The Advocate January/February 2022

I’VE SPENT AN inordinate amount of time thinking about love lately. Being thrust into isolation in a pandemic as a single person, there’s been plenty of time to consider my relationships and how at my age I came to be completely alone with my cat (she’s on my lap as I type). A raging serial monogamist in my 20s and 30s, I’ve now been single since my ex-girlfriend and I called it quits after five years in 2013. At first, I was taking time to reassess and just be with myself. It felt important to be OK with being single for a time. There was no expiration date. Now here we are, nearly 22 months since I had my last in-person romantic attraction on a trip to London, and so much…

BEIJING IS SET to host the XXIV Olympic Winter Games in February, and it’s not just COVID complicating China’s plans for a seamless event. Numerous countries, including the United States, have announced a diplomatic boycott of the competition (a move that keeps those countries’ government officials from attending), mainly because of China’s abuses against the Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities. Additionally, the Chinese government continues to vilify its LGBTQ+ citizens, going so far as to ban “sissy men” from TV last year. Even if most Chinese athletes are forced to compete in the closet, numerous queer athletes from around the world will represent their countries — and our community — at the Games The following is a partial list of international LGBTQ+ Olympians competing for gold this year.…

IN AUGUST, as international military forces departed Afghanistan after more than 20 years of war, the Taliban retook control of the capital, Kabul. As the extremist group claimed victory, LGBTQ+ people in the country were already trying to flee. One organization has been at the center of helping those people find safety outside Afghanistan. Rainbow Railroad is an international not-for-profit organization that assists LGBTQ+ people facing persecution. Since its founding in 2006, it has helped more than 1,600 people find refuge worldwide. The focus on Afghanistan didn’t start in August. Rainbow Railroad’s executive director, Kimahli Powell, says the organization has fielded requests from Afghanistan before. Even under the presence of the U.S.- led coalition military, homosexuality was still punishable by death in the years since the Taliban originally fell. Various media reports since…

Pre-exposure prophylaxis — better known as PrEP — reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by around 99 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, only about one out of four of those at risk for HIV transmission are using PrEP. MISTR is looking to change that. The gay-owned and -operated company calls itself a telePrEP platform, easing access to the medication. MISTR currently operates in all 50 states, plus Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, providing its services for free, including delivery. The platform, available in English and Spanish, cuts out visits to the doctor’s office. MISTR works with patients’ insurance companies to get PrEP covered. If a patient doesn’t have health care, MISTR will assist in finding other options for coverage. “MISTR manages all paperwork and back…

What’s the difference between bisexuality and pansexuality? How did others know they were nonbinary? These questions and more are the heart of a new video series starring Telloyd Richards (above) called Writing Our Own Dictionary from the It Gets Better Project, which provides definitions and insights into the many identities under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. It Gets Better, founded by Dan Savage and his husband, Terry Miller, in 2010, works to empower queer youth around the world. Its new video series is meant to enhance one of the organization’s most popular web pages: its glossary. Eboni Munn, It Gets Better Project’s director of brand marketing, says the glossary is a top-trafficked page for the organization. “We thought about creating a series that kind of pinpointed some of those terms and spoke to our…

For Jeopardy! champion Amy Schneider, representing the transgender community on television has been worth even more than the $1 million she’s won. “It’s definitely been the most rewarding part of the whole experience,” says Schneider, who is not the first out trans contestant or champ but is the first to qualify for the Tournament of Champions, reserved for the top 15 winners of each season. She’s also the first woman to pass the million-dollar mark. Schneider, who had won 30 consecutive games when The Advocate interviewed her in January, has become a relatable face of the trans community for those unfamiliar with trans people. She says she’s received much positive feedback from trans folks who say she’s helped their parents understand their identity. Schneider, 42, is a longtime Jeopardy! fan, having grown up…