Fabrice Houdart | A weekly newsletter on LGBTQ+ Equality
This week: Orbanistan and “degenerate” art, homophobia in the afterlife in Senegal, Buttigieg, Democrats win, Biden struggles, Nuovo Olimpo, Fellow Travelers, ALBEI queers Australian Boards, and more
Welcome to the 143rd issue of my equality news digest. I share important (and much less important) news, updates, and (snarky) commentary about the LGBTQ+ equality movement at the intersection with business.
This week: Orbanistan and “degenerate” art, homophobia in the afterlife in Senegal, Buttigieg, Democrats win, Biden struggles, Nuovo Olimpo, Fellow Travelers, ALBEI queers Australian Boards, and more…
Global News
UK: voters care less about trans issues than Rishi Sunak
Research by the Policy Institute at King’s College London and Ipsos shows that 1% of voters care about trans issues in the UK. You wouldn’t know from Sunak telling the Tories a month ago: "We shouldn't get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be — they can't. A man is a man, and a woman is a woman. That's just common sense”. In any case, the only thing the Tories were bullied into was Brexit, IMHO.
Hong Kong: finally, the Gay Games
The Gay Games 11 Hong Kong 2023 kicked off on Saturday. Organizers said 2,300 participants from 45 countries are participating. There was even a mahjong competition on Sunday. The Games were not without controversy, with some lawmakers supporting a petition from conservative groups on Wednesday. The petition demanded the cancellation of the Games, alleging that the event promoted LGBTQ+ rights and affirming its objection “to any Western ideology that sugar-coated its agenda in the name of diversity and inclusivity for a sports event.” I would have had a much better suggestion if they felt like canceling a series of useless Western DEI events in town.
Hungary: Orbanistan and “Degenerate Art”
When it comes to Hungary's reputation in the international arena, the Orbán government is constantly lowering the bar. This week, the Minister of Culture fired the Director of the National Museum because of Hannah Reyes Morales’s very demure photographies titled "Home for the Golden Gays.” The “Golden Gays” are elderly LGBTQ+ people in the Philippines who have cohabited, offering mutual care and support while aging together. To sustain themselves, they organize performances and pageants. It does sound very threatening. Censoring art is the hallmark of vibrant democracies
Senegal: so THAT’s your redline?
When Senegalese football star Idrissa Gana Gueye missed a Paris Saint-Germain match for "personal reasons" because players had to wear rainbow jerseys to support LGBTQ rights, the Senegalese President felt the need to tweet his support. Now, he seems shocked that in Senegal, homophobia follows you in the afterlife. It took a corpse to be exhumed and burned by a mob, which I reported last week, and the World to be aghast about it, for the country to realize that there is a red line.
U.S. News
Democrats Win, Biden Struggles
Last night, abortion rights won, as evidenced by the outcomes of gubernatorial, state legislative, and local elections. Lesbian Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan even had a Drag Queen at her celebratory party in hommage to DeSantis. Despite these wins, President Biden still faces challenges in his decision to run for a second term, including low ratings in opinion polls and ongoing concerns regarding his age. A recent poll indicates that Trump is ahead of Biden in five of six pivotal swing states — Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Notably, these are states that Biden had secured in the 2020 election.
Buttigieg: the professors’ kids
If not Biden then who? Buttigieg?. My piece on Mayor Pete’s Norman Rockwellish performance last week got me more feedback than usual, including: “This is who he is”, “he is genuine,” or “It’s not a mask.” I was a bit surprised that some think you can be a U.S. Presidential candidate or Secretary of Transportation without being somewhat calculating. I know a politician who cannot even remember who he is. I am all about the exceptional character of Rhodes Scholar, but American politics is a peculiar business because of the sheer amount of money involved. So, who is Mayor Pete? The jury has been out since 2019.
Congress: the Speaker thinks about Rome almost every day
It only gets better; this week, it was revealed that Mike Johnson attributes the collapse of the Roman Empire to the "rampant homosexual behavior that was condoned by the society” (a statement that reminded me of Benj Pasek’s Halloween costume). We all thought the worst line of succession was Andrew being eighth in the line to the British throne, but for Johnson, to be second in line to the office of U.S. President, beats it.
Congress too: Charles Blow on Mike Johnson
Charles Blow’s opinion piece in the NYTimes this week helps us grasp why Johnson is more dangerous than he appears. Blow explains:
He is from a part of the country where your nemesis will smile at you and promise to pray for you, where people will quickly submit that they “love the sinner but hate the sin,” where one hand can hold a Bible while the other holds a shackle.
Florida: Equality Florida mocks DeSantis
Nadine Smith of Equality Florida, by far the most brilliant LGBTQ+ activist in the U.S. at the moment, crafted the perfect ad to respond to DeSantis weaponizing minorities for political gain with his incendiary rhetoric. Smith says, “The hurricane comparison is fitting: “We’re going to be cleaning up the mess he’s left us long after he’s out of office.” Check the ad out:
NYPD Officer caught on camera calling a passerby a “faggot” on loudspeaker
This officer’s choosing to denigrate a passerby by implying that he is gay on the loudspeaker while in uniform and on duty has brought embarrassment to both him and the NYPD, hindering an already fraught relationship. GOAL already expressed concern. But the worst part has been the comments online, which can be summarized as the usual “These days, you cannot say anything without someone taking offense.” You know, with all this political correctness and cancel culture by leftist activists? Ah, the good old days when the NYPD could just beat the crap of all these f***ts, and everybody understood it was just humor.
Queering the Boardroom
Australian Association of LGBTQ+ Directors
The establishment of Australian LGBTQ+ Board & Executive Inclusion (ALBEI), the first Australian organization dedicated to LGBTQ+ Board Diversity, is now officially established, and you can visit their website here.
The NYSE disclosures
Our review of NYSE disclosures showed that several companies on the exchange have decided to disclose LGBTQ+ Board members despite there having no mandate for such disclosures (see here). A powerful message to Chairman Gensler, if only he were listening.
LGBTQ+ moves
Mario Marte, former Chewy CFO, (also on the Board of BestBuy), joined the FIGS Board. Amanda Simpson, who became the first openly transgender woman political appointee of any presidential administration in 2010, retired as vice president for research and technology (R&T) at Airbus Americas, opening the possibility of Board Service. Patricia Turney, who attended our recent dinner in Los Angeles, became the Chief Technical Operations Officer of Acelyrin.
The point of view of a non-binary Board Member
Agenda interviewed Heather Hiles (who happens to be a Board Member of the Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors) this week, and I loved to read how they came to self-identify as non-binary (1 of 2 persons on the NASDAQ to do so) in their Board’s proxy :
“When the company [Udemy] was preparing more detailed biographical disclosures for its IPO in October 2021, the general counsel asked if she was comfortable identifying as nonbinary. [...] “That’s the most accurate, and now that the term exists, let’s go for it,” Hiles recalled saying.”
The Gay Business
Stonewall publishes its annual list of “top global employers.”
The list includes primarily law firms. I have described before the limits of indexes dissociated from other issues. HSBC, for example, is listed as “Gold” despite allegations of systemic racism, which famously left the LGBTQ+ whistleblower, Ian Clarke, “seemingly banished from big business.”
Lesbians Who Tech versus the Castro District
The Castro Merchants Association voted against the annual Lesbians Who Tech takeover of two blocks in the district “due to a lack of real involvement with the neighborhood." The resignation of the event producer, Bryan Biello, was attributed by LWT to tensions between local business owners and the event. He now works for the Chicago YMCA.
The semi-cultural desk
Nuovo Olimpo
There is so much gay TV to be watched, and Eitan and I are hooked on Lupin, but I still found time to watch Nuovo Olimpo on Netflix. I loved it, but as a friend pointed out, love, cobblestone streets in Rome, Buzzing Vespas, and male nudity is always a winning combination.
Serving in Secret and the price you pay
The new MSNBC Peacock film “Serving in Secret” about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is also out. It features longtime gay rights activist David Mixner, who paid a high price for disagreeing publicly with the policy and the Clintons. Mixner’s ethos, which is something to live by, was best expressed in a 2018 interview when he said:
But you know, you live your principles, and there’s a price sometimes. And sometimes there’s a great price.
Fellow Travelers gets good reviews
People will tell you that both the book and the Opera are better, but on the other hand, the Guardian called the sex scenes “jaw-droppingly graphic.” Trailer here. I still don’t have Showtime or Paramount+, so I must figure that out.
This weird Alliance Defending Freedom ad
I was strangely targeted by this ad for an ADF free guide to “protect [my] children from the devastation caused by gender ideology.” I hoped for something entertaining, but the guide’s main suggestion is to read the scriptures, “pray up,” and launch a lawsuit or two. It is rather hilarious because guess who was once the spokesperson for the ADF: no one but Mike Johnson himself; this newsletter has a theme.
The tragic Bubba Copland’s suicide
News that an Alabama mayor, who was also a pastor, killed himself after a conservative website released photos of him dressed in women's attire and makeup have made it to NPR.
The Gay Agenda
Business for a Better World: My Visit at Cornell
Monday/Tuesday, I had the privilege to be a guest speaker in the AEM 1101, Design your Dyson Grand Challenge Speaker Series at the Cornell Dyson: School of Applied Economics and Management, where we discussed SDG 10, Reducing inequalities, the crucial role of the private sector, the risks of pinkwashing and of course Board diversity in the US. My sincere thanks to Professor Trent Preszler and the amazing Student Host Committee for a fantastic visit.
See you in India this month.
I am off to India on Tuesday with Prof Lee Badgett. Bangalore until the 19th, then Delhi (join me at the Lalit for Queering The Pitch on the 20th), Mumbai on the 22nd (join us at Godrej), and back to Bangalore. I look forward to visiting friends at Godrej, Lalit, IBM, and other companies.
On this note, thank you for your messages about Pete this week; I enjoy nothing more than receiving your views. And as usual, thank you for reading; writing this remains the favorite part of my week.
Lupin !!! I binged that in Venice this summer and it was wonderful. Bises to Eitan. :)