15 Amazing And Powerful LGBTQ+ Memoirs

GEMMA Collins showed off her figure as she proudly posed by the pool on her family holiday. The 41-year-old looked amazing in a strapless orange swimsuit as she defiantly told her followers: “This is ME, #bodybeautiful.” Gemma, who is an advocate for  body confidence, continued: “It’s very important how you speak to your subconscious about yourself #iambodybeautiful #thisisme.” The reality star also shared a clip of herself strutting her stuff by the pool as the empowering song This Is Me song from The Greatest Showman played.

LGBTQ+ community are more likely to have problems with drinking and experience major barriers to accessing alcohol services, a new study has found. Glasgow Caledonian University researchers called for diversity training in alcohol services and services tailored for the community.Experts called the findings "concerning" after two main themes emerged.Firstly, respondents said drinking played a central role in the community, and second, the difficulty accessing treatment and support.

 Hayes has been away from the musical spotlight for years now but is roaring back to our consciousness with a flurry of activity, including a successful promotional visit of Australia, a banging headline set to a sold-out crowd of 40,000 at the 2022 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade and announcement of his 2023 Australian tour, where he’ll be performing in six Australian cities between January and February next year.“More of a mini-film than a video – come spend seven minutes in heaven with me and my gang in our fictional CLUB U WISH!”, Hayes posted on social media.The music video, totally conceptualised by Hayes, couldn’t be described better than how the press release did it: “Hayes continues to present a version of his past that is clearly a peach tinted re-imagining of his actual life. Timelines blur with the neon and pastel of the 1980’s sitting comfortably next to a Dandy-esque 60’s presentation of the singer portraying himself having a blast.”The single is inspired by the “late 80’s drum-machine, synth-bass heavy R&B pop that influenced his youth” Savage Garden fans will know that Hayes had previously alluded to his first kiss in the 1999 song Chained To You.“Acting like a mover shaker dancin’ to Madonna then you kissed me,” Hayes sang on Savage Garden‘s sophmore record.In 2022, he re-visits the moment, but this time it is an out and proud Hayes re-telling the story and its queer elements.“After so many years of being placed in a neat and tidy package, it’s nice to remember why I got into this business in the first place: to be an artist.

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is one of Winterson’s most famous books, in which she retells her life through myths and stories, and it is a touching adventure to read while reflecting on the many shades in which everyone experiences their existence. Oranges are not, in fact, the only fruit, just as there isn’t only one way of life. Get it from Bookshop or your local bookstore via Indiebound here.Bernardine Evaristo didn’t win the Booker Prize for Fiction with this book for no reason. Girl, Woman, Other is a hymn to identity, its intersections, and women.

Democratic Party has pulled an annual fundraising event scheduled to be held at Walt Disney World following the controversy over Disney's response to the state's controversial "Don't Say Gay" bill.Hours after the party's LGBTQ+ caucus said it would skip the event in protest, the party chair issued a statement declaring their intent to reschedule and move the event, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The legislation has led to protests and walkouts among Disney employees who have voiced their frustration over the company's slow response in condemning the bill.Stephen Gaskill, head of the party's LGBTQ+ caucus, called the fact that the annual "Leadership Blue" event was still scheduled to take place during Pride Month in June "tone deaf," and urged the party to "read the room" and either cancel or move the event, the Times reported."Our timing was not ideal.

Ocean Colour Scene frontman Simon Fowler has opened up about being outed as gay by the tabloids in the 1990s.Speaking in a new interview for NME’s Does Rock ‘N’ Roll Kill Braincells?! when asked about The Sun revealing his sexuality in 1998, Fowler said: “I don’t think it was a big deal. It was noticeable that our third album [1997’s] ‘Marchin’ Already’ went to Number One and knocked Oasis’ ‘Be Here Now’ off the top spot – which is when Noel Gallagher sent us a plaque: ‘Congratulations to the second greatest band in the world’.“But the album didn’t end up selling anywhere near as much as its predecessor, ‘Moseley Shoals’, overall.

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Dustin Hice must pay Don Lemon $77,000 in attorneys fees. In an 18-page-long ruling, U.S.

Law could give me a trash bag and I'd thank him.No one asked, but I ordered rhinestoned fishnet gloves for this weekend — so yeah, I will be stealing this Instagram caption.

Cassie Randolph learned 'the same way that everyone else did' that her ex Colton Underwood had come out as gay.Cassie, 26, who dated Colton for over a year after meeting on The Bachelor, revealed she learned the news after coming across his Good Morning America interview on social media.'I found out the same way that everyone else did. I was actually in Mexico on vacation with friends, which was great — great to be away,' she said during an appearance on Kaitlyn Bristowe's podcast Off The Vine. 'But yeah, I found out through Snapchat on Good Morning America.

Lily Collins is the queen of Netflix. The actress visited The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and discussed all of her Netflix projects, including her new film “Windfall” and the super successful second season of “Emily in Paris.” She also talked about her wedding and how shooting in Paris streets made her schedule weekly visits to the podiatrist.Emily in Paris: Lily Collins celebrates renewal of season 3 and 4Lily Collins pays emotional tribute to dad Phil Collins on his 71st birthday: ‘I’m forever grateful’A post shared by Lily Collins (@lilyjcollins)Lily Collins and Charlie McDowell got married in September of last year. The two have a movie together coming out called “Windfall,” where Collins stars and McDowell directs.

Cassie Randolph is opening up about Colton Underwood. The 26-year-old “Bachelor” alum appeared on the latest episode of Kaitlyn Bristowe‘s “Off the Vine” podcast, and told the host how she found out that her ex was gay.

Being outed can be a traumatic event for LGBTQ individuals, and it’s especially bad when personal details become water cooler chatter in the workplace. One Reddit user revealed in the r/gay forum earlier this month that he was “beyond pissed off” because a coworker outed him to a new employee that day.“He was showing the new person around, introducing them to everyone, and when they got to me, he told them my name and added, ‘I don’t know if it matters to you or not, but he’s gay,’” this user wrote.He went on: “It is my choice and your choice who you come out to. No one, [not] even family, has the right to out you without your permission.

Like so many others, I recently sat down to watch the new Pixar movie, "Turning Red." For those who may not be aware of the film, it is a coming-of-age movie about Meilin "Mei" Lee, a 13-year-old Chinese Canadian girl growing up in Toronto in 2002. The movie blends fantastical elements into the mix, with Lee transforming into a giant red panda whenever her emotions rise.The story also gives a pretty accurate portrayal of a young teen's life and crushes, and while not entirely a metaphor for menstruation, it does treat the topic with an honesty not seen in a lot of animated fare, let alone one with the Disney name attached.Yes, that Disney, the one recently, rightfully criticized for its toothless, ham-fisted response to Florida's House Bill 1557, aka the "Don't Say Gay" bill, currently awaiting the signature of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R).

first reported the new steps to ease the process for Ukrainian refugees.The administration hasn’t yet given a number for how many refugees would be brought into the U.S. under the new actions.

Andrew Shaffer, interim co-executive director of the GLBT Historical Society, introduced the new virtual tour of the Lyon-Martin House in San Francisco's Noe Valley to a small group of invited guests March 22. Late lesbian pioneers Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin lived at the home for decades. It's where they held social events with the Daughters of Bilitis, the early lesbian group they co-founded, as well as many other gatherings.

This is the final 50 years in 50 weeks of the News section looking back at the Bay Area Reporter's half-century of covering the LGBTQ community. The Arts section's finale commemorates the paper's historic 50th anniversary issue of April 1, 2021 and the News section is highlighting the paper's June 3 issue that marks 40 years of the AIDS epidemic.

Following weeks of back-and-forth discussions between a gay San Francisco man and the organizers of a support group for people living with HIV over the age of 50, he has decided against rejoining the group after being subjected to what he said were humiliating and shaming comments from other group members, as well as a facilitator.Michael Misenti, 67, signed up to participate in a support group sponsored by Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital's Ward 86, the hospital's HIV care and research center, in 2021. The group is a part of Ward 86's This text will be the linkGolden Compass Program>, which was designed specifically for people living with HIV over the age of 50.

The San Francisco Redistricting Task Force is facing criticism for a preliminary map that divides supervisorial District 8, home to the Castro, Noe Valley, Duboce Triangle, Dolores Heights, Corona Heights, and other neighborhoods.The task force convened a meeting March 18 specifically to take public comment on Districts 8 and 9, which includes the Mission, Bernal Heights, and Portola. More than 100 people addressed the body, with most critical of the proposed boundaries for the two supervisor districts.

He may be the underdog in the race for the vacant 17th Assembly District seat, but former supervisor David Campos knows what it's like to fight for causes he believes in. In this case, he's fighting for not only the LGBTQ community — Campos is a gay Latino man — but for all of his would-be constituents in what has become in these closing weeks a slugfest between him and his opponent, District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney. We wish that wasn't happening, but negative attacks work, research has found, and candidates can't seem to help themselves.During last month's primary, Campos and Haney were the top two finishers, resulting in their square off in the special general election April 19.

The San Francisco Arts Commission has welcomed a lesbian Iranian woman to the panel after Mayor London Breed swore her in earlier this month.Mahsa Hakimi, who also identifies as queer, is an attorney who founded Hakimi Law in 2003 in San Francisco. She specializes in intellectual property issues and protecting the creative talent and business interests of artists and entrepreneurs, a news release from the mayor's office stated.

Whether when he lived in San Francisco or after moving to New York City, Martin Greenberg could always rely on strangers he encountered on the street to help him navigate either city. As a deaf, legally blind gay man, he would carry a written out message asking people for help, for instance, crossing the street.But when COVID-19 emerged in early 2020, and New York City went into lockdown, Greenberg found it near impossible to leave his East Village apartment. If he did, he would often be the only person out on the streets of Manhattan, with no one to provide him assistance.

While longtime San Franciscans tend to loathe large capital infrastructure projects, there is one project that neighborhood groups and neighbors agree on that deserves public support: the long-awaited reimagining of Harvey Milk Plaza and the Castro Muni station, at Castro and Market streets.As president of the Eureka Valley Neighborhood Association since 2020, an involved Castro resident since 2013, and a former board member of the GLBT Historical Society, I've gotten to watch and participate as the Harvey Milk Plaza redesign project began in its infancy and has now progressed to a fully formed, ready-to-go plan. The Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza organization has engaged in a robust multi-year community engagement program that has unequivocally obtained and incorporated numerous layers of feedback from a wide swath of community stakeholders.

Almost two years to the day when then-named Lyon-Martin Health Services announced a massive potential cut in its services, the 43-year-old clinic for women and transgender people is striking back out on its own with a new name, severing a seven-year relationship with a statewide chain of medical centers.Merged in 2015 with HealthRIGHT 360, a network of medical and substance-abuse counseling clinics that now has branches in 13 Bay Area and Southern California counties, Lyon-Martin leaders had hoped the merger would ease its ongoing financial instability. In 2011, just four years before the merger, the clinic was nearly shut down after its board announced the organization was nearly $1 million in debt.

Persistence has paid off for transgender nurse Veronika Fimbres, as the Green Party member has qualified to appear on the June 7 primary ballot as a candidate for California insurance commissioner. She is the first known transgender statewide office seeker to make it onto a general election ballot in California, as well as the first person living with HIV to do so.Twice before she had attempted to qualify as a candidate, first in the 2018 gubernatorial race.

Last month, when Mayor Eric Adams’s decision to hire three people with histories of homophobic views and statements was met with outrage from members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community, he agreed to meet to hear their grievances. Some attendees described the meeting as productive, but Mr.

Matt Lucas has been known to push the envelope with his hilarious sketches and on-screen personas since he first started his career in the mid-90s.The talented writer and actor quickly became well-known for his comedy roles and his depiction of outlandish scenarios that fans grew to love.But it was his televised version of his show Little Britain that catapulted him to fame when it first hit TV screens in 2003.Appearing alongside fellow comedian and writer David Walliams, the two men offered viewers several laughs as they impersonated various characters.However, the controversial show hasn't sat well with modern audiences and since the programme is no longer televised Matt has been forced to apologise for several allegations relating to Little Britain and other shows.Daily Star has taken a look inside his most controversial momentsAlthough Little Britain was one of the nation's most loved comedy shows, it hasn't aged too well with modern audiences.In 2017, Matt was forced to apologise to the trans community after many believed that Little Britain did not reflect them well.Talking openly to The Big Issue at the time, he expressed: "If I could go back and do Little Britain again, I wouldn’t make those jokes about transvestites."He added: "Society has moved on a lot since then, and my own views have evolved.

Horizons Foundation has released its latest slate of grants through its community issues program, which supports grassroots LGBTQ organizations in the Bay Area. The 31 grantee partners are receiving over $400,000 for their innovative work and most focus on groups that are traditionally underfunded and underserved.In a news release, Francisco O.

Angelica Ross called on President Joe Biden and his administration to do more to “protect” America’s LGBTQ+ community.

At 8:40 p.m., with about 50 percent of the ballots cast in Texas’ Republican Primary counted, and 52 percent counted in the state’s Democratic Primary tallied, the New York Times is predicting that November’s general election race for governor will see Democrat Beto O’Rourke challenging Republican incumbent Greg Abbott for the state’s top office.

A group of Russian soldiers went AWOL in Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiyv, and hid is a basement used as a community room by the LGBTQ community.

Agencies in Texas that serve trans children and youth say that they will keep providing services in spite of a letter from Governor Greg Abbott ordering state agencies to investigate gender-affirming care on minors as child abuse.On February 22, Abbott — a Republican who is running for reelection — sent a letter to Jaime Masters, commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, calling on the agency to "conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of any reported instances of these abusive procedures in the state of Texas." The letter followed an opinion issued the previous week by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), in which he equated treatment for trans kids with child abuse, going so far as to suggest that children whose parents approve such procedures are victims of Munchausen Syndrome by proxy, where "an alleged perpetrator ... attempts to gain medical procedures and issues for [their] child for secondary gain for themselves..."Paxton, too, is running for reelection.The opinion was a response to inquiries from state Representative Matt Krause (R-Fort Worth) in which he asked, "whether the performance of certain medical and chemical procedures on children — several of which have the effect of sterilization — constitute child abuse."Krause, who is running for Tarrant County district attorney, is notoriously anti-LGBTQ and has authored previous attempts to legalize discrimination against LGBTQ Texans in the past.

This winter, for the third time in my life, I began learning how to do something I was sure I’d mastered 60 years ago: how to walk. I have photographic evidence of the first go-round: my shy, dignified father, drenched in 1950s suburban sunshine, trying to show a 1-year-old me the ropes. Forty years later, when I came out as trans, I got a different tutorial on how I was supposed to walk.

This winter, for the third time in my life, I began learning how to do something I was sure I’d mastered 60 years ago: how to walk. I have photographic evidence of the first go-round: my shy, dignified father, drenched in 1950s suburban sunshine, trying to show a 1-year-old me the ropes. Forty years later, when I came out as trans, I got a different tutorial on how I was supposed to walk.

NEW DELHI – Police threats, slurs and even violence are all part of LGBTQ+ life in India, but a new rule could ease the onslaught in one southern state as it becomes a “pioneer” for sexual minorities.The government of Tamil Nadu recently changed state conduct rules, telling its police officers to stop harassing LGBTQ+ Indians, on the orders of a high court judge.

Police threats, slurs and even violence are all part of LGBTQ+ life in India, but a new rule could ease the onslaught in one southern state as it becomes a “pioneer” for sexual minorities.

From left, Chris Wallace, Coalition for Aging LGBT; Shelly Skeen, Lambda Legal; Gary Snachez, North Texas LGBT Chamber of Commerce; Rafael McDonnell, Resource Center and Dr. John Carlo, Prism Health North Texas. (David Taffet/Dallas Voice)

Star Trek Discovery features several LGBTQ characters

Steve Bannon, former advisor to ex-President Donald Trump, said Americans should support "anti-woke" Russian President Vladimir Putin because of Putin's long history of anti-LGBTQ politics.Bannon praised Putin several hours before the Russian leader launched an invasion of Ukraine. His commendation followed accolades for Putin from Trump and other conservatives."Putin ain't woke.

San Francisco Police Chief William Scott is hopeful legislation that decriminalizes loitering for adults with the intent to engage in sex work becomes law this year. While it passed out of the California Legislature in 2021, the bill has yet to be sent to Governor Gavin Newsom for him to either sign or veto.Gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) authored the controversial legislation, Senate Bill 357.

By the time you read this column, Florida's House of Representatives may have already voted on House Bill 1557/Senate Bill 1834. The legislation is officially called the Parental Rights in Education bill, but you might better know it as the "Don't Say Gay" bill.Taking more than a few pages from the same organizers that brought the Briggs initiative to California in the 1970s (the failed ballot measure to ban LGBTQs from teaching in public schools), the bill would bar teachers from discussing LGBTQ issues or people in schools.

GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics has announced its Dorian Award nominations for the best in movies.  Netflix and Neon dominate the nominations this year.

Pride and Prejudice has been the basis for a lot of great works since in its lifetime, but Andrew Ahn’s Fire Island just might make Jane Austen’s masterpiece into a modern queer classic. Saturday Night Live alum Bowen Yang and Joel Kim Booster (who also wrote the film) will star as the leads along with Matt Rogers, Margaret Cho, Conrad Ricamora, and James Scully.The film will premiere on Hulu sometime this year.Bros made headlines when it was announced that it would be the first major studio film made by an all queer cast, and then some more headlines when it was announced they'd be playing straight people.Billy Eichner will lead and write the comedy alongside love interest Luke Macfarlane, along with Bowen Yang, Ts Madison, and Guillermo Diaz.The film is scheduled to be release on Aug. 22.Tig Notaro and their wife Stephanie Allynne will make their directorial debut with a dramedy about two best friends trying to figure out their future.Dakota Johnson and Sonoya Mizuno lead a stacked queer cast as friends trying to make sense of their romantic feelings toward each other.The film will release later this year.Colman Domingo will star as gay civil rights leader Bayard Rustin from director George C.

Netflix, just months after he made controversial remarks about the transgender community in his last special for the platform.The specials will mark Chappelle's return to the streaming giant just four months after his previous Netflix show, The Closer, generated a string of backlash after Chappelle made references to the transgender community that some people said were offensive.Chappelle, 48, announced Friday that he would be executive producing the series of specials, while also serving as host of the programs. The specials will be produced as part of the comedian's Chappelle's Home Team standup series done in conjunction with Netflix, and each will star a different comic hand-picked by Chappelle.The first of these four specials will be available to stream starting February 28, Chappelle said.

The national teacher shortage has not spared San Francisco, which is seeing extreme difficulty filling teaching positions. "Hard to fill" subject areas, including math, face greater challenges still.

lawsuit on Tuesday for parents of two Wentzville school district students to prevent the removal of books about LGBTQ+ people, people of color, and other marginalized groups.It comes after the school district removed eight books from the students’ school’s library. Those included The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison; Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic Paperback by Alison Bechdel; All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M.

sarcasm alert*), South Dakota’s GOP Governor, Kristi Noem was asked at a press conference yesterday about the mental health challenges facing LGBTQ people.The press conference comes a week after Noem signed a law banning young trans athletes from competing in sports aligning with their gender identity.Related: Kristi Noem had a very crappy weekend“There’s a statistic circulating around right now that says 90% of South Dakota’s LGBTQ community is diagnosed with either anxiety or depression,” says a reporter.“Mmmm,” responds Noem, nodding her head.“Why do you think that is?” asks the reporter.“I don’t know,” she shoots back. “That makes me sad and we should figure it out,” she continues impassionately, before nodding a bit more and then looking around for another question.Gov.

GLAAD’s annual “Where We Are on TV” report was released Thursday, analyzing the overall diversity of primetime scripted TV series regulars on broadcast networks and assesses the number of regular and recurring LGBTQ characters on primetime scripted cable programming and original scripted streaming series.

Ethan Shanfeld LGBTQ+ representation on broadcast television reached an all-time high during the 2021-2022 season, according to GLAAD’s annual Where We Are on TV report.According to the media advocacy organization, 11.9% of series regular characters this programming season are LGBTQ+, an increase of 2.8% from last year and a record-high in television history. This year’s study found that of the 775 series regular characters who have appeared or will appear on scripted programming between May 2021 and June 2022, 92 characters are LGBTQ+.