• ELIXHER
• On September 12, 2014

Holy Diversity, Batman!

It’s no secret the superhero genre is practically overflowing with queer metaphors. Characters struggle with secret identities; mutants are despised by society because they are born different. However, viewers of Gotham — the new TV series from Fox based on the world of Batman long before he donned the cape and cowl — won’t need the detective skills of the Dark Knight to find LGBT visibility or racial diversity. In this reimagining, women of color are depicted in positions of power on both sides of the law, and strong LGBT characters are an essential part of the story from the first episode.

Continue reading on Advocate.

Root 100 Recognizes African-American LGBT Luminaries

There are several LGBT honorees on this year’s Root 100, a list of influential African-Americans published annually by website The Root.

Among this year’s honorees are trans author, activist, and journalist Janet Mock; Orange Is the New Black star and Emmy nominee Laverne Cox; Rashad Robinson, a gay man who is executive director of Color of Change, an organization dedicated to “strengthening the political voice of Black America”; and New York Times columnist Charles Blow, who has written about his attraction to both men and women but expressed discomfort with the term “bisexual.” The list honors “standout black leaders, innovators and culture shapers” age 45 and younger, according to The Root.

Also on Advocate.

Supreme Court Adds Gay Marriage To Sept. 29 Agenda

he Supreme Court has formally added gay marriage cases to the justices’ agenda for their closed-door conference on Sept. 29.

The action Wednesday does not mean that the court will decide that day to hear state appeals of lower court rulings that struck down bans on same-sex marriage. But the late September conference will be the first time the justices have the issue before them. The meeting will be the justices’ first since late June.

Read more over at the Huffington Post.

Black, Queer and in Vogue

Photographer Gerard Gaskin’s 2013 book, “Legendary: Inside the House Ballroom Scene,” chronicles the New York City ballroom scene itself with intimate portraits he began recording in 1994, not long after the balls first poked into broader view through the 1990 documentary “Paris Is Burning.” Filmmaker Jennie Livingston’s documentary itself frustrated many within the scene, Gaskin included. “I’ve always kind of battled with the idea of whites coming in to do a documentary and their point of view being the strongest,” Gaskin says.

Like many others, Gaskin was drawn to the balls as a teenager living in New York City. He began by making portraints of his friends, and just kept going for decades. “I try not to have discussions around, ‘Oh, it’s an important study and all that,’” he says, rejecting the detachment that too often comes with studying things. Rather, Gaskin kept the project going because he loved being at balls. It’s the opening moments that get him. “The toughness and the rawness that the outside world has put on these young people—parents who threw them out, the word faggot, all those ills, all of that stuff—just peels away and they’re mini-celebrities in their own space. That energy is amazing.”

Continue reading at Colorlines.