THEGAYUK

Author: News Desk

  • Man Who Said Gays Were “Abnormal” Wins Eurovision

    A singer who made anti-gay remarks has won Eurovision 2015.

    The show, which was the 60th competition, held in Vienna, saw Sweden’s Mans Zelmerlow win beating Russia and Italy. The UK’s Electro Velvet managed to scrape 5 points coming 24th out of 27.

    Man Zelmerlow has been accused of making homophobic comments stunning an audience into silence according to

    The 28-year-old claimed it “isn’t equally natural for men to want to sleep with one another”. He also branded homosexuality an “avvikelse” (abnormality), according to WiWiBloggs, before backtracking saying: “There isn’t anything wrong with it at all, but the more natural thing of course is that men and women make children together.”

    Zelmerlow later issued a statement apologising to “all who take offence”.

    “I believe and hope that the vast majority know that I respect differences and all forms of love,” he said.

    The singer went on to work extensively with LGBT groups in Sweden and has told Sweden Metro that he would date a man if it felt right.

    Of his win, he said, “I just want to say that we are all heroes, no matter who we love, who we are or what we believe in. We are all heroes.”

  • Ireland Makes History Will Pro Gay Marriage Yes Vote

    After a high turn out, the votes have been counted for the historic same-sex marriage referendum vote in Ireland and Ireland has overwhelmingly voted yes to allowing gay couples the right to marry.

    Gay and lesbian couples will now be able to get married in Ireland thanks to the historic referendum vote that took place on Friday 22nd May. More than 62% of those voted, voted in favour. The referendum enjoyed a 60% turn out.

    With no exit poll it proved difficult to guess what the outcome would be, but pundits were quietly confident that the result would be Yes, meaning that same-sex couples will be afforded the rights to marry in Ireland.

    The referendum on whether same-sex couple could marry was held 22 years after homosexuality was decriminalised in the Republic of Ireland.

    In total, 1,201,607 people voted in favour of same-sex marriage, while 734,300 voted against.

    The same-sex marriage referendum in Ireland has become worldwide news as countries around the world wait to see the outcome of what will be the first ever-public vote on gay rights.

    Ireland had a referendum on the subject of gay marriage because of its written constitution, which can only be changed by a public vote. Same-sex marriage will now be protected by the constitution.

  • ANSWERS: Is David Dickinson Gay

    David Dickinson some could argue is the king of daytime television. His style and camp demeanor has gotten people asking whether or not he is gay. Well THEGAYUK has been doing some digging.

    David Dickinson, 73, is a stalwart daytime TV presenter and antiques expert. His flamboyant presenting style, his slightly eccentric camp dress sense and his all year round tan, thanks to his Armenian ancestry, has earned him a legion of fans. Some people question whether the presenter is gay or not. However he is married, for nearly fifty years to a woman he met in the 60s.

    Dickinson became an instant success when he first appeared on This Morning and BBC Two’s The Antiques Show.

    However he’s not gay or has never admitted to any same-sex relationships. Dickinson is married to Lorne Lesley, a cabaret performer, who he met in the 1960s. They married in 1968. In 2018 they will have been married 50 years. They live in the village of Bollington inCheshire.The couple have two grown-up children, and also grandchildren

    David presents Dickinson’s Real Deal daily on ITV1 from 3PM

     

  • UK COURT: Unlawful Discriminaton For Christian Bakery Who Refused Gay Cake

    BREAKING: A UK Court has found that a bakery in Belfast, owned by Christians acted unlawfully when it refused to fulfil an order which had an inscription in support of same-sex marriage.

    Ashers Bakery in Belfast, Northern Ireland refused an order by Gareth Lee in July 2014. The cake in question had a message that supported same-sex marriage.

    The bakery owners refused the order based on their Christian beliefs Gareth Lee a gay rights activist took the civil case against the bakery with the support of the Equality Commission.

    A judge has ruled that the bakery’s refused to make the cake was unlawful. The judge commented:

    “Whilst defendants have right to religious beliefs they are limited as to how they manifest them.”

    https://twitter.com/DeborahMcAleese/status/600598827700224000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    Speaking outside the Belfast court just before the ruling, Ashers general manager Daniel McArthur said:

    “We happily serve everyone but we cannot promote a cause that goes against what the Bible says about marriage.

    “We have tried to be guided in our actions by our Christian beliefs.”

    Mr Lee told the court that the decision to refuse his order him feel “unworthy” and ” a lesser person”.

    A Belfast judge said Ashers were not exempt from discrimination law adding that the bakery were “conducting a business for profit”, they are not a religious group.”

    They were found to have discriminated against Mr Lee on the grounds of sexual orientation.

    https://twitter.com/DeborahMcAleese/status/600594149063204866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

  • BIG BROTHER: Joel Admits He Could Make Out With Aaron

    In tonight’s episode of Big Brother, Conservative councillor Joel admits that he would make out with openly gay Aaron Frew.

    Despite claims that he’s a “proud” heterosexual in yesterday’s show, Joel, 19 from Cardiff, said that it would be a “no-brainer” for him to make out with his fellow housemate Aaron.

    Aaron pretends to be Big Brother and asks Joel which male housemate he would make out with. Joel replies: “This is an absolute no-brainer for me, the contestant is on the board to your immediate top left.”

    The Housemates cheer as they realise he means Aaron. So is love in the air for Aaron and Joel?

    Later on a drunken Aaron, after copious amounts of wine is in the bathroom being sick. Danny goes into the toilet and carries Aaron to bed.

    Big Brother continues tonight, Monday 18th May at 10.00pm on Channel 5

     

     

  • Jack Wins Big Brother… Sort Of…

    Jack declined a BMW worth £27,000 to remain in the House and protect the winner’s prize fund

     For the past three days viewers have been voting via the Big Brother App in a free poll to find out who they’d like to be the Winner of Big Brother 2015 and receive the next Timebomb.  The Housemate with the most votes was Jack.  He was not actually crowned the winner tonight, instead the viewers’ Big Brother Champion was called to the Diary Room and Big Brother had a massive dilemma for him.

     Big Brother offered Jack a brand new BMW worth £27,000.  However, this prize came with a cost.  The option was to to leave the Big Brother House and drive away in the BMW but no longer be a Housemate, or decline the prize and stay in Big Brother.  By accepting the prize he’d reduce the winner’s prize fund from £150,000 down to zero.  Jack chose to turn down his prize and return to the House, leaving the prize fund untouched.

     Big Brother also dropped another Timebomb with Nick’s first set of face to face nominations, as during the Live Launch on Tuesday his Timebomb was to nominate face to face throughout his time in the House.  Nick nominated Adjoa and Sarah.  The rest of the Housemates will nominate over the weekend.

     Join Emma next Friday at 9pm for the second Live Eviction of the series.  Big Brother: Timebomb returns tomorrow night at 9:20pm on Channel 5. 

  • INTERVIEW: Chris Urch on The Rolling Stone: Homophobia In Uganda

    Theatre can evoke many emotions – happiness, sadness, optimism, fear, anger and laughter…. but to be able to combine all of those emotions into one production shows just how powerful theatre can be.

    So when playwright, Chris Urch, decided to write a play about love and homophobia in Uganda, he was determined to ensure that the audience were taken on a journey which drew on a range of emotions and the result is a play which tackles the subjects with compassion, realism and in a way which allows the audience to connect with the characters and events portrayed, despite the disparity of the play’s setting and where it is being performed.

    The play is about Dembe and Sam, who have been seeing each other for a while. They should be wondering where this is going and when to introduce each other to their families. But they’re gay and this is Uganda. The consequences of their relationship being discovered will be violent and explosive. Especially for Dembe, whose brother goes into the pulpit each week to denounce the evils of one man loving another. The Rolling Stone tells the story of two lovers at odds with their society.

    The write of the play, Chris Urch, a Bruntwood Playwriting prize winner caught up with TheGayUK as the play opened its run at West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds.

    TGUK – Your new play, The Rolling Stone is a story about love, prejudice and homophobia in Uganda. How does the subject matter of the play resonate with the UK audience?

    CU – I’m not going to lie, my play The Rolling Stone is a hard sell. There’s no famous people in it. This is only my second play so my name isn’t of any help. And then there is the subject matter…. The play focuses on a Ugandan family who’s local paper is outing gay men and the repercussions of this are mighty and heartbreaking. The story is fictional but is based on truth. In Uganda it’s still illegal to be gay and this paper did ‘out’ men, some gay, some not. These men’s lives were utterly destroyed. Some went to jail, some had to leave town, some were killed….Yes, the play is about an important subject, prejudice. A subject most of you readers have probably experienced in one form or another. And yes, throughout the play there is the story of two men in love who have been represented as people not lazy stereotypes. But at the plays heart is the subject of family, something a huge amount of us can relate to. How far will we go for the people we love? Can we support those closest to us when who they are goes against our own beliefs and morals? Why should we love our families when they can’t seem to love us?

    TGUK – And the play has been critically well received to date….

    CU – In late 2013, the play won the Bruntwood award which is the biggest playwriting competition in the country and I’m mighty proud of the production which has transferred from the Manchester Exchange to the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

    TGUK – Does your playwriting come from a love of theatre from a very young age?

    CU – I write plays for people who don’t go to the theatre. People who don’t think the theatre is for them. I was raised on a diet of television and VHS movies but no theatre other than the local pantomime. Come to think of it, I don’t think I saw a play until I was eighteen.

    TGUK – So what does theatre give us that film and TV doesn’t?

    CU – Well, it gives us the live experience. Where else do you sit in a room made up of people you mostly don’t know, turn off your phone, turn of your email, your Facebook and Twitter and all watch people pretending to be other people. Sounds bonkers and maybe it is. But some of the best nights of my life have been sat watching someone say or go through something that I’ve felt, experienced or know. That feeling of being less alone. I believe great theatre should make you laugh, cry and gasp but most importantly when I sit down to write a play my mantra is I WILL TRY NOT BORE MY AUDIENCE. So when writing this play I thought about you the audience. That’s why there’s lots of laughter, a few tears and always an audible gasp.

    TGUK – So a completely different experience in your view?

    CU – Absolutely, I say “put down the Netflix for a night and come and let me and six incredible actors tell you a new story”.

     

    The Rolling Stone is currently playing at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds until 23rd May 2015. For full details, tickets and information, visit www.wyp.org.uk or call the box office on 0113 213 7700.

     

     

  • Domestic Abuse Help Instant Chat For LGBTs To Run 7 Days A Week

    Instant chat service to open 7 days a week

    Since its start in 2014 the Broken Rainbow instant chat service has continued to increase in popularity with LGBT people experiencing abuse or violence in their relationships. On busy days this means eight hours of constant user support and Broken Rainbow today runs this service with 25 volunteers across the country. Because of its high demand the Broken Rainbow instant chat will extend its opening hours to weekends, meaning it will be open every day from 10am till 2pm from the 6th of June 2015.

    The reasons for its popularity are many; partly it can offer greater anonymity to the user than phone support and partly it may give them more time to think before they express themselves.

    Broken Rainbow Managing Director Jo Harvey Barringer explains why she thinks it has become such a popular tool for Broken Rainbow’s service users:

    “Often the people that contact us are in situations where they cannot risk being heard over the phone. We’ve had victims/ survivors contacting us while locked in the bathroom with their abuser on the other side of the door – a situation in which if they were to call someone they may feel even more under threat.”

    The new weekend opening hours will start on the first weekend of June. This means instant chat will be open every day from 2pm till 10pm from the 6th of June 2015.

    You can find out more at http://www.brokenrainbow.org.uk or call 0800 999 5428

  • Rugby Must Change To End Homophobia

    In what is believed to be a world first, international rugby stars from three countries are joining together in publicly condemning homophobia in sport. English star James Haskell and Welsh star Alex Cuthbert as well as Australian Rugby Legend John Eales have all backed a statement specifically calling for an end to homophobic language, the most common form of discrimination.

    They join other sport stars speaking out about discrimination, including Gareth Thomas and David Pocock as well as openly gay rugby referee Nigel Owens who says homophobia has been tolerated for “too long.” This all comes after the first international study found widespread homophobia in UK and international sport.

    – 77% of UK participants in the study had ‘witnessed or experienced homophobia’ around sport

    – Verbal slurs such as ‘faggot’ or ‘dyke’ as well as jokes about gay people were the most common forms of homophobia reported

    -70% thought youth sport in the UK was not safe or welcoming to lesbian, gay and bisexual people.
    (Nearly 9500 gay, lesbian, bisexual and straight people took part in “Out on the Fields,” the largest study ever conducted on homophobia in sport. Nearly 1800 were from the UK. It was reviewed by a panel of seven academic experts from six universities. Full UK results: www.outonthefields.com)

    In repose to the study, Dublin-based World Rugby (formerly IRB), reaffirmed its recent, historic commitment to ‘eliminate’ discrimination from the game. It is the first ‘world sport’ to make such a bold pledge and quite a contrast to the position of FIFA.
    Meanwhile, the three international rugby stars – Haskell, Cuthbert and Eales – have all backed a formal statement and will be promoting anti-homophobia messages through social media this Sunday, 17 May which is ‘International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia’ on 17 May.

    The statement backed by the players says:

    “Everyone should be able to play and enjoy sport without fear of discrimination. Homophobic language can be harmful to those struggling with their sexuality and it makes people feel unwelcome to play sport. We want to send a strong message to everyone involved in sport that homophobic language and behaviour is not acceptable.”
    England’s James Haskell, 30, said he decided to back the statement because he was alarmed by the extent of discrimination discovered in the UK and other countries.

    “I feel bad for anyone who struggles to be true to who they are and feels the need to live a lie because they are worried about being rejected. I think homophobic language is still too common in sport. Even if the jokes and banter you sometimes hear are not meant to be harmful I think it creates an environment where gay people don’t feel very welcome,” said Haskell.

    Haskell’s views on the effects of discrimination reflect the experience of openly gay Welsh rugby legend Gareth Thomas. He says he kept his sexuality secret and nearly committed suicide because language created a hostile environment.

    “I am one of those who hid my sexuality for years because this kind of language created an environment where it seemed impossible to be accepted as a gay man. The good news is I don’t believe most people making these jokes and using these slurs are being intentionally homophobic. After I came out of the closet, many of my greatest supporters were teammates who, in the past, had made the most jokes about gay people,” wrote Thomas, in a foreword for the “Out on the Fields” study.

    Welsh rugby star Alex Cuthbert, 25, says Thomas has helped people understand why this issue is important, “I think Gareth Thomas’s story has helped us all become more aware of the effects of homophobic language and banter. Society has changed and I don’t think this kind of language has any place in sport or anywhere else anymore.”

    Meanwhile, former New Zealand All Black Josh Kronfeld says homophobic language is common among spectators, “The biggest issues would probably be driven by the fan base. There are dumb and ignorant people around.” Australian Wallabies star David Pocock has called the extent of homophobia discovered by the study “awful” and wants “more education through all levels of the game.” Pocock recently complained to a referee about homophobic slurs during a match, leading to a player being fined $20,000 by the Australian Rugby Union.
    In Ireland, rugby legend Brian O’Driscoll and current players Cian Healy and Peter O’Mahony also back an end to discrimination against gay people. All three have urged people to vote ‘yes’ in their country’s upcoming same-sex marriage referendum.
    Rugby legend John Eales, the most successful Wallaby captain in Australian history, is proud so many rugby players around the world are taking such a strong stance on discrimination against gay people. He also praised the commitment by World Rugby (formerly IRB) to “eliminate” homophobia from the game. (www.worldrugby.org/news/59705)

    “I think we were all surprised by the extent of homophobia that was found by the study but I am glad rugby is leading internationally on this issue. I think World Rugby’s commitment to eliminate homophobia from the game is very powerful. It will help end the problem because it sends a strong message to everyone involved in sport that homophobic language or any behaviour that makes people feel unwelcome is no longer acceptable,” said Eales.

    Jeff Wilson, the London based Chairman of International Gay Rugby, signed the recent agreement with World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset to “work together to educate and eliminate homophobia in rugby.”

    “Unfortunately there are still alarming rates of discrimination in sport and I think we have a lot more work to do than we expected. However, despite its tough and macho image, I think rugby is very well placed to become the most inclusive and tolerant sport in the world. We are very grateful to have such strong support at all levels of the game, from the players up to the international leaders. I’m hopeful that rugby’s success will inspire other sports to also rid their games of discrimination,” said Jeff Wilson.

  • Over One Third Of Gay Men Are Unhappy With The Size Of Their Penises

    Over One Third Of Gay Men Are Unhappy With The Size Of Their Penises

    Up to 34 per cent of men are unhappy with the size of their penises according to a new survey by THEGAYUK

    A survey undertaken for issue 11 of THEGAYUK found that over a third of men questioned had issues with the size of their manhoods, with a further 12 per cent actually considering penile enlargement surgery to increase girth or length.

    The majority of men asked hadn’t tried other non-surgical methods of penis enlargement, such as hanging weights or jelqing. The most popular method of non-surgical enlargement was penis pumps.

    Of those surveyed, 54% of men had a penis length of 5 to 7 inches, 12 per cent had a penis size less than 5 inches. According to a recent worldwide poll of men, 5.16 inches is the average size of an adult male’s erect penis.

    Penis surgery can be an expensive route to take, with the average procedure costing thousands of pounds.

    Tristan, owner of all a male striptease Adonis Cabaret Show said that there were ways men could forego surgery with a few insider tips and he and his crew of stunning male dancers and models use to look good on stage.

    Firstly he suggested: “Trim that bush to unhide your sausage!”

    Up to an inch of your manhood could be covered by pubic hair so make sure you get the trimmers out and cut back to reveal more and generally make it look tidy down there.

    Secondly, he suggested what’s known in the business as “tying it off”, whereby you excite yourself but stop before you become actually erect. Then using something to “tie off” like a cock ring or elastic band you place the tie at the base of your penis, so the blood can’t leave the penis quickly.

    “It’s not much use, but it does look impressive!” He quipped.

    However, you must be careful you don’t tie it off for too long as it could turn purple and cause serious medical problems.

  • Andi Peters “I’m Only 21”

    Andi Peters likes a joke. Proclaims to be only 21.

    Recently the former Live And Kicking star was pictured with sporting legend Daley Thompson along with day time TV hunk Ben Shephard, who quipped in a tweet: “Is it me or is @Daley_thompson actually younger than @andipeters??”

    Before adding: “Looks Awesome” – Seems like Ben Shephard might have a budding bromance on the rise. However was Andi less than impressed by being compared with Thomson is 12 years his senior?

    Andi Peters was quick to jump in with: “I’m Only 21.”

    Andi Peters who has a rigorous workout regime looks quite honesty stunning. The presenter is now aged 44 and will be turning 45 in July.