QueerAF (2025)

08/07/2025

💃 Ballroom feels like home -

You may know ballroom from the legendary show “Pose” or “Paris is Burning” but this beautiful home curated for and by q***r icons is becoming a worldwide community, with q***r communities of colour, finding safety and unity in these spaces.

There’s nothing more q***r than doing something because no-one else will. That is the story off Ballroom

Season six, episode six of the Q***rAF podcast produced by is out now featuring , , &

Season six of the Q***rAF podcast is produced by six budding Trans+ audio professionals, who we’ve supported, paid and are mentoring - and thanks to Publicis Groupe UK have been bought professional audio equipment they can keep forever.

They’ve each made a mini-documentary episode as part of our work mentoring creatives for , which will be released every Monday

🎙️ Search Q***rAF in your fave podcast app and subscribe today so you don’t miss an episode!

06/07/2025

🤲 “Until society embraces the full spectrum of human identity, fasting and other rituals practiced beyond traditional boundaries remain acts of quiet protest as much as faith.” -

“This Ramadan, while the faithful bowed beneath minarets and moonlight, Imam Muhsin Hendricks, a man who lived openly in both his faith and sexuality, was murdered. He spent his life doing something truly subversive, stitching together belief and being when both appeared seemingly at odds.

Hendricks founded one of the first mosques welcoming q***r Muslims, defying the notion that faith is only accessible to the orthodox.“

👉 The Q***r Gaze is just one part of our weekly newsletter that helps you understand the LGBTQIA+ news and new q***r perspectives every week. Support q***r creatives by signing up and sharing this piece.

👀 Instagram slides are never enough to do a story justice. But they are a launchpad for knowledge. To see all of the sources for these slides visit the full edition on our ad-free not-for-profit platform.

***rAF ***rGaze

05/07/2025

🚨 EHRC are in hot water

The Trans Advocacy and Complaints Collective (TACC) has obtained over a hundred pages of emails which reveal a trove of correspondence between EHRC senior leadership and gender critical lobbying group S*x Matters, including private meetings with the EHRC Chair and CEO.

Internal emails obtained through a freedom of information request suggest that the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) may not be acting as a neutral regulator in matters of gender and equality.

👉 Instagram slides are never enough to do a story justice. But they are a launchpad for knowledge. Understand this story in-depth with our weekly newsletter where this was from.

🏳️‍🌈 Q***rAF is a non-profit IMPRESS regulated publisher supporting q***r creatives to build and grow their media careers.

🌐 Read this story in full, with sources, on our platform now.

✉️ ***raf_’s newsletter helps you to understand the LGBTQIA+ news every Saturday. Skip the doomscrolling and let us gather the q***r news for you. Hit the links in our bio.

***rAF

30/06/2025

💃 Getting tens across the board, from India to Wales: new podcast episode out NOW!

You may know ballroom from the legendary show “Pose” or “Paris is Burning” but this beautiful home curated for and by q***r icons is becoming a worldwide community, with q***r communities of colour, finding safety and unity in these spaces.

There’s nothing more q***r than doing something because no-one else will. That is the story off Ballroom

Season six, episode six of the Q***rAF podcast produced by is out now featuring , , &

Season six of the Q***rAF podcast is produced by six budding Trans+ audio professionals, who we’ve supported, paid and are mentoring - and thanks to Publicis Groupe UK have been bought professional audio equipment they can keep forever.

They’ve each made a mini-documentary episode as part of our work mentoring creatives for , which will be released every Monday this pride season

🎙️ Search Q***rAF in your fave podcast app and subscribe today so you don’t miss an episode!

29/06/2025

🏳️‍🌈 I exist despite my inability to fit into boxes on pages - by .Canine

"I am proud of every part of my identity. Ideally, I’d rather not have to describe it using this jargon at all, and just exist in my communities that understand without tick-boxes.

"When there is an understanding that every part of our marginalised selves interacts and moulds to create our identity, we can feel stronger in ourselves and more aware of the broader issues in the systems we’re seeking to change.

"We create an even larger community filled with unexpected connections that have existed the whole time. Together, we are stronger in the fight for justice for all marginalised people."

👉 The Q***r Gaze is just one part of our weekly newsletter that helps you understand the LGBTQIA+ news and new q***r perspectives every week. Support q***r creatives by signing up and sharing this piece.

👀 Instagram slides are never enough to do a story justice. But they are a launchpad for knowledge. To see all of the sources for these slides visit the full edition on our ad-free not-for-profit platform.

***rAF ***rGaze

28/06/2025

🏳️‍⚧️ What did you tell your MP?

Nearly a thousand Trans+ people and allies queued in the summer heat to call on politicians to act urgently to stop so-called 'bathroom ban’ proposals, which have already begun to segregate Trans+ people into third spaces or functionally ban them from public services.

The , organisers of the mass lobby day say 900 people attended to meet with MPs in parliament’s Westminster Hall on June 25. People queued for up to three hours for an almost unprecedented event, only paralleled in size by an action of its kind against Section 28 in the late 1980s.

, legal expert and spokesperson for the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance which organised the event, told ***rAF_ about the atmosphere of camaraderie at the event, adding: "The parallels with that anti-gay moral panic and the legislation that followed are huge, and we now look back on that with shame. This is no different."

Explainer by

👉 Instagram slides are never enough to do a story justice. But they are a launchpad for knowledge. Understand this story in-depth with our weekly newsletter where this was from.

🏳️‍🌈 Q***rAF is a non-profit IMPRESS regulated publisher supporting q***r creatives to build and grow their media careers.

🌐 Read this story in full, with sources, on our platform now.

✉️ ***raf_’s newsletter helps you to understand the LGBTQIA+ news every Saturday. Skip the doomscrolling and let us gather the q***r news for you. Hit the links in our bio.

***rAF

25/06/2025

🚨 Extended deadline! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Calling Welsh LGBTQIA+ writers and journalists! Deadline July 9th (if you faced an error on the form please reapply)

***rAF_ has teamed up with to give three LGBTQIA+ early talent, unpublished and marginalised journalists from Wales the chance to:

🔴 Get three paid short articles commissions
🔴 Have mentoring and training
🔴 Be published across Q***rAF and IJC channels

The deadline to apply is June 25th at midnight and you can find the full details and application form on the Q***rAF website!

www.weareq***raf.com/inclusivejournalismcymru

We’ve put the link in our bio

***rAF

23/06/2025

👔 Do you feel the tension? New podcast episode out!

Who do you think you are? A universal tension exists in an acute way for trans people, our dependency on other people for recognition, part of how identity works is laid bare in the struggle for trans liberation.

Perhaps not better explained by examining not just any simple piece of cloth, but the very q***r and Trans+ history of the handkerchief.

In this week's Q***rAF podcast with Trans+ History Week, Ted Tinkler explores the ontology of the handkerchief and what it tells us about the power dynamics of dependency and intimacy - and what that tells us about being Trans+

Season six, episode three of the Q***rAF podcast produced by is out now featuring .s.warren with music from

Season six of the Q***rAF podcast is produced by six budding Trans+ audio professionals, who we’ve supported, paid and are mentoring - and thanks to Publicis Groupe UK have been bought professional audio equipment they can keep forever.

They’ve each made a mini-documentary episode as part of our work mentoring creatives for , which will be released every Monday this pride season

🎙️ Search Q***rAF in your fave podcast app and subscribe today so you don’t miss an episode!

22/06/2025

💖 Sparkle Weekend is here, to recharge your batteries

Writing for ***rAF_ in the Q***r Gaze as part of our media sponsorship of the incredible event by .Charity, heading into it's 20th anniversary next weekend - volunteer Owen Bardini writes about the beauty of the event and other community spaces like it.

The event takes place next weekend, 27-29th June, in Manchester.

👉 The Q***r Gaze is just one part of our weekly newsletter that helps you understand the LGBTQIA+ news and new q***r perspectives every week. Support q***r creatives by signing up and sharing this piece.

👀 Instagram slides are never enough to do a story justice. But they are a launchpad for knowledge. To see all of the sources for these slides visit the full edition on our ad-free not-for-profit platform.

***rAF ***rGaze

21/06/2025

🏳️‍🌈 The next battleground: Reform of the European Convention of Human Rights

The Justice Secretary has said the European Convention on Human Rights needs to be reformed, as growing right-wing rhetoric builds around calling for the UK to exit the agreement it helped write after World War II.

With important Trans+ rights cases headed to the court, it puts LGBTQIA+ rights centre stage amid what’s set to be a heated debate taking place not only in the UK but many European countries.

Explainer by

👉 Instagram slides are never enough to do a story justice. But they are a launchpad for knowledge. Understand this story in-depth with our weekly newsletter where this was from.

🏳️‍🌈 Q***rAF is a non-profit IMPRESS regulated publisher supporting q***r creatives to build and grow their media careers.

🌐 Read this story in full, with sources, on our platform now.

✉️ ***raf_’s newsletter helps you to understand the LGBTQIA+ news every Saturday. Skip the doomscrolling and let us gather the q***r news for you. Hit the links in our bio.

***rAF

19/06/2025

📢 🏳️‍🌈 Q***rAF and Good Law Project partner to deliver LGBTQIA+ investigative journalism!

Information is a tool for liberation. And investigative journalism is the lifeblood of LGBTQIA+ activism.

The will support ***rAF_ in a partnership that will allow us to hire a part-time investigative journalist and create a news and investigations fund for emerging journalists to pitch to.

@ KC director of Good Law Project said: "I'm super proud that Good Law Project is supporting Q***rAF, which I've followed since it launched. Trans people deserve an outlet that doesn't qualify or negotiate their existence - and Q***rAF celebrates trans lives, without condition."

, founder of Q***rAF said: "We are fiercely protective of our editorial independence, and so this support from the Good Law Project is built into an agreement that says you, our subscriber community, define Q***rAF's stories and focus, not any outside influence. We're incredibly grateful for that vote of confidence in our journalistic independence - and the value of it."

All of our investigations, reporting and explainers are always published first, in our newsletter. Make sure you’re signed up, so you can get the information you need to fight back

📰 Grab the link for our newsletter in our bio

***rAF

18/06/2025

🎭 All gender play is valid!

And as the very Trans+ history of British theatre - all the way back to Shakespeare - shows us: If we can believe gender on stage, what's to say we can't elsewhere?

Season six, episode three of the Q***rAF podcast produced by is out now featuring .art.music .stripper 🏳️‍⚧️

Season six of the Q***rAF podcast is produced by six budding Trans+ audio professionals, who we’ve supported, paid and are mentoring - and thanks to Publicis Groupe UK have been bought professional audio equipment they can keep forever.

They’ve each made a mini-documentary episode for , which will be released throughout THE pride season starting in June, plus a special live episode with and host .lexa which is available now on your favourite podcast app

🎙️ Search Q***rAF in your fave podcast app and subscribe today so you don’t miss an episode!

QueerAF