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The Importance of The Prom Musical

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When you think of mainstream LGBTQ cinema, what films come to mind? I’m talking about movies your every day person has probably heard of. So let’s think.  Brokeback Mountain .  Milk .  Moonlight .  Love, Simon .  The Birdcage .  Rocketman .  Dallas Buyers Club .  Carol . Of all those movies, only one is about lesbians. While all LGBTQ individuals are underrepresented in media, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender individuals have significantly lower representation than gay men. Oftentimes, it seems like the film industry only focuses on the G in LGBTQ. That’s one of the many reasons I was excited for the movie adaptation of Broadway musical,  The Prom . When I was in NYC in the summer of 2019, I asked friends what shows I should see. Obviously I was going to see Laura Benanti in  My Fair Lady  because she’s Laura F***ing Benanti, but I was torn about what else to see. I’d heard great things about  Beetlejuice  and  Be More Chill . I didn’t know much about  The Prom , except that it was
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Black People's Lives are More Important Than White People Being Uncomfortable

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Tony McDade - shot and killed by police in Florida Breonna Taylor - shot and killed by police in her own home in Kentucky George Floyd - killed by police in Minnesota These are just the most recent individuals on a long list of black individuals who have been killed by police. The last few weeks have been filled with deplorable, heartbreaking news. News about the police killing black people. Unfortunately, these horrible stories are beginning feel familiar. so familiar that their details have begun to echo each other. In July 2014, cellphone video captured Eric Garner’s final words as NYPD officers pinned him to the ground on the sidewalk and sat on his head. On May 25th of this year, Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin pinned George Floyd to the ground and knelt on his neck, as he pleaded for release and uttered the same three words as Eric Garner: “I can’t breathe” .   I’ve heard people say, well, George Floyd was suspected of forgery and Tony McDade was t
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The Return of "The L Word"

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On January 31, 2019 it was announced that The L Word is officially getting a sequel and lesbians around the world rejoiced. The series originally ran on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. I bought the first couple of seasons on DVD while I was a BYU student in 2006. And while I wasn’t “out,” I was out without being out. I displayed the box sets prominently on my bookshelf in my tiny apartment bedroom where I also had posters for the films Imagine Me and You , Brokeback Mountain and RENT hanging on my walls. When the show debuted, most of the gay TV shows were primarily about gay men. Now, because of The L Word , you can turn on the TV and, on many shows, you will see women presenting themselves as gay, lesbian, queer, trans and everything in between. That representation matters. Being able to turn on the TV and see your life reflected back to you is powerful and transformative. The L Word  accomplished so many firsts: television’s first deaf lesbian, Jod
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2 Steps Forward

In 2012, the Mormon Church launched a website called “Mormons and Gays.” I saw that as HUGE progress. It asked for members to have love and compassion for their LGBT sons and daughters. Sure, I didn’t love everything about the Mormons and Gays site. The Mormon Church still believed that marriage was only between a man and a woman, so those of us who are gay should either remain single and celibate or be in a mixed orientation marriage. Neither of which felt authentic to me. After the site launched, I finally came out to my family. While they weren't necessarily thrilled by the news, they weren't shocked either. I was happy with myself. I was fine with where the church was. Eventually, I believed it would not merely tolerate its LGBT members, but embrace us. And that overall sentiment of love was a win in my book. That feeling of gratitude  did not last long because then came the “exclusion policy.” In a nutshell, the “exclusion policy” labels “homosexual relations” as
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I Speak For Me

Allies are incredibly important to have. When we feel like we don’t have a space or a voice, allies can make all the difference. Kindness and truly seeing someone goes a long way and its effect is larger than people can imagine. It’s easy to feel like no one gets you or cares about you. But even just one ally can show that people are invested in you and your happiness. I love it when people ask me “what can I do to help?” Allies multiply in number. Just by simply existing and standing up for minority communities, others are encouraged to open their minds and be accepting as well. We all need people on whom we can depend and who we know accept us for who we are. Allies have quite literally saved my life. But there are times when it’s too much. With all of the racial tension that is still happening, I don’t pretend to speak for my black friends. I sit with them. I listen to them. I cry with them. I show up for them. But I in no way speak for them. It’s their story. They
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