List of All Articles with Tag 'identities'

Sandi Toksvig has prompted an outpouring of support for expressing her anger at anti-trans people in politics and the media. The former Great British Bake Off presenter said: “I am so distressed by people who call themselves ‘radical feminists’ but are anti-trans. I could weep. I don’t get it. It’s beyond me. “When the feminist movement started in the 60s and 70s, lesbians were often excluded, because we were told that we would make the movement less palatable. I have been excluded myself, so how could I do that to someone else? It fills me with rage.” Toksvig was speaking in an interview with The i newspaper to promote an upcoming performance with the London Gay Men’s Chorus. A vocal LGBT+ rights campaigner for decades, Toksvig was one of Britain’s most visible lesbian women when she came out publicly in 1994. She also founded the Women’s Equality Party in 2015 and is working on a campaign to remove unelected Church of England bishops from the House of Lords because of its opposition to same-sex marriage. She said: “It’s shocking. They don’t deal with gay people or women in an equitable manner. And they aren’t some sort of obscure organisation – this is our state church. “None of them have been elected. This is our parliament and it’s not OK. Be a bigot if you want to, in your own back yard – but don’t come and play in mine.” Responding to Toksvig’s comments on social media, people immediately jumped to the TV stalwart’s side. Broadcaster India Willoughby wrote: “Now here’s a classy lady. Graham Linehan [the screenwriter and prominent anti-trans campaigner] will be along shortly to tell Sandi she’s not a real feminist.” Another person said: “Sandi had such an impact on me when I was growing up and watching number 73 [a 1980s British TV show]. “I'd never seen another woman like her and being a non conforming teenage lesbian who didn't understand herself or her sexuality, Sandi was pivotal in helping me figure it all out.” And a third added: “She’s fabulous isn’t she.” As for Toksvig, she promised to go on campaigning. She said: “I’ve been an activist all of my life. It’s a core part of who I am. We’re here, we’re making noise – and we’re not going away.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Disabled fans of “Anti-Hero” singer Taylor Swift appear to have some “Bad Blood” (sorry) with ticket sellers, as the system for access bookings for the international leg of her unbelievably popular Eras tour has been branded “abysmal” and a “shambles” by those hoping to see the singer-songwriter live. The presale for her shows at London’s Wembley Stadium and Edinburgh’s BT Murrayfield Stadium got underway on Monday, with those who pre-ordered Swift’s album Midnights receiving special codes to try and get tickets before anyone else. Liverpool’s presale launched on Tuesday, while early access to tickets for her Cardiff date in June 2024 are set to go on sale on Wednesday. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The UK and Ireland leg of Swift’s Eras tour sees her start June next year in Edinburgh on 7 June, before finishing up the month in Dublin during the weekend of Glastonbury Festival – shooting down rumours she was set to make an appearance at Worthy Farm. Swift will then come back to perform at Wembley again from 15-17 August, in her last dates of the tour. However, while Twitter was awash with Swifties celebrating nabbing the coveted tickets – which range anywhere from £58.65 to £194.75 at Wembley – disabled people have called out Wembley Stadium as they’ve struggled to secure access tickets: Despite offering seats to those with a “hearing impairment” (a term considered “negative” and “offensive” by deaf and hard of hearing people), Wembley Stadium requires disabled people to call a phone number in order to purchase access tickets. SignVideo, a British Sign Language (BSL) service, is available for BSL signers, but deaf and hard of hearing people who do not use BSL to communicate are expected to use the phone, which may not be accessible to them. Amid ongoing issues, Wembley Stadium shared a tweet on Tuesday and said: “Due to unprecedented demand waiting time for ‘Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour’, disabled access is longer than normal. “For those unable to wait on the phone we have a call-back system … Please note this is not a guarantee of tickets.” It's not the first time ticket sellers and venues for a Taylor Swift show have come under fire, as issues with sales for the American leg of her tour saw US fans blast Ticketmaster for its handling of demand. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The cast of hit Netflix show Heartstopper gave the middle finger to anti-LGBTQ+ religious protestors at Pride in London. Stars of the show including Joe Locke, Kit Connor, Yasmin Finney, Will Gao, Sebastian Croft, Kizzy Edgell and Tobie Donovan flipped the bird at the protesters from their own float on Saturday. Coming-of-age comedy drama Heartstopper enters its second series in August, after Netflix shared a teaser this weekend. It was adapted for television from Alice Oseman’s graphic novels of the same name. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Stars were also pictured dancing along to hits including Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)’ and Kylie Minogue’s ‘Padam Padam’, and blowing kisses towards the protesters. More than a million people descended on central London on 31 June for the 51st annual Pride parade, flooding the capital with rainbows and glitter as people turned out to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in Britain. Sending a message to all those who took part, Pride in London said: “Thank you for your support and ensuring no-one marched alone. We hope you had an amazing day full of love and pride. Please stay safe this evening and take care of each other.” Separately, this year’s Pride was disrupted by activists from Just Stop Oil, who temporarily halted the parade, sprayed the road and sat in front of a Coca-Cola float. The group had previously warned it would take action, calling on organisers of the event to ban floats from “high-polluting” sponsors and to condemn new oil, gas and coal. A statement from LGBTQ+ members of Just Stop Oil said: “These partnerships embarrass the LGBTQ+ community at a time when much of the cultural world is rejecting ties to these toxic industries.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Disney's Pixar has revealed its first-ever non-binary character who features in the studio's latest film Elemental. Set in a city where water, fire, air and land residents live, the moving story is all about "a fiery young woman," called Ember and a "go-with-the-flow guy" called Wade who discover "something elemental: how much they actually have in common", according to the film synopsis. Wade's younger sibling, Lake Ripple is a non-binary character who uses they/them pronouns and is also voiced by non-binary voice actor Ava Hauser. Sharing the news on Twitter on Friday (June 16), Hauser posted: "BIG ANNOUNCEMENT I got to play Pixar's first non-binary character. Meet Lake! Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter "I voice Lake in the new movie #Elemental! I'm seeing it in theaters tonight with my friends, so you can catch it in theaters too if you wanna see them." People also shared some love for this news and for the character Lake. While others noted other Pixar characters in the past who have not exactly followed the gender binary, namely Francis from A Bug's Life. Elemental made around $30 million at U.S. and Canadian box offices over the weekend, with Reuters reporting that this is the second-lowest debut in Pixar's history. Elemental will be released in UK cinemas on July 7. Elsewhere, here is every basic LGBT+ term to learn in honour of pride month and five famous faces who were raised by LGBT+ families. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.