‘Secret City,’ an Epic Narrative History of the Closet in the Capitol

Gray history (Images via head shot & IG)

Here’s a little new millennium nostalgia for your day. Remember the 2002 movie Scooby-Doo? You know the one that put those meddling kids into a live action camp fest that perfectly cast the characters Velma (Linda Cardellini), Fred (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Shaggy (Matthew Lillard), and the voice of Scooby-Doo (Neil Fanning)? Yea, that one.While the film itself received negative reviews, it was a box office success that has garnered a cult following throughout the years.

Governor Ron DeSantis announced this week that registration for the Florida Python Challenge has opened.Florida's annual python-catching event is gearing up for 2022. Governor Ron DeSantis announced this week that registration for the Florida Python Challenge has opened.

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, Pride Media.If you asked us to think of a timeless sentence, an evergreen sentiment that would be relevant no matter what period of history it was said in, we might offer, “It’s a really tough time to be in the LGBTQ civil rights movement.”It was a tough time in the ’70s, during Anita Bryant’s antigay “Save Our Children” crusade.It was a tough time in the ’80s, when President Reagan’s loudest comment on the AIDS epidemic was silence.It was a tough time in the ’90s, when media coverage of the murder of Brandon Teena widely misgendered him and he was buried with a headstone reading “sister, daughter, friend.” It was tough in the 2000s, when we saw an avalanche of constitutional and statutory bans on marriage equality. It was tough even in the 2010s, despite what seemed like a cascade of legal and legislative victories, including the defeat of North Carolina’s anti-transgender “bathroom bill” — as the murder epidemic of transgender women, especially trans women of color, grew more and more dire.And now, half a century out from “Save Our Children,” here we are again. This year alone, there have been hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in state legislatures, of which 117 are explicitly anti-transgender.It’s always been a tough time.

It’s been a bit of a tense week. Homophobes are sending Pride decor up in flames, storming drag queen storytime events, and planning to take over queer events by the Uhaul-full. That’s why, for this week’s bop round-up, we’re going to cool things down a bit.

A post shared by ADAM LAMBERT (@adamlambert) At a time when Pride can sometimes feel a little sanitized and corporate-friendly, Adam Lambert has posted a short and sweet message to his fans and followers to remind them where his preferences lie.“I like dick,” he said at the start of the Pride Month video posted to Instagram.Appearing to answer queries from fans, he then responds to someone asking, “Are you gay?”“Where have you been?” responds the singer. “I’m really gay.

An original player in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), the inspiration for the film “A League of Their Own,” provided a truly heartwarming moment at the 2022 Tribeca Festival.

“Asking for help is the most important thing you can do.” Micah Scott is the Chief Executive Officer of Minus18, an organisation that supports LGBTQ young people in Australia through preventative mental health support, education, advocacy and leadership development. Scott grew up near Victoria’s Dandenong Mountains and moved to Melbourne when he was 20 years old. He found life in Dandenong rather isolating: “I was the only gay kid that I knew… I’m not aware of anyone in my social circles from back then who is queer themself,” he said. These days, when not working, Scott enjoys spending time with his friends, his partner, his chosen family.

Manuel Betancourt The title of Rose Troche’s film, “My Fake Boyfriend,” may be clunky, but it captures the outrageous premise of this latest gay romantic comedy. When stuntman Andrew (Keiynan Lonsdale, of “Love, Simon” fame) is stuck in a toxic relationship with a self-absorbed narcissist, his best friend Jake and his girlfriend Kelly (Dylan Sprouse and Sarah Hyland) decide the only way to break the cycle is with a white lie: the creation of a new (fake!) online boyfriend.

Harry Styles mania is reaching a fever pitch this year. In addition to his well-reviewed new album and its inescapable single, the former One Direction member is out to prove he’s more than just a global pop star.

Controversy sparked in North Carolina this week as a photographer was made by government order to remove his innocuous photo of two men kissing at a Pride parade from a museum exhibit.The picture from photojournalist Grant Baldwin features now-husbands Justin Colasacco and Bren Hipp sharing a kiss after Colasacco had proposed at Charlotte Pride in 2019.Wholesome enough, right?  A post shared by Grant Baldwin (@cltphotojourno)Wrong!Baldwin was forced to take down his photograph by order of Gaston County Manager Kim Eagle, who cited “differing viewpoints in the community.”Related: Psychotic school board official has homophobic meltdown while resisting arrest and OMG you guysA further statement from a Gaston County spokesperson specified that “the museum is government-funded, and as such, it is important for the items it shares to be informational without championing political issues.”You know, the political issue of gay people doing gay things in a gay space.President of Charlotte Pride Clark Simon told local news, “It is a feeling of disappointment in the county in which I live to take a section of the population and deem them not appropriate to all of the people attending the museum.”A twist of the knife to it all is that the exhibit has been open since May, but for some reason, Eagle waited until the very middle of Pride month to order the photo pulled.Here are a few of the reactions online:Queer people existing isn’t political. Someone cc Gaston County Manager Kim Eagle.

be investigated for child abuse.“Gregory, Gregory, Gregory,” Porter says in one video. “It’s hard enough with you being an intolerable, soulless, and empty shell of a human being.

Gemma Collins has announced that she's taken on a new position of becoming her nephew's "showbiz manager".The 41 year old, who became a household name following her stint on ITV's The Only Way is Essex, often includes her brother's son Hayden Collins in many of her social media posts.And now it looks like Gemma wants to make sure she carves out a place in the spotlight for him too.Jumping onto her Instagram story, Gemma posted a photo of herself with her arm over Hayden's shoulder.Wearing large sunglasses she captioned the snap: "I am Hayden's showbiz manager any brands modelling agencies collabs movie directors email mark@tm-media.co.uk.The GC has often shared just how talented Hayden is and provides fans with glimpses of him dancing on her social media platform.But although Hayden seems to relish the spotlight, Gemma also has another nephew that is rarely seen online.In April, Gemma left fans stunned when she showcased her nephew Caine who joined her backstage on her The GC's Big Night Out tour.Sharing a short clip on her Instagram story, Gemma told her fans: "I've got a very VIP guest tonight, my eldest nephew Caine, that you don't get to see very much."She then panned the camera around so spectators could see Caine who gave a thumbs up.Gemma then added: "He's so grown up, but he's a bit shy so he's not on the Gram much, but I am so happy he is here."Last month, blonde bombshell Gemma shut down any rumours of her potentially joining an all-star version of ITV's I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!Sharing her insight on the show, Gemma said she wouldn't take part in the programme again.Speaking to The Sun she said: "I haven’t heard about it."I just don’t feel that I need to go to extremes anymore on TV for people’s

Lightyear, complaining about “lesbian toys” in the movie. On a recent episode of his podcast The Verdict, the Texas Republican decried the inclusion of “lesbian toys” in the Toy Story spin-off.Related: Chris Evans says it’s “great” that Pixar is keeping Lightyear’s same-sex kiss as 14 countries ban itNoting that the film has already been banned from 14 countries and may also be banned from theaters in China, Cruz said: “It’s a wild twist where Hollywood has been willing to grovel to China, to let China censor its movies, to embrace anti-Americanism, to avoid any criticism of China because they want to get access to the Chinese movie market, but when it comes to their culture agenda, apparently now suddenly they’ve discovered, ‘Alright, give up the money because lesbian toys are more important.’”Sen Ted Cruz complains about "lesbian toys" in the Buzz Lightyear movie: "Most toys are, kinda, androgynous.

If you tuned into the Thursday’s January 6 committee hearing then you already know it was basically a Mike Pence masturbation fest. The ex-VP was praised by Republicans and Democrats alike for not giving in to Donald Trump‘s demands to overturn the 2020 election.“Thanks in part to Mike Pence, our democracy withstood Donald Trump’s scheme and the violence of January 6,” said Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chairs the committee.“Vice President Pence understood his oath of office was more important than his loyalty to President Trump.

Find a treasure at the Team Clover Yard Sale today and tomorrow

@VickieforNYC, we need you to acknowledge this is wrong & tell others to stop also. pic.twitter.com/pXxhY59COqThough he did mention Paladino by name in a clip of his speech he shared on Twitter, he tagged the councilwoman directly in the caption, saying that she used the term "grooming" repeatedly to "describe my community.""@VickieforNYC, we need you to acknowledge this is wrong & tell others to stop also," he wrote.Planned drag queen story events across the U.S.

Forty-plus years into his acting career, Tom Hanks is still going strong. He’s onscreen next as Colonel Tom Parker in Baz Luhrmann‘s “Elvis” as Presley’s manager, and after that, he’s in Marc Forster‘s “A Man Called Otto” and Wes Anderson‘s latest, “Asteroid City.” READ MORE: Tom Hanks Teases Shelved Dean Martin Biopic Directed By Martin Scorsese But in a recent interview with The New York Times Magazine, Hanks didn’t talk about his upcoming roles.

, everyone was accepting. Still, when I thought about giving wrestling a shot, I believed that a sport often associated with macho men may not accept someone like me.  And when I expressed my interest in wrestling to people, there were some mixed perceptions from ex-work colleagues, or people I socialised with.

Massachusetts Catholic school can no longer call itself Catholic after a local bishop declared that its Pride and Black Lives Matter flags were incongruent with church teachings.In April, Bishop Robert McManus issued a statement opposing Nativity School of Worcester's display of Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ Pride flags.  By doing so, he expected the school to comply and remove the flags, but administrators have refused.Now, McManus has forbidden the school from identifying as Catholic.On Thursday, the Diocese of Worcester posted a decree about Nativity School on its website."The Nativity School of Worcester is prohibited from this time forward from identifying itself as a ‘Catholic’ school and may no longer use the title ‘Catholic’ to describe itself," McManus declared.In an open letter published in May, he claimed that "These symbols (flags) embody specific agendas or ideologies (that) contradict Catholic social and moral teaching." His issue with the school's Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ Pride flags is that they send a message of support."It is my contention that the 'Gay Pride' flag represents support of gay marriage and actively living a LGBTQ+ lifestyle," McManus notes.While seemingly invalidating the social justice movement, he explains his opposition to the Black Lives Matter flags.

Another one, thank you!Disney showed off a few clips from their upcoming Strange World movie at the Annecy International Film Festival this week and among them was a clip featuring a character who is being hailed as “the first LGBTQIA+ Teen character from Disney animation.”Diversity win!Strange World’ has the first LGBTQIA+ Teen character from Disney animation, Ethan!

Junior Andre’s debut single has gone all the way to the top of the charts just hours following its release.The 17 year old son of Peter Andre and Katie Price has just released his debut song, Slide, which shot to the top of the UK iTunes Pop chart hours after its release at midnight on Thursday, beating iconic artists Lady Gaga and Harry Styles.The star excitedly shared screenshots to Instagram as his new track climbed the charts, at one point settling on number four on the national all-genre charts. "Thank you to all those who have supported," Junior wrote, adding: "You guys are mad can we get this to the top?" Get exclusive celebrity stories and fabulous photoshoots straight to your inbox with OK!'s daily newsletter.

My Fake Boyfriend is an adorable romantic comedy that follows the story of Andrew, an aspiring stunt coordinator whose best friend uses social media to create a fake boyfriend to make Andrew's terrible ex jealous! But, like in all great rom-coms, things soon go awry after Andrew thinks he may have met the real love of his life, and discovers that breaking up with a boyfriend, even a fake boyfriend, can be tough to do. You might recognize some of My Fake Boyfriend's fantastic cast, which features Keiynan Lonsdale from Love, Simon and The Flash, Dylan Sprouse of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody fame, and Sarah Hyland from Modern Family! Keiynan plays the unlucky-in-love Andrew, while Sprouse plays Andrew's best friend and graphic designer extraordinaire Jake! Jake pitches the idea of creating a "Fake Boyfriend" for Andrew on social media, and uses his graphic design skills to help create "Cristiano," the fake boyfriend in question, and make him look both insanely attractive and madly in love with Andrew. Hyland, meanwhile plays Kelly, another of Andrew's friends and Jake's longtime girlfriend!Lonsdale, Sprouse, and Hyland all have some truly amazing best friend chemistry together on screen, and for the record, I'd like to make it clear I'd love to be a part of this friend group, IRL, please.

Love can be confounding. It can be surprising and elusive; there’s no guidebook. That’s one reason why we devour romantic comedies: They’re funny but neat stories about how people get together, a process that’s terrifyingly vulnerable in real life. For Keiynan Lonsdale, best known for playing romantic lead Bram in 2018’s tender high-school romance Love, Simon, the genre has been professionally but also personally significant.

Last weekend, droves of people descended on a 15-acre park in northeast Los Angeles for an afternoon of picnicking, mingling, cheering on drag performances and a puppy costume competition, and more. Known as Dyke Day LA, this annual Pride gathering takes a homespun approach to a month typically packed with corporate-sponsored parties, parades and concerts; one organizer estimated the crowd at about 1,500. Since its first iteration in 2007, it has gone from a scrappy Eastside alternative to the spectacle of West Hollywood’s Pride celebrations to an essential — if unofficial — event on the city’s Pride calendar, open to “dykes of all genders.” (According to the organizers, that means everyone but cisgender men.) The name asserts that a term once widely taken as a misogynistic and homophobic slur can be seen as a positive, liberating label.

Sister Helen Holy is back and bringing friends with her. Join us as Helen Holy and her secular friends serve up a night of laughter benefiting Legacy Cares.

Good Luck To You, Leo Grande is a mouthful in more ways than one.The great Emma Thompson stars as Nancy Stokes, a 55-year-old widow who hires a sex worker, Leo Grande, so that she can enjoy a night of exploration and pleasure. A bit out of practice and insecure—she says she’s never had an orgasm—Nancy even prepares a to-do list for her time with Leo (“Number one: I perform oral sex on you,” the list goes on).True to his last name, Grande has a lot to offer Nancy.

Dead By Daylight recently outed its first-ever playable gay character, David King, bringing some badly needed gay representation to the game’s large (and largely male) fan base.King is a hunky, English brawler and former rugby player who earns money in the underground fighting circuit. His quick-healing abilities and confrontational combat style differentiate him from the other characters being stalked by The Huntress and Dead by Daylight’s other monstrous slashers.But King is just one of several sexy out video game characters to grace the small screen.

The ‘Godfather of Gay’, Tonie Walsh is back with his unmissable Lavender Walk, Dublin’s original LGBTQ+ history tour. Don’t miss the opportunity to experience Ireland’s rich queer history at some of the sites where seminal events took place and the country’s queer community was born. As founder of the Irish Queer Archive and co-founder of […]

Fyodor Dostoevsky once said, “A society should be judged not by how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its criminals.” Now, Matt Gaetz appears to be taking those wise words to heart.This week, Gaetz revealed that, should Republicans take control of the House in November, he plans to launch an investigation into jail conditions, particularly of people being held on charges related to the deadly January 6 insurrection.“In the minority, we’re very limited in the tools we have to compel responses from the Department of Justice,” he told reporters. “If we’re in the majority, I do believe the Judiciary Committee is the appropriate place to use compulsory tools to get those responses.”Related: Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene team up to be extra horrible togetherGaetz, along with several GOP lawmakers, including some who sit on the House Judiciary Committee, says he’s concerned that accused insurrectionists are being subjected to harsh jail conditions as they await their trials.We’re sure his sudden worry for the wellbeing of American inmates has everything to do with compassion for his fellow man and absolutely nothing to do with that pesky ongoing federal investigation into his alleged sexual relationship with a high schooler.Related: Matt Gaetz’s future looking “not good” after latest development, says former federal prosecutorSpeaking of that investigation, this week Time magazine reported that Gaetz keeps a handwritten note from ex-president Trump encouraging him to “keep fighting” on display in his office:On the wall of the cramped congressional-office-turned-podcast studio, there’s a black-and-white poster for S.J.

As everyone already knows, Pride month is the best time of the year with a smorgasbord of LGBTQ+ events happening around Ireland. There is so much to do that it is almost impossible to keep track of all the different things happening. So, to help you find some hidden gems that are taking place this […]

The sustainable Irish urban clothing brand, Human Collective, is offering two lucky GCN readers the chance to win one of their stylish limited-edition Pride t-shirts. Available in black and white, the design sees the Pride flag sitting where fashionistas would usually find the brand’s signature equals sign logo. The design is sleek and modern, and […]

The post Exclusive: Calum Scott says Bridges is his ‘most vulnerable but also confident’ work yet appeared first on GAY TIMES.

A screaming Refiloe Malope was shoved into the boot of a car (Photo: SAPS)

“Wildhood” opens in Los Angeles June 17 and on Hulu June 24.

Arya Stark was queer until her sex scene with Gendry in the final season. Arya was among the few characters to survive Game of Thrones, and before she fled Winterfell for new adventures, she lost her virginity to Gendry (Joe Dempsie). Three years on from the divisive finale, Maisie has revealed she was taken aback by the moment Arya slept with Gendry when they were reunited after several years. ‘The first time that I was surprised by Arya I guess was probably in the final series where she whips off her clothes and sleeps with Gendry,’ she chuckled.‘I thought that Arya was queer, you know? So… yeah. That was a surprise.’Back in 2019 after the episode aired, Maisie admitted she thought the scene was a joke due to creators David Benioff and D.B.

ABOVE: He'll sign his dick pics ... under the table!

Texas Republicans have been targeting transgender folks in the Lone Star State for years, especially since 2015 when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the Obergefell ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. It’s like, since they lost on marriage, the right-wingers decided to target the most vulnerable in our community.

GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), which submitted the complaint on King’s behalf.“I’m thrilled to see this positive outcome,” King said in a news release. “I believe the new policies will keep others from experiencing mistreatment and will help people understand that transgender people are only seeking to be treated with dignity and respect like anyone else.”The complaint is the first known discrimination complaint by a trans elder against such a facility, according to GLAD.A staff attorney with the organization, Chris Erchull, said, “The model transgender nondiscrimination policy and public statement embracing transgender residents set a clear example for how such facilities can and should operate with respect to transgender older adults.”The settlement does not create a binding legal precedent, NBC News reports.

Dublin Pride terminated its media partnership with RTÉ on the eve of Tuesday, June 14, after the Radio 1 Liveline programme was accused of airing “unacceptable, triggering and extremely harmful anti-trans ‘discussions’”. Representatives from Dublin Pride sat down with GCN for an exclusive interview on the matter, ahead of the annual parade next weekend. Adding […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JUNE 17, 2022 CONTACT: Cathy Renna, Communications Director, National LGBTQ Task Force, 917-757-6123 NATIONAL LGBTQ TASK FORCE STATEMENT ON BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S PRIDE MONTH EXECUTIVE ORDER Washington, DC……Yesterday, along with LGBTQI+ families, advocates, elected officials, and leaders, the National LGBTQ Task Force attended the White House LGBTQ Pride Month event hosted by President and Dr. Biden.

A Vermont father was arrested and charged with harassment in New Hampshire on Tuesday after allegedly threatening his daughter's school. The man said if his daughter were exposed to transgender students or drag queens he would commit a mass shooting, according to authorities. A judge has now granted an extreme risk protection order, barring the man from purchasing or possessing dangerous weapons for at least six months.Shane Gobeil, 36, of Canaan, Vt., was shopping in a grocery store in neighboring New Hampshire on Monday when he threatened The Canaan Schools — a campus that shares both an elementary and high school — to two students in the store, according to a police affidavit obtained by The New Hampshire Union Leader.The affidavit states that during a conversation about dress codes with the teens, which video cameras recorded, Gobeil says, "The school's changing.

The Boys in The Band, as a guest on the "HFPA In Conversation" podcast, Parsons shared, "This was a blind date set up by two friends of ours, one that was very close to me, Tammy who I went to grad school with, and [Spiewak’s] boss. They happened to be friends. This sounds so whatever, but they each had a gay friend who was looking for somebody to go on dates with.

Singaporean journalist Gina Chua has decades of experience under her belt, helping stories come to fruition in publications like the Wall Street Journal and the South China Morning Post. In recent years, she has come to finally tell her own authentic story.Today, Chua stands as one of the most senior journalists in the world to openly and proudly identify as transgender.  A post shared by Gina Chua (@gina_chua_nyc)She made headlines early last year when she was promoted to Executive Editor at Reuters, one of the world’s largest news agencies–of which she found herself virtually second-in-command.

Grindr, the social networking app, sent a pop-up message about the risk of monkeypox to millions of European and American users. A sex party organizer in New York asked invitees to check themselves for lesions before showing up. And the organizers of the city’s main Pride celebrations posted a monkeypox notice Sunday on their Instagram account.

London.The UK’s first Pride March, in 1972, took place just a few miles away between Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square.The march is depicted among the photographs within the Queer Britain museum, along with other key moments spanning the UK’s LGBTQ+ history.The museum’s contents are tightly interwoven with its staff.Front of House manager Stephanie Stevens initially joined Queer Britain as a volunteer, desperate to get ‘involved in any way’.She told Metro.co.uk: ‘As a trans woman, queer identifying, this was so important to me, I wanted to get involved in any way.‘Having an entire space dedicated to LGBTQ+ history is just amazing.‘It’s so normal to have to be grateful to be in the background of some other space, hidden away in a back room.‘To have our own museum is long overdue, it’s something we’ve needed for a long time.‘We’re slap-bang in the middle of London, standing shoulder to shoulder with huge institutions.’The aptly named ‘Welcome to Queer Britain’ display is the inagural exhibition for the museum.Lasting until July and spread over several rooms, it features key images from throughout the history of UK’s battle for LGBTQ+ rights.Rickshaw rider charged £180 for three minutes - and now he's got a £1,000 fineWhat I Rent: Oriana, £2,000 a month for a one-bedroom flat in Canning Town, LondonChef sacked for not washing hands after being caught 'kissing and fondling' waiterSection 28, the law which prohibited the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ by councils, introduced by the Thatcher Government in 1988, is featured.However images of more joyful occasions, such as the legalisation of equal marriage in England, Wales and Scotland – and later Northern Ireland – are also depicted.The exhibit also features key figures such as

Adele Roberts and her girlfriend Kate Holderness have been lighting up our lives with their love for one another.BBC Radio 1 DJ Adele and actress Kate have been each other’s rocks through thick and thin, with the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star recently declaring she’s ‘going to have to marry’ her partner for being an ‘absolute angel’ throughout her bowel cancer journey.The pair have been in a long-term relationship for several years and are stronger and closer than ever.So today, Adele and Kate are both taking on the role of Metro.co.uk’s very own LGBTQ+ agony aunts, and they’re here to provide advice on a sticky wedding situation.Dear Adele and Kate, My partner and I have recently got engaged. While we’re super excited about wedding plans and tying the knot, some of my older family members are still disapproving of my relationship. I really want them to be there to celebrate my special day and for them to be involved (e.g. I want my dad to walk me down the aisle). However, at the moment, they don’t want to come to the wedding at all. How do I talk them around?Kate: Firstly, congratulations on your engagement! We’re so excited for you! I’m really sorry to hear that some members of your family might be choosing not to share your special day with you.

ABOVE: Legend.