OnWord’s New Park for “Non-Traditional Skaters” in Chicago

Like many places, Chicago’s skate scene is dominated by straight, white cis men, oftentimes leaving women, people of color, gender-nonconforming and queer individuals feeling unwelcome or intimidated in skateparks. OnWord, a collective on a mission to empower “non-traditional skaters,” seeks to change that. For their most recent project, the group built their own pop-up park, called OnSite, where all people can feel safe and welcome. …

First-Ever US Passport Issued With “X” Gender Designation

In order to respect and reflect the “lived reality” for many, the first-ever US passport marked with “X” as the gender has been issued. The new gender designation option will hopefully give non-binary, intersex and gender-nonconforming individuals the opportunity to “live with greater dignity and respect,” says Jessica Stern, US special diplomatic envoy for LGBTQ rights. Colorado navy veteran Dana Zzyym—who has been campaigning for …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

Pagan turnips to jack-o'lanterns, contemporary art at the ancient pyramids, lab-grown brains and more from around the internet

Scientists are Growing Mini Brains to Learn How to Treat Fatal Diseases According to the scientific journal Nature Neuroscience, researchers from the University of Cambridge are growing miniature human brain models to study neurological disorders, like the motor-neuron diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. By sampling a culture of skin cells, reverting them to stem cells and then reprogramming them into specific organs or …