Tennis legend and LGBTQ rights activist Billie Jean King received France’s highest civilian honor, the Legion of Honor, on Friday.
King, who is attending the French Open, received the award in recognition of her contributions to women’s sports, gender equality, and the rights of LGBTQ people in athletics. She was a part of a short ceremony at the presidential Elysee Palace where French President Emmanuel Macron was in attendance.
King returned to the main clay court at the Paris tennis complex that hosts the French Open for a ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of winning the 1972 tournament title.
In 1971, King risked her career to start the Virginia Slims Tour for professional women players. It led to the creation of the Women’s Tennis Association in 1973 as the organizing body for women’s professional tennis.
King has continued since then to be a champion of women, especially transgender women. It wasn’t that long ago that she showed her support for transgender athletes playing with members of their gender.
Back in 2020, King was one of 174 other female athletes who signed an amicus brief in support of transgender girls and women playing sports as their gender identity.
“As women and LGBTQ+ athletes,” says their brief, they “submit that all youth deserve an equal opportunity to participate in sports alongside their peers. Such equal opportunity benefits the entire sports community.”
The brief was filed in Hecox v. Little, a lawsuit brought against the state of Idaho, which passed a law this year banning transgender girls and women from competing in school sports as girls and women.
The law also allows for female student-athletes gender to be “challenged” and requires the athlete to undergo medical exams to “prove” it. A doctor, the law says, will have to examine the athlete’s genitalia, hormones, and DNA and make a determination of their gender, something that Democrats pointed out is not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Boise State University athlete Lindsay Hecox, who is transgender, and the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit against Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) to overturn the law.
“There is no place in any sport for discrimination of any kind. I am proud to support all transgender athletes who simply want the access and opportunity to compete in the sport they love,” wrote King. “The global athletic community grows stronger when we welcome and champion all athletes – including LGBTQI+ athletes.”
The UK public is most likely to have feelings of respect and admiration towards LGBTQ+ community, according to new research from Stonewall.
The research – published by the charity on the first day of Pride Month 2022, which also marks 50 years since the first Pride march in the UK – surveyed 2,000 adults across the UK to measure public sentiment towards LGBTQ+ people.
Given a choice of words to describe their feelings toward different sections of the community, the most commonly chosen word was “respect”, followed by “admiration”.
The proportion of respondents who chose the word “respect” was around a third across the board, although people were more likely to say they felt respect for lesbian and gay people (38 per cent and 37 per cent) than bi or trans people (32 per cent and 31 per cent).
Trans people garnered the most admiration from the public (21 per cent), while 19 per cent said they admired gay and lesbian people, and 16 per cent said they admired bisexuals, “which may be related to biphobic stereotypes”, Stonewall noted.
Despite relentless fear-mongering in both the media and the UK governmentabout trans people and trans rights, just four per cent of respondents said they felt “fear” towards trans folk, the same proportion that felt fear towards the rest of the LGBTQ+ community.
Less than 10 per cent of the public chose the word “disgust” when thinking about queer people – nine per cent for gay people, eight per cent for trans and bi people, and just 7 per cent for lesbians – showing that homophobia, biphobia and transphobia are limited to a tiny minority of the UK population.
Veteran LGBTQ+ rights activist Peter Tatchell told PinkNews: “This is terrific news that debunks the bigoted agenda of government ministers, right-wing culture warriors and transphobes like the LGB Alliance.
“They are out of touch with public opinion. There is almost no support for the Conservatives’ regressive policies on LGBTQ+ issues.
“Boris Johnson is deluded. He thinks he can shore up his administration with the support of bigoted voters. But this poll shows his cynical strategy won’t work and may turn many voters against the Tories. It proves that our sustained efforts to educate against prejudice are paying off.
“These statistics confirm the long term trend that anti-LGBTQ+ attitudes are waning fast: down massively from two-thirds of the public in the late 1980s believing that homosexuality is ‘mostly’ or ‘always’ wrong.”
Stonewall CEO Nancy Kelley said in a statement: “Over the last 50 years, every battle for the rights of LGBTQ+ communities has been fought in the court of public opinion as well as in the corridors of power.
“This data reminds us to celebrate how far we’ve come, as well as focus on how far there is to go. Nobody should have to grow up and go through life worrying that the people around them feel disgusted by who they are.
“From the fight to decriminalise men who have sex with men, to the fight for trans people’s rights to be protected and respected, we’ve always relied on allies to stand alongside us.
“That’s why, as we enter Pride Month, we need people to do more than wear a rainbow pin – we need everyone to show they take pride in our community, by stepping up and fighting for a more equal world.”
The Defense Department has officially ended a 1980s-era policy that restricted HIV-positive service members from deploying overseas and being promoted into leadership and management positions.
The updated guidance officially took effect Monday, according to a memo addressed to military leadership from the office of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. A judge struck down the decades-old policy in early April.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema of Eastern Virginia found that the Pentagon’s classification of HIV as a chronic condition did not reflect modern scientific understandings of the virus.
In one of two orders, Brinkema banned the Pentagon from “separating or discharging” asymptomatic HIV-positive service members with undetectable viral loads solely because they have HIV.
The two cases involved three men who sued the military for discrimination based on their HIV statuses. One of the plaintiffs, Army National Guard Sgt. Nick Harrison, who was denied a promotion because of his HIV status, called the Pentagon’s reversal a “generally positive move,” but he said it came only after advocates were forced to resort to “kicking and screaming” in the court system.
“I would like to see them go further,” he said. “At this point, the decision is just basically doing what the judge told them to do. So there’s a lot more space for them to do more.”
Kara Ingelhart, a senior attorney at Lambda Legal, which represented the plaintiffs, said the move “makes perfect sense from a science-medical stigma standpoint but also a policy standpoint.”
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“The fact that the military, [which] is the largest employer in the world, not just the country, will no longer be able to treat, categorically, the service members living with HIV differently from others, it’s huge,” she said.
Since the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 passed, no employer other than the U.S. military has been legally permitted to discriminate against potential employees because they have HIV. But as noted in the memo Monday, the policy amendment does not change current Pentagon policy denying those with HIV from being able to enlist in the military.
According to the memo, current service members who display “laboratory evidence” of HIV infection will continue to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, including access to “appropriate treatment” and medical evaluations of “fitness for continued service in the same manner as a Service member with other chronic or progressive illnesses.”
They will not, however, be discharged solely based on their HIV statuses. Military leaders will convene a working group to “develop proposed standards” for case-by-case evaluations, which will consider how long service members must display undetectable viral loads and be symptom-free, the memo says.
The Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, has long called for the policy reversal, which it listed among 85 recommendations it sent to the incoming Biden administration in November 2020.
“Research has shown for years now that antiretroviral therapy is highly effective in shrinking the risk of HIV transmission to essentially zero,” David Stacy, the campaign’s government affairs director, said in a news release. “To maintain a discriminatory policy against service members living with HIV without the backing of medical evidence was unsustainable, and we’re glad to see our military leaders recognize that.”
Stacy added that the campaign will continue to “push for the same policy to be applied to those who want to enlist.”
“This week’s announcement was a good first step, but as long as some people are still being discriminated against for no good reason, there’s still work to be done,” he said.
A North Carolina teacher has resigned amid a controversy over the use of LGBTQ-themed flashcards to teach inclusivity and colours in her preschool classroom.
The preschool teacher, who has not been identified by the Wake County school system, resigned from Ballentine Elementary School in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. Wake County Public School System spokesperson Lisa Luten told WRALthat the district was “concerned to learn of the inappropriate instructional resource” found in the preschool classroom.
“An initial review determined that flashcards were not tied to the district’s Pre-K curriculum, did not complement, enrich or extend the curriculum and were used without the principal’s review, knowledge and/or approval,” Luten added.
Luten also said that extra security was stationed in the school after the backlash against the LGBTQ+ flashcards.
The backlash started to mount against the school after state House speaker Tim Moore said he’d been informed about the flashcard by Republican representative Erin Paré.
Moore released a statement on Friday (27 May) in which he said a “concerned constituent” emailed Paré about the LGBTQ+ flashcards – including one he said depicted a “pregnant man” – which were being used to teach colours to kids in a preschool class.
The LGBTQ+ themed cards were reportedly used in a Ballentine Elementary School preschool classroom to teach about colours. (WRAL)
Paré said in an interview with Fox Newsthat “loving families come in all different shapes and sizes” and that “kids need loving families right now”. But she drew the line at the card’s depiction of a pregnant person with short hair being embraced by their partner.
“But I think when you’re looking at a card in front of a preschooler that has a mommy hugging a daddy with a baby in his belly, that’s just not age-appropriate material to be showing preschoolers, and I’m glad that this principal and the district acted immediately,” Paré said.
Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert also joined the pile-on against the teacher on Twitter and alleged it was an example of how “the Left” are “grooming” children.
“A North Carolina preschool is using LGBT flag flashcards with a pregnant man to teach kids colors,” Boebert wrote. “We went from Reading Rainbow to Randy Rainbow in a few decades, but don’t dare say the Left is grooming our kids!”
But one parent has shared her devastation that her child was losing the teacher. Jackie Milazzo, who has a three-year-old son in the class, told WRAL that the preschool educator was “one of the most remarkable teachers I have ever met” and it was “such a loss for our community”.
She described how parents were crying and hugging each other after they learned that the teacher was resigning over the LGBTQ+ flashcards.
Milazzo added in a separate interview for ABC 11that the preschool kids are “being used as a publicity stunt” by conservative lawmakers.
“We are not upset about what’s in the classroom,” Milazzo said. “I know a lot of the community at Ballentine Elementary aren’t upset about this being in the classroom.”
She added that a “picture of a same-sex couple” doesn’t “make my child unsafe” but the horrific waves of hate she’s received do.
“I’ve been receiving messages that our teachers are groomers, my child is being brainwashed… like how am I supposed to feel safe sending my child to school like this?” Milazzo said.
“These actions are not supporting our schools, they’re not supporting our teachers, they’re not supporting our kids, my child has now lost his teacher.”
The North Carolina Senate is set to debate legislation – dubbed a ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill – that would stop discussions on LGBTQ+ issues in classrooms in the state. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty)
The backlash comes as Republican lawmakers are considering a bill (HB 755) that would prevent instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade classrooms.
The legislation – which has been dubbed a ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill by LGBTQ+ advocates – would also require parents to be notified if a student chooses to change their name, update their pronouns or use school counselling services.
The Reverend Vance Haywood, senior pastor of St John’s Metropolitan Community Church in Raleigh, said the bill “proposes forced outing of queer kids”, the Associated Pressreported.
“It’s creating an environment where we’re telling folks that it’s not OK to be yourself,” Haywood said. “You have to hide parts of who you are.”
The bill has passed through the Senate Rules Committee and is expected to receive a debate and vote on Wednesday before the Republican-controlled Senate.
Europe’s first LGBTQ+ youth support centre has reopened in Manchester after a massive redevelopment effort.
LGBTQ+ charity The Proud Trust unveiled its newly redeveloped centre, The Proud Place, on 27 May. It’s a place where LGBTQ+ people can access community groups, support workers, and a range of events to meet local peers.
The £2.4 million centre opened its doors after four years of development to the rapturous applause of Manchester patrons; its previous home of 20 years closed in 2020.
Among the crowd were It’s A Sin star Nathaniel Hall and Schuh managing director Colin Temple, who presided over its opening along with other Manchester dignitaries. Hall spoke about the “beautiful” new building during its opening, saying that “it feels like a place you can kick off your shoes and just relax”.
“The Proud Place is amazing – it’s so beautiful,” he said. “It’s the place that I definitely needed when I was 14, 15, 16 growing up and understanding my sexuality and navigating a homophobic world.
“To spend time with other people my age, like me, and grow and learn and connect would have been invaluable. Everyone needs to come down and experience it.”
Nathaniel Hall and a friend. (Proud Trust)
The building spans three floors and will play host to activities, amenities and events that are free to apply or participate in for queer youth looking for a place to meet new people. With its new golden exterior, it’s hard to miss.
The Proud Trust CEO Lisa Harvey-Nebil said: “It’s an honour for The Proud Trust to take care of such an important building on behalf of Manchester’s LGBTQ+ community and we’re excited for this next chapter in our history.
“Our beautiful new home is such a far cry from the original building, which was built for privacy in the days when many people in our community were fearful of accessing service.”
Organisations such as Schuh, Amazon, Post Office, and Siemens funded The Proud Place’s renovations, buying corporate bricks and/or contributing other considerable expertise and financial support.
“Working with the Proud Trust helps us further understand the key issues for young LGBTQ+ people,” Schuh managing director Colin Temple said. “We want to continually educate ourselves and our teams, customers, and the wider community.”
Lord-lieutenant Sir Warren. (Proud Trust)
The original building was constructed in the same Sidney Street location in 1988 and has been a pillar for Manchester LGBTQ+ youth for decades. Now, after waiting for its eventual refurbishment, service users such as Simone, 24, are ecstatic to see its return.
“It means so much to be here today,” Simone said during the opening. “To see it all finally complete, it very much feels like now everything can start.
“I first came to The Proud Trust as a young person to help me with getting employment, they supported me on my options, as I hadn’t been out long as a trans woman,” she continues. “Ever since then I have never looked back.”
Lord-lieutenant of Greater Manchester, Sir Warren Smith, attended the launch and spoke to the attending guests, saying: “This centre was the first of its kind in the whole of Europe when it first opened. It makes a real statement and should be something that Manchester is really proud of.
“I was the first openly gay lord-lieutenant in 500 years of history, I must admit it was a challenging route. I went through 40 years of being mocked. This organisation will eventually change that, and I am so proud to be a part of it.”
Set in Santiago’s vibrant Ñuñoa district, Phantom Project is a breezy, whimsical confection about an aspiring thirtysomething actor named Pablo (a magnetic Juan Cano). Tired of taking gigs role-playing ailments at the local medical school, Pablo longs for his big artistic break. When his roommate moves out without warning, a curious, mischievous presence appears to take up residence in Pablo’s flat, complicating his attempts to fill the empty bedroom.
Through bittersweet hang-outs with his semi-famous YouTuber ex, afternoon cocktails with the girls, and herbal cleansing sessions with the local botanical healer, Phantom Project paints a lively tapestry of young LGBTQ+ culture in Chile. Witnessing relationships—new and old, human or otherwise—deepen just as others drift away, Pablo inches closer toward a harmonious balance that his life seems to have lacked in the past. With warm humor and an inventive spirit, writer-director Roberto Doveris (Las plantas) captures a critical juncture in life of a sensitive millennial, that moment of dizzying rebirth after the dust from one’s Saturn return has settled.
Tickets
The film screens at the Castro Theatre JUNE 17, 2022 3:30 PM — 5:11 PM
Streams online JUNE 24, 2022 12:01 AM — JUNE 30, 2022 11:59 PM
Support for same-sex marriage has reached an all-time high in the US, according to new polling.
Seventy-one per cent of Americans said they support same-sex marriage in Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs poll, released Wednesday (1 June).
This is one percentage point more than last year, and the highest level of support since Gallup began asking Americans about marriage equality in 1996. That year, just 27 per cent of Americans supported same-sex unions.
According to Gallup, the statistic reflects a “steady increase [of support]among most subgroups of the population, even those who have traditionally been the most resistant to gay marriage.”
Support for same-sex marriage reached a majority among adults aged 65 or older in 2016, protestants in 2017, and Republicans in 2021.
Weekly churchgoers remain the main outlier, with 58 per cent opposing same-sex marriage.
In contrast, as of 2004, Americans that almost never attend church are the predominant supporter of same-sex marriage.
As of 2022, 82 per cent of those who seldom/never attend church support gay marriage, while 70 per cent of monthly attendees are in support.
Overall, since 2011, the majority of Americans have backed same-sex marriage. It hit 60 per cent in 2015, just one month before the historic Obergefell V. Hodges decision by the Supreme Court that guaranteed the right to same-sex marriages.
“As Gallup’s trend on support for legal same-sex marriage inches ever upward, the question is when it will reach its ceiling,” the report said.
“Some observers of the Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion related to Roe V Wade in May have questioned whether an overturning of Roe would clear a path for the conservative-leaning court to also overturn Obergefell.”
“If this were to happen, the court would be moving in opposition to a public opinion trend that has shown increasing support,” it continued.
The poll is based on telephone interviews conducted every year to a random sample of 1,007 American adults, living in all 50 US states, as well as the District of Columbia. There is a 95 per cent confidence level in the report, with sampling errors at around ±4 percentage points.
The Taliban is using monkeypox as an “excuse” to harass and detain LGBTQ+ people in Afghanistan.
Two gay men who live in Kabul told PinkNews that the Taliban’s persecution of LGBTQ+ people has been ramping up ever since monkeypox started being detected in Europe.
While not sexually transmitted, public health officials believe monkeypox is being transmitted in these networks through close contact during sex – though experts have also suggested the statistics may be skewed towards queen men because they are more conscious of their sexual health.
Right now, Afghanistan has not officially recorded any cases of monkeypox – but that hasn’t stopped the Taliban from using the spread of the virus to crack down on and attack the LGBTQ+ community.
Monkeypox has emboldened the Taliban to ‘harass’ LGBTQ+ Afghans
Maalek*, a gay man living in Kabul, told PinkNews that the Taliban’s persecution of LGBTQ+ people has only worsened since the monkeypox outbreaks began.
“The Taliban have no scientific knowledge about the disease,” Maalek says. “The Ministry of Health has stated that no cases of the disease have been registered, yet they are still looking for excuses to harass the Afghan gay community.”
He continues: “Wherever they see handsome men wearing no local clothes, they check their cell phones and, if they find the slightest evidence that they are gay, they arrest them and take them away.
“When they detain homosexuals, [they tell the public it’s to] prevent the spread of monkeypox.”
According to Maalek, trans people are just as much at risk. If the Taliban finds a nude photo on a person’s phone, they will beat and detain them.
The monkeypox virus under a microscope. (Getty)
Being detained by the Taliban is a terrifying prospect for Maalek. He knows a gay man who was arrested and raped by six Taliban members.
“He now suffers from a mental illness and has fled Kabul,” Maalek says. “The Taliban do not like anyone to wear fashionable clothes. They threaten all homosexuals with death after being detained. They say they should wear local clothes, should not shave their beards and act as they wish.”
Trans people cannot even come out of their house.
Like most LGBTQ+ Afghans, Maalek has been forced to change his behaviour and the way he presents himself to the world in a bid to stay safe from the Taliban.
“We no longer go to beauty salons to cut our beards, we can not even cut our hair in a modern way. We can not wear stylish and acceptable clothes. Trans people cannot even come out of their house because they are arrested immediately.
“Personally, I go out in local clothes now. I do not bring my smartphone with me when I leave home. I try not to leave home without doing my homework. Their checkpoints are very dangerous.”
LGBTQ+ Afghans are ‘scared and miserable’
Maalek’s claim that the Taliban is cracking down on LGBTQ+ people ever since monkeypox started spreading in the community was backed up by another gay man who lives in Kabul.
Timur* thinks the Taliban is using the spread of the virus in other countries as another reason to “torture” LGBTQ+ people.
“I’m afraid in Afghanistan. I’m afraid of being arrested by the Taliban,” Timur says. “I’m not leaving home. I’m scared and miserable.
“I’m asking the big governments of London and other countries to help me and all LGBTQ+ people leave Afghanistan.”
Nemat Sadat – a gay Afghan author and activist who lives in the US – has also received reports that gay men are being “singled out” by the Taliban because of monkeypox.
“The Taliban are rounding up gay people on the grounds that homosexuals carry monkeypox,” Sadat tweeted.
“They are singling out pretty men and checking their phones. This operation is happening in the Lycée Mariam, Khairkhana neighbourhood and all the districts of Kabul.”
LGBTQ+ Afghans have been facing heightened persecution since the Taliban seized power in August 2021. Reports suggest that queer people have been killed, raped, beaten and arrested for arbitrary reasons ever since the takeover.
Ever since monkeypox was detected in the UK and other European countries in May, concerns have been raised about anti-LGBTQ+ stigma.
Health experts have said the virus appears to be predominantly circulating among gay and bisexual men, however, they are clear that it is not a “gay disease”.
It is believed that monkeypox is spread through close contact with an infected person’s skin, meaning that anybody is susceptible. Because of the way it is transmitted, it’s thought that monkeypox is working its way through sexual networks.
The World Health Organization (WHO) initially said the unusual spread of the virus posed a “low risk to the general public”, but that was upgraded to “moderate” at the end of May.
Officials said the risk could be upgraded to “high” if the virus spreads to those who are medically vulnerable, such as children and immunosuppressed people.
In a truly electrifying performance, Leonardo Sbaraglia bares his heart, soul, and everything else as Santiago, a gay single father on the verge of a midlife meltdown, in actor-turned-director Leonardo Brzezicki’s moving sophomore feature. With his teenage daughter Laila (Miranda de la Serna) about to leave home for the first time, Santiago must confront his self-destructive behaviors and his deep-rooted fear of being alone over the course of a fateful summer split between Argentina and Brazil.
With a career spanning five decades now, Sbaraglia is no stranger to challenging, demanding roles, from one-half of a gay bank-robbing duo in Burnt Money to Antonio Banderas’ former muse in Almodóvar’s Pain & Glory. But as Santiago, Sbaraglia delivers his finest performance to date, unearthing a magnetic mixture of vulnerability, swagger, and depth. Wandering Heart showcases both a director on the rise and a veteran actor at the height of his talents coming together for a film that lingers long after the credits have rolled.
This film screens at the Castro Theatre JUNE 17, 2022 9:15 PM — 11:11 PM
Streams online JUNE 24, 2022 12:01 AM — JUNE 30, 2022 11:59 PM
Join us for Pride Night at Don Giovanni, Mozart’s dark take on Don Juan. After the performance, enjoy special activities hosted by the inimitable Donna Sachet: Lip Sync for Your Life: Aria Edition, Photos on the Rainbow Carpet, Best Pride Look Competition, and more!
After the performance, enjoy special activities hosted by the inimitable Donna Sachet: Lip Sync for Your Life: Aria Edition, Photos on the Rainbow Carpet, Best Pride Look Competition, and more!