Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 509 i GAY TIMES

I don’t have to remind you what a year 2020 has been. I think for many reasons, it is one that plenty of us are ready to leave behind. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected LGBTQ+ people. We know that. We are at a higher risk of suffering with mental health issues, our spaces have been closed down, and the most vulnerable in our community have felt the impact of lockdown the hardest. We shouldn’t forget that fact and continue to pull together to help each other in any way that we can. But this isn’t – and shouldn’t be - our only narrative as a community. This year we’ve seen LGBTQ+ people achieve remarkable things. We’ve seen queer joy, happiness and success. Queer people continue to cultivate community and…

Birthed from the ballroom community, Miss Shalae has been redefining what it means to be a trans performer. Michell's Michaels aka Miss Shalae is more commonly known as a Beyonce impersonator that took social media by strom with her viral videos and dance routines. GAY TIMES caught up with internet sensation to find out more about their act. When it first came to being a performer, Beyoncé wasn’t Miss Shalae’s first port of call, but it was something she gradually fell into. “I can’t say that initially I was inspired to become a Beyoncé Tribute Artist. It was something that just happened as a performer,” she tells GAY TIMES. “I continued to do what I love and the job title found me. I am moved by Beyonce’s passion, drive and…

The rising star paving the way as a bedroom pop phenomenon. It’s lockdown season again, so it couldn’t be anymore fitting to interview Arlo Parks exactly where most of her music is written — her bedroom. Dressed in a relaxed auburn hoodie and an oversized silver chain necklace, the 20-year-old beams at the news; she’s just found out she’s receiving the GAY TIMES Honour for Elevate Emerging Artist in Music. After having a breakthrough year, awards are no new feat for Arlo, but, still, she’s immensely grateful for the recognition. Firstly, thank you! In this time of chaos, the function of art and my role as an artist has been thrown up in the air,” Arlo replies. “It’s really quite grounding to have that kind of validation and to be…

The youth worker and activist spreading LGBTQ+ love through humanity and humility. Tanya Compas introduces herself as a youth worker, but she’s become much more than that. The 28-year-old has become a symbol of dynamic, powerful grassroot change; change that has been long overdue. Sat in a vibrantly queer North London studio, Tanya opens up to GAY TIMES about her frustrations with performative activism, the barriers Black LGBTQ+ people face, and how we can all champion minority voices. “I’ve worked in the charity sector with young people for the past seven years now. I’ve also been using social media to share things that bring me a greater understanding of life, sexuality, gender, and myself,” Tanya begins. “It was from working with young people that I really began to recognise myself.…

The Canadian pro soccer player on why trans representation is vital for the future of sports Sports has been a calling like no other for Quinn. With over 50 caps and a bronze Olympic medal to their name, the Canadian soccer player is on an unstoppable path. Now, reflecting on their achievements, the sporting hero wants to use their platform to shed some light on trans issues as well as the issues of accessibility in the sports realm. “I first got into soccer because my older siblings were starting to play in our local recreational league starting at age five,” they reminisce over a video call. “I would go to the games on weekends and I don’t know what sparked me, but I was so keen on playing soccer. I…

“I definitely thought my life was going to be different,” laughs Crystal Methyd. “Way different.” We’re speaking with America’s Next (Next) Drag Superstar over Zoom (the new normal!), while she quarantines in a Manchester hotel room for her headline UK tour, Wonderland. It’s her first solo venture since rising to fame on Drag Race season 12, where she earned a coveted spot in the top three with Jaida Essence Hall and Gigi Goode and transformed RuPaul into an unruly fangirl week after week with her El Debarge-esque mullet. 2020 has been utter crap, and we all know why, so we’ll avoid the spiel. However, seeing our favourite contestants lip-sync for their lives slash legacies and participate in wild challenges has been a major comfort in lockdown. Of course, we also…

In these blustery Winter days the smallest of pleasures is greatly needed. So add a touch of magic and charm to your technological best friend with the new CHAOS X THE DISNEY CLASSICS collection. Chaos designers Charlotte Stockdale and Katie Lyall were handed the Magic Kingdom keys to access the Walt Disney Archives, scanning through original sketches to select a perfect ensemble of 17 characters and personalities. Whether you’re feeling pretty in pink like The Aristocats’ Marie, want to take over Pride Rock like Simba, or you’re just a chaotic one like Stitch… there’s a case for you. Simply add your initials to create a truly custom and personal accessory that brings Disney Classic characters to life. As Walt Disney himself said: “Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and…

After four tense days of manicured nail biting, Joe Biden won the US presidency in early November. The mounting intensity of this election—which brought out more voters than ever before in the country’s history—finally broke into an avalanche of tear-inducing relief and celebration across the globe. Cars honked as masked Americans flooded the streets of Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New York, and the like, singing and dancing in disbelief. A traumatic year ended, finally, with a win. Biden’s triumph, as far as the LGBTQ+ community goes, means things can move forward again. With Trump, our rights were being stripped away. In order to understand what this result meant for queer people’s futures, we have to contextualize with a brief look at each candidate’s past. As far as being an ally, Trump…

The leader we have all been waiting for. Janaya Future Khan is the International Ambassador for Black Lives Matter, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Toronto and Program Director for Color of Change, a leading civil rights organisation in the US. Also known as ‘Future’, on hearing them speak you’ll know exactly why, for the name denotes a promise, a hope, a wish. Speaking with Janaya upon them being recognised with the GAY TIMES Honour for International Community Trailblazer was privilege. There are few people I hear speak with the same power, intention and resonance. Janaya is like a mind-altering drug that you’ll be forever grateful to for the permanent shift in your psyche that you’re about to experience. The leader that we have all been waiting for has arrived. I…

Shea the Drag Slayer. Has a nice ring to it, huh? It’s a worthy title, considering how she’s Buffy Summers-ed her way through 2020. When the time came to decide who we’d recognise with the GAY TIMES Honour for Drag Hero, which was previously awarded to Brazilian drag artist Pabllo Vittar, it was unanimous. Back in June, the Chicago-based performer and founder of the Maison Couleé dynasty made her long-awaited return to the ever-expanding Drag Race franchise after assassinating the season nine competition. Although she earned four challenge wins, a feat that was only matched at the time by Sharon Needles and Alaska, Shea narrowly lost out on the crown to her sister, Sasha Velour, following a rose-coloured lip-sync to Whitney Houston’s dance-rock classic, So Emotional. In subsequent years, fans…

As our cover star Shea Couleé once put it, this era of RuPaul’s Drag Race will forever be known as the “Melanin Dynasty”. Following the win of Jaida Essence Hall on season 12 and Shea’s long-awaited induction into the Hall of Fame, the first season of the franchise’s Canadian spin-off made history back in September with contestant - WHAT’S HER NAME?! - Priyanka. After ten weeks of stomping the runway, re-introducing Celine Dion’s dance-pop cover of I Drove All Night to audiences and failing to invoke the spirit of late TV psychic Miss Cleo, the performer - birth name Mark Suknanan - sashayed away with $100,000 in her bank account and two honorific titles to her name: Canada’s First Drag Superstar and Drag Race’s first ever Indo-Caribbean champion. Three queens…

Special thanks to The Office Group…

Heather Glazzard is a photographer originally from Halifax now based in London. Heather Glazzard’s work focuses on tender portraits of the LGBTQ+ community as well as self portraiture. We partnered with Heather and Nora to create a short film that document trans and non-binary experiences during 2020 adressing some of the challenges specifically facing our community. The film was created with the help of eight contributors who submitted their experiences and shot content that represented their experiences and identities. Our contributors were also interviewed by Heather and Nora. Poet, Mandla Rae, translated the messages from these interviews into a spoken word performance that accompanied the videos. Each contributor was also shot by Glazzard during lockdown. We would like to thank our contributors for sharing their stories with us including Heather…

We don’t have to remind you how much of a challenging year it’s been, but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue to recognise some of the best figures in LGBTQ+ activism and culture who have done remarkable things in the past 12 months. Last year’s GAY TIMES Honours was a show-stopping event in London, playing host to more than 1200 people. We had incredible performances from Pabllo Vittar, Honey Dijon, L Devine, ALMA and Vincint, as well as powerful and passionate speeches from some of our community’s most inspiring figures. We initially planned for this year’s event to be even bigger, but a global pandemic put a spanner firmly in those works. But 2020 has witnessed some remarkable moments for the LGBTQ+ community that deserve to be celebrated. Whether we’ve…

Pop icon. Committed ally. Disco queen. If you were to hop into a TARDIS and land in the space above a stylish restaurant called Bluebird on King’s Road in London in the spring of 1994, chances are you’d stumble upon a 26-year-old Kylie Minogue in a little Barbie t-shirt, smiling and winking at the camera. Behind the camera would be her good friend Katerina Jebb, who was living with her at the time. “Usually it was just her and I because we would easily get irritated with other people around,” Kylie reminisces. “Hair, make-up, even wigs if we knew there would be wigs, we would do it all ourselves. And, at a push, we’d rent one light!” Back then you’d have to wait a few more days yet to find…

Long before COVID-19 forced the world to lock down, Taimi were committed to creating and nurturing a safe and inclusive space for LGBTQ+ people online. What started out as a dating app for gay men has blossomed into a dating and social platform for all members of our community, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. It meant that when we were all faced with a global pandemic, Taimi was well placed to keeping LGBTQ+ connected during a time of quarantine and uncertainty. The importance of that cannot be underestimated – especially as LGBTQ+ venues face challenging times ahead. Communication and connection are key for our community, and being able to do so in a safe environment is crucial for the most vulnerable among us. That’s why for 2020 we…

When it comes to LGBTQ+ inclusion and representation in mainstream television shows here in the UK, not many people get close to what Russell T Davies has achieved. During a career that has spanned nearly 35 years in the industry, the writer and executive producer has challenged taboos around gay sex, dismantled damaging stereotypes, and embedded authentic queer experiences into his shows. Queer As Folk, Bob and Rose, Cucumber, Banana, A Very English Scandal and Years and Years are just a number of his dramas that put LGBTQ+ people at the centre of the storytelling. Not to mention that in his role of reimagining Doctor Who for a new generation – as well as creating its gritier spin-off Torchwood - he introduced LGBTQ+ characters into one of the world’s most…