Wednesday, 10 March 2010 12:24
Why are Jesse Archer, Mike Ruiz, Jack Mackenroth and Perez Hilton losing their pants? Because artist Paul Richmond has enlisted their modeling services for his upcoming exhibit of male pin-up paintings called CHEESECAKE. The show, which will feature oil paintings of fourteen gay male celebrities, opens at the Center on Halsted in Chicago this June.
According to Richmond, "It intrigues me that it was almost exclusively women who were depicted as hapless victims of comical wardrobe malfunctions in early pin-up art. Those ladies couldn't even walk down the street without their skirts blowing up or their underwear falling down (or both!). Meanwhile, male pin-ups by artists like Tom of Finland were generally afforded more control over their sexy shenanigans. I believe gravity and other forces conspiring to rob people of their clothing should take an equal-opportunity approach."
Tuesday, 09 March 2010 18:23
Brendon Riley, Chief Executive Officer of IBM UK, and Vice Admiral Alan Massey Second Sea Lord, Royal Navy both used their keynote speeches to call on employers keep focused on workplace equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual staff at Stonewall’s workplace conference, supported by Barclays.
Vice Admiral Alan Massey Second Sea Lord, Royal Navy said ‘Changing behaviours takes some time. Changing the underlying attitudes and culture takes a whole lot longer. The continued engagement of the LGBT community is vitally important to us to ensure that it becomes an embedded part of our business, a fundamental part of a fair leadership culture.’
Antony Grey Jenkins, Chief Executive of Global Retail Banking, Barclays said ‘Organisations that focus on diversity tend to be higher performing organisations than those that don’t. People take their lead from what they see around them. Creating a workplace where all colleagues are able to be themselves is absolutely critical to the overall wellbeing of any business.’
Read more: Diversity Essential for all Businesses, Employers Told
Tuesday, 09 March 2010 18:20
Stonewall's annual 10k Equality Walk takes place on Bank Holiday Sunday May 2, starting at Brighton's Pavilion Gardens. This year's walk is building on the success of the 2009 walk which attracted over 400 walkers. Supported by American Express the seventh annual walk is in aid of Stonewall’s work to stamp out homophobic bullying in schools.
Registration for the walk is just £10. Walkers receive a goody bag and special edition t-shirt, and can enjoy entertainment on the day. All participants need to do is raise more than the registration fee with prizes for the top fundraising individuals and groups.
Once registered, Stonewall encourages all walkers to fundraise to support the campaign to end homophobic bullying in schools. There’s also a top fundraising prize - a luxury weekend for two in Paris including business-class travel on Eurostar, two nights' stay in a luxury hotel and £500 spending money. This fantastic prize comes courtesy of American Express Business Travel.
Monday, 08 March 2010 16:43
The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association is proud to present the UK premiere screening of "La Folle histoire d'amour de Simon Eskenazy" - English title "He's my Girl" - a poignant love story and comedy.
Simon is an Ashkenazi Jew and a celebrated performer of Jewish traditional music. His life is turned upside down when he meets and falls in love with Naim, a young Arab who is both deeply Muslim and someone who in a heartbeat can transform himself into a femme fatale: the artist of his own life, inventing all kinds of different characters. Meanwhile Simon is still "looking for himself" when his own desire takes him by surprise. He never thought he'd fall madly in love with such an extravagant, wise, crazy man/woman.
Saturday, 06 March 2010 11:34
The BBC has announced the six acts hoping to take part in music's biggest annual extravaganza as they compete to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in Your Country Needs You! on Friday 12 March 2010 at 8.30pm on BBC One.
Performing live in the studio, the Eurovision hopefuls will be out to impress Pete Waterman – producing this year's entry with long-time collaborator Mike Stock – plus a specially-selected panel consisting of Pete, with last year's UK entrant Jade Ewen and performance-judge supremo Bruno Tonioli.
They will hear four solo singers, one all-girl trio and a five-piece group – all vying for the opportunity to sing for the UK in Oslo this May.
Pete Waterman says: "So far we've got the song and we've got six acts – now all we're waiting for is the public to get behind the search for the UK entry and then we can really get to work. But we're in it together and myself and Mike Stock are proud to be involved."
Thursday, 04 March 2010 10:54
New research conducted by ManCentral.com reveals that men of Islamic and Christian faith are most likely to struggle with their sexuality.
Despite wider acceptance and understanding of homosexuality in the UK over the past 50 years, ‘coming out’ still remains as one of the biggest hurdles that gay and bisexual men face. Whilst friends and family are commonly cited as the source of fear, recent statistics reveal that religious beliefs are proving problematic for many gay men.
More than 5,000 members of the free gay dating website ManCentral.com were asked what they felt was the most problematic for them when coming to terms with their sexual orientation. 12% of openly gay men cited religion as their biggest obstacle, whilst a further 15% of closet men struggled with their religious beliefs.
Wednesday, 03 March 2010 10:29
Late last night Stonewall’s latest amendment to the Equality Bill – to permit civil partnerships to be held in religious premises – was passed in the House of Lords by a majority of 74. The amendment, tabled by Lord Alli, was supported by peers across parties, including former Conservative Party Chairman Lord Fowler and Lord Harries, the former Bishop of Oxford.
‘This further step towards equality is a real victory for religious reason over those Church of England and Roman Catholic bishops who’ve tried to bully other denominations in recent weeks,’ said Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill. Quakers and Liberal Jews were among those denominations which supported the amendment.
During the debate Lord Alli, the only openly-gay peer, said: ‘Religious freedom cannot begin and end with what one religion wants. It has to apply equally to the Quakers as it does to the Church of England and to the Liberal Jews as it does to the Catholic Church.’ The Government opposed the amendment although it permitted its backbenchers a free vote after the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats had offered the same. The proposal was passed by 95 votes to 21 shortly before 11pm, after a lengthy debate.
Wednesday, 24 February 2010 11:26
LGBT groups and teachers alike have expressed disgust at the amendment included in the Children, Schools and Families Bill carried in the House of Commons yesterday. The amendment will allow sex education to be taught in a way that "refects" a school's "religious character".
The PTT secretary George Broadhead said, "Once again the government has kowtowed to religions by allowing faith schools to tailor their sex education lessons to their own beliefs.
"Why should atheist and Humanist parents have to send their children to faith schools and risk having their minds polluted by some of the reactionary teachings of these faiths?
"To echo the words of the British Humanist Association, the consequence of this bill is that it will shift the focus of the law as it applies to faith schools away from the needs of children, towards the religious prejudices of the school, as if this is what the law should really be protecting. Who is education supposed to benefit - the child or the church?
