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An Atlanta-area teacher was fired after reading a children’s book featuring a nonbinary character to her fifth-grade class. In a 4-3 decision last week, the Cobb County School Board fired Katie Rinderle after she read My Shadow Is Purple to her class.

The California Republican Party is currently at odds with the national Republican Party after proposing to remove opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion – two longstanding mainstays of the national platform – from its state party platform.Supporters of the proposed change say that removing those two prominent social issues from the state’s political platform would put the state GOP’s official position more in line with the values held by most California voters. Opponents argue that by removing those topics, the state party’s stances would contradict those held by most of the party’s presidential candidates and betray values or beliefs that are deeply held by the party’s conservative base.The 2016 Republican national party platform, which still stands today as the party’s guiding document, opposes same-sex nuptials despite bans prohibiting such marriages having been struck down by the U.S.

Sex and the City world, but thankfully, that turned out not to be true.The beloved actress pleasantly surprised fans of the iconic franchise by reprising her role as the sexed-up Samantha Jones in the season two finale of the original’s spinoff, And Just Like That.Her time on screen was brief, but it ended up being satisfying to fans of the series for many reasons. In a scene that opened the final episode of Season 2, Carrie Bradshaw, portrayed by Sarah Jessica Parker, received an unexpected call from her old friend.“My flight’s three hours delayed, Carrie! I won’t be able to make it there in time,” Jones stated sadly while in a car, clearly trying to make her way to see Bradshaw.In the cameo, Jones told Bradshaw that Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte York (Kristin Davis) had reached out to her about a party that had been organized to commemorate Bradshaw’s departure from her iconic apartment.The apartment, an emblem of New York City living, had become synonymous with the main character throughout the series.

pic.twitter.com/fss8d4qukK— Pop Base (@PopBase) August 24, 2023 Santana said, according to the video: “When God made you and me — before we came out of the womb, you know who you are and what you are. Later on, when you grow out of it, you see things, and you start believing that you could be something that sounds good, but you know it ain’t right. Because a woman is a woman and a man is a man.

Patch.com.The assailant then fled on foot. He is described as being about 6’2″ and weighing about 210 pounds.

according to court documents. “You lying, disgusting, disgraceful, motherfucking f****t…. piece of shit.

In recent weeks, TikToks calling for queer people to be whipped, stabbed, and killed have gone viral in Ethiopia. TikTok hate mongers are outing LGBTQ people by posting their names, photographs, and online profiles.The top comment from one such video says “Let’s kill them, give us their address.”“TikTok is being used to incite violence,” Bahiru Shewaye, co-founder of the Ethiopian LGBTQ rights group House of Guramayle, told the Associated Press. TikTok has removed some of these videos but is largely leaving them untouched.

Metro Weekly. “They would share with each other like a little underground network.”The students asked Carver to help establish a library so others could access the books.“It was such a beautiful moment where I could hear young people understanding the importance of books, who want to help other people,” he says.Together, Carver and the students applied for an “It Gets Better” grant and received $4,000 to build the inclusive library.After hearing an LGBTQ student at a neighboring school committed suicide, the students donated half of the grant to build a second library in their honor.With the remainder of the grant, Carver and the students worked with a local bookstore to curate a list of titles.

A Mississippi library has banned the Heartstopper graphic novel series from its young adult section after angry parents, objecting to the depiction of same-sex relationships, claimed the books were “pornographic.”Alice Osman’s graphic novels tell the story of two teenage boys who fall in love. They do not contain explicit sexual content, but do feature same-sex kissing and hand-holding.

A new study shows that nearly 40% of Florida residents have considered leaving the state since the passage of the “Don’t Say Gay” law, with local Republicans encouraging the law’s detractors to follow through on such plans. According to a new survey by the Williams Institute, an LGBTQ policy think tank at UCLA’s School of Law, half of the 40% considering leaving Florida claimed they “very much so” wished to leave the state.Overall, 11% of survey respondents said they would likely move within the next two years.

Cassandro. The company has recently shared a captivating image and a trailer for the movie, hyping up the anticipation for its release in just a few weeksAccording to a synopsis posted by Amazon Prime Video, the film focuses on “Saúl Armendáriz, a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso, rises to international stardom after he creates the character Cassandro, the “Liberace of Lucha Libre.” In the process, he upends not just the macho wrestling world but also his own life.” Raised in El Paso, Texas, Armendáriz’s story unfolds with the help of a dedicated trainer, who aids him in crafting the flamboyant character of Cassandro.

order issued Sunday, U.S. District Judge Sarah Geraghty, of the Northern District of Georgia, said the law’s provision prohibiting medical professionals from prescribing hormone therapy for such patients was “substantially likely to violate the Equal Protection Clause,” reports CNN.Under the law, which went into effect on July 1, medical providers are prohibited from recommending gender-affirming care to any minor, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or gender confirmation surgery — the latter of which is rarely performed on minors.

New York Daily News.According to police, the 22-year-old victim was waiting on the subway platform at the Broadway-Myrtle Avenue stop in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood around 1:15 p.m. when the man groped her.When both the victim and assailant boarded the train, they began arguing, leading the groper to call her a “fa***t” and repeatedly punch her in the face and body.

Daily Herald.McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis ordered Collins to serve at least half of an 180-day jail sentence, followed by 24 months of felony probation.He must also perform 200 hours of public service, pay approximately $3,700 in fines and fees, and pay $2,300 in restitution to the owner of the bakery, which has since closed after taking a financial hit due to the vandalism and the loss of business stemming from protests against it for hosting the drag show.Collins must also undergo a mental health and anger management evaluation within 60 days of being released from jail and comply with any recommended treatment.He was ordered to complete an in-person program discouraging hate crimes against the LGBTQ community, must abstain from non-prescribed drugs and illicit substances during his probation, must submit to drug screenings, and is ordered to have no contact with Corinna Bendel-Sac, the bakery’s now-former owner.Bendel-Sac called Collins’ actions “heinous” and said, at the sentencing hearing on August 16 that his actions caused “irreversible damages” to her business.Bendel-Sac told the court that she, her bakery, her employees, and her public supporters were the subject of ongoing picketing, protests, hate speech, and “relentless harassment” after planning the drag show, while Collins was “hailed a hero” by opponents of LGBTQ visibility and drag for vandalizing her business.She also noted that her employees and supporters were doxxed, with their personal information posted online by overzealous activists who believe that drag is a bad influence on children.Bendel-Sac, a mother of two young children and a lifelong baker who grew up in McHenry County, said she had initially opened her bakery intending to support

DC’s latest addition to superhero cinema, Blue Beetle (★★☆☆☆), seems to thread together two disparate films that the makers struggle mightily to fuse into a satisfying, cohesive whole.At its most successful, the movie, directed by Ángel Manuel Soto (Charm City Kings), introduces Mexican college grad Jaime Reyes, played by Cobra Kai’s Xolo Maridueña, along with Jaime’s loving, but financially imperiled family. Dad Alberto (Damián Alcázar), mom Rocio (Elpidio Carrillo), younger sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo), crazy conspiracy theory-addled uncle Rudy (George Lopez), and feisty matriarch Nana (Adriana Barraza, who almost steals the show) all rally around Jaime when a mysterious sapphire-blue scarab latches onto his body and consciousness, making him an unwilling host to a “world-destroying weapon.” Time spent with Jaime and the Reyes family, steeped in authentic Latino culture, humor, and relationships, plays like the warmly comic pilot episode of a sitcom I’d gladly binge.Each episode could include a flashback to the adventures of Nana Reyes, which, based on the hints she drops, would be as thrilling and dangerous as anything Jaime encounters in his new scarab-assisted superhero form as Blue Beetle.That brings us to the other, less successful counterpart to the Meet the Reyes Family sitcom: the relatively lame-ass origin story of another DC Comics hero that’s so clearly intended as a setup for future appearances that it fails to do anything interesting with the character’s big-screen debut.

barring transgender students from gender-affirming facilities is discriminatory and unconstitutional. It remains unclear what will happen if a district’s school restroom access policies are found to violate existing legal precedent.When the policies were first introduced last year, thousands of high school and middle school-aged students across the state held walkouts in protest.While no school district is required to fully adopt the “model policies” guidance — just as many conservative districts refused to adopt transgender-friendly policies in 2021 under former Democratic Gov.

Associated Press.The new law, which prohibits access to hormone therapy, puberty-blocking drugs, and gender confirmation surgery although minors who had begun treatment prior to Aug. 1 may continue receiving puberty blockers or hormones if their doctors deem it medically necessary and their parents consent.

This year’s Chef’s Best will feature concoctions whipped up by chefs and mixologists from 26 area restaurants or culinary enterprises.

“I am going to catch up on sleep.”Joey Fink had just been crowned the winner at the annual NJB Pageant, held at the Edlavitch DCJCC on Sunday, Aug. 13.Also, he added, “I’m going to go to Vida Gym, clearly.”A three-month membership to Vida Fitness was one of his prizes, along with a $200 bar tab at Pitchers.Fink bested three other worthy contestants — Avi Alpert, Michael Greenberg, and Micah Feinstein — for the title, which is presented by NJB+ D.C., a social organization for the LGBTQ Jewish community.As Pitbull’s “Timber” shook the Edlavitch’s Trish Vradenburg Stage, family, friends, and members of the DC Queer Jewish community chatted, hugged, and held up cut-outs of the four contestants’ faces.The event was hosted by local drag sensation Vagenesis — who described their name as “if you took the first book of the Bible and threw a big vagina at it” — with characteristic wit, charisma, and a run of dazzling gowns.Stories of first love, the Jewish community, and sex puns dominated the pageant’s first round as Avi, Michael, Micah and Joey answered questions posed by Vagenesis.Doused in neon purple stage lights, Fink sang Remember That We Suffered from the TV series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Greenberg performed an original comedy set, Alpert’s drag persona Averia lip synced to Noa Kirel’s Unicorn, and Feinstein roused the crowd with Wonderwall by Oasis.While the votes were tallied, Vagenesis announced raffle prize winners, including bar tabs to JR.’s and the Little Gay Pub, Skip the Line passes to Trade, gift cards to Crazy Aunt Helen’s and Bite the Fruit, and a date night charcuterie board.Amid a thunderous audience drum roll, surrounded by previous winners, Fink was crowned winner and Greenberg was named runner up.

Reuters.Under the policy, school staff is expected to create a plan governing a student’s preferred names, pronouns, participation in athletics or school extracurricular activities, and the restroom and locker room facilities they are allowed to access.The policy also requires teachers and counselors to gauge the level of support a student “receives or anticipates receiving” from their parent if such information is disclosed.While ideally, the gender support plans work “toward inclusion of the family,” school staff may choose to withhold information about the plans if a student’s family would not support their coming out or socially transitioning. In response to the policy, three parents, backed by the National Legal Foundation, a conservative Christian group, sued.They argued that the policy violates their due process rights under the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment, which protects the right of parents to direct the care of their children as they see fit.But two appointees of former President Donald Trump — U.S.

issued the injunction last month to block the state from enforcing its prohibitions on transgender females who seek to compete on female-designated sports teams while a lawsuit challenging those restrictions moves forward.Under the law, known as the Save Women’s Sports Act, transgender females are prohibited from competing on sex-segregated sports teams that align with their gender identity, and cisgender students who believe they lost out on athletic opportunities due to the presence of a transgender athlete can sue for damages.The law also allows for female athletes — both transgender and cisgender, particularly if a cisgender athlete does not conform to traditional stereotypes of femininity — to be subjected to genetic testing to “prove” their gender identity matches assigned sex at birth.But Zipps found that the law is “overly broad” and may be unconstitutional, violating not only female athletes’ right to equal protection, but Title IX, the federal law that bars discrimination based on sex in educational settings. As such, allowing the policy to be enforced before a final decision on the law’s constitutionality was reached would “irreparably harm” the transgender plaintiffs.Zipps also found that there was not sufficient evidence to prove that pre-pubertal athletes assigned male at birth hold a significant physiological or competitive advantage over cisgender females, as they have not yet developed secondary sex characteristics.

Conservatives have called for a boycott of Skittles after the candy promoted Pride Month on its packaging.Every June, since 2020, Skittles, manufactured by candy giant Mars, Inc., has released a limited-edition pack of the fruit-flavored candy in honor of Pride Month.The limited-edition candies are devoid of color and come in special wrappers designed by LGBTQ artists. One dollar of every sale (up to $100,000) is donated to GLAAD.

threatened to shoot up the oldest continuously operating gay bar in Minneapolis last year.According to court documents, on Nov. 28, 2022, Minneapolis police officers were called to respond to a disturbance at the historic 19 Bar, in downtown Minneapolis.

Idaho Tribune accused Lauritzen of being a “left-wing activist” who “follows drag queens on social media, promotes LGBT events, promotes transgenderism, Black Lives Matter, and is active in local politics, promoting liberal ideology.”The outlet also criticized her for liking posts about “social and emotional learning” — a style of learning which has become a bogeyman among conservatives for promoting self-awareness, decision-making, and interpersonal skills — which it classified as “left-wing ideology.”The conservative website Action Idaho went further, speculating that she was pushing a pro-LGBTQ agenda on her students despite the presence of a school district policy restricting teachers from providing instruction or discussion of sexuality or sexual orientation.“Would Lauritzen be happy to cultivate transgender ideologies among your children? Probably,” Idaho Action wrote. “She is getting her PHD in advanced education at University of Idaho, no doubt learning all the latest trends in queer theory and social and emotional learning.”But the press led parents in her rural community in western Idaho to begin emailing her and accusing her of including inappropriate content in her lessons.

A Catholic school outside of Kansas City, Missouri, has expelled a straight-A student after his mother opposed the school’s LGBTQ book ban. As first reported by the Kansas City Star, St.

Idaho’s law is similar to laws in at least eight other states that have passed laws in recent years barring transgender students from using school facilities matching their gender identity — although it does not go as far as laws in North Dakota and Florida that go beyond schools to prohibit transgender people from accessing gender-affirming restrooms in some or all government buildingsHowever, Idaho’s law does contain what critics have called a “bounty” — in which cisgender students and their parents may sue schools for up to $5,000 if they find a transgender student using facilities that do not match that student’s assigned sex at birth. As a result, the plaintiffs have claimed, the law encourages people to seek out and harass transgender students in the hope of finding them violating the law in exchange for a monetary award.Under the now-blocked law, schools would have been required to provide a “reasonable accommodation” for transgender students unwilling or unable to use restrooms matching their assigned sex at birth.

Futurama (★★★☆☆), a series rebooted numerous times before it was trendy, would find its way back onto our screens.If you haven’t watched Futurama, it’s essentially David X. Cohen’s and Simpsons creator Matt Groening’s answer to a sci-fi workplace comedy.

was hot to revel with the diverse crowd, from dancing twinks and pre-gaming Kiki daddies, Howard and Gallaudet queers to tourists, and, later in the night, the bedazzled Beyhive rolling in dripped in merch and full of tales to tell.Three voluminous rooms of strangers felt like one party — and that’s part of the concept of Shakers, which also will include nights for drag entertainers, cabaret, industry movie nights, and space for community meetings and family days.“I think people five, eight years ago were questioning, do we actually need gay bars anymore,” Honeycutt says. “And I feel like, where you sit today, the resounding answer is, ‘Yeah, yeah, we need LGBT, queer spaces that are community.’ It’s more than just a place where you drink.”Shakers is located at 2014 9th St.

Evening Standard in London, Porter lightened the mood by humorously talking about the separation. “The whole world knows I’m getting a divorce. Y’all want to talk about my divorce and Ricky Martin’s at the same time?” Earlier this summer, Martin also announced that he and his husband of several years are going their separate ways.

A post shared by Madonna (@madonna) With her signature playfulness, Madonna accompanied the carousel of images with a caption that states, “All dressed up and Nowhere to go…………….But Soon, Very Soon, I’ll be traveling to you.”This is clearly a reference to her The Celebration Tour, which is now slated to begin in October in London. It was initially supposed to begin in America and play throughout the summer, but that didn’t end up happening.

Talk to Me has found itself embroiled in a wave of unexpected controversy after being banned in Kuwait. The movie is no longer allowed in the Middle Eastern country due to its inclusion of a transgender actor. The ban, enforced by Kuwaiti authorities, is ostensibly aimed at safeguarding “public ethics and social traditions,” according to a statement from the state news agency.Zoe Terakes, who identifies as non-binary and trans-masculine, takes on a pivotal role in the spine-tingling A24 production as the enigmatic character Hayley.

The consequences of Healy’s public display of affection have rippled far beyond the stage and condemnation from those in power in the nation. The festival’s organizer, Future Sound Asia, is wielding its authority by demanding a staggering $2.6 million in damages from The 1975.The crux of the argument lies in the events that unfolded after Healy’s kiss. The cancellation of the festival’s activities for the following two days is attributed to this incident.

Bird’s-Eye View: A PsalmBy Brandon BlueThis I know, this I’m certain of: watching a sparrow kill and eat another (bird now full of bird)— and fly away unbothered while blood left on the sidewalk seeps like libation bringing about a new spring; poppies and dandelions bagged and sold in neighborhoods to teach lessons of superiority: Men over Women over Queers. Whose lives matter? Black men decideleaving cars. Our skin is not different, yet you chose to choose like them.

law has led some administrators to censor any content that is sexual in nature unless it pertains to an academic standard.The Hillsborough County School District determined that many of Shakespeare’s works deal with or allude to sexuality (not to mention those works that contain cross-dressing characters), and should therefore be edited. As a result, some of the Bard’s classics, like Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet, now have been barred from the classroom, with students only reading excerpts of the plays in order to meet basic curriculum standards.The district said that teachers who violate the content restrictions for English classes could be subject to disciplinary action or have a complaint filed against them by a parent who believes the books or plays are “inappropriate” for minors to read.If a student wishes to read the censored plays in their entirety, they’ll have to pursue other ways of obtaining the texts on their own time, such as by seeking them out at a public library or privately-owned bookstore not subject to state regulation.Previously, English classes in the district required students to read at least two novels or plays during the school year.

What’s on Emily Holland’s nightstand?“I always have a few books I’m working through,” says the chair of OutWrite, The DC Center’s literary festival, held annually in August.“I’ve been on a bit of a romance kick lately and am currently reading a queer romance called Love at First Set. It’s a nice kind of bedtime read.

signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act into effect in May.That team determined additional measures needed to be taken to ensure projects align with the bank’s environmental and social standards.“Our goal is to protect sexual and gender minorities from discrimination and exclusion in the projects we finance,” the World Bank said in a statement. “These measures are currently under discussion with authorities….