Channel4: Dispatches :Hunted: Gay and Afraid

22/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Dispatches investigates the networks supporting a wave of anti-gay laws around the world

Dispatches takes another look at the rights of gay people around the world

In 2014 Channel 4’s Dispatches revealed the extent of vicious hate crime in Russia with their award-winning documentary Hunted.

Now they’re back with an investigation into the global networks that support all sorts of anti-gay laws around the world.
In this one hour programme, Liz MacKean’s team exposes the well-funded backlash against gay rights led by organisations that promote “family values”.
At a time when equality for gay communities across the globe may feel more within reach that ever before, Dispatches shines a light on a group called the World Congress of Families who have established links in over 80 countries. The documentary investigates the WCF’s involvement in anti-gay laws including the Russian legislation banning gay couples from adopting children.
The Dispatches documentary also interviewed Pastor Scott Lively, who had previously linked homosexuality with paedophilia and who also advised the Ugandan government on how they might take forward their anti-homosexuality legislation.
Hunted: Gay and Afraid was shown on Channel 4 Dispatches, 23 July at 11.05pm, however it is still available on Channel 4 at this time.

Ben Cohen releases book on bullying, 'Do You'

22/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Ben Cohen, the former professional rugby player, will release his first book to help young people deal with bullying and educate adults on the issue.

ATLANTA, July 23, 2015 – The Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation today announced the publication of DO YOU!, the first book from its founder and chairman, rugby World Cup champion Ben Cohen. The book aims to help young people deal with bullying, and to be a supportive guide for parents and educators alike.

Published by Penguin Random House under the Pam Krauss Books imprint, the book offers inspiration and encouragement for anyone who was ever bullied, left out or pushed aside. The book lifts the spirits and gives practical guidance to anyone struggling with bullying and rejection, doing so in 20 brief, memorable, visually rich sections. Real-world words of encouragement from fans and supporters of StandUp are also included in the book.

“It’s a small book with a big impact,” said Ben Cohen. “Much of it comes from my own experience dealing with the loss of my father, as well as the advice I would give my own daughters. I want readers to know they are not alone, that someone understands, and that they can make it through.”

DO YOU! encourages readers of all ages to embrace their authentic selves and to live the life that is best for them. “I am really trying to let people know that they are absolutely fine just as they are. My goal has been to connect with them as a friend and a supporter, as they have connected with me,” said Cohen.

The book was developed from Ben’s experiences, values, and vision for how to make the world kinder for all, and crafted by the team at StandUp with him. It is on-sale August 4, 2015, in time for back-to-school reading, and available wherever books are sold.

Injured veterans become male models

22/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

American Photographer Michael Stokes’ background is based in fitness photography and showcasing the masculine form. Last year he featured a chapter in his book Bare Strength of wounded and amputated Marines.
This year he wants to dedicate an entire book to the men who served in the Gulf and risked their lives in the US military.

While on tour in Afghanistan Alex’s right leg was blown off below the knee.
After the photos of Alex were well received, Michael decided to set up a Kickstarter to fund a coffee table book Always Loyal featuring around 14 former soldiers who had been injuring in the Gulf Wars.

It’s no surprise when looking at these pictures that Michael made his fundraising target in one hour and fifteen minutes.

“We think of them as veterans of war but really they’re guys in their 20s who are ready to start new lives and have a lot of energy and willpower to move forward. When they are in my studio I have to hold the energy back.” Michael toldi100.

“It’s the contrast that- I think moves people. You see all this perfect skin, you see that they are young and then all of a sudden you see their injury. That is emotionally provoking.”

Michael’s next aim is to head to the UK to photograph injured soldiers here.

The book will be available to buy on Amazon in mid November and you can see his Kickstarter campaign here, which also features a video for the campaign.
Images used with permission from: Michael Stokes – See more of Michael’s work here at michaelstokes.net
Words Rhys Mathews @rhysox

Ben Mitchell Gay Sex Scene On EastEnders Attracts 48 Complaints

22/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

By The Gay UK, Jul 21 2015 02:13PM

Belated as it may be, we are introducing the implied gay sex scene which could land the BBC in trouble with OfCom after 48 complaints were made to the regulatory body (however we now know that the BBC was not landed in trouble – see our previous entry)

BBC/YouTube

A scene between the characters Ben Mitchell (Harry Reid) and Paul Coker saw the pair getting topless and kissing in front of an open coffin in a funeral parlour.Speaking to Digital Spy, a spokesperson for the BBC said,
“The millions of regular ‘EastEnders’ fans who tune in each week know and expect dramatic storylines.
“We are always mindful of our time slot in which we are shown and the scenes in question were implied and not explicit.

James Dawson: 'Young Adult literature should celebrate being gay'

22/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

James Dawson and Cassandra Clare, who both appeared at London’s Young Adult Literature Convention last weekend, speak out about LGBT representation in books for teens

Cassandra Clare; James Dawson

By Rebecca Hawkes

5:48PM BST 23 Jul 2015

“I didn’t want to write a dreary melodrama about coming out, and about how awful it is to find out you like guys,” says author James Dawson, in reference to his forthcoming Young Adult (YA) novel All of the Above.

“When I found out I liked guys, it was a massive weight off my shoulders, because I finally understood myself.”

The author, whose most recent book, the dark teen horror-thriller Under My Skin, was published earlier this year, believes that LGBT representation in YA literature has become more positive in the past decade or so. Books now celebrate gay identity and relationships, rather than focusing exclusively on characters who suffer and struggle with their sexuality.

• The 26 best YA books of 2015

“There’s that image, that stereotype of the tragic gay person who has to survive being gay. But to actually celebrate that identity, in all its glorious forms – I think that’s where YA is at now,” he says.

The formerly-bearded writer – he says he recently opted for a clean shave, after getting fed up of people describing him as “bearded author James Dawson” – was speaking to the Telegraph at the Young Adult Literature Convention, which took place in London last weekend.
A three-day event, held as part of London’s Comic-Con, it drew a surprisingly mixed crowd – there were plenty of adults in attendance, as well as teens – and featured panels and book-signings from a number of popular YA authors, including Dawson, Judy Blume (the veritable high priestess of teen literature), Patrick Ness, Derek Landy, Malorie Blackman and Holly Smale.

^{A book stall at London’s 2015 Young Adult Literature Convention}
There was also a host of inventive costumes on display. The black-clad, rune-sporting “Shadowhunters” from Cassandra Clare’s bestselling The Mortal Instruments books were a popular fancy dress option, but Dawson himself arguably claimed the crown for the weekend’s best outfit, appearing as Daenerys from HBO’s Games of Thrones (specifically, as the naked, unburnt Daenerys seen at the end of season one).

During the panel, Dawson revealed that All of the Above will contain his first “proper sex scene”. The book, published this September, centres around a 16-year-old girl named Toria who relocates to a sleepy coastal town, and explores themes surrounding bisexuality, examining how it’s possible to be physically attracted to one gender, and emotionally attracted to another, all at the same time.
It was partly inspired, Dawson says, by the “coming out” of Olympic diver Tom Daley and model/actress Cara Delevingne.

^{YA fans relax next to a wall of books at YALC 2015}
“Young people are very reluctant to come out with a label,” he explains. “It’s like they don’t want to pigeonhole themselves. If you look at Tom Daley and Cara Delevingne, when they talk about their sexuality, they never use words like ‘bi’ or ‘gay’. Instead, they say ‘I’m in a relationship with a man’, or ‘I’m in a relationship with a woman’. That inspired me.”
“I wanted to write about characters who were just at that precipice of trying to understand desire and sexual attraction.”
Interestingly, All of the Above, which can be broadly categorised as a “real-life drama”, marks something of a break with tradition for Dawson. While his previous YA titles have featured gay and lesbian characters, the books themselves haven’t been “about” sexuality, per se. 2014’s Cruel Summer, for example, is an addictive mystery-thriller; 2012’s Hollow Pike and Under My Skin (2015) are dark horrors.
Cassandra “Cassie” Clare, the woman behind the phenomenally successful The Mortal Instruments series, and another guest speaker at YALC, agrees that it’s important to see LGBT representation across a range of different genres.
Her six Mortal Instruments fantasy novels are set in a Medieval-inspired world of demons and fallens angels: think Paradise Lost meets modern day New York, with a healthy dose of teen angst and cynicism thrown in for good measure (There’s also a prequel trilogy, set in Victorian London.)
They inspired a 2013 film, starring Lily Collins and Jaime Campbell Bowers, as well as an ABC television series, due to hit TV screens in 2016, and are exciting, pacy, fantastically inventive and wildly popular with young readers.

^{Cassandra Clare signs copies of her books at London’s YALC 2015}
They also feature a romantic relationship between two male characters: a young demon-fighting “Shadowhunter” named Alec, and a warlock named Magnus.
“I’ve talked to lots and lots of gay and lesbian teenagers and, for a lot of them, Alec is the first openly gay character they’ve read about,” Clare says.
“To find a character casually represented in something they might already be reading, in a world that they like, is very meaningful, and so I’ve tried to be mindful of including gay, lesbian and transgendered characters in all of the books that I write.”
Dawson – himself a fan of Clare’s series – thinks that the matter-of-fact way in which Magnus and Alec’s relationship is presented in the books is particularly important.
“People never think to talk about Cassie’s books as part of the [LGBT representation in YA] conversation. Those books have sold to millions and millions of readers, and yet the fact that Alec and Magnus are together is barely spoken about,” he says. “It’s just not an issue – they’re Shadowhunters/warlocks first, and gay/bisexual second.”
It seems that, when it comes to gay and lesbian characters in YA literature (and, to a slightly lesser extent, transgender characters), invisibility is no longer as big a problem as it once was. It has, after all, been 40 years since the publication of Judy Blume’s Forever, which featured a gay/questioning character named Artie.
Instead, perhaps the most important thing for YA authors writing today, is to get across the message that discovering your sexual identity, while always a bit scary, can also be an exciting, positive experience.
Being a young, gay teen (or a transgender teen, or simply a sexually confused teen) is rarely a walk in the park – but books, Dawson believes, can offer a source of hope.
“I’m always wary of saying ‘oh, we’ve come a long way and we’ve now got great representation,” he says. “It is a struggle, and it is a very individual struggle. If you are a 13-year-old [LGBT or questioning] guy or a 13-year-old girl, it’s still the scariest thing in the world to have to tell your parents, and I don’t want to undermine that struggle.”
“But I think that representing the light at the end of the tunnel is what YA is doing really well at the moment. “

^{YALC Video round-up (in collaboration with BookTube channel The Book Life)}
YALC is presented by Book Trust in partnership with Showmasters, with the support of headline sponsor Prudential plc. All of the Above, by James Dawson, is published on September 3 2015 by Hot Key Books.
In a long blonde wig and nude-coloured body suit, complete with toy dragons – including the strategically placed “Drogon the modesty dragon” – he cut a flamboyant figure on stage, discussing everything from asexuality to “the hottest characters in YA literature”, during Sunday’s Bringing Sexy Back panel, alongside authors Non Pratt, Louise O’Neill, Tom Ellen & Lucy Ivison.

How many UK doctors still think gays can be ‘cured’?

22/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Joseph Patrick McCormick
23^rd July 2015, 9:41 AM

A large proportion of health workers in the UK still believe being LGBT can be ‘cured’.
According to new research from LGBT charity Stonewall, 10 percent of NHS and private sector health workers have been in a situation where a colleague has expressed the belief that being LGBT is curable.
Shockingly, the percentage jumps to 22 in London.
Polling conducted by YouGov for PinkNews earlier this year revealed that Londoners are the least likely in Great Britain to support a gay or transgender child.
3,001 health and social care professionals were surveyed in the Unhealthy Attitudes study, which was released today.
Overall it found that LGBT people still face discrimination from healthcare professionals.
A quarter of staff working with patients had heard their colleagues make negative comments about lesbian, gay or bisexual people such as “poof” or “dyke”, in the past five years.
Words like “tranny” and “she-male” were also often heard by respondents with one in five saying they had heard such negative language.
Sixty percent of staff who have direct contact with patients said they had heard discriminatory remarks about lesbian, gay and bisexual people and had not reported it.
Bullying in the workplace was also still found to be a common occurrence, with over a quarter of lesbian, gay or bisexual staff saying they had experienced homophobic or biphobic bullying in the past five years.
Worryingly, training on how to deal with LGBT issues appeared to be missing for a lot of staff.
Many said they had little to no diversity training, and some questioned whether or not it was necessary.
Nearly three-quarters of staff with patient access said they had received specific training on the health needs of LGB patients.
Even those who had diversity training still lacked knowledge, with a quarter of those who had received it saying they were told about the legal rights of transgender patients.
Over a quarter, 28 percent, of doctors said they did not feel equipped to respond to the specific healthcare needs of trans patients, and 15 percent said the same for LGB people.
More than half said they did not think sexual orientation was relevant to healthcare needs.
Ruth Hunt, Stonewall chief executive, said: “Health and social care services have a duty to treat people fairly and equally. Yet, as this report shows, there are worrying gaps in knowledge and training relating to LGBT people.
“This is creating a healthcare system that treats both its LGBT patients and colleagues unfairly leading to inevitable on-going health inequalities.
“Unhealthy Attitudes also contains some truly shocking revelations, such as evidence that high numbers of patient-facing staff witness colleagues stating their belief in a gay ‘cure’. This is incredibly harmful and dangerous and should be publicly denounced immediately.”
Stonewall now calls on the Government to publicly condemn the controversial practice of gay ‘cure’ therapy, and for a visible anti-bullying campaign across the NHS

New Asian American GLBT Bibliography

22/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

On: August 21, 2015

By Cat Walker
The newest resource added to the GLBTRT Professional Tools page is a guide to resources in print and online about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders that are also gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. The size of the American population with Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage has grown, and the visibility of them in American culture has also increased. GLBT Asian American authors, such as Justin Chin, Timothy Liu, Ryka Aoki, Elisha Lim, and George Takei have started to gain more recognition and their work has won awards.
This bibliography includes a wide range of books, DVDs, and many Internet resources related to GLBT Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in North America. Separate sections contain memoirs, literary anthologies, novels, poetry, plays, graphic novels, and children’s and teen books. There is also an index of a few subtopics, such as East Asian American, Pacific Islander, bisexual, and transgender resources. Most of the general nonfiction books are scholarly in nature, but much of the rest of the resources in the bibliography will appeal to a more popular audience. Each book and DVD has a link to the OCLC WorldCat record (when available) where you can see which libraries hold the item. Most of the items are still in print and available for purchase. Along with the African American LGBT Books Post-2007 and the Latino/as GLBT Bibliography, this bibliography can be a helpful tool for diversifying library collections.

The play that captures the fallout after Section 28

22/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

The play that captures the fallout after Section 28

We chat to the writer of Next Lesson

Most of you will be aware of Section 28, the piece of legislation brought in during the Thatcher government which banned the “promotion” of homosexuality. Many of you will have first hand experience of how it set back the LGBT rights movement and changed things for the worse.
For Chris Woodley, writer of Next Lesson, it was only too real revisiting these decades in history to create this semi-autobiographical play. As both a gay student throughout this time and a teacher in post-section-28 schools, he had the insight on the aftermath as well as the initial impact. We chatted to Chris about his life, the play and the future for him and LGBT education:
Tell us all about Next Lesson?
So Next Lesson is about Michael who is a gay student at a South East London school in Bromley. He then becomes an English teacher at the same school and it’s about the effect that his coming out has on that school and the parents and teachers in it. I would also say that around the main story of Michael there are other stories that we get to learn from other teachers, students and governors within the education system. It travels in time from 1988 all the way up until 2006.
Section 28 features quite heavily. Why was that such an important issue for you?
Growing up in Bromley in a 90s secondary school I was quite badly bullied and it had, I feel, a massive effect on me going through to adulthood. When I then became a teacher and went back to teaching in a secondary school in 2007 I was really curious about what sort of effect Section 28 had had on the education system as it was. So, for me it was kind of a cathartic way of putting those demons to bed and understanding what effect that policy has had on me and others similar to me in that time.

What’s the worst thing you’ve seen in your life in relation to this?
I think the hardest experience was – and to encapsulate how painful it is to think about these times – is a memory I have from English class. There were two boys talking and one of the teachers at the time turned around and said to them: “If you’re going to keep talking to each other like that, I think we’re all going to start to get a little bit worried about you” implying that they were flirting or that there was something other than just chatting going on between them.
He was almost using homophobia as behaviour management to sort of shame people. That’s without getting into hideous incidents of my own where people have sworn at me, spat at me, shoved me around, kicked me around, all of that. When I think back I think, if the experience is coming from the people who are meant to be taking care of you which is your teachers, it’s frightening.
That was your school experience. Do you think for schoolkids now, things have changed since the Thatcher years?
Absolutely, but there’s still so much more work to be done. There needs to be a better provision of sexual relationship education in our secondary school situation. There needs to be more of a dialogue about same sex relationships in sexual education or PHSE.
I still think it’s interesting about how different schools will deal with homophobia differently. If I was in a school and got called a “batty boy” by a student as a teacher, I’ve definitely experienced different ways in which schools would deal with that. The Thatcher years certainly left a muddled feeling after 2003 – when section 28 was finally repealed – about what we could and couldn’t talk about. When I started teaching I bowled up and insisted we do plays about sexuality. I would say some teachers were ok with that and some were curious as to why I was doing that, but I was really keen to get into secondary education and have some sense of visibility.
And then, what happened, being an openly gay teacher in a secondary school meant that within a year there were seven students that came out and felt much more like there was a positive role model that they could see. That was quite powerful.
From what your’e saying it all seems very autobiographical, what was it like putting it to paper?
I’m not going to lie I did fucking cry a lot, but I think getting the first draft written was incredibly difficult because I didn’t know how close to the bone to go with the events or experiences that had happened. It was actually harder seeing it live on stage being performed by incredible actors who were putting life and flesh into words that I had written about real incidents. That was actually harder. It was quite challenging to go back to those times and think about what I went through.

Even in gay-friendly industries like theatre, there can be internalised homophobia. Have you experienced anything like that?
I’ve been really lucky since I’ve left drama school and I would say at the theatre I worked at, they have embraced me as an actor and as a writer and supported me. I’ve not had my eyes open to those aspects of the industry because I’m only three years out of drama school but I’m certainly aware, especially on dating apps that there’s this kind of culture we have that masculinity is much more appealing than femininity.
But I think that I’ve always been like “this is me,’ you either accept it or you jog on”. In the acting industry I’m at a stage where my casting is gay best friend or a lot of camp American comedy and I enjoy that and that’s fine, but as a writer I like to write myself a role that isn’t about sexuality. This might not be something other casting directors think I may be capable of doing because they’ll only see me as a camp American or “gay guy”. I’d rather give myself the power to write a role that isn’t gay and do that.
You were in Ricky Gervais’ Extras as a rent-boy for Lionel Blair. What was that like?
That was amazing. It was a random thing where I got called up and, originally, they asked if I was happy to be seen as a gay character in Extras the new Ricky Gervais comedy. I was like absolutely, great. But I didn’t know until I turned up on the day that I was a stand-alone character. I thought I was going to be part of a group of chorus boys. What’s really weird is that even like ten years on people still text you and email you when it’s repeated like “was that you?”. I’m glad I haven’t aged too much in ten years!
What do you see for the future of LGBT education?
I think probably we might be going more towards a standstill, which is sad and disappointing. I would really hope that we could move forward. I’m sort of at the grassroots of it trying to fight the homophobia that I see among students but outside of that creatively it’s things like writing this play. That’s my contribution to that to try and raise awareness.
In 2006 when I was doing my PGCE I did a research project in a London school and I was comparing homophobic abuse to racial abuse within the secondary education system. It was off the scale in terms of the type of language and the bullying that those students would see. That’s the reality of where we’re at.
Tell us what you’re up to next?
With Next Lesson, we go back into rehearsal in October, then we’ll have the full run at the Pleasance Islington from the 20 to 25 October. There’ll be a post-show talk on one of those evenings, which is very exciting. We’re hoping that it has another life possibly in school or across other theatres.
I’ve also written two more plays. The second is called Jody Loch and the Three Bears that looks at gay adoption. It’s about two gay guys that adopt a child and the impact it has on their relationship. Then the third one’s called The Soft Subject that looks at whether drama GCSE has a place or relevance in the education system.
Tickets are available for Next Lesson here. Updates will be posted on Chris’s Twitter.
Words Jessica Lindsay, @jesswritesgood

Stunning Portraits Of LGBT People Show Where Love Is Illegal All Over The World

22/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Editorial: I make not apologies for putting this up on our site, whilst we in Northern Ireland have hopefully moved on, there are still elements who would have us treated as second or even third class citizens, and ho attack our homes and even us as individuals.

Please remember,

HATE IS NOT ACCEPTABLE IN A WELCOMING, SUPPORTIVE, AND LOVING SOCIETY

Photographer Robin Hammond has created a stunning photo series exploring what it’s like to be LGBT in the places where loving someone of the same sex is illegal.
Portraits from the ‘Where Love Is Illegal’ project span seven different countries, and explore the intolerance, abuse and hatred that many LGBT people are subjected to.
Hammond told National Geographic: “My projects often come from an experience or a view of an injustice, something that makes me angry. It became vital to me to tell these stories—the ones that had not yet been told.”

WHERE LOVE IS ILLEGAL

Is Cottaging Legal In The UK?

22/08/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

By The Gay UK, Jul 30 2015 10:48AM

Cottaging is a British slang term for man on man sexual contact in the public toilets. It is not legal in the UK to have sexual contact in a public rest room or toilet.

Cottaging is a term which can be traced back to Victorian times, when “cottage” referred to a small house or public house. Cottaging is illegal in the United Kingdom under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and applies to both heterosexual and homosexual acts.
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 doesn’t say however that sex in a public place is illegal. Cruising grounds and cottaging are two different spaces. Cruising grounds are defined as open spaces, where men can hook up with men, or straight couples can meet for sex (often referred to as dogging), as long as no members of the public can see you.
You risk being arrested if reported by a member of the public. If this happens you have the right to legal advice from a on-duty solicitor at the police station. If convicted you could be sentenced to 6 months in prison and /or a fine.
A caution or conviction will result in a criminal record for a sexual offence which you will have to disclose in any criminal record checks.
For your safety we suggest you look at our full guide on safety before you set out