Milo Yiannopoulos, who has been booted from almost every major social platform became the poster boy for “Straight Pride” in Boston over the weekend.
He was the “pride’s” Grand Marshall. The British born, openly-gay journalist and author wore a school uniform costume, complete with a red glittery ‘Make America Great Again’ hat and red glittery shoes.
Reporter Ryan Broderick from Buzzfeed News, who was at the scene, when Milo took to the stage to make a speech wrote on Twitter “After about an hour of confusion, about 75 remaining paradegoers are trying to give speeches in city hall plaza.
“About 700 counterprotesters outside are drowning them out. Can’t hear anything”.
With the news that leading LGBT+ website, Gay Star News has ceased to trade we look at some of the other sites that no longer exist.
Free-Photos / Pixabay
It’s not just LGBT+ venues that are closing at an astonishing rate, gay media is also under threat with many sites, unfortunately shuttering. Here are a few that no longer exist or haven’t been updated in a long time.
Puffta was an online lifestyle site which ran from the early noughties. Although the domain still exists it hasn’t been updated in years.
AXM
AXM magazine was a printed and online magazine which ceased printing in 2008. It was turned into an online-only venture but only one issue was ever created. Although the website was updated sometime after the last issue, the news site no longer exists.
G3
Part Square Peg Media group, g3 was a lesbian and bi women’s magazine. It was launched in 2001 by Lisa Knight and Sarah Garrett but ceased trading in 2013.
Out In The City
Another of Square Peg Media’s products which was created in 2007, but ceased to print in mid-2014. While the website is still online it has not been updated in quite some time.
SoSoGay
SoSoGay was a website that launched in 2009 and was a culture review heavy. It took a “hiatus” in the latter part of the 2010 and never really came back. It was seemingly spun off on to a website called Gayist, but that no longer exists either. It may still return – and when it does the LGBT+ reviews category will have gained a valuable resource.
Into
Into was the world’s largest, by hits, LGBT+ news brand, owned by the dating app, Grindr. It was closed abruptly in early 2019 – without notice. Grindr bosses say they wanted Into to become a “video-first” digital property.
Polari Magazine
PolariMagazine.com is still online, but it hasn’t been updated since 2014 when the site ceased to upload any new articles on its sixth birthday. As a way of explaining the site’s founder, Christopher Bryant wrote, “the way that we use the internet has changed, and the way that people obtain information from it has evolved. The idea of a magazine website is not the same as it was even 3 years ago”.
I’m Playing Out
I’mPlayingOut.com was a small but informative gay website which was around for a few years in the early to mid-2010s.
AfterElton.com
AfterElton was an American website aimed at gay and bi men, which launched in 2005. It was in 2013 that the site changed its name to The Back Lot. TheBackLot didn’t last too long as it was taken over by NewNowNext.com in 2015, which is unavailable for readers in EU countries.
TheBackLot.com
Was a shortlived gay news website which was taken over by the Logo owned, NewNowNext.com in 2015.
The Pink Paper
Pink Paper was a printed and online news brand which finally closed in 2012. It was founded in the late 80s – but its printed edition closed in 2009. It was owned by the Milrves Prowler group, which also no longer exists.
HisKind
An LGBT+ news site and magazine that was set up by Dean Eastmond, who sadly passed away in 2017. Although his magazine continued for a while after his death, the site and related social medias haven’t been updated since June 2018
Do you know of any more? Send us an update: newsdesk (@) thegayuk.com
A shocking article has unearthed how a national newspaper wrote about the discovery of a now-debunked “gay gene”.
“Abortion Hope” reads the headline of a Daily Mail article after scientists in America thought they had made a definitive link between homosexuality and genetics.
‘Abortion hope’! Here’s how a national newspaper wrote about ‘gay genes’ in 1993. The article repulsed me so much I cut it out and have kept it to this date. It reminds me to be proud about who I am! #LGBT#LoveIsLove 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 pic.twitter.com/UZaQG9dVUp
The article appeared in a July 1993 edition of the Daily Mail and so disgusted Communications Director Antony Tiernan, that he cut out the article to keep to remind him to be proud of who he is. Writing on Twitter he said, “The article repulsed me so much I cut it out and have kept it to this date. It reminds me to be proud about who I am!”
In the article, journalist Jason Lewis wrote, “isolation of the genes means it could soon be possible to predict whether a baby will be gay and give the mother the option of an abortion”.
An interviewer’s job is to get into the nooks and crannies of their subject’s life, but how far to probe is too far?
Asking a gay pop star whether they’re a top of a bottom might just be that line and Troye Sivan, was not here for the questioning – saying that he was “passing the question” and called the interviewer, Matt Fistonich, “wildly invasive, strange and innapropriate”
Turns out the internet, well, Twitter wasn’t for the line of questioning either, with many on social media calling out the journalist who conducted the interview for his line of questioning.
I thought about asking the interviewer about his absolute fave sex position after that last question, but then i remembered how wildly invasive, strange and innapropriate that would be. Didn’t stop him though! https://t.co/mo80DziQrH
In the interview, for Express Magazine in NZ, Matt asked a variety of questionings including, whether Troye’s boyfriend would give him a “hall pass” for his celebrity crush, Shawn Mendes and whether he likes Will And Grace – because, well you know, gay…
Troye’s fans blasted the journalist calling on Matt to apologise for the questions and some even suggested that he should be fired from his job… because you know… Twitter.
Matt Fistonich whoever he work a for shoukd be fired. Not only do the questions suck and seem like they're out of a trashy 2000s mag but the last is inappropriate 🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️ fire his ass
According to a new report published in Science Magazine, sexuality isn’t defined by one “gay gene” but seemingly a series of genes which make up 8 to 25 per cent of a person’s sexuality. No one sexuality gene has yet been isolated.
The findings could not be used to predict the sexuality of a person.
Nearly 500,000 people from the US and UK helped up make the study using the UK’s BioBank 409,000 people and the US’s 23andMe (68500 people).
Users were asked if they had ever had same-sex sex exclusively or whether they had opposite-sex partners.
According to the BBC, “…Harvard and MIT researchers concluded genetics could account for between 8-25% of same-sex behaviour across the population, when the whole genome is considered.
“Five specific genetic variants were found to be particularly associated with same-sex behaviour, including one linked to the biological pathway for smell, and others to those for sex hormones”.
No such thing as a ‘gay gene’
David Curtis, honorary professor at the UCL Genetics Institute, University College London, said, “This study clearly shows that there is no such thing as a ‘gay gene’.
“There is no genetic variant in the population which has any substantial effect on sexual orientation.
“Rather, what we see is that there are very large numbers of variants which have extremely modest associations.
“Even if homosexuality is not genetically determined, as this study shows, that does not mean that it is not in some way an innate and indispensable part of an individual’s personality.”
“Natural and normal part of the variation”
Fah Sathirapongsasuti, a senior scientist at 23andMe, said, “This is a natural and normal part of the variation in our species and that should also support precisely the position that we shouldn’t try and develop gay ‘curism’. That’s not in anyone’s interest.”
Discrimination
Science Magazine notes, “Attributing same-sex orientation to genetics could enhance civil rights or reduce stigma. Conversely, there are fears it provides a tool for intervention or “cure.” Same-sex orientation has been classified as pathological and illegal and remains criminalized in more than 70 countries, some with the death penalty”.
The discovery of sexuality by genetics could go a long way to ensure that legal equality is mandated by law. Many people still believe that sexuality is a choice, made into a “sin” by the major religions of the world.
The genetic factor could help make lawmakers give consideration to equality when confronted with scientific evidence that sexuality is in nature, not nurture.
We used to say it with flowers — but now the true sign of modern love is a change in Facebook status from ‘single’ to ‘in a relationship’, according to research.
CREDIT: Oneinchpunch-bigstock
A survey asking 2,000 adults about the modern signs of true love found a massive 64 per cent said updating on social media makes a new relationship ‘official’. Having your partner’s photo as your desktop background, using their name for your online passwords and saving their favourite shows to your Netflix account were also named as modern signs of true love.
Amazingly, over a third of adults confessed they would say ‘I love you’ for the first time in a text, instant message or video chat.
The research also found being in constant contact is indicative of a modern relationship – with the average couple texting or instant messaging each other seven times throughout the day. Texting habits were often mentioned amid the list of true love, with 13 per cent who said they’d rather send a soppy text than buy a spontaneous gift for their partner. Sending a text in the morning and night is the done thing if living separately, said a quarter of adults – as well as sending one more when arriving somewhere safely.
Signing greeting cards from both of you, coming home from a night out to be with them and feeling strange having the bed to yourself were all named as modern signs of a serious relationship.
Interestingly, the results showed independence to be important in modern love, with many who said being able to have your own bank accounts and your own friends are signs of true love.
The study found many people look to Facebook to confirm a relationship – as a huge 63 per cent of adults said they’ve only found out about a friend’s new partner because of their profile updates. s well as a change in online relationship status, things are serious with a partner if they’re Facebook friends with your family members, said 19 per cent of adults.
And one in ten said a committed partner would ‘tag’ them on social media to let their friends know they’re on a date.
THE MODERN SIGNS OF TRUE LOVE
Wavebreak-Media-Ltd-bigstock
1. Signing greeting cards from both of you
2. Come home to them early when on a night out
3. Not wearing make-up or doing your hair
4. Feeling strange when you have the bed to yourself
5. Updating to ‘In a relationship’ on Facebook
6. Knowing what to order them when getting a takeaway
7. Being in constant contact, through texts, instant messages or calls
8. Texting when arriving somewhere so they know you’re safe
9. Texting goodnight/morning texts if you aren’t staying together
10. Having their photo as your desktop background/phone wallpaper
11. Buying their favourite food when grocery shopping
12. Answering the door to them in pyjamas/trackie bottoms
13. Having your own bank accounts/cash as well as a shared account
14. Your family members ‘adding’ your other half on social media
15. No longer being envious of your friends’ single lives
16. Finding yourself getting them spontaneous gifts based on private jokes
17. Each having your own friends, not just ‘couple friends’
18. Finishing off each other’s sentences
19. Enjoying doing their laundry when they’ve been staying with you
20. Having their favourite shows saved to your Netflix account
21. Tagging them on Facebook when you’re out together/on a date
22. Using his name or birthday for online passwords
23. Wearing one of his t-shirts to bed
24. Leaving a long line of kisses at the ends of texts or messages
25. Going on a diet/cutting out alcohol when they do
The Liberal Democrats have demanded an Equalities Scrutiny summoning for Manchester Pride organisers amidst comparisons to the disastrous Fyre Festival.
Lib Dem leader John Leech wrote to the Chair of Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee outlining a number of serious concerns surrounding the organisation and running of Pride including accusations of racism and lack of disabled access.
Various attendees at the event which cost upwards of £70 to attend complained of terrible visibility issues for those in wheelchairs and poor crowd management for the headline event, starring Ariana Grande. Many condemned the Pride event – likened this year’s celebrations to the notorious Fyre Festival.
The Lib Dems have demanded a summoning to investigate the Parade’s security, freedom of the press, disabled access, racism and equality issues.
To jusitfy their demand, the Lib Dems says that the following allegations must be answered for:
“Security: A group of individuals were able to hijack the parade, and allowed to take part in the parade, despite not arranging to be involved in advance. There is a real danger that other groups may try to do the same in the future.
“Freedom of the Press: A photo-journalist was blocked from taking photos of protesters. Pride staff tried to make him leave the vigil, and made complaints made about photos taken from public locations. The journalist was also threatened with having his accreditation withheld in the future.
“Disabled Access: People were allowed to block the view of disabled visitors to the parade at disabled viewing platforms, and access for disabled visitors was not maintained around the village.
“Ticket Issues: People with tickets were not being able to gain access to the Mayfield venue, after restrictions on entry after 7 PM were introduced after tickets had been sold. Other ticket holders have complained about not being allowed back in after visiting the toilets near to the entrance.
“Racism: Complaints of racism from black and Asian visitors who were refused entry into bars, not served in clubs and were followed around by staff”.
Liberal Democrat Leader John Leech said, “Every year, Manchester proudly welcomes people from all backgrounds from around the world for the biggest and best celebration of equality, where we come together to renew our fight for equal rights.
“But serious concerns have been raised about this year’s Pride celebrations, including accusations of racism and limited disabled access.
“As a celebration that should be all-inclusive, we cannot let concerns like this slip and the Council has a responsibility to ensure it is a safe, inclusive and successful event.
“The Lib Dems have therefore called for the organisers of Pride, including the PR and security teams, be brought in front of the Equalities Scrutiny Committee, along with Council Officers, to get to the bottom of these concerns and ensure they are never repeated.”
A Church in Cornwall, UK has become an internet sensation after it raised the iconic rainbow flag for Cornwall Pride, this weekend.
St Michael’s Church in Newquay, Cornwall has become an unexpectant internet hit after it raised a rainbow flag in time for Cornwall Pride this past weekend. The video has been viewed over 13,000 times and received plenty of positive comments.
ABOVE: The historic moment St Michael’s Church raised the Rainbow Flag.
The Pride’s Chairperson, Matthew Kenworthy-Gomes, noted how times and attitudes towards the LGBT+ community had changed, saying, “12 years ago 10 Christian’s with placards PROTESTED the first-ever Cornwall Pride in Truro! Turning their backs to the Cornwall Parade!”
Now it looks as though the church is embracing diversity, tolerance and inclusivity, by raising the flag.
Some of the Church’s followers weren’t happy with the decision to raise the flag, with one person writing, “No longer a Christian Church. The Bible tells us to repent from all sin. Not promote it”, while another added, “Obviously he’s not a Christian. No need to add anything more.”
However, the majority of comments were entirely positive with many praising and thanking the church for its support.
On their own Facebook page, the Anglican church noted, that they had a “fantastic afternoon, celebrating pride”.
Cornwall Pride is the only pride event in the region which is home to over 500,000 residents. The yearly celebration is held in the seaside town of Newquay over looking the beach and sea, after it was moved from Truro a few years ago. This year it celebrated its 11th year with record numbers enjoying the entertainment in Killacourt and thousands taking part and viewing the parade which marched through the town’s centre.
One of Drag Race UK‘s queens has been forced to defend her political stance.
Baga Chipz, who is one of the contestants for very first RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, has been forced to defend a pro-Conservative op-ed she wrote for a magazine back in 2017, during the General Election.
In the piece, she wrote, that former Prime Minister Theresa May had “proved to be a capable politician, always on the ball and never at risk of having a ‘Diane Abbott’ moment”.
The piece was unearthed by fans of the show, some of whom were quick to condemn Chipz as a “Tory Queen”.
However, Baga Chipz was quick to confirm that she was actually a “life-long labour supporter” but wrote the piece because she wasn’t a fan of Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn.
She pointed out his “record on antisemitism, his support for the IRA and homophobic terror groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, his support for brutal dictatorships in Venezuela and Cuba”.
In the piece, titled “Why Vote Conservative” for scene magazine Boyz, she wrote,
“As a member of the LGBTQI community, I often get asked about Theresa May’s voting record on gay rights, and I understand the concerns,
“But just as Hillary Clinton changed her stance, so has Mrs May. Not only has she voted for every LGBT reform in parliament in the last decade but she was instrumental in pushing marriage equality.”
“I am not a Tory”
Defending her 2017 stance, Chipz took to Twitter to write, “I am not a Tory. I’m actually a lifelong labour supporter. I supported Theresa May in the last election as I’m not a fan of Jeremy Corbyn.. was 4 years ago hun.. one is allowed to change ones views.
How does Theresa May’s Voting Record on LGBT+ issues stand?
Although more recently Theresa May’s voting record has leaned to pro-LGBT+ rights here past actions saw her vote in favour of Section 28, in a GAYUK analysis May only achieved a 29.6% LGBT+ friendly rating. We noted, “Ms May is what we’d call an evolved Minister on LGBT+ and gay rights. Prior to 2004 she systematically voted against the rights of gay people in the UK. Then we see a 180-degree change in her voting pattern, although she did have a blip in 2007 when she failed to vote on the Discrimination on the grounds of sexuality law. Since the beginning of this decade, she has voted positively for the LGBT+ community.”
The ten beautiful drag queens who will be competing for the title of UK’s first Drag Race Superstar have been ru-vealed.
(C) BBC
Handpicked for their huge slaying potential by Mama Ru herself, this eclectic group of queens are the perfect showcase of what the UK drag scene has to offer.
RuPaul says: “Each of the UK queens is so unique, so courageous and so special. I can’t wait for the UK – and the world – to fall in love with them the same way I did.”
The US Series of RuPaul’s Drag Race is a cult global phenomenon and since the announcement of the first UK adaptation of the show there has been frenzied fan speculation about the line-up.
Introducing the ten competing queens: Baga Chipz, Blu Hydrangea, Crystal, Cheryl Hole, Divina De Campo, Gothy Kendoll, Sum Ting Wong, Scaredy Kat, The Vivienne, Vinegar Strokes.
(C) BBC Baga Chipz(C) BBC Blu Hydrangea(C) BBC Cheryl Hole(C) BBC Gothy Kendoll(C) BBC Vinegar Strokes(C) BBC Divina De Campo(C) BBC Scaredy Kat(C) BBC Crystal(C) BBC Sum Ting Wong(C) BBC The Vivienne
All ten queens will be taking part in Manchester Pride on Saturday 24 August for their first official appearance.
Start your engines, and may the best woman win!
The RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise, including RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, is produced by World of Wonder for BBC Three.
Drag Race UK is commissioned by Fiona Campbell, Controller BBC Three and Kate Phillips, Controller, BBC Entertainment. The BBC Commissioning Editor is Ruby Kuraishe, and the Executive Producers are RuPaul Charles, Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, Sally Miles and Bruce McCoy from World of Wonder.
A global phenomenon, the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise is available in 193 countries through network partners and World Of Wonder’s streaming service WOW Presents Plus. The series was nominated in the US for a record-breaking 23 Emmys, with nine wins including Outstanding Reality-Competition Program and Outstanding Host for a Reality-Competition Program for the first time in Emmy history.
The University of Salford Student Union has apologised and offered lifetime membership to those who were expelled.
Twenty-Five years after a collective of LGBT+ activists found themselves expelled from the University of Salford’s Student Union have apologised. Jeff Evans and Simon McGurk were accused of distributing offensive materials on campus, in the form of a graphic image within their annual Pink Guide. The Students’ Union has recently issued a formal apology to all the banned students and awarded them lifetime membership to the SU
In that year’s guide, the collective had included a “graphic image” to illustrate safer sex. It was during the AIDS epidemic and the students were trying to educate on safer-sex practices. The aim of the Pink Guide was to educate new starting students about LGBT life in Greater Manchester.
Despite the insistence from the Pink Collective that the image was vital to the dissemination of safer sex practices, the University of Salford Students’ Union upheld a distribution ban of the Pink Guide and expelled the students involved. T
his image was obtained from Government-issued health information.
By pure coincidence, a recent University of Salford Students’ Union Student Officer met a member of the Pink Collective at an external event. This former student, Jeff Evans, told the Student Officer his story and showed him the Pink Guide that led to the ban.
The Students’ Union felt their actions in 1993 were discriminatory and not in line with the current values of the organisation. They invited Jeff and another Pink Collective member, Simon McGurk to campus and tell their story. This visit was documented alongside a visit to the Manchester Central Library Archives, to create a short film about the Pink Guide.
The premiere of this film is taking place on Tuesday 20 August, between 5-6pm at the North Side, University House at the University of Salford, featuring a Q&A with Jeff and Simon. Everyone is welcome to the screening of this film, find out more here.
Jeff and Simon have been working with the Students’ Union to create a new Pink Guide which will be available to Salford students during Welcome Week.
Former Pink Collective and lifetime Students’ Union member, Jeff Evans said, “It is a shameful period in the past of the Students’ Union, and I am so pleased that the organisation has had the maturity to put their hand up and say, ‘this was wrong, and we want to try and make it right’.”
