Category: Original

Articles Drag drag kings LGBTQ+ Community Long Read News Original Originals

Drag kings are ready for their reigning era

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Get ready for our drag king takeover: a special digital feature photographed by Rebecca Thomas at London’s iconic Bistrotheque.   WORDS BY ZOYA RAZA-SHEIKH PHOTOGRAPHY BY REBECCA THOMAS FASHION BY UMAR SARWAR CREATIVE DIRECTION BY JULIA SALOTTI FASHION ASSISTANCE BY PHEBE BARNUM-BOBB, CALLUM MCKENZIE AND CAMERON MCGIBBISONPHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANCE BY TYLER KENNET GROOMING BY SVEN BAYERBACH AT CAROL HAYES MANAGEMENT USING DRYBAR HEADER DESIGN BY YOSEF PHELAN Drag Kings haven’t always been represented as much as they should be. In online and IRL spaces, we regularly hear about the thriving careers  – and the cultural…

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Articles berlin Culture Drag Drag Queen LGBTQ+ Community LGBTQ+ nightlife Long Reads News Nightlife Original poppers Queer nightlife Sex

The chaotic drag-punk show celebrating poppers, porn karaoke and queer counterculture

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Iconoclastic performer Bleach invites GAY TIMES to take a sniff at legendary Berlin karaoke club Monster Ronson’s for amyl nitrate-themed extravaganza POPPERS. WORDS BY SAMUEL BENKE PHOTOGRAPHY BY LEE THIELER Sex, drag, punk and poppers. That’s what Bleach’s shows are all about. The Essex-raised, Berlin-based drag performer is a central figure in the German capital’s queer underground, organising monthly shows, concerts and karaoke nights. Key among her priorities? Fighting for a Berlin beyond commercialisation and gentrification, and for a nightlife that remains vibrant, queer and accessible to all. For her…

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Alfonso La Cruz Amplify Articles La Cruz LGBTQ+ Music Artist LGBTQIA+ community Long Reads Music News Original Reggaeton

Rising reggaetonero La Cruz bares it all

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In this bilingual interview, the Venezuelan reggaetonero behind ‘Quítate La Ropa’ opens up about shifting paradigms within El Movimiento’s mainstream. WORDS BY E.R. PULGAR HEADER DESIGN BY YOSEF PHELAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY JONATHAN IVAN  STYLE BY JOSHUA ALAN CLARK “Let’s do it even if it’s in the car,” Alfonso La Cruz says smiling.  It’s 9pm in Madrid when I connect with La Cruz, who performs under his surname. He’s attentive, answering questions while balancing an iPhone on his steering wheel. The Venezuelan reggaetonero exudes Scorpionic charisma as he details a breakthrough…

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Amplify Articles Barry Keoghan Culture Dicks: The Musical LGBTQ+ Community Long Reads Music News Original Originals Saltburn Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Welcome to the ‘Sophaissance’: the return of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s brand of chart (and FYP) dominating pop

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The British musician weighs in on that Barry Keoghan scene in Saltburn, her camp classic Heinz campaign, and answers burning questions from her die-hard fans. WORDS BY NICK LEVINE COVER DESIGN YOSEF PHELAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY LAURA LEWIS Sophie Ellis-Bextor isn’t just having a moment – she is the moment. Everyone who’s watched Emerald Fennell’s prickly, provocative, queer-coded black comedy Saltburn is obsessed with the scene where Barry Keoghan’s character, scheming social climber Oliver Quick, dances to ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ in the nude. Thanks largely to the film’s popularity on…

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Articles Culture Gay Language LGBTQ+ language LGBTQIA+ community Long Reads News Original Originals

Is there a problem with the phrase “openly gay”? Two writers debate the controversial term

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Language is, understandably, pertinent to the queer experience — words affect how we present ourselves and perceive others. Here, two writers go head-to-head to debate the term.  WORDS BY NICK LEVINE AND JORDAN PAGE HEADER DESIGN BY YOSEF PHELAN In another week of LGBTQIA+ on-goings, the internet has, yet again, struck up a fresh new debate. Following the appointment of Gabriel Attal, France’s youngest-ever PM, a conversation has opened up online about the phrase “openly gay”.  We’re never short of online discourse but this conversation seems to have something to…

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Articles Christmas Festive Festive Season LGBTQ+ Community LGBTQ+ Mental Health LGBTQ+ therapy Life Long Reads Mental Health News Original Originals Therapy

A therapist’s guide to navigating the festive season as a queer person

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While December is supposed to be full of cheer, family microaggressions don’t exactly get us in the Christmas spirit. Luckily, we’ve called in an expert to impart some much-needed advice on how to cope. WORDS BY JAMIE WINDUST  By now, it’s a cliché that the festive period is ~challenging~ for a variety of reasons. But the stereotype isn’t just the central premise of pretty much every festive romcom ever, it also bears more than a grain of truth – especially for individuals under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella.  Of course, there are…

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Articles Culture LGBT LGBTQ+ LGBTQIA+ community Long Reads News Original Originals Trans Trans history

How trans+ history is being put top of the curriculum in summer 2024

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Taking place from 6 to 12 May 2024, Trans+ History Week is a QueerAF-launched initiative celebrating the millennia-old history of trans, non-binary, gender-diverse and intersex people.  WORDS BY ALICE MOREY Have you heard of Mary Mudge? What about Mark Weston or Michael Dillon? These are just some of the names of trans+ figures from British history, individuals who lived in the 19th and early 20th century and who remind us that trans stories – whether we’ve been taught about them or not – have always existed.  The delivery of transgender history…

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Articles Barry Keoghan Culture Design Dua Lipa Fashion designer Long Reads News Original Originals Queer design Wales

Adam Jones celebrates the camp classics of small-town life

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Boozers, Buckfast and yer granny’s curtains are just some of the tongue-in-cheek references adopted by the Welsh designer  WORDS BY JAMIE WINDUST CORNER SHOP LOOK BOOK BY ROSHAN WHITTAKER BTS FROM LATEST SHOW BY EMMA JONES Welcome to Queer by Design, a new monthly column by GAY TIMES Contributing Editor Jamie Windust. Here, Jamie profiles emerging designers about the intersections of style, identity and expression and how these factors inform their creative practice. Adam Jones and his eponymous brand have become something of a cult classic, in no small part…

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Articles LGBTQIA+ community LGBTQIA+ family Life Long Reads News Original Originals Trans community Trans parents Transgender community

“It’s all about love”: Trans parents on what family looks like to them

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To celebrate International Trans Parent Day, Claire Mouchemore speaks to trans parents and their children about what family means to them. WORDS BY CLAIRE MOUCHEMORE Family doesn’t have to mean a mum, dad and 2.5 kids living in the suburbs. It can come in all shapes and sizes, from single parents to blended households. In the queer community, we’ve long found ways to celebrate forms of kinship which fall outside of heteronormative models – whether it’s revering our queer elders or embracing the chosen family who have stood by us…

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Amplify Articles Culture HUNGAMA LGBTQIA+ community Long Reads News Original Originals South Asian LGBTQ+ Community South Asian LGBTQIA+ community

Future heritage: Introducing the new South Asian queer vanguard

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HUNGAMA founder Ryan Lanji presents a conversation with musicians Ray Laurèl and Shivum Sharma, mixed media artist Aadam Sheikh, and creative consultant Emman Debattista to discuss how they’re redefining South Asian queer culture. WORDS BY MISHTI ALI ART DIRECTION BY ANISA CLEAVER CURATED BY RYAN LANJI South Asian queerness is a defiant celebration of who we are. It’s a combination of unapologetic self-expression and joyous representation. Here, in the UK, the LGBTQIA+ scene has been boldly shaped by a large minority of South Asian voices. One of these most notable…

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