22 2 / 2013
Time for media to focus on the healthcare needs of the trans community
(Source: neutrois, via artoftransliness)
22 2 / 2013
22 2 / 2013
WE GOT SOME NEW ADDITIONS including:
Vajaqueque Brown | Shea Couleé | Martha Mastodon | Pearly Pearl | Kim Chi
For the rest of this gorgeous lineup click through! MONDAY!
LEX·IC·A spreads collaborative wings as our lovely participants explore daily expressions of fashionz, hairography, looks, styles and the art of walking everyday down the street.
Whether going to the corner market to grab some cigarettes or slapping the floor with your latest dazzle or lounging at home, what we wear, what we slip into and onto and out of, for better or worse, is part of what makes us who we are.
Come sit up close. Catch some glitter
19 2 / 2013
QBits: Lesbian mom wins Euro court battle to adopt partner's son
The European Court of Human Rights says ban on same-sex second-parent adoption in Austria is ‘unconstitutional’ and gays have a family lifeAn Austrian lesbian couple have won a court case which allows one partner to legally…
19 2 / 2013
16 2 / 2013
On Valentine’s Day, the Illinois Senate passed a bill that would grant same-sex couples of Illinois the freedom to marry. The fight is still not over and members of the Illinois House of Representatives need your voice to push this bill to its final stage. Next week on February 21, Lambda Legal is hosting their annual Freedom to Marry Reception, this time with an additional two hour phone bank drive. Alongside live music, cocktails and a photo-booth, the QU really wants you to come out and help! So, all phone bank volunteers are going to be entered to win a gift basket from the QU! Come and be a part of history and get a chance to win a basket filled with DVDs, music and books. You’ll get cool stuff ranging from The Gossip, Rhinana to copies of Sister Act, Kathy Griffin’s stand up and more. We promise not to skimp on the prizes if you if you promise to come down and urge your lawmakers to advance this bill to Governor Pat Quinn’s desk!
23 1 / 2013
Joe Varisco is a documentarian and producer focused on utilizing creative collaborations as a means of building community relationships and deconstructing boundaries. Joe has spent the last several years in Chicago integrating with creative members of queer communities as the founder of JRV MAJESTY Productions, Creative Director of Chicago IRL, Artistic Assistant to the Youth Empowerment Performance Project and host and curator of monthly performance event LEX·IC·A. His work is informed by a social justice education including interning with the Broadway Youth Center and Night Ministry. He is currently conducting an oral history interview series with artists, social activists and leaders throughout the country and does social media support via tumblr with The Qu
photo & no hetero piece by h. melt
I LOVE THIS!!!
23 1 / 2013
(via PFLAG)
U.S. Defense Secretary Nominee Would Extend Equal Benefits to LGBT Servicemembers, PFLAG National Responds
Chuck Hagel, U.S. Defense Secretary Nominee Would Extend Equal Benefits to LGBT Servicemembers.
Yesterday, U.S. Defense Secretary Nominee Chuck Hagel stated that, if confirmed in the position, he would “…do everything possible to the extent permissible under current law to provide equal benefits to the families of all our service members,” including lesbian and gay servicemembers.
PFLAG National Board Member Daniel Tepfer, Col USAF (ret.), had the following to say regarding Hagel’s statement,
“Today, I was pleased to read Defense Secretary Nominee Chuck Hagel’s positive comments on gay, lesbian and bisexual service members. Many individuals’ views have evolved over time, including former Senator Hagel’s, and we need to accept where they are now, not judge them on earlier, uninformed opinions.
Spousal benefits remain the one aspect of military life where same-gender couples are not treated the same as straight couples. These include access to on-base housing, medical care, use of on-base facilities and survivor benefits to name a few. I am delighted to learn that, if confirmed as Defense Secretary, Hagel will extend the equal benefits he can under current law. Then when the Defense of Marriage Act is repealed, we can look forward to total equality for all military families.”
Additionally PFLAG National agrees with the position taken by our friends at OutServe-SLDN, that Senator Hagel, if confirmed, will have totake a strong step and amend the military’s nondiscrimination and equalopportunity policies to cover lesbian and gay servicemembers.
23 1 / 2013
Rahm Emanuel Signs Marriage Petition calling for the Freedom to Marry in Illinois
Today Lambda Legal announced that Rahm Emanuel has signed the ILove Marriage Petition.
Lambda Legal released the following statement from James L. Bennett, Regional Director for the Midwest Regional Office of Lambda Legal:
“Mayor Emanuel has been on the forefront in advocating for the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in Illinois, we’re very pleased that he’s taken the step of signing the pledge to show his support for our efforts to bring marriage to Illinois.
“As proud Illinois Unites for Marriage coalition partners, we urge everyone in Illinois who supports our freedom to marry to join Mayor Emanuel and sign the pledge and learn what you can do to bring marriage to Illinois. Join the Illinois Unites Campaign – we all need to be involved as we move forward with our efforts in the Illinois Assembly to pass a marriage bill.
“These are exciting times in Illinois and the momentum is with us. Call your state representative and senator now and tell them to vote yes for marriage for same-sex couples – It’s just time!”
Background:
Illinois Unites for Marriage Coalition brings together a diverse group of individuals and organizations from across Illinois, including business groups, labor, faith organizations, Republicans, Democrats and grassroots supporters.The coalition is being organized by Equality Illinois, Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois. Learn more here: http://www.illinoisunites.org/
On the first day of the legislative session, Representative Greg Harris and Senator Heather Steans wasted no time in pushing for the freedom to marry. The lawmakers introduced HB 110 and SB 110, the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act.
On May 30, 2012, Lambda Legal and the ACLU of Illinois each filed lawsuits representing a total of 25 same-sex couples from across the state of Illinois seeking the freedom to marry. Two days later, the Illinois Attorney General’s office filed papers agreeing that barring same-sex couples from marriage is unconstitutional. The Cook County Clerk and States Attorney also agree that the marriage ban is unconstitutional. On Wednesday, November 21, 2012, State Representatives Greg Harris, Deborah Mell, and Kelly Cassidy filed HB 5710, the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act in the Illinois General Assembly, which provides that all laws of Illinois applicable to marriage apply equally to marriages of same-sex and different-sex couples.
22 1 / 2013
Original Plumbing Online – Help us move forward! – An Indiegogo Campaign
Original Plumbing magazine is growing up! As they expand their online community with a complete website redesign and relaunch, they need your help.
Original Plumbing Needs Your Help!
Hi, we are Amos Mac and Rocco Katastrophe and together we edit and publish Original Plumbing, a trans male culture print magazine that launched in San Francisco in the Fall of 2009. A year after the quarterly magazine was born we launched OP Online at originalplumbing.com featuring daily bloggers, first-person narratives, exclusive work from award-winning trans* writers you can’t find in our print editions, photo galleries and most recently the “Talk About It” video campaign to share solutions around isolation around depression within the LGBTQ community.
In the past few years our website has turned dusty, grey and broken. It is disorganized, not sustainable, increasingly harder to find articles and has major video embedding issues. It does not do justice to the writers who have spent their energy writing for OP over the years. It is because of your interest and support that OP has grown bigger than the size of its tank! We need help tearing down the old OP website and rebuilding it from scratch — keeping all of our articles, user comments and galleries in tact while expanding and updating in a major way! This is where you come in. We have listened to your feedback and are making huge changes for our website and online community. We need your help to relaunch OP online v3.0! Help us afford a more inclusive, organized and aesthetically pleasing website that works!
Click here to donate!
