Tag: lgbt

Polish Election: A United Left Is Confronting Bigotry
In an election season otherwise blighted by homophobia, a new left alliance is set to take an unapologetic social programme into parliament in Poland's upcoming election. Despite the likelihood of the ruling Law and Justice party securing another victory, Ana Oppenheim argues the campaign trail has at least firmly put the left back on the political map.
Speaking in the Language of YouTube | Ash Sarkar Meets ContraPoints

Natalie Wynn aka ContraPoints has spent several years crafting one of the smartest, most entertaining and beautiful channels YouTube has to offer. Her work is a political counterbalance to the forces of reaction so dominant online and a gasp of oxygen on a website awash with mediocrity. Ash caught up with Natalie over a humble […]
“Our queerness never dies”: The Battle Against Far-Right Violence in Greece
The murder of prominent LGBTQI+ activist Zak Kostopoulos in September has reignited fears that the battle against far-right violence is being lost. Alex King takes a look at what the response to recent murders in Greece can teach those confronting fascism across Europe.
Novara FM: SNOW DAY!
Your hardy editors bring you a Snow Day Special, where James Butler, Ash Sarkar and Michael Walker talk conspiracy theories, books that changed them, desire in politics – and what their younger selves would think of them now.
Queer in the Media: Politics and Representation With Olly Alexander

Shon Faye is joined by lead singer of pop group Years and Years, Olly Alexander,  to discuss his experiences as an out gay man in pop music and the media, his recent BBC documentary about LGBT mental health, “Growing Up Gay”, queer icons, politics and representation.
Long Read: What Is Effeminacy and How Can We Celebrate It?
Mainstream society's conception of what it means to be a man leaves no room for the celebration and cherishing of a more feminine kind of manhood.
Who’s Here for Trans Liberation?
On KilljoyFM, Ray Filar is joined by Mijke van der Drift and Jay Bernard, to discuss being trans, blackness, gender-neutral pronouns, Rachel Dolezal and queer persecution in Chechnya.
LGBT History: What’s The Point?
As Donald Trump revokes protections for trans kids and gay alt-right leader Milo Yiannopoulos falls from his pedestal in the U.S., the UK comes to the end of its LGBT History Month. Shon Faye asks "what is the point of queer history in the age of Trump?"
Gay Pride, Bologna / Roberto Taddeo / Flickr / CC Gay Pride, Bologna / Roberto Taddeo / Flickr / CC
Long Read: Towards a Queer Crisis: On Capitalism & Compulsory Heterosexuality
For most of the history of capitalism, heterosexuality has been mandated by law. Sophie Monk & Joni Pitt (Cohen) examine the role of compulsory heterosexuality in capitalism, and consider how it can be disrupted.
Long Read: ‘We build a wall around our sanctuaries’: Queerness and Precarity
Feminists have identified that paid work depends on unpaid female labour performed within the household. But what happens queer folk; those denied access to the traditional household unit, forced to find other ways to support themselves? Joni Pitt (Cohen) and Sophie Monk explore the idea that, in some ways, queerness is precarity. 
We Need To Talk About How Mental Health is Political
Shon Faye looks at the politics of mental illness. The biases of how it's defined, who gets diagnosed and how people affected can resist discrimination and cuts to vital services.
‘They kill us because they see that we were never alive anyway’ – Black Lives Matter in the UK
Wail Qasim on why the Black Lives Matter movement, which began in North America, has a lot to add to ongoing struggles on the other side of the Atlantic.
Silence = Death: Orlando, and Why We Can’t Let Racists Hijack Queer Grief
Wail Qasim on the Orlando shootings, the portrayal of Omar Mateen in the media and the way liberal Western values are mobilised to marginalise both muslims and queers.
Gay Pride & Capitalism: What Is Pinkwashing?
As pride season approaches Shon Faye looks at how corporations and governments have co-opted the LGBT movement.
Trans People Need Feminism and Other Feminisms Need Us
Shon Faye on patriarchy, misogyny and why mainstream feminism has to include Trans women.
Is it time to abolish masculinity?
With men responsible for so many of the world’s problems you could be forgiven for thinking there is no hope left for masculinity. But what is masculinity, how can it be understood and taken apart for better? Shon Faye gives their two cents. What do you think? Comment on the hashtag #ShonThisWay
What Does It Mean To Be Queer?
Is everyone transgender? Can straight people identify as queer? Shon Faye asks: If queerness is defined by a rejection of labels how should queers differentiate and support the identities most vulnerable to patriarchal oppression?
Contesting Detention: A #ShutDownYarlsWood Photo Essay
A recent Movement for Justice protest at Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre was the largest yet, attended by an estimated 1000 people. This photo essay explores the voices of those inside and outside the detention centre as pressure builds to shut it down.