Features

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This gay commissioner has inspired cities across the nation to protect trans folks

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Kansas City, Missouri – the home of bebop jazz and the self-proclaimed “Barbecue Capital of the World” – also has some of the most LGBTQ+-friendly laws in the country, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). For the third consecutive year, HRC gave Kansas City a perfect 100 on its Municipal Equality Index, which measures LGBTQ+ equality in municipal laws, policies, and services. Residents have been working for LGBTQ+ equality for years and made major progress after the city’s LGBTQ Commission was created in 2020.  The commission’s current chair, a queer Black man named Justice Horn, was deeply involved in the fight to […]

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Many LGBTQ+ People Are Religious. Why Don’t We Have More Data About Them?

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n the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, researcher R.G. Cravens saw a headline about the importance of LGBTQ+ voters. How would results have changed, he wondered, LGBTQ+ religious people stayed home on Election Day? But when he went to review exit polling, he found his question was unanswerable: The survey was done in waves, and questions about religious affiliation and LGBTQ+ identity were never asked together.  That lack of data isn’t unusual, said Cravens, now a senior research analyst at Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and author of the forthcoming book “Yes Gawd! How Faith Shapes LGBT Identity and Politics in […]

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Under new FDA rules, a gay blood center employee donated for the first time

Over the last six years, blood center employee Dylan Smith was often asked how frequently he gave blood himself. His answer was always the same: As a gay man, he couldn’t. That changed this month. Thanks to new federal guidelines finalized in May, gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships can now donate at many blood centers around the country without abstaining from sex. Bloodworks Northwest, where Smith works as a donor services supervisor, adopted the change on Dec. 6. He and his partner gave blood for the first time the next day. “It’s been really emotionally difficult just to explain every […]

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Government guidance to force teachers to out trans kids to parents

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Teachers who become aware that a child intends to transition will be expected to tell their parents, the UK government’s long-awaited guidance on the topic is expected to say. After months of speculation, the government is expected to issue guidance this week on how schools should respond if a child says they plan to socially transition. According to The Guardian, teachers in England will not have to “out” children to their families if they are simply asking questions about gender identity – the Tories’ right-wing faction apparently pushed to make this a feature of the guidance. In the end, the government […]

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DC Comics supercharges its LGBTQ+ storytelling in a world where conservatives are banning books

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“I can feel it around me. Energy. So many different types of energy,” DC Comics’ Jules Jourdain notices as yellow, orange, and pink vibrations envelop him on a street corner, only visible thanks to their special powers. “I still look the same on the outside,” Jules considers. Even though he’s gaining a reputation as the new superhero Circuit Breaker, the trans and nonbinary character (he/they) doesn’t yet know how to control the overwhelming power coursing through his body — it mostly just makes him feel isolated, scared, and dangerous. Luckily, another well-known DC Comics superhero, The Flash, arrives and helps […]

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Why LGBTQ+ Americans Go to TikTok and Therapists to Make Health Decisions

When marginalized groups face discrimination in the health care system, the results can be far-reaching and drastic. Across LGBTQ+ communities, this experience is all too well known. For years, activists have pointed out that health care for LGBTQ+ Americans is “under attack,” and bias is thriving. People frequently face gaps in health services, treatment, and outcomes. There’s another aspect of this problem that needs to be addressed. It’s one that has a direct, immediate impact on the health and wellness of millions of people: an information gap. In many cases, LGBTQ+ Americans have learned not to trust traditional sources of health information. […]

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Pope Francis Approves Blessings For Same-Sex Couples

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it. The document from the Vatican’s doctrine office, released Monday, elaborates on a letter Francis sent to two conservative cardinals that was published in October. In that preliminary response, Francis suggested such blessings could be offered under some circumstances if they didn’t confuse the ritual with the sacrament of marriage. The new document repeats that rationale […]

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Lesbians make more money than straight women & it’s likely because men aren’t holding them back

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Experts have long explored what has come to be known as the “lesbian wage premium” – the fact that on average, lesbians around the world earn about 9% more than heterosexual women. The number is even higher in the United States, with lesbians earning about 20% more than straight women.  In a recent video, TikToker Aria Velz analyzed several studies to explain why this might be. “We can start at the obvious,” she said, “lesbians tend to be more educated than straight women, are less likely to have children, live more predominantly in cities, and have more professional jobs.”  Related: But she […]

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There Are More Than 1,300 Conversion Therapy Practitioners Still Active: Report

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There are still hundreds of conversion therapy practitioners in the U.S., despite many state and local laws limiting the discredited and harmful practice of trying to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. A Trevor Project report released Tuesday, “It’s Still Happening,” identified more than 1,320 conversion therapy practitioners in 48 states and the District of Columbia. More than 20 states, D.C., and numerous cities and counties have enacted laws barring licensed professionals from subjecting minors to such therapy, but those laws don’t affect what counselors offer adult clients, nor do they affect the work of unlicensed practitioners, including many of those who […]

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Mpox vaccinations should be recommended for high-risk men, even after outbreak ends, advisers say

Gay and bisexual men at high risk for mpox infection should get vaccinated for the virus even after the current outbreak ends, government health advisers said Wednesday. The committee’s recommendation now goes to the director to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and — if she signs off on it — is sent out as guidance to U.S. doctors. More than 30,000 U.S. mpox cases were reported last year. The number dropped dramatically this year, to about 800. But because the virus doesn’t naturally circulate in the U.S., any single case counts as an outbreak, according to the CDC. Mpox, […]

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