Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon in Ridley Scott’s new film. (Apple TV+/Columbia) With Ridley Scott’s hotly anticipated film Napoleon finally now in cinemas, there’s a renewed focus on the life and legacy of France’s most notable emperor. Born in 1769, Napoleon Bonaparte came to prominence during the French Revolution, and later became leader of the French Republic. Napoleon
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Meet Auntie Lee and Auntie Karnage, PinkNews’ resident panel of advice-giving experts! In this edition of Ask the Aunties, they offer advice to a lesbian woman who isn’t sure about marriage because it’s a heteronormative concept. Heteronormativity describes the way in which society tends to push people into male or female gender roles, meaning heterosexual relationships
Mallow the Abalone Merman explains what it is like to be a merman We speak to queer merman Mallow, who previously went by Maui, who has been donning a tail and swimming as a merman since 2018. Mallow the Abalone Merman is the “mersona” of Keenon Hooks, a professional merman and choreographer from California. A mersona
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,
Sophie Ellis-Bextor speaks to PinkNews about her stint as a guest judge on Drag Race UK, why she’s grateful that drag has gone mainstream, and her Christmas collaboration with Save The Children. It’s early November, and despite growing pressure from TV adverts and shop windows, many of us are still refusing to admit that Christmas
When Hex Coles woke up and discovered that their skin had turned yellow all over, they knew instantly something was very wrong. Hex, now 26, was a university student on the cusp of adulthood – but all of a sudden, they were spending much of their time in hospital, where doctors desperately tried to find
If you listen to some campaigners and newspaper columnists, trans people are trying to ‘erase’ womanhood by replacing words such as ‘breastfeeding’ with ‘chestfeeding’. But this is a false, and damaging, narrative. Simply put, chestfeeding is a word predominantly used by some trans men, non-binary people and gender non-conforming people to describe the act of
To say that Elon Musk’s rebrand of Twitter to the curiously-named ‘X’ has been the subject of a massive, toxic debate on the platform would be something of an understatement. Since making the move from the iconic blue bird to the black and white capital ‘X’ in July, the revamped theme of the social media
Linus Karp as the queer princess in Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story. (Supplied) A new play pays homage to Princess Diana’s legacy of LGBTQ+ allyship. The late Princess of Wales remains a cornerstone of queer culture 25 years after her death for many reasons, not least her genuinely trailblazing HIV and AIDS activism. Her story
Rob Anderson. (YouTube/Rob Anderson) Rob Anderson blew up on TikTok with his Gay Science series – now, he’s ready to dominate. So to speak. You might have come across Rob on TikTok, where he’s racked up more than two million followers with his “Gay Science” videos, his Oscars coverage, and – more recently – his
Queen Elizabeth II has died aged 96. (Getty) Queen Elizabeth II has died aged 96, bringing her 70 year reign to a close. There was an outpouring of grief on Thursday (8 September) when it was confirmed the monarch had passed away. Ever since she ascended to the throne following the death of her father
Nintendo says LGBTQ+ rights. (Nintendo/PinkNews) From direct representation to fan-made trans mascots, gaming publisher Nintendo has a strangely compelling history with LGBTQ+ representation. As one of the most prominent video game companies in the world, it’s no surprise that today Nintendo encompasses a plethora of LGBTQ+ voices. But its history with queer representation dates back
Kitty Scott-Claus in Celebrity Masterchef. (BBC) Drag Race UK sensation turned Celebrity MasterChef hopeful Kitty Scott-Claus thinks bigots attacking drag shows need to “have a day off”. Since finishing as a runner-up on season three, Kitty Scott-Claus has been booked and busy. She’s led her first-ever West End show – the ‘Dragatha Christie’ sensation Death Drop, and is now
Daniel O’Shaughnessy says douching isn’t always necessary. (PinkNews) Daniel O’Shaughnessy had worked as a nutritionist for years before he thought of writing a book specifically about queer people’s nutritional needs. The idea first came to him when he was “dragged” onto a gay cruise ship. Throughout his career, Daniel had worked extensively with LGBTQ+ clients –
Tatum de Roeck, a queer woman, was diagnosed with breast cancer at 35. (PinkNews) Cancer care desperately needs to be more inclusive, an LGBT+ survivor has said, because “your life is in someone’s hands… and what if those hands are homophobic?” Tatum de Roeck is a yoga teacher who was diagnosed with breast cancer at
We take a look back at some of the best queer films of 2021. (PinkNews) It’s been yet another difficult year as the world continued to weather the storm of a pandemic, but through it all, film helped keep us sane. From big blockbusters to indie darlings, film has the power to transport us to
A kaleidoscopic array of people have come out in 2021. (PinkNews) 2021 is, at long, long last, coming to an end. Nearly two years into a drawn-out pandemic that has left the world exhausted and ready to hibernate, we’re about to say goodbye to a year that, to be honest, felt about a decade long.
Lecturers, trade unionists and students march through central London. (Getty) A queer University College London (UCL) masters student explains why the university’s decision to cut ties with Stonewall is so hurtful. A few days ago, UCL became the first university to sever ties with Stonewall, the largest charity supporting LGBT+ rights in the UK. The
Trans men and non-binary people told PinkNews about a moment of finding joy in their hair. As trans and non-binary people, discovering joy can come through the changes we make to live authentically – big and small, internal and external, spoken about and not. We might make changes to the clothes we wear, the name
Marc Thompson. (Supplied) As one of Britain’s most prominent HIV activists, Marc Thompson is used to sharing his life story. Having lived with HIV since 1986, he’s been on the frontlines of social justice activism and education for the decades that have come since. As a result, he’s regularly called upon to speak for history
Peter Tatchell in the documentary Hating Peter Tatchell. (Netflix) When Peter Tatchell was a 17-year-old growing up in Australia, he started writing letters to the press arguing that homosexuality should be decriminalised. It was by no means an easy fight for him to take on. Looking back, he admits that he was “terrified” that his
Two Barry sisters read review of the Alfred Kinsey Report on Women over the shoulder of Beverly Lawrence (Getty) If you’re like most people, you’ve probably heard the phrase “sexuality is a spectrum”. In a way, we have Dr Alfred Kinsey to thank for that. In 1948, American biologist Dr Kinsey and associates Wardell Pomeroy
Trans supporters protest outside Netflix headquarters in Los Angeles. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images). For Transgender Awareness Week, we look back at seven times that trans and non-binary people took to the streets in the last year to fight for our rights. From a relentlessly hostile, institutionally transphobic media in the UK,
Trans people are changing the world for the better. The contributions of the trans community are immeasurable. Around the globe trans activists, lawmakers, entertainers, athletes and authors are making our world a richer place and pushing the needle forward. It’s impossible to write an exhaustive list of the ways in which trans people made waves
A police officer next to a banner reading ‘All cops are bastards period!’ at a Black Trans Lives Matter march in London, 2020. (Dave Rushen/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) AL, who is trans, non-binary and genderqueer, has been assaulted twice on public transport in the last 18 months – but they didn’t report either incident
Arnold Schwarzenegger pictured in 2015 in London, England. (Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty/ Paramount) As Arnold Schwarzenegger delivers a scathing takedown of Donald Trump and the US Capitol riots, it’s easy to paint the Terminator as a liberal hero. But that’s not how many LGBT+ people remember him. The former actor, bodybuilder and politician has had quite
As with COVID-19, mass testing could be crucial in finally eliminating new HIV transmissions. (Getty) HIV testing should become a routine part of healthcare conducting on an opt-out basis, the UK’s independent HIV Commission has recommended in a report released on World AIDS Day. Conservative MP and former health minister Steve Brine and Labour MP
Pillow Queens formed in 2016, in the wake of Ireland’s same-sex marriage referendum. (Faolán Carey) In 2016, Cathy McGuinness, Sarah Corcoran, Rachel Lyons and Pamela Connolly played a game of basketball together and the all-queer Dublin band Pillow Queens was born. Although they’ve been putting out lo-fi indie rock for just four years, their focus
Peppermint was among the first queens to come onboard. (James Michael Avance) Since the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race aired more than a decade ago, 153 queens have shantayed, sashayed and sissied that walk. And only one of those 153 queens has been openly trans. Her name is Peppermint, the legendary queen from NYC