4/6/24

Happy weekend,

🏀 College basketball coach Dawn Staley isn't here for transphobia in women's sports. The University of South Carolina head coach made inclusive comments about trans women ahead of tomorrow's game when UofSC (the actual USC to my fellow South Carolinians, iykyk) will face Iowa in the NCAA tournament. The comments have earned praise from LGBTQ+ groups. 🏀

🌜 Like many of you, I'll have "Total Eclipse of the Heart" on repeat all of Monday — oh, hey, Bonnie Tyler. During the event though, Jon Carmichael will be up to something else. The photographer, known for his images from the 2017 eclipse, will be in the air and in a private jet with David Copperfield. Yes, that David Copperfield. Christopher Wiggins recently spoke to Carmichael about his eclipse plans. 🌞 ✈️

🌍 As Uganda passes harsher restrictions against queer people, one activist is sharing his story. Steven Kabuye had been an out organizer when he was stabbed on his morning commute several months ago. The activist, still recovering from the anti-LGBTQ+ attack at the time, fled Uganda. He's now in Canada. “I'm continuing as much as possible to share my voice,” he told The Advocate. “Ugandans need it now more than ever.”

Onward and upward,

Alec Cooper

South Carolina’s Dawn Staley comes out supporting transgender athletes ahead of championship game

Mike Lawrie/Getty Images

Gay photographer who captured epic 2017 eclipse image will take to the sky to outdo himself Monday

Courtesy Jon Carmichael

A Ugandan LGBTQ+ activist was stabbed and left for dead in the street. Now, he recounts his escape to Canada

Courtesy of Rainbow Railroad

Weeks after primary election, gay candidate Evan Low advances to general for California congressional seat

Official Website of Evan Low

The success of Matt Lynch: How a gay basketball coach led his team to victory

Grace Sorrells

Lesbian News publisher Ella Matthes has died at 81

Gladi Adams

Rare print of campy pre-Stonewall ‘The Gay Cookbook’ on sale this weekend in NYC

COURTESY

Florida Republican threatens legal action after Miami Beach Pride denies him space in parade

🫖 Tea time 🫖

There’s a new social media craze in right-wing circles, and, apparently, it involves freaking out in bathrooms. Influencer Morgonn McMichael is the latest person to walk into a public restroom (this one at the Kansas City International Airport), turn on a camera, and have a meltdown because the facilities are all-gender. “I hate this,” she ranted, as baffled people walked past her. “I absolutely hate [it]—I have never seen an all-gender bathroom. I’m not going in here. I don’t like this.”

Commenters were quick to point out that the all-gender facilities had private, one-person stalls with floor-to-ceiling doors — and if that wasn’t enough, she could just walk down the hall to gender-specific bathrooms nearby. Will conservatives realize that this kind of stunt usually backfires, or will they keep doing it for rage clicks?

☕ Let us know what you think by emailing us at social@advocate.com.

Look, the answer!

Each week, The Advocate newsletter has a little bit of LGBTQ+ trivia. Tuesday, you'll get the question. Thursday, you'll get a hint. And today, you'll get the answer.

This week's question was: In what year was Transgender Day of Visibility — which falls on March 31 each year — first organized?

This week's answer is: 2009. Transgender Day of Visibility, observed annually on March 31, was founded in 2009 by transgender activist Rachel Crandall. The day was established as a response to the lack of LGBTQ+ holidays celebrating transgender people, aiming to highlight and celebrate the accomplishments and resilience of the transgender community. It serves as a day to recognize the struggles and discrimination transgender people face, advocating for rights, acceptance, and equality.

🎉 Congrats to David and Christopher for getting it right! 🎉