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App seeks to make vacationing safe for LGBTQ travelers

misterb&b, a French startup, focuses on safety and connection

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The landing page for gay travel app misterb&b opens with a slideshow of stock photos of two men in a white-tiled kitchen smiling at each other, two women in rose-colored shirts with one draping her arm over the other’s shoulder, and a series of other images of people sitting at tables smiling cheerily while seemingly having conversation. Next to the slideshow is a text box with a rainbow flag banner.

“Where do you want to go? NYC or Paris?” the prompt reads. 

When Paris-based entrepreneur Matthieu Jost created misterb&b in 2014, he was fresh off a disappointing experience where a vacation rental host in Barcelona, Spain denied him entry because “she found out we were gay and [my  partner and I] would be sharing a bed under her roof.”

Powered by the feeling of never wanting to experience such a dehumanizing moment again, he created an LGBTQ-centric app centered on safety and connection. For almost a decade now, misterb&b has given LGBTQ travelers access to more than a million queer-friendly accommodations and an opportunity to connect with other LGBTQ locals in their travel destinations. 

“The name misterb&b came from the app’s original focus on gay male travelers,” said Jost in an email. “I had traveled to Barcelona with my partner and our home share rental house rejected us from her home…We left and I decided I never wanted to have the same experience again, for myself or for my community.” 

Getting into travel app development, however, wasn’t uncharted territory for Jost. He was part of a team in 2010, which included French gay magazine Têtu, that created gay lifestyle and travel website MyGayTrip.com. The site drew inspiration from American travel company Tripadvisor, Inc. and became one of Europe’s top directories for LGBTQ travelers. 

This experience, paired with his co-founder’s ownership of a popular French short-term rental company, helped Jost to amass the data needed to make suitable recommendations for misterb&b’s users. 

“misterb&b is about connecting people globally through travel, and it offers a layer of connection that other travel apps don’t,” said Jost. “Seventy percent of misterb&b’s user base are solo travelers looking to find like-minded people to connect and travel with.”

Jost added that the app “offers users a unique opportunity to share experiences,” and users can connect on the platform and share their itineraries. 

User safety is addressed by ensuring that they provide proof of identity and address to authenticate themselves. Additionally, misterb&b relies on artificial intelligence technology to identify fraudulent activity. 

For those who visit misterb&b to offer to host travelers in their properties, their identity is protected by the company’s policy of not operating in countries listed on the U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Asset Control sanctions list. Hosts in homophobic countries also have their profile pictures blurred and only other misterb&b users can access them.

“Some of the countries we operate in aren’t necessarily gay-friendly, but the response from hosts in countries where gay people are persecuted, like Russia for example, has been heartwarming,” said Jost. “It’s hard for LGBTQ+ individuals to meet other gay people in those countries, so we offer the option for hosts to initially hide their profile picture in countries with high frequencies of homophobia or LGTBQ hate crimes for an added layer of safety.”

In the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area, a pair of hosts have showered the company with glowing praise.

A 2019 question and answer blog post that features a gay host couple from Linden, Va., describes their hosting experience as something positive they have been able to provide to “hundreds of people.”

“We spent many years in D.C. fighting for LGBTQ rights, which has finally paid off,” read their answer to a question about what hosting to the gay community meant to them. “We know that there are many other LGBTQ folks who enjoy the outdoors and are not always seeking a city scene… so we want to give those folks a chance to experience a relaxed environment in a cabin that is hosted by gay owners.” 

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Federal Government

UPenn erases Lia Thomas’s records as part of settlement with White House

University agreed to ban trans women from women’s sports teams

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U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon (Screen capture: C-SPAN)

In a settlement with the Trump-Vance administration announced on Tuesday, the University of Pennsylvania will ban transgender athletes from competing and erase swimming records set by transgender former student Lia Thomas.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights found the university in violation of Title IX, the federal rights law barring sex based discrimination in educational institutions, by “permitting males to compete in women’s intercollegiate athletics and to occupy women-only intimate facilities.”

The statement issued by University of Pennsylvania President J. Larry Jameson highlighted how the law’s interpretation was changed substantially under President Donald Trump’s second term.

“The Department of Education OCR investigated the participation of one transgender athlete on the women’s swimming team three years ago, during the 2021-2022 swim season,” he wrote. “At that time, Penn was in compliance with NCAA eligibility rules and Title IX as then interpreted.”

Jameson continued, “Penn has always followed — and continues to follow — Title IX and the applicable policy of the NCAA regarding transgender athletes. NCAA eligibility rules changed in February 2025 with Executive Orders 14168 and 14201 and Penn will continue to adhere to these new rules.”

Writing that “we acknowledge that some student-athletes were disadvantaged by these rules” in place while Thomas was allowed to compete, the university president added, “We recognize this and will apologize to those who experienced a competitive disadvantage or experienced anxiety because of the policies in effect at the time.”

“Today’s resolution agreement with UPenn is yet another example of the Trump effect in action,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “Thanks to the leadership of President Trump, UPenn has agreed both to apologize for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women’s sports are protected at the university for future generations of female athletes.”

Under former President Joe Biden, the department’s Office of Civil Rights sought to protect against anti-LGBTQ discrimination in education, bringing investigations and enforcement actions in cases where school officials might, for example, require trans students to use restrooms and facilities consistent with their birth sex or fail to respond to peer harassment over their gender identity.

Much of the legal reasoning behind the Biden-Harris administration’s positions extended from the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case Bostock v. Clayton County, which found that sex-based discrimination includes that which is based on sexual orientation or gender identity under Title VII rules covering employment practices.

The Trump-Vance administration last week put the state of California on notice that its trans athlete policies were, or once were, in violation of Title IX, which comes amid the ongoing battle with Maine over the same issue.

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New York

Two teens shot steps from Stonewall Inn after NYC Pride parade

One of the victims remains in critical condition

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The Stonewall National Memorial in New York on June 19, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

On Sunday night, following the annual NYC Pride March, two girls were shot in Sheridan Square, feet away from the historic Stonewall Inn.

According to an NYPD report, the two girls, aged 16 and 17, were shot around 10:15 p.m. as Pride festivities began to wind down. The 16-year-old was struck in the head and, according to police sources, is said to be in critical condition, while the 17-year-old was said to be in stable condition.

The Washington Blade confirmed with the NYPD the details from the police reports and learned no arrests had been made as of noon Monday.

The shooting took place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, mere feet away from the most famous gay bar in the city — if not the world — the Stonewall Inn. Earlier that day, hundreds of thousands of people marched down Christopher Street to celebrate 55 years of LGBTQ people standing up for their rights.

In June 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, members of the LGBTQ community pushed back, sparking what became known as the Stonewall riots. Over the course of two days, LGBTQ New Yorkers protested the discriminatory policing of queer spaces across the city and mobilized to speak out — and throw bottles if need be — at officers attempting to suppress their existence.

The following year, LGBTQ people returned to the Stonewall Inn and marched through the same streets where queer New Yorkers had been arrested, marking the first “Gay Pride March” in history and declaring that LGBTQ people were not going anywhere.

New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, whose district includes Greenwich Village, took to social media to comment on the shooting.

“After decades of peaceful Pride celebrations — this year gun fire and two people shot near the Stonewall Inn is a reminder that gun violence is everywhere,” the lesbian lawmaker said on X. “Guns are a problem despite the NRA BS.”

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New York

Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade

Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

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NYC mayoral candidate and New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani (Screen capture: NBC News/YouTube)

Zohran Mamdani, the candidate for mayor of New York City who pulled a surprise victory in the primary contest last week, walked in the city’s Pride parade on Sunday.

The Democratic Socialist and New York State Assembly member published photos on social media with New York Attorney General Letitia James, telling followers it was “a joy to march in NYC Pride with the people’s champ” and to “see so many friends on this gorgeous day.”

“Happy Pride NYC,” he wrote, adding a rainbow emoji.

Mamdani’s platform includes a detailed plan for LGBTQ people who “across the United States are facing an increasingly hostile political environment.”

His campaign website explains: “New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people, but private institutions in our own city have already started capitulating to Trump’s assault on trans rights.

“Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis confronting working class people across the city hits the LGBTQIA+ community particularly hard, with higher rates of unemployment and homelessness than the rest of the city.”

“The Mamdani administration will protect LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers by expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide, making NYC an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city, and creating the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.”

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