5 THINGS TO KNOW
Month: September 2017
PRIDE
Pride comes alive in La Crosse.
Once a year, professionals and amateurs alike have the opportunity to strut their stuff down the runway at the La Crosse Center, celebrating La Crosse community Pride with bright lights, glamorous garb and a some whole-hearted lip syncing. Traditionally, Pride Month is celebrated in June, but in La Crosse the festivities fall in September, and this weekend the fun kicks off with the fourth annual “So You Think You Can Drag” show at 9 p.m. Friday, one of three events hosted by The Center: 7 Rivers LGBTQ Connection.
5 THINGS TO KNOW
LGBTQ Journalists meet up with the help of Fox News.
This weekend in Philadelphia, a four-day long convention of LGBTQ (gay, lesbian, transsexual, bisexual, queer) activists is meeting with leading mainstream journalists and corporate media producers and executives. The stated purpose is to influence mainstream reporting on issues close to the heart of the LGBTQ activist community.
HEROES
UT fraternities are slowly opening up for gay students.
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.
5 THINGS TO KNOW
Trauma follows LGBT refugees.
For refugees and asylum seekers, trauma experienced in one’s past can make the resettlement process a lonely endeavor. With same-sex relations still a crime in 72 countries, and socially unacceptable in many more, this process can be especially strenuous for LGBTQ refugees, whose histories of trauma may include torture, discrimination, imprisonment, and threats of death.
POLICIES
No hate allowed in Michigan.
Michigan Democratic state senators Curtis Hertel Jr., David Knezek, and Jim Ananich sponsored a resolution condemning hate groups as domestic terrorists and got an unexpected surprise from the other side of the aisle.
5 THINGS TO KNOW
Gay & bisexual black men are at a higher risk for contacting HIV.
HIV and AIDS are a rising concern in the U.S., but the majority of those affected are in Georgia – more specifically, in Atlanta. The statistical demographics are telling a particular narrative, one that shows that bisexual African American men who are having sex with other men (MSM) are the ones most likely to contract HIV.