Progressive Transgressor: Opera’s Committed Anthony Roth Constanz...

Anthony Roth Costanzo may be opera’s ‘outest’ and most articulate star singer. With liberal psychologist academic parents, a past as a Broadway child performer, and with a featured movi... Show more

ole as a gay teen in “A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries,” he never really had to come out. He jokes that in his gender-bendingly high voice category, the straight countertenors who must come out as such. A North Carolina native who has long lived in Manhattan, Costanzo has starred with New York City Opera, New York Philharmonic, and the Metropolitan Opera. Michael Urie could play the nimble, youthful and industrious Costanzo in some TV version, though the singer/producer — whose adept tap-dancing, crossover cabaret rep and utterly cool music video collaborations with people like Tilda Swinton — would probably do it himself. Costanzo had a uniquely productive lockdown during the pandemic. This summer he debuted at Santa Fe Opera, headlining the world première of “The Lord of Cries,” with a gay team he admires — composer John Corigliano, librettist Mark Adamo and director James Robinson. Playing a mash-up of Dionysus and Dracula, his personal notices were superb. Beyond praising his singing, Fred Cohn wrote in Opera News: “He is opera’s reigning emblem of transgression. Costanzo has donned gender-bending robes for his environmental concert ‘Glass/Handel,’ and in ‘Akhnaten,’ glided across the stage naked and body-waxed.”  He has a rich local season slated, starting with joint performances at Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s Warehouse this week (through October 3) with cabaret legend Justin Vivian Bond, touring ahead of...

Federal Court Orders Reinstatement of Discharged Trans Professor

A three-judge panel of the Denver-based US Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit has overruled a decision by US District Judge Robin J. Cauthron, who had denied reinstatement to a tenur... Show more

faculty position at Southeastern Oklahoma State University (SOSU) to Dr. Rachel Tudor after a jury determined that the university’s denial of tenure and subsequent dismissal of Tudor violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Tudor, who is described in the opinion by Senior Circuit Judge David Ebel as “a transgender woman who is a dual citizen of the United States and the Chickasaw Nation,” will also be entitled to a recalculation of the damages owed her under the court’s order. It is very unusual for a federal court to order reinstatement with tenure of a university professor who has been denied tenure by her institution, even when discrimination has been found to have tainted the decision, since courts generally take the view that they do not have the academic expertise to determine whether a professor’s scholarship and job performance would support a grant of tenure. But this was an unusual case, judging by the evidence about tenure decisions at SOSU, in which a faculty committee of her peers had determined that Dr. Tudor’s scholarship and service did qualify her for tenure, but were overruled by the university’s president, apparently on the recommendation of the vice president for academic affairs, who was shown to be biased against Dr. Tudor. Professors testified that they could not recall another case in which the university president had overruled a tenure committee vote that was endorse...

Mayor Enshrines NYPD Liaison Role Under Police Commissioner

Mayor Bill de Blasio issued an executive order on September 15 enshrining the NYPD’s LGBTQ liaison as a permanent position and shifting its oversight from the chief of department to the... Show more

mmissioner. The news comes after Sergeant Ana Arboleda, a lesbian Latina woman, stepped into the NYPD’s LGBTQ liaison role following the retirement of Carl Locke, who served in the department for two decades. Arboleda will oversee LGBTQ outreach within the NYPD’s Community Affairs Bureau, provide LGBTQ-inclusive training for officers, manage internal LGBTQ issues, and support the NYPD’s LGBTQ Advisory Panel, according to the mayor’s office. Sergeant Arboleda said she looks forward to addressing disparities impacting the LGBTQ community. “I am proud to be able to serve the community I am part of as the NYPD’s LGBTQIA+ Liaison,” Sergeant Arboleda said in a written statement. “It is a true privilege to help the NYPD continue making strides forward for LGBTQIA+ employees and the community we work to protect every day. I am grateful to the leadership of the NYPD for this opportunity and to GOAL — who is comprised of my friends, colleagues, and people who have become my family.” Arboleda will also review and recommend policy changes to the Office of Management Analysis and Planning, a division that monitors the department’s crime reporting system. Detective Brian Downey, president of the Gay Officers Action League (GOAL), believes the order will help the LGBTQ community bring their concerns to the NYPD. “The executive order is incredible progress toward the right kind of LGBTQIA+ representation in the NYPD, b...

“Montero” Review: Lil Nas X Introduces Himself for the Second Tim...

Back when reality TV became popular, it was common to hear complaints about celebrities “becoming famous for being famous.” What this really meant was that they hadn’t proven themselves... Show more

a respected field of endeavor, like acting or music. If they did pursue those fields, they were seen as secondary. Paris Hilton’s “Stars Are Blind” has stood up well as a dance club bop, but it’s not the reason we still remember her. Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” is the main reason we’re still talking about him, so it’s not exactly true to lump him into this category. But while he’s a rapper and singer, his music has often seemed secondary to a multimedia art project encompassing videos, his social media feed, and even stunts like limited-edition “Satan shoes” containing a drop of human blood. Those shoes didn’t seem intended merely to promote his song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” If anything, the song and shoes were on an equal footing, no pun intended. Lil Nas X made history by coming out in the middle of his historic 19-week run at number one with “Old Town Road.” His “7” ep felt rushed, leaping from genre to genre with no real sense of passion for any of them. “Old Town Road” proved more durable than its meme-rap origins suggested, but I didn’t expect him to have a career beyond it. “Mambo #5” and “Gangnam Style” were huge hits in their times, but do Lou Bega and PSY still have any audience in the US? When Lil Nas X came out, I thought that his open gayness would allow him to reach a second act. (On “One of Me,” he speaks from the voice of his critics to worry “I don’t see you lasting long and t...

LGBTQ-Friendly Senior Housing Complex Opens on Long Island

Long Island leaders held a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating what they described as “America’s first suburban” LGBTQ-friendly affordable senior housing complex and LGBTQ community cen... Show more

. The project, spearheaded by the LGBT Network, will feature 75 one and two-bedroom apartments and an 8,000-square-foot LGBTQ community center at 34 Park Avenue in Bay Shore, Long Island. The in-house LGBTQ center is slated to connect queer seniors with case management, health services, and other offerings. LGBT Network President and CEO David Kilmnick said the building fills a void for many LGBTQ seniors who often feel unsafe in other housing facilities. “When you think about someone who’s now in [their] 60s or 70s, saying that for the first time in their lives… they have a home where they can just be themselves — we need to do a lot more,” Kilmnick said. “Our elders, while being remarkably resilient, have faced a lifetime of stigma and discrimination.” Kilmnick noted that LGBTQ seniors experience marginalization in all areas of their life when compared to straight elders, including higher rates of poverty, mental health issues, and an overall lack of support. Earlier this year, a report from Advocacy and Services for LGBT Elders (SAGE) and AARP revealed that 17 percent of queer New Yorkers over the age of 50 are experiencing mental distress, and at least 13 percent are suffering from depression. The findings also highlighted that nearly half of bisexual older women and transgender older adults live at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line, while bisexual older men face similar poverty rates...

Men Charged in 2019 Murder of Lesbian Journalist Lyra McKee

Two men have been arrested and charged in connection to the killing of out lesbian journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot to death while covering a riot in Northern Ireland two years ago. ... Show more

Police Service of Northern Ireland apprehended the men, ranging from the ages of 19 to 33, on September 15 under the country’s Terrorist Act, authorities said, though the 19-year-old was released. The busts follow last year’s arrest of 53-year-old Paul McIntyre, who was charged with murdering McKee. Peter Géaroid Cavanagh, 33, and Jordan Devine, 21, were charged with murder as well as other charges, including possessing a weapon and ammunition with the intention of endangering life, rioting, possessing and throwing gasoline bombs, and arson, according to the BBC. Another individual, 20-year-old Joe Campbell, was charged with rioting and possessing and throwing petrol bombs, according to the BBC. Cavanagh, Devine, and Campbell were released on bail and are slated to appear in court again on October 7. Police in the Creggan area — on outskirts of Derry, or Londonberry — were searching for guns and explosives in April of 2019 after they suspected that the new IRA, a militant group, had planned terrorist attacks. The police were met with rioters who threw petrol bombs and set bombs on fire — and a masked gunman who was shooting at police wound up shooting McKee. “These arrests are the culmination of a detailed two-year investigation into Lyra’s murder and the events which preceded it,” Police Service of Northern Ireland Detective Superintendant Jason Murphy said in a written statement. “The local community...