ticker: Last News

Pose, Ryan Jamaal Swain, one of the stars of FX’s Emmy-winning, dearly missed ballroom drama, doesn’t hesitate a moment before responding. “Oh, of course. Season two, episode eight.

slammed by LGBTQ advocates as one of the worst bills targeting the transgender community, in part due to its provisions that extend well beyond the realm of transgender health care.In addition to banning gender-affirming medical care for minors, it restricts what bathrooms students may use in schools, limits the scope of sex education to exclude LGBTQ-related topics or information on sexually transmitted diseases, and allows school administrators, employees, and students to misgender trans-identifying minors. None of those other provisions have been challenged in court. The plaintiff families sued last month, alleging the law’s provisions barring transgender minors from accessing gender-affirming treatments infringe on their parents’ right to autonomy in terms of how they choose to raise and make medical decisions for their children and on the youths’ right to equal protection under the law.Corey Shapiro, the legal director for the ACLU of Kentucky, said in a statement that the families “should be able to begin or continue essential medical care” for their children, arguing that the law is an egregious form of government overreach into personal family decisions.They also argue that it is inconsistent with leading medical organizations’ recommendations for treating children suffering from gender dysphoria.“Banning medically necessary care for trans youth is not supported by science or reputable major medical organizations,” Shapiro said.

Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, racism and anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination have created dangerous hurdles for those seeking prevention or treatment,” Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement. “With the generous support of Gilead Sciences, we’ll be able to continue providing critical resources to help overcome these hurdles, especially focusing on Black and Latiné communities in the U.S.

New York Post.The calls come as several national corporations, including Bud Light, Target, and LEGO Group, find themselves on the receiving end of abuse for partnering with out LGBTQ influencers, embracing LGBTQ customers, or creating Pride-themed merchandise.Social conservatives have become enraged, arguing that promoting or trumpeting LGBTQ visibility advances an “agenda” that is being thrust into people’s faces.“This is bad. Very bad.

A major Japanese court ruled that the current ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.On Tuesday, a Japanese district court ruled that the government’s current policy of prohibiting same-sex marriages violates the country’s constitution. Supporters of LGBTQ rights say this is a step in the right direction toward marriage equality in the country.According to Kyodo News, Judge Osamu Nishimura, of the Nagoya District Court ruled that the current system of marriage in Japan is unconstitutional because it excludes same-sex couples, thereby leaving them with no legal protections when it comes to issues like health care decision-making, child-rearing, and inheritance rights, among other rights and privileges that come with matrimony.This is the second court ruling finding that the government’s ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional, following a similar challenge from the city of Sapporo.However, district courts in Tokyo and Osaka sided against petitioners in two other challenges to the existing marriage law.

Last month, the board of the Temecula Valley Unified School District voted to block a social studies textbook whose supplemental resources mention gay civil rights activist and politician Harvey Milk as a historical figure of note, with the president of the conservative-leaning board calling the former San Francisco Supervisor a “pedophile.”The textbook, titled Social Studies Alive, was recommended to be approved for students in first through fifth grades. Although the textbook itself doesn’t mention Milk, the board’s conservative Christian majority – which took power during the 2022 midterms – objected to a supplemental reading package mentioning Milk that accompanies the textbook. Milk, a U.S.

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 8 left fans in complete shock, as the Snatch Game competition took an unexpected turn. Among the beloved queens of the Drag Race franchise, Heidi N Closet’s decision to quit the competition after a series of intense drama left viewers astounded, as it has only happened a few times before in the history of the show.Following the controversial episode, Closet took to social media to candidly express her thoughts and shed light on her departure. In her own words, she explained, “So through out the last 9 months I dealt with sadness, depression, and anger and through that I did make a diss track but THANK U to my amazing partner and group of friends that helped me through that and reminded me about peace and love.

seized on drag as a contentious issue in the modern-day culture wars, with many GOP lawmakers seeking to ban public drag performances in the name of protecting children from being exposed to potentially inappropriate material.Some overzealous law enforcement authorities in Nashville even went so far as to threaten singer Hayley Kiyoko with legal action earlier this year over having drag queens on stage with her as part of her concert tour — despite the fact the Tennessee law seeking to ban drag shows in public had been blocked by the courts.But conservatives have also seized on drag shows as emblematic of the military’s overall LGBTQ-inclusive service and recruiting policies, with many arguing that allowing drag shows at military facilities is an inappropriate use of taxpayer funds, undermines military readiness by weakening soldiers’ resolve, and hampers the military’s recruiting efforts by making military service unpalatable to social conservatives, especially those from the South or so-called “red states.”“Per DoD Joint Ethics Regulation (JER), certain criteria must be met for persons or organizations acting in non-federal capacity to use DoD facilities and equipment,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said in a statement to Politico. “As [Defense] Secretary [Lloyd] Austin has said, the DoD will not host drag events at U.S.

Judy Blume has a movie out. I’ve not yet seen it, but good for her. Her Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was the first book to elicit laughter from me.

Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, racism and anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination have created dangerous hurdles for those seeking prevention or treatment,” Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement. “With the generous support of Gilead Sciences, we’ll be able to continue providing critical resources to help overcome these hurdles, especially focusing on Black and Latiné communities in the U.S.

seized on drag as a contentious issue in the modern-day culture wars, with many GOP lawmakers seeking to ban public drag performances in the name of protecting children from being exposed to potentially inappropriate material.Some overzealous law enforcement authorities in Nashville even went so far as to threaten singer Hayley Kiyoko with legal action earlier this year over having drag queens on stage with her as part of her concert tour — despite the fact the Tennessee law seeking to ban drag shows in public had been blocked by the courts.But conservatives have also seized on drag shows as emblematic of the military’s overall LGBTQ-inclusive service and recruiting policies, with many arguing that allowing drag shows at military facilities is an inappropriate use of taxpayer funds, undermines military readiness by weakening soldiers’ resolve, and hampers the military’s recruiting efforts by making military service unpalatable to social conservatives, especially those from the South or so-called “red states.”“Per DoD Joint Ethics Regulation (JER), certain criteria must be met for persons or organizations acting in non-federal capacity to use DoD facilities and equipment,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said in a statement to Politico. “As [Defense] Secretary [Lloyd] Austin has said, the DoD will not host drag events at U.S.

On Thursday, Mayor Muriel Bowser kicked off Pride month in Washington, D.C. by raising an LGBTQ Pride flag above the John A.

Forsyth News. The controversy attracted the attention of several parent groups, one of which demanded that the district shelve LGBTQ-themed books separately in school libraries, while others demanded their complete removal.At the same time as the Forsyth challenges were moving forward, the Georgia General Assembly passed a bill requiring school districts to enact an expedited complaint resolution policy regarding any challenged books.Under the process, parents or guardians of students in the school system can file complaints, and administrators must promptly remove the books and begin a 10-day review and decision-making process, during which they will decide whether the book is banned.The law also allows for a 30-day appeals process that allows anyone to challenge an administrator’s decision by attempting to have the school board overrule the administrator.Ultimately, Forsyth County Schools reviewed the challenged books, with a committee comprised of teachers, media specialists, students, and parents reading the material and providing feedback on whether they should be banned permanently.The committee considered the quality of the content in the book, how the “objectionable” or “sexually explicit” material was introduced, and what age level the content might be appropriate for, if at all.Following that review, seven of the eight books “indefinitely” banned from the shelves were ultimately deemed acceptable for high school students, with only All Boys Aren’t Blue, a memoir by George M. Johnson about growing up as a gay Black man, remaining banned from shelves.In response to parent and student complaints about Forsyth County Schools’ book-banning process, the U.S.

report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).The CDC estimates that there were about 32,000 new HIV infections in 2021, representing a 12% drop from 2017.During that same timeframe, annual infections were reduced by more than twice as much — dropping 34% — among gay and bisexual men aged 13 to 24.The decrease in infections among that subgroup accounted for more than half of the overall drop in new infections.The decrease in new HIV infections was more prominent among young white gay and bisexual men, compared to their Black and Hispanic peers — underscoring continued disparities among various racial groups in prevention and treatment.Much of the decrease appears to be attributed to increased use of pre-exposure prophylaxis — PrEP, a daily pill that can prevent transmission of HIV.PrEP increased from being used by 13% of those eligible for it in 2017 to 30% of those eligible for it in 2021. However, the majority of that increase was driven by white people who were eligible for PrEP due to their sexual behavior, 78% of whom were written a prescription for the daily medicine in 2021, compared to only 11% of eligible Black people and 20.5% of eligible Latinos.The CDC estimates that about 1.2 million people in the United States have HIV, but about 1 in 8 are unaware of their status, usually due to reticence around getting tested or lack of access to health care services.Awareness of one’s status is especially low among young people, who represented about 15% of total new infections in 2021, reports CNN.

revised version of the bill that rolls back some of its more severe provisions. For instance, under the original version of the legislation, merely identifying as LGBTQ could land someone in prison, while under the new law, only those who engage in same-sex conduct can be prosecuted.The revised version of the bill also rolls back provisions that would have required family, friends, and neighbors to report any suspected same-sex activity, even between consenting adults, to authorities or risk fines and imprisonment.

As the region’s major theaters rebound from the dark nights of the pandemic, it’s nothing short of miraculous that its fringe scene — under-recognized and under-funded at the best of times — has found a way to keep the curtains rising. Operating on a wing and a prayer, these tiny theater troupes may be labors of semi-volunteer love, but they are, without doubt, the crazy, tinkling bells that keep a city’s culture alive, vibrant and just a whole lot more fun to explore.

Jean-Hugues Anglade became an arthouse cinema star of the ’80s and ’90s behind the potent one-two punch of international hits Betty Blue and La Femme Nikita. Playing men who loved hard and recklessly, the actor embodied onscreen a raw, alluring passion that he then upended, to powerful effect, portraying mad King Charles IX in writer-director Patrice Chéreau’s 1994 period epic Queen Margot.But a decade earlier, Anglade made his big-screen breakthrough embodying another raw, reckless lover in Chéreau’s gritty, gay, mean streets drama L’homme blessé, or The Wounded Man (★★★☆☆), earning a Most Promising Newcomer César Award nomination for his intense performance as Henri, a young man who comes of age cruising his local train station.The film — which premiered at Cannes in 1983, and had an extremely limited stateside release in 1985 — actually did win the César for its script, by Chéreau and author-activist Hervé Guibert, inspired by the street-savvy works of Jean Genet.Viewing the film now, as it arrives finally on digital home video via a brilliant, new 4K restoration courtesy of Altered Innocence and Studiocanal, other muses also spring to mind, from the slinky sailors of Rainer Fassbinder’s Querelle, released a year prior, to the pugnacious gay hustler of Wallace Potts’ sublimely sexy 1979 French erotica Le Beau Mec.Somewhere between Le Beau Mec and William Friedkin’s Cruising, we might meet Henri, looking like a sweaty, unstable young Al Pacino, as he prowls his economically depressed, French provincial town.

really starting to polish it,” Thea Kano says.The artistic director of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington was referring to a rehearsal of “My Tennessee Mountain Home,” part of the group’s upcoming tribute to Dolly Parton. “Some of our songs are upbeat and fun and all that,” Kano says.

Here There Are Blueberries, by Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich, the photo album, which researchers determined belonged to SS Officer Karl Hoecker, forms the crux of an investigation into what roles the seemingly “good,” normal-looking people in the photos might also have played in the atrocities that took place at the camp.That investigation, in turn, reflects how fragile truth can be, how history can be preserved, or disposed of, revealed, or permanently obscured, depending on who’s left holding the evidence.“I think that the reason why I wanted to write the play is because I saw those people eating blueberries,” says Kaufman, noting a photo, projected onstage during the play, of a smiling Hoecker gleefully enjoying downtime alongside the camp’s corps of young, female secretaries and switchboard operators. “They were eating blueberries in a vacation resort in Auschwitz.”Artistic director of the Tectonic Theater Project, Kaufman, who conceived and directs Here There Are Blueberries, approached this story with the same investigative rigor the company applied to its landmark play The Laramie Project, which recounted the anti-gay murder of Matthew Shepard.

Enough Said, to spin small-scale moral conflict into sharply observed, well-constructed comedy in You Hurt My Feelings (★★★★☆).In their previous outing, Louis-Dreyfus sparkled onscreen opposite James Gandolfini, playing an L.A. divorcée who discovers that the divorcé she’s dating happens to be recently divorced from the woman who’s become her new best friend.

only state in the Deep South that does not expressly prohibit doctors from recommending gender-affirming treatments for transgender youth.Louisiana’s bill failed in a vote in the state Senate Health and Welfare Committee when Sen. Fred Mills (R-New Iberia), the committee chairman and a pharmacist by trade, voted to defer the bill rather than pass it out of committee.Mills said his decision was heavily influenced by a 2022 Louisiana Health Department study on gender-affirming health care, which found that no gender-affirming surgical procedures had been performed on any minors enrolled in Medicaid in the state between 2017 and 2021.Instances in which medications, such as hormones or puberty blockers, were prescribed to transgender minors were also exceedingly rare, according to the report.Mills said he trusts physicians more than legislators to make medical decisions in a patient’s best interests.“I always in my heart of hearts have believed that a [medical] decision should be made by a patient and a physician,” he said, according to The Hill.Had it passed, the bill would have barred healthcare professionals from prescribing gender-affirming treatments to minors, or referring minor patients to places where they could obtain such treatments.