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Inclusivity has been a consistent theme throughout Steven Universe‘s five-season run, but the Cartoon Network series took that commitment to the next level this week in an episode appropriately titled “The Question.” Wednesday’s installment — the third in a five-part “Heart of the Crystal Gems” event — found characters Ruby and Sapphire, who themselves are halves of a powerful warrior named Garnet, at a crossroads in their relationship. They went their separate ways after splitting into individual beings, only for Ruby to experience a change of heart and realize that they were always meant to be together. “I wanted to...

With the final Avengers movie set for release in May 2019, Scarlett Johansson is ready to look for new and exciting characters to play. In fact, according to ScreenCrush, Johansson is gearing up to reunite with her Ghost in the Shell director, Rupert Sanders, in a new project titled Rub & Tug. However, the star's role in the film is being met with some controversy, particularly because Johansson's new role may be a transgender man. UPDATE: Scarlett Johansson issued this comment to Bustle via a representative: "Tell them that they can be directed to Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto, and Felicity...

A group of House Armed Services Committee Democrats is demanding answers from the Pentagon on why it is “backing away” from its annual Pride celebration. “We write to express our concern that Pentagon leadership is backing away from supporting and celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) service members and Department of Defense (DoD) employees,” the eight Democrats wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary James Mattis. “The fight for dignity and inclusion for LGBT individuals in our Armed Forces should remain a steadfast priority for the Department of Defense.” The letter was organized by Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.). This...

SAN FRANCISCO — The author M.G. Hennessey remembers the moment a few years ago, after reading a book with a disappointed 9-year-old. “He wished there was a book about a kid like him,” she said. The child was transgender, and although born female was living as a boy. Ms. Hennessey decided she would write the book the child needed. “The Other Boy,” published by HarperCollins for young readers, follows the life of Shane, a fictional transgender boy. Ms. Hennessey, who is heterosexual, hoped the book would enlighten children to be accepting of others. “The more you see representations in the...

The Minnesota Vikings made history on Thursday. Vikings players, coaches and members of the LGBTQ community came together for a first of its kind inclusion summit held by an NFL team. The LGBTQ summit and fundraising event was held at the TCO Performance Center Auditorium in Eagan. It centered around bridging the gap between the LGBTQ community and sports. In front of a packed crowd, former and current LGBTQ athletes shared stories about how they were criticized for who they loved while playing the sport they love. The event featured four panel discussions. Each one about an hour long.

It’s the kind of headline that can lead to more ugliness than understanding. “Women’s Soccer Star Turns Down USWNT Invite Over Pride Month Jersey.” The decision by Jaelene Hinkle last year didn’t come with an explanation at the time. The 25-year-old defender for the North Carolina Courage told Christian talk show The 700 Club this week that she turned down a 2017 call-up to the U.S. national team because of the jersey the team wore for two friendlies to honor the LGBTQ community. Hinkle said she “felt so convicted in my spirit that it wasn’t my job to wear this...

Transgender people are being encouraged to become Church of England vicars as bishops launch a diversity drive. Bishops in the diocese of Lichfield have issued new guidance to parishioners and clergy reminding them that LGBT people "can be called to roles of leadership and service in the local church". The guidance, titled "welcoming and honouring LGBT+ people", warns that the church's reputation as being unwelcoming towards gay and transgender people is stopping young people attending. "We very much hope that they, like everyone else, feel encouraged to serve on PCCs, or as churchwardens and worship leaders, for instance, and are...

HATBORO >> The borough has joined a small but steadily growing list of municipalities across Pennsylvania that has done what the state government, so far, has been unable to do — extend discrimination protections to members of the LGBTQ community. In a 4-3 vote Monday night, borough council approved an ordinance making it unlawful in Hatboro to discriminate against a person in matters of employment, housing, commercial property acquisition and public accommodations on the basis of that person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. The state’s Human Relations Act, however, does not extend protections to include actual or perceived...

Discrimination is often understood as acting out of prejudice against persons who differ from us and do not share our views, traits, values or lifestyles. The word “discrimination,” however, has an older meaning as well; namely, to draw a clear distinction between proper and improper, good and evil, to differentiate and recognize as different. This older meaning generally carried favorable connotations with it: a person of discrimination was someone of good judgment and detailed knowledge, as in the case of one who could discriminate between fine wines, detecting subtle but relevant differences, or someone on Wall Street who could...

10-year-old drag superstar 'Desmond Is Amazing' is in fact, amazing. The New York City drag kid is inspiring others left and right with his positive attitude to 'be yourself always no matter what anyone says'. At only 10 years old, Desmond has immersed himself with a handful of LGBTQ youth advocacy projects and is making one thing clear: Desmond Is Amazing is the future and we're here for it.

The Daily Beast will suspend future columns from Joy Reid due to the fallout over comments she made on an old blog a decade ago, the website’s executive editor Noah Shachtman told staff in an internal memo on Wednesday. “We’re going to hit pause on Reid’s columns,” said Shachtman in an email reviewed by TheWrap. “As you’re well aware, support for LGBTQ rights and respect for human dignity are core to Daily Beast. So we’re taking seriously the new allegations that one of our columnists, Joy Reid, previously wrote homophobic blog posts during her stint as a radio host.” “Obviously,...

Parents of Parkland gun control advocates David Hogg and Cameron Kasky assured the media Tuesday that their sons are not homosexual with one another. Here is a photo that Cameron Kasky posted to Twitter, referring to “Prom 2018,” which created a situation in which the young adults’ parents had to clear up gay rumors. Hogg’s activist mother Rebecca Boldrick said that Hogg is not going to prom with Kasky as his date, and Kasky’s father also weighed in on the issue, according to TMZ. “Cameron and David love each other very much, as do the 20 or so other kids...

A former Brooklyn prosecutor is set to go on trial Monday in a guns-for-bribes case that has shaken up the way the NYPD doles out gun permits. John Chambers, a self-described gun lawyer to the stars, stands accused of bribing David Villanueva, an ex-supervisor in the NYPD’s gun licensing division, for hard-to-obtain gun permits — including for a client who was being investigated for domestic abuse, according to prosecutors. Chambers is one of seven people who have been charged by Manhattan federal prosecutors for paying or accepting bribes for permits, including Villanueva, three other cops and two other gun expediters....

One of the many ironies or paradoxes of life in academia is that freedom of speech never is more complex than when it is discussed by people who speak for a living. "In the spring semester of 2017, I was teaching a graduate level course on 'Gender Issues in Education,'" Elizabeth J. Meyer writes on the academe blog maintained by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). "Since my research has included studying bullying and harassment and school climate issues, I work very intentionally the first day of class to set up an inclusive and welcoming classroom environment that includes...

When Edward Snowden decided he wanted to release details about the NSA's intelligence operations to the public, he reached out to Laura Poitras, a 49-year-old film maker and political activist opposed to the war on terror. As the Washington Post noted on Monday, Poitras had "the odd distinction of sharing a byline in The Washington Post and in London’s Guardian newspaper last week on two blockbuster stories." snip But perhaps it isn't such a mystery why the U.S. government might want to question Poitras if you simply crack open John R. Bruning's 2006 book, The Devil's Sandbox: With the 2nd...

Less than a year after Theresa F. Latini was hired as the first president of United Lutheran Seminary in Pennsylvania last April, she was unceremoniously ousted from the institution of higher learning after news broke that she once led a Christian ministry helping believers overcome same-sex attraction. She left that organization in 2001 and has since sworn off the idea that LGBT people can reject their identities, but that did not save her from ideological cleansing.United Lutheran Seminary (ULS) was formed in 2017, as a merger between two seminaries in Gettysburg and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Latini was named its first...

A group of parents from New Milford, Connecticut has hired an attorney to articulate their concerns about the decision by their school district to allow students to participate in the national student walkout held Wednesday to advocate for gun control. In an email sent to Breitbart News, the parents – who wish to remain anonymous – argue the student walkout might appear to be a fairly innocuous First Amendment event to honor the students killed in the Parkland, Florida, shooting and to advocate for gun control. However, the parents add, the decision involves issues concerning “adherence to law and policy,...

LGBT activists wasted no time in attacking President Donald Trump's new pick to run the State Department, CIA Director Mike Pompeo. "Mike Pompeo's longstanding opposition to LGBTQ equality makes him a reckless choice to lead our nation's diplomatic efforts," Chad Griffin, president of the LGBT group Human Rights Campaign (HRC) said in a statement Tuesday. "The decision to nominate anti-LGBTQ Mike Pompeo could have serious consequences for the United States and LGBTQ people around the globe. The State Department has a crucial role to play in advancing human rights — a role which was already rapidly declining under Tillerson. This...

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Friday invoked President Donald Trump's name multiple times in response to a question about what advice he can give progressive leaders who have a tough time condemning noted anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan. Several House Democrats have come under fire in the last week for their association with Farrakhan, including Democratic National Committee vice chairman Rep. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.), who recently earned a "Four Pinocchios" rating from the Washington Post Fact Checker concerning his interactions with the controversial Nation of Islam leader. Sanders sat down with CNN's Jake Tapper at the South by Southwest conference in Austin,...

London (AFP) - Harvey Weinstein's lawyer said Saturday a woman having sex with a Hollywood producer to advance her career is "not rape", in a British newspaper interview on the eve of the Oscars. Ben Brafman is one of the US' top criminal defence attorneys, hired by the disgraced Hollywood mogul whose career is in tatters following accusations of sexual harassment, assault and rape. More than 100 women have accused Weinstein of impropriety going back 40 years, but Brafman argued there was no criminal behaviour.