The latest statistics from the Hate Crime In Scotland report show that charges in relation to transgender hate crime decreased by 16 per cent in the 2018/19 period compared to the year before.
Court proceedings were commenced in respect of 29 of the 40 charges.
In the same period, homophobic hate crime charges increased by five per cent.
In total, 40 charges of transphobic hate crime were reported to the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland in 2018/19. The previous period recorded 52 reports, this is a decrease of 23 per cent.
In contrast, crimes charged and reported on the basis of sexuality increased to over 1100 reported crimes.
In 2018 to 2019 hate crimes based on sexual orientation rose by five per cent according to a report on Hate Crime In Scotland. There were 1,176 charges reported in 2018-19. The numbers of crimes reported and charged have risen year on year since 2010, except in 2014/15.
Since 2010 hate crimes against gay and bi people have increased by over 160 per cent.
Homophobia the only hate crime to rise
CREDIT: Yastremska-bigstock
In contrast to religious, race and gender identity-based crime, hate crime based on sexual orientation is the only hate crime to steadily climb.
Although race-based hate crimes are the most reported type of hate crime, the number of charges reported has decreased by 37% since a peak in 2011-12.
Valentine’s day is fast approaching and for many of us, the question about where to go with our date still looms. From romantic dinners to hiking, the options are never-ending. But what is the perfect date?
Farawayfurtniture.com were keen to find the answers and surveyed 1,546 people, asking them to rate each date activity out of 10 (10 being very good and 0 being very bad).
Drinks, came on top as the best activity to do on a first date, according to 38% of respondents. One respondent stated that having an alcoholic beverage on a date, made them “more talkative and social.”
Attend a comedy night, was surprisingly rated the second-best date. A whopping 36% said this would be their favourite activity.
The third best-rated date was, in fact, a walk, according to 35% of respondents. On a budget? No problem- just take your date on a walk!
Farawyafurtniture.com revealed that the typical dinner date, is NOT the most favoured activity- despite popular opinion.
One respondent commented saying dinner dates were “too formal and often awkward.”
Instead, people rated active and fun activities much higher.
Furthermore, the experts revealed that people would rather go to a museum (25%) than a theme park (13%).
To delve deeper, the experts analysed the different activities different age groups preferred. The results found that…
People in their 20s do not want to go for drinks! Only 42% of respondents rated this the best idea, in comparison to over half of the respondents arguing mini-golf was the best activity (51%).
Say no to picnics…
Finally, if your date is in their 20s, avoid picnics and museums.
Having a picnic and visiting a museum were the worst-rated ideas by people in their 20s.
People in their 30-40s, were the only age group, that rated dinner and drinks the best first date. Surprisingly, no other age group rated drinks and dinner the best activity.
People aged between 40-50, seem to love their comedy nights, with 40% rating this the best first date.
People aged in their 50-60s appear to keep things simple, with a walk being the best first date.
This was closely followed by a comedy night. Make sure to avoid theme parks and bowling though- these ideas were rated the worst by people in their 50-60s.
Grindr has slapped back at an attempt by Eminem to use its brand.
It’s the social media story of the moment, the Dolly Parton challenge as it has become known, features four pictures of yourself in four different poses for four different platforms, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Tinder – however, GayTwitter TM has obviously swapped out Tinder for Grindr.
Entertainer Eminem thought he’d get in on the action and posted his challenge, asking his fans, “Did I get this right” but instead of Tinder he also used the world’s most popular gay hook up app, Grindr – inexplicably – as he’s not gay or bi – as far as we know.
Grindr took no time in responding with one of the most whithering clap backs we’ve seen in a long time.
In 2018 Eminem apologised for using the homophobic slur “faggot” toward the rapper Tyler The Creator, in his track “Fall”.
This isn’t the first time he’s used homophobia in his music, even going as far to explain his usage of the slurs to the Rolling Stone in 2013, as “… more like calling someone a bitch or a punk or asshole,”
Ah… next he’ll be telling us some of his best friends are gay…
Boyfriends were apparently subjected to 30 minutes of homophobic abuse from a stranger on the streets of Glasgow on Burns Night.
Drew and his boyfriend were subjected to a horrifying homophobic ordeal on Burns night as they held hands in Glasgow, Scotland.
Lawyer Drew McCusker, 29, took to Twitter to explain that he and his boyfriend were subjected to a “really sh*t homophobic incident in Glasgow’s southside” which included them being called “bent bastards” and “f**king poofs”.
His tweet went viral within hours of his report.
According to Drew, he and his partner were holding hands when he alleges that a man walking passed them called them “a pair of bent bastards”.
When challenged, the man repeated what he had said, which is when a call was made to the police.
According to Drew, he spent 26 minutes on the phone with police as the man, he said, called the couple “bent bastards” “bent c*nts” “fucking poofs” “pair of poofs” and stating that it was “not fucking right two men sleeping together”
The man’s outrage continued to spew for 30 minutes, apparently telling passersby what he thought of the two boyfriends. An experience Drew has called ” hugely upsetting” and “humiliating”.
When the police arrived, the man was arrested and both Drew and his boyfriend gave separate statements.
The entire ordeal left Drew crying and deeply upset.
He said, “I don’t know if it was arrogance or hubris that made me think I wouldn’t be the victim of such an incident, or that it would upset me as much as it has.
“I’m still hurt by the demeaning language he hurled at us. He looked at, talked to and treated me like I was shit on a shoe. It felt awful.
“Today I feel confused about how to feel”
On Burns Night, my boyfriend and I had a really shit #homophobic incident in #Glasgow's southside. We were holding hands, and a guy walked passed us and called us a "pair of bent bastards". I challenged him, he repeated the phrase, I called 999.
In 2018 to 2019 hate crimes based on sexual orientation rose by five per cent according to a report on Hate Crime In Scotland. There were 1,176 charges reported in 2018-19. The numbers of crimes reported and charged have risen year on year since 2010, except in 2014/15.
Charges brought on crimes against transgender people actually dropped to 40 (2018/19) from 52 reports in the previous period (2017/2018).
Arrested and charged
According to Police Scotland, a 75-year-old man was arrested and charged in connection to the incident.
They told THEGAYUK.com “Around 6:10 pm on Saturday, 25 January 2020, police received a report of a man being verbally abusive to two men in Queen’s Drive”.
Apparently your cup of coffee in the morning could help keep you alert, in more ways than one.
CREDIT: Pixabay
A few years ago researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, USA, found that men over the age of 20 who consumed the caffeine equivalent of 2 to 3 cups of coffee a day were less likely to report erectile dysfunction.
The co-author of the study, Dr Run Wang said, that caffeine had properties “similar to ED drugs like Viagra”.
However, it was noted that wouldn’t fix erection problems with men who have diabetes.
So why?
Well according to Dr Wang, caffeine triggers “a series of effects that cause the arteries in your penis to relax” which means that the blood flow to your penis increases – which is Dr Wang notes is “key to a strong erection”.
So start your morning with a glorious cup of coffee.
Of course if you are concerned with the way in which your penis does (or doesn’t work) book an appointment with your GP!
Officers are appealing for witnesses and footage after a match official at last Saturday’s Millwall v Reading match was subjected to homophobic abuse.
The incident happened in the first half of the match at approximately 15.30hrs in the East Stand and is believed to have involved home fans.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or can provide detectives with video footage is asked to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or the Public Order Crime Team on 020 8246 9386.
DC Phil Dickinson from the Met’s Public Order Crime Team, said,
“We take any allegation of abuse very seriously and are investigating this matter. If anyone was at last Saturday’s game and witnessed the incident, or has video footage of it, I would urge them to come forward to assist us in our investigation.”
Not all celebrities need a drink to have a good time! In fact, many of them have sworn off the booze for good and are living their best lives.
Frankie Grande
CREDIT: Channel 5/ Youtube
US reality TV star Frankie Grande recently celebrated a year and a half sober. He took to Instagram to celebrate the amazing milestone and released a colourful artwork featuring a picture of him smiling and the words, “sexy, sassy and strong” added.
He also took a moment to reach out to anyone who is struggling with depression or unmanageable or overwhelming feelings to offer the words of encouragement, that you don’t “have to drink and use over them…”
Bradley Traynor
If you’re outside the US, you might be more familiar with Brad’s former alter ego, drag queen Wanda Wisdom, the first-ever drag queen to host her own podcast. She made a big point at the start of every show to say that she was a “single, sober drag queen”. Nowadays, Brad is still sober but works as a presenter on the radio, MyTalk 1071.
RuPaul
Speaking to THEGAYUK in 2014, RuPaul told us, “Well you know I’ve been sober for 14 years. I feel incredible. If you wanna lead a life on this planet there’s an evolution a storyline, somethings get left behind. It’s like a rocket and a fuselage.
“To launch a rocket into space you need to use the fuselage but at some point, you leave Earth’s atmosphere and you don’t need that fuselage anymore and you realise its important to break it off, if you want to move further. My point is you have to be present enough to understand when it’s time to give certain things up, but you also need tools to know how to deal with being present, because sometimes being present is really f**ked up.
“Sometimes you get really bored, sometimes you have a lot of pain, a lot of loneliness, but you need the tools to deal with that otherwise you’re gonna be in a lot of pain”
The writer and creator of some of the best gay stories, like the film Beautiful Thing and Gimme Gimme Gimme, celebrated one year of sobriety in January 2020. Taking to Twitter he wrote,
The Aussie Olympian, Matthew Mitcham is sober and last year celebrated another year sober. He took to Instagram to say, “I also reached another recovery milestone, and I’ve never felt cleaner or serener”.
Zachary Quinto
(C) BIGSTOCK
The actor Zachary Quinto has just celebrated 3 years of sobriety on Instagram, writing, “III years sober today. I guess I wore the right jumper for the occasion. when I think about how far I’ve come and how much I’ve grown and how much more I love myself,” he wrote in the caption. “I’m really blown away. very far from perfect – but perfectly flawed. and working every day to honor and realize my full potential.
“Three years ago I had lost a connection to gratitude almost entirely. today i am brimming with it. for this touchstone. for life’s abundance. for true friends. for support. for the sweet freedom of this journey. may it continue with compassion – curiosity – honesty and above all… LOVE.”
Elton John‘s fight against drugs, drink and eating disorders started in 1990. The music legend was propelled to get sober 28 years ago in 1990 in the wake of seeing how the AIDS scourge inflicted itself on the community. The Fix quotes, “Within six months I became sober, and clean, and have been for the last (28) years.”
Tyler may rap about liquor and meds, but apparently he’s totally sober, he said, “Not to drugs, I never spark it.”
Jake Hook
Songwriter and editor of this very magazine Jake Hook has spoken about the benefits of being sober, including the monetary and well-being benefits. He became sober in the summer of 2014. Speaking about the night before coming sober he wrote, “…one night, when I was alone and I started to drink by myself and after the first half a bottle of Malibu, or whatever it was I was drinking, a thought popped into my head. ‘What am I doing and why am I doing this?’ I wasn’t happy and jolly, I wasn’t being the life and soul of any parties and I certainly wasn’t looking, feeling or acting the sexy beast that I know myself to be! Looking into the mirror, I saw how miserable I had actually become”.
Kelly Osbourne shared a passionate post on Instagram in August 2018 celebrating one year of restraint. She said, “This past year has been one of the hardest years of my life and I feel it’s time share that with you guys,
“To cut a long story short things got really dark … The only way I knew how to function was to self medicate and go from project to project so I never had to focus on what was really going on with me.”
In September 2018, the artist tweeted about being eight years without drink.
“Eight years sober today,” she wrote on September 11, 2018. “I love you, keep going. You can do it.” During an appearance on The Late Late Show, the singer talked about her struggles. She said, “I was a singer already for like 10 or 11 years to mediocre success, and I was an alcoholic and a drug addict, and I sobered up and decided I didn’t want to be an artist any more, “I was starting to get a little bit famous and it was destabilizing in some ways…so I thought, ‘What doesn’t exist in pop music at the moment?’ and it was mystery.”
The UK’s biggest religious institution, the Church of England, has proclaimed that sex is only for married, straight people and has called for gay people to abstain from having sexual relations.
The guidance from the Church also calls for gay people to be abstinent with their partners. In its guidance, the CoE wrote, “For Christians, marriage – that is, the lifelong union between a man and a woman, contracted with the making of vows – remains the proper context for sexual activity.”
The church said it sought to “uphold that standard”.
The Church’s guidance of a “lifelong union between a man and a woman” does seem to be at odds with the current legal situation in the United Kingdom, where marriage is considered a legal union between two consenting adults of any biological sex.
“falling short of God’s purpose for human beings”
Speaking about the introduction of the same-sex marriage act 2013, the guidance explained, “The introduction of same-sex marriage, through the Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act 2013, has not changed the church’s teaching on marriage or same-sex relationships.”
It also said that people having sex outside heterosexual marriage were “falling short of God’s purpose for human beings.”
The remarks, which were reported by the Guardian, have caused many LGBT people and their allies to pour their outrage onto Twitter.
And the church wonders why it's losing followers 🙄
It seems as though rude to staff on a date is the biggest turn off on dates, coupled with double-dipping and talking politics.
A brand-new year is here the corner meaning a fresh start in the dating pool and 365 days to go on some, hopefully, successful dates. In the hopes of helping people secure their second date, Chewsygum.com decided to see what bad habits people want their dates to leave at home. They did a survey asking 1,283 people about things they hate their dates doing most, after finding the top 13 habits they asked whether their date would score a second date.
Are you a bad date?
(C) BIGSTOCK
Chewsy found that only 32% of their participants think going for dinner is an ideal first date. If you have a dinner date on the cards, then here are some things to avoid doing if you want to secure a second date.
Bad Habits
Percentage of people who wouldn’t go on a second date
Being impolite to waiting staff
94%
Bad table manners
91%
Loud / open mouth chewing
88%
Talking about yourself the whole time
82%
Going on your phone
76%
Getting drunk
67%
Talking about an ex
63%
Ordering food for you
53%
Start eating before your food arrives
52%
Attempting to be intimate
48%
Stealing food from their plate
35%
Double dipping
25%
Putting elbows on the table
9%
Unsurprisingly being impolite to waiting staff is the biggest offence you can commit on a date with nearly all participants saying they wouldn’t go on a second date, bad table manners and loud / open mouth chewing also made the top 3. Double dipping, innocent to you but not your date. 1 in 4 people said they wouldn’t go on a second date if they witnessed their date double dip. If you tend to overdrink during dates, you have a better chance of scoring a second date compared to people who go on their phone during dates (by 9% to be precise).
When asked “what’s the worst thing someone could ask?” you on a first date people said anything relating to how much money you make, invasive questions about family and their finances.
Ask the right questions
CREDIT: mast3r-bigstock
Chewsy flipped the question and asked people “what’s the best questions someone could ask you?” most answered centred around being asked about their dreams, interests favourite kind of music and hobbies. There was a consensus to keep things light and entertaining on the first date. However, some answers steered away from the usual questions the best one being “how much should I send to your bank account?
Lay off the burritos
Participants were also asked “what foods are a no go on a date / what foods do they tend to avoid?” and the most popular answers were: burritos, burgers, seafood of any kind, anything that is saucy and heavy with garlic.
Down a tiny little street in the heart of Soho is a building that is so under the radar and discreet that you’d never know it was a hotel.
With a sculpture of “Selene” standing proud on its facade, protecting it from the outside world, The Nadler Hotel is a calm oasis. Once you step inside you are totally immersed in peace and quiet, a world away from what is right outside the front door. Yet The Nadler Hotel is in the heart of everything, and while it does not offer any extra amenities or bells and whistles that most hotels offer (restaurant, spa, bar), this is because everything is right on your doorstep, seconds away.
At the very west end of Carlisle Street, west of Soho Square, is The Nadler Hotel, on a dead end road, where dozens of bars and restaurants, and Oxford Street, are very close by. While people hustle hurriedly past the hotel on their way to work/play/socialize, as a guest of the hotel, where check-in is seamless, you will appreciate the peace and tranquility past it’s revolving doors. With a whopping 78 rooms, (it doesn’t look that big from the outside), The Nadler Hotel is perfectly suited for those who love to be in the middle of it all.
Choose from several types of rooms, including the King, Superior, Deluxe, or the Carlisle Suite, or a single, small double – any type of room to suit your needs, whether you are on a business trip, bringing the family into town for a West End show, or if you have planned a party weekend to enjoy the sights and sounds of Soho – The Nadler Hotel is the perfect place to stay. Enjoy their pocket-sprung beds, comfy pillows, and rooms where the temperature is adjustable. And if it’s the gay nightlife of Soho you’ve come to London to enjoy, the bars and restaurants are minutes away. So skip the Gentlemen’s Club on the same street and walk, minutes away, to Old Compton Street where loads of gay bars, restaurants and clubs await you. And when you are ready to end the night, you can walk back to the hotel, and not worry about taking the tube, bus or Uber.
The rooms are of high quality, with beds that are so comfortable it’s easy to not want to get out of bed too early the next morning. Spacious rooms, including spacious bathrooms with powerful showers, are waiting for you, along with a comfy robe and slippers, an in-room mini kitchen (which includes a mini-microwave, coffee maker, mini-refrigerator, etc.), work desk with power points, ultrafast WiFi, a safe, Gilchrist & Soames toiletries, as well as a big screen television with dozens of channels. But I doubt you will be spending time watching television as The Nadler Hotel offers loads of discounts from local businesses including offers at nearby places to eat and drink (including a free bottle of champagne from Black Roe Poke Bar & Grill and a free cocktail at Chotto Matte), along with free passes to Marshall Street Leisure Centre. Weather and transportation information is also readily available. The Nadler Hotel does offer a minimal room service, including wine, beer, soft drinks, water and snacks, as well as a mini breakfast menu provided by The Daisy Green Collection. They also provide a phone adaptor in case you are from out of the country and have forgotten yours. What was not provided in my room, and should’ve been, was pen and paper, while the bathtub stopper was a bit hard to figure out.
Please find more info on The Nadler Soho’s partners here
And the damage for all this luxury and location? For a weekend in January a small double would be £240.00 per night in a room that sleeps two people. If you need more space, and a room a bit bigger, then a King/Twin goes for £276.00. A similar room at a hotel seconds away would set you back £348.00. If you want to splash the cash and impress your partner, then a deluxe would set you back £357.00. A room at the same similar hotel seconds away goes for £408 per night. Booking is easy. Just go to the website, choose which Nadler Hotel you want to stay in, choose your dates, and then you are set and good to go for your time in Soho!
With four sites in London (Soho, Victoria, Kensington and Covent Garden), and one in Liverpool, each property has been carefully designed to offer stylish accommodation that delivers on design, comfort and convenience in the heart of London’s main hubs. Specially trained front of house ‘Local Ambassadors’ provide suggestions and expert advice on the area, based on a your preferences.
For more information and to book a room, please go here:
