There is a school in the south-east of England, where over 70 children aged between 11 and 16 feel comfortable enough to question their gender identity and identify more closely to how they feel.
According to The Sunday Times, the Dorothy Stringer secondary school in Brighton has at least 40 transgender children who don’t identify with the gender they were assigned at birth and a further 36 students who say that they are genderfluid – people who define their gender as fluid, flexible or changeable.
The number of transgender students who were open to their families was much lower, however. Students were much more comfortable to share their gender expression with their classmates and faculty.
The headteacher, Richard Bradford told the newspaper, “The number of ”openly trans children” who had approached us with their families to say that they are transgender [was] much lower”.
The now iconic blue, pink and white flag that the transgender community uses for identity.
The disclosure from the Dorothy Stringer school came through the school’s “equality information report”. It is believed that the school has the highest number of trans identifying children in the country.
What does genderfluid mean?
Genderfluid is an identity which describes someone who doesn’t have a fixed gender expression, like “man” or “woman”. They are likely to feel that their gender expression is flexible and changeable from day to day, or even several times a day, due to its fluidity. Genderfluidity has close links to the non-binary identity where a person doesn’t see their gender as either masculine or feminine.
Why is Brighton so LGBT+ friendly?
Brighton has long been the home of a large LGBT+ community outside of London and is often referred to as the ‘gay capital of the UK’. The city holds the UK’s biggest pride event and has a large number of LGBT+ venues.
This month legal expert, Matt Parr tells us everything we need to know about wills and inheritance – especially if you’re lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
Members of the gay community face many of the same dilemmas as opposite-sex couples when it comes to estate planning, wills and their potential exposure to inheritance tax.
According to figures recently issued by the Office of National Statistics, there were 190,000 same-sex families in the UK in 2017 and the majority of those were co-habiting couples as opposed to being married or in a civil partnership. In this situation, those couples or family units face the same issues as co-habitants of the opposite sex. Therefore, there are some important points that they should be aware of.
Co-habiting partners do no automatically inherit assets which were held in their partner’s sole name. In the same way that there is no such thing as “common law husband/wife” there is no such thing as a “common law civil partner”. With this in mind, if you aren’t married or in a civil partnership it is extremely important that wills are prepared to ensure that the surviving partner is adequately provided for after your death.
This can prevent family feuds, confusion over your wishes and costly legal action.
If you’re not married or in a civil partnership and you have no children of your own, then the law dictates that your parents will inherit your estate. Unfortunately, rifts are not uncommon amongst families of the gay community and there are many instances of parents being unwilling to accept their son’s same-sex partner into the family.
The thought of a parent inheriting a share in a property you own as tenants in common with your partner may fill you with dread – is there any possibility your parents would wish to co-own a property with your partner? If the answer is no, your parents could insist on selling the property, forcing your partner to move. Preparing wills would prevent this situation from arising. When property is owned as joint tenants as opposed to tenants in common your partner will inherit your interest in the property regardless of whether you have a will or not.
There is no form of inheritance tax relief for co-habiting couples of any sexuality. Consequently, only the first £325,000 of your estate, otherwise known as your Nil Rate Band (NRB) will be tax free – the balance over and above this will be taxed at a rate of 40 per cent. Therefore, even if you did decide to leave your entire estate to your co-habiting partner, they could be left with a hefty inheritance tax liability. Married couples and those in civil partnerships can leave their estates to each other and benefit from a total exemption for inheritance tax purposes, meaning on first death at least, there will be no inheritance tax to pay.
Unlike married couples and those in civil partnerships, cohabiting partners are unable to transfer their unused NRBs between them. Consequently, many gay couples make use of trusts in their wills to try and avoid an inheritance tax liability by giving them access to the funds without necessarily increasing their own inheritance tax exposure. The use of trusts to control the way funds are inherited, by whom and when, is particularly helpful when one or both of you have children from a previous relationship to whom you would wish to leave your estate, without compromising your surviving partner’s rights to live in your joint property after you have died. Advice should be sought as to your options in this scenario in order to ensure the trust is drafted correctly and in accordance with your wishes.
Gay couples who have taken the plunge and married or entered into a civil partnership can benefit from the same legal rights as opposite-sex couples, including the right to receive a statutory legacy together with a certain proportion of the balance of their partner’s estate if their partner dies without making a will (intestate). Ideally, however, the intestacy rules should not be relied on and my advice would always be to prepare a will specifying how you wish for your estate to be distributed.
Members of the gay community enter into polyamorous relationships in the same way as those in the heterosexual community. Whilst still not necessarily subject to a wider understanding by the public, it is impossible to deny that these forms of relationships exist and therefore it is right to encourage those who enter into them to seek advice on their rights and obligations to one another.
According to UK law, it is illegal to enter into more than one marriage or civil partnership. How members of a polyamorous relationship choose to protect each other’s interests is, therefore, more difficult – but not insurmountable. Again, the use of trusts in wills can prove extremely helpful in ensuring a degree of flexibility and afford a level of protection for the assets within the trusts. This is often required when three or more people wish to co-habit or enter into a relationship with each other.
Seeking advice about your options in this regard can be tricky. The fear of judgment and lack of understanding can deter you from gaining an insight into your options, but there are advisers equipped with the knowledge to help and offer a non-judgmental ear in complete confidence.
Transgender dimension
Currently, under UK law it is not possible to self-define your gender without a formal diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria and a successful application to a gender recognition panel for a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). This process can be lengthy and painfully intrusive. But once you have a GRC, what are the legal implications for estate planning and inheritance purposes?
It is important to consider the fact that wills prepared post-4 April 2005 which claim to gift assets to, for instance, “my sons” or “my nephews”, will exclude an individual who has obtained a GRC and who now identify as female. The beneficiary would need to apply to court to alter the disposition in order to rectify a failed gift because of a change in their gender means they no longer align the gender stated in the will. This application could become expensive and lengthy if other beneficiaries take objection to the change being made if this will adversely impact their own share of the estate.
Any will prepared before 4 April 2005 which purports to gift assets in this way does, however, continue to be effective despite a GRC having been issued to the beneficiary.
Members of the transgender community should be aware of the fact that family members may need to amend their own wills to take into account this change in the law and to avoid any uncertainty around the wording of such a gift.
With the growing number of gay couples living together, marrying, entering into civil partnerships and starting, fostering and adopting families of all different sorts, the gay community is just beginning to grapple with the same issues that heterosexuals have faced for centuries. Yet, some of these issues are easily overcome with the right advice.
Ultimately, the worst thing you can do is bury your head in the sand when it comes to discussing what can be tricky and sensitive matters with your family and planning ahead, where possible, is always the best course of action.
Sharing a throwback picture, RuPaul shares a rare leggy picture that even Mariah Carey would be jealous of.
(C) BIGSTOCK
It’s not often that RuPaul shows off her legs, but in an Instagram picture, the queen of queens posted a rare leggy shot – revealing an incredible pair of pins – that would leave most women utterly jealous.
RuPaul was wearing nothing but a bra and a pair of killer 5-inch heels in the knock-out picture, showing off her incredibly toned legs.
Usually, on RuPaul’s Drag Race, the queen’s legs are hidden beneath a glamorous ball-gown, so it’s incredibly rare to see her in a short skirt, shorts or like this – in nothing but underwear.
RuPaul’s usual look includes a full-length ball-gown for her show, RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Fans of the iconic queen shared their enthusiasm for the picture with it gaining over 137,000 likes in just 10 hours. One fan claimed that they needed the picture framed, while another wrote: “legs for days”.
Another said that haters would say that the candid shot was photoshopped.
RuPaul was advertising a RuPaul popup shop in Hollywood.
A shocking review of the top 100 programmes on Apple’s iTunes podcast chart reveals that just 21 per cent of podcasts are female-led and just one per cent is content for, or about, the LGBT+ community.
(C) APPLE / Individual programmes
The iTunes chart is male dominated with the majority of programmes featured in the top 100 podcasts being presented by men or featuring male-dominated panels, when checked on the 24th November 2018.
Women-only shows accounted for 16 per cent of the shows in iTunes’ podcast chart, while female-dominated, that is shows that also featured a man in the presenting role, accounted for just 5 per cent.
There was just one LGBT+ podcast, which was a show focussing on the experiences of people who had been subjected to “gay-cure” therapy. Two other podcasts were presented by out members of the LGBT+ community including Stephen Fry and Anna Richardson.
Around 18 per cent of podcasts were equally presented, meaning that there was a 50/50 or near equal split of male/female presenters on the shows.
Comedy and Sports Male-Dominated
Practically all comedy shows were presented or featured men only.
The top 10 podcasts were, with just two exceptions, the Guardian‘s Today In Focus and the BBC‘s Desert Island Discs, all presented by cis-gender men or featured male-dominated panels.
The top female presented show was the Guardian‘s daily Today In Focus, presented by Anushka Asthana, which is a show to “bring you closer to Guardian journalism”.
The second female-fronted show was Lauren Lavern’s Desert Island Discs produced by the BBC.
Further down the chart, there was more LGBT+ content, including Savage Lovecast (163) RuPaul’s What’s The Tee (199) and Graham Norton Podcast (200)
Featured by Apple
When it comes to finding out new shows, Apple’s “New and Noteworthy” section offered potential listeners a 50/50 spread between men and women presented podcasts.
Viewers of this year’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here were shocked and awed in equal measure when Nick Knowles took to the shower in nothing but a tiny red swim trunk.
Wearing nothing but a tiny Baywatch-red swim short, viewers of ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here were treated to a view of the DIY king’s biggest tool.
Taking to the shower with Vamps hottie, James McVey, Nick looked in his element as he washed himself in the camp’s outdoor shower, seemingly unaware that his tackle and crown jewels were causing a stir in the nation’s collective loins.
One Twitter wrote,
“DON’T FANCY NICK KNOWLES DON’T FANCY NICK KNOWLES DON’T FANCY NICK KNOWLES DON’T FANCY NICK KNOWLES DON’T FANCY NICK KNOWLES DON’T FANCY NICK KNOWLES DON’T FANCY NICK KNOWLES
“Sees him in the shower: Damn”
Even OK Magazine were into Nick’s Dick, tweeting, “Will we see @MrNickKnowles in the shower again tonight?”
Another user, HCX wrote, “Just discovered the nick knowles shower scene and holy mother of god pray for us sinners now”
Not bad for the 56-year-old, 6 foot 2 inches dad of 4!
In memory of one of his most iconic performances of all time, we look at 12 epic photos of the day that saw Queen and Freddie Mercury reunited for the biggest concert in the world.
Twitter is stepping up its protection policy for the trans community.
Deadnaming and misgendering could now get you a suspension from Twitter as it looks to sure up its safeguarding policy for transgender, non-binary and genderfluid people.
The micro-blogging website is home to some of the most abusive conversations over transgender rights with feuds often breaking out between gender critical feminists and transgender activists.
Well-known Twitter users such as Katie Hopkins have often used the site to hit out at, undermine, bully or insight hatred towards transgender people.
Now people who purposely misgender or dead name a trans person could find themselves suspended or banned from the platform forever.
The policy now includes the wording, “Repeated and/or non-consensual slurs, epithets, racist and sexist tropes, or other content that degrades someone…
Including “targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals”.
Punishment
The social media giant has said that it will take action against those found to flaunt its policy. It writes,
“We may ask someone to remove the violating content and serve a period of time in read-only mode before they can Tweet again.
“Subsequent violations will lead to longer read-only periods and may eventually result in permanent account suspension”.
Twitter has included language that specifically protects the transgender community from harmful content. PhotoMIX-Company / Pixabay
What is deadnaming?
Deadnaming is when a person refers to someone by a previous name, it could be done with malice or by accident. It mostly affects transgender people who have changed their name during their transition.
For instance, if a trans woman’s birth name was Martin, but she changed it to Sarah during her transition, calling her Martin or referring to her as Martin would be deadnaming her.
It is very similar to misgendering but focuses more on someone’s name rather than gender pronouns.
Anti-gay, ultra-conservative group, ForAmerica tried to shame NBC and Macy’s for showing two girls kissing in the annual Thanksgiving Parade and they got slammed by Twitter.
ForAmerica says its aim is to “reinvigorate” the public with the principles of exceptionalism: freedom, prosperity and virtue, but when they criticised broadcaster NBC and famous department store Macy’s on Twitter for showing a lesbian kiss, they got their asses handed to them.
The tax-exempt, not-for-profile organisations said that Macy’s and NBC had blindsided parents in order to push “their agenda” on them.
ForAmerica‘s original tweet was commented on over 8700 times, most of which were lambasting the organisation, while it received a meagre 1800 likes and under 500 retweets, at the time of publishing.
Many commentators used examples of current politics in the US to shame the organisations. User Stephen Spin wrote, “President cheats on wife w/porn star – OK! President constantly belittles & bullies others – OK! President defends murderers like Putin & MBS – OK! Nazi salutes – OK! Active shooter drills – OK! 2 adult females kissing – OMG, THE WORLD IS ENDING”
While Morgan Jon Fox reminded ForAmerica that “Millions of small children will grow up to be gay & have families,” before reminding ForAmerica that what they witness was “called love”
Spoiler alert, Millions of small children will grow up to be gay & have families. It’s called love, familiar with that concept?
Many called for ForAmerica to reevaluate its morals
You mean they still hadtheir innocence watching school children being gunned down? They still had their innocence watching little children rippedfrom their parents arms? But 2 people kissing is a big deal? Time to reset that moral compass.
Ugh grow up. Kids don’t care & I would hazard a guess that the majority of Americans didn’t bat an eye. The only group who seemed have been bothered are people who are trying to spread their hateful homophobic agenda.
Paula Abdul was at the height of her fame when tragedy struck. In 1993, a small plane carrying her from St. Louis to Denver crashed. Unfortunately Paula wasn’t wearing her seatbelt, apparently, it snapped, at the time of impact.
Part of the plane went up in flames and the pop star was left with multiple injuries, which required an extended recovery period and many spinal surgeries.
Ms Abdul was known as much for her dancing and choreography as her singing. In fact, she was hired by the Janet Jackson to choreograph some of her hits.
The recovery from the crash meant that she was unable to continue her career in dance
“I had to disappear for seven years to recover from a plane crash”
Speaking with Vic Gerami for THEGAYUK.com, Ms Adbul said, “You know, at the height of my career, I had to disappear for seven years to recover from a plane crash. I was touring and it was toward the end of my tour, we were leaving St. Louis to go to Denver on a 7-seater private plane.
“I wasn’t wearing my seat-belt and we crash-landed and part of the plane went in flames. I sustained multiple injuries and had to have many surgeries and rehab. So I spent seven years getting better, than this show came along, American Idol. In fact, I had one of my surgeries while judging on American Idol”.
Writing for THEGAYUK.com Vic Gerami wrote, “It’s been thirty years since her first mega-hit, seven-time platinum album “Forever Your Girl” captured us, with singles such as “Straight Up”, “Forever Your Girl”, “Cold Hearted”, and “Opposites Attract.” But Paula was no stranger to the entertainment industry before becoming a mega-star. Her mother was a concert pianist and she studied ballet and jazz at a young age. While in college, she was a Los Angeles Lakers cheerleader, which led her to be discovered by the Jacksons. She was signed to do the choreography for the video to their single “Torture” and eventually several videos for Janet Jackson and various other artists”.
A student union president who threatened to remove or destroy a world war one memorial which depicts only white men has resigned from her position.
Over 21,000 people signed a petition calling for the resignation of Emily Dawes, after she wrote a Tweet in which she said she would remove a memorial mural painted by Sir William Rothenstein in 1916 to remember students who served in the war. It was presented to Southampton in 1959 by the artist’s son. The picture depicts a young soldier receiving his degree.
On Twitter Ms Dawes, who uses the pronouns, she and her, wrote, “Mark my words – we’re taking down the mural of white men in the uni Senate room, even if I have to paint over it myself.”
The student president had previously apologised for the remarks.
The petition, which was launched by Daniel Lake explains, “Emily Dawes, the University of Southampton University Student Union president is expected to make comments and suggestions on the subject.
“Dawes vowed to remove the wall in the university Senate room, threatening to vandalize it to the depicting ‘white men’.
The mural in fact of the young men who left Southampton University to fight during the First World War.
“Not only that, but it is a memorial to all those who died during the conflict. Dawes’ comments, fuelled by the simple fact that the men in the wall are white, are unacceptable and offensive to the vast majority of students who choose to support remembrance. Therefore, this is an unacceptable abuse of an elected position”
“Best if I step down”
Writing about her decision to step down, Ms Dawes said, “After careful consideration I’ve decided that it’s best if I step down from my role. I sincerely apologise for the offence and disrespect caused by my earlier comments, which were misinformed. I acted impulsively and as such fully accept how careless and hurtful my words were.
“I’ve had a wonderful time as President and am sad to be leaving. All my thanks go to everyone who has supported me throughout my Presidency, and I wish the team and the Union all the best.”
The university Tweeted, that it respected “Emily’s decision and will continue to provide her with support.”
Adding, “The University will continue to work closely with the Students’ Union, the elected team and staff.”
Students’ Union President Emily Dawes has decided to stand down with immediate effect.
We respect Emily’s decision and will continue to provide her with support. The University will continue to work closely with the Students’ Union, the elected team and staff. Full statement: pic.twitter.com/Yas7rLXkyK
Strong language, time travel and gay men – what more could you possibly want from a podcast?
Jack and Jacob are two gay men, and met through working together as writers and comedians in London. Their mission statement was to create a podcast that was funny and entertaining with top quality comedy content, but also one that was unapologetically and joyfully gay.
The Hole Seekers is a podcast by and for the gay community, and a small contribution to the canon of LGBT+ entertainment. Jack and Jacob’s weekly adventures as time travellers are all narrated through a lens of their own perspectives and experiences as gay men, and each week sees them navigating their way through the world of love, sex and dating as gay men and proud members of the LGBT+ community.
Through frank conversation and comedy, Jack and Jacob hope to provide an affectionate, inclusive and humorous exploration at what being gay means to them, using the podcast to open that conversation up to the wider community and hopefully making people chuckle along the way.
Sliding in and out of holes is – as Jack and Jacob quickly discovered – a messy business that’s far better digested aurally. The podcast is, first and foremost, a comedy show and the focal point of each 30 minute episode is a long-form, on-the-spot improvised conversation between Jack and Jacob and their guest. Each guest takes the form of a character met by the boys after they’ve travelled through a hole in time, and is played by a different comedian every week. Before recording, Jack and Jacob do not know when or where in time each week’s hole will take them or who they’ll meet when they arrive at their destination.
