Cut Or Uncut?

"International experts have backed the use of male circumcision in the prevention of HIV." That's the headline boys. Let's look at this from a few different perspectives. The news is good for a variety of reasons: 1) In the Serious Department, three trials in Africa showed that circumcision halved the rate of HIV infection in heterosexual men (well, let's just say in men, shall we?) 2) Studies have also shown that if circumcision was more widely available, millions of lives, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, would be saved. 3) What all of this proves is what I have suspected for some time: being cut is good. Being uncut is bad. It looks strange. It smells. It gets in the way. So cast off your hoods boys, secure in the knowledge that you're helping humanity - and whoever you're sleeping with!

Will & (Such A Dis) Grace

Why do so many gay men love Will & Grace? Yes, it's funny. Karen is brilliant, I love her. But then there's Will.

Oh dear.

Does Will have a penis, or is it smooth down there? That's how he is portrayed - a pathetic excuse for a gay men, utterly dependant on a heterosexual woman. That's right kids, you can't survive without a woman to steer you through life. And God forbid that Will ever be seen to do more than (very occasionally) kiss another man.

As for his relationship with the Taye Diggs character - by this point, I'd long since lost any interest in the show. In their portrayal of an interracial relationship, Will & Grace failed miserably. Will is precisely the sort of gay man I find abhorrent: as far as I can see, all his friends are, and always have been, caucasian. But suddenly he's hooking up with a black guy. Is it a lil something to giggle about with his fag hag Grace, perhaps? Here is what's wrong with many interracial relationships: unless your normal social group is racially mixed, you have no business jumping in the sack with someone of another race, because it then becomes objectification. It isn't about the person, it's about the flavour. In other words, if all your friends are caucasian, and you start a relationship with someone who is black, then that relationship is built on a lie.

I haven't seen the Taye Diggs episodes, but I can't imagine that his own group of friends - even if they were depicted - were shown to be a healthy mix of colours. In fact, I'd bet my collection of CocoDorm and Bel Ami DVDs on them being a bunch of middle class white fags.

The character of Will is an abomination, representing much of what I hate about gay men - self-absorption, neediness, weakness, self-loathing.

Thank goodness he's gone...

Darryl Stephens On Noah's Arc

Darryl Stephens - the buffilicious lushness that is Noah in Noah's Arc - has spoken up about the lack of attention the stealth cancellation of Noah's Arc has received.

Interviewed by Matthew Rettenmund to promote the release of Boy Culture, he said that he felt Noah's Arc had been "largely ignored by the gay media."

Gee, I wonder why? Well, the gay media mostly consists of preening white faggots (and my use of that word is deliberate) whose primary concerns in life are Madonna, designer underwear, tanning salons, Kylie, circuit parties, hair, Madonna, house music... You get the picture. Check out the cover of almost any gay publication and what you'll see is a perfect vision of the "Aryan master race."

There isn't room for Noah's Arc in this beige world of the commercial gay press. The space it might occupy is reserved for ten page features on things like Heath Ledger and why he thinks gay people are cool, or some random pop slapper (let's say Paris Hilton).

In the interview, Darryl diplomatically suggests that this lack of exposure might be due to the fact that Noah's Arc is "kind of fluffy" - that unlike Queer As Folk (that great example of mixed race casting) it didn't feature explicit sex. That never hurt Will & Grace. He goes on to hit the nail on the head: "I'm not sure if that's because... the whole cast is black and they don't see 'gay people' as being interested in black people." Yes, that is the actual reason, Darryl, and don't be afraid to tell it like it is.

The loss of Noah's Arc is important, because in addition to being a damn good show, it offered a different vision of gay life, one that isn't all plastic orange pecs and blond highlights. And if you're 16, black and maybe just realising that you're gay, seeing Noah's Arc must be pretty empowering. Never mind - at least those young black gay teenagers have Will & Grace and Queer Eye For The Straight Guy to look to for role models.

Or not.

Review: Warriors & Outlaws

Seeking relief from the onslaught of porn currently weighing down the gay bookshelf? Or something other than Hollinghurst, Maupin and E. Lynn Harris? Then take note of John R. Gordon's latest effort, Warriors & Outlaws.

In his third novel, Gordon continues to explore the diversity of gay life in London, and specifically that of black gay men, a subject still largely ignored by mainstream authors. His previous works, Black Butterflies and the ground-breaking, acclaimed Skin Deep, are amongst the most important gay literary novels in recent times. Larry Duplechan (author of Blackbird) described the latter as "thought-provoking and funny; subtly erotic and in-you-face nasty by turns; often deeply touching and at times, surprisingly wise." Indeed.

Warriors & Outlaws (Gay Men's Press, ISBN 190285226-5) opens with Jazz, an aspiring politico and leader of the Panther Posse, shooting a cop and seeking refuge with black drag queen Carly, a neighbour he has (up until now) ignored. Their relationship is as far from the "boy-meets-boy in club/bar/sauna, and love blossums" formula as one can imagine. Racism and homophobia complicate their relationship: Jazz's followers must deal with the fact that the man they look up to - idolise, in fact - is "suddenly" gay, whilst Carly's white fag hag friend Molly is threatened by the politicisation Jazz inspires in Carly.

Gordon is adept at constructing a fast-paced, character-driven narrative that thrives on incident and debate. The shifting first person narrative makes for a deceptively easy read, and leaves the reader with a sense of having digested some complex issues - almost without realising it.

Novels dealing with black gay life are few and far between, and rarely as good as this. Miss Warriors & Outlaws at your peril.

Gem Killed In Freak Accident

THE ICONIC GEM has been killed in a freak accident at a tragically young age.

Born in Italy before moving to London, Gem has had an incalculable impact on lives of people across the world.

It happened today in London, at around 1400GMT. Reports tell of "over-aggressive" a vacuuming on the part of ka-os, who caused the accident. Whilst thrusting the vacuum forward, a glancing blow caught Gem's right-hand corner, shattering the tempered glass instantly.

Condolences are already pouring in from across the globe. President Bush had this to say: "This is a horrific accident. I think I can speak for all the American people in sending my contortions to President Blair, and let this be known: we will not rest until the purple-ators of this crime have been brought to justice. Yippee kay aye, you bad folk."

Patsy Stone of London was equally moved. "You can never have enough hats, gloves and shoes." When asked to clarify her comments, she replied, "Yeah cheers thanks a lot."

In Anytown, Arizona, fan Jimmy Jr. White led an emotive demonstration. "Oh my God I can't believe this has happened. Like, why did they do this? Gem was so beautiful, Gem was my whole life! They killed Gem! And the Government is just going to hush it up as if nothing happened!"

In London, a member of grime outfit 'Lethal Raskal Cru' were more pragmatic: "This is just what's going down on the streets innit, Gem was on it still, that shit was chong, blud, you get me. Bare waste is going down still, standard . You know dis!"

Initially, there were hopes that Gem could be salvaged, but these were quickly dashed by super computer Zen, on board the spaceship Liberator: "Whilst in zero-gravity fixed orbit, Gem will remain viable for some hours... Extreme structural stress of (movement) would probably result in disintegration."

ka-os has been blasted by political leaders for his apparent lack of remorse. Shortly after the incident, he had this to say: "What the hell do I do now for a coffee table? Where do I put my wine? On the floor, so it can just be knocked over and wasted? I won't live like that, like an animal. I can't - I won't!"

Perhaps the final word should go to Steve McQueen. When asked what he thought should be done with Gem, he replied, "I think they should just leave it, kind of a monument to all the bull**** in the world."

What does your music say about you?

Normally, I'd be loath to use my blog for something as trivial and of-interest-to-no-one as this - a survey - but the idea of this is pretty cute, and if you play it properly, the results can be surprisingly apt. Try it! If a cynical, bitter git like me can, so can you...

What does your music say about you? 1. Put your music player on shuffle. 2. Press forward for each question. 3. Use the song title as the answer to the question. What does next year have in store for me? Hush - LL Cool J What's my love life like? Feels Good - Next What do I say when life gets hard? Anaesthetic - Tunde What do you think of on waking up? Whatever Gets You Through The Night - Simon Webbe What song will I dance to at my wedding? Beautiful In My Eyes - Joshua Kadison What do you want as a career? Disremembrance - Danni Your favourite saying? Show A Little Love - Ultimate Kaos Favourite place? My Lover - Ultimate Kaos What do you think of your parents? Summer In Miami - Jim Jones What's your porn star name? Get No Better - Cassidy Where would you go on a first date? Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand - Primitive Radio Gods My Ex is… Still - Macy Gray Drug of choice? Within My Soul - Tony Rich Project Describe yourself… Vanishing Point - Apollo Four Forty What is the thing I like doing most? Dumb - 411 The song that best describes my boss? Mary - Scissor Sisters What is my state of mind like at the moment? Hoppipolla - Sigur Ros I would describe my crush as… Spaceman - Haddaway Tomorrow I will… Advertising Space - Robbie Williams Your last words… I Love To Love - La Bouche How will I die? Watching The World Go By - Maxi Priest

John Inman Is Dead

John Inman has died aged 71 in a London hospital. Inman played the camp Mr. Humphries in Are You Being Served? for thirteen years.

Anne Coulter

It's fascinating reading about the shenanigans of the absurd Anne Coulter character, a feature of American politics, and it crystallises why America and Britain are so different.

True, there's been a backlash against her disgusting brand of dirty politics - referring to gays as "faggots", Barack Obama as a "Halfrican-American", and others as "rag-heads". Chuckle chuckle chuckle - not.

There has been a backlash - newspapers are dropping her column, sponsors are pulling ads et cetera - but as condemnation it doesn't amount to much really. How about a good public flogging?

The trouble is, in America, vast swathes of the population are either idiotic rednecks, or religious loonies convinced homosexuality is Satanic (and this latter statement doesn't just refer to Caucasians). So people like Coulter can comfortably get away with making un-PC statements, secure in the knowledge that there's plenty of dullards who will support her point of view.
I have a simple solution to this: anyone found guilty of racism ought to be lynched (call it irony) and those who believe homosexuality is wrong must be burnt at the stake (after being sodomised). Now, where did I put my soapbox?

In Britain, public figures simply can't get away with this. Racism is jolly bad form. Tory MP (can you guess what's coming?) Patrick Mercer has said that he met "a lot" of "idle and useless" ethnic minority soldiers who used racism as a "cover", and that being called things like a "black bastard" was part and parcel of army life. Gee, stiff upper lip then boys, best grin and bare it!

Not so, according to the leader of the Conservative party, who immediately forced Mr. Mercer to resign. Take note America!

Thugboy: Layin Da Pipe

Well well well, what do we have here? Thugboy V3: Layin Da Pipe no less. No, it isn't a documentary on Channel 4 about vocation-challenged youths from the ends, press ganged by a government welfare-for-work initiative into replacing London's Victorian pipes. Silly you!

What we have here, students of the male anatomy, is in fact the latest release from our old favourite, FlavaWorks.

Here are some essential facts, without which your life will be bereft:

1. The cover features someone (far left-hand side) who looks like your best friend/boyfriend's irritating younger brother, but who nevertheless is very sexy.

2. The movie is apparently the first black gay porn in High-Definition. On the Cocostore site, they have added an exclamation mark, so that must mean its very exciting.

3. The Cocostore site also references Oz in their description, which is good, but they call it a prison soap, which is not good.

4. The bed our excitable boys use looks very nice, but the carpet and the other furniture really sucks, quite frankly.

5. One of the scenes features an old white guy. They let him loose with two black guys who are clearly in a similar age range. Someone clearly thought this was an All Worlds release, not Flava. I'm all for diversity - movies with an all white cast often throw a token black guy into the mix, so why shouldn't Flava? But couldn't they get someone decent?

That's all you're getting from me. If you want to know more, visit the Cocostore shop where you can look at the HD trailer. Have fun!

See? Gay Doesn't Just Mean White!

Once upon a time the only celebrities (ahem) who decided to correct the misconception that they are heterosexual were white pop stars - the exotically named Eloy de Jong from Dutch boy band Caught In The Act, Stephen Gately from Irish boyband Boyzone, another one from Westlife, and NSync... you get the picture (as an aside, if so many members of white boy bands are gay, how come we haven't heard of any members of black boy bands coming out? Which B2K boy works for you?)

Now it seems that you don't have to be white and in a boyband to set the world straight about your sexuality (not that it's any of their business anyway...) Hot on the heels of former NBA center (whatever that means) John Amaechi taking a stand, and Eric Alva, the marine who took the dubious honour of being the first American soldier injured in Iraq - comes Mexican star Christian Chavez (albeit also someone out of a pop band).

Three cheers! Now, who's next...?