Lost Decade Gays

It used to be simple: there were the Gay ones and the Rest (though the Rest would have said that “there was us and the Gay guy next door”). But starting at the end of the “sleepy 50s” to climax by the end of the “Glorious 30s” (1945-1975), a sexual revolution had happened and had revealed a world of sexualities.
It was no coincidence that the “Lost Decade” (1980-1990) inaugurated by the abandon of state-led development policies in favour of Neo-liberalism was also the starting point of the tragic …

The first Chinese Gay pageant that was to be held yesterday was cancelled by the Beijing police on the ground that the organisers had not applied “according to the procedures”. Today, the dedicated page on the website of the one of the organisers leads to a Chinese “page not found”.
To avoid “unnecessary difficulty” the organisers wanted the event to have a low-profile locally and focussed reaching out to the international media and local bloggers given the “complicated situation” and the “possibility of increased scrutiny from the authorities”. But the announcement …

Worapoj Petchkhoom who appeared ligthly dressed in Stage modelling magazine.

Thailand has a serious problem of, and with, its image. The recent fighting ban imposed on Muai Thai boxer Worapoj Petchkhoom is the latest example of politics based on, and aiming at, keeping up appearances and reputation at the expense of addressing more fundamental issues. Worapoj was banned from competition for 3 months because he posed lightly dressed for a Thai modeling magazine, Stage, which appeals to many gay readers.  The images were not considered obscene but still “they have tarnished …

Riding bareback:
personal choice vs. social responsability?

The recent decision by the IML’s (International Mr. Leather) executive committee to ban retailers at the group’s annual convention from displaying or selling any pornographic photos and videos which portray or promote unprotected sex, also known as barebacking, triggered a heated debate in the gay and HIV blogosphere. The most quoted response came from Tony Valenzuela who in part elevated the debate above that of accusation of fascism and censorship writing:
“Maybe the better question isn’t whether or not IML’s new policy is censorship – it …

In an article for the Pink News, Ramsey Dehani questioned “modern” HIV prevention campaigns asking if they were failing younger generations. Observing that campaigns promoting condom use have more or less disappeared to be replaced by testing campaigns, Dehani noted that many people still die of ignorance and recalled a conversation he had with a 20-year-old gay student who was more concerned about getting gonorrhoea than HIV (statistically speaking, the youg guy in question was rather well informed).
Should HIV prevention campaigns target the blasé attitude of younger generations that have …