Tag Archives: Lesbians in the U.S.

In Memoriam: Lesbian Murder Victims (June 2017 Update)

Posted on 04/06/2017 by listeninglisa | 1 comment

Day-of-Mourn-01-300x187

“Lesbians are very often under-counted as murder victims–both within the so-called LGBT community and by those who monitor violence against women. This is a beginning effort to honor the names of the lesbians that have been lost.”

This month we honor the following sisters:

Andreza Souza Dos Santos, Manaus, Brazil (February 2017)

Larissa Massaroli, Cabixi, Brazil (April 2017)

Kandis Major and Terri Seibeck, Illinois, USA (October 2009)

Lerato Moloi, Naledi, South Africa (May 2017)

Nonkie Smous, Maokeng, South Africa (April 2017)

Continue reading at: In Memoriam: Lesbian Murder Victims (Source)

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Tagged Andreza Souza Dos Santos, Hate crimes, homophobia, Kandis Major, Larissa Massaroli, Lerato Moloi, Lesbian Murder Victims, Lesbians in Brazil, Lesbians in South Africa, Lesbians in the U.S., Nonkie Smous, Terri Seibeck, violence against lesbians, violence against women

Erika Shields: Atlanta’s first openly lesbian police chief

Posted on 03/06/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

You could argue that there’s no better or no worse time to be a police chief in Atlanta than right now. Although 2016 was Atlanta’s deadliest year in nearly a decade, the numbers of robberies, burglaries, and aggravated assaults in the city were down 27 percent going into this year. At the same time, heightened awareness of officer-involved shootings across the country has amplified calls to make the APD more transparent, accountable, and connected to the communities it serves. Cops are under intense scrutiny, making it hard to recruit and retain quality officers—especially when APD recruits earn a salary of just $35,000.

Continue reading at: The Chief: Erika Shields wants to change the way Atlanta police tackle crime – Atlanta Magazine (Source)

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Tagged Atlanta, Coming out, Erika Shields, lesbian police officers, Lesbians in the U.S., police officers

Bigots Hurl Anti-Gay Slurs at Woman, Hit Her in Head With Umbrella: NYPD

Posted on 03/06/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

NYPD is looking for this man

BROOKLYN — Two men hurled anti-gay slurs at a woman in front of a Cypress Hills bodega, then hit her in the face with an umbrella after she tried to walk away, the NYPD said.Alex Santiago, 26, was charged with assault as a hate crime in connection with the attack against the 38-year-old woman, which took place May 26 on Miller Avenue and Fulton Street around 4:10 a.m., according to police.

The woman tried to walk away after Santiago and another man, whom police are still seeking, called her a “lesbian” and a “d–e.” They followed her, so she turned around to confront them, according to police.

Continue reading at: Bigots Hurl Anti-Gay Slurs at Woman, Hit Her in Head With Umbrella: NYPD (Source)

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Tagged Alex Santiago, Brooklyn, Discrimination, Hate crimes, homophobia, Lesbians in the U.S., Lesbophobia, New York, Threats of violence, violence against lesbians, violence against women

How I Got Fox News To Tell The Truth About ‘Violent Lesbian Gangs’

Posted on 30/05/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

Ten years ago, Rod Wheeler, then styled a “Fox News crime analyst,” appeared on the “The O’Reilly Factor” to report that “all over the country” hundreds of gangs of pink pistol-packing lesbians were terrorizing victims.

“Well, you know, there is this national underground group, if you will, Bill, of women that’s lesbians and also some men groups that’s actually recruiting kids as young as 10 years old in a lot of schools in the communities all across the country,” he said.

The gangs were armed and committing crimes, Wheeler warned, and numbered “well over” 150 in the Washington, D.C., area alone. Tragically, he informed host Bill O’Reilly, “some of the kids have actually reported that they were forced into, you know, performing sex acts with some of these people.”

Continue reading at: How I Got Fox News To Tell The Truth About ‘Violent Lesbian Gangs’ (Source)

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Tagged Bill O'Reilly, DC, Discrimination, Fox News, gangs, homophobia, Lesbians in the U.S., Lesbophobia, media, Pink Pistols, Rod Wheeler, Southern Poverty Law Center, The O'Reilly Factor, Washington

New York: Brooklyn man beats lesbian unconscious during anti-gay subway attack

Posted on 29/05/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

Police in New York arrested a Brooklyn man who is accused of pummeling a woman on the subway into unconsciousness after getting in an altercation with her and her girlfriend.

Police arrested Antoine Thomas, 27, after he got into an argument with a lesbian woman over a seat on a Q train entering the DeKalb Avenue station at 7:30 p.m. last Saturday, reports the New York Daily News.

According to police, Thomas purposely bumped into the woman and her girlfriend while they were sitting and proceeded to yell anti-gay epithets at them, including, “Faggot! Dyke!”

Continue reading at: Brooklyn man beats woman unconscious during anti-gay subway attack – Metro Weekly (Source)

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Tagged Antoine Thomas, Discrimination, Hate crimes, homophobia, Lesbians in the U.S., Lesbophobia, New York, Threats of violence, violence against lesbians, violence against women

Jury selection begins in Bill Cosby’s trial for sexual assault of lesbian

Posted on 25/05/2017 by listeninglisa | 1 comment

What makes Andrea Constand stand out among dozens of women who have accused the disgraced comedian of sexual assault is that the former manager of the women’s basketball team at Temple University in Philadelphia is a lesbian. Constand told investigators in 2005 she sought his career advice, but that he drugged her and violated her by putting his hands down her pants at his mansion in suburban Philly.

Continue reading at: Jury selection begins in Bill Cosby’s trial for sex assault of lesbian / LGBTQ Nation (Source)

Related posts:

https://listening2lesbians.com/tag/bill-cosby/

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Tagged Andrea Constand, Bill Cosby, Lesbians in the U.S., rape culture, sexual assault, violence against lesbians, violence against women

Judge to lesbian parents fighting for rights: ‘You can’t overcome biology’

Posted on 25/05/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

A lesbian couple seeking parental rights had their case heard by a three judge panel for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday, to determine whether or not Indiana‘s law disallowing them from both being named on their child’s birth certificate constitutes discrimination.

Continue reading at: Judge to lesbian parents fighting for rights: ‘You can’t overcome biology’ / LGBTQ Nation (Source)

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Tagged birth certificates, Children of lesbian parents, Discrimination, family law, homophobia, Indiana, law, Lesbians in the U.S., Lesbophobia

5 lesbian activist groups who fought for us

Posted on 23/05/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

Lesbians have always been at the forefront of the fight for LGBT rights, but sometimes lesbian activist groups were needed to fight for space on lesbian rights and issues. This is because, as Canadian journalist and activist Judy Rebick had noted, that while lesbians were part of the women’s movement, their issues were invisible in the movement. Aside from Daughters of Bilitis to the Lesbian Avengers, here are five more groups that let people know that lesbians can’t be pushed around.

Continue reading at: 5 lesbian activist groups who fought for us | Lesbian News (Source)

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Tagged Combahee River Collective, Discrimination, Furies Collective, Gay Women's Alliance, homophobia, Lavender Menace, lesbian activism, Lesbian activist, Lesbian history, lesbian voices, Lesbians in the U.S., Lesbophobia, Radicalesbians, Salsa Soul Sisters

Lesbian Visibility Shines Through in Memoir by Federal Prop 8 Plaintiffs

Posted on 23/05/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

Kris Perry and Sandy Stier would have loved it. One of the most famous couples in LGBT history as plaintiffs in the historic federal Prop 8 trial, they have nonetheless had their share of lesbian invisibility, even, as they reveal in their new memoir, “Love on Trial: Our Supreme Court Fight For the Right to Marry,” unto themselves.

Continue reading at: Lesbian Visibility Shines Through in Memoir by Federal Prop 8 Plaintiffs (Source)

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Tagged compulsory heterosexuality, Discrimination, homophobia, Kris Perry, lesbian visibility, lesbian voices, Lesbians in the U.S., Lesbophobia, Love on Trial, Marriage equality, Prop 8, Sandy Stier

Former lesbian deputy files suit, accuses King County sheriff of discrimination

Posted on 18/05/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

After Alexander returned to work and made repayment of the monies she was overpaid, the lawsuit alleges that she “continued to be subjected to retaliatory acts by the Sheriff and his commanding officers when, after she was ordered to be reinstated, she was shuffled around to different assignments, treated differently than her peers. The retaliatory conduct took a great personal and professional toll on Alexander which resulted in her being forced to retire sooner than expected.”

Continue reading at: Former deputy files suit, accuses King County sheriff of discrimination | KIRO-TV (Source)

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Tagged Discrimination, homophobia, Lesbians in the U.S., Lesbophobia, workplace discrimination

DNC hires first lesbian CEO, former head of EMILY’s List

Posted on 13/05/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

The Democratic National Committee has for the first-time ever hired an out lesbian at its chief executive officer, appointing the former head of EMILY’s LIST to the top leadership position. The DNC named Jess O’Connell as CEO after she served four years at EMILY’s LIST, which seeks to elect pro-choice women to public office. Her appointment comes shortly after the election of Tom Perez as DNC chair.

Continue reading at: DNC hires first lesbian CEO, former head of EMILY’s List (Source)

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Tagged Democratic National Committee, EMILY's LIST, Jess O'Connell, lesbian politicians, Lesbians in the U.S., Politics, representation

Lesbian worker sues over alleged anti-gay discrimination at Kentucky bank

Posted on 13/05/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

A lesbian worker sued Friday for allegedly faced job discrimination at a Kentucky bank, such as being told she was “too butch” to deal with customers.

Continue reading at: Lesbian worker sues over alleged anti-gay discrimination at Kentucky bank (Source)

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Tagged Discrimination, homophobia, Kentucky, Lesbians in the U.S., Lesbophobia, Penelope Hudson

Lesbian teacher accused of politicizing classroom ‘100 percent cleared’

Posted on 11/05/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

A school board investigation in Tampa Bay, Florida has cleared teacher Lora Jane Riedas-Chuchman, after a complaint that she banned Christian rosary beads and Make America Great Again hats, and discussed LGBTQ rights and related issues in her freshman math class at Riverview High School.

Continue reading at: #FakeNews: Another religious right claim of persecution just got debunked / LGBTQ Nation (Source)

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Tagged Discrimination, education, Florida, Freedom from religion, homophobia, Lesbians in the U.S., Lesbophobia, persecution, teachers

Georgia: City honors life of first out lesbian Fulton County Commissioner Joan Garner

Posted on 11/05/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

Poster

Several hundred mourners gathered on Saturday to honor the life of the late Fulton County Commissioner Joan Garner, who died of breast cancer on April 18. Garner was a beloved community figure and the first openly LGBT Fulton County Commissioner.

Garner made an impact in a variety of different communities and circles throughout her life, and speakers at the service at Ebenzer Baptist Church reflected on the legacy she left through her work in neighborhoods, as county commissioner, as an Atlanta intown activist, as a champion for those in need and her work in social justice and LGBT rights.

Continue reading at: City honors life of late Fulton County Commissioner Joan Garner (Source)

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Tagged African American lesbians, Black lesbians, Georgia, Joan Garner, Lesbian history, lesbian politicians, lesbian voices, Lesbians in the U.S., Politics, representation

Knox County judge grants lesbian rights of ‘husband’ in Tennessee’s first same-sex divorce

Posted on 11/05/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

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In the first ruling of its kind in the state, a Knox County judge has granted a woman the legal rights of a husband. The ruling comes despite a new law designed to prevent just such a result.

Continue reading at: Knox County judge grants woman rights of ‘husband’ in Tennessee’s first same-sex divorce (Source)

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Tagged Children of lesbian parents, Discrimination, family law, homophobia, Lesbian Mothers, Lesbians in the U.S., Lesbophobia, Marriage equality, parental rights, Tennessee

Four lesbian couples fight Tennessee law that could remove their parental rights

Posted on 11/05/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

Katherine_Guthrie_Family_Tennessee

Four expecting lesbian couples have taken a stand against a new Tennessee law requiring all state legal codes to be interpreted with ‘natural and ordinary’ meanings.Much of the state’s law gives rights to husbands and wives or the father and mother of a child, so Tennessee could deny same-sex couples their parental rights by interpreting these terms ‘naturally and ordinarily’.

Continue reading at: Four lesbian couples fight Tennessee law that could remove their parental rights (Source)

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Tagged Children of lesbian parents, Discrimination, family law, homophobia, Lesbian Mothers, Lesbians in the U.S., Marriage equality, parental rights, Tennessee

Elaine Noble: The first lesbian state lawmaker

Posted on 08/05/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

If you’re feeling hopeless with our current crop of legislators in Congress, consider Elaine Noble– the first out lesbian elected to state legislature– and be inspired.

Elaine Noble made US election history even before Maura Healey, Harvey, Milk, or Tammy Baldwin as she was elected as representative of the Boston district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1974.

Prior to this, no out lesbian (or gay man, for that matter), had won a state-level office. So when she did run for the position, she faced an overwhelming wave of homophobic threats.

Continue reading at: Elaine Noble: The first lesbian state lawmaker | Lesbian News (Source)

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Tagged Discrimination, Elaine Noble, homophobia, Lesbian history, lesbian politicians, Lesbians in government, Lesbians in the U.S., Lesbophobia, Massachusetts, Politics, representation

Colorado State Senate votes against re-appointment of lesbian Civil Rights Commission chair

Posted on 06/05/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

In an 18-17 party-line vote, Republican members of the state Senate decided not to confirm her re-appointment by Gov. John Hickenlooper, which, according to The Denver Post, was originally recommended for approval by the Senate State Affairs Committee. For four years, Hess has served on the Civil Rights Commission, and currently acts as its chair.

Continue reading at: Colorado State Senate votes against re-appointment of lesbian Civil Rights Commission chair | The Wire (Source)

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Tagged Civil Rights Commission, Colorado, Discrimination, homophobia, lesbian voices, Lesbians in government, lesbians in politics, Lesbians in the U.S., Lesbophobia, representation

Honoring Del Martin, Lesbian Rights Pioneer

Posted on 06/05/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

Sometimes you just want to fox-trot or cha-cha. Since it was often illegal for same-sex couples to dance together in public places in the 1950s, Del Martin and her partner, Phyllis Lyon, founded the Daughters of Bilitis, one of the first lesbian organizations in the United States, in 1955. But the DOB was much more than just a place to dance freely: In those dark days, it was a beacon of light, a refuge, and a bit of a miracle.

Continue reading at: Honoring Del Martin, Lesbian Rights Pioneer – Vogue (Source)

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Tagged Daughters of Bilitis, Del Martin, lesbian activism, Lesbian history, Lesbians in the U.S., Marriage equality, Phyllis Lyon, representation

Jury: Univ. of Iowa discriminated against Jane Meyer, awards $1.4 million

Posted on 05/05/2017 by listeninglisa | Leave a comment

Jane Meyer

A jury on Thursday awarded more than $1.4 million to a former University of Iowa athletic administrator, ruling that the university had discriminated against her because of her gender and sexual orientation. Jane Meyer alleged she suffered workplace discrimination as a gay woman in a relationship with the school’s longtime and highly successful field hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum, that the school retaliated against her for complaining about Griesbaum’s firing, and that she was paid less than a male counterpart for similar work.

Continue reading at: Jury: Univ. of Iowa discriminated against athletic official – StarTribune.com (Source)

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Tagged College sports, Discrimination, homophobia, Jane Meyer, Lesbians in the U.S., Lesbophobia, University of Iowa, workplace discrimination