Quickies: LGBTQ School-to-Prison Pipeline, “Once Upon a Time” Gets Gay, London’s Female Drag Queens

• “Helping Queer Youth Affected by the School-to-Prison Pipeline” – “In just over a decade, the school-to-prison pipeline has transformed from an unknown education issue into a national movement… Today, LGBT youth make up only 6 percent of the general population but represent 15 percent of people currently in juvenile detention.”
• Swyer Syndrome Makes Puberty Difficult for These Intersex Teens – About 1 in 80,000 people are born with Swyer Syndrome, in which an infant of outward female appearance actually has XY chromosomes and undeveloped gonads. They exhibit a mixture of male and female traits growing up, and generally don’t learn of their condition until they’re in their teens.
• “Disney Store Removes Gender Divide from 2015 Halloween Costume Collection” – “Now, all of the costumes are listed together and labeled simply as “for Kids.” We’ve got “Cinderella Deluxe Costume for Kids,” “Ultimate Spider-Man Costume for Kids” and many more, completely removing the gender bar and allowing the kids to pick and choose as they please, free from influence.”
• Once Upon a Time gets Same-Sex Relationship – Season 5 of the ABC show will feature a relationship between Mulan and Aurora, in an attempt to reflect the shows wider audience.
• Gay Masculinity Featured in Every Breath We Draw – “Every Breath We Draw is a striking collection of images from photographer Jess Dugan, who sought out subjects that exhibit, in her words, a form of ‘gentle masculinity.’ Through this work, Dugan complicates traditional notions of masculinity by photographing individuals in intimate spaces as meaningful exchanges took place.”
• “Fuck Raw” PrEP Posters Attract Criticism – The posters went up in Australia, where PrEP is not yet approved for Therapeutic Goods Administration and is thus not widely available to Australians. When used correctly PrEP has been shown effective in preventing the user from contracting HIV, but it does not prevent against other STIs.
• “Warnings issued over ‘super-gonorrhoea’ outbreak across England” – “There have been fifteen cases detected since March by Public Health England (PHE), according to the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV… So far all cases have affected straight patients, some of who have had sexual partners from further afield, but regular strains of the bacteria disproportionately affect the gay community in the UK.”
• “Meet Silas Howard, The First Trans Director Hired On Amazon’s ‘Transparent‘” – [Warning: Autoplay] – HuffPost Live interviews Howard about working with the Transparent team.
• “Homophobe silenced in ‘most Scottish way possible’” – Watch a homophobic street preacher have his screed drowned out when a lone bagpipe player playing “Scotland the Brave.”
• London’s Female Drag Queens: Don’t Call us Faux Queens – [Warning: Autoplay] Women are taking up the art of performing exaggerated femininity, making a space for themselves in a traditionally male art form.
• “South Park Takes on PC Police, Caitlyn Jenner’s “Heroism” in Season Premiere” – “Promotional coverage of the premiere, “Stunning and Brave,” promised riffs on Caitlyn Jenner and besmirched quarterback Tom Brady—riffs that were indeed forthcoming—but the episode also had a larger target: an overzealous PC culture that think pieces now regularly warn is ruining the world, online or otherwise. And, impressively for a show that depends on transgressive humor for much of its success, South Parkactually did a nuanced, precise, and above all funny job in its critique of the dreaded PC police.”

Featured image via Jack Rowland/ABC