THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

In Namibia, advocacy groups condemned the brutal attack of a 30-year-old transgender woman, The Washington Blade reported. According to Namibia Equal Rights Movement, Shabombee Gift Shiaimenze and Jonathan Kamfwa attacked Stay-C Lapworth at a truck stop near Walvis Bay, a city on the country's coast. Lapworth remains in intensive care after they left her for dead with a fractured skull; the attack reportedly happened when one of the men realized she is a trans woman after having sex with her. Authorities denied bail to the two alleged attackers, who will remain in custody until March 27, when the Walvis Bay Magistrate Court will hear their case.

Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) pulled off a historic third consecutive presidential victory on Jan. 13, media outlets noted. Lai Ching-te, Taiwan's current vice president, declared victory while his two opposition rivals both conceded defeat, according to CNN. Lai's running mate Hsiao Bi-khim, who was recently Taiwan's top envoy to the United States, was elected vice president. Last year, Taiwan News noted that Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage in 2019—a move championed by then-President Tsai Ing-wen, Lai and the DPP; Lai also marched in Taiwan's LGBTQ+ Pride parade in 2023.

Three major Irish LGBTQ+ organizations responded after Pope Francis called for a universal ban on surrogacy during an address in Rome on Jan. 8, Irish Central reported. "The desire to create and have a family is a universal one [that] includes people from the LGBTQI+ community," LGBT Ireland, Irish Gay Dads and Equality for Children said in a joint statement shared with GCN on Jan. 9. "In many examples of family planning, infertility, whether medical or social, can lead people to look to routes such as adoption, assisted donor conception, and surrogacy to build their [families]." In his address, the pontiff said, "The path to peace calls for respect for life, for every human life, starting with the life of the unborn child in the mother's womb, which cannot be suppressed or turned into an object of trafficking."

Stephen Laybutt—an Australian international who came out publicly as gay after retiring from soccer in 2008—has died at age 46, per Outsports. New South Wales authorities confirmed they found Laybutt's body on a beach, adding that his death was not being treated as suspicious. Football Australia, players union Professional Footballers Australia, and Laybutt's former teams were among those to post tributes. Laybutt had been out of the public eye until 2021, when news emerged that he was working in the rehabilitation unit at a private hospital when he donated one of his kidneys to a dialysis patient named Ian Pavey.

Also in Australia, cartography artist Jeremy Smith has been named curator for the soon-to-open LGBTQI museum Qtopia Sydney, per The Star-Observer. Smith—who will curate the exhibit "We're Here, We're Queer"—uses the term "queer cartography" to describe his practice of highly detailed hand-drawn maps, integrating queer psychology, history and geography. "We're Here, We're Queer will feature an "LGBTQIA+ Periodic Table" that will graph and outline queer groups and definitions. Qtopia Sydney will open at its permanent location at the Darlinghurst Police Station in February.

U.S. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff took his advocacy against antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of hate to the World Economic Forum being held in Davos, Switzerland, The Times of Israel noted. Emhoff—the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris—will make his first-ever appearance at the event to talk about combating religion-based and other forms of hate and promoting gender equity and women's rights, the White House said. Emhoff was scheduled to arrive in Switzerland on Jan. 18; his agenda included a roundtable discussion with CEOs on combating hate that was hosted by Bank of America's Brian Moynihan.

Also, as business elites gathered for the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos, a report by anti-poverty group Oxfam highlighted that, indeed, the rich are getting richer as the poor get poorer, per Reuters. The Oxfam report found that the combined fortunes of the world's five wealthiest men have more than doubled to $869 billion since 2020, while 5 billion people have been made poorer. It also found that a billionaire is now either running or is the main shareholder of seven out of 10 of the world's biggest companies. "This inequality is no accident; the billionaire class is ensuring corporations deliver more wealth to them at the expense of everyone else," said Oxfam International interim Executive Director Amitabh Behar.

In England, an LGBTQ+-themed rainbow path was covered in white paint in a "wilful act of vandalism" that authorities are investigating, The Independent noted. The rainbow walkway in Somerset was painted more than three years after it was designed to make the village feel more "inclusive and welcoming." Taunton Town Council Leader Tom Deakin condemned the vandalism and said the matter had been referred to police. Deakin added that the council was working with GoCreate, a local community interest group, to clear the paint as soon as possible.

The debut of Drag Race Espana All Stars will premiere Sunday, Feb. 4, followed by a weekly rollout every Sunday exclusively on WOW Presents Plus in the United States and select territories worldwide, a press release noted. The nine fSpanish queens competing for the title of Spain's ultimate Drag Superstar include Drag Sethlas (season 2), Hornella Gongora (S3), Juriji Der Klee (S2), Onyx Unleashed (S2), Pakita (S3), Pink Chadora (S3), Pupi Poisson (S1), Sagittaria (S1) and Samantha Ballentines (S2). Supremme de Luxe returns as host, joined by returning judges Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi and Ana Locking.

In other Drag Race news, the Canadian version made history by crowning its first Indigenous winner, Out noted. Venus edged fellow competitors Aurora, Denim and Nearah to wrap up the fourth season of the show.A Metis drag queen from rural Manitoba, Venus now joins the ranks of past winners Gisele Lullaby, Priyanka and Icesis Couture.

Also, season two of RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs the World will soon be here, with a cast of 11 queens representing countries like the United States, Spain, the Netherlands, France, the Philippines, Australia, and the United Kingdom, of course, Out noted. The series premieres Feb. 8 on WOW Presents Plus.

The Committee for Academic Freedom (CAF) has highlighted what it deems a concerning trend at nine UK universities—including Imperial College London, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Huddersfield, among others—in which policies at these institutions have led to academics with gender-critical views being branded as "transphobic," according to BNN. The CAF's report suggests that the universities' policies, which align with the definition of transphobia advocated by the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall, are stifling academic liberty. Reacting to the CAF's report, Universities UK says that both academic freedom and freedom of speech are integral to higher education; Stonewall, on the other hand, holds that it is up to individual universities to set their freedom of speech policies, but believes that discussions on trans inclusion can be conducted in a respectful manner.

At The Hollywood Reporter's recent Actor's Roundtable, queer British actor Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers; TV's Fleabag) said he wants to get rid of the term "openly gay," Out noted. "Why do we put 'openly' in front of that adjective? You know, we don't say you're 'openly Irish,' we don't say you're 'openly left handed' or whatever the hell it is. Because it's two steps away from 'shamelessly.' There's something in it that's a little near [the word] shamelessly."

Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal talked with Deadline about portraying the openly gay title subject in the Prime Video movie Cassandro. He said, in part, "I strongly disagree with someone's sexual orientation defining what characters [actors] can play or not. This is a very deep and complex conversation and I will one day write everything I have been thinking. … Whatever mask you put on you can tell something that has a lot of truth and it doesn't matter who's behind the mask. Therefore, you start to deconstruct gender as well. We are so transgender in the world of acting. … I grew up in a family of theater actors. The theater is a tender place to explore your sexuality. Growing up, I felt like I could explore whatever."

During a press conference in Toronto, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) star Sean Strickland launched into a vicious anti-LGBTQ+ rant, Out noted. Strickland was asked about his past homophobic remarks, such as writing on Twitter (now X) in January 2022: "If I had a gay son[,] I would think I failed as a man to create such weakness." In response to the question, Strickland started to verbally attack MMA Fighting reporter Alexander Lee, saying, "You're a weak f*cking man, dude." And when questioned about transphobic statements he's made in the past, Strickland said, in part, "Here's the thing about Bud Light: Ten years ago, to be trans was a mental fucking illness. And now, all of a sudden, people like you have fucking weaseled your way in the world. You are an infection. You are the definition of weakness."