Features

Feature stories and interviews about the community, state and fandom.

How racism in US health system hinders care and costs lives of African-Americans

By Tamika C.B. Zapolski, IUPUI and Ukamaka M. Oruche, IUPUI | June 29, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the U.S., the virus hit African Americans disproportionately hard. African Americans are still contracting the illness – and dying from it – at rates twice as high as would be expected based on their share of the population. In Michigan, African Americans are only 14% of the population, but account for one-third of the state’s COVID-19 cases and 40% of its deaths. In some states the disparities are even more stark. Wisconsin and Missouri have infection and mortality rates three or more times greater than expected based on their share of the population.

Supreme Court expands workplace equality to LGBTQ employees, but questions remain

Gay things to do in quarantine

Why are white supremacists protesting to ‘reopen’ the US economy?

Renters still left out in the cold despite temporary coronavirus protection

Features

Making masks at home – what you need to know about how to reduce the transmission of coronavirus

By Susan L. Sokolowski and Karen L. LaBat | April 17, 2020

Homemade masks will not filter the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but may prevent transmission of droplets and spray between individuals. Nikola Stojadinovic/Getty Images

By Susan L. Sokolowski, University of Oregon and Karen L. LaBat, University of Minnesota

The recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation to use cloth face coverings to help slow the spread of COVID-19 has generated numerous how-to articles and videos. As academics who focus on personal protective equipment (PPE) research and development, we are concerned about the lack of information about two critical features of home mask design: fit and fabric selection. The reality of particle size

Virus particles are tiny, ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 micron. A size 40 micron particle is visible with the naked eye – anything smaller, you need specialized equipment to see it.

Features

COVID-19 may hit rural residents hard, and that spells trouble because of lack of rural health care

By Kevin J. Bennett, University of South Carolina | April 16, 2020

The empty streets of Hebron, Illinois, population 1,200, a village three miles south of the Illinois/Wisconsin border. Scott Olson/Getty Images

By Kevin J. Bennett, University of South Carolina

The burden of COVID-19 in rural areas has been under the radar, as the toll of the disease so far has been heaviest in dense urban areas. But up to 30% of the U.S. population lives in rural America, which already has experienced more than 128 hospital closures since 2010, including 19 last year. COVID-19 could lead to more closures and instability in rural America, even though the lower density of rural areas may help keep transmission rates of the disease down. With fewer people living across relatively large areas, social distancing is easier to accomplish.

coronavirus

Porn use is up, thanks to the pandemic

By Joshua B. Grubbs, Bowling Green State University | April 12, 2020

Across the globe, the coronavirus pandemic is affecting almost all aspects of daily life. Travel is down; jobless claims are up; and small businesses are struggling.

coming out

The history of ‘coming out,’ from secret gay code to popular political protest

By Abigail C. Saguy, University of California, Los Angeles | February 16, 2020

You probably know what it means to “come out” as gay. You may even have heard the expression used in relation to other kinds of identity, such as being undocumented.

Features

I track murder cases that use the ‘gay panic defense,’ a controversial practice banned in 9 states

By The Conversation | February 2, 2020

W. Carsten Andresen, a criminal justice scholar, has been building a database of murder cases that use the gay panic defense. We asked him to tell us more about these cases, and what sets them apart from other murder trials.

Features

For linguists, it was the decade of the pronoun

By The Conversation | January 12, 2020

On Jan. 3, the American Dialect Society held its 30th annual “Word of the Year” vote, which this year also included a vote for “Word of the Decade.”

Features

Transgender homeless Americans find few protections in the law

By Jonah DeChants, The Conversation | December 17, 2019

Ben Carson, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, made news earlier this year for his statements about transgender people.

Features

Deportation to Syria could mean death for women, children and LGBTQ refugees in Turkey

By Deina Abdelkader, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell | October 27, 2019

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan isn’t limiting his assault on neighboring Syria to attacking Kurdish troops that run the country’s northern region. He says the 3.6 million Syrians now living as war refugees in Turkey may also be returned “to their own homes” once northern Syria is wrenched from Kurdish control.

arts

Chicago actors Theo Germaine and Daniel Kyri push boundaries of queer representation

By Michelle Zacarias, People's World | October 11, 2019

People’s World talks to two openly queer actors who are currently helping challenge misconceptions of queerness by pushing the boundaries of LGBTQ representation on television.