PRIDE & PREJUDICE

UPDATE: The awful recent Supreme Court decision empowering businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people only deepens the peril described below. It's time for action.

Our 2023 Pride special print issue hit desks last month, arriving at a time of unprecedented visibility, reach and influence for LGBTQ+ artists, execs and others in the music space.

Even genres that had been resistant are now seeing openly queer, trans and otherwise conformity-defying artists drawing large crowds and generating serious streams.

Kim Petras, who graces our cover, broke in the mainstream over the last year thanks to her “Unholy” duet with Sam Smith—and is now preparing to make a big noise on her own.

In our feature on David Furnish, Sir Elton John’s husband waxes movingly on the moment the two were joined onstage at Dodger Stadium by their two sons and greeted with cheers—a marked and joyous contrast to the closeted pain of the star’s earlier career.

The Aces and The Scarlet Opera note how speaking frankly about being gay informs their work and how meaningful that openness has been for their fans. You’ll see in these pieces and others, which roll out online over the next several weeks, that there is much to celebrate in this moment and a boisterous soundtrack to celebrate with.

Yet we are also at a dangerous crossroads as regressive legislation and vicious scapegoating overwhelm the political landscape. An ascendant fascism steeped in homophobia, transphobia and even drag-phobia is appealing to base ignorance and lizard-brained fear to pave its way to further power. LGBTQ+ people are ludicrously accused of “grooming” children, and the mere utterance of the word “gay” is forbidden in the schools of Florida. Furnish likens Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ culture war to the brutal anti-gay laws being passed in places like Russia. In many countries, even a hint of suspicion about someone’s sexuality can cost them their lives.

It is absolutely imperative that any observance of Pride be accompanied by a fierce dedication to fighting this wave of hate politically, culturally and personally. Most vitally, we must vote and get out the vote—not only nationally but in state, local and all other damn elections.

Now more than ever, it's time to speak up and speak out―loudly and proudly.