Boston Uncommon vol. 1 / no. 10
COVID research, criminal justice, and competing queens
Boston Uncommon is a weekly newsletter covering Boston-based drag, burlesque, cabaret, sex work, and various forms of queer nightlife. By engaging authentically and openly with the community of people who work and play within Boston’s in-person and digital queer spaces, we hope to report on the issues and events that affect them and their lives.
In this week’s edition of Boston Uncommon I:
Cover a BIG STORY: Black and Pink MA authors new LGBT+ criminal justice bills filed at State House
Make sure to STAY ON TOP OF THIS: KFF publishes research on COVID-19’s negative impact on LGBT+ people
Check in with our COMPETING STREAM QUEENS: New digital drag competition kicks off with evolution themed show
BIG STORY: Black and Pink MA authors new LGBT+ criminal justice bills filed at State House
Black and Pink MA is a volunteer-fueled organization focused on primarily criminal justice reform and advocating for those living with HIV/AIDS and impacted by the prison system.
In partnership with Mass. representatives and DecrimMA, a grassroots organization led by sex workers, Black and Pink authored An Act to Stop Profiling Transgender and Low Income Women which would protect transgender and cisgender women against unfair profiling.
Additionally, An Act to Promote the Health and Safety of People in the Sex Trade intends to decriminalize solicitation as well as the buying and selling of sex between consenting adults, according to The Rainbow Times.
Black and Pink also supports the RIGHTS Act which aims to reduce physical and emotional abuse experienced by LGBT+ prisoners by reducing the use of solitary confinement. The RIGHTS Act would also increase access to preventative HIV medications and treatments; as ABC News recently reported, new research shows promising progress in the development of HIV vaccine out of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and The Scripps Research Institute.
STAY ON TOP OF THIS: KFF publishes research on COVID-19’s negative impact on LGBT+ people.
KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), a national health policy analysis organization, released its findings regarding the negative effects COVID-19 has had on LGBT+ populations, specifically relating to financial and mental health concerns.
According to their findings, since February 2020, 56% of LGBT people report they or another adult in their household have lost a job or had their income or hours reduced because of the coronavirus outbreak, compared to 44% of non-LGBT people.
KFF also notes that 74% of LGBT people say stress from the pandemic has had a negative impact on their mental health, compared to 49% of non-LGBT people.
COMPETING STREAM QUEENS: New digital drag competition kicks off with evolution themed show
For the debut episode of Now Serving on the Serve Network’s Twitch channel, contestants were challenged to interpret the theme of evolution and tell a story through digital drag.
Judged by drag artists Biqtch Puddin’, Miss Toto, Lucy Stoole, Throb Zombie, and Crimson Kitty, the 10 contestants presented poetry, original covers, short films, and lipsync performances in hopes of scoring high enough to continue to compete for the $1,000 grand prize.
Fans awarded extra points to the contestants via Google form sent out at the end of the performances. The show was also accepting contestant votes via PayPal or Venmo tips.
Chris Griandher won the It’s Evolution, Baby! category while the bottom two lip-synced to stay in the competition with Obsidienne Obsurd being named safe and Papi Churro the first to be eliminated.