LGBTQIA+

LGBTQIA+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual/agender and the myriad of other sexual and gender identities. Ms. readers can find stories in this archive of people that claim those identities and face struggles because of discrimination and stigma—from topics like trans healthcare, to Pride parades, to (under)representation in media.

‘We Will Not Surrender’: How to Stand Up to Trump Administration Attacks on LGBTQ+ Health Research

The Trump administration is waging an aggressive campaign to censor and dismantle LGBTQ+ health research, erasing critical data, banning key terms and suppressing scientific inquiry. These unprecedented attacks threaten not only academic freedom but also the health and lives of LGBTQ+ people. In response, researchers, medical organizations, and advocates must take bold action—filing lawsuits, protecting data and refusing to be silenced. The fight for scientific integrity and LGBTQ+ health equity has never been more urgent.

‘Money, Lies, and God’: The Rise of Christian Nationalism and the Battle for American Democracy

Katherine Stewart’s Money, Lies, and God exposes the alarming rise of Christian nationalism as a well-coordinated, anti-democratic movement seeking not just power, but the destruction of democracy itself. She describes this movement as “more political pathology than political program,” with its leaders intent on “burning down the house.” Stewart reveals how right-wing religious and political forces use disinformation, authoritarian alliances and targeted outreach—particularly through churches and media—to gain influence.

Despite internal contradictions, she warns that their strategy is effective: “A fractured and ill-informed public is easier to control than a well-informed one.”

However, she argues that a broad, pro-democracy coalition can push back, emphasizing the need to expose dark money, defend public education and strengthen the separation of church and state.

Beyond Valentine’s Day: The Love We Celebrate and the Abuse We Ignore

The ways we recognize and talk about abuse, control and harm remain largely trapped in outdated narratives—ones that fail to account for the complexities of love beyond traditional partnerships. Expanding the definition of domestic violence is not about diluting its meaning; it’s about making it more accurate.

In recent years, Valentine’s Day has been reclaimed and reshaped to celebrate love in all its forms—beyond romance and sex. Galentine’s Day, self-love rituals and the celebration of deep platonic connections have gained mainstream recognition, expanding our collective understanding of what love can be. Slowly, we’ve made space for the friendships, chosen families and personal growth that shape our lives just as profoundly as romantic relationships do. But while our definition of love has evolved, our understanding of its darker sides has not. When we fail to name violence in queer relationships, in parent-child dynamics or in sibling abuse, we erase entire groups of survivors. Without recognition, they are left without language to describe their experiences and without access to the support they need.

Keeping Score: Devastating Attacks on USAID; Louisiana Indicts N.Y. Doctor; Autumn Lockwood Is First Black Woman Coach to Win Super Bowl

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: Musk and Trump’s USAID attacks have devastating impacts; 80% of the clean energy investments from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act—which Trump wants to roll back—are in Republican congressional districts; Louisiana indicts a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills; new executive orders go after workers and LGBTQ people; the Laken Riley Act was signed into law; childcare costs affect the health of parents; and more.

USAID’s Reproductive Health Funding Has Saved Millions of Lives. Now It’s Gone.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, boasted that he was gutting the federal agency tasked with providing foreign aid to its poorest. The agency’s funding in 2023 was about $40 billion, which represented less than 1 percent of the federal budget. “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Musk, the tech billionaire head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, posted on his social media platform, X.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was established in 1961 to provide foreign assistance to impoverished countries around the world through food aid and humanitarian and economic development work. It is also one of the world’s largest providers of contraception through its family planning program.

Public Health Websites Are Going Dark

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) ordered federal agencies to take down all public information on its websites and social media accounts that “inculcate or promote gender ideology.” When the initial deadline arrived—Friday, Jan. 31, at 5 p.m. ET—multiple web entries and databases, including many dedicated to public health, went dark. At the same time, there is a herculean and whirlwind effort on the part of researchers, journalists and advocates to preserve and republish missing information.

The public response to the administration’s power grab has been not just heartening, but an important lesson for mobilizing in this next era. As quickly as information is suppressed, all of us can play a part in responding—whether that be suing, searching or simply sharing.

Award-Winning Doc ‘Sally!’ Introduces Sally Gearhart, the Lesbian Activist Who Took on Proposition 6 With Harvey Milk

Most people have heard of Harvey Milk. Sally Gearhart—not as much. But in fact, Gearhart sat right beside Milk as his debate partner in 1978 when they disputed—and ultimately defeated—Proposition 6, the Briggs Initiative that would have banned lesbian and gay teachers and topics in California’s public schools. When their opponents quoted the Bible, Milk was at a loss. Gearhart, on the other hand, could quote it right back at them.

Born in 1931 into a Christian household in Virginia, Gearhart charted her own unconventional path from a career as a teacher at Christian colleges in Texas until she determined to live her life out in the open and left for San Francisco with no job in the early 1970s. Ultimately, she gained a position at San Francisco State University, where she became the first open lesbian to be tenured at a major university in the U.S. Alongside that, she became a formidable and historic advocate for lesbian and queer rights.

This historic lesbian activist is featured in Deborah Craig’s new award-winning documentary Sally!

Universities Must Do Better for the Trans Community

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For the past decade, Americans have been fed a steady diet of transphobic hysteria, with 2024 being the 5th consecutive record-breaking year for anti-trans legislation. The election of Donald J. Trump was predicated on a fight against trans rights.

As professors at San José State University, we have seen the results of this type of targeted campaign. Recent and past events on our campus by transphobic individuals and extremist groups emphasizing bigotry and hate, turn university spaces into anti-intellectual theater and harm trans students. In so doing, they position our campuses too closely to intolerance. 

War on Women Report: Trump’s Second-Coming Brings Whirlwind of Far-Right Threats—From Executive Orders Attacking Repro Rights and DEI, to Immigration Blitzes

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MAGA Republicans are back in the White House, and Project 2025 is their guide—the right-wing plan to turn back the clock on women’s rights, remove abortion access, and force women into roles as wives and mothers in the “ideal, natural family structure.” We know an empowered female electorate is essential to democracy. That’s why day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

Since our last report…
—Abortion bans are driving young people out of restrictive states.
—Brittany Watts, the Ohio woman who was arrested last year after miscarrying at home, has filed a lawsuit against several members of hospital staff.
—Trump has launched a nationwide immigration enforcement operation, beginning in Chicago.
—Republicans ramp up attacks on the FACE Act.

… and more.