Table of contents for July/August 2024 in OUT

Dear Out readers, This summer, we are thrilled to celebrate the vibrant diversity and dynamic talent that make our community shine. Our cover star, Joel Kim Booster, exemplifies this brilliance. Joel has carved a unique space in the entertainment industry with his sharp wit and infectious humor. From his role in Loot, captivating audiences with his comedy, and embarking on his next feature film after his hit Fire Island, Booster reminds us of the power of representation and the importance of seeing our stories on screen. This issue also features our annual Most Eligible Bachelors. These remarkable individuals are successful in their respective fields and embody the values of authenticity, resilience, and compassion. They remind us that being eligible isn’t just about status or appearance. It’s about making a positive…

“Six thousand dollars? It’s not even leather!” As a little queer kid, I loved the film Working Girl thanks to iconic lines like this one. But the movie is more than great one-liners. It’s the story of Tess, a hardscrabble secretary played who wanted more out of her professional life and was played flawlessly by Melanie Griffith. Though the doors to the boardroom were slammed firmly in her face, Tess used her ingenuity, stemming from her experience as a working-class woman, to chart her own path and create something better for herself. By the end of the film, she succeeded — and she snagged a young Harrison Ford along the way. Near the end of the film, the big boss lauds Tess’s success when he shares this story about diverse…

Dr. Rick Hendrix and his partner Shane Jordan created The Rainbow Parade: A Celebration of LGBTQIA+ Identities and Allies to be the children’s book they never had in their youth. The beautifully illustrated story follows a child and their parent as they witness LGBTQ+ Pride and help another young person struggling with self-love. “I grew up gay, in the South, a preacher’s kid, with parents that were absolutely closed off to any sort of conversation about sexual identity,” Jordan says. “When I think back, how did they not know when I was sneaking to try on my sister’s cheerleading outfit? In all seriousness, I have always wanted to make sure I was doing all I could to make sure no queer child felt alone.” These gay men know the power…

A moment of pure revelry in the video for Ben Platt’s “Cherry on Top” features the Tony winner and his fiancé, Noah Galvin, playfully dancing at a scenic overlook on Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles. In the gauzy video shot on Super 8 millimeter film, they nuzzle against a vintage baby-blue convertible Mustang. The downtown L.A. skyline frames them on one side and the Hollywood Bowl, where Platt performed in support of his 2021 album, Reverie, is behind them. “Cherry on Top,” from Platt’s latest album, is a love letter to Galvin. It’s the stuff of poets to their muses. “The way that you free me / And the way that you see me / You’re my sundae feeling / It’s a sweet life, even when it’s not / ’Cause…

SAN FRANCISCO HAS endured its share of hardship recently but remains a premiere world travel destination for good reason. On a recent visit to the City by the Bay — my first return to my former hometown in over 25 years and the first-ever visit for my boyfriend — we safely discovered an accessible and authentic side of the California destination that few visitors experience. By avoiding high-priced downtown hotels, using transit, and opting for free activities and events, travelers can pocket big savings alongside enriching experiences. We created three full-day itineraries for our stay, which you can learn more about at outtraveler.com. But here are some affordable highlights of our visit. Get out those walking shoes because San Francisco’s compact neighborhoods lend themselves to leisurely exploration on foot, beckoning…

“ADVOCATE” IS A term we hear a lot within queer and political circles these days, but what does it really mean to be one? Merriam-Webster defines an advocate as “one who supports or promotes the interests of a cause or group.” While this definition is quite broad, in this issue we are celebrating our own list of The Advocates — just a few of the many LGBTQ+ people and dedicated allies who continue to strive for change and progress in this beautiful but often chaotic world. Topping our list this year is the iconic Cyndi Lauper, a true trailblazer who has fearlessly stood up for women’s rights and the LGBTQ+ community throughout her amazing, 40-plus year career. In our exclusive interview, we chat with the musical legend about her years…

In a survey recently published in JAMA, Harvard researchers pulled from a previous study of women who worked as nurses and were born between 1945 and 1964 — 90,833 of whom had disclosed their sexuality. Of those, 89,821 (98.9 percent) identified as heterosexual, 694 (0.8 percent) identified as lesbian, and 318 (0.4 percent) identified as bisexual. When compared with heterosexual participants, LGB participants showed earlier mortality. Bisexual women had the shortest life expectancy, dying 37 percent sooner than heterosexual women. Lesbian women died 20 percent sooner, with LGB women overall dying 26 percent sooner than straight women. This gap is due to existing “extensive health disparities,” including “worse physical, mental, and behavioral health” among queer women in comparison to straight women. The report also noted that the disparity is heavily…

EARLIER THIS YEAR, Sherrell Cross made history as the new executive director of Dallas Pride, the first Black woman to hold the position in the organization’s 40-plus year history. A New Orleans native, Cross brings a unique blend of empathy, advocacy, and community-focused leadership, setting a new era for one of the nation’s largest pride celebrations. After moving to Texas following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Cross quickly immersed herself in community work. Her personal experiences, including her own complexities of coming out and understanding diverse perspectives, have equipped her for the challenges and triumphs faced by LGBTQ+ Dallasites. Cross’s leadership style is distinguished by her unwavering commitment to open, authentic dialogues and her focus on inclusivity. “I strongly believe that diversity and representation are crucial in our community,” she asserts.…

Chella Man You amaze us, Chella Man. You’re only 25, but as a deaf and transmasculine artist and actor of color, you’ve already made history in multiple fields: as a model signed to IMG, as a superhero on the DC Comics series Titans, and now as an illustrator celebrating your debut show this year. You bring intersectional representation to everything you do, Chella. You do it all with beauty, excellence, and joy in the face of a culture that would silence and force narratives of sadness upon marginalized people. And about that beauty — you were named the face of YSL Beauty for a reason. You’ve used this spotlight for good in your endeavors, by turning cochlear implants into jewelry as a means of raising awareness of deaf people within…

Not on a budget? Try Richard’s Grand Villa suite at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. The two-story, indoor-outdoor townhouse with a private patio and garden oozes Sin City extravagance — but at a price (beginning at $1800 per night before taxes). The massive suite exemplifies Virgin Group cofounder Richard Branson’s belief that having too much space is better than too little. And the suite’s private butler ensured our every need and whim was met, including a private Thai fusion dinner experience from Night + Market (do try the Grapow Spicy Basil Chicken). Virgin Hotels Las Vegas feels more like a true resort than a casino, so you might be shocked, shocked, to learn that gaming is taking place. virginhotelslv.com…

Dear Advocate Readers, We must continue to uplift our heroes now more than ever. This edition celebrates those who have tirelessly championed LGBTQ+ rights and continue inspiring us all with their dedication and courage. We are honored to feature Cyndi Lauper on our cover. For decades, Cyndi has been a steadfast ally of the LGBTQ+ community, using her voice and platform to advocate for equality and acceptance. Her story reminds us of the profound impact one person can have when they stand up for what is right. This issue also marks the unveiling of this year’s The Advocates, our annual list highlighting LGBTQ+ individuals and allies who drive progress and foster positive change in the world. These extraordinary people embody the spirit of advocacy, working tirelessly to create a more…

DR. CHERYL CLARKE is a radical Black lesbian poet, essayist, scholar, and educator whose career and activism has been going strong for over four decades now. After attending the famous March on Washington in her teens, Clarke began experimenting with poetry during her time at Howard University in the 1960s and became involved in the burgeoning Black Arts Movement. In the 1970s and ’80s, she collaborated with grassroots feminist publishers such as Kitchen Table and Firebrand Books and started the lesbian feminist magazine Conditions. As part of the Combahee River Collective, Clarke worked alongside icons of the movement like Barbara Smith and Audre Lorde. Now, she’s releasing the most comprehensive collection of her work yet, Archive of Style. The book is filled with Clarke’s poems from the 1980s to the…

In Oh, Mary!, President Abraham Lincoln (Conrad Ricamora) has his hands full with the Civil War — as well as the antics of his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln (Cole Escola), an alcoholic who is less concerned with a divided country than with dreams of becoming a cabaret star. But Lincoln’s eyes keep wandering from the task at hand to his handsome assistant, Simon (Tony Macht). Anguished after seducing Simon, he prays to God to make his gay desires go away. Escola — who penned Oh, Mary! in addition to starring as the first lady — has been on those pray-the-gay-away knees before. “I did that,” they confirm. “I would pray — not to be[come] straight because I was like, Well, that’s a really tall order. So I sort of compromised…

Rob Anderson is a comedian and influencer known for hilarious recaps of nostalgic millennial content, from Berenstain Bears books to Seventh Heaven episodes to The Neverending Story. One of his most popular series, however, is Gay Science, in which Anderson applies the scientific method to gay stereotypes. For example, why do gay men like iced coffee? Partly, so they can walk faster to events they’re already late for. (Their bodies also run hotter from processing both real-life and TV drama.) Anderson has now brought his Gay Scientific Method to the publishing world with a new satirical textbook, Gay Science. In it, no trope is safe from pie charts and pictographs — and sometimes, there’s a test tube of truth amid the hilarity. Hear more from Anderson ahead. What was the…

“THERE’S A LOT OF PLACES THAT I THINK A LOT OF QUEER PEOPLE WANT TO SEE THEMSELVES IN THAT DON’T NECESSARILY HAVE TO TACKLELOVE OR FAMILYOR TRAUMA.” Joel Kim Booster has been putting in the work. The Loot star is becoming more of a household name since writing and starring in 2022’s queer retelling of Pride and Prejudice, the Emmy-nominated Fire Island. But the 36-year-old Korean-born comedian and actor has been sowing the seeds of his career for the better part of the last decade. While he’s getting busier and busier these days, he’s always known that he was built for this — even if he didn’t necessarily always know what “this” looked like. “I always knew I wanted to work in entertainment,” says Booster, fresh off the second season…

AS KARINE JEAN-PIERRE approaches her second anniversary as White House press secretary on May 13, she carries the weight of being a trailblazer — the first Black woman and first LGBTQ+ person to hold the position. In an exclusive interview with The Advocate, Jean-Pierre shared insights into the significance of her presence and the broader implications for democracy and representation. Jean-Pierre, 49, described her daily experience walking through the halls of the White House, where queer people and people of color have not always been welcome, as an overwhelming reminder of the progress made and the responsibilities she shoulders. “It’s not lost on me what my presence at the podium behind that lectern means. Being a first in many different ways — I’m an immigrant, I’m a queer Black woman,…

JEAN SMART’S ALLYSHIP to the LGBTQ+ community has gone hand-in-hand with her amazing four-decade-plus career on stage and screen. In fact, her first New York theater credit was playing a lesbian in the play Last Summer at Bluefish Cove. And years before starring in her current Emmy-winning role on HBO Max’s Hacks as the fictional comedy legend Deborah Vance who has a complicated relationship with her young bisexual writing partner Ava, Smart became known to the world as Charlene Frazier-Stillfield on the popular 1980s sitcom Designing Women. The series was one of the first to address the topic of HIV/AIDS on network television, an issue close to the actress’s heart. When Smart was honored for her dedication to the queer community earlier this year by the Human Rights Campaign, she…

AMID THE HALLOWED halls of power in Washington, D.C., where the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services holds sway, Admiral Rachel Levine stands as both a paragon and a provocateur. As the first out transgender federal official confirmed by the U.S. Senate, her presence in such a revered institution challenges norms long reserved for cisgender men. Yet, it’s not just her historic appointment that captures attention; it’s also her unwavering resilience in the face of relentless adversity from right-wing factions. Speaking with The Advocate, Levine unfolds her story with the poise of someone accustomed to the spotlight’s glare yet unyielding to its heat. “The more I’m attacked, the more it motivates me to work harder and to advocate more,” declares Levine, her determination shining — a testament to her…