What's the data?
Official data from the ONS is that we're only getting gayer in the UK (🥳)
Among 16-24-year-olds, 9.2% identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB.) It might not sound like a lot until you consider that just 5.1% of the next age group up identify as LGB, and a mere 3% in the age group after that. So 9.2% is a big leap! It's the women and the bisexuals which account for most of this incline with one in ten young women identifying as LGB today.

Why?
Social stigma is falling - thanks to the hard work of countless activists and bold frontrunners - meaning more people are able to be vocal about who they are, or might feel more empowered to explore their sexuality. Heterosexuality is no longer taken for granted and it is generally more acceptable to embrace fluidity. Something to celebrate in our books!

Tell me more
According to a landmark new report from The Voice Newspaper and Cambridge University, just one in ten Black Brits feel proud to be British, and less than half felt British at all. These are all people who were born in Britain.

Why is this significant?
Results from the survey speak to the difficulties experienced by Black people around identity and belonging in the UK, which The Voice call a "deep internal struggle." Survey participants share experiences that divorced them from their Britishness, from overt racism and being told to "go back home," to immigration policies and a history of colonialism that inhibits pride. Though the participants all called Britain home, the baggage around being Black and British/English is a lot more complex.

A new docuseries
This week HBO released Savior Complex, a three-part documentary series that follows Renne Bach: a White evangelical US national and her missionary work in a food distribution and health clinic. What makes her story newsworthy is how her Whiteness compensated for her lack of medical experience and allowed it to go unquestioned. Although the health of most patients improved, at least one hundred children’s deaths are believed to have been preventable had they been treated by a professional.

What this docuseries reveals is how deeply internalised the legacy of colonialism remains. Through the lens of White Saviourism, Whiteness symbolises prosperity and authority, whilst Blackness symbolises the deprived and unenlightened. The trust that both Ugandan authorities and professionals granted Bach was a product of this history.

White Saviourism denies people of colour agency. For example, the mothers of the victims who died under Bach's care were the last people to be questioned about whether they believe her participation was an overall source for good. This perpetuates the infantilisation of Black Africans by denying them participation over issues that directly affect them and instead centres around Bach's actions.

As a result of the scandal, the clinic was shut down. But it’s difficult say whether this is a cause to celebrate. Only four of the mothers of children who died in the clinic received any compensation, and the continued reliance on these clinics shows just how much developing countries are dependent on Western aid.