Karin Dreijer is practising staying present 🪐
On the cover of the July issue of GAY TIMES Magazine, this is @feverray .
The Swedish artist’s challenging take on pop complicates the conventions of both genre and gender. They speak to Anna Cafolla about creating a safe space for queer folks with their There’s No Place I’d Rather Be tour.
Read the new cover feature at the link in bio.
Words by @annagranola
Photography by @lydia_garnett
You can’t beat the doll! 💅
Roxxxy Andrews continued to prove that she’s a lip-sync assassin for the ages in the latest episode of Drag Race All Stars 9.
For their eighth maxi-challenge, the queens created a runway eleganza that takes inspiration from one of RuPaul’s songs.
Roxxxy and Plastique respectively won their third and fourth challenge of the season, before competing in the lip-sync battle to Diana Ross’ 1979 disco anthem ‘No One Gets The Prize’.
Although Plastique put up a good fight, Roxxxy served face, attitude and nailcare, with her captivating stage presence resulting in another lip-sync win.
Fun fact: Roxxxy has never lost a lip-sync, winning all six she’s competed in. (Two were ties, which counts as a win). Again, because it bears repeating: you! can’t! beat! the! doll!
Head to the link in bio for the full recap.
📝 @jordyyy.02
Classical Pride is back, and it starts tonight! 🎻
@ozeffman , Founder and Artistic Director of the event, is kicking off the celebrations with Classical Drag which will take place at HERE at Outernet.
Zeffman will be joined by a truly gag-worthy line-up of talent such as Barbs, Snow White Trash, Beau Jangles, Freddie Love and Drag Race UK alum Vinegar Strokes.
Judges and special guests include Drag Race stars Monét X Change and Thorgy Thor, soprano Pumeza Matshikiza, star operatic tenor Nicky Spence and London legend Jonny Woo.
In partnership with ViiV Healthcare and GAY TIMES, Classical Pride is taking place from 3 to 7 July 2024.
Watch the video above for an exclusive look at what’s to come during the five-day extravaganza, and head to the link in bio to grab your tickets.
Two young protestors scaled NHS England’s Wellington House on 29 June calling for trans kids to receive better healthcare across the UK. However, the protest - organised by Trans Kids Deserve Better (TKDB) - is still ongoing, with a growing number of pro-trans community voices showing support.
Trans Kids Deserve Better is a UK action network fighting for equal access to gender-affirming care. “To delay care to a trans person is to deny it. We don't have time to wait,” their website statement reads. “Secondly, we should be able to give informed consent to our own treatment - just as any cisgender young person already can.”
The activists displayed a poignant banner which read: “We are not pawns for your politics” – a poignant message addressing the unsettling rise of transphobia and fearmongering present in the UK.
TKDB’s protest comes in light of the UK government banning all access to puberty blockers for trans youth in the UK. Zeds, an activist on the NHS HQ building, told Dazed why it was necessary to demand political change: “Trans young people are denied life-saving healthcare, and stripped of our autonomy in decisions about our own lives,” they explained.
“We are used as political pawns and bargaining chips in culture wars, all while being denied a voice in every single conversation about us, from the media to court cases,” they continue. “We are taking back our power, and reminding everyone that trans kids deserve better. We need change, and this is where we start.”
📝 @zoya.shxikh
📸 @transkidsdeservebetter
This Thursday July 4, from 11:45pm until late, @gaytimes.es & @gaytimes are hosting the ‘Love Sensation: GT40 Magazine Party’ at @editionmadrid .
Celebrating Pride in Madrid and the GT40 installation at the hotel, the party will feature an exciting lineup of house and disco music, from DJs @mysteryaffair , @djbert___ and @akainusound .
Tickets available at the link in bio!
Powered by @adidasoriginals
Jade Thirlwall has announced the release of her long-awaited debut single, ‘Angel of My Dreams’ 😭👼
The singer, who memorably rose to superstardom as a member of Little Mix, one of the best-selling girl groups in history, will officially launch the track on Friday 19 July.
Written in LA alongside Steph Jones (Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Espresso’), Pablo Bowman (Little Mix’s ‘Only You’) and Mike Sabath (Raye’s ‘Escapism’), ‘Angel of My Dreams’ is described as a “frenetically shapeshifting, gloriously OTT banger that explores her love/hate relationship” of the pop music industry.
In a statement, Jade said she didn’t want her first solo single to be “safe”: “That was really important to me. I’m setting the tone of who I am as an artist on my own.
“What I’m going for is a pop punch to the face. I want people to be like ‘oh my god, I didn’t expect that’ – but then want to listen to it again."
Find out more at the upcoming single at the link in bio.
BREAKING NEWS: Crystal, Cara Melle and Victoria Scone are on a mission to cure electile dysfunction in the UK 👀🗳️
In a hilarious new video, the three Drag Race UK legends can be seen sashaying around Central London to encourage young people to vote in the UK’s General Election on 4 July (this Thursday!).
A recent study from The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) revealed that only 40% of young people who are eligible to vote will head to the polls this year.
The video follows Crystal’s recent photo campaign, “Vote, Babes!”, in which she recruited various Drag Race UK alumni and legendary figures within the British drag community to help increase voter registration and turnout.
Hit the link in bio for more info on Crystal’s “Vote, Babes!” campaign and, as Victoria reminds Londoners in the video, remember to bring your ID when you vote this Thursday!
📝 @samdamshenas
🎥 @mattfordstudio
“Mighty Hoopla disrupted the festival industry. Sink the Pink disrupted clubland. With Pink Noise, we want to do the same. We want to change the traditional way of fundraising.” ⚡️
Glyn Fussell and Jamie Tagg love a bit of disruption. With their beloved LGBTQIA+ club night Sink the Pink, the duo injected some much-needed rainbow energy into a rather sanitised and heteronormative industry, bathing queers in glitter and sweat for over thirteen years.
And over on the festival circuit, Fussell and Tagg are the masterminds behind Mighty Hoopla, the UK’s ultimate celebration of pop music that has played host to icons such as Nelly Furtado, Kelly Rowland, En Vogue and Sister Sledge. Now, the creatives are aiming to bring that same energy over to the fundraising industry with their community-led foundation, Pink Noise.
At the link in bio, the pair speak with GAY TIMES about their ‘disruptive’ new LGBTQIA+ foundation and the future of their pop music extravaganza.
📝 @samdamshenas
Congratulations are in order for Nikki Hiltz who is heading to the Paris Olympics following their record-breaking win! 🥇
On 30 June, the non-binary winner qualified after competing in the 1500-meter race at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials with a time of 3:55:33. Hiltz was in fourth place until the final 300 metres, where they charged past their competition all the way to first place.
This was the second-fastest time of any American in the women’s 1500-meter race at the U.S. Olympic Trials. The runner is also the organisation's first non-binary national champion.
Hiltz, who will be making their Olympic debut, opened up to NBC Sports about the huge significance of this accomplishment.
“This is bigger than just me. It’s the last day of Pride ... I wanted to run this one for my community,” they shared.
“All the LGBT folks, yeah, you guys brought me home that last hundred [meters]. I could just feel the love and support.”
The runner came out as non-binary via Instagram in 2021, where they wrote: “Hi I’m Nikki and I’m transgender. That means I don’t identify with the gender I was assigned at birth. The word I use currently to describe my gender is non-binary. The best way I can explain my gender is as fluid.”
Huge congratulations on making history, Nikki!
📸 @nikkihiltz on X
![Congratulations are in order for Nikki Hiltz who is heading to the Paris Olympics following their record-breaking win! On 30 June, the non-binary winner qualified after competing in the 1500-meter race at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials with a time of 3:55:33. Hiltz was in fourth place until the final 300 metres, where they charged past their competition all the way to first place. This was the second-fastest time of any American in the women’s 1500-meter race at the U.S. Olympic Trials. The runner is also the organisation's first non-binary national champion.Hiltz, who will be making their Olympic debut, opened up to NBC Sports about the huge significance of this accomplishment.“This is bigger than just me. It’s the last day of Pride ... I wanted to run this one for my community,” they shared. “All the LGBT folks, yeah, you guys brought me home that last hundred [meters]. I could just feel the love and support.” The runner came out as non-binary via Instagram in 2021, where they wrote: “Hi I’m Nikki and I’m transgender. That means I don’t identify with the gender I was assigned at birth. The word I use currently to describe my gender is non-binary. The best way I can explain my gender is as fluid.”Huge congratulations on making history, Nikki! @nikkihiltz on X](https://sp1.pixwox.com/p/pt_6811254416543643185364_0_33f5a2d7783b4a479467244ac0e782af.jpg?v/t51.2885-15/449765213_513334317686678_6987260893503297442_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_p828x828&efg=eyJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6ImltYWdlX3VybGdlbi4xMDgweDEzNTAuc2RyLmYyODg1In0&_nc_ht=scontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_cat=102&_nc_ohc=euwjQkZeyEcQ7kNvgGyo4vs&edm=ABmJApABAAAA&ccb=7-5&ig_cache_key=MzQwMzI1NzA3NDQ4MDA1MzE5OQ%3D%3D.2-ccb7-5&oh=00_AYCoONJy4cJbVBGldXLWRQg4GS8iRagRkPN2JQSHAGcKNQ&oe=668C1AA0&_nc_sid=b41fef)
