Support

Back to School with Q Chat Space

August means back to school, and that means our LGBTQ+ teens will need more support than ever. Enter Q Chat Space, a partnership of CenterLink, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and PFLAG National. 

Q Chat Space provides online discussion groups for LGBTQ+ teens ages 13 to 19. It is live and chat based; there is no video or audio, and everyone is chatting during the same pre-scheduled time. Conversations are facilitated by experienced staff who work at LGBTQ+ centers around the country, providing a safe space for queer teens to really talk to each other.

Learn more and encourage the LGBTQ+ youth you know to register and safely connect!

Education

Three Steps to Being a Better Ally to People Who Are Intersex

Just because you’re staying in doesn’t mean your learning should slow down! So, stay safe and take these steps to engage:

1. Learn: Spend some time browsing through the resources available on the InterACT, Intersex Campaign for Equality, and #4Intersex websites to learn more about the experiences of people with intersex conditions and the work being done to stop harmful and unnecessary medical treatments. For a timely piece? Check out this essay from the Reuters Foundation on intersex Olympic athletes, and how outdated policies have caused harm. 
2. Watch: Check out What Does Intersex Mean? from the InQueery video series released by them. and this video from Buzzfeed videos titled What It's Like To Be Intersex. 
3. Share: Use social media to share information and resources from these 26 recommendations for allies to create visibility for people who have intersex conditions.

Advocacy

Inviting In: A new series from NBJC and The Root

A new mini-documentary released today by our friends at the National Black Justice Coalition and The Root is challenging notions of LGBTQ+/SGL (same gender loving) people and “coming out,” by proposing a new concept: Inviting In. The program was released to commemorate the life and work of late writer and queer icon James Baldwin on what would have been his 97th birthday.

A series in three parts, Inviting In discusses the history of “coming out,” its implications in modern-day, and how notions of Inviting In can help queer people reclaim their identities and how they share themselves with the world. 

View the full documentary. 

Something to Talk About...Live!

Join PFLAG National live this Thursday, August 5th at 4:30 PM ET/1:30 PM for Something to Talk About Live! This week, we’ll be discussing, "“For the morning gays: The importance of LGBTQ-owned cafes as sober, queer spaces," from Salon by Ashlie D. Stevens.

You can watch live on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, or Twitter.

For more information--and to check out our discussion questions in advance--visit straightforequality.org/something-talk-about-live-august-5-2021.