Calypso Lloyd-Davies

DIVA Magazine

•

Who is CMAT? Everything you need to know about this rising star 

Irish singer CMAT has been all over the festival scene this summer. From her music going viral on social media to her political activism on stage, we’ve got all you need to know about this brilliantly wacky queer icon. 


The 29-year-old uses the acronymic stage name, CMAT, representing her full name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson. She spent most of her childhood in and around Dublin, including her studies at Trinity College Dublin, before dropping out to focus on her music in Denmark. Now living in...
•

Iris Prize announces shortlist of 35 LGBTQIA+ films 

Iris Prize, the world’s biggest LGBTQIA+ short film prize, has revealed the films competing in this year’s festival for the grand prize of £40,000. The Iris Prize aims to celebrate LGBTQIA+ stories from around the world, which are often overlooked in mainstream media, by providing budding filmmakers with a platform and support. 


A total of 35 films were shortlisted for the 2025 festival, with diverse queer stories spanning topics from disability to race to witches. 


Director of the festiva...
•

New animated series showcases how to do representation right 

Today (22 August) sees the return of Raphael Bob-Waksberg, creator of BoJack Horseman, with his new animated series Long Story Short. Praised for his emotional and sharp animation, BoJack Horseman, Bob-Waksberg knows just how to do queer representation right, and this new adult animation is no different. 


Long Story Short is centred around a Jewish family, the Schwoopers, with key focus on the overbearing but proud mother and her three children, Avi, Shira and Yoshi. The series takes the uniq...
•

Scream VII director opens up about why he left the queer fan-fave film franchise 

The original director of the upcoming film Scream VII, Christopher Landon, has spoken out about his decision to quit the franchise after actor Melissa Barrera was fired. 


Scream VI saw the new additions of queer fan-favourites like Jenna Ortega, alongside Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding. Plus, the film included the return of icon Courtney Cox, who starred in the original Scream. 


Now, however, both Jenna and Melissa have left the franchise during the pre-production of...
•

Julia Fox: “I’m pansexual; I could be attracted to anyone and anything” 

Actor and model, Julia Fox, has revealed she identifies as pansexual in a recent interview with Allure, stating, “I’m pansexual; I could be attracted to anyone and anything.” 


The fashion icon previously had been thought to come out as lesbian, via a TikTok video she shared last year, and back in 2022, suggested she has a “gay bone” and was ready to explore dating women.


Fox has admitted her queer awakening was a difficult journey, explaining that she had to find a chosen family after her...
•

Here’s what you need to know about this year’s Iris Industry Day

This year, Industry Day will take place on 15 October, during the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival in Cardiff, supported by The Michael Bishop Foundation. The festival, running from 13 October to 19 October, aims to celebrate untold queer stories and Cardiff charm, supporting all that is not covered in mainstream media. 


Iris Industry Day offers the chance for budding filmmakers to learn with a day full of everything you should know about working in the film sector. Director of the festival, B...
•

Don’t miss this powerful lesbian play tackling hidden abuse 

Best-selling WLW author, Jade Winters, is bringing her play, The A Word, to three stages across London this year. 


The A Word, originally staged in 2023 and now re-imagined, puts centre stage a hidden story of emotional abuse in a lesbian relationship. A tale of when love turns controlling. The audience will be drawn into the quiet reality of coercive control behind closed doors, in this upsetting and intimate drama on stage.


Winters tells the story of Brooke, battling an abusive relations...
•

Get stuck into these books all about butches 

This month brings us Butch Appreciation Day, so we’ve compiled a list of books you need in your collection on all things butch. From non-fiction to fiction, memoirs to illustrations, these are some must-reads for those looking to expand, or simply revel in, their knowledge on butch history, identity and culture, as well as touching on the butch-femme relationship and the gender discourse. 


Starting off strong is one of, if not the most, groundbreaking pieces of butch literature, Stone Butch B...
•

Iris Prize Documentary Film Finance Fund announces shortlist 

Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival has announced the three filmmakers shortlisted for their Documentary Film Finance Fund, supporting underrepresented queer stories in the UK. 


The fund, sponsored by OUTflix and the University of South Wales, is offering up to £20,000 as economic support for the winner, as well as help from the Iris Prize team in creating the final film. The documentary film awarded by the fund will also premiere on the opening night of the 2026 festival next October. 


Organi...
•

Drive Away Dolls writer reveals focus of final film in their “lesbian B-movie trilogy” 

Writer Tricia Cooke has teased a third film to conclude her “Lesbian B-Movie Trilogy”, and we couldn’t be more ready! 


Last year saw the release of the first film in the queer trilogy, Drive-Away Dolls. The story followed a road trip gone wrong for two lesbian best friends when they somehow got involved with a criminal group. The second chapter is the very soon-to-be premiering Honey Don’t!, a mystery where private investigator, Honey, explores a death with links to a mysterious cult. 


Coo...
•

Aubrey Anderson-Emmons reveals coming out was “not intentional” 

Modern Family star Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, known for playing Lily, daughter of characters Cam Tucker (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler-Ferguson), revealed her coming out as bisexual in June was a complete accident. 


The actor went viral after sharing a video of her lip-syncing to a hilarious clip from the show, where Sofia Vergara’s character (Gloria) tells Lily she is Vietnamese, to which Lily protests: “No, I’m not, I’m gay! I’m gay!”, and Mitchell, her gay Dad, respond...
•

Are you coming to the Bi+ Community Fair this month? 

Kicking off Bisexual Visibility Month this year is Biscuit’s very own Bi+ Community Fair. Come down to Colours, Hoxton on 31 August for your free entry to the event. Doors will be open at 12:30 pm, and the celebration will go on till 10:30 pm. It’s set to be an event jam-packed with workshops, community, dancing and, most of all, bi+ pride. Wherever you fall under the bi+ umbrella, you are more than welcome, so come and get involved!


Expect everything from talks to crafts, from book signings...
•

SCENE announces hilarious comedians joining the exciting festival 

SCENE Film Festival 2025, celebrating the best of LGBTQIA+ TV and cinema, has revealed its full line-up for Channel 4’s comedy night: An Altogether Different Comedy Night. Get ready for a night of queer comedy kicking off the festival on 15 August. 


Your host this year is stand-up and television icon Stephen Bailey, set to start his tour in a month. Over the years, Stephen has presented a number of shows, including the reality show Celebs On The Farm. He will be joined by comedians Olga Koch,...
•

The power of the lesbian smile 

Lesbian pride, love, and acceptance happen every day, and in ways you might not expect. Now, and throughout queer history, there have been subtle signals amongst sapphics to show each other “I’m here too”, signals that have quietly brought the community together. 


When lesbians pass other lesbians, there is often a subtle smile or even a mere glance exchanged. No words, nothing more, just this small act of recognition. Sometimes this exchange occurs between two lesbian couples, acknowledging...
•

Here are our top LGBTQIA+ nominees for the 2025 VMAS

The VMAs are back! We’re ready to celebrate all that music has to offer in 2025, a year filled with queer excellence. This year, MTV has introduced two new categories: Best Pop Artist and Best Country, so for all you music lovers, this is not one to miss. 


LGBTQIA+ artists have been absolutely killing it this year, so here is a list of the VMAs queer nominees…


Taking the lead this year, with 12 nominations, is none other than queer icon Lady Gaga. Her hits Die With A Smile, withBruno Mars...

Medium

Medium •

The Artworld: Exclusive and Offensive?

What is art? How do we define something so broad and complex? Has anyone got it right? George Dickie gave it a go back in 1974, but the definition he posed faced much backlash. Although his definition did partially succeed by casting the net wider for art that was not typically ‘aesthetic’, it encountered issues of exclusion and authority. The Institutional Theory ultimately failed to encapsulate non-Western artworlds as well as any female input. How we think of art today would be entirely different...
Medium •

You’re Trying Too Hard, It’s Gross

Why is it we rank one ballet dancer better than another if her pirouette looks easy? Why is it that we find her spin more aesthetically pleasing when she has no strain on her face? Or does effortlessness not have any place in aesthetic appreciation at all? I must say it does, but why? Some argue it is because of grace, others argue skill, but I suggest an aspect of identity is partly the reason effortlessness tickles our brains so.Past thinkers have argued that perhaps the reason why we find eff...
Medium •

‘But I’m On the Pill’

Although great breakthroughs in pregnancy prevention have taken place over the last few decades, they are perhaps not as progressive as we’d hoped. Though the growing fight for increased access to abortions and the availability of birth-control pills, signals to the liberation of women, the hidden social meanings behind it all limit her freedom once more. The patriarchy uncovers once again how deeply entrenched its claws are, that progression towards freedom from its grip can never come easy.Rad...