LGBTQIA Rights

Content type
Collection

Roberta Achtenberg becomes the first openly gay person to be confirmed by the United States senate for a political post

May 24, 1993

On May 24, 1993, Roberta Achtenberg became the first openly gay person confirmed by the United States Senate for a major political post when she was voted in by a 58-31 margin.  Achtenberg’s appointment to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development marked a historic turning point in American LGBTQ history.

Episode 129: Idit Klein on a Quarter Century of Queer Jewish Leadership

Supporting and embracing queer Jews has been Idit Klein's mission for over a quarter century. Since 2001, she has led Keshet, which is now the largest organization for LGBTQ+ Jews in America. With her departure from Keshet approaching, Idit sat down with her longtime friend Judith Rosenbaum, to reflect on her career, the impact of today's political climate on her work, and how much has changed for queer Jews in her lifetime.

Emma Goldman with green and blue multi-color stars and a megaphone

Wrestling with Identity Politics

Jess Shapiro

In some ways this “identity revolution” introduces a new type of social order.

Collage of women dancing with a rainbow background

Rhymes with Bike: Reflections from a Queer Jew

Liana Galper

Connected by a visceral understanding of one another, queer Jews are able to widen each other’s understanding of Judaism.

Episode 125: Making Gay History, the Nazi Era: Frieda Belinfante (Special Episode)

In honor of Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, we're sharing a podcast episode from Making Gay History’s current series about the Nazi era. Frieda Belinfante was a Dutch musician and underground activist who risked her life to help save hundreds of Jews from the Nazis. She’s one of several LGBTQ people whose testimonies are featured in this Making Gay History series. Check out the rest of the series at makinggayhistory.org.

Marcia Freedman

Marcia Judith Prince Freedman was an American-Israeli feminist writer, Knesset member, and advocate for women's rights who played a pivotal role in establishing Israel's feminist movement. Her activism included founding consciousness-raising groups, advocating for equal pay and reproductive rights, and challenging sexist religious laws. She also became politically involved in the United States, pushing for a new perspective on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. 

Birth of Denise Eger, first openly gay president of the CCAR

March 14, 1960

Denise Eger, the first openly gay president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and known for her trailblazing activism, was born on March 14, 1960. Eger’s rabbinical career spanned several decades and she notably served California’s queer Jewish community at the height of the AIDS crisis. 

2024 Highlights Photo Montage

Jewish Women Who Shaped 2024

JWA Staff

As 2024 draws to a close, the JWA team takes a moment to celebrate some of the incredible moments and achievements of Jewish women and gender-expansive people from the past year. Here are our picks for the standouts that inspired us, made us laugh, and reminded us of the power of resilience, community, and creativity.

Collage of a kippah and a rainbow

How My Kippah Affirms My Trans Identity

Murphy Slater

I feel most sure of my gender identity and presentation when it melds with my Jewish cultural identity.

Claude Cahun

Surrealist photographer Claude Cahun lived their life in a spirit of rebellion and defiance. From their precocious teenage years, defying conventional ideals of beauty and femininity with their shaven head and male attire, to their direct resistance of German occupying forces, they active worked against the suppression of liberty and freedom—a life of resistance. 

Joy Ladin cropped

Q & A with Poet Joy Ladin

Deborah Leipziger

JWA chats with poet and activist Joy Ladin about her two new books, gender transformations, and resisting tyranny.

"Moonstone Covenant" Book Cover

A Jewish Narnia Comes Alive in "The Moonstone Covenant"

Mildred Faintly

Jill Hammer's fantasy debut is an enchanting blend of female friendship, Jewish mysticism, and epic adventure. 

Charlotte Charlaque

Charlotte Charlaque was a transgender trailblazer, actress, and translator in Weimer Berlin and post-Shoah New York City. 

Elana Dykewomon

Elana Dykewomon was a poet, novelist, editor, theorist, lesbian, and cultural worker. Her lesbian and Jewish identities and commitments informed and shaped her award-winning novels and other writings, and she made significant theoretical contributions to lesbian separatism and fat liberation.

Liz Kleinrock Cropped

7 Questions For Author Liz Kleinrock

Sarah Groustra

JWA talks to author and educator Liz Kleinrock about her new book, What Jewish Looks Like, and about making Jewish communities more inclusive. 

Elizabeth Taylor, circa 1955

The Self-Mythology of Elizabeth Taylor

Sarah Jae Leiber

The film shines brightest as a catalog of one woman’s robust self-mythology, written and rewritten to protect herself from the reality of how she was perceived by the world.

Topics: Film, LGBTQIA Rights
Julie Kay Headshot

7 Questions For Julie F. Kay

Sarah Groustra

JWA chats with internationally recognized human rights lawyer Julie F. Kay.

'Styx' Translation Book Cover

Q & A with Poet and Translator Mildred Faintly

Deborah Leipziger

JWA talks to Mildred Faintly about her recently published translation of Else Lasker-Schüler's book of poetry, Styx.

Dr. Ruth Westheimer

The Radical Legacy of Dr. Ruth

Rebecca L. Davis

The history of sex and sexuality in America is replete with episodes of repression and censure. But from Dr. Ruth, we learn an alternative narrative of joyful candor.

"Botannica Tirannica" exhibition

Q & A with Artist Giselle Beiguelman

Sarah Groustra

JWA talks to Brazilian artist Giselle Beiguelman about her "Botannica Tirannica" exhibition, which explores how common botanical names both mirror and perpetuate societal prejudices. 

"Alex" by Dena Eber

7 Questions For Photographer Dena Eber

Sarah Groustra

JWA talks to Dena Eber about her passion for photography and her new book You Refuse to Believe That You Ever Liked Pink.

Charlotte Charlaque

Finding Strength in My Transcestor

Ariadne Wolf

My great-aunt Charlotte has taught me so much. But until recently, I didn't even know she existed. 

Episode 112: Oral History Showcase: Mollie's Fight for Gay Rights

Dr. Mollie Wallick didn't set out to be a gay rights activist; she stumbled into the role in 1983, when she was a guidance counselor at Louisiana State University’s medical school in New Orleans. In this episode of Can We Talk?, you’ll hear excerpts from Mollie’s 2005 interview for the “Women Who Dared” oral history project. As we kick off pride month, Mollie’s story reminds us how much has changed in just a few decades—language, attitudes, and policies. And it offers a glimpse of what it was like to be an advocate for gay students at a time when their school, and society in general, offered few resources and many obstacles.

Molly Bajgot Headshot

7 Questions For Molly Bajgot

Sarah Biskowitz

JWA chats with Jewish musician, educator, and activist Molly Bajgot. 

Donate

Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women.

donate now

Get JWA in your inbox

Read the latest from JWA from your inbox.

sign up now