Opinions

/ /

LGBTQ+ rights have long been at the mercy of public opinion. This November will be no different.

,

LGBTQ+ ballot initiatives have long been used as a wedge issue to turn out the conservative vote and to give or take away freedoms that are usually guaranteed by the government. The 2024 election is no different. This November continues a decades-long tradition of leaving LGBTQ+ civil rights up to public debate. New Yorkers will consider whether to add sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression to their anti-discrimination amendment in the state constitution. Reproductive rights are on the ballot in 10 states as well. And California, Colorado, and Hawaii voters will decide if their states will repeal their constitutions’ […]

/ /

NY Times report on GLAAD riddled with bad reporting, innuendo, lies

Let me say up front that no one from GLAAD asked me to write this, and I did not run its content by them or coordinate in any way. These are my independent observations based on my experience as Vice President and Chief Programs Officer under the leadership of Sarah Kate Ellis for five years. I was there for much of what is detailed in the recent New York Times story, and I feel compelled to provide a counterpoint to the imbalanced — and perhaps libelous — story put forward by the Times.  Before I get into the content of […]

/ / / /

No LGB Without the T

It is frustrating, alarming, sad, and more than a little scary that this still needs to be said in 2024, but here we go, once again, for the record: Trans. Rights. Are. Human. Rights. Some so-called “leaders” throughout the country have decided that the trans community—including gender non-conforming, non-binary and intersex folks—make an easy target as political pawns in their hate-filled culture wars. Which is why it is more important than ever for the entire LGBTQ+ community and our allies to stand up boldly on behalf of the entire trans family. Simply stated, there is no LGB without the T. Do […]

/ /

As governments demonize LGBTQ+ rights, children lose the most

,

In recent months, LGBTQ+ rights have faced significant setbacks in many countries, with populist and authoritarian governments passing draconian laws curtailing LGBTQ+ rights.  Countries as varied asUganda, Ghana, Iraq, Russia, Hungary, and theUnited States, among others, have sought to limit the fundamental freedoms of expression, association, and assembly of LGBTQ+ individuals. They have done so by suggesting that the mere existence of LGBTQ+ people in the public sphere poses a threat to children, misusing the rhetoric of protecting children to restrict fundamental human rights. This tired and offensive stereotype is damaging to the LGBTQ+ community, who are demonized in the public imagination and deprived of basic human […]

/ /

Women’s autonomy is fundamental in the fight for queer justice

A recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling deemed frozen embryos to be children under state law. This led most clinics in the state to immediately halt in vitro fertilization (IVF) due to fears of legal repercussions under Alabama’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. This ruling is just one in a series of attacks on reproductive rights in the United States that affects both queer and heterosexual people aspiring to parenthood. The ruling also compounded existing inequalities in access to fertility treatment faced by queer women, single women and transgender men, in particular. A 2023 Human Rights Watch investigation found that heterosexual couples are covered […]

/ / /

Elon Musk & ‘X’ Are Dangers to Society

Elon Musk is officially a danger to society. As of mid May of 2024, X.com, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has started banning accounts that use the word “cisgender” or “cis,” deriding it as a slur. For those who don’t know, “cisgender” refers to any person whose gender aligns with the genitalia they were assigned at birth. Erasing the word “cisgender” from tweets, or X.com remarks, ensures that gender nonconforming people can’t articulate the bigotry they feel in this world.  Musk has been notorious for his transphobia. It didn’t just start in mid-May of this year. In June of […]

/ /

Are raids on LGBTQ bars making a comeback in 2024?

There’s been a noticeable uptick in police harassment since 2023, that began with legislators proposing bills aimed at LGBTQ people. More recently police and other public officials have seemingly gone out of their way to target the LGBTQ community. This includes spaces in “red states,” like Missouri where police officers arrested the owners of Bar:PM (a leather bar in St. Louis) after they wrecked their police cruiser into it. “Blue states” however, are not immune to this — as was the case in Seattle where authorities raided The Cuff and The Seattle Eagle citing them for “lewd conduct” because of […]

/ / / /

I lived unapologetically as a Black gay man in the 70s. Now I’m aging with pride & dignity.

The year: 1969. Man landed on the moon, the Beatles gave their last concert on top of the Apple building in London, and we mourned Judy Garland’s death. But most notable for me was the Stonewall Uprising on June 28. As a gay African-American man, I am an activist and a pioneer. I have experienced some of the brightest and darkest highlights of LGBTQ history. So much has changed and I know my generation has made a significant contribution to the growth and positive changes. My mantra: “I’m living my best life!” The year of the Stonewall Uprising, I was […]

/ /

BLACK HISTORY MONTH; Darling, you’re a masterpiece: The unequivocal beauty of being Black & queer

In the dazzling spectacle of Black History Month, we strut down the runway of celebration, draped in the richness of our heritage.  But wait, cue the music, because, for some of us, there’s an unexpected wardrobe malfunction – the clash of being both Black and queer. Let’s unpack this sartorial crisis, shall we? Queer and Black: a double whammy of fabulousness As we revel in the glory of Blackness, let’s not forget the glittering rhinestones that adorn the Queer community. But, darling, statistics paint a rather somber picture.  In the vibrant tapestry of Black identity, the intersectionality of being both […]

/ /

Understanding trans identity from a therapy perspective

The trans identity has been written about extensively from a political perspective. Many columns in the Blade, and other outlets, speak of gender ID laws, barriers in trans healthcare, pronouns, trans representation in state legislatures and eventually Congress, and the legality of offering trans children hormone blockers, among other treatments.  While speaking of politics can be good, it’s equally important to understand trans lives from the perspective of someone with a social work degree — or, in other words, from an emotional and therapeutic perspective.  Trans people, simply put, face many emotional barriers in life that others usually don’t have to […]

«‹ 7 8 9 10›»