Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2022 i GAY TIMES

Unity! Anarchy! Legacy! These are the words we settled on when discussing how the theme of this special issue should be presented. When I say we, I mean specifically the trans and non-binary members of the GAY TIMES team who discussed the importance of what these three words convey in our LGBTQ+ community today. It’s a community that in some ways feels fractured, lost and forgetful. Fractured because a transphobic agenda from a noisy and influential minority is spreading fear rather than fact. Lost because our focus on who and what we should be fighting for as part of a global Pride movement is being derailed. Forgetful because we are witnessing history repeat itself yet again, with anti-trans media coverage reminiscent of how lesbian, gay and bisexual people were regarded…

Histories of LGBTQ+ communities are continually being learned. Legacies, names and movements are unearthed as new understandings emerge from times that have passed. There is no LGBTQ+ without the T, ever. Trans voices, trans activism, and trans people have helped us build a foundation on which the queer movement has thrived. Yet, despite their decades of persistence and brilliance, trans communities are often relegated to contemporary moments. The Stonewall uprising has, unofficially, been pencilled in as the mythologised starting point of their heritage; a notably Westernised pinpoint, too. However, this isn’t the case. Trans communities and people have long existed before our modern timelines. Like many marginalised identities and communities, the history of the trans community is not preserved – whether this is in educational curricula or regular retellings of…

“I need to give [Velma Dinkley] justice because these new films, they're just not who the characters are!” Bailey J Mills tells GAY TIMES of the recent live-action adaptations of Scooby Doo (not the fan-favourite Sarah Michelle Gellar-led blockbusters, I vehemently stress this). The up-and-coming drag entertainer and TikTok sensation is having this extremely important conversation because of their instantly iconic tribute to the severely near-sighted orange-loving detective, which became one of the biggest viral breakout hits of 2021. In the inexplicably hilarious video, a big-breasted Bailey - sporting an incredibly high skirt (forcing her black knickers on show) - reenacts Velma’s signature scene(s) from the legendary cartoon where she just can’t seem to find her glasses; complete with some violent titty wiggles to Simple Plan’s pop-punk recording of the…

LANVIN X DC COMICS Starting price £220 Batman and his Batmobile crash into Lanvin HQ to project luxe sparkles and shine to an assortment of accessories and apparel. Chic comic book illustrations are tattooed onto an assortment of tees, denim and dresses. Whilst leather goods are given feline energy with Catwoman, and the famous brooding detective, being painted on covetable cardholders and handbags. Satin shirts are given an edgy asymmetrical cut, whilst the draped dresses scream Gotham City nightlife. So get on board for this dark ride, as Creative Director Bruno Sialelli is here to interject superpower vibes into your summer wardrobe. APEX by Roja Parfums 100ml, £265 £265 rojaparfums.com It’s time to unleash the powerful creature within you. APEX is the latest fragrance from Roja Parfums that encourages you…

Our understanding of queerness, at times, can seem relegated to a Western context. Much of the mainstream LGBTQ+ media we consume will adopt queer neologisms and regularly use vocabulary (e.g. labels, acronyms, and titles) that have been shaped around the English language. But, what happens when we layer our understanding of the queer community with existing global cultures and their rich histories? In this feature, we will explore various cultural terms, their relationship with gender, and what they mean. There are notably dozens of cultural categorisations of gender, particularly labels that fall outside of a traditional male and female binary. Many of the examples listed in this feature will examine the notion of an additional “third” gender or an “other” identity. However, a common criticism angled towards Western media is…

London’s rich queer history is dotted throughout the capital’s geography. From Gay’s The Word in King’s Cross to The Champion Pub in Notting Hill, queer spaces have thrived for decades alongside London’s thrumming LGBTQ+ community. To celebrate these queer landmarks, two creators from our TikTok collective, GT133, explored some of them by photographing and modelling clothes from historic queer eras. First up was the Freud Café on Shaftesbury Avenue. Serving cocktails since 1986, the Freud was part of a project to recreate a secret queer bar from the 1930s that became a refuge for queer people when homosexuality was illegal. “I wasn’t aware of all of these spaces and the ties to queer history they hold until I was researching them and so it was great to visit them, and…

The LGBTQ+ community is its most brilliant when we recognise how important it is that we are a community of thousands upon thousands of memories. Memories of pain, of joy, of excellence, of silliness. All of our experiences can be catalogued together to create us. A group of people who share a common experience. For the trans community, our ability to experience joy has transformed into not just an experience we may have, but something to be cherished and held on to for as long as we can. Often temporary. Hypervigilant at every turn, whether it be from within our community or externally, we are existing in a state of fight or flight. This issue, UNITY! ANARCHY! LEGACY! is a time stamp on where we are now. A historical moment…