Welcome, GO readers, to our revamped weekly roundup of the biggest lesbian, bisexual, queer, and transgender women’s news and entertainment stories! We’ll be recapping the biggest hits each week and talking to the newsmakers, movers, and shakers behind them.
Happy #BiWeek!
It’s September, so that means one thing: It’s #BiWeek! Bi Week is a time to highlight the stories and struggles of the bisexual, bi+ and pansexual community through an online campaign. Bisexual people are called the “invisible majority” because they comprise the majority of LGBTQ people, yet often remain in the closet because of the stigma around being bisexual. The community is incredibly diverse, with people of all genders, bodies, religions, abilities and identities, to highlight a few aspects. This year, the focus of the week is the history of the community, as well as what the future looks like for bi folks, according to Alexandra Bolles, the Associate Director of Campaigns at GLAAD.
“Celebrating bisexuality+ and the people who live it creates opportunities for the bi+ community to see itself reflected online and in the media,” Bolles told GO in an email. “It can also be really hard for bi+ and questioning young people to find resources about themselves and a community in which they feel safe. I hope #BiWeek is a place on the internet those young people feel like they can go for support.” For more information about #BiWeek — and to learn about embracing the bi community yourself — check out GLAAD.
LGBTQ Women Clean Up At The Emmys
Sunday was a big night for lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer women in Hollywood. Several LGBTQ women were nominated for the awards, including Laverne Cox, Kate McKinnon, Samira Wiley, Evan Rachel Wood, and Lily Tomlin, along with series, including “Brown Girls” and the lesbian-led company tello Films. If you need proof that queer women make great T.V., here it is: Lena Waithe and Kate McKinnon walked away with their very own statuettes.
Hillary Clinton Spoke At Edie Windsor’s Memorial
The community is still reeling after marriage-equality icon Edie Windsor passed away last week at the age of 88. On Friday, hundreds of people went to Temple Emanu-El in New York to remember the pioneer. Several luminaries spoke at the memorial service, including 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. “That she experienced loss, grief and injustice made her only more generous, more open-hearted and more fearless in her fight,” Clinton said. “She refused to give up on the promise of America. There wasn’t a cynical, defeatist bone in her body.”
What Happened With Chelsea Manning And Harvard?
After an outcry over Harvard’s announcement that it accepted Chelsea Manning as a visiting fellow, the university rescinded the opportunity. Manning was incarcerated until this year for leaking U.S. military documents to WikiLeaks. She came out as a transgender woman while in prison, and this past January President Barack Obama commuted her sentence. The news of Manning’s fellowship prompted an uproar that the university was honoring a “traitor.” Manning’s fellowship was to be at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, where current government officials serve as administrators. For her part, Manning had a sense of humor about it. “Honored to be 1st disinvited trans woman visiting @harvard fellow they chill marginalized voices under @cia pressure #WeGotThis,” she tweeted.
Honorable Mentions
Can’t get enough of queer women making news? Here’s another story to check out:
