Some Firsts to Celebrate, and More Fights to Come
#150
Welcome to Third Cultured, a newsletter about Queer people in diplomacy, politics, and war from the perspective of Kyle Borland (he/they). My goal is to highlight all the ways today is different (and not so) from yesterday.
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This edition:
Opinion Essay
A List of LGBTQ+ Wins
Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws/Violence Around the World
Links, Quotes & Gay Shit
Opinion Essay
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday.
I spent two weeks down South visiting family and attending my sister’s wedding. It was a great celebration and a welcome trip reconnecting with both sides of our families after a long year. There was lots of good drinks, great food, and plenty to be thankful for – and that’s before the US made it out of the World Cup’s group round!
I had hoped to publish a newsletter yesterday for World AIDS Day, but between another round of driving and my partner coming down with the flu (at this point, we can’t visit the South without getting some kind of infection) it wasn’t meant to be.
That said, there’s a lot happening on the Queer politics front, especially in the US:
The Senate passed the Respect for Marriage Act in a 61-to-36 vote, which is guaranteed to pass the House again and be signed by Biden. As I’ve detailed previously, it’s not the bill we want or need but it is a (very) small step in the right direction.
Congressman-Elect and Long Beach, CA Mayor Robert Garcia (CA-42) was elected elected Freshman Class President of the 118th Congress, the first LGBTQ+ person elected to lead their freshman class in Congress. He’s already leading, too, by taking the fight right to Marjorie Taylor Greene and her ilk. This follows Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY) being named the first LGBTQ+ Freshman Liaison to House Leadership in the current 117th Congress.
The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday warned about a rise in threats to the LGBTQ, Jewish and migrant communities from violent extremists inside the United States. AKA Club Q copycats.
“The only motive here is pure evil. Whether it was for personal reasons or specifically targeted to the LGBTQ community. We now need to focus on coming together around the healing process for those directly involved as well as LGBTQ Americans across the state across the country.”
The FDA announced a plan to relax blood donation rules for gay and bi men, allowing those of us in monogamous relationships to donate blood without abstaining from sex. Yet again, it’s a baby step in the right direction, but the slow crawl on reversing this blatant discriminatory policy is embarrassing given the state of blood donation.
The World Health Organization announced that monkeypox is now “MPox,” citing the offensive and racist language that proliferated after the outbreak.
On Monday, LGBTQ+ rights are on the chopping block at SCOTUS again as oral arguments for 303 Creative v. Aubrey Elenis kickoff to determine if any business can deny service to a customer by claiming a personal objection to treating that customer the same as others. The infamous 2018 Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling didn’t go enough in their favor, so the Christian right is giving it another go with a web designer.
I fly back to California today so the newsletter will return to its more regular schedule. I wanted to provide a post-holiday update as we head into the home stretch of the year. There’s plenty of work to do before year’s end and even more once we get into 2023. LGBTQ+ people are winning, even amidst a violent pushback that makes it feel otherwise, and it will take concerted efforts to maintain those wins and gain even more ground. But, if we can make it through three pandemics stronger than ever, we can definitely handle a horde of Christian Fascists.
Just look how they reacted to the John Brown Gun Club. They can’t handle their own medicine, let alone what we’ve got prepared for them.
Stay safe and healthy, beautiful people.
As always, thanks for reading.
Kyle (@kgborland)
PS – How You Can Help Victims of the Club Q Shooting Right Now (them)
A List of LGBTQ+ Wins
Alaskans set to elect 3 LGBTQ lawmakers to state Legislature (Alaska Public Media)
Colorado's Jared Polis Is First Out Gay Man Reelected Governor (The Advocate)
Cuba welcomes gay rights as progressive family code takes hold (Reuters)
For LGBTQ+ people in Georgia outside Atlanta, the progress of pride is a process (GPB)
Grindr makes a statement with majority-LGBTQ board (Fortune)
Grindr shares soar 200% in post-SPAC debut as advocates weigh progress of LGBTQ inclusion within finance world (Barron’s, CNBC)
Lagos Shelter Brings Rare Respite For Nigeria's LGBT+ (Barron’s)
Lesbians score big political gains in midterm elections' 'rainbow wave' (NBC News)
LGBTQ-friendly votes signal progressive shift for Methodists (AP)
LGBTQ leaders weigh in on midterm success: “It’s not enough to vote anymore” (Philadelphia Gay News)
Majority of Black voters support LGBT rights, more divided on the issue of trans student-athletes (The Grio)
Protecting LGBTQ rights can be ‘selling point’ for Hong Kong (SCMP)
RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon joins Chicago on Broadway (EW)
SF launches guaranteed income program for trans community (Axios)
The effort — dubbed Guaranteed Income for Trans People (or GIFT) — will provide 55 eligible residents with $1,200 per month for up to 18 months to "help address financial insecurity," per the mayor's office.
The people selected will also receive gender-affirming medical and mental health care, as well as financial coaching.
First announced last year, the city has set aside $2 million for the program, Parisa Safarzadeh, a spokesperson for the mayor, told Axios.
SF supes OK landmark status for Compton's site (Bay Area Reporter)
South Dakota Elects First Gay Male Legislator, Kameron Nelson (The Advocate)
Trans-Pacific Māhū Ancestors: Reclaiming Hawaiian Trans Identities/Spirits (News is Out)
Two gay men elected to Maryland House of Delegates (Washington Blade)
Two gay men join Texas Legislature (Dallas Voice)
Up in a tiny Himalayan kingdom, an LGBTQ revolution is on the climb (LA Times)
What it means that a historic number of LGBTQ candidates won midterm elections (NPR)
Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws/Violence Around the World
4 Supreme Court justices attended celebration of powerful anti-LGBTQ legal group (LGBTQ Nation)
23 states introduced anti-LGBTQ bills and 13 states passed bigoted bills in 2022 (Victory Institute)
44 years after his death, Milk continues to make waves (Bay Area Reporter)
Arizona LGBTQ+ and Drag Communities are Being Terrorized. Nobody’s Listening. (Left Coast Right Watch)
At least 32 transgender people were killed in the U.S. in 2022 (PBS Newshour)
Biden Admin’s LGBT Health-Care Policy Rejected by Court (Bloomberg Law)
'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' set to be banned in China for featuring openly gay characters (Digital Spy, Insider)
Brittney Griner faces rampant racism and homophobia in Russian labor camp (LGBTQ Nation)
How Many Trans People Does The New York Times Believe There Should Be? (Defector)
How to Start a Fire: In the wake of the mass shooting at a Colorado gay bar, a reactionary media has blood on its hands (The Forum)
Is a Gang in New York Murdering Gay Men? (NBC New York, The Advocate)
LGBTQ advocacy group Lambda Legal sues Pentagon, Army over ban on HIV-positive recruits (The Hill)
LGBTQ Orgs Brace for a New, Potentially Darker Reality After Israel’s Far-right Election Victory (Haaretz)
LGBTQ Youth Have Double the Risk for Suicidal Thoughts, Attempts (US News)
Louisiana and Mississippi Have Still Never Had an Out LGBTQ+ Person in Their Legislatures (them)
Meet the self-loathing gay man behind Tucker Carlson Tonight (LGBTQ Nation)
Qatar is playing a double game on LGBTQ issues (DW)
Rainbow-wearing soccer fans confronted at Qatar World Cup (WashPost)
Republican sues lesbian opponent to be declared the winner even though he’s losing (LGBTQ Nation)
Russia Might Ban Apex Legends and Overwatch 2 Over “LGBT Propaganda” (AFK Gaming)
Texas has a new, staggering proposal to criminalize trans care for kids (Reckon)
The geopolitics of being Brittney Griner (Windy City Times)
The secret gay neighborhood inside Tehran (LGBTQ Nation)
The Murders Shocked Slovakia, But LGBTQ Rights Get No Mercy (Bloomberg)
Town defunds its own library again after conservatives said it supports “sinful desires” (LGBTQ Nation)
Why Did Gay Rights Take So Long? (The Atlantic)
World Cup 2022: Growing up LGBT in the Middle East (BBC)
Links, Quotes & Gay Shit
A Stunning Look at a Gay Man’s Terrifying, Triumphant Time at Marines Boot Camp (Daily Beast)
A Plethora of Penises: How People Wrote About Sex in the Middle Ages (LitHub)
After ‘Dahmer,’ Ryan Murphy must reconsider how he tackles true crime (SF Chronicle)
Alabama's death valley: Donaldson prison's chaos continues under the nose of visiting Feds (Moth to Flame)
America's Politic of Distraction (olurinatti)
It really was young voters who did it for Democrats (Ryan Grim)
Left-Wing Voices Are Silenced on Twitter as Far-Right Trolls Advise Elon Musk (The Intercept)
Male sperm counts appear to have fallen by more than 50% around the globe in the last 50 years (Oxford)
Men are using condoms less, even as syphilis and other STDs surge (WashPost)
On the Glorious Queerness of Metrical Narrative (LitHub)
Over a decade after founding Grindr, Simkhai wants a do-over with Motto (NBC News)
Sapphic Literature Is on the Rise. Hopefully, It’s More Than Just a Trend (them)
The Growing Movement to Fix Discrimination Against LGBTQIA Tech Workers (Lifewire)
The racist link between purity culture and Christian Nationalism and why it matters in elections (Reckon)
The Unbearable Mundanity of the Very Rich Man’s Mind (¡Hola Papi!)
Zachary Quinto: ‘There’s a tremendous fear around openly gay men in our industry’ (The Independent)