#Am Equality_Tipsheet: September 18, 2018

WE BELIEVE SURVIVORS. THE SENATE MUST HALT KAVANAUGH’S CONFIRMATION: “Dr. Christine Glaser Ford is brave to come forward with her story, and she must be treated with respect and dignity. Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination process has been anything but transparent, and now with this grave charge of sexual assault, this process must be halted immediately,” said HRC President Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin). “Moving forward with this confirmation process without conducting a thorough investigation would be deeply troubling and offensive to the American people, but more importantly to survivors of sexual assault across the country. It would communicate their trauma isn’t worthy of justice if a person sitting on the nation’s highest court can be confirmed without being investigated for alleged sexual violence.” More from Towleroad, Gay Star News, Washington Blade and HRC.

LATINX HERITAGE MONTH IS SEPTEMBER 15 – OCTOBER 15: HRC is proud to honor the histories, cultures and contributions of Latinx LGBTQ people and allies who continuously fight for change across our communities. More from HRC.

ICYMI – HRC NATIONAL DINNER ROUNDUP: On Saturday at the 22nd annual HRC National Dinner, the 47th Vice President of the United States Joe Biden addressed thousands of HRC members and supporters from across the country and around the world at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Former Attorney General of the United States Eric Holder, trailblazing Virginia Delegate Danica Roem, and Democratic candidate for Nevada Secretary of State Nelson Araujo also addressed the crowd of LGBTQ advocates and allies. Academy Award-winning actress Anne Hathaway was honored with the HRC National Equality Award, which was presented to Hathaway by rapper, actress, and Ocean’s Eight co-star Awkwafina. ” Special guests included Olympic bronze medalist Adam Rippon, comedian Dana Goldberg, and many more. Find videos of their speeches at HRC.

• Biden gave a special shout out to Georgetown first-year student Seth Owen, who was forced to leave his home because of his sexual orientation, and only able to attend college because a supportive teacher helped crowdfund over $100,000. More from First Coast News. More on Biden’s speech from into, Advocate and HuffPost.
• Biden was introduced by his wife, Dr. Jill Biden. More from SF Gate.
• Eric Holder calls out the rhetoric of the Trump-Pence administration, calling it “rooted in fear”: More from RealClearPolitics.
• Anne Hathaway spoke to the dangerous power of privilege and the need to name and dismantle it: More from TooFab, PopSugar, Daily Mail and New York Post.

TUESDAY TWEET —  “OUR DEMOCRACY IS IN CRISIS”: Read the powerful oped from Hillary Clinton on the Trump-Pence administration. More from The Atlantic.

��#MustRead from @HillaryClinton on Trump��

“Hate speech isn’t ‘telling it like it is.’ It’s just hate… And it’s not just what he says. From day one, his administration has undermined civil rights that previous generations fought to secure and defend.” t.co/ot9AmSrYtb

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) September 17, 2018

RULE PROPOSED BY BETSY DEVOS’ DEPT OF ED WOULD MAKE IT EASIER FOR SCHOOLS TO WIELD A LICENSE TO DISCRIMINATE: The leaked Title IX regulation would make it easier for schools to discriminate against LGBTQ students, students on birth control or any other student the school has an “objection” to. More from BuzzFeed.

HRC ENDORSES REP. TIM WALZ FOR MINNESOTA GOVERNOR: “A proven leader and longtime champion for equality, Congressman Walz is the clear choice for fair-minded voters. He will fight for Minnesota’s working families every day and is committed to ensuring that the North Star State remains welcoming and open to all,” said HRC Senior Vice President of Policy and Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof. “For the past decade he has stood with our community on crucial issues and the Human Rights Campaign is proud stand with him in his bid to become the next governor of Minnesota.” More from HRC.

.@HRC proudly endorses pro-#LGBTQ Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) for Minnesota Governor.
❤️����������t.co/0xiZKxwZBp pic.twitter.com/Awt0ofSa1c

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) September 14, 2018

EMMY’S HONOR LGBTQ AND ALLIED CREATORS AND CONTENT: Winners included: Best Limited Series: “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”; Best Actor, Limited Series or TV Movie: Darren Criss, “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”; Reality Competition Program: “RuPaul’s Drag Race”; Directing for a Limited Series: Ryan Murphy, “The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”; Reality Host: RuPaul, “RuPaul’s Drag Race”; Structured Reality Program: “Queer Eye”; and Guest Actress, Drama: Samira Wiley, “The Handmaid’s Tale.” More from The New York Times.

NEW STUDY — ONLY A QUARTER OF 18-TO-25-YEAR-OLD GAY AND BI MEN HAVE BEEN TESTED FOR HIV: More from The Daily Beast.

DUA LIPA (@DUALIPA) HORRIFIED BY FORCED REMOVAL OF FANS IN CHINA FOR WAVING RAINBOW FLAG: The singer wrote on Instagram: “I will stand by you all for your love and beliefs and I am proud and grateful that you felt safe enough to show your pride at my show. What you did takes a lot of bravery. I always want my music to bring strength, hope and unity. I was horrified by what happened and I send love to all my fans involved.” More from Paper Magazine.

HRC PARENTS FOR TRANS EQUALITY COUNCIL OFFER ADVICE ON SUPPORTING TRANS AND NON-BINARY YOUTH IN SCHOOL: More from HRC.

MISS AMERICA NIA IMANI FRANKLIN SPEAKS OUT IN SUPPORT OF TRANS WOMEN COMPETING: More from Newsone.

NATION’S FIRST OPENLY LGBTQ STATE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE TO RETIRE: Justice Rives Kistler of the Oregon Supreme Court will retire in December after 15 years on the bench. More from Portland Tribune.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

TEEN ARRESTED FOR PLOTTING ATTACK ON GERMAN LGBTQ NIGHTCLUB: More from New York Post.

READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!

GQ offers LGBTQ people’s reflections on making their first fellow LGBTQ friend; The Economic Times reports on a government-owned Indian radio station’s response to Section 377; The Body reports that the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts will offer transition-related care to trans patients; The Futon Critic reviews a documentary on LGBTQ pride; Vice shares the struggles of non-binary people going to the gym; OUT interviews band Lucy & La Mer about their latest music video with bi+ themes

Paid for by Human Rights Campaign PAC (www.hrc.org) and not authorized by any candidate or committee.

Have news? Send us your news and tips at [email protected]. Click here to subscribe to #AM_Equality and follow @HRC for all the latest news. Thanks for reading!

www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tipsheet-september-18-2018?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Grindr Takes A Stand Against Sexual Racism And Discrimination
With “Kindr” Initiative

LOS ANGELES – Sept. 18, 2018 – Grindr, the world’s largest queer mobile social network, today kicked off its “Kindr” initiative, which aims to foster a more inclusive and welcoming environment on Grindr and elsewhere within the queer community. The campaign is built around a combination of new community guidelines, stricter enforcement policies and awareness-raising videos that highlight user experiences of discrimination in-app.  

“Sexual racism, transphobia, fat and femme shaming and further forms of othering such as stigmatization of HIV positive individuals are pervasive problems in the LGBTQ community,” said Landen Zumwalt, head of communications at Grindr. “These community issues get brought onto our platform, and as a leader in the gay dating space, Grindr has a responsibility to not only protect our users, but also to set the standard for the broader community that we serve.”

“Grindr has a new suite of queer leadership – myself included – who share this same mission to take much-needed action, make impactful changes in the app and use Grindr’s enormous power to do good for greater LGBTQ community,“ continued Zumwalt.

“Like many of us, I was a user of Grindr before I started working here, so I was already familiar with the racism and issues faced by people of color or non-masculine identifying people on the app,” said Zach Stafford, chief content officer at Grindr and editor-in-chief of INTO. “I joined Grindr because I saw an opportunity for the company to be a leader and social change agent.”

“Online discrimination has reached epidemic proportions affecting not only Grindr but other social networks. Our ‘Kindr’ initiative is a rallying call for Grindr and our community to take a stand against sexual racism and all forms of othering. Together, we will work to maintain a welcoming and inclusive environment and end the need for people to include exclusionary statements on profiles,” said Zumwalt.

Kindr is built around education, awareness and specific policy changes in the Grindr app. Its new community guidelines will serve as the first step of many Grindr will be taking to help foster a more inclusive and respectful community on its platform. As part of the video campaign, Grindr partnered with notable queer leaders and activists, including The Vixen and Jai Rodriguez, in addition to a number of every day users to share their experiences with discrimination and speak to ways to engage in respectful conversations online.

Over the next five weeks, Grindr will roll out five videos on Grindr, social media, media buys, and Kindr.Grindr.com, a new landing page for the campaign.

Updated Community Guidelines Establish a New Standard

Grindr is setting a higher standard for its community and creating a safe and authentic experience for everyone. New community guidelines will allow users to freely express themselves while also maintaining a welcoming and inclusive environment. Here’s what people should expect from Grindr’s global community and most importantly, from Grindr:  

• We have a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination, harassment, and abusive behavior. We want you to be yourself, but not at the expense of someone else. Anyone found bullying, threatening, or defaming another user will be banned. 


• We will also remove any discriminatory statements displayed on profiles. You’re free to express your preferences, but we’d rather hear about what you’re into, not what you aren’t. Profile language that is used to openly discriminate against other users’ traits and characteristics (“No fats, no fems, no Asians”) will no longer be tolerated and will be subject to review by our moderation team.

• If you see someone breaking the rules, please report them using the block button found in the upper right corner of their profile, and we’ll take it from there. You may also encounter people on the app who upset or offend you without necessarily violating our guidelines. In those instances we recommend using the block feature, which will prevent you and the other user from seeing each other or having future contact.


For access to the “Kindr” media kit, including images and videos, please click here. For more information on the campaign and to view the updated Community Guidelines, please visit Kindr.Grindr.com.

###

ABOUT GRINDR                                                          
With 3.8 million daily active users in every country in the world, Grindr is the largest LGBTQ mobile social network. Since its launch in 2009, Grindr has grown to become a fundamental part of users’ daily lives globally. The company continues to expand their ecosystem to enable all users to connect to the world around them. Through INTO, a digital content channel for and by the LGBTQ community, various events, and experiential opportunities, Grindr is helping users engage across the spectrum.

Headquartered in West Hollywood, California, Grindr is a Certified Transgender-Inclusive Business and encompasses a diverse and passionate family of makers, innovators, leaders, and most importantly, doers. Grindr employees are fueled by an endless curiosity, an ability to embrace change, a respectful and collaborative work environment, and a knack for crossing every finish line.

Grindr is proud to have been recognized by Fast Company as one of the ten “Most Innovative Social Media Companies in 2016” and by Forbes as a “model for corporate social responsibility.” Grindr is available on the App Store and Google Play.