NYU’s LGBTQ Student Center has launched a campaign to raise awareness about the gender-neutral bathrooms that are available on campus. While there are many such bathrooms at NYU, “in the 3 most populated student buildings at NYU, there are only 2 gender-neutral bathrooms,” according to a flyer created by organization.
Gina Hong, an NYU student and member of OUTspoken, explained that “NYU, like most other institutions in this country, is not where it needs to be with respect to its commitment to providing safe, accessible spaces through gender neutral or single stall bathrooms.” She says she’s noticed some improvement, particularly at Gallatin (1 Washington Pl) and at GCASL (238 Thompson), but doesn’t believe there’s enough campus-wide conversation about the issue, “or even awareness about the fact that lack of access frequently leads to harassment, discrimination, and health issues for those gender non-conforming individuals.” Read more…
It is interesting to see what kinds of new opportunities and outlets appear for marginalized or overlooked communities when the sharing of creative endeavors is one tweet away from exposure to millions. Queer artists, who are still working in their niche venues and audiences, are now seeing a contemporary exposure never previously experienced.
If you were not too busy hyping over LiLo’s pseudo-return on Saturday Night Live, you may have also caught the west coast premiere of new play by Dustin Lance Black, the Academy Award winning screenwriter of Milk. Simply titled 8, the show is about the legal challenging of Proposition-8. It has already received a much discussed reading on Broadway, but this was not any exclusive night of theater that you’d expect. The one night only reading at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles, directed by Rob Reiner, was broadcasted live on YouTube, and raised over two million dollars in funds for the American Equal Rights Foundation. 
Growing up, I had exposure to a strange gap in the hand full of gay men on television I could possibly relate to. I had missed the boat on Ricky from My So Called Life, and only caught Jack from Dawson’s Creek during his “I’m a depressed alcoholic falling into pools and nearly drowning” phase. Will & Grace was not exactly weekly watching at my household either, I had no idea Will and Grace were just a gay and his bff until I was fourteen. Occasionally, I could sneak watching Queer as Folk late at night when everyone was asleep like some dirty secret, the television equivalent of pornography in my head. If anyone, the character I was most exposed to was Marco from Degrassi.
