As Trump Passes His 100th Day in Office, Can We Compartmentalize the B.S. and Enjoy Summer?
Spencer Macnaughton | Uncloseted Media Weekly Newsletter
As Trump marked his 100th day in office this week, I kept thinking, “I’m exhausted.” Leading an LGBTQ-focused news organization has been stressful, intense, rewarding and tiresome. Would I change anything? Absolutely not.
But dealing with the relentless and unprecedented attacks against the LGBTQ community by the Trump administration has been challenging. I’ve felt more emotional than usual, cried a few times and wanted to quit once or twice (well, not really).
Doing LGBTQ journalism in Trump 2.0 is a sprint and a marathon—sprinting to make the deadline with accurate and rigorous storytelling while running at pace with a nonstop news cycle that demands truth and immediacy.
And even when you feel like you’ve published the perfect story, people from all walks of life are pissed.
But at risk of being overly cheesy, I’m damn grateful this week.
I’m grateful for the bullpen of young, hungry and incisive journalists who work tirelessly to bring you what I believe is bulletproof journalism. I’m grateful for my advisory board for helping with everything from our World Pride footprint to fundraising to newsroom standards. And I’m grateful for my family, friends and boyfriend (God bless Sean!).
As we pass POTUS’s 100th day and veer into spring, I hope everyone, including myself, can compartmentalize the apocalyptic pressure cooker of living in the U.S. right now. I hope we find ways to distract ourselves from the political bullsh*t and enjoy a long, hot, American summer filled with poolside margaritas, patios, long walks, hangs with no electronics and meaningful connections with new and old friends.
Let’s enjoy! And as my favorite Toronto drag queen, Jada Shada Hudson, loves to say, “Let’s Turn Up!”
Kennedy Center Cancels Week of Events Celebrating LGBTQ Rights (CBS News)
Organizers and the Kennedy Center have canceled a week's worth of events celebrating LGBTQ+ rights for this summer's World Pride festival in Washington, D.C., amid a shift in priorities and the ousting of leadership at one of the nation's premier cultural institutions.
Texas Students Say K-12 DEI Ban and Other Anti-LGBTQ+ Bills Threaten Their Safety, Voice and Mental Health (The Texas Tribune)
Students are concerned the legislation could silence supportive teachers, dismantle safe spaces, lead to overenforcement and prevent honest conversations about identity.
The Government Suggests Defunding the 988 Suicide Hotline for LGBTQ+ Youth (NPR)
Democrats Reintroduce Landmark LGBTQ Nondiscrimination Bill (NewsNation)
House and Senate Democrats on Tuesday reintroduced the Equality Act, a landmark civil rights bill that would make sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes.
‘Hetero Awesome Fest’ To Be Held Near Idaho Capitol During Pride (The Hill)
This week marked 100 days of Trump’s second term—and eight months of Uncloseted Media. In that time, we’ve seen an alarming rollback of LGBTQ rights: trans military bans, erasure of trans and nonbinary identities in federal policy, attacks on inclusive education, and a broader assault on press freedom, including lawsuits against major news outlets. Journalism is under threat. LGBTQ journalism is under siege. That’s why Uncloseted Media exists: to provide fearless, nonpartisan, LGBTQ-focused accountability journalism.
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Over the next week, be on the lookout for new Uncloseted reporting:
🆕 LifeWise Academy is a rapidly growing evangelical Christian program that takes kids out of their public schools to teach them Biblical principles. This includes ideas that sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman is sinful and that transgender people don’t exist. The result? Misinformed children who ostracize and bully their peers who are perceived to sin. Tom Sayers investigates the Academy, which is now offered in at least 591 American schools.
🆕 For many transgender Americans, changing their voice to match their gender identity may require testosterone, voice coaching and hours of practice. Transgender musician Bells Larsen did all of the above. And his new album meshes his voice pre- and post-transition to tell the story of transformation. But what’s it like to actually have your voice change as a transgender person? Sharla Steinman has the story.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to email me with questions, complaints and story ideas!
Spencer Macnaughton, Editor-In-Chief — spencer@unclosetedmedia.com
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