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Alicia Adamczyk, “What to Do If You Get Turned Away at the Polls“
”While those tactics have been shown to depress voter turnout, particularly among low income, minority and young voters, you do still have recourse if you’re turned away on election day—not having an accepted form of ID is no reason not to head to the polls. Here’s what to know.”
Ginia Bellafante, “Misogyny Is Back. Did It Ever Go Away?“
”[T]he presidential candidacy of Donald J. Trump has revived a national discussion of misogyny, which, as a word, an idea and worldview had long ago fallen out of favor, lost to the 1970s and obscured instead by the cheerfully appointed goal posts of contemporary feminism.”
Helen Coffey, “Virgin Launches UK’s First ‘Pride Flight’ Staffed Entirely by LGBTQ+ Pilots and Cabin Crew“
”The flight is being billed as ‘a true celebration of queer culture 38,000ft above the Atlantic’. During the eight-hour journey, passengers will be entertained with drag queen bingo, a Judy Garland singalong, inter-seat speed dating and an inflight DJ.”
Sadie Collier, “I Was Outed To My Entire Family When I Was 11“
”Growing up in a small, culturally conservative, Christian town in middle Georgia, I felt obligated to convince myself that I was straight, even though I knew that I had an underlying conflict with my sexuality that stemmed from getting caught in a same-sex experiment with a girl in my neighborhood when I was 7.”
Muriel Draaisma, “2 Toronto transgender students file human rights claims against province over sex-ed“
”Two Toronto transgender high school students have filed separate human rights claims against the province because they say the new interim sexual education curriculum discriminates against all LGBT students in Ontario.”
Ariel Fournier, “Conversion therapy ban long overdue, Alberta survivor says“
”A federal ban on conversion therapy is long overdue, says an Edmonton man who subjected himself to four years of treatment within one of the controversial programs.”
Alexis Grenell, “White Women, Come Get Your People“
”These women are gender traitors, to borrow a term from the dystopian TV series ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. They’ve made standing by the patriarchy a full-time job. The women who support them show up at the Capitol wearing ‘Women for Kavanaugh’ T-shirts, but also probably tell their daughters to put on less revealing clothes when they go out.”
Otamere Guobadia, “No Donald Trump, denying visas to unmarried homosexual diplomats doesn’t protect queer rights“
”In a move that will shock none, but will likely enrage and dishearten the LGBTQ community in American and beyond, as of Monday the Trump administration has brought into effect a policy which halts the issuing of visas to same-sex partners of foreign diplomats and UN employees unless they are married.”
“Romania’s anti-gay marriage vote voided over low turnout”
”Just 20% of registered voters had cast their ballot by the time polls closed at 6pm GMT on the second day of the referendum – well below the 30% threshold needed for the result to be valid. Final results are expected Monday.”
Shelley Silas, “Why I won’t be raising a glass to mixed-sex civil partnerships“
”On Tuesday, the government confirmed that the wait was over. Social media has been bursting with congratulatory tweets (‘will you not marry me?’) and couples are arranging dates and parties and crying with happiness because, finally, they can have what they want. So why do I find myself feeling grizzly and angry?”
“The Supreme Court got it wrong – refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding should count as discrimination“
”the Supreme Court had an extremely serious task to undertake: an awesome question of balance and equal rights. On the one hand there is the claim by the bakers that they should be allowed to exercise their ‘sincerely held beliefs’.”
Esther Wang, “Shitty Media Man Sues Creator of Shitty Media Men List “
”On Wednesday, Stephen Elliott filed a lawsuit against Moira Donegan, the creator of the Shitty Media Men list, in which he asks for $1,500,000 in damages, alleging that his inclusion on the list and ‘[t]he wholly unsubstantiated allegations published in the List’ …”
Curtis M. Wong, “Here's How 'Designing Women' Broke Fresh Ground For Queer TV Characters In 1990“
”At the time of their debuts, shows like ‘Will & Grace’ and ‘The L Word’ made television history for their portrayals of gay and lesbian characters. However, a less-heralded depiction of LGBTQ people on a similarly beloved series not only helped pave the way for those later shows, but depicted how a different demographic viewed the struggle for queer equality. ”
Article Spotlight
"On 18 January 1977, at a public hearing in Miami before the Board of Commissioners of Dade County, Florida, opponents and proponents of an ordinance that would prohibit discrimination against lesbians and gay men in the areas of housing, public accommodations, and employment squared off. The small contingent of gay rights activists supporting the ordinance was vastly outnumbered by hundreds of Baptists who arrived on buses chartered by two local churches. Bearing signs such as “God Says No. Who Are You to Be Different?” and “Protect Our Children, Don’t Legislate Immorality for Dade County,” these activists packed the Dade County Courthouse Commission chambers and filled the hallway outside, loudly jeering at those with whom they disagreed. Both the conservative evangelical Christians and the gay rights advocates were in agreement about one thing: the consequence of the antidiscrimination ordinance would shape the ability of gay men and lesbians to be integrated into public life—and thus, the very definition of citizenship was at stake."
Call for Papers
Suffrage at 100: Women and American Politics Since 1920
Submission Deadline: October 16, 2018
"This collection will map out the last 100 years of this lengthy struggle, focusing on efforts to recognize, appreciate, and cultivate women’s civic engagement since the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. Our purpose is not celebratory. Instead, we seek to trace the uneven road to suffrage and public office women of different backgrounds and means experienced after 1920. We also intend to expose the institutional barriers and masculinist conceptions of leadership that women in politics have faced and continue to tackle. Women have exhibited considerable democratic imagination within and outside the traditional channels of electoral politics. Melding gender, social, cultural, and political history, this collection seeks to capture examples of women acting together and on their own within and outside electoral and governmental channels to claim a political presence, enlist state action, and create alternative services and solutions. In doing so, we use this historic centennial to make visible the determined presence of women in politics since 1920, while also calling attention to the ways these women have and continue to be written out of history"
Please send article abstracts of 500 words and a CV by October 16th, 2018 to: Stacie at staranto@ramapo.edu or Leandra at lrzarnow@central.uh.edu. We also welcome questions and comments at those email addresses.
Episode Spotlight
The hit television show American Bandstand has shaped how we understand the 1950s and early 1960s. For many, American Bandstand still evokes nostalgic images of white youth culture and sexually innocent teenage romance: a world made up of malt shops, juke joints, sock hops and drive-in movie theaters. If we look closer at how Bandstand was staged, and what was hidden from sight or hiding in plain view, we can see how the show's creators erased blackness and queerness from the show itself and from the official story of youth culture.
Books
Podcasts
Fresh Air’s “How Notions Of Sex, Power And Consent Are Changing On College Campuses“
”Blurred Lines author Vanessa Grigoriadis says female college students were once told to protect themselves from sexual assault by learning self defense. Now, the focus is on changing men's behavior.”
Small Changes’ “Fighting for LGBT rights in a country where lesbians are caned“
”Criminalised by the state and targeted by vigilantes, Malaysia’s LGBT community faces rampant persecution. Thi Laga, a co-founder of rights group Justice for Sisters, has become a leading figure in the fightback”
