Niche

11 Transgender Parents Share Their Path to Parenthood

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The Colemans

“Forget power tools and whiskey stones — all these transgender parents want for Father’s Day this year is to be with the ones they love. Some, who transitioned prior to becoming a parent, had to navigate adoption agencies, fertility clinics, and home births before welcoming their new tiny humans into the world. Others transitioned later in life, maturing into motherhood while renegotiating their relationships with older children who remember them as Dad.

They may be diverse in their gender identities, parenting styles, ages, and experiences, but just like cisgender fathers, these parents all share one important thing in common: an overflowing, unconditional love for their children and their chosen families.”

Read the full article here!

This Veteran’s Job Was Discharging Gay Sailors In The Navy — But He Had A Secret

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CU Seaman Hands

This Veteran’s Job Was Discharging Gay Sailors In The Navy — But He Had A Secret

“Throughout 1952, Otto Bremerman sat at his military desk in the personnel office of the Pearl Harbor Naval Base, typing up dishonorable discharges for sailors who had been accused of homosexuality. He knew that these sailors had selflessly taken on the same risks as their heterosexual counterparts to serve their country during the Korean War, but because they were gay, they would now suffer the consequences of dishonorable discharge for the rest of their lives. With each keystroke, Bremerman was reminded of his own vulnerability — he was a gay American himself, hiding his identity in a country unwilling to accept his open service.”

Thrilled to feature Korean War Veteran, Otto Bremerman, Vietnam Era Veteran, Denny Meyer, Desert Storm Veteran, Evelyn Thomas, Iraq War Veterans, Sean Sala and Gene Silvestri and talented filmmaker, Kristine Stolakis and her beautiful documentary, The Typist in my Buzzfeed piece on LGBT Veterans.

CU Otto Eyes

“The tireless efforts of activists have won many historic victories for LGBT service members, but significant legal and administrative barriers to full equality remain for touring same-sex married couples, transgender military families, and veterans who received a less-than-honorable discharge before the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.” Progressive lawmakers and advocates continue to fight against these policies of blatant discrimination in hopes that LGBT soldiers will one day receive the same civil rights, freedom and equality they often risk their lives to defend.”

Read the full article on Buzzfeed: This Veteran’s Job Was Discharging Gay Sailors In The Navy — But He Had A Secret

The Fast and Furrious World of Furry Subculture

/ Sydney Parker / 1 Comment

How the Furry Community Embraced CollegeHumor’s Furry Force

furryforce

“Patch O’Furr calls it the multi-nerd connections. ‘If it was a venn-diagram, it would be plaid. Because everybody who’s a nerd has a bunch of nerdy interests (laughs),’ said Patch. ‘I’ve always loved every kind of subculture. But I think furries are the truest nerds out there today. You know, nerds back in the day didn’t have billion dollar movies and Hollywood agents coming to their conventions. Furry conventions still don’t have those things. They’re organic and homegrown.”

Writing this piece brought me to tears of laughter several times. What a joy to learn more about Furry culture from Patch O’Furr and CollegeHumor’s very funny Brian Murphy and Adam Conover. Read the full piece on Splitsider here:

How the Furry Community Embraced CollegeHumor’s Furry-Lampooning ‘Furry Force’

To learn more about Patch O’Furr and the Furry Community, check out Patch’s blog:

Dog Patch Press

To Vote Furry Force for the Ursa Major Award:

Ursa Major Awards Voting

Autistic and Queer: Coming Out on the Spectrum

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rainbow

Autistic and Queer: Coming Out on the Spectrum 

“You shouldn’t assume that because someone is disabled, they need to be fixed. When we talk about acceptance, we mean acceptance for everybody. Whether they can go to college or not, whether they can work a 9-5 or not. Whether they can communicate orally or not. Whether they ever choose to date or not. Acceptance doesn’t come with qualifications or ifs or buts. Acceptance means radically choosing to believe and to affirm through your actions, that all humans are in fact valuable. That all ways of being human are worthy of respect. Even if you don’t understand them. Especially if you don’t understand them.” A beautiful quote by Lydia Brown, an exceptional disability rights activist. So proud to share this article on Queer Autistics I wrote for AfterEllen.

Autistic and Queer: Coming Out on the Spectrum 

Autism: Does ABA therapy open society’s doors to children, or impose conformity?

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A man reaches out to his son, who has autism, in Portland, Oregon. Photograph: Stephen Voss / Alamy/Alamy

A man reaches out to his son, who has autism, in Portland, Oregon.           Photograph: Stephen Voss / Alamy/Alamy

I’m very excited to share this article on ABA therapy for Autism that I wrote for The Guardian. I hope this piece starts a dialogue about autism that goes beyond the vaccines debate and inspires others to seek out diverse autistic perspectives. You can read the full article here. For more information directly from the Autistic Blogosphere, please explore the following links: