BUSINESS Revolutionary pleasures: Searah Deysach’s on a mission to bring sex positivity to Chicagoans
Twenty-five years ago, Evanston native Searah Deysach was at a crossroads and realized she needed to shake up her professional life. Deysach had done a pastry program and worked in kitchens for a while before she “boomeranged back to working in an office at the…
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Annual Esteem Awards celebrates queer Chicagoans’ courage and creativity
On the afternoon of July 18, Philip M. Fleming, along with the Epiphany Arts Foundation and Pride Index, presented the 19th Annual Esteem Awards and the Red, Pink, and Purple Polka Dot Poetry Slam in front of a packed room at Sidetrack Video Bar at 3349 N. Halsted St. The awards recognize individuals in the LGBTQ+…
HIV advocates dispel myths and discuss ongoing challenges at Chicago summit
Pride Action Tank and AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) hosted a summit on eliminating HIV stigma, Shifting the Narrative: Empowering Voices, Inspiring Hope and Transforming Lives on July 21at Loyola University’s Kasbeer Hall at its Water Tower Campus. An intergenerational panel discussion was moderated by Pride Action Tank Executive Director and AFC Special Projects Innovation Vice President Kim Hunt. “The HIV/AIDS…
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“Restroom Rally” held to highlight Illinois’ Equitable Restrooms Act
Pride Action Tank, an AIDS Foundation Chicago(AFC) project and Community Restroom Access Project (CRAP) organizer, and Rainbow Café LGBTQ Center in Carbondale joined forces to hold a Restroom Rally July 18 at both The Hideout in Chicago and Lost Forest Coffeehouse and Pub in Carbondale to raise awareness about Illinois’ Equitable Restrooms Act. The amended act, which was signed into law…
Nation & World
IN BRIEF Trans ban upheld, bathhouse ban repealed, Stonewall re-enactment, conversion therapy, ‘Broadway Bares,’ ‘X-Men ’97’
NATIONAL In a major development, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld state bans on transgender girls and women competing in girls’ and women’s school sports, The Advocate reported. In a six-to-three decision written by Justice Brett…
Theater / Dance
Chicagoans gather to learn about Black queer dance, expression
As massive crowds, former presidents and other celebrities mingled in Jackson Park for the opening of the Obama Center on June 18, a much smaller group on the North Side came together with an entirely different kind of gathering for the second edition of Welcome Home: A Celebration of Queer Street Dance. The event, which took…
Music
Chicago Pride Parade reclaims the spirit of protest
The 2026 Chicago Pride Parade on June 28 drove home that it is a protest before a celebration, spotlighting numerous organizations and individuals who each day take on challenges affecting the city’s LGBTQ+ community. The theme, Free to be Proud, was on display as the parade wound its way through Lake View. Cheers filled the…
Film / TV / Gossip
John Early smells like Maddie’s Secret at the Music Box
Director, writer and actor John Early doesn’t hide who he is as a gay man, but his character struggles with private information in the new Magnolia Pictures movie Maddie’s Secret. On July 2, he brought his latest endeavor to the Music Box Theatre for a sold-out screening accompanied by a post-show question-and-answer portion of the program. Maddie proved so popular…
Books / Art
Trans
Williams Institute: Being more visibly transgender associated with higher rates of physical attack
A new analysis of 2022 U.S. Trans Survey (USTS) data from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds that 5.4% of transgender and nonbinary adults reported experiencing one or more physical attacks in the year before the survey, and about half of them were attacked multiple times. By comparison, the National Crime Victimization Survey, administered…
Lesbian
Dyke March celebrates community power and resistance
Dyke March, crafted as an act of resistance pushing up against overly corporatized Pride celebrations, returned to Chicago June 27 after an eight-year hiatus. The event, which took place in the Pilsen neighborhood marks its 30th anniversary in 2026. The march started with a rally at Plaza Tenochtitlan before marching east down W. 18th St.,…