We’re back again with a third week of LGBT+ News for you all!
There’s a lot of heavy, upsetting news in the world at the moment, especially with the crisis in Afghanistan which we’re working on a separate blog post on, but for today we’re going to try and spread a bit of joy by focusing on the happy LGBT+ news from the past week.
With that being said, this week...
BBC Radio 1 Hosting First Ever Drag Day Reclaiming Liverpool Pride
The World’s Oldest Ship is decorated for Pride
Gay Australian Penguins (yes you did read that right!)
BBC Radio 1 Hosting First Ever Drag Day
BBC Radio 1’s first ever ‘Drag Day’ will take place on Saturday August 21st (that’s tomorrow!)
Aled Haydn Jones, Head of Radio 1, said: “Our young audience love drag
culture so it’s right we celebrate and showcase the very best of UK drag.”
Drag Race UK Queens Tayce, Bimini and Lawrence Chaney will join Drag DJ Jodie Harsh to host their own shows throughout the day to highlight the UK Drag scene in a day filled with special remixes and surprise guests.
Let us know if you’ll be listening in while we march in the Bourne Free Pride Walking Parade!
Reclaiming Liverpool Pride
The LGBT+ community in Liverpool will be reclaiming Pride next month in a fight against LGBT+ violence and Rainbow Capitalism (businesses selling rainbow items for Pride month in order to make more money but not actively supporting LGBT+ people year round)
The organisation ‘Reclaim Pride Liverpool’ is a trans-led group of LGBT+ activists who have arranged a protest on September 18th at 1pm. They formed after Liverpool Pride was cancelled for the 2nd year in a row due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The main aims of the protest on September 18th are to demand:
Better LGBT+ rights
Better Trans healthcare
A conversion therapy ban
Social, racial and climate justice
An end to the commercialisation of Pride.
Reclaim Pride Liverpool complained that “Pride events have become completely divorced from the very real political struggle [...] Pride is meant to be a protest where LGBT+ people can make their voices heard and demand better. You will [never] see that at a London Pride, Brighton Pride, Manchester Pride or Liverpool Pride, because they are now sponsored, funded and in some cases headed by banks and big businesses.”
They stated that say that “Anti-LGBT+ hate crime is out of control across the UK” as we have seen a shocking rise in the number of LGBT+ hate crimes in recent weeks, with more than one physical attack leaving people afraid of leaving their homes.
This rise in hate means that Reclaim Liverpool Pride is just one of many similar movements taking place in the UK at the moment such as the Reclaim Pride march which was held in London last month and the backlash facing Manchester Pride which we mentioned in our past 2 weekly recaps.
The World’s Oldest Training Ship is decorated for Pride
We’re now heading over to Denmark, where the world’s oldest training ship has decked out its sails in bright rainbow colours for Pride month.
Every year the Danish ship, Georg Stage, trains 63 young people as sailors, on a 20-week challenging voyage out into the world. As World Pride is currently taking place in Copenhagen, the ship made special changes to its usual look and swapped out white sails for one in each of the Pride colours to honour the LGBT+ community - and we think it looks great!
Gay Australian Penguins (yes you did read that right!)
Melbourne Zoo, Australia is rolling into mating season where not one, but two sets of gay gentoo penguins have coupled up! (This is way better than Love Island!)
The couples consist of Tiger & Branston and Jones & Klaus and although they can’t lay their own eggs they’re ready for the responsibility of parenthood!
Tanith Davis, lead birdkeeper at Melbourne Zoo, said “As male-male pairs can’t lay their own eggs, we will sometimes foster an egg to them from another pair. Sea Life Melbourne has had many same-sex couples in our breeding history, and they have been doting parents.”
Penguins are also a notoriously gay species and several same-sex penguin couples have been seen in zoos worldwide. This includes Sphen & Magic who hatched their first chick together back in 2018 at Sydney Zoo, Roy and Silo from Central Park Zoo who are the stars of their own children’s book “And Tango Makes 3”, and lesbian couple Marmalade and Chickpea at London’s Sea Life Aquarium.
London Sea Life manager Catherine Pritchard said: “Gentoo penguins are the ultimate romantics, and their dating techniques are truly unique – so much so that as humans, we could certainly learn a thing or two from their passion and commitment to finding a mate”
We wish Tiger, Branston, Jones & Klaus the best of luck on their road to becoming dads!