The dramatic rise in banning LGBTQ+ books for young people has been a concern in the U.S. for a couple of years now and shows no signs of slowing down. While local school districts can pull books from their classrooms and individual towns can take books out of their public libraries—as hundreds did in 2021 […]
Category: Top Stories
Posted inArts and Entertainment
News is Good: TRANSlations film festival, a book for allies 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 Seattle Trans Film Festival kicks off May […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
Monica Palacios stands up and out
“Just comadres? I don’t think so,” is one of the many brilliant lines Monica Palacios has delivered onstage, commenting on Mexican women singing passionate mariachi songs together. Named one of the most influential Latinx performers ever, Monica Palacios was born to be a comedian. She was one of the first out Chicana lesbian comics to […]
Posted inBIPOC LGBTQ+ Artist Spotlight
Artist Kitoko Mai explores dissociative identity disorder through art
Meet Kitoko Mai. Mai is a Black, non-binary, disabled, emerging multidisciplinary performance artist, originally from Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mai’s pronouns are she/her and they/them. Also, meet Cheyenne, Niles, and Annie. They are three separate and distinct personalities, but they all exist within Kitoko Mai. As a multidisciplinary artist, Mai engages audiences in art […]
Posted inTop Stories
Drag performers of color reflect on ‘queer joy’ – and the current backlash to their art
With roots stretching back thousands of years, drag performers have recently become a cultural Rorschach test. Just as the art form has catapulted into mainstream spaces – thanks, RuPaul – it has elicited fear in cultural conservatives, who, as the Bay Area Reporter has been reporting, are seeking to limit its public visibility through state […]
Posted inTravel
Byron Bay, Australia: A queer-welcoming coastal vacation oasis
While driving from the Ballina airport to Byron Bay, New South Wales, I came across two things I’d never seen before. The first was a “Watch Out: Koalas Spotted” sign. The second was a police station covered with rainbow banners and flying a Progress flag. While in Sydney for WorldPride, I, a few fellow journalists […]
Posted inCommunity
Latina lesbian Rosa Lopez honored with street sign toppers in West Dallas
Dallas’ gay Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Omar Narvaez, who represents District 6 on the city council, unveiled ceremonial street sign toppers May 31, honoring Rosa Lopez.
Posted inCommentary
The news never stops
Those of us who report the news affecting the LGBTQ+ community can often feel whiplashed. In my 48 years in LGBTQ+ news, I can’t remember many moments when there weren’t many important and exhausting stories happening at once. It seems we never have a moment to process one issue when another comes along. For me, […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
News is Good: 365 days of gay, Jinkx Monsoon to join “Doctor Who” 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. New book celebrates 365 days of LGBTQ+ icons […]
Posted inBIPOC LGBTQ+ Artist Spotlight
Aeryanah Von Moi: Finding liberation through theater
Aeryanah Von Moi has lived in Philadelphia for 27 years and has had a wealth of creative and professional experiences, including as an assistant to Family Court Judge Tiffany Palmer, where she still works. But it was acting that liberated her “in so many different ways.” Von Moi’s experience in theater began in the early […]
Posted inTop Stories
The power of Drag: A look back through images
Drag is nothing new. It has existed proudly and out loud for centuries. If you attended a performance of William Shakespeare’s plays at The Globe in 1599, your Juliet, Lady Macbeth and Desdemona would have been played by men dressed in drag. In the states, former enslaved person William Dorsey Swann (Born: March 1860 – Died: Dec. […]
Posted inBIPOC LGBTQ+ Artist Spotlight
Fabrizzio Subia navigates loss and grief through art
When it comes to loss, Fabrizzio Subia may know more about that than most people. Having dealt with everything from familial loss to the erasure of his history, the Ecuadorian-American multidisciplinary artist (who has also done things like host the open-mic event Tortas y Talento) has unveiled the video installation “Año Nuevo (2023)”—a grief performance […]
Posted inCommentary
The revolution, as always, will be led by drag queens
At the root of revolution is revolt–a revolt against oppressive power. Once again in our history, we must rise up against a deranged right-wing front that is harnessing political and social power to legislate and discriminate LGBTQ+ people out of existence. Once again, the revolution will be led by drag queens. The earliest uprising of […]
Posted inTop Stories
15 transgender people who have made the world a better place
In honor of International Transgender Day of Visibility, we’re celebrating trans individuals who have had an impact on making the world a better place for the LGBTQ+ community and beyond. From the worlds of science and technology to art and activism, these 15 trans people have changed the way we view the world. Lorena Borjas […]
Posted inBIPOC LGBTQ+ Artist Spotlight
Chicago video game developer seeks to increase Black queer representation
Dani LaLonders (she/they) vividly remembers when “Lizzie McGuire: On the Go” first came out on the Gameboy Advance in 2004, joking that she was “probably one of five people” who played the game. The Chicago-based creator holds fond memories of various video games that inspired her throughout her childhood. “I played a lot of girly […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
Asha Santee is creating queer healing through art
Asha Santee has always had a creative spirit, but becoming a full-time artist was never her plan. She landed here by accident. After growing up in California and then Houston, she came to Washington, D.C. to attend Howard University on a basketball scholarship. Her goal was to play professional basketball and she even tried out […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
News is Good: Outfest Fusion kicks off, Utah 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. Washington Blade Editor Kevin Naff publishes new book […]
Posted inBIPOC LGBTQ+ Artist Spotlight
Roadwork reflects on its herstory to plan its future
In 1978, amid the second wave of feminism in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade, Roadwork – a multiracial coalition – put women’s art, particularly that of women of color, on the road. Building the roads where they didn’t already exist, Roadwork created an intersection of opportunity and social change, wherein artists from diverse backgrounds […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
GLAAD’s 2022-2023 “Where We Are On TV” report shows some troubling trends
This morning, GLAAD released its annual “Where We Are On TV” report, which takes a deep dive into LGBTQ+ representation on primetime, cable and streaming networks. This year marks the 18th annual report GLAAD has conducted. The report is available to download in its entirety, but here are some highlights and areas of concern from […]
Posted inTop Stories
A call for activists
When I moved to Dallas in 1992, I volunteered for several nonprofit organizations: I stacked food on the AIDS Resource Center food pantry shelves. I was an HIV counselor at the Nelson Teredo Community Clinic. I created four monthly newsletters. I sat on the boards of the Dallas Gay & Lesbian Alliance, Couples Metro Dallas […]
