International Lesbian Day is an annual day to celebrate and bring visibility to lesbians in the LGBT+ community, it has been going since the 1990s. There is also the Lesbian Visibility Day, which has been observed since 2008.
In 2021 International Lesbian Day takes place on the 8th October 2021 and is mainly observed in Australia and New Zealand.
(C) BIGSTOCK / DEPOSITPHOTO
International Lesbian Day was first observed in the 1990s and was created to ensure the visibility of the lesbian community.
What are the colours of the Lesbian Pride flag?
There are, in fact, now three lesbian flags. One is known as the Labrys flag, which features a battle-axe on a dark purple background. The other is what is the “lipstick lesbian” flag which consists of six shades of red and pink colours and a white bar in the centre. Sometimes it has a lipstick mark in the corner denoting that the holder is a “lipstick lesbian”. There is also now a “community Lesbian flag, which includes an orange stripe, that was introduced in 2019.
Ru Paul’s Drag Race is one of the most talked-about TV series of all time and has not just opened doors for other aspiring drag queens, but also for people at home with no connections to the drag world.
Apart from the USA, the show has also had versions in the UK, Canada, Netherlands, Chile and Thailand as well as its many spin-offs like ‘All Stars’. According to Google Trends, the search term ‘drag race’ has increased by a score of 67 since the show’s original release in 2009.
With more international versions in the talks, meaning more catchy songs released and diva lip syncs, OnBuy’s Record Division were keen to find out which original Drag Race winners earn the most on Instagram!
Rank
Name
Instagram handle
Country
Season
Followers
Instagram earnings per post
1
Bianca Del Rio
thebiancadelrio
USA
6
2,423,777
£7,586.42
2
Violet Chachki
violetchachki
USA
7
1,908,229
£5,972.76
3
Sasha Velour
sashavelour
USA
9
1,840,902
£5,762.02
4
Aquaria
ageofaquaria
USA
10
1,741,386
£5,450.54
5
Bob the Drag Queen
bobthedragqueen
USA
8
1,461,753
£4,575.29
6
Jinkx Monsoon
thejinkx
USA
5
1,252,723
£3,921.02
7
Sharon Needles
sharonneedlespgh
USA
4
1,116,767
£3,495.48
8
Yvie Oddly
oddlyyvie
USA
11
1,108,376
£3,469.22
9
Raja
sutanamrull
USA
3
988,633
£3,094.42
10
Jaida Essence Hall
jaidaehall
USA
12
808,219
£2,529.73
11
BeBe Zahara Benet
bebezahara
USA
1
523,391
£1,638.21
12
The Vivienne
thevivienne_
UK
1
401,126
£1,255.52
13
Priyanka
thequeenpriyanka
Canada
1
345,318
£1,080.85
14
Envy Peru
missenvyperu
Holland
1
213,357
£667.81
15
Leona Winter
leonawinterofficiel
Chile
2
124,649
£390.15
16
Luz Violeta
luzvioletadrag
Chile
1
83,658
£261.85
17
Angele Anang
angeleanang
Thailand
2
38,654
£120.99
18
Natalia Pliacam
natalia_nu1rich
Thailand
1
26,204
£82.02
So, who is making some serious coin from Drag Race?
CREDIT: kathclick / Bigstock
BiancaDel Rio is the highest-earning winner of Ru Paul’s Drag Race, alongside being one of the most recognised names in drag, boasting 2,423,777 Instagram followers. In addition to the $100,000 winning prize of season six in 2014, Bianca stands to earn an incredible potential £7,586.42 per sponsored Instagram post.
In second place is the winner of USA’s season seven, Violet Chachki – she won $100,000 as her winning prize. Since Drag Race, Violet has amassed a massive 1,908,229 Instagram following which could earn an extra £5,972.76 per sponsored post.
Following closely behind in third place is Sasha Velour. As the winner of season nine, Sasha won $100,000 and currently has 1,840,902 followers on Instagram – this could earn her a further potential £5,762.02 per sponsored post.
WARNING: Embargoed for publication until 21:15:01 on 21/11/2019 – Programme Name: RuPaul’s Drag Race UK – TX: 21/11/2019 – Episode: FINALE (No. n/a) – Picture Shows: THE UK’S FIRST DRAG RACE SUPERSTAR
**STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL 21/11/2019 21:15:01** The Vivienne – (C) BBC – Photographer: Leigh Keily
Taking the 12th spot is our very own The Vivienne, who could make a potential £1,255.52 per post due to her 401,126 Instagram followers. The Vivienne won the UK’s first season back in 2019, beating the incredible Divina De Campo. However, unlike the USA version, UK winners do not receive a grand cash prize and instead win and star in their own digital TV series.
Lowest Earning Winners of Ru Paul’s Drag Race
In the last place, but still, a winner baby is Thailand’s season one champion Natalia Pliacam. With over 26,000 Instagram followers, Natalia stands to earn a potential £82.02 per sponsored post – that’s nearly 93 times less than the top-earning Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio! In addition to winning Drag Race Thailand, Natalia also received 500,000 Thai Baht which is the equivalent of £12,159.71.
Angele Anang, the winner of Thailand’s season two, is the second-lowest earner with a potential £120.99 per post. Since winning in 2019, Angele’s Instagram followings now stands at 38,654. Angele won a slightly greater prize than Natalia with total winnings (including gift vouchers and jewels) accounting to £21,883.
Luz Violeta in Chile’s version, The Switch Drag Race (Desafío Mundial), earns her the third spot. Luz won season one and with 83,658 Instagram followers could earn an estimated £261.85 per sponsored post.
If you’re in the market to buy poppers or room aromas and you’re in the Bristol area, here’s where you can buy them from.
Pickings are rather short if you’re looking to buy room aromas in Bristol however there’s one place on the highstreet you can definitely try.
Firstly, Prowler has a hybrid store along with Simply Pleasure based in Bristol. The store be found in the town centre at 30 Bond Street Broadsmead, Bristol, BS1 3LX. Phone: 0117 925 3174. They have a variety of different brands available for you to purchase.
You can also try the local gay sauna, called Lad’s Locker, which is located 19-21 WEST ST, BRISTOL, BRISTOL BS2 0D.
However, if you’re looking for a more online option, you can always buy poppers online. A number of shops exist that sell room aromas. The shop, THEGAYSHOP has a wide variety.
Are poppers legal in the UK?
CREDIT: TheGayUK
It is completely legal to consume and sell poppers in the UK. In 2017 there were fears that the Conservative government would outlaw their sale and usage, however, poppers were proven to not be a psychoactive substance and so the government made a U-turn and decided against making the liquid illegal.
Bristol has a number of LGBT+ / gay venues including Sauna and Bars in the Dorset area. It also has a yearly pride event called Bristol Pride which is one of the largest in Southern England.
We’re creating an online memory board for some of London’s lost venues. Since the turn of the century, London’s gay scene has lost over 100 venues.
We’d love for you to help us grow this historical archive of London’s lost gay scene. If you’ve got photos or memories of any of the venues you’d like to share please use the comment section below and we’ll add them right here.
The Spiral Staircase
A description from Dan who worked there in the 90s.
On the corner of Shoreditch High Street and Rivington Street at 138-139 Shoreditch High Street.
Was part of the 90’s ‘gayditch’ scene along with the Joiners Arms, George and Dragon et al.
Slightly ‘upmarket’ wine bar atmosphere to the ground floor, with a spiral staircase taking you to the basement level which was often given over to Karaoke.
Usual DJ nights & cabaret.
Worked there in 97-98. Not sure when it closed.
Approx open date: Can you help with this info? Comment to update the listing.
Approx closed date: Can you help with this info? Comment to update the listing.
Help us deliver unique, usable and reliable journalism that supports the gay, bisexual and curious community of the United Kingdom. Can you help protect LGBT+ media? Publishers like us have come under severe threat by the likes of Google and Facebook. The problem is that advertisers are choosing to put their money with them, rather than with niche publishers like us. Our goal is to eliminate banner ads altogether on site and we can do that if you could pledge us a tiny amount each month.
We’re asking our readers to pledge just £1 per month, more if you’re feeling swanky. You can stop payment at any time.
It’s quick and easy to sign up and you’ll only have to do it once.
We’re creating an online memory board for some of London’s lost venues. Since the turn of the century, London’s gay scene has lost over 100 venues.
We’d love for you to help us grow this historical archive of London’s lost gay scene. If you’ve got photos or memories of any of the venues you’d like to share please use the comment section below and we’ll add them right here.
The Cellar Bar
A description from Brian about the venue which was attached to Heaven nightclub.
It was a leather bar attached to Heaven. You could stroll around and at a certain point in the evening the door was opened into Heaven so if you felt like dancing in your leather you could.
Help us deliver unique, usable and reliable journalism that supports the gay, bisexual and curious community of the United Kingdom. Can you help protect LGBT+ media? Publishers like us have come under severe threat by the likes of Google and Facebook. The problem is that advertisers are choosing to put their money with them, rather than with niche publishers like us. Our goal is to eliminate banner ads altogether on site and we can do that if you could pledge us a tiny amount each month.
We’re asking our readers to pledge just £1 per month, more if you’re feeling swanky. You can stop payment at any time.
It’s quick and easy to sign up and you’ll only have to do it once.
When it comes to raking in the cash, one woman is making all the cash. Kristen Stewart who IDs as bisexual has been crowned Netflix’s biggest earner – with a net worth of over $70m, according to a survey by OnBuy.
Next in line is the ever-present RuPaul, who seems to be churning out content for Netflix left, right and centre.
In the top 20 earners, six ID as gay, five ID as Bisexual, five as Lesbian, three as transgender and 1 as Queer.
(C) BIGSTOCK
Netflix fast became everyone’s go-to to get their TV fix in 2020, and turns out the streaming service is killing it in terms of diversity – we love to see it!
But who is on track to earn the most in their careers? OnBuy.com Movies and TV department wanted to ascertain the 20 highest earning LGBT+ actors on Netflix, by looking at the earnings and net worth of top stars, and the results are finally in…
Coming out on top is the star of Twilight Kristen Stewart, with a huge 70 million dollar net worth.
She is followed closely by RuPaul at 60 million dollars and Gillian Anderson smashing it with a net worth of 40 million dollars.
Last on the list is Mj Rodriguez from Netflix’s 2020 hit show Pose; she has a reported net worth of 1 million dollars currently, however, we predict even bigger things from her in the future!
Which members of the community are the most successful?
Orange Is The New Black Season 5
Onbuy.com can reveal that 3 out of the top 5 earners are bisexual women, making them the top earners in 2020 with a combined net worth of 152 million dollars. This is compared to gay men whose combined net worth comes to 111 million dollars.
Lesbians came in third place with a combined net worth of 55.5 million dollars, followed by the transgender community at 16.5 million dollars and finally queer at 3 million dollars.
Where are they most successful?
LGBT+ actors earnt a combined 139 million dollars in films compared with a whopping 198.5 million dollars from TV shows, making the TV industry a more successful one so far for the LGBT+ community.
Which Netflix Show is Most Inclusive?
The show on Netflix with the highest concentration of LGBT+ actors is Pose, with 140 trans actors and crew members and 35 non-trans LGBT+ characters – this is the highest number of any TV show in history!
Orange is the New Black comes in second with 17 LGBT+ actors and crew.
In third place is Ratched, with 11 LGBT+ actors and crew.
Methodology: In order to work out if LGBT+ actors earn more in TV or Film, OnBuy took the top 20 earners (based on net worth) and researched the earnings for their most-watched (in terms of viewing figures) projects. OnBuy then added up all the top-earning films and top-earning TV shows and found that the top-earning LGBT+ actors on our list earned more from TV shows than they have from films.
Let’s start with a quick simple explanation of what being gay is… and perhaps that will help answer your question.
In the most traditional sense, being gay is usually someone who is male and is romantically and sexually interested in other males. Although it could stretch to males who are romantically and sexually aroused to those who identify as a man. Gender and biological sex are distinct, but that’s a whole other chapter.
Essentially, if you’re a guy and you fancy or are sexually aroused by another guy chances are you could be gay. But you could also be bisexual if you’re also attracted to someone of the opposite sex or even pansexual if you’re attracted or sexually aroused to someone regardless of their sex or gender identity.
Of course, being “gay” is just a label. Some people are fine with having that label attached to them or owning it for themselves while others find it uncomfortable.
Is being gay different to Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM)?
Depends on your viewpoint really. Many gay men feel that there’s more to being gay than just sex or who they find themselves attracted to. MSM is often used in a medical setting to encapsulate men who don’t consider themselves gay but will have sex with other guys. Our sexpert, Jack Devon told us, “I think that being gay does go beyond the physical sex that you have or crave. I think it’s about who you feel you have a connection with, which gender you ultimately want to have relationships with and which gender or biological sex characteristics you feel most comfortable with”.
Is the gay brain different to a straight brain?
No one really quite knows, but Doctor Christian told us in an interview a few years back, “I think it’s very interesting. There will be subtle differences that may not be anatomically measurable, but certainly, we function and behave differently. Sexual orientation is a spectrum and all of us fit somewhere along that spectrum. I go to investigate at the Cornell University with the test of sexual orientation to see where I lie. Having your sexuality, something that you’ve always known, proven by a machine is incredibly satisfying, that you got it right, that you’ve been sleeping with the right people all this time.”
Is being gay wrong?
No, not at all. It’s perfectly natural and valid. Please don’t let anyone tell you it isn’t.
2020 what a year it’s been. There’s just over a week left of 2020, possibly one of the grimmest years in recent history for the LGBT+ community. Whilst all communities have been hard hit by the pandemic, the LGBT+ community have lost so much, including their identity (the pride flag and the World AIDS Day Red Ribbon were both co-opted by the mainstream media for other COVID projects), their spaces (numerous businesses were shuttered because of the economic fallout) and their pride events (all of mainland UK prides were cancelled) and their ability to meet each other in safe spaces.
Here are the top 10 stories we ran on THEGAYUK.
It’s fair to say that our readers were somewhat interested in how the world of gay bathhouses would work in a COVID era with at least 3 of the top ten stories answering questions about the industry.
Cocoon is a true depiction of the trials and triumphs of female adolescence, a coming-of-age tale that every woman can relate to.
In the heat of a shimmering Berlin summer, Nora (Lena Urzendowsky) spends her days as a third wheel to her older sister Jule (Lena Klenke) and her best friend Aylin (Elina Vildanova). They think and talk only of boys and how to keep thin, whilst wandering the vibrant city streets taking selfies and juvenile social media videos. Feeling the pressures to fit in, Nora goes along with her sister’s frolics – drinking, smoking and playing ‘smack the finger’ with the boys. But with their alcoholic mother largely absent, it is Jule who bears the brunt of Nora’s supervision. Nora looks up to Jule but still keeps and cares for caterpillars, an activity she and her mother once shared.
On a gym day at school, Nora gets her period for the first time in front of the class – one embarrassing step too far for Jule. When older student Romy rushes to Nora’s rescue, a friendship blossoms and Nora falls fast in love for the first time. But as the hottest summer on record comes to a close, things will never be the same for Nora – the butterfly has emerged from her cocoon.
Set in 1970’s and 1980’s Sri Lanka, and adapted from Shyam Selvadurai’s critically acclaimed novel of the same name, Funny Boy is a coming-of-age film of a young boys exploration of his identity and set against the backdrop of 1980’s Sri Lankan Civil War.
Arjie (Arush Nand) lives with his wealthy family in a beautiful home and very close to his large extended family. He doesn’t want to play soccer with the other boys, including his brother – he actually wants to dress up in colourful clothes and hang out with his cool aunt Rahda (Agam Darshi). But Arjie’s parents know he is different, but as Arjie gets older (played by Brandon Ingram), there is no denying that Arjie is gay. He even becomes best friends with, and then falls in love with a fellow male classmate. And when his family catches them in the act, they feel that Arjie has disgraced them, And it’s especially more daunting is that his boyfriend is Sinhalese, while Arjie and his family are Tamil. This is all set against instability and unrest in Sri Lanka, and at a time when homosexuality there was illegal (it still remains as an offence in the country’s books). Arjie suffers because of who he is and who he loves.
Funny Boy is such a lovely film. We would like for more films just like this, please.
Written by Deepa Mehta and Shyam Selvadurai, the film stars Brandon Ingram, Nimmi Harasgama, Agam Darshi, Ali Kazmi, Seema Biswas, and Arush Nand.
Funny Boy is Canada’s official entry for the 93rd Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category.
Now playing in the UK and Ireland also available on Netflix.
Though there are few festive gatherings to attend this year, OutdoorLads is keeping the party season alive by hosting its first-ever BIG Indoor Christmas Weekend and Christmas Day celebrations.
In a bid to keep gay, bisexual and trans men connected in spite of Covid-19 restrictions, the outdoor activities charity will be donning its best novelty jumpers for a fun-filled programme of online social events as part of its ongoing ‘#StayInMore’ campaign.
Taking place this weekend before Christmas (18th-20th December), the agenda of interactive activities features traditional favourites, in an OutdoorLads-style: from mulled wine making and bake-offs, board games and bingo, to pub quizzes and a DJ radio party. On the day itself (25th December), attendees can join the online get together to share the Christmas celebrations.
Liam Russell, Programme Manager at OutdoorLads, commented on the launch: “Bringing GBT men together to have some fun is at the heart of our ethos. Socialising and friendships are really important for health and wellbeing, particularly at this time of the year. Though we can’t all be together physically, we wanted to ensure that everyone has a fantastic Christmas, wherever they are.”
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, OutdoorLads ran a full calendar of volunteer-led activities for its members, including hiking, climbing, and cycling, along with social gatherings including its BIG spring and summer camping weekends. But owing to lockdowns and restrictions, the not-for-profit organisation has diversified to keep its members united, with its Christmas programme following almost a year of online ‘#StayInMore’ events.
Liam Russell continued: “This year has been a different year for everyone and we want to finish it on a high with everyone at OutdoorLads, as well as anyone who wants to join us for the festive fun. Looking to 2021, we anticipate we’ll continue running online activities and plans are being made to relaunch our outdoor events — watch this space!”
More information about the BIG Christmas Weekend and Christmas Day events can be found at Outdoorlads.com.
