LGBTQ
-
“Do You Have a Problem With Gay People?” No, I Have a Problem With This Person.
Behind the scenes, I’m very opinionated and work hard to advance civil rights. In public, though, I’m a bit more guarded with my comments. I’ve been this way since my reporter days — I didn’t want anyone ever to doubt that I could be objective and fair, even though I…
-
We’re Not Here: LGBTQ Representation in My Childhood
Yesterday, in my blog post about the Bruce Springsteen concert, I wrote a lengthy footnote about how I no longer enjoyed the song “Glory Days.” I wrote that, as a gay man: … it’s unsettling to look back at the cultural touchstones of my youth and discover I was invisible…
-
🏳️🌈 God Save the Queens
Hello from the UK, one of the world’s leading countries for LGBTQ rights and equality. Here in London, there’s a rainbow flag around every corner and a feeling of inclusion everywhere you go. The UK decriminalized sexual activity between men in 1967. Many protections for LGBTQ Britons date back to…
-
🏳️🌈 Pulse
Six years ago today, a terrorist entered the Pulse nightclub in Orlando and opened fire, murdering 49 people and wounding 53 more. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in the United States since 9/11. The Pulse building is still there at 1912 S. Orange Ave. It has turned into a…
-
🏳️🌈 Just Desserts
What’s big and gay and fun to lick? Get your mind out of the gutter! It’s Big Gay Ice Cream, the only place I know of that has frozen treats named after Golden Girls characters. (The Dorothy is vanilla soft serve topped with crushed Nilla wafers.) Big Gay Ice Cream…
-
🏳️🌈 Tampeño Pride
Believe it or not, Tampa Bay is gayer than New York! According to recent research by the Williams Institute at UCLA, LGBTQ people make up 4.8% of the population of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area. In comparison, it’s 4.5% for the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area. The gayest place in…
-
🏳️🌈 Naval Gazing
Hey, did you know that Judy Garland was indirectly responsible for a multi-year taxpayer-funded anti-gay witch-hunt? Not only is this story true — it’s also hilarious! Back when it was dangerous to come out of the closet, introducing yourself as a “Friend of Dorothy” was a surreptitious way of letting…
-
🏳️🌈 A Gay Ol’ Times
You can expect fair and balanced coverage of LGBTQ issues in The New York Times today, but that wasn’t always the case. The paper wouldn’t even print the the word “gay” till 1987 — its style was to use “homosexual,” and you all know how I feel about that. The…
-
🏳️🌈 Born This They
The singular they — that is, using the pronoun “they” as a non-gendered alternative for “he” or “she” — isn’t a new invention. In fact, it first emerged in English in the Fourteenth Century, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Next time you hear someone raising a fuss about the…
-
🏳️🌈 Transformational Technology
If it weren’t for Lynn Conway, the Daily Dave wouldn’t be online. It would be handwritten. Or mimeographed. Or carved on a stone tablet. Conway, a trans woman, changed the way computers ran programs, and later revolutionized the way we create and produce microchips. It’s not hyperbole to say that…