WNBA has a sponsorship with a birth control brand. (Getty) During a time when the US continues to repeal reproductive rights across various states, the Women’s National Basketball Association is standing up for bodily autonomy by partnering with birth control brand Opill. On 9 April, the WNBA announced its multi-year partnership with the Perrigo Company
Activism
Asexual activist Yasmin Benoit. (Getty) Yasmin Benoit is shutting down preconceived notions of what it means to be asexual, one conversation at a time. The activist is tearing down barriers to representation and visibility as a model, having appeared at London Fashion Week this year. But despite amassing almost 75,000 followers on Instagram, whom she educates
LGBTQ+ ally, Britney Spears. (Getty) Princess of pop Britney Spears is paying back her LGBTQ+ fans for their devotion by helping to raise funds for young queer people in crisis. To mark Valentine’s Day (14 February), Britney teamed up with New York City coffee shop Glace to release her own sweet treat. The “Toxic” singer
Here are some of the many LGBTQ+ activists we looked up to in 2023, people who put in the work to serve and elevate the queer community. These people have put themselves out there – often in the face of public scrutiny – to campaign for the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ people around the
Elliot Page has joined calls for the Supreme Court to reject Tennessee’s gender-affirming care ban. (Getty Images) Elliot Page has added his name to calls for the US Supreme Court to reject Tennessee’s law that would ban gender-affirming care for minors. The actor joined 56 other transgender adults, including other famous faces like Lilly Wachowski
Victoria Derbyshire apologised for the explicit remark on air. (Getty) Broadcaster Victoria Derbyshire was forced to apologise to BBC Newsnight viewers on behalf of comments made by a Russian feminist musician and activist. The 55-year-old journalist apologised to viewers who may have been offended by comments from Russian Pussy Riot artist Nadya Tolokonnikova during a
Pink will be handing out banned book titles in Florida this week. (Getty Images) As if she wasn’t already one of the most iconic celebrity allies, Pink has pledged to give away 2,000 copies of the most frequently banned books to fans at her upcoming Florida gigs. In an act of protest against Florida lawmakers’
When he made the tough choice to flee Uganda, in the wake of the country’s draconian anti-LGBTQ+ law being passed, activist Henry Mukiibi thought: “What have I left behind?” Mukiibi, the executive director of LGBTQ+ group Uganda’s Children of the Sun Foundation (COSF), has been on the run and living in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi,
Carol Vorderman has quit her BBC show so she can continue to criticise the government. (Getty Images) Radio broadcaster Carol Vorderman has quit her BBC Radio Wales show after five years on air so that she can continue to call out the Tory government. The presenter, who had hosted a weekly Saturday morning show on
Cherry Valentine posing in an iconic drag look. (Twitter) As well as being a one-of-a-kind drag artist, Cherry Valentine knew exactly how to shut down anti-drag arguments with class. The drag icon’s family – whose real name was George Ward – tragically passed away last Sunday (18 September) at just 28-years-old. The genderfluid artist’s family
England captain Harry Kane will wear an armband for the OneLove campaign during matches at the Qatar World Cup. (Getty) England captain Harry Kane will wear a rainbow anti-discrimination armband at World Cup matches in Qatar, where LGBTQ+ identities are criminalised. Kane and captains from several other countries that qualified for the World Cup –
Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić allowed the march to go ahead, but on a smaller route. (Getty) Serbia’s government has been forced into a screeching u-turn after its decision to ban EuroPride’s parade was met with fierce opposition. EuroPride is an international celebration of the LGBTQ+ community hosted by a different European country each year. Serbia
A woman take a photo using her mobile phone of the EuroPride flags fluttering during the opening ceremony of the EuroPride 2022 in Belgrade. (Oliver Bunic/Getty) EuroPride organisers have vowed to fight Serbia’s “disgraceful” ban on its planned march in Belgrade. The European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA) are preparing to mount a legal challenge after
Police secure serbian LGBT Info centre during the ‘Litiya for salvation of Serbia’ in Belgrade. (Getty) Politicians from across Europe have condemned the Serbian government over the effective ban of this year’s EuroPride. Serbian police announced a ban on the route of the march on Tuesday (13 September) after weeks of hostile back-and-forth between EuroPride
People walk by the campus of Yeshiva University in New York City on August 30, 2022. (Spencer Platt/Getty) A religious university has been granted permission by the Supreme Court to temporarily ban an LGBTQ+ student group. Manhattan’s Yeshiva University was ordered by a state court in June to recognise an LGBTQ+ student group in a
Dr Demetre Daskalakis at a monkeypox briefing (L) and posing shirtless (R). (Getty/Instagram) Right-wing trolls are mocking a gay monkeypox doctor because he’s hot and has dared to wear a harness. Dr Demetre Daskalakis, one of the White House’s most senior figures appointed to respond to the monkeypox outbreak, has faced smears from right-wing media
Sareh (Zahra) Sediqi Hamedani was arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for “promoting homosexuality” in October 2021. (YouTube/6rangIran) Two LGBTQ+ activists have been sentenced to death in Iran for “promoting homosexuality”. According to the Kurdish human rights organisation Hengaw, Zahra Sediqi Hamedani, also known as “Sareh”, 31, and Elham Chubdar, 24, were both sentenced
Maria Walsh speaks in an Instagram clip. (Maria Walsh/Instagram) MEP Maria Walsh has urged EuroPride to continue despite backlash from anti-LGBTQ+ groups. The Midlands-North-West member of the European Parliament insisted that the Pride festival – which is hosted in a different European city each year – should go ahead as scheduled from 12 to 18
LGBTQ+ activists and allies gathered outside the Independent House to demand an end to the Irish Indepdent’s “anti-trans crusade”. (Trans and Intersex Pride Dublin) Protesters outside the Irish Independent’s offices have rallied the publication’s continued “anti-trans crusade”. Over 100 people gathered outside Independent House in Dublin on Saturday (27 August) to highlight a rise in
Trans youth are being hit hard by the cost of living crisis. (Getty) The cost of living crisis is forcing queer young people out of safe homes and into potentially dangerous situations. The economic crisis is hitting young people in the UK especially hard as landlords demand higher rents and inflation hits more aspects of
Paul Dennison (R) has been crowned Mr Gay Europe 2022 and David Allwood (L) is Mr Gay England 2022. (CatherineBallPortraits/Little and Large Media) A trio of queer winners were crowned in a kaleidoscopic pageant that boasted everything from a swimsuit round to charitable wor On Saturday (August 20), The Alnwick Garden in Northumberland was transformed
Pete Buttigieg thanked LGBTQ+ teen Zander Moricz for his “voice and adovacy” in the fight against Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law.(Paras Griffin/Getty for Essence) US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg sent a heartfelt letter to a teen activist who is part of a lawsuit challenging Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law. Zander Moricz gained widespread media attention
Elana Dykewomon was a celebrated author, writer, and playwright. (Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images) Celebrated lesbian author and activist Elana Dykewomon has died at the age of 72 of cancer. The trailblazing writer died on Sunday (7 August) in Oakland, California. Her brother David Nachman told the Mendocino Beacon that Dykewomon
Tom Daley has warned that “something monumental will happen” if the so-called “debate” over trans athletes in elite sport escalates further. The diver, who won his fourth (and first gold) Olympic medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, has previously spoken out against bans that prohibit trans athletes to compete in elite sports. FINA (the administrative
Protesters at Trans Pride Brighton. (PinkNews) Trans Pride Brighton saw its largest turnout ever on Saturday (16 July), with around 20,000 protesters marching for trans liberation. Trans Pride Brighton, the first and largest trans Pride event outside of the US, has been running since 2013. This year, it finally returned in person, after two years of
Red Cross worker and St Petersburg activist Daria Apakhonchich was arrested for taking part in a “vulva ballet” street performance in support of Yulia Tsvetkova. (Darya Apakhonchich/ Facebook) An LGBTQ+ feminist activist in Russia has been acquitted of pornography charges in a rare win for queer rights in the country. Yulia Tsvetkova was arrested in
Janelle Monáe, Mae Martin and Hikaru Utada are among the non-binary people making change for the better in the world. (Getty/Paras Griffin/BET/Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic for HBO/Kevin Mazur/Coachella) As representation permeates more aspects of society, more non-binary people are starting to take centre stage and advocate for the community. Gender, like sexuality, is a spectrum. Many people
A “besotón”, or kiss-a-thon, has been staged at the Six Flags Mexico theme park after a queer couple visiting said they were victims of “homophobia”. A friend of the couple went viral on Twitter after he described how his friends were reprimanded for kissing at the theme park on Wednesday (29 December). He wrote: “The
Gavin Grimm attends 2019 DoSomething Gala at Chelsea Piers on 29 April 2019 in New York City. (Getty/Santiago Felipe) The LGBT+ community and allies are raising funds for trans trailblazer Gavin Grimm, who is at risk of homelessness. Grimm was involved in a seven-year-long battle that put him at the centre of the debate on
Black feminist bell hooks. (The The Washington Post via Getty/ Margaret Thomas) On Wednesday (15 December), legendary Black feminist author bell hooks passed away in her home in Berea, Kentucky, at the age of 69. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author and activist, one of the most influential feminist scholars in the US, penned more than 40 books