OutPerform | A weekly newsletter on LGBTQ+ Equality - Issue #45
This week: Indiana, trans competitive swimming, Netflix and the CEI, Australia religious bill controversy, hats and gloves for Rikers, James Bidgood's passing, UK clash over EHRC comments & more…
Welcome to this edition of my weekly equality news digest, where I share important (and, let's be honest, less important news!) news, updates, and commentary about the LGBTQ+ equality movement globally.
Questions, feedback, and comments are always welcome. Would you mind sharing with your network to continue helping us move the LGBTQ+ equality conversation forward?
US News
Indiana's anti-trans House Bill 1041 heads to the Senate.
Indiana House Bill 1041, approved in the House 66 to 30 votes last Thursday, is heading to the Senate. You can write to senator.bray@iga.in.gov, s37@iga.in.gov (President Pro Tempore of the Senate), and his Legislative Assistant Kayla.caviness@iga.in.gov to oppose the bill and stress the harm it will create. You can also write to Senator Raatz, chair of the Senate Education Committee (s56@iga.in.gov, senator.raatz@iga.in.gov cc: Jake.Torrie@iga.in.gov). It also is an opportunity to remind lawmakers that the economic fallout will undoubtedly be negative (read our letter to Senator Bray here - we sent a similar one to Senator Raatz asking him not to hold an hearing on the bill).
Not to be outdone by Indiana, Arizona found something even more antagonistic.
Arizona Republicans have voted for a bill, exclusively motivated by animus, that would discipline teachers who withhold information on students' sexual orientation or gender identity. Even Russia does not have such granularly antagonistic laws on the books. Read about it in the AZ Mirror.
Black History Month.
Out Leadership marked the first day of Black History Month in the US. It is also an opportunity to go back to the NYTimes’ visually striking 1619 project which aims to reframe the US history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the national narrative.
HRC releases the 2022 Corporate Equality Index…without Netflix.
Congratulations to the many companies that obtained a perfect score (a record 842 companies compared to 767 in 2021. Just 13 companies earned a perfect score when the index first launched in 2002, 20 years ago. Netflix has been left out of the annual index, with HRC citing the company's handling of the infamous Dave Chappelle Special. I guess Etienne's mesh outfits in Emily in Paris (still watching/still ashamed) did not do the trick. Read the CEI report highlights here and the full report here.
The Biden Administration – one year into the presidency.
The Washington Post published a piece quoting multiple leaders in the movement on whether the Biden administration had fulfilled its electoral promises to the LGBTQ+ community. While most lauded the administration's achievements, some expressed concerns on the Equality Act and other issues such as parental-leave policy (part of the Build Back Better legislation package that is now stalled). Read the assessment here. LGBTQ+ appointments by this administration are record high and we believe Amb. Chantale Wong’s appointment is imminent (see The Hill).
Competitive swimming and new guidelines for trans swimmers.
While transgender swimmer Lia Thomas made the headlines this week and received the full support of her team, USA Swimming issued a controversial new policy for transgender athletes in elite competition. Read about it here. Meanwhile, Trump promised to ban transgender women from sports if re-elected, referring specifically to Thomas. This week a South Dakota official also compared the participation of trans athletes in sports to terrorism.
Hats and Gloves for Rikers Island’s prisoners.
LGBTQ+ people have more encounters with law enforcement and therefore are disproportionately impacted by the US criminal justice system as they are often stuck on the margins of society. Lesbian-led Witness to Mass Incarceration has a campaign to bring hats and gloves to prisoners at Rikers (with the rare agreement of the Dept. of Correction) that are freezing without access to these basic winter necessities, as reported by the New York Times on January 11th. See the campaign, donate here and please share it.
Global News
UK: LGBTQ+ organizations clash with EHRC.
The gender versus trans rights saga in the UK continues to rumble on. The LGBT Foundation announced it severed all ties with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). At the same time, Stonewall UK called for an investigation into its statements on the proposed reforms to the Gender Recognition Act in Scotland. EHRC had called for "more detailed consideration," which did not fly with local organizations. EHRC is a public body established in 2007 to promote equality and non-discrimination laws in England, Scotland and Wales.
UNDP officially launches the LGBTI index.
For several years, the United Nations Development Program has been leading efforts to build a global LGBTI Inclusion Index to measure progress on LGBTQ+ inclusion in each country. Last Friday, UNDP carried out a training by the wondrous Professor Lee Badgett for activists to populate the Index database. UNDP is inviting them to enter data for their own country using the Index's 54 indicators. If you want to join this effort, you can enter your contact here.
Did Iran just execute two gay men?
Capital punishment for same-sex acts is rarely enacted, whether it is in Brunei or Nigeria (not that these laws are not harmful in many other ways). However, the Washington Blade reported that an Iranian human rights organization said two gay men were executed for sodomy on Sunday.
Australia: the religious bill illustrates how good intentions can create bad laws.
This is a good summary of why LGBTQ+ activists oppose the bill: "[the bill is] a recipe for ongoing community division, more discrimination, and years of expensive court cases." Meanwhile, fuel was added to the fire in a case of terrible timing after reports this week that Citipointe Christian College in Brisbane had issued contracts requiring students to agree to specific gender roles and denounce homosexuality (see how it unfolded in The Daily Mail).
From the semi-cultural desk
Legendary – yet forgotten - James Bidgood passes away.
James Bidgood, who created the legendary 1971 « Pink Narcissus » (filmed in a tiny NYC loft), died yesterday aged 88. He was strangely forgotten by the mainstream community and suffered financial hardship for most of his life. A few months ago, he wrote on Facebook: "I think [we] are all gone now ...and mostly forgotten. […] I often wonder if that is a blessing or a curse. I am grateful...but on the other hand, there is so much I wish I'd never lived to see.....and old age IS NOT for sissies." (word)
You can contribute to his funeral fund using this GoFundMe link.
Doritos faces backlash in Israel.
Last week, an ad posted on Doritos' Hebrew-language social media accounts ahead of Family Day, or Yom HaMishpacha, celebrated yesterday, drew the ire of religious groups in Israel (see the ad here). How can these people be so fit on a Doritos diet is my question?
Diversity washing and representation.
This Forbes article by Harvard’s Susan Harmeling “A Cautionary Tale Of Diversity Myopia” ends with this sentence: “the existence of inclusion in the absence of diversity rings hollow”. Ultimately representation (including in the boardroom) is more telling than statements or high scores on the CEI. Today only a handful of US Fortune 500 companies report having an out LGBTQ+ Board member.
Coming and Going
GLSEN appoints first Black non-binary executive director.
Melanie Willingham-Jaggers (They/She) is the newly appointed Executive Director at GLSEN, a national nonprofit that works to ensure K-12 education is safe for LGBTQ+ people. The new Executive Director committed to prioritizing racial justice, gender justice, and disability justice in their introductory statements. (see the press release here)
Opening at True Colors United.
Gregory Lewis announced he is leaving True Colors United. True Colors United, co-founded in 2008 with Cindi Lauper, works to end youth homelessness, focusing on LGBTQ+ youth.
Peng Yanzi at Yale.
A few months ago, we reported how LGBT Rights Advocacy China, co-founded by Peng Yanzi and AQiang in Guangzhou in 2013, shut down its activities in a difficult context (HRW just awarded Beijing a gold medal in censorship). Peng is now a visiting scholar at Yale. We send him a warm welcome !
Grabbing dinner with Taylor Hirshberg.
Tonight I am grabbing dinner with Taylor Hirshberg, a researcher at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health who is also a Hearst Foundation scholar, and has been working to help evacuate LGBTQ+ Afghans in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover (See Mailman’s November post). Meeting interesting people in person is the perk of being back from my rural adventures.
Openings at Micro-Rainbow and Mossier.
Micro Rainbow, which focuses on LGBTQ+ economic empowerment, is recruiting its first Communications Manager 🏳️🌈. Deadline is 9th February. Mossier (in Minneapolis) has two openings.
Rachel Maddow leaving MNSBC to focus on a film project.
Rachel Maddow announced her hiatus from hosting The Rachel Maddow Show until April. Is anybody free at 9 p.m. on weeknights to take over?
Thank you for your attention and see you at the same time next week.