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Politics

Empowerment Through Action: How LGBTQ+ Youth Can Channel Climate Anxiety into Activism

A photo of LGBTQ youth climate activists.

Each week, the ongoing climate crisis brings with it new anxiety-inducing headlines about record-breaking heat waves, unprecedented natural disasters, and species extinctions—not to mention the inability of world leaders to effectively and aggressively address these issues to prevent further harm. Unfortunately, these reports are not only worrisome, they are also starting to cause serious mental health problems.…

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How the Overturn of Roe v. Wade Will Impact LGBTQIA+ Couples in the South

A photo of protests surrounding the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022. In doing so, the Supreme Court gave states the right to outlaw abortion. Several states, many of them in the South, have trigger laws, which state legislators have already approved, that went into effect immediately or almost immediately after Roe v. Wade was overturned. A perhaps unforeseen result of the overturn is that the ruling may also make it more difficult for LGBTQIA+ couples in the South to adopt…

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In Defense of Trans Youth in Alabama

A photo of a trans youth.

As in states across the country, anti-trans bills are plaguing Alabama. Once again, conservatives have manufactured a problem so that they can craft a solution that causes undue suffering to an entire community already persecuted by conservative lawmakers in the state. Fiendishly, the community in question is children.…

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HIV Disproportionately Affects People in the South. Why is Texas Trying to Cut Funding?

A photo of BIPOC people representing HIV Texas.

The numbers are clear: HIV affects people in the South at much higher rates than elsewhere in the nation. Within the southern demographic, the virus disproportionally affects BIPOC southerners. And right here in Texas—where we have the highest uninsured rate in the nation—the state legislature would like to cut funding for the Texas HIV Medication Program (THMP).…

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Dear Well-Meaning Liberals, Listen to the Voices of the South

A photo of the South.

“F*ck Texas.” “F*ck the South.” “Let’s just divide the country at the Mason-Dixon and let the South fend for itself.” “Texas is a lost cause.” These are just a few of the tone-deaf tweets I have seen from well-meaning liberals over the last few months, years, and so on. It’s exhausting. Let’s be clear: If you perpetuate that narrative every time you want to express displeasure at a southern Republican or conservative legislator’s gaffe—you’re part of the problem, you’re tone deaf, and you’re showing your…

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Changing the Game: Trans Athletes and the Fight for Inclusion

A photo of Changing the Game.

A political war is being waged against transgender Americans, and young trans athletes are caught in the crossfire. Mack Beggs is one of four transgender athletes featured in Changing the Game, a documentary that profiles the lives of young trans athletes in an effort to raise awareness about the complexity surrounding the transphobic policies that transgender high school athletes are forced to navigate just to compete. “I think it’s many things at once,” Alex Schmider, associate director of transgender representation at…

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