Category: LGBTQ+

LGBTQ+

National Coming Out Day 2022 — It’s Never Been More Important

A list of support resources is provided at the end. October 11 was declared National Coming Out Day in 1988 to mark the first anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. It had been almost 20 years since the 1969 Stonewall riots when thousands of us descended on Washington DC demanding our rights and our dignity. Embed from Getty Images … Continue reading National Coming Out Day 2022 — It’s Never Been More Important

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LGBTQ+, Transgender

Deja Vu All Over Again: The New Wave of Anti-LGBTQ+ Attacks

Effective today, beginning with this post, I am adopting the expanded acronym of LGBTQ+ over simply LGBT. As I’ve delved deeper into transgender issues, I’ve come to understand the old acronym is too limiting. The “LGBT” community is broader and more diverse than the traditional 4 letters represent. There’s nothing wrong with “LGBT” and it’s frankly easier to say and type, but I would rather … Continue reading Deja Vu All Over Again: The New Wave of Anti-LGBTQ+ Attacks

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LGBTQ+, Transgender

To Be Transgender is to Be Human

Updated with a new Afterword. To be nobody but myself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make me somebody else — means to fight the hardest battle any human can fight, and never stop fighting. E. E. Cummings Actor Elliot Page did an interview last spring with Oprah Winfrey on AppleTV+. It was his first TV interview since … Continue reading To Be Transgender is to Be Human

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LGBTQ+

Coming Out Day 2021

Today is National Coming Out Day, an annual observance of LGBT Pride and Coming Out that dates back to the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights held on October 11, 1987. Over 300,000 marched for a set of demands including protection against discrimination. This was just after the 1986 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bowers v. Hardwick that upheld Georgia’s law at … Continue reading Coming Out Day 2021

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LGBTQ+, Transgender

For the Record: On ‘Bodies With Vaginas’

I feel a need to go on record regarding the latest transgender/women’s rights controversy that has broken out this month. Starting last summer I’ve found myself in the unexpected and unpleasant position as lone defender of trans women in debates on Facebook. The intensity of people’s opposition to transgenderism has shocked and shaken me. I’ve grown to assume my friends and associates accept LGBT people … Continue reading For the Record: On ‘Bodies With Vaginas’

Bob Laycock (He/Him)3 Comments
LGBTQ+, Mind, Body & Soul

Acts of Kindness & Love: An Olympic Story

So much attention has been focused on Simone Biles in these Olympics — and hers is truly an inspiring story of courage, self-care, generosity and victory. She had the bravery to step back after years of preparation to acknowledge she was unable to safely perform. This was an act of courageous self-care in the face of personal disappointment and cynical judgement by those who couldn’t … Continue reading Acts of Kindness & Love: An Olympic Story

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Labor, LGBTQ+, Politics, Transgender

Bone of Contention: Socialists & the LGBT Community

An Epilogue updating this post appears at the end. Back in college one of the organizations on campus was the Revolutionary Student Brigade (RSB), a short-lived youth group aligned the Maoist Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP). Being a socialist and gay, I inquired about their position on gay rights. I can’t recall what they said exactly, but it was something along the lines that homosexuality is … Continue reading Bone of Contention: Socialists & the LGBT Community

Bob Laycock (He/Him)1 Comment
LGBTQ+, Transgender, Women's Rights

The Conundrum: Trans Rights vs Women’s Rights

There are two aspects to the transgender debate that trouble me most. First is the all-too-frequent rejection of transgender people’s lives and experiences. Their very lives are discounted as unscientific and delusion. The counterpart in my world are those who insist I’m gay because I choose to be, like choosing tea instead of coffee. I can’t imagine transgender people would put themselves through all the … Continue reading The Conundrum: Trans Rights vs Women’s Rights

Bob Laycock (He/Him)3 Comments
LGBTQ+, Transgender

The ‘I Resolve Movement’: A Kinder, Gentler Oppression?

Beaming smiles and effusive positivity. My guard went up immediately, sensing wolves in sheep’s clothing. My instincts weren’t far off. The ‘I Resolve Movement‘ was called to my attention this past weekend. This “movement” purports to offer “reasonable, loving, and tolerant solutions” to transgender issues in the schools. It’s a dubious description as I shall go into here, but let’s start first with a video … Continue reading The ‘I Resolve Movement’: A Kinder, Gentler Oppression?

Bob Laycock (He/Him)4 Comments