Why Tumblr’s ban on adult content is bad for LGBTQ youth

By Stefanie Duguay As of Dec. 17, Tumblr will no longer allow “adult content,” defined as that which shows “real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples, and any content — including photos, videos, GIFs and illustrations — that depicts sex acts.” Before this, the platform’s lenient policies contrasted significantly with those of Facebook and Instagram, which …

Gender Identity in Weimar Germany

Remembering an early academic effort to define sexual orientation and gender identity as variable natural phenomena, rather than moral matters. By: Livia Gershon As the already precarious legal rights of trangender Americans come under renewed threat, it’s worth looking back at the first political movement around gender identity in the modern West. As German Studies …

The early-20th century German trans-rights activist who was decades ahead of his time

By Elizabeth Heineman The Trump administration continues its assault on transgender rights. In July 2017, Trump sought to bar transgender people from serving in the military. Then, this past October, The New York Times obtained a memo indicating that the administration was considering narrowly defining gender “as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at …

What the Bears Can Teach Goldilocks

By Frank Strona “Bear Culture” — a supportive, global community of mostly large, mostly hairy gay men — has evolved and thrived through ideas of inclusion, diversity, self-acceptance and self-expression. Health advocate, diversity specialist and “Daddy Bear” Frank Strona explains what Bear Culture gets right as lessons for Goldilocks and the rest of mainstream society …

Enjoy kink?

Here’s how to handle the ‘drop’ you may feel after you play. By James Besanvalle ‘I tend to play pretty hard,’ Rizzo Barajas from Martinez, California told Gay Star News. ‘Usually involving blood or very hard physical impact play.’ Rizzo identifies as a queer agender person of color. He’s also a switch, which means he alternates between taking either …

Disabled LGBT+ young people face a battle just to be taken seriously

By Alex Toft As young people navigate adolescence, they ask questions about their sexual attractions and how they understand gender. If they are fortunate, they have access to sex and relationship educators or mentors and support networks. But my research with young people who identify as LGBT+ and disabled shows that they are often treated …

Lesbians ‘more likely’ to have orgasms than straight women

Lesbians are more likely to have orgasms than straight women, according to new research. By Nick Duffy The study, published by the Journal of Sexual Medicine, found that lesbians report experiencing orgasm during sex 75% of the time with a familiar partner – up from 62% for straight women. Bisexual women are the least likely …

Why do we have difficulty accepting the variety of gender expressions?

Isn’t it self-evident that gender would always be uniquely expressed in each person? By Allyson Jule I know we’ve all heard this stuff before: men and women and boys and girls are “different”: they think differently, they think about different things, and they interact with the world in different ways. But those are dangerous ideas. …

We’re Queer And We’ve Been Here

Rediscovering Buddhism’s LGBT history of gay monks, homoerotic samurai, and gender-nonconforming practitioners and gods By Dr. Jay Michaelson It’s no secret that many LGBTQ people have found refuge in the dharma, and it’s easy to see why.  It helps us work with the wounds of homophobia, recognizing internalized self-hatred for the delusion and dukkha [suffering] …