The Dish: Queer Women React To Kevin Spacey, Hillary Clinton Stands With The Community & Trump’s Trans Ban Is Blocked
Welcome, GO readers, to our 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.
Queer Women Condemn Kevin Spacey
In the weeks since The New York Times published allegations against famed movie producer Harvey Weinstein, the floodgates have opened for more survivors to come forward. This week, BuzzFeed reported on allegations from Anthony Rapp, an actor who starred in the musical Rent. Rapp alleges that Spacey made advances and unwanted physical contact with him at a party when Rapp was just 14 years-old. In response, Spacey posted a statement on his Twitter account, saying that the story made him “address other things” about his life. “I choose now to live as a gay man,” he wrote.
The statement conflated being gay with the accusations that Rapp made when he was underage and perpetuated the idea that being gay is a choice. Spacey’s decision to use his mea culpa to come out tapped into decades-long discrimination that LGBTQ people have faced; that we are child molesters or assaulters, when in reality being queer makes you no more likely to engage in those behaviors than anyone else. The reaction from queer women was swift. Comedian Cameron Esposito tweeted “One more big fucking no for “I choose to live now as a gay man.” Evan Rachel Wood retweeted her and said “Yeah. This is a desperate plea from a predator trying to cover his tracks. You cant [sic] drag down the good LGBT people with you!” Amen.
Court Blocks Military Trans Ban
A federal court has blocked the Trump administration’s ban on transgender people serving in the military. On Monday, a U.S. district judge granted a preliminary injunction on the basis that the ban would violate the Fifth Amendment, meaning that the ban is stopped indefinitely. Over the summer, President Trump tweeted for a ban of trans people serving on the basis that the medical fees were costly and they impacted the military’s performance. Research from the RAND Corporation, however, has shown that there would be no impact on on the troops and that funding transition-related healthcare is minor. It’s just another day when the judicial system comes to the rescue.
Hillary Clinton Stands With The LGBTQ Community
At a gala over the weekend, the former Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate came hard for the Trump administration’s dangerous policies walking back LGBTQ rights. “The attacks on the LGBT community here at home and around the world are striking and scary. I can only imagine what it’s like to be in the position that so many people still find themselves in in our country,” Clinton said, according to POLITICO. During her time in the State Department, Clinton made a global push for LGBTQ rights, fighting against homophobic policies on other continents and expanding benefits for queer employees and their partners in D.C. Her speech saying “striking and scary” is right — since taking office, the Trump administration has rescinded protections for trans young people, appointed anti-LGBTQ judges and, of course, tried to implement the trans ban.
The Center Honors LGBTQ Women
Halloween may be over, but there’s another event where you can get dressed up and celebrate. Every year, the LGBT Center has a gala to celebrate queer women who are empowering the community. The event is a fundraiser for the Center’s programs that specifically support women and trans people, including economic empowerment and outpatient treatment services. This year, the honorees include lawyers, actors and the first lady of New York City. The event is on Saturday, Nov. 4 at Capitale. Put on your dancin’ shoes and go! We’ll be there!
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