- Culture

- News

- Answers & Advice

- Community

- Entertainment

Culture

- What If Gay Guys Were Normal About P**sy?

CULTURE | JAMES FACTORA | JAN 27, 2026, 5:19 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

What If Gay Guys Were Normal About P**sy?

An old trend seems to have come back en vogue as more trans guys enter the gay dating scene.

Wikimedia Commons

If there’s one thing gay men love to do, it’s simultaneously eroticize and fear the concept of pussy, a trend that unfortunately seems to be coming back en vogue these days.

Case in point: The newest episode of Ziwe, which will premiere this evening, finds the iconic host interviewing drag queen Monét X Change. In a brief clip previewing the episode, the Ru Paul’s Drag Race queen says she wishes she was a lesbian, “but eating [pussy, censored with a meow in the clip] is just so hard.” When Ziwe responds, “I think you could figure it out if you spent some time,” X Change said, “Well, there’s so many buttons and levers and things you have to push, is it the majora, the minora, I don’t know, like which one do you engage?” before professing, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a vagina in real life.”

Instagram content

To be clear, we love jokes here at Them dot us, and I did chuckle a little at this clip. But more than just laughing, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes a little, because both the whole “I wish I was a lesbian” thing and the whole “pussy is soooo complicated” thing are incredibly dated to me. Let’s get some new material!

First of all, we should all know by now that lesbians — sapphics in general — are as prone to messiness and chaos as the rest of us, just in a different flavor. (Let’s not forget the hellish psychological experiment that was The Ultimatum: Queer Love. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.) Second of all, we need to abolish the notion that the vagina is this incredibly complicated, scary behemoth to be conquered, because — let’s be honest — that’s just repackaged misogyny, even if it’s coming from someone who ultimately means well. Third of all, and it makes me sigh to even have to type this, but there are men with vaginas, yours truly included.

It sucks because it feels hard to talk about this without being instantly branded as a wokescold, and that’s certainly not what I’m trying to do here. There was a very strong sentiment in online trans communities in the 2010s that any kind of genital preference was inherently transphobic, which I think has since evolved. Most trans people I know, myself included, don’t think anyone should feel pressured to sleep with someone they don’t want to sleep with, and any reason for that is, for lack of a better word, valid. At the same time, I think gay men have recently gotten more comfortable talking about trans men’s bodies in ways that are, frankly, a little weird.

The exchange between Ziwe and Monét calls to mind a recent moment from comedian Caleb Hearon’s podcast, So True, that circulated briefly in transmasculine internet circles. In the segment, Hearon and his guest, Trixie Mattel, are speaking frankly about their sexualities, and the potential fluidity therein. There’s a pretty fascinating discussion about how Mattel got to the point of “jerking off to just solo female porn,” while still identifying as a gay man, which then leads to Hearon talking about his own experiences with pussy.

“I’ve gotten to where I am with my sexuality by trying everything and I think trying is good, I like trying and experimenting,” he says. Which is great! And then it takes a turn for the worse. When Mattel asks if he’s eaten pussy and what it’s like, Hearon responds in the affirmative and says that it “felt like a prison sentence.” Mattel, God bless her heart, tries to save Hearon by saying that we’re post “’90s TV gay,” summarizing the sentiment of that era as “‘Oh my god, gross, pussy.’” Tragically, Hearon jokes, “I’m back there, actually.”

“I think gay men have recently gotten more comfortable talking about trans men’s bodies in ways that are, frankly, a little weird.”

Once again, I don’t think that there’s actually anything wrong with not wanting to fuck trans dudes. In fact, I commend Hearon for admitting to having experimented, and then having realized it wasn’t for him. What I wish we could all move past, though, is feeling the need to comment on trans men’s bodies Like That in public forums. Mattel is right to observe that it’s a very dated aspect of gay male culture, one that ironically (or perhaps not) seems to be on the rise as more gay men become aware of trans men, and as more trans men join the ranks of cis gay guy hookup culture. Of course, we’ve always been present there — shoutout Lou Sullivan — but anecdotally speaking, I think it’s also true that the past several years have been a boom time for the transfags, one that’s most likely been aided by the increase in trans male adult performers, which in turn was aided by the rise of OnlyFans in the first half of the 2020s.

Gay guys are, of course, prone to crass objectification in general, so I can also see the argument being made that speaking about pussy in such a way is actually kind of affirming. But while I unironically love crass objectification, we also do have to think about the broader implications of what we’re saying especially, as much as I’d like to live in a time when our intra-community discourse had fewer consequences. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the current administration really hates cis women and trans men (and, of course, trans women and nonbinary people). Maybe we could be, I don’t know, a tiny bit more thoughtful when we talk about vaginas in public forums? Just a thought.

Moreover, the needless fearmongering around pussy is, frankly, a little boring. I empathize with Mattel — in that same episode of So True, he says that he “definitely could be with trans men,” but that “the opportunity’s never presented itself.” (Girl, you live in West Hollywood. I certainly know some Los Angeles transfags who would beg to differ!) He also expressed a fear that he would feel very “open to it,” only to find out “in real time that it’s not for me, and then I would feel like I’m using somebody as an experiment.”

A lot of gay men, it seems, are faced with this feeling, and while I can appreciate the sensitivity, I think I can also speak for most trans guys when I say, lovingly: You need to get over yourself a little bit. Trans men, especially trans men who fuck men, are not delicate little flowers. To be any kind of trans person on the apps requires a fairly high degree of mental fortitude. We know that a lot of the guys we’re hooking up with are probably a little out of their depth, unless they’re chasers, which is a whole other quandary that we don’t have the space for in this article. It’s OK to not know what you’re doing — in my opinion, one of the greatest aspects of gay hookup culture is that experimentation is kind of the name of the game. Hooking up with a stranger comes with all kinds of variable factors and an acceptance that both of you are taking some degree of risk; that’s true of men cis and trans.

I can also empathize because, on a personal note, until 2023, I had never slept with a cis man. (I went down the “lesbian to bi trans guy” pipeline, of which there are many such cases, or at least maybe more than you’d think.) It was something that I had a ton of hangups about, which was its own self-fulfilling prophecy; I was nervous and insecure about not having any experience, and the nerves prevented me, for quite a while, from getting said experience, long after I had already come to terms with my attraction to men.

Then, one day and pretty randomly, I just did it, and all of my psychological baggage around it magically vanished into thin air. Of course, this isn’t a perfectly symmetrical role reversal. But what I’m saying is that when it comes to sex, there’s no better learning than hands-on learning. It’s more than okay to have curiosity or insecurity or nerves around hooking up with a trans guy, in the same way that that’s true of having any kind of new sexual experience. Just please, I beg, on behalf of my brethren, be normal about it, especially when it comes to discussions in the public sphere.

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/gay-guys-vagina-jokes-transmasculine-people on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

News

- Berkeley Students Make 300,000 Wikipedia Edits to Preserve Queer History Against Trump

- Utah GOP Ordered Study on Trans Youth Care. They’re Not Pleased With the Results

- Amid ICE Surge, Trump Admin Targets Minnesota Over Trans Student Athletes

- Turning Point USA Is Hosting Its Own Halftime Show Because the Super Bowl Is Too Gay

- Billie Eilish, Meg Stalter, and All the LGBTQ+ Celebs Speaking Out Against ICE

- "A Massive Victory": DOJ Drops Demands for Medical Records of LA Trans Minors

- Trump Admin to Require "Gender Ideology" Ban for $30 Billion in Federal Funding

- Renee Good's Autopsy Released by Family as DOJ Refuses to Seek Justice

- Kirk Pressley, Known as Ballroom's Legendary Boom Balenciaga, Has Died

- 2026 Olympics: Another Wife Couple Will Compete Against Each Other in Winter Games

POLITICS | JAN 27, 2026, 1:19 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Berkeley Students Make 300,000 Wikipedia Edits to Preserve Queer History Against Trump

Their work has already racked up nearly 100 million views.

Serene Lee/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Sign up for The Agenda, Them’s news and politics newsletter, delivered Thursdays.

Amid the Trump administration’s ongoing attempts to erase queer and trans history, a University of California Berkeley professor’s students are working to right these wrongs — through Wikipedia edits.

Over the past decade, students in ethnic studies, gender and women’s studies, and performance studies professor María Rodríguez’s courses have edited and even created Wikipedia articles about LGBTQ+ history, with an emphasis on queer and trans people of color. The assignment currently replaces a final paper in three of her classes: “Documenting Marginal Lives,” “Queer of Color Cultural Production,” and “Queer of Color Critique.”

Rodríguez’s Wikipedia assignments take place in partnership with Wiki Education, a nonprofit that works with university professors in the United States and Canada. The professors’ students add content to course-related Wikipedia articles, which, according to the organization’s website, helps them gain skills like “media literacy, writing and research development, and critical thinking,” while simultaneously filling Wikipedia “content gaps.”

“Wikipedia is a public-facing project — it’s the largest encyclopedia in the world,” Rodríguez told UC Berkeley News in a December interview. “In a political moment where these histories are actively being erased from public view, having students work on a platform like Wikipedia becomes even more important.”

According to The Daily Californian, as of January 26, Rodríguez’s students have contributed over 300,000 edits and 3,000 citations to Wikipedia. At the time of writing, their work has garnered a whopping 96 million-plus views. Her students’ topics run the gamut, touching upon local history like the resonance of queer life in San Francisco’s Chinatown, as well as more international focus areas (for instance: worldwide sex worker movements).

As Rodríguez explained to UC Berkeley News, her students’ edits often help address the disparities between the amount of Wikipedia information about white, Anglo LGBTQ+ populations versus LGBTQ+ populations of color.

“It becomes particularly important to document these subcultures within these communities,” she said. “Because it’s not just queer Latinas — it’s queer goth Latinas, it’s queer comics of color, it’s African American slaying, right? It’s very specific topics that might really vary by region, by historical moment, and of course at different places around the world. Those topics, in Wikipedia and in real life, remain really under-studied and really under-researched.”

These contributions carry a newfound weight during the second Trump administration, in which officials have repeatedly attempted to erase references to queer and trans history. In February 2025, National Park Service websites removed the word “transgender” from multiple pages for historical programs and monuments, as well as references to trans figures such as Marsha P. Johnson. Meanwhile, in June, an unnamed Defense Department official told Military.com that Trump timed an order to remove LGBTQ+ icon Harvey Milk’s name from a military ship to coincide with Pride Month.

“Right now, the Trump administration is trying to erase the very existence of transgender people, so having information about those histories, as well as present challenges facing queer and trans communities, is particularly urgent,” Rodríguez told The Daily Californian via email. “Queer and trans people have always been here, and adding that information to the world’s largest open access encyclopedia is one way to make sure that these stories remain available.”

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/berkeley-college-students-wikipedia-lgbtq-history-edits on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

POLITICS | JAN 27, 2026, 12:28 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Utah GOP Ordered Study on Trans Youth Care. They’re Not Pleased With the Results

Lawmakers are moving to ban transition-related medical care for minors despite the state’s own findings.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - SEPTEMBER 11: A view of Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States on September 11, 2025 (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)Anadolu/Getty Images

Sign up for The Agenda, Them’s news and politics newsletter, delivered Thursdays.

Last year, Utah Republicans were none too pleased when a state health department study they ordered found that trans healthcare bans “cannot be justified.” Now, they’re ignoring it entirely to push for a permanent ban on gender-affirming care for minors and limit trans adults’ access, as well.

Back in 2023, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed a bill that placed an indefinite “moratorium” on doctors prescribing gender-affirming care like puberty blockers and hormone therapy to trans youth. That bill asked the Utah Department of Health and Services to compile a report offering recommendations for the state government on whether or not to lift the moratorium.

In May 2025, the department finally released their over 1,000-page report to lawmakers. Like anyone with a heart and a basic grasp on science, the authors were overwhelmingly supportive of gender-affirming care for trans minors.

“It is our expert opinion that policies to prevent access to and use of [gender-affirming hormone therapy] for treatment of [gender dysphoria] in pediatric patients cannot be justified based on the quantity or quality of medical science findings or concerns about potential regret in the future, and that high-quality guidelines are available to guide qualified providers in treating pediatric patients who meet diagnostic criteria,” they wrote.

The report’s authors also debunked claims that there is “limited data on the use of [hormone therapy] in pediatric patients” by identifying 230 primary studies surveying over 28,056 trans youth.

“The consensus of the evidence supports that the treatments are effective in terms of mental health, psychosocial outcomes, and the induction of body changes consistent with the affirmed gender in pediatric GD [gender dysphoria] patients,” the report concluded.

Despite commissioning the study in the first place, state Republicans were perfectly happy to dismiss their own health department’s work. At the time, Republican Rep. Katy Hall, the House sponsor of the 2023 ban, and Rep. Bridger Bolinder, insisted in a joint statement to the Salt Lake Tribune that “young kids and teenagers should not be making life-altering medical decisions based on weak evidence.”

“Simply put, the science isn’t there, the risks are real, and the public is with us,” they added. “We intend to keep the moratorium in place.”

Now, Utah lawmakers are poised to take things a step further, moving to permanently ban minors from accessing gender-affirming care, despite Utah’s Health and Human Services Committee never hosting a discussion of the health department’s findings over the course of six public hearings held across the remainder of 2025, per a January 27 Salt Lake Tribune report.

H.B. 174, a new bill introduced by Republican Rep. Rex Shipp, would prohibit health care providers from providing “hormonal transgender treatment” to minors who were not diagnosed with gender dysphoria before January 28, 2023. Under the proposed law, patients would only be able to continue treatment if they are at least 17 years old and have been receiving treatment for at least two years, or if they will turn 18 within six months of the bill taking effect.

Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Nicholeen Peck has introduced H.B. 193, which would prohibit public funding for certain gender-affirming care, such as surgical procedures and hormone therapy. If enacted, the bill — which is similar to another that Peck unsuccessfully introduced in 2025 — would ban public insurance programs such as state employee plans and Medicaid from covering such care, even for trans adults. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, its passage would also lead to the closure of one of the state’s largest trans health programs, which operates through the University of Utah.

Collin Kuhn, a Utah-based nonbinary and transmasculine clinical child and adolescent psychologist, told the Tribune, lawmakers “have no intention of actually using the [state health department’s] data.”

“They just keep punting the line and pushing it back and back,” they said. “They knew what DHHS would say — everybody, including myself, told them, and they’ve [listened but] always been unwilling [to hear].”

Utah Republicans’ push to limit trans healthcare is in line with the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on trans Americans. Over the course of his second term, President Donald Trump and his Republican peers have doggedly attempted to enforce an executive order that he signed in January 2025 threatening to withhold federal funding from clinics, hospitals, and medical schools that provide gender-affirming care to trans minors.

Last August, the administration’s Department of Justice went so far as to demand that nearly two dozen hospitals around the United States provide extensive personal information about the minors to whom they provide gender-affirming care, including each patient’s name, date of birth, social security number, and address, as well as specific insurance claims and billing records.

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/utah-republicans-trans-youth-medical-care-ignoring-study on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

POLITICS | JAN 27, 2026, 9:18 AM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Amid ICE Surge, Trump Admin Targets Minnesota Over Trans Student Athletes

The move comes as the White House faces massive public backlash over ICE action in the state.

Probal Rashid/LightRocket via Getty Images

This story was originally published by The 19th.

The Trump administration on Monday targeted Minnesota schools, saying they have violated federal law by allowing transgender girls to play sports with their peers.

Minnesota is not the first state to be targeted by the administration over trans girls in sports, but the move came as the administration confronts backlash to the increasingly unpopular wave of immigration enforcement action focused in the state.

On Monday, a joint announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education said the agencies had notified the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) that it had failed to comply with Title IX by allowing transgender girls to compete in sports aligning with their gender. The letter also takes aim at the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL).

“The joint finding determined that, over the course of several years, MDE and MSHSL allowed male athletes to compete on the girls’ Alpine ski team, the girls’ Nordic skiing team, the girls’ lacrosse team, the girls’ track and field team, the girls’ volleyball team, and the girls’ fastpitch softball team,” HHS said in a statement.

Twenty-seven states ban transgender girls from competing with other girls in K-12 and college sports. Minnesota isn’t one of them. The Trump administration has tried to use levers at its disposal — including threatening to withhold federal funding — to force states to ban transgender girls. Last March, HHS concluded that Maine violated Title IX by allowing transgender girls to compete in sports that aligned with their gender. The Department of Education made the same conclusion about California last year.

In a media release, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said his agency will not look the other way while Minnesota violates Title IX, misgendering trans women in his statement.

“When states allow males to compete in girls’ sports, they deny young women and girls the protections the law guarantees,” he said. “After Minnesota refused to comply, we referred this case to the Department of Justice for enforcement.”

The Trump administration is facing massive political blowback for immigration actions in Minnesota and the shooting death of a second protester, Alex Pretti. The case against Minnesota dates back to September 30. When asked if the timing of the announcement was part of a retaliatory campaign against the state, HHS Press Secretary Emily G. Hilliard said in a statement to The 19th that the claim is “simply absurd.” He added: “As the press release makes clear, HHS initiated a compliance review in June 2025. Minnesota has repeatedly refused to comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by allowing males to compete in girls’ sports and to access female-only facilities.”

HRC Communications Director Laurel Powell said the administration is using children as collateral damage to advance hateful attacks on transgender people.

“The Trump Administration continues to rely on blatant federal overreach and petty bullying to steamroll states into complying with their discriminatory agenda,” Powell said. “While their untrained, unrestrained, violent ICE agents brutalize Minneapolis, they are demonstrating the depths they’re willing to sink to by threatening this enforcement action and defying the democratic systems designed to protect us from tyranny.”

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

Sign up for The Agenda, Them’s news and politics newsletter, delivered Thursdays.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/trump-administration-minnesota-trans-student-athletes-ice on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

NEWS | JAN 26, 2026, 3:50 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Turning Point USA Is Hosting Its Own Halftime Show Because the Super Bowl Is Too Gay

Fewer than two weeks away, the right-wing alternative still hasn’t announced a single performer.

Olivier Touron/Getty Images

Few events are more beloved in the U.S. than the Super Bowl halftime show, but hear us out: What if it had twice the bigotry, didn’t air on any TV channels, and was produced by one of the country’s most notorious clearinghouses for right-wing schlock?

That’s right, sports fans! There are fewer than two weeks to go before the arena spectacular nobody asked for: Turning Point USA’s (TPUSA) “All-American Halftime Show,” an alternative to Bad Bunny’s actual Super Bowl halftime performance, held for people who resent the Spanish language in general. Why does it exist? Who’s scheduled to perform, and will anyone remember they did a week later?

Not even TPUSA has all the answers, it would seem, but we’ve rounded up all the information we do know below for your edification and/or amusement.

Why are right-wingers mad at the NFL?

The roots of this conservative kerfuffle go back to September 2025, two weeks after TPUSA cofounder Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at a college speaking event in Orem, Utah. On September 28, the NFL announced that Puerto Rican trap superstar Bad Bunny would host the Super Bowl halftime show on February 8, with one senior vice president lauding his “dynamic performances, creative vision, and deep connection with fans” as reasons for the decision.

The Trump administration immediately blasted the NFL for honoring Bad Bunny, pointing to the artist’s decision not to tour in the U.S. last year in part due to concerns Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would stake out his shows. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees ICE, said in October that she would send agents “all over” the arena where Bad Bunny is to perform. Regarding the NFL, she went on, “They suck and we’ll win and God will bless us.” (House Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, said he had never heard of the three-time Grammy winner and thought the NFL should have hired “God Bless the USA” singer Lee Greenwood instead.)

When did Turning Point USA announce their own halftime show, and why?

X content

On October 9, TPUSA made a post on Elon Musk’s X announcing their own “All-American Halftime Show” to air at the same time as Bad Bunny’s performance. As Variety noted at the time, TPUSA’s website for the show contained a poll where visitors could vote on what genres of music they wanted to hear. Options included country, hip-hop (despite Kirk’s own hatred for rap), worship music, and — most tellingly — “anything in English.” (The poll no longer appeared on the website as of this writing.)

That last option appears to be the load-bearing pillar on which conservatives’ Bad Bunny animosity rests. Because his lyrics are almost entirely in Spanish, Bad Bunny is seen as not “American” enough to perform at the Super Bowl — and no, they don’t care that Puerto Rico has been a U.S. commonwealth since 1952.

Of course, it hasn’t helped that Bad Bunny is also a staunch defender of LGBTQ+ rights and dignity, and isn’t terribly concerned with upholding strict heterosexuality himself. In 2020 (the same year he guest starred with Shakira at that year’s Super Bowl halftime show), the performer appeared on The Tonight Show in a shirt honoring murdered trans woman Alexa Negrón Luciano, which read “They killed Alexa, not a man in a skirt.” Two years later, during a performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, Bad Bunny made headlines by kissing one of his male backup dancers, and he routinely wears skirts and other feminine clothing just because it feels good — truly, the stuff of religious conservative nightmares.

Who is performing at the TPUSA halftime show? Where will it be held?

That’s the best part: Nobody knows! The Super Bowl is fewer than two weeks away at time of writing, and TPUSA’s website still has no information on where their event will take place, no details about performers, and no links for supporters to buy tickets (possible because of those first two things). The show will also be broadcast on various right-wing streaming platforms, per the website, including Daily Wire+ and Real America’s Voice, but no cable channels are listed as carrying the feed.

The site currently only boasts about celebrating the general concepts of “Faith, Family, and Freedom,” and promises more information “coming soon” — but, uh, we’re kind of getting down to the wire here, folks. It’s possible that TPUSA is cooking behind the scenes, but from all publicly available information, the All-American Halftime Show looks like it might end up going down as a stadium-sized Hetero Awesome Fest.

Has Bad Bunny addressed the conservative backlash?

Bad Bunny laughed off the hate immediately after it arrived last year during his opening monologue while hosting Saturday Night Live. After making earnest remarks in Spanish about what performing at the Super Bowl meant to him, Bad Bunny switched back into English and quipped, “If you didn’t understand what I just said, you have four months to learn.”

More recently, Bad Bunny was rumored to be planning on pushing the envelope with his performance: anonymous sources claimed that he was “100% going to wear a dress,” a garment which was allegedly “already being sewn.” Production sources reportedly told TMZ since then that there were no plans for Bad Bunny to wear a dress — but while there may not be time for Turning Point to scrape together Lee Greenwood money, we’re hoping there’s still enough time to put a gown together for the occasion after all.

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/turning-points-usa-halftime-show-counteprogramming-bad-bunny on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

POLITICS | JAN 26, 2026, 12:15 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Billie Eilish, Meg Stalter, and All the LGBTQ+ Celebs Speaking Out Against ICE

Queer public figures are adding their voices to the growing national outcry.

Paras Griffin/Getty Images

The federal agency Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is facing widespread and growing national outcry after two fatal shootings in Minneapolis within the same month. More Americans now support abolishing ICE than leaving the agency intact (46% vs. 41%), according to a YouGov poll released on January 25, just one day after Border Patrol agents shot and killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge, an ongoing invasion of metropolitan areas by federal forces. Pretti’s death followed the killing of 37-year-old Renée Nicole Good on January 7.

As public sentiment against the agency has grown, many queer celebs have begun using their platform to call for the eradication of the federal agency and to share ways to support people living in areas facing an influx of ICE agents. Some, such as Hacks actress Hannah Einbinder, who said “Fuck ICE” during her September 2025 Emmys speech, have long been sounding the siren against the agency. Similarly, Grammy and Oscar winner Billie Eilish has been putting pressure on other celebs on Instagram to use their platforms to join the rising public outcry against the agency.

Here is a list of queer celebrities who have spoken out against ICE so far, from Eilish to Industry star Myha'la, and more.

Billie Eilish

In the early morning hours of Monday, January 26, Eilish shared a number of posts on her Instagram stories about Pretti’s killing and the ongoing presence of ICE in Minneapolis. Amid the reposts, Eilish also posted a direct plea to other celebrities to use their platforms: “hey my fellow celebrities u gonna speak up? or”

X content

Meg Stalter

Hacks star Meg Stalter called for the abolishment of ICE in a tearful video uploaded to Instagram on January 25. In the video, she spoke as a Christian and said that calling for an end to the federal agency is in line with what Jesus’s teachings. “I truly, truly believe that is exactly what Jesus would do,” she said.

“If you are someone who identifies as a Christian, but supports ICE or the president, I want you to remember that Jesus was executed for challenging the system,” Stalter said. “His life and teaching directly threaten the religious, economic and political power structures of his time and he was murdered. If you are a follower of Christ, I strongly urge you to follow what the Bible actually says.” Stalter then went on to read directly from Leviticus chapter 19.

Instagram content

“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them,” Stalter read. “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as native born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.”

Stalter went on to say that “our government is killing people and they are lying to us,” calling for the abolishment of ICE.

Hannah Einbinder

While Einbinder has been very public and outspoken in her criticism of ICE, including in her Emmys speech, she has continued to post against the agency on her Instagram. Over the weekend, she also reposted her Hacks co-star Stalter’s Instagram post saying that she would be leaving TikTok because of the platform’s alleged censoring of content critical of ICE.

Matt Rogers

In the early hours of Monday morning, Las Culturistas co-host Matt Rogers posted a full-text Instagram story calling for the abolishment of ICE.

“This is too much collective pain for us to handle. It must stop,” Rogers wrote. “Abolish ICE. Trump must go.” He added, “This is wrong.”

In a subsequent story, Rogers urged his followers to call their congressional representatives and call for an end to the “terror and the intimidation and the violence” in Minneapolis.

Kate Berlant

Amid a flurry of reposts against ICE, comedian and actress Kate Berlant posted a statement against the federal agency. “Sick to my fucking stomach,” she wrote. “Been spending very little time on this app but will be posting ways we can show up and protect our neighbors against these spineless boot-licking cowards who we will crush.” She added, “No one is safe everyone needs to step up.”

Naomi McPherson

MUNA bandmember Naomi McPherson took to her Instagram on Sunday to say “FCK EVERY SINGLE ICE AGENT.”

Instagram content

“CONGRATS YOU QUITE LITERALLY SOLD YOUR SOUL TO THE DEVIL,” McPherson wrote. “YOU ARE PROBABLY SO WEAKMINDED U COULDNT EVEN FINISH ONE CHAPTER OF THE GIVER OR CHRONICLES OF NARNIA.” She added, “FCK ICE FCK TRUMP AND FCK MAGA YOU ARE COWARDS AND WE OUTNUMBER YOU.”

Breanna Stewart

New York Liberty power forward Breanna Stewart called for an end to ICE in a post made Sunday, January 25. In the post, Stewart stands against a stark background holding a sign that says “Abolish ICE.”

“As a mother, nothing scares me more than seeing families torn apart, children traumatized, and parents living in fear of losing their loved ones.Our communities deserve better. They deserve safety, dignity, and compassion. Not trauma and division,” Stewart wrote. “Saying Abolish ICE is about advocating for policies that uplift families and strengthen communities, instead of fueling fear and violence.”

Instagram content

Elliott Fletcher

On Sunday, actor Elliott Fletcher posted on his Instagram that he would be streaming on Twitch with all donations from his stream going to those working on the ground in Minneapolis.

“Any/all donations given will be given to folks and organizations directly impacted by/ working against the terrorist/fascist ‘police’ known [as] ICE,” he wrote. “Let’s hang out, talk about what’s apparent, and take care of each other.”

Tessa Thompson

Actress Tessa Thompson has been reposting ways to offer material and mutual aid to those on the ground via her Instagram stories.

Myha'la

The Industry actress has been reposting several anti-ICE sentiments on her Instagram stories in the weekend following Pretti’s killing.

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/billie-eilish-meg-stalter-muna-matt-rogers-ice-criticism-lgbtq-celebrities on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

NEWS | JAN 26, 2026, 12:11 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

"A Massive Victory": DOJ Drops Demands for Medical Records of LA Trans Minors

Though a great relief to parents of trans youth, the subpoena is not entirely dissolved.

LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: This 27 June 1998 file photo shows lesbian couples hugging after getting married in a "Commitment Ceremony" held in North Hollywood. Gay activists, community leaders and several AIDS healthcare institutions were calling for a demonstration to protest against the death of Wyoming University student Mathew Shepard 12 October. An openly gay man, Shepard was beaten, lashed to a fence post and left to die by two Laramie, Wyoming, men who later espoused anti-gay sentiments, police said. President Clinton urged Congress to strengthen laws against hate crimes. AFP PHOTO/Hector MATA (Photo credit should read HECTOR MATA/AFP via Getty Images)HECTOR MATA/Getty Images

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has dropped its demands for the medical records and personal information of transgender minors treated at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA), under the terms of a settlement filed last week.

CHLA was one of roughly 20 hospitals subpoenaed by the DOJ last summer, as Trump administration officials sought to seize a broad range of documents related to gender-affirming medical care and those who receive it. According to court documents, the DOJ subpoena originally sought “[d]ocuments sufficient to identify each patient [...] who was prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy” since January 2020, as well as records about minor patients’ diagnoses and their guardians’ authorization for treatment. Several current and former trans CHLA patients sued, asking the court to quash the subpoena on the grounds that it violated their privacy rights.

The new settlement agreement, filed January 22, withdraws many of the DOJ’s demands for those records. CHLA will redact, “at minimum,” all identifying information of trans minors and their guardians — including their names, addresses, dates of treatment, and biometric data — from documents released to the DOJ, per the agreement.

“This is a massive victory for every family that refused to be intimidated into backing down,” said Khadijah Silver, Director of Gender Justice & Health Equity at Lawyers for Good Government (one of the legal groups which represented the plaintiffs) in a press release last week. “The government’s attempt to rifle through children’s medical records was unconstitutional from the start. Today’s settlement affirms what we’ve said all along: these families have done nothing wrong, and their children’s privacy deserves protection.”

The CHLA subpoena is not entirely dissolved, however. Hospital administrators are still expected to hand over documents related to insurance coding and communications with pharmaceutical company representatives, which the DOJ claimed last year would provide evidence of “healthcare fraud, false statements, and more.”

It’s also unclear whether the settlement will herald the return of CHLA’s Center for Transyouth Health and Development, which the hospital shuttered last year shortly following news of the subpoena. CHLA reportedly did not respond to the Los Angeles Times’ request for comment on Friday. (A DOJ spokesperson told the paper that the agency “will continue to use every legal and law enforcement tool available to protect innocent children from being mutilated under the guise of ‘care,’” repeating the administration’s previous false characterizations of gender-affirming care.)

Still, parents of trans youth say the news comes as a great relief — not just that CHLA will not turn over their personal information in the future, but that the DOJ had “not received any document” from CHLA regarding the now-rescinded demands, according to the settlement.

“The escalations have been so relentless in the threats to our family, and one of the things that compounded that was the uncertainty about what the federal government knew about our kids’ medical care and what they were going to do about that,” said Jesse Thorn, a father of two children who received gender-affirming care at CHLA, in comments to the Times.

News of the settlement came just a day after U.S. District Judge Julie Rubin, a Biden appointee, partially quashed another of the DOJ subpoenas which targeted Children’s National Hospital in Maryland. Rubin wrote in her opinion that the subpoena “appears to have no purpose other than to intimidate and harass the Hospital and Movants, and those similarly situated,” but limited her ruling only to the plaintiffs in that case, saying they had not given sufficient justification for why the subpoena should be quashed for non-parties. Judges in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania issued similar rulings blocking subpoenas against hospitals in those states last year.

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/doj-medical-records-chla-minors on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

POLITICS | ABBY MONTEIL | JAN 23, 2026, 10:52 AM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Trump Admin to Require "Gender Ideology" Ban for $30 Billion in Federal Funding

It woudl impact organizations that support DEI efforts as well as trans rights.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Sign up for The Agenda, Them’s news and politics newsletter, delivered Thursdays.

The Trump administration will expand the “Mexico City” policy, which traditionally bans U.S. foreign aid for organizations that support abortion care, to organizations that support diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, as well as transgender rights (or, in the administration’s words, “gender ideology”).

First introduced by Ronald Reagan in 1984, the “Mexico City” policy traditionally bars non-U.S. non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from receiving aid if they provide abortion-related healthcare or support abortion rights abroad. The administration’s changes to the policy are set to coincide with the annual anti-abortion March for Life, which takes place in Washington, D.C. on Friday, January 23.

Typically reinstated when a Republican president enters office and rescinded when a Democrat enters, the policy previously only affected funds related to “family planning assistance,” totalling around $600 million of aid, per The Guardian. However, the Associated Press reports that the Trump administration’s expanded version would apply to over $30 billion in foreign aid, including both U.S.-based aid organizations and international programs. The move comes just a day after the government formally withdrew from the World Health Organization.

“This is so incredibly cruel,” Keifer Buckingham, managing director for the Council for Global Equality, wrote in a text to the New York Times. “It really is about forcing governments or NGOs or international organizations to sign on to an extreme ideological agenda, even denying that transgender or nonbinary people EXIST, just to get US funds to provide what is often lifesaving services or programs.”

The second Trump administration has routinely targeted trans rights and gender-affirming services within the United States. Over the past year, the government has threatened to withhold federal funds from schools that support trans-inclusive policies in the classroom and in sports, and from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to minors.

This isn’t the first time that the Trump administration’s foreign aid cuts have had a devastating impact on the global LGBTQ+ community. In January 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a 90-day pause on almost all foreign aid, including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a federal program that distributes HIV medications and has been credited with saving millions of lives worldwide.

Although Rubio later announced a waiver for “life-saving humanitarian assistance,” allowing the distribution of HIV medications abroad to resume, experts say that the public health consequences of the Trump administration’s sweeping aid cuts are dire nonetheless. For instance, funding for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) specifically for LGBTQ+ people through PEPFAR, was left frozen.

“For years, we’ve depended on PEPFAR to help us tackle HIV and have made significant progress over the years and saved millions of lives,” Nigerian epidemiologist Dr. Chike told LGBTQ Nation in April 2025. “Watching it being ripped away from us is just sad and made us realize how volatile depending on foreign aid was.”

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/trump-admin-usaid-restrict-gender-woke-ideology-trans on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

NEWS | SAMANTHA RIEDEL | JAN 22, 2026, 4:59 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Renee Good's Autopsy Released by Family as DOJ Refuses to Seek Justice

The Trump administration is focusing on investigating Renee's wife, Becca.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Sign up for The Agenda, Them’s news and politics newsletter, delivered Thursdays.

This article contains descriptions of fatal gun violence.

An independent autopsy has found that Renee Good suffered four gunshot wounds including one in her head when she was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent earlier this month, lawyers for Good’s family say.

Good, 37, was shot and killed in Minneapolis on January 7 while observing a group of ICE agents with her wife Becca Good, as documented in multiple videos that were widely shared online immediately after her death. The shooter was later identified as Jonathan Ross, an Iraq War veteran and former Border Patrol member who joined ICE in 2015. In a video of the shooting from Ross’ perspective, a voice can be heard calling Good a “fucking bitch” immediately after the sound of three gunshots.

An independent autopsy found three gunshot “paths” in Good’s body that caused four separate wounds, attorneys for the law firm Romanucci & Blandin said in a press release Wednesday. Two shots struck Good in the left forearm and right breast, but did not injure vital organs. Another hit Good in her left temple and exited on the right side of her head. Good also suffered a graze wound that did not penetrate her body.

Romanucci & Blandin did not name the medical professional who conducted the autopsy, identifying them only as “a highly respected and credentialed medical pathologist.” Its preliminary findings are consistent with an incident report from the Minneapolis Fire Department obtained by People last week, which found that Good had suffered four gunshot wounds.

“We believe the evidence we are gathering and will continue to gather in our investigation will suffice to prove our case,” lead attorney Antonio Romanucci said in a statement. “The video evidence depicting the events of January 7, 2026, is clear, particularly when viewed through the standards of reasonable policing and totality of circumstances. Additionally, our legal team will continue its unwavering and proactive advocacy for Renee’s life and her family.”

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office has not released the results of its own autopsy to Good’s family or their lawyers, attorneys said. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has reportedly blocked Minnesota officials and law enforcement agencies from investigating Good’s death, sparking the resignations of six federal prosecutors last week.

In an interview with All Rise News this week, Romanucci said his firm had sent the federal government a letter of preservation asking to maintain the integrity of Good’s vehicle as evidence. “We asked them to preserve that vehicle to make sure that it’s stored in a safe manner so that none of the evidence gets altered,” Romanucci said. “If there’s any testing, it’s got to be done with us present.”

Trump administration officials claim that Good attempted to ram ICE agents with her vehicle, with President Trump alleging — without evidence — that Good and her wife were part of a “leftwing network” of “paid agitators” in remarks days after her death. (Trump called Good’s killing a “tragedy” in further remarks on Tuesday, but said that ICE agents are “going to make mistakes.”) The federal investigation has largely focused on Becca Good, rather than alleged misconduct by Ross, sources told NBC News last week.

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin blamed Good for her own death in a statement to NBC News on Wednesday, claiming Good had ignored commands from the ICE agents and attempted to “use a deadly weapon” against them. Videos of the shooting indicate that Good’s SUV was turning away from the agents at the moment she was shot.

Anti-ICE protests exploded across the U.S. in the aftermath of Good’s killing, particularly in Minneapolis, where the Trump administration used misleading claims about childcare fraud to target Somali immigrants. Some Minneapolis schools have gone into lockdown during the ongoing raids, amid reports that ICE agents have detained children as young as five years old.

“ICE Watch” organizers have redoubled efforts to drive immigration agents out of the city, and labor unions are calling for an economic blackout across Minneapolis on January 23 to protest ICE and mourn Good’s death. At last week’s Golden Globe Awards, celebrities including Wanda Sykes and Mark Ruffalo wore pins in Good’s memory reading “BE GOOD”; Ariana Grande wore another, stating “ICE OUT.”

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/renee-good-autopsy-independent-doj-investigation on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

NEWS | MIKELLE STREET | JAN 22, 2026, 10:55 AM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Kirk Pressley, Known as Ballroom's Legendary Boom Balenciaga, Has Died

Pressley had appeared in a Rihanna ad.

Kirk Pressley, who made a name for himself in the ballroom scene as a commentator before going viral on social media and being featured in a Super Bowl ad for Rihanna, has died at 36 years old. The House of Balenciaga, of which Pressley was a part, announced the news on Wednesday. Many have mourned Pressley’s passing online.

“It is with great sadness, shock and disbelief that I share with the many communities he brought love, life and energy to that our beloved Kirk Pressley aka Boom Balenciaga has passed,” the house posted to Instagram in a message credited to overall founding father Harold Balenciaga. “We will all miss the light spirit and good vibes he would bring to any room.”

Known within the ballroom scene as Legendary Boom Balenciaga, Pressley graduated from Maryland’s Bowie State University in 2011. He served as the SGA president there his junior and senior years, in addition to being a member of the Iota Phi Theta fraternity. According to his Facebook, he studied communications, musical theater, and social justice while in school. It was also during this time that he was introduced to emceeing events, starting with an awards show in the DMV model troupe scene, according to Iran Paylor.

“I told him, ‘I think I want to bring you to DC to host my show, you have a great voice,’” Paylor, who met Pressley at Bowie in 2007, tells Them. Paylor is the CEO of Models Inc., a major name in the area’s competitive modeling scene. “He was like, ‘You think so? I never did nothing like that.’ And I just said, ‘Yeah, I do.’”

Instagram content

That initial 2009 event, at the Tivoli Theatre in DC, launched a new mode of expression for Pressley, who would go on to become an icon in the model troupe scene. “He wasn’t a son of mine,” Paylor, who is known as Bang Garcon in the ballroom scene, says. “But he was a student of mine that helped cultivate the scene, so it’s a big loss for us here in the DMV.”

Pressley’s professional work covered multiple sectors including public health, providing services for LGBTQ+ communities of color, which was work he started as far back as in college. But as he built this resume, he also became known within the ballroom scene, making the phrase “Let’s get excited!” a sort of signature by incorporating it into his chants.

“I feel like Boom came out of nowhere: literally, like, boom!” ballroom Icon and Hall of Famer Jack Mizrahi Gucci tells Them. “He continued a bloodline of emcees coming from the House of Balenciaga, with him being the latest one. And I was just like, ‘Who is this child talking about “let’s get excited?!”’ He just had so much energy!” Gucci adds, “He really took every opportunity to have a good time.”

X content

That “good time” extended to Pressley walking the category of runway within ballroom. “I loved the vigor in his runway,” Gucci says, referencing a ball where Pressley came dressed as Little Red Riding Hood. Later, in 2018, he went viral for walking Philadelphia’s The List Part 2: Wanted ball. For the open-to-all European Runway category, he dressed as Donald Trump in a category that tasked contestants with re-creating various villains. That same year, Pressley made an appearance in the first season of Pose, walking a runway category.

This wasn’t Pressley’s only moment in the mainstream spotlight. In 2023, ahead of Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance, Halftime Show sponsor Apple Music released a teaser commercial. The video included a Rihanna-inspired ball featuring members of the community. The first voice and face viewers see in the clip is Pressley’s as he recites an original chant, inspired by the pop star, to friend and fellow commentator Snookie West.

The pair then voice the rest of the clip, commentating over Rihanna’s song “Pose.” In 2025, Pressley also appeared on Survival of the Thickest as a commentator with others from the scene, including Honey Balenciaga.

“This one hurts,” Shannon Balenciaga, the overall mother of the House of Balenciaga, who appeared on HBO Max’s Legendary, wrote to Instagram. “Because even when we can’t get excited in your words, [Kirk] we’re still going to miss you deeply.”

Various ballroom houses including the House of Xclusive Lanvin, House of Khan, Haus of Tisci, and House of Martine Rose all posted their condolences. “In our community, the commentator is the heartbeat of the ball,” the Haus of Tisci wrote. “Boom was one of ballroom’s most powerful and unforgettable commentators. His voice, passion and presence brought life to the floor and meaning to moments that will forever live in ballroom history.”

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/boom-balenciaga-kirk-pressley-ballroom-died-death-rihanna on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

NEWS | SAMANTHA RIEDEL | JAN 21, 2026, 3:46 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Olympic Wife Wars: Another Couple Will Compete Against Each Other in 2026 Games

Kim Meylemans and Nicole Silveira will both go for gold in skeleton.

02 January 2026, North Rhine-Westphalia, Winterberg: Skeleton: World Cup, single, women, 2nd run, Kim Meylemans (Belgium, r) and Nicole Rocha Silveira (Brazil) cross the finish line. Photo: Robert Michael/dpa (Photo by Robert Michael/picture alliance via Getty Images)picture alliance/Getty Images

Sapphic sports drama will reach an all-time high at this year’s Winter Olympics, as wives Kim Meylemans and Nicole Silveira are officially set to race against one another in the women’s skeleton event.

Meylemans became Belgium’s first overall women’s skeleton World Cup winner last weekend, clinching her spot in the 2026 Winter Olympics after medaling in six out of seven World Cup events this season. Silveira, who finished ninth in the World Cup rankings, will also compete in the women’s skeleton representing Brazil. When the games kick off in Italy next month, the two women will compete against one another for the gold — just over a year after they legally tied the knot, though they hope to have a “big dream beach wedding” this year..

“This team right here is something truly special though and a big part of this success — I wouldn’t have achieved this goal without them, especially my wife,” Meylemans wrote in an Instagram post on January 17, celebrating her World Cup victory. “Don’t think anyone truly understands how much I needed her with me (pushing & supporting me) to achieve this.”

Instagram content

Meylemans and Silveira met in 2019, the couple previously told OutSports, and went public with their relationship in an Instagram post in 2021. They were engaged in 2024. This will be the second time both women have faced off in Olympic competition, though neither medaled in their appearances at the 2022 Winter Olympics. But competing in Italy this year will feel “extra special,” Meylemans wrote on Instagram last August, as they’ll be able to “compete as [a] married couple and shine a light on marriage equality while doing so.” The Italian government has grown increasingly hostile to LGBTQ+ in recent years, removing lesbian mothers from their children’s birth certificates in 2023 and banning travel abroad for surrogacy in 2024.

“At the end of the day, we're working as a team, so if one of us is on the podium, in our small situation then that's great for us,” Meylemans told Olympics.com last year.

Instagram content

If you can believe it, Meylemans and Silveira aren’t the only sapphic couple who will be competing against each other in this year’s Winter Olympics. Anna Kjellbin and Ronja Savolainen, who have been engaged since 2024, will represent Sweden and Finland respectively in Olympic ice hockey — and though the two teams aren’t scheduled to face off in the preliminary round, that just means the stakes could be even bigger in the finals.

“You’re friends after. On the ice, she’s my enemy,” Savolainen told the Ottawa Citizen in 2024. “That’s how it goes.”

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/2026-olympics-queer-lgbtq-wives-lesbian-kim-meylemans-nicole-silveira on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

Answers & Advice

- How to Treat Trans Hormonal Acne, Explained

- What Is a Femboy?

- How to Bind Your Chest Safely

HEALTH | JAN 26, 2026, 2:34 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Science Is Confirming What We Already Knew About HRT-Induced Acne

In a new study, transmasculine people were shown to be far more likely to experience acne than their cis male counterparts.

Friends applying skincareGerardo Huitrón

Trans Hormonal Acne, Explained: A new study found trans people experience acne at higher rates. Below, we explain how to treat it.

It’s a well-established stereotype — and somewhat of an inside joke — that trans people starting estrogen might develop glowing, softer skin and thicker hair, while testosterone takers might experience acne and oily skin. But for the first time, science is backing it up — at least, partially.

In a new study published in the medical journal JAMA Dermatology, transmasculine people were shown to be far more likely to experience acne while on testosterone hormone replacement therapy (HRT) than their cis male counterparts. For the first time, the study authors point out, the impacts of HRT on transfeminine people’s acne were also studied, showing they are also more likely to experience acne than cis men after starting HRT — though the incidence rate was much lower than transmasculine people taking T.

By using data from four different regions of Kaiser Permanente health plan patients, researchers conducted a retrospective matched cohort study — a method that compares a group of people with a common medical factor with another group who does not experience it. In total, the study looked at a cohort of 11,250 transmasculine people and 9,500 transfeminine people, matched with a group of cisgender men and women based on age, ethnicity, race, and enrollment year. Of the trans people surveyed, nearly 12,200 started HRT in the time frame studied.

The five years of research showed that far more transmasculine people (15.8%) surveyed experienced acne than the cis men (3.8%) and cis women (10.5%) with whom they were matched. Usually, the highest risk of acne occurrence peaked during the first year of HRT for transmasculine people, but their risk of acne remained higher than other groups during the five years. Transfeminine people surveyed experienced higher incidents of acne (6%) than the cis men (2.9%) they were paired with but slightly lower than the cis women (8.4%) they were paired with. After starting estradiol HRT, transfeminine people experienced higher rates of acne than cis men, but lower rates than cis women.

All in all, these findings remain consistent with the inconvenient stereotypes about the link between transmasculine people, testosterone, and hormonal acne. But that doesn’t mean transmasc people are doomed to deal with unwanted pimples after starting testosterone. Rather, the authors point out that trans people have specific dermatological needs that should be considered as part of the process of starting HRT.

Upon analyzing the results of the new study, the authors recommended that physicians educate trans patients before starting HRT about potential impacts on their skin, recommending early intervention by dermatologists if hormonal acne does become an issue.

If you want more concrete information about how to treat your HRT-induced acne, read on down below.

How do I treat HRT-induced acne?

If you’re currently experiencing HRT-induced acne, or are reconsidering starting HRT because of this side effect, fear not! Like acne that is caused by any kind of puberty or other hormonal shifts, HRT-induced acne is often treatable and shouldn't be a deterrent to your transition. In fact, the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) explicitly states that people do not need to stop their hormone therapies to get rid of their acne.

“I’ve seen patients stop their gender-affirming therapy entirely when acne became more than they could tolerate,” Dr. J. Klint Peebles, dermatologist and academy fellow, tells the AAD. “That’s unfortunate and unnecessary.”

Going to a dermatologist early, if possible, can make a world of difference and allow you to keep your dose where it is while treating your skin. If that isn’t accessible to you for whatever reason, however, here are some general skincare tips that might help:

- Come up with a skincare routine: Finding OTC anti-acne products like topical spot treatments and facewashes that work for you and incorporating them into a daily life can be the first step to minimizing your acne. Consider where your acne is, such as your face, back, or chest, and think about how you currently care for the area. Do you wash your face? If not, maybe you start.

- Consider your skincare products: Before you start scrubbing your face with bar soup or something more astringent, pause to think about what you’re putting on it. Dermatologists generally recommend products that contain adapalene, benzoyl peroxide, or salicylic acid to treat acne.

- Avoid trying out a new product every week: While it may be tempting to get a ton of face wash options to see what works best, consistency will ultimately be your skin’s friend. Give yourself — and your skin — a chance to settle into a new routine, one product at a time, to see if it is genuinely helping or hurting. This also means avoiding the products that contain ingredients that cause acne, like oils.

- Do not wash your face multiple times a day: It might be tempting, especially if your face feels oily, but washing your face multiple times a day can irritate your skin and lead to more unwanted breakouts.

- Hydrate your skin: This might seem counterintuitive, but drying out oily skin can make it even oilier. Drying your skin will irritate it, which makes you even more prone to acne. Instead, drink water and find a moisturizer that works for you.

- Think about medication: This tip will require a trip to the doctor, but if you feel like you have exhausted all other options but are still experiencing acne, it might be your best bet. Medications like isotretinoin can be an effective course of treatment, especially for moderate or severe acne.

While having scientific evidence that links HRT to acne might feel less than ideal, having more scientific data on trans people is a win. It means we can figure out strategies to treat our particular health concerns.

Get the best of what's queer. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/how-to-treat-hrt-induced-acne-transgender on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

GENDER AND IDENTITY | JAN 23, 2026, 4:28 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

The Femboy Renaissance Is Nigh

Here’s how femboys took over the internet in the 2020s.

Femboys, Explained: This article explores what is a femboy, and their rise to popularity.

In 2026, femboys are taking it. After being declared one of PornHub’s most searched categories of last year and being namedropped in malware that has disrupted the operations of major industries, we’re calling it: Femboys are having their moment.

For those unfamiliar with the term, allow us to expand your horizons. If you’ve been on TikTok, you’ve likely already come across viral videos of femboys dressed in cat ears, maid costumes, and lacy gloves. In fact, if you’ve been online in general over the last six years, femboys have become increasingly popular and more unavoidable in online spaces, and now constitute some of the world’s most popular streamers, YouTube vloggers, and porn creators — a welcome development if you ask us.

If you want to learn more about what it means to be a femboy, the subculture, its history, and how they rose to online stardom, read on below.

What is a femboy?

When the term was first popularized in the 1990s, “femboy” was usually used to describe cisgender boys who dress or behave in a feminine way. Historically, this would often be used in contrast to a term like “trans woman,” which describes people for whom womanhood is a core gender identity.

But as with many identity labels such as “butch” or “femme” that were originally used to describe gender expression, the original definition of the term has since expanded to be more inclusive of a variety of identities. Femboys may be cis, but they also can be nonbinary or trans.

Usually, the femboy aesthetic can be recognized by a few key characteristics, though this isn’t an exhaustive list: animal ear headbands, makeup, and elaborately femme outfits like skirts, dresses, stockings, and blouses. What’s most important, however, is self-identification.

Are femboys trans?

This isn’t a cut-and-dry question. Put simply, it depends on the femboy. Because “femboy” traditionally refers to a gender presentation as opposed to a gender itself, femboys can come from a variety of gender experiences. Many femboys are cis men; others are trans men; and some are nonbinary people. Calling any trans woman a “femboy” can be deeply harmful and just incorrect. Trans women are women, and many would find the term to be flagrantly offensive if used to describe them.

Sometimes, being a femboy can be a stepping stone in someone’s transition journey, and other times it can be a way to play with gender presentation in a way that does not lead to a shift in personal identification. Either way, if you are unsure how someone identifies, rather than assuming, you should ask someone about their gender if/when it becomes relevant and appropriate. This does not mean that you should take it as an opportunity to ask intrusive questions about someone’s body, identity, or lived experience.

In short: Be normal and don’t make assumptions. In our experience, femboys tend to be quite friendly!

Why are they so popular online?

As with any modern slang used to describe identity, it can be hard to pin down the exact origins of where “femboy” was first used. While people playing with gender presentation have always existed, the term “femboys” first emerged in the 1990s on online message boards like 4Chan and Reddit as well as porn sites. The term was used to describe — and sometimes fetishize — people with a mix of feminine and masculine traits. Though it emerged offline during the same time period as a homophobic term similar to “sissy” or “wimp,” it also flourished online in a positive way, according to Dictionary.com.

Despite homophobic and transphobic sentiment about gender variance in the ’90s and 2000s, porn that centered femboys became increasingly popular. In 2013, PornHub even introduced the “femboy” category on its site, allowing viewers to search specifically for videos that included people who fit the archetype.

It wasn’t until 2020, however, that femboys as we know them today became part of the popular zeitgeist thanks, in part, to the advent of social video platform TikTok. In the depths of the pandemic, as people hunkered down at home, trends that involved more performance and play became popular on the video sharing app. As the e-girl aesthetic became popular — think emo style revamped for the 2020s with split-color hair dye, thick silver chains, dangly single earrings, and big black platform boots — the modern femboy was born.

Videos of femboys in maid costumes and cat ears regularly went viral in the early 2020s, with many applauding the trend for challenging traditional notions of what it means to be a boy online. Usually, femboys don makeup (think black liquid liner and intense blush-into-eyeshadow looks), razor-cut hair styles, black dresses, and, of course, cat ears. Over the years, femboys developed a distinct and easily recognized aesthetic.

But the advent of the femboy’s popularity didn’t come to an end after e-girl fashion fell out of vogue. Streamers like F1NN5TER, who often wears hyper-femme outfits and makeup, have amassed huge audiences on Twitch and YouTube. F1NN5TER, who uses all pronouns, now identifies as genderfluid but is often credited with helping to popularize the femboy aesthetic.

Femboys have now become a symbol of online savviness and counterculture that has undeniably broken into the mainstream. During the summer of 2025, hackers managed to compromise multiple systems around the globe with a “gayfemboy” malware. In December 2025, PornHub announced that femboys were one of the most searched categories of the year. After decades of fringe online recognition, femboys are finally here to stay.

Get the best of what's queer. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/what-is-a-femboy on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

GENDER AND IDENTITY | JAN 22, 2026, 4:29 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

The Trump Administration Wants to Take Your Binder: Here’s How to Bind Safely in Anti-Binding Times

Binding doesn’t have to feel bad. Here’s how to do it right.

Binding your chest can be a way to manage gender dysphoria, feel more comfortable in your skin, or stay safer in an increasingly transphobic world.

For those unfamiliar, binding refers to flattening the appearance of your chest by using garments and other forms of compression. This can be especially helpful for people who want top surgery but need to manage their dysphoria while they wait for the procedure. (I know this did wonders for me!) But it can also help people who are unsure about top surgery and want to see how a flatter look makes them feel, or who want to occasionally play with their gender presentation. Often, transmasculine people bind, but really anyone who wants to make their chest look flatter can do so. Indeed, it’s important to note that not all transmasculine people bind, and not all people who bind are transmasculine.

While popular depictions of binding have included some non-ideal methods like ACE bandages, plastic wrap, and duct tape (we’re looking at you, Lorde), binding technology has evolved to make the practice safer, more comfortable, and more convenient. From binder companies that make compression gear for longer wear, to sports tape specifically designed for binding, new products are innovating the timeless practice.

Unfortunately, as of this writing, the Trump administration is trying to make binders — garments specifically designed to help people bind more safely — less accessible. On December 16, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent out warning letters to 12 companies that produce binders, including queer-owned companies like For Them, gc2b and TomboyX. The letters stated that the companies had failed to register their chest binders as Class I medical devices and as such violated FDA guidelines, which Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reiterated during a press conference two days later.

“Today, the FDA is taking action,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary claimed at that press conference. “We are sending warning letters to 12 manufacturers and retailers for illegal marketing of breast binders for children, for the purposes of treating gender dysphoria.”

To be clear, neither these letters nor the subsequent threats during the FDA’s press conference mean that binders are banned or unavailable in the United States. Still, the new threats might have a chilling effect on the production of binders and could make people nervous about their options for binding, leading more people to resort to dangerous alternatives.

That’s why we’re here to give you the run down on how to bind safely during anti-trans times.

What is binding?

Chest binding involves using fabric and other materials to flatten the appearance of your chest. But contrary to the misinformation that conservative lawmakers have spread about alleged dangers of binding, it’s been a practice long before trans people became a conservative scapegoat.

The conservative right has only recently begun to attack binding as a practice because it is associated with trans people, but plenty of people have historically bound their chests. From high society China during the Tang and Song dynasties in 600 and 1200 AD; to corsets in Victorian England; to Catholic nuns in the 20th century binding under their habits, people of many genders and experiences have bound throughout history. In fact, even in the United States in the 1940s and ’50s, it was common for cisgender women working in offices to bind their chests.

The difference now is that conservative politicians have latched onto binding as part of their project to suppress trans existence.

What do I need to bind?

Now that we’ve established what binding is, we can get into the nitty gritty. While binders are some of the most popular and common ways to bind, they are not the only methods. There are a few popular ways to do it, including:

- Binder: Professional binders are garments that flatten the chest. They are designed with sturdy material, similar to a sports bra that covers more area. They often come in two shapes — half binders that stop mid-torso and full binders that come all the way down to the hip. Some common binder companies include gc2b, TomboyX, and For Them. When buying a binder, it’s important to consider fit, so read the instructions on the company site carefully and make any necessary measurements at home.

- Sports tape: Known colloquially as TransTape — due to the most popular company that produces this kind of product — flexible athletic tape can adhere to your skin while compressing your chest. This method is usually most effective at compressing for people with smaller chests but can be used by people of all chest sizes. A benefit to this method is it doesn’t apply pressure to your spine or constrict your breathing, which made it an appealing option for me when I needed to bind before I had top surgery. One thing to note is that some adhesives can be irritating to the skin. Test it on a small portion of your skin first and even if you don’t have a reaction, still exercise caution during removal.

- Sports bra: While not all sports bras are made equally when it comes to binding, some are great for flattening the appearance of the chest if a binder doesn’t work for you. Similarly to a binder, the structured material can flatten your chest.

- Compression shirts: Sports compression tops will give you a flatter appearing chest. The major difference is that they can be less restrictive than traditional binders because they are not meant to be as tight on the chest. They might compress less, but they are ideal for longer wear, like work shifts or all-day outings.

- Layer shirts: While layering shirts doesn’t always compress your chest, layering a tighter tank top under a T-shirt with another layer on top can be an easy way to disguise your chest, especially if binders, tape, and other forms of compression gear don’t work for you.

There are some methods that you should avoid under any circumstances, despite their prominence in popular media, including ACE bandages, duct tape, and plastic wrap. All of these options can irritate your skin, constrict your breathing, and harm your back, even if they make your chest appear flatter in the short term. Instead, consider any of the options we’ve outlined above.

How do I bind safely?

Aside from avoiding dangerous binding methods, compressing your chest safely is all about listening to your body, taking breaks, and finding what works best for you. No two bodies are the same, and that means not every binding method is one-size-fits-all. Here are some tips to consider:

- Take breaks: You should not bind for more than six to eight hours a day, especially if you are using methods that apply more pressure to your back such as a binder. That being said, taking breaks throughout the day as you bind can also help make your experience better and more comfortable.

- If you’re short of breath, stop: Binding can restrict your breathing a little, but it shouldn’t make it difficult to catch your breath or manage a typical level of exertion. If you’re experiencing shortness of breath, that is your sign to reassess. If you feel short of breath or lightheaded, consider sizing up or switching your method.

- Listen to your body: Binding can be uncomfortable but it should never be painful. If you think something is wrong, listen to your body and take a beat. If you can’t breathe in your binder, consider sizing up. If your athletic tape is burning your skin, take it off carefully. If the sports bra you opted for is too tight, consider a different kind. The best way to bind in the long term is the method that is going to make you feel the best in your body, and this includes not causing you physical pain.

- Consider sizing up: As we’ve established, it’s important to limit the amount of time you bind, but if you’re looking for a binder that you can wear during work shifts or long excursions out of your house, consider buying a size larger than you usually do. While it might not compress as much as the smaller size, a larger binder will help prevent shortness of breath, back pain, and chafing that comes with wearing a binder for long periods of time.

- Change your method for different occasions: Not all binding methods are best suited for every situation. A college student might use a binder for their classes and take breaks from binding in their dorm room in between, but if they get a physical job for the summer with long shifts, they might switch to a compression shirt instead. It’s all about figuring out what works best for you and your life.

- Do not bind when you sleep: You should not under any circumstances bind when you sleep. This can leave you short of breath, hurt your back, cause health problems, and won’t give your body the break it needs to bind sustainably.

Get the best of what's queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/how-to-bind-your-chest-safely-in-anti-binding-times on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

Community

- A New App Wants to Help the Friendless and Gay

- Start Spreading the News: NYC May Have the Fastest Growing Bisexual Population

COMMUNITY | JAN 26, 2026, 12:42 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Friendless and Gay? There’s an App For That

Outclose is designed to help queer strangers in metro areas meet for platonic dinners.

Maskot

When I saw her at the corner seat of the bar, I felt relieved. She looked like someone I could talk to, which was the entire point of the evening. I walked up and introduced myself, took the seat next to her and wondered whether we’d be exchanging numbers at the end of the night. Would she like me? But this wasn’t a date. We were here to make friends.

When Cody Bumbarger launched Outclose (formerly Gayborhood) in October 2025, he was trying to solve a personal problem, which is that he was rarely in one place long enough to make friends and tap into the local queer community. “I’ve lived a nomadic life, moving from my home in New York to cities like Berlin, Paris, Mexico City, and Bangkok,” he says.

That itinerant lifestyle usually puts him in the position of trying to figure out how to build community as an outsider. “I realized I only felt at home when I was ‘adopted’ by a local queer extrovert who would invite me to a group dinner.” So Bumbarger developed an app designed to replicate that experience. If you’re looking for sex or romance, there are other apps to use, but Outclose focuses purely on friendship: After taking a personality quiz, you’re set up on a dinner date with three other queer strangers at a restaurant in your city. And really, that’s it.

Bumbarger was banking on the app being useful for more than just digital nomads like him. Since the dawn of time, queer people have wanted to get the fuck out of their hometowns, moving and traveling and planting new roots. But more specifically, since November 2024, 9% of trans people and 5% of LGBTQ people overall have moved to a new state, largely due to the passage of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. There are a lot of new people in town, and obviously, we can’t all be waiting around for the loud, friendly queers to scoop us off the streets and into their meticulously curated salons.

So far, Bumbarger says the experiment has been working. “At this point, it is hard to count how many selfies we have received from groups who decided to keep the night going at a nearby bar after their dinner ended,” he says. Bumbarger credits the success to the personality questionnaire, which uses an AI model to analyze things like “life stages, social energy, and lifestyle compatibility,” though he says each result is then reviewed by a human to ensure it actually worked and the matches make sense.

“At this point, it is hard to count how many selfies we have received from groups who decided to keep the night going at a nearby bar after their dinner ended.”

Signing up for my first Outclose dinner felt like a therapy session. I had to think of whether I’m the life of the party at a table with strangers, or whether I tend to sit and absorb the conversation more. Am I direct? Am I too direct? Would I really be polite and respectful if there were a disagreement at dinner, or do I only like to think of myself as someone who’s polite and respectful? As the date of the dinner approached, I wondered if I had been honest with myself, if I even knew myself well enough to answer accurately. I also wondered who on earth the queers are who are putting down that they’re politically conservative.

Here is where I confess that I am not lonely. My wife and I have been married for nearly 12 years, and I seem to gather friends like a katamari ball. I am not the ideal user for this app. And yet, I was drawn to its promise, because with most of my friends, queerness has not been the point around which our connection orbits. I have met my friends through school and work and being online, through living in the same neighborhood, through mutual friends and mutual aid. And once I thought about it, I realized most queer socialization opportunities I’d seen in major cities treated queerness as a secondary characteristic. There are queer book clubs and queer softball leagues and queer open mics, all of which presume you’ll be connecting around a shared interest, not just the fact of your queerness.

This is, I usually think, as it should be: Surely just because we are both queer does not mean we will get along. But that’s not what Outclose promises. Queerness is the baseline, and the primary hobby you’re pursuing is making friends. “We eliminate the social anxiety of ‘What are we doing here?’ and replace it with immediate, meaningful common ground,” says Bumbarger.

I arrived early and circled the block, so as not to appear too eager. When I entered the restaurant, I was told one member of my party was already sitting at the bar. She looked like a friend, around my age and with similar style.We ordered sparkling wine and chatted while we waited for the rest of the group.

That never happened. About half an hour past our reservation time we realized we had been stood up. Was it the cold? Were these queers just flaky? Did they see us and recoil? We leaned over to two women next to us at the bar, asking if they by chance were part of the Outclose party. “What’s that?” they asked, and as we told them they seemed excited. “I’m always trying to meet other gays,” one said. For a few minutes, my tentative friend and I found ourselves connecting with other queer strangers, just not the ones we had been assigned to.

We were led to a two-top now that it was just us, and over dinner, we discussed everything friends discuss:new jobs, relationships, family difficulties, our star charts. We learned we had completely different upbringings and careers. We shared fries and she gave me a book recommendation. We wondered where our tablemates had gone (if you cancel multiple times within 24 hours of a reservation, you could get banned from the app). And at the end of the night, we hugged, exchanged Instagram handles, and parted ways.

As I waited for the bus home, I wasn’t sure if I had made a new friend yet. I wasn’t sure if that’s even what I was after. But I did have a good night with a stranger, just because we were both queer and showed up. Sometimes, that’s enough to feel like you’re part of a community.

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/outclose-gayborhood-app-queer-dinners-finding-friends on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

COMMUNITY | JAN 23, 2026, 10:43 AM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Start Spreading the News: NYC May Have the Fastest Growing Bisexual Population

“Heteroflexible” is also on the rise.

Maskot

In news that will be surprising to approximately no one, bisexuality is on an explosive rise in New York City, according to data from the dating app Feeld.

The app published its Feeld Raw 2025 recap in December, which presented some of the trends and statistics from app users over the prior year. The report generally pointed to the growing phenomenon of Feeld users identifying in fluid ways, both in terms of gender and sexuality. Specifically, the report found that New York City experienced a staggering increase of 161% when it came to Feeld users who identify as bisexual.

In the report, Dr. Luke Brunning, a lecturer in applied ethics at the University of Leeds and an expert on relationships, said, “These changes speak to the growing awareness that sexuality is complex. If anything, it would be surprising if people were never sexually curious about people of their own sex or gender, or if attraction worked in neat and predictable ways.”

Brunning noted that since New York is the largest city in the country, “as well as a centre for open social, cultural, and artistic experimentation and expression,” it should “perhaps [be] of no surprise that bisexuality is growing largest there.” As anyone who has ever walked around north Brooklyn can tell you, that’s most certainly true. It’s also worth noting that trend forecasters at the esteemed website Them predicted the rise in bisexual stock price across broader culture ahead of 2025.

“Heteroflexible” was also the fastest growing sexuality on Feeld, with a 193% increase in users identifying as such — but if you referred back to our 2025 trend report, you would find a differing insight.

It’s also worth noting that yes, this is data from a dating app that’s intended for “the curious,” as Feeld’s tagline goes. So there’s certainly a degree of selection bias — of course there are more likely to be more bisexuals on Feeld in general. But other research also supports the notion that sexual openness is on the rise. According to a 2024 study published in The Journal of Sex Research, the official publication of the The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, 9.6% of respondents to a nationally representative survey reported having both male and female partners in 2021, compared to only 3.1% of respondents reporting the same between 1989 and 1994.

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/bisexuality-rise-bi-new-york-city-study-feeld-heteroflexible on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

Entertainment

- Leiomy Is Joining the Ballroom-Inspired Broadway Run of ‘Cats’

- 'Cats: The Jellicle Ball' Will Bring Ballroom to Broadway. Here's the Details to Know

ENTERTAINMENT | JAN 26, 2026, 9:40 AM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

Leiomy Is Joining the Ballroom-Inspired Broadway Run of Cats

The Wonder Woman of Vogue has officially been cast in ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball.’

Santiago Felipe/Getty Images

Leiomy Maldonado, known as the Wonder Woman of Vogue, has joined the Broadway run of Cats: The Jellicle Ball in the leading role of Macavity.

Maldonado’s casting was announced Monday morning alongside Ken Ard, who starred in the original Broadway production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, and The Voice finalist Bryston Battle. The trio will join an award-winning cast, many of whom were in the original Off-Broadway Jellicle Ball production. This includes other key members of the ballroom community like Paris Is Burning’s Junior Labeija who plays Gus, Chastity Moore (known to ballroom as the icon Tempress,) Arturo Lyons from the House of Miyake-Mugler, and many more.

For two decades, Maldonado has been one of the most visible vogue performers in the world. She broke out with mainstream success competing as a part of the group Vogue Evolution on a 2009 season of America’s Best Dance Crew. There, she made history as the first out transgender woman to appear on the show. It kicked off a career in the entertainment industry which has found her teaching voguing classes all over the world, performing with musicians like Willow Smith and Iconapop, becoming a face of Nike, appearing in FX’s series Pose, and being featured in Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty show. For three seasons, she served as a main judge of the HBO Max ballroom competition show Legendary.

Named the “Wonder Woman of Vogue” by Icon Jack Mizrahi Gucci, Maldonado was first introduced to the ballroom community at the age of 15 in the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club. There she met a trans woman who became her mentor, introducing her to videotapes of voguers like Alloura Zion and Yolanda Jourdan.

“The reason why I'm as athletic of a dancer as I am now is because of her — she pushed me to be this daredevil!” Maldonado said at an event with Them in 2018. “She'd be like, ‘Climb up on the stage over there and just jump off into a dip. There I was, 15 years old, like....’meow!’ So for me, that's how I was introduced to voguing.”

Maldonado made her major ball debut in 2003, building her name in houses like the House of Mizrahi before later launching her own House of Amazon and then walking face in the House of Miyake-Mugler.

In that time, Maldonado’s style of voguing, with its athleticism, has become the standard. Though she was initially criticized for it, and dubbed “the wild child,” permutations of it are pervasive within the scene. Her signature 360-degree dip, which requires the executor to start in a horizontal position low to the ground, before lifting themselves up and landing into a dip, is only one example of her precision.

In the Off-Broadway production, the role of Macavity was played by a male actor. That iteration did not include much voguing but, instead, was a representation of ballroom’s fashion category. Maldonado’s casting suggests a possible change.

Ard, who originated the role of Macavity in Cats, will play The Jellicle Ball’s new role of DJ Griddlebone. In the Off-Broadway production, Capitol KAOS had functioned as the production’s DJ.

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/leiomy-cats-the-jellicle-ball-broadway-production-casting-announcement on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

ENTERTAINMENT | JAN 23, 2026, 1:31 PM EST | VIEW ON WEBSITE

'Cats: The Jellicle Ball' Will Bring Ballroom to Broadway. Here's the Details to Know

Yes, members of the community are involved. And yes, it is very good!

Matthew Murphy

This year, the cats are back in town.

The ballroom reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats will premiere on Broadway this year. The production, which transposes the classic tale within a community largely known for the dance form of vogue, will make its bow on the Great White Way after a critically acclaimed and award-winning Off-Broadway run in 2024.

Here, we break down everything we know about the run and how it will incorporate the ballroom community.

What is Cats: The Jellicle Ball?

Cats: The Jellicle Ball is a modern reimagining of Cats, set in the ballroom scene. The loose storyline of the original production is structured around various bipedal cats as members of the ballroom scene, often specializing in specific categories or forming different roles. The narrative loosely follows the preparations for, and the events of, an actual ball.

Along the way, viewers are treated to various styles of voguing, as well as a taste of ballroom categories like labels and runway, all while enjoying the singing and theatrics of a major musical production. The Off-Broadway production as well as the Broadway iteration are set on a stage with an extended runway that extends into the audience. This setup mimics the format of most balls,with some seating along the sides of the runway.

How involved is the ballroom scene in Cats: The Jellicle Ball?

The ballroom scene is pretty plugged into Cats: The Jellicle Ball, comprising both the cast and crew. In the Off-Broadway production, lower priced tickets were even made available to members of the community in order to see a show that sourced their lives for inspiration.

Onstage, the Off-Broadway production included Primo Donyale Luna, Baby Donyale Luna, and Robert “Silk” Mason, who played Tumblebrutus, Victoria, and Mistofelees respectively. Chasity Moore, who is known to ballroom as the icon Tempress, took up the role of Grizabella while Junior LaBeija, a ballroom pioneer and Hall of Famer who many first met in the documentary Paris Is Burning, played Gus. Capital Kaos, a ballroom music producer, also served as a featured DJ.

Behind the scenes, Arturo Lyons, who is a part of ballroom’s House of Miyake-Mugler, and Omari Wiles, who co-founded ballroom’s House of Oricci, were choreographers. (In fact, they are behind the choreography in the promotional clip that went viral on social media.) N’yomi Stewart, known to ballroom as Agent Omi, also served as an associate director.

All of these names have been announced as part of the transfer to Broadway with additional announcements to come. Qween Jean will return to head up costume design and according to posts on Instagram, her team will include the likes of Rick Johnson, known to ballroom as Icon Agent Ricky.

Is Cats: The Jellicle Ball good?

Well, yes!

If you don’t believe me (I saw it at least five times) then maybe you will trust the awards: the Off-Broadway production has won awards from Outer Critics Circle Awards, OBIE Awards, Dorian Theater Awards, Audelco Awards, and Bessie Awards. This recognition has ranged from acting categories — namely for the performance of Andre De Shields who plays Old Deuteronomy — to honors for the show’s choreography.

Even Lloyd Webber, the original Cats creator, lavished praise on the production: “The show hit a nerve,” he told Variety last year. “I didn’t understand it until I saw it, but it works very well. My contribution has been to let the work go and hand it over to these artists.”

OK, so what are the dates and details of Cats: The Jellicle Ball on Broadway?

Jellicle Ball will begin previews at Broadhurst Theater on March 18, 2026. The show will open April 7. In addition to all of the ballroom names, De Shields will return as Old Deuteronomy in addition to cast members like Jonathan Burke (Mungojerrie) and Sydney James Harcourt (Rum Tum Tugger). Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch will also direct the production.

Tickets are already on sale. The price range appears to begin at $71 and go up to $321.

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.

This article was downloaded from https://www.them.us/story/cats-jellicle-ball-cast-ballroom-voguing-musical-theater-details-where-when on Jan 27, 2026 at 6:06 PM EST.

Table of Contents

Them.: 2026 Jan 27

Culture

What If Gay Guys Were Normal About P**sy?

News

Berkeley Students Make 300,000 Wikipedia Edits to Preserve Queer History Against Trump

Utah GOP Ordered Study on Trans Youth Care. They’re Not Pleased With the Results

Amid ICE Surge, Trump Admin Targets Minnesota Over Trans Student Athletes

Turning Point USA Is Hosting Its Own Halftime Show Because the Super Bowl Is Too Gay

Billie Eilish, Meg Stalter, and All the LGBTQ+ Celebs Speaking Out Against ICE

"A Massive Victory": DOJ Drops Demands for Medical Records of LA Trans Minors

Trump Admin to Require "Gender Ideology" Ban for $30 Billion in Federal Funding

Renee Good's Autopsy Released by Family as DOJ Refuses to Seek Justice

Kirk Pressley, Known as Ballroom's Legendary Boom Balenciaga, Has Died

2026 Olympics: Another Wife Couple Will Compete Against Each Other in Winter Games

Answers & Advice

How to Treat Trans Hormonal Acne, Explained

What Is a Femboy?

How to Bind Your Chest Safely

Community

A New App Wants to Help the Friendless and Gay

Start Spreading the News: NYC May Have the Fastest Growing Bisexual Population

Entertainment

Leiomy Is Joining the Ballroom-Inspired Broadway Run of ‘Cats’

'Cats: The Jellicle Ball' Will Bring Ballroom to Broadway. Here's the Details to Know