For many LGBTQ+ people today, coming out isnt a single moment its something they navigate differently depending on whos watching. A growing number of queer individuals feel fully themselves online while remaining cautious, private, or closeted in their offline lives. This experience, often called the digital closet, is becoming more common as social media, gaming platforms, and online communities offer safer spaces to explore identity.The digital closet isnt about dishonesty. Its about survival, self-protection, and the need for connection in a world where safety varies from one environment to another.Why the Digital Closet ExistsThe internet has become one of the few places where many LGBTQ+ people feel free. Online, they can choose their communities, control their visibility, and open up at their own pace. But offline, things can feel very different. Family expectations, cultural or religious pressures, unsafe living situations, or workplace concerns often create environments where being out doesnt feel possible.For some, staying closeted in person is a temporary step while they build confidence or gain independence. For others, its a necessary boundary that keeps them safe. The contrast between digital expression and offline silence doesnt mean theyre confused it means theyre navigating two realities with different risks.Online Spaces Make Authenticity EasierOnline communities give people room to breathe in ways the real world sometimes doesnt. Whether its TikTok, Twitch, Tumblr, gaming servers, or private Discord groups, these spaces allow queer people to test language, explore pronouns, connect with others, and express themselves without fear of being judged by people in their physical environment.This freedom can be healing. It can help someone understand who they are long before theyre ready to share it with everyone. For many, this online identity becomes a lifeline a place where theyre seen, affirmed, and connected.The Emotional Cost of Living Two LivesWhile the digital closet can offer safety, it can also create emotional strain. Switching between online me and offline me takes energy. Some people worry about being discovered accidentally, while others feel guilt for being out in one place but not another. There can also be grief a longing for the day when both versions of themselves can merge into one.This tension doesnt mean someone is living inauthentically. It means theyre waiting for the right moment to be fully open, or protecting their mental health in the only way they can right now.What Support Looks LikeSupport is not about pushing someone to come out faster. Its about giving them space to decide whats right for them. A supportive environment acknowledges that safety, readiness, and independence shape each persons journey. Encouragement sounds like:Im here for you, however you choose to show up.Not:You need to come out.Therapy can play a huge role, especially for those trying to manage fear, anxiety, or pressure from multiple angles. Affirming conversations help people understand that being fully themselves isnt about where theyre out its about having the freedom to choose when and how to share their truth.Blending Online and Offline Identities at Your Own PaceFor many, there comes a moment when the online self begins to feel too big, too real, too important to keep hidden. That transition doesnt have to be dramatic or sudden. It can be slow, intentional, and guided by support. Small steps telling one trusted friend, using preferred pronouns with safe people, finding affirming local spaces can help bridge the gap.When both identities finally meet, it often brings a deep sense of relief. But the timing belongs entirely to the person living it.A New Way of Understanding Coming OutThe digital closet is a reminder that coming out has never been one-size-fits-all. Today, being out online is often the first chapter, not the last. Its a way to discover language, build confidence, test boundaries, and feel supported long before the offline world is ready.Living two lives doesnt make someone less authentic. It makes them resourceful. And as long as safety remains unequal, the digital closet will continue to be a vital space of survival and self-discovery for countless LGBTQ+ people.The post The Digital Closet: Why Many LGBTQ+ People Are Out Online but Not Offline appeared first on LGBTQ and ALL.

More and more people are talking about the strong connection between neurodivergence and LGBTQ identity. Many queer individuals also identify as autistic, ADHD, OCD, or otherwise neurodivergent. This overlap isnt random or new it reflects experiences that both communities share, especially around identity, expression, and mental health. Understanding this intersection is essential for improving LGBTQ neurodivergent mental health, recognizing barriers, and creating more affirming support.These identities often overlap.Studies increasingly show that LGBTQ+ people are more likely to be neurodivergent, and neurodivergent individuals are more likely to identify as LGBTQ+. Both groups tend to move through the world in ways that challenge traditional expectations. Neurodivergent people often question norms because they dont automatically absorb them, while queer people challenge norms simply by existing authentically. When these experiences intersect, they can create a deeper sense of self-awareness and a more natural openness to identity exploration.Masking affects both groups.Masking is the act of hiding parts of yourself to appear acceptable or avoid harm. It shows up differently depending on the context, but the emotional impact is similar. Neurodivergent individuals may mask by forcing certain social behaviours, while LGBTQ+ people may mask their identity, relationships, or gender expression to feel safer. For those who are both queer and neurodivergent, masking layers on top of masking. This can lead to exhaustion, anxiety, and a chronic feeling of not being fully seen. Creating environments where people can unmask without fear is one of the most powerful ways to support LGBTQ neurodivergent mental health.Neurodivergence shapes gender and sexuality exploration.Many neurodivergent people describe experiencing gender and sexuality with fewer filters. Traditional labels, rules, or expectations may simply feel irrelevant. Someone who is autistic or ADHD may question social norms because those norms never made sense to begin with. This freedom to think differently makes it easier to explore identity without feeling pressured to fit into boxes. Neurodivergence doesnt cause queerness rather, it creates room for authenticity in ways that structured or rigid systems never did.Living with both identities impacts mental health.People who are both queer and neurodivergent often face unique mental health challenges. Anxiety and depression may increase when someone is constantly navigating systems that misunderstand their communication style, sensory needs, or identity. Some LGBTQ+ spaces may unintentionally expect neurotypical behaviour, while some neurodivergent spaces may feel heteronormative or cisnormative. This can create a sense of being caught between worlds. At the same time, understanding ones neurodivergence and LGBTQ identity together can offer clarity, reduce shame, and support healing.Support makes a real difference.Mental health support is most effective when it acknowledges the whole person not just their identity or diagnosis separately. Therapists who understand both queerness and neurodivergence can help clients explore communication patterns, reduce masking, navigate relationship dynamics, and build coping strategies tailored to their sensory or emotional needs. When support is affirming and informed, people can show up more authentically and feel more grounded in who they are.Community helps people feel understood.Feeling understood is one of the most healing experiences available to LGBTQ neurodivergent individuals. Community spaces whether online, in support groups, through peer circles, or within chosen family offer room to express needs without apology. People can share lived experiences, decompress from masking, and find comfort in being around others who understand both queer identity and neurodivergence. These spaces offer emotional safety, validation, and an important reminder: you are not alone.Final ThoughtsThe intersection of LGBTQ identity and neurodivergence is rich, complex, and deeply human. It shapes how people see themselves, how they navigate the world, and how they experience mental health. When we recognize the connection, we create more space for understanding, compassion, and care. For anyone who identifies as both queer and neurodivergent, your experience is real and valid and you deserve support that embraces every part of who you are.The post Understanding the Connection Between Being Neurodivergent & Queer appeared first on LGBTQ and ALL.

Who the f*ck is that? Cause that aint me.Thats the moderately gay voice of Cheyenne Jackson, speaking backstage during his run in the Broadway hit Oh, Mary. Related Cheyenne Jacksons story about his twins coming out will melt your heart Jackson has been posting Instagram stories from his dressing room at the Lyceum Theatre about whatevers on his mind as he gets into makeup and costume for the show which hilariously recounts Mary Todd Lincolns last days in the White House before her husbands assassination and he recently riffed on the topic of gay voice.Someone had sent him an old video interview hed done while in the show Altar Boyz, Jackson said, and he was commenting on his then-deeper and more typically masculine voice. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Its taken me a long time to be comfortable with just being who I am, and it got me thinking about gay voice, the Glee star said. View this post on Instagram A post shared by C H E Y E N N E J A C K S O N (@mrcheyennejackson)The actor had listened back to the first installment of what hes calling his Mirror, She Wrote stories, and he went through some mental gymnastics on hearing it.The first thought I had was, Wow, I sound really gay, he said.And then I thought, I am gay. Whats wrong with sounding gay?If youre in the gay community, you are on the spectrum of gay voice, Jackson explained. Everybodys on the spectrum.He described himself as a moderate gay voice person, and said hed spent years being very afraid to come across as gay.Like, personally, I love feminine men. I always have. I mean, I love all men. Lots of men. But, my favorite is feminine. I mean, have you met my husband?Thats 48-year-old Jason Landau, a one-time actor in his twink years whos nowsharing parenting duties for the couples two kids.Jackson, 50, said that everybody from here to Beirut can tell Landau is gay when he speaks, and thats what I love about him.He added his husband knows who he is and doesnt give a f**k.And that is so hot to me, he said.The American Horror Story vet said people used to tell him they didnt know he was gay, and that used to make me feel really good.Passing as straight, he said, gave him a thrill, which he considers a little f**ked up in retrospect.Jacksons reflections came backstage on one of the gayest productions on or off Broadway right now. Variety described the critically acclaimed show from writer and actor Cole Escola as a big queer romp thats also a smartly stupid riot. Perhaps most subtly, Escola deftly folds in gender commentary and nonbinary experience, the showbiz bible blurted, highlighting the ways we use both fashion and performance to explore and embody our genders and how for some people, these can be vital forms of expression.Jackson plays The Teacher in the three-person ensemble cast, now headlined by Jacksons former 30 Rock colleague Jane Krakowski as Mary. Theyre performing through January.Of his time on the boards with his Oh, Mary castmates, Jackson was exultant.Im excited to be here. I f**king love this show.He closed his gay voice rumination with an actors flair.My internalized homophobia is done, Jackson said, alight in the mirrors glow.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Considering all the outrages that Donald Trump has committed undermining election results, ordering the indictments of his enemies, using the White House to line his pockets its ironic that his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein is proving to be his biggest political scandal. Trumps own behavior has helped fuel the controversy. Trumps flailing around the issue is a cartoon version of someone with something to hide, no matter how much he protests that he doesnt.Trump is reaping the whirlwind that he and his fellow Republicans sowed when they embraced and allowed belief in conspiracies to become a signature MAGA trait. In many ways, the right-wing conspiracies appealed to Trumps ego. He was cast as Americas savior from a cabal of elite who were engaged in child trafficking, a group that included everyone from Hillary Clinton to Tom Hanks. Ever transactional, Trump had no reason to dispute dangerous beliefs if they were going to get him votes. Related The administrations attack on trans military personnel is part of a frightening long-term agenda So there is a sense of deep satisfaction watching Trump squirm as the House gets ready to vote on releasing FBI files on Jeffrey Epstein. After all, for once, the conspiracy theory has facts behind it. Epsteinwasa sex trafficker of underage girls, and he did have connections across the top tier of society, including with the Clintons, but most of all with his one-time great pal, Trump.That said, there is a dark side to the expanding scandal involving Epstein. For the right-wing, which has been obsessed with child trafficking for years, the Epstein files would be proof that everything that they fear is true. That confirmation would encourage them to double down on their efforts many of which target the LGBTQ+ community. Dive deeper every day Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues Subscribe to our Newsletter today As fun as it is to speculate about Trumps comeuppance, you cant sever the rights obsession with Epstein from its ongoing attacks on groomers and child mutilation. It is all part of the same hysteria about children being harmed. Consider Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has unexpectedly (and undeservedly) emerged as an independent for her willingness to buck Trump on Epstein and on health care. Greene is now all over the news, calling for the predators in the Epstein files to be brought to justice. Democrats think Greene is useful to them in the battle over the Epstein files, but theres no reason to think that she is any more reasonable than she was when she was first elected to Congress. Greene became radicalized by QAnon, with its focus on child sex trafficking, in 2017, and she hasnt given any sign that she tamped down her love of conspiracies since then. The woman now being lauded for standing up to Trump has a long history of slurring the LGBTQ+ community as pedophiles.Indeed, just last July, Greene was defending Trumps friendship with Epstein by saying Democratic support for LGBTQ+ rights was the real sex trafficking.And these same Democrats feigning outrage over pedophiles, defend drag queen story time, naked men dancing in front of children at pride parades, and mentally ill men in girls and womens bathrooms, Greene wrote on X. Democrats, spare us your fake outrage.Earlier this year, Greene called trans Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE) a child predator and groomer, the kind of slur that Greene likes to throw around a lot. Greene is hardly the only Republican pushing for transparency around Epstein who engages in such vile language. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has made a diet out of transphobia and once accused a political opponent, a pediatrician, of child abuse for supporting trans youth. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) talked about a law to ban health care for trans youth as child abuse.Its probably just a matter of time before the right wing starts talking about an imaginary nexus between Epstein and the LGBTQ+ community. For them, pedophilia inherently is linked to LGBTQ+ people, even when its committed by notorious heterosexuals like Epstein. As much as the Epstein scandal will tarnish Trump with the MAGA faithful, and perhaps even damage him, the overriding concern of the conspiracy theorists is sex trafficking of children, which they believe is happening to hundreds of thousands of children each year. And to them, drag queen reading hour and health care for trans youth are all part of the trafficking. They may even explain away Trumps outsized presence in the Epstein files. But they will never give up linking LGBTQ+ people to the calumny that they abuse children.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Mary Trump, the lesbian niece of President Donald Trump and a clinical psychologist, recently voiced her concerns about her uncle lashing out if he starts to lose his political power due to failing health or incriminating evidence released in government files related to high-profile convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.He does not believe that anything or anybody could exist beyond him, which is what makes me nervous, Mary Trump said in a newly released episode ofThe Daily Beast Podcastwith Joana Coles. Related Trumps lesbian niece explains presidents mental decline in just 4 words Whether he thinks hes going to be going down because of the Epstein issue, or because if he starts to think that his health is failing, Mary Trump said, before stressing what her uncle will do in five words: He will not go alone.He will take as many people down with him, she continued. That was the case in 2020, and we have seen what happened since then. So that worries me. Nihilists are very dangerous people. If they feel like theyre losing control. And as a father, hes a nihilist. He doesnt want his kids to take on his legacy. He doesnt believe in such a thing, and he certainly wouldnt believe theyre capable of it because hes also a narcissist. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Mary Trump has previously said that her uncle shows clear signs of narcissistic and sociopathic personality disorders.In her book,Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the Worlds Most Dangerous Man, she attributes his alleged psychological issues to his upbringing, specifically the influence of his father, Fred Trump Sr., whom she calls a high-functioning sociopath. Mary Trump theorized that Donald Trump was deprived of a loving maternal figure during a crucial developmental period and learned from his father that softness was unthinkable and empathy had no value. According to her, Donald Trumps actions are driven by deep insecurities and a desperate need for validation. She claims he is still seeking his deceased fathers approval and that his personality flaws make him vulnerable to manipulation by others who simply repeat his self-aggrandizing claims back to him.She has also said that Donald Trump cannot stand to publicly be seen as a loser. While he has had an undeniable grip on the Republican Party, theres evidence that his influence has started to wane, as congressional party members like antisemitic Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) have criticized him for not releasing the Epstein files.After months of claiming that the files were just a Democratic hoax, Trump said over the weekend that Republicans could vote to release the files, leading many online commenters to conclude that all potentially incriminating accusations involving him will be redacted or that the files wont be released because of his recent order directing the Department of Justice to investigate Democrats named in them.Regardless, political commentators have suggested that Trump may grow increasingly erratic and take drastic measures to distract the public if more people turn on him for the files or his apparent weakness on the political stage.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

The premiere week of Wicked: For Good has been officially kicked off with the surprise drop of a full new scene from the sequel. In it, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) visits the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and attempts to convince him to tell the truth to the people of Oz. Halfway through, Glinda (Ariana Grande) interrupts that conversation to agree with the Wizard that Elphaba could work with them, together.Elphaba refuses the offer and insists that the people of Oz need to know the truth. But the Wizard just laughs it off and in Elphaba's face. "They're not going to believe it," the Wizard says. "I could tell them that I've been lying to them till I'm forgive me, blue in the face but wouldn't make any difference. They're never going to stop believing in me. You know why? Because they don't want to.The full scene can be read below.Elphaba: You're done. It's over.Wizard: I had a hunch you'd be coming back to me.Elphaba: I'm not here for you. I'm here for Oz.Glinda: Elphaba! You know you could have just exited normally; just used the door. Hello?Elphaba: Yes?Glinda: Don't hate me. It's my wedding day, and you cannot refuse a wedding wish. Well, you can, but it's rude.Elphaba: [to Glinda] I don't have time for this. [to the Wizard] Now listen, you and I are going to go down there together, and you are going to admit to her [Glinda's wedding] guests that you have no real power, and that you cannot read the Grimmerie.Wizard: [Laughs.]Elphaba: Why is that funny?Wizard: Elphaba, I've missed you. Can't we start again?Glinda: Yes, please! Just say yes.Elphaba: No! Don't you think I wish I could? I would give anything to go back to a time when I When I actually believed that you were wonderful. A wonderful Wizard of Oz. No one believed in you more than I did. But there's no going back. And we can't move forward until everyone knows what I know. And once they know the truthWizard: [interrupts] They're not going to believe it.Elphaba: How can you say that?Wizard: I'm just being straight with you. I could tell them that I've been lying to them till I'm forgive me, blue in the face but wouldn't make any difference. They're never going to stop believing in me. You know why? Because they don't want to.We're officially not in Kansas anymore!This brand-new scene of Wicked: For Good premiered this Monday morning on Peacock and make sure to watch the film when it opens in theaters on Friday, November 21.

Jordan Wood, candidate for Congress from Maine, was busy last week switching gears from a crowded field challenging Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) for her Senate seat to becoming the presumptive frontrunner to represent Maines 2nd congressional district.He brings over $1 million to the fight from his Senate campaign. Related Parents demanded that a trans child be banned from sports. The town rejected their request. Woods departure leaves Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) and Marine Corps veteran Graham Platner, under fire recently for a series of provocative posts using racist and homophobic language, in the race for Collins seat.The first-time candidate one half of a gay Washington power couple with husband Jake Lipsett, co-founder of the Democratic fundraising machine Mothership Strategies spoke from the couples home in Bristol, Maine, where they welcomed a baby daughter earlier this year. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today LGBTQ Nation: Why switch from your Senate race to running for the House?Jordan Wood: I think our country is in a moment of crisis and that the future of our democracy is at stake.I just thought long and hard about whether it was the best use of the campaign that weve built to continue on in a competitive primary for the Senate or go and make sure that we have a fully viable, contested campaign to hold the Second Congressional District, which is one of the most competitive in the country. It was meeting the moment.Who are you endorsing for U.S. Senator from Maine, Gov. Janet Mills or Graham Platner?I will 100% support the Democratic nominee against Susan Collins.Platner has made an impression on Mainers, for sure, with many likening his politics and the enthusiasm for them to Zohran Mamdani and his election as mayor of New York City. There are also comparisons to Trump, that a focus on working-class concerns and grievances is a winner. Do you agree that Platners message is inspiring Maine Democrats, and who will you be appealing to in your run for Maines second congressional district?Yeah, you know, I think Grahams campaign has really resonated with a lot of folks, really across the political spectrum in the state. My campaign for the House is going to be focused on two issues that voters tell me are priorities, and that is the need to fix the corrupt, rigged political system designed to enrich the wealthiest and corporations, and the second is affordability. These two issues are what resonate with voters in more urban areas of the district, like Bangor and Lewiston, and the most rural areas, as well.If you win the Democratic nomination for Congress, you likely go up against Republican former Gov. Paul LePage. For those unfamiliar with Gov. LePages antics in office in the 2010s, what are some of his greatest hits?Wow. He told Barack Obama to go to hell. He threatened to blow up the Portland Press Herald, which is the largest newspaper in the state. Hes called himself Trump before Trump. And theres some others that are almost too crude to say out loud. What has bothered me the most about his past is the fact that he stood in the way of expanding healthcare access to thousands of Mainers when he opposed Medicaid expansion in our state, just because of ideological, partisan antipathy towards Barack Obama and Obamacare. He also opposed the minimum wage increase in Maine.Will LePages opposition to marriage equality come back to haunt him, or do you think hes evolved along with the American people on the issue?I think that will be a problem for him, unless hes evolved on the issue, and we always welcome peoples evolution on that issue.Gov. Mills has been a champion for LGBTQ+ rights in Maine, including a very public confrontation with Donald Trump in the White House over trans student-athletes. Shell also be the same age if she takes a seat in the Senate as Joe Biden was when he entered the White House. Youre 36. Is it time for a new generation to take up the fight Mills has waged for LGBTQ+ Mainers? And what would that look like if youre a U.S. rep?Interestingly, I think Paul LePage is also the same age as Gov. Mills.I absolutely think that it is time for the next generation to stand up and lead, and thats something that Ive heard from voters throughout this campaign all year. It is not just about the fact that were in this new crisis in our country with so much at stake, and politicians of the past have really failed to prevent this from coming about. New leaders have lived [through] the affordability crisis and know why its a priority for voters.I talk about what that means to me as someone who graduated college with $100,000 in student loan debt. My mom had to go back to work when my twin brother and I were three because my dad, whos a pastor, couldnt afford to provide the family with health insurance anymore, so she got a union job to provide for our family. These issues that my family dealt with around affordability, they have just persisted while people like Janet Mills and Paul LePage and Joe Biden, frankly have been power.And how about those issues that Mills has been fighting on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community? I fully support Gov. Mills and her leadership on those issues, and said so when she stood up to Donald Trump in the White House, for not just the trans kids in our state of Maine, but lots of marginalized groups of people, including myself as a gay man. That was, in some ways, inspiration for me to run for office.While you and Platner were competing for the Senate nomination, you called on him to drop out of the race for his use of words like f*g and gay in a series of Reddit posts. Youve read them. Would you call his use of those words, in those posts, hateful, and do you still think he should drop out of the race, despite his obvious appeal to Mainers in general and his support for the LGBTQ+ community in particular?I personally found it disqualifying, not just the use of the f-slur, but also comments that were made about sexual assault and women, and racist comments. This was also in the wake of the tattoo disclosure. Im married to a Jewish man, and LGBTQ people and Jewish people were two of the groups that were exterminated in death camps, which this tattoo symbolized. I have since talked to him at length about it, and I do think he does have an understanding of that mistake and how hurtful it was, and hes apologized. And I am a deep believer in second chances and being a better person and learning from mistakes. I dont think that hell use that language again.While youre running for the House and not the Senate now, Sen. Collins is still going to figure in your campaign. What accounts for Susan Collins longevity in the Senate, and are there elements of her appeal to Mainers that you would take to Washington?Shes the longest-serving senator in our states history, and one reason she has been successful is that a lot of folks in Maine do trust her in bringing federal dollars back to fund projects and communities and towns across the state that have helped bring jobs and improve communities. My frustration and opposition to Sen. Collins is I think shes not meeting this moment against Donald Trump. Shes in a position of real power, where she could have had the courage to stand up to him a number of times, and failed to.Trump has cast transgender Americans as the they in his attacks on the left. How do you recast trans people as just another thread in the fabric of American society?Trump is a bully. And I think Paul LePage also is a bully. They identify the people they see as weak and marginalized and different and pick on them and make fun of them to build themselves up, and thats exactly what we do not need from a politician. We need them to be leaders that are standing up to bullies for the rest of us, and thats what Ill do every day in Congress.Where do you come down on pronouns? Are they a sign of respect for a marginalized community, or a burdensome tool of social engineering? I just have always thought about pronouns in a more practical way.You know, my name is Jordan, and most kids that I grew up with, there were more Jordans that were female than male. So, in emails, professionally, going back years, Ive had pronouns in them because it was very normal for someone to accidentally mispronoun me. If you want to make sure that certain pronouns are used and youre worried about being mispronouned and you have them in your email signature, it shouldnt bother anybody.But also, I dont know that we need to be too heavy-handed about it. That has sometimes had a negative effect we dont want it to have.As we discussed, Graham Platner had a lot of bad press a few weeks ago, and so did your former boss, one-time representative from California and current candidate for governor, Katie Porter (D-CA), whom you served as chief of staff. Did Katie Porter ever ream you out in public, and what did you do wrong?(Laughing) Ummm. So Im just thinking. No, never in public.This is what Ill say about Katie every day. Shes a friend, shes a mentor. Theres an intensity about her, which is something that I think has been fundamental to her success and popularity, grilling CEOs and lots of Trump officials in committee hearings. That intensity is very much rooted in how important she views the work.Everyone has bad days, and it shouldnt be a measure of who you are as a person. Shes somebody whos really in it for the right reasons and deeply committed to serving the constituents who elect her. How did you meet your husband, and who proposed to whom?In 2015, I was the finance director for Raul Ruiz (D-CA), whos still the congressman from the Coachella Valley, and Jake was a senior in college at USC, and he started a company with two other guys in his frat house or whatever that they built into a large, successful digital company that does online advertising and fundraising for Democratic campaigns and progressive groups. And I hired them to do our online digital fundraising for Congressman Ruiz. So, we met over email, and just sort of developed a friendship, and eventually we both ended up in D.C., and we started dating.I proposed to him in 2017 in Scotland. Were both big Harry Potter fans, and it was where they filmed part of Harry Potter, and then we were married exactly a year later in Washington. This is your first run for elected office, after time with Porter and in management with orgs like democracyFIRST and End Citizens United. A couple of those jobs were heading up PACs created by Mothership Strategies, the political fundraising firm cofounded by your husband, Jake Lipsett. You were endorsed in your Senate run by two Mothership clients, Progressive Turnout Project and Defend the Vote. Is that a conflict of interest?Well, Jake and I have always, since we started dating, maintained a strict separation between our personal and professional lives. Ive never directed business to his company. Ive never worked at Mothership. They do not work on our campaign. Jake is actually stepping away from the company to just be a volunteer to support me on this effort.You know, inevitably, having worked for years in Democratic politics, with a husband who runs a large company, theres some overlap, but I dont see theres a conflict of interest. These endorsements were earned very legitimately. Last question: this week, Ken Burns The American Revolution starts its six-night run on PBS. Will you be watching, and what lessons can be drawn from the War of Independence then for defending American democracy now?I will absolutely be watching, Im very excited about it. Im a big Ken Burns fan.Our history overall is just a very important thing to learn from, because it reminds us that weve had many moments in our country of deep political division. How we overcame them was remembering the shared values and ideals we have about democracy and creating a more equal society. Our country is best when we are bound together by those ideals, and thats what we need to be remembering in moments of crisis like this one.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

A Dutch court has upheld the decision to reject an American trans womans application for asylum after the 28-year-old challenged the decision earlier this year. Veronica Clifford-Carlos, a visual artist from California, applied for asylum in the Netherlands in the wake of the presidents continued targeting of trans rights and villainization of the trans community. Related Happiness looks fantastic on her: Heres what parents wish folks knew about their trans kids With the support of Dutch advocacy group LGBT Asylum Support which is working with about 20 other trans Americans on asylum claims as well Clifford-Carlos said the anti-trans administration has made her feel unsafe remaining in the United States. The court, however, disagreed that Clifford-Carlos personally faces a legitimate risk of persecution, Reuters reported. The judge also said she did not prove she systemically lacks protection or access to essential services. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The court sent her case back to immigration authorities to review again due to a procedural error the first time around.A statement from LGBT Asylum Support in August explained that the Netherlands Immigration and Naturalisation Service(IND) generally states that discrimination by authorities and fellow citizens can be considered an act of persecution if it is so severe that victims can no longer function socially and societally but that it maintains that there are no grounds for exceptional treatment of transgender and queer refugees from the U.S.Clifford-Carlos was the first trans American to legally challenge an asylum rejection in the Netherlands. In September, she told Reuters how bad it had become in the States for her since the new administration took office.I have people screaming f**got at me in the street I have people threatening my life, threatening to assault me, threatening to follow me home and kill my family.She spoke to The World in September from a Dutch refugee camp, where she explained, It feels like the U.S. doesnt see me as human. I am not seen as a woman in the eyes of the government, and because of my transition, I am technically not a man either. She said the thought of returning to the U.S. gives her more dread than I have ever experienced in my entire life. The Netherlands has long been considered a refuge for LGBTQ+ acceptance. In 1981, it was the first country in the world to grant refugee status to someone due to their sexual orientation, and in 2001, it became the first country to grant marriage equality.But Marlou Schrover, an economic and social history professor in the country, told The World that reality has not lived up to the reputation. She said it is extremely rare for someone to be given refugee status based solely on LGBTQ+ identity, and that one must not only prove they have experienced physical violence, but that the police refused to help when it was reported. Schrover explained that Dutch immigration authorities still view the United States as mostly safe for trans people because there are many other states they can move to if they dont feel safe in their own. The administrations anti-trans policies may also not be enough, she said. Exclusion from the militaryor exclusion from sports may be unpleasant and horrible, but its not seen as persecution in the eyes of Dutch immigration officials.She added that granting asylum to trans people from the U.S. is a risky decision because it makes a big statement about the U.S. and could affect relations between the two countries. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Pop music (thankfully) just got a little weirder. Hemlocke Springs, the colorful alt-pop star originally from Concord, North Carolina, is the freshest face on the scene and is delivering an eccentric, quirky vision that defies genre or expectations. She's gone viral over and over again, released a game-changing EP that racked up tens of millions of streams. She's also opened for Conan Gray's Wishbone tour and, most recently, Chappell Roan's Los Angeles pop-up shows: Visions of Damsels & Other Dangerous Things.Springs has also just announced her own holiday show in Los Angeles. The christmystical tree under the sea is "a very hemlocke holiday soire" taking place at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater on December 3.And all before the release of her debut album! A few days after breaking up a fight during her Roan opening set, Out caught up with the star and discussed her conceptual new music, growing up Christian, being boxed in as an artist, and her relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. See on Instagram Out: You've opened for two icons in the last few months: Chappell Roan and Conan Gray. What does that mean to you?Hemlocke Springs: I guess it means Ive opened for the Eric and the Ariel of pop music! In all seriousness though, its very rewarding to be thought of to join such wonderful artists! I say this all the time, but Im a very lucky girl!Forty thousand people were at the Chappell Roan pop-up's first night. What did that energy feel like?It was probably terrifyingly electric, but I definitely (maybe unfortunately) blacked out during most of the set! Personally, I cant think about things too hard when Im in the moment, if not, Ill freeze up, so I kind of only remember getting on stage and then slipping into my crocs once I was off. Except the fight during the night one I do and will remember that for a long time!What went through your head when someone started fighting during your set?"Whew child!Although I think I actually said that in the microphone! On one hand, I was definitely freaking out on what to do, but on the other hand, I was a little bit confused. Yall are fighting at a Chappell Roan concert? Its supposed to be fun! I was also debating whether stopping the set was the best move on my part, but its better to be safe than sorry! What's your favorite song to perform live? Why?Probably train to nowhere, because its at an easier key to sing. For those who dont know, I like it when things are nice and easy. I hate when I have to belt and sing in higher keys, that can be rough. Unfortunately, almost all my songs have some sort of belt or are sung in a key higher than what Im used to. I make the songs, so I dont know why I do that to myself.Any funny stories with Chappell or Conan you can share from either tour?Conan came up to me during catering, and he was on vocal rest, and the first thing he asked was, "Do you know what abortion is in sign language?" Mind you, this was our second interaction ever! I had a whole conversation prepared in my head and with that question, everything went out the window [laughs].What inspired your latest single, "heads, shoulders, knees and ankles"?Basically, I was having this dream where I was watching this dude follow a girl, sort of angelic character, and then he started following me and grabbed my ankles and wouldn't let go. And so Im like, Goddamn, you are one persistent fellow! And then Im asking the girl for help, and shes not helping me!!After further investigation, I believe the dream was some sort of metaphor. Both girls are probably myself, and Me Number 1 (the angelic character) is in no position to help Me Number 2, so Me Number 1 can only watch helplessly as Me Number 2 tries to shake off this person at my ankles. (Its almost as if my future self is watching my present self go through the trials and tribulations that my future self had to go through.)But heres the thing: Dreams are quite literally...dreams. I dont think Ill ever have a definite answer! What if Im interpreting nonsense what if it was quite literally just a dream? Ironically, I guess Ill never know, but at least I got a song out of it! See on Instagram Your debut album, the apple tree under the sea, is set for a February release. What are you most excited about?Dare I say the release part? When listening to other albums, Ive never taken into consideration how much the artist mustve listened to make sure everything sounds good! I replay albums from other artists so many times, but replaying my album has been a form of psychological torture. I cant wait for it to be out, so I dont have to listen again [laughs].Wait. Im going to have to sing these songs live.What's your relationship with the LGBTQ+ community like? How have they shown up for you?In more ways than I could even imagine! The LGBTQ+ community has been the most accepting of my music, and I feel like thats a common statement Ive heard from other artists.My journey with my own sexuality has been a quiet but thunderous one. Im Nigerian and grew up in the church. Though my experience wasnt nearly as toxic as some of the ones Ive heard, it definitely felt confining, which I touch on in this album.My high school friend came out as bi, and I remember being so happy and honored they told me. It was then I began unlearning a lot of the toxic beliefs I had held (with such little conviction, if I might add). When I left home and I was kind of on my own, it felt I had acclimated to a world that didnt really exist outside of my town. It was my gay friends, my queer friends, my trans friends, my bi friends that I made along the way who have helped me remember that I am on my own journey, whether that be romantically or musically, and that no path is linear. Well see where that journey leads! - YouTube www.youtube.com Your music breaks the genre expectations some might have of you at first glance. Have you ever felt boxed in? If so, what did you do to overcome the feeling?Of course! People genuinely think I'm white Ive had many interactions where people have been surprised to find out Im Black. Sometimes, I feel like its the only reason why Ive been able to be seen as this zany pop person and even that itself has been a box! Ive always wondered if I could be seen as anything more. Do people take me seriously? Will people take me seriously?Unpopular opinion: I dont think I'll ever overcome it. For me, overcoming would suggest theres an overall solution to Black artists being boxed in, and I dont see one in the foreseeable future. It falls on those people who subliminally or out rightly do the "boxing" to change their perception, and thats unlikely to happen. Rather, I try not to let such perceptions get in the way of my work.the apple tree under the sea, the new album from Hemlocke Springs, is set to be released February 13, 2026.

Hello Out readers!Have you been looking for a great queer movie to watch? Of course, we're all waiting for Wicked: For Good (which just released an all-new clip!) to come out this week, but what if you want to watch something tonight?Edgar Wright's latest film, the Glen Powell-starring The Running Man, is in theaters now. While the film has plenty of action and fun (and plenty of Glen Powell naked), it doesn't reach the heights Wright typically reaches with his unique style of filmmaking.If you're looking for something more animated, we've got a great list for you! Our new list of 21 animated movies starring queer actors includes movies like Nimona and The Mitchells vs. The Machines, where queer voice actors play queer characters; classics like The Lion King and Batman: Mask of the Phantasm; and new movies like Moana 2 and the upcoming Zootopia 2!If you're looking for something that hasn't come out yet, we've also got the perfect list for you: 21 LGBTQ+ movies and TV shows we can't wait to see in 2026!This list includes the super sexy gay romance Pillion, sequel The Devil Wears Prada 2, and the Orville-Peck-starring Street Fighter!What movie are you most looking forward to seeing?Keep reading to find out our Man Crush Monday and all the best pop culture news!- Mey RudeWicked: For Good's new scene shows an eerily familiar tyrantSugar, Spice, no longer nice? Drag Race twin goes soloshares new nameMatt Rogers and Bowen Yang's Las Culturistas Culture Awards 2026 to air on BravoAmanda Lepore and 'milkman' Marcos Pedraza star in 'Lactose by Lepore'Queer poet Andrea Gibson's 'wild energy' lives on in new docBizarre Epstein files reference to Trump, Putin, and oral sex with Bubba draws scrutiny in CongressStraight Nonsense: Britney Spears was freednow let's root for Wendy WilliamsLiniker wins 3 Latin Grammysbecomes most-winning trans woman in Grammy historyDrawn that way: 21 animated movies starring LGBTQ+ actorsReview: 'The Running Man's electric action bogged down by heavy-handed writingMan Crush MondayOrville Peck is our Man Crush Monday! Not only is the talented singer getting ready to play Vega in the upcoming Street Fighter movie, but is also released a new EP, Appaloosa!Get Out / The Advocate in your physical mailbox, too!Get print issues of Out Magazine / The Advocate in the mail for just $9.95 a year!

A group of self-described girl dads fighting to ban trans children from playing on sports teams that align with their genders held a drive-through signing event in an attempt to obtain enough signatures for a ballot measure on the issue.Maine Girl Dads is an anti-trans coalition of more than 8,000 dads (according to its website) who claim they want to protect the dignity, opportunity, and privacy of our daughters by discriminating against trans kids. Related Trans fencer feels betrayed by former training partners anti-trans lawsuit against USA Fencing Simply put, we want districts across Maine to re-institute sex-based policies in school & sport, their website states, proceeding to misgender trans people. No more males in female spaces nor sports.They claim their stance is purely paternal, not remotely political, and based in common sense. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The groups Protect Girls Sports in Maine campaign is advocating for a ballot measure titled, An Act to Designate School Sports Participation and Facilities by Sex. It would mandate that school sports teams, locker rooms, and bathrooms be designated as male, female, or co-ed, and require students to use facilities and join teams based on their sex assigned at birth.Supporters claim that the initiative does not violate the Maine Human Rights Act because it would align state policy with the current presidential administrations interpretation of Title IX. This will harmonize the Maine Human Rights Act with Federal Title IX, resulting in requirements and protections for individuals with biologically-verifiable differences in sex development, the Protect Girls Sports ballot question committee said in a statement. This is important, as we will effect change across the entire state all at once, while providing a private right of action for enforcement, clarifying statutory cross-references, and ensuring severability.Ahead of the drive-through event, the group said it had already collected 60,000 signatures. Around 68,000 are needed by February to get the initiative on the ballot. The campaign is spearheaded by Leyland Streiff, who is reportedly the brother of Justin Streiff, the chief operating officer at the Charlie Kirk-founded right-wing organization Turning Point USA. But Leyland Streiff seems to have more anti-trans motivations than a concern for keeping sports fair. He also testified against a state bill to protect gender-affirming care, calling trans kids confused.He falsely claimed facts and research do not back up the need for gender-affirming care and said the state should focus on mental health resources for youth suffering from the terrible scourge of gender dysphoria. Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) has stood strong in support of trans rights, defeating the presidents attempts to blackmail the state into rolling back protections. In February, the president signed an executive order calledKeeping Men Out of Womens Sports,which commanded federal agencies to investigate school districts that allow trans athletes to compete in school sports. The order said that the inclusion of trans female athletes in girls and womens sports violates Title IX, a provision of a 1972 education law thatprohibits sex-based discrimination in any federally funded school.In February, the president began publicly criticizing Maines trans-inclusive sports policies, pledging to revoke its federal educational funding unless it banned trans students from participating in school sports. In response, Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) accused the president of attempting to unilaterally deprive Maine school children and pledged that her states attorney general would take all appropriate and necessary legal action to restore the federal funding.The Department of Agriculture (USDA) soon began a compliance review of the University of Maines policies on trans athletes, pledging to revoke its federal land grant.Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins then sent a letter to Mills, stating the USDA would freeze the states funding until all state schools complied with the presidents order. In April, a federal judge ordered the administration to unfreeze the funds, finding that Maine was likely to succeed in its legal challenge. A month later, the state settled with the USDA, which agreed to refrain from freezing, termination, or otherwise interfering with the state of Maines access to United States Department of Agriculture funds based on alleged violations of Title IX without first following all legally required procedures.The settlement doesnt affect another ongoing lawsuit filed by the presidential administration against Maines Department of Education for allowing trans student-athletes to compete on school teams matching their gender identities.In 2024, Mills also signed a law making Maine a sanctuary state for trans people. The law provides protections to persons who seek, health care practitioners who provide and those who assist health care practitioners in providing gender-affirming health care services and reproductive health care services that are legal in Maine.The law also protects people who seek legal healthcare and doctors who provide it in Maine from legal action originating in other states that ban or restrict such healthcare services. Doctors who provide legal healthcare services in Maine also have the right to sue for damages if they are targeted for legal action by other states.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Several days after leaked emails showed Mark Epstein the brother of the late child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein saying that Donald Trump performed oral sex on a man named Bubba, Mark Epstein is clarifying that he was not referring to former president Bill Clinton.They were simply part of a humorous private exchange between two brothers and were never meant for public release or to be interpreted as serious remarks, he said in a statement to Advocate. For the avoidance of doubt, the reference to Bubba in this correspondence is not, in any way, a reference to former President Bill Clinton. Related Pete Buttigieg explains how the Epstein files might tear apart the MAGA base: Extraordinary A spokesperson for Mark Epstein further said that Bubba is a private individual who is not a public figure.Mark has asked me to convey that the press release will be his final statement on this matter, the spokesperson said. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The House Oversight Committee released thousands of emails from the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, and speculation ran wild on Friday about an email exchange between Mark and Jeffrey Epstein. Bannon with me, Jeffrey Epstein wrote in one email from March 2018, referring to White House advisor Steve Bannon.Ask him if [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has the photos of Trump blowing Bubba? Mark Epstein replied. And I thought I had tsuris, Jeffrey Epstein replied, using the Yiddish word for troubles.The exchange was widely shared, with many speculating that Bubba referred to Clinton, who was referred to as Bubba several other times in the email dump. Bubba has long been a nickname for the former president, but the term Bubba is often used in jokes about male-male prison rape that straight people tell each other. This message board thread from 2015, for example, involves people asking why the name Bubba is so often used in prison rape jokes.But Mark Epsteins spokespersons statement that Bubba is a private individual who is not a public figure suggests that he was referring to a real person. The spokesperson also told Advocate that misinterpretations of formal language or nicknames in email correspondence are a distraction from the serious questions that remain unanswered.Jeffrey Epstein said in other emails released last week that Trump knew about the girls and referenced Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort but didnt directly say that Trump participated in child sex abuse.The White House said that the emails were selectively leaked in order to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump. The White House denies that the president was involved in Epsteins crimes.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

A former student of a Catholic high school in Ohio is suing after he allegedly faced constant bullying by members of the schools football team, and the administration allegedly did nothing to stop it. And this is the third federal lawsuit that the school is facing this year about bullying on school premises.The lawsuit was filed by a teen and his legal guardian grandmother, identified in court documents only as Grandson Rudolph and Grandmother Rudolph. The complaint says that Grandson was bullied every day when he started high school at Ursuline in the 2023-2024 school year because he was out as a gay teen, according to WTRF. The bullying included slurs, threats, and even once having food thrown at him, which left a red mark. Related His school didnt call the cops after a transphobic bully attacked him. Now its paying the price. The students who bullied him were football players, but one teacher is also accused of joining in. Religious education teacher Nannette Jacobs allegedly participated in mocking Grandsons appearance. The lawsuit accuses other teachers of witnessing the bullying but doing nothing.The Rudolphs tried to get help from the schools administration, but they allegedly did nothing. Grandmother Rudolph said that she called the school 20 times in three months and didnt get any help. Instead, she said that the administration reacted with hostility to her attempts to get help. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Eventually, Grandson Rudolph transferred to another high school. He now needs weekly therapy as a result of the bullying, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit names Ursuline High School, Assistant Principal Margaret Damore, the head football coach Daniel Reardon, and the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown as defendants. The school is not commenting on the pending legal matter.The school is facing two other federal lawsuits related to student misbehavior. One lawsuit, filed this past September, is about allegedly violent hazing that occurred on the football team, where one players mother says that her son was physically and sexually abused by teammates at a football camp where coaches did nothing to stop it.Its just boys being boys, an assistant coach allegedly told the mother. Some of the hazing included discussions of having younger players fight each other, with the loser getting his butt taken. The school suspended the football season and put its coaches on leave as a result of that lawsuit and the public outrage that followed.And another lawsuit was filed against a player on the Ursuline football team, Assistant Principal Damore, and Ursuline High School for allegedly sexually harassing, stalking, and menacing a female student at the school in 2023. The lawsuit says that the football player, identified as Football Player 6 in the suit, demanded that the girl send him pictures of herself undressed and touched her hands and put his arms over her shoulders at school without her consent. He asked her to have sex with him over social media. She refused and blocked him, but she says in her lawsuit that that made the harassment, including the forced touching, get more forceful and hostile. In one particular violent encounter, the student alleges that Football Player 6 chased her down on the last day of summer school, picked her up, dropped her on the ground, and then dragged her across the turf for 30 feet, which caused serious injuries. After he did it, he said that he would do it again.The alleged victim said that she tried to tell an assistant football coach what happened, and that he just responded OK and told her to go to the bathroom. The alleged victims mother said that she reported what happened to the schools administration and that the assistant principal tried to blame the victim for not coming to her immediately instead of going to the assistant coach. The suit says that the school did not report the incident to law enforcement and strongly advised the alleged victims mother not to file a police report.Ursulines culture of ignoring violent assaults by its football players has existed for many years due in part to the schools negligent and reckless hiring, training supervision and retention of administrators, coaches and teachers; and the schools willingness to turn a blind eye to the physical victimization of students it is entrusted to protect all because the school elevates the glory of the football team above basic humanity and decency, the lawsuit states.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Out Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey (D) appointed Giselle Byrd to the states Commission on the Status of Women on August 20, but it was only in the last week that the right took notice. After social media posts, right-wing hit pieces filled with transphobic and misogynistic language, and one state senator piling on, the commission says Byrd is now receiving death threats.[Commissioner Giselle Byrd] was the subject of a particularly vicious online attack that incited hateful language and violent rhetoric against one of our own, the MA Commission on the Status of Women (MASSCSW) said in a statement. We stand in outrage with our fellow Commissioner Byrd and remain committed to protecting the safety of not only our state and regional commissioners, but of every marginalized individual threatened by violence both online and in person. Related Gov. Maura Healey has one simple way to maintain Pride in the face of election year hate MASSCSW, established in 1998, is a group of 19 volunteers who are appointed by the Governor, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Caucus of Women Legislators. The mission statement makes it clear that The Commission represents and recognizes all women, regardless of their age, race, color, creed, abilities, language, socio-economic status, immigration status, sexual orientation, or gender assigned at birth.Giselle Byrd is the commissions first trans woman of color and is the executive and artistic director of the Theater Offensive, whose mission is liberating art by, for, and about queer and trans people of color. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Byrd testified at a Joint Committee hearing on October 29, supporting the passage of S.2155, which would establish a commission on the status of transgender people in the state. That comes at a time when Fenway Health, a non-profit LGBTQ+ health center based in the state, has stopped offering puberty blockers and HRT for those under 19. At the hearing, she noted that she was the commissions first transgender woman of color.On November 3, the Substack account ma4women posted an article from MASSCSW, calling Byrd the first trans identifying man of color on the commission. The comments on the post are filled with hateful language.That language is echoed in the headline and body of an article from The Heartlander, which MASSCSWs statement cites as the source of the hate that has proliferated widely throughout the right-wing media pundit circle. That circle includesLibs of TikTok, an account run by anti-LGBTQ+ troll Chaya Raichik, which has an extensive online reach. Men make the best women, we all know that. https://t.co/1akmhLeYe2 Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) November 16, 2025Massachusetts State Senator Alyson Sullivan-Almeida (R) also joined in on the attacks.Out of the nearly three and a half million biological girls and women in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Gov. Healey couldnt identify a qualified biological woman to appoint to the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women? she told the Boston Herald, adding, Why on earth would the governor think anyone but a biological woman would make any sense!The Governors office defended Byrd from the attacks. Giselle Byrd is a highly respected leader in the Boston arts community who is committed to the advancement of women, said spokesperson Karissa Hand.While the foul language and death threats appear to have come from right-wing sources, there is no Democrat monopoly on the decision to include a trans woman on the MASSCSW. The first trans woman on the commission, lawyer Sara Schnorr, was appointed in 2016 by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker. There is no record of a similar backlash at the time, perhaps because it occurred before a rise in anti-trans rhetoric. Baker went on to re-appoint Schnorr in 2018.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has continued to shock America with her public criticism of both Donald Trump and the broader Republican party. She has remained unflinchingly loyal to both until now. But recently, Greene took it all a step further by actually apologizing for the inflammatory rhetoric for which she has become so well known and for claiming she is ready to put down the knives in politics to help the country come together. Related Donald Trumps lesbian niece sums up the danger posed by her uncle in just 5 words In an appearance on CNN, she did not try to defend her past words stoking hate and violence and instead declared, I would like to say humbly, Im sorry for taking part in the toxic politics. Its very bad for our country. I think America needs to come together and end all the toxic, dangerous rhetoric and divide, she added, and Im leading the way with my own example. I hope President Trump can do the same. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Many have praised her for taking these steps, while others have expressed a bit more caution about readily accepting this radical, quite sudden transformation as real.On social media, the international media collective DD Geopolitics noted that caution is completely fair, but also praised Greene for taking the steps she has.Getting on opposition media and apologizing is HUGE, the account wrote. She should be commended for her humility. The account also called her the first MAGA figure to break the cycle of escalation and publicly ask Trump to change. MTG just took full ownership on CNN and its one of the most unexpected moments of the year.When asked why she only denounced Trumps rhetoric after it was directed at her, she didnt deflect. She owned it:Thats fair criticism and I would like to say humbly, Im sorry pic.twitter.com/AWZmsTGht6 DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) November 16, 2025 Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 winner Onya Nurve known as Justin Woody out of drag is no longer playing the lead in the new North American tour of Kinky Boots starting this November, Out can confirm.When reached out for comment, reps for this production of Kinky Boots shared the following statement:"On behalf of Kinky Boots on Tour, Justin Woody ("Onya Nurve") is no longer with the company. We are thrilled to share that Omari Collins ("Scarlett D. Von'Du") will step into the role of Lola. We wish Justin well, and we look forward to bringing Kinky Boots to theatres all across the country."Out has also reached out to Nurve/Woody's PR team. KinkyBootsMusical.com's page for cast members as of November 17, 2025.KinkyBootsMusical.com Nurve/Woody was announced to play Lola in this production of Kinky Boots in July, just three months after being crowned America's Next Drag Superstar.Nurve shared the news in a joyful Instagram post that reads:"I am BEYOND excited and humbled to announce that I'll be joining the 2025 national tour of Kinky Boots the Musical, as Lola!!!!!!! @kinkybootsontour. Before RuPaul's Drag Race, I wanted to be Lola, and now I get to live out both of my dreams at the same damn time. Truly a full circle moment. So excited to continue to learn, grow, and take in every single thing this new chapter has to offer me. EVERYBODY SAY YEEEAAAAHHHHH!" See on Instagram Omari Collins otherwise known as Scarlett D. Von'Du was originally cast as one of the Angels in this production of Kinky Boots, as evidenced by a social media post shared by Collins in November.Collins wrote in an Instagram post, "THE BOOTS ARE BACK BABY!!!! I am officially hitting the road with @kinkybootsontour! Catch us in a city near you!!"Following Nurve/Woody's departure, the actor will now step up to play the lead character. See on Instagram It is still unclear what caused Nurve/Woody's departure, but reps for the musical production have indeed confirmed that Nurve is no longer attached to it.For more information about the national tour of Kinky Boots, visit KinkyBootsMusical.com.

God, what has he done?Academy Award-winning actor Nicole Kidman's ex-husband, Australian country singer Keith Urban, is igniting controversy for a strange song choice while performing for Donald Trump and billionaires at Mar-a-Lago.According to a video posted to the Instagram account @agirlhasnopresident, Urban performed an acoustic set at a private party hosted by billionaire Anthony Pratt at the Trump-owned Florida resort. At the Saturday gathering, he sang a cover of lesbian singer Chappell Roan's gay bar-themed hit "Pink Pony Club," leading many to question the motivation behind the song choice."Well... I can't help but wonder how @chappellroan feels about Kieth Urban singing her song at Mar a Lago," @agirlhasnopresident" wrote. "Was that song choice ironic?" See on Instagram The video, originally posted by the Instagram user @tali.florida, who attended the party, shows Urban performing Chappell Roan's anthem about queer acceptance in front of a graphic showing an American flag. Another clip shows President Trump attending the party."President Trump at Anthony Prett (who just so generously pledged 5 Billion Dollars toward American manufacturing projects) holiday party at the Mar a lago #palmneach [sic] great food, lots of French fries, Amazing people and great entertainment by Keith Urban," the guest wrote.Roan has said that "Pink Pony Club" was inspired by the first time she went to the gay bar The Abbey after moving to Los Angeles from Missouri. "All of a sudden, I realized I could truly be any way I wanted to be, and no one would bat an eye, she said in an interview with Headliner Magazine. "It was so different from home, where I always had such a hard time being myself and felt like Id be judged for being different or being creative. I just felt overwhelmed with complete love and acceptance, and from then on I started writing songs as the real me."

Following a weekend that saw President Donald Trump call anti-LGBTQ+ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) a traitor over her push for the release of the Epstein files, police in Georgia confirmed Monday that the congresswoman had been the subject of multiple assassination threats.As Newsweek reports, the Rome, Georgia, Police Department said in a statement that it had received via email two assassination threats toward MTG and her family. Related To the right wing, the Epstein scandal and LGBTQ+ rights are both about child abuse Greene had previously claimed on Sunday that Trumps comments about her on social media were a dog whistle to dangerous radicals that could lead to serious attacks. She claimed that her home had already been targeted with hoax pizza deliveries and that the office of her construction company had received a pipe bomb threat.Now that President Trump has called me a traitor, which is absolutely untrue and horrific This puts blood in the water and creates a feeding frenzy. And it could ultimately lead to a harmful or even deadly outcome, Greene wrote in a November 16 X post. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The hoax pizza deliveries have started now, to my house and my family members.Update: we also received a pipe bomb threat on my construction companies office building.President Trumps unwarranted and vicious attacks against me were a dog whistle to dangerous radicals that pic.twitter.com/SUOoSNz83Z Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) November 16, 2025In recent weeks, Greene, one of Trumps most ardent MAGA allies, has broken with the Republican party and the president on a number of issues, most notably on releasing Justice Department files related to the late convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein something Trump campaigned on in 2024 but has reversed course on during his second term in office.Tensions between the president and Greene reached a fever pitch over the weekend, with Trump calling Greene a traitor and suggesting he would back a primary challenger.I am withdrawing my support and Endorsement of Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, of the Great State of Georgia, Trump wrote in a November 14 Truth Social post. Over the past few weeks all I see Wacky Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN! Trump went on to suggest, as others have, that the source of Greenes ire may be that he advised her against running for Governor in Georgia, and that he no longer returns her calls.I cant take a ranting Lunatics call every day, Trump wrote of Greene. She has gone Far Left, even doing The View with their Low IQ Republican hating Anchors, he added, referring to Greenes recent appearance on the long-running daytime talk show where she criticized Republican leaderships handling of the government shutdown and for not having a plan to address rising healthcare costs.(Notably, just days after her supposed pivot to the Far Left on The View, Greene appeared on former Fox News host Megyn Kellys podcast to argue that the federal government should pass her bill making it a felony to provide gender-affirming care to minors.) Responding to Trumps post, Greene accused the president of coming after her to make an example to scare all the other Republicans before a House vote on the release of the Epstein files this week.Its astonishing really how hard hes fighting to stop the Epstein files from coming out, Greene wrote in a November 14 X post. I have supported President Trump with too much of my precious time, too much of my own money, and fought harder for him even when almost all other Republicans turned their back and denounced him. But I dont worship or serve Donald Trump.President Trump just attacked me and lied about me. I havent called him at all, but I did send these text messages today. Apparently this is what sent him over the edge. The Epstein files.And of course hes coming after me hard to make an example to scare all the other pic.twitter.com/EcUzaohZZs Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) November 15, 2025During a Sunday appearance on CNNs State of the Union, Greene appeared to try to take the temperature down a bit, telling host Dana Bash that Trumps comments about her had made her realize she needs to tone down her own characteristically divisive rhetoric.I would like to say, humbly, Im sorry for taking part in the toxic politics; its very bad for our country, she said. Its been something Ive thought about a lot, especially since Charlie Kirk was assassinated.Greene also continued to express confusion over Trumps resistance to releasing the Epstein files, claiming that the Epstein victims shes spoken to have over and over again said that Donald Trump did nothing wrong. Greene said she hoped she and Trump could eventually make up, USA Today reports.In a Sunday night Truth Social post, Trump appeared to reverse course on the release of the Epstein files, writing that House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide. However, in a separate post, the president doubled down on calling Greene a traitor and suggested that her claims of receiving threats were overblown. The rift between Trump and Greene, Washington Post opinion writer Jim Geraghty wrote in a Monday morning column, is a first glimpse of a post-Trump MAGA movement.Greene is demonstrating that a high-profile member of the MAGA movement can vehemently disagree with the president and apparently emerge unscathed, Geraghty writes. If she pulls this off, shell show that Trump may no longer be the kingmaker in Republican primaries, or in the MAGA crusade.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

An anti-trans clothing company is now offering athletes $10,000 to speak out against trans and intersex athletes.XX-XY Athletics, a sportswear brand focused on spreading the message that trans and intersex people don't belong in women's sports, has announced that it is offering this sum to any player in the National Women's Soccer League who will speak out against trans and intersex athletes.The only problem is that no NWSL players are taking the bait. (@) "$10k to the next NWSL player to stand up in defense of keeping women's soccer female," XX-XY founder and CEO Jennifer Sey wrote on X. "A full throated defense. A press conference. Nothing mealy-mouthed."Sey later added that she found "a nice person who has agreed to add $5k," bringing the total to "$15k to any NWSL player who stands up for women's sports." The bounty didn't end there.Podcaster Clay Travis also said he'd double the money, bringing the price up to $30k. Travis is the founder of OutKick, a sports and culture website that says it is the "antidote to the mainstream sports media that often serves an elite, left-leaning minority instead of the American sports fan."The offer came about a week after NWSL player Elizabeth Eddy, who has been on the roster with Angel City Football Club for the last three years, but only played a combined 87 minutes in those seasons, published an essay in the New York Post saying that trans and intersex players should be banned from the league.Eddy's essay was published after Zambian star Prisca Chilufya, an intersex woman, was signed by Angel City. (@) Eddy's Angel City teammates later said in a press conference that they felt "hurt and harmed" and "disgusted" by the essay, and that they support any players targeted by it.Sey appeared on Fox News after Eddy published her essay, where she claimed that there are "several males" in the NWSL."They aren't trans identified, they're men with DSDs," she said. "In fact, one of the best players in the league is male, Barbra Banda, who plays for Orlando Pride."Banda is a cis woman.After Sey's Fox News appearance, the NWSL issued a statement saying that Banda is a role model whose "contributions to the Orlando Pride and the NWSL have been transformative." "Any harassment or hateful attacks toward Barbra are unacceptable and have no place in our sport, league, or our communities. We stand unequivocally with Barbra and with every NWSL player," the statement reads.This isn't the first time Sey has offered an athlete money to speak out against trans athletes. Earlier this year, the company paid fencer Stephanie Turner $5k after she forfeited a match against a trans fencer named Redmond Sullivan."This week, we awarded Stephanie Turner our Courage Wins award, along with a $5000 grant," the company wrote at the time. (@) Sey's new offer of payment for going against trans athletes was first posted on November 5. As of November 14, she says the "going rate is now $35k." Still, no players have taken the offer.

Happy Holidays, KJ Apa!The sexy actor won over the hearts of millions as Archie Andrews on the popular CW show Riverdale, but now he's taking things up a notch with his cameo in A Very Jonas Christmas Movie.In the film, Apa plays Billie Lourd's ex-boyfriend who crashes the Jonas Brothers' flight from Germany to New York. Naturally, the stud strips down and flexes his muscles while high in the sky and the internet had a meltdown. Check out the highlights below! (@) (@) (@) (@) (@) (@) (@) (@) (@) (@)

President Donald Trump just nominated transphobic Indiana attorney Justin Olson to serve as a federal judge in the Indiana Southern District Court. Olson works with the so-called Independent Council on Womens Sports (ICONS) to sue universities and the NCAA for their trans-inclusive sports policies.In a social media post announcing Olsons nomination, Trump wrote, Graduating magna cum laude from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Justin previously distinguished himself at the U.S. Attorneys Office in Indianapolis and, as a litigator, has been fighting tirelessly to keep men out of womens sports. Related Olympics expected to introduce ban on trans women athletes by 2028 summer games Olson is a lead lawyer in an anti-trans lawsuit financed by ICONS representing three former University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) women swimmers who sued UPenn, Harvard University, the Ivy League (an athletic conference of eight private universities, including UPenn and Harvard), and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The lawsuit alleges that the universities and NCAA violated Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based educational discrimination, by allowing trans swimmer Lia Thomas to compete on UPenns womens swim team during 2021 and 2022, Daily Journal reported, something which left the plaintiffs repeatedly emotionally traumatized. The suit seeks a total ban on trans female athletes citing opportunities lost and taken from trans women who allegedly displaced cis women unfairly. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The UPenn administrators went on to tell the [plaintiffs] that if the women spoke publicly about their concerns about Thomas participation on the Womens Team, the reputation of those complaining about Thomas being on the team would be tainted with transphobia for the rest of their lives and they would probably never be able to get a job, the lawsuit alleges.The lawsuit wants the NCAA to render invalid and reassign and revise all awards, records, points, prizes, titles, trophies announcements or other recognition assigned, given announced, communicate or recognized by the NCAA which were based in any way upon the competitive results or participation of any male who competed in womens events. Last June, UPenn stripped Thomas of her athletic swimming records and adopted an anti-trans sports ban, after pressure from the current presidential administration.Olson is also an attorney in ICONS lawsuit against San Jose State University (SJSU) and the Mountain West Conference for allowing a trans volleyball player to participate in collegiate matches. The player who participated for three seasons without any issues over her participation didnt cause any unfair advantage or injuries, but the lawsuit claims her presence still stifled other female athletes free speech. The U.S. Department of Education is currently investigating SJSU for the situation.ICONS has also used its social media to demean three successful high school trans girls, and collegiate track athlete Sadie Schreiner, referring to them as men and cheaters, even though each was fully eligible to compete by the regulations of the respective governing bodies of their event, Outsports reported. Olsons legal efforts align with that of the Trump administrationThis past February, Trump signed an executive order to block federal funding for schools that allow trans girls and women to participate in school sports as their authentic selves, and the order told the DOJ to prosecute schools that allow trans students to play sports. Additionally, the order pressured all national and international governing sports bodies to also ban trans athletes.President Joe Bidens administration interpreted Title IX as a law prohibiting anti-trans discrimination since its impossible to discriminate on the basis of gender identity without taking sex into account. That is, banning trans girls from playing school sports but not cis girls, solely because of their sex assigned at birth, is the kind of discrimination that Title IX was intended to prevent, the previous administration believed.The current administration is arguing that allowing trans girls to play school sports takes away critical visibility for college scholarships and recognition from cis girls, who are also denied awards if trans girls win. Trump and ICONS have baselessly claimed that trans athletes endanger girls and womens safety, echoing transphobic smears that encourage violence against trans people and their allies.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

A video posted by Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Lines, senior minister of the University Christian Church in San Diego, is getting attention for his refutation of conservative policy preferences that right-wingers often tout as being based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.Lines discussed various issues, including termination of pregnancies, cancel culture (the Bible, according to Lines, says that people should accept correction from others), and gender. On that last one, he says that the Bible says that gender identity is secondary to identity as a Christian, so focusing on performing masculinity, as many on the right do, is not something that the Bible requires of followers. Related I was a self-loathing teenage closet case who was too scared to touch another boy The teachings of MAGA are simply incompatible with the teachings of Jesus Christ, he concludes the video. @revdrcalebjlines MAGA vs. Jesus Round 12 Abortion, cancel culture, toxic masculinity, and fake newsoh my! #progressivechristianity #christianity #maga #magavsjesus #christiannationalism boxing bell fx sound effect ringtone creators Lines has several other videos using the Bible to respond to conservative political positions. @revdrcalebjlines MAGA vs. Jesus #progressivechristianity #theology #maga #christian original sound Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Lines @revdrcalebjlines Wives Submit to Your Husbands Wasnt Originally in the Text! #progressivechristianity #scripture #christianity #equality #prowomensrights original sound Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Lines @revdrcalebjlines MAGA vs. Jesus Round 11 #progressivechristianity #democracy #antifascist #antifa #maga boxing bell fx sound effect ringtone creators

A new post celebrating Cleveland Browns defensive superstar Myles Garrett for a new NFL sack milestone is going viral for a different, but equally huge reason.In Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens, Garrett had four sacks, bringing his total to 15 this season in just ten games. This is his seventh season with at least 12 sacks, and his sixth consecutive season hitting that milestone. He also has 10 sacks in the last three games, tying an NFL record.Sports show Bussin' With The Boys wanted to celebrate Garrett and shared a picture of him giving a post-game press conference in nothing but a pair of grey gym shorts with the caption, "Myles Garrett is DIFFERENT."While Garrett's athletic achievements are impressive, many are focusing on another impressive part of the post -- Garrett's bulge. (@) The screenshot of Garrett isn't new, but as its being shared again, the Internet can't get enough. Bussin' With The Boys's post currently has over 9.9 million views on X."Hard to run from a man with 3 legs," one fan wrote."Yeah... congrats to bro... he's got something else that's 12+," wrote another."Myles Girthett," another dubbed the player.Keep scrolling to see even more of the internet's wild reactions to the pic! (@) (@) (@) (@) (@) (@) (@)

Viswanag Vish Burra, who served as a board advisor for the New York Young Republicans (NYYR) and a show producer for Trumps former Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz, has resigned from both positions after posting an antisemitic cartoon depicting Jews as scheming cockroaches, Joe.My.God. reported.On Monday, the right-wing media outlet One America News fired Burra from his role as producer on The Matt Gaetz Show. Gaetz said Burra realized the video he posted was dumb and quickly deleted it, with Gaetz adding, [Its] not something I believe or condone. Burras name also disappeared from the NYYRs list of board of advisors online after posting the video, one online watchdog noted. Related The countrys dramatic rise in antisemitism is a stark warning for where we could be headed Burra is a former NYYR vice president; the group received national disgrace after several of its leaders were recently revealed to have participated in a racist and antisemitic group chat. Republicans nationwide are just now publicly acknowledging the mainstreaming of antisemitic beliefs amongst their leaders.Burra also served as a former producer for the podcast of former Trump White House advisor Steve Bannon. Burra was also a top staffer for gay convicted pathological liar, former Rep. George Santos (R-NY), during which time he posted social media messages seeming to threaten a female journalist covering Santos criminal dealings.

Doctors told Alice Wongs parents that she wouldnt live to adulthood. She was born with spinal muscular atrophy, a neuromuscular genetic disorder that gradually weakened her muscles. She stopped walking at around age seven, began using a power wheelchair, and eventually developed difficulties breathing, swallowing, or talking.But even though Wong passed away from sepsis last Friday at the age of 51, during her lifetime, she distinguished herself as a prolific queer disability justice advocate and author. Related My first hook-up called me a pity f**k. Disabled queers are so much more. She graduated with a double bachelors in English and sociology and a masters in medical sociology. She also founded the Disability Visibility Project (DVP) and the Disabled Writers project, two initiatives to help disabled people tell their own stories.Through the DVP, she built a media platform that included podcasts, videos, educational outreach, and collaboration efforts with other community organizations, and also published four essay collections from disabled writers. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Acknowledging that most mainstream conceptions of disabled people are largely created by able-bodied people, Wong noted, Disability is so much more than pain, trauma, and tragedy. Theres creativity, adaptation, and talent that come from living in a non-disabled world.As a writer and editor, I address the lack of disabled voices in publishing, journalism, and popular culture, and illustrate the systemic ableism that renders disabled people as disposable burdens and objects of pity, she said. Storytelling is a powerful form of resistance. It leaves evidence that we were here in a society that devalues, excludes, and eliminates us.Wongs writing and activism not only shed light upon the optimism and resilience she shared with other disabled people, but also revealed the many ways that societal ableism hides disabled people from public view, weakening understanding, empathy, and the chance for a more just world. In a 2024 interview with Bloomberg, Wong who was born in the U.S. to parents from Hong Kong noted that many states have biases in Medicaid funding that push people with disabilities into institutional settings rather than caring for them with community-based services that allow them to stay in mixed communities or with their families.Many people think skilled nursing facilities, assisted-living facilities, and nursing homes are safer because a person can get 24-hour care, but no one should be separated from society and hidden from the public, she told Bloomberg. And by the way, institutions are not necessarily safe. In fact, theyre rife with [mistreatment] and neglect, especially ones that are for profit, owned by private equity companies.It looks like I ran out of time. I have so many dreams that I wanted to fulfill and plans to create new stories for you. I did not ever imagine I would live to this age and end up a writer, editor, activist, and more. Alice Wong in a final message published after her passingI would like to see a world where no one goes hungry and has housing, education, and health care, a world where bodily autonomy is respected, a world where communities and neighborhoods take care of one another, a world where disabled people arent siloed by diagnosis, a world where we can rest, dream, and create, she added.She served on President Barack Obamas National Council on Disability to advise the federal government on disability programs and, in 2015, attended a White House event commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act she attended virtually, using a video and camera display on a mobile device, becoming the first person ever to visit the White House using a virtual robot presence. She also published a 2022 memoir, Year of the Tiger: An Activists Life, cofounded a 2023 effort raising $3 million to fund phone and internet access for Palestinians, played a fictionalized version of herself in the 2023 season of the Netflix cartoon comedy Human Resources, and last year, was awarded a MacArthur genius grant fellowship. The systemic ableism that I and millions of us face every day tells us that we dont matter, that our lives are too expensive and not worth saving, she continued. I want to change the way people think about disability from something one-dimensional and negative to something more complex and nuanced. Theres such diversity, joy, and abundance in the lived disabled experience. We are multitudes.By telling my story and amplifying the stories of others, cultural change can happen, she added, and collectively, we can build a world centered on justice, access, and care.The year before she died, Wong for the first time in her life moved into her own apartment, with a dedicated office (rather than working from her bedroom, like she had for decades) and two cats, Bert and Ernie, who she called her chosen family.I know people pity me and cannot imagine living like me, but what I have achieved and lost made me who I am, and I dont take anything for granted, she said. Every moment with friends and family is a treasure, and I find joy amidst all the struggles and pain. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Disability Cultural Center (@disabilityculturalcenter)In her final message, shared online by her friend Sandy Ho, Wong wrote, Hi everyone, it looks like I ran out of time. I have so many dreams that I wanted to fulfill and plans to create new stories for you. There are a few in progress that might come to fruition in a few years if things work out. I did not ever imagine I would live to this age and end up a writer, editor, activist, and more. As a kid riddled with insecurity and internalized ableism, I could not see a path forward. It was thanks to friendships and some great teachers who believed in me that I was able to fight my way out of miserable situations into a place where I finally felt comfortable in my skin, her message continued. We need more stories about us and our culture, she wrote. You all, we all, deserve everything and more in such a hostile, ableist environment. Our wisdom is incisive and unflinching. Im honored to be your ancestor and believe disabled oracles like us will light the way to the future. Dont let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

In Paris on Thursday, two women were found guilty of libel for spreading a false rumor that French First Lady Brigitte Macron was born a man and is living as a transgender woman. The pair will pay 13,500 (about $15,000) in fines and damages.The conspiracy theory claimed that Brigitte Macron was really her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux, and that he had transitioned to a woman who became the wife of the French president. Related MAGA pundit Candace Owens claims French President Emmanuel Macron was raped by his husband Brigitte Macrons brother was present at the trial. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The claim was made without proof by a self-described independent journalist and the host of a YouTube channel in a 2021 video posted to the platform. Conspiracy theorists spread the false claim across the internet and around the world.In the U.S., MAGA provocateur Candace Owens took particular delight in the salacious rumors, twisting the facts to include accusing the French president of being gay and raped by his pre-transitioned pedophile male lover when Macron was 14 years old.Brigitte Macron has said that she tried to ignore the outrageous rumors but when they began to affect her parents and family she made a decision to fight back. Her family is well-known for owning and operating a chain of chocolate stores in northern France.After a long silence on the issue, President Emmanuel Macron addressed the rumors in March in a brief statement to the press outside Place Vendme in Paris. He said the false claims had hurt him and his wife and impacted his family life. Owens perpetuation of the conspiracy theory, even as its two instigators were on trial this summer, is an example of why the rumors were so hurtful for the Macrons.I will say this until Im blue in the face, Owens fulminated just last month. Brigitte Macron is a man. He transitioned. His name used to be Jean-Michel Trogneux, and then he became Brigitte. And when Brigitte was 40 years oldand no one will counter this fact in the media. Instead, they just call it a conspiracy theory because thats what its alwaysjust call everybody names. Its a conspiracy theory.But the reality is that, yes, Brigitte Macron statutorily raped Emmanuel Macron. So if the state actually cared about stomping out people that were aiding and abetting pedophilia, aiding and abetting crimes against minors, then you would not have Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron in office. That is the reality. Trafficking in conspiracy theories is Owens bread and butter. Her latest include one claiming all world leaders are gay, and another that puts TikTok behind a plot to socially engineer men to be you guessed it gay.Owens wont have a chance to respond to the trial verdict repudiating the claims shes made on her YouTube channel for at least a week thats because shes been suspended by the platform over an interview she recently conducted with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, in which the two promoted antisemitic tropes banned under YouTube guidelines.

Donald Trump is facing criticism for shouting Quiet, quiet, piggy! at a female journalist aboard Air Force One this past Friday when she tried to ask about the release of records associated with the Justice Departments investigation of convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, a close associate of Trump.Trump was talking to a gaggle of reporters last week, several days after the House Oversight Committee released thousands of emails that involved Epstein, many of which referenced Trump and one that said Trump spent hours at Epsteins house with one of Epsteins underage victims. Related Producer for Trumps Attorney General nominee refers to Jewish people as scheming cockroaches The White House has denied that the emails prove any wrongdoing on Trumps behalf. Trump has argued that he ended his friendship with Epstein long before Epstein died in 2019.Jeffrey Epstein and I had a very bad relationship for many years, he told reporters on Air Force One.A female Bloomberg reporter tried to ask him if there was anything incriminating in the emails when Trump turned to her and pointed at her.Quiet! Quiet, piggy! he said.What the fuck Ari Drennen (@aridrennen.bsky.social) 2025-11-18T06:05:14.538ZPeople notes that Trump has used the insult piggy towards women he doesnt like for years, potentially as a result of him thinking that women exist only to please men with their physical appearances. He once referred to Miss Universe 1996 Alicia Machado as Miss Piggy because she gained weight after winning the title.

Hot new couple alert!Fraser Olender and Matt Rogers made their red carpet debut as boyfriends at BravoCon 2025, and fans around the world can hardly contain their excitement.The duo confirmed their new romance as they promoted the new season of Below Deck and the renewal of the Las Culturistas Awards, both coming soon to Bravo."I love no complaints on the levels of love! It's one of those things where I'm trying to be cool about a good, new thing. I'm good! I'm happy," Rogers tells PRIDE."I'm very happy and I'm not necessarily single! I feel so honored to be doing what I'm doing and being gay and being proud," Olender adds. See on Instagram Although Olender is officially off the market, the star isn't shying away from the idea of kissing his coworkers again on future episodes of Below Deck."[There was] a lot of tongue action this year! I'm proud of every kiss that we had. We had some fun! We weren't taking anything seriously. If you cannot have fun in your workplace with your colleagues for six weeks, I don't want to be there! So, I'm going to keep on kissing! Wait, we'll see about that," Olender says. Olender may be able to let loose as Chief Stew on Below Deck, but he's still taking his role very seriously as a role model for LGBTQ+ youth."I can only do justice to myself by continue to doing better. I'm getting to somewhere that I'm really proud of. Ultimately, my goal is to be the best Chief Stew that I would want to work for myself. Bring on the next season and I hope to do you proud!"Fans can follow Fraser Olender on Instagram here. To see the full interview from BravoCon 2025, check out the video at the top of the page.

Bronwyn Newport is speaking up for the LGBTQ+ community!The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star is calling on all Bravolebrities to use their platform and advocate for LGBTQ+ equality as political unrest takes over the world."Nobody gets more gender-affirming care than the Housewives, so if your favorite Housewife is not standing up for the community, especially the trans community, you need to DM them and push them to stand up for your rights especially now," Newport tells PRIDE. See on Instagram Newport is receiving acclaim from critics and fans for a stellar sophomore season on RHOSLC. The star is using her quick wit during arguments with her costars, battling fraud allegations, and even having candid conversations about potentially opening up her marriage down the road.As if that weren't enough, the model is opening up on her journey to become a United States citizen, which fans will see play out in the last half of the season."I have a big milestone in my laugh coming up. I went through the process to become a US citizen and I wanted to be vulnerable about it. I ended up hiring an attorney to get over the finish line. I've never told anyone, but that's a very scary thing. I'm getting emotional thinking about it. It is incredibly difficult."The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City airs Tuesday nights on Bravo. To see the full interview with Bronwyn Newport from BravoCon 2025, check out the video at the top of the page.

Whether youre a parent of a trans kid or just a trans person who likes queer media, childrens TV shows with transgender characters can be hard to come by. Most childrens shows dont have explicitly trans characters or their trans characters play minor roles in larger plots that revolve around cisgender protagonists.However, we found seven childrens TV shows with transgender characters who are explicitly trans and play larger storyline roles. Our list is ordered with shows intended for younger viewers at the top and ones intended for older and more mature viewers near the bottom. Each one makes for riveting viewing, no matter whether you and your younger viewers are into cartoons, comedies, dramas, reality TV, or even horror. Related 20 exceptional LGBTQ+ childrens books your kids should read immediately Steven Universe Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today This incredibly queer-inclusive childrens show which follows three outer-space superheroes who train a sensitive young boy features numerous characters who defy standard gender representations. One of these characters, Stevonnie, is literally a fusion between the titular main character and his close gal pal Connie.Dead End: Paranormal Park Intended for viewers age seven and older, this horror-themed childrens TV show with a transgender character features Barney, a non-binary person who feels like he can be his authentic self at his place of work. Too bad he works at a haunted theme park where he must battle demons and other supernatural threats at least he has the help of his friend Norma and a talking dog named Pugsley.Heartstopper A romantic teen drama intended for viewers ages 14 and older, Heartstopper is based on a graphic novel that mostly focuses on the romance between two cisgender male schoolboys in England. However, the show features Elle Argent, a recurring Black transgender girl character (played by trans actress Yasmin Finney) who attends an all-girls school and develops feelings for her best friend. The show also features anothertrans character namedNaomi.I Am Jazz A reality TV series intended for viewers ages 14 and older, this childrens TV show with a transgender character features Jazz Jennings, a real-life trans teenage girl who is navigating the challenges of high school social and romantic life while undergoing gender-affirming healthcare and working as an advocate raising public awareness about the challenges faced by young trans people.The Fosters A family drama intended for viewers ages 14 and older, The Fosters follows a multi-ethnic family headed by two moms, Stef and Lena, who adopt two foster children, Callie and her brother Jude. Prolific trans male actor Elliot Fletcher plays Aaron, a trans boy who develops a relationship with Callie.While their relationship was one of the first-ever trans romances on a televised teen drama, the show also features Cole, a trans teen who lives in a group home for runaway youth assigned female at birth, as he gradually explores his male gender identity. Degrassi: The Next GenerationThis high school drama for viewers ages 14 and older features Adam Torres, a student who transferred toDegrassi High Schoolas a sophomore to escape transphobic bullies at his old school. But he eventually gets outed after he first accidentally drops his tampons in front of other students and is then seen by his crush to be using a chest binder. Torres stayed in the showfor 78 episodesfrom the shows tenth to thirteenth season, a remarkably long run for a trans character on a childrens TV show. Dead of SummerThis supernatural horror series for viewers ages 14 follows teenage counselors at Camp Stillwater who awaken a dark mythology that they must then survive. In it, Zelda Williams (the cisgender daughter of deceased comedy actor Robin Williams) plays Drew Reeves,a stand-offish counselor who is haunted by his past life and the challenges of working alongside coworkers who all seem to have ulterior motives. The Chilling Adventures of SabrinaThis horror-themed teen drama, meant for viewers over 14, follows Sabrina, a mischievous teenage witch who often unwisely resorts to magic to solve her personal problems. One of Sabrinas friends is a character namedTheo Putnam, who gradually realizes his transgender male identity thanks to some assistance from the ghost of a gender non-conforming relative. Sex EducationWhile this dramatic comedy is rated for viewers over the age of 18, its perfectly suitable viewing for mature teenagers. The show, which follows teens who decide to learn about sexual health issues independently, includes characters like Abbi Montgomery (a trans woman), Roman (a trans man), Cal (a nonbinary person portrayed by a trans actor), and Layla (a nonbinary student).The show touches on numerous important sexual topics, like asexuality, pansexuality, toxic masculinity, sexually transmitted infections, and consent. But the shows sexual content isnt provocative or gratuitous. Rather, it tastefully, intelligently, and humorously educates viewers about common sexual stigmas and myths. Its a trans new world in TV Land!Childrens TV shows with transgender characters dont just reflect our world, where children have begun identifying as trans at younger ages. Rather, they allow younger trans viewers to see versions of themselves confronting real-life issues faced by actual trans youth. As such, the shows above both entertain and educate, while also giving viewers trans heroes to root for.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

New York City Council Member Chi Oss (D) filed paperwork yesterday to run for Congress in New Yorks Eighth Congressional District, which is currently represented by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Jeffries position makes him one of the most powerful elected Democrats in the country.The Democratic Partys leadership is not only failing to effectively fight back against Donald Trump, they have also failed to deliver a vision that we can all believe in, Oss said in a statement to Axios. These failures are some of the many reasons why I am currently exploring a potential run for New Yorks 8th Congressional District. Related A gay NYC councilmembers viral videos helped defeat a very unpopular law Oss, 27, is known as a progressive voice on the New York City Council and is an ally of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D). He was first elected in 2021 and previously was a prominent figure in Black Lives Matter, according to the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund.But not all progressives in the Democratic Party are excited to see him run. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who is also part of the progressive wing of the party, said she doesnt think a primary challenge to the leader is a good idea right now when asked about Osss challenge, although she specified that she wasnt yet aware that he had filed paperwork for a candidacy. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The conservative New York Post also reported last week that Mayor-elect Mamdani urged Oss not to challenge Jeffries, citing two unnamed sources.He said he wants to strike when the iron is hot, one source said of Oss.Strikewhile the iron is hot? the other said. How about listen to the next mayor, who is the hottest thing in politicsright now.I believe that there are many ways right here in New York City to both deliver on an affordability agenda and take on the authoritarian administration in the White House, Mamdani said of Oss earlier this week, according to Politico reporter Jeff Coltin. Mamdani goes further in publicly discouraging Oss. Says he appreciates his work for tenants, but I believe that there are many ways right here in New York City to both deliver on an affordability agenda and take on the authoritarian administration in the White House. Jeff Coltin (@JCColtin) November 17, 2025Oss has reportedly already started hiring campaign staff and set up an Act Blue page for fundraising.New Yorks Eighth is made up of parts of Brooklyn, and over 70% of residents voted for the Democratic candidate in statewide and presidential elections since 2008. The last Republican to win the district did so in 1920. Jeffries won the district with 75% of the vote in 2024 and was first elected in 2012.In 2023, Oss was honored byLGBTQ Nations sibling publicationINTOas one ofthe 25 under 25 queer people to look out for. He swept the Democratic primary and general election and became the co-Chair of the Brooklyn Delegation and the Chair of the NYC Council Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries, and International Intergroup Relations. He also focused his political capital on developing human-centered public safety solutions (such as community alternatives to police) and on creating innovative ways to combat the citys housing crisis.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

The CEO of an anti-trans clothing company is trying to bribe professional womens soccer players into speaking out against trans athletes but none of them are taking her up on it.Jennifer Sey, a retired artistic gymnast who won the 1986 National Gymnastics Championship, runs the anti-trans clothing company XX-XY Athletics, which donates money from each purchase to organizations fighting against trans inclusion in sports. Related A coalition of girl dads is campaigning for a ballot measure to ban trans kids from sports Sey regularly spouts anti-trans rhetoric on social media and recently wrote that shed give $10,000 to the next player in the National Womens Soccer League (NWSL) to stand up in defense of keeping womens soccer female.A full-throated defense, she emphasized. A press conference. Nothing mealy-mouthed. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Her offer aimed to build on an anti-trans New York Post essay by NWSL player Elizabeth Eddy in the wake of her team, the Angel City Football Club, signing an intersex player. Eddy claimed to be fighting for the integrity of womens sports. In other words, she was arguing to exclude trans and intersex players from womens leagues.https://twitter.com/JenniferSey/status/1986258090262430106After Seys post, others offered to add money to the pot. Two anonymous people added $5,000, and Clay Travis founder of the anti-LGBTQ+ sports site Outkick offered $15,000, bringing the total to $35,000.But according to Out, not a single player has taken Sey up on her offer. Whats more, there are reportedly no trans players currently in the league.In fact, after Eddy published her essay, Angel City captain Sarah Gorden and vice captain Angelina Anderson spoke out in support of trans athletes.That article does not speak for this team and this locker room, Gorden said during an October 30 press conference.She said her teammates were hurt, harmed, and disgusted by Eddys words.We dont agree with the things written, for a plethora of reasons, but mostly the undertones come across as transphobic andracist as well. (The essay used a photo of cisgender woman player Barbra Banda, who is from Zambia.)Anderson added that Angel City is a place for everyone and that Los Angeles is a place that was founded upon inclusivity and love for all people. ACFC Captain Sarah Gorden and Angelina Anderson open up todays press conference with statements regarding the recent article from their fellow teammate in the New York Post. pic.twitter.com/ba289kAa09 Women Kick Balls Jackie Gutierrez (@womenkickballs) October 30, 2025Sey, on the other hand, appeared on Fox News after Eddy published her essay to claim that there are several males in the NWSL. She then claimed Banda, who plays for the Orlando Pride, is a man.The NWSL does not have a formal policy when it comes to gender eligibility, which has earned the league criticism from folks on all sides of the debate.You have to take a stance, sports writer Julie Kliegman told The Athletic. It has to be clear, it has to be transparent, and it has to be inclusive. Otherwise, this neutral ground isnt really so neutral, because its leaving room for players like Eddy to steer the conversation.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

An American animated childrens show has been pulled from the air in Malaysia following complaints about a kiss between two men on the show.As the South China Morning Post reports, state broadcaster Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) has temporarily removed Santiago of the Seas from its network TV2s schedule after viewers complained about a same-sex kiss in an episode that aired on November 16. According to the outlet, viewers objected to seeing the characters Rio and Martn married, same-sex mermen voiced by Thomas Hobson and James Monroe Iglehart share a kiss on the cheek. Related Conservatives rage at old Netflix cartoon for showing two women kissing According to IMDb, Hobsons character appeared in only one episode, Lorelais Family Vacation, which originally aired in the U.S. on Nick Jr. in 2023. Images from the episode, widely available online and posted to social media bySantiago of the Seasco-creator Niki Lopez, clearly show Martn planting a chaste kiss on Rios cheek.SANTIAGO OF THE SEAS featured a gay couple on a special episode that premiered yesterday on Nick Jr. Lorelei's father, Rio, is with Martin. New episodes will continue to air throughout the week at 7:30PM ET pic.twitter.com/jCEbaeOB2Z Cartoon Crave (@TheCartoonCrave) July 4, 2023 Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today But according to SCMP, RTM claimed in a Monday statement that its content assessment had found no actions or displays of affection suggesting same-sex relationships in the series.However, to ensure there are no elements that raise doubt or sensitivities, RTM has halted the broadcast for a detailed review, the statement continued.Malaysian outlet Scoop reports that the Malaysian Islamic Party has urged the government to take action to prevent Santiago of the Seas from returning to the air, and to conduct thorough screenings of foreign cartoons to avoid the potential spread of LGBT influences. Homosexuality is outlawed in the Muslim-majority nation, and sodomy can be punished with imprisonment and corporal punishment, although enforcement is rare. Malaysias 1984 Printing Presses and Publications Act, meanwhile, bans depictions of LGBTQ+ relationships in film, TV, and print media, and is commonly invoked to justify instances of state-sponsored censorship.As Scoop notes, Santiago of the Seas, which aired for two seasons on Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. in the U.S. from 2020 to 2023, was partly produced in Malaysia, with much of its animation and CGI work completed by Malaysian studio Lemon Sky Studios.The series, which was nominated for a Childrens and Family Emmy Award in 2022, was removed from Nickelodeon parent company Paramounts streaming platform, Paramount+, along with several other Nickelodeon original series last year. As Deadline reported at the time, the company said the move was part of a strategic decision to focus on content with mass global appeal.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

LGBTQ+ people are significantly more likely to stopped, harassed, and even falsely accused by the police than non-LGBTQ+ people, according to a new study released by the Williams Institute. As a result, LGBTQ+ people are less likely to contact the police when they need support, the study notes.Participants in these studies have described being stopped for no reason, encountering hostile treatment when police discovered they were transgender, and having officers assume they were engaging in sex work or other illegal activities, the report explains, detailing some of its qualitative research. Participants in several studies shared that they have concerns related to their LGBTQ identity about contacting the police or that they avoid police in order to avoid negative interactions. Related Police caught lying about tragic car crash that killed 4 outside gay bar The Williams Institute study analyzed 25 years of research on interactions between the LGBTQ+ community and police. The data came from surveys, incident reports, government investigations, qualitative research, court cases, and anecdotal reports.The findings might not be astonishing to those familiar with LGBTQ+ history, most notably the police raids that led to the Stonewall Riots. While decades have passed since crimes explicitly targeted LGBTQ+ social behaviors, the report suggests that changes only run so deep and notes that it was only 2003 when the Supreme Court ruled sodomy laws as unconstitutional. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Just as the censorious Hays Code from the 1930s to 60s still defines aspects of modern media, past criminalization of LGBTQ+ identities has created an environment where discrimination and harassment are common. The history of criminalization and related tensions between law enforcement and LGBTQ communities have legacies that extend to the present day, the report acknowledges. The authors also note the new waves of anti-trans laws, pointing to the fact that Recent years have seen a rise in anti-LGBTQ legislation, with many of these new laws imposing criminal penalties. The analysis of survey data revealed that as well as being more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, and held in custody, LGBTQ+ people were also more likely to report verbal, physical, and sexual harassment and assault at the hands of law enforcement.The studys lead author, Joshua Arrayales, a law fellow at the Williams Institute, released a statement noting that all of this meant that LGBTQ+ people were less likely to report crimes, and that affects future data. Reporting crimes is essential for accurate crime statistics, proper allocation of crime prevention resources, and support services that address the unique needs of LGBTQ survivors, Arrayales said. As previous data already suggested that LGBTQ+ people are more likely to be crime victims, this research supports the idea that many crimes against queer people go unreported.While LGBTQ+ people are more likely to be stopped by police, face harassment, and avoid contacting law enforcement as a result, the statistical differences grow for specific groups. People who are part of other marginalized groups reported higher incidence rates; one study showed that 46% of trans people said theyd avoid contacting the police if they were the victim of a crime.The study also found that these interactions often had a lasting impact. A growing body of research suggests that there are associations between police violence and harassment and binge drinking, stress, depression, and other negative health outcomes.The Williams Institute study also provides action items for improving the current situation: (1) legal and policy reform, (2) enhanced accountability and representation within law enforcement agencies, (3) community engagement and support, and (4) continuous data collection and evaluation of these initiatives.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Are you ready to fall in love with the cast of Pillion?The upcoming kinky gay romance Pillion has movie fans and the queer community in a chokehold, as it premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and is scheduled for release in the United Kingdom on November 28.While the film doesn't release in the U.S. until 2026, it's already one of the hottest topics in Hollywood.Pillion is a British romantic comedy-drama about an introverted, shy gay man named Colin who becomes a lifestyle sub for a sexy, mysterious biker.Scroll through to find out more and check out pics of the sexy cast, including stars Alexander Skarsgrd and Harry Melling!Harry Melling andAlexander SkarsgrdPillion's tagline reads: "A timid man is swept off his feet when an enigmatic, impossibly handsome biker takes him on as his submissive."Director Harry Lighton with starsHarry Melling and Alexander Skarsgrd"Ray uproots Colin from his dreary suburban life, introducing him to a community of kinky, queer bikers and taking all sorts of virginities along the way," Variety wrote of the film's plot when the project was announced. "But as Colin steps deeper into Rays world of rules and mysteries, he begins to question whether the life of a 24/7 submissive is for him. Has he found his calling, or simply swapped one form of suffocation for another?"Alexander Skarsgrd and Jake ShearsFrom the trailer, we know that Colin meets Ray in a bar when he sees a group of gay bikers, and Colin is immediately enraptured. Soon, Colin is caught up in a whirlwind of love, kink, leather, and motorcycles.Harry Melling (The Queen's Gambit) stars as Colin, an introverted and unassuming gay man who sings in a barbershop quartet and works writing parking tickets.Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgrd (True Blood) stars in the film as Ray, a devilishly handsome gay biker who takes Colin under his wing.English filmmaker Harry Lighton is the mind behind Pillion. For his feature directorial debut, he adapted Adam Mars-Jones's 2020 novel Box Hill.Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears makes his screen acting debut in the film, playing Kevin.Paul (Kvasir) Tallis is a Welsh biker and Pup Play enthusiast who plays a Human Puppy in the film.The film also stars Douglas Hodge, Lesley Sharp, and Anthony Welsh (pictured above).Rosie the Rottweiler appears in the film as Ray's pet dog.Skarsgrd told Pink News that the filmmaker and actors worked hard to make the movie feel real."We wanted to avoid stereotypes and also try to make those scenes feel authentic. [Sex] can be clumsy, it can be awkward, it can be weird and it can be funny. It doesn't have to be sexy all the time," he said. "We wanted those scenes with the whole gang to feel authentic but it was also important to distinguish the couples within this group because we're not carbon copies of each other."Melling says that when he first joined the film, his friends couldn't believe that the former Harry Potter actor was doing a movie like this."I remember speaking to a few friends of mine about this story, what was involved in it. They were like, Oh wow, Harry. Wow!" he said.Lighton, pictured here with Skarsgrd, said that he ended up cutting several of the film's more hardcore sex scenes."It was purely because I didnt want to push the audience into feeling they were being deliberately shocked by an image," Lighton told Variety. "So, for example, there was one close-up of a dick, a hard dick like down the barrel of the lens. And after watching the film on that fuck-off screen I thought, yeah, cutting it was probably the right decision!"Theres definitely a raunchier version of this movie. What youve seen is the family-friendly version. Theres also the Alexander Skarsgrd cut," Skarsgrd added.Pillion won the Best Screenplay prize and Palm Dog (an award for dogs in films at the festival), as well as nominations for the Camra d'Or and Queer Palm.Pillion will be released in the U.S. sometime in 2026.While promoting Pillion, Alexander Skarsgrd spoke about what drew him to the role."I found that in this case, its not really relevant what my background is. I mean, I do have a kid, but what Ive done in the past, who Ive been with, men, women To me, what was important was that this felt like an opportunity to tell a story about a subculture I hadnt seen portrayed this way with so much authenticity," Skarsgrd said, according to Variety.Many fans took Skarsgrd's statement to mean he has been with both men and women, while others took it to mean it doesn't matter if he's been with men or women.While filming True Blood, Skarsgrd was asked how he felt about filming gay sex scenes."You just have to embrace it. I had two gay sex scenes on the show; theyre incredible scenes," the actor recalled. "I remember talking to Theo [Alexander], who played the Greek lover of Russell Edgington [played by Denis OHare], and that was the first gay sex scene I had on True Blood. Hes also a straight guy, and he was nervous; he had never kissed a guy before. I just said, 'Look at the scene. Its this nemesis. When he comes in, it gets seductive.'"Skarsgrd has been wearing outifts that pay tribute to the gay leather and BDSM scenes at events for the film.In 2025, Skarsgrd also starred in the sci-fi comedy series Murderbot for Apple TV+.

A year ago, when I sat in a press screening for Wicked, I remember the moment the entire audience believed we could fly.I was one of many established Wicked fans in the audience, and like others, I was wary of believing that the long-awaited movie adaptation could live up to the musical's legacy. Then, Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba sang "The Wizard and I."Every eye was glued to the screen, every breath was hitched, and when Elphaba took that first leap into the air, every audience member's heart did the same thing. When she belted out the final notes of the song, we were undeniably hers.While it is one of the best movies of the year, Wicked: For Good has no such moment.Wicked: For Good picks up a few years after 2024's Wicked leaves off, with Glinda (Ariana Grande, in the best performance of her career) installed as the Wizard's mouthpiece and Elphaba firmly in her palace as the Wicked Witch of the West in the eyes of the Ozian public.As Elphaba continues her fight to expose the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) for his lies and save the animal inhabitants of Oz, Glinda is busy trying to bring her BFF back into the fold. She's still convinced the system can be changed from the inside (and so, ultimately, is this movie).In the end, however, we all know how the story goes. A farm girl from Kansas shows up in a house carried by a tornado, killing Elphaba's sister. Elphaba and Glinda fight, Boq becomes the Tin Man, Fiyero becomes the Scarecrow, and Dorothy defeats the Wicked Witch by throwing water on her. The Wizard leaves in his balloon, and Glinda is left alone to become Glinda the Good and rule over Oz.Therein lies Wicked: For Good's biggest problem: being the second half of Wicked the musical.The stage version of Wicked is famous for having a stronger first half than second, and director Jon M. Chu unfortunately did nothing to mitigate the plot and character problems that already existed.While Part One lets its characters breathe and have their own motivations, many of their actions in this second film only happen because that's how it happens in the original story.There's just no fighting the source material. Why does Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) turn into a scarecrow? Because there's a scarecrow in the original. Why does Fiyero then join with Dorothy's gang? Because the scarecrow was with Dorothy in the original. Why does the Cowardly Lion blame Elphaba instead of the Wizard for his troubles? Because he does in the original. Why does Glinda believe that a bucket of water melts her best friend? Because it does in the original. Why can't Elphaba stay and lead the revolution? Because at the end of The Wizard of Oz, she's defeated.This devotion to the source material leaves nothing to chance. There are no moments that can surprise audiences, because we already know exactly what is going to happen. And now that we know this version of the characters, we can't be surprised at how much we love them.Yes, there were a few times the audience of critics applauded, but the first didn't come until "No Good Deed," much later in the film than "The Wizard and I." None of the clapping was as universal or as long-lasting as in the first installment.Erivo and Grande are once again spectacular, and when they finally perform the second half's showstopper, "For Good," it is one of the best scenes audiences will see in any movie this year. But it comes too little, and too late to make For Good the kind of instant classic that Part One is.While Part One was the story of how Elphaba becomes the Wicked Witch, For Good is the story of how Glinda becomes Good. Therefore, Grande is given a lot more to do in this one than Erivio, and she takes full advantage.Grande's Glinda always seems on the verge of an emotional eruption. She's controlled her life, her smile, her emotions since she was little, but now that she's confronted with true love (Elphaba, not Fiyero), she doesn't know how to express herself.The tension is palpable every time Glinda even glances Elphaba's way. Fans who interpret the two as ill-fated lovers will find much to dig into here, from neck muscle twitches to slight smiles to stolen eye contact; this Glinda has never loved anyone as much as she loves Elphaba.No matter what the script says, the chemistry between Glinda and Elphaba massively eclipses Fiyero's chemistry with either woman. He's simply there to be an absurdly handsome distraction.Once again, the only reason Glinda and Elphaba don't end up together in Wicked: For Good is that they don't end up together in The Wizard of Oz.The world of Oz is still a sumptuous visual spectacle, filled with fabulous costumes by Oscar winner Paul Tazewell. But this time, it's much more like our real world than we'd like.Goldblum's Wizard is eerily Trumpian as a fraud who brags that he could reveal his lies in front of a crowd, and they'd still love him.One of the film's new songs, "No Place Like Home," is the movie's big swing at a Trump-era anthem of resistance. However, the message of Elphaba wanting to stay and fight for the land she calls home is undercut when, at the end, she realizes she must leave and let Glinda fight her battles in Oz for her.A revolution isn't needed, Elphaba realizes; they just needed to find the right figurehead for the systems already in place.In this way, For Good is trying to build its legacy as a Trump-era Hamilton. It pushes liberal politics, but never leftist or radical ones. It speaks of starting a revolution, but settles for a message of working within the system instead.All of this being said, the performances in the film are undeniable. Erivo is an all-time talent, and Grande is establishing herself as one of the best actors in Hollywood. I can't wait to see what she does next.Glinda's new song, "The Girl in the Bubble," is a highlight, although I don't think it's good enough to beat KPop Demon Hunters' "Golden" or Sinners' "I Lied to You" for Best Song at the Oscars. Erivo and Grande definitely deserve their second nominations each for playing their characters, but I doubt Chu will get a directing nomination like he should have last year.Wicked: For Good isn't the kind of landmark film that Part One was. Still, audiences will be delighted, entertained, and moved.Three out of five stars.

Donald Trump snapped at an ABC reporter who asked him about the Epstein Files and said ABC should lose its license because she didnt ask him nicely. Why wait for Congress to release the Epstein files? Why not just do it now? the reporter said, likely referring to the fact that the president recently posted to Truth Social, claiming he supports the House voting to release the files. Related Epstein: Trump knew Its not the question that I mind. Its your attitude, Trump replied. I think you are a terrible reporter. Its the way you ask these questions You could even ask that same exact question nicely. He did not say how the question could have been worded differently to make him feel better.Youre a terrible person, and a terrible reporter, Trump repeated, claiming he has nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. I think the license should be taken away from ABC because your news is so fake and its so wrong, he said. Reporter: Mr. President, why wait for congress to release the Epstein files? Why not just do it now?Trump: It's not the question that I mind. It's your attitude I think the license should be taken away from ABC. We have a great commissioner, a chairman who should look at pic.twitter.com/rSPG2m9EK4 Acyn (@Acyn) November 18, 2025

Gay Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) have reintroduced a bill to require the State Department to defend LGBTQ+ rights worldwide.The International Human Rights Defense Act (IHRDA) directs the department to establish a Special Envoy to create a United States global strategy to prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI+ people internationally. Related Gay candidate Jordan Wood is using his campaigns $1 million war chest to keep a House seat blue The bill explains that 64 countries criminalize same-sex relations, and 12 countries include jurisdictions that allow the death penalty for private, consensual same-sex relations. The fact that same-sex marriage was challenged here in the United States shows that equality is never something we can take for granted,Garcia said in a statement, referring to a case against marriage equality that was recently rejected by the Supreme Court. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today LGBTQ+ people here at home and around the world continue to face escalating violence, discrimination, and rollbacks of their rights, and we must act now, Garcia continues. This bill will stand up for LGBTQ+ communities at home and abroad, and show the world that our nation can be a leader when it comes to protecting dignity and human rights once again.Markey added, We must recommit the United States to the defense of human rights and the promotion of equality and justice around the world I will continue to fight alongside LGBTQ+ individuals for a world that recognizes that LGBTQ+ rights are human rights.This is at least the fourth time the bill has been introduced. Markey introduced it with various co-sponsors in 2014, 2019, and 2023 (when he was also joined by Garcia). The first was in 2019 by Markey and former Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA). The second time was in 2023 by Markey, Garcia, and Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA). According to the Washington Blade, the global LGBTQ+ and intersex rights movement has lost more than $50 million since the current administration froze most of the countrys foreign aid funding. Whats more, in August, the State Department released a heavily edited version of its annual report on human rights around the world that did not include any mention of LGBTQ+ rights violations and other abuses. This years congressionally mandated report, which was initially prepared under the Biden administration, was delayed for months so that the State Department could remove references to categories of human rights violations not explicitly required by statute.During a conference call with reporters at the time, former Biden administration special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ+ and intersex rights and co-founder of the Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice Jessica Stern said that while she and her colleagues expected the report to be bad, they were shocked and horrified by what the administration released.It is deliberate erasure, she said.The current administration has not named a special envoy to fill Sterns role. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Political road markings in Texas now include an ode to rock n roll legend Buddy Holly.At a city council meeting in Lubbock last week, David Bragg, interim director of public works, shared that his department will remove a hometown crosswalk tribute to the music icon that depicted Hollys signature horn-rimmed glasses. Related Greg Abbott is removing rainbow crosswalks. This church found a way to fight back. The decision comes in the aftermath of the Trump administrations diktat compelling U.S. governors to keep roadways free of distractions. The anti-LGBTQ+ order, disguised as a safety initiative, stated, Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork. The removal of rainbow Pride crosswalks, the unspoken target of the administrations order, ties federal and state funding to compliance and has been bolstered by red-state governors complicity. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today I dont think it was intended to go after the Buddy Holly glasses, the public works director said of the crosswalk crackdown. Unfortunately, it did.Anything on the roadway would have to be eliminated, he added.The four-sided crosswalk depicting four pairs of the iconic glasses was installed by the city in 2020 to celebrate Holly, born Charles Hardin Holley in 1936, the New York Times reports.The pioneering guitarist, best known for his hit song Thatll Be the Day, recorded in 1959, died in a plane crash three years later at age 22, alongside fellow musicians Ritchie Valens and J.P. Big Bopper Richardson. The crash was immortalized in the enduring song American Pie by Don McLean as the day the music died. Its so unfortunate because its such a tasteful cross section, and people like it, council member Christy Martinez-Garcia said at the meeting. But what do you do?Also caught up in the crosswalk purge in Lubbock: a Polka Dots-themed crosswalk on Mac Davis Lane (named for another popular singer and Lubbock native, late country artist Mac Davis), as well as a crosswalk with a mesquite motif. Theres no record of rainbow crosswalks in the northwest Texas town.Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) along with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) have been the most eager accomplices in the Trump administrations crosswalk and street art erasures.In Texas, rainbow crosswalks have been slated for removal or destroyed in Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, with some facing more protest from residents and officials than others. In October, the South Texas border town of Laredo removed a street mural fronting the citys courthouse that read Defund the Wall, after funding threats from Abbott.Several cities in Florida have removed rainbow crosswalks at the order of DeSantis, who rivals Trump in his disdain for LGBTQ+ public identity. Many of the removals happened in the dead of night.Among the most egregious: the destruction of a crosswalk honoring the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub tragedy in Orlando.Both state and federal officials have justified the actions by claiming street art is distracting to drivers. The data, however, supports the complete opposite.TheBloomberg Philanthropies 2022 Asphalt Art Safety Studyfound that crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists drop 50% at painted intersections. It also reported a 25% decrease in conflicts between drivers and pedestrians, a 27% increase in drivers immediately yielding to pedestrians, and a 38% decrease in pedestrians crossing when the walk signal was not lit at intersections involving public art. The data also revealed that injuries resulting from crashes drop 37% in painted intersections. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are demanding that Speaker Mike Johnson, the Louisiana Republican, intervene after what they describe as a surge of anti-transgender rhetoric inside the chamber, warning that Republican members have repeatedly violated House rules by using slurs and promoting conspiratorial claims about transgender Americans during official proceedings.Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocates email newsletter.In a letter sent Tuesday, 213 Democrats, including the entire party leadership, told Johnson that his failure to enforce basic standards of conduct has allowed dehumanizing attacks to become routine on the House floor.Related: Donald Trump bizarrely blames transgender rights for looming government shutdownWe write to you to strongly condemn the rise in anti-transgender rhetoric, including from members of Congress, the lawmakers wrote, urging Johnson to ensure members of Congress are following rules of decorum and not using their platforms to demonize and scapegoat transgender people.South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace, the Republican running for governor of her state, has been one of the loudest anti-trans voices in Congress. She calls herself a proud transphobe and has used anti-trans slurs to refer to transgender people. She also led an effort to ban Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, the first out trans member of Congress, from womens spaces on Capitol grounds.The signatories represent one of the broadest coalitions Democrats have assembled this Congress, spanning ideological caucuses and including every member of the Congressional Equality Caucus.Related: Anti-trans Republican Nancy Mace doubles down on dehumanizing transphobic slur during hearingThe letter outlines a series of incidents that Democrats say illustrate a breakdown of institutional norms. According to the lawmakers, a Republican member used an anti-trans slur multiple times during committee hearings and again on the House floor, yet neither the chair nor the speaker pro tempore intervened.The letter also cites calls by members of Congress to institutionalize all transgender people, remarks describing transgender Americans as mentally ill, and false assertions by high-level political figures that transgender people are inherently violent or pose a national security threat.Democrats argue that the rhetoric mirrors a broader political strategy and contributes to real-world harm. This language, coupled with the rising number of legislative and administrative attacks we have seen against the transgender community, is taking a real toll on the transgender community with many members fearing for their safety, the letter states, pointing to 463 reported hate-crime incidents motivated by gender identity bias in 2024, an undercount, they note, due to chronic gaps in law enforcement reporting.Related: Sarah McBride opens up about her darkest day in Congress (exclusive)Transgender people are part of every community, the lawmakers wrote. They are veterans, teachers, and doctors. They are parents, children, and siblings. They are neighbors and friends. They are Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Attacks on the transgender community are attacks on every community. Transgender people deserve government officials who will lift them up, not attack them simply because of who they are.After the 2024 election, in which President Donald Trump leaned heavily on anti-trans messaging, Republicans doubled down on their targeting of the trans community.However, in Virginias November election, voters delivered Democrats sweeping victories across statewide offices and legislative races. Republican candidates had centered their campaigns on trans-focused messaging messaging that voters decisively rejected. Even in competitive districts, attacks on transgender people failed to resonate. For Equality Caucus members, the elections outcome demonstrates that anti-trans platforms are losing traction, even as Republicans in Congress escalate their rhetoric.Texas Congresswoman Julie Johnson, the first LGBTQ+ person elected to Congress from the South and a signatory of the letter, told The Advocate in an interview Tuesday that the rhetoric now flooding the House mirrors the anti-trans strategy she has seen deployed for years on the campaign trail.Related: Sarah McBride explains how Democrats big tent is bisexualI think it was initially successful because people lack understanding of [the trans community] and the struggles that trans people go through, Johnson said. She argued that a deficit of sympathy, empathy, understanding, compassion made transgender people particularly vulnerable to political exploitation. The approach, she noted, echoed Lyndon B. Johnson's famous maxim about convincing one person they are better than another to manipulate them. Trans people, she said, became a very small segment of the population to demonize with and face little electoral blowback.But Julie Johnson believes voters are now recognizing the personal cost of that strategy. Many, she said, realized that their vote to support the Trump administration on the premise of transphobia only translated to harm to themselves economically and with an attack on their own civil rights. She pointed to the recent Virginia results as proof: All those trans ads were unsuccessful. They did not work this time.Related: Sarah McBride slams Republicans for blocking amendments on trans military service in defense billJohnson recounted knocking on a door during her last campaign and meeting a young Latino man still living with his parents. His first question was about boys in girls sports, Johnson said. When she asked why he wasnt instead asking about wages or housing, he told her, I never thought about that. Its just what the ads are. To Johnson, the interaction captured how people got sucked into a narrative of transphobia and they realized that that didnt do them any good.She also said the series of political attacks on transgender people fits a broader pattern: Theyve come for immigrants, for any people of color, for your free speech, for women, for the LGBTQ+ community. Whos left?

Halloween may be gay Christmas, but honestly, so is Christmas! The cozy sweaters, the warm spiked beverages, the presents, and of course, the cheesy holiday movies we cant help but love.While straight holiday romances may still dominate the airwaves, in recent years, there have been several new queer holiday classics that have made it to the screen as well. They often feature out actors finding Christmas magic and love in the most surprising places.They are sweet, wholesome, and unapologetically gay. So if youre in the mood for a sweet and sappy holiday romance, weve got you covered plus, where you can stream them today!Make the Yuletide Gay (2009)If you watched Happiest Season and wished it were gayer, then good news that movie exists, and its called Make the Yuletide Gay. In it, gay college student Gunn (Keith Jordan) goes home and back into the closet for the holidays, only to have his plans crashed by his roommate, Nathan (Adamo Ruggiero). And you can probably guess what happens next.Where to watch: dekkoo Scrooge & Marley (2012)There have been many versions of Charles Dickenss holiday classic A Christmas Carol, but in Scrooge & Marley audiences finally get the story through a gay lens. In it, piano bar owner Ebenezer Ben Scrooge (David Pevsner) is a hardened holiday hater and greedy boss that is, until hes visited by a ghost who takes him back to a gay disco in the 70s, a present where his niece embraces her queerness and has a joyful holiday, and a future where his family doesnt mourn him. All of it helps him change his greedy, bah-humbug ways.Where to watch: TubiShared Rooms (2016)All of the holiday movies on this list are sweet and heartwarming, but this one is sexy, too! The film follows three interconnected stories during the holiday season: a married couple welcomes their gay nephew into their home; in another, a casual hookup turns into love; and finally, two friends who are secretly in love are forced to face their feelings.Where to watch: RokuDashing in December (2020)Whats the one thing that can make a gay Christmas movie even better? Gay cowboys, obviously. In Dashing in December, Wyatt (Peter Porte) is a financier from New York who returns home for the holidays and reconnects with his roots and with a handsome ranch hand named Heath (Juan Pablo Di Pace).Where to watch: Rent on Prime VideoThe Christmas House (2020)Jonathan Bennett is arguably the king of gay holiday movies, and it all started with The Christmas House. In it, Bennett stars as Brandon, whoalong with his partner Jake (Brad Harder)returns home for the holidays. As if that werent enough stress, the couple is also on pins and needles waiting for a call from an agency about adopting their first child.Yeah, this one is an especially wholesome and sweet holiday movie.Where to watch: Hallmark+The Christmas Setup (2020)This gay Lifetime holiday film is particularly notable because it stars real-life husbands Blake Lee and Ben Lewis, and lets the two fall in love all over again on-screen. Lewis plays New York City lawyer Hugo, who heads to Milwaukee with his best friend, Madelyn (Ellen Wong), to visit his mother (Fran Drescher), who conspires to reconnect him with his old crush, Patrick (Lee).Where to watch: LifetimeSingle All The Way (2021)The setup for this holiday film is a classic with a twist. Peter (Michael Urie) is returning home for the holidays and brings along his best friend Nick (Philemon Chambers) to help him with a ruse. Rather than being closeted, Peter just wants his family to give him a break for being single, so Nick pretends to be his boyfriend. Things get even more complicated when his mother, Carole (Kathy Najimy), sets him up on a hot date with James (Luke Macfarlane)only for everyone to realize there might be more between Peter and Nick after all.Where to watch: NetflixThe Holiday Sitter (2022)This cute and funny holiday romance stars Jonathan Bennett as Sam, a gay man who has agreed to babysit his niece and nephew over the holiday break and who thankfully gets some help from his sexy neighbor, Jason (George Krissa). Of course, sparks fly, and a holiday romance is soon underway.Where to watch: Hallmark+A Christmas to Treasure (2022)Six friends all return home for one last treasure hunt after a beloved older neighbor passes away. Among them are Austin (Taylor Frey) and his former best friend, Everett (Kyle Dean Massey). When the two reconnect, it doesnt take long for sparks to start flying.Where to watch: LifetimeChristmas on Cherry Lane (2023)Oh, did you want more Jonathan Bennett being gay and in love while the snow gently falls around him? Good news, because Christmas on Cherry Lane sees him starring alongside Vincent Rodriguez III as a couple who are surprised and delighted to unexpectedly have the chance to expand their family on Christmas Eve. Adorable.Where to watch: RokuThe Holiday Exchange (2023)Two gay men find their Christmas romances when they swap places. Wilde (Taylor Frey) from Los Angeles and Oliver (Rick Cosnett) from a small town in Britain exchange homes for the holidays and end up meeting men who sweep them off their feet.Where to watch: Prime VideoNotes of Autumn (2023)Swapping places in gay holiday movies seems to be a bit of a theme, but honestly, were not complainingespecially when it means we get to watch Luke Macfarlane and Peter Porte fall in love. In Notes of Autumn, friends Ellie (a pianist) and Leo (Macfarlane), a writer, are both struggling to find their creative inspiration. They decide to switch homes and each meets someone special who reinvigorates them creativelyand otherwise.Where to watch: Hallmark+A Keller Christmas Vacation (2025)Another year, another opportunity for Jonathan Bennett to give us the gay holiday spirit! This time, Bennett stars as Dylan, the middle child forced to join a family vacation with his estranged siblings while reeling from his partner Williams (Anand Desai-Barochia) refusal of his marriage proposal. Wackiness ensues, and as secrets are revealed, Dylan and William navigate their complicated relationship, discovering what truly matters during the holidays.Where to watch: Hallmark+

Cruising has a long and storied history in the gay community hooking up with a stranger in the woods or picking someone up in a bathhouse is a fantasy many of us want to experience at least once but in an era of Grindr, Sniffies, and other gay hookup apps, the art of cruising is in danger of being lost.Which means that if youre a baby gay, newly out bisexual man, or just a newbie to cruising, you might not know how to make the most of covertly searching for men to have sex with, and more importantly, how to do it safely. Thats where our experts come in. To find out what to do if youre nervous, what the risks are, and tips for making the most of your erotic experience, we talked to Leo Herrera, a queer Mexican artist and author of the cruising manual (analog) Cruising; Zachary Zane, a queer sex and relationship columnist and author of Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto; and Kai Korpak, queer sex therapist and assistant director of training and wellness at Best Therapies.It's ok to feel nervous before cruisingFeeling nervous before your first time or hundredth time cruising is completely normal. The important thing is that you learn the difference between your intuition telling you something is wrong, and nerves before an exhilarating and sometimes a little risky experience. I've been to many saunas and sex-positive gatherings and still get butterflies in my stomach before I go in, or sometimes I even try to talk myself out of it, Herrera tells PRIDE. When I started cruising for the first time, I had lots of false starts and changing my mind. The nerves are natural, but it's also important to differentiate when it's good nerves or our intuition telling us we may not be ready, or that something feels off' or unsafe. The good thing is that if its run-of-thi-mill nervous energy, that can just increase the eroticism of the moment. Nervousness can manifest in the body pretty similarly to sexual arousal (e.g., elevated heart rate, rapid breathing, dilated pupils, hormonal surge), and so many people actually like feeling a little nervous or afraid sexually, Zane says. It can enhance the intensity of the sexual experience."What are the main risks to consider when cruising?While cruising is undoubtedly fun and sexy, there are risks involved that you should be aware of before you go seeking guys out in a locker room, public restroom, bathhouse, or in the park. From the kind of STI risks that come with any anonymous sexual encounter to concerns about being arrested for indecent exposure or public indecency to the risk of sexual assault, cruising can be dangerous.Depending on if you are cruising in a public space such as the woods or a park, the presence of police is a risk to consider, Korpak says. Physical health risks such as STIs if safer sex practices are not utilized. Cruising can also stir up emotional risks, especially if someone feels shame or isolation afterward.Having casual, often anonymous, sexual encounters with strangers is always going to come with some risk, but while that can be part of the fun, you should avoid it if the personal risk is too high. When cruising, youre hooking up with strangers, which always comes with safety risks, Zane says. A fun afternoon should never come at the cost of personal safety, or an indecent exposure charge.How can those risks be mitigated?You can't completely get rid of the risks when youre engaging in behavior that is by definition risky, but there are ways to mitigate them. Not only are you going to want to protect yourself from STIs by using condoms, testing regularly, and taking Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and Doxy-PEP, but youre also going to want to be careful about using party drugs, and learn the art of cruising so that you get good at all of the nonverbal cues. The key to safer cruising is reading the room, Zane says. The line between private and public cruising spaces can get blurry, and not everywhere is the perfect spot. When getting started with cruising, it's best to put on your slutty little glasses and do your research before. May I suggest heading to your nearest gayborhood to get the inside scoop, or practice at your favorite go-to gay bar?Youll also want to carefully select the places you cruise to minimize the risk of being arrested. We also have to take into consideration the risks of being in certain spaces, as we saw with the cruising arrests at Penn Station, Herrera explains. Different spaces, especially public ones, will have different legal risks and surveillance.Hookup apps vs cruising in personHookup apps have become ubiquitous in recent years, with Grindr and Sniffies being the most common and popular options. Zane loves Grindrs Right Now feature, which gives you a real-time feed of people looking to hook up near you, where people can post photos and descriptions of what theyre looking for moment by moment. So you can see when and even where folks may be cruising, Zane says. And these people, as the feature suggests, are looking to hook up right now, not plan for later in the week.Korpak recommends using Sniffies, Scruff, Growlr, Recon, and Grindr to find hookups online, but keep in mind that there are risks that people are misrepresenting themselves or trying to scam you. You are also less likely to make a genuine connection than you would in a well-known in-person cruising spot like a bathhouse or gay bar with a back room. Established cruising spots are designed with safety and consent in mind while also being more discrete while also having a safe space to explore, he says. People dont just find themselves in a bathhouse, so you are safe to assume they are wanting to be there. This helps reduce the risks that can come up with meeting strangers in more open public spaces.Herrera also prefers to keep things solidly in the real world and out of the apps, in part because of the privacy risks associated with them, and partially because of what you might be missing out on by not seeking people out in the real world. If you get used to a frictionless experience, of telling an app exactly what you are into, of checking boxes for body types, or sex acts, and now allowing AI to step in and fill in blanks, you will miss out on discovering things about yourself that only real-time, human interactions can show you, he warns. You may be into different body types or sex scenes you had no idea. I've had many of my own preferences revealed to me in the spontaneous moments when cruising.Tips for cruising safely:1. Verify identityBefore you meet up with someone you picked up on an app, verify who they are. Dont meet up with someone unless they have sent you a face picture, Korpak says.2. Tell a friendIt may seem obvious, but make sure a trusted friend knows whats going on before you meet up with a stranger. Sending a trusted friend a picture of the other person you are meeting up with and any location details if you are meeting up with them at a place that is not your home, Korpak recommends.3. Trust your gutListen to your instincts and back out if something feels off. If something feels off, it probably is. Your gut knows when your bodys saying no, Zane says.4. Keep your identity safeDont use your real phone number or personal social media accounts when youre cruising online. Have a separate number, such as a google voice number or alternate social media account to give to people that can prove you are who you say you are without having to out yourself, Korpak says. And if youre cruising in person, dont give the guy your name or any details about your job or private life. Itll keep you anonymous and mystery is sexy and smart, Zane says.5. Beware of scamsIn this day and age, you always have to be on the lookout for scams. If someone tries to ask for even more info or tries to get you to message them off the app, be mindful that it may be a scam, especially if they ask for a credit card number, Korpak says. 6. Know your exitsPay attention to your surroundings, and figure out how you would leave if things go south. Always have a plan to bounce if things get weird and make sure you actually can, Zane says.7. Read the roomIf you are cruising in person, you want to pick your spot carefully. Not every space is fair game, Zane warns. Pay attention to cues, signage, and consent. Public lewdness charges are never hot.8. Practice safe sexCondoms, PrEP, and DoxyPEP, and regular STI testing are a must if youre into cruising and anonymous sex. 9. Be careful with party drugsIf youre planning to partake in illegal substances, make sure youre doing it as smartly and safely as possible. Dont take so much that you arent aware of your surroundings, and dont mix drugs. A GHB overdose, or mixing poppers and erectile medications, can put not only you at risk, but the space and gathering itself, Herrera says. So harm reduction is crucial.10. Leave valuables behindIf youre worried it could get lost or stolen, dont bring it with you to a park or bathhouse youre planning to go cruising at. Keep the expensive clothing and jewelry at home where it is safe and not susceptible to getting lost or stolen, Korpak says. 11. Pick your clothes carefully You want to give the person youre about to hook up with easy access, and you dont want to have cumbersome or hard-to-remove items, especially if you are looking for some semi-public sex. Wear something that can be taken off, and on easily, Korpak recommends. Having looser jogging shorts or pants with a button fly can make taking clothing off more discreet and less difficult.Tips for cruising successfully:1. Learn the art of cruisingZane says that youll have the best experience if you learn the ins and outs of cruising culture by reading a book like Herreras (analog) Cruising manual. Theres a sorta script for it, where you make extended eye contact, he explains. If they look at you, holding your eye contact as you walk by, you turn around. If they turn around and give you a little smirk, then you should follow them wherever theyre going, so you two can hook up.2. Learn to read body languageLearning to read the body language of gay men, especially in the context of cruising, may take a little time, but it will be well worth the effort, and really is much simpler than youd think. A lot of cruising relies on body language and less spoken words, Korpak says. For example making eye contract with someone is generally a sign you are interested in cruising them. If you make eye contact with someone and they are interested they may look at your crotch or grab their own.3. Know your boundariesThe sex will be even better, and youre less likely to have a bad experience or post-nut regrets if you know your boundaries and are upfront about them. Sticking to your boundaries will keep you safe and lead to a sexually fulfilling time without doing something you are not wanting or ready for, Korpak says. 4. Dont look for validationMake sure youre in the right headspace and not trying to use a quick hookup to fix the emotional pain youre in. Do it because you want to have a fun and exhilarating sexual experience, not to repair your mental health. If you are looking for unhealthy validation, such as trying to recover from a broken heart, or in a depressive episode, cruising can pose different, unexpected risks and prolong healing, Herreras explains.5. Have supplies handyDont leave home without lube and condoms. The last thing you want to have happen is be just about to do the act and find out you arent prepared, Korpak says. 6. Pick the right placeYou cant cruise everywhere, so make sure you are picking places like bathhouses or gay bars. Stay aware of the context you are in, dont rely to heavily on apps to provide connection or safety, and treat cruising as something best done in environments that are created for it such as bathhouses and gay bars with a back room, Korpak recommends. 7. Feel free to just watchInterested in cruising, but youd rather watch than participate directly? Thats ok too. Voyeurism or watching others is a big part of cruising culture, Korpak says. In cruising spaces, consent still always applies even if you are in a public space. If you are watching make sure the others are giving signals that they want to be watched.8. Dont be recklessIts fine to let your guard down a little and live in the moment, but if you want to have the best experience possible, have fun without being totally reckless. Cruising should be fun and sexy, not reckless, Zane says. Stay smart, stay safe, and remember the hottest encounters are the ones where everyone walks away smiling.Sources cited:Leo Herrera, a queer Mexican artist and author of the cruising manual (analog) Cruising.Zachary Zane, a queer sex and relationship columnist and author of Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto.Kai Korpak, queer sex therapist and assistant director of training and wellness at Best Therapies.

Republicans and religious conservatives have been trying for over a decade now to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Courts landmark 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. But anti-LGBTQ+ activist Kathy Faust has a new plan to get it overturned once and for all: Simply prove that marriage equality harms kids by denying them a mother and father. In a recent video, Faust said shes teaming up with the rabidly anti-LGBTQ+ hate group The Family Research Council to find kids who have been harmed by being raised by same-sex parents. Related Kim Davis tried to get the Supreme Court to stop marriage equality. They just shut her down. We do not need to bring a court case to the Supreme Court, in my opinion, that says, should a cake baker have to bake this cake? Should a woman have to arrange these flowers? Should [county clerk] Kim Davis have to sign this document? Faust said. Like, that matters, but that does not ultimately matter. The question the court needs to answer is: Does a childs own mother and father benefit them in ways that state-assigned adults do not? That is the question that the court needs to ask, because children are the ultimate victims.While Faust mentions her campaign website EndObergefell.com, it features a single webpage that asks for peoples email addresses without providing much other information. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Also, Faust might like to know: Anti-gay lawyers made the same arguments about gay couples harming kids to state and federal courts throughout the early 2000s, and entirely failed in their efforts because numerous studies show thats completely untrue. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Justine Lindsay says she was fired from the Carolina Panthers cheer squad because of her gender identity.Lindsay, who became the NFL's first out trans cheerleader when she joined the Carolina Panthers TopCats cheer team in 2022, had previously announced that she wouldn't be returning to the team after three years there. Now, she's opening up about what happened."I was cut because Im trans," Lindsay said Saturday in an Instagram Live with Gaye Magazine. "I dont wanna hear nobody saying 'She didnt wanna come back.' Why the hell would I not wanna come back to an organization that Ive been a part of for three years?"I was devastated. It stung. I was hurt, she said.Lindsay clarified that she's "not throwing shade at the organization," adding, "I love them down. I appreciate everything that theyve done for me, but I feel like I was done wrong."Lindsay said she had a hard time letting down kids who said they were excited to see her next season, and that the team wasnt even looking at the bigger picture as far as who I was changing lives for. "It was like a big slap in the face to not only me but for the youth," she said. "And this was right after Trump became president."Lindsay isn't done. She's working on a documentary, campaigning for trans pageant Miss International Queen 2026, and still has "a lot of great connections within the NFL."While there are several out gay cheerleaders in the NFL, there are no other out trans cheerleaders.In August, Lindsay confirmed to Outsports that she wouldn't be returning to the team."For now, Im focusing on my pageantry work and community involvement, striving to be recognized not just as an NFL cheerleader, but as someone making a positive impact, especially during these uncertain times," she said at the time."Being in the NFL was a stepping stone to get me where I need to be, and God is blessing me each and every day, giving me the breath to do the work and change lives. My focus is to educate and uplift the younger generation of leaders to focus on their dreams and goals. Don't let a president who is delusional stop them from reaching their goals, whether they are trans, African American, not American, etc."

This week, Out is not only celebrating its 2025 Out100 event and the grand premiere of Wicked: For Good but also reflecting, and commemorating, and feeling power in the first anniversary of the "holding space" meme which was originated during an Out interview and quickly took over the internet. A meme so powerful, and that holds so much space, and that makes us feel power so much, that it can arguably be considered the biggest meme of 2024 (and this year as well!).The "holding space" meme from reporter Tracy E. Gilchrist was originated in a junket interview for Out magazine involving costars Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) and Ariana Grande (Glinda) promoting the first Wicked movie. The meme took over the internet and became one of the funniest viral moments of the 2020s decade.After it the moment took off, Gilchrist described the experience of going viral with the "holding space" meme in an essay. "Just two days following the re-election of Donald Trump when I interviewed them on the NBC Universal lot, I teed up a question for Erivo saying, 'This week, people have been holding space for the lyrics of 'Defying Gravity' and really feeling power in that.'"Gilchrist continued, "Erivo, Out magazine's Icon of the Year and cover star, with great sincerity, raising a hand to her chest, and Grande grabbed her finger in a moment of solidarity.""A meme was born," the journalist went on. "Journalists began to question what the term holding space, which had been discussed in therapy circles for years, meant following the exchange. At the same time, so many leaned in and began to hold space with one another, ironically or not."Join us in celebrating the "holding space" meme, one year later, by through the reactions, moments, additional memes, fan-edits, and celebrity shout-outs that followed this iconic Wicked interview between three legendary legends.Timothe Chalamet and Elle Fanning couldn't start a junket without discussing 'holding space' first.See on InstagramWhile promoting A Complete Unknown, Timothe Chalamet and Elle Fanning made sure to say how much they loved the "holding space" meme and opened up about how funny it is.The actors even did their own version of a finger-holding, and couldn't stop laughing at it.Justice Smith, Dave Franco, and Ariana Greenblatt had similar reactions and questions in another junket.See on Instagram"We know who you are," Smith remarked to Gilchrist at the Now You See Me: Now You Don't junket. "We love you."Franco asked, "Do you get that now wherever you go?""Sometimes," Gilchrist said, "it depends.Meanwhile, Greenblatt made sure that they all got a finger-holding moment for the cameras.Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang discuss the meme on Las Culturistas.The Las Culturistas themselves discussed the "holding space" meme in a culture catch-up episode from November 2024."Can I just say?" Yang started. "Tracy Gilchrist, if you're listening I've had the privilege of talking to Tracy before. She is a wonderful journalist. She holds space. And that's exactly what she was doing. And this was again, important context: It's really vital for people to know that this [junket] was the week of the election. That was recorded the week of the election."Rogers added that the particularly laughed at the "reveal that it was, 'Well, I work in queer media, so I've seen it on a couple posts. The whole thing of the pinky, too. It's all funny to me.""Emotions were high, feelings were raw," Yang continued. "I think that really touched Cynthia. Even if Tracy only saw it on two posts. [Laughs.] You're going to get that moment in the press tour with a queer outlet like Out, with someone like Tracy, who looked fabulous I love that we all kind of got on board with it and lost our minds just a little bit."Rogers agreed, "Every element of it is part of a larger conversation that I want to have about the Wicked press tour, which is so funny." The actor, comedian, recording artist, and more otherwise known as the Prince of Christmas remarked that the "holding space" meme had entered a pantheon of greatest moments from the Wicked press tour."In the same way that there could be a hundred people in a room, [line in the] A Star Is Born press tour, we will always remember this press tour," Rogers said. "And if it's irritating you, honey, you're going to miss it."Taylor Swift held Cynthia Erivo's finger at the Grammys. (@) Taylor Swift and Cynthia Erivo had a "holding space" moment at the 2025 Grammy Awards as comedian Trevor Noah hosted the ceremony. And everyone clocked it, duh!Just two talented divas living the life of a showgirl, y'know?And the New York City Gay Men's Chorus adding its own twist to the meme How can we ever forget?!See on InstagramListening to this "holding space" moment from the New York City Gay Men's Chorus has been funny, emotional, cathartic, campy, and fun all at the same time.Evan Ross Katz canonized 'holding space' as a must-see pop culture moment.See on Instagram"He wont take credit, but Evan Ross Katz helped open my life to opportunity when he broke down the salient bits of my interview with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande and they went viral. Everything that followed has been full of joy," Gilchrist wrote in an Instagram post with Katz in which she reflected his important of the meme became a viral sensation.Just 'everywhere / I'm so Julia,' in the words of Charli XCX.See on InstagramSeveral publications reached out for interviews to discuss the "holding space" meme over time The New York Times, Variety, The Guardian, NBC News, BBC World News, and The Independent, to name a few.So much space to be held.Did you know that Vogue's round-up of Wicked memes was led with 'holding space'?Even Vogue got in on the fun, publishing a round-up of Wicked memes with the headline, "We're Holding Space for All the Very Best Wicked Memes."Love to see it.Cynthia Erivo herself got to enjoy a 'holding space' performance from Pattie Gonia at the 2024 Out100 event.See on InstagramDrag superstar Pattie Gonia performed a hilarious and touching tribute to the "holding space" meme while performing right in front of Gilchrist alongside Wicked star Cynthia Erivo and it. was. everything!Queer media's space-holding tendencies were also celebrated at the 2025 GLAAD Awards.See on InstagramMichael Urie, who hosted this year's GLAAD Media Awards, dedicated an entire section of the ceremony to feature Gilchrist, referenced the "holding space" / "queer media" meme, and congratulated The Advocate Out's sister publication for winning an award that night.A cosign from The Kindness.org, no big deal!See on Instagram"Holding space could mean being present, open, and non-judgmental. This also happens to be how psychologists define mindfulness. And mindfulness has been found to be positively related to humanity's greatest asset #kindness."Did you know MAC Cosmetics held space, too?See on InstagramWell, now you know.Space was held everywhere else, tooSee on InstagramAn endless list of other "holding space" moments took place for the rest of 2024 and into 2025 like during an interview with Sharon Grisham for Yellowjackets.See on Instagram"Holding space" enthusiasts in attendance for the Creating Change conference in Las Vegas.See on InstagramOn podcasts like Made It Out.The memes never stopped And still haven't. (@) "but if you're holding space.and I'm in queer media.then who the hell is defying gravity?" (@) When this X user wrote, "Do not remember what my personality was before this," we really felt that. (@) "This is where they hold space for the lyrics to defying gravity."Geography isn't that hard. Open the libraries, for Oz's sake! (@) "Tried to explain this video on a work call this morning and sounded clinically insane." (@) "The 103rd floor of the Empire State Building was originally built to hold space for the lyrics of Defying Gravity," the official X/Twitter page for the Empire State Building shared in a post.What does the Empire State Building have to do with anything? Girl, no idea, but we're here for it. (@) "If you deport every last person in queer media, then who's going to be holding space for the lyrics of defying gravity?" (@) Even Kim Kardashian was added to this narrative through a fan-edit."Get your fucking ass up and hold space for the lyrics of defying gravity. It's like no one wants to hold space for the lyrics of defying gravity anymore."@thejentrendAnd feeling the power in that #defyinggravity #wickedthemusical #wicked #arianagrande #cynthiaerivo #holdingspace #fyp"Before we enjoy this bountiful meal, we are taking the lyrics of Defying Gravity and really holding space with that."@internationalpopstarjAnd feeling the power in that! #wicked #arianagrande #cynthiaerivo #wickedmovie #wickedthemusicalAnd space was also held at the pregame. (@) Poster edits! (@) More poster edits! (@) "Let me put my holding space blazer on." (@) "Gay Wicked brain rot core" was so in. (@) "No because I did kinda hold some space for the lyrics of defying gravity this morning idk."@besperonEveryone deserves the chance to fly @Cynthia Erivo @Wicked Movie @Wicked The Soundtrack #wicked #defyinggravity #cynthiaerivoPlease don't try this at home. (But we loved this one video!) (@) A deep-cut reference on Dancing With the Stars? Maybe so. (@) "I couldn't help but wonder if Big could hold space for the lyrics of Defying Gravity, why couldn't he hold space for me?"And Just Like That the show doesn't exist anymore. But we'll always have Sex and the City re-runs to watch! (@) This one's for the O.G. Gleeks. (@) A Glee and Wicked crossover?! Oh, yes, babe. (@) "I genuinely can't stop laughing at this every time I see it I burst into giggles."And here we are, still. We're in queer media, after all.

A coordinated campaign by U.S. House members is the latest sign Democrats are shaking off Donald Trumps anti-trans shock-and-awe strategy and going on offense for transgender Americans.On Tuesday, 213 House Democrats signed a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) demanding he condemn Republican lawmakers for repeatedly using demonizing and dehumanizing language directed at the transgender community. Related Nancy Mace is now just shouting slurs in a committee hearing The first signature on the letter is Rep. Sarah McBrides (D-DE), the sole out transgender member of Congress.The call to action follows 130 Democrats in Congress filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court on Monday in two cases considering bans on trans student-athletes. In the brief, out Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) and colleagues highlighted how categorical trans sports bans harm ALL girls, urging the court to let kids play. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Tuesdays letter to Johnson expresses Democrats outrage at the epidemic of slurs denigrating trans people made by multiple House members during this legislative session.We write to you to strongly condemn the rise in anti-transgender rhetoric, including from members of Congress, and to urge you to ensure members of Congress are following rules of decorum and not using their platforms to demonize and scapegoat any marginalized community, including the transgender community, the letter states.The Democrats expressed dismay that repeated violations of decorum havent been addressed by presiding officers, the House chair, or speaker pro tempore as they occurred.Democratic lawmakers including all 12 out LGBTQ+ members of the House and the entire Democratic leadership cited a dramatic escalation in rhetoric demonizing and dehumanizing the transgender community, including calls by members of Congress to institutionalize all transgender people, comments referring to transgender people as mentally ill, and false suggestions by high level political figures that transgender people are inherently violent and must be addressed as a national security threat. The letter did not mention the perpetrators by name, but those members and others expressing public antipathy toward the trans community on and off the House floor and in committee hearings are well known.They include Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who embarked on ascorched-earth campaign against McBride as soon as she was elected, including hundreds of social media posts attacking her. Last November she referred to McBride as an it and campaigned relentlessly to have her barred from womens restrooms in the Capitol.At a USAID hearing in February, Mace asked of a witness about a foreign aid initiative, Does this advance the interests of American citizens, paying for tr***ies in Guatemala to the tune of $2 million? A Democratic colleague objected.The gentlelady has used a phrase that is considered a slur in the LGBTQ community and the transgender community, said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA). He asked to finish without interruption, but Mace interrupted him.Tr***y! Tr***y! Tr***y! she barked at him. I dont really care! You want penises in womens bathrooms and Im not gonna have it!Adding to her reputation for flouting any sense of decorum, in or out of the Capitol building, Mace falsely referred to Charlie Kirks killer as a tr***y on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in September, adding, There are a lot of tr***ies out there that want me dead because Im a rape victim who wants privacy in the bathroom. Mace also freely invoked the word c*nt as the radical lefts favored pejorative for her.They are the most egregious, most vile, violent people on earth, she said of transgender people, repeatingbaseless right-wing claims. They are mentally ill and should be in a straitjacket with a hard-steel lock on it.Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) went after McBride in January, calling her a groomer and a child predator while sharing McBrides deadname on social media, part of a long campaign denigrating trans people as a centerpiece of her MAGA appeal. No doctor, body mutilation, or lifetime of pharmaceutical drugs will ever change your sex/gender. Congressman [deadname] McBride is a child predator and LIAR, Greene wrote.In May, Greene opened her hearing as chair of the DOGE House Oversight Subcommittee by declaring that female athletes should never be forced to compete against mentally ill biological men who parade around in womens clothes.Ahead of a hearing she held in March on defunding PBS and NPR, Greene accused the public broadcasting networks of transing children.They are now part of transing children, brainwashing children about gender, which proved to be one of the most important issues in the 2024 presidential election. That was a big loser for Democrats, she claimed.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

A panel of three federal judges has blocked Texas new congressional district map, which the state adopted at the request of Donald Trump in order to hand more House seats over to the GOP. The judges said that the redistricting was illegally based on disenfranchising Black people.The injunction will also protect out Rep. Julie Johnson (D-TX). Her district, Texas 32nd Congressional District, was redrawn from a 68% Democratic district to a 60% Republican district by removing parts of the North Texas city of Plano from it and adding more rural parts of eastern Texas. Related There are finally signs that some Democrats are growing a spine against Trump Each state is apportioned a certain number of members of Congress based on its population, and the state government must draw a map of districts for each of those members of Congress. Usually, the maps are redrawn every 10 years after a U.S. Census is completed and new information about population distribution becomes available.But the president demanded, in the middle of this decade, that Texas redraw its map this year to gerrymander it further. This means that districts would be drawn to increase the congressional advantage of one party by creating many districts with smaller Republican majorities and dumping Democrats into a few districts with large Democratic majorities. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today And because Trump demanded it, Texas Republicans drew up a new map and passed it into law.The 2-1 ruling of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas found that the map was based on political motivations and was set up to meet racial requirements set by Trumps Department of Justice (DOJ). The judges said that the DOJ targeted four districts with non-white majorities for elimination based entirely on their racial makeup.The map ultimately passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor the 2025 Map achieved all but one of the racial objectives that DOJ demanded, Judge Jeffrey Brown wrote for the 2-1 majority. Brown, a Trump appointee, was joined by Judge David Guaderrama, a Barack Obama appointee. Judge Jerry Smith, appointed by Ronald Reagan, dissented but did not write an opinion. Most of Browns 160-page opinion, according to Politico, described evidence of the motives for state legislatures and consultants and suggested that they were motivated to help the DOJ break up the districts with large populations of racial minorities.If the judges decision is not overturned, Texas will use the congressional map it used in 2024, which was already somewhat biased in favor of Republicans. 58% of Texas voters voted for a Republican in the 2024 House races, but 25 out of 38 members of Texas congressional delegation or 65% are Republicans. The new map, had it gone into effect, was expected to increase the GOP share of the delegation to 30 members, or 79%, even with only 58% of the state voting for Republicans. The injunction saves Johnsons district from being redrawn. Johnson is the first out LGBTQ+ person to be elected to Congress from the South.The fact that I was able to win a congressional seat in a state like Texas is very significant, and it shows that progress can be made,she toldLGBTQ Nationin March. We just have to be thoughtful and aggressive about putting ourselves in the arena and not be afraid.The redistricting also put LGBTQ+ ally Rep. Jasmine Crocketts (D-TX) presence in Congress at risk. She currently represents the states 30th Congressional District, but the new map would have put her home in the states 33rd Congressional District. The 30ths borders would have changed, although it was expected to remain majority Democratic and majority Black.Federal law does not require House members to live in their districts, though voters may prefer a member of Congress who actually lives in their district. Republicans denounced the judicial decision. The radical left is once again trying to undermine the will of the people, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) said in a statement after the ruling. The Big Beautiful Map was entirely legal and passed for partisan purposes to better represent the political affiliations of Texas. He then accused blue states of gerrymandering to favor Democrats, apparently trying to present Republicans as unfairly maligned, even though changing congressional maps in the middle of a decade for partisan purposes is unorthodox.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.