Youth members of YFT are not keeping silent about the experiences they have had in school where they were bullied, harrassed, and treated as outcasts. In a partnership with Campus Harmony Inc. and Tracy Nanthavongsa Photography, Youth First Texas helped launch the Bully Suicide Project, a photo shoot and PSA that will be shown for national audiences at high schools and colleges over the next year.
It all started thanks to Beaux Wellborn, a YFT Volunteer and the Assitant Director of Campus Harmony Inc. The Dallas Voice Instant Tea Blog shares …

By David Negrete
I think we can all agree that Proposition 8 has greatly affected the LGBTQ community, and it is because of strong and courageous people like photographer Adam Bouska and partner Jeff Parshley that we are beginning to let people know how we feel.
The NOH8 campaign is a photo project and silent protest that was started after the passing of Proposition 8. It began with everyday California residents, and expanded to celebrities and political figures, including Kathy Griffin, Dr. Drew, Ashlee Simpson, …

INSTANT TEA – Official Blog of the Dallas Voice – http://www.dallasvoice.com/instant-tea
September 22nd, 2009.

Last night during the North Texas GLBT Chamber of Commerce’s Pride Dinner at the Warwick Melrose Hotel, keynote speaker Cleve Jones issued a challenge: If you can’t make it to the National Equality March in October, send someone in your place.
Shortly after Jones concluded his remarks, six chamber members and/or Pride dinner attendees responded, with each agreeing to pay for one of the local LGBT youth on hand to go to Washington. The six beneficiaries from Youth First …

Picture it: Wednesday, August 5, 2009. Per a story carried by the Associated Press, the American Psychological Association declares that therapists should avoid directing gay clients toward treatment designed to “cure” them of their sexuality. Instead, the APA advocates a more sensible approach, such as introducing celibacy as an option to relieve conflict, or suggesting that a given patient consider channeling his/her faith in the direction of a religion that exhibits tolerance over unwavering fundamentalism.
This development is interesting because at about the same time an online article reported about a …

ScienceDaily (July 14, 2009) — Young American-raised Asian and Pacific Islanders (API), who are in the sexual minority, face psychological and social stresses in dealing with their families’ values and ancestral cultures that significantly impact the development of their ethnic and sexual identities.
API teens and young adults identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender face a different set of challenges than their western or Caucasian peers, which can lead to rejection from their families who emigrated to the U.S. and a stigmatization by the larger Asian community.
In a new study, …

The racetrack is not a 1.5-mile asphalt oval with a turn radius of 750 feet. It definitely doesn’t have a 2,250-foot long stretch with 45 pit stalls. Nope. With the sweltering summer sun on a cement parking lot, this is not the Daytona 500.
But it is the Gaytona 500 — and racecars aren’t even needed. Well, at least the kind the big boys play with. This is a race where quick fingers matter more than down-shifting a clutch, because these racecars are of the remote control kind.
“It’s gonna be awesome,” …

Last Thursday, we promised to post all questions and answers after our Board of Directors shared their role with the youth of YFT. Please see thier replies below. If anyone has any other questions, we would love to answer them.
Where does the Board of Directors (BOD) plan to take Youth First Texas (YFT) from here?
The BOD is currently developing a 5 year strategic plan for the organization. The vision we are basing this on includesLeasing a safer, more modern space for the next 5 years Developing a plan to purchase a …

For Samir*, a 34-year-old gay man living in Saudi Arabia, each day is a denial. He lives in Mecca, the holiest city according to Islam, and is acutely aware of the stigma that surrounds his gay lifestyle.
“I’m a Muslim. I know it’s forbidden, but I can’t help it,” he tells ABC News, clearly conflicted.
“I pray to God to help me be straight, just to avoid hell. But I know that I’m gay and I’m living as one, so I can’t see a clear vision for the future.”
Samir, like many gay …

ADVOCATE.COM REPORTS — Two men were arrested Monday in Gloucester, Mass., for attacking a gay man in what he believes was a hate crime.
The suspects are brothers Jonathan and William Chadwick, ages 23 and 21, respectively. Police charged them with aggravated assault and battery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in the beating of Justin Goodwin, 33, of Salem.
Goodwin was attacked early Saturday morning outside Old Timer’s Tavern in Gloucester. He underwent 10 hours of surgery on Sunday for severe head trauma and currently has no sight in …

From Tim to Kim: German pop star, 16, becomes world’s youngest transsexual after sex change op
German teenager Kim Petras who became the world’s youngest transsexual after undergoing an operation at the age of just 16 says she can’t wait for the summer so she can try out a whole new wardrobe of tight fitting clothes.
The pop singer – born Tim – is well known in Germany for having started hormone replacement therapy as part of her gender transition by the age of 12.
Now 16, she completed Gender Reassignment Surgery in …