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It Gets Better: Gay Mormons Hold Conference in DC

By Joanna Brooks

…headlines last year after having been called to a leadership position in a San Francisco LDS congregation. They’ll gather as local Mormon conservative activists in Maryland also organize this weekend—acting individually and without involvement from LDS Church headquarters—gathering signatures in support of a ballot initiative to overturn a recently-passed marriage equality law. But for this group of pioneering LGBT Mormons a key focus rather than…

Beyond Adam and Eve

By Becky Garrison

…why a few gay men aren’t interested in trans people (of whom most are male-to-female trans). They question why a perfectly normal man would ever want to be a woman. Connecting on a human-to-human level The Rev. Winnie Varghese, Priest in Charge at NYC’s St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery says that one of St. Mark’s gifts is to create a non-judging space that’s become a haven for artists and others in the community. They do outreach to the kids who a…

#HijabiLivesMatter: The Burkini Ban, Black Hair and the Meaning of “Natural”

By Shaina Hammerman

…aim BLM, not all French citizens can proclaim #JeSuisParis and be believed. This is because, as one of the women interviewed in the Times made explicit, “My heart is 100 percent French, but it feels like I have to prove my ‘Frenchness.’” As a white, Jewish woman in liberal San Francisco, there is a chasm between my experiences of privilege and the discrimination felt by Muslim Frenchwomen and black Americans. This is why The New York Times was rig…

Selective Sympathy and the Mumbai Chabad House

By Naomi Seidman

…came to visit me on the West Coast, we both stayed at the Chabad House in San Francisco, where she could be sure the food was kosher. I enjoyed myself, I’ll admit. It wasn’t Boro Park, the Orthodox community in which I was raised; Chabad is based in Crown Heights, a different Orthodox neighborhood. And taken out of Brooklyn, these Orthodox enclaves were freer, less homogenous; they seemed more interesting, less oppressive. I imagine that it works…

Quiz: What’s the Most Heavily Attended Mass of the Year?

By Joseph Laycock

…not on the city streets is closely aligned with liberal Protestant and post-Enlightenment ideas of “good” religion. In fact, when people are teased for participating in Ash Wednesday—“Hey, you got something on your forehead!”—this can be read as a subtle way of re-asserting these social norms. But this still doesn’t explain the appeal of ashes. In her column, Miles suggests that people want to be reminded that they’re going to die—that the illusio…

Praying Away the Gay: “This is What Love Feels Like?”

By Tanya Erzen

…eously embracing a teenage boy with a striking resemblance to Bobby at the San Francisco gay pride parade. Mary smiles beatifically as she walks away from him, and rejoins the PFLAG contingent where she marches holding their banner. “I won’t lose you to this,” she tells Bobby at the beginning of the film—but in the end, she does, having listened to a religious message that proclaims self-hatred in the guise of love. The real Mary Griffith dedicate…

Outrage Outs Closeted Pols Opposed to Gay Rights

By Nick Street

…pril 24 at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York and opens in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Washington DC on Friday. Much of the commentary surrounding Outrage will inevitably focus on outing—the practice of reporting on the private lives of supposedly straight public figures to uncover “closeted” homosexual activity. That may invite the complaint that Outrage is taking a tool from the kit of tabloid journalism. But in an interview…

Love Jesus, Hate Religion

By Nicole Greenfield

…als to clearly define itself against, and to distance itself from, its fire-and-brimstone brethren. “People are afraid of saying they are Christian, so they came up with this ‘I hate religion’ thing,” says Juliana Anderson, a member of IKON Christian Community in San Francisco. “The meaning of religion and religious is so messed up these days. It’s got a bad rap.” For many young Christians, identifying as such bears the risk of being characterized…

Dragged Through the Mud: This Little Church-Backed Support Group for LGBTQ Teens Suffered Bomb Threats, Smears and the Cancellation of its Drag Show

By Chrissy Stroop

…nce. That I recall, there wasn’t one performer that was dressed in the lack-of-clothing that a cheerleader, girls’ golfer, or girls’ volleyball uniform would show.” The parent continued, “The joy and growth I saw out of the performers was inspirational. Kids that are normally quiet, reserved, and self-conscious performed on that stage without a care in the world, so proud to be themselves.” As for those “dollar bills” Farrington seemed to imagine…

“Like sunshine in the darkest abyss I’ve ever experienced.”

By Joanna Brooks

…s week. The Family Acceptance Project (FAP) is led by Dr. Caitlin Ryan of San Francisco State University, whose work developing materials to improve health and reduce suicide and drug use among LGBT young people by supporting their families has been recognized as a “best practice” by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. FAP has developed materials in collaboration with and specifically for LDS families; you can find them here. “Familie…