A major  breakthrough in the fight against AIDS. A pill already used to treat HIV infection turns out to be a powerful weapon in protecting the healthy from catching the virus.  Click here for the full article.

A major  breakthrough in the fight against AIDS. A pill already used to treat HIV infection turns out to be a powerful weapon in protecting the healthy from catching the virus.  Click here for the full article.

The 35th Toronto International Film Festival has announced this year’s line-up of Galas and Special Presentations which take place September 9 to 19th, 2010. Three films making their World Premiere at the festival that have queer interest are: Beginners, Yves Saint Laurent – Pierre Berge, L’Amour Fou and Rabbit Hole.

Click here to read more!

The 35th Toronto International Film Festival has announced this year’s line-up of Galas and Special Presentations which take place September 9 to 19th, 2010. Three films making their World Premiere at the festival that have queer interest are: Beginners, Yves Saint Laurent – Pierre Berge, L’Amour Fou and Rabbit Hole. Click here to read more!

A lawsuit accusing a gay NYPD lieutenant of fondling himself in front of two male sergeants is costing the city a lot of scratch.

The city has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim against Lt. Kieran Crowe, who blamed his behavior on jock itch, the Daily News has learned.

Sgt. Dominic Coppola will receive $175,000 and Sgt. Sean Gallagher $125,000 in the agreement hammered out Monday in Manhattan Federal Court, according to their lawyer, Eric Sanders.

“Although our clients are satisfied that the litigation is over, it is further proof that the once-silent issue of same-sex harassment is on the rise,” said Sanders, of the Law Firm of Jeffrey Goldberg in Lake Success, L.I.

Crowe retired from the NYPD in 2008 after he was found guilty in a department trial of rubbing his crotch, simulating masturbation and wiggling his tongue at the sergeants.

According to court papers, a dermatologist testified at the trial that Crowe was treated for jock itch for a decade.

Asked at the trial whether he ever placed his right hand anywhere near his private parts at his Police Headquarters office, Crowe answered: “It is possible because of medical conditions, but never in the way that these complainants have said.”

“He paid nothing, he did nothing, he admitted nothing,” Crowe’s lawyer Rae Koshetz told The News.

“If the city wants to pay these people, that’s their choice.”

Coppola is still on the force, and Gallagher is now the chief of a small police department in Washington State, his lawyer said.
BY John Marzulli
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

www.nydailynews.com

Read the full story from the New York Daily News.

A lawsuit accusing a gay NYPD lieutenant of fondling himself in front of two male sergeants is costing the city a lot of scratch. The city has agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim against Lt. Kieran Crowe, who blamed his behavior on jock itch, the Daily News has learned. Sgt. Dominic [...]

A row has erupted in the United States centring on the ownership of a gay teenagers’ database.

The owner of XY Magazine and its associated website – which catered for young homosexual boys – filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.

XY’s creditors have applied for the firm’s one remaining valuable asset: its database of one million users.

But the Federal Trade Commission has expressed its concerns and said the sale “could violate Federal law”.

The issue of selling databases is not new, but it is the sensitivity of this particular database that is catching the attention of lawmakers.

The list contains details of tens of thousands of young men, the majority of whom will be gay.

Writing on the technology blog Read Write Web, Curt Hopkins summed up the concern felt by many users.

“The selling off of private information, gathered under the supposition of privacy, is bad enough,” he wrote.

“Even worse if you’re forced into it.

“And positively untenable when the information is connected to kids who are dealing with a dawning sexual reality that in some instances is even more fraught than what straight kids go through,” he added.

Simon Davies, director of the human rights campaign group Privacy International, told BBC News that while privacy policy was very clear, in the event of bankruptcy or winding-up “all bets are off”.

“Information shouldn’t be used for a purpose other than for which it was originally intended,” he said.

“In the UK, it would be hard – under normal circumstances – to take a database and apply it for another purpose.

“However, in the real world, when a firm goes into receivership, all bets are off when it comes to protection, because everyone’s scrabbling for something of value.

“It’s yet another hurdle for data protection advocates to jump through,” he added.

Wound up

XY’s founding editor, Peter Ian Cummings, filed for bankruptcy in February 2010. He listed his personal assets at $1,500, a net income of zero and one other asset: the “customer list, personal data and editorial and back issues of XY Magazine and XY.com”

Shoshanna Schiff, a partner with the Trenk law firm – representing the creditors – told the US website Cnet.com: “Any property listed on the debtor’s bankruptcy petition is property of the bankruptcy estate and my client intends to administer those assets for the benefit of creditors.”

Mr Davies said that the UK Information Commissioner had an obligation to protect any British citizens who may be on the database.

“I would argue that this is a case where the Information Commissioner should write directly to the US and ensure action is taken.”

By Daniel Emery
Technology reporter, BBC News

A row has erupted in the United States centring on the ownership of a gay teenagers’ database. The owner of XY Magazine and its associated website – which catered for young homosexual boys – filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. XY’s creditors have applied for the firm’s one remaining valuable asset: its database of one [...]

Rudi Assauer said gay footballers should find a new job

A former German football manager has said gay men should not play football because they will be ridiculed.Rudi Assauer’s comments have outraged German gay groups, with the Gay and Lesbian Federation saying they were “beneath contempt”.

The Daily Mail reports that Assauer said: “Perhaps [gays] are okay in other sports but not in football.

“If a player came to me and said he was gay I would say to him: ‘You have shown courage’. But then I would tell him to find something else to do.

“That’s because those who out themselves always end up busted by it, ridiculed by their fellow players and by people in the stands. We should spare them these witch hunts.”

He added that he once told a team masseur to find another job because he was gay.

Assauer, a former player, managed Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga and is currently a player agent.

In the last few months, two major sporting stars have come out. Donal Og Cusack, of Ireland’s Cork hurling team, announced he was gay in October, while Welsh rugby player Gareth Thomas came out in December.

However, there is not one out gay professional footballer in the UK, although some have estimated there are least 12 Premiership footballers in the closet.

Justin Fashanu killed himself in 1998 and remains the only professional footballer to have ever come out as gay.

A former German football manager has said gay men should not play football because they will be ridiculed.Rudi Assauer’s comments have outraged German gay groups, with the Gay and Lesbian Federation saying they were “beneath contempt”. The Daily Mail reports that Assauer said: “Perhaps [gays] are okay in other sports but not in football. “If [...]

University of Maryland wrestler Hudson Taylor, profiled on Outsports for his strong support of gay rights, won the 197-pound class at the ACC wrestling championships on Saturday and was named outstanding wrestler.

Taylor, ranked third nationally in his weight class, won the title by pinning Dennis Drury of North Carolina at the 4:10 mark. Taylor is 38-2 on the season and qualifies for the NCAA championships in Omaha on March 18-20.

Hudson Taylor

Taylor is one of the most unique athletes I have ever spoken with, and his support for gay rights is inspiring and rare among straight athletes. He even wore a Human Rights Campaign sticker on his headgear for part of the season.

His story is must reading, not because I wrote it, but because it highlights someone who is striving to make a difference. Since his article ran, he e-mailed me:

I am getting the most moving e-mails from people around the world. It’s amazing. I mean, supporting the LBGT community is such a no-brainer to me. I couldn’t imagine it any other way. I’m so humbled to learn about some of the courageous stories of these people. And I’ve been responding to all of them.

ESPN will be showing the NCAAs, and I know that Taylor will have a large number of Outsports readers cheering him on as he wrestles for the title.

Some action shots from matches this year, courtesy of Taylor:

University of Maryland wrestler Hudson Taylor, profiled on Outsports for his strong support of gay rights, won the 197-pound class at the ACC wrestling championships on Saturday and was named outstanding wrestler. Taylor, ranked third nationally in his weight class, won the title by pinning Dennis Drury of North Carolina at the 4:10 mark. Taylor [...]

Well, we’ve all probably, at some point, had that anti-gay neighbor who we wished would get transferred to China, thus simply going away and leaving us alone.  But for those who have a neighbor who is not going anywhere, and moving may be an option you are considering, here’s a subtle way to let them know how you really feel. And below the picture…probably the funniest weather forecast I’ve ever seen!

Well, we’ve all probably, at some point, had that anti-gay neighbor who we wished would get transferred to China, thus simply going away and leaving us alone.  But for those who have a neighbor who is not going anywhere, and moving may be an option you are considering, here’s a subtle way to let them [...]

By Christine Laskowski (China Daily)

As the year 2009 comes to a close, it does so having been a monumental year for China’s LGBT community. Beijing and numerous cities across China experienced the successful completion of 12 anniversaries and public events that expose LGBT culture and related issues like never before.

Participants and organizers smile for Shanghai Pride.

China’s LGBT community, which is an acronym that refers to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people, has adapted the terms tongzhi to refer to gays, lala for lesbians, ku’er for queer – an umbrella term for those who do not identify as heterosexual with regard to sexuality, sexual anatomy or gender identity.

The community is young. Most are in their 20s and 30s, are educated, working professionals with experience abroad who are now highly active and public organizers, authors, editors, designers, film directors, curators, activists and artists.

One catalyst was the Olympic Games in 2008, a landmark event that many in the LGBT community have interpreted as a “coming out” event. LGBT websites have allowed for communities to build, to advertise events, and to allow contact and information to be exchanged between LGBT members from big cities and small towns in China with those from around the world.

As one of the organizers of China’s first gay pride events and editor for shanghaiist.com, Kenneth Tan, puts it: “Gay people, young and old, are now coming out en masse. These people are all what I call ‘first generation queers’.”

Policies, too, have been slowly changing. At a national level, 1997 saw the removal of sodomy from the country’s list of crimes; homosexuality was removed from the list of mental disorders in 2001; and since 2003 prominent sexologist and activist, Li Yinhe, has been proposing same-sex marriage legislation at the annual Two Sessions.

In China, where LGBT-themed films are prohibited and gay-themed exhibitions, novels and magazines are taboo, the success of many of these events have been years in the making. Organizers have gotten creative: they arrange other activities; they hold their film festivals and art exhibitions just outside major cities; they keep publicity to a minimum.

So with all this happening, what does the future hold for China’s LGBT community? Li Yinhe has revealed plans to propose another same-sex marriage bill in 2010. And in a nation without ratings, perhaps introducing them to TV shows and films, will help lift the ban on gay and lesbian characters on screen. Perhaps China will witness the coming-out of its first celebrity.

Yet among all involved to promote awareness and to end discrimination, there seems to be a consensus: they have come a long way, but there is still a long way to go.

Look back China’s major LGBT events in 2009

Feb 14: Qianmen Valentine’s Day Photo Shoot, Beijing

May 17: Rainbow In Motion Bike Ride, Beijing

June 7-13: Pride, Shanghai

June 14-21: Difference Gender Art Exhibition, Beijing

June 17: Fourth Beijing International Queer Film Festival

June 28: PFLAG China’s 2nd anniversary, Guangzhou

July 27-Aug 2: The World Outgames, Copenhagen – Chinese delegation attended

August: Courage by Xiao Jie

August: iLOOK magazine’s “Happy Gay China” Issue

October-November : China Queer Film Talk Tour

Nov 20-22: 3rd Annual Lala Camp, Guilin, Guanxi
Read more about each event at Chinadaily

By Christine Laskowski (China Daily) As the year 2009 comes to a close, it does so having been a monumental year for China’s LGBT community. Beijing and numerous cities across China experienced the successful completion of 12 anniversaries and public events that expose LGBT culture and related issues like never before. China’s LGBT community, which [...]

1973 A Year of Change.

Dr. Jack Drescher explains how the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the category of “mental disorder”.

Watch HOMOSEXUAL MENTAL HEALTH HISTORY 1973: A Year of Change” in Educational |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

1973 A Year of Change. Dr. Jack Drescher explains how the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the category of “mental disorder”. Watch HOMOSEXUAL MENTAL HEALTH HISTORY 1973: A Year of Change” in Educational |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

In the 1990’s, teachers and community organizations determined that a month should be designated for GLBT history. They chose October because public schools are in session and traditions, such as National Coming Out Day, occur then.

GLBT History Month is endorsed by GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the National Education Association, and other national organizations. In 2006, Equality Forum assumed responsibility for GLBT History Month.

For more information, visit www.GLBTHistory.com

In the 1990’s, teachers and community organizations determined that a month should be designated for GLBT history. They chose October because public schools are in session and traditions, such as National Coming Out Day, occur then. GLBT History Month is endorsed by GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the [...]