Gay News

Pakistan's first gay website has been blocked by the country's internet censors.

Queerpk.com was set up in July to offer support to the gay community. The site's founder told the BBC the ban violated freedom of speech.

Queerpk.com was launched with the slogan Know us, don't hate us and aimed to raise awareness of gay issues and offer advice and sex education to gay, lesbian and transgender people in Pakistan.

Elton John won't cancel his forthcoming Moscow show, despite protests from homophobic activists in Russia. The singer will go ahead with his concert on 6 December and hopes to be able to talk to some people at the Kremlin.

Earlier this week, the Ural Parents Committee wrote a letter to Russian president Vladimir Putin, asking him to ban Sir Elton's forthcoming gig:

The singer intends to come out in support of local sodomites and break the current Russian law. (referring to the country's bill prohibiting so-called gay propaganda).

The Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods referred to the scheduled concert as an amoral sabbath . Union leader Yuri Ageshchev told the Novy Region news agency:

The statement by this gay guy -- Elton John -- about his support for gays and other perverts during the upcoming concert ... is an insult to all Russian citizens. It also makes a mockery of our recently enacted law against the public propaganda of gay ideas.

Elton John said in an interview with NPR's Terry Gross:

On one hand, I [am tempted] to say, 'I'm not going and you can go to hell, you guys.' But that's not helping anyone who's gay or transgendered over there, he said. There are a lot of great Russian people out there who are outraged by what's going on ... as a gay man and a gay musician, I cannot stay at home and not support these people who have been to lots of my concerts in the past.

Update: The show goes on

9th December 2013. See  article from  bbc.co.uk

Elton John became the first major Western star known for his support of gay rights to play in Russia since the law was signed by President Vladimir Putin in June.

The singer reportedly interrupted his Friday show to voice his concerns about the legislation. He was quoted as saying:

In my opinion, it is inhumane and it is isolating

Russia's anti gay 'propaganda' law is having wide and chilling effects on gay film making.

Filmmakers of a film with the translated title of A Winter's Journey have found that the film has been effectively banned despite winning approval by Russia's film censors and winning two prizes at separate film festivals. The film tells the story of a gay classical singer falling in love with a street-smart petty criminal.

Director Sergei Taramayev told AFP he was saddened it could not be shown at the Kinotavr film festival  after receiving such high critical acclaim. He said:

For the organisers of the festival it was uncomfortable, because there is such a law, so they thought it was better not to get involved.

At least people who were in the jury told us that this was the reason why we were not accepted for Kinotavr.

The film's co-writer Lyubov Lvova said festivals feared they could lose funding if they showed the film:

At many festivals, Russian ones, this scared the organisers a lot. They were afraid of this law, that it could stop them getting financing for their festivals.

Taramayev said they did not even submit the film to Russia's main film forum, Moscow International Film Festival, because of its anti-gay organiser, Nikita Mikhalkov. He said:

He supports the government's line and is a very political director and we realised that they would not take us.

Producer Mikhail Karasyov wrote in an email to AFP:

As for a cinema release, at the moment we are holding talks, but so far there is nothing concrete.

Gay dating app Grindr has been censored and blocked in Turkey, reported KAOS G L, the main Turkish LGBT association.

According to an online message displayed when attempting to access Grinder from Turkey, the block has been ordered by the 14th Criminal Court of Istanbul as a as a supposed protection measure.

KAOS GL's lawyer, Hayriye Kara, commented: The court decision is not published online and so we have no access to the  reason for the censorship:

It is most likely related to 'general morality', an ambiguous term used often against trans sex workers.

Rod Daily has the star tattoo

The US adult trade group, the Free Speech Coalition has confirmed porn star Rod Daily has tested positive for HIV, and is calling for his sexual partners to get tested.

The news comes about two weeks after another porn star, Cameron Bay, announced her infection.

According to the Daily Mail, Daily and Bay were linked romantically on adult film industry website XBiz.com. Neither Daily nor Bay has confirmed the source of their infection.

Update: Third Case

9th September 2013. See  article from  latimes.com

News of a third adult-film actor testing positive for HIV is putting new pressure on both the industry and state lawmakers.

The HIV cases have spurred campaigners pushing for a statewide mandate for condom use in adult films. The new law is being held up by an ongoing court battle.

The adult industry trade group, the Free Speech Coalition initially said that it had not been formally notified of the case, but later called for a new moratorium on production, saying it had been notified that another performer had tested positive for HIV.

Free Speech Coalition spokeswoman Joanne Cachapero said late Friday that the new case involved a third performer. The group said in a statement that the performer whose case prompted the current moratorium had not done a shoot since before the first moratorium. The industry required performers whose last STD test was prior to Aug. 19 to be retested if they wanted to continue performing. The coalition said it would cover the cost of retesting for the performer's partners.

Unilever is withdrawing a Flora margarine advertisement in South Africa that has been condemned as homophobic.

The advert features a bullet with the words Uhh dad I'm gay flying towards a heart made of china. The advert, on a pink background, includes the tagline You need a strong heart today .

Flora has long promoted its margarine as helping consumers maintain a healthy heart.

Both Unilever and the advertising agency apologised fro any offence caused.

Unilever also pointed out that the advert was not actually approved by them and was the work of the ad agency.

UK-based gay rights group Stonewall said it welcomed the withdrawal of the advert. It had earlier described the advert as offensive and inappropriate .

Christians should be repentant about the Church's past treatment of gay and lesbian people, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.

Justin Welby told a group of traditional evangelical Christians that the Church's historic support of homophobia was utterly and totally wrong .

He also acknowledged that many young people considered the Church's views on same-sex marriage as wicked and plain wrong .

The Archbishop insisted he did not regret voting against gay marriage legislation, but acknowledged that such views were seen by many as akin to racism and other forms of gross and atrocious injustice :

We have to face the fact that the vast majority of people under 35 not only think that what we're saying is incomprehensible but also think that we're plain wrong and wicked and equate it to racism and other forms of gross and atrocious injustice. We have to be real about that.

The Church has not been good at dealing with homophobia. It has at times, as god's people, either implicitly or explicitly supported it and we have to be really, really repentant about that because it is utterly and totally wrong.

A painting depicting politicians Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev in women's underwear was one of the items Russian authorities have physically censored by raiding a newly-opened St. Petersburg art gallery that had shown solidarity with Russia's gay-rights movement.

The off-beat gallery, known as the Museum of Authority, opened with an inaugural exhibit called The Rulers that featured paintings by artist Konstantin Altunin of Russian and international public figures.

Much of the inaugural exhibit was raunchy or politically-charged. One painting depicted St. Petersburg politician Vitaly Milonov, who spearheaded a local homophobic gay propaganda law that became the baseline for similar national legislation.

Milonov accompanied police at the gallery. Police seized the portrait of Mr. Milonov as well as the painting depicting Messrs. Putin and Medvedev in women's underwear.

Authorities also took two other works of art. One was a painting of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill with criminal-style tattoos mixing Soviet and religious iconography. The other was one of Yelena Mizulina, the Kremlin-allied Duma deputy and morality crusader who led the drive to pass Russia's gay propaganda law nationally. That painting was entitled The Erotic Dreams of Deputy Mizulina.