Left: An astronaut from the fictional Gay Space Agency. Staged photograph taken at Obsidian Dome in Mono County, California, United States. Right: A printed and rephotographed NASA image of Dr. Sally Ride aboard the Space Shuttle Challenge in June 1983, when Dr. Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. Today, she is also recognized as the first known LGBTQI+ astronaut. Credit: Mackenzie Calle
A staged recreation of the original Mercury Seven crew from 1960 photographed in New York City, United States. Credit: Mackenzie Calle
Mackenzie Calle’s project The Gay Space Agency, awarded in the 2024 World Press Photo Contest, challenges the historical exclusion of LGBTQIA+ astronauts from the American space program. Inspired by the absence of queer contributions in NASA archives, Calle created a fictional, inclusive agency to celebrate this overlooked history, including figures like Dr. Sally Ride, whose sexuality remained hidden during her lifetime.
Jon and Alex by Mads Nissen
Jon (21) and Alex (25), a couple, share an intimate moment at Alex’s home in St. Petersberg, Russia on 18 May 2014. Credit: Mads Nissen, awarded World Press Photo of the Year in the 2015 Contest.
This image became well known for LGBTQ+ rights in Russia and despite experiencing attacks and increasing discrimination, Jon and Alex continued their involvement in LGBTQ+ activism until Alex's death from heart failure in 2019. Homophobia in Russia has been rising following a 2013 legislation banning so-called “gay propaganda”. Since 2017, human rights groups and media have reported the imprisonment and torture of LGBTQ+ people in Chechnya, leading to the EU imposing sanctions on two Russian officials in 2021.
The Pink Choice by Maika Elan
Left: Kim Ngan (1992) teases Isabelle (1991) about the sort of underwear she likes in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, on 12 May 2012. Both are students, and they have been in a relationship for four years. Right: Doan Huu Dieu (25) and Nguyen Trong Hieu (49), who have been together for three years, wake up at home in Vinh Phuc, Vietnam, on 27 July 2011. Credit: Maika Elan, MoST Artists.
In 2012, the Vietnamese government announced it was considering recognizing same-sex marriage and Vietnam's first pride parade took place in Hanoi. By 2015, a bill lifting the ban on same-sex marriage was in effect, but these unions are not legally recognized. In 2020, Human Rights Watch reported discrimination against Vietnam's LGBTQ+ youth caused by the common belief that same-sex attraction is a mental health condition. However, same-sex marriages are still not recognized. In this story, Maika Elan aimed to capture the casual daily activities of LGBTQ+ couples to evoke feelings of familiarity and empathy. The story was awarded in the 2013 World Press Photo Contest.
Mother Moves, House Approves by Temiloluwa Johnson
Participants at “Heavenly Bodies,” an underground drag ballroom event during Lagos Pride, celebrate the “mother of the year” winner, in Lagos, Nigeria on 21 June 2024. Credit: Temiloluwa Johnson
Members of the LGBTQI+ community in Nigeria face legal prosecution, widespread social discrimination, and physical violence. Held in a secret location, ‘Heavenly Bodies: Notes on Fola Francis’ was the third edition of the Pride celebration in Lagos ballroom, one of the largest drag ballroom experiences in Nigeria. The 2024 series was named after the late Fola Francis, a trans icon, activist, and first openly transgender person to walk the runway during Lagos Fashion Week. Despite all risks, the event was an electrifying experience, providing a vibrant space for celebration of love and free self-expression.
Home for the Golden Gays by Hannah Reyes Morales
Left: Members of the Golden Gays perform in a talent and beauty pageant at a shopping
mall in Manila, the Philippines, on 24 July, 2022. Golden Gays performances usually take the form of pageants during which each ‘lola’ shows off a talent, such as doing cartwheels in heels or lip-syncing. Right: Members of the Golden Gays community unwind at home after a show, in Manila, the Philippines, on 24 July, 2022. Credit: Hannah Reyes Morales, for The New York Times
The Golden Gays is a community of older LGBTQI+ people from the Philippines who have lived together for decades, sharing a home, caring for each other as they age, and staging shows and pageants to make ends meet.
The Golden Gays community was founded in the 1970s by lawyer and activist Justo Justo, who opened his home to shelter ‘lolas’ – a local word for ‘grandmothers’, an affectionate term members of the group have adopted. When Justo died in 2012, the community were evicted and some experienced homelessness until 2018, when they began renting a house in Manila.
Sadness and Fear by Tamta Gokadze
Three women cry at Kesaria Abramidze's funeral. Credit: Tamta Gokadze
Kesaria, a Georgian transgender woman, was found brutally murdered in her apartment on the night of 18 September, 2024. She was a well-known Georgian transgender model - one of the first in the deeply conservative country to openly come out. The fate of Kesaria, who is not the first transgender woman to be murdered in Georgia, brought not only sorrow but also fear into the hearts of other transgender women.
FATHOM by Cansu Yıldıran
Credit: Cansu Yıldıran
FATHOM by Cansu Yıldıran presents a series of staged documentary photographs honouring the stories of LGBTQIA+ individuals who have lost their lives in fatal homophobic attacks. Yıldıran works with individuals from the LGBTQIA+ currently living in Turkey to create these powerful images.
Yıldıran draws on modes of non-normative storytelling, and through their practice creates a connection between those who have been killed, and those who survive, visually representing the struggles and very real danger that the LGBTQIA+ community continues to face. FATHOM is an exploration of queer identities, and a testament to resilience.
Kysaan & Ky by Ky Smiley
Ky Smiley poses for a self-portrait with his 6-year old brother in Columbus, Ohio. Credit: Ky Smiley
“Just two black boys who are both still growing into their selves.”
“Learning how to discuss my top surgery with my little brother has been simpler and more enlightening than I could have imagined. He helped me during recovery and I can not be more thankful. We have both benefited from our creation of a safe space for dialogue and I know it will help in both of our journeys of growth and acceptance.” – Ky Smiley
Ky’s father was present when this image was taken and is supportive of his talents. Ky frequently works with his family members and uses his photography to explore his identity and place within society.
Dead Family by Andrés Gregorio Pérez
Credit: Andrés Gregorio Pérez
Andrés Gregorio Pérez’s project Dead Family explores the invisibility of LGBTQIA+ identities in traditional family albums, which often reflect imposed, heteronormative expectations. Through creative edits of personal family photos, participants reimagine inclusive memories that celebrate their true selves and challenge dominant narratives.
BY THE TIME SHE GROWS UP by Quetzal Maucci
Credit: Quetzal Maucci
Quetzal Maucci’s project BY THE TIME SHE GROWS UP is a personal exploration of her family, being the daughter of two queer immigrant women from Peru and Argentina. Amid rising anti-LGBTQIA+ laws in the U.S., the project provides a heartwarming representation of family, serving as a direct action against the marginalization of LGBTQIA+ individuals and rights.
La Creole by Adrien Selbert
Photographs taken at ‘Le Chinois’ bar in Paris, France. Credit: Adrien Selbert
For the past four years, the most emblematic queer parties in Paris have taken place in the suburbs of the capital, in a slightly decrepit bar called ‘Le Chinois.’ The organizers of these formidable parties, which bring together a mix of personalities, sexualities and gender identities under the Caribbean carnivalesque spirit, are a collective known as: La Creole. The project chronicles the creation of a safe space in nightlife.
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