Matthew Shepard – Photo: Matthew Shepard Foundation.
A gay man was attacked in queens after refusing to perform oral sex on a stranger, Frank Ocean launched a new queer club night in New York, and a New Jersey city was targeted with anti-gay, Nazi graffiti — here’s some of the LGBTQ stories you need to know:
Matthew Shepard’s Parents Slam AG Barr for Transgender Rights “Hypocrisy”
The parents of gay teen Matthew Shepard, who was brutally killed in an anti-gay attack in Wyoming in 1998, have slammed Attorney General William Barr for refusing to protect trans rights. Judy and Dennis Shepard wrote an open letter criticizing both Barr and the Trump administration for trying to legalize anti-trans discrimination, after Barr invited them to an event recognizing ten years since the passing of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. “We find it interesting and hypocritical that he would invite us to this event,” the Shepards wrote, adding, “Mr. Barr, you cannot have it both ways. If you believe that employers should have the right to terminate transgender employees, just because they are transgender, then you believe they are lesser than and not worthy of protection.”
New Jersey Homes Sprayed with Anti-gay, Nazi Graffiti
Police in Trenton, N.J., are investigating after various buildings in the state capital were tagged with swastikas, satanic references, and anti-gay messages. Per The Trentonian: “A black spray-painted Swastika and a picture of an erect, ejaculating penis appeared along a message seemingly targeting tenants of the homes: ‘Fags live here.'” According to reports, at least one Jewish landlord owns properties in the neighborhood targeted, and police are investigating the graffiti as bias crimes.
Gay Man Beaten, Robbed After Refusing Stranger’s Demands for Oral Sex
A gay man in Queens claims he was beaten and robbed by a man who kept demanding that he perform oral sex. The victim, Carlos, told Gay City News that the man “exposed himself, punched him, stole his belongings, and dragged him on the ground — all because he wouldn’t perform oral sex on him.” “When I looked back, he grabbed his penis and said, ‘You want this?’ I didn’t pay attention to it,” Carlos said. “When I turned around a second time, he said, ‘Do you want to suck my dick?’ I said, ‘No.’” Police later arrested 26-year-old Jelani Stewart on charges of robbery and public lewdness.
Frank Ocean Launches Queer Club Night “PrEP+” in NYC
Queer musician Frank Ocean has launched a new club night in New York City called “PrEP+.” According to Queerty, the party “envisions a 1980s LGBTQ community not decimated by AIDS.” An official statement says “PrEP+” will pay “homage to what could have been of the 1980s’ NYC club scene if the drug…. had been invented in that era.” It also notes “[zero] tolerance for racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism or any form of discrimination.”
VIDEO: Trans Man’s Family Supports Him After Top Surgery in Heartwarming Viral Clip
A video of a transgender Brazilian man’s family supporting him after he underwent top surgery has gone viral for all the right reasons. Richard Alcântara, from Sao Paolo, Brazil, was still bandaged following the surgery when he went shirtless around his family — only to be met by the sight of all of the men wearing their own bandages in a wonderful show of support. Watch the reveal — and Alcântara’s emotional reaction — below:
A new report finds that acceptance of LGBTQ people is declining across the United States, with nearly three in ten LGBTQ adults saying attitudes toward their community have worsened.
On Thursday, January 15, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation released findings from its Annual LGBTQ+ Community Survey, which drew responses from nearly 15,000 U.S. adults -- roughly two-thirds of whom identified as LGBTQ.
In addition to the survey, HRC last year launched its "American Dreams Tour," traveling to 10 cities and engaging more than 5,000 people through town halls, trainings, and community meetings with local LGBTQ leaders and activists. Those on-the-ground conversations informed the report, which aims to assess the state of LGBTQ life in the United States one year into the second Trump administration.
Every December, Grindr releases Grindr Unwrapped, an annual report drawing on data from its more than 15 million monthly users to reveal what LGBTQ people consider culturally relevant and how they behave on the app -- from pop-culture tastes to sexual habits, fetishes, and hookup styles.
"With Grindr Unwrapped, you get to see the real diversity in sexual activity, sexual desire, sexual appeal, and see some of the things that are more universal and some that differ culturally between different groups of gay and bisexual men and others using the app," says Zachary Zane, Grindr's sex-and-relationship expert.
In late November, the University of Oklahoma placed Mel Curth on administrative leave after the transgender graduate teaching assistant gave a student a zero on an essay about gender roles.
The essay cited the Bible to defend traditional gender roles and described transgender people as "demonic." Curth and the course's instructor, Megan Waldron, said the paper failed to meet basic academic standards due to a lack of empirical evidence. Both noted that the paper cited no scholarly sources and failed to offer an evidence-based critique of the assigned article, which argued that children who do not conform to rigid gender stereotypes are more likely to face bullying and negative mental health outcomes.
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