Fabrice Houdart | A weekly newsletter on LGBTQ+ Equality
This week: all eyes on India, ten years of Francis’ papacy, Tennessee is a mess, SVB woking itself into bankruptcy, Drag Story Read-A-Thon in NY, Pence’s humor, and more...
This week: all eyes on India, Tennessee is a mess, ten years of Francis’ papacy, SVB woking itself into bankruptcy, Drag Story Read-A-Thon at the NY Center, Pence’s humor, and more…
Global News
India: all eyes on the Consitution Bench on April 18th
On Monday, the 2-3 judge bench headed by the Chief Justice decided to constitute a larger 5-judge Constitution Bench (see what it stands for here) to pass a verdict on same-sex marriage. It fixed the date for the final arguments to begin on April 18th: the day after I return from my upcoming trip to Mumbai for the Godrej Leadership Forum. Proceedings of the final hearing will be telecast live on YouTube that day.
Africa: something light for a change
My friend sent me this, and I am obsessed with it. To those who say playing with gender expression is un-African, welcome to the next generation: ton plat/ mon plat:
France: importing the “woke ideology” concept
While three associations, including SOS homophobia, are taking the state to court to force it to provide three sex education sessions at school, the president of the Manif pour tous - the continuously shrinking anti-LGBTQ+ movement - was in the conservative magazine Valeurs Actuelles to denounce their “oriented and pernicious vision of sexuality”. Ludovine de la Rochere (no kidding, it’s her name) denounced the “Woke ideology,” which shows she, not unlike me, reads the foreign press.
Vatican: ten years of Pope Francis
Some Catholics never cease to amaze me. If the Pope is discriminatory, he is infallible, but if he is even the slightest inclusive, he is very fallible. While most celebrated progress brought in ten years of the papacy, others found an opportunity for many to lay into him. And yet, Pope Francis celebrated by criticizing “gender ideology” in a recent interview, calling it “one of the most dangerous ideological colonizations.” because, and I quote, it might make things boring:
“The issue of gender equality dilutes differences and makes the world uniform and boring, which is contrary to the human vocation since the richness of humanity lies precisely in its differences.”
[I wrote “lay into him”, but I wanted the equivalent to “tirer a boulets rouges” which translates literally to “fire red balls at somebody,” based on the habit of King Fréderic-Guillaume Ier to roast cannon balls before sending them. That was your French/History lesson for this week]
Israel: Rabbi Amar has an explanation for the earthquake
While deadly earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria in early February, scaring neighboring Israel, where my children are heading for Spring Break by the way, the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, perceives this is a new "divine punishment" linked to the evolution of rights and freedoms of LGBTQ+ people. This gives us way too much power; I cannot even pack my house. Read about it here.
US News
Tennessee: a lot to unpack
Frankly, I don’t even know what to say.
Tennessee is a tragicomedy. Rolling Stones put it best in this article’s title: “Republican Lt. Gov. Vows to Keep Thirsting Over Queer Instagram Nudes. As his state passes controversial anti-LGBTQ laws, Randy McNally happily cheers on a 20-year-old gay man for posting nude photos”. McNally’s televised apology was cringe-worthy but also tragic because he struggles with his sexuality.
SVB: the woke ideology is to blame
On Monday, I wrote a piece calling out major outlets for blaming the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on minorities. A practice that is very reminiscent of darker times in history. Read my post here. Because my LinkedIn post on the topic got many views, I had to engage with professionals convinced that the “wokeness focus” played a part in a several-pronged mismanagement. Exhausting. At least George Santos did not ride that train, but he should not have spoken on the topic (see here).
DeSantis is laying it thick to advance his political prospects
The New Yorker suggested this week that “The upcoming Presidential primary will likely pit rural white nationalism against “anti-woke” culture warfare.” Tout un programme! It might be a good opportunity for me to escape to the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center (hint, hint!) or somewhere similar during that period. In the meantime, DeSantis was distracted for a minute from drag reading hour (still, we learned he revoked the Hyatt Regency Miami Liquor License over a Drag Queen Christmas), book bans, and the likes as he was busy calling Russia’s aggression on Ukraine, a “territorial dispute”. On a much lighter note, this amazing tweet of a DeSantis henchwoman asking;
“When the history book will be rewritten, what side will you be on?”
And of course, the Iowa “fascist snowflake” story.
Pence’s joke on Buttigieg
The White House called on Mike Pence to apologize for his remark that Pete Buttigieg had gone on “maternity leave,” saying that the former vice president’s “homophobic joke” at the Gridiron Club dinner on Saturday was “offensive and inappropriate.” I concur, saying “maternity leave” was cheap and stupid. Still, the rest of the joke was quite clever, albeit insensitive to women actually suffering from Postpartum depression. An alternative could have been to point out that The Economist claims becoming a father shrinks your cerebrum:
“I mean, Pete Buttigieg is the only person in human history to have a child and all the rest of us get postpartum depression.”
Hunting gay Catholic priests
What is wrong with people? According to documents consulted by the Washington Post (see here), a Denver nonprofit called Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal would have spent at least four million dollars on buying the data of homosexual dating applications. The information collected spans 2018 to 2021 and concerns almost all gay platforms, including Grindr. This information was then communicated to "dozens of bishops nationwide". Last year, I called for Catholics to set up a fund for gay priests as the burden is on them to repair lives they destroyed through blatant homophobia (sadly, my previous “employer” erased the post *eye roll*).
The Boardroom
Most powerful gay person in corporate America steps down
I missed that, but on January 11th, Disney announced that Susan Arnold would no longer serve as the board's Chair after the next annual shareholder meeting and would be replaced by former Nike CEO Mark Parker. Arnold’s Chairmanship was marked by great turmoil at Disney, and it was unclear whether she played a role in the “Don’t Say gay” debacle.
Busy Burr singled out in SVB’s Board
Elizabeth “Busy” Burr is the lesbian director that Andy Kessler highlighted in his silly Wall Street Journal piece and that the New York Post criticized yesterday for her improvisation hobby. Burr was named interim CEO of RiteAid (she is a Board member too) in January after the CEO was pushed out.
The Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Director’s preliminary survey
Please take and share the survey, which is open until tonight, to recruiters, nom/gov members, corporate secretaries, and LGBTQ+ candidates and directors. This week I shared some preliminary results in which I discussed three trends affecting LGBTQ+ representation: a “lost generation”, “masculinized industries,” and the “network Gap”. See here.
UK misses FCA’s Gender targets
And to think they would not include LGBTQ+ people because the FCA felt there was not enough data. We also did not fight hard enough: the UK should have a chapter of our Association. This week, Bloomberg reports that AstraZeneca Plc, Unilever Plc, and Rio Tinto Plc missed the Financial Conduct Authority’s board gender-diversity requirements of at least 40% female directors. Rio Tinto also doesn’t have a woman in a senior board position.
The semi-cultural desk
Tiktoker discloses HIV status on his account
Remember the student at a Missouri high school who was dubbed the first male in the school's history to be crowned Homecoming Queen? Zachary Willmore? He is now a Tiktoker who announced that he had been diagnosed with HIV on TikTok and is chronicling his life as an HIV+ person on his account.
The gayest Oscar moments
I did not watch as I was in packing hell, but Queerty made a list for you. To me, the best moment was this comment from winner Jamie Lee Curtis, who is the mother of a trans child:
“And of course…[that] involves the bigger question, which is how do you include everyone when there are binary choices? Which is very difficult, and as the mother of a trans daughter, I completely understand that.”
Fox News cannot let go of Sam Brinton
In a desperate attempt to get more mileage from Sam’s story, Tucker Carlson interviewed the Tanzanian designer who claims they stole her creations. You can imagine where it goes - read more here.
The gay agenda
Tomorrow: designing a sustainable culture blueprint
I will be at this Hunt Scanlon Media conference at the Plaza tomorrow. Come by and say hi if you are attending!
March 19th: Drag Story Read-A-Thon at the Center
Join Attorney General Letitia James, Drag Storytellers, and Elected Leaders for a Drag Story Read-A-Thon at the Center this Sunday. Families with children are welcome! Read more about it here.
🕛Sunday, March 19th, 2023, 11:00 AM – 12:00 AM EDT
April 5th: Asia Event with Mixner, Yanzi Peng, Amb. Chantale Wong
On the occasion of the inaugural Institute of Current World Affairs’ David Mixner fellowship, I will moderate a panel with David Mixner, Ambassador Chantale Wong, activist Yanzi Peng, and fellow Edric Huang. The topic is the latest developments on LGBTQ+ inclusion in Asia. Please register here.
🕛Wed, April 5th at 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM EST
April 19th: HousingWorks honors Derek Blasberg
Join me at the ninth annual HousingWorks Annual Awards Dinner which will take place on Wednesday, April 19. This year it will honor socialite (?) Derek Blasberg, a personal favorite and a fellow gay dad. The dinner also gives you exclusive access to Design on a Dime. The nation’s top interior designers curate over 50 stunning vignettes filled with home décor, furniture, art, and housewares, all sold for up to 80% off retail prices. Perfect for a single dad who just moved into a new place. Please visit bit.ly/DOAD2023 to view ticket levels and benefits and purchase tickets. You can also visit the linked benefits sheet. Have your company buy a table and invite me!
April 20th: Lavender Office: stepping into your power
I will be a guest with my friend Joe Taiano (Accenture) for the next in-person RiseOUT event at the Bryant Park Offices of Movable Ink in NYC on the topic of Lavender Office: Stepping into your power. Please RSVP here to join us.
🕛April 20th at 6:00 PM EST
Japan: IGLTA 2024 - see you in Osaka
After San Juan this fall, the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association’s next stop is Osaka (see here), which will host the 2024 Global Convention. Osaka Prefecture was the first regional-level government to implement a same-sex partnership system. Osaka city has led Japan in encouraging businesses and organizations to incorporate and enforce protections for LGBTQ+ individuals.
Share your Corporate Contributions with GPP
The biennial Global Resources Report is the most detailed and accurate reporting on the global LGBTI funding landscape. GPP has been trying to improve reporting by Corporations in the way they support LGBTQW+ communities or issues around the world. They are now collecting data on funds awarded in 2021 and 2022. Data collection is open from March through September 2023. Here is the link to the data submission site.
Coming and going
Tampa: lesbian Mayor re-elected
Out Lesbian Tampa, FL mayor Jane Castor was re-elected last week with over 80% of the vote. Take that Ron! Read about it here.
Well, that’s it, you are all caught up with the gay world, and I must open the door to the movers. Nothing is ready, and I am freaking out. You’d never know I moved four times since March 2020