The University of Oklahoma placed a trans graduate instructor on administrative leave after a student received a zero on a psychology assignment while describing transgender people as “demonic” and asserted that gender roles are “Biblically ordained,” The Advocate noted.
The controversy began when junior Samantha Fulnecky submitted a 650-word paper for a course on how social expectations shape gender. Graduate teaching assistant Mel Curth, who graded the paper, has contended that the zero was based on academic criteria, not retaliation for the student’s religious views. Among other things, the school said Fulnecky filed a bias claim based on religious belief, that the review process “has been activated” and that the graduate instructor was placed on administrative leave “to ensure fairness.”
Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr. pled guilty to the murder of out gay University of Mississippi student Jimmie “Jay” Lee—and received 40 years in prison, per The Mississippi Clarion Ledger. Lafayette County Circuit Court Judge Kelly Luther sentenced Herrington to 40 years on a second-degree murder charge with 10 years suspended, and sentenced Herrington to 10 years on a charge of tampering with evidence. Herrington pled guilty to second-degree murder more than three and a half years after Lee went missing from his student housing complex in Oxford on July 8, 2022, The Advocate noted. According to LGBTQ Nation, prosecutors said Herrington murdered Lee to hide their sexual relationship.
Methodist minister Rev. Dr. Phillippa Phaneuf came out as transgender to her congregation at North Chili United Methodist Church in upstate New York, per The Advocate. “I get to announce with joy that I’m transitioning,” she told the congregants. “I’m affirming and saying to all of you that I am transgender, and so the best way to put this is that I’m not becoming a woman, I’m giving up pretending to be a man.” She added, lightly, that while she would change her full name to Phillippa, she would still answer to Phil, Reverend Phil or Pastor Phil. “Just not Dr. Phil,” she joked.
GLAAD revealed its sixth annual 20 Under 20 list, spotlighting 20 accomplished LGBTQ+ people ages 20 and younger, a press release announced. A few of the honorees include “FreePeriodProducts” creator Annabelle White; model/activist Zaya Wade; 2025 National Youth Poet Laureate Evan Wang; KATSEYE members Lara Raj and Megan Skiendiel; anti-censorship activist Ritvik Radjan; and Modern Family star Frances Anderson.
Denver nonprofit YouthSeen is closing its doors indefinitely after a burglar broke in on Sunday and stole nearly $10,000, according to The Advocate. “Not only are we an LGBTQ organization, but we also focus on LGBTQ youth of color, and we don’t have a lot of resources within our state and within the nation,” founder/executive director Tara Jae said to CBS News. “I keep going back and forth with a lot of sadness, a lot of anger, disappointment, and also just having a lot of clarity on where we are in the world right now.” To learn more about YouthSeen or to donate, visit youthseen.org.
LGBTQ+ former director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Dr. Demetre Daskalakis will become chief medical officer of Callen-Lorde Community Health Center starting in February, The Advocate noted. In August, Daskalakis quit the CDC shortly after news broke that CDC director Susan Monarez had been ousted by the Trump administration only weeks after being sworn in. Recently, both he and Callen-Lorde CEO Patrick McGovern were named to NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s Transition Committee on Health.
On Nov. 22, the Rev. Dr. Katrina Foster was installed as the sixth bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America—becoming the first woman and first lesbian so elevated, Gay City News reported. She will oversee 160 congregations across the region. During the service, Foster said, “We do this together. As your bishop, I want you to know, I see you. I see your congregations. I see what it used to be that you long for. I also see what it can be because Jesus lives and the devil is a liar.”
On Dec. 1, Madonna criticized the Trump administration for ignoring World AIDS Day as a group of HIV-positive men held a kiss-in at the U.S.-Mexico border wall, Instinct noted. The event, hosted by MPact Global, marked a moment of visibility for both HIV-positive individuals and queer migrants. In an Instagram post, Madonna expressed her outrage at the government’s refusal to acknowledge the day dedicated to those lost to AIDS, calling it “ridiculous” and “absurd.”
The New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute announced the “Unfiltered” initiative to try to highlight the lived experiences of Black and Brown individuals in New York and raise awareness about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), per Gay City News. The first of eight stories features artist/activist Yves Mathieu East, a PrEP user who discusses being a Black queer boy and confronting generational trauma. People of color make up just one-third of the state’s population but account for 80% of new HIV diagnoses, according to the state’s most recent HIV surveillance report.
Philadelphia’s William Way LGBT Community Center surprised some by announcing that the nonprofit is not abandoning, but repairing its longtime home in Center City, WHYY noted. “Thanks to the support of multiple sources, including generous donors, and the efforts of our board, staff, and partners, we are pleased to share that the Center will return to the building once redevelopment is complete,” said board co-chairs David Huting and Laura Ryan in a statement. A few days before Thanksgiving, the organization announced it was permanently leaving 1315 Spruce St. on Dec. 18 because it couldn’t raise money to renovate the historic building.
Out gay former Utah state Sen. Derek Kitchen (D)—who helped win marriage rights in the state—is running to represent Utah’s newly drawn First Congressional District, a Democratic-leaning district that includes Salt Lake City, LGBTQ Nation noted. In 2013, Kitchen and his then-partner Moudi Sbeity, along with two other same-sex couples, sued the state of Utah in federal court for the right to marry; that year, a district court judge ruled in their favor.
Gay mogul Tristan Schukraft’s Tryst Hospitality has purchased The Crown & Anchor— Provincetown, Massachusetts’ legendary landmark that contains six bars, a restaurant and a 17-room hotel, Instinct noted. And Schukraft’s plans don’t end at Provincetown, as he’s also looking at another gay enclave: Wilton Manors, Florida. Enter The Tryst Wilton Manors, a luxury gay boutique hotel that will soon grace Wilton Drive.
In Brooklyn, the West Indian-American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA)—organizer of the massive annual Caribbean Carnival Parade—hosted a “Heart-to-Heart Conversation” on World AIDS Day, according to Caribbean Life. In addition, Maria Davis—a nationally-recognized HIV/AIDS advocate, cultural voice, and community leader—was honored for her “trailblazing work in hip-hop, public health, and community education.” Also, Davis shared her personal story, spoke about stigma in Caribbean and immigrant communities, and spoke about her ongoing work with health vans across New York City.
The Grossmont Union High School District in San Diego will pay Rose Tagnesi $19,000 now and $700,000 over the next two decades, with an additional $481,000 going towards her attorney fees, after she sued the board of trustees for discrimination, The Advocate noted. Tagnesi filed the suit in August 2024, alleging instances of harassment about her sexual identity as well as retaliation for her opposition to the conservative school board’s “anti-LGBTQ agenda.” Among other things, Tagnesi accused school board trustee Jim Kelly of calling her and a woman co-worker “witches” who were members of an “LGBTQ coven.”
The University of Nebraska Board of Regents voted to eliminate four academic programs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, per The Nebraska Examiner. The eight-member board approved eliminating the departments of statistics; earth and atmospheric sciences; educational administration; and textiles, merchandising and fashion design; the cuts total $6.74 million, with 51.5 positions being cut, most of them faculty.Talking with conservative figure Tucker Carlson, ex-gay MAGA provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos admitted he regrets “mainstreaming homosexuality in the Republican Party,” per LGBTQ Nation. Yiannopoulos (who renounced his sexuality in 2021) also told Carlson that homosexuality is caused by childhood trauma, that gay activists “invented” the idea of sexual orientation as a fixed identity and that his Roman Catholicism helps him stay away from “demonic” homosexual promiscuity.