Soon after Ireland passed its Gender Recognition Act in 2015, Kevin Humphreys, a Labour politician, visited a residential home for senior citizens where an older woman thanked him for the new law. It was Humphreys who, as the minister of state for social protection 10 years ago, guided through the legislation that has meant transgender people in Ireland can apply to have their lived gender legally recognised by the state through a simple self-certification process.
A Texas judge is asking a federal court to overturn marriage equality in the U.S., arguing in a lawsuit filed on Friday that marriage for same-sex couples is unconstitutional because it was legalized in a decision that "subordinat[ed] state law to the policy preferences of unelected judges." The case involves Judge Dianne Hensley of Waco, Texas, who has been involved in years of legal proceedings to try to win the right to not perform marriages for same-sex couples while still performing them for opposite-sex couples.
"The bedtime stories of mermaids, vampires, and fairies that many of us grew up loving were often created - or contain monsters and characters that were inspired by people who had similar lives and loves to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people living today," Coward writes in his book's intro. "To truly understand who queer people are today involves an adventure into the fantastical stories of our past."
One victim was left hospitalised with stress after their finances were "destroyed" when loans, credit agreements and overdrafts were taken out using their name. Sentencing the pair at Iselworth Crown Court on Monday, Judge Adenike Bologun said the gang were relying on victims "being too embarrassed to report the crime". But she said she wasn't persuaded that the offences demonstrated hostility to the victims based on their sexual orientation, adding that "this was an opportunistic offence."
It's impossible to say how many firsts were had within the walls of G-A-Y Bar on Old Compton Street. An innumerable number of LGBTQ+ people, young and old, will have flocked there from far and wide over the years to have perhaps their first experience of a gay bar, maybe even their first alcoholic drink, as well as their first taste of a different, brighter, queerer life.
Desperate to focus on anything other than competently running a railroad, Amtrak made news this fall by arresting a couple hundred men for "public lewdness" in Penn Station, the implication being that they were cruising the bathrooms there for sex. This caused a minor uproar. New York's Rep. Jerry Nadler sent a letter demanding Amtrak, "Cease ... targeting members of the LGBTQ community ... on the basis of their perceived sexual orientation."
Fifty-seven-year-old Alvin Prasad exited the Badlands nightclub with his adult daughter and friends, enjoying a Halloween night out in Lavender Heights, Sacramento's LGBTQ+ district. But as they walked towards their car, a man approached Prasad and insulted his flamboyant costume. "He calls my dad weird," Prasad's daughter Andrea told KXTV. "He says it in a very rude, aggressive way... like he wants to hurt my dad."
Peter Gamez, the openly gay President & CEO of Visit Oakland, already has a full calendar of events in the works for 2026. He shared just a few: Super Bowl Watch Parties - Super Bowl LX (the 60th Super Bowl) is just a few months away and will be held at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on February 8. Gamez says some of the region's best watch parties will be held in Oakland and have been in the works for months.
The Progress Pride Flag,, adds a chevron on one side of the classic rainbow Pride Flag, to celebrate transgender people, people who died of AIDS and (with a brown stripe) people of color. While the Bay Area served as the setting for the genesis of much of the gay rights movement, Los Gatos has a solid contingent of older, more conservative, residents, people from a variety of faith traditions and Republican voters
Carr, who recently announced a huge new tour, left nothing to the imagination when he sat down to chat with Love Island's Olivia Atwood. During an appearance on the podcast Olivia's House, Carr, joined by his close friend, comedian Lee Peart, shared an eye-opening insight into his wild side. Speaking about stamina and partying, Carr shared: "I've got good stamina. "I still feel young, so I went to (famous LGBTQ+-disco and house music event) Glitterbox... and that was a f*****g kick in the c**t."
Posting on his Instagram account last week, Rogers shared a video skit of his 2025 self "explaining the last 5 years" to his 2020 self. The eerily poignant video was overlaid with Sombr's viral hit "Back To Friends", with Rogers reflecting on his career in the video's caption. "Frankly I'd still do it all again... with some changes haha," he wrote. In the comment section, Rogers' fans remarked on his heartbreaking last video, with one writing: "This is such a sad final post."
When I got to the pool, I did have the "how do you sit in a lounge chair naked without looking or feeling like you're at the gynecologist" conversation with myself. But I soon squared that away by stretching my legs out along the length of the chair and crossing one over the other. I felt strangely comfortable. That feeling of not just calm but contentedness never left me while I was at the resort.
Having starred in previous gay holiday romcoms for Lifetime and Hallmark, husbands Taylor Frey and Kyle Dean Massey return with T he Holiday Exchange, which captures their version of the festive experience. The film charts Wilde (Frey) shaking up the holidays by swapping houses with Oliver (Rick Cosnett) which in turn leads them to meeting locals who turn their lives around.
A nondescript door on Kingsland Road opens up into a luxurious multi-room space, which designer Domhnall Nolan has filled with plush fabrics, soft lighting, mirrored fireplaces, leopard-print carpets, chequerboard floors and plaster busts. It pays homage to 20th century cabaret clubs whilst still remaining modern and fresh. In short, it's sexy.
While Yo La Tengo's guest-filled 2025 Hanukkah run was beginning its second night at Bowery Ballroom, another beloved holiday tradition was happening just under a mile north and west at NYU's Skirball Center. The Ally Coalition, Jack and Rachel Antonoff's LGBTQ equality nonprofit, held its 11th annual Talent Show, a holiday variety show benefitting the Ally Coalition's work aiding homeless and at-risk LGBTQ youth with an almost entirely surprise lineup.
The 1984 Wham! song "Last Christmas" has become a regular holiday favorite among listeners who like their Yuletide jingles with a touch of romantic heartbreak. But is Last Christmas a gay song? It depends on how you view its history and lyrics (especially since its music video is decidedly heterosexual). To answer the question "Is 'Last Christmas' a gay song?" we took a deeper look at its biographical, historical, and cultural contexts. In short, a lot of fans think Last Christmas can be interpreted as a gay or bisexual song, even though its lyrics aren't explicitly gay.
Talking about being raped by a man felt easier to talk about, though none of this is ever easy. It fits a narrative people recognize: men harm, women and queer people suffer. There's room for that story. There's language for it. There's sympathy for it. There are even movements for it. But when I say a woman in a queer relationship later assaulted me, the air changes. There's discomfort. There's silence. There's deflection, an unspoken disbelief that a woman could assault another woman.
For decades, libraries served as a safe haven for many queer and marginalized youths in eastern Texas, says former county library director Rhea Young. Unlike the school cafeteria, the library was a space where they could explore and find acceptance in who they wanted to be. There were books where they can find characters like them, and realize it's okay to be who they are, Young said. There needs to be more places like that, not fewer.
