LGBTQ+ Friendsgiving Dinner Part of Bolingbrook Pride’s emphasis on promoting “understanding through conversation”
Bolingbrook is one of the most diverse suburbs of Chicago. “We have lots of diversity, and we all live next to each other,” says Allaina Humphreys, co-head of the Bolingbrook Pride, only four years old.
With events like Saturday night’s LGBTQ+ Friendsgiving Dinner, Bolingbrook Pride is aiming to create “understanding through conversation” and takes a non-controversial approach to its mission: providing safe spaces for LGBTQ+ people and especially youth.
Social media, the poison we keep on picking
Wake up to how social media poses greater dangers to not only teens but also LGBTQ+, BIPOC and female people. This is the first in a series about social media and its increasing damage.
Benefits of being black include patience, critical thinking, perseverance
Think back to the historic March on Washington in 1963, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. These historic events banned poll taxes, literacy tests, poll bully tactics, efforts to limit voting hours, and other intentional and strategic...
Support from Iowa and Illinois LGBTQ bars, groups increases following Club Q shooting
With victims’ and heroes’ names now released, and accounts shared of Saturday night’s mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, more events and support are coming from LGBTQ+ groups throughout Iowa and Illinois.
The Garden Nightclub in Des Moines plans a benefit show Friday evening, and Basix in Cedar Rapids holds a benefit show Nov. 27. Mary’s on 2nd in Davenport is also working on putting together a memorial and fundraiser for Club Q, but details are not yet finalized.
Groups like The Project of the Quad Cities are also stepping up efforts to circulate information about mental health support lines.
Body positivity, self-discovery through burlesque on stage in Moline at Striptease Academy Showcase
Burlesque as therapy, self-discovery, empowerment and exploring gender will all be part of tonight’s Striptease Academy 2022 Showcase at The Spotlight Theatre in Moline. It’s one of the year’s last big events for Mary Quite Contrary’s House of Burlesque. It’s one of the year’s final events for MQC’s, a Quad Cities burlesque troupe that’s been performing and providing burlesque and striptease education for six years.
Largest-ever survey of transgender Americans underway through Nov. 21
With new efforts to reach marginalized identities like the indigenous and people without homes, a national organization is conducting the U.S. Trans Survey, the largest-ever survey of transgender Americans.
The deadline to participate in the survey is Nov. 21, and this is the first time it’s happened since 2015. The survey is conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and will help activists, caregivers, and community leaders better understand the transgender experience across the country, organizers say.
“This is a trans survey by trans people and for trans people,” says Josie Caballero, the National Center’s special projects director.
Two-day Mic Check Poetry Fest features “rock-star Black women,” virtual attendance option
Diversity is the key to this year’s Mic Check Poetry Fest, says organizer Caleb Rainey. In addition to headliners Patricia Smith and Ebony Stewart, the festival also features seven top Midwestern poets who are diverse “both racially and in terms of queer,” and activities that are suited to writers who are new or seasoned.
Black Alphabet Film Festival showcases Black LGBTQ+ Filmmakers with Chicago event, virtual option
For nine years, the Black Alphabet Film Festival has provided opportunities for Black LGBTQ+ and same-gender-loving (SGL) filmmakers to help share the experiences of their community. You can partake of this year’s event Saturday and Sunday either virtually, or in-person in Chicago.
Tim Sullivan thrives despite 1965 expulsion during “gay purge” at UNI
Before Stonewall, there was the gay purge. It happened at universities across the country, mostly...
Learn about pronouns, gender and more with The Village Project
Viminda Shafer leads The Village Project, a chance to learn about gender, pronouns and other things LGBTQ+.
World AIDS Day inspires “Being & Belonging” in the Quad Cities, more events in Illinois and Iowa
DAVENPORT, IA — “Being & Belonging” is an international look at living with HIV and AIDS, and it’s coming to the Quad Cities Thursday courtesy of The Project of the Quad Cities, DeLaCerda House, and Figge Art Museum.
Read about the artists featured in the film, plus learn about seven other World AIDS Day events happening in Iowa and Illinois.
It features artists from Columbia, Mexico, Korea and more sharing what it’s like to live with HIV and AIDS in different cultures and countries.
This World AIDS Day commemoration, among many throughout Iowa and Illinois, also includes a reception and vigil. The Dec. 1 event starts at 5:30 p.m.
Support from Iowa and Illinois LGBTQ bars, groups increases following Club Q shooting
With victims’ and heroes’ names now released, and accounts shared of Saturday night’s mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, more events and support are coming from LGBTQ+ groups throughout Iowa and Illinois.
The Garden Nightclub in Des Moines plans a benefit show Friday evening, and Basix in Cedar Rapids holds a benefit show Nov. 27. Mary’s on 2nd in Davenport is also working on putting together a memorial and fundraiser for Club Q, but details are not yet finalized.
Groups like The Project of the Quad Cities are also stepping up efforts to circulate information about mental health support lines.
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“House of the Dragon” continues “bury your gays” TV trope
Like so many, every Sunday I sit down on the couch to watch the newest episode of House of the Dragon. I am a big fan of the original series except for, of course, that oh so unfortunate final season. Yet I returned to Westeros—the fictional continent where most of...
Pack your plate with flavor and healing properties of spices
The Plantiful Pantry offers tips on how to cook flavorfully with spices that also have healing properties.
U of I football shows are raptor exploitation, not education (Letter to the Editor)
“Consider contacting the University of Iowa and the Iowa Raptor Project to ask them to stop exploiting raptors by forcing them to be involved in athletic events.”
‘Storyteller’ reveals regular guy Grohl (Book Review)
Dave Grohl never felt as though he fit in. Even around kids with which he grew up, Grohl recalls, he felt an “otherness” and wondered what was wrong with him.
‘Heartstopper’ warmed and destroyed me”
“Heartstopper” is an uplifting story of queer love that can also be heartbreaking for many LGBTQ+ people who were not able to love openly, writes Tyler Mitchell in his review.
“House of the Dragon” continues “bury your gays” TV trope
Like so many, every Sunday I sit down on the couch to watch the newest episode of House of the Dragon. I am a big fan of the original series except for, of course, that oh so unfortunate final season. Yet I returned to Westeros—the fictional continent where most of...
Pack your plate with flavor and healing properties of spices
The Plantiful Pantry offers tips on how to cook flavorfully with spices that also have healing properties.
World AIDS Day inspires “Being & Belonging” in the Quad Cities, more events in Illinois and Iowa
DAVENPORT, IA — “Being & Belonging” is an international look at living with HIV and AIDS, and it’s coming to the Quad Cities Thursday courtesy of The Project of the Quad Cities, DeLaCerda House, and Figge Art Museum.
Read about the artists featured in the film, plus learn about seven other World AIDS Day events happening in Iowa and Illinois.
It features artists from Columbia, Mexico, Korea and more sharing what it’s like to live with HIV and AIDS in different cultures and countries.
This World AIDS Day commemoration, among many throughout Iowa and Illinois, also includes a reception and vigil. The Dec. 1 event starts at 5:30 p.m.
Body positivity, self-discovery through burlesque on stage in Moline at Striptease Academy Showcase
Burlesque as therapy, self-discovery, empowerment and exploring gender will all be part of tonight’s Striptease Academy 2022 Showcase at The Spotlight Theatre in Moline. It’s one of the year’s last big events for Mary Quite Contrary’s House of Burlesque. It’s one of the year’s final events for MQC’s, a Quad Cities burlesque troupe that’s been performing and providing burlesque and striptease education for six years.
Two-day Mic Check Poetry Fest features “rock-star Black women,” virtual attendance option
Diversity is the key to this year’s Mic Check Poetry Fest, says organizer Caleb Rainey. In addition to headliners Patricia Smith and Ebony Stewart, the festival also features seven top Midwestern poets who are diverse “both racially and in terms of queer,” and activities that are suited to writers who are new or seasoned.
Black Alphabet Film Festival showcases Black LGBTQ+ Filmmakers with Chicago event, virtual option
For nine years, the Black Alphabet Film Festival has provided opportunities for Black LGBTQ+ and same-gender-loving (SGL) filmmakers to help share the experiences of their community. You can partake of this year’s event Saturday and Sunday either virtually, or in-person in Chicago.
Levitation Jones brings “ambiguous and androgynous” vibe to bass music
Levitation Jones is a bass music star hailing from the Northeast who aims to attract “anybody that feels a little more misunderstood.”
Body positivity, self-discovery through burlesque on stage in Moline at Striptease Academy Showcase
Burlesque as therapy, self-discovery, empowerment and exploring gender will all be part of tonight’s Striptease Academy 2022 Showcase at The Spotlight Theatre in Moline. It’s one of the year’s last big events for Mary Quite Contrary’s House of Burlesque. It’s one of the year’s final events for MQC’s, a Quad Cities burlesque troupe that’s been performing and providing burlesque and striptease education for six years.
Two-day Mic Check Poetry Fest features “rock-star Black women,” virtual attendance option
Diversity is the key to this year’s Mic Check Poetry Fest, says organizer Caleb Rainey. In addition to headliners Patricia Smith and Ebony Stewart, the festival also features seven top Midwestern poets who are diverse “both racially and in terms of queer,” and activities that are suited to writers who are new or seasoned.
U of I football shows are raptor exploitation, not education (Letter to the Editor)
“Consider contacting the University of Iowa and the Iowa Raptor Project to ask them to stop exploiting raptors by forcing them to be involved in athletic events.”
Former teacher discovers artist inside
CEDAR FALLS -- For more than 30 years, Lisa Breithaupt poured herself into teaching kids and teens about living healthy and working as a team. But when she retired from teaching physical education in nearby Dunkerton, another part of her emerged: an artist who...
Taxes and Animal Abuse
“Shouldn’t we be teaching children to have respect, compassion and empathy for animals? Instead, they are learning that it is ok to terrorize animals for entertainment.”
By Readers
U of I football shows are raptor exploitation, not education (Letter to the Editor)
“Consider contacting the University of Iowa and the Iowa Raptor Project to ask them to stop exploiting raptors by forcing them to be involved in athletic events.”
Former teacher discovers artist inside
CEDAR FALLS -- For more than 30 years, Lisa Breithaupt poured herself into teaching kids and teens about living healthy and working as a team. But when she retired from teaching physical education in nearby Dunkerton, another part of her emerged: an artist who...
Taxes and Animal Abuse
“Shouldn’t we be teaching children to have respect, compassion and empathy for animals? Instead, they are learning that it is ok to terrorize animals for entertainment.”