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Two married lesbians have both carried the same baby before birth, in what appears to be the first IVF pregnancy of this kind. Ashleigh and Bliss Coulter, who live in Dallas, Texas, used a revolutionary new procedure which involved Bliss, 36, taking the embryo for five days while it fertilised, before Ashleigh, 28, was impregnated with the embryo and carried it to term. Their son, Stetson Coulter, was born, happy and healthy, in June. Speaking to PinkNews, she explained that the INVOcell is a container “the size of a champagne cork, made of polystyrene” that can be filled with sperm and an egg, and inserted into the vagina, which has the perfect conditions for fertilisation. “A laboratory provides a static set temperature and atmosphere, with the right PH and carbon dioxide levels,” said Doody, who has been practising for 29 years. “But humans do that all the time, naturally, every day, with livers, kidneys and lungs! Turns out the vagina provides a great environment. “The concept is not novel, but the difference is that the eggs usually go into a Petri dish. In this case, the magic happens in a body.” Compared to a traditional IVF, there is a risk of device expulsion—though no-one has reported losing it so far, Doody said—and may be an increased risk of an ‘abnormal embryo’ being transferred to the uterus. But Doody said that her process was “more natural,” as it allows both partners to actively participate and bond with their potential child. “Normally what happens is donor insemination, or they would both try to get pregnant with the same donor sperm, but this allows them to both be part of it. This is something a heterosexual couple can’t share. “I do think this is special. I’m excited.” Source

Gay and lesbian couples are happier than people in straight relationships. Maybe you’ve already suspected it, while looking at your straight friends and their relationships. That hint of sadness in their eyes, compared to the joyous glint in yours and your partner’s. Well, now an extensive study has provided some much-needed evidence. After questioning more than 25,000 people in the UK and over 9,000 in Australia, researchers found that gay and lesbian couples are better off. However, bisexual people suffered from worse relationships, on average, than straight or homosexual people. Francisco Perales and Janeen Baxter from the University of Queensland conducted the study. In their findings, they wrote: “Relationship quality in same-sex couples was as high as in heterosexual couples in the United Kingdom, and higher in Australia. “The lowest relationship quality in both countries was reported by bisexual individuals.” The researchers suggested that gay and lesbian couples might have better relationships because they are less concerned about sticking to stereotypical gender roles. They wrote that “individuals in same-sex couples (particularly lesbian women) generally are more equitable in the ways in which they allocate domestic work, including childcare”. Straight couples often reaffirm their gender roles in relationships, which, the authors state, can lead to an unfair division of labour. “Unequal household burdens are associated with poor relationship outcomes, including marital conflict and divorce,” they explained. “If gender display is not as salient in same-sex couples and these relationships are more egalitarian than heterosexual couples, higher levels of relationship quality might be expected.” The two added that same-sex couples might feel more connected to a community of similar couples, which may increase their happiness. They also suggested that “individuals in same-sex relationships may be more likely than those in different-sex relationships to have high relationship investment.” Perales and Baxter argued that their findings supported giving more rights to same-sex couples, and refuted arguments that children of same-sex parents suffer. “Our results provide robust evidence to combat deep-rooted and erroneous social perceptions of same-sex relationships being conflictual, unhappy, and dysfunctional,” they said. “Our findings support policies that seek to legalise same-sex marriage and parenting rights.” The authors also emphasised that their results “highlight the need to give further attention to bisexual individuals as a distinct group because their outcomes are comparatively poor.” Bisexual people have consistently been found to have the lowest life satisfaction among LGBT people. They also feel less worthwhile and happy – and much more anxious – than other people, according to a study from earlier this year. And just this week, it was revealed that bisexual people sleep worse than everyone else, with bi women being especially affected. Source

picture this: you've had a surprisingly rough childhood, your sister was killed by demons and you accidentally shot your own dad. You managed to escape the small town where you grew up, only to be dragged back for your uncle's funeral just in time to turn 27 and realize your family curse. Sounds like fun, right? Here's the gist: Way back in the day, about 150 years ago, the lawman and gunslinger Wyatt Earp had a curse put on his family. When he died, all 77 of the outlaws he killed would come back from the dead as demons and it was up to his descendants to dispatch them once again, starting the year they turn 27. If the current heir dies before ridding the Ghost River Triangle of all 77 Revenants, the process will start all over when the next heir turns 27. Wynonna Earp is the heir. She thinks she's come back to Purgatory (the town, not the place between heaven and hell, though …) to say goodbye to a beloved uncle, but when she gets home she's welcomed by her 27th birthday and the return of the Earp curse. Does that sound awesome? Because I promise you that it's awesome. This show is full of cursin' and drinkin' and shootin' and just plain bad-ass bein' and those are just the ladies. Do you need more reasons to log into Netflix and binge the first season? I can give you more reasons. So. Much. Girl Power. I've already mentioned that the show features some awesome female characters but I don't think I've properly sold you on just how many there are - and their level of awesomeness. This show is packed with awesome women for you to fall in love with - and a few dudes too. First, of course, there's Wynonna herself, the black sheep of not only her family but the entire town of Purgatory. Coming home isn't an easy thing for Wynonna to do and staying to fight demons and break her family curse certainly doesn't make it any easier. Wynonna, to her credit, really couldn't care less what the other residents of Purgatory think of her. She has a job to do and as long as her little sister still loves her, that's really all she needs to get by. Well, that, Wyatt's magic demon-killing gun, Peacemaker, and a whole lot of booze. The brains of the operation are Wynonna's little sister, Waverly, a whip-smart, firecracker of a woman who would really like it if you would stop underestimating her now. She may be small but she be fierce, and while she may not be the Earp heir, it's her family curse too. Waverly's thoughtfulness and intelligence are the perfect foil to Wynonna's hotheaded approach to wiping all of Wyatt's revenants off the face of the Earth, and as the first season progresses she quickly grows into a more confident young woman. Helping out with Waverly's transformation - and protecting Purgatory from demons even if she doesn't realize that's what she's doing - is Officer Nicole Haught. Nicole is loyal, brave, forthright, and she's not taking any of your crap, thank you very much. Also, she's a lesbian, and she makes Waverly very uncomfortable when they first meet. The show isn't just female-focused in front of the camera, it extends behind it as well. Wynonna Earp was created by Emily Andras, who previously served as a writer and executive producer on Lost Girl, another female-focused fantasy drama. Wynonna Earp has Waverly. The difference, though, is that both the show and its characters are very well aware of the fact that Waverly is a much better choice for the Earp heir than Wynonna. Waverly actually says it, out loud, very early on in the series. She's spent her life trying to build up the knowledge and skills needed to figure out who the revenants are and wipe them off the planet. She has endless research on Wyatt and his outlaws. The only thing she's missing is the title and all the fancy powers - and enemies - that come with it. WayHaught is #relationshipgoals Speaking of choices, one of the choices the show makes very early on strongly resonated with fans, and for very good reason. In the second episode, the show introduces us to Officer Haught, who I already mentioned is an out lesbian, and who has her eyes on one Waverly Earp. Waverly may be dating her high school sweetheart at the time, but she's not trying too hard to rebuff the advances of the attractive cop, and eventually, the two begin a beautiful romance. Gay characters and relationships, especially lesbian ones, are slowly becoming familiar territory on television. Genre television is probably the most common place to find these stories too, so Wynonna Earpdoesn't get a cookie just for throwing it's LGBT fans a bone, no matter how pretty that bone may be. What does get them points is the way they handle that story and that relationship. Where it shines is in the comparison to other similar stories on other shows, and boy does it shine. The show never exploits their lesbian relationship for shock value or queer baiting, rather choosing to invest in it over the course of the season, like you would any other relationship. They also never force some grand struggle or coming out arch on Waverly, which is refreshing in a world where coming out stories are almost all we see. It's completely straightforward. Nicole is gay, she likes Waverly, Waverly likes her, they smush their faces together and talk about their feelings and it's perfect. Of course, the greatest part of this relationship isn't just its existence, but the way the writers use both if and Nicole herself to comment on some of the biggest issues facing queer characters today. Namely, the issue of Bury Your Gays, which saw the death of dozens of lesbians on television just last year. Source