Fabrice Houdart | A weekly newsletter on LGBTQ+ Equality
This week: #TransgenderAwarenessWeek, landing in “Queeristan,” Taiwan Pride and reunification, bye Suella, Rep. Torres, Sen. Tim Scott & Mayor Pete, Van Ness tears, Peter Thiel's redemption & more …
Welcome to the 144th issue of my equality news digest. I share important (and much less important) news, updates, and (snarky, but not too snarky) commentary about the LGBTQ+ equality movement at the intersection with business.
This week: #TransgenderAwarenessWeek, landing in “Queeristan,” Taiwan Pride and reunification, Bye Suella, Rep. Torres, Sen. Tim Scott & Mayor Pete, Van Ness tears, Peter Thiel's redemption & more …
Global News
India: imagining a post-Supreme Court Decision Queeristan
To borrow Parmesh Shahani’s book title, I landed in Queeristan today. This trip’s theme will be “a silent demographic revolution”: how India’s private sector need not be as blind as its Supreme Court justices. Had the plaintiffs in the country’s same-sex marriage succeeded last month, it would have been the same theme. Our movement's pace of change and novelty make it challenging to grasp what’s in the realm of possibilities. Managing our expectations comes with the privilege of living through an epoch of profound societal transitions.
Taïwan: Pride and the specter of reunification
Talking about myopia: is the Chinese Politburo reading the same news as we do? Around 180,000 individuals partook in Taipei Pride 10 days ago, the most significant march in East Asia. It might not be Heritage Pride yet, but it’s still impressive. Vice President Lai Ching-te, who is on his way to becoming head of state, participated in the event. If I were the State Department, I would add it to the San Francisco brief for President Biden. Check out the photos.
Uganda: the World Bank behind the scenes
Last week, the WB Board had an emergency meeting chaired by Managing Director Anna Bjerde, to discuss the Ugandan conundrum. The US Alternate Executive Director, L. Felice Gorordo delivered a forceful statement reiterating the attachment of the Bank’s largest shareholder to human rights. More than a hundred civil society organizations had joined Ugandan LGBTQ+ advocates to put the Bank on notice through a letter to its President Ajay Banga (some new arrests took place last week):
Recent statements by senior World Bank staff claim that World Bank-funded projects in Uganda will “make it clear that LGBTQ Ugandans should not face discrimination and that staff will not be arrested for including them.” As long as this law is on the books, there is no way any so-called “mitigation measure” can be deemed effective.
Vatican: Pope Francis is still the Boss
"The Holy Father has removed Bishop Joseph E. Strickland from the pastoral care of the Diocese of Tyler." With this demure communique, Pope Francis reminded everybody who is infallible around here. Strickland had previously expressed opposition to the Pope's olive branches to LGBTQ+ people:
I think we've got to be clear about where the disorders are because we're living in a time when the disorder is carrying the day
Saudi Arabia: sole bidder for the 2034 World Cup
It would have been a good month for Saudi Arabia if not for Hamas, as the country has been confirmed as the sole bidder to host the 2034 men's World Cup. Perfect timing, too, as its Tourism Agency reminded us recently that LGBTQ+ tourists are “welcome” in the Kingdom. By 2024, the first phase of The Line (not the DC hotel I used to frequent, but that new desert thing in Neom) should also be completed. Maybe it could also envision a gay club and call it “The Khashoggi.” I have the chance of never having been invited to visit the Kingdom, all-expenses-paid, unlike others. So, I can call it what it is: putting lipstick on a dictatorial theocratic pig.
UK: Home Secretary Suella Braverman is out
Talking about people getting fired and pigs with lipstick, Suella Braverman, who believed she could build a political career on provocations alone, was fired early Monday morning. One outlet described her tenure as both “arsonist and firefighter.” She will be remembered for divisive remarks, including recent comments on the sustainability of LGBTQ+ asylum-seeking.
US news
Rep. Ritchie Torres vs. AOC
Out Representative Ritchie Torres, who also co-chairs the Equality caucus since Cicilline left Congress, has been all over the news (including in the NY Times, which pitted him against AOC) as “Israel's biggest defenders on the Hill.” Politico noted that it is not a new positioning: in 2015, Torres traveled to Israel, and “[his] experience in Israel was love at first sight.” It is also lucrative: Torres received $405,122 from AIPAC between January and August.
Sen. Tim Scott: throwing in the towel but finding love
Republicans have only one gay member in Congress, the “Honorable” George Santos. Statistically, it’s an aberration. Practically, it is embarrassing for the GOP. So, you cannot blame the gays for having wondered if Presidential hopeful South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott could be one of them. An NBC News segment showing Scott with interior designer girlfriend Mindy Noce, 47, ended these speculations (well, not really; it paused them). The Washington Post reported the pair had met while using an app to study the Bible together. I met my ex, the twins’ other father, at 3 a.m., “slightly tipsy,” in a DC nightclub called Town. It's still better than being closeted from an electoral perspective. For my foreign friends, here is Tim Scott’s - now-defunct - campaign video: turn on your gaydar.
Mayor Pete: Et tu Bruti /Brutuses?
I was in DC this weekend for the Institute of Current World Affairs, which sent its first David Mixner’s fellow Edric Huang to Taiwan. You can still join Barilla and the Bohnett Foundation in contributing to funding this specific fellowship here. While I was working, the twins hung out with Mayor Pete at Arlington Cemetery in what could be perceived as a rebuttal of my article on what should underpin queer acceptance. My sons did not mention if they discussed it (one picture indicates they spoke). They only reported that i) it was “freezing,” and ii) President Biden honored LGBTQ+ soldiers who were discharged before and during “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” (DADT). A reminder that even well-intentioned politicians(Ann Coulter once claimed Bill Clinton was gay simply because he wouldn’t hit on her bony ass at a Washington party) can shortchange us.
Transgender Awareness Week: NCLR's Launches National Campaign
Strangely enough, I watched this PSA while at Dubai Airport. The National Center for Lesbian Rights unveiled a video, produced in collaboration with Edelman, including our Board Member Gerry Rodriguez, about trans youth, their families, and healthcare. Watch it here.
Queering the Boardroom
The Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors in Agenda
Monday's AgendaWeek featured Association members Denny Tu, Paul Wood, and ally Linda Akutagawa in an article on what we are trying to achieve. Having the Financial Times corporate boardroom news service acknowledge the importance of LGBTQ+ representation is a sign we are gaining traction after years of immobilism. The article captured the Association’s philosophy: "Advocacy doesn’t improve representation. What improves representation is having a talent pipeline and giving visibility to it." The article also mentioned how I sent Victoria's Secrets’ Nom/Gov chair a list of trans Board candidates.
A new association aims to get sitting board members and executives out LGBTQ+ into more directorships through networking, coaching, and relationship-building. The group, the Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors, formed last year on the heels of Nasdaq’s board diversity disclosure rule.
And now Phase II of the NASDAQ Board Diversity Listing Rule
Bloomberg Law had a piece this week reminding us that “By the end of the year [December 31, 2023], any listed company that does not have at least one female director and at least one minority or LGBTQ+ on its board must publicly disclose the reasons for it”. According to the article, 30% of these companies don’t have a diverse Board member. As a side note, this graph also shows that the percentage of companies with an LGBTQ+ or Hispanic Board member decreased slightly between 2022 and 2023.
Join Corporate Board Member’s Nom/Gov Committee Forum in Chicago
How do you define board diversity? Join us in Chicago on November 29 to learn how to attract a new wave of directors and diversify your board. Save 50% with code: LCD50. Register here.
The Gay Business
Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade vs. One Million Moms
Are they a million? can they show us the receipts? Anyway, they are unhappy the Parade will include two gender non-conforming performers. Nearly 20,000 people signed this petition (0.02% of 1 million just saying), which criticizes the parade as a "non-binary and transgender extravaganza.” Macy’s - which, by the way, is one of the gayest public company Boards in America after Grindr, was unphased.
The semi-cultural desk
So, what happened between Dax Shepard & Jonathan Van Ness?
Back in September, Jonathan Van Ness broke into tears during Dax Shepard‘s podcast “Armchair Expert” as Shepard pressed them on trans participation in sports or the New York Times “anti-trans” content (confession: I never watched "Queer Eye," “RuPaul Drag Race” or a Basketball game, never had the occasion). Now, they, Van Ness, claim that Dax cut the sections that left them “exhausted.” I feel that GLAAD should urgently develop a media training for queer influencers. In the meantime, his colleague Antoni, who probably knows better, is just being a Swifty.
Wait … wait…so what is the deal with Indonesia’s DA MAN?
I happened to be reading Da Man on the plane here (don’t look so surprised; I read A LOT of gentlemen's magazines), and I don’t understand how this magazine emerged from a place where conservative Muslims are protesting Coldplay's upcoming concert over the band's support for the gays (see here). I mean, look at this spread.
We are here for the sake of guarding our young generation in this country from efforts that could corrupt youth. As Indonesian Muslims, we have to reject the Coldplay concert.
Galitzine in L’Officiel
Talking about corrupting the youth and spreads, Galitzine looked mighty fine in L’Officiel Hommes. Anyway, Timothe Chalamet and Nicholas Galitzine are in every magazine these days.
Trevor Project leaves X
Trevor claimed that X's content moderation policies—or lack thereof - drove them off the platform. I know it’s not a competition, but I left Twitter for Threads on March 17th because I could not remember my password (true story).
Do we have to use the word “Sapphic”?
The term “Sapphic” is back to describe lesbians, I am told. It feels a bit old-fashioned - reminiscent of Colette, but ok. It also evokes a book my parents strangely owned: David Hamilton’s Bilitis. While I am on the lesbian topic, here are the 17 best lesbian sex toys selected by Teen Vogue this week.
A first step towards Peter Thiel’s redemption
Peter Thiel expressed regret for backing Trump in 2016, saying his administration was “crazier” and “more dangerous than [he] thought” in an interview with the Atlantic. If Chris Hughes and Sean Eldridge found redemption from The New Republic catastrophe and a failed run for Congress, maybe Thiel will too get a break.
Megan Rapinoe retired and is now officially an activist
I blame Carli Lloyd: Megan Rapinoe was forced to leave the field just three minutes into her final game. Then, she blamed God or the lack thereof which in the USA seems rather dangerous.
Raquel Willis’ book is out
Black transgender activist and journalist Raquel Willis’ memoir “The risk it takes to bloom: On Life and Liberation” came out yesterday. You can also see her in conversation with Elliott Page at the Brooklyn Museum tomorrow.
En vrac: entertainment
After subscribing to Showtime for a whopping $119.99, I watched the first episode of Fellow Travelers. While impervious to the sex scenes, I felt envious of the constant smoking. This week's movie recommendations include Eismayer (see below) and The Sixth Commandment. You can safely skip “Dicks: The Musical” which the NYTimes described as “so hellbent on being outrageous that it just ends up being tiresome” in a formula that reminded me of pretty much every Gen-Z I have et. “Our Sons “ with Billy Porter strangely got very little coverage.
What I want for Xmas
I have New York Magazine’s gift guide in my luggage, but so far, I am thinking books: Raquel Willis’ memoir, of course, Phaidon’s Thom Browne, Ralph Lauren’s A Way of Living, and Blake & Mortimer’s“L’Art de la Guerre” which takes place in New York.
The Gay Agenda
Nov 13-19: #TransAwarenessWeek
A reminder that this week is Transgender Awareness Week and that Transgender Day of Remembrance is on November 20th.
December 13th - Yes, the LGBTI Inclusion Index is still alive
Shame on you for asking. If you are not drunk on eggnog like last year, join UNDP at 10:00 AM EST for “Piloting the LGBTI Inclusion Index: Outcomes, Lessons, Next Steps.” The webinar will focus on the next steps for the Index and LGBTI data collection. Register here.
A word on this newsletter
This week, I surveyed the paid subscribers on the newsletter’s frequency, content, and quality. Overall, it was positive. Some commented my tone was too acidic and my comments were too personal, annoying, and unnecessary. On the other hand, some felt it is what differentiates the newsletter and makes it thought-provoking. I interpreted it as an encouragement to be more thoughtful while remaining unbearable. I will survey the entire readership once I am settled here.
On that note, I am not responsible for the content of this week’s newsletter as I wrote it in travel chaos, hovering between airports. I once watched a boss of mine navigate international travel while intoxicated on martinis. It impressed me because, sober, I still lose one item on every plane and in every airport (like my glasses today). Then again, he navigates life like this and never wrote a decent line.
Thanks for these weekly comprehensive updates. I wish you had addressed the wholly successful Gay Games in Hong Kong and Mexico. Against all odds, our community once again made history and made change.