I used to think LGBTQ+ rights worked a little like an iPhone iOS update. Every few years, we’d get something new: Marriage equality, better protections, more freedom. Occasionally a few bugs, but generally an improved version…

Apparently, someone found the uninstall button.

For example, in the United States, same-sex marriage became legal nationwide in 2015. Ten years later, in 2025, the Supreme Court was still receiving requests to reconsider that right. Thankfully, it rejected one such appeal. Meanwhile, the US government introduced new restrictions affecting transgender people in 2025, including changes to federal recognition of gender identity.

In Brazil, same-sex marriage has been recognized nationwide since 2013, and homophobia and transphobia have been punishable under anti-racism law since 2019. Yet with another presidential election heading to a runoff in October 2026, questions about the future of protections remain part of the political conversation.

And globally? According to ILGA World (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association), 63 UN member states still criminalize consensual same-sex sexual acts as of June 2026.

So yes, being gay in 2026 sometimes feels like having to defend a group project that previous generations already finished.

Wait, didn’t we already win this battle?

It is very frustrating, don’t you think?

People fought, protested, faced violence and sometimes lost their lives so we could live more freely. I thought my generation would spend more time enjoying those victories, deciding if they would open an OnlyFans or not, try a new anal plug …etc, and not worrying (again) about whether they might disappear.

I have other plans! Birdwatch or crossfit stalk, cook new high-protein recipes, jockstrap shopping, new Carnal, MenAtPlay and Naked Sword scenes to check and a life to live!

Perhaps progress isn’t something we win once and keep forever. I guess it needs attention, participation and people willing to protect it… And here’s the encouraging part: we’ve already changed the world before, in ways that once seemed impossible.

We can keep changing it 😘💪🏻

Hopefully toward a future where the biggest problem facing gay men is deciding whether to text their ex or try something new in bed.

Again.