The Advocate

As the spring season unfolds, I am delighted to share some exciting happenings at equalpride. I am thrilled to announce our recent Out March/April fashion issue cover launch featuring the incomparable Billy Porter. His passion and unique perspective on the LGBTQ+ experience is truly a testament to the power of representation in the media. We are also elated to share that The Advocate has won Outstanding Magazine for Overall Coverage at the 34th GLAAD Media Awards ceremony. This recognition is a testament to our team’s dedication to telling inclusive, accurate, and impactful stories about the LGBTQ+ community. Our mission at equalpride is to amplify diverse voices, and we are proud to work alongside the talented individuals who bring this vision to life. As we come together to celebrate Pride, let’s not forget the…

THE ACRONYM FOR the LGBTQ+ community continues to grow and evolve alongside our community — and debate continues as to which letters (and colors on the Pride flag) should or shouldn’t be included. While it may be difficult to represent all the varying identities in one term, what we can do is try to celebrate each other and our differences. For this year’s Champions of Pride (page 29), our annual list of amazing out people making a difference in the world, we are honoring nine individuals who express this wonderful diversity. Our cover star, Chasten Buttigieg — an author, activist, teacher, and husband to Pete Buttigieg, the current U.S. secretary of transportation — is proving to our youth that being gay shouldn’t hold one back from living an incredible life. Check…

New York QUEER EXCELLENCE WAS on display at three recent events held around the country. In New York, Out (a sister publication to The Advocate), threw a March fête in honor of Billy Porter, the magazine’s spring cover star. Porter, celebrating his infectious new single, “Baby Was a Dancer,” shined like the star he is, while ballroom legend Kevin Aviance spun tunes for the fabulous crowd. The 34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Los Angeles ON THE WEST Coast, the recent GLAAD Media Awards honored LGBTQ+ representation in film, television, and journalism, with The Advocate winning the award for best Magazine Overall Coverage. Aside from us, stars like Bad Bunny, Jeremy Pope, and Christina Aguilera were also honored for their positive contributions to LGBTQ+ depictions and allyship (not bad company!). The media awards were preceded by…

The American LGBTQ+ Museum continues to evolve as the organization prepares to open at the New York Historical Society in 2026. In March, the museum announced a new addition to its team: Suhaly Bautista-Carolina will join the organization as its first director of public programs and partnerships. Bautista-Carolina will oversee the museum’s efforts to unify the institution’s vision, museum officials say. “Suhaly will grow the museum on the national stage while ensuring it stays connected to local communities as a valuable resource,” according to a statement from the museum. The museum’s executive director, Ben Garcia, says, “I could not be happier to have Suhaly as a partner in this work. They bring deep experience, kindness, and creativity to our vision for a museum rooted in LGBTQ+ liberation. And a sprinkling of queer magic…

Rather than hunting for colorful eggs, thousands of demonstrators in West Hollywood took to the streets in colorful outfits this Easter. They marched to show their support for trans and drag communities currently under attack — as of April 9, at least 450 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in the U.S. in 2023, including one in California. The American Civil Liberties Union reports that this is more than double the number from last year. In support of queer people nationwide and as a protest against recent anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, organizers pulled off an inaugural “Drag March” in Los Angeles’s gay epicenter. Opening remarks were made at 10 a.m. in West Hollywood Park. West Hollywood mayor Sepi Shyne, Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Joe Hollendoner, and Los Angeles county supervisor Lindsey Horvath spoke. Kerri…

Glenn Magpantay has spent his life advocating for LGBTQ+ Asians and Pacific Islanders to have a seat at the table. Now, Magpantay himself is sitting in one of the most powerful chairs there is. The civil rights lawyer and former executive director of the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance was recently appointed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, a federal agency guiding Congress and the White House on civil rights laws and policy. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Magpantay’s appointment earlier this year and he was sworn in by the Commission’s director, Mauro Morales. Taking time from his packed schedule — he’s also a professor of Asian American Studies at New York City’s Hunter College — Magpantay explained his work at the commission and what he plans…