David Mariner 
“Intersex” is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male.
Intersex Resource Facebook Page: Intersex Resource
Intersex Discuss Twitter Page: twitter.com/intersexdiscuss
Intersex Awareness Day: www.intersexday.org
The District of Columbia Office of Human Rights has released a new resource for employers entitled Hired and Transgender: Self-Testing for Hiring Bias against Transgender Applicants. The report is is a part of ongoing work in the District of Columbia to reduce employment discrimination against transgender and gender non-conforming job applicants. It provides step-by-step instructions for employers, human resources professionals, and hiring managers to evaluate their hiring practices for discrimination based on gender identity and make changes as needed.
As a continuation of OHR’s groundbreaking report “Qualified and Transgender:
A Report on Results of Resume Testing for Employment Discrimination Based on Gender Identity,” this resource offers guidance on how to address potential discrimination, and points employers to resources such as he guide recently released by OHR and the National LGBTQ Taskforce, “Valuing Transgender Applicants & Employees: A Best Practice Guide for Employers,” which provides in-depth best practices intended to help employers across the nation create a genuinely inclusive and welcoming workplace environment for transgender people.
An asexual person is someone who experiences either no desire to have sex or in some cases a very low interest in sex. Although some researchers might disagree, most people who identify as asexual (or Ace for short) believe asexuality is a sexual orientation like being gay or straight. Some asexual individuals experience romantic attraction (A-romantic). Asexuality exists on a spectrum and those who fall in the middle of that spectrum (between sexual and asexual) often identify as demisexual.
Asexual Facebook Page: Asexual Facebook Page
Asexual Twitter Page: Asexual Twitter Page
Asexual Outreach: www.asexualoutreach.org
The Asexual Visibility and Education Network: www.asexuality.org
Point Foundation (Point) is the nation’s largest scholarship-granting organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students of merit. Point promotes change through scholarship funding, mentorship, leadership development, and community service training.
The Application Cycle for 2017-2018 Point Foundation Scholarship will take place from November 1, 2016 through January 30th, 2017.
Eligible applicants also:
To learn more and apply, visit the Point Foundation Website.
Despite making up more than half of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual population, bisexual people are often overlooked and invisible. Bisexual people are frequently assumed to be gay, lesbian, or heterosexual based on the gender of their partner. Yet when bisexual people are open about their sexuality, they face increased levels of violence from intimate partners; rejection by community, family, and peers; and skepticism from the people and organizations whom they turn to for help, resources, and services.
Consider this: Only 20 percent of bisexual people say that there is social acceptance of lesbian, gay and bisexual people where they live, compared to 31 percent of lesbians and 39 percent of gay men. While these social acceptance numbers are too low across the board, bisexual people are rarely explicitly considered separately from lesbian and gay people. Rather, bisexual people are swept into the greater lesbian, gay, and bisexual population, their specific disparities made invisible within data about the population as a whole.
The Movement Advancement Project and a broad coalition of partners have released a groundbreaking report. Invisible Majority: The Disparities Facing Bisexual People and How to Remedy Them focuses on the “invisible majority” of the LGBT community, the nearly 5 million adults in the U.S. who identify as bisexual and the millions more who have sexual or romantic attraction to or contact with people of more than one gender. The report shows how bias, stigma, and invisibility lead to alarming rates of societal rejection, violence, discrimination, and poor physical and mental health.
Download the entire report here:
Invisible Majority: The Disparities Facing Bisexual People and How to Remedy Them
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) have come out with a new report on protecting the rights of transgender parents and their children.
All too often parents who have transitioned or come out as transgender after having children have seen their gender transition raised by their ex-spouse or partner as a basis to deny or restrict custody or visitation. Transgender people who formed families after transitioning have faced challenges to their legal status as parents, often based on attacks on the validity of their marriages. This guide provides information to transgender parents and their attorneys to help them protect parent-child relationships and assist them when faced with disputes over child custody issues.
Related: The Hazards Of Fires And Explosions On New York City Construction Sites
Click here to download the entire report
We know that for a variety of reasons up to 40% of youth experiencing homelessness are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In the latest survey we completed here in the District of Columbia, that number was 43%. Here are a few of the many celebrities that have stepped up to work for (and with) LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness. I hope they inspire you to support LGBTQ youth where you live.
Josh Hutcherson has been a long time supporter of LGBT Youth, having co-founded the Straight but Not Narrow Campaign. More recently, his work with PowerOn is also making a differene in the lives of low-income LGBT youth including homeless LGBT Youth.
Josh helped launch PowerOn, which refurbishes donated tech like smart phones, tablets, and laptops and puts those tools in the hands of LGBT youth who need it to connect with the community. Some devices are donated directly to young people and others are housed in LGBT Community Centers where they can be readily accessed. From a crucial connection to peers, to looking up health information and even completing school work, tech devices are more important than ever, and Josh and PowerOn are helping to get those tools to the LGBT youth who need them.
Wanda Sykes has been a supporter of the Ruth Ellis Center since the first time she visited while on tour in 2010. The center provides short-term and long-term residential safe space and support services for runaway, homeless, and at-risk lesbian, gay, bi-attractional, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth in Detroit.
The center is named after Ruth Ellis, a lesbian and advocate for the LGBT Community, who is remembered as someone always willing to lend opening her detroit home to the LGBT community and helping many young people along the way.
Sykes returned to the Ruth Ellis Center in 2012 as host of their annual fundraising gala, where she personally suprised the center with a $15,000 donation.Sykes continues to support the Ruth Ellis Center to this day.
It would be hard to find a celebrity that has one more for LGBT Youth experiencing homelessness than Cyndi Lauper. Following the success of her 2008 True Colors Tour, which raised money for several LGBT charities, Cyndi Lauper founded the True Colors Fund along with her manager Lisa Barbaris, and agent Jonny Podell.
Today, the True Colors Fund works to end homelessness among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth, creating a world in which young people can be their true selves. Lauper also partnered with West End to create True Colors Residence, New York’s first and only permanent, supportive housing for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth with a history of homelessness.
Miley Cyrus learned about the issues facing LGBT youth experiencing homelessness when she visited youth at the LA LGBT Center in January, 2015.
“I was quite impressed by Miley and by her genuine passion to help homeless youth,” said Center CEO Lorri L. Jean, “as well as her concern for the growing HIV infection rate among gay and bisexual young people. It’s a huge concern here in Los Angeles where 87% of those living with HIV are gay or bisexual males and a staggering 40% of homeless youth are LGBT. I’m grateful for the attention she’s bringing to the issue and look forward to working with her.”
Miley is the founder of the Happy Hippy Foundation that works on LGBT youth homelessness and a variety of issues impacting LGBT Youth
I bet after this election you thought you’d never watch Celebrity Apprentice ever again, right? I mean, who would want to give Donald Trump more time on television. You’ll be happy to know that Celebrity Apprentice is returning to NBC without Donald Trump. And chances are you’ll be rooting for my favorite contestant, Carson Kressley.
Carson serves on the Board of Directors of the True Colors Fund, joining forces with Cyndi Lauper to support LGBT Youth experiencing homeless. And he’ll be playing for True Colors Fund which is a wonderful way to not only raise money but raise national awareness of this important organization.
Isis King, best known for her time on for her time on the 11th and 17th seasons of America’s Next Top Model, does one of the most powerful things any of us can do to effect social change. She speaks from the heart and tells her story.
Isis experiences homelessness as a young person when she came to New York City to pursue gender-affirming medical care. It was a move her family opposed, and sadly, they choose to stop supporting her.
Isis found a new home at the Ali Forney Center a home for LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness.
Max Emerson is best known for his torso and his youtube videos (pretty much in that order). You may also remember him from this Adore Delano Video. Max’s latest project is the upcoming movie Hooked. The feature-length film will tell the story of a young gay man experiencing homelessness. Max plans to donate half the profits from the film to support LGBT youth experiencing homelessness. Last year he teamed up with my good friend Tom Goss to create this music video to support the project.
The Department of Education has released a new guidance with recommendations to assure homeless youth have equal access to educational opportunities. The document will help school make sure they are in compliance with the Every Student Succeed Act.
The guidance also acknowledges youth of color and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth are dispraportionately impacted by youth homelessness and face unique hurdles in accessing public education. It states in part: “… studies suggest that 20-40 percent of unaccompanied homeless youths identify as LGBTQ; for this population, family conflict and rejection after coming out is often a contributing factor to youths becoming homeless.”
The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty are encouraged by the guidance: “We are pleased that the Administration has clarified and strengthened the rights of students experiencing homelessness so they can stay in school and get the support they need to reach their potential,” states Deputy Director Janet Hostetler.
The Department of Education document also encourages schools to look at disciplinary policies that disproportionally impact homeless students, including LGBTQ youth and youth of color.
“… The process of reviewing and revising policies should include a review of school discipline policies that disproportionately impact homeless students, including those who are also children and youths of color; those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ); English learners; and students with disabilities.“
This guidance is an important one for LGBTQ youth and particularly LGBTQ youth of color who encounter higher rates of discipline in schools (According to the new report from GLSEN, Drop Out, Push Out, & School-to-Prison Pipeline). Many of these youth are already experiencing bullying and harrassment in schools. The added burden of disproportionate or inappropriate disciplinary measures only serves to drive these youth farther away from the education they deserve. GLSEN states this can lead to “detention, suspension, or even expulsion from school.”
This new guidance is an important new tool for everyone advocating for Homeless LGBT Youth (and all youth). What changes need to be implemented in your local school to make sure LGBTQ youth have the educational opportunities they deserve? Who will be advocating for (and with) homeless LGBT youth in public schools where you live?
Each year on June 20th, the United Nations marks World Refugee Day, calling attention to the tens of millions of people forced out of their homes and countries due to violent conflict, persecution or war. As we stand in solidarity with all refugees it is important to also understand that LGBT refugees are at great risk. Hundreds of LGBT refugees have fled Uganda, for example, and arrived in Kenya. These LGBT Ugandans report widespread violence and harasssment of LGBT people at Kenyan Refugee Camps, including harassment by the police officers monitoring the camps.
As World Refugeee Day approaches. you can play an important role in speaking out about the needs of LGBT refugees, and all refugees. Here are 10 tweets you can retweet, post on facebook, or share however you want. Use the tools you have to spread the word.
Sign the @UNRefugeeAgency and stand #WithRefugees when you sign this petition to the United Nations https://t.co/0kRuQuTKil
— Global LGBT Equality (@LGBTWorldFocus) June 6, 2016
Support the freedom & safety 2 love for #LGBT refugees w/ @UNRefugeeAgency https://t.co/APgwkq3ISE #RainbowRefugees pic.twitter.com/9bRM7kJ9Dv
— USA for UNHCR (@UNRefugeeAgency) March 18, 2016
Secret life of gay #Uganda refugees in #Nairobi. WATCH https://t.co/hQk9EvuKaT @Far_Uganda @spectrumuganda @chapter4uganda @richardlusimbo
— Peter Tatchell (@PeterTatchell) June 3, 2016
Let us not stand by in silence as people’s lives get destroyed. Take action https://t.co/3WVT0X8AVc#WithRefugees pic.twitter.com/lpqgDciNvz
— AmnestyKenya (@AmnestyKenya) May 27, 2016
As for refugees, the United States has become an international embarrassment: My latest @washingtonpost column: https://t.co/cLLSkrF1xD
— Fareed Zakaria (@FareedZakaria) June 3, 2016
We stand #WithRefugees Learn more about our work helping LGBT Asylum Seekers & Refugees: https://t.co/KZVmJrp2O6 #LGBT #DC
— Center Global (@centerglobal) June 6, 2016
Stand #WithRefugees – Tools to protect #LGBT Asylum Seekers & Refugees https://t.co/DThwhWX1Fa pic.twitter.com/OjVkWvYt0i
— David Mariner (@DavidMarinerDC) June 6, 2016
Meet the 10 members of #TeamRefugees who will compete at #Rio2016 under the @Olympics flag https://t.co/8AQ1F0HHgE pic.twitter.com/mlthmH47UV
— United Nations (@UN) June 5, 2016
Our values are stronger than fear. Slamming the door on refugees isn’t who we are.https://t.co/ISEisdQbWf
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) November 21, 2015
Farah Abdi, a trans refugee, urges organisations across Europe to do more to support and be inclusive for LGBTI refugees. #TGEUCouncil2016
— Paul Dillane (@Paul_Dillane) June 5, 2016
As we approach our annual OutWrite LGBT Book Festival this summer, now is a great time to start thinking about your summer reading list. Here are some amazing books for LGBT activists to dive into this summer. Most of these I have already read, and a few are on my personal list to tackle this summer.
Kerry Eleveld
I’m very excited that Kerry Eleveld is coming to DC June 9th to talk about this new book: Don’t Tell Me to Wait: How the Fight for Gay Rights Changed America and Transformed Obamas Presidency
Get this book now: Don’t Tell Me to Wait: How the Fight for Gay Rights Changed America and Transformed Obamas Presidency
Garth Greenwell
“What Belongs to You is a beautiful novel that broaches a subject often kept in the shadows: the world of hustling — gay men paying for sex. Greenwell tells the story of an American teacher working in modern-day Bulgaria, and Mitko, the young hustler he becomes enamored with. The teacher first meets Mitko in a public restroom, and returns there again and again, paying for sex. As the teacher confronts his own feelings about their arrangement, he tries to unravel Mitko’s tangled life story while revealing more of his own.”
Get this book now: What Belongs to You: A Novel
I am very proud to share with you that this amazing new book:Love Unites Us: Winning the Freedom to Marry in America
Get this book now:Love Unites Us: Winning the Freedom to Marry in America
Lady Dane Edidi
For a brief time last year the country focused attention on the Baltimore Protests in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. Of course, to really understand what happened you have to know the history of Baltimore. Who better to give us a glimpse into this world than transgender performance artist Lady Dane Edidi, who began her studies at the Baltimore School for the Arts.
Lady Dane’s collection: Baltimore: a Love Letter (A Book of Poetry and other Writings) is a wonderful collection, but it is the powerful title poem is my favorite, exactly because it shows you Baltimore through Lady Dane’s eyes. I first heard Lady Dane Edidi read this poem at the 2015 Capturing Fire Festival, and I highly recommend it.
Order this book on Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi’s website
“In the last three decades of the twentieth century, LGBT Latinas/os faced several forms of discrimination. The greater Latino community did not often accept sexual minorities, and the mainstream LGBT movement expected everyone, regardless of their ethnic and racial background, to adhere to a specific set of priorities so as to accommodate a “unified” agenda. To disrupt the cycle of sexism, racism, and homophobia that they experienced, LGBT Latinas/os organized themselves on local, state, and national levels, forming communities in which they could fight for equal rights while simultaneously staying true to both their ethnic and sexual identities. Yet histories of LGBT activism in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s often reduce the role that Latinas/os played, resulting in misinformation, or ignore their work entirely, erasing them from history.”
Queer Brown Voices: Personal Narratives of Latina/o LGBT Activism
Get this book now Queer Brown Voices: Personal Narratives of Latina/o LGBT Activism
“As an organizer, writer, publisher, scholar-activist, and elected official, Barbara Smith has played key roles in multiple social justice movements, including Civil Rights, feminism, lesbian and gay liberation, anti-racism, and Black feminism. Her four decades of grassroots activism forged collaborations that introduced the idea that oppression must be fought on a variety of fronts simultaneously, including gender, race, class, and sexuality. By combining hard-to-find historical documents with new unpublished interviews with fellow activists, this book uncovers the deep roots of today’s “identity politics” and “intersectionality” and serves as an essential primer for practicing solidarity and resistance.”
Get this book now Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around: Forty Years of Movement Building with Barbara Smith (SUNY series in New Political Science)
Kelly Cogswell was at the DC Center last summer discussing this book and I’m so glad I got a chance to meet her. The Lesbian Avengers played such an important role in our movement yet there is not as much historical information out there about them as one might like.
“When Kelly Cogswell plunged into New York’s East Village in 1992, she had just come out. An ex–Southern Baptist born in Kentucky, she was camping in an Avenue B loft, scribbling poems, and playing in an underground band, trying to figure out her next move. A couple of months later she was consumed by the Lesbian Avengers, instigating direct action campaigns, battling cops on Fifth Avenue, mobilizing 20,000 dykes for a march on Washington, D.C., and eating fire—literally—in front of the White House.”
At once streetwise and wistful, Eating Fire is a witty and urgent coming-of-age memoir spanning two decades, from the Culture War of the early 1990s to the War on Terror.
Get this book now: Eating Fire: My Life as a Lesbian Avenger
