A Queer Pilgrim

  On a day when high school students are protesting Virginia Gov. Youngkin's anti-transgender drive to restrict transgender student rights in terms of personal pronoun preference in public schools, with students disrupting schools today by leaving classes, I thought it would be good to counter this push back against LGBTQIA2S+ rights with small, incremental stories of progress in Oregon. The first good news is in Medford, OR, in which a non-binary person has been hired to be a first-grade teacher. I wouldn't have thought that this would cause a stir, but it has. All the way to the school board, which had to listen to the stories of those who are uncomfortable with anything out of the binary "she-he" and "him-her." Some suggested it would be more age appropriate to have the non-binary teacher teach in a higher grade. Others said that having a non-binary teacher is too "vague" for young children.  Thankfully,  Gina DuQuenne, founder and president of

  There are lists you want to be on--lists of "best dressed," or "best restaurant in Portland"--along with awards you want to earn and receive, like an Emmy for television work, or an Oscar for film work. These all speak to accomplishments that you hope will receive recognition. There are some lists that you hope you are on the bottom of and get a failing grade, like an F, like the National Rifle Association (NRA). The list I referred to last week on this blog site needs to be "lifted up" and recognized some more, rather than burying it in the blogspot I entered last week. This is the list of 200 worst colleges, universities, and seminaries for LGBTQIA2S+ students, and I would add faculty and staff, compiled by Campus Pride, a national organization that keeps track of the safety on campuses for LGBTQIA2S+ students.  The reason I broadened it beyond students is simple: if it is discriminatory and hostile to students, then it would also be hostile for out-LG

Some good news of late. Religious-based institutions of higher education are being called on to support LGBTQIA2S+ students and staff. The first case had to do with the Yeshiva University, an orthodox Jewish university in New York City. The University insisted, based upon its religious freedom, that it did not have to recognize the LGBTQIA2S+ Jewish student group--Yeshiva University Pride Alliance (YU Pride Alliance)-- because of religious freedom and First Amendment defense.  Kathryn Post of religionnews.com wrote that, "   JQY  (Jewish Queer Youth), a nonprofit that supports Orthodox Jewish queer youth, commended the court’s move in a statement. “Today is a turning point for LGBTQ Jews in the Orthodox community who, for too long, have been told that their identities are not a sin, yet made to feel like their self-worth is against Jewish law ( Halacha ),” said JQY Executive Director Rachael Fried. JQY has been funding events for the YU Pride Alliance and providing mental health s