Diva UK – September 2019

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A SAD DAY

It was with a

deep sense of

sadness that I

learnt about the

sudden closure

of LGBTQI

news site Gay

Star News,

which folded at the end of July

due to financial problems.

As the story unfolded, I felt

terrible for those who worked there

• some of the kindest people in the
  business – who now find themselves
  jobless. I also felt incredibly sad for
  the industry. Losing one of the few
  dedicated online spaces for LGBTQI
  content – at a time when homopho-
  bic, biphobic and transphobic rheto-
  ric is on the rise – is a real gut punch.
  In a heartfelt statement, owners
  Tris Reid-Smith and Scott Nunn
  blamed “tokenism and apathy” for
  GSN’s demise. “Rather than working
  with us to engage and serve LGBTI
  people year round, many [brands]
  have chosen to ‘rainbow wash’...
  By all the statistics, Gay Star News
  is now more widely read, watched
  and loved by the international
  LGBTI audience than ever. It is a sad
  paradox that our popularity has
  not transferred into our survival.”
  I’ve known GSN director and
  editor-in-chief Tris for many years.
  He gave me my first job in media,
  as Scotland correspondent at Pink
  Paper, and was one of the few in
  the industry who reached out to
  wish me luck when I was appointed
  editor of DIVA. In a competitive
  and sometimes ugly world, he’s
  been a beacon of positivity.
  In theory, GSN was one of DIVA’s
  competitors, but make no mistake


• this loss is certainly not our gain.
  Its struggles are not unique; the chal-
  lenges GSN faced are all too familiar.
  Any space for our stories is a
  cause for celebration and we should
  do whatever we can to protect them.
  So, in the words of Tris and Scott:
  “Please support those who are left


• or eventually there will be none.”

MEDIAWATCH

with Carrie Lyell @Seej

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Micro Rainbow at

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this year’s Pride Run 10k

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sapphic symbols

WHAT ARE YOUR QUEER

CULTURAL SIGNIFIERS?

What symbolises #queerculture, we mused, while planning this issue. The

rainbow flag (designed by the late American “artivist” Gilbert Baker) is by all ac-

counts the most well-known LGBTQI symbol the world over – but what about

those more nuanced or personally significant symbols, like 90s Beckham-style

curtains as a serious hairstyle or Antoni from Queer Eye’s avocado-wielding

thumbs? There was only one way to find out... Twitter queers, assemble.

THE EX BFF

“Singing Hayley Kiyoko songs

at the top of my voice in

the car with the girl who

is my ex-girlfriend and

forever best friend – that

is my queer culture.”

@KristinArblast

THE BISEXUAL BOB

“I didn’t know about the

bisexual bob until I went

to university but realised

while I was there that most

of the other bi women I met had

that very haircut – either that or

they’d had it at some point in their

lives. #BIconic” @yaizacanopoli

THE THUMB RING

“I’ve worn a silver ring on my right thumb

since I was around 15 years old (I admit,

ever since seeing another girl at my

school who also appeared to be a little

bit queer wearing one too). Since then,

I’ve met many a queer with ‘a penchant

for a thumb ring’.” @daniellejournal

THE CAT

“Cats. Every lesbian I know

(myself included), single or in

a couple, [has] one #lesbian-

musthaveitem.” @SeritaBlake

THE FULL FRINGE

“For me, it’s the full fringe

because at the time that I got a

fringe cut in, I was also starting to

accept my sexuality and find a look

that I was comfortable with. Now it’s

as big a part of my identity as being

queer is!” @publishingsoph

THE RAW POWER

“The raw power that comes

from not caring about impress-

ing men.” @_thebangers

THE COMBO

“Definitely for me, it’s the little rain-

bow pin I wear, my cat, my girlfriend

and my immersion in queer tv, films

[and] books” @rowenarazak

Got another one? Tweet your

#queersymbols to @DIVAmagazine

published in City Hall’s

annual audit this summer

Scottish people who

do not consider

themselves

accepting of

LGBTQI people

according to a poll of

over 1,000 people by

Censuswide Scotland

good

kissers

Brits who

think they’re

LGBTQI

venues in London

10 SEPTEMBER 2019

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TRENDS | VOICES