Fabrice Houdart | A weekly newsletter on LGBTQ+ Equality
This week: Japanese Pop Star comes out, France "Rural Pride", Nasrallah wants to kill the gays, an Ed exorbitant salary, WSJ on LGBTQ+ Board Diversity, Kevin Spacey cleared, Last Call on HBO & 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.
This week: Japanese Pop Star comes out, France "Rural Pride", Nasrallah wants to kill the gays, an Ed exorbitant salary, WSJ on LGBTQ+ Board Diversity, Kevin Spacey cleared, Last Call on HBO & more...
Global News
Japan: Pop star Shinjiro Atae comes out
Good for Shinjiro (look him up, he is a big deal) and the Japanese LGBTQ+ community. The Pop Star’s coming out is an earthquake (read about it in the NYTimes), particularly in the wake of the Kishida scandal back in February. Prime Minister Kishida fired (well, in practice, relocate to his Ministry, really) a close aide who had publicly said he would not want to “live next to, or look at, people in same-sex relationships” - an illustration of the Government’s mindset. Two years ago, some conceited gay executive for a management consulting firm in Japan complained after I said publicly that progress on LGBTQ+ inclusion in the country was too slow. I do not buy into the “cultural exceptionalism” narrative, a trope of the South African apartheid era, that some Japanese people mention to justify the snail's pace.
France: rural Pride’s second edition
The Fiertés Rurales, which took place this week in a French village of 482 inhabitants, is meant as the Pride of the French farmland. The organizers believe that while LGBTQ + people are still migrating from small towns and countryside to big cities, which they perceive as more tolerant, metropolises are not the natural choice for all LGBTQ+ people. Some aspire to a rural way of life (I cut wood for 1,5 years in Connecticut during the pandemic, but my social life was lacking). The event took place for the second time this week with 1,500 participants, including Bérangère Couillard, Macron’s new Minister for Gender Equality, Diversity, and Equal Opportunities. You can watch a video of tractors adorned with rainbows and gays here.
Lebanon: Yitzhak Pindrus and Hassan Nasrallah walk into a gay bar…
Yitzhak Pindrus of the United Torah Judaism party in Israel and Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of Hezbollah in Lebanon, have much more in common than they think. Human Rights Watch reported this week that Nasrallah - cutting to the chase - has recently called his following to kill gay people simply. The community did not take it lightly. The Shiite party seeks to designate scapegoats to justify its political failures, including recent fighting between rival factions. You can read HRW’s take here.
Uzbekistan: the plight of imprisoned gay men
In Uzbekistan, you still go to jail for same-sex relationships, read firsthand testimonies in this article.
Russia: the Geopoliticization of LGBTQ+ suffering
The New York Times had a piece this week on how the geopolitical instrumentalization of LGBTQ+ rights in the fight opposing Russia to the West has dire concrete consequences on the existence of LGBTQ+ people in the country. Newsweek also reported that Russian lawmakers did not enjoy Barbie although I am not sure they were the target audience in the first place.
Over the last decade, the Kremlin’s propaganda campaign against the LGBTQ+community may have affected Russian attitudes: The percentage of respondents who said they viewed gay people with disgust or fear increased from 26 percent in 2013 to 38 percent in 2021
Northern Ireland: tensions around Belfast Pride
A preacher named Ryan Williamson was filmed before the Belfast Pride parade claiming that homosexual people “want to rape our children.” It did not go well with the community and the Pride organizers, who want him to be prosecuted for hate speech - read more here. Williamson later clarified:
Of course I don’t believe that homosexuals rape kids. I believe what the rape is is the rape of our children’s identity.
US News
The baffling pillage of LGBTQ+ public resources
While the religious right is launching well-funded anti-trans campaigns throughout the U.S., our community is funding … exorbitant salaries. Non-profits have stopped sharing their 1099 in time on their website for good reasons. Thankfully, the IRS keeps track. The graph below shows the total compensation (as reported in Form 990 part VII) of one individual Executive Director of a non-profit LGBTQ+ advocacy organization; it nearly tripled in seven years between the fiscal year 2014 and 2020 to reach close to $600,000/year, including a $170K “performance bonus.” This compensation is managed by the Board co-chairs and ratified by the Executive committee. This is part of a trend I highlighted before: the elite capture of our movement (I don’t even mention the “business coalition” scam). LGBTQ+ people are far from immune to greed. In 2014, when I denounced a similar “performance” scheme by the World Bank CFO to top up his salary, I remember writing to him, “If you must monetize your service to the poor, you will be able to do it easily after you leave” something he did eventually do.
New York: murdered for vogueing
The New York Times reports that O’Shae Sibley, 28, was vogueing at a gas station in New York City when men attacked him with gay slurs and told him to stop. He eventually ended up stabbed to death. A hate crimes task force is investigating.
Michigan bans conversion therapy
Governor Whitmer (a Democrat) got great press this week for signing two pieces of legislation banning so-called “conversion therapy” in her state of Michigan. Read her press release here.
As a mom of a community member and a proud, lifelong ally, I am grateful that we are taking action to make Michigan a more welcoming, inclusive place.
Gender Cool: changing the conversation on trans issues
I liked this video of GenderCool’s Champions at the 2022 Out & Equal event - which brings together corporate Employee Resource Groups every year - sharing what inclusive firms can do to attract trans and non-binary professionals. It brings a much-needed positive vibe to this issue.
Queering the Boardroom
WSJ on LGBTQ+ Board Diversity
The WSJ had somewhat misleading data on LGBTQ+ Board diversity this week. The headlines would have you believe that 3% of S&P directors are LGBTQ+. In reality, only a fifth (1/5) of S&P companies voluntarily disclose the sexual orientation and/or gender identity of their Directors. Within the companies that made that choice, obviously, the companies are the most likely to have LGBTQ+ Directors, only 3% of directors are LGBTQ+. It fits within our assessment that overall LGBTQ+ Board representation must hover below 1%. Another misleading figure was the Fortune 500 of which we keep a very rigorous tally (see here).
The Gay business
This time your friends at Doc Martens are in trouble
The shoe and boot company Dr. Martens is coming under fire for a custom pair of boots that celebrate transgender people. I always wonder how the conservatives get wind of these limited editions. Is there a conservative version of my substack? Where do I subscribe? Read about “bootgate” on LGBTQ Nation.
Progress in the workplace? Data from an HRC survey
The Human Rights Campaign reported this week that 84% of LGBTQ+ workers are out to at least one person at their current job. However, only 48% were out to their human resource department. It still feels like progress: in 2021, the Williams Institute estimated that 25.8% of workers were not out to any of their co-workers. That would mean an improvement of ten points. Check out the full findings here.
The semi-cultural desk
Kevin Spacey gets cleared of all charges
Spacey was cleared of the 12 counts of sexual assault against four men he had been charged with. Some denounced the violation of his presumption of innocence, as streaming platforms had deleted him from movies and series. The DailyMail already announced his return to the market. During his trial, Kevin Spacey addressed his controversial 2017 statement in which he came out as gay in response to Anthony Rapp’s accusation of sexual misconduct.
Members of the LGBTQ+ community were upset because I came out while responding to an accusation and now I understand why it was read that way. It wasn’t how I intended it.
Un Homme Heureux: the delicate task of trans comedy
I had to watch « Un homme heureux ». Tristan Séguéla’s film undertook the complex exercise of addressing gender transition as a comedy. A small-town mayor (Fabrice Luchini) is disoriented by his wife's sudden desire to change gender. It was only marginally funny but somewhat didactic, although I am not sure the left in the U.S. would not have screamed bloody murder.
True crime in Gay New York in the 90s
You should watch Last Call on HBO. In the early 1990s, a serial killer was operating in NYC Gay Bars; HBO tells a fascinating story of police indifference and community strength.
The disappointing comment of Attal, out French Minister of Education
I did not like this quote from Gabriel Attal in Gala, who was outed earlier in life, “He believed he could live his life as he saw fit, “without claiming it,” which shows disregard for those before him who “claimed it” so that we could envision a day
Africa: Queer Activism in Africa anthology series
“Writing is a vital form of radical self-affirmation, as well as resistance.” In Whispers and Shouts, 21 more human rights defenders from across the African continent share their stories and activist journeys. These testimonies, available in English and French, document and elevate the fight for LGBTQ+ equality. Like its predecessors, Hopes and Dreams That Sound Like Yours (May 2021) and Courage to Share (Aug. 2022), Whispers and Shouts is made available for free: see here in Mid-Resolution (16 MB).
Fighting the “Rapid-onset gender dysphoria” claims
This week, Erin Reed was fighting the idea of “social contagion” around non-binary and trans identities. I enjoyed one of the comments:
Less than 4% of people were left-handed a hundred years ago. Then they stopped treating it as sinful, and over the next 50 years, left-handedness grew to 12% of the population. Not because of social contagion, but because people were allowed to identify that way …”
Coming and going
The passing of Paul Reubens, a.k.a. Pee Wee
I was sad to read of Paul Reubens' passing. You can read the strange obituary in The Advocate and in the New York Times.
Parmesh Shahani is back at Godrej’s
The wondrous Parmesh Shahani announced his new position as Head - Godrej DEI Lab at Godrej Industries Limited and Associate Companies which I visited earlier this year in Mumbai, where he previously led the Culture Lab. The DEI Lab aims to “empower inclusion ecosystems both within and outside Godrej”.
Sonari Glinton shatters the system
Out pioneering radio host, Sonari Glinton, launched a new podcast, “Shattering the System” on Iheart this week. The podcast investigates “various crimes and the systems and structures that make them possible.” Read about it on Deadline
Marion Regnier joins the Advisory Board of Lesbians Who Tech
Marion, a partner in the Financial Services Digital Technology & Innovation practice at PwC, announced she was joining the Board of Lesbians Who Tech. See here.
The Gay Calendar
Countdown to the opening of Stonewall National Monument Visitor
The SNMVC on Christopher street in New York City will open in June next year to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. You can become a monthly donor to support this landmark, receive an inaugural membership card, be listed as a founding supporter of the SNMVC, and win tickets for the grand opening ceremony on June 28, 2024.
As usual, thank you for reading, and please share this newsletter with your network. I am in France for a brief impromptu trip with my sons as my beloved grandmother passed in Brittany at the very honorable age of 100 years old.