Archives for 2015

Digital Campaign Launches To Remind Gay Men To Test For HIV Regularly

01/07/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

By The Gay UK, Jun 30 2015 09:58AM

A new digital campaign was launched yesterday by the Terrence Higgins Trust to remind gay men and MSM (men who have sex with men) to get tested for HIV regularly.

A feel-good video has been launched by THT as part of the charity’s mission to get more gay men and MSMs to test for HIV more regularly.

The launch is part of its continuing efforts with the It Starts With Me campaign. Figures show that gay and bisexual men are still the most affected by HIV in England.
There is an estimated 43,500 gay and bisexual men living with HIV in the UK, one in six of whom don’t know they are positive, so could pass it on without knowing.
The summery video features a male couple who get together at a BBQ.
Cary James, Head of Programmes at Terrence Higgins Trust said:
“The fight against HIV will not only be won by large organisations or governments, but by the actions of individuals in the most personal and intimate moments of their lives.
“At this time of the year when the LGBT community comes together to celebrate Pride, we hope this video will inspire all of us to play a part in stopping HIV by regular testing and protecting each other by using condoms.“
The #TogetherSummer video and social media activity will direct people to the It Starts With Me website which offers a tool to find the nearest testing clinic, a the perfect condom, and a tool to tell you whether or not you need a HIV test.
HIV Prevention England’s It Starts with Me campaign launched in April 2013, and is co-ordinated by Terrence Higgins Trust, funded by Public Health England.
The campaign speaks directly to gay and bisexual men, chiefly about the importance of HIV testing and using condoms.

LGBT: Bletchley Park included on interactive map dedicated to buildings with LGBT histories

01/07/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

LGBT: Bletchley Park included on interactive map dedicated to buildings with LGBT histories

By MKWeb | Posted: June 30, 2015

Bletchley Park included on interactive map dedicated to buildings with LGBT histories

The former Crown Inn in Shenley Brook End, where Alan Turing lodged whilst working at Bletchley Park has also been.. Read more: http://www.mkweb.co.uk/LGBT-Bletchley-Park-included-interactive-map/story-26806016-detail/story.html#ixzz3ecTr1yA3 Follow us: @YourMKWeb on Twitter | mymkweb on Facebook

LGBT-Bletchley-Park-included-interactive-map showing over 200 buildings and locations across the country deemed to have ‘untold lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) histories.’
Led by historians at Leeds Beckett University’s Centre for Culture and the Arts and experts from Historic England, the ‘Pride of Place’ project aims to chart the untold LGBT histories of buildings across the country and to encourage the public to help further map

the heritage of the LGBT community.
Alongside Bletchley Park, where Alan Turing broke the Enigma code during the Second World War before he was persecuted for his homosexuality in 1952, the map includes a Manchester temperance hall whose infamous cross-dressing ball was raided by the police in 1880 and a 14th-century bisexual prostitute’s lodgings.
The project covers sites from Roman Britain to the present day, including the homes of prominent members of the LGBT community, pubs, cultural spots and activist sites.
The former Crown Inn in Shenley Brook End, where Alan Turing lodged whilst working at Bletchley Park has also been outlined on the map.
A spokesperson from Bletchley Park said: “Alan Turing was one of the pre-eminent Bletchley Park Codebreakers, a visionary mathematician whose work contributed enormously both to the outcome of World War Two and the computer age.
“In the exhibition The Life and Works of Alan Turing, which features a signed copy of

the 2009 apology from the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, The Bletchley Park Trust celebrates Turing’s short but brilliant life and achievements, many of which are more relevant today than they were during his lifetime.”
Professor Alison Oram, lead researcher at Leeds Beckett University, said: “It’s really significant that LGBTQ history is being recognised and promoted by our national heritage body, Historic England, and I am delighted to be developing this project with them. It means that people all over England will have the opportunity to contribute to and learn about the LGBTQ heritage that exists in the streets and buildings all around us.”
You can plot your own LGBTQ heritage places on Historic England’s interactive

map and see what buildings and landscapes others are remembering here.
The news follows this year’s LGBT pride parade in London that took place last Saturday (June 27.)
The theme of this year’s event was Pride Heroes and Alan Turing was one of many LGBT figures celebrated.
Family members

including his great niece Clare Dowling joined tens of thousands on the streets of London to represent the legacy of the revolutionary computer scientist at the parade

Boris Dittrich: Gay City workers let down by UK business culture’s attittude to LGBT issues

01/07/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

ibtimes.co.uk

By Bauke Schram

June 30, 2015 15:42 BST

Boris Dittrich, the ‘founding father’ of gay marriage in Europe, with former PM of the Netherlands Jan-Peter Balkenende(Getty)

After the US Supreme Court ruled that same sex marriages should be legal across the nation, many companies drenched their logos in the colours of the rainbow. Although the UK’s equal marriage act passed in 2013, leading LGBT advocate Boris Dittrich says that the UK is behind in terms of equality and acceptance in its business life.
Dittrich, who is often dubbed the ‘founding father of gay marriage’ because of his work in the Dutch parliament, which made the Netherlands one of the leading countries in terms of protecting gay rights and equality, told IBTimes UK that many gay City workers still decide against coming out because of their career prospects.
He said: “I personally feel that this is a conversation that has just kicked off in London, whereas in the US, in New York, the conversation has developed a lot more.”
Dittrich found that, in London specifically, ambition sometimes prevents LGBT workers from being open about their identity. “They still feel like coming out as LGBT does not give them any advantages and might even limit their career options. This why it is so important for big directors and executives to come out and act as a role model in a sense.”
In the UK, the most prominent example of an openly gay executive was Lord Browne, who, after decades of business success and hiding his sexuality, stood down as CEO of oil giant BP when the Mail on Sunday found out about his former partner.

White House in rainbow colour — The White House was covered in the colours of the rainbow after the Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage legal across the USA(Getty)

“When he was still CEO of BP, he was in the closet and was therefore tense and made decisions based on his fear people would find out about his sexuality and made decisions in his position that were not good for him and possibly even the company,” Dittrich said.
Browne is now travelling the world, approaching business leaders about sexuality and diversity. He has written a book called Glass Closet, which tells the story of his double life.
Dittrich also mentioned António Simões, the Portuguese chief executive UK of HSBC, who is openly gay and lives with his husband and their adopted children. Examples of successful business people like Simões are vital to show young City workers that members of the LGBT community can still be very successful.
For the US, the ruling of the Supreme Court will help propagate the ideas of acceptance and the importance of equality and diversity for big companies. “Images like the White House covered in rainbow colours are images people just remember, which eases the process of acceptance for the whole population. It makes it easier for sons or daughters to tell their parents ‘I am like that as well’,” Dittrich said.

Turkish Police Ends Gay Pride Parade

30/06/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Jun 28, 2015

Riot police in Turkey interrupted a gay pride parade in Istanbul on Sunday with rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons. It’s still not clear why the police decided to break it up but they cleared it out quickly and left the people celebrating upset.
The annual gay pride celebration, which has been held in the city for years now, was packed and it is not immediately clear why police wanted to break up the celebration, Reuters reported.
Rumors say that the conservative Muslim officials had a problem with the celebration being around the same time as Ramadan. Homosexuality isn’t illegal in the country, but many are not ok with them and they have no laws that protect them from discrimination in employment, education, housing, health care, public accommodations or credit. The EU Commission on Enlargement released a report a few years ago saying, “There have been several cases of discrimination at the workplace, where LGBT employees have been fired because of their sexual orientation. Provisions of the Turkish Criminal Code on ‘public exhibitionism’ and ‘offences against public morality’ are sometimes used to discriminate against LGBT people. The Law on Misdemeanors is often used to impose fines against transgender persons”.
The country does not recognize same-sex marriage.

The Event

The gay pride event was held in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, a place that is known for its protests against the government. The AFP reported that police targeted the crowd after hearing slogans accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of engaging in “fascism.”
The event has been going on since 2003, and now occurs each year on either the last Sunday of June or the first Sunday of July, to mark the end of Istanbul pride week. In the first year of the celebrations, only 30 people attended but the numbers have drastically increased with time. Estimates say that in 2010, 5,000 people attended and in 2011 the number doubled with 10,000, making Gay Pride Istanbul the biggest march of its kind in Eastern Europe. Three years ago the parade attracted around 10,000-30,000 people and in 2013, almost 100,000. The European Union has praised the country in the past for hosting the parades without any disruptions, but not this time.

See Also Report from the METRO – LINK Here

London Parade

On Saturday, thousands of people took the streets to celebrate the annual Pride parade just a day after gay marriage was ruled to be legal across the U.S. London
To celebrate the historic decision, the U.S flag joined those of Ireland and Mozambique at the front of the celebration, all three have recognized gay rights recently. More than 250 groups showed up at the event with extra security alert for any irregularities after the attacks on Kuwait, France and Tunisia.
Ruth Hunt, chief executive of Stonewall, said Pride was “a wonderful event that celebrates LGBT equality and how far we’ve come”, adding: “However, we must not lose sight of how much is left to do.
“The number of reported LGBT hate crimes is on the rise across the UK, our government must address trans-law reform, LGBT people are still being bullied in school and isolated at work, and overseas, many Prides either take place under armed guard or not at all. In fact, it’s illegal to be gay in 75 countries and punishable by death in 10.”
Other people protested against Northern Ireland, which does not allow same-sex marriage. Campaigner Peter Tatchell held a sign which said: “Northern Ireland! End the same-sex marriage ban. Equal Marriage.”

Pride of Place: Historians map out untold LGBT histories of locations throughout UK

30/06/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Now the “Pride of Place” project is to be widened to the whole country, with the launch of an interactive map of 200 buildings and locations and a call to the public to help further map the heritage of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
The map includes an extraordinary range of sites: a Manchester temperance hall whose infamous cross-dressing ball was raided by the police in 1880, a 14th-century bisexual prostitute’s lodgings, and Bletchley Park, where Alan Turing broke the Enigma code during the Second World War before he was persecuted for his homosexuality.
It also includes the story of French soldier Chevalier d’Eon, who fenced in women’s clothing in 1787 at Carlton House, the London residence of the Prince Regent.

Rosie Sherrington, a social inclusion and diversity adviser at project organisers Historic England, said: “The project is looking at national recognition of LGBT heritage. I think it’s really important, largely because it hasn’t been formally recognised before. There aren’t any buildings listed entirely due to their lesbian and gay relevance.
“I think people will be surprised… there are some really rural sites that have been important for lesbian and gay people in this country. We want to show how important LGBT people have been in influencing the environment around us.”
The Chevalier d’Eon, the androgynous 18th-century spy
Ms Sherrington hopes the project may lead to more buildings being protected. “This comes at a time when buildings and places with LGBT associations are coming under increasing pressure.
“Many are disappearing as LGBT culture becomes more integrated into wider society, while others – often in urban areas – are closing to make way for redevelopment.”
The project is led by historians at Leeds Beckett University’s Centre for Culture and the Arts, who have researched important places and will moderate the suggestions from the public.
Other important LGBT sites include Shibden Hall in Halifax, home of the lesbian diarist Anne Lister, and Millthorpe in Derbyshire, home of Edward Carpenter, the founding father of gay rights in Britain.
Reading Gaol, where Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for “gross indecency” in 1895, is among the sites under the “crime” category, as is the Old Bailey, where James Pratt and John Smith were convicted, and became the last men in Britain to be executed for sodomy in 1835. The project began in London in May and Historic England plans to have the project completed by autumn 2016.
Ronald Wright, a gay magazine illustrator, artist’s model and author who was a prominent member of the gay scene in London from the early 1950s, said the project was a “marvellous idea”.
“So many of our traditions are disappearing. If it wasn’t for something like this jotting it down, the nation would be poorer in years to come.”
Now 87 years old, Mr Wright said: “So much had to be hidden in the old days. I’ve seen some remarkable changes and the biggest change was gay marriage. I wish I had been born 20 years ago so I was young enough to enjoy the things young gay people can enjoy these days.”
He suggested a series of prominent gay pubs, many of which have closed, for the map. These included the Coronation Club, The Standard and The City of Quebec in London’s West End. “It was a tremendously close community,” he said.

Links:

Nick Herbert: Parliamentary group on global LGBT rights will help tackle ‘discrimination and abuses’

30/06/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

PinkNews

29^th June 2015, 11:36 AM
Nick Duffy

Tory MP Nick Herbert has said that a new cross-party Parliamentary group on LGBT rights will work with NGOs to help tackle “breaches of LGBT rights” around the world.
Members of Parliament and peers for the first time this month formed a new All-Party Parliamentary Group on global LGBT rights – to tackle rights issues around the world.
APPGs are informal cross-party groups, which have no official status within Parliament – but dedicate their time to working on specific issues across party lines.
The new APPG, which includes politicians from the Conservative, Labour, Lib Dem, Scottish National and Green parties from across the Commons and the Lords – will work to push issues in Parliament relating to LGBT people around the world.
Tory MP Nick Herbert said: “I am delighted to have been elected Chair of the APPG on Global LGBT Rights and I look forward to working closely with my fellow parliamentarians on these issues.
“While the advance of LGBT rights in many countries has been remarkable, as the decision of the Supreme Court in the US testifies, elsewhere in the world we are seeing discrimination and abuses which are of real concern.
“The power of this group is that is cross-party and will work closely with interested NGOs. I hope that it will help to ensure that, when breaches of LGBT rights occur around the world, UK parliamentarians respond in the most coordinated and effective manner possible.
“I would also like to put on record my gratitude to Crispin Blunt and the Kaleidoscope Trust for providing the foundations for this group, and I look forward to continuing their good work.”
The group’s vice chairs include Lord Cashman, Labour’s Envoy on LGBT Rights, SNP MP Stewart McDonald, Lib Dem peer Baroness Barker, and Green MP Caroline Lucas. Labour’s Lord Collins of Highbury was elected Treasurer, and Tory MP Ben Howlett MP as Secretary.
Caroline Lucas MP said: “There is a tremendous amount of work to be done in advancing LGBT rights across the world, and it’s good to see parliamentarians coming together on such a crucial issue.
“I hope that this all party group can hold the Government to account where necessary to ensure that British foreign policy, and our rules on immigration, promote the wellbeing of LGBT people across the world.”
Lord Cashman, who was one of the co-founders of Stonewall, said: “The APPG will give us a unique opportunity to share our skills to ensure that LGBT people both in the United Kingdom and internationally enjoy the same rights wherever they are born and wherever they live.
“Working with local activists in other countries and in the UK we can ensure that the universality of human rights becomes a reality.”
Baroness Barker said: “The APPG is uniquely placed to bring together governments, civil society and businesses to build strong, safe communities in which all citizens, including those who are LGBTI, prosper. Let’s get started.”
Stewart McDonald added: “I am very pleased to have been elected as vice chair of the APPG on Global LGBT Rights. This group has been founded at a crucial time.
“Although in the UK LGBT rights have advanced rapidly in recent years, the opposite is true in many other countries around the world.
“I look forward to working with colleagues across the House to put our commitment to promote LGBT rights internationally into practice.”
There is already a long-standing APPG on HIV and AIDS – which Tory MP Mike Freer was recently elected to chair.
Parliament introduced a Women and Equalities Select Committee for the first time last month, and former equalities minister Maria Millerwas elected as chair. Select Committees provide scrutiny of the government’s equality work, and are distinct from APPGs

26 Million People Change Profile Pictures With Facebook’s Rainbow Pride Filter

30/06/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Buoyed by the Supreme Court’s decision and global Pride celebrations, the internet was flooded with color.

BY JAMES MCDONALD

JUNE 29 2015 1:36 PM EDT

Photos from Facebook/Leonardo DiCaprio, Anne Hathaway, Elizabeth Warren, Elizabeth Banks, Mark Zuckerberg, Arianna Huffington, Arnold Schwarzenegger

As anyone with a Facebook account can attest to, this weekend saw rainbows sweep across the social media site. In honor of Pride, and in anticipation of the Supreme Court’s marriage equality decision, Facebook developed a program to allow users to quickly and easily add a rainbow filter to their profile images. Originally created by two interns, the company saw the concept’s promise and streamlined the process.
The reaction was nothing short of viral, with more than 26 million people across the world turning their profiles into visible statements of LGBT pride and support. So far the photos received more than half a billion likes and comments, and the momentum shows no sign of slowing down.
Among the millions were a number of familiar faces, with stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Elizabeth Banks, and Arianna Huffington taking part. Arnold Schwarzenegger had a particulalry memorable encounter with an anti-gay fan:

Bryan Hawn reveals all in new Justin Bieber featured video

30/06/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

GT Hunks

Hilarious!

Shrillex and Diplo have released their new track which features music superstar Justin Bieber.
However, this version of the tracks video is a little different.
The track, titled Where Are U Now now features fitness enthusiast Bryan Hawn in his latest parody as he dances at the sea, gives a touch of camera sex up close and even rides a polar bear in his pants. Yes, really!
Oh, and he wears like no clothes. Complaining? We said nothing of the kind.
So what’re you waiting for?
Get watching…

Words William J Connolly, @wjconnolly

Romantic Irish package holiday aimed at LGBT market in US

30/06/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

A major US tour operator has become among the first to create a romantic Irish tour for the LGBT market following the passage of the marriage equality referendum.

Brendan Vacation has created a 10-day romantic Ireland itinerary for LGBT couples, but only for those with a lot of money too.

The cost of the trip will be $5,750 per person (€5,150). For that price the itinerary will include a chauffeur in a vehicle with free WiFi.

Same sex marriage legislation delayed until the autumn

Brendan Vacations specialises in high-end visits from North America to Ireland and Scotland. The company has offices in Dublin and Anaheim, California.

“It’s a new step for us,” its president Paul Wiseman said. “It’s a substantial change in the way that we are going to create and market [to the LGBT community]. We’ve done all kinds of different custom departures over the years. But this isn’t a one-off. This is now a much broader program that all agents would be able to get access to.”

The Romantic Ireland package begins with two nights in Dublin at the Merrion Hoteland continues with a night at the Cliff House Hotel in Co Waterford, two nights at theMalton Hotel in Killarney, a night at the Mustard Seed in Co Limerick and two nights at Ashford Castle in Mayo, before returning to the Merrion for a final overnight in Dublin.

Sightseeing will include Dublin, Glendalough, Blarney Castle, the Ring of Kerry, Torc Waterfall, the Cliffs of Moher and Strokestown Park House. Participants will also be offered a chance to cycle along the Wild Atlantic Way, drink Irish coffee at the Foynes Flying Boat Museum and eat St Tola goat cheese on a working farm.

Among those partnering with Brendan on the new product is Dan Mullane, owner of the Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge in Adare.

“We are so proud the Irish people voted yes for marriage equality, making us the first country in the world to do so,” he said. “Nobody blinks an eyelid here. Everyone is equal at the Mustard Seed at Echo Lodge, where they’ll be greeted by the warm, friendly welcome that Ireland is known for.”

The “pink pound” or “pink dollar” is now much sought after in the tourism market. At the World Travel Market in November, Out Now, an LGBT marketing solutions provider, valued the global LGBT tourism market at more than $202 billion annually.

The annual Gay and Lesbian Tourism Study in the United States has found gay people in the United States earn significantly more and travel more than straight people.

Tourism Ireland has already launched a new campaign to promote Ireland as a wedding and honeymoon destination for same-sex couples. The campaign was launched just a day after the referendum passed in May.

The “Ireland says I do” initiative aims to encourage lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender tourists to visit Ireland and to corner a larger slice of what chief executiveNiall Gibbons described as a “new and emerging” tourism market.

A conversation with Andrew Doyle about Forrest Reid, Northern Ireland’s forgotten author

28/06/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

BBF15: FORREST REID – ANDREW DOYLE IN CONVERSATION WITH STEPHEN CONNOLLY

Belfast Book Festival

Verbal Arts – Friday 12 June | 6.15pm | £6/£4

at Crescent Arts Centre

Described by E. M. Forster as “the most important man in Belfast”, Forrest Reid (1875-1947) is a major literary figure whose books have somehow fallen into obscurity.
The writer of sixteen novels, including Young Tom (winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction), Reid was a founder member of the Irish Academy of Letters, and received an honorary doctorate from Queen’s University, Belfast. Andrew Doyle discusses his life and his legacy, and explains why a revival of interest in Reid’s work is long overdue.
forrestreid.com

Digital Campaign Launches To Remind Gay Men To Test For HIV Regularly

LGBT: Bletchley Park included on interactive map dedicated to buildings with LGBT histories

LGBT: Bletchley Park included on interactive map dedicated to buildings with LGBT histories

Boris Dittrich: Gay City workers let down by UK business culture’s attittude to LGBT issues

Turkish Police Ends Gay Pride Parade

The Event

London Parade

Pride of Place: Historians map out untold LGBT histories of locations throughout UK

The Independent

Nick Herbert: Parliamentary group on global LGBT rights will help tackle ‘discrimination and abuses’

26 Million People Change Profile Pictures With Facebook’s Rainbow Pride Filter

Bryan Hawn reveals all in new Justin Bieber featured video

GT Hunks

Romantic Irish package holiday aimed at LGBT market in US

10-day trip, which includes Blarney Castle and Cliffs of Moher, will cost €5,150 per person

A conversation with Andrew Doyle about Forrest Reid, Northern Ireland’s forgotten author

BBF15: FORREST REID – ANDREW DOYLE IN CONVERSATION WITH STEPHEN CONNOLLY