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Everything You Need to Know About Outfest

Published on July 17, 2018 in Entertainment & LifeStyle

Los Angeles-based LGBTQ film festival, Outfest, kicked off on the 12th of July! In just eleven days the film festival will screen more than 200 queer themed films from 35 countries. On the program are galas, feature films, short films, special events, and episodic screenings. Originally founded by UCLA students in 1982, Outfest will continue its mission to “promote LGBTQ equality by creating, sharing and protecting LGBTQ stories on the screen” for the 36th year running. If you’re keen to feel a part of the global queer community, then join Outfest “to discover, discuss and celebrate stories of LGBTQ lives.”…

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From Greenwood To Los Angeles: Empowering The Transgender Rights Movement

Published on November 7, 2017 in Blog/Entertainment & LifeStyle/Real Talk/The-Nation/Weekly

Blossom Brown is a self-described “trans health advocate, HIV/AIDs advocate, actress, activist, and motivational speaker, along with being a Greater Than Aids ambassador.” She is an accomplished advocate and transgender woman. She makes these facts of her identity openly now, but had not always felt at ease is sharing who she was. Our Editor-In-Chief, Griffin Gram, had the opportunity to sit with Blossom Brown and discuss her real life struggles and activism. “I completely felt like I was in the wrong body.” Going back to the beginning, Blossom was born in Greenwood, Mississippi and raised in the City of Jackson.…

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We Happy Trans

Published on September 25, 2017 in Real Talk/The-Nation/Weekly

If you don’t look for it, it can be hard to find positive news about trans people in the U.S. and beyond. It’s a negative news cycle that’s warranted: Research organizations like the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs have shown that 50% of transgender people have survived sexual violence, that almost 80% of gender nonconforming youth have experienced bullying and abuse at school, and that trans women and trans people of color continue to be murdered and harassed by police at higher rates than any other group on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. There’s no doubt that these are important facts for…

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Michigan Civil Rights Commission Will Not Revise Laws to Be LGBT Friendly

Published on September 19, 2017 in Real Talk/The-Nation

As per a request to revise the Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act, one that does not currently include protection for the LGBT community, members of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission have decided to decline the notion. The purpose of the Civil Rights Commission is to determine if a group or community is being discriminated against. By way of revising the Elliott Larsen Act, action could be taken towards those discriminating against the LGBT community when it comes to job opportunities and housing purchases. Commissioner Linda Lee Tarver simply stated that it was not within their intention to re-write the law.…

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German Reparations: Is 35 Million Euros Enough?

Published on September 19, 2017 in Blog/Real Talk/Weekly

In recent years, the concept of paying reparations to Black Americans has been a center of discourse on racial equity (in part because of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ article “The Case for Reparations,” published in the Atlantic in 2014). In his article, Coates starts a dialogue about how the U.S. could compensate black Americans for the legacy of slavery. The question is easy to answer: There’s no way for America to provide full reparations to the descendents of slaves, or to the Black Americans who live today amongst institutions that continue to be complicit in racism. However, his article sparked a national…

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Country Queers

Published on September 13, 2017 in Blog/Real Talk/The-Nation/Weekly

Ever heard the term “queer migration?” I hadn’t realized it was a trend until I found myself connecting with a gay friend the other day over losing LGBTQ+ communities to the pull of LA, New York, and Chicago. Apparently, it’s enough of a phenomenon that there’s a growing body of academic scholarship exploring the causes and effects of queer migration. One of the premises for this phenomenon is perpetuated in part by shows like The L Word, which perpetuate the myth that big cities are the only places where queer people can thrive. In the United States, we see cities…

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The Consumer You Can’t Ignore: Our $3.7 Trillion Spending Power

Published on August 22, 2017 in Blog/Real Talk/Weekly

Moneytalks: Recent studies show that the global LGBTQ+ market is growing rapidly. In 2015, the yearly “spending power” of LGBT people globally was estimated at $3.7 trillion, according to LGBT Capital. Global LGBTQ+ tourism in particular has been on the uptick for years, with an annual worth upwards of $211 billion, according to WTM London in 2016. As context for these numbers, the spending power of black consumers in the United States is averaged at $1.3 billion, and the spending power of women in the United States lies somewhere between $5 and $15 billion, according to Nielsen Consumer. However, in…

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Giving Back: A History & Guide

Published on August 18, 2017 in Blog/Real Talk/The-Nation/Weekly

LGBT charities and non-profits, which can be the same organization, exist to provide advocacy, awareness, and a safe haven for those individuals in the LGBT community that need a place to turn to. LGBT charities in the United States have been around for many years now, but they got their real start in the 1920’s. In 1924, Henry Gerber founded the Society for Human Rights, which was the first officially recognized gay rights organization in the United States. Twenty-six years later, the Mattachine Society was founded in 1950-51 by Harry Hay. This was the first major gay rights organization in…

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A Short History on Trans Rights by Laverne Cox

Published on August 15, 2017 in Blog/Entertainment & LifeStyle/Real Talk/Weekly

Best known by her role on Netflix’s Orange is The New Black, Laverne Cox has become a pioneer voice as a transwoman in the LGBT community. Cox has teamed up with the ACLU, producer of Transparent, Zackary Drucker, Molly Crabapple, and Kim Boekbinder to create a short film showcasing the journey of trans history. While gay rights have been touched upon a lot in the last few decades, the story behind transgender rights is not as well known. In a short 4 minutes, the video guides you through the progression of transgender inclusiveness. Starting from the first riot and ending…

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Sexual Education Lacking for Today’s Youth

Published on August 10, 2017 in Blog/Real Talk/The Nation/The-Nation/Weekly

While overall the world has become a more open and progressive place to live for today’s LGBT youth, the sexual education system still falls behind. Adolescence is difficult as is for heterosexual and cisgender (a gender identity in which gender matches the physical sex) youth. Imagine how difficult it must be for youth in the LGBT community when the education that could very well save your life can’t even be applied to you. Some schools worldwide still do not teach a sexual education curriculum, and among those that do, most do not include education about same-sex partnerships. According to…

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