With the GLAAD Media Awards a week away, here is a closer look at the nominees for the Outstanding Blog category. These blogs give a voice to a wide range of LGBTQ people, and foster a supportive online community.
Video created by Mark S. King celebrating the outstanding blog nominees.
“At a time when LGBTQ issues are grossly underreported in mainstream media, independent bloggers are leading the charge in sharing real LGBTQ stories and fighting back against anti-LGBTQ activists and policies,” said Rich Ferraro, GLAAD’s Chief Communications Officer. “This year’s amazing nominees for the Outstanding Blog Category at the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards do just that and we are proud to highlight their work.”
Founded by Riese Bernard and Alexandra Vega in 2009, this blog serves as “an intelligent, hilarious & provocative voice and a progressively feminist online community for multiple generations of kickass lesbian, bisexual & otherwise inclined ladies (and their friends).” With over 1 million unique visitors and 3.5 million views per month, it’s safe to say that their voice is being heard. Some noteworthy posts include:
- “In 2017, Lesbian and Bisexual TV Characters Did Pretty OK, and That’s a Pretty Big Deal” - 2017 was a groundbreaking year for transgender, lesbian, and bisexual women on TV, however, there is still a long way to go in terms of diversity. The article also boasts some beautifully designed infographics to display their findings, laying out the facts pulled from GLAAD’s research in an easily digestible way.
- “How Queer and Trans Women are Healing Each Other After Hurricane Harvey” - Hurricane Harvey was a devastating natural disaster for everyone, including queer and transgender women living in the area, but the community used it as an opportunity to support each other.
Others articles include a comedic look at Ken Dolls throughout history and their striking resemblance to lesbian women, how being homeschooled in a Christian Evangelist family prepared a student for the 2016 election, and a personal reflection on how fear and sadness in the wake of the election impacted a woman’s relationship with her girlfriend.
When Brian Rosenberg and Ferd van Gameren couldn’t find resources for gay men with children, they decided to create their own, which is how Gays With Kids was started. It has now grown into an online community for all things relating to parenting in the gay, bi and trans community. Their mission is to help gay men become dads and to help new gay dads navigate fatherhood. For gay men with children who may have felt like they were alone, Gays With Kids serves as a place of love and support. Some noteworthy posts include:
- “Athlete Simon Dunn Asks: As a Gay Man Is Fatherhood in My Future?” - Simon Dunn describes how he thought his dream of having a big family wouldn’t be possible as a gay man, but now he has hope for the future given the strides that have been made.
- “Why I Took My Three Year Old to Pride” - A father chooses to take his adopted daughter to the pride parade to introduce her to the diverse and accepting community that she is a part of.
In addition to these inspiring posts, other highlights include raising minority children in a predominantly white neighborhood, a transgender couple starting their family, and LGBTQ families attending the White House Easter Egg Roll.
Founded by Mark S. King, this blog includes thoughts and stories relating to King’s life as an HIV positive gay man. King continues to be an activist in the LGBTQ community, and his writing pushes for representation and visibility for those living with HIV. He advocates for standing together and remaining united despite our differences. Some noteworthy posts include:
- “Fighting Trump: HIV Advocates to Watch in 2017" - Trump’s election heralded a threat to those living with HIV by reducing support for access to healthcare and HIV prevention programs. This post shines a light on some activists across the country who are determined not to give up the fight.
- “A Second Chance at Death” - For those with HIV in the 1980s, death was a very real outcome. King describes how living through those times caused him to see death less as a defeat, and more as a way of making life more meaningful and worth living.
Other highlights include the story of a woman who recently tested HIV positive, an examination of how we need to be inclusive within the LGBTQ community, and a powerful story from Mark’s past that occurred while dealing with addiction.
Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents
Since Sue Kerr founded Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents, all of the LGBTQ media outlets in Western Pennsylvania have closed. As a feminist, lesbian-helmed site, the blog supports and promotes diverse voices from the entire LGBTQ community. In 2015, she founded #AMPLIFY, an archive of interviews and stories from members of the LGBTQ Western Pennsylvania community. Notable posts include:
- “Dan, 36, is a Bisexual Man in Pittsburgh Who Wants to Build a Better World #AMPLIFY” - An interview with Pittsburgh local, Dan, as he explains how he came out as a bisexual man, and his thoughts about the bisexual community moving forward.
- “Darlene Harris, Donald Trump, and Doing the Right Thing in Pittsburgh” - Founder Sue Kerr delivered a critique of Pittsburgh City Councilor Darlene Harris liking an anti-LGBTQ comment on social media and explains that what may seem like a small gesture to some, represents a larger issue that needs to be called out.
Other hghlights include continuous coverage of LGBTQ people who are reported missing or victims of hate crimes, and contributions to the #AMPLIFY LGBTQ storytelling archive.
Monica Roberts is a Black trans woman, Houston native, and twenty year human rights advocate who aims to use her own experiences to promote acceptance and understanding of the transgender community, particularly transgender people of color. Roberts was also the recipient of the Special Recognition Award at GLAAD's San Francisco Gala in 2016 for her work. TransGriot is a platform that holds people accountable for their actions, but also highlights issues that don't get discussed and lifts up those who deserve their time in the spotlight. Some notable posts include:
- "The 2017 Black Trans Year In Review” - Roberts does a rundown of the highs and lows of the year, including a large number of anti-trans violence incidents as well as huge breakthroughs such as Andrea Jenkins and Phillipe Cunningham getting elected to the Minneapolis City Council.
- “The Holidays Can Be Not So Happy For Trans People” - The holidays are supposed to be a time of joy and love, but for many in the transgender community it can be a stressful. Unsupportive family members make it difficult for many transgender men and women to return home for the holidays, and sometimes turning to chosen families can make this time of year a little more joyful.
Roberts also posts about Texas' first openly transgender mayor, what transgender day of visibility means to her, and transgender people who are making an impact in the community.
The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community and the issues that affect their lives. They also fund GLAAD's work to amplify stories from the LGBTQ community that build support for equality and acceptance.
