Get ready for our drag king takeover: a special digital feature photographed by Rebecca Thomas at London’s iconic Bistrotheque.   WORDS BY ZOYA RAZA-SHEIKH PHOTOGRAPHY BY REBECCA THOMAS FASHION BY UMAR SARWAR CREATIVE DIRECTION BY JULIA SALOTTI PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANCE BY CALLUM MCKENZIE AND CAMERON MCGIBBISON PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANCE BY TYLER KENNET GROOMING BY SVEN BAYERBACH AT CAROL HAYES MANAGEMENT USING DRYBAR HEADER DESIGN BY YOSEF PHELAN Drag Kings haven’t always been represented as much as they should be. In online and IRL spaces, we regularly hear about the thriving careers  ..read more

The cost of IVF can make starting a family seem like a very difficult reality for same-sex and queer couples.  WORDS BY NICOLE GARCÍA MÉRIDA HEADER BY ANISA CLEAVER More than half of European countries prohibit access to assisted reproduction for lesbians and queer couples – but even in countries where IVF is legal and accessible to LGBTQIA+ folks, there remains a serious barrier: the price. Take the UK, for example: queer couples’ access to IVF on the NHS is fundamentally messed up. While cis-heterosexual couples only have to try to conceive naturally for about two years – a process th ..read more

Billie Eilish has continued to open up about her sexuality journey. In November 2023, the Academy Award-winning singer told Variety that she’s “physically attracted” to women, resulting in speculation online as to whether it was her official ‘coming out’ moment. On the red carpet of the same publication’s Hitmakers event in LA, Eilish was asked if she intended to come out in the interview, to which she responded: “No, I didn’t, but I kinda thought… Wasn’t it obvious? I just didn’t realise people didn’t know.”  Eilish also criticised the notion that a person has to ‘come ou ..read more

Sapphics, rise! The BBC has unveiled the 10 contestants competing on I Kissed a Girl. The queer female equivalent of last year’s I Kissed a Boy, which memorably made history as the UK’s first-ever same-sex dating series, it is set to premiere on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer from Sunday 5 May. In the same vein as its predecessor, the first episode of I Kissed a Girl introduces 10 contestants who will be matched up and, upon meeting each other for the first time, share a kiss. Throughout the course of the series, the contestants will decide whether they want to stay with their current partner ..read more

Prominent members of the German trans+ community share their thoughts on the new law, passed on 12 April, which seeks to make updating your legal name and gender marker easier. WORDS BY SAMUEL BENKE ARTWORK BY YOSEF PHELAN Since 1981, Germany’s trans, non-binary and intersex communities were forced to contend with the so-called ‘Transsexual Law’ (TSG for short) if they wanted to legally change their name and gender marker.  Entailing a long, costly and often discriminatory review process, individuals were required to present to a local court with reports by two experts “sufficiently fam ..read more

The eight queens who will be showcasing their charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent for a second (and in a few cases, third) shot at the Drag Race crown have been unleashed. Although it’s been seconds since Nymphia Wind made herstory by ‘Padam Padam’-ing her way to Drag Race glory, becoming the American franchise’s first East Asian winner, World of Wonder are redirecting our attention to the forthcoming ninth season of All Stars.  Premiering 17 May on Paramount Plus in the US and on WOW Presents Plus in the UK, the season sees the return of a former Miss Ma ..read more

Oliver Stark is in favour of a romance between his and Ryan Guzman‘s 9-1-1 characters if “the story naturally progresses in that way”. Ever since the introduction of Guzman’s firefighter and paramedic Edmundo “Eddie” Diaz” in the procedural drama’s second season, fans have passionately shipped him with Stark’s beloved mainstay Evan “Buck” Buckley, affectionally referring to them under the ship name “Buddie”. With season seven introducing a bisexual storyline for Buck, fans are more determined than ever to see Buddie become a reality. In an interview with GAY TIMES, Stark said he doe ..read more

Sapphira Cristál says she would’ve won RuPaul’s Drag Race if it wasn’t for the final lip-sync. The Philadelphia queen demolished the 16th season of the series with only one bottom placement and four maxi-challenge wins – three of which were consecutive, becoming the first contestant on a regular season to do so. In the season 16 finale, Sapphira competed against Nymphia Wind in a lip-sync smackdown for the crown to Kylie Minogue’s Grammy Award-winning smasher ‘Padam Padam’. Although the Slue Foot: Embracing All of Me author delivered a fierce lip-sync, she was upstaged by Nymph ..read more

Plane Jane has addressed the “continuation” of her drama with fellow Drag Race star Amanda Tori Meating. The two queens came into conflict on the 16th season of the series after Plane criticised Amanda’s aesthetic in an episode of Untucked.  Their feud memorably exacerbated when Plane told Q that she has “more respect” for her than she does Amanda, resulting in Amanda questioning her “c**t” behaviour. Since her elimination, Amanda has opened up on X, formerly known as Twitter, about how Plane made her “life hell” during filming “when all I wanted was for her to leave me al ..read more

GAY TIMES highlights historic sporting trailblazers – from Dora Ratjen to Chris Mosier – ahead of the Paris Olympics. WORDS BY JAMIE WINDUST HEADER BY YOSEF PHELAN (IMAGES: TOP LEFT: BUNDESARCHIV, RIGHT: @THECHRISMOSIER ON INSTAGRAM, BOTTOM: KYE ALLUMS VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS) This is State of Play, a new column by GAY TIMES Contributing Editor Jamie Windust. Every month, Jamie will be jumping, running and diving head-first into the world of sport, movement and fitness. Exploring queer sporting excellence at every level, they’ll also be reporting on the changes that need to be made i ..read more