#12 Pride Makeup

#11 Podcast

This podcast is an interview I did with a friend, and fellow queer woman, Vinyl Anderton. In this inter view we did a quick overview of our opinions of the subject of LGBT representation in the media.

#10 Queer-baitng

Representation of LGBT characters in the media has come a long way since the negative portrayal of queer characters since the 70's. From the 70's to 90's the only way films and TV could portray LGBT characters was if they were painted in a negative light or if their storyline ended tragically. Since then we have made progress in film and television by showing many positive queer characters. Unfortunately, there is a phenomenon known as queer-baiting that has been pervading many popular TV shows. The term queer-baiting doesn't have a official definition because it is a new term.

These Supernatural characters are often the subject of queer-baiting

The urban dictionary definition is when an author/director/etc. gives hints, and clever twists to paint a character as possibly being queer, to satisfy queer audiences, but never outright says they are so they can keep their heterosexual audience. This is done in many popular shows and some fans are fed up with it. The two shows that I'm most familiar with are Supernatural and BBC's Sherlock. In these shows there are canonically straight men that are very close and often share intimate moments. These characters, due to their closeness, are usually shipped together, which simply means that they pair them together romantically outside of the actual show. When directors see this obsession with queer couples they will begin to add in subtle scenes and nods to the characters being gay with no intention of ever making them actually gay. This is frustrating to actual queer fans and shows a reluctance to actually add in queer characters. By doing this they have alienated their queer fan base to keep their heterosexual fan base. These two shows are particularly popular among the LGBT community and although we have made great progress in the fight for accurate representation of queer characters in media there is still the horrible use of devices like queer-baiting. This means we still have work to do. Until next week, remember #LoveWins.

#9 Nobody Can Drag Them Down

Drag queens have an extraordinary history and an interesting place in the LGBT community. One major stereotype surrounding drag queens is that all queens are transgender or face some kind of gender dysphoria. This isn't true, most drag queens identify as male when they aren't in drag. I would explain a drag queen as a man (usually gay) impersonating a woman, or several women, for the purpose of entertainment or performance. They can range from those who do it as a job to those who

RuPaul Charles, Age 56

do it as a form of artistic expression. The practice of men dressing as women dates all the way back to ancient Roman literature as well as Chinese theatre styles. Since women were generally banned from performing on stage men had to play their roles. The slang term "queen" came along around the beginning of the 20th century as a derogatory slur against extremely feminine, gay men. Drag queens as we think of them today weren't introduced in America until the 1950's and 60's. Drag queens during this time were criminalized as perverse characters. They didn't gain popularity until the late 80's and 90's when gay culture began to flourish.  Drag queens have grown in popularity since this time. There was a popular drag queen that went by the name Divine. Although Divine lived a short life, he died in 1988 at the age of 43, he had a huge impact on the drag scene. The popular character of Ursula in The Little Mermaid was actually modeled after the iconic look that Divine trademarked. The most popular drag queen by far is RuPaul Charles who is the creator of the show RuPaul's Drag Race. The show premiered in 2009. Since then, we have seen a rise in drag queen exposure in the media. Each season viewers root for their favorite drag queens based on look, entertainment, or general sassiness. This has boosted the popularity of drag queens to a national, and even international level of fame. The show is about to enter it's ninth season and has amassed a large, dedicated fan base, especially among the queer community. Although drag is usually seen as gay men dressing up as women, there is a smaller portion of the drag community which is comprised of women dressing up as men. These women are appropriately called drag kings. This division barely gets any visibility and many people have no idea that drag kings even exist. Most of these women will identify as lesbian or bisexual and will dress for entertainment purposes, or for artistic expression. Although usually drag kings and queens are queer, there is no rule against heterosexual

Divine was the inspiration for popular Disney villain Ursula

people dressing in drag.  Drag can be just a casual hobby, or it can be a  lifestyle. I personally know a male that likes to dress in drag as hobby because he generally enjoys it. He doesn't do any sort of performing, but he loves the process of dressing in drag. This hobby is incredibly time consuming. Drag requires a ton of makeup, a long time collecting clothing to wear, and a lot of practicing to learn feminine/masculine mannerisms. Although drag has a long, complicated history I feel like drag queens are slowly being accepted and loved by the media and America. There will always be people that are against free expression because it makes them uncomfortable, but we are making progress towards a society that accepts all people no matter who they are, what they look like, or who they love. Until we reach that goal of a open minded society, always remember #LoveWins.

#8 A Home is a Home

There are many issues that face the LGBT today. Marriage equality, job discrimination, and homelessness. Yes, although it isn't talked about in the media, the numbers of LGBT youth that are homeless has risen to become a national concern.  LGBT youth are often homeless because they were rejected by their families because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It has been reported that 40% of all homeless teens identify as queer or transgender. Among this percentage 58% percent are on the streets due to unaccepting families and communities. Not only are LGBT youth at a higher risk of being homeless they are also at a higher risk of being sexually assaulted on the streets. One study showed that 58% of homeless LGBT teens reported sexual assault compared to the only 33% of heterosexual homeless youth. Many of these assaults have occurred at group homes by shelter staff. Sometimes they are just turned away from shelters completely because if their sexuality or gender identify, leaving them on the streets with no support. These statistics show a horrible reality that homeless LGBT youth must face every day. There are some shelters that are specialized for LGBT youth, but not enough to make a substantial difference. Some shelters have already started training staff and foster parents about the needs of queer and transgender youth. This is a step in the right direction but what can we do to fix this problem before it gets out of hand. Maybe the only thing we can do is work to help families, communities, and schools be more accepting of LGBT youth, to take out the problems at its roots. This all goes back to love and acceptance to help solve LGBT issues. Which is why it's important to always remember that #LoveWins

Original Article

#7 It's Just Business

There is supposed to be no discrimination in the workforce. Yet we hear all the time about racism in the workforce, sexism in business. What nobody seems to talk about is homophobia in the workplace. Nobody talks about it but that doesn't meant that it's not there. There are many people who will keep their sexual orientation a secret in the workplace to avoid discrimination, teasing, or just uncomfortableness. In the article "One Job, Two Lives: LGBT in the Workplace" originally posted on CNN, a man named Sam has worked at the same place for 27 years and he is still closeted to his coworkers. It started in the 80's when people literally had to fear for their lives if they were homosexual. Now people are more accepting but still LGBT people feel less respected and uncomfortable talking about it in fear of discrimination. Currently there is only one openly gay Fortune 500 company CEO, Tim Cook, the CEO of the Apple Corporation. Many LGBT individuals right now are lying about their private lives, omitting facts, and doctoring photos to keep their sexual orientation secret. In many states there are no laws to protect LGBT people from discrimination. Another closeted employee, who works at a major corporation in a state that can legally fire, or not hire someone based solely on the fact that they are gay. There are currently 29 states where no law exists to protect LGBT people in the workplace. There is a lack of activism on the subject of LGBT discrimination in the workplace, although it is still a huge issue. What are we going to do to stop it? There needs to be some kind of legislature passed that protects LGBT people from being fired for their personal lives. Until that happens remember #LoveWins.

Original Article

#6 I Don't Bi It

Bisexual is not a new term, but there are people who still believe that this sexuality doesn't exist or shouldn't be respected.  Even among the queer community bisexuals are looked down on. There are many lesbians and gay men who won't date a bisexual because they feel that they are unreliable, greedy, and confused. There are so many stereotypes about bisexuals that are false.

Most often bisexuals are seen as confused because they can't make up their mind or they are using the term bisexual as a stepping stone to eventually come out as gay or lesbian. Many people have done this before, they will come out as bisexual to their families to soften the blow, to not disappoint them too much. Later when they realize that they are just gay or lesbian, it reinforces the stereotype that bisexuals are just confused or lying. There is also the bisexual phase. A lot of girls during their freshman year of college will start to experiment and say that they are bisexual, but they are usually just heterosexual. This reinforces the idea that bisexuals are unreliable and usually just lying. Then there are the people who just believe that bisexuals are greedy and that they can't be trusted in a serious relationship because they have double the chance to cheat on their partner.

Sexuality is a difficult to understand and sometimes people can be confused on what their identity is at first, this doesn't mean that bisexuality doesn't exist or doesn't deserve respect. There are a lot of men and women that identify as bisexual and they face discrimination even inside the community that is supposed to be accepting of them. We must remember the motto love wins. This motto embodies the LGBT community so we should be accepting of all sexual identities. So, until next time always remember #LoveWins.

#5 Read the Labels

Everyone loves to put labels on themselves to define who they are as human beings. Leader, mother, nerd, jock, smart: these are all labels that people use every day. Labels are very important in the LGBT community. Labels give LGBT people a sense of security that they don't have before accepting their identity. Before coming out most queer people are too afraid to even use words such as queer, bisexual, and especially gay. After they come out they can claim those words and they become a part of their self-identity. they can then proudly proclaim their queerness even if other people don't accept it. Some people will scoff at certain labels such as asexual, bi-romantic, or pansexual. Some heterosexual people do not understand the need or use of queer labels, but what they don't realize is that everyone uses them, ours are just more important to us. That’s why a queer person will ask you to respect and use the correct labels and pronouns, because they are a part of who LGBT people are. So until next time, always be kind and remember #LoveWins.

#4 LGBT+

This week I wanted to talk about the plus at the end of the acronym for the queer community. As some people may know the queer community is quite expansive and includes many different types of sexualities and identities. Technically the full acronym for the queer community is    

LGBT(GGGGBTTTTQIAAAAAPPOODSCT) This stands for Lesbian, Gay, Gender queer, Gender fluid, Genderless, Gynesexual, Bisexual, Bigender, Transexual, Transgender, Transvestite, Two-Spirited, Transitioning, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Agender, Ally, Androgenous, Androsexual, Pansexual, Pangender, Omnisexual, Omnigender, Demisexual, Skoliosexual, Cisgender, and Third-Gender. Since this is incredibly hard to say, it has been shortened to LGBT+ and the plus is meant to signify all of the other identities that do not have a letter in the shortened acronym.

But this is of course can be a bit of a sore spot for those that fall into a category that is not the most known four letters LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender). Some people will say that they feel left out of the community because their identity is not as present as the first four letters of the acronym. The queer community has always tried to be as inclusive as possible, but there are just so many different sexual identities that it becomes hard to keep up with all of them, let alone remember a thirty-letter-long acronym.

So is there a way to satisfy everyone? So far there has been no set in stone way to make everyone feel included, while also making the acronym easy to say. There has been a recent idea to throw out the acronym LGBT+ completely, and replace it with the acronym SAGA (Sexuality and Gender Acceptance). This would make everything easier to say and by making it more vague, it will hopefully spread to include all sexuality and gender identities, even as more are discovered and added to the community. As I like to say gender and sexuality are fluid, which means they are constantly changing. What do you think of this new acronym SAGA? Do you think it will or should replace LGBT+? Leave your comments below. Until next time, always remember #LoveWins!

#3 Protect Trans Kids

So, recently something has happened that directly affects a large chunk of the LGBT community. Our current president has signed off on a lot of executive orders recently that have a had a huge effect on America. Most recently the Trump administration has revoked the federal guidelines, put in place by the Obama administration, that protected transgender kids in schools by mandating schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom that most correctly aligned to their gender identity. This will allow states to make their own laws on the bathroom issue, and transgender kids will no longer protected in the federal government.

I feel like this post belongs on this blog about LGBT stereotypes and discrimination because for a long time transgender people have suffered abuses for being "unnatural" or "an abomination." Transgender individuals should be a protected minority because 1 in 12 trans women are killed each year, and it's 1 in 8 for trans women of color. Cisgender, white, heterosexuals often see someone different from them or anyone they have ever seen, and feel threatened or angry, and they will often lash out. Transgender peoples, especially trans women, hear a plethora of insults and slurs hurled at them everyday. Slurs such as: tranny, he/she. and she male are not only hurtful but life destroying for someone facing severe gender dysphoria.

So in light of the recent changes, several celebrities have taken up a battle cry on Twitter. Just recently #ProtectTransKids was trending. Several protests have also been using this saying on their signs I believe this is a powerful cause and not to be taken lightly. If anyone is in the Topeka area, one place there will always be support for all youths is the equality house, which will soon be turned into a hangout space for LGBT individuals and allies as well. Until next week always remember #LoveWins.

Women's March on Topeka

A few months ago I was lucky enough to be able to participate in one of the Women's Marches that were occurring around the United States. We all stood in solidarity against a powerful force that wishes to knock us down and silence our voices. I got to be surrounded by the most amazing people that preached equality, love, and freedom. I took several pictures to document this historical event. These are a few of my favorite pictures.

#2 Gay Casting

For this weeks post, I am again drawing from personal experience, which just shows how often we are faced with stereotypes and prejudice in our everyday lives. This week I worked closely with the cast of a show at my university. I was stage manager for a cast of 18 actors and actresses. During the preparation  our show we had a conversation that involved the well-known stereotype that only gay men participate in theatre. This stereotype does have a bit of truth to it that a lot of gay men will participate in theatre because they find it easier to let go and be flamboyant on stage, but acting is more based on talent and personality. Which means that any man can be an actor in theatre if they are willing to put in the time to gain the skills that it requires.

In the theatre department at Washburn University there are equal amounts of gay and straight men. A good example is that in the cast that that I worked with, 3 out of 7 of the men that were in the show were straight. This shows only a slight majority of the men were gay, and this is only slightly more than any other department of study on campus.

I think that it is a bit odd that the stereotype is that only women and gay men can be in theatre, when in the history of theatre only men were allowed to act and they would often portray women in the productions. It seems clear that this stereotype only entered society in the 1900's when it transitioned to the belief that straight, or manly men, only played sports. I think that the reason straight men don't participate in theatre as often as gay men is due to the social stigma that surrounds it. Straight men will often feel that they will be viewed as less manly or even mistaken for being gay if they act in a show. Stereotypes will often feed off of social stigma. This stereotype may have some truth to it, but mostly because of the fear that straight men have to participate in theatre because of the social stigma. We could easily break down this stereotype by normalizing straight men in theatre and encouraging them to try theatre. Until next week, remember #LoveWins.

#1 Flannel for Days

This blog is dedicated to debunking stereotypes, so a good place to start is to establish the definition of a stereotypes. The sociological definition of a stereotype is a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group. Stereotypes constantly surround us and they affect everyone. There are stereotypes based on race, gender, culture, location, and sexual orientation. Stereotypes are sometimes true but a majority of them are completely false and based on misconceptions or prejudices against certain groups of people. I will be focused on the stereotypes that come form the LGBT community, a community that has been hated and persecuted around the world for many centuries

The stereotype I will be focusing on today, is the stereotypes that all lesbian or queer women wear only flannel shirts and jeans. I have had personal experience with this stereotype. Just this weekend I was out with some friends and we were shopping at the mall. We found an amazing closing sale, and my friend bought several flannel shirts. When we got back home she made a comment that stuck with me. She said, "Looking at my closet, you would think I was a lesbian." This comment was especially ironic because she is completely straight. This stereotype I believe was born out of the idea that lesbians are only butch women that look like men. So the flannel on lesbians stereotype was born. I break this stereotype directly because as a queer women I do not own a single piece of flannel clothing. Queer and straight women come in all different shapes, sizes, colors, and even clothing. So until next week, always remember #lovewins.

Welcome to My Blog

Hi, my name is Sarah. I'm starting this blog to address the stereotypes of the LGBT community. As a young girl I struggled with my sexual identity behind closed doors because I grew up in a place that was not understanding of queer people. Since I had no exposure to LGBT individuals, I was forced to research online, which can sometimes be a good tool, but when it comes to LGBT matters the information can be varied and most of it is false. After I moved to a more progressive area, it was easy to see that the information I had found was mostly false.

Each week I will address some of the claims, or stereotypes, that can be found on the internet about LGBT people. I will explain how these stereotypes started, then debunk or give them merit based on my own opinion and research. I hope to help young kids struggling to find true information on the LGBT community. Until next week, always remember #LoveWins.