Amber Rudd has been appointed by Prime Minister Theresa May as the new Home Secretary. Ms. Rudd who has been in Parliament since 2010, has “consistently voted for equal gay rights” according to TheyWorkForYou.com
The MP for Hastings And Rye, who campaigned to remain in the European Union, entered the House of Commons on 6th May 2010.
Since the beginning of her Parliamentary career, Ms. Rudd has had to vote on six pieces of legislation pertaining to the rights of gay and lesbians in the United Kingdom. The majority of which were to do with issues surrounding same-sex marriage.
She voted in favour of all votes, ensuring that Britain’s gay community enjoy marriage equality.
Home Secretary is an important role for the safety of Britain’s population. It requires close contact with emergency services, such as the police and intelligence services to reduce crime and terrorism. The LGBT community will be looking to Ms Rudd to reduce hate crimes in the UK. This year in London alone homophobic crime soared 20 per cent year on year.
So reasons to get naked in front of a room full of men…
We can think of a few reasons, obviously we’re too classy to explain them all here… but one that might surprise you would be to fight another man – but that’s exactly what British boxer Ryan Farrag did.
When he first stepped on to the scales in his black boxer briefs it seemed the sportsman was too heavy… so what did he do? He whipped of his undies and flashed the room…
Although there were calls for a modesty towel, Ryan was less interested in keeping his privates private than making sure he made the weigh in… Which he did…
I work in the trade and it usually means working along side may other trade guys on different sites. The last site I was on there was a site manager, older mature butch muscly bloke (late 40s), ex army/marine, I know he’s married and has kids.
During a meeting between 4 other work mates, I kept catching him looking at me. Then about half way through the meeting while other guys were discussing things, he looks at me, WINKS(!), and then smiles! It took me by surprise.
The big question is: WTF do I do? I don’t want to confront him and give away I’m gay, and find out he’s not. Maybe the wink meant something else? If so, then what!? Or is a wink some secret “gay trade code” that I’m completely unaware of?
Yea I fancy him. Even though he’s married I would not say no. I’d love to have a go with him but just not sure how to test the water without giving too much away?
This is an interesting dilemma. First things first though: why do you think being an ex army/marine type would prohibit someone from being gay? There are many ways to be gay and you’d be surprised how many super masculine power jocks are part of the rainbow nation.
What I am wondering is: do you really want to take on the responsibility of loving a married gay man? There will be many problems and dramas you will have to deal with and it could become painful in the future. Make sure you think about the pros and cons before doing anything.
If you are certain about wanting this man, let’s look at the evidence you’ve given us.
That wink definitely meant something, no-one winks at another person without a deeper intention behind it. Of course it could also mean he recognised you were bored of the meeting too, or sharing joke. But that too could mean he was reaching out for something deeper. But if it’s friendship or love you will have to find out for yourself.
From what I gather you are not out at work and want to keep it that way. This means you have to get him alone outside of work. As he is married and very outwardly macho he might have build a few fences around his sexuality so don’t immediately bombard him with the “do you fancy me” question. Try becoming friends first, see how he acts around you. Make some small talk, see what you have in common. Go to the gym together, go for a few drinks and then, after a few dates, drop some small hints.
If he picks up on them: bingo! If he ignores them, at-least you have a new friend.
A warning: if you don’t like taking it slow and want to get there fast, always ask the question in a public place maybe with a friend present in the vicinity just to be on the safe side.
Always with love,
Dannii
The advice above has been given by our community of writers who have drawn from experiences in their own lives and is should not be considered as professional advice.
Antony Simpson shares his Top 5 Vintage TV Characters. In order to make the list, characters had to be iconic, queer and in some way vintage. So here we go:
5. Willow Rosenburg (Alyson Hannigan)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer first appeared on TV in 1997. Willow started off as a geeky, shy girl who fell in love with part-man part-werewolf Oz (Seth Green). When Oz decided he was too dangerous to be around and left Willow she slowly transformed into an UBER Witch. She met fellow Witch Tara (Amber Benson) and fell in love again, only for Tara to be murdered. I love Willow because of the transformation from shy girl to powerful independent woman.
Captain Jack Harkness first appeared on our TV screens in 2005 in Doctor Who, before getting his own spin-off series Torchwood. Captain Jack is openly bisexual although all of his on screen relationships have been with men.
Now before you start commenting and telling me 2005 is hardly Vintage; Captain Jack is an immortal rogue Time Agent that has a timeline that dates back 1860s. So if that doesn’t make him vintage, I don’t know what will.
3. Michael ‘Mouse’ Tolliver (Marcus D’Amico)
Michael ‘Mouse’ Tolliver appeared on TV in Tales of the City in 1993, which was based on the series of books with the same name. Michael is a gay man living in San Francisco in the late 70s and is a truly loveable character. If you’ve never seen Tales of the City, I can’t recommend the TV series’ and books enough.
Are You Being Served? Originally appeared on TV in the 1970s through to the 1980s. Are You Being Served? Was a sit-com set in Grace Brothers’ Clothing Department that focused on the Sales Clerks. I remember seeing a re-run and instantly fell in love with the mincing Mr Humphries.
Camp humoured Mr Humphries was filled with innuendo always alluded to his sexuality, as did his famous catch phrase ‘I’m free!’ whenever a good looking gentleman entered the store. An iconic character, one of the first TV characters to allude to their gay sexuality.
1.Edna Everage (Barry Humphries)
AB FAB (C) Fox Searchlight Pictures
Edna Everage debuted on stage in her native Australia before she appeared on our TV screens in the late 80s. This Melbourne Housewife is surrounded by fables, but is essentially a character created and played by Barry Humphries. Edna Everage self-proclaimed advisor to the stars and royalty I always think of as being the first mainstream comedian drag act. Her international status makes her number 1 on my list.
If there’s a TV character you feel should be on the list, comment on Facebook www.facebook.com/TheGayUK so that I can discover some new characters.
It’s Judy Garland times three in the new musical Through The Mill now playing at Southwark Playhouse.
The show gives us Garland in three different stages in her life. There’s the young Judy before her Wizard of Oz role – ages 13 through 16 – brilliantly played by Lucy Penrose. Then we have the Palace Judy – the time in Garland’s life when she was performing on Broadway at the Palace Theatre, age 29 – with Belinda Wollaston in the role. Then finally we are presented with CBS Judy – the 47 year-old star (played by Helen Sheals) who was in the last year of her life during which she had her own television show on America’s CBS network.
These three eras of Judy’s life are superbly intertwined in a show that’s both fantastic and tragic. We all know that Judy died at the age of 47 in London due to an over-dosage of barbiturates. But she had such a tumultuous life, and it didn’t make matters any better in that she was an extremely insecure, and nervous, woman. Young Judy’s father (played by Joe Shefer) ran a cinema, but he also had a predilection for young boys. Her mother Ethel (Amanda Bailey) was an extremely controlling stage mother. But Palace Judy’s life isn’t much better. By this time she takes various drugs just to help her get through her day (and to get her on stage). Her life seems to be a mess, though she’s got her husband Sid Luft (Harry Anton) with her at all times. By the tim CBS Judy (who actually opens the show with a rounding version of ‘Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries’) sung brilliantly by Sheals, her life seems to be on track, she’s got a hit television show, but the network keeps on demanding more and more from her. It’s too much for a woman as fragile as Judy, and though her death is not played out on stage, we all know what’s going to happen to her.
Through the Mill is excellent. It’s all due to the three women who play Judy, they are all very good but it’s Penrose who shines a bit more because she plays a version of Judy that is young and innocent, and Penrose conveys that excellently. When Young Judy and Palace Judy duet on ‘Zing, Went the Strings of my Heart’ together in the intimate theatre, it’s an event! And when all three get together to sing the finale – ‘Over the Rainbow’ – there’s not a dry eye in the house.
Director Ray Rackham, along with the rest of his crew, have staged a musical that’s larger than life in a theatre that’s as intimate as a living room. And the parallel timeframes used in this production is genius. Cleverly, the musicians also act in the show, from Carmella Brown who plays CBS Judy’s assistant, to Don Cotter who is very good as Louis B. Mayer, the head of MGM who greenlit Garland for Wizard of Oz.
Please go see Through the Mill, even if you’re not a Judy Garland fan. It’s a fabulous show.
