The Glass Closet: What happened next
Last year, John Browne, Lord Browne of Madingley, published his acclaimed book, The Glass Closet – explaining the business case for encouraging staff to be out at work. In this exclusive extract from the forward to the paperback edition, he talks about some of the responses he received to its publication
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www.gaystarnews.com/article/glass-closet-what-happened-next080615
HRC Global Proudly Hosts Three International Fellows
HRC Global has the privilege of hosting numerous LGBT advocates from around the world at our headquarters in Washington, D.C.
HRC.org
16-Year-Old Adam Kizer's Death Draws Attention To Bullying, Suicide Epidemic Among Bisexual Teens
A bisexual teen has taken his own life after enduring years of bullying at school.
Adam Kizer, 16, a high school sophomore in Sonoma Valley, California, died May 30 after tying fishing line around his neck. He spent four days on life support.
Adam’s father, William Kizer, says he’s considering legal action. William Kizer told The Advocate he reported the bullying to school officials, who claim they weren’t aware of it.
The Press Democrat reports:
The elder Kizer said his son had been a target of bullying since elementary school in Wyoming, where other kids once bound him and poured gasoline on him. The abuse continued in Sonoma after the family moved there in 2011, with students at Sonoma Valley High picking on the slightly built teen with shaggy hair, encouraging him to take his own life, the father said.
He had attempted suicide before and suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress, his father said.
“It’s the worst pain you can ever imagine,” the father said.
Adam Kizer, who came out as bisexual six months ago, enjoyed kickboxing and played bass in a heavy metal band. He was also an active member of the school’s GSA. About 200 people attended a vigil (right) for Adam the night after his death. .
GLAAD has more on the problem of bullying and suicide among bisexual youth:
In April, a bisexual teenage girl from Iowa named Alyssa Morgan passed away from suicide, as well. Like Adam, Alyssa’s family were supportive of her identity, but she suffered with depression and self-harm in the face of longstanding bullying for being perceived as “different” because she was bisexual. Like Adam’s father, Alyssa’s mother Nicole struggled to get her daughter’s school to take the harassment seriously.
Bullying and suicidality are life-threatening issues plaguing students across the country, and disproportionately impact LGBT youth—especially bisexual members of the community. Bisexual people confront higher rates of anxiety, depression, substance abuse, suicidality and other mood disorders compared to straight, lesbian, and gay peers. Recent studies show that 8 out of 10 of all LGBT students experience in-school harassment, and that school staff does nothing about over 60% of reported anti-LGBT bullying cases. These anti-LGBT and biphobic issues are systemic and cultural, and are costing children their lives.
John Wright
PHOTOS: Gender Authenticity and Showgirls
Hannah Tara Faye sees her work as empowering the performers she photographs, as well as a coming-out statement for herself.
Christopher Harrity
Ireland Poised To Have Better Transgender Identity Law Than Most Of The World
This month Ireland may go from not legally recognizing transgender people to having one of the best trans identity laws in the world.
Two weeks ago, the nation made history when it became the first country in the world to approve gay marriage by a popular vote.
Ireland may once again make history by allowing transgender people over the age of 18 to self-declare their gender on legal documents solely based on their self-determination, and without any medical intervention. The legislation is scheduled to go to committee stage on June 17.
We’re celebrating #YesEquality #marref #marriageequality
A photo posted by TENI (@tenipics) on May 23, 2015 at 8:40am PDT
“A person who transitions gender will have their preferred gender fully recognized by the State for all purposes — including the right to marry or enter a civil partnership in the preferred gender and the right to a new birth certificate,” said Joan Burton, Ireland’s minister for social protection, after the Cabinet approved the self-declaration amendment Wednesday evening.
If the bill is approved later this month, trans people who want to update their passports, driving licenses and birth certificates will be able to do so solely on their self-declaration.
Ireland could join Malta, Argentina and Denmark as the only countries in the world that legally recognize their citizens’ gender based on self-determination.
“This will serve as a model for the U.S.,” said Sasha Buchert, a staff attorney at The Transgender Law Center, a transgender civil rights organization based in San Francisco.
Buchert said the updates to Ireland’s Gender Recognition Bill was a “significant step forward.”
“No one needs a doctor to verify their gender, especially transgender people,” Buchert told Fusion in a telephone interview.
“We all need accurate identifications that match our gender identity in order to move privately and safely throughout the world — whether it’s to board a flight or open a bank account,” said Buchert.
But the name and gender change process in the U.S. is complicated and expensive.
Currently some U.S. states require transgender people to go through some sort of medical threshold to be able to amend their birth certificate to reflect their accurate gender identity.
Obtaining a U.S. passport can be especially difficult and costly because it requires a government issued ID that accurately reflects the applicant’s current appearance as well as doctor’s approval.
If the applicant is in the process of transitioning then they can only apply for a passport that’s valid for two years. If they’ve already completed their transition then the applicant has to get a doctor to declare under penalty of perjury that they “had appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition to the new gender.”
As a result, 21 percent of transgender people who have transitioned have been able to update all of their IDs and records with their new gender, according to a 2011 survey conducted by the LGBT civil rights groups the National LGBTQ Task Force and National Center for Transgender Equality.
Transgender Equality Network Ireland released the video above earlier this year ahead of the political debates around Gender Recognition Bill.
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Erick Wilson Will Make You Happy In On-Point Spots And Polka Dots
Remember polka dots? You see them most on children’s items such as clothing or toys, so it makes sense that polka dots have an innate youthfulness about them. The print was simple from the beginning – dots of the same size and color, placed close together and in a uniform way. But over time, the polka dot pattern grew, shrank and matured into more sophisticated prints ideal for men’s underwear.
Model Erick Wilson wears seven different pairs of underwear in this Underwear Expert exclusive shoot by Jerrad Matthew, each worthy of throwing dots back in the spotlight. Some commit to the polka dot print’s throwback sense of fun. Others move on to more adult, professional attitudes.
You can see more of this photoshoot on The Underwear Expert.
Photo Credit: Jerrad Matthew Exclusively for The Underwear Expert
Underwear Expert
Residents in Two Texas Cities Debate Whether To Rename Bruce Jenner Lanes: VIDEO
Residents in two Texas cities are considering whether to try to rename streets that bear Bruce Jenner’s name now that she has changed it to Caitlyn.
There are Bruce Jenner Lanes in both Austin and El Paso, as well as in Clarksville, Tennessee.
KVUE-TV reports on the situation in Austin:
“Should we put both of them on there? Tape one underneath it?” resident Ray Briggs asked.
While most neighbors say they support Jenner’s decision to go by Caitlyn, they hope their street will remain Bruce Jenner Lane since it will be a hassle otherwise.
“We just hope that someone is smart enough to realize all the trouble it’s going to cause for regular people if you change the name,” said homeowner Ray Briggs.
The City of Austin has a protocol for any requests to change a street name. To begin with, at least half of the residents on the street must approve the change as well as city council.
NBCDFW.com says opinions are similarly divided in El Paso:
Some residents are saying yes, while others think it should remain as is.
“I don’t think they should change the name, because the street was named after he was an Olympian, and who he is now doesn’t change who he was in the past,” said Bianca Duran, who lives on Bruce Jenner Lane.
Either way, officials said the city council would have to get involved, especially since the street has been named Bruce Jenner Lane since 1983.
Watch the reports, AFTER THE JUMP …
John Wright
Excerpt: YouTube's Joey Graceffa Goes Offline In Real Life
Life looks easy for this out 23-year-old YouTube star, but an excerpt from his new memoir shows his reality is no walk in the park.
Joey Graceffa
My Gay Toronto: Christina Zeidler on Canada’s most cosmopolitan city
Ahead of Toronto Pride, which kicks off on the 19 June, the proprietor of The Gladstone Hotel shares her top tips on this cultural melting pot, from rooftop gardens and Caribbean festivals to the city’s thriving alt-queer underground
jamiet
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