Author: Nick | Travel Editor

Popular and Secret UK Nude Beaches

Looking for the best nudist beach in the UK?

When searching for a nudist beach, minds often wander to a warmer, more ‘European’ environment. Where banana hammocks are frequently discarded in favour of sunning those few parts that were left to the imagination. But you don’t have to travel that far to get some sun on your privates at a not-so-private locale, there are plenty of nude beaches right here in the UK.

We have nude beaches in the UK? Really? All I can think about is the amount of unflattering shrinkage that will be occurring. But for those of you who enjoy shedding your clothes and parking your posterior on pebbles WHATEVER the weather, there are a surprising number of nudist beaches right here in the UK for you to explore.

Just remember that not all nudist beaches are gay beaches, and not all gay nudist beaches are ok with other “activities”. A nudist beach is not always an excuse to go dogging.

Studland Bay, Dorset

Let’s start with the most (in)famous nudist beach in the UK. Studland Beach has the image of naked men baked right into the title. The popular beach is packed come summertime, whether or not the weather is hot, so this is not the beach to come to if you’re looking for peace and solitude. The shy nudists out there might be better off trying a different beach if you’re still precarious about stripping off.

Studland Bay has a dedicated gay section which, whether you like it or not, has unsurprisingly become a popular cruising ground. Many voyeurists take to the dunes for a little slap and tickle of the bait and tackle before taking a cheeky skinny dip in the sea.

Brighton Beach, Sussex

Originally opened in 1979, Brighton’s nudist beach is one of the most popular and most accessible nudist beaches in the UK. And since it’s Brighton and involves public nudity, the beach is hugely popular within the gay community. Despite the fact that the beach itself is one of shingle and pebbles, it remains one of the UK’s busiest naturist spots. So be sure to bring flip-flops and particularly comfortable towel if you’re planning on sunning your bits in Brighton.

Porthzennor Cove, Cornwall

If you’re looking for something more secluded, and perhaps a little more comfortable and beach-like, then it’s time to head to Cornwall. Britain’s best beaches are tucked away at its southernmost point, many of which are treacherously difficult to access. The rugged beauty of the West Cornwall coastline makes it ideal for naturists, populated with plenty of little coves and rocks that are perfect for sunbathing in your birthday suit. Though naturism is not officially recognised down there, you’ll be sure to come across many isolated coves whose seclusion makes them well-suited for nudists.

Porthzennor is one of the coastline’s secluded sandy coves that is difficult to get to but ensures that there won’t be any passers-by that will be shocked to see your white bits. The crashing cliffs cleave open to reveal several corners of private sand that make an ideal private beach for two (or more). Just be careful when swimming as there are often strong undertows, and the closest land from there is the USA.

St Osyth, Essex

Nude beaches in Essex just seems to be asking for trouble to me. I mean how many people try to tan in the land of fake tan? But low and behold St Osyth exists, not far from Clacton-on-sea, in the heart of good ole Essex beach country. The beach itself is a bugger to get to, taking about 20 minutes to walk to from the nearest car park. So while this makes access difficult for the more “mature naturist”, it also discourages snoopers.

The beach itself is about 2 miles long and isn’t overlooked, with about 1 or 2 miles of ground between it and the nearest road or track. St Osyth is unofficially divided into three different sections: one for straight naturists, one for men only, and then one populated by sand dunes. The latter part has been known to be something of a “swinging” area, but again that’s all just luck of the draw and who’s around on that day.

Morfa Ganol, Wales

Wales?! I know, first Essex now Wales, but hear me out. What the Welsh coast lacks in warmth, it makes up for with incredible landscapes to go with your manscapes (I’m running out of naked men jokes here). While you’ll need to pack a pair of walking boots to actually get to Morfa Ganol, you won’t need to wear anything else once you get there. The blissful beach is backed by the Snowdonia National Park, which means it’s pristine clear (albeit slightly chilly) waters are so clean they have earned the highest quality rating by European standards. Waters which are frequented by dolphins and the occasional German nudist. High praise from both.

Cleat’s Shore, Isle of Arran

So at this point in the list, we’ve all but abandoned the idea of a hot sandy beach in favour of whatever else UK beaches have to offer. So in for a penny, in for a pound, and let’s get naked on the brisk beaches of Scotland.

Cleat’s Shore is Scotland’s only official nude beach, and despite that impressive title, it is almost always empty. This makes it a great spot for our first time naturists. You’re far more likely to spend your time conversing with nature rather than other couples. But you won’t be the only nudists on the beach; seals are common in the area, so at least you’ll be skinnier than someone.

Throw in some rock pools, basking sharks and the occasional golden eagle, and Cleat’s Shore is a nude beach with a difference, which, let’s face it, is probably a good thing.

So don’t write off the UK as a great place to strip off. Yes the water may be colder, but the experience may be all the richer because of it. Have you been to any secret or beautiful nude beaches in the UK? Let us know all about them in the comments section below.

Thanks for reading!

26th October 2016
Virgin Holidays Work To Make LGBT Travel Safer

Virgin Holidays Publishes Report on Issues Facing LGBT Travellers

CREDIT: Matt Alexander/PA Wire

At the beginning of the month, Virgin Holidays published its LGBT travel report, which revealed the not-so-surprising statistic that nearly 1 in 3 LGBT travellers feel that they are treated differently due to their sexuality when on holiday.

If, like me, you’ve travelled to a few far-flung locations, you’ll know that attitudes towards LGBT tourists are sometimes less than welcoming. And so Virgin Holidays have launched an LGBT travel campaign called ‘Lose the Labels’ which looks to make travelling safer, easier and more enjoyable for the LGBT community.

The campaign includes a video of Virgin Holidays staff revealing stories that sound all too familiar, sharing times in which they themselves were faced with discrimination while travelling abroad.

The study goes on to reveal that a significant 37% of LGBT travellers have experienced some sort of discrimination while travelling – with a further 6% actually being threatened with physical violence because of their sexuality – and two thirds of us LGBT Brits refusing to travel to locations with an inhospitable attitude towards LGBT travellers… quite rightly so.

With a startling 80% of those surveyed feeling that the travel industry as a whole doesn’t do enough to keep LGBT travellers informed of local laws that could affect our rights and safety, Virgin Holidays founder Sir Richard Branson had this to say:

“At Virgin Holidays, we believe everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, has the right to be whoever they are, wherever they are. That’s why it is shocking that in today’s society some of us can’t even enjoy a simple holiday without fear of discrimination. It’s fantastic that Virgin Holidays are raising awareness around this important issue.”

The three-year plan will see Virgin Holidays focus on empowering staff, informing customers, and influencing partners. In fact, as part of their commitment to the cause, they will stage an LGBT equalities conference in conjunction with international tourism partners, encouraging partners in conservative regions such as the Caribbean to adopt more LGBT-friendly policies.

The campaign also sees the travel provider partnering with lesbian, gay, bi and trans equality Stonewall, as a Diversity Champion. This will see Stonewall support Virgin Holidays in auditing the workplace on its LGBT inclusion efforts and provide advice and support on how to make it a better place to work for all lesbian, gay, bi and trans members of staff.

We all love to travel, and we should do as much of it as possible in my humble opinion, but it’s important to be safe while we do so. However depressing it is to think that in 2016 not all countries accept us for who we are, it’s important to make sure that whatever holiday destination we choose, we’ll be safe.

Tell us about your less than pleasant travel experiences @TheGayUK #losethelabels to let others know where is safe to travel.

You can find out more information on the campaign at virginholidays.co.uk/losethelabels.

17th October 2016
Joe Jonas Strips off for New DNCE Music Video

While we’ve all been leering over Nick Jonas and enjoying his penchant for going gay and getting naked, his big brother Joe only went and got crazy hot too!

Not content with releasing the catchiest song about cake that we’ve ever heard, Joe Jonas is taking his clothes off and showing us a body that was most likely not made by eating cake.

The ex Jonas Brothers brother is slapping bums, making out in elevators and recording himself motor-boating a model in what, I’m sure you will all agree, is the best Jonas video yet.

11th October 2016
TRAVEL GUIDE: Gothenburg

Gay Days in Gothenburg

Myself and another LGBT journalists were graciously invited by Visit Sweden to attend their West Pride festival, and see how just how different gay life is for the Scandinavians in the welcoming city of Gothenburg.

Travelling to Gothenburg

It’s 8:30 in the morning, and after two days of less-than-fortuitous encounters with trains, tubes and buses, I am well and truly sick of London transport and ready to get the hell out of this city… At least for a little bit.

Sat at Gatwick Airport after clearing security, I get a few moments to sit and watch the mêlée of stag and hen dos downing glasses of wine before scurrying off to catch their flights to Ibiza, Prague, etc.

Classy as ever England, let’s go see how the Swedish do things.

My flight was delayed, but then this is Gatwick so it’s no big surprise, but before long I am jetting out on Norwegian Airlines to the second largest city in Sweden.

First impressions of Gothenburg

Despite it sounding like Batman’s second home, the city of Gothenburg is bright, open and friendly. Rainbow flags greeted us as we walked out of the airport, flying high and proud upon almost every available flagpole across the city. The best word to describe the city would be ‘welcoming.’ Welcoming to gays, to tourists, and gay tourists alike.

Sweden’s second-biggest city is a peculiarly perfect mixture of artistic venues, universities and trendy hipster locations, all quaintly positioned along Sweden’s Western coast. It’s the home of the Volvo (and you’ll see them everywhere) and is at the heart of a thriving internationally important music culture, producing music acts from Ace of Base (my first ever CD) to the slightly heavier The Knife. Swedish music is hugely gay-friendly, with the Swedish version of pop music making Justin Bieber look positively Goth. Schlager music, as it is known, can be thought of as the songs and acts too cheesy for Eurovision, and it was playing in every gay club, bar and open-air venue that we came across.

Touring the city

Foto: Jorma Valkonen.

Gothenburg is a city that is easily explored by foot. From our cozy retro-chic hotel (Bellora Hotel) on Kungsportsavenyen (yes that’s what the street names look like over there), the longest we ever had to walk was 15 minutes, and that’s only because we stopped for coffee on the way. (Important side note: the Swedish people have a lovely tradition known as fika. If you go on any arranged tours or excursions you’ll likely see several of these scheduled throughout your day. A fika is pretty much just a coffee break, however it is very much tradition to take several fikas everyday. You cannot fika alone, so it is the act of sharing a short break, a hot drink and something sweet with a friend, family member, colleague, or random passer-by. Indulge your sweet tooth and enjoy this Swedish tradition as often as possible).

Travel cards are available, and are a good investment if you’re planning on taking tours and visiting several museums as it allows for free entry to almost all of them alongside your bus and tram travel, but if you just want to wander around it’s easy enough to walk.

When the city was first founded in the 17th century, it was laid out largely by Dutch planners and is still home to several canals. These can be explored by canoe, paddleboat, or by boat tour which comes with plenty of terrible Dad joke-style puns, the core of true Gothenburg humour.

The most famous boulevard is called Avenyn, which is lively and lined with numerous great shops and restaurants (yes, they do have a lot of H&M stores there). For something a little more hipster, head to Haga, known as the ‘old town’ of Gothenburg which was once the city’s working class area and is now awash with vegan cafés and vintage record stores.

We spent our last day touring the islands of Gothenburg’s archipelago, which can be reach easily by tram and ferry, just 20 minutes from the city centre. There are several islands you can visit, easily hopping on and off the ferry, and explore on foot.

There are a few quaint B&Bs on each if you feel like staying the night, or simply stopping off for some lunch or a cheeky glass of wine. We were lucky enough to soak up some sunshine while enjoying a delicious seafood lunch at the LGBT-friendly Pensionat Skaret Guest House, who had proudly raised their rainbow flag in honour of the West Pride weekend celebrations.

West Pride

Those involved in West Pride work all year round to provide support to the LGBT community. West Pride is more of a celebration of their ongoing work, and the success they’ve had strengthening their community, rather than celebrity performances and parades of underwear models (unfortunately). The parade and events are all free and open to all members of the public, and that is one of the things that most surprised and impressed me about Gothenburg, the solidarity. As I said, rainbow flags were everywhere across the city, not just on theatres and hanging outside of clubs, but at the airport, fire stations, churches and small rural B&Bs. Even the traffic lights were changed to show two men and two women holding hands. The spirit of gay pride could be felt in every corner of this city.

The feeling of community was wonderful, and felt all the more important as Sunday’s West Pride parade fell on the day after the Orlando mass shooting. With the whole world reeling from this attack on the LGBT community, the people of Gothenburg stood united.

The parade was the first that I’d attended in which I was actually allowed to march. I was surrounded not just by activists, community organisers and gay club owners, I was walking next to straight families pushing buggies while their young children waved rainbow flags, proud parents, and welcoming religious groups. It was exactly as the name suggested, a celebration of pride in who we are as individuals and who we are as a community.

West Pride ran hundreds of programs throughout the celebration, everything from the now-famous lesbian breakfast to museum exhibitions on LGBT history. Granted I wouldn’t have been averse to some underwear-clad floats, but the welcoming feeling of support and acceptance would more than make up for it.

CREDIT: Pixabay

Gay Places to go in Gothenburg

While the upside to Gothenburg’s quaint size is its sense of community and its supreme walkability, the downside is the limited options when it comes to going out gaying. For the biggest gay nights, there are parties that take place either once a month or even once every two months. Wish You Were Queer is probably the biggest gay party, set once a month on a docked boat called Rio Rio (which rumour has it may be closing down soon, so keep an eye out for a new venue likely coming soon).

Jazzhuset was another incredible venue we visited, located within in an art deco-style apartment building, it felt a bit like we were crashing someone’s house party. There were stand up comedians performing who were apparently hilarious, I missed most of the jokes as they were obviously in Swedish, before the dancefloor was eventually consumed by the biggest crowd of dancing lesbians I’ve ever seen in one place. Bee Bar refers to itself as a “straight-friendly” bar, situated in the city centre it is an ideal place to grab some gay food or gay drinks whatever the time of day and sit and watch the gay world go by.

The only real gay club that exists in Gothenburg all year round is the infamous Greta’s (confusingly pronounced Giriatas by the Swedes), and it is the city’s biggest and longest-running gay club. It is here that a real love of cheesy pop is absolutely crucial. Do not expect dance remixes or house music to be playing in this two-storey mansion of gayness. If you’re a Eurovision fan you’ll be right at home here. With drag acts regularly flown in from London and the compulsory hot bartenders, Greta’s is the perfect setting for a great gay night in Gothenburg.

Check our listings for up-to-date information.

The men of Gothenburg

Now I don’t like to perpetuate stereotypes, but bugger me the Swedes are frickin beautiful! Think Aleksander Skarsgards just everywhere. Reason enough to book a flight immediately.

For more on gay Gothenburg, please visit www.goteborg.com/en

For further information on gay and lesbian Sweden, visit www.visitswedenlgbt.com

13th September 2016
THEATRE REVIEW | The Narcissist

★★★★ The Narcissist Portrays Theatrical Therapy

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18th March 2016
REVIEWED: Naked Fitness Training in West London

Yeah, it’s a thing. Exercising and group training in the buff is a relatively new concept (no, those “squats” you’ve been doing do not count as training) and NKD Training’s founder Paul was kind enough to invite me along to try it out. ★★★★

I’ll be honest, this whole endeavour started as an excuse to ogle hot guys working out veiled under the thin disguise of journalism. As the day of my naked group training drew closer I began to have some serious doubts. What if the group was full of creepy fat old men? Or worse, what if it was full of hot young men and that I would actually be the creepy fat old man?!As it turns out, there was a healthy mix of both.

NKD Training is run at the Gym Clinic in West London, a small but well equipped (that’s what they say about me … sorry, too many penis jokes) gym not far from Gunnersbury tube station. The main entrance is closed off during naked training so you have to enter through the back door (not saying a word) into the clean and professional work out space. That just happens to be full of naked men exercising.

The session is divided into two parts: the first is an hour of free gym time in which you are invited to use the facilities as and how you want, dressed in as little as you want – as long as you’re wearing trainers. You can wear shorts during this time, as I did, but you will be silently yet harshly judged by the guys training in the altogether.

The second half of the session is similar to a circuit class, during which Paul takes you through a warm-up – set to your favourite drag queen lip sync music – and then through a solid 45-minute workout. Newcomers are likely to feel strange and probably a bit uncomfortable when first stripping off, but after a while of lunging and crunching and curling, you almost forget that your dick is hanging out while you do it. Almost.

There were some aspects to naked training that were more complicated than I had anticipated. Running on a treadmill was obviously more uncomfortable than I’m used to, but trying to do squats without giving the guy behind you an eyeful of asscrack, that was damn near impossible.

I can certainly see the appeal of naked training and, as Paul explains, the benefits as a personal trainer are significant. “As a trainer there are a lot of benefits. I can see more of the muscles that are working and I can see if there’s an imbalance, say when they’re doing a chest press. You don’t just see the bar moving, you see the muscles that are working, the ones that aren’t and the ones that should be. And it builds a bond, being naked. I don’t know how to explain it.”

It was definitely a unique experience for me, but one that I really wanted try. Not so much to see hot naked guys (again, yes there are plenty of them there) but to come more to terms with my own nakedness. Gay men are often plagued with insecurities about our bodies and the act of stripping off completely in a bold attempt to better yourself takes balls, and not just the ones on display. For most of the men in that room, being naked was the most normal and natural thing in the world. It was the realisation that whether your body is perfect or not, it’s the only one that you’ve got. So learn to love it while you work to make it better. And go on, have a sneak peak at yourself training naked in the mirror. You may be more impressed than you thought.

NKD Training takes place every Sunday in West London and costs £15 per session.
You can also book naked personal training sessions either in your home or Paul’s.
Contact paul@nkdtraining.co.uk or visit nkdtraining.co.uk for more information and to book.

Bravely reviewed by Nick Baker

29th October 2015
THEATRE REVIEW | 5 Guys Chillin At The Kings Head Theatre

5 Guys Chillin’ is a verbatim drama adapted from over 50 hours of anonymous interviews about the world of chem-sex on the gay scene. ★★

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4th October 2015
THEATRE REVIEW | F*cking Men

I was all set in my mind to hate this; I imagined it being hammy, awkward and amateur. It was, after all, a play about gay sex lives to be performed in the back of a pub. I had images in my mind of either uncomfortable soft-core porn or over-pretentious dramatics involving a man in clown makeup reading poetry and eating an apple.

The play follows the intertwining lives of 10 gay men, tackling the usual gay issues of fidelity, trust and sex. Yes, of course, there’s a character who’s an escort in there. It wouldn’t be gay theatre if there wasn’t.

The setting was simple, if amateurish, reminding me of the various performances we put on during A-level drama exam week. Although if the boys in my school looked ANYTHING like the cast I would never have left.

Which brings us on to the most important part, the cast. They were fantastic. Those who weren’t stunningly gorgeous were hilarious and heartfelt. In fact many were gorgeous and heartfelt, a combination you don’t actually see in real life… so maybe a bit of realism lost there. Some of the acting was a little laboured; feeling over the top and out of place for such a small and intimate setting. When there were fight scenes you heard the fake slap, and when there were screaming matches you got wet. And not in a good way.

The initial intimacy of the play can be a bit overwhelming, but the rhythm of the scene changes is consistently good and you’re easily moved from one character’s story to another. Some of the best characters aren’t introduced until towards the end, by that I mean both the funniest character and then arguably the hottest character. Despite its low budget, the show is still appealing to a wide audience, nothing too gay niche to prevent the characters from being relatable.

I am forced to wonder, however, if the play would have been as engrossing if the cast weren’t as beautiful as they were. The good thing is you don’t need to find out.

Entertaining and full of eye-candy. Go and see F*cking Men at the King’s Head Theatre, Islington before the end of it’s run in September (extended for another month due to popular demand).

Worth it even if you’re just looking for new entries in your spank bank.

2nd September 2015
COMMENT | The Iceman Cometh…Out of the Closet

Those of you with any connection to the geek world or the gay world, and especially those in the inner circle of the gay-geek world, will have seen that Marvel recently released one of its longest running characters from his hiding place in the closet.

Superstar writer Brian Michael Bendis revealed in All-New X-Men that the character of Bobby Drake, the man of Ice that we all know and love, is secretly gay.

Unintentionally outed by fellow X-Man Jean Grey, the current version of which is much younger and has less control over her telepathic abilities, when she coaxes him into finally admitting to himself and to her that he is gay.

There was a lot of adverse reaction to Iceman’s coming out throughout the geek world; not so much opposing gay characters but opposing changing existing characters to make them gay.

The insinuation that Iceman would wear spandex even when he wasn’t fighting crime seemed more like sacrilege to a character that many of us geeks have been reading about for years.

Not the First Gay on the Page
This is not the first time that a major comic book publisher has changed a well-established character to make them gay. The original Green Lantern Alan Scott was reintroduced as gay in DC Comics’ “Earth Two” series. And even though we applaud DC for not hesitating to recreate this 1940s classic character as a ring-bearing mo, it was an alternate universe version of the original in a rebooted DC universe, which allowed the writers to take a lot of liberties in changing the characters. (I mean the Gay Green Lantern ended up not even

However the fact that Iceman, a character who has been around since the X-Men were first published back in 1963, has come out as gay adds new depth to these characters.

In an ideal world we all would be honest with our friends and family, and ourselves, from day one about our homosexuality. It wouldn’t be an issue we struggle with or anything that we would be ashamed of. In the real world that is rarely the case, and Iceman’s struggle and flat-out denial of his latent homosexuality represents a very honest real-life struggle that we all will have dealt with at some point in our lives.

Add to this Iceman’s background as an underachiever, a class clown that has a tendency to goof off rather than admit to the scope of his full potential, and you have a character that a lot more of us can relate to.

More Minorities
The inclusion of more minorities within the comic book world is incredibly important, not just to have gay characters, but also characters of other ethnicities and the occasional female super hero.

The ever-growing success of the Marvel Studios movies has made it awkwardly obvious just how aryan the creators of these comics were. Fair enough most of these characters were created in the 50s and 60s, when women, black people and gay people weren’t just considered minorities, they were thought of as being inferior, barbaric and a crime against humanity. And while some may still feel like that today, it is thankfully no longer acceptable to say so.

In fact this is an aspect that the writer addresses when Iceman comes out. (Quick catch up: these younger X-Men have been brought into the present time period from the past and so there are duplicate older versions of them that they have encountered… simple right?)

When the young Iceman wonders why his future/current self isn’t gay, young Jean Grey suggests that being gay back in their original time would be difficult, or even impossible, and that being in the current time period Iceman will find people much more accepting and understanding. Iceman even considers being Bi for a moment or two before conceding to being a full-blown gay.
having a lantern because of these changes. So he’s basically just an old gay who wears a green cape. There are plenty of people like that you can meet in real life).

Why Iceman Needs to be Gay
Every gay geek out there will know of and probably love Northstar, Batwoman and Wiccan as representatives of LGBT characters in comics.

However the fact that Iceman, a character who has been around since the X-Men were first published back in 1963, has come out as gay adds new depth to these characters.

In an ideal world we all would be honest with our friends and family, and ourselves, from day one about our homosexuality. It wouldn’t be an issue we struggle with or anything that we would be ashamed of. In the real world that is rarely the case, and Iceman’s struggle and flat-out denial of his latent homosexuality represents a very honest real-life struggle that we all will have dealt with at some point in our lives.

Add to this Iceman’s background as an underachiever, a class clown that has a tendency to goof off rather than admit to the scope of his full potential, and you have a character that a lot more of us can relate to.
More Minorities
The inclusion of more minorities within the comic book world is incredibly important, not just to have gay characters, but also characters of other ethnicities and the occasional female super hero.

The ever-growing success of the Marvel Studios movies has made it awkwardly obvious just how aryan the creators of these comics were. Fair enough most of these characters were created in the 50s and 60s, when women, black people and gay people weren’t just considered minorities, they were thought of as being inferior, barbaric and a crime against humanity. And while some may still feel like that today, it is thankfully no longer acceptable to say so.

In fact this is an aspect that the writer addresses when Iceman comes out. (Quick catch up: these younger X-Men have been brought into the present time period from the past and so there are duplicate older versions of them that they have encountered… simple right?)

When the young Iceman wonders why his future/current self isn’t gay, young Jean Grey suggests that being gay back in their original time would be difficult, or even impossible, and that being in the current time period Iceman will find people much more accepting and understanding. Iceman even considers being Bi for a moment or two before conceding to being a full-blown gay.

All of this is a huge part of the struggle young gay men make when discovering their homosexuality. How many of us look back to when we were younger, in school or in any environment in which it would have been all-but impossible to come out as gay. Times have changed (for the most part) and the freedom to be openly gay is growing so much that even 50 year old comic book characters are comfortable coming out of the closet.

Iceman’s movie counterpart Shawn Ashmore has even publicly commended Bobby’s decision to come out of the closet, tweeting his congrats to Bobby and not shying away from the changes in his on-screen persona.

With fellow gay Bryan Singer still in charge of the X-Men movies franchise, we may even get to see a different side to Ashmore if he makes any further appearances as Iceman in future X-films.

A Step in the Right Direction
Comic books and sci fi books are an escape for those of us not quite coping with the real world; this is why it holds such appeal to so many gay people. Whether it’s our homosexuality or our social awkwardness that makes us an outcast, having these characters and stories gives us a way to escape the difficulties of reality during childhood that often follows us well into our thirties.

Programming their readers from a young age to see American white heterosexual men as the champions and everyone else as either victims or villains is a sure-fire way to screw us up. Having lived life as a chubby, gay, geek, I for one would have loved to have seen more gay characters (or even any gay characters) in comics when I was growing up. It would have shown me that the answer wasn’t always found by a straight guy; that being straight isn’t the only way to be strong and be a hero; that being gay could be a part of your character and not something you read comic books to escape from.

Things will be difficult for Iceman as he comes to term with being gay while at the same time fighting to save the world from evil mutants, but the real battle will be in the heart of the older Iceman. Knowing that his younger self has fully admitted that he is gay he will have to either admit how he’s secretly felt all these years, or bury his head even further into denial. A choice that plenty of closeted men have to face in the real world every day.

Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.

14th June 2015
Architecture Competition To Build Tolerance In Russia

Russia is not exactly known for its understanding nature.

In June 2013 President Putin signed into law a bill that banned the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations to minors.” This law has since been the basis for taking away the fundamental rights of Russia’s gay citizens including banning gay pride parades, fines for gay rights groups (they’re accused of acting as a foreign agent), and denial of registration to non-government organisations.

As a result, violent attacks on gay people or “suspect gays” are becoming commonplace in Putin’s backwards thinking country. The vagueness of the term propaganda has helped Putin write the laws to suit his own ideas of how Russians should behave. The law is even in place for foreign visitors and is accompanied with a fine, detention and deportation.

So you can’t hold your boyfriend’s hand in public but Putin’s fine with invading neighbouring countries.

Anybody picking up on a problem with this logic? And with Belarus planning to follow Russia’s example the future seams bleak for the LGBT community in Eastern Europe.

HMMD.org is therefore challenging architecture enthusiasts to envision a way to promote tolerance within Russia with their latest architecture competition. ‘Designing for Tolerance’ challenges designers from around the globe to propose a temporary pavilion for the education of social, political and religious tolerance, to be erected in Russia’s Red Square, Moscow.

Entrants are challenged with conceiving a new pavilion that can be incorporated into educational spaces, with lecture and workshop rooms as well as exhibition spaces. Participants are also urged to consider other recreational and public spaces to support these educational programs.

The competition offers a US$3,000 first prize (2nd prize is US$ 1500 and 3rd prize US$ 500), will be judged by an esteemed panel of judges and is a chance for architecture enthusiasts to not only win some cash and acclaim, but promote a real movement for tolerance in the world’s largest country.

Entrants can be from any country, from any background and with any level of experience. What’s important is a passion for architecture and a desire to evoke some real change in some of the less-enlightened countries of the world.

Build a more tolerant Russia, or at least sketch out the plans to it.
Visit hmmd.org or email hello@hmmd.org for more information or to register.

2nd November 2014
Making babies in Thailand

A New Life in Bangkok

Thailand has a lot of stereotypical connotations, especially when it comes to the gay scene. Ladyboys and Thai ‘brides’ seem to be the joke most inferred when I said I was moving to Bangkok (which has its own sex joke sewn right into the name). To my surprise I found a lot of the rumours to be true with Lady Boys being the recognised third gender and Thai bride an honourable profession. What I didn’t expect to find was that Thailand was also a way for new love and new life to find its way into the world.

Joshua Morgan was visiting from the USA and when his Grindr profile said he was here to make a baby I just had to find out more.
Joshua and his partner were looking to have a baby and back in the States IVF was just not a feasible option as costs usually start at (start at) $150,000, none of which is covered by health insurance. Some of their friends had told them about trying another country with good medical facilities but could be as much as a third of the cost. Many married couples had had success in India, unfortunately, the Indian government suddenly and devastatingly changed their laws making it illegal for same-sex couples and singles to do IVF in January 2013.

“That was crushing for us,” explains Joshua, “We were in the middle of selling an investment property in order to free up the cash to proceed and couldn’t reverse the sale at the point we found out.”

Joshua spent the next year reviewing alternatives, including Thailand and wasn’t overly keen on any of them. He started to get depressed as there seemed little hope on the horizon. It was then that he was introduced through a colleague about a couple who had started a surrogate consulting business called “Becoming Parents International.” The Spain-based couple contacted them straight away via Skype and went through all Joshua and his partner’s concerns.
“He had an answer to all of our questions and a more detailed and coloured explanation of some of the cultural differences that impact doing this in Thailand versus what we had been expecting from India. We instantly felt comfortable. He was very forthright with the costs, and it was only slightly more than India. Plus since my partner is Thai, this would allow for us to achieve the mixed baby we were hoping for by using a local Thai egg donor.”

Becoming Parents International answered concerns regarding the quality of medical care in Thailand, the living conditions of the surrogate and the success rate of the clinic all to Joshua and his partner’s liking, so they decided to move forward quickly.
“Considering we have been talking about this for 7 years, once we found “Becoming Parents”, everything moved fast. We talked to them for the first time in March 2014 and just found out yesterday (15th June) that our surrogates’ first pregnancy test was positive. They will test weekly for a month to make sure it’s not a false positive, but so far so good.” So once the ball got rolling there were a few things the couple needed to do before coming over to Bangkok; the first of which was coming into a little cup.

“Prior to scheduling everything in Bangkok I had to have a semen analysis done and get blood work completed. Doing the semen analysis in San Francisco was an experience (as a gay man I was shoved into a room about the size of a closet with a leather chair covered by a white towel and a stack of straight porn magazines… I literally felt like I was being pushed back into the closet) but in a way at least it gave me a reference point for what to expect in Bangkok.”

Once in Thailand Joshua was well looked after and had a lot of support and follow up from the organisers. “Our primary contact has been in Spain and is very good at keeping us updated on the steps and processes via email. In addition, we had an advocate in Bangkok who took me to the clinic and walked me through the process there. The doctor called me after the fertilisation to let me know how things were going and I often get multiple emails that explain what’s going on and making sure I understand what to expect.”

However, it wasn’t smooth sailing all the way, with a lack of information leading up to the process being a major obstacle. The couple’s primary care doctor wouldn’t help them in ordering preparatory blood work and semen analysis and some of their friends weren’t especially supportive of the idea.

“We have experienced friends and colleagues tell us everything from “you are crazy” to “it isn’t meant to be”, to “good luck with your designer imposter baby”. But overwhelming response has been supportive, and once we found “Becoming Parents Intl”, everything has been relatively smooth. We had an issue with a missing chauffeur when I arrived in Bangkok at the airport due to curfew, but beyond a couple of lost in translation moments it has been pretty smooth.”

All in all the process still seems very hetero-centric according to Joshua, both in the US and Thailand. He was given heterosexual stimulation (straight porn for when he had to jerk off into a cup for the less eloquent amongst us) and was frequently asked about his wife.

“I was a bit surprised at the general casualness to the IVF clinic in Bangkok compared to the one in San Francisco where I had my semen analysis done. Everything felt very top secret and private in the US, while in Bangkok you are surrounded by girls who are either eggs donors, prospective surrogates, or current surrogates. They’re chatting with one another and on their phones and the place is packed with them so you feel a bit like you’re jerking off in the fitting room of a Forever 21 during the biggest sale of the season.”

Joshua was surprised at how well he was looked after in Bangkok as well as how well-informed they kept him. “I felt more taken care of in Bangkok than I expected, and the amount of information, the quickness if the information, and the apparent lack of a hierarchy is bizarre and amazing at the same time. You meet with the doctor and speak to them whenever you want, it’s not a big waiting game, and they have delivered on every promise.”

The IVF clinic even accepted credit card payment for the work they were doing, “I remember thinking it cool I was earning miles by trying to have a baby… Probably something only I find amusing.”

When I asked Joshua if there was anything he wished he had known before starting the process, his main regret was not learning more about Thailand options sooner.

“We had a long list of questions for Becoming Parents Intl about the legal system in Thailand, the procedural process, the differences in how things are done between here and India that I wish I had been able to ask someone as soon as I knew India was no longer an option. I don’t know if we would have acted sooner or not. The clinic in Bangkok is run by the same folks who have been working out of India, but the Thai business is just two years old now, so I don’t know that I would have wanted to be the first, but it would have given me peace of mind that I had a plan.”

So the next step is the same as every nervous couple trying for a baby, they wait. The first trimester is fraught with risks and complications so the couple is just doing their best to stay well-informed and try to remain calm. Joshua has even threatened to take up knitting to keep himself from going crazy. Once the initial stages of pregnancy are over, then maybe the couple can relax and get excited.

“Once we feel out of the woods and that it’s safe to start planning, we will do what every parent does, get one of the rooms in our house ready for a baby, pick out names, and tell friends and family… Beyond that, we are using this as an excuse after 10 years together to get married (now that it’s legal), and we have to plan a 3-4 week vacation to Bangkok for next spring when the baby is born. Then, you will see all 6’1″ and 190 pounds of me turn into an oversized emotional puddle.”

We wish Joshua and his partner all the best with the new life they’re making.

Becoming Parents International also go by the name “Sensible Surrogacy”.

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23rd June 2014