Magazine Monday: The Advocate

by Steven D. Mathews, Library Assistant

The Yocum Library subscribes to the print edition of The Advocate, an LGBT-focused magazine published bi-monthly that is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017. Established in Los Angeles during the late-1960s, The Advocate began as a newsletter written by and circulated among gay activists (i.e., PRIDE, or Personal Rights in Defense and Education) driven to protect their rights against police raids on gay bars.

Today, it serves as a national news outlet for the LGBT community in the United States and beyond, but its journalism maintains radical spirit and civil-rights activism from the 1960s. After reading through an issue here at Yocum, I encourage you to visit their website <www.advocate.com>, which contains trending stories in the fast-paced news cycles that affect the LGBT community and often arise in between each publication of The Advocate (NB: their site’s domain omits the definite article in its title and thus separates itself from the eponymous Lousiana regional newspaper).

The February/March 2017 issue of The Advocate features several stories on the recently inaugurated POTUS, Donald J. Trump, and the looming potential regression of LGBT civil rights as a result of his election last November. Masha Gessen, in her “Time to Panic” article, seeks solace in a rather bleak American truism: “The fairy-tale story of irreversible progress in LGBT rights is a very white American story. Americans of color have long known that progress is not linear.” To combat this reality, Mark Joseph Stern pens “Six Things We Must Do to Survive Trump’s America,” which reassures the reader that, although the path forward will be “tortuous and greuling,” a path remains notwithstanding.

Other features in this issue include travel recommendations with beautiful photos, from Greenland to Turkey and Greece, curated for LGBT families and individuals. A provocative story on three out imams, “Queering Islam,” rounds out the featured section.

Shorter articles are found in the “Advance” and “Spectator” areas of the issue. The former covers a variety of topics, such as LGBT history, HPV and HIV prevention, and the bathroom rights of trans high school students according to the Supreme Court. The latter reviews recent books, movies, and other media of interest to the LGBT community.

This reminds me that you can also find an entire collection of LGBT DVDs on the second floor of the Yocum Library in between the student printer-copier and men’s restroom on the south side of the building.