Understand the LGBTQIA+ news: General election manifesto week, is there any good news?

We're just over halfway through Pride Month - and you might have missed this - but there has been a wave of attacks, vandalism and attempted arson on Pride flags right across the UK in the last few weeks.

At least four towns have seen repeated Pride flag vandalism, including multiple attempted burnings and arson of Pride flags. Local news stories with a local news approach. It's important journalism.

In isolation, they don't seem like a big problem. But I've been seeing these stories pop up over the last week, as well as watching the lack of response to an attempted arson on a Pride flag - in my own town.

So when you zoom out and see them all together, the story changes.

In a world where we're bombarded by news, it's crucial that we zoom out and connect the dots. Because on their own these crimes are bad. But together, they paint a shocking pattern of what's going on in towns up and down the country.

That's what's unique about the way we handle vital news about our community here. It's not enough to know what the news is; we need to know why it's happening.

But that kind of journalism takes a huge investment of time and resources - which is why we're running a membership drive this month. So we can do this queer accountability journalism all year around.

And thanks to Indie News Week and the Public Interest News Foundation, every membership bought this month will be match-funded.

The more perks you choose, the better the discount you can grab:

• 10% off 'Supporter': Monthly / Annual
• 15% off '100% QueerAF': Monthly / Annual
• 20% off 'Editor': Monthly / Annual

You could join new members like Tabi, Stephen, Kada, Fiona Fisher and Alex Osben, who are just a handful of the 28 new members who have signed up in the last two weeks.

We need to hit 40 members to max out the match funding we can get. So, to have reached the 75% mark in just two weeks is amazing. But the drive isn't over.

Last year, we feared brands would pull out of Pride due to a backlash over merch. This year local LGBTQIA+ residents, businesses and organisations will see this series of attacks and be scared to even display their pride for fear of being attacked or targeted by vandalism and arson.

I'm under no illusion that these attacks, even if not directly, are connected by a growing anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiment in the UK peddled, pursued and pushed by some politicians and media.

This Pride month, we need to remember how we fought and won advances because we need to start applying those lessons again before it gets any worse.

So please, if you can - join us or invite someone you know to become a supporter of QueerAF and help us give the LGBTQIA+ the information it needs to navigate the fight back against a growing anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiment:

I've taken a bit of time away from my desk over the last week for big flat move, so I'm handing back over to chief executive of DIVA Nancy Kelley for the explainer and the rest of the newsletter is from Rowan Gavin.

Understand the LGBTQIA+ headlines and keep track of the latest queer content and perspectives.

💬 This week:

• Party Manifestos. Nancy Kelley is back with another edition of Queer Election Watch, looking at where the parties stand on trans+ youth and sex ed. We also bring you the LGBTQIA+ highlights from the manifestos published this week.
• The Other Blue Pill. We’re kicking off a 6-part documentary series on the QueerAF podcast all about PrEP. Phil Samba takes us through the past, present and future of the life-changing drug.
• Limbo. Transitioning while embarking on a career as a teacher was already complex enough - now government guidance for schools is making it even harder. But Sasha Greene has found real support in her school, as she writes in the Queer Gaze.

Skip the doomscrolling and support queer creatives instead. We are QueerAF – and so are you.

Trans+ youth and sex education: Where do the parties stand in the 2024 general election?

Ahead of the UK general election, Nancy Kelley dives into what each party has said about this important topic. Welcome to Queer Election Watch, a collaboration between QueerAF, DIVA and Trans+ History Week.

Where do the different political parties stand on policies about trans+ youth and sex education?