State

/

Dare to Bare – Clothing Optional Resorts Next Frontier in Gay Travel

Looking for something new and exciting to try in 2018?  The next frontier for adventurous travelers is vacationing in the buff. Yes, we’re talking full monty!  At least that’s what’s happening in Palm Springs where a growing string of clothing optional resorts are popping up, hoping to lure in the uninhibited among us.
Inndulge Resort is one of the original clothing optional resorts in Palm Springs and with its epic mountain views and legendary kidney-shaped swimming pool, it still ranks among the area’s most popular.  It first opened 21-years ago and caters to a gay clientele.
Jon Jackson and his husband Sandy purchased Inndulge Resort in 2010 and were among the first to ride the wave of this latest dare-to-bare trend.  They describe the nudist experience as one that once you try, you’ll want to do over and over again.
What do you account for the sudden popularity in clothing optional resorts?  
Jon Jackson:  It hasn’t been so sudden.  We’ve seen the popularity of nude resorts grow steadily and gradually among gay men through the years, beginning as far back as the 1930s when Playa del Hombre Muerto, a nude beach just south of Sitges, Spain, opened to gay travelers.  The gay clothing optional resorts began appearing in Palm Springs in the 1970s.
Traditionally, it’s been the over-50 crowd that has dared to bare.
Jon Jackson:  That’s true but these days, we’re seeing all ages of gay men. Interestingly, however, only about half of our guests go fully nude.   Many simply come because they like having the option. They come seeking a safe refuge where they can feel free to let it all hang out, should they wish to.
What is attracting younger vacationers?  
Jon Jackson:  We find they’re as eager to free themselves from the influences and restrictions of everyday life as the older men who come here are.   They come for the freedom of hanging by the pool naked.   They also come for the social aspect of spending their holiday exclusively with like-minded gay men.  There’s a tribal aspect of gay nudist traveling.
Do you do anything to foster the social aspect?
Jon Jackson:  Every day, we host a morning breakfast by the pool.  We also host a nightly BYOB social hour and plenty of weekend events.
Do you see a lot of couples at Inndulge?
Jon Jackson:  Oh yes, lots of couples!  Its also become very common that one in the couple is a nudist while the other keeps his swim trunks on.  All are welcome, and as a result, everyone feels comfortable.
Are the couples swingers?
Jon Jackson:  They may be but Inndulge doesn’t allow public sex.  Like the Marriots and Kimptons of the world, sex at our resort takes place in the privacy of our guest rooms.  There are certainly bath-house style hotels for the sexually adventurous in Palm Springs.
How do you ensure that unwanted sexual advances are shut down quickly and easily at Inndulge?
Jon Jackson:  There is a self-enforcing culture here.  It’s an unwritten code of conduct that newcomers catch on quickly to.
Do most newcomers become repeat visitors?
Jon Jackson:  Nearly 80% of our visitors return to Inndulge.  That’s something I don’t think the Marriots and Kimptons of the world can claim.
To learn more about baring all in Palm Springs, visit inndulge.com.

/

LA Same-sex Couple Suing State Department for Denying Recognition of the U.S. Citizenship of One of Their Twin Sons

 

Monday, Immigration Equality filed a lawsuit against the U.S. State Department for refusing to recognize the valid marriage of Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks, a same-sex couples living with their twin sons in Los Angeles, and for disenfranchising their son Ethan by denying recognition of his rightful U.S. citizenship at birth, while granting his twin brother’s citizenship.
Andrew is a U.S. citizen who grew up in Santa Monica. He moved to Israel to work and study, and it was there that he met Elad, his future husband. Andrew and Elad knew they wanted to marry and have a family, but because of the Defense of Marriage Act, Andrew could not sponsor Elad for a visa to be with him in the U.S., where all of Andrew’s family lives. Andrew is a dual U.S. and Canadian citizen, so he and Elad chose to move to Canada, where they were able to legally marry and have their marriage recognized so Andrew could sponsor Elad. There, they had twin sons, Ethan and Aiden, through surrogacy.
When they sought recognition of the twins’ U.S. citizenship, Andrew and Elad were forced to submit DNA tests and other documentation of their biological relationships to their boys, even though no such requirement exists for the children of a married U.S. citizen. Because one son was conceived with the sperm of one father and the other son with the sperm of the other father, one of these fraternal twins is being treated by the U.S. government as a U.S. citizen while the other was forced to enter the U.S. on a tourist visa, which has now expired. The family is fighting the discriminatory policy that is forcing the family to live in limbo.
Read the complaint filed on behalf of Andrew and Ethan: https://www.immigrationequality.org/dvash-banks-complaint-filed/#.WmX6t5M-eCR.

/

AHF TV Ad Blasts Bill that Curtails Nonprofit Hospitals’ Participation in the 340B Program

Drug pricing advocates from AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) have rolled out a new TV and radio ad campaign in the San Diego market blasting Congressman Scott Peters (D-CA 52nd District) for sponsoring a bill that would severely curtail nonprofit hospitals’ participation in the 340B program, a federally-administered drug discount pricing program created to extend the lifeline of care and services that safety net hospitals and providers are able to deliver. Peters, a San Diego Democrat, co-sponsored the bill with Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN).

Days before the December Congressional Recess and with little to no public input or scrutiny, he and Bucshon introduced H.R. 4710, a misguided bill pushed by pharmaceutical industry lobbyists that will gut the federally-administered drug discount program—a program that costs the government and taxpayers nothing. Advocates assert the bill, should it pass into law, will significantly reduce healthcare access for people—including many of those in Peters’ own San Diego district.

The radio and cable television campaign in San Diego includes 264 radio spots running on KXSN (98.1 FM), KYXY (96.5 FM) and KMYI (Star 94.1 FM) as well as a ‘Let340B!’ television ad running on San Diego area Cox Cable channels. The TV ad urges Peters’ constituents to contact him to demand that he not harm the drug pricing program by continuing to back this bill. The TV ad will run for a two-week flight (Jan 15-28) and will run as more than 700 spots across different Cox channels in the San Diego market.

“H.R. 4710 is really a brazen attack on the poor being falsely characterized as ‘reform.’ It is a full-on assault being led by the pharmaceutical industry and their lobbyists and friends in Congress, like Congressman Peters,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “In reality, this is a very worthwhile and lifesaving drug pricing program that costs the government and taxpayers nothing. 340B is continually in the crosshairs of Big Pharma and their legislative friends. However, we’ve seen that the public is wise enough to know that if pharma is involved in any drug pricing issue, they—the public or the patient—is on the losing side. We will continue to fight back against attacks on 340B and urge Congressman Peters to reconsider his sponsorship of this dangerous bill.”

Peters, who has served in Congress since 2013 and is the sixth wealthiest member of Congress, has taken in more that $100,000 in contributions from the drug and biotech industries while in Congress.

/

Police Investigate Whether Killing Of Student Blaze Bernstein Was A ‘Hate Crime’

Investigators are working to determine whether the slaying of 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania student Blaze Bernstein was a “hate crime,” officials said Wednesday.

Samuel Lincoln Woodward, a 20-year-old former high school classmate of Bernstein, was charged Wednesday with his murder, as well as a sentence enhancement for using a knife, Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas announced at a news conference.

Police discovered Bernstein’s body, which had been stabbed over 20 times, buried in a shallow grave Jan. 9 in a park in Lake Forest, California, roughly 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles. The discovery came nearly a week after his parents reported him missing on Jan. 3, while he was home in Lake Forest during his college winter break.

Woodward had picked up Bernstein in his car after interacting with him on Snapchat the night he went missing, the suspect told police, according to a search affidavit obtained by The Orange County Register. He reportedly claimed they had driven to Borrego Park that night, when Bernstein exited the vehicle and walked away.

After waiting an hour for Bernstein to return, Woodward said, he left the park to meet a girlfriend, whose last name and address Woodward told police he could not remember. He said he returned hours later to look for Bernstein.

Detectives found “abrasions, scratches and dirt” on Woodward’s hands when they interviewed him last week, according to the affidavit. When asked about the lacerations, Woodward reportedly said he had been participating in a “fight club” and had fallen into a “dirt puddle” while sparring.

According to the affidavit, Woodward’s fists were clenched as he claimed Bernstein had kissed him on the lips during their time together that night. He told investigators that he pushed Bernstein away and wanted to call him a “faggot.”

Text messages reviewed by investigators suggested Woodward knew Bernstein may have been trying to sexually pursue him, according to the Register. The affidavit indicated Bernstein had suspected Woodward was closeted.

Woodward was going to “hit on me,” Bernstein reportedly told a friend in a text conversation in June. “He made me promise not to tell anyone … but I have texted every one, uh oh.”

If it is determined that this was a hate crime, we will cry not only for our son, but for LGBTQ people everywhere that live in fear. Blaze Bernstein’s parents in a letter to the Los Angeles Times

Bernstein’s parents, Gideon Bernstein and Jeanne Pepper Bernstein, wrote a letter to the Los Angeles Times that suggested their son’s killing might have been a hate crime.

“Our son was a beautiful gentle soul who we loved more than anything,” they wrote. “We were proud of everything he did and who he was. He had nothing to hide. We are in solidarity with our son and the LGBTQ community.”

The letter continued: “If it is determined that this was a hate crime, we will cry not only for our son, but for LGBTQ people everywhere that live in fear or who have been victims of [a] hate crime.”

According to the court document, Woodward was known at his high school for espousing conservative political and cultural beliefs. His social media posts indicated he was a proponent of guns, the Bible and a torture technique known as waterboarding, reported the Register.

Rackauckas declined to discuss a motive during Wednesday’s news conference, noting that the investigation was ongoing.

“Our priority on this brutal murder of a 19-year-old Ivy League student is to make sure that Woodward is brought to justice and held accountable,” Rackauckas said Wednesday. “As a community, we hope this case might serve as an opportunity for tolerance and understanding.”

Woodward could face 26 years to life in prison if convicted. He is being held at Orange County Jail. Prosecutors said they plan to request his bail be set at $2 million, according to the Times.

/

Equality California 2017 Legislative Scorecard Demonstrates Impact of Advocacy of Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

Equality California’s Legislative Scorecard for 2017, rates lawmakers in both Sacramento and Washington, D.C. on how they voted on Equality California’s highest priority legislation.

“For the first time ever, our scorecard shows the strength of our advocacy not only in the California Legislature, but also in Congress,” said Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California. “We aren’t allowing the threats of the Trump Administration to go unanswered and will use these scores to educate our community about legislators’ stances on LGBTQ issues and hold them accountable for their votes in the upcoming 2018 elections. Despite the barriers we face, particularly in the nation’s Capitol, the voices of LGBTQ Californians were heard loud and clear in 2017, as this report captures.”

California ratings were based on how legislators voted on 6 sponsored bills, two sponsored resolutions and two supported bills specific to LGBTQ people. This year, Senate Democrats bounced back from a 98 percent average Equality Score in 2016, due to holding legislators accountable for their votes on priority bills, to a perfect 100 percent Equality Score. The average score among Assembly Democrats held steady compared to last year at 98 percent. Overall, in the State Senate, the average score decreased very slightly from 79 percent in 2016 to 77 percent in 2017, which is attributable to a slightly larger decrease in pro-equality votes among Senate Republicans from 38 percent in 2016 to 31 percent this year.

In the Assembly, the average score decreased by less than a full point, from 78 percent in 2016 to 77 percent in 2017. The average score for Assembly Republicans decreased from 39 percent in 2016 to 32 percent in 2017, despite bipartisan support on many of our legislative priorities. Although Republican scores in both houses decreased this year and remain at failing levels on average, some Republicans still stood strong and demonstrated their support for pro-equality legislation. Assemblymember Brian Maienschein in particular earned a 100 percent Equality Score, the only Republican to do so in 2017.

“Equality California is a critical partner in our work to advance civil rights for the LGBT community,” said Assemblymember Evan Low, Chair of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus. “This past year, as states across the country introduced bills to scale back LGBTQ protections, California passed landmark legislation to respect people’s gender identity reduce LGBT disparities in education, housing and employment, and fight back against Trump’s agenda of hate. The fight for equality is far from over. The California Legislative LGBT Caucus is grateful to have such a tenacious advocate on our side.”

Republican control of both houses in Congress and the White House meant that no pro-equality legislation came to the floor for a vote in 2017. EQCA’s Congressional scorecard, therefore, only tallied two actual votes: the attempted repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and the venomously anti-transgender Hartzler Amendment, which would have banned the coverage of transition-related healthcare for active-duty transgender service members. Our 2017 Congressional scoring also accorded equal value to cosponsorship on legislative proposals that are core to LGBTQ civil rights and wellbeing—the Equality Act and the Dream Act.

“Federal legislative proposals that were not scored in 2017 are nearly as meaningful as the ones we did score,” said Valerie Ploumpis, National Policy Director. “This is because they represent our now ‘aspirational’ bills that we are working to advance as soon as Democrats, who have been supportive of LGBTQ equality, win back one or both houses of Congress. For that reason, six non-scored bills will be scored in 2018, and we hope that Members of the California Congressional delegation will co-sponsor and support them. Equality California is committed to serving as a resource when considering new legislative ideas.”

Each piece of legislation that Equality California sponsored and supported in 2017 advances the organization’s mission to bring the voices of LGBTQ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equality for all LGBTQ people.

A copy of the 2017 Legislative Scorecard is available here.

/ /

Exhibition Highlights Radical History of Black Lesbian Scholar Angela Davis

Angela Davis (center, no glasses) enters Royce Hall at UCLA for her first philosophy lecture in October 1969. Kendra Alexander (right, with glasses)

A new exhibition at the GLBT History Museum, 4127 18th St., San Francisco, drawing on rare posters and ephemera from a private collection will highlight the journey of black lesbian activist Angela Davis: from radical scholar, to political prisoner, to revolutionary icon, to public intellectual.

Curated by collector Lisbet Tellefsen and historian Amy Sueyoshi, “Angela Davis: OUTspoken” considers some of the roles Davis has played in the American political imaginary and explores the complexity and impact of her life across nearly half a century. The show opens February 9 at the GLBT History Museum in San Francisco.
“As a black lesbian growing up in the Bay Area, I never really viewed Angela Davis through a specifically queer lens,” says Tellefsen, whose collection of rare Davis materials forms the basis of the exhibition. “However, for as long as I can remember, Angela was always fiercely claimed by the lesbian-of-color community as one of our own. While we could debate when or what exactly constituted her coming-out statement, what was always crystal clear was her unwavering and vocal support for LGBTQ rights.
“Angela Davis has always been about intersectionality — before the term was even coined,” Tellefsen adds. “She has always explored the connections between race, class, gender, sexual orientation, ability and citizenship. She is an African American woman, she is lesbian, she is an ally for oppressed populations throughout the globe and a vocal champion for LGBTQ rights. This is who she is. She is a human rights activist of the highest order.”
Davis first came to public attention in the late 1960s with her dismissal from the faculty of the University of California due to her membership in the Communist Party and with her involvement in the Black Panther Party and her trial on charges of conspiracy, kidnapping and murder for which she was acquitted.Her outspoken activism and organizing efforts attracted both harsh criticism and strong support, resulting in her becoming a globally recognized symbol of radical resistance. Today, Davis continues her political work, including challenging mainstream LGBTQ movements to see service in the armed forces and participation in marriage with a critical eye.

“It’s especially important now to be reminded of the radical roots of queer activism, particularly through African American women such as Angela Davis,” says Sueyoshi. “My hope is that history will honor the queer women of color and other activists who came up during times of extreme repression. The graphics displayed in ‘OUTspoken’ not only serve as a visual reminder of the power of speaking out; they also can inspire us to continue working for a world without exploitation.”“Angela Davis: OUTspoken” opens Friday, February 9, at the GLBT History Museum, 4127 18th St., San Francisco, with a public reception set for 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The curators will offer introductory remarks, and light refreshments will be served. Admission is $5.00; free for members of the GLBT Historical Society. The exhibition runs through May 20. For more information, visit www.glbthistory.org.

/

The Dinah Amps Up the Volume on Women Empowerment

For many, The Dinah is an annual tradition between friends; for others it is a bucket-list goal, a pilgrimage to our very own Mecca that every queer woman should make at least once in her life. No matter what the impetus for attending is, The Dinah is for all a unique opportunity to experience one of the most bonding, liberating and transforming festival ever in the spirit of sisterhood and community.

No other event in the world embodies the essence of woman empowerment like The Dinah does. Standing strong and proud as one of the largest and longest running party & music festival for queer women in the world, The Dinah  – celebrating its 28th anniversary (March 28 – April 1, 2018) – continues to affirm its unwavering commitment to focus on the power of women to create big and lasting change.

Leading the way and making a difference for both the LGBTQ community and women in general, The Dinah is cranking up the volume on its commitment to elevate women’s voices and push forth its enduring message of female equality.

Putting passion into action, The Dinah is proud to be an active community collaborator teaming up with some of the top LGBTQ players in Arts & Entertainment to help promote and raise women’s visibility in films/TV & on the web, whether in front and/or behind the camera.

There is so much talk about the gender inequality in films and how we need more female filmmakers, writers and actors; now The Dinah is helping several institutions do something about it.

Outfest (the Los Angeles LGBTQ film Festival), Tello Films (the first lesbian network producing and distributing high quality web series with a lesbian focus) and Revry (the LGBTQ digital streaming platform dedicated to showcasing the queer experience with a strong emphasis on transgender stories) are dedicated to advancing professional achievement for women working in all areas of film, video, and other screen-based media.

These groundbreaking pioneers in the LGBTQ entertainment industry will have high presence at the Dinah and be actively engaged with the audience through a series of special events including surprise performances and radio podcasts. They will host exclusive meet & greets giving Dinah attendees a chance to rub elbows with the stars behind a slew of unique and original LGBTQ films and programs in an effort to raise visibility.

“Throughout my thirty-year career, whether as a club promoter or as the producer of the world’s largest internationally renowned event, I have supported film in its many incantations as often as I can.  Our diverse and poignant stories must be told.  Allowing the world to see an inside view of our beautiful and often challenging LGBTQ lives is one of the best ways we can break barriers, create equality and live in a more tolerant and compassionate world.  Our stories connect us through our shared humanity and in a sense celebrate what binds us rather than what divides us, “ says Mariah Hanson, founder and producer of the Dinah.

In addition, Outfest will present a celebrity-studded cocktail reception Saturday night, which will feature some of their famed female filmmakers and talent.

All three institutions will have a booth throughout the entire duration of the Dinah so customers can get acquainted with their services and hopefully consider giving their support with a membership.

“Each year we look forward to the Dinah.  Mariah and her team have always been so supportive of tello and our mission to make content for the community.  This is one of the highlights of our year, a time when we can come together and be our authentic self among friends and like-minded people.  We are excited to be back with the cast and creatives from our most popular series, “ comments Christin Baker, CEO of Tello Films.

Outfest, Revry and Tello are all on track with the Dinah’s dedication to being both a resource and an advocate for the value of diversity and inclusion.  It’s all about the empowering effect of sharing stories.

Mariah Hanson, the mastermind behind the legendary world-class destination event, is herself not just shaking things up but changing the game too.

An exemplary community leader, she’s single-handedly revolutionized her industry, overturned tradition and raised the bar on female achievement with an event that is entirely produced by women, for women.

Her fearless entrepreneurial spirit and keen business acumen in executing her vision have earned her the first ever Legacy Award at the 5th Annual Center Stage Gala; the 2015 NCLR Award; the 2014 Spirit of Stonewall Lifetime Achievement Award; and the 2013 Athena Leadership Award.

Today the Dinah is not just about lesbians, it’s about WOMEN – an event celebrating the tapestry of women who come from all over the world to simply be themselves.

Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend is readying to deliver another roof-raising celebration and is already anticipating a jaw-dropping turnout.

For more information go to: www.thedinah.com

/

California Coastal Legislators Condemn Trump Offshore Oil Expansion

Countering the Trump administration’s proposal to expand offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters, California State Assemblymember Todd Gloria (D-San Diego) will join Assemblymember Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) and Assemblymembers David Chiu (D-San Francisco) and Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) to introduce an Assembly Joint Resolution condemning that action.

“California’s precious coastline is not for sale. We will not sit idly by and let the President put our environment and residents in jeopardy,” said Assemblymember Todd Gloria. “This is just another terrible idea from the Trump Administration and I hope every member of California’s congressional delegation will join us in this fight.”

“Californians know the cost of oil. A 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara dumped close to 100,000 barrels of crude oil into the Central California coastline—the biggest oil spill in California history. My community paid the price with their safety, with their health and with their lost businesses. That catastrophe jump started the modern environmental movement,” said Assemblymember Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara). “Californians are proud of their commitment to clean and renewable energy. This decision by the President and his administration to expand offshore oil drilling is an affront to our values.”

Offshore oil drilling jeopardizes marine ecosystems, coastal economies based on fishing and tourism, and the health and safety of marine animals. Since 1986, the more than 600 oil and gas pipeline spills, explosions and other incidents that have occurred in California caused at least $769 million in damages, 200 injuries and close to 50 deaths.

Trump’s plan, proposed by the Department of Interior, would commit upwards of 90% of the nation’s offshore reserves to leasing, including areas off all three regions of the California coast that have been off-limits to oil since 1984. The plan is subject to public comment and review.

“California’s wild coastline is one of our most precious environmental resources, and it is our solemn duty to protect it,” said Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco). “Once again, the Trump administration is demonstrating their industrial greed and scientific ignorance with this disastrous proposal.”

With all three Pacific Coast Governors united in their opposition to the proposal, the legislature will join a growing multitude of voices speaking out against the shortsighted proposal.

“The Trump administration continues to attack California on many fronts and now they are opening up our coastal waters to the environmental vulnerabilities of oil drilling, a coastline we have fought to protect for decades,” said Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg). “To ignore the environmental devastation done by oil spills and dismiss the critical importance of working toward independence from fossil fuels is irresponsible and, frankly, feels vindictive.”

/

New Project Makes Historic LGBT Newspaper Available Online

An initiative to put the full contents of the longest-running continuously published LGBT weekly in the United States online has reached its first milestone with the posting of five years of historic back issues.

The GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco has been working for a year to digitize the Bay Area Reporter, founded in 1971. The newspaper’s own website offers articles published since 2005, but earlier issues of the publication had previously been available only at the society’s archives or via microfilm in a handful of research libraries.

“The Bay Area Reporter is an exceptional resource for historians, students, preservationists, writers, filmmakers, genealogy enthusiasts and everyone who’s curious about the LGBTQ past,” said Terry Beswick, executive director of the GLBT Historical Society. “Through news and features, critical reviews, nightlife reports, editorials and opinion columns published over nearly half a century, the paper has reflected the dynamism and diversity of LGBTQ communities in the Bay Area, a region internationally recognized as a center of queer culture.”

First issue of the Bay Area Reporter, published April 1, 1971. Photo: Courtesy GLBT Historical Society.

Michael Yamashita, publisher of the Bay Area Reporter since 2013 and majority owner of the publication since December 2017, added the following: “This invaluable resource is made possible thanks to the initiative of the GLBT Historical Society and the generosity of the Bob Ross Foundation. For the first time, readers from all over the world will be able to conveniently access the nearly 50-year archive of the BAR. It’s fascinating to browse through the years and appreciate what the LGBTQ community has achieved in San Francisco.”

Foundation Provided Full Funding

With full funding from the San Francisco-based Bob Ross Foundation, the GLBT Historical Society acquired the specialized equipment and hired the staff needed to undertake the digitization project. Tom Horn, trustee of the foundation, stressed the exceptional historical value of the content the project is making available:

“Launching an online, searchable archive of the Bay Area Reporter is a tremendous step toward giving scholars and the public alike access to a first draft of the history of our movement,” he noted. “Users will see what the issues of the time were; the personalities who shaped our movement; what was happening politically, socially and culturally. They will even see how gay people met, socialized, sought housing and found lovers — and how advertisers reached out to our community. The online archive will be an indispensable tool in telling our story.”

The July 28, 2005, issue of the Bay Area Reporter is the last included in the new online archive. Photo: Courtesy GLBT Historical Society.

With assistance from nine volunteers, the GLBT Historical Society has already scanned nearly 600 of the 1,500 issues published by the Bay Area Reporter from 1971 to 2005. The five-year span covering 2000 to 2005 is now available free of charge via one of the organizations partnering on the project, the California Digital Newspaper Collection, hosted by the University of California, Riverside. The Historical Society plans to post all the remaining back issues before the end of the year.

“It’s clear what a rich and fascinating resource this digital archive will be,” said Bill Levay, the project archivist overseeing the digitization for the GLBT Historical Society. “I’m especially excited to see what eye-opening digital humanities projects might spring from this collection.”

Levay adds that the GLBT Historical Society is continuing to recruit volunteers to assist with digitizing the remaining issues of the Bay Area Reporter. For details about volunteering, contact him at bill@glbthistory.org.

For more information about the project and to search the historic issues of the Bay Area Reporter that are now posted online, visit www.glbthistory.org/bar.

/

27% of California Adolescents Are Gender Nonconforming, Study Finds

A new UCLA study finds that 27 percent, or 796,000, of California’s youth, ages 12 to 17, report they are viewed by others as gender nonconforming at school.

The study also assessed differences in mental health among gender nonconforming youth and gender conforming youth in the state and found no significant difference in the rates of lifetime suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts between gender nonconforming youth and their gender-conforming peers. However, gender nonconforming youth were more than twice as likely to have experienced psychological distress in the past year.

“The data show that more than one in four California youth express their gender in ways that go against the dominant stereotypes,” said lead author Bianca D.M. Wilson, the Rabbi Barbara Zacky Senior Scholar of Public Policy at the Williams Institute. “However, the heightened psychological distress we see among gender nonconforming youth indicates that we must continue to educate parents, schools and communities on the mental health needs of these young people and reduce known risk factors, such as bullying and bias.”

The study, released by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, analyzed data collected from nearly 1,600 California households in the 2015-2016 California Health Interview Survey. It is the first time this survey has included questions about gender expression among teens.

Gender nonconforming refers to people whose behaviors and appearance defy the dominant cultural and societal stereotypes of their gender. The health interview survey measured gender expression by asking adolescents how they thought people at school viewed their physical expressions of femininity and masculinity. Youth who reported that people at school saw them as equally masculine and feminine were categorized as “androgynous.” Girls who thought they were seen as mostly or very masculine and boys who thought they were seen as mostly or very feminine were categorized as “highly gender nonconforming.”

Key findings of the study include:

  •  27 percent, or 796,000, of California’s youth, ages 12 to 17, report they are viewed by others as gender nonconforming at school, including 6.2 percent who are highly gender nonconforming and 20.8 percent who are
  • Highly gender nonconforming, androgynous and gender conforming youth do not statistically differ in rates of lifetime suicidal thoughts and suicide
  • As a group, both highly gender nonconforming and androgynous youth reported higher levels of psychological distress compared to their gender-conforming

The finding that gender nonconforming youth in California do not have higher rates of suicide differs from the findings of some previous research. The study co-authors suggest that the variation in findings may be due to sample-size limitations of this study or possibly to the state’s supportive policies for gender nonconforming people. California is one of several states that expressly prohibit bullying and discrimination against gender nonconforming people in schools and public accommodations, among other arenas.

“It’s possible California’s policy environment has made it safer for adolescents to be gender nonconforming,” said Tara Becker, a co-author and statistician for the health survey, which is conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. “But given events at the national level, we should by no means relax our stance. California can and should strive to be an ongoing model of acceptance and inclusion.”

Read the study.

«‹ 71 72 73 74›»