Graham Robson - Scene Magazine (Page 40)

Katie-George Dunlevy, Ireland’s most decorated Paralympic athlete of all time, hopes to inspire visually impaired children and the LGBTQ+ community

The most decorated Irish Paralympic athlete of all time, Katie-George Dunlevy, discovered she had retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision, when she was not yet 12 years old. Now the English-born, out gay athlete, who won a gold and two silver medals at this ye

By Graham Robson • 2 min read

LGBTQ+ News

Pipeworks, “Scotland’s best and largest Gay Sauna Club”, to open first premises in England

More details have emerged of a new gay men’s sauna opening in Leeds, which will include a steam room, dry sauna, cold dunk showers, swimming pool and a rooftop spa area. The sauna, part of Pipeworks company, which describes its Glasgow premises as “Scotland’s best and largest gay sauna club”, will b

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

LGBTQ+ News

Fighting With Pride seeks your views on an LGBT Armed Forces Community Memorial

Fighting With Pride, the military charity which supports the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ veterans, has announced the launch of a survey asking for your views on an LGBT Armed Forces Community Memorial. A community-led and inspired memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum would be funded by the

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

LGBTQ+ News

Two women ordered to pay €8,000 in damages after claiming ‘France’s first lady’ Brigitte Macron is trans

Brigitte Macron, wife of French President Emmanual Macron, has been awarded €8,000 in damages after two women made claims ‘France’s first lady’ is transgender. Amandine Roy and Natacha Rey had posted a YouTube video in December 2021 alleging the French president’s wife had once been a man named Jean

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

Community News

Ding dong! Brighton & Hove’s LGBTQ+ Rainbow Chorus drop details of their ‘Big Festive Rainbow Bellter’

Join Brighton & Hove’s LGBTQ+ Rainbow Chorus for a ding-dong of a musical evening on Saturday, December 14 at St Mary’s Church, Kemptown. Tickets are now on sale for the Big Festive Rainbow Bellter where you can expect a festive and uplifting evening of songs including a mix of uplifting pop, carol

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

LGBTQ+ News

Heartstopper Pride Flag to be displayed at Queer Britain to coincide with new season of the queer drama

Netflix has unveiled plans to create a Heartstopper Pride Flag, which will be displayed at Queer Britain to coincide with a new season of Heartstopper in October, and will feature personal messages from fans shared during a nationwide tour of this year’s Pride events, including Brighton & Hove Pride

By Graham Robson • 2 min read

Community News

Legends’ Erica Hann to run Lake Windemere for the Sussex Beacon before taking on the London Marathon in 2025

Erica Hann from Legends, one of Brighton’s premier LGBTQ+ venues, will have her running shoes on this weekend, as she does The Lap around the stunning Lake Windemere, all 47 miles of it! This run is part of her fundraising on behalf of local HIV charity, the Sussex Beacon, which will culminate in Er

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

Transgender News

“She wanted to be loved and respected.” A family is asking for the murder of a Black trans woman to be investigated as a hate crime after she was shot dead in Chicago

A family is asking for the murder of a Black trans woman to be investigated as a hate crime after she was shot dead on a Chicago street. Redd, 25, known to friends and family as Barbie, was pronounced dead at the scene after beiong shot multiple times in the back after a lone gunman […]

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

Film

Queer East Festival: On The Road to bring LGBTQ+ stories from Asia to the UK, including a trip to Brighton

Queer East Festival: On The Road will head out across the country, including a trip to Brighton, from September to December, offering its biggest tour yet and showcasing a line-up of contemporary feature films, documentaries and shorts as well as special events that highlight a wide range of LGBTQ+

By Graham Robson • 2 min read

Music

Chappell Roan dedicates Best New Artist gong at 2024 MTV Video Music Awards to “drag artists” and “queer and trans people”

Chappell Roan, whose album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess reached number one in the UK chart, dedicated her best new artist gong at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) to the LGBTQ+ community. Accepting her award, the Good Luck, Babe singer said: “I dedicate this (award) to all the drag

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

Sport

Valentina Petrillo, the first trans athlete to compete in the Paralympic Games, responds to JK Rowling post calling the athlete a “cheat”

Valentina Petrillo, the first trans athlete to compete in the Paralympic Games, has defended her participation in Paris and hit back after Harry Potter author JK Rowling called her a ‘cheat’ on social media. Petrillo represented Italy in the women’s T12 200m and 400m sprint events for partially sigh

By Graham Robson • 2 min read

Politics

#TransWomenAreWomen: Labour MPs seeking to lead influential Women & Equalities Committee state that trans women are women

Luton North MP Sarah Owen and Jarrow & Gateshead East MP Kate Osborne have stated that trans women are women as they seek election to lead the Women & Equalities Committee – one of the most influential groups in the House of Commons. In a tweet marking Transgender Awareness Week in November 2020, Ow

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

News

Going down under! Melbourne gays laid bare in magazine exploring queer bodies and voices around the world

Elska, a project dedicated to sharing the bodies and voices of LGBTQ communities around the world, has put the spotlight on Melbourne for its latest edition. Inside, readers can get to know a selection of everyday queer men from Australia’s most liberal metropolis via a combination of intimate photo

By Graham Robson • 2 min read

LGBTQ+ News

Gok Wan shares graphic images following a homophobic attack on his assistant, who he considers ‘one of our family’

Gok Wan, who performed at this year’s Brighton & Hove Pride, has shared graphic images following a homophobic attack on his assistant – who he considers ‘one of our family’. Taking to his followers on Instagram, the TV star, who also works as a DJ, shared the news and appealed for witnesses. He also

By Graham Robson • 2 min read

Film

Lover of Men? New documentary explores whether Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was gay

The sexuality of one of the most important presidents of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery and governed during the Civil War, has been explored in a new documentary Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln, which addresses the poss

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

Community News

Davina Sparkle’s Official Late Birthday Fundraising Show at Legends Brighton on Sunday, November 3

Head to one of Brighton’s premier LGBTQ+ venues, Legends, on Sunday, November 3 for iconic drag performer Davina Sparkle‘s Official Late Birthday Fundraising Show from 3.30pm. Hosted by Mary O’Kart, the event will raise funds for local HIV charity Lunch Positive and will feature lashings of top caba

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

LGBTQ+ News

New guide for care homes to support inclusive care practice for older LGBTQ+ people

Researchers from the University of Kent, in collaboration with the University of Surrey and the University of Hertfordshire, have developed a free guide to support care homes to provide care that is inclusive for older LGBTQ+ people. The guide, which was co-designed by a group of older LGBTQ+ people

By Graham Robson • 2 min read

LGBTQ+ News

Popular gay beauty influencers Joseph and Nathan Hughes show off their beautiful babies on a family holiday to Mexico

A gay couple, Joseph and Nathan Hughes, have shown off their surrogate babies, Dylan and Kyle, while taking a flight to Mexico. The popular hair stylists and beauty influencers, who have been together for 13 years, decided to take the next step in their relationship and become fathers. View this p

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

Politics

Sian Berry, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, responds to scrapping of winter fuel allowance for millions of pensioners

Sian Berry, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, has responded to the news that the House of Commons has approved the scrapping of the winter fuel allowance for millions of pensioners in the UK. While MPs signed off the controversial measure by 348 to 228 this afternoon, around 50 Labour members ab

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

LGBTQ+ News

LGBTQ+ veterans announce they will NOT wear special badge awarded to them by the UK government

LGBTQ+ veterans have announced they will wear a special badge awarded to them by the UK government “with pride” but only when the Government has delivered all 49 recommendations from an independent report, including financial compensation for those affected. Emma, Carl & Stephen were pleased to rece

By Graham Robson • 2 min read

LGBTQ+ News

Lewisham Council removes Progress Pride flag following complaint from “Christian political candidate” Maureen Martin and “evangelical organisation” Christian Concern

Lewisham Council in London has been forced to remove a Progress Pride flag from its Town Hall following a complaint lodged by “Christian political candidate” Maureen Martin, who accused the council of violating the Local Government Act by displaying the flag during an election period. Martin was sup

By Graham Robson • 1 min read

Transgender News

Trump claims children are undergoing transgender surgery during the school day

Despite there being no evidence that a student has ever undergone gender-affirming surgery at a school in the United States, Donald Trump has repeated his claim that children are undergoing transition-related surgery during their school day. “Can you imagine you’re a parent and your son leaves the h

By Graham Robson • 2 min read

Community News

Applications for Brighton & Hove City Council’s new Fairness Fund open for voluntary groups supporting city’s LGBTQ+ communities

Brighton & Hove City Council’s new Fairness Fund for People and Fairness Fund for Place is now open for applications from local community and voluntary sector groups, including those supporting LGBTQ+ communities. The Fairness Fund for Communities, which provides one-off funding of £2,000 to communi

By Graham Robson • 2 min read

Sport

LGBTQ+ athletes celebrate most successful Paralympics ever, coming 11th in the medal table

LGBTQ+ athletes won a total of 28 medals at this year’s Paralympics in Paris, scoring the most medals ever and three more than at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.

By Graham Robson • 1 min read