Queer 'Supergirl' Fans Are Furious After What Happened at Comic-Con

Welcome to Dear Marsha, a weekly PRIDE column where writer Jayson Flores rounds up and reacts to news stories from the past week—news stories that should be on your radar and that directly affect the LGBT community and QPOC. The name, Marsha, comes from the legendary Marsha P. Johnson, who put Stonewall on the map and was the person who really started it. Marsha, trans women of color, and QPOC are, at-large, relegated to the back of queer history and social justice despite the fact that they have—proven time and time again—been the folks on the front lines, who sacrificed the most for equality. Dear Marsha is for them.

That being said, let’s get into this past week! Be sure to clear out your tabs so you have space for these stories...

Queer Supergirl Fans Are Furious After What Happened at Comic-Con

Queer people get very little in terms of mainstream representation. Supergirl, however, was one show among many that was actually applauded for its feminist content and positive portrayal of queer people. Some of the actors from the show decided to throw all that down the drain at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

A major portion of the fandom ships two women on the show together, and in a time when they could have said anything else, during an interview, a majority of the cast mockingly repeated, over and over, “They’re only friends.” The video sort of speaks for itself. (It’s worth noting that not all of the actors take part in the grossness.) Think people might be taking this too seriously? Look at this not-so-heartfelt, half "apology" from one of the Supergirl actors. Isn't this the kind of thing that always goes down when you try to hold an ally accountable?

The "Civil Rights Uniformity" Act Is a Direct Attack on the Trans Community

If you haven’t heard of the "Civil Rights Uniformity Act," get to know it. Through all the jargon and word play, it is nothing more than a bold attempt to write trans folks out of civil rights protection laws, as the legislators proposing this say that sex and gender under the law shouldn’t be subject to what they call "subjective self-identification." This is real and this is beyond terrifying.

We as a community keep thinking it can’t get worse or that it won’t happen, but no one thought we’d have the president we have now, and look where that got us. The time to act is now. Share this information with everyone you know and help make sure they can’t slide this legislation by.

What the Health

I watched What the Health (the 2017 documentary exploring "the link between diet and disease, and the billions of dollars at stake in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, and food industries") on Netflix the other day and felt profoundly touched by it. What stood out to me the most was the assertion that the government and big pharmaceutical companies are in cahoots to make sure they can make as much money off us without actually helping us, especially when we’re unwell or dying.

It reminds me of a time, not too long ago, when the government and big pharma labeled a certain disease a "gay plague" and did little to nothing for our community. Although the documentary is far from perfect, as a queer person, I feel empowered to resist the insidious oppressions explored in What the Health, because I’m not about to let the man kill me anytime soon.

What important LGBT stories were on your radar this past week? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!