Rebutting the disgruntled daughter
After Heather Barwick, the daughter of two lesbian mothers, wrote an open letter opposing same-sex families, the gay media rushed to rebut. At SF Gate, Amy Graff points out that Barwick’s complaints about children “needing a mother and a father” don’t match the science on gay parenting, while at Salon, Mary Elizabeth Williams suggests that Barwick is mixing her personal feelings about her father into prejudice against gay people.
Post-apocalypse bisexuals
Could the most progressive show on sexual orientation on TV be a post-apocalyptic teen sci-fi thriller? At The Daily Beast, Gabe Bergado says The 100 is more than just fantasy fluff; it breaks ground on the portrayal of young women and bisexuals on television.
The promise of PrEP
At POZ Magazine, Benjamin Ryan looks at the remarkable new studies showing the effectiveness of PrEP, even when taken preventatively instead of every day. Given the science, he concludes, PrEP is ready to become a mainstream tool in the fight against HIV.
The danger of safe spaces
In universities across North America, students are advocating for safe spaces to protect LGBT people, women and sexual assault survivors from emotional trauma. At the New York Times, however, Judith Shulevitz says the push for safer spaces is “self-infantilization” by students, and ends up targeting those who are most in need of safety.
Looking and the new gay
In the late 1970s, gay activists wanted nothing more than to be portrayed as normal on television, instead of as limp-wristed transvestites or deranged murderers. Today, gay characters on TV can get married and live normal lives — if they want to. In the New Yorker, Daniel Wenger writes about the HBO show Looking, and gay men’s difficult relationship with normalcy.
Why you can trust Xtra
