June may be Pride Month, but October is LGBTQ+ History Month — an appropriate enough occasion for the 50th Iowa City Pride Festival, postponed 15 months due to COVID-19. Last Friday, Iowa City Pride shared the official lineup for their 2021 fest, taking place Oct. 1 and 2. Besides the shift to a fall date […]
LGBTQ
Posted inCommunity/News
Gov. Reynolds promises Iowa will ‘act as a counterweight’ to the Biden administration at rightwing Christian summit
Gov. Kim Reynolds began her speech at the Family Leadership Summit in Des Moines on Friday by explaining she had a cold. The cold affected her voice, but did nothing to diminish the enthusiasm she showed at the annual meeting of the right-wing Christian lobbying group the Family Leader (inexplicably stylized as THE FAMiLY LEADER), […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Bears bare all at this adult-only, LGBTQ-friendly campground in ‘middle of nowhere’ Iowa
Sloshed on Busch Light and a little sun-dazed after my first pool day in ages, it was 11 p.m. when I finally went to set up my tent at the L.V. Campground in Coggon, Iowa. My sister, two friends and I had rented a cabin ($135/night) — sturdy, spacious and best of all air-conditioned, with […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowans on the asexual spectrum face misconceptions, lack of visibility
By Alyssa Craven for IowaWatch Growing up, Noelie Boardman felt like there was something different about her. “As I hit puberty, I noticed a lot of people around me were getting into relationships and talking about sex, especially in high school,” Boardman, a 2021 Simpson College graduate, said. “That was just never a thing I […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Transgender Iowan sues to overturn state’s ban on Medicaid coverage for medically necessary procedures
A lawsuit challenging Iowa’s ban on allowing Medicaid to pay for gender-affirming procedures deemed necessary by a doctor was filed in Polk County District Court on Thursday by the ACLU of Iowa and the national ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project. The groups filed the lawsuit on behalf of Aiden Vasquez, a transgender resident of southeast […]
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘Farm Boy, City Girl’ by John “Gene” E. Dawson
John “Gene” E. Dawson’s memoir Farm Boy City Girl: From Gene to Miss Gina, A Memoir (MiRiona Publishing) blends personal narrative with the history of his family and the times in which he lived (1931-2020), chronicling his life as a genderfluid gay man coming of age in the changing cultural landscape of Iowa, St. Louis, […]
Posted inCOVID-19
During the HIV/AIDS epidemic, artists became activists. What will COVID inspire?
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. How do you measure, measure a year? In daylights, In sunsets, In midnights, In cups of coffee, In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife —“Seasons of Love,” Rent Jonathan Larson, who wrote the groundbreaking rock musical Rent, spent all of his time, money and effort creating this […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Oh, my god: University Lecture Committee to host Dan Levy in April
On Friday, April 9, Schitt’s Creek fans are invited to don their luxury garments, fold in the cheese, grab a stiff drink and ask thrice before tuning into a virtual event with show co-creator and star Dan Levy. The University Lecture Committee at the University of Iowa will present An Evening with Dan Levy at […]
Posted inDear Kiki
Dear Kiki: Is it wrong to fanboy for Kum & Go?
Dear Kiki, My boyfriend bought me a Kum and Gay Rights T-shirt and I called him a “Republican donor who supports big oil.” He tried to explain to me that $10 from every purchase goes to the Trevor Project and that the entire thing was set up by @justin_nick our favorite LGBTQIA+ gamer. I told […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘Blackness is many things’: Meka Jean breaks down the ‘partitions of identity’ in new visual LP
There’s a setting used in some of the ambient noise interstitial scenes between videos in Meka Jean’s “visual long play,” Still (a) Life, released at the end of January. It first appears between tracks two and three, “Distortion” and “Too Good for You.” It’s within the abandoned frame of a building, likely in Alabama, where […]
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘Sweeter Voices Still: An LGBTQ Anthology From Middle America’
The mythology of “the Heartland” (also called “Middle America” or the “flyover states”) is usually rooted in archaic abstractions such as “traditional family values” and conservative ideals. These parts of the American landscape are described as if they are closed off by narrow boundaries, with rigid attitudes imposed upon the diverse populations inhabiting them. As […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Trans, polysaturated: Mitchell Grauberger’s gender journey and polyamorous love story
“The line between friendship versus romantic attraction is very strange for me,” 24-year-old Mitchell Grauberger lamented. “I enjoy having, like, platonic cuddles with my friends. So where’s this line? Am I romantically attracted to you? Or am I just a friend?” Last February, Mitch managed to maneuver this gray area with a friend he’d met […]
