THEGAYUK

Search results for: “ ”

  • Australian Gay Rugby Team Wins Their Professional Match

    UK Sports Challenged to hold similar events after Australian gay team wins historic rugby game – International Rugby legends Gareth Thomas and John Eales call for end to discrimination.

    Two international rugby legends are congratulating Australia’s first gay rugby union team for its decisive win during an historic game. They are also urging sports in the UK and around the world to do more to tackle homophobia in sport.
    The Sydney Convicts were the first gay rugby team, and only the second gay team in the world, to play at a professional sporting event (the first was French soccer match in 2006).On Sunday, the Convicts beat the Macquarie University Warriors 30-12 during a ‘curtain raiser,’ a game held ahead of the international ‘Super Rugby’ match between the NSW Waratahs (AUS) and Highlanders (NZ) at Allianz Stadium.
    Sydney Convicts Head Coach Charlie Winn said, ‘The curtain raiser was a once in a lifetime experience for the team and I’m proud we made the most of this historic opportunity to show gay men can and do play quality rugby. I hope we’ve opened the door to similar games being held in the future around the world.’

    International rugby superstar and former Wales captain Gareth Thomas is one of only two professional rugby players in the world to have come out of the closet. He came out in 2009. He said, ‘I congratulate the Sydney Convicts for winning this historic game, it certainly says a lot about the calibre of gay rugby teams around the world. Thankfully we are moving incredibly quickly toward attitudes changing about gay people and whether they can play tough sports like rugby. This may be the first gay team invited to play a curtain raiser but I hope it’s not the last. Rugby is a game for all shapes, sizes and personalities and it needs to be a game for everyone regardless of sexuality. I think rugby can lead the way in changing sporting culture and I’m very hopeful we’ll see more games like this in the UK and around the world.’

    Another international rugby legend, John Eales, the most successful captain in Australian rugby history, agrees with Gareth Thomas. The retired Wallaby is also a ‘Bingham Cup Ambassador.’ He said, ‘I am very proud of the Convicts for making history while also challenging stereotypes around gay men. Sports can and must lead society and be welcoming for everyone. It’s always disappointing to hear stories of people who don’t play sports because they fear discrimination. I’m sure that by holding historic events like this weekend’s curtain raiser and taking other steps to publicly support gay people, we can help eradicate homophobia and discrimination in sport.’

    This historic curtain raiser was part of a series of anti-homophobia initiatives led by Australian sporting organisations in partnership with organisers of next month’s Bingham Cup, the world cup of gay rugby, being held in Sydney. This includes the first international study on homophobia in sports, which is collecting experiences of people in the UK and other countries.
    www.outonthefields.com

    Many of the Sydney Convicts players joined the gay and inclusive rugby team because they didn’t feel welcome on other teams. This included Jay Claydon, a winger who joined the Convicts after experiencing homophobia on his semi-professional rugby team. He was named ‘man of the match’ after the historic curtain raiser for scoring 3 tries.
    Another player, scrum half Jason Fowler, played with the Macquarie University Warriors prior to joining the Sydney Convicts last season. Many of his former teammates only found out he was gay when he played against them as a Sydney Convict. ‘I saw a lot of guys on the field who I was afraid would reject me for being gay just two years ago. I’m amazed by how my life has come full circle and I can play against them now and be proud. In retrospect my sexuality was not as big a deal as I made it out in my head and my old teammates have been extremely supportive.’

    In addition to the curtain raiser game, a panel discussion on homophobia in sport was held during the pre-game show and a feature article on discrimination in sport ran in the program. A 30 second anti-homophobia video was also shown on the Jumbotron, featuring many well-known international athletes. This included Mitchell Johnson (Cricket), Ryan Harris (Cricket), Harry Kewell (Football), Alessandro Del Piero (Football), Paul Gallen (Rugby League), Nate Myles (Rugby League), David Pocock (Rugby Union), Lauren Jackson (Basketball), Nathan Jones (Australian Rules), Sam Mitchell (Australian Rules), Kim Green (Netball) and Libby Trickett (Swimming) The video can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G4mXUtmeZg

    Australians are receiving strong international praise and recognition for their efforts to tackle homophobia. Les Johnson is Vice-President of Membership with the Federation of Gay Games, the world’s largest LGBT sporting organisation. “We applaud rugby and Australia’s other major sports for being trailblazers and for strongly supporting our community. The historic initiatives being led by Australians are significant developments in the worldwide effort to end discrimination and make sport welcoming and safe for all.”

    More about the Bingham Cup: www.binghamcup.com

  • Dolly Parton and the abandoned dog

    Dolly, who played Glastonbury one week ago today, is definitely on fire! The crowd, on hand, at Glastonbury specifically watching Dolly’s performance reached in excess of 150,000 people while the BBC has reported the largest viewing audience ever of Glastonbury tuned in to see Dolly take the stage during their live broadcast.

    Then when Glastonbury was all over and everyone headed home, workers began cleaning the acres and acres of land when out of a tent pops a fluffy white dog that was left behind. Workers immediately named it “Dolly” as it characterized Dolly’s beauty, love, peace, and sweetness just as she had shown fans a few days before while performing on the Pyramid stage. As media became aware and the search for the dogs’ home began, the dog was quickly nicknamed “Doggy Parton”.

    Now on a dog-gone good note, Dolly Parton plans to adopt the dog provided the original owners are not found.

    ‘I had my manager Danny Nozell call the Happy Landings Animal Shelter to make sure the dog is being treated and cared for properly,’ says Dolly Parton. ‘At this time, nobody has claimed the dog and the dog is in great hands at the shelter. I will take the dog home to America if nobody claims her within a reasonable amount of time.’

    Watch a special message from Dolly HERE

    In addition, the iconic Dolly Parton shows no signs of slowing down as her latest UK album release ‘Blue Smoke – The Best Of’, brings Dolly to her all-time highest chart position landing at #4 in its fourth week of release. Dolly originally entered the chart at #6, which at the time, was her highest ever album chart position.

    Dolly has just taken to Twitter to say, ‘Heard about the abandoned dog at @GlastoFest? If nobody claims her, I’ll take her home to America! Ain’t she cute :)’

  • LGBT ally and anti-bullying activist Ben Cohen to star in The Cube

    Tonight two celebrities get to grips with the mighty Cube: twinkle toed rugby star Ben Cohen gives it his best try, and has the Cube met its match in EastEnders’ bad girl Charlie Brooks?

    LGBT Ally Ben Cohen is to star in tonight’s episode of The Cube on ITV1. Ben’s foundation, the StandUp Foundation fights to make bullying a thing of the past. It was started after his father was savagely killed.

    Speaking to TheGayUK in an interview in 2012, Ben Cohen said, ‘Basically, the road to where I am today, in many different respects is because, I got a phone call on Friday the 13th of all days and my dad had basically been beaten within an inch of his life protecting someone at a nightclub my brother owned. To cut a very long story short, he died a month later of his injuries. Stand Up day is now on November 14th, the day my dad died.

    ‘The day I announced that I was doing a cause, my fan page went up by 10,000 people instantly so the support is there and it’s needed because there is nobody else doing this. Having a cause and being nice to look at is a bonus really. It’s not about supporting me as a sex symbol, it’s about supporting the cause.’

    Ben Cohen is also well loved for his Underwear and Calendar shoots.

    Philip Schofield is presenting the show, which is on from 9PM.

  • REVIEW | Deborah Frances-White, Half a Can of Worms

    ★★★★★ | Deborah Frances-White, Half a Can of Worms

    Deborah Frances-White was adopted at ten days old and up until late October 2012 she had no idea who or where her birth family were.

    An extraordinary run of events meant that she was suddenly living as a round the clock internet Nancy Drew, finding out more information every hour about her birth mother, aunts, uncles, grandparents and even possibly half brothers and sisters. What she is learnt was that you can’t open half a can of worms.
    Armed with a cut price private detective, a lot of social media to trawl through and a template of her own distinctive eyebrows, Deborah navigated her way through a family search that would have flummoxed lesser mortals.

    This is a rare feat: narrative stand-up that is warm and moving and very human. The audience is instantly on Deborah’s side and her persona has the room eating out of her hand. She even helped an elderly lady turn off her ringing phone without the slightest hint of irritation. Stand up comedians can be terribly nice as well as being very funny.

    The show is well composed, backed up by well put together film clips and manages to entertain with a ripping yarn as a backdrop. Deborah certainly deserves to have a hit show with this piece.

    Catch the show at the Edinburgh Fringe from the 1st to the 25th of August
    Buy tickets here: https://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/deborah-frances-white-half-a-can-of-worms

  • GROOMING: Gone Today… Hair Tomorrow

    GROOMING: Gone Today… Hair Tomorrow

    It’s a well-known fact that many gay men put a lot of focus on their appearance, from anti-aging products for the skin, to lightening toothpastes for teeth. So it’s no surprise that the thought of hair loss or thinning fills a lot of men with dread, almost as much as having the surgical treatments to cover up the unwanted hair loss. But what if there were another way, a non‐surgical solution to reduced hairlines?

    Brought to you by:

    Skalp

     

     

     

    Skalp

    SkalpTM

    Skalp TM Micro Pigmentation is the ultimate in non‐surgical scalp grooming; an incredible life-changing treatment where natural pigments are applied at the epidermal level of the scalp to replicate the natural appearance of real hair follicles or strands – depending on your hair loss extent, and desired look.

    When your hair thinning is slowly becoming an unwanted comb over, making you look older than you feel on the inside, then maybe it’s time to try a something different. A shaved full head of hair, with a little help from Skalp can give you a styled fresh look, dramatically improving your appearance and even helping to contour the face. Images of army recruits, action men figures and well-groomed gentlemen are all new types of you.

    SkalpTM

    SkalpTM’s method is regarded as the best treatment of its kind available in the world today, using only natural pigments and application methods. Their practitioners, world class and fully qualified in permanent cosmetics and micro pigmentation treatments, recognise that hair follicles don’t always naturally grow in the same direction, or that hair follicles are not all the same shade. The team frequently uses 3-4 shades of pigment to create the most true-to-life finish – achieving a younger more confident hairline.

    SkalpTM

    The follicle/strand build up of Micro pigmentation typically takes place over 3 sessions, each taking approx. 3‐4 hours with at least one week between sessions. The process allows for a very gradual and subtle rejuvenation/infill of the hairline, rarely identified even by close friends and family. During the procedure a cartridge, containing 3 needles working in symphony, gently inject natural pigment into the 2nd dermal skin layer. Skalp only uses the latest innovative technology.

    SkalpTM

    Skalp Micro Pigmentation can help in many other areas too including:

    -Give the look of a full, youthful head of cropped hair

    -Simulate a full‐front, side and/or rear hairline

    -Restore hairlines on part‐bald or fully bald heads

    -Camouflage – permanently – the symptoms of all levels of alopecia

    -Camouflage scarring resulting from previous hair transplant surgery

    -Hide scars, burns and birthmarks
-Boost the visual effect of a hair transplant

    So visit www.Skalp.com today and book a free consultation with their experts and unlock the face of a new you.

     

    Do check out this video of Marcin who found new confidence with Skalp and see the results for yourself.

     

    Brought to you by: SkalpTM (what does this mean)

     

  • ZAC EFRON Shows His Amazing Shirtless Backflip

    Woof de woof.. Hollywood Hunk Zac Efron does a shirtless backflip…

    And so did our hearts…

    Hollywood hunk and all round nice guy, Zac Efron got shirtless to backflip into the sea with friend, Gianluca Vacchi. Zac has been on holiday with the Italian businessman and actress Michelle Rodriguez.

    Earlier in the year Zac went topless after winning an MTV Movie Award. Efron had told fans that if he won the award he would accept it topless. See the pictures here.

  • COLUMN | A Difficult Spot

    One thing that I looked forward to about ageing was the absence of spots. I imagined that there was a magical age, twenty-five perhaps, where my skin would clear up and I’d be totally blemish free. It was a false hope. I’m in my early forties and am sporting a ridiculous collection of pimples around my mouth.

    I managed to miss acne vulgaris. I was lucky enough not to suffer those rashes and colonies of ugly spots during my teenage years. What I got instead was the uber-zit. I’d grow these massive headless spots that would take root and stick around sending me running for the nearest chemist to peruse the chemical warfare agents that promised clearer skin. I had two giant spots on the end of my nose for so long during my late teens that I christened them (Bette and Joan if you must know: they were bickering mean spots).

    I scoured my skin with bright pink lotions that left me with a complexion like a flaky pastry sausage roll but the spots remained, red and shiny as ever. I applied medical concealer that was designed for the cast of TOWIE (i.e. bright orange). Having a bright orange, powdery pimple was clearly so much more discrete. I applied acidic lotions that burned and sizzled but seemed to feed the spots. I avoided grease and chocolate, ate fruit, drank water and squeezed/didn’t squeeze till I was blue (and still spotty) in the face.

    The advent of facial hair made things worse. The spots would come and go and were occasionally joined by their more vicious friends: the ingrowing hairs. The only delight with these is the sating of my love of picking and prodding. Hot flannels and savage attacks garner a lot o satisfaction.

    I’m less vain and self-conscious than in my youth and I have a more philosophical outlook to things. I tend to go with the phrase: It is what it is.

    I’ll sport my pimples with pride today. I don’t love my glue sniffer type rash but I can take it. It’ll go in time.

  • FILM REVIEW | After The Dark (The Philosophers)

    ★★★★★ | | After The Dark (The Philosophers)

    In After The Dark it’s the last day of term and Mr. Zimit, a Philosophy Teacher challenges his international high school students to take part in one final thought experiment: It’s the apocalypse and there’s a bunker that will save some of them. There’s twenty-one of them and only ten places in the bunker. Having more than ten people in the bunker will mean that all in the bunker perish. The class must decide who will get a place in the bunker and who won’t.

    To help the students decide, Mr. Zimit hands them cards with skills on (e.g. Organic Farmer, Structural Engineer, Poet, etc.) for their character in this thought experiment. He encourages them to make logical decisions.

    Later Mr. Zimit ups the ante by telling students that they are required to get at least one pregnancy going during the year in the bunker and asks the students to open their cards to reveal another aspect to their character (e.g. one is gay, one is sterile, one is a midwife, one will get cancer in 3 years time, etc.). Then they have to decide again with this new information who will get a place in the bunker.

    After The Dark is a superb film that uses the dialogue and snippets of action to keep the watcher hooked throughout. Set in the Indonesian city of Jakarta, there are some beautiful settings in this film including Prambanan temple. The cast are mostly unknowns, but fitted their individual roles and worked together well.

    There is good representation of gay people in this film. One of the students is a gay man who is out, accepted and valued by his fellow students (and there is another one that isn’t out at the beginning of the film).

    The lead male character who is identified as straight, opens up his Organic Farmer card to reveal that his character is gay. He gets a place in the bunker, but when it comes to pairing up to get a pregnancy going he says he feels he wouldn’t be comfortable sleeping with a woman as a gay man. This is followed by a short scene of him and the openly gay student getting it on and then shows them becoming close as a couple.

    After The Dark is a film that challenges what you believe about philosophy, logic, the survival of the human race and whether it’s important to exist or live. You’ll find yourself watching it again and again and thinking about it for days afterwards. It will be a great source of enjoyment and generate a good debate among the people you watch it with.

    After The Dark is a fantastic five star film, one that has been under-rated and missed by most. It is available to pre-order/order on Amazon.

  • FILM REVIEW | The Golden Hour

    ★★★★★ | The Golden Hour

    This story about Guatemalan teenagers trying to escape their life of poverty and illegally cross the Mexican Border after a long and arduous journey en route to the USA, is one of the saddest and most dispiriting I have seen in a very long time. It starts with three friends Samuel, Juan and his girlfriend Sara who disguises herself as a boy, but a native Indian called Chaulk also latches on to them soon after they set out.

    The first of their many frightening ordeals occurs in small Mexican town where the Police round them up and immediately deport them back to Guatemala, but not before they rob them of their few possessions and their boots. They quickly find their way back to the Border but Samuel has already had enough and wants to go home. Juan has taken an instant dislike to Chaulk who he thinks is after Sara, but she insists he travels with them, so they all set off again.

    It’s not too long before the train they have jumped on along with hundreds of would-be migrants is stopped by the Mexican Army, but this time the three of them manage to escape and seek refuge in a sugar plantation. Back on the train, and this time it is halted by a band of Drug Traffickers who relieve everyone of anything remotely saleable and capture all the women including Sara who is spotted despite her disguise. When the two boys try to save her they are viscously beaten up by the gang and left unconscious in the middle of nowhere.

    Chaulk revives first as Juan’s injuries are more severe and the young Indian carries him to safety and nurses him back to health. Soon they are back on another train yet again and are easily lulled into false sense of security by another Guatemalan kid who promises them a job with his Uncle as they will need money to pay smugglers for the final stretch of their journey. It is a trap and they are about to be held hostage for ransom but as this gang is led by a fellow Guatemalan, Juan is let free. However as he won’t leave without Chaulk as he had saved his life, he offers the Captors the few dollars he has to buy the Indian’s freedom.

    It is sadly not the end of all the dangerous obstacles they will have to overcome on this seemingly endless harrowing journey.

    The movie’s original title is ‘Juala de Oro’ which translates into ‘Golden Cage’ and this is exactly what the kids get for all their dreams. The US willingly accepts illegals cheap labour but will not allow them the proper papers to rise beyond this lowly position. Despite this, and the continual fear of being caught and deported every single day, there will be hundreds of thousands other kids like these, that will still risk their lives for the hope of a better existence.

    Directed and co-written by Spanish filmmaker Diego Quemada-Díez (who was a cameraman on many of Ken Loach’s movies) it has a beautiful backdrop of stunning Mexican and Guatemalan landscapes that sometimes makes you forget the sheer poverty and the hardships of its inhabitants. The movie relies on amateur actors, but it is the sheer power of the story that makes it so watchable and also the reason it has won several awards including Un Certain Regard at Cannes Film Festival.

    In Cinemas in the UK

  • Not Cumming Out – Delayed Ejaculation

    Guys have it hard. Or at least when sex isn’t explosive life can get a bit challenging. Physical intimacy, including penetration, is so enjoyable but when something goes wrong then it can really go wrong.

    You cum too quickly. You can’t get it up. You get it up but it goes down again. You meet a guy you fancy but can’t figure out if he is top or bottom. Then it turns out that you both want the same and neither are prepared to try the other position. He wants to do something you haven’t heard of much less tried.

    But all of the above are more or less well known about. And you’d probably be able to find a mate to talk about it. But there is one sexual issue that remains in the closet – delayed ejaculation (DE). DE is exactly what it says on the label. You have great difficulty in cumming. But why on earth is that a problem? It must be great to be able to shag for hours and not cum. To be able to take on one guy after another. Actually, it’s not all that it’s cut out to be.

    Our fundamental sexual desire is to ejaculate – to spread our seeds. If we don’t achieve that or it takes too long to do so we can get depressed. If we’re in and out of a hole for too long both our cock and partner will get sore. And the likelihood is that he has already cum, maybe even twice. If that’s the case he may begin to feel that there is something wrong with him. Or you begin to think that there is something fundamentally wrong with your techniques and wonder why you can never cum with a guy who really turns you on. In fact DE can cause considerable anxiety, distress and loss of sexual confidence.

    It is estimated that between 2 to 10 percent of men can suffer DE at some time of their lives and there seems to be a trend of it happening more as you get older. It has also been recently observed in men who watch a lot of porn. This could be because you are used to the stimulation that your hand gives or it may be because you are ‘trained’ to react to screen pictures. Because this isn’t a common disorder there is little research on the issue and so practitioners struggle to understand the issues and to help those affected.

    There are believed to be a number of potential causes. Some men have always suffered from DE from puberty. This can mean that they think it normal until they come upon a partner who questions their sexual abilities. DE may be tied in with a strict upbringing, a family who didn’t talk about sex and men who control their lives for a number of reasons but there could be an issue around sexuality acceptance.

    The second type of DE is situation induced. You can be happy squirting your spunk everywhere and then you suddenly find you can’t. There could be a number of reasons. For example how a partner makes you feel; stress at work; fear of penetrating either the anus or a mouth or something happened to you while you were having sex.

    Can it be cured? That depends. In general yes it can be helped but it could mean that you have to retrain your sexual techniques. You may even have to abstain from sex for a period of time including wanking off. The best thing to do is talk either to your GP if you think you have a problem or a counsellor.

    But whatever you do don’t suffer alone. Finding out that you are not the only one with delayed ejaculation is the first step. Accepting that you have a problem is the next. And doing something about it could change your life. Don’t worry GPs and therapists know about delayed ejaculation – you are not alone. Cum out and tell someone.

     

    by Owen Redahan

     

    OTHER QUESTIONS: HIV | WILLY WONDERS | HOLES | DOING IT | STIs | LUMPS & BUMPS | BACK TO SEX CLINIC HOME PAGE

     

    Got a problem you’d like advice on?

  • North Wales Pride From Today

    If you find yourself in a bind for something to do this weekend, TheGayUK recommends North Wales Pride.

    If you like the outdoors, a little bit of camping (not the Louie Spence sort, but real camping, tents and all), love a bit of drag action in open fields and a real community feeling then you must (we insist) go to North Wales Pride.

    The event runs from the 4th – 6th July and is located just outside of Bangor in the grounds of Hendre Hall.

    This year’s entertainment is provided by Misha B, Alys Williams and Kameelion. The theme for year is ‘From Rio With Love’ to celebrate the spotlight on Rio, during the World Cup, so think Bright, Beachy, Feathery and Colourful.

    Tickets are only available online until midday TODAY.

    Prices: £10 for exclusive accesss to the event, all weekend. Camping £7 per person for Two Nights, whilst Saturday day only tickets cost just £5.

    Tickets will be sold on the door, subject to availability.

More posts