Patricio Manuel proved the haters wrong when he became the fi rst trans male pro boxer in the US
and subsequently beat his opponent. Now he’s in an ad campaign.
➤ PATRICIO MANUEL, from p.22
last ad.
“I want to live in a world where
being yourself isn’t seen as this
courageous act,” he said. “I want
all of us to be who we are and be
unafraid and not to have to deal
with every obstacle just to be our
authentic self … So many of us
are being forced into these restrictive
boxes of identifi cation, but
very few of us actually fi t, and I
want to see all of us be celebrated
when we fi ght against those specifi
c restrictive norms.”
EVERLAST
Everlast’s “Be First” campaign
is a global effort “challenging consumers
to carve their own path to
success” and includes three other
boxers, as well, who have unique
stories of overcoming obstacles.
Along with Manuel, the others
are Jinji Martinez, who is the only
person to defeat an opponent after
receiving an amputation above
the knee, and Mexican-American
boxing brothers Karlos and José
Balderas, whose grandfather
worked tirelessly as an undocumented
immigrant to send his
grandchildren to the Olympics.
➤ DUBBS WEINBLATT, from p.22
years ago and now are embracing
the intersections of being trans,
genderqueer, queer, and gay. Notably,
Weinblatt also become re-acclimated
with their Jewish identity
after grappling with it when
they were not feeling comfortable
with their sexuality and gender
identity.
Weinblatt has since channeled
their own coming out experience
into their work. They created an
onstage show, which they recently
turned into a podcast hosted by
Gay City News, called “Thank You
For Coming Out,” in which LGBTQ
folks come on and discuss
their own coming out story.
“Thank You For Coming Out”
— available at gaycitynews.com
and on iTunes and other podcast
platforms — has so far featured
stand-up comic Jessica Henderson,
comedian/ writer/ director
Lou Gonzalez, theater teacher and
comedian Scott Austin , and “Orange
Is The New Black” star Alice
Kremelberg, among others.
“What’s special about ‘Thank
You For Coming Out’ is that because
we’re an all-LGBTQ cast,
our queer identities aren’t the
butt of the joke, but instead the
beauty of the scene,” Weinblatt explained.
That unique appeal gives LGBTQ
folks an opportunity to enjoy
entertainment that caters to
them. The host and guests of the
podcasts are able to feed off a
common, unifying sense of community
that is not always seen or
even present in day-to-day life.
In a way, Weinblatt has always
longed for that kind of a show.
When recalling their isolated
younger years, they acknowledged
that they felt “like a part of” the
community on the rare occasion
when they saw public representation
of LGBTQ life in the media.
On October 11, National Coming
Out Day 2019, however, Weinblatt
is the one making others feel
“like a part of” the community by
producing a show and podcast
that relates to them.
“We all have similar, shared
experiences and can use that to
build empathy and support each
other in a really special way,” they
said.
They count on you,
So count on us to
keep you going.
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