Columns

/ /

How to be a better straight ally to LGBTQ people

For people who are not LGBTQ, it can be difficult to understand what being a straight ally means. Some might think that allies just need to be supporters and nothing more, but there’s actually a lot more that goes into being an ally. In this post, we’ll break down what it means to be a straight ally and explain why they’re so important in the fight for equality. What Is A ‘Straight Ally’? Meaning Of The Term “Ally” describes a person who is “not a member of a marginalized or mistreated group but who expresses or gives support to that […]

/ / / /

US: LGBT Asylum Seekers in Danger at the Border

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and other asylum seekers fleeing persecution in their home countries experience abusive and dangerous conditions in Mexicowhen not allowed to cross the border to seek asylum, Human Rights Watch said today.   Two policies implemented by the administration of former President Donald J. Trump – the Migrant Protection Protocols, commonly known as “Remain in Mexico,” and the Title 42 summary expulsion policy – continue to be used under the Biden administration to block access to the asylum system for most people who try to cross into the US to seek safety. This includes people at a greater risk of harm […]

/ /

LGBTQ history is repeating itself. That’s not necessarily a bad thing

Let’s face it, this year’s Pride comes at a time when many in our community are feeling a sense of doom. The passage of Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill this spring was a shock, not to mention the gut punch of the Supreme Court’s likely Roe vs. Wade decision and its deeply concerning implications for our rights and freedoms. So if you’re feeling threatened, there’s good reason — and it’s not just because of what happened in Florida. This year, over 230 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced in state legislatures aimed at sports, libraries, and curricula, all with the aim of protecting children from […]

/ /

‘Politics’ and ‘politician’ have become dirty words

When you study the field of politics, it is represented as “the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status.” An accepted definition of a politician is “a person who is professionally involved in politics, especially as a holder of or a candidate for an elected office.” Politics, if done well and honestly, should not be thought of as dirty and neither should the politician who practices politics. One can be an activist and practice politics without being a politician. But I […]

/ /

I’ve witnessed Laura Ingraham inflict pain on LGBTQ people for decades. I know her for what she is.

When I was a student at Dartmouth, Laura Ingraham was my classmate. She used her platform at her notorious off-campus newspaper to call me and others like me “sodomites” and members of the “Dartmouth Bestiality Society.” She disavowed her grotesque behavior of the early ‘80s, in a 1997 Washington Post article, in which she claimed she had changed her views on “homosexuality” after witnessing “the dignity, fidelity, and courage” with which her gay brother, Curtis and his partner coped, with the latter being diagnosed with AIDS and dying from it. Related: Disney declines to condemn Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill after donating to GOP backers […]

/ /

Am I polyamorous? How to know if polyamory is right for you

If you’ve ever felt like monogamy wasn’t for you, know that you’re not alone. In a study by the Kinsey Institute, 81 percent of respondents said they fantasized about open relationships at least once in their lives. And at least one in five Americans have entered some kind of consensual non-monogamous relationship. Polyamory – or the practice of dating multiple partners at once – has, for the most part, been on the fringes of what most people consider as “normal” dating behavior. After all, the concept of monogamy has been reinforced for time immemorial by religion, government, films, TV shows, and music. So much […]

/ /

Pedophilia accusations were once a fringe QAnon belief is now a standard GOP tactic

When QAnon burst on the scene a few years ago, the general feeling was that it was so deep in the fever swamps that it would never become anything more than a fringe conspiracy theory. After all, who could believe the premise that a cabal of Democratic politicians and Hollywood stars are engaged in Satanic practices that involve sex trafficking children and harvesting their blood to produce a psychoactive drug? As it turns out, the Republican party believes it. Or at least enough of the party’s leadership believes it that it has now embraced QAnon’s pedophilia claims and is now […]

/ /

10 Questions Journalists Should Ask FIFA and Qatari Authorities About Rights Abuses

When FIFA convenes its 72nd Congress in Doha, Qatar, on March 31, 2022, in preparation for the World Cup, journalists, football associations, fans, and others should press both FIFA officials and Qatari authorities about human rights in the Gulf state, particularly the rights of migrant workers, women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Since 2010, human rights organizations, trade unions, and media have consistently documented the rampant human rights abuses in the country, especially against migrant workers, including widespread wage theft, high recruitment fees, unexplained deaths, and passport confiscation, among others. While Qatar has introduced several reforms with much fanfare, they came too late, have proven […]

/ /

A President Who Makes Us Proud

President Biden is a president who makes us proud. He clearly stepped up to the plate in difficult times. COVID, inflation, Ukraine are just a few of the volatile issues he is managing.  When it comes to international issues like Ukraine, the president represents the United States, not Democrats or Republicans. Yet today we are so divided there are Republicans willing to attack him trying to undermine our standing in the world. It was reported last week, “More than two dozen Senate Republicans demand Biden do more for Ukraine after voting against $13.6 billion for Ukraine.” One total jackass, Madison Cawthorn […]

/ /

Indiana Lawmakers are Making Life Worse for LGBTQ Youth

,

This month, lawmakers in Indiana voted to advance a bill that would prohibit transgender girls from playing sports with other girls. This discriminatory and harmful bill quickly gained traction even though there doesn’t seem to be any issue in Indiana with transgender girls participating in athletics. Efforts to bar transgender girls from participating in school sports are profoundly misguided. Proponents of these bills narrowly fixate on the possibility that some transgender girl might potentially outperform her cisgender peers. To avoid that scenario, they cruelly prevent transgender kids from participating at all. This marks transgender children as different from a young age […]

«‹ 7 8 9 10›»