Queer News Tonight Celebrates A Year of LGBTQ+ Milestones | Queer News Tonight
Channel: Queer News Tonight
Date: 2021-12-23

The year is almost at its end, so here at Queer News Tonight, we want to look back at some of the LGBTQ+ milestones from 2021.  From a record number of LGBTQ athletes competing in the Olympics to JoJo Siwa’s historic run on ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars,” here are a dozen queer milestones we’re thankful for this year.

First, we want to celebrate JoJo Siwa on Dancing With The Stars. The reality star and YouTube sensation JoJo Siwa, 18, made history on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" as the first competitor in the show's 30 seasons to dance with a same-sex partner. Siwa and her dance partner, Jenna Johnson, finished in second place after their groundbreaking run.

Next, we want to celebrate the record number of LGBTQ+ Olympians. This year's Tokyo Summer Games was dubbed by some as the "Rainbow Olympics” for its record number of LGBTQ competitors. At least 186 out athletes from around the world were present at this year’s competition, more than triple the number at the 2016 Rio Summer Games. Perhaps even more impressive is that these queer Olympians earned 32 individual and team medals in Tokyo.

Some of our milestones are more about acceptance within our own community, like the popularity of the adorable and funny "Old Gays".  TikTok stars Robert Reeves, Mick Peterson, Bill Lyons, and Jessay Martin — known collectively as the “Old Gays” — achieved fame this year for their viral videos showing everything from their hilarious reactions to Cardi B’s “WAP” music video to sharing their coming-out journeys to a look back on the loves of their lives.

We also want to celebrate the many celebrities and athletes who came out this year. Actor and singer Demi Lovato came out as nonbinary in May and said they would be changing their pronouns to they/them. Other celebrities and public figures to come out this year include NFL player Carl Nassib, Brothers Osborne singer-guitarist TJ Osborne, and actor Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson.

We also celebrated very public first-time gay parents. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced in September that he and his husband, Chasten, officially became parents of two children. Former boy band star Lance Bass and husband Michael Turchin also welcomed their two newborn babies, via surrogate, in October. 

This year was also a landmark year for LGBTQ+ Super Heroes, with comics reinventing character fan favorites — including Robin, Batwoman, and the Flash — as part of the LGBTQ community. When Marvels’ “Eternals” hit theaters earlier this month, superhero fans got to see the first openly queer superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Phastos. Played by “Atlanta” star Brian Tyree Henry, Phastos is part of a tribe of alien immortals with fantastic powers and is married to a human husband, played by actor Haaz Sleiman.

For the first time in its 12 years "Herstory", RuPaul's Drag Race crowned a transgender winner. Kylie Sonique Love snagged the crown of the sixth season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars,” which streamed on Paramount+. 

We saw a classic gay icon and a rising gay star meet when rapper Lil Nas X released a cover performance of Dolly Parton’s 1974 hit “Jolene” in September, garnering more than 3.8 million views on YouTube. Parton said in a tweet that she “was so excited” when someone told her that Lil Nas X had covered “Jolene.” Parton wrote in a tweet, “I had to find it and listen to it immediately … and it’s really good. I was surprised and I’m honored and flattered.”

2021 also showed us historic Queer cover models in mainstream publications. Sporting the iconic Playboy bunny outfit — heels, black tights, a bow-tie, and lingerie topped with bunny ears — makeup guru Bretman Rock made queer cover model history in October, becoming the first gay man to grace the digital cover of Playboy magazine. Model Ariel Nicholson also made history, as the first transgender person to be featured on the cover of U.S. Vogue.

Closer to home, 2021 saw the announcement that the Happening Out Television Network will be moving to 24/7 programming on Roku, Apple TV, Google TV, and Android TV.  This historic news means that your favorite Happening Out Television Network shows will soon be easily watched on almost every smart tv in the English-speaking world.  

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