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We're About To See If Employers Can Protect LGBT Workers When The Government Won't
Late last month, a leaked draft of an executive order from the Trump Administration hinted that the Oval Office was considering granting federal contractors a sweeping license to fire or refuse to hire lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people on the basis of religious belief. Two days later, amid intense public backlash, the White House said it had shelved the order.
But it was a clear signal that Trump and his allies considered compromising LGBT Americans' civil rights, and still might do so, despite overwhelming evidence that policies allowing businesses to discriminate are bad for those very businesses. So now companies face a test: As the government backs away from protecting LGBT workers, will their employers continue to step up and do so instead?
DISCRIMINATION HAS NO WINNERS
So far, there's reason for measured optimism. States that have passed anti-LGBT laws in recent years, like North Carolina, have suffered fierce blowback. By one estimate, HB2 has cost the state between $77 million and $201 million in tourism and tax revenue alone. It also cost Governor Pat McCrory his job. As a result, politicians and business leaders see North Carolina and McCrory as a cautionary tale. In fact, the NCAA now requires potential host cities and counties to fill out a questionnaire that includes this question: "Does your city, county/parish, and/or state have provisions that allow for refusal of accommodations or service to any person?"
While nondiscrimination laws may spook legislators, companies large and small agree that diversity is good for business. Good managers and entrepreneurs all know what gets results: Create a shared vision, build a great team, create an open atmosphere for creativity, and attract and retain great employees. And business owners know that they're most successful when they serve the public—and that means all of the public.
According to an April 2015 poll conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research for the political think tank the Center for American Progress, two-thirds of small business owners said companies shouldn't be able to deny goods or services to LGBT customers based on the owner's religious beliefs. And 59% of small business owners opposed laws allowing individuals, associations, or businesses to legally refuse service to anyone because of their own faith.
Today, many corporations are putting these beliefs into practice by drawing up policies to protect their LGBT employees. According to the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index (CEI), 82% of Fortune 500 companies have explicit nondiscrimination policies covering sexual orientation and gender identity. And with transgender issues in the spotlight, many businesses are focusing on ways to support their transgender employees in particular. It actually isn't that difficult:
Update nondiscrimination policies. Make sure whatever protections your company has in place when it comes to gender, race, and sexual orientation also explicitly include gender identity.
Provide inclusive health care for employees. 50% of Fortune 500 and 73% of CEI businesses offer transgender-inclusive health care coverage.
Offer to educate. 86% of CEI-rated businesses have training programs that specifically include gender identity in the workplace.
Adopt guidelines to support inclusion. 387 major businesses have adopted gender-transition guidelines for employees and their teams, so there's already no shortage of examples for best practices (this organization has some useful resources).
FIGHTING DISCRIMINATION DOESN'T HAVE TO BE POLITICAL
Many of these inclusive businesses aren’t located in blue-state bubbles. According to the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, five of the top 10 Fortune 500 companies with high scores for equality—including Chevron, General Motors, Ford, and Walmart—are headquartered in states with few legal protections for LGBT people.
Nor are companies moving forward alone; they’re putting their money where their mouths are and urging governments to keep up. When businesses in Tennessee, Georgia, and Texas learned of discriminatory legislation in their states, they were among the first voices to reject that legislation. In response to a sweeping anti-LGBT bill, SB 6, the Texas Competes coalition of more than 1,200 businesses came forward to support LGBT protections. The group is now warning that Texas could lose up to $1 billion if the state passes the measure.
Tennessee Thrives, another coalition of businesses like the Hospital Corporation of America, FedEx, Jack Daniels, and Country Music Television, is calling on the state to oppose a proposed law that would allow mental health counselors to refuse patients treatment based on the therapist's religious or personal beliefs. And last year, the outcry against Georgia’s proposed bill, HB 757, which would have given faith-based organizations in Georgia the option to deny services to LGBT people, came from giants like Salesforce, Apple, Microsoft, Disney, Intel, and Home Depot. All urged the governor to veto the bill. And he listened.
We're about to learn whether the business consensus in favor of diversity can win over state and government officials who oppose it. That seems like it should be a no-brainer, but it won’t be easy. A newly released report by my organization, the Movement Equality Project, finds that the majority of states don't have laws protecting transgender people from discrimination in the workplace, housing, and public places.
And several states, like North Carolina, have recently passed anti-LGBT laws that support letting businesses turn away customers and even fire LGBT employees. More are now considering bills that would limit bathroom access for transgender people and make it impossible for them to update identity documents, among other restrictions.
But while state legislators and federal bureaucrats spend time worrying about who's using which bathroom, businesses can and must affirm what they already know works. By standing firmly against anti-transgender discrimination in the public sphere and creating a positive, transgender-inclusive environment in the workplace, companies can protect both their employees and their profits.
Because ultimately, this isn’t just about the bottom line. When workers are judged on their skills and creativity, and not how they identify or whom they love, everyone wins. When our communities create level playing fields where everyone has the chance to thrive, that isn't "getting political"—it's the American dream, and it’s good business.
Via: Fast Company
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10 Ways to Continue the Fight for Women’s Rights
With officials estimating that somewhere around 3 million people attended Women's Marches across the country and around the world on Saturday to affirm women's rights as human rights, thoughts are now turning to the future. What do you do after you've attended a Women's March and pledged to do more?
If you're wondering how to turn the momentum from the Women's March into actionable steps going forward, there's plenty you can do no matter where you are to make a difference.
1. Learn about the issues
One of the most intimidating parts of becoming more politically involved is knowing what issues are out there and what efforts are already being taken. If you want to be become more informed now, feel free to check out the Resistance Manual, an open-source guide to the major political issues that you can get involved with. The manual also offers updates on what's happening with those causes.
Another option is to download an app like Countable to see which bills are currently passing through Congress, so you can have a better idea of what to speak to your representatives about or even potentially organize around.
2. Call your representatives
You can use the official House of Representatives website to find your representatives' contact information, and you can use the official Senate website to find your senators' information. If you're not sure what to say once you call, you can use scripts from The Sixty Five, an organization that synthesizes information about calling representatives and speaking on issues, as a guide. Another pro tip: Input your representatives' numbers on your phone and schedule a time to call every day.
Additionally, you shouldn't just be calling your representatives in D.C.; reach out to your local and state reps, as much of their work has a larger impact on your day-to-day life. Don't know who represents you at the state level? Use Open States to find out.
3. Participate in local organizing and government
Whether it's a school-sponsored cause or a city-wide initiative to eradicate homelessness, chances are there's at least one cause you'd like to get involved in. If you want more advice on how your actions can translate into organizing, feel free to download the Indivisible Guide, a project created by former congressional staffers on how you can make your voice heard. In addition to containing more information about contacting representatives, it also outlines how you can organize and be as effective as possible to create change.
4. Volunteer
Even if you're only able to give back one to two hours per week, volunteering for local causes you care about (like helping out at an animal shelter or a food bank) can make a huge difference. If you need help finding causes in your area, you can use resources like Volunteer Match or the U.S. government's volunteer page to help you see what's nearby. A simple Google search of "[your town/city] volunteer opportunities" can also do the trick in finding more niche community websites.
5. Support parties and candidates running for office
Important government elections happen every year (not just during presidential or midterm election years), so there could be a possible local, state or gubernatorial (i.e. governor) race happening where you live right now. Make sure you know the candidates in the race, and if there's someone whose platform speaks to you, see how you can volunteer with the campaign and get the word out.
Additionally, most local political parties are constantly working on getting out the vote for upcoming elections. They'd be more than happy to have your help in those efforts.
6. Run for office
While you can't run for U.S. Congress until you're at least 25 (that's when you're eligible to become a member of the House of Representatives), many state and local governments allow people to run for office starting at 21 and even 18 in some cases. So if running for a position on your local government is something you're interested in, there are plenty of resources at your disposal.
Check out She Should Run and VoteRunLead, both of which run online and/or in-person training programs for women looking to run for office. There's also a great program called IGNITE that helps women in high school and college learn about preparing to run for office.
Furthermore, you don't have to run for official government office to start taking on more leadership roles in your community. Whether that's running for class president or leading the chapter of your favorite school club, see where you can make a difference and take charge.
7. Donate
Whether you're having a bake sale to raise money for national organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union or Planned Parenthood or holding a book drive to give back to your local library, there are plenty of ways for you to donate resources, financial or otherwise, to causes you care about.
8. Take action regularly
Want to do something every day to become more politically engaged? You can get daily initiatives sent to your phone from Daily Action to take part in. Or, if you connected with the Women's March platform, the organizers just launched a 10 Actions/100 Days campaign, where they'll will send you a new way to take action every 10 days during the first 100 days of Donald Trump's presidency.
9. Be deliberate about where you do, and don't, spend your money
You've probably heard the phrase "power of the purse," and it's true. If you don't want to support businesses that benefit or are supported by members of the Trump family (including Trump himself or Ivanka Trump), Grab Your Wallet has a comprehensive list.
10. Educate others on issues
Above all, one of your most important roles is educating friends, family, and others on issues like racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, and so much more. In her op-ed on everyday resistance, writer Celeste Ng mentioned that the Southern Poverty Law Center has a helpful guide for navigating difficult conversations surrounding identity, power and oppression.
Via: Teen Vogue
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Lesbian News’ best lesbian movies of 2016
What’s the end of the year without a list of best lesbian movies for 2016?
We studied each of the lesbian movies shown this year, checked out the reviews, reconciled our personal reviews and came up with our list of best lesbian movies of 2016.
Of course, some of these movies came out in the past years, but we only got to watch them this year. So without further ado, here’s are our top five movies:
Best Lesbian Movies #5: The Firefly
Originally called La Luciernaga in Italy, The Firefly is about death, grief, regrets, and falling in love.
In the movie, Lucia is supposed to attend her brother’s wedding whom she had a falling out with. Unfortunately, he dies in a car crash. She meets his fiancée, Mariana, and as the two mourn, they fall in love with each other.
First released in 2013, it did the round of film festivals in 2016.
Best Lesbian Movies #4: Lovesong
Directed by So Yong Kim and presented at the Sundance, the movie Lovesong is simply about that: a moment that ends too quickly.
Best friends Sarah and Mindy, along with Sarah’s daughter, go on a quick road trip. While traveling, they develop deeper for feelings for each other and go to bed together.
Fast forward three years later, Sarah, with her daughter, attends the wedding of Mindy. While the memory of that road trip years ago lingered between them, they realized that it was just a moment. People change and they move on.
It’s a sad, introspective movie of a love that couldn’t be.
Best Lesbian Movies #3: The First Girl I Loved
In The First Girl I Loved, ordinary Anne has done something extraordinary: she’s fallen in love with one of the most beautiful girls in high school.
This is the first time Anne has fallen for a girl, and its her first time to realize that she likes girls.
But where Anne is plain, quiet, and almost invisible, Sasha has deep dimples, popular, and is the star of the baseball team. So it’s a bit of a surprise that Sasha likes her too.
Unfortunately, Anne’s best friend, Clifton, likes Anne and does everything to quash the budding romance between the two.
What we liked about this movie? It reminded us of the first time we fell in love.
Best Lesbian Movies #2: Almost Adults
Almost Adult’s central story isn’t about a romance between two girls. Instead, it’s about two best friends: Cassie is straight and Mackenzie is trying to find the right moment to come out to her.
While Mackenzie’s parents are too supportive for comfort, her best friend Cassie is completely clueless about it, not to mention distracted as she breaks up with her boyfriend and is having trouble with her English class.
Again, it’s not so much the story but the realism and quiet humor of the film that makes it one of the gems of 2016.
Best Lesbian Movies #1: The Handmaiden
There may not have been a Carol this year, but 2016 made up for it by coming out with Park Chan-wook’s erotic psychological thriller The Handmaiden.
Based on the novel by Sarah Waters, Fingersmith, this story was set in Korea during the time of the Japanese rule. But its summary of a maid who falls in love with her mistress doesn’t give it justice as there’s more to it than that.
Likewise, film-goers familiar with Park Chan-wook’s works won’t disappointed by the twisted, graphic, and, of course, erotic feel of his latest movie.
So, have you seen any of these movies? Did we miss any good ones?
Via LesbianNews.com
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The Trump Presidency: What it means for the LGBT
The LGBT community received the shock of their lives last November 8 with the victory of Republican candidate Donald Trump at the polls and the idea of a Trump presidency set to become a reality.
The shock stems from the fact that the incoming Trump administration is supportive of a number of anti-LGBT measures, including a Republican vice presidential candidate that has anti-LGBT views.
The prospect of a Trump presidency
With Trump expected to become president, the LGBT community has expressed fear of what the coming four years will bring.
“This is a devastating loss for our community. It is something a lot of folks are still trying to wrap their heads around,” said Jay Brown, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).
“All across America right now there are millions of people who are terrified,” said Mara Keisling, the executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality.
Though Trump has no personal record of being against the LGBT and has even expressed support for LGBT goals, LGBT groups are still wary of the Republican win.
“Even if people believe that about Trump, what is true is he will now be held to the GOP platform,” said Rea Carey, the executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force.
Moreover, there is the problem of the Republican vice-presidential candidate Mike Pence.
“What we know about Mike Pence is that he led a direct, massive and concerted effort in the state of Indiana to deny equality to LGBT people,” Carey said.
The GOP platform and the Trump presidency
Meanwhile, religious groups that side with the Republican Party are overjoyed with Trump’s victory.
“I can tell you I’m pretty hopeful, and I’m hopeful based on what Donald Trump has said over the last year,” says Kerri Kupec, legal communications director for the Alliance Defending Freedom.
Kupec said with the victory of Trump, the Republican president can appoint Supreme Court justices who can rule favorably on religious rights.
A number of anti-LGBT items on the GOP platform includes the following:
1. Pence has expressed support for conversion therapy (which can range from religious exorcism to electric shocks) to “cure” LGBT youth.
2. Trump has expressed support for the ‘First Amendment Defense Act’ (FADA). This would legalize discrimination in the name of “religious freedom.”
3. Trump– through new appointees to the high court– would be able to oppose equal marriage rights and overturn federal equal marriage laws.
4. Trump has expressed support for bathroom bills like North Carolina’s HB2 law that bans trans people from using the correct bathroom.
5. Trump wants to repeal Obamacare, which would affect trans healthcare and the treatment of HIV+ people with no medical coverage.
LGBT groups set to fight the Trump presidency
But despite Trump’s victory, LGBT rights groups are set to defend and fight for the LGBT people.
“We are going to keep working to advance policy. We’re going to fight like hell to keep existing policies, and we are going to win more than we are going to lose,” Keisling said.
Already, the HRC has aired a warning that Trump’s transition team candidates have a number of anti-LGBT proponents, like Ken Blackwell of the Family Research Council.
Another is former Attorney General Ed Meese– a fellow at the Heritage Foundation– while a third is Kay Cole James, president and founder of the Gloucester Institute.
All three have either links to anti-LGBT groups or aired anti-LGBT statements.
“The people President-Elect Trump picks to serve in his administration will have a huge impact on the policies he pursues,” said JoDee Winterhof, HRC’s Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs.
“We should all be alarmed at who he’s appointing to key posts on his transition team,” Winterhof said.
via Lesbian News
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A Lesbian Reclamation of the Word "Girlfriend"
In 2014, at the ripe old age of 24, I finally got myself a girlfriend, and I was amped about it. I was in love. I was maybe even “in luff” the way Alvy Singer was with Annie Hall. I had found my lobster. I wanted to shout it from a mountaintop (in what I imagine is the gayest way possible to announce voluntary monogamy)—arms outstretched and fingers spiriting as if in the finale of a three and half hour off-off-Broadway musical.
A constant commitment-phobe, I was ready and willing to proclaim that I was in an “adult relationship.” The Facebook relationship status was updated. It wasn’t “complicated” anymore, or so I thought. To my consternation, nearly every time I tried to verbalize my happy coupling to anyone not in my tribe of friends (or who wasn’t also queer) my efforts were dashed. My use of the word “girlfriend” was mistaken as platonic language time and time again. So, like a good millennial I took to Facebook, in a moment of anger, to rant. I stated the following with a scowling emoji or two:
Can we do away with saying “my girlfriends” my female heterosexual comrades and just say, friends? Gal Pal, perhaps? Just a thought. Maybe I should just beeline for the word partner to describe my girlfriend, but then strangers are going to think I’m selling them something. Thank God I’ll be able to legally say wife… well, someday. Or maybe I’ll just shave my head.
I didn’t shave my head—I would look more like a sad ’90s troll than an overt lesbian without my mane of curls. But that day I did decide that lesbians far and wide will finally take back the word “girlfriend” from our straight female (and male) counterparts as used to describe platonic female relationships. Words carry weight; colloquialisms resemble the times in which we live, and language evolves to more closely describe its changing people.
images via Getty
As a femme-presenting gay woman, I feel that outing myself daily is not something I need to do to feel seen and heard. I am still myself whether or not the passersby know my true sexual preference. What is markedly aggravating, however, is whilst being in a committed and loving relationship with a woman (when I’m stoked to share that I am, indeed, “taken,” “in love,” or “wifed up,”) my own use of the word “girlfriend” rarely translates my intended meaning and is repeatedly mistaken for antiquated straight girl lingo.
Straight, cis women have been using the term “girlfriend” as a way to describe (perhaps redundantly) their other straight, female friends for decades. They use it in the singular and in the plural, as in, “My girlfriend and I had the best manicure there,” or “My girlfriends and I road tripped to Coachella last summer.” It is outdated. My God, is it outdated. Straight cis men never refer to their male friends as their boyfriends. So, why do straight women continue to refer to their platonic female friends as such? It’s 2016, ladies.
Gay women’s ease and ability to begin a story with, “I took my girlfriend out for chicken and waffles,” or “My girlfriend and I loved Mustang, have you seen it yet?” or “My girlfriend really hates it when I simultaneously flip off/ curse inept drivers on the 405,” should be an established manner of speaking by now. The phrase “my girlfriend and I” should simultaneously indicate that a woman’s gay and in love, not that she’s, instead, referring to a close female friend who used to braid her hair during sleep away camp. My girlfriend isn’t my “gal pal,” isn’t my platonic friend at all. “Girlfriend” needs to be sexy again, needs to imply commitment when it’s coming out of the homosexual female’s mouth and needs not to be laughed off by straight men that readily use it to describe their own meaningful love relationships.
Passing as straight when you are a gay woman (or man) is not a blessing—it’s simply an inconvenience and, at it’s worst, it is queer erasure. Passing for straight (or automatically being assigned heterosexual) perpetuates sexual orientation stereotypes based solely on presenting traditional femininity, or certain facets of it such as long hair, makeup, donning anything other than pants, having breasts, curves, or ever wearing any hue of pink. As if presenting any of these automatically dictates your gender identity or denotes with whom you share your bed.
We live in a society defined by shorthand labels to help us make sense of things. The most common label used to describe a woman’s sexuality is “hetero.” Little boys’ sexuality is called into question early on—I can’t tell you how many times I heard middle school boys threaten and taunt each other with the label, “fag” and “faggot.” Little girls are rarely called anything other than “slut” or “whore” because already we belong to men the minute our two x chromosomes appear in an ultrasound. Heterosexuality is the standard, the sexuality against which all other sexualities are measured. Therefore, “girlfriend” carries little weight when a queer girl uses it to describe her partner.
Queer visibility is important. Not assuming that heterosexuality is the default—not abiding by the ideals of hetero-normativity as the gold standard of living as a person on the planet is important. Heterosexuality is no longer the only option—and truth be told, it never was. It’s an LGBTQA+ world we inhabit—where more is more and variety continues to dominate the sexual landscape. Normalcy is constantly being redefined and reconstituted to fit our present-day landscape and, so too, should the vocabulary we use to describe it. I want to be selfishly able to say “my girlfriend” and have the declaration, no matter how understated, be understood immediately.
Sexual ambiguity is preferable to chronic hetero assumptions. It’s time to reprogram our brains to assume nothing and sit with the questions—including asking ourselves, “How do the ways in which we speak about human identity affect our own humanity?” The 2015 Word of the Year was the singular “they,” which was driven by the need for transparency of the trans community and those who consider themselves to be genderqueer or fluid. It was a rejection of the binary words “he” and “she” by the individual who identifies as something else entirely. It was a conscious choice, an acknowledgment that though language is imperfect, we can always find ways to speak with more accuracy and nuance. The use of “girlfriend” in 2016 could also better mirror those who are using it—to include trans men, lesbians, and queers alike to describe a significant other.
I don’t want to make up another word for my girlfriend—she’s my girlfriend. I don’t need another exclusionary piece of vocabulary to make my relationship read as lesser. I’d never call my girlfriend my gay lover in the same way that I’d never call a marriage a civil union. Repurposing old words for the queers who wish to use them in a strictly homosexual context is important. I acknowledge, however, that some words never shake their previous associations. “Gay” used to mean happy, and it still does.
via After Ellen
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Here’s What Lesbian Moms Need To Know About Picking A Donor
The journey to parenthood is a joyous one, but for some couples, it comes with a lot of questions, concerns, and choices. For those couples who choose to move forward with IVF, Brandy and Susan at The Next Family shared some tips and advice on how to pick a donor.
The moms begin with all the questions parents-to-be have to ask themselves when considering a donor: “Do I want an anonymous donor? Do I want a willing-to-be-known donor? Do I want a friend?” Brandy imparts on how important these questions are and the potential discussion of how much of a role or involvement you as parents want donors to play in your child’s life.
Susan and Brandy discuss how they looked through binders of donor profiles and tried to choose a donor who matched the attributes of Susan since Brandy would be the one carrying the children. However, their children came out blonde hair and blue or green-eyed, proving that you can never be quite sure when choosing donors how genetics will determine appearance or traits.
Probably the most significant part of the video is when Brandy says of picking a donor, “It’s awkward.”
She added, “I’m going to be honest, I felt a certain amount of shame around that too, like, ‘God this feels so unnatural. What are we doing?’ and ‘Is it right what we are doing?’”
Susan piped in, “I felt more, like, embarrassed.” Brandy agreed and said, “It’s invasive and awkward.”
However, there’s a silver lining. “Once you're pregnant, that book of paperwork on that donor goes into a special box…and it doesn’t come up for years later and you forget all about it and you’re pregnant and you have a kid. And now…we’ve turned a corner and there’s nothing awkward about it to me.”
This honesty and personal insight from Brandy and Susan is vitally important to LGBT prospective parents going through the process of picking a donor because it reminds them: you are not alone and despite the awkwardness one may feel, in the end, picking a donor is just a very small step in the journey to becoming loving parents.
via The Huffington Post
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