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Time to dust off your pre-pandemic budget – Washington Blade

Kim Martel
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Time to dust off your pre-pandemic budget – Washington Blade
Brandt Ricca (Photo by Jonathan Thorpe/jthorpephoto)

Brandt Ricca will begin a non-stop 100-mile ultramarathon at 6 a.m. on Oct. 7 while most D.C. residents will still be sipping their morning coffee.

In a year of isolation and economic downturn, Ricca decided to run 100 miles in two days to benefit local, LGBTQ-owned businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Ricca, who’s lived in D.C. for 10 years, is donating the money he raises to the Capital Pride Alliance and Equality Chamber of Commerce, where he has been a member since 2018.

The gay entrepreneur and owner of the D.C.-based business Nora Lee by Brandt Ricca understands first-hand how the ongoing pandemic affects small businesses, particularly LGBTQ-owned companies.

“I definitely want to give back to the community and local colleagues, especially because Capitol Pride has been now canceled two years in a row,” Ricca said.

Out of the funds raised, 90 percent will go towards funding 20 small business grants through the Equality Chamber of Commerce and the remaining 10 percent will go towards supporting Capital Pride Alliance.  

Brandt, already an avid runner and self-described “fitness explorer,” decided after crowdsourcing ideas to pursue the 100-mile project. Ricca has been a frequent visitor at the Equinox Anthem Row in D.C. to prepare for the run.

“I was looking to do my next fitness endeavor, at the same time wanting to do something to get back to the fellow business owners in D.C.,” he said.

Applications for the 20 grants of various sizes for LGBTQ businesses are projected to open this summer through the Equality Chamber of Commerce, Ricca said. His goal is to raise $100,000 from individuals and companies. The grants will be distributed in October following the completion of the run.

Equality Chamber of Commerce Vice President Riah Gonzales-King is in the process of developing grants and additional summer educational programming to help young LGBTQ entrepreneurs and students start their businesses.

“So much of the culture centers around these businesses, many of which have been around for decades,” Gonzales-King said. “They’re pillars of the community — their owners are pillars in the community. And I think it’s time that we gave back.”

Helping LGBTQ entrepreneurs specifically at this time is essential, Ricca said, especially entrepreneurs in the creative and hospitality industry.

Ricca began training in February with the help of several exercise experts like Brian Mazza, a New York City fitness entrepreneur who ran 50 miles last December to raise awareness for male infertility stigma. The former Men’s Health headliner is guiding Ricca’s physical training, which has been a near-daily routine. Ricca was inspired by Mazza’s run in the first place.

Ricca reached out to Mazza over Instagram to get his assistance and training.

Mazza said Ricca reaching out over Instagram “meant the world.”

“I believe what he’s doing for his cause is remarkable,” Mazza said. “It’s important. I’m happy that he’s standing up for what he believes in and helping these businesses and helping individuals in general.”

Jacob Zemer, a coach and nutritionist, has designed a daily nutrition program for Ricca to prepare him for the run. Zemer and Mazza have been working together throughout the process to track Ricca’s health and progress.

The two fitness experts work with Ricca multiple times a day to monitor his diet, mileage, heart rate and pace monitoring. Both Mazza and Zemer said Ricca’a training has been successful.

“Brandt’s an excellent individual,” Zemer said. “He’s very easy to work with. He’s highly coachable, he’s a pleasure to talk to every day.”

Pacers Running will be sponsoring and designing Ricca’s 100-mile route throughout the D.C. region. The company is also working with Ricca to design specific shoes for the ultramarathon.

Pacers Running CEO Kathy Dalby won “Best Straight Ally” in the Washington Blade’s 2019 Best of Gay D.C.

“I really wanted someone local who could really guide me on a route,” Ricca said.

Elyse Braner, a community lead at Pacers Running and longtime friend to Ricca, said the local business was excited to collaborate with Brandt because of an alignment of values.

“As a community, inclusivity and diversity is extremely important to Pacers Running,” Braner said. “As a small business, we really appreciated that Brandt wanted to do an event that supported small businesses — specifically LGBTQ businesses.”

Originally an event-planning business, Nora Lee debuted in 2018 on the second annual Allison Gala, a fundraising event benefiting the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation, which Brandt created in memory of a family friend. He’s worked with a range of clients, including the Dupont Circle Hotel and Sotheby’s Real Estate.

Looking back at events on his website, he said he found himself bored with the photography. This led him to focus on creative marketing and decided to pivot his business model at the beginning of the pandemic. Now, Ricca provides photography and video shoots for clients.

“When COVID hit I decided to, like every business owner, I revisited my plan,” he said. “I really enjoyed the creative branding more in the photo shoot. So I decided to pivot strictly to just a full-on creative branding agency.”

The training for the 100-mile run has provided a stable routine for Ricca, which has helped him get through the pandemic, he said. Ricca is planning to create a campaign this summer inviting LGBTQ entrepreneurs to do their version of 100 miles, with the hope it will provide positive stability in their lives as it does in his.

“Obviously, people think I’m crazy for doing this,” Ricca said. “All the uncertainty out there right now – with business, with clients, with whatever; I needed an anchor. Something that was going to be a routine for me that I can control.”

Niners kick-off Pride with NFL’s 1st-ever gender-neutral gear – Washington Blade

Kim Martel
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Niners kick-off Pride with NFL’s 1st-ever gender-neutral gear – Washington Blade

Officials with Gay Games Hong Kong 2022, the committee organizing the quadrennial international LGBTQ sports event scheduled to take place in Hong Kong in November 2022, announced at an online webinar on Aug. 27 that a “contingency planning committee” has been created to address potential “risks” associated with the event.

Although those risks include the potential impact of the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing “social unrest” in Hong Kong, organizers stated during the webinar that the Hong Kong government remains highly supportive of the Gay Games. They said a team of more than 100 volunteers is working diligently to safely accommodate the thousands of LGBTQ athletes and spectators expected to arrive in Hong Kong in November 2022.

The webinar took place less than two months after China enacted a highly controversial security law giving the Hong Kong government greater authority in cracking down on pro-democracy protesters who have been holding demonstrations, some of which have become violent, for more than a year.

The Federation of Gay Games, the international governing body that oversees the Gay Games, reaffirmed its decision to select Hong Kong as host for the 2022 Gay Games during its Annual General Assembly meeting in Guadalajara, Mexico last November. One year earlier, the FGG selected Hong Kong over D.C. and Guadalajara, who were the two finalist cities competing with Hong Kong, to become the host city for the games.

FGG officials have predicted at least 12,000 athletes will participate in 36 sports in the 2022 Gay Games, with at least 75,000 spectators expected to turn out in Hong Kong to watch the games and participate in at least 20 accompanying arts and cultural events.

“As mentioned in the webinar, Gay Games Hong Kong 2022 has set up a contingency planning committee and has drawn up a contingency plan to cover specific risks, like the pandemic and social unrest,” said Federation of Gay Games spokesperson Shiv Paul in response to an inquiry from the Washington Blade.

“FGG with GGHK are closely monitoring the health, political, sporting, travel, and international events that could impact the delivery of Gay Games 11 in Hong Kong in November 2022,” Paul said. “Contingency plans are in development to mitigate the potential impact any unfortunate circumstances might cause,” he said.

“The team on the ground in Hong Kong are doing an excellent job in keeping the board up to date with concerns surrounding Hong Kong,” Paul quoted Joanie Evans, co-president of the FGG, as saying.

Paul added, “The GGHK team is composed of a team of 100 passionate LGBTQ+ volunteers and are looking forward to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Gay Games, first in Asia. They happily make Hong King their home, feeling safe in the ability to lead out, productive lives. The organization cannot speculate on sensationalized unconfirmed preconceptions.”

He was referring to a question from the Blade asking whether China might force local Hong Kong officials to arrest Gay Games spectators from Europe, North America or elsewhere if they make statements critical of China during the Gay Games cultural events.

Under the sweeping national security law enacted by China earlier this year, Hong Kong officials have made numerous arrests of dissidents denouncing China for infringing on what dissidents say was China’s 1997 agreement with the United Kingdom to allow Hong Kong to remain a semiautonomous region of China for 50 years after the British handed over its former colony to China.

Paul said the Hong Kong government has been involved in the Gay Games Hong Kong organizers’ application process for holding the Games in Hong Kong beginning in 2016.

“GGHK has been having ongoing and regular communications with multiple departments of the Hong Kong government to ensure that they are kept abreast of the process and support required from the government,” Paul told the Blade.

“In all the interactions GGHK is having with the Hong Kong government, support continues to grow within the Hong Kong government regarding GGHK,” he said. “New allies are offering support as it will be one of the biggest events to take place in Hong Kong during the next few years and stands to positively impact on the city,” said Paul.

Wisconsin legislature hold hearings to ban transgender athletes in public schools, Univ. of Wisconsin system – ChicagoPride.com

Kim Martel
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Wisconsin legislature hold hearings to ban transgender athletes in public schools, Univ. of Wisconsin system – ChicagoPride.com

Wisconsin Republican legislators have vowed to stop transgender youth from participating in state elementary, middle, high school, and even the University of Wisconsin system, with fellow athletes of their gender identity.

Hearings began Wednesday in Madison, Wis. for two bills that would do just that.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, a former state schools superintendent, has said that these bills will hurt children—and vows to veto them.

Republican state Rep. Barb Dittrich authored one of the bills—arguing that it will “even the playing field.”

She even dared to argue that banning transgender student athletes from competing in their gender identity helps to preserve the Patsy Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act—popularly known as Title IX. It is the federal law that prohibits discrimination in school programs based on sex.

Ironically, before her death, U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink (D-HI) was an avowed progressive and supporter of the LGBT community.

“Biological females are losing opportunities at titles, records, scholarships and even participation at times,” Dittrich said in March when the bills were introduced.

Also in March, Olympian Bonnie Blair Cruickshank appeared in a video to promote the discriminatory legislation.

“Athletes should not have to compete in an unfair environment and women’s sports should be protected,” the speedskater said.

Chris Ott, executive director of Wisconsin ACLU said ahead of these hearings, “Transgender students participate in sports for the same reasons that other young people do: to challenge themselves, improve their fitness, and be part of a team. Excluding trans students from participating in sports teams consistent with their authentic gender identity is unfair and discriminatory.”

He continued, “The intent of these bills is not to protect students in sports, but to alienate trans students and discriminate against them based on their identity.”

A major Rugrats character is gay in the new reboot: ‘She’s a beacon for young queer people’ – Yahoo Eurosport UK

Kim Martel
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A major Rugrats character is gay in the new reboot: ‘She’s a beacon for young queer people’ – Yahoo Eurosport UK

Phil and Lil’s mum Betty will be openly gay in the Rugrats reboot series, becoming a “beacon for young queer people”.

Betty has been a low-key queer icon for ages because of her unashamed love for sports, boisterous attitude and her trademark purple shirt with the symbol for “female” on it.

Natalie Morales, who came out as queer in 2017, is the voice actor playing Betty in the upcoming Rugrats reboot.

The Parks and Recreation star told The AV Club that fans of the original show “may have had an inkling Betty was a member of the alphabet mafia”.

Morales added that Betty holds a lot of power and influence for young queer people looking for examples of “living your life happily and healthily”.

“Betty is a single mum with her own business who has twins and still has time to hand out with her friends and her community, and I think it’s just so great because examples of living your life happily and healthily as an out queer person is just such a beacon for young queer people who may not have examples of that,” she said.

“And yeah, Betty is a fictional cartoon, but even cartoons were hugely influential for me as a kid and if I’d been watching Rugrats and seen Better casually talking about her ex-girlfriend, I think at least a part of me would have felt like things might be okay in the future.”

The AV Club reported that in the Rugrats reboot, Betty owns a cafe called Betty’s Beans, loves football and cracks jokes about her ex-girlfriends while parenting twins Phil and Lil.

In the original Rugrats, Betty was the tough and outspoken wife of Howard DeVille. It’s unclear if the reboot will address their relationship.

Betty was originally played by Kath Soucie, who also voiced Phil and Lil.

The Rugrats revival series premieres on 27 May on streaming service Paramount Plus.

Legislature hears testimony on bills that would ban transgender girls from girls sports – Madison.com

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Legislature hears testimony on bills that would ban transgender girls from girls sports – Madison.com

Trans Rights

Proponents of transgender rights gather outside the state Capitol Wednesday as legislators hold hearings on a pair of bills that would prohibit transgender athletes in Wisconsin from playing on girl’s and women’s sports teams in public and private schools, universities and colleges.

JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

The state Legislature waded into the culture wars on Wednesday, hearing public testimony on controversial Republican-authored bills that would ban transgender athletes from participating in girls and women’s sports at the K-12 and college levels.

Three legislative committees heard hours of testimony on the bills from a range of individuals and organizations, including cisgender women — women who identify with the gender they were identified with at birth — who called on lawmakers to pass the legislation.

“Where is the support for us?” said Madison mountain bike racer Leia Schneeberger, a cisgender woman in favor of banning transgender girls from girls and women’s sports.

Schneeberger said she had an undefeated season in 2020 before losing twice this year to a transgender woman. “I wouldn’t mind losing to someone like me, someone who worked hard and trained harder to be the best, someone who’s my peer. This is not the case.”

Schneeberger called her losses this year “the most demoralizing thing that has ever happened to me.”

Still, the bills lawmakers are considering wouldn’t address Schneeberger’s specific case, since the legislation covers only K-12 and collegiate sports.

Trans Rights

Opponents of the bills, including transgender athlete and Iditarod competitor Quince Mountain, left, testify at Wednesday’s hearing. Listening to Mountain are Madison residents Sagen Pizzingrilli and Amira Pierotti, and Kathy Flores, of Appleton.

Supporters say the measures, which mirror ones passed by a variety of other states, would help maintain women’s equality in sports carved out by 1972’s Title IX, which gives women athletes the right to equal opportunity in sports in educational institutions that receive federal funds.

Opponents from more than 30 organizations, including LGBT advocacy organizations, the ACLU and the Madison School District, said the bill is a solution in search of a problem, is discriminatory and further marginalizes transgender children and adults.

The two-bill package would require school districts and higher educational institutions to divide sports into three divisions based on sex: boys, girls and co-ed. The proposal defines “sex” as the sex assigned at birth by a physician.

The bills would prohibit people assigned at birth as “male” from participating on an athletic team or in a sport designated for people assigned at birth as “female.”

Rachel Crowl, a transgender woman, said the legislation would have harmful repercussions for trans youth.

Trans Rights

Members of the state Senate hold hearings on one of the two bills Wednesday.

“When the world tells you you don’t belong, it sticks,” Crowl said. “The legislation you’re considering will only further complicate (trans youth) lives when they’re already so very complicated. Life’s already hard. Why make it harder?”

The bill’s Assembly author, Rep. Barbara Dietrich, R-Oconomowoc, said there is a “whole army of women in Wisconsin sports” who don’t want their titles and prizes awarded to transgender women because of the inherent biological advantages among people assigned male at birth.

“These women have worked hard and earned their accolades in their own right, and they deserve to have their Title IX rights protected,” Dietrich said.

Some supporters are using language that flies in the face of the contemporary medical understanding of transgender people — one supporter of the bill used the term “delusional” to describe transgender people. The American Medical Association describes trans and non-binary gender identities as “normal variations of human identity and expression.”

For some women in sports, however, the issue is a matter of protecting another group: people assigned female at birth.

Beth Stelzer, an amateur powerlifter and founder of Save Women’s Sports, said she has relied on sex-separated spaces to feel safe and said the bills transcend politics.

“We are women here saying no. Why is that not enough?” Stelzer said.

Opponents of the legislation repeatedly emphasized that transgender girls are girls, and that the law should help protect them, as well.

“The introduction of these bills adds Wisconsin to a growing list of states that are introducing similar legislation as part of a coordinated effort by national anti-LGBTQ activists to spread myths and misinformation about what it means to be transgender and chip away at support for LGBTQ equality,” said a group of 31 Wisconsin organizations in a statement opposing the bills. “Laws like these do not protect girls’ and women’s access to sport. Instead, they create greater inequality and fail to address actual barriers to access like a lack of resources, lack of training and lack of investment in women coaches.”

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers would almost certainly veto the bills if they pass the Republican-controlled Legislature. While the hearings were underway Wednesday, he tweeted his support for transgender youths, writing that they “deserve our love and support just like any other kid.”

WIAA opposes bills

Dietrich said she did not consult with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association or athletic directors in crafting the bill, which she said most closely resembles legislation in Montana.

The WIAA objects to the legislation, saying the Legislature is inserting itself into the decision-making process of a private, member-driven organization.

“We believe the bill is unnecessary,” the organization said in a statement. “The WIAA serves a diverse membership of private and public schools that has a long history of providing opportunities and creating policies that benefit all student-athletes.”

The WIAA’s guiding principles are to ensure that transgender students have opportunities to participate in WIAA-sponsored athletics with verification and medical documentation, and that the medical privacy of transgender students is preserved.

It said the legislation is focused solely on the competition aspect of sports instead of the intrinsic benefits derived from participation and inclusion, and that it unnecessarily targets a vulnerable segment of young people.

The proposal to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls sports comes as more high school athletic associations have allowed transgender athletes to play on teams based on their gender identity. The NCAA has trans-inclusive guidelines for all its member schools.

The WIAA has transgender guidelines passed in 2013 that are “committed to ensuring that transgender students have opportunities to participate in WIAA-sponsored athletics.”

Under such guidelines, transgender females must have one calendar year of medically documented testosterone-suppression therapy to be eligible to participate on a female team. A transgender female who has not started testosterone-suppression therapy may participate on male teams if the student desires.

Transgender male students who have started hormone therapy, such as testosterone, are only eligible for male teams. A transgender male student who has not started hormone therapy may still participate on female teams if desired.

The day he took office, Democratic President Joe Biden signed an executive order banning discrimination based on gender identity in school sports and elsewhere.

A federal court blocked legislation in Idaho that banned transgender athletes from women’s sports teams there.

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Thomas Gallatin: Companies Target Kids With LGBT Promos — The Patriot Post – Patriot Post

Kim Martel
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Thomas Gallatin: Companies Target Kids With LGBT Promos — The Patriot Post – Patriot Post

Years ago, the month of June was co-opted by the Rainbow Mafia as “Pride Month,” an effort to loudly push cultural acceptance of homosexuality. What began with narcissistic parades and banners spread into indoctrination via mainstream media TV shows and commercials, initially targeting adults but quickly moving toward inculcating children in leftist dogma. The Rainbow Mafia’s culturally subversive march continues apace, with the latest iteration being the blatant marketing of LGBTQ-themed children’s toys and other products.

Recently, LEGO announced, “We have committed to support a number of organizations on an ongoing basis, including UK charity Diversity Role Models which helps children learn about empathy to ensure our future builders are accepting of everyone!” The virtue signal included an image of multi-colored LEGO figures lined up to mimic a rainbow flag.

But its not just LEGO jumping on the “Pride” bandwagon targeting kids. Mars Wrigley North America is releasing limited edition all-gray Skittles Pride Packs with packaging that features the following message: “Only one rainbow matters during Pride. Give the Rainbow!” Buyer beware — Mars says that it will donate $100,000 on packages purchased in June to the LGBT advocacy group GLAAD.

Breakfast cereal maker Kellogg’s has also gotten in on the act. “Together With Pride cereal marks the latest chapter in a years-long partnership with GLAAD and is the evolution of the much-loved All Together cereal, which previously was only available online,” says company general manager Doug VanDeVelde. “Our delicious new recipe features berry-flavored, rainbow hearts dusted with edible glitter. We can’t wait for fans to try our latest limited run.”

Obviously, companies are jumping on the Rainbow Mafia’s bandwagon because they see money in it. These products sell because so many emotionally incontinent folks want to virtue signal their solidarity with an “inclusive” cause. Unfortunately, a growing number of parents seem more than willing to promulgate this deviancy to their children, insisting that it is good.

Salem to hold LGBT Pride Flag Raising Ceremony – Wicked Local

Kim Martel
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Salem to hold LGBT Pride Flag Raising Ceremony – Wicked Local
Stock photo.

Mayor Kim Driscoll, along with local officials and community groups, will kick off Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month in Salem with a Pride Flag Raising Ceremony at 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 3, at Riley Plaza.

Salem resident Isabella Strobing donated the flags for this year’s celebration. Salem resident and LGBTQ activist Gary “Gigi” Gill, on June 3, will continue this tradition and Driscoll invites the Salem and North Shore community to come together to help raise the flags and celebrate Salem’s proud diversity.

For information and other events to celebrate pride in Salem, visit http://salem.com.

The flag raising ceremony is open to the public and will consist of a brief speaking program, followed by the raising of the pride flags at Riley Plaza.

Straight top model, 25, marries gay best friend even though they never have sex – OK! magazine

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Straight top model, 25, marries gay best friend even though they never have sex – OK! magazine

Model Chiderah Sunny, 25, is straight, while her wife, writer Deidre Olsen, 30, is gay.

They don’t have sex and are free to date other people. The couple say they are soulmates who want to challenge the notion that true love is only for romantic partners.

Here, they tell their story to inspire others…

Chiderah says:

I’m a morning person, up at 5am, Deidre is not. I’ll bounce in wanting to discuss something. She’ll be like, “Leave me!” Being married to your soulmate doesn’t mean you don’t argue. But two minutes later it’s, “I’m sorry, I love you.” With romantic partners, arguments can drag on for weeks.

We share a bank account but not a bedroom. We have never had sex and never will, that is not what our relationship is about.

We share all the chores. We take it in turns to cook and clean, and walk the dogs together. We split everything 50:50 – we are a partnership.

Have a story that needs to be told? Email us at truelife@ reachplc.com



I married my platonic soulmate
Model Chiderah Sunny, 25, is straight, while her wife, writer Deidre Olsen, 30, is gay

With Deidre, I don’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not, because there’s no romantic issue at stake. It’s purely caregiving, purely love. She held my hand through my endometriosis procedures. Love is not about sex. Love is about who is there for you in sickness and in health, for better for worse, for richer for poorer.

Deidre is better at organising all our life admin. But I’m bolder and will be the one dealing with landlords and things. We let each other shine at what we do best. There’s no competing to be in charge.

We date other people romantically – but it doesn’t interfere with our marriage. I think it helps it. For instance, I was deeply in love a couple months ago. Men are simple beings, quite exhausting and not emotionally intelligent. I couldn’t offload and share with him, about my health issues or the racism I often face, in the way I could with my wife. Men don’t want to take that on.

But that depth is what Deidre and I have. I adore her. Focusing on sex is the pitfall. Instead, we’ve built a deep emotional and mental connection.

Deidre and I met on dating app Hinge in February 2019. I was exploring my sexuality and asked her out. I realised I’m not gay but we had this incredible connection. We’re like-minded and I love our laughter-filled conversations. Sometimes, as a black woman, it’s very hard talking about my experience. With Deidre, I feel seen and heard.



I married my platonic soulmate
‘We date other people romantically – but it doesn’t interfere with our marriage’

During the lockdown, we took four-hour daily walks, it was exciting planning our lives.

We moved to Berlin from Toronto last August. Both of us had just broken up with partners. I felt so bleak. I broke down in front of Deidre – I’ve never done that before with anyone. The way she held me and soothed me, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

A few weeks later, I proposed. She said, “Are you for real?” I was like, “Yeah, I’m serious. Will you marry me?” It felt so right.

We want children together. Having two people who love each other and can offer joy and happiness is what a child needs. I come from a nuclear family, my parents were together 30 years and I was f***ed up by that dynamic. The relationship didn’t benefit my mother, it left her exhausted as she did everything at home. Women end up raising men as well as children.

We have two dogs. Our friends watch them when we work – we have an extended community and family. So that’s how we might raise our children.

Our parents know we’ve always been independent and free-spirited. So us marrying wasn’t a surprise. They’re cool.

I never wanted to marry before. But I see my future with Deidre, with our dogs, co-parenting – knowing that I don’t have to do life alone.

If we spend too much time with our romantic partners, we get irritated and run back to each other. Deidre’s current partner is lovely. I can go and talk to her or she’ll come in and help me pick an outfit.

We can help gauge who is right for each other and who is not, romantically. I haven’t had a partner since Deidre and I got married. My last boyfriend knew we were engaged and was supportive – slightly indifferent, almost. Men aren’t put off at all.

I hope our story gives others the courage to choose the people they want to be with – not out of societal pressure but real love.



I married my platonic soulmate
‘I hope our story gives others the courage to choose the people they want to be with’

Deidre says:

We are soulmates. I definitely thought Chiderah was cute when we first met on the dating app, because she’s beautiful and I’m gay.

We had a great date together in a cool bar and I was excited about our chemistry. But she let me know pretty soon after we met face-to-face that she likes men.

And once it’s settled as platonic, I don’t push it. I don’t go on dates expecting romance, I’m open to friendship.

Being wives shows our commitment. And marriage gives us legal rights when it comes to things such as finances and hospital visits.

I’m more passive. Chiderah has the charm. I’m messy, laid-back, and leave the dishes overnight. Chiderah cleans up straightaway. But that’s the only domestic incompatibility for us.

We spend around 85% of our time together and socialise together in a close group of open and queer friends. Magic happens when we’re together. Within two weeks of moving here, Chiderah got signed to her dream agency and I won a grant to write a memoir.

Both of us have suffered mental illness, so we understand each other. I couldn’t get out of bed after a heartbreak once. Chiderah cooked, cleaned and nursed me back to health. That caring and empathy is amazing.

After realising she was serious when she proposed, I said, “Absolutely, I can think of nothing better in the world.”

Our wedding was two weeks later, on 25 February this year, in our tiny flat. We had three friends come, one of whom officiated.

I wore a white blazer dress and Chiderah wore a white jumpsuit.

It was winter, during lockdown, and we made do with homemade cheesecake, Polaroid pictures and balloons on the walls. It was makeshift yet beautiful.

We exchanged rings. Our vows came from the heart. We told each other, “You are the person I want to build a life with, the person who brings me joy.”

Neither of our families have met because they live 4,000km apart. Mine are in Toronto and Chiderah’s are in Vancouver. But we chatted to each other’s parents over the phone. My family are supportive but don’t really get it. Dad said, “Oh, it’s one of those Deidre things again!”

We talk about babies and ways to alternatively co-parent – maybe with a male gay couple, for example. There’s room for multiple kinds of love in my life. That won’t erode my marriage.

I’m currently seeing another woman romantically. She’s not jealous, it’s not a contest. Chiderah and her get along well. Berlin is such an open, sexually liberated city, where polyamorous and bisexual people are common. If we lived elsewhere, it might be different.

If one of us got serious with someone else, our dynamic would evolve. But we would never live with anyone else in our home. We’re each other’s number one.

I get asked if, being gay, I might fall for Chiderah romantically. Absolutely not.

I don’t harbour romantic love for someone I know is straight.

The pandemic has shown me the importance of human connection. We’re creating a life on our own terms, surrounded by love. It’s the most freeing and uplifting thing I can think of.

‘We should have pride every day’: Fayetteville nonprofit honors Harvey Milk Day with parade – The Fayetteville Observer

Kim Martel
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‘We should have pride every day’: Fayetteville nonprofit honors Harvey Milk Day with parade – The Fayetteville Observer
Community members gather to join a mobile car parade organized by the Fayetteville chapter of Free Mom Hugs.

In honor of Harvey Milk Day, Community members joined a organization to hold a small mobile car Pride parade.  

Members of the Fayetteville chapter of Free Mom Hugs, a nonprofit that celebrates the LGBT community, wanted to use the parade to show love to the LGBT community.

“We go out and just try and bring awareness and make sure that everybody knows that they’re loved no matter what,” said Audra Ferguson, leader of the Fayetteville chapter.

Harvey Milk was the first openly gay politician elected in California. He was shot and killed in 1978 by a disgruntled city supervisor. He is honored on his birthday, May 22, for the work he did to stop discrimination against LGBT people.

The event was intended to give a voice to members of the LGBT community, according to Starr Duffany, event coordinator for the Fayetteville chapter. 

“We do it because everybody wants to silence them, so we just do what we can for them,” she said.

Ferguson said Free Mom Hugs is planning to make the mobile Pride ride an annual event in honor of Milk. The group hopes to make the event bigger each year, she said. 

The ride only included about five cars with about 20 people participating. The parade went through downtown Fayetteville, where Ferguson said people encouraged those taking part. 

“It was amazing,” she said. “People were honking and waving and screaming, and it was just awesome.” 

Ferguson said she just wants to make sure members of the LGBT community feel loved and accepted. 

More on LGBT:Fayetteville Pride aims to increase visibility, inclusion of LGBTQ community

The Pride ride also served as a preamble to events the organization is planning for Pride next month. Some events the members are planning are a community picnic and a commemorative event for the five-year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting. 

Ferguson said she’d like to have pride events throughout the year in addition to events next month. 

“June is like the month, but we should be celebrating pride for our community members every day of the week, every day of the year,” Ferguson said. “So, that’s something that I’m trying to let everybody know, that we should have pride every day, not just in June.”

”

Staff writer Akira Kyles can be reached at akyles@gannett.com.

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‘Rugrats’ Fans React As Phil and Lil’s Mom Is Made Openly Gay in Reboot – Newsweek

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‘Rugrats’ Fans React As Phil and Lil’s Mom Is Made Openly Gay in Reboot – Newsweek

Rugrats has met the ultimate fate of all ’90s TV shows and got itself a reboot, which began airing on Paramount+ on May 27. According to members of the voice cast, this CGI version introduces a number of changes, including more diverse families.

One change in particular has grasped the internet’s attention—Phil and Lil’s mom Betty DeVille is openly gay.

This was first hinted at late last year in an interview that actor Melanie Chartoff, who voices Didi Pickles, gave to the Back to the Best podcast. “One of the characters is now a lesbian,” said Chartoff.

“Some of the characters are of different minority, ethnic minorities, now. We had some before, now we’re going to have more. So, it’s going to be a much more, I’d say, liberally intended show.”

The move was then confirmed to the AV Club by Natalie Morales, a queer actor who is the new voice of Betty. She told the outlet: “Anyone who watched the original show may have had an inkling Betty was a member of the alphabet mafia [LGBTQ+].

“Betty is a single mom with her own business who has twins and still has time to hang out with her friends and her community, and I think it’s just so great because examples of living your life happily and healthily as an out queer person is just such a beacon for young queer people who may not have examples of that.”

rugrats reboot still
Betty DeVille (center) will be a lesbian single mother in the “Rugrats” reboot.
Paramount+

Many fans reacted to the news by saying they had always thought the character was gay. One viewer wrote on Twitter: “I was today years old when I learned that Betty from Rugrats wasn’t always gay.” Another posted: “We knew it all along.”

One fan tweeted that they were “loving it,” adding: “In the original, I knew she was gay but was closeted but now she is openly gay!”

Many a joke has been made in the past that the character was coded as a lesbian. An Out.com article titled “25 Cartoon Characters Who Should Just Come Out Already” included both Betty and Charlotte Pickles, and said: “If you took Charlotte and Betty out of Rugrats, they’d make a lot of sense plopped into the world of The L Word. Charlotte is giving you high power, high femme lipstick lesbian and Betty is rocking a female symbol on a sweater. If these two are looking to destroy the patriarchy, the patriarchy better watch out.”

The news was not greeted positively by all Twitter commenters, however, with the show accused of “wokeness.”

One fan tweeted: “Making Betty gay on Rugrats is just performative wokeness and I’m so tired. It was already subversive to have a woman who was not traditionally feminine married to more effeminate male/SAHD [stay at home dad]. Erasing this is not nearly as progressive as making a new openly gay character would be.”

Other fans took the news badly because it appears to mean that Phil and Lil’s father Howard will be missing from the rebooted show.

One Twitter user wrote: “Betty is now gay, fine, but WTF? kill off PHIL & LIL’S DAD HOWARD? If they’re going to go with stereotypes then make Howie gay too. Two gay parents out, not another dead parent.” (There has been no confirmation that Howard will be dead in the reboot, merely that Betty is a single mother.)

Others wrote: “As a long time rugrats fanatic I say we get justice for the homie Howard! HE WILL NOT FORGOTTEN!” and “I’m okay with Betty being gay in Rugrats. I’m not okay with them erasing Howard from the show.” Another posted: “I never really cared about Howard as a character, but the fact that there were other solutions that would have allowed them to keep him around AND have Betty like women, but they instead didn’t bother, kinda dampens my hopes for the show.”

The Rugrats reboot is streaming now on Paramount+.

Bianca Del Rio to headline summer outdoor festival in Manchester’s gay village – Manchester Evening News

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Bianca Del Rio to headline summer outdoor festival in Manchester’s gay village – Manchester Evening News

One of the world’s most popular drag queens is coming to Manchester as part of an outdoor summer festival held in the gay village.

Bianca Del Rio, who rose to prominence after winning season six of RuPaul’s Drag Race, will be headlining Holy T In The Park at Sackville Gardens on August 1.

It will mark the first time the artist has appeared in Manchester’s Gay Village since winning the popular reality TV show in 2014.

She has since headlined Manchester’s O2 Apollo with her own solo shows Not Today Satan, Blame It On Bianca Del Rio and It’s Jester Joke.

Ahead of the August festival, Bianca will return to Manchester in July as part of the Main Event concert at the O2 Apollo which promises to be the ‘biggest drag lineup to hit the UK’.

Alongside Bianca, August’s Holy T In The Park festival will also boast a wide-array of drag talent including performances from Danny Beard, Tia Kofi, Crystal and Joe Black.

The United Kingdolls, consisting of A’Whora, Bimini Bon Boulash, Lawrence Chaney and Tayce from the recent season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, are also set to make an appearance.



Comedy Queen and RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio

Additionally, Manchester queens Misty Chance, Blaq Ivory, Bonnie Bon Qui Qui, KY Kelly and Vivienne Lynsey will also be taking to the stage throughout the day.

Organisers behind the event teased: “This summer sees the hottest festival event touch down in Manchester with an array of home grown talent and now featuring one of the BIGGEST names in drag, the one, the only, Bianca Del Rio.

“This drag race superstar joins the star-studded line-up this August for the event of the season.”

The festival will take place as part of a two-day outdoor extravaganza in Sackville Gardens which will mark one of the first outdoor events to take place in Manchester’s gay village since the pandemic.

A day earlier, on July 31, Sackville Gardens will play host to Manchester’s biggest LGBT+ charity event The Village People Weekend.

The popular event will return with variety of talented performers including Liberty X, B*Witched, Adore Delano and ABBA tribute band Abbalicious.

The Village People Weekend and Holy T In The Park take place at Sackville Gardens, July 31 – August 1. Tickets via the Holy T website.

Is Sweden ready for a woke monarchy? – The Spectator Australia

Kim Martel
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Is Sweden ready for a woke monarchy? – The Spectator Australia

 Stockholm

The House of Sussex may have flopped in Britain, but elsewhere it does seem to be inspiring others. Here in Stockholm a trendy podcast Värvet (The Task), known for host Kristoffer Triumf’s in-depth interviews with media and entertainment figures, had a surprise guest recently: Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden. He was not so gauche as to attack the constitution or to drop any Prince Harry-style bombs, but his presence on a podcast was seen as the latest part of a royal awokening.

Even in exile, Harry has created an interesting challenge for the world’s monarchies. They can be regarded as old-fashioned — normally aligned with the state religion and run by a pensioner. But certain royals are trying to reinvent themselves as a progressive force, as warriors for justice, by becoming allies with campaigns to end racism, transphobia etc. They bypass traditional media, create their own social media accounts and go on edgy podcasts to command the world’s attention.

The Queen Elizabeth model has been silence in public, while supporting worthy (but not necessarily sexy or Insta-friendly) charities. She raised her son the same way. Prince Charles once published a children’s book about an old man living in a cave. A couple of years ago Sweden’s Princess Madeleine pushed the envelope somewhat with one called Stella and the Secret. The secret in question is not a magical pony with wings, but incest. The book is about a child who has been sexually abused by a family member and confides in a friend. Inbreeding may well be an area of expertise in Europe’s royal families, as the ‘Habsburg jaw’ attests. But abused kids have enough problems without a princess using their traumas to score political points.

Madeleine’s sister, Victoria, is the Crown Princess and has long been involved in LGBT issues. She gave an introductory speech at the last Pride march in Stockholm. Leaders of almost every Swedish party can be found at such marches — but it is revealing that Sweden’s royals are joining them. A few weeks ago, the once anorexic Victoria opened Stockholm Fashion Week with a call for greater ‘diversity’ in the fashion industry, both in model sizes and ethnic origin. Who could be opposed to that?

Sweden’s royals are prohibited from expressing political views by a long-standing tradition. In the King’s case, his duty of political silence is enshrined in the constitution. But whether it’s Prince Harry-envy or something else, Sweden’s royals are straining at this leash. The King recently criticised Sweden’s Covid strategy, saying there had been a ‘failure’. He meant in general terms, but his statement still led the world’s press to report that he was referring to the refusal to lock down.

It’s understandable that the young Swedish royals want to do something meaningful with their lives. They’re stuck in a strange limbo: King Carl Gustaf lost all formal power in 1975, but they still can’t go out and get ‘real’ jobs. This must be particularly vexing for the consorts who were once commoners: Crown Princess Victoria’s husband Prince Daniel used to be a gym owner and personal trainer.

At one time Prince Carl Philip was destined to become king, but he was surpassed by his elder sister Victoria when the male gender requirement was removed from the order of succession. He married the former glamour model and reality TV participant Sofia Hellqvist (now Princess Sofia) in 2015. Younger European royals free of the burden of future reigns used to be known for their party-loving ways — think of Princess Stephanie of Monaco, or ‘Randy Andy’ in their heydays — but Princess Sofia is Sweden’s version of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. She even established and ran a successful foundation for African children, Project Playground, many years before marrying her prince. The couple now run a foundation together to campaign against bullying. It could have been Sofia who inspired Meghan, not the other way around.

As a survival strategy for Europe’s monarchies, wokeness has obvious flaws. Or as my spell-checker puts it: ‘Consider changing it to “weakness’’.’ What does Queen Elizabeth II think about, well, anything? No one knows, and that’s the mesmerising, oracle-like quality that helps make her a unifying force with approval ratings politicians can only dream of. Once royals start pontificating about how people should live, they divide opinion. If royals act (and preach) like any run-of-the-mill celebrity or influencer, why should they get a share of anyone’s taxes? Go woke, go broke. Queen Elizabeth understands this. Do Sweden’s royals?

Editorial: Japan’s ruling party must outlaw LGBT discrimination, recognize rights – The Mainichi – The Mainichi

Kim Martel
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Editorial: Japan’s ruling party must outlaw LGBT discrimination, recognize rights – The Mainichi – The Mainichi



Legislation to improve people’s understanding of sexual minorities including LGBT people have been met with resistance by conservative parts of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). With the end of the current Diet session approaching and setbacks in internal party discussion, the bill is at risk.

The point of contention is a passage inserted as a result of cross-party cooperation, reading, “Discrimination on the basis of a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity is unacceptable.”

Of course, discrimination against sexual minorities is unacceptable. But Japan has no law forbidding it. First and foremost, the proposed bill should be passed during the current Diet session.

A not insignificant number of sexual minorities have suffered from being outed by people close to them. There are many cases of people whose physical sex and gender identity do not match being put at a disadvantage when looking for work and at their jobs.

The bill would legally compel the government to formulate a basic policy plan for promoting understanding, and its text says that the national government and municipal authorities must work to uphold the measures. It also asks for efforts to be made in improving the day-to-day environment at businesses, schools and elsewhere.

Opposition parties requested that provisions banning discrimination also be included. But they settled with the inclusion of such a passage in the bill’s objective and basic concept, which was ultimately agreed with the ruling coalition.

However, conservatives in the LDP have voiced opposition on the grounds that without a clear description of what words and action constitute discrimination, there will be an increase in victims taking legal action based on the anti-discrimination passage. But deciding whether an action or remark is discriminatory, and whether to place responsibility for it on a perpetrator, is the role of the courts.

What cannot be overlooked is the stream of discriminatory remarks coming from inside the ruling party.

At a closed meeting, LDP House of Representatives lawmaker Kazuo Yana reportedly made statements to the effect that sexual minorities are, from a biological perspective, shunning the preservation of the species.

House of Councillors lawmaker Eriko Yamatani, also, has said, “Ridiculous things have been happening, like people with male bodies thinking they are female trying to get into women’s bathrooms, and in America they’re winning medals taking part in women’s track and field competitions.”

These are but the latest in a long and repetitious stream of discriminatory remarks by LDP lawmakers. If this situation is left unattended, it could lead to suspicion of the party members’ understanding of human rights.

The establishment of a law to improve understanding of sexual minorities has been an LDP pledge for five years. The party has finally started doing something about it just ahead of the start of the Olympics, which upholds values of diversity and harmony.

The multi-partisan bill is only the first step in creating a society that respects diversity. To eradicate discrimination against sexual minorities, further initiatives will be essential.

Alaska Jewish museum, gay bar tagged with swastika stickers – Associated Press

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Alaska Jewish museum, gay bar tagged with swastika stickers – Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A tall, thin man wearing a hood and a mask was caught on a security camera plastering Nazi stickers on a Jewish museum in Alaska’s largest city early Tuesday.

He drove a scooter to the Alaska Jewish Museum, placed one sticker on the door and jumped to place three more symbols of hate on windows before driving off, Rabbi Yosef Greenberg, the president of the museum’s board of directors, said of what their video cameras showed happening at 2 a.m. Tuesday.

About 45 minutes later, another sticker was placed on the main entrance door to Mad Myrna’s, a gay bar in downtown Anchorage.

Each white sticker was emblazoned with a black swastika, the symbol of the Nazi party, and targeted two groups associated with Holocaust victims.

Written above and below the swastika are the words, “WE ARE EVERYWHERE.”

“There is no place for hate in our community,” Anchorage police said in a statement asking the public’s help in identifying those responsible.

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“What that sticker symbolizes is hate,” Anchorage police spokesperson MJ Thim told The Associated Press. “And we’re not going to stand for it, and there’s no place for it. And we’re going to investigate it and figure out what this is all about.”

Spokesperson Chloe Martin said the Anchorage FBI office is in regular contact with Anchorage police.

“If, in the course of the local investigation, information comes to light of a potential federal civil rights violation, the FBI is prepared to investigate,” she said in an email to the AP.

Thim said to his knowledge, these were the first reports of such stickers showing up in Anchorage. But in Washington state last October, similar stickers were placed on several businesses in Bellingham, the Bellingham Herald reported at the time.

“Swastikas have also become a symbol of white supremacy and the far right, and actions like this disproportionately impact people of color in the LGBTQ community,” said Laura Carpenter, executive director of Identity Inc., a statewide LGBTQ+ organization headquartered in Anchorage, not too far from Mad Myrna’s.

“This is just another example of people trying to demonize the LGBTQ community and Jewish people,” Carpenter said.

Under Adolf Hitler, Nazis systematically murdered 6 million Jews during World War II. Nazis also persecuted gays, mostly men. About 15,000 were sent to camps and at least half were killed.

In concentration camps, Jews wore yellow stars, gays wore pink stars and gay Jews wore an emblem combining the two colors. Other Nazi targets included communists, Slavs, gypsies and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

“Jewish people have 4,000 years’ experience of persecution,” Greenberg said.

He called the person on the scooter, a man believed to be in his late 20s or 30s, a coward whose only purpose was to create fear.

“He is dealing with the wrong people,” Greenberg said. “We are not the people that fear.”

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He said the FBI and police indicated it was not a serious or organized threat.

“One guy got excited about something he read on the internet and came and put a sticker,” he said.

Police asking for the public’s help to find the person who did it and “to make a statement that the entire community us united, that such things cannot happen in this community,” Greenberg said.

With assistance from a local firm, security personnel will be on site at the museum and adjacent property for the foreseeable future.

Carl Nassib just came out as gay. But could coming out as LGBTQ be over someday? – USA TODAY

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Carl Nassib just came out as gay. But could coming out as LGBTQ be over someday? – USA TODAY

The lump lodged in your throat. The tears fast and furiously flowing from your eyes. The uncomfortable crack in your voice.

Then you say it.

“I’m gay.” “I’m transgender.” “I’m nonbinary.”

Every out member of the LGBTQ community has said these words, or a variation of them, to the person or people they love, not knowing how they’ll react. But what if they lived in a world where they didn’t have to disclose anything?

Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib became the first active openly gay NFL player after coming out in an Instagram post on Monday. Nassib alluded to such a coming-out free world in a video accompanying the post: “I actually hope that one day, videos like this and the whole coming out process are not necessary, but until then I will do my best and my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting and compassionate.”

Last month, Joshua Bassett – the actor/singer from “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” and man who apparently broke co-star Olivia Rodrigo‘s heart – recently called Harry Styles hot during a fan Q&A video, and added, “This is also my coming out video, I guess.”

He later followed up with a statement on Twitter that did not neither explicitly confirmed nor denied his sexuality.

These moments  raise the question: Could the traditional “coming out” narrative someday be a thing of the past? 

The answer, much like the coming out experience itself, is more nuanced than waving a rainbow Pride flag and riding off into the sunset on a unicorn parade float. A future in which LGBTQ members don’t feel obligated to explain or qualify their sexuality will require sweeping societal change. That day is coming and it’s inevitable, says SA Smythe, an assistant professor in the Department of African American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.

SA Smythe, Department of African American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
There’s going to be a future where coming out is not relevant because I politically believe that there’s going to be a future where gender is irrelevant.

“There’s going to be a future where coming out is not relevant because I politically believe that there’s going to be a future where gender is irrelevant,” Smythe says. “That’s part of why we have to come out: It’s because there is an overwhelming norm, that is called the patriarchy that is called heterosexuality that is presumed. And I fundamentally believe that that’s going to be abolished in our lifetimes.”

For now though, a post-coming out world seems more attainable for some than others.

“It may be that for young people in well-educated progressive families, no one really cares who they love,” says Tonia Poteat, an associate professor of social medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “However, the world is not yet there.”

She points to recent Williams Institute data that suggests being rejected for sexual orientation or gender identity is harder today for LGBTQ youth because they have some expectation of fairness that doesn’t always exist. 

In case you missed: Many are more comfortable in their bodies during the pandemic. For some LGBTQ people, it’s the opposite.

Could the traditional "coming out" narrative someday be a thing of the past? The answer – much like the coming out experience itself – is nuanced.

Could the traditional “coming out” narrative someday be a thing of the past? The answer – much like the coming out experience itself – is nuanced.
Mixmike, Getty Images

Gay men in the late 19th century and early 20th century borrowed the term “coming out” from high society debutantes, writes UCLA professor of sociology Abigail C. Saguy in “The Conversation.” Gay life became more hidden in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s following societal rejection to increased visibility.

Following the Stonewall riots in 1969 – a major catalyst for the LGBTQ rights movement where Black transgender women led a protest outside the Stonewall Inn in New York – “coming out” became more of a political statement and an antidote to shame. That has evidently led to increased rights.

Abigail C. Saguy, professor of sociology, University of California Los Angeles
To be sure, homophobia and transphobia are still alive and well. Still, LGBTQ people have made clear strides in the past half-century and coming out politics has been part of their success.

“To be sure, homophobia and transphobia are still alive and well,” Saguy writes. “Still, LGBTQ people have made clear strides in the past half-century and coming out politics has been part of their success.”

Interesting: LGBTQ representation dips on broadcast TV, GLAAD study reveals: ‘We’re not there yet’

Coming out inspires people to embrace their authentic selves, though not everyone’s coming out melody carries the same tune.

“Coming out is an incredibly personal decision, and there’s no right or wrong way to do it,” says Carrie Davis, chief community officer for The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization focused on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth. “The key is to do it in your own time, whenever it feels right and safe for you. Coming out can be an ongoing or even lifelong process for many people, especially those who are fluid in their sexuality and gender identity.”

Gender identity and sex: Find out how they differ based on science and spectrum

Just the FAQs, USA TODAY

More U.S. adults than ever are coming out as LGBTQ (5.6%), and 1 in 6 members of Generation Z identifies as LGBTQ, according to a 2021 Gallup poll. 

“Young adults, in particular, feel empowered to publicly claim their identities – a compelling finding and validation for the past generations of LGBTQ advocates who have long fought for full equality,” according to Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group.

LGBTQ pop culture figures have undoubtedly had an influence on LGBTQ children. Who didn’t grow goosebumps when Lady Gaga belted she was “born this way”?

And celebrities such as Demi Lovato, Elliot Page and Sam Smith all came out as queer and later opened up about their gender identities.

More than 80% of LGBTQ youth said celebrities who are LGBTQ positively impact how they feel about their queer identities, according to research from The Trevor Project.

Celebrities like Demi Lovato (pictured) came out as queer and later opened up about their gender identities.

Celebrities like Demi Lovato (pictured) came out as queer and later opened up about their gender identities.
Rich Fury, Getty Images for OBB Media

“When young people can see their identities and experiences represented in media and public affairs, it can bring them hope, joy and strength, and empower them to envision a brighter future,” Davis says.

Escalating visibility, however, begets escalated backlash. The LGBTQ community – particularly transgender people – continually faces harassment on social media.

“(Social media) platforms have all of the tools at their disposal to stop the abuse, and they choose not to do anything. Each time they choose not to, it harms our community,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis previously told USA TODAY. “Social media has moved into the space of being the great culture creator of today, and when you have a community that has been the No. 1 target for harassment, it’s time we hold them accountable.” 

Online hate can lead to real-life violence.

At least 27 transgender or gender non-conforming people have been killed so far in 2021, according to the Human Rights Campaign. Most of these people in past years have been Black or Latino transgender women.

“As we’ve seen in the transgender and nonbinary community, our progress and increased visibility have been met with a backlash, particularly at the expense of trans young people and especially those who are BIPOC,” Davis says.

Hollywood’s casting dilemma: Should straight, cisgender actors play LGBTQ characters?

A world with no assumptions about heterosexuality. Where boys can hold hands on the playground. Where women can kiss in public without a stranger’s stare.

“If LGBTQ people didn’t have to navigate the stressors around coming out, it would take away a lot of pressure, anxiety, stigma, shame and fear of rejection surrounding it,” Davis says.

LGBTQ people could encounter a unique opportunity to reinvent how they see themselves and congregate with each other.

“What does it mean to be queer if we’re not just based in trauma?” Smythe asks. “Coming out comes with the risk of being murdered by a domestic partner, as trans women of color overwhelmingly face today. What does it mean if you come out, and you don’t have an increased risk of being kicked out of your home, as queer and trans people have to deal with, like houselessness at exponential rates compared to cis or heterosexual people?”

The Trevor Project data shows more than half of LGBTQ youth said they experienced discrimination in the past year due to their identity.

In the meantime, “we must all come together to foster the creation of a safer, more affirming world for LGBTQ youth,” Davis of the Human Rights Campaign says. “Hopefully, one day, coming out won’t be necessary or newsworthy at all because we will have reached a greater level of understanding and acceptance for all LGBTQ people.” 

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