The Top Lesbian News of 2016

From "Bachelor" contestants finding love with each other to WNBA weddings, LPAC raising money for Hillary and Xena out and proud, 2016 was a wild year for women!

"The Bachelor" Contestants Find Love - With Each Other
Two contestants from the 2016 Australian version of "The Bachelor" have found love -- with each other! The show's premise has a bunch of desperate women competing for the affections of one man, with whom they eventually marry and live happily ever after. But Mashable reports that two contestants -- Megan Marx and Tiffany James -- have 'looked beyond the rose' and found a deep love with each other. Click here.

Christian Mom Blogger Dating Soccer Star Abby Wambach
Christian "confessional writer" Glennon Doyle Melton came out on November 13, announcing that the mother of three known for her honest portrayals of her addiction, eating disorders and marital struggles is in love and in a relationship with champion soccer star Abby Wambach.
Click here.

"Apprentice" Staffer Says Trump Called Marlee Matlin 'Retarded'
According to reports from longtime staffers of the NBC show "The Apprentice," Donald Trump repeatedly disrespected Academy Award-winning actress Marlee Matlin, calling her "retarded." Raw Story reports that when Matlin appeared on the show in 2011, coming in second place, Trump regularly disrespected her, treating her as though she was mentally disabled. Click here.

Lesbian Kiss In Cereal Commercial Traumatized My Child
An Australian mom went Fruit Loops after the Advertising Standards Board Australia rejected claims that her seven-year-old son suffered permanent psychological damage after he watched a commercial that featured two ladies briefly kissing. LGBT Nation reported that a viewer filed a complaint with the ASB after her son watched a Kellogg's Special K advertisement titled, "Own It," that features a diverse group of women, including two sharing a brief kiss at a party. Click here.

Hot Octopuss Brings World's First Mobile Sexpert To NYC
Get ready for some Pillow Talk: Hot Octopuss is bringing the world's first mobile sexpert to New York City! On October 5, their mobile four-poster bed will be taking to the streets of Manhattan, and�sexpert Jenny Block will be inviting you to hop on board. Longtime EDGE contributor Jenny Block, author of "O Wow: Discovering Your Ultimate Orgasm" and "The Ultimate Guide to Solo Sex" is inviting New Yorkers to�jump in between the sheets and indulge in a�little pillow talk to get one-on-one advice on their own sex lives and sexual health. Click here.

WNBA Star Elena Delle Donne Gets Engaged, Heads to Olympics
Elena Delle Donne, the WNBA MVP who's headed to this year's Olympics in Rio, has gotten engaged! According to the August issue of Vogue, Elena and Amanda Clifton -- with whom Elena played basketball in college and who has previously been referenced only as a friend -- are engaged. Furthermore, the Vogue piece is the first known public discussion of Elena being queer, so congratulations are in order for that as well! Click here.

LPAC Supports Hillary With Levity & Justice for All
On June 16, LPAC, the national grassroots lesbian political action committee supporting pro-LGBTQ, pro-women's rights and progressive candidates, will hold Levity & Justice for All, a first-of-its-kind benefit performance featuring top lesbian and queer comics and women's rights champions, including Kate Clinton, Rosie O'Donnell, Billie Jean King, Lea DeLaria, Karen Williams, Cameron Esposito, Judy Gold, Marga Gomez, Jes Tom, Marsha Warfield, Rhea Butcher, and others.

"Lesbian and queer women are on the cutting edge of cultural change," said Kate "Hilarity" Clinton. "Our comedy has always delivered pointed political commentary and helped inspire activism. I am thrilled that LPAC and this stellar line up of comics will take center stage in this critical election to urge our communities to get involved politically and to vote!" Click here.

Drag King Attacked in Olympia
A Portland-area drag king was attacked on early Sunday morning, knocking out several teeth and leaving her feeling harassed and threatened. Komo News reports that Lila Hadway, who performs drag under the name Parker Perry, was loading up her gear after a benefit show at the Fourth Avenue Tavern in Olympia when a man approaching her began harassing her and her friends. Hadway told Komo News that she told the man, "Hey, can we just leave this alone?" But she said the attacker replied, "You look like a man so I'm going to fight you like a man." Click here.

Gillian Anderson Throws Hat in the Ring To Be Next Bond
Posting a mocked-up photo of herself as 007, actress Gillian Anderson of "The X-Files" fame has said that she would love to be considered to take over the James Bond franchise as the first-ever female James, er, Jane Bond. The UK Guardian reports that the actress expressed her desire to take over for Daniel Craig as the 'world's most famous secret agent' when she Tweeted, "It's Bond, Jane Bond." She added: "(And sorry, don't know who made poster but I love it!)," with the hashtag #NextBond via her Twitter feed. Click here.

Frontiers Fires Lesbian Reporter For Being Too Old
A renowned and respected lesbian reporter was just sacked for being too old -- and the publication that fired her is LGBT! LGBT Nation reports that 66-year-old news editor Karen Ocamb was called into the Frontiers Magazine office during her vacation, and summarily fired. Since joining the publication in 2002, Ocamb had risen up to become their news editor. But new owners decided they wanted to focus the magazine on millennials, and that she would be "laid off." Now, however, they're admitting that Ocamb is fired. And what's more, it's because she's just too old. In an article in Press Pass Q, Ocamb confided that "I was just laid off as news editor of Frontiers Magazine and FrontiersMedia.com. The company, Multimedia Platforms Worldwide, is making major changes to the magazine and is building a new website -- all of which will be announced later." Click here.

Xena Will Be Out and Proud in TV Reboot
As if your baby butch lesbian longings sprung fully formed like Athena from the head of Zeus, so is the '90s series "Xena: Warrior Princess" is back for an NBC reboot, and this time, Xena and her sidekick Gabrielle will definitely be out of the closet about their super-committed, super-gay relationship. In a recent article, Jezebel writes that "This time around, there won't be any suggestiveness about Xena's (Lucy Lawless) relationship with her sheroic partner Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor). Xena will for sure be openly gay in the series." Both the sword fighting and the sexual chemistry will be back. But in addition to beating gorgons and marauders, Xena and Gabrielle have also beaten the homophobia of the '90s, that wouldn't allow room for an on-screen lesbian romance. Click here.

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Mormon Teen Forced to Carry Rocks to 'Cure' Her Lesbianism
A new book from an ex-Mormon woman tells of months of abuse at the hands of her parents and church elders who beat her, humiliated her and made her carry heavy loads of rocks to 'cure' the gay out of her. The Advocate reports that 21-year-old Alex Cooper was abused and held hostage at a gay conversion house in Utah after she told her parents that she was attracted to women at age 15. In her new book, "Saving Alex," Cooper writes about trying to escape the facility, and attempting suicide to stop the abuse. As a teen, Cooper was removed from her home in California and sent to an ex-gay house in Utah run by a couple who "used faith to punish and terrorize her," said her publisher, HarperCollins. Click here.

Lesbian Soccer Star Inspires Mattel's Latest Barbie Doll
Toymaker Mattel announced they will make a special Barbie Doll representing Pittsford native and former U.S. soccer star Abby Wambach. The doll is made in her likeness, and will be wearing her white Team USA uniform and No. 20 jersey.

"This proves we are really getting somewhere," Wambach, 35, said about the stereotype-busting toy, in a recent article in the Democrat and Chronicle. Click here.

W.Va. Lesbians Allegedly Called 'An Abomination' by County Clerk
When a lesbian couple from West Virginia went to get their marriage license last week, they were dismayed and humiliated to find that it came with a message of condemnation from the deputy clerk that issued it. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported that when Samantha Brookover and her partner Amanda Abramovich went to Glenville's Gilmer County Courthouse to pick up their marriage license, they also got an earful from a clerk who told them that their relationship was "an abomination," and that God would judge them. "It just takes one person to remind you how close-minded our world is," Brookover said. Click here.

Lea DeLaria Performs at Stonewall's Annual Gala
Lea DeLaria has entertained crowds across the country and worldwide for over 30 years. She has earned legions of fans through her stand-up comedy, for her bebop jazz music, for her performances on Broadway, and of course for her fan favorite turn playing "Big Boo" on the Netflix series "Orange is the New Black." She returns to Florida for a special night indeed: The annual gala benefiting the Stonewall National Museum & Archives. The gala was held at Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, February 13, part of the Broadway Concert Series at the Parker Playhouse. Click here.

Lesbian Pioneer Jeanne Cordova Dead at 67
Lesbian feminist activist Jeanne Cordova died at 4:30 a.m. on Monday, January 11 in her Los Angeles home. According to Frontiers, her spouse, Lynn Ballen and friend Jenny Pizer, Doreena Wong and Dina Evans from Arizona were with her when she passed.

"She was home with loved ones, and her close friend Dina Evans, who some people might remember here at Dina Bachelor Evans, was on the phone with her. She is a spiritual teacher and therapist and helped Jeanne during the dying process friend," said Jenny Pizer.

Last September, Cordova sent an open letter to the community telling them that she was dying of metastasized brain cancer in her cerebellum. She bequeathed $2M to the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, and sent her thanks to those who loved and moved her. Click here.

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