5 THINGS TO KNOW

San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus kicks off southern states tour.

Thomas Kennard is among the handful of transgender singers in the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus — and proud to be one of its lowest basses. “People say, ‘I thought you would be a tenor,’” Kennard says, demonstrating the guttural depths of his range.

BUSINESS

There goes the gayborhood.

I remember my first gay bar. I was 20, newly single, and frustrated. I knew only a handful of gay people at the University of Maryland, where I was a senior, but one night a guy in my campus a cappella group invited me out to Apex, a club near Dupont Circle. Standing at the threshold of the bar, watching the cute boys dance under the strobe lights, I was terrified.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

The Egyptian government continues attack against LGBT people.

The Egyptian government has intensified its campaign against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and their supporters, arresting dozens of people in less than two weeks, Human Rights Watch said today. A media regulatory body has also banned all “positive” reporting on homosexuality.

A & E

LGBT is trending at Condé Nast.

Condé Nast is launching a digital brand for the LGBTQ community on October 26, called Them. It’s the first project from Condé Nast’s new incubator, which was created to develop new brands and businesses. Condé Nast claims it is the first big publisher to tap into this market.