Innholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2025 i Attitude Magazine

Aaron Sugg NEWSWRITER The first time I saw myself represented in the media was watching Alan Carr: Chatty Man. I was a 10-year-old prepubescent boy with a Lady Gaga singing toothbrush and a dream. Totally oblivious to sexuality, I couldn’t look away from this witty, hilariously camp man on mainstream TV, interviewing the very voice coming from my toothbrush. It was a gamechanger. I didn’t even know that a man could be with another man. It wasn’t about seeing someone gay on screen; it was about seeing someone like me being celebrated for his humour and charm. That moment didn’t just help me understand my identity; it shaped my ambition. Eleven years later, I’m a confident gay man following in Carr’s footsteps — interviewing people I could have only dreamed…

The Chancery Rosewood is bringing fresh glamour to Mayfair. Occupying Grosvenor Square’s iconic former American Embassy, it’s had a chic facelift by architect Sir David Chipperfield and interior genius Joseph Dirand. With 144 luxe suites blending heritage charm and contemporary style, guests can enjoy standout dining — including a branch of New York’s famed Italian-American eaterie Carbone — as well as the rooftop Eagle Bar offering epic city views, and a subterranean wellness haven at Asaya Spa, which includes a 25-metre swimming pool. Promising London an injection of cultural buzz and hyper-personalised luxury, it’s set to become the hottest address for tastemakers craving a slice of sophistication. Bookings are available from 1 September 2025. rosewoodhotels.com…

After six years in the foldable game, Samsung seems to have finally perfected the formula with the release of its new Galaxy Z Fold7. Gorgeously thin at just 8.9mm when folded, the flagship resembles a regular smartphone in size, unfurling to reveal a glorious 8-inch display perfect for enjoying videos, reading books or comics, and split-screen multitasking. Its triple-lens camera array includes a 200-megapixel main shooter (the same one found in its S25 Ultra sibling), while Samsung’s suite of Galaxy AI tools allows for seamless object removal in photos, erasing background noise from videos, transcription and summary of voice recordings, and much more. From £1,799. samsung.com/uk…

From the hallowed Royal Vauxhall Tavern to a sold-out UK tour via the semifinals of Britain’s Got Talent, Myra DuBois is very much accustomed to having live audiences — and her burgeoning Instagram and TikTok fanbase — in hysterics. Proudly Rotherham’s finest export, her cutting barbs and acerbic side-eye are as infamous as her trademark bouffant and leopard-print ensembles. On her last sold-out UK tour, Myra demonstrated her abilities as an empath, bringing the (often unsolicited) messages of the dead to the baying paying British public. On her forthcoming tour Cosmic Empath, the comedian, singer and unofficial (gl)ambassador of the north will be questioning where her great gift for compassion comes from. Her upbringing? Her ancestors? The cosmos? Our bet is on the leopard print. Where did your parents find…

Jake Graf (he/him) Actor, author, filmmaker As a transgender man, I want to acknowledge the gay men who are doing incredible work to uplift and protect trans lives. Your allyship is vital and deeply appreciated. But too many gay men are silent right now, when trans people — especially trans youth and trans women — are under relentless attack. It may feel like an unnecessary effort to fight a battle that is not your own, but please remember those trans folk who fought alongside you when society was treating gay men with exactly the same contempt as it treats us now. Just as you deserved your dignity and equality, so do we. I’ve heard the excuses: “It’s too complicated.” But complexity is not an excuse for inaction. What some call…

‘I kind of love that, ’cos everybody always calls me a villain,” Willam says at the beginning of our call when I tell her I want this interview to frame her as drag’s anti-hero. “I wasn’t even a villain on my season. I was nice to people. I let them borrow stuff. I was gregarious.” Now, she’s fronting a new series on OUTtv. Willam’s Dark Room Duel is part talent show, part strip club, part chaotic queer congregation. It’s also a full-circle moment for a queen who many may not know made her name running LA’s go-go scene. “In 2002, I started booking strippers for Mickey’s, The Abbey and, like, 20 other clubs in SoCal, San Diego, Orange County and Vegas,” she explains. “I did that until about 2015.” That…

Fernando Soriano Iglesias is an observer. A self-confessed sponge, he soaks up everything — from the interplay of architecture in London’s Mayfair, where Radley is based, to the textures and materials of the new collection he shows Attitude in the showroom. Each bag is a miniature construction, created with the obsessive care of someone who sees design beauty in ultrahigh definition. Where does your story begin? I am originally from a town about 20 kilometres outside Santander, in the north of Spain. I moved to Madrid to study at the IED design school. From a young age, I was deeply inspired by the worlds of design, architecture, art history and interiors. I am a very visual person. I always wanted to be an architect, above all else, but I discovered…

GREEK CHIC If Mykonos is the Greek god of queer summer escapes, then new island hotel Axel Beach is its sun-drenched temple. Perched above the Aegean, this adults-only escape is unapologetically bold, playful and proudly hetero-friendly (read: queer as hell). This is Axel’s third island property, and its 31 sleekly whitewashed rooms come with a garden and sea views — some even have their own private pool. There is also the Skybar pool and terrace for mingling under the sun, as well as the Anu restaurant and bar. The LGBTQ+-friendly Elia Beach and Super Paradise Beach are just a few minutes away by car, or a 10-minute taxi ride will take you to Jackie O’s in Mykonos Town. But you might not want to leave the in-house bar scene, where…

Sun-kissed, seductive and effortlessly chic, Nice pulses with a swagger that’s as vibrant as its Riviera sunsets. Here, glamour comes with an edge: picture sunbathing on pebble beaches, before sipping cocktails on rooftop terraces overlooking the Promenade des Anglais, and spending lively evenings in sultry bars tucked away in narrow streets lined with pastel-hued buildings. Beyond the postcardperfect façade lies a city unafraid to embrace its flair — a playground where queer culture thrives, mingling effortlessly with Mediterranean allure. Nice is calling and is ready to flirt. WHAT TO DO No visit to Nice would be complete without sauntering along the famous Promenade des Anglais. These four dazzling miles of palm-fringed pavement are where chic locals go for a stroll and jocks take their jogs. In the adjacent Baie des…

ASK THE AUTHOR WORDS JAMES HODGE AJ West has had a varied career. He started out as a journalist before appearing on TV in the Big Brother house. Now he’s an author whose historical novels have won plaudits. His first book, The Spirit Engineer, about the Ireland of 1914, won him the HWA Debut Crown Award. Now his historical thriller The Betrayal of Thomas True — about the dangerous society of the Mollies, the queer community of 1700s London — is out in paperback (Attitude published a companion article to the hardback’s publication in issue 359). With another award, the Crime Writers’ Association Historical Dagger, under his belt, West speaks to Attitude about the history of the Mollies, how reality TV inspired him, and the surprising origins of oral sex. We…

GLAZED AND GORGEOUS With humid summer days behind us, the crisp autumn air brings dry, dull, lifeless skin. That is, until the Rhode Glazing Mist entered our lives. Co-signed by Hollywood heartthrob Harris Dickinson, this featherlight mist is a shortcut to serious hydration and next-level dewiness. Made for all skin types, the fragrance-free mist keeps skin calm while dialling up the radiance. A cocktail of ceramides moisturises and smooths skin while reinforcing the natural barrier, resulting in a visibly healthier, more resilient complexion. Use it morning or night (or any time your skin needs a reset). Glowing, plump, and misted to perfection, this is how you skincare in style. rhodeskin.com REVIEW ST. PANCRAS SPA AT T H E ST. PANCRAS LONDON It’s incomprehensible that the palatial St. Pancras London, home…

I have a friend, let’s call him ‘Tom’, who is married with two kids. They’re very happy in their countryside-dwelling life, a world away from the hedonism of the club scene that the early foundation of our friendship is founded on. These days we meet to take the kids to the cinema, play mini-golf or go to an exhibition when they make the journey into London. A couple times a year, Tom and his wife leave their kids with the grandparents and escape for a weekend away. Sometimes, together they’ll have sex with a third person or even a couple. And often that means Tom has sex with another man. Last year, as we watched the Pride in London parade together, I said in passing, “This is your community, too. You’re…

With a campaign fronted by Hollywood dreamboat Timothée Chalamet, Bleu de Chanel L’Exclusif pushes the boundaries of the house’s iconic c fragrance with a more powerful, more enigmatic take on the masculine scent. Created by in-house perfumer Olivier Polge, this new interpretation strips things back to a dense, amber-woody ody core, led by rich sandalwood and layered with labdanum for leathery, resinous depth. Housed in a deep blue, minimalist ist square bottle, it’s a concentrated blend of raw materials and refined vision, marking the most intense evolution of Bleu de Chanel to date.…

Le Sel d’Issey Eau de Parfum is the latest release from Issey Miyake Parfums, channelling “the warm intensity of salt”. This new chapter builds on last year’s Eau de Toilette with a deeper, more intense profile, reinvented by perfumer Quentin Bisch. A woody, marine fragrance with dry amber notes, it blends seaweed, oakmoss, incense, cedarwood and an amber accord for a long-lasting scent that ignites the senses. Reflecting the energy of the elements, the bottle features a sharp, minimalist design with a gunmetal cap and recycled glass. It’s also vegan, refillable and made with 94 per cent naturally derived ingredients, including upcycled cedarwood and seaweed.…

DOJA CAT SPECIAL 2015 A pre-fame, 19-year-old Doja uses the homophobic slur “faggot” to refer to Odd Future members Tyler, the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt. August 2018 Hot on the heels of the success of her first viral hit ‘Mooo!’, those aforementioned past tweets of Doja’s resurface. You could forgive a teenager for saying it, but a 22-year-old defending such language is just annoying. “I called a couple people faggots when I was in high school in 2015, does this mean I don’t deserve support?” she tweets. She then boasts: “I’ve said faggot roughly, like, 15 thousand times in my life. Does saying faggot mean you hate gay people? Do I hate gay people? I don’t think I hate gay people. Gay is OK.” OK, um, cheers. August 2018 Responding…

A SLEEPY SOUTHEAST LONDON PUB GARDEN FELT LIKE the perfect discreet spot for dissecting life with Alexander Lincoln on a late Tuesday afternoon. He walks in — all six feet, three inches of him, pint in hand — and so much for quiet anonymity: it turns out he knows the only other couple occupying the pub garden. (She’s a former co-star of a nicotine replacement product ad they filmed many moons ago.) As the universe chuckles at my attempt at privacy, and the giddiness of an accidental Nicorette reunion fades, we settle down for our chat at the end of a long picnic bench. Lincoln is best known to mainstream audiences for playing bad boy Jamie Tate in Emmerdale, and to his ardent army of gay fans for his leading…

FARIS MY CHILDHOOD WAS split between Jordan, where I was born and raised until I was nine, and Hertfordshire, where I continued my studies as a teenager. I would say that both places had a profound effect on how my body image developed. Middle Eastern families tend to really care about the way you and your body look, and they won’t be shy to tell you if you’ve gained some weight or you’re not looking your best. I think this culture in my family definitely contributed to me developing a lot of insecurities and body dysmorphia. Coming to England as a child, I noticed that many people here, especially the older generation, are not dissimilar. I would often hear my nan making comments about people being fat or overweight, so,…

As I prepare for the next home match at Cougar Park for Keighley Cougars rugby league club — bought by my husband Ryan and me in 2019 — I often think about the strained relationship between the LGBTQ+ community and sport. Growing up in Brazil, I often struggled when PE classes were coming up. Safe to say, I did not feel welcome, and the bullying I suffered was incessant. Brazilian society dictates that men should play football and women should play other sports, so every time I raised my hand to ask the PE teacher if I could play volleyball with the girls, I was met with taunts and insults such as “bicha” — “queer” in Portuguese. That knocked my self-esteem for sure, but as I grew more comfortable with…

“We’ve had youngsters apply for a job, and then within their first week they’ve told us that they’re gay” Chef Rafael Cagali opened his two-Michelin-starred restaurant Da Terra in London in 2019, quickly bringing his boyfriend Charlie Lee on board to lead the front-of-house team. But their culinary partnership has deeper roots. Originally from Brazil, Cagali arrived in London 22 years ago for a short stay to improve his English. Soon, a part-time catering job to fund his studies set him on an unexpected gastronomic journey that led to him working with esteemed chefs in Italy and Spain. In 2012, he landed a role at Heston Blumenthal’s legendary three-Michel-instarred restaurant, The Fat Duck in Bray, where he first met Lee. After their time at one of the world’s gourmet landmarks,…

There’s something gloriously camp about a cruise. Maybe it’s the endless buffets, maybe it’s the nightly entertainment that feels one cocktail away from full panto, or maybe it’s the sheer audacity of stuffing 5,200 passengers onto a floating city and sending it off to find paradise. Either way, P&O Cruises’ Arvia — the largest ship in the P&O fleet and one of the newer darlings of the British cruise scene — is a ship that demands your attention. Even if, much like Madonna at the Met Gala, there are times you’d rather look away… Our adventure begins with a rum punch, of course it does, because where else do you start a Caribbean cruise but Barbados? This sun-kissed island is where Arvia boards her eager passengers. Think families from Hampshire,…

END OF AN ERA As Dior Men enters a new chapter, Kim Jones’s final bow won’t be forgotten. A sleek, romantic send-off from a master of modern fashion, the A/W 25 menswear collection was characterised by timeless elegance and subtle innovation. A highlight is Palmarès, a gleaming patent leather dress shoe capped with a satin bow that perfectly captures the refined yet daring spirit that defined Jones’s tenure at the house. A sly wink to Dior’s couture pedigree, the bow delivers just enough drama to make any occasion feel like a moment. Sophisticated, romantic and quietly opulent, it’s the kind of exit only Jones could pull off. dior.com STONE-COLD STYLE Homme Plissé Issey Miyake gives us a geology lesson for A/W 25, turning rocks into style gold. Inspired by the…

Attitude is thrilled to continue its nine-year partnership with the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival, which returns for its 19th edition in Cardiff this October. To celebrate the festival’s 20th anniversary next year, the Best British category is expanding from 15 to 20 shorts, with new award categories including performance, writing and producing — all shining a spotlight on emerging UK talent. This year’s programme includes Sleazy Tiger, featuring Alan Cumming playing a fictionalised version of himself in James Ley’s debut short film on the humour and complexity of queer dating. Alongside the main event, Iris on the Move will tour 35 venues across the UK, featuring special anniversary events in Newcastle, Manchester, Brighton and Edinburgh.…

How is the Blitz Club, a 50-person-capacity Soho nightclub that closed four decades ago, still a talking point today, not to mention the subject of a major London Design Museum exhibition opening on 20 September? Blitz: the club that shaped the 80s asks that question, and the answer is: its inherent queerness. Through rare photographs and artefacts, plus first-hand accounts by the people who lived it — including Culture Club’s Boy George (pictured) — the exhibition allows you to trace the cultural influence of the Blitz Club, from fashion and music to the most out and proud of the younger trans and gender-diverse community today. This is the epitome of LGBTQ+ time travel.…

Starting in October, I’ll be touring the UK with my drag show, Drag Mother. I’m excited to share my drag with the regions. Without wanting to sound all nationalist, I must admit I’m extremely proud to be a British drag queen. From 2021–2024, I was living in Los Angeles, and during my stint there, I really appreciated what British drag queens so uniquely have to offer. Don’t get me wrong: the American queens are fierce — around West Hollywood, I would gawp at the photo-finish beats of the queens in the clubs, the jaw-dropping construction of their outfits and the death drops they can do literally on demand. And safe to say, it’s a level of polish and commitment to aesthetic that is harder to find in British drag. We…

For many queer men, the prostate has long been thought of as the “male G-spot” — a source of intense sexual sensation. Yet, after the age of 50, the prostate can demand attention for reasons far beyond pleasure. I got a powerful reminder of this recently at the PEUGEOT Attitude PRIDE Awards Europe, supported by British Airways. At the event, Darren Styles, publisher of Attitude magazine and a prominent voice in the LGBTQ+ community, bravely shared that he had recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer. It was a sobering moment, and one that brought home how important it is that we, as queer men, become as prostate-aware as we are breast-aware or ball-aware. Early detection can save lives. What is the prostate? The prostate is a small, walnutsized gland that…

At Downing Street’s Pride reception in July, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said attendees were there to “celebrate that truly transformational work” carried out by LGBTQ+ organisations. “I want you to know that this is a government committed to the fundamental principles of respect, dignity and equality,” Starmer continued, adding that he is “absolutely determined” to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people “right across Britain”. The next day, Starmer’s government published updated Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSE) guidance for schools that was quickly likened to “Section 28 2.0”. According to Labour’s guidance, from September 2026 schools must teach students that there is “significant debate” about trans identities and avoid materials that could “encourage pupils to question their gender”. Calling the move “a dangerous regression in inclusive education”, Pride in…

IT’S NOT A chest, not a butt, it’s not a torso — it’s a butt-chin,” says artist Jwan Yosef in his charming, beautifully polite speaking manner. “It’s fun for me to abstract body parts of mine that aren’t necessarily initially sexualised. In that context, it’s fun to play and discover your own body in painting.” The Syrian-born, Swedish-patriated creative is telling me about his self-portrait series Cave, and suffice to say, the 40-year-old is rocking my artistic world and broadening my sexual horizons: I’d never noticed how the humble chin dimple — preferably a really deep, pronounced one with a smattering of stubble on it — indeed looks like a “hole to fill”. “What I wanted to do was effectively just superimpose this tiny, tiny piece of my face, but…

When tens of thousands filled the streets for this year’s London Trans+ Pride, the noise, the signs, the joy all spoke to something bigger. Now in its sixth year, the grassroots protest has become the largest trans rights demonstration in the world. And thanks to a £1,000 donation from Carla Antonelli, funded by PEUGEOT via the Attitude Magazine Foundation, the organisers have a little more power to keep pushing. Held on Saturday 26 July, this year’s march broke all previous records, with over 100,000 people walking from Oxford Circus to Parliament Square. The route passed through Piccadilly Circus, Hyde Park Corner and Trafalgar Square, flanked by trans flags and placards, while speeches called out the UK’s increasingly hostile political landscape. Actress Yasmin Finney joined the likes of Munroe Bergdorf, Jaxon…

IT’S ONE THING for two guys to click in bed. Quite another to make it on the road. For six weeks I’d been sharing a single bed with a hot scientist in the middle of England. Was it too soon for Paris? I wondered. Could our grad school pair-bonding survive a foreign dimension? And both of us Leos. I remember that first drink in a dark and sagging pub, where I confessed to this handsome Zimbabwean zoologist that I dreamt of writing for National Geographic, which meant I intended to travel incessantly. He chuckled at my lack of ambition — journalism? As a serious conservationist, he was committed to saving the world’s rarest species from extinction. I was new to meeting men in bars, so I thought this was the…

In 1994, at Gilstead Middle School, the halls buzzed with gossip. Did you hear? Alex and Matthew wore women’s underwear. These were not the cool kids either; these were the ‘swots’, the musical theatre nerds. That’s right — a group of students had ventured to Leeds Playhouse to see The Rocky Horror Show. In West Yorkshire, this was quite the scandal. These days, the theatre kids stan Hamilton or Hadestown, or lurk outside the London Palladium for a glimpse of Rachel Zegler, but nothing right now compares to the renegade, subversive and entirely queer world of Rocky Horror, which hit the silver screen 50 years ago. The stage version started life two years before the film. Creator Richard O’Brien (latterly of The Crystal Maze fame) was an out-of-work actor who…

‘Magnifique’, B-side A B-side cut from the first Scissor Sisters album, this track is a manifesto for the band’s approach to pop music. A highcamp and flirtatious description of a handsome piece of trade being admired on a dance floor, the spoken-word playfulness and high drama make this a quintessential Scissor Sisters hidden gem. In the words of Ana Matronic, “Hey! Are you ready for this?” ‘Return to Oz’, album track A fan favourite, ‘Return to Oz’ alludes to the under-loved dark and twisted film sequel to queer classic The Wizard of Oz. A metaphor for the drug-use epidemic in the gay community, this hypnotic track with its strange harmonies and painful emotiveness captures the tragedy of both the issue facing many men and the cult movie that inspired it.…

The PEUGEOT Attitude PRIDE Awards Europe, supported by British Airways, took over The Peninsula London on 4 July. Now in its ninth year and with a brand-new name, the event honoured 10 brilliant changemakers from across the LGBTQ+ community. Long-time heroes, rising stars and familiar faces came together to celebrate stories of courage, defiance and joy. Three of this year’s winners were flown in from France, Spain and Malta courtesy of new partner BA Euroflyer, while headline sponsor PEUGEOT returned for a second year, showcasing four of its gorgeous all-electric E-3008 and E-5008 cars both outside and inside the venue. Guests arrived to a lively red carpet and an M&S drinks reception, with prosecco flowing as the five-star ballroom filled up. To open the ceremony, Attitude’s publisher Darren Styles OBE…