It’s National Coming Out Day so we asked you to give us your top tips for going through what is often a life changing event in a person’s life.
1) Don’t apologise.
2) Only come out if it is what you want to do. If you feel pressured into coming out, remember that it has to be your decision. It is a big decision to make in your life and the most important thing is that you feel comfortable with what you are doing.
3) Do it the way you most feel comfortable! I told my Dad by letter, but my friends mainly face to face… it just got easier the more I did it.
4) Treat it like a band-aid and just tear it off. Quick and almost painless. Just tell them, quickly, confidently and get it over with.
5) Don’t approach the situation like you’re about to announce you’re terminally ill. Body language and the tone of your voice will play a massive role in how people react to what you’re saying.
6) If you don’t get the reaction you expect, don’t be put off. You will get some negative reactions, but that is their problem not yours. The amount of positive reactions will far outweigh the negative ones.
7) Speaking to a helpline, like Switchboard – first, if you’re not sure what to say. Talking with a counsellor or helpline can help you find the words you need to describe what you’re feeling.
8) If you’re not sure how to bring it up, casually talk about a celebrity’s recent coming out like Tom Daley or Charlie King and gauge the reaction before going any further.
9) It’s not an all or nothing deal. You don’t HAVE to tell everyone all at once. Start off with one person and let it grow organically from there.
10) There is no right or wrong way to come out. It should be a tailor-made experience, as individual as you are.
He probably has the most famous butt in all of the UK, thanks to a groundbreaking sex scene, never before seen on British televisions.
The 36-year-old first smashed his way onto our screens in 1999 in the UK version of Queer As Folk as the adorable Nathan Maloney, when he was just 19. Although he played a much younger character.
Well he’s done a lot of growing up and his acting CV is quite staggering, he’s turned into a true Hollywood Hunk. He currently has 2 films in post production and two in pre-production. He starred in Sons of Anarchy from 2008 until 2014. He also starred in Pacific Rim in 2013, which was a huge box office smash.
Dying smartphone batteries are a killer. When 3% becomes a trigger for you, it’s probably time to invest in a portable battery charge. Groov-e has created this rather nifty solar-powered charger meaning you only ever really need the sun to start charging your dead device. Never be caught out again.
You’ll go bananas for these new vest shirts from Tiger Stores. Guaranteed to put a smile on anyone’s face be it out clubbing or relaxing at home when you light that first autumnal fire. Just don’t get too hot in it or you’ll have to ‘peel’ it off!
Tiger Stores | £10.00
Marilyn Love or Money
When an icon makes a comeback it can sometimes fall completely at, but Marilyn’s musical return, with the aid of Boy George, is a sultry lush track which showcases how wonderful Marilyn’s voice is sounding right now. (Plus he gets very naked in the music video!) It may not be a top 40 commercial radio hit, radio can be terribly ageist (just ask Madonna) but it’s definitely worth adding to your collection and your playlist.
Distilled in the heart of London, this is a Gin that’s been reborn in the historic Camden Lock. Black tea, bergamot, wood, hay and pepper make for interestingly sharp and crisp botanicals in what could be a new favourite for the everyday shelf.
This lovely bit of kit ts securely onto the wrist with a double pin clasp. Once you’ve filled in a few details online about your age, height and amount of exercise you actually do, it’ll then sync with this colour touchscreen watch to monitor not only your fitness goals that day but also calories burnt, how you slept and your current heartbeat, which may go up a little when passing other joggers in the park. Looks great and if your exercise for the day is not something you want to look at, well then it also tells you the time!
Baking hero Tamal Ray has been told by his mum that he’s got a FAT BUM!
CREDIT: BBC Love Productions:Mark Bourdillon
Yes you heard that right. Baking hero Tamal Ray has been told by his Mum that he’s got a fat bum.
Taking to Twitter he said how his mum had been asking whether wearing tight shorts was a fashion statement or whether it was that his bum was getting fat!
"Is it the fashion now that men are wearing tight shorts or is it just that your bum is looking fat?"
So are you having trouble sleeping at night? Well apparently you’re not the only one.
CREDIT: Dmytro-Sidelnikov-bigstock
So the peeps at Dreams commissioned some research to find out what’s bugging us all before we go to bed… Here’s twenty things that are keeping Brits up at night!
1. You’re too hot
2. Stress
3. You struggle to get comfortable
4. Worries about money
5. Your partner is snoring
6. You are nervous about something you have to do the next day
7. Health issues
8. You’re not tired
9. Worries about your relationship/family
10. You’re too cold
11. You often have bad dreams or night terrors
12. Worries about work
13. You hear noises during the night
14. Young children keep you awake
15. Your partner fidgets a lot
16. You spend too long looking at your phone/tablet before bed
So the Office for National Statistic released some interesting stats today about the number of young people who identify as Bisexual.
Wavebreak-Media-Ltd-bigstock
The ONS released statistic today that show that the number of young people who identify as bisexual has increased by 45 percent in just three years.
This is the first time that more young people have described themselves as bisexual rather than gay or lesbian. A survey by YouGov last year revealed that 50 per cent of people aged 18-24 defined themselves something other than purely heterosexual. Overall a quarter of the entire population revealed that they felt this way.
Overall a quarter of the entire population revealed that they felt this way.
In the most recent statistic released by the ONS 1.8 per cent identified themselves as bi, while 1.5 per cent said they were gay or lesbian.
However, it hasn’t stopped some social media users commenting that people are referring to themselves as LGBT+ because it’s “trendy” or fashionable rather than you know, the truth.
The lovely Andrew Smyth was made star baker in last night’s episode of Great British Bake Off.
BBC
Fans rejoiced at the rather dishy 25-year-old Andrew as he was made Star Baker in last night’s episode of Bake Off with his showstopping 24 mini mousse cakes.
In fact, it sent thousands of people to THEGAYUK to find out a little bit more about the aerospace engineer.
This year’s London Film Festival looks to be the gayest one yet. There are about a dozen films with an LGBT theme, and some of them are in your face gay.
Here’s a preview of what to look for, and which films you need to do absolutely anything to get a ticket:
King Cobra is definitely one of the most scandalous films to be shown at the festival probably ever! A young man travels to Los Angeles at the urging of a sleazy gay porn producer (Christian Slater) to be his next star. A parallel story has James Franco as another gay porn producer who is in a relationship with his young male star. There is lots of skin shown in this film which is based on the real life story of former gay porn star Brent Corrigan. And as a bonus James Franco’s character gets fcked and scked. Do anything to get a ticket to this!
A film that is getting a lot of attention from the mainstream press is the excellent Moonlight. It takes place in 19980’s Miami and focuses on one man’s journey through three stages of his life. He’s black and gay, and we witness key moments in his life that made him the man he is. Compelling, with excellent performances all around. Naomie Harris plays his crack-addicted mother. A must see.
What would happen if a famous and well-known footballer was gay? Well, in The Pass, two aspiring Premier League footballers (Russell Tovey and Arinzé Kene) share a passionate night while sharing a hotel room right before a big game. That night profoundly impacts Tovey’s characters’ life. Hard-hitting stuff with great performances. And It’s worth the ticket price alone just to see Tovey lying on a bed, with his wide legs open, wearing tight white underwear. PHWOAR! If you miss this at the festival you can buy the DVD or streamline it on VOD next year as it’s unlikely this film will get a cinema release.
Winner of the Queer Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival, The Lives of Thérése documents Thérése Clerc’s death at the age of 88. She was very memorable in the documentary Les Invisibles who at the age of 40 divorced her husband to embrace a life of activism, which included fighting for homosexual rights.
Lovesong is about a young woman who lives alone with her two-year-old daughter while her husband works away. One day a female childhood friend comes to visit and a romantic spark ignites. With Jena Malone and Riley Keough.
Taekwondo is all testosterone and men who are in a country house near Buenos Aires where one of them brings along a friend who does not tell the rest of the group that he is gay. A are they or aren’t they a couple plot develops, which could possibly tear the close friends apart.
Another Argentinian film is La Noche. A young man moves around Buenos Aires at night, picking up guys, going to clubs, scoring drugs and having lots of sex. I’ve not seen this one yet but by the look of the poster it looks hot!
One of the most popular films at the Flare Film festival earlier this year, Who’s Gonna Love Me Now excellently tells the story of Sar, an Israeli who has been driven away from his family’s traditional values and starts a new life in London where he joins the Gay Men’s Chorus. It’s beautifully told and directed and is a must see film.
Gay director Tom Ford presents his second film (the first was the well-received A Single Man) with Nocturnal Animals. One of the festival’s must-see films, it focuses on Susan (Amy Adams), a glamorous and accomplished Los Angeles gallery director whose current marriage appears to be unravelling, and who fuels her insomnia by reading the manuscript of a disturbing novel – written and sent to her by her ex-husband (Jake Gyllenhaal). Expect lots of lush scenery and fabulous costumes.
The latest from gay director Francois Ozon, Frantz tells the story of a young woman who mourns the tragic death of her fiancé in the aftermath of WW1. She eventually finds solace with a stranger, a man she sees putting flowers on her dead husband’s grave. But who is he really? Typical Ozon melodramatic plot, but will it be another Ozon classic?
Wunderkind and gay director Xavier Dolan (Lawrence Anyways) presents his latest film, It’s Only the End of the World. A terminally ill writer returns home to break the news of his debilitating condition to his estranged family. It’s lots of sadness and sorrow – typical of a Dolan movie. With Marion Cottilard.
Stars so far confirmed to walk on the red carpet include: Oyelowo, Pike, Sigourney Weaver and Liam Neeson (A Monster Calls), Casey Affleck, Nyong’o, Renner, Kidman, Patel, Ford and Taylor-Johnson, and Cotillard. Too bad Franco is not showing up.
There is so so so much more going on at the festival. Grab a program if you see one around town, or go to the website mentioned way below.
The 60th BFI London Film Festival will screen a total of 193 fiction and 52 documentary features, including 18 World Premieres, 8 International Premieres, 39 European Premieres. There will also be screenings of 144 short films, including documentary, live action and animated works.
Taking place over 12 days, the Festival’s screenings are at venues across the capital, from the West End cinemas – Vue West End and the iconic Odeon Leicester Square; central London venues – BFI Southbank, BFI IMAX, Picturehouse Central, the ICA, Curzon Mayfair, Curzon Soho, Haymarket, Prince Charles Cinema and Ciné Lumière; and local cinemas – the Ritzy in Brixton, Hackney Picturehouse and Curzon Chelsea. Festival visitors will be able to enjoy a brand new cinema experience with Competition and Strand Galas presented at the new Embankment Garden Cinema, in the beautiful Victoria Embankment Gardens.
The boy literally cannot keep his bits covered. We’ve long heard about the infamous “parsnip” well now we can actually clap eyes on it.
The star who is currently starring on MTV’s Ex On The Beach is seen here in his his old stomping ground, the Geordie Shore house where he promptly stripped and skinny dipped in the pool – and there’s video – in glory colour.
Where were you when you heard S Club 7’s Bring It All Back?
Jon Lee reminded us today how old we actually are. He took to Instagram to tell us that S Club 7’s first album went into the charts 17 years ago today. Basically half his lifetime ago!
