Women & Gender Studies

The Human Rights Campaign has resources to help you come out and live openly at home, at work and in your community.

GLAAD is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization, founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian people. Its agenda has since extended to LGBT and the entertainment industry and its portrayal of these groups.

The Human Rights Campaign envisions a world where every member of the LGBTQ+ family has the freedom to live their truth without fear, and with equality under the law. We empower our 3 million members and supporters to mobilize against attacks on the most marginalized people in our community.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is currently celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. The Stonewall Uprising was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. In the United States the last Sunday in June was initially celebrated as "Gay Pride Day," but the actual day was flexible. In major cities across the nation the "day" soon grew to encompass a month-long series of events. Today, celebrations include pride parades, picnics, parties, workshops, symposia and concerts, and LGBTQ Pride Month events attract millions of participants around the world. Memorials are held during this month for those members of the community who have been lost to hate crimes or HIV/AIDS. The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally.

We amplify the story of Matthew Shepard to inspire individuals, organizations and communities to embrace the dignity and equality of all people.

The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice and equality for LGBTQ people. We are building a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives. Today, despite all the progress we’ve made to end discrimination, millions of LGBTQ people face barriers in every aspect of their lives: in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human rights. These barriers must go. That’s why the Task Force is training and mobilizing millions of activists across our nation to deliver a world where you can be you. Join us!

PFLAG is working to make sure that all people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer are not only valued by society, but take pride in and value themselves. We do this through providing peer-to-peer support, educating people on the issues that are important to the community, and advocating for inclusive policies and laws.

From the stage to everyday life, theater educator Jo Michael Rezes studies queer identity and the spectrum of gender performance — in its success and failure. Aided by a delightful introduction of campy charm, Rezes explores the freeing potential of playing with gender to better understand ourselves, each other and the spaces we inhabit.

Transgender activist and TED Resident Samy Nour Younes shares the remarkable, centuries-old history of the trans community, filled with courageous stories, inspiring triumphs -- and a fight for civil rights that's been raging for a long time. "Imagine how the conversation would shift if we acknowledge just how long trans people have been demanding equality," he says.

When fashion model Geena Rocero first saw a photo of herself in a bikini, "I thought ... you have arrived!" As she reveals, that's because she was born with the gender assignment "boy." In this moving talk, Rocero tells the story of becoming who she always knew she was.

There are a few things that we all need: fresh air, water, food, shelter, love ... and a safe place to pee. For trans people who don't fit neatly into the gender binary, public restrooms are a major source of anxiety and the place where they are most likely to be questioned or harassed. In this poetically rhythmic talk, Ivan Coyote grapples with complex and intensely personal issues of gender identity and highlights the need for gender-neutral bathrooms in all public places.

''It's about trying to understand different kinds of sexual desire and how the culture defines them,'' said Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, the Newman Ivey White professor of English at Duke University. ''It's about how you can't understand relations between men and women unless you understand the relationship between people of the same gender, including the possibility of a sexual relationship between them.''

How much do you really know about the history of the word "transgender"? Find out on this episode of InQueery, hosted by actress Angelica Ross.

iO Tillett Wright has photographed 2,000 people who consider themselves somewhere on the LGBTQ spectrum -- and asked many of them: Can you assign a percentage to how gay or straight you are? Most people, it turns out, consider themselves to exist in the gray areas of sexuality, not 100% gay or straight. Which presents a real problem when it comes to discrimination: Where do you draw the line?

Items from Credo Reference

From the stage to everyday life, theater educator Jo Michael Rezes studies queer identity and the spectrum of gender performance — in its success and failure. Aided by a delightful introduction of campy charm, Rezes explores the freeing potential of playing with gender to better understand ourselves, each other and the spaces we inhabit.

A living list of queer scholarship...

How much do you really know about the history of the word Queer? Find out on this episode of InQueery, hosted by Tyler Ford.

How much do you really know about the history of the word "Intersex"? Find out on this episode of InQueery hosted by them.'s own Maria Tridas.

As communities around the world join together in the movement to address systemic racism, white supremacy, and end the unjust killings of Black people in the United States of America, The Trevor Project hears from LGBTQ youth who experience a range of intense emotions and feelings. LGBTQ young people, including those who feel heartfelt solidarity at protests or sadness from seeing how racism and police brutality impacts Black people, are starting conversations about race and their LGBTQ identities all over the country. Many Black LGBTQ young people have been faced with difficult conversations at the intersection of race with non-Black family, friends, colleagues, and peers. As people who hold multiple marginalized identities, there are layers to these conversations that can sometimes feel overwhelming to explore with others — especially those whose lived experiences are different.

On June 24, 2021, the Advisory Committee on LGBTQ Issues and Minority Affairs Section held a webinar featuring a panel of experts who shared information and insights about the health and well-being of Americans who identify as Black and LGBTQ+.

Noah Mitchell explores the intersections of being Black, Gay, & Christian in the Black church. There is much work to be done to go from welcoming to affirming but this work could be the difference between life or death.

Black Trans Women & Black Trans Femmes’s quality of life is tied to both cultural attitudes and institutional policies. Black Trans Women & Black Trans Femmes, existing at multiple intersections of oppression, are uniquely singled out for criminalization by the police and government. Black Trans Women & Black Trans Femmes experience disproportionately higher rates of housing insecurity, police violence, and under/unemployment due to discrimination based in their perceived gender and race. While all transgender women of color are more marginalized than their peers, we must begin by addressing Black Trans Women & Black Trans Femmes because of the urgent need to end the epidemic of anti-Black violence. When Black Trans Women & Black Trans Femmes are free to live and lead, all transgender women of color, all Black people, all transgender people, and ultimately all people will be free.

Imagine a world where people aren't defined by their deficits, but rather they are acknowledged for their aspirations, where people are in control of their narratives and are celebrated for being their authentic selves. It takes courage to grow up and become who we really are, beyond all conditioned social norms, and to stand against the tide that seeks to diminish us. In 2016, Benjamin Carlton made the brave decision to come out as a black gay minister in a theroot.com article that generated national discussion. In this talk, he’ll take you on his journey of winning his narrative through asset framing, an award-winning cognitive frame that engenders understanding, confidence, and inspires constructive action. Benjamin Carlton is an author, activist, actor, and minister. He received his MBA from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University before moving to Miami to pursue his career in accounting. While in Miami, he co-founded the iconic BMe Community, a national movement of community builders that are led and inspired by black men. BMe Community was founded on the principles of valuing all members of the human family, recognizing black males as assets, and building more caring and prosperous communities together. Under his leadership, BMe has influenced national policy, and committed millions of dollars to local community leaders around the nation. Benjamin has more than 10 years of experience in social innovation, public relations, and social media as an executive director. His pioneering work in community building earned him a Miami Fellows Fellowship with the Miami Foundation and an AT&T Emerging Leaders Fellowship. He was a finalist for Forbes Magazine’s 30 under 30. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community

Established in 2011, The National Black Trans Advocacy Coalition is the only social justice organization led by black trans people to collectively address the inequities faced in the black transgender human experience.

At the crossroads of life and livelihood, scholar D-L Stewart invites us into scenes from his own life as he resists and reflects on the dehumanizing narratives that shape the Black trans experience in the US. With each word of his captivating and poetic dissection, Stewart emphasizes the magnitude and urgency of the rallying cry "Black trans lives matter" -- and calls on others to uphold that truth, too.