THEGAYUK

Category: News

  • Marks And Spencer Reverses Gay Ban On Website

    One of Britain’s leading retailers Marks And Spencer has reversed its policy banning the word gay from its online store.

    • Customers were banned from using words like “Gay” and “Christ” for personalising gifts.
    • Marks And Spencer makes a U-Turn on its policy and apologises for “any offence”.

    Previously customers were not able to enter the word “gay”, when writing a personal message for products they bought as gifts on the M&S website. Customers were however were able to use the words queer, lesbian and bisexual. Marks And Spencer have updated their policy this morning to allow the word gay.

    A spokesperson for Marks & Spencer said: “We apologise for any offence caused, it was certainly never our intention. We have revised the words included on the automatic phrase checker which is in place to prevent the use and misuse of certain words.”

    When the story surfaced, THEGAYUK checked with three other online retailers, Selfridges, Debenhams and John Lewis and none of those retailers had a similar policy in place.

  • First Ever Envoy For Gay Rights

    United States Secretary of State John Kerry today announced his Department’s first ever Envoy for gay rights.

    Randy Berry is tasked with helping countries coordinate US strategy on rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, as well as to highlight such issues around the world.

    At the announcement, Secretary Kerry said, “I’d just say loudly and clearly: no matter who you are and no matter who you love, we stand with you. That’s more than a message, that is a movement that we can ignite and with our work together we will see this movement succeed.”

    Mr Berry, standing with his husband and two children, decried the violation of LGBT rights worldwide. “This love still stands ground for imprisonment, harassment, torture and far worse in too many places around the world. That is a violation of human rights,” he said.

  • RIP: Leonard Nimoy, Lived Long And Prospered

    The veteran classically trained actor who was known the world over as Spock the deadpan Vulcan logician whose cool head helped Captain Kirk out of many a near miss on ‘STAR TREK’ has died at aged 83.

    Back in 1968 when talking about the character he created he told a New York Times reporter, “‘It’s all in the years. Five words. That’s what they want to hear”. His early autobiography I am Not Spock was wildly misconstrued as his resentment to his ticket to fame and fortune, but he corrected that misunderstanding with his second memoir in 1995 called ‘I Am Spock’.

    In fact he was so wedded the most famous space series of all time that after his screen death he went on to direct two Star Trek movies: The Search for Spock in 1984, and The Voyage Home in 1986 for which he also wrote the story. He was in fact so much more than just an actor and enjoyed a hugely successful career that included directing the blockbuster comedy Three Men and A Baby’ acting on stage and both big and small screens as well as making several albums of his music, photography (with several exhibitions mounted of his portraiture) and prolifically producing books of his poetry.

    Among the outpouring of tributes that are all over the media today, one of the most endearing ones came from George Takei the actor who played Sulu alongside him in Star Trek for many years. He said, “Today, the world lost a great man, and I lost a great friend. We return you now to the stars, Leonard. You taught us to “Live Long And Prosper,” and you indeed did, friend. I shall miss you in so many, many ways.”

    As we Trekkies and non-Trekkies will too.

  • Gay Fans Of World Cup Football May Face Humiliating Tests By Qatar

    LGBT football fans who may want to attend the 2022 World cup, due to take place in Qatar may face humiliating tests in order to enter the country, in which being gay is illegal.

    Despite a number of worrying questions over human rights, Qatar has been awarded the hosting obligations for the World cup in 2022, by FIFA.

    Currently, gay men face between one and three years in prison if caught. In November 2014, the Qatari sports minister said that the country would find “Creative” solutions to gay people. He told AP, “It’s exactly like the alcohol question.”

    “[Qatar doesn’t want to create] this impression, illusion that we don’t care about our tradition and our ethical values.

    “We are studying all these issues. We can adapt, we can be creative to have people coming and enjoying the games without losing the essence of our culture and respecting the preference of the people coming here.

    “I think there is a lot we can do.”

    It has been suggested that members of the Gulf Cooperation Countries, which include; Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are developing a test that will be able to detect the sexuality of visitors to its countries.

    The test was first reported on in 2013 after Kuwait’s director of public health Yousouf Mindkar said, “gays will be barred.”

    Speaking to Kuwait Newspaper Al Rai, he said, “Health centres conduct the routine medical check to assess the health of the expatriates when they come into the GCC countries. However, we will take stricter measures that will help us detect gays who will be then barred from entering Kuwait or any of the GCC member states.”

    Gay rights groups have criticised FIFA for choosing Qatar to host the event.

    An advertising ‘modesty’ campaign has already begun teaching visitors to the nation about acceptable behaviour including what and whatnot to wear, with the slogan, “If You Are In Qatar You Are One of Us…”

    Today the FIFA taskforce has recommended that the World cup event should take place in November and December due to concerns regarding the health of player and spectators, who are unaccustomed to temperatures that can exceed 40C in the summer months.

  • John Barrowman Leads Fury At Joan Rivers Oscar Snub

    Stars and allies of the gay community tweeted their disgust at the apparent snub of Joan Rivers, who died last year at the age of 81.

    • John Barrowman slams Academy for failing to mention the late Joan Rivers in their In Memoriam segment.
    • Lance Bass and Margaret Cho amongst the LGBT community to tweet their anger at the apparent snub.
    • The Academy offers an explanation.

    Joan Rivers who died at the age of 81 last year, was known for her stand-up comedy and her film roles, but she was also a staunch supporter of the LGBT community. She was omitted from the Oscars “In Memoriam” section.

    Leading the outrage was Joan Rivers’ co-star on E! Kelly Osborne who tweeted, “Am I missing something or was @Joan_Rivers really left out of the #Oscars memorials?”

    Margaret Cho was also disappointed that organisers had failed to mention the late comedian.

    Openly gay, Torchwood actor, John Barrowman had a few words to say about the snub.

    Newly wed former NSync singer Lance Bass also slammed the Oscars for the lack of Rivers.

    https://twitter.com/LanceBass/status/569709256598949888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.archive.thegayuk.com%2F_snippet%2Fblog%2F4009928388%2F9431867%2F3sVUrUOzH0wDQCMzn9CZj01to-M.html

    The Academy addressed the lack of Joan Rivers in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, an Oscar rep explained the decision to not include the iconic comedian. “Joan Rivers is among the many worthy artists and filmmakers we were unfortunately unable to feature in the In Memoriam segment of this year’s Oscar show,” reads the statement. “She is, however, included in our In Memoriam gallery on Oscar.com.”

  • Do You Have A Gay Name? Christopher Voted Gayest Name

    Do You Have A Gay Name? Christopher Voted Gayest Name

    Christopher voted the most common gay name.

    ©-Ruslan117-Depositphotos
    ©-Ruslan117-Depositphotos

    Christopher voted by users of Ranker.com as the ‘gayest’ name.

     Jimmy or James voted second.

    Future names-scape of the LGBT Community could look quite different as Muhammad is the UK’s most popular name

    Names can conjure up all sorts of scenarios in your head. A romp in the hay with Brad, a good old pounding with Chud or an evening of poetry and crumpet with Quentin, but now we can reveal the 3 most common gay names.

    According to Ranker.com Christopher is the most common male name, followed by James/Jimmy and then Michael. The site asks users: What are the most common names for gays?

    According to the site you are most likely to have a relationship with a guy called Christopher. It’s a total mind melt, what would happen if two Christopher’s were to bed together. Chris squared one presumes.

    If you look into statistics however, and taking into account that 10% of the population is assumed not to be heterosexual, Muhammad, according to the Guardian, could the UK’s most popular name in 2014, followed by Oliver, Jack, Noah and Jacob. So the future LGBT+ -name-scape could look quite different.

  • Famous Gay Or Bi People Called Chris/Christopher

    With the earth stopping news that Christopher has been voted the gayest name, we decided to have a look at some of the famous gay or bi people called Chris, Christopher or some other incarnation of the name.

    So after the earth shattering news that the name Christopher was voted the gayest name, we looked into our archives to find famous gay or bi men who have the name Christopher or Chris.

    Christopher Biggins. King of panto. Christopher Biggins caused a furore in 2013 when he said in an interview with The Big Issue that bisexuals ruin women’s lives. He also said no re-defining marriage.

     

    Chris Colfer, star of Glee and former face of Mr. Porter.

     

    Chris Crocker, LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE guy. Internet celebrity, who left the YouTube world to embark on a porn career.

    Christopher Banks, read his exclusive interview with TheGayUK here

    Chris Bryant, UK politician for Labour

    Christian Dior, famed fashion designer.

    Christopher Hall, star of Big Brother 2014. Mark and Christopher had the UK on tenderhooks with their will they, won’t they relationship. He’s a journalist by trade.

    Chris Hughes – Facebook cofounder and entrepreneur, Chris H is listed as number 4 in the Gay Rich List having co-founded Facebook.

    Doctor Christian Jessen, okay not a Christopher but still a beautiful man.

    Christopher Isherwood, British Novelist born in 1904, died 1986 aged 81. His autobiography Christopher and His Kind was adapted by the BBC into a TV movie, starring Matt Smith.

    Chris Kanyon, of the very few openly gay wrestlers from the US who died in 2010 after committing suicide.

    Christian Louboutin, famed designer and partner of the great French landscape gardener Louis Benech.

    Christopher Rice, Best selling author of A Density of Souls, The Snow Garden, Light Before Day, Blind Fall, The Moonlit Earth,  and The Heavens Rise.

     

  • Mother Jailed For Allegedly Punching “Feminine And Gay” Son

    A mother in Memphis, USA, has been charged by police after allegedly assaulting her son because he is too feminine.

    • Mother allegedly punched her son for being too “feminine and gay”
    • Was jailed on a $1000 bond

    Jacqueline Alexander in Memphis was charged by police for domestic assault against her son, resulting in a jail time on a $1000 bond. According to police she punched her son ay 11PM on Tuesday. Police say her son was lying in bed when she accused him of “being too feminine and gay.”

    Will Batts, who runs the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Center said to WMC Action News, “It’s shocking every time it happens, but it’s not new to us at the centre,

    “We hear a lot of stories about people who are assaulted by family members. Young people who are kicked out of their houses when they come out to a parent.”

    The boy’s name or age has not be released.

  • The Incredible Letter From A Nine Year Old Gay Kid

    Sometimes we get a letter to editorial that floors us. Yesterday evening we got an email from Amaya’s dad, who wanted to share this amazing letter that his 9-year-old daughter had written about being gay.

    Hello! My name is Amaya and I am 9 years old, and today I will talk about being a lesbian child.

    There are many different types of sexuality, such as being “straight”, which is what people THINK is the norm, but really, it is not. Everyone has their own sexuality, whether people like people of the same gender, different gender, or if they like both, or even none at all!

    Not knowing your sexuality is troubling; I went through it, and I was scared. I wanted to know about myself, and not knowing was scary. You may go through this stage sometime, but if you’re going through puberty, you most likely will find out soon.

    Being a lesbian is “bad” to some people. Some people feel its wrong, and they have their reasons, but these reasons are mostly quite stupid. Love is something we cannot control. It’s not a choice, but some people think it is.

    if someone bullies you for it, you know what you can do? Go to an adult you trust. If they say that your sexuality is wrong, well, the world is horrible, but hope is not lost. There is someone out there who will love you for being YOU. Beacause (sic) you are amazing. and no one is like you, and that makes you SPECIAL.

    Many children, teenagers, and adults have killed themselves because they were either pushed to be different, bullied, or not accepted by their own families for being themselves, and many people have been working to help the people who are young and afraid. There are marches all over the place to support peoples’ sexualities, and it’s amazing.

    I was very lucky out of many people. My parents are bisexual, and they don’t feel it’s wrong that I am lesbian. If you too feel lesbian, telling your parents might be hard, but if they can’t accept you for being you, try to help them understand! If they can’t and say something like “Its just a phase” if you’re young, they may feel you’re not old enough to understand. But you know yourself better than anyone. Be open to your parents about your feelings and if their response hurts your feelings, let them know. If they cannot accept you, the ones that are supposed to LOVE and CHERISH you, go find help. Try to access the phone and ask someone to help. No one should take away who you are and put down a replacement of what they want you to be.

    Speaking about his daughter’s coming out, Amaya’s Dad said, “Like many parents we had an inkling as to her sexuality from a fairly early age, and when she told us she was unsure of her sexuality (before she determined that she is a lesbian) she was actually pretty nervous. We explained that her sexual orientation wouldn’t change anything for us – that we love her the same regardless, and she didn’t need to worry about how we felt. I think that gave her the confidence to look at her feelings without fear. She’s always been a brave kid.”

  • Small Penises To Get Their Own Festival

    Entry fee is 50p per inch…

    Hold on to your junk fellas – as those of you who are packing a little less than the average have the opportunity to have your own festival and it’s a bargain too. Just 50p per inch.

    Attendees will be asked on entry how many inches they are sneaking in and charged accordingly according to the Mirror. The festival has been launched by poet Ant Smith who said, “For too long, men who perceive their penises to be small have been made to feel inadequate. It’s time to stand up and say there’s nothing wrong with having a little nob,

    “It’s an open invite to everybody, male or female. We’ve all been touched by a small penis in our lifetime, now’s the time to give something back.”

    Ladies will be charged on how many inches they actually like – so size queens expect to pay through the nose for entry. As the average erect penis is 6 inches, the average cost of entry would be, £3.

    The Big Small Penis Party will be held on March 7 at The Rhythm Factory in Whitechapel.

  • Lesley Gore, the party girl, dies 68

    The American singer/songwriter and out Lesley Gore who has just died aged 68 will always be very fondly remembered for her big hits in the 1960s, which became some of the very first ‘gay anthems’.

    Her infectious and popular songs that made her a worldwide success included “It’s My Party (I Can Cry If Of I Want Too)” recorded when she was just 16-years-old, and “It’s Judy’s Turn to Cry”, and “You Don’t Own Me” all had the most campest lyrics ever. In 1965, she appeared in the beach party beach party film ‘The Girls on The Beach’ in which she performed three songs: Leave Me Alone, It’s Gotta Be You and I Don’t Want to Be a Loser.

    Lesley Gore composed songs for the 1980 movie Fame for which she received an Academy Award Nomination, and she recorded her last album in 2005 entitled Ever Since. An out lesbian, who had been with her partner Lpis Sasson a jeweller designer for 33 years, Ms Gore also hosted the PBS TV series In The Life which focused ion LGBT matters in 2004.

    Lesley Gore (born Lesley Sue Goldstein,[ May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015)