Happy Hump Day!
Jessica Gysel is behind of the longest-running international lesbian publications, GIRLS LIKE US, and she shares some herstory of the magazine as well as why she chose the name. A quote: “I think we believe in the feminist power the word ‘girls’ can have, but we’re not supporting the gender binary as such, we want to be much more open.”
Speaking of feminist power, check out powerhouses Sheila Kuehl, Carole Migden, Christine Kehoe and Jackie Goldberg in “Political Animals.” The documentary is now available on demand.
And while we’re on the topic, Rachel Maddow is the most powerful person in cable news and in my heart.
Out Merrimack College sprinter Carly Muscaro took home two NCAA titles at nationals, winning the 400 meters (51.90 seconds) and the 200 meters (23.40 seconds).
ScreenCrush has launched a series of interviews with out trans actors in partnership with GLAAD, which you should definitely read. There will be all kinds of special content all month-long, including an exclusive video written by “Her Story” co-creator/star Jen Richards.
The only organizer still around from the original LA Pride shared some tidbits on what it was like to be gay in LA back in the late ’60s. Lee Glaze shared that the area of Huntington Park was a gay haven, of sorts, and the Chief of Police left the bars alone because he had a lesbian sister. “He would not even let his officers come in the gay bar,” Glaze said. “There was a hall there where the big [Gay Girl Riding Club] drag ball took place every year, purposefully because the LAPD could not make any arrests that were out of their jurisdiction. We had a lesbian bartender and if anyone came in trying to cause trouble she took a pool cue and would wait outside with the person for the cops to come pick them up. They didn’t come into the bar.” I want to shake that lesbian bartender’s hand.
MeUndies has employed influencers like musician/actress Hayley Kiyoko, YouTuber Stevie Boebi and Big Freedia to pose in their skivvies for a Pride campaign asking the LGBTQ community to celebrate themselves. A dollar from every purchase goes to the LA LGBT Center.
Congrats to one of our favorite couples of 2017, Elizabeth Gilbert and Rayya Elias, who just got married! Gilbert posted a photo and message on her Facebook page, announcing the news.
Dear Ones:
Over the last year, Rayya Elias and I have been through some really difficult days together — but not today. Today was precious and perfect. A simple and spontaneous ceremony of love, surrounded by a handful of friends and family.
Our ceremony was nothing legally binding (no need to alert the authorities, folks!)…just a quiet and private celebration of what we have long known to be true: We belong to each other.
More difficult days are to come. It doesn’t get easier from here. Rayya’s illness is grave. But our love is strong. We will walk together as far as we can go together. After that, it all gets turned over to God.
Create beauty with every day you are given,
Onward,
LG
An 8-year-old soccer player was disqualified for “looking like a boy” in Springfield, Nebraska. Now organizers claim Mili Hernandez was falsely listed as a boy on the team’s roster and that’s why they wouldn’t let her play. (This despite all of the protests from her parents and other supporters who asked for her reinstatement, which was vehemently denied.) Mili deserves better!
So what this new research about LGBTQ dating on apps tells me is that lesbians complain about everyone knowing each other, but secretly love it.
“Orange is the New Black” star Taylor Schilling does not like to talk about her private life, but she opened up a tiny bit to The Standard: “I think it’s pretty invasive. I’ve had very serious relationships with lots of people, and I’m a very expansive human. There’s no part of me that can be put under a label. I really don’t fit into a box — that’s too reductive. … But I’ve had wonderful relationships. I’ve had a lot of love, and I don’t have any qualms about where it comes from.”
Hong Kong denied a British lesbian a dependent visa, despite her having a job at a technology firm in Hong Kong and her civil partnership with another woman. Thankfully, 12 “leading financial institutions” are filing appeals on her behalf.
There’s officially a QWOC leading her own show on Disney with “Raven’s Home.”
