Change in tone and rhetoric from new US President Biden leaves LGBTI community feeling good
TOGETHER, VICTORIOUS
Between Lady Gaga belting out the US national anthem and the new President Joe Biden undoing the ill legacy of the Trump administration, 2021 came in with a lot of new promises and hopes for better days. Already, we're seeing diversity and progress.
Last week, Biden issued the Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation.
"Every person should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear, no matter who they are or whom they love. Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports," reads a part of the executive order's policy, which goes on to say everyone deserves equal treatment regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
The order also covers discrimination in employment and healthcare access.
Biden is also set to reverse the ban on transgender people serving in the military, which was enacted in 2017 by Trump. Biden also appointed Rachel Levine, the health secretary of Pennsylvania and a transgender woman, to be his assistant secretary of health. The new president is on fire, and the winds of change go with him.
His decision was greeted with a range from praise and joy to uncertainty, fear and outrage.
There will be many hills to climb and we wish him luck as he continues with his determination to build the US of his vision.
Gottmik is the first trans masculine drag queen to compete on RuPaul's Drag Race. Photo: www.facebook.com/gottmik
CHARISMA, UNIQUENESS, NERVE AND A TRANS MAN
RuPaul's Drag Race is back for the 13th season and its debut is ever full of twists and turns. One contestant, Gottmik, made herstory as the first ever transgender man to compete on the show.
Gottmik, who goes by she/her in drag and he/him out of drag, revealed her gender very early on in the show. Her fierce looks had her chest exposed, with visible scars from a top surgery that she wore with pride. She also discussed her pronouns with other contestants as they got ready for the day.
In a challenge where contestants have to write their own lyrics to perform, Gottmik's goes: "Gottmik was born a girl baby. Was told that I can't do drag, knew I had something to prove and you're gonna lose."
Gottmik's casting and her willingness to openly discuss transsexuality mean a great deal to transgender representation and visibility. On the show, she was praised by judges for her sharp fashion sense and talent. Online, support flooded in from fans and many Drag Race alumni.
RuPaul's Drag Race made drag mainstream entertainment in many households across the globe and catapulted its queens into pop culture stardom. The entire franchise, including Drag Race Thailand, has seen a degree of involvement from transgender queens, although the majority of contestants have identified as cisgender gay men. But having Gottmik on the show seems to open all sorts of possibilities now and widen the sphere of drag for audiences worldwide.
On a recent interview with Stephen Colbert, RuPaul -- who has previously been criticised for excluding transgender queens -- said the biggest lesson he's learned on Drag Race is to keep an open mind and that the new generations are always changing the art of drag.
"I keep moving with what the kids are doing," said RuPaul.
He also described Gottmik as "fantastic".
Cadbury's creme egg ad features a gay couple. youtube.com
SWEET TOOTH
British confectionery company Cadbury sweetened things up by featuring a gay couple in its most recent ad aired in the UK and online. Celebrating the "Golden Goobilee" -- five-decade anniversary -- of its creme egg, the fun and quirky video advert features various people eating and licking the gooey confectionery. The gay couple appears toward the end for a few seconds. Dubbed "sharers", the couple passionately shares a piece of creme egg, biting through it and letting a sugary white goo dangle between them. It's probably not the safest activity to attempt during the pandemic, but it's definitely sweet and revolutionary.
The video's comment section on YouTube is turned off. But on the internet, responses were, of course, quite predictable. Homophobes went into overdrive calling it inappropriate for explicitly promoting homosexuality while others take issues that such display of affection isn't suitable at all on television regardless of the sexual orientation portrayed. Elsewhere, this inclusion is applauded and praised.
Doritos Mexico's El Mejor Regalo commercial.
Recently, Doritos Mexico also released an ad called El Mejor Regalo or The Best Gift. At a little over two minutes, the short-film ad sees a father coming to terms with his son bringing home a boyfriend for the holiday but passing him off as a friend (Happiest Season, is that you?). Noticing the closeness between the two young men (they didn't do a very good job at hiding it), the father sought advice on Reddit on what he should do.
"How can I let them know that everything is OK?" he asked. The event is said to have been inspired by a true story.
Ending on a heartwarming note, the father and son had a talk in the kitchen before they embraced. The best gift is indeed accepting people as they are.
There has been greater inclusion of LGBTI characters and storyline in commercial advertisement -- and also in products that target the LGBTI community directly -- in recent years. The debate on rainbow capitalism is for another day. For now, we can appreciate the visibility.
Boy band K-otic reunited.
TIME FOR CHANGE
Back in 2007, most people in Thailand would have heard of the boy band K-otic, with the members' cool hairstyle, dance moves and rap verses in Thai, Japanese and Korean languages. The group disbanded in 2012 but they recently reunited for a special single. Sitting and singing on stools, the five made an image of friendship that aged well with time. But fans quickly noticed something has changed over the years. One member, Pataradanai "Koen" Setsuwan, wears a dress in the video.
While their reunion alone could make headlines in local entertainment news, Pataradanai in a dress is another source of excitement but perhaps not a surprise for those who have been following him on Instagram. The singer, who has grown from his boyband career to become a psychotherapist in training and an LGBTI activist, is now out queer and proud. His @koendanai Instagram account is filled with photos of him all very muscular, tattooed and in frocks, and it's as fabulous as it sounds. His YouTube channel, where the latest music video premiered, also sees him trying out drag and conversing with his mother about having a gay son among other vlogs.
In the music video for Kod Dai Mai (One Last Time), a cover of UrboyTJ's song, Pataradanai revealed he pioneered this special project to thank fellow band members for accepting him since Day 1 even at a time when no one had yet grasped what LGBTI really was. The video has garnered over 5 million views since its release and comments have been positive. Despite challenges, our society is becoming increasingly open and it's a powerful moment to see more people having the courage to live their authentic self and breaking gender boundaries and conventions the same way Pataradanai has done.
