'Real Men Get Raped' Campaign Comes to London

via HuffPost Gay Voices

A new rape awareness campaign aimed at men in London is hoping to challenge the way that people think about the crime and its victims.

Posters for the campaign, launched by Survivors UK, an organization that deals with sexual violence against men, read "Real men get raped and talking about it takes real strength" and show a rugby ball being punctured by a nail.

The ads will be prominently featured on 140 escalator panels in central London Tube stations on February 20 in hopes of reaching passengers during the Six Nations rugby tournament reports MaleHealth.

The ads will also be show on two 48 Sheet billboards at Clapham Junction train station and on screens at Waterloo stations on February 25 and March 17, when England plays at home in the tournament.

Pink News notes that while over 8,500 sexual crimes against men may have taken place in London alone last year, the British government estimates that only 11 percent of men who were attacked reported the crime due to embarrassment and shame.

Michael May of Survivors UK said:

"We’ve chosen to use an alpha male sport in our advertising to challenge assumptions about the type of men who get raped. It’s just as likely to be a rugby player as a librarian, a suited city banker as a hooded gang member.

And we hope that by challenging our innate assumptions about the identity of male victims, we can make it even fractionally easier for a male rape victim to ask for help."

The National Center For Victims Of Crime reports that about three percent of men in the U.S. -- a total of close to three million -- have been raped at some point in their lives.

While many are applauding the campaign, some bloggers have raised questions about the usefulness of the term "real men."

Jessica Wakeman of TheFrisky.com writes, "Why do we have to call it 'real men'? Isn’t that just feeding into the same stereotype that there IS such a thing as 'real men'?"


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Gay Men's Body Image

via HuffPost Gay Voices, study by Central YMCA and UWE

Exactly how far would you go for cast-iron pecs or the perfect six-pack?

Indeed, gay men have been stereotypically cast as gym bunnies by popular culture for some time, but a new British poll has now revealed a slightly more disturbing fact about that population's fractured relationship with body image.

A study commissioned by the Central YMCA, the Succeed Foundation and the University of the West of England’s (UWE) Centre for Appearance Research in Bristol found that 48 percent of gay male respondents would sacrifice a year or more of their lives in exchange for a perfect body.

Perhaps even more onerous: researchers also found that 10 percent of those men would agree to die more than 11 years earlier if they could have their ideal body right now, according to Pink News.

Not surprisingly, authorities attributed the results to popular depictions of gay men in media. "Today gay men are under enormous pressure about their bodies, and we believe that a lack of body diversity in the media, including the gay press, and a relentless focus which values people based on appearance, may in part explain why gay men are particularly susceptible to this issue," Rosi Prescott, CEO of Central YMCA, told Pink News.

 "This is of concern when we know that record numbers of men are taking steroids or having unnecessary cosmetic surgery to achieve what is often an unattainable or unrealistic body image ideal."

A total of 384 men, a quarter of which identified as gay, were reportedly surveyed as part of the poll, with an average age of 40, according to the BBC.

But overall, researchers say the increase in body hang-ups surged among both gay and straight men.

As The Telegraph notes, the survey found a staggering 80 percent of men regularly discuss body shapes, often comparing them to those of top celebrities and fashion models -- and 59 percent of them admitted that doing so makes them feel worse about themselves.

Among the most popular phrases by men discussing how other men look: "beer belly," "man boobs" (or "moobs"), and "chubby," along with "six-pack" and "ripped."

"Girls want to be slim and males want to be big and lean, and while it isn't a bad thing for people to want to look better, it has become more like a competition, which has a bad effect on most people's mental health," one respondent told The Guardian.

"Body talk is saying things which reinforce the traditional standard of male attractiveness, which is having a tall, lean, muscular body with clear skin and a full head of hair, and is for most people unattainable,"

Dr. Phillippa Diedrichs of UWE also told The Guardian.

"This research really demonstrates that body image is an issue for everyone, although in men, especially middle-aged men, it has been woefully under-reported, but has a negative impact on social relationships and on attitudes to diet, exercise and a healthy lifestyle."


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Aim for HIV Test Record in London for World AIDS Day

via PinkNews, by Staff Writer

The record attempt will take place at G-A-Y Bar on London's Old Compton Street

G-A-Y Bar and the 56 Dean Street NHS clinic are seeking participants to set a new world record for the most HIV tests administered in an eight hour period.

Dr Alan McOwan, Lead Consultant at 56 Dean Street, said: “We will be using the world’s fastest HIV antibody test, which provides a result in just 60 seconds.

“One in 20 gay men in London has undiagnosed HIV and two-thirds of undiagnosed men think that they are negative. Testing early can add 16 years to someone’s life.”

G-A-Y will be donating £10 for every test performed at one of nine testing stations around the venue to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

The record setting attempt will run from 2pm to 10pm on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2011, and will be held at the G-A-Y bar on Old Compton Street.

Registration forms can be picked up from the venue in advance or completed on the day

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Most UK Gay Men accept PrEP!

via aidsmap, by Roger Pebody

While few gay men in England are currently aware of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), most men who are introduced to the idea support PrEP being made available.

Half would consider taking it themselves, but most would prefer to take it on a daily basis, rather than before and after each time they have sex. These findings come from a snapshot survey of gay men in England, published by Sigma Research this week.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) involves HIV-negative people taking anti-HIV drugs in order to reduce their risk of infection. Results of the iPrEX study into the safety and effectiveness of PrEP in gay and other men who have sex with men showed that, overall, it reduced infections by 43%. Much higher levels of efficacy were seen in men with good adherence to PrEP.

Recent studies with American gay men have shown that while only a minority of men is aware of PrEP, a majority would consider using it.

Most men say PrEP would not affect their own use of condoms, particularly if it is only partially effective.

To investigate the views of gay men in England, researchers put a series of questions to members of the Sigma Panel in June 2011.

The panel is made up of approximately 1500 gay men, bisexual men and other men that have sex with men (MSM) who respond to monthly cross-sectional online surveys about HIV and sexual health.

The surveys have a short turnaround for analysis and reporting to health workers.

Only men who do not have diagnosed HIV were asked about PrEP; 1259 responded.

Prior awareness of PrEP was low. Only 17% of respondents said that they had already heard of the idea of taking a pill before sex in order to prevent HIV infection.

Having informed respondents about what PrEP is and how it might be prescribed, the researchers asked whether men would consider using PrEP, should they be offered it at a sexual health clinic.

Just over half (52%) said they would consider it, while 30% weren’t sure and 17% wouldn’t consider taking PrEP.

There were no differences in the proportion who would consider its use by age, education or sexual identity. Men who had casual partners were slightly more likely to consider its use.

Men who had a regular sexual partner who was HIV-positive were no more likely to consider PrEP than others.

Men who would consider using PrEP were asked why. Generally they wished to avoid HIV infection and believed that PrEP could help reduce this risk.

Many of these men saw PrEP as providing “additional protection”; this could help bring peace of mind.

Some men who use condoms all the time expressed an interest in taking PrEP.

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Who's That Queer? [Siegfried Sassoon]

Brought to you by Pistol Pete

Siegfried Sassoon was an English poet and author. He became known as a writer of satirical anti-war verse during World War I, but later won acclaim for his prose work. The novel, Regeneration, by Pat Barker, is a fictionalized account of this period in Sassoon's life, and was made into a film starring Jonathan Pryce as W H R Rivers, the psychiatrist responsible for Sassoon's 'recovery'. Rivers became a kind of surrogate father to the troubled young man, and his sudden death in 1922 was a major blow to Sassoon.


After serving in World War I, Sassoon became a pacifist. Meanwhile, he was beginning to practice his homosexuality more openly, embarking on an affair with the artist, Gabriel Atkin. He also had a succession of love affairs with men, including the actor Ivor Novello; Novello's former lover, the actor Glen Byam Shaw; German aristocrat Prince Philipp of Hesse; the writer Beverley Nichols; and Stephen Tennant.

He remains an enigmatic figure in gay history: in his younger years homosexual but later, he lived comfortably as a conservative, religious, aristocratic heterosexual.

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Harriet the Hen

Midday respite via dlisted:

Harriet, the hen in England who keeps pushing out record-breaking egg after record-breaking egg.

While Michelle Duggar is patting herself on the labia for having a strongman vagina that can easily push out an elephant with elephantitis without even trying, Harriet the Hen keeps laying eggs that are almost twice the size of regular eggs. That's right, Michelle, sit your vag down in the second row. There's a new power pussy in town.

Harriet's owner said that over a week ago she popped out an egg that measured 4.5 inches long with a 9.1-inch circumference. Roughly, that's about 2 inches longer than Jon Gosselin's penis. The average hen egg is around 2.3 inches long.

Who's That Queer [ Edward II]

Brought to you by Pistol Pete

Edward II of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until deposed in January 1327. His tendency to ignore his nobility in favor of low-born favorites led to constant political unrest and his eventual deposition.


Edward II was the first monarch to establish colleges in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; he founded Cambridge's King's Hall in 1317 and gave Oxford's Oriel College its royal charter in 1326.

Edward is perhaps best remembered for his murder - the details of which are unsubstantiated by contemporary accounts - and his 'alleged' homosexuality and relationship with his 'favorite', a Gascon knight named Piers Gaveston. Edward also managed to produce an heir - Edward III - another son and two daughters with his wife, Isabella of France, and even produced an illegitimate son.

Read the rest at Gay for Today.

Who's That Queer [Justin Fashanu]

Brought to you by Pistol Pete

Justin Fashanu was a professional English footballer in the late 70's and early 80's.

He began his career as an apprentice with Norwich City, turning professional towards the end of December 1978. He made his league debut in January 1979 and settled into the Norwich side scoring regularly and occasionally spectacularly. In 1980, he won the BBC Goal of the Season award, for a very spectacular goal against Liverpool. He subsequently became Britain's first £1m black footballer when he transferred to Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest in August 1981.



His career stalled as his professional relationship with Brian Clough deteriorated; Clough, it would appear, was disturbed by the rumours of Justin Fashanu's visits to gay nightclubs and bars. His goals and then confidence dried up as he failed to fit in with the playing and lifestyle demands of Clough, especially after Clough had discovered his homosexuality and barred him from even training with the side.

In 1990, he publicly came out as gay in an interview with the tabloid press, becoming the only prominent player in English football so far to do so. Many former colleagues spoke out in anger against him, stating that homosexuals had no place in a team sport, and his brother John publicly disowned him. Although he claimed that he was generally well accepted by his fellow players, he freely admitted that they would often joke maliciously about his sexual orientation, and he also became the target of constant crowd abuse because of it.

He admitted in an interview with Gay Times that he wasn't fully prepared for the backlash that followed his coming out and that his career in football suffered 'heavy damage'.

Read the rest at Gay for Today.

Who's That Queer [Prince George]

Brought to you by Pistol Pete

The Prince George, Duke of Kent (George Edward Alexander Edmund) was a member of the British Royal Family, the fourth son of King George V. He held the title of Duke of Kent from 1934 to his death in 1942.


Prince George is remembered for having had a rather more interesting personal life than is the norm in the twentieth century Royal Family, as well as the circumstances of his death at the height of World War II.

Handsome and glamorous, the Duke of Kent was unarguably the most interesting, intelligent and cultivated member of his generation of the Royal Family. He took a strong interest in the arts, theatre, and in interior decoration, an interest he shared with Queen Mary but no other member of the family. He had a long string of affairs with men and women before and during his marriage. The better known of his partners were cabaret singer Florence Mills, banking heiress Poppy Baring, Ethel Margaret Whigham (later Duchess of Argyll), musical star Jessie Matthews and actor Noel Coward, with whom he carried on a 19-year affair. Love letters from the Duke to Coward are believed to have been stolen from Coward's house in 1942.

Read the rest at Gay for Today.

Who's That Queer [Edward Carpenter]

Brought to you by Pistol Pete

Edward Carpenter (29 August 1844 – 28 June 1929) was an English socialist poet, anthologist, early gay activist and socialist philosopher. A leading figure in late 19th- and early 20th-century Britain, he was instrumental in the foundation of the Labour Party. A strong advocate of sexual freedom, living in a gay community near Sheffield, he had a profound influence on both D. H. Lawrence and E. M. Forster.



The 1890s saw Carpenter produce his finest political writing in a concerted effort to campaign against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. He strongly believed that same-sex attraction was a natural orientation for people of a third sex. His 1908 book on the subject, The Intermediate Sex, would become a foundational text of the LGBT movements of the 20th century.

While engaged in this campaign Carpenter developed a keen interest in progressive education, especially providing information to young people on the topic of sexual education, and was a good friend of John Haden Badley, the social reformer and educationalist and would regularly visit Bedales School when his nephew Alfred Francis Blakeney Carpenter was a student there.

Carpenter's later years were characterized not only by continued writings on pacifism, but also activity in the trade-union movement. He was a hero to the first generation of Labour politicians. During the short-lived Labour government in 1924, his 80th birthday was marked by a commemorative greeting signed by every member of the Cabinet.

Source: Wikipedia