02/20/24

Hello there,

We want to take time to remember the life of Nex Benedict, an LGBTQ+ student in Oklahoma who died after an altercation with several older students in a bathroom at their high school. The 16-year-old is being remembered as a kind, intelligent teenager who loved their cat. Authorities are investigating what happened while advocates across the country have called out the rising anti-trans rhetoric growing in the U.S. over the last few years.

May Nex's memory be a blessing. 🌈

✨ Marcia Gay Harden continues to be a treasure. The Oscar-winning actor has been a noted LGBTQ+ ally for years, and she recently discussed how her children continue to inspire her advocacy for marginalized people. “I was already learning a lot about the gay community, but at the time, we spoke more about gay community rather than queer community,” Harden said. “And I think now the kids talk a lot about the queer community, and it’s much more expansive. It’s much more gender nonconforming. It’s much more embracing, actually. … I’m learning on a daily basis about that from all of the kids.” ✨

🏛️ Who remembers the Colin Farrell film Alexander? Anyone? No? Just me? Well, Netflix has a new series on the legendary military leader Alexander the Great that is hecka queer — which is historically accurate. But don't tell that to some conservatives. My colleague Trudy Ring breaks down what historians know about the queerness of Alexander the Great. 🏛️

Check out these stories and others below. I'll see you here again on Thursday.

Onward and upward,

Alex Cooper

Oklahoma transgender student dies after allegedly assaulted by students at school

Kasandra Phelps via GoFundMe

Marcia Gay Harden on how her three queer kids made her an activist

Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for National Geographic

Yes, there's evidence that Alexander the Great was gay or bi

Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images

Police raid ‘My Little Pony’ gathering and a gay night at a local club in Russia

Shutterstock

Alabama Supreme Court endangers IVF access by ruling frozen embryos are people

Shutterstock

'The Color Purple' actor Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor slams film for 'sanitizing' lesbian romance

Warner Bros. Entertainment; Shutterstock

Oprah Winfrey and Niecy Nash-Betts to be honored at GLAAD Media Awards

Winfrey photographed by Ruven Afanador; Nash-Betts courtesy of GLAAD