police and our office are working tirelessly to bring to justice, so that they can be held accountable for this crime and […]

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‘Never Seen a Vagina’: Lindsey Graham’s Sexuality Is a Joke

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Because I’ve been writing this column for several years, and get to talk to lots of amazing people, my friends, mostly the straight ones, like to quiz me about who’s gay, who’s not, and who’s in the closet. This fishing expedition is mostly generational, since it’s mostly my contemporaries who inquire about the sexuality of celebrities and politicians. Those of us who are LGBTQ+ and over 50, still look on with low-level shock when someone we know announces they are queer. For straight people in this demographic, being gay, or being in the closet is still something that they sensationalize. […]

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Macy’s Won’t Host Salvation Army This Holiday Season

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Don’t look for Salvation Army bell ringers outside your local Macy’s this holiday season. The department store company didn’t renew its contract with the Salvation Army, a spokesperson told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “We reevaluated our cause and community work and made a significant commitment to driving societal change by empowering underrepresented youth in our community,” the spokesperson said. “With this shift, we made the difficult decision to not continue our partnership with the Salvation Army this holiday season.” The Macy’s rep did not say explicitly if the decision was related to the Salvation Army’s fraught relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. The Salvation […]

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Two Trans Soldiers to Retire With Rare Distinction

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Two transgender soldiers at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri are set to retire with a rare distinction — they transitioned fully while on active duty and will be honorably discharged with full pensions. “Open transgender service in the military is becoming more commonplace and accepted, but the number of those who are honorably discharged into full retirement and transitioned while on active duty remains low,” explains a press release from Missouri LGBTQ+ rights group PROMO. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who served under President Barack Obama, lifted the ban on open service by trans troops in 2016, but Donald Trump reinstated […]

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Robert Garcia Will Be First Out Gay Immigrant in Congress

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Robert Garcia of California has been elected as the first out gay immigrant in Congress. Garcia, currently mayor of Long Beach, has won the U.S. House seat in California’s 42nd Congressional District, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund. A Democrat, he bested Republican John Briscoe, a businessman. As of 9:30 p.m. Pacific time, Garcia had 68 percent of the vote and Briscoe 32 percent. Because of redistricting, there was no incumbent in the race. Garcia, a native of Peru, immigrated to the United States with his family at age 5. He has been mayor of Long Beach since 2014. He […]

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Even During War, Ukraine’s Zelensky Works to Advance LGBTQ+ Rights

A former standup comedian who became president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky is a Jewish man who has become a global hero for standing up to a tyrant. Against all odds, Zelensky has led his nation to successfully rebuff the efforts of a world superpower bent on assassinating him and taking political control of his country. In refusing to surrender to Russia, he inspired his fellow Ukrainians (including 90-year-old grandmothers) to take up arms. His rousing speeches in defense of democracy, peace, and equality have moved the international community to support his cause with billions of dollars of military and humanitarian […]

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Most Who Begin Gender-Affirming Care as Youth Continue: Study

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A new study has found that most people who initiate gender-affirming treatment in their youth continue it as adults — undermining the argument by right-wingers that transgender people are likely to regret such treatment and even detransition, and that young people are not ready to make decisions about gender transition procedures, even though they do so in consultation with parents and doctors. The study, from Amsterdam University Medical Center in the Netherlands, looked at 720 people who had been treated with puberty blockers and hormones at the center as adolescents and whether they continued with gender-affirming care. “Most participants who […]

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Federal ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill Introduced by House Republicans

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Republicans in the House of Representatives introduced legislation based on a right-wing conspiracy theory and proposed what critics are calling a federal “don’t say gay” bill. The bill prohibits using federal funds for programs or events that contain “sexually-oriented material” geared toward children under 10, such as drag queen story hours, which have attracted the attention of conservative politicians and right-wing activists. On Tuesday, Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson introduced the bill with more than 30 House Republican co-sponsors. The introduction of this legislation is a reaction to far-right conservative outrage over innocuous drag performances that have included the presence of children […]

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Deep Partisan Divide Over LGBTQ+ Content in Schools: Study

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There are “clearly partisan” divides over the inclusion of content addressing LGBTQ+ issues, race, and other supposedly controversial subjects in schools, says a new study from the University of Southern California. “While Republican state leaders are backing public schools away from directly addressing race, gender, and sexual identity — as well as their historical injustices — in the U.S., Democratic state leaders are pushing in the opposite direction, mandating curricula and coursework discussing America’s racist origins and legacies and highlighting the contributions throughout history of women and people of color,” says the study, titled “A House Divided? What Americans Really Think About […]

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Grindr Faces Boycott After Gay CEO’s Right-Wing Tweets Are Revealed

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The right-wing political views of the new head of Grindr are causing some users to delete the popular gay dating and hookup app. The tag #DeleteGrindr is trending after news incoming CEO George Arison, 44, previously tweeted he was a conservative who supported some of the positions of then-President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Arison, who is gay, starts his new job October 19. “FYI I am a conservative & agree with some Trump policies,” Arison wrote in a since-deleted tweet on February 28, 2020. “Should totally run for President,” he wrote of Youngkin in […]

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