• ELIXHER
• On October 11, 2013

Transteens

Years ago, before the pilings had gone rotten and jagged like a row of rotten teeth, the piers were still lined with abandoned houseboats. At a time when gay sex was illegal, this was a busy pick-up spot. The empty homes gave cover from the elements and a semblance of privacy. Sometimes a boat’s floor gave way, and its occupants would drown in the Hudson River. Still, for gay men and trans teens, the block at the end of the West Village was a refuge from a hostile culture.

More on Youth Today.

Out and Proud: Famous LGBT Couples

October is National Coming Out Month and on October 11 — National Coming Day — we celebrate out and proud gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual individuals. Fortunately, there are several high-profile celebs who show being LGBT isn’t about the sex, but about the love. Check out the LGBT couples that inspire us.

Continue reading over at BET.com.

Supreme Court Rejects Univ. Administrator’s Appeal of Firing After Antigay Speech

The U.S. Supreme Court let stand a decision by the federal appeals court, which found that a public university was within its rights to fire an employee who had made antigay remarks. The employee, Crystal Dixon, had been terminated from her position as the associate vice president of human resources at the University of Toledo after writing a controversial op-ed.

Read more at Advocate.

Now Is the Time for Attention to Intimate Partner Violence in LGBTQ Communities of Color

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but there is not enough attention, education, intervention, and advocacy around this issue in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities of color. Surveys indicate that 25 to 33 percent of the LGBTQ population will experience some form of intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, conducted in 2010, found that LGBTQ communities of color are one of the demographic groups experiencing a particularly high incidence of IPV. However, understanding how prevalent IPV is in these communities is impeded by social stigmas and cultural taboos, including racism and other forms of oppression and discrimination.

Continue reading on Huffington Post.

Who the F Is … Yvonne Welbon?

This week’s entry in SheWired’s series on out lesbian and bisexual women who might be under your radar but deserve to be on it. Who she is: award-winning independent filmmaker who has produced, directed, and/or distributed more than 20 movies. What she’s accomplished: Welbon is best known as the director-producer of the 1999 documentary Living With Pride: Ruth C. Ellis @ 100, a portrait of a black lesbian centenarian who devoted much of her life to activism. The film won 10 awards as Best Documentary, including the GLAAD Media Award and prizes from the Los Angeles and San Francisco gay and lesbian film festivals.

More at SheWired.