Welcome to our weekly column, News is Good, where we feature positive news about the LGBTQ+ community. Too much of what we see in mainstream media coverage focuses on the challenges we face and not the celebrations. Here are five things we’re excited about this week.
Scooby-Doo’s Velma comes out in latest franchise release. Jinkies! After decades of speculation, the quirky and lovable member of the Scooby gang has finally come out in the new film, “Trick or Treat, Scooby-Doo.” Velma crushes hard on Coco Diablo, the costume designing villain of the film. (Fun fact, if you Google Velma Dinkley, a shower of animated lesbian pride flags covers the screen.)
Iowa Local 5 reporter Nora J.S. Reichardt comes out as transgender. In an interview with KARE 11’s Evan Andersen, Reichardt shared her experience with her transition journey, from beginning medical transition in 2021 to advising those who want to be allies to the trans community.
Camp Dyketopia: A queer comedy and arts experience takes place this weekend in Littleton, Colorado. The weekend festival is billed as an event “created to spark queer joy through a day of performances by queer comedians, drag icons, musicians, and artists.” Founded by Lee Robinson and Kate McLachlan, attendees can check out performances from comedian Irene Tu, Blank Slate and Shane Hughes. Tickets are available now.
Swedish geneticist Svante Pääbo awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Pääbo, who is bisexual, has won this year’s prize “for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.” The renowned scientist is responsible for sequencing the Neanderthal genome as well as discovering the Denisoval hominin.
Milwaukee’s Black Nite tavern to be designated as a historical landmark. Aug. 5, 1961, nearly a decade before the Stonewall Riots, Milwaukee’s LGBTQ+ community fought back against a group of men who arrived at the Black Nite tavern to harass and harm the patrons. Now the Milwaukee County Historical Society plans to make the famous bar a landmark, making the Black Nite the first LGBTQ+ landmark in the county.
Do you have good news you want to share with us? Email our team at newsisout@localmedia.org.