Yes, there is a Celebrate Bisexuality Day and it falls on the same day every year. Celebrate Bisexuality Day is an important part of the LGBT+ calendar and it takes place towards the end of September, and it’s usually bang slap in the middle of Bisexuality Awareness Week or BiWeek.
However, this year, Celebrate Bisexuality Day occurs a week after Bisexuality Awareness Week on the 23rd of September. This year that is a Thursday.
Celebrate Bisexuality Day was first celebrated in 1999 and aims to bring awareness to bisexual or “bi plus” people in the LGBT+ community. The date was in part chosen because Freddie Mercury’s birthday is in September.
Celebrate Bisexuality Day is, according to Wikipedia the brainchild of three bisexual rights activists: Wendy Curry of Maine, Michael Page of Florida, and Gigi Raven Wilbur.
What are the colours of the Bisexual Pride flag?
The bisexual flag was designed by a team headed by Michael Page in 1998. It is comprised of three coloured horizontal stripes, from top to bottom: Pink, Purple, Blue.
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.
Break Free is an empowering musical celebration with LGBT+ theatre artists, sharing their personal journeys and performances of musical theatre and pop songs that have inspired them.
14 stage stars will feature in the filmed concert of pop and musical theatre songs, with proceeds going to LGBT+ charity Stonewall UK. The cast includes Natasha Agnew, Paul Baker, Allie Daniel, Elouise Davis, Andrew Derbyshire, Mark Inscoe, Eleanor Kane, Millie O’Connell, Alex Thomas Smith, Courtney Stapleton, La Voix, Shona White, Layton Williams and Charlotte York.
This special filmed event will be available to watch live from over 100 countries, and is available to purchase in various currencies. Break Free premieres on Friday 19 February at 8PM GMT and purchasers have on-demand access for 72 hours
Producer and Olivier nominee Aimie Atkinson (SIX, Pretty Woman) chats to Max Harwood for this episode of our series of weekly talks with inspiring artists from around the world.
Max plays the titular character in the upcoming film adaptation of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, which is set for release this year.
He will chat to Aimie about making his professional acting debut in the movie, which follows a teenager hoping to realise his drag queen dreams.The artist talks stream live on Thespie at 8pm GMT and can be viewed anywhere in the world. Free to watch and also be available to view on demand following the initial event.
Thespie is offering programming throughout February that highlights the achievements of Black theatre artists and LGBTQ theatre artists, including two concerts for charity: The Road to Prominence, which supports Black Lives Matter UK, and Break Free, which supports Stonewall UK.
Woods on the Abandoned 17th century burial ground.
***Read fully before attending so you know what’s what & what works best ***
Address: Cemetery St, Middleton M24, United Kingdom
City: Manchester
Neighbourhood: Middleton
Postcode: M246DU
You can access the site from a few different points, but the best access is to use the turn off from Long Street, Middleton. Next to the pub.
The site is on an abandoned 17th century burial ground, so the woodlands parts will have a lot of broken grave stones and a lot of tree and bush coverage.
A lot of actions goes on here, in the winter it’s usual when night fall at around 8pm to 1am, in the summer you’ll have to be careful as dog walkers use the site.
How to cruise successfully:
Enter the woods/burial ground from the bottom of long street, you’ll see a big tall gate and some bricks, enter through their.
Pick a place to stand, you can hover around inside the entrance, don’t stand in-front of it as you may put people off! You can also hang around the big pointed monument if you walk up the tallest path (to your left)
Put one hand in your pants, this will show your intentions, this should also be done by everyone as a sign!!! Otherwise no one is going to know.
When you find someone, give them a signal to follow or nod your head, walk down path 2, you’ll come across some stairs that go towards the burial ground, walk a little down but not much, this is one of the ideal places to do your business, as you can see any approaching people from all directions.
If you’re on the site at around 9pm it’s safe to say that 9/10 people are their for cruising purposes.
** if you’re approaching people who may be already getting down & dirty , make sure you have your hand down your pants as a signal! **
Who goes up there?
45% chavs
20% Twinks
25% average joes
5% workmen / builders etc
5% men over 50
****** Just remember ********
Hang around, don’t give up straight away. And always have one hand in your pants!
Make sure you take your rubbish away as you don’t want the council to get annoyed
Best be there at 9pm for the best action, don’t be scared if your walking through at night time your eyes will adapt within minutes, there is no problems up there & you won’t be bothered with by anyone.
I have personally had a lot of experience, twinks, chavs, bi lads, odd straight lad, nice daddy looking guy, a lot of sucks and a few circle jerks, and anal etc, It’s a good site & since it’s dark it stops a lot of time wasters.
If you have any questions dm me, I’ll try to respond
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.
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.
Woods on the Abandoned 17th century burial ground.
