Lady Gaga defends gay marriage and abortion rights at Chromatica Ball

In 1992, Gregg Araki’s gay indie-thriller The Living End rode a cultural wave of Queer cinema, a cinematic movement which changed the way gay audiences viewed themselves and the world in which they lived.While critical reaction at the time of the film’s release was mixed (Quentin Crisp called the film “dreadful”), The Living End has gone on to maintain an influential place in the annals of gay film. Despite an essentially non-existent budget The Living End went on to become a cult favorite, and influenced a raft of Queer filmmaking which followed in its wake.Now, 30 years after the film hit cinemas, Araki remembers the production of his best known film as “this whole crazy adventure and we had nothing to lose.”Speaking to i-D, in celebration of the film’s 30th anniversary, Araki recalled, “We just kind of went for it.

A stirring Pride festival speech from Heartstopper star Joe Locke has Isle of Man legislators ready to repeal a decades-old homophobic law.In his video message to Isle of Man Pride, the Manx actor touched on the law banning all gay and bisexual men from donating blood, which he dragged as “archaic”.Within days, the mounting public pressure elicited a response from the island’s government:NEWS: Government says it’s committed to changing the Island’s blood donor selection criteria to make it fairer and more inclusive.Manx actor Joe Locke, in a video recorded for Pride, called for a change in the rules for gay men.#News #IoM #ManxRadio https://t.co/3V5H5CnBQl— Manx Radio (@ManxRadio) August 16, 2022Manx Health Minister Lawrie Hooper told the BBC that though the “target” was to change the blood ban in early 2023, it could happen even sooner, as “the willingness is absolutely there to make this change.”Related:  ‘Heartstopper’ stars dance in front of anti-LGBTQ bigots at Pride LondonIn a statement to Manx Radio, the Isle of Man government stated that discrimination based on sexual orientation is set to be done away with entirely.“In future donors would not be asked about their sexuality and men who have sex with men would no longer be automatically prevented from giving blood,” they report.“Instead a person’s eligibility to donate would be based solely on an assessment of their individual experiences, as part of their pre-donation health check.”This victory for the Isle of Man is one exciting step forward, but there are still miles to go for LGBTQ+ healthcare equality abroad.The U.K. and the U.S.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed Carl Nassib, the first out gay active player in the NFL, on a one-year deal. This will see the return of the  defensive end to a team where he played for two seasons in 2018-2019. The NFL player has racked up an impressive set of statistics, with 86 career games including 164 tackles and 22 sacks.

When the FBI gets a warrant to search your private residence, that means you are in deep trouble — obviously. As we learned last week, there are multiple levels of approval for something like that, and with Donald Trump that included an unobtrusive attorney general and a judge in Florida who has appeared on Newsmax.I’ve become a bit blasé regarding news about Trump. We all know he was as crooked as a coat hanger while in the private sector, and that coat hanger turned into a corkscrew with his twisted behavior while he was president.

WLS-TV.The victims killed in the attack have been identified as 25-year-old South Holland native Donald Huey, who was planning to move back to the area from Los Angeles, 27-year-old Chicago resident Devonta Vivetter, and 23-year-old Jaylen Ausley, a recent graduate of the University of Michigan. All three were transported to a local hospital, where they were pronounced dead.The other victim was hospitalized in serious condition.

A self-described “straight male” is feeling awfully confused about his sexuality, and he’s turned to the internet for advice.He wants to be clear about one thing, though: His same-sex attractions only manifest when he’s on ADHD medication Adderall.Posting to the ADHD Reddit forum, he writes that, “I can’t explain the science of it, but I know that when I take my meds, I always start feeling different. Can anyone explain this? I feel that it will be an awkward conversation with my psychologist.

"Don't Say Gay" legislation, a school district far to the north is offering teachers an alternative.On Tuesday, a letter began circulating on social media which showed the Fargo Public Schools district in Fargo, North Dakota, offering Florida teachers a more welcoming alternative. Fargo is the largest city in North Dakota by population, and the district sending the letter is the third-largest in the state, with roughly 11,300 students."You don't know us, so we'll start with this important statement," the letter, addressed to teachers in Florida, began.

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: A disgraced former Congressman walks into a gay bar… and Twitter makes sure he doesn’t show his face there ever again.Related: Aaron Schock addresses nude pics, Coachella video, and antigay past in alleged leaked private chatOver the weekend, New York City leather bar The Eagle posted photos of their harness-bound patrons on Instagram—as they so often do. But in that sea of abs, perusers clocked one specific bar-goer who, frankly, has no business showing his face in queer establishments: Aaron Schock.Related: Aaron Schock completely humiliates himself with failed attempt at shading Kamala HarrisYes, that guy.

Louw Breytenbach was crowned Mr Gay World in October 2021

The Heartstopper cast continues to win fans over and use their platforms for good.Joe Locke, who plays Charlie Spring on the hit Netflix series, called out the discriminatory policies in place against queer men who want to donate blood while speaking at Isle of Man Pride over the weekend.“The island has come so far in the last 30 years, legalizing same-sex marriage in 2016, and in 2021, banning conversion therapy for all LGBT people — something the UK government has failed and is failing to do,” he said in a pre-recorded video. “But there is still work to be done.

Imran Khan is a gay man from Afghanistan.

A federal court has ruled that in refusing to provide healthcare benefits for the husband of a gay employee, Catholic Relief Services has broken federal anti-discrimination laws. For secular jobs, the Baltimore-based humanitarian organization must offer coverage to the spouses of gay employees, U.S.

A college town community in Mississippi is worried about continued violence against LGBTQ+ people in the wake of the disappearance and murder of a University of Mississippi student. Mississippi police said that Jimmie "Jay" Lee, a well-known LGBTQ+ community member and Black student at the University of Mississippi, was killed in an isolated incident not indicative of broader threats against the local community. A Lafayette County judge found that police have probable cause to arrest Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., 22, for Lee's murder and ordered him to be held without bond. Authorities allege Herrington killed Lee over fears of being outed. "Based on the information collected to date, our investigators believe this crime represents an isolated incident stemming from the relationship between Jay Lee and Tim Herrington," police said in a statement, Mississippi Today reports.It's been three weeks since Herrington was arrested in Oxford, and the area's LGBTQ+ community has been asking police to release more information on the investigation for safety reasons. The incident has shaken students in the college town of Oxford, who told the publication that until recently, they felt safe in the more accepting LGBTQ+ community environment around the university than in much of the state. One community member fears leaving their home, Jaime Harker, director of the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies at UM, told Mississippi Today.Lee had been a regular performer at Code Pink, Oxford's local drag night, and was well known among the LGBTQ+ community. He performed under the name Jay Divaa. Authorities believe that Lee's missing body is somewhere in Lafayette or Grenada County.

Heartstopper actor Joe Locke has called for change in the legislation which prohibits gay men to donate blood on the Isle of Man.

Warning: spoilers ahead for The Baby on Sky and NOW.Seyan Sarvan, who starred in It’s A Sin, has shared how ‘horrifying’ she finds the parallels between the recent Roe v Wade ruling in the US and her new Sky Atlantic TV series, The Baby.The horror comedy, which consists of eight episodes, follows the journey of a woman called Natasha (Michelle de Swarte) in present day, who – after sharing her disdain for her friends who are having babies – has one fall straight into her arms, right next to a woman who has plunged to her death from the top of a cliff.As the season progresses, Natasha discovers that the supernatural baby somehow causes death wherever they go, after being born in the 1970s to a woman called Helen (Sex Education’s Tanya Reynolds), who was forced to go through with her pregnancy by her husband after being ripped away from her lover, Nour (Seyan).Metro.co.uk recently spoke to Seyan, who played lawyer Lizbeth Farooqi in acclaimed Channel 4 series It’s A Sin, to speak about her role in The Baby and the real-life influences behind her character.The premiere of The Baby in the UK came days after the US Supreme Court ended the constitutional right for an abortion in June this year, overturning the landmark Roe v Wade decision, which was originally established in 1973.While the limited series is a fictional tale, it draws from real historical events, shining a spotlight on the female liberation movement of the 1970s and women’s rights to their bodies.The show felt especially raw to watch after the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, with Seyan admitting that she hasn’t been able to watch it in full because she ‘found it so hard to even see those scenes’.When asked about her views on the parallels

A journalist was the victim of a homophobic attack after a night out in Manchester’s Gay Village on 12 August.

The 10th Bingham Cup, known as the Gay Rugby World Cup, is scheduled to start later this week in Ottawa, Canada. Over 1,700 LGBTQI players from over 150 teams and 20 participating countries, including Australia, will participate in the tournament from August 17 to August 21, 2022, hosted by the local team Ottawa Wolves. The world’s largest amateur rugby union tournament is named after Mark Bingham, a hero of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  Australia’s favourite gay rugby team, Sydney Convicts are the current holders of the Bingham Cup.

Mr Gay World Foundation has sued former winner Louw Breytenbach, asking him and his publicist to “retract and apologise” for allegedly defamatory comments they made last year. South African human rights activist and TV presenter Breytenbach, was the winner of the Mr Gay World 2021 title, but resigned two months into his reign citing “value differences”. In a statement released to local media Breytenbach’s lawyer Quintin Steyn confirmed the legal action launched by the organisation.   A post shared by Louw Breytenbach (@louwbreytenbach02)Breytenbach told The Citizen that he had participated in the competition not for the title, but to use the platform to be a voice for the LGBTQI community. “There are real problems out there and we, as winners, need to get our hands dirty and work. My reason for resigning was never to tarnish the reputation of the organisation, but rather because of value differences,” Breytenbach said. Steyn revealed that he had submitted a supplementary affidavit on behalf of both Breytenbach and Prins.  A post shared by Louw Breytenbach (@louwbreytenbach02)Breytenbach had detailed his disagreements with the Foundation when he resigned as Mr Gay World in 2021, after refusing to sign a contract which said that the organisation would be his exclusive agent. Breytenbach at the time said that he already had an agent to manage his TV and acting gigs.

It seems that yelling at children to unmask and forcing trans students to be outed to their parents aren’t enough for this mess of a governor.Three years after signing a bill allowed public school teachers to be armed, DeSantis is putting forth a new push to militarize the classroom.He now wants to instate any and all underqualified veterans as full-time teachers:.@GovDeSantis on recruiting veterans to the teaching field: “Our veterans have a wealth of knowledge and experience they can bring to bear in the classroom.

Pageant organizers have hit former Mr. Gay World winner Louw Breytenbach with a gag order after Breytenbach made comments against the organization behind the pageant last year.Breytenbach has hired an attorney after he said he was served with the order last week, according to South African newspaper The Citizen.Mr. Gay World Foundation, the group behind the pageant, wants Breytenbach to retract the statements he made.Breytenbach, however, accuses the foundation of attempting to make his publicist, Gavin Prins, retract a press release about the situation that Prins had sent to his media contact list.

LGBTQ+ people are no stranger to finding community online. Since the internet’s inception, we’ve used it as a tool to chat, laugh, meet, and so much more.For many of us, it was our only respite from a homophobic, unaccepting world.

A post shared by Louw Breytenbach (@louwbreytenbach02)A former Mr. Gay World pageant winner has hired a lawyer to defend himself against the organization after it served him with a gag order, and not the fun kind.Louw Breytenbach won the title in 2021, but refused to sign the final contract when he realized it stipulated the organization would be his exclusive agent for any bookings or acting gigs.Breytenbach already had an agent for TV roles, and wanted to keep it that way.“I don’t need them to manage whatever TV opportunities I get,” he said at the time.

< 1 min read The largest amateur rugby union tournament in the world, The Bingham Cup, kicks off this week in Ottawa Canada with players from more than 20 countries taking the field in the competition’s 10th edition.

Conservative nutjob Tudor Dixon is terrified of drag queens, but, if you ask us, her past life as a horror movie actress is much, much scarier.According to her website, the 45-year-old mother of four, who nabbed the GOP nomination for governor in Michigan earlier this month, wants to ban schools from talking about anything LGBTQ-related, police what bathrooms trans kids use, and “protect young girls from being forced to compete against biological boys” in sports. She also thinks Donald Trump is God, drag queens are Satan, abortion is murder, and the 2020 election was rigged.Related: This gay-hating GOP nominee once worked for Rosie O’Donnell and starred in a zombie golden shower filmPrior to her recent foray into politics, Dixon was an aspiring horror movie actress.

D.C. native and award-winning comedian Sampson McCormick will perform in a series of shows from Thursday, Aug. 25 to Saturday, Aug. 27 at the DC Comedy Loft. 

A new report has found online hate targeted at the LGBTQ+ community has surged over 400% following the Parental Rights in Education bill.

Jeff Levy, a gay, Chicago-based psychotherapist.“At the time, there were no role models in the media and I was coming out during the AIDS crisis. Although there are more role models for younger gay folks now, I’d encourage younger gay men to reach out to older gay men and to ask questions about their life experiences and relationships. I think intergenerational friendships and opportunities for mentoring could be incredibly valuable and enriching.”We messaged some gay men over 50 and asked them about things they wished they’d known earlier about love, life, sex, and relationships.

marriage equality campaign and worked with the Rainbow Project.When discussing his journey to becoming a politician, he said, “I did give consideration to other parties but after talking with friends and family and others, it felt right in my gut and in my heart and my head to join the Greens and I joined in late 2014″. He said that what’s most important to him and his party is “to show a vision of hope and opportunity for a different society,” and that in order to do so “we need to do it in the communities that have been most affected by the Troubles.”“North Belfast sometimes gets painted as the most sectarian area, rife with poverty, but it is the best part of the city and it is beautiful and I love it and it is my home,” he continued.Clare has been an inspiring leader.

A hit-and-run collision in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood killed three people and injured another Sunday morning. The crash was captured on video by a dashboard camera. At 5 a.m., four men were struck by a sedan near the longtime Black gay nightclub Jeffery Pub, according to the Chicago Police Department, Chicago’s Fox station, WFLD reports.Three men were pronounced dead at the University of Chicago Medical Center; a fourth was seriously injured and remains hospitalized.According to an eyewitness, a car flew down the road just as she talked to another individual after leaving the Jeffery Pub nearby, WMAQ, Chicago’s NBC affiliate, reports.“I was standing outside the bar talking to one of the victims,” she told the station.

into bed. But neither of these – top or bottom – accurately describe what I prefer to get up to in the boudoir, so my response has always been a guarded mix of shrug and mumble.Here’s the tea: I’m actually a ‘side’, a term coined by American psychotherapist and sexologist Joe Kort to describe those, like me, for whom penetrative sex – in either position – does very little. Getting the peach involved is, quite literally, a pain in the ass, but as for the aubergine, let’s just say that hands and mouths always understand the assignment way better. To continue the food metaphor: if man-on-man action were a dinner party, I’d have zero interest in sitting down to a bland meal when the amuse-bouches are so good. I confess that I indulged in a lot of sex in my 20s – penetrative sex. It oddly took yonks to realise that what society calls foreplay is, to me, infinitely sexier than sex, and once I had, it curbed the rapid growth of my ‘body count’ in a hot second. Turns out the ‘A-gays’, as my friend calls the queer gatekeepers – our community’s very own, very catty mean girls – often can’t stand boys who do everything but butt. They simply don’t get it.

A journalist has described the shocking moment an 'aggressive drunk' hurled vile homophobic abuse at him and a friend then shoved him into the side of a taxi.

Dame Joan Collins has caused a stir amongst her followers with her latest Instagram video.The age-defying 89-year-old can be seen in a swimming pool, dancing around to Heart of Glass by Blondie. She is dressed in a pale blue halterneck bikini, a large straw sunhat and glass, looking typically glamorous as she moves about to the music.“Nothing like having #funinthesun!,” she captioned the post. “#poollife #southoffrance #poolside #hotweather #coolingoff.” Fans went wild for the post – including Elizabeth Hurley’s son Damian Hurley, who wrote: “Amazing!” “You're the best Joan!” a second wrote, while a third echoed: “Such an Icon!!”A fourth stated: “I love the fact that you still wear a bikini - I’m like you, age should not define you.” In a 2017 interview with LBC Radio, Joan touched upon her health and diet choices – and admitted she is not a fan of the clean-eating movement advocated by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow.“All of this stuff that she does not eat anything for a week and just drinks goat's milk? I mean what is that? I guess it is a fad...' she said.

2 min read Mr Gay World 2022 will take place in Cape Town, South Africa from 9 to 16 October 2022. In the wake of the lifting of international Covid-19 restrictions, this will be the first time in three years that Mr Gay World will be presented as an in-person event.

What’s on your gay agenda today? You must have one—the Christian Right says we all do!After putting up with this popular phrase for 30-some-odd years, Twitter certainly has some thoughts about the gay agenda, as you’ll see below.Anti-LGBT groups like the Family Research Council and Springs of Life Ministries popularized the idea that there’s a “gay agenda” in the 1990s, as Didi Herman wrote in The Antigay Agenda: Orthodox Vision and the Christian Right. Springs of Life even produced a video series on the topic, which was “intended to be an exposé of the lesbian and gay movement’s secret plans for America,” Herman added.Related: Someone tell this conservative there’s no such thing as “Big Gay”As the Los Angeles Times reported in 1993, Springs of Life officials claimed at the time that they had shipped out more than 25,000 copies of its videotape “The Gay Agenda” across the nation.

harrowing crash where he cracked two ribs—he’s ready to hit the pavement with the mission of bringing visibility to the wider LGBTQ racing community.Thankfully, he’s got the perfect vehicle to do it: With sponsorship Visit Topeka and Pride Kansas—the home of this weekend’s races—Shumake will be debuting his pride-themed dragster, a 24-foot rocket emblazoned with a rainbow hood and parachutes to match. It’s a slay on wheels.Ahead of the NHRA Nationals in Topeka, Queerty has the opportunity to run Shumake through a different kind of race: our rapid-fire Q&A series, Dishin’ It. Like most gays, Shumake is obsessed with Drag Race and The Real Housewives, so he touched on his favorites from both franchises.

Is it wrong for a Gen Z-er to be attracted to a Gen X-er, and is the converse creepy? Those are the questions Reddit user recently asked the sages of the r/AskGayMen subreddit. This user, whom we’ll nickname Z, says he’s 21 years old and is “mainly attracted” to men in the 35-to-50-year-old range.“Although it feels totally natural to me, I sometimes cannot refrain from thinking whether there might be something slightly wrong with it,” he wrote.Z said that if he were the older one, he’d feel predatory dating someone 20 years younger. But he doesn’t feel that way about the older men he dates.

emerging threat to public health. The World Health Organization recently declared the current outbreak a global public health emergency.For decades, several African countries have experienced ongoing outbreaks of MPXV, driven primarily by contact with animals and transmission within households. However, before last year, most people in Europe and North America had never even heard of the disease.

Dogs are some of the most loyal and expressive creatures on the planet. They demonstrate unending love and affection for their owners and will even affectionately snuggle up to other dogs.

Scottish pop star Edwyn Collins has donated a drum to a group of young Motherwell fans, after hearing that they were using a catering tub.

ABOVE: How much is your Bill Cable?

(CNN) — After 15 years teaching second and third grade at Burney Elementary, a 350-student school 30 minutes outside Tampa, Emily Lee set up her classroom this month to welcome three- and four-year-olds for pre-K. It's a change she has embraced, she said, a chance to get kids on the right path in their educational journey from a young age.But as instruction began in most of Florida this past week, there are other changes that make Lee anxious about the new school year.

Dame Joan Collins has sent fans wild after sharing footage of her frolicking in a swimming pool. The 89-year-old posted the video to her 283,000 followers as she showed off her blue swimwear.

The second Sunday in August brings with it that lesser-known annual celebration: Gay Uncles Day!This national day began life back in 2016. The notion of a specific gay uncles day was first suggested by Florida-based Facebook user CJ Hatter earlier that year.Related: Parents don’t invite gay uncle to daughter’s wedding as groom’s folks disapprove“Virtually every family had that relative, often an uncle, who spent his life as a ‘confirmed bachelor,” Hatter elaborated in a later post.“‘Oh, uncle Johnny will settle down when he finds the right girl.’“Families have denied the truth of these gay relatives for centuries.

A federal judge in Maryland has ruled that a Catholic nonprofit organization illegally discriminated against a gay employee by denying spousal benefits to his husband.U.S. District Judge Catherine C.

The Mr Gay World 2022 logo features the Blue Crane, South Africa’s national bird

anthropologists on Twitter have pointed out, today marks the 9-year anniversary of a monumental day in pop culture: It’s the day both Lady Gaga and Katy Perry debuted the lead singles for their third and fourth albums, respectively.It may seem hyperbolic to call the day “monumental” in retrospect, but the dual releases had the music world buzzing. Two megawatt stars giving us a first taste of their new eras? Both following up massively successful, generation-defining albums? Media outlets covered it with a frenzy, writing of a pop chart “smackdown” and wondering who will win “The Battle Of The Comebacks.”It was such a moment, that Glee even staged a Gaga/Katy debate of its own in its fifth season!9 years ago this week, @KatyPerry and @LadyGaga created a pop culture moment with the release of their singles “Roar” and “Applause.” It even inspired an entire episode of ‘Glee’ titled ‘A Katy Or A Gaga.’Despite the comparisons, the stars showed love to each other on Twitter.

A gay male couple informed the Washington Blade this week that they were assaulted by a group of young men on June 17, at least of one of whom shouted the word “faggots,” while the couple was holding hands walking home on the 1500 block of T Street, N.W. a few doors away from their house.

On August 10, The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatorio Romano revealed that Pope Francis had three meetings with groups of Trans people in the Vatican. The people had found shelter in a Catholic church during the Covid pandemic. The first meeting between Pope Francis and the Trans folk who found shelter in the Blessed Immaculate Virgin community […]