PHOTOS: SMYAL for the New Year

RuPaul is heading out on the road!

Donald Trump's anti-transgender executive orders.Since beginning his second term, Trump has taken steps to unravel protections for transgender people, signing an executive order on his first day in office declaring that there are "only two genders, male and female."In another executive order, Trump said the United States would no longer "fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called 'transition' of a child from one sex to another" and would seek to cut off funding to Medicare, Medicaid and hospitals that provided or promoted such care. He has also barred transgender people from serving in the armed forces and transgender student-athletes from playing on teams corresponding with their gender identity.The orders from Trump have created a dilemma for states with a progressive agenda, like California, that have legislated to protect transgender identity.

Netflix‘s Orange Is The New Black, Laverne Cox is finally—finally!—getting the star vehicle she’s long deserved in Amazon Prime Video’s Clean Slate.In it, she plays Desiree, a New York City gallerist who, after a few bumps in the road, decides to head back to her quaint Alabama hometown and try to make things right with her well-meaning but long-estranged father, Harry (legendary comic George Wallace.)By design,Cox’s series has all the hallmarks of a classic TV sitcom, from the eclectic cast of supporting characters, to the charming theme song, right on down to the fact that it boasts the late, great Norman Lear among its executive producers.Subscribe to our newsletter for your front-row seat to all things entertainment with a sprinkle of everything else queer.And, like many of the iconic shows created by Lear over the decades—from All in The Family to Sanford And Son to The Jeffersons—Clean Slate uses the comforting familiarity of those sitcom trappings to subtly yet radically push the social conversation forward.Because, at a time when our administration is actively trying to erase trans and nonbinary people from the narrative, the very existence of a series like Clean Slate (on a global platform like Amazon, no less) is nothing short of a miracle.With that in mind, Cox’s new show aims to appeal to both queer audiences (who will surely relate to the way Desiree has to navigate a place that no longer feels like “home”) and the broader mainstream, hoping to change hearts and minds in the process. That it does so through humor and human connection—as opposed to force-feeding viewers “teachable moments”—makes it all the more effective.

French film director Christophe Ruggia has been found guilty of sexually assaulting Adèle Haenel while she worked on his 2002 film Les Diables (The Devils). The verdict was delivered on Monday, February 3, marking the conclusion of one of France’s first #MeToo cases.

Wicklow Pride has officially announced its highly anticipated festival for 2025. The event promises to include incredible performers, organisations, and proud LGBTQ+ community members and allies who will march through the streets, spreading messages of love, equality, and empowerment.

Yesterday (5 February), US President Trump signed yet another executive order targeting the trans community.

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Donald Trump on Wednesday, Feb. 4, signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.

IGRM marked its 50th anniversary as Ireland’s oldest LGBTQ+ civil rights organisation.Not unlike many of his peers, Clem’s activism was seeded by membership of the Sexual Liberation Movement, a pansexual advocacy group established in Trinity College in late 1973.1974 is considered a significant foundational year for Irish queers. Ireland’s first symposium on homosexuality drew hundreds to TCD, followed by the first public protest on ‘Irish Gay Pride Day’, June 27.