Check out these vintage gay Pride photos straight from the archive, then catch up on the latest from Gay TikTok:

Karamo Brown described being set up by Queer Eye producers. 

Provincetown celebrated Pride month.

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@lifeofingram Have you been to P-Town? #capecod #pridemonth #fyp #gaytiktok ♬ Pink Pony Club – Chappell Roan

Kay Mon covered lesbian terms.

Marc Jacobs shopped his store.

Alan Bersten woke up early.

Sam Salter reacted to his Calvin Klein campaign.

The NYC Council hosted the historic first-ever Pride Ball at City Hall.

@thenewsmovement

City Hall is a ball, love. Ballroom performers took over NYC's City Hall for a Pride kickoff event. Fierce.

♬ original sound – The News Movement

Sister Mary Blaze crossed the street.

Andy Cohen surprised Anderson Cooper at work.

@cnn CNN’s Anderson Cooper got a birthday surprise from Andy Cohen at the end of the show. #cnn #news #andersoncooper ♬ original sound – CNN

And Jennifer Lopez gave all LGBTQ’s permission to skip work.

@guy_with_expensive_stuff Jennifer Lopez Wishing You A LOUD And PROUD Month Happy Pride! 2026 @JLO ♬ original sound – Adam Lopez

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It’s a Malia Pyles summer, y’all!

After breaking through with teen mystery series Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin in ’22 and returning for its follow-up Summer School in ’24, the 25-year-old queer actress is back to rule the season with two major projects in the same week!

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For one, she’s part of the star-studded ensemble of Apple TV’s Cape Fear miniseries, a new spin on the classic Southern Gothic thriller with Amy Adams, Javier Bardem, and Patrick Wilson which somehow looks even more sweaty, lurid & bone-chilling than the Martin Scorsese version from ’91.

Then, on the complete opposite end of the genre spectrum, she can be seen playing cool-girl Sasha in She’s The He, trans coming-of-age tale that flips gender-swap comedies on their head.

From director Siobhan McCarthy, the film sees high school best friends Alex (Nico Carney) & Ethan (Misha Osherovich) pretend to be trans so they can get into the girls’ locker room, only for Ethan to realize she actually is trans. Sure, it might sound like a shocking premise, but with a largely queer and trans cast & crew, She’s The He is a bold reclamation of teen movie tropes for the community filled with heart and humor, and Pyles immediately knew she wanted to be a part of it.

With She’s The He playing in select theaters and the Cape Fear now streaming, we were lucky to grab some time with Malia Pyles to invite her into the hot seat for our long-running Q&A series Dishin’ It. In our conversation, the star opens up about her formative crushes, Pride month plans, and why she’s proud to eb part of a comedy that lets trans folks be “in on the joke instead of the butt of it.”

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Is there a piece of media—whether a movie, TV series, book, album, theater, video game, etc…—that has played an important role in your understanding of queerness and the queer community, or your own identity? Why does it stand out to you?

A few if that’s allowed… 

A Chorus Line. More specifically the documentary about the 2006 revival Every Little Step. Even more specifically, Paul’s (Jason Tam’s) monologue. It still makes me weep every time I watch it. I would explain it but I would rather readers watch it. It’s a musical with poignant queer stories on full display and a documentary about the daring voices behind them. It always reminds me of my why. Why I want to be a vessel for our stories, why I put my body on the line, and why I love what I do.

More on music, Marika Hackman was perpetually playing all of age 14 and onwards. Although not “overtly queer,” I think her poetry and melancholy really spoke to something deep inside me I wasn’t ready to put words to. Also, discovering the late and great Sophie at 13 had a huge impact. I think Sophie might’ve been one of the first trans folks I saw in the media, and there was never a question about Sophie’s identity. Sophie just was. And Sophie’s music made me feel like I could just be.

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Congratulations on She’s The He! Tell us about how you first learned about the project & why you wanted to be a part of it?

Someone that was dear to me was signed on to the project so I had read the script in support and I thought it was so brilliant. I knew I wanted to be part of it in some capacity. At the time of reading I didn’t picture myself as any of the characters. I was truly just raising my hand to loiter around set. They offered me Sasha, and I thought I couldn’t possibly be their Marilyn Monroe (Some Like It Hot) insert and despite my protests that I was neither a sex symbol nor the “illusive queen bee,” producer Vic Brandt and Shiv McCarthy saw something in me and their urging to trust my confidence and my femininity has changed the way I see myself and the characters I could play. I had my own lessons to learn about womanhood and personal biases/could & couldn’ts defined by toxic assertions of what is a woman or rather what they should be. 

Your character, Sasha, is the classic high school cool girl character. Do you think high school Malia would’ve been friends with her? Why or why not?

Yes and no. I love that Sasha is described as queen of the weird girls. I see her as someone that likes to adopt misfit toys and take them under her wing, and man that would’ve felt good in high school. There is something aspirational about her nature; unapologetic confidence that kicks down doors—she embraces her body and is truly unencumbered—even if she’s sometimes a little delusional, she knows herself and she rocks it. But at the same time I know despite her aura and posse, even high school Malia would have a low tolerance for some of her antics and ideas around the “rules.”

At a time when the trans community is under attack from the highest levels of government, She’s The He boldly flips stereotypes & genre conventions on their head. What do you hope audiences—especially queer/trans/nonbinary audiences—take away from this movie?

I feel like a lot of gen-z has the experience of rewatching early 2000s movies and preparing for that moment of full body cringe at a poorly aged joke. I think it’s cool we got to make a teen film that is just as crass and has just as many absurd hijinks, but this time trans folk get to be in on the joke instead of the butt of it. I hope audiences get to have a communal moment of joy and hear their voices in the film. That feels like an act of protest in itself. Getting to laugh. The great thing about having a predominately trans/queer crew is that we get to pepper in all the inside jokes people that have lived the experience tend to share. I hope the film feels familiar and stands as a reminder that resilience comes in lots of forms. 

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Where’s one of the first spaces you can remember that made you feel a part of a queer community?

Most of my high school friends slowly and one by one came out as queer, so I guess even in moments I felt alone I was surrounded by community lol. But as an adult, this project was a game changer for me. It felt really special to create something with so many talented, like-minded folks. We felt like some kind of troop and on some days a circus hahaha. Traveling on the road with the film really added to that. Every theater felt like church. Getting to see queer folk get to have an experience together in person made me feel very proud.

Who’s a fictional character you had a crush on at a younger age (or maybe still do!)? What do you remember loving about them?

I was obsessed with Death Proof by Quentin Tarantino as a young teen because of the women in that movie. Rosario Dawson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Zoe Bell, Tracie Thoms, like come on. They were all so beautiful and kickass in their own ways. What’s not to love. Oh and Charlie’s Angels, but particularly Drew Barrymore… There’s definitely a pattern here.

It’s Pride Season! How are you celebrating this year? What’s something that makes you most proud to be part of the LGBTQ+ community right now?

I just moved to Brooklyn, Pride here is always a ball. Just going to continue spending time with the people I love and probably rewatch gay cinema faves: Desert Hearts, Monster (2023), Polyester to name a few.

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Who is an LGBTQ+ artist/performer/creator that you think is doing really cool work right now? Why are they someone we should all be paying attention to?

Actors get a lot of shine but I would encourage people to go through our crew with a fine tooth comb. Leah Morrison and Robbie Lundegard – our impeccable costume team, Isabella Monge – our production designer, Sela Pierce – camera etc., etc. Our crew created one of the most individual and intricate worlds of any set of any budget I’ve ever been a part of. Also shoutout Alice Maio Mackay and Jess McLeod, friends of the film, and uber talented trans filmmakers.

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She’s The He is now playing in select theaters in New York City & Houston, and will roll out into more theaters throughout the summer (more information here).

Related

She’s The He stars on how trans bathroom panic & Some Like It Hot inspired their radically joyful teen comedy
Nico Carney & Misha Osherovich talk about their new film that boldly flips “gender-swap” comedy tropes on their head.

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Sunday, June 7, is Seamen’s Day, also known as Fishermen’s Day or Sjómannadagurinn, an Icelandic holiday honoring those who brave the high seas.

Icelandair says the annual holiday kicked off in 1938 in Reykjavík and Ísafjörður and “continues to pay respects to Iceland’s fishing heritage and the people who built it.” Ships stay docked on this day so sailors can spend time with their families.

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Meet Airman Christian Sandoval.

And—even without questionable seamen puns—there’s always been something a little gay about sailor life. In a 2022 Art UK essay about depictions of sailors in the queer visual art canon, arts educator Jon Sleigh writes:

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“To be a mariner, or more explicitly to escape the societal conventions of life on the land was powerful indeed and recognized by queer audiences historically. Same-sex desire and affection was a facet of life at sea—in single-sex environments, freedom of movement and access to different cultures afforded more options. Gay bars in ports around the world mirrored this, as did the spread of the queer language Polari (a way to speak openly and in code without overtly incriminating yourself).”

Many of the social media users below seem to be enjoying that kind of freedom.

Some of these fellas are sailors by profession, some are enjoying recreational trips on the water, and some are just here for the cosplay… in varying states of undress!

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Myki Meeks isn’t your typical RuPaul’s Drag Race winner.

The 30-year-old drag queen made it from Orlando, Florida, to the world’s biggest platform for drag artists. Along the way, the theater queen proved there are plenty of ways to make herstory, creating a winner’s arc all her own.

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Though Myki always had star power, her run on Drag Race started with a four-challenge safe streak. As other competitors racked up wins for designing garments, penning girl group verses, and hamming it up in Saturday Night Live-style sketches, she stayed in the background.

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“RuPaul said it best on the finale, ‘This queen came in a chorus girl and she’s leaving a star,’” Myki recalled in an interview with Orlando Weekly. “I feel like that’s my big story arc of the season. I felt very ‘big fish in a small pond’ coming into an ocean full of other big fish.”

But in the middle of the season, things took a turn for Myki. Her fellow queens voted her into the bottom two of the talent show, leaving her on the brink of elimination.

“That kind of shook me up. I faced my biggest fear, which was going home without making a mark,” Myki said. “I knew from that point I couldn’t be in that position again, so I turned up the dial.”

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And turn up the dial she did: Myki won her first challenge the very next episode, making her the first winner of a regular Drag Race season to snag their first challenge win past Episode 5. She nearly won the Snatch Game with an uncanny impression of Drew Barrymore (one so good it got her an invite to the real-life Drew Barrymore Show) and proved her theatrical chops in the roast and the Rusical.

Myki closed out the season with an unprecedented win streak, clinching the last three challenges in a row and entering the finale as the clear frontrunner. Sure enough, one standout solo performance and a lip-sync battle to Miley Cyrus later, she was crowned America’s next drag superstar.

Though Myki is kicking off her reign with a North American tour, her home base is staying in Florida. In a state infamous for its far-right governor Ron DeSantis and controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law, Myki shines bright as a symbol of queer perseverance.

“I think if the right wants to be extra loud with their megaphone, well, b*tch, give me the speaker,” Myki said. “I hope to inspire others to speak up and show that, just because people are like, ‘Oh, I could never live in Florida.’ Well, we do, and I don’t plan on moving for a while. So we’ve got to speak up, create the community that we want and show the younger generation to not be afraid.”

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Paola Ramos never shies away from the story.

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To mark the beginning of Pride Month, and her 19th birthday, activist, college student, and model Zaya Wade hosted the 2nd Annual Translatable Ball at The Mayan in Los Angeles, bringing together community, creatives, and allies for an evening all about celebrating self expression and inclusivity. 

We asked co-founder Wade what Translatable Project, and the Translatable Ball, are all about. “Translatable is a safe space, it’s a community hub for queer youth, and their families, and allies, who just want to understand more about what the queer community, or the trans community is like, and tonight’s all about fun,” the teenager told Queerty.

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Wade’s father (and Translatable cofounder), NBA legend and activist Dwyane Wade, explained how the ball came about.

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“We were able to sit down with (Zaya) and try to find out what it is she wanted to do,” he shared. “As she’s gotten older, obviously there’s a lot of conversation around not only her, but around friends of hers, around the community that she’s a part of, and so we sat down with her and talked to her about what is she wished she had. And she said she wished she had community, she wished she had a safe space, a safe haven. That right there started the birth of Translatable.” 

When asked about Translatable’s mission to help families and LGBTQ+ youth, actor (and Wade’s step mom) Gabrielle Union offered her number one piece of advice. “Listen. You don’t have all the answers, your life isn’t their life, and it’s okay to learn from your kids. It’s okay to learn from your loved ones, and humble yourself, that there’s more to learn, and there’s more love to give.” 

Zaya credits Calypso Jete, winner of Season 1 of HBO’s Legendary, with introducing her to the ballroom scene and helping make the night possible.

“The legendary west coast mother Calypso Jete of Pinkladies, she was so helpful, she’s our co-host, we wouldn’t be here without her,” Zaya added. “She really introduced us to the ball culture, really helped us understand, so that we could really connect with our community.” 

Check out more video and images from the Translatable Ball below:

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Photos By Virisa Yong

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This week we’re celebrating the premiere of Master of the Universe, plus heart-racing GRWM vids, savage Cyclops artwork, and proof that boys will be The Boys.

Masters of the Universe mastered the Power fo GAYskull!

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Kevin Wada wilded out with Savage Land Cyclops.

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Corey Roberts was a catch.

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Elias Rieland got our (Kingdom) Hearts racing with his GRWM vids.

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Julian Avelar busted it out his Pride colors.

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Valerio Schiti brought our flags to full mast with his Captain America thirst trap.

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And, Houston Dietrich bro’ed out with The Boys.

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It’s officially the first weekend of Pride Month, and we’ve got short shorts to wear, vodka sodas to slurp, and parties to attend, so we’ll keep it quick.

The past week of LGBTQ+ news has been a rainbow, if you will, of hot goss, buzzy headlines, and cute boys.

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First, Tom Holland showed off his pits, Queer Eye stars spilled tea, and Andy Cohen got a new boyfriend, maybe?

Plus, dancer Sam Salter stripped down, Adults teased its Season 2 storylines, and Patrick Wilson debuted his Cape Fear revenge bod.

Otherwise, it’s been gags, pop girls, and guys — as usual.

We’re here, we’re queer, and these are the 10 things we’re obsessed with this week…

1. D.A.R.E. To Protect Trans Kids Tee

D.A.R.E. might have been a joke in my middle school, but this witty t-shirt (available for $31.99 on LGBTQ Outpost) twists the laughable logo into a message the entire LGBTQ+ community and our allies can get behind.

2. Madonna testing the glass

Is it really Pride Month unless Madonna performs an impromptu concert in Times Square, promoted by Grindr, for a crowd of rabid gay men with seemingly understanding day jobs, and then dangles her leg over the precarious edge?!? Safety first, queens!

3. “Protect Queer Art” T-Shirt

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Drag Race Season 16 star Megami has officially come full circle, transforming her iconic talent show performance from a moment, to a meme, and now a rallying cry uplifting LGBTQ+ artists. In a new collaboration with nonprofit Queer | Art, the drag performer uses the slogan from her glitter-lettered folding board gag for a tee available for a limited time with a $50+ donation to the organization, who supports queer artists across generations and disciplines.

Which feels all the more resonant this Pride Month especially. So, basically, she made some points when she said, “Protect queer art.”

4. HelloFresh

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HelloFresh coming out as hot-blooded allies of the — checks notes — bottoming community was not on my 2026 Pride Month Bingo card, but I have to say, I’m not mad about it.

5. Apple’s Pride Edition Watch Band

You’d think that after this many years of celebrating Pride, Apple would have run out of configurations of the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. But every time they unveil a new Apple Watch band for the month of June, I’m surprised, and this year’s edition (available in multiple sizes for $49 online) is no exception.

Comprised of vibrant yarns and a wavelike pattern, its description says it reflects “the unique identities that shape LGBTQ+ communities around the world.” I just think it’s pretty!

6. A Savage x Fenty serve, courtesy of Vivian Wilson

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Leave it to Rihanna and her fashion empire, Savage x Fenty, to absolutely nail a Pride Month collection! Not only does their inclusive line include unapologetically queer Boxer Briefs ($24.95), scoop-neck bralettes ($32.95), a Love Us Loud Graphic Tee ($49.95), and even jock straps ($24.98), but it’s led by Vivian Wilson, a.k.a El*n’s outspoken trans daughter, and Laith Ashley.

The whole campaign is soooo fierce, I’m ALMOST ready to forgive RiRi for not releasing an album since 2016.

7. “I Knew It, I Knew You” by Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift returned to her country roots for this long-teased contribution to the Toy Story 5 soundtrack, building on Randy Newman’s beloved sonics for a surprisingly cheerful tune about reuniting with a long lost friend… that will almost certainly make me bawl in theaters.

IDK if I’m just emotional, but something about that harmonica has me Googling, “queer line dancing nights near me.”

8. J. Lo’s message for Pride Month

Thank you, Jennifer Lopez, for this seemingly random Pride Month message telling your gay fans to get “loud and proud” — I see what you did there — but mostly for encouraging us to call out of work all month long.

9. Ellie the Elephant’s Queen of Pop tribute

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This week, the New York Liberty’s mascot Ellie the Elephant delivered a jawdropping halftime performance of a Madonna medley that had me so gagged, I’m considering getting season tickets next year. The Blond Ambition wig! The curation! The chair-ography!

As if we needed any more proof that the WNBA does not get the flowers it deserves!

10. Sweet Fortune by Ryan Beatty (even though it’s not out yet)

Until this week, I had no idea Ryan Beatty was releasing a new album, and now it’s all I can think about. His fourth record Sweet Fortune — available on deep red vinyl with a 12×24″ poster for $29.98 online — drops on June 26, and follows his Grammy Award-winning work on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, not to mention his past three albums of “if-you-know, you-know” heart-wrenching tunes.

If the record’s first single “Secret Language” is any indication, he’s about to blow up — and it’s going to be a Sad Bottom Summer.

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So many obsessions, so little time!

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Welcome back to our queer film retrospective, “A Gay Old Time.” 

The arrival of June marks the beginning of our column’s annual Pride series, where we focus on a common theme that connect the movies we discuss throughout the month. We’ve made our way through the LGBTQ+ acronym and traveled around the world in previous editions, but this year we’re focuses more on the stars rather than the films themselves.

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In a mini-series we’re calling “Old Queens Of Hollywood,” each week we’ll focus on a Classic Hollywood movie starring an actor or actress that we now know to have been queer. These people were either defiantly open during a time where it was discouraged—if not outright dangerous!—to be so, or have had their queerness retrospectively revealed through new information while looking closely at their lives with a present-day lens.

Specifically, we’ll be highlighting movies that informed the public perception of their sexuality, and in doing so we’ll make the case that we have always been on the screen, even if mainstream audiences have refused to see us.

We start the series by looking at one of the most provocative stars that Hollywood has ever had, and the movie that cemented her image as the most sexually defiant woman in showbusiness. 

A Star Is Born

Marlene Dietrich was born in the heart of Berlin, Germany at the turn of the 20th century. She became an entertainer from a very young age, working steadily in the prolific vaudeville and cabaret circuits of the city, and making her first film appearances as early as 1923. She made a name for herself in the thriving gay and drag bars of Berlin’s Weimar Republic during the ’20s, and was openly bisexual throughout her career.

Her breakthrough role came in 1929 with director Josef von Sternberg’s musical drama The Blue Angel, as a cabaret singer named Lola. The film became an international success, prompting both Dietrich and von Sternberg to move to the United States to pursue a career in Hollywood. Their first US film together would arguably also become their most influential.

Meet Me In Morocco

1930’s Morocco revolves around an American soldier in a French battalion named Tom Brown (a dashing Gary Cooper), who returns to Morocco after a battle in the ongoing Rif War against North African tribes. There, he meets a jaded cabaret singer named Amy Jolly (Marlene Dietrich, once again the kind of role that made her famous). 

In a classic romantic trope, Amy has sworn off men after being hurt too many times, and Tom believes he is the one to change that around. The two fall deeply and passionately in love, but Tom must soon return to battle, while Amy is being courted and becomes subsequently engaged to rich aristocrat Monsieur La Bessiere (Adolphe Menjou). Although it seems that they must spend their lives apart, Amy runs back to Tom when he returns once again from the battlefield, leaving behind a life of security.

Based on a 1927 novel by Benno Vigny, Morocco was produced and released during Hollywood’s turbulent transition from silent films (where both Dietrich and von Sternberg had their beginnings and early career success), and is considered one of the most accomplished romantic dramas to adapt and utilize dialogue, music, sound design, and silences to further deepen story and character.

Although the romantic storyline of two people separated by class and status against a war-torn backdrop was quite standard for the movies that Hollywood was producing at the time, Morocco stands out for its pre-Code visual language and one-liners that really underscore the eroticism, bursting sexuality, and yearning that exists not only between the two main characters, but within the army settlement as a whole. And of course, because of its infamous cabaret musical sequence.

Amy Jolly’s Big Number

Toward the beginning of the film, after Tom has been established as a womanizing soldier and Amy as an embittered performer both yearning for something deeper, the two meet during a cabaret act at the local club.

In what has now become one of the most iconic scenes in film history, Amy comes out dressed in a black tuxedo, tails and top hat, and sings the song “Quand L’amour Meurt” to a shocked audience that is equally scandalized and tantalized. She emanates an androgynous sexuality that hypnotizes everyone around her (including those watching the movie), and flirts with anyone nearby. She removes a flower from a girl’s ear, and kisses her on the lips, to the delight of the men sitting with her.

This sequence would become the distillation of Marlene Dietrich’s persona in Hollywood. Morocco did not originate this idea of Dietrich as a sexually-forward woman who could merge the masculine and the feminine with remarkable ease; she had been cultivating that all the way back to her years in Berlin. But this was the movie that made mainstream audiences associate her with that image.

The moxy that Amy Jolly embodies in that scene (even if not necessarily through the rest of the movie) was synonymous with Dietrich’s standing in Hollywood for the remainder of her career: an openly queer woman who one could not quite decipher, but that everyone seemed to be equally fascinated, attracted, and even scared by.

Marlene, You Old Timeless Queen!

Morocco earned Dietrich her only Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, but she would continue making films well into the 1950s. On the latter stretches of her career, she was mostly a live cabaret entertainer, loyal to her stage origins, who toured the world with her act. She would go on to have notable affairs and romances for the rest of her life with both men and women, including names such as Claudette Colbert, Dolores del Rio, John F. Kennedy, John Wayne, and Frank Sinatra. 

Morocco is perhaps the defining movie of her career, not only because of the turning point it marked in her professional life, but also because it created the iconography of a celebrity unafraid to showcase just how fluid a woman’s sexuality and gender expression could be.

She was suave. She was sexy. And in many ways, she has remained inimitable.

Morocco is currently streaming on Plex & The Roku Channel, and is available for digital rental or purchase via Amazon Prime Video & Apple TV.

You can keep track of all LGBTQ+ films covered in our A Gay Old Time column via writer Jorge Molina’s handy Letterboxd List.

Related

That time Marlene Dietrich’s daughter spilled the tea on her mom’s lesbian life… with scandalous results
She didn’t hold back about her mother’s sexuality

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This week Matteo Lane prepared for Broadway, Andy Cohen was spotted around town with a hunky new man, and WeHo Pride pulled the plug on Kathy Hilton. Here’s what happened on Instagram:

Alan Bersten competed with Danny Lawn.

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Flavio Valabrega took Lea for a walk.

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Heath Thorpe had a seat.

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Laith Ashley slipped into something comfortable.

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Chris Appleton filmed for Baywatch.

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Zack Taylor served island lover boy.

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Tahj Mowry got close.

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Ryan O’Connell took over the court.

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April Carrión watched the water.

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Jan Ravnik played games.

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Jonathan Houston wore sunscreen.

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Beau DeMayo sat on the stoop.

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Ricky Martin ate an apple.

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Bruno Alcantara got down for Pride.

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Jelani Alladin went for a run.

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Tom Holland showed pit.

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Matteo Santoro took a trip.

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Justice Fester ordered a drink.

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William Credella had watermelon.

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And Diplo made new friends.

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