Cock is a play written by Mike Barlett and originally performed in 2009. It follows the main character, John. John has identified as gay his whole life and has been in a long-term relationship with a man. However, he soon falls in love with a woman and becomes sexually attracted to her, revealing to himself that he’s actually bisexual. The show examines John’s struggles with deciding which love interest he wants to be with. Now, the show is slated for a revival on West End. It hasn’t yet been stated who is playing which character, but Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey and…
Author: Keith Langston
Back in July of 2019, the African nation of Gabon criminalized sex between two people of the same gender. The crime was punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of 5 million CFA francs ($8,664 USD), a huge sum of money for Gabon residents. However, the country has now decriminalized same-sex relations less than one year after enacting the law. The motion passed in Gabon’s Lower House 48-24, and received even more support in the Senate, gaining 59 votes. This is a huge moment for Africa, a continent that unfortunately has been historically plagued by colonial-era…
Believe Out Loud is one of the largest digital spaces for religious LGBTQ+ people in the world. The organization works internationally to provide services and a sense of community to LGBTQ people of faith and their allies. Among the long list of services and activities provided by Believe Out Loud, participants can attend live-streamed affirming religious services, digital social events, and they can also find information on mental health and community justice resources. Recently, Believe Out Loud was acquired by the Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ. Located in Dallas, the Cathedral of Hope is one of the largest…
A new organically-made soda brand, Mixwell, isn’t shying away from showing its values. In their new ad, they blatantly make fun of the MAGA crowd by starting their commercial with a burly man in a truck complaining about needing to make America more manly again. The ad finishes by revealing that the man has a husband, and the two then embrace for a long kiss. The spot concludes with the words “If Real Freedom Offends You, Please Don’t Buy Mixwell.” The ad is quick, witty, fearless, and completely hilarious. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7esCe-LhtSY&t=60s The commercial very clearly mocks Trump-era America, which has…
The stories, experiences, and history of LGBTQ people have often been suppressed in society. However, despite hundreds of years of oppression, the community has managed to mobilize, fight for equal rights, and usher in a new era that includes greater acceptance and inclusion. Now, The American LGBTQ+ Museum is set to open in New York City and will be located inside an expansion of the New York Historical Society on the city’s Upper West Side. While the physical museum isn’t set to open until 2024, online programming is already underway. The museum will showcase LGBTQ+ history, as well as New…
In yet another blow to civil rights during the Trump era, members of the Supreme Court are now declaring that gay marriage is an attack on “religious liberty” and is “hurting people’s lives”. The anti-gay opinions came from justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. after the court declined to hear the case of Kentucky clerk Kim Davis (who was famously jailed for refusing to do her job after gay marriage was legalized.) While the two supported not hearing Davis’ case, they followed up by stating, “Davis may have been one of the first victims of this court’s cavalier…
The Trevor Project has long been known as a group that’s dedicated to helping LGBTQ youth and young adults. To help raise awareness of acceptance and diversity during September’s Suicide Prevention Month, the organization has created fun outfits in their signature orange color, accented by the rainbow flag design for Animal Crossing players. According to Mashable, The Trevor Project’s lead designer, Jonathan Silberman, stated, “Our research has found that LGBTQ young people who have a space where they feel affirmed in their identity are significantly less likely to attempt suicide. All of these factors contributed to our decision to design…
Quibi has announced that on Monday, May 4th, Adam Rippon’s new series Useless Celebrity History will premiere. The show is hosted by figure skater and Olympic medalist, Adam Rippon, and explores the most random events in pop culture history. From Rhianna to Lindsay Lohan and Snooki, Rippon will be digging up everything from the biggest celebrity scandals to the fiercest red carpet moments. The series will combine interviews, reenactments, and skits. https://twitter.com/Adaripp/status/1256327225571282944 Rippon teased the premiere of the show on his Twitter account by taking part in the #MetGalaChallenge which encourages people to try and make their own homemade Met…
A new rule from the Department of Housing and Urban Development is seeking to allow federally-funded homeless shelters to decide a person’s sex based on a “good faith belief.” The rule states that employees of homeless shelters are not allowed to turn someone away for being transgender, but are allowed to decide whether they go in a men’s or women’s shelter. Making the measure even crueler, is the process by which how an employee can decide. The rule says that someone’s sex can be determined by their physical characteristics, such as height, the presence of facial hair, or having an…
The new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, which premieres on Friday, is causing quite a stir. The show will be introducing its first-ever straight, cis-gendered drag queen, Maddy Morphosis. Some members of the LGBTQ community are sharing their outrage that a cishet male is able to partake in drag, a performance art that is largely associated with LGBTQ men. PAPER magazine shared comments from Twitter users that said things like, “Oh yes, the most oppressed group of people needed representation in media.” and NBC News shared a user’s comment that said, “imagine being a drag queen having drag as your…
Scapegoating is the typical M.O. for many politicians who wish to remain in power without actually helping their constituents. During the COVID-19 pandemic, and after the January 6 riots, Republicans have been very busy doing everything they can to not address those issues. Instead, they’ve found an easy victim to blame for the world’s problems: trans people, with a focus on trans women and girls in particular. The excuses they’ve been throwing around sound more like fearmongering, stating that trans women in women’s bathrooms would result in “Peeping Toms” and that trans girls playing on girls’ sports teams would actually…
Lambda Literary, the premiere LGBTQ nonprofit for literature, needs your help. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the organization was forced to cancel many of their high-profile events, such as the Lambda Literary Awards ceremony, their program that brings LGBTQ authors to schools, and numerous public events. In a statement, the organization said, “For over thirty years, Lambda Literary has centered and celebrated LGBTQ writers because books affirm, validate, and save lives. And we must continue to champion LGBTQ voices and stories.” However, with the cancellation of many of their biggest events, the nonprofit is now in need of funding. Lambda…
East River State Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is about to make history. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the park will be renamed in honor of LGBTQ activist and icon Marsha P. Johnson. Johnson was an integral figure in the New York LGBTQ scene for decades. She was one of the leaders of the Stonewall uprisings and was one of the founders of the Gay Liberation Front. Besides her activism, she was a prominent performer, artist, and even modeled for Andy Warhol. She was so beloved by the community that she even earned herself the reputation of being the “Mayor of…
The New York Post has reported that Housing Works, an NYC nonprofit that that works to end the HIV epidemic and homelessness, has created temporary shelters for homeless people who have tested positive for COVID-19. The nonprofit has worked together with volunteers, local organizations, and city government to create temporary shelters for homeless people battling the coronavirus. These temporary isolation shelters have been built into vacant hotels around the city. In the shelters, patients can receive 24/7 food, medical care, laundry, and social services. The goal is to not only keep the homeless population protected from unnecessary death, but to…
There are so many online travel sites these days it’s hard to know which ones to use. All in all, most travel sites offer the same things (hotel, car, and airline reservations), but, there’s a few that stand out from the pack. Whether it’s an easy-to-use rewards program or the latest travel deals, here are the best online travel sites that you should be using to book your next getaway. Expedia The Best Points Program Expedia offers the best rewards program as a whole. You earn points by shopping on their website, or by using their credit card. Then those…
As everyone has likely heard over the last few weeks, the Walt Disney Company has come under fire for a multitude of reasons regarding their response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Here’s a brief timeline of events: ~ Florida’s House and Senate passed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and it went to DeSantis’ desk. ~ Activists noticed that Disney remained silent through the bill’s passing, and it was later revealed that Disney was even funding the Republican politicians who were pushing the bill forward. ~ Disney came out and claimed that they were “working behind the scenes” to enact…
United Airlines has announced that it’s entering a partnership with CLEAR, the biometrics security company that lets you skip the TSA security line with the swipe of a finger. CLEAR is available at over 60 airports throughout America, including cities like Detroit, Dallas, and Phoenix. To determine how beneficial CLEAR will be to you, look into whether it’s at your home airport, or the airports that you travel to often. If you’re on the fence about buying a yearly subscription to CLEAR, which is $179, then perhaps receiving a discounted price through your airline could help sweeten the deal. Depending…
The 2000s was a decade filled with groundbreaking LGBTQ television and cinema. From Eating Out and Latter Days to Queer as Folk and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. But no piece of media was quite as absurd, offensive, and hilarious as Another Gay Movie. The film set out to parody popular teen comedies like American Pie, but flipped the script, and, unlike your average teen comedy, focused on a group of gay friends instead. The cast included the then-unknown Michael Carbonaro, and supporting roles were filled by some of the queer community’s favorite stars, like Graham Norton, Lypsinka, and…
CMT and openly gay country musician, Ty Herndon, have teamed up once again to produce another Concert for Love & Acceptance. The show, which will air on CMT’s social media channels at 8 p.m. ET on June 30th, is a celebration of two worlds that have seemingly been at odds in the past…country music and LGBTQ equality. However, in recent years, more and more country artists have come out as LGBTQ, including Ty Herndon, Brooke Eden, and T.J. Osborne of the Brothers Osborne, just to name a few. This has led the country music scene to become more inclusive, granted,…
According to NBC News, this year, 77 commercials will air during the Super Bowl, bringing in a whopping $400 million dollars in profit for FOX. The Super Bowl is the most expensive time-slot of the entire year, with each commercial costing companies millions of dollars. But this year, a new trend is taking place in a very unlikely space…Inclusivity at the Super Bowl. That’s right, this year’s commercials are filled with LGBTQ personalities and famous females. Here are eight #superbowl commercials you’ll must see! SABRA HUMMUS Starring Miz Cracker and Kim Chi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ex5xnVm2po RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni Miz Cracker…
Idaho Governor Brad Little signed two anti-transgender bills into law yesterday, despite the global pandemic. The first, House Bill 500, bans transgender women from playing on girls and women’s sports teams at public schools and colleges. The law deems that to qualify as a woman you’d have to be examined for “reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously 19 produced testosterone levels.” The Idaho Attorney General, however, cautioned forcing genetic testing on athletes likely violates the constitution. The second, House Bill 509, bans people from changing their gender on Idaho birth certificates. Back in 2018, Idaho tried passing a similar…
For the first time in Olympic history, three transgender athletes are competing. They are among a total of 160 LGBTQ athletes competing this year, the largest group of LGBTQ athletes in Olympic history. The three trans athletes are Chelsea Wolfe from the USA, competing in BMX Freestyle biking; Quinn from Canada, competing in women’s soccer; and Laurel Hubbard from New Zealand, competing in women’s weightlifting. Laurel Hubbard has caused the biggest controversy, as many conservatives claim that she has an innate, unfair advantage against other women because she was biologically male at birth. CNN lays out the two sides to…
Disney has a massive presence in Florida. The company’s largest theme park, Walt Disney World – which is located just outside of Orlando – employs an astonishing 77,000 people and attracts more than 58 million visitors each year. This means that Disney has immense political and financial power in the state. And yet, the company, which in recent years has tried to be a better ally to the LGBTQ community, has remained silent on the state’s bigoted new laws that target people of color and the LGBTQ community. Most notable is Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law, which can ban classrooms…
Ultra-conservative Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, is clearly doing everything he can to send a message to the LGBTQ community. Previously, he’s gained notoriety for spreading Trump’s lies about election fraud and making it illegal for companies to request vaccine verification (Florida also has one of the highest numbers of COVID deaths in the country) Now, DeSantis is continuing his mission to disenfranchise the people of his state. On June 1st, the first day of Pride month, DeSantis signed into law a ban on transgender girls playing sports in schools. The Miami Herald even revealed that in the last six years,…
Earlier this year, Disney was forced to reckon with its history of appeasing Republicans and bigots in America and across the globe. During the uproar over the company’s silence about Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law, it was revealed that Disney had been actively censoring LGBTQ content out of Pixar films. To reconcile this, Disney pledged that their upcoming summer blockbuster, Lightyear, would have a same-sex kiss reinserted into it, becoming the first prominent LGBTQ moment in a Disney or Pixar film ever. Now, Republicans are doing everything they can to destroy Lightyear in their ever-increasing tirade against Disney and the…
Ritchie Torres is currently NYC’s District 15 (The Bronx) councilman. But earlier this year, he launched his campaign to run for congress, hoping to replace his district’s current seat in the US House of Representatives (it’s important to note that in 2020, all 435 House seats are up for reelection, promising to completely alter the landscape of American politics.) Torres made waves in 2014 when he was elected as District 15’s councilman, becoming the youngest elected official in New York City at just 25 years old. He also became the first LGBTQ elected official from the Bronx. Torres is openly…
Out & Equal, a nonprofit that specializes in fostering equality and diversity in the workplace, has just announced that JPMorgan Chase has made a $1 million dollar investment in the organization. According to Out & Equal’s CEO, Erin Uritus, the bulk of the funding will go towards the organization’s program to help more trans people enter the workforce. The money will help foster trans equality programs, career development initiatives, and even go towards building toolkits, resources, and training packages for employers. This isn’t JPMorgan Chase’s only donation to LGBTQ nonprofits. Uritus stated, “I’m very thankful that JPMorgan Chase has stepped…
Religious leaders within the Catholic faith in Germany are planning to hold mass blessings of same-sex couples around the nation in protest of the Vatican’s recent anti-gay proclamation. In March, the Vatican’s office of Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released a memo announcing that God “does not bless sin”, referring to same-sex marriage. Despite becoming known as the “progressive Pope”, it was later revealed that the memo was released with the blessing of Pope Francis. Since then, many LGBTQ organizations and religious leaders have come out in protest against the Vatican’s message, and it has even led some…
Paris City Hall has announced a plan to officially declare Paris as an “LGBTQ+ Zone of Freedom”. The proposal is set to be presented at the next Paris Council, which will be held in early June. The move honors the declaration voted by the EU earlier this year and is intended to serve as a stark contrast from Poland’s “LGBT Free Zones” which have been created to silence gay people and purge out any LGBTQ residents by making them afraid to live in their hometowns. According to RFI, the move isn’t purely symbolic. Paris will actively work to help make…
The bicycle company, Trek, is organizing a national Pride Ride for Sunday, June 27th. On that day over 78 bike shops around the country will host individual Pride Rides for their local communities in order to foster more diversity and inclusion in the world of biking. “Bikes are for everyone and we want to create a community and a sport where all people feel welcomed, supported, and celebrated,” said Eric Bjorling, of Trek Bicycle. “This event is for everyone who shares a passion for riding and enjoys one of the best things on earth—a bike ride with friends on a…