*Trans*lation

(This is a modified edition of a blog post originally published at Huffington Post GayVoices.) “What exactly does it mean to be transgender?” “Why do they want to change their sex?” “Why can’t they just be gay or lesbian?” These are some of the questions I so ignorantly used to think about transgender people. I […]

International Women’s Day – Lesbian Style

Well, okay, this is not going to be that interesting of a post. I was just texting with Ledcat about our plans for this evening – we are going to dinner at Eat n Park (using a gift card) and then doing some birthday shopping at Barnes and Noble for our favorite nephew, JJ (he’s […]

Heinz Affirms Donations, “Partnership” With Anti-Gay Boy Scouts

Do you like bigotry with your condiments? Heinz has donated to the Boy Scouts and plans to continue that relationship regardless of their anti-LGBTQ policies. The New Civil Rights Movement shares: Ketchup-maker H.J. Heinz Company gave $12,000 to the Scouts during the fiscal year ending April 27, 2011 — and stands by those donations. “The H.J. Heinz […]

Update: City of Pittsburgh Blocks Lesbian Blog (Again)

Lesbian, blocked website, Pittsburgh,

As you may remember, the City of Pittsburgh began blocking this blog in October 2012 for no apparent reason – the closest I had to an official explanation was “its just crappy web filters, Sue” from a former City employee. That’s called “scoffing” and its not a very constructive response.

GLSEN Pgh Invites You to Brainstorm! Trivia Night

GLSEN Pgh is working with On The Nose Events to redefine their fundraising and it worked! At least – this event caught my eye amidst the barrage of Facebook notifications I receive daily. So much that I asked GLSEN to tell me more about it. Brainstorm! is a trivia night – the type of event […]

Does Alleged Misconduct by Pgh Police Department Impact Local LGBTQ Community?

Yes. I’ll explain. Police relationships with the LGBTQ community have never been “good”, but certainly have been sliding downhill for the past several years. Unfortunately, there’s been an escalating “vicious cycle” of non-responsiveness to LGBTQ hate crimes in the City. Police don’t respond appropriately. People don’t report or follow through with reports. Crimes remain unsolved […]

This Week in LGBTQ – February 24, 2013

The New York Times reported on a study that found that the effects of bullying last into adulthood. Individuals who were bullied are more than 4x likely to have an anxiety disorder as an adult. Bullies who were also victims were 14.5x more likely to have a similar disorder  A Puerto Rican court has ruled […]

When Do We Talk About Poverty in the LGBTQ Community?

It is only fitting that days after Amazon releases an “inclusive” commercial for their new Kindle, I am led to a series exploring the lives of transgender persons living on the brink (or deeply enmeshed in) poverty. The cause? Often related to their gender identity, especially in a fragile economy. “Transgender financial struggle: ‘How We […]