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Chechen Warlord Who Assisted In Antigay Purge Killed In Ukraine A Call For Reform On HIV Is Not A Crime Awareness Day Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts Shares Sweet Tribute To Partner After Cancer Diagnosis
Publisher/Executive Editor David Vandygriff publisher@jaxgay.com
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Are Lesbian Bars Making a Post-Lockdown Comeback?
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Fly High in Vegas Without Leaving the Ground
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No Longer Olivia: Reintroducing Liv Lux Miyake-MuglerMa Prada’s Latest Shoes Bring the Sparkle Even During Long Winter Nights Kandy Muse Says She Didn’t Even Want To Win RuPaul’s Drag Race Thousands Of Florida Students Walkout To Protest ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill Apple Adds Gender-Neutral Siri Option Voiced By Queer Person Called Quinn
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Chechen Warlord Who Assisted In Antigay Purge Killed In Ukraine By Maggie Wilson
A Chechen warlord and a close advisor to the region’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov was killed Saturday in Ukraine as Russia continues its invasion of the country. Russian human rights groups have said the advisor had been involved with the persecution of LGBTQ+ people. Magomed Tushayev was killed during the battle at Antonov Airport — known also as Hostomel Airport, according to the Washington Blade. The facility is an international cargo airport and sits northwest of Kyiv. Tushayev led the “141 motorized regiment” of the Chechnya National Guard. His death was confirmed by the Ukrainian news outlet the Kyiv Independent and a spokesperson for Ukrainian
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President Volodymyr Zelensky. Chechnya. That includes a role in 2021 in the kidnapping of On Saturday, a video of activists and gay man Ibragim Kadyrov appeared online where he boasted of Chechen Selimkhanov, who was taken from a Moscow subway station victory in Ukraine, Al Jazeera and forcibly sent to Grozny, reports. He said Chechen Chechnya’s capital. soldiers had entered Ukraine and that Russia’s military could Selimkhanov was reportedly easily take Ukraine’s largest interrogated by operatives cities. working for Tushayev. The “As of today, as of this minute, activist was questioned about his connections to other human we do not have one single rights activists and journalists casualty, or wounded, not a who were working to help single man has even had a queer people in Chechnya. runny nose,” Kadyrov said, rejecting what he called false For years now, LGBTQ+ reports of casualties that came activists have reported that from Ukrainian sources. “The Chechen officials in the president [Putin] took the right Kadyrov regime, including decision and we will carry out Tushayev, have rounded up his orders under any dozens of men on suspicion of circumstances.” being queer, and have held The Blade notes that Tushayev them in detention centers for days while they are humiliated had directly been involved in persecuting LGBTQ+ people in and tortured.
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A Call For Reform On HIV Is Not A Crime Awareness Day By Kamaria Kaffrey
I was born smiling. I love unicorns and drinking coffee, and I can be instantly cheered up when “It Takes Two” by Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock comes on. I am a Black mother and am a woman living with HIV in Florida. In that state, if I do not have proof that I disclosed my HIV status to my sexual partners, regardless of whether or not transmission occurs, I can be arrested, charged with a felony, and sentenced to up to 30 years. In all honesty, because of the outdated language in these statutes, even if I have proof, a judge may not accept it. That’s just one way HIV criminalization statutes across the nation are problematic. This February 28 marks the first year of HIV Is Not a Crime Awareness Day, a day when communities will mobilize with a collective voice to stand in solidarity to overcome HIV criminalization. In launching this day, I’ve had the privilege to collaborate with the Sero Project and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. They share in the unapologetic commitment to build momentum in equipping advocates locally and 08 www.jaxgay.com
nationally to create strategies that shift mindsets and change these laws. We cannot end the epidemic of HIV unless these laws are reformed and ultimately repealed. As a product of abstinence-only education, I was pregnant at 19, then diagnosed with HIV at 21; in 2003, I learned the hard way about stigma and discrimination. To quell my fears, I began speaking out about living with HIV in 2007 and have been a part of the decision-making tables like my local Ryan White planning council. I traveled to Washington, D.C., to speak with legislators about people living with HIV having access to care. I stand on the shoulders of so many people who have died from complications of HIV and have faced stigma, discrimination, shame, and fear. I am grounded in this work because of those who are no longer here, who ads to the collective power and voices of the marginalized and invisible. The thing is, when policymakers voted for HIV criminalization laws to be enacted in Florida, it was 1986. I was 4 years old. People nationwide were afraid and called on the government for a
solution, needing funding for research to identify treatments for HIV The answer to one issue ultimately led to problematic laws that have been enacted in various states, some more specific and harmful than others. Over time, treatments became available, Ryan White funding created access to care for people with HIV, and people began living longer fuller lives. As time passed, the laws that seemed practical in 1986 were no longer. There has been progress in fighting HIV, including once-a-day treatments, pre-exposure prophylaxis, and the fact that a person living with HIV on their antiretroviral treatment six months or longer (and reaching an undetectable level of the virus) cannot pass the virus on to their partner sexually. The latter development has brought communities vulnerable to HIV and people living with HIV beyond the shadows of stigma. This HIV Is Not a Crime Awareness Day and the partnership with the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation adds to that, combining resources and community to continue to change states’s HIV-specific laws or health codes to remove
for people living with HIV. Iowa, Colorado, California, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Virginia, North Carolina, Illinois, and Washington are just the beginning of these changes. Incredible victories supported by organizations like those in the Health Not Prisons Collective have forced legislators to face their stigmatizing enforcement of laws.
days, to support and empower people living with HIV who are impacted by mass incarceration. The opportunity to tell the stories of survivors who were held in prisons by systemic racism, heteronormative violence, sexual violence, and stigma adds to the collective power in decriminalizing HIV. While we wait to change laws, people are still vulnerable to policymakers' bias, and this I joined this movement in 2016; awareness day, along with the tools it will offer, helps people having lived with HIV for 13 years and having never heard become activated in the of the laws in this way, I had to movement and make clear that criminalization is never a be a part of that change. I solution to a health challenge. believe in amplifying racial The movement can be the justice, I believe in expanding force that alters the response advocacy networks, and I believe fully in the power of the to health challenges by uniting against policing, prosecution, people. I think it’s essential to have awareness days like HIV and imprisonment in public Is Not a Crime Day, among all health crises. I think it’s essential for the justice system of our other HIV awareness to be informed by those
impacted by outdated, unjust, and dehumanizing laws. Join me and others this February 28 and declare that HIV Is Not a Crime and take more steps toward removing the residue of stigma sticking to the fibers of systemic oppression and violence. Join survivors of HIV criminalization by showing support in amplifying this discussion beyond the capitol buildings, outside of the coalition strategy meetings, and into spaces that allow for radical, critical, and meaningful change. Kamaria Laffrey is program director for HIV policy reform with the Sero Project, offering strategic planning and community mobilization training to state leaders living with HIV to change their HIV criminalization laws.
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Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts Shares Sweet Tribute To Partner After Cancer Diagnosis By Drew Baska
Good Morning America (GMA) host Robin Roberts has shared a heartwarming tribute to her partner after she was diagnosed with cancer. The veteran news anchor announced she would be stepping away from Good Morning America from “time to time” on Thursday (23 February) as her partner Amber Laign was beginning chemotherapy after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Robin Roberts told fans that her “sweet” partner had been diagnosed “at the end of last year”. She added that Laign had undergone surgery last month and was starting chemotherapy. Since then, Roberts has shared messages for her other half through the couple’s Instagram account dedicated to their beloved rescue dog, Lukas. She shared an adorable photo of the Tibetan Spaniel Papillion mix standing on the sofa with a fluffy toy in his mouth. “Love you mommy….. you got 12 www.jaxgay.com
this,” the caption read. Roberts also shared a picture of Laign and Lukas on her personal Instagram. She snapped a candid shot of Laign holding a large camera as she sits outside with Lukas amid some freshly fallen snow in their backyard. Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts Says Partner In ‘Good Spirits’ After Cancer Diagnosis Robin Roberts said that she and her partner Amber Laign are “immensely grateful for all the well wishes and prayers” from fans, wishing they get the same “returned to you tenfold”. “She’s in good spirits, enjoying her passion for nature and photography,” Roberts added. Roberts came out publicly in 2013 and announced that she was in a long-term relationship with Laign. The couple have been together for almost 17 years, Roberts wrote on Instagram last week, and have “helped each other through our challenges like my journey with cancer”. Roberts underwent surgery and chemotherapy for breast can-
cer in 2007. Years later, in 2012, she shared that she was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder, myelodysplastic syndrome, and had a lifesaving bone marrow transplant. Robin Roberts said it was her turn to “be there for [Laign] like she was for me” during her health journey. “We know many, many are facing cancer and other challenges,” Roberts said. “Like my mama said, ‘Everybody’s got something’. Please know that you are in our prayers and hopefully we’re in yours too. Blessings to all.”
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Are Lesbian Bars Making a Post-Lockdown Comeback? By Mason Brown
While data from the Lesbian Bar Project has revealed that there are less than two dozen lesbian bars left in the United States, down from more than 200 in the 1980s, there's new hope for lesbian spaces in the post-lockdown era.
promote local musicians, mutual aid organizations, and fundraising events. They’ve been pooling donations with the intent to open a permanent space by the end of the year. Dausch isn’t alone. On the opposite coast, Lauren Richter, Recent reporting by The New the founder of Hot Donna’s York Times delved into a Clubhouse in Los Angeles, growing trend in LGBTQ+ plans to turn that monthly event nightlife: the revival of the night into a brick-and-mortar lesbian bar. Citing the project's venue this year as well. “It’s data, the paper examined if the more of a safe haven than just desire and need for queer a bar or a watering hole. It’s so spaces have come back into important to have a community focus. space to congregate,” she told the Times. “We need a bar like this,” Erica Butts, a 26-year-old performer In order to do so, however, Richter needs to raise an who attended Dave’s Lesbian estimated $1 million dollars — Bar pop-up event in Queens, and that’s just the beginning. told the Times. “This is As Jen Jack Gieseking, author euphoric, it’s a dream.” of an upcoming book about the Dave’s was created by Kristin history of lesbian bars told the Dausch, a nanny and Times, the costs of running a performer in Astoria. Dausch lesbian bar can be prohibitive. has announced a plan to open “People assigned female at a neighborhood lesbian bar to birth generally drink less than
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people assigned male, and we have less leisure spending,” explained Gieseking. And queer women tend to find partners outside of bars, including through activism, volunteering, or potlucks, they added. Despite this and other challenges, these pop-ups continue to, well, pop up in places like Lesbian Social Detroit, She Life in Miami, Somebody’s Sister in San Francisco, As You Are Bar in Washington, D.C., and GrrlSpot in New Orleans. All of this underscores what Kort Lee, an attendee of Dave’s event in February, told the Times. “A lesbian-centered space is really special,” said Lee. “I’m a trans nonbinary person, and lesbian culture is as expansive. There are not a lot of social spaces for lesbians, and it’s important to keep that history alive, evolving, and thriving.”
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Fly High in Vegas Without Leaving the Ground By Jennifer Davis
It’s easy to miss Las Vegas’s latest attraction. Tucked between a Hard Rock Cafe and an outpost of the discount department store Ross, the red-hued entrance to FlyOver Las Vegas is relatively discreet, especially in a city known for over-the-top shows. Walk inside and you’re quickly delivered from the cacophony outside into an entry with quiet music and soft lighting. It’s a perfect environment to prep your senses for what’s about to come. Opened last year, FlyOver is a flight simulator, akin to the Disneyland ride Soarin’. In fact, FlyOver is the brainchild of Disney Imagineer, Rick Rothschild, who crafted Soarin’. FlyOver features two separate simulated rides, one covering the varied landscape of the Wild West and the other sweeping riders over Iceland’s stunning topography.
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FlyOver feels like a full experience, well worth the relatively modest admission ($34 for a single ride, $54 for a double feature, and even cheaper for kids). Riders are led through a long hallway lit in bright, shifting, hallucinatory colors. From there, there are two pre-shows in two separate theaters — the space was a former multiplex — that somehow both relaxes riders and builds anticipation for what’s to come. The ride itself follows that blueprint, being somehow calming and enthralling in equal measure. Utilizing seats that move, a 52-foot-long screen, wind, mists, and scents (though it’s mostly impossible to smell anything through face masks), FlyOver whisks you away from Sin City mentally, if not physically. The Wild West ride is a blast and includes a journey up and over the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, and, of course, Vegas. The more high-energy Iceland experience is one for the books (especially for those of us stuck stateside), transporting riders to an alien environment of glaciers, waterfalls, and the colorful capital of Reykjavík. After each
ride, giant maps outside the theater display where the awe-inducing aerial photography was taken. FlyOver adds to a growing roster of interactive activities in Vegas — including the Area15 art campus and a trippy Van Gogh exhibit at the Shops at Crystals — that help further shift the city’s identity from a singularly-focused gambling mecca to a more diverse destination. www.flyoverlasvegas.com
was so much more and I wanted to learn. I started to follow Instagram accounts affiliated with ballroom culture and No Longer Olivia: Reintroducing doing my own Liv Lux Miyake-MuglerMa research. That led By Matt Gibson me to having some Right after coming from filming interactions with people in the RuPaul’s Drag Race, it is a ballroom scene Arturo, the whirlwind of artistry, New York City father of Miyake performing, connecting with -Mugler who led them to the people and traveling. A lot of win on season 2 of Legendary, things that I wasn't able to do and Naja Miyake-Mugler, who before I had this platform I got is very well known for drag's to do, and I really enjoyed it. face and is also the New York However, I felt there was a City house mother. I will say small component missing. I that I’m not sure a lot of folks think the component, now know this, but I had been in looking back at it, was the conversation with a lot of other educational/learning part of it. houses as well. As artists, we’re always I think the defining moment for learning new things to better ourselves and what we put out me was when I got invited to a ballroom family gathering there in the universe that will moment and no other house live on forever. So I found myself in an area where I was invited me to anything like that. I really appreciated that. I could really happy traveling and instantly tell that Miyakeconnecting with people, but I Mugler was all about family still had the urge to learn and and community and that was to grow. something that I didn't have. I I was an active watcher of spoke a bit about not having an season 1 and 2 of HBO Max’s immediate drag family on my Legendary, and I had a few season. So now, kind of seeing friends in the ballroom scene. on the horizon the possibility of When I was watching me having a ballroom family, Legendary, I was drawing a I'd never thought about that. I parallel to my experience on quickly realized that this could television, because there is a not only enrich my experience pristineness to what we were as an artist as a drag queen seeing with the costumes and but also as a person of color the production elements, but I finding their way in New York felt like I had this newly City. I quickly found myself equipped lens of being able to under their wing and I got see through all that and see swept into the ballroom scene the nitty gritty. I knew there and I love every second of it. 22 www.jaxgay.com
Before I joined I did not attend a lot of balls. I did know of OTA, which is at 3 Dollar Bill in Brooklyn on Mondays. But other than that, you know, what about the larger-scale balls that everybody was talking about? I wanted something more than just “I like ballroom scene because I saw Legendary.” That is that to me is the same parallel as “I like drag because I watched RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Drag Race isn't all of drag, it’s a snapshot of drag that we all love and that we all like to connect to. And it's a really great platform to then get to know drag artists and drag communities further from there. It’s the same with Legendary. If RuPaul’s Drag Race season 13 was my undergrad, then I like to think of the ballroom scene as my graduate-level evolution — this is me in grad school. In August I went to Atlanta after the Muglers asked if I wanted to join the house. There, I reconnected with LaLa Ri, another Black artist that I respect and love, and we were
talking about the ballroom community. She was really excited for me, and I remember just getting ready for the induction & learning as much as I could in that period of time. At the induction, we had Zoom calls of house members all over the world. It was this long day of interviews and showcasing your talent. It was the first time I was really in front of everybody, but it felt like home & family. I got inducted, then literally the next day was the Balmain ball, and I made my debut with the House of Miyake-Mugler in our all black looking chic, looking fly. It was incredible. The most amazing feeling I've ever felt. I walked a category for the first time a few months later at the Icon ball, in October. Naja is my ballroom mother. With anything related to ballroom, I'm constantly chatting with her about concepts and themes. It's so fun because I love makeup & I love selling face. I love giving it out there on the ballroom floor. It is a different feeling and different jush than performing a lip-sync number. Me & Naja talk about that a lot. I send her selfies of me in drag and she'll give me some notes and pointers, whether it be my eyebrows or the eye shapes that I'm creating or maybe using less glitter and trying to lean into more of a natural-looking face because I can. You know, like I don’t need glitter to get my tens. In preparation for Coldest Winter Ever, I created my
dress and a good friend of mine did my wig. I truly feel that when you're preparing, you have to believe in everything that you're doing, what you're putting on your face and your body. It helps you so much when you're selling the moment. When I put all of it on, for me there’s a final step in becoming that evolved Liv Miyake-Mugler. That’s interacting with my ballroom family. I put it all on and they're hyping me up, and they're telling me, Miss Thing you are giving! You are giving! Come on, sell it! Those are the moments. It feels so supercharged when you’re battling — it feels like supernova. You get to that level where you think you're at your highest the point and then you hear your house chant and you feel literally on fire. The anxiety and the rush and all of the things that I love about theater and theatrics and putting on a show are there. You can wait there for hours for your category. You’re anticipating going out there on the floor, but also you can't have any expectation of anything because you could get chopped. That's the reality of the ballroom floor. When I was up there, I felt fully in the moment. And yes, the grand battle at the end with Mariah Paris Balenciaga was a moment but let's not forget the lead up to that: Me, tournament-style, annihilating all the other girls before her. For me, that was such an amazing moment because I
had to believe in myself. Even afterwards, my house was just very proud that I was able to really make a name for myself. Mariah, I mean she is an absolute icon, and since I got on Drag Race, people have been telling me that I favored her & I was so honored that people would even connect me with her. She is an icon, and not just in ballroom but in drag and the Drag Race world. So I had to put all that out the window because I was on the battleground. Our arms interlocking was such a kismet moment because when you're in it, you're focusing so much on yourself. When I was there, I almost don't remember the locking-in the moment. Like, you kind of just do it. It wasn't choreographed, obviously. Looking back, it's almost like the hand did it organically touching elbows. It was such an organic moment. That’s when I kind of knew that I was meant to be there. A moment like that cannot be as organic as it was without the notion of all of the stars aligning. That's what that felt like for me. The moment after they announced grand prize to Mariah, it was such a great moment to just be existing. In the video, it is so cool to look back because you see the breaking of character when we were finally able to hug each other. It felt like we created something. And according to the internet, we did.
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Prada’s Latest Shoes Bring the Sparkle Even During Long Winter Nights By David Vandygriff
Prada's iconic triangular logo shines on a brushed-leather loafer tastefully updated with a ridged sole resembling tiny chocolate bars. Thanks to Prada, you can wear the radiance of winter scenes — the light, the shine, the iridescence — in new crystalencrusted accessories. Step out in this update of the classic penny loafer made of satin and studded with heat-sealed crystals. Sparkling like diamonds on your shoes, the crystals scatter glimmers of light with every step you take, whether in the TSA line or on
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the streets of Paris. There’s even a matching Prada bucket hat, if you want to dazzle from head to toe. (prada.com) Total quality as point of departure, constant innovation without abandoning tradition, searching and selection of materials combined with impeccable manufacturing. These are the product characteristics of this brand, an icon of "Made in Italy," founded by Mario Prada in 1913 and later developed into an international business by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli.
Kandy Muse Says She Didn’t Even Want To Win RuPaul’s Drag Race By Katie Sappington
Kandy Muse might have failed to take home the crown during season 13 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, but “The Icon” insists she preferred coming second. The drag queen opened up about her time on the series during a chat with Trixie Mattel and explained how she struggled with the reception she received from viewers. The show’s finale saw Kandy battle against Gottmik, Rosé and Symone to claim the crown and the $100,000 cash prize in the grand final in 2021. Indeed, the top four served sickening performances during a Britney Spears lip sync showdown. However, Symone beat out Kandy which saw the “Ebony Enchantress” become the triumphant Drag Race winner. During the YouTube chat with her fellow performer, the 27year-old explained that she had been glad she didn’t win due to the fact she hadn’t been the fan-favorite like some had predicted. “It was wild because when we left filming… everyone, myself, the queens, everyone thought I was gonna be like, fan-favorite number one at the time,” she
explained. “And I was like, ‘OK’, I believed it.” However, the fan reaction was completely different as she continued: “The response was the complete opposite. I was so confused. Why? And I was like, what am I doing wrong that people are not getting?”
“So I was like, you know what, not that I’m going to throw it, I’m going to go up there, represent for my country, pull out the flag, and have a good time, but like, I don’t want to come anywhere close… to winning Drag Race because Kandy, who was the series’ first Dominican competitor, was the backlash would be insane.” called a bully by some fans due Trixie observed: “When you to her outspoken opinions and lose, every conversation starts attitude. with, ‘You were so good, I wanted you to win.’ When you Revealing her reaction at the win, every conversation is time, Kandy added: “Am I about did you deserve it.” coming off too strong? Are people not used to seeing In fact, coming second seems someone as real as me on to have been the most ideal Drag Race? situation for Kandy as she told Trixie that fans are much nicer “I always tell people, if you watch the show back and see to her now. how much the girls actually loved me, doesn’t that tell you something? That those girls like me enough to want me to still be there, so why do you dislike me?” The backlash caused Kandy to want to avoid causing further reasons for viewers to dislike her. Speaking her final lip sync, she added: “The reality is I didn’t
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want to have any chances of winning the show because of the backlash that I would have received.
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Thousands Of Florida Students Walkout To Protest ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill By Jamie Massengill
Students across Florida have organized class walkouts on Thursday to protest the proposed “don’t say gay” bill under consideration by the Florida Legislature after an image spread on social media calling for students and schools to participate in the statewide action. A student at Colonial High School in Orlando, Dariel Cruz Rodriguez, shared footage from a protest held at the
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school. In it, a female student takes to the microphone to denounce the legislation, that would limit discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in Florida schools that aren’t deemed as “age appropriate” by the state. “Schools are a safe space away from home, especially for LGBTQ+ students who don’t receive that kind of support at home,” she said. “Gender identity is not taboo. It’s not something we should ignore or take away from our primary schools.” And that’s not the only place protests are occurring.
He said the walkout was organized in collaboration with the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance. And that’s not the only place protests are occurring.
A senior at a high school in Flagler County, Fla., was suspended after handing out Pride flags during the walkout, Flagler Live reports. Senior Jack Petocz, the student organizer of the walkout, had several meetings with the administration, including principal Greg Schwartz, about the event. Local TV station WTSP Rodriguez, vice president of broadcast aerial footage of the student council at Colonial students at Gibbs High School High School, told The in St. Petersburg flooding en Advocate, “We as masse out of class. students need to stand up for Michael Womack of Equality each other. As issues arise that Florida sent photographs of a can negatively impact our protest at Freedom High peers, we have to show love School in Orlando. He said it and solidarity to one another was “sent to me by one of the because that is how we can teachers who saved me.” accomplish change. No matter our age, we are still a group of Womack emphasized that the committed people who want to walkouts were student-led. “We did not organize them,” he be heard.” wrote in another tweet.
Students from Rutherford High School in Plant City also poured out of class in large numbers, one waving a hand-written poster proclaiming “You can’t SILENCE LGBTQ youth!!!” That particularly touched Equality Florida Chair Nadine Smith, who tweeted: “This is my alma mater. I was senior class president. An honor student. Captain of sports teams. Head yearbook photographer. And I was deeply closeted. Totally isolated and depressed. The Don’t Say Gay bill wants that for students today. We say NO!” Students in Sarasota lined the streets to chant, “No homophobes. No In nearby Lakewood Ranch, walkouts drew media attention. “I feel that we have to take our time out of our day to talk about it,” junior Nicole Bundy told the Tampa Bay Times. In Tallahassee, students in the afternoon started marching around the Florida Capitol in protest of the bill, which already passed in the Florida House and will be considered by the Senate next week. Students ended up filing around the entrance to the House and Senate floor, waving rainbow flags and cheering, “We will not be victims.” The walkouts are taking place as LGBTQ+ activists protest Walt Disney World for not taking a stance against the bill despite holding commercial Pride events like Gay Days annually.
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Apple Adds Gender-Neutral Siri Option Voiced By Queer Person Called Quinn By David Vandygriff
Apple is testing out a gender-neutral Siri voice in its latest iOS beta, reportedly named Quinn. iOS 15.4, currently in testing, will offer a new voice option for its digital assistant that isn’t explicitly male or female, Axios reported.
and services that are designed to better reflect the diversity of the world we live in”. Previously, Siri defaulted to a female voice, but now users are required to select their preferred option when starting The new voice is part of an the process of setting up their effort by the tech giant to offer devices. They can change a more diverse array of Siri’s voice at any time in the Apple confirmed that the new options. It arrives nearly a year future if they prefer. voice was recorded by a after Apple added two Siri member of the LGBT+ Apple CEO Tim Cook is one of voice options recorded by community, but it didn’t offer the richest – and most powerful Black actors and stopped any comment about the voice – LGBT+ people in the world. defaulting to using a femaleactor’s identity. However the tech giant drew sounding voice. The tech giant told Axios that it criticism last year when it was Apple said in a statement at the accused of enabling the was “excited” to introduce the time that the company was new Siri voice to give “users widespread censorship of more options to choose a voice continuing its “long-standing LGBT+ apps in 152 different commitment to diversity and that speaks to them”. countries in a damning report. inclusion” by offering “products “Millions of people around the world rely on Siri every day to help get things done, so we work to make the experience feel as personalized as possible,” Apple said. The gender-neutral voice, simply labelled as option five on the Siri menu, was added to the beta of iOS 15.4 that was released to developers and the public on Tuesday (22 February). But Steve Moser, an iOS 35 www.jaxgay.com
developer and MacRumors contributor, reported on Twitter that the filename refers to the new gender-neutral voice as “Quinn” – perhaps a reference to the trans footballer and Olympic gold medalist.
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