JANUARY
After a surprising midterm where Democrats expanded their legislative pull nationwide — except in Florida, where Republicans gained a supermajority — Watermark begins 2023 with a look at Generation Z. Nearly one in eight of the critical voting bloc’s members supported Democrats in the election and LGBTQ+ locals tell us why. We also speak with Tony-nominated actress L Morgan Lee of “A Strange Loop” and introduce Visibili-T, a recurring feature that amplifies local transgender voices.
An Orange County Public Schools District 3 board member begins the year by asking the district to remove its gender-neutral bathroom policy. Reproductive rights activists also fill the streets to rally on what would have been the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and Southern Nights Orlando is vandalized.
To “serve as a beacon of support and safety” for LGBTQ+ community, Equality Florida unveils a new mural in Tampa. Metro Inclusive Health also announces that the organization’s Copay it Forward program generated $660,485 in free healthcare throughout the region for those in need the previous year.
Conservative control in Tallahassee begins to take shape as Florida’s rejection of AP African American Studies makes national news. Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration say the course pushes a political agenda, in part for including “Black Queer Studies.” Free speech groups also condemn a Florida high school’s cancelation of the play “Indecent,” which explores Jewish and queer theatrical history.
States across the nation target transgender health care in the first bills filed in 2023. More than two dozen seek to restrict transgender health care access. Meanwhile, the Pope says laws that criminalize homosexuality are “unjust.”
FEBRUARY
As lawmakers convene for a special session regarding the state’s takeover of Walt Disney World’s self-governing district for opposing Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law, LGBTQ+ advocates share how they’re preparing for the next legislative session. We also speak to gay men about being plus size in the LGBTQ+ community and reintroduce Watermark’s annual Love, Sex & Marriage coverage.
In Orlando, the DeSantis administration officially begins the process of revoking The Plaza Live’s liquor license for hosting of “A Drag Queen Christmas” in Dec. 2022. A formal complaint alleges they exposed children to “sexually explicit content.” The LGBT+ Center announces the recipients of their 11th annual Diversity Awards, honoring GayDayS President Chris Manley with the LGBT+ Center Lifetime Achievement award.
The Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber honors local changemakers as well, marking 40 years with a State of the Chamber event. CAN Community Health is awarded Nonprofit of the Year and Watermark Publishing Group proudly receives LGBTBE of the Year. Metro Inclusive Health CEO announces the retirement of Lorraine Langlois after 30 years and that Metro Chief Operating & Programs Officer Priya Rajkumar will serve as their next CEO.
The Florida Entertainer of the Year pageant returns after a hiatus, taking place in Tampa and crowning Central Florida entertainers Kenya M. Black and Twila Holiday. At the request of the DeSantis administration, a prohibition against gender-affirming care for minors is tightened after a board eliminates an exception for certain trials.
New details emerge about the fatal shooting at the Colorado LGBTQ+ nightclub Club Q in 2022, where five people were murdered and 17 others were injured. LGBTQ+ advocates continue to call for gun reform. Finland’s parliament makes it easier for people to change their legally recognized gender.
MARCH
The Watermark Awards for Variety and Excellence recognize readers’ favorite LGBTQ+ and ally activists, entertainers and more. Watermark also examines bisexual erasure and the ninth annual Tampa Pride as Florida’s 2023 legislative session kicks off with bills targeting LGBTQ+ Floridians.
Openly trans Admiral Rachel L. Levine, Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, visits Orlando to meet with local leaders about access to care. Drag queen-led events are also canceled throughout Central Florida after the introduction of legislation used to target the art form.
In response to the same proposals, Tampa Pride restricts drag performances to 18+. The event is a success but returns without the support of MCC Tampa; the church doesn’t participate after Tampa Pride’s president repeatedly misgenders their pastor.
A federal judge dismisses a lawsuit challenging Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law. DeSantis, rumored to announce a run for U.S. president, simultaneously works to expand the measure to all grades. “Everything he does is about what can further his own career ambitions,” Equality Florida tells Watermark.
Anti-LGBTQ+ laws also continue to mount nationwide, but a federal judge temporarily blocks Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation law placing strict limits on drag shows. He sides with those who say it violates the First Amendment.
APRIL
Watermark highlights India, Morocco and Cabo through an LGBTQ+ lens for our travel issue. We also preview the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival, Tampa Fringe and Florida Film Festival, which features a special premiere.
Watermark Publishing Group’s documentary “Greetings from Queertown: Orlando” makes its debut, tracing the history of Central Florida’s LGBTQ+ community from the mid-1970s to today. Grills Seafood Deck and Tiki Bar, with locations in Cape Canaveral, Melbourne and Orlando, calls being transgender a “social experiment” and halts sales of Bud Light due to the brand’s partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
CAN Community Health and Metro Inclusive Health, which first partnered to serve Tampa Bay in 2013 and constructed health care centers in St. Petersburg and Ybor, detail their formal split. Metro announces they will vacate the shared spaces to redistribute services to satellite offices, while CAN will move its headquarters from Sarasota to Tampa.
Equality Florida take an unprecedented step as the state advances anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, issuing an LGBTQ+ travel advisory warning for those seeking to visit or relocate. They do so before hundreds of Florida’s drag entertainers make a statement of their own — led by Orlando’s Darcel Stevens, entertainers converge in Tallahassee for the first-ever Drag March.
Overseas, South Africans protest the Anti-Homosexuality Act passed in Uganda. The social media platform Twitter also makes waves under the new ownership of Elon Musk for removing its deadnaming policy, bolstering anti-trans activity. Some organizations leave the platform, including Watermark.
MAY
Watermark examines Equality Florida’s travel advisory at length as organizations plan major LGBTQ+ events. Come Out with Pride, St Pete Pride and others weigh in. We also preview Orlando’s big LGBTQ+ weekend and Project Pride’s LGBTQ+ events in Sarasota, both coming in June.
Citing failed negotiations with landowners, the onePULSE Foundation announces the planned Pulse memorial will no longer be built at the site of the nightclub. An Orlando traffic sign is altered to say “KILL ALL GAYS” and Peer Support Space says Publix refused to write “Trans People Deserve Joy” on a cake.
In Tampa, Alan Clendenin wins his race for City Council and becomes the body’s first openly LGBTQ+ representative. The City of Clearwater announces its “Living the Culture” series will celebrate Pride and Tampa Pride cancels Pride on the River, scheduled for September.
The organization cites four explicitly anti-LGBTQ+ bills signed into law by DeSantis the day prior, the largest slate in in Florida’s history. They are House Bill 1069, the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” expansion; Senate Bill 254, a gender-affirming care ban; House Bill 1521, banning trans individuals from using certain restrooms that align with their gender identity; and House Bill 1423, utilized to target drag. DeSantis announces his campaign for president soon after.
The FDA finalizes new blood donation rules to allow more gay and bisexual men to donate. While marking International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, the Biden-Harris administration reiterates its support of LGBTQ+ rights amidst setbacks here and abroad.
JUNE
Organizers say you can’t stop Florida’s largest LGBTQ+ celebration. St Pete Pride marks 21 years with events throughout the month, all of which feature drag. Watermark also examines what Florida’s new anti-LGBTQ+ laws do and do not mean.
Owners of Hamburger Mary’s Orlando file a federal lawsuit against DeSantis and Florida, arguing the state’s anti-drag law violates their First Amendment rights. The Pride Chamber welcomes Daniel Sohn as its new CEO and the city remembers Pulse seven years later.
Former Tampa Pride board members call for a change in leadership after March’s celebration and Pride on the River’s cancelation, both of which they say were mismanaged. Tampa Pride does not return Watermark’s requests for comment. The Mari Jean Hotel, St. Petersburg’s adults-only LGBTQ+ hotel, opens its doors and Polk Pride returns.
A federal judge temporarily blocks portions of Florida’s law targeting gender-affirming care, allowing some trans youth to proceed. Trans adults are also blindsided by limitations in their health care as restrictions begin to take shape.
Tennessee’s anti-drag law is ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge. In Colorado, the Club Q mass shooter pleads guilty in court and will spend life in prison. Recognizing Pride Month, Biden says the U.S. is at a “critical inflection point,” pointing toward over 600 anti-LGBTQ+ laws utilized to target LGBTQ+ Americans in 2023.
JULY
As we reach the year’s midpoint, Watermark focuses on a few positive stories in the community. First, we spotlight the Florida chapter of “Free Mom Hugs,” a nonprofit that empowers the world to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and offer hugs when needed. We also highlight LGBTQ+ members of the cosplay community with a beautiful photo spread by Dylan Todd featuring our models dressed as some of their favorite characters.
As Tallahassee’s anti-LGBTQ+ agenda ravishes the state, Central Florida organizations remind the community that they are still here for them, including the Orlando VA, who announces that — because it is under the federal government — can and will continue to offer gender-affirming care. St. Dorothy’s Catholic Community also announces that they will support the queer community, hosting special religious services geared toward the trans and drag communities.
The Tampa Bay area enters July with one less safe space as Zoie’s announces its permanent and immediate closure. The LGBTQ+-inclusive venue had only opened its doors in Oct. 2022. As one door closes, another one opens as Bell Pharmacy holds its grand opening, promising to be a beacon of care for LGBTQ+ patients in the region.
Republican state Rep. Fabian Basabe makes headlines after two male aides accuse the lawmaker of sexual harassment and battery. A lawsuit was filed in Leon County. Basabe publicly denied the allegations.
In Louisiana, the state’s Republican-led legislature overrule the Democratic governor’s veto of a gender-affirming care ban for minors and in Michigan, the Democratic governor signs a bill into law banning conversion therapy.
AUGUST
As Florida’s youth head back to the classroom, Watermark speaks with LGBTQ+ students and parents who are worried about how the state’s new anti-LGBTQ+ laws and rules will impact their education. We also sit down with local LGBTQ+-friendly financial experts to talk about banking, investing and more.
It’s revealed at the start of the month that the Orlando Magic donated $50,000 to a Super PAC supporting DeSantis’ presidential campaign earlier this year, sparking outrage from community leaders. The month ends in Orlando with members of a hate group vandalizing LGBTQ+ murals on the walls of The Center Orlando and Zebra Youth’s Drop-in Center.
OutCoast launches the inaugural Florida Out Coast Convention, the first and only conference focused solely on the state’s LGBTQ+ tourism industry, in Tampa. The inaugural conference welcomes more than 150 attendees. While Gulfport’s next Pride celebration is nearly a year away, the event sparks controversy as the LGBTQ+ Resource Center, the event’s previous organizer, and the newly formed Gulfport Pride nonprofit butt heads.
Equality Florida launches its statewide Parenting with Pride initiative, a resource and information center online. The initiative is created as a response to the state’s slate of anti-LGBTQ+ laws that have been passed this year.
The Red Cross announces that it has changed its policies allowing gay and bisexual men to donate blood. The policy now will be to assess blood donations based on individual risk factors rather than sexual orientation. In California, a woman is killed for refusing to remove an LGBTQ+ Pride flag from outside of her store.
In Kuwait and Lebanon, it is announced that the hit film “Barbie” will not be allowed to be shown because of the movie’s message of inclusion and gender equality.
SEPTEMBER
“Red, White & Royal Blue,” the rom-com about a secret love affair between the son of the U.S. president and the prince of England, is a huge hit for Amazon Prime Video. Watermark chats with the film’s openly gay director, Matthew Lopez, about the movie’s success. We also speak with LGBTQ+ advocates in Florida who say that while the state is experiencing a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ hate that it is still a safe and welcoming place for queer travelers.
Equality Florida’s press secretary and bestselling author Brandon Wolf announces he is leaving Orlando for Washington, D.C., where he will serve as the National Press Secretary for the Human Rights Campaign. The Pride Chamber also partners with NASCAR in Daytona Beach for the automotive sport’s Drive for Diversity event.
In Tampa, MR D’z Men’s Emporium opens. It is an LGBTQ+ bar with a primary focus on the leather community. Across the bay, Come OUT St. Pete kicks off its seventh annual festivities with its 2023 Royal Court Pageant, crowning Veronica Vixen as Miss COSP 2024 and Silver Foxx as Mr. COSP 2024.
DeSantis continues to appoint anti-LGBTQ+ advocates to positions of authority, naming Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Desovich to the Florida Commission on Ethics. On the legal front, a Florida judge says a new state law restricting health care for trans people can still be applied to adults while it’s being challenged in the courts.
While lawmakers continue to restrict the rights of queer people, voters support LGBTQ+ candidates as Mississippi elects its first openly gay lawmaker and Tennessee elects their first openly transgender official. Meanwhile, Canada issues a U.S. travel advisory to its citizens due to the large number of anti-LGBTQ+ laws that have been passed in the country.
OCTOBER
Watermark celebrates LGBTQ+ History Month highlighting two of our area’s biggest events. In Orlando, Come Out With Pride celebrates October with its annual parade and festival downtown. In the bay area, the Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival celebrates its 34th outing with an updated formula. TIGLFF splits its nine-day film fest into two separate festival weekends — the Tampa edition of the festival takes place in October while the St. Petersburg edition will premiere in Jan. 2024.
We close out the month with our annual Halloween issue, highlighting local scares like Tampa Bay’s haunted B&B, the Phantom History House, Spooky Empire’s 20th horror convention and more.
In Central Florida, after seven years and much uncertainty, the City of Orlando works out a deal to purchase the Pulse nightclub property for $2 million after talks between the onePULSE Foundation and the property owners break down. The purchase of the property by the city cements the fate of onePULSE, which announces the following month that the foundation is dissolving, creating many questions about what happened to all the money raised.
Orlando’s OUT Sports League expands into Tampa Bay, merging with the Rainbow Sports League. In St. Petersburg, Come OUT St. Pete announces it is postponing its seventh annual Family Day and Chili Cookoff event due to, among other reason, “lower than expected participation.” In Sarasota, Project Pride hosts the Sarasota Pride festival. While it is the 32nd Pride festival in Sarasota, it is the first one organized by Project Pride.
Statewide, October is a good month for the LGBTQ+ community as the courts rule that Florida’s anti-drag law cannot be enforced until a trial is held to determine its constitutionality and, thanks to the efforts of former state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, Florida’s Department of Health must provide COVID-19 data to the public. Also, the former state lawmaker who sponsored the controversial “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law is sentenced to six months in federal prison for defrauding the federal coronavirus relief loan program.
The FBI releases its 2022 hate crimes numbers revealing that the country had an increase in LGBTQ+ violence from the previous year. In other part of the world, India’s Supreme Court rules against recognizing same-sex marriages while Pope Francis suggests that same-sex unions can be blessed by the Catholic Church.
NOVEMBER
With so much misinformation about gender-affirming care, largely stemming from DeSantis and conservative lawmakers, Watermark talks with health care professionals about exactly what it is and isn’t. Ahead of World AIDS Day, Watermark also looks at the advancements in HIV care and prevention, focusing on the recent injectable options being offered.
In Central Florida, we highlight the good works being done by Abrigando Corazones, an initiative started by Venezuelan immigrant Yosmar Rumbos, that helps to get clothing, food and other services to those in need. Orlando also re-elects openly lesbian City Commissioner Patty Sheehan to her seventh term in office. Voters also re-elect Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who announces that after this new term he will not seek re-election.
After postponing, Come OUT St. Pete holds its seventh annual celebration at Seminole Park. Equality Florida also holds its annual Tampa Gala in November at the Shanna and Bryan Glazer JCC. The event sets a new record for the LGBTQ+ civil rights group as its raises $550,000.
HRC releases its annual Municipal Equality Index and while several Florida cities score a 100 — including Orlando, St. Petersburg and Tampa — the state is deemed a “state of emergency” by the LGBTQ+ organization. Following suit, Campus Pride releases its annual “Best of the Best” list naming the country’s most LGBTQ+-inclusive colleges. All Florida schools are left off of the list, with Campus Pride stating the reason was the state’s passage of Senate Bill 266, which “effectively bans LGBTQ+ services.” In South Florida, the final SMART Ride is held, raising nearly $1.3 million.
LGBTQ+ advocates and allies mark Transgender Day of Remembrance, the annual commemoration honoring the lives lost in acts of anti-transgender violence each year. At least 30 transgender or gender nonconforming people were murdered in 2023. They also remember Matthew Shepard, 25 years after the openly gay University of Wyoming student was savagely beaten, tied to a fence and left to die. While Shepard would die days later, his memory would go on to create change in the U.S., which enacted a national hate crimes law.
On the other side of the world, the 2023 Gay Games open in Hong Kong.
DECEMBER
The end of the year brings Watermark’s annual Most Remarkable People of Central Florida and Tampa Bay list. Among the list of 10 remarkable people are Orlando’s Darcel Stevens, for organizing the drag rally and march in Tallahassee, and Dustin and Daniel Johnson, a Tampa Bay couple who adopted six siblings who needed a home.
In Orlando, trans activist Nikole Parker is named the new COO of The Center Orlando. It is also revealed that the foundation behind The Plaza Live agreed to pay the state $5,000 as part of a settlement for allowing children to attend “A Drag Queen Christmas” the previous holiday season.
In Tampa Bay, LGBTQ+ bar The Honey Pot returns to Ybor City through a new partnership with PTL Nightclub. St Pete Pride also wraps up the year with its annual Red & Green fundraiser which brings in more than $40,000.
In Florida, Christian Ziegler, Florida GOP chairman, is accused of rape. The allegations reveal details of a secret sexual relationship between Ziegler and his wife — co-founder of Moms for Liberty Bridget Ziegler — with another woman. The Florida High School Athletic Association fines Monarch High $16,500 for allowing a trans athlete to play on the girls volleyball team and the trial challenging Florida’s trans health care ban begins.
Disgraced Congressman George Santos is expelled from Congress. He is only the sixth member of the House to ever be expelled. Congress acted after a report by the U.S. House Ethics Committee found Santos had siphoned campaign contributions to shop at luxury retailers and for OnlyFans purchases. The Supreme Court also upholds a conversion therapy ban in Washington state, a blow to the discredited practice as LGBTQ+ Americans look toward 2024.
