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LQBTQIA+

There's a new summer camp designed for LGBTQ+ kids and it was filled within weeks

Shira Berkowitz, camp indigo point, Daniel Bogard, Jewish summer camp, LGBTQ, trans

Rabbi Daniel Bogard (left) and Camp Indigo Point founder Shira Berkowitz (right).

Trans youth continuously have to fight for their right to exist in the world. Living in a country where states are actively working to dismantle rights and protections for trans children and their families is stressful for trans youth, a section of the population that has alarmingly high rates of attempted suicide. Whether it’s things like the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, squabbles over which bathroom to use or banning trans kids from sports that fit their identified gender, these kids face a plethora of challenges on top of trying to just be kids. It’s imperative that there’s time for joy, friendship and feeling like they belong to counterbalance the negative messaging they’re receiving from the adults in charge.

Shira Berkowitz has answered the call to provide a place for LGBTQ+ children to feel like they belong. Berkowitz is one of the founders of Camp Indigo Point, a summer camp specifically for LGBTQ+ youth. The camp was inspired by their own experience as a camp program director—they were relieved of their duties after it was discovered that they were queer and the powers that be found it inappropriate for them to be a director for girls. Berkowitz told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency it “was really harmful to my identity. I went back in the closet for a few years.”


Eventually Berkowitz went on to work at Camp Sabra, Missouri’s biggest overnight camp. They found the environment much more accepting, but the experience at the other camp continued to motivate them to build an even more inclusive community. Even though Camp Sabra is accepting, at the time it only employed two other members of the LGBTQ+ community. Berkowitz and a friend from Camp Sabra, Daniel Bogard—a rabbi and parent who is raising a transgender child—thought up the idea for Camp Indigo Point last year, around the time that Missouri introduced multiple anti-trans bills, several of which are aimed at children.

Daniel Bogard (left) and Shira Berkowitz (right, foreground) with teen advocacy group.

Courtesy of Shira Berkowitz

It felt important to Berkowitz and Bogard to have a place where trans kids could feel safe and accepted. Camp Indigo Point is open for one week in June. When registration opened, it filled up within weeks—93 children from 27 states have filled the available spots. There are currently more than 50 children on the waitlist and more than 130 people vying for the 29 staff positions available.

Camp Indigo Point isn’t only available to Jewish trans youth, it’s open to all LGBTQ+ youth in America. The lucky kids that will get to spend a week there will certainly be in for a treat, having a space designed just for them that allows them the freedom to simply be.

The ability to exist fully within yourself as you were meant to be is something that many people take for granted. At this camp, these kids will finally be able to focus on what summer camps are designed for: being silly and having fun.

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

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According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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Pargin is the author of the “John Dies at the End” and “Zoey Ashe” series and the former editor of Cracked.com.

"I don't think anyone actually enjoys eating lobster. I think they've just been convinced that it's a high-class food for a really specific reason,” Pargin says in his controversial video. He then describes how just a few centuries ago lobster was once used as prisoners' food and ground into fertilizer.

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Joy

An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

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Pop Culture

This 1940s guide on 'how to be pretty' for teen girls has some surprisingly modern suggestions

In a resurfaced video from the 1940s, Mary Stuyvesant, a Ponds beauty consultant, spoke to a group of high school girls about "how to be pretty."

1940s guide on "how to be pretty" is surprisingly modern.

Often, when we think of the 1940s and the messaging that was sent to women and girls back then, we tend to imagine lessons about how to get and keep a husband. But it turns out that all messaging wasn't the same and some girls were receiving a much more progressive message about their appearance.

In a resurfaced video from the 1940s, Mary Stuyvesant, a Ponds beauty consultant, spoke to a group of high school girls about "how to be pretty." Surprisingly, the advice is rather timeless and not at all focused on becoming the best wife and mother you can be, but on learning to care for yourself. Stuyvesant refers to your physical appearance as icing on a cake and that good icing tastes nice but the cake is the most important part.

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Weatherman rescues a chicken in a blizzard and now they're friends.

There's a little-known saying that every weatherman needs a chicken. OK, it's little known because I totally just made it up, but you have to admit, it's just random enough to make you wonder if you missed out on a weird colloquialism. But in this case, it may be a new saying because weatherman David Neal found a stray chicken while reporting on a blizzard, and they've somehow become best friends.

The chicken, now named Penelope, was running around in the snowstorm while Neal was filming, so he tried to catch her so he could make sure she was warm. Penelope had other plans and gave Neal a literal run for his money. Eventually, with the help of a bystander who was likely as confused as the chicken, Neal was able to get Penny in his arms.

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Today Info/Youtube

Taylor Swift "diving" below the stage of her Eras Tour concert

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Case in point—a video from the “Anti-Hero” pop star's kick-off concert that’s making quite the splash online.

In a mesmerizing blend of live performance and hologram wizardry, audiences saw Swift, clad in a flowy red dress, dive into a pool built into the stage. She then swam across to emerge through waves in a shimmery jumpsuit, just before climbing a ladder and disappearing into a cloud.

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