Happy post-holiday weekend Wednesday! We hope you aren’t too tired from your Canada Day/Independence Day plans. If you are, take a break with the top stories we’re looking at today—including a story about queer Barbie cover stars, a return of the gender reveal fires, and more.
1. Greek prime minister wants to legalize gay marriage
2. LGBTQ2S+ people in Ottawa afraid after hateful incidents
3. Queer Barbie stars discuss their relationship with the iconic doll
4. Queer veterans still feeling impact of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
5. Gender reveal party suspected to have started brush fire in B.C.
6. New Windsor queer bar will provide community for LGBTQ2S+ people
1. Greek prime minister wants to legalize gay marriage
In an interview on Tuesday, Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that he plans on legalizing gay marriage. The move comes amid a number of reforms that Mitsotakis introduced, including ending invasive “gender-normalizing” surgeries for intersex children and allowing gay men to donate blood. Like most countries in the European Union, Greece currently recognizes civil unions for same-sex couples.
“Same-sex marriage will happen at some point and it’s part of our strategy,” Mitsotakis told Bloomberg Television in Athens. “Greek society is much more ready and mature.”
2. LGBTQ2S+ people in Ottawa afraid after hateful incidents
Queer people in Ottawa are calling for the city to take action after several hateful incidents during Pride Month—including an anti-trans counter-protest—have plagued the city. Around 50 people gathered at City Hall on Tuesday to discuss these recent incidents and what to do about them with queer advocacy groups. Fae Johnstone, president Momentum, told CBC that there needs to be more education surrounding queer issues.
“It has to be about tackling misinformation, engaging in public education and making sure that our schools are promoting respect, human dignity for queer, trans and all students,” Johnstone told the outlet.
3. Queer Barbie stars discuss their relationship with the iconic doll
Hari Nef, Scott Evans and Alexandra Shipp—queer and trans stars of the upcoming Barbie movie and Out cover stars—told the outlet about their relationships with the doll, how they feel about their roles and the fantasy of a matriarchal society.
“The idea that I could just change and transform the Barbie and create somebody from my fingertips, the magic of that, and I think also maybe the privacy of it, and something about Barbie and technology was really interesting to me at that point,” Nef told the outlet. “I felt like through Barbie I could explore all kinds of people to be and things to do.”
4. Queer veterans still feeling impact of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
Although it’s been over a decade since the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” queer veterans are still feeling its effects today. Veterans who were discharged under the law received an “other than honourable” designation—meaning that they couldn’t receive veterans benefits like free healthcare, tuition funds and Veterans Affairs—supported home loans. Advocates say that as of March 2023, a tiny percentage of these queer veterans—only 1,375—have received their benefits.
5. Gender reveal party suspected to have started brush fire in B.C.
On Sunday, an explosion related to a gender reveal party reportedly caused a brush fire in British Columbia, near Jolly Lake. The fire was extinguished by nearby individuals. Per CTV, it was caused by tannerite, a substance banned in B.C. that explodes and produces a cloud of smoke when shot with a rifle. The smoke can be coloured and used in gender reveals. “There was a little evidence, a little bit of pink dust everywhere. It’s definitely a girl,” said one of the people who helped put out the fire. (Let’s start learning from our mistakes, people!)
6. New Windsor queer bar will provide community for LGBTQ2S+ people
A new LGBTQ2S+ bar opening in Windsor, Ontario, will help fill a void in LGBTQ2S+ spaces when it opens this year, some queer people are hoping. The bar, called the Well, will open on Erie Street this fall and will be a restaurant and nightclub.
“There is a need for one [a queer bar] because we do like to have our space where we can go and be ourselves,” Wendi Nicholson, the president of Windsor-Essex Pride Fest, told CBC.
Bonus good news (because we need it)
EXCELLENT news for the queer cinema fans among us: trans comic book reimagining The People’s Joker has a U.S. premiere date! Revisit our conversation with filmmaker Vera Drew about her eclectic and creatively triumphant masterpiece.
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