by Myrtha Olivares Bonilla | Aug 23, 2014 | Connect 2014, Stories |
The labels are different for this Puerto Rican couple. Crystal Malavé Roldán and Iraida Montijo describe themselves as genderqueer, a term that means they define themselves as neither male nor female. After being together for four years, the couple became engaged on...
by Sara Patterson | Aug 23, 2014 | Connect 2014, Stories |
Kevin Arnovitz is not a gay basketball journalist. He’s a leading sports journalist who happens to be gay. So when news broke that the NBA would be the first major professional league with an active gay player, the NBA editor for ESPN.com had to manage competing...
by Melanie Balakit | Aug 23, 2014 | Connect 2014, Stories |
In Illinois, testing for HIV is on its way to becoming as routine as checking blood pressure or cholesterol. Illinois — which has the sixth highest rate of new HIV cases in the nation — is approaching the third and final year of a federal grant aimed at...
by Bobby Blanchard | Aug 23, 2014 | Connect 2014, Stories |
Two gay religious leaders — who experienced dramatically different reactions when elected in their churches a decade apart — on Saturday discussed the splashes they made and how LGBT activism and religion intersect. Rev. Dr. Guy Erwin and Rev. Gene...
by Sammy Caiola | Aug 22, 2014 | Connect 2014, Stories |
Jim Darby is starting to feel better about his grave. Morbid as it sounds, the 82-year-old U.S. Navy veteran is relieved to know that now, thanks to recent LGBT-inclusive policies from the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), his husband, Patrick Bova, can be buried...
by Andrew Holzman | Aug 22, 2014 | Connect 2014, Stories |
Sophie Skowronski turned 62 this week, and friends from her senior lunch program sang “Happy Birthday.” Hearing her friends sing “dear Sophie” was particularly sweet for Skowronski, because, she says, many others don’t feel comfortable calling her by that name....
by Andrew Holzman | Aug 22, 2014 | Connect 2014, Stories |
Media outlets might soon have access to more balanced visual portrayals of lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Getty Images is planning to direct its photographers this fall to produce more stock photos depicting LGB families in everyday life, said Pam Grossman, Getty’s...
by Matt Bloom | Aug 22, 2014 | Connect 2014, Stories |
CHICAGO—Cheryl Corley watched Americans chant “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” as they marched down the streets of Ferguson, Mo. Looters stole from local businesses. Residents assembled on sidewalks to demand answers from the police and gathered mostly along a street on the...
by Nkongho Beteck | Aug 21, 2014 | Connect 2014, Stories |
Joanna has two birth certificates, one labeled “indeterminate” and the other marked “male.” After living a majority of her life as male but identifying as lesbian, Joanna, who asked to be identified only by her first name, wants people to know that she is not a freak...
by Mary Dominguez | Aug 19, 2014 | Connect 2014, Stories |
Social media is the lifeline of the 21st century. And while some believe the way people communicate through the Internet is socially isolating, it serves as a vital connection for others. An LGBTQ presence has erupted online through a unique support system that can...
by Bobby Blanchard | Aug 19, 2014 | Connect 2014, Stories |
This year’s convention of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association in Chicago drew strong crowds from big cities but saw much lower turnout from southern states and smaller towns — indicating that LGBT journalists still gravitate toward large urban areas....
by Ryan Howe | Aug 18, 2014 | Connect 2014, Stories |
Matt Morris is an interdisciplinary artist who teaches painting, drawing and sculpture at the School of Art Institute of Chicago. He developed a class called “Painting Queer” and is a contributing writer and critic for Newcity Art and Art Forum. About the...
