RJ Portales’ shirtless drive, Calvin Klein’s Pride collection, & a gay campground tour

In a massive step back for trans rights, FINA has placed new restrictions on transgender women competing in swimming competitions.

Advocates for allowing transgender women to compete in sports against biological women took a huge setback Sunday, at least in the world of elite swimming. FINA, the sport's world governing body, announced transgender women would not be allowed in major women's races, effective Monday.FINA is known as the international swimming federation that's recognized by the International Olympic Committee. FINA stated it's working to create an "open" category for some events for transgender who want to compete.The new policy didn't absolutely disqualify transgender women from participating in women's sports.

ABOVE: More of Zach Schanne, of Romeo & Bernadette.

US Football star Megan Rapinoe slammed conservative lawmakers over the numerous anti-trans bills sweeping the US.

UK students have opened up about the importance of School Diversity Week and Pride Month. 

Buckingham Palace will not release a report to the public on the investigation into claims that Meghan Markle «bullied» palace staff. According to a report from, Buckingham Palace will be “improving the policies and procedures” in its HR department following the investigation, however, more details into the case will not be released to the public. Citing royal sources, says the Palace is not releasing this information as a way to «limit tensions between the Sussexes and the palace» and «protect the privacy of those who took part» in the investigation.  reports that Buckingham Palace no longer plans to make any public statement on the inquiry, or even publicly acknowledge the subsequent changes to its HR policies. Originally, the announcement on HR changes was set to be published in the Sovereign Grant report later this month. The bullying investigation was launched in March 2021 following a report by  that was published just days before Meghan and Harry’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey was set to air. According to the report, Meghan faced a bullying complaint at Kensington Palace back in October 2018, claiming she «drove two personal assistants out of the household and was undermining the confidence of a third staff member.» A spokesperson for Meghan and Harry denied the allegation, calling it a «calculated smear campaign.»In June 2021, the then-highly anticipated report was delayed.

Claims that Meghan Markle bullied her Kensington Palace staff as a working Royal have been investigated and have reportedly led to changes to the monarchy’s “policies and procedures” to improve the institution’s treatment of staff.

Fire Island director Andrew Ahn said he fought for nudity in the hit LGBTQ+ film.

New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Andrew Giuliani won’t get a shot. But he wants television to give him a shot at convincing voters.

Views expressed in The Advocate’s opinion articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the views of The Advocate or our parent company.I am a Tulsa native and grew up on the west side of Tulsa. I spent some time away in Fort Smith, Ark., to take a break from my busy life back in 2017.

FINA, announced a ban on trans women athletes from competing in women’s events if they did not transition by 12.FINA’s policy starts Monday, according to a copy of the new regulation.Members at the body's congress in Budapest, Hungary voted with a little over 70 percent supporting the new policy after a presentation from medical and legal experts and two athletes Cate Campbell and Summer Sanders, who FINA said supported the regulation.The three groups had been collaborating to create the policy after the International Olympic Committee set out recommendations examining the “advantages” of trans athletes, according to the FINA. The IOC had discouraged the “reliance on testosterone” levels.“They’re not saying everyone should transition by age 11, that’s ridiculous.

Hillary Clinton is adamant she’s not running for president again. But that’s not stopping her from worrying about her fellow Democrats and their choice of hills to die on.

coming out as gay.The 52-year-old Olympic champion, who first realised she was gay aged 17, said she finally feels free after hiding her sexuality out of fear of persecution.She came out in a candid interview with the Sunday Mirror, in which she explained she ‘needed to do this now, for me’. ‘Sometimes I cry with relief,’ she told the publication.‘The moment this comes out, I’m essentially getting rid of that fear.’Dame Kelly, who has been branded an ‘inspiration’ for sharing her story, has been blown away by the reaction since and revealed her journey has been recorded in a documentary for ITV which is set to air next week.Taking to Instagram, she penned: ‘The support has been overwhelming- I actually don’t think I can take it all in and process it right now! ❤️ So here it is, the start of a new chapter in my long life book.’The sporting hero added that her late mother Pam would have been ‘so proud of my announcement’.

This is the impact keeping a secret has on your mental healthHow to juggle a full-time job and your side hustles without burning outCat who had ears removed due to skin cancer needs a homeThe biggest thing in my journey has been meeting people and learning from their experience. Taking time to sit and listen with an open mind.

FINA, the international swimming federation, has barred transgender women from competing if they have gone through male puberty. The new policy, announced Sunday by the federation, requires that transgender athletes wanting to compete in women’s competitions have either never gone through male puberty, or that they had it suppressed at the stage when physical changes begin to appear, or before the age of 12, whichever occurred later.

Buzz Lightyear failed to reach box office hyperspace over the weekend. But it was unclear why. “Lightyear,” the first Pixar movie to be released in theaters in more than two years, sold an estimated $51 million in tickets at 4,255 locations in the United States and Canada in its first three days in release, according to Comscore, which compiles box office data.

Pop superstar Kesha opened up about her sexuality in a heartwarming social media post.

Do not plan on ever seeing the results from the investigation into Meghan Markle’s alleged bullying!

Take Me Out, nearly broke the internet a few weeks back when photos leaked of the actor’s full-frontal nudity. But Williams isn’t the first, nor will be the last, to let it all hang out for the sake of art.Despite the production’s best efforts, which included sealing audience members’ phones in locked pouched, the rogue video went viral before it was snuffed out.

Jordaan Sanford Movies centered on queer and transgender characters are still few and far between. And when members of these marginalized communities do make it to the screen, their stories can be suffused with a dark and somber tone. But Nigerian film director and multimedia artist Gbenga Komolafe breaks free of those stifling conventions in his Indeed Rising Voices short “100% USDA Certified Organic Home-Made Tofu.” The film tells the whimsical tale of Nicki, a slightly bougie transgender woman living in Los Angeles who desperately needs money for breast augmentation surgery.

To the Editor: Re “Much Debate but Little Dialogue on Transgender Female Athletes” (front page, May 29): Efforts to exclude transgender people from sport are harmful to all women and girls. Athletes are more than bodies, hormones and sex assigned at birth. Proximity to coaches, facilities, and parents with money and time are most predictive of success.

five homoerotic music videos that were too hot for the censors to handle, then catch up on the latest from Gay TikTok:An enormous Pride dress made its debut.Comfy Daddy confirmed from the inside.TooTurntTony showed off his ducks.A hater tried to dominate bi Pride.Marco Medici taught some Italian.Utah Pride had some unwanted guestsFrancis Haugen woke up with style.Jose Sanchez begged for gay followers.Nicola Russell painted the oldest gay couple in history.And Alaska Airlines rained free flights for Pride.

LGBTQ+ rights advocates and allies have been so inundated with threats during Pride Month that they have been forced to cancel events and involve local law enforcement authorities after a group of white nationalists were arrested outside a Pride event in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho.

gay says he was brought to tears when his news was met by an 'eruption of applause' from 'proud' students. Colin Scott made his announcement to pupils during an assembly to mark the start of Pride Week at Risedale Secondary School in Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire.

(Image via Twitter)

Toy Story is based on, not the same character from the film.The kiss was reinstated in response, though Lightyear now won't be screened in the UAE due to the queer content.The network insisted that the kiss was edited due to rules around primetime slot content and would be aired unedited the next week at a later time. You showed the kiss between two women, you showed the kiss between a woman and a man, then removed the kiss between two men? This is a show about the power of inclusivity. The censorship of gay intimacy is making a harmful statement against that message.

Welcome to the Weekend Binge. Every week, we’ll suggest a binge-able title designed to keep you from getting too stir crazy. Check back throughout the weekend for even more gloriously queer entertainment.Father’s Day has arrived once again, giving members of the queer community (and beyond) a reason to scream “Yes, daddy.” Just in case you didn’t have one already…For our Weekend Binge this week, we therefore want to pay tribute to all the LGBTQ dads that have enchanted us on the silver screen.

***This review contains mild spoilers***Adapting a classic takes a lot of nerve. Not only to try to even come close to the greatness of the original, but to add something that makes it unique and necessary for the adaptation's to even be made in the first place. Luckily, Fire Island is not only a great adaptation, but a new LGBTQ+ film classic that beautifully translates queer culture to the screen, using its Pride and Prejudice roots to tell a masterful story about race, class, and love against all odds. Fire Island is the rare film that shows the best and worst of the queer community through a story told on queer terms.Fire Island is director Andrew Ahn’s third feature film, with the script by Joel Kim Booster also in his first starring role.

DC Comics announced a special Pride Month anthology, DC Pride ’22, which would feature a host of queer writers and artists crafting stories focused on the publisher’s roster of heroes who represent a wide swath of the LGBTQ spectrum.Among the storytellers was none other than actor Kevin Conroy, known to fans far and wide as the definitive voice of Bruce Wayne, having leant his talents to countless iterations of the Caped Crusader since he first donned the bat-eared cowl for Batman: The Animated Series in the ’90s.The announcement prompted many to ask: Wait, Batman is gay???Related: Twitter explodes after learning–yes–Batman is gayIn fact, he is—well, Conroy is, and he wasn’t exactly hiding it, either. The Dark Knight may lurk in the shadows, but the voice actor has been pretty forthcoming about his life as a gay man over the years, opening up in interviews about his experiences voicing the (canonically straight) superhero and living through the AIDS crisis.Conroy brings his personal journey to the comic pages in his moving DC Pride story, “Finding Batman,” which was illustrated and colored by J.

Hi Jake,I’m a proud member of the headless torso club. I value my privacy and don’t share face pics unless I really feel like a hookup might happen. Recently I connected with another member of the headless torso club. He has an incredible body–toned arms, great butt, with just the right amount of hair on his chest, and he’s the perfect, um, “size.” We’ve been chatting for about a month. The other day he finally asked about trading face pics. I told him I would if he shared one first. So, he did. And that’s when I found it… it was my co-worker’s husband.I’ve seen him a few times at different social functions–mostly at company holiday parties and once at a birthday dinner for a mutual friend. He’s a super nice guy in person, but he’s never mentioned being in a relationship online, and his profile says he’s single. So that’s weird. Also, my co-worker has never said anything about being in an open relationship, although that’s not exactly water cooler conversation.So now I’m conflicted. I never sent him my face pic in response, so he has no idea it’s me. I could just ghost him. But he’s SUPER hot and the chatting has been fun. I would definitely like to hook up with him, but I don’t want to do something stupid that could lead to an awkward work situation, especially if my co-worker doesn’t know he’s being cheated on. It’s a lot to process. What should I do?Sincerely,Hot Headless TorsoDear Hot Headless Torso,As the animatronic children scream over and over in one of Disneyland’s oldest rides, “It’s a small world after all.” And boy is that true! Especially in the gay world, where friends have hooked up with friends, you could run into your boss on the dance floor at a club, or an anonymous chest can suddenly turn into your

Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Pride flags on its campus after being told to take them down. Bishop Robert J McManus of the Diocese of Worcester said that the Nativity School of Worcester is ‘prohibited’ from branding itself as Catholic because the school supports movement ‘inconsistent with Catholic teaching.’ McManus noted that the LGBTQ flag contradicted the church’s teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman.

TV fans have seen some incredible coming out scenes in fictional shows such as Heartstopper and Brooklyn 99, but what about those who’ve come out as LGBTQ+ in real life on our screens? Four reality TV stars tell their stories to Metro.co.uk.Brian Dowling appeared on Big Brother back in 2001, just two days after his sister, Michelle, helped him come out as a gay man to his parents in Ireland when he was 22.Little did he know just how warm the embrace he would receive from the UK and Ireland as his authentic self would be, going on to win the second series of Big Brother and becoming a national sweetheart.After his stint on the series was such a success, he landed a job on SM:TV Live as the first openly gay kid’s TV presenter and in 2020, became part of the first all-male partnership on Dancing With The Stars in Ireland alongside Strictly Come Dancing professional Kai Widdrington. He recalls ringing his mum the day before going into the Big Brother House, hours after his sister told them about his sexuality. They thought he was ‘trying to be fashionable’.‘For me, I really found out who I was and I really came out to everyone, including my extended family, in the summer of 2001 on national television to so many people,’ he tells us.

On Saturday, June 11, “Jeopardy!” champ Amy Schneider threw out the first pitch at a San Francisco Giants game in celebration of Pride Day.

Grab the popcorn and someone beautiful, and get ready to stream…Director Patrik-Ian Polk (remember his name… it will pop up again) gave a young Jussie Smollett one of his best roles in this comedy/romance about a group of friends attending Pride. Just like every great Pride experience, said friends find themselves in some steamy situations, though the real love here is the camaraderie among the group.Director Barry Jenkins explores male identity and queer male love in this deeply moving tale of lifelong friends Kevin and Chiron.

As Pride season comes and goes, members of the LGBTQ community and its allies will see hundreds of differently colored flags. Each banner represents a specific kind of sexuality, some of which are lesser-known yet equally valid. People once viewed sexuality as a binary.

At this point everyone in America should know what Juneteenth is.But just in case, it is a celebration of the end of the enslavement of Black people in the Unites States. The last slaves were freed in Galveston Texas on June 19, 1865, ending the most divisive and destructive system our country has ever seen. We celebrate this day because it is vital that everyone understand the implication it has on society.  It is vital that everyone understand that when this atrocity ended it truly was only the beginning.

Fact: bisexuality can fly under the radar because folks who appreciate men and women sometimes find themselves in straight-presenting relationships. As a result, many bisexual people don’t feel the need to come out and speak their truths like other LGBTQ folks. While nobody is obligated to come out and proclaim their authentic selves, doing so helps with representation.

After going through the divorce and even dating another female for two years in my early forties, I knew what I knew back in kindergarten: I liked Susie but was also attracted to Billy (just didn’t know exactly what that meant). Only after going to my first gay bar and meeting another man did I realize that 'this is where I belong.' I stayed in the closet for another two years but when I finally came out to my kids, I realized the heavy burden I'd been carrying on my shoulders by not being honest with them or the people I love.

Pride & Prejudice, the basis for the hit new movie Fire Island, I was able to view the film with a virgin eye. While I’m sure Austen aficionados would say that nothing comes close to the original iterations on page or screen, Fire Island brings all the feels.Fire Island is an American romantic comedy film directed, written by, and starring Joel Kim Booster, as Noah, and supported in the storyline by his ex-boyfriend, best buddy Howie, played by Australian-born, Canadian-raised and now American-based, Bowen Yang.

coming out as gay at the age of 52 during Pride month with many expressing their pride in their role model.The two-time gold medal-winning Olympic champion feels like she is ‘finally free’ having shared her sexuality with the world after hiding it for 25 years.Dame Kelly realised she was gay at the age of 17 after kissing a fellow female soldier, and that her family and friends have known since 1997.‘I needed to do this now, for me,’ she stated. ‘It was my decision.

Pride month!Each June we celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and highlight issues faced by the community as well as triumphs overcoming them.Gender issues have come to the fore in a number of ways in recent times, and it’s important to understand what different terms mean in an effort to use them correctly. Unless you label yourself transgender or non-binary, it’s likely that you’d be considered cisgender – but just what does the word mean?According to the dictionary, the term cisgender means ‘denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex.’This means, for example, if someone was born a female and identifies as a woman, they would be cisgender.Some people prefer to use the term non-transgender or gender-normative.However, since both of these assume that being trans is not normal (rather than trans and cis being simply two different but neutral experiences), they can be problematic.The term cisgender has its roots in the Latin language.The word transgender comes from the Latin prefix trans, which loosely translates to ‘on the other side of’.

I couldn’t help but think that being gay could be an issue.I battled with my sexuality for many years, holding back who I really was. It wasn’t until I was 20 that I accepted: this is me.

coded gay subtext between troublemaking James Dean’s Jim Stark and Plato (played by Sal Mineo)?Mineo was one of the first Hollywood actors to publicly come out, and went on to suggest Plato as the first queer teenager on film.Managing to skirt the Hays Code through some subtle hints, it’s believed Plato’s longing glances at Jim and the fact he has a picture of Alan Ladd inside his locker were signs Plato was queer.Victim, 1961While the censorship and pearl-clutching was strong with this one at the time of its release in 1961, British director Basil Dearden’s noir thriller is regarded as one of the most important films focusing on the LGBTQ+ community, and held a mirror up to British homophobia.Dirk Bogarde portrayed closeted, gay lawyer Melville Farr, who’s blackmailed by threats of exposure, in what has been branded now as a vital queer text.While it’s not shocking to hear the word homosexual in a Hollywood film now, Victim was the first English-language film to use the word and has been credited with helping trigger the decriminalisation of sex between men in the Sexual Offenses Act in 1967.The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 1975This 1975 classic is widely considered to be part of the queer cultural canon for its depiction of sexual fluidity and gender transgression – with a whole load of camp. The Tim Curry-fronted romp, with Curry playing iconic pansexual, trans scientist Dr Frank-N-Furter, was a critical and commercial failure when it was first released, but was soon wholeheartedly taken in by a cult following amid late-night, costumed screenings, with the LGBTQ+ audience embracing its messages of sexual freedom. Plus, Rocky was literally created behind a rainbow.Making Love, 1982This 1982 romance is heralded as being

Calum Scott didn’t have the easiest time coming out to his group of friends, who he says showed a complete lack of support when he revealed he was gay. The former Britain’s Got Talent contestant has released his new album, Bridges, which promises to be his most honest body of work yet with insight into how Calum Scott dealt with his ‘lowest’ point while writing the album. Leading the record is the single Boys In The Street, a heart wrenching tale of a father who has struggled to accept his son’s sexuality right until his deathbed. Calum, 33, fortunately had an easier coming out experience with his parents, but he was able to relate to the song after dealing with the fallout of revealing his sexuality to his friends when he was younger. ‘I must admit my parents were pretty great with my coming out,’ Calum – who publicly came out as gay in 2016 – told Metro.co.uk. ‘I wrote a song called No Matter What from the first album that details when I told my mum and she said she loved me “no matter what” and it was this beautiful moment I had with her where I was finally able to get it off my chest. ‘Then I told my friends and was totally abandoned.

Openly gay comedian Jerrod Carmichael has called out Dave Chappelle and his anti-trans remarks. 

In the Brooklyn heights (Images by Russ Rowland)

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. It’s officially Pride month, and high-fashion brands have only gotten smarter about the ways they choose to incorporate LGBTQ activism into their clothing during the month of June.

deciding what Prides you’ll be traveling to this year, we rounded up five thirst-approved brands that will fashionably accentuate the gayest thing about you. 1. Dsquared2The best way to sell swimwear is to have the models take said swimwear off. Dsquared2’s “Viva Latino” 2022 beachwear campaign celebrates Latin culture in its best light: somewhere exotic under a shower.