Queer lit 2018-2023 edited 4/27 part 2

Progress in pop culture for the queer community has been overshadowed by political misfortunes, such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Drag Queen Storytimes have faced protests, but advocates argue they promote acceptance. Gender affirming care has been politically targeted, with Arkansas passing a ban that was later struck down. The Don't Say Gay Act in Florida restricts discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools. Heartstopper, a web cartoon and graphic novel, made strides in queer representation. World Pride in 2019 celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Moms for Liberty, an anti-LGBTQ group, gained attention. The Supreme Court's 2022 ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade, giving states the power to decide on abortion rights. Heartstopper? More like Stopped Progress. Progress in pop culture in recent years has brought new joy to the queer community, but was overall overshadowed by the overturning of Roe v. Wade and other political misfortunes. From 2018 to 2023, the queer community saw strides in pop culture such as the graphic novel and show Heartstopper and the Year of Pride in 2019, while also suffering from protests against Drag Story Hour and new policies such as Florida's Don't Say Gay Bill. Although the progress in pop culture has been made, more progress in lawmaking must be made even just to keep the rights that the queer community is currently afforded. Before we get into politics, I'm Brooke. And I'm Alex, and we're your podcasters today. We have three topics of politics to discuss today that happened during this time period, our first being a Drag Queen Storytime. One popular topic of conversation in recent years is how much children should be exposed to queer literature and the queer community. Drag Queen Storytimes, in particular, have come under much fire due to allegations of corrupting young children. These stories became an especially hot topic after the 2021 January 6th insurrection, according to a CBC News article titled, Drag Storytimes Have Become a Target of Hate, and Why Some Families Love Them Anyway. With drag queens most often doing these readings for young children in libraries and schools, parents became concerned about not knowing what their children were being exposed to. According to a 2023 Los Angeles Times article, how Drag Queen Story Hour became a battle over gender, sexuality, and kids, 141 protests about Drag Queen Storytimes and brunches took place in 2022, with lawmakers in 14 states suggesting outlawing public drag or drag in places where audience members may be under 18 years of age. According to the same article, these Drag Queen Storytimes had expanded into libraries and schools in almost every state by 2023, making the story times a topic of national debate. Advocates for these story times say that they are a fun and simple way to introduce children to topics like acceptance, especially because drag queens are known for their outstanding and engaging performances. They are also intended to provide a safe space for people to be their authentic selves. Those who advocate for the story times to continue say that the protests hinder the message, one of acceptance and inclusivity, according to the CBC News article stated earlier. Another prominent issue in politics during this period was gender affirming care, often referred to as transition related care. This was something intended to create positivity which came under political fire. Those who protest gender affirming care say that it should be outlawed for both children and adults, even though this care has also been designated as medically necessary, safe health care, backed by decades of research and supported by every major medical association, representing over 1.3 million U.S. doctors, according to the Human Rights Campaign website. Some protesters even go as far as to accuse parents who support their transgender children as committing, quote, child abuse. In 2021, Arkansas became the first state to, quote, ban gender affirming care for trans minors when lawmakers passed Act 626. Though this act was struck down by a federal judge according to a 2023 NPR article entitled First in the Nation Gender Affirming Care Ban Struck Down in Arkansas, the same article states that similar laws are also on hold in Alabama, Florida, and Indiana. While the fact that this law was created and passed is concerning, the blocking of it by a federal judge suggests some hope for the future of gender affirming care for those who are in need of it. The last political topic we wanted to discuss today is the Don't Say Gay Act. On July 1st, 2022, the Don't Say Gay Act took effect in Florida. This law would restrict, quote, discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools if they are, quote, deemed not age-appropriate, according to a Human Rights Watch article called Florida Advances Don't Say Gay Bill. However, this opened up a national discussion for topics such as when children are considered ready to deal with information about sexuality and gender identities and who decides what is and isn't considered appropriate. This bill also discourages schools from being safe spaces, as it would require teachers and counselors to report changes in children's behavior to their parents. In fact, schools would be required to use pronouns consistent with a student's gender assigned at birth, which could actively cause discomfort to students who identify differently from their gender assigned at birth. By introducing this bill, Florida is setting a precedent for intolerance that might be followed across the country. Moving into pop culture now, we get to talk about the web cartoon, graphic novels, and Netflix show called Heartstopper. Created by Alice Oseman, who uses she-they pronouns, the story follows two British boys and their friends through a journey of queer discovery, incorporating different sexual and gender identities. While Oseman first published the comic online in 2016, it really took off when it was published in graphical novel form in 2018, gaining enough popularity to become a Netflix show and earn a spot in the Netflix Top Ten in 2022, according to the New York Times article, They Put the Heart in Heartstoppers. Heartstopper made cultural strides by being one of the first pieces of queer literature to depict a queer relationship with very little hindrances, at least in comparison to previous literature. Heartstopper became a comfort show for its depiction of a mostly wholesome, fluffy queer romance. This show was also praised for its depiction of an asexual character, Isaac, in the second season, one of the first asexual characters in television. Oseman herself identifies as asexual and aromantic, and they noticed the power of, quote, having people off screen who have similar backgrounds as the characters on screen, end quote. According to an article from the Daily 49er called, Heartstopper takes the cake for the best asexual representation. The year after the first Heartstopper graphic novel was published in 2019 was designated a year of pride by NYC and Company. 2019 also marked the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and the first year that World Pride was held in the United States. The CNN article, Marchers and crowds flood NYC streets to celebrate World Pride. Many different events took place across New York City for World Pride in June 2019, including an initiative to have artists create 50 murals alongside hosting rallies, lectures, parties, film screenings, conferences, panels, and concerts, according to Instinct Magazine's article, World Pride and Not Just Something Truly Spectacular. According to a CNN article stated earlier, there were tens of thousands of people who flocked to downtown Manhattan from across the country and around the world for the first World Pride celebration in the United States. Organizers also stated that more than 150 groups from outside the United States participated in the parade. Overall, New York's World Pride had a great turnout and provided a hopeful and celebratory solidarity for the queer community. Lastly for pop culture, we want to talk about Moms for Liberty. Moms for Liberty was unfortunately a step in the wrong direction for queer culture. This group founded in 2021 by Tiffany Justice, Tina Descovich, and Bridget Ziegler was originally established to, quote, combat controversial COVID-19 safety measures in school, mostly centered around masking. According to a Southern Poverty Law Center article entitled Moms for Liberty. However, it, quote, quickly expanded from there to an extreme stance on what it considers the indoctrination and sexualization of children through gender identity, the acceptance of the LGBTQ community. The Moms for Liberty website designates their mission statement as, quote, dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating, and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government, end quote. Seemingly innocuous enough. However, the group was labeled an anti-government extremist group by SPLC, Southern Poverty Law Center, and other organizations. The idea which most likely landed Moms for Liberty in this category was the idea that certain books should be banned from schools, a policy which could be considered to infringe upon First Amendment free speech rights. Now getting into our spotlight story. Roe v. Wade was a landmark Supreme Court case in 1973. This case set the precedent of an individual's right to decide whether or not to terminate a pregnancy in accordance with the 14th Amendment to privacy. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights website, quote, after Roe, and up until its decision to overturn Roe in 2022, the Supreme Court repeatedly reaffirmed that the Constitution protects for abortion as an essential liberty, which is tied to other liberty rights to make personal decisions about family relationships and bodily autonomy, end quote. In 2022, the Supreme Court decided that the federal government provides no right to abortion, overturning the decision of Roe v. Wade after 50 years. This ruling for the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, a case that will forever be marked in the minds of Americans as the first time that the Supreme Court has ever taken away a right which was previously granted. Via the 2022 decision, the ability to decide whether or not an individual had the right to an abortion was passed down to the states. Several states had trigger laws set to ban access to abortions as soon as the ruling was passed, while other states had laws set to go into effect at a later date. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights website, 14 states have made abortion completely illegal, and 16 more states have restricted access to or no protection of abortion rights as of April 25, 2024. You may be wondering, how does this have to do with anything with queer history? Well, one way that these things are related is by LGBTQ women statistically seeking abortions at higher rates than their heterosexual peers via an article from GLAAD entitled Media Guide, Abortion as an LGBTQ Issue. You may also recall that Roe v. Wade is tied to other liberty rights to make personal decisions about family relationships and bodily autonomy. Many rights that queer people have gained have been on the basis of this Supreme Court case. A particularly concerning statement by one of the current Supreme Court judges suggested that the overturning of Roe v. Wade was a method to access the overturning of other landmark Supreme Court cases. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas released a concurring statement with the Roe v. Wade decision saying that, quote, should reconsider all of this court's substantive due process precedents, including Obergefell. Also saying, we have a duty to, quote, correct the error established in those precedents. This quotes according to Forbes article, Representation Matters, the Impact of Overturning Roe v. Wade on LGBTQ Rights. This statement directly confirms fears of the queer community that their rights may soon come under fire or even be completely overturned in the same manner that Roe v. Wade was. If SCOTUS continues to revert federal protection of rights that were previously ruled protected by the 9th and 14th Amendments, it's up to individual states and local lawmakers to protect those rights, which in many states isn't likely. That's all for today. Thank you so much for joining us to recap these critical moments of recent queer history.