#40: H-O-T-T-O-G-O... it is way too hot out here

lots of links and the last bit of my paper on the BYU/Mormon regulations on the LGBTQ community

hi hi hi sisters ♡ holy cow its been a HOT one here in new york and across the country... (can someone say global warming much??) but I hope that you found a way to cool down at some point, I had the chance to do so by going to niagara falls for the weekend. don’t be fooled, the USA side of the falls was the hottest I felt in a long time, BUT the canadian side was significantly cooler thanks to the mist ◡̈

the year is almost half way over, which is mind boggling to me, and I feel like i’m booked out almost every weekend until october, which is nice to have things to look forward to, but also a little stressful tbh, how do you guys balance making plans but leaving room for downtime?

my cutie roommates and I started a new series together, its called Ripley. it stars Andrew Scott and Dakota Fanning and it is on netflix. google describes it as “an American neo-noir psychological thriller television series.” I am personally loving the resurgence of Dakota Fanning; she played such an important role in my childhood as she was the star of so many movies I watched, I love seeing her as an adult, and ofc Andrew Scott is absolutely love and anything he does it gold. if it gets dark, i’ll let you guys know! but so far from episode 1, we are intrigued!!

it is the last week of pride (and the last week of june…) so I wanted to put together a list of movies and books and such that you can consume to allow yourself to consume more LGBTQ media, as I truly believe it is important to learn to be a better ally. I will say that a lot of LGBTQ media that has been made (specifically movies) tend to be quite sad because they focus on the struggle of being queer, but I hope that more happy movies come out soon!! if there is a hyperlink it is something I have consumed myself ◡̈

movies: I have quite a few for you guys!! but this is JUST the beginning

• love, simon

• heartstopper (its a tv show but im counting it)

• of an age

• but i’m a cheerleader

• portait of a lady on fire

• brokeback mountain

• tangerine

• call me by your name

• rocket man

• bottoms

• all of us strangers

• every body (documentary about intersex individuals)

• my policeman

• maestro

• spoiler alert

• bros

• interview with a vampire (thanks kerry)

  these are from my friends who create the coolest paper cut images from movie scenes! their instagram is linked below

• pride

• angels in america

• paris is burning

• happy together

• moonlight

• joyland

• weekend  

music: (truly only the tip of the iceberg here, there are so many queer artists and songs out there!!)

• the village by wrabel is a BEAUTIFUL song

• good luck babe by our pop princess chappell roan

• she by dodie, honestly a top song for me in general

• LUNCH by billie eilish

• persephone by daisy the great (from alyssa and miranda)

• one of your girls by troye sivan

• all american queen by ben platt

books: okay here are some random book offerings that have LGBTQ representation, these are happier than the movies, the movies need to catch up!!

• hijab butch blues! (from alyssa !!)

• love, simon

• heartstopper (technically some graphic novels, but STILL)

• pageboy, a memoir by elliott page

• they both die at the end

• call me by your name (currently reading it)

• what if its us

in my mind: absolutely loved this interview!! billie and alex wolff are the cutest pair of best friends, you can tell they are so comfortable around each other, even when participating in an interview for vogue

in my stomach: i’ve been following a meal plan of whole foods for the past couple of weeks, and will continue to do so for another 3 weeks or so (idk its 6 weeks total) BUT I did have one full cheat meal this weekend because we went to niagara falls and on the way we stopped at chilis ♡ so I fully ate a triple dipper meal and it was lovely

in case you missed last week, this month I am sharing parts of a paper I wrote for one of my law classes, you can read part 1 here and part 2 here, and part 3 here

part 4 of 4:

While some may argue that BYU is a private institution and is allowed to have strict regulations that reflect the teachings of the Mormon church, BYU as a school, needs to and must do better at protecting their LGBTQ students before they cause irreparable harm. Brigham Young University is trying to teeter between being a world-class university while also attacking the standards of being open minded as worldly and apostate. Queer students on campus do not feel safe and feel as if they have a diminished sense of belonging at a university that claims to be a place that is open and loving to everyone. “[Years later], my feelings are still quite complicated towards how BYU treated me as an LGBTQ student--mostly since I never felt truly safe to present as one. Having to date in secrecy and in the shadows forced me to put myself in danger with quite literally having to date in the shadows and in secret. Students should not have to bear this kind of dark cloud of doubt and unnecessary shame.”

If a student, or church member in general, acts on feelings of same-sex attraction, they must go through an ecclesiastical discipline process and repent of their transgressions. Members can eventually lose membership within the church and cannot participate in any way other than passively attending church meetings. These members are then unable to attend the university due to disciplinary action. They also lose the eternal ties that bind them to their families in heaven, once again reinforcing the fear that Corbin, and many others, will not see their family in heaven. While I don’t have a solution to this massive problem, if BYU’s Honor Code continues to regulate students’ sexual orientation and gender identity, it will further a mistreatment and lack of safety for students on campus. The so-called Christian commandment to love everyone is stipulated by such regulations, and the church will harbor harm doers and chose to protect its own image over protecting the groups it harms.

We can’t continue to turn a blind eye to the struggles faced by LGBTQ students at institutions like BYU. Students, faculty, and allies alike, must advocate for policy changes and institutional reform while also striving to cultivate a culture of empathy, inclusion, and respect for all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Before BYU even realizes it, shelves of students are going to keep breaking if change is not done to protect LGBTQ students on campus. I imagine that BYU does realize it, but maybe they just don’t care.

tiktok: paul mccartney living it up at the eras tour, OKAY; its a shocking result

pinterest: a toxic trait of mine

instagram: papercut cinema; MORE MOVIES; a more somber note… freaking Utah

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