Michaela Jaé Rodriguez Is Not Done Healing Us

I first met Michaela Jaé Rodriguez in 2018, when she starred in a series called Pose, which followed a cast of characters navigating New York’s ballroom scene in the ’80s. Five years ago, her show marked the beginning of a new era in TV, one that affirmed the experiences, joys and struggles of queer and trans people of colour. Pose was the first truly nuanced portrayal of our community; it presented the possibility that we could be the main characters, the side characters and the villains.

Of course, I didn’t actually meet Michaela Jaé Rodriguez then; like many other queer people, it just felt like I knew her intimately. Rodriguez, who played Blanca Rodriguez-Evangelista, was a loving parental figure who fought fiercely to protect and encourage her chosen family. To some of us, she was a stand-in for the type of radical acceptance from an adult figure we could only dream of. She was, in parasocial terms, our mother.

And Rodriguez’s impact has already extended far beyond the series. It’s been two years since the final season of Pose aired, and Rodriguez isn’t done — in fact, she has a lot more to say.

She’s working on her debut album (which she expects to release sometime next year) and is currently filming for the upcoming season of “American Horror Story.” She’s also an active ambassador for the Rocket Fund, a new initiative by the Elton John AIDS foundation that is fighting to decriminalise same-sex behaviour and end HIV stigma around the world.

And while these are new projects, I don’t think Rodriguez is quite reinventing herself. She was always meant to be this, and more. But I do get the sense that she is expanding the scope of how trans women of colour are allowed to dream in America.

When I spoke with Rodriguez, she was, even over the phone, incredibly magnetic. I had been listening to Something to Say, her debut single that came out in 2021, all day. The first listen was to prepare for our conversation, but every subsequent stream was because the song poured endorphins directly into me.

“The song was supposed to be about finding a strong voice after a breakup and having something to say,” Rodriguez says. “But then George Floyd and BLM happened, and we decided to shift the narrative and make it more universal.” And so, the song became about a different kind of heartbreak — and our refusal to stay silent about racial injustice. At its core, it’s a song about taking back your power — however that looks like for each of us.

When you’re from a marginalised group, your art is often destined to become a political statement. Personal feelings become a rallying cry for survival. When Rodriguez makes music or stars in a TV show, she’s not just doing those things — she’s a trans woman of colour doing those things in 2023.

That’s where the heaviness can really set in. No one is meant to think about their existence every day, all the time. Rodriguez said that recently she’s been taking the time to rebuild herself, which involves spending lots of time alone and making sure that she’s surrounded by people who won’t diminish or suppress her existence.

Elton John and her work with the Rocket Fund, she said, are aspects that have been keeping her motivated and giving her more purpose. Rodriguez hopes to erase the shame and other negative feelings that come along with an HIV diagnosis, since the outlook for those who live with it now is so different than it was even 10 years ago.

“Regret is one of the worst things to have, whether that’s regret about your circumstances like if you’re dealing with HIV,” she said. “I want to encourage people to go out and break the mold, to break cycles.”

But when you’re queer or a trans person of colour, the healing process can feel impossibly long. “Although I don’t believe there’s such a thing as being fully healed, I do think there are things we can all do that make us feel more at peace in our bodies,” she added.

I realised that what makes Rodriguez so unique, to me, isn’t just that she’s a trans woman of colour. She also leads by mending wounds that exist deep within many of us. She’s got that healer energy, through and through.

Our culture tends to choose a place for our icons and then super glues them there. But Rodriguez is refusing to limit her impact, tapping into a force that is much larger than any one person. I suspect that this comes from mothering herself before she even began to be that touchstone for the rest of us.

“If I could, I would tell my younger self: You have a really bright future ahead of you. Don’t let anyone dim the brightness of your future, walk in your light and have your arm stretched out for the young people behind you,” she said. “And keep being a bad bitch.”

Share Button

The Glorious, Queer Evolution of Janelle Monáe’s Pleasure And Politics

The music video for Lipstick Lover, one of the singles off Janelle Monáe’s newest album, The Age of Pleasure, feels vibrantly decadent. In it, the singer rises out of a pool, their areolas peering through a sheer white T-shirt that reads “Pleasure.” Booties are shaking, dildos are falling and Monáe is the curator of the queer desire that oozes on screen.

Just last week, at Essence Fest in New Orleans, Monáe brought a bit of that energy on stage by flashing a petal-covered nipple during two of their songs. ”[I’m] much happier when my t**ties are out,” they recently told Rolling Stone. Well, I’m happy for them.

To the more conservative viewer, this behaviour is borderline pornographic. But for everyone who gets it, it’s an organic next step in the evolution of Monáe’s burgeoning self-expression as an out, queer artist.

Long before Monáe came out as pansexual in 2018 and nonbinary in 2022, baby gays like myself were drawn to the subliminal messaging of queerness in their tuxedo looks, as well as the intentionally androgynous branding of their gender.

In 2017, I was a junior in high school, just beginning to explore music genres beyond the classical and Christian pop that underscored my childhood and early teens. When I discovered Monáe’s work, it felt like a universe of language had been unlocked. They quickly became my role model as I struggled to reconcile my queerness with my religious upbringing.

“Say will your God accept me in my black and white? / Will he approve the way I’m made? / Or should I reprogram, deprogram and get down?” Monáe sings on Q.U.E.E.N., a song on their 2013 album, The Electric Lady.

Somehow, Monáe seemed to understand how my queerness conflicted with my Christian self — I was programmed to become a god-fearing daughter who would settle down with a nice Chinese boy and rear children of my own. Like Monáe, I found my artistic expression first through singing and leading worship within the context of an insular ethnic and religious community.

Monáe grew up the child of Black American middle-class workers in Kansas City, and I was the eldest daughter of immigrants who worked as public school teachers in the Chinese American suburbs of Los Angeles. But our paths intersected, it became evident, as they expressed the tension of their identities. For years, Monáe also shielded their queerness in the armour of ambiguity. Part of that, they say, has been in direct opposition to the overt fetishisation of Black women’s bodies in the music industry.

As their career developed, Monáe bucked what was even subconsciously expected of them. They were a dark-skinned Black femme wearing androgynous clothing, for years they eluded the countless questions about their sexuality and gender. “I only date androids,” was their response to it all. You couldn’t put Monáe’s music, their body or gender squarely into any one box, which gave them a level of agency not often afforded to queer Black artists.

Like Monáe, I’ve found myself at times caught between two identities as an artist. My queerness and Asianness are inextricable from each other as I navigate the world as a nonbinary non-white person. When I perform poems for an Asian American space, I feel the need to emphasise my queerness in my poetry. In queer spaces, that are more often than not white, there’s an urgency to talk about my Asian American upbringing. Monáe has shown me that exploring these intersections can be both challenging and invigorating.

The evolution of Monáe’s gender and sexual expression ebbed on Dirty Computer, an album that saw them diving into the explorations of desire and attraction with both men and women. Monáe repatriates elements of Prince’s iconic guitar riff in Kiss for their song Make Me Feel as they fall between the arms of two people, feminine- and masculine-presenting lovers. Another song, Pynk, a fuchsia-infused music video, featured Monáe frolicking in the desert with fellow queer actor Tessa Thompson while wearing labia-shaped pants and panties that read “I grab back” — a direct clap back to Donald Trump’s infamous “locker room talk.”

At this point, Monáe had also secured their status as a respected actor on the Oscar-nominated Hidden Figures (2016) and Oscar winner Moonlight (2016). Around that time, they also founded Wondaland Records, which allowed them directorial and creative control of their image and artistry as a musician. All of this allowed them to reclaim the portrayal of their body — as well as the political messaging of their mere existence in the industry.

In 2022, when Monáe first introduced their gender-neutral pronouns publicly, their fame somewhat protected them from conservative backlash or the confusion of a largely cisgender straight American society. But, of course, some people loiter in the distance awaiting their downfall. And, evident in they’re commitment to the spectrum of queer expression and resistance to body policing, they cannot be concerned.

“No I’m not the same… I think I done changed… I used to walk into the room head down. / I don’t walk, now I float,” Monáe proclaims on their newest album’s opening track, “Float.”

Monae does float, with transcendent confidence, on The Age of Pleasure. The influences of reggae and dance hall, and the sounds of the Caribbean are heard on this 10-song summer album, a move that inherently queers traditions of music that have at times been rooted in homophobia, sexism and misogyny.

There’s something vulnerable and dangerous in placing themselves directly into the narrative of Black queer joy. If capitalism and racism amount to the sexual objectification of Black and melanated bodies, let me do it on my own terms, Monáe’s newest work screams.

“Whether I show skin or I don’t, I’m sexy. I just always felt like people would try their best to take my autonomy away from me,” Monáe shared recently in an interview with StyleLikeU. “It took me years to feel comfortable with my boobs,” they added in the interview. Seeing Monáe fully embracing their queerness in all its joy (and sexiness) in 2023 feels like the strongest rebuke against the fearmongering and shame that’s threatening to roll back LGBTQ+ rights across the US.

Monáe has taught me that sexuality is political and that being nonbinary can be a beautiful journey. There will continue to be hundreds of interpretations of Monáe’s work from ArchAndroid to a sexually liberated and self-described “free-ass motherfucker.” That’s part of being an artist: You release work that is absorbed into the culture and takes on a new meaning. For me, their work is about how every year can reveal new ways to love yourself.

Like Monae says on another new track Phenomenal: “I’m looking at a thousand versions of myself. And we’re all fine as fuck.”

Share Button

Former Porn Star Jenna Jameson Marries Girlfriend Jessi Lawless

Former porn star Jenna Jameson just got married for the third time — her first to a woman.

Jameson, 49, told People on Thursday that she married her girlfriend, 40-year-old Jessi Lawless, in Las Vegas last month, and has ”found the person that I truly should have always been with”.

Jameson first said she was bisexual in 2004, but told Fox News in 2008 that she was “totally hetero”. She told People that she now wonders why she ever dated or married men at all.

“It’s selfish and bad to say, but I think my driving force were children,” said Jameson, a mother of three. “And now that I’ve really found myself, I’m just accepting of everything that I feel inside and don’t shove everything down.”

Jameson and Lawless met after Jameson became a fan of Lawless’ TikTok videos and started commenting on them.

Lawless, a social media personality and hair stylist, didn’t recognise Jameson at first.

“I was like, ‘Who is this Jenna Can’t Lose?’” she told People. “It’s Jenna fucking Jameson. Oh my God.”

Jameson was interested in pursuing Lawless, who had a girlfriend when they first connected. Because of that, Lawless said she didn’t act on Jameson’s advances until that relationship ended last year.

The two began dating in January.

“I knew I would get what I wanted,” Jameson said. “She was worth it. But she presented a challenge and I’m very driven when it comes to challenges, so I knew I just had to lie and wait. And she came back around.”

Lawless admitted that after the breakup, she considered having some casual encounters, but said she’s “happy that it went to a more serious level, and I’ve never been so comfortable with anyone”.

The wedding took place May 23 in front of a few people at Little Church of the West in Nevada, which is also where Lawless’ parents exchanged vows. The couple plans a bigger wedding in the future.

Jameson’s dad is dead, so Lawless asked her own father to walk her bride down the aisle.

“I was standing up there waiting for her, and I looked at the back of the church and I saw her standing there and I looked at my dad and I said, ‘Dad.’ And he looked over at me and I said, ‘Go walk Jenna down the aisle right now,’” Lawless said.

Jameson said she plans on taking her wife’s last name, and already refers to herself as “Jessi’s girl” on her Instagram page.

Share Button

Is Weed A Coping Mechanism For Bisexual People?

While we’ve made notable strides, it’s safe to say that 2023 is still a tricky time for queer people and their basic human right to exist, let alone thrive. And so, coping mechanisms are necessary, whether they be family support systems, talk therapy, or, well, weed.

This recent small but enlightening study found that individuals who identify as bisexual used cannabis more frequently than their counterparts of other sexual orientations.

The study, wittily titled “The Pot at the End of the Rainbow,” pulled survey data from 10 universities and analysed responses from 4,700 college students aged 18-30.

According to the report, coping was one of the leading motives for cannabis use among this group of participants.

The data also reflected higher rates of anxiety, depression, cannabis use disorder, and risk of suicide within this demographic. Before we dive into the analysis, it’s important to note that all the data collected was self-reported by participants.

Still, the report shed light on two important topics for young people right now. First, weed is not just a hobby for many people — it’s a way to self-soothe.

Researchers were concerned, however, that their bisexual participants reported that they not only use flower and edibles, but also concentrates, which are more potent. Many health professionals would argue that high THC takes a coping mechanism from self-soothing to self-medicating.

Secondly, the study highlights the unique mental health challenges faced by those who identify as bisexual. Bisexual individuals exist in a complicated space where they face stigma for being queer but also often feel left out of LGBTQ spaces and issues. This combined pressure and isolation results in higher adverse mental health outcomes.

Illustration: Benjamin Currie/HuffPost

Biphobia is real, and so are the mental health conditions caused by internalising stereotypes and identity invalidation from members of the straight and LGBTQ+ communities.

And because there’s not nearly enough conversation about or support for those who don’t identify as squarely gay or straight, life can feel isolating and scary. Hopefully, this research ― which is about weed, but is actually about mental health ― could be the introduction to a deeper dive.

On a lighter note, the data also found the second leading motive for cannabis use among those attracted to multiple genders to be much less depressing and more joyful. They refer to this as “enhancement.”

“Enhancement is about expanding one’s awareness, being more open to experience and more creative, so perhaps it all comes back to openness,” said Carrie Cuttler, an assistant professor of psychology and senior author of the study.

At the end of the day, if this study teaches us anything, it’s that we need to support each other, continue to fight for queer people’s rights, and destigmatise weed use so adults can indulge safely. Puff, puff, preach, researchers!

Share Button

Adam Lambert Speaks Out Over ‘Sarcastic Little Comment’ About Theo James Playing George Michael

Adam Lambert has clarified a comment he made when he appeared to criticise the suggestion that The White Lotus actor Theo James could play George Michael in a rumoured film about the singer’s life.

During an appearance on the US talk show Watch What Happens Live, Theo was asked if he would be interested in playing the lead in a biopic about the Wham! star, admitting he’d jump at the chance and described the Careless Whisper singer as an “icon”.

After the LGBTQ+ news outlet The Advocate shared the story on social media, Adam shot down the idea of Theo playing a gay man on screen.

“Yay another straight man playing a gay icon,” Adam wrote in a since-deleted comment.

The Queen singer and American Idol finalist has now spoken about his initial reaction during an appearance at the Sundance Film Festival, where he is promoting Fairyland starring Scoot McNairy as Steve, a gay dad living in 1970s San Francisco.

“Adam, you recently had some choice words about straight actors playing gay people with regards to Theo James potentially tackling George Michael. Explain,’ a Variety reporter asked him.

In response, the singer said it would be “ridiculous” to suggest only gay actors can play gay roles but went on to highlight a lack of equal casting opportunities within the film and TV industry.

“My actual comment – my little sarcastic comment on it – was [about] a straight actor playing a gay icon, which I think is a bit different,” Adam explained.

“I by no means think gay characters should only be played by gay actors. I think that would be ridiculous.

“Case in point: Scott’s brilliant performance in this film, which is incredibly moving and soulful. I don’t imagine anyone else playing this part.

“I just think, as a queer person, so many doors have been closed to us for so long, it’s a big step forward that these stories are at least now being told, but I hope that in the future you would also see an out actor be able to tackle a leading role.

“You haven’t really seen that very often.”

He added: “To the naysayers who are like, ‘oh, it’s acting, what about the other way around, are you saying that gay actors should only play gay characters?’

“You look at Kristen Stewart playing Diana, and that was a brilliant performance as well [but] we don’t have that many examples of queer people playing non-queer icons.

“I just want some equal opportunity that’s all.”

In March 2020, the American Idol finalist told Metro that he would like to play George – who died in 2016 aged 53 – should a biopic ever be made.

George Michael
George Michael

Steve Rapport via Getty Images

“That’d be cool,” he said. “I just feel like, we don’t know that much about him. You know, to me, it would be great to kind of explore George’s life.

“I’d give it a go. Yeah, sign me up.”

In recent years, prominent queer figures including Elton John and Freddie Mercury have been portrayed by non-gay actors – Taron Egerton in Rocketman and Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody, respectively.

It’s A Sin and Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has previously spoken out about his belief that only gay actors should play gay characters.

“It’s about authenticity, he insisted. “You wouldn’t cast someone able-bodied and put them in a wheelchair, you wouldn’t black someone up. Authenticity is leading us to joyous places.”

Meanwhile, George Michael’s estate has denied the existence of any current plans to release a film on his life.

“To all of George’s Lovelies, fans and lovers of his music, a story has been published stating that George Michael’s family has endorsed a so-called ‘biopic’ about his life,” it said.

“On behalf of George’s family and [George Michael Entertainment] we want to make it clear that there is no truth whatsoever in this story, we know nothing about this project and will not be endorsing it in any way.”

Share Button

Let 2023 Be The Year We Tell Our Kids What Families Actually Look Like

What do you think of when you hear the word family? More often than not, it may be a heterosexual couple – a mum and dad – and their two biological children. The classic nuclear family setup.

But the reality is that many families no longer look like this in the UK, despite the those old stereotypes holding fast. In 2021, there were 19.3 million families in the UK – of these, 3 million were solo parent families.

Around 1.1 million children in England and Wales are estimated to live in a stepfamily, while statistics on same-sex parent families are harder to come by. According to charity FFLAG, the most recent statistics for the number of same-sex couples raising children are from 2013, when 12,000 couples were doing so. It’s safe to say there’s probably a lot more now.

For children who come from single parent, LGBTQ+, adoptive, blended, foster and kinship families (where family members or friends raise children), being bombarded with the message there’s only one type of family can cut deep.

Journalist Freddy McConnell – a self-described solo seahorse fatherissued a plea on Instagram recently after his tearful child came home from school and said everyone in his class had a mum and dad.

“I don’t know if this was someone else’s observation or his,” wrote McConnell, before urging parents to tell their children what families actually look like. “If your kid has a mum and a dad, please don’t let them out into the world under the misconception that *that* = family,” he said.

“Please take every single opportunity to point out that ‘family’ is a huge and never-ending idea,” he said. “That love makes a family, not who’s in it. That everyone’s family means the world to them, so be gentle.”

Sadly, the othering McConnell’s children’s faced is not unique. But while there are some amazingly diverse books and TV shows for kids out there, as well as references to different types of families when learning at school, the classic 2.4 family is still very much the norm in lots of the media kids consume from a young age. Bluey and Peppa Pig, for example (though a shout out to Hey Duggee for doing things a bit differently).

Lots of the classic children’s books we end up buying our kids (mainly for our own nostalgic pleasure) also centre around very ‘traditional’ family units, not necessarily reflective of 2023. Think: Mog, The Tiger That Came For Tea, Peepo.

Louisa Herridge, a solo mum who is 43 and from Warrington, says films and books can sometimes be triggering for her daughter Emilie if they’re just about dads.

“I would love to see a single mum narrative in books and kid’s films and one where they are thriving and not just trying to get back with dad,” says Herridge, a positive psychology and mindset coach, and founder of Mamas Ignited.

She praises the latest Disney films which “have much more powerful messages for young girls in particular – and we do see different family makeups.”

The mum actively teaches her daughter about how families are all different, and says her daughter’s school makes an effort in this area too. One example she gives is that they say “grown-ups at home” instead of mum and dad.

“But schools are still portraying stereotypical norms,” she adds. “In her school Nativity this year, they portrayed four family setups showing how they celebrate Christmas. In each scene, there was a mum, dad and two kids.”

Discussing the impact, the solo mum suggests children who do not come from nuclear families “have the potential to feel different – and very early on in life” which, she says, can impact their self-worth and self-esteem.

“Children that stand out as different are at risk of bullying – and as an ex-teacher this is something that I have experienced,” she adds.

““I remember the stigma attached to single mums and the societal message was that I should aspire to get married and have a baby.””

– Louisa Herridge

Herridge recalls feeling guilt when she separated from Emilie’s father because she didn’t want her daughter to “come from a broken home” – something that was shaped by her own perception of what a family should look like growing up.

“I grew up terrified that my parents would split up and that I would come from a ‘broken home’,” she says. “Looking back this stigma of a ‘broken home’ comes from how family life is portrayed in society.

“I remember the stigma attached to single mums and the societal message was that I should aspire to get married and have a baby.”

Her daughter has, on occasion, been impacted by the narrow view of family that is sometimes portrayed in society and culture. “The first time I can remember it having an impact on her was at her Reception Nativity,” she recalls. “After the Nativity she was very upset that she didn’t have her dad there and, in her head, everyone else did.”

Sometimes families have one parents, sometimes two, sometimes even three. And sometimes one – or all – aren’t necessarily the biological parent. Mok O’Keeffe, a LGBTQ+ historian at GayAristo, has been helping his sister-in-law raise three children after his brother died in 2010.

“I promised my brother I would keep his memory alive and be there for the girls. And I have done that. They have a wonderful mother and I am their father figure,” says O’Keeffe, who is married.

svetikd via Getty Images

“They were flower girls at my wedding and mean the world to me. My sister-in-law says we are the modern family,” he adds. “We certainly are unique at sports day!”

The children – who are now all teenagers – “think it is quite cool to have a gay uncle as a father figure,” says O’Keeffe, who is 53 and splits his time between Chelsea in London, and Abergavenny, Wales.

Their experience as a family unit, while tinged with tragedy, has been an overwhelmingly positive one – helped, O’Keeffe says, by their extended family who live in Spain.

“The aunts and uncles and grandma are loving and welcoming to the girls,” he says. “They spend summers in Spain and, in many ways, my girls may have lost a father, but as a result have more loving and invested adult role models than they might have had if he had lived.”

The historian says he’s had a positive experience with their schools, who have accepted him as the father figure in the girls’ lives – something that came about after he and his sister-in-law set up a meeting to explain their situation. “Both their junior and high schools were 100% supportive,” he adds.

“I have not experienced any negativity around what my sister-in-law and I call ‘our modern family’. I have found that the girls’ friends and parents have been totally accepting of me as a significant part of the girls’ lives.”

The UK is a more diverse place than it’s ever been – with so many families of all shapes and sizes. But it’s clear that some children are still being made to feel like outsiders because of the narrow view of family that still presents itself.

While schools and media are doing their best to move with the times, it’s clear more needs to be done. And caregivers – especially those in more ‘traditional’ family units – are the ones who can be doing some serious legwork here.

Freddy McConnell suggested parents must be the ones to “keep talking” to their kids about this stuff. “However you want to explain it, with however many picture books to help, please just make sure you *actively* do,” he said.

“So that kids with a solo dad or solo mum, two mums, two dads, more than two parents, adoptive families, donors, guardians, carers, blended families etc etc, don’t find themselves having to defend their loved ones at school or anywhere else.

“So that school is as safe a place for us as it is for your family. And, to put it bluntly, so that no one’s little one has to put on brave face in class, before letting it out through tears at bedtime.”

While parents are a great place to start, Herridge caveats that “unfortunately the same messages will not be given [by all parents] as there will be old prejudice and misrepresentation in some families”.

Given this is the case, schools have a huge opportunity to make a difference.

What are children taught in schools about family?

Guidance provided to primary schools states that children should be taught “families are important for children growing up because they can give love, security and stability”.

Children are told “that others’ families sometimes look different from their family, but that they should respect those differences and know that other children’s families are also characterised by love and care”.

The guidance says teachers must teach pupils that there are many types and sizes of families, for example:

  • some children live with a parent or parents
  • some children live with other family members such as grandparents or older siblings
  • some children live with a foster family or in another type of home
  • some people are the only child in their family while others have siblings.

Diversity is needed more widely is needed in the media, adds Herridge. “This is a much wider issue than just families as there needs to be more representation of colour, disability, gender and sexuality.

“Diverse resources in schools would be a great start, along with breaking down the patriarchal expectations of women that are still so often represented in books and films.”

So what is a family then? “Families come in many different varieties, changing and adapting over time,” says O’Keeffe. “They are no longer fixed entities, with traditional mother and fathers – and educational establishments are recognising this.”

“Family are the people who love you no matter what, who you want to be with and who add that extra spark to your life,” adds Herridge.

Her daughter Emilie, who is seven, says families “are happy, go on nice days out, are loved and [there’s] no falling out”.

“The people in families are mums, nannies, dads, children or maybe not a child, aunties, uncles and cousins. There doesn’t need to be a number of people,” she says.

“You are family because you were made a family. In any shape and sizes, you are still a good person.

“Just because you don’t have a dad, doesn’t mean you are different.”

A reading list for you and your kids to explore what different families look like

Do you have recommendations for more books or shows about the shape of families today. Email ukparents@huffingtonpost.co.uk to let us know about them.

Share Button

Gary Lineker Delivers Damning Introduction In BBC’s Coverage Of Qatar World Cup

Gary Lineker has been praised by football fans after he delivered a damning opener to this year’s coverage of the World Cup.

On Sunday, the former England player launched the BBC’s coverage of the tournament being held in Qatar, describing it as “the most controversial World Cup in history”

The fact Qatar is hosting the 2022 World Cup has been controversial since it was first announced in 2010. Thousands of migrant workers have died in the country in the lead-up to the tournament. The host nation has been also been condemned for its appalling track record with human rights, including those of LGBTQ+ people.

As he kicked off the BBC’s coverage on Sunday afternoon, Gary said: “Ever since FIFA chose Qatar back in 2010, the smallest country to have hosted football’s greatest competition, has faced some big questions.

“From accusations of corruption in the bidding process to the treatment of migrant workers who built the stadiums where many lost their lives. Homosexuality is illegal here. Women’s rights and freedom of expression are in the spotlight.

“Against that backdrop, there is a tournament to be played here that will be watched and enjoyed around the world. Stick to football say FIFA, well we will for a couple of minutes at least.”

Gary also opened a discussion on workers rights and Qatar’s discriminatory LGBTQ+ laws with his fellow pundits Alan Shearer, Alex Scott and Ashley Williams.

All three expressed their disappointment and concern at the hosting of the tournament in the country and criticised Fifa president Gianni Infantino following his bizarre speech on Saturday.

Viewers were quick to praise the stance the BBC had taken with Gary’s intro on social media…

Host nation Qatar plays Ecuador in the opening game of the tournament, which will feature 64 games including the final on December 18.

Share Button

‘Scary But Not Surprising’: The Horrible Spike In LGBTQ+ Hate Crimes

Reports of homophobic and transphobic hate crime are rising at record rates, with charities calling the findings “deeply worrying”.

The shocking data was collected and analysed by Vice World News, who sent freedom of information requests to every police force in the UK.

Overall, homophobic hate crime reports have doubled in the past five years while transphobic hate crime reports have tripled.

The data reveals that police received 26,824 reports of hate crimes based on sexual orientation in 2021-22, compared to 10,003 in 2016-17 – representing an increase of 168%. The most recent reporting year saw the biggest annual increase ever recorded, at 32% in 12 months.

The rise of reports for transphobic hate crime was even higher. There were 1,292 reports of transphobic hate crime recorded in 2016-17, but 4,399 in 2021-22– a staggering increase of 59%, which is also the largest increase ever recorded.

Nancy Kelley, CEO of Stonewall, described the latest figures as “shocking”.

“This data is deeply worrying and shows an alarming rise in lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer people being targeted because of who they are,” she said in a statement.

“Behind these figures are people who’s lives have been damaged by hatred and abuse. All these figures are terrible, but it is especially shocking to see a reported 59% increase in hate crime targeted towards trans people in the past five years. The constant drumbeat of anti LGBTQ+ sentiment in media and politics has a human cost.”

Some police forces told Vice World News the increase in reported incidences actually reflects “increased confidence in reporting, improvements in crime recording and a better understanding of what constitutes a hate crime”.

But Arthur Webber, a 24-year-old journalist and former council candidate from London, is not convinced by this idea.

“My partner and I have been homophobically abused on the street we live on three times so far this year,” he tells HuffPost UK.

“It makes you afraid to leave your home because what if it’s not just verbal this time? We didn’t bother reporting them because nothing happened when we reported an incident in 2021.”

Webber said the individual officer who initially handled their report last year seemed helpful and disclosed that she was LGBTQ+ herself, which made them feel more comfortable.

However, after taking their statements the case was taken no further, despite the incident happening on public transport with CCTV. HuffPost UK has contacted the Metropolitan Police for comment and will update this article with any response.

Hayley Speed, assistant director of services at the youth homelessness charity Akt, also believes LGBTQ+ hate crime actually goes underreported.

“What we know is that people who are experiencing homelessness are far less likely to report hate crimes directed at them,” she tells HuffPost UK.

“This is due to a series of factors that include a lack of a fixed address, lack of internet access, and in some circumstances, a lack of trust in the police. Furthermore, covid has drastically reduced any services dedicated to reporting anti LGBTQ+ hate crimes.”

Speed describes the latest statistics as “stark but somewhat unsurprising” and points out that people from that people from intersectional backgrounds are at risk of experiencing multiple oppressions as they deal with the threat of
homelessness.

“48% of the young people we helped nationwide identified as trans, non-binary or were questioning their gender identity. In London, 69% of the young people we supported identified as black, brown or people of colour,” she says.

“These are all factors that mean that young LGBTQ+ homeless people are at an
increased level of risk when it comes to anti-LGBTQ+ abuse in public.”

Similarly, Webber says the latest figures are “scary but not surprising at all”.

“More needs to be done to challenge anti-LGBT+ bigotry in the media, as it is no coincidence that such a stark rise is occurring when trans people are demonised daily by columnists and drag queens are being monstered for reading to children,” he adds. “These ideas don’t appear out of nowhere.”

Stonewall’s Nancy Kelley agreed that further action must be taken to protect LGBTQ+ people.

“As a society, we all need to do more to combat anti-LGBTQ+ violence and call out abuse, harassment and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment wherever we see it,” she said. “But we also need a greater commitment from the police to take decisive action to follow up and prosecute these offences.”

Share Button

We’ve Had Monkeypox. This Is What We Need People To Know

Jake* was having an ordinary family meal with his partner and 15-year-old son when he came down with a fever. For four days he felt exhaustion and had no appetite at all, and after a few days he developed brain fog. Twenty-four hours later, an anal lesion appeared.

It was essentially an open wound for five days which was emitting a clear mucus and then blood,” Jake tells HuffPost UK.

“It was almost impossible to sit down and moving was very painful. Opening my bowels was pure agony and my body was making me do that eight or nine times a day. Each time was a bloodbath.”

It was late July when the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared monkeypox a world health emergency.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has estimated there are more than 25,000 cases worldwidepredominately in Europe, though more than 7,000 in the US, and more emerging in South America, South East Asia, the Western Pacific and the Eastern Mediterranean.

The virus was first reported in humans in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, having been identified in monkeys in a Danish laboratory in 1958 (thus the name). However, prior to 2021, there had only been seven UK cases.

As of August 4, there are more than 2,700 confirmed monkeypox cases in the UK, according to government figures, most in England and “a significant majority” of those – as many as 75% – in London.

Its prior rarity means knowledge of transmission among health experts is still patchy while we await more research – a period of stasis that echoes the early stages of Covid-19.

But this week, groups from across the political spectrum in Westminster joined forces, signing a letter to health secretary Steve Barclay calling for action on a disease that’s “causing real fear and anxiety” within queer communities.

FG Trade via Getty Images

While it’s possible for anyone, including children, to catch monkeypox, 98% of current cases are in men who identify as gay or bisexual, or men who have sex with men. This was confirmed by Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of WHO, and he advised men to reduce their number of sexual partners while health authorities tackle the outbreak.

For decades, queer men have been subjected to unfair stigma around sexual promiscuity, particularly during the AIDS pandemic, and the lack of knowledge around the rise of monkeypox has obvious parallels with AIDS for those that remember the height of that crisis.

“We need to calmly and responsibly acknowledge that this current monkeypox outbreak is predominantly affecting gay and bisexual men.”

– Greg Owen, PrEP lead at Terrence Higgins Trust

So campaigners says it’s crucial that messaging about monkeypox transmission and vaccination is handled sensitively to avoid spreading further stigma against the LGBTQ+ community.

“We need to calmly and responsibly acknowledge that this current monkeypox outbreak is predominantly affecting gay and bisexual men,” says Greg Owen, PrEP lead at the Terrence Higgins Trust.

“We need to acknowledge that it’s also mainly being spread through the skin to skin contact, which is occurring during sex. There is nothing wrong with stating that. It is very problematic if we don’t.”

Dr Mark Lawton, a sexual health and HIV consultant in Liverpool and chair of the British Association of Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH), adds the following caution: “We believe, in addition to direct skin to skin to contact, monkeypox can be transmitted through contact with contaminated clothing and bedding and by respiratory droplets in close proximity.”

Harun Tulunay, a 35-year-old training coordinator who works with HIV/AIDS charity Positively UK, contracted a serious case of monkeypox in June.

“I was feeling like someone was ripping my flesh out of my bones,” says Tulunay of his experience. The Londoner doesn’t believe he developed monkeypox having sex, but through bodily touch, simply by lying next to a partner.

During his stint in hospital, the pain was so severe that doctors gave him opioids in an attempt to control the discomfort.

Harun Tulunay in hospital with monkeypox.

Harun Tulunay

Harun Tulunay in hospital with monkeypox.

“I wasn’t able to swallow, it was that bad,” he tells HuffPost UK. “The pain was worse than kidney stone pain. When they gave me antibiotics I was crying and kicking my bed and the doctors were holding me.”

While most monkeypox cases are much milder, there can be mental health implications for those who catch the virus.

Jake had been in close contact with his 80-year-old father in the period before his symptoms began and that, after getting a diagnosis, having to tell his family they might be at risk too gave him extra stress.

“Mentally it was very difficult,” says the professional services manager, who is bisexual, in his forties, and based in London.

“It meant my father knowing I’m in an open relationship which was stressful to share. My 80-year-old father has up until now just about managed to deal with my bisexuality by addressing it as little as possible. Now he is being contacted with offers for a vaccine as he may have been exposed.”

Jake's hand with signs of monkeypox (left) and his arm scabbing over (right).

Twitter/@MonkeyPoxJake

Jake’s hand with signs of monkeypox (left) and his arm scabbing over (right).

The Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) says it is working “rapidly” to vaccinate those at risk.

Vaccinations began in July, using Imvanex – a vaccine designed for smallpox – and NHS England has confirmed that 14,000 people have already received a jab, although priority is being given to those at higher risk of contracting it.

“It’s important to emphasise that vaccination will not give instant protection against infection or disease, and can take several weeks,” the WHO director-general said on July 27. “That means those vaccinated should continue to take measures to protect themselves, by avoiding close contact, including sex, with others who have or are at risk of having monkeypox.”

The US virus declared the virus a public health emergency on Thursday. For those confirmed to have monkeypox, the US CDC is recommending a two-to-four-week isolation period.

Now campaigners are calling for similar focus in the UK. Greg Owen is among many spokespeople for queer organisations putting pressure on the government to do more to control the spread of the virus and speed up vaccine roll-out.

“We want to see a national lead appointed to hold all of those in the fragmented system to account in terms of tackling the monkeypox outbreak with the ultimate goal of preventing it from becoming endemic in the UK,” he tells HuffPost UK. Owen believes we “urgently” need to double the amount of vaccines with “an injection of cash, quickly” put into sexual health services.

The open letter signed by Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green and Scottish National Party representatives, as well as charities. echoed this: “We are united as LGBT+ groups from across political parties in asking that the government treat the monkeypox outbreak as a public health emergency.”

Alongside the Terrence Higgins Trust and BASSH, the British HIV Association, PrEPster and the National AIDS Trust are also rallying for government action, including £51m funding from the Department of Health and Social Care.

The call is repeated by Dr Lawton: “Crucial to this is immediate mobilisation of resources by the government to ensure sexual health clinics, who are bearing the brunt of this, are funded to deal with the additional workload and sufficient vaccine is made available for all those that need it,” he tells HuffPost UK.

The Terrence Higgins Trust has also expressed concern that access to other vital healthcare support is being stretched due to health workers being overworked and having to focus on an influx of monkeypox patients.

Some [sexual health services are] seeing a 90% reduction in access to the HIV prevention pill PrEP and long-acting reversible contraception,” the charity writes on its website.

Anna Bizon via Getty Images

Similarly to the early days of Covid-19, monkeypox is affecting people that are otherwise fit and healthy.

“I have no underlying health conditions,” says James,* who is 36, and asked to stay anonymous. “I work out six times a week and my fitness and health is my top priority. So for this to floor me the way it did, it was really scary. I also found the isolation really difficult, three weeks from the first sign and symptom is really tough!”

Meanwhile, John Thomas only experienced mild symptoms, but believes one of the major challenges is convincing men who have non-severe cases to isolate for the benefit of others.

“I think mild cases go under reported compared to the horror stories,” he tells HuffPost UK. “If you don’t know you have monkeypox, or if you can get away without people knowing you have it, you’re free to spread the virus to others.”

He adds: “If I hadn’t been looking for symptoms I would have almost certainly gone to a club night on the Friday [around the time of his transmission], and probably on the Saturday night as well.I think enough isn’t known about transmission yet, or if it is, the messaging is confusing.”

Thomas is right to have thought twice about going clubbing, says Dr Lawton, who says it is possible that monkeypox could spread in an intense nightclub environment where people are wearing little clothing.

“This is certainly a potential source of infection,” he says. “It is predominantly transmitted through skin to skin contact, but this does not need to be sexual.”

While we wait for more research, campaigners like Owen are trying to stay pragmatic.

While expressing “huge concerns,” including fears around vaccine equity, he tells HuffPost UK: “I tend not to ‘worry’ – worrying can be really debilitating.”

* Some names have been changed and surnames changed to offer anonymity.

Share Button

London Trans Pride: Thousands March After ‘Actively Damaging Year’ For Rights

Huge crowds marched together through the centre of the capital on Saturday as part of London Trans Pride.

According to model and activist Munroe Bergdorf, more than 20,000 people joined the march, which went from Wellington Arch by Hyde Park to Soho Square.

Protesters wrote powerful messages on signs to mark the occasion including “Take Down the Cis-Tem” and “Trans Lives are Sacred”.

The joyous event, which came one week after London Pride, celebrated trans rights after a particularly difficult year which has seen the government – and “gender critical feminists” – put the trans community in the spotlight.

This year, when the UK dropped to 14th in the most LGBTQ-friendly nations in Europe, the march aimed to “celebrate the memory of trans lives taken and uphold the next generation of trans revolutionaries”.

With idols from within the community speaking out about these pressing issues at the weekend event, here’s everything you need to know.

Government’s ‘abhorrent and deliberate attack’

Earlier this year, No.10 announced it was reneging on its commitment to ban trans conversion therapy – while still pushing to introduce the ban on the harmful practice for the rest of the LGBTQ+ community.

The U-turn was denounced as targeting an already marginalised group, especially as it was announced on Trans Day of Visibility.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) also called for the Scottish government to pause its reforms to the Gender Recognition Act, as well as pushing for Westminster to delay reforms to conversion therapy for trans and intersex people.

A spokesperson for London Trans+ Pride said: “The irony is not lost on us, this is an abhorrent and deliberate attack.”

They added: “The EHRC is actively damaging human rights for trans people.

“We deserve better: London Trans Pride is calling for the EHRC to be abolished. We march to demand the legal recognition of non-binary, intersex and gender nonconforming people.”

’Boris, bye!′

Trans actress Yasmin Finney, known for starring as Elle in Netflix’s Heartstopper and for her upcoming role in Doctor Who, also gave an emotional speech to a large crowd.

She said she felt “so connected to my community” adding: “If the government is trying to eradicate us, we’re all here and we’re just duplicating.”

Referencing the prime minister’s resignation last week, she said: “Like, hello? Boris, bye!”

She continued: “Boris, I hope you see Heartstopper, I hope you see Doctor Who, because I exist. And I know you know I exist. We all exist. And we’re not going anywhere!”

Her words are particularly powerful in a week when several of those MPs who are vying to become next Conservative leader have been foregrounding their views about gender and biological sex as part of their campaigning.

Trans author Charlie Craggs also gave Johnson a shout-out in her speech at Trans Pride, referencing her all-black outfit and saying they were there to celebrate” the end of the political life” of the prime minister.

“When it comes to thinking what I want to say about this man who has been consistently transphobic, homophobic, all the phobics, er it was really hard to summarise it in a few words, but I think I found two words to sum it up and those two words are: ha, ha.”

She continued: “I’m so tired of being fucking sad. Being happy is the biggest finger up to these people, they don’t want you to be happy – they don’t even want you to be alive.

“So being happy and alive is the biggest fuck you to these people. So go home after this Pride and be fucking happy – you deserve it.”

Mark Kerrison via Getty Images

Mark Kerrison via Getty Images

Mark Kerrison via Getty Images

‘Things ARE changing’

Munroe Bergdorf wrote about the march on her Instagram account, asking why there was so little reporting around such a major event.

She pointed out that “it speaks volumes” that this was not covered it in the mainstream media, claiming trans rights only come up when presented as part of a “culture war”.

But, she added: “Things ARE changing, but trans joy doesn’t sell papers. Transphobia sells. Fear sells. Hate sells. Resist.”

Share Button