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TV personality Ross Mathews and his husband, Dr. Wellinthon Garca-Mathews, have officially entered the world of childrens literature and more is to come. The couple released their debut childrens book this week, titled To & To, a heartwarming and colorful story inspired by their 2022 wedding in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Published in both English and Spanish, To & To tells the story of twoSource

Melodie Joy Photography for Uncloseted Media. Design by Sam Donndelinger. At 6 years old, Kelsey Granger was obsessed with Ariels character in The Little Mermaid. [I think it] had something to do with the transform[ation] and the feeling of being trapped in a world that you don't feel that you belong in, she told Uncloseted Media.Now 32 years old, Grangers reality is surprisingly close to Ariels: She lives full-time on a boat, far away from her landlocked American town, often swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and enjoying sunsets from her boats deck.Melodie Joy Photography for Uncloseted Media.The middle of nowhere is a beautiful place, she says. Its like being in a void. You look out your window, and you see the sky and the water being the same color. And it just feels like youre looking into a surrealist painting.While Granger loves living on the water, her decision to do so comes from a place of self-preservation. As a trans woman, she didnt feel safe living on Americas mainland. Witnessing lawmakers introduce hundreds of anti-trans bills in state legislatures, she remembers thinking, Nobody's safe. None of those people I feel represent me.Melodie Joy Photography for Uncloseted Media.Though leaving the U.S. to live on a boat may seem extreme, Granger is far from the only trans person who has considered a move for safety reasons. A 2023 poll found that 43% of transgender adults have considered moving since May of 2023 due to anti-LGBTQ legislation in their state. Meanwhile, 8% of adults have already left, with many opting for Canada and others fleeing to Europe.Melodie Joy Photography for Uncloseted Media.Before leaving the mainland, Granger was working in the automotive industry in Carrollton, Texas. But when the states Attorney General Ken Paxton requested a list of Texans who had changed their gender markers on identification documents, Granger felt alarm bells go off. Though the lists purpose is not publicly known, advocates suspect Paxton was planning to use the data to further limit trans peoples right to transition.I was just like, Y'all, we gotta get out. I know enough to see the writing on the wall. I know enough of queer history to know what happened to my sisters and my brothers, she says.Initially, Granger and her partners thought moving to a blue state was her best option. Could I move to New York? Could we move to Maine? Could we move to Colorado? We explored all those options, she says.But as she researched, the financial toll of finding a new home coupled with fears about how long a Democratic state would remain safe caused her to reconsider. What happens if theres another election at a state level or federal level, and all of a sudden, now that state's not so safe? We're kind of gonna be fucked, she remembers thinking.Subscribe for LGBTQ-focused journalism.Without any prior boating experience, Granger started taking sailing lessons and in 2022 moved onto a boat on Grapevine Lake, a reservoir in North Texas. After a year on the lake and five months in a Mississippi boat yard, Granger felt ready for the ocean.So in December 2024, roughly a month after Trumps reelection, Granger began sailing around the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic.She wishes her fears were baseless, but since Trumps reelection, she says, It sucks to be right. Everything that I know about times of oppression, one of the underlying facts to it all is that you don't know until it's too late. You could never know when the last possible moment to get out is until it's already passed.Grangers decision to live on a boat emanated from Trump and Trumpism and everything that he's put in place. Her distress about what could happen under a Trump presidency has been legitimized by his many anti-trans executive orders, including a ban on federal funding for youth gender-affirming care and the idea thatin the eyes of the federal governmentthere are only two biological sexes.Melodie Joy Photography for Uncloseted Media.Granger, who is in a polyamorous relationship, lives aboard a 30-foot-long by 14.5-foot-wide catamaran sailboat with her two partnerswho identify as cis and bigenderalong with her dog, Turbo. An early riser, Granger has her morning coffee on the boats deck shortly after sunrise. She quickly checks the water for sea life before beginning her remote job selling yacht charters. In her spare time, she swims, pets stingrays and rides her onewheel through coastal towns.Melodie Joy Photography for Uncloseted Media.Subscribe nowAs mainland America is an increasingly threatening place for trans people, Granger says the attitude of those living on the water is much more welcoming. They couldnt care less if I'm trans. They couldnt care less if my family is poly. We're all taking this massive risk to be on a boat, and there's a huge mutual respect for anybody that goes out in the ocean. Because the ocean is scary. That kind of binds everybody together, she says.Melodie Joy Photography for Uncloseted Media.But even with this newfound safety and happiness, there are still complications. Like many other trans women, Granger relies on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). While she currently has a 10-month stockpile, she will eventually have to depend on her partners bringing back HRT from the mainland U.S. or picking it up from pharmacies in Puerto Rico or other Caribbean countries. I'm not willing to fly and put my passport at risk, she says.Granger acknowledges that the countries shes sailing around arent entirely trans-friendly. While gender-affirming care is legal in the Bahamas, it is not possible to change your gender assigned at birth, and there are no protections against LGBTQ employment discrimination. Despite this, Granger says theres safety in being a tourist. I'm only seeing all of these people for maybe three days at a time. So, it's not important to be loud, out and proud to people that I'm only interacting with for 10 minutes at a time.Melodie Joy Photography for Uncloseted MediaThough she is able to bypass a certain amount of transphobia through her nomadic lifestyle, knowing that its out there still impacts her. It doesn't really matter where you are at this point, she says. You're going to experience some form of transphobia and that fucking sucks.For now, the Trump administration and state legislatures have focused on banning trans healthcare for minors. But Granger isn't naive to the possibility of American politicians broadening these bans to include trans adults.She says continuing HRT is not only important for limiting her gender dysphoria, but also for avoiding physical health complications: Stopping HRT can be dangerous, increasing the risk of cognitive decline and cardiovascular issues.It's not necessarily, Do I fear that I'll be able to get it? It's more like I have to, she says.Melodie Joy Photography for Uncloseted Media.Granger says that traveling by boat allows her to avoid complications around her passport. With the Trump administration stating that gender identity does not provide a meaningful basis for identification and Secretary of State Marco Rubio suspending passport applications for those who select X as a gender marker, getting accurate ID is becoming increasingly difficult for trans and nonbinary Americans.Traveling by plane or car requires interactions with customs officers, which Granger often finds stressful. You have to go face-to-face and they're looking at you with the meanest expression, she says. But on the water, Granger is able to move around without constantly having her ID scrutinized for gender marker inconsistencies.Granger is far from being the only trans person feeling stressed about traveling right now. In February, seven trans and nonbinary people filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of State and Trump, after his administration suspended passport applications for trans folks applying with their name and accurate gender marker.She says living on the water allows her to avoid the chaos. The oceans huge, it's massive, there's no enforcement. You know, the second night we were in the Bahamas, we anchored next to an uninhabited island, she says.Still, she still worries about others in the trans community. Keeping up with the news and learning of anti-trans laws breaks [her] heart, she says. Because a lot of our community isn't either privileged enough or fortunate enough to have the money to flee, to have the money to transition, to have the support that they need. And this only makes it harder. She hopes her story can be a source of inspiration and often chats with other trans women on subreddits like r/MtF.Melodie Joy Photography for Uncloseted Media.When Granger started living on her boat, she didnt plan on making her trans identity public. But with the onslaught of attacks against her community since the 2024 election, she decided it was important she speak out.The reason that I'm okay with outing myself in this way is because I want the trans community to be okay, she says. And it can't be okay if every story we read is about somebody getting attacked, is about kids getting their health care ripped away from them, is about adult trans people living paycheck to paycheck. It's really important that we survive.Granger, or @tanukiprincess on TikTok, documents her sailboat travels as a trans person. Her videos often display turquoise ocean water teeming with stingrays and turtles, accompanied by upbeat pop music.Melodie Joy Photography for Uncloseted Media.Granger envisions a future where more trans people share her lifestyle. She is currently saving up money to buy and refurbish a second boat, which she plans to give to another trans person. I'm going to replicate that process again and then hopefully create a trans flotilla. There could be a community on the water. It would be nice to have a sister or a brother that also is sailing around the same areas.ShareMore than anything, Granger hopes her story gives trans people hope. I want to have people say, Look, it can get better, she says. There are things we can do as a community, and there are things we can do for self-preservation, which I think is so important for the trans community to hear.For the remainder of Trumps second termand beyondGranger is looking forward to living her best life on the water. If Trump went to jail tomorrow, Elon went to jail tomorrow and Democrats took the White Houseor whatever imaginary situation you have to come up withI still wouldn't stop living on a boat. I love it, she says.If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media

Theres a scene in Andrew Ahns The Wedding Banquet where queer characters played by Bowen Yang, Kelly Marie Tran, and Lily Gladstone frantically run through their home removing objects that would give away the fact that theyre gay.We gotta de-queer the house, Yangs Chris instructs Angela (Tran) and Lee (Gladstone) upon hearing that his boyfriend Mins grandmother has flown in from Korea when she learns that her grandson plans to marry Angela. The trio hides lesbian literature, DVDs of The L Word, sapphic art, and a Lilith Fair poster as Chris explains that the Indigo Girls are surprisingly popular in Korea. Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran in The Wedding Banquet Bleecker Street / Shiv Han Pictures The Wedding Banquet is a retelling of Ang Lees seminal 1993 film of the same name for a new generation. In the new film, Angela and Lee are a couple in the throes of IVF treatments that havent worked, leaving them financially overextended and heartbroken. Meanwhile, Min (Han Gi-chan), an artist whose trust from his grandparents is reliant upon his working for the family corporation, and Chris, a perpetual student and bird enthusiast, have been together for five years. But Chris wont commit to marrying Min. The de-gaying scene ensues when Min hatches a scheme to marry Angela: Hell get his green card and pay for IVF for their friends Lee and Angela. Everybody wins.De-queering some homes is easier than others. When asked what theyd remove first if they had to hide the gayest object in their space, the cast, including out stars Gladstone, Yang, and Tran, had some hilarious queer giveaways. I got a rainbow doormat, Gladstone (Fancy Dance and Under the Bridge) says. Youre not even in the door yet.Yang says his entire nightstand has to go, including one special item that is hot political topic of the moment.I'm going to go there. I've got a nightstand drawer that's got too many suspicious things. You know what I mean? the Saturday Night Live star teases. Now its like a treasure trove. I've got all my poppers. They are going to be illegal soon, he says, referring to the Trump administrations war on poppers and other sex accessories.Sell those on eBay, Yang jokes about starting an underground poppers business. Han Gi-Chan and Bowen Yang in The Wedding Banquet Bleecker Street / Shiv Han Pictures The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker star Tran says the gayest thing in her home is her art.I have so much queer art in my house that I don't think is, I wouldn't be like, That's queer art. I'm just like, That's art, Tran shares. But then, when other people come over, they're like, That's really gay. And I'm like, Huh. I guess it is. There's that interpretation for sure.A star in Korea, Han says hed have to remove a poster of himself in the TV series Where Your Eyes Linger.I realized that the first gay thing in my house is me because there's a poster of a queer series I filmed in Korea, which was also my debut film ever as an actor. And my parents are proud of it. And they put it in the wall of the living room.The Wedding Banquet costars Joan Chen (The Last Emperor, Saving Face) as Angelas glamorous PFLAG-loving mother and Oscar winner for Minari, Youn Yuh-jung, as Mins grandmother.The film is in theaters on April 18. See the cast interview above and the trailer below.

by Mark Olalde ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for Dispatches, a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every week. When a firefighter dies in the line of duty, a small team of federal health workers is often called on to pinpoint what went wrong and identify how to avoid similar accidents in the future.Thats what happened after two firefighters died in California in 2020 while searching for an elderly woman in a burning library. It happened in 2023 when a Navy firefighter died in Maryland after a floor collapsed in a burning home. And it happened last year in Georgia when a career battalion chief died after a semitrailer truck exploded.But President Donald Trumps administration has taken steps to fire nearly all of the Department of Health and Human Services employees responsible for conducting those reviews.At least two-thirds of the employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, an agency within HHS, were notified on April 1 that they had been laid off or will be in June. These cuts included seven of the eight members of the Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program, the team that studies firefighter line-of-duty deaths, one of the laid-off investigators told ProPublica. Most nonunionized NIOSH workers were given until the end of the day to clear out their desks. The layoffs were so abrupt, staff said, that lab animals were left without staff to care for them and had to be euthanized, and an experimental mine used to test protective gear beneath the agencys Pittsburgh campus was at risk of flooding and polluting the surrounding environment.It was pure chaos, another NIOSH employee said.The fatality investigation team was examining deaths at 20 fire departments when the layoff notices arrived. Those probes are now unlikely to be completed, the investigator said.The whole intent of this program was that people would learn through tragedy what happened to one person so we can prevent it from happening to others, the investigator said.The administrations moves will also halt a first-of-its-kind study of the causes of thousands of firefighters cancer cases and disrupt a program that provides health care to emergency personnel who responded to the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.ProPublica spoke with five NIOSH employees who either led or contributed to firefighter health initiatives and received layoff notices. Most requested anonymity for fear of retribution from the administration.The existence of NIOSH is a hard-earned right by the people of America to have a healthy and safe working environment, said Micah Niemeier-Walsh, vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3840, which represents agency employees. This is an attack on NIOSH employees and federal employees, but it is also an attack on American workers generally.Neither the White House nor Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency, which has called the shots on many of the administrations cuts, responded to a request for comment. A NIOSH spokesperson referred questions to HHS.HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made some public indications that aspects of the World Trade Center program could be spared, but details remain sparse. The departments spokesperson said in a statement that programs required by law such as some of those focused on firefighter health will continue to operate.They did not respond to a follow-up question about how those programs will continue after their staffs were terminated.It Breaks My HeartThe investigations performed by the Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program are initiated at the request of the fire department that suffered the casualty. The findings are shared with the firefighters family in hopes of providing some closure. And the reports are then published, so the broader firefighting community can strengthen its procedures to avoid similar losses.The Trump administration had already hamstrung the program shortly after the inauguration, initially barring the investigative team from traveling to conduct research, communicating with other agencies and publishing reports, according to the investigator. While the department eventually allowed several of the casualty reports to be published, the rest remain unfinished.It breaks my heart that were going to just destroy these programs that have made so much progress in protecting the health and safety of our firefighting community, the investigator said.The layoff notice the investigator received from HHS said that termination of much of the agencys staff was because your duties have been identified as either unnecessary or virtually identical to duties being performed elsewhere in the agency.Leadership at HHS are appreciative of your service, the notice stated.The federal firefighting force faces a daunting year, with spending cuts canceling prescribed burns to reduce flammable vegetation and the termination of hundreds of firefighting support staff, even in the face of climate-change-lengthened wildfire seasons.At a time when we need to be bolstering these efforts and personnel, its pretty damn appalling that wed be trying to diminish the health benefits for our firefighters and first responders, a Forest Service firefighter said.Dismantling the Worlds Largest Firefighter Cancer StudyOn April 1, the Trump administration also began laying off much of the staff working on the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer.Its creation in 2018 was a landmark win in a yearslong fight to study why firefighters suffer from certain types of cancer at vastly higher rates than the general population. Both chambers of Congress unanimously passed the bill to create the registry. Trump signed it into law during his first term.While HHS said in a statement that programs required by law would remain intact, it did not answer a question about whether it would bring back staff to keep the registry running.Wildland firefighters dont typically wear respirators while theyre exposed to high levels of smoke. And the protective clothing firefighters wear while battling active blazes contains high levels of PFAS, or forever chemicals, that have been linked to various types of cancer. But the exact causes of some cancers that occur at high rates among firefighters are not well understood. Female-specific cancers such as ovarian and cervical, for example, have only recently been linked to firefighting.More than 23,000 firefighters have signed up to participate since the registry launched in April 2023, and the research team recently began an outreach campaign to get to 200,000 participants. With this trove of data, NIOSH researchers planned to dig into numerous under-studied questions, such as what workplace exposures led to cancers that specifically harmed female firefighters, a NIOSH scientist who worked on the program told ProPublica.Among the thousands who signed up was a federal wildland firefighter who was concerned about spending a career breathing wildfire smoke without a respirator. The decision to throw away such research is disturbing, the firefighter told ProPublica. I was hoping that something would happen with all that research, that they would protect wildland firefighters.With a hollowed-out IT department, the registrys portal to enroll firefighters quickly went offline.Its devastating, said Judith Graber, an associate professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health and co-chair of the board that advises the registry research team. She said the study is the largest effort ever taken anywhere to understand cancer in firefighters, but its an effort that cant simply be restarted after the researchers running it are laid off.Diane Cotter became an activist when her husband, a career firefighter, developed prostate cancer, and she fought for funding of research such as the registry. While shes a Kennedy supporter, Cotter said the administration went too far in cutting the program and other first responder health initiatives such as the World Trade Center program, which she called sacred.Its very important we hold the line on these studies, she said.

This article originally appeared in Bay Area Reporter. Pope Francis, who made the Catholic Church less hostile toward LGBTQ+ people, died Monday in Rome. He was 88.For most of his life, he was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, and at the time he was elected the churchs 266th pontiff, he was the cardinal archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, which made him the first pope from the Americas, and the first from outside Europe since the eighth century.In his 12 years on the throne of St. Peter, Francis invoked the ire of some conservatives in the church who saw in him a move back to the liberalizing tendencies of the mid-20th century that had been halted by his predecessors, popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Francis published a papal encyclical on climate change, spoke on behalf of migrants, and butted heads with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, the latter of whom is Catholic, and whom he met for the first time April 20, which was Easter Sunday.But perhaps nowhere was this dissatisfaction more evident than on the issue of LGBTQ+ peoples place in the church, which with over 1.4 billion members is the worlds largest Christian denomination. Long-standing Catholic teaching is that while homosexuality isnt sinful per se, it is a sin to have sex with someone of the same sex.Shortly after he became pope in 2013, Francis became The Advocates person of the year after he said to a reporter, If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?At the time, the prominent LGBTQ+ publication stated this was a stark change in rhetoric from his two predecessors.Read moreThe post Pope Francis, who changed Catholic approach to LGBTQs, dies appeared first on News Is Out.

With the Trump administrations harsh rhetoric and policies coming into effect, its a difficult year to be queer or a business owner. Kristina Wynne hopes to alleviate some of that.Now entering its sixth year, the Illinois LGBT Chamber of Commerce LGBTQ+ Biz Bootcamp aims to lift up and prepare LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs for a successful future. The program leaves participants with a full business plan they can use to gain sponsors and capital in the future.In 2019, Wynne was working for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, which is where she learned more about supporting business owners and their growth. Then-LGBT Chamber of Commerce Director, Jerome Holston, reached and asked her about potentially starting an LGBT-focused business program through the Chamber, which she accepted.After building the curriculum, Wynne launched the first cohort in 2019. She said she received good feedback at the time and has seen those people doing well today in the business world.The program is eight weeks long and runs five hours every Saturday, with 10-15 people in each cohort. The application is intensiveentrepreneurs should have an LLC filed, a clear list of products and services, a type of financial statement and much more. After submitting, applicants go through an interview. Wynne said this vetting process looks for people who are hungry for growth and know clearly what their business is.The curriculum is geared specifically to those at startup level, Wynne said. Businesses dont even need to be established a full year, just generating revenue and providing a service or product. The final product of the boot camp is a full-fledged, 30-40 page document and pitch deck to talk through the business plan.We want to help that business owner who is new, but making money, create a business plan, she said. We know access to capital is a very large barrier for small, diverse businesses [and] startup entrepreneurs and thats why thats important, because you can use a business plan to apply for a loan, you can use a business plan to write a grant for your business.Some of the main components of the final plan include what products and services entrepreneurs are offering, how theyre pricing and why, who the customer is, what operating systems theyre using, who they are looking to hire and more.Theres also the OUT-Pitch Competition with financial support on the linethe winner of the pitch competition will receive a $2,500 small business grant from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and the runner-up will receive a $1,000 grant from the LGBT Business Foundation of Illinois.The boot camp also receives sponsors, including last years big sponsor, J.P. Morgan Chase. Wynne said its been exciting to see how the program has grown and expanded in the past yearsthe idea to create a firm business plan wasnt fully established until the second year.Tyris Manney, founder of Tyris Manney Beauty, first heard about the boot camp in summer 2023 when he was introduced to the LGBT Chamber of Commerce.What drew me to it was it was just an educational program to help small businesses or startups get to the next level, he said. I needed guidance and help because I hadnt had any help except like, Google.Since participating, he said he and those from his cohort have kept in touch and helped each other out in business. He said he also reaches out to Wynne frequently for advice due to her strong background and network.After completing the program, Manney said his business shot uphe was featured in a number of publications and saw an increase in sales. He said the business plan he formed during the boot camp helped him see his potential and build a plan to get there.This year may mark different challenges outside of work for LGBTQ+ business owners, with the Trump administration fighting to roll back LGBTQ+ and especially trans rights across the nation. Despite rising threats at a federal level, Wynne said she still feels confident in her business owners due to the amount of support and resources available in Illinois and Chicago.The atmosphere, the environment isnt great, she said. It doesnt feel great, but still see the opportunity even in the fog. Really lean into your local opportunitiestheyre still funding business, theyre still putting behind programs, theyre still looking to partner and support.Some of the most memorable feedback Wynne has received over the years is from people who were about to give on their business. Shes had the opportunity to help them put these puzzle pieces together so they feel confident and capable about making business decisions and growing their company. She brings subject matter and classroom mentors in to provide support beyond the curriculum.In future years, Wynne hopes to expand and teach entrepreneurs how to navigate corporate and government contracting as well as LGBT Business Enterprise certification. She said shes seen the impact the business boot camp has had on the lives of business owners, and she hopes people will continue to support and partner with it.We know that small businesses hire each other. Weve seen the economic impact that its having beyond the program as well, she said. Whomever is reading this, it doesnt matter what level of support you are able to offer. All of it helps.This story is part of the Digital Equity Local Voices Fellowship lab through News is Out. The lab initiative is made possible with support from Comcast NBCUniversal.The post LGBTQ+ Business Bootcamp aims to uplift and guide queer entrepreneurs appeared first on News Is Out.

In one of her Instagram posts, multimedia artist Tricia Rainwater stands inside a picnic shelter at Cadron Settlement Park in Cadron, Arkansas.She wears a red plaid dress and black laced-up boots, with some of her tattoos visible on her legs and left hand. Her long, dark hair frames her face, and large hoops hang from her earlobes.Shes looking directly at her cameras lens, her brown eyes windows to a deep soul and complexities.Rainwater, a mixed Choctaw, Indigiqueer femme, spent September 2022 traveling the Choctaw route of the Trail of Tears, retracing the steps of her ancestors. In the 1830s, the Choctaw people and other Indigenous nations were forcibly removed from Deep South states, including Mississippi, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.I had started to have dreams where I was traveling through Mississippi where my grandmother was from and I was like, What if I just rent a car and travel it [i.e., the Trail of Tears] and photograph myself the way I do at home? Rainwater said in a Zoom video call with the Bay Area Reporter.After being awarded a $20,000 SF Artist grant by the San Francisco Arts Commission to fund her project idea, she spent six months researching and combing through historical archives, reaching out to the Choctaw Nation for guidance.Her documentation of her journey included photos of her homelands and herself at notable sites, journaling, collecting soil from the trail in Ziploc bags, and posting on her Instagram page, such as about her stop in Cadron.It was a means for her to process the past, heal in the present, and continue building an archive of her personal and cultural histories.My Indigiqueerness my being Native and queer feels like it factors into everything. It definitely is the lens I make my art through, she said.During her journey along the Trail of Tears, Tricia Rainwater collected soil from homelands and sites connected to the Choctaw people. This photograph, titled Military Trail (2023), was featured in the Falama: To Return exhibition at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Photo: Tricia RainwaterAll things consideredRainwaters Instagram page is a multiyear-spanning account of someone who has repeatedly met hardships head-on, at times taking a step back in order to reassess and then progress.Chock-full of rawness and vulnerability, her posts have the potential to intimidate viewers with their boldness, while also conjuring empathy.The same is the case with her art.Work like mine shines a light on lives that people often look away from. When theyre in a gallery and theyre viewing my photos, they have to sit with it. I get to be in control of the narrative, and they have to look at what I want them to look at, she said.Rainwater, 40, has lived in San Francisco for 17 years, with the overwhelming majority of that time devoted to her art practice. Shes in a good place right now, she said, able to expend energy and effort toward her photography and other projects while also holding down a remote gig at a tech company (the name of which she did not disclose).I tell everyone that I have two full-time jobs, and it truly feels like that. They compete at times, but thats just the creative hustle in San Francisco, she said.Every artist has their origin story about a particular moment when it became clear that art was their calling. For Rainwater, it was taking photographs of nature during childhood, using cameras her parents had gifted her, and then showing her work at the Lodi Grape and Wine Festival in Californias Central Valley.I would enter my photographs these very cute ones of me looking up at trees through the branches. It felt so cool that I had this original idea. And when I started getting ribbons, I was like, Oh, I have something. This is something, Rainwater said.She stuck with it, taking more scenic photos, as well as photos of her family and herself. When she moved to San Francisco in her early 20s, the latter took on a new purpose.I realized how much trauma I had from childhood and that I needed to process it. That began the journey of self-portraiture, where I was photographing my emotions and realizing all I needed to process externally in therapy. And I continued that for years, and it really helped me. It still does, Rainwater said.Facing the cameras lensSelf-portraits became Rainwaters way of confronting and healing from difficult times, such as her fathers alleged abusiveness (she has cut off contact with him) and her mothers long battle with kidney and heart failure and death in 2016.In the photograph Aftermath, which is viewable on her Instagram page, she stands in her mothers narrow kitchen in a black dress and black boots. She gazes solemnly at the camera, holding a bouquet of flowers; similar floral arrangements rest on the countertops.Her death was really, really hard and really impacted my work. I photographed all the objects in her house as I was clearing it out. It was very emotional, but felt very important, Rainwater said.Several years later, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, with the shelter-in-place mandate, face-mask requirement, six-feet-apart social distancing, and the virus itself affecting everyone in some way. Rainwater and her then-spouse found some relief walking in Golden Gate Park with their dogs.She brought along her vintage Nikon D60 camera and captured shots of herself within the parks vast forest sometimes standing openly, surrounded by trees; other times her face or body partially obscured by branches and shrubbery.I was processing all these emotions around family getting sick and dying and working in a place I was unhappy. And so going into Golden Gate Park and escaping into the woods making these beautiful photographs where I was evoking these emotions and getting back into nature felt very healing for me, she said.Rainwater was not quite out of the woods or park when COVID-19 restrictions somewhat lessened, as the time period also proved to be a wakeup call about her marriage.I think I was one of those people when I was in the pandemic who felt like my marriage had had a resurgence and it was going to be fine. And then it hit me, when the pandemic started to ease a bit. I was like, Oh shit, Im really unhappy.The dissolution of her 11-year relationship spurred her back into wanting to confront the challenging aspects of her life.In one of her self-portraits from this period, The Long Goodbye (2021), Rainwater, perceivably distraught, sits on the bed she had shared with her ex; moving boxes are stacked on the floor. In another, titled How it all ends up (2021), her mouth is agape and her wedding rings rest on her tongue.I turned the camera on myself, she said. Things that I think some people have considered really melodramatic felt really empowering to me.A lasting impactIn another Instagram post, Rainwater stands in Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland, wearing a black top, denim skirt, and boots. She stares into the cameras lens, her facial expression stoic yet mournful, as she holds a plastic bag with both hands, close to her chest. She brought back the soil she retrieved from the Trail of Tears to the Bay Area, to her home.The photograph, titled Military Road Meets Joaquin Miller (2024), was featured in the exhibition Falama: To Return at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco.Tricia Rainwaters multimedia installation Falamvt ishla chike (2024) draws attention to missing Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people. It was featured in the Allegedly the worst is behind us group exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art San Jos. Photo: Courtesy the artistKija Lucas, CIIS curator for the arts, noted that Rainwaters art is unique.Tricias work is incredibly brave and vulnerable. She is her whole self in these portraits, holding the land in her hands, and the stories of her ancestors in her blood. The portraits ask the viewer to look at her, and consider the weight of generations that she carries with her. They are quiet and direct, stern and soft all at once, Lucas, an ally, wrote in an email to the B.A.R.Since receiving the SFA grant and completing her Trail of Tears project, Rainwaters found that more gallery and institution doors have opened for her.I think people see that I can make the work. And now theyre like, Tricia, come work with us. Ive been at this for 16 years, and there really is a level of having to prove that youre going to make the work and show up, she said.Rainwater continues to center on self-portraiture but has expanded her portfolio more so in recent years, such as with sculpture work, large-scale installations, and murals.In the Allegedly the worst is behind us exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art San Jos, she showcased her work Falamvt ishla chike (2024), which explores the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit (MMIWG2S) people.In a media landscape where Indigenous lives are too often erased or reduced to statistics, Tricia Rainwaters work stands out as an act of radical archiving, wrote Zo Latzer, ICA San Joss curator and director of public programs, in an email to the B.A.R.The immersive installation features a mural of Facebook-sourced missing person posters of MMIWG2S people and four wooden mobiles with fabric ribbons, representing the life of each person and the connection between generations, and metal jingles, symbolizing loss. Rainwaters voice can be heard repeating the Choctaw phrase, Falamvt ishla chike (a wish for someone to return) and saying the names of those missing.She carefully preserves and re-presents the grassroots labor of families and communities searching for their loved ones. Her work insists that these individuals not be forgotten, that their absence be acknowledged publicly, and that the violence behind their disappearance be named. In doing so, [she] reminds us that artists are often the ones doing the vital archival labor that institutions overlookprotecting not just history, but memory, commented Latzer, who is queer and bisexual.Rainwaters friend and fellow artist Caleb Luna, Ph.D., described her as an incredibly important knowledge holder for her people in an email to the B.A.R.Luna, who identifies as queer and nonbinary trans, is currently an assistant professor of feminist studies at UC Santa Barbara.Through Rainwaters work, as well as her friendship, my own knowledge and understanding of issues impacting Indigenous women has been greatly expanded, Luna commented. Rainwaters work shines important light on overlooked issues and pushes the boundaries of Indigenous feminism.Time has told, time will tellDuring the height of the pandemic, Rainwater hand-painted squares of fabric and assembled them together as a sort of patchwork quilt, with How the Fuck Are You OK. embroidered on it (ok., 2020).In a January 30, 2025 Instagram post, she wrote that friends had recently stopped by her studio and expressed that the artwork resonated with them.[The piece] feels on point for this moment, the caption reads. Its been hidden away but lately Ive had it leaned against a door to give it some room to breathe, speak, and maybe inspire new works.It seems to have done just that, as Rainwater is currently busying herself with new projects and plans to return to the South this summer, specifically Mississippi, to take more photographs of her homelands.One can expect for her to take the reins of the narrative in these endeavors and unapologetically so.Artists have a lot of power in that way. They can broach heavy subjects and subjects that people dont want to talk about, Rainwater said. Continuing to do that is important.This story is part of the Digital Equity Local Voices Fellowship lab through News is Out. The lab initiative is made possible with support from Comcast NBCUniversal.The post Indigiqueer artist Tricia Rainwater digs deep into personal, cultural histories appeared first on News Is Out.

Kristen Stewart and Dylan Meyer have officially tied the knot!The two reportedly got married at their home in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 20. Theyve been engaged since 2021 roughly two years after they went public with their relationship."We might just go do it this weekend, I dont know, and then, like, just hang out with everyone afterwards," Stewart joked with Stephen Colbert back in 2022. "I just want to do it, you know? Im not a good planner."It certainly took a little longer than that for everything to come together, but the deed is done and we couldnt be happier for them! So to help celebrate, lets take a stroll through some of the cutest moments the notoriously private couple have shared in the public eye.1. Making things Instagram officialSee on InstagramStewart and Meyer had already been spotted hanging out a few months earlier, but they confirmed the dating rumors with this cute pic posted to Instagram in October 2019.2. Wishing Kristen a happy 30th birthdaySee on InstagramMeyers' posts featuring Stewart used to be excruciatingly rare, but we could always count on a great birthday post, starting with this first one from April 2020.3. Twinning!See on InstagramEvery queer couple does it eventually.4. Running errands together (2019)Yes, paparazzi pics are intrusive. But yes, seeing couples just casually out running errands together is adorable. We'll allow it this time!5. Zombies for Valentine's Day (2022)See on InstagramThe couple that plays dead together on Valentine's Day stays together, or something like that.6. Birthday shenanigansSee on Instagram"Time looks good on you, dude," Meyer captioned this 2022 birthday post. We concur.7. This sweet pre-election post.See on InstagramThis 2020 post encouraging people to vote undoubtedly also encouraged a lot of people to go get themselves a girl who looks at them like that...8. At The Hollywood Reporter Nominees Night (2022)...and like this...9. Pre-Oscars cuteness...and also like that.10. At the Academy AwardsLook, they're just cute, okay?11. Valentine's Day again and againSee on InstagramHere's to many more years of adorable posts!

Lesbian Visibility Week USA kicks off on Monday, April 21 and this years theme is Celebrating Rainbow Families. Powered by Curve Foundation, a nonprofit championing lesbian and queer womens stories and culture, the week-long celebration includes events like the release of the 2025 Curve Power List, National Lesbian flag raisings, panels and a short film festival. Lesbian Visibility Week was founded by Linda Riley in 2020 to shine a light on the experiences of LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary people. Its about increasing visibility, building understanding, and creating a legacy of support for our community. Riley, the publisher and CEO ofDIVA Magazine, has long been a force in LGBTQ+ advocacy, with leadership roles at organizations like GLAAD, Stonewall Housing, and Diversity Role Models. Shes also served as the Labour Partys LGBT Diversity lead since 2017.The Curve Foundation leads Lesbian Visibility Week in the U.S. and is the only national nonprofit dedicated to uplifting LGBTQ+ womens culture and stories through an intergenerational lens. Curves programs center and celebrate the roles lesbians and queer women play in society, and the contributions we continue to make. The foundation is inspired by the work of Curve Magazine, launched in 1991 by Franco Stevens. Stevens reacquiredCurvemagazine in 2020 and gifted it to the Foundation to help amplify its mission and expand the reach of the brand.Want to learn more about Lesbian Visibility Week and how you can participate? Check out the activation pack and visit lesbianvisibilityweek.com.The post Lesbian Visibility Week 2025 kicks off with a slate of events appeared first on News Is Out.

Kristen Stewart and Dylan Meyer have officially tied the knot. The couple wed in an intimate ceremony at their Los Angeles home on Sunday, April 20, 2025, surrounded by close friends and family, including actress Ashley Benson and her husband Brandon Davis. Stewart, 35, and Meyer, 37, first met on the set of the 2013 film American Ultra but reconnected in 2019. Their relationship became publicSource

Pope Francis's death at 88, just hours after meeting U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Easter Sunday, has ignited a flurry of online speculation and dark humor. The timing of the meeting and the pontiff's passing led to trending hashtags like #JDVanceKilledThePope and #Antichrist.The meeting between Pope Francis and JD Vance was not initially planned. Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, had expressed a desire to meet the Pope during his Easter visit to Rome. Despite initial hesitations due to past criticisms of the Trump administration's immigration policies, Pope Francis agreed to a brief meeting at Casa Santa Marta. During their encounter, Vance conveyed his prayers and well-wishes, noting that the Pope appeared "obviously very ill." (@) The Pope's final address, delivered later that day, emphasized compassion for migrants and the marginalized, themes that have been central to his papacy. Observers noted the contrast between this message and the policies advocated by Vance and the Trump administration, especially in comparison to Trumps rather aggressive Easter message on Truth Social, where he once again attacked Biden and anyone else whod ever questioned him on anything. (@) Online reactions to the timing of the Popes death were swift and pointed. One user remarked, "Not him passing away 4 hours after this. JD Vance is the Antichrist confirmed." (@) Another quipped, "Can you meet with Putin next?" (@) Reddit threads were filled with similar sentiments, with users suggesting that Vance's presence was detrimental to those he met. from picsWhile the online memes are largely tongue-in-cheek, they speak volumes about how Vance is perceived in certain corners of the internet, especially when juxtaposed with a Pope known for preaching compassion and inclusion. In the wake of Franciss death, the symbolism of Vance being among his final visitors has sparked everything from conspiracy theories to commentary about political opportunism.Whether you think its a coincidence, divine irony, or just X doing what X does best, one things clear: the internet is not letting this moment go quietly.Read on for more reactions as users try to make sense of one of the most bizarre Easter headlines in recent memory. (@) "Now I'm not saying that JD Vance killed the Pope, per se. I just think his actions raise some questions, like for example: Did JD Vance kill the Pope?" (@) "Polonium-210 transfer #JDVanceKilledThePope" (@) "This is all the proof I need that JD is in fact the antichrist" (@) "#JDVanceKilledThePope is trending. Because @JDVance killed the Pope." (@) "Is 20 hours the typical length of time it takes to die after encountering a demon sent by the Antichrist?" (@) "Things to keep away from JD Vance: Couches Trophies Popes" (@) "JD Vance started his week breaking the Ohio State Championship trophy...and then killed the Pope on Sunday... #JDVanceKilledThePope #Pope #JDVanceSucks" (@) "Vance meeting the Pope was a bad omen. If he swings by the Dalai Lama next, were in real trouble." (@) "Antichrist is trending." (@) "I'm not even religious but the Pope dying at Easter Monday after meeting with JD Vance when he previously refused his visit is God himself pointing his finger at the Antichrist" (@) "So #JDVancekilledthePope, hm whats next? Trump killing the King of England or Musk killing Obama or the Trump children killing Oprah? No matter what JD Vancedo now, we all are going to think of him pushing and chasing to meet the Pope at Easter(!), then the Pope dies after." (@) "Just a few hours after this meeting with @JDVance the Pope was dead. Can you imagine the conspiracy theories that would come if Vance was a Democrat?!" (@) "The very last thing Pope Francis did was defend immigrants to JD Vances face. He was a good man and a true Catholic. RIP" (@) "If 15m with @JDVance can kill the Pope, imagine the wreckage this cretin will cause on all those who practice unconditional love, kindness and tolerance of all humans despite skin-color or sexual orientation; and who want to see clean water & air for their kids and grandkids." (@) "I cannot believe pope francis' last act before going upstairs was to call for a ceasefire and tell jd vance to eat shit and die. queen shit."

Jewels Sparkles announced that she's taking a social media hiatus after experiencing the intense discourse surrounding the grand finale of RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 which ended with the crowning of Onya Nurve as America's Next Drag Superstar and Jewels finishing as runner-up.The 23-year-old Latina queen from Tampa, FL performed an original song, "Ding," that qualified her to lip sync for the crown at the Drag Race finale. That final lip sync to "Abracadabra" by Lady Gaga! had Jewels going toe-to-toe with Onya, who not only came into the finale as a frontrunner with the most maxi challenge wins, but also delivered a groovy performance for her original song "It Do Take Nurve."Unfortunately, the season 17 finale of Drag Race sparked a confounding discourse among fans who spent all season long rooting for Onya but suddenly felt unsure if Jewels deserved to be crowned instead. Since the grand finale aired on Friday, April 18, an intense portion of the Drag Race fandom kept comparing the top 2 finalists and pitting them against each other.Jewels took to social media on Sunday, April 20 to address the situation, writing, "Just hopping on to say how proud I am of Onya Nurve. You are an absolute super star and deserve this and the world, I can't wait to see what you do with this reign sister. IT DO TAKE NURVE BAYBE." (@) The Drag Race season 17 runner-up then revealed that she was taking a break from social media noting that she felt heartbroken to see certain posts from fans."Taking a break from Twitter again now to preserve my mental [heart emoji]," Jewels explained. "It's sad that instead of just celebrating Onya's glorious win, people have to pit us against each other, and it breaks my heart actually. So I'll be back when y'all stfu [heart emojis] LOVE U SO MUCH BYE." (@) A few hours later, Onya shared some love and support in response to Jewels's original X post."Love you sis. So so so so much," the Drag Race champion wrote. "So proud of you [sparkles emojis] [heart emojis]." (@) This final lap of Drag Race season 17 also included Jewels and Onya's fellow top 4 finalists, Lexi Love and Sam Star, who both had a legitimate shot at snatching the crown. Through the ups and downs between these queens while competing against each other, there was clearly no bad blood between them during this final episode.As this fabulous season comes to an end, fans are already starting their engines for the so-called "Tournament of All Stars" starting in a few weeks: the landmark All Stars 10 season featuring a whopping 18 queens. We can't wait to see how this turns out.RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 10 premieres Friday, May 9 on Paramount+.See on Instagram

Get ready, glamazons! Sasha Colby, your favorite drag queens favorite drag queen, is back and bigger than ever. The RuPauls Drag Race Season 15 winner is hitting the road once again with a revamped and reimagined production of her acclaimed Stripped Tour and shes taking audiences along for the ride. The new production, Stripped II, kicks off Sept. 16 in Seattle, Washington, and will hit 28Source

Today, April 21, 2025, Pope Francis passed away. Pope Francis has repeatedly urged acceptance of LGBTQ people and considered how best the Roman Catholic Church can support and minister to them. GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said: Pope Francis was a transformational leader who included LGBTQ people in historic ways. Having had the [...]The post LGBTQ Leaders Talk Pope Francis Legacy first appeared on GLAAD.

The U.S. Senate staffer who was allegedly filmed having sex in a hearing room is speaking out on his own terms for the first time since the scandal broke. Aidan Maese-Czeropski, dubbed the Senate Twink" by some on social media, was 24 when the video leaked in December, 2023. He is now living in Sydney, Australia, and recently told Gay Sydney News that he is "really just trying to enjoy life and work" after the international attention caused him to have a "total mental breakdown.""I consider myself just a regular guy. However, it is alleged that I had sex in the United States Senate, and that is what I am allegedly known for," Maese-Czeropski said. "Mentally, I spent a little bit in the psych ward after the fact because it was just, it's overwhelming, you know, it's overwhelming to realize and to know that tens of millions of people literally despise you."See on InstagramThe video, first released by far-right outlet Daily Caller, showed two men in a sexual act in a Senate hearing room, a space typically reserved for legislative proceedings. Maryland Democratic U.S. Senator Ben Cardin's office released a statement shortly after the leak that revealed Maese-Czeropski was "no longer employed by the U.S. Senate." Capitol police launched an investigation into the matter, which was closed after they found no evidence of a crime.Maese-Czeropski said that he became "a catatonic mess" when the video went public, and that he was unable to find work because "everyone in DC knew me," which felt "gross and horrifying." He instead "bought a one way ticket to Cape Town, South Africa" where he befriended and traveled with a woman from New Zealand. She suggested moving to Sydney, a city he immediately fell in love with. Maese-Czeropski said that he has since been diagnosed with PTSD, and that he regularly sees a therapist and takes medication, but added, "I don't have any shame in that because when you go through something like that, it is just overwhelming and difficult to even comprehend.""I think that one of the reasons why the scandal wasn't as traumatic as it could have been is because I was very depressed working in government," Maese-Czeropski said. "Like I hated my life. I hated my job. The pay was shit. I was making $38,000 a year. I didn't feel like I lost anything career wise when the scandal broke.""My dream in life is to open a pigeon sanctuary. I'm very into birds. I love pigeons," he continued. Maese-Czeropski said that he now has a full-time job that pays better than his position in government, and is focused on staying offline and enjoying the outdoors. He understands why the video received so much attention, but still believes there was some prejudice at play. While "I don't think that I was treated differently because it was gay sex," he said that "I do think that there is a difference in how people are judged if they are the submissive partner versus the dominant partner.""I think no matter what, when you have something as salacious as sex in the Senate, it's going to go viral regardless of whether or not it's gay or straight," Maese-Czeropski said. "That being said, I've noticed that when you have sex scandals, the passive partner tends to take more of the blame, which is why I got all these death threats, hatred, and the guy who was the top didn't."

Jewels Sparkles announced that she's taking a social media hiatus after experiencing the intense discourse surrounding the grand finale of RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 which ended with the crowning of Onya Nurve as America's Next Drag Superstar and Jewels finishing as runner-up.The 23-year-old Latina queen from Tampa, FL performed an original song, "Ding," that qualified her to lip sync for the crown at the Drag Race finale. That final lip sync to "Abracadabra" by Lady Gaga! had Jewels going toe-to-toe with Onya, who not only came into the finale as a frontrunner with the most maxi challenge wins, but also delivered a groovy performance for her original song "It Do Take Nurve."Unfortunately, the season 17 finale of Drag Race sparked a confounding discourse among fans who spent all season long rooting for Onya but suddenly felt unsure if Jewels deserved to be crowned instead. Since the grand finale aired on Friday, April 18, an intense portion of the Drag Race fandom kept comparing the top 2 finalists and pitting them against each other.Jewels took to social media on Sunday, April 20 to address the situation, writing, "Just hopping on to say how proud I am of Onya Nurve. You are an absolute super star and deserve this and the world, I can't wait to see what you do with this reign sister. IT DO TAKE NURVE BAYBE." (@) The Drag Race season 17 runner-up then revealed that she was taking a break from social media noting that she felt heartbroken to see certain posts from fans."Taking a break from Twitter again now to preserve my mental [heart emoji]," Jewels explained. "It's sad that instead of just celebrating Onya's glorious win, people have to pit us against each other, and it breaks my heart actually. So I'll be back when y'all stfu [heart emojis] LOVE U SO MUCH BYE." (@) A few hours later, Onya shared some love and support in response to Jewels's original X post."Love you sis. So so so so much," the Drag Race champion wrote. "So proud of you [sparkles emojis] [heart emojis]." (@) This final lap of Drag Race season 17 also included Jewels and Onya's fellow top 4 finalists, Lexi Love and Sam Star, who both had a legitimate shot at snatching the crown. Through the ups and downs between these queens while competing against each other, there was clearly no bad blood between them during this final episode.As this fabulous season comes to an end, fans are already starting their engines for the so-called "Tournament of All Stars" starting in a few weeks: the landmark All Stars 10 season featuring a whopping 18 queens. We can't wait to see how this turns out.RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 10 premieres Friday, May 9 on Paramount+.See on Instagram

The UK Supreme Court ruling against trans rights last week may have allowed bigots like J.K. Rowling to celebrate, but it also gave an opportunity for allies like Manchester City player Kerstin Casparij to make a stand.For those unfamiliar, the court declared that the legal definition of sex in the 2010 Equality Act refers strictly to biological sex, not gender identity. This allowed yet another wave of anti-trans hatred, including Rowling, who posted a photo of herself smoking a cigar and drinking an Old Fashioned, captioned, I love it when a plan comes together.Casparij, who is in a relationship with a woman named Ruth Brown, took a moment to address the ruling and her stance on trans rights at the end of a game against Everton. After scoring a goal, she kissed her trans flag-colored wristband and then explained why on her Instagram afterward.Sometimes there are bigger, more important things than football, she captioned her post. My goal today was dedicated to all my trans siblings, whove had an incredibly tough & heartbreaking week. You have all been on my mind and in my heart, you deserve so much more than what this government & society is giving you.See on InstagramShe continued, Im so incredibly proud of the trans existence within the queer community, and Im proud of all trans women you are women no matter what anyone says.Her message was well-received online, with a fan named Jade even recounting a personal conversation between the two, thanking Casparij for doing what she did in front of so many people, to which she responded, Thank you so much for your kind message. Big hug from me, my gf & our boys! Were with you all the way. (@) Even though our trans friends have certainly seen an uptick in hatred recently (largely due to the Trump administration), theres one part of Casparijs message we also want to reiterate: Were with you all the way.Keep scrolling for some other reactions to Casparijs brave stance against the UK Supreme Courts ruling. (@) "first him supporting the drag community and kerstin casparij being an ally for the trans community" (@) "UK Supreme court-"Trans women are no longer legally women" Kerstin Casparij-"How's fuck off sound"" (@) "Thank you, Kerstin Casparij for showing what real solidarity looks like. It means even more coming from a lesbian, when gen critters pretend they're supporting us with their hate. You speak for lesbians like us & you speak for love. I wish you & Ruth all the joy in the world." (@) "More Kerstin Casparij (a)nd less JK Rowling" (@) "Kerstin casparij is a fucking legend." (@) "kerstin casparij. a person with a big following and is a much liked player, making a big gesture with her goal celebration in light of the supreme court rulings. transgender women matter and will ALWAYS matter" (@) "Kerstin Casparij the woman that you are. Consistent allyship in the face of tough times is so so so important, wish we had more like her" (@) "A goal for City, a statement for equality. Kerstin Casparij celebrates with pride, dedicating her goal to Mary Fowler and standing strong with the trans community." (@) "If kerstin casparij has no fans I am dead" (@) "Kerstin Casparij is another ally to add to my "Awesome people" list." (@) "Principles aint something you pick and choose appreciate you, Kerstin Casparij" (@) "This is what leadership looks like, bravo Kerstin Casparij" (@) "disclaimer not a city fan but kerstin casparij you will always be famous. queer athletes putting their support behind the trans community esp when sport is a space where theres been a line of attack recently is so important. lots of love"

There are few things more powerful than visible, palpable queer joy, and theres no other way to describe season 17 winner Onya Nurve's reaction when she learned that she had officially become America's Next Drag Superstar.Were there smiles and tears? Yes. But it was the scream that seemingly began at her toes and burst from her throat when RuPaul called out her name that said more than any mere words possibly could.It truly felt like a win for the community to see this out and proud performer from the Midwest living her best life and presenting that example for queer folks in a moment when it is especially needed.It just hit differently.This isnt lost on Onya, who tells PRIDE that despite the political climate, nothing is going to change about how she lives her life well, not much will change. "I've always lived my life as my true self. So, fame is not necessarily going to change that I'm still going to be the exact same person that I was before I won RuPaul's Drag Race and that person is standing on business, baby," she explains, adding with a life, "It's just going to be the same me but with a lot more money."While Onya isn't the first queen from Ohio to compete (Nina West, Penny Tration, India Ferrah, and Akashia all hailed from the Buckeye State), she is the first to snatch the crown, and the timing couldn't feel more meaningful, considering the other Ohioan currently making headlines. But Nurve sees herself and what she represents as the antithesis and antidote to what JD Vance and his ilk are bringing to American policy and discourse."I know that Ohio is sometimes a red state, sometimes a blue state, and knowing that I've won the crown during a very red time in our lives, it feels like I am the kryptonite to a really bad person," she says. "I love to be here to fight the good fight. It's honestly my job, and it's what I'm here to do."We couldn't think of a better "fighter" for the cause of queer joy. PRIDE caught up with Onya fresh off her epic win to talk about her big moments from the season and her even bigger plans for what she's manifesting next.PRIDE: Youre a winner, baby! Has it sunk in yet?Onya Nurve: It has not, honey. I go through moments where it feels like its real, but it constantly feels so, so, so surreal.Watching the live reveal was incredible. You let out a scream when you were announced as the winner that I could feel. Take me back to the moment at the live reveal. What were you thinking and what were you feeling when she said your name?After filming, theres always been this level of relief because weve been done, but also this weight that continued to linger and I had to carry for what felt like a very, very, very, very long time. Not knowing whether you won or not is like a feeling that I wouldnt wish on my worst enemy. And so when RuPaul said my name, it was kind of like this weight being lifted off of my shoulders that Ive been carrying for a long time. Thats where the scream came from because I just didnt have to carry that anymore.Drag Race isnt something that just happens to you, it takes hard work and dedication to be cast. Now that you have done it, did the experience live up to the dream? Absolutely. It was way harder than I thought it was going to be, but I wouldnt want it any other way. It truly felt like a race. It truly felt like you were moving so fast that your first idea was always your last idea. It was 14 bitches racing to the crown, and it was everything I wanted to be. And Im so glad I do not have to do that shit again.Oh, interesting. Because now the question on everyones lips is going to be: All Winners? Yes or no?If I was to have to go back to do another season of Drag Race, it would have had to be an All Winners, because, baby, thats the only way I was doing it again.So the door is open?Mmmhmm, absolutely. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Onya Nurve (@onyanurve)All the girls in your cast were incredible, but theres always a moment in the season where you say, Oh thats where she won the season. Do you have a proudest moment or a moment where you really felt like you had pulled ahead of the pack?Snatch Game, because its the most iconic challenge on Drag Race. Anybody who gets on Drag Race knows that theyre going to have to do a sewing challenge and Snatch Game for sure. It was a challenge that I was looking forward to the most and looking forward to doing well at the most. So winning it was definitely my standout moment. I mean, come on, I did Eddie Murphy, who is a comedian, actor, and an icon. So it was amazing to win that challenge.You really set yourself up with an extra challenging challenge by picking a comedian and having to find a way to make him funny without just using his material, but you did it! Have you heard from Eddie?No, but Eddie, wherever you are, please hit me up so we can do a duo of some sort, puh-lease!You are our first Ohio winner, which feels especially poignant at this moment. Its weird how fate works in strange ways. How does it feel for you to represent your state right now, considering that the other most prominent Ohioan may be JD Vance?It feels really good being in Ohio, and I know that Ohio is sometimes a red state, sometimes a blue state, and knowing that Ive won the crown during a very red time in our lives, it feels like I am the kryptonite to a really bad person. I love to be here to fight the good fight. Its honestly my job, and its what Im here to do. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Onya Nurve (@onyanurve)Were in a very heightened moment right now. Theres a lot of scrutiny of queer folks. Its always a political act and an act of bravery to be out even in the best of times, and right now is not the best of times. How are you navigating being out and visible at this moment? Are you? Is that something thats even on your mind?Not really, because Ive always lived my life as my true self. So, fame is not necessarily going to change that. Im still going to be the exact same person that I was before I won Ru Pauls Drag Race and that person is standing on business, baby. Yeah, its just going to be the same me, but with a lot more money.I love that. Now that youve conquered Drag Race, whats next for you? What is Onyas new dream?I am open. The world is my oyster. I do want to be getting on Broadway. I definitely want to get on Abbott Elementary and SNL. I would love to work with some of my favorite actors, be it Viola Davis, Kerry Washington, or Denzel Washington. I would love to be in the play with any of those people. Yeah, I just want to get my EGOT. Its on the way. Im manifesting it now.I mean, you were blessed by an EGOT winner in the finale, soYes! See, that was a sign. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Onya Nurve (@onyanurve)Yes! We got to meet your beautiful family this season, so I would love to know how your dad felt about Law Roachs proposal, and what your mom said when she saw the episode. My dad was very, very flattered, honey. He is on cloud nine, just like me. I feel like he and my mom just got done crying like yesterday. They have been so overwhelmed with joy, and I am so happy to have a new stepmom, Law Roach. I wouldnt ask for anything different in the world.

A former U.S. Senate staffer, known widely online as the Senate Twink, is speaking out for the first time since a sex scandal involving a viral video forced him out of politics and into a mental health crisis. Aidan Maese-Czeropski, 24 at the time of the incident, was working for U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, when a right-wing media outlet published a video in December 2023Source

Tryst Hospitality is bringing new life and fresh energy to Fire Island Pines with the debut of The Tryst Fire Island, a reimagined version of the beloved Botel and a complete revitalization of The Waterfront at The Pines. The first look at the highly anticipated property was unveiled this week, revealing 30 upgraded guest rooms, a modernized pool deck, and a fully integrated hospitalitySource

Doechii is getting candid about her creative journey, the artists who inspired her, and what it means to take up space in hip-hop as a queer Black woman.In a new interview with Cosmopolitan, the rapper and singer opened up about how her relationships, identity, and creative journey have shaped her artistry and the responsibility she feels now that her voice is reaching so many others."Its a position that I do not take lightly," she said of becoming a role model. "I say this to myself often in my journal entries, but I truly am becoming who I needed. I can only imagine all the little Black girls and boys out there that I represent something for."Although Doechii isnt new on the music scene, shes made serious headway in the past two years. In addition to getting multiple songs on the Billboard Top 100, she also took home a Grammy for Best Rap Album for Alligator Bites Never Heal.Its obvious that inspiring others is an important aspect of Doechiis artistry, and part of that may come from how music has influenced her own life. One anecdote she shared in the interview revolved around feeling creatively "stifled" at 18 because the man she was seeing wasnt supportive of the music she was writing."I took his opinion way too seriously when really he just didnt get it. I remember listening to SZAs Ctrl for the first time and it literally gave me the courage to break up with him," she recalled. "I only bring that up because she inspired me to be vulnerable through my music in a way that I didnt think I could be."See on InstagramThat vulnerability is a big part of what has allowed her to make such a connection with her fans especially queer hip-hop fans who dont often get to see their own experiences reflected in mainstream music."This is such a Leo thing to say," Doechii admitted, "but my literal existence as a queer Black woman is a major contribution to the hip-hop genre. Im speaking truthfully from a queer Black womans perspective, and being honest about my life through my lens is amazing."That perspective is being highlighted, and we need queer perspectives."Check out the rest of Doechiis interview with Cosmopolitan here.

Manchester City defender Kerstin Casparij made headlines this weekend not only for her performance on the pitch but for a powerful show of solidarity with the transgender community during Sundays Barclays Womens Super League match against Everton. After scoring the opening goal for Manchester City at Joie Stadium, the 24-year-old Dutch international kissed a wristband bearing the colors of theSource

There are few moments more electric than the crowning of a new queen on RuPauls Drag Race, and Season 17s winner Onya Nurve delivered a moment for the ages. Yes, there were smiles. Yes, there were tears. But it was the full-bodied screamstarting from her toes and erupting out of her throatthat told the world exactly how much this victory meant. It was like a weight being lifted offSource

Actor Bella Ramsey, widely recognized for their acclaimed role as Ellie in HBOs The Last of Us, is opening up about the emotional complexity of coming out as non-binary and how life has changed since sharing that part of their identity with the world. Ramsey, 21, came out publicly in 2023, joining a growing number of public figures who have chosen to speak candidly about their gender identity.Source

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Personal trainer, model, and trailblazer Bernardo Rabello is breaking barriers and redefining beauty standardsone pageant at a time. The 29-year-old from Rio de Janeiro recently made headlines across Brazil for becoming the first trans man to compete in the prestigious Mister Brazil 2025 competition, proudly representing the southern region of his home state. While he didnt take home the crownSource

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Pull up a wicker chair and grab your best staring wistfully at the ocean cardigan: The seaside cottage trend is here to stay. We love this look for its serene color palette, natural materials, and overall organic vibe. Another reason to love it? How easy it is to bring to life in any space.With on-trend, affordable furniture and decor from Walmart, you can give any (or every)room a touch of coastal charm with quality pieces that will last way beyond the seaside high season.READ MORE...

Budding trees, warmer temps, longer days: The vibrant energy of spring is all about change. That goes for our homes, too! If youre feeling the itch to switch things up from giving your current decor style a dust-and-polish to trying out a whole new look nows the time.Whether you want to go all out or just add a little springtime sparkle, head to Walmart.READ MORE...

After a winter of hiding under blankets and hanging out exclusively with our pets, spring gives us the energy to socialize again. Now, to send the memo to our homes. Waking up your spaces style from hibernation can mean making a couple of new decorative touches or a few bigger upgrades: Any of them will get you excited to embrace the warmer days with friends and festivities.READ MORE...

by Robert Faturechi ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as theyre published. After President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs earlier this month, the White House released a list of more than a thousand products that would be exempted. One item that made the list is polyethylene terephthalate, more commonly known as PET resin, the thermoplastic used to make plastic bottles. Why it was spared is unclear, and even people in the industry are confused about the reason for the reprieve. But its inclusion is a win for Reyes Holdings, a Coca-Cola bottler that ranks among the largest privately held companies in the U.S. and is owned by a pair of brothers who have donated millions of dollars to Republican causes. Records show the company recently hired a lobbying firm with close ties to the Trump White House to make its case on tariffs.Whether the companys lobbying played any role in the exemption is unclear. Reyes Holdings and its lobbyists did not respond to questions from ProPublica. The White House also did not comment, but some industry advocates say the administration has rebuffed requests for exemptions.The resins unexplained inclusion on the list exemplifies how opaque the administrations process for crafting its tariff policy has been. Major stakeholders are in the dark about why certain products face levies and others dont. Tariff rates have been altered without any clear explanation for the changes. Administration officials have given conflicting messages about the tariffs or declined to answer questions at all. The lack of transparency about the process has created concerns among trade experts that politically connected firms might be winning carve-outs behind closed doors.It could be corruption, but it could just as easily be incompetence, a lobbyist who works on tariff policy said of PET resins inclusion. To be honest, this was such a hurried mess, I am not sure who got into the White House to talk to folks about the list. During the first Trump administration, there was a formal process for seeking an exemption from tariffs. Companies submitted hundreds of thousands of applications making the case for why their products should be spared. The applications were public, so the machinery of the tariff crafting process could be more closely examined. Such transparency allowed academics to subsequently analyze thousands of the applications and determine that political donors to Republicans were more likely to be granted exemptions. In Trumps second term, at least thus far, there has not been a formal application process for tariff carve-outs. Industry executives and lobbyists are making their case behind closed doors. The Wall Street Journals editorial board last week called the opacity of the process for getting an exemption the Beltway Swamps dream. In the executive order formalizing Trumps new tariffs, including baseline 10% tariffs for almost all countries, exemptions were broadly defined as products in the pharmaceutical, semiconductor, lumber, copper, critical minerals and energy sectors. An accompanying list detailed the specific products that would be spared. But a ProPublica review of that list found many items that dont fit neatly, or at all, in those broad categories, and some items that fall squarely within the categories were not spared.The White House exclusions list, for example, included most types of asbestos, which is not generally considered a critical mineral and doesnt seem to fit in any of the exempted categories. The cancer-causing mineral, which is not generally considered critical to national security or the U.S. economy, is still used to make chlorine, but the Biden administrations Environmental Protection Agency banned imports of the material last year. The Trump administration has signaled it may roll back some of those Biden-era restrictions.A spokesperson for the American Chemistry Council, which had pushed back on the ban because it could hurt the chlorine industry, said the trade group played no role in lobbying for asbestos to get a tariff exemption and didnt know why it was included. (Two major chlorine companies also showed no indication of lobbying on the tariffs in their disclosure forms.) Other items that landed on the list, despite not falling into exempted categories, are far more innocuous. Among them: coral, shells and cuttlebone, a part of the cuttlefish that is used as a dietary supplement for pets. PET resin also doesnt fit neatly in any of the exempted categories. Its possible the administration counted it as an energy product, experts said, because its ingredients are derived from petroleum. But other products that would have met that same low bar were not included. We are as surprised as anybody, said Ralph Vasami, executive director of the PET Resin Association, a trade group for the industry. The resin, he said, has no application for the exempted categories, unless you count the packaging those products come in.During the fourth quarter of last year, the same period when Trump won the election, records show Reyes Holdings, the Coca-Cola bottler, enlisted Ballard Partners to lobby on tariffs. During the first quarter of this year, when Trump was inaugurated, records show that Ballard began lobbying the Commerce Department, which shapes trade policy, on tariffs.The firm has become a destination for companies looking for an in with the Trump administration. It once lobbied for Trumps own company, the Trump Organization, and its staff has included top officials in the administration, such as Attorney General Pam Bondi and the presidents chief of staff, Susie Wiles. Brian Ballard, its founder and a prolific fundraiser for Trump, was named by Politico the most powerful lobbyist in Trumps Washington. He was one of two lobbyists from the firm who lobbied on tariffs for Reyes Holdings, federal disclosure records show.The billionaire brothers behind Reyes Holdings, Chris and Jude Reyes, also have their own political ties. While they have given to some Democratic candidates, the bulk of their political donations have gone to Republican causes, campaign finance disclosures show. And after Trumps first election win, Chris Reyes was invited to Mar-a-Lago to meet privately with Trump. The PET resin carve-out isnt just a break for Reyes Holdings. Its a boon to other firms that buy the resin to manufacture bottles and the beverage companies that use them. Earlier this year, the CEO of Coca-Cola said the company would transition to using more plastic bottles in the face of new tariffs on aluminum, a plan that might have been dashed if the thermoplastics were also hit with new tariffs. Disclosure records show the company also lobbied this year about tariffs on the Hill, but the documents dont provide detail about which policies in particular, and the company did not respond to questions from ProPublica. (Coca-Cola has looked to make inroads with Trump, donating about $250,000 for his inauguration, and the CEO presented Trump with a personalized bottle of his favorite soda, Diet Coke.) Another industry that appears to have done relatively well lobbying for carve-outs from the recent tariffs is agriculture. The exemption list includes various pesticide and fertilizer ingredients.The American Farm Bureau Federation, an agricultural lobby, took credit for some of those exemptions in an analysis posted on its website recently, calling exemptions for peat and potash hard fought for by agricultural organizations such as the American Farm Bureau Federation and a testament to the effectiveness of farmers and ranchers raising their collective voice.There are a number of other imports that dont neatly fall into any of the exempted categories but might if the categories were defined loosely. One example is sucralose, the artificial sweetener. Its inclusion will largely help companies that use the product in food and beverages. But sucralose is also sometimes used in drugs to make them more palatable. Its not clear if the White House gave it a pass under the pharmaceutical exemption or for some other reason.Even for the items that were spared, the reprieve may just be temporary. The broad categories exempted are largely industries that are being investigated by the administration for potential future tariffs under its authority to administer levies to protect national security. Alex Mierjeski and Agnel Philip contributed research.

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by Mary Hudetz ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for Dispatches, a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every week. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has signed legislation increasing oversight of sober living homes, two years after state officials announced that a Medicaid fraud scheme had targeted Native Americans seeking drug and alcohol treatment. The bill, sponsored by three Republicans, amends state law for the regulation and licensing of sober living homes. It places new demands on the Arizona Department of Health Services, though a lawmaker from the Navajo Nation expressed concern that the bill does not go far enough in addressing root causes of the fraud.Hobbs office announced late Friday that the bill, expected to take effect in the fall, was among dozens she had signed into law. The governor did not explain her decision to sign the legislation but she has been vocal in her support of reforms over the past two years to help authorities go after bad actors.The legislations passage comes after ProPublica and the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting reported in January that former state Medicaid officials had failed for years to stem the $2 billion fraud scheme, despite repeated warnings. Starting around 2019, people were lured into substance abuse treatment programs and housed in sober living homes where operators often allowed patients to continue using drugs and alcohol, according to officials. Meanwhile, many providers excessively billed the states American Indian Health Program, Medicaid insurance available to tribal citizens, for treatment they did not deliver. At least 40 people died in sober living homes from the spring of 2022 to the summer of 2024 as the crisis escalated, Maricopa County Medical Examiner records reviewed by the news organizations showed. Victims advocates say they are certain the schemes toll is far higher. In interviews, victims relatives told ProPublica and AZCIR that they had been left in the dark about the circumstances of their loved ones deaths, including not knowing the names or addresses of the facilities where their family members had been staying because no one had informed them.I believe that this bill will set standards, Rep. Cesar Aguilar, a Democrat from Phoenix, said before voting for the measure. It will force businesses to actually help the most vulnerable.The League of Arizona Cities and Towns, a nonprofit that lobbies on behalf of municipalities and that supported the measure, said in a news release that a noteworthy component of the bill includes mandating timely reporting to the Arizona Department of Health Services in addition to family members and emergency contacts when a resident dies, overdoses or suffers severe harm in a facility. The health department will also be required to notify local governments when new licenses are issued to operators of sober living homes, which the league said will improve transparency and community awareness. Under the bill, the health departments director will set standards and requirements for sober living homes to maintain a drug- and alcohol-free environment and promote health and addiction recovery. Health officials could revoke or suspend licenses depending on the severity of a violation or issue fines of up to $1,000 for each day that a violation goes unaddressed. At a minimum, the health department will conduct annual inspections of facilities and report to lawmakers on the number of complaints received regarding licensed or unlicensed facilities and how many resulted in investigations or other enforcement actions. The bill received bipartisan support. However, critics said it did not address additional factors that contributed to the fraud scheme: Many victims stayed in unlicensed facilities and, despite warnings, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the states Medicaid agency, was slow to grasp the scope of the fraud and stop it. It wasnt until May 2023 that AHCCCS and the governor, who took office that year, announced a sweeping investigation of hundreds of facilities and launched a hotline to help victims who were recruited into fraudulent programs or displaced after AHCCCS suspended payments to the businesses. The agency has since enacted a series of reforms in response to the fraud. In an interview last year, a deputy director for AHCCCS also acknowledged that the agencys American Indian Health Program lacked safeguards for fraud. Supporters of this years bill have touted support from tribes. Reva Stewart, who is Din and an advocate for victims of the scheme and their families, opposed the bill. She anticipates the measure will make it more burdensome for licensed facilities to help people seeking treatment, while failing to stop the unlicensed homes, where most of the harm was done. ProPublica and AZCIR found that officials botched response to the crisis resulted in Native Americans losing access to behavioral health services that were being provided to them.Sen. Theresa Hatathlie, a Democrat from Coalmine Mesa on the Navajo Nation, was also critical of the legislation. She voted against it, noting that a bill she sponsored last session would have required more accountability not only from the health department related to its oversight of the homes but also from the Arizona Corporation Commission, where the businesses must be registered. Hatathlie, whose niece died in one of the homes, said this years Republican sponsors of sober home legislation did not include her in their discussions. Were actually not solving the problem, she said during a Senate floor vote last month. So to say its good enough now, when we still have people dying and getting lost in the system, is a disservice to human lives. These are my relatives. These are my family members.Sen. Frank Carroll, the bills lead sponsor, didnt immediately respond to an email and phone calls requesting comment. Maria Polletta, a senior reporter and associate editor at AZCIR, contributed reporting.

Photo by Italo Crespi.Subscribe nowIn January, a lesbian couple from New Jersey had a labor playlist picked out, electronic candles ready to go and an atmosphere they wanted to create while birthing their first child. They were eager and not at all worried.But Amy and Jessica say their plans for a smooth birth went out the window when a routine check-up turned into a harrowing eight-day hospital stay. It was awful. It was horrendous, Amy, the birthing mother, told Uncloseted Media.At 37 weeks pregnant following in vitro fertilization (IVF), the couple, who asked to use pseudonyms because they are considering litigation against the hospital, was told that the birthing mother needed to have her labor induced immediately due to high blood pressure. After three days of failed induction, doctors performed an emergency C-section during which she hemorrhaged and lost four liters of blood. The doctors eventually had to remove her uterus to save her life.We did research later and found out that induction medication and IVF both increase the risk of hemorrhage. It just felt like no one was listening to us or informing us, says Jessica.If pregnancy were a men's health field, this wouldn't be happening, Amy says. You think of medicine now and it's so modernized and there are so many technologies, but there is something so lacking in women's health care.According to a 2022 study in the Association of American Medical Colleges, more than half of queer women reported that the quality of their experience with pregnancy, birth and postpartum care was impacted by bias or discrimination, compared to 35% of heterosexual people. In addition, 83% of queer women reported birthing complications compared to 63% of their heterosexual counterparts. Queer women also have higher rates of stillbirths, miscarriages and premature births.Female-bodied people have been ignored in medicine for so long, and taking on the queer identity makes it worse, says Marea Goodman, midwife and founder of PregnantTogether, an LGBTQ-focused midwife practice. Clinics arose out of a need to support heterosexual people who are experiencing infertility and for many years queer folks were barred from accessing fertility care. They're just not for creative family structures.The Healthcare System Was not Built for Queer WomenWhile roughly 59% of bisexual women and 31% of lesbians give birth in their lifetime, bringing tens of thousands of babies into the world each year, the healthcare system is hard for them to navigate. A 2022 study found that LGBTQ couples are more afraid of childbirth than heterosexual couples. And its not just the pregnancy itself that is scary. According to Anna Malmquist, one of the authors of the study and a researcher at Swedens Linkping University, there are many concerns queer women face when walking into a hospital.What if they misgender me? she says. What if they dont recognize my partner as my partner? What if they don't respect my pronouns? I cannot just go away and seek care somewhere else, because the baby has to come out. So the minority stress becomes a second layer added to these bodily fears.One reason queer women may face these concerns is that medical school curricula often fall short in teaching prospective physicians about LGBTQ reproductive health.One study reported that the median instructional time on all LGBTQ topics was just 11 hours across four years, with many programs failing to address disparities faced by lesbian patients in accessing prenatal care and family planning services. In a 2021 study, half of OB-GYN residents reported feeling unprepared to care for lesbian or bisexual patients and 92% desired more education on how to provide healthcare to LGBTQ patients.Subscribe for LGBTQ-focused, accountability journalism. This lack of education can result in queer women feeling out of place. Walking down the halls of my clinic, all of the stock art of couples was white and heterosexual, nothing queer, and the literature all said mom and dad, says Angela Thompson, a Verizon IT tech from Columbia, South Carolina.Photo courtesy of the Darlings.Alyssa and Sam Darling delivered their first child in 2019 in Los Angeles.When they went back to the delivery ward after the birth to do a routine check-up with their child, one of the nurses at the door stopped Alyssa, the non-birthing partner.She physically put her hand on my chest and stopped me, and said, Its parents only, she remembers. The baby was my eggs, so biologically mine. It was just so confusing. We were exhausted, we just wanted to go home, and it was the last thing we wanted to deal with.Its like you're having to come out time and time again, Sam adds. And for some people, that can be extremely triggering.Beyond that, Alyssa is listed as father on both of her childrens birth certificates because there wasnt a place to write a second mother.Subscribe nowSince 2017, married same-sex parents in the U.S. have had the right to write both their names on their child's birth certificate. However, the federal governments standard birth certificate application form hasnt been revised since 2003, leaving the sections as mother and father. To amend this, its on the respective hospital to file additional paperwork.I asked them what to do, and the nurse was like, Well, you put the father's information, and I was like, We're a two-mom couple, she doesn't have a dad. And she's like, We're gonna need dad's information. And I'm like, But there is no dad.Alyssa circled the option at the bottom of the certificate to be listed as parent instead of father, but due to a clerical error, the certificate she received in the mail still says Father: Alyssa Darling.The Physical Toll of Discrimination and HateThe experience of the mother during pregnancy directly impacts the health of the infant, says Bethany Everett, adjunct associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Utah. Tending to mothers is a critical period for public health interventions if we want to improve population health at large.While research around queer pregnancy is limited, a 2022 study found that lesbian women living in states with stronger legal protections for sexual minorities had better birth outcomes, including higher birth weights and lower rates of preterm births, compared to those in states without such protections. Conversely, the study found no significant difference in birth outcomes between heterosexual women in states with and without sexual minority protections.If you can be fired because you're gay or you can't be legally recognized in your partnership, those things impact your real quality of life, says Everett. And those forms of stigma and discrimination can negatively impact the health of the pregnant woman and translate to the health of the fetus.Long-term exposure to distress and discrimination results in chronic inflammation and immune dysfunction, she says. Its not about the person, its about the environment that they're giving birth in.Photo courtesy of Angela Thompson.Angela Thompson remembers not holding hands with her wife when she was visibly pregnant. We have felt uncomfortable in public, especially in more rural areas after the [Presidential] Election, Thompson says. Once, we were at a restaurant in Myrtle Beach, and we werent holding hands or sitting next to each other, but people still gave us dirty looks. Its stressful.Unfortunately, providers arent always immune to stigma and homophobia. As of 2022, more than one in eight LGBTQ people live in states where doctors, nurses and other health care professionals can legally refuse to treat them.This translates to negative health outcomes for queer women in the delivery room.According to a 2023 survey, LGBTQ people were twice as likely to experience medical gaslighting compared to their cis and heterosexual counterparts. When asked to agree with the following statement, My doctor listens to me when I express concerns about treatments and prescriptions, 49% of queer respondents agreed compared to 61% of straight and cis respondents.Thompson and her wifes baby. Photo courtesy of Angela Thompson.Thompsons son was underweight at birth and two weeks early. After an emergency C-section, the baby didnt cry, which was alarming to the nurses.There was not enough of the cord connected to the placenta which meant he wasn't getting as much nutrients toward the end of the pregnancy, which is why he couldn't tolerate labor, she says. They dont know how they missed it. I had concerns about it and I told them to check it earlier but they either missed it [or didnt check].The whole process feels very disjointed, says Amy, the birthing mother in New Jersey. I wish I had been given more information about the risks because this is an IVF baby.The couple says that they found out later that IVF pregnancies are at higher risk of hemorrhaging, which also becomes a greater risk when under induction medication like Amy was.The Same Care but More Expensive: Insurance ExclusionIn addition to not feeling heard, the financial burden of IVF is another stressor that disproportionately affects queer women. A single cycle costs between $15,000 to $30,000, and only 21 states and D.C. have insurance laws that mandate coverage of fertility treatments. One study found that for two-thirds of patients, it takes six or more IVF cycles for a successful pregnancy. That means it can easily cost $100,000 for one pregnancy.Insurance coverage and IVF language is an example of just how heteronormative our family building infrastructure still is and how we throw up these barriers for queer folks, says Abbie Goldberg, professor of psychology at Clark University, noting that only eight states have policies that are inclusive of LGBTQ parents due to language of their policy and requirements for the definition of infertile.Photo courtesy of the Crymes-Lincolns.Shanell Crymes-Lincoln had to switch employers to obtain insurance that would cover IVF for her and her wife.It was astronomical without insurance, Crymes-Lincoln, who lives in Toledo, Ohio, told Uncloseted Media.It was between using our savings for a baby or a house, and we wanted to do everything possible to not have to pay out of pocket.Religion and RaceVideo courtesy of Crymes-Lincoln. Crymes-Lincoln is currently pregnant with her and her wife Nesis second child. While the couples first experience with an LGBTQ-friendly doctor was positivewith Nesi being able to catch the baby, as documented in the video abovethey are nervous about their new provider who works out of a Catholic hospital.Everything went smoothly [with our first babys doctor] But then my insurance carrier dropped that entire medical clinic altogether, and we only have two medical clinics in this area.Both women say they feel more on edge at their new clinic because it features Mother Teresa statues, prayers and things that are exclusive to certain groups.I feel like you're going to judge me based on your religious thoughts. I dont feel comfortable displaying affection with my wife, or even calling her my wife there, says Crymes-Lincoln, who dreamed of being a mom as a kid. Were worried our birth plan wont be respected here. Photo courtesy of the Crymes-Lincolns.At their first appointment, Crymes-Lincoln felt like her questions were being brushed off.It could be because of my race, it could be because of my sexual orientation, she says. I'm just worried about the birth, being a Black woman and being a lesbian, we tend to get overlooked.Combined is a whammy, she says, noting that Black women in the U.S. are more than three times likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth than their white counterparts.ShareMothers Just Want to Be HeardAbove all, mothers just want providers who listen to them. Just dont assume, Sam Darling says. There was one instance when I was pregnant where a nurse asked if my wife was my sister. It was really awkward. I think healthcare in general needs to do better for LGBTQ community members. Have a pronoun section on intake forms, and ask about your [patients] sexual orientation.As a practitioner focused on LGBTQ folks, Marea Goodman says representation is essential. When you go into a fertility clinic and you don't see any other families that look like yours, it can be a really isolating experience.In Goodmans practice, theres a strong emphasis on prioritizing the parents emotional experience. For instance, Goodman allows the birthing mothers partner to push the syringe during the inseminationan intentional choice to honor the grief that can arise from not being able to conceive privately at home.Goodman suggests small changes in the system to make queer women feel more supported. I don't think it's too hard to improve this. If there's one photo in the office of a queer couple, that will make a difference. I think if everyone in the office, including front desk personnel, had training, it would go a long way.Goodman also suggests having a list of organizations where folks can connect with other LGBTQ families looking to conceive.People feel alone. People feel isolated. People don't see themselves reflected, and society doesn't do that for us, Goodman says. We have to create spaces that do. Thats what changes everything.If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media