On a cold late August morning, 14-year-old Max Yemelyanov huddles into a circle of groggy teens, some still wrapped in their blankets. A homemade rainbow flag flaps in the brisk wind as more young people trickle out of their cabins and gather around. There’s a welcome practicality to the morning ritual. “Everyone rub their hands together, let’s create some warm vibes,” shouts a cheery counsellor.
When he was handed his bid to the fraternity, the first thing Henry* said was, “I’m gay.” The older man handing him the bid, already a member of the fraternity, responded: “We know. We don’t care.” Henry signed with them and became a member of their fraternity. Henry said he has always felt welcomed and accepted by his brothers, even though most of them had never had a close gay friend before him. He said that being one of their only gay friends has allowed him to enlighten and inform them.
The percentage of Americans who support same-sex marriage has reached a record high, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal “Social Trends” poll. Sixty percent of those polled say they support same-sex marriage, which is up from 59 percent in 2015 and 53 percent in 2013. Thirty-three percent say they oppose same-sex marriage, with the remaining respondents saying either it “depends” or they are “not sure.”
As a gay, Christian pastor, Gary LeCroy says conversation is the first step to ending negative connotations of homosexuality. “I think a lot of the people who are opposed to [homosexuality] have never sat and actually dialogued with people who are,” LeCroy said. LeCroy was the keynote speaker for the “Christianity and Queerness” event on Tuesday, Sept. 5. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lutheran Center and LGBTQA+ Resource Center partnered to host the event in the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center.
You might think pop stars singing openly about same-sex love is a relatively recent phenomenon. A new book explodes that myth. David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 years of LGBT Music, by Bristol-based British writer Darryl W Bullock, takes a comprehensive look back at a century’s worth of queer artists. Most of us are familiar with the likes of Elton John, Scissor Sisters, Freddie Mercury, Boy George and Sam Smith.
A formerly Hasidic mom lost custody of her kids after coming out as gay — and was barred from even telling her youngest children about her sexuality, according to a first-of-its-kind Brooklyn court ruling. The shocking decision was finally struck down by an appeals court in August, but only after months of legal wrangling.
Until last year, Ninotska Love would have been barred from attending Wellesley College. She’s an accomplished student who has persevered through hardship, but under longstanding rules, the college would have rejected her because she was assigned at birth as a boy. Now the rules have changed. This week, Love will become one of the first transgender women to attend Wellesley in the school’s 147-year history.
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