Trinidad and Tobago’s Sexual Offenses Act, or “buggery law” outlawing homosexuality, is a legacy of British Colonialism. Trinidad and Tobago has been an independent, sovereign nation since 1962. And, although England and Wales decriminalized consensual same-sex in 1967, it is currently illegal in Trinidad and Tobago. In 2018, activist Jason Jones successfully brought a lawsuit […]
New Documentary Celebrates Sex-Positive Cable TV Pioneer
Bang My Box, a new HBO documentary produced by Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex & the City), chronicles the life of iconic New York City public access TV show creator and host Robin Byrd. The Robin Byrd Show first aired on public access in 1977 and ran for over 20 years. The late night call-in show […]
Climate Activism Can be a Drag
The drag queen, Pattie Gonia, has been an environmental and political activist for several years and has amassed an impressive following of over 2 million people across their social channels. They have raised millions of dollars for environmental and social justice non-profits, co-founded the environmental equity organization Outdoorist Oath, and was featured as one of TIME’s most […]
David Hockney Radically Illuminated Queer Desire
Multi-media British queer artist David Hockney recently died at 88 years of age. His art collaged together an ordinary and beautiful gay existence at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in the United Kingdom, making his work quite transgressive. He avoided the usual cultural narratives that depicted gay men as tragic, deviant, and secretive, […]
Pride Festivals in Asia
South Korea’s conservative Protestants represent only a fifth of the population in a country where most people follow no religion, yet they have wielded huge influence over the government which has blocked a comprehensive anti-discrimination law that would protect LGBTQ+ people, women, people with disabilities, and racial minorities. Similar to what is happening in the […]
High-Heeled Activism
It is important to note that there has been some sassy pushback in response to the anti-LGBTQ+ antics of the current cruel and out-of-touch American administration. More than 1,000 people attended a fundraiser for the American Civil Liberties Union at a gay bar in Brooklyn on April 16. The drag event raised $25,000, and the […]
June is Now “Nuclear Family Month” (insert eye-roll here!)
Leave it to Tennessee, whose Republican-run legislature has officially deemed June as “Nuclear Family Month”. The House joint resolution was signed by Governor Bill Lee on April 9. While the policy does not explicitly mention the Queer community, June is when many LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations take place across the country. This is undoubtedly a pointed […]
Good News for African Gays
So much of what we hear from the African continent with regard to the rights of LGBTQ people is discouraging. Hard Copy has run stories about severe legal persecution in Uganda, Nigeria, and Senegal, among others. However, Africa is not a monolith: South Africa has long maintained very progressive policies in defense of its LGBTQ […]
Home on the Trans Range
With the continuing push of anti-trans rhetoric, trans people are feeling unwelcome in more places and generally less safe. Two trans Ohioans have opened a gun range specifically for the trans community. In addition to providing a safe place for trans gun enthusiasts, they also provide classes on how to handle firearms and on firearm […]
Gay Rights Worldwide
With the continued rise of authoritarianism and conservative movements LGBTQ+ rights are continuing to be rolled back. In Russia, authorities have banned Coming Out, an LGBTQ+ rights organization, following a closed-door court proceeding, intensifying the country’s crackdown on LGBTQ+ advocacy groups. In Malaysia, in addition to blocking access to Grindr and other gay dating websites, […]