Innholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2023 i Attitude Magazine

Francisco Gomez De Villaboa PHOTOGRAPHER My album of the summer is, without doubt, a record by the amazing queer artist of colour, Kelela. I keep listening to her newest album Raven non-stop, and it truly takes me to another dimension wherever I am, whether on the Tube, cycling, or at home. Her blend of R’n’B and electronic music is so good. Her work often reflects her personal life, so much of it deals with love and her struggles, which you can easily relate to. I was lucky enough to have more than one summer this year, as I spent six weeks in Mexico between December and February. I spent a crazy amount of time listening to Tokisha. Her lyrics are not just sexy, but they’re dirty and fun! They bring…

FIRST CUTS Director Olivier Peyon explores the powerful force of first love in his emotional drama Lie with Me, based on Philippe Besson’s autobiographical book of the same name. Successful gay novelist Stéphane Belcourt (Guillaume de Tonquédec) returns to his sleepy French hometown for the first time in decades to promote a distillery. He then discovers one of the people behind his trip home is Lucas (Victor Belmondo), the son of his teenage crush, Thomas, who is now dead. Vivid memories come flooding back as Stéphane processes old feelings and ponders what might have been. Meanwhile, Lucas begins to truly understand who his late father was. The roles of the younger Thomas and Stéphane are played by Julien de Saint-Jean (pictured left) and Jérémy Gillet (pictured right), respectively. Lie with…

Katie Baskerville (she/her) Freelance sex & health journalist I came out (officially) in my late 20s and had a lot of stuff to work through. My internalised bi-phobia controlled how I felt about myself and how I thought the community saw me. The usual stuff: slutty, greedy, confused, a cheater. In all honesty, I was confused — but not about my identity. I was confused as to why being who I was was such a big deal, but I knew that being out would expose me to biphobic discourse surrounding threesomes and greediness. And I was proved right every time I’d pluck up the courage to tell a partner. I’d be met with: “Oh, you’re not going to leave me for a woman, are you?” or, “We should totally have…

The gays have had an enduring love affair with Lana Del Rey. It’s been 13 years of the same melancholic but somehow optimistic album in different permutations, yet Del Rey’s hold on our community has been a constant in our ever-changing world. Why is that? I was lucky enough to watch her recent set at Glastonbury, which, as the queers especially appreciated, was cut short because Lana arrived 30 minutes late due to haircare issues. But witnessing the part of the set that wasn’t axed reminded me why she is a mother to so many of us. Lana’s dedication to fiction undoubtedly makes her canonical in the oeuvre of women to be adopted by us queers. Consider lyrics like “We’re just beautiful people with beautiful problems.” Lana has constantly romanticised…

If there is one over-arching theme for Heartstopper season two, it is change, as we see pretty much every character go through a transition of one form or another. For Nick Nelson (Kit Connor), it’s coming out; while for Charlie Spring (Joe Locke), it’s opening up about his mental health. Tara and Darcy take their relationship to the next stage, and Elle Argent (Yasmin Finney) gets into art school. For Isaac — played brilliantly by Tobie Donovan — it’s growing into his identity as an aromantic asexual (Aro/Ace). Demonstrating how the show has managed to improve upon the web comic’s representation, it’s a plot development that was planned before season one, when the groundwork was laid. “Isaac is kind of always on his own in the group,” Tobie observes of…

A yell of “QUIET!” echoes around the Truham Grammar sports hall, bringing Nick Nelson and the roomful of GCSE students to full attention. Follow that with an authoritative slap of a ruler against a school desk, and we’re firmly introduced to new teacher Mr Farouk, played by Nima Taleghani. Throughout season two of Heartstopper, Mr Farouk is a stoic and ever so slightly intimidating character, whose standout feature is his extremely expressive eyebrows. However, as Attitude discovers, Nima is anything but scary. Picture puppy dogs and smiles as well as that dynamite eyebrow game, all of which he casually brings out as he slips into character during our photoshoot. “They tried to trim them earlier. I said no,” Nima says of the hair and makeup team’s attempt to groom his…

This interview was carried out before the SAG-AFTRA strike began. When Dino Fetscher was crowned Mr Gay UK in the Ritz Manchester in 2008, he was just a 19-year-old student with ambitions to become an actor. Fast-forward 15 years and he is preparing for the release of the second season of Foundation, Apple TV+’s epic, intergalactic sci-fi drama, loosely based on the books by Isaac Asimov. The actor joins the series in its sophomore season as Glawen Kerr, husband of General Bel Riose, played by Ben Daniels (who Fetscher also shared the stage with in the 2021 National Theatre production of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart). When we are first introduced to them, the couple have been separated for years, with Bel believing Glawen to be dead, and their emotional…

In June, the marble floors of The Langham, London, served as the runway for the seventh Attitude Pride Awards, in association with Magnum, as the great and good of the LGBTQ+ community joined us to celebrate 11 amazing members of our rainbow family who have helped to move the needle on equality. After posing up a storm on the red carpet, guests enjoyed a midday drinks reception, where they sipped on M&S Prosecco. The scene was set in The Langham ballroom with an opening address by Attitude managing director Darren Styles, followed by a speech from Anne Schreuders, director of Ice Cream (what a job title!), at Magnum, our returning sponsor. Herself a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Schreuders said: “We at Magnum believe that a day without pleasure is…

Brighton-based couple Wain Douglas and Nick Jordan have worked in many walks of life over the years, from theatre, performance and photoshoots to makeup and wig styling for top West End shows. For Wain, who performs as drag queen Kara Van Park, shopping for his part-time profession meant trawling the country — or the internet — to get a look together. Just over four years ago, Wain and Nick spotted a gap in the market. Using his business mind, Nick came up with the idea of a one-stop shop and website for drag and cross-dressing, from head to heels. And serendipity did the rest after a nearby premises came up for rent. The Brighton Birdcage opened its doors in May 2019, stocking everything from binders to bangles and quickly establishing…

First things first, we have some myths to bust. Taking to the high seas is not just (in fact, mostly not) the sole preserve of the old and infirm or clutches of highly strung gay types playing never-ending musical cabins. Like most of us, cruises and craft in which to cruise come in all shapes and sizes for all kinds of tastes and — as this Attitude special section reveals — can be surprisingly cost-effective or awash with luxury, sometimes both. Better still, in between spells beneath azure skies atop cobalt seas, with little to focus on but the distant horizon or an incoming gin martini, there’s every opportunity to explore ashore and have an authentic taste — or an amuse bouche, should you wish — of whatever destination just…

“I use my body as a part of the art form” Jake DuPree’s dreams are all coming true. The non-binary burlesque dancer, model and fitness instructor is every bit the star as they pose for Attitude’s Active shoot. DuPree has played at some phenomenal venues but is entirely at home in the iconic setting of The Windmill Soho in London. Its dark mirrored corridors, cabaret seating and the stage swing all make this the perfect setting. Illuminated by the warm pink hues of the stage lights, DuPree discusses how they got into burlesque, what it was like to perform at the Louvre, and gives their take on anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. When did you first get into burlesque? I got into burlesque six and a half years ago. My first big burlesque…

LOOSE CHANGE Pretty much everyone turns up to Loose Change’s July event in various shades of pink. Everything from the fashion to the lighting screams tonight’s theme: It’s a Barbie World. An inclusive and diverse night, Loose Change was started in 2022 to raise money for different LGBTQ+ charities and causes. Organisations to have benefitted so far include Gendered Intelligence, Queer Youth Art Collective, Stonewall Housing, Rainbow Migration, and Just Like Us. An ad-hoc event without a regular venue, it was also established in response to the closure of other queer clubs, and its founders have created a space that represents the community they want to serve — who are all in attendance tonight. Wisely tapping into the excitement and anticipation felt among the LGBTQ+ community for the Barbie movie,…

Prophet Helen Macdonald and Sin Blaché/Jonathan Cape From Helen Macdonald, prize-winning author of H is for Hawk, and debut co-author and musician Sin Blaché comes this gay X-Files answer to adventure conspiracy. Nostalgia is the yearning for simpler, happier times. But what would happen if, somehow, our most treasured memories could be turned into deadly weapons and used against us? On a secret US base in the UK, random objects have started appearing without explanation. Toys, mugs, and other mementos of the past have simply materialised out of nowhere. But there is something not quite right about them. A memory made almost real, but not quite. That’s when people start dying. Somehow, our most prized memories are manifesting and being used to harm us, but nobody knows how or why.…

ICE COLD Rimowa is taking its luggage collection on another incredibly cool adventure. The new Arctic Blue colourway appears across the range, starting with the Original Case. With its metallic grooves inspired by the ocean, the classic suitcase features Rimowa’s patented flex divider, a compression system that allows travellers to pack more while still keeping items in order. Also available in Arctic Blue are Rimowa’s Personal Aluminium Cross-Body Bag, and the nylon versions of the Never Still Flap Backpack Large, and the Never Still Flat Pouch, designed for carrying your laptop. Keep things fresh with your new travel ice-candy. rimowa.com…

Queer love on British television screens has — to quote Mother Miranda Priestly — moved at a glacial pace. The first simultaneous transmission of sound and pictures was achieved on 30 March 1930, but it would be almost 60 years before the first gay kiss was broadcast on British TV. The pioneering show was EastEnders in 1989, and the kiss was between Colin Russell, played by (now Lord) Michael Cashman, and his partner Barry Clark (actor Gary Hailes). It would be five more years before the first lesbian kiss was shown, between characters Beth Jordache (played by Anna Friel) and Margaret Clemence (Nicola Stephenson) in Brookside. Both storylines caused immense uproar, although I didn’t watch either of them at the time as my Greek Cypriot parents found British soaps rather…

Thought The Donald bad? The governor of Florida might just trump Trump. As such, we strongly advise you get familiar with staunch Republican Ron DeSantis, tipped as a future leader of the GOP Party and possibly the next US president… ❌ 2016 The then-Member of the US House of Representatives from Florida’s 6th district receives a “0” rating from the Human Rights Campaign on LGBTQ-related legislation. A year before, he cosponsored a bill preventing federal government from acting against discrimination against same-sex couples based on their “religious belief or moral conviction”. ❌2019 DeSantis is accused of “straight-washing” the three-year anniversary of the Pulse massacre, in which gunman Omar Mateen killed 49 attendees of an LGBTQ+ nightclub, after issuing a statement making no reference to the LGBTQ+ and Latino identities of…

Danny Beard is a queen of many talents. While they’re mainly known for their turn on series four of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, their journey to stardom began on Britain’s Got Talent, where the multi-faceted bearded one crooned all the way to the semi-finals. Stunning the judges with their rendition of Rocky Horror’s ‘Sweet Transvestite’, Danny’s vocal prowess played second fiddle only to their unique drag aesthetic, showcasing the star’s namesake beard and trademark contouring. Drag and singing form the basis of the Liverpool lovely’s new musical venture, Danny Beard and Their Band. The performer also tells us about the time one half of a famous pop duo left a nasty surprise on their dressing-room floor. Cheeky, cheeky! What’s a fact about you that no one knows? I’m a big…

Three MCU series we can’t wait for Loki Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has proved to be a fan favourite in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) ever since he first debuted in 2011’s Thor. Thanks to some multiverse magic, a variant of the character is alive and well as seen in Loki. But perhaps not for long given the cliff-hanger ending of the first season… Hopes for a further exploration of the character’s bisexuality and gender-fluidity may have been dashed after season one’s Kate Herron left the project, but we’re hoping for more queerness to come. Loki streams on Disney+ on 6 October. Echo A new project, Echo, will see the return of Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) who made her debut in the Hawkeye Disney+ series. We last saw Maya/Echo, the MCU’s…

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With the average age of House of Lords members currently at 71, it’s no surprise that Ruth Hunt — Baroness Hunt of Bethnal Green — felt “way too young” when she received the call to become a Life Peer at just 39. Hunt, who is publicly gay, was nominated for the role in 2019 by Theresa May in her Prime Minister’s Resignation Honours. It came just months after Hunt stepped down from a five-year role as CEO at Stonewall. She had joined the charity in 2005, shortly after civil partnerships were made legal, and the transgender law group Press For Change successfully campaigned for the Gender Recognition Act. Both came into effect that same year. During her 14 years at Stonewall, she fought to “change hearts and minds”, tackling issues…

I’ve never really been an anxious person, but on Strictly Come Dancing, I found myself facing the biggest wave of panic I’ve ever felt. There’s something about being totally out of your comfort zone, learning a completely new set of skills, and performing on TV to millions of people that seems to play on the nerves. At times, I really struggled. I experienced palpitations, a constant feeling of sickness, difficulty sleeping, and a constant desire to run away. I remember taking breaks just to ‘unwind’ my coiled spring of emotions. I even started seeing a psychologist. Anxiety is one of the most common mental health conditions — especially since the pandemic — and it’s probably starting to crop up again now that summer is ending. It is caused by an…

Don’t you just love a great comeback story? It had been a tumultuous few years in Tina Turner’s career in the lead-up to the singer’s fifth studio album. Separated from musical partner and husband Ike, Turner struggled to find her feet as she explored new sonic landscapes. Her prior attempts had failed to capture the attention of audiences at the time. Then, in 1983, she met music A&R John Carter who, despite opposition from Capitol Records, helped relaunch her career. She was on an uncharted path to becoming a bonafide solo star in her mid-forties. Private Dancer saw Turner collaborate with several hit producers and musicians of the time. Collectively, they helped her find a new sound for the 80s. It was fresh, but with the same rock’n’roll bite as…

Escape to an Autumn Pavement Andrew Salkey/Peepal Tree Press. First published 1960 A pioneering classic of queer Caribbean literature, this curious, concentrated novel, first published more than 60 years ago, follows the fortunes of Johnnie Sobert, a Jamaican man who leaves his overbearing mother behind in search of a new life. Living in London, he takes a job in a West End club frequented by Black American servicemen. When he is not hustling the G.I.s for drinks, he conducts a completely different life in north London, where he lives in a Hampstead bedsit and gets involved in a lack-lustre affair with his white landlady, Fiona. The juxtaposition of these two opposing worlds provides a lively portrait of Britons reacting to the growing presence of Black and Asian people in their…

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January 1995, Marc Almond In his 1994 cover interview with Attitude, Soft Cell’s Marc Almond got candid about his battles with addiction. “People talk about withdrawing from heroin, but prescription pills are very, very nasty,” he told us. “Believe me, withdrawing from 12 years of Valium and sleeping pills is a terrifying experience. There were times when I thought the trees were coming to get me.” Elsewhere, Antonio Banderas — who is looking mighty fine in the recent Indiana Jones film, btw — told us all about his deleted scene from Philadelphia, the Oscar-winning HIV/AIDS drama with Tom Hanks. “Tom and I had a scene in bed where I tell him a story in a funny way about how a guy in the gym said to me: ‘How you gonna…

Have you ever woken up with someone inside of you? I have. At first, I tried to find it funny. As a comedian, I often joke about trauma. But this experience is not funny and it’s not normal. My mid-20s were pretty dark. Childhood trauma and gay shame were catching up with me, plus a toxic workplace made me feel worthless. Then one night, most of which remains a blackout, I woke up in a stranger’s bed with someone’s dick in my bum. I definitely wasn’t ‘ready’ for this encounter, and the shame and dirtiness of that overshadowed the fact that this was rape. Using the word ‘rape’ is uncomfortable for me, and it is only now that I’m acknowledging this incident as such. Gay men can too often normalise…

I’m 21 years old and, honestly, life has been a rollercoaster so far. Before going to college, I went to an all-girls Catholic school. I was raised to pray to the Lord and to act in a very feminine way and to be a bit timid — basically, to have traits that [society here thinks] a Filipina girl *should* have. This really changed when I entered high school; the idea of being queer was just much more accepted than at middle school. Every day felt like Pride month! It was such a safe space. We were all girls, we all knew each other, and grew up together. If there were trans men — which there were — it was pretty much OK. We’d say, “That’s cool.” You don’t see that…

To you, the word ‘daddy’ may conjure up images of Pedro Pascal staring deep into your soul with those rich brown eyes. For me, though, daddy has a very different meaning. As a parent to three young children, I hear it approximately 20,000 times a day — from breakfast through to bedtime — and after finally tucking them into bed I am about as far removed from a gay fantasy of a ‘daddy’ as you can be. But at the moment being a gay daddy is somewhat unsettling. In Europe, we seem to be moving backwards rather than forwards, with Hungary allowing LGTBQ+ families to be reported to the authorities, while in Italy new laws that gave parenting rights to the gays look set to be reversed by the country’s…

Season two of Heartstopper not only sees the characters we know and love grow, but we also get some fresh heartstoppers in our lives. Episode three introduces us to Naomi and Felix, two brand-new characters played by Bel Priestley and Ash Self respectively. Naomi and Felix meet Elle Argent (Yasmin Finney) at an open day for the Lambert School of Art. (Could this new direction see her spending time away from her beau Tao Xu when we spent so long waiting for them to get together?) Elle, Naomi and Felix quickly bond and become fast friends, much to Tao’s chagrin. Away from the shoot, Bel and Ash discuss their roles. “Naomi is a fun, cool, confident art student. She’s proud of herself, doing her own thing, a breath of fresh…

It’s barely been 24 hours since Adore Delano posted an Instagram video coming out as trans. I consequently go into our Zoom catch-up with a sensitive and respectful mindset, aware that she may be in a fragile place. Just moments in, it’s blatant that Adore is just as outrageously candid as she usually is — tender topics be damned. “Dude, that’s not me at all!” she says, when I explain my delicate approach to her later in our conversation. “I’d been thinking a while about how I was going to announce [my transition] because I was going to take a few months off after my surgery and wait till then, but I thought, how disingenuous would that be to show up with a new face and be like, ‘Hey, guys!…

Single father of one Tuvia Borok has certainly led an illustrious career, from starting out as a flight attendant to put himself through law school in Canada to becoming a senior figure in the world’s second largest investment bank Goldman Sachs as global head of policy and documentation for the global banking & markets division in London. Here, he shares with Attitude the challenges he’s faced along the way, and how making everyone feel like they belong is the secret to success. How did you get into law? It was actually by fluke. I’d always wanted to be a paediatrician, but chemistry was bringing down my GPA [Grade Point Average] and it was impacting my ability to get a scholarship for university. The other challenge I had is I’m quite…

The advice was clear, unambiguous and based on a personal experience that tended towards the harrowing when recounted. “Do not, under any circumstances, miss the last cable car of the day down to the port, or you’ll have to walk the donkey path. And you really, really don’t want to do that.” I blame the lesbians. For everything, mostly. And at any opportunity. But very specifically, on this occasion, for showing my partner Tom and I a good time. Probably the best night of the trip, in fact. It begins with a magical mystery tour across the hills of Santorini en route to a glorious rooftop dinner in the middle of a village. We eat well, imbibe cocktails, watch the sun go down, and laugh a lot. Probably a bit…

DAN I’ve never really felt like I fit into any particular label. I’m not skinny and I’m not muscular; I’m somewhere in between. I’m not overly masculine or camp either. I’m thankful for what my body does for me. I’ve come a long way from being a very insecure boy, who wouldn’t wear a vest, to just being grateful that my body lets me get out of bed in the morning and live my life. But my relationship with it is still a work in progress. I struggle to articulate what my actual body image journey is. It’s always been that I feel too skinny. I feel like an idiot saying that out loud, but it’s a reality for me. I’ve always struggled to put on weight, and seeing the…

‘Vanishing’ Mariah often layers songs with her voice, which is perhaps what makes this strippedback ballad from her debut album so striking. With minimal production and backing vocals, her voice comes across as stark and emotive. Mariah is a master of the heartbreaking ballad, and this is the singer-songwriter at her finest, delivering a song about fading love with raw, unfiltered emotion. ‘Slipping Away’ A bonus track on the ‘Always Be My Baby’ single, this is Mariah at her R’n’B best. The rolling beats and bittersweet lyrics make this a fan favourite: “You’re slipping away from the life and the love that we made / Baby, I’m so afraid…” Outrageously excluded from the Daydream album, ‘Slipping Away’ never had its chance to shine. ‘Last Night a DJ Saved My Life’…