Gay News

The Thai Administrative Court has ruled that a LGBTI-themed film, Insects in the Backyard which has been banned since 2010, violates Section 287 of the Criminal Code.

The court says the short pornographic scene in the film violates Thai laws that prohibit the screening of pornographic films, in their entirety, or in part; and has impacts on morality and social decency.

The film by indie filmmaker Tanwarin Sukkhapisit reportedly contains an offending three-second scene where characters in the film are seen watching an X-rated gay movie which depicts graphic depiction of sexual organs and sexual intercourse, according to the Bangkok Post.

The court said the film can only be screened if the offending scene is cut to get a 20+ for audiences above the age of 20.

Following the film's ban by the Culture Ministry's National Film Board in 2010, the film's director filed a case with the Administrative Court to challenge the ban, making her the first filmmaker in Thailand to do so.

Jimmy Swaggart The Classics
SBN International, 7 July 2015, 17:00

Son Life Broadcasting Network International ( SBN International ) broadcasts on digital satellite platforms, primarily to a Christian audience. The channel's content consists of music and sermons by Christian televangelist Jimmy Swaggart and members of his ministry.

A complainant alerted Ofcom to homophobic comments made during a 1985 sermon delivered by Jimmy Swaggart to an audience in Texas, and included in this Jimmy Swaggart the Crusade Classics programme.

At about 17:52 Jimmy Swaggart moved to the centre of the stage and began his sermon. He said that the world, and more specifically the United States, was being inundated by a variety of sexual sins . He stated, Our nation staggers under a quagmire of filth . He then listed the following as filth : pornography ; homosexuality ; paedophilia ; sexual child abuse and incest, which runs rampant in the United States .

After referring to a Gay Pride event that had taken place in San Francisco, he stated that the Board of Deputies had issued a permit for this vile, degenerate event to be consummated , and went on to say that homosexuals were sex perverts, that is the correct terminology . To applause from the audience he added that homosexuals were not gay, not alternate lifestyle, but sex perverts . Describing scenes at the New Orleans Mardi Gras, he said that he saw repulsive looking transvestites , who had disgraced the floats with their obnoxious presence .

Ofcom considered its Rule 2.3:

In applying generally accepted standards broadcasters must ensure that material which may cause offence is justified by the context... Such material may include, but is not limited to...humiliation, distress, violation of human dignity, discriminatory treatment or language (for example on the grounds of age, disability, gender, race, religion, beliefs and sexual orientation).

Licensee Lancaster LLC stated that this programme was broadcast as a result of human error :

The fact that this programme aired in the UK on 7th July 2015 was a scheduling error which should not have occurred. Lancaster LLC acknowledged that some of the terminology used at the time this sermon was originally delivered might be considered offensive to members of the homosexual community in the present day, for which the channel sincerely apologizes.

Ofcom Decision: Breach of Rule 2.3

We first considered whether this content had the potential to cause offence. Ofcom noted that Jimmy Swaggart described a Gay Pride parade as a vile, degenerate event , homosexuals as sex perverts , and transvestites as disgracing floats at a carnival by their obnoxious presence . Specifically referring to the San Francisco Gay Pride event, Jimmy Swaggart described it as the most obscene demonstration in the history of modern day nations [which] took place uninterrupted in the city of San Francisco and a vile degenerate event to be consummated . Jimmy Swaggart did not specifically identify homosexual people as degenerate , but by referring to the Gay Parade event as a degenerate event , and an obscene demonstration , viewers would have been left in no doubt that the participants in the parade were themselves being viewed as degenerate and obscene . Further, although he did not describe homosexual people as filth , Jimmy Swaggart did include homosexuality in his list of sins which were filth . In our view this language was derogatory, homophobic and clearly capable of causing offence.

In Ofcom's view it would have been clear to viewers from factors like the on-screen graphic and style of dress of participants in the programme that the sermon dated from many years ago. We recognised that Jimmy Swaggart's remarks may have been likely to cause a lower level of offence to some when they were originally made in the 1980s. But we noted that when they were broadcast in this programme in 2015, they were much more likely to be understood by viewers as pejorative abuse, rather than remarks grounded in religious teaching. We noted that in his sermon Jimmy Swaggart did make some references to scripture seeking to support of his statements, but in our view none of his Biblical references (as summarised by the Licensee) clearly provided support from the Bible for describing homosexual people as sex perverts and homosexuality as filth . We concluded therefore that these comments were likely to have exceeded the expectations of the audience for this channel.

Breach of Rule 2.3

Shamefully Ofcom seem perfectly ok with heterosexual porn viewers being labelled as people staggering under a quagmire of filth.

Poppers remain popular amongst gay men, a staple of lifestyle shops such as Clone Zone , Bent and Prowler that go by the name aromas , along with being a regular sight for sale in gay bars, clubs and saunas.

Sometimes used simply for a mild (and brief) high, they are typically used as part of a sexual encounter. Let's be clear why many guys use them; they make it easier for bottoms to be fucked.

Not for much longer. The Psychoactive Substances Bill has already completed its run through the House of Lords and is now at the Report Stage in the House of Commons. It takes broad interpretation to 'psychoactive substances defining them in clause 1 as something that is capable of producing a psychoactive effect in a person who consumes it. This necessitates a series of exemptions contained in Schedule 1. This currently includes alcohol, caffeine and tobacco products (along with medicines etc).

Gay Star News is reporting that attempts to have poppers added to this list continue to fail with the Government adamant that they will fall within the ban.

Clause 5 of the Bill prohibits supply offering to supply, and possession with intent to supply offence. Import will be an offence under clause 8. Possession is not per se an offence under the legislation, but sharing with partners would fall within the scope of the Bill. The penalty for any of these offences could be up to a year imprisonment and/or a fine.

The Daily Mail has tried to talk up a few trivial tweets about the new BBC 2 drama, London Spy. The newspaper claims:

An Ofcom investigation has been launched into a new BBC drama after viewers complained about its gays sex scenes and nudity.

London Spy, a new thriller, was broadcast across the UK at 9pm on Monday on BBC 2. The programme stars Ben Whishaw, who is also Q in the new Bond film Spectre.

After 25 minutes of the show he is seen in a steamy sex scene with Edward Holcroft. Metal sex toys, bondage gear and a sex dungeon were also on show, for the first episode which had a peak viewing audience of three million.

The show had 13 complaints from viewers who were shocked by what they saw on their screens. Some people also took to Twitter to express their opinions.

Christian group the Evangelical Alliance were also angered. A spokesman told The Sun : We should expect better from our publicly-funded broadcaster.

However PinkNews begs to differ. Claims that the show received thirteen complaints and that the show will be investigated, have been rubbished by Ofcom. PinkNews explains:

The broadcasting watchdog contacted PinkNews to reveal they are yet to launch an investigation -- after receiving just a single complaint.

We've received one complaint about London Spy on BBC Two. We will assess this complaint before deciding whether to investigate or not, an Ofcom spokesman told PinkNews.

India's Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) has issued a notice to Star World for showing a lesbian encounter and for supposedly denigrating women in its popular soap Grey's Anatomy in June. The notice follows complaints from the ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B).

According to the ministry complaint, the scenes are indecent, vulgar. The BCCC has sought a response by December 1.

After viewing the episode, BCCC headed by Justice (retired) Mukul Mudgal was of the opinion that the content appeared to be explicit and objectionable.  A senior BCCC member added:

Keeping Indian audiences in mind we felt that the scenes were not tasteful. So we have asked them to respond.

In the episode that attracted complaints from viewers a lady doctor tells her male colleague about how she failed to please her partner. She asks him to teach her how to satisfy a woman's physical needs by demonstrating it.

Gayby Baby is a 2015 Australia family documentary by Maya Newell.
Starring David Rawle, Brendan Gleeson and Lisa Hannigan.

The documentary film follows the lives of four kids whose parents all happen to be gay. As they each wrestle with the onset of puberty, the outside world wrestles with the issue of marriage equality and whether or not kids of same-sex families are at risk.

The New South Wales (NSW) Education Minister had banned schools from screening the film in August. Now documents obtained under freedom of information laws reveal that the NSW Government has received 85 complaints about the films.

In total, 55 messages were received congratulating the Premier and the Minister for their courageous decision and for being men of principle in preventing the film from being shown in school time, eg:

God bless you for standing up to protect our lovely children from those who in the name of the 'freedom to be naughty' would seek to enslave them into a lifetime of weird unproductive sexuality.

The others complained about the ban. One complaint read:

Today you did something unconscionable. Today you told thousands of children across this state that they should be embarrassed about who they are.  The ramifications of this are on your shoulders.

Fairfax Media revealed in September that the attack on the film was fuelled by a Presbyterian minister who had the scripture classes he oversaw at the school cut back last year.

The New Cross sex cinema, Club 487, has had its license revoked by the miserable Lewisham Council.

There were reports of hard-core pornography being shown while customers pleasured themselves - and each other.

After a police raid in March , manager Peter Jones applied for a license in April, previously stating the venue was nothing more than a private members club . He told News Shopper:

People think they can come here and have sex like that. It's not like that. But what's wrong with it if there was? They're all over 21.

The council initially granted a license with a host of suffocating conditions, including installing CCTV in all rooms except the bathroom and only showing under-18 films.

In a council meeting on October 20 councillors deemed the basement was, in fact, being used as a sex cinema and R18 movies were being screened, something which needed a further license. Coun Janet Dab said:

We expect all licensed businesses in Lewisham to operate responsibly and to comply with licencing conditions. Club 487 clearly flouted these and the consequence was the loss of their licence.

Hailed as its biggest and best yet, Chester Pride was a roaring success this year for all involved. However for some it was more than an excuse to wear some bright colours, have a giggle with friends or see who can drink the most beer in a seven hour period. For Nice 'n' Naughty Director Simon Prescott it was a way to honour a close friend who sadly passed away this year.

Michael Britain, aka Hank, had always been a very ardent supporter of Pride and when he passed away Nice 'n' Naughty wanted to make sure that he was remembered so set out with the full backing of the company director Simon Prescott and help from local businesses the Golden Eagle, Duttons, Bar Lounge, Liquor & Co. Kings Head and Coach House to ensure that Hanks memory was honoured.

Setting up in local bar The Golden Eagle, Chester Store Manager Victoria Gower and fellow member of staff Karen Hewitt set up a table full of rainbow goodies and joined forces with long-time friend of the company Ken Pleavin. After arming Ken with book of raffle tickets, and themselves with a list of weights for a fun version of "Guess The Weight" the group held fun demonstrations for couples toy Electrastim on the willing crowds and drew giggles and gasps when they revealed the actual weight of the toy. (To give you a clue -- his first name was SUPER!)

The raffle with its wide selection of prizes ranging from wine and store vouchers, electro-sex kits kindly donated by our suppliers and a £210 male toy. With such an eclectic range of prizes the raffle raised a whopping £150 towards Pride with the goal being to keep the event free. Despite raising a lot of laughs and a large amount of money Victoria felt that she could have done more and was ecstatic when Simon, who was touched by the amount of effort Victoria and friends had put in informed her that Nice 'n' Naughty would increase the money raised, bringing the grand total to £400.

Photo: Carl Jackson AKA Betty Sparkle Entertainment Coordinator, Rebecca Chester's Sponsorship coordinator, David Ewart-Jones Concessions coordinator, Ken Pleavin Organiser of Golden Eagle event, Trish Murray Nice 'n' Naughty, Steph DJ and Night dance gospel singer.

Vicky is already counting the days until next year's Pride and has promised us that she's got a lot more tricks up her sleeve.

Nice 'n' Naughty is honoured again to be supporting The Golden Eagle on Saturday 19th December for a "Kinky Christmas" party with fantastic entertainment again from Dj Steph and Disco/Dance Vocalist Night.

For more details and to view future events, Follow us on Facebook and Twitter

Wasp is a 2015 UK / France / Switzerland / Lebanon drama by Philippe Audi-Dor.
Starring Hugo Bolton, Elly Condron and Simon Haycock.

British film WASP was about to play at the Beirut International Film Festival, when it was banned by the Lebanese Censorship Bureau. Director Philippe Audi-Dor commented:

I am very disappointed that Wasp won't be screening at the renowned Beirut International Film Festival because of its LGBT content. That said, I do understand that the film touches upon a delicate subject, and do respect the censorship bureau's decision. I do think however that the cancelling of the movie emphasizes just how relevant a film like Wasp is in today's world.

LGBT films have been shown at the Beirut International Film Festival before without issue.

BBFC Insight about the sex content

Passed 15 uncut for strong language, sex, sex references

A couple are seen having rear entry sex, with close up shots of flesh and facial expressions. There are also strong sex references, with dialogue relating to role-play sex and several frank conversations about sexuality and infidelity.

There is brief natural breast nudity as a woman changes her clothes in the company of another character.

Promotional Material

Having left England for a romantic escapade in the south of France, Olivier and James invite Caroline along at the very last minute. She was just left by her long-time boyfriend and is in need of a change of scenery. The trio arrives in a little Provencal village, somewhat cut off from the world. Though everything seems calm between the pool, sunshine and a village visit, Olivier finds himself more and more intrigued by Caroline. A tension of sexual jealousy and possessiveness will escalade between the three.