Today is National Coming Out Day — created in 1988 by Jean O’Leary and Dr. Robert Eichberg to celebrate the courage of coming out and to raise awareness of the LGBTQ+ community. It marked the first anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights held in Washington, DC, on October 11, 1987. This is a sampling of Coming Out Day videos, … Continue reading National Coming Out Day 2024
Republicans and religious rightists have gotten their feathers all ruffled over the fact that Easter this year coincides with International Transgender Day of Visibility. Like in the old westerns, they’re shouting “This town ain’t got room for the two of us!” Easter I think we all know Easter. It celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day following his Crucifixion. Unlike other Christian holidays … Continue reading March 31 is Big Enough for Easter & Transgender Day of Visibility
Most of you reading this know of Nikki Haley’s answer at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire where she failed to mention slavery as a cause of the Civil War, and then seemed perplexed when pressed on the point. If you missed it: She’s taken a lot of heat, with good cause. I suggested on Facebook that she needs to take one of those … Continue reading The Part Nikki Haley Got Right in Her Civil War Gaffe
Ron DeSantis’ infamous “Don’t Say Gay” law was initially aimed at young elementary school children whose tender ears were deemed too sensitive to be told their classmate Johnnie has two mommies or two daddies. The law covered K-3. It wasn’t long before DeSantis decided that even 12th graders are too young. From there DeSantis aimed his sights on state universities, banning diversity programs on the … Continue reading The Not-So-Slow Creep of Bigotry
An article in yesterday’s New York Times got me thinking. It described the latest round of something we see constantly these days: speakers (usually conservative) being shouted down or denied a platform altogether by (usually “progressive”) students or activists. The right does this too, though in their case it’s often more institutionalized than ad hoc. Examples include the expulsion this week of two Tennessee state representatives or … Continue reading Society Needs a Collective ‘Time Out’
I became a socialist in the early ’70s before attending college. While never a member, I’ve been involved off and on in different capacities with the U.S. Socialist Workers Party (SWP) ever since — until last spring. In April I broke off my formal connection over political differences. This has led to a series of letters, texts and emails between myself and a close friend … Continue reading My Liberal Turn
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
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
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’
