Queer

Boiler Room Festival in Amsterdam showcased a more experimental and radical side to LGBTQ+ culture in the Netherlands, a society with a long history of ...

“We are now facing so many crises in Dutch society that the feeling of not being able to relate to society anymore is not just something that applies to the most vulnerable people. To say the least, the necessity of a nationwide debate over whether Blackface is acceptable seems at odds with the Netherland’s image as a liberal and forward-thinking place. When I ask Animistic Beliefs how they’d like the queer scene to change, they tell me, “It’s often very focused on white gay men, and we still feel very out of place in these spaces. The Netherlands is arguably the birthplace of a particular strain of racism and Islamophobia, one which legitimises itself through appealling to liberal values. The early noughties saw the rise of Pym Fortuyn, a far-right politician and openly gay man who railed against migrants and Muslims, partly on the basis that they posed a threat to the gay community. To this day, far-right politicians like Geert Wilders still make a display of defending gay rights as an inviolable aspect of Dutch identity, which is really just a pretext for demonising Muslims, clamping down on immigration, and promoting a narrative of civilisational war between the east and eest. By creating a dichotomy between the Dutch value of tolerance and the backwards conservatism he ascribed to Muslims, Fortuyn pioneered a strategy that later would be taken up by racists across Europe and the US, including our own In many respects, the country’s reputation as a bastion of gay rights is well-earned: one of the world’s first ever gay rights organisations was founded in Amsterdam in 1946, from which point onwards the Dutch state adopted a relatively pragmatic, tolerant approach towards both homosexuality and gender identity. There are people from all over the queer spectrum and a lot of POC too,” says Linh. At the SPIELRAUM event, the element of live performance added a real sense of electricity, something charged and unpredictable. In Rotterdam, there are a number of queer collectives, such as KLAUW and Queer Rotterdam, both of which run club nights and community events. Each night showcased a different side to Dutch club culture, with the closing event being curated by [SPIELRAUM,](https://www.instagram.com/spielraum_amsterdam/?hl=en) a queer techno collective based in the city.

While some organized religions can hold trauma for many queer and trans people, finding meaningful queer spirituality practices can help you find inner ...

Spirituality is a broad term that generally refers to belief in connection and power beyond the physical realm, though it can manifest in many different forms. As a beginner, it’s important to vet your sources, shop ethically, and be sure you aren’t engaging in appropriation. Encompassing a wide range of practices, traditions, and beliefs, spirituality can lead to powerful moments of self-discovery and celebration. It can also be as simple as daily mindfulness practices like meditation and journaling. “Spirituality is a way of life. It can take years to emotionally process the pain these policies and practices cause, so it’s understandable that some in our community feel an aversion to anything even remotely associated with religion.

Queer Spaces, a Los Angeles, California-based provider of a platform for building queer communities, raised an undisclosed amount in funding.

Founded in 1993, Social Discovery Group (formerly SDVentures) is a global tech company uniting 40+ brands, an investment fund, and a venture studio. The platform grew to more than 25,000 users and 2,500 spaces in December. Queer Spaces is building Spaces, a group chat platform for queer communities and a place for all queer people to connect over their favorite topics and interests, plan meetups and hang out.

Lewis Treston's witty and polished play blends Regency language and Australian slang to deliver a dizzying amount of jokes and sizzling romantic tension.

This is a play where a twinkle in the eye means everything, and these two shine the brightest – though the company is uniformly excellent, sometimes startlingly so. But Hubris & Humiliation might just be the funniest: zeitgeist-y without feeling forced, camp without self-consciousness, and just divergent enough from these well-known stories to keep audiences guessing. On Isabel Hudson’s gorgeous Regency-inspired set that summons ballrooms and Sydney Harbour all at once, there are multiple dance scenes with unexpected partners (choreographed by Sally Dashwood), a makeover scene and a reference to Baz Luhrmann that’s too joyful a surprise to reveal here. Then there are the visual gags and motifs. There are a good two dozen or so that seem to have everyone in the room roaring. This shouldn’t work, but somehow it lands perfectly, at least in part because the company are so comfortable placing a foot in both worlds.

(https://andwalsh.com/) has rebranded [Lex](https://thisislex.app/), an app designed to help LGBTQ+ people find new friends & local community ...

Their hands-on approach to this rebrand created a fulfilling collaboration where we shared the same passion and vision. The desktop and mobile site now serve as a fresh introduction to the app and its main features and a gateway to the Apple App Store and Google Play for downloads. To honour Lex's relationship to words as a means to self-describe and, therefore, self-empower, &Walsh created a messaging framework written by and for queer people. We intentionally connected each letter to the other, representing the fluidity and connectedness present in Lex's thriving queer community. These brand attributes can be seen in the distinguishable main brand colour 'Lex Green', its complimentary colour palette of spring tones, and playful illustrations depicting flowers, flames, mountains, hearts, and stars juxtaposed with rough textures. After two years and 10,000 personals, Rakowski launched Lex as a lo-fi, text-centred dating app where queer people could be their unapologetic selves without facing censorship from major social media sites.

The out pop singer reflects on penning an homage to his 'younger queer self'

“When I first met Jordy in person, he came over, hugged me, and told me what [‘Story of a Girl’] meant to him — not just as a song, but what it meant to him to be able to change it to ‘Story of a Boy.’ And that hit me,” Hampson explains. [John Hampson](https://twitter.com/johnhampson?lang=en), the band’s lead vocalist and guitarist, recalls writing “Absolutely (Story of a Girl)” about his then-girlfriend, who wanted to get engaged before he was ready to pop the question. He teases that the new record contains “more bops and maybe a power ballad,” with introspection and self-acceptance as its biggest thematic through-lines. It’s an appropriately nostalgic vibe for a new take on a familiar bop; it also helps keep “(Absolutely) Story of a Girl” in the contemporary conversation, along with a recent subtle shout-out in [top Oscar contender Everything Everywhere All At Once](https://www.mtv.com/news/hveehf/oscar-nominations-2023-everything-everywhere-all-at-once), where Ke Huy Quan's character [recites two lyrics](https://twitter.com/ninedaysband/status/1613004020179779586) from the song's pre-chorus. Prior to Jordy, no artist has ever been granted permission to release an interpolation of “Absolutely (Story of a Girl).” But there was something different about “Story of a Boy,” Hampson recalls. The gender reversal in the chorus is his most obvious update, but subtle touches from producers Johnny Shore and Keith Barron — a poppy guitar here, a layered vocal harmony there — also make “Story of a Boy” sound more contemporary. “Over the years, there have been requests to do things with the song,” says the 51-year-old musician and high school English teacher, “and my first instinct is to be protective.” “And one of those things that every queer person can relate to is, there wasn't a lot of music that we really heard ourselves in when we were younger.” “He doesn't know my name / But I could give much more,” Jordy croons in the pre-chorus. “It came back into my realm recently,” Jordy recalls, “and I was like, how do I make this my own? [“Absolutely (Story of a Girl),”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIANBamMgas%5C) the first and only hit song from Long Island-based pop-rock trio [Nine Days](http://www.ninedaysband.com/). This is the story of a boy…