Sylvia Rivera

John Oliver’s Marlon Bundo Is More Than A Parody

Jill Twiss’s parody of Vice President’s rabbit Marlon Bundo hippity-hopped to No. 1 on Amazon  a day before the release of Pence’s daughter Charlotte’s children’s book about their real family…

Who’s In Charge When A Child Comes Out?

When a child comes out, the family dynamic changes.  It’s a role reversal.  The child is perceived as being “in charge.” But you play a vital role.  Don’t “roll over…

What To Expect From PFLAG

  Parents feel better when they realize that they are not alone and that there are parents like them who are experiencing similar thoughts, feelings and reactions to having an…

Slouching Toward Equality In The Workplace

Gay workers in Connecticut, New York, and Vermont will sleep better tonight knowing that yesterday a federal appeals court in Manhattan ruled that gay employees are allowed to sue their…

Mike Pence Is On Thin Ice with Rippon

Of the fifteen LGBTQ athletes competing in the Winter Olympics, Gus Kenworthy the American freestyle skier and Adam Rippon, the American figure skater have attracted the most attention for their…

Who Is Kristin Beck? Why We Should Care

   Just last week, I watched a documentary entitled “Lady Valor:  The Kristin Beck Story,” released in 2014, at our local theatre.  The movie was preceded by Beck’s memoire Warrior…

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (In LGBT issues, that is.)

First the Good News: ·      Captain Franchino married Captain Hall on January 13, 2018 at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York.  The two Apache helicopter pilots stationed…

Suicide: It’s All Too Common

Did you know that suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people, ages ten to twenty-four?  Compared to heterosexuals, LGB youth seriously contemplate suicide at almost three…

All Straight Parents Should Be So Understanding

I recently saw the excellent stays-with-you movie “Call Me By Your Name.”  In this film, Elio, a seventeen year-old Italian Jew, falls hard for his father’s research assistant, twenty-four year-old…

What’s Cooking in those Red Kettles?

Do well-meaning people know that by heeding the call of the uniformed bell ringers and dropping money into those red kettles, that they may be supporting homophobia and transphobia?   Although…

Who Owns The Cake?

Tomorrow, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) will hear oral arguments about whether a Colorado baker has the right to refuse making a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. The couple,…

Coming Out: Is It A Good Idea During The Holidays?

Chances are you may see your relatives on few occasions.  Thanksgiving may be one of them.  Christmas may be the other.  You don’t want to upset the tone of the…

It’s National Transgender Awareness Week, Nov. 13-17

Did you know that: ·      The F.B.I. released hate crime statistics for 2016 and highlighted the ongoing epidemic of anti-transgender violence in the U.S. ·      In 2016, advocates tracked 23…

November is National Adoption Month

I have two adopted children: a son, born in 1983, and a daughter, born in 1988.  Both were closed adoptions of infants through a well-known adoption agency in Manhattan. I…

October is National Bullying Prevention Month

As an integral part of National Bullying Prevention Month, tomorrow is Spirit Day.  Does your child’s school have a GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance),  partake in GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network)…