Back in 2015, as LGBTQ+ activists celebrated the victories of marriage equality and other progress, Michelangelo Signorile warned that given the right-wing, anti-LGBTQ+ religious strategies they were already setting in motion, It’s Not Over. Just as they were far into implementing a carefully planned process
When we have a mainstream media that has bought the idea that it will make money by gluing the eyeballs of its viewers and readers to it by hyping violence, controversy, horror, extreme right-wing politicians, and a former president that leads a personality cult, it’s
As a longtime transgender ally, this time of year hits a bit differently for me than it does for a lot of people. Due to the timing of Transgender Day of Remembrance — always shortly before Thanksgiving, and therefore also Advent — I inevitably go
Halloween is America’s “gay” holiday. In the words of lesbian poet and scholar Judy Grahn, Halloween is “the great gay holiday.” Back in the day, Halloween — the night before All Hallows’ Day (All Saints‘ Day) — was linked to the ancient Celtic festival Samhain
Are we still stuck in that kind of masculinity? Just about the time some of us were appreciating the progress being made in our culture’s definition of masculinity and its use of slurs against LGBTQ people to enforce a manhood toxicity, we’re confronted with evidence
It is easy for the blinded oppressor, from an ivory tower of privilege, to look around at the burning world and declare, “everything happens for a reason.” It is easy for the white slack-tivists, who reap the reward of systemic oppression, to ponder quietly the
Today we hear it used to shout down and bully school boards during their public meetings. Nurses, school teachers, flight attendants, and people just walking down the street have heard it used by people while the shouter assaults them. It seems to be an excuse
Part of an occasional series celebrating Whosoever’s Silver Jubilee. (Author’s note: I use the term “queer” throughout this essay for consistency, even when it is anachronistic.) If I remember correctly, I saw a print edition of Whosoever at a newsstand near my college. I was excited
I had just finished my Master’s in Biblical Studies, and with an emphasis on Near Eastern archeology was on a summer tour working on archeological sites from Turkey to Lebanon to Egypt and from Jordan to Israel. I was so single-mindedly focused on the past
There’s a long history of using guilt and shaming — I mean going as far back as we have a human written record. People and institutions soon became experts at spreading guilt among those they felt needed their control. It’s been quite an effective tool