National
USAID to designate coordinator for LGBT issues overseas
Agency announces creation of new position, committee
A top official with the U.S. Agency for International Development announced on Monday a senior coordinator would soon be named to guide the administrative division on LGBT issues overseas.
Donald Steinberg, USAID’s deputy administrator, unveiled plans to create the new position during a panel discussion in which officials discussed ways the State Department was integrating LGBT concerns abroad as part of U.S. foreign policy.
“In order to highlight these concerns, we’re pleased to announce that USAID will shortly name a senior coordinator for sexual orientation and gender identity who will be responsible for advising the USAID administrator on this agenda,” Steinberg said.
USAID is an agency under the State Department charged with fostering the growth of developing countries as well as supporting U.S. foreign policy objectives by promoting global health and democracy abroad.
Steinberg said USAID has integrated “four pillars” as part of its mission to address LGBT issues overseas, including working to enhance the political, social and economic development of LGBT people; ensuring that the LGBT community is part of overseas development; and promoting social and legal equality for LGBT people.
In addition to announcing that a senior official for LGBT issues would soon be named, Steinberg said USAID would create a new policy committee to facilitate the integration of LGBT issues into the agency’s work.
“We’re establishing an agency policy coordinating committee to perform such functions as information and knowledge exchange, consensus building, sharing and documenting of best practices and advising on policy and strategy gaps,” Steinberg said.
The new committee, Steinberg added, would begin with a “landscape analysis” to evaluate where USAID stands with the four pillars he previously described and the agency’s foreign development assistance strategy.
Steinberg offered limited details on the creation of the new position and new committee. USAID didn’t respond in time for this posting to offer more information on the change.
Mark Bromley, chair of the Council for Global Equality, said the creation of a dedicated staff position for LGBT issues is “significant” because USAID has had success with focusing efforts in other areas, such as issues involving the disabled.
“The lessons learned from that effort show the importance of dedicated funding, dedicated planning guidelines and dedicated staff,” Bromley said. “It is important to see that USAID has taken the first step of staffing up this new work to support he rights and development potential of LGBT communities as well.”
National
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
Designer/activist wins for work on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
It was a historic night at the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday as Queen Jean won the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, making her the first out transgender person to win a Tony.
“This experience has been monumental. We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,” she said. “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm. So I just want to say, thank you all so much for this incredible honor. The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
She won the award for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and was also nominated for best costume design of a play for “Liberation.”
In addition to her stage work, Queen Jean is the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people in New York City.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
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