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  • Gilbert Baker had the vision to unite LGBT people all over the world

    Tributes have poured in from all over the world since the death of Gilbert Baker, the creator of the iconic LGBT rainbow flag.

    JGY_9224

    The creator of the iconic rainbow flag, Gilbert Baker died at the age of 65, his death was announced on Twitter last night.

    The rainbow flag was first seen in 1978 in San Francisco and originally had eight colours to it, to reflect the diversity of the LGBT community. Today the flag has six stripes, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Baker referred to this version of the flag as the “commercial version” because it was too expensive to include the hot pink colour in mass production.

    Michael Salter-Church, Co-Chair Pride in London commenting on the death of Gilbert Baker, artist and LGBT activist who designed the rainbow flag in 1978, said,

    “Gilbert Baker had the vision and foresight to unite LGBT people all over the world with the now iconic rainbow flag. As a worldwide movement, LGBT people are connected, strengthened and celebrated through this symbol of diversity and colour.

    “We are honoured that Gilbert personally made the giant rainbow flag enjoyed by millions of spectators at Pride in London over the past decade. We will march with an extra beat in our heart at this year’s Pride in London on Saturday 8 July eternally grateful and ever more determined.”

  • This guy got naked to shed light on the stigma bisexual men face in the UK

    A bisexual activist has shed his clothes in order to highlight the stigma that bisexuals face in the UK.

    Lewis Oakley 2

    Lewis Oakley has published a series of shocking naked photos, which show some of the slurs that he says he receives on a daily basis because he is bisexual. The activist had the insults written all over his body in a photoshoot, by Tom Dingley.

    Some of the insults included that bisexuality was a phase, that bisexuals were in denial and that they are self-hating gays.

    The campaign comes on the back of data from The Bisexuality Report which revealed that bisexual people prone to higher rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide than any other sexuality. These findings were largely found to be linked to the negative attitudes people hold and inflict on bisexual people. 

    Data suggests that bisexual men are 6.3 times more likely to commit suicide than heterosexual people, fifty percent more likely to live in poverty than gay men and eight times as likely to be in the closet at work compared to lesbian and gay counterparts. 

    Lewis said,

    “It’s one thing to say these words, it’s quite another to see them projected on to someone’s body like this. Sometimes we need a visual reminder of what we are doing, these are comments said to bisexuals every day. Sometimes you have to hold a mirror to society and show them the consequences.” 

    Photographer Tom Dingley who worked on the shoot said,

    “working together on a new project of mine, using projection; we came up with the idea to project the common insults  people use, onto Lewis’ body. These comments range from the absent minded questions to the more serious insults bisexuals are subjected to.The concept is really strong we’ve simply taken what is said verbally and projected it visually to highlight what bisexual men hear all the time.”

    All images (C) TomDingleyPhoto

    Lewis Oakley 1

    Lewis Oakley 5

    Lewis Oakley 4

    Lewis Oakley 3

     

  • Gay charity GADD set to close after fatal funding cuts

    One of Northern England’s longest running  LGBT+ charities, aimed at tackling homophobia and giving advice on LGBT sexual and mental health issues is set to close.

    © chrisbradshaw Depositphotos

    Gay Advice Darlington/Durham is to close its doors in late April for the last time after deep and “savage” funding cuts from the current Conservative government. From 1997 the charity has been funded by the County Durham and Darlington Health Authority for its work in South County Durham and Darlington Borough Council to support those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS in Darlington.

    The charity’s chief officer, Emma Roebuck wrote on her LinkedIn profile,

    “The organisation I have invested 18 years of my life in GADD is coming to an end. In April we will close the doors for the last time and I feel adrift in mixed emotions most of which are negative and useless.

    “…The current situation with austerity and cuts to organisations such as GADD have made it impracticable to function without serious mission drift in the name of sustainability”.

    According to Emma, the charity’s popularity has not dwindled and demand for its services is as high as it has ever been.

    She continued,

    “I do worry for those who have sought out support or will do in the future. LGBT+ people in the area now have no voice or safe place to call their own. The demand for help by those in need has not waned or dwindled but the financial help to drive that support has dropped significantly to the point the costs of the building and its services is unsustainable’.

    Board of Trustee member Phillippa Scrafton said,

    ‘GADD has operated for several years facing unrelenting financial challenges from within

    “GADD has operated for several years facing unrelenting financial challenges from within an economic landscape of a wholly ‘ideological’ austerity agenda imposed by this Tory Government.”

    “Savage cuts to local government funding have impacted on us terribly which ultimately affects the most vulnerable. In my opinion the situation we face is firmly at the feet of this out of touch Government and their ‘cuts’ agenda!”

    MP for Darlington, Jenny Chapman told THEGAYUK,

    “It’s terrible news. Sad that such a long standing important charity is closing. Question now is, what do we do next?”

     

    THEGAYUK reached out to the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust for comment.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Adam and Eve and Steve, Kings Head Theatre, London

    ★★★ | Adam and Eve and Steve, Kings Head Theatre, London

    Adam and Steve theatre review, kings head
    It’s not Adam and Eve but Adam and Eve and Steve (plus the Devil) at The Kings Head Theatre.

    A musical version of the biblical story that we all know and love so well is just what we need in this time of Brexit and Trump. But in this story Steve (Dale Adams), and not Eve, is accidentally created by God (the voice and later the body of Michael Christopher) – thanks to Beelzebub – the Devil (played to camp perfection by Stephen McGlynn). But Adam (an innocent looking Joseph Robinson) thinks that Steve is actually Eve, but then God waves his magic wand and creates the real Eve (a sexy Hayley Hampson) and it all becomes very confusing for Adam. Beelzebub tempts them all to take a bite of, as he calls it, the pom (a/k/a apple) against God’s wishes. But Steve wants to be with Adam, and Eve wants to be with Adam, and Adam is confused, and what does Beelzebub (and the mostly gay audience) want?

    For Adam and Steve to hook up, and, of course, Beelzebub (and us) wants everyone to sin! Set to a sinfully silly musical score (‘I want to shop for furniture’ was one of the most memorable tunes) and tons of references to the existing world (Uber, Ikea, gluten free), with lots of skin on show, Adam and Eve and Steve won’t change your life but it will make you forget all about the outside world for a luckily brief 75 minutes.

    Adam and Eve at the kings head

    Adam and Eve and Steve Plays at the Kings Head Theatre until 29th April 2017

     

  • The creator of the rainbow flag, Gilbert Baker has died

    The creator of the rainbow flag, Gilbert Baker has died

    Members of the LGBT community are in mourning this evening as the creator of the world famous and iconic rainbow flag Gilbert Baker, has passed away.

    The creator of the iconic rainbow flag, Gilbert Baker has died at the age of 65.

    The rainbow flag was first seen in 1978 in San Francisco and originally had eight colours to it, to reflect the diversity of the LGBT community. Today the flag has six stripes, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Baker referred to this version of the flag as the “commercial version” because it was too expensive to include the hot pink colour in mass production.

    Gilbert was a gay rights activist, Army veteran before becoming a self-taught tailor. He created the LGBT flag 39 years ago.

    Gay rights activist Cleve Jones was one of the first to pay tribute to Gilbert saying,

    “My dearest friend in the world is gone. Gilbert Baker gave the world the Rainbow Flag; he gave me forty years of love and friendship.”

    https://twitter.com/CleveJones1/status/847915825885462529

    Gilbert would have been 66 this pride season.

    Dustin Lance-Black, who included Gilbert in his TV series, When We Rise also praised the designer on Twitter by saying,

    “Even rainbows weep. Our spectacular Gilbert Baker has left us our LGBTQ world is far less colorful without him.

    But he created the Rainbow Flag to unite us. To make us stronger. In Gilbert’s memory #UNITE again. In Gilbert’s memory find #STRENGTH. Find #BEAUTY. Find #LOVE. #RISE UP.”

    There are no confirmed reports to why he died.

  • Watch this trans guy talk about a day in the life of a trans guy

    Meet Ash. He’s created a video to “help normalise what it means to be trans”.

    As you might know, today is the Trans Day of Visibility and Ash P, from Warwickshire, has created this touching video entitled Invisible Boy as a personal story video.

    Enjoy.

     

  • GMFA turns 25 today

    GMFA turns 25 today

    One of the gay community’s most respected charities, GMFA turns 25 today.

    To celebrate its 25th birthday, GMFA has launched a fundraising appeal to raise £25,000 to invest in its future.

    The charity was started 25 years ago, in 1992, by a group of gay men who saw that there was a lack of resources specifically for people like themselves. Since its inception, it has tirelessly worked to bring awareness about the sexual health issues facing gay and bisexual men in the UK.

    It even produced one of the sauciest magazines available in the UK, FS magazine, which was distributed amongst London’s gay bars.

    Ian Howley, Chief executive of GMFA says,

    “Over the last 25 years, GMFA has been at the forefront of innovated measures of HIV prevention. Since 1992, GMFA has provided frank and honest information about HIV, STI and safer sex. We’ve also supported gay men living with HIV and led with powerful HIV stigma campaigns. We reach over 1.5 million people through our website alone. Our campaigns have a social reach of over 4 million. And our FS magazine is leading the way by highlighting issues that gay men face on a daily basis.”

    Despite the important role that GMFA plays in the sexual health arena, it receives no statutory funding.

    Ian continues,

    “The future of GMFA is uncertain, but we believe that we are the best in this sector to help gay men take control of their own lives.  And we do this as five men sitting in an office with the help and support of our volunteers and donors”.

    In 2013 the charity had its funding cut from the Pan-London HIV Prevention Programme, which was funded by the NHS. The cuts came at a time when new HIV infections amongst gay men were at an all time high. Higher than the levels recorded in the 1980s.

    Donate to the GMFA25 appeal: https://www.gmfa.org.uk/appeal/gmfa25-appeal

    Donate by text: GMFA25 £10 to 70070

  • Walking Dead actor comes out as gay

    Walking Dead actor, Daniel Newman has come out as gay in an emotional video.

    TV star Daniel Newman has uploaded a video to YouTube coming out as gay to his fans. The Walking Dead actor said that he now realised that it was important to be “visible” in this day and age.

    The video has been watched by over 23,000 in just one day.

  • Mila Jam releases beautiful video celebrating just how diverse our community is

    Transgender star Mila Jam has just released an emotional music video which shows just how gorgeous we all are.

    The powerful video features a “rainbow” of LGBT+ faces and TV stars, Tituss Burgess, Laverne Cox and Candis Cayne.

     

    Gorgeous, just gorgeous.

    You can download the single here

     

  • WATCH | War For The Planet Of The Apes Trailer Is Here

    Watch the brand new trailer for War For The Planet Of The Apes

    http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5gtl41

    Get ready for the most epic battle this summer.

    In War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter of the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise, Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.

    Matt Reeves is once again in the director’s chair and the film is set to be released in the US and UK on 14 July.

    Discuss this movie and more in our movie club.

     

     

  • Donald Trump “erasing” LGBT people from history

    Donald Trump is “erasing” LGBT+ people from history as he removes sexuality from the 2020 census.

    The US’s 2020 Census will not include a question which allows people to identify their sexuality or gender identity. This means that no or very little LGBT data will be collected about the community, effectively erasing them from the history books.

    It could also have an impact on how the US government writes its laws and appropriately funds programmes which affect the LGBT community. The National LGBTQ Task Force has said, “We’ve Been Erased from the US Census and American Community Survey” and called it “another attack on LGBTQ people’s freedom, justice, and equity”.

    Meghan Maury, Criminal and Economic Justice Project Director, National LGBTQ Task Force said, 

    “Today, the Trump Administration has taken yet another step to deny LGBTQ people freedom, justice, and equity, by choosing to exclude us from the 2020 Census and American Community Survey. LGBTQ people are not counted on the Census—no data is collected on sexual orientation or gender identity. Information from these surveys helps the government to enforce federal laws like the Violence Against Women Act and the Fair Housing Act and to determine how to allocate resources like housing supports and food stamps. If the government doesn’t know how many LGBTQ people live in a community, how can it do its job to ensure we’re getting fair and adequate access to the rights, protections and services we need?” 

    The National LGBTQ Task Force have started a petition demanding for the LGBT+ community to be counted and support the collection of sexual orientation and gender identity information in the Census, in the American Community Survey, in the National Survey of Older Americans Act Participants, and the Centers for Independent Living’s Annual Program Performance Report.

    The move comes on the back of the White House’s official sites removing all traces of LGBT policy.

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