Compiled by Dylan Fee
“Nearly one-in-five American women ends her childbearing years without having borne a child, compared with one-in-ten in the 1970s. While childlessness has risen for all racial and ethnic groups, and most education levels, it has fallen over the past decade for women with advanced degrees.” –PEW Research Center
The Advocate reported that Thailand will be the first Southeast Asian country to make same-sex marriage legal. In a 130-4 senatorial decision and guaranteed approval from the monarch, the bill should pass within the next 120 days. “The marriage equality bill was supported by all the major parties and marks a significant step in cementing the country’s reputation as one of the friendliest in the region toward gay, lesbian and transgender people.” [Bi folks, too, one hopes!]
Nonbinary representation in the government is at a record high with 52 nonbinary government officials nationwide, The Advocate reported. Nonbinary state representatives Sam Montaño of Massachusetts, Alicia Koslowski of Minnesota, Mauree Turner of Oklahoma, and DeShanna Neal of Delaware are a few examples. This is a rise from last year by 69.7%. However, the number of transgender representatives has decreased by 6% in the past year.
A new spirit of hope and joy has seized the Democratic Party since Vice President Kamala Harris has become its candidate for President. At the Chicago Convention, the party united around the ticket and prepared for the campaign. Queer convention highlights included Secretary Pete Buttegieg challenging J.D. Vance’s statement that childless people don’t have skin in the game by speaking of his service to the country when he was single. Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel asserted to Republicans and the Supreme Court, “You can pry this wedding ring off my cold dead gay hand.” Plus, the candidate for Veep, Tim Walz, was a high school coach who was also the staff advisor to the GSA! We’re not going back!
Those of you who watched any of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics probably witnessed some amazing queer athletes competing for and winning medals! PinkNews reports that Team LGBTQ+ (all of the publicly out LGBTQ+ athletes combined from different nations) came in 7th place in medals at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. These athletes achieved 15 gold medals, 13 silver medals, and 14 bronze medals! HRC counted at least 29 out athletes on Team USA, and we know there are others who may not feel safe enough to come out yet. A huge congratulations to the American bisexual athletes who won medals in Paris: Sha’Carri Richardson (at right) won a silver in the 100 meter and a gold in the 4×100 meter relay, Haleigh Washington won a silver in team volleyball, and Evy Leibfarth won the bronze in slalom canoeing. Sorry if we missed anyone!
A new law in Utah led to the closing of LGBTQ+ centers at many of their public universities. This law, known as the anti-DEI 261, bans public universities from “discriminating” against people with certain identifiers which includes sexual orientation and gender. While it is not explicitly stated in the bill to close identity centers, many universities—such as Utah State University, Utah Tech University, Utah Valley University and University of Utah—have closed their centers for fear of repercussions. Some of these universities have tried to reconfigure their identity centers into other programs.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, bisexual and transgender adults report loneliness twice as often as straight adults. Their 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System found “56.7 percent of bisexual adults and 56.4% to 63.9% of transgender adults reporting lack of social and emotional support.” This is in comparison to around 30% of straight adults reporting in the same surveillance system.
Casey McQuiston, a New York Times best-selling author, known for her novel Red, White, and Royal Blue, has come out with a bisexual rom-com called The Pairing. “The book tells the love story of Theo and Kit, best friends who became what seemed like the perfect bi-for-bi couple, until they broke up during a transatlantic flight to a European food and wine tour. Years later, with their nonrefundable tour vouchers about to expire, they accidentally book their ‘I’m totally over you’ solo trips at the same time and are stuck together with a busload of tourists and a hot Italian guide for three weeks.”