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  • Ever Wondered What Superman’s Dong Looks Like?

    This DC Comic’s cover for Superman attests that Superman’s dong is in fact supersized.

    If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what Superman’s privates might look like this new cover by writer/artist Frank Miller as some answers for you.

    It’s the cover to Miller’s new Dark Knight Returns-sequel, Dark Knight III: The Master Race. It’s set to be a massive seller…

    Although he’s still fully clothed you can still see the outline of his super wedge.

    You can tell by the hands… I mean look at those meaty chunks.

    Up until now, Superman’s junk has had a suspicious “action man” look about it. Now we have outlines and it has to be said we approve.

  • BAR REVIEW | Storeys, West London Rooftop Pop-up

    This weekend’s weather is looking a smidge Indian-summeresque.

    What better way to appreciate the year’s last warm rays than to hang out on top of an old BBC carpark’s roof, consuming coconut mojitos, devouring beautifully tender and crisp calamari while taking in West London’s fabulous high-rise and urban views, all to Louis Vuitton man-bag swinging funky beats? ★★★★★

    STOREYS White City London is a innovative pivot created out of old packing crates, recycled wooden planks, discarded beer barrels with art installations made from abandoned TVs and dated speakers. Splendidly alluring – it needs to be seen. Street art you’ll drop your work worries for cakes the walls, amalgamated with the street food and a clientele from an assortment of the Old Smoke’s streets, giving the rooftop experience a Peckham/Hackney undertone but with West-End implications.
    The eco lavs won’t be to everyone’s taste, but what they don’t have in plumbing they make up for with a bewitching reclaimed-material chemistry.
    The pop-up’s season is coming to an end this weekend – the menu for Thursday 8th October can expect an evening of dance performances and music as new app Happy Track celebrates their launch party. Storeys’ upcoming event programme will also feature rooftop yoga sessions with Serene Social every Saturday from 9am-10am for a fresh and healthy start to the weekend.
    STOREYS closes its doors for the summer on Sunday 11th October with a spectacular closing weekend party, featuring a line-up of Storeys’ favourite DJs, games and drink specials.
    You can now purchase advance Q jump tickets online -http://www.storeys.london – which include an arrival cocktail.
    STOREYS is located on top of the old BBC building’s carpark in White City. Doors open 5pm Friday, and 11am at the weekend, with daytime game areas and DJs playing into the evening.

  • UK Topped By Malta As The Best Place For LGBTIs In Europe

    The UK has lost its place as the number one place for LGBTI rights in Europe after Malta introduced a raft of new legislation.

    New rules surrounding outlawing surgery on intersex children, education and civil partnerships have all added to Malta’s new position at number one on the ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Europe
    Malta is now ranks at #1 on LGBTI rights, scoring 89% across forty sets of criteria; the UK falls behind in second place on 86%.
    Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat took to Twitter to welcome the news.
    The UK still lags in a number of places mainly in not granting asylum on gender identity grounds, a legal requirement for trans people to get medical investigation before being allowed to change their gender and surgery to “correct” an intersex child’s gender.Down at the bottom of the list Russia and Azerbaijan score 8.35% and 5% respectively.

  • Benedict Cumberbatch Celebrates Diversity In The UK

    Benedict is joined by other national treasures including The Beatles, William Shakespeare, Arctic Monkeys and Banksy.

    CREDIT: S. Buckley
    CREDIT: S. Buckley

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  • 25 Per Cent Of Men Would Opt For Penis Surgery If Money Was No Object

    A new survey suggests that 25% of American men would opt for penis enlargement surgery if money was no object.

    According to the YouGov poll, fat reduction was the number one procedure that men would undertake. Fifty One per cent said they would undergo surgery to remove fat, whilst 25% said they would like to have an operation to increase the size of their penises, with Black and Hispanic men saying that they wanted the surgery the most, 30% and 52% respectively.

    In May this year in our own survey we uncovered that one third of men who identify as gay were unhappy with the size of their manhoods.
    According to a survey conducted at the beginning of the year the world average erect penis is 5.16 inches, not the six to seven inches that was usually suspected average, that revelation hasn’t deterred men from all over the country making enquiries about penis enlargement, according to one clinic penis enlargement enquires overtook the nose job for the first time in 2015.

  • BAR REVIEW: The Icebar London, Rocks

    There’s only one drinking hole in the Old Smoke where your extremities will last 40mins, you have to dress like a Snow Queen, and you imbibe out of crystal-clear glasses made from Northern Sweden’s Torne River water. ★★★★

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  • The 59th BFI London Film Festival begins on Wednesday

    The program for the 59th BFI London Film Festival is another stellar lineup of must-see movies starring the world’s hottest stars, and includes several films with Gay & Lesbian content:

    It’s a rich and diverse lineup that includes a total of 238 fiction and documentary features, including 16 World Premieres, 8 International Premieres, 40 European Premieres and 11 Archive films. Taking place from Wednesday 7 October 2015 to Sunday 18 October 2015 at various venues across London, also included are talks and seminars and special presentations.
    The festival opens with the premiere of the eagerly anticipated Suffragette. An all-star cast brings to life the early UK feminist movement as they fought for their right to vote. Carey Mulligan (who is a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination for this role) stars alongside Helen Bonham Carter, Anne-Marie Duff, with a cameo by Meryl Streep. Screenplay by Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady, Shame).

    Gay & Lesbian themed films to be shown at the festival that might be of interest to you include:

    Tangerine

    A tale of two transsexual sex workers on Santa Monica Boulevard and the friendship they have amidst their dangerous profession.

    Carol

    Carol tells the simple story of a 1950’s department store clerk who falls for another woman. This one stars the can’t miss Cate Blanchett, and is directed by Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven). With Rooney Mara.

    Chemsex

    A documentary that takes a look at London’s gay sex and drugs scene. It will do doubt cause lots of conversation and controversy.

    Grandma

    Lily Tomlin is back on the big screen playing a sharp-tongued, foul-mouthed Lesbian poet in her 70’s, who also happens to be grieving over the death of her long-term partner, and is interrupted by a visit from her granddaughter.

    Gayby Baby

    A documentary that follows the lives of four Australian children whose parents all happen to be gay.

    Aligarh

    This film follows the downfall of a male college professor after he was found in bed with his male-rickshaw driver lover. It’s one of the few films ever that has dealt with the Indian gay male experience.

    Closet Monster

    A troubled teenager falls for a new boy at his work which makes his life even more confusing. He has conversations with his pet hamster, voiced by Isabella Rossellini.

    Other movies being shown at the festival include:

    Trumbo

    Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston stars as Dalton Trumbo, a screenwriter in 1940’s Hollywood who gets blacklisted after he is confirmed to be a Communist. Diane Lane plays his wife while Helen Mirren plays gossip columnist Hedda Hopper.

    Bang Gang

    One of the most controversial films of the festival about a group of French high school students who start a private orgy society.

    High Rise

    Adapted from J.G. Ballard’s novel of the same name, High Rise stars Tom Hiddleston in a film set in a luxurious high rise tower block that begins to decay almost as soon as it is built.

    He Named Me Malala

    A documentary about the 18-year old Malala Yousafzai who was shot in the head by the Taliban for championing girls’ education in Pakistan.

    The Program

    Director Stephen Frears brings us the story of disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong (played by Ben Foster) in a documentary-style telling of Armstrong’s triumphant Tour de France years to his mighty downfall after his confession of taking drugs to enhance his performance.

    Live from New York

    A funny documentary about the long-running American television institution Saturday Night Live, from its beginnings in 1975 through its many cast members (some of whom went on to have highly successful movie and television careers).

    Black Mass

    An unrecognizable Johnny Depp stars in this true story about one of the Boston’s most violent criminals (Jimmy Bulger) who became an FBI informant. Also starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Bulger’s brother Billy and Joel Edgerton as the FBI agent who persuades Jimmy to turn against the mafia.

    The Lobster

    This film could win the award for the most far-fetched plot: In the future, single people have to find a partner within 45 days or are then transformed into animals and released into the woods. This one stars Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz. With their very good lucks there is no doubt they will find a match, within one day no doubt.

    The Lady in a Van

    Dame Maggie Smith stars as a homeless woman who lives in a van parked outside playwright Alan’s Bennett’s home in the 1960s. Believe it or not it’s based on a true story that actually took place in the 1960s, where she ended up staying for 12 years.

    Truth

    Cate Blanchett (again) stars at CBS news producer Mary Mapes, with Robert Redford as anchorman Dan Rather, and their involvement in a story that questioned then-President George W. Bush’s receiving preferential treatment to help avoid the Vietnam draft.

    Sherpa

    Documentary about the deteriorating relationship between Sherpas (local people who help expeditions guide their clients up Mt. Everest) and western tourists, arriving just a few days before last year’s deadly avalanche that killed 16 sherpa. Timely as well in that sherpas were all but ignored in the recent film ‘Everest.’
    Room

    Brie Larson stars as a woman who has been trapped in a garden shed for seven years after being kidnapped and raped. She then attempts to escape with her five-year-old son.
    The film festival closes on one of the most eagerly-awaited films of the year – a film called Steve Jobs

    Michael Fassbender plays the late Steve Jobs, the man who made Apple a household name. Kate Winslet co-stars as his assistant Joanna Hoffman and Seth Rogen plays Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
    There are nine program strands each headlined with a gala, they are: the Love Gala, the Debate Gala, the Dare Gala, the Laugh Gala, the Thrill Gala, the Cult Gala, the Journey Gala, the Sonic Gala, and the Family Gala.
    There will also be talks with filmmaker Todd Haynes (Carol), casting director Laura Rosenthal, actress Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn), and filmmakers Jia Zhangke and Walter Salles (A Guy from Fenyang).
    There will also be prizes handed out in the following categories:

    -The Official Competition: recognizing inspiring, inventive and distinctive filmmaking.

    -First Feature Competition: recognizing an original and imaginative directorial debut

    -Documentary Competition

    -Short Film Award
    Tickets have already gone on sale, so if you want to see any of the above-mentioned films or to peruse the other events taking place at the festival, please go here:
    http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff

  • TOP LIST: Ten of The Top Cross-Gender Performances in Theatre

    During the earliest conception of theatre in English history, there were specific laws that restricted women from having any involvement within performances and acting onstage in any way.

    Englishmen found it amusing that in other countries, such as continental Europe, women were allowed on stage. As the centuries have rolled out and Shakespearean traditions continue to reign stage direction, the 21st century has seen gender role switching become something of a trend within theatre across the world. Some of the most iconic roles in history, such as Hamlet, being played by the opposite gender has a become popular and modern tendency used by directors to creatively adapt the story in a way that is unconventional and engaging. We look at the 10 top plays where switching gender roles have played a role in the success of a play:

    1. The Importance of Being Earnest (2015)

    David Suchet plays the role of the formidable Lady Bracknell in the 2015 version of Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ at the London Vaudeville Theatre.2. The Merchant of Venice (2015)

    Rachel Pickup played Portia, who dresses up as a boy to enjoy the freedom that comes without having to be a woman, in ‘The Merchant of Venice’ earlier this year at The Globe, London.

    3. Hamlet (2014)

    Maxine Peake played the Danish Prince in ‘Hamlet’ at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre in 2014, although the leading roles of Prospero and Macbeth each went to males.
    4. Henry IV (2014)

    Harriet Walter plays the lead role of ‘Henry IV’ in Phyllida Lloyds recreation at the Donmar Warehouse, London, in 2014.

    5. Twelfth Night (2012)

    Mark Rylance’s performance as a ‘stylised’ Olivia in Tim Carroll’s Shakespeare Globe adaptation of ‘Twelfth Night’ was critically acclaimed back in 2012 at London’s Apollo.

    6. The War of The Roses (2009)

    Cate Blanchett played Richard II in Benedict Andrews production of ‘The War Of Roses’ in Sydney, 2009.7. Taming Of The Shrew (2003)

    Janet McTeer played the macho Pertruchio in the all-female casting of ‘Taming Of The Shrew’ back in 2003.
    8. The Tempest (2000)

    Vanessa Redgrave gave a memorable performance as Prospero in ‘The Tempest’ back in 2000 at the Globe, London.
    9. Richard II (1995)

    Irish actress Fiona Shaw played Richard II in Deborah Warner’s production at the National Theatre, London, in 1995.
    10. Peter Pan (1954)

    Mary Martin played Peter in the original theatrical production of ‘Peter Pan’ in 1954. Which later saw Cathy Rigby and Sandy Duncan amongst others take the role.

    THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST starring David Suchet will be screened live by satellite from London’s Vaudeville Theatre to 400 cinemas across the UK & Ireland on Thursday 8th October at 7.15pmhttp://importanceofearnest.com/cinema

  • Artwork and Track Listing Released For Anastacia’s Next Album

    Looking fierce and hotter than ever Anastacia has released the artwork and tracklisting of her ultimate hits album, due out in November.

    Pop legend Anastacia – the mega voice behind massive hits including I’m Outta Love and Left Outside Alone – has released her brand new single Take This Chance. The track is taken from her forthcoming album ‘Ultimate Collection’ out November 6th.

    In a recent interview with THEGAYUK out in November, Anastacia revealed she would be playing a gay venue in London – and will announce the date shortly.
    1. I’m Outta Love
    2. Left Outside Alone
    3. Sick and Tired
    4. Paid My Dues
    5. Stupid Little Things
    6. Not That Kind
    7. Everything Burns with Ben Moody
    8. Welcome To My Truth
    9. You’ll Never Be Alone
    10. Pieces Of A Dream
    11. Best Of You
    12. Heavy On My Heart
    13. One Day In Your Life
    14. Cowboys & Kisses
    15. Why’d You Lie To Me
    16. Love Is A Crime
    17. I Belong to You (El Ritmo de la Pasion) with Eros Ramazzotti
    18. Army Of Me
    19. Take This Chance

  • COMMENT | Gay Rape. It exists and we need to talk about it

    COMMENT | Gay Rape. It exists and we need to talk about it

    Rape is a most detestable crime.

    It is a crime that involves sex but also violence, deceit, power and in some instances romance. As a society, we have come to the (unfounded) conclusion that rape is a violent affair, committed by a stranger in a dark alley at midnight and victims are always women. How wrong we are.

    Historically, there has been little consideration of men as victims of rape. The law only recognised non-consensual penetration of the anus as rape in 2003 under the Sexual Offences Act. But male rape in the twenty-first century is, more than ever, a social issue.

    According to the most recent government statistics, The British Crime Survey (2013) found that out of 473,000 victims of sexual assault, 72,000 are male. Narrow this to rape and it is estimated that 78,000 people in the UK are victims of rape, of which 9,000 are believed to be men. For those who like statistics, male rape accounts for almost twelve per cent of the estimated national total; a figure that cannot be ignored.

    Whilst this is a serious social issue, you wonder why a gay lifestyle magazine is raising the subject. The reason is that current law is gender specific, meaning only men can be perpetrators of rape, not women. In other words, men are raping 9,000 other men a year. Gay rape exists and we need to talk about it.

    The most basic definition of rape is sexual intercourse without consent. The issue with this is that there exists no clear definition of what consent means and it presupposes that both parties define consent in the same way. As a result, victims often don’t understand that they have been abused.

    When violence is involved, it is easier to identify a lack of consent because there would often be evidence of resistance. Although it is no longer necessary to show that force was used to prove that sex was non-consensual, it remains difficult for most to understand this and a gap is created between principle and practice. In principle, any submission to non-consensual sex is rape. Yet those who are subject of rape will often fail to recognise this and would not consider themselves victims.

     

    It is alarming to discover that the real rape stereotype, mentioned above, is so wrong. In most instances the victim is raped by someone known to him and this is known as acquaintance rape; often this involves some form of deceit, intoxication and also romance. Note that violence is very rare in this scenario and it distinguishes between force and unwanted sex. It is important for us as a community to recognise this distinction and recognise the later as the most prevalent form of gay rape.
    In large, social attitudes are to blame for us not recognising rape when it happens. But another hurdle for male rape victims is the police. Since the legal identification of male rape, there has been an increase on police reporting every year. However, these figures are an underestimation of the true reflection of male rape due to the reluctance many have to report their experience. The statistics in this instance are merely the tip of the iceberg.
    Recent reports* have suggested that police officers responsibility and care for victims of male rape is very poor. Treatment provided is completely insufficient because there is a lack of training, awareness and understanding. Compare this to the extensive training and recent reform gone in to female rape and it may appear somewhat homophobic, that the police consider male rape as a less serious issue. All this adds to the reluctance victims have to report their rape to the police.
    As a result of poor education, police often challenge male rape victims’ sexuality and masculinity. In instances of acquaintance rape (which we know is the most common form) police tend to view victims as somewhat culpable for their rape because they failed to fight off their attacker. Consequentially, the police are far more likely to blame homosexual male rape victims than heterosexual male rape victims for their rape. This would suggest that the police consider sexual violence less distressing for homosexual men and are more likely to view the rape as consensual sex.

    Despite all this, if a rape victim manages to be taken serious and the case was to proceed to trial, the victim has to endure the gruelling process of cross-examination. As questions surrounding the male rape victim’s sexual history with the alleged perpetrator are allowed at trial, it can be argued that if consensual homosexual sec took place previously, it was also consensual sex at the time in question. In addition to this, the victims’ physical response can be used to discredit the male rape victim. For example, if the victim were to have an erection and ejaculate, despite this being an involuntary reaction. Yet this involuntary body response is used as to argue that the male rape victim consent to the sexual activity.

    It is evident that there is a lack of understanding to manage male rape victims because there is a lack of understanding and knowledge of male rape. This is amplified by the continuing presence of rape myths and stereotyping certain (homosexual) victims of male rape. The only way to counter this is to demand attention and to discuss the issue, amongst ourselves, with the police and if be it in court.

     

    * Javaid, A. (2014) Male Rape: The Unseen World of Male Rape. Internet Journal of Criminlogy, ISSN 2045 6743

    Khan, N. A. (2008) Male Rape: The Emergence of a Social and Legal Issue. Great Britain: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Rumney, P. (2008) ‘Policing male rape and sexual assault.’ Journal of Criminal Law, 72 (1), pp. 67-86.

    by Joshua Vaughan | @Joshua_Le_Von

    If you need to report a sexual assault or need to talk to somebody about issues raised in this article please contact the Victims Support Helpline on 08 08 16 89 111

     

    Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.

  • ISIS Murder “gay couple” In Double Execution

    At least four men accused of being gay have been executed by Islamic State (ISIS) over the weekend.

    Pictures have emerged which show two men being thrown to their deaths, believed to be a couple, from a building in Iraq.Speaking to ARA News an eyewitness said that two young Iraqi men were brutally thrown to their deaths from a tall building.

    The eye-witness said,

    “On Sunday afternoon, Daesh (ISIS) called on the people of Mosul to gather in the square of Bab al-Toub in order to witness the execution of the two allegedly (gay) men.”

    They are just the most recent victims in a long list of men, accused of being gay to be executed. Last month it is alleged that IS fighters executed 10 people including a 15-year-old boy on charges of homosexuality.

    Civil rights activist Raed Ahmed told ARA News that ISIS was accusing men of being gay on “superficial information” and without investigation.

     

    The Terror Monitor Twitter account released pictures of two men executed on Sunday

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