LGBT Related Radio and TV Programmes, 26th July - 1st August

We seek them out so you don't have to. This is our weekly non-exhaustive round up of upcoming LGBT programmes on the radio and television. Inclusion of a programme is not a recommendation.
Enjoy!

Some of the radio programmes listed below can be listened to again via the Listen Again facility of the BBC's website while some of the television programmes will remain available also for a week on the BBC's iplayer.

Radio
Saturday 26th
BBC Radio 2 - 5-7pm: Paul Gambaccini
BBC Radio 4 - 10am: Excess Baggage. Sandi Toksvig presents
6 Music - 12midnight: BBC Introducing… New acts presented by Tom Robinson

Sunday 27th
BBC Radio 2 - 2.30pm: Pick of the Pops. 1971 and ‘87 charts with Dale Winton
BBC Radio 3 - 11am: Dr Who Prom

Monday 28th
6 Music - 1am: New Music with Tom Robinson
BBC Radio 4 - 11.30pm: The Pain of Laughter, The Last Days of Kenneth Williams, Part 1

Tuesday 29th
BBC Radio 4 - 11.30pm: The Pain of Laughter, The Last Days of Kenneth Williams, Part 2

Wednesday 30th
BBC Radio 4 - 6.30pm: Count Arthur Strong’s Radio Show. With Sue Perkins
BBC Radio 7 - 8am & 7pm: Beyond our Ken

Thursday 31st
BBC Radio 4 - 9am: Between Ourselves. Includes an Irish woman who left her husband for a woman and her battles with her cultural background

Friday 1st
BBC Radio 4 - 3pm: Ramblings. Clare Balding on walking holidays
BBC Radio 4 - 7.15pm: Front Row. Interview with KD Lang
6 Music - 7pm: New Music with Tom Robinson

Television

Entertainment and documentaries
Saturday 26th
BBC1 - 6.55pm: Last Choir Standing. Will Brighton’s Gay Men’s Chorus make it through?
BBC2 - 11pm: Comedy Connections. Features the late Nigel Hawthorne in Yes Minister (rpt.)
BBC3 - 7pm: Snog, Marry, Avoid? Reality show with a camp twist
BBCHD - 7pm: Last Choir Standing
ITV3 - 7.30pm: Cadfael. Derek Jacobi plays a monk detective
UKTV Gold - 8am: Dr Who, followed by Carry On films until 9pm
Sky Mainstreet - 6am and 11pm: Pet Shop Boys
Biography - 8am: Judy Garland
Nat Geographic - 9pm: American Skinheads. US doc. on one of Britain’s nastiest exports

Sunday 27th
BBC1 - 7.35pm: last Choir Standing. Results from previous evening
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who, followed by Dr Who Confidential (rpt.)
BBCHD - 9pm: Florence Nightingale
E4 - 11pm: Shameless
Dave - 11.10pm: QI
UKTV Gold - 9am: Dr Who, followed by Carry On films till 9pm
FX - 10pm: Dexter. Michael C. Hall (David Fisher from Six Feet Under) plays the eponymous serial killer who works in forensics at the NY Police

Monday 28th
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who, followed by DR Who Confidential
C4 - 12.55pm: Will and Grace
More4 - 10.35pm: The Victorian Sex Explorer. (S)explorer Sir Richard Burton investigated by Rupert Everett
Dave - 11.40pm: QI
Sky Arts - 6pm: Simon Callow’s Classical Destinations (HD)

Tuesday 29th
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who followed by Dr Who Confidential (rpt.)
ITV1- 10.40pm: Kingdom. Stephen Fry plays the East Anglian lawyer (rpt.)
C4 - 9pm: Gordon Ramsay’s ‘F’ Word. Ramsay vies with Graham Norton over what to do with your peaches
Five - 8pm: Sex and the Neanderthals. LGBT content not assured but possible.
Fiver - 6am: Ellen DeGeneres Show
FX - 10pm: Dexter

Wednesday 30th
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who followed by Dr Who Confidential (rpt.)
ITV1 - 10.30am: This Morning. Song from Billy Elliott
C4 - 10pm: Dangerous Jobs for Girls. Brit women have a go at being cowboys in Brazil.
UKTV Gold - 7am and 4pm: Dr Who
Fiver - 6am: The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Thursday 31st
C4 - 11.15pm: The World’s Worst Sex Change Surgeon. True story of “Doctor” John Ronald Brown, who did terrible things to vulnerable trans people for 30 years
five - 10pm: Grey’s Anatomy
Dave - 10pm: QI
Fiver - 6am: The Ellen DeGeneres Show
FX - 11.30pm: Dexter

Friday 1st
BBC2 - 10pm: QI. Very first episode repeated
BBC4 - 10pm: Neil Diamond at Glastonbury
UKTV Gold - 7am and 4pm: Dr Who
Fiver - 6am: The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Film and drama
Saturday 26th
BBC1 - 10.05pm: Flight Plan. Air-bound thriller with Jodie Foster (2005)
BBC2 - 12noon: The Seven Year Itch. Marilyn Monroe
BBC2 - 2.05am: Emile. Ian McKellen plays a professor seeking his identity (2003)
ITV1 - 2.35am: The Krays. With The Kemps (1990)
5 - 12.55pm: Samson and Delilah. DeMille, Mature and Lamarr

Sunday 27th
BBC1 - 10.50pm: Muriel’s Wedding. Aussie camp classic with bags of Abba
Classics - 4.55pm and 1.35am: Some Like it Hot

Monday 28th
BBC1 - 11.05pm: Frida. Bio-pic of the bisexual Marxist Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. A must see
Film4 - 6.45pm: Tea with Mussolini. Zeffirelli directs Dame Judi, Joan Plowright, Maggie Smith, Lilly Tomlin and Cher
Sky Indie - 3.30pm: Wilde. Stephen Fry and Jude Law
Sky Indie - 5.50pm: Volver. Almadovar directs. Penelope Cruz stars

Wednesday 29th
Film4 - 11pm: Beautiful Thing. Jonathan Harvey’s gay rom-com gets another airing

Friday 1st
ITV1 - 2.15am: The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It’s just a jump to the left…

Hadrian's life uncovered in new British Museum exhibition

Think of Roman Emperor Hadrian and the first thing that springs to mind is the wall that bears his name, separating England from the revolting Picts. However, there were many sides to Hadrian, as a new exhibition about his life reveals. As well as being a great leader who strengthened the empire through consolidation and crushed dissent ruthlessly, Hadrian was also a cultured man and the first openly gay emperor.


Hadrian: Empire and Conflict, opened at the British Museum today. It offers a new perspective on the personal life and career of a man of many contradictions.

Hadrian, full name Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus, was born in AD 76 to a family of Spanish descent.His father died when he was a young boy, and he was taken under the wing of the Emperor Trajan, who groomed him for succession. Hadrian excelled as a military leader and was married to Trajan’s great-niece, further cementing his future succession. He eventually became emperor on Trajan’s death in 117 AD.

However, the marriage was one of convenience rather than love; neither Hadrian nor his wife was happy. Instead, Hadrian consoled himself with a string of lovers, including a young Greek boy named Antinous. Homosexual relationships were nothing new during the Roman Empire, however, the extent to which Hadrian expressed his devotion for Antinous was unusual.

The young man became a consort of the emperor, accompanying him on his many travels. It was during one such trip to Egypt that Antinous drowned in the Nile in 130 AD. Devastated by this loss, Hadrian founded an entire city, Antinoupolis, in memory of his lover, near the spot where he had died. The emperor’s grief was such that he had Antinous deified as a god and many statues, busts and silverware featuring Antinous’ image were made. Some are included in the exhibition.

However, this soft, romantic side to Hadrian contrasted dramatically with his role as a military leader. He was often ferocious in his suppression of dissent, particularly during a Jewish revolt in Jerusalem in 132 AD.

Hadrian was well known as a great traveller. It is said he travelled more widely, and met many more of his subjects than any other emperor. He also showed a great interest in architecture, and oversaw the construction of many iconic buildings, including the Pantheon in Rome and the Villa Adriana in Tivoli, a magnificent celebration of Greek and Egyptian art and culture.

Hadrian died in 138 AD, aged 62 and is regarded as one of the "Five Good Emperors." Thorsten Opper, the curator of the exhibition, hailed Hadrian as an "extremely successful emperor who left an immense and enduring legacy."

Certainly, Hadrian was a man of many faces – military champion, political strategist, ruthless leader, man of the people, lover of culture, grief-stricken lover – and gay icon. History should remember him as a complex man with many passions.

Hadrian: Empire and Conflict opens at the British Museum in London on 24th July until 26th October.

More details are available here.

With thanks to PinkNews.co.uk

LGBT Related Radio and TV Programmes, 19th - 25th July

We seek them out so you don't have to. This is our weekly non-exhaustive round up of upcoming LGBT programmes on the radio and television. Inclusion of a programme is not a recommendation.
Enjoy!

Some of the radio programmes listed below can be listened to again via the Listen Again facility of the BBC's website while some of the television programmes will remain available also for a week on the BBC's iplayer.

Radio
Saturday 19
BBC Radio 2 - 5-7pm: Paul Gambaccini
BBC Radio 4 -10am: Excess Baggage. Sandi Toksvig presents
BBC Radio 4 - 1pm: Any Questions. Matthew Parris
6 Music - 12midnight: BBC Introducing… New acts presented by Tom Robinson

Sunday 20th
BBC Radio 2 - 2.30pm: Pick of the Pops. 1960 and ‘85 charts with Dale Winton
BBC Radio 7 - 1.30 & 7.30pm: Stop Messing About. Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick and Joan Sims from 1969

Monday 21st
6 Music - 1am: New Music with Tom Robinson

Wednesday 23rd
BBC Radio 4 - 6.30pm: Count Arthur Strong’s Radio Show. With Sue Perkins
BBC Radio 7 - 8am & 7pm: Beyond our Ken

Friday 25th
BBC Radio 4 - 3pm: Ramblings. Clare Balding on walking holidays
6 Music - 7pm: New Music with Tom Robinson
BBC London 94.9 - 3-5pm: Danny Baker. With Amy Lame or Baylen Leonard

Television

Entertainment and Documentaries
Saturday 19th
BBC1 - 6.25pm and 9.10: Last Choir Standing. Will Brighton’s Gay Men’s Chorus make it through?
BBC2 - 8pm: Hadrian. Dan Snow’s analysis coincides with the British Museum’s exhibition and hides neither the wall maker’s gay credentials, nor his attempts to wipe out the Jews.
ITV3 - 7.25pm: Cadfael. Derek Jacobi plays a monk detective

Sunday 20th
C4 - 10pm: The Sunday Night Project. Alan Carr. Will Young is guest presenter
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who, followed by Dr Who Confidential (rpt.)
E4 - 11pm: Shameless
Dave - 11.10pm: QI
FX - 10pm: Dexter. Michael C. Hall (David Fisher from Six Feet Under) plays the eponymous serial killer who works in forensics at the NY Police

Monday 21st
BBC1 - 2.35 am: A Taste of My Life. Nigel Slater and Jo Brand
C4 - 1pm: Will and Grace
Sky Arts - 6pm: Simon Callow’s Classical Destinations (HD)

Tuesday 22nd
BBC1 - 2.05am: A Taste of My Life. Nigel Slater and Neil Morrissey
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who followed by Dr Who Confidential (rpt.)
ITV1 - 12.30pm and 2.05am: Loose Women. Aussie gay singer/songwriter Darren Hayes guests
ITV1 - 10.40pm: Kingdom. Stephen Fry plays the East Anglian lawyer (rpt.)
Five - 9am: The Wright Stuff. Christopher Biggins guests
FX - 10pm: Dexter
Sky Arts -7pm: Rufus Wainwright (HD)
Sky Arts - 7.30pm: Ballet Rocks (HD)

Wednesday 23rd
BBC1 - 2.50am: A Taste of My Life. Liz Smith
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who followed by Dr Who Confidential (rpt.)
Five - 9am: The Wright Stuff. Christopher Biggins guests
UKTV Gold - 7am and 4pm: Dr Who
Fiver - 6am: The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Thursday 24th
BBC1 - 3.05am: A Taste of My Life. John Hurt
C4 - 1pm: Will and Grace
BBC1 - 9pm: John Barrowman: The Making of Me. In the first of a science 3-parter exploring the nature vs. nurture debate, a number of experts test Barrowman’s assertion that he was born on our bus
C4 - 11.15pm: The Sunday Night Project. Will Young is guest presenter (rpt.)
5 - 9am: The Wright Stuff. Christopher Biggins guests
5 - 10pm: Grey’s Anatomy
Dave - 10.20pm: Absolute Power. Stephen Fry as a spin doctor
Fiver - 6am: The Ellen DeGeneres Show
FX - 11.30pm: Dexter
Biography - 7pm: Greta Garbo

Friday 25th
BBC1 - 10.35pm: Comedy Connections. Features the late Nigel Hawthorne in Yes Minister
ITV2 - 11.15pm: Benicassim. Spanish rockfest features Mika. Well, he might be
C4 - 1pm: Will and Grace
UKTV Gold - 7am and 4pm: Dr Who
Fiver - 6am: The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Films and Drama
Saturday 19th
Sky Indie - 11.10am: Wilde. Stephen Fry and Jude Law

Wednesday 24th
Sky Indie - 4.10pm: Wilde. Stephen Fry and Jude Law

Side by Side LGBT International Film Festival

The first edition of Side by Side, Saint Petersburg's international LGBT film festival is scheduled to take place in October this year.

Showcasing the very best in contemporary lesbian and gay cinema from around the world the festival aims to not only create a cultural space that allows for the celebration of sexual diversity but a forum for discussion with society at large. By generating a positive dialogue of understanding through the medium of high-quality, intelligent film Side by Side endeavors to facilitate change and fundamentally bring about broader acceptance of minority groups within society.

To find out more visit www.sbsff.com/en

New LGBT History Month 2009 Badges Available

The badges for LGBT History Month 2009 are now available. There are two different colour schemes: black and pink, and purple and lime. They cost £2.50 each including package and postage.

We also offer the option of buying them in bulk with a discount for any organisation wanting to do a little fundraising for themselves.

Click here or on the picture above to find out more.

Also available from that link are our fabulous t-shirts!

Education Minister to Speak at History Month Launch

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Education Kevin Brennan will be a keynote speaker at the pre-launch of LGBT History Month 2009. The pre-launch is held every November, to encourage organisations to start planning community events for LGBT History Month itself, the following February.

Last year's key speakers at the event were Baroness Scotland, the Attorney General, and Barbara Follett, the then Minister for Equality. The presence of both highlighted the generous and continuous support provided to the Month by several government bodies, such as the Ministry for Justice, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Metropolitan Police Service and Metropolitan Police Authority, and the Department of Health. This is the first time however that the education department gives such open and outright support to the Month, which could become a highly efficient tool for schools to tackle homophobia and transphobia in the classroom.

The focus this year will be on education and youth and the event will be held at Stoke Newington School in Hackney. The school was one of the first to embrace LGBT History Month into its calendar and has shared its pioneering ideas in a report on the LGBT History Month website.

Tony Fenwick, co-chair, of Schools OUT and History Month said: "We are delighted that the Department for Children, Schools and Family is taking transphobic and homophobic bullying seriously. It looks like they are going to tackle the challenge."

Annie Gammon, the head of Stoke Newington School, declared herself "delighted to be hosting this vital and exciting event.”

During this year's edition of History Month, at the Schools OUT conference, Kevin Brennan has committed the government to eradicating homophobic bullying from British schools.

Originally published on 5 July 2008

LGBT Related Radio and TV Programmes, 12th - 18th July

We seek them out so you don't have to. This is our weekly non-exhaustive round up of upcoming LGBT programmes on the radio and television. Inclusion of a programme is not a recommendation.
Enjoy!

Some of the radio programmes listed below can be listened to again via the Listen Again facility of the BBC's website while some of the television programmes will remain available also for a week on the BBC's iplayer.

Radio
Saturday 12th
BBC Radio 2 - 5-7pm: Paul Gambaccini
BBC Radio 4 - 10am: Excess Baggage. Sandi Toksvig presents
BBC Radio 4 - 13.10pm: Any Questions - discussion about the Christian Islington registar who refuses to perform Civil Partnerships (followed by Any Answers: the auditors react to Any Questions). Lord Tebbit features.
6 Music - 12midnight: BBC Introducing… New acts presented by Tom Robinson

Sunday 13th
BBC Radio 2 - 2.30pm: Pick of the Pops. 1969 and ‘84 charts with Dale Winton

Monday 14th
6 Music - 1am: New Music with Tom Robinson

Wednesday 16th
BBC Radio 4 - 6.30pm: Count Arthur Strong’s Radio Show. With Sue Perkins
BBC Radio 7 - 7pm: Beyond our Ken

Thursday 17th
BBC Radio 4 - 9am: Between Ourselves. Examines marriages where one partner is trans. Repeated 9.30pm

Friday 18th
BBC Radio 4 - 3pm: Ramblings - Clare Balding on walking holidays
6 Music - 7pm: New Music with Tom Robinson
BBC Radio 4 - 8pm: Any Questions. Matthew Parris features.

Television

Entertainment and documentary
Saturday 12th
BBC1 - 7pm: Last Choir Standing. Brighton Gay Men's Chorus features
BBC2 - 10.45pm: Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa.
ITV3 - 7.25pm: Cadfael. Derek Jacobi plays a monk detective
Sky Arts - 5.30pm: Liza Minelli

Sunday 13th
ITV2 - 12.40am: The Feeling Live at IndigO2
BBC1 - 5.35pm: Dr Who. Last two editions played back to back
C4 - 10pm: The Sunday Night Project. Alan Carr

Monday 14th
BBC3 - 12.15am: The Thin Blue Line
BBC2 - 7.30pm: Return to…Airport. Return to early reality TV
C4 - 1pm: Will and Grace

Tuesday 15th
BBC2 - 7pm: Return to Airport
BBC2 - 10pm: The Culture Show. A deep look at Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel
BBC2 - 11.20pm: reputations: Frankie Howerd

Wednesday 16th
BBC2 - 7pm: Hadrian’s Wall: Timewatch. The Roman’s most famous out gay emperor. Will they mention this?
BBCHD - 11.20pm: Torchwood (rpt)

Thursday 17th
C4 - 1pm: Will and Grace
Five - 10pm: Grey’s Anatomy

Friday 18th
C4 - 1pm: Will and Grace

Film and Drama
Sunday 13th
Sky Indie - 12.40pm: Volver

Monday 14th
Sky Indie - 2.50am: Volver

Tuesday 15th
Film4 - 1.35am: Beautiful Thing
Five - 9pm: The Opposite of Sex

Wednesday 16th
Film4 -1.30am: Lie
Sky Indie - 10.35am Wilde

Military Pride - Imperial War Museum North

This week-end sees the opening at the northern branch of the Imperial War Museum of a small display which reveals via portrait photography and personal testimony the experiences of LGBT people within the context of conflict, war and military service. Military Pride also details changes in historical and cultural context and a timeline of post 1945 legislation and policies within the Armed Forces and is timed to connect with the Manchester Pride Festival.

The display of 12 personal testimonies reflects through contributors’ own words how war and conflict have shaped people in the LGBT communities' lives from 1945 to the present day. As well as reflecting adversity the display aims to celebrate the achievements and reflect the positive contributions of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities to the Armed Forces and examine how experiences may have changed since 1945.

Catherine Roberts, Visitor Programmes Manager, Imperial War Museum North says: "The experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, within the context of conflict, war and military service, is arguably still a largely hidden history. Through this small but important display hopefully we can make a step towards helping to reveal and celebrate it."

An intimate, temporary display, Military Pride will have a permanent legacy as the histories collected will form part of Imperial War Museum’s collections for future generations and it is hoped that the display will also tour.

Imperial War Museum North has a 3-year history of delivering tours and events relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender experience in war and conflict from the First World War to the present day, reflecting the Museum's focus on how war has shaped and continues to shape peoples lives.

To view a timeline on equal rights in the armed forces from 1955 onward, click here

Related free events

A Closer Look Tour: Pride
Fri 15, Mon 18, Wed 20 & Fri 22 August 1.30pm
A free tour focusing on the hidden histories of LGBT communities in periods of war and peacekeeping.

Military Pride Night
Main Exhibition Space, Saturday 16 August 6.30 – 8.30pm
A tour of the WaterWay exhibition, good company and a drink, celebrating the contributions of LGBT communities in the armed services. There will be an opportunity for a Q&A with the curators during the evening. booking required on 0161 836 4007.

Military Pride
12 July – 12 October
Admittance is free
Imperial War Museum North
The WaterWay
Manchester
Website

Bulletin No 48

The latest edition of the LGBT History Month bulletin is now available, as usual packed-full of news, information, notices of upcoming events and quotations.

To access the latest bulletin please click on one of the links below:
word document
pdf file

You can view all previous bulletins here or register to our mailing list here.

LGBT Related Radio and TV Programmes, 8th – 11th June

We seek them out so you don't have to. This is our weekly non-exhaustive round up of upcoming LGBT programmes on the radio and television. Inclusion of a programme is not a recommendation.
Enjoy!

Some of the radio programmes listed below can be listened to again via the Listen Again facility of the BBC's website while some of the television programmes will remain available also for a week on the BBC's iplayer.

Radio
Wednesday 9th
BBC Radio 4 - 6.30pm: Count Arthur Strong’s Radio Show. With Sue Perkins
BBC Radio 7 - 7pm: Beyond our Ken

Friday 11th
BBC Radio 4 - 2.15pm: Afternoon Play. Funeral Games by Joe Orton
6 Music - 7pm: New Music with Tom Robinson

Television

Entertainment and Documentaries
Wednesday 9th
E4 - 10pm: Shameless (rpt)
UK Gold - 11pm: Little Britain
Sky Arts - 9pm: What the Dickens? Sandi Toksvig presents a cultural quiz.

Thursday 10th
BBC3 - 9pm: Alesha; Look but don’t Touch. Singer Alesha Dixon looks at pressure on girls to stay thin
ITV1 - 11.40pm: Bouncers. Based in Manchester during Mardi Gras (rpt.)
C4 - 11.15pm: Sunday Night Project (rpt.)
Five - 10pm: Grey’s Anatomy

Friday 11th
BBC2 - 10pm: QI. Stephen Fry (rpt)

Film and Drama
Friday 11th
Sky Indie - 6.15pm: Wilde. Stephen Fry and Jude Law

Publication of European Report on Homophobia and Transphobia - part 1

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has just released the first part of a report on the state of Homosexual Rights in the 27 member states of the Union.

The FRA, which is based in Vienna, was inaugurated on March 1, 2007. It is the successor to the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC). The report forms a comprehensive study on homophobia, transphobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.

The report analyses comparatively key legal provisions, relevant judicial data, such as court decisions, and case law in the Member States. In addition, the report identifies and highlights 'good practice' in the form of positive measures and initiatives to overcome under-reporting of LGBT discrimination, to promote inclusion and to protect transgender persons.

The report identifies differences in treatment and protection by the law for LGBT people and a lack of full and equal enjoyment of rights in areas of EU competence particularly with regard to same sex partnerships. This relates to rights and benefits provided for spouses and partners under the EU’s Free Movement Directive, the Family Reunification Directive and the Qualification Directive.

The report also highlights that homophobic hate speech and hate crime represent obstacles to the possibility for individuals to exercise their free movement and other rights in a non-discriminatory manner. Homophobia could be combated more effectively using EU wide criminal legislation.

“Equal treatment is a fundamental right that all members of our society should enjoy”, said FRA’s Director Morten Kjaerum, “the fact that Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transsexuals are not treated equally in some aspects of EU legislation, particularly concerning same sex couples should be a cause of concern for us all. More comprehensive legal protection, as well as wider powers and resources for equality bodies are required, and I urge that the new measures on non-discrimination discussed by the EU will ensure this”.

The report is based on national reports and a comparative analysis by FRA's Legal Experts group. The national reports are available at the bottom of this page. The legal report itself can be downloaded here (PDF file).

FRA ’s legal analysis is the first of two reports related to homophobia and discrimination experienced by members of the LGBT community. The second report detailing the social aspects will be released later in the autumn.

In the same week, the European Commission released its new discrimination directive, yesterday. Details available here.

FRA on Wikipedia
FRA website

London Literature Festival

The London Literature Festival brings together words, stories, ideas and laughter to the city's original festival site. Be inspired, entertained, dream and debate, with a packed programme of events that reflect the dynamism and globalism of the city.

Specially commissioned performances, readings from prize-winning authors, comedy, music, debate and three major book prizes, all take place during an exciting two weeks. The festival which is running between the 5th and 19th July at the South Bank Centre, will offer a number of events with LGBT people, such as:

ANDREW O'HAGAN WITH JENNY DISKI, FERDINAND MOUNT AND COLM TOIBIN
Saturday 5 July
This event examines the concept of the essay as a literary form.

RICHARD SENNETT WITH GRAYSON PERRY, IAN BOSTRIDGE & MARINA WARNER
Saturday 5 July
Richard Sennett joins sculptor Grayson Perry, tenor Ian Bostridge and writer Marina Warner to discuss the value and importance of craftsmanship in the digital age.

DIRTY BOOKS
Saturday 5 July
Writers, readers and performers get down and dirty for a celebration of literary pornography presented by Rupert Smith (alias bestselling porn author James Lear and one of the people behind the House of Homosexual Culture), with Mathilde Madden, Suzanne Portnoy and Elizabeth Coldwell, editor of Forum magazine.

ANDREW SEAN GREER WITH COLM TOIBIN
Sunday 6 July
Andrew Sean Greer visits from San Francisco to read from The Story of a Marriage, an evocative novel set in 1950s America.

CITY LIGHTS
Monday 14 July
A celebration of the urban experience in queer fiction. Join Christopher Fowler, Maureen Duffy, Paul Burston, David Llewllyn, Andrea Stuart, Bertie Marshall and Brian Paddick for a celebration of the urban experience in queer fiction, featuring readings, discussion and a special performance from gay rapper QBoy.

BISHOP GENE ROBINSON & IAN MCKELLEN:
FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO
Monday 14 july
Join Bishop Gene Robinson and Ian McKellen for the UK premiere of For The Bible Tells Me So, a provocative documentary about the chasm that separates gay life and Christianity today. Gene Robinson is the openly gay Bishop of the Episopalian Church in New Hampshire who was ordained wearing a bullet proof-vest.

THE LAVENDER LIBRARY
Tuesday 15 july
Celebrate queer literature with Julian Clary, Dave McAlmont, Andy Bell, Maureen Duffy, Stella Duffy, Paul Burston, Rupert Smith and others.

For more information visit the festival's website here.