Sen. Russ Feingold, pictured, “has been a huge advocate for the LGBT community,” says Fair Wisconsin executive director Katie Belanger.

Anti-gay Republican launches campaign against Feingold

A Madison-area real estate developer took his U.S. Senate campaign to the airwaves Feb. 10, launching a TV attack ad that depicts Democratic incumbent Russ Feingold as out-of-touch with Wisconsin voters.

In “Fed Up,” Republican Terrence Walker accuses…

Openly gay candidate loses in tight Dane County race

Marc Gofstein narrowly lost a bid to become the first openly gay supervisor to represent Sun Prairie on the Dane County Board of Supervisors.

Gofstein came in third in a three-way non-partisan primary Feb. 16. He placed just 15 votes behind second-place finisher…

CDC to present findings on soaring youth HIV rate in Milwaukee

Officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will return to Milwaukee March 2 to present findings from their investigation into the soaring  rate of HIV infection among Wisconsin youth.

The presentation begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Milwaukee…

Stephen Schreiber (center) addresses the Feb. 19 rally at Carthage College. – Photo: Kristyn Taggart

Carthage College students protest anti-gay speaker

Students at Carthage College staged a rally Feb. 19 to protest the appearance of a speaker who condemns homosexuality as in conflict with “God’s…

Photo: Framing Moments Photography

GENDERQUEER
Beyond the labels of male and female, straight and gay

Pen Bruskin never fit snugly into the contours of male and female genders, but has found a place of belonging beyond. Born in a woman’s body and very much a feminist, he also always felt a strong connection with his masculinities.

During his years at UW – Madison, Bruskin identified as a queer and as a dyke. He became involved with Mad Kings, a local drag performance group, as a way to explore different gender identities, he said. Performing gender opened up his sense of possibilities and helped him to articulate and embrace his trans and genderqueer identity.

He’s part of a growing genderqueer movement – driven by a demographic mostly under 30 – that brings to light the issues, needs and social spaces occupied by those who reject or defy the gender-conformative roles, attributes and identities society ascribes for men and women. Many may not identify on a gender binary at all, but rather on a spectrum of gender expression that challenges hetero- and homo-normativity.

The definition of “genderqueer” is as mutable as the identities of those who embrace it, from those who may cross-identify as transgender to those who appreciate the language to be both or neither man nor woman in either physical presentation or psyche.