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Day: March 7, 2016

PREVIEW: Japanese gay art comes to London

Posted on by Contributor

For the first time in London, JapaneseGayArt.com will present a vivid exploration of erotic fetishism from the masters of Japanese gay art.

Japanese Gay Art

www.JapaneseGayArt.com has selected works by the crème–de-la-crème of the Japanese gay art scene to give London a rare glimpse into the lives and fantasies of gay men in Japan. From the fun and cute to the downright disturbing, each of the works presented gives a unique perspective to this largely unknown world.

Connoisseurs of Japanese gay art will be treated to works never seen before by masters such as Gengoroh Tagame, Jiraiya and Hideki Koh as well as images from such up and coming new artists as Naomichi Okutsu and many others created specifically for this exhibition.

This exhibition will showcase the very best of Japanese gay art today including works by  including Jiraiya, Gengoroh Tagame, Hideki Koh and Naomichi Okutsu.

Event: Japan Now 2016 – Japanese Gay Art

Where: Espacio Gallery 159 Bethnal Green Road, London E2 7DG

When: Tuesday, June 7 – Sun 12th June 12, 2016

Time: Tuesday-Saturday 1-7pm, Sunday 1-5pm

For more information, click here: 

BAFTA winning writer Sally Wainwright to help launch Happy Valley Pride

Posted on by Gary Hart

A new not-for-profit organisation called Happy Valley Pride has been formed to promote and celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) life in Calderdale, West Yorkshire.

Happy Valley PrideHappy Valley Pride is the brainchild of local residents Mike Stephens, David Kennedy, John Spencer and Darren Spruce, who were shocked and outraged by a piece of a homophobic graffiti they saw in Hebden Bridge in the summer of 2015, and decided something needed to be done.

To mark the launch of the organisation, they are transforming the graffiti into a piece of interactive artwork that will go on display for the local community to make their own positive contributions to, on a special evening in Hebden Bridge in March.

Chairman Mike Stephens, says: “The world has come on leaps and bounds with regards to LGBTQ equality and discrimination, but we’re still not quite there yet. It’s important for us, as with any community, that we celebrate diversity and tackle hate with love, and we hope local residents will join us to celebrate the beginning of our exciting journey at our launch fundraiser.”

The Mayor of Hebden Royd Town Council, Cllr James Fearon, and special guest Sally Wainwright – writer, creator and executive producer of Last Tango in Halifax and writer, creator, executive producer and director of Happy Valley – will be officially cutting the ribbon at the event. Sally Wainwright will also be leading a Q&A session, focusing on LGBTQ characters in her dramas.

Stephens continued: “We are thrilled that Sally is joining us to launch our organisation. We are all huge fans of her work and she is so loved within the local community.”

The event will take place on Saturday March 19, 2016 at Machpelah Mill, Hebden Bridge, from 7:30pm.

Entry is free but donations are welcome.

For more information and updates, click here: 

Happy Valley Pride

 

Tickets go on sale for Portsmouth Pride

Posted on by Graham Robson

Tickets have gone on sale for Portsmouth Pride which returns to Southsea Common for the second year running on Saturday, June 18, 2016.

Portsmouth Pride

Organisers are promising after a Parade through the city centre, a fun-filled day on Southsea Common packed with live music, entertainment, rides, stalls and bars.

A public meeting, attended by over 20 local organisations on March 2, heard that attractions for the day will include a main stage; an acoustic stage featuring local talent; a cabaret and disco tent; fair rides; bars; community and retail stalls.

Pride day will begin with a free Walk With Pride parade which will leave Guildhall Square at noon. The colourful parade will finish on Southsea Common, where Portsmouth Pride will begin at 1pm

Early Bird tickets for Pride on Southsea Common are now on sale at £5. When those have sold out the regular ticket price will be £8. Prices for 5-15 year olds is £4, while children under 5 years old are free but a ticket is still required to gain entry.

To book tickets online, click here:

For more information about Portsmouth Pride, click here:

Or check out Facebook pages for Portsmouth Pride

Most LGBT travellers steer clear of destinations where being gay is illegal

Posted on by Gary Hart

A new survey by LGBT friendly travel service OutOfOffice.com and Attitude Magazine reveals that 61% of LGBT people would not travel to a destination where homosexuality is illegal.

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Photo: Braden Summers

The online survey, however finds that 60% of travellers do not want to be restricted to LGBT friendly destinations only, rather wanting freedom to travel to any destination.

 

Former ITV News journalist and founder of OutOfOffice.com Darren Burn, said: “It’s clear that there is still a lot of trepidation when it comes to choosing where to travel as an LGBT individual. Whilst there are parts of the world where it’s dangerous to be LGBT, there are also parts of the world that outlaw homosexuality but that with the proper advice it is still safe to travel to such as India and the Maldives.”

“The law is developing all the time and it’s important that LGBT travellers seek expert advice before travelling to certain destinations,” said Burn. “I set up OutOfOffice.com in order to help provide up-to-date information and to build complex itineraries for the LGBT community. We’re always happy to offer advice free of charge too for anyone who has concerns.”

Homosexuality is illegal in over 70 countries worldwide and many countries still do not have equal employment, marriage or adoption rights.

OutOfOffice.com has partnered with Equaldex to provide the most up-to-date information anywhere on-line about the existing laws relating to LGBT rights in any country. Each page of the site offers advice and relevant information regarding the law.

Other findings from the survey included:

♦   52% of respondents travelled in a couple whilst 21% travelled solo
♦   64% of those surveyed said that they would take up to 2 holidays in Europe of a week or more in the next year whilst 56% said they would do the same worldwide
♦   Paris was the most popular city people expected to visit in the next 12 months, with Barcelona and Amsterdam next on the list
♦   Internationally, New York was the most visited destination with Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami and Thailand next
♦   The majority of respondents (82%) opt for a beach holiday or one which involves culture, history and heritage with 58% saying they enjoy nightlife and clubbing
♦   43% of respondents book a holiday between three to six months in advance with 26% arranging their trip over six months ahead of travelling

Pink Triangle Trust secretary acknowledged by Ugandan Humanists

Posted on by Gary Hart

The Pink Humanist

The Spring 2016 issue of The Pink Humanist is now ready to download online.

The new issue reveals that a classroom in Uganda has been named after Pink Triangle Trust (PTT) secretary George Broadhead and his spouse Roy Saich by a Ugandan Humanist organisation, Humanist Empowerment of Livelihoods in Uganda (HELU).

The PTT chose to help HELU rather than contribute, as it has in the past, to LGBT History Month in protest against History Month’s theme for 2016: religion.

The issue also carries a piece by veteran human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, explaining why he believes that Ashers, a Christian bakery in Belfast, were wrongly prosecuted for refusing to create a cake bearing the slogan support gay marriage.

In an amusing piece entitled Unfit to stand trial, Scottish author Jack Hastie creates a scenario in which the Almighty is brought to trial for a variety of crimes against humanity; and there is an in-depth examination of the current state of LGBT rights in India.

There is also a feature article about US psychiatrist Robert Spitzer, who, despite his wholehearted support for LGBT communities, inadvertently became the “darling of the gay cure brigade” as a result of a fatally flawed reparative therapy study.

The issue includes a review of National Secular Society President Terry Sanderson’s The Adventures of a Happy Homosexual; and The Pink Humanist editor Barry Duke encourages readers to help gay charities in the US by  buying a newly re-released edition of the book Harold and Maude written by the late Colin Higgins.

In a separate article, Duke expresses his anger over the fact that the BBC, in profiling celebrated gay American writer James Baldwin, chose to gloss over the fact that he had ditched an evangelical upbringing and became highly critical of Christianity.

Current, as well as past issues of the magazine can be downloaded in pdf format from The Pink Humanist website.

To download the magazine as a pdf document, go to Archived Issues then Back Issues and place the cursor on any cover. In the top left corner of the cover you will see “click here to download pdf”.

The Pink Humanist is an online magazine published by the UK LGBT charity the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT). It features topics of special interest to those who identify as atheists, freethinkers, humanists, secularists and sceptics in the LGTB communities and those who support them.

The magazine’s editor is Barry Duke who has also edited The UK Freethinker (the Voice of Atheism since 1881) for the past 18 years.

To download a pdf of the Spring issue of the Pink Humanist, click here:

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