THEGAYUK

Author: News Desk

  • Honey G just came out

    The former X Factor star Honey G has come out and she’s looking for love.

    One of X Factor‘s most controversial acts, Honey G, has come out in an interview with The Sun, revealing her perfect woman is Queen Latifah.

    Honey G, real name Anna Gilford has told The Sun‘s Dan Wooton that she has decided to come out and reveal that she wants to be with women. In a candid interview, she said,

    “I was in the process of kind of deciding if I was going to stay with the boyfriend that I had at the time.

    “I was DJing in Ayia Napa and I met someone out there and that was the turning point.

    “I didn’t have real girlfriends until I finished university.”

    The star also revealed that she hopes to find a woman to settle down with and start a family saying that she has wanted kids since she was 19-year-old.

    She said,

    “I have dabbled with men before, but I’m gay and looking for a female partner that I want to settle down with,”

     

  • What is the launch date of Celebrity Big Brother and what Celebrities are going in?

    The new series of Celebrity Big Brother has been announced but when does it start and what Channel will it be on?

    What is the launch date of Celebrity Big Brother and what Celebrities are going in?

    After a quick repaint and redesign, the Celebrity Big Brother house will be open for business on the 1st August at 9 PM Channel 5. Emma Willis will be hosting the show and welcoming a brand new batch of celebrities to Britain’s most famous house.

    Who has been rumoured for the Celebrity Big Brother house 2017?

    Names, names names…

    So many people have been rumoured to be going into Celebrity Big Brother – but of course the reveal won’t happen until the night of the launch – as Big Brother execs keep tight-lipped about who they are casting for the 20th season of the show.

    Shaun Williamson, the ex-EastEnder who starred in the BBC show from 1994 until 2004 as the hapless and unlucky in love Barry Evans.

    Shobna Gulati. another soap actor, who played Sunita in Coronation Street until 2012

    Ex- girl bander, Sarah Harding – the party girl who sang along side Cheryl in Girls Aloud is rumoured to be amongst the stars lining up to enter the CBB house.

    Orginal Love Islander Paul Dunan could be providing some antics. He’s famous for being thrown off the island in 2005.

    Helen Lederer, her of the Ab Fab chairs – is expected to enter the Celebrity Big Brother house!

    Derek Acorah, a TV psychic was announced to be entering by The Sun.

    Lauren Harries – the star appeared on the show in 2013, last year she told us her time was coming to re-enter – will 2017 be her year?

    Kellie Maloney – the former boxing boss turned trans advocate Kellie starred in the 2014 season following her coming out as a trans woman.

     

    Will Sinitta be going into the Big Brother house?

    No, apparently her demands are too high.

     

  • What does trans health care cost the US Military and is it “tremendously” expensive?

    With the news that President Donald Trump has banned transgender people from working for the US military, we look into what medical health care for transgender employees actually costs.

    What does trans health care cost the US Military and is it "tremendously" expensive?

    In a series of tweets, Mr Trump wrote,

    “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.

    “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”

    Political editor for THEGAYUK, Skylar Baker-Jordan notes,

    Thousands of trans people are already serving – many of them openly – in the US armed forces, and the Department of Defense has found no evidence that they undermine unit cohesion. Additionally, a 2016 study commissioned by the Department of Defense to study this very issue found that an “exceedingly small portion of active-component health care expenditures” was spent on trans people, with trans healthcare representing only a .0005 to .017 per cent total increase on defence spending.

    So in total medical spend is transgender health care tremendously expensive. In a word… No.

  • Who is Mark Gatiss who stars in Against The Law on BBC 2

    Mark Gatiss is starring in the show, Against The Law on BBC 2, what do we know about the actor?

    Who is Mark Gatiss who stars in Against The Law on BBC 2

    Mark Gatiss became a household name in the UK during his stint with the late 90s/00s comedy troupe League of Gentlemen, where he and Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith created a three series hit comedy for the BBC. He has also starred in Doctor Who and Sherlock.

    Is Mark Gatiss Married?

    Mark Gatiss is openly gay and has appeared in the Independents Pink List / Rainbow List of the most influential LGBT people in the UK. He married his partner, a fellow actor, Ian Hallard in 2008. They married and now live in London together.

    What is Mark most famous for?

    In 1999 he, Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith and Jeremy Dyson created the League of Gentlemen which became a hit comedy on the BBC. The show was commissioned for three series. He also starred in the 2005 film of the same name. More recently Gatiss was praised for his appearances in Doctor Who, Sherlock, Pyschoville and the critically acclaimed London Spy.

    He is also a prolific writer for television and has penned episodes of Doctor Who, Sherlock and Agatha Christie’s Poirot.

     

     

     

     

  • KATIE HOPKINS | ‘Pride needs to do more to protest Islamic homophobia’

    Katie Hopkins has called on Pride events to protest Islamic homophobia.

    Taking to Twitter today, the controversial commentator Katie Hopkins said that Prides needed to do more to “protest Islamic homophobia”.

    The statement comes a day after she questioned her 802,000 followers on whether a pride event had ever been banned in the London borough of Tower Hamlets. The question was asked after a follower of hers alleged that a pride parade had been banned by the local authority.

    In 2011 the Census revealed that over 30 percent of the borough’s population was Muslim.

    In 2016, a poll conducted by ICM for the Channel 4 programme, What British Muslims Really Think, found that over half of Muslims in the UK thought that homosexuality should illegal. Twenty-three percent also said that they wanted the introduction of Sharia law in the UK.

    Islamophobia and Homophobia

    Earlier this month the East London mosque complained to Pride in London over banners displayed in its Parade by members of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain which it called “offensive”.

    Organisers of the pride said that it would “not tolerate Islamophobia”.

    Homosexuality is currently banned in over 70 countries and 10 have the death penalty for homosexual acts. Homosexuality is illegal in most Muslim-majority countries.

  • Trump bans trans people from the military

    President Donald Trump has announced that trans people will no longer be employed by the US military.

    Trump bans trans people from the military

    Taking to Twitter earlier, Donald Trump announced that due to “disruption” and tremendous cost, transgender people will no longer be able to serve in the US military.

    After consulting with his generals and “military experts”, Trump announced that transgender people will be banned from service. This is in stark contrast to the Obama administration which allowed transgender people to serve their country openly last year.

    In a series of tweets, Mr Trump wrote,

    “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.

    “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”

    The announcement is in contrast to Trump’s pledge to protect LGBT people during his election campaign. Taking to Twitter in June 2016 he said that he would “fight” for the community.

    It not yet clear whether transgender people, who are already employed by the US military will lose their jobs.

    The LGBT+ campaign group, GLAAD, said Mr Trump’s announcement was “a direct attack on transgender Americans”.

    UK singer and LGBT+ advocate Jamie Lambert said,  “Trans Community. No matter what Trump does, or what he says, you are loved. We respect your rights, and we respect you”.

    https://twitter.com/JamieCollabro/status/890228329835638784

     

  • Age UK opens LGBT group in North Tyneside

    The national charity Age UK has launched a new support group aimed at the LGBT community.

    A new group set up by a North Tyneside charity is helping to bring members of the local LGBT community together.

    With Newcastle celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender culture at Northern Pride last weekend, Age UK North Tyneside have launched a new over 50’s LGBT group for the Tyneside area.

    After the success of Age UK North Tyneside’s trans group, which has run for five years, staff at the charity were approached to help launch an LGBT group for the area.

    Age UK North Tyneside volunteer and community coordinator, Emily Houlder, said,

    “We were delighted to be asked to get involved in this project for the local community.

    “With very few groups available in the local area, especially for people of this age, we were more than happy to help.

    “We undertook some online surveys which received very positive and supportive feedback towards the idea, so we quickly moved to get the group up and running.”

    The first set of meetings have been arranged by Age UK staff but the group is led by the members themselves, who are now starting to plan their first activities and events.

    Emily added,

    “The group is open to all and is a great opportunity for members of the Tyneside LGBT community to come along, meet new people and share their interests.

    “The first few sessions have been fantastic to be involved in and I look forward to seeing the group go from strength to strength over the next few months.”

    The Age UK North Tyneside LGBT group runs fortnightly between 7-8.30pm, meeting at Whitley Bay Big Local, 305 Whitley Road, NE26 2HU, Whitley Bay with the next meeting taking place on Monday 7th August.

    For more information on the work and services offered at Age UK North Tyneside, visit www.ageuk.org.uk/northtyneside, call 0191 2877012 or e-mail volunteer@ageuknorthtyneside.org.uk.

  • John Barrowman in hospital after emergency surgery in California

    TV and musical star, John Barrowman has had emergency medical surgery, saying that he feels like he’s been “hit by a bus”

    Doctor Who and Torchwood actor has had to have emergency surgery after suffering an agonising appendicitis. The star needed immediate medical attention at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California.

    The actor, who recently turned 50 has been keeping his fans updated on his progress. In a video, which he posted to Instagram, he told his fans,

    ‘I am out of surgery. Feel like I have been hit by a bus. Jb,’

    In the short video, the TV presenter divulged: ‘I feel a bit like I’ve been hit by a car and I’m just sore all over.

    ‘My throat is sore because of the tube. I’m just sore all over.’

    Barrowman fell ill earlier this week and was told by docs that he’d need his appendix removed immediately.

    The star remarked that he had fan made Tardis socks to keep his feet warm in the hospital. Depending on how he feels later in the day, doctors have suggested that the star could be released from the hospital the same day.

  • What times is Against The Law on BBC 2 and what is it about?

    To mark the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, BBC 2 will be broadcasting Against The Law tonight.

    What times is Against The Law on BBC 2 and what is it about?

    As part of their “Gay Britannia” season, the BBC will be broadcasting one of their flagship productions, Against The Law.

    Daniel Mays (Line Of Duty, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Public Enemies) stars in BBC Two’s powerful factual drama as Peter Wildeblood, a thoughtful and private gay journalist whose lover Eddie McNally (played by newcomer to television, Richard Gadd), under pressure from the authorities, turned Queen’s evidence against him in one of the most explosive court cases of the 1950s – the infamous Montagu Trial.

    When does Against The Law air on BBC 2?

    BBC 2 will be broadcasting the show tonight from 9 PM. The show is 1 hour and 20 minutes and will be available to stream from the BBC iPlayer after the broadcast.

    What is Against The Law about?

    More than ten years before the partial decriminalisation of homosexual acts in 1967, Peter Wildeblood, and his friends Lord Montagu (Mark Edel-Hunt) and Michael Pitt-Rivers, were found guilty of homosexual offences and jailed.

    With his career in tatters and his private life painfully exposed, Wildeblood began his sentence a broken man, but he emerged from Wormwood Scrubs a year later determined to do all he could to change the way these draconian laws against homosexuality impacted on the lives of men like him.

    The drama also features Mark Gatiss (Taboo, Sherlock) as Wildeblood’s prison psychiatrist, Doctor Landers and Charlie Creed-Miles (Ripper Street, Peaky Blinders) as Superintendent Jones.

    Woven through this powerful drama is real-life testimony from a chorus of men who lived through those dark days, when homosexuals were routinely imprisoned or forced to undergo chemical aversion therapy in an attempt to cure them of their “condition”. There is also testimony from a retired police officer whose job it was to enforce these laws, and a former psychiatric nurse who administered the so-called cures. All of these accounts serve to amplify the themes of the drama and help to immerse us in the reality of a dark chapter in our recent past, a past still within the reach of living memory.

    Who stars in Against The Law?

    The show stars Sherlock’s Mark Gatiss, as well as Charlie Creed-Miles who starred in Ripper Street. The show also has Daniel Mays and Richard Gadd.

     

  • Is there a difference between Civil Partnerships and marriage?

    Is there a difference between being a civil partner and a married person? Andrew Smith, Associate Solicitor for Blacks Solicitors’ Family Law team, specialises in LGBT legal work and is a huge supporter of the community answers the questions.

    Is there difference between Civil Partnerships and marriage?

    What are the legal differences between a civil partnership and a marriage?

    “There are very few ‘legal’ differences between a civil partnership and a same sex marriage. Civil partners cannot refer to themselves as ‘married’ and it is a different ceremony. On a certificate of civil partnership, both parents are named rather than just the father on a marriage certificate; but there is legally little difference between the two.”

    “The main differences are similar to those between a religious marriage and a civil ceremony undertaken by heterosexual couples; in regard to the formation, the ceremony, the administrative process and the certificates.

    “Somewhat controversially, one of the main differences is that civil partners are unable to cite the specific act of Adultery as the main reason for why the civil partnership has broken down. This is because the definition of adultery is sexual intercourse with someone of the opposite sex outside marriage. Instead, civil partners have to use ‘unfaithfulness’ as one of a number of examples of Unreasonable Behaviour.”

    What about divorce? Can civil partnered couples get divorced?

    What about divorce? Can civil partnered couples get divorced?

    “A married couple will have a ‘divorce’ whilst civil partners will have a ‘dissolution’ if they choose to separate. Therefore the answer is technically yes as although the terminology is different, it does mean the same thing in principle.”

    What about pension rights, are they the same between marriage and civil partnerships?

    “Up until very recently this had been a grey area for those who retired prior to when the act was introduced.

    “The Walker v Innospec [2017] case which recently made the headlines challenged this and saw the Supreme Court unanimously allow Mr Walker’s appeal for his employer to pay his pension to his spouse in the event of his death, despite his service predating December 2005.

    “This fantastic result will pave the way for all same sex couples in a similar situation, who are either married or in a civil partnership, to be able to leave their pension to their spouse.”

    If you have a LGBT legal query you would like to discuss with Andrew, please email him on AJSmith@LawBlacks.com or visit the website for more information: www.lawblacks.com

  • Are there Lesbian Bars in London?

    London has the highest number of LGBT+ bars, clubs and venues in the UK. So does it have any lesbian bars and clubs where are they?

    Are there Lesbian Bars in London?

    London’s LGBT+ scene is the largest in the UK and it does include at least one lesbian venue. The most famous and central is the She Soho in Soho on Old Compton Street (number 23a to be precise).  She Soho is mainly focussed at the LBQ women community and says it is the only “women-priority venue” in London, although men are welcome to enter with female guests. The venue has the hottest DJs on the scene, alongside regular drag king cabaret, burlesque and social events.

    Probably the most famous bar before She Soho was Candy based in Carlisle Street in Soho, which closed permanently in 2014 due to rent increase demands. It was subject of a 4 part documentary on Channel 5 called Candy Bar Girls. There was also an event called Lounge which also closed despite attempts to bring back the evening in 2014.

    Of course, London has many LGBT+ spaces you can find our full listings of LGBT+ and gay-friendly bars and pubs here