Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2021 i GAY TIMES

GAY TIMES Honours is back! After our digital-only event last year, we are thrilled to be returning to Magazine London in 2021 for a night of celebration. Coming together to recognise incredible people and organisations who have had a profound impact on the LGBTQ+ community is much-needed, and we couldn’t be happier to have once again made the event free to attend with a donation to our philanthropic initiative Amplifund. For this very special Honours issue we’ll be shining a spotlight on this year’s winners from across the world of activism, music, drag, sport, fashion, television and allyship. We also have some insightful cover stories with a trio of our Honourees. Each of the conversations touch upon the current climate for our trans siblings in the UK; one that is…

GAY TIMES Honour for British Community Trailblazer presented by Sensodyne Munroe Bergdorf doesn’t fall for cultural ventriloquism. If anything, the British activist can spot pseudo-political ideas a mile out, especially ones that don’t serve the trans community. It’s midweek and the model is decked out in glam as she cordially reels off an affectionate response about her community: “Everything I do comes back to my community. Whether that’s women, trans people, or Black people, my community has always empowered me during times I felt unsure about myself.” Between impassioned sentences, Munroe breaks into a smile taking the time to introduce her hairless pet cat, Gigi, before slipping back into her message. “As a marginalized person in this country, we grow up in a culture that we are told is not…

GAY TIMES Honour for International Excellence in Music presented by Taimi “Id on’t block haters,” Lil Nas X tweeted recently. “I would never deprive you of seeing me win.” When it comes to social media, there really isn’t any other global superstar doing it half as good as LNX. Recent activity includes footage of him in labour giving birth to his debut album MONTERO, a budding friendship with Sesame Street icon Elmo, and the breakdown of his romantic relationship with the planet’s most famous green ogre, Shrek. Fans really came together to help him through that last one. Lil Nas X leads a new generation of stars who are confident being open about who they are and having monumental success in the process. When the American singer-songwriter first broke through…

Abril Zamora is the Catalan actress, director and screenwriter who has cultivated an extensive career in theatre, film and television. Co-creator of Spanish TV series Dangerous Moms and also part of the script team of Netflix’s hit teen drama Elite, her latest project sees her play the role of Dafne in new HBO Max series Dafne And The Rest. It’s her most ambitious creative endeavour to date in which she flexes all of her facets as a creator of fiction: she writes, directs and stars in its eight episodes. In 2020, she starred alongside Sophia Loren in the Italian film The Life Ahead and also participated in the series The Mess You Leave Behind, both available on Netflix. Zamora became known to the public through her character Luna Garrido in…

GAY TIMES Honour for Outstanding Impact presented by SKITTLES® The Tokyo 2020 Games were encased in trepidation. News of the unfolding event zoned in on Japan’s Covid crisis, public protests, and the safety of the world’s greatest athletes. Labelled the most expensive Games, millions were poured into the rescheduling of this momentous 16-day period. Competitors from across the globe lined up, understanding the risk, for the opportunity to represent their country. However, as the Olympic Games unfurled, fears were assuaged, as a new, brighter focus fell into the spotlight: Team LGBTQ+. Team LGBTQ+, a sporting category dedicated to queer Olympic and Paralympic athletes, has had an incredible run, bringing home over 50 medals in total – 25 of which have come from Paralympians. This impressive performance leaves Team LGBTQ+ in…

GAY TIMES Honour for Drag Hero “I'm an absolute diva now,” says Bimini. “On a photoshoot, I'll get them to go out and buy me peanuts “I'm and I won't even eat them.” We can attest to this, the peanuts were not devoured on-set and we, the pwess, were mincing around East London trying to locate the right flavour. Sweet chilli coated peanuts, to be precise. Very hard to find. This was a joke, not a fact, just FYI. Bimini was not the diva they speak of, all they requested during the seven-hour shoot was some nibbles from Tesco’s and for Brooke Candy’s Sexorcism to be played on full blast while they exhibited a tremendous amount of brute strength by lifting a stepladder with one hand. The latter elicited a…

The Future Fighter Honour showcases the brilliance, compassion and strength of those working within the LGBTQ+ community, to make the lives of those around them richer and safer. This year, this Honour goes to an individual who works with enthusiasm, strength, pride and humility to create a safe space for trans people. Through their work as a Head of Youth Services at Gendered Intelligence, they have provided hundreds of young people with the opportunity and ability to explore their authentic selves in a way they may have never experienced before. A self confessed ‘reluctant activist’, their position as Co-Director of Colours Of Youth was born out of a need for more QTIPOC representation, inclusion and engagement in youth services. The group was born out of the lack of representation and…

GAY TIMES Honour for British Excellence in Music presented by Gorillas Rina Sawayama has upheld her rising legacy as a self-made icon. From her genre-blending musical landscape to her presence in the modelling world, the Elton John-approved artist has continuously proved to be an evolving talent that has landed her universal acclaim and praise for her work. It was in 2017 when Rina’s self-titled EP was unveiled. The eccentric mini-album was a testament to emerging sound; a slick R&B-inspired collection of tracks glazed with a fine-tuned statement pop sound. The compact eight-track compilation snagged the attention of artists, media, and audiences everywhere. Projecting an image of what the future of pop would look like, the singer’s pioneering breakthrough occurred with the explorative queer anthem Cherry. The twinkling sickly sweet single…

GAY TIMES Honour for Allyship presented by Instagram “I think the more that I learn about my allyship and what I can be doing and how I should be doing those things, the more passionate I've become in using my voice and using it in the right way,” says one-third of the world’s biggest girl group, Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall. The LGBTQ+ community favours our pop girls as natural advocates for the queer cause, but Jade can count herself as one of very few who takes that mantle and embodies it in everything she does. From marching with UK Black Pride and working with LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall, to platforming queer performers in Little Mix music videos and becoming the unofficial brand ambassador for RuPaul’s Drag Race, Jade has proven herself…