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Revry's Black History Month of LGBTQ-First Films and Series celebrates Black stories
-- From a press release
Los Angeles - This Black History Month, Revry is programming LGBTQ-first Black stories with themes from the differently-abled, LGBTQ athletes, activists and the lesbian, trans and the cis-gender lesbian community. Over 35% of Revry's audience is ...
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Nominations announced for 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards
-- From a press release
New York, NY - Wed., Jan. 19, 2022 - GLAAD, the world's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, today announced the nominees for the 33rd Annual GLAAD Media Awards. RuPaul's Drag ...
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Human Rights Campaign Foundation releases new data on the LGBTQ+ wage gap
-- From a press release
WASHINGTON — Today, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, released ...
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Nat'l Black Justice Coalition celebrates openly LGBTQ+/SGL NAACP Image Award nominees
-- From a press release
The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) celebrates the historic number of openly Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer+, and same-gender loving (LGBTQ+/SGL) nominees for the NAACP Image Awards. The Image ...
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WORLD Archbishop demoted, Israel ruling, Denmark petition, tennis icon
Pope Francis demoted Archbishop Giacomo Morandi, the number-two official in the doctrine office, due to the belief that he is responsible for the controversial document that bars blessings for same-sex couples, according to Newsweek. Morandi is ...
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PASSAGES Veronica Drake
Veronica Drake—a onetime Chicago resident and longtime LGBTQ+-rights activist—recently passed away in October. She was 58. She last resided in Florida. According to an obituary at Marvin C. Zanders Funeral Home, Inc., Drake was born Sept. 15 ...
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POLITICS Laura Ricketts co-chairing Valencia's finance committee
Laura Ricketts—a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, along with her family, and a leader in the LGBTQ+ community—is co-chairing the finance committee of Illinois secretary of state candidate Anna Valencia, according to the Politico Illinois Playbook. ...
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LGBTQ+ and BIPOC Youth Led Study on Youth and Young Adult COVID-19 Vaccination Finds Surprising Results
—From a news release
BOULDER, CO - Out Boulder County in partnership with El Centro AMISTAD and Unwoven Ventures with the leadership of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) youth created ...
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Virtual discussion about Amigas Latinas to take place Jan. 29
A virtual discussion about the now-defunct but groundbreaking organization Amigas Latinas will take place Saturday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m. Amigas Latinas founders Mona Noriega and Evette Cardona, and former Amigas Latinas board member Lourdes Torres ...
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'Real Housewife' Julia Lemigova talks about Miami Housewives, miniature cattle
The Real Housewives of Miami finally has an out and proud member of the LGBTQ+ in the main cast with Julia Lemigova. (She's the franchise's second such cast member, following The Real Housewives of Orange County's ...
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Debra Shore reflects on new role in EPA, past accomplishments
In October, President Joe Biden appointed Debra Shore to be the next Region Five Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), representing six states in the Midwest and the lands of 35 federally recognized tribes. Shore—who ...
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Filmmaker B. Danielle Watkins discusses her 'Higher Spirit'
Although lesbian filmmaker/screenwriter/author B. Danielle Watkins has now made two films about Christmas, she admitted she really doesn't like movies that center on the holiday. "My best friend and business partner, Onyx Keesha, loves them," Watkins ...
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Affinity's annual Burning Bowl postponed until March
Affinity Community Services—a Chicago social-justice organization serving the needs of the Black LGBTQ+ community, with a particular focus on Black women—is postponing its annual Burning Bowl ceremony until March 2022. A note read, "Due to t ...
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Actor, poet, arts activist Jerrie Johnson talks new Amazon show 'Harlem,' other work
Jerrie Johnson's mission to book a series regular role six months after finishing graduate school came to fruition when they (Johnson uses they/them pronouns) were cast as Tye, a lesbian dating app creator/CEO (who uses she/her ...
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Out actress Kelly McGillis to join flag-football teams in Key West tourney
Teams of women and girls from around the world are to meet for sporting events and activities Jan. 24-31, 2022, during the 30th annual Kelly McGillis Classic International Women's & Girls' Flag Football Championship, according to ...
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SPORTS Sky's Parker reveals she's married, she and wife expecting
Candace Parker, a star on the WNBA's Chicago Sky, announced she was expecting her second child with her wife, Anna Petrakova, on their anniversary, USA Today reported. Parker—who already has a 12-year-old daughter—said in an Instagram ...
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SPORTS Pena upsets lesbian fighter Nunes in MMA action
Julianna Pena achieved a huge upset Dec. 11, when she made Amanda Nunes submit to claim the women's bantamweight title in the UFC 269 co-main event at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena, according to USA Today. Pena ...
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Photography giant Annie Leibovitz talks 'Wonderland' at Chicago Humanities Festival
In its classic style of spotlighting creative humans, the Chicago Humanities Festival (CHF) hosted "Ellen Stone Belic Presents: In Her Infinite Wisdom Annie Leibovitz: Wonderland" on Dec. 7 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. ...
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Billie Jean King, Tom Brady honored at Sports Illustrated Awards
Legendary tennis player/activist Billie Jean King was among those honored at the 2021 Sports Illustrated Awards (SI Awards) presented by Pepsi Stronger Together, held Dec. 7 at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock & ...
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SPORTS Lesbian tennis director, Rapinoe, losses by local teams
—Amelie Mauresmo, an out lesbian and former top-ranked professional tennis player, has been named the newest director of the French Open. According to ESPN.com, Mauresmo, who succeeds Guy Forget, is the first woman to hold the ...
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HRC Foundation, SAGE launch guide for LGBTQ+ elders seeking affirming long-term care
--From a press release
WASHINGTON — Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, and SAGE, the world's ...
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U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids reaches marginalized communities with children's book
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids' children's book, Sharice's Big Voice, tells the story of how an Indigenous lesbian mixed martial artist and lawyer became the first LGBTQ+ representative of Kansas. "My hope is that when children or ...
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NATIONAL Trans murder milestone, Victory Fund, Matthew Shepard, Palm Center
Nikai David was fatally shot in Oakland, California—becoming at least the 50th trans, non-binary or gender non-conforming person reported killed in the United States in 2021, PGHLesbian.com noted. Forty-four of the victims have been BIPOC, and ...
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Billie Jean King to receive Muhammad Ali Award on Dec. 7
Tennis icon Billie Jean King will be honored with the Muhammad Ali Legacy Award presented by Alkaline88 at the 2021 Sports Illustrated Awards on Tuesday, Dec. 7. The honor celebrates individuals whose dedication to the ideals ...
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ART 'Frida: Immersive Dream' coming to Germania Place in 2022
Lighthouse Immersive, North America's leading producer of ground-breaking experiential art exhibits, and Maestro Immersive Art announce their newest immersive art installation, "Frida: Immersive Dream." This exhibition will run at Lighthouse ...
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SHOWBIZ '9-1-1,' Billie Jean King, Lena Waithe, singer Mary Lambert, White Party
Actor Rockmond Dunbar left the Fox show 9-1-1 after four seasons over a vaccine mandate, Deadline noted. His gay character, Michael Grant, was abruptly written off in the Nov. 15 episode, leaving fans of the first-responder ...
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VIEWS In defense of the word 'lesbian'
When I decided to come out to my mom, I wanted to wait until I could say the word "lesbian" out loud. But as I sat her down, I tripped over the long string of letters. "Mom, I'm gay," I blurted ...
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LGBTQ+ equality in nine Illinois municipalities detailed in Human Rights Campaign Index
--From a press release
WASHINGTON — Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, in partnership with ...
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Biden nominates second lesbian as federal judge
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recommended that President Joe Biden elevate the Manhattan federal judge overseeing the sex-abuse trial of British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Reuters reported. Biden ...
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NATIONAL Navy items, lesbian bar founder, QueerArt, trans guide
A Navy ship named for slain gay-rights leader Harvey Milk, who served four years in the Navy before being forced out, was christened and launched in San Diego Bay, Navy Times noted. The replenishment oiler USNS ...
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WORLD China clinic, lesbian couple, Mr. Gay World, Ghana bill
China launched its first medical clinic to treat transgender children and adolescents, NBC News reported. The Chinese state-backed media outlet The Global Times recently reported that the clinic opened at the Children's Hospital of Fudan University ...
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Human Rights Campaign Foundation releases data on COVID-19 & LGBTQ+ health equity
--From a Human Rights Campaign Foundation press release
WASHINGTON — Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization ...
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GLAAD releases latest Accelerating Acceptance Study
--From a press release
New York, NY - Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021 - GLAAD, the world's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, today announced the findings of its seventh annual Accelerating Acceptance Study, a nationa ...
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Lesbian director sails again with Lyric Opera's 'Florencia en el Amazonas'
Lesbian director Francesca Zambello has successfully ferried the Spanish-language opera Florencia en el Amazonas (Florencia in the Amazon) throughout its entire existence. Zambello not only staged its wildly successful world-premiere ...
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Actress Kristen Stewart announces engagement
Actress Kristen Stewart announced she and actress/screenwriter Dylan Meyer are engaged in an interview with Howard Stern, CNN.com noted. "We're marrying, we're totally gonna do it," Stewart said. "I wanted to be proposed to, so I ...
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BREAKING Lesbian confirmed to appeals court
On Nov. 1, the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of the first openly LGBT woman—a graduate of Dartmouth College and the University of Chicago Law School—for a seat on a federal appeals circuit bench. The roll-call ...
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Pres. Biden nominates Gigi Sohn FCC Commissioner; would be first out LGBTQ FCC Commissioner
--From a press release
Washington, DC — Today President Joe Biden nominated Gigi Sohn to fill a vacant seat at the Federal Communications Commission, putting her on-track to become the first out LGBTQ FCC commissioner in history, if confirmed by ...
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Annie Leibovitz at Chicago Humanities Festival on Dec. 7
On Tuesday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m., influential photographer Annie Leibovitz will come to the Chicago Humanities Festival for an exclusive conversation—her only event in the Midwest to celebrate the publication of her newest collection, Wonderland. ...
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LGBT HISTORY MONTH Angela Davis, revolutionary
By Victoria A. Brownworth
"You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time," said Angela Davis, 78, the country's most famous living revolutionary. She was born ...
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LGBT History Month: Staten Island museum throws open Austen's closet door
It's been a long time coming, but officials at the Alice Austen House on New York's Staten Island have thrown open the closet door, now fully embracing the lesbian pioneer and photographer who lived in the ...
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LGBT History Project: Tee A. Corinne: Photographer of lesbian sexuality
By Victoria A. Brownworth
Over her decades as a lesbian photographer and artist, Tee Corinne said, "I'm one of the most obscure famous artists." Famous? Yes. Obscure? Certainly not within artistic circles nor within the queer art world where she ...
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Dozens of celebrities, companies set to take part in Spirit Day on Oct. 21
--From a press release
New York, NY, Thursday, October 14, 2021 - Today, GLAAD, the world's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, announced a preliminary list of celebrities, shows ...
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LGBTQ History Month: Pauli Murray, architect of history
By Victoria A. Brownworth
(Note: The pronouns she/her are used in keeping with Murray's own writings, but Murray was a transmasculine and gender-nonconforming lesbian.) Some say Pauli Murray is the most important U.S. activist many have never heard of. An ...
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MUSIC Janis Ian's last Chicago concert May 14
In what is being advertised as her last concert in Chicago, LGBTQ singer Janis Ian will be performing at the Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave. on Saturday, May 14, 2022, at 8 p.m. Tickets ($48-$50) will ...
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President Biden appoints Debra Shore to key EPA position
--From a press release
Washington, DC — Today President Joe Biden appointed former LGBTQ Victory Institute board chair Debra Shore to be the next Region Five Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency — representing six states in the Midwest and ...
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Donations needed for LGBTQ+-affirming spiritual leader's recovery
In July, Sofia G. Sarabia—an activist and community leader who provided spiritual counseling to LGBTQ+ youth and undocumented immigrants—suffered an unexpected stroke that injured her brain and left her immobile and unable to speak or eat. ...
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Achy Obejas' bilingual poetry book Boomerang/Bumeran explores immigration, liberation
Achy Obejas is a Cuban-American writer, translator and activist. Boomerang/Bumerán, her newest book, confronts questions of immigration, love and liberation. Like a boomerang, these ideas return throughout the collection, even ...
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SHOWBIZ 'Drag Race' winners, Playboy, punk band, The Dinah, Daniel Craig
Video below
As part of VH1's #LGBTQHerstoryMonth project, five winners from the RuPaul's Drag Race winner's circle—season one's BeBe Zahara Benet, All Stars 4 winner Monet X Change, season 11 winner Yvie Oddly, season 12 victor Jaida Essence ...
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WORLD Japan politics, video games, lesbian tennis player, Mr. Gay World
LGBTQ+-rights activists were hoping Japan would finally allow same-sex marriage if Taro Kono, who has publicly supported same-sex marriage, became the country's next prime minister—but their hopes were dashed. Japan's ...
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Sally Ride to be among women on U.S. coins next year
The United States Mint announced the official designs for the first five coins in the American Women Quarters Program. The 2022 coins will recognize the achievements of author/social activist Maya Angelou; physicist/astronaut Dr. Sally Ride, a ...
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Affinity's 'Virtual Black Gold' on Oct. 23
Affinity Community Services—a social-justice organization serving the needs of the Black LGBTQ+ community, with a particular focus on Black women—will hold its "Virtual Black Gold" casino event Saturday, Oct. 23. ...
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Sisters in Cinema, DocuClub providing consulting opportunities to filmmakers
Sisters in Cinema—a Chicago-based 501(C)3 that aims to center and celebrate Black girls, women and gender non-conforming media makers—and DocuClub, a work-in-progress screening series, have entered into a strategic partnership ...
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PHIMC to present second Mary F. Morten Award on Nov. 7
Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago (PHIMC) announced Chicago Freedom School as the 2021 recipient of the Mary F. Morten Award for Justice. According to a release, "Chicago Freedom School is being recognized for its vital ...
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OPALGA+ Scholarship Gala taking place Oct. 23
The 2021 OPALGA+ (Oak Park Area Lesbian & Gay Association+) Scholarship Gala will take place Saturday, Oct. 23, at Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest Ave., Oak Park. Cocktails will begin at 6 p.m., with the program/dinner ...
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NATIONAL Carl Bean dies, LGBT History Month, military events, Dykes on Bikes
Archbishop Carl Bean—an openly gay former Motown singer, longtime AIDS activist and leader in the LGBTQ church movement—died at age 77, The New York Daily News reported. In a statement entitled "The Giant Sleeps," the Unity ...
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WORLD Germany's compensation, Lyra McKee, LGBTQ Afghans, tennis player
Germany has compensated almost 250 people who were prosecuted or investigated under a Nazi-era law criminalizing homosexuality, according to euronews. By September, 317 people had applied for compensation for their ...
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'Homophile' organization New Gay Liberation Front launches
The New Gay Liberation Front—which described itself in a press release as a "homophile organization"—has launched. "Homophile" is a term that was used by some gay and lesbian groups in the 1950s. According to the University ...
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Constand breaks silence about Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby accuser Andrea Constand is breaking her silence to NBC News about the comic/actor's release from prison two months ago, Deadline noted. In a brief clip, Constand tells Kate Snow she "was really shocked — ...
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PASSAGES Pioneering lesbian business owner Susan Mazer dies
Susan Mazer died August 31 due to COVID-19 complications. She was 77. At the time of her death, Mazer was living in Port Saint Lucie, Florida with her wife Janet Norton. Mazer was born May 10, ...
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HIV AT 40: Global activist Phill Wilson talks Chicago, the '80s and vaccines
Phill Wilson is one of the best-known HIV/AIDS activists/educators around the globe. The Chicago native was the co-founder of the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum and the National Task Force on AIDS Prevention. He ...
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TENNIS U.S. Open to celebrate Pride on Sept. 1
Rainbow flags will be flying at the USTA (United States Tennis Association) Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Wed., Sept. 1, as the USTA celebrates and welcomes the LGBTQ+ community to the first-ever Open Pride ...
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Report features eight Illinois child-welfare agencies working with HRC Foundation
--From a press release
WASHINGTON — Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, released a new report ...
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ART 'Frida Kahlo: Timeless' extended to Sept. 12
"Frida Kahlo: Timeless," hosted by the Cleve Carney Museum of Art (CCMA) and the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at the College of DuPage (COD), has been extended an additional week to Sept. 12. To date, "Timeless" ...
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WORLD Trapped in Afghanistan, lesbian pioneer, anti-gay crimes, Valencia's bid
Among the Americans trapped in the suburban areas of Kabul, Afghanistan, under Taliban control was Josie Thomas, 32, a transgender government contractor for the U.S. State Department and former U.S. Air Force Sergeant, The Washington Blade ...
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COMEDY Cameron Esposito at The Den on Oct. 2
The Den Theatre will present out comedian Cameron Esposito Saturday, Oct. 2d at 8 pm on The Heath Mainstage, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave.. Esposito is a standup comic, actor and writer who has appeared across television ...
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LGBTQ women's music event 'Still Rising' on Aug. 21
Still Rising—for LGBTQ women DJs, producers, promoters and their allies—will take place Saturday, Aug. 21, at Epiphany Center for the Arts, 201 S. Ashland Ave. There will be a mixer, workshops and, of course, music at ...
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GLAAD highlights how Olympians used Tokyo Games to call for LGBTQ acceptance
--From a press release
(August 11, 2021) GLAAD, the world's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is highlighting how this year's historic number of out LGBTQ athletes repeatedly stood ...
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NATIONAL Biden nominees, San Diego crime, HRC, Fox News contributor
President Joe Biden reappointed out lesbian Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum as a commissioner of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), which is an advisory post pertaining to issues of religious freedom, Gay City News reported. ...
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MUSIC Marie Osmond talks Sound of Music, Ravinia, lesbian daughter [UPDATE]
The multitalented performer Marie Osmond continues to hit milestones in her more than five-decade-long career. She became a country music star with a cover of "Paper Roses" and then took over television with Donny & Marie, ...
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'Filmmaking on the South Side' on Aug. 21
On Aug. 21, 7-9:30 p.m., Chicago Humanities Festival and local partners from Sisters in Cinema, South Side Home Movie Project and the Chicago South Side Film Festival will host a conversation about the development of community-based ...
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Gina Ortiz Jones, Shawn Skelly confirmed by U.S. Senate; both make LGBTQ history
--From a press release
Washington, DC — The United States Senate today confirmed two historic LGBTQ presidential nominees by unanimous consent. Gina Ortiz Jones, confirmed for Under Secretary of the Air Force, will be the first out lesbian to serve ...
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Queer In(n) producers announce inaugural installation unveiling, upcoming website
Partners and co-producers, Kelli Simpkins and Adithi Chandrashekar are creating a curated, generative online arts gallery called Queer In(n). The inaugural unveiling of a five-foot-by-six-foot wheat paste portrait of longtime ...
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Billie Jean King part of group inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame
Lesbian trailblazer and icon Billie Jean King was one of 12 people inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on July 17, according to the hall's website. The Class of 2021 includes coach Dennis Van ...
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PASSAGES Author, cultural theorist, scholar Lauren Berlant dies
Author, cultural theorist and scholar Lauren Berlant died June 28 in a Chicago hospice facility of a rare form of cancer. They were 63. Berlant (who used they/them pronouns professionally) was born Oct. 31, 1957 in ...
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Prominent lesbian educator/activist/author Sally Gearhart dies at 90
Sally Gearhart—the first out lesbian to receive a tenure-track position at San Francisco State University and a prominent LGBTQ-rights advocate—died July 14, according to The Bay Area Reporter, which cited an email Jean Crosby sent to ...
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