Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2024 i GAY TIMES

As an astrology queer, I’ve long wondered about GAY TIMES’ star sign. Now, I finally have an answer – she’s a Gemini, people! Our June issue celebrates GT’s 40th birthday and reflects on four decades of queer activism in the UK, all with a little help from some of our nearest and dearest. Opening the issue is a cover featuring a cast of LGBTQIA+ changemakers from the fields of sport, activism and entertainment. Lensed by Alec Maxwell, Rosie Jones, Munroe Bergdorf, Bimini, Black Peppa, Layton Williams, Lava La Rue, Molly McCann, Paris Lees and Jake Williamson appear together in a joyful, jubilant cover celebrating queer excellence – and the many forms it can take. Alongside the hero cover image featuring all the talents, Alec lensed individual portraits of our cast…

This year we’re celebrating a big queer media milestone – GAY TIMES’ 40th anniversary; a moment that spotlights our commitment to furthering the voices of the LGBTQIA+ community. Throughout our history, storytelling has been pivotal in our call for queer liberation, all while reflecting on the political and cultural gains we’ve made, together. And it’s within these moments we’ve found outspoken changemakers willing to lead new discussions and, at times, ask the hard questions. Here, we’re honouring the successes we’ve seen and paying tribute to the past – and the present – of queer resistance. So, what does it mean to be forty years deep into LGBTQIA+ progress? Well, for author and Munroe Bergdorf, it’s simple: to reflect and keep going. Bergdorf, a writer, a model and a former GAY…

Shocking time-related fact incoming: it’s been two years since Black Peppa sashayed into the Drag Race UK werkroom as one of 12 queens competing for the title of ‘UK’s Next Drag Superstar’, where she immediately obtained ‘frontrunner’ status by conquering the first mini and maxi-challenge. After exiting the series in joint third/fourth place, Peppa has rightfully been glorified as one of Britain’s most boundary-pushing drag artists with her hybrid aesthetic of glam/horror and compelling performance style. In October 2023, the “Caribbean Empress of Birmingham” memorably went viral when she roamed the London Underground in a “psychotic demon” ensemble to the discombobulation and – for the wussies out there – terror of innocent tube dwellers. So, Black Peppa x GT40 feels right. (All Stars/vs the World when?) It’s lovely to see…

One of the UK’s most visible queer comedians, Rosie Jones is beamed onto television screens up and down the country. In what’s still a bit of a boys’ club, she displays her femininity proudly: often wearing a bright red lip and voluminous, Molly Goddard-esque silhouettes. She’s bold with her humour, too and her wry, cheeky jokes – filled with unexpected punchlines – a refreshing break from a comedy world which can be as stale as it is pale and male. When she arrives on the GAY TIMES set – a hectic Friday where a tiny dressing room with a copiously overstacked clothes rail doubled up as a makeup station – she’s fresh-faced and radiating warmth. Slipping into a slinky latex number and pink tulle skirt, she transforms for the camera…

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“I make it up as I go along,” says Bimini, queen of career improv. Since her ‘gender-bending and cis-tem offending’ stint on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season two, where she placed runnerup, Bimini has become one of the most notable queer faces in Britain, releasing her best-selling memoir Release the Beast: A Drag Queen’s Guide to Life and acclaimed debut EP When the Party Ends, whilst dominating the covers of [insert any magazine title here, honestly]. As well as becoming a pop culture staple, Bimini has continued to use her platform to champion the LGBTQIA+ community; most notably when she condemned the Conservative Party on Glastonbury’s Greenpeace stage and at the BRIT Awards, where she passionately proclaimed “trans rights are human rights” to over 2.5 million viewers. “I’ve had a…

It is futile to “sleep” on Layton Williams. Futile! In the past year alone, the triple-threat entertainer has narrated I Kissed a Boy, the UK’s first-ever same-sex dating series, achieved the highest overall score of any contestant on the most recent season of Strictly Come Dancing, where he placed runner-up, and now is set to play “one of the most iconic queer characters in the West End”. Between 3 June and 21 September, Layton will take on the role of The Emcee at the Kit Kat Club’s production of Cabaret, a role that will continue to cement his classic brand of – in his words – “[being] a big fucking gay boy, basically”. “Everything is so gay, gay, gay – and I love it,” he tells GAY TIMES. “It’s all…

What does a perfect birthday celebration need, according to Molly McCann? “All my mates there, the best DJs and music and the best ale,” she smiles, impishly. “All the ale I can fit in my little mouth.” This mischievous quality is part of the reason why McCann has catapulted from MMA fighter to bonafide celebrity. At the time of writing, she has over 500,000 followers on Instagram, is breathlessly spoken about on MMA fan accounts, and will even star in a BBC reality TV show with close friend and fellow Mersey-side legend Paddy Pimblett. But despite a busy fighting schedule that’s taken her international, she remains a Scouser through-and-through – even launching an Italian kitchen and deli in her hometown’s Baltic Market in 2023. Born in Liverpool’s Norris Green, she…

In case you’ve somehow missed it, GAY TIMES is officially forty. As we look towards our next decade, we’ve called upon some of our fave artists to help us do so in style. Commissioned by Art Director Jack Rowe, creatives from France to the Philippines have radically transformed the GT masthead – teleporting our logo into a future-nostalgic animation, whimsical fashion illustration, strobing nightlife scene and more. Below, we go deep on these special 40th anniversary redesigns and speak directly to the queer artists behind them. Bora, France Currently based in France, multidisciplinary artist BORA (aka Pauline Canavesio) is known for an amorphous practice spanning music, poetry and – most relevant in this instance – 3D and digital design. The artist’s elaborate characters ooze and balloon in bubblegum pinks, deep…

Strolling onto the GAY TIMES set shortly after we finish setting up, Jake Williamson is our first talent of the day – strolling into the studio with an easy smile and a healthy glow. Contrary to the club rats and after-party fiends who make up the majority of the GAY TIMES staff, the influencer, personal trainer and HYROX champion looks like he’s stepped straight out of a multivitamins advert. However, things haven’t always been easy for Williamson. Despite excelling in sports from a very early age, he struggled due to the overwhelmingly heteronormative nature of the field. Despite playing semi-professional football from the age of 16, and signing to a Polish team after university, he ditched the beautiful game to pursue a career as a personal trainer. After he had…

As queer people, LGBTQIA+ milestones serve a notable purpose; they remind us of what has been and gone. Powerful queer stories, past and present, reaffirm our community’s strength and ability to advocate for change. This year, at GAY TIMES, we’re reflecting on our own historic touch point: 40 years of legacy media. As we continue to work towards creating an environment that champions all identities, it’s vital that we hear from them too. So, who better else to dive into the topics of queer resistance and authority than Lava La Rue? A self-described ‘funkadelic’ artist, the West Londoner’s music transcends boundaries, embodying a style that feels emblematic of their thoughts on LGBTQIA+ progress – a radical means to an end, one emboldened by queer creativity. On their upcoming debut album,…

Author, screenwriter and Nottingham icon Paris Lees is known for making an entrance. In her first-time memoir – What It Feels Like for a Girl – she recounts her challenging life experiences (strained relationships, being admitted to a young offenders institution, transitioning as a teen). Compelling and heartfelt, the industry immediately took notice. Here, on the GAY TIMES set, donning a bright red dress, her Hucknall-accented storytelling continues. Reflecting on the legacy of GAY TIMES magazine, she thinks back to her tumultuous coming-of-age years, noting she found respite in places she didn’t always expect: “I used to read GAY TIMES when I was in prison and it genuinely meant so much to me – I had a space”. Here, she would find solace in regularly reading copies of GAY TIMES,…

For the last few years, I’ve had a handful of questions lodged in my mind. What counts as queer history? Who is written out of these histories? Perhaps most importantly, why? These questions formed the basis of my new book, Shoulder to Shoulder. It’s a history of queer solidarity movements and coalitions from the 1960s onwards, a wild ride through the Vietnam War, the AIDS crisis, the never-ending fight for reproductive justice, and so much more. It’s also a passion project, which stemmed largely from frustration that the vital contributions of the global sex workers rights movement so often go unnoticed. For centuries, queer and sex working communities have been lumped together and targeted by moral puritans, who view us all as a scourge on respectable society. To conservative eyes,…