Fabrice Houdart | A weekly newsletter on LGBTQ+ Equality
This week: Ghana’s abhorrent bill, the Malaysian kiss, very gay Senate staffers, trans people versus Ghosts, Grindr, and Gilead get lousy press, Barbie of course, #NotMySpiderman, Labour baby, & more…
This week: Ghana’s abhorrent bill, the Malaysian kiss, the gay Senate staffers, trans people versus Ghosts, Grindr and Gilead get lousy press, Barbie, of course, #NotMySpiderman, Labour baby, and more…
Welcome to my weekly equality news digest, where I share important (and much less important) news, updates, and commentary about the LGBTQ+ equality movement at the intersection with business.
Global News
Africa: Et tu, Ghana?
Ghana is now set to pass the bill formerly known as the "Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill" (tout un programme as we say), further criminalizing LGBTQ+ people, representation in the media, and really anything gay. You can read the creative provisions of the bill here. This week, the Supreme Court dismissed a last legal challenge, paving the way for the bill’s ratification. Most MPs are supportive. One of them, Sam George, had warned the Court that it would face a "public outcry” if they got in the way. I watched him in this confusing video daring the international community to act against Ghana and claiming the U.S. should have penalized DeSantis for his anti-LGBTQ+ views. The latter argument seems a rather self-defeating statement but ok. Fifteen years ago, I spent a day by the pool with a paramour at the Golden Tulip in Accra while my boss recovered from food poisoning in his room. There are plenty of homosexuals in Ghana.
Jamaica: pettiness and visas
First, Jamaica refused to accredit the spouse of a gay diplomat. Then the U.S. retaliated by allegedly denying visa extensions to several Jamaican diplomats, including the Ambassador and Consul General to Miami. Ambiance…Ambiance…
Malaysia: Matty Healy’s self-serving kiss
The “Do no harm” principle means always consulting with local activists when taking a public stance on LGBTQ+ rights. Matty Healy’s onstage condemnation of Malaysian homophobic laws and subsequent kiss has angered conservatives and progressives alike. The kiss did not do as much for embattled gays as for Healy’s notoriety, and some even denounced his move as a “White Saviour Stunt.” The band had to cancel upcoming concerts in Indonesia and Taiwan. Prof. Lee Badgett and Open for Business were quoted in the Time this week to discuss the cost for Malaysian businesses and the economy of Malaysia’s newfound homophobic obsession. As a side note, I listened to “All I Need to Hear” to familiarize myself with Healy’s work, and it’s pretty good for a millennial, but then again, I just told my son that my favorite singer is Bob Dylan.
Chile: Gay Minister of Education survives a motion
The traditional and extreme right voted as a block to dismiss Minister Ávila but failed. They accused him of infringing upon parents’ rights to educate their children, among other evil “crimes.” Bravo, the “culture war” is now a continent-wide brand. Read more here. Chile has two out gay Ministers: Alexandra Benado, a lesbian, is the ports minister.
BBC & Morocco women’s soccer team captain
Now, I was baffled by this BBC apology. While the reporter’s question was poorly articulated and out of place, I am not sure it warranted so many headlines (see here). Journalists out of line are not so novel. After all, the Morocco team Captain could and did evade the question:
“In Morocco, it is illegal to have a gay relationship. Do you have any gay players in your squad, and what’s life like for them in Morocco?”
US News
DC: a third death of popular gay men raises questions
The Blade shared news of the passing of Kurtis Perminter. While all three deaths are unrelated, the age of the individuals raised legitimate questions about the local LGBTQ+ community’s well-being, how we care for each other, the black experience in gay DC, and the veneer of Instagram queer life. See this thread.
Washington, too: the Hill is Gay, Gay, Gay
These statistics are impressive. In 8 U.S. Senate offices, over 25% of the staffers identify as LGBTQ+, according to a report from Senate Democrats. Sen. Menendez has only 10% LGBTQ+ staff which might explain why he supported the “Improving Governance through Board Diversity” bill very detrimental to our community by excluding LGBTQ+ people from the definition of Board diversity. On the other hand, the Senator for Pennsylvania boasts a 30% LGBTQ+ staff - take that evil Doug Mastriano!
Lavender Law: Keep calm and try to carry on
Here is my takeaway from my short stint at Lavender Law this week: i) it’s going to be a long Presidential campaign for LGBTQ+ people (467 days of discussing and legislating trans lives); ii) our response will be constrained by the fact that we do not have the votes at the local level, but iii) we are winning the long game. Still, the damage to the mental health of trans people will be long-lasting: take it from somewhat who experienced the “anti-marriage pour tous” movement in France ten years ago and still resent it. The Williams Institute claims this week that 40% of trans people have attempted suicide in their lifetime (see here).
Fact check: Trans people and Ghosts
“more Americans claim to have seen a ghost than have met a transgender person,”
Fact Check: not accurate. The claim repackages a debunked 2015 catchy snippet. I am so used to reading made-up LGBTQ+ "statistics," such as the equally fake “26% of LGBTQ people have left anti-gay states in the last two years,” now repeated over and over by every idiot (imagine the sheer number of moving trucks on American roads), that a fact check felt necessary. In 2021, 42% of Americans knew someone who is trans, according to the Pew Research Center, while only 19% of Americans claim to have seen a Ghost or a Spirit, according to a 2022 YouGov poll. Similarly, permanent address changes across state lines during the pandemic jumped to over 10.2 million a year during the pandemic … for the entire U.S. population. Enough with the “sponsored” dubious research already. The lucrative business of “sponsored” dubious research undermines the Williams Institute and the legit work of academics.
What happens when GOP leaders have trans kids?
Read here the story of former Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and her trans son Rodrigo in the Washington Post.
Queering the Corporate Boardroom
A “golden age” for lawyers on Board
See here - Bloomberg Law believes it is the time for lawyers in the Boardroom. Perfectly timed article as the Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors was part of a panel on Board Diversity at Lavender Law yesterday in Chicago (see here). The session was moderated by Professor Darren Rosenblum of McGill and featured Board members, Romy Diaz, Jason Burch, Linda Iannone, and yours truly. I mentioned that we wasted some time (not looking at anybody in particular) while other underrepresented groups were organizing themselves, so we must play catch-up.
Michael Krawitz on NACD Accreditation
Talking about Corporate Secretaries in high demand, our extraordinary member, Conduent General Counsel Michael Krawitz, will join a webinar on August 2 to discuss his experience obtaining the NACD Accreditation and his own Board journey. Register here.
The Gay Business
Grindr: back in the news
The staff at Grindr hilariously unionized in a move widely interpreted as distrust of management. Scary! A Grindr strike could bring gay men to their knees (pun intended). More seriously, I found the demand that employees be represented on the Board interesting. This is a common thing in Europe. In France, as an example, companies employing 1,000 people and having eight or more Directors on their boards must have two employee representatives on their Board (law PACTE). The threshold in Germany is even lower: two staff representatives for companies with six directors. In the same week, headlines about Grindr in Ireland, Australia, and South Africa make you wonder if the ratio of murder/robbery to hookups is not a little high. But you can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.
Gilead: the unforgiving NYTimes exposé
This New York Times article should be a wake-up call for our community. Many of our leaders are openly on Gilead’s payroll (the type of leaders that go eerily quiet once the Greek Islands/PTown season starts). It is problematic! You don’t need to do much detective work to uncover who has been bought by the world's largest “philanthropic” funder of “HIV related programs” - really hush corporate money - google “LGBT and Gilead.” In the meantime, the announcement of progress on a National PrEP Program (see in Poz Magazine) was correlated with a depreciation of Gilead’s stock sinking 0.55% to $77.23 Tuesday.
Goldman Sachs: Coming out trans in a mega-bank
Maeve Duvally has a new memoir titled “Maeve Rising: Coming Out Trans in Corporate America.” See here. You can also re-read this 2019 NYTimes article on her experience at Goldman. 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈🎉
Jeff Ragovin bets on Cannabis
The semi-cultural desk
Barbie: a thermometer for woke fever
Let it be known: woke pays! Per Variety, Barbie raked in $26 million in North America on Monday, beating the $24.6 million earned by a much less pink 2008's The Dark Knight. The FT called it a « rare winner in the corporate culture wars.» I saw it this past Saturday with my sons, who looked bored as hell so that I could tell you about it. It was witty, light, and feminist and confronted amusingly the accusations that Barbie championed patriarchy. The overwhelming support of what is a relatively flat comedy is a signal to businesses about where the consumer is at. I appreciated the New Yorker’s light take on it.
Heartstopper Season 2: Paris-bound
On Tuesday, Netflix released its first look at the new season of the award-winning series, which I could not get myself into. They are heading to …. Paris. As usual, think how your life would have been different if such content had been available when you were growing up. Also, here is the BuzzFeed take on season 2.
Oppenheimer and the hunted lesbians
This article is a must-read. In the context of blockbuster “Oppenheimer’’, the Seattle Times had a fascinating article on the FBI’s secret search for lesbians in the Manhattan Project. I plan to watch “Oppenheimer” once I am done watching reruns of “difficult people” as I am training my soul to like Billy Eichner more.
Santos: gossips from an insider
You say you don’t care but you click on it. Read this interview with one of his former staffers. Santos likes scented candles. Meanwhile, the NYTimes had another article on a Santos get-rich scheme today.
What I won’t be watching either: Dungeons and drag queens
Polygon called the show “a gift to nerds and the LGBTQ+ community — one that brings both groups closer together” I call it “you need to stop watching TV and start looking for a job”. Read more here.
#NotMySpiderman: your latest silly far-right boycott
Poor Tom Holland faces a backlash against his role in The Crowded Room because of a gay sex scene. #NotMySpiderman was even trending. I watched the scene: it felt like my average Wednesday night.
Understanding Gen-Z
If, like me, you feel lost: check out this video of Ryan Winter discussing the conflicting motives of Gen-Z: there is no monoculture anymore, just subcultures which frankly is the raison-d’etre of this newsletter.
An interesting piece in the NYTimes on visibility
See here. I once responded to a family member, who had bitterly congratulated me on the successful campaign by the “gay lobby” to plant LGBTQ+ characters everywhere in the media, that the “tree lobby” deserves similar praise for their ability to get many vegetal in mainstream movies.
Coming and going
UK: new gay Labour Gen-Z MP Keir Mather is 25
Labour's Keir Mather has become the youngest MP in the House of Commons, aged just 25. Mather, who studied at the University of Oxford, wears a tweed jacket and the occasional red tie. I might have to interview him.
The next United Nations Independent Expert
Yoni Ish-Hurwitz of the Human Rights Likeminded Office called attention to the Independent Expert on SOGI’s last report on religion. Victor Madrigal-Borloz, is concluding his term. Candidates for the job should be interviewed soon (rumor has it that George Santos threw his hat in), and a nomination will happen in the fall. It’s unclear if civil society is supporting a candidate. In his brief presentation, Madrigal said:
"Despite some examples of the contrary, many religious or belief traditions are inclusive and affirming of LGBT persons. I invite everyone [...] to shift narratives claiming that the exercise of freedom of religion or belief is incompatible with the equal enjoyment of human rights by LGBT persons."
French: Attal survives the Government reshuffle
President Emmanuel Macron has reshuffled ministers in key domestic portfolios such as education, housing, and urban affairs. Rising star, out-gay Minister Gabriel Attal goes from Budget to Education. Read more here.
Some coach in some sport came out?
The fact that the coming out of an associate strength coach (whatever that means) makes national headlines (see here) tells you everything you need to know about men’s pro sports in the U.S. *yawn*
“I realized I have the right and responsibility to love and be loved, and that maybe sharing this will hopefully give someone else the strength to accept their own life and take control of their own story."
The Gay Agenda
This Friday: how to ace your Board materials with Debra Whitman
Debra Whitman has been helping some of our members refine their Board materials. The Association of LGBTQ+ Directors is glad to welcome her for its monthly webinar. This month's session is titled: "How to develop your board narrative/materials to increase success." The event will occur on Friday at 12 p.m. EST / 9 a.m. PST. Register here.
December 2023: Victory Fund Annual Conference
The LGBTQ+ Victory Institute will be hosting the 2023 Conference once again at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC, from November 30 to December 2. Link here.
Also, it is family week in PTown and it seems to coincide with Shark week according to my Sharktivity app. GOP malfeasance or random calendar coincidence ? Our friends at Family Equality organized some shenanigans. So far no child was eaten.
Thank you for reading. I am flying back to New York today, ready to combat the lanternflies that have invaded my garden.
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Thanks for the shout out, Fabrice! For more info on everything LGBTQI-related in the last Human Rights Council session, y'all can check out my blog post at
https://www.patreon.com/posts/some-pride-in-86428993