“Drag Race Holland” Serves Dutch Realness in World Premiere

Start your engines! The race is officially on for Holland’s first Drag Superstar with the world premiere of Drag Race Holland.

The ten queens competing for the title - Miss Abby OMG, Roem, ChelseaBoy, Janey Jacké, Ma'MaQueen, Madame Madness, Envy Peru, Sederginne, Patty Pam-Pam, and Megan Schoonbrood - took to the werkroom and runway for the very first time. Host Fred van Leer was joined by actor Nikkie Plessen, fashion designer Cleas Iversens, and comedian Sanne Wallis de Vries to judge this week’s lewks.

SPOILER ALERT: Challenge winners and elimination details from the first episode of Drag Race Holland follow.

The Queens were thrown right into the deep end for the first mini-challenge of the show - an underwater photoshoot with photographer Jasper Suyk. Some queens floated to the top, while others sank under pressure. Ultimately, Miss Abby OMG out swam the competition and took home the first win of the season.

For the first runway challenge, the queens were tasked with creating a lewk inspired by the theme “Who’s Your Queen.” They were also asked to share what makes them the most unique that they deserve to win the ultimate crown. Queen bee Janey Jacké reigned supreme as this week’s winner. Megan Schoonbrood and Roem were the first tulip sync for their life to Madonna's “Express Yourself.” In the end, the judges said goodbye to Roem.

Don’t miss each week as Drag Race UK star Vinegar Strokes recaps all the gag-worthy moments from the inaugural season of Drag Race Holland in Drag Race Holland Extra Lap Recap. Hear her take on the premiere episode debuts this Tuesday, September 22nd, only on WOW Presents Plus. Premiering September 24th on WOW Presents Plus, fashion mavens Raja and Raven will critique the runway looks from the Drag Race Holland mainstage in a new season of Fashion Photo RuView. Will they TOOT or BOOT the Queens looks from the runway? Watch to find out!

#QueerSouthernStories Community Spotlight: Faith in Public Life

The South is home to one in three LGBTQ people in the United States, and more than four in 10 LGBTQ people in the South are people of color. Contrary to stereotypes about the possibilities for political progress in the South, LGBTQ Southerners are often leading the way nationwide in innovative programming, organizing, and strategies to support their own communities and make meaningful change on their own terms. What can we learn from LGBTQ Southerners on building coalitions & nurturing community?

MAP’s blog series on #QueerSouthernStories highlights the organizations featured in Telling a New Southern Story: LGBTQ Resilience, Resistance, and Leadership, amplifying the vital work already being done by advocates, activists, and community organizers in the region.

Given the predominant role of faith, and especially Christianity, in the South, a central characteristic of Southern LGBTQ organizing is engaging with faith communities. Importantly, many LGBTQ people are themselves people of faith. In fact, LGBTQ Southerners are more likely to be people of faith than are LGBTQ people outside the South.

Faith in Public Life is a national network of nearly 50,000 clergy and faith leaders “united in the prophetic pursuit of justice, equality, and the common good” across an intentionally broad set of issues including economic justice, LGBTQ rights, criminal justice reform, gun violence, and more. They work throughout the South and have been especially active on LGBTQ issues in recent years in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.



In Georgia, Faith in Public Life members worked closely with Georgia Equality against a religious exemption law in 2016, leading to a successful veto of the bill by the governor. In the years since, Faith in Public Life and other LGBTQ Georgians and allies have been working to change the narrative about faith and LGBTQ people, to support local clergy and faith communities in their journeys toward acceptance and advocacy for LGBTQ people, and to pass local nondiscrimination ordinances around the state.

In Florida, faith leaders have been a central part of advancing local nondiscrimination ordinances and in the broader fight for gun safety and anti-violence measures. In Jacksonville, an LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance had previously failed before the city council, including no votes from Black Democrats. Faith leaders and LGBTQ advocates engaged in long term outreach and education in local communities of faith, and particularly in Black faith communities, as well as holding numerous public events led by local faith leaders in support of nondiscrimination protections. Ultimately in 2017, an LGBTQ-inclusive ordinance was successfully passed with twice as many votes in support as opposed. Faith leaders in Florida are now refocusing their efforts on passing LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections statewide.

Having clergy and faith leaders visibly and vocally involved in Southern LGBTQ advocacy is not only important for its potentially persuasive effect on non-LGBTQ people of faith and the broader Southern culture, but also for its potentially healing effect on LGBTQ people who witness faith leaders embracing and advocating for LGBTQ people.
Many LGBTQ people have been rejected or harmed by their faith tradition, and in the South this experience is especially prevalent, given both the higher rate of religious affiliation among LGBTQ Southerners and the fact that Southern religious traditions are generally more conservative and less supportive of LGBTQ people and issues. And, because conservative Christianity is an ever-present aspect of much of Southern life and politics, that religious rejection can also be an ever-present aspect of everyday life for LGBTQ Southerners, such as when elected officials or other Southern leaders use religious language and justification for anti-LGBTQ policies or beliefs. As one interviewee described, "discrimination having that religious stamp of approval taps into that trauma" that many LGBTQ people have experienced in faith settings.

As a result, centering LGBTQ-affirming faith leaders among those actively working toward LGBTQ equality makes a significant impact not only on the public conversation about faith and LGBTQ rights, but also on the spiritual wellbeing of LGBTQ Southerners.

To learn more or to donate to Faith in Public life, visit www.faithinpubliclife.org.

CONAN GRAY SPEAKS WITH ELTON JOHN ON ELTON JOHN’S ROCKET HOUR

Pop singer-songwriter Conan Gray recently sat down with Elton John on his Apple Music Radio Show – Rocket Hour. The two spoke about Conan Gray’s recent success with his debut album, Kid Krow and latest single, Heather. Listen HERE.

Conan Gray has quickly cemented himself as one of the freshest voices in music during his meteoric two-year rise. The singer-songwriter from central Texas—known for writing all his songs from his bedroom and for his unapologetic authenticity—has quickly amassed one of the most engaged, rabid fanbases in the music industry. He first gained attention when he uploaded his song “Idle Town” online, which he recorded from his bedroom in Texas. Upon release, the song exploded and led to the release of his critically acclaimed Sunset Season EP. He soon made his debut tv appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers and was featured in Vogue, VMan, Teen Vogue, Paper, The Fader, MTV, I-D, Billboard, Wonderland, Clash, Notion, Seventeen and more. His debut album, Kid Krow, released in March 2020, reached #5 on Billboard Top 200, #1 Pop Album, #2 Billboard Top Album sales and was the biggest new artist pop debut in over two years. 

Conan has been recognized as one the most prominent voices of his generation, and with the release of Kid Krow his music, has been streamed over 1 billion times. He has sold out three North American tours, two European tours, and additional shows around the world.

Perfume Genius to Release 'Immediately' A Book Companion to His Critically Acclaimed Album

Immediately is the indispensable book companion to Perfume Genius’ Set My Heart on Fire Immediately, Mike Hadreas' critically-lauded album released in May on Matador Records, which was called a “three-dimensional, dust-blown world that is cinematic in its grandeur and intimate in its inspection of the human form” by Pitchfork Music.

Featuring iconic portraits of the artist by celebrated French photographer Camille Vivier, this limited-edition monograph reveals the unseen procedures beneath Perfume Genius’ music—vivid conjurings that became songs, and now a tactile object, from exercises in world-building.

Within its pages, beguiling still life is situated amid corroded collage, handwritten lyrics take shape, words emerge as emotionally-charged objects. The results are all collected here in a process made permanent.

Immediately is being produced in two distinct printed editions: 900 copies will be bound softcover with French flaps and 100 will be hardbound and signed by Hadreas. Both editions will be available only on the Hat & Beard Press website, and in a select number of shops in New York and Los Angeles before the holidays. Once they’re gone, they are gone. Pre-order the book here.

ICYMI..Watch Kylie performs her new single “Say Something” on The Tonight Show

Last night, Kylie performed her single "Say Something" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. 

‘Say Something’ is the first single to be released from Kylie’s highly anticipated album, ‘DISCO’, out on November 6th. Produced by Jon Green and long-term collaborator Biff Stannard, the new track has received wide spread acclaim.

Campus Pride elects alum Tom Elliott Chair of the Board of Directors

Campus Pride announced yesterday that its Board of Directors elected Tom Elliott as Chair during its meeting last night. For the first time in the organization’s 19-year history, the national nonprofit, which is dedicated to building future leaders and creating safe college communities for LGBTQ people, has elected someone who was a graduate of their program to lead the Board.

“I am overjoyed that the Board of Directors elected Tom Elliott as the Chair,” said Shane Windmeyer, Executive Director of Campus Pride. “Since he joined the Board more than a year ago and became the Board Secretary shortly after, Tom has been a tremendous resource for me and the organization and I am eager to see how Campus Pride grows under his leadership.” 

In his remarks to the Board after being elected Chair, Tom Elliott said, “This is a pivotal moment for Campus Pride, and yet in the middle of a global pandemic that altered the course of history and injected uncertainty in our lives, our mission remained the same. At Campus Pride, we aim to build future leaders and create safer communities for LGBTQ young people. We didn’t stray from that.

“Next year is the 20th Anniversary of Campus Pride’s founding, which presents a significant opportunity for us to implement a new strategic vision for the organization. It is an opportunity for us to re-align with the mission of the organization, as we see fit. It is an opportunity for us to develop new programming, or retool existing programming, that meets the needs of LGBTQ young people where they are today and in the future.

Elliott was a graduate of Campus Pride’s leadership camp in 2007, while he was a student at Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, Texas. After returning to his campus after attending Camp Pride, Elliott began organizing a campaign for SMU to add an LGBTQ representative to the student government body.

Elliott is a founding partner of Acacia Consulting Group, a strategic communications, public relations, and marketing agency based in Chicago, Illinois. Previously, Elliott served as the communications director for several statewide political campaigns in Illinois and was the Director of Public Relations for Center on Halsted, the Midwest’s largest, most-comprehensive LGBTQ community center.

In addition, the Board elected veteran Campus Pride volunteer Don Wilson as the Vice Chair to serve the organization. Don works for Wells Fargo as the Vice President of People & Cultures. He joined the Board a year ago and has been an active volunteer with Camp Pride for four years.

Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado offers KSUT matching funds for new and increased pledges

Thanks to a generous challenge grant from the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado, they'll match up to $3750 towards all new member and increased sustaining member pledges made during KSUT's Fall Drive.

Not a bad incentive to become a KSUT member, or increase your monthly donation. Make your pledge count twice! Call 970-563-0255 to do so, or pledge online here.

GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Critics Announces Inaugural Dorian TV Award Winners

GALECA, the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, unveiled the inaugural Dorians TV Toast 2020 on Revry award winners at a virtual, live-streamed event on Sunday.

Hosted by talk radio personality Karel, the two hour event recognized unique contributions in mainstream TV and featured a slate of stars such as Hugh Jackman, Regina King, Laverne Cox, John Oliver, Janelle Monáe and Billy Porter. The entire show can now be seen here.

Killing Eve and Schitt's Creek were awarded best TV drama and comedy, respectively, while best LGBTQ TV show also went to Dan Levy's sitcom, which won numerous accolades during the evening. Thanking GALECA for supporting the show from day one, Levy said, "It is a great honor to be recognized by all of you, because, let's be honest, you got good taste." The actor and writer was also recognized with the Wilde Wit award, honoring a performer whose observations "both challenge and amuse."

Fantasy series Watchmen was awarded best limited series and most visually striking show. Accepting the award, creator Damon Lindelof said, "I know the Dorians celebrate all kinds of film and TV shows that don't necessarily need to be LGBTQ-themed, but we take particular pride in the fact that there is a queer character at the very center of Watchmen: Will Reeves."

He continued, "We started this story by asking a simple question: Why would a superhero need to hide their face? If they were truly fighting for justice, the answer seemed obvious: Because the world wasn't ready to see who they really were. And so Watchman became this story about unmasking, about understanding the pain and trauma caused by ignorance and hate."

Hugh Jackman won best TV performance for his role as real-life figure Frank Tassone, a school superintendent who was imprisoned for embezzling over $11 million in 2004, in Bad Education.

Campiest TV show went to Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness, which debuted on Netflix earlier this year to wide viewership. The series tells the true story of zoo owner and controversial personality Joe Exotic, who was embroiled in a murder-for-hire plot and subsequently imprisoned.

Dorians TV Toast was streamed on Revry, an inclusive, global LGBTQ+ streaming network founded in 2015 to showcase the work of queer content and creators. With films, TV series, originals, news, music and podcasts, Revry reaches over 250+ million households and devices in over 130 countries.

Nonprofit organization GALECA was founded in 2004 to celebrate and explore diverse content, and now consists of over 250 entertainment journalists.

4th Annual Lambda LitFest Showcases the Power of Black LGBTQ Artistry

2020 has left us with the need to take action and bring joy into our lives, which is why the 4th annual Lambda Litfest has been transformed into a specially curated, virtual event celebrating Black LGBTQIA+ excellence and abundance. The week-long event, taking place virtually on Zoom from October 5 - 9 will feature Black, Indigenous, and POC LGBTQIA+ writers, artists, and activists engaged in dynamic, heart-driven conversations centering the Black LGBTQIA+ experience.

Each night of the festival is centered around timely topics vital to Queer Black art-making including, including Politics & Activism, Black Aesthetics, and Writing in Hollywood. The opening night will set the stage by bringing panelists Jordyn Jay, founder of Black Trans Femmes in the Arts Collective, novelist George M. Johnson, and others together for a discussion on Black Joy. The week will cap off with a discussion of Sex and the Body featuring Brontez Purnell, KOKUMO, Randa Jarrar, and others. Additional featured speakers include: Juliana Huxtable, Darnell Moore, Ianne Fields Stewart, t’ai freedom ford, and many more. All events are free and offer audiences the opportunity to listen and engage in discussion with some of the most crucial voices working today.

Lambda LitFest is a program of Lambda Literary, the nation's leading LGBTQIA+ literary organization, whose mission is to nurture and advocate for LGBTQIA+ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, preserve their legacies, and affirm the value of their stories and lives. Lambda Litfest resists the oppressive nature of a white supremacist, ableist, cisgender, and heteronormative world by creating a space that uplifts and celebrates Black, Indigenous, and POC folks in the LGBTQIA+ community.

This presentation is supported in part by an Arts Grant from the City of West Hollywood, as well as support from the California Arts Council and the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

“Drag Race Holland” Trailer Gives Wig-Snatching Preview of the Premiere Season

Get ready tulip sync for your life! Award-winning media company World of Wonder has the wig-snatching first-look trailer to the premiere season of “Drag Race Holland” -- coming exclusively to WOW Presents Plus in the US on September 17th at 3pm PT / 6pm ET, day-and-date with its international airing on RTL Nederland’s Videoland.

Next to the recently announced Drag Race Holland host Fred van Leer, Dutch fashion designer and television personality Nikkie Plessen will judge the runway lewks of the queens each week as they compete for the title of the Netherlands’ first Drag Race Superstar. 

Guest judges who will join the panel include YouTube superstar NikkieTutorials, and some of the Netherlands’ most dazzling talent including comedian Sanne Wallis de Vries, singer Roxeanne Hazes and fashion designer Cleas Iversens. Model Loiza Lamers, singer Ruth Jacott, actor Rick Paul van Mulligen, singer and presenter Ryanne van Dorst, pride ambassador Amber Vineyard, singer Edsillia Rombley, and television presenter Carlo Boszhard will also make appearances in the series.

Red Hen Press Poetry Hour - Regarding Feminism

The Broad Stage and esteemed LA-based publisher Red Hen Press continues season two of the Red Hen Press Poetry Hour with an online episode on Thursday, September 24 at 6pm PT in which host Sandra Tsing Loh leads a program with five unique artists about the intersections between feminism, performance, identity and poetry in the time following the #MeToo Movement.

Poets and writers appearing on the program include Erica Jong (on tape), whose first and most famous novel, Fear of Flying, published in 1973 sold 37 million copies, blowing conventional thinking about women, marriage and sexuality out of the water; Judy Grahn, a foremother of feminist, the gay and lesbian liberation movement; Brooklyn based gender-liminal multi- and inter-disciplinary artist C. Bain, whose Debridement (Great Weather for Media) was a finalist for the 2016 Publishing Triangle Awards; and Pushcart Prize nominee and Jack Straw Writer Program alum Amber Flame, a queer Black mama just one magic trick away from growing her unicorn horn.

The guest list is completed with Monique Jenkinson known for her herstory-making work as cis-gendered drag queen Fauxnique, crossing cabaret and contemporary dance; Fauxnique’s The F Word will perform at The Broad Stage in 2021.

The theory of feminism started as early as 24 centuries ago with Plato and continues to comprise the narratives of the ideologies and movements that aim at equal rights and opportunities for women especially as we celebrate a century of women’s suffrage.

This second season of virtual programming brings together performing artists and poets to explore themes central to works featured in The Broad Stage's 2020/21 Season. Red Hen Press Poetry Hour is part of The Broad Stage at Home, original monthly programming via the online portal that will broadcast through December.

At livestream time, the broadcast is found on The Broad Stage website at thebroadstage.org/athome and on Facebook at facebook.com/thebroadstage. Each program is archived following the live stream for on-demand viewing.

Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival's 30th edition will kick off with David Bowie biopic STARDUST

The 30th annual Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival (Inside Out), championing innovative LGBTQ filmmakers from across the globe, has announced that it will open the 2020 festival with the drive-in premiere of the hotly anticipated David Bowie biopic STARDUST. The announcement was made today by Inside Out’s Executive Director Andria Wilson and the festival’s Director of Programming Andrew Murphy.

STARDUST takes place in 1971 where a 24 year old David Bowie (Johnny Flynn) embarks on his first road trip to America with Mercury Records publicist Ron Oberman (Marc Maron), only to be met with a world not yet ready for him. The film offers a glimpse behind the curtain of the moments that inspired the creation of Bowie's first and most memorable alter ego Ziggy Stardust, capturing the turning point that cemented his career as one of the world's greatest cultural icons. Jena Malone also stars in the film.

STARDUST will open the festival with a special drive-in screening event on Thursday, October 1, 2020 at the Ontario Place Drive-In Presented by RBC. The film will be released in Canada by Elevation Pictures.

The festival also announced two additional titles that will screen at the festival online in the International Showcase - MONSOON from director Hong Khaou, which stars Henry Golding (CRAZY RICH ASIANS), and THROUGH THE GLASS DARKLY, a new thriller from director Lauren Fash, starring Robyn Lively (TWIN PEAKS, TEEN WITCH).

In addition, two additional drive-in events are now on sale for previously announced films, including a Special Preview Presentation of JUMP, DARLING, an offbeat family drama starring Oscar-winner Cloris Leachman and Thomas Duplessie, which will take place at Ontario Place on Friday, October 2nd, and the Ottawa Drive-In event for AHEAD OF THE CURVE, chronicling the life of the best selling lesbian culture magazine Curve, which will take place at the Drive-In Experience Ottawa at Wesley Clover Parks on Saturday, October 3rd, presented by RBC Royal Bank.

Inside Out’s digital platform, which will be available for anyone in Ontario as well as registered industry and press members, will be accessible via insideout.ca, and through Inside Out's new AppleTV and Roku apps, launching October 1st. Audiences will be able to customize their own watch lists and schedule from their comfort of their own homes, using their home entertainment systems.

STALLS, Acclaimed Short Film from Writer/Director, João Dall’stella, Now Available to Watch for Free on YouTube and Vimeo

Stalls, the acclaimed short film written and directed by openly gay Brazilian auteur João Dall’stella, is now available to watch for free on YouTube and Vimeo after playing at over 40 LGBTQ+ film festivals worldwide, most recently at Outfest 2020.

Stalls is an exciting depiction of one man’s cruising adventure in the restroom of an opera house. In the film, Jonathan goes to the restroom, opens its golden glory hole and waits for someone to answer. Finally, after tapping his feet in what looks like a tap-dancing sequence he is able to find another man willing to give him what he wants.

Dall’stella, who based the film on some of his own experiences, says: “As a director my goal is to make audiences feel exactly what I was feeling at that moment. ‘Stalls’ accomplishes that when time stops for a tap-dancing sequence and when the main character is so eager to get what he wants that he forgets what else is left in the world. The film is a celebration of sexuality and a way audiences can discover a whole new world.”

The short film stars Andrew Ableson (The Gymnast, The Polar Express) and Matthew Jain (“General Hospital”), and is produced by Marc Tarczali and Thayer Juergens. Aakash Raj serves as cinematographer and Travis Stewart as editor. The short was filmed in Warner Grand Theatre in California in the same bathroom where Madonna famously shot part of her infamous book Sex.

Clean Energy Employed 62,400 Coloradans in 2019

Led by strong growth in solar energy, grid modernization, battery storage, and energy efficiency, Colorado added 2,700 net new clean energy jobs in 2019, continuing a pattern of growth that made the state one of the fastest-growing for clean energy before the COVID-19 economic crisis, according to a new report from E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) and the Colorado Solar and Storage Association (COSSA).

62,420 Coloradans worked in solar, wind, energy efficiency, grid modernization, energy storage, clean vehicles and other clean energy occupations at the end of last year, according to the new report Clean Jobs Colorado 2020. That was up from 59,666 in 2018 and 56,993 in 2017, a rate (9.6%) twice as fast as overall employment growth in Colorado during that time (4.7%). Across the Mountain West no state employed more than Colorado, which accounted for 25.3% of the region’s 247,000 clean energy jobs.

At the end of 2019, clean energy employed more Coloradans than worked as registered nurses, waiters and waitresses, schoolteachers, farmers or bankers and nearly two times more than worked in fossil fuels (33,800).

This growth, however, has been upended due to the COVID-19 related economic downturn. Since March, Colorado has lost nearly 6,000 clean energy jobs according to a separate monthly report from E2. The losses represent 9% of the sector’s total workforce and wipe out the industry’s entire job growth since 2017 as office buildings and homes closed to energy efficiency workers; factories shut down for clean energy equipment manufacturing workers; and financing and supply chains issues sidelined solar and other clean energy businesses.

Despite this recent downturn, longer-term trends in Colorado’s clean energy economy, coupled with smart policies, offer the state various avenues to reclaim lost jobs, create thousands of new ones quickly, and speed the transition of workers whose industries were left exposed by the crisis, according to the report. Clean Jobs Colorado 2020 comes as the state is implementing promising policies such as the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) standard and Governor Jared Polis’ Roadmap to Address Climate Change which can open up new opportunities for investments and jobs in clean vehicles, renewables, grid modernization, and energy efficiency across the state.

The report was released during a during a September 9 virtual briefing and panel discussion on the latest clean energy job trends and figures from the new report as well as the unemployment impact on the sector since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The online event was hosted by E2 and the Grand Junction Cleantech Business Coalition. For more details on the briefing see here.

Submissions Now Open for the 33rd Annual LAMBDA LITERARY AWARDS

For 32 years, the Lambda Literary Awards have identified and honored the best lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender books.

For a community that often finds ourselves the targets of legislative and actual violence, we also need and deserve pleasure, joy, and celebration, which is what the Lammys has endeavored to provide for more than 30 years.

Be a part of this incredible tradition. Submit your books today. (But first, read the submission guidelines.)