The 9. A terrible murder, the best pride survey and more. News Curated Weekly.

As usual… “The 9” news is curated weekly by Taylor Abbot + the GenZ editorial team. This week, a beautiful young man was killed for vogueing, and then: 

USA. CRIME. KILLED FOR VOGUEING. BEYONCE PAYS TRIBUTE.

Beyoncé has paid tribute to O’Shae Sibley, the gay man and dancer stabbed dead at a New York gas station because he was voguing to one of her songs. According to eyewitnesses, including gas station employee Summy Ullah and close friend Otis Pena, Sibley and his friends were voguing to Beyoncé’s Renaissance when they were approached by a gang of men who aggressively told them to stop dancing and called them homophobic slurs. Surveillance footage shows Sibley confronting the men before being stabbed. He was later pronounced dead. We were astonished that, in New York, such a terrible crime can still happen. GAY45 pays tribute to O’Shae Sibley by publishing his photo so we never forget how a young, talented, beautiful young man was killed for…existing.

EUROPE. A POLL. THE BEST PRIDE PARADE.

An annual European survey conducted by the French company Rabelais Market Research decided on the best pride manifestations. The best is Amsterdam followed closely by Paris. The most boring is Vienna and the most invisible is Bucharest. No comment. We will be back with an extensive commentary.

IRAN. SEX SCANDAL. SENIOR POLITICIAN ON SAME-SEX TAPE.

Reza Tsaghati, head of the Department of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Gilan province, was reportedly seen engaging in a same-sex act with another man in a video posted online. The Department of Cultural and Islamic Guidance in Gilan issued a statement citing “alleged misconduct by the Director of Islamic Guidance in Gilan.” However, the authenticity of the video and the identities of the individuals appearing in it have not been verified, as reported by the BBC. Homosexuality is illegal in Iran, and gay men are routinely sentenced to death for their sexuality. We will continue to monitor the unfolding events.

AUSTRALIA. ART. ROSS WATSON’S EXHIBITION IS CONCLUDED.

A much-anticipated exhibition of Ross Watson’s latest artworks, presented as part of Sydney WorldPride, has concluded. Painter Ross Watson boasts prominent collectors such as Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Elton John among his fans. Born in 1962, the Australian painter and photographer Ross Watson has exhibited successfully in London, Berlin, and Los Angeles. If you missed the exhibition, you can have a look at his works online.

SWITZERLAND. SPORT. EUROGAMES 2023 ENDED.

The recently concluded EuroGames 2023 welcomed thousands of athletes across 20 sports in a celebration of inclusion and diversity. This year’s games were held between 26 – 29 July, in Bern, Switzerland. A nice thing, there were activities for the wider public, such as hiking, mental training, equality dance workshops and city night walks. Next year’s EuroGames will be held from 17-20 July in Vienna, Austria. Where we have our main editorial office. So… see you next year.

AUSTRIA. EVENT. FIRST QUEER JOURNALISM CAMPUS.

The first training campus for queer journalists will take place in the first week of September in Vienna, organized by GAY45 and supported by Vienna Business Agency. After brief research, we discovered that it is the first time such a training event for queer journalists has been organized globally. You can help more young queer journalists to participate in contributing to Chuffed. Let’s make the queer press better.

MOVIES. SALTBURN AND PASSAGES.

This autumn, theatres will be filled with exciting new movies. We can expect to see “Saltburn” starring Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi, the stars from “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Euphoria” in an erotic new queer thriller produced by Amazon Studios. The brilliant Ben Whishaw will take the lead in “Passages,” a production supported by Mubi. Elevated by Franz Rogowski’s remarkable performance, “Passages” adds another smart and deeply humanistic film to director/co-writer Ira Sachs’ estimable filmography. “Saltburn” is set to premiere in US cinemas on November 24 and later on Amazon Prime, while “Passages” will be released in UK theatres this month and later on Mubi.

 FRANCE & AUSTRIA. FIERTÉS RURALES. RURAL PRIDE.

1,500 people marched during the second edition of the Fiertés Rurales (Rural Pride) organized in Chenevelles, in Vienne – France, to make the LGBT+ community visible in the countryside. The town’s mayor, Cyril Cibert, who is gay himself, was present together with Bérangère Couillard, the French Minister for Equality, along with Marie Cau, the first transgender mayor to be elected in France. The prides in the countryside are becoming increasingly popular, with France being a pioneer and now Austria organizing a Pride in Unken, a few kilometres from Salzburg. We strongly recommend you to see a fabulous mountain area and queers in lederhosen and traditional skirts.

EUROPE. BUSINESS. RIGHT-WING BACKLASH.

Costa Coffee, the coffee chain that has long been an LGBT+ ally, is facing some backlash from right-wing social media users (and praise from the LGBT+ community) for a mural on one of its vans featuring an illustration of a trans person with scars from top surgery. This has made them the latest brand targeted for being “woke.” Maybelline was also a recent target in July for casting a bearded LGBT+ influencer in a makeup ad. The criticism suggests that if you have a beard, you are not allowed to use concealer. However, we do.

Curated every Wednesday by Taylor Abbot & GAY45 editorial staff. For subscribers on Monday.

Taylor Abbot is a 23 y.o. staff writer for GAY45 and MA student at the University of Oxford. Previously he studied at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He is passionate about journalism, contemporary literature, poetry, technology, socio-political involved art forms and queer implications in society. He wrote previously for several magazines as Bay Area Reporter or Männer. Nerdy curious, passionate about the weird parts of life and the good stories written by great journalists. Taylor decided to delete all his social media accounts two years ago. Lives and works between Berlin and London.

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This week we ask if Barbenheimer is Camp, we publish a profile on the mystery around a brilliant musician, we write about a French spy who returns as a Christian woman, and much more at www.gay45.eu

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