Every year at THEGAYUK we list the films and stars that should win the Oscar picked from films that people have actually seen as opposed to over rated critics favourites that couldn’t sell a tub of popcorn in a million years.
CREDIT: DWilliams / CC / Pixabay
None of the top twenty most viewed films of the last year are up for any of the important Oscars which shows the disconnect from what the chattering coffee swilling elite of Soho want you to see – usually involving an ex-war refugee with family issues and a terminal illness as opposed to the latest Star Wars, Pixar or Superhero which actually put bums on seats and made it way beyond a single art house screen in a leafy part of West London.
Has anyone actually seen Moonlight, Hidden Figures,Loving or Fences anyway and if you have, tune in on Feb 26th to see the results from The Kodak Theatre with the ever decreasing viewing figures the show now attracts.
If you are a movie fan read on and see what the Oscars should be like if they gave statuettes to people and films folks have heard off.
BEST PICTURE – Should Win:Hacksaw Ridge…Will Win:La La Land(The most predicatble in years watch those viewing figures plummet)
BEST ACTOR – Should Win: Channing Tatum’s 12 incher in Vacation or Andrew Garfield/Hacksaw Ridge…Will Win: Casey Affleck/Manchester By The Sea (Total yawnfest).
BEST ACTRESS – Should Win: Amy Adams/Arrival…Will Win: Natalie Portman/Jackie (Pure boring Oscar bate, not made to entertain but just collect gongs)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Should Win: Chris Pratt’s naked ass in Passengers or John Goodman/10 Cloverfield Lane…Will Win: Mahershala Ali/Moonlight.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Should Win: Nicole Kidman/Lion… Will Win:Viola Davis/Fences.
ANIMATION – Should Win: Sam Worthington’s acting or The Secret Life of Pets… Zootopia Will Win: (Because it’s about serious issues!)
Best Foreigh Language Film – No such thing!
Costume Design – Should Win:Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them…Will Win:Jackie (1963 is so hard to do!)
Directing – Should Win: Damien Chazelle/La La Land… agreed!
Editing – Should Win:Hacksaw Ridge…..Will Win:La La Land (Long tracking shots are hardly editing but it was shot in the Hollywood Hills so…)
Make Up & Hair styling – Should Win:Suicide Squad… Will Win:Harley Quinn and her mates, yippee a Superhero Oscar.
Music – Should Win:Eddie The Eagle (Pure 80’s Pop)… Will Win:La La Land (Because it is so full of hit songs… not!)
Original Song – Should Win:Can’t Stop The Feeling/Justin Trousersnake from Trolls… Will Win:City of bloody Stars (that will get you dancing if you don’t have a pulse)
Sound Mixing – Should Win:Rogue One : A Star Wars Story…Will Win:La La Land as the voters don’t really know what Sound Mixing is but it’s a musical so it must have some, right?
Visual Effects –Should Win:Brexit or Doctor Strange… Will Win:The Jungle Book (We won’t complain either way on these two)
Adapted Screenplay – Should Win:Arrival…Will Win:Moonlight (God help us – we give up!)
Original Screenplay – Should Win:Deadpool…Will Win:La La Land (you bored yet?)
The Gay Oscar Film of the Year – Absolutely Fabulous a real crowd pleaser.
Stunt of the year – Climbing into the Elephant’s asshole in Grimsby. Sascha Baron Cohen has the laugh out loud scene of the Year.
Hunk Of The Year – Zac Efron for his eight pack in Bad Neighbours 2 – We are counting down the days to those beach scenes in Baywatch.
Lifetime Gay UK Achievement Award – Jason Statham with The Mechanic: Resurrection making 29 films in a row where his shirt falls off showing his hairy chest and muscles.
Obituary of the Year – Martin Scorsese for Silence what on earth were you thinking man; with runner’s up the Ghostbusters franchise, anything with Daniel Radcliffe in and anyone who stayed awake all the way through The Revenant.
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“Our defence of you is a defence of all of humanity and the right of people to practise the life they want to practise, rather than be criminalised, brutalised and murdered, simply because they chose to be gay, they chose to be lesbian, they were LGBT in any form.”
What followed was immediate anger from LGBT people on the left and on the right. The use of the terms “practise” and “chose” is something that can be quite inflammatory because that sort of language is often used by anti-LGBT people who seek to harm us via correction or conversion therapy as well as being the go-to phrase for bigots everywhere. So surely this means “homophobic” Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn must resign immediately?
No. Look, what he said was wrong. I am absolutely sick of seeing it being explained away as Corbyn ‘mis-spoke’ because he had his speech in front of him. He would of practised that speech, ran through it with his team and they would’ve all had input on it. He’s a politician, a smart man who knows the importance of words. This sort of language has a detrimental effect and, as Jeremy has realised, cannot be unsaid.
I am not a fan of Jeremy Corbyn. I think he has destroyed the Party. However, this is a man who has consistently and unrepentantly voted in favour of rights and freedoms for LGBT people. He has supported everything from same-sex marriage to same-sex adoption. He continues to argue for the rest of the UK to get in line. He is not a homophobic man and it would be unfair to accuse him of being so.
What he and his supporters are, however, are hypocrites. This is a man who has openly supported regimes in which LGBT people were persecuted. When he died in 2016, Mr Corbyn referred to Cuban despot Fidel Castro as a ‘champion of social justice’. Castro once referred to being LGBT as a ‘deviation incompatible with the revolution’. Castro bragged of his genius when setting up cruel work camps where many gay men, without so much as a trial, were sent with little food or water to work camps. They received telegrams telling them they’d been called up for service, only to be rounded up with other men like them and captured. How is that social justice, Mr Corbyn?
“Shame on those who in the West divert their sensitivity to the so-called freedoms, rights, and law shown in the debate over gay marriage away from Syrian women, children, and innocents in need of aid. Shame on those who divert their sensitivities to the living space of the whales in the seas, seals, [and] turtles away from the right to life of 23 million Syrians. Shame on those who put their security, welfare [and] comforts ahead of other people’s struggle to survive.”
LGBT rights and animal rights being treated as one of the same. Same-sex marriage considered a ‘comfort’. Yet Corbyn wanted them to join the EU?
Jeremy Corbyn is not a homophobe. Choicegate is a complete storm in a teacup without measured debate. I do not believe he ‘misspoke’ but simply just didn’t consider the power of the language he was using. He is absolutely an ally and the LGBT community on both the left and the right would be wrong in attacking him as being anti-LGBT.
Yet, my biggest gripe is that Mr Corbyn and his supporters are openly lambasting Theresa May’s relationship with Trump whilst they sit back and allow Mr Corbyn to praise people who have committed heinous crimes against their LGBT population. Trump recently reaffirmed commitment to President Obama’s 2014 Executive Order to protect LGBT rights in the work place and then swiftly leaked a proposed Religious Freedom Executive Order which allows LGBT people to be discriminated against by businesses and other entities based on their sexuality. Mr Corbyn would be absolutely right to say that, if the US Government does proceed to introduce anti-LGBT executive orders and laws, that the UK must strongly consider our relationship. But, in the meantime, he must also remember the old adage that one should get their own house in order before telling others what to do with theirs.
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What makes a gay icon I hear you ask? Well, there’s not actually a specific set of rules, if someone is an icon, it rarely needs to be said, it’s just known. But there are some celebrities who try desperately hard to obtain the status, and they are laughed at for the most part. I’ll start with these cases first. The ones who so desperately crave a “YAAAASSSS QUEEN” off the gay community, but mostly fall short. A gay icon is created without the need for effort. For the list, I’ll be concentrating on the icons who are currently alive, with an honour roll of icons past at the end.
1. Any member of the Kardashian/Jenner clan.
There I said it, I can hear the wails of anger already. To some, they are the epitome of an icon, but to most, they are shallow, money-hungry, low rent TV reality stars who only got famous after one of them slept with Brandy’s brother and had the tape “leaked”. No one can actually point out specifically what they do. They are famous, merely for being famous. The only good thing they have going for them is they know exactly how to exploit that. Not even Caitlyn Jenner can rescue them. Her “struggles” with coming out as transgender are so far removed from the actual hell that transgender people go through that she is almost universally hated by the LGBT community. These are not people to look up to.
2. Tori Spelling
When someone feels the need to boast about their gay icon status, they are not a gay icon. While a vocal supporter of the gay community, she is far removed from icon status. Having her friends tell her she’s a gay icon doesn’t count. She’s not exactly well known, and it’s unlikely she could command much of a crowd at any event. Yeah, she used to be in Beverly Hills 90210, but who really gives a shit?
3. Katie Hopkins
Oh, Ms Hopkins, you may want to be a gay icon, but this you never shall be. While some gays may like your no nonsense mouth, to most you’re just a loud mouthed harridan who revels in spewing vitriol and trying to be as controversial as possible. It takes class to be an icon, and Katie Hopkins is severely lacking in that. You need a certain gravitas to be able to pull off being a bitch and still be beloved.
4. Perez Hilton
His disgraceful Celebrity Big Brother stint pretty much destroyed any small hope he had of achieving icon status. Gossip monger by trade, he has always tried much too hard to be a gay icon, and it comes across as crass and disingenuous. He has a knack for really pissing people off, and like Ms Hopkins, he doesn’t have the proper qualifications for being bitchy and getting away with it
5. Milo Yiannopoulos
An avid Trump supporter and self-proclaimed “dangerous faggot” Yiannopoulos tries to shock and offend as much as possible and has said incredibly offensive things about transgender people. He is the ultimate in petulant, self-obsessed, narcissistic, nasty, vindictive and hateful gays. And while some people may agree with some of the things he says, he comes across as smarmy and greasy.
6. Nick Jonas
Yes, he’s got a hot body, and a bulge for days, but being a gay tease does not an icon make. People are starting to see through the blatant attempt to appeal to the gay community by posing in very little clothing and playing TV roles that involve man on man action, I’m half expecting his nudes to “leak” at some point when he needs a boost of gay male interest in an upcoming project.
7. Miley Cyrus
Her post-Hannah Montana days shenanigans were mildly entertaining at first, but then it all became rather desperate looking and uncomfortable. She fell out of favour fairly quickly with gay fans, and she never really achieved the status of icon in the first place, despite being an advocate for LGBT rights. She seemed to be desperate for the gays to love her and it riled a lot of people.
And now for some of the true gay icons. In no particular order. This is a difficult list to narrow down because many people are considered gay icons. But there are some who stand out above the rest as the ultimate in enduring gay icons. You can’t hear their name without thinking “gay icon”
CREDIT: kathclick /BigStock
1. Dolly Parton
The queen of cheap and tacky, but amazing with it. Her look, her quirky southern charm, her infamous ahem assets and her attitude are forever endearing to the community. There will always be a Dolly tune you can rock out to, or find solace in. She is a true icon without having to be boastful. She is grateful and loving and supportive. That makes us love Ms Parton.
2. Sir Ian McKellan
Come on people, he’s Gandalf and Magneto, and a massive advocate for the gay community. He’s the true stately homo, with dignity and class, and his bromance with Captain Picard makes the nerd in us scream with excitement. He also loves attending Pride events, and has been known to be found at 3am outside a club, smoking and hobnobbing with fans. A proper British institution.
3. Cher
The big kahuna herself, and when the apocalypse happens, there will be only three things left, Cockroaches, Twinkies and Cher. Not much needs to be said as to why she is a gay icon. She’s bitchy, fabulous and a drag queen’s dream. Her costumes, stage performances and films and TV appearances bring out the queen in all of us. Plus she’s so famous she doesn’t need to know how to order pizza (according to Kathy Griffin) and no one cares. She is one of the ultimate gay icons. She’s Cher bitch!!
4. Betty White
If there’s anything better than sliced bread (she was born before it was even invented) it’s the only remaining Golden Girl herself, Betty White. She’s the matriarch of gay icons, and at 95, she is still rocking and beloved by all. There really isn’t anything bad you can say about this woman, and long may she continue to entertain us. And as the younger generation find out about The Golden Girls, they too will fall in love with Rose Nylund.
5. RuPaul
The drag mother himself, RuPaul has entertained fans for many years. Never one to mince words, RuPaul found fame in 1993 after the song “Supermodel” came out, but it was 2009 that saw his star truly rise when a little show called RuPaul’s Drag Race came thundering onto our screens, and nearly 9 seasons later the show goes from strength to strength, and also reintroduced us to RuPaul’s cohort, Michelle Visage, who is somewhat of a gay icon herself, due to her unwavering vocal support of a community who took her to their hearts.
6. Ellen DeGeneres
Her reminder of “be kind to one another” strikes a chord in the community and her warmth and generosity towards others can only make people smile. She rose from a little-known stand-up comedian to one of the most watched women on TV. People love Ellen, and her gay icon status is very much deserved. She doesn’t take herself seriously and proves that it’s OK to be gay and live a normal life without shame or guilt. A truly inspirational woman.
7. Stephen Fry
I would be hard pushed not to put bitingly witty, intelligent, charming and all round fabulous person Stephen Fry on this list. From the days of Blackadder to the presenter of QI, Fry has been an icon for a long time. He has been voted numerous times as an ultimate gay icon and it’s not hard to see why. His eloquent way of speaking and conducting himself appeals to many fans alike.
8. Madonna
Anyone who can bring voguing into the mainstream deserves a place among the icons. The Queen of Pop and reinvention herself has been popular for 30 years, and to this day still commands massive crowds. Gay fans flocked to Madonna and her ridiculously catchy dance tunes will still get many a gay on the dance floor, and while she may not be as popular as she once, there’s still only one Madonna.
9. Diana Ross
With a gay anthem like “I’m coming out” Diana Ross with all her glittery outfits, and diva-like behaviour screams gay icon. Having a career that’s lasted since God’s dog was a puppy also helps. She’s also probably the only woman to shut down West Hollywood so she could film a music video with RuPaul and 200 drag queens. Gay Icon certified.
10. Bette Midler
Miss Midler was performing in gay venues in the 70s after seeing the positive reaction from the LGBT crowd, and then in 1993, she achieved gay cult status as Winifred Sanderson in Hocus Pocus. Her glittery stage presence and music is always a hit amongst the gay crowd, and while occasionally she has put foot in mouth, her iconic status cannot be refuted.
Some of you may ask why I haven’t included people like Britney, Beyonce or Lady Gaga, Well I’ll explain. The icons I chose have been talking points for a very long time, and I can see them still being talked about long after they are no longer with us. Gaga et al, still have a way to go before true icon status is achieved, and while they have an icon-like following, in my eyes they aren’t legendary…yet!
Honour roll of past gay icons
Carrie Fisher
Joan Rivers
Bette Davies
Joan Crawford
David Bowie
Bea Arthur
Quentin Crisp
Divine
Judy Garland
Donna Summer
Harvey Milk
Marsha P Johnson
James Dean
Marlon Brando
Marlene Dietrich
Lucille Ball
Freddie Mercury
George Michael
Whitney Houston
Alan Turing
Marilyn Monroe
Mae West
Jackie Onassis
Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, it’s management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.
Damaged Goods or just quirky? In this article, I’d like to look at the concept of “damaged goods” and what we think that means.
We’ve all heard of the term and most of us in one form or another believe we have baggage of some kind that we carry from one person to another. In recent years, I have seen examples of people that have carried around that the belief that in one form or another they are ‘damaged goods’. Their damage comes in all shapes and sizes, some of it small and ‘quirky’ and some of it far larger and core to who they believe they are.
But we can’t really talk about ‘goods’ without talking about baggage. Now we all have baggage in one for another. Experiences, both good and bad, have formed the person we are today and how we respond to different situations. To every relationship (romantic, business, family or friend) you will always bring with you those good and bad bags.
Good bags could be things like a sense of right and wrong, being a hard worker, kindness, care and attention or even an ability to listen. But what are some of the ‘not so good’ bags? Is there such a thing?
Examples of the ‘less that constructive’ emotional bags that people carry could be things like an inability to easily trust, a need for reassurance, over-reaction, inflexibility, selfishness or even a short fuse. All are examples of behaviours that when expressed lead to confusion, miscommunication and negative emotions.
A study conducted in 2014 and published in the Independent newspaper seemed to imply that gay relationships are more likely to be happy and content. But how can this be so? We all carry baggage in one form or another. We have all been bullied or oppressed in one form or another and the negative behaviours those experiences leave are powerful. I’ve seen relationships end due to ghosts of past horrors and indeed scars that have not healed in quite the way they should have.
On the flip side, because most of us have seen trouble in our lives does that mean we actively seek and protect what is more precious to us? That we learn from these experiences and seek out things that make us happy, together as a couple and not just as a sole survivor of life?
But if that’s true then why early this year in August 2016 was it shown that depression and low self-esteem was on the rise amongst gay men? If gay men don’t see themselves as worthy that belief will trickle into their relationships and their workings of that relationship. What becomes a little issue to one becomes a massive issue to another, purely because of the value we place on that issue. But everyone’s values are different so how can you possibly hope to know what it means 100% of the time? To a boy selling his cow at the Market a bean is a symbol of hope, but to the seller of the bean it is just a bean.
Having been there with depression I’d freely admit that I carry my own baggage (both constructive and non-constructive) and can see the situations that they can get you in. It’s taken me a good couple of years to accept and examine those goods and even now I admit that there could be more in my cargo hold that I’ve not seen yet.
The only piece of advice I can give anyone is to remember that we only see with our own eyes and we cannot see everything. As human beings, we cannot know everything and we cannot know what someone is thinking. The truth of the world is always changing depending on where you are standing, therefore keep moving. Look for another angle and you’ll get as close to a truth as you can, and you’d be surprised how often those ‘damaged goods’ are actually quirks that could be quite valuable.
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On 9th December 2016, the Isle of Wight County Press (IWCP) published an article on their website about the island’s first Pride rally, which is due to take place in 2017. This is fantastic news and something that should be celebrated, but sadly the IWCP’s writer Charlotte Hofton took a different and damaging view.
In a piece littered with sarcasm and passive aggressive tones, Hofton begins by mocking people who self-identify as queer and ends by saying she has a headache coming on, which presumably is due to the shocking news that we are now living in 2016.
Talking of headaches, it’s opinion pieces life Hofton’s that give me ‘one of my heads’ and her sickening piece of writing shows a clear reason why Pride is still needed in 2016. The general tone of the article appears to be based around the writer not minding what people get up to in private; the poor thing just doesn’t want queerness thrust in her face.
I don’t particularly want opinions like hers being thrust in my face, yet they persist.
It’s in this opinion that Hofton completely misses the point of Pride and what the movement stands for. It is not about a gaggle of gays (that’s the collective term for us, right?) coming together for a “deafening bells and whistles show-off”, as Hofton puts it. Pride is about so much more than that. It is about the LGBT+ community being visible, protesting against atrocities that are still being committed against us around the world, and showing solidarity with LGBT+ people everywhere.
Hatred towards LGBT+ people is real, even if this modern world, and that is why Pride events continue to have their place. We need to be visible. We need to stand together as one united community against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. We need Pride.
As Hofton rightly points out, it’s coming up to fifty years since homosexuality was decriminalised in England and Wales. However, with attitudes such as hers still causing genuine damage to LGBT+ people, it’s clear that there needs to be much more progress before we are truly free. Asking us to “shut up” will only result in us becoming louder, my dear.
I wish the Isle of Wight Pride rally the very best of luck with their first event. It’s a huge step forward and an event I may even attend. With bells and whistles, of course.
Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, it’s management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.
Homophobia is alive and well in 2016… And it’s not just straight people who are guilty of it.
If you keep up to date with the news, you may have seen the article about homophobic attacks in the UK rising by 147% since the Brexit vote. While I’d love to say that it’s simply a dramatic headline that has no truth in it, I cannot do that. My own experiences tell me that homophobia is alive and well in 2016. I believe we should be concerned.
Earlier this month I attended the UK Pride Organisers Network (UKPON) conference in Birmingham. As the chair of Warwickshire Pride, it was great to be part of such a positive, inspiring weekend. We learnt, shared and supported each other in order to achieve our common goals. It was during the conference that the aforementioned article appeared online, detailing the rise in hate crimes against LGBT+ people since the Brexit vote. It really brought home the fact that Pride is still needed and that it continues to have a purpose. Then something happened to me that confirmed this again.
As I was walking back to my hotel, a group of people were heading towards me. They were clearly drunk and being quite rowdy. As I walked passed them, one of them looked at me and shouted: “are you a f***ing queer?”. Normally I’d be inclined to challenge such a person, but common sense told me to put my head down, ignore him and walk away quickly to avoid there being a more serious confrontation. Part of me was disappointed that I chose to react in that way, but sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry.
When I got back to my hotel room, I felt upset that within Birmingham’s gay village someone had shouted something homophobic at me. Surely that is somewhere LGBT+ people are relatively safe, but apparently, that’s not the case.
Something else that happened on the same weekend was the appearance of Bratavio on the X Factor. As a friend of Bradley Hunt, I was excited for him. It was then that I began to see some of the comments that he and Ottavio Columbro were receiving online. Much of the trolling was homophobic in nature, with some people even wishing death on Bratavio. It was yet another example of homophobia being rife in the modern day. Despite great strides forward in terms of legal equality, I sometimes feel that socially we are going backwards.
However, the thing that disappoints me the most about the hatred and homophobia aimed at Bratavio is the fact that so much of it has come from other gay people. One would hope that gay people would be supportive of each other and celebrate our differences, as we know what it’s like to be put down for being who you are. But no, that’s not the case. The mountain of homophobia coming from gay people is sickening, with many branding Bratavio embarrassing to the gay community. I have to disagree. In fact, my view is that it’s those trolls who are the real embarrassment to gay people.
Of course, I may be slightly biased as I happen to know one-half of Bratavio, but ultimately celebrating people for who they are is a big part of who I am. Having an opinion is one thing, but abuse and homophobia are never ok.
So what’s the answer? I’m not sure I have it. It’s clear that hate crime laws need to be tightened and that there needs to be a zero-tolerance approach to homophobia. This is something our government and police forces need to action as a matter of urgency. We cannot continue to live in fear and should not have to deal with this kind of abuse in 2016.
As for the gay people being abusive towards other gay people, that’s a whole other kettle of fish. The cracks within our LGBT+ family appear to be widening and I worry about where we are going to end up. As I’ve said before, our community is eating itself from the inside out. With so much hatred being directed at our community, we should be sticking together, not turning on each other.
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Is latent homophobia behind NHS England’s decision to fight the recent High Court judgement on the provision of PrEP?
I’ve been quiet about PrEP for a while now, but earlier this year, at the National HIV Nurses Association conference in Manchester, I spoke passionately in favour of its implementation for those most at risk of HIV, angry at the way the NHS was attempting to wriggle out of commissioning PrEP by claiming it was the responsibility of local councils, none of which were likely to be able to afford it.
Furthermore the NHS refused to offer any support to those of us on the PROUD study who would no longer have access to PrEP. Well things have moved on a bit since then. In August, in a huge victory for the National Aids Trust, who brought the case, the High Court ruled that the NHS does have a responsibility for commissioning PrEP. In his summing up, Mr Justice Green stated that,
“No one doubts that preventative medicine makes powerful sense. But one governmental body says it has no power to provide the service and local authorities say they have no money.
“The claimant is caught between the two and the potential victims of this disagreement are those who will contract HIV/Aids but who would not were the preventative policy to be fully implemented.
“In my judgment the answer to this conundrum is that NHS England has erred in deciding that it has no power to commission the preventative drugs in issue.”
Unfortunately, NHS England responded that they would appeal the decision with a cynically worded statement to the effect that PrEP was, “to prevent HIV transmission particularly for men who have high risk condom-less sex with male partners”.
The NHS also stated that they would not now be able to confirm funding for treatments and services in levels three and four, which just happen to include treatments for children who are deaf and have cystic fibrosis. Not surprisingly the statement resulted in some of the most vituperatively questionable headlines in recent years from, predictably, the Daily Mail, but also in The Times.
Not only was NHS England giving out inaccurate information, but it was failing in patient responsibility by pitting one patient group against another, and one has to ask what was the motive behind issuing such a sensationalist statement.
I am beginning to think someone at NHS England has a personal axe to grind. In the event, Ian Green, Chief Executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, wrote a strongly worded letter to NHS England’s Chief Executive, Simon Stevens, expressing extreme “concern” with the wording of the NHS press statement.
He concluded that,
“PrEP is not a moral issue. PrEP is a treatment which can stop a population with ongoing major health inequalities from contracting a life threatening disease with lifetime treatment costs of up to £380,000. That is all and it should be treated as such.”
As it happens, NHS England have now issued a statement to the effect that they have launched a consultation into the future of HIV-preventing PrEP, though the statement document notes that the consultation is being run without prejudice to the outcome of their appeal following a judicial review, and that their contention is still that it is not responsible for commissioning PrEP.
In the meantime, NHS England’s latest proposal that it will routinely commission PrEP for the treatment of adults at high risk of HIV acquisition is good news indeed.
Those considered at high risk and covered by the policy are high risk men who have sex with men, or MSM (a phrase I dislike intensely, though it seems we are stuck with it for the moment), trans women and trans men who have had anal sex without a condom in the last three months and are likely to again in the next three months; also partners of people living with HIV where they are not known to be on successful HIV treatment, and heterosexuals assessed to be at similar high risk to MSM.
Those of us already on the PROUD study also received some good news when Gilead, the company which produces Truvada, agreed to provide the drug free of charge for existing PROUD participants for the next six months.
I know I’ve banged on about it before, but I am convinced that the reason we are still having to fight for the implementation of PrEP, why we are even having this discussion at all, comes down to latent homophobia and a distaste for what we do in bed, and that moral judgements are getting in the way of facts.
We already know that getting people with HIV onto treatment as soon as possible means that they can’t pass on the virus. Coupled with making those most at risk immune, we have a real chance here of bringing down HIV infection rates considerably. In San Francisco, a two-pronged strategy, using TasP (treatment as prevention) and increasing access to PrEP resulted in a staggering 34% reduction in new infections between 2012 and 2014, a figure that is likely to increase as the new treatments take effect.
Yes, PrEP is expensive, though the price will come down considerably once Truvada comes out of patent in 2017, but, it is far more expensive to treat someone with HIV for the rest of their lives.
And we’re not even taking into consideration the hidden costs of dealing with mental health issues that invariably follow a positive diagnosis. Now as it happens, my situation has changed over the last year or so. Whereas, when I started on PrEP, I was having lots of sex with multiple partners, I am now in a monogamous relationship and don’t need to be on it anymore.
And here’s the point.
HIV is something that will be with you for the rest of your life. PrEP is something you might need at certain points in your life. What’s more, the Ipergay study in France came up with a different model from the daily regimen. They found that if you took 2 pills prior to having sex, and then one more for two days afterwards, you would still be protected, which is something that would work for people who have organised sex lives.
On the other hand PEP (post exposure prophylaxis), as I hope everyone knows, has been available for some time now. I was on it twice before going onto PrEP. I know of people who are accessing PEP three or four times a year, which is already costing the NHS more than putting these people onto PrEP; and I’m now hearing about guys presenting themselves for PEP several times a year in an attempt to stock pile Truvada to use as PrEP. This too is far more costly than putting them on PrEP.
It is my fervent hope that NHS England will lose their appeal and we can finally begin to bring down the escalating increase in new HIV infections in this country.
Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.
This article does contain spoilers for All Stars season 2.
With RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 2 having just broadcast its latest episode, with a dramatic twist, a hoo-hah has erupted between the shows makers and one of its star turns. In this case, it’s Phi Phi O’Hara aka Jaremi Carey.
Phi Phi was the villain of season 4, her attitude was terrible, and some of the stuff she said was borderline offensive. She came across as spoiled, narcissistic and bratty. So it was with trepidation that I went into All Stars 2 knowing both her and series 5 villain Roxxxy Andrews would be appearing.
From the get go, Phi Phi was determined to redeem herself and distance herself from the behaviour that put her amongst the elite of the most hated queens to ever grace the show. Tyra Sanchez (Season 2 winner) and Roxxxy Andrews also hold that dubious title, but Roxxxy is far more insidious than the other two and her vile bullying of Jinkx Monsoon leaves me unable to watch Season 5 because of how uncomfortable it makes me.
I must admit I did have some preconceived ideas about Phi Phi and didn’t think that I would feel any different about her this time round. However I was pleasantly surprised, she seemed to have upped her game, her drag style had changed from a pageant queen, to a more refined style, and her cosplay costume was fantastic. But there was the lingering niggle, that the show seemed to exploit.
The way it was shown and talked about was that Phi Phi was deliberately trying to play mind games with some of the other contestants, by saying Roxxxy’s idea to play Sophia Vegara in The Snatch Game could be problematic because her Spanish accent wasn’t as thick as Vegara’s. She actually advised Andrews to work on the accent a little more, and make it thicker, and therefore funnier. A couple of episodes later, and allegedly she was back to her old tricks, this time talking about the fact that Ginger Minj’s dress was a big dress to be dancing around in. Again I didn’t really see it as playing mind games, more just stating a fact and giving Ginger a heads up to ensure she took it into account while dancing. But the other queens, who may or may not have had the same ideas about Phi Phi, seemed to take these statements from Phi Phi as some kind of way of sabotaging the contestants and messing with their heads, and these soundbites were helpfully inserted throughout the episodes.
Another bone of contention was that from the start the queens had agreed that with the new twist of themselves having to do the elimination instead of RuPaul, they would base it purely on judges critique of that particular challenge and runway presentation only, and not previous wins, or losses. Phi Phi was very vocal about sticking with that idea, and when Alyssa Edwards decided to break the chain, and voted to send Ginger home, despite Ginger getting overall better judges comments, Phi Phi wasn’t happy about it, and voiced so.
The episode broadcast where Alyssa was sent home, during the after elimination talk, Phi Phi decided to let it be known that Alyssa had been trying to influence both her and Alaska to send either of the other two in the bottom three home because she hadn’t been in the bottom as much herself, yet she had received the worst critique for both her challenge and runway look. In this case both Alaska and Phi Phi had chosen to eliminate Alyssa, but the way it was presented made it look like Phi Phi had chosen Alyssa out of spite for not having stuck with the agreed upon way of elimination previously. Looking back at what was said, it’s more that Phi Phi was saying Alyssa, did the worst, yet she was trying to save herself by throwing the others under the bus, so she was voted off for simply getting the worst judges comments. In the latest episode broadcast, Phi Phi and Alyssa hashed it out, and while there was obviously still a lot of tension there, they mutually agreed to bury the hatchet.
Since the episodes have aired, Phi Phi has been getting a huge amount of hate online. People have been insulting her and sending death wishes to her. If Phi Phi had been the total and utter bitch she had been previously, I would’ve been among the first to call her out on it because I detested her first time round, but I haven’t seen her do anything that calls for such vitriol. Yes she can be feisty, and a little bitchy, but all of them are to one degree or another and some more than others. It has obviously affected her quite badly, and as of the time of writing, she is not attending the re-union show because she feels the show has misrepresented her quite badly.
I also can’t totally agree with her blaming editing because she has actually said the stuff she says, but I believe it has been taken far worse than it was intended, and the reactions to it by the other contestants could well have been based on their own ideas of who Phi Phi O’Hara is.
To me Phi Phi has made a concerted effort to break away from the idea that people have of her, and this time round I really don’t have a problem with her at all. I even started following her on Twitter. But one gets the feeling that Drag Race Phi Phi, live performing Phi Phi and Jaremi Carey are totally different people. Reading through Twitter, a lot of her fans who have met her have said she’s actually friendly, and very interactive with them and will spend a lot of time at meet & greets taking photos and talking. But distancing from Phi Phi, Jaremi the man has obviously been incredibly affected by this, and feels very hurt by the way the show has represented him and how the viewers have received him. He has since said that aside from the already booked shows remaining for the year, he will not be performing as Phi Phi again for a while, and wants to concentrate on being Jaremi, and releasing music.
I don’t think that the show has intentionally set out to hurt Phi Phi, and I don’t pretend to know the process that goes into making it, and Phi Phi has revealed a lot went on off camera that nearly made her quit the show, but she was eliminated this week by both returning queens Alyssa and Tatianna. However I think some of the viewers have read into everything Phi Phi says with far more of their own biases than the show intended to put across, and the viewers who hate her, will always find a way to hate her. I believe for Phi Phi, blaming the shows editing process is easier than delving deeper into the reasoning behind why people have reacted the way they have. My own personal opinion is that she did herself no favours with how she was on Season 4, and that has left a bad mark on the viewers, and some will never get it out of their heads that Phi Phi is a terrible person, and see everything she does as false. I for one have been able to separate how she was on Season 4 and how she is now. I think there is far more to Phi Phi O’Hara than the general viewers have seen.
Phi Phi did come across as awful in the past, but for me, she hasn’t actually done anything that has annoyed or angered me this time round, and I think people need to stop looking at every single thing Phi Phi says or does as something negative.
The opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK’s editorial or management. If you’d like to join the conversation or write an opinion piece, please click here.
26 years ago, the Stonewall riots triggered events that led to the gay liberation movement in the United States and culminated in Gay Pride marches which, in the preceding decades, have spread across the globe.
With these progressive advances, LGBT tourism has been dramatically on the increase. There is no bigger event on the LGBT calendar than Pride, where equality and diversity is celebrated and discrimination is renounced. In Europe, the cities of Brighton and Manchester are both in prime positions to take the crown of the Gay Pride capital of Europe.
Here is a guide to help you navigate these two gay metropolises and decide which city truly deserves the title of Gay Pride capital of Europe
Since the 19th century, Brighton has been known as a hub for gay people. Many men were initially drawn to the seaside town of Brighton by the large number of soldiers stationed there during the Napoleonic wars. Apart from its military appeal, Brighton has always had a rapturous reputation, being a destination where the pleasure seekers from nearby London could get away from the smog and bathe on the beach under Brighton Pier. Brighton is the home of light entertainment and this liberal streak in the city has always been naturally accommodating to the LGBT community. Today this historical closeness has produced a city with one of the highest LGBT populations in the country, with 11-15% of people over 16, in 2015, thought to be gay, lesbian or bisexual.
By contrast, Manchester in the north of England has developed its reputation as a gay capital much more recently. The now famous Canal Street, which is the spiritual heart of Gay Manchester, was in the second half of the 20th century a dark and secretive meeting place for gay men, bordered by large looming cotton factories that were decaying in the post-industrial grimness of post-war Britain. Flash forward to today, and Canal Street has been transformed into a huge gay sanctuary with an intoxicating mixture of bars, pubs and clubs where the LGBT community can come together freely to party the night away.
The ins and outs of each Pride
Brighton Pride is the largest Pride in the UK, attracting around 290,000 people each year, making up a significant amount the city’s overall revenue. Starting on the first week of August, Brighton Pride becomes more popular each year. The Brighton Parade is the most significant event during Brighton Pride and is an incredibly powerful culmination of protest, history and unity, which are the foundations of this historically gay city.
Manchester Pride, although smaller, is a fiery explosion of music, culture and energy. Manchester Pride peaks with its ‘Big Weekend’ event, which this year showcased huge musical stars such as Groove Armada, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Will Young, to name a few. Manchester uses its well defined club culture to truly knock your socks off during Pride. Although Brighton’s Pride festival saw the wonderful headliner Sister Sledge, Manchester has the musical edge and is perhaps more geared towards the idea of a Pride Party than Brighton.
Both cities have huge amounts to offer during their Prides. Brighton is definitely a city more historically rooted to the LGBT movement, however the energy and controversy that has come out of Manchester’s LGBT community in the past decade, as well as popular cultural products such as Queer as Folk has really given Manchester Pride an incredible energy. Manchester definitely seems to be heading towards becoming the Pride capital of Europe, all the while its sister city Brighton still has an incredible amount to offer too.
The opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK’s editorial or management boards. If you’d like to join the conversation or write an opinion piece, please click here.
There’s been a colourful explosion of flags and colours for the LGBT+ community in recent years – something that I’m in two minds about. On one hand, it’s great that groups within our community are getting visibility – and some of those flags are pretty darn pretty – I’m looking at you Alternative Transgender, but on the other hand, it’s very divisional.
So, you’ve got the:
Rainbow, Lesbian, Lipstick Lesbian, Trans, Bear, Bi, Non-Binary, Genderqueer, Pansexual, Polysexual, Asexual, Agender, genderfluid, alternative intersex and intersex – just to name a few
I often hear people say “it’s the gay pride flag” but actually it’s the LGBT+ flag, that beautiful, international symbol we all know, love and recognise. It’s the little wink or nod when you’re in a new city or country that says “this place is welcoming and safe”.
But over this pride season, whilst at a couple of pride events, I was asked a number of times, “where’s the straight ally colours?”.
I didn’t even know there was one. As I was being explained the colours of the “Straight-Ally” (apparently black and white with a rainbow “A”) flag, my mind began to wander. Do straight allies need a flag? I mean what’s the message behind it?
Whilst I love all our straight allies and know that we couldn’t have come this far in equality and societal acceptance without them – you really don’t need a separate flag.
The last time I looked, no straight person was being killed, shot at, bullied, segregated, marginalised because of their allegiance to the LGBT community. Actually, it’s pretty darn insulting when you think of it. Isn’t it’s saying, rather visually, “I’m Straight – at your pride, but hey don’t worry, I’m totally for you, look at me, I’m special – straight and accepting?”
Being a straight ally is a basic requirement of any decent human.
I’m not sure why straight allies even need to point out their heterosexuality at an LGBT pride? Does that strike you as odd?
They get to play straight every day of the year – so why do it on pride?
I don’t see the need of someone who identifies as a “straight ally” to be visibly ‘straight’ on our own turf on the one day of the year that the LGBT community gets to be its true self.
What I actually need, is our straight allies doing their straight ally work in their own spaces. No straight ally should rest until every workplace, home, school – is free of inequalities or homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. That’s where our straight allies are kings and queens.
So straight people, If you really feel you need to pick up a flag on Pride, pick up a rainbow – and wave it proudly. Don’t separate yourself from us.
Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, it’s management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.
So it’s all over the web, YouTube star Gigi Lazzarato (Gorgeous) was detained in a Dubai airport for 5 hours after being refused entry through passport control after allegedly being told by the worker there, that she couldn’t enter the country due to her being transgender and that her passport picture and information didn’t match her presented gender, a claim she refutes.
But should she really be remotely surprised that in Dubai, a place not known for its progressive nature towards LGBT individuals she got treated badly.
Now not for one second do I agree with her treatment, but at the end of the day, she was travelling to a predominantly Islamic country.
Yes Dubai is seen as a hip place to be, and the rich and famous go there on their holidays, but Gigi should have done her research before going over there. On the surface it looks like an amazing place to go, well developed and technologically advanced, but just below the surface is a heavily religious city, in a heavily religious area of the world.
It is grossly unfair that there are some places in the world that people from the LGBT community simply can’t travel, but until the world changes, people have to take precautions. It’s a question of keeping oneself safe as possible. There were probably hundreds of other equally exotic places she could have visited, but she chose Dubai. Personally, she should be thankful that immigration stopped her going through, because who knows what could’ve possibly happened if she had got out of the airport. She may have been arrested, or worse.
What people have to remember is that Dubai has a history of atrocities against people, especially women and the LGBT community. In 2013 a Norwegian woman went to local police and said she had been raped by a co-worker. She was actually arrested and convicted of extra marital sex, and consumption of alcohol and sentenced to 16 months in prison. She was eventually pardoned, but only after she was pressured to say the rape hadn’t happened, and this isn’t the only time something like this has happened. Numerous times, women have reported sexual assault and have been charged themselves for other things. And don’t get me started on how LGBT people get treated there. People have been arrested, fined, imprisoned for up to 10 years, lashed, and forcibly deported, simply for being convicted of homosexual behavior.
Everyone should feel free to be as fabulous as they want to be, but there will be places and people who simply can’t handle that. It’s why I thinks it’s incredibly important for people to educate themselves about places that they want to travel to remain safe. And while you may feel there is progress in general, it doesn’t mean there is progress everywhere.
I agree with Gigi to an extent when she said it was disgusting and very scary that you are denied entry somewhere because of who you are, and it shouldn’t happen, but sadly it does.
So if you are thinking of going anywhere on holiday, please find out everything you can beforehand about its laws and customs so you can stay safe and happy and actually enjoy yourself without fear of being arrested, or attacked.
Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, it’s management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.
