Features

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New York pizzeria to pay $25,000 to settle harassment suit by transgender cook

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A pizza restaurant in upstate New York has agreed to pay a transgender former employee $25,000 and take other steps to settle a lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that alleged the worker was subjected to invasive personal questions and told he wasn’t “a real man.” Quinn Gambino, a trans man, was a cook at T.C. Wheelers Bar & Pizzeria in Tonawanda, which is near Buffalo. Beginning in January 2021, according to the suit, the owners repeatedly asked questions about his genitalia and transition procedures, such as “Does she have female parts?” They “also intentionally misgendered Gambino by using female pronouns (such […]

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The U.S. hasn’t seen syphilis numbers this high since 1950

The U.S. syphilis epidemic isn’t abating, with the rate of infectious cases rising 9% in 2022, according to a new federal government report on sexually transmitted diseases in adults. But there’s some unexpected good news: The rate of new gonorrhea cases fell for the first time in a decade. It’s not clear why syphilis rose 9% while gonorrhea dropped 9%, officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, adding that it’s too soon to know whether a new downward trend is emerging for the latter. They are most focused on syphilis, which is less common than gonorrhea or chlamydia […]

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Experts say that gender-affirming care bans amount to ‘abuse.’ 

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A new article by doctors at the Seattle Children’s Hospital details exactly how bans on gender-affirming care for minors “amount to state-sanctioned medical neglect and emotional abuse.” The report, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, is the latest piece of evidence demonstrating that restrictions on puberty blockers, hormones, and other care for transgender youth “deny children access to routine health care that has been shown to decrease dramatically high rates of suicide and depression.” Yet conservative state legislators are unrelenting. More than 550 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were introduced across the U.S. in 2023, and 80 were passed into law, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Just weeks […]

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Church of England says a ‘profound disagreement’ remains on homosexuality

The Church of England’s governing body will debate adopting fresh commitments on homosexuality and same-sex couples when it meets later this month, it said on Friday, acknowledging that there remained “profound disagreement” on the matter. The Church of England — central to the Anglican Communion of 85 million believers across the world — does not allow same-sex marriage, standing by its teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman. However, the centuries-old institution has been wrestling with ways to make people in the LGBTQ community feel more inclusive in its churches, and it has apologized for the “hostile and […]

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Yet another passenger dies on world’s biggest gay cruise

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In a tragic development during the “world’s biggest gay festival at sea,” a passenger aboard the Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, chartered by Atlantis Events, unexpectedly died last week. Atlantis Events specializes in cruise vacations targeted at gay men. The death occurred during the Oasis Caribbean Cruise from January 21 to 28. The cruise originated and concluded in Miami. A spokesperson for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines confirmed the death in a statement to The Advocate. “I can confirm that we had a death onboard and that it was unexpected and not suspicious,” the spokesperson said.The details of the passenger’s death have not […]

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BLACK HISTORY MONTH – HIV still plagues Black Americans at alarming rates

As part of Black History Month, February 7th marks National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, a day dedicated to addressing the disproportionate impact of the HIV epidemic on Black Americans amidst this month of reflection and acknowledgment of Black heritage and achievements.  In recent years, we’ve witnessed remarkable biomedical advances in HIV treatment and prevention, as well as in innovation in care delivery through telemedicine. However, despite these advancements, Black Americans and other non-white communities still experience higher rates of HIV and have less access to HIV testing and prevention medications compared to their white counterparts. New technologies, such as injectables […]

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Japan court approves a trans man’s request for legal recognition without needing surgery

A court in western Japan on Wednesday approved a transgender man’s request to have his gender changed in official records without undergoing sterilization surgery, the first known ruling of its kind since the country’s top court struck down a surgery requirement for such record changes. The Okayama Family Court’s Tsuyama Branch said Tacaquito Usui, 50, could get the gender listed for him in his family registry updated to male. Usui original application for the revision was rejected five years ago. “It’s like I’m standing at the start line of my new life,” he said during a televised news conference after Wednesday’s ruling […]

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West Virginia ‘Women’s Bill of Rights’ is criticized as an effort to suppress trans people

Legislation in West Virginia to narrow the definitions of gender would give women no further rights and is a way for Republicans to suppress transgender people, speakers at a public hearing said Thursday. Dozens of speakers condemned the “Women’s Bill of Rights” while a handful spoke in favor of it during the 45-minute hearing in the House chambers at the state Capitol. The legislation says that “equal” does not mean “same” or “identical” with respect to equality of the sexes. It would define in state statues and official public policies that a person’s sex is determined at birth and that gender equity […]

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Kansas’ AG is telling schools they must out trans kids to parents

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Kansas’ attorney general is telling public schools they’re required to tell parents their children are transgender or non-binary even if they’re not out at home, though Kansas is not among the states with a law that explicitly says to do that. Republican Kris Kobach’s action was his latest move to restrict transgender rights, following his successful efforts last year to temporarily block Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration from changing the listings for sex on transgender people’s birth certificates and driver’s licenses to reflect their gender identities. It’s also part of a trend of GOP attorneys general asserting their authority in […]

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Transgender bathroom bills are back. Does the nation care?

A transgender “bathroom ban” in North Carolina caused a national uproar in 2016. Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Nick Jonas and a long list of other A-list performers canceled shows in the state. Global corporations Deutsche Bank and PayPal torpedoed plans to expand in Cary and Charlotte. The NCAA moved its scheduled championship games elsewhere. Now, eight years later, after Utah passed a similar bill on Monday, the reaction beyond the state’s borders appears to be more of a shrug. Neither of Utah’s largest businesses released statements in response to the legislation. Tens of thousands of out-of-towners, and an ensuing economic boost, were […]

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