Dig deep into your Facebook tagged photos and find a nice when in the sun with a cocktail and a decent backdrop. If you’re stuck for choice, perhaps do what every other Grindr user does and take a selfie in the mirror of your local gym changing room. That way, at least everyone knows you keep fit.
Don’t…immediately send a dick pic
Striking up a conversation via a picture of your penis is like Victoria Beckham singing – sin against nature. Sending a blurry photo of your willy is not going to make anyone think “Let’s go Prezzo”. If you, for whatever reason, have an urgent need to send one, do it after at least a day of conversation and, as with your profile picture, make sure it is the best it could be. I’m talking about the right angle and the right filter – no one wants a photo with dodgy lighting.
Do…be grammatically correct.
“Hello, how are you?” sounds far better than “hey, u alrite?” so make sure to use your best grammar when trying to secure a date or even a bit of fun. No one is going to be enticed to have sex with you when you chat like a 14-year-old on MSN.
Don’t…slate gays in your bio.
“I like my men to be men”; “straight acting guys only; “if I can’t see your eyebrows then I don’t want to see you”. When devising your bio, try not to come across as a wanker. Some gay men decide to be their own enemy and it doesn’t exactly scream, “date me”.
Do…talk about safer sex.
Let’s be honest – most gay dating apps amount to anonymous sex with someone you’ve never met before and don’t really know much about except for the size of their penis so, let’s be clear, condoms, PrEP and regular testing if you’re sexually active are absolutely essential…
This article was first published in August 2015 and has been updated.
Let’s be honest, Geri is essentially a gay man trapped in a woman’s body and has been offering the British public some of the most outrageous outfits ever in pop culture. Judging a bunch of drag queens is what Geri was born to do…well, except be a Spice Girl.
Sharon Osbourne
CREDIT: Joe Seer / Bigstock
Every X Factor viewer pines for her and after years of being married to Ozzy Osbourne, she’s probably quite good with advice on how to apply a lot of makeup. Just have to hope Dannii Minogue isn’t asked to guest judge the same week…
Louis Walsh
From Thames / Syco Entertainment The X Factor on ITV
If we have Sharon, then we need to bring in Louis. The love or loathe panellist with X Factor on ice that, of course, leaves him open to new career ventures. Maybe he could manage the winning Queen?
A national treasure and the Queen of Soap Opera, Dame Joan Collins’ Dynasty shoulder pads were enough to drive any drag queen wild with desire. Her quintessentially 80’s style would definitely offer some inspiration to the contestants.
Judge Rinder
Having his own show on ITV start last year, Robert Rinder is used to being a no-nonsense judge to the masses however, would he be able to handle a drag queen? There’s a high chance they may not take his criticism as easily.
The iconic fleet street journo has more than a reputation for speaking her mind on just about anything so let’s so what she thinks of some of the UK’s top drag artists.
Having been an advocate of gay rights during his time in Westminster, Ed Balls lost his seat in a bloodbath of an election defeat for Labour. He’s since said he’s considering Strictly Come Dancing but what about he does something with a little more class?
Tan France
Queer Eye
With numerous TV shows, like Queer Eye, under his belt, including his time judging on Next In Fashion, Tan’s unique fashion sensibilities and calming influence would be perfect.
Lily Allen
CREDIT: YouTube/Lily Allen
As with Janet, Lily is someone who rarely misses an opportunity to voice her opinion and when it comes to the gay community, she’s a bit of an icon – having gone as far to record a song called ‘Fag Hag’.
Ok, so if he doesn’t do it, could we at least have a ‘Lip Sync For Your Life’ round including Karma Chameleon? It would be absolute perfection.
Kim Cattrall
Sex And The City is nothing without one of our best acting exports, Kim Cattrall. It would be a dream to have her on the panel, especially if she was able to remember some of Samantha’s best put-downs for the show.
Julian Clary
The original gay stand up has already done Strictly and Celebrity Big Brother as a contestant so perhaps it is time for him to turn his attention to being a judge instead. His hilarious digs had us all laughing the 90’s so perhaps a stint on Drag Race could be the trick for a much-needed career resurrection?
Now, this would be perfect, a soapstar round. I’m thinking Madge Bishop, Bet Lynch, Pat Butcher but, most importantly Peggy Mitchell played by this national treasure. Our tellies have lacked the fun that Barbara offered to Eastenders since her departure in 2011. Moreover, we’d love to see her up against RuPaul…”GET OUT OF MY MAKE UP STUDIO”
Simon Cowell’s BFFL who only really has to work for a few weeks in autumn. The X Factor’s no.1 novelty staple could do with actually making it onto the judging panel for once instead of merely being a mentor.
This article was first published in August 2015 and has been updated.
It’s so easy isn’t it… being totally basic on a dating app – we’ll here are five tips on how not to come across a complete pratt on Grindr.
Do… Use your best pic
Dig deep into your Facebook tagged photos and find a nice when in the sun with a cocktail and a decent backdrop. If you’re stuck for choice, perhaps do what every other Grindr user does and take a selfie in the mirror of your local gym changing room. That way, at least everyone knows you keep fit.
Don’t…immediately send a dick pic.
Striking up a conversation via a picture of your penis is like Victoria Beckham singing – sin against nature. Sending a blurry photo of your willy is not going to make anyone think “Let’s go Prezzo”. If you, for whatever reason, have an urgent need to send one, do it after at least a day of conversation and, as with your profile picture, make sure it is the best it could be. I’m talking about the right angle and the right filter – no one wants a photo with dodgy lighting.
Do…be grammatically correct.
“Hello, how are you?” sounds far better than “hey, u alrite?” so make sure to use your best grammar when trying to secure a date or even a bit of fun. No one is going to be enticed to have sex with you when you chat like a 14-year-old on MSN.
Don’t…slate gays in your bio.
“I like my men to be men”; “straight acting guys only; “if I can’t see your eyebrows then I don’t want to see you”. When devising your bio, try not to come across as a wanker. Some gay men decide to be their own enemy and it doesn’t exactly scream, “date me”.
Do…wear a condom.
Let’s be honest – most gay dating apps amount to anonymous sex with someone you’ve never met before and don’t really know much about except for the size of their penis so, let’s be clear, condoms are absolutely essential.
Scotland’s resident LGBTI radio station Xpress Radio Scotland, has launched a new football show ’90 minutes’, hosted by avid fans of the sport, Iain Sharkey and David Sinclair.
A new report has been released by Nottingham Trent University that has for the first time examined the perspectives of police officers and the issues they face preventing hate crime.
Carried out by Nottingham Law School on behalf of the Hate Crime Steering Group, it involved in-depth interviews conducted with frontline officers from Nottinghamshire Police. The outcomes of this are to be shared among UK forces by the government.
The reports author, Dr Loretta Trickett, has claimed: “many of the officers I interviewed were not fully engaged with the current format” and that while officers are clear on what hate crime is and know the procedures to follow, more training from external agencies on how to sufficiently deal with complicated cases is vital.
Hate crime is currently an area of priority for the police, including five monitored areas, two of these being sexual orientation and gender identity. The crime itself makes up 1% of overall crime, with 44,480 incidents being recorded by police in 2013/14.
The ever iconic pop goddess, Cher, has made a statement that will likely shock a lot of her fan base.
Living legend Cher, made the confession that she “never actually loved” recording some of her most iconic songs of the 1970’s such as “Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves” and “Dark Lady’, both of which obtained high chart positions.
While being interviewed by Billboard to commemorate fifty years in the music industry, the artist claimed:
“I was doing these kind of poppy songs. I was not content, necessarily, to do them… Like, I never liked Dark Lady, and it was a big hit”.
She went onto say that the reason she put songs such as these out in the seventies was due to a lack of creative control, something she was not able to obtain until later in her career.
During the interview, she also spoke about how the most fun she ever had making a song was Believe, the dance track that became a global no.1 in 1999 and shot her back into the public eye after a row of flop singles in the 1990s.
Since the release of the track, she has since gone on to have success with the film Burlesque and her most recent album, Closer To The Truth.
Whilst she is still very much heralded as a queen of pop, the singer did have to cancel the last leg of her Dressed to Kill tour in 2013 due to a viral infection.
She has confirmed that she intends to hit the road again soon but admits that she can’t say that she’ll actually be able to, claiming her “will is pretty strong”.
