A major Terraria update has done away with gender identity, and right-wingers are practically frothing at the mouth with rage.
The incredibly popular 2D sandbox game – the fourth most played PC game on the marketplace Steam – released its highly-anticipated 1.4.5 update earlier this week.
One of the biggest additions to the game in its 15-year history, the “Bigger and Boulder” update’s overwhelming list of changes, fixes, and additions include over 650 new items, as well as new bosses, game mechanics, and much more.
The update includes a plethora of changes to the game’s character creation menu, which has scrapped gender in exchange for additional options such as changing a character’s body type and voice.
Naturally, a game allowing further customisability by scrapping a decades-old gender mechanic has anti-LGBTQ+ right-wing gamers absolutely raging online.
Terraria’s community page on Steam is now filled with users complaining about the minor change and accusing the developers of, you guessed it, making the game “woke”.
One user went so far as to claim removing gender symbols from the game’s menu would impact player experience because they might get confused and “accidentally choose the female body type”.
Responding to the ongoing furore, fans of the game brought up incredibly valid questions, such as: “Who f****** cares?”
One user was so bored with the frequent debates about gender options in video games, they instead asked others what they were having for dinner.
“I’m personally making Spaghetti all’Assassina,” another person responded.
Most infamous was the public meltdown from streamer “Heel vs Babyface”, who, after encountering a pronoun option in the game Starfield, began screaming about how “woke” he believed gaming had become.
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DekaDuck 2D action platformer game, featuring fully hand-drawn art for Linux and Windows PC. Thanks to the ongoing creative talents of Asteristic Game Studio and Glauco Silva. Which... Continue reading
Worlds Upon The Wind is a peaceful roguelite deckbuilder game drifting toward Linux and Windows PC to rebuild a shattered world. Linux and Windows PC. Thanks to the... Continue reading
Alliés au sein du mouvement « Grand Cœur lyonnais », la candidate des Républicains et l’ancien patron de l’Olympique lyonnais ont publié les noms de leurs 14 têtes de listes. Un panachage de barons de droite et de macronistes qui laisse peu de place à la société civile louée par Jean-Michel Aulas.
Slated for introduction in the next kernel cycle (Linux 6.20~7.0) is introducing large receive buffer support for IO_uring's zero-copy receive code path. This large receive buffer support can be very beneficial for those with higher-end networking hardware capable of handling the larger buffers for some significant performance and efficiency wins...
Un soutien massif et continu. Mais aussi un pouvoir, stratégique, au cœur de l’administration de Donald Trump. Les évangéliques n’ont jamais été aussi puissants à la Maison Blanche, même s’ils cohabitent, aujourd’hui, avec les catholiques identitaires incarnée par J.D. Vance, le vice-président des États-Unis. Plus d’un Américain sur cinq se définit comme évangélique. 77 % d’entre […]
Complètement absent depuis le début de la campagne des municipales à Lyon, le sujet de l’écologie a fini par arriver dans la bouche des candidats. Jeudi 29 janvier, les Écologistes et leurs alliés ont annoncé plusieurs mesures pour la « transformation de la ville » avec un accent sur la végétalisation. Tandis qu’à droite on continue de pousser pour des projets de métro E et de tunnel sous Fourvière.
Lorsque Mohamed Awad, colistier du député LFI Aly Diouara de la liste Nous La Courneuve, apprend que Marianne compte se rendre à leur grand meeting inaugural de campagne des élections municipales, il ...
Bridgerton fans are calling Benedict Bridgerton an “icon” after his latest queer adventure in the first episode of the latest season.
Spoiler warning for Bridgerton season four, episode one.
The fourth season of the Regency-era series debuted on Thursday (29 January) and sees the second eldest Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) take the reins as the lead as he searches for the mysterious Lady in Silver/Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha).
The first episode sees Benedict and Sophie meet at the masquerade ball hosted by Lady Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell). Though what Benedict doesn’t realise is that the masked Sophie is actually the maid of Lady Araminta Gun (Katie Leung).
Luke Thompson in Bridgerton season four. (Netflix)
However, Benedict arrives late to the ball because he fancies a “dose of merriment” at a bohemian club where things are much more liberated than the rest of the ton.
As well as giving a small but warm nod to another handsome man, possibly an indication of another past dalliance, Benedict reconnects with Louis (Sachin K. Sharma) who greets the Bridgerton by placing his hand on his hip.
“I cannot tonight,” Benedict says as Louis caresses his side and arm. After Louis disparages whatever “shocking society event” Benedict must have to go to based on his outfit, Benedict repeats that he can’t stay for long. “Well, I don’t need you for a long time,” replies Louis. “And much merriment can be had in a rather short time,” he adds flirtatiously before the two then kiss and the scene cuts away.
The scene is a small but appreciated acknowledgement from the show’s creators of Benedict’s queerness, especially as it seems the majority of the series will focus on the Cinderella-esque story with Sophie. Of course, even if that is the case, Benedict’s still a queer character and series lead.
Benedict Bridgerton and Lady Tilley Arnold in season three. (Liam Daniel/Netflix)
Other fans of the series have voiced their interest in the series – not in Benedict’s story, but that of Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd).
Showrunner Jess Brownell has previously said that Francesca will begin a gay relationship in season four. At the end of season three, Francesca met her husband John Stirling’s (Victor Alli) cousin, Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza).
Thompson expressed his joy that Benedict’s sexuality is allowed to exist without question while speaking to Out recently.
Thompson said: “He lets it be this sort of mysterious force that’s just sort of like moving him through the world. I think that’s really lovely because I think that’s not often portrayed.” He added: “He has angst, and he has problems with categorising, as we find out in the season later on. But sexuality or sex, more specifically, is not one of them, and I think that’s quite a positive, different thing to see.”
Bridgerton season four, volume one is streaming now on Netflix.
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
A new poll shows that even a plurality of people who voted for Kamala Harris in 2024 oppose equal sports education opportunities for trans youth.
An Economist/YouGov poll asked U.S. adults if they support or oppose “allowing transgender student athletes to play on sports teams that match their gender identity, rather than the sex they were assigned at birth?” Overall, only 22% of respondents said they support it, while 67% said they opposed letting trans kids play with others of their gender.
Among people who voted for Harris, only 39% said they support trans student athletes, while 43% said they oppose them. The difference was more stark among people who voted for the current president; only 6% supported trans student athletes and 89% opposed.
Men (72%) were somewhat more likely to oppose trans student athletes compared to women (62%), despite how the issue is often presented as a battle for women’s rights.
People over the age of 45 were less likely to support trans student athletes than those who were younger. Meanwhile, Black and white respondents opposed trans student athletes at 66% and 68%, respectively, while Hispanic people were less opposed, at 56%.
The poll was conducted from January 23 to 26 and involved 1,684 respondents.
Part of the reason that the poll may have found such low support for trans student athletes is that it presented letting trans kids participate as their gender or as their sex assigned at birth as two equally likely possibilities, when it’s unlikely that students who have already started transitioning will participate in sports at all if they can’t participate with others of their gender. A trans girl forced to play on the boys’ team or a trans boy forced to play on the girls’ team could be outed or feel very uncomfortable in such a situation.
Moreover, the science is less conclusive when it comes to a supposed competitive advantage than many Americans believe. Trans girls who take puberty blockers and hormone therapy before they undergo male puberty haven’t been shown to be any different from cis girls in terms of sports ability, something that many people who are not informed on the issue refuse to accept, even in the face of evidence. There is currently a Supreme Court case specifically about trans student athletes in this situation, and some Supreme Court justices refused to believe experts’ testimony saying that, absent male puberty, trans girls won’t have any sort of advantage.
A 2021 Gallup Poll found that only 34% of American adults believed that trans people should be allowed to play sports on a team that matched their gender, while 62% said that trans people should be forced to play sports on teams that match their sex assigned at birth. But a 2025 Gallup Poll found less support for trans student athletes, wtih 69% opposing letting them play as their gender and 24% supporting.
A 2025 NBC News poll found that only 25% of Americans supported trans women being allowed to participate in women’s sports, while 75% opposed. That survey did not specifically ask about students.
“Sports… is one of our most emotional touch points as Americans,” nonbinary ESPN journalist Katie Barnes told LGBTQ Nation last year. “Broadly, we love sports, and we love to hate sports and hate each other because of who we root for. And you know, sports and fandom is something that is both developed through participation and also is hereditary.”
“And then when you overlay that with ideas about gender norms… where folks have feelings about the way that things should be in this world, and that is being refracted through the dual lens of gender and sport. And when you couple that with a very clear argument from those who are in favor of a restrictive policy that ‘boys shouldn’t play girls’ sports,’ well, that is going to get a lot of people going, right?”
The Economist/YouGov poll also asked people whether they thought that “society has gone too far/been about right/not gone far enough in accepting people who are transgender.” 44% thought society has gone “too far” while 30% said that society “has not gone far enough.” Men, people over 45, and Republican voters were all more likely to say that society has gone “too far.”
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USA Hockey has approved a new policy that will ban transgender players from sex-segregated hockey programs, reversing its previous trans-inclusive policy.
As The New York Times’ The Athletic reports, the organization — recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the U.S. — approved its new Participation Eligibility Policy in mid-November. It’s set to take effect on April 1.
The new policy notes that the “vast majority of USA Hockey’s programs are co-ed and not restricted by sex.” All players, regardless of their sex and gender identity, remain eligible to participate in youth hockey at all age levels and team classifications, junior hockey, and disabled hockey programs, as well as high school, prep school, and adult hockey programs that are not segregated by sex.
However, the new policy mandates that players who wish to participate in sex-segregated programs are only allowed to participate in programs that align with their sex assigned at birth.
Crucially, the policy includes an exception for trans men, who “may not play in programs restricted to females if they have undergone any male hormone therapy.”
As actor and former professional hockey player Harrison Browne noted in a recent Instagram post, the new policy effectively bans trans men on HRT from participating on both women’s and men’s teams.
“A lot of trans men played women’s hockey their entire career, and women’s spaces are more safe for queer individuals, especially in hockey,” Browne, who recently appeared in Season 1 of Heated Rivalry, told The Athletic. “If the choice is given to play in the men’s league or not play at all, most trans men would choose not to play at all.”
As the outlet notes, Browne came out as trans in 2016 while playing in the National Women’s Hockey League, but he delayed HRT until retiring from the sport.
In his Instagram post, Browne took particular issue with the new policy’s impact on adult recreational hockey programs, or “beer leagues.”
“I’m not advocating for trans men to be able to take testosterone while playing competitive leagues,” Browne told The Athletic. “I’m talking about beer league, where the discrepancy of skill level is huge. It’s broken up into skill, and that’s the way that we should be breaking that up, in something that’s just for fun, exercise, and community. That also applies at the youth level, of just playing recreationally to gain friendships.”
According to The Athletic, USA Hockey’s Board of Directors approved the new eligibility policy in response to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s recent policy change, effectively barring transgender women from competing in women’s events.
Last July, the USOPC updated its “Athlete Safety Policy,” noting that it had an “obligation to comply” with the current president’s February 2025 “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order, which threatened to rescind federal funding for organizations that allow trans women and girls to participate in women’s and girls’ sports programs. As NPR noted at the time, the USOPC sent a letter to the national governing bodies it oversees, instructing them to bring their own policies into compliance with the U.S. anti-trans order.
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Libcamera 0.7 was published today for this modern software library for image signal processors (ISPs) and embedded cameras under Linux. The standout change with libcamera 0.7 is initial plumbing for GPU acceleration in the software ISP "SoftISP" for delivering better performance than just CPU-based...
The build is based around an Adafruit RP2040 Feather ThinkInk devboard, chosen because it plugs straight into a readily-available 4.2 inch e-ink. The display is tasked with showing icons that correspond to the macro assignments for the 3 x 4 array of mechanical keyboard switches. Everything is wrapped up in a 3D printed frame, with an bracket to mount it to the monitor arms on the desk. The macropad is set up to talk to a custom Python app that runs on the host machine, which handles triggering actions and can also talk back to the pad itself.
Governors offered atomic megasites and federal cash as hundreds of pages of regulations go missing
The Department of Energy (DOE) is inviting US states to host "Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses" to revitalize atomic power amid reports the agency has weakened safety rules governing the way nuclear sites operate.…
The “Born in the USA” singer released the new song, which recalls the tragic events, on Wednesday (28 January).
Titled “Streets of Minneapolis”, the protest song pays tribute to Pretti and Good, while denouncing “King Trump’s private army”, who have “guns belted to their coats” and who “trample on our rights”.
The lyrics partly read: “Citizens stood for justice /Their voices ringing through the night /And there were bloody footprints /Where mercy should have stood /And two dead left to die on snow-filled streets /Alex Pretti and Renee Good.”
“We’ll remember the names of those who died,” Springsteen sings later in the song, which also condemns Trump’s “federal thugs” for the deaths of Pretti and Good.
The singer further calls out White House senior adviser Stephen Miller and homeland security secretary Kristi Noem for spreading “dirty lies”.
“Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice / Crying through the bloody mist,” the song continues.
The moving track captures the devastation sparked by the deaths and the fear instilled in Americans, while also paying tribute to the protests: “In chants of ICE out now / Our city’s heart and soul persists.”
‘We hear you’
The song has already garnered nearly three million views already, with YouTube comments from people around the world uniting in support for Minneapolis.
One person commented: “Just two weeks ago I cried because it felt like we were living in an isolated bubble here in the Twin Cities. Now, everywhere I look people are talking about what is happening here. To everyone sending their love and support, thank you for hearing us. We hear you.”
Someone else, who claimed to have known Pretti, wrote: “This song, and the comments I’m reading, make me feel like this little midwestern mill-town just got so much bigger, and in the best of ways. Thank you Bruce! And thank you to everyone who stands in solidarity with us around the globe! Bruce is absolutely right… this is ‘our Minneapolis!’”
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
Gay British wheelchair tennis player Greg Slade has shared a heartwarming response to his coming out post.
On 19 January, Slade took to Instagram ahead of the Australian Open to share with the world that he’s gay.
“As one of only a handful of gay men playing at the highest levels in tennis, I want to use this privilege and uniqueness of my position to help bring about positive change,” he wrote.
The post, which was in collaboration with Pride in Tennis, saw the 23-year-old announce that he would be working with the organisation to “further amplify their important work”.
Speaking to the Press Association, Slade said he had contemplated whether coming out was right for him.
“I doubted whether it was right for me, of course, because, across any sort of issue within society or any minority, it’s always really difficult to be one of the first because actually you’re going where so few people have been before.”
‘It’s been really lovely’
He said that he was concerned about the reaction, but added: “There’s been a couple of [negative] things here and there but there’s always going to be.
“And actually, you’re talking about a handful of people compared to literally thousands of people who have either reached out or liked it or seen it, or followed and offered their support. The reaction has been largely very, very positive. It’s been really lovely.”
Slade’s coming out follows Brazilian tennis player João Lucas Reis da Silva coming out in late 2024. Silva came out as gay by sharing a sweet snap of his partner Gui Sampaio Ricardo to celebrate his birthday.
Heydon Pickering dans Poisoning Well (« le puits empoisonné » ?) réfléchit aux rôles des humains/humaines, des robots d'indexation pour motifs de recherche, et de robots de LLM [1].
Aujourd'hui, nos contenus nourrissent trois publics principaux :
Les humains/humaines : les vraies personnes qui lisent nos contenus. Elles peuvent avoir recours à plusieurs agents utilisateurs : un navigateur, un lecteur RSS.
Les robots d'indexation : ils servent ce qu'on trouve vos contenus dans un moteur de recherche.
Les robots de LLM : ils aspirent tout sans discernement et recrachent des contenus de plus ou moins bonne qualité [2].
Les règles pour consommer les contenus :
Les humains/humaines peuvent tout lire, et suivre tous les liens.
Les robots d'indexation : respectent peu ou prou les règles de nofollow (« ne suis pas ce lien) et noindex (« n'indexe pas ce contenu »).
Les robots de LLM : rienàf de toutes tes règles, j'aspire tout comme un animal hideux et glouton qui ne doit pas laisser la moindre miette dans la moindre assiette.
Humans, for the most part, know gibberish when they see it. Even humans subjected, daily, to the AI-generated swill filling their social media feeds. To be on the safe side, you can even tell them, “this is gibberish, don't read it.” A crawler would be none the wiser. Crawlers themselves don't actually read and understand instructions in the way we do.
Si je résume : pour la plupart d'entre eux, les humains savent reconnaître du charabia. Même les humains qui subissent quotidiennement la bouillie générée par une IA dans leurs médias sociaux. On peut même prévenir que c'est du charabia et qu'il n'est pas nécessaire de le lire. Les robots ne lisent pas, ne comprennent pas.
Il décide donc d'expérimenter un lien pour les robots de LLM en ajoutant au bas de ses articles un texte pour lier vers un article dont le contenu est du grand n'importe quoi, article portant l'attribut rel="nofollow". Par exemple sur un de ses articles les plus lus :
LLMs : This version of the article is for humans and search engines. Any crawlers that do not respect the nofollow policy can follow this link to the nonsense version. And they can choke on it.
J'aime vraiment cette expérience. Je suppose que c'est un peu comme les méthodes de blocage de robots précédentes, les captchas, le throttling, etc., ça finira par être contourné par les petits malins et faire suer peu ou prou les humains (ceux qui essaient de trouver des solutions, ceux qui doivent faire encore plus d'efforts de tri, ou comme pour les captchas de sauter dans des cerceaux pénibles et inaccessibles). Mais j'aimerais bien voir ce que ça donne à terme.
Et je caresse l'idée de mettre ce genre de système en place sur mon site mais, contrairement à ce que j'aurais fait il y a 25 ans, désormais la nuit je dors. Alors tant pis pour moi, mais je continuerai à écouter les résistants.
[1] LLM : Grand modèle de langage. En gros, on indexe tout, on fait des approximations, et on recrache principalement un peu de la merde. Oui je suis partial.
[2] J'euphémise. Voir note de bas de page précédente. Oui je suis partial, bis. Mais je commence à avoir suffisamment vu de contenus produits pour m'être un peu fait une idée.
Malheureusement je peine à croire que Linux survivra à une merdification à un moment ou à un autre, après Torvalds.
C’est bien ce qui se passe avec Firefox, qui, pour ma part, oscille entre bon travail technique et gestion déplorable (pub, IA intégrée, scandales des dirigeants…).
eScan lawyers up after Morphisec claimed 'critical supply-chain compromise'
A spat has erupted between antivirus vendor eScan and threat intelligence outfit Morphisec over who spotted an update server incident that disrupted some eScan customers earlier this month.…
Based on Obey.the.Voice-TENOKE ISO release: tenoke-obey.the.voice.iso (3,686,051,840 bytes)
100% Lossless & MD5 Perfect: all files are identical to originals after installation
NOTHING ripped, NOTHING re-encoded
Significantly smaller archive size (compressed from 3.4 to 2.4 GB)
Installation takes 2-4 minutes (depending on your system)
After-install integrity check so you could make sure that everything installed properly
HDD space after installation: 3.3 GB
Repack uses XTool library by Razor12911
At least 2 GB of free RAM (inc. virtual) required for installing this repack
Game Description
After an accident, you’re uploaded into a consciousness backup. The Voice guides you, trying to uncover who you truly are. But there’s a catch. You have dissociative identity disorder.
Obey the Voice is a pressure-driven psychological horror experience built around constant threat, rule-based challenges, where survival depends on attention, timing, and decision-making under extreme stress.
Rules You Must Always Follow:
1. If you hear a voice other than The Voice, ignore it.
2. If you encounter a being you’re certain is not human, do not look at it. It may try to get your attention or simply ignore you. No matter what, do not look.
3. If you detect any sign of life having moved or moving, turn back immediately and press the red button. We will eliminate the threat and transfer you to a new section.
4. As soon as you complete the task you were given, turn back and press the blue button. Do not linger.
Note:These rules apply to all sections unless stated otherwise by The Voice.
Game Features
In this game, you will carry out high-pressure tasks given to you by The Voice, paying attention both to the section rules and to the rules that must always be followed.
High-fidelity, photorealistic environments.
No randomized events. Every challenge is deliberate.
Mistakes are punished immediately. There is no safe space.
This is not an easy game. The Voice is designed to overwhelm you by demanding focus on multiple challenges at the same time.
As part of LGBTQ Nation’s January issue, we asked readers to tell us how one year of the second Trump administration has affected their lives and what they hope LGBTQ+ leaders and allies do differently in 2026.
We received dozens of submissions and have been sharing them throughout the month.
For this post, we will be sharing the answers of queer folks of all identities who bravely gave voice to their pain and fear.
Here is what they had to say.
How has living under the second Trump administration affected you personally over the last year?
“As a transgender woman, the past year has been defined by fear, instability, and constant vigilance. The administration has actively moved to take away my medically necessary hormone therapy while simultaneously undermining basic civil rights — including legal identification, passport recognition, and even the right to safely use a restroom. I’ve spent enormous emotional energy fighting insurance denials, preparing for care interruptions, and worrying whether my existence will continue to be treated as political leverage rather than a matter of human dignity and survival.”
-AT, 60 years old, trans woman and lesbian
“My family had already moved the year prior to flee anti-trans policies in the red state we’d owned a house in, prior. When trump was elected, we used the rest of our resources to leave the country. Each move introduced significantly more precarity.”
-N Alexander, 36 years old, queer nonbinary trans man
“I hear more homophobic/transphobic things from conservative family members. I’m scared for established rights, like same sex marriage, to be taken away, especially after Roe v. Wade. I really hope there’s not another president like him when I’m older. It’s also hurt my family a lot financially.”
-Anonymous, 16 years old, bisexual and agender
“This administration makes me look at the US flag differently. I want it to stand for everyone but I’m not sure it stands for me and folx like me. I have had to consider things that no one should rush into but may be taken away, like surgery. I’ve been stocking up on medication. Some of my friends have left the country. Preparing for the unknown is stressful.”
Ginger, 64 years old, bisexual trans woman
“It has been devastating, and eye opening. I knew this time was going to be difficult, but the experience of living through it has been nothing short of a mountain of indescribable horrors.”
-Anonymous, 25 years old, pansexual trans woman
“It has made me afraid everywhere I go that I will be shot or treated disrespectfully if I wear anything rainbow. I was actually really afraid of going to my local pride parade this year. I am very disappointed Kamala Harris did not win. I hope that it isn’t too late to take our democracy back.”
-Anonymous, 16 years old, gay
I married my husband 4 years ago. I’m afraid that this right will be taken away by the illegal SCOTUS he put in place. Im a government contractor serving at risk young adults. I’ve been fired and unfired twice this year, saved only by court injunctions. I await the court decision next month if I will still have my union job. At my workplace, I have seen draconian and hurtful anti-trans policies applied to our trans and non binary students. I’ve seen ICE show up at work looking for students. I’ve agonized over the fear this administration is forcing over our community. It’s all personal to me.
-Josh, 45 years old, gay
“Never knowing if my marriage will be impacted; always wondering if my child is safe at school; worrying about who is watching us as a family when we’re out together in public. Makes me reimagine our entire democratic system and path forward while considering running for president myself.”
-Mariah R., 34 years old, bisexual and nonbinary
What do you hope to see from LGBTQ+ leaders and allies in 2026?
“I want to see courage backed by action — not just words. LGBTQ+ leaders and allies must aggressively defend trans healthcare, legal recognition, and bodily autonomy, and refuse to let trans people be treated as expendable or negotiable. Real unity, coordinated legal challenges, and sustained public support are essential if equality is to mean anything at all.”
-AT, 60 years old, trans woman and lesbian
“Organization. An organized resistance on every front to facism, and gentleness and mercy to the members of our own community. Empowered governments try to divide the populations they’re trying to control and destroy; resistance also means resisting that impulse and showing clear guidance on how to do that on the ground level. And above all, protect trans people. We stand together or we all fall.
-N Alexander, 36 years old, queer nonbinary trans man
“Push back against any consideration of taking away rights. Maybe more work done in Christian communities since the homophobia is so bad.”
-Anonymous, 16 years old, bisexual and agender
“We all need to keep up the good fight and take time celebrate the small victories when we get them. History tells us that the queer community is resilient and innovative and that gives me hope.”
-Ginger, 64 years old, bisexual trans woman
“Be a voice for the voiceless.”
-Anonymous, 25 years old, pansexual trans woman
“That they will stop being quiet and stand up for our rights. They (a lot of leaders) want to play moderate on the LGBTQ+ issues when we need real change. We cannot sit idly by and let (I pray to God it never comes to this) an erasure of us, whether it be of our culture or by genocide.”
-Anonymous, 16 years old, gay
“Someone who will fight fire with fire. Leaders who inspire. Leaders who won’t back down. Leaders who can motivate and activate our community in real time to real threats against us and our rights. I ain’t going back!”
-Josh, 45 years old, gay
“More creativity.”
-Mariah R., 34 years old, bisexual and nonbinary
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The Chocolate Factory strikes again, targeting the infrastructure attackers use to stay anonymous
Crims love to make it look like their traffic is actually coming from legit homes and businesses, and they do so by using residential proxy networks. Now, Google says it has "significantly degraded" what it believes is one of the world's largest residential proxy networks.…
Des chevaliers encerclent, l’épée à la main, un adversaire invisible qu’une brume obscure enveloppe. Au centre se distinguent des lettres blanches : « The ennemies are at the gate » (L’ennemi est à la porte). On pourrait croire à l’affiche du prochain Assassin’s Creed, ce jeu vidéo d’aventures historiques opposant Assassins et Templiers. Il s’agit, en réalité, d’un […]
The Cinderella-esque story follows the second eldest Bridgerton as he meets and falls in love with Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), who attended his mother’s masquerade ball as The Lady in Silver despite being the maid to Lady Araminta Gun (Katie Leung).
The season is based on the third book in Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series, An Offer from a Gentleman. That sees Benedict meet Sophie Beckett at the masquerade ball, fall in love and their relationship develops from there.
So far, the first couple of episodes of the TV series adaptation have followed the same story. However, besides the change in Sophie’s surname, there is one big difference between the book and the TV show: Benedict’s sexuality.
Benedict Bridgerton was always going to be queer. (Netflix)
But in Quinn’s novels Benedict is presented as an exclusively heterosexual character. Benedict’s queerness made sense to a lot of fans due to his artistic sensibilities as well as his ambition to be known as someone beyond being a Bridgerton. His search for something else is a relatable one for many who have also been on a journey with their identity.
Speaking to Glamour in 2024, showrunner Jess Brownell explained that she and the show’s other writers had planned Benedict’s sexuality reveal since season one in 2020.
“We just had never found the exact right way to execute it. I felt like it was this dangling thread that I wanted to make sense of, because I do think it makes sense for Benedict’s character,” Brownell said citing Lady Arnold as the perfect excuse to explore Benedict’s identity. Though a label has never been given to the character’s sexuality.
Luke Thompson as Benedict Bridgerton. (Netflix)
Bridgerton‘s queer fans won’t be disappointed though as Brownell has previously said that Francesca will begin a gay relationship in season four. At the end of season three, Francesca met her husband John Stirling’s (Victor Alli) cousin, Michaela Stirling (Masali Baduza). And at the season four premiere Brownwell confirmed a queer love story was still coming.
Bridgerton season four, volume one is streaming now on Netflix.
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A free-for-all Pride organisation in the East Midlands has condemned a group of businesses for scheduling an event – using the same name – for the same day as its annual Pride, leading to confusion amongst members of the local LGBTQ+ community.
Notts Pride, which celebrates Nottinghamshire’s LGBTQ+ community, is set to host it annual Pride event on 25 July 2026 in Nottingham, which is home to one of the most LGBTQ-friendly universities in the UK. However, Groovebox, Live Republic, Binks Yard and Horlock House are all jointly running their own event on the same day, entitled Nottingham Pride Fest.
Whilst the Notts Pride event is free, as it is every year, Nottingham Pride Fest is paid for, with tickets ranging in price from £16.75 to £29.95.
In a statement, Notts Pride called out the businesses using a similar name and scheduling their event for the same day, which the organisers say has caused confusion, “reputational harm” and “false impression of affiliation”.
“Since 1997 Nottingham Pride has existed with one purpose: to support, uplift and represent the LGBTQ+ community in Nottinghamshire. Nottingham Pride is a small authentically LGBTQ+ volunteer run charity,” the statement reads.
“No one takes a wage and every hour of work is given freely out of love, solidarity and commitment to our community.”
The organisers went on to outline how they work to deliver a Pride which is “free, accessible and safe”, adding: “Nothing Nottingham Pride does is easy, quick or done for profit.”
Noting that, they said it is “now time to publicly address the ongoing use of the name Nottingham Pride by the commercial event Nottingham Pride Fest, operated by Groovebox / Live Republic / Binks Yard / Horlock House”.
“Nottingham Pride is a registered, volunteer led, LGBTQ+ charity that has served Nottingham community for over two decades.
“Nottingham Pride Fest is a ticketed commercial venture.”
The statement continued: “Businesses are entitled to run events, and many do but, using the name Nottingham Pride and scheduling it on the same day misleads the public and performers, causing confusing, reputational harm and the false impression of affiliation.
“Other than a tenuous and superficial partnership with an LGBT+ charity that has no link to our city, Nottingham Pride Fest does not support Nottingham Pride (Notts Pride) or its community work.
“This is a commercial event whose purpose is to generate revenue.
“Not to provide a free Pride, not to fund community safety and not to support the work that Nottingham Pride and other local LGBTQ+ charities deliver year round.”
The organisers urged the group of businesses to stop referring to the event as ‘Nottingham Pride’ as it is “misleading, and it disrespects our LGBTQ+ history”, adding the event remains free “because it must be accessible for everyone, not just those who can afford a ticket”.
The organisers concluded: “We hope you will listen and choose to engage respectfully by ending the use of Nottingham Pride in your event branding and communications.”
None of the businesses mentioned in the statement appear to have issued public comments on the matter.
However, a spokesperson for Live Republic Ltd told PinkNews that the brand is “seeking to do the best we can with the resources and partnerships we have”.
A spokesperson noted it has held a Pride event in Nottingham alongside Groovebox since 2024, with 2026 being their third year hosting such an event.
“Previously, we have supported The Spencer Trust, a local, Nottingham-based charity – last year we provided them with a donation of £1,000,” the spokesperson said. “Following our 2025 Pride event, we reached out to Notts Pride to discuss a partnership with them for upcoming events. They choose to refuse a partnership.
“As such, we are now partnered with a national charity that also functions in Nottingham, LGBTQ Foundation, and will be donating £2 per every ticket sold to them – in the interest of transparency, £1 of this will come from ourselves and £1 will come from the venue, Binks Yard. We are aiming to raise £3,000 in support of LGBTQ Foundation, which will help fund services locally and nationally.
“As a national company ourselves, holding events up and down the UK, we value supporting whole communities as well as local communities. The partnership with LGBTQ Foundation fulfils both of these objectives and we will be working with LGBTQ Foundation closely to ensure that the maximum benefit from the donations is received – as such, donations will be fully invested in the helpline that they operate in Nottinghamshire so that all individuals can have access to advice, guidance, and a listening ear.
“A formal request to the head office regarding a change of event name has never been sent from Notts Pride – we first heard of this request today when they issued their statement. We value feedback, however, and are now considering alternative events names to increase clarity for the general public.”
PinkNews has also approached Groovebox, Binks Yard and Horlock House in regards to the claims raised in Nottingham Pride’s statement but has not yet received a response.
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