Me Time
I'm Doing Some Things
I have PC apps for WhatsApp, Signal, and Discord lined up on my taskbar. This is because I'm doing some things, or basically what I think I can do to resist the madness in which we find ourselves.
WhatsApp: I'm following messages from The Beacon, including a channel for my neighborhood, and logging on to their weekly Zoom meetings. The Beacon is the brainchild of my Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum (see article below in the News section). It's an interfaith effort to bring light and visibility both in opposition to what's going on and in favor of what we want to change. Beacon folks assemble each Thursday at 7pm (in each time zone) with signs that express their sentiments. So far the response has been positive. As The Beacon moves forward there'll be even more to do. To register and find out more about The Beacon, use this link: https://tinyurl.com/beaconmtg
Signal: My synagogue, CBST, has a rapid response channel in Signal alerting us to demonstrations and other actions we can join. I've done two things as part of the social justice work of CBST: I helped organize our Trans Day of Visibility Service on Fri Mar 28 by getting a guest speaker from Advocates for Trans Equality and I volunteered at our immigration clinic last week to help a refugee waiting for her asylum to be approved with an application for employment authorization.
Discord: The Sapphic Lit community is organizing. We've had two Zoom meetings and are now on Discord to plan our efforts. If you're interested in joining, email me at cindyrizzobooks@gmail.com and I'll hook you up.
I know a lot of people are doing whatever they can to meet the moment. And as Rabbi Kleinbaum always reminds us: "No one can do everything. But everyone can do something."
Photo above is a group from The Beacon holding signs in my neighborhood.
Sapphic Lit and Other Book Stuff
A Publisher Pulled a Romance Novel After Criticism From Early Readers - The New York Times
“I will also be listening more closely to our sensitivity readers and taking additional steps to educate myself on responsible storytelling.”
(1) What Does it Mean to be Cancelled in Book Publishing?
As much as publishers make business decisions about canceling books, authors must reflect on the material they are writing and ask themselves if it is worth digging their heels in to keep it. Indeed, authors can always find another home for their work, but at what cost to their reputation? It would be naïve to think readers won’t be reactive and even more naïve to think sales won’t suffer, no matter who the author finds to publish their canceled book.
NetGalley launches new consumer marketing platform Booktrovert
The website will launch in the US in Q2 2025, but publishers, authors and PR firms will be able to set up book giveaways and other public and private campaigns from early April, using a self-service interface.
Membership | Join the co-op bookstore for avid readers | Tertulia
A bookstore co-owned by readers
Tertulia is co-owned by our co-op members, a community of avid readers. This means that we put the interests of readers, authors, and a healthy book ecosystem first.
The Silent Bestseller: How Some Self-Published Books Thrive Without Viral Marketing | Jane Friedman
A book’s success isn’t just about how well it’s written. It’s also about where it lives online. The right category can make a world of difference, and making small adjustments to metadata, keywords, and book descriptions can help your book reach its ideal audience.
Teaching LGBTQ Themes: Should SCOTUS Allow Parent Opt-Outs? | TIME
We believe that people have a fundamental right to practice and express their faith, but not when it harms others. Allowing families to opt their children out of reading our books hurts the children whose lives and families are reflected in those books. “Opt-out” policies starkly communicate to classrooms of children that behaving decently to all human beings is optional and tells kids who are different that they and their families don’t merit the respect of all their classmates.
Roxane Gay explores the history and evolving mission of feminism - Windy City Times
her newest book, The Portable Feminist Reader, a timely, energizing and foundational collection of works from prescient feminist scholars of the past and thought-provoking voices of now. Featuring selected writings from Black lesbian feminist Audre Lorde, author and Evanston native Samantha Irby, transgender communist Leslie Feinberg and Chicana activist Cherríe Moraga, Gay compiles works touching on topics broadly ranging from prison abolition to queer identity, ecofeminism to immigrant experiences, all written through an LGBTQ+, anti-racist and feminist lens.
You Can Remove DRM From Your Digital Books, but It's Probably Illegal | Lifehacker
There should be a legal way to back up the books and audiobooks you've purchased.
Experiment: Night Pages - by Mark Danowsky - Stay Curious
If you write “Morning Pages”, I challenge you to flip your schedule, write “Night Pages”, and let me know how it goes.
News For A Challenging Time
Living Proud Abroad: Essential Tips for LGBTQ+ Expat - Tagg Magazine
Relocating to a new country is an exciting adventure, but for LGBTQ+ individuals, it comes with unique challenges.
Finding a welcoming environment, understanding legal protections, and building a supportive network are key factors in ensuring a fulfilling expat experience.
Whether you’re moving for work, love, or the thrill of exploring the world, this guide will help you navigate life abroad with confidence and pride.
Rosie O'Donnell Confirms Move to Ireland and If She Will Return to U.S.
"I was never someone who thought I would move to another country, that's what I decided would be the best for myself and my 12-year-old child. And here we are," she said.
Rosie O’Donnell wrote apology letter to Irish PM after his Trump meeting
“I just wanted him to know the history and what happened and why [Trump] seems to be out to get me in ways that are startling to most,” O’Donnell told Kielty.
How Trump Is Scrambling Washington, D.C.’s Plans for WorldPride 2025 | Them
LGBTQ+ organizers closely coordinate with federal partners and private sector sponsors to put on the event. But in the final weeks of planning, they’re shuffling locations for some events, worrying about the possibility of the celebration becoming weaponized and navigating hesitation from sponsors who organizers say are concerned about potential backlash from participating.
Germany, InterPride Issue LGBTQ Travel Advisories About United States
At least one foreign LGBTQ rights group has already pulled out of WorldPride to “safeguard our trans and nonbinary staff” from persecution by the U.S. governmen
San Francisco Pride Loses $300,000 After Sponsors Drop Out: “The Tone Has Changed in This Country” | Them
Suzanne Ford, the executive director of SF Pride, told KTVU she believes Trump's policies against DEI are the reason sponsors pulled out.
Trump Bans Over 290 Words, Including "Black," "Women," And "Trans" - GO Magazine
Some of the terms on Trump’s extensive list, like “racial justice,” “activism,” “transgender,” “non-binary,” “they/them,” and “LGBTQ+,” are in line with his administration’s ongoing anti-trans agenda and efforts to wipe out DEI initiatives. Others, like “belong,” “expression,” “victim,” and “women” seem harder to pin down, and even harder to enforce.
Regardless, over 250 government websites have already started to delete the terms from this list.
Trump administration struggles defending trans military ban
U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes, appointed by former President Joe Biden as the first LGBTQ+ judge on the D.C. District Court, pressed the Trump Justice Department attorney Jason Manion — a Federalist Society-affiliated lawyer and former special counsel to Republican Sen.Ted Cruz of Texas—on the administration’s claims that transgender service members pose medical or readiness risks. Manion stumbled through the entire hearing, appearing flatfooted, while plaintiffs’ attorneys, including GLAD Law’s Jennifer Levi and the National Center for Lesbian Rights’ Shannon Minter, spoke for less than five minutes in a session that began at 10:30 a.m. and concluded at 5 p.m.
NYC's Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum has a plan to protest Trump 2.0 - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Kleinbaum — rabbi emerita of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in Manhattan, New York’s flagship LGBTQ+ synagogue — is director of The Beacon, which since Jan. 20 has been holding weekly organizing and morale-building Zoom calls for Jews and others desperate to push back against a president they consider a despot. The Beacon’s first major action will take place on Thursday, March 20, at 7 p.m., when people are invited to gather wherever they live and hold up signs declaring “whatever we’re feeling in our souls in the face of this regime’s actions,” according to a release.
A spreadsheet offers suggestions for signs, from “I Stand With Our Immigrant Neighbors” to “Honk if You Love Ukraine” to “Trans Rights Are Human Rights.”
Can "The Drag Queen Test" explain why some local economies grow? - LGBTQ Nation
“It asks the following: How does the city treat its drag queens? Does it have nondiscrimination laws? Does it avoid restrictions on adult performance? Does it foster safe spaces for queer communities? Does it possess an ecosystem that supports queer talent and expression? Do local queens make it to RuPaul’s Drag Race, the televised pinnacle of the drag queen industry?”
Disney shareholders reject anti-DEI investor proposal
Disney shareholders overwhelmingly rejected an anti-DEI proposal calling for the entertainment giant to drop participation in an LGBTQ+ survey.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Issues Major Ruling in Support of LGBTQ Families - Mombian
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that a nongenetic, nongestational lesbian mother is a legal parent to the child she and her former spouse had planned for and conceived through assisted reproduction—and it asserts the principle of intent-based parentage, a big win for LGBTQ and other families formed via assisted reproduction.
LGBT Nightclub In Sacramento Bans All MAGA-Related Attire - GO Magazine
The new policy was announced after a patron showed up in a MAGA hat, making other guests uncomfortable.
California Woman Suspected of Killing Her Cal Fire Captain Wife Arrested in Mexico
homicide investigators are still working to determine the circumstances and motivation behind the death of Rebecca, a captain with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Culture and Joy
Amber Glenn Is Carving a New Path for Figure Skaters - The New York Times
If Ms. Glenn wins or even medals at Worlds, she will be the first openly L.G.B.T.Q. woman to do so in a sport whose female athletes largely tend to mold their likenesses to that of a cookie-cutter ice queen.
Jade Carey Has Two Gold Medals AND a Girlfriend! | Autostraddle
Jade Carey, member of the iconic “Golden Girls” US Women’s Gymnastics team, dropped a carousel with her girlfriend, Aimee Sinacola, director of creative content for the University of Oregon Ducks with a sweet and simple caption
The First Professional Women's Rugby League In The US Kicks Off This Saturday - GO Magazine
Professional women’s rugby is finally getting the recognition it deserves, meaning we’ll get to see more representation of women competing in sports at a professional level
LGBTQ Parenting Roundup: Women's Sports Edition - Mombian
Not only are these parents and athletes posting about their families, but their leagues are in many cases also doing so in a clear show of inclusion.
New Women’s Sports Bars Are Opening Everywhere From San Francisco to Omaha | Them
A new report from NBC news estimates that the number of women’s sports bars in the U.S. will quadruple in 2025.
The Best Lesbian Movie Make Outs of All Time | Autostraddle
Some of these scenes are hot, some of these scenes are sweet, and some of these scenes manage to achieve both. There are classic queer kisses, new favorites, and even some scenes I watched by googling “girls kissing” in the early days of YouTube long before I’d seen the films themselves.
Shannon Beveridge on Her Journey from Faceless Tumblr Blog to Lesbian Influencer — And Everything in Between | Them
The Exes & O’s podcast host gets real about lesbian breakups, representation, and moving beyond the drama.
Queer Creators Collection: Introducing Diana Carla Rowe - GO Magazine
“I think everything I create has to do with my Blackness and queerness … being queer and existing as a black queer person is an act of protest in itself.” She voiced that there is no other way for queer Black artists and queer artists of color to exist other than unapologetically and authentically.
Doechii: “I have always known that I loved women. I’ve been very, very aware from an early age”
The musician opens up about sobriety, her latest relationship, and the excitement of heading on her first global headline tour.
Chappell Roan Calls Country Music ‘Incredibly Camp’ After Releasing Single ‘The Giver’ | Teen Vogue
“I think I have a special relationship to where I'm from because of country music. So, to honor that part of myself by making a country song where it's like, you know what? I am gay. Yes, I am ultra-pop. Yes, I am a drag queen. You can also perform a country song.”
Chappell Roan on status of second album: 'We're so far away from that'
she explained that the concept of a “lesbian country song is really funny,” presumably because of the genre’s historic lack of queerness.
Lucy Dacus Confirms Long-Rumored Relationship With Bandmate Julien Baker | Them
Lucy Dacus has confirmed that she and her Boygenius bandmate, Julien Baker, are a couple.
JoJo Siwa Debuts Major Brunette Hair Transformation Alongside New Girlfriend — See Photos | Teen Vogue
Following her split from Dakayla Wilson, on February 14, 2025, JoJo Siwa attended the Australian premiere of Hadestown alongside her new rumored partner, Kath Ebbs,
Bella Ramsey Says They Were ‘Properly in Love’ Filming The Last of Us 2 | Teen Vogue
In their cover story interview with British Vogue, Bella Ramsey, who's famously reserved, admitted they were “properly in love” for the first time in their life during the filming of the show's long-anticipated season.
Reality Show ‘You Hauled’ Puts Single Lesbians Together in One Mansion
The show, which will live exclusively on YouTube, features a group of single lesbians moving into a mansion together, and it seems being paired off before deciding if they will “move in” or “move on.”
Selma Miriam, Founder of the Feminist Restaurant Bloodroot, Dies at 89 - The New York Times
She and Noel Furie had just come out as lesbians when they opened an unusual gathering place for women in Connecticut. Nearly half a century later, it is still thriving.
How Lesbians Made Duluth, Minnesota A Summer Travel Destination - GO Magazine
We came to the shores of Lake Superior, or Gitchee Gumi as its first inhabitants called the Great Lake, to experience serenity and a little bit of this big, little city’s arts, culture, and food.
Helpful Tools
Watch Out for Free Online File Converters That Are Actually Malware | Lifehacker
That free tool may have costly consequences.