LGBTQ

Iris Santos (L) and Natalia Smüt. (Houston Police Department/Instagram) Two trans women were slain on the same day in the US, raising the spectre of a spree of violence that shows no signs of stopping this year. Iris Santos, a Latinx trans woman, and Natalia Smüt, a “firecracker” of a drag performer who dazzled audiences with her lip-syncing prowess, were separated by some 2,000 miles. But on 23 April, both their lives were tragically cut short. Santos, 22, was sitting at a picnic table in Houston, Texas, when an individual...

LGBT+ activists protest against police abuse in Honduras in 2009 (ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP/ Getty) A top human rights court could be about to make legal history by forcing Honduras to address its horrifying wave of violence against trans women. International LGBT+ advocates are waiting anxiously for the verdict of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which monitors human rights in the western hemisphere. The top tribunal was prompted to intervene last year in Honduras, the country with world’s highest rate of trans homicides. Experts put the average life expectancy of transgender...

Members of the LGBT+ community march in the Pride parade in Durban, South Africa, in 2018. (AFP via Getty/ RAJESH JANTILAL) A suspect has been arrested in connection to a gay man who was left bruised and battered after being stabbed with a bottle in Sasolburg, South Africa. Segakweng Kimora Magoma was allegedly attacked at a bar in the sprawling industrial city by a gang of homophobic men who began taunting him on 24 April. “Within a few minutes, about five or six men already were there,” he told TimesLive,...

Janet Mock on the red carpet for Pose. (Rich Fury/Getty Images) In an explosive rant that reportedly left colleagues and bosses scorched, Pose writer Janet Mock tore into Hollywood for its treatment of trans talent. Mock, who also served as the director and executive producer of the iconic FX drama, launched into a 15-minute-long speech at the premiere party for Pose season three Thursday night (29 April). Careening off script, the 38-year-old ignited tinderbox issues of pay, authentic representation in the media and even infidelity. Questioning why the network isn’t...

Miitopia. (Nintendo) A demo has been released for forthcoming Switch RPG Miitopia, but it’s the character creator that’s taking the internet by storm. Characters in the RPG are made up of player created Mii characters, first introduced on Nintendo’s Wii console. It means you can customise the entire story with party members, and even villains, based on your own creations. The demo itself gives an early taste of what’s to come in the story and turn-based battles, plus your progress carries over into the full game once it’s released on...

Former vice president Mike Pence speaks at an event sponsored by the Palmetto Family organization on 29 April 2021 in Columbia, South Carolina. The address was his first since the end of his vice presidency. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) Former vice president Mike Pence vowed in his first speech since leaving office to “push back” on the “far-left agenda” that he believes is wrong for America. Pence spoke at an event for the Palmetto Family Council – a far-right, anti-LGBT+ conservative Christian organisation – in South Carolina on Thursday...

Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche. (HECTOR MATA/AFP via Getty) Anne Heche has said her ex-girlfriend Ellen DeGeneres didn’t want her to “dress sexy” when they attended the Golden Globes together in 1998. The Another World actress dated DeGeneres between 1997 and 2000, and she’s finally opening up about what her time with the lesbian icon was like. In a TikTok video posted on Wednesday (28 April), Heche reviewed some of her past red carpet looks – including the dress she wore to the 1998 Golden Globes. Showing a photo of herself wearing...

Jim Parsons and Zachary Quinto pictured on May 30, 2018 in New York City (Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic) Zachary Quinto and Jim Parsons reflected on what it means to be gay in the modern era after voicing two historic gay icons, Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams. After starring in Ryan Murphy’s remake of The Boys In the Band, the actors are delving into the lives of the gay literary giants in the documentary Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation. Speaking to Attitude, the pair explored Capote and Williams’ rare status as out gay...

Edwin Poots is being tipped as the next leader of the DUP. (YouTube) DUP politician Edwin Poots is being tipped as a potential successor to Arlene Foster after she announced that she was stepping down. The former health minister has a long history of opposing LGBT+ rights, but he is already being named by political pundits as a potential future leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Edwin Poots, who has also served as both minister of the environment, is a “young earth creationist” who doesn’t believe in evolution. Throughout his...

Hot Octopuss have a dedicated page for queer, trans and non binary customers. (Envato) Hot Octopuss is the sex toy retailer making products more accessible to LGBT+ people. Major sex toy retailers have thousands of products available but the sections online and in-store are usually catered to a straight, cis audience and can feel inaccessible to LGBT+ customers. They sell ranges that can be used by every body, but as an LGBT+ person it can be difficult to filter down results that are specific for you as items are put...

Graham Norton. (Samir Hussein/WireImage) Graham Norton drunk emailed Drag Race producers begging them for a job when he heard a UK version of the contest was in the works. The legendary broadcaster made the admission in an interview with The Guardian, telling the newspaper that he is “pathetically proud” to be a judge on Drag Race UK and that he has been “a fan for years”. “It’s the only job I ever went a-looking for,” Graham Norton said. “When I heard the show was coming over here, I must’ve been a bit drunk because I...

Prancer, a chihuahua described as a "haunted Victorian child in the body of a small dog", has been adopted by Ariel Davis, who said he reminded her of her old dog. (Instagram/@prancerthechihuahua) Prancer, the “demonic” chihuahua who went viral after his foster carer revealed his “man-hating, child-hating” nature, has found his forever home with a nice, single lesbian. Animal foster carer Tyfanee Fortuna from New Jersey posted a brutally honest but hilarious adoption ad for the two-year-old chihuahua, who she described as a “13 pound rage machine”. She said Prancer...

Jonathan Bennett and Jaymes Vaughan. (jaymesv/instagram) Jonathan Bennett has shared the adorable story of how he first met his fiancé Jaymes Vaughan. The actor, who played love interest Aaron Samuels in Mean Girls, told The Knot about the incredible moment he first laid eyes on his husband-to-be. The couple met for the first time when Jonathan Bennett turned up to be interviewed by Jaymes Vaughan in a Los Angeles mall for Celebrity Page. Bennett confessed that he had never heard of Vaughan before meeting him, but it was love at first sight when he...

A Connecticut lawsuit that sought to stip trans teens of the right to compete in school sports has been scrapped by a federal judge. (Stock photograph via Elements Envato) A US federal judge binned a cruel Connecticut lawsuit that sought to ban trans girls from competing in high school sports on Sunday (25 April). The 2020 suit saw a band of cisgender students claim that they face “unfair competition” from two trans teens competing in track and field events alongside them. The plaintiffs sought to scrap guidelines from the state’s...