Tag: LGBTQIA+

Southern Baptists Consider Women’s Leadership a ‘Threat’

Southern Baptists are at it again, targeting women pastors in the next round of an ongoing battle over ordination and leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).

Never mind that more and more people are leaving churches and identifying as religious “nones.” Never mind that there is a clergy sex abuse scandal among Southern Baptists. The possibility of women’s leadership is such a threat, it has to be eradicated. So rather than dealing decisively with its clergy abuse scandal, the SBC’s annual meeting this June chose to spend its time pummeling women pastors and once again delaying necessary abuse reforms.

Pretty soon, they may just be sitting alone in their empty sanctuaries on Sunday mornings—because no one else is right enough to belong with them.

War on Women: Indiana Supreme Court Upholds Abortion Ban; Trump-Appointed Judge Rejects Tennessee Drag Ban; Supreme Court Guts Affirmative Action

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U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

This month: Iowa and Indiana abortion bans remain enforceable; LGBTQIA+ online hate and harassment has reached a record high; more women than ever are traveling out of state for abortion access; U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) introduced the Right to Contraception Act; President Biden issued an executive order to strengthen access to affordable, high-quality contraception and family planning services; and more.

Supreme Court Review: The Term That Ended Affirmative Action, Allowed LGBTQ Discrimination, and More

Friday, June 30, marked the end of a roller coaster of a Supreme Court term. The same day, legal experts and commentators gathered for the 13th Annual Supreme Court Review at the University of California, Irvine.

The panel discussed the high Court’s bombshell rulings from the last several months, which put an end to affirmative action, protected businesses’ “constitutional” rights to discriminate against LGBTQ people under the guise of free speech, halted President Joe Biden’s authority to forgive federal student loans, and more. These monumental decisions will have ripple effects in the years and decades to come.

Watch the hour-long program, or read some of our favorite takes.

‘I Am a Woman and a Lesbian’: Remembering Madeline Davis’ 1972 Landmark Speech for Gay Rights

I­­n 1972, Roe v. Wade was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, Title IX was signed into law, and for the first time, a gay woman stepped up to the mic at a national political convention and announced: “I am a woman and a lesbian.” Madeline Davis’ words to the Democratic National Convention marked a milestone for gay rights. 

“I knew there were gay people out there at four o’clock in the morning, sitting in front of their television sets, waiting to see one of their own people stand up,” Davis later said about her historic speech.

Queer African Activists Call for Action—But the African Continent Is Not the Only Site in the Global War on Gay Rights

While some countries move towards the decriminalization of homosexuality and try to eliminate LGBTQ+ discrimination, some countries have passed harsher legislation harming LGBTQ+ communities, especially targeting the queer youth in those countries. Ms. is highlighting some cases and reflecting on what this means for queer rights in America and globally.

Pride Has Always Been Radical

Recent movement towards the meaningful incorporation of racial justice and transgender rights within the broader LGBTQ rights movement has helped shift Pride back to its liberating roots. While the fair-weather allyship of corporations undoubtedly stung some, it shouldn’t unmoor us. Our current democratic crisis demands an authentic, inclusive, radical response. No amount of rainbow-wrapped commodified queerness can do this work.

Game Changer: Celebrating 50 Years of Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972

Title IX of the Education Amendments Act was signed into law on June 23, 1972—prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity.

From the Spring/Summer 2012 issue of Ms. magazine: ” Title IX’s success is due to the eternal vigilance of the law’s supporters, who continue to defend it through the political process and in the courts.”

A Year of Dobbs: Anger, Heartbreak, Resistance and Resilience

I will never forget the overwhelming tide of anger, frustration and disbelief that washed over me when the Dobbs decision was announced on June 24, 2022. A year later, it’s safe to say those same feelings persist.

Who knows where we will be a year from now in 2024—an election year. We will not grow complacent, and we will not stop pushing for our rights.

(This story also appears in the Summer 2023 issue of Ms. magazine. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get the Summer issue delivered straight to your mailbox!)

Black, Queer and Neurodivergent: Janelle Monáe’s ‘The Age of Pleasure’ Dives Into Play, Joy and Creativity

Luxuriating in unlimited Black queer potential for pleasure—while staying present, even taking pleasure in life’s inherent uncertainty—Janelle Monáe’s The Age of Pleasure experiments with a therapeutic process as much as an artistic one. The album celebrates neurodivergence and sun-kissed, ocean-deep, lusciously melanated Black queer love.