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qPDX on indefinite hiatus

qPDX.com marching crew!

qPDX is taking a break but we’re moving on to new projects that should be equally exciting! A big thanks to everyone who has read or participated over the years. […]


Man accused of attacking gay couple says he was the one attacked

Paul Martinson, the man arrested for the hate crime against two gay men in downtown Portland last week, has responded to the allegations against him.

Paul Martinson

Martinson, 39, was charged with assaulting and intimidating Kiah Lawson, 22, and his boyfriend Sam Smith, 21, near Silverado the night of March 14. Martinson was also charged with vandalizing Smith’s car. But Martinson said he did not attack the […]


Anti-gay hate crime reported in downtown Portland

Two men were assaulted in downtown Portland last week in what the Portland Police Bureau is treating as a hate crime. […]


TSA Posts Info for Trans Travelers

 

Re-posted from The National Center for Transgender Equality

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently unveiled a webpage featuring information and advice for transgender travelers going through airport security. TSA’s advice, while not comprehensive, covers a few important points:

Travelers should make sure that the gender provided when they book their flight matches the gender designation on the government-issued ID they bring to the airport. TSA Travel Document Checkers […]


Mexican Trans Advocate Agnes Torres Found Murdered

Re-posted from TowleRoad

 

Mexican transgender activist Agnes Torres was found dead this week outside her home in Puebla, Mexico. Her neck had been slashed, her body burned in signs she had been tortured.

The Puebla-based organization Vida Plena Puebla released a statement, 2bmag reports:

“We condemn this crime against a woman, an academic, a psychologist, educator, role model and activist for human rights for women in general and for sexual diversity as a whole,” the Puebla-based organization Vida Plena Puebla. “We are distraught, pained, enraged and saddened by this crime, and feel powerless over how, yet again, a brave person has succumbed to the most brutal of gender-based violence… in this case, violence against a transgender woman.” The organization demanded in their statement that Torres’s murder case be treated the same way as that of “the daughter of any governor, politician, or attorney” and that it be solved swiftly.

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2 Girls, 1 Podcast ep#13 talks with Glitterfruit’s Max Voltage

This week Lyska and I talk to Max Voltage of Glitterfruit and Pants Off Productions (the folks behind Homomentum, Homo’s Got Talent etc) who will be performing at a free, all ages concert for the culmination of the 31st annual Lewis and Clark Gender Studies Symposium. […]


Aflac: Add Domestic Partner Benefits

Equity Foundation: Sign our Petition to Demand that Aflac Provide Domestic Partnership Benefits to Their Employees

In the 21st century discrimination against LGBT people is unacceptable – and we believe that unfortunately that is precisely what insurance giant Aflac is doing. Aflac has recently refused Equity Foundation’s request to include domestic partner benefits in Aflac’s employee benefits package. This is wrong and should not be allowed to stand. When […]


Lewis and Clark brings its Gender Studies Symposium for a 31st time around

For those of us no longer ensconced in the world of academia but who want the opportunity to have thought-provoking discussions on gender and sexuality the annual Lewis and Clark Gender Studies Symposium is the perfect opportunity. This three day exploration, now in its 31st year (whoa, that’s a long time, longer than I’ve been alive) takes place this Wednesday through Friday. (Complete schedule linked below)

The 2012 […]


Proud BRO. Upcoming Benefit Events.

Mark your calendars for a couple of fun events that will help support Basic Rights Oregon and Pride NW.

THURSDAY MARCH 15TH: A night at the theatre to benefit Basic Rights Oregon!

Bag & Baggage Productions, Hillsboro’s resident professional theatre, is proud to partner with Basic Rights Oregon for an evening of provocative Shakespeare! Join us on Thursday, March 15th at 7:30pm at the beautiful Venetian Theatre (253 […]


A Mom Becomes A Man, And A Family Sticks Together

Re-posted from NPR.org

This spring, Les and Scott GrantSmith will mark their 25th wedding anniversary. The couple raised two daughters along the way. But 15 years ago, they hit a crisis that nearly shattered their family. Les was keeping a secret, and that became a problem. But they solved it as a family, in a way that kept them together and happy.

In the weeks leading up to that day back in 1997, Les was certain of two things: She was a mother who loved her daughters — and she was also transgender, the term for someone born in a body of the wrong sex.

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