NewNowNext's Best Features of 2019
A trans synth-pop pioneer. A Brooklyn-based queer burlesque troupe. A mass exodus at America's leading transgender advocacy group.
These are just some of the topics NewNowNext tackled in 2019. Ranging in tone from serious to light-hearted, these original stories proved that our writers have the range to explore all facets of the LGBTQ community.
Below, find 15 of the best reported features published on NewNowNext this year.
"The magnitude of [Wendy Carlos' coming-out announcement] then is difficult to overstate. In 2019, in an era when trans issues are addressed explicitly by presidential hopefuls on the Democratic Party debate stage, an industry pioneer coming out in a mainstream magazine is cause for celebration. In 1970s America, it was not only unheard-of, but a potentially career-ending move (not to mention dangerous)."
"'It seemed like they were really trying to push people to take the severance package, so it was like, Okay, what kind of organization is going to be left?'"
"'He wasn’t sick; he wasn’t ill. He had just ridden his horse the day before. We had lunch 20 minutes before he collapsed in my arms. I mean, in a weird way, I think his time was up.'"
"The Dick Stays in the Picture: HBO’s Long History of Full-Frontal Penis" by Lester Fabian Brathwaite
"The thing is, male nudity can serve a dramatic purpose, but unlike female nudity, it’s used equally for comedic effect. A naked woman is rarely the butt of a joke—she is meant to be a figure of desire, regardless of her own agency, if she has any—whereas a naked man can often be threatening, sometimes be vulnerable, and very frequently (intentionally or not) be hilarious."
"Boys Don’t Cry Turns 20: Kimberly Peirce on Her Battle to Make a Controversial Trans Classic" by Steven Blum
"[Boys Don't Cry] tells the real-life story of a trans man named Brandon Teena, who was sexually assaulted and murdered in 1993. Its legacy has been a point of contention: Some trans people object to the fact that Hilary Swank, a cis actress who won an Oscar for her performance, plays Brandon, while others find its brutal violence—including a graphic rape scene—too much to bear."
"Why There’s No Black History Without Queer History" by Arkee Escalera
"History, regardless of whether it’s LGBTQ or black history, will be taught in a way that makes the majority comfortable. This is likely why many cis heterosexual black people don’t want to acknowledge the achievements of black queer people: Queerness makes them feel uncomfortable."
"Cibola County Correctional Center operates ICE’s only transgender pod, which can house up to 60 transgender women at a time. Cibola, run by private prison contractor CoreCivic, has been under fire since May of 2018, when Roxsana Hernández, a Honduran asylum-seeker, died in custody from complications related to dehydration, pneumonia, and HIV. An independent autopsy showed she suffered abuse in custody."
"How Drag Collective Switch n' Play Are Redefining Chosen Family" by Jason Lamphier (Photos by Matt Monath)
"The troupe—Divina, 'femmecee' Miss Malice, trans drag king K.James, drag/burlesque 'queerdo' Nyx Nocturne, drag artist Pearl Harbor, nonbinary drag king Vigor Mortis, and snake charmer-stage kitten Zoe Ziegfeld—may share a common goal of producing the most outrageous show in the city, but their lewd, unhinged theatrics have led them to real-life epiphanies. Their bonds transcend the work."
"'I would love to play more cis roles, more trans roles, and roles without any gender. Trans actors, gender nonconforming actors, gay actors, all of us should be considered for any type of role, because we shouldn’t be boxed into any one thing.'"
"The Importance of Being Ernestine Eckstein, Pioneer in the Early Gay Rights Movement" by Lester Fabian Brathwaite
"Though she did not regard herself as radical, being black, gay, and a woman, Eckstein existed at the nexus of three struggles for liberation and equality that were happening concurrently. Eckstein’s vision for the homophile movement was thus more, as we’d call it today, intersectional."
"Like a surreal version of a daytime talk show, an official with the American consulate in Toronto began asking the couple invasive questions about their children’s paternity: How were they conceived? Who is the father? At that time, no one knew the answer but Elad and Andrew. They used a different sperm for each egg—Elad’s for Ethan, and Andrew’s for Aiden. Because Ethan isn’t Andrew’s biological son, he was denied citizenship."
"SCOTUS Is Debating LGBTQ Protections on a National Scale. But What About State Laws?" by Jeff Taylor and Kate Sosin
"Greg Nevins, senior counsel and employment fairness project director at Lambda Legal, uses the example of a person fired in Florida. While the Sunshine State doesn’t have LGBTQ anti-discrimination protections on the books, it does have a ruling that interprets Title VII to cover LGBTQ people. In a world where that ruling is considered moot, the legal strategy changes."
"Why These Gay Men Hate Their Big D*cks" by Bobby Box
"'They will either take my dick and then ghost me, or absolutely worship it, which drives me more insane,' Brad continues. 'When guys take it to the extreme–talking about my dick, looking at my dick, or making it their phone background (yes, that’s happened)– it can become too much pressure to perform. I don’t want to disappoint.'"
"Maurice Hines Has Been in Showbiz for 70 Years. He’s Spent None of Them in the Closet." by Carla Hay
"Long before Billy Porter and Tituss Burgess found fame on Broadway and on TV, multitalented entertainer Maurice Hines Jr. helped pave the way for fabulous, openly gay black men in showbiz."
"We Surveyed Conversion Therapy Protections in America’s Largest Cities. The Results Are Shocking." by Nico Lang
"Even as state and local legislatures across the U.S. make enormous progress on the issue, queer and transgender youth remain vulnerable to conversion therapy in the majority of America’s largest cities."
