Ah, the 70s – disco, sequins and Mellow Yellow.  The decade of polyester also gave us a slew of political and cultural upheaval.  From the ongoing conflict in Vietnam to President Nixon’s effort to dismantle welfare support and resistance to mandatory school desegregation plans such as busing. Society was undergoing a major shift.  Part of that shift had to do with a conservative backlash against what they saw as entitlement.  At the same time, a more progressive part of the population began pushing even harder for things like the Equal Rights Amendment and better protecti ..read more

our years after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision, the concept of Love Wins has become a powerful rallying call.  Members of the LGBT community, allies and basically anyone who supports love and equality.  More and more gay, lesbian, trans, queer and non-binary people are coming out, standing up and being counted. Summer is just starting which means it’s Gay Pride season!  Of course, summer is also wedding season.  What better way to celebrate than with 25 of the most heart warming Love Wins memes you’ll ever see. 1.  It’s Not a Phase I think everyone has heard ‘I ..read more

In today’s age, when the news of celebrities coming out is celebrated on the cover of magazines, it’s hard to imagine there was a time when coming out was a scandal.  The risks of one’s true sexual identity being known were so great that movie studios would pressure actors and actresses into so-called “lavender marriages”. These sham marriages were meant to cover up an actor’s true sexual preferences and preserve the public’s perception of the actors. Lavender marriages were the union of two gay stars or one gay star and another willing – or simply naive – partner.  The arrangements ..read more

Travel Safety Tips for the LGBT Community – and how Tinder is trying to help Photo by Frank Vessia on Unsplash Taking off for a change in scenery, traveling for a concert or other festival and simply taking the plunge to see all the places on your personal Bucket List is the dream of many. There are plenty of logistic and practical issues to deal with when planning to travel. For members of the LGBTQ+ community, there’s an additional layer of safety to consider. Safety while traveling is important for everyone – pickpockets, scam artists, and terrorism affect people across the board. But for ..read more

Recently, we decided to put together a Field Guide for Pride Flags since so many parades now reflect an increasingly diverse crowd.  So many people from every corner of the LGBTQIA+ community have embraced flags as a way to show their pride.  From the original Rainbow Flag there has grown this incredible movement of designers, artists, tailors, seamstresses and advocates to create flags for other communities. Originally, I thought starting off the with well-known Rainbow Flag in my original article would be the easy part, but the truth is that it’s a bit more complicated. During the ..read more

Everyone is feeling prideful these days.  While LGBT and gay pride parades used to be fairly small and insular, they are now encouraging people from across the LGBTQIA+ communities to come forward and literally fly their flag. While this is great in terms of bring inclusive and encouraging people to live their truth, it has also become a bit overwhelming in terms of understanding which flag is for what community.  That’s why we brought together a list of every pride flag we could find. Please note, each of these flags have a number of variations.  People, organizations and comm ..read more

October is, hands down, the best month of the year. Fall comes in and sweeps all that heat and humidity away.  The air turns cold, the leaves go into full color show mode and the entire country smells like Pumpkin Spice.  It’s also the month that kicks off arguably the most intensive holiday block of the year.  October marks the beginning of the Holiday Season in our house. For us, there is simply no better way to begin the season than by jumping into the deep end of Halloween. We decorate EVERYTHING.  We hang lights.  We make special crafts with the kids.  We AL ..read more

Whether you’re looking for something to read to your own kids or children you’re babysitting, a neice or nephew or pother friend or family member, finding a gay and queer positive option can be challenging.  That’s why we’ve brought together a honed list of the best books for young kids and young readers when it comes to reflecting the diverse relationships around them. Heather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa Newman (Illustrations by Diana Souza) Heather Has Two Mommies, published in 1989, was the first children’s book for the mainstream that featured a same-sex family.  The book caused ..read more

Thanks to a greater visibility of trans authors, actors and activists, more and more people are finding the courage to live their own truth. Mainstream media is rife with examples of trans men and women speaking out about their journey, their experiences and their hopes for the future. Much of the focus is on younger people as the up and coming generation of trans activists. But there’s an entire community of older people who have either been quietly living under the radar or hiding their true selves. These people have now found they are able to live openly and honestly – some for the first t ..read more

Coming out and living your life has become easier for LGBT people, but that doesn’t mean it’s always smooth sailing.  Quite often, members of the LGBT community can often feel like they’re the ‘token gay’ in their circle of straight friends.  While your friends may have the best of intentions and don’t mean to treat you like a token, if you experience these seven signs, you may need to sit down and talk to your friends about it. Or just share this article on their feed. You Get a Lot of Rainbow and Pink Triangle Gifts It might be your birthday, Christmas or just some random item ..read more