Metro Weekly magazine: 2017-12-21 edition (PDF)
By Metro Weekly Contributor
on
December 21, 2017
Turn back to 2015, and you may recall a busy year. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of nationwide marriage equality. Barack Obama's second term was coming to a close. Caitlyn Jenner came out as transgender. Star Wars offered up the seventh installment of its ongoing space opera. And, in December, Trade opened on 14th Street.
Ed Bailey, sort of the public-facing proprietor of a decades-running D.C. gay nightlife empire -- along with John Guggenmos and Jim "Chachi" Boyle -- knew the space well. He's long lived just around the corner. Since World Pride, back in June, the original Trade space has more than doubled. Bailey was particularly familiar with the next-door addition the bar grew into.
Federal lawmakers have passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act, a sweeping defense policy bill that includes a new federal ban on transgender women competing on female-designated sports teams at U.S. military service academies.
The ban on transgender athletes was folded into the 3,086-page bill, which authorizes approximately $900 billion in military and national security spending for 2026, according to Mother Jones. The House of Representatives passed the measure by a 312-112 vote, with 94 Democrats and 18 Republicans opposed. The Senate followed with a 75-22 vote, and the bill now heads to President Donald Trump for his signature.
Pornhub released its annual "Year in Review," which examines visitor searches and viewing habits and highlights emerging trends in online sexual interests.
Despite the rise of right-wing, anti-LGBTQ political movements across the globe, Pornhub identified a sharp increase in LGBTQ-related searches as its top trend for 2025. While interest in LGBTQ content has grown steadily in recent years, the shift was especially pronounced this year, with "lesbian" and "transgender" ranking as the site’s most viewed categories.
