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Welcome to Third Cultured, a newsletter covering all things queer and techno-politics from the perspective of Kyle Borland. My goal is to highlight all the ways today is different (and not so) from yesterday.
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This edition:
Donate to Trans Visibility & Action
Links, Quotes & Things
Donate to Trans Visibility & Action
Yesterday was the International Day of Trans Visibility & Action. Unfortunately, amidst all the celebrating, the United Kingdom stabbed trans people in the back by banning conversion therapy but not applying the law to trans people. I wish I could say this is an April’s Fools joke…because the irony is palpable given the UK government is hosting an international LGBTQ+ conference called “Safe to Be Me” in a few months.
This is the culmination of the work done by the hate-mongerinng LGB Alliance and influential people like J.K. Rowling. Their “opinions” are based in paranoia originating from the movie Psycho and screaming talking heads on conservative TV that haven’t learned a new thing since the 1990’s.
It’s demoralizing to see the gains the anti-LGBTQ+ backlash has been able to gain all over the world. Whether it’s isolating trans people in the UK, the 280+ anti-Queer bills in the US, or the efforts Evangelicals export to the Global South to cement the colonizer’s God into their heads and laws.
We need all hands on deck.
Now is not the time for stupid questions and to play the Devil’s Advocate. There is a global war against LGBTQ+ people being waged every day. It is past time that those on the fence pick a side. You’re with the Evangelicals or you’re with the Queers.
There is no gray area. There are no “nice people on both sides.”
There are bigots and there are their targets. Bigots deserve nothing from you but scorn and judgment. In 2022, they are lost causes that chose their own ignorance long ago and expect us to placate their flailing insecurities in a changing world.
Instead of humoring ingrates, support trans people today by donating to the Protect and Defend Trans Youth Fund!
Ariana Grande is matching up to $1.5 million and the fund is currently just over $400K. The money will be split evenly amongst the listed organizations, primarily Red State-based and focused on Black trans organizing and resources. These are our warriors on the front lines. Conservativism in America has given way to outright fascism and we need to funnel our resources to the people fighting the zealots on a daily basis while Out and Proud.
I am proud to live in a state, and to be directly represented by electeds like State Senator Scott Wiener (D-SF), that understands the importance of wielding our collective resources to provide refuge from the Christian Fascist regime dominating every Red State. There is nothing “small government” about what conservatives want. Their goal is to control every aspect of our lives and to isolate anything they deem to be “other” or “unholy” or “wrong.”
Never mind that their states are the most violent, the sickest, the saddest, the poorest, the least educated…the list goes on. By the way they keep San Francisco’s name in their mouths, you would think that the previous sentence applied to us and not everywhere that Republicans control. Go compare San Francisco to similarly-sized Jacksonville, Florida and let me know where most human beings would want to live.
Unfortunately, living in a Blue State metropolis is not an option for everyone due to the obscenely high cost of living resulting from a lacking of housing construction and a conservative tax regime locked in from the 1970s. That is why we have to donate the resources we can so the Queer people on the front lines of this war can live to fight another day. And, make no mistake, this is about life and death. When LGBTQ+ people, particularly kids, are attacked and demonized – they listen. They internalize what is said about them, they feel like the sinners these fascists see them as, because greater society chooses to be silent while they’re slowly suffocated.
The “moderates” and “the Center” are good for absolutely nothing but maintaining the status quo. They are more affected by the cries of anger from Queer people as we are beat down then they are by the violence being enacted against us. They’ll tell themselves they’re “tolerant” but, in 2022, tolerance isn’t enough. What are you “tolerating” exactly? No one is asking for your approval or participation in Queerness. They are asking you to tell the Right to shut up as forcefully as you do the Left, but that would require you to actually see what the Right is doing as “wrong” rather than as an annoyance you only hear about when the Queers get loud enough.
Since you can’t do that – at least donate some money.
As always, thanks for reading, beautiful people.
Kyle (@kgborland)
Links, Quotes & Things
Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws in the US
79% of Americans support laws that protected the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination in jobs, housing and public accommodations (Gay Times)
240 anti-LGBTQ bills filed in 2022 so far, most of them targeting trans people (NBC News)
50,000+ Trans Youth Are at Risk of Losing Healthcare (them.)
Anti-LGBTQ Bills Make Me Feel Like I Have to Live a Double Life (Teen Vogue)
Billboards saying “GAY” are up in Florida in protest of the Don’t Say Gay bill (LGBTQ Nation)
Christian school forces teachers to sign contract swearing they’ll always be straight (LGBTQ Nation)
Disney vows to help repeal ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law, says Florida Gov. DeSantis shouldn’t have signed it (CNBC, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, WaPo)
‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill in Louisiana Legislature would ‘isolate’ LGBTQ students and ban talk of LGBTQ issues in classroom (The Advocate)
Fox News Is On a Homophobic Rampage (The Flashpoint)
GOP lawmakers push historic wave of bills targeting rights of LGBTQ teens, children and their families (Washington Post)
(Source: Forbes and Statista) ‘Grooming': The Ubiquitous Term in the LGBTQ School Debate (Education Week)
Idaho Republicans kill bill that would have made medical care for trans youth a felony (LGBTQ Nation)
It’s a ‘sad and scary time’ for LGBTQ students and their families (LA Times)
It’s nothing new for Florida to claim anti-LGBTQ measures will protect children (Washington Post)
Lia Thomas Just Became the First Trans NCAA Division I Champion (them.)
LGBTQ advocates sue over Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill (Politico)
LGBTQ Students Are Being Terrorized. Florida’s 'Don’t Say Gay' Law Will Make It Worse. (HuffPost)
Mississippi Republican calls for execution of transgender people… by firing squad (LGBTQ Nation)
Protect trans kids. (Forever Wars)
Students walk out after school board bans them from flying the Pride flag (LGBTQ Nation)
Texas Is Going After LGBTQ Library Books And Pride Week (Forbes)
The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill Is Worse Than It Sounds (New York Magazine)
Utah bans transgender athletes in girls sports despite governor's veto (NPR)
Ariana DeBose becomes first out person of color to win an Oscar in historic moment (USA Today)
Despite Homophobia and Bullying, Gay Haitian Comes Out and Learns Strength and Patience (Good Men Project)
For Hungary's LGBT Community, The Vogue Scene Is About More Than Self-Expression. It's About Staying Safe. (RadioFreeEurope)
Guatemalan LGBTQ activists fight conservatives outside Congress (LGBTQ Nation)
How Queer Visibility Threatens White Power (CLASP)
Judge rules against Kentucky clerk who denied same-sex marriage licenses (Reuters)
Malaysian gay conversion app that promised ‘return to nature’ removed from Google Play store (The Independent)
Should robots have genders? (Axios)
‘Tell the World We Exist and Need To Be Saved’: Gay Man Tortured by Taliban (The Quint)
The Ketanji Brown Jackson Hearings Proved Republicans Can’t Stop Thinking About LGBTQ+ People (them.)
This out Florida mayoral candidate eviscerated his bigoted opponent & won in a landslide (LGBTQ Nation)
Trans Visibility Does Not Equal Trans Liberation (them.)
Ukraine:
‘Don’t say gay’ is a Putin creation. Brittney Griner is its prisoner (LA Times)
“Mentally, I Am Still in Ukraine”: Trans Ukrainians on the Tolls of War (them.)
Ukraine’s Gay Combat Volunteers Are Ready to Fight for Their Lives Against Anti-LGBTQ Putin (Daily Beast)
U.S. provides support to LGBTQ groups in Ukraine, surrounding countries (Washington Blade)