A trans theater company is staging a production of one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies this summer in London, and the play will receive an introduction from none other than Sir Ian McKellen.
Trans What You Will, which is dedicated to staging Shakespeare plays with trans and nonbinary performers, will produce a staged reading of Twelfth Night at The Space in London on July 25. In a post to Instagram, the theater company wrote that the “inherent queerness” of the play is “glaringly apparent to so many.” Like many of the Bard’s plays, Twelfth Night absolutely smacks of gender.
As Trans What You Will describes it, “you’ve got a lady disguised as a man, seducing another lady on behalf of a lord, but nothing goes to plan when the lady falls for the disguised lady, and the disguised lady falls for the lord!” More specifically, the play follows two twins, Viola and Sebastian, who are separated from each other in a shipwreck. Viola disguises herself as a man, Cesario, and enters into the service of Duke Orsino, who rules over the area. As Cesario, she also serves as wingman to Orsino, who’s in love with the Countess Olivia. But Olivia falls in love with “Cesario,” Viola falls in love with Orsino, and chaos ensues. (I mean, sounds like your average T4T friend group if you ask us.)
The theater company also announced McKellen as the production’s “special guest” on Wednesday. In a statement posted to Trans What You Will’s Instagram, McKellen called Twelfth Night “perhaps the funniest and most moving of Shakespeare’s plays.”
“This is achieved through the complexity of gender and sexuality from first to last,” he said, adding that he’s “really looking forward to the impact of this latest version of the play at The Space.” (snip-MORE)
Wow. A group that initially included no Jews hatched a plan to make support for Palestine a crime. The US is following their playbook and supporting the mass killing & removal of Palestinians.Group Behind Project 2025 Has a Plan to Crush the Pro-Palestinian Movement http://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/18/u…
Cooking the books? Fears Trump could target statisticians if data disappointsProposed rule change could pave way for president to fire economists whose figures prove politically inconvenientwww.theguardian.com/us-news/2025…
OK I admit this guy is a scholar so he uses words and phrases that are sometimes hard for me to follow with my limited education. But I do understand enough to follow what he is saying. Charley Kirk is full of shit on what he thinks they bible says because he is letting his own bigotry and prejudices create what the passages mean for him rather than research it with people more knowledgeable. Jesus and the bible were not against homosexuality as we understand it because they did not see sexuality and sex acts the same way we do. The sin of Sodom was lack of hospitality and men wanting to take a higher sexual role than angels. The people of the time of the bible were like young macho men types today, worried about what looked manly enough, and putting your penis in someone regardless of sex was manly. But the person who took another person in them was not, they were lessor. Women were viewed as lessor, inferior, and so were men that took another male’s penis inside them. It was not about pleasure or love, it was all about status. One thing I like about this guy is he freely admits the bible is context driven and doesn’t know what we know and understand today, that in some areas the morals we have today are superior to that of the bibles for example slavery. Hugs.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz criticized President Donald Trump during an interview with MSNBC host Jen Psaki, stressing just why the people who elected Trump to run the country “like a business” were completely misguided.
Walz particularly lamented the impacts of Trump’s ongoing trade war with Canada and Mexico, noting that Trump has a history of scuttling deals and “a proven track record of being an absolute failure.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks at the Al Udeid Air Base, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Military commanders will be told to identify troops in their units who are transgender or have gender dysphoria, then send them to get medical checks in order to force them out of the service, officials said Thursday.
A senior defense official laid out what could be a complicated and lengthy new process aimed at fulfilling President Donald Trump’s directive to remove transgender service members from the U.S. military.
The new order to commanders relies on routine annual health checks that service members are required to undergo. Another defense official said the Defense Department has scrapped — for now — plans to go through troops’ health records to identify those with gender dysphoria.
Far Right Federal Judge Rules Gay And Trans People Can Be Discriminated Against In Workplaces
Judge Kacsmaryk, a federal judge in the Northern District of Texas, ruled on the EEOC’s treatment of Title VII employment discrimination claims on gay and trans people.
On Thursday, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk—a far-right federal judge in the Northern District of Texas with a record of aligning with the GOP’s most extreme legal positions—issued a ruling declaring that Title VII no longer protects LGBTQ+ people from workplace discrimination. The decision directly contradicts the Supreme Court’s landmark 2020 ruling inBostock v. Clayton County, which held that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is, by definition, sex discrimination. Kacsmaryk’s ruling marks one of the most alarming judicial rollbacks of LGBTQ+ rights in recent memory—and sets up a direct legal challenge to one of the foundational civil rights protections for queer and trans people in the United States.
Montana Court Issues Final Blow to Anti-Trans Health Care Law
A judge found that the law’s premise is not scientific, but “political and ideological.”
A state judge in Montana has permanently struck down SB 99, a law which sought to ban gender-affirming care for Montana youth under age 18.
The court decision is a welcome reprieve for young trans Montanans, who have had the threat of forced detransition hanging over their heads since 2023. The bill would have threatened the licensure of physicians who provided trans-affirming care to this age group and prevented state funds from being used for gender-affirming surgeries, hormones, puberty blockers, and “social transitioning” measures for trans youth. It also would have allowed parents of trans kids to sue medical professionals for providing their children with the proper care.
But these kinds of laws, which are being passed around the country, are highly unscientific. They try to erase the biological reality of gender and sexual diversity to further a far-right gender ideology. As the court ruling declared, “the State’s interest is actually a political and ideological one: ensuring minors in Montana are never provided treatment to address” their gender dysphoria.
“In other words, the State’s interest is actually blocking transgender expression.”
1) The court found overwhelming evidence backing the benefits of gender-affirming care for trans people.
(Both important stories. Of course, language alert, but definitely good reading here. -A)
Queer History 124: Virginia Woolf & Vita Sackville-West by Wendy🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈🌈
How an aristocratic garden-loving poet inspired the 20th century’s most experimental “love letter” ….. Read on Substack
When Virginia Woolf first met Vita Sackville-West at a dinner party in 1922, neither woman could have possibly predicted that their relationship would produce one of the most revolutionary novels of the 20th century. On the surface, they seemed like complete opposites: Virginia—brilliant, fragile, middle-class, and sexually timid; Vita—aristocratic, confident, adventurous, and sexually voracious. Yet their decade-long affair transcended a simple romance to become one of the most creatively fertile partnerships in literary history, producing a groundbreaking gender-bending masterpiece that still feels radical nearly a century later.
Let’s cut through the academic bullshit that often sanitizes their relationship and explore what really happened between these remarkable women. Their letters reveal a passionate connection that was intellectual, emotional, and unmistakably physical. “I am reduced to a thing that wants Virginia,” Vita wrote in one letter. Not exactly the chaste “friendship” that some literary historians tried to paint it as for decades. Their affair challenged the conventions of their time, their social circles, and ultimately, the very form of the novel itself.
The Women Behind the Legend: Who They Really Were
(snip-More; it’s really good!)
Queer History 125: The Raw, Unfiltered History of Sapphic and Platonic Queer Cultures by Wendy🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈🌈 Read on Substack
The Goddamn Poetry of Desire: An Introduction
The ancient world was no fucking stranger to same-sex love. While modern society often frames homosexuality as a contemporary phenomenon—something that emerged from the shadows of the closet into the damn light of day during the liberation movements of the 20th century—the historical record tells a far more complex and fascinating story. Long before we had Pride parades and marriage equality, we had Sappho of Lesbos and Plato of Athens, two figures whose works and philosophies have profoundly shaped how we understand same-sex desire.
Sappho Lesbos
The rocky shores of Lesbos and the philosophical gardens of Athens—separated by the azure waters of the Aegean—gave birth to two distinct yet equally significant homosexual cultural traditions that continue to echo through the halls of queer history. These traditions, one centered on the passionate lyrical expressions of a woman poet, and the other on the philosophical musings of a male thinker, offer us a window into the complex ways same-sex desire was articulated, celebrated, and sometimes condemned in ancient Greek society.
Standing on the windswept cliffs of Lesbos, one can almost hear the lyrical whispers of Sappho’s poetry carried on the salt-laden breeze—fragments of desire that have survived over two and a half millennia. Meanwhile, in the once-bustling agora of Athens, the philosophical dialogues of Plato still reverberate, offering a theoretical framework for understanding male same-sex love that has influenced Western thought for centuries.
This analysis isn’t just about ancient history—it’s about the living, breathing legacy of these traditions and how they’ve been twisted, reimagined, and reclaimed through the bloody centuries. It’s about the raw power of words to shape how we understand our deepest desires and most intimate connections. It’s about the tension between poetic expression and philosophical reasoning in articulating the ineffable experiences of love and longing.
So let’s cut through the academic bullshit and get to the heart of the matter. Let’s explore the goddamn fascinating parallels and divergences between these two seminal traditions—one rooted in the fragmented verses of a woman whose very name has become synonymous with female homosexuality, and the other in the philosophical dialogues of a man whose ideas about love between men have shaped Western thought for millennia.
The Lyrical Fucking Fire: Sappho and Her Sacred Circle
On the sun-drenched isle of Lesbos, around 630-570 BCE, Sappho created a world of women that would reverberate through time like a pebble dropped in still water, its ripples still touching distant shores millennia later. The island’s rugged landscapes and azure waters formed the sensuous backdrop to her life and work—a physical paradise that mirrored the emotional and erotic paradise she created in her verses. (snip-More important history)
I watched videos of this protest and the complete violence of the police going full out assault against the gay protestors who were just standing there. The Christian group in anger at what the mayor said about them, so the next day blocked access to the town hall not letting reporters, workers, or people in the community into the town hall. The Christian group did not have a permit and violated sound level ordnances but the police did not try to remove them or force them to let people through to the town hall. But the police did again violently attack the counter protestors from the neighborhoods. It seems clear the police are pro the Christian haters who want conversion therapy done on LGBTQ+ kids to wipe out anyone not straight and cis. The police chaplain is on the fly for the hate group as you can see below. The Christian hate group wants to force everyone to live as their church doctrines demand. They are extremely hateful towards the LGBTQ+ community. They demand that people respect and accommodate their views but refuse to accept the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, not accept the rights that the LGBTQ+ communities are due. I will post the rest of the post by Joe. My. God. but at the end I will post a video that streamer Vaush made on this subject also. As Vaush says the prosecutors refused to press charges on many the police arrested. Maybe because they were innocent protestors viciously attacked by bigoted police. Hugs
In the days after a chaotic confrontation between police and protesters at a conservative Christian rally on Capitol Hill, several groups have questioned why the demonstration was held at Cal Anderson Park and how the city could have better prepared.
The rally, advocating “freedom from same sex attraction” and ”the sacrality of biological gender,” was permitted in the heart of the state’s most LGBTQ+-friendly neighborhood, in a park named for the state’s first openly gay elected official.It attracted scores of protesters who scrapped with police. Twenty-three people were arrested.
Local LGBTQ+ advocates and at least one City Hall politician expressed anger the permit was granted for Cal Anderson, alleging the location was intended to rile the neighborhood’s residents.
The Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced via a social media post on Tuesday evening the FBI will investigate allegations of targeted violence against religious groups regarding last weekend’s chaotic Cal Anderson Park rally.
Dan Bogino posted the announcement on X at 5:15 p.m., writing, “We have asked our team to fully investigate allegations of targeted violence against religious groups at the Seattle concert. Freedom of religion isn’t a suggestion.”
MayDay USA, which describes itself as a Christian Pro-Life organization, held the rally at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. It was met by LGBTQ+ protesters in a competing rally. At some point, police were called in, and there were multiple scuffles between the group and officers.
One of the prominent supporters of Mayday USA is former Spokane Valley state representative Matt Shea, of the “On Fire Ministries,” according to the Radical Women Seattle. Mayday USA organizers have set up a tour of five cities in the country, with Saturday’s event being held in what is considered the heart of the LGBTQ+ community in Seattle on Capitol Hill.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said the far-right rally was specifically held at the park in Seattle’s known LGBTQ+ neighborhood “to provoke a reaction by promoting beliefs that are inherently opposed to our city’s values.”
In a statement, Mayor Harrell called Seattle “a welcoming, inclusive city for LGBTQ+ communities, and we stand with our trans neighbors when they face bigotry and injustice.” Harrell said anarchists joined the counterprotesters, which resulted in violence and arrests. He said the event organizes shut down the event early after being asked to do so.
Matt Shea, the far-right extremist cited above, has appeared here multiple times, most recently in February 2023 when a church then-affiliated with Shea was ordered to pay Planned Parenthood nearly $1 million in legal fees and a fine related to protests that “interfered with patient care.”
He first earned national headlines in 2019 when leaked chats showed his violent fantasies about executing non-Christians and when it was learned that he had participated in militia drills to train young men for “biblical warfare.”
Shea advocates for the creation of a 51st US state based on “biblical law.” He has also said that all American men who fail to avow allegiance to Jesus should be executed.
He was expelled by the Washington state Republican caucus but refused to resign even after the feds found that he had “participated in an act of domestic terrorism against the United States” by helping plan the armed takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon in 2016.
Shea did not seek reelection in 2020 and is now the pastor of Covenant Christian Church in Spokane.
Fraser Horn is dropping Harry Potter tours from his roster (Dan Chiu-Lezeau)
The decision to drop Harry Potter tours in Edinburgh was not an easy one to make, but was necessary, says guide and Edinburgh Street Historians founder Fraser Horn, writing exclusively for PinkNews.
I was about 11 when I first got into Harry Potter, the kid looked a lot like me at the time.
My mum gave me a copy [of one of the books] and, like so many others, I felt the series captured the mood at the time: a sense of peril, mixed with optimism that the world could turn out OK if people stood up for what was right against what was wrong.
It was an instant classic of a kids book and that’s probably why so many millennials still hold such affection [for it] to this day. But we all grew after the series finished, some of us into decent people and others into cartoon villainy.
This is why today I’m announcing that following the success of the LGBTQ+ tour replacing Harry Potter, come July, the Harry Potter tour will not be coming back.
Fraser Horn. (Dan Chiu-Lezeau)
This decision was not made lightly. Although I wanted out of Potter ever since JK Rowling’s essay in 2020, the simple fact of the matter is that the story is so deeply ingrained in the Edinburgh tourism industry that it feels almost impossible to dislodge.
The connections between Edinburgh and Harry Potter very clearly involve Rowling, since it was [here] that the series was written. The films make demand stronger, bringing in a new audience, and repeat showings keep young people interested. With the new TV show, I expect Potter tourism to increase [here] and across the UK.
If any of those tourists are queer and want a tour that’s more important, they can book the LGBTQ+ one here.
I have been a guide since 2019 but went independent in February. Street Historians was a name that came from the idea that we would be like street magicians, but of history rather than magic. We’re fun, different and the best way to see Edinburgh, in my view.
The initial plan was to do a couple of tours – Edinburgh’s Old Town and Harry Potter – on a free/pay-what-you-want basis. I planned on doing this because I knew it worked. It was around March that I got in touch with LGBT Health and Wellbeing, a Scottish charity which focuses on supporting the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ adults. I wanted to discuss donating money from my Harry Potter profits to them but I also [said] I had offered an LGBTQ+ tour privately in the past.
They were particularly interested in the LGBTQ+ tour so I decided to run that every Friday at 6pm. It involves medical innovators, spies and [the] Aids [crisis], as well as how activists helped reshape society for the LGBTQ+ community. It is essential stuff.
I was motivated to drop Potter for Pride month because of the recent Supreme Court decision which will make our trans siblings unsafe. Rowling has confirmed she donated money to the organisation that advocated for the court decision and celebrated with a cigar picture on a boat, which made me want to drop Potter even more.
The Harry Potter tour will be replaced with a queer-related one. (Dan Chiu-Lezeau)
The response – both to the original LGBTQ tour and to replacing Potter with it – has been overwhelming.
People who have come on the LGBTQ+ tour love having an event which is a bit different from the standard fare, both in terms of walking tours and queer events. Guests have been making friends and these are the kind of life-long connections from which community is made. The decision to drop Potter for LGBTQ+ history has been a success and most have been positive about it.
However, some thought I was doing it for the wrong reason: rainbow capitalism, or purely to make money for Pride, before switching back to the Potter tours. It’s fair that the community might expect this sort of thing because as we’ve seen, companies change very quickly. A great example of this would be Barclays Bank, which has a very proud LGBTQ+ section. Then I read how they are banning trans people from using the toilets of their gender, based on the court ruling.
To reassure people, Potter will not be coming back to the Street Historians roster. We have been looking for more interesting stories to tell, for example on forgotten women.
Even with significant economic considerations, it seems necessary for me to drop Potter. The series may be a draw for other people but it is proving harder as time goes by to conjure up enthusiasm. Some may be upset, but I guess that’s the lesson I took from the sort of books I read growing up. We have to take a stand eventually or nothing will ever change.
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful. (snip)
Scottie's Playtime 