Pennsylvania Democrats are looking to remove sex from birth certificates all together, Janet Jackson the documentary drops on Friday & Pronouns are coming to The Sims 4 – Wednesday, January 26, 2021

Pennsylvania Democrats are looking to remove sex from birth certificates all together, Janet Jackson the documentary drops on Friday & Pronouns are coming to The Sims 4 – Wednesday, January 26, 2021

Four Democrats out of Pennsylvania  are looking to introduce bills that reduce harm for our trans siblings. Janet Jackson’s long awaited documentary drops Friday & The Sims 4 is going to let you assign pronouns to your characters.

00:00 – Welcome & Intro

00:23 – The Qube Ad

00:47 – Intro Music

01:27 – Four Democrats out of Pennsylvania  are looking to introduce bills that reduce harm for our trans siblings

03:09 – Janet Jackson’s long awaited documentary drops Friday

05:54 – The Sims 4 is going to let you assign pronouns to your characters

07:24 – Anna’s Got A W

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Family, this is your favorite queer radio personality Anna DeShawn here with our queer news from today.

Four Democrats out of Pennsylvania  are looking to introduce bills that reduce harm for our trans siblings. Janet Jackson’s long awaited documentary drops Friday & The Sims 4 is going to let you assign pronouns to your characters. 

Our leading story for today is coming out of Pennsylvania. Four democrats there are proposing some new bills to protect individual privacy and prevent discrimination for transgender individuals, who often face many layers of bureaucracy when attempting to transition. Pretty dope, right. The four democrats, Tim Kearney, Amanda Cappelletti, Katie Muth and Lindsey Williams shared they were inspired to propose these bills after the Senate Democratic policy hearing last summer where they were able to hear first hand about the struggles affecting transgender individuals looking to transition. The bills are proposing a couple of things; making the process of changing one’s name easier and more accessible as well as removing “sex” as a field on birth certificates. They noted a couple of things; 1. The delays, cost, and confusion involved in the current name change process causes real harm to Pennsylvania’s trans community. 2. That the American Medical Association recommended last year that sex be dropped from birth certificates. In June 2021 the AMA said that designating babies as ‘male’ or ‘female’ on the public-facing part of their birth certificate “fails to recognise the medical spectrum of gender identity”. Well it seems the AMA gets it. Now, what the Democrats are proposing is legit in my book Pennsylvania currently has a Democratic governor but both houses of the state legislature have a Republican majority. So actually getting these bills passed is going to be a battle and I appreciate their willingness to fight as most don’t even do that. 

Next up, Janet is back. This time with a four hour event celebrating the 40th anniversary of her first album. This documentary gives us the most intimate, honest, and unfiltered look into her life. Janet has been notoriously private, which is very necessary when you’re Janet Jackson, but she decided it was time to share. She said, “It’s just something that needs to be done”. I agree that at some point you have to tell your own story otherwise others will write it for you. The film crew captured her life & career for five years and as someone who works in the media that is a whole hell of a lot of footage. The four-part series will feature exclusive archival footage, home videos and celebrity interviews. Celebrities such as Missy, Whoopi, Janelle, Tiyanna, Mariah, Paula, Tyler, Ciara and others talk about the pop culture icon and what she’s meant to them personally & to music. The documentary will also touch on her relationships with her father, Michael, the 2004 Super Bowl moment and being a mom. Now if you’re wondering how this is Queer News its because of The Velvet Rope, her commitment to being an outspoken comrade of the community and did I mention The Velvet Rope. Now, the documentary airs Friday, January 28th at 7pm CT/8pm ET on Lifetime and A&E. Take a listen to the short trailer so you can get a sense of what will be shared. [PLAY CLIP] Now, set your reminders, DVRs, and all the things because you probably don’t want to miss this one. 

“JANET JACKSON” Documentary Extended Trailer

For all my gamers out there, are you still playing The Sims? The answer must be yes because the game is still as popular as ever. Well in Sims 4 you’ll now be able to choose your characters pronouns and soon enough you’ll be able to select from the neopronouns as well. The developers made the announcement on Twitch last week and explained that users will be able to choose from she/her, he/him, they/them, or enter custom pronouns. Now entering your own leaves folks the opportunity to be mean about it but they said they are implementing in-game filters to stop other players from abusing pronouns. The Sims developers at Maxis worked with GLAAD to implement these changes and Rae Sweet of “It Gets Better” said this, “The day that I tried on they/them pronouns for the first time was the day I was first ever able to recognize myself in the mirror. Which, as you can imagine, is life-changing”…“I just know that giving people a space to play in The Sims and play with pronouns and be who they want to just give them so much room to explore and find themselves and be their true authentic selves, especially in a society where they might not be able to in real life.” I don’t play The Sims personally but I know a lot of people do and it’s important to be seen in these worlds just as you are seen in reality. I’m sure this will continue to be a trend as we all explore life in the Metaverse.  

We will close out the way we always do, with a word of the day. Today’s word is coming from another quote in my office. It reads never never ever give up. When you think that’s all you’ve got left. When you are ready to wash your hands of it all. Hold on a little while longer for your breakthrough is coming. Till tomorrow, my family. Peace. 

Sources

Remove sex from birth certificates to make trans lives easier, urge Pennsylvania Democrats

https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/01/21/pennsylvania-birth-certificates-sex-trans/

Right-wing cranks rage at sound, rational plan to drop ‘sex’ from birth certificates

https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/08/03/american-medical-association-birth-sex/

JANET JACKSON.

https://www.mylifetime.com/shows/janet?

Janet Jackson documentary: Where to watch in the UK, trailer and release date

https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/01/21/janet-jackson-documentary-uk-air-date-trailer/

Janet Jackson the gay icon – from lesbian song remakes to that Will & Grace cameo, 6 times the American singer proved she was an LGBT ally

https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3083995/6-defining-moments-turned-janet-jackson-lgbt-icon

The Sims 4 will now ask for pronouns & allow neo-pronouns

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/01/sims-4-will-now-ask-pronouns-allow-neo-pronouns/

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