Students at one of the world’s most prestigious universities have been handed a leaflet explaining why they should start to use the pronoun “ze” instead of gender-specific pronouns such as “he” or “she”.
The leaflet, which has been distributed by the student union is a campaign they hope will prevent discrimination and offence caused by the incorrect use of pronouns for students at the University. It is hoped that the rules will be used in lectures and in general use around campus.
The Sunday Times reported that students already face disciplinary action if they purposefully misgender a person. According to its behaviour code, “repeated use of the wrong pronoun to define a transgender person is an offence”. Language that “may amount to harassment” or “deliberately using the wrong name or pronoun in relation to a transgender person, or persistently referring to their gender identity history” could land the perpetrator in trouble.
Cambridge University is apparently moving to use the gender neutral pronouns. Its student’s welfare officer, Sophie Buck, said,
“Events start with a speaker introducing themselves using a gender neutral pronoun. It’s part of a drive to make the union intersectional.”
However, it the use of introducing gender pronouns or asking people to reveal what pronouns they wish to use, has been criticised by some as a means of forcing someone to use gender pronouns before they are ready to come out or reveal their gender identity before they are comfortable to do so.
So once you see it you can’t unsee it. Is it spreading Christmas cheer or cheeks?
Now how the hell are Starbucks cups in the news again and no one's talking about a guy spreading his cheeks open on McDonald's cups pic.twitter.com/QmIuZiDJst
Apparently, there’s no hidden meaning other than they are “festive McCafe cups” but someone has doctored their cup to make it looks like a man is spreading his cheeks.
Sam Sykes, a fantasy author, seemingly altered his McDonald’s coffee cup to add hands to what should be a picture of two mittens to make it look like, well a man spreading his butt cheeks.
The pictures have gone viral with thousands of people sharing the picture.
A spokesperson from McDonald’s said,
“the altered image circulating on social media is the result of someone getting a little cheeky and adding some hand-drawing to a cup.”
Joel Dommett is now a very famous man thanks to his stint on this year’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. His penis, has its own fame and has released a statement about that Catfishing incident.
Well, now he (sorry his penis) has written a statement about his new found fame and the perils of cyber sex.
“The following is a statement written by Joel’s Penis before it went, with Joel, into the Jungle. His Penis wrote this as damage limitation just in case pictures of it arose in the tabloids and on the internet while Joel was in there and Penis was unable to defend itself.
“Recently, after being a relative recluse for Joel’s entire life (with the exception of the odd drunken public appearance), after a stupid error on Joel’s part there are now pictures of me, ‘Joel’s part’ on the internet. I was quite happy being a completely unknown penis and this new found fame is frankly horrific for me and Joel, although we have both realised that it’s better to laugh about it than cry about it (Only Joel can Laugh but we can both cry…).”
“Joel was Catfished a long time ago by somebody pretending to be someone else on the internet and was lured into Skype sex. That Skype sex session turned out to be entirely fake and has come back to bite Joel in the ass (Joel’s Ass is a good friend of mine and also features in the video). It’s a genuinely horrific thing for another human being to do, to take advantage of what is private of someones life and make it public for everyone to see.
“He obviously chose to go into I’m a Celebrity Get me out of Here and people may argue that you are forfeiting a life of privacy with that choice, which he agrees with to a degree but there is a line. A cruelly obtained video of Joel ‘jerking off’ (you may prefer other terms such as ‘jerking the chain’, ‘strangling the monkey’, ‘washing the carrot’, ‘humiliating the unicorn’ or worst of all ‘masterbating’) in a beanie (seriously who wears a beanie when they ‘polish the bath taps’?! I’m supposed to be the only one who wears a hat during sex. He is a hideous human being and I’m embarrassed to be attached to him.) which he thought was private is crossing that line.
“This is a new type of crime and it’s not just happening to people of below average levels of fame like Joel. Below is a link to an interesting article from the BBC about the problem and the number for the Samaritans which is a good place to start to sort it out if it has happened to you.
We recently spoke to a lawyer about the steps you can take if you should find that you’ve been a victim of revenge porn or had your pictures hacked or stolen.
Sometimes the runner up acts do better than the actual winner – actually, this is pretty much standard practice. We have a look at the X Factor runner ups to see where they’re today and how their careers panned out.
The classical pop-opera lads released four albums, with three of them being successful. They disbanded in 2007 apparently because they were “sick” of each other. An attempted re-band was made in 2015 when they released their flop Christmas album G4 Christmas. Only three of the original members performed on the album after Matthew Stiff decided not to rejoin. They lost out to Steve Brookstein.
Who can forget the Dustbin man turned pop star Andy Abrahams. He released 3 studio albums and a “best of” however only two of those albums charted. Andy can now be spotted on stage performing in musicals. He lost out to Shayne Ward.
<
h2>Series 3
Ray Quinn
CREDIT: Ray Quinn/ Instagram
Ray Quinn has become a bit of body builder since his time in X Factor, he’s also appearing in musicals. He released just one album Doing It My Way, which reached number 1 in the UK and sold over 300,000 copies. He lost out to Leona Lewis.
Who could forget the platinum blonde Welshman. Losing out to Leon Jackon in 2007 didn’t harm Rhydian’s recording career having released five albums. The first two managed to achieve Platinum and Gold sales status. The following three managed to reach the top 40. Oh, and he got most of his clothes off when he played Rocky in Rocky Horror!
JLS are the only boyband to come runner up, but not the most successful one – that crown goes to One Direction who actually came third in series 7. JLS has a slew of hits including 5 number one singles. They also released four albums all of which entered the top 3 in the charts. They disbanded in 2013 and left fans with a compilation album called Goodbye.
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h2>Series 6
Olly Murs
CREDIT: Olly Murs / Instagram
Olly is probably the most successful solo male artist to come out of X Factor having clocked up four number one albums and four number one singles. Thirteen of his 20 singles have reached the top 20. He’s also gone on to become a TV presenter. He lost out to Joe McElderry.
Rebecca was the first woman to come runner up on the X Factor has she’s gone on to release a number of albums and is a spokeswoman for Walkers Crisps. She also opened a shop called Beauty Boudoir in 2012. She lost out to Matt Cardle.
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h2>Series 8
Marcus Collins
CREDIT: Monty McKinnen
Marcus was the only openly gay finalist to come runner up. He released an album but is now appearing on stage in various musicals. Including Kinky Boots and Hairspray. He lost out to Little Mix.
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h2>Series 9
Jahméne Douglas
CREDIT: PR Supplied
Jahméne has a largely forgettable career despite being hailed as one of the X Factor‘s best vocalists ever. He’s released a number of albums, but it’s his seemingly changing face that keeps him in the public spotlight. He lost out to James Arthur in 2012.
I mean who knows what’s happened to Nicholas? He released one album called In the Arms Of An Angel which reached number 6 in the UK charts. He lost out to Sam Bailey.
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h2>Series 11
Fleur East
Fleur was hot favourite to achieve massive world-wide successful after she was the first to sing “Uptown Funk” during the live shows. However, her career has seemingly and sadly stalled after her second and third single “More and More” and “Breakfast” failed to chart. They were both from her 2015 album Love, Sax and Flashbacks which only managed to achieve 60,000 sales in the UK. She has resigned with another Sony Music label and hopes to launch an international singing career. She lost out to Ben Haenow.
Reggie ‘n’ Bollie were the second group to become runner-up from the X Factor have largely fallen out of the public eye since placing second. They released two singles, the first of which achieved a charted of 26, the second failed to chart. They lost out to Louisa Johnson.
The Sun reported that after an altercation between Cristiano and Koke in which Koke allegedly called him a “faggot”, the footie star reportedly answered: “A faggot, yes. But a rich one, bastard.”
Radio station Cadena Cope claims that it heard a conversation between Cristiano and a teammate in the visitor’s changing room after the game.
They claim the following conversation happened:
Ronaldo: “Koke called me a faggot.”
Team-mate: “What?”
Ronaldo: “You‘re a faggot, he said to me.”
Team-mate: “He said that to you?”
Ronaldo: “I told him, ‘if we meet each other in Madrid, you will see what I will do’.”
Team-mate: “What are you going to do to him?”
Ronaldo: “Nothing. What can I do?”
Another team-mate who came in later: “Who said that?”
Ronaldo: “Koke, he called me a faggot. I told him, ‘a faggot, yes. But a rich one, b****** ’.
THEGAYUK.com reached out to Cristiano’s management for comment on the alleged conversation.
He’s a well-known figure in the gossip world – probably second only to Perez Hilton in terms of solo media gossip brands – and he works for one of Britain’s biggest newspapers, the Sun, but what else do we know about the star?
Is Dan Wootton gay?
Yes, folks Dan Wootton is in fact gay. The 33-year-old journalist took to Twitter in December 2013 to announce that he was gay and pro-equality. He said, “I’m gay and I believe in equality in every way. If the media hides gay relationships then how will they ever be normalised?”. He’s one of journalism’s most prominent openly gay editors and reporters. He has attracted a fair bit of criticism from the LGBT community because of the way that he has tackled certain subjects. Last year, he attracted criticism over the way his story about Charlie Sheen’s HIV status was portrayed and he also attracted criticism after labelling George Shelley as “bisexual” after the singer was clear that he didn’t want to label himself.
Where is Dan Wootton from?
Have you detected an accent from Dan Wootton? That soft lilt in his voice is a New Zealand accent, not Austrailian as some people mistake. He was born in Lower Hutt, which is a city in the Wellington Region of the Norther Island. He moved to the UK when he was 21.
What is Dan Wootton’s net worth?
It’s hard to pinpoint how much Dan Wootton is actually monetarily worth. With his day job at the Sun and his TV stints at ITV we imagine he’s pulling in a fairly good wage. A company registered in his name, however, has a net worth of -£1,400.
What was Dan’s first job?
Studying at Victoria Univerity he achieved a media and political science degree. He started his journalism career as an entertainment columnist for the Dominion Post. He was also a reporter for the daily TV show, Good Morning. He moved to the UK when he was 21 and eventually found a full time job at Broadcast magazine. In 2007, when he was 24, he came the TV editor for News of the World before joining the Sun in 2013.
Does Dan Wootton have enemies?
Being a reporter and keeping famous friends is a difficult task and quite a few have publicly dissed Dan over the years. In 2012, former X Factor winner Steve Brookstein took to Twitter to say, “‘All those people with HIV and not one of them is called Dan Wootton.”
Lilly Allen threw some shade when she Tweeted, “@danwootton *rolls eyes and wonders if you ever think about why you hate young girls so much* one for your shrink perhaps?”
Dan also faced a huge backlash after his report on Charlie Sheen’s HIV as “Hollywood HIV panic” was seen as an “insidious piece of stigma-reinforcing ‘journalism’” by Tom Hayes writing for the Independent in November 2015. Dan Wootton clarified that the startling headline of the piece was not his work.
Twelve young trans people were asked by transgender broadcasters India Willoughby and Stephanie Hirst, if they had one wish for Christmas, what would it be?
Here’s what they wished for.
1. Emily Frood, 18, from Hawick, Scotland:
I would like to see a positive representation of a transgender person in the media.
2. Sean O’Donnell, 19, from Hawick, Scotland:
For transgender people to recognise that you don’t need to look a certain way.
3. Miles Everitt, 16, from Delabole, Cornwall:
For transgender people to spend Christmas surrounded by people who love them.
4. Tabitha Tomkins, 21, from Shropshire:
Unrestricted funds to start a charity to help transgender people.
5. Jo-James Booth, 26, from Sowerby Bridge, Yorkshire:
For people to understand that a person can be transgender at any age.
6. Alfie Austin, 23, from Salford, Greater Manchester:
For transgender people to celebrate their bodies and accept the things they can’t change.
7. Alex Jones, 19, from Newport, Wales:
For my little sister to come home and not blink an eye at me.
8. Kay Browning, 26, from Tiverton, Devon:
For transgender people to stop worrying what everyone else thinks about them.
9. Talulah Eve Brown, 23, from Burton-upon-Trent:
For people to stop thinking about transgender people as a sexual experience, and instead, think of them as someone worthy of love.
10. Cal Lunt, 26, from Liverpool:
For more transgender voices to be heard at Fixers events so that they can stimulate change.
12. Jayson McSwiggan, 23, from Glasgow:
For GPs to receive training in transgender issues so that they understand us better.
The youngsters were taking part in a ‘Question-Time’ style debate designed to improve the lives of transgender people across the UK. The event, which was hosted by Fixers, the charity which gives young people a voice, took place at ITV’s London Television Centre on November 23.
29th April 2020 – this article was updated to remove an individual who asked that their likeness and quote be removed. We complied, but have left the article published.
Convicted killer Stefano Brizzi has been sentenced to 24 years jail time for the murder of a gay serving police officer.
Stefano Brizzi has been handed a 24-year jail term for the murder of a serving police officer, Gordon Semple. The jail term means he will be at least 74 before he can apply for parole. He was also served with a seven years’ imprisonment for obstructing a coroner from holding an inquest, for which this sentence will run concurrently.
Brizzi was found guilty of murder at the same court on Monday, 14 November, but pleaded guilty to obstructing a coroner on Thursday, 20 October – the first day of his trial.
Brizzi, 50, went to great lengths to dispose of 59-year-old Gordon Semple, by dismembering him and getting rid of him in a manner which “amounts to cannibalism”. Police investigating Semple’s death also revealed that they found “a number of bottles of chemicals scattered over the hallway floor and in the bathroom,” when they arrived at Brizzi’s address.
CREDIT: Metropolitan Police
On Friday, 1 April, Gordon Semple, who dedicated 30 years of his working life to the police, was on duty and had been at a meeting in London Bridge. Phone evidence has shown that at just after 14:00hrs that day he used the dating app Grindr to arrange to meet Brizzi for sex at his south London flat. That afternoon, Brizzi strangled Gordon Semple to death and over the following week set about systematically disposing of his body in a bid to either avoid being caught or ensuring that Gordon could never be identified.
Police arrived at Brizzi’s address six days later on Thursday, 7 April, after neighbours called them and the London Ambulance Service after becoming increasingly concerned about a vile stench emanating from the flat.
On arrival at the door, the officers were greeted by Brizzi wearing his underpants. The officers noted a number of bottles of chemicals scattered over the hallway floor, and in the bathroom discovered bin bags containing body parts.
Brizzi was arrested on suspicion of murder and taken to Lewisham police station.
Commander Nick Downing, from the Metropolitan Police Service, said,
“Today, my heart goes out to Gordon’s partner, family, loved ones, friends and colleagues. They have my deepest sympathy; his loss continues to be acutely felt.
“Brizzi has shown no remorse for his actions, since the time of his arrest and throughout his trial. With today’s sentence a dangerous man, whose cold calculated actions were deeply disturbing, is behind bars.”
Statement on behalf of the family of Gordon Semple,
“Gordon continues to be sadly missed by our family. Gordon we miss you so much, may you rest in peace.
“Gordon was a loyal and much loved long term partner, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, cousin and friend to all.
“We were devastated when the news broke of Gordon’s murder and the circumstances which are still incredibly hard to deal with. It is still insurmountably upsetting. Nothing takes away the pain of our loss.
“At Gordon’s funeral we met many of his friends and work colleagues – we were proud to hear how fondly they thought of Gordon.”
Passing sentence the Recorder of London Nicholas Hilliard QC, said,
“The PCs on scene encountered something no amount of training could have prepared them for. I commend them both.
“Mr Semple was dearly loved by his family and friends and no sentence carried by this court can equate to the precious human life lost.”
Addressing Brizzi directly he said: “No sentence I can pass can undo what you’ve done.
“I have no doubt that there came a time when you went beyond what was agreed and you decided to cause him really serious harm.”
He added: “Your attempts to conceal what happened and dismembering and destroying his body are terrible features of the case.”
Fans of the X Factor are speculating that winner, Matt Terry and finalist Freddy Parker are boyfriends after they seemingly locked lips live on TV.
Speculation over whether Matt and Freddy are in a relationship together is in overdrive this morning after the pair seemingly locked lips during the live broadcast of ITV’s X Factor final last night. Matt Terry became the winner of the competition after beating Saara Aalto to the number one spot. Over 6.4 million votes were cast.
However, numerous eagle-eyed fans have taken to Twitter to rewatch a clip showing the moment where it seems as though, Matt and Freddy locked lips – for quite some time. It was during the reveal of Matt Terry’s winner’s single, the Ed Sheeran penned, “When Christmas Comes Around”. All of the show’s finalists swarmed onto the stage to congratulate the Bromley heartthrob on his win. It was then that the two men seemed to kiss. The moment was obscured by the gathering, however, viewers could see the tops of Matt and Freddy’s heads.
Saara Aalto‘s journey to the finals is history making, after she became the first LGBT woman to reach the finals of ITV’s X Factor. She missed out on the top spot after Matt Terry won the competition outright. Saara Aalto had been the firm favourite to win the competition with one excited fan putting a £30,000 bet on the Finnish singer to win this year’s competition.
The powerhouse vocalist revealed that she was engaged to be married to her girlfriend, Meri, during the series. The pair have been partners for a number of years and are considered one of the only openly gay celebrity couples in their native Finland.
To date the only other runner-up to out at the time of the show is Marcus Collins. No one, who was openly gay at the time of the competition, has won the X Factor. Joe McElderry who won series 6 came out after he won the show.
It has been reported the Saara Aalto actually wanted to come second in the competition. According to the Sun, the 29-year-old revealed that, “‘Coming second would be better than the number one spot, as it would mean having the freedom that the winner does not”.
