Official News Outlet for the Rainbow Round Table of the American Library Association
By John Mack Freeman Earlier this week, a game titled “Kill the Faggots” was published on Steam’s Project Greenlight. Project Greenlight allows Steam community members to upload games of their own devising to be shared throughout the community. Featuring no editorial guidelines or staff oversight, this homophobic game reached the public, sparking an immediate outcry. […]
By John Mack Freeman This week, the government of Cyprus approved a civil unions bill that had been in the making for over two years. The legislation approved by the Cypriot Cabinet will now move to the legislature. It gives all the rights of marriage except the right to join adoption. Via Gay Star News: […]
By John Mack Freeman A new study of homophobia in sports in English-speaking countries was released this week. The United States scored the worst, having the highest prevalence of homophobia towards participants. 84 percent of those in the study said they had experienced or witnessed homophobia in sports. Via the Advocate: Of those queer athletes […]
By John Mack Freeman Sidney Abbott, notede lesbian activist and author, passed away on April 15, 2015 at the age of 77. A former member of the activist group Lavendar Menance and co-author of the book Sappho was a Right-On Woman: A Liberated View of Lesbianism, Abbott was a force for gay women’s rights in […]
By John Mack Freeman The May 25, 2015 issue of The Nation featured a cover story entitled “Not Your Grandmother’s Librarian: Fighting Big Brother in the Digital Age.” The full article can be read here.
For decades, honorifics with a person’s name in forms of address and databases have either implied status (doctor, lawyer, etc) or gender (mister, miss, etc.). However, the gender neutral title “Mx” is joining the list of honorifics available on driver’s licenses and other official documents in the United Kingdom for the first time as of […]
By John Mack Freeman This week, singer Cyndi Lauper testified before a Senate Approporiations subcommittee about the importance of tackling LGBT teen homelessness. Lauper has been a longtime devotee of helping homeless youth, even revealing during her testimony that she was homeless as a teen. After testifying before Congress, she also went to the White […]
By John Mack Freeman This week, Smith College officially decided that they would accept trans students. Although trans students have been considered since 2013 after they denied applicant Calliope Wong, the policy has been under review. The all-women’s school has come under frequent fire in recent years for denying trans students acceptance to the institution. An announcement […]
By John Mack Freeman (thanks to Chris Boire for the head’s up) As Randy Berry begins his role as the United States State Department’s first ever LGBT envoy, he has a lot on his plate. He has been instructed by Secretary John Kerry to maintain the Department’s internal LGBT policies and to administer them in […]
Via press release (thanks to Carolyn Caywood for the head’s up) On February 17, 2015, Freedom to Read Foundation filed an amicus brief in this case challenging the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s “Revictimization Relief Act.” That law, passed in October 2014, permits crime victims to sue offenders to stop actions – including speech – that cause “mental […]