↧
Youth Camp for Kids with HIV Celebrates 25 Years
hivplusmag↧
This Trans Woman Is a Former Boy Scout and Has Thoughts on the Trump Rally
The Boy Scouts of America's embrace of a wannabe king is just its latest disaster.
Commentary
Jessie EarlIt may seem strange coming from an out, proud bisexual trans woman, but more than any anything else in my youth, the Boy Scouts of America helped to form my queer identity.
I went to school in a small, conservative farming town near Rochester, N.Y., where I only knew one out gay kid in my entire school. So my greatest exposure to a queer community came from my summers spent as a teenage Boy Scout camp counselor in the Adirondacks. While they certainly couldn't be out, I discovered that many of my fellow counselors, including many adults, were gay men. Finally, out in the woods, I got the chance to talk about what it meant to be queer.
Even my nonqueer peers explored levels of homosexuality. In spite of the homophobic rhetoric and beliefs that teenage boys often display, I can remember giving many back massages and having discussions of male genitalia with my peers. By the end of each summer, even the most sheepish boy was casually touching and hugging other guys. Even in a nonsexual and nonromantic context, I was able to explore my feelings toward the male body, including my desire to explore someone else’s and to not have one of my own.
The Boy Scouts even taught me how to define my gender. I earned my Eagle Scout as I finally confirmed to myself that I was indeed a woman. How could I be a trans woman and yet still be a proud Eagle Scout? Both were part of who I was and still am, so how do you navigate that seeming contradiction within yourself? The Boy Scouts forced me to ask these questions and discover that despite being a woman, I didn’t need to adhere to conventional ideas of masculinity and femininity. I just needed to be me.
Despite its history as an overtly anti-LGBT organization, the Boy Scouts of America was always a queer space to me. It enabled me to explore who I was and instilled in me a love for the outdoors, my fellow human beings (queer or not), and our connection to each other and nature. I wouldn’t feel the empathy I have or hold the same values I do without the Boy Scouts.
Which is why, watching my fellow Boy Scouts cheer for Donald Trump during his speech, I felt nothing but despair. With each swell of the crowd, I could feel my heart drop as I saw the organization I care so much about support a man who proudly displays his lack of empathy for other human beings.
This isn’t to say I was blind to what the Boy Scouts represented over the years. I knew when I joined the Boy Scouts the problems it had. For much of its over 100-year history, the BSA followed a "don’t ask, don’t tell"-type policy, refusing to allow openly LGBT scouts and leaders to be a part of the organization. Before I even identified as LGBT, I felt such sadness that there were many who didn’t get to share my experience because they openly displayed who they were.
So when I saw this policy changing, I was overjoyed. Over the past few years, the BSA has allowed gay scouts, gay adults, and even trans masculine kids to openly participate in the organization— finally opening the doors gave other LGBT kids the chance to experience the life-changing adventures that I had been lucky enough to be given. Even more important, it showed the BSA could grow and evolve — that in another 100 years, the Boy Scouts would still be here to keep showing kids the power of community and connection to the natural world we live in.
So watching Trump speak at the jamboree, all I could think of was all the LGBT scouts in that crowd who suddenly realized that the other boys around them supported a man who actively harms their community. To know that you are now standing in the middle of a crowd of people who don’t understand you — in a single moment, you are made to feel other instead of part of a community you trusted. You are not one of us. You are different. You are alone.
It’s an attitude that’s completely antithetical to what the Boy Scouts of America really means. The Boy Scouts preach connection and brotherhood, yet despite recent advances, it still can ostracize it's most vulnerable members.
It’s with these attitudes that I can see the Boy Scouts of America die. If the group continues down that road, the true beating heart of the BSA will be perverted into something horrific or even wither and die.
I don’t want to see the BSA disappear or change into something unrecognizable. The Boy Scouts of America can be a place that shows kids the diversity of love — love for the world, each other, and yourself. Let the Boy Scouts be a beacon for inclusiveness, not a haven for hatred.
JESSIE EARL is a video producer for The Advocate. Follow her on Twitter @lostrekkie.
The Boy Scouts' Embrace of Trump Sickens This Trans Woman
00↧
↧
Gay Dads Take Their Son for His First Haircut in This Adorable Luvs Commercial
pride↧
Arson Suspect in Phoenix LGBT Center Apprehended
Crime![Phoenix]( "Phoenix")
Neal Broverman
The 26-year-old man was a former client of the one.n.ten youth center.
YouthLGBT youthArizona
Neal BrovermanA 26-year-old man is in police custody for allegedly dousing an LGBT youth center in Phoenix with an accelerant and lighting it on fire earlier this month.
Darren William Beach Jr. was arrested "without incident"according to AZ Central. Beach is a former client of the one.n.ten center, which offers services to queer and questioning youth, aged 14 to 24. Few details about Beach are available, but one.n.ten director Linda Elliott previously emphasized that many of their clients have endured abandonment and abuse.
“Many of the youth we encounter have been kicked out of their homes because they’re gay,” she said. “They’ve been on the street, they have been abused, beat up, sex trafficked. So there’s a lot of issues.”
The July 12 fire at the youth center didn't cause any injuries, but equipment and materials were damaged. The center is seeking donations to cover the costs from the crime.
00
↧
This Heartwarming Gay Animated Short Film Is the Cutest Thing We've Ever Seen
pride↧
↧
Twitter Celebrated the Beauty of Queer People with #LGBTBabes
pride↧
This Gay Children's Book Is the Fairytale Love Story You Wish You Had Growing Up
pride↧
Missouri High School Removes Two Gay Students' Inspirational Yearbook Quotes
Youth![gay students]()
Tracy E. Gilchrist
School officials deemed quotes about being out as possibly offensive to other students.
Education
Tracy E. GilchristWhen two openly gay students at Kearney High in Missouri flipped through their yearbooks to their photos, rather than finding the inspirational quotes they’d chosen to go below their pictures, there was nothing but blank space because school officials removed the pro-gay quotes out of concern that other students could be offended, according to KCTV.
Students Joey Slivinski and Thomas Swartz chose quotes they felt were inspiring and also funny, but the school didn’t see it that way.
“Of course I dress well. I didn’t spend all that time in the closet for nothing,” read Slivinski’s quote while Swartz’s read, “If Harry Potter taught us anything, it’s that no one should have to live in the closet.”
The school has since apologized for removing the quotes but it doesn’t change the fact that the young men have blank spaces under their photos in the yearbook.
The school district addressed the removal of the innocuous quotes in a statement saying that the school typically errs on the side of caution regarding yearbook quotes but realized in hindsight that removing Slivinski’s and Swartz’s quotes went too far. A note from Kearney High Principal Dave Schwarzenbach and school Superintendent Dr. Bill Nicely read:
District administrators were made aware of concerns regarding the removal of senior quotes from the school yearbook. Each year, graduating seniors are provided an opportunity to pick a favorite quote to be placed in the yearbook. In an effort to protect our students, quotes that could potentially offend another student or groups of students are not published. It is the school’s practice to err on the side of caution. Doing so, in this case, had the unintentional consequence of offending the very students the practice was designed to protect. We sincerely apologize to those students. All KSD staff understand the importance of inclusion and acceptance, especially in an educational setting. We work diligently to help every student feel safe, supported, and included. District staff participates in ongoing training around issues of diversity and support student organizations that do the same. That being said, we acknowledge our mistake and will use it as a learning opportunity to improve in the future.
While Slivinski and Swartz told KCTV that they were disappointed officials removed the quotes, they planned to turn the situation around by making stickers with their quotes on them to be placed in students’ yearbooks.
Watch the news report below.
00
↧
The 20 Colleges Most Hostile to LGBT Students
↧
↧
HIV Tried Me. It Lost: My First Year In College
hivplusmag↧
WATCH: What Planned Parenthood Does for LGBT Youth
hivplusmag↧
HIV Tried Me. It Lost: My First Year In College
↧
WATCH: What Planned Parenthood Does for LGBT Youth
↧
↧
This Kid Got a Heartwarming Letter from His Godmother After Being Bullied for Having Two Moms
pride↧
23 Gay Sex Ed Lessons I Wish I Had Learned in High School
↧
A Sticker For Your Penis?
hivplusmag↧
School Bus Driver Allegedly Calls Teen Antigay Slur Over Intercom
A West Virginia school district is investigating allegations of a driver calling a high schooler a "faggot."
EducationLGBT youth
Ariel SobelA bus driver in Clay County, W.V., is accused of referring to a student passenger with an antigay slur over the bus's intercom system. The high school reported the alleged incident to Superintendent Joe Paxto, who launched an internal investigation, reports WSAZ-TV.
Paxto released the following statement:
"Please know that administration is prohibited from going into detail regarding these preliminary allegations. I can state that administration is investigating the allegations, and will do so thoroughly, all while complying with applicable laws and policies that govern the process. Administration always takes allegations of this nature serious, and in doing so, administration takes the investigation serious versus rushing to prejudgment."
Paxto added that hate has no place in his district.
"Regardless of the outcome of the investigation, please know that all of our employees are expected to provide a safe and welcoming learning environment for all of our students," he continued. "As the Employee Code of Conduct mandates, the school system expects all of our employees to exhibit professional behavior by showing positive examples of communication, fairness, and language. Also, as required in the Code of Conduct, the school system expects all of our employees to maintain a safe and healthy environment, free from harassment, intimidation, bullying, and free from bias and discrimination."
West Virginia has no legal protections for LGBT people, including youth, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
↧
↧
Report: Georgia Tech Pride President Commits Suicide by Police
LGBT activist Scout Schultz refused to drop a knife and was shot to death by police, according to reports.
Youth
Neal BrovermanGeorgia Tech students watched in horror as the school's Pride president was shot to death by police on the Atlanta campus after the student advanced on them with a knife.
Police had surrounded Scout Schultz after they (the pronoun Schultz used) was spotted on campus with a knife ― witnesses initially said Schultz had a gun and a knife. Schultz ― who identified as bisexual, nonbinary, and intersex ― told police, "Shoot me!,"according to the Washington Post.
A video seen by Post reporters indicated police pleaded with Schultz to drop the knife and they shot after the 21-year-old advanced on one of the officers. Students in nearby dorm rooms witnessed the entire confrontation and shooting.
Schultz was taken to an area hospital and later died.
Schultz was an integral member of Georgia Tech's LGBT community, leading the group's Pride Alliance organization. The group released the following statement, which honored Schultz and urged those with suicidal thoughts to reach out for help:
If you are a trans or gender-nonconforming person considering suicide, Trans Lifeline can be reached at 877-565-8860. LGBT youth (ages 24 and younger) can reach the Trevor Project Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 can also be reached 24 hours a day by people of all ages and identities.
Georgia Tech Pride President Commits Suicide by Police
00↧
Lawyer: Police Used Excessive Force in Killing Georgia Tech Pride Leader
The shooting death of Scout Schultz continues to reverberate.
Youth
Ariel SobelThe president of Georgia Tech’s Pride Alliance was shot to death on Saturday after wielding a knife then calling out police to shoot him. Now the family attorneys of Scout Schultz, who identified as nonbinary, bisexual, and intersex, say authorities “overreacted.”
Georgia Tech Police entered the scene after receiving calls reporting Schultz was carrying weapons on campus. When police found them (Schultz's preferred pronoun), they were what attorney L. Chris Stewart describes as barefoot, “disoriented,” and having a “mental breakdown.” A cellphone video show officers yelling at Schultz to halt and put down the knife. Police shot they after the student continued to step forward.
Stewart, who has previously represented the families of Alton Sterling and Walter Scott, underscored that Schultz’s mental health struggles did not justify his shooting, and that officers must be better trained with dealing with people in psychological distress. Although he credits Georgia Tech police for their attempts to descalate the threat, he said the officer who opened fire either “lost patience” or lacked proper training. He also felt hat the campus police should have stun guns, not just firearms. ”People have breakdowns sometimes," Stewart said at a Monday press conference. "That doesn't mean they deserve to die."
There is also a debate as to if Schultz was wielding a knife, as reported, or a unsheathed multipurpose tool. According to Stewart, who claims the latter, Schultz was "walking slowly, not running, at the officers, not threatening them with a knife... but with a multipurpose tool that probably everybody has in their car," Stewart said. "That's the truth. We don't understand why Georgia Tech won't admit that."
William Schultz, the student’s father, is accusing police of using excessive force. “Why did you have to shoot? That's the question. That's the only question that matters now," he said in a statement. "Whatever happened shouldn't have ended in a death."
Schultz was a senior on a full scholarship to Georgia Tech with a computer engineering major and a 3.9 GPA. Schultz struggled with depression and had attempted suicide before, according to they's father. Student groups are calling for more counseling and heath resources on campus, particularly for transgender and gender-nonconforming students.
Sarah Buttons, a mental health counselor and board member of Georgia Safe Schools Coalition, knew Schultz from Georgia Safe Schools Coalition events. Buttons believes Schultz's tireless activism contributed to the mental breakdown.
“Scout was an outspoken leader so it feels in character with this person to not forget how they lived but also... to talk about the circumstances of their death," she told CNN. "Sometimes, our leaders get really worn down, so how do we make sure our leaders in the community are supported?"
The Pride Alliance that Schultz led will be holding an on-campus vigil on Monday night. The group has responded to they's death, posting on Facebook, “Scout always reminded us to think critically about the intersection of identities and how a multitude of factors play into one's experience on Tech's campus and beyond," the group said. "We love you Scout and we will continue to push for change."
Lawyer: Cops Used Excessive Force in Killing Student Pride Leader
00↧
Riot at Georgia Tech Follows LGBT Leader's Killing
Violence breaks out on the Atlanta campus as lawyers debate the use of force in Scout Schultz's killing.
LGBT youthGeorgiaViolence
Ariel SobelThe memorial for Georgia Tech's Pride president — a bisexual, intersex, nonbinary student shot to death by campus police this weekend— ended in a torched police cruiser, arrested protesters, and a police officer rushed to the hospital, reports The Washington Post.
Scout Schultz was shot after wielding what police claim they saw as a knife, but Schultz family attorneys believe was a bladeless multi-tool. A tape of the violent encounter reportedly showed Schultz screaming, "Shoot me!" at the officers. Three suicide notes ostensibly written by Schultz were later found.
Although the Monday night vigil began peacefully, several dozen people then marched on campus police with a banner that read "Protect LGBTQ" and chanting "This is not OK!" Moments later, a police SUV was seen on fire and footage from a local TV station showed an officer being loaded on a stretcher nursing a head injury. CNN also recorded people shouting in the street while another officer wrestled a protester to the ground. Amid the tumult, students were asked to seek shelter.
According to Georgia Tech, two campus police offers suffered minor injuries, and three protesters were arrested for inciting a riot and assaulting a police officer.
In response to the unrest, Schultz's family has released another statement: “We ask that those who wish to protest Scout’s death do so peacefully. ... Answering violence with violence is not the answer.”
00↧