Anal sex is where two people engage in penetrative sex where a penis, dildo or vibrate enters the anus. Usually, anal sex might refer to the sex that gay or bisexual men might have with each other, but it is also prevalent in the heterosexual community.
In gay sex, the receptive partner is often called the “bottom” whilst the giver is often referred to as the “top”.
Anal sex can come with some health risks. There is an increased chance of being infected with HIV if condoms aren’t used or either partner (top or bottom) aren’t on anti-HIV drugs, also known as PrEP. There is also a chance of being infected with other sexually transmitted diseases if a condom isn’t used.
However, anal sex is perfectly safe and enjoyed by millions of people around the globe, as long the receptive partner relaxes, uses lots of lube and takes the time needed.
Can you expand this definition? Use the comments below and your answer could be used to expand or define this glossary entry.
A hospital in Thailand is offering a penis whitening service.
You can get your penis whitened for around £480 for 5 sessions, which will apparently, using lasers lighten the skin around your groin area – for reasons that, let’s be frank are a complete mystery.
Now men who are afraid that their penises seem a little too dark can now get it lightened after the clinic in Thailand started offering the service.
The Lelux Hospital started offering the treatment following requests from would-be patients who found out that the same clinic was offering vagina whitening. Speaking to the BBC, spokesperson Popol Tansakul said, “Patients started to ask about penis whitening, and so we started the treatment a month later
“They are popular among gay men and transvestites who take good care of their private parts. They want to look good in all areas,” he added.
The cost of the laser procedure is $650 (£480) for five sessions
Of course, the treatment does come with a warning – that some may be left unable to have sex or father children after the procedure.
Professional Ice Skater Matt Evers comes out as gay in an interview with Attitude magazine. The 41-year-old star who is set to take part in the ITV show, Dancing On Ice, reveals that he was brought up in a very strict religious household, but decided to come out after being inspired by his uncle, who died of an AIDS-related illness over twenty years ago.
Speaking to the magazine, Matt said,
“He was part of the original San Francisco and New York Fire Island crowd back in the 70s and 80s. I didn’t know I was gay at the time, but when he was dying it hit me really hard that he didn’t know the love of his mum, my grandmother,”
“They were strict Catholics at the tip of the Bible belt. I wasn’t aware of why his passing and the thought of him never being accepted by his own family hurt me so much until I realised I was gay. It’s scary, the difference between generations.”
Evers reveals that before his uncle’s death, he was “banished” from the family, due to the family’s strict religious views.
Talking about his decision to come out before the show’s launch, Evers said,
“I live my life by example, and I want to show young people that what you feel or how you were born isn’t something bad.”
India Willoughby is one of the stars of Channel 5’s Celebrity Big Brother, but is she Holly Willoughby’s sister?
India Willoughby is probably most famous for being the UK’s first transgender newsreader for both BBC and Channel 5 but she’s also stepped into the Celebrity Big Brother house for the latest series, which is celebrating all things women.
India was also famous for presenting on an all-female talk show, on Radio 4, but people really want to know whether she’s actually Holly Willoughby’s sister.
India joined the Celebrity Big Brother house and is the second ever transgender housemate, after Kelly Malone joined the house in 2014.
India is not Holly’s sister. Holly has one sister who also works in television but her name is Kelly. It’s not known if India has any siblings.
Talking briefly about how her family accepted her transition, India said that it was like a bereavement for her mother, adding that her mother felt like her son was dying. India had gender reassignment surgery in 2015.
India is not the first transgender celebrity to enter the Big Brother house, in 2014 Kellie Maloney entered the house after she announced that she was transitioning. In series 12, Lauren Harries entered the house and Alex Reid, who said he might consider himself transgender or a cross-gender dresser won series seven.
Here are just some of the LGBT+ icons that we lost in 2017.
Lil Peep, Hip-Hop artist and rapper
In November, Lil Peep, real name, Gustav Åhr, a well-known Youtuber, Hip-Hop and rapper who had accumulated millions of plays died while on tour. His death was confirmed on social media by his manager Chase Oretega, who said, “I’ve been expecting this call for a year. Mother f***” His death was later confirmed to be a drug overdose.
Henry Badenhorst Gaydar Founder
The founder of one of the world’s biggest gay chat sites, Gaydar, died at the age of 51 in November. Local media in Johannesburg reported that a 51-year-old man was seen falling from the 23rd floor of Michaelangelo Towers. Gaydar was founded by Badenhorst along with his partner Gary Frisch in 1999 after a mutual friend of theirs spoke about how he was too busy to find a boyfriend. The pair created the website shortly after. Badenhorst and Frisch’s personal relationship ended in 2006, but they remained business partners until Frisch’s death.
Edith Windsor – gay marriage activist
Edith Windsor, who helped end the ban on same-sex marriage in the US died at the age of 88 in September. Ms Windsor’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, announced that the same-sex marriage activist had died in New York, US. The cause of her death was not given, but Ms Windsor had been struggling with a heart condition for years.
An MP who has voted against LGBT+ rights a staggering 28 times gets a Knighthood.
(C) Parliament.UK
A Conservative MP who has stood in Parliament twice and voted against laws which equalised the rights of gay people in the UK has been Knighted by the Queen in the New Year’s honours.
Sir Christopher Chope, the MP for Christchurch in Dorset first entered parliament in 1983. He was then defeated in the 1992 General Election but won his seat back in 1997. He has voted against equal gay rights since 1999, and in 2004 he voted against Civil Partnerships and again in 2014 he voted against same-sex marriage.
He has also voted against and was absent for all laws which promote equality and human rights.
He served in both Margaret Thatcher’s and John Major’s governments.
Chope was honoured for his political and public services.
Alan Turing was a national hero, who cracked Enigma, shortened the war and saved millions of lives.
He was persecuted by the state for his sexuality, arrested and committed suicide.
Christopher Chope MP tried to block Turing’s posthumous pardon.
Celebrity Big Brother star Austin Armacost has shown why you should always be wary of sitting on hotel chairs and sofas. Some people use them while completely starkers.
Cheeky Austin, uploaded this rather naughty picture of him filling out his immigration paperwork before flying back home to the UK.
Sofas and seats are just one of the things you should be careful of touching when you’re in a hotel. A recent article we published noted that guests should also be suspicious of the TV remote and weirdly people don’t use their room’s kettles for what they are actually intended for.
We hope you wiped down the seat before you left Austin!
This article has been updated, a previous version wrongly named Austin’s partner as Simon, his name is Darren.
India Willoughby’s frank and honest chat about what “transgender” means might cause offence to some in the LGBT+ community.
It didn’t take long for Celebrity Big Brother star India Willoughby to talk about what being transgender means to her. The star who became the UK’s first openly transgender newsreader was talking to Whistle-blower Maggie Oliver on why she doesn’t have many fans in the transgender community.
India and Maggie were talking, when Maggie remarked that she thought that India was brave in her transition and that she would be a great advocate for others who want to transition, but India didn’t think she was.
Speaking from her bed, India said, “A lot of transgender people don’t like me though, because of the LGBT thing and pointing out the differences… It’s because transgender now, they include drag queens. With people like me, it’s not a part-time thing and it’s not a really a choice. I hated being trans. It was horrible. For other people under than word, what is now transgender it can mean anything from RuPaul to somebody who is Bob on Monday and Barbara on Tuesday. I feel that soft of cheapens the seriousness…”.
Have you heard of the term UEqualsU, here’s what it means and why it’s important.
UEqualsU is a campaign which highlights that when people, living with HIV have an undetectable load, they are unable to pass on HIV to their sexual partners.
It stands for Undetectable Equals Untransmittable.
An undetectable viral load can be achieved when a person diagnosed with HIV is following medical advice and taking prescribed medications from their doctors and managing their illness suitably – mainly through the use of medication, such as antiretroviral therapy (ART).
In May 2019, a European study of nearly 1,000 gay male couples who had sex without using condoms – where one partner was HIV positive and on suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) and the other HIV negative – reported no cases of within-couple HIV transmission over 8 years.
The results support the international U=U or UEqualsU (undetectable equals untransmittable) campaign, that has been endorsed by more than 780 HIV organisations in 96 countries, to raise awareness of how scientific evidence shows that effective ART means people living with HIV can have sex without fear of transmitting the HIV virus to others.
In another study, also in 2017, 343 gay couples, where one partner had HIV and the other did not, has not found a single case of HIV transmission despite 16,889 acts of condomless anal sex. The Opposites Attract study looked at whether HIV is transmitted between gay male couples of different HIV status when the HIV-positive partner is on treatment that fully suppresses their HIV. The HIV-positive partners in Opposites Attract had a so-called ‘undetectable viral load’ 98% of the time.
Professor Andrew Grulich of the Kirby Institute and chief investigator on the study summed up the findings,
“Our data add to previous studies which show that there has never been a recorded case of HIV transmission from an HIV-positive person to their HIV-negative sexual partner when the HIV-positive partner had undetectable viral load.”
