Quite a few transphobes lost their seats. [laughter]
Welcome to The Outlifting Lounge, the weekly show serving queer conversation,
news, and no-nonsense fitness for gay, bi, and trans guys.
I'm Alan.
And I'm his husband, Derec.
Coming up today, we discuss the hilarious new season of Smoggie
Queens, mark the International Day Against Homophobia Transphobia and Biphobia, celebrate
a big gay court settlement against TalkTV, and much more.
Let's start the show.
Very sorry there was no show last week.
I think Pride in Maspalomas just got the better of us.
We were very busy.
It certainly did, yes.
You were obviously working 13 shifts in a row.
We had my dad here visiting.
Unfortunately, our dog Haggis had multiple visits to the vets.
And we had some other friends visiting as well,
so it's been a crazy couple of weeks.
Yeah. And we tried to fit in a recording of
the show, but it just wasn't going to happen.
So apologies if you were expecting a show last week.
We're very bad and we missed it.
But anyway, welcome to episode 25, even if it is a week late.
We're back, back, back, back, back, back again.
Yeah.
And there's actually, strangely, not going to be a fitness
section on the show today because there's just so much
LGBT stuff to discuss from the past couple of weeks.
But before we get into the more serious stuff,
we need to announce that Smoggie Queens is back.
Season 2 launched on Friday.
Yeah, we've been loving it.
It is such a funny season.
Like, we loved Smoggie Queens Season 1 and this
season is just, it's like next level funny.
It is so, so good.
We watched the first few episodes back to back.
We just binged them and... so many laugh out loud moments.
It's brilliant.
Like season 1, there were so many laugh out loud moments and
there's even lines that we quote from season 1, but I think
season 2 has just kind of surpassed that even more.
It's hilarious.
I don't want to give any spoilers away, but if you
haven't watched it yet, you need to start watching it.
It is on BBC iPlayer and you can binge them all and if
you need a little pick-me-up, it is the best thing to watch.
Yeah, if anybody hasn't watched it or heard of it yet, basically
the synopsis of it is, it's set in the heart of Middlesbrough.
It's a quirky bunch of LGBTQ+ pals who embrace their identities,
find solace and joy within their community's small but vibrant pocket.
And do you know what?
I think at the core of it for me, the thing that
makes it so special is that it's all about chosen family.
It's about that family that you just find and
it makes like absolute logical sense for you.
And I love how the first episode of season 2 has
picked up from where the last episode of season 1 finishes.
I don't want to give anything away if you've not watched
it, but it's really, the last episode is really, really special.
We cried at it, so it was really cute to see that
that was picked up from episode 1 of the new season.
It's just such a special show, because it is quite absurdist in its comedy.
It's quite silly, but it balances it so
perfectly with this really beautiful, heartfelt message.
And I think on the surface, people might think, oh,
it's a drag queen thing, or it's a gay thing.
And do you know what?
Yes, absolutely, that's what a lot of the show is.
But do you know what?
At its core, it's just actually a really beautiful show.
It's a really funny show.
And it's just, it's a brilliant watch.
It's an absolute perfect comedy.
It really is.
And we spoke about Smoggie Queens before, and we did say our very good
friend, Phil Dunning, as a joke, but actually he has become a friend now.
Yeah.
So we met him in the Yumbo last year, around about this time.
So if anyone doesn't know, Phil Dunning is
the creator and producer of Smoggie Queens.
And we met him here last year when he
was on holiday, celebrating his birthday with his friends.
And we just so happened to walk past them in the Yumbo.
And we went over and just told him how much we
absolutely love the show and how much it means to people.
And then we ended up meeting them out later on that night.
And we took them to a karaoke bar, had the maddest time
with them, because all these friends are obviously actors and theatre people.
And they were singing in the house down
boots in a bar here called Karaoke Kelly's.
And it was the best night ever.
And it just so happens that he was back this week with
his friend Lewis, who is in episode 2 of the new season.
And we met up with them, we had a really good night out,
and they had a great day at the beach with them yesterday.
We did. They're great.
Do you know what?
They're just such great guys.
And we, like, at the beach yesterday with them, it's
been a while since I've laughed that hard as well.
They're just so fun.
We came up with about a million new drag names, which is one of
my favourite pastimes, and it just so happens that they love doing it too.
Clara Tropical.
Yeah, so we've decided Lewis is Clara Tropical, and if Phil
ever becomes a Spanish drag queen, he is Shirley Espadrille.
Yeah, and he's so down to earth, and, you know,
he deserves all the success for this show, because it's
really nice to see good things happening to good people.
Yeah, yeah, and also, the whole reason for us doing this podcast
is to just champion LGBTQ people and movements and activism and entertainment
and everything else, and it's really good to see not only this show
be commissioned, but when I logged into BBC iPlayer on Friday morning, it
was the main banner on iPlayer, so BBC are really pushing the show,
they're really getting behind it, and it's brilliant to see, because it deserves
every success, it deserves to run for a very long time, and fingers
crossed, hopefully, it gets commissioned for another season, and another season after that,
and another one after that, because it's just so good.
Yeah, it's kind of like Gimme Gimme Gimme, you know, that had a
bit of a cult following, way, way, way, way, way, way back, and
it was very niche as well, and although this is niche, it's mainstream,
and it's great that the BBC are absolutely pushing it, so yeah, season
3, yes please, and 4 and 5 and 6 and 7.
Yes, let's keep it going.
Ah!
I just remembered how cheap my carpets are!
Yeah, and if you don't get that reference, watch the show!
Right, let's move on.
Do you know what, just before my move away from TV stuff,
because we are going to get into some more serious issues
I just want to touch on another show that we have, like, we've
talked about it to death here, but I just want to touch on
it because we finished it, and it's The Comeback with Lisa Kudrow.
It was a very special last episode.
Yeah, so season 3 came back very unexpectedly after, like, more than
20 years between season 1 and season 3, and we watched the
final episode last night, and it was just so special.
Yeah, we shed a tear, didn't we?
Yeah. And it was great how they ended it, because it's how
the first episode of the first season started, as well.
And there's a little in-joke at the end of it, as well.
So if you haven't watched it, you're going
to have to watch it to understand it.
But, yeah.
Lisa Kudrow was talking about it the other day, and
just how much it means to the LGBTQ community.
And I think it really does, because the underlying message is about,
you know, not being accepted, or, you know, fighting to be seen.
And that's exactly what we have to do, isn't it?
Yeah, you know, like, it is, on the surface, it's a comedy show,
a bit like Smoggie Queens, but when you dig deeper, there's so much
love for the characters, like, the writing in the show is amazing.
So much love for the characters, there's so much love for women
in the show, and it's about the strength and the power of
women, and there's a lot, I mean, there's, it's not a show
that bashes men, but there is one episode in particular, and I
think it just highlights the difference between men and women.
There's so much love for queer people and queer characters.
It's just brilliant.
I love it.
Again, we're going to champion it.
If you haven't watched it, watch it.
All three seasons are available to watch now.
Sounds like you're on the promo team.
I know, but I should really get a job.
Shall we talk about more serious things?
Yes, we have to, yeah.
Let's do it.
So today is the 17th of May, which means it is...
International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.
Yeah. Today is an annual event.
It commemorates the World Health Organization's 1990 decision to
remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders.
1990?
Wow.
That's so recent.
I know.
For that to have been removed.
Now, it won't be the case for everybody listening
to this show, but that is within our lifetimes.
You know, it's recent.
It's not ancient history.
So it's really important that we keep commemorating this day
and marking it and also highlighting why it's still important.
There are a few points that are made in the
official messaging from IDAHOBIT, and we're just going to read
them now to explain why it is still so important.
Do you want to kick off, Alan, with the first one?
Yes, so 65 UN member states
still criminalise consensual same-sex sexual acts.
That's a shocking number, like 65 UN member states.
That's huge.
And this is the reason why we have to celebrate a day like this.
As well as that, at least 62 of those member states
still restrict freedom of expression for LGBTQ people as well.
So it's all well and good for us being able to go out and wave
our flags of pride, but there's a lot of people that can't do that.
Exactly.
If anybody ever asks you why we need pride, just
read out these to them and hopefully they'll understand.
So the next one that we have here is legal gender recognition based
on self-determination is only available in 18 countries at the national level.
I'm very proud to say that we live in one of those.
So Spain is one of those.
Ireland as well as one of those.
And to its absolute shame, the UK isn't.
It was tried to be passed in
Scotland and the Westminster government blocked it.
Absolutely,
they abused their powers to stop it happening.
Even though a democratic decision was made in the
Scottish Parliament to pass it, they overruled it.
So the last point that's made, and I think this is
really, really important because sometimes the I in LGBTQIA can be
forgotten about or overlooked, but only nine UN member states restrict
unnecessary medical interventions on intersex minors at the national level.
It is really important because what's happened with intersex conditions for a
long time now is that at birth, kids need to be assigned
either male or female into this binary, and it medicalizes children right
from the start, and it makes a decision that lasts for a
lifetime, and we see and hear many people tell stories that the
wrong decisions were made for them, and it was something that was
imposed on them that was wrong, and it's really shocking that only
nine UN member states restrict these unnecessary medical interventions.
So the global focus for 2026 is at the heart of democracy.
Truly, democratic societies must be grounded
in justice and freedom for all.
Yeah, we have to remember that we are very
lucky to have the rights that we do.
Not everybody does.
However, what I will say is that there was a big piece of
news during the week that shows that we can't take our rights for
granted, especially people who live in the UK at the minute.
Yeah, absolutely right.
I mean, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the
UK is different and, you know, they've got equal rights, but actually, from
a piece that came out during the week, it's completely different to that.
Yeah, so the ILGA release a rainbow map of Europe every
year to show how countries rank in terms of LGBTQIA rights.
And it's really shocking because the UK used to be, like,
up at the top of the leaderboard year on year.
And things have shifted so much over the last few years that the
UK has slipped way down to near the bottom at number 22 now.
It's crazy.
I was really shocked when I saw that last week.
I can't believe it slipped to number 22.
And I think it's really easy to think, like we've just touched on,
that the UK is really progressive when it comes to LGBTQ rights.
But slipping to number 22 paints a different picture.
It's really bad.
Really bad.
Like it was so good for so long.
And, you know, I think that should be like a siren going off for
people to make them realise that, you know, we can't take rights for granted.
We can't have this mentality of, oh, we've got our rights.
We can marry.
We can do this.
We can take our foot off the gas now because we just can't.
We need to keep fighting for rights for all of the rainbow family.
That includes trans people.
That includes intersex people.
Because when these people are separated off, when they are singled out,
as is happening in the UK at the minute, particularly with the
trans community, and their rights are attacked, it's a slippery slope.
It really is a slippery slope.
And who's next?
It'll be the gay people.
It'll be bisexual people.
And then once they're done with us,
it'll move on to attacking women's rights.
They will attack abortion rights.
They'll attack... And we've seen this happen in other parts of the world.
So, it's so super important.
This should act as a warning.
However, it wasn't all awful news.
No. Spain toppled Malta.
Malta hailed the number one spot for 10 years, and Spain took
it this year, and we're very lucky to live in Gran Canaria
and live in a country that is supporting the LGBTQ community.
Yes, really, really fortunate.
We're very, very grateful.
But we will not stop using our voices
for people in other parts of the world.
So, let's talk about some other people who are really,
really using their voices in the UK at the minute
to stand up for our rights and our communities.
And this first story that I want to talk about, this is somebody
that I have known for over 20 years, used to work with them.
They have worked on the drag scene in Belfast for a long time,
including at a bar that I worked at at the same time.
This is Marcus Hunter-Neill, who goes by
the drag persona Lady Portia Di'Monte.
Now, before we read out the story, I just want to say,
Marcus is one of the loveliest people you will ever meet.
He is so driven.
He's so successful.
He's so good at what he does in every aspect of his life.
For me, he's always been a very impressive person.
He's always actually been a really respectful person as well.
He is somebody that brings people together.
I think he's great.
But he has now stood up, not just for
himself, but I think for the wider community.
So yeah, this is actually a really positive story in the end.
So Marcus was doing a drag time story hour in one of the local libraries.
And unfortunately, people came down to protest against it.
And he was actually removed from the venue
by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
And as he was being removed, there were crowds
outside who were chanting awful, awful things at him.
And TalkTV ended up running a piece on that, quoting the
things that were being chanted at him, and basically defaming him.
And this grew arms and legs, and it ended up on social media.
And he was being trolled on social media.
And the piece that they ran on him was absolutely unfounded.
So he obviously got a lawyer involved, took them to
the cleaners, and booted them right in the balls.
This is what I mean.
Marcus is a very driven person.
He gets things done.
He is not the person to mess with.
So he instructed Phoenix Law, who have
done an amazing job in representing him.
And he has now won substantial damages against TalkTV.
Talk about a real win.
Yeah, it's amazing.
And his quote in this article from Phoenix Law, it's more
about him saying, yeah, we need to stand up to these
people because this can't go on in the UK, basically.
And he has done so well to highlight
what is happening to the LGBTQ community.
And also this is a huge win for him and our community as well.
Yeah. Big corporations and media conglomerates, they don't really care about us.
They care about viewing figures.
But one other thing they do care about is money.
So if you can hit them where it hurts, if you can hit
them financially by taking them to court and winning damages, they will think
twice about saying awful things about our community and members of our community.
community in future.
So absolute big up to Marcus, Lady Portia, brilliant stuff, brilliant work.
Well done.
Round of applause.
And you know what?
The good news doesn't end there because
we had the Scottish parliamentary elections.
And Scotland has just elected their first two trans MSPs.
Yeah, so the Greens massively expanded
their numbers in the Scottish Parliament.
And that included Q and Iris, who both identify
as members of the trans and non-binary communities.
And in case you haven't heard, to make it even sweeter, Q
is actually the representative of the area that JK Rowling lives in.
Yes, so JK Rowling now has a trans MSP, which is poetic.
It's just, it's, mwah, chef's kiss.
Now, you've probably heard this news already because it was
all over social media and people were gloating about it.
And you know what, they're right to have their moment.
What has absolutely gone unnoticed though, and because I used to
work in Scottish politics, I have dug into all of these
results and looked at them, that what has gone unnoticed is
that quite a few transphobes lost their seats.
So not only do we have two trans MSPs, we have Ash Regan,
who is one of the most vociferous transphobes in the Scottish Parliament.
She was a sitting MSP.
She ran for re-election in a regional seat.
She ran exclusively on a transphobic dog whistle,
inverted commas, protect women and girls ticket.
That was her whole thing.
And she got 0.6%
of the vote and came nowhere near being re-elected.
0.6%!
It's not even worth counting those.
No.
And the thing is, she was a sitting MSP, a
very high profile individual in Scottish politics because she got
so much airtime from the media for her transphobia.
They love to reward it.
But it doesn't actually resonate with the public, as
we also saw from the results for Fergus Ewing.
So, Fergus, again, long-standing MSP.
He left the SNP and stood as an independent.
He is another transphobe.
And he came third.
Bye, Felicia.
So, yeah, he's been booted out.
Ash has been booted out.
And also, Pam Gosal from the Scottish
Conservatives, another rabid transphobe, lost her seat.
And to make it even better, in the region that she stood
in, in the 2021 elections, the Scottish Conservatives won two seats.
This time round, the Greens went from one seat
to two seats, and the Tories lost a seat.
So, Pam is booted out.
And there is an extra Scottish Green, who,
as we know, the party is incredibly LGBTQIA+
friendly.
Makes me very proud to be Scottish.
Yes.
And you can be an honorary Scot for
this, if you've lived there long enough.
Oh, I have.
Oh, I have been an honorary Scot for a long time, don't you worry.
There's some really, really good positive news coming out of that.
Yeah, and there's one last story that we want to
cover, and it's political as well, because basically it is
about Reform UK being given two fingers in Durham.
Yes.
So, Durham Pride is to go ahead later
this month despite Reform withdrawing council funding.
So again, bang, right in the balls.
Yeah, Reform have been doing this.
It's token politics.
They are stopping rainbow flags from being flown.
They're withdrawing funding from pride organisations, and it's all dog
whistle politics, because they don't actually care about saving money.
They just care about the optics.
They want to take money from queer people, and God knows
what they're going to spend it on, but you can be
sure as hell, it's not going to be to fill potholes.
So yeah, I think we have to take a moment to
recognise Equity Union, who came in and donated more than enough
to Dunham Pride to make sure that it goes ahead.
So that is some really, really good news.
Yeah.
I mean, let's face it, among Equity's members,
I'm sure there's one or two gays.
Yeah, probably.
So yeah, that was really, really nice of
them to come in and donate over £7,000.
So if you're in the Durham area, or around about or you're looking
for a Pride to attend, why don't you go and support them?
Yes, and if they are out rattling buckets, remember,
Pride events are not free to put on.
It does cost money.
And if you can even put in a bit of loose change into
the buckets to help them fund this year and next year's Pride, please
do it because we are under attack and we all need to make
a contribution to make sure that these events still go ahead.
I think that's quite a positive note to end on.
Now, we did say at the start of the show, there is no fitness section.
So we're just going to wrap up now.
Just before we do, I want to remind listeners that Alan and
I run Outlifting, which is an online business to help gay, bi
and trans guys change their bodies and build unstoppable confidence.
We do that through online fitness coaching,
through nutrition coaching, through accountability coaching.
There is so much to our service and there is an
ever-growing community of guys who are part of Outlifting, who are
doing amazing things, changing their bodies, changing their lives,
and we want you to be part of it.
If you think you could benefit from working
with us, we do offer free discovery calls.
You can meet with one of us by video chat to discuss your goals.
We can tell you how we can help and then you can decide in an
absolutely no-pressure environment whether or not we are the right fit for you.
To book yourself in for one of those calls, just click the
link in the show notes now, choose your date and time and
we really do look forward to meeting and chatting with you.
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That's us for this week.
There will be a new show next week.
Make sure you are subscribed on your podcast platform
of choice to keep up with the conversation.
But for now, over and Outlifting.