LGBTQ Breaking News Service – Page 328

Two-thirds of gay, bisexual Gen Z boys are out to their parents, study finds – Metro Weekly

News Editor

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April 30, 2021

Two-thirds of gay, bisexual Gen Z boys are out to their parents, study finds – Metro Weekly

rainbow, lgbtq, coming out — A majority of gay and bisexual teenage boys are out to their parents — Photo: Sharon McCutcheon / Unsplash

A new study finds that a majority of gay and bisexual teenage boys have told their parents about their sexuality.

The study, published in the journal Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, found that 66% of 13 to 18-year-old boys are out to their mothers, and 49% are out to their fathers.

Survey data came from 1,194 13-to-18-year-old boys that identified as gay, bisexual, or being attracted to people regardless of gender. The data was collected for an HIV prevention study conducted between January 2018 to January 2020.

The results represent a significant increase in coming out compared with prior generations. In the 1990s, only 40% of teenage boys were out to their mothers, with less than 30% out to their fathers.

David A. Moskowitz, Ph.D., lead author of the study and assistant professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University’s Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing, emphasized the boundaries that still exist based on different demographics.

Moskowitz said it was “encouraging” to see that “many teens, including those under 18 years old, are comfortable with their sexuality.”

“At the same time, we must be cautious, as the data also point to some of the same barriers and discrimination that previous generations have faced. Work still needs to be done,” Moskowitz added.

In particular, responses varied depending on participants’ race, religion, and sexual identity.

White participants were more inclined to come out to a parent than Black participants, nonreligious teens were more likely to come out than religious teens, and gay participants were out at a higher rate than bisexual participants.

Teens who were more accepting of their sexuality were also more likely to be out than those who hadn’t fully embraced their identity.

“This gives us an understanding of the factors that move teenagers to share this type of information with the people closest to them,” Moskowitz said. “We can now compare these practices with how other generations deal with these issues and think about what it all means for future generations.”

He noted the best next step would be researching coming out patterns among the young women of Gen Z.

“This study provides a roadmap for such an effort,” he said. “In the meantime, these findings should be helpful to those who work with teenagers identifying as sexual minorities.”

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Gay Agenda • April 30, 2021 – Dallas Voice

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April 30, 2021

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The Gay Agenda

Have an event coming up? Email your information to Managing Editor Tammye Nash at nash@dallasvoice.com or Senior Staff Writer David Taffet at taffet@dallasvoice.com by Wednesday at 5 p.m. for that week’s issue.

The Gay Agenda is now color-coded: Red for community events; blue for arts and entertainment; purple for sports; green for nightlife and orange for civic events and holidays.

• Every Monday: THRIVE

Resource Center’s THRIVE Support Group for people 50 and older meets virtually from 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. led by a SMU Intern from their counseling program. A secure Zoom Room opens at 11:30 a.m. for people to join and chat. Email THRIVE@myresourcecenter.org to request the link.

• Every Tuesday: Totally Tuesdays

A night of totally fetch throwbacks hosted by Marissa Kage. Masks required. 11 p.m. at The Round-Up Saloon, 3912 Cedar Springs Road.

• Weekly: Frontrunners

Meet in Lee Park where the old statue stood on Wednesdays at 7:15 p.m. and Saturdays at 9 a.m. for a one-hour walk/run on the Katy Trail.

• Biweekly: Hope Cottage Foster Parent Information Meeting

Hope Cottage holds information meetings for those interested in becoming foster parents. The meetings are held alternately on Saturdays at 10 a.m. and Thursdays at 6 p.m. For information email Clyde Hemminger at chemminger@hopecottage.org.

APRIL

• April 30-May 1: Mahler

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra hold a joint concert to benefit both orchestras’ COVID-19 relief fund at 7:30 p.m. at the Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St. DallasSymphony.org.

• Through April 30: Bryan’s House Virtual Raffle

Win a luxury trip, fine jewelry and more. Information at BryansHouse.org/raffle.

• Through April 30: Visages: Recent Portraits by Francisco Benitez

Visages: Recent Portraits by Francisco Benitez span works from 2013 to the present and reflect a variety of his series’ and show off his wide range of artistic techniques. Typically working in oil Francisco, has worked back into an old technique of using encaustics which is a mix of heated beeswax and colored pigments which has been used since before the ancient Egyptians. Maestri Gallery, 401 Exposition St. Hours and info at MaestriGallery.com.

MAY

• May 1: Toast to Life

Annual fundraiser for Resource Center. Venetian Carnival is the theme hosted by Steve Kemble. DJ Blake Ward. Free virtual event.

• May 1: Day at the Races

The 13th annual Day at the Races benefits the Turtle Creek Conservancy. Enjoy the popular Derby in a Box, which serves two to four at your home while the event is live streamed from Turtle Creek Park oror on your phone/tablet while you picnic at Turtle Creek Park, and watch the most exciting 2 minutes in sports, the Kentucky Derby plus a silent and live auction, Hat Judging Contest, “wagering” and more. From 4:30-6:30 p.m. Buy Derby in a Box here: dayattheraces.muradbid.com and get more event details here: turtlecreekconservancy.org/events/day-at-the-races.

• May 1: Crystal Queer Riot

Propa and Rainbow Vomit present Crystal Queer Riot with guest DJ Tyler Moore benefiting Exude Love Foundation from 10 p.m.-after hours at 3609 Parry Ave. $30-50. Tickets at eventbrite.com/e/crystal-queer-riot-tickets-149896768269.

• Through May 2: Fort Worth Lynching Tour: Honoring the Memory of Mr. Fred Rouse

DNAworks presents a bike and car tour to the sites associated with the lynching of Mr. Fred Rouse on Dec. 11, 1921. The tour is accompanied by a downloadable, augmented reality app that can be used in each of the five sites to better understand the story of Rouse’s murder at the hands of a white mob. Tickets at Eventbrite.com. The two hour tour begins at 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

• May 4: Library reopens

The Dallas Public Library reopens for in-person visits. See your local branch’s hours at DallasLibrary.org.

• May 5-19: Texas Gypsies

Sammons Center for the Arts presents a virtual concert featuring Steve Curry on guitar and vocals, Tony Baker, Brian Sandridge, Joe Perez, Andrew Griffith and Travis Udall . Concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. and are presented as 48-hour rentals on Vimeo. $10. Members free. SammonsArtCenter.org.

• May 6: Grace Pettis

Austin’s Grace Pettis performs at Poor David’s Pub. Her new single ‘Landon’ features The Indigo Girls. The album will be released on May 7. Poor David’s Pub, 1313 Botham Jean Blvd. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Showtime at 7 p.m.

• May 6-8: Strut Your Stuff

The annual race to end animal cruelty is virtual this year with minimal contact swag bag pick-ups taking place the weekend of the event from noon-2 p.m. at Jan Rees-Jones Animal Care Center, 2400 Lone Star Drive. Register and form a team at GoStrut.org.

• May 6-23: Cotton Patch Gospel

This rustic musical full of bluegrass, country, and gospel music is “the greatest story ever retold.” Outdoors at the back lot of The Firehouse Theatre, 2535 Valley View Lane, Farmers Branch. $36. TheFirehouseTheatre.com.

• May 7: ArtCultivation

Resident artists Allegre Ballet Folklorico and Poppy Xander are joined by Sofia Torres, Jessi Jones, Rosalee, Gabriel Scampini and Maria Acevedo at 8 p.m. at 723 Fort Worth Ave. Tickers at Artstillery.org/vip.

• May 8: Queer Reads

Join the Dallas Public Library online to discuss Semi Queer by Anne Balay. Register at https://dallaslibrary.librarymarket.com/events/queer-reads-book-club-4

• May 8: Dallas Burlesque Festival

The Dallas Burlesque Festival returns for its 12th year featuring Lou Lou D’Vil and Ryan Kelsey at 7:30 p.m. at the Fair Park Bandshell. DallasBurlesqueFest.com.

• Through May 9: The Rising

The rising is an the interactive, multimedia musical experience presented by Exude Love Foundation and Rainbow Vomit that combines live performers, ground-breaking interactive technology and new, original music by the UK group HÆLOS. The 45-minute performance is limited to eight guests per experience. $60. For showtimes and tickets, visit ExudeLove.org or RainbowVomit.com.

• May 13: PFLAG Dallas

Virtual support meeting for parents, family and friends of LGBTQ people meets the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. Register for link at PFLAGDallas.org.

• May 13-15: #DigitalConnection

The Elevator Project 2021 presents #DigitalConnection presented by mixamotus, a human-digital interface art exploration that blends dance, music, and video mapping technology to create an immersive new media performance at the Wyly Theatre, 2400 Flora St. at 8 p.m. Tickets at tickets.attpac.org/production/55205.

• May 14: Texas Justice: Brandon Woodruff

Documentary about a Texas man wrongly convicted of murdering his parents simply because he is gay at 6 p.m. at Texan Theater, 2712 Lee St., Greenville. $7.50.

• May 15-June 19: Rusty Scruby

Gay artist Rusty Scruby has a solo exhibit called Comfort at Cris Worley Fine Arts, 1845 E. Levee St. Suite 110. Open house on May 15 from noon-4 p.m. CrisWorley.com.

• May 16: Crawfish for a Cause

Crawfish for a Cause: Mental Health Matters sponsored by Mental Health America of Greater Dallas is an online event with music and info on how important mental well-being is including information for the LGBTQ community. Free but a $25 donation includes a t-shirt. Tickets at eventbrite.com/e/crawfish-for-a-cause-tickets-148835413729?fbclid=IwAR1H9Usp9pvwTgXDPP2fs69CzmSveXQ8ilXLg_8k_VGiOSXfypVI_-Njnfg.

• Through May 16: Shirin Neshat: I Will Greet the Sun Again

Thirty-year retrospective of artist Shirin Neshat’s work runs through May 16 at The Modern, 3200 Darnell St., Fort Worth. TheModern.org.

• Through May 17: Cufflink Art group show

Group show in a variety of mediums includes meticulous graphite drawings by Marshall Harris, subliminal compositions through oil on canvas by Linda Shobe, personal storytelling via collage by Dwight Owsley, intimate close-up portraits from the perspective of Nathan Madrid, dark yet mischievous concrete sculptures by Ross Bonfanti, and digitally abstract maps manipulated by Scott Anderson. Cufflink Art, Dickson-Jenkins Lofts and Plaza, 120 St. Louis Ave. Suite 149, Fort Worth. CufflinkArt.com.

• May 19: Unity

A virtual party benefiting the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance DFW Chapter and Dallas Hope Charities with Marsha Dimes streamed live at 7 p.m. on YouTube and at MarshaDimes.com/unity.

• May 21: Federal Club

Transforming from ally to advocate. A discussion of how an in-group can advance the interests of an oppressed or marginalized out-group. To be a part of the discussion of how allies can become strategic players, visit DFWFederalClub.org.

• May 22-23: The Wars of the Roses

Shakespeare Dallas presents a staged reading of Shakespeare’s history plays: Henry VI Part I, Henry VI Part II, Henry VI Part III and Richard III at Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre, 6000 E. Grand Ave. at noon.

• May 23: WOOD/SHOP

The third in a series of three programs features innovative new works by Bruce Wood Dance company dancers Weaver Rhodes and Seth York at 4 p.m. on Zoom. Free. Register at BruceWoodDance.org.

• May 27-29: Tenants/Tenets

TENANTS/TENETS is a futurist dance theatre performance that spontaneously generates a fully functioning society in which its community must determine their responsibility to each other, based on their individual identities, presented by Very Good Dance Theatre at the Wyly Theatre, 2400 Flora St. at 8 p.m. Tickets at tickets.attpac.org/production/55208.

• May 29: Musical Moments

Coalition for Aging LGBT presents a virtual concert series featuring LGBTQ artists and allies the last Saturday of the month at 3 p.m. To register, visit cfa.lgbt/musicalmoments.

• May 29: Our Odyssey

Utilizing artistic expression to stimulate increased awareness about Pan-African experiences with racial injustice, Bandan Koro and special guests will explore and engage with audiences of all ages and backgrounds about the ongoing plight for justice and equality while reinforcing our collective power to change the future experience. Strauss Square, 2389 Flora St. at 8 p.m. Tickets at tickets.attpac.org/booking/production/bestavailable/55865.

• Through May 31: A Celebration of Friendship

Artist Melanie Brannan is raising funds for the AIM at Melanoma Foundation with an exhibit that explores the meaning of friendship and the potential loss of that relationship with 20 paintings that chronicle her friendship with someone struggling with a diagnosis of nodular melanoma. From noon-5 p.m. on Monday-Friday and at all public events at Messanine Gallery at the Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts, 2351 Performance Drive, Richardson.

JUNE

• June 3-6 and 10-13: Hamlet Project

Shakespeare Dallas presents Hamlet Project, a world premiere performance event where actors perform a one-person interpretation of Hamlet with 16 actors given only 24 hours to prepare prior to curtain at Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre, 6000 E. Grand Ave. at 8:15 p.m.

• June 4-5: Dallas Pride

Dallas Pride is back with a 2021 celebration to raise awareness and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. This year’s events will take place Friday and Saturday, June 4 and 5, and will be the best version of what is possible at this time, prioritizing public health while providing numerous opportunities for LGBTQ+ people and allies to experience visibility, solidarity, and joy. In addition to the outside, in-person experiences, the event will also be streamed online for those who feel more comfortable watching from home.

Both events will be held outdoors, in the Band Shell at Fair Park, and gates will open at 7 p.m. On Friday night, the event will feature musical entertainment. On Saturday evening, a variety show hosted by entertainer Marsha Dimes will feature local and regional entertainment including Kennedy Davenport, The Fly Queens, The Sisters-in-Action, the Rose Room cast, Sister Helen Holy, and Anton Shaw, in addition to other entertainers to be announced.

• June 4-5: Cinderella

Ballet North Texas presents the story of an ordinary girl experiencing one magical night, thanks to her Fairy Godmother and a pair of glass slippers featuring Prokofiev’s jubilant score. Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St. Tickets at ATTPAC.org.

• June 5: Bloomin Ball

Benefit for AIN. Thelma Houston performs. Cocktails, silent auction, three-course seated meal with a performance by Denise Lee, after party with drinks and dancing from 6 p.m.-midnight at Renaissance Dallas Hotel, 2222 N. Stemmons Freeway. AINDallas.org.

• June 10: PFLAG Dallas

Virtual support meeting for parents, family and friends of LGBTQ people meets the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. Register for link at PFLAGDallas.org.

• June 12: Queer Reads

Queer Reads is an online book club meets the second Saturday of every month from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Register at dallaslibrary.librarymarket.com/events/queer-reads-book-club-0.

• June 13: Catholic Pride

New Ways Ministries is hosting Catholic LGBTQ Pride with an interactive prayer service on Zoom from 2-3 p.m. central time. Register at NewWaysMinistry.org.

• June 15-17: DEI Conference

The Texas Diversity Equity & Inclusion Conference virtually brings together LGBT Chamber member businesses and other certified businesses, DEI professionals, supplier diversity professionals, employee resource group members and more.

• June 18: Federal Club

HRC DFW Federal Club cocktails and conversation as members and guests meet virtually. DFWFederalClub.org for details.

• June 18-20: Juneteenth Unity Weekend 2021

Hosted by Dallas Southern Pride. Free. Sheraton Suites Market Center, 2101 N. Stemmons Freeway is the host hotel. Code DSP for $89 rate. Ultimate Mega Party at Gilley’s Dallas, 1135 S. Lamar St. on Saturday from 10 p.m.-3 a.m.

• June 18-Sept. 5: Jurassic World: The Exhibition

You’ve seen the films. Now experience them in real life at Jurassic World: The Exhibition. Educational, immersive, interactive and most of all, awesome, the Exhibition will thrill audiences of all ages as they come face to face with these mighty and sometimes vicious creatures. Grandscape, 5752 Grandscape Blvd, The Colony.

• Through June 20: Frida Kahlo: Five Works

Five works by Frida Kahlo from a private collection including four paintings and a drawing will be on display in the atrium on level 4 at the Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N. Harwood St. DMA.org.

• June 22: Get Centered tour

Virtual Resource Center tour streams for free at 5 p.m. Registration required. MyResourceCenter.org.

• June 26: Musical Moments

Coalition for Aging LGBT presents a virtual concert series featuring LGBTQ artists and allies the last Saturday of the month at 3 p.m. To register, visit cfa.lgbt/musicalmoments.

• June 26: Trinity Pride

A hybrid celebration will consist of a live stream of Virtual Trinity Pride Fest on Facebook Live as well as at official Trinity Pride Partner locations throughout Fort Worth at 7 p.m.

• June 30: AIDS Walk South Dallas

Tenth anniversary AIDS Walk South Dallas 5K run/walk kicks off at 8 a.m. This year’s theme “Intensifying The Fight for Health and Rights” extends the mission which is to inspire, educate and galvanize the community of South Dallas and surrounding areas to continue to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS and assist those impacted. MLK Jr. Community Center, 2922 MLK Jr. Blvd. From $25.

• June 30-July 4, July 8-11, July 15-18 and July 22-24: The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)

Shakespeare Dallas presents parodies of the plays of William Shakespeare performed in comically shortened form by three actors at Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre, 6000 E. Grand Ave. at 8:15 p.m.

JULY

• July 4: Independence Day

• July 8: PFLAG Dallas

Virtual support meeting for parents, family and friends of LGBTQ people meets the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. Register for link at PFLAGDallas.org.

• July 10: Queer Reads

Queer Reads is an online book club meets the second Saturday of every month from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Register at dallaslibrary.librarymarket.com/events/queer-reads-book-club-0.

• July 16: Federal Club

The history of LGBTQ in North texas, Part 2. Dr. Stephen Pounders discusses the history of the AIDS crisis in North Texas. For information, visit DFWFederalClub.org.

• Now through July 10: Lonesome Dove: Photos by Bill Wittliff

Lonesome Dove — Larry McMurtry’s epic novel of two aging Texas Rangers who drive a herd of stolen cattle 2,500 miles from the Rio Grande to Montana to found the first ranch there — truly captured public imagination. The Lonesome Dove Miniseries, which first aired on CBS in 1989, lassoed an even wider audience. Capturing the sweeping visual imagery of the original miniseries, the Lonesome Dove exhibition presents classic images taken during filming by Bill Wittliff, renowned photographer, writer, and executive producer of Lonesome Dove. The images, however, are worlds apart from ordinary production stills, depicting an extraordinary union of art, literature, and history. Dupree Lobby, Irving Arts Center, 3333 North MacArthur Blvd., Irving.

• Through July 25: Cubism in Color: The Still Lifes of Juan Gris

First U.S. exhibit of cubist Juan Gris in 35 years with more than 40 of his paintings and collages. Dallas Museum of Art, 1717 N. Harwood St. DMA.org.

AUGUST

• Aug. 12: PFLAG Dallas

Virtual support meeting for parents, family and friends of LGBTQ people meets the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. Register for link at PFLAGDallas.org.

• Aug. 20-21: New Media Artworks

New media artworks by Refik Anadol and Quayola commissioned by Fort Worth will premiere as the first of four major public art projects at Will Rogers Memorial Center. Free.

• Aug. 24: Get Centered tour

Virtual Resource Center tour streams for free at 5 p.m. Registration required. MyResourceCenter.org.

SEPTEMBER

• Sept. 9: PFLAG Dallas

Virtual support meeting for parents, family and friends of LGBTQ people meets the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. Register for link at PFLAGDallas.org.

• Sept. 24: Awards luncheon

The LGBT Chamber’s 2021 Business & Community Excellence Awards Luncheon.

• Sept. 24: Wynonna Judd and Cactus Moser

Wynonna Judd and Cactus Moser perform live at The Kessler, 1230 W. Davis St. Tickets at Prekindle.com.

• Sept. 24-26: LGBTQ Outdoorfest

LGBT Outdoors camping weekend will feature hands-on outdoors workshops and that magic community building that can only take place outdoors around a campfire. Rainbow Ranch in Groesbeck.

• Sept. 25-Jan. 9: Anila Quayyum Agha: A Beautiful Despair

Introducing a dozen new ornate works by the multidisciplinary artist, Anila Quayyum Agha: A Beautiful Despair will open this fall at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (the Carter). The exhibition debuts the latest evolution of Agha’s luminous lantern-like sculptures—two site-specific installation pieces commissioned by the Carter—alongside a corresponding series of drawings that elevate practices traditionally assigned as female handiwork, such as embroidery. Amon Carter Museum, 3501 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth. Free. CarterMuseum.org.

OCTOBER

• Oct. 3: LifeWalk

• Oct. 14: PFLAG Dallas

Virtual support meeting for parents, family and friends of LGBTQ people meets the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. Register for link at PFLAGDallas.org.

• Oct. 26: Get Centered tour

Virtual Resource Center tour streams for free at 5 p.m. Registration required. MyResourceCenter.org

NOVEMBER

• Nov. 4-7: National Strength Conference

Sixth National Strength Conference for men living with HIV. $50. Dallas Marriott Suites, 2493 N. Stemmons Freeway. AIDSWalkSouthDallas.com.

• Nov. 6: Alton Brown: Beyond the Eats

Author and Food Network star Alton Brown visits the Theatre at Grand Prairie with “more cooking, more comedy, more music and more potentially dangerous science stuff” for two hours of entertainment including “things i’ve never been allowed to do on TV.” Tickets go on sale March 5 at 10 a.m.

• Nov. 11: PFLAG Dallas

Virtual support meeting for parents, family and friends of LGBTQ people meets the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. Register for link at PFLAGDallas.org.

• Nov. 13: Black Tie Dinner

• Nov. 21: Transgender Day of Remembrance

• Nov. 23: Get Centered tour

Virtual Resource Center tour streams for free at 5 p.m. Registration required. MyResourceCenter.org.

• Nov. 25: Thanksgiving

DECEMBER

• Dec. 1: World AIDS Day

• Dec. 9: PFLAG Dallas

Virtual support meeting for parents, family and friends of LGBTQ people meets the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. Register for link at PFLAGDallas.org.

• Dec. 25: Christmas

Lithuanian artist uses homophobic messages to raise money for LGBT causes – Hindustan Times

Kim Martel

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April 30, 2021

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Lithuanian artist uses homophobic messages to raise money for LGBT causes – Hindustan Times

A Lithuanian artist has raised over $6,000 for LGBT groups by selling a digital collage of homophobic messages that were sent to a member of parliament who champions gay rights causes.

The black-and-white artwork by Erikas Malisauskas, titled “Hate Speech Cloud”, consists of 400 offensive messages bundled together in the stylised shape of a cloud.

“My goal was to monetise the hate speech,” said Malisauskas. “Now everyone who wrote the hateful messages to LGBT people has contributed money towards LGBT causes.”

The messages were originally addressed to Tomas Raskevicius, a well-known figure in Lithuania where he is the first gay rights activist to be elected to parliament.

Malisauskas, who is not gay, said he was shocked by the extreme levels of abuse hurled at Raskevicius and the LGBT community in general.

Among the messages included in the artwork, which are in Lithuanian, are many that used a term of abuse that would translate into the English slur “faggot”.

“You are destroying Lithuania and you should be ashamed,” says one of the messages.

“Pervert, stop showing yourself to normal Lithuanian people!” says another.

Raskevicius says that on an average day, he gets a few messages like that on social media. But on days when he speaks publicly in support of policies such as introducing same-sex partnerships or ratifying an international treaty against domestic abuse, the number of hateful messages spikes.

He says he usually forwards any threats of physical violence to the police, and posts other messages on his social media feeds to stimulate debate.

“There is no way to tackle the negativity when it’s underground. When it’s out in the open, we can actually deal with it,” he said.

“On the human level, the negativity impacts both mental and emotional health, for sure. One of the coping strategies I employ is to make these messages public, for other people to discuss and express their opinion.”

The police have initiated more than 20 criminal investigations into threats sent to Raskevicius.

Malisauskas said the reason why he arranged the messages in the form of a cloud was “because clouds fade away”.

He sold the artwork in the form of a non-fungible token or NFT, a type of digital asset verified using blockchain technology. NFTs are increasingly popular in the art world because they allow a file to be permanently authenticated, regardless of copies and downloads.

The sale of “Hate Speech Cloud” was the first of a Lithuanian artwork in the form of an NFT to be publicly announced. The person who bought the NFT wished to remain anonymous.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

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Suzi Andreis: Activist fighting at the vanguard of visibility in Polish football for women and LGBT+ people – Sky Sports

News Editor

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April 30, 2021

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Suzi Andreis: Activist fighting at the vanguard of visibility in Polish football for women and LGBT+ people – Sky Sports

In an indoor sports hall in the Polish city of Zamosc, two women’s football teams are preparing to kick off a game when pepper spray cans are thrown across the floor, spreading gas into the hall.

The players are forced to evacuate while the air clears but outside the hall, they come face to face with those responsible – local hooligans who should have been watching the men’s club they support in a fourth-division league match being held in the nearby stadium.

“Some of us encountered them in the corridors. Fortunately, no one was badly affected by the gas and it didn’t get physical,” says Suzi Andreis, speaking to Sky Sports from Warsaw. She is reflecting on the event, titled ‘Queer Futbol’, that she organised on a Saturday afternoon last October.

“When things like this happen, I’m more outraged than scared. The police had called us in the morning and told us they were going to close our event and that no one would get in.”

Yet it’s not the disruption that frustrates her the most. “It was supposed to be an open event. While I’m glad on one hand that the police were there, because it would be worse without them, on the other hand, they don’t understand why we’re doing it. We wanted people to come and watch. We need visibility.”

Andreis is an activist fighting against discrimination in a country ranked lowest in the whole of the European Union for LGBT+ rights. She is also passionate about football, and KS Chrzaszczyki – the club she founded – has become a vital community space for women like her living in and around the Polish capital. Its name translates into English as ‘Beetles FC’ and Andreis is rightly proud of her thick-skinned, diverse family of players.

The Zamosc event was supposed to be a larger tournament, but in this part of south-eastern Poland, it proved hard to attract teams. The area surrounding the city is a so-called ‘LGBT-free zone’ and the location was chosen deliberately, to make a statement as well as provide an inclusive sporting space for local women. Resolutions against ‘LGBT ideology’ taken by over 100 local authorities across the nation have led to a proliferation of these ‘zones’, but Andreis is undeterred.

Football versus fascism

Originally from Turin, she moved to Warsaw in the late 1990s to continue studying Slavic Studies. Calcio culture had begun to lose its appeal as she reached her late teens, with her club Torino forced to play in the unpopular concrete bowl of the Stadio Delle Alpi and attitudes around the men’s game seemingly stuck in the Stone Age. Once in Poland, she joined a mailing list of lesbians and other women who were coming to terms with their sexuality.

“We organised a summer meeting in a park and played football. We soon put it on again and by the next year, it was pretty much weekly. It was the beginning of Chrzaszczyki, and I was the person who really took it on.

“We never advertised the games as being ‘for lesbians’ but it was clear that most people who were coming were gay or bi. We created a space where these women felt comfortable. For many of them, that was a feeling they were having in an LGBTQ+ environment for the first time.

“Some had problems with internalised homophobia and admitting to themselves that they were gay. The football games became a way of coming to terms with that for many women.”

Recapturing their childhood enthusiasm for the game away from societal pressures was enough at first. They accepted an invite to the 10th International Gay and Lesbian Football Association World Cup in London in 2001 but “barely got past the halfway line”, recalls Andreis, with teams from Germany, the USA, and the Netherlands taking the competition very seriously. However, within a few years, she was regularly putting on tournaments herself.

“From this point on, we realised it was becoming more about the football than just lesbians and bi women meeting up. We started searching for better pitches, and better players started joining the club. It pushed the level higher – it was a natural evolution.”

Around this time, Andreis could sense the political mood shifting to the right in Poland. The Chrzaszczyki tournaments always had a message – standing against sexism, or celebrating visibility – but against a backdrop of Pride parade bans in Warsaw and neo-fascist groups with football connections getting more organised, the campaigning element of the club’s identity became more pronounced.

“We could observe these groups growing. There are two ways they appear in society – one is in a suit and tie, the other is as a football supporter, usually a skinhead. In 2005, they had home-made banners, then later the banners were all printed. For 10 to 15 years, fascism was growing but no one was saying it.”

In 2015, the right-wing Law and Justice party, which has strong ties to the country’s powerful Catholic church, won the Polish parliamentary election with an outright majority. “Since then, everyone knows the history,” says Andreis. A legal change allowed the government to appoint the heads of TVP, the largest Polish television network, and public radio. By autumn 2019, 54 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe were labelling TVP “a propaganda channel for the ruling party”.

Through it all, Chrzaszczyki have continued and their reputation has grown across Europe as an LGBT+-inclusive club for women and non-binary people. “We’re the only such club here in Poland but we are very local to Warsaw,” says Andreis. “Our work has been extremely good in terms of helping individuals and growing the amateur women’s football community in the capital.

“But we’ve never been able to get enough money to expand. We get positive comments but sport is considered a secondary part of culture, I feel. All my friends throughout Europe who are sports activists say the same thing.”

Tackling the patriarchy

The pandemic put the brakes on Chrzaszczyki as a club but last summer, Andreis was so outraged by a fresh development in Polish opposition to LGBT+ rights that she mobilised her football network once again. Towns and cities in the country that had declared themselves ‘LGBT-free zones’ discovered that their applications for European Union funding were being denied as a result, only for the government to step in and tell them they would get state money instead.

“It was a disgrace,” she says. “Some municipalities had got the news that they would lose partnerships or not be granted EU money. Then the Ministry of Justice granted one of the cities (Tuchow) more money than they would have got from the EU.

“I was so upset that it was the spark for me to call all my friends and say, ‘let’s do something’. The event in Zamosc was tough but we made it a success.

“It turns out that the men’s football game that was being played in the stadium is famous in the area for being one of the most aggressive fixtures, in terms of radical far-right people among the supporters. It was strange because we thought we’d be ignored.

“We tried to advertise – we had articles in local media and newspapers – but we thought ‘they don’t care about us’. If we were gay men, they would have come but for lesbians, I was quite sure that no one would be interested. But they still threw pepper spray at us.”

Despite the experience, Andreis hopes to put on more LGBT-friendly football events in so-called ‘LGBT-free zones’ and even though she appreciates that homophobia is more obvious in Polish men’s football, she says fear about sexuality and gender identity is peddled in the women’s game too.

“As for the hooligans, they treat male issues more violently,” she explains. “But the experience for women is totally different. This talk of a hierarchy and that homophobia hits men more than women, it’s part of the patriarchy culture.

“Even at this level, women are seen as being less important. I’ve been trying to use the specific term lesbophobia, but it hasn’t really become part of the public discourse yet.”

The ‘rock star’ and other role models

Lesbian Visibility Week is being celebrated in the UK but not in Poland. Andreis works in a school and would like to show examples of positive role models to the students – some world-famous sports stars, and others who are more relatable.

“I didn’t have role models like this when I was a teenager,” she adds. “The only lesbians out in sport were victims of homophobia, like Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna – they were successful, but their sexuality was either silenced or the subject of jokes. That was the attitude.

“Now we have women like Megan Rapinoe – a superstar, a rock star! I’m sure it’s helpful, this kind of visibility. But she’s distant. Young people need role models around them in everyday life too. Look at us, we are here!”

Andreis and her fellow ‘Beetles’ will be scurrying back to sports halls and outdoor pitches now that the most recent Warsaw lockdown restrictions on activities have been lifted. As she looks back on two decades of Chrzaszczyki, she takes pride in the number of women who have told her how the club has changed their lives.

“Many say it was the beginning of a journey for them. It’s very moving, to say the least. Also, most of our events attract women in their early or late 20s and that’s a sign that we still live in the same cultural desert as I did when I was a teenager.”

As a Torino supporter, it was a familiar feeling back then for Andreis to be somewhat in the shadows. When the chance to celebrate did come along, it was seized upon. “Every Monday morning, the mood depended on the weekend result. When Torino won and Juve lost, it was wonderful!”

It was a more innocent time in her story, before politics, prejudice and pepper spray entered the fray. Andreis’ unfailing faith in football as a force for good is a breath of fresh air.

Lesbian Visibility Week runs from Monday, April 26, to Sunday, May 2.

Sky Sports is a member of TeamPride which supports Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign. Your story of being LGBT+ or an ally could help to make sport everyone’s game. To discuss further, please contact us here.

Polish town revokes cruel ‘LGBT-free’ status so it can keep lucrative EU grants – PinkNews

Kim Martel

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April 30, 2021

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Polish town revokes cruel ‘LGBT-free’ status so it can keep lucrative EU grants – PinkNews

A woman holding a crucifix screams anti-LGBT+ slogans at a Pride parade in Krakow, Poland in 2020 (Omar Marques/Getty)

An ‘LGBT-free’ town in Poland dubbed “Europe’s laughing-stock” has withdrawn its official homophobic status after Norway threatened to revoke a multi-million Euro grant.

The small community of Kraśnik in eastern Poland was among the first in the country to sign a public declaration against LGBT+ rights in May 2019.

The document declared the town “free from LGBT+ ideology” and promised to combat “homopropaganda” and the “sexualisation of children”.

But the town’s mayor rapidly realised that actions have consequences when Kraśnik became “a synonym for homophobia”, he complained to the New York Times.

Now with millions of Euros in EU grants at stake, councillors have backtracked and voted to withdraw the anti-LGBT+ resolution to save their town.

“If we repeal this resolution, we have a better chance of obtaining external funds in the future,” said mayor Wojciech Wilk ahead of the vote, quoted by Dziennik Wschodni.

“I mean especially Norwegian funds,” he added, referring to the 35 million zloty (€7.7 million) he hopes to receive for development projects.

Poland is the largest recipient of the so-called Norway Grants, and is budgeted to receive €411.5 million between 2014 and 2021, according to Notes from Poland – plus a further €397.8 million from EEA Grants, to which Norway is the main contributor.

But last year, Norway’s foreign minister announced that Poland’s “LGBT-free” towns wouldn’t receive a penny of the funding, which is offered to support civil society, justice, social inclusion, innovation and other causes.

Kraśnik was also the beneficiary of the EU’s lucrative twinning programme, but this dried up when the town’s French counterpart severed the relationship in protest.

All combined, Kraśnik’s commitment to homophobia could’ve cost the town around €3-10 million, according to Polish media.

“By repealing, we can take a very big step in overcoming our image crisis,” said Wilk. “Whether fairly or not, we are not presented very sympathetically.”

Despite the obvious financial threat to the town the mayor faced an uphill battle to get the resolution repealed: last year councillors stubbornly voted to uphold it by a majority of 11 to nine.

One elderly local declared he would rather live on a diet of just potatoes than give into economic pressure from outside to repeal the resolution.

“I don’t want their money,” he said, admitting that he’s never seen any gay people in Kraśnik but still felt precautions were necessary. “We will survive.”

But it turns out Kraśnik really does want the money, as nine of 19 councillors present voted in favour of repeal. Six others favoured keeping the resolution, while four abstained.

Meanwhile, the mayor of the town of Wilamowice, in southern Poland, is said to be “devastated” after his councillors voted narrowly to keep their anti-LGBT+ resolution this week.

The decision is likely to result in the loss of 7.3 million zloty in Norway Grants, which were going to be used to build a museum.

‘Laughing-stock’ Polish town revokes ‘LGBT-free’ status so it can keep lucrative EU grants – Yahoo Eurosport UK

News Editor

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April 30, 2021

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‘Laughing-stock’ Polish town revokes ‘LGBT-free’ status so it can keep lucrative EU grants – Yahoo Eurosport UK