[NEWS] Five LGBTQ links: Mashrou' Leila, Raziel Reid, Vietnam, leather, The AIDS Memorial

[rfmcdonald]

• Eli Tareq Lynch writes at Daily Xtra about how the Lebanese band Mashrou' Leila helps them express their queer Arab identity.


• Laura Sciarpelletti at CBC interviews Raziel Reid about his new gay teen novel Kens.


• Them shares the heartwarming story of two women, contestants on Vietnam's version of The Bachelor, who realized that they actually loved each other. That they have apparently gotten public support is an added bonus.


• Edward Siddons at The Guardian notes the threats to the leather scene, with property development threatening established venues coming at the end of a slew of menaces including HIV, the sheer cost of leather, and shifting cultural norms.


• Jeff Leavell's personal article at VICE about impact of The AIDS Memorial Instagram is heart-felt. (Myself, I like every post there; the act of remembering can be, among other things, a victory.)