Well well, stocks of the ‘Gay Icon’ apron maker must have skyrocketed after Gay Ally Ben Cohen and newly out Tom Daley both showed off their ‘Gay Icon’ Apron.
So guys who do you think wore it better? Tom or Ben?
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Tom Daley’s ‘Gay Icon’ Christmas
Diving champion and Olympic medalist Tom Daley has had a festive Christmas – judging by his Instagram account.
Rainbows were apparently the theme for the newly out Diver, Tom Daley as he shared his Christmas day on Instagram with his fans and followers.
Pictures included his brand new rainbow socks and a pressie wrapped with a rainbow – but most revealingly of all – Tom posed in nothing by a ‘gay icon’ apron.
Apparently the turkey was shocked.
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Code Breaker Alan Turing pardoned by the Queen
The Queen has posthumously pardoned ‘Code Breaker’ Alan Turing under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy.
Alan Turing, a World War II hero has been granted a posthumous pardon by the Queen. He was prosecuted and sentenced to chemical castration in 1952 for ‘gross indecency’ after it was found he was in a relationship with a man.
Two years later in 1954, Turing killed himself.
David Cameron said,
‘Alan Turing was a remarkable man who played a key role in saving this country in World War Two by cracking the German Enigma code
‘His action saved countless lives. He also left a remarkable national legacy through his substantial scientific achievements, often being referred to as the father of modern computing.’
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has written to the Prime Minister urging a new inquiry into the death of the scientist Alan Turing, who has just been granted a royal pardon for his 1952 conviction for homosexual relations.
‘The government should open a new inquiry into the death of gay war-time code-breaker, mathematical genius and computer pioneer Alan Turing, including an investigation into the possibility he was murdered by the security services,’ said Peter Tatchell, Director of the human rights advocacy organisation, the Peter Tatchell Foundation,
‘The security services would have been very fearful that Turing was vulnerable to blackmail and anxious that he might pass information to the Soviets, as did the British nuclear scientist Klaus Fuchs, who was convicted in 1950 of assisting the Soviet Union’s atomic programme. There was an irrational, paranoid fear that other leading scientists might also aid the Soviets.
‘Although there is no evidence that Turing was murdered by state agents, the fact that this possibility has never been investigated is a major failing. The original inquest into his death was perfunctory and inadequate. Although it is said that he died from eating an apple laced with cyanide, the allegedly fatal apple was never tested for cyanide. A new inquiry is long overdue, even if only to dispel any doubts about the true cause of his death.
‘Turing was regarded as a high security risk because of his homosexuality and his expert knowledge of code-breaking, advanced mathematics and computer science. At the time of his death, Britain was gripped by a MacCarthyite-style anti-homosexual witch-hunt. Gay people were being hounded out of the armed forces and the civil and foreign services’
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5 Pagan origins of Christmas
Christmas is a Christian festival, but a lot of its traditions originate from the older pagan festival of Yule. Yule or the Winter Solstice is on 21st December; it is the shortest day and longest night in year. From this point on days will begin to get longer. Pagans come together celebrate the return of the sun or re-birth of the sun God.
Let’s have a look at 5 Christmas traditions and discover their pagan origins:
1. The Christmas tree
The evergreen Christmas tree started with the pagans. They saw evergreen as symbolic of the eternal cycles of nature: birth, life, death and re-birth. The re-birth always being seen as a result of the sun’s return.I remember decorating the Christmas tree when I was little. My mum would let me and my brothers decorate one side of the tree and then put that side against the wall. Or she’d let us decorate it and then strategically move all of the decorations to where she wanted them to be, before visitors began to arrive. As we got older, she simply refused to let us decorate the tree at all. Did anybody else’s mum do that, or was it just mine?
The decorations, like the round baubles in colours of red and yellow and the lights (before electricity candles were used) are all seen by pagans as representations of the sun God.
2. The Presents
Pagans gave presents long before Christian’s came along, but on New Years Day rather than at Yule. The presents were often small and symbolic of a blessing for the year ahead.Christian’s didn’t start giving presents until relatively recently. In Britain due to poverty and culture, Christmas presents didn’t commonplace until around the Victorian Era. There are records of wealthy people giving presents before then, but it was only some people and these were the upper classes of society.
3. Father Christmas
Father Christmas or Santa goes back to the Christian Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas had a reputation for secret gift giving to children and for valuing children greatly.But what show his pagan roots are the colours of his archetypal dress. When I think of Father Christmas, I think of Miracle of 34th Street. I imagine the scene in which Kris is putting on his suit for the first time. His red suit with white trim, black belt with golden buckle, his black boots and of course his red hat. These colours: red, white and gold are all associated with the pagan sun god, who is believed to be re-born on Yule.
4. Kissing Under The Mistletoe
This time of year, mistletoe always seems to find it’s way to the office Christmas party. Hung in some precarious doorway, it can lead to an awkward moment of avoiding eye contact and pretending you’ve not seen it or to a drunken Christmas snog with the hottie from the IT Department.Mistletoe’s pagan origins are as a symbol of fertility. Yule was a festival of fertility, by the very nature of it being the festival were the life-giving sun God is re-born. Often pagan’s would give mistletoe to those wanting to conceive.
5. The Humble Robin
Every year I receive at least one Christmas card with the humble robin on. His pagan associations come from his striking reddy orange chest, a symbol of the sun and also in his ability to fly. His ability to fly means that he can leave and then return, very much like the sun God.There you have it, 5 Christmas Christian traditions that originated from paganism. It’s not just Christmas that has pagan roots, Christian festivals throughout the year have pagan traditions and elements integrated into them.
Have a great Christmas or Yule, whichever you choose to call it and whatever religious belief system (or not) is.
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COLUMN | Very Superstitious
People talk about spirituality and faith and I’m always left puzzled. Talk to me about organised religion and my eyes glaze over as I reach for my Richard Dawkins books. Lecture me on Eastern mysticism and I shudder and look away. If you want to tell me about astrology, cosmic ordering or the time your deceased neighbour communicated with you from the spirit world then I’m anything but fascinated.
I escaped my religious upbringing as soon as I was able and I avoid anything with chanting or incense. I suspect that my chakras are more than out of alignment but are actually non-existent. A woman at a party once told me that a dead woman called Marjory was wanting to talk to me and I politely told her to go away and take Marjory with her.
If I think about it, though, I do have a religion of sorts: superstition. I can’t pass a single magpie without saluting it. If I see a shiny penny on the floor then I have to pick it up and I touch wooden things with alarming regularity. This can prove very awkward. Saluting a magpie during a driving lesson will guarantee that a frantic instructor will shout at you in alarm and grab for the dual controls as you allow the car to veer across lanes of traffic. Ducking down whilst on a date to snatch a coin from the street whilst drunkenly shouting: “A lucky penny!” will almost certainly ensure that date number two will not be forthcoming. Grabbing a penny from a colleague’s desk will get you odd looks too. Reaching for tree trunks in the street to touch wood will perhaps risk arrest, if done too conspicuously.
My superstition is as sound as anything and no less valid. It’s based on centuries of tradition. I know it’s not true and that it’s a mad way to run my life but what’s not to like about not opening an umbrella indoors or keeping new shoes off the table? It’s hardly a hardship.
For me, it’s more a way of keeping anxiety at bay, like a very mild strain of O.C.D. I see a black cat and I feel instantly calmer. It has a flip side too, of course. Seeing one magpie can leave me lurching with angst. Its mild angst though and it passes. The major bonus for me is that my religion has no dietary restrictions, no observances and no tricky festivals to navigate. It also doesn’t disapprove of me being gay.
Maybe I’ll start a festival though. If anyone wants to come round to mine dressed as a magpie whilst bearing wood then I’ll gladly let you pick up all the pennies you like from my carpet. Tempted?
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Time Out halts gay section
In a sad move TimeOut, the world’s largest listings magazine, has decided to stop the publication of the LGBT section.
The LGBT section, which had been edited by Paul Burston, had in recent years become smaller and smaller- but the publishers have announced it is to disappear altogether. Paul Burston had edited the section for 20 years.
The Guardian writes that the section, as well as others, had been closed because of ‘cost cutting’
As well as the LGBT section, classical music, dance and caberet were to be folded into other categories within the printed edition.
You can still find listings for all LGBT bars and venues at TheGayUK – by visiting http://www.thegayuk.com/listings
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Ugandan MPs pass “Jail The Gays” bill
Life in prison a possibility after Ugandan MPs passes anti-homosexuality bill.
The Ugandan Parliament has passed a law which could see thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the region jailed for life.
The law was first introduced in 2009 – and sparked world-wide condemnation – a petition by AllOut to Uganda’s President, Yoweri Musevni, reached nearly 250,000 people.
In the original draft of the bill, lawmakers had suggested a death sentence tariff for “aggravated homosexuality”, which would have included: sex where one person is infected with HIV, serial offenders and sex with minors.
The law was post-poned after the world’s media shone a spotlight on the proposal, with President Obama calling the bill ‘odious’.
Human Rights groups have called upon President Yoweri Museveni to veto the bill. In order for the bill to become law, it requires his signature in 30 days.
Deputy Africa Director at Amnesty International, Aster van Kregten, said:
“President Museveni must veto this wildly discriminatory legislation, which amounts to a grave assault on human rights and makes a mockery of the Ugandan constitution.
“Passing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was a retrograde step for Uganda’s Parliament, which has made some important progress on human rights in recent years, including criminalising torture. It flies in the face of the Ugandan government’s stated commitment to ensure all legislation complies with human rights.”
Violation
‘The new anti-gay law violates Article 21 of the Ugandan constitution and Articles 2 and 3 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights – both of which guarantee equal treatment and non-discrimination to all people,” said human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell, Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation.
‘It is part of a broader attack on civil society and is symptomatic of Uganda’s drift to Mugabe-style authoritarianism. This wider repression includes a clamp down on protests, strikes, the media and opposition activists.’
‘Ugandans have been anxiously waiting for this bill. This day will be a good day for all Ugandans,’said Benson Obua Ogwal, a member of parliament for Moroto.
The law maker of the new piece of legislation, David Bahati said:
“This is a piece of legislation that is needed in this country to protect the traditional family here in Africa, and also protect the future of our children.”
Summary of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill
“The Bill extends the existing penalty of life imprisonment for same-sex intercourse to all other same-sex behaviour, including the mere touching of another person with the intent to have homosexual relations,” added Mr Tatchell.
“Life imprisonment is also the penalty for contracting a same-sex marriage.
“Promoting homosexuality and aiding and abetting others to commit homosexual acts will be punishable by five to seven years jail. These new crimes are likely to include membership and funding of LGBT organisations, advocacy of LGBT human rights, supportive counselling of LGBT persons and the provision of condoms or safer sex advice to LGBT people.
“A person in authority – gay or heterosexual – who fails to report violators to the police within 24 hours will be sentenced to three years behind bars.
“Astonishingly, the new legislation has an extra-territorial jurisdiction. It will also apply to Ugandan citizens or foreign residents of Uganda who commit these ‘crimes’ while abroad, in countries where such behaviour is not a criminal offence. Violators overseas will be subjected to extradition, trial and punishment in Uganda.
“This bill is in some respects even more draconian than the extreme homophobic laws of countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran,” added Mr Tatchell. -
FILM REVIEW | Mr Angel
★★★★ | Mr Angel
Buck Angel is a brawny muscular red-headed good-looking bearded hunk. With his heavily tattooed body, his twinkling eyes and his infectious smile, he is in fact one very hot man. In our label-fixated society Buck is actually transgender, or as he loves to describe himself so succinctly, he is ‘a man with a pussy’.
What strikes you immediately in this extraordinary wonderful documentary by Dan Hunt, is that before you start to try to get your head around all the gender-transitioning is how remarkably charismatic and engaging Buck truly is. He is full of charm, totally fearless with such a strong sense of purpose which we soon discover is something he achieved only after battling so many demons in his past.
Buck has always identified himself as a male – even when he grew up – he was a rather stunning looking woman who carved a career out of fashion modeling. That in turn led to cocaine and then a rapid spiral downwards where he ended up turning tricks, more suicide attempts and then literally ending up in the gutter.
Life eventually changed for him for the better after taking hormones and testosterone and he had a double mastectomy and ‘Buck’ was born. Not content with just being a male, he worked out aggressively and once he achieved a really great physique he launched into a career in porn. Here he carved out a unique niche for himself because as he kept saying ‘he never had bottom’ surgery.
As we follow him making personal appearances at Sex Industry Trade Shows he is unabashedly proud about his career and although he repeatedly insists that he is not a sexual oddity, he definitely is challenging the accepted terms and classifications we are currently used too. For examples he shoots videos with gay men for the gay market, but as his partners are penetrating his vagina, doesn’t that make it ‘straight’ sex? And when he does another scene with a MTF person who still has a penis, isn’t that also heterosexual sex?
I have to say that regardless of the technicalities of the actual penetration that takes considerable mind-blowing, you are firmly persuaded by a combination of Buck’s words, demeanor, attitude and spirit that he is very much a man.
The documentary made over 6 years sees Buck now happily married to Elayne, a piercing expert, and they are living in Mexico with countless dogs. Buck is now re-positioning himself from sex-worker to sex educator as he undertakes a series of speaking engagements and advocacy about gender-roles in particular. I would normally be skeptical about how anyone can switch sides like this and be either accepted or respected, but it’s hard not to be swept away by the combination of Buck’s enthusiasm and the belief in has in himself.
One of the biggest hurdles Buck had to overcome was helping his parents and siblings come to terms with his new persona. It’s not just the gender altering but it is also the porn career, which is hard for all of them to get their heads around. It is a remarkable journey that they all take together, and I defy anyone not to reach for the tissues when his father breaks down.
This is not a film for everyone… Some of the imagery is very graphic. I do hope it gets the biggest audience it deserves.
Full credit to Mr. Hunt for not only helping to start de-mystifying some of these questions, but more essentially for the respect that he accorded both Buck and his story.
Available on Amazon
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Gay and Bi Men In Norwich Urged To Wrap It Up
Rise in syphilis cases among gay and bisexual men in the Norwich area.
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THEGAYUK Comes Runner Up In The Co Op Respect Awards Loved By You
Huzzah! TheGayUK has been announced as a runner-up in the Co-Operative Respect ‘Loved By You’ National Magazine of The Year Award.
It’s with great pleasure that we announce that TheGayUK along with all its contributors have come runner up in the Co-Operative Respect ‘Loved By You’ Awards 2013.
“We were up against some Titans,’ remarked Jake Hook, one of the co-founders, ‘but we’re so happy with our placement – against two of our incredible colleagues in gay media – DIVA and Attitude. My congratulations goes to both publications and the teams that make them happen and thank you to everyone who voted for us…’
The awards have generated lots of interest and 8,753 nominations were received and the awards have reached over 2.5 million people on Twitter with lots of support from community groups, celebrities and charities. The winners of the awards are those that received the most nominations.
The awards were an opportunity for people from all over the UK (anyone in the world could vote too) to vote for their favourites in 27 diverse categories. Categories ranged from ‘LGBT Charity of the Year’ to ‘Inclusive Event of the Year’.
Winners for the other categories include:
Village Bakers – LGBT Networking/Social Group of the Year
UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group (UKLGIG) – LGBT Community Group of the Year
Stonewall – LGBT Charity of the Year
George House Trust -Health & Wellbeing Charity of the Year
Newcastle Ravens RFC -LGBT Sports Group of the Year
Out North West – Regional LGBT Magazine of the Year
DIVA – National LGBT Magazine of the Year
R U Coming Out – LGBT Website of the Year
Kieron Richardson Show (Gaydio) – LGBT Radio Show of the Year
Stephen Fry – Tweeter of the Year
Matt Fishel – Not Thinking Straight – Album of the Year
Matt Fishel – Radio-Friendly Pop Song – Song of the Year
Gravity – Movie of the Year
Hollyoaks – TV Show of the Year
The Palace of Curiosities – Rosie Garland – Book of the Year
The Secret Diaries of a Teenager Queer – Theatre Production of the Year
Tom Daley – Inspiring Celebrity of the Year
Manchester – UK Pride Event of the Year
Amsterdam – International Pride Event of the Year
The Rainbow Intersection – A dialogue about Race, Sexuality & Culture in Modern Britain – Inclusive Event of the Year
Polari – LGBT Cultural Event of the Year
Taurus, Manchester – LGBT Bar of the Year
Velvet, Manchester – Restaurant of the Year
Contact Theatre, Manchester – Inclusive Venue of the Year
Gran Canaria – Holiday Destination of the Year
Barefoot Wine – Brand of the Year
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Gay footballer Robbie Rogers, Other gay footballers “scared” to come out
Robbie Rogers one of the world’s most famous openly gay footballers has said no other players have contacted him about the issue since he came out in February 2013.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, openly gay footballer Rogers hasn’t received any contact from any other players since he made news about his sexuality back in February. He was the first professional player to play for an English team, to do so since Justin Fashanu in 1990.
‘I haven’t received a letter or text or anything from one footballer that wants to talk about these issues,” he said.
‘I’ve received phone calls and I’ve spoken with all my friends here in the UK and around the world that have supported me, but I haven’t had one message from a [gay] footballer,” he told BBC Newsnight.
‘It reminds me of the fear that I had – you remember that atmosphere and how it made you feel. It just shows there’s a huge problem.
‘What do you do to change that, do you try to support them to create an environment that would support them to come out and they would feel comfortable in? It’s really tough.’
Robbie Rogers now plays for LA Galaxy.