“Snowflake”—a new fictional film dramatizes modern day political divides in the LGBTQ community. BY ORLY LYONNE “Snowflake,” a new film that evokes the sense of panic half of America experienced in 2016 when the presidential election was called for Donald Trump, began streaming on Vimeo this month, the ten-year anniversary of the historic overturn of…
LADY RED COUTURE Members of the West Hollywood community and the Greater Los Angeles area are mourning the loss of Lady Red Couture, a trans activists, trans drag performer and the co-hostess of the gay talk show Hey Qween, reports WeHoTimes. Lady Red (also known as Mother Couture) passed away last month from complications related…
A newly reopened and extended exhibition at the Barbican in London through Aug. 23—“Masculinities: Liberation Through Photography”—features over 300 works by more than 50 international photographers, artists and filmmakers exploring how masculinity has been coded, performed, and socially constructed from the 1960s to the present day. The exhibition will travel to Berlin’s Martin-Gropius-Bau from October until January…
An interview with Philip Yaeger, the Executive Director & CEO of the largest provider of LGBTQ+ healthcare in Orange County. BY MARK ARIEL Radiant Health Centers (RHC) in Orange County offers a full range of social services to clients who require assistance with the most basic of needs such as food, housing and transportation. They…
Honoring Marilyn Monroe Cazares and transgender lives everywhere. The “I Am Marilyn” march and vigil was held at the beginning of the month in honor and remembrance of 22-year-old Brawley, CA resident, Marilyn Monroe Cazares. The vigil honored Marilyn’s life, and transgender lives everywhere, by showcasing transgender voices and bringing awareness to the ongoing violence…
WEST HOLLYWOOD LA PRIDE IS LEAVING WEST HOLLYWOOD Christopher Street West (CSW) the non-profit organization that produces and organizes the LA Pride parade and festival in the City of West Hollywood sent a letter of intent to move the LA Pride events out of the City of West Hollywood. The CSW Board of Directors cites…
THE COST OF BEING QUEER AND ARAB Remembering Sarah Hegazi Sarah Hegazi raised a rainbow flag at a concert in Egypt. The Egyptian government imprisoned and tortured Ms. Hegazi for her perceived sexual orientation. Last month, two years after seeking asylum in Canada, Ms. Hegazi took her own life—leaving behind this note: “To my siblings:…
“So we’re down to our last three months, everyone. I know that Biden has a good lead and I’m happy about it of course. But at this stage, Biden could be ahead by twenty points and I’d still be nervous…” SAME OLD, SAME OLD I just read my last column to make sure I don’t…
Sober No Matter What We checked in with these three clean and sober individuals with different lengths of recovery time to see how they continue to maintain their sobriety as the pandemic continues to shut down in-person recovery meetings and fellowship. BY PAULO MURILLO A MIRACLE Some people might think that it’s made things more…
THE POWER OF OTHERING We are all truly at the tipping point of losing our fundamental constitutional freedoms. BY SULLIVAN LEWIS Let’s get straight to the (tipping) point. Black Americans are disproportionately targeted by our justice system, stripping us of our constitutional rights. People of color are negatively affected by socioeconomic factors resulting in fewer…
Kiki Xtravaganza on drawing inspiration from gender-bending performance artists, the ballroom and voguing scene and finding a support network BY VICTOR MELAMED | PHOTO BY DUSTI CUNNINGHAM Kiki Xtravaganza is an icon in LA nightlife. As with other club fixtures and performance artists, however, her history is shrouded in a fair degree of mystery. Behind…
Newly married trans activist Luckie Alexander on the “All Black Lives Matter” march, racial injustice and providing a platform for transmen to be their own story tellers. BY MARK ARIEL | PHOTO BY DUSTI CUNNINGHAM “I was 8 years old when I found out I wasn’t like my little brothers,” reveals trans activist Luckie Alexander in…
Lauran Winnett on making it in Hollywood, the thick clouds of nepotism and blurring the lines between rigid gender categorizations BY MARK ARIEL | PHOTO BY DUSTI CUNNINGHAM Lauran Winnett (aka PuzziNiggrr) stumbled onto the Los Angeles Drag Scene in the Spring of 2014. She’s an actress, vocalist, songwriter and storyteller who has been fortunate…
Australian born songwriter and pop artist Yanni Burton’s new single focuses on moving on from past relationships BY VICTOR MELAMED Yanni Burton turns the spotlight on his own struggles of letting go and moving on from past relationships in his new single and music video, A Part of Me. “I have a history of getting lost…
Los Angeles LGBT Center celebrates Supreme Court landmark decision to protect LGBT employees BY ORLY LYONNE In response to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decision last month in three employment discrimination cases that employees cannot be fired because of sexual orientation and gender identity, the Los Angeles LGBT Center issued the following…
How Little Things Got Us Here “Everyday I leave my house there’s a realization that today could be the day some local cop takes their insecurities and lack of training out on me. Making me the honoree of America’s next big protests and riots.” BY SULLIVAN LEWIS You want to know the most ridiculous thing…
WEST HOLLYWOOD COMMUNITY MOURNS DEATH OF ENTERTAINER AND HIV ADVOCATE IRENE SODERBERG The West Hollywood community is mourning the loss of entertainer, HIV Advocate, Fairy Godmother of Fundraising, and WeHo resident, Irene Soderberg, who passed away last month. Soderberg has been entertaining for over 30 years. Wherever there was a piano in West Hollywood, she…
More Naturally “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” —Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013.…
How Did That Happen?! I would have bet a magnum of vintage Krug that we would lose our Title VII GLBT workplace discrimination cases in the Supreme Court last month, and I’ve rarely been so happy to be so wrong. But my God, you guys! It seemed impossible. Of course we still had the remnant…
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Star Ongina on her drag mother, advocating for HIV and AIDS and dealing with pressures and expectations BY MARK ARIEL | PHOTO BY DUSTI CUNNINGHAM When did you become interested in drag? I became interested in dressing up back when I first moved to NYC and started to make friends with…
