lgbtq people – The News Desk

For a male sexual assault survivor, justice won in court does not equal healing

1Dec

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Entertainment

For a male sexual assault survivor, justice won in court does not equal healing

When Sam Schultz was sexually assaulted, it felt like a part of them died.It took eight years and the burgeoning #MeToo movement to spur them to go public and make a police report, and an additional five years for their attackers to plead guilty.Now, as much as Schultz hopes there’s a reckoning coming in gay and queer communities, too, it feels like they are the one shouldering the blame, not the attackers: for coming forward, for harming the men’s reputations.Instead of being able to focus on recovery, Schultz has been saddled with worries from other gay men that talking about sexual abuse in their community will hurt the fight for LBGTQ+ rights.The pain of the assault and ensuing public attention and court proceedings have taken a huge toll.“It is an exhausting and horrifying journey th...

Coldplay concert in Malaysia can be stopped by organizers if the band misbehaves, government says

22Nov

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Entertainment

Coldplay concert in Malaysia can be stopped by organizers if the band misbehaves, government says

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Organizers of Wednesday's Coldplay concert in Malaysia can stop the show if the British rock band misbehaves, a minister said as the government rejected Muslim conservatives' calls to cancel the show. Led by the country's opposition bloc, Muslim conservatives have protested the concert over Coldplay’s support for the LGBTQ+ community. Recently, they also pushed for the concert to be halted in solidarity with Palestinians killed in the Israel-Hamas war. Communication and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said he doesn't foresee any problem with Coldplay's first concert in Malaysia later in the night. Security has been beefed up for the show that is expected to draw some 75,000 people at a stadium outside Kuala Lumpur.“Yes, it's one of the things we have discussed with...

Texas school reverses decision that banned transgender student from role in musical

14Nov

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Entertainment

Texas school reverses decision that banned transgender student from role in musical

SHERMAN, Texas -- A Texas school district has apologized and reversed a decision that ousted a transgender student from a part in the musical “Oklahoma!”The school board in Sherman voted unanimously Monday to reinstate the original show and cast after a meeting in which dozens criticized them and spoke in support the 17-year-old transgender boy who'd lost his role in the production because of a new policy.“We want to apologize to our students, parents and our community regarding the circumstances that they have had to go through to this date," President Brad Morgan said in a statement on behalf of the board following the vote.Sherman, a city of 45,000 about 65 miles (105 kilometers) north of Dallas and near the Oklahoma border, became the latest community embroiled in the national debate ...

In the wake of Matthew Perry’s death, Chinese fans mourn an old friend

3Nov

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Entertainment

In the wake of Matthew Perry’s death, Chinese fans mourn an old friend

Long before “Friends” made its official debut in China, the show was a word-of-mouth phenomenon in the country. In the wake of Matthew Perry's death at 54, fans in China are mourning the loss of the star who felt less like a distant celebrity and more like an old friend.A Wednesday evening memorial at a cafe in Shenzhen, a busy city across the border of Hong Kong, was one of several held throughout the country for the actor who played Chandler Bing and died Saturday in Los Angeles. The coffee shop — an homage to the 10-season sitcom, from its name (Smelly Cat) to the Central Perk sign on its glass wall — was packed with people and floral arrangements as the TV mounted in the corner played an episode of “Friends.”“There are more people who showed up than we expected,” said cafe manager Nie...

Scholastic will drop policy that makes it easier for school fairs to exclude diverse books

25Oct

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Entertainment

Scholastic will drop policy that makes it easier for school fairs to exclude diverse books

Scholastic Inc. will end a widely criticized policy that made it easier for school book fairs not to sell works with racial, disability and LGBTQ+ themesByThe Associated PressOctober 25, 2023, 3:35 PMFILE - Poet Amanda Gorman arrives at the 65th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 5, 2023. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)The Associated PressNEW YORK -- Scholastic Inc. will end a widely criticized policy that made it easier for school book fairs not to sell works with racial, disability and LGBTQ+ themes.The children's publisher angered many authors and educators this fall when it created a separate package of dozens of books, labeled “Share Every Story, Celebrate Every Voice,” and gave schools the option on whether to include them in fairs. Poet Amanda Gorman, whose “Ch...

`The Laramie Project’ stages a special reading in Wyoming on the 25th anniversary of Shepard murder

12Oct

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Entertainment

`The Laramie Project’ stages a special reading in Wyoming on the 25th anniversary of Shepard murder

NEW YORK -- It has been 25 years since the body of Matthew Shepard was discovered in Laramie, Wyoming. The gay college student had been tied to a fence post, tortured and left to die.The murder drew national attention to violence against gay people, and attracted the interest of theater director Moisés Kaufman, who turned the horror into art with “The Laramie Project.”This 25th anniversary has triggered deep sadness for Kaufman, founder and artistic director of the New York-based Tectonic Theater Project. He wonders about all the things Shepard could have become.“Every year around this time, it’s painful to remember, but this one has hit particularly hard,” Kaufman tells the AP. After Shepard's 1998 killing, Kaufman and members of Tectonic traveled to Laramie and wrote the play based on m...

24Aug

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Technology

Twitter took two days to suspend accused Pride flag killer’s account

CNN — X has suspended an account that posted numerous anti-gay and antisemitic posts and was used by the man accused of killing store owner Lauri Carleton over her display of a Pride Flag. But the account had remained live two days after law enforcement publicly confirmed its existence on the platform formerly known as Twitter. The social media company finally suspended the account Wednesday evening. Alejandra Caraballo with the Cyberlaw Clinic at Harvard Law School posted on X Wednesday that she reported the account’s content, but received a reply from the company indicating: “After reviewing the available information, we want to let you know [the account] hasn’t broken our safety policies.” ...