Out Texas rugby player shares inspiring story as IRL bans trans women - LGBTQ Nation

 “You’re putting so much more pressure on yourself because you can’t just be yourself.”

By John Russell Sunday, June 26, 2022 

Original Article: LGBTQ NATION

Texas rugby player Knute O’Donnell is sharing his story of self-acceptance and coming out this Pride month. In a short documentary for Texas-based broadcaster and streaming platform FloSports, the 29-year-old, who plays for Austin rugby club the Austin Blacks, describes dealing with crippling anxiety and self-hatred that led him to suicidal ideation.

“I was putting things into my body, I was just hoping that I wasn’t gonna wake up anymore.”

When he finally got help, O’Donnell says his sexuality was a major topic of discussion with his therapist.

“Why do I have so much…self-hate?” he recalls thinking. “The reality is, you’re putting so much more pressure on yourself because you can’t just be yourself.”

O’Donnell further describes what it was like revisiting this painful time in a new essay for OutSports. “You forget how much trauma you bury until you go to therapy, and certain interview questions in the video reignited those traumas,” he writes. “It was important to go back through these events no matter how difficult. It reminded me how far I have come and ultimately made me feel like a burden was lifted.”

O’Donnell says his biggest fear was losing friends when he came out. And initially, his best friend advised him against telling their other friends.

“I did lose a couple friends, but not as many as I originally thought,” he says in the doc.

His family and Austin Blacks teammates were a different story.

“When I told my rugby teammates in Texas the news, they immediately embraced me, and it made all my relationships stronger,” he writes. “All my teammates are straight, and we play a very macho sport in a top division of rugby here in the U.S., so the fear of not being accepted or ridiculed was constantly present.”

The team instead accompanied O’Donnell to Austin’s Pride celebrations in 2018 and 2019.

But as O’Donnell tells his inspiring story of gay acceptance, the world of sports continues to grapple with trans inclusion. This week, the International Rugby League announced a temporary ban on trans women from women’s matches as it conducts research and finalizes its inclusion policy.

Read the original article here: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/06/texas-rugby-player-shares-inspiring-story-irl-bans-trans-women/ 

Alison Steinberg of OAN Goes on GAY HATE RANT

 

Alison Steinberg, allegedly a contributor at the shaky One America Network, goes on a hateful rant against the Pride flag in Huntington Beach, California. 

"Guess what I came home to be greeted with," she says, "This fucking bullshit. What the hell is that? Huntington Beach is the home of good old fashioned hardworking American people. The people that worked all through the Covid lockout. That's right Huntington Beach never shut down through any of the Covid nonesense fuckery. And now we're peddling this garbage. What the hell is this?"

She ends by blurting "Whoever is in charge of this city should be fired." (This blog has not checked, but the people who are in charge are likely elected officials, it is uncertain if Ms. Steinberg understands how elections work.)

In our opinion, not only did Ms. Steinberg embarrass the good people of Huntington Beach, she completely embarrassed herself. 

This is exactly the type of gay hate that needs to stopping. 

Harvey Milk Exhibition - SFO Museum

 

Harvey Milk (1930-1978) made history in 1977 when he became the first openly-gay individual elected to office in the state of California. He would serve just eleven months on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors before his assassination on November 27, 1978.

Harvey Milk "The Mayor of Castro Street"

South Carolina County Council rescinds Pride month designation 3 weeks after it was approved

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (CNN) — Three weeks after the Horry County, South Carolina, Council voted to designate June as Pride Month, the council voted unanimously to rescind the resolution that proclaimed support and acceptance of the LGTBQ+ community.

The resolution passed unanimously as part of the county's consensus agenda on May 17. Councilman Johnny Vaught told CNN in an email, "No one on council caught it because the resolution just said 'pride month.'"

Vaught said the council began to receive backlash from the community after it passed the resolution.

"Councilmen got many emails expressing dismay that council would vote for an LGBTQIA month in such a conservative county. We brought the resolution back up at the next meeting and it was unanimously voted down. Councilmen voted the way their constituents demanded. End of story," Vaught said.

Danny Hardee, the councilman who motioned to reconsider the resolution, said members initially missed the proposal due to a "perfect storm" of events going on, such as working on the budget and upcoming elections.

"I can assure you I will spend more time on the consent agenda than I have in the past," said Hardee, who felt somebody on the council would have probably picked up on the resolution during "normal times."

"I personally don't think that councils should be doing any kind of thing like that. It doesn't matter whether it's gay months or Confederate months or Juneteenth or whatever; that's not my job to set aside those dates. Those are state and federal holidays," Hardee told CNN.

Hardee added that while he disagreed with the Pride Month resolution, he did not intend to offend or hurt anyone's feelings.

Pat Hartley, clerk to the county council, said Grand Strand PRIDE, a local LGBTQ+ advocacy group, sent an email requesting for the resolution to be placed on the May agenda, which she said was just "par for the course."

Items such as proclamations and resolutions are usually considered noncontroversial and only require the council to vote once according to Hartley. The council chairman, Johnny Gardner, has the sole authority to remove items before approving the agenda, she added.

CNN attempted to contact Gardner for a comment, but he had not responded.

Following the vote to rescind, Grand Strand PRIDE released a statement on Twitter expressing their disappointment.

"Grand Strand PRIDE is disheartened by the action of the Horry County Council at their meeting last night quietly rescinding their resolution designating the month of June as PRIDE month in Horry County. This news dampens our spirits but we resolve to make progress by continuing our advocacy work to make all of Horry County inclusive, diverse and equal for all."

Horry County encompasses the cities of Conway and Myrtle Beach.