#gay friendly Washington

[bigboysdrinkmilk]

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Welcome to Bigboysdrinkmilk’s Tumblr, where I post gym progress pics and shitposts. That’s it.

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About Me/FAQ:

Name: Roman

Age: 31

Gender: Male (He/Him)

Sexuality: Gay/Queer/Poly

Location: Seattle, Washington

“Will you give me gym advice?”: I’m happy to share my experiences or opinions, but I am not a certified personal trainer and what I do or what works for me may not work for you.

“Want some nudes?”: My DMs are always open but I have a very active and fulfilling sex life out in the real world and don’t necessarily have the energy to be horny on here all that often.

“Why aren’t you answering my ask?”: This could be for a variety of reasons, including: you asked personal information or medical advice, the ask was in response to something that was too distant time wise, you were insulting or negging or otherwise being strange, I’ve already answered the question recently, I missed it, or it was really sweet and I’m keeping it in my inbox to hold on to. Feel free to ask again, but certain things don’t get responses.

“I don’t like what you’re posting.”: Cool. No need to announce your departure. I tag clumps of posts that may clog up people’s dash, usually with something like #ask or #tumblrgames. If that solves your issue, great! If not, the unfollow button is right over there.

“Have you ever committed a felony? Do you intend to commit a felony? Are you committing a felony right now?”: Babygirl, we don’t know each other that way. And what are you, a cop?

“What’s your workout routine?”: I rotate through sets of three day splits in a six days on one day off pattern so that different muscle group combos are hit in various arrangements with each group being hit twice a week. It’s overly complicated and not what I’d say other people should do. If you’re asking what I recommend to other people, Push-Pull-Legs is great for beginners and intermediate lifters, alike.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Bridget Phetasy

Published: Jun 22, 2023

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably witnessed the backlash to Pride. There have been mass boycotts of Bud Light after the beer company partnered with trans woman and TikTok influencer, Dylan Mulvaney, sending her a custom can to celebrate her first year of “girlhood.” Target was next to come under fire for its Pride display targeting children and their “tuck-friendly” bathing suits for women. 

This set the stage for the most divisive Pride month in some time. First, the boycotts. Then videos of angry parents at school boards went viral. Conservative radio hosts and commentators vowed to make Pride “toxic” to brands. But it’s not just conservatives who are pushing back; according to a recent Gallup poll, even Democrats have seen a drop in the acceptance of same-sex relations.

Which begs the question: what happened to Pride? After decades of progress for gay rights, growing acceptance of gay marriage and the normalization of same-sex relationships, Pride is unexpectedly political again. Why?

In search of an answer, I spoke to prominent LGBT thinkers and writers, many of them dissenting voices when judged against the views of many LGBT advocacy groups. Their answers surprised me. Across the board they all said some version of “this was inevitable.”

“When it comes to gay issues, conservatives largely lost the culture war,” Katie Herzog observes. “But something about recent trends has reignited that passion — and issues that seemed resolved are up for debate again. I guess the Nineties really are back.”

“The core reason for the backlash is pretty simple: children,” Andrew Sullivan explains. “The attempt to indoctrinate children in gender ideology and to trans them on the verge of puberty has changed the debate. Start indoctrinating and transing children… and you will re-energize one of the oldest homophobic tropes there is: ‘gays are child molesters.’”

Glenn Greenwald largely agrees: “What destroyed the culture war consensus was their cynical and self-interested decision to transform the LGBT cause into one that no longer focused on the autonomy of adult Americans to live freely — which most people support — but instead to demand the right to influence and indoctrinate other people’s children.”

“They are calling them ‘trans kids’ and medicalizing them at an early age. Lying about puberty blockers. Lying about young girls getting irreversible surgery and so on,” says trans man Buck Angel.

In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriages, and with bipartisan support it seemed there was a consensus on this one culture war issue, as well as broad support for the legal rights of trans adults to be free from discrimination. The war was largely won. But rather than shutting up shop or refocusing their efforts on parts of the world where gay and lesbian people faced serious discrimination, activists and NGOs moved onto the transgender issue.

“There are countries in the world where you can be executed for being gay,” says James Kirchick, author of Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington. “That’s what the Human Rights Campaign [America’s foremost LGBT campaign group] should be saving its ire for.”

An average person will likely refer to this shift as “woke” and wonder how “the trans stuff” is suddenly everywhere, all at once. Parents are baffled when three out of four of their twelve-year-old daughter’s friend group “identify” as boys or, even more confusingly, nonbinary. People started putting pronouns in their social media bios, on their work résumés and in their email signatures. Biological men are competing in women’s sports and being placed in women’s prisons. In medical magazines and birthing classes, women are suddenly referred to by dehumanizing terms such as “birthing persons” and “uterus havers.”

“It’s like a new enforced public holiday thing and people smell a rat,” says Douglas Murray. “The wiser people realize that something weird is being smuggled in. This isn’t just like, ‘don’t beat up your gay neighbor.’ It’s like ‘there is no such thing as gender.’ ‘There is no such thing as sex.’”

We’ve arrived here thanks to a confluence of forces. Perpetual victimhood pushed by activist groups that need a reason to exist and continue collecting money. The corporatization of Pride. The hijacking of the movement by gender ideology.

“You can’t dress toddlers up in extreme political propaganda while lecturing the parents on committing child abuse for not transitioning their kids and expect everyone to keep quiet,” trans writer Chad Felix Greene tells me.

To a normal, not especially political person going about their life, it can seem like gay culture is everywhere. Pride was once just a day to have fun, go to a parade, and “for those who have just come out as a way to cement their self-confidence in public” as Sullivan says. Now every June it becomes “the Holy Month of Pride” as Murray dubs it. Corporations change their social media logos to rainbows (unless, of course, it’s their Saudi account). Pride™️ has become so accepted it’s inescapable. 

On the surface this might look like capitalism at work. These companies just want the gay dollar! Though there’s some truth to that, there’s also an undertow dragging these huge corporations down. They aren’t making decisions that are in the best interest of their shareholders; they are acting out of concern for their social credit score.

“These corporations aren’t getting any gay dollars from these fiascos. Gays hate corporations at Pride,” said publicist Mitchell Jackson. “Worst of all, these corporate campaigns just backfire on LGBTQ people. Gay rights are now being threatened again because big-box stores needed to sell tucking underwear.”

Jackson is exasperated that corporations listen to the advocacy groups in an attempt to do the right thing: “Corporations go to these groups for advice, hoping to avoid a woke controversy, and they get led into a hornet’s nest — and then these non-profits can fundraise off of the Bud Light controversy of the week.”

“What changed is that LGBT activist groups could not afford to obtain victory,” Greenwald says. “When activist groups win, their reason for existing, and their large budgets and salaries, dry up. They always have to push debates into whatever places Americans resist. They also have to be losing, have a claim to victimhood, a reason to assert that they are righting the bigotry of Americans.”

“It’s so tragic because we’ve reached this moment when gay people have finally won mainstream acceptance for the first time in, like, 2,000 years of history,” Kirchick said. “It’s OK to be gay pretty much everywhere in America — and there are obviously pockets where it’s still a problem, I’m not gonna deny that — but majorities of Republicans support gay marriage. I’ve seen it in my own life as a thirty-nine-year-old gay man: it’s a lot easier to be gay now than it was six years ago. And just when we’ve reached this moment, these activists have decided, in our name as gay people, to just piss off America and to make them think that we are a threat to their children.”

“I am so upset that my community has been co-opted and has been used for some other agenda,” Angel told me. “The work we have done to get here is profound and should never be forgotten. All we want is to live our lives just like you, but of course that’s not what you see now with the people driving the LGBTQIA+++++ bus.”

The real slippery slope hasn’t been the gay rights movement, as right-wing pundits often say. “When I see some of them going after Pride, they appear to blame gay people for the nonsense peddled in the name of Pride today — when in truth gay people are the victims of it,” comedian Andrew Doyle said. 

At the heart of the problem is the fact that LGBT was never the package deal that most people consider it to be. “LGBT people don’t exist,” says Sullivan. “We’re very different from each other.”

Generally speaking, it’s “the Ts and the Qs” that insist it’s all or nothing. Trans activists demand acquiescence to all their demands no matter how insane and pseudo-scientific, push to allow men in women’s shelters and allow kids to be put on puberty hormones or you’re committing genocide. People are are increasingly saying, “OK — it’s nothing then.”

“I think gays and women in general are bearing the brunt of the gender ideology nonsense,” Murray said. “And it has itself piggybacked like some kind of parasitic entity onto gay rights.”

“Gender identity ideology is essentially anti-gay,” said Doyle. “Gay rights were secured through the recognition that a minority of people are instinctively orientated towards members of their own sex. Gender identity ideology seeks to break down the very notion of biological sex and claim that it is unimportant.”

Underneath the rainbow facade are illiberal forces such as “queer theory” that have been eroding the classically liberal foundation of the original civil rights movement that won gay and trans folks the rights they have now. We’ve gone from “love is love” to trans women insisting if a lesbian doesn’t want to suck their lady dick, they’re a fascist. 

If you’re confused, that’s the point; confusion and contradiction are features, not bugs. In order to understand how this happened, and why, you need specialized knowledge. The average person can’t explain exactly what’s going on, because it’s nonsensical, you can only intuit it; but call it out and you’re dubbed a bigot — and so you retreat, keeping your head down while the gender borg marches on.

The temperature has been raised further by the Biden adminstration’s unambiguous embrace of this ideology. The White House is quick to paint anyone doubting the wisdom of what they euphemistically call “gender-affirming care” for minors as a knuckle-dragger, even though the overwhelming majority of Americans support a ban on such care and many liberal, tolerant European countries have banned it or scaled it back.

No wonder dyed-in-the-wool Democrats who disagree with the idea of biological men in women’s spaces — or are confused about the pseudo-religious idea that you were born in the wrong body, and wonder whether or not pausing puberty is even possible — are terrified to speak out. 

“It was once ‘live-and-let-live’ said Sullivan, “Now it’s ‘embrace the ideology — or else.’”

Herein lies the problem with Pride. You can no longer opt out of the ideology. The trans activism changed everything. It is coercive. It is everywhere. Big Tech acts as an enforcer, in conjunction with the state, policing language, pronouns, exacting punishments for refusing to repeat the mantras “trans women are women” and “gender-affirming care is reproductive freedom.”

“I know many gay activists from yesteryear who are coming out of retirement to address this new anti-gay movement which has usurped Pride,” said Doyle. “It doesn’t help that all criticism of Pride is interpreted as homophobic or transphobic. These are important conversations. Like most culture-war issues, we need to stop thinking of this in terms of ‘left’ and ‘right’. These things are irrelevant. There are left-wing gay people and right-wing gay people — and all of them are harmed by Pride in its current form.”

The backlash is veering into a full-blown moral panic. “I’m seeing a lot more people online talking about gay people as though we are all pedophiles who want to groom children into becoming cross-dressing strippers, and a lot of what’s going on feels like good old-fashioned bigotry rearing its ugly head once again,” said Herzog.

Might the public backlash to Pride push moderates and independents to the left the way the overturning of Roe v. Wade did? From an optics perspective, attacking Pride can often look like attacking the whole LGBT community; just from what I’ve witnessed online, an unsettling amount of homophobia is rearing its head, using boycotts as cover for bigotry. Last week a video went viral that showed Muslim children stomping on the rainbow flag while their parents cheered them on.

“I don’t want to name names but there are certain conservative commentators who are using the backlash against LGBTQIA plus to include a backlash against gays,” says Murray. “But I think it’s inevitable because not enough gays try to do the decoupling that I’ve tried to do myself in recent years and say, ‘Sorry, not my party.’”

Yet the decoupling has begun and it seems to be the only way to navigate our way out of this moment without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. #LGBwithouttheTQ and the #LGB have been trending on Twitter almost every day in June. Even if people don’t understand the forces at work, I think most Americans are smart enough to make the distinction between their gay loved ones and friends and some of the more insane gender stuff.

Like most things, this requires nuance. “You have to say, ‘we respect the rights of adults to undergo a gender transition,’” says Kirchick. “And ‘we want full equality and non-discrimination for transgender people in society, but there are real live debates about at what age it’s appropriate to administer these sorts of medical treatment to kids.’”

“Keep biological sex as a central characteristic in the law and culture,” Sullivan says. “Gender can be added, but can’t replace.”

“I think many LGBT people see this mess but are scared to lose friends and community if they speak up,” said Angel. “But it’s our duty as LGBT members to call this out. To show the world that these people are not a representation of us.”

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week

1. Woman who was walking to work because her car was broken finds $14k in a bag and turns it in to police, who return it to newlyweds who lost it. Crowdfund for a new car up to $14k so far.

Dianne Gordon was walking home from work on Jan. 21 when she saw a plastic bag on the ground and inside the bag she could see piles of money. Although she was in need of a vehicle-- her car broke down last year -- Gordon contacted police and returned the money immediately.

Police were able to track down who the money belonged to and discovered it belonged to a newlywed couple and have since returned the money to the couple. As for Gordon, her good deed wasn’t overlooked by people who heard her story, as the spouse of one of the police officers involved launched a crowdfunding campaign to help secure a car for Gordon. As of Thursday morning, the campaign has raised $14,500

2. Washington D.C.’s free bus bill becomes law as zero-fare transit systems take off

Washington, D.C., has enacted a zero-fare bus bill into law.

The policy eliminates the $2 fare for all the city’s buses starting this summer.

It is the largest city to institute a fare-free transit system and part of a growing movement nationwide.

3. Mom and son graduate college together, fulfilling 18-year promise

Carolyn and Immanuel Patton, a mother-son duo from Maryland, have graduated college together, fulfilling a promise the younger Patton first made to his mom when he was 5 years old.

Two years after they started the path together and about 18 years after Immanuel Patton vowed to graduate alongside his mother, they realized their collective dream.

4. A homeless mother left a note with her dog for whoever found her. An animal shelter reunited them.

This pup named Lilo came to McKamey Animal Center off the street - with an added surprise – a note.

"Please don't abuse me." Cool, totally wanted to be crying at work right now.

The shelter staff posted about Lilo on social media, hoping to connect with her owner when they got a call from someone saying they were Lilo's mom. While centers like McKamey provide shelter for dogs, they also provide resources for families who love their pets, but might not be able to keep them due to cost. Mann said they'll give food and supplies to families struggling to pay for their pets' needs. They'll even help the family find a pet-friendly home.

5. Campbell Johnstone reveals himself to be first openly gay All Black.

In a momentous moment for New Zealand's rainbow community, Campbell Johnstone has outed himself as the first openly gay player to have represented the country's most influential sporting brand.

All Black No. 1056 has publicly revealed his sexuality – in a brave bid to “open up that door and magically make that closet disappear” – for the first time on TVNZ's Seven Sharp programme on Monday evening. Johnstone, who played three tests for the All Blacks all in 2005, did confide in some teammates and his family during his playing days.

6. 92 year old flood victim reunited with lost cat

Valerie Axtens thought she had seen the last of her beloved cat Mendelson as she was being rescued through a window from rapidly rising floodwater. Valerie Axtens was rescued during the February 28 flood.

After the floodwater receded and one of her sons was able to return and check on the mud-covered house, he discovered — much to everyone's surprise — the cat had survived.

7. Slovenia becomes first eastern European country to recognise same-sex marriage

The legalisation of same-sex marriage has officially come into effect in Slovenia, in a huge win for LGBTQ+ rights in eastern Europe. 

The bill, which saw Slovenia’s Family Code updated, officially took its place amongst the country’s other laws on Tuesday (1 February). The historic moment followed a decision by the country’s top court in July, which found that banning same-sex marriage and adoption violated the country’s constitution, which prohibits discrimination

-- - -

That's it for this week. If you liked this post you can support this newsletter with a small kofi donation:

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Have a great week ahead :)

[storiesofsvu]

Love Comes Quietly Masterlist

Alex Blake x reader Warnings will all be tagged appropriately on each chapter. Expect a fic with no angst. (shocker i know) strangers to friends to lovers with a hint of a couple other tropes

Summary: Alex is relatively fresh off her divorce, having stayed friends with her ex as everything was platonic and friendly. She's guest lecturing out at Harvard for a week when it's by pure chance that she crosses paths with you not once, but twice. You're drawn to each other, like friends from another life and exchange info when it's discovered you also work for the FBI and had just put in to interview for the BAU. Less than a week later, the universe brings the two of you together once again in a surprise meeting in a city neither of you live in. As you begin to make the move to Washington Alex offers up her guest room for you to stay in while you sort out your new life in a new State. It's all friends and casual with no intentions anywhere... until it isn't and you both start to separately realize there could be something more. Was it lucky chance or was it actually destiny? (fic will also be featuring a chaotic bestie unit chief Emily who is the number one instigator shipper)

Comment/dm/fill out a taglist form if you want to be added to the taglist!

Fic Playlist

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10**

Chapter 11

Chapter 12*

Chapter 13

Chapter 14**

Chapter 15

Chapter 16*

Series Completed!

_____________________

@svulife-rl @clarawatson @hbkpop @momlifebehard @alexusonfire @itisdoctortoyousir @temilyrights @alexxavicry @leelizzzle @mysticfalls01 1 @evilregal2002 @alcabots @ladysc @dextur @disneyfan624 @augustvandyne @supercriminalbean @lex13cm @prentiss-theorem @happenstnces @whiteberryx @heidss @geekyandgay98 @onmykneesformarvel @inlovewithemilyprentiss @desperate-gay @overtrred28 @emobabeyy @1974-sp @theclassicgaycousin @kalixxa

[fireylesbianhell]

i’m having thoughts about my boy

sorry newsies moots but it’s solace time baby

• William Andrew Solace was born in Texas but has tempratlily lived in and been too; New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Nevada, California, Washington, New York, and later on in life Massachusetts and Maine. The only states he vividly remembers when he was young was New Mexico and Nevada, as they spent the longest time there besides Texas.

• Will left to camp when his mother stopped in new york and a monster attack very close to camp happened and the nearest satyr recognized him as a half-blood, dragging him with the other demigods (i headcannon one of them was Drew And that’s how those two met) and was introduced. He found his mother again and was able to stay there after some plot stuff i will flesh…later.

• cat person he is such a cat person he’s a golden retriever boy yes but he’s a cat person i’m sorry i’m right i am i know him he told me

• Will did get bullied when he went to a public school for a short time in new Mexico for being/acting “Gay” and it stuck with him a bit as he was worried what camp half blood would be like. but the camp was very friendly and he adapted fairly quickly after his siblings supported his coming out

• Will is Bi to me, and i feel he figured out fairly easily. Naomi wasn’t as religious as her parents and her traveling gave her a wider world veiw, so she wasn’t exactly homophobic but didn’t really let will know gay people existed. he kinda just got context clues along the way.

• Will came out to naomi when he was 14 and she accepted him, after some suprise and tears. it was confusing for both of them but she wasn’t angry.

• Will goes though whipped cream like a maniac. he puts it on everything. everything. i don’t know where i got this headcannon from but it’s mine now it’s my baby his favorite dessert is literally just reddi whip striaght into his mouth and nico is always absoloutley horrified whenever he finds his boyfriend straight up drinking reddi whip out of the fridge after a late night at the hospital wing.

• WORKAHOLIC!! BIGGEST WORKAHOLIC!!! EVER!!! does NOT take breaks does NOT talk about his own feelings. major case of therapist friend with no therapy

• Nico summons skeletons to help will with studying sometimes, hey, it’s better than a textbook

• Due to all the Shit He’s Seen, will isn’t really freaked out by nico or macabre at all. as to contrast, nico hates medical stuff and finds it kinda freaky

• Will has a very Work for what you get attitude and seeing his mother scrape by and work herself up made will similarly hardworking, independent and self sufficient. But he’s also a stubborn bastard who would rather take and remove a bullet then let someone help him either work wise or financially. It got even worse as he became the head of his cabin so much younger with so many younger kids to take care if

• Living in new mexico for as long as they did Naomi decided it was a good idea to have will learn at least some spanish when he was young and he picked up on it nicely, and decided to continue. he’s fairly fluent now and loves freaking Leo out all the time by talking to him in spanish when nobody else is around and he can’t prove it.

• Did also have a minor crush on percy, but mostly as a “woah look at that guy holy shit” and loved teasing annabeth about it (“If YOU love him so much why do you want us to get her together?” “nooo you guys are my OTP i’m not having that up just because he’s hot” <- COMPLETELY REAL INTERACTION THEY E HAD MHM TRUST ME BRO)

• Wants to pick up on some italian so he can do the same thing he does with leo to nico

• TRANSGENDER AND AUTISTIC IM NOT ELABORATING FUCK YOU ( i do have reasons but this is more fun)

• Favorite vide game is a tie between tetris and Majoras mask

• Favorite TV show was Malcom in the Middle as a kid and now is greys anatomy /j/j/j/j but i can gaurentee he hate watches it with the apollo cabin all the time

• Suprisingly fine with plants, yes sunflowers do look at him and everyone makes fun of him for it

okay i’m done (i’m a liar i’m not done but i am about to pass out sooo)

[tomorrowusa]

Far right Gov. Ron DeSantis, a bigtime loser in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, is trying to make climate denial official policy in Florida.

Climate change will be a lesser priority in Florida and largely disappear from state statutes under legislation signed on Wednesday by the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, in a move which experts say ignores the reality of Florida’s climate threats. The legislation, which comes after Florida had its hottest year on record since 1895, also bans power-generating wind turbines offshore or near the state’s lengthy coastline. Florida is facing rising seas, extreme heat, flooding and increasingly severe storms. The legislation takes effect on 1 July and also boosts expansion of natural gas, reduces regulations on gas pipelines in the state, and increases protections against bans on gas appliances such as stoves, according to a news release from the governor’s office. “This purposeful act of cognitive dissonance is proof that the governor and state legislature are not acting in the best interests of Floridians, but rather to protect profits for the fossil fuel industry,” said Yoca Arditi-Rocha, executive director of the non-profit Cleo Institute, which advocates for climate change education and engagement.

Republicans are in thrall to fossil fuel companies which are intent on destroying the planet. Recently Donald Trump solicited $1 billion from Big Oil in campaign contributions in return for him eliminating climate friendly policies and ignoring pro-environment laws.

Trump promised to scrap climate laws if US oil bosses donated $1bn – report

Florida is arguably the most climate sensitive US state. DeSantis seems eager to make it even more vulnerable.

Florida is already about 74% reliant on natural gas to power electric generation, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Opponents of the bill DeSantis signed say it removes the word “climate’ in nine different places and moves the state’s energy goals away from efficiency and the reduction of greenhouse gases blamed for a warming planet. Greg Knecht, director of the Nature Conservancy in Florida, told the Washington Post the new measure was “very much out of line with public opinion”, with polls showing that a majority of Floridians believe in climate change and want action. Knecht said: “We’re seeing flooding and we’re seeing property damage and we’re seeing hurricanes … [and] we’re turning around and saying, ‘Yeah, but climate change isn’t really real, and we don’t need to do anything about it.’”

Apparently DeSantis likes having President Biden bail out his state every time there's a new climate disaster like record-braking Hurricane Ian.

The only way to keep fossil-fuel Republicans out of office is to Vote Democratic.

Adding "don't say climate" to Florida's "don't say gay" policies hurts not just Florida but all of Earth.

EDIT: Just heard this item on NPR. The upcoming summer will be hotter than usual in most of the US. And warmer oceans mean a greater chance of hurricanes.

Another hotter-than-normal summer lies ahead for the U.S., forecasters say

If a major hurricane hits Florida this year we should call it Hurricane DeSantis.

[tss-nonstop-nonsense]

An Important Perspective on KOSA

Please, for the love of god, get this where it needs to go to KEEP IT FROM HAPPENING*

Hey, ya'll can call me Adrian. I'm a person who's online all the time, not just because I'm a young person and that's what we do, but also because Youtube is my and my family's job.

HOW is it that there are bills being proposed to protect children online, but that very same bill will NOT protect me from predatory MCN's trying to capitalize off of a minors likeness, will NOT protect me in the case that my image is used by my parents without my consent, and will ADDITIONALLY try to hurt me as a trans and gay person.

The best way to 'protect the kids' online is to NOT LET THEM HAVE PHONES (and NOT POST THEM ONLINE!!). You cannot expect the whole world to be child friendly to your standards.

If you support KOSA I beg you to reconsider, and actually look into what the bill will really do to the internet. If you're reading this on tumblr then congrats! You should agree with me because if KOSA is passed WE WILL NOT EXIST ANYMORE.

If you want to support a real bill, a strong bill that will actually help monetized kids on the internet and give kids like me and countless of my friends the right to the money we generate AND the right to sue for that money, I beg you to please call Governor pritsker in Ilinois about SB 1782, OR call washington state about hb 1627. Additionally contact local lawmakers about making a similar bill in your state.

Have a good day, and remember,

this won't make kids more safe. This will make adults feel more safe. If you believe that the internet is indoctrinating kids into the lgbtq+ community, but you still post video clips of your kids online, I ask you to consider what is worse. A trans kid, or a kidnapped kid. A world where you have a gay kid or a world where you're childs likeness is seen by creepy men and used in ai or even where AI of their voice is used to scam you.

[dollmaidcrystal]

connaissez vous des club de pony girl ou pony boy

Je suis désolée, mais je ne connais pas de clubs de ponygirls dans les régions francophones. Les poneys américains vous sont probablement moins utiles.

To anyone who hasn't been keeping up with their Duolingo French, germanotti asked about any ponygirl or ponyboy clubs that I'm aware of. I know of a few, but none in French-speaking areas.

San Francisco has Stampede, which has been going strong for at least two decades now. They're easy to get in contact with and friendly to newbies, if you're in the area.

Texas has a couple of ponyplay groups, which take pride in their rodeo traditions. Sadly, last time I was in the area, the scene was very gender segregated. A sissy rubberdoll pony didn't really fit in with the gay leather ponies or with the more heterosexual ponyplayers. Not to mention my usual latex enclosure doesn't get along great with the Texas heat.

The Crucible in Washington DC has an annual camping trip where take over an entire campground for over a week. If you want to go somewhere to be a pony for days at a time, or to be a part time pony who can sneak out for smores and cocktails, this is the place to go.

Even though it's gone now, I should also give a shoutout to the memory of the finest training facility to have ever trained a ponyboy or ponygirl. Once upon a time, if you wanted your ponygirl trained to the highest standards, Crimea's Ponyplay Society was the place to send her to. Sadly, that club closed in spectacular fashion in 2014.

[sergeifyodorov]

all of your aces facts are correct. a'ja is definitely mcjesus, kelsey plum is DEFINITELY hot (sidebar i had a HUGE baby gay crush on her when she played for the university of washington which was very inconvenient for me because my hometown university was in the same athletic conference (r.i.p. pac-12) and she was VERY good in college and thus very annoying when she played against my school), the classic rookie treatment™ of kate martin is one of my personal favorite storylines so far this season and one of the things that has endeared me to the aces more and more against my will, and they are indeed the reigning champs for the past two years in a row (though idk that they'll be able to threepeat this year considering the amount of players they'll have playing for usa basketball at the olympics. generally in olympic years the contender teams who have the least amount of olympians have a better chance at the championship), also to be completely honest i don't actually watch men's basketball so i can't say that i know much more than you in that regard.

mainly i just thought it was interesting to see your perception of evil vegas sports team (vgk) (which i agree with) vs good vegas sports team (aces) which is slightly more complicated imo. in wnba fan-spheres people either tend to LOVE the aces or HATE the aces. i would say i'm somewhat in the middle. they're definitely not my team, but i like the players and admire the whole super-team/dynasty thing they've been building. the org has a history of some sketchy behavior though (definitely not unusual for a sports team and doubly not unusual for a vegas sports team). my feelings on the alleged bribes and the paying players under the table to take team-friendly deals stuff is i don't particularly care that much and i'd much rather players get paid more in general. but the ownership is consistently shady and there was an incident a couple seasons ago regarding pregnancy discrimination that they barely got a slap on the wrist for from the league so that's mostly where any negative feelings about them stem from for me. the players pretty unanimously sided with the org when the player in question had previously been really close with a lot of them. and the fans tend to be VERY defensive of any criticism having to do with the team and tend to take it as a personal slight against the players/fans, even if it's directed fairly at the ownership, front office, or coaching staff. to be clear, i'm not trying to negatively sway your feelings about the team. it was just interesting because i pretty strongly associate the vgk and the aces with one another and see them as like birds of a feather in a way.

all that aside, your most important wnba opinion is loving angel reese. that is absolutely the correct opinion to have. angel haters go to hell. in all seriousness though, i could talk about how much i love her for hours, but i fear the amount i've already typed is bordering on insanity (genuinely though i'm sooooo sorry for infodumping this crazy-person rant at you. thanks for listening to my ramblings of a madwoman if you made it this far 🙃)

no no i am SO here for it im taking notes im getting invested (cody... your hockey players... CODY YOUR HOCKEY PLAYERS) <- i can hold many athletes in my heart at once, says man still not over jose bautista. -> anyway that seems really interesting esp re olympics... so the wnba playoffs and the olys are at the same time??? for real??? seems like if that's the case then you'd want to go for a lot more of liek a balanced build then, except then i'm remembering my one (1) Theory Of Basketball fact which is that having a mcjesus or, in this case, an a'ja wilson is a lot more helpful to the cause in bball than it is in hockey

also my opinion of angel is mostly bc i am a defender against the just blatantly horrible misogynoir shes faced in her rookie year (esp juxtaposed against cc, who has also been propped up as some sort of saviour of the wnba, as if the wnba hasn't been getting steadily more popular over the years ANYWAY -_- ) and also she seems like a Top Tier Sweetie. and im taken to understand shes very good as well? true? im so out of the basketball loop i don't know what makes you good in that sport (...buckets...?) but angel >>

[valentineradio]

big muse update !! added 10 new muses total, details below!

tw: sick grandparents, murder, death of a parent, abuse, alcohol ment

jasmine ‘jaz’ reyes. bi. they/them. early - mid 20s. a survivor of the apocalypse, jaz needs large amounts of medical equipment and medications for their sick grandmother. they’ve cared for her since before the apocalypse, and refuse to stop now. they are slow to trust, quick on their feet, and love collecting CDs.

cedric kelly. bi. he/him. mid - late 20s. bitten by a werewolf at the age of seventeen, cedric has struggled to cope with the transformation. years later he has isolated himself as much as possible, living miles outside a rural town in washington state. despite his decision to become a hermit, cedric loves people; he’s charismatic and funny, if a bit oblivious.

asa morgenstern. gay. he/him. mid 50s. asa’s vampiric transformation happened fairly recently in terms of total lifespan, only being bitten 30 years prior. he currently works the night shift in a 24/7 vape shop. he enjoys horror films and has a pet cat. he’s blunt and to the point, speaking his mind without hesitation.

rowena fawcett. bi. she/her. late 500s. rowena flits about the world, moving somewhere new every decade or so. she lives a life of luxury and though she enjoys the fancy parties and get-togethers, she often prefers to spend time alone. she possesses psychic abilities as a perk of her vampirism, primarily presenting as prophetic visions when she touches other people’s skin.

winifred ‘winnie’ gardiner. bi. she/they. early - mid 30s. raised by her witch mother, winnie rejected the idea of following in her footsteps. she moved out and promised herself to live a “normal” life; they didn’t resent their mother, in fact they loved her dearly — they simply wanted something different. that was, until she met her best friend (and werewolf) devin. as their friendship grew, winnie began studying their mother’s practice, learning to be a witch themself to aid devin and her pack. she works as a high school biology teacher and loves it.

devin mccarthy. lesbian. she/her. early - mid 30s. part of a large pack, devin has always felt loved and cared for. she was born a werewolf, and has never known anything else. she’s got a great sense of humor that can lend itself to flirtiness at times. she works as a high school history teacher and likes it well enough. her best friend is winnie, a witch that helps her pack and also a fellow teacher at her high school.

micah graves. bi. he/him. late 20s - early 30s. after their parents’ murder, micah and his twin sister jay bounced around the foster system until they aged out at 18; both struggled to stay afloat, but micah especially. after some significant troubles, he managed to pull his life back together. he got into photography, and has been moderately successful in that field. he lives with his sister, and has a separate studio for his work that he spends most of his time in.

jay graves. bi. she/her. late 20s - early 30s. see micah graves. after she aged out, jay got a series of jobs bartending. she feels a lot of responsibility for her twin brother, micah. she’s the life of the party and loves to drink; she’s a yapper and a bit of an oversharer. she’s also always bumming cigarettes and vape hits off her friends without ever buying her own.

aster lovelace. bi. she/her. mid - late 20s. aster spent her childhood moving place to place, running from her dad; the abusive cop continued to track them down, over and over, and when she turned 18 she changed her name and committed to a life on the road. she rarely stops for long, never keeps the same mode of transportation for long, and tries to mix up her appearance whenever possible. she’s friendly and witty, quick to laugh and full of wanderlust.

charlotte ‘charlie’ dresden. lesbian. she/her. mid 30s. charlie is a known and wanted art thief, striking private collections and museums across the world. no one knows what she looks like, no one knows her real name, and no one knows where she’ll strike next.

check my carrd for faceclaims !!

[beardedmrbean]

An LGBT mob that targeted two Chicago store owners for sharing conservative memes gave up after just a few weeks, even after it vowed to harass the entrepreneurs until they went out of business.

“The protesters realized they were helping us more than hurting us,” Xander Kazanowski told the Washington Examiner via a phone interview. He credited the original Washington Examiner article and other media coverage for generating support for his business.

Personal letters, purchases, and words of support have all helped Kazanowski and his fiancée persevere through the battle.

Kazanowski said organizer Karen Rose Gilbert had promised to protest the store until it could not pay its rent and had to go out of business. Instead, the cancel culture mob lasted just two weeks, and Boho Barbie Ken is still standing — even stronger than before.

Kazanowski told the Washington Examiner that the group “Gays Against Groomers” had promoted the store. He said lesbian and gay individuals were buying hundreds of dollars of merchandise from the store to support him after the publicity.

But help also came from unexpected places and in an old-fashioned method.

“Some people mailed us a Bible verse and $20,” he said during the phone interview. A Texan had heard about what was going on and wrote him a letter along with the verse and money to show support. “Keep up the good fight,” the letter’s author wrote.

He also said “people have come in and talked” to him and his fiancée to show their support for the store.

His fiancée, Anna Marie Skalicki, has the right attitude on how to win over cancel culture. “They have every right to do this as much as we have every right to share our beliefs,” Skalicki said.

“I’m not ashamed of our faith,” she previously said. “I’m not ashamed of the truths that we believe.”

One motivation that probably kept them going is that their beliefs are bigger than just their personal political inclinations, but rather how the couple, who have a young child together, see the world in light of being relatively new parents.

“I’m pro-woman. I’m not necessarily anti-trans or whatever, but I’m pro-women’s spaces, and I don’t think men should be encroaching upon women’s spaces,” Kalinowski has previously said.

“The Bible speaks a lot about how you should treat women and how you should treat your wife,” he said, according to the Loyola Phoenix. “I know that in my heart I’m supposed to be the rock and the leader and guide us to truth and just be the one who doesn’t get pushed around and doesn’t submit to the will of others.”

“Doesn’t get pushed around” is a good way to describe him.

The victory against cancel culture in Chicago is a good message for others facing the mob: Don’t apologize if you did not do anything wrong. Do not let others push you into paying fealty to “Pride Month” and the LGBT mob (a concept Toronto Blue Jays player Anthony Bass might want to remember).

Others targeted by Karen Gilbert should take heed. Gilbert, after all, checks out every business that comes into Rogers Park to make sure it is friendly and "safe" for "queer" people, according to the Loyola Phoenix.

Of course, if the business is not deemed friendly to Gilbert and others we know what will happen; they will organize a protest mob that will ultimately fall flatter than the Bud Light beer that’s rotting away on store shelves.

[houseboys]

HOUSEBOYS.

an independent, multi-muse blog. penned by cj.

RULES.

OOC

i love chatting ooc. i love plotting and headcanoning our ships/muses, so you can always feel free to come to me ooc. my rules sound kind of rude, but i promise i'm really friendly and a ray of sunshine. my messages are always open for anyone who's interested in possibly plotting/writing/chatting! this is and will forever be a work in progress. my discord is available upon request to mutuals. i also write on discord. my name is cj. i’m twenty-five years old. i’m a black, gay man. don’t be racist or homophobic or transphobic or a piece of shit.  no ooc drama. i simply won’t tolerate it. i prefer my drama in the threads. thanks.  selective. i do work full-time and it does consume a lot of my time, so i will be selective with following and who i interact with. my activity on the dash will be spotty as well. please don’t rush me for replies. please cut your posts, and i prefer using gifs/icons.

SHIPPING / MUSES

none of my muses are straight, just making that known – however none of them are strictly gay either. i love writing m/m ships and i love writing m/f and m/nb ships as well. give me all of those things. this is a multi-ship blog. all of my muses are men of color. do not fetishize them.

IN CHARACTER

this blog will contain NSFW material. i will try my best to tag everything, but i can’t promise that i will be able to.  if there are any triggers that you have, just let me know and i will create a tag to tag posts that contain that content.  with that being said, i won’t follow or write with anyone under the age of eighteen. if i can’t find your age on your blog, chances are i won’t follow back or reply.  i am fine with writing smut. i love writing smut in fact. but i don’t want my plots to be just smut. let the smut be a part of the story.  i will not write: stepcest/incest, noncon/dubcon, watersports, dd/lb/lg, pet play, scat, raceplay.  banned faces: deceased fcs, anyone who has requested to not be roleplayed.

MUSES.

in alphabetical order full bios coming soon... apollo bain (saquon barkley) college athlete/nfl player. pansexual. sebastian barrow (lucien laviscount) bartender. pansexual. saint boudreaux (kofi siriboe) artist. pansexual. jovanni carter (rome flynn) actor/model. pansexual. cain graham (tyler lepley) ad exec. pansexual. channing hall (da'vinchi) occupation. pansexual. arnold lee jones, jr. (michael b. jordan) teacher/coach. bisexual. jabari marcel (jordan calloway) firefighter. homosexual. rhys montague (martin bobb-semple) college athlete. pansexual. kendall nash (brandon p. bell) lawyer. pansexual. kyree pleasant (keith powers) model. pansexual. adrian sterling (yahya abdul-mateen ii) ceo. pansexual. bachelor stone (trevante rhodes) chef. pansexual. griffin tate (michael evans behling) college student. bisexual. gabriel washington (diggy simmons) photographer. pansexual. torrey watkins, jr. (jalen hurts) college athlete/nfl player. pansexual. alex wells (mason gooding) college student. homosexual.

[reasoningdaily]

Hip-hop has had a relationship with HIV/AIDS since Reagan created the crack epidemic in the 1980s. The genre, born out of necessity and fight, never shied away from depicting the continuous plight of Black Americans. Interwoven in the messages of gangsta rap from the East and West Coast was the grotesque characterization of the dope fiend, the crackhead, the sex worker — identities used to mischaracterize Black women and LGBTQ folks as harbingers of an invisible virus. Thankfully, Black women in hip-hop have addressed the misinformation in the only way they knew how: through the music. The same vehicle that their male peers used to dismiss them became the tool to mass distribute youth-centered, culturally relevant, and women-led information to the world. 

From Salt-N-Pepa’s 1992 hit “Let’s Talk About Aids” to TLC’s “Waterfalls” (1994) to Janet Jackson’s ‘Together Again” (1997), Black women in hip-hop made it their mission to prove that AIDS was an intersectional issue. Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes went as far to don a condom eye patch as a way to raise awareness about safe sex practices to young fans and listeners. While groups like Public Enemy embraced the misogynistic ideals about the virus in their 1990 hit “Meet the G That Killed Me,” Black women in music were using radio-friendly, mass-marketed songs to combat societal held beliefs and assumptions about it.

“As a Black gay man, my liberation is rooted in the liberation of Black women,” says Kahlib Barton-Garçon, a Texan who serves as the Chief Program Officer of True Colors United, a national organization that works to address youth homelessness. Prior to his tenure at True Colors United, he worked as a community health worker at Us Helping Us, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit that provides services and programs to people living with HIV.

Unbothered spoke to Barton-Garçon about hip-hop’s relationship with HIV/AIDS, the involvement of Black women in early efforts to combat the epidemic, and ways hip-hop’s thinking around the virus have shifted today.

Unbothered: When we think about the 1990s, especially what it meant to be Black in the 1990s, it would be remiss not to acknowledge the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan in the 1970s and 1980s. Two administrations that introduced a series of legislations that contributed to mass incarceration and unsafe drug and health practices in the Black community. Could you summarize what was going on in the 1990s for us? 

Kahlib Barton: In the 1990s, Black communities were struggling with the brunt of the crack epidemic. A lot of us were navigating experiences of poverty, living in overpoliced communities and food deserts. In response, a bevy of poverty-centered programming focused towards Black and brown communities, especially Black communities arose. It was a lot of lip service to ensure the people who were continuously being elected would stay in those positions. 

What strikes me about those three time periods is the War On Drugs, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, and the 1994 crime bill. The hallmarks of the Nixon, Reagan, and Clinton administrations. The unspoken impact of these legislations, which significantly increased mass incarceration, created an imbalance of women to men in the Black community, coupled with the lack of programming for people to re-enter society after being incarcerated. Do you feel these impacts along with the societal norm of silence around HIV/AIDS created overwhelming conditions for Black Americans? Just the thought of going to get tested for HIV/AIDS was too much.

KB: Even trying to get folks to take the step and get tested was difficult. In the beginning, HIV/AIDS was shopped around as GRID (Gay Related Immune Deficiency), a gay disease, something that was not targeting Black communities. Back then, our community did not know how to talk about Black LGBTQ people. It was very taboo, especially since the majority of us were raised in the church. It was easier to say “No, those people don’t exist.” Therefore forcing a lot of older LGBTQ folks into the closet which did nothing but perpetuate the AIDS epidemic in the 1990s.

In the beginning of the 1990s, Public Enemy released ‘Meet the G That Killed Me,’ a song that reinforced stereotypes within the Black community that HIV/AIDS was a disease for sex workers and drug users. In 2010, Chuck D of Public Enemy described the song as the group’s response to the rampant transmission of disease, that at the time, they believed was “man-made.” Do you believe this song reflected the perception of HIV/AIDS in the Black community around the early 1990s?

KB: Obviously, it was telling of the times. Unfortunately, I do believe that we have [shifted.] There is a larger school of thought and shift in consciousness around HIV and the AIDS epidemic in the Black community. There are still a lot of people who resonate with that message, especially in the Black community, who believe HIV/AIDS is reserved for people who are more promiscuous than others, who assume these people are not careful and do not care about their health. That it’s their fault. That they are somehow lesser than you.

In 1992, Salt-N-Pepa were asked by journalist Peter Jennings to remix “Let’s Talk About Sex” to “Let’s Talk About AIDS” for his ABC News special. They were one of the first musicians to address the epidemic, combat misinformation, and inform their listeners about safe sex practices. At the time, sex education was predominantly abstinence-only. Discussions around birth control and contraceptives were minimal. A time where Black women, similarly to today, were criticized for openly talking about sex. How impactful was it for Salt-N-Pepa, Black women, to talk about HIV/AIDS on the national stage when so many of our voices were silenced in the national consciousness?

KB: The messaging of that time was a white gay man talking about HIV. When you see that as a Black person, especially a Black cisgender heterosexual who attends church on a regular basis, you believe those messages do not apply to you. Some efforts were made to reach out to our folks. The biggest way to reach Black women was to go to Black colleges and churches. Those efforts made sure initiatives were being held on college campuses around HIV that were not just focused on abstinence only, but condoms for people with penises, insertive condoms, and dental dams. That shifted the game. 

All those different conversations were not happening. The majority of education was targeted towards folks with pensises to be able to protect themselves, which unfortunately placed a lot of blame, responsibility, and shame on Black women. There was a lack of conversation about children who were born with HIV. There was a lack of conversation around medication and safety to make sure children did not acquire HIV in utero, a lot of the blame went towards the mother.

In 1995, Eazy-E’s death changed pop culture for Black cisgender heterosexual men, the passing of the gangsta rap legend hit home. Prior to his death, the majority of HIV/AIDS advocacy in the Black community was done by women and LGBTQ folks. Months after his passing, Heavy D, The Notorious B.I.G., Method Man, and Warren G performed at the Urban Aid for Life benefit concert in New York City. This concert was one of the first times we saw Black cisgender heterosexual men use the language of hip-hop as a vehicle for public health advocacy. 

KB: I will not assume those artists were asked prior to say something about the issue. Would they have gotten involved with Salt-N-Pepa? A lot of those artists were resistant. “Nah, I don’t wanna talk about that.” I assume it was not “gangsta” to talk about it. At that point, sexual health was not viewed as something that impacted their communities. Being gay is not hip-hop. We are just now getting to the point where the conversation is starting to shift. We are starting to see more gay rappers make their way in the game.

For so long, it was very clear that hip-hop was very homophobic. HIV being closely related to gay communities wasn’t a thing they wanted to talk about. Eazy-E’s death shifted the conversation, because rappers were interfacing and interacting with Eazy-E. A lot of folks, due to archaic and stigmatic beliefs of “Oh, you catch HIV from a hug or from giving someone a kiss,” had them thinking about their own life, their own morbidity, and if it could impact them since they were in the same social circles as Eazy-E.

I think it resonated with those individuals who were not living with HIV or were not personally impacted by this issue. It was great to see that shift happen, even after something tragic happens, folks may not feel inclined to speak up or get involved. It was great to see action coming from diverse Black communities. At this point, we see rappers talking about sexual health, even if it is not always forward thinking. We see more conversation. I think people are more aware that we can not talk about sex without talking about sexual health and safety.

[unrecorded]

Just in time for Pride month, the Biden administration is taking a series of steps to counter an onslaught of attacks against the LGBTQ community in GOP-led states across the country. President Joe Biden will announce Thursday a new community safety partnership led by the Department of Homeland Security to protect LGBTQ Americans. The partnership will train LGBTQ community centers and businesses, such as restaurants and gay bars, that have faced threats to respond to “worst-case” scenarios, such as bomb threats, active shooters and cybersecurity attacks. The partnership will also work with health care providers and others that serve the LGBTQ community. The administration also plans to release $1.7 million for new federal programs to support the health and mental health of LGBTQ youth. As part of the effort, the Department of Health and Human Services will issue an advisory to mental health professionals on best practices for supporting the mental health of transgender youth, who in some states have been the focus of bans on gender-affirming care. “LGBTQ Americans are being targeted for who they are, and that, simply put, is discrimination,” said Neera Tanden, the White House domestic policy adviser. In addition, the Education Department will name a coordinator in the Office of Civil Rights to take on book bans that target materials with LGBTQ content. The coordinator will be responsible for training schools on how book bans that target a specific community create a hostile school environment and may violate federal civil rights laws. The Department of Housing and Urban Development also will launch a new federal initiative to address LGBTQ health and youth homelessness. Biden, who is regarded as the most LGBTQ-friendly president in history, issued a proclamation two weeks ago designating June as Pride month. On Saturday, he will host what the administration says is the largest-ever Pride celebration to be held at the White House. The event had been scheduled for Thursday evening but was postponed after smoke from Canadian wildfires settled over Washington.

[surrogacyservice]

LGBTQ+ Couples Can Start Their Family Through Surrogacy

For many LGBTQ+ couples, starting a family can be a challenging and emotional journey, but thanks to surrogacy, the path to parenthood has become more accessible. Surrogacy for LGBTQ+ parents offers an inclusive, reliable way for same-sex couples and individuals to have biological children. Through surrogacy, families are created, built on love and inclusivity, and free from the limitations that biology once imposed. This blog will explore the surrogacy process, its benefits for LGBTQ+ couples, and how to find the right agency to guide you through it.

Understanding Surrogacy for LGBTQ+ Parents

Surrogacy is a reproductive process in which a surrogate mother carries and delivers a child for another person or couple. In the case of gay surrogacy, the intended parents provide genetic material—either sperm or eggs—while a surrogate carries the pregnancy. This process has given LGBTQ+ parents a way to experience the joy of having a biological connection to their children.

LGBTQ surrogacy can be divided into two main types:

Traditional Surrogacy: In traditional surrogacy, the surrogate mother uses her own eggs and is inseminated with sperm from one of the intended fathers or a donor. This option is rarely used due to its legal complexities and emotional considerations, as the surrogate will be genetically related to the baby.

Gestational Surrogacy: In gestational surrogacy, the surrogate mother has no genetic link to the child. An egg from the intended mother or an egg donor is fertilized with sperm from the intended father or a sperm donor, and the embryo is implanted into the surrogate. This is the most common type of surrogacy, especially for LGBTQ+ couples, as it allows for both parents to contribute genetically when using their own sperm or eggs.

Why Choose Surrogacy as an LGBTQ+ Couple?

For LGBTQ+ couples, surrogacy offers a unique opportunity to have biological children. It’s a viable option for same-sex male couples, lesbian couples, and even single individuals looking to build a family. Some of the key reasons why LGBTQ+ couples opt for surrogacy include:

Biological Connection: Surrogacy allows one or both partners to have a genetic link to their child. In gay surrogacy, for instance, one partner can provide sperm, while an egg donor is used for fertilization.

Inclusive Process: Many surrogacy agencies are LGBTQ+ friendly and specialize in working with same-sex couples, ensuring that the process is welcoming and inclusive.

Legal Protections: In the U.S., laws surrounding surrogacy are clear in many states, offering legal protection and parental rights to LGBTQ+ parents. Working with the right surrogacy agency ensures that all legal matters are handled professionally.

Steps in the Surrogacy Process for LGBTQ+ Parents

Choosing a Surrogacy Agency

The first step is finding a reliable, LGBTQ+-friendly surrogacy agency. For example, parents in the U.S. can explore options like surrogacy agency in New York, surrogacy agency in Washington DC, or other regions. Agencies help navigate the entire process, from legal paperwork to matching with the surrogate.

Selecting a Surrogate

Agencies typically have a pool of pre-screened surrogates who are willing to carry a child for LGBTQ+ couples. Choosing the right surrogate is an emotional decision, but the agency will assist in ensuring that all parties are compatible.

Finding an Egg Donor

For gay couples, an egg donor is required. The egg donor can be anonymous or known to the intended parents. Egg donation agencies provide a wide range of donor profiles, making it easier to find a suitable match.

Medical Procedures

Once the surrogate and donor are chosen, medical procedures begin. In-vitro fertilization (IVF) is used to create embryos, which are then implanted into the surrogate’s womb. Throughout the pregnancy, the surrogate is closely monitored to ensure the health of the baby and mother.

Legal Agreements

Legal matters are crucial in surrogacy. Contracts must be drafted to protect the rights of both the surrogate and the intended parents. This includes parental rights, compensation for the surrogate, and other legal considerations.

Birth and Parental Rights

Once the baby is born, the intended parents are legally recognized as the child’s parents, and the surrogate relinquishes her parental rights. This final step completes the surrogacy process.

Benefits of LGBTQ+ Surrogacy

Choosing surrogacy offers numerous benefits for LGBTQ+ couples, such as:

Genetic Connection: Surrogacy allows one or both partners to be biologically related to the child, which is important for many couples.

Control Over the Process: With surrogacy, intended parents can choose their surrogate, egg donor, and medical team, giving them greater control over the process.

Legal Clarity: When working with a reputable surrogacy agency, all legal matters are handled, ensuring that parental rights are protected and clearly established.

Emotional Support: Surrogacy agencies provide emotional and psychological support for both the intended parents and the surrogate, making the journey smoother for everyone involved.

Choosing the Right Surrogacy Agency

One of the most important decisions in the surrogacy journey is selecting the right agency. For LGBTQ+ couples, finding an agency that is inclusive, supportive, and experienced in working with same-sex parents is crucial. Agencies such as Surrogacy Agency New York and Surrogacy Agency in Washington DC specialize in helping LGBTQ+ parents navigate the process.

When looking for an agency, consider the following factors:

Experience: Choose an agency with a proven track record of successful surrogacy arrangements, particularly with LGBTQ+ clients.

Support: Emotional, legal, and financial support are essential throughout the surrogacy journey. Make sure the agency provides comprehensive services that cover all aspects of the process.

Surrogate Screening: The agency should have a rigorous screening process for surrogates to ensure that they are physically and emotionally prepared for the journey.

Legal Expertise: Surrogacy laws vary by state, so it's essential to choose an agency with legal experts who are well-versed in surrogacy laws in your area.

Why Surrogacy4AllNow?

At Surrogacy4AllNow, we understand the unique challenges that LGBTQ+ couples face when starting a family. Our experienced team provides comprehensive support throughout the surrogacy process, from finding the right surrogate to handling legal matters. We work with surrogacy agencies in New York, Washington DC, and other regions to ensure that intended parents receive the best care possible. For more information, visit Surrogacy4AllNow and begin your journey to parenthood.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Q. What is surrogacy for LGBTQ+ parents?

A. Surrogacy for LGBTQ+ parents is a process where a surrogate carries a child for same-sex couples or individuals who wish to have a biological child. It enables LGBTQ+ families to build families with a genetic link.

Q. How do LGBTQ+ couples choose between traditional and gestational surrogacy?

A. Most LGBTQ+ couples opt for gestational surrogacy, where the surrogate has no genetic connection to the baby. This is different from traditional surrogacy, where the surrogate’s egg is used.

Q. Are there surrogacy agencies specifically for LGBTQ+ couples?

A. Yes, many surrogacy agencies specialize in LGBTQ+ family-building. Agencies in cities like New York, Washington DC, and Dallas are known for offering tailored services to same-sex couples.

Q. How can gay couples find an egg donor for surrogacy?

A. Gay couples typically work with egg donor agencies to find a donor. The surrogate then carries the fertilized embryo created through IVF.

Q. Is surrogacy legal for LGBTQ+ parents in the U.S.?

A. Yes, surrogacy is legal in many U.S. states for LGBTQ+ parents, with laws varying by state. It’s important to work with a legal expert to ensure all legal matters are handled properly.

Q. How can I start my surrogacy journey as an LGBTQ+ parent?

A. Begin by researching agencies like Surrogacy4AllNow, which specialize in LGBTQ+ surrogacy. Our team can guide you through every step, from finding a surrogate to managing legal issues.

Conclusion

For LGBTQ+ couples, surrogacy is a life-changing opportunity to create a family. The process can be complex, but with the right support, it becomes a rewarding journey toward parenthood. Whether you’re considering surrogacy in the U.S. with agencies like surrogacy agency New York or surrogacy agency in Washington DC, or simply looking to explore your options, finding the right professionals is key.  Surrogacy is about creating families, and LGBTQ+ parents have more options than ever before to realize their dreams of parenthood. For further guidance, visit Surrogacy4AllNow and let us help you take the first step.

Reference: https://surrogacy-services-in-usa.blogspot.com/2024/10/lgbtq-couples-can-start-their-family.html

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Family-Friendly Fun in Denver, Colorado: Activities for All Ages

Denver, Colorado, often referred to as the "Mile High City," is known for its stunning scenery, vibrant culture, and outdoor adventures. Situated at an elevation of 5,280 feet, Denver offers a unique blend of urban life and natural beauty, with the Rocky Mountains serving as a breathtaking backdrop. The city's thriving arts scene includes numerous galleries, theaters, and the renowned Denver Art Museum, showcasing a diverse range of artistic expressions.

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Outdoor enthusiasts flock to Denver for its proximity to world-class skiing, hiking, and mountain biking. The nearby Rocky Mountain National Park offers trails and breathtaking vistas, making it a perfect escape for nature lovers. Denver is also home to a variety of parks, including the expansive City Park and Washington Park, providing green spaces for relaxation and recreation.

Culinary delights abound in Denver, with a burgeoning food scene featuring local breweries, farm-to-table restaurants, and diverse cuisine reflecting the city's multicultural population. Events like the Denver Film Festival and the Great American Beer Festival highlight

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the city's dynamic community spirit. Overall, Denver is a vibrant destination that seamlessly combines urban sophistication with outdoor adventure, making it a unique place to live and visit.

The Gay Pride Rainbow Flag is a powerful symbol of the LGBTQ+ community, representing diversity, inclusion, and acceptance. First created by artist Gilbert Baker in 1978, the flag features six vibrant stripes—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple—each with its own meaning. Red symbolizes life, orange represents healing, yellow stands for sunlight, green signifies nature, blue embodies harmony, and purple represents spirit.

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The flag has become an iconic emblem of pride, displayed during Pride Month and at LGBTQ+ events worldwide. It serves not only as a celebration of sexual and gender diversity but also as a reminder of the ongoing fight for equality and rights. The rainbow flag fosters unity among individuals of all identities, encouraging visibility and support within society. Its colorful design inspires joy and solidarity, making it a timeless representation of hope and love for the LGBTQ+ community.

Gay Christmas gifts celebrate LGBTQ+ identities and promote love, acceptance, and joy during the holiday season. Thoughtful presents can range from personalized items, like custom ornaments and pride-themed apparel, to books and art by LGBTQ+ authors and artists. Unique gift ideas also include subscriptions to queer

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magazines, fun board games, or experiences such as tickets to drag shows or LGBTQ+ events. These gifts not only reflect the recipient's identity but also foster a sense of community and belonging. By choosing gay-themed gifts, you show support for LGBTQ+ culture while spreading holiday cheer and celebrating diversity during the festive season.