No, a gay test is not designed to determine someone's gender identity. Sexual orientation and gender identity are distinct aspects of a person's identity. Transgender individuals can have a variety of sexual orientations, just like cisgender individuals.

The 22 Sexiest Queer Movies of All Time

By - Wilson Chapman, Jude Dry, Ryan Lattanzio - JUNE 7, 2023


These days, queer movies come in all shapes and styles, from handsomely mounted biopics (“Milk”) to kid-friendly rom-coms ("Love, Simon"). That’s a good thing; you want queer art to enjoy variety and novelty, and appeal to all audiences in the LGBTQ community. But sometimes, you want something very specific from a queer film; you want it to be sexy as hell.

When queer movies started bubbling into the mainstream in the early ’90s via movies like “Philadelphia,” they tended to be slightly sanitized, lacking much in the way of physical depictions of intimacy. (In “Philadelphia,” Hanks’ lead character famously never kisses his partner.) That’s changed as the years have gone on. Thanks to films like "Brokeback Mountain",  there’s now a ton of modern examples of queer films that aren’t shy about their leads getting it on. But there’s a longer history of sexy queer cinema that goes back well before the ’90s, even if many of those movies were made from independent creators and were little seen.

Some of these movies even faced censorship due to their content, like the short film “Un Chant D’Amour,” which only featured gay scenes via symbolism. Other films, like Chantal Akerman’s “Je, Tu, Il, Elle,” or Pedro Almodóvar’s “Law of Desire,” broke boundaries in how explicitly they featured gay love. There’s always discourse bubbling about the “necessity” of sex scenes in cinema, but films like Akerman’s or Almodóvar’s prove why these intimate portrayls can be vital tools — conveying something about the characters, and about queer life, that you couldn’t if everyone kept their clothes on.
In celebration of Pride Month, IndieWire rounded up the 22 hottest, steamiest, and/or sexiest films in the queer canon. Titles range from cult hits and arthouse fare like “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Querelle,” to more mainstream works like “Bound” and “Call Me By Your Name.” Some of the movies are balls-to-the-walls sexy, like John Cameron Mitchell’s unsimulated “Shortbus.” Others, like “Cruel Intentions,” don’t have explicit queer sex depicted in them, but get their erotic power through queer kisses and mounting sexual tension. Regardless of the films’ content, all share something in common; they’re so hot it’s hard to watch without blushing.


https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/sexy-l...maud-1950/

Boycotts hit stocks hard. Here’s what might be next for Bud, Target and others caught in the anti-Pride backlash

By Christina Cheddar Berk

Even before Pride month was underway, it seems as if it was open season on companies celebrating the LGBTQ community.

One by one, companies have come under an expanding attack.  Anheuser-Busch, Target, Kohl's and VF Corp's North Face brand have all felt the vitriol of this latest push from the right. And the list keeps growing. These companies have been branded as “woke capitalists” — and worse — as critics urged boycotts of these companies’ products. Bud Light came into the crosshairs after it struck a partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, while North Face received backlash for an ad featuring drag queen Pattie Gonia. Target and Kohl’s have been criticized for Pride-themed clothing.

While it’s too early to say how successful these efforts will be in lowering sales at the companies recently drawn into this attack, damage has been done to the stocks already. And some on Wall Street expect that to continue with analysts recently downgrading Target's and Anheuser-Busch's ratings, citing in part the ongoing controversy.

“The main reason boycotts generally are effective is because they threaten the reputation of the company by putting the company in a negative media spotlight, and companies don’t want to have negative attention of any kind drawn to them,” said Brayden King, a professor of management and organizations, who has studied how boycotts impact company stock prices, in an interview.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/03/anti-pri...next-.html

According to a new report by the market research firm Cultural Currents Institute, Google searches for phrases related to sexual orientation and gender identity have increased by 1,300% since 2004. The report analyzed Google Trends data from January 2004 to the present for five search terms: ‘Am I gay’, ‘Am I lesbian’, ‘Am I trans’, ‘How to come out’, and ‘Nonbinary’.

The data shows a significant upward trend in these searches across the United States. Utah, a state known for its conservative social values, had the highest search volume for three of the five terms (‘Am I gay’, ‘Am I lesbian’, and ‘Am I trans’) since last May. This may indicate that many people in Utah are questioning their identity and seeking information online.

Oklahoma had the highest search volume for the phrase ‘How to come out’ in the past year, followed by West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky. The report also found that the search volume for the term ‘Nonbinary’ is limited but increasing. Vermont had the highest search volume for this term since last May.

These findings suggest that more people are using the internet to explore their sexuality and gender identity. As society becomes more accepting of diverse identities, it is likely that this trend will continue.

Says He Always Thought Something Was Wrong With Him: “Was Still Feeling Mad Until I Was 30”

The former 'American Idol' star went on to explain that he even ended up "praying" in an effort to change things


‘I thought there was something wrong with me!’ David Archuleta reflects on growing up gay

David Archuleta thought there was “something wrong with [him]” when he started to realise he was gay. The 32-year-old pop singer grew up in a religious community and did not understand the heteronormative expectations laid out to him when it was “clear” to him that he had “strong feelings” towards other boys.

The former American Idol star told People: “My sexuality has been a part of me. It’s something that I’ve felt. I can’t say I was fully aware of it, but I knew something was different about me, starting from when I was a little kid in elementary school. People would start talking about crushes. I started feeling that for girls, but then I started feeling it for guys. I was like, “Wait, I was always told that this was supposed to be for a girl, so why am I feeling it for boys?”‘ I felt really embarrassed. Like how Elsa [from ‘Frozen’] would say, conceal it, don’t let them in, try to hold it all inside.”

Davi Archuleta added, “Growing up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, everything is about marriage, everything is about having a spouse and creating children with them. But each time that I was trying to date a girl, it was clear that my feelings were equal [to] if not even stronger for guys. I was like, ‘There must be something wrong with me.'”

The former ‘American Idol’ star went on to explain that he felt “mad” about his sexuality until he turned 30 and even ended up “praying” in an effort to change things but eventually learned to “love and embrace” himself for who he is.

David Archuleta added: “I was still feeling mad until I was 30. I was like, ‘No matter what I do, I don’t know how to change this.’ It got to a point where I was praying and I’m just like, “God, if you are really there, please. I don’t know what else to do. Am I cursed? Am I supposed to be unhappy for the rest of my life?’

“Finally, I felt this huge flow of love and peace, and it just said, “David, you need to stop asking me this because you’re asking me the wrong thing. You’re asking me to change something that I don’t intend to change. I created you this way the way, the way you were supposed to be, and you need to understand this.”

“That really changed my life because I thought I had to hate myself because there was this part of me that was wrong. When I learned to love that and embrace it and just allow it to be, I was like, “Wow, I feel this love I never felt for myself ever.”

David also recently came a close second - runner up as 'Macaw' to winner 'Medusa' (Bishop Briggs) in Season 9 of 2023's The Masked Singer.

Director Pedro Almodovar and cast members Ethan Hawke, Manu Rios, Jose Condessa, Jason Fernandez and George Steane, of the film "Extrana forma de vida" (Strange Way of Life), pose for the paparazzi.

Throngs of people eager to watch Pedro Almodovar's "Strange Way of Life," a 31-minute Western film starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal as lovers, at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday afternoon were turned away after waiting more than an hour in the rain.

The film inspired by Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain" was presented at a special screening in the presence of the cast, with the exception of "The Mandalorian" star Pascal, who is said to be filming a sequel to Ridley Scott's 2000 historical drama "Gladiator."

"Strange Way of Life," which borrows heavily from the films of Clint Eastwood, follows Sheriff Jake, played by "Before Sunset"'s Hawke and Pascal's Silva, a rancher, who are old friends that meet up again after 25 years and are attracted to each other.

Critics reacted warmly to the movie, praising it as faithful to the genre while at the same time adding something to it, and were open to Almodovar expanding it into a full-length feature.

"There is some very robust and old-fashioned storytelling here and 'Strange Way of Life' feels quite old-fashioned in its way," wrote The Guardian newspaper, which gave it four out of five stars.

The film will be released later this year and is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, according to the trade paper Variety.

France – Hundreds of same-sex couples cheered as loud music filled the air in central Paris on Wednesday, May 17, to mark 10 years since gay marriage was legalised in France.

Lesbian couple, Isabelle Scharff and Catherine Pommier, from Paris, had been together for 15 years when they finally were able to get married in 2013.

“FOR US, THIS IS ABOUT GETTING RECOGNITION FOR OUR LOVE, FOR OUR RELATIONSHIP, AND OF THE FACT THAT NOW, WE’RE JUST LIKE ANY OTHER COUPLE IN FRANCE,” POMMIER SAID AFTER SHARING A KISS WITH HER WIFE.

France enacted a law that granted same-sex couples the right to get married and jointly adopt children on May 17, 2013, becoming the 13th nation worldwide to legalize gay marriage.

The first same-sex marriage in France then took place in Montpellier on May 29, 2013.

I recently played The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. Twice. Including both expansions. Brilliant game. But I am not really clued up on the lore, so I am not sure about things like whether Triss Merrigold should have brown hair (like in the series) or red (like in the game); or be black (series) or white (game).

A lot of people are (understandably) upset at Eskel being killed off. I was.

Any of you bunch have any thoughts on the series?

There are plenty of plot threads going on at any given point within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, there’s one in particular that fans have been anxiously awaiting resolution ever since it was teased in WandaVision: the introduction of her grown kids.

Known as Wiccan and Speed, or Billy and Tommy, respectively, the two children of Wanda Maximoff go on to become key superheroes in the Marvel world. They even have prominent ties to the Young Avengers in the comics.

Wiccan has magical powers in a similar vein as his mother, while Speed lives up to his name, much like Quicksilver. Many expected the two grown-up versions of the characters to factor into Scarlet Witch’s story in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Sadly they did not, with any focus on them relegated to their younger selves as seen in WandaVision.

Now it seems signs are pointing not only to the proper introduction of at least one of Wanda’s children but that a fan-favorite gay couple will also be arriving simultaneously. But when? Well, in Agatha: Coven of Chaos, of course.

Is The Best Gay Marvel Romance Incoming?



Murphy’s Multiverse shared an interesting theory for an upcoming addition to Agatha: Coven of Chaos.

The site brought attention to a casting call that was discovered last June. One of the characters it was casting was an actor 17-20 years of age to play a gay leading character. Described as “witty” and “astute,” the description also noted his sense of humor, and how he’s a “bit of a fanboy.”

It didn’t take long for fans to identify the character in question as Billy Kalan, the same one who is known as Wiccan in the comics, who also happens to be one of Wanda Maximoff’s children. After all, the description lined up with the character perfectly.

It’s not immediately clear how Billy might fit into Coven of Chaos, but given Agatha’s obsession with Wanda’s children, and those recent Mephisto rumors, his introduction wouldn’t be out of place at all.

Now, a second casting call has been going around, one which points to the introduction of another key character: Hulkling. Despite his name, he’s not associated with the Hulks at all and is instead half-Kree and half-Skrull. The listing is looking for someone 18-20 years old to play a gay male, one with “a kind soul” and a “great sense of humor.” It even mentions how this character is totally in love with his boyfriend.



While the character isn’t identified, Murphy’s Multiverse surmises that the person in question could be Teddy Altman—who lines up with those descriptions almost perfectly. They make it more obvious when considering the above description for Billy, it certainly makes it hard to see it being anyone else.

The mod team over on the subreddit r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers backed up the theory, noting how they “believe they are in the show as well,” claiming how the team “[has] heard things.”

In the comics, the two met each other in their early days as teammates on the Young Avengers. It wasn’t until fifteen years later, after the massive Empyre event, that they properly married each other.

The introduction of these characters has long been teased in the MCU, starting as early as when Phase 4 began. In WandaVision, an LGBT flag can be seen in the Maximoffs' home. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness included a very curious statue of Billy all grown up—even though the movie never addresses it.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has also previously teased that “it is more than past time” for the movies to start introducing some of the famous gay characters from the comics. According to him, something like Eternals was only the start.

A New Power Couple Incoming



While Matt Murdock and Jennifer Walters might be the current power couple of the MCU, if Billy and Teddy are entering the scene, those two lawyers may not hold that top position very long.

Given how those casting calls don’t identify the characters, it’s important to clarify that this introduction of the famous gay couple into the MCU is completely speculation. As of writing, there has not been any confirmation on the matter.

But does Agatha’s show feel like a place they might be introduced? Well, given the witch’s interest in Wanda’s children, BIlly’s inclusion makes sense, at the very least.

It’s hard to say with Hulkling. Honestly, it seems like Secret Invasion could have been a perfect place to introduce him to the world—though, that can always still happen.

One thing is for sure though. With all of these younger heroes entering the scene, it sure seems like the perfect time for the Young Avengers to come into play. It’ll also make Agatha seem far more substantially important in the MCU, seeing as many fans still question the existence of the show.

Agatha: Coven of Chaos is currently aiming for a late 2023 release, with Secret Invasion airing sometime early that same year.

Dan Levy just tapped this major gay star to appear in his directorial debut on Netflix


Dan Levy

More details have emerged about Dan Levy’s directorial debut. The Schitt’s Creek star has written and will direct a movie for Netflix. It’s part of a big deal he signed with the streamer last year to produce content.

Gay actor Luke Evans is among the cast of Good Grief, the first movie in the project.


Luke Evans

Evans shared news of the casting on his Instagram, saying: “What a dream team. So thrilled.”