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Demi Lovato is using She/Her pronouns again

The singer, Demi Lovato has spoken about how she’s gone back to She/Her pronouns after a year of using the Non Binary terms, They/Them.

Speaking to the Spout Podcast, she said,

“I felt like, especially last year, my energy was balanced and my masculine and feminine energy so that when I was faced with the choice of walking into a bathroom and it said, women and men, I didn’t feel like there was a bathroom for me because I didn’t feel necessarily like a woman,”

Lovato told host Tamara Dhia. “I didn’t feel like a man. I just felt like a human. And that’s what they/them is about. For me, it’s just about, like, feeling human at your core.”

However, it appears Lovato has been “feeling more feminine” recently, hence the return of she/her pronouns. She/Her pronouns were added to her/their Instagram recently.

She went on to say, “But I think what’s important is, like, nobody’s perfect. Everyone messes up pronouns at some point, and especially when people are learning, it’s just all about respect”

Yes! It’s all about respect!

3rd August 2022
GHOSTING | What is it and why does it happen?

This sh*t hurts, so why the f*ck do guys do it? And are the gays guilty of doing it more?

In a world where there’s an acronym or term for everything, Ghosting is where a guy you’ve been chatting to on an app, or even have hooked up with, simply doesn’t return your messages or calls. Not even a tag…

That’s right, you’ve put in the time, even gone to dinner and then, without explanation he’s gone into the night, like a ghost. Never to be heard of again.

Bastard.

pedrofigueras / Pixabay What is ghosting?

Why does ghosting happen?

There could be a number of reasons why a guy might suddenly stop messaging you. Perhaps he wasn’t totally up front with you about his personal circumstances, he could be married or in another relationship.

It could be something you said that really offended him or it could be that he said something that totally embarrassed him, and he’s too ashamed to speak to you again.

Where can ghosting happen?

The crazy thing about ghosting is that it can happen IRL and virtually. You can be ghosted on dating apps or on social media. On Grindr, we’ve found that ghosting is quite common. In a recent survey, we found that 88% of Grindr users had said that they had been ghosted on the app.

StockSnap / Pixabay

If he’s gone off social media or his dating profile is no longer active, then something even more final could have happened. The problem is that you’ll never know.

The best thing is to be happy for the time you had together and move on. Don’t live in the past, look to the future.

Is Ghosting the same thing as Zombie-ing?

Although they are linked, Ghosting and Zombie-ing are different. Zombie-ing is where your ghost, the one that you thought you’d never hear from again, suddenly comes back to life and starts wanting to hang out again. Let’s face it Zombie’s and Ghosts should be ignored and your attention should be focused on the land of the living.

2nd August 2022
What is #DontPayUK all about?
With soaring prices people are taking things into their own hands in order to tackle the cost of living crisis.
- Campaigners are urging energy customers to stop their direct debits on the 1st October
- Price hikes could come from the 1st October 2022
- Campaigners say that if one million customers don’t pay there could be a day of reckoning for the energy sector.
The #DontPayUK trend is doing the rounds on social media – but what does it mean and is it legal?

Essentially come the 1st of October the campaign is hoping to get millions of UK energy customers, UK householders and renters to stop paying their energy bills via direct debit. Campaigners are using Twitter, TikTok and Facebook to urge customers to cancel their direct debits with their suppliers.

During the summer months millions of customers have been paying above and beyond their actual usage. Customers who pay by direct debits have had their bills set by the energy firms and are often unable to change the amounts going out each month.

Why has #DontPayUK come about?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com. Campaigners are urging millions of energy consumers to cancel their direct debits. The campaign has been called #DontPayUK.

The average energy costs for UK customers has soared in the last year, rising by almost £700 to almost £2,000 in April. Energy regulator, OfGem sets a price cap – and the next price cap is set to rise in October and then again in January.

So what is the plan?

According to the DontPayUK website,

“It’s simple: we are demanding a reduction of energy bills to an affordable level. Our leverage is that we will gather a million people to pledge not to pay if the government goes ahead with another massive hike on October 1st.

“Mass non-payment is not a new idea, it happened in the UK in the late 80s and 90s, when more than 17 million people refused to pay the Poll Tax – helping bring down the government and reversing its harshest measures.

“Even if a fraction of those of us who are paying by direct debit stop our payments, it will be enough to put energy companies in serious trouble, and they know this. We want to bring them to the table and force them to end this crisis.”

As it stands and at the time of publishing, 14953 people have signed up to the campaign.

Day of reckoning for energy firms

The organisers go on to explain,

“With 1 million people, we can withhold £230 million for 28 days before energy companies can take any action. And then we can withhold another £230 million each month – possibly even more as the weather gets colder through winter and we use more energy. Possibly even more as more people start joining the strike.

“With 1 million people, we could be withholding more than £1.4 billion by the end of winter.

“In 2021, almost 30 energy companies collapsed – by withholding hundreds of millions of pounds we could force a true reckoning within an already unstable, insecure market.”

Can energy firms cut you off?

If you don’t pay your bill after 28 days, energy firms can take further actions against you. However, the campaign has said that if millions sign up to its movement, “they’ll be forced to first contact thousands, tens of thousands or even more customers about the possibility of disconnecting supply – but only after 28 days have passed. Then they’ll have to give a chance to set up a payment plan before, in most cases, applying to a court for a warrant. It’ll cause paralysis and create a months-long backlog.”

The idea here is to basically stop paying your bills through direct debits and not to stop paying your bills completely.
2nd August 2022
Is it legal to be gay or LGBT+ in Jamaica?
The idilic island nation of Jamaica seems like it might be an awesome place for a restful holiday for LGBT+ people, but the reality is, if you’re gay, your illegal.
- Same-sex sexual intercourse could lead to imprisonment, fines, beatings and worse.
- The Country’s Tourism Minister called the Country a “melting pot” and that everyone has a place.
It’s hard to fathom that in this day and age that simply being who you are can be illegal in a country, particularly in one that considers itself welcoming to all according to its Minister of Tourism for Jamaica Hon. Edmund Bartlett said recently in an interview with Sky News.

“Jamaica is that melting pot, that has a place for everybody…” that is of course, unless you’re LGBT+.

🤣😂😂🤣🤣🤣😂🤣🤣🤣 but not gay people tho!!!! @TheGayUK
— BloggingBlabber (@BlabberBlogging) August 1, 2022

Yes, the sex you have with someone of the same sex is legally governed by Jamaica and sex between two same-sex couples could land you with imprisonment, torture, vigilante executions, and vigilante beatings.

However it should be noted that Barlette has in the past welcomed LGBT+ travellers saying in an interview with ManAboutWorld, “We say that Jamaica is open to all travelers. We have a diversified offering that the extent to which we go to embrace various passion points is equal. We have no laws which prevent people of any orientation to come in and to enjoy the benefits of the destination. The ethics which guide tourism guide everybody, and so it is within that tourism ethic that we will operate with all the visitors that come to our country.”

In 2006 Time Magazine asked the question on whether Jamaica was the most homophobic place on earth and in 2013 a survey of the island’s LGBT+ population found the majority said they were subject to homophobic violence in public.

According to Wikipedia, the punishment for LGBT+ activity is 10 years of imprisonment with hard labour. It has been noted that vigilante executions, torture, and vigilante beatings have also been tolerated according to the Human Right’s organisation Amnesty International.

nancydowd / Pixabay

Despite the backlash that LGBT+ people can face in Jamaica, there are a couple of pride events held each year. One is called PRIDEJA and the other is Montego Bay Pride.

Attacks on Jamaican LGBT+ People are rife

According to a new podcast series, Ring The Alarm, host Jasmyne Cannick, one of Los Angeles’ most recognisable Black political strategists and journalists looks into a spate of horrific and alarming attacks on LGBT+ people in Jamaica.

Speaking about the podcast, Cannick told The Advocate,

“I have always used my platform to elevate Black stories and issues I felt were being ignored and Ring the Alarm is no different,

“When I was asked to come to Jamaica to speak to the LGBTQ+ community and share their stories, I immediately said yes.

“I said yes because American’s have had so much to say about the plight of queer people in places like Iran and Afghanistan but for decades have ignored the murders of lesbian women, gay men, and trans men and women in Jamaica.

“Well not anymore.”
1st August 2022
7 straight guys share what they feel about pegging

What is pegging, how do you do do and why some straight guys can’t get enough of it!

In a, well quite frankly, candid convo on Reddit, these guys talk about what it’s like to be pegged. For those not in the know, pegging is where a woman dons a dildo and well, pegs the man. The word was popularised by Dan Savage in his Savage Love column.

Anyway, this forum is devoted to how these guys with girlfriends feel about being pegged and their best advice for a newbie, whose girlfriend has plans to peg him – after he promised a weekend of submission.

1) Be careful, dude.

This is probably the one time you don’t want to be hyper-masculine. If you feel pain, then speak-up.
Much easier to rain on ya partner’s parade, than deal with an ER doctor wondering how yer arsehole got shredded.
Might tickle your asshole for awhile before penetration too. Not the loosest of holes and a large object inserted is going to cause major discomfort. Via

2) She HAS TO go slow.

I hope she goes from fingers to dildos before strap-on dildos. The hips can generate a LOT of power. However, she might get tired very fast depending on her experience & fitness.
Also, I strongly suggest you guys use a flexible dildo, not a glass dildo for example. Via

3) You can always say no.

You just chose not to. Just make sure you have the appropriate lubricant and that she takes it easy. There is always potential for damage, so if you feel a sharp pain, that would be a time to say no. Via

4) Lube lube lube lube lube.

It’s going to be easier to take a soft, bendable silicon dildo rather than a harder one that doesn’t bend easily. Also make sure you take deep breaths to relax yourself as the penetration starts, you’ll start to get really tense and potentially get nervous; so do everything to calm yourself down. Via

5) To Late To Apologise?

Tell her you apologise for every bad thing you’ve ever done beforehand. Via

6) Relaxxxxxxx

I’m surprised no one has mentioned this yet, but relax and push OUT! I know it sounds counterintuitive, but especially when she first inserts it, pushing out like you’re on the toilet helps it slide in more easily, potentially saving you some needless pain. And, as someone whose girlfriend pegs him VERY regularly, pushing out makes it feel even better, especially when you’re near orgasm. Via

7) More and more lube

Also, the usual advice: LUBE, LUBE, AND MORE LUBE. And take it slow. Put it in slow. Once it’s in, have her wait for a minute or several for you to get more accustomed to it. Then she can slowly get thrusting. Via

29th July 2022
Mandela Way woods, MetroCentre, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear

This is the busiest and best outdoor cruising area in Newcastle and Gateshead. I have seen lots of fit young guys fucking in the bushes, during afternoons and early evening. It is a vast 55,000 sq metres of woods and bushes, which is very cruisy and attracts guys from all over the north of England. The area is very overgrown and wild, screened off from the street by dense vegetation.

Mandela Way runs from Metro Centre railway station round to CostCo cash and carry. There are three laybys (two on the left, one on the right) where you can park. Or for discretion you can park 5 mins away at the Blue car park at Metro Centre, in Delta Bank Road, or at Costco itself.

Enter the cruising area at three points:-

1. Layby at top of Mandela Way as road bends:
What3Words is https://w3w.co/vouch.path.freed
GPS: 54.961444, -1.663782

2. Slope off footpath opposite largest layby. This is a more discreet entrance for shy guys (opposite the abandoned campervan parked in largest layby): What3Words is https://w3w.co/lost.bits.vine
or GPS: 54.960784, -1.664401

3. Even more discreet entrances. These are the corners of the first layby on the left coming from Metrocentre train station: What3Words is https://w3w.co/youth.bunk.soda
or GPS: 54.960562, -1.664608

Once inside the cruising zone, there are different areas to explore:

1. The Fuck Chair What3Words.com/proper.duck.sock

2. The Clearing of Cock (area to the left immediately as you enter from the street onto the runway) : manage.slate.hiking

3. The Tunnel of Love (entrance going deep into bushes with a yellow washing line to hang up your used condoms) : curl.duty.juices

4. The Wildlife Path (at end of runway and onto grassy path and turn left into bushes): guess.races.salt

5. The Hill (at end of the runway turn right towards rivers : scans.prom.plank

9. There is also a path on the right side of the runway which runs through the bushes for a long way and connects up with the Tunnel of Love, the entrance is here: upset.brick.retail

stones.season.planet

8th July 2022
6 awesome UK trans prides that are taking place in 2022 you have to know about

Specific transgender pride events are on the rise in the UK for our transgender siblings to show off their pride and be centred within their own events.

Here are the top six transgender pride you have to know about that are happening in 2022 right here in the UK.

Less than a decade ago there was no specific transgender pride events in the UK, now in 2022, there are over half a dozen, from Northern Ireland to Brighton. Our partner site, The Pride Shop has been keeping track of transgender prides in the UK.

Here are some of the transgender prides that are happening in July and beyond.

Where are the biggest trans pride events in the UK?

First on the list is Brighton’s Trans Pride which takes place on the 16th of July 2022, this is probably the most famous of the transgender prides in the UK and one of the longest-running. Brighton’s transgender pride has been running since 2013. It is a grass-roots, community-led organisation staffed entirely by unpaid volunteers

From one of the oldest events to one of the newest, Cornwall Pride in Newquay this year was dedicated to transgender people. It took place on the 14th of May 2022.

Trans prides happen all across the UK. They usually take place between March and July.

Trans Pride London is set to take place this year on the 9th of July, a week after Pride In London.

Trans Pride Southwest is an annual event which takes place in Bristol. Places are still being put together for its 2022 event. Its first event took place in 2019. During the pandemic, it ran a number of online and limited in-person events.

If you live in Northern Ireland you’ll be happy to know that there is usually Trans Pride in Belfast, however, a date is yet to be announced. Its first pride was marched in 2018. Unfortunately due to Covid-19, the last two events had to be cancelled. it is hoped that an event will take place in 2022.

There is a transgender pride in Scotland, however, it’s already had its march. In May a pride event took place in Paisley. Each year the Pride takes place in a different city in Scotland, in 2018 it was in Edinburgh, in 2019 it was in Dundee.

So why does Trans Pride exist in the UK?

As Brighton’s trans pride puts it, “Our aim is to inspire all trans, intersex, gender variant and queer people to help make a real difference by celebrating trans lives and gender diversity. We aim to educate and eliminate discrimination by promoting equality and diversity through visibility, while also celebrating our unique history,”

23rd June 2022
When is Pride Month 2022 and when is it in the UK?

As 2022 looks to be a more successful year for Pride due to the lifting of all COVID-19 restrictions, we look at when Pride Month 2022 is and what it stands for

After Pride season was all but wiped out in 2020 and for the majority if 2021 due to Coronavirus, it looks as though Pride in the UK is back with gusto for 2022.

Many prides decided to postpone their events in 2020 and in 2021, but the majority of prides in the UK are planning a summer return, although some have moved dates and locations. You can keep up to date with The Pride Shops Pride Calendar, which is updated weekly.

Officially Pride Month 2022 is in June to coincide with the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and this year, prides across the UK will be celebrating an extra special anniversary, as it’s the 50th year of Pride in the UK.

Where did Pride Month originate?

Pride Month stemmed from the US, which has been adopted more widely across the world, but in reality, there are many Pride months across the globe. For instance, Sydney Mardi Gras, Australia’s biggest pride takes place in February (although they do have a Pride festival in June) and here in the UK, there isn’t such thing as one month for Pride. No, the UK is quite unusual in that Pride events are spread out across most of the year.

In the US most prides happen in the month of June to coincide with the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, in the UK however things are a little more spread out with more and more county, city and town prides becoming available.

There are over 150 pride events in the UK alone and they start in Feb with the last (outside Winter Pride) in September. So Pride month in the UK is better described as Pride Half Year!

In 2019 the town of Llanelli in South Wales celebrated it’s first pride.

Want to know more about prides, see our entire collection of Pride articles here. Want to shop for Pride Merchandise, visit our partner retailer, THE PRIDE SHOP.

You can find out what pride events are going ahead in 2021, by visiting The Pride Shop’s Pride Calendar for 2021.

2nd June 2022
Lost LGBT Scene | The Backstreet

We’re creating an online memory board for some of London’s lost venues. Since the turn of the century, London’s gay scene has lost over 100 venues.

We’d love for you to help us grow this historical archive of London’s lost gay scene. If you’ve got photos or memories of any of the venues you’d like to share please use the comment section below and we’ll add them right here.

The Backstreet

The club’s dress code is among the strictest of its kind anywhere, earning it a dedicated following among rubber and leather men worldwide.

– Strict leather/rubber dress code

– Less than a minute’s walk from the tube

– Free membership for under-25s

– Private smokers’ area

Where: Wentworth Mews, Mile End, E3 4UA

Approx open date: 1895

Approx closed date: July 2022

BACK TO MAIN LIST

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31st May 2022
London’s longest-running men’s leather and fetish club set to close

The Backstreet was London‘s longest-running leather and fetish bar/club. It had been running for over 37 years. In a statement released on social media, the management team announced that the club was to close in July 2022

The announcement said,

“After an incredible 37 years, The Backstreet will be closing its doors for the last time on 17th July. John and all the staff would like to say how grateful we are for all the support our customers have given us throughout the years. The club could never have carried as long as it has without your loyalty. From all of us to all you of thank you.

The club which is set in London’s Mile End was established in 1985 when London’s gay scene was booming. Since 2000 THEGAYUK has been tracking London’s gay scene closures of which there have been over 110 LGBT+ venues closed. The Backstreet becomes the latest venue to close. During its time it hosted fetish social nights, life drawing classes, smoking and naked events.

Fans of the Backstreet shared their sadness at the news, with one fan suggesting that The Backstreet was one of the only social clubs in London to be truly accessible, saying, “You’re the one social club and play space all on one level, which made it the most accessible venue I’ve been to in the UK. Such a shame you’ve decided to close, rather than sell the business on!”

Another remarked how the fetish scene had been effectively “cleansed” writing, “Consider the scene fetishised cleansed, remember the battle to save Xxl from closing, even the judge, in that case, said there was homophobic play going from the foreign investors, we’ve allowed ourselves to be marginalised, pushed aside.”

While another added, “It is very sad news indeed. it is 30 years ago (since) I started going to the Backstreet. I was a young man still in my late teens. The UK has become sterile regarding fetish. Most good events are outside of the UK now. Depressing news.”

Another added how marginalised the leather and fetish community had become within the LGBT+ community writing, “This is a tragedy! Leather men have been pushed out of the London scene over the past 20 years. The anvil. Gone. The Colehearne. Gone. The London Apprentice. Gone. And now the BACKSTREET! Very sad news that will affect my life.”

31st May 2022
The 10 Best Gay Authors according to fans

10. Marcel Proust

By <a href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Otto_Wegener” class=”extiw” title=”w:en:Otto Wegener”>Otto Wegener</a> – <a href=”//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marcel_Proust_1900.jpg” class=”mw-redirect” title=”File:Marcel Proust 1900.jpg”>Marcel_Proust_1900.jpg</a>, Public Domain, Link

Proust wrote In Search Of Lost Time, Swann In Love and Le Temps Retrouve. He was a French novelist, and essayist and was considered to be one of the most influential authors of the 20th Century. He was born in July 1871 and passed away in November 1922 at the relatively young age of 51.

Although biographers of Proust have often spoken about his sexuality, the writer himself never actually came out – even having a public sword fight with fellow writer Jean Lorrain after Lorrain questioned Proust’s relationship with Lucien Daudet (thought to be Proust’s lover). Both Lorrain and Proust survived the duel.

A few years before his death in 1918 Proust was one of the men identified by police in a raid on a male brothel run by Albert Le Cuziat.

9. Virginia Woolf

By See file page for creator info., Public Domain, Link

Woolf was an English writer who is considered one of the most important modernist voices of the 20th Century. She was a pioneering novelist whose books include, To The Lighthouse, A Room Of One’s Own and Mrs Dalloway. London born Woolf was 59 when she died in 1941. She was troubled with mental health issues throughout her life. She was hospitalised numerous times during her life and attempted to take her own life at least twice before drowning herself in the River Ouse at Lewes.

8. Emily Dickinson

By Unknown author – <a rel=”nofollow” class=”external free” href=”https://s3.amazonaws.com/amherst-wsg/ED-dag-case-720dpi_big.jpg”>https://s3.amazonaws.com/amherst-wsg/ED-dag-case-720dpi_big.jpg</a>, Public Domain, Link

Emily Dickinson was an American poet who lived between 1830 and 1886. During her time she wrote, The complete poems, Acts of Light: The World of Emily Dickinson, New poems of Emily Dickinson, and The letters, Letters of Emily Dickinson. She apparently wrote over 1800 poems during her lifetime.

According to Wikipedia, “Evidence suggests that Dickinson lived much of her life in isolation. Considered an eccentric by locals, she developed a penchant for white clothing and was known for her reluctance to greet guests or, later in life, to even leave her bedroom. Dickinson never married, and most friendships between her and others depended entirely upon correspondence.”

7. William S. Burroughs

By Chuck Patch – Cropped version of <a href=”//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burroughs1983.jpg” title=”File:Burroughs1983.jpg”>Image:Burroughs1983.jpg</a>, which originally posted to <a rel=”nofollow” class=”external text” href=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/65484951@N00/91976954″>Flickr</a>, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

Burroughs was an American writer and visual artist. He was born in St Louis Missouri in 1914. He died in August 1997. His works include Cities of the Red Night and Nova Police. Burroughs had a controversial life having killed his second wife Joan Vollmer with a pistol. At first he claimed it was an accident after an attempted “William Tell” stunt. Later he told investigators that he dropped the gun and it fired a shot that killed his wife.

Burroughs also suffered from drug addiction during his life and was once expelled from his school for taking chloral hydrate with a fellow student.

6. James Baldwin

By <a href=”//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Allan_warren” title=”User:Allan warren”>Allan warren</a> – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Baldwin’s most famous works include Go Tell It on the Mountain, Another Country, and Notes of a Native Son. He was a famed playwright, novelist and black rights activist. According to Wikipedia, Baldwin’s works had themes of masculinity, sexuality, race, and class intertwine to create intricate narratives that run parallel with some of the major political movements toward social change in mid-twentieth-century America, such as the civil rights movement and the gay liberation movement. On December 1, 1987, Baldwin died from stomach cancer in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France.He was buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, near New York City. He was 63 when he died.

5. Walt Whitman

By <a href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_C._Cox” class=”extiw” title=”en:George C. Cox”>George C. Cox</a> (1851–1903, photo) <a href=”//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Adam_Cuerden” title=”User:Adam Cuerden”>Adam Cuerden</a> (1979-, restoration) – This image is available from the United States <a href=”//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Congress” title=”Library of Congress”>Library of Congress</a>’s <a rel=”nofollow” class=”external text” href=”//www.loc.gov/rr/print/”>Prints and Photographs division</a> under the digital ID <a rel=”nofollow” class=”external text” href=”http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.07549″>ppmsca.07549</a>. This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See <a href=”//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Licensing” title=”Commons:Licensing”>Commons:Licensing</a> for more information., Public Domain, Link

Whitman was born in 1819 and his famous works include Leaves of Grass, Drum Tap and Song of Myself. He passed away in 1892. His work was controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sensuality. Whitman’s own life came under scrutiny for his presumed homosexuality. His poetry often focused on both loss and healing. Two of his most well-known poems, “O Captain! My Captain!” and “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, were written after the death of Abraham Lincoln.

He was also a bit of a naturist and liked to be naked!

In Manly Health and Training, using the pseudonym Mose Velsor, he advised men to swim naked. In A Sun-bathed Nakedness, he wrote,

Never before did I get so close to Nature; never before did she come so close to me … Nature was naked, and I was also … Sweet, sane, still Nakedness in Nature! – ah if poor, sick, prurient humanity in cities might really know you once more! Is not nakedness indecent? No, not inherently. It is your thought, your sophistication, your fear, your respectability, that is indecent. There come moods when these clothes of ours are not only too irksome to wear, but are themselves indecent.

Tennessee Williams

By Orlando Fernandez, World Telegram staff photographer – Library of Congress. New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection. <a rel=”nofollow” class=”external free” href=”http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c28957″>http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c28957</a>, Public Domain, Link

Best known for his works, Sweet Bird of Youth, The Rose Tattoo and Camino Real Williams lived from 1911 to 1983. Willaims was a playwright and considered among the three foremost playwrights of 20th-century American drama. After years of obscurity, at age 33 he became suddenly famous with the success of The Glass Menagerie (1944) in New York City. It was the first of a string of successes, including A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), Sweet Bird of Youth (1959), and The Night of the Iguana (1961).

3. Arthur Rimbaud

By <a href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:%C3%89tienne_Carjat” class=”extiw” title=”w:en:Étienne Carjat”>Étienne Carjat</a> – Close-up from <a rel=”nofollow” class=”external text” href=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/10381539@N03/3379297668″>Arthur Rimbaud [1872] – foto de Étienne Carjat</a>, Public Domain, Link

Rimbaud was a French poet who lived between 1854 and 1891.

Arthur Rimbaud was born in Marseille, France in 1854. He died from cancer just after his 37th birthday. Rimbaud was described as a restless soul who travelled on three continents before he died.

In 1951 many years after his death the French Postal Service issued stamps featuring Rimbaud and his lover Paul Verlaine.

Rimbaud met Verlaine in the summer of 1870 when he was 16. A friend of Verlaine was less than impressed and described him as, “a tall, gawky young man, very thin, with the look of a rather fierce street Arab”, however, Verlaine was so taken with the younger wayward man, he deserted his wife and child and ran away to London. It didn’t go well for the two. Their relationship ended in Brussels and during an argument, Verlaine shot Rimbaud in the arm. Rimbaud, however, did not press charges.

2. E.M. Forster

By Dora Carrington (1893–1932) – <a rel=”nofollow” class=”external free” href=”http://www.todayinliterature.com/biography/e.m.forster.asp”>http://www.todayinliterature.com/biography/e.m.forster.asp</a>,, Public Domain, Link

Forster was an Engish novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist who lived between 1879 and 1970. His famous works include A Room with a View, A Passage to India and Howards End.

According to Wikipedia, Forster was open about his homosexuality to close friends, but not to the public. He never married but had a number of male lovers during his adult life. He developed long-term relations with Bob Buckingham (1904–1975), a married policeman.

1. Oscar Wilde

By <a href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Napoleon_Sarony” class=”extiw” title=”w:en:Napoleon Sarony”>Martin van Meytes</a> – Library of Congress, Public Domain, Link

Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the circumstances of his criminal conviction for gross indecency for consensual homosexual acts in “one of the first celebrity trials”, imprisonment, and early death from meningitis at age 46. Oscar Wilde was born at 21 Westland Row, Dublin (now home of the Oscar Wilde Centre, Trinity College), the second of three children born to an Anglo-Irish couple: Jane, née Elgee and Sir William Wilde.

19th May 2022