Alyssa Keegan is a whole-person coach and certified peer counselor at Fresh Path NY who specializes in alternative lifestyles and non-monogamous relationships. Keegan, who is queer and nonbinary themself, works with many LGBTQ+ clients. News is Out asked Keegan to share their thoughts on self-care, in particular for those who are working or volunteering in […]
Category: News
Posted inArts and Entertainment
Terry Loftis: Building a rainbow bridge between classical music and the LGBTQ+ community
Terry Loftis has been described as a “rainmaker” for the arts, and that description certainly fit his time leading The Arts Community Alliance, the organization that doles out grants to area arts organizations and has been helping theaters, dance companies and the like rebuild their foundations post COVID. But these days, the out arts advocate […]
Posted inNews
Fears for Pride season amid rising attacks against LGBTQ+ community
The mass shooting in Colorado Springs last November that killed five people inside an LGBTQ+ nightclub served as a tragic reminder that the hate directed at our community can have deadly consequences. In the wake of the killings, anti-LGBTQ+ right-wing figures celebrated on social media and advocated for copycat attacks, prompting bar owners around the […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
News is Good: A “Selling Sunset” wedding, LGBTQ+ small business grants and more
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 a few things we’re excited about this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1xq5KMzUdk&embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Ffoundersfirstcdc.org%2F&embeds_origin=https%3A%2F%2Ffoundersfirstcdc.org&source_ve_path=Mjg2NjY&feature=emb_logo New LGBTQIA+ National Grant for LGBTQ+-owned small […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
Ways the LGBTQ+ community and allies are fighting back against drag bans
Drag has recently become a target of conservative leaders across the country. From drag bans to threats from white supremacy groups showing up to intimidate performers at drag brunches, drag and gender nonconformity have become a leading issue used to fire up evangelical and right-wing voters. This is far from the first time drag has […]
Posted inCommunity
Improving connectivity for BIPOC LGBTQ+ youth in a digital world
In today’s digital age, connectivity has become essential to our daily lives. From engaging on social media, connecting with the community, finding a job, seeing a doctor, finding food or finding a home within your budget, the internet is a pivotal lifeline for people to connect, communicate, find opportunities and express themselves. However, not all […]
Posted inBooks
Journalist Kevin Naff on his book “How We Won the War for LGBTQ Equality” and the battle to come
On the heels of his 20-year anniversary at the Washington Blade, Editor Kevin Naff is looking back on some of the biggest stories that shaped the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. His book, “How We Won the War for LGBTQ Equality — And How Our Enemies Could Take It All Away,” features curated writings from Naff’s two decades at the […]
Posted inCommentary
Requiem for a drag queen
The New York Times obituary for Barry Humphries extolled the life and career of a beloved actor of stage, screen and television. You could be forgiven if you didn’t recognize his name, but surely not if you did not recognize his alter ego. Humphries made a seven-decades-long career in the United Kingdom, the U.S., and […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
News is Good: Grand Haven, MI’s first Pride, a festival hit on VOD and more
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 a few things we’re excited about this week. Grand Haven, Michigan, to celebrate first ever Pride […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
LGBTQ+ Changemaker: Author Ryan La Sala
The LGBTQ+ Changemakers series features LGBTQ+ people all over the country who are making a difference through visibility and ingenuity. Ryan La Sala’s star isn’t just on the rise–it’s surging into the stratosphere. The fantasy and young adult author, who uses he/they/pronouns, has written three acclaimed queer YA books with another coming out in October. […]
Posted inCommentary
A right-wing threat to HIV prevention
Reducing, and ultimately eliminating, new HIV transmissions—even as health care providers, advocates and community members already have many components of the needed toolkit already available—remains a formidable challenge for communities across the nation. Even in states and municipalities, largely respectful of their LGBTQ+ populations, funding difficulties can result in diminished funds allocated for HIV prevention […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
News is Good: “The L Word” at the White House, MN bans conversion therapy and more
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 a few things we’re excited about this week. “The L Word” cast celebrates Lesbian Visibility Week […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
Art-felt: Chicago’s Pearl Dick helps young victims of trauma through glassblowing
Almost a decade ago, glass artist Pearl Dick and clinical psychologist Dr. Brad Stolbach co-founded Project FIRE (Fearless Initiative for Recovery and Empowerment)—an arts program that provides victims of trauma the chance to heal through glassblowing. Program components include mentoring, art and psychoeducation. Project FIRE (in partnership with Healing Hurt People-Chicago, a hospital-based violence-intervention program) […]
Posted inTop Stories
10 lesbian bars where you can celebrate Lesbian Visibility Week
The week of April 24-30 is Lesbian Visibility Week. It’s a time when lesbians, who comprise about 14% of the LGBTQ+ community, are celebrated. What better way to celebrate than by heading out to support one of the remaining two dozen lesbian bars in the country? Not within driving distance of these bars? For more […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
Director makes queer art for the stage in the big city and the suburbs
North Texas is never short on performing arts. With symphonies, operas, dance and theater flourishing in abundance throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth area, there are always plenty of options for entertainment onstage. And the suburbs are no exception, especially with one area theatrical director finding ways to celebrate diversity and inclusion in the smaller cities as […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
Chef Marcu: Bridging the gap between Black trans people and the culinary industry
When Chef Marcu, also known as Marcuz James, first started his private catering business Palate Marcu: International Kitchen in 2019, he felt like he was thrown into a pool of cold water when he agreed to cater for 500 people at the Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference. “I had no idea what I was doing,” Marcu […]
Posted inCommentary
Moving beyond the biases in online LGBTQ+ dating
Since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic three years ago, social interactions have existed almost entirely on virtual platforms. We work virtually, we hang out with our friends virtually and, most importantly, we date virtually. Over the past three years, we have met people almost exclusively at face value, and while long-distance or chronically online […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
News is Good: Queer dating shows, 40 years of gay softball and more
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 a few things we’re excited about this week. The City of Brotherly Love Softball League has […]
Posted inNews
What to expect from Disney’s first “Pride Nite”
If you’ve been following the DeSantis vs. Disney news, you may have seen that on the same day that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis posed the idea of building a prison complex near Disney, the megacorporation announced its first-ever “Pride Nite” on social media. The DeSantis administration has been in a very public battle with Disney […]
Posted inNews
Reponses to the expansion of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill
The Florida Board of Education has voted to expand “The Parental Rights in Education Bill” (CS/CS/HB 1557), also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, to extend to all grades, kindergarten through twelfth grade. The bill “prohibits classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity.” Failing to comply with this law could cause teachers to […]
