It’s official: the “gay lobby” in the Vatican that we’ve always heard about, speculated about, suspected to exist, really does exist! The newly seated pope, Francis I, actually used this phrase when discussing his plan to clean up the Holy See, which he sees (quite rightly, one supposes) as wallowing in scandal and corruption. Many [...]
Bradley Manning, Pride Parade Grand Marshal—Not!
The new issue of the GLR, which should reach subscribers soon, includes a “Guest Opinion” piece by James Patterson concerning the ongoing debate in San Francisco about the status of Bradley Manning as a “grand marshal” in this year’s Pride parade. The parade’s organizing committee had initially made this selection in absentia—Manning is currently in [...]
Those Annual Superlatives
It all started as a quirky story coming out of sleepy-hollow upstate New York, but before we knew it, Dylan Meehan and Brad Taylor—who had been voted the “cutest couple” for their high school yearbook—were big stars on the Internet. It was the senior class of Carmel High School that elected the two boyfriends to [...]
Ecce Hommen
A headline in GayStarNews read: “France: Is this the most homoerotic anti-gay protest ever?” and sure enough, there were the photos of muscular, shirtless dudes in the street protesting France’s same-sex marriage bill. The men of “Les Hommen” scribbled slogans on each others’ bodies, held hands, and exhibited all the fraternité of men in a Pride [...]
Hungarian PM Fails to Address GLBT Equality
This was the scene in Budapest this month: The World Jewish Congress took the extraordinary step of holding its quadrennial conference in support of the local Jewish community after recent anti-Semitic incidents in Hungary. Some 500 people attended the events. The far-right organized demonstrations against them. The Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, cleared his schedule to [...]
Fire Island: Two New Books Celebrate the Fragile Gay Mecca
The New York Times published today an article about Fire Island that coincides with the 60th anniversary of the founding of The Pines, and mentions two newly published books about its history. One of the books, titled Fire Island Pines, Polaroids 1973-1983, is by GLR friend and contributor Tom Bianchi, whose photographs of beautiful men in beautiful settings have [...]
Find the Gay Swimmer
Which is more improbable, that a tiny island nation of 100,000 is able to field an Olympic swim team, or that one its members is openly gay, fully accepted by his teammates, and an activist for GLBT equality? One-named, New-Zealand-born Fonua represented the South Pacific archipelago of Tonga in the 100-meter breaststroke competition at the [...]
Cuba’s Gay Community Stands Up Against Homophobia & Transphobia
HAVANA — A week of drag shows, colorful marches and social and cultural events in Havana culminates Friday with celebrations of the International Day Against Homophobia.
Exhibit A
Being gay can be grounds for gaining asylum in tolerant countries if you come from, say, Iran, Uganda, or Cameroon, where gays are persecuted. This avenue of escape has caused authorities in some quarters to suspect that people are falsely claiming to be gay. As reported in an earlier BTW, some countries, such as the [...]
Taboo Tattoos
And why leave Russia when another tale of cluelessness awaits? The Russian military has announced that new recruits will now have their tattoos inspected because the Kremlin believes that they can reveal signs of homosexuality. According to the Defense Ministry’s central administration, soldiers will be given a thorough physical exam to look for tattoos in [...]
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