THEGAYUK

Tag: Homophobia

The latest news about homophobia across the UK and the globe.

  • Shia La Beouf In Anti-Gay Slur Shame

    Disgraced actor Shia LaBeouf in trouble with the law after a series of outrageous alcohol related outbursts in NYC.

    Shia LaBeouf, is currently facing charges of harassment, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass today after a series of outbursts for which the Transformers star was arrested.

    According to the charges which were read in court, La Beouf called one officer ‘a faggot’ and told another to ‘suck his d*ck’.

    NYDailyNews reports that it took nearly half a dozen police to take the drunken actor into custody.

    Once taken into custody officials said that he threatened one officer saying, ‘I’ll end your life.’ Before threatening to ruin careers with his ‘millions of dollars’ and a crew of lawyers.

    The arrest took place after the star reportedly disrupted a performance of Caberet on Broadway.

    His next court appearance is schedule for 24th July.

  • Gay couple attacked in London; one left unconscious by TEEN gang

    A gay couple in London were beaten by a number of teenagers in London, leaving one unconscious.

    According to the London Evening Standard, Walter Adrian, 23, and his partner, who has asked not to be named were approached by seven Bangladeshi teenagers who then assaulted the couple and called them anti-gay slurs, including ‘f*cking faggots’.

    The attack happened on Whitechapel Road, after leaving a friend’s party, on the 13th June, just before midnight.

    ‘We weren’t even holding hands or kissing or anything, but all the comments were based on us being gay.

    ‘One of them said “f**king faggots” so we wanted to try and leave and my partner pushed one of them but then they got physical.

    ‘They punched him and then there were six or seven of them just going at us while we were cornered against the wall.

    ‘They were saying, ‘this is our street, this is our area, get out of here’, just because they thought we were gay. It happens a lot round this area and East London.

    ‘We weren’t even acting gay and that’s what’s upsetting. Whether anyone is gay or not you just can’t feel safe. You’re scared of being attacked and afraid to go out by yourself.’

    Adrian was left unconscious, he has bruises to his head and stomach, while his partner had a swollen jaw.

    The attackers were described as 15-to-18 year old Bangladeshis who were wearing dark sports clothing.

    A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘We were called at 1.40am on June 13 to reports of an assault in Whitechapel Road. Investigations continue.’

    Last year anti-gay incidents were recorded in East London, where a number of men were arrested after harassing a ‘gay looking’ man.

  • Shocking video of reactions to gay PDAs

    A new video has emerged showing what some straight patrons at a restaurant in Mississippi, US, do and say when a gay couple start to show affection to each other.

    A gay couple were hired by ABC News in Mississippi to show public displays of affection in a restaurant and then filmed the resulting reactions from other patrons.

    The short film shows the couple being told that they were sinning, they received awkward looks, some patrons said that they would physically move away and the two were laughed at when they kissed.

    Just to prove that the discomfort caused by the PDAs weren’t solely because of the actors’ sexuality, ABC also tried the experiment with an opposite sex couple.

    Customers reacted entirely differently and some even stuck up for the heterosexual couple, when ABC’s stooge tried to make a scene about the straight PDA.

    The best bit is for last though, as two college students stand up for the couple, saying to ABC’s stooge, when she made a scene about the gay PDA,

    ‘There’s a reason why half the &^%$^%$ world hates America, and it’s people like you. Because you have no acceptance for anything else in the world. I’m so *&^%$ pissed right now.’

    In Mississippi, same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 2003, but the state does not permit same-sex marriage, adoption by a same-sex couple, and the laws do not positively address discrimination based on gender identity or sexuality.

    In a 2001 Public Policy Polling survey found that only 13% of Mississippi voters supported the legalisation of same-sex marriage, while 78% were opposed and 9% were not sure.

  • Teachers Facing Homophobia

    Teachers that are identified as gay or lesbian are actually less likely to challenge homophobic language and behaviour in the classroom a recent study shows because of the fear of rumours and abuse being brought to their sexual orientation.

    In an interview, a huge number of teachers and secretaries were questioned about how they cope with homophobic situations at their schools. A vast number that were interviewed replied that they did not feel comfortable or they were slightly “un-nerved” about “coming out” at school, with many reporting that they were particularly worried about losing their jobs.

    Administrators or secretaries were found to be particularly uncomfortable to “come out” as gay.

    Over half of the teachers that were interviewed reported that they had been aware of homophobic language or they had heard it being used in the tea room at work, and subsequently two-thirds reported that they had never witnessed other teachers offer to step in and defend them when such language was being used either in conversation or in malicious ways.

    Around the same amount of teachers also reported that they didn’t get involved or try to tackle homophobic language or personal jibes when they were faced with them.

    During the interviews it was brought to light that the people grew up in an era where being called “gay” meant you were bad, even bringing up a situation where a teacher chose to use the phrase “this is so gay” to mean “this is so stupid”, again this is classed as abusive in today’s “day and age”.

    The study follows lengthy research in the United Kingdom that prioritised in stamping out homophobia in the educational environment and the results of this study are vital in the effort to end bullying and physical and mental abuse to teachers in schools colleges and universities.

     

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  • Hertford Teen Jailed For 21 Months After Anti-Gay Attack

    A teenager who attacked a gay man in Hertford has been jailed for 21 months.

    Daniel Keem, 18, attacked a gay man after hurling anti-gay slurs in Hertford.

    Giving evidence at the St. Alban’s crown court, the victim said, ‘He shouted [abuse] I just ignored it and walked into the shop. I don’t normally respond to it. It encourages homophobia.’

    The unnamed victim was shopping at the Co-Op in Flemming Crescent and said that he had recognised Keem as he had made comments in the past.

    After leaving the store the victim made his way down Windsor Drive, he said,

    ‘I was confronted by Daniel.

    ‘He said: ‘Don’t take the piss out of me.

    ‘He punched me and tried to headbutt me.

    ‘Someone grabbed my arm and pushed me around.’

    Keem, admitted causing actual bodily harm in October last year, after punching and trying to headbutt his victim, although he denied making homophobic remarks.

  • Teenager Sentenced To 14 years In Prison For Anti-Gay Attack

    A 19 year old man from Chester has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for what a judge has said was a homophobic attack.

    Chester Crown Court heard that Floyd Evans stabbed office cleaner Francisco Nascimento at a spot on Chester city walls which is known to be a meeting place for the gay community.

    It was only the swift action of the emergency services and staff at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital that saved his life.

    At Chester Crown Court today (Tuesday 20 May), Recorder of Chester HHJ Elgan Edwards, said he was satisfied that Floyd Evans did what he did on 21 October last year because he thought Mr Nascimento was gay.

    He said Evans knew that area of the Chester city walls was a well-known meeting point for gay men.

    He was satisfied that this crime was a homophobic assault and increased the sentence given to Evans because of this.

    On 21 October 2013, Mr Nascimento, who’s originally from Brazil but has lived in Chester for several years, finished his work as a cleaner and went to the Northgate Arena for a swim.

    He then went on to a nearby shop to buy some food, before setting off for home via the City Walls.

    Mr Nascimento, who was 35 at the time of the attack, met a friend, Gareth Davies, on the walls and they were chatting when they noticed Evans coming towards them.

    Evans started talking to Mr Davies but then suddenly lunged forward and stabbed Mr Nascimento. He then simply walked away.

    The emergency services were called and a police officer, PC Campbell, kept pressure on the wound until the paramedics arrived.

    The judge in the case has given PC Campbell a Crown Court commendation for his actions on the night.

    Mr Nascimento was then taken to a specialist trauma centre at Royal Liverpool University Hospital where he was operated on immediately.

    Evans was caught on CCTV before and after the attack and forensic experts helped identify him as the man responsible.

    Richard Riley, Senior Crown Prosecutor with Mersey-Cheshire Crown Prosecution Service, said,

    “We have always believed that Floyd Evans stabbed My Nascimento because he thought he was gay and that Evans went to that part of the city walls that night for that very reason.

    “Evans is clearly a violent man, quite possibly harbouring sinister feelings towards certain sections of our community.

    “This was what we describe as a hate crime and the Crown Prosecution Service is determined to bring those responsible to justice.

    “Mr Nascimento had done nothing wrong on the night he was attacked and it is only because of the swift actions of his friend, a passing police officer, the paramedics and the staff at the Royal Liverpool Hospital that he is still alive today.

    “We welcome the sentence handed out to Floyd Evans today. He now has several years in prison ahead of him to reflect on the violence and recklessness of his actions on that night.”

  • Could Bad Smells Be Causing Homophobia?

    With Northern Ireland’s LGBT fight for marriage equality still hanging in the balance an interesting culprit is being eyed up.

    Last month the same-sex marriage motion was defeated 51-43 in Northern Ireland, but there maybe more than just religious traditions and conservativism that is stopping the UK from becoming entirely same-sex marriage equal. Sewage and Bad Smells.

    According to a new report, a team of psychologists and political scientists headed by: Thomas G. Adams, John C. Blanchar and Patrick A Stewart, from the University of Arkansas have found that people are less likely to support gay marriage if they’re in a smelly enviroment.

    According to the results which were published in the PLOS ONE journal, ‘Disgust is increasingly seen as playing an important role in the formation and maintenance of political and social attitudes’.

    ‘Self-reported socio-political attitudes were compared between participants in two experimental conditions: 1) an odorless control condition, and 2) a disgusting odor condition. In keeping with previous research, the present study showed that exposure to a disgusting odor increased endorsement of socially conservative attitudes related to sexuality. In particular, there was a strong and consistent link between induced disgust and less support for gay marriage.’

    779 people took part in the experiment, the majority of participants were Caucasian/white self-described Christian and heterosexual.

    Time to get the JPG out boys…

  • Nearly Half Of America Disapproved Of The Michael Sam Kiss

    According to polls and surveys America has never been readier for gay marriage, gay sportsmen – just plain gayness, that is until they kiss.

    Huffington Post has revealed stats that show 47% of Americans thought that EPSN broadcasting the now famous kiss between Michael Sam and his boyfriend Vito Cammisano was inappropriate, even though players kissing their girlfriends and wives is commonplace.

    Up to 20% of people polled would disapprove of their sports team hiring an openly gay player.

    Michael Sam made history last week when he became the first openly gay footballer to be drafted into the NFL.

    The article at Huffington Post goes onto explain:

    “Americans under age 30 had no problem with coverage of the kiss, by a 55 percent to 29 percent margin. Those between ages 30 and 44 were evenly divided: 40 percent said it was appropriate; 39 percent said it was inappropriate. And a majority of older Americans said it was inappropriate, including 52 percent of those between ages 45 and 64, and 69 percent of those 65 and older”.

  • Miami Dolphins Fines Don Jones Over Michael Sam Twitter Comments

    Miami Dolphins have fined Don Jones an undisclosed amount after tweeting after Michael Sam’s kiss and acceptance as the NFL’s first openly gay player.

    Michael Sam, 24, was drafted to the NFL as the first openly gay player yesterday, however not everyone seemed to be happy about the announcement.

    Miami Dolphins player Don Jones tweeted shortly after the news broke: “horrible”. The tweet has since been deleted and Jones was fined an undisclosed amount. He has been excused from team activities and must undergo educational training.

    He has also commented:

    ‘I want to apologise to Michael Sam for the inappropriate comments I made on social media,” Jones told the Miami Dolphins website.

    ‘I take full responsibility for them and I regret that these tweets took away from his draft moment.

    ‘Last year when I was drafted in the seventh round I remember the emotions and happiness I felt when I received the call that gave me an opportunity to play for an NFL team. I wish him all the best in his NFL career.’

  • Facebook Users Demand Action To Remove Homophobia

    A picture of Adolf Hitler cooking a Jew in an oven is the latest picture on Facebook to be deemed ‘not offensive’ by the social network as a group of users continue to demand a public meeting with Facebook representatives claiming the site is actively permitting content that incites racial and homophobic hatred to go unchecked.

    Three weeks after its creation, the group “Facebook –No To Hatebook”, has attracted over 8000 members from around the world, and has claimed some success after multiple complaints in forcing the network to take down pages or content on pages that range from “HOAX OF GAS CHAMBERS”, “HOMOSEXUALz DESERVE IMMEDIATE DEATH”, “Death To Queers” and “Death to Islam”. However, frequently the pages or the content is put straight back up under a slightly different name.

    The Group notes also that the social network’s policies are still preventing the removal of many clearly racist or homophobic pages, with Facebook saying they are ‘not offensive’.

    Speaking on behalf of the group, Jonathan Glass said:

    “There is now a clear palpable anger growing towards Facebook for the way that its users are being treated. We all love Facebook. It has reconnected us with old friends from around the world and we strongly see it as a force for good.

    However, it also provides an outlet for people to spew violent hatred into the world more easily than ever before. This is not Facebook’s fault but it is their responsibility to do its best to remove these pages from its site. And not only are they failing miserably, but they rub salt into the wounds of those who are trying to combat this poison by sending an automatic 20 second response stating that the page does not violate their policies, regardless of clear racism, anti-semitism or homophobia on these pages. The page owners are then able to ban those of us fighting them from their pages, rather than Facebook banning them and their pages.”

    Glass goes onto explain how

    “There are literally thousands of racist, anti-semitic and anti-gay pages that Facebook delivers around the world,” and while “we are huge believers in free speech, when posts cross the line into incitement and violent threats Facebook has to decide if it wants to be a force for good in this world or a force for evil.”

    The group says it has received many public and private messages of support from people and has invited Facebook to explain them in a public forum and for an open dialogue to commence.

    The group makes it very clear that they want to be Facebook’s partner in helping combat and remove the hate from the social network and has multiple suggestions on how they may do so which include:

    1. Stronger algorithms to pick up and remove hate sites and individual posts on a more timely basis

    2. More user support to respond to complains of hatred on a timely basis, improving what appears to currently be an automated non-responsive system

    3. Creation of a watch list, which would monitor specific known individuals and organisations who promote and regularly publish hate

  • Leicestershire Gay Man Left With 7 Stitches After Anti-Gay Attack

    A man in Hinckley, Leicestershire, has been left with facial injuries needing 7 stitches after a homophobic attack.

    Craig Chapman, 44, has spoken out after he abused by two men who tried to rob him, whilst walking his dog, the Hinckley Times is reporting.

    He said to the paper: ‘My face was an absolute mess – I couldn’t see through my eye and I needed seven stitches. I had to be kept in hospital overnight in case there was damage to my spleen.’

    The attack happened on the 16th April 2014, along Welwyn Road at around 4pm-4.45pm, when two men in a metallic blue Vauxhall Corsa approached Chapman.

    The two men apparently got out of the car and said: ‘Oi gay boy’ and punched the victim in the stomach .

    The first suspect is described as white, 18 – 25 years of age, approx 5’10’’, medium build, with short light brown hair possibly in a quiff. He was wearing a blue zip up top with white piping, blue jeans and Nike trainers with a blue sole and Nike logo on the side.

    The second suspect, who was the driver of the vehicle, is described as white, 18 – 25 years of age, approx 5’10’’ with an athletic build. He was wearing a red baseball cap with a white NYC logo and large wrap around sunglasses.

    Detective Constable Matthew Wiggins said: “This was a particularly nasty attack with the victim being left with a number of injuries. We are interested in hearing from anyone who may have witnessed the attack, or anyone who recognises the suspects from their description.”

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