LGBTQ-Embracing Stoli Vodka Rebrands In Face of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

Dancing on Ice professional Matt Evers has delivered a series of scathing reviews about his former celebrity skating partners, and revealed who was his least favourite to work with. Former champ Matt, who performed with Corrie's Sally Dynevor this year, admitted he hasn't got on so well with everyone he's taught to skate.

Gemma Collins wowed fans with her latest stunning social media upload. The 41-year-old star flashed a smile to the camera as she stood outside in the sun while donning a bright purple co-ord.

Transgender Day Of Visibility takes place on March 31 every year and is a day to show your support for the trans community.It’s a worthy cause, and where better to start than with those closest to you?Being there for a transgender mate might seem daunting and confusing, so we spoke to an expert to get some advice on how to be a good friend.I spoke to Samantha Carbon, a psychotherapist who works closely with transgender individuals offering support and professional counselling and she shared some tips.Starting up a conversation with your friend might be at the forefront of your mind, but it doesn’t give you the right to force them into talking about a subject which may be very painful for them to approach.Samantha says, ‘It takes an unbelievable amount of courage for an individual to begin to recognise they want to be fully seen and to no longer endure the internal suffering they have experienced for some time.’Don’t push the topic, let them lead the way.As a friend, the best thing you can do is to treat them the way they’re asking you to treat them, not the way traditional society expects you to.Samantha says it’s ‘crucial to put aside your bias’ in order to help your friend ‘enjoy a life without having to live in fear, resistance or exile’.Even those who are vocal on the subject get sick of being asked about being transgender, as television star and LGBTQ activist Jazz Jennings revealed in an interview with Dazed magazine.She said: ‘People ask the same questions about me being transgender. They say, ‘How does it feel to be transgender?’ or ‘Why do you think this way?’ – blah, blah, blah! All these questions.

Survivor contestant Smith said to Santos whiledropping to a knee. “You are my other half, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Santos, a star of Superstore and Crazy Rich Asians, said yes, and Smith put a ring on his finger.The two met at the GLAAD Media Awards after-party in 2018. Smith preceded his proposal by recalling that moment, when Santos got him a Ketel One cocktail and swept him off his feet.

Australia is set to elect a new government in May 2022. The country’s peak national LGBTQI health organisation, LGBTIQ+ Health Australia (LHA), has called upon the major political parties and independent candidates to spell out their commitment and plans to improve the health and well being of the community. “LGBTIQ+ communities face significant barriers to improved health because of stigma and discrimination,” Nicky Bath, CEO, LHA, said in a statement. “All members of LGBTIQ+ communities, including those who live at the intersections of additional marginalised identities and experiences, can no longer be left behind.

The Advocate won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage at Saturday night’s ceremony at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles.The magazine bested Entertainment Weekly, People, POZ, and Variety in the category. The Advocate had also won the category in 2020.“Thank you to GLAAD for this honor at a time when it’s especially incumbent upon LGBTQ+ news outlets to shine a light on conservative attacks on queer people with onslaught of anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ bills cropping up around the country,” said Advocate Editor in Chief Tracy E.

Due to recent developments, Man2Man has launched a campaign to create awareness around Shigella. What is Shigella? Shigella is a bacterial gut infection that can cause severe stomach upset. It is passed on through infected faeces (poo). This can happen through contaminated food or sexual activity. Only a very small amount of the bacteria is […]

By Dr Christopher Pepin-NeffA new study from the University of Sydney will look at the impact of COVID on LGBTQI community life in NSW, including Oxford Street. The research project is being coordinated by the Sydney Policy Lab and will look at the implications of COVID-forced closings as well as new venues that opened during the height of the pandemic.Gay sex clubs like Sydney Sauna are a good example of social capital, where social trust is shared, and this may create a network of friends who go to the same doctor, gain access to PrEP, and seek sexual health information as a result.

In Olivia Wilde's directorial debut, Booksmart is a coming-of-age story about two goodie-two-shoes best friends who decide to let it all go before high school graduation, finding love, friendship, and fun in the process.Queer icon Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever star as the main duo and experience teen mayhem, queer awakenings, and oh so much more in this wonderful comedy.The film is available to stream on Hulu.Few documentaries offer such an important snapshot of a moment in queer life like Paris is Burning. Filmed during the late '80s, the film captures the Black and brown queer people who ran the New York ballroom scene and the legacy they left behind. A story about family, community, and vogue, few works document a culture-defining era like this.

The latest proposed San Francisco electoral map maintains the Tenderloin and central South of Market neighborhoods in the same supervisor district. But the boundaries of the city's 11 supervisorial districts are still far from being set in stone.

Kanye West’s rep has addressed reports that circulated Friday stating that the rapper is “going away to get help” after he publicly harassed ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend Pete Davidson.

The St. Augustine Record.Following the outcry, Willets "immediately" spoke with the teacher and demanded the removal of the shirt, which they complied with.

ABOVE: Jocks are weird.

WNBA star Brittney Griner is being detained in Russia.Earlier this month, news broke that WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner was being held in Russia. According to some reports she had been there for three weeks.

Brittney Griner’s detainment in Russia has been extended until May, the country's state news agency TASS has reported.The agency cited the Khimki Court of the Moscow Region in reporting about the extension, according to NBC News.“The court granted the petition of the investigation and extended the term of detention of U.S. citizen [Griner] until May 19,” TASS said it was told by the court’s press office on Thursday.The 31-year-old has been detained on drug charges in Russia— which has been heavily sanctioned by the U.S.

An American political extremist accused by the Washington legislature of domestic terrorism is reportedly overseas with dozens of children from Ukraine.

Star Tribune reports. Quist spent much of her time denouncing books that encourage acceptance of transgender people.

ABOVE: Erik Estrada lets the CHiPs fall there they may.

transgender, and no one, not even their parents know. If you’re a teacher in Alabama you would be legally required to tell that child’s parents, if a bill that’s already passed the Senate becomes law.SB184 is expected to be taken up in the House this week.

alternative viewpoint” on transgender people. The group, the Minnesota Child Protection League, has been cited by the Southern Poverty Law Center.Protesters have shown up tonight ahead of a Becker school board meeting where the Minnesota Child’s Protection League is speaking.

Ken Paxton, lawyers for parents of trans kids disagree on whether child abuse investigations can continue” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.For LGBTQ mental health support, call the Trevor Project’s 24/7 toll-free support line at 866-488-7386. You can also reach a trained crisis counselor through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 800-273-8255 or texting 741741.When a judge ruled Friday that Texas could not investigate parents for child abuse simply for providing gender-affirming care, it was immediately clear that the legal fight was far from over.That same night, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an appeal and then announced on Twitter that the “Democrat judge’s order permitting child abuse is frozen.”He said that “[m]uch-needed investigations [will] proceed as they should,” and noted that his “fight will continue up to the Supreme Court.”Lawyers representing the families of transgender children said they don’t believe the appeal should affect the injunction.Legal experts say this case falls into a complicated corner of the law until the appeals court weighs in.This case stemmed from a nonbinding legal opinion that Paxton issued last month, arguing that certain gender-affirming health care can constitute child abuse.

ABOVE: Meet you in the middle.

ABOVE: Oof, that decades-old can, though. Follow me here, please.

Like a lot of visitors to the GLBT Historical Society Museum, Colm Kelleher, Lord Mayor of Cork, Ireland, said he was most impressed with one exhibit in particular, the bloodstained jacket worn by the late gay leader and San Francisco supervisor, Harvey Milk, when he was fatally shot in his City Hall office in 1978.It's a powerful exhibit, to be sure, and probably one that leaves a lasting impression on a lot of elected officials and others who see it.The museum was just one of several visits the mayor would be paying to various sites around San Francisco, including a stop at City Hall where he joined Mayor London Breed at a reception where they raised the Irish flag ahead of St. Patrick's Day.

Texas District Court Judge Amy Clark Meachum Friday evening declared unconstitutional Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order manding state agencies investigate anyone involved in or facilitating medically-necessary gender-affirming care, including parents, for “child abuse” and criminally charged if possible.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s possibly unconstitutional executive order requiring state agencies to investigate anyone, including parents, involved in or facilitating the delivery of medically-necessary gender-affirming care to transgender youth and teens has just been blocked, temporarily, by a Texas judge.

ABOVE: Boz flashbacks.

Governor Greg Abbott is under fire after more than 60 major corporations Friday signed on to a full-page ad in the Dallas Morning News accusing the Texas Republican of engaging in anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Abbott has ordered state agencies to investigate and prosecute anyone – including parents – involved in providing or enabling medically-necessary medical care for transgender youth and teens, using the false claim of “child abuse,” a claim some legal experts say is unlawful and medical experts have condemned.

ABOVE: Take a stab, and do follow me on Twitter. (Answers here.)

“Texas sues to prevent losing federal funds over its investigations of trans children’s families” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

Dennis Cunningham, a longtime civil rights lawyer whose work also included representing gay men who were attacked by police in the infamous "Castro Sweep," died March 5. He was 86.The New York Times reported that Mr.

ABOVE: Seasons of lust.

ABOVE: I think I've captured the spirit of the day.

At Babi Yar no memorials preside."Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko wrote that line in a 1961 poem in a reference to to the ravine in the suburbs of Kyiv where, starting on Sept. 29, 1941, and continuing into the following day, over 33,000 Jews were murdered by Nazi forces and their Ukrainian collaborators.On March 1, 2022, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a Russian strike against a TV tower in Kyiv killed five people and damaged the nearby site.“What is the point of saying ‘never again’ for 80 years, if the world stays silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babyn Yar?” Zelenskyy asked in an anguished tweet, using the Ukrainian variant of the name.But silence and Babi Yar have a long history together.

Florida’s first openly-LGBTQ state senator choked up and was momentarily unable to speak as he described his personal experiences growing up gay, during debate over the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

“Texas students push back against book bans for censoring LGBTQ, racial justice issues” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

Brittney Griner had been detained by Russian authorities some time in February. Griner, who is a seven-time WNBA All-Star and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was in Russia in order to play for UMMC Yekaterinburg, a local league.According to Russian authorities, Griner was detained because she was found to be in the possession of hashish oil while at the Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow.

The parade organizers of the Staten Island St. Patrick’s Day Parade — scheduled for today March 6, 2022 — firmly maintained their ban on LGBTQ participants, according to a report in the New York Times.When executive director of the Staten Island Pride Center Carol Bullock attempted to hand in the center’s application during the parade’s registration, president of the parade committee Larry Cummings immediately threw her application in the “rejection pile,” seemingly without a second thought.This outright refusal to allow LGBTQ individuals or groups from marching in the parade has long been held by the Staten Island St.

Today, news broke that Brittney Griner, a decorated basketball player, was detained by Russian authorities. Russian Federal Customs Service announced that they had detained an American basketball player who had won two Olympic gold medals. That player was later identified as Griner by a Russian news agency and the WNBA and the Phoenix Mercury, who Griner plays for, have confirmed that Griner is being detained.Griner was reportedly detained at the Sheremetyevo airport near Moscow.

According to the New York Times, the Russian news agency TASS later identified that player as Griner.Griner is a seven-time WNBA All Star who has won two Olympic gold medals. According to the Customs Service, she was detained after vape cartridges with hashish oil were found in her luggage.

Brian Sims opponents for lieutenant governor ahead of the keystone state's Democratic primary on May 17.The leaders held a press conference on March 3 at the William Way LGBT Community Center in Philadelphia. They announced they were backing State Rep.

Jack Petocz, the student who organized a statewide school walkout and protest against Florida Republicans’ “Don’t Say Gay” bill has been suspended indefinitely, reportedly for handing out pride flags, which he says school administrators confiscated.

ABOVE: “Mom, I am on a magazine cover!”

Los Angeles Blade reports. She will begin her duties as chief March 26, when predecessor Ralph Terrazas retires.Before the vote, Crowley told the council she was “truly honored” as well as “humbled and proud” to be appointed fire chief, according to L.A. TV station KABC.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last week directed the state’s Department of Family Protective Services to investigate gender-affirming health care as “child abuse” and the parents of children who receive such care as perpetrating it. The directive, which was met with alarm by LGBTQ groups, was applauded by Terry Schilling of the American Principles Project, who took credit for Abbott’s directive on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast last Thursday and thanked the War Room for aiding its pressure campaign on Abbott.

Israel Hayom, “This is our war, the Ukrainians, but we have also been fighting as LGBTQ people, and I'm sure that the comrades in Kharkiv understood that.”He added: “We are confronting a tyrannical, homophobic enemy.”The account has not been independently verified. However, the LGBTQ+ community in the besieged country has been lining up to fight against Russia’s invading forces or to help with medical and food aid to those displaced or at the frontlines.One such volunteer, Veronika Limina, had been running a combat and paramedic skills training camp for LGBTQ+ volunteers leading up to the invasion last week.“I am angry,” she told The Daily Beast.

During his fiery State of the Union address, President Joe Biden urged Congress to pass the LGBTQ Equality Act, and urged the protection of transgender Americans, especially trans youth, who are being targeted by over a dozen states, most recently Texas and Florida.

The House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack has issued six more subpoenas, including for far-right conservative attorney Cleta Mitchell, and an OAN personality accused of drafting the executive order which would have been used to seize voting machines.