Diva UK – September 2019

What is something you’ve tried really

hard to like but just couldn’t?

Editor Carrie Lyell

“Groove Is In The Heart by Deee-Lite. It’s the

only song in the world that makes me angry”

Deputy editor Roxy Bourdillon

“Men”

Senior staff writer Danielle Mustarde

“Celery”

Staff writer Sophie Griffiths

“Marvel films”

Sub-editor Kat Halstead

“Mornings. Just five more minutes...”

Designer Fernando Safont

“Music made after 1650”

D

I

C

T

U

M

EDITOR’S LETTER

A CELEBRATION OF

QUEER CULTURE

This month, we’re celebrating

those creating and curating queer

culture in 2019.

From our cover stars Shura and

Toya Delazy, to Harpies founder

Lucia Blayke and Club Soda’s

Laura Willoughby, this month’s

DIVA demonstrates just how

diverse, dynamic and talented our

community is.

We’ve spent hours musing about

what queer culture is – a concept

not very easy to define. When all

we have in common might be who

we fancy, it can be tricky to pin

down the other ideas, customs

and behaviours which unite and

describe us.

That’s one of the reasons having

LGBTQI-specific spaces is so

important. It is in these environ-

ments that we can thrash out

just what it means to be queer

today and what it might mean

to be queer in the future. Be they

physical spaces – bars, cafes or,

indeed, a music festival in Dorset

• online spaces, or in the pages of
  magazines, it is through talking
  to each other that we find and
  shape our tribes.
  One thing that really became clear
  as this issue took shape was how
  much queer culture is changing.
  More and more people are iden-
  tifying as LGB than ever before,
  and we’re arguably less binary in
  our identities, choosing to explore
  and express ourselves in new
  ways. I wrote about this recently
  in a piece for the Independent.
  Change can be frightening, of
  course, and as the world oscil-
  lates around us in increasingly
  unpredictable ways, I understand
  the desire to hunker down with
  what’s “aye been”, as we say in
  Scotland. But rather than run
  away from it, I think change is
  something to be embraced.
  You see, another thing I’ve real-
  ised doing this job is that, just as
  there’s no one way to be LGBTQI,
  there is no one definition of our
  culture, either. And if this issue
  shows anything, it’s that there’s
  room for us all.

Carrie Lyell

[email protected] | @Seej

Subscribe to DIVA

Hey hot stuff!

Want a monthly date with your favourite magazine?

Then turn to page 74 and #SubscribeWithPride...

Music editor Heather Peace

Screen editor Kat Halstead

Books editor Erica Gillingham

Big thanks to: Yaiza Canopoli, Rob Chute, Maja Drobne,

Hannah Beeching, Sarah Rowlinson, Victoria Scales,

Hazel O’Brien

Advertising manager Raj Valentino

020 3735 7871 [email protected]

Social and events manager Kat Stephens

[email protected]

Sales 020 3735 7871

Subscriptions 01202 586 848

For UK prices see p

Subscriptions help [email protected]

If you need a back issue to complete your set, email

[email protected]. If you have difficulty reading the

printed word, you can get DIVA on audio cassette on

subscription. Contact Feminist Audio Books on 0161

273 8038 or email [email protected]

THE OCTOBER ISSUE OF DIVA IS ON SALE FROM 20

SEPTEMBER (DIGITAL) AND 26 SEPTEMBER (PRINT).

Postal address

DIVA MAGAZINE

Room 32, Spectrum House,

32-34 Gordon House Road, London NW5 1LP

[email protected]

divamag.co.uk

Newstrade distribution Select Publisher Services

Ltd, PO BOX 6337, Bournemouth, BH1 9EH

Distribution help [email protected]

Printed in UK by CPUK Print Publishing (cp-uk.co.uk)

Published by

DIVA MEDIA GROUP LIMITED

Publisher Linda Riley

[email protected]

Managing Director Felicity Milton

[email protected]

Creative Director Jacquie Lawrence

[email protected]

Chair Antonia Hardy

[email protected]

All rights reserved © DMG 2016 ISSN 1353 4912

DIVA is published monthly in the

UK by DIVA Media Group Limited.

The mention or appearance or

likeness of any person or organisation in articles or advertising

in DIVA is not to be taken as any indication of sexual, social or

political orientation of such persons or organisations. No

responsibility can be assumed for unsolicited materials and

submission is construed as permission to publish without

further correspondence at the fee payable at our usual rates.

Advertisers are advised that all copy is their sole responsibility

under the Trade Protection Act. No part of this publication may

be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in

any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission

of the publishers.

6 SEPTEMBER 2019

WELCOME