March 2, 2023

From Islam to Mormonism: Does It Matter?

Posted 4 years ago Tagged coming out Gay Mormon LGBTQ Islam

I was born in 1996, in the Moroccan city of Temara. My story isn’t about being Mormon or having any Mormon connections. But our cultures, in many ways are more common than you think. I had a difficult childhood growing … Read the rest here

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8 hours ago

Clyde Wahrhaftig (1919–1994) was accepting an award for his scientific career when he told the geologists gathered before him that he was gay. He had spent decades keeping that part of his life private—but in that moment he wanted students who feared they couldn’t be both gay and scientists to hear otherwise from someone in their profession.

Wahrhaftig had worked for the U.S. Geological Survey for nearly half a century and taught at UC Berkeley for 22 years. His fieldwork helped explain Alaska’s landscapes and the glaciers that shaped Yosemite.

He was a gifted teacher and author who showed readers how to explore geology by walking and taking public transportation. He took underprivileged students on field trips and helped build scholarship and internship opportunities for people underrepresented in the earth sciences.

But his own students knew very little about his personal life. Wahrhaftig had shared a long relationship with fellow geoscientist Allan Cox, whom he met doing fieldwork in Alaska. At the 1989 Distinguished Career Award ceremony, he spoke openly about their love and the strain of concealing it, saying, “…the force that caused us to do so much for each other, and because of each other, was homosexual love.”

He addressed the professors and employers in the room as directly as the students. He told them that they would encounter openly gay scientists, he told them, and needed to recognize their ability to contribute. He wanted younger people to have careers and relationships that could support each other without the secrecy he had endured.

Wahrhaftig died in 1994 at 74. He left money to help finish his Yosemite research, which contributed to a glacial map completed in 2019.

October is LGBTQ+ History Month, a time to recognize the people who fought for our rights, shaped our culture and made life better for queer communities—including those whose stories are rarely told. ... See MoreSee Less

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11 hours ago

The lesbian equivalent of pumpkin spice.
Breast in peace. ... See MoreSee Less

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1 day ago

Inga Beale (born 1963) hid her relationship with a woman so thoroughly that a colleague assumed she had nobody to go home to during a difficult period at work. She had a loving partner, but the people around her didn’t know. At her next job interview, she decided to tell the truth. The interviewer said he hoped to meet her partner, and she got the job.

Beale had entered insurance as a young underwriter in 1982 and worked her way into senior leadership. She knew what happened when a woman challenged the office culture. After she asked for posters of scantily dressed women to be removed, colleagues wrapped them around her workstation. She walked out.

When she became the first female CEO of Lloyd’s of London in 2014, she brought those experiences into an insurance institution more than three centuries old. Her relationship with a woman had lasted 12 years; she later married jewelry designer Philippe Pfeiffer. She spoke publicly about being bisexual and the exhaustion of concealing her personal life.

At Lloyd’s, she wanted employees to feel safe having the ordinary conversations their straight colleagues took for granted. She spoke about the lack of openly LGBTQ colleagues, supported an employee network where people could meet and discuss their experiences, and encouraged staff throughout the organization to speak alongside her.

She also championed Inclusion@Lloyd’s, a program that brought insurance organizations together to improve their workplaces. It created sessions that addressed issues such as unconscious bias, LGBTQ inclusion and mental health, giving staff and managers opportunities to learn how their behavior affected colleagues. The events expanded beyond London to insurance workplaces internationally.

At the launch of Lloyd’s LGBT employee network, a man who had worked there for 30 years approached Beale with tears in his eyes. His son was gay, he explained, and he had been afraid to talk about him at work.

October is LGBTQ+ History Month, a time to recognize the people who fought for our rights, shaped our culture and made life better for queer communities—including those whose stories are rarely told. ... See MoreSee Less

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From Islam to Mormonism: Does It Matter?

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