A Million Gays Here, A Million There This Sunday Funday

Meet Jennifer Natalya Pritzker, Trans* Billionaire

Meet the trans* woman worth 1.5 billi.

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A member of a prominent and wealthy Chicago family and funder of a study on transgender people in the military has come out as transgender, Crain’s Chicago Business reports.

Crain’s quotes an email sent to employees of the Pritzker Military Library and Pritzker’s company Tawani Enterprises, saying, “As of Aug. 16, 2013, J.N. Pritzker will undergo an official legal name change, will now be known as Jennifer Natalya Pritzker. This change will reflect the beliefs of her true identity that she has held privately and will now share publicly. Pritzker now identifies herself as a woman for all business and personal undertakings.” The business journal adds that “a spokeswoman declined to answer questions about Col. Pritzker’s sexuality or possible hormone therapy.”

Marriage Equality Is Just Around the Riverbend in New Mexico and Other Stories About Gay Weddings

+ Happy Happy Gay Gay makes wedding cards for homos. Consider me one step closer to Pinterest.

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+ Alabama Republicans are overwhelmingly cool with a local collegiate leader for the party speaking out about gay marriage. They’re also unsurprisingly good at saying uncomfortable stuff in the process.

+ Santa Fe’s marrying the gays. BRING ‘EM OUT! The state itself may tackle the issue of same-sex marriage soon.

+ The Alaska State Family Council may soon consider same-sex couples “family” to grant them leave benefits.

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Queering Pakistan

“Queer Pakistan” is a website creating community where there is none for LGBT folks:

“The LGBT community in Pakistan is a vulnerable group. They exist, but the mainstream society just looks the other way,” explained Noman*, who helped spearhead the initiative. “This website is our way of breaking the silence and shame that surrounds us.”

Queer Pakistan is a public forum where people can post general questions ranging from family pressure to safe sex, but also obtain private counseling from experts – features that set the website apart from earlier LGBT websites in the country. The initiative has two voluntary medical professionals on board, and hopes to get more.

According to Parveen*, a practicing doctor from Hyderabad and one of the counselors for the website, 90 percent of those who have approached her for help are women between the ages of 20-30.

“They come to me with all kinds of issues – from partners abandoning them due to family pressure to their own families pressuring them to get married. A lot of them just want to leave the country,” she elaborated. “Being able to discuss their problems openly, especially when they are distressed, makes them feel they are not alone.”

Feminism and Bullshit

Neko Case is cool you guys.

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I have to say to myself think about how quickly things have changed for women since I was a little girl – it’s like we went from using a rock to smash some shit to being on the moon. And I want to tell younger women that.

Tell them that our momentum is huge. Keep it going. Don’t stop here and fight about why you’re calling yourself a feminist or not. Don’t get into these bitchy little fights about who does what, where. Because the women who marched and fought so we could vote, they didn’t do it so we could sit around bickering about what we called ourselves. Move. Forward. Move forward. Decide you’re equal. Don’t take anything less. And don’t stop.”

Beaver Tale

This bb is from Oregon and I’m overwhelmed.

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Carmen

Carmen spent six years at Autostraddle, ultimately serving as Straddleverse Director, Feminism Editor and Social Media Co-Director. She is now the Consulting Digital Editor at Ms. and writes regularly for DAME, the Women’s Media Center, the National Women’s History Museum and other prominent feminist platforms; her work has also been published in print and online by outlets like BuzzFeed, Bitch, Bust, CityLab, ElixHER, Feministing, Feminist Formations, GirlBoss, GrokNation, MEL, Mic and SIGNS, and she is a co-founder of Argot Magazine. You can find Carmen on Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr or in the drive-thru line at the nearest In-N-Out.

Carmen has written 919 articles for us.

5 Comments

  1. Oh the Republicans.

    “We’re not the Taliban. We’re not the Third Reich.”

    You know you’re doing well if this is something you have to unironically assert. RIGHT

  2. I’m sorta “meh” about Pritzker coming out. Yeah, it’s good that she can feel safe enough to do that and start living authentically to herself. But her life’s work is so far up the ass of capitalist oppression (and the military-industrial complex) that I’m not thrilled for the exposure she’s getting as a trans woman. Obviously, other trans women who don’t share my political and social beliefs will (legitimately) feel differently.

    I guess we come in all political orientations and occupations, some of which I find repugnant. Just like any other group.

  4. Ahhh! Buttons the beaver! I want to wear my beaver hat and cuddle it! Although, I don’t wear my beaver hat for the bucked tooth beaver… ;)

  5. Those cards are awesome! I always end up going Hallmark or just writing on wrapping paper, but I know some people dedicate their time to elaborate cards, and I guess she’s one. First gay wedding I go to, I’ll buy one.

Comments are closed.