Our weekly column, News is Good, features 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 a few things we’re excited about this week.
eharmony becomes more inclusive for LGBTQ+ users. In collaboration with GLAAD, online dating tool eharmony is updating its features to be more inclusive of sexuality and gender identity. According to GLAAD, members can select which gender best describes them and add more detail about their gender. Members can display their gender on their profile and notate “whether they are seeking men, women, nonbinary people, or any combination of these.”
“Warrior Nun” to get three feature-length movies. After being cancelled by Netflix after its second season, and a subsequent massive fan campaign, executive producer Dean English made a big announcement this week. “I am very happy to announce that Warrior Nun is coming back as a trilogy of motion picture,” English said in a video posted on the WarriorNunSaved site. “Once again, a trilogy of feature films. Three.” English explained that he could not expand on the announcement due to the WGA and SAG strikes but that more details would be available in the future.
Wilson Cruz is the new chair of the GLSEN board. Cruz, an actor and activist who previously served as a board member and on several other nonprofit boards, now steps into the leadership position. Crus told the Washington Blade, “This is my opportunity to help create a better world for the generations that come after me. For 30 years now, I have been a voice for LGBTQ youth because of the fact that I was Ricky Vasquez. And so, it’s been a passion of mine to make sure that the school experience for queer students is better than the one that I had.” GLSEN, the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network, has been working to create better environments for LGBTQ+ students and faculty since the early 90s.
First Empress of the Americas, José Julio Sarria, to be inducted into the California Hall of Fame. California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that Sarria, a longtime activist, World War II veteran and first openly gay candidate to run for public office in 1961, would be inducted into the prestigious hall. Sarria, who died in 2013, was also the founder of Imperial Court de San Francisco, which expanded into the International Court System, making it the second largest LGBTQ+ organization in the world. The induction will occur Aug. 22.