Liberty Counsel hacked in major data breach
White House: Same-sex marriage bill still ‘incredibly important’ to Biden
Ron Johnson changes tune on gay marriage bill: ‘Completely unnecessary’
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney introduces bill to make monkeypox testing free
Out Vermont state senator wins Democratic primary race
Youngkin calls for schools to out transgender students
Deceased gay mayor of Hyattsville accused of embezzling $2.2 million
Hanover County schools adopt anti-transgender bathroom policy
Va. court dismisses obscenity case against LGBTQ books
Doug Emhoff hosts virtual White House roundtable with LGBTQ students
U.S. health officials expand approach to monkeypox vaccines as cases crest
Two local universities make Campus Pride ‘Best of the Best’ list
Libs of TikTok targets Children’s National Hospital
Fla. student activists oust anti-LGBTQ school board members
U.N. expert ‘alarmed’ over curtailment of LGBTQ, intersex rights in U.S.
India activists use Independence Day to reiterate call for equality
Chinese activist continues fight for LGBTQ, intersex rights from U.S.
St. Kitts and Nevis sodomy law struck down
Rwanda criticized over exclusion of LGBTQ, intersex people from Census
Juventud LGBTQ hondureña renueva la marcha del orgullo
Defensores LGBTQ de Cartagena se reunieron con primera jueza trans de EEUU
Marcha del orgullo LGBTQ en El Salvador crece cada año
Proyecto de ley de prohibir ‘terapias de conversion’ radicado en el Congreso de Colombia
Quedó lista la versión definitiva del Código de las Familias de Cuba con más restricciones para la ‘gestación solidaria’
Many people of faith support abortion rights
Del. Norton: Introduce a bill to get the RFK site for D.C. now!
Someone needs to answer for monkeypox
Casa Ruby’s services must survive
Iconic villain is out of the closet in final ‘Saul’ season
2022 Best of LGBTQ DC Readers’ Choice Award Nominations
D.C. Veteran Affairs revisits ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’
Peace Corps group to host comedy show
Iconic villain is out of the closet in final ‘Saul’ season
LGBTQ critics honor year’s best TV with Dorian Awards
‘A League of Their Own’ series proves there is crying in baseball
For Gaiman fans, ‘Sandman’ is a ‘Dream’ come true
Warner Bros. cancels Batgirl, along with first trans character
Restaurants have history as places for protest
Double dose of D.C. dining deals
Crazy Aunt Helen’s to host ‘Pride-a-palooza’
Relish Market offers a space for wellness
At Michele’s, sophisticated cuisine in an inclusive space
‘Hamilton’ creators donate monetary damages to LGBTQ group
Frenchie Davis wows as Sofia in ‘The Color Purple’
New musical highlights Frederick Douglass but falls short
‘Six’ an empowering musical remix of English history
‘The Playhouse’ a triumphant return to live performance
New doc illuminates Patricia Highsmith’s life and work
Director of ‘They/Them’ on queering the horror genre
Porter makes directorial splash with ‘Anything’s Possible’
In ‘Neptune Frost,’ the future is nonbinary
Dorian Awards cast a queer eye on television
New Madonna remix collection solid but not exhaustive
English rock band to grace Silver Spring stage
Washington Arts Ensemble to host immersive concert
John Levengood releases anthem “Say Gay!” to protest discrimination
Tori Amos spins magic at Sunday night D.C.-area concert
New book puts kibosh on sentimentality of WWII films
An entertaining history lesson in ‘From Gay to Z’
New book examines overcoming inequality at home
Two new political memoirs reveal how the sausage of democracy is made
Love of baseball unites father, gay son
PHOTOS: Bachelor’s Mill Reunion
Tips for preparing your home for fall
To use a down payment assistance program or not?
Am I the only gay man who doesn’t sleep around?
Two small, fun, and affordable rides
Finding your footing in fall housing market
Carl Nassib returns to Tampa
Federal judge temporarily blocks anti-trans youth sports law in Indiana
DC Commanders notch Pride Bowl victory
Lia Thomas nominated for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year award
British Triathlon bans transgender women from competing with other women
Fla. ‘Pride Leadership’ firm survives pandemic to face anti-LGBTQ legislation
From early struggles to Obama’s White House, Black pansexual exec talks resilience, self-love
Black gay business owner shares joys, challenges, and the power of fragrance
Gay-owned pharmacy survived pandemic by serving without judgment
New report details financial challenges facing LGBTQ-owned small businesses
Restaurants have history as places for protest
Double dose of D.C. dining deals
Crazy Aunt Helen’s to host ‘Pride-a-palooza’
Relish Market offers a space for wellness
At Michele’s, sophisticated cuisine in an inclusive space
Tips for preparing your home for fall
To use a down payment assistance program or not?
Finding your footing in fall housing market
5 tips for novice house flippers
Mortgage rates continue to drop while rent skyrockets
Two small, fun, and affordable rides
Percentage of gay D.C. monkeypox cases rises slightly
Biden health officials defend approach to monkeypox as cases grow
White House monkeypox response coordinator speaks exclusively with Blade
As monkeypox spreads, Delaware looks to expand vaccine access
Biden names White House National Monkeypox Response Coordinators
Percentage of gay D.C. monkeypox cases rises slightly
Biden health officials defend approach to monkeypox as cases grow
White House monkeypox response coordinator speaks exclusively with Blade
As monkeypox spreads, Delaware looks to expand vaccine access
Biden names White House National Monkeypox Response Coordinators
New Mexico guv signs marijuana legalization
Delaware cannabis activists take on corporate marijuana
Virginia marijuana legalization takes effect July 1
NEW YEAR NEW YOU 2020: Local VIDA master trainer on trends, tips and technology at the gym
Why a personalized diet can help you achieve better results
Al Roker blasts Jillian Michaels for criticizing Keto diet
Make 2019 your year for fitness
Raising healthy adults starts now
Nominate your favorites in our 2022 Best of LGBTQ DC categories through September 11th.
It is Decision 2022! Nominate your favorites in our 2022 Best of LGBTQ DC categories through September 11th. The top 5 nominees from each category will become a finalist with voting starting September 19th. Our 2022 Best of LGBTQ DC will be announced at the Best of LGBTQ DC Awards Party on October 20th and our special issue will come out on Friday, October 22st.
Thank you to our sponsors: ABSOLUT, PEPCO, The Eaton DC, Washington Regional Transplant Community.
2022 Most Eligible LGBTQ Singles nominations
PHOTOS: Best Of LGBTQ DC party
My Best Of’s in D.C. real estate
One of the most well-drawn queer characters in TV history
When “Better Call Saul” aired its finale last month, it was the end of an era. The critically lauded prequel series to “Breaking Bad” had amassed a loyal following by offering fans a chance to return for a deeper dive into the morally ambiguous universe Vince Gilligan had created around teacher-turned-meth-kingpin Walter White (Bryan Cranston) nearly 15 years ago.
Meticulously unfolding the saga of deceptively clownish strip mall lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), it was elegantly cinematic, inscrutably layered, and impeccably crafted, proving itself every bit the equal of its predecessor. If “Breaking Bad” was a slow-burn crime thriller with the scope and dimension of a Shakespeare tragedy, “Better Call Saul” was a character-driven neo-noir meditation on the inevitability of corruption – yet they were unmistakably tied together by a signature note of irony and a relish for Hitchcockian suspense. They were also populated by a memorable cast of characters that viewers grew to love, despite their moral ambiguities – and among them, as “Saul” revealed at last, is one of the richest and most well-drawn queer characters in television history.
If you’ve never watched either show, you might be understandably surprised to learn that Gilligan’s blood-spattered mythos contained any significant LGBTQ presence. Indeed, even those who’ve seen both might not have realized it, though clues were planted all along the way; before we say more, however, it’s only fair to warn that there are spoilers for both “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” beyond this point.
We first meet Gustavo “Gus” Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) in “Breaking Bad” as the dapper and polite owner of fast-food chicken franchise Los Pollos Hermanos, though we quickly learn he runs a much more ambitious business, too. As a high-level meth distributor for a Mexican drug cartel with ambitions to capture the market for himself, he becomes Walter White’s principal rival, and the two men wage an escalating war of manipulation and dominance until Gus finally meets his fate in an explosive scene near the end of season four. It’s a high point in a series full of them, an exit worthy of a villain as complex and compelling as Gus.
It’s another scene in “Breaking Bad,” however, that provides this sinister and Machiavellian drug lord with the dimension that recasts him as a tragic hero. In an earlier episode, we are given a flashback to his younger days in Mexico, in which we learn that his meth enterprise began as a partnership with Max (James Martinez). The pair is given an audience with cartel boss Don Eladio (Steven Bauer), hoping to win his partnership; instead, they are met with ridicule and insinuations about their sexuality before Gus is forced to watch Max’s execution by gunshot to the head. Most queer viewers likely recognized immediately that these two men were much more than business partners, but others were unconvinced, despite details laced throughout the narrative that reinforced the obvious implications about their relationship.
Not until “Better Call Saul” do we get more detail about Gus’s subsequent ascendency to power, and it reveals what we’ve suspected all along: Gus’s motivation in building his drug empire is to get revenge against the family responsible for his lover’s brutal death. When he exits the series this time around, it’s in a scene that might almost be charming if not for the weight of doom that hangs over it. Celebrating a crucial victory against the cartel, he treats himself to an elegant dinner for one at his favorite restaurant.
Seated at the bar, he engages in flirtatious conversation with a handsome sommelier (Reed Diamond) who obviously returns his interest. It’s a brief moment of respite for Gus that ends with him abruptly finishing his wine and unceremoniously leaving the restaurant when his younger companion temporarily steps away. Resigned to a destiny where he can afford no emotional connections and still haunted by the trauma of that long ago day in Mexico, he opts to walk away from the possibility of romantic connection, and our perception of this sinister figure is softened by the recognition of his tragedy.
With the airing of this scene, viewers who had resisted the idea of a gay Gus Fring had no choice but to concede – especially after showrunner Peter Gould officially confirmed it on The Ringer podcast following the show. But for the many who saw through Gus’s carefully cultivated mask all along, this confirmation was less a revelation than a validation. After decades of recognizing queer subtext in mainstream Hollywood content, it’s refreshing to be told we weren’t just imagining it anymore.
Some might argue that Gus Fring is not the best example of inclusion; after all, he’s a cold and merciless criminal responsible for an untold number of deaths. Though we can feel some pity for him knowing his backstory, he is ultimately a monster, and could be construed on the surface as a throwback to the days when queer people were depicted only as villains or victims. Besides all that, he’s deeply closeted, at least with his cartel associates.
Such concerns are not so easily applied when it comes to material like “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” however. These are not lazy, shallow shows that rely on tropes and expectations to tell their stories, but shrewd and layered works of art. All of Gilligan’s characters are flawed, even those who aren’t corrupt, and the world he puts them in is a harsh but realistic place where doing the “right” thing is rarely a feasible option. Gus, regardless of his orientation, is a sinner among sinners, and – thanks to Esposito’s impeccable performance and the excellent work of the writers – he’s just as deeply human as any of the rest of them.
The best LGBTQ representation happens when queer characters are allowed to be simply characters. When their story has nothing to do with their queerness, yet their queerness is still part of their story, they can be truly authentic reflections of queer life in all its infinite facets. Gus Fring may not be a good role model, but he’s thrillingly real – and for that, Vince Gilligan deserves our thanks.
Now, with his epic saga finally at an end, Gilligan says it’s time for him to walk away from the complex narrative he wove over the course of the two shows (and the feature film “El Camino,” which brought closure for fan-favorite character Jesse Pinkman, played by Aaron Paul), and although he’s not closing the door on the possibility of coming back to explore it further some time in the future, it’s not likely to be soon. For now, he’s turning his attention toward his next project – a sci-fi series in the vein of “The X-Files,” the show that first brought him to prominence during his stint as a writer and showrunner for several seasons. That means we have to say good-bye to the “Breaking Bad” universe, along with all its characters, but it also means we can look forward to seeing what he gives us next.
Labor Day weekend parties and a Boy George concert among attractions
Below are our picks for some of the most fun and creative things to do this week in the DMV that are of special interest to the LGBTQ community.
Tuedsay, Aug. 30 7-10 p.m. Uproar Lounge & Restaurant 639 Florida Avenue, N.W. Facebook
DCGY wants to invite you all to a freeplay gaming social event! All gaming stations will be open for free play — hosting games such as Super Smash Bros., Ultimate, Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, Kirby and the Forbidden Land, Mario Party Superstars, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Brawlhalla, and more.
Wednesday, Aug. 31 6-8 p.m. As You Are Bar 500 8th Street, N.E. Facebook
All women, trans, non-binary and gender nonconforming folx are welcome at this Team DC Sports Mixer at As You Are on Wednesday.
Wednesday, Aug. 31 8 p.m. Trade 1410 14th Street, N.W. Facebook
Join host Mari Con Carne and special guest Desiree Dik for Noche de Loteria at Trade. Lotería is a game of chance similar to bingo popular in Mexican culture. Stick around for a show.
Thrusday, Sept. 1 6:30 p.m. Shaw’s Tavern 520 Florida Avenue, N.W. Facebook
Celebrating 10 years, Shaw’s Tavern is holding a party on Thursday. Trivia, music, entertainment, appetizers, champagne and drag make for a fun evening out.
Thursday, Sept. 1 8-10 p.m. Wolf Trap 1551 Trap Road Vienna, Va. Facebook
Boy George and the Culture Club returns to the DMV on Thursday for a concert at Wolf Trap.
Friday, Sept. 2 – Monday, Sept. 5 Events in venues across the city catering to the LGBTQ community
Friday, Sept. 2 7:30 p.m. Stead Park 1625 P Street, N.W. Facebook
Bring your blanket, picnic basket and friends to a movie night at Stead Park featuring “The Greatest Showman.”
Saturday, Sept. 3 9 p.m. Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant 555 23rd Street S Arlington, Va. Website
Catch one of the area’s best drag shows at Freddie’s Beach Bar on Saturday.
Saturday, Sept. 3 10 p.m. JR.’s Bar 1519 17th Street, N.W. $10 donation suggested / 21+ Facebook
“For millennia, a human species called QUEERS have fought for their spaces to celebrate their community. They are still in that fight and under attack by the GLOBAL EMPIRE! However….A small group of alien beings have decided to descend to Earth to assist the RESISTANCE and help QUEERS dance their way to UTOPIA!”
Sunday, Sept. 4 10 p.m. Flash 645 Florida Avenue, N.W. $30/$40 Facebook
The city’s top DJs will be spinning into the morning at Flash for a night to remember.
Panel discussion to include overview on DADT impact on D.C. LGBTQ servicemember community
The Mayor’s Office of Veteran Affairs will host “Rewriting the Narrative of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. at As You Are DC.
This panel discussion will include an overview of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’s’ impact on the D.C. LGBTQ veteran community.
The event will also touch on the thousands of service members who were discharged without benefits and how to create an environment where LGBTQ D.C. veterans and allies feel empowered, changes to the VA medical center can be made, and, overall, get into one system of a justified platform for all veterans to be treated fairly.
More details are available on Eventbrite.
St. Kitts and Nevis sodomy law struck down
Chinese activist continues fight for LGBTQ, intersex rights from U.S.
Man who threatened D.C. hotel workers with gun pleads guilty
D.C. Veteran Affairs revisits ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’
Deceased gay mayor of Hyattsville accused of embezzling $2.2 million
Peace Corps group to host comedy show
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