New data reveals gaps in follow-through on transgender news coverage
Transgender news coverage surged in 2023 as lawmakers introduced a wave of anti-trans legislation, but new data shows that attention quickly dropped off—leaving much of the real-world impact on trans people underreported. The Trans News Initiative is an interactive project that tracks five years of national coverage…
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RuPaul’s Drag Race cast starts their engines in the Windy City for Season 18
Chicago got the first look at Season 18 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. On Dec. 11, ahead of the much-adored reality series’s January launch, this season’s 14 new queens headed for the immersive Drag Race: The Experience installation on Logan Boulevard. There they took over a real-life replica of RuPaul’s legendary Werkroom and answered questions about the season ahead. …
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WORLD Pushback in Uganda, Liberian Methodist, Malaysia news, ice-skating rule
Pro-LGBTQ+ Ugandan organizations spoke out in unison on Human Rights Day, Dec. 10, against the growing restrictions on fundamental human rights, among other issues, Erasing 76 Crimes noted. The advocacy newspaper Kuchu Times and the legal aid organization Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF) criticized the “legislative assault” by the Ugandan regime, saying it…
Nation & World
WORLD Archbishop speaks, Budapest mayor, Pussy Riot called extremist, 2030 Gay Games
A retired Slovakian archbishop spoke out against a proposed change to the nation’s civil code that would automatically end the marriages of people who legally change their gender, per New Ways Ministry. Archbishop Emeritus of Trnava Róbert Bezák commented on the proposal, saying, “We do not live in a religious country. Those in parliament should…
Theater / Dance
THEATER Ice queens: Handbag’s ‘Housewives’ weather North Polar disorders
Poor Ruth Claus. As Hell in a Handbag’s Christmas 2025 offering The Real Housewives of the North Pole opens, her year-long sobriety gets put to the test. Santa and other North Pole VIPs—Frosty the Snowman and Jack Frost among them—are in jail for racketeering, so Ruth (Honey West) is at the end of her financial and emotional…
Music
Lakeside Pride ensemble performance marks World AIDS Day
On Dec. 1, the Lakeside Pride music ensemble Wilde Cabaret held an intimate concert in observance of World AIDS Day. The event, which took place at Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted St., was a benefit for the organization Season of Concern Chicago, which supports local theater artists in times of need. The evening featured not only music but a wealth…
Film / TV / Gossip
FILM ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ takes a stab at religion
Debuting in 2019, the comedic thriller Knives Out has spawned two sequels: Glass Onion in 2022 and Wake Up Dead Man in 2025. These celebrity capers have explored deep issues, such as class, race and identity, through zany characters placed in remote areas of the world. The first chapter was set in a faraway mansion, the second on an isolated island…
Books / Art
Trans
HHS announces sweeping proposals to prevent gender-affirming care for trans minors
On Dec. 18, the Trump administration—in the forms of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz—announced a sweeping crackdown on gender-affirming care for trans youth, according to The Advocate. One proposal would ban any hospital from providing gender-affirming healthcare to trans youth from…
Lesbian
New Ravenswood collective aims to create “friendship-forward” sapphic spaces
It takes a lot of work to open a new business as an entrepreneur. It takes even more work to divorce a husband, leave the Mormon church and come out as queer. Founder of Garden Of collective Eden Strader did all of that. The collective, aimed at creating a wholesome sapphic community, boasts a fully furnished and…