Innholdsfortegnelse for January/February 2025 i Attitude Magazine

Markus Bidaux TRAVEL EDITOR Meeting PFFLAG China — aka Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays — in China’s Chongqing, the largest city in the world, was a wonderful experience. While China is far from offering its LGBTQ+ community the rights and protections they deserve, it was a pleasure to have dinner with some young men and mothers to discuss what life is like in Chongqing. One of the mothers told me a decade ago she couldn’t have imagined she’d be in a restaurant with a foreigner discussing LGBTQ+ issues so openly. And one of the men said that although there are fewer queer venues than neighbouring Chengdu or Shanghai, they were able to be more open in the streets in Chongqing. It was beautiful to see this group…

SAFE HAVEN The Axel Hotels Group prides itself on creating spaces by and for the LGBTQ+ community. One of its newest properties, Axel Hotel Bilbao has just opened in the Spanish northern city, located in the Bilbao neighbourhood of La Vieja, in front of the estuary and the medieval Old Town. The 110-room hotel offers cosy rooms, a restaurant with a menu that gives prominence to Basque cuisine, and the wellness facilities include a gym, Jacuzzi, sauna and hammam with masseuses available to hire. On the rooftop — which has a retractable roof for rainy days — is a solarium and swimming pool, where you can soak up the sun while enjoying a menu of pintxos and drinks from the gastrobar. axelhotels.com DO THE DOUBLE You can never have too…

His 30-year commitment to the mod shag hairstyle is nothing if not camp — but does that automatically make headline-generating Mancunian and Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher an LGBTQ+ ally? Of course not, and neither does a Ryan Murphyworthy, on-and-off feud with his brother, Noel. But as the guys kiss and make up ahead of the 2025 reunion tour, we look back in (occasional) anger at Liam’s chequered history of LGBTQ+related public statements. ✅ 1998 When Simon Fowler of Ocean Colour Scene is outed as gay by the tabloids, Liam kisses his peer seemingly in an act of solidarity. Says Fowler: “Looking back now, it seems absurd — and I don’t think anybody gave a toss even then. In fact, when it happened, the first thing Liam Gallagher did was come…

IT’S A DARK AND GLOOMY November day in north London, the air dense with the kind of damp greyness that has become a seasonal signature of the city. But today, the weight in the atmosphere comes not just from the weather but from the news breaking across the Atlantic as Donald Trump declares an early victory, sending a familiar ripple of dread through those who had hoped for a different outcome. Stepping off the street and into an inconspicuous management office on the first floor of a Hampstead terrace, the contrast to the melancholy outside is immediate. Inside, the Scissor Sisters in their current guise — Jake Shears, Babydaddy and Del Marquis — are seated and chatting in a warm, unfussy space as they prepare to headline arenas across the…

‘Drag queens are an endangered species here. Our community is dying — well, it’s being killed really.” These words from Florence Delight (Flo) — a pillar of Istanbul’s drag scene — have stayed with me after meeting them at one of Istanbul’s coffee houses in October. Due to escalating police action, government discrimination and numerous inequalities, Istanbul’s visibly queer population is shrinking. It wasn’t always this way. It is legal to be gay in Turkey — the nation’s predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, decriminalised sodomy back in 1858. The Ottomans were notorious for not discriminating based on a partner’s gender. There are well-documented accounts of male dancers — koçek — entertaining Sultans in their palaces as far back as the 1700s. In the 2000s, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, its de-facto…

Chicago-born Alex Zeitz has shaken up the cruise industry with Virgin Voyages, blending bold travel experiences with a focus on inclusivity. From his formative years as a dancer to becoming a seasoned industry leader, Zeitz has played a key role in shaping guest and crew experiences, all while championing diversity, equity and inclusion. From scouting flower-covered streets in Sardinia to collaborating with Richard Branson on ‘barefoot luxury’ in the Bahamas, his career has been packed with ‘pinch-me’ moments. Here, Zeitz shares his journey from stage to ship, and how he’s helping steer the future of cruising with Virgin’s unique vision. Tell me about your childhood. I grew up in a suburb of Chicago, about 40 miles west. I always lovingly say it’s where the cornfields met the city. There were…

I’m standing on a roof patio overlooking Osaka Castle, one of Japan’s iconic landmarks. It’s located in the centre of Osaka, the country’s third largest city and nicknamed “Water City” because of the many canals that once ran through it from Osaka Bay. One of the remaining canals was dug in the 16th century to fill the moat around the castle. Tonight, it is too dark to see the moat. All that can be seen are the silhouettes of the trees in the large gardens surrounding the white castle. I’m here for the opening reception of the IGLTA Global Convention, which has run in various international cities for more than 40 years. Surprisingly, this is the first time that the LGBTQ+ travel conference has taken place in Asia. During the…

Actor and singer Luke Evans began his career with pivotal roles in the Boy George musical Taboo and Peter Gill’s play Small Change at London’s Donmar WarehouSe. Then, his journey took him to Hollywood, where he landed roles in The Hobbit, Beauty and the Beast, the Fast and the Furious series and in hit television dramas like Nine Perfect Strangers. It’s a far cry from his early years in Wales, where he grew up in a heavily religious family as a Jehovah’s Witness. Bullied in school for being both a Jehovah’s Witness and gay, he left the religion — and his family — for London when he was just 16. In his heartfelt memoir, Boy From the Valleys: My Unexpected Journey, he recounts an extraordinary life of challenge and joy.…

Blackwater by Michael McDowell (Out now in paperback) Michael McDowell is one of the most brilliant yet underrated queer horror writers of our time. Hailed by Stephen King as one of the greats, McDowell has been largely overlooked as his novels focus on his experiences of horror in life as opposed to his experiences of sexuality. Now, with the rerelease of his series Blackwater, is the time to discover him. These books tell the tale of the arrival in the small Alabama town of Perdido of the mysterious Elinor Dammert, whose supernatural presence will change the lives of the community forever. Reflecting both the spooks and giggles of his most-loved work, Beetlejuice, these reissues should not be missed. Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson (Out now in paperback) As…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH AlphaTheta ‘Ladies and gentlemen, here’s… Grace!” When it comes to true visionaries, there are few more original than the Jamaican-born Grace Jones. This oncein-a-generation performer is an artiste in every sense. Her fierce, gender-fluid appearance and straight-off-the-runway looks broke barriers for many in pop. Equally, her unique sound — a progressive blend of genres — feels as fresh today as it did some 40 years ago. Emerging from the hedonistic party scene of 1970s New York, Jones’s first three albums capitalised on the immense popularity of disco, earning her the title ‘Queen of the Gay Discos’. As the genre fell out of favour following the ‘Disco Sucks’ movement in 1979, Jones was quick to get ahead of the curve and explored new sonic territories — notably, the…

Luchino Visconti’s exquisite 1971 adaptation of Thomas Mann’s classic novella would make a fine double bill with Queer. It’s perhaps cinema’s definitive study of impossible queer desire, made wrenching by Dirk Bogarde’s emotionally exposed performance as feted composer von Aschenbach, whose recuperative trip to Venice is derailed by his passive obsession with holidaying teenage boy Tadzio (Björn Andresen). His yearning is also a kind of mourning for his own youth: the lad’s preternatural beauty is cruelly contrasted with Visconti’s ruthless portraiture of ageing, disease and decay. That in turn is bracketed in some of the most pristine, painterly imagery ever put to film.…

When the Scissor Sisters — one of our two cover stars — first appeared on the music scene, we were in a post-9/11 world led by recently elected Republican George W. Bush in somewhat of a re-run of his father George Bush’s own years in the White House, with both presidential terms dominated by war with Iraq. As we close this peculiar year in politics, we take a deep breath as we prepare for Donald Trump’s second term as (ahem) leader of the free world. Even the onslaught of Charli XCX’s ‘Brat’ summer wasn’t enough to reach middle America and win Kamala Harris the election. And because the universe has a wry sense of humour, as happened during Bush Junior’s reign as president two decades ago, the president elect of…

Meg Ten Eyck (she/her) Founder and CEO of US company EveryQueer The checks and balances system of the three US branches of government ensures that no single branch becomes too powerful, thereby preventing tyranny and protecting individual liberties. This system was intended to allow each branch to limit the powers of the others, creating a balance of power and promoting accountability. The Supreme Court protects US citizens by reviewing laws and executive actions for constitutionality, ensuring that they align with the principles of the US Constitution. Justices serve a lifetime term to remove party partiality from their decisions. However, in recent years, Justices have often made decisions along party lines, as evidenced by the overturn of Roe v. Wade and many other court decisions. During the Trump administration, we will…

I don’t vape, but I’ve started. It feels like a small, irrelevant moment, but for me, it’s a reminder of how much community shapes my choices. I never thought I’d vape — especially since I’ve never smoked — but when the hottest Paul Mescal-lookalike bottom offered me a go on his Lost Mary at Adonis, I was hit with Juicy Peach. And it was juicy. There’s something hypnotic about vaping — the little light that flickers to life when you inhale. It’s an instant hit of gratification. I don’t need tobacco, but the social aspect, the connection, is what drew me in — and it happens time and time again. This is where addiction becomes tricky for me. It’s not always about the substance; it’s about the space, the people,…

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I’ve always been known as the “big” one. As a kid, I wasn’t into sports or playing outside like my brothers. While they’d be out playing football, I’d be at home with my Barbies and Bratz dolls. Things shifted when I broke my arm at 10, and my activity levels dropped. I gained some weight, and from then on, being the bigger one in the family just became part of who I was. It wasn’t dramatic, but there were subtle moments and comments that reminded me I was different, especially around food. Drama school didn’t change that perception; it solidified it. I was often told that I’d never be the lead but would be perfect as the funny friend. My size was part of how I was seen and cast.…

It is the summer of 1961. The first name on my UK birth certificate is David. But in the box denoting my sex there is simply a red horizontal line. Fifteen years later, in 1976, I saw the document for the very first time as my brother taunted me: “There you are, you see, you’re a nothing. You’re not a boy or a girl — just a nothing.” What my father had tried for so many years to conceal from me in the right-hand drawer of his writing bureau is that I was born intersex — or what medics used to refer to as a ‘true hermaphrodite’. That is, I had a reproductive and sexual anatomy that in biological terms doesn’t neatly fit into either the female or male boxes.…

On a visit to the Great Wall of China in 2006, Paul Melhus and his husband, Dave, chanced upon two local women offering to guide them through the history of the world wonder. “After an unexpectedly great tour followed by some confusion around payment, we wanted to be able to replicate the fantastic guiding experience we’d just had but take away the ‘luck’ of meeting the right person, and the complexities of arriving at a fee,” Melhus tells me. “We also wanted to give these local guides the ability to meet travellers on a more professional level and earn a fair wage as full participants in the tourism industry.” On the flight back home to Vancouver, the couple started work on their vision for the platform ToursByLocals, which celebrates its…

Hotel, flight and attractions platform Booking.com has shared research into LGBTQ+ travel experiences. After questioning more than 11,450 LGBTQ+ travellers from 27 countries and territories, it found that: 59% of LGBTQ+ travellers have experienced discrimination when travelling 51% of respondents agree that being LGBTQ+ makes them more insecure and self-conscious as a traveller. This increases for transgender (64%), intersex and non-binary folk (56%) 51% consider whether the destination is more (or less) accepting of LGBTQ+ people than their home country 56% have booked a trip in the last year after seeing a destination be supportive of LGBTQ+ residents have had a negative experience 31% with a fellow flight passenger due to them identifying as LGBTQ+ but this is more common for those who are transgender (57%), intersex (48%), or non-binary (44%) 40% of LGBTQ+ travellers say…

After visiting two busy mega metropolises, I’m in need of some calm, so I catch the 30-minute train to Nara. It is a popular day trip because of its eponymously named park, which is home to more than 1,200 wild sika deer. I walk from the station to the enormous park, ignoring the green pasture where many tourists stop to feed the deer crackers sold from vendors in the hope they will bow for a treat. Within Nara Park, there are far better photo opportunities where the deer often elegantly pose next to moss-covered stone lanterns. The deer are such an integral part of the city’s identity that its mascot Sento-kun is a bald Buddhist monk with antlers. The mascot was controversial when it was first introduced in 2010 for…

Astraight couple’s sharp silhouette backlit by the dazzle of a sports car’s headlights, the woman’s sequinned cocktail dress shimmering like diamonds, was not on my bingo card of memorable images for 2024. (Or theirs — with their probable net worth, who needs bingo?) But such is the James Bond-ready scene outside Peruvian restaurant COYA Monte-Carlo, where this humble traveller — who once slept among rats at Milano Centrale train station, and all manner of elaborate, hissing insects in a shack in the Costa Rican jungle — witnesses the world’s most glamorous traffic jam. And I don’t mean the Monaco Grand Prix, which snakes the city’s manicured streets each May. Indeed, the unofficial dress code at COYA, a jewel in the gleaming gastronomy crown of Monaco — one of the world’s…

BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! Gallery Café London 30C Warren Street, Fitzrovia, London W1T 5NF Tuesday to Saturday 11am–8pm (except Wednesday until 6pm); Sunday 2–6pm The fabulously named Fitzrovia in London has served as a stomping ground for many of the gay, great and good of eras past, from writer Quentin Crisp to artist Francis Bacon to filmmaker Derek Jarman. If they were still alive, one could imagine them bumping into each other at the resplendent BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! Gallery Café London, united by their commitment to queer sensibility and their love of handsome men — two characteristics that are central to the café’s existence. The café claims to be the first fine art gallery dedicated to queer photography. And as the name suggests, it’s an offshoot from the BOYS! BOYS! BOYS!…

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle The gays have always been a fan of horror. However, the genre hasn’t always been such a fan of them… Indeed, Tingle’s latest novel, Bury Your Gays, is named after the film theory that cinema about the LGBTQ+ community favours the death of queer protagonists rather than offering a happy ending. Tingle explores the convention through a novel premise set in the home of cinema: Hollywood. After disagreeing with his agent about killing off the lesbian heroines of his latest script, horror filmmaker X finds himself being hunted down by the many monsters of his twisted mind. The joy of Bury Your Gays is its sense of humour. Its thoughtful reflections on the relationship between horror and queerness are packaged in a rip-roaring plot…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH AlphaTheta ‘Kick Your Game’ (soundtrack) Heavy on synthy bass, wailing sirens and cowbells, this slice of R&B feels heavily inspired by the music of the early 90s and lands like a precursor to later pop hits such as ‘Scandalous’ by Misteeq. Fun fact: it also featured on the iconic Space Jam soundtrack, where Bugs Bunny kicked some basketball ass with Michael Jordan. ‘His Story’ (album track) In the midst of TLC’s debut, full of playful and streetwise R&B, ‘His Story’ offers some surprisingly political food for thought. Dedicated to Tawana Brawley, the victim at the centre of a controversial 1980s sexual assault case, this pre-Me Too track highlights the injustices of a patriarchal society in a world where women of colour are rarely believed when they make…

October 2015, issue 262, Liam Payne “My mates are my mates, regardless of their sexuality,” One Direction star Liam Payne told us of his allyship in his Attitude cover interview, an exclusive that generated global coverage at the time. “A lot of my friends are gay, and I don’t think anything about it,” added the ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ singer, who tragically died in October 2024 after a fall from a hotel balcony at the age of 31. “I actually find it funny that being gay is still something that’s talked about as though it’s not natural. I mean, I don’t go around saying ‘Oh, this guy is gay.’ I don’t make a big deal about it. I will just say ‘This is my mate.’” This issue celebrated the 2015…

Kyran Thrax is a queen on a mission. She made an unforgettable entrance into the Drag Race UK series 6 werk room dressed as a fabulously glamorous bin, showing the world she didn’t just embrace camp — she turned it into couture. Now, having left the show with a crown on her head, Kyran is ready for global superstardom. Known for her sharp humour and boundary-pushing aesthetic, the Lancashire-born queen is just getting started, with plans for tours, music and general world domination on the horizon. And by her side, of course, is her loving mascot, Suzy, ready for the next adventure. Here, Kyran discusses how her challenging childhood sparked an unstoppable creative fire, how Madonna herself became an unexpected fan, and recounts the time she was upstaged by cosmic…

Rage is a new feeling for me. Until this year, I’ve never really been mad at another person — I haven’t truly understood what it means to be wronged by someone. It’s because I mostly think everything’s my fault. No one can ever wrong me, because I’m permanently in the wrong. It comes from growing up in a religion where I was taught to conceive of myself as a sinner — just existing was a fault, and every night a bedtime rumination ensued where I replayed how I had offended the world that day. This was compounded by growing up in a household where queerness was an abomination, and so I lived in a perpetual state of self-monitoring and self-blame. My mother even once told me that I was “the…

As a health professional, I’m used to seeing new supplements enter the market, claiming to solve everything from cancer to constipation. Often, these products don’t live up to the hype, leaving doctors to debunk myths and educate people on the lack of evidence behind the claims. So, when my brothers said they were using the latest ‘super supplement’ shilajit, I decided to do some research on it. Shilajit has been used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for centuries. A sticky, tar-like substance that oozes from the rocks of the Himalayas, it is formed from the slow decomposition of plants and organic matter over hundreds of years. Known as the “conqueror of mountains and destroyer of weakness”, this resin has been credited with a vast range of health benefits, from improving mental…

“HIS SMILE’S CONTAGIOUS!” BELLOWS OUR PHOTOGRAPHER (unironically) as Lukas Gage beams during his Attitude cover shoot in Barcelona. With wild abandon, to a soundtrack of Sabrina Carpenter and Doja Cat, the 29-year-old rocks a burnt orange trench coat, a gargantuan, deconstructed number that would swamp the unenthusiastic wearer, but on Gage, who wears it with gravity-defying sweeps, it is like a sculpture. He has a knack for intensifying a camera’s gaze with his artfully wavy hair, Renaissance eyes — expressive, luminous, classically beautiful — and cute half-smirk. No wonder he pulled focus with supporting roles in Euphoria, The White Lotus, You and, most recently, all-out horror hit Smile 2. In the latter, he plays possessed drug dealer Lewis, with Gage’s puppy-dog grin transformed into a smirk so penetrating and gruesome…

“YOU CANNOT COME OUT AS GAY. EVERYBODY WILL STOP TALKING TO YOU; FAMILY WILL DISOWN YOU. YOU HAVE TO BE HIDDEN” It was late one evening in September when my phone rang, and I saw my friend John’s name flash up on screen. I expected to hear his bright, upbeat voice on the line. Instead, he was erratic and upset, struggling to catch his breath between words. His friend Kwesi had returned to the UK from Ghana after a group of men had burst into his hotel room and severely beat him up. He had been set up by a man he had arranged to meet. The police were called, and Kwesi, 48, was taken to the police station, where they tried to make him confess to being gay so…

BORN OUT OF tragedy but built on love, Peace & Mind UK was established by Esther Ghey to honour the memory of her daughter, Brianna Ghey, who was murdered in 2023. Determined to transform her grief into positive action, Esther founded Peace & Mind to offer mental health support for young people, focusing on resilience, empathy and community. The charity’s mission is simple yet profound: to ensure no young person feels alone in their struggles. “Mindfulness in schools isn’t just for children; it helps teachers too” In October, Brianna’s memory was celebrated at the Attitude Awards with a posthumous Inspiration Award, recognising her impact and the work carried on in her name. Peace & Mind UK was also chosen as one of the beneficiaries of the event’s prize draw, alongside…

‘Ten years ago, this exhibition would have been impossible,” my guide Masaki Uotani tells me. We are in a small room in Tokyo admiring the homoerotic art of gay artist Moriuo, who is hosting a four-day pop-up show. He is displaying his salacious pieces and selling postcards featuring naked male figures in his distractive cute manga style. Not all of his work is risqué; he regularly makes comics and art featuring cute couples, and toiletries brand Lush has commissioned him to produce a piece featuring two grooms with the words “Freedom of marriage for everyone.” Masaki explains that in the past 10 years, the image of LGBTQ+ people in Japanese society has changed significantly. One of the biggest displays of this shift was Netflix’s 2024 gay dating show The Boyfriend,…

Under the cover of darkness, we start to stir. Alarms ring, an unusual sound in rural Africa. As we pack up our camp, the sun peeks over the horizon. It’s an image immortalised by The Lion King, the golden rays dancing across the landscape. Dawn and dusk have become timekeepers, our literal rise and shine and our bedtime. We gather at the river’s edge, ready to… well, I should explain. It is mid-July, and our team of rowers have taken on the challenge of rowing part of the mighty Zambezi River. We have been inspired by the journey of famous explorer David Livingstone, the first European to see Mosioa-Tunya, otherwise known as Victoria Falls. Our aim: to raise awareness of water issues in Mozambique and Zambia. The Zambezi, Africa’s fourth-longest…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH Is there anything Sandi Toksvig can’t do? Presenter, entertainer, performer, human encyclopaedia, activist and, of course, novelist, Toksvig continues to be a champion of both women and the wider LBGTQ+ community. Dramatic, funny and moving, her latest novel, Friends of Dorothy, sees a generational collision between Stevie and Amber, the new residents of number 4, Grimaldi Square, and Dorothy, their geriatric roommate who doesn’t want to leave her home. Here, Toksvig reveals who inspired the character of Dorothy, and tells us about her world of words. Which book best celebrates the concept of the unconventional family? Pippi Longstocking. She’s entirely independent, strong enough to lift a horse over her head, but she is most happy when surrounded by her chosen family — a monkey and a…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH AlphaTheta What can people expect from a Midland set? It changes from day to day, but at its core the groove is always front of mind. Name a track you are loving right now. ‘Acuyuye’ by Olof Dreijer & Diva Cruz. Which track introduced you to dance music? S’Express’s ‘Hey Music Lover’, by my older brother. Do you have a secret weapon in your DJ catalogue? Not a secret but not that well known is Jorg Kuning’s ‘Love at First Sight’. It’s an electro cover of Kylie’s hit song of the same name. “Trends come and go, but finding your sound and honing it will lead you to the right clubs and people” The dance record that changed your life? Orbital’s ‘The Girl With the Sun in…