How Music Gave Gay People a Voice

Originally published on www.sosogay.co.uk

We’ve heard a lot of talk through our lives about how people and certain aspects of culture have helped change perceptions of gay people. From films such as Cabaret and Brokeback Mountain to people like Antony Grey and Peter Tatchell, and of course there are the Stonewall riots.

But one thing that has been a constant throughout the fight for equality is the sound of music, and I don’t mean the Julie Andrews film. Music is a way of connecting people from a broad range of social backgrounds as it expresses pain, emotions, determination and everything else in between and has certainly given many gay men and women across the world a voice over the years. Not only that but many of the artists have helped give us representation in the public eye for quite some time now.

Before and up to the mid 1960s it would have been pretty hard to release a record such as Lady Gaga’s‘Born This Way.’ During this period, many gay men attached themselves to songs such as ‘Over the Rainbow’ and ‘The Man That Got Away’ by Judy Garland, who is often considered a gay icon due to her struggles, which many gay men identified with. But back in the 1960s there was a counterculture big enough to see the release of some records that are now seen as gay. The book From the Closet to the Charts: Queer Noises 1961 – 1978 documents this and discusses a number of records such as ‘The Shower Song (I’m So Wet)’ that would have apparently embarrassed the Village People, and even an openly gay record label called Camp, which saw the release of 10 singles and two albums.

Music itself hasn’t always been as ‘straight’ as many would think. Openly straight songs about men and women falling in love dominated the charts back then, but you have to remember that during 1960s America black people had their own separate music charts. The mainstream industry was very straight and white then; some people didn’t even like the birth of rock ‘n’ roll.

However, as music progressed into the 70s and 80s it got a little more ‘queer’. We saw the birth of disco and glam-rock; filled with sparkles, platform shoes, big hair and men in make-up, and we saw gay men hit the charts and gay songs do very very well.

One of the most well-known and arguably most pivotal moments of the 1970s was David Bowie’s ‘I’m Gay’ interview in Melody Maker, which finally saw music come out, so to speak. However, years later Bowie stated that there was a backlash in America, but there’s frequently some kind of resistance over there. You only have to look at the controversy Adam Lambert caused during the 2009 American Music Awards – where he kissed a man on stage, prompting ABC (the American television network that aired the awards) to receive over 1,500 complaints and cancel Lambert’s performance on Good Morning America – to see just how shocking something like this would have been in the 1970s. Still, we progressed and music helped in our fight. Hits like ‘Y.M.C.A’ proved popular across the world, despite the majority of the straight population not realising that the song was referencing the YMCA’s reputation as a gay hook-up and cruising spot. Similarly, Sylvester burst onto the scene with ‘You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)’. With a black, gay drag queen now lighting up the charts we can see just how far music had progressed, and the exposure Sylvester gained for gay people should never be overlooked.

It’s no doubt that Sylvester helped inspire a barrage of gender bending stars of the 1980s. As the MTV generation was born, singers like Boy George, Steve Strange, Pete Burns and in many ways Annie Lennox – whose androgyny blurred the lines of what it was to be male and female – burst into the mainstream with their highly popular music videos showcasing a new non-traditional image for all to see. The decade saw gay people get a huge voice through music as Frankie told everyone to relax and Bronski Beat let the small town boys know they knew exactly how they felt. The 1980s saw the thumping sounds of so called ‘gay music’ burst onto the scene and dominate the charts the world over; I can just imagine the faces of many a bigot flicking on their TV sets to see Divine singing ‘You Think You’re a Man.’

Despite the negativity of the AIDS crisis, gay men and women were still fighting hard throughout the 90s, but not without a little help from the power of song. As Melissa Etheridge came out and Brian Molko and Billie Joe Armstrong announced their bisexuality, the queen of pop Madonna was bringing ‘voguing’ into the mainstream straight out of the gay clubs of New York. Not only that but she also released the very provocative ‘Justify My Love’ video featuring gay men. Despite the fact it was banned on MTV it was still out there and managed to become a huge hit. But one of the most significant parts of the 1990s, in terms of LGBT visibility and music, came from the overly camp Eurovision. Out were the days of Cliff Richard and Sandy Shaw with their wholesome images and in was Dana International, the transsexual Israeli pop singer and winner of the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest. By now we had moved a long way in terms of freedom and rights and music had progressed and indeed helped with it, but this was only the beginning.

As we swung into the 2000s gay people were out and proud; gone was section 28, in America Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was finally repealed in September 2011 and gay marriage has been a hot topic around the world for many years. In terms of music, we saw t.A.T.u hit number one on the charts, despite using lesbianism as an obvious marketing ploy, and Madonna kiss Britney Spears at the 2003 VMA Awards, in one of the most memorable moments in music history. By now it wasn’t just gay men making a splash, lesbians were also edging into the mainstream despite only having a few moments previously in terms of music. With acts like Will Young selling millions of records, and gay men and women popping up in the finals of massively successful programmes like The X Factor, it became apparent that gay musicians were now firmly a fixture on the charts.

We also witnessed many anthemic songs appear in the last 10 years – ‘Beautiful’, ‘Firework’, ‘Standing in the Way of Control’, ‘Born This Way’ – and gay men and women were being featured in music videos more frequently too (just watch Kylie Minogue’s ‘All The Lovers’ below). It’s clear to see just how music has helped shape the way gay men and women are viewed, not to mention giving them a platform on which to be noticed.

From the days of being closeted and listening to Judy whilst a sub-culture was being born, to the openly gay pop stars and songs telling us to embrace ourselves and love who we are, we’ve come a long way in our fight for equality and music has undoubtedly played a prominent part in that.

The Pink Pound and the Music Industry

Originally published on www.vadamagazine.com

In today’s music industry many artists dominating the charts take time out to lend their voice to good causes. They may relate to problems such as world famine, body issues, war and lately even gay rights. This may seem like something truly commendable as famous individuals lend their name (and hundreds of thousands of twitter followers) to a cause in order to give it a greater voice. However, in relation to gay rights just how much of this advocacy is truly on behalf of those suffering and how much is for personal gain?

This may sound a little cynical to some who believe these stars are truly helping gay men and women across the world become more accepted, which to extent they are. However, whilst having a big name star promoting a cause is a guaranteed way to make a mark for it, for the star it is also a way of gaining yourself a loyal fan base that will stick by you. The audience think you ‘get them’. The cynicism enters when thinking about gay men and women as the power of the pink pound and its appeal to PR executives everywhere is remarkable. Leading mostly metropolitan lives and statistically freer from the financial black-hole of childrearing, our demographic are often thought to have more disposable income. For many this is mostly true.

When you think about gay rights advocacy and celebrities today, one of the biggest stars that come to the forefront of most people’s minds is Lady Gaga. Now I am by no means accusing her of not believing in equality for everyone, in fact she has done quite a lot over the last few years to help LGBT advancement, but you cannot help but feel there is a slight marketing push behind it.

After watching her concert on DVD you are left with the feeling that the chanting about gay rights is a little too much overkill. Sometimes it feels as though she is trying too hard to ensure that those in the audience who are gay know that she loves them. Also when you listen to her album Born This Way, the running theme of gay rights throughout it is incredibly obvious, so much so that it starts to annoy you. It has to be said that the title song of the album was a brilliant way to gain exposure across the world for gay rights (I know it advocated rights and equality for everyone but the message for the LGBT community was much stronger), but also a great way to guarantee gay men and women would buy the single and the album and that it would be played as a gay anthem for years to come.

Now I do not want this to sound like I am ripping into Lady Gaga, after all she wouldn’t be the first star to have a large gay following, although she seems to be one of the first to specifically target them. That said her predecessor Madonna did this but in a much subtler way.

‘Vogue’ was a massive hit worldwide back in 1990 and it is well known now that voguing was very popular on the New York gay scene. Madonna helped bring this facet of gay subculture into the mainstream. However, back then it would have been much harder to publicly back LGBT people through song in the way Gaga has today due to widespread homophobia, the legacy of the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 80s and the fact that as a community, equality was still a long way away in many more countries than it is today.

So when you look at it that way pandering to a gay audience has been going on for some time, whether it has been obvious or not. Rewind to the 50s and 60s when the biggest gay icon of them all Judy Garland was selling out concerts all across the world that were known to be frequented quite prominently by gay men. However, back then there was no marketing or pandering to gays and as Judy quipped when asked about her gay following, “I couldn’t care less. I sing to people.“ I’m quite sure that if being gay wasn’t the crime it was back then, some marketing savvy individual would have had her shouting out for gay rights across the globe.

So maybe it’s not the stars, maybe it is the marketing companies and their strategic soapboxing of stars that grinds my gears. By advocating a certain fight for equality they tap into a lucrative market in an attempt to exploit it for all they can. After all, stars such as Madonna and Lady Gaga just want to sing, entertain, love their fans (so they say) and be appreciated. As most people know, companies involved in marketing, advertising and PR are out for one thing and one thing only: Money.

So yes maybe stars are pandering to the capital of the pink pound, but is it because the teams behind them are exploiting them, and in turn exploit the pockets of fans across the world? I’ll let you think about that one.

The Hypocrisy of Pornography

Originally Posted on www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

For a long time now I've been thinking about the porn debate that I constantly see in the news. Whenever the debate about the negative aspects of porn rears its ugly head the public is always told about the negative effects it can have on women, such as the way it can squash the reality of feminine beauty or portray women as objects designed for one thing. On the other hand we are also told about the negative effects it can have on straight men, such as a rewiring of the brain or contributing to psychological problems.

Anti-porn activist Gail Dines has even discussed how pornography tells a false story about men and women, which ultimately lies about what it means to be male and female.

Now everyone has their own stance on pornography and with access to the Internet and cable channels, whether we like it or not porn looks as though it is here to stay for quite some time.

The reason why it has crept back into the foreground of my mind is due to a little programme on BBC Three called Unsafe Sex in the City. The programme, which is a new take on the fly on the wall documentary series that we've all become accustomed to over the last decade or two, is based in a sexual health clinic in Manchester where we are able to hear and sometimes see what many people have been up to on a night out, and believe me sometimes it isn't pleasant.

During the second episode of the show two young gay men were featured, who as well as having vey active sex lives, worked as porn stars. This got me thinking about the hypocrisy of the porn industry, especially in the world of gay porn.

As the two young men were to feature in a bareback porn movie (bareback being the act of having sex without a condom), they were sent to have full sexual health screenings. Now as many will know porn stars have to be sent for sexual health tests regularly to ensure that a breakout of something doesn't occur, and the man shooting the film explained this during the programme.

However the main reason they appeared to be getting tested was due to the nature of the film they were to shoot, which is where we get into the hypocrisy of it all. As they were to be filming a porno movie where no protection was being used then surely this is the promotion of unsafe sex?

Since the outbreak of HIV during the 1980s the general public, especially the gay community, have been made aware that unprotected sex could lead to the contraction of the HIV virus. As gay men are seemingly at a higher risk, then surely shooting a film featuring two young and vulnerable looking gay men without protection can't be doing anyone any good.

I may be wrong but in the same way it is perceived that women may think they have to act and perform a certain way during sex because of porn, then surely the same principal can be applied to naïve or impressionable gay men, which in this case could prove dangerous. Along with this the constant normalising and sometimes glamorising of unprotected sex may also be undoing much of the good work by various charities; who are trying to get people to wrap it up and prevent the spreading of this virus.

But It looks as though whilst the porn industry is acting as though they care by sending their stars for check ups they are merely doing it to cover their own backs in case anything happens to one of their performers. But when it comes to the everyday person in the street who goes out on a weekend looking for a good time, it appears they don't actually care that much as they continue to turn out pornography such as this to the masses.

Giving Thanks: Russell T. Davis

Originally posted on www.biggaypictureshow.com

When we see gay people appear on our television screens many of us may feel a sense of pride or achievement just because we are being represented on television. In all fairness this sense of pride or achievement may not be as strong as it was 10 or 15 years ago, as we now see gay people in all walks of life and we are no longer considered a taboo in the British media, or by a vast number of those in society.

But what we have to ask ourselves is how did this happen? Yes there have been people campaigning for years to allow gay people to have the same rights as straight people, and they fought the battles in courts and in parliament and helped us achieve equality in the workplace, schools and many other areas of our lives where we were once discriminated.

But the mass media, television, film, music also had a significant impact as many believe what they see on TV, and come to find what they are shown to be the norm. So how did we get to have gay characters spring up in film and television? Well that credit has to be given to those behind the scenes.

Over the last few decades countless writers and producers have helped gay men and women make their way onto our screens, and in Britain one of the most well known to do this is Russell .T Davies.

We all know Russell for his revival of the hit Sci-Fi programme Doctor Who and its subsequent spin off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, and even with these shows he’s managed to incorporate LGBT characters in the shape of Captain Jack Harkness the well known bisexual who is played by openly gay actor John Barrowman.

But obviously this probably wouldn’t have been possible if it hadn’t been for his breakout television show Queer as Folk, which centred on gay men living in Manchester. The show broke boundaries and helped gay men get the representation on television that was needed.

However his contributions to the LGBT community on television didn’t just start on Queer as Folk. Whilst working on children’s television show Children’s Ward he wrote a script that challenged the assumption that only gay people could contract HIV, when he featured a teenage boy who had been infected with the virus due to a blood transfusion. And he even incorporated gay characters in other programmes he worked on, such as a lesbian vicar in the late night soap Revelations.

So whilst we are sat watching television and see these gay characters walking around on our television sets, just take a moment to think about the great people working behind the scenes who have helped push us into the mainstream media and into most people’s viewing schedules.

Why Are There So Few Documentaries About The AIDS Crisis In Britain?

Originally posted on www.biggaypictureshow.com

The HIV/AIDS crisis is something that everyone from all different walks of life has heard of. From television, book and films to magazine articles, everyone has a pretty good understanding of what happened during the 1980s.

For gay people especially, the crisis itself is now deeply rooted into our consciousness, whether we were there during the 80s or not. We’ve heard about the people who died, those who fought for funding to try and find a cure and/or proper treatment, and everyone else in between who struggled long and hard to help people who have been diagnosed with the virus, as well as the families of the people who lost their lives due to it.

It’s even deeply rooted into our minds when it comes to sex, as we all now know the importance of safe sex and what it could mean if that one time we weren’t safe, we became unlucky.

But for us Brits a lot of the information we get is from our American counterparts and about what happened over there during the 1980s. For example, in 2011 the documentary We Were Here looked at the AIDS crisis in San Francisco and interviewed a number of people who were there and experienced what happened.

By doing so it became the first documentary to take a deep look at what happened and the impact it had on the people living in San Francisco and how they responded to it. Today How To Survive A Plague opens in select US theatres, which looks at the crisis and the early days of the activist groups ACT UP (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power) and TAG (Treatment Action Group). Those two looks at AIDS in America join the likes of the Oscar winning Common Threads: Stories From The Quilt.

However there has never been a decent-scale, feature documentary (that I know of, at least) that has taken a deep look at the crisis when it hit the UK. After all, HIV/AIDS has significantly impacted on a number of people over here and it has continued to do so since the 1980s.

We’ve all seen and heard about the safe sex advertising campaigns complete with icebergs, headstones and a deeply eerie narration from John Hurt, so we know it was just as bad over here. But do we know anything further than this campaign?

AIDS is still a problem now, with HIV infection rates remaining quite high and rising over recent years. It is definitely still an issue and we need to see and hear more about what actually happened to people living in the UK who were affected by HIV/AIDS during the early days of the disease, whether it was their friends, family or themselves that were affected by it, and whether it was slightly different or worse here than what people felt in other areas of the world. It is slightly ridiculous that for many British people, their knowledge of the AIDS crisis in the US is far greater than on what happened in the UK. Documentaries like these aren’t just about remembering our history, but also potent reminders of a disease that may not be the absolute killer it once was, but which we still need to be vigilant about.

Considering the success of the film We Were Here and the positive reaction it received, it would be interesting and helpful to see the effect a UK version had, told from a viewpoint that’s different from what we’ve already heard from over the pond.

Issues with pornography aren’t so straight

There has been a constant debate surrounding the issue of pornography over the last few years that has looked at the issue surrounding men and women, and in particular problems such as; women becoming objectified by men, how porn can squash the beauty of a real woman to man, how it’s both sexist and degrading towards women and how porn appears to eroticise rape, which can have a universally detrimental affect on men and more dangerously women.

This issue has been highlighted on multiple occasions and has primarily focused upon the issues surrounding the way men view pornography, and as for quite a few men it is their first introduction into the world of sexual activity, and how it can ultimately affect their view of a woman and create damaging affects for relationships later in life.

Within this issue surrounding pornography there appears to be something that has been overlooked. In the mainstream press, where this topic is covered quite a lot, the key debates surround how heterosexual men consume porn and ultimately treat woman, and how this can be dangerous for the women in question. What is majorly overlooked is the detrimental affect that pornography can have on gay men, because like their straight counterparts gay men consume pornography just as much and for many is their first foray into sexual activity, and for many it can be viewed as their first form of sexual education.

With no system of teaching young gay men about sex or how to have safe gay sex within schools, many young gay men will first be introduced to it through the use of pornography. Even though there are outlets and charities around for boys dealing with their sexuality there is still a pressure of coming out at a young age, and bullying still occurs on a regular basis making it harder for them to approach these outlets. This therefore makes the use of a bedroom laptop with its one click highway to the world of pornography one of the only ways they can learn about such things.

And this can most definitely have an extreme detrimental affect on young gay men.

Firstly there are the major problems it can cause for their self-esteem as young men strive to look like the ripped six-pack wielding stars of these porno films. This issue isn’t just exclusive to the gay community, it can affect straight men and women, as young people struggle to realise that the images portrayed are not that of regular body type. But with 48% of gay men saying they would sacrifice a year or more of their lives in exchange for the perfect body, in a study commissioned by the Central YMCA, the Succeed Foundation and the University of the West of England’s (UWE) Centre for Appearance Research, it is apparent that constant exposure to the perceived ‘ideal’ is having a negative effect on these young men.

But the issues don’t appear to stop there for gay men, with it already appearing to be one of the factors to enforcing negative body image it can also have a harmful effect on day to day lives and self esteem. In gay porn men are frequently seen hooking up at the gym, in a park, in a classroom or from just bumping into someone walking down the street, which can leave a long and impressionable effect on gay men. From seeing this they can assume that gay men hook up everywhere, so the next time they are propositioned they may assume this is the only way to attain sex and continue. You only have to look at the way that social media and smartphone apps are increasing the promiscuity of young gay men. It is seen as the norm now to flick onto Grindr and sleep with the next man within a 30ft radius, or advertise yourself as looking for a casual hook up on Gaydar. This overly sexualised culture can be seen as an offshoot of pornography, where after indulging in it for so long the next step is clearly to use your internet not just for some solo fun but to find the nearest person willing to sleep with you.

This effect to ones self esteem can’t be good as eventually they turn into a real life sex toy for whoever wants them. This is what they see in porn, so why shouldn’t they indulge in it?

This however leads on to the more serious and ultimately most damaging affect of gay pornography on young men. Barebacking, the act of having sex without the use of a condom, is appearing to become ever more popular, you only have to look on websites such as Gaydar to discover how many men are actually looking for it. It doesn’t help that the sales of barebacking porn is completely outselling every other form of gay porn around. This is ultimately self destructive, as a casual barebacking encounter could result in the HIV virus.

HIV rates are on the rise, with new diagnoses in the men who have sex with men group increasing by 70% in the last decade, with more than 30,000 men who have sex with men living with the virus, with an estimated third of these not being aware of it.

With barebacking pornography showing young gay men that this is ok, how long is it until they too have been infected with the disease?

The issue of pornography has been tackled greatly over recent years, but needs to be approached on many more fronts and looked at in all communities. It’s all good warning men of the dangers and saving women from potential risks. But something needs to be done to help save young gay men from themselves and a possible life long illness.

Icons: Rock Hudson

Originally posted on www.differentscene.co.uk

This week we are looking at Rock Hudson, another true gay icon, and although he may just seem like another star of the Hollywood golden age, he truly did have a huge impact on gay life, as we know it now.

With a career that spanned over four decades Hudson truly was one of the greatest stars that ever lived, he appeared in over 70 films and made appearances on numerous television shows. He is probably most well known for a number of romantic comedies he made during the 50s and 60s with Hollywood sweetheart Doris Day.

As the years have gone by many things have been written about Hudson that have concentrated on his personal life. The man was a closeted homosexual during a time when homosexuality was still illegal throughout the world and considered to be a mental disability. But where as he may have seemed closeted to the outside world, due to the media not publicising it during the height of his fame, even though they tried, Hudson was in fact very comfortable with who he was and it was apparently known throughout the inner workings of Hollywood that he was in fact gay.

The only problem today is people only tend to remember him because of this, but the fact of the matter is he really was a great actor, I mean he was a gay man pretending to be straight and in a number of his films he was a gay man playing a straight actor who would then play gay to get a woman in a film, sounds confusing right? Well imagine how difficult it was for him. He also had three Golden Globes under his belt along with numerous other acting awards and even has a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. These achievements however seem to be overlooked due to what happened at the end of his life.

In July 1985 after appearing to be extremely unwell after an appearance on a show hosted by Doris Day the media exploded with rumours about what was wrong with Hudson. He had in fact been diagnosed with the HIV virus back in 1984 and had been telling people he had incurable liver cancer, no doubt he lied due to the scrutiny that still surrounded homosexuals and the HIV virus. However after the appearance with Doris Day and after receiving treatment in Paris it was announced to the public that Hudson was dying of AIDS.

This shocking and saddening announcement made Hudson the first high profile person known to be suffering from the virus and helped to bring it to a much higher platform in order for it to be tackled. Comedienne Joan Rivers said about it 1985, “Two years ago, when I hosted a benefit for AIDS, I couldn’t get one major star to turn out. … Rock’s admission is a horrendous way to bring AIDS to the attention of the American public, but by doing so, Rock, in his life, has helped millions in the process. What Rock has done takes true courage.”

She was right it took a lot of courage for Hudson to announce that he was dying of this horrific illness and because of that he opened doors for people to research the disease in order to help the millions who have suffered and are suffering from it now. Thanks to Rock Hudson there is hope for people suffering from HIV and AIDS and hopefully one day there will be a cure, and that is why he is a true Gay Icon.

Bleed Me Dry

Originally posted on www.gailymail.co.uk

Apparently many things are changing for people within the gay community, and the biggest change recently is the lifting of the gay blood ban. For years gay men have been unable to donate blood because of the mass fear that that has existed around the gay community’s blood since the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s.

Now however, if you aren’t infected by HIV or have AIDS, you are now able to donate blood. However there are a few rules that still apply, the main one being that you can only donate blood if you haven’t had sex in the last 12 months.

Now I’m sorry but if that is considered a lifting of the ban then everyone must be completely blind, because as far as I am concerned we are still being discriminated against and the fear that we are infected by HIV is still around. The fact of the matter is a huge number of gay men are still unable to give blood because they have had sex and lets be honest not many people go a whole 12 months without sex, but if you are safe and use condoms and have been checked and are showing up as being HIV negative then why do you need to wait 12 months? It’s ridiculous.

I myself, am in a relationship and I know that neither my partner nor myself has HIV as we have both been checked, but we are still unable to donate blood because of the fact we have sex, which is absolutely absurd. Two gay men in a stable monogamous relationship, where neither of them have HIV are unable to donate blood, however single heterosexual men and women are allowed to donate blood, even thought hey may be engaging in promiscuous sex on a regular basis.

These people are at a pretty high risk of contracting the disease themselves, so why don’t they need to have a 12-month ban?

I know that there are men out there who identify as straight but have had sex with men, now if this straight man has contracted HIV and then goes and sleeps with a woman, he could easily pass this on to her without her knowledge, and she could go on to donate blood before it shows up in her system. But because she is straight she is allowed to donate blood even though she may have contracted the virus.

Now I know there is a remote chance of this happening, but there is zero per cent chance that my partner or me have HIV, yet we can’t donate blood.

Yes it may appear to be an achievement to people out there who have no idea about the rules that are still in place, but it looks like there is still a huge fear surrounding the gay community and the HIV virus and it looks like we still have a way to go before people accept the fact that we aren’t riddled with disease.

The Culture of Pride ...

Originally posted on www.gailymail.co.uk

So pride season was just upon us with every gay from every corner of Great Britain coming out to show that there’s no shame in being gay. Pride is an important day for anyone from the LGBT community as it reminds us just how far our community has come in the last 40 years, and reminds us of events such as the Stonewall riots and those people who started the fight for equality and helped make the world a better place for us today.

I have attended a few prides over the last few years like many other people from around the country and the world, and last week I was lucky enough to attend the pride festivities in Manchester for their 21st birthday.

What pride shows me is that no matter what through the wind, rain and what ever other type of weather Britain throws at us the gay community is still prepared to get together and celebrate the fact that society is now a much safer and all round better place for us. Over the few days or in some cases weeks in which pride is celebrated every year you see people from all walks of life come together and act as one. It doesn’t matter whether you’re male, female, gay, straight, bisexual or transgendered as everyone unites and shows just how comfortable they are with their sexuality and, we mustn’t forget, have a few drinks like you would at any other celebration.

Pride isn’t just for the gays either these days, as more and more families and our supporters come together and show their solidarity to help fight for what is right, and in the process have a good time.

The pride that we know and love today started not long after the Stonewall riots, which changed everything for the gay community as it showed others that we were here and we were going to fight for our rights. In June 1970 the first Pride march was held in New York and became the first of an extended annual LGBT pride celebration. Since then Pride has continued to grow and there are pride marches and parades all over the world. The first Pride in the UK was in 1972 in London and that has continued to grow and grow over the last 40 years, and has also spawned prides all over Great Britain.

Some people today seem to think that pride isn’t as important as it once was, and have a perception that that the fight has been won and everything is OK. But the truth of the matter is, that isn’t the case. Every year we hear about children being bullied at school because they are gay or because they have been perceived to be gay, and there have been a number of high profile cases where young people have taken their own lives because of this. There is still a negative attitude from a number of people in today’s society who still seem to think that being gay is a lifestyle choice and that we don’t deserve the same rights as they do. Well we do, and pride is a time for people to get together and continue to help fight against this negativity that in some quarters is sill prevalent.

Whilst at Manchester Pride I also learnt that they had raised over £800,000 over the last few years to help charities based within the gay community, such as those dealing with HIV, which itself is reason enough for pride to carry on and help the community.

Pride is a hugely important piece of our history and by maintaining its presence over the years has aided not only the people that these charities have helped, but also many people from around the world who may have felt alone yet have come to realise that there are people just like them everywhere. It also helps to give a sense of belonging and togetherness to our community, because for years we were considered unequal and were used as scapegoats for society’s malaise, so with the help of gay pride and the constant campaigning that surrounds the celebrations, we as a community have helped empower ourselves the world over.

Pride season may be over for now and the rainbow flags and whistles have probably been confined to the drawer for another year, but just remember next year to go along to pride and show support for your community and everyone who has helped get us to this stage. You don’t have to wear pink feather boas and rainbow flags to show your support … but it’s all part of the fun.

Icons: Elizabeth Taylor

Originally posted on www.differentscene.co.uk

Last week we looked Judy Garland, often considered a great gay icon because of her troubled personal life. This week I’m looking at Elizabeth Taylor, but not for her highly publicised personal life.

Miss Taylor is definitely an icon of the golden age of Hollywood, that is undisputable, but it’s because of her extensive charity work and campaigning for funding for HIV and AIDS related charities and projects that give her a place as a gay icon.

Yes, she was a huge film star, starting as child actress she went on to become the highest paid actress in Hollywood in the early 1960’s when she received and unprecedented $1 million fee for her role in Cleopatra, she was also a two time Academy Award winning actress and received numerous other awards and success throughout her 60 year career. Her personal life was highly documented due to her love of wedding rings, she was married eight times and two of those were to Richard Burton.

Yes, Liz Taylor lived an exceptional life, but it was during the AIDS epidemic of the 1980’s where she gained her prominence as an advocate for the gay community and truly became a gay icon.

Spurred on by the death of her good friend and fellow actor Rock Hudson who eventually died of the disease, Taylor became one of the first notable celebrities to help raise money to help fight the disease, back in a time when a number of people still refused to acknowledge it at all. During her time as an advocate for helping to fight the illness Taylor helped raise over $270 million for HIV and AIDS related charities and projects, and set up and organised the first AIDS fundraiser back in 1984, a brave thing for someone to do back then.

In 1985 during the year that Rock Hudson lost his life to the disease, Taylor helped co-found the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and also founded the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation (ETAF) in 1993.

Taylor was a great in woman, and by standing up for something she truly believed in back when it was still a hugely taboo subject shows that she truly embodies every notion of the word icon.

Sadly Taylor passed away in March of this year leaving behind a huge gap, as there will never be another like here.

As former president Bill Clinton said following her death, “Elizabeth’s legacy will live on in many people around the world whose lives will be longer and better because of her work and the ongoing efforts of those she inspired.”

We Remember – Rick and Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in the World

Originally posted on www.differentscene.co.uk

This week we are remembering the hilarious lego-esque capers of Rick and Steve the happiest gay couple in the world, as they deal with the issues of everyday life in the fictional gay ghetto of West Lahunga Beach.

The programme is in the vein of other American adult orientated cartoons such as Family Guy and South Park with its politically incorrect humour and shockingly hilarious scenes that would only be possible in a show like this.

The show focuses on the couple Rick and Steve who as the title suggests are the happiest gay couple in the world, however the title is laced with irony, as they deal with typical spats that all couples experience and the issue of Steve actively seeking a threesome with his boyfriend Rick, that ends with some hilarious circumstances.

The show typically focuses on three couples, the first being Rick and Steve and the other two being the lesbian couple Dana (the man hating butch lesbian stereotype) and Kirsten (a typical lipstick lesbian), who deal with the issues of getting pregnant with Rick’s sperm and having a baby. Just be aware having a baby isn’t as straight forward when a lego lesbian gets pregnant.

The last couple are the HIV positive and paraplegic Chuck and the drug taking scene queen Evan, who struggle with their relationship due to the 31-year age gap between them. I told you it wasn’t very politically correct.

As a whole the programme is hilarious, shocking, laugh out loud, at times a little disgusting and cringe worthy in parts when you realise what’s about to happen. But as it is a cartoon you can sit back and relax with the satisfaction that this wouldn’t happen in real life … well at least you hope it wouldn’t.

The show ran from 2007-2009 and there are currently no plans for a third series, which is a shame as a gay equivalent to the Seth MacFarlane franchise would have been nice. But then again Family Guy was cancelled and brought back so there is hope.