KAOS: June 2015

the week's

news

& pop

culture,

with a

gay

bias.

left & found

Beyond sex, what is gay? "Now that we gays have made and won the case that we are people just like everyone else, it's time to start acknowledging that we are not."

Does the gay community fetishize black men?

Too many white, gay men running the show? Pride's race problem.

Black, queer and not in the mood for Pride.

The origins of LGBT Pride Month.

How the marriage equality movement forgot its pioneers.

Marching with Pride and corporate America.

Why alcohol companies at Pride leave a bitter taste.

Here's the Pride Power List 2015.

Beyond Stonewall: Nine lesser-known LGBT uprisings. Above, San Francisco's White Night Riots, 1979.

The eleven weirdest, wildest Pride traditions around the world.

The little boy who twerked at Pride, and outraged thousands.

The kids really are all right. "The sexual orientation of parents 'makes no difference' in their children's development," study finds.

Does having children inhibit a creative life?

We avoid the word terrorism when the victims are black – not just when the killer is white.

Anti-intellectualism is killing America. "Social dysfunction can be traced to the abandonment of reason."

Battleground America. On the insanity of America's gun laws.

The condition of black life is one of mourning. "In America, the killing of black people is an unending spectacle."

"We need co-conspirators, not allies": How white Americans can fight racism. "Some white people may be sitting on the sidelines out of discomfort over making faux pas – but they may need to get over that anxiety to help defeat injustice."

I’m sorry white guys who happen to look like Dylann Roof, but I’m profiling the fuck out of you.

Why are so many mass shootings committed by young white men?

There is nothing wrong with making and laughing at jokes about ridiculous ass Rachel Dolezal.

All your Rachel Dolezal questions, answered — by Dave Chappelle and the internet’s smartest writers.

White people have been passing for black for centuries. A historian explains.

Why mixed-race Americans almost never call themselves white. (Image)

White people who tried really, really, really hard to be black, ranked.

How your brain turns racist when processing ethnicity and accents.

Rich people are jerks, explained.

the news - america

Marriage equality | What the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling actually says.

Marriage equality | What it was like outside the Supreme Court.

Marriage equality | Same sex couples flood marriage offices across the country. In pictures.

Marriage equality | Reactions from Stonewall Inn, in pictures.

Marriage equality | One ruling, one rally, but many stories. "The crowd at West Hollywood Park on Friday celebrated the Supreme Court's historic decision. Here's what they say brought them there."

Marriage equality | The world celebrates.

Marriage equality | Texas pastor now says he didn't mean he'd really set himself aflame.

Here’s how nine predictions about marriage equality turned out.

Marriage equality | Equality is far from a "lived reality".

Marriage equality | America awash in rainbow light.

Marriage equality | How newspapers marked the decision.

Corporate America banks on big bucks being somewhere over the rainbow...

...Meanwhile, marketing giant Ogilvy & Mather launches Ogilvy Pride, a division dedicated to targeting LGBT consumers.

Why is the face of marriage equality so white? "Necessary But Dangerous: After SCOTUS rules on marriage equality, we'll want to celebrate, but will advertising campaigns make room for people of color in our happy ending?"

Meet the gay Mormon men (and their wives) beseeching SCOTUS to save "traditional" marriage.

Stonewall | Stonewall Inn declared a landmark, the first time any site in New York City has been designated a landmark because of its significance in LGBT history. Go inside the impassioned hearing that led to the protection of New York's historic Stonewall Inn...

...And in Chicago, Henry Gerber House has become the second gay-related National Historic Landmark.

Stonewall | What came of the Stonewall rebels. "A look at some of the people who participated in the riots and how Stonewall shaped their lives."

Stonewall | Journalism before the rainbow. "The riots of June 28, 1969, not only gave birth to the movement for LGBT rights but empowered closeted journalists to come out and lead their own revolution."

This Michigan billboard.

Infamous WeHo dance palace The Factory on National Trust's Endangered List. "A 1920s-era camera factory became a trendsetting disco in the early 1970s and later a locus of AIDS activism. It's now threatened by redevelopment."

Charleston atrocity | Where is the white LGBT media on this issue?

LGBT groups react to the atrocity in Charleston, South Carolina - the only state still without any hate crime laws.

Why calling the Charleston shooting terrorism is important to so many people.

LGBT groups join call to remove the hated Confederate flag from public spaces.

This is Anthony Fera, the 51-year-old president of Houston-based MidStar Energy. He has been arrested for attacking a married gay couple in Austin.

This is Adrian "Dre" Wilson. He was beaten with a bat whilst helping a stricken motorist change a tire. He says the world didn't care about his attack until nearly a month later because the altercation was "between two black guys".

Meet Shawn MacIver and Jimmy Moccia, the first gay couple to graduate from the Boston Police Academy.

San Francisco's gay Cholo Chicano mural has been vandalised for a second time. Police are investigating as a possible hate crime.

Groundbreaking shelter for LGBT homeless opening in the Mission.

Alec Mapa is an Asian man married to a white man with an adopted black son. Mapa has a problem with people — like Rachel Dolezal — who have a problem with that.

This is Omar Currie, a third-grade teacher from North Carolina who read his class a same-sex fairy tale - and was forced to resign after a backlash from parents.

California to launch first LGBT Studies class.

Capital Pride, in pictures.

Boston Pride, in pictures.

LA Pride, in pictures.

Denver Pridefest, in pictures.

Iowa Pride, in pictures.

Boise Pride, in pictures.

Metro East PrideFest, in pictures.

Kentucky Pride, in pictures.

Philly Pride, in pictures.

Portland Pride, in pictures.

Albuquerque, in pictures.

Key West Pride, in pictures.

Milwaukee Pridefest, in pictures.

Gay Days Orlando, in pictures.

Alabama Pride, in pictures.

Vintage Pride photos, in pictures.

White people will soon be a minority in the US.

Smiling faces, terrible racists: the dangerous culture of white possession in the Carolinas.

Black churches taught us to forgive white people. We learned to shame ourselves. "After the shootings in Charleston, I talked to my Grandma about all the work we did to forgive white supremacy, hoping then to be chosen by them and by God."

The Charleston shooter killed mostly black women. This wasn't about "rape". "The motivation for killing six women and three men at church wasn’t that white women are inviolable. It must have been that black women are disposable."

A former baltimore cop Tweeted all the horrible shit he saw on the job.

Georgia police accused of unnecessarily shooting zoo animals in wake of floods. "Officers sent to Tbilisi zoo posed for photographs with dead lions and tigers like big-game hunters, say staff at zoo that has lost half of its animals."

Broken boys, thieves, killers, and now escapees. "The truncated, violent lives of Richard Matt and David Sweat before their prison escape."

The town that banned Wi-Fi. "‘Electrosensitive’ people are flocking to the West Virginian home of a deep-space telescope, attracted by the rules prohibiting phones, TVs and radios. But, as Ed Cumming reveals, their arrival means Green Bank is far from peaceful."

How the gangs of 1970s New York came together to end their wars.

Why we should all care about America's dying, terrible strip malls.

Canada | The campaigner who helped ban men's rights activists from Toronto Pride. "If you scratch the surface and look past the veneer of equality, they're scary people with scary ideas. I think an appropriate queer ally who digs a little deeper into these guys will realize they're not a group you want to align yourself with. The men's rights movement does nothing for queer people."

Canada | On Honest Ed’s, Toronto's doomed compendium of kitsch. "Once dubbed ‘the world’s biggest discount shop’, Ed Mirvish’s extraordinary retail creation played a key role in Toronto’s development – but that won’t save it from demolition next year."

Canada | Police officer asks for oral sex on loudspeaker to entire city.

the news - uk

Hate crimes are routine in the United Kingdom, report claims.

London Pride | Parade draws thousands, a day afterthe US supreme court ruling. In pictures.

London Pride | Members of the nationalist, anti-immigrant facists UKIP defy ban to march in London Pride - but were told to move away from African LGBT groups.

London Pride | CNN confuses sex toy banner for ISIS flag at Pride.

Another man has been found dead at Chariots gay sauna in South London.

London’s iconic gay pub the Black Cap is to be converted into a café.

The historic London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard - founded in 1974 - is changing its name to be "more inclusive".

London, the city that ate itself. "London is a city ruled by money. The things that make it special – the markets, pubs, high streets and communities – are becoming unrecognisable. The city is suffering a form of entropy whereby anything distinctive is converted into property value. Can the capital save itself?"

So, which London neighbourhoods will next be obliterated by gentrification? "Banglatown? Caribbean Brixton? All of Soho? The only certainty is that rising property prices and new transport links will drastically change areas we once took for granted."

Syphilis cases rise by nearly half among gay men in England.

Northern Ireland | Six couples file lawsuit for marriage equality.

the news -
latin america

Jamaica | The Gleaner, the island's major newspaper, has come out in support of LGBT equality.

Displaced in the D.R. "A country strips 210,000 of citizenship."

On the Dominican Republic and “convenient blackness”.

the news - europe

Ireland | Dublin Pride, in pictures.

Spain | Sitges Pride, in pictures.

Germany | Berlin Pride, in pictures.

Latvia | Thousands celebrate EuroPride in Riga, despite fears of violence. In pictures.

Italy | One hundred thousand turn out for Milan Pride. In pictures.

Italy | The Vatican wants its priests to "be polite to people with ‘homosexual tendencies’ while opposing their rights".

Greece | Thessaloniki Pride, in pictures.

Kyrgyzstan | Anti-gay Bill harsher than Russia's advances in parliament.

the news - middle east

What I learned about Pride as a gay jew in Palestine.

Israeli government votes down LGBT anti-discrimination law.

Israeli government releases cartoon depicting Hamas murdering gay people.

Turkey | Istanbul Pride revelers attacked by police with water cannons, tear gas.

On Palestine's abandoned parliament. "Started after Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo accords 20 years ago, the empty building now embodies the dashed hopes of the failed peace process."

the news - africa

Inside the nightmares of Africa's LGBT refugees.

Anti-LGBT groups are making inroads across East Africa.

Nigeria | On Makoko Floating School, beacon of hope for the Lagos "waterworld".

Ghana | The fishermen of Jamestown.

the news - asia

China asks whether light skin or dark skin is better.

South Korea | Seoul Pride parade ban overturned.

Australia and Indonesia's infantile posturing over refugees is sad and dangerous.

médecins sans frontières

After thirty years, why don’t we have a HIV vaccine? "Three studies published Thursday make modest advances toward finally developing a vaccine against HIV. Despite billions of dollars in funding, researchers say they’re still far from solving one of the hardest scientific problems of our time."

Why are more gay men not taking PrEP?

Miami tops the list of twenty-five US cities with the highest rates of HIV infection.

Six life sentences that come with HIV.

Twenty-five easy ways to live with HIV to 100.

Five supplements to avoid if you are HIV positive.

Why the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s “Trust Him?” ads are insane/hilarious.

The new condom that can tell you if someone’s got an STD.

Boffins discover vaccine for herpes.

How blowing into a straw can save your voice.

Why is my hangover so bad? "It’s not just the booze giving you a hangover – it’s the microbes in your stomach."

I drink because I like the way it feels. That doesn't mean I have a problem. "There have been times that I’ve drunk too much, and times when I haven’t drunk anything at all. But I finally figured out why I drink, and why I won’t stop."

The ugly truth about Body Dysmorphic Disorder.

inside the spaceship

Think it's cool Facebook can auto-tag you in pics? So does the government.

Google joins the fight against "revenge porn".

How to save Twitter.

Gmail introduces "Undo Send" feature for emails you wish you hadn't send.

art + design

Tongues Untied, an exhibition charting "the fight West Hollywood’s LGBT community went through, from AIDS to wanton discrimination, [showing] the links between art and activism", is at Los Angeles' Moca Pacific Design Center until 13th September.

New York artist Jordan Eagles has created Blood Mirror, a stunning seven-foot-tall sculpture comprised of gay mens’ blood in reaction to the FDA’s donor ban.

Visit Tom of Finland: the Pleasure of Play at Artists Space, New York, showing until 23rd August.

The impossible world of MC Escher. "He was dismissed by the art world and venerated by mathematicians … he rejected both Mick Jagger’s and Stanley Kubrick’s attempts to schmooze him. So who was the mysterious MC Escher, master of illusion?"

Lego Group announces plans to find "sustainable" materials to replace the plastic used in its bricks by 2030. Since 1963, Lego has been made from a strong, resilient plastic known as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

Jeddah's Kingdom Tower: How much higher can skyscrapers go?

Five architectural treasures we must save from the UK’s heritage war.

Drew Leshko's beautiful miniatures of disappearing Philadelphia.

word!

"Cisgender", "hot mess" have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary.

Excerpt | Life is complicated when you're a homeless black lesbian teen. "In an excerpt from his new book No House to Call My Home, former LGBT youth worker Ryan Berg gets real about the struggles for one youth rejected by her family for being gay."

Excerpt | Porn Again. "Former Hollywood executive Josh Sabarra takes readers on a thrill ride through growing up, coming out, coming of age, and finally finding himself at 40 in his new memoir. Read an exclusive excerpt here that details a night with actor Alan Cumming."

Review | Wuvable Oaf, by Ed Luce. "The tale of a big, hairy, gay ex-wrestler’s search for love in San Francisco."

Review | Dangerous When Wet, by Jamie Brickhouse. "A fabulous new memoir about a man who has it all–a great job in publishing, a longtime boyfriend, fun friends and a caring family. But Brickhouse has some serious life challenges too, including addictions, HIV and a mother who has 'the split personality of Auntie Mame and Mama Rose'.”

Coming soon | The Wolves that Live in Skin and Space, by Christopher Zeischegg. "Set in Los Angeles amidst a dying adult film industry, real-life porn star and cam model Danny Wylde recounts the end of his career. He bears his last months with the death of a friend, a client's dangerous fantasy, a secret boyfriend, and a family bent on destroying him. Wylde's second novel moves the literature of pornography's narrative past its decadent history and into the world of disposable, tube-site celebrity, month-to-month living, and dissolving barriers between consumer and consumed."

Coming soon | Paris Demands, by Mike Miksche. "Roger, a young man, finds himself more-than-a-tourist but less than a Parisian in the City of Lights. Escaping a relationship with a friend that was never as platonic as his own parents believed, Roger discovers the nights and men of Paris to be affairs complicated by drugs, ex-patriots, and trysts. His awkward relationship with Marcel, a laconic native as addicting as the coke he sells, threatens to smother Roger. Life could be a trap of simply rolling out of bed, seeing a face as tangled as the linens, wiping the blow from your upper lip, readying yourself for another night in the bars and clubs of Paris. Does a city that prides itself on fostering love ever truly inspire it?"

Who is Miles Morales? The fascinating rise of the mixed race Spider-Man.

shouting in the night

Here's your first look at Taye Diggs as Hedwig. He takes to the stage on 22nd July.

OMG! These Broadway Bares 2015 GIFs.

Sampson McCormick was the first openly gay black male comedian to headline the historic Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C. And he's not slowing down now.

The actors who trapped gay men into having illegal sex. "In 1914, two actors helped California police entrap gay men having sex. A brilliant off-Broadway play imagines their own charged, dark relationship."

picture house

Why the debate over Paris is Burning rages on. "Jennie Livingston’s landmark film on New York’s voguing scene helped shine a light on one of the most influential subcultures, but it also saw its creator accused of wanton voyeurism. On the eve of a controversial screening, is Paris Burnt?"

Where Hollywood fails, LGBT film fests shine. "While major motion picture studios routinely fail to portray diverse LGBT stories on the big screen, film festivals around the country continue to pick up the slack."

Talking to Robert Camina about his film Upstairs Inferno, which looks at the 1973 arson attack that killed 32 people at a gay bar in New Orleans.

Ralph Fiennes plans film about bisexual dancer Rudolph Nureyev.

Ten LGBT films you might have missed. Above, Broken Sky, one of the KAOS Top 30 Gay Films of All Time.

Looking back at A Portrait of Jason.

The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert – five things you didn’t know.

Justin Simien: "I’m black, I’m a man, I’m gay, but I’m more than all of those things". "With Rachel Dolezal talking of being ‘culturally black’, there couldn’t be a better time for this director’s crowd-funded comedy, Dear White People, with its whip-smart riffs on racial identity."

Welcome to the orgy! How the sex movie got its groove back. "After the success of Fifty Shades of Grey – and with audiences having reached peak-porn – old-fashioned erotica is re-entering the movie mainstream. We find out why stars such as Jason Schwartzman, Keanu Reeves and Jack Black are chucking their keys into the bowl."

Talking to out Hollywood icon Tab Hunter.

Magic Mike XXL star Adam Rodriquez strips for Cosmo UK.

How and why Jurassic World managed — surprisingly — to break box office records.

What Jurassic World gets right that so many other blockbusters get wrong. For a start, the stakes are small.

Why is 2015 such a blockbuster year for film?

Mark Kermode reads the Entourage film for filth: "It's no surprise - I do hate it, I hate it. I loathe it, I despise it, I detest it, I feel contempt for it. Everything about it rattles every one of my cages. This is absolutely the most loathsome consumerist male dream. I absolutely detest everything about the mindset that this film occupies. It's just this pornographic, consumerist, hate-filled piece of propaganda which says this is what you should aspire to... this level of utter vacuity, this foul, soul-sucking, horrible vacuum of vile emptiness is what you should aspire to. And you wait for the bubble to burst - and it doesn't."

George Takei to narrate Uniquely Nasty, a new documentary on America’s persecution of gays.

Dick Tracy was unlike any other movie made in 1990 — and any movie made today.

Every Steven Spielberg movie, ranked.

Fifty essential NC-17 films.

Dance music on the big screen: five of the best and five of the worst films in history. "The Daft Punk biopic Eden comes out in the US this week, to be followed later in the summer by EDM bromance We Are Your Friends. As dance music heads to the cinemas again we’ve taken a look at five of the best and worst rave ups."

Ten of the best nightclub scenes in cinema.

Review | Folsom Forever. "Even if it doesn’t make you want to visit the event itself, Folsom Forever is worth a watch, especially if you’re one of those people who thinks LGBT culture is now completely homogenous."

Review | Boys In Brazil. "Its mix of cliché and stereotype needed to be absolutely hilarious to work, but unfortunately Boys In Brazil isn’t particularly funny, and as a result it feels a little old-fashioned and rather staid."

Review | Those People. "I have to admit that I underestimated it. What I’d initially thought was going to be a rather smug look at the rich turned out to be something far smarter and more heartfelt than I’d expected. It’s an excellent look at unrequited love that many of us will be able to relate to."

Fifty of film noir’s most fashionable moments.

TCM’s Film Noir “Into the Darkness” course study group: Weeks 2-3.

Watch | New HBO documentary Larry Kramer In Love & Anger trailer; Boulevard trailer - Robin Williams' last film; Still A Rose trailer; Hidden Away trailer; Seashore trailer; Stand trailer; and director Joseph Graham's Beautiful Something trailer; Boys On Film 13: Trick & Treat trailer.

the box

Television is dying. Slowly.

How the internet is destroying our favourite TV talk shows.

Netflix will overtake traditional TV next year. That doesn't mean anything.

Is TV putting its money where its mouth is on diversity?

Here's why news anchor Don Lemon is making headlines again.

Is America ready for a gay disabled character on TV?

Three new summer TV shows you should be watching.

Nine great foreign-language TV shows you should be watching.

Talking to the cast and crew of the new webseries Paper Boys.

Before watching Seinfeld on Hulu, see the lost fourth wall in Jerry's apartment.

My afternoon at the Seinfeld apartment. "A new pop-up exhibition recreates the set of the legendary comedy."

Doctor Who's TARDIS materialises on Coronation Street.

Patrick Duffy on Dallas axe: "It was cancelled too soon, we were heartbroken".

Gays of our lives: What sort of a week have our favourite gay characters in soap had?

Why the police procedural is more popular than ever. "As True Detective returns and CSI gets ready to bow out, there’s a changing of the guard in TV’s police procedurals. But is the new wave really all that different?"

True Detective's second season premiere was a new pilot. That's why it was so bad.

True Detective's second season: As grim as it gets.

True Detective's second season: The thirty-one most ridiculous moments of the premiere.

True Detective's opening credits: A thing of beauty (that goes on a bit too long). "A strong title sequence can make a TV show – but are long and elaborate credits really better?"

Terry Sue-Patt: what became of the boy who was Grange Hill's Benny Green? "He was first through the school gates when landmark TV series Grange Hill began. Last month Terry Sue-Patt, the actor who played him, was found dead in his flat aged 50. Had his life taken a tragic turn?"

Review | The Boyz Next Door – Los Angeles.

Watch | BAIT season 1, episode 5 - All is Fair in Love; T.R.A.D.E IT ALL season 1, episode 2 Aftermath; The Boyz Next Door LA, episode 1 - Welcome to the Neighborhood (look out for appearances by the Freaky Boiz); and Social Theory season 2, episode 2 - Deal & Destiny.

Patrick Macnee, the actor best known for his role in the gay-beloved 1960s TV series The Avengers, is dead. He was 93.

beats, rhymes & life

What happens when an artist gets dropped by a major label?

Talking to Doug Locke about interracial love, and his new EP, Blue Heart.

Talking to out, gay hip hop artist Kevin “Kaoz” Moore.

Freaky Boiz are coming to San Francisco.

Cakes Da Killa does Europe.

Talking to KAOS favourite Cakes Da Killa. "Not only the most flamboyant new rapper on the scene, but also one of the most articulate. Churning out one magnificent EP after another, the 24-year-old is more than deserving of the title newcomer of the month."

Talking to Kendrick Lamar: "I am Trayvon Martin. I’m all of these kids".

Chicago's Young Pappy followed the gangsta rap dream to his grave.

Why are rappers suddenly OK with shilling for big brands? "Rappers were slammed for getting into bed with companies in the 90s, but now figures such as Nas, Drake and OG Maco are helping brands tap into rap-loving demographics."

Apple is finally accepting that buying music is obsolete.

Growing old with Madonna.

Why Alaska Thunderfuck titled her new album Anus. “It was the only thing I could call it. There’s nothing else. There’s simply no other title.”

Watch | Melli B - IG; Greg Holden - Boys In The Street; Tove Lo - Timebomb; Jason Derulo performs Want To Want Me live at Summertime Ball 2015; Alaska Thunderfuck - This Is My Hair; and Miss Fame - InstaFame; and watch the latest episode of The GrooveOUT, a weekly coundown of gay music.

arena

Michael Sam returns to the Montreal Alouettes.

Pro wrestler "Money" Matt Cage comes out as gay.

How the Gay Games went wrong. "The daughter of the Gay Games' founder says the international sporting event is being diluted because of a merger with the OutGames."

Robbie Rogers scores his first goal since coming out - and during Pride Night!

Former Premier League footballer banned after "sticking finger up opponent’s bum".

Cristiano Ronaldo flaunts it in tiny shorts in Miami.

NFL player Josh Robinson compares same-sex marriage to incest and paedophilia.

sex

Whips, chains, paddles and puppies - the Folsom Street East Festival, in pictures.

Pornucopia. "Critics say that porn degrades women, dulls sexual pleasure, and ruins authentic relationships – are they right?"

This is a thing in the world: Ryan Cummings to take record loads at BiohazardMen HIV+ only sex party.

Watch | Sean Zevran talks about racism in gay porn.

MEN model Paul Canon declares: “I am not sexually attracted to colored people”. And as Str8UpGayPorn's Zachary Sire says, "Oh, and for any of you worried that this racist meltdown will hurt idiotic racist Paul Canon’s career: Don’t be. He’ll be hired again and again, over and over again by all the same studios who could give two shits about what these dumb, racist gay porn stars say on Twitter."

Brent Everett’s two boyfriends bludgeon each other in “drugged up” brawl, but Steve Peña says "it's not over. We are gonna learn from this and never let it get stupid."

Porn couple JP Dubois and Sam Barclay have split.

Talking to legendary director Joe Gage.

Talking to Dawg Dixon.

Delicious, juicy Micah Brandt has uploaded more personal sex videos to his Twitter account.

Gay porn stars at LA Pride, in pictures.

Enjoy the trailer for the second season of Gay of Thrones.

What is the point of gay porn parodies?

Porn veterans Brent Corrigan and Pierre Fitch take each other on in Magnitude.

Here's a video of Dominic Santos and Austin Wilde helicoptering.

Dreamboys flaunt it in London, to promote Magic Mike XXL.

Former model Gabriel Shams in critical condition after suffering a serious health decline.

Mateo Stanford, the porn actor, is dead. He was 35.

ghetto romance

Call me Daddy: Playing son to my fatherless boyfriend.

How I finally left my abusive boyfriend.

Would you date a drag queen?

George Carrancho and Sean Franklin get married!

Watch | I've got two boyfriends. It's time polyamory became socially acceptable.

Watch | Denis O'Hare met his husband Hugo Redwood fifteen years ago. This is their story.

rag trade

Doctors issue health warning over squatting in skinny jeans.

Kick Sagat's latest collection.

hell's kitchen

Proud Whopper lands Burger King top marketing award.

The McDonald's of the future lets you customise your burgers.

Inside Tallywackers.

Inside Taiwan’s first sex-themed restaurant.

Imagine if the media covered alcohol like other drugs.

Why it took the FDA nearly 40 years to ban trans fats.

Big food is going green, but will consumers buy in?

Meet Mr. Tea.

Why some supermarkets have started rationing eggs.

betta work!

The gay wage: Why we earn less than straight men.

A world without work. "For centuries, experts have predicted that machines would make workers obsolete. That moment may finally be arriving. Could that be a good thing?"

These incredibly dark films protesting the British Army's recruitment of child soldiers.

I’m your flight attendant and I think you’re all a bunch of drunks.

Confessions of a picket line scab.

planet earth

The world is running out of water.

Hottest town, summer in the city: New York heat makes me want winter back. (Image)

zoo

The people who feast on dog meat at China’s infamous Summer Solstice Festival.

Don't miss this real life battle between two Komodo dragons.

Shabani: The making of a metrosexual gorilla.

Why zoos should be banned.

Animal pictures of the week.

planes, trains & automobiles

Virgin America celebrates Pride by asking Twitter users if they top or bottom, and the results are gold.

London gets a rainbow train for Pride.

A bus has been named after John Nathan-Turner, the (some might say infamous) producer of Doctor Who during the 1980s. Nathan-Turner, who died in 2002, was the subject of lurid tabloid headlines in 2013 when a biography claimed he and his partner Gary Downie preyed on teenage fans during his time on the show.

How Curitiba's BRT stations sparked a transport revolution. "When Curitiba’s bus rapid transit stations were revamped in 1991, the futuristic glass-tube stops became a new symbol for the Brazilian city."

Watch the eerie last video of the RMS Lusitania.

and whilst you're thinking about that, think about this...

I'm gay, liberal, open-minded – and a convert to Christianity.

Was Jesus queer?

The LGBT historic world, mapped.

Why everyone in San Francisco hates LA.

And finally, Rogue "Marbie" Scott talks Pride; Qaadir talks about the horror of working in retail; Andrew gets religion; and Walter on "down low culture".