Opinions

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How the Trump administration is greenlighting discrimination against LGBTQ+ federal employees

This week, the Office of Public Management (OPM) issued a memo urging federal agencies to “robustly protect and enforce” federal employees’ right to engage in religious expression in the workplace. This right includes efforts of employees to persuade others of the correctness of their religious views, encourage them to pray or attend religious services, and display religious items, such as crosses and religious posters, in the workplace. While the five-page memo briefly mentions the limits on this religious expression—it can’t be harassing in nature, and employees can’t be disciplined for disagreeing or declining to participate—the memo’s major chord pushes religious expression rather than preventing […]

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Why queer memory is not only vital in these troubled times–it’s revolutionary

In an episode of The Last of Us, Ellie and her girlfriend, Dina, ride horseback through the ruins of what was once Seattle, taking in the city’s choice of decor. Rainbow flags and banners saying “Pride” from over two decades ago, when the idea of zombie fungus was the least of their worries. “They must have been happy,” Ellie says as they examine all the street accoutrements, having no clue what any of it means. Like a lost language, the queer people in this new dystopian world had lost their history. I got goosebumps. “This is what I’m talking about,” I […]

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“I Won’t Change My Body to Fit Your Expectations”: Reflections From a Masculine Woman with PCOS

I knew something was off when I started growing facial hair at 12 years old. Small chin hairs, but still noticeable to everyone. I’d poke and prod them at first, not out of shame but curiosity and wonder. The more body hair I grew, the more intrigued I became. I thought it was neat that my body changed in this way! I soon found out not everyone would agree with me. My grandmother would tell me not to pick at it or I’d get spots and scars. Other girls in my class soon whispered about me being a man. I vividly remember a girl at my […]

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LGBTQ-Affirming Kids Books to Rewrite Messages from the Playground

The fight to offer diverse children’s books in public schools will go national this month when the Supreme Court issues a ruling on Mahmoud v. Taylor. The case surrounds three couples who objected to a small number of LGBTQ-inclusive children’s books offered as nonmandatory supplemental learning materials in Montgomery County Public Schools, in Maryland. Because the district did not offer an opt out clause to prevent access to their children, they claimed infringement on their religious rights. “What’s at stake in Mahmoud v. Taylor isn’t just access to books—it’s whether LGBTQ kids get to see themselves reflected in the world around them,” author […]

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Regardless of corporate retreat from Pride, queer businesses are still here for LGBTQ+ communities

I’ve been celebrating Pride since 1993 when I came out of the closet and embraced my truth as a queer human being. Back in the 90s, the groups that marched in the parades were largely community organizations and local businesses that directly supported LGBTQ+ people. However, for the past decade or so, Pride Month has become an opportunistic season in corporate America: rebranded rainbow logos, capsule merch collections, and hashtags full of supportive intentions. As a gay man and the CEO of a clothing company that serves the queer community year-round, I watched this shift with both cautious optimism and a wary eye. On […]

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The importance of finding queer belonging in America’s historic sites

Like most Americans, I love visiting old places, whether Savannah, Seattle, or Santa Fe. I love historic architecture, gardens, and sacred sites. I like nothing better than hearing music in an old church, eating at a legacy restaurant, or staying at an old Airbnb. But until a few years ago, I didn’t see myself in the historic sites I toured—not in the grand mansions built by the robber barons in the 19th century from Newport to the Coast of California, nor even in the homes of the founding fathers, from George Washington to John Adams. Though I enjoyed visiting and learned a lot, […]

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The inconvenient paradox of the war on trans rights that the GOP hopes we don’t notice

Central to heteronormativity is a presupposition that people are “naturally” cisgender and heterosexual, and that values, laws, and institutions should be organized accordingly. Within this framework, gender and sexual nonconformity are framed as medical or psychological disorders and immoral perversions of religious teachings. Power structures are organized in ways that favor people who identify as cisgender and heterosexual (especially men) and marginalize people who identify with differing sexual and/or gender categories, or who otherwise fall outside of heteronormative standards. Perhaps the most impressive feat of heteronormativity is its clever obfuscation of the fact that it, in and of itself, is a gender ideology, […]

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Instead of Addressing Child Abuse Prevention, Trump Attacks Trans Youth

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In his proclamation for National Child Abuse Prevention Month, rather than addressing real threats to children like the federal government should do, United States President Donald J. Trump focused almost exclusively on attacking supporters of transgender youth. He declared broadly defined “gender ideology” as “one of the most prevalent forms of child abuse” and labeled gender-affirming care as “evil”. Gender-affirming care is recognized as the gold standard of medical care for transgender youth by major medical associations. This care consists of social practices (changes to one’s name, wardrobe, etc.) to mental health counseling to medical interventions, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapies. In all, the care […]

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The government is abandoning the fight against HIV. Businesses need to step up & fill the void.

We know how to end new HIV transmissions in the United States. The science is here. We have PrEP to prevent HIV, and we know that for people living with HIV, maintaining an undetectable viral load means they cannot transmit the virus (U=U). The roadmap exists. But getting there requires full alignment between government, private industry, and community-based organizations. I founded MISTR because sexual health care should be easy, accessible, and stigma-free. No waiting rooms, no awkward conversations, no judgment — just simple, private, online care with free prescriptions shipped to your door. Today, over 500,000 people across all 50 states, […]

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Democrats need to stop acting like it’s politics as usual & start acting like it’s war

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As disgusting as the Trump administration’s destruction of democracy is, what makes the pain that much worse is the sheer fecklessness of the response by the so-called opposition. Perhaps it was always too much to expect the elite mainstream media, which has always been as much amused as appalled by Trump, to call out the damage that he is doing (The New York Times has long been particularly disastrous on this account).  But you would think that at least the Democrats would take Trump’s attacks on government, civil rights, and human health as the crises that they are. Instead, the party has […]

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