Opinion
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17 April 2008Ken tours London’s gay bars with his posse 22 It was a surreal moment in an already bizarre election; Ken Livingstone standing at the bar in Comptons, chatting happily to bears about his plans for London if he's elected for a third time as the city's Mayor. -
15 April 2008INTERVIEW: The Socialist alternative for London 26 Lindsey German may be known to some Londoners for her work with the Stop The War Coalition, but the party she represents is entirely new.The Left List is part of what used to be the Respect party. -
11 April 2008INTERVIEW: The hottest lesbian comedy on the net + From soap star to veritable lesbian icon, Executive Producer and actress Maeve Quinlan's on the cutting edge of scripted comedy with the hilarious and irreverent lesbian-themed Internet romp, 3Way.Along with her former co-workers and best pals, Nancylee Myatt and Paige Bernhardt, Quinlan conceived of and created the sensation that has become 3Way, about a straight soap actress who moves her best gay girlfriend into her home only to be followed by an array of whacky lesbian characters. -
7 April 2008Interview: The vibrant support network for LGB soldiers + The issue of gay people serving in the Armed Forces still divides politicians in the US.For the rest of the countries in the NATO alliance, the claims and counter-claims about unit cohesion and the "influence" of gays on fighting men seem like echoes from another time.The Dutch lifted their ban on gays in 1974, Australia followed in 1992 and Canada soon after. -
4 April 2008Sir Ian McKellen: coming out politicised me 5 Last night veteran gay rights campaigner and co-founder of Stonewall Sir Ian McKellen gave the keynote speech at the gay equality organisation's annual Equality Dinner.540 guests attended and more than £320,000 was raised.For many people, the highlight of the evening was the following speech by Sir Ian, exploring the history of Stonewall and what its priorities are for the future. -
3 April 2008COMMENT: Straight male machismo underpins all tyranny 3 In a speech to the European Feminist Summit in London last month, activist and human rights advocate Peter Tatchell argued that by challenging traditional heterosexual masculinity, the queer emancipation movement can contribute to the liberation of all of humanity.Queer liberation is not a mere minority issue, nor purely a questionof personal lifestyle, civil rights or sexual freedom. -
28 March 2008INTERVIEW: Pi, mythology and the black male form + A church is not the sort of place one would expect to find a celebration of male sexuality.But next month, St Pancras Church Crypt will play host to the 'Reverie' exhibition by London artist Charlie Pi, showcasing his interpretation of masculinity and sex.Known for his paintings of the black male form, the Deptford-based artist will premiere a selection of 50 new oil paintings of black male iconography displayed on unconventional canvases, such as old table tops and bread boards. -
25 March 2008INTERVIEW: From soaps to Soviet murder mystery + Tom Rob Smith doesn't believe in stereotypes, particularly the one that says a gay, former TV soap writer can't pen an intense, hard-hitting Cold War thriller.Child 44 counfounds assumptions about gay writers.His first novel, it caused a fierce bidding war at the London Book Fair and was eventually sold to 22 countries. -
25 March 2008COMMENT: Can celebs swing the Democratic nomination? + Obama or Clinton? It seems to be a question at the forefront of every American Democrat's mind going into to this year's important Presidential election.While the Republican Party has elected their representative as John McCain, the other side seems to be a struggle less about the ideals of the candidates, which are very similar, and more about a popularity contest.Questions have been raised about who is more electable, who has more experience, and who has a better message. -
25 March 2008INTERVIEW: Basketball’s stereotype-busting gay icon 3 There can be no better introduction to the conversation of John Amaechi than to relay his thoughts on the American press and basketball-loving public's reaction to the revelation that this giant of the game is gay."I knew it would be fuss-worthy, especially in America. -
21 March 2008Comment: Is Clinton really any different to Obama? 14 Ann Turner tosses up whether either one of Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton is worthy of her vote in the Democratic primary. -
19 March 2008Comment: Obama’s hit and miss speech on race 6 In a speech prompted by extensive media coverage of the divisive, racially-tinged sermons of his pastor and 'spiritual mentor' of the last twenty years, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama today attempted to address concerns over his stance on issues, including race and patriotism, that have dogged his campaign for the last week.Speaking from the National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia, Senator Obama's words yesterday broadened the context of the debate beyond the firestorm surrounding Reverend Wright's comments alone and instead focused on the subject of race in America. -
19 March 2008Barack Obama on race in America 6 "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union."Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy. -
13 March 2008Comment: Hillary and the Eliot Spitzer effect + On the heels of Samantha Power "resigning" from Barack Obama's campaign for calling Hillary Clinton a "monster" comes news that LGBT Council member Maxim Thorne has been bumped from his post for a similarly tactless use of words.In an email blasting Clinton's "who do you want answering the phone at 3am" rhetoric, Thorne wrote:"At 3am, Hillary said she and Bill were in bed and she knows of all the calls a President gets at different times of the day and night.Really?" -
7 March 2008Comment: Florida’s governor is a hypocrite 4 As far as Republican governors go, Charlie Crist appears to be a pretty good guy.He comes across as fair, smart, even-handed and independent in his thinking, and he has even broken ranks with conservatives from time to time to do what he perceives to be the right thing.And while he doesn't support gay marriage or gay adoption, he has publicly supported gay civil unions, which, socially, pretty much puts him miles ahead of the majority of his Republican colleagues. -
3 March 2008Interview: Critic turned playwright explores Gielgud’s darkest hour + Plague Over England, the new play by Nicholas de Jongh currently playing at the Finborough Theatre in London, opened last week to favourable reviews from the national press.Which must have been a double relief to the playwright, the theatre critic of the Evening Standard since 1991.Billed as a play about the 1953 arrest of actor Sir John Gielgud for cruising, in fact it accurately portrays several intersecting gay lives in the period. -
25 February 2008Interview: Gays and the United States military 3 It is almost eight years since the British government moved to allow openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people to serve in our Army, Navy and Air Force.We were by no means the first. -
19 February 2008Interview: Mayoral candidate wants London free of the EU + The UK Independence Party is misunderstood and misrepresented, their candidate for Mayor of London tells me when we meet.Gerard Batten is a somewhat unusual politician, in that he is a member of a parliament that he desires to have no power over the lives of his constituents.As an MEP for London since 2004, he spends his days in Brussels trying to think up new ways to discredit and dismantle the European Union (or "ferment rebellion" as he describes it). -
14 February 2008Comment: Peter Tatchell on sexing the future 1 February is LGBT History Month, with hundreds of events taking place across the country to promote awareness of the contribution to society of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.In a culture that has, until recently, persecuted queers and suppressed us from public life, this reclamation of hidden LGBT history is a welcome and much needed historical correction.But history is about the past. -
11 February 2008Interview: The former cop who wants to run London + Brian Paddick is enjoying running for Mayor of London.
