By Rob Salerno | LOS ANGELES – 2023 turned out to be an eventful year in the fight for LGBTQ rights across America. 

While the increasing polarization between red and blue states has put queer Americans on edge in half the country, there were nevertheless bright spots and things to look forward to in 2024.

Biden administration wins

The Biden administration continued to notch policy wins despite Democrats losing control of the House this year. Biden successfully got more than 60 federal judges confirmed this year – and putting more liberals on the federal courts will help protect and expand queer rights for years to come.

The FDA ended its discriminatory ban on blood donations from men who have sex with men, ending a long-term irritant for the queer community.

The administration has also proposed new rules that would require prospective foster parents to support foster kids’ gender identity, although this rule is being challenged by Republican state attorneys-general. 

The Department of Education also proposed a rule that would ban blanket bans on trans youth playing sports on teams that correspond to their gender identity. That proposed rule didn’t go as far as the affirmative protection for trans athletes that activists had wanted, but it still saw a Republican backlash.

On the international front, Biden spoke out in support of Intersex people’s rights at the United Nations General Assembly. He also supported LGBTQ rights by speaking out against Uganda’s draconian Anti-Homosexuality Act, and penalizing the country by removing it from a free trade program due to its deteriorating human rights record.

Supreme Court continues to chip away at rights

The Supreme Court blew a hole through anti-discrimination laws with its 303 Creative decision, which found in favor of a web designer who didn’t want to design web sites for same-sex weddings.

Never mind that the case appears to have been based on an entirely fictional set of circumstances. The ruling was a gift to any business that wants to discriminate against queer people by simply claiming that their work is creative or expressive and therefore protected by the first amendment. Courts will be sorting out this mess for a long time. 

State Democrats advance queer rights

After winning new unified control over state governments in Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Michigan, state Democrats quickly set to work advancing long-stalled LGBT initiatives.

Maryland and Minnesota repealed their defunct sodomy laws, while bills to do the same are pending in Michigan and Massachusetts and will likely see action next year. They also banned conversion therapy and updated their civil rights laws to ban all forms of anti-LGBT discrimination, and Michigan began the process of updating its family laws to reflect the realities of same-sex marriage and parenting. Both states are also considering laws to ban the “gay/trans panic” defense, and the defense was also banned in Delaware and New Hampshire – the latter a rare example of a state under Republican control advancing an LGBT rights bill.

Unfortunately, Michigan Democrats lost their narrow House majority in November when two members resigned after winning local mayoral elections. They won’t regain it until by-elections are held in April, which may stall further advances next year.

But at the same time, Virginia Democrats regained control of the state legislature, which will help ensure the state remains a bulwark against anti-LGBT legislation in the South.

Democratic governors across the country also signed bills and executive orders protecting trans health care, and ensuring safety for trans people moving to their states to access care, while Arizona’s Democratic Governor Hobbs also banned conversion therapy.

California continued to lead the way

California Democrats continued to lead the conversation on expanding LGBTQ rights, passing several new laws protecting individuals’ right to privacy regarding a legal name and gender change, requiring sensitivity training for school workers, and expanding bathroom access. 

The state also banned local school boards from banning books related to LGBTQ and race/culture issues, in response to Temecula Valley Unified School District’s decision to ban a book about queer civil rights leader Harvey Milk.

Governor Newsom appointed Black out lesbian Laphonza Butler to the Senate after the death of longtime queer ally Diane Feinstein. Butler has said she’s not running to hold the seat next year.

Next year, Californians will be asked to vote to repeal Prop 8, the defunct constitutional amendment that banned same-sex marriage, but Republicans are also trying to add anti-trans questions to the November ballot. There are also initiatives pending to repeal state constitutional bans on same-sex marriage in Hawaii, Oregon and Michigan, and state Democrats are already talking about restarting the repeal process in Virginia.

Republicans continued their anti-trans and anti-abortion crusade

The ACLU reported that more than 500 anti-trans bills had been filed in state legislatures this year, and unfortunately, too many of them actually became law. 

Across the country, Republican-controlled legislatures passed sweeping anti-trans laws restricting access to medical transition for both youth and adults, restricting insurance coverage for trans medical care, forcibly outing trans students, allowing or requiring schools and teachers to misgender their trans students, barring trans athletes from competing in their preferred gender division, and banning public performances that included drag or trans performers.

Despite the incredible breadth and quick advance of anti-trans legislation, there is still hope. For one, courts have taken an increasingly dim view of many of these laws, and the clear anti-trans animus with which they were enacted. While litigation will likely continue for years over these issues, there’s a strong likelihood that these laws will get struck down.

We’ve also seen inspiring stories of resistance to these laws in surprising places. Nebraska Senator Megan Hunt carried out a session-long one-woman filibuster of every bill before the legislature in an attempt to get Republicans to drop a bill banning care for trans youth. Montana representative and out trans woman Zooey Zephyr, galvanized nationwide support after Republicans barred her from speaking in the legislature in response to her telling them that they would “have blood on [their] hands” for passing a medical care ban for trans youth.

And Republicans’ obsession with fighting trans people was directly tied in with their efforts to ban abortion – which may ultimately be their undoing. Abortion bans that have been enacted or come into effect across the country since last year’s Dobbs ruling have proven deeply unpopular with voters, who are beginning to turn on Republicans. 

Democrats have been able to galvanize anger over abortion restrictions to notch big victories in elections all year, including for byelections, judicial elections, and two referendums that were tied to abortion rights in Ohio. Democrats look likely to capitalize on this strategy in 2024, with abortion rights referenda already approved for the ballots in Maryland and New York, and potentially on the ballot in up to ten other states. New York’s abortion question will also include language prohibiting anti-LGBT discrimination. It’s possible that Republican overreach on these deeply unpopular issues could help drive Democratic turnout for both the presidential election and state legislative elections in November.

Still, it shouldn’t be overlooked that these awful laws are causing real pain for real people in Republican-led states right now.

Comings and goings from Congress

Openly gay US Rep David Cicilline resigned from Congress this year to become the CEO of the non-profit Rhode Island Foundation. Cicilline has been an advocate for LGBTQ rights throughout his long political career. Gay Republican George Santos both began and ended his time in Congress this year. Aside from being an admitted liar who has been accused of multiple felonies and ethics violations, the former aspiring drag queen used his time in office and platform to repeatedly advocate against LGBT issues, especially trans rights. He was expelled from Congress in a rare vote and will only be missed for Bowen Yang’s sublime impersonations on Saturday Night Live.

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Rob Salerno is a writer and journalist based in Los Angeles, California, and Toronto, Canada.

By Erin Reed | MISSOULA, MT. – The year 2023 was exceptionally challenging for transgender people. Members of the community have grappled with a surge of legislation affecting every facet of their lives, ranging from bathroom access and sports participation to artistic expression, literature, and healthcare availability.

This onslaught coincides with pervasive inflammatory rhetoric and a presidential election cycle that could decisively impact our rights for an entire generation, accompanied by extensive media coverage platforming extreme transphobia and hate. However, this article will not focus on these difficulties.

Despite these challenges, there have been moments of immense hope that have emerged. It is these victories that trans people can carry into the New Year with hope.

Here are all of the biggest victories for transgender people in 2023:

Court Victories

• Iowa Don’t Say Gay Law, book ban blocked in court. This ruling is one of the first rulings saying that firing teachers for discussing LGBTQ+ people is unconstitutional.
• Florida drag ban blocked in court and even the Supreme Court refused to allow DeSantis to enforce it.
• Montana drag ban blocked in a state court after they attempted to use it to stop a transgender woman from speaking at a library.
• Texas drag ban blocked and declared an unconstitutional restriction on free speech.
• Tennessee drag ban blocked and declared to be an unconstitutional restriction on free speech.
• Montana gender affirming care ban blocked in state court, with the judge citing overwhelming medical evidence behind trans care.
• Idaho gender affirming care ban blocked citing violations of protections on parental rights in a major federal victory for trans people.
• Chino Valley forced outing in California blocked with the judge ruling that it unconstitutionally targets the transgender community.
• Ohio trans access to bathrooms upheld in a major win for bathroom rights for students.
• Natalie Ryan wins right to play disc golf after winning several court cases.
• No “right to misgender” trans students in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
• Supreme Court allows trans student to continue to play sports in West Virginia in one of the few Supreme Court decisions seen in 2023.
• Texas book ban blocked, which was one of the harshest book bans in the nation.
• 7th Circuit Court rules that trans students have the right to use the bathroom of their gender identity in Indiana in a major victory for bathroom access.
• Arkansas trans care ban blocked in court and ruled as unconstitutional.
• Indiana gender affirming care ban blocked in court.
• Adult care restrictions blocked in Missouri.
• Helena Pride allowed to go on after legal threats.
• BoroPride allowed to go on after legal threats.
• Blount County Pride allowed to go on after legal threats.
• Idaho bathroom ban blocked in 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Legislative And Policy Victories

• DeWine vetoes gender affirming care ban in Ohio in one of the few examples of a Republican vetoing an anti-trans bill.
• Anti-trans provisions removed from NDAA after republicans threatened to hold national funding hostage if anti-trans provisions were not included.
• 15 states pass shield laws protecting trans care. These laws have already proven useful when out of state attorneys general have attempted to get medical records on people traveling to obtain care.
• Arkansas bathroom ban changed at the last minute to not ban trans people from bathrooms.
• West Virginia trans ban exception for severe dysphoria added after local activists successfully plead for at least some access to care.
• Michigan equality act expands protections to transgender people in the state under civil rights laws.
• Wyoming gender affirming care ban defeated in one of the few examples of a red state ban being failing to pass.
• South Dakota drag ban defeated in the state legislature.
• Drag ban gutted in Arkansas so that it no longer targets drag performances.
• Murfreesboro homosexuality ordinance overturned after previously banning “public homosexuality.”
• Kansas gender affirming care ban vetoed making it one of the few states in the region to no longer have a ban on gender affirming care for trans youth.
• Wisconsin anti-trans bills vetoed by Governor Tony Evers.
• Maryland Trans Health Equity Act passed securing gender affirming care coverage for an expanded list of procedures for trans people in the state.
• Kids Online Safety Act that could target LGBTQ+ content tabled.
• Oregon passes mandatory coverage for all trans healthcare in a major move expanding healthcare access in the state.
• Washington bill protecting trans runaways passes which would mean that trans runaways would not need to be automatically reported to parents if they fear conversion therapy.
• Francis Howell school district stops trans bathroom ban.
• Conestoga Valley School District blocks sports ban.
• Largest school district in Vermont codifies trans rights for students.
• School boards reject Youngkin’s anti-trans model policies.

Election Victories

• Loudoun County School Board victory for candidates supporting trans students in a major bellwether.
• Central Bucks School Board victory usurps seats held by anti-trans board members in a huge swing.
• Lin-Mar school district in Iowa saw all Moms For Liberty candidates lose.
• Fairfax County School Board sees pro-LGBTQ+ candidates sweep every seat.
• Pennsylvania Central York School District saw Democrats sweep over LGBTQ+ policies.
• 12 of 13 Moms For Liberty candidates in Iowa lost, all running on anti-trans platforms.
• Pella, Iowa votes against book ban despite being a Trump +35 town.
• Andy Beshear wins Kentucky election despite vetoing anti-trans bill, millions of dollars in anti-trans ads.
• Judge Daniel McCaffery elected to Pennsylvania State Supreme Court, after running on a pro-trans rights platform.
• Judge Janet Protesiewicz wins Wisconsin Supreme Court seat after millions in anti-trans ads spent against her.
• Ohio abortion amendment wins despite Republicans campaigning on how it would “allow trans rights.”
• Scalia’s daughter loses Albemarle County school board election, despite running against trans people in her district.
• Virginia House and Senate takeover after Republicans campaign mailers listed “transgender sports” as a top Republican priority.
• Danica Roem elected to the Senate as first trans woman Senator in Virginia.
• Olivia Hill becomes Tennessee’s first trans elected official.
• Moms For Liberty suffers massive nationwide defeat in elections with 73% of candidates losing.
• California school district successfully launches recall of anti-trans school board member.

Studies and Polls:

• 76% say trans care should be decided by patients and doctors, not politicians in landmark poll.
• First ever RCT shows trans care lowers suicidality in those allowed to start testosterone quickly vs. those who have to wait.
• 21 State AGs release report showing no negative incidents from trans people in bathrooms, challenging state bathroom bans in red states.
• Swedish study shows no social contagion as transition rates stabilize.
• “Wave of detransitioners” fails to materialize for another year as the same dozen or so detransitioners continue to fly from state to state, some being paid to do so.
• 84% oppose book bans, 66% oppose Don’t Say Gay laws in major poll.
• Louisiana report shows trans care safe and effective despite being commissioned by a Republican legislature.
• Fox news poll: 86% say political attacks on trans kids are a problem.
• NPR/PBS poll with majority opposing criminalizing trans youth.
• 71% of Kentucky opposes gender affirming care ban, despite Kentucky passing the law.
• Study in Pediatrics showing puberty blockers reduce suicidality providing major justification for their continued use.
• JAMA Study shows top surgery regret is almost 0, showcasing the immense benefits of surgery for transgender people.

International victories

• Sweeping pro-trans law in Spain making gender changes easier.
• Japan makes it easier to change gender markers.
• Japan ruling against workplace harassment and forced haircuts.

Other victories

• Biggest Trans Day of Visibility marches ever after being led by youth organizers across the United States and abroad.
• Kim Petras becomes first openly trans Grammy award winner (though not the first, Wendy Carlos also won, though she was not openly trans at the time).
• Trans boy allowed to star in Oklahoma! Play after being blocked by school district.
• Pro-trans rallies outnumber anti-trans marches in Canada in a show of support after anti-trans demonstrators planned demonstrations against transgender rights.
• Yosha Iglesias becomes first trans Woman International Master in chess.
• Representative Zooey Zephyr gains international praise and a major platform, named one of the Time 100 Next award winners, after being censured by the legislature for speaking out against anti-trans bill. (Disclosure: the author of this article is, happily, engaged to Rep. Zephyr)
• Trans kid wins Irish Dancing competition and goes to the world championship.

Despite the challenges faced by trans people this year, these victories that have been achieved offer reasons for hope. In 2024, trans people will likely continue to face assaults on their basic human rights. Yet, there will be victories as well.

The struggle for trans rights is not one to be resolved in a single year; it is evolving into one of the defining generational battles of our era. Each win this year sows seeds of hope, and these seeds planted today can grow into the movement that will the rights of transgender people for generations to come.

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Erin Reed is a transgender woman (she/her pronouns) and researcher who tracks anti-LGBTQ+ legislation around the world and helps people become better advocates for their queer family, friends, colleagues, and community. Reed also is a social media consultant and public speaker.

Follow her on Twitter (Link)

Website here: https://www.erininthemorning.com/

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The preceding article was first published at Erin In The Morning and is republished with permission.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – It’s been a great year for movies, we’re glad to say, but that’s made it harder than usual for us to compile our annual list of the 10 best queer-centric films. Still, we’ve made the hard calls necessary, and come up with our picks for the most outstanding of all the movies we’ve covered over the last 12 months.

You all know how these things work, so we won’t waste space with unnecessary explanations. Here, listed in reverse order, are the Blade’s Top Ten Films of 2023:

10. Rustin (Dir: George C. Wolfe)

Biopics face a difficult challenge when it comes to presenting an authentic portrayal of their subject: How do you encapsulate a person’s life into a two-hour story without relying on broad strokes? This frank and inspiring look at Civil Rights hero Bayard Rustin, whose monumental contribution to the movement was all-but-unsung for decades thanks to his open homosexuality, skirts the usual pitfalls by focusing on a specific episode in his career-orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington where MLK delivered his culture-shifting “I Have a Dream” speech – and delivering a behind-the-scenes snapshot of a seminal moment in American history at a time when stories about the triumph of activism feel more urgent than ever. Even so, it makes it onto our list mainly on the strength of star Colman Domingo, whose unapologetically thorny interpretation of the late queer icon is an engrossing – and refreshingly un-romanticized – powerhouse from start to finish.

9. Of An Age (Dir: Goran Stolevski)

What yearly “Best of” list would be complete without one or two under-the-radar gems? This Australian import (made in 2022, but released in the U.S. early this year) qualifies on both counts, but more importantly it’s a reminder that – despite frequent complaints to the contrary – there are great queer romance movies being made. This one is about two teens (Elias Anton and Thom Green) who spend a day together and fall hard for each other, but time and circumstance are not on their side; years later, reunited at a wedding, they find the connection between them has endured, but it may be too late to do anything about it. It’s a simple premise, and not much happens in terms of plot, but the winning authenticity of the love story it tells – and the way it captures unresolvable longing – is infinitely and universally relatable. It’s not a gay love story, it’s a love story between two people who happen to be gay, and that makes all the difference.

8. Rotting in the Sun (Dir: Sebastian Silva)

Even more under-the-radar, perhaps, is this out-of-left-field contender from out Chilean-born filmmaker Silva, who casts himself and real-life social media star Jordan Firstman as fictional versions of themselves in an outrageous, interwoven stream-of-events narrative that savagely satirizes the perpetually distracted state of self-obsessed modern culture while offering a darkly humorous commentary on cultural classism. It’s a lot to juggle in a single movie, but Silva pulls it off audaciously in a movie that does not go where you expect it to go and defies easy categorization by blending absurd farce with heartrending tragedy without missing a single beat. It also features un-simulated queer sex, and the fact that bold move is not the main attraction is itself testament to the power of this film’s unique vision. An MVP performance by veteran Chilean actress Catalina Saavedra is the richly satisfying icing on the cake.

7. Asteroid City (Dir: Wes Anderson)

This might be a controversial choice for us, given that critical response for this quintessentially Wes-Anderson-y think piece has been sharply divided and that the “queer factor” involved is relatively low; nevertheless, we stand by it, and only partly because the existential summer of “Barbenheimer” (more on that later) began with the quirky cult filmmaker’s visually stunning fantasia about a gathering of disparate characters in a kitschy New Mexican town for a government-sponsored “young inventors” competition during the height of 1950s-era “nuclear panic.” True to form, Anderson places meta-layers upon meta-layers by framing his narrative as a real-life theatrical play – penned by a queer playwright (Edward Norton) having a love affair with his leading man (Jason Schwartzman) – being memorialized in a TV documentary. And while this might make it hard for some to keep track of the story or identify with the characters, it also makes this movie into an almost perfect meditation on the way a cultural “zeitgeist” – in this case, the percolating dread that dominated world consciousness in the aftermath of the atomic bomb – manifests itself in our shared public imagination. An all-star cast of players (including Scarlett Johannson, Tom Hanks, Tilda Swinton and a host of others) only sweetens the pot.

6. May December (Dir: Todd Haynes)

It may be no surprise to see the latest film by “new queer cinema” icon Haynes on our list, but rest assured we’re not the only ones to recognize the brilliance of this uncomfortable character study in which a Hollywood actress (Natalie Portman), hired to star in a docudrama about a real-life tabloid sex scandal involving the inappropriate relationship and subsequent marriage between an adult woman (Julianne Moore) and an underage boy, descends on the couple’s household, stirring up long-unaddressed feelings for each of them as she loses herself in the persona of her role. Steeped in the tranquilizing suburban blandness that has always been a hallmark of Haynes’ melancholy, subversively divergent milieu, it’s the kind of movie that feels like a fever dream and leaves you grappling with issues you thought you’d worked out for yourself years ago – and while Portman and longtime Haynes muse Moore both deliver their usual stellar performances, it’s Charles Melton’s unexpectedly nuanced turn as the now-adult object of Moore’s transgressive desires that provides its troubled heart.

5. Oppenheimer (Dir: Christopher Nolan)

OK, there’s not really a specific queer angle to this introspective, epic-length film about the man who built the atom bomb, but the themes and questions it forces us to confront – all tied to the looming specter of effectively instant worldwide annihilation we’ve been living with ever since the nuclear blasts that brought WWII to an abrupt and sobering end – make it essential viewing anyway. Centered on the white-knuckle intensity of Cillian Murphy’s performance in the title role and bolstered by equally invested work from an all-star ensemble of supporting players (Emily Blunt, Robert Downey, Jr., Matt Damon, and more), Nolan’s finely wrought biopic becomes a meditation on responsibility, blame, the madness of mutually assured destruction, and – most significantly of all – living with an omnipresent sense of inevitable doom. Yet as depressing as all that sounds, the film resonates with enough humanity and compassion – even for its most ethically challenging characters – that we can walk away from it with something that feels almost like hope.

4. All of Us Strangers (Dir: Andrew Haigh)

Invading our list from the UK is the latest film from the writer/director who raised the bar for queer romance movies with 2011’s “Weekend,” a haunted (literally) love story in which a lonely London screenwriter (Andrew Scott) communes with the ghosts of his long-deceased parents (Claire Foy, Jaime Bell) while beginning a tentative relationship with a handsome but palpably sad neighbor (Paul Mescal). Based on a novel by Japanese author Taichi Yamada, it’s a ghostly tale more esoteric than supernatural, driven by mood, draped in primary colors, and infused with life through the tenderness between its two fragile lovers, less interested in the details of a hypothetical afterlife than it is in the bonds of love – in all its forms – which connect us to each other beyond time and mortality. Sure, it’s gloomy on the surface, and it brushes up against sorrows that are mercifully unfathomable to many of us, but it somehow manages to leave us uplifted rather than unsettled – and almost as a bonus, the sweet-and-sexy chemistry between its leading men will stick with you long after the final credits roll.

3. Saltburn (Dir: Emerald Fennell)

We’re not going to lie: part of what earns this gnarly, aggressively twisted movie a high place on our list is its audaciousness. In its tale of Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), a working class lad on scholarship to Oxford whose infatuation with a charismatic and wealthy classmate (Jacob Elordi) leads to a debauched and treacherous summer at the elegantly dilapidated country estate of the title, it turns a vaguely Dickensian story of fate, irony, and social commentary into an escalating wild ride that takes us places we don’t expect to go and never wanted to see, and it makes us love every guilty second of it. Yes, it’s dark and depraved, an over-the-top, starkly satirical look into the casually cruel world of the “ruling class” that forces us to ask just how far we would be willing to go to become a part of it, and it uses our own expectations against us to deliver a bombshell ending that might feel like a slap in the face for those who aren’t paying close attention (and possibly for those who are, too) – but all of that gives us even more reason to laud this second effort from the daring writer/director of “Promising Young Woman” as one of the most thrilling and unforgettable cinematic experiences of the year.

2. Killers of the Flower Moon (Dir: Martin Scorsese)

Like “Oppenheimer,” there’s no direct queer thread to be found in this late-career masterpiece from one of America’s most accomplished cinema artists, but its exploration of the deeply embedded racism that has been woven throughout our nation’s history has obvious resonance for anyone whose status as an “other” places them at risk of exploitation, oppression, and worse in a culture that is stacked against them. Based on the non-fiction book by David Gann, it chronicles a conspiracy in 1920s Oklahoma in which the indigenous Osage community, made rich by the oil fields under its tribal land, was robbed of its wealth by local white business leaders through a systematic campaign of marriage and murder, and the efforts of the then-fledgling FBI to bring the perpetrators to some kind of justice. With career-highlight performances from Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro, as well as a revelatory turn from indigenous actor Lily Gladstone, there’s more than enough great acting to keep us mesmerized throughout its three-and-a-half-hour runtime – and the same understanding of the pathology of corruption that Scorsese deployed in his classic sagas about organized crime breathes powerful insight into a story that has just as much to say about the America we live in today as the one in which it takes place.

1. Barbie (Dir: Greta Gerwig)

When we first predicted this would be the movie of the year, our tongue may have been firmly planted in our cheek – but we’re not sorry to be able to say we were right. Not just a campy fantasy about a doll, it’s a truth bomb delivered in a candy-colored Trojan Horse, in which an unexpected existential crisis (do we detect a running theme in this year’s movies?) sends Barbie (Margot Robbie) into the human world looking for answers and ends up turning her own world upside down as Ken (Ryan Gosling), having seen the glories of “the patriarchy”, tries to remake Barbieland in his own image. It’s a premise that gives Gerwig (and partner Noah Baumbach, with whom she co-wrote the screenplay) plenty of fodder to skewer contemporary culture, and she takes aim at all the usual targets as she gleefully spreads the kind of progressive, humanitarian, pro-feminist, socially ethical messaging that conservative pundits like to fall over themselves dismissing as “woke” propaganda. But that’s not the endgame in this transcendent wonder of a movie, because Gerwig and company take things beyond the dualistic dogmas that stymie us in our quest for a more equitable world to ask some much deeper questions, creating a piece of absurdist cinema with as much intellectual weight as any film you’re ever likely to see. Of course, viewers hung up on the “culture war” talking points being batted around from every direction might not notice, any more than they are likely to notice the comprehensive array of nods and tributes she pays along the way to the iconic movies that inspired her, but one of the many joys of “Barbie” is that it reveals more with each repeat viewing – so there’s always hope they’ll catch on, eventually.

Oh, and even if the only queer content it contains comes in the form of deliciously unsubtle innuendo, there’s something quintessentially queer about it – and we’re not just talking about the color palette.

WASHINGTON – War, continued anti-LGBTQ crackdowns and the decriminalization of consensual same-sex sexual relations are among the issues that made headlines around the world over the past year. Here are the top international stories of 2023. 

 #10 Mauritius and the Cook Islands decriminalize homosexuality

The Mauritius Supreme Court on Oct. 4 issued a ruling that decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations in the country. 

Abdool Ridwan Firaas (Ryan) Ah Seek, a gay man and prominent LGBTQ activist, in 2019 filed a lawsuit that sought to strike down the colonial-era penal code. The court issued its ruling roughly two months after Mauritius hosted the Pan Africa ILGA Conference.

Lawmakers in the Cook Islands in April voted to repeal a provision of a 1969 law that criminalized homosexuality in the country.

#9 British Prime Minister Sunak fires anti-LGBTQ Home Secretary 

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Nov. 13 fired Suella Braverman, his government’s controversial home secretary who was a vocal opponent of LGBTQ rights. 

Braverman, among other things, opposed transgender rights. 

“Trans women have no place in women’s wards or, indeed, any safe space relating to biological women,” she told Sky News a few weeks before Sunak fired her.

Braverman in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute in September said the country “will not be able to sustain an asylum system if, in effect, simply being gay or a woman, and fearful of discrimination in your country of origin, is sufficient to qualify for protection.” 

#8 Edgars Rinkēvičs becomes Latvia’s first openly gay president

Edgars Rinkēvičs on July 8 became Latvia’s first openly gay president.

Rinkēvičs had been the country’s foreign minister since 2011. He is the first openly gay head of state of a European Union country or a nation that was once part of the Soviet Union. 

#7 Anti-LGBTQ crackdowns continue in Russia, Eastern Europe

The Russian government in 2023 continued its crackdown on LGBTQ rights.

The country’s Supreme Court on Nov. 30 ruled the global LGBTQ rights movement is an “extremist organization.” Police within days of the ruling raided gay bars and clubs in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

President Vladimir Putin in July signed a bill that bans transition-related therapy and surgery in the country.

U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman, who is gay, on June 16 criticized the crackdown on LGBTQ rights in the country during a speech he gave at a Budapest Pride reception. Gay Polish MEP (European Parliament member) Robert Biedroń during an interview with the Washington Blade in Brussels over the summer described Poland as “the most homophobic country on the map of Europe in the EU.”

#6 Thailand poised to become next Asian country to extend marriage rights

Thailand could become the next country in Asia to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples.

The country’s Cabinet on Nov. 21 approved a marriage equality bill. Lawmakers are expected to debate it this month.

Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Taiwan since 2019. 

The Nepalese Supreme Court on June 28 issued a ruling that opened the door to marriage equality in the country. Maya Ram Bahadur Gurung and Surendra Pandey on Nov. 29 legally registered their marriage.

#5 Latin America’s first nonbinary judge killed by partner

Authorities in Mexico’s Aguascalientes state on Nov. 13 found Jesús Ociel Baena, Latin America’s first nonbinary judge, dead in their home.

Baena in October 2022 became a magistrate on Aguascalientes’ electoral court. Baena in June was one of the first people in Mexico to receive a passport with a nonbinary gender marker.

Baena had previously received death threats. Prosecutors said Baena’s partner killed them before dying by suicide. 

#4 Brazilian President Lula da Silva sworn before Bolsonaro supporters storm capital

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Jan. 1 took office in his country’s capital of Brasília.

Da Silva, a member of the leftist Worker’s Party, was Brazil’s president from 2003-2010. He defeated Jair Bolsonaro, a former Brazilian Army captain and congressman who sparked outrage over his comments LGBTQ people and other groups and his anti-democratic rhetoric, in the country’s presidential election that took place in October 2022.

Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters on Jan. 8 stormed Brazil’s Congress, Presidential Palace and Supreme Court.

#3 Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act signed into law. Anti-LGBTQ crackdown in Nigeria. Neighboring countries seek to implement similar statutes. Namibian Supreme Court rules country must recognize same-sex marriages 

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on May 29 signed his country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, which contains a death penalty provision for “aggravated homosexuality.”

The U.S. in response imposed visa restrictions against Ugandan officials and removed the country from a sub-Saharan Africa free trade agreement. The World Bank Group also suspended new loans to Uganda.

Lawmakers in Kenya, Tanzania and other African countries have sought to introduce bills that are similar to the Anti-Homosexuality Act. Officials in Nigeria and other African countries over the last year continued to crack down on LGBTQ people.

The Namibia Supreme Court on May 16 ruled the country’s government must recognize same-sex marriages that were legally performed abroad.

#2 Indian Supreme Court rules against marriage equality

The Indian Supreme Court on Oct. 17 issued its long-anticipated ruling that did not extend marriage rights to same-sex couples.

The justices earlier in the year heard oral arguments in the landmark case. The Supreme Court in its ruling said lawmakers must decide whether to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples.

The Supreme Court on Nov. 23 agreed to consider an appeal of the ruling, although observers with whom the Blade has spoken say they don’t expect it to succeed. The Supreme Court in 2018 struck down India’s colonial-era sodomy law.

#1 War in Israel and Ukraine

Hamas on Oct. 7 launched a surprise attack against southern Israel.

The attack killed more than 1,000 Israelis, and militants from Hamas and other Muslim extremist groups kidnapped more than 200 people. The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli airstrikes have killed upwards of 20,000 people in the Gaza Strip.

LGBTQ activists in Israel since Oct. 7 have worked to help people in the country whom the war has displaced.

Meanwhile, Russia’s war against Ukraine continues. 

Oksana Markarova, the country’s ambassador to the U.S., on Jan. 26 during an event in Washington that highlighted LGBTQ Ukrainian servicemembers thanked activists for their work in support of equal rights.

“Thank you for everything you do in Kyiv, and thank you for everything that you do in order to fight the discrimination that still is somewhere in Ukraine,” said Markarova.

WASHINGTON – It was an alarming year for queer Americans as state legislatures took aim at everything from gender-affirming care for transgender people to banning books with queer themes. Here are the Blade’s staff picks for the top 10 stories of 2023.

#10 Pride at the White House

The Biden-Harris administration in June hosted the largest Pride celebration ever held on White House grounds. Thousands gathered on the South Lawn to hear the president reaffirm his commitment to the LGBTQ community, decry the introduction and passage of legislation targeting queer people, and outline new actions the administration would take to tackle issues from bias-motivated threats and violence to youth homelessness. After the event, right-wing activists drew attention to a trans activist attendee’s topless TikTok video, which prompted a rebuke from the White House. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the “influencer” would not be invited back.

#9 Off-year elections spell victory for Dems, poor showing for Moms for Liberty

Polls show that Democrats largely over-performed in off-year elections that were held in November 2023, with Democratic hopefuls in competitive races securing decisive victories up and down the ballot – from the gubernatorial race in Kentucky to school board contests in states across the country. Moms for Liberty, an anti-LGBTQ right-wing organization considered an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, backed 139 candidates in school board races who vowed to oppose books, materials, and classroom discussion or instruction on LGBTQ matters or those concerning racial justice. Just over a third of those candidates – 50  – won.

#8 FDA finalizes new, inclusive blood donation guidelines

Gay and bisexual men who have sex with men have been prohibited from donating blood for decades since the discovery of AIDS, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration narrowing its restrictions only twice since the 1980s. Revisiting blood donation guidelines has been a major priority for the Biden-Harris administration, and the FDA’s decision this year to take a major step away from the discriminatory ban was lauded by LGBTQ groups – some of which vowed that they would continue, in the words of GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis, “advocating for the FDA to lift all restrictions against qualified LGBTQ blood donor candidates.”

 #7 Battle over the Republican speakership

U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) narrowly secured the votes to become speaker in January and only after a historic 15 ballots were cast. He was summarily ousted by a small group of ultraconservative members before the end of the year, throwing the House into turmoil as the Republican conference flailed for weeks without a speaker until they united around U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.). Johnson is an anti-LGBTQ far-right Christian fundamentalist who has advocated for the reinstatement of sodomy laws and nurtured close ties with the most extreme figures on the religious right.

 #6 Pelosi steps down from leadership and is interviewed by the Blade

In January, just after the end of her tenure as one of the most celebrated and accomplished House speakers, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sat down with the Washington Blade in her office for an interview about her work advancing the social, legal, and political equality of LGBTQ people in America. From her first speech on the House floor in 1987 demanding congressional action on AIDS to her leadership in 2022 passing the Respect for Marriage Act, the California Democrat has been at the forefront of the battle for LGBTQ rights while also blazing a trail for women to serve in the highest levels of American politics and government.

#5 George Santos drama

Before his time in Washington had even begun, the first out gay Republican elected to Congress was revealed to be a total fraud with respect to matters that ranged from the frivolous (claims of collegiate athletic prowess) to the legally actionable (pilfering campaign donations to buy Ferragamo loafers and content on OnlyFans). At first, House Republican leadership stood by Santos through the torrent of unflattering news coverage, mindful of the party’s narrow majority control of the lower chamber. Eventually, however, lawmakers were handed a damning report by the bipartisan House Ethics Committee and made the unprecedented move of booting him out of office.  

#4 303 Creative v. Elenis

The Alliance Defending Freedom, which is deemed an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, represented a Colorado website designer who, though she had never been asked to provide services in connection with a same-sex wedding, feared that she would be prohibited from refusing such a request because of the state’s LGBTQ inclusive nondiscrimination statute. The U.S. Supreme Court not only agreed to review the case, concluding that the business owner had standing to sue, but ruled in her favor – delivering a blow to LGBTQ rights in a decision weakening the court’s precedent on marriage equality.

#3 Anti-trans policies to figure prominently in Trump v. Biden rematch 

Former President Trump has maintained a decisive lead over the rest of the Republican presidential primary field since the start of 2023, which has widened considerably since the summer. Announcing his plans to run again in January, Trump outlined a plan of attack against transgender Americans, including policy proposals targeting access to gender affirming care and appeals for congressional Republicans to define gender as immutable and assigned at birth. President Biden, meanwhile, has no meaningful competition from other Democrats leading into 2024, and has vowed to protect and defend transgender Americans while taking steps to shore up protections for the community during his time in office.

#2 Major companies fend off right-wing attacks

The year 2023 saw publicly traded corporations like Target and Anheuser-Busch InBev take financial hits after their outreach to LGBTQ communities inspired reactionary right-wing backlash. The companies’ responses, in turn, ignited criticism from LGBTQ customers who felt abandoned by their decisions to, for instance, scale back on next year’s Pride collections. Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney partnered with Bud Light for a social media promotion in April – consisting of a single video posted on her Instagram page – and it was only in December that right-wing activist and musician Kid Rock dropped his boycott against the company, having made headlines months earlier by mowing down cases of the product with an assault rifle.

#1 State of emergency for LGBTQ people in America

State legislatures across the country introduced more than 500 bills targeting the LGBTQ community in 2023, passing 75 in 23 states. Most are restrictions on medically necessary healthcare interventions for transgender minors, treatments that are backed by every scientific and medical society with relevant clinical expertise. Others target trans student athletes, restrict bathroom and locker room access, or prohibit schools from any discussion or instruction on matters of sexual orientation and gender identity. LGBTQ people and their families have become refugees in their own country. And the Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for the first time ever.

Honorable mention: Blade uncovers Trevor Project scandals

In July, the Washington Blade broke an explosive exposé concerning one of the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organizations, the Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention services to LGBTQ youth. The story revealed financial woes, raised questions about the possible mismanagement of millions of dollars in funds, and pointed to staff dissension — including over management’s alleged union-busting efforts. 

HOLLYWOOD – By any estimation, 2023 was a chaotic year in the world of pop culture, from strikes by the various acting and screenwriting unions to an attack on LGBTQ material both in book form and in drag performances.

The Washington Blade and Los Angeles Blade staff worked hard all year to highlight the heartfelt, the talented, and the creatives that exuded queer power. Now as this turbulent year ends, it’s time to look back on the entertainment milestones and the best conversations we had in 2023. The list was compiled based on the exclusivity of the story to the Blades and the stories’ popularity with readers. 

First, the honorable mentions that could easily have been in this top 10 list:

Jamie Lee Curtis spoke out as the mom of a trans daughter in our article “If your kids are trans.” Her bottom line: Love is love. While getting an interview with him was not difficult (we know where he lives), Washington Blade editor Kevin Naff gave us exclusive insight into his new book “How We Won the War for LGBTQ Equality — And How Our Enemies Could Take It All Away.” The article, “Lessons learned & how to win the coming equality rights battles” featured an interview with Naff and contained lots of entertainment “tea.” Karen Carpenter, an iconic voice of the past, rocked our entertainment section this year as well. We talked about her legacy 40 years after her death with author and documentary filmmaker Randy L. Schmidt in our article “Starving for perfection.” The last “honorable mention” is the Blade article on a Los Angeles-area musical discovery, Kyle Rising. Kyle is unique and powerful, and Blade readers were fascinated pushing our article “New sound ‘Rising’ echoes past yet escapes predictable genres” to the top of our charts.

Celebrating the best of 2023, here are 10 of our favorite arts & entertainment stories:

#10 “Real Friends of WeHo proves to be the epicenter of … something.” The show crashed and burned as the Daily Beast labelled it “a colossal gay nightmare.” Our readers were fascinated by our coverage of its impending doom.

#9 “Amazon Prime Video flirts with a regressive LGBTQ-erasure image.” A League of Their Own was a show that did not deserve to be shelved after one season. Readers were enthralled at our scathing criticism of Amazon and the “bullshit and cowardly” cancellation.

#8  “Drag Isn’t Dangerous Telethon overflows with emotion, cash.” Drag performers received unprecedented amounts of vitriol this year across the country. When they put together a telethon to fight back, our readers showed up.

#7 “Queer Eyeing for the Dead Guy” featured a group of LGBTQ ghost hunters who were seeking to give afterlife make-overs.

#6 “We don’t need another hero — there will only ever be one Tina Turner.” Like most of the western world, we grieved the loss of the icon. So did our readers, in the hundreds of thousands. “For the non-conforming male personas amongst us, and for the female personas among us, she was our phoenix rising from the ashes of toxic masculinity, overcoming it, and becoming the epitome of the queen, the warrior, the triumphant.”

#5 “How a talented punk rocking hellion became a ‘Bottom for God.’” Music producer Barb Morrison gave us an exclusive about her career, life and adventures into recovery. Readers loved it as much as they did her Blondie and Rufus Wainwright hits. “Morrison’s writing is much like the artistic spirit of their music: very rhythmic, sometimes chaotic, folding in on itself, exhilarating, big, pushing boundaries, peaceful and then bombastically back in your face again.”

#4 “Angelica Ross becomes latest trans talent to choose advocacy over Hollywood bullshit.” Trans representation is a strong theme throughout Blade coverage and this article epitomized it. Angelica Ross’s assertion on the treatment of transgender talent resonated strongly with our readers. 

#3 “Oscar Stembridge’s music reveals his optimism and emotional truth.” The Blades were pleased to introduce the young Swedish indie musician to America, highlighting his Los Angeles debut concert. Clearly, our readers welcomed him with open arms. “His music is an anthem for Generation Z, a suspended cry of hope and disparity amid a larger global socio-political struggle.”

#2 “Sophie B. Hawkins’s new anthems are exactly what LGBTQ youth need.” In our exclusive interview with the musical LGBTQ icon, Sophie B. Hawkins spoke about standing up for uniqueness and fluidity. “Sophie self-identified as an ‘omni-sexual’ in the ‘90s. While others scratched their heads at the term, she embraced concepts that are just now being understood and lived. Her new album, ‘Free Myself,’ underscores the theme of authenticity and taking the freedom to be yourself as you are, and want to be seen.”

At No. 1, our exclusive with the beautiful and vulnerable David Archuleta took place just after he came in second (again) on the popular Masked Singer. It is only fitting that we, and our readers’ love, make him our No. 1 of the year.#1 “David Archuleta may have lost Masked Singer, but he’s winning life.” In our exclusive interview, David spoke candidly about coming out and his internal and external fights with the Mormon Church. “Now he is singing a new song, literally. The song is an anthem that can speak to every trans, LGBTQ+ kid or adult in the community. More, it is a declaration of who David Archuleta is, and what we can expect from him. Yes. Archuleta is back, winning, and this time, he is taking us with him.”

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Rob Watson is the host of the popular Hollywood-based radio/podcast show RATED LGBT RADIO.

He is an established LGBTQ columnist and blogger having written for many top online publications including The Los Angeles Blade, The Washington Blade, Parents Magazine, the Huffington Post, LGBTQ Nation, Gay Star News, the New Civil Rights Movement, and more.

He served as Executive Editor for The Good Man Project, has appeared on MSNBC and been quoted in Business Week and Forbes Magazine.

He is CEO of Watson Writes, a marketing communications agency, and can be reached at [email protected]