Queerty.com announced nominees for their annual Queerties for 2020 and there are several GLAAD Media Institute alumni and staff members among the ranks! The GLAAD Media Institute enables people to build the core skills and techniques that effectuate positive cultural change to accelerate acceptance. Take a look at a few of the nominees below:
Jackson Bird
GMI alum and Youtube personality, Jackson Bird (of the House of Gryffindor) received a nomination in the Memorable Memoir category for his book: “Sorted: Growing Up, Coming Out, and Finding My Place”. The memoir tells Bird’s coming of age story through the use of journal entries spanning from childhood to adolescence. You can keep up with Jackson by following him here.
Blair Imani
Historian, Public Speaker, Activist, and GLAAD Media Institute alum Blair Imani is nominated for Queerty’s “Game Changer” award. Blair has used her platform to bring awareness to the injustices LGBTQ, Muslim, and Black communities continue to face. Imani is the author of 2018’s Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History and the newly released Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and the Black American Dream.
Leo Sheng
Credit: Ryan Pflugler, leosheng.com
Former GLAAD Campus Ambassador, Leo Sheng is nominated for “TV Performance” for his work on The L Word: Generation Q. Sheng is a prominent Trans advocate, whose work has focused on authentic media representation and trans people of color. You can learn a bit more about Leo’s work here.
Reggie Bullock
Reggie Bullock of the New York Knicks is nominated for Queerty’s “Straight Best Friend” award. His sister, Mia Henderson was the victim of anti-trans violence, inspiring Bullock to become a vocal and prominent LGBTQ advocate. Bullock continues to advocate for greater LGBTQ inclusion within the NBA.
Jonathan Van Ness & Tan France
Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety/Shutterstock, eonline.com
Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness and Tan France, both GLAAD Media Institute alumni, are nominees for the Memorable Memoir category. Ness’ Over The Top and France’s Naturally Tan both chronicle their coming of age journeys and their individual roads to self-acceptance. Queer Eye returns for its fifth season this year, taking place in Philadelphia.
Changing the Game
Alex Schmider, currently GLAAD’s Associate Director for Transgender Representation, produced “Changing The Game”, a nominee for Queerty’s Documentary award. Directed by Emmy Award winning director Michael Bartnett, the film documents the lives of four young trans athletes and their respective journeys in the high school sports world.
Disclosure: Trans Lives On Screen
Credit: Disclosure The Movie
GLAAD’s Nick Adams and Alex Schmider assist in the production of Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen which is nominated for the “Next Big Thing” category. The film starring actors such as Laverne Cox, MJ Rodriguez, and Chaz Bono, chronicles the history of trans representation and visibility within film and television. It was an official selection at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
Euphoria
Credit: HBO
Scott Turner Schofield, a GLAAD Media Institute trainer, consulted on HBO’s Euphoria, a nominee for Queerty’s TV Series Award. In an interview for Speaking of Transgender, Schofield explained that as a consultant, he provided sensitivity reads on the script, trained the crew on how to be respectful of transgender and nonbinary talent on set, and provided direct support to actress Hunter Schafer (who happens to be nominated for the Queerty award for TV Performance.)
You have a chance to vote for your favorite nominees via the Queerties Website. Voting remains open to all until February 21st 2020. Congratulations and good luck to all the nominees! Be sure to also keep an eye out and attend a GLAAD Media Institute course or workshop near you.