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SOUTHERN WITH A GAY TWIST

12.04.15 V6-24

4 Years To Live

WIN TER PRI NCE PG 27

PHOTO BY JR WEST

11 reasons why you’re single

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Contents

FENUXE

06

CALENDAR: 8 GREAT THINGS TO DO

08

OUT & ABOUT PHOTOS

22

4 YEARS TO LIVE

24

11 REASONS WHY YOU ARE A SINGLE GAY

26

MEAN GRINDR MESSAGES TO HIV POSITIVE MEN

28 34 36

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DEC 12

DEC 5

NOW

CHARITY

TRADITION

GARDEN LIGHTSHOLIDAY NIGHTS

STONE MOUNTAIN CHRISTMAS

SANTA SPEEDO RUN

Now-Jan. 9th Garden Lights, Holiday Nights features one million beautifully colored holiday lights, costumed characters, attractions, and snacks at the majestic 30-acre Atlanta Botanical Gardens. For more information and tickets please visit: www.atlantabg.org

Dec. 5th-Jan. 3rd Stone Mountain Christmas features two million lights, holiday shows, a snow-angel palace, a parade with Santa, fireworks, and Snow Mountain, which offers inner tube rides in the snow. For more information please visit www.snowmountainpark.com

December 12th 2PM Join hundreds of barely clad folks who brave the cold weather each year and don a pair of speedos to run a 1.5-mile fun run and social event that raises funds charity. This year the run benefits BlazeSports America, an organization that changes lives every day with adaptive sports opportunities for children and veterans with a physical disability.

STAR WARS PARTY Dec. 12th 9PM BASH OF THE EMPIRE is Atlanta’s longestrunning Star Wars themed party (18+). Complete with costumes and all things sci-fi; come out for a late-night dance party and celebration of the new movie. There will be vendors, photographers, midnight costume contest, DJs, dancers, drink specials, performances and more!

Visit www.maythe4thatlanta. blogspot.com 06: December 4, 2015

FUN CHARITY

MUSIC DEC 18 05.03.15

DEC 18

DEC 12

FUN

MUSIC DEC 12

CULTURE

CHRISTMAS SYMPHONY Dec. 12th 2PM & 8PM and Dec. 13th 3PM Capture the spirit of the holidays with the Orchestra’s iconic story of Christmas, created by the legendary Robert Shaw. A majestic cast of over 400 musicians brings to life the Greatest Story Ever Told. For tickets and information visit: www.atlantasymphony.org

CHARITY DEC 19

CALENDAR

ATLANTA BOY CHOIR

SANTA BAR CRAWL

UGLY SWEATER RUN/WALK

The Grammy award-winning Atlanta Boy Choir returns to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church (435 Peachtree) for your favorite holiday classics and more! Friday, December 18, 2015 - 7:30pm This one night event is sure to get you into the holiday spirit!

Dec. 18th 7PM-2AM Highlands Santa Stumble 5; Walk or stumble to 6 bars in Virginia Highlands in Santa or holiday attire. You will also enjoy complementary holiday themed shots. Ticket includes admission, hosted shot at 5 bars, after party & food and drink specials, all to benefit Toys for Tots – Unwrapped Toys will be collected at the registration bar Diesel.

Dec. 19th 11AM Join thousands of runners/walkers from around the country; wear your ugliest sweater for the Ugly Sweater Run 5K and after-party at Piedmont Park. Awards for Best Ugly Sweater, Best Kids Sweater, Best Pet Attire and Best Real/FakeMustache/Beard will be handed out. The run benefits Save The Children. theuglysweaterrun.com

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COMMUNITY

BY TRAV PITTMAN

underreporting of the real number -with an unknown number of cases of misgendering and identity erasure simply lost to history.

2. Since biases ingrained in criminal justice and society-at-large make the hard numbers of this violence essentially unknowable, these 594 victims constitute more of a “poll” of LGBT murders, and what polls can tell us are percentages.

Roughly half of the victims in this report are trans women of color, while estimates derived from 2010 census data indicate trans women of color make up just 2 percent of the LGBT spectrum. A mere two percent of the LGBT population accounting for 50 percent of its murder victims.

4 Years To Live: On Violence Against Trans Women of Color Amid the asinine fight over the safety of women and girls if we dare to let trans women use their gender appropriate restroom, 22 trans women are known to have been murdered (19 of them of color) in the United States this year.

My stomach turns to think of the effect this fear-mongering against trans women has on public perception, when the data-driven overwhelming nobrainer obvious TRUTH is it’s the safety of trans women that’s in jeopardy. And although I believe that it’s beneath our community even to address this humiliating non-controversy (there has yet to be a single documented case of a person claiming to be trans harassing anyone in a restroom), these two issues of public safety -- one real, one make-believe -- have a common thread: the way in which trans and gender nonconforming individuals are seen as a threat to heteronormativity, specifically as a threat to male sexuality itself.

Heat Waves I kept hearing this statistic that struck me as terrifying and ludicrous when transphobic violence was peaking over the summer. The statistic said the average life expectancy for a 22: December 4, 2015

trans woman of color is 35. As an otherwise healthy TWOC who turned 31 this year, this tragicomic countdown to my imminent death at least warranted further investigation.

It took some poking until I found the statistic’s apparent source -this study of 594 LGBT murders in the Americas (as in North and South and the Caribbean) from a 15-month period starting in January 2013. Nearly half of the victims were trans women of color, and the lifeexpectancy statistic was an apparent extrapolation of that data.

So I have thoughts: 1. It’s an impressive and substantive report, but it is by no means a comprehensive account of LGBT murders or hate crimes.

For one, in order for a victim to be included in the study, they must have been a known member of the LGBT community. This is even more complicated for trans women, who are more often than not misgendered by police and reported simply as “Male” (this is, of course, just code for “penis-having”). More than likely, even the 22 known cases in the U.S. this year represent a woeful

That, friends, is insane.

On Dangerous Ground So, why then are TWOC such disproportionate targets of hate? Why are our lives, seemingly, seen to have such little value? I’d be remiss, at this point, not to bring up this issue’s overwhelming intersectionality -- the volatile crossroads of race, class, gender and gender identity.

Minority lives have been historically devalued. As a result, minority populations are disproportionately poor. Poor lives have been historically devalued. Further, trans and gender nonconforming people are also disproportionately poor (for one, they’re more likely abandoned by family and support systems... which are financial relationships as well as emotional ones).

And trans women have given up, in a rather bold way, their access to male privilege in order to live as women.

Women’s lives have been historically devalued.

This collected devaluation manifests in limited access to medical and mental health care, high suicide rates, and high criminalization i.e. involvement in sex work -- all forms of indirect, societal violence -- which, coupled with direct violence, result in scary statistics like my having 4 years to live.

The above case for devaluation however, strong as it is, applies to any queer woman of color, and still doesn’t explain the staggering 2 percent to 50 percent climb. So what is it about an MTF trans identity that makes violence so

disproportionate, so tempting, so easy? #MasculinitySoFragile One guess can be gleaned from a frequent pattern in these murders -- so-called crimes of “discovery.”

Prior to the last few years (which have seen increased trans visibility and efforts to identify victims), “discovery” murders were often the only kind that made headlines -- Jerry Springer sensationalism bleeding into matters of life and death.

In 2002, four men beat 17-year-old Gwen Araujo to death after their “discovery” that she was a trans, rather than a cis, woman.

A year later Nireah Johnson and Shelby Tracy Tom were killed for the same reason. Tom’s killer successfully used a “gay panic” defense to plead his crime down to manslaughter. I know what you’re thinking -- great band name or Halloween costume -- but sadly gay panic is when the sudden sexual confusion of a straight male drives him to murder.

It’s worth pointing out that in these cases and all cases of “discovery” killings, it’s in the interest of the perpetrator to claim he was clueless about the victim’s trans status - both to use as a legal defense, and to save face from the shame and stigma of romantic involvement with a trans woman.

Many recent trans murders have been domestic in nature, committed by boyfriends, sexual partners, or family members (such as Bri Golec, earlier this year killed by her own father). Zella Ziona was murdered by a friend just last month after she “embarrassed” him by “acting flamboyant” around his clique at the mall. Some reports went further, stating she was “flirting” and that the pair were involved romantically. Later, he stalked her and shot her multiple times in the head and groin.

Embarrassment. Shame. Stigma.

These are powerful, deeply ingrained emotions... as straight men snap like they’re weathering some exponentially hot day.

The disconnect between a trans woman’s lived gender and aspects of her biology challenge a man’s sense of his own sexuality, his own manhood, and the concept of manhood itself.

The societal prevalence of Machismo

is even more visceral in Latin America, where so many of the 594 victims of the referenced study were based.

In sharp contrast to manifesting masculinity as a female, manifesting femininity as a male is highly stigmatized. Further, to be in a relationship with or attracted to a trans woman piles that stigma onto the stigma of sexual confusion. It’s another intersection -- where our culture’s extraordinary discomfort with inbetween gender meets its extraordinary discomfort with in-between sexuality.

In my mind, the only solution to move past these grotesque patterns of violence is to demolish that shame and stigma -- to bring trans sexuality out of the shadows.

“The only solution to move past these grotesque patterns of violence is to demolish that shame and stigma -- to bring trans sexuality out of the shadows.”

‘Trans-Amorous’?

Presently, we like to pretend rather literally that it doesn’t exist. There’s essentially no word for men and women attracted to trans folks aside from the scientific (technically, gynandromorphophilia... yes, seriously) or the pejorative (e.g. tranny chaser).

I’m partial to “trans-amorous” myself, but that we’re so far from even settling on a non-derogatory term for the orientation feels symbolic of the stigma it carries, of how much further we have to go.

Meanwhile, it very much exists.

Trans porn is the fourth most visited category of adult website (this according to A Billion Wicked Thoughts’ comprehensive survey of Internet pornography), and the trans sex industry thrives -- with sex work still a viable option for trans women experiencing economic and social marginalization.

Let’s be very clear: Their customers are not men who were looking for a woman but settle for “the next best thing.” These are men seeking trans women. Both pornography and sex

work are among the few arenas where being a woman with a penis is actually desired rather than despised. It’s a seldom spoken truth that those arenas are places of refuge for vulnerable trans women -- they validate and affirm our identities... when so much of mainstream society turns its back.

We Still Have to Pay Them, Mom...

So where does that leave me and my four years to live, you ask? To be honest, I feel no connection to that (problematic) statistic, and I’ve been trying to put my finger on the why.

I’m of color -- mixed-black but lightskinned -- and I grew up poor and stayed that way ( though somehow “starving artist” sounds so much more glamorous).

One factor I keep coming back to is education. As tumultuous as my upbringing was, my mom fought for scholarships and good schools, and I was lucky enough with my college experience and beyond to find support systems that reflect a more secure strata of society, even if my own resources don’t.

So let’s talk about education, let’s talk about good, real data and how to get it, let’s talk about calling something by its proper name, let’s talk about calling trans and gender nonconforming people -- dead or alive -- by their proper names, let’s talk about normalization, let’s talk about humanization (let’s talk about sex, baby, let’s talk about you and me...).

If there’s one thing my mom refusing to open her bills has taught me, it’s that ignoring something doesn’t make it go away. Embracing what’s seen as marginal or in-between -- as well as our own attraction to the marginal and in-between -- is the simple embracing of the fullness of humanity. ___________________ Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Trav Pittman is a filmmaker and trans woman of color. Her feature film Nakom explores the clash of obligation and desire in rural Ghana, where she previously served with the US Peace Corps. Nakom will have its festival World Premiere in early 2016. A version of this story originally appeared on Medium.

COMMUNITY married, you’ll be guaranteed a spot as Gay Couple of the Year, with fabulous Facebook photos to prove it. Problem is, you’re not in love with the dude. That pisses you off, and you kept hoping your feelings would change. Sometimes that’s the way non-love goes, and if you do take him up on his offer, a couple of years from now you’ll be envied, admired and unbearably miserable.

5. Because he’s unkind. He’s got a body so amazing everyone steals it for their Grindr pics. He’s fantastic in bed, a fit so good you want to lock him up forever.

And the looks he gets from other guys should be criminal. Problem is, Hottie McPerfect is also sharing his Grindr pics with everyone else, his key’s unlocked men all over town, and his lies about fidelity should be illegal. It’s nice to indulge in a dreamboat, but if this guy is the Titanic of dates, get a lifeboat and jump ship.

6. Because you’re just not that into

11 Reasons You’re Still a Single Gay Man (Thank God!)

1. Because you’re not interested in

becoming a “piece of furniture.” Too many men seek guys who fit their idea of a perfect partner: perfect job, perfect look, perfect friends, perfect for an Ikea ad. You want a guy who loves you for your individual nature, and who might even clash with some of your furniture. He’s out there, so keep exploring new avenues, then give that home a makeover.

2. Because equal rights doesn’t

automatically equal rush to marriage.

DOMA and gay marriages are making history, but there’s no law that says you need to grab that guy you’ve been dating for a month and pick your Kelly Clarkson first dance song. For so many, the end of DOMA meant they could finally marry the man of their dreams.

If you haven’t met him yet, there’s no 24: December 4, 2015

BY: DAVID TOUSSAINT need to settle down, despite what Mom says. Let the ones who are prepared eat cake.

3. Because you’re not in a position

to commit. Many things in life take precedence over a relationship: a job, finances, a drug or alcohol problem (his or yours), illness, the list goes on. You can’t give all of yourself if your energy is needed elsewhere, and there’s no reason to pretend otherwise. Nix the dating sites and spend quality time with the one who needs it most -- you.

4. Because you believe in love,

not less. You’ve found that guy all your friends think is the perfect match. He’s smart, successful, sexy and, even better, he wants you! If you move in with him, and/or get

monogamy, and he is. Or vice versa.

The monogamy issue is a huge one in relationships, and if the two of you don’t see eye to eye (or man to man) on “extras,” pretending otherwise will only end up with someone getting hurt. Maybe in the future you’ll arrive at a consensus, but until then he’s the one you can’t put into the equation.

7. Or children. Today, gay men want kids as much as straight guys, and it’s often a first-date conversation. Don’t lie simply because he also binge-watched your favorite TV shows and thinks your underwear choices are “adorbs.” The “kid” question isn’t going away, so if it’s not part of you future plans, being a grown-up and telling him it’s not going to work is the smart, if upsetting, course of action.

8. Because you just haven’t met him yet.

Social Media leads us to believe that the right guy is just a swipe or woof or OKDate away. And in today’s gay-visible world you no longer have to shy away from approaching Bubble McGreatAss to ask for a coffee date. It’s also easy to assume that, since you’ve been searching for your soul mate for 6 months and are still alone on Saturday nights, there must be something wrong with you.

But meeting men has never been easy, no matter where you live or whatever your age or what you do for a living, and meeting a guy who makes your heart flutter just doesn’t happen that often.

Concentrate on, and love, yourself. That’s your most attractive trait.

9. Because he’s emotionally unavailable. This guy is the guy in so many ways it hurts. Gorgeous, sensitive, smart, with a connection so electric you can feel it across the room.

Problem is, all he does is hurt you, even if it’s unintentional.

He can’t be intimate without guilt, he’s 12-step dependent, therapist-dependent, best-girlfriend-dependent, he drops out of the picture for days, then seems confused that you find ignoring messages unacceptable. When you confront him about anything, by the end of the conversation it’s somehow your fault he forgot to invite you over for dinner with friends. This guy has so many issues he should be running for office. As much as you hate the thought of losing him, run away. Only when and if he gets help can the relationship be a two-way street.

10. Because you’re not living in your parents’ world

anymore. You spent your childhood years stealing Big Sis’s Cosmo Quizzes to figure out how to attract the perfect mate. You went to school in an environment that said love and marriage were the most important things in the world, and maybe going to college. And you learned in every movie and TV show from Sex and the City to Pretty Woman that getting the guy is the only ending that’s happy. Despite the fact that your parents divorced, as did half of your friends, you’re still reading countless articles telling you why it’s wrong to be a single gay man. We’re so much better than that, in a world where we can make our own decisions about love, marriage, dating and priorities.

Single-shaming is subtle and ubiquitous and needs to stop.

Being in a relationship can be wonderful and it can be hell on earth. And there’s no one lonelier than the guy alone with someone else. Celebrate your single status just like you celebrate your relationship status. Both are equal rights to make you proud.

11. Because you prefer it that way. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: David Toussaint’s latest book is DJ: The Dog Who Rescued Me. He is the author of four books, including The Gay Couples Guide to Wedding Planning and TOUSSAINT! Toussaint is also a professional playwright and actor.

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WRITTEN BY: DOMINIQUE MOSBERGEN

HEALTH

HIV Positive Men Read Mean Grindr Messages to help combat stigma “I wouldn’t want anything to do with an ugly pile of HIV like you.”

with HIV discourages people from testing, or talking honestly about HIV, their risk and their testing history. In a very real sense, stigma helps to perpetuate HIV.”

“Sluts like you deserve it.”

“You’re a walking disease.”

Those are some of the hurtful messages sent by Grindr users to HIV-positive men. They were read out by men living with HIV in a poignant video created by GMFA, a UK-based charity dedicated to HIV awareness. (see the video at https://youtubeAospP51bkcs )

“We wanted honest, instant reactions to the kind of stigma -- and sometimes abuse -- HIV-positive men can face on the gay dating scene,” the organization told Buzzfeed. “Their responses were funny, direct, and showed how HIV stigma can make them feel and how it should be dealt with.”

The video was created as part of GMFA’s campaign for World Aids Day, which was commemorated this past monday (Dec 1). The charity’s new campaign is meant to address the continued stigma that surrounds HIV. “The medical treatment for HIV has had a dramatic impact on the health and life expectancy of those of us who are living with HIV. Unfortunately, the progress we’ve made in tackling the stigma associated with an HIV positive diagnosis has not been as fast,” said GMFA CEO Matthew Hodson. “The all too visible stigmatization of people living

More than 1.2 million Americans are living with HIV, but more than one in eight of them don’t know they have the disease. Researchers have long pointed to stigma as a reason why many people don’t get tested.

Though there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, new medications are helping many people with the disease live longer, healthier lives. Studies have shown that people living with HIV can achieve “undetectability” after undergoing antiretroviral therapy.

To learn more about HIV/AIDS check out the Foundation for AIDS Research at http://www.amfar.org/

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Hey Girl Hey! Holler Poodles!

I can’t tell you the outpouring of love I have received over my last column and my dear sweet “Nana Split Pitts.” Many of you asked when she passed and I’m happy to say she’s still kicking the bucket at 121. Though not as active as she once was, she still manages to win the senior citizen possum wrestling contest every Christmas which coincidentally is also her Christmas dinner. Though none of her neighbors in the home will eat with her because they can’t tell where the possum begins and her pubic hair ends. Awwww, don’t it just make you feel warm and fuzzy?

Bless her heart, Nana was recently diagnosed with HerpoClymydiarreha that she says she got from an orderly giving her a sponge bath. The poor young man asked was she Rastafarian and I said “Why do you ask?” to which he replied “I’ve never seen dreads so long in my life!” I assured him we’ve been trying to get her to clip her pubic hair but some tasks are better left alone.

Nana did say she had a new gentleman caller. She said he was very romantical and didn’t waste any time getting “fresh” with her. I didn’t have the heart to tell her it was the coroner who was verifying her vitals before he bagged her. She was just happy to have some attention.

Nana recently had to be separated from her roommate the former Miss Butts County 1932 Ophelia Cox. They used to be best of friends till it was discovered Ophelia was sleeping with the center director and a host of other men who were paying to sleep with her. Things were going swell till one of Ophelia’s “suitors” got her and Nana confused and while “inserting” his tool, came across a long forgotten rat trap.

Well, one thing led to another and let’s just say there was a definite retooling of the situation. Unfortunately, soon after they were separated, Ophelia passed away from a head injury--her head hit Nana’s foot.

I hope you’re enjoying your holidays… and have special memories of your own “Nana.”

Mary Edith Pitts Mary Edith Pitts

PS. If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please email me at maryedith99@gmail.com or on twitter @maryedithpitts

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Gay News At A Glance ARKANSAS SEEKS A STAY IN BIRTH CERTIFICATE RULING. The Arkansas Department of Health has asked a judge to stay the ruling he passed last week in a case centered on the Arkansas Department of Health’s Vital Statistics Bureau refusal to put the names of both parents in a same sex marriage on their children’s birth certificates, citing “long established regulations” as the reason. Following the judges ruling last week, one of the plaintiffs, Marissa Pavan, went with her spouse and attorney Cheryl Maples to the state’s vital records office. “I really kind of thought everything was going kind of good because they got us in real quick and they took us to the director’s office,” said Pavan. “Then the air got let out of the balloon real quick. They said until there’s a written summary judgment about everything we’re just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing.” Arkansas Department of Health spokeswoman Meg Mirivel said the attorney general’s office requested a stay on its behalf. Republican Attorney

General Leslie Rutledge stated she intends to appeal pending a finalized, written decision by Judge Fox. The judges order applies only to the couples in the case, however he said he didn’t rule out a broadening of the scope to include all married, same-sex couples in Arkansas. Judge Fox is expected to issue the written order in the next couple weeks.

seeking to have her recent marriage to her same-sex partner recognized.

Cleo Pablo of Arizonaǯs Ak-Chin Indian Community legally married her longtime partner, Tara Roy-Pablo in May this year. Pablo’s wife and children are forbidden to live in Pablo’s home in the community. Community law prohibits unmarried couples living together. American Indian reservations define marriage as between a man and a woman. American Indian reservations are sovereign nations and are not bound by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

LESBIAN COUPLE SUES TRIBE IN TRIBAL COURT A Native American woman has filed a lawsuit against her tribe on last week 36: December 4, 2015

567 Native American tribes in the U.S. are recognized as sovereign and many continue to forbid gay marriages, deny insurance and other benefits. LGBT rights advocates say the lawsuit, naming the Ak-Chin Indian Council, Housing Department and Employee Benefit Trust as defendants, may be the first in the country.

Pablo, in an interview with Arizona Central states: “She never intended to pick a fight with tribal leaders.” She went on to say, “I had a home with the tribe, and that’s

Cheryl Maples Getty Images

important to me. That’s who I am and where I come from. I’m not trying to be a person of change. I just wanted to marry my wife and take care of my family and live in the place that makes me happy. I felt like I was given no choice. I couldn’t marry the person who makes me happy and live in the place that makes me happy. I had to choose between love and my home. I had to move.”

In the Ak-Chin Indian Community newsletter last month, the tribe issued a statement: “Marriage laws are a matter for the tribe to decide, not the US Supreme Court.” It went on, “Whether our current law stays the same or needs to change, it must still be addressed in a manner that best promotes and protects the community’s sovereignty and right of selfgovernance, and best reflects the culture, tradition, and morals of the community and all of its members within the confines of our laws.”

The newsletter went on to say, “It would conduct a confidential poll to obtain a better understanding of our Members’ current views, which will help the Council in deciding whether or not our marriage laws should be amended.

CYPRUS APPROVES CIVIL UNIONS FOR SAME SEX COUPLES. The Cyprus House of Representatives approved a much-anticipated civil unions bill last week. Cyprus is the second most religious state in the European Union behind Malta.

The Cyprus Orthodox Christian church strongly opposes gay rights, saying last year that it considers homosexuality “an illness.”

Now, gay or straight couples entering a civil union will receive all the rights and obligations given to a married couple with the exception of joint adoption.

votes. Twelve MPs voted against the bill, 3 abstained, according to the Cyprus Mail. Cyprus’s president Nicos Anastasiades has not yet commented on passage of the bill. MP Nicholas Papadopoulos stated; ‘This bill is not about homosexuality, rather we are voting for freedom and equality, it is about allowing an alternative union.”

Cypriot LGBT rights activists applauded passage of the bill.

“It gives promise to gay people that they can be together legally,” said Nicholas Tryfon of the LGBT group Accept Cyprus. Tryfon went on to say; “We have been fighting for this for the past two years. Since the second gay pride parade it seems there is hope for change generally in the Cyprus community.”

The bill was passed with 39

AUSTRALIA’S FIRST GAY GAMING CONVENTION TO BE HELD IN SYDNEY, FEBRUARY 2016.

GX Australia, is billed by organizers as the Australiaǯs first queer gaming convention it features cosplay competitions and lots of gaming. The event will be held during the Sydney February 27 and 28, 2016 during the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras season.

GX Australia, sponsored by U.S. based GamerX and raised 55k (U.S. dollars) via Kickstarter, this will be the first time the event is being held outside the U.S.

According to Australia’s Gay News Network, Liam Esler and Joshua Meadows are leading GX Australia, in conjunction with GaymerX organizers MidBoss. Esler is Event Manager of Game Connect Asia Pacific; a game development conference in Australia and Meadows is the organizer of Sydney Gaymers, Australia’s largest queer gaming group.

The event will take place at Australian Technology Park in Sydney and promises to be an “unique, inclusive space for gamers, geeks, and allies of all stripes to come together regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.”

You can visit www.gxaustralia. com for more information.

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POP CULTURE

For this edition of Pop Culture we’re highlighting 6 Film/TV Characters that we love & the gay actors that portray them:

Jim Parsons

Cynthia Nixon

Matt Bomer

Sheldon Cooper – The Big Bang Theory Even though Sheldon has been described as “asexual” and “aromantic”, he has still been in a relationship with Amy Farrah Fowler, who he found on a dating website.

Miranda Hobbes – Sex and the City Miranda Hobbes is amongst the famous four ladies that graced the streets of New York City. She was married to Steve Brady the last time we saw her.

Neal Caffrey – White Collar Neal Caffrey is an ex-white collar conman who has been arrested by the FBI, but released with one stipulation: that he assist the FBI in catching and arresting the nation’s most high-profile white-collar criminals.He’s had multiple relationships in the show with women, even breaking out of prison once to visit one of them.

Jim Parsons, however, is openly gay and has been with his partner, art director Todd Spiewak, for the past 11 years.

Cynthia Nixon began dating education activist Christine Marinoni in 2004 and the couple married in NYC in 2012. Together, the couple have one son, born to Marinoni in 2011. Nixon identifies herself as bisexual

Matt Bomer has three sons with his husband, publicist Simon Halls, whom he married in 2011.

Jonathan Groff

Raven-Symoné

Jonathan Bennett

Jesse St. James is the king of the rival glee club to McKinley High School’s New Direction. In an attempt to eliminate the competition, he seduces New Direction’s star performer Rachel Berry into a relationship.

Raven Baxter – That’s So Raven Raven Baxter is an energetic, sassy, psychic teenager who catches glimpses or “visions” of the future but hardly ever the moments leading up to the event. Her shenanigans with her friends to try to lead up to the event often concludes in humorous results.

Aaron Samuels – Mean Girls Aaron Samuels, the previous boyfriend of head Plastic Regina George was definitely the teen heartthrob of this crazy school.

Jonathan Groff, who is actually best friends with Lea Michele, has been a Broadway star ever since he was a child. In 2009, he officially came out as gay during the National Equality March.

42: August 28, 2015

Raven-Symoné announced in 2014 to Oprah Winfrey that she was happily in an “amazing” relationship with her female partner.

Jonathan Bennett was accidentally outed

by Dancing With The Star’s Julianne Hough, who commented on the fact that he is, indeed, a proud gay man.