A story about a gay man who gave birth after a receiving a “rectal-ovary transplant” is completely false and potentially damaging to the LGBT+ community.
Hilarious… right? Because everything about gay men has to do with ass?
The story, first published by satirical site, World News Daily Reportstated that a gay couple in the US, celebrated the world’s first anal birth.
The story claimed, “James Bent, 37, received donated ovaries from his sister Leila Bent, 32, which were later successfully transplanted into his rectum and which enabled the anal birth to occur.”
The article also, stated that “LGBTQ community worldwide has received the news of the rectal birth with open arms as the revolutionary medical procedure could enable millions of fertility-challenged couples to procreate”.
Numerous people took to commenting on the site and on social media with homophobic comments.
Who are the guys in the photo?
The picture was taken from a completely unrelated story from six years ago. The couple, Frank Nelson and BJ Barone were photographed holding their newborn son, who was born via a surrogate mother.
A friend of the men who actually appear in the photo that runs alongside the article said the article was a “violation of their privacy”. He added, “This is a photo of MY FRIENDS after their surrogate gave birth to their son 6 years ago. Completely fake news”
Even though the site, markets itself as a satire website, the article and its formating does not mention that the whole story is a lie. It has been shared, as fact, by thousands of people.
Decline
World News Daily Report has seen its readership plummet in recent months according to SimilarWeb. In March the site logged over 2.34 million visits according to the SW statistics, the latest for August shows the number of visitors to the site at around 612,000.
Folx is a gender-neutral way of writing or saying “folks”.
The word folks is already considered a gender-free expression however some in the community feel that it has gender connotations.
Folx is a relatively new term, with only a few instances of use on the internet, however, with the rise in popularity of other X terms, we may start to see more and more use of Folx. However its use is often derided, as demonstrated on Urban Dictionary, who writes,
A strange, unnecessary misspelling of “folks” popularized by people who think using a gender-neutral term for an already gender-neutral word is woke.
This is totally up to you. There’s no major call by any community for people to start using the x term over the normal spelling of folks. As it stands, some people and organisations are using the term, in the same way, they are using “womxn” however when they do it is usually followed by a big backlash on social media.
Other X Terms
You may have noticed X’s appearing in quite a few words, including Latinx and Womxn.
Writing in Latina Magazine, journalist Raquel Reichard said, “Latinx, pronounced ‘La-teen-ex,’ includes the numerous people of Latin American descent whose gender identities fluctuate along with different points of the spectrum, from agender or nonbinary to gender non-conforming genderqueer and genderfluid.”
As for Womxn?
Nita Harker, an assistant professor of sociology at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, Washington USA and co-organizer of a “Womxn’s March” said, “I actually think the challenge — particularly that it is hard to pronounce in your mind as you read it, that it forces one to stop and think, that it is not just easy and nice and recognizable — is part of the point and the draw. To me, it represents the complexity of gender.”
YOUR SUPPORT MEANS EVERYTHING
Help us deliver unique, usable and reliable journalism that supports the gay, bisexual and curious community of the United Kingdom. Can you help protect LGBT+ media? Publishers like us have come under severe threat by the likes of Google and Facebook. The problem is that advertisers are choosing to put their money with them, rather than with niche publishers like us. Our goal is to eliminate banner ads altogether on site and we can do that if you could pledge us a tiny amount each month.
We’re asking our readers to pledge just £1 per month, more if you’re feeling swanky. You can stop payment at any time.
It’s quick and easy to sign up and you’ll only have to do it once.
Have you noticed the term Womxn and ever wondered what it means or why people are starting to use it?
Womxn is a relatively new term, thought to be a more inclusive way of saying or writing women/woman. It is thought that it was first used in 2015.
The term Womxn is an alternative for the English language word women. It has been in occasional use since 2015 to explicitly include non-cisgender women.
It has been used in a similar manner as womyn and wimmin, as a rejection of the English-only etymology of ‘woman’ from Old English wifmon (wife-man).
More inclusive to non-cisgender people
The term, like folx and Latinx, is thought to be more inclusive to non-cisgender people. Non-cisgender people are those whose gender identity does not necessarily match their biological sexual characteristics. This could be people from the non-binary or transgender community.
“Represents the complexity of gender”
Nita Harker, an assistant professor of sociology at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, Washington USA and co-organizer of a “Womxn’s March” said, “I actually think the challenge — particularly that it is hard to pronounce in your mind as you read it, that it forces one to stop and think, that it is not just easy and nice and recognizable — is part of the point and the draw.
“To me, it represents the complexity of gender.”
How do you pronounce Womxn?
Although the way people pronounce words is vastly different across the globe, Womxn can be pronounced Woah-Mex/Mix or Wim-Mex/Mix.
YOUR SUPPORT MEANS EVERYTHING
Help us deliver unique, usable and reliable journalism that supports the gay, bisexual and curious community of the United Kingdom. Can you help protect LGBT+ media? Publishers like us have come under severe threat by the likes of Google and Facebook. The problem is that advertisers are choosing to put their money with them, rather than with niche publishers like us. Our goal is to eliminate banner ads altogether on site and we can do that if you could pledge us a tiny amount each month.
We’re asking our readers to pledge just £1 per month, more if you’re feeling swanky. You can stop payment at any time.
It’s quick and easy to sign up and you’ll only have to do it once.
Seems like a valid question right? We posted an article recently about the exercises that can help you to last longer in bed (aka Sexercises), but probably the most important thing to an all-nighter is the ability of your penis to maintain its erection for several hours.
Now without giggling, let’s look at some of the research and theories that suggest that a stallion-strength boner could be yours with just a little bit of exercise worked into your weekly routine.
Hopping on the treadmill isn’t likely to have the same effect on your johnson as popping a viagra. However, it’s often helpful in preventing many types of erectile dysfunction (ED) from developing. And more than that, the strength of a man’s erection-his hardness-is the true barometer of his overall health.
1. Improve circulation = improve erections
So according to the science, when a man becomes aroused, the brain sends signals to your junk that leads to the relaxation of smooth muscles with blood vessel walls in the penis. This allows for increased blood inflow inside the erectile tissues of the penis. Blood then fills two “inflatable” chambers inside the shaft known as corpora cavernosa. And there you have it, instant boner.
So it stands to reason that better circulation leads to a stronger and even larger erect penis (in terms of length and girth). This is why when men have heart problems and poor circulation they tend to suffer from ED as well.
Cardio, and exercise in general, causes the blood vessels to dilate and capillaries to open so that blood can flow more effectively, moving to where it needs to be, including your genitals.
They’ll even have improved circulation even when your body is at rest. Fun side-note: the increased blood flow to the skin brings with it the extra benefit of greater sensitivity.
Exercise is well documented at elevating your mood. The release of endorphins during exercise is often connected with an improvement in a sense of wellbeing, often increasing your libido as well as a result.
Tackling some of the underlying issues such as low self-esteem and body image can help prevent forms of sexual dysfunction developing.
You’ll have heard that you should never skip leg day. As some of the biggest muscles in your body, training your legs burns calories, releases hormones to help your other muscles grow, and can help relax and expand blood vessels in the penis contributing to fuller and harder erections… yup.
Testosterone has an important role in both central and peripheral contributors to an erection. Testosterone and Growth Hormone (GH) release is proportional to the amount of muscle tissue working; therefore boost your testosterone by making sure you don’t neglect those large leg and back muscles.
Cortisol (the ‘stress’ hormone) also has a suppressive effect on testosterone and the effect is more pronounced at night. Cortisol increases if we overtrain (spend more than 90 minutes training hard in the gym) and when we perform steady state cardio (like 10k running and long distance cycling). Therefore, keep your workouts on the shorter, more intense side of the scale (even two 30 minute sessions a day will boost GH and testosterone more than a single 60-90 minute session) and opt for HIIT and interval training instead of the traditional steady state cardio.
Minimising stress via meditation, relaxation and improving sleep quality and length, will also have a significant impact on your testosterone and therefore boner levels.
Get help with your exercise
If you need help with you exercise we can help; getting erections, however, is still your responsibility.
Speak to one of our gay personal trainers about devising a personalised fitness and nutrition program to help you “firm up”.
This article was brought you by our partner, GayFitnessUK.com and first published in Feb 2014.
Here at THEGAYUK.com it has to be said we love drag. It’s an art form that when done well is beyond sublime – some of the best drag roles, however, have been witnessed on film.
UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2020
Here are all the latest drag shows and films that Netflix has to offer for streaming in the UK.
Drag Race star Alyssa Edwards rules the dance school and the night clubs in this warts and all, fly on the wall reality series. Reality TV at its cattiest.
The Death and Life Of Marsha P Johnson, Documentary
Marsha was known as one of the fearless faces of the gay-rights movement. The cops ruled her death a suicide, but her friends aren’t so sure and demand answers.
Hurricane Bianca, From Russia With Hate, Comedy
Bianca Del Rio returns for another filmic outing when she is lured to Russia under false pretences. She soon turns the country up-side-down.
Paris Is Burning, Documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVueHRtpBbg
This Sundance prize-winning documentary is an intimate portrait of 1980’s Harlem drag balls: a world of fierce competition, sustenance, and survival.
Pose
Set in 1987, this drama series follows Blanca as she starts her own house. Starring Billy Porter and Evan Peters. Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuck and Steven Canals.
RuPaul’s Drag Race
This has pretty much become a staple for Netflix and has helped cement RuPaul as the world’s most bankable Drag Queen. It currently has 12 seasons of the show available to stream. Catch up with all your favourite DQs from Bianca Del Rio to Trixie Mattel.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Untucked
Next from the RuPaul treasure trove of content is Untucked. Although there’s only one season of this, but the reality show gives you the chance to go “backstage” and get all the juicy gossip.
RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars
A chance to catch up with your favourite queens from past seasons. Netflix only carries season 4 of the show, but if you need more RuPaul – then you can always watch RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular
What’s camper than Christmas? RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular is. Watch as Latrice Royale, Shangela and Kim Chi battle it out to become the number 1 Christmas queen.
Super Drags
Campy, adult animated series with drag queens saving the gay community for an evil nemesis.
Trixie Mattel Moving Parts
Drag Queen superstar Trixie Mattel allows the cameras into her life to document the highs and lows, post-RPDR in this intimate film.
In 2018 it was reported that Netflix had signed up Ryan for a five-year $300 million creative contract to create shows for the entertainment giant. The Politician is the first of his shows for the platform to go live.
We discover what shows he currently has on the streaming platform.
The Politician
THE POLITICIAN
Ryan Murphy and his long-time creative partner, Brad Falchuck have a number of shows on Netflix, the most recent of which is the critically acclaimed and fan-loved ThePolitician starring, Goop‘s Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Platt. There are eight episodes of the show for you to enjoy charting the rise, stumbles and rise again of Payton to become President, of the school’s Student Body. Also stars Ryan’s go to camp vamp, Jessica Lange. Series 2 of the show has now been released.
Glee
Next up is Glee. The juggernaut show from the late noughties that follows the lives of school kids of William McKinley High School and their neverending goal of reaching the talent finals with their Glee club. Glee was the third major series that Ryan worked on after Nip/Tuck and Popular, but arguably his most profitable yet. The soundtracks to the show alone have broken all records – including ones held by the Beatles.
American Horror Story
Up next is American Horror Story, the epic show that just won’t quit. Netflix carries 8 seasons of the cult show including our personal favourites, ‘Murder House’, ‘Asylum’ and ‘Freak Show’. Look out for the new series, ‘1984’. In these shows, the core cast, including Jessica Lange, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates and Angela Bassett get to stretch their acting legs in a variety of characters.
Circus Of Books
Circus of Books (C) NETFLIX
A documentary film, about a straight couple and their family who opened a gay book store to make money out of the LGBT+ market in West Hollywood. The film is made by the couple’s own daughter.
Pose
Hailed by viewers as incredible (the show has a Rotten Tomatoes scored in the high 90s), Pose is a show set in New York at around the time of the LGBT+ ballroom culture (see Paris Is Burning). Netflix has just season one available to stream, but there is another already out and a third has been ordered.
The People V O.J. Simpson
Engross yourself in the details of the O.J. Simpson murder trial that rocked the United States in the mid-1990s. Ryan and his team meticulously recreate the drama and feel of the story that threatened to derail Los Angeles’s frail race relations and legal system. The level of detail is never as claustrophobic as the inside of that infamous courtroom.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace
The next in the instalment of American Crime Story, The Assassination of Gianni Versace follows the story of one of America’s most notorious gay serial killers, Andrew Cunanan, whose murder spree ended in the death of Gianni Versace in 1997. Utterly captivating. Again Ryan and his team manage to squeeze detail after detail of the gruesome story into a must-see show.
Eat Pray Love
A film this time, rather than a series. Starring one of Hollywood’s most enduring leading actors, Julia Roberts, Eat Pray Love sees Liz reshaping her life after divorce. Based on a true story, this film is sentimental and romantic.
Hollywood
HOLLYWOOD
Hollywood has an all-star lineup and follows the hopes and dreams of young actors who come to tinsel town to find their fame and fortune. Partly based on fact, and real people and the realities they faced (homophobia, racism and sexism) and the part total fantasy, which ultimately ruins the season.
More than fifty years after Mart Crowley’s play became an unexpected smash hit for putting gay men’s lives centre stage with honesty and humour, THE BOYS IN THE BAND returns to the screen in a new adaptation that reunites acclaimed director Joe Mantello with the all-star cast of the Tony-winning, 2018 Broadway production. In 1968 New York City – when being gay was still considered to be best kept behind closed doors – a group of friends gather for a raucous birthday party hosted by Michael (Jim Parsons), a screenwriter who spends and drinks too much, in honour of the sharp-dressed and sharp-tongued Harold (Zachary Quinto). Other partygoers include Donald (Matt Bomer), Michael’s former flame, now mired in self-analysis; Larry (Andrew Rannells), a randy commercial artist living with Hank (Tuc Watkins), a school teacher who has just left his wife; Bernard (Michael Benjamin Washington), a librarian tiptoeing around fraught codes of friendship alongside Emory (Robin de Jesús), a decorator who never holds back; and a guileless hustler (Charlie Carver), hired to be Harold’s gift for the night.
By now, we’ve all seen those people on social media who have melted down because they were confronted by someone asking them to don their (now mandatory) face masks. The question is how to do you ask someone to put on their mask, with it going nuclear?
As face coverings become mandatory while using public transport and shopping in many parts of the UK from tomorrow, in order to help reduce the spread of the Coronavirus, there are many people who are still not masking up. While masks won’t necessarily stop you from contracting Coronavirus, most masks, especially if they are double-layered, will slow down the spread, by collecting droplets from your mouth and nose when you speak, cough or sneeze.
Councillor Daniel Browne, a psychotherapist and author specialising in helping people to eliminate anxiety and building confidence, told us that explaining to the non-mask wearer that your concern is for your health and others around you might be the way to go.
He said, “I think the most important thing is to be calm when having the conversation.
Saying something like “I’m really worried about my health and everyone else’s health. That’s why it would be great for you and everyone to be wearing a mask. We all have a part to play in protecting everyone’s health as much as possible”, could be the way to diffuse any confrontatational situation.
He also suggested that giving some factual information on mask use could also be key in keeping things calm.
Showing pride while wearing the mask
Part of the face mask issue for many is that we also lose part of our identity when wearing a mask. The people you are interacting with can’t see your facial expressions and it’s almost impossible to see if you’re happy, angry, surprised or just damn bored.
International Non-Binary Day or #NonBinaryPeoplesDay as it became known in 2020, is an annual day to celebrate and bring visibility to people who are non-binary in the LGBT+ community. It is a relatively new awareness day in the LGBT+ calendar.
In 2021 International Non-Binary Day takes place on Wednesday 14th July 2020 and is observed all over the world.
The International Non-Binary day was first celebrated in 2012, making it one of the newest LGBT+ celebration or memorial days in the LGBT+ diary. It takes place on this day because it is, precisely midpoint from International Women’s Day and International Men’s Day.
What are the colours of the Non-Binary flag?
The Non Binary flag consist of 4 colours in horizontal stripes. Yellow, White Purple and Black.
As 2021 looks to be a more successful year for Pride across the UK, this is when it’s officially Pride Month in the UK.
After Pride season was all but wiped out in 2020 due to Coronavirus, here’s hoping 2021 will be a little more successful for local prides around the UK.
Many prides decided to postpone their events until 2021, so many will have the same theme or indeed entertainment acts and speakers that were planned for their 2020 festivals.
Officially Pride Month is in June in 2021 to coincide with the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.
Where did Pride Month originate?
Pride Month stemmed from the US, which has been adopted more widely across the world, but in reality, there are many Pride months across the globe. For instance, Sydney Mardi Gras, Australia’s biggest pride takes place in February (although they do have a Pride festival in June) and here in the UK, there isn’t such thing as one month for Pride.
In the US most prides happen in the month of June to coincide with the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, in the UK however things are a little more spread out with more and more county, city and town prides becoming available.
In 2019 the town of Llanelli in South Wales celebrated it’s first pride.
Want to know more about prides, see our entire collection of Pride articles here. Want to shop for Pride Merchandise, visit our partner retailer, THE PRIDE SHOP.
It’s probably become one of the most famous symbols in the world. It’s internationally recognised and brings hope to millions of LGBT+ across the globe.
But where is and who created the first rainbow flag?
(C) PR SUPPLIED
The original rainbow flag was created in 1978 in San Franciso by an artist called Gilbert Baker.
The flag has been identified as one of the defining designs of the modern age, the flag was part of an original series of ten that Baker designed and created in 1978.
Where is the original gay pride flag now?
The original flag can now be viewed at the Design Museum London which acquired the flag as part of a series of new objects for its permanent collection.
Why did Gilbert Baker create the rainbow flag for gay pride?
Speaking about the rainbow as a symbol for LGBT+ folx Gilbert Baker said, “There was no other international symbol for [the LGBT+ community] than the pink triangle which the Nazis used to identify homosexuals in concentration camps,
“Even though the pink triangle was and still is a very powerful symbol, it was very much forced upon us”.
Did you know that there was a “Gay Uncle” day? It is a relatively new awareness day in the LGBT+ calendar.
In 2020 International Gay Uncle” or Guncle day takes place on the 9th August 2020 and is observed all over the world. It usually falls on the 2nd Sunday of August.
The first Gay Uncle” day was first celebrated in 2016 and took place in the US. However, it proved quite popular.
What are the colours of the Gay Uncle Day?
Gay Uncle Day doesn’t actually have a flag, although, at a push, you could use the traditional rainbow flag, (find out about what the rainbow flag means here) if you were thinking about waving a flag for your gay uncle.
Can you buy Gungle jewellery or gifts?
Yes, there are many stores which have gifts which would be perfect for gay uncles. Some of them even carry the rainbow flag. Check out our partner store, The Pride Shop for some ideas!
