Issue 277: Roseanne, Westworld, Mr Gay World, Timarrie Baker, Corbin Colby, Max Konnor, Karnage, and more...



Left &
Found


What adults never told me as a queer black child. "In this excerpt from his new book, No Ashes in the Fire, Darnell Moore writes on growing up Black and queer in America."



Germaine Greer’s comments on rape are dangerous and damaging.

Mr Gay World 2018 won by Australian chef Jordan Bruno.

What is an otter? The gay tribe for lean guys with a bit of scruff.

 A queer sign language lesson.

Hear me phwoar: why it is OK for female critics to lust after male celebrities. "Female critics can get away with objectifying male actors, says Mariella Frostrup, in a way that male ones can’t. But she is wrong to say there are double-standards at play here."

 Watch


News
America

Watch
Gay, black and HIV positive: America's hidden epidemic.

The US has an HIV epidemic – and its victims are gay black men. "If white men were being infected at the horrifying rate that African-Americans are, it would be front-page news."

New York gay sex club defends reduced entry price for tops. "It's charging $65 entry for bottoms and $25 for tops - to the bemusement of some on social media."

Denver couple Chris Huizar and Gabriel Roman stabbed multiple times for holding hands.

The couple have responded after their attacker, Dylan Payne, is released.

HIV-positive vet Sgt. Nick Harrison sues for right to serve.

LGBT immigrants detained in the US face higher rates of sexual assault.

 Connecticut will be the first state to officially house trans inmates by gender identity.

Homophobic televangelist Jesse Duplantis asks followers to help him fund a fourth private jet.

Hearts break everywhere as Rob Smith comes out (in Britain's right-wing hate tabloid the Daily Mail) as black, gay - and Republican. Sad!

Samantha Bee loses it over Ivanka Trump: "Do something you feckless cunt!"

...And inevitably apologises in the inevitable uproar.


Watch
Evil Trump crony Betsy DeVos greeted by genderqueer student wearing trans Pride flag.

Trump barfs out latest, Tweets he wishes he hadn't appointed Jeff Sessions.

Roseanne's racist tweet got her fired. For Trump, it's all part of the job. "Despite all the outrage, racism is a part of US politics in a way that was unthinkable when the Republicans were last in power."

Trump's hard-right judges will do lasting damage to America. "The president has appointed an array of judges who are anti-choice, anti-union, anti-immigrant and pro-gun. They could cause permanent harm."

America has local political institutions but nationalised politics. This is a problem.

How Trump is weaponising the courts for political ends.

Donald Trump Jr: revered by the right, and building his own political base. "Trump Jr’s fanbase sees him as an authentic political figure, but many conservatives are waiting for the next shoe to drop."

Watch
Virginia congressional candidate Dan Helmer compares Trump to Bin Laden, says he’s the greatest threat to our democracy. "After 9/11, the greatest threat to our democracy lived in a cave... Today, he lives in the White House.”

The raging controversy over whether to call Trump’s lies “lies,” explained.

The stories Fox News covers obsessively — and those it ignores — in charts. "Compare Fox News’s alternate reality to other cable news coverage."

Long read
How the resurgence of white supremacy in the US sparked a war over free speech. "With neo-Nazis marching in American cities, the national faith in absolute free expression is breaking down – even inside the organisation sworn to defend it, the ACLU."

A black man was fatally shot by law enforcement. A federal jury gave his family $4. "The jury argued that Gregory Hill was responsible for his own death, so the award was later reduced to 4 cents."

I used to be a 911 dispatcher. I had to respond to racist calls every day. "The viral police call on a black family barbecuing in Oakland was an everyday occurrence."

Why white people keep calling the cops on black Americans. "I study policing. White people call cops to remove black people because it often works."

Coffee shop racism: where America's racial divisions are exposed. "Many say the Starbucks incident exposed discrimination that people of color and black people in particular face every day."

What Starbucks is teaching its employees during anti-bias training. "Starbucks is closing 8,000 of its stores Tuesday afternoon for racial bias training stemming from an April incident in Philadelphia in which two black men were arrested for doing nothing."

Starbucks’ "implicit bias" training might fail to make a difference by not addressing the root cause of racist behaviour.

Puerto Vallarta Pride, in pictures.

Big Valley Pride, in pictures.

Canada
Say hello to Justin Trudeau, the world's newest oil executive. "The Canadian prime minister presents himself as a climate hero. By promising to nationalise the Kinder Morgan pipeline, he reveals his true self."

Inuit struggle with warming world. "Sea, ice, snow... it’s all changing."


News
UK

Neo-Nazi Ethan Stables "indefinitely detained" over plot to attack LGBT event.

Gay teen refused tattoo because he’s HIV-positive.
New network set to launch for LGBT teachers in the UK.

Birmingham Pride, in pictures.

"Most rape is just lazy, careless and insensitive," Germaine Greer claims as she calls for punishment for rape to be reduced.

Grenfell: survivors lament fire brigade advice to stay inside. "Father of five-year-old Isaac Paulos describes being told to ‘stay put’ after blaze started."

The Grenfell firefighters are heroes. They don’t deserve a trial by media.

Cartoon

"Tommy Robinson" is no martyr to freedom of speech. "Members of the far right are more interested in restricting civil and religious liberties than defending the right to expression."

The incredibly simple reason we shouldn't #FreeTommy. "Triggered Tommy Robinson fans don't seem to understand that if you commit a crime, you have to deal with the punishment."

As Raheem Sterling knows, successful black men have targets on their back. "Whether it’s his choice of tattoo or the variation in his spending, the message to the England footballer is clear: know your place."

Sheffield's youngest ever Mayor is everything Middle England hates. "Magid Magid wants more young people to get into politics."

The UK's rapidly changing mixed-race population.

Skyscrapers wreck cities – yet still Britain builds them.

Westminster Abbey's new £23m tower.

Britain’s high streets can thrive again – if we look past shops. "When even Marks & Spencer is in trouble, it’s time to reimagine city centres as places where people live, learn and relax."

"Worst store" in Britain? Here’s why I still love WH Smith.

Industrial-scale beef production is a sign of crisis in Britain’s farming. "Most farmers make a loss and rely on Brussels subsidies. Before it’s too late we must decide the kind of meat we want to eat."

Wales
Leading the way in LGBT-inclusive sex education. "[Wales] just became one of the first countries in the world to make it compulsory, in a change to the curriculum that will be rolled out in 2022."


News
World

Ireland
LGBT Irish people three times more likely to contemplate suicide.

France
Mamoudou Gassama: balcony rescue highlights French immigration row.

You want to be a citizen of France? Only superheroes need apply. "Mamoudou Gassama’s bravery was rightly rewarded, but President Macron’s comments only perpetuate anti-immigrant rhetoric."

Paris students meet with brutal repression. "During these past three weeks, the riot police were not just called out to contain demonstrators; they were let loose on the population." (May 1968)

Italy
With no progressive force to give it shape, Italians’ anger has hit a wall.

Turkey
Openly gay man Hasan Atik to run in snap election.

Brazil
Beleaguered Amazon tribes remain staunch in defence of their land. "As criminals eye the natural riches of their heavily forested territories, the Ka’apor people refuse to be cowed – even if it means taking the law into their own hands."

Botswana
High Court to rule on ending gay sex ban.

South Africa
Township trauma: the terrible cost of drinking during pregnancy. "More than a tenth of children in South Africa have foetal alcohol syndrome. Now volunteer mothers are fighting back."

Indonesia
Gay sex might not be banned after all.

South Korea
First ever drag parade hailed as “a huge milestone” by activists.

Hong Kong
Spike in chemsex and HIV rates alarms officials.

 Rumours on WhatsApp incite mob to kill trans woman.

Thailand
How punks are railing against the junta.

Australia
Deaths of nearly hundred gay men in Sydney identified as hate crimes decades later.

The gay-hate decades: thirty unsolved deaths.

There’s a workable alternative to Australia’s asylum policy. "The bad example set by Australia is damaging a global system already in crisis. But it’s not too late to change tack."


Art
Skool

Punk Noir, a retrospective of alternative black creatives. At Austin's George Washington Carver Museum, until 21st July.

Go see
Recovery, Mario Moore’s exhibition documenting his recovery from trauma and brain surgery. At Detroit's David Klein Gallery, until 11th August.

Interview
Talking to Lee Bull. "Sci-fi and the human drive for self-perfection fuel the South Korean artist provocateur’s monstrous creations."

On web comic Oh Joy Sex Toy, which provides sexy gender-neutral and body-positive lessons.


Word!

On the shelf: the latest LGBT books.

Interview
Talking to Hernan Lopez, the gay Latino behind a podcast empire.

Interview
Talking to Didier Eribon: "'What was difficult was not being gay but being working-class'. The Paris intellectual on what drove him to write his influential memoir, Returning to Reims."

Review
Read by Strangers: Stories, by Philip Dean Walker. "A highly readable and engaging collection of fiction by one of our best young writers of the short story."

On the rag - your guide to the gay weeklies.


Shouting
At Night

Teen drag queen musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie to get film adaptation.

Review
The Boys In The Band. "Brightened by its attractive stars, the production couches Crowley’s snappy dialogue in a self-consciously retro light, making for easy consumption (Ryan Murphy is among the producers), while often resisting the play’s darkest recesses."

The wild life and untimely death of Divine, drag queen of the century.

La Cage Aux Folles to debut in Israel in July.

Interview
Talking to Michael Benjamin Washington about playing Boys in the Band's only black character.

Interview
Talking to Robin de Jesús about playing Boys in the Band's least self-loathing character and learning from the courage to queen out.

Paterson Joseph on Sancho: the first black Briton to vote. "I’ve always wanted to be in a costume drama but not as a background figure. So the life of Charles Ignatius Sancho was an extraordinary discovery for me – as both an actor and a black Briton."

Shangela has a simple message for everyone: tip your queens.


Film
Forever

Interview
Talking to filmmaker Sarah Fodey about her new documentary The Fruit Machine, about Canada's four-decade homophobic witch hunt.

Watch
Here's the trailer for new film That Summer, a sweet prequel to Grey Gardens; and new documentary Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood.

Here's the poster for the forthcoming documentary Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood.

Review
My Friend Dahmer. "There are interesting moments in this look at what influences a young, troubled man to become one of America’s most notorious serial killers. But despite a great lead performance from Ross Lynch, nothing truly stands out in this awkward drama."

Love, Simon deleted scene: that time Simon almost went to The Eagle.

How Boots Riley infiltrated Hollywood. "How the rapper smuggled his radical anticapitalism into his new film Sorry to Bother You."

The Crow remake has lost its star and director (again).

Movies are blurring fact and fiction on purpose. What does that do to the audience?

Jurassic World: why Hollywood monsters have lost their bite. "Now more empathic than ever, could film’s fantastic beasts be doing themselves out of a job?"

Why everyone needs to calm down about Solo's box office performance.

The ten hottest films of summer 2018.

How 1960s film pirates sold movies before the FBI came knocking.

London Prop Store's mouthwatering cinema poster auction.


The
Box

Roseanne is canceled, and it's not surprising it would end this way.

Ambien claps back: "Racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.”

Disney-ABC executive Ben Sherwood was using Roseanne’s Tweets just two weeks ago to promote show to advertisers.

The internet is skewering Roseanne over her cancellation.

Roseanne deserves her banishment, but we’ll lose a lot with her. "I can’t forgive her these latest awful tweets, yet she was once a rare voice that connected conservative and liberal America."

Roseanne Barr used to be subversive – now she embodies the Trump-supporting psyche. "Once she used her trenchant wit to champion blue-collar America. Now she has flipped into apparently limitless bigotry."

ABC canceled Roseanne’s show over a racist tweet. Her feed’s been full of racism and conspiracy theories for a decade.

I’d feel bad for those fired because of Roseanne’s racism if they didn’t get hired because of Roseanne’s racism.

The rise and fall of Roseanne: how TV's biggest show fell apart. "The decision to axe the hit sitcom revival ends debates over the off-screen bigotry shown by its star, Roseanne Barr."

Roseanne after Roseanne: how the sitcom can carry on without her.

The radical subversion of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's survival narrative. "In the final season of the acclaimed Netflix comedy, there’s an increased topicality of the story of a woman dealing with her past of abuse."

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt deftly takes on #MeToo and terrible men in season 4. "The zany Netflix comedy centers on an abuse survivor, making it well-positioned for this cultural moment."

Arrested Development season 5 tries to go back to the way things were, with mixed results.

RuPaul’s Drag Race star Blair St Clair opens up about surviving rape.

Watch
Here's Netflix's new animated series about superhero drag queens, Super Drags.

Westworld recap: season 2, episode 6 – Maeve's on a mission but is Ford back? "While Maeve returns to Westworld to find her daughter, the Man in Black has a heart to heart with his own offspring."

Westworld recap: season 2, episode 6 – things are turned up a notch. "This is the good, bad, and weird of the episode season two desperately needed."


The Expanse just delivered its most unbelievably tense episode ever.

The Handmaid's Tale finally gives us a much-needed glimmer of hope.

 Watch
Get your web-series fix here!


Beats, Rhymes
& Life

Australian musician Pogo explains why he hates gay people, says he cheered the Pulse massacre.

André 3000 celebrated his birthday at the site of #BBQBeckie incident.

Yes, drill music is violent. But banning it will achieve nothing.

Korean pop music is breaking US records and winning fans across the globe.


Interview
Talking to Josiah Wise.


Arena

Soccer fans ruin L.A. Galaxy's Pride Night by shouting homophobic slur.

French Open has three openly gay women, zero (as usual) men.

Mumbai's summer camp for budding athletes, in pictures.


Meat
Market

Former gay-for-pay model Kurtis Hartman - who worked under the name Justin McGregor for Englishlads - convicted for revenge porn.



2018 Grabby Awards: the winners.

Partying at the 2018 Grabby Awards, in pictures.

Billy Santoro and Hugh Hunter sued for defamation after calling plaintiff in lawsuit against Nica Noelle “homophobic and transphobic.”

Watch
The insanely hot Timarrie Baker invites us to Flex Spas.

Behind-the-scenes with Jon Kael, Dani Robles, and more.

Ken Ott and Osiris Blade do it.

Corbin Colby, Joey Mills, Josh Brady, Cameron Parks, Luke Wilder and Angel Rivera do it.

Mario Texeira and Jason Bacall do it.

Jay Landford and Kurtis Wolfe do it.

Porn stars, including Skyy Knox and Levy Foxx - hooked up during the Grabbys, and kindly shared the videos for everyone to see.

Porn stars at Chicago's Sidetrack, in pictures.

Tribal Energy, the White Party showcase, in pictures.

Puerto Vallarta White Party, in pictures.

Summertramp DTLA, in pictures.

Urban Bear sunset dance cruise, in pictures.

International Mr. Leather Weekend, Day One, in pictures.

International Mr. Leather Weekend, Day Two, in pictures.

International Mr. Leather Weekend, Day Three, in pictures.


Ghetto
Romance

Anal sex is passé, ass-eating has peaked: what’s the next big sex trend?

Five things to do before anal sex.


Medicine
Ball

Recreational drug use leads to higher risk of acquiring HIV.

Lyme, the tick-borne disease that’s spreading fast, explained.



Some people are specifically depressed by summer. "The combination of extra light, 80-degree weather and FOMO can do real damage."


Planet
Earth

All life on Earth, in one staggering chart.

It’s time to think seriously about cutting off the supply of fossil fuels.


The White Heat of
This Revolution

"YouTube's biggest philanthropist" outed as a massive homophobe.

Browsing porn in incognito mode isn't nearly as private as you think. "When you use incognito mode, it doesn’t mean that your activity disappears forever – it’s just hidden on the incriminating device."

Digitising culture: make manuscripts more illuminating. "Putting the contents of libraries and museums on the web makes much wonderful, hidden art accessible."

Why you are probably using the wrong HDMI cable.


Planes, Trains
& Automobiles

Transport for London bidding to run Buenos Aires metro system.

The TV show exposing the misery of India's 24-hour train delays.


Betta
Work!

Why are so many white-collar professionals in revolt? "From teachers to nurses, growing numbers of professionals are seeing their privileges vanish – and are questioning their place in the world."

Ambulances were called to Amazon UK warehouses 600 times in three years.

It might now belong to billionaires, but I laud Pret for its people power. "The sandwich chain’s payout to its 12,000 employees shows that treating workers well could pay for itself."

Abuse, vomit and fingering drunks: the worst things flight attendants have to deal with.

Walmart is paying $20 billion to shareholders. With that money, it could boost hourly wages to over $15. "Walmart employs more than 1 million Americans. Its base pay is below the federal poverty line for a family of three."


And
This:

Watch
Cooper's Hill annual cheese rolling contest.

Vloglife
Finally, Ask the Aunties. Plus: the latest from Walter, the Zakar twins, and Andrew.
Continued after the jump...
 
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