Trailer: Drag Race Queens Reunite in ‘Bring Back My Girls’ - Premiering Oct. 18 on WOW Presents Plus

Your favorite Drag Race Queens are back in action and ready to bring you all their unfiltered drama! WOW Presents Plus’ Drag Race Reunion show, Bring Back My Girls, brought together queens from across the franchise in a series of scandalous tell-all conversations taped live at DragCon LA 2022 and is now set to premiere on Tuesday, October 18 at 11am PT/2pm ET. 

Hosted by Ts Madison (Bros, Zola, The Ts Madison Experience), Bring Back My Girls brings the Ru-girls together to spill the tea and reveal never-before-heard stories about what it's really like to create Drag Race, what they think about the show since their season aired, and what life has been like post show - both the ups and DOWNS. 

EPA awards $3.9M to Colorado’s Water Research Foundation to support national water reuse efforts

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a research grant to the Water Research Foundation (WRF) for $3.2 million to support efforts to unlock the national potential of water reuse.  WRF’s grant is one of two research grants EPA is awarding today, the other to Iowa State University, to support national efforts to reduce technological and institutional barriers for expanded water reuse.  

“Safe and reliable water is critical to protecting public health, and innovative solutions for reusing water can improve water availability and access across the nation,” said Chris Frey, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “These research projects will help advance water reuse applications so communities, local and state governments, and Tribes can provide alternatives to existing water resources.”

Water reuse is the practice of reclaiming water from a variety of sources, treating it, and reusing it for beneficial purposes. It can provide alternative supplies for potable and non-potable uses to enhance water security, sustainability, and resilience. These research grants will help accelerate water innovation, information availability, and engagement. The funding will advance clean and safe water reuse goals, promote a better understanding of the nation’s water and wastewater treatment and infrastructure, and enhance the availability and efficient use of water resources through water reuse.

“This research will advance innovation and progress on one of our most pressing environmental challenges. Water reuse can reduce the amount of freshwater diverted from sensitive ecosystems, making more freshwater available for drinking, wildlife, and aquatic environments” said EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker.  “This is especially important in western states, many of which are experiencing unprecedented extreme drought conditions .”

The WRF’s proposed research will  use wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) and surveillance to understand pathogen loading and enable rapid identification and response in reuse systems, develop quantitative microbial risk assessment tools for application to underappreciated reuse applications, and identify opportunities for chemical health risk reduction. It will also develop a comprehensive model for reuse treatment processes that includes predictive algorithms, integrated to evaluate treatment train performance for microbial and chemical water quality goals, incorporating pilot demonstration and techno-economic analysis to support real-time monitoring and risk mitigation.

Their proposal will also quantify water reuse potential across the nation and identify barriers, drivers, and pathways to successful reuse through a rigorous case study evaluation process and partner with community leaders to synthesize and address organizational and social barriers to advancing reuse across diverse contexts and for traditional marginalized communities. The proposal will also evaluate planned and potential reuse projects through a quantitative sustainable design process to identify strategies for water reuse capacity building efforts expanding reuse across a diversity of contexts. The expected results of this work will provide stakeholders of diverse backgrounds with user friendly tools and materials to advance water reuse in their community.

Human Rights Campaign Endorses 11 Transgender and Non-Binary State Legislative Candidates

The Human Rights Campaign PAC (HRC PAC) recently announced its endorsements of 11 transgender and non-binary state legislative candidates in Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Vermont. This is in addition to two previous endorsements of transgender and non-binary state legislative candidates in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.  HRC PAC is committed to mobilizing our volunteers, members, and supporters to turn out the more than two million Equality Voters in support of pro-equality candidates up and down the ballot.

Human Rights Campaign Senior Vice President, Policy & Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof:

“Across the country, anti-LGBTQ+ state legislators have introduced a record number of bills attacking our community, with most bills aimed at rolling back the rights of transgender children and their families.  The Human Rights Campaign is immensely proud to endorse these transgender and non-binary state legislative candidates who in addition to being crucial voices in their legislatures will also be a resounding rebuke to the wave of attacks against our community. We all benefit from their history-making leadership and unwavering commitment to make real and positive change on behalf of their constituents.”

HRC’s Commitment to Voter Mobilization Efforts

Equality Voters, of which there are more than 62 million across the country, are a voting bloc of demographically and geographically diverse Americans who are united by the advancement of LGBTQ+ equality. Equality Voters are younger, more racially diverse, and more female than the general electorate, they recognize and trust the HRC brand, and they are more likely to identify with issue-specific organizations than candidates or political parties.

Across the country, HRC PAC works every day to elect pro-equality leaders who advocate for policies that will support the rights and lives of LGBTQ+ people. During the 2020 election cycle, HRC staff on the ground recruited 5,800 individual volunteers nationwide who completed 28,500 hours of voter contact in more than 2,650 volunteer events. HRC engaged in robust digital and online GOTV efforts, including sending over 2.7 million person-to-person text messages, a massive increase from 2018 when approximately 500,000 texts were sent. HRC sent over 2.5 million mail pieces, had over 930,000 phone conversations with voters, and engaged more than 200,000 voters through HRC’s voter dashboard at hrc.org/vote.

State Legislative House Endorsements:

CO-27: Brianna Titone

ME-21: Ambureen Rana

MN-66: Leigh Finke

MT-100: Zooey Zephyr

NH-Stratford 12: Gerri Cannon

NH-Hillsborough 20: Joshua Query

OK-88: Mauree Turner

RI-14: Giona Picheco

VT-Chittenden 15: Brian Cina

VT-Chittenden 21: Taylor Small
 

State Legislative Senate Endorsements:

DE-1: Sarah McBride
 

Previously endorsed transgender or non-binary 2022 state legislative candidates:

PA-49: Izzy Smith for Pennsylvania State House

WI-05: Jessica Katzenmeyer for Wisconsin State Senate

WalletHub Study: Denver Ranks in the Top 15 Best Foodie Cities in America

Source: WalletHub

With Oct. 16 being World Food Day and restaurant prices rising 8.3% between August 2021 and August 2022, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022’s Best Foodie Cities in America, as well as accompanying videos and expert commentary.

To determine the best and cheapest local foodie scenes, WalletHub compared more than 180 of the largest U.S. cities across 29 key metrics. The data set ranges from affordability and accessibility of high-quality restaurants to food festivals per capita to craft breweries and wineries per capita.

Foodie-Friendliness of Denver (1=Best; 91=Avg.):

• 52^nd – Avg. Beer & Wine Price
• 21^st – Restaurants per Capita
• 1^st – Affordability & Accessibility of Highly Rated Restaurants
• 18^th – Gourmet Specialty-Food Stores per Capita
• 1^st – Craft Breweries & Wineries per Capita
• 38^th – Coffee & Tea Shops per Capita
• 43^rd – Number of Grocery Stores per Capita
• 22^nd – % of Residents Who Are Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19

For the full report, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-foodie-cities/7522

Transgender adults more likely to suffer from disability than cisgender counterparts, Rice U. study reveals

A new study by a Rice University researcher shows transgender adults of any age are more susceptible to disability than those who are cisgender.

 

The paper by Madeline Smith-Johnson (pictured), a doctoral student and graduate research assistant in the Department of Sociology, is published in the October issue of the journal Health Affairs.

 

“I'm really interested in LGBTQ elders, and as I think about aging and the different types of things that expose people to faster biological aging at a younger chronological age, the first outcome that I want to know about is, ‘How are you doing?’” Smith-Johnson said.

 

The paper, “Transgender adults have higher rates of disability than cisgender counterparts,” showed significant disparities between the groups at many levels, including controls for age, transgender identity and disability status. Difficulty walking or climbing stairs, dressing or bathing, running errands alone, concentrating, remembering or making decisions were among the qualifying disabilities.

 

The study results spotlight the compound vulnerabilities faced by gender minorities in the United States.

 

“Compared to cisgender respondents, transgender adults were more likely to be a sexual minority, a racial minority and have a lower income,” said Smith-Johnson. “The experience of discrimination, victimization and violence brings chronic stress to transgender populations, which can accumulate in negative health outcomes.”

 

Smith-Johnson discovered transgender adults have a 27% chance of having at least one disability by age 20, which increases to a 39% chance by age 55 — nearly twice the rate of their cisgender counterparts at both ages. Overall, transgender adults reported higher rates of disability (30%) compared with both cisgender women (24%) and cisgender men (18%).

 

The study focused on functional limitation rather than biomarkers such as cardiovascular disease, cancer or diabetes.

 

“When I started this study, I focused on the older segment of the population aged 65 and above. That's where I found the first evidence of disparity, that there was an outsized burden of disability among the oldest part of the population,” Smith-Johnson said. “As people examined my research, they found it interesting, but we wanted to dive further into the data to understand if this occurs across all age groups.”

 
Smith-Johnson used data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, one of the largest national samples including cisgender and transgender groups, to intersect the control determinants and identify various levels of affectation.

 

The findings show the importance of considering disability from a life-course perspective, the effect of intersectional identities on disability risk and the urgency of targeted health interventions for transgender people.

 

“There are several levels of implications,” Smith-Johnson said. “One of them is thinking about health care access. The interpersonal stigma that transgender patients experience and the elevated rates of care avoidance are alarming. The survey respondents are less likely to go to the doctor in the first place. We know that if they have stigmatizing interactions, they are less likely to continue seeking out care.”

 

“There are huge implications for medical training, health care institutions and insurance companies. Insurers like to think about what it means to be inclusive of a broader gender population, so this study implies there should be transgender-inclusive training in medical school. This research also could suggest we should commission more studies to examine effective ways of outreach into these populations to mitigate care avoidance.”

 

Smith-Johnson emphasized that the U.S. needs to collect more detailed data about transgender people in order to design and improve interventions.

 

“At the federal level, we need someone — preferably the census — to investigate in the most valid and least threatening way to ask about gender identity and sexual orientation in a comprehensive way so that we can begin to collect national-level estimates of the United States,” Smith-Johnson said. “That would also begin to drill down into state-level differences of health outcomes because there are dramatically different state-level policies that impact trends of health care.”

 

“It would help to better extrapolate disparity in terms of experiences like housing discrimination, employment discrimination and the fundamental determinants of health. If you are housing-insecure and you don't have a regular income, or if you are precariously employed, we know that public resources are fundamental to live well in a very general sense.”

 

The study’s publication comes just before November’s Transgender Awareness Week, which includes a Transgender Day of Remembrance Nov. 20.

Outright International Unveils New Branding

Outright International today introduced its new name and logo as well as a redesign of its website. As part of its brand refresh efforts, Outright has also taken the decision to simplify its name, dropping ‘Action’ from the name and the capitalization of ‘Right.’ As a global organization, Outright thrives on thoughtful change, seeing this as a continued opportunity to ensure human rights for LGBTIQ people through advocacy, support and research.

“Our organization is created to be transformative and shift the way people and institutions think and communicate about, and support LGBTIQ equality and inclusion,” noted Maria Sjödin, executive director of Outright International. “While we remain a human rights organization, our strategic plan speaks to our evolving work in securing access to humanitarian aid for LGBTIQ people, providing tools and resources for economic advancement and strengthening the global LGBTIQ movement. This is why we believe that Together, for Better LGBTIQ Lives reflect where we are at our journey and who we are as an organization.”  

“This project is a culmination of an extended period of research, reflection and creative prowess defined by the vibrance and voices of our movement,” said Kathy Teo, Outright board member and founder and CEO of Singapore-based Xpointo Media. “At Outright, we care deeply about human rights for LGBTIQ people. This evolution is part of our commitment to amplify our community’s cause, advocate and carry the voices of activists and to celebrate LGBTIQ lives everywhere.”

Since 1990, Outright has worked alongside LGBTIQ activists and organizations, diplomats and policymakers to advance community-focused solutions to create lasting legal and social transformation. Initially called the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), Outright’s reports and insights have been quoted and shared by respected institutions, broadcast and print media and governments. The organization also provides technical training and funding support for the purposes of boosting visibility, narrowing existing gaps and changing mindsets. 

IGLTA Announces Peter Jordan as Recipient of 2022 Hanns Ebensten Hall of Fame Award

The International LGBTQ+ Travel Association has announced that Peter Jordan—
Founder of Gen C Traveller and Head Strategist at Toposophy—is the recipient of the 2022 Hanns Ebensten Hall of Fame Award. This honor is awarded to a longtime IGLTA member who is a thought leader in LGBTQ+ tourism and has tirelessly contributed to the association/IGLTA Foundation in its mission to advance LGBTQ+ travel globally. The award takes its name from the man widely considered the father of LGBTQ+ travel, Hanns Ebensten, and is selected by the IGLTA board of directors from the association’s members in 80 countries. The IGLTA Honors, presented with support from American Express Travel, will take place 27-28 October during IGLTA’s Global Convention in Milan.

 

“For more than a decade, Peter Jordan has been at the forefront of research and innovation within the queer travel community. From authoring international reports on LGBTQ+ inclusion and diversity to his work to advance sustainable models of development in tourism around the globe—Peter’s experience speaks for itself,” said IGLTA Board Chair Felipe Cardenas. “It’s no wonder Peter has become respected as one of the world’s leading specialists on LGBTQ+ travel. This award is well-deserved, and I look forward to seeing Peter continue his ever-important work.”

 

Peter Jordan is a consultant and researcher based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He has authored pioneering reports on diverse aspects of tourism and LGBTQ+ inclusion for the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and European Travel Commission in collaboration with IGLTA and its Foundation. He recently created a new report for the IGLTA Foundation, “Going Further: How to Make LGBTQ+ Travel Transformational for Travelers, Communities, and the Planet,” which will launch at the Milan convention. The report breaks new ground by bringing LGBTQ+ travel and sustainability together, with concrete recommendations for destinations and businesses.

 

Peter has delivered multiple strategy projects, workshops, and keynote presentations on LGBTQ+ travel in English, Spanish and French for national tourism organisations and industry associations in Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America. He is currently engaged in several strategy projects aimed at helping national and local destination management organisations navigate post-COVID-19 tourism recovery. 

 

“I am deeply touched and very humbled to receive this award from IGLTA. I know that many recipients before me have been pioneers, opening new opportunities for LGBTQ+ people to travel globally, and changing many lives and local communities for the better,” said Peter Jordan. “I hope that my research has helped, and will continue to help to break down stereotypes, open doors and spark interactions that help many more LGBTQ+ people benefit from the life-changing benefits that travel can bring.”

Celebrities Read the Story of the PFLAG Founder, Jeanne Manford for LGBTQ History Month

For LGBTQ History Month in October, PFLAG National has brought 13 celebrities together to share a special reading of the new American Psychological Association (APA) children’s book The Mother of a Movement: Jeanne Manford—Ally, Activist, and Co-Founder of PFLAG. It is available now in bookstores and libraries for reading to children of all ages, at Drag Queen Story Hours, Read With Love-Ins, or bedtime. 

Celebrity readers Dan Bucatinsky, Michael D. Cohen, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ilana Glazer, Meena Harris, Jessica Hecht, Chef Melissa King, Alec Mapa, Max Mutchnick, Kumail Nanjiani, Avi Roque, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Amy Schneider have lent their voices and their affirmation of LGBTQ+ people in the video reading The Mother of a Movement, available at pflagnation.al/motherofamovement. The film is produced and directed by Phil D'Amour with music by Podington Bear composed by Chad Crouch. The book is written by Rob Sanders and illustrated by Sam Kalda. Parents, caregivers and teachers are encouraged to share this heartwarming video reading with their children.

“In some ways, 2022 was made for people like Jeanne Manford, who was a teacher, a mother, and a person who was unable to passively allow government officials to harm her LGBTQ+ child – or anyone else’s. Alongside her LGBTQ child, she founded a movement rooted in love, affirmation, and that all LGBTQ+ people deserve dignity and respect,” said PFLAG National’s Executive Director Brian K. Bond. “PFLAG National is very proud to partner with the American Psychological Association to tell Jeanne Manford’s story in this way and in this moment.”

In the past year, government officials have worked overtime to censor education and ban access to medically necessary health care for LGBTQ+ youth, particularly transgender youth. These actions echo the climate of the 1970s, when Jeanne Manford got organized and got active as the first loud and proud parent to join her LGBTQ+ child in the fight for rights, dignity and respect for all LGBTQ+ people. Today, PFLAG continues to follow Jeanne’s lead by working to make communities just and affirming of LGBTQ+ people, and to challenge efforts intended to cause harm; from suing the State of Texas in PFLAG v. Abbott to an initiative to make more books about all kinds of topics and people available called #ReadWithLove.

The Mother of a Movement is not just a history of an LGBTQ+ activist, or of a recipient of the Presidential Citizens Medal, it is an acclaimed children's book from a trusted source. 

“APA's children's books help younger readers navigate life’s challenges and serve as a voice for those who have been marginalized for their differences or shamed for being their true selves,” says Frank C. Worrell, PhD, president of the American Psychological Association. “Psychological research has shown that stigma based on sexual orientation can affect children and adolescents and lead to depression, anxiety and self-harm. Mother of a Movement is a beautiful story demonstrating the positive impact of family love, acceptance, inclusion and belonging.”  

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Nikki Lane performs on CBS Saturday Morning, Denim & Diamonds out now

Nikki Lane was featured on CBS Saturday Morning this past weekend as part of their “Saturday Sessions” series, performing three songs from her acclaimed new album Denim & Diamonds: “First High,” “Try Harder” and “Denim & Diamonds.”

Released earlier this month on New West Records (stream/purchase here), the album continues to receive widespread critical praise…

“Lane is sharpest when she leans all the way into irreverence. She sings with the authority and weariness of someone who’s been through the wringer, the cool insistence of her voice giving her an air of earned wisdom.”—Pitchfork

“The result has the rock-country grit of Tanya Tucker and some harder-edged guitars while still keeping Lane’s signature sound fully intact.”—SPIN

“It shows Nikki Lane at her best, stepping towards a darker direction while keeping one foot planted in the country and roots music of her past.”—American Songwriter

“Her brash kiss-offs, lovelorn pleas, and plenty of that good old-fashioned American grit come out to play with producer Homme's thrashing rock and roll sensibility — a deliciously satisfying combo.”—No Depression

“Nikki Lane spent the last five years since the release of her breakthrough album, Highway Queen, searching for the right combination of confidants to help her realize the vision of the paradigm-spinning outlaw country songs on Denim & Diamonds. And it’s paid off.”—San Francisco Chronicle

In celebration of the new album, Lane is currently in the midst of an extensive North American headlining tour with dates through the winter—see full routing below and purchase tickets here.

ABA partners with Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals to enhance Model Diversity Survey

The American Bar Association today announced its collaboration with the Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals (ALFDP) to bolster data gathered through ABA’s Model Diversity Survey to assess diversity, equity and inclusion among law firms.

The survey was adopted by the ABA in 2016 to review firm policies, practices and outcomes regarding hiring, attrition, promotion, leadership, work schedules and compensation based on responses from law firms nationwide. It encourages legal service providers to expand and create opportunities for attorneys from diverse backgrounds and urges buyers of legal services to direct a greater percentage of their legal spending toward diverse attorneys.

The new partnership will help ensure that the most reliable data is available to advance diversity and equity in meaningful ways and strengthen diversity for law firms and their clients.

“We’re confident this collaboration will help the ABA Model Diversity Survey stay current and prove even more useful to clients and law firms in their pursuit of greater diversity in the legal profession,” said ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross. “Expanding the use of and reliance on the survey is vital to supporting those seeking reliable data while decreasing the number of survey variants.”

ABA Resolution 113, adopted in 2016, encourages legal departments to ask law firms to complete the survey and consider the information as a factor in deciding whether to retain a law firm for significant matters. ALFDP represents more than 350 law firm professionals working in diversity, equity and inclusion who seek to advance diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.

ALFDP Board President Karlie Ilaria, said, “We’re thrilled to partner with the ABA in bolstering the vital impacts of the Model Diversity Survey and underscore its place as the leading barometer that every law firm and legal department should ascribe to. The survey will uniquely provide clients and law firms with vital data, strengthening diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in the legal profession.”

Leading Medical Organizations Call for Action to Counter Threats, Abusive Behavior Targeting Health Care Facilities and Workers

As a wave of violent threats targeting medical professionals, children’s health care facilities, and parents and families continues across the country, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Medical Association (AMA) and Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) today sent a joint letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice calling on the authorities to investigate these violent threats.

The organizations, which collectively represent millions of doctors, also called for technology organizations to take concrete steps against the wave of disinformation and hate-filled speech on social media and other communication platforms. The call echoes a recent report from the Human Rights Campaign and the Center for Countering Digital Hate that found that anti-LGBTQ+ content on social media was largely driven by a small group of extremist politicians and their allies who together are driving a coordinated and concerted campaign to attack LGBTQ+ kids.

In response to the letter, Human Rights Campaign Senior Vice President, Programs, Research & Training Jay Brown issued the following statement:

“This moment needs to be a wakeup call for everyone with the power to step in here and halt the violent threats and abuse targeting caring medical professionals, loving parents and transgender children. This situation requires a coordinated effort from local, state and federal authorities. And it should be a wake-up call for the tech companies that have done far too little, far too slowly, to address the wave of focused hate and disinformation on their social media platforms. What starts with a post or a tweet quickly spirals into bomb threats, harassing phone calls, death threats and more, and the pace of it has been relentless. This is having a chilling effect on life-saving and evidence-based care – care that improves mental health outcomes and leads to a better quality of life for those who receive it.

“The people conducting this wave of threatened violence are well-organized and funded, and countering it will take a concerted effort by the authorities and the acknowledgement of social media platforms that they’ve done far too little, even as much of this hateful behavior has been organized and conducted right in the open.”

Excerpts from the letter from the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association and Children’s Hospital Association:

“From Boston to Akron to Nashville to Seattle, children's hospitals, academic health systems, and physicians are being targeted and threatened for providing evidence-based health care. These attacks have not only made it difficult and dangerous for institutions and practices to provide this care, they have also disrupted many other services to families seeking care.”

“These coordinated attacks threaten federally protected rights to health care for patients and their families. The attacks are rooted in an intentional campaign of disinformation, where a few high-profile users on social media share false and misleading information targeting individual physicians and hospitals, resulting in a rapid escalation of threats, harassment, and disruption of care across multiple jurisdictions.”

“Our organizations are dedicated to the health and well-being of all children and adolescents. We are committed to the full spectrum of patient care–from prevention to critical care. We stand with the physicians, nurses, mental health specialists, and other health care professionals providing evidence based health care, including gender-affirming care, to children and adolescents.”

Gone Fishing

Hey folks, I'm taking off for a few days. Posting will resume Monday, October 3. 

“My Transparent Life” Starring Transgender TikTok Star Jesse Sullivan set to Premiere October 4

Elysium Media’s “My Transparent Life,” the highly anticipated documentary film from producer Serena De Comarmond (Hollywood Disclosure) is set to make its world premiere on October 4, 2022 on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play and Xbox. The cast will celebrate with a red carpet screening on October 4, 2022 at LA’s iconic Landmark Westwood with a brief Q&A following the premiere. 

“My Transparent Life” is a documentary that explores the lives of two transgender people through the various stages of transition. Investigative filmmaker Serena DC follows celebrity makeup artist Stassi Kihm and TikTok star Jesse Sullivan throughout their journeys to self actualization as they begin hormone treatments, attend appointments with gender reassignment surgeons and adjust to life as the opposite sex. 

“One of my best friends is transgender and after hearing about the rejection and abuse she has endured since transitioning I wanted to create a film that would educate the public on what it really means to be transgender and the impact that non acceptance can have on a person,” producer Serena DC said. 

Along their journeys they are mentored by a community of transgender people, doctors, psychologists and counselors as they adjust to sharing their new lives with friends, partners, work colleagues and family- some of whom are not as supportive as others. Sullivan, best known for sharing his journey with his 2.8 million followers on TikTok, became a parent as a teen to daughter Arlo and wants to share his story so the world can better understand what it means to be transgender, especially as a transgender parent and partner to reality star Francesca ‘Frankie’ Farago. 

“I just think no one has talked about being a trans parent,” Sullivan says in the trailer. “That story just hasn’t been told enough. If I had one message to the world, it would be that transgender people are way more similar to you than they are different.”

“My Transparent Life” premieres on October 4, 2022 at 11:11am pst on Amazon prime, Apple TV, Google play and Xbox.

PEOPLE Exclusive: Daniel Franzese Vents Frustration Over Brendan Fraser's Casting in 'The Whale' : 'Why Wear a Fat Suit?'

Daniel Franzese says he "and the other big queer guys" are overlooked for roles — like the one played by Brendan Fraser in The Whale.

"I love Brendan Fraser, [so] I'm very conflicted," the Mean Girls actor, 44, tells PEOPLE of Fraser's role as a gay 600-lb. reclusive writing instructor who is struggling to reconnect with his teenage daughter (Stranger Things star Sadie Sink).

"Seeing him get up so modest in Venice and have that moment, I was very happy for him. He's a lovely man. And it's great. But why? Why go up there and wear a fat suit to play a 400-lb. queer man?"

Franzese goes on to say that "actors like me and my colleagues" would "jump at" the opportunity to star a movie like The Whale, which has awards buzz for Fraser's acclaimed performance.

"To finally have a chance to be in a prestige film that might be award-nominated, where stories about people who look like us are being told? That's the dream," Franzese continues. "So when they go time and time again and cast someone like Brendan Fraser, me and the other big queer guys, we're like, 'What the ... ?' We can't take it!" 

Reps for Fraser and the movie's director, Darren Aronofsky, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment Monday. 

Franzese tells PEOPLE that Aronofsky "is one of [his] favorite directors," but says, "I would have loved to have read for this. I mean, who knows more about being an obese queer man than an obese queer man?"

"But I guess you can go ahead and wear a fat suit and do what you got to do and get your Oscar. We'll just sit here, waiting," Franzese says.

According to the RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race star, "The biggest problem we have right now in our industry is that people like me and my colleagues can't really sell movies overseas if we are actually queer because the world is homophobic."

"Even if America is ready for a gay person in the lead like that, they have a hard time selling the movie overseas, so they get scared," Franzese says. "But it's going to take risk-takers and real trailblazers to let us cut our teeth in these roles as actors so we, too, can have a shot at a full career in Hollywood."