Shout OUT! “Anyone But Me” Web Series Inspires New Resources List

I’ve been putting together a list of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning) resources for a while now, always intending to post them during Pride Week in June. But then I’m almost always on vacation in June.

So, why did I finally post them now, in December? I was inspired by Anyone But Me, the new Web series I’m producing that premiered on StrikeTV on Monday, December 8.

Anyone But Me introduces a new generation of New York teens – gay, straight and ethnically diverse – coming of age in a post-9/11 world. When 16-year-old Vivian McMillan (Rachael Hip-Flores) moves from New York City to Westchester County, she’s uncertain about coming out at her new suburban high school. While she was completely out as a lesbian in the city, now she’s cautiously navigating new terrain.

Tina Cesa Ward, creator, writer and director of Anyone But Me, writes about this experience in her Anyone But Me – The Web Series blog:

Everyone tells his or her coming out story. I always found it funny that everyone tells it like that was the only time they've ever had to come out. Like after that first "I'm gay" moment, everything else has been easy ever since. But the truth is we all have to come out over and over again. If we change jobs, move into a different apartment building, go to a party with people we don't know. And for most of us, coming out to people can still be just as hard as it was the first time. That was what I wanted to explore with Vivian.

We see more of Vivian adjusting to her new life in episode #2, which premieres on Tuesday, December 16, on StrikeTV. ABM has also been selected as an Editor’s Pick video on AfterEllen.com, the Web site for “News, Reviews & Commentary on Lesbian and Bisexual Women in Entertainment and the Media” (which gave the show a great write-up last week and included it in its weekly recap Best. Lesbian. Week. Ever.); our episodes will begin streaming there as well on Monday.

So, in a somewhat shameless plug for the show, but a nonetheless well intentioned resource for the Vivians out there cautiously navigating new terrain, as well as the old hands who are out and proud, I have posted a new When You Need to Know listing of New York’s LGBTQ organizations and publications. The post follows below; you can also link to it from my new sidebar section, Shout OUT!, a collection of posts relevant to the LGBTQ community.