List of All Articles with Tag 'identities'

Sandi Toksvig has prompted an outpouring of support for expressing her anger at anti-trans people in politics and the media. The former Great British Bake Off presenter said: “I am so distressed by people who call themselves ‘radical feminists’ but are anti-trans. I could weep. I don’t get it. It’s beyond me. “When the feminist movement started in the 60s and 70s, lesbians were often excluded, because we were told that we would make the movement less palatable. I have been excluded myself, so how could I do that to someone else? It fills me with rage.” Toksvig was speaking in an interview with The i newspaper to promote an upcoming performance with the London Gay Men’s Chorus. A vocal LGBT+ rights campaigner for decades, Toksvig was one of Britain’s most visible lesbian women when she came out publicly in 1994. She also founded the Women’s Equality Party in 2015 and is working on a campaign to remove unelected Church of England bishops from the House of Lords because of its opposition to same-sex marriage. She said: “It’s shocking. They don’t deal with gay people or women in an equitable manner. And they aren’t some sort of obscure organisation – this is our state church. “None of them have been elected. This is our parliament and it’s not OK. Be a bigot if you want to, in your own back yard – but don’t come and play in mine.” Responding to Toksvig’s comments on social media, people immediately jumped to the TV stalwart’s side. Broadcaster India Willoughby wrote: “Now here’s a classy lady. Graham Linehan [the screenwriter and prominent anti-trans campaigner] will be along shortly to tell Sandi she’s not a real feminist.” Another person said: “Sandi had such an impact on me when I was growing up and watching number 73 [a 1980s British TV show]. “I'd never seen another woman like her and being a non conforming teenage lesbian who didn't understand herself or her sexuality, Sandi was pivotal in helping me figure it all out.” And a third added: “She’s fabulous isn’t she.” As for Toksvig, she promised to go on campaigning. She said: “I’ve been an activist all of my life. It’s a core part of who I am. We’re here, we’re making noise – and we’re not going away.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A pregnant woman has defended her name choice for her unborn baby, even though it belonged to a close friend’s daughter who had passed away. The 30-year-old mum-to-be explained in a lengthy Reddit post that her childhood friend Camille had been pregnant with a little girl two years earlier but, tragically, the infant died during childbirth. “She had been struggling with fertility issues and her pregnancy had been difficult from the beginning. I don't need to explain how terrible it was for her,” the Redditor wrote. “She went into a deep depression and I have helped her in everything I could. She even came to live with my husband and [me] for a while.” The expectant mother explained that Camille’s late daughter was called Ingrid, and when she asked her if she’d come up with a name for her own daughter, she replied yes. Admitting that she’d been wanting to talk to Camille about it, she revealed her intentions to give her daughter the middle name Ingrid. “She started yelling at me that I was selfish, a bitch, an idiot for ‘stealing’ [her] baby's name,” our narrator recounted. “She yelled at me [asking] how could I do that to her knowing what that name means to her. I tried to explain but she wouldn't listen.” The 30-year-old then explained: “My reason is simple – I want to name it after my little cousin who passed away and was like a sister to me.” She said she was 16 when her cousin died, aged eight, following a cancer battle, and that she’d always known she would name her daughter after her. “Camille knew about my Ingrid and was even at her last goodbye,” she went on. “She [spent] days drying my tears.” She then admitted that she was a “little bit upset” when Camille had told her about her own decision to use the name, but stressed: “I never said anything because I don't own [it].” Wrapping up her monologue, the Reddit user said Camille has since been “posting hints on Instagram about fake friendships” and that her family and friends “haven’t stopped filling my phone with messages about how insensitive I am”. She concluded by saying she’d never intended to hurt Camille and that she “[doesn’t] know what to do anymore.” The post racked up more than 4,200 upvotes and 570 comments in just nine hours, as fellow Redditor’s defended the distressed mother-to-be. “Honestly, you cannot steal/ own a name,” wrote one supporter. “Sorry for her loss and your cousin. I think it is best to give the friendship a break while your friend handles her grief.” Agreeing, another pointed out: “First off, you’ve been planning on using the name for years. Second, nobody ‘owns’ a name. Third, you’re using it as the middle name.” However, others were less understanding. One commentator branded the original poster (OP) an “a**hole” for “not only being insensitive but also giving your unborn child the burden of living life on behalf of not one, but two dead girls”. “I would personally NOT want that to be part of the story behind MY name,” they said. Continuing, they wrote: “I agree with the others, that while your friend ‘took’ the name from you first, viewed in isolation, there is no problem in using it (she knew, that you would’ve then later had babies with same names), however, I think that now, when the name is linked to not one, but two tragic deaths, you should let the name die (so to speak).” They went on: “You’ve [probably] ruined that friendship, and I question, whether you could have presented the issue in another way, but either way, I think you did your friend wrong, and you will be doing your daughter wrong as well, if you stick to that name.” We just hope this doesn’t cause offence or distress to any Ingrids out there. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Disabled fans of “Anti-Hero” singer Taylor Swift appear to have some “Bad Blood” (sorry) with ticket sellers, as the system for access bookings for the international leg of her unbelievably popular Eras tour has been branded “abysmal” and a “shambles” by those hoping to see the singer-songwriter live. The presale for her shows at London’s Wembley Stadium and Edinburgh’s BT Murrayfield Stadium got underway on Monday, with those who pre-ordered Swift’s album Midnights receiving special codes to try and get tickets before anyone else. Liverpool’s presale launched on Tuesday, while early access to tickets for her Cardiff date in June 2024 are set to go on sale on Wednesday. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The UK and Ireland leg of Swift’s Eras tour sees her start June next year in Edinburgh on 7 June, before finishing up the month in Dublin during the weekend of Glastonbury Festival – shooting down rumours she was set to make an appearance at Worthy Farm. Swift will then come back to perform at Wembley again from 15-17 August, in her last dates of the tour. However, while Twitter was awash with Swifties celebrating nabbing the coveted tickets – which range anywhere from £58.65 to £194.75 at Wembley – disabled people have called out Wembley Stadium as they’ve struggled to secure access tickets: Despite offering seats to those with a “hearing impairment” (a term considered “negative” and “offensive” by deaf and hard of hearing people), Wembley Stadium requires disabled people to call a phone number in order to purchase access tickets. SignVideo, a British Sign Language (BSL) service, is available for BSL signers, but deaf and hard of hearing people who do not use BSL to communicate are expected to use the phone, which may not be accessible to them. Amid ongoing issues, Wembley Stadium shared a tweet on Tuesday and said: “Due to unprecedented demand waiting time for ‘Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour’, disabled access is longer than normal. “For those unable to wait on the phone we have a call-back system … Please note this is not a guarantee of tickets.” It's not the first time ticket sellers and venues for a Taylor Swift show have come under fire, as issues with sales for the American leg of her tour saw US fans blast Ticketmaster for its handling of demand. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The cast of hit Netflix show Heartstopper gave the middle finger to anti-LGBTQ+ religious protestors at Pride in London. Stars of the show including Joe Locke, Kit Connor, Yasmin Finney, Will Gao, Sebastian Croft, Kizzy Edgell and Tobie Donovan flipped the bird at the protesters from their own float on Saturday. Coming-of-age comedy drama Heartstopper enters its second series in August, after Netflix shared a teaser this weekend. It was adapted for television from Alice Oseman’s graphic novels of the same name. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Stars were also pictured dancing along to hits including Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)’ and Kylie Minogue’s ‘Padam Padam’, and blowing kisses towards the protesters. More than a million people descended on central London on 31 June for the 51st annual Pride parade, flooding the capital with rainbows and glitter as people turned out to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in Britain. Sending a message to all those who took part, Pride in London said: “Thank you for your support and ensuring no-one marched alone. We hope you had an amazing day full of love and pride. Please stay safe this evening and take care of each other.” Separately, this year’s Pride was disrupted by activists from Just Stop Oil, who temporarily halted the parade, sprayed the road and sat in front of a Coca-Cola float. The group had previously warned it would take action, calling on organisers of the event to ban floats from “high-polluting” sponsors and to condemn new oil, gas and coal. A statement from LGBTQ+ members of Just Stop Oil said: “These partnerships embarrass the LGBTQ+ community at a time when much of the cultural world is rejecting ties to these toxic industries.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Disney's Pixar has revealed its first-ever non-binary character who features in the studio's latest film Elemental. Set in a city where water, fire, air and land residents live, the moving story is all about "a fiery young woman," called Ember and a "go-with-the-flow guy" called Wade who discover "something elemental: how much they actually have in common", according to the film synopsis. Wade's younger sibling, Lake Ripple is a non-binary character who uses they/them pronouns and is also voiced by non-binary voice actor Ava Hauser. Sharing the news on Twitter on Friday (June 16), Hauser posted: "BIG ANNOUNCEMENT I got to play Pixar's first non-binary character. Meet Lake! Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter "I voice Lake in the new movie #Elemental! I'm seeing it in theaters tonight with my friends, so you can catch it in theaters too if you wanna see them." People also shared some love for this news and for the character Lake. While others noted other Pixar characters in the past who have not exactly followed the gender binary, namely Francis from A Bug's Life. Elemental made around $30 million at U.S. and Canadian box offices over the weekend, with Reuters reporting that this is the second-lowest debut in Pixar's history. Elemental will be released in UK cinemas on July 7. Elsewhere, here is every basic LGBT+ term to learn in honour of pride month and five famous faces who were raised by LGBT+ families. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

With June being Pride Month and the time to advocate for the rights of LGBT+ people, conservatives have still taken the opportunity to try and make it all about them – from releasing “transphobic” documentaries on Twitter to now erecting their own flags making their views on sexuality and gender known. April Wilde Despain - a “homeschool mom” from Utah who “enjoys causing unnecessary drama” and is “not a member of or believer in the LGBTQ religion”, according to her Twitter bio – shared a tweet commenting on Pride Month on Friday. She wrote: “We heard June was the month to hang up flags celebrating our personal beliefs about gender, sexuality, and identity. So we hung up ours!” Along with the text, she attached a photo of her and her husband posing next to a flag depicting “a proclamation to the world” on “the family” issued by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1995. Well, that’s what the title says, at least – the rest is too small to read on the flag from the distance. Kind of defeats the purpose of a flag, April. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Anyway, for those unfamiliar, the Mormon proclamation states “all human beings – male and female – are created in the image of God” and that “marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan”. It continues: “We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfil family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. “Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern profits.” However, what April failed to realise is where there is a chance to get creative with Photoshop, the internet will all too happily take it. And so, alternative flags were born: Others, meanwhile, decided to point other issues contained within the picture – such as April’s choice of footwear: April has since doubled down following the ridicule, sharing the image again several hours later and writing: “Uh oh. All the ‘inclusive’ and ‘tolerant’ have found my tweet and are mocking my family bc we dare to believe differently than them. “I’m so sad. Oh well. “To all them I say: here’s another pic of us enjoying what we believe about gender, sexuality, identity and love.” And thus, the memeing continued all other again… Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A woman has been urged to leave her boyfriend after she admitted that his attempt at being “cute” left her feeling uncomfortable. In a lengthy Reddit post, the 28-year-old said that her partner (who is 11 years her senior) managed to locate her in CCTV footage and then sent her the images. She explained that she works remotely and likes to take her laptop to a nearby mall with an indoor botanical garden. “One day I told him I was there, and then later he texted me several photos that made me feel uncomfortable,” she recounted. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “The photos were stills from security footage from cameras around the mall. The pictures were me at a coffee shop, walking, and working on my laptop. “I don’t know how he accessed the security footage system, he doesn’t work in a field even remotely related to security,” she continued. “Receiving these pictures made me feel weird, and I sent him a direct message saying to not do it again. “I know he intended for this to be flattering or ‘cute’ but…..it didn’t feel cute. It was an awkward and uncomfortable situation to be in and we didn’t talk about it beyond that.” However, she said the matter came up several months later when they were discussing unresolved conflicts in their relationship. “I brought that up as an example of something that upset me and was never addressed,” the 28-year-old wrote. “I told him it wasn’t cute and felt invasive.” She went on: “He told me that by sending him a direct text that day saying not to do it again, that I had ‘lost my s**t’ on him just to make him seem like a creep, and I was ‘delusional’ for being upset. “He said he talked about it with friends and they said it was actually cute and I was basically being overly critical or harsh.” This wasn’t an opinion shared by fellow Redditors, hundreds of whom flocked to offer the original poster (OP) their support. “Your boyfriend is old enough to be your father, stalking you, and gaslighting you when you feel uncomfortable. RUN,” one reccomended. The OP replied: “Thank you! [I don't know] why it’s so tough for some people to simply say 'oh I’m sorry, I didn’t intend for it to come across that way, I made a misjudgment' and then just apologise and move on. Instead of getting into this gaslighty territory of telling someone they’re ‘delusional’ for having their emotions.” “Because he’s an emotionally immature almost-50-year-old,” a second commentator responded. “That’s why he’s dating someone 20 years his junior - he’s hoping you’re not mature enough to recognise how much of a red flag his behaviour is.” Others questioned how the 49-year-old had managed to get his hands on the footage in the first place. “How exactly does he have access to the cameras to begin with?” one asked. “It’s not like security footage is public; it adds a whole layer of illegality to what he’s doing.” “I would also be contacting the local police/ owners of the property where the surveillance cameras are based/ security company and telling them that information was being used this way…,” said another. “Be ready to slap him with a restraining order since he is already stalking you and illegally accessing cameras to do so - keep the pictures for proof,” added a third. While a fourth stressed: “This is a breach of your privacy, OP. This guy is the delusional one. Do not ignore this red flag – it’s controlling and abusive behaviour.” The OP responded by trying to reassure her defenders that her boyfriend’s initial act wasn’t as bad as it seemed. “I believe it was unspeakably obtuse/dumb/lacked any awareness, but not intended to be malicious or controlling,” she wrote. “However, stonewalling me after I said he had crossed the line instead of talking about it, acknowledging he had messed up and apologising, then later outright refusing to empathise with my discomfort when I brought it up again and telling me my emotions were ‘delusional’ is all out of line.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A new mum has been praised for her bravery on TikTok after she revealed her plans to leave a toxic marriage. The woman, called Marta (@officialmarta_xo), shared a video of herself decked out in blue scrubs sitting down at a desk and looking determined. In an overlay to the clip, she accused her husband of prioritising his friends over his family, despite her constant pleas for help with their young baby. She wrote: “I've been begging for the bare minimum for MONTHS. He has time for his friends but not his wife.” She also suggested that he was dismissive of her, complaining: “[He] didn’t believe I’d put our newborn in daycare and start working.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter But, she confirmed, she had taken control of her life and got herself a job and financial independence. “Here’s to my first day at work and secret bank account,” she said. In a separate caption, she added: “Can’t wait to move [the f**k] out.” @officialmarta_xo Cant wait to move tf out #forthemen #forthemenonly Marta's video racked up more than 1.5 million views and nearly 130,000 likes in three days as commentators showered her with support or shared their own similar experiences. “Proud of you for this!! It's a huge step that many women including me are scared to take,” one wrote. “As someone who just got blindsided by their spouse with no money to myself… make the secret account. Trying to leave with nothing is so stressful,” another advised. “I got tired of expecting the bare minimum from a narcissist so I left and three years later I started my own business!” a third wrote. “I left with nothing, started from the bottom. I graduate in [seven months]. With a BA. Going for my master's. No regrets,” said a fourth. And a fifth confessed: “I’m trying to leave a relationship. I’m ok with starting from nothing. I had two job interviews this week. Here is to proving I deserve better.” Meanwhile, others stressed the importance of financial backups, even in the case of happily married people, with one writing: “I'm a firm believer of a secret bank account even if the relationship is okay because you never know.” Others offered tips on how to create a secret safety net. “Put the secret bank account in a trusted person's name. Mom or grandma,” one recommended. “Make the bank account a custodial account,” said another. “It can only have one parent on it and that parent stays the custodian of the account when you divorce.” Others expressed concern that Marta’s husband would see her post and that she would suffer as a result. “I hope he [doesn’t] see this,” one wrote. Marta replied simply: “He’s aware.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.