THEGAYUK

Tag: UK

  • Gay friendly pub in Wakefield opens itself to UKIP rallies and events

    A gay friendly pub in Wakefield, Yorkshire has opened its doors for UKIP to hold meetings and events in.

    The Harewood Arms, a gay friendly pub in Wakefield is open to opening its doors to UKIP meetings and events, in what is thought to be the UK’s only gay friendly UKIP endorsing establishment.

    Many of the pubs regulars have reacted with dismay that UKIP, a party with members who have had their fair share of homophobic headlines like this and this, could be allowed to use the pub for meetings and events.

    The announcement was made last weekend on Facebook, when landlord Matt Eason wrote in a message to UKIP Wakefield,

    “We’re not planning on painting the interior yellow and purple any time soon, however we do support the ukip stance on the pub industry. Not one person can agree 100 % with any parties policies, you have to choose the few that are right for you. That’s why it’s called politics.”

    “We may loose one or two customers ‘support’ but will gain more in other ways. Im not going to sit by and watch our current government tax us thousands a year in unfair business rates and continue to take the piss with beer duty.

    “Increased tax on beer and the smoking ban is what has ruined the pub trade and I’m not gonna sit here and say that it’s fine and not do anything about it. In the 3 years I’ve controlled the business side of the Harewood it has never made a profit, ever !

    “I can confirm there will be a rally style meet and greet evening at the pub the dates will be confirmed so that people offended by it have the choice to not visit the pub that day”

    Yesterday a theatre company in London sent an open invite to Nigel Farage to it’s comedy play about HIV after he was criticised by the other leaders on the televised debate, with Plaid Cymru’s leader Leanne Wood winning the first applause from the audience after saying that he should be “ashamed” for his remarks.

  • Nigel Farage Invited To HIV Play “Positive” After Debate Remarks

    The leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage has been invited to a comedy about HIV called “Positive” by the show’s producers after his remarks about HIV in last week’s Leaders’ Debate.

    Positive credit Bobbin
    Positive credit Bobbin

    In a brand new outing for the play, which previously ran at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2013 and completed a critically acclaimed run at Waterloo East Theatre in May 2014, the show is inspired by true stories from those who are living with HIV.

    Playwright Shaun Kitchener said: “I’m so excited that Positive is part of the Park Theatre’s line-up this year. Whenever HIV is presented on-stage or on-screen it’s usually all doom, gloom and death-beds; but that’s simply not the case in 2015.

    “HIV sufferers in Britain today are reportedly more likely to die from depression resulting from the stigma attached to them than they are from the virus itself. It’s not that it’s a medical walk in the park, but it’s not a death sentence anymore – and it’s about time theatre reflected this. If Mr Farage wants to come along and see the play for himself to learn a thing or two, we’d be more than happy to have him.”

    “Following UKIP leader Nigel Farage’s outrageous claims made about HIV and immigrants at last week’s Leaders’ Debate, an open invitation stands to have him along to watch the play – and find that the stigma he fiercely promoted is total BS,” say the producers of the show.

    View image | gettyimages.com

     

    Nigel Farage was lambasted by the other leaders on the televised debate, with Plaid Cymru’s leader Leanne Wood winning the first applause from the audience after saying that he should be “ashamed” for his remarks.

    Dr Rosemary Gillespie, CEO Terrence Higgins Trust said: “It was great to see so many people express outrage after Farage’s comments about the numbers of people in the UK with HIV who were not born here. HIV is a public health issue in the UK and globally. If we do not take an inclusive approach and provide treatment for people who need it, we will never prevent onward transmission. 24% of people living with HIV in the UK do not know they are living with it, and 4 in every 10 are diagnosed at a late stage, after they needed to start treatment. HIV doesn’t discriminate and politicians shouldn’t either. Such ill-informed and discriminatory comments generate stigma, and make it harder to encourage people to take a test and stay safe”.

    Positive runs July 9 to August 1 at the Park Theatre near Finsbury Park, London N4.

    Tickets available: https://www.parktheatre.co.uk/whats-on/positive

  • A “Trans” Woman Abused On Street In Experiment To See If People Would Help

    The social experiment by Trollstation showed a ‘Transvestite’ abused by an actor on the street to see if passersby would step in.

    Trollstation
    Actors create a scene on a busy London street to see if anyone would help a trans woman.

     

    The experiment filmed by Trollstation showed footage of passersby standing around as one actor hurled abuse at another actor named Neg, who used to star in Channel 4’s Balls Of Steel, playing a transgender woman. The man is seen abusing the “transvestite” and saying, in front of a growing crowd, that ‘he’ was disgusting and ‘messed up’ whilst using violent hand gestures.

    Neg Dupree asked passersby for help, with one woman stepping in and suggesting that he ‘leaves it’ and for Neg to just “go somewhere else”.

    The man, who then says that the woman should ‘burn in fire’ is then turned on by Neg, who says “If you point at me again I’ll drop you alright, f**king jog on”, as onlookers stand amused at the unfolding scene, before being told that it was a social experiment to see if anyone would step in to save the trans woman.

  • New, Free 24-Hour Sexual Health Service With Results By Text Is Now Live

    A unique new online sexual health service allows people to test themselves for STIs in the privacy of their own home and get results by text message within seven days.

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  • Gay Brits Can Now Marry In 24 New Countries

    The Foreign office has confirmed that LGBT brits can now marry at 24 British consulates in 24 countries around the world.

    (C) TheGayUK
    (C) TheGayUK

    Gay Brits who wish to get married aboard will now have the choice to do so in 24 countries including, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Cambodia, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Serbia, and Vietnam.

    The FOC said the number of countries where same-sex couples could wed was limited to 24 because “British missions are only able to provide a same sex marriage service in countries where it is not possible for British nationals to have such a marriage under local law and where the local authorities have given permission for the missions to conduct consular marriages of same sex couples.”

    Same-sex couples will now be able to marry at the British consulates in Russia, despite its archaic anti-gay law and Azerbaijan, which currently carries one of the lowest ILGA ratings for LGBT equality in Europe.

  • BFI Flare London LGBT Film Festival wrap up

    The BFI Flare London LGBT Film Festival has unfortunately come to a close after a highly successful nine days of films and events. It was perhaps the best festival in a long time. Tim Baros takes us through the highlights:

    – Dior and I: An exquisite (and nail biting) documentary of Raf Simon’s first eight weeks as artistic director of Christian Dior, in which time he has to put together a collection. Director Frederic Tcheng uniquely blends voiceovers of an actor speaking excepts from Dior’s memoir intertwined with the pressure Simons and his staff are under. Dior and I is one of the better fashion documentaries ever made. It is now in wide release.
    Read our review of Dior And I

    – Portrait of a Serial Monogamist: Canadian Directors Christina Zeidler and John Mitchell’s tale of 40-something year old Lesbian Elsie (a perfectly cast Diane Flacks) who breaks up with her girlfriend but is not so sure that she’s done the right thing, especially after meeting another woman right away who appears to be ‘the perfect one.’ Portrait is funny and clever and will leave you laughing out loud of its portrayal of Lesbian relationships amongst friends.

    – Drunktown’s Finest: 34-year old Native American Director Sydney Freeland’s well done portrait of three Navajo Indian characters all coming of age and exploring not only their identities but also their relationships with their families and their culture. An amazing job by Freeland, who also wrote the script.

    – 54: The Director’s Cut: A highlight of the festival – this is the film that gay director Mark Christopher shot and intended to release in 1998 but was not able to due to pressure from the studio to ‘degay’ it. Literal cutting room floor and lost footage has been incorporated into the original version of this story of a young man (Ryan Phillippe) being accepted into the historic NYC club’s inner circle, and includes the gay scenes originally taken out. This film still takes us back to a time when it was all about the music and the dancing.
    Read our review of 54

    – Tiger Orange: A sweet tale of two gay brothers, one – Chet (Mark Strano) who looks after the family hardware store in a small town in California while younger brother rebel Todd (porn star Johnny Hazard – real name Frank Valenti) comes back home because nothing’s happening for him in Los Angeles. Chet and Todd are opposites in every way – Chet is very subdued and simple and plain looking, while Todd is hot and sexy with a body to die for and a naughty personality to match. Valenti is the true star of this film – not only does he light up the screen when he’s one, but he can act as well.

    – Match: Sir Patrick Stewart is an older dance teacher (Toby Powell) whose life is shaken up when a straight couple show up one day on his doorstep to supposedly interview him about his life as a dance teacher. But what they really want from his is to find out if he’s the father of the husband. Stewart has never been better in a film that’s stretched a bit too long and with a cast that can’t quite match Stewart in the acting department.

    – The Last One: Unfolding the AIDS Memorial Quilt: A film, half about the AIDS quilt and the other half about statistics and other AID’s organisations, it would’ve worked better if it stuck to its main subject – the quilt. We’ve seen so many documentaries about AIDS and statistics, as well as the quilt, and this documentary gives us nothing new.

    – The Golden Age of the American Male: This film is just a series of images and videos from the archives of the Athletic Model’s Guild, which was created by Bob Mizer. The Golden Age is pretty much 65 minutes of soft porn, if that’s your thing.

    – Frangipani: The first LGBT Sri Lankan film, it tells the tale of two men (very good Dasun Pathirana and Jehan Sri Kanth) who fall in love with each other in spite of one of them getting married to a woman. Beautifully shot and easy to identify with – Director, Writer and Producer Visakesa Chandrasekaram) has made a lush film that is highly recommended.

    – Everlasting Love: A strange, eerie Spanish film that can be best described as Stranger on a Lake (without the Lake) meets Twilight. Throw in some flesh eating and many boring moments and what you have is a film that should be missed.

    – Fulboy: A documentary about the unseen world of football, Director Martin Farina was given full access to a professional Argentinean football team. He speaks to them in their hotel rooms and in their locker room, when, lucky for us, they are not shy about displaying their athletic bodies, from head to toe, for the camera. Not much a narrative on this one, but it’s worth watching as you feel like a fly on the wall in a very straight male environment.

    There was an excellent selection of shorts, and a few stand out:
    – Hole: Gay disabled actor Ken Harrower plays a man who frequents video booths but gets frustrated when he’s unable to receive sexual pleasure, so he enlists the help of his male carer to get it.

    – Limanakia: The strangest yet sexiest short film I have ever seen. Gay men frolic on the rocks of a beach somewhere in Greece, all naked and all having sex, shot in motion-moving imagery with the sun providing a hint of gold on the bodies and on the rocks.

    – been too long at the FAIR: Who would’ve guessed that there is a gay cinema in Queens, New York? This short documentary exposes the FAIR Theater in Jackson Heights as one of the oldest continuing running gay establishments in New York City.

    All in all, it was a great festival and we’re looking forward to next year. Well done FLARE gang!

  • Anti-Gay Marriage MP Tells Gay Voter Never To Contact Him Again

    The former MP and now Conservative hopeful for Peterborough, Stewart Jackson, who voted against the same-sex marriage act, has allegedly sent a response to a constituent, asking her to never bother him again after learning that she is in a same-sex marriage.

    Laura O’Sullivan was shocked to find an official communication from her then local MP Stewart Jackson, that stated that she should never “bother” him again. Mr. Jackson was a key figure in the Coalition for Marriage, a campaign which claimed to have attracted over 600,000 signatures against the redefining of marriage and he was one of 175 MPs who voted against same-sex marriage in 2013.

    Taking to Facebook, Ms. O’Sullivan said,

    “I got a letter through the post, addressed to Laura Hawes, asking me to vote for Stewart Jackson, Peterborough MP.

    As he voted against gay marriage and had kindly left his email address at the bottom for responses I sent him the following message:

    Dear Stewart Jackson,
    You sent me a letter, I wish to inform you that it was sent to the wrong name, Hawes is my maiden name. As of last October I am happy to say I am married, And have therefore changed my surname to O’Sullivan.

    And as my Wife and I enjoying our rights to an equal marriage, something that you did not support we will not, in no un certain terms, be voting for you.
    Please never write to me again.
    Mrs Laura O’sullivan

    She received the following response a few hours later:

    The feeling’s fully mutual.
    Please feel free to never bother me again.
    Yours
    Stewart Jackson”

    THEGAYUK reached out to Mr. Jackson’s office to ask if his response was standard practice for communicating with his constituents. His office replied, “It is the regular practice of Stewart Jackson and his office not to comment on any private correspondence between his office and his former constituents.”

    The post, on Facebook, has now attracted nearly 1,200 shares and a number of comments.

    As the UK Parliament has been dissolved until after the General Election on May 7th, Mr. Jackson is no longer the MP for Peterborough. In a statement on his website he wrote, “It is my honour and privilege to have been elected in May 2005 and re-elected in May 2010 to represent the Peterborough constituency in the House of Commons. He is now fighting for re-election in Peterborough.

    “I have made it my duty to work for Peterborough in Westminster and not for Westminster in Peterborough. I am working for your interests, not self-interests. Above all, I will always put my constituents’ interests above my political career.”

  • Gloucestershire Loses Its Only Gay Bar

    The Westgate in Gloucestershire has served its last pint as the number of LGBT venues across the country gradually gets smaller and smaller.

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  • If You’re A White Gay Male Student, Don’t Act Like A Black Woman – It’s Policy

    The UK National Union of Students has passed a policy which means that white gay men must stop appropriating black female culture.

    It is being reported that delegates at the Women’s Conference today passed a motion makes it against policy to snap, click or sashay away, or generally act in any way that can be attributed to black women.

    Submitted by the NUS LGBT Committee the motion reads:

    503: ‘Dear White Gay Men: Stop Approprirating [sic] Black Women’.

    The appropriation of Black women by white gay men is prevalent within the LGBT scene and community.

    1. This may be manifested in the emulation of the mannerisms, language (particularly AAVE- African American Vernacular English) and phrases that can be attributed to Black women. White gay men may often assert that they are “strong black women” or have an “inner black woman”.
    1. White gay men are the dominant demographic within the LGBT community, and they benefit from both white privilege and male privilege.
    1. The appropriation of Black women by white gay men has been written about extensively. This quote is taken from Sierra Mannie’s TIME piece entitled: “Dear white gays, stop stealing Black Female culture”:

    “You are not a black woman, and you do not get to claim either blackness or womanhood. There is a clear line between appreciation and appropriation. I need some of you to cut it the hell out. Maybe, for some of you, it’s a presumed mutual appreciation for Beyoncé and weaves that has you thinking that I’m going to be amused by you approaching me in your best “Shanequa from around the way” voice. I don’t know. What I do know is that I don’t care how well you can quote Madea, who told you that your booty was getting bigger than hers, how cute you think it is to call yourself a strong black woman, who taught you to twerk, how funny you think it is to call yourself Quita or Keisha or for which black male you’ve been bottoming — you are not a black woman, and you do not get to claim either blackness or womanhood. It is not yours. It is not for you.”

    The conference, believes, that “This type of appropriation is unacceptable and must be addressed.

    “Low numbers of Black LGBT women delegates attend NUS LGBT conference. This can be attributed to many factors, one of which may be the prevalent appropriation by white gay men, which may mean that delegates do not feel comfortable or safe attending conference.”

    In a second motion they passed the banning of cross-dressing or drag due the offence it could cause trans women.

    Speaking to GayStarNews about the policies a spokeswoman said, “We’re a democratic society, and if members voted for it, these are our policies”.

     

     

  • REVIEW | Simon Amstell Takes The P

    If you’ve a penchant for vulnerable, neurotic funny men – Simon Amstell’s current standup tour ‘to be free’ should be on your to-do list. You hardcore Beliebers out there might take offence by Simon implying he wants to make Justin cry by penetrating his bottom. Mr Amstell did harp on about his new-ish boyf so of course, he’s only kidding

    Simon’s tour pitched up in Bath last Friday (13th March). The City of Bath perfectly characterises Englishness, much like Simon Amstell’s awkward and clumsy persona. Bath’s Komedia is caked in the traditional theatre covings and mouldings. It’s intimate and foolproof venue for a standup with a nervous disposition.

    A dorky Norwegian chap called Daniel Simonsen kick started the diaphragm contractions and respiratory howls. Daniel belittles himself and frets his way through observational comedy poker-faced with a Norwegian accent. It works.

    The same sharp wit as Never Mind the Buzzcocks and self-deprecated style as Grandma’s House is rife throughout Mr Amstell’s performance. He’s like watching a humorous, nervy overgrown-chihuahua with a tight perm.

    The timid pooch eased into the act nervously laughing at his own jokes. Closely followed by roars from the audience. The art of timing is apparent unlike Elton brandishing a Dolce and Gabbana shopping bag in LA. The crowd’s laughter-pipes were put through a gruelling workout.

    Amstell twitched through an array of subjects – love, sex, anguish. One of the best lines of the night, “If I was autistic I could lick the world”. Controversy and Amstell go together like Romans and hot-tubs.

    The quips trickled from him seamlessly apart from when a member of the audience needed a tinkle. They then became his prey. Funny at first, but painful after the fifth attack.

    On stage Amstell looks uncomfortable in his own flesh, he relentlessly fiddled with his granddad-shirt and elasticated trousers. His anxious high-pitched guffaws are adorable tho. Perhaps all these are the traits of a teetotal comedian.

    You can’t help but love this eccentric word-wizard. You’ll no doubt be posting your application for the Simon Amstell fan club special delivery after seeing the show.

    Four stars for Simon.

    You can still catch ‘to be free’ 28th June Regents Park Open Air Theatre – tickets on sale now.

  • 60 Protesters Rally Outside D&G Flagship Fashion Store In London

    Sixty protesters rallied outside Dolce and Gabbana’s flagship London store in Old Bond Street at lunchtime today, Thursday 19 March.

    Rally went ahead despite “backtrack” on comments made about same-sex parenting
    82% of GayUK readers support a boycott on goods from Dolce And Gabbana
    Tatchell demands they retract their statement and apologise for their statement.