Anti-LGBTQIA+ Violence Continues to Rise (Alongside Monkeypox)
#138
Welcome to Third Cultured, a newsletter covering all things queer and techno-politics from the perspective of Kyle Borland (he/they). My goal is to highlight all the ways today is different (and not so) from yesterday.
Third Cultured is available to all, but please consider becoming a paid subscriber in order to comment on articles and enjoy other community benefits.
This edition:
Links, Quotes & Things
Links, Quotes & Gay Shit
Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws/Violence in the US and around the world
2 gay men who were victims of bias attack sharing their story (Yahoo! News)
3 LGBTQ diplomats see opportunity and crisis for queer people around the world (NPR)
10 anti-LGBTQ+ bills impacting students go into effect across six states (19th News)
Allegations of Manosphere Pastor’s Gay Past Roil Macho Men (Daily Beast)
Amazon blocks LGBT products in UAE, says it “must comply with local laws” (Ars Technica)
Americans’ Support For LGBTQ Rights Often Stops With Transgender Rights (FiveThirtyEight)
An expert in political violence urgently warns: The worst is coming (WaPo)
Analysis: Will Sodomy Laws Return? (Philadelphia Gay News)
As a gay kid, I felt the instinct to hide. I feel it again now. (Washington Post)
Bisexual daughter cuts ties to her dad. He’s a GOP state senator who is “taking my rights” away (LGBTQ Nation)
California Governor Newsom repeals 'walking while trans' loitering law (Bay Area Reporter)
California’s LGBTQ leaders are pushing to remove zombie same-sex marriage ban from the state Constitution (SF Chronicle)
California won’t pay for travel to four states over laws prohibiting transgender girls in sports (Sacramento Bee)
China’s gay youth wanting to expand rights at home seek a different path to LGBT campaigners in the West (SCMP, The Economist)
Fearful after abortion ruling, many LGBTQ couples are updating their legal status (LA Times)
They’ve already visited a legal clinic for same-sex families to start the process of making a will. “That way, if they blast us back to the Dark Ages again, we have legal protections for our relationship,” said Betts-Green, who works with an Alabama-based nonprofit that documents the history of LGBTQ people in the South.
Florida ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law goes into effect, negative impact already felt (LA Blade, LGBTQ Nation, WaPo)
Florida teachers alarmed by state’s infusing religion, downplaying race in civics training (Miami Herald)
Florida university denied rescinding lesbian student’s acceptance, but she had the receipts (LGBTQ Nation)
Gay Missouri candidate is “mad as hell” after vandal defaces his campaign banner with anti-gay slur (LGBTQ Nation)
Ghana’s tragic turn toward anti-LGBT extremism (Washington Post)
GOP Congressman rants about embassies flying Pride flags during “gay month” (LGBTQ Nation)
Human Rights Watch's Thoreson on LGBT Rights in S. Korea (Bloomberg)
In Russia's shadow, LGBTQ people across the Baltics fight for their rights (NBC News)
Iran executes a gay man under label of sodomy, at least the third anti-gay execution in 2022 (Jerusalem Post)
Kenyan queer men risk health amid homophobia in public hospitals (Al Jazeera)
Landlord ordered trans tenant to “act as a man.” The Biden administration took him to court. (LGBTQ Nation)
LGBTQ clubs were havens for students. Now they’re under attack. (WaPo)
LGBTQ senior housing vandalized with hateful messages: “The fa***ts will die by fire” (LGBTQ Nation)
Mob of conservative mothers demand library burn Pride display books (LGBTQ Nation)
Nigerian actor Uche Maduagwu arrested after bravely coming out as gay: ‘I will forever remain gay’ (Pink News)
Nigerian men sentenced to death by stoning for homosexuality (LGBTQ Nation)
Over half of Republicans believe that parents of trans kids should be investigated for child abuse (Pew Research Center)
Plea Deal Nixed for Man Who Allegedly Threw a Queer Woman Into a Fire (The Advocate)
Police stood around as Proud Boys tried to smash their way into a bar’s drag show (LGBTQ Nation)
Pride at the End of the World (Gizmodo)
The embarrassment I felt coming out was just an extension of the closet itself—a closet built by the same moneyed interests repressing climate action. And if there’s anything that this past difficult Pride month has taught me, it’s that owning this identity—and understanding the forces working against it—is one of the only ways to fight back.
It feels uniquely bad to be alive right now, and I’m not sure how it gets better. But what I have learned is that showing up as you are with the full reality of the challenges we face is the best weapon we have. Some of my happiest moments of queerness have been about simply being together, like quietly dozing with a partner in the early morning, or dancing in a club filled with solely with other gay people.
The continued existence of queer people is a miracle, as is true for people who wake up each day with the deep knowledge that we’re killing our planet, yet choose to fight for the world that is going to survive. The continued battle of people who fight against the racist and fascist carceral state, for migrant justice, for voting access, for reproductive rights—it’s all a miracle in the face of the moneyed forces in opposition. I don’t know how we all keep doing it, but we do, and we should celebrate it every day.
Russian lawmakers propose extending 'gay propaganda' law to all adults (Reuters)
Thailand is a top destination for gender confirmation surgery. Its success is a symptom of Western failure. (Longreads)
‘We’re seen as a cancer on society’: The LGBT people desperate to escape Afghanistan (Metro)
What it’s like to be queer parents amid a wave of anti-LGBTQ backlash (WaPo)
Young LGBTQ People Aren’t Waiting for Democrats to Protect Them (The Nation)
‘Arabs and Muslims flaunted their costumes in true queer glory’ – the Pride I’ll never forget (The Guardian)
California has the highest share of residents who identify as LGBT (SF Chronicle)
Caribbean court strikes down gay ban in Antigua & Barbuda (LGBTQ Nation)
Experts hope LGBTQ youth will call 988 — a new suicide lifeline number (WaPo)
GLAAD’s 2022 Social Media Safety Index (GLAAD)
How Democrats Can Win on a Culture-War Issue (Politico)
New uncertainty around the Supreme Court’s privacy jurisprudence presents Democrats a moment to bring marriage back to the fore. In Congress, they could reintroduce the Respect for Marriage Act, which was drafted to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act but effectively abandoned after the Supreme Court struck down part of the law in 2013. If the court were to one day return to states the ability to ban same-sex unions, the legislation would set a clear standard for which relationships the federal government would have to recognize.
These would likely present difficult votes for Republicans in the House and Senate. Indeed, in only four southern states do Public Religion Research Institute surveys find marriage equality failing to win majority support. Everywhere, backing for same-sex marriage is higher than Biden’s vote share; in some battleground states, like Arizona and Wisconsin, the gap is 20 points or more.
In the Philippines, You Can Be Both Openly LGBT and Proudly Catholic. But It’s Not Easy (TIME)
India’s drag scene is nothing like America’s. Here’s how it’s different & why (LGBTQ Nation)
Inside the Broadway Blow-Up Over Lea Michele Replacing Beanie Feldstein in ‘Funny Girl’ (Daily Beast)
Inside the Lives of Queer People in Heterosexual Marriages (Vice News)
It’s a time for protests, not parades (News is Out)
Monkeypox and Gay Men’s Public Health
Are Queer Folks Prepared for the GOP to Use Monkeypox Against Us? (The Advocate)
Biden administration to distribute over a million vaccines to fight monkeypox outbreak (LGBTQ Nation)
Blaming Gay Men for Monkeypox Will Harm Everyone (Scientific American)
CDC says gay and bi men in Florida need the meningococcal vaccine, to keep them safe in 'worst' outbreak in US history (CNN)
SF leaders demand stronger federal monkeypox response (Bay Area Reporter)
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Once a Crucial Refuge, ‘Gayborhoods’ Lose L.G.B.T.Q. Residents in Major Cities (NYTimes)
Out of the Shadows: The Queer Life of Artist Beauford Delaney (Scalawag)
Queer Writers Are Building Canon Everywhere (Esquire)
Slovenia set to be the first former communist country with marriage equality (LGBTQ Nation)
The founder of Jordan’s first LGBTQ magazine on finding power in the queer Arab experience (Hunger Magazine)
The Joy in Finding Your Chosen Family (NYTimes)
The Power of Gay Sex for Queer Liberation (The Advocate)
Thousands march in Bucharest LGBTQ pride parade (Reuters)
Victories for LGBTQ rights around the world so far in 2022 (LGBTQ Nation)
Why L.G.B.T.Q. Adults Are More Vulnerable to Heart Disease (NYTimes)
Hypervigilance — the sense of always being on edge, constantly scanning for the next threat — causes cortisol levels to surge, which can lead to long-term cardiovascular issues, said Dr. Carl Streed, an assistant professor at Boston University School of Medicine.