Fabrice Houdart | A weekly newsletter on LGBTQ+ Equality
This week: hit pieces on David Solomon, Trevor, HRC, & Lizzo, fighting gay evil in Malaysia, Ethiopia, Jordan, Lebanon, & Venezuela, Mark King’s book, Claybourne Elder’s show, Red, White & Royal Blue
Welcome to the 130th issue of my 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: hit pieces on David Solomon, Trevor, HRC, & Lizzo, fighting gay evil in Malaysia, Ethiopia, Jordan, Lebanon, & Venezuela, Mark King’s book, Claybourne Elder’s show, “Red, White & Royal Blue,” the Ratevosian and Rollins Campaigns…
Global News
United Nations: who will be the next “LGBTQ+ Czar"?
Without actual gay royalty (besides “Alex Claremont-Diaz” and “Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor” I guess - see the semi-cultural desk), the UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (a long a** title, cool kids call it “IESOGIE”) acts as head LGBTQ+ spiritual leader of Sitges, Mykonos and St Barth, charismatic shepherd of queer people. The mandate holder since 2018, Madrigal-Borloz, is leaving after a very successful mandate. His successor will have big shoes to fill. The shortlist for his replacement just came out (see OHCHR’s website here). Disappointingly, there is again NO WOMAN despite the two mandate holders ever having been men. Nevertheless, the three candidates on the shortlist are highly qualified well-known figures and scholars: Graeme Reid (South Africa), Arvind Narrain (India), and Tarek Zeidan (Lebanon).
Uganda: geopolitical theatrics, tired arguments, and trolls
As expected, the World Bank’s temporary suspension of future lending to Uganda led to a litany of comments on “imperialism,” “colonization,” and the need to “dismantle colonial/neocapitalist/post-colonial framework.” Predominantly from idle gay men in the Northern Hemisphere rather than Pan Africa ILGA leaders. Was the World Bank's stance on child slavery in Uzbekistan met with similar concerns? Of course not. In an interview on BBC (at 00:41), I argued that it is a good development policy rather than a capricious move by the West. The African Development Bank (AfDB’s Integrated Safeguards System, December 2013) mandates "special screening" of projects based on vulnerability, including sexual orientation. The InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) updated its Safeguards in 2020 to include such filters. And the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is revising its Safeguards accordingly (see here). Mandates on sexual minorities in development lending are more stringent in other multilateral institutions than in the World Bank. In the meantime, President Museveni whined and whined, obtaining little sympathy and coverage except from the European Conservative, who claimed he was pivoting to Russia. This sounds like another brilliant idea, *eye roll* given the hit the ruble took this week (leading to bad puns).
Ethiopia: going in the wrong direction
A week after LGBTQ+ activists raised the alarm bell about uptake in state-sponsored violence and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric in the country, some Addis Abab government body raided a guest house where it suspected “homosexual acts” were carried out. Read about it on Reuters. The cruelty was accompanied by this glorious message:
"If there is any sympathy for those who commit and execute this abominable act that is hated by man and God, (the bureau) will continue to take action,"
Malaysia: taking its feud with Swatch one step further
It is evil watches that Malaysians should fear, not slowing economic growth or widespread corruption. The Government, on Thursday, criminalized (yes, you read well, criminalized) the sale or possession of Pride Swatches. For some strange reason, I immediately thought about that famous quote from disgraced former President Sarkozy: “If you don't have a Rolex by the time you reach 50, then you have clearly failed in your life,” although it is completely irrelevant. Phil Robertson at HRW summarized the situation perfectly to CNN (see full article here):
“The LGBTQ community in Malaysia [IS] used as a political punching bag. In this situation, simply wearing a watch could result in prison sentences and abuse. It’s ludicrous (and tellingly) comes right on the eve of state elections.”
Venezuela: Maduro feeding the gays to the evangelical lions
On July 23, police raided a popular LGBTQ+ bar and sauna in Venezuela’s third-largest city, arresting 33 individuals without cause. Tamara Adrian, the country’s first transgender legislator and incidentally candidate for the IESOGIE job (and my fellow Board member on the IDAHOBIT Committee), tied it to President Maduro’s flirting with evangelicals (backstory here). Read about the raid on Al Jazeera.
Jordan: Human Rights Watch concerns about cybersecurity law
HRW called out a new cybercrime law that could target LGBTQ+ people (see here) and indicates a shrinking civil society space in the Kingdom. This is not the first time Jordanian authorities have stoked moral panic at the expense of LGBTQ+ people. MyKali, the online pan-Arab LGBTQ+ magazine, warned on July 29th of "escalating attacks on queer initiatives and individuals" in Jordan since the beginning of the year.
Lebanon: a noble crusade against the Barbie movie
Talking about peddling in “moral panic,” Lebanon, which has been on the verge of complete collapse for several years, has its government focus on the …Barbie movie. Lebanon’s culture minister wants to ban it, not for being overrated, but for “promoting homosexuality” (see here). Civil society told in The Guardian that it is pretty much the only topics political factions can agree upon:
“This is part of a broader campaign that is bringing together Hezbollah, the Christian far right, and other top religious leaders in a focused campaign against LGBT people”
UK: stabbing in London
Two men were stabbed in a homophobic attack in front of a famous drag cabaret venue, Two Brewers. They survived, but Londoners were shocked. Read about it here.
US News
New York: the “Vogueing” murder
The murder of O’Shae Sibley, stabbed to death after dancing to Beyoncé at a gas station in Brooklyn, continues to make headlines in the US (you can watch the altercation here with the suspect, Dmitriy Popov, 17, wearing the red shorts). Popov pleaded not guilty this week and was denied bail.
Florida: Is DeSantis damage reversible?
Here is a chance to know what’s happening in Florida without leaving your Roche-Bobois progressive Democrat leather couch. The Times’ piece hints at long-lasting wounds by a candidacy that has little chance of bringing DeSantis anywhere but into homophobe hell and “les oubliettes de l’histoire.”
“Much of his legislation may ultimately amount to a perverse form of theatre [...]. The result, however, is an air of fear and discomfort for those who happen to work or live their lives on the margins of DeSantis’s worldview”.
Congress: George Santos has another lousy week
Not only did the gay poster child of the disastrous role of money in U.S. politics miss a financial disclosure deadline (see here), but another Republican named Greg Hach, a lawyer, and Air Force veteran, entered the race to unseat him (see here). It now feels a bit crowded, which is unsurprising as the Queens’ electorate seems easy to dupe.
Queering the Boardroom
Board diversity efforts slowing down
Spencer Stuart sees a slowdown in board diversity efforts, yet 46% of new directors in the S&P500 last year were women (see here), showing that the Board is not immune to change. Another interesting point is that financial expertise is in high demand.
Morgan Stanley launches Board diversity initiative
The American multinational investment bank is the latest to offer this service to its clients.
August 22nd: NACD Northern California LGBTQ+ Cohort
I will speak with Richard Socarides on the findings of the 2023 LGBTQ+ Board Monitor report, solutions to overcome barriers, and success stories. Register here.
August 25th at noon EST: tips from Irene Chang Britt
Irene Chang Britt will share her wisdom. She serves on the Boards of Victoria's Secret & Co., IDEXX Laboratories, and others. You can register here.
The gay business
Treasonous Skittles
Skittles, whose slogan is, after all, “Taste the rainbow,” is facing a conservative boycott because of its Pride Month collab, The Times reports.
Is the ESG acronym radioactive?
A recent Bloomberg Law article linked McDonald’s “quiet removal” of the term “ESG” from its website as a right’s assault against the term. Bad timing for the “thought leaders and industry experts” who were about to convene to “explore the intersection of ESG practices with LGBTQ+ equality” and eat stale canapés.
The non-profit corner
A hit piece on Trevor in the Blade
The Blade ran a VERY long and strange piece titled “Trevor Project in crisis amid financial woes, staff dissension, ‘union busting’: sources,” mixing legitimate concerns and gossip a bit like an AirMail feature but without the fancy curated shopping list. I was struck that the author did not observe that the trends he calls out at Trevor are endemic to other leading LGBTQ+ non-profits in the U.S. and barely mention the responsibility of the Board of Directors. He blames the whiteness and cisgenderism of the successive CEOs for the organization's woes, which is improbable.
Author Jamie Kirchick calls out HRC and GLAAD
Similarly, Kirchick, who wrote Secret City, called out the “Thought Police” in Tablet Magazine this week and accused HRC and GLAAD of championing a “censorship regime” and restrictions on freedom of speech. While I disagree with his assessment that “the gay rights movement achieved its major aim” in 2015 (just read the Global News section for chrissake), the call for the boycott of the New York Times this year or the infamous L.G.B.T. Constitutional amendment campaign of 2019 are signs that fundraising considerations supersede the community’s interest in these organizations. Indexing some ED’s salaries on financial targets was the first mistake: you do not get into activism to make money. There too, I am baffled that Kirchick did not discuss the crucial role of the Board of Directors of these organizations.
Seeking a CEO for Chicago's LGBTQ community center.
The Center on Halsted, which opened in 2007, is seeking a new CEO. A critical search for the LGBTQ community in the Midwest. You can check the job posting on the recruiter’s website.
The semi-cultural desk
Red, White & Royal Blue: a new Ryan Murphy is born
The movie version of “Red, White & Royal Blue” on Prime was what the gays talked about this week. The film was either cute, heartwarming, uplifting, or cheesy, unrealistic, and hardly funny: you decide. At least, we can agree that it is a step backward from even the second act of “The Inheritance” for Lopez (see his interview here). The movie adaptation is a mash-up between the Hannah Montana show, Emily in Paris, The Crown, and The West Wing. In the adaptation of the widely popular romance novel, it felt like a story about a TikTok influencer falling in love with a lifestyle creator. My complaints in random order are all about not veering for accuracy: i) in real life, a gay like Claremont would not be reading The Years of Lyndon Johnson or sleeping with Miguel Ramos; ii) both the White House and Buckingham Palace looked like a Jonathan Adler showroom; and iii) even the jewelry was off; only real estate agents and former Merrill Lynch Financial Advisors have initials on their signet.
Your other, less lowbrow options
You know you have options for gay, watchable, but forgettable, right? For example, I watched Marry my dead body with Greg Hsu this week on Netflix. This Taiwanese comedy is slightly irreverent and portrays a post-gay marriage Taiawense gay world. It is a 7.3/10 on IMdB, the same score as Red, White & Royal Blue, yet I laughed more. Ultimately it comes down to Greg Hsu’s butt versus Taylor Zakhar Perez. Other possibilities include Your Name Engraved Herein, which I will start watching tonight.
Passages get excellent reviews
We live in a World where RWRB gets a 7.3 and Passages gets 7.1. Here is the trailer.
William Kapfer’s weekly socialite reviews on Edge
I once lost a job over an innocuous entry in my “social diary,” I am slightly jealous of Dr. Kapfer, who can chronicle New York City Gay men’s week-ends on Edge in all impunity. It is worth binge-reading it.
Is America ready for neopronouns?
CNN had an article explaining neopronouns this week. My first thought was: maybe we wait until after the Presidential elections or at least until DeSantis loses the Primary to introduce America to neopronouns, ok?
Claybourne Elder triumphs at Joe’s Pub
I saw Elder’s one-man show on Saturday night, dubbed “Broadway's hunky gay ex-Mormon dad.” His show was hilarious, emotional, and uplifting - he even dropped his pants at some point. I love the venue; I ran into Mark G. Dimunation, recently retired from the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress, and was fascinated by the fact that the guy at the table next to me was wearing a COVID mask AND taking copious notes during the show. Elder shared stories from two decades on Broadway. My favorite story was his reuniting with the stranger who bought him tickets to see Patti LuPone decades ago. I left wanting briefly to be a better person, which is strange after a show titled “I Want to Be Evil.” It did not last long; I got flashed while giving some throttle to my Bonneville at 80 mph on the West Side Highway on the way back.
An epidemic of Mr. Ripleys
The hit piece against David Solomon in New York Magazine is a must-read. It is so good that Solomon’s surrogates have been running around town trying to place counternarratives. But that’s not what caught my attention. What did were the references to the tragic suicide of Nicolas DeMeyer. There are good reasons why our community produces so many talented Mr. Ripleys (including DC A-lister Kenneth Gaughan, who got 78 months for embezzling COVID money after defrauding the diocese). Still, as usual, we prefer to look away.
Lizzo is a monster too?
See here. Who are we supposed to like?
Mark King’s book spanning four decades of gay revolution
My Fabulous Disease: Chronicles of a Gay Survivor is coming out on September 23rd with writing that spans four decades chronicling life as a gay man living with HIV. Read Mark’s post on Greg's foreword to the Book, which you can order here.
U.S. Political Fundraising Season
September 12th: Jirair Ratevosian in Chelsea
Here is an invitation for fundraising for Jirair Ratevosian. Ratevosian, gay and Armenian, is a former advisor to the State Department and legislative director for Barbara Lee, running for California’s 30th Congressional District. Join us here.
October 12th: Will Rollins in the UWS
Please join me in supporting Will Rollins and his campaign to flip California's 41st congressional district from Red to Blue. The fundraiser will be in the UWS. Please share the invitation with your friends - as I wrote before, Rollins is serious competition for Buttigieg, and in America, we love competition.
The Gay Agenda
August 27th: Burning Man
Tickets are on sale apparently… because tech bruhs are hurting.
On that note, don’t forget to send David Mixner birthday wishes TODAY; I am running (well, driving over the speed limit) to grab lunch with him on the 47th. As usual, thank you for reading; it means a lot … please share with your network. At the rate I am losing readers, it will be the ten of us by fall.
I love this newsletter and your writing, Fabrice. I look forward to reading this every Wednesday.