THEGAYUK

Category: News

  • Museum Tries To Turn Moths Gay To Stop Them Ruining The Exhibits

    The National History Museum is trying to confuse male moths into believing that other male moths are female in an attempt to stop them reproducing.

    The Telegraph is reporting that the museum located in Kensington, London, is trying to trick male moths into mating with other each other so they stop reproducing and damaging the ancient art exhibits. The museum has had a moth infestation for four years and cannot use ordinary chemicals to get rid of the moths.

    Speaking to the Telegraph Armando Mendex, quarantine facility manager at the museum, who is heading the project said,

    “It’s called the Pheromone Destruction System and in simplistic terms, it makes male moths attracted to other male moths

    “They only live for a couple of weeks and during that time there is only a small window in which they can reproduce. If they spend this unknowingly attempting to attract and fertilise male moths, then it reduces the offspring we are up against.”

    Using the Pheromone Destruction System, male moths are attracted to traps set about the museum and are covered with female pheromone. When they fly out of the trap the pheromone disruption causes other male moths to think they are chasing females rather than another male.

    A spokesperson from the museum confirmed to THEGAYUK,

    “We do not modify the moths’ behaviour in any way. Part of our programme includes spraying male clothes moths with female pheromones. Other males are attracted to the female pheromone but find a male when they get there – they are not attracted to the males themselves. This makes it harder for the moths to breed, helping to protect our collection of 80 million specimens.”

    Convinced? Is sexuality about pheromones?

  • GAY HISTORY: Unsung Gay Heroes In History

    We look back into history and highlight other unsung gay men who have made an incredible different to our lives.

    Alan Turing (1912–1954)

    Alan Turing was a British pioneering computer scientist, mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher and mathematical biologist. During the Second World War, Turing worked for the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park, Britain’s code-breaking centre. For a time he led Hut 8, the section responsible for German naval cryptanalysis and created the Turing Machine which decrypted the “unbreakable” German Enigma code. Turing’s pivotal role in cracking intercepted coded messages enabled the Allies to defeat the Nazis in many crucial engagements, including the Battle of the Atlantic. It is said by some historians that Turing’s work at Bletchley Park shortened the war by two to four years and saved approximately fourteen million to twelve million lives. Nevertheless, Turing led a sheltered and castigated life due to his homosexuality. Whilst he was briefly engaged to fellow Bletchley Park worker Joan Clarke, it was a purely plutonic relationship and they soon divorced. Turing was prosecuted by the police in 1952 for homosexual acts, when such behaviour was still criminalised in the UK. He accepted treatment with oestrogen injections (chemical castration) as an alternative to prison and became incredibly depressed. He committed suicide in 1954. Turing’s wartime heroics were not celebrated until he received an official pardon from Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2009 following an internet campaign, and then a further royal pardon from Queen Elizabeth II in 2013. From 9th March, 2015, the biopic of Alan Turing’s life and heroics, THE IMITATION GAME, will become available on Blu-ray and DVD courtesy of StudioCanal.

    Bayard Rustin (1912-1987)

    Bayard Rustin was the brain behind Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement in 1960s America. Rustin was one of the driving forces behind the Congress for Racial Equality and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Most significantly, Rustin organized the 1963 March on Washington — where King gave his legendary “I have a dream” speech. However, due to his homosexuality and his membership in the Communist Party, he has often received short shrift from historians and his integral role in the civil rights movement is often overlooked. At the time, Rustin selflessly avoided the limelight because he knew that elected officials and politicians would attempt to discredit the civil rights movement by pointing out his sexual and political leanings. Rustin was also heavily involved in the anti­–Vietnam War and gay rights movements before his death in 1987.

    Sergei Diaghilev (1872-1929)

    Sergei “Serge” Diaghilev was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes, but also one of the first outspoken and unapologetically gay men of the early 20th century. Sergei Diaghilev reshaped that epoch’s ideas about art and performance, and was a pioneer in adapting new musical styles to modern ballet. He created the Ballets Russes mainly as a showcase for his lover and protégé Vaslav Nijinsky, who is still considered one of the greatest dancers who ever lived. Diaghilev had exquisite tastes, bringing the work of such artists as Balanchine, Picasso, Pavlova and Cocteau onto the stage in his cutting-edge productions, which were often unabashedly erotic. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Diaghilev was condemned as an especially insidious example of bourgeois decadence and his contribution to Russian art was written out of history by the Soviets for more than sixty years.

    Larry Kramer (1935-present)

    Every movement needs a voice of anger and righteousness, and when the AIDS pandemic hit, the gay community was lucky to have Larry Kramer, whose editorials and plays (particularly The Normal Heart) demanded that the government take action and that gay men take responsibility for their health. A fascinating author and a rabble-rouser in the best sense, Kramer continues to be a vital and often infuriating presence. Kramer co-founded the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), which has become the world’s largest private organization to raise funds for and provide services to people stricken with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

    Harvey Milk (1930–1978)

    Harvey Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisor.

    Milk moved from New York City to settle in San Francisco in 1972 amid a migration of gay men to the Castro District. He ran unsuccessfully for political office three times. Nevertheless, his theatrical campaigns earned him increasing popularity, and Milk won a seat as a city supervisor in 1977. Milk served almost 11 months in office and was responsible for passing a stringent gay rights ordinance for the city. On November 27, 1978, Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by Dan White, another city supervisor who had recently resigned but wanted his job back. Despite his short career in politics, Milk became an icon in San Francisco and a martyr in the gay community. In 2008 a Hollywood biopic Milk, starring Sean Penn, honoured Harvey Milk’s transformation of San Fransisco into a mecca for LGBT Americans and in 2009 Milk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

    The Imitation Game is out on Blu-ray, DVD and digital download platforms now , courtesy of StudioCanal

  • Giant Photocall To Protest Nigel Farage HIV Remarks Today

    Activist group ACTUP are hosting a giant selfie-photo call to protest UKIP leader’s HIV remarks during the leaders’ debate, prior to the general election earlier in 2015.

    ACTUP are hosting a giant selfie photocall in protest against Nigel Farage’s HIV-phobic remarks towards migrants in Trafalgar Square. This peaceful photocall pays tribute to the founders of the gay liberation movement and HIV activism. HIV+ and HIV- migrants and leading figures from within the gay liberation movement and HIV activism will speak.

    ACT UP FOR LOVE, will protest today from 6pm in Trafalgar Square, organised by ACT UP London and London Artists Projects.
    Speakers will be:
    620pm Garry Brough, Bloomsbury Patients Clinic
    630pm Jose Resinente, NAZ Project
    640pm Natalie Bennett, Green Party
    650pm Andrew Keates, director of the AIDS play ‘As Is’ at Trafalgar Studios
    7pm Vincent Manning, Catholics for AIDS prevention and Support
    710pm Sophia forum, People Living With HIV
    720pm Precious Lubunda, NAZ Project

    Nigel Farage questioned whether immigrants who live with HIV in the UK should continue to receive treatment. His remarks were widely criticised by the other leaders and the public at large.

    He said: “You can come into Britain, from anywhere in the world, get diagnosed with HIV and get the retro-viral drugs which cost up to £25,000 per year, per patient.

    “We need to put the National Health Service there for British people and families.”

  • BAR REVIEW | W Hotel Bar Leicester Square Review

    ★★ | W Hotel Bar Leicester Square Review

    Waspish Welcome, What’s Wong With W?

    Before jumping Prada antiqued-calf-leather laced-derby shoes first into your eatery of choice on a Saturday night, it’s best to lift spirits with a couple of pre-supper sharpeners. Central London is chokka with slinky cocktail bars, trendy boozers and popular pop-ups. THEGAYUK’s finely-tuned ear caught wind of the W Hotel Lounge Leicester Square donkey’s ago. It was time to see what all the flap was about.

    We arrived at the entrance 8.25pm Saturday 16th May and were acknowledged by two towering, dapper burly bouncers. One-half of the brothers-grim asked if we were staying at the hotel, or there for drinks, without so much as a glimpse at his gnashers. We informed moody-chops we were planning to have a drink. We were then ordered to stand behind a roped-off area and queue. We were the only people there.

    Eventually, a guy that had to be RuPaul’s not-so-friendly brother minced towards us. His foul mood could only be explained by the fact that his dry cleaner must have shrunk the jacket he was squeezed into.

    The hotel’s door staff have mastered the art of not revealing their ivories. They’re wasted working in a hotel – they should step in where Keith Harris left off, god rest his soul.

    He scanned us with his mince-pies as if we were tinned pilchards at a Waitrose checkout, then directed us to the lifts. Entering the W hotel was about as pleasurable as spending an afternoon in Clacton.

    The lounge’s décor looks like it’s been pulled from the 70s but with a modern edge. A porn-star, low-black-leather-style sofa in a horseshoe shape swamps the main section of the room. Two large glass pillars with dancing flames, and a Tron-style, yellow-lit sunken ceiling gives the feel you’re in a Bond villain’s den.

    Hurrah, not all the employees were fit for stuffing their hand up a puppet’s arse. Our waiter beamed at us from ear to ear before taking our order.

    W’s cocktail menu has its own take on some classics, and a few signatures.

    We started with a Secret Garden and a Godfather / W Twist.

    The Secret Garden: Tanqueray, Crème de Fraise & honey syrup, fresh strawberries, lemon juice and cucumber topped with champagne. Reminiscent of a not so heavy, more sophisticated strawberry daiquiri. Pleasant.

    The Godfather / W Twist: Johnnie Walker Black Label stirred with Amaretto and Creme de Cerise, finished with fresh cherry, sprayed with Laphroaig. Over complicated. It was as though the bartender had exhaled his cigar into the glass while enthusiastically pouring in the Creme de Cerise.

    W’s website is welcoming, unlike the door staff, and encourages you to join their glamorous crowd for divine -people-watching in their lounge.

    The other punters clearly flew in from Marbella that morning or had travelled on a South West train. Manmade fibres and Burton whistle-and-flutes were much in evidence.

    Ru and another member of staff, sporting a cowboy hat and denim jacket, paraded around the lounge looking as busy as Matt Lucas’s hairdresser.

    Our second round: a Cool Britannia and W’s take on an Old Fashioned: W Fashioned.

    The Britannia: Tanqueray, cucumber, lemongrass and grapes, Pomme Vert apple liqueur, topped up with Viognier. Packing an intense apple punch to the nose and tastebuds with a cheeky zesty tickle from the lemongrass, with lush aromatic notes produced from the Viognier. Winner.

    W Fashioned: Zacapa 23yr Antica Formula infused with pomegranate, cherry sugar and a slash of chocolate bitters. This is a prime example of: if it’s not broken… It was like sucking on a boiled-cherry sweet soaked in whisky.

    The bill came to £57.60 including service charge.

    Our visit was much like Taylor Swift’s performance at this year Brits. But at least we’ve found a new home for Orville.

    REVIEWED BY: Thabian Sutherland
    ADDRESS: W London Leicester Square, 10 Wardour Street, London W1D 6QF
    WEBSITE: http://www.wlondon.co.uk
    Phone: 020 7758 1000
    STAR RATING: ★★ (explained)
    PRICE: ££££ (explained)
    TIPPING POLICY: Service charge

  • Gay European Men In Homophobic Countries At Greater Risk Of HIV

    Europe’s most homophobic countries may be paving the way for a rise in HIV cases among gay and bisexual men, according to new research published in the journal AIDS.

    An international team of researchers from Europe and the US looked at HIV-related service use, need and behaviours among 175,000 gay or bisexual men living in 38 European countries with differing levels of national homophobia.

    They found that men in homophobic countries had fewer sexual partners and were less likely to be diagnosed with HIV. However, they also found those men knew less about HIV, were less likely to use condoms and are at greater potential risk of getting HIV when they do have sex.

    As technological advancements such as mobile sex-seeking apps mean men in the most homophobic countries have increasing opportunities for sexual contact, they are quickly overcoming the relative lack of brick-and-mortar sex venues such as bars and saunas. The researchers warn the effects of homophobia could therefore have a very concerning impact on the spread of HIV.

    Co-author Dr Ford Hickson from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: “Our findings are surprising as it may appear it’s effectively safer for men to stay in the closet in the most homophobic countries because their HIV-risk is lower there. But the closet is a difficult, shameful place which is particularly harmful to mental health and wellbeing. It’s also a place where men are kept ignorant, under-resourced and poorly skilled when dealing with sex and HIV. As the way people meet changes with technology, the homophobia that may have appeared to be protecting these men will now be exposing them to huge risk.”

    The research was conducted by the Yale School of Public Health, Columbia University, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the Norwegian Knowledge Centre for Health Services, and the German Robert Koch Institute.

    Researchers measured national homophobia across Europe using a combination of the laws of a country and the results of social attitudes surveys. They then analysed data from 175,000 gay or bisexual men in 38 European countries who completed the European MSM Survey (EMIS) in 2010 to compare the level of HIV-related service use, need and behaviours among groups of men living in more homophobic and less homophobic countries.

    The researchers say their findings suggest new approaches need to be considered to reduce oppression without increasing the HIV risk.

    Dr Hickson added: “Previous research on HIV prevention in Europe has shown there are four key interventions in suppressing HIV: condom distribution, peer-led group education, peer-outreach education projects, and universal access to anti-retrovirals for men with HIV. All health authorities could be commissioning these services as well as working to protect the human rights of sexual minorities.”

  • Anti-Gay Marriage Cake Baker Outlines Appeal Grounds

    Anti-Gay Marriage Cake Baker Outlines Appeal Grounds

    The Christian-run bakery which refused to bake a pro-marriage cake has outlined its appeal to the judgement that found it had acted unlawfully in refusing the cake order.

    The bakery, in Northern Ireland, was found to have acted unlawfully when it refused to make a cake that bore a pro-gay marriage slogan for Gareth Lee, by a court last month. It was ordered to pay £500 in compensation to Mr Lee.

    In a statement released by the Christian Institute, an organisation that has funded many appeals against legal matters surrounding gay issues, has raised three questions to support their appeal.

    1. Whether the judge was correct, as a matter of law, to hold that Ashers had discriminated against Mr Lee directly on grounds of sexual orientation.
    2. Whether the judge was correct, as a matter of law, to hold that Ashers had discriminated against Mr Lee directly on grounds of religious belief or political opinion.
    3. Whether the judge was correct, as a matter of law, to hold that Ashers was not entitled to protection as a result of the rights under Articles 9 and/or 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

    A spokesperson for the Christian Institute, Simon Calvert, believes that “most people” would support an overturning of the ruling that found that the business had acted unlawfully, this despite a poll undertaken in 2014 which showed that the majority supported same-sex marriage.

    The Christian Institute is a registered charity that has sought to retain section 28, to raise the age of consent for gay people and opposed the Civil Partnership Act and same-sex marriage act.

    The Christian Institute has backed many legal actions in the past, but has been unsuccessful in many attempts, most notably the Christian Institute backed Hotel owners Mr and Mrs Ball, who infamously denied lodgings to a gay couple. Numerous attempts of appeal have all subsequently failed.

     

  • Laverne Cox gets her own wax work

    Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox will not only have her very own wax figure at Madame Tussauds’ but she will also be the first transgender celebrity to have such an honour.

    One small snag for is that it will be be in their San Francisco Museum.

    Cox’s figure will be revealed during a San Francisco Pride press conference on June 26 and will be on display at the exhibit in Fisherman’s Wharf.

    In a statement from the San Jose Mecury News, Cox expressed a great deal of gratitude when talking about her achievement saying,

    “I am so deeply honoured to have been asked to be a part of the Madame Tussauds legacy…I hope that this will be a source of inspiration for everyone who encounters it to believe that their dreams matter and are possible.”

  • TheGayUK’s sexpert is nominated for Erotic Journalist of the year

    She’s brought you pieces such as “How to introduce toys to the bedroom” and “How to make a one night stand memorable” and now she’s been nominated for a coveted Best Erotic journalist.

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  • YouTuber Comes Out To Grandma

    YouTuber Loren Baldwin took advantage of vlogger Amy Hill’s music video ‘Coming Out’ to break her own news to her Grandmother.

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  • Understanding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identities

    US based TEEN LINE published their latest excellent educational video called LGBTQ: Understanding Sexual Orientation and Gender Identities.

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  • Welsh Lib Dems Call For End To Gay Blood Ban

    Marking National Blood Week, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh Government to work with the UK Government to end the ban on gay and bisexual men giving blood.

    Currently, UK Government guidelines prevent gay and bisexual men from donating blood if they have had sex with another male within the preceding twelve months. Proponents of the ban argue that gay and bisexual men are more likely than any other group to contract HIV, but figures for 2012 show that more people contract HIV through heterosexual sex than homosexual sex.

    Welsh Lib Dem AM Peter Black raised the issue in the Welsh Assembly earlier today. The Welsh Minister for Government Business agreed to ask the Minister for Health and Social Services to look at the matter further.

    Peter Black AM, the Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Equalities Minister, said,

    “National Blood Week has brought to our attention that the blood service needs 204,000 extra donors to meet demand. Given this huge demand for blood donors, I completely fail to understand why the ban on men who have sex with men giving blood is still in place.

    “This ban not only turns away thousands of willing and healthy potential donors, but it also serves to reinforce negative stereotypes about gay and bisexual men. Straight people get HIV too, and all donated blood is tested for HIV and other diseases before being transfused for precisely that reason.

    “The sooner this unfair and discriminatory ban is lifted, the sooner our blood services can benefit from a greater supply of donated blood and more lives can be saved.”