Issue 262: Liam Cyber, Zeke Thomas, Jeremy Meeks, Shawn Barber, Erin Moran, Kele Okereke, Shamir Bailey, and more...


the week's
news
& pop
culture,
with a
gay
bias.

photo strip post a 10 Jan 2017_zps7ksvqdtn.png

Left &
Found


Boffins think they've discovered links between biology and gay men who bottom.

Love, sex, and HIV in the age of Grindr. "Popular apps, such as Grindr, have made it easy to have sex. They’ve also allowed us to act in uncivil ways towards each other and ourselves."

Pride festivals have become too corporate - and are now in danger of being left behind.


How to unlearn toxic masculinity - steps to better understanding gender.


News
America

This is 28-year-old Chayviss Mitchell, the ninth trans person to be murdered this year.

Watch
Zeke Thomas, son of NBA star Isiah Thomas, has revealed that he has been raped on two occasions - first at just 12 years old, and again last year, by a man he met on Grindr.

Gay, HIV-positive Russian asylum-seeker Denis Davydov has been released after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement following a trip the U.S. Virgin Islands. He was held for over a month. "I just want to be around my friends. My family — I'm so thankful to my friends — I'm going to cry."

Wyoming residents don tutus to show LGBT support; Republican senator Mike Enzi's had earlier warned that a man in a tutu is asking for a fight.

Student finds note on door: "Kill yourself... gays are not welcome in Nebraska".

Georgia pastor Kenneth Adkins gloated that the victims of the Orlando massacre "got what they deserved". Now he's got what he deserves after being sentenced to life in prison. He was found guilty of eight counts of child molestation.

When "this is America" becomes a homophobic slur. "In his approximately 100 days in office, Donald Trump has changed America — for the worse. Musician Susan Surftone recounts a harrowing experience highlighting the damage he's wrought."

Tennessee Senate votes to approve a bill that would let state judges discriminate against the LGBT community.

Kentucky judge preemptively recuses himself from any adoption cases involving gay parents.

The challenge of staying hopeful in the age of Trump.

Trump’s first 100 days: ignorant, thuggish, insecure - a president as would-be oligarch. "His vanity and neediness show a man more concerned with promoting his own brand than helping his country."

Many call Trump a fascist. 100 days in, is he just a reactionary Republican? "A close historical examination of Hitler and Mussolini’s early days underscores how different Trump’s path is to the dictators of the 1930."

The Department of the Interior scrubs nearly any mention of climate change from its webpage on the topic.

“Rural America” doesn't mean “white America” — here's why that matters.


Activist Abdul-Aliy A. Muhammad refused his HIV medication to protest the sexual misconduct scandal at Philadelphia's Mazzoni Center. He talks about why.

Stonewall Inn will be exempt from Trump’s national monument review.

How Prop. 8 woke up a sleeping gay giant. "LGBT historian Nathaniel Frank breaks down the 60-year battle for marriage equality in his new book, Awakening: How Gays and Lesbians Brought Marriage Equality to America. In this excerpt, Frank looks at how Prop. 8 catalyzed a movement."

For LGBT youth from the South, a safe haven in Provincetown.

Tallahassee Pridefest, in pictures.

Long read
What bullets do to bodies. "The gun debate would change in an instant if Americans witnessed the horrors that trauma surgeons confront every day."

Investigation
Hot wheels. "Kids are driving Pinellas County’s car-theft epidemic. It’s a dangerous — sometimes deadly — game."

Investigation
The chase. "Cops, teen car thieves and a dangerous game."

Myths over Miami. "God has fled, avenging angels hide out in the Everglades: the 'secret stories' passed down by homeless kids in Miami shelters." (June 1997)

History
The genesis of the gang. "To the lawlessness of the street the home opposes no obstacle." (September 1899)


News
UK

Why 1984 was a vital year for British gay culture.

LGBT domestic violence charity Broken Rainbow collapsed after "chaotic" management.

Vile Isle of Wight MP Andrew Turner jumps before he's pushed after telling students “homosexuality is wrong” and “dangerous to society”.

Gay vicar Andrew Foreshew-Cain quits and attacks institutional homophobia.

Gerald Matovu supplied the drugs that Grindr serial killer Stephen Port used to murder four young men. But he has walked free from court, receiving just twelve months community service for his part in the crime.

Six knife crime deaths in a week, including 17-year-old Mohammed Hasan on a council estate in Battersea, and 24-year-old Abdullah Hammia (above) in Wandsworth.

My family was hit by a bus driver with road rage. TfL needs to treat staff better. "My safety campaign has uncovered shocking facts. I want to ensure no other family suffers like ours, by keeping drivers calm behind the wheel."

How luxury flat-owners could shut down the Tate's viewing platform. "They were sold on their proximity to Tate Modern. Now the residents of luxury flats are taking the gallery to court, arguing its viewing platform invades their privacy. It’s part of a wider hijacking of cultural hotspots by property developers."

See how the other half lives from the Tate’s balcony. "Neo Bankside residents wanted to be close to culture, so they shouldn’t complain about being a little too close."

Wealthy white woman Joanna Lumley attacks Mayor Sadiq Khan for scrapping her Thames garden bridge vanity project - after £37m of public money was wasted on it under the former Mayor, Boris Johnson. “All we heard was £60m, £60m, £60m," Lumley ranted. "But... it’ll work out at about 32p a person in the UK. It’s not as if we’re stealing bread from people.”

A low flight over London at night, in pictures.

Hot felon Jeremy Meeks wasn't allowed into the UK.

Derry McCann raped a woman for two hours in a London park, hours before his wedding. Now he's been jailed.

Britain has never faced up to the shame of Empire.

The 1997 Labour landslide: not what it seemed. "New Labour was a product of its time. History may judge it more kindly than many of today’s critics."

History
Mortgages available for nuclear fallout shelters. "Building societies are happy to lend money for the building of fallout shelters as they have had a spectacular revival this year." (April 1980)


News
World

France
Etienne Cardiles delivers a moving eulogy at the funeral of his partner, police officer Xavier Jugelé, who was shot dead on the Champs-Elysées in a terrorist attack...

...But evil French National Front founder (and father of conservative presidential candidate Marine Le Pen) Jean-Marie Le Pen blasted the eulogy for "exalting homosexual marriage".

Le Pen is a far-right Holocaust revisionist. Macron isn’t. Hard choice? "My family know all too well the consequences of fascism in France. The left shouldn’t be dithering about whether to support Emmanuel Macron."

Almost everyone in French politics is working to stop Le Pen.


Germany
The far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has picked 38-year-old lesbian Alice Weidel as candidate for Chancellor.

Mexico
The ancient city Teotihuacán guards its secrets but excavation reveals new mysteries. "An eight-year project at Teotihuacán, once the western hemisphere’s largest city, failed to locate its rulers’ tomb but findings offered tantalising clues to its origins."

Brazil
Transgender and queer people take up martial arts to defend themselves from homophobic attacks.

Venezuela
A country in pain. "People are dying from shortages and state violence as Nicolás Maduro clings to power."

Jamaica

Kenya
Two male dancers fell in love in Uganda. For that, they were fired from their dance troupe and fled as LGBT refugees to Kenya. This is their story.

Democratic Republic of Congo
From Congo child soldier to award-winning wildlife ranger – a life in danger. "Forced into the militia as a child in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rodrigue Katembo has now been awarded a Goldman prize for risking his life fighting to protect his country’s wildlife."

Iran
More than thirty men arrested for "sodomy" face the death penalty if convicted.

North Korea
A defector on what it's like to be gay in the pariah state.

The all-American undergraduate in captivity. "Otto Warmbier has been a prisoner since the start of 2016. Has America forgotten him?"

Japan
Children will not be taught about LGBT issues for at least ten years after the government banned it from the curriculum.

Australia
Children are being damaged in detention – Australia's day of reckoning will come. "In the tangle of debate about asylum seekers some things are simple. There is no excuse for damaging children in our care."


Arena

Why the rush to proclaim Aaron Hernandez gay or bisexual is troubling.


Gay bobsleigh athlete Simon Dunn apologises for naked photo leak.

Serena Williams has something to say about nasty Nastase’s racist baby joke.


Art +
Design

Tom of Finland's art still resonates because it mixes pride and shame.

NYC Pride announces new free font to honour rainbow flag creator Gilbert Baker.

From controversy to empowerment: the history of black dolls. "A landmark collection of black dolls showcases troubling stereotypes but also reveals how children have seen themselves reflected in the toys they played with."


Word!

Top ten terrible houses in fiction.

Review
Forget Me Not, by Kris Bryant. "This story is filled with loving familial interactions, caring friends, romantic interludes and tantalizing sex scenes. The dialogue, both among the characters and within Grace’s head, is refreshing, original, and sometimes comical. Forget Me Not is a fresh perspective on a romantic theme, and an entertaining read."

Review
The Inheritance of Shame: A Memoir, by Peter Gajdics. "Gajdics worked on various forms of the Inheritance of Shame manuscript for twenty years, and might have had an easier time if he had slapped a happy-ever-after ending on his story. But what he has given us is more satisfying and inspiring. His work will encourage others to tell their stories and consign their own shame to the past."

Review
My Cat Yugoslavia, by Pajtim Statovci. "The book feels somewhat loose, as if its various parts haven’t been screwed in tightly enough. Much of the enjoyment in reading it comes from accepting the absurd and then thinking critically about the narratives."

How Mr Men got mashed up with Doctor Who. "Adam Hargreaves, son of Mr Men creator Roger, discusses the latest expansion of the cartoon universe – into the realm of the Timelord."

On the rag - the week's gay weeklies.


Shouting
At Night

The secret world of Asian drag queens. "How do you tell the story of the ‘gaysian’ drag scene? With killer heels, pineapple hats and lots of duct tape. We go backstage at Miss Meena and the Masala Queens."

Interview
Talking to Russell Tovey about his dream role in "gay fantasia" Angels in America.

Angels in America at the National Theatre, in pictures.

Review
Six Degrees of Separation. "The conceit is less than wholly convincing."

Judi Dench berates lazy young actors who ignore their artistic heritage. "Blue plaque event at Gielgud home prompts dismay over ‘actor apathy’, mumbled speech and dumbed-down Shakespeare."

Interview
Talking to Spike Lee about Rodney King.

Review
Rodney King. "The acclaimed director brings a stark quality to this recording of Roger Guenveur Smith’s one-man stage show about the incident that sparked the LA riots."

Trailer



Film
Forever

Tom of Finland almost wasn't financed due to gay stigma. Director Dome Karukoski on "the surprising difficulties he encountered in obtaining financing for the production, which celebrates the famous gay artist."

On Handsome Devil, the new film hailed as "the Irish Moonlight". "We should be seeing $50m LGBT comedies with realistic couples at the middle of it. Because it’s one in 10 of us, you know? We belong in the mainstream.”

Review
4 Days In France. "Both dull and interesting simultaneously, 4 Days In France is the type of movie that some will find resonant while many others will just be bored and unable to see what the point of its meanderings are."

Watch
Here's the trailer for Taxi Stories, the new film from Doris Yeung that explores Asian identity, sexuality, and class.

Jonathan Demme, the Oscar-winning director of films like Philadelphia and The Silence of the Lambs, is dead. He was 73.

Looking back at Silence of the Lambs.

Interview
Talking to Art Fry, the inventor of Post-its, about Romy & Michele's High School Reunion.


The
Box

Did Ellen's coming out episode really change TV for LGBT characters? "It’s 20 years on from the landmark network TV moment that saw Ellen DeGeneres tell 42 million viewers that she’s gay, but progress remains slow."

RuPaul's Drag Race: Peppermint comes out as transgender.

Last words With RuPaul's Drag Race's Cynthia Lee Fontaine.

RuPaul’s Drag Race: is it time to retire the Snatch Game?

 Watch


The agony and ecstasy of Fire Island. "The island, contrary to what you've heard, isn't all high tea and low-blow drama – there's a lot of humanity to it."

Fourteen dos and don'ts of Fire Island (from the cast of the TV show).

Craig Colton, a former contestant on The X Factor, and boyfriend victims of homophobic knife attack.

About Him season two's premiere party, in pictures.

Review
I'm Fine. "I’m Fine has a sweetness and a desire to reflect the issues of modern gay relationship and friendship with humour and compassion that make it easy to like."

Lena Dunham has no regrets about Girls.

Netflix’s Dear White People digs into everyday racism, and it's sharp — and funny — as hell.

Why American Gods is one of the most beautiful, confusing shows on TV.

When good TV goes bad: how Battlestar Galactica became a holy mess. "It was season three, when its quasi-religious leanings went into overdrive, that did for the 21st-century version of the cult sci-fi drama."

Review
Doctor Who – Thin Ice. "A Victorian frost fair on the frozen Thames, coupled with a menacing giant snake, made this one of the most visually stunning episodes ever."

The new show that will explore drugs, politics and rock ‘n’ roll in LGBT London of the '80s.

Netflix's 13 Reasons Why and the trouble with dramatising suicide.

Too closure for comfort: the death of definitive TV endings. "From Twin Peaks to Breaking Bad, television shows are no longer finished, living on in spin-offs or reboots. Why has the finale fallen out of favour?"

Erin Moran, the actress who played Joanie Cunningham in the US sitcom Happy Days, is dead. She was 56.

Scott Baio faces backlash for remarks about late Happy Days co-star Erin Moran. “For me, you do drugs or drink, you’re gonna die. And I’m sorry if that’s cold, but... God gave you a brain, gave you the will to live and thrive, and you gotta take care of yourself.”

When good TV goes bad: how The Simpsons ended up gorging on itself. "You can hardly blame the legendary sitcom for 2014’s self-referential Treehouse of Horror special: after almost 600 episodes, it had nothing new to say."

Welcome to Albert Square, where blondes have less fun. "EastEnders unveiled new character Fi Browning this week. But her hair colour condemns her to a life of tears, breathlessness and sex with the Mitchells."

Kill and cure. "EastEnders was in a tailspin. Its storylines growing ever more miserable, and its lead actors abandoning ship. Then, with a single murder, everything started to go right. But it could easily have gone horribly wrong." (July 1999)

Gays of our lives: your latest from gay soapland.

 Watch
Here are the latest episodes of Skin Deep the Series and Shadows; plus the debut of new series' Tex Brown, I'm Fine and Kuntergrau.


Beats, Rhymes
& Life

Katy Perry throws her gay following under the bus to collaborate with homophobic rappers Migos.

The vinyl resurgence is real, but it won’t save the record industry.

Why I love Stormzy. "Charmingly, he sounds like boys I grew up with."

On Nelly. "The rapper's impact has seemingly been written out of wider cultural history. Let's fix that."

Working for Johnny Cash was a nightmare. "The untold story of Saul Holiff, Cash’s Canadian manager, who had to deal with the singer at the height of his addiction problems."

Acrush: the boyband of girls winning hearts in China.

 Watch
Kele Okereke - Yemaya.

 Listen
The new EP from M(X)BLOUSE - Believe The Bloom.

 Listen
The new EP from Technikolor - First.

 Listen
It's Shamir Bailey's new EP.

 Listen
Milo Tain - Sweet Love.


Red Light
District

Sean Cody's Chase is now the third Sean Cody model on trial for murder.

What the hell happened to Ken Ott?


HIV charity Cherry Fund's Royalty party, in pictures.

Will gay porn of the future look like this?

Sean Costin and Alex Griffen do it.

Colton Grey and Mickey Taylor do it.

Liam Cyber flaunts it, in pictures.

Here's the trailer for Falcon's blockbuster Earthbound: Heaven To Hell 2.


Rag
Trade

Thirty years of gay style: from disco chic to hipster bears. "It used to be a tribal signal but as gay style has moved into the mainstream, the look has become harder to pin down. It’s forcing creatives to really push the boundaries if they want to make a statement."


Clothing firm Nordstrom castigated for $425 mud-coated jeans.

On slogan T-shirts and how to get it right.

History
Gentlemen's fashions for May. "The collar of a dandy’s shirt must he rounded and without any opening under the chin. Many cravats of glazed or watered silk have been seen, the knots ready tied." (May 1831)


Betta
Work!

The Kafkaesque nightmare of fighting employment bias. "Since only about half of the U.S. protects gay and bi workers from discrimination — even less protect trans workers — filing a complaint in a place without protections can test one's endurance and sanity."

I tried for years to keep my life and work separate. I'm so glad I stopped.

Can unions rebuild the labor movement in the US south? "As the US economy expands across the south, unions are actively trying to recruit workers – but have discovered a need for organization in the face of big money."


I Own 51% Of
This Company!

American Airlines gave its workers a raise. Wall Street freaked out.

 Hard times for Whole Foods: "People say it's for pretentious people. I can see why". "The upscale grocery chain is valued at almost $12bn, but six straight quarters of declining sales have led to speculation of a takeover bid. What went wrong?"


Tomorrow's
World

Hacker takes over Isis Twitter accounts, replaces content with gay adult photos.

YouTube's new queer-friendly algorithm is a buggy mess.

The casual racism in nerd/gaming communities needs to stop.

How Facebook became a home to psychopaths. "The man who shot dead an innocent 74-year-old, then posted his confession on Facebook Live, points up a worrying trend on social media."

Torching the modern-day library of Alexandria. “Somewhere at Google there is a database containing 25 million books and nobody is allowed to read them.”


How can I free up some disk space on my Windows 10 PC?


Médecins Sans Frontières

A few hard truths about porn and erectile dysfunction.

Not enough HIV-positive black gay men are on antiretroviral therapy.


How switching from Atripla to generic treatments saves lots of money.

Even short-term use of steroids can have serious effects.

Google is super secretive about its anti-aging research. No one knows why.


Planet
Earth




California drought: then and now, in pictures.

Could a caterpillar that munches on plastic bags hold the key to tackling plastic pollution?


Zoo



Polar bear "dies of a broken heart" after same-sex partner is moved away.

Whales are dying in record numbers along the Atlantic coast. Why?

The week in wildlife, in pictures.


Planes, Trains
& Automobiles

Transport for London (TfL) is to spend £18m on preparing London for new electric black cabs.


Watch
Wall? What wall?


And
This...

The growing movement of men who secretly remove condoms during sex.

 Finally, Walter discusses Aaron Hernandez and prison lfie; Jontavion and Brandon reveal how they met; Rogue "Marbie" Scott reveals: "I'm an aspie"; and thirteen reasons with Chris and Aaron.
Continued after the jump...
 
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