Editors Letter - August 2024
It’s 26th July, which means the Paris Olympics are officially here. From the opening ceremony tonight until 11th August, we’ll be seeing nothing but sports on our screens and feeds which is… great news for sports fans, we guess. For the rest of us – the girls who used to bunk off PE, the gays who struggle to explain the off-side rule and the theys who think riding a Lime bike is too much exercise – it’s a decidedly low point of the cultural calendar.
Which takes us to the theme of the August of GAY TIMES: anything but sports. Yes, we’re all passionate about queer and trans inclusion in sport. Yes, we will fight any bans which try to suppress trans athletes’ right to participate. But do we want to sit through 16 days of sports coverage? Er, maybe not. That’s all to say that the only “games” mentioned in this issue of GAY TIMES is the 1989 video game Caper in the Castro (written about excellently by games writer Eli Cugini in our features section).
Instead of sports, you’ll find R&B star Kehlani and actor-musician Ben Platt heading up the issue in two separate covers. In their wide-ranging cover interviews, they delve into topics of queer love, representation and coming of age – reminding us why these two artists, at very different ends of the musical spectrum, are leading the way for a new era of candid, queer song-making.
Elsewhere, we have Kate Nash: another artist who makes emotive lyricism into an art, or should say, sport. With a new attitude and fresh sound, she’s re-emerged this summer like we’ve never seen before – and we’re here for it. Speaking to Entertainment Editor Sam Damshenas she explores the transformation which came with her new album 9 Sad Symphonies and her affinity with the LGBTQIA+ community.
Closing the issue, we delve into two of this summer’s must-reads – because we know we’d rather be thumbing through a book on a beach than cheering in the stands. Afterall, reading is just sport, for geeks.
First on our TBR is The Queer Arab Glossary: a survey of 300 words and terms used to describe the LGBTQIA+ experience in various Arabic dialects, published alongside joyful illustrations and thought-provoking essays. To celebrate the book’s release earlier this summer, we speak to its editor, the graphic designer and visual artist Marwan Kaabour, about queer resistance through language.
Lastly, we go deep with Irish novelist and poet Oisín McKenna about Evenings and Weekends – his sultry, sweltering exploration of love in the city. Speaking to Features Editor Zoya Raza-Sheikh, the writer shares his queer topography of London: from straight bars which happen to be gay, to the draughty warehouses which house sweaty, sticky queer raves.