LGBTQ

Novelist Alex Myers came out as transgender in the mid-90s, when society's understanding of what it means to be transgender was less clear than it is today. 

In his new novel, "Continental Divide," Myers writes about 19-year-old Ron, who was born female, and grew up in Tamworth, New Hampshire. Ron decides to reinvent himself as a man by moving west to work on a ranch in Wyoming. Alex Myers is an English teacher at Philips Exeter Academy. NHPR's Peter Biello stopped by his classroom earlier this week to talk about "Continental Divide," and the challenge of coming out as transgender. 

An exhibit that opened last Friday at the Portsmouth Athenaeum's Randall Gallery celebrates LGBT history on New Hampshire's Seacoast. The founder of the Seacoast LGBT History Project, Tom Kaufhold, worked for four years to collect mementos, posters, and artwork from the community. Kaufhold spoke with NHPR's Peter Biello about the exhibit, which runs through July 6.

The title of this exhibit is "Seacoast LGBT History: 50 years of Rainbow Reflections." Why focus on 50 years?

Sometimes, the clothes hanging in the closet hold dreams about who we could become.

Claremont's first-ever LGBTQ Pride celebration, called Rural Pride, drew visitors from throughout Sullivan County and beyond on Saturday. NHPR's Savannah Maher stopped by and sent us this audio postcard.

Barbara Follett had done more by the age of 25 than many will do in their lifetime. Including vanishing. Today on the show, the disappearance of an American prodigy... and how we forgot her. Plus, the rediscovery of the first known published African American in the country -- a woman from New Hampshire -- and how one woman figured out how to bring LGBTQ pride back to Concord year after year.

Tony Strat stands in the grass outside his screen-printing studio in the Upper Valley, washing the ink off of used screens with a hose. Even though he’s scrubbed the screens down, shadows of  designs he’s printed are still visible. “Gender is a social construct,” one of them reads.

Strat, 26, is an artist, entrepreneur and athlete. He’s worked in finance and started his own skateboarding company. He's also transgender. He started his transition process last year.

The Bookshelf from NHPR is New Hampshire Public Radio's series on authors and books with ties to the Granite State.  All Things Considered host Peter Biello features authors, covers literary events and publishing trends, and gets recommendations from each guest on what books listeners might want to add to their own bookshelves. If you have an author or book you think we should profile on The Bookshelf, send us an email. The address is books@nhpr.org.

The Log Cabin Republicans have long had a national presence, and now they have a New Hampshire chapter. The group of conservative supporters of LGBT rights formed last month and will hold a launch event on Friday at 5:30pm at the One Hundred Club in Portsmouth, during which Governor Chris Sununu is scheduled to speak. It’s an effort, they say, to show that the Republican party is unified.

Emily Heath is Senior Pastor at the Congregational Church in Exeter, and she recently returned from a trip to her hometown, Orlando. She was among five New England responders to provide what she calls “spiritual first aid” to people dealing with trauma from the shooting. Pastor Emily joined NHPR’s Peter Biello to discuss her experience.

So what was it like to be there, on the ground with those folks, helping them out?

Methodists from churches all over New England met last week at the New England Methodist Conference in Manchester. At that conference, they passed a resolution that attempts to make the broader church more inclusive for LGBTQIA people. It’s a decision that may have deeper resonance now after the attack at a gay nightclub in Orlando last week. Beth DiCocco is spokesperson for the New England Conference and she joined NHPR’s Peter Biello to discuss this resolution.

What is the Methodist Church's position on homosexuality?

The Obama administration's recent directive addressing the use of school bathrooms and other facilities by transgender students heightened a debate playing out in several states over so-called bathroom bills and transgender rights.  We'll look at how New Hampshire schools and communities are responding.

Since World War II, as many as 100,000 service members have been “less than honorably discharged” for being gay. Now, four years after the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” gay vets look to change the record. Today, what goes into rewriting history. And prior to the Civil War, images of battle were the stuff of legends and mystery – then came the photographs of Alexander Gardner. Plus, other stories about our nation’s veterans. 

Since World War II, as many as 100,000 service members have been “less than honorably discharged” for being gay. Now, four years after the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” gay vets look to change the record. Today, what goes into rewriting history. Then, forgery in the art industry is not rare -- but a con artist who has been caught and never sent to jail is. We’ll speak to the directors of a film that looks inside the mind of the mischievous shut-in and skilled artist who donated masterful forgeries to more than 46 museums. 

While most have long been familiar with the L, G, and B of LGBT, many still don’t know much about the T: transgender. Individuals who are transgender are not comfortable with the gender they were assigned at birth and come to identify as another. We look at the youngest making this transition: kids under eighteen, and the challenges that they face.

Surgery requires years of education, steady hands, extreme confidence, and…kindness? Today we ask: when it comes to being a good surgeon, does bedside manner matter? Then, we head into the OR to find out what some surgeons listen to while their patients are under the knife. Plus, how some European hospitals are harnessing beagles’ sense of smell to detect superbugs. And, one game designer has come up with a simulator which allows players to experience what it’s like coming out to your parents.

Listen to the full show and Read more for individual segments.

Yesterday, Pope Francis gave a spontaneous and startling frank press conference on a plane ride following his week-long trip to Brazil. In response to a question about gay priests, he said: “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”

This stands in stark contrast to the views of his predecessor, Pope Benedict, who publicly and repeatedly stated that gay relationships were “evil” and “contrary to natural order.”

Here to talk about what might some are saying is a monumental shift for the LGBT community and the Catholic Church is Joe Jervis, the blogger behind “Joe. My. God.”, which covers LGBT issues, the media, and politics.

Recently, the Williams Institute published the largest single study investigating the U.S. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer population.