A New Project Is Bringing the Gay ‘Green Book' Online

Local volunteers dubbed “activist archivists” are working to document the lives and contributions of LGBTQ+ people across the state, creating an archive of local LGBTQ+ history in the midst of recent anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that makes it difficult — and even illegal — to discuss and teach about LGBTQ+ identities and activism.

Queer cowboys, cowgirls, and cowfolx attend gay rodeos across the United States to compete and partake in community events that are more welcoming than traditional rodeos. The International Gay Rodeo Association was founded in 1985 and continued to host events that anyone is welcome to join without judgment ever since.

Several individuals and groups like Columbus Community Deathcare and Live Without Regrets doula services are emerging to offer LGBTQ+ people adequate deathcare as they often don’t have access to the same resources, autonomy or dignity as cisgender people. End-of-life doulas and other providers that embrace the Death Positive Movement are offering holistic care that honors a dying person’s wants and needs while respecting their identity.

Sexual orientation and gender identities 123 or SOGI 123 is an optional resource educators can use to provide grade-level appropriate materials that help create safe, inclusive learning environments for students. All 60 school districts in the province are part of the SOGI 123 Educator Network, which allows educators to work together to design programs that foster inclusion in schools. Schools that integrate SOGI 123 have seen a positive impact on students’ mental health, as well as their sense of belonging and willingness to engage.

Trans Doe Task Force is a nonprofit project by two professional genetic genealogists that works to solve cold cases involving missing and murdered trans people. Trans people are at greater risk of violence. When their unidentified bodies are found, police are more likely to mishandle or neglect their cases. Using the tactics of genetic genealogy to turn a DNA sample into a link to known family members, and then narrowing the list of possible victims to the right one, TDTF has solved two cases out of 173 it has worked on. It also has worked with police agencies to change hearts and minds.

Spektrum, a self-organized LGBTQ+ migrant organization, provides a space of belonging to queer migrants, who often feel out of place and ill-served by traditional organizations that do not understand the violence and trauma they have endured. Spektrum has a non-hierarchical leadership structure and provides members with practical and relevant activities, like a bicycle repair workshop, which is important as many migrants rely on bikes as their main mode of transportation. The group was invited to help organize Cologne Pride and has advised the city on the lack of social services in some neighborhoods.

Queeraspora was founded in Bremen as a safe space for immigrant and refugee LGBTQ+ people to find social and emotional support, as well as access to information. Around twenty people make up the nucleus of the group, and they come from all over the world including Turkey, Taiwan, India, Bosnia, and South America. The meetings focus on personal empowerment, as well as political organizing and educational workshops. The mix of social and educational activities provides a network for people who experience homophobia among refugee and migrant communities and racism among mainstream LGBTQ+ communities.

Pakistan's only church for transgender Christians has given its members the safety, acceptance, and joy they are often denied in the conservative, predominantly Muslim country. Called the First Church of Eunuchs – the name, considered derogatory by some, echoes the term for transgender women in South Asia – was formed by the country's only transgender lawyer, herself a Muslim, as a refuge for transgender Christians, who are often shunned, bullied, and abused by others, including other churches. The government recognized transgender as a third gender, but that has not changed all attitudes.

The production model of the documentary Disclosure prioritized diversity, inclusion, and empowering transgender people both on screen and behind the scenes. Over 120 trans people contributed to the film. Nine trans Fellows, many of whom have since made their own films, received stipends, mentoring, hands-on training, and networking opportunities. Trans representation behind the camera increased interviewee openness and all interviewees were compensated for their time. While a controversial practice in documentary film making, it was implemented to avoid exploitative and extractive storytelling practices.

When in-person meetings became impossible during the pandemic, Epicenter's youth-run, drop-in resource center for youth made its LGBTQ+ support group virtual, and attendance went up. The group, called Our Gente, provides a place for youth to support each other. Those trapped at home with families that are unsupportive can still participate online using text chats, rather than having to speak aloud. Youth at the center create their own programming, but work closely with Epicenter's deputy director, who grew up queer, non-binary in a family that at first did not support them.