Wildewire

The number of people becoming infected with the AIDS virus in USA was about 50,000 a year between 2006 and 2009, according to data compiled by government epidemiologists. This apparent statistical 'plateau' is apparently hiding the disturbing fac that there was been a rise of 12% per year of cases among black gay men- from 4,400 in 2006 - 6,500 in 2009. Moreover; this was the only group of gay men where a significant increase of cases was recorded.   I read an article that suggested research has shown that young gay black males don't engage in riskier sex than their white counterparts, but that fewer of them know they're infected in the first place so they're spreading the virus more widely. This level of ignorance is sad and dangerous. A 20 something told me last in Newcastle year that as long as he didn't "shag" anyone over 30 (I WASN'T offering btw!) he would be safe from HIV!!!!!!!! I remember my own invincible youth, when a visit the the c...

I met with a friend on Saturday afternoon in a pub in the Toon -after he sent a text telling me he was where we had agreed to meet! -Not working is messing with my head it weird ways.-Not to mention the fact that I rarely go out drinking and was still a bit dazed from Friday night, I had to jump into a taxi and got there 25 minutes late. Luckily; my friend is usually the late ones for these rendez-vous, so he let me off. My friend has been instrumental in the continued success of the annual "Pride" event that takes place in Newcastle. I'd go as far as to say that were it not for him, the last three events would have been complete disasters. I've been critical of the organising group for being effectively closed to anyone who wasn't used to the unnecessarily bureacratic way they did things- it was also of note that most of the committee were former students who knew each other socially- but who didn't really use 'The Scene'. -I've spent lots of my...

A lot of the reason I research what's happening for LGBT people around the world is because of my dissatisfaction with 'The Gay Scene' where I live in North East England. "Yes" this region is at the bottom of several of the lists categorising English Regions- population, employment, productivity etc but there is little real poverty here it exists for some but,  certainly compared to many other countries it is hard to compare. There is less money here, but it costs less to live here than in other regions so there is a definite feeling that its all relative. -for example:The house in which I live cost me at least £210,000 less than a similar propery would have done in London . Newcastle upon Tyne is the "regional capital" so unsurprisingly, it has more gay bars and clubs than any other city in the region (it has more of everything else too). Despite its 'regional capital' status, only about 250,000 people live here- under £3m in the whole region....

Next month, my 13 year old Godson and his dad will arrive to stay with me. My Godson is to stay here whilst his dad moves to Switzerland. The details are complicated and not for public consumption. I've wanted to parent for a long time, I did foster a 16 year old from an organisation called "The Albert Kennedy Trust" with a partner a long time ago and I think I am good at it. One of the reasons I've not pursued this since is that I thought it would be better to attempt to parent with a partner. Nevertheless, I hit 50 this year and thought: I have a large-enough house, am economically 'settled' etc- do I really need to have a partner to foster? Then, my friend contacted me with the proposal that my Godson comes to stay with me- at least during school terms and it seemed appropriate so I accepted. Every couple of hours of every day as their arrival approaches, I'm hit by another image of what could go wrong- that's not me getting "cold feet...

The fact that John Ssewagudde was convicted of raping a WOMAN in Glasgow should be a bit of a clue. Of course; it is not impossible for gay men to rape women, just highly unlikely. This pond scum is clearly grabbing at any available straw to save his ass and knows that the headlines generated in Uganda will raise public opinion in protections of Gay people. But he RAPED someone! We simply do not want people like that among us and the fact that he would try to use this defence to save himself is truly annoying when people are living in fear in Uganda. I hope they send him back to Uganda and they believe he IS gay it would be poetic justice of a kind.

I'm for it personally! - Recently anti gay, homophobic and outright bigoted Americans have been targeted by people lobbing glitter at them. I love it. I think its quite eloquent really: there's only a threat of very minor actual harm and mostly the targeted individual is inconvenienced and hopefully embarrassed. But, guess what?- "conservative gay groups" are unhappy and asking glitter-bombers to stop claiming that they're not furthering the cause. If Gay Pride and liberation had been left to "conservatives" we'd still be waiting. It is no coincidence that Gay Liberation started in a drag bar - Stonewall (from what I have read) was a haven for gay men who were not welcome in other bars because they drew attention to themselves and therefore to other patrons working  hard to "blend in". I read of drag queens being refused entry to gay bars at a time when it was fashionable to try to 'out butch' straight guys. There wasn't anyo...

By Cleo Thompson, founder of The Gender Blog [I'm fascinated by the information in the article and have reproduced it in its entirity here. Note all the link backs to the original placing and acknowledgements to the author] Since the mid-1990s lifting of the unspoken ban on the appointment of homosexuals to the court system in England and Wales, there has been considerable change for the better. Nevertheless, the judiciary is often still perceived by the LGBT community as an unwelcoming environment and it continues to face considerable obstacles in achieving the greater diversity in its ranks to which it has publicly committed. Earlier this month, the Law Society in London hosted the launch of a survey prepared by the Interlaw Diversity Forum (ILDF), a group established in 2008 to encourage LGBT diversity, equality and inclusion in the UK legal sector. The report, authored by Prof. Leslie J Moran of Birkbeck College and Daniel Winterfeldt, a securities ...