TOPIC

Identity

Identity
News, articles and features on the topic of identity with a millennial focus, covering gender, LGBT, race, sexual orientation and equal rights.
Mother Wan Sassy Savage (left) and Prince Kiki Sassy Savage of the Kiki House of Sassy Savage, at the Forbidden Forest Ball in Kennedy Town last month. Photo: Eugene Chan
LGBTQ

Inside Hong Kong’s ballroom scene, a safe haven for queer expression

Kiki House of Sassy Savage, inspired by a global proliferation of ballroom subculture, is building a safe space for queer expression.

Donald Trump

US Supreme Court lets Trump’s transgender military ban take effect

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Hedwig and the Angry Inch rock musical coming to Hong Kong in Cantonese

Icons and Influencers

Who is Ada Gallagher, the transgender teen setting school track records?

A high school in Oregon has sparked debate after allowing a transgender athlete to compete – and dominate – in a girls’ track competition, where she finished first in the 400- and 200-metre races.

Ada Gallagher has been consistently winning in her 200m and 400m school athletics races. Photo: @icons_women/X
Celebrity children

Who is Daniel Baldwin’s son Atticus Baldwin, who’s followed in his footsteps?

Alec Baldwin’s nephew Atticus Baldwin is opening up about the changes he hopes to see in Hollywood, as he takes on a role in hit YouTube show God’s Gang.

Profile

Musician Bolis Pupul’s return to the home he never knew

Pupul’s latest album, Letter to Yu, is a love letter to his late mother inspired by her hometown, Hong Kong, and a reckoning with the roots he once tried to keep buried.

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Indonesia

Indonesian court’s ruling on citizens’ religion sparks discrimination fears

Rights activists say the court’s decision could reduce religion to a bureaucratic formality and ‘thicken religious polarisation’.

The Istiqlal Mosque (top) and the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption (bottom). Indonesia officially recognises six religions. Photo: Indonesia’s Presidential Palace / AFP
Icons and Influencers

What is controversial internet personality Oli London up to now?

It’s been hard to keep up with Oli London’s multiple transformations in recent years, but now the internet personality has found God, and is trying to prevent others from ‘following in his footsteps’

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Profile

How a trans social worker found community and acceptance in Hong Kong

Sakura Lam, a social worker and trans advocate, talks about finding herself, family acceptance and helping others.

South Korea

At 81, she almost became South Korea’s Miss Universe

Choi Soon-hwa missed out on the crown at the beauty pageant in Seoul on Monday – but did take home the ‘best dresser award’.

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Choi Soon-hwa competes at the 2024 Miss Universe Korea pageant in Seoul. Photo: AP
Russia

Russian MPs back adoption ban on ‘sick’ countries allowing gender reassignment

Moscow has long portrayed itself as a bulwark against liberal values, but that trend has hugely accelerated since the Ukraine war began.

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A man passes by the State Duma building, the lower chamber of Russian parliament in Moscow. Moscow has long portrayed itself as a bulwark against liberal values, but that trend has hugely accelerated since the Ukraine war. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong

The future of filmmaking in Hong Kong, according to the next generation

The fate of the Fresh Wave film festival that’s nurtured generations of budding directors now hangs in the balance after the arts council slashed funding

Celebrity children

Meet Denzel Washington’s talented movie director son, Malcolm Washington

From studying film at Pennsylvania University to being Spike Lee’s assistant and now bringing August Wilson’s famous play to Netflix, here’s what to know about Denzel Washington’s youngest son

Pakistan

SheDrives: Pakistan’s transgender community get its first ride-sharing service

SheDrives will service only trans people and women. Trans people are considered outcasts by many in predominantly Muslim Pakistan.

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Women arrive to work at a leather factory in Karachi. Pakistani women also face similar harassment when daring to travel alone in bus or train coaches with other, male passengers. Photo: AFP
South Korea

South Korea’s nominated human rights chief sparks uproar over anti-LGBTQ stance

Ahn Chang-ho, who opposes anti-discrimination laws, also rejects the theory of evolution and wants creationism lessons in schools

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Members of the LGBT community take part in a Gay Pride parade in Seoul. Photo: AFP
Australia

Australian transgender woman wins landmark case against female-only app

The case marks the first time that the Federal Court has made a ruling on gender identity discrimination since changes were made to the Sex Discrimination Act in 2013.

Sex and relationships

In China, a woman’s custody battle spotlights challenges of same-sex couples

LGBTQ families have no law to cite when faced with situations like custody or divorce, as same-sex marriage is not recognised in China, meaning the outcome of each case is uncertain and inconsistent.

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SpaceX

Musk to move SpaceX and X from California to Texas over transgender law

Musk called a law blocking schools from forcing teachers to notify parents about changes to a student’s gender identity ‘the final straw’.

Elon Musk appears at an event in London in November 2023. Photo: AP
Books and literature

How Michelle Zauner is preserving the Korean half of her identity

Michelle Zauner, of pop band Japanese Breakfast, chronicled her relationship with her mum and her Korean identity in her first book, Crying in H Mart. In her second, she will trace her language journey.

United States

In the US, LGBTQ librarians grapple with attacks on books – and on themselves

People who identify as LGBTQ say they are facing increasing difficulties at work, ranging from being repeatedly misgendered to physically assaulted.

Japan

Japan’s top court rules trans woman ‘father’ of girl born after switch

‘If a child cannot seek recognition because of a gender change, he or she cannot receive support as a dependent or become an heir,’ the ruling said.

Children in the Chinatown of Yokohama. Japan’s top court on Friday recognised a transgender woman as the “father” of her 3-year-old daughter conceived using her frozen sperm. Photo: Xinhua
LGBTQ

5 prominent LGBT Republicans and their politics

As right-wing attacks on the LGBT community go into overdrive, some Republicans who have come out remain loyal to their conservative beliefs, from Peter Thiel to Caitlyn Jenner

Some Republicans are also part of the LGBT community, such as Caitlyn Jenner, Peter Thiel and Lady MAGA USA. Photos: AFP, Getty Images, X
Fame and celebrity

7 celebrities who use they/them pronouns, from Janelle Monáe to Elliot Page

The Umbrella Academy star Elliot Page came out as trans in 2020, and Halsey also quietly changed their pronouns on their socials to ‘she/they’, saying it ‘feels most authentic to me’

Singapore

In Singapore, a cancelled talk on sex and gender reflects LGBTQ divide

Singapore repealed its anti-gay sex law in November 2022, but conservative values still run deep in the city state.

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Fame and celebrity

Who is The Sympathizer star Hoa Xuande, acting with Robert Downey Jr?

Aussie actor Hoa Xuande is a rising star in Hollywood after landing the biggest role of his life in HBO-A24 series The Sympathizer, starring alongside Robert Downey Jr – so what do we know about him?

Aussie actor of Vietnamese descent Hoa Xuande is a rising star in Hollywood after landing the biggest role of his life in HBO-A24 series The Sympathizer, starring alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Sandra Oh. Photo: @streamonmax/Instagram
Fame and celebrity

Meet Quannah Chasinghorse, the indigenous model who wowed at the Met Gala

The 21-year-old indigenous up-and-comer made her Met Gala debut in 2021 and recalls feeling ‘really lonely’ – this year, she owned the event in a custom gown and created a ‘safe space’ for newbies

US model and actress Quannah Chasinghorse arrives for the 2024 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2024, in New York. Photo: AFP
Gender

Singer’s emotional transgender journey, from self-loathing to joy

Hong Kong singer SY, who had gender-affirming surgery in Bangkok in 2020, explores his transgender journey through music, with his new song featuring lyrics sung before and after his gender transition.

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Hong Kong society

Hong Kong transgender activist ready for regular life after ID card change

Transgender man Henry Edward Tse won a landmark legal battle in 2023, but official policy only changed earlier this month.

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