A project of the Manship School of Mass Communication, LSU
GLAAD study: Gay depictions increase on TV
(Oct. 1, 2014 | The Washington Post) - Television has increased its depiction of gay, lesbian and bisexual characters, with the edge going to cable and the Internet over broadcast networks, according to a study released Wednesday by the advocacy group GLAAD. Read more
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This Cheerios commercial featuring a gay couple and their adopted daughter so adorable
LGBT groups to journalists: stop conflating bigotry with religious faith
(Oct. 2, 2014 | Media Matters for America) - Two prominent LGBT groups are urging journalists to stop conflating religious belief with anti-LGBT attitudes in their coverage of the upcoming midterm elections, pointing to the dramatic rise in support for LGBT equality in communities of faith across the country. Read more
Supreme Court dodges gay marriage, allowing weddings in five more states
By Lawrence Hurley
(Oct. 6, 2014 | Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to decide once and for all whether states can ban gay marriage, a surprising move that will allow gay men and women to get married in five additional states, with more likely to follow quickly. Read more
AfterEllen leaves logo online for enthusiast publisher EvolveMedia
By Michelle Garcia
(Oct. 7, 2014 | Advocate) - AfterEllen, a leading online community geared toward LGBT women will announce Tuesday that it has been acquired by Evolve Media, leaving its parent company Viacom, which owns Logo, MTV, and The Backlot. Read more
Kenyan film explores gay life in a homophobic country
By Rebecca Davis
(Oct. 3, 2014 | The Guardian) - When most directors await the release of their film, the worst they can expect is a negative review. For Jim Chuchu, the fallout could have been far worse.
That’s because the Kenyan artist and filmmaker had chosen to tackle a subject often shrouded in secrecy in his home country: the experience of LGBTI individuals. The resulting film, Stories Of Our Lives, presents viewers with five fictionalised vignettes, but the stories it tells reflect a wider reality. Read more
Is the portrayal of transgender characters changing in TV shows?
By Haley MacMillen
(Sept. 29, 2014 | Refinery 29) - It's an ongoing process, but mainstream media is finally inching towards a future in which all trans* characters will be depicted as multidimensional people who are defined by more than just their gender identities. And, to that, we say: It's about time. Read more
Maybe Hollywood isn’t as gay friendly as we thought
By Steve Williams
(Sept. 17, 2014 | Care2) - We might be tempted to think that Hollywood today is an accepting place, what with the number of LGBT story lines we’ve seen popping up in recent years and the number of out actors that are currently big names in our favorite TV programs. However, new research by the UCLA’s Williams Institute finds that Hollywood can still be an unfriendly place for LGBT professionals. Read more
A new poll: Support for gay marriage dropped by 5% since February
By Gabriel Arana
(Sept. 23, 2014 | Salon) - A new poll from the Pew Research Center shows public support for gay marriage, on a sharp upswing over the past decade, may be leveling off. Conducted earlier this month, the representative survey shows that support for gay nuptials dropped from 54 percent to 49 percent since February. The opposition, which jumped 2 points to 41 percent, is also getting stronger, as are the number of Americans who say they are undecided, which climbed from 7 to 10 percent. The poll’s margin of error is 2.5 percentage points. Read more
Volunteer initiative helps Russia’s LGBT youth in fight for understanding
By Anastasia Belkova
(Sept. 29, 2014 | ) - Early last year, literary editor and journalist Yelena Klimova was writing an article about the controversial Russian law banning the ‘propaganda’ of homosexuality to minors, which came into force on 30 June 2013. During the course of her research, Klimova, who is from the provincial town of Nizhny Tagil, around 1,000 miles from Moscow, asked herself two important questions: Are there gay children in Russia? And if so, who will protect them? Read more
Related story:
Russia's highest Court upholds so-called LGBT propaganda law (Advocate | Sept. 28, 2014)
A documentary: Puzzles When Hate Came to Town
Produced & Directed by Tami Gold and David Pavlosky
Edited by Harry Kafka
(Source: Anderson Gold Films) - As civil rights for LGBT and other minority groups are won violent backlashes have been known to increase. Today LGBT people are far more likely than any other minority group in the United States to be victimized by violent hate crimes. Click here for more information.
Finding my so-called Queer identity in my so-called life
By Savannah Dooley
(Aug. 25, 2014 | Time) - The TV landscape for LGBTQ characters has shifted dramatically since the groundbreaking show first aired 20 years ago
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by Taboola. When I was 8, my favorite thing to do after school was to visit the set of My So-Called Life. Read more
NOM aims low on boycott of Target over support for marriage equality
By Lucas Grindley
(Aug. 8, 2014 | Advocate) - Right on cue, the National Organization for Marriage is launching a boycott of Target over the retailer's public support for same-sex marriage. But even NOM seems to have low expectations, posting a petition with a goal of getting 1,500 signatures. Read more
Judge grills Michigan lawyer on difference between banning gay marriage and interracial marriage
By Khalil AlHajal
(Aug. 6, 2014 | Michigan Live) - State attorney Aaron Lindstrom had 30 minutes Wednesday to make his arguments in Michigan's appeal of a March court ruling that declared the voter-approved same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. Read more
Marriage equality faces a rough ride In court next week
By Ian Millhiser
(Aug. 1, 2014 | Think Progress) - Marriage equality has had a very good run in the federal courts ever since the Supreme Court declared the anti-gay Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional in 2013. Read more
Ruling: Denver's "Wrangler Bar" discriminated when it turned away gay man dressed in drag
By Kristen Painter
(Aug. 4, 2014 | The Denver Post) - Colorado regulators say a well-known Denver gay bar discriminated against a gay man last year by denying him entry while dressed in drag, also finding the bar has a history of discriminating against women and effeminate men. Read more
LGBT immigration activists make a deal with congressional equality caucus
By Jorge Rodriguez-Jimenez
(Aug. 1, 2014 | Advocate) - LGBT and immigration activists reached an agreement with the LGBT Equality Caucus to urge President Obama to consider LGBT-specific issues in any executive order he may issue regarding immigration reform. Read more
President Obama amended two executive orders to protect LGBT employees
By Sunnivie Brydum
(July 21, 2014 | Advocate) - President Barack Obama made good on a 2008 campaign promise today when he signed two executive orders that will protect many LGBT people from discrimination in the workplace. Read more
Fashion model comes out as transgender woman
By Charlotte Alter
(July 25, 2014 | Time) - Andreja Pejic, the famously androgynous Serbian fashion icon who has modeled both men’s and women’s styles, came out as a transgender woman on her Facebook page Thursday. Read more
Homophobic editor sues for discrimination
By Chris Hoenig
(July 31, 2014 | DiversityInc.) - Former Newton (Iowa) Daily News Editor Bob Eschliman is suing the newspaper and its owners, Shaw Media, claiming religious discrimination after being fired for an anti-LGBT column he wrote. Read more
In Search for Gay Characters, Don’t Turn to Action or Fantasy Films
By Michael Cieply
(July 22, 2014 | The New York Times) - As Comic-Con International opens in San Diego with its Wednesday evening preview session, one bit of fantasy is likely to be in relatively short supply: the gay superhero. Read more
The problem with gay advertising
By Daniel D'Addario
(July 3, 2014 | Salon) - NPR this week ran a story that will surprise no one who’s picked up any gay-interest magazine over the past several years: advertising, more and more, is aware that gay people exist and is thus pitching products at that share of the market. Read more
Dear white gays: Stop stealing black female culture
By Sierra Mannie
(July 9, 2014 | Time) -
You are not a black woman, and you do not get to claim either blackness or womanhood. There is a clear line between appreciation and appropriation. Read more
The new campaign to end gay conversion therapy
By Kyle Steinmetz
(June 23, 2014 | Time) - Sam Brinton says that his father first tried physical abuse to rid his young son of homosexual feelings. When that didn’t work, Brinton’s parents turned to something called reparative therapy. Read more
Appeals Court’s ruling against Utah’s same-sex marriage ban
(June 25, 2014 | The Washington Post) - A federal appeals court ruled for the first time Wednesday that gay couples have a constitutional right to marry, extending the movement’s legal winning streak and bringing the issue a big step closer to the U.S. Supreme Court. Read more
Why the news media need to get it right
in covering transgender people
By Tracie Powell
(June 5, 2014 | The Washington Post) - Transgender people have been in the news a lot lately. Last week Time Magazine made history by putting Laverne Cox, the transgender actress in the hit Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black,” on its cover. A seven minute YouTube video about raising a transgender child just went viral with more than 5 million views. Read more
GOP Head sorry for including Gay conversion therapy in platform
By Chris Hoenig
(June 28, 2014 | DiversityInc.) - The chairman of the Republican Party of Texas says he doesn’t agree with his state party’s official stance endorsing the use of conversion therapy for the LGBT community, even though it lives in the final version of the party’s 2014 platform. Read more
Cyd Zeigler: YouTube celebration of LGBT athletes signals turning tide in sports
By Cyd Zeigler
(June 3, 2014 | Time) - The video-sharing website will celebrate Gay Pride with a #ProudToPlay campaign, another sign that the long-held divide between two communities is eroding. Read more
First draft of Texas GOP 2014 platform reflects modification on immigration and GLBT issues
By David Saleh Rouf
(June 4, 2014 | Chron Blog) - The first blueprint of the Republican Party of Texas’ 2014 platform contains a revamped immigration plank that emphasizes a beefed-up plan for border security and a proposes a visa program to allow undocumented immigrants to serve as guest workers, according to a copy obtained by the San Antonio Express-News/Houston Chronicle. Read more
Conservative GLBT organization GOProud focusing on rebranding, not closing down
(June 10, 2014 | GOProud) - Conservative gay group GOProud's director Matthew Bechstein in a statement posted on the organization's website on June 10 rejected the information that they are ending their activities for good. Instead, Bechstein wrote, "In short: this is not true. The real story is far less dramatic." Read more
A Mississippi law that will allow discrimination against GLBT people
By Sunnivie Brydum
(April 3, 2014 | Advocate) - Mississippi Republican governor Phil Bryant today signed a bill into a law that will allow business and individuals to deny service to anyone in the interest of religious liberty, according to ThinkProgress. Read more