LGBT Related Radio and TV Programmes, 30th August - 5th September

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 30th
BBC Radio 2 - 5-7pm: Paul Gambaccini. US hits
BBC Radio 4 - 9am: Saturday Live - Paul Roseby as guest
BBC Radio 4 - 10am: Excess Baggage. Sandi Toksvig presents
BBC Radio 4 - 8pm: The Archive Hour. Liverpool. There must be some LGBT content
BBC Radio 4 - 10.15pm: Inside the Ethics Committee. A mother who doesn’t want her daughter to know she has Hep B.
BBC Radio 4 - 11.30pm: Coward the Poet. Noel coward’s poetry explored
6 Music - 12midnight: BBC Introducing. Tom Robinson

Sunday 31st
1pm Paul O’Grady. Elaine Page is on vacation. Gypsy and South Pacific feature
2pm Dale Winton’s Pick of the Pops. ‘77 and ‘86
BBC Radio 4 - 2.45pm: History of Home. Laurence Llewelyn Bowen on David Hicks
BBC Radio 4 - 8pm: For One Night Only. Bernstein in Berlin
6 Music - 1am: BBC Introducing. Tom Robinson
BBC Radio 7 - 11.30pm: 4 at the Store. Features Alan Carr
Classic FM - 9pm: Paul Gambaccini’s Hall of Heroes

Monday 1st
BBC Radio 4 - 9am: Fry’s English Delight. Second of a three-parter for language lovers by Stephen Fry. Compilers
BBC Radio 4 - 6.30pm: Just a Minute. Sue Perkins and Julian Clary

Tuesday 2nd
BBC Radio 4 - 11.30pm: Edge Falls. It’s Pink Thursday in the new retail park. New comedy
BBC Radio 7 - 12noon & 7pm: The Navy Lark

Wednesday 3rd
BBC Radio 4 - 11.30am: Kicking the Habit. Comedy, written by Christopher Lee
BBC Radio 4 - 2.15pm: Afternoon Play. Lemon Meringue Pie
BBC Radio 4 - 11.30pm: The Music Group. Sue Perkins with Alexei Sayle and Mark Ellen do a variation on Desert Island Discs
BBC Radio 7 - 12noon & 7pm: Beyond our Ken

Friday 5th
BBC Radio 4 - 11am: The Betrayal of Blackpool. Examination of the town’s declining fortunes
BBC Radio 4 - 1.30pm: For one night only. Paul Gambaccini talks to Quincy Jones about Miles Davis
6 Music - 7pm: Tom Robinson. New acts

Television

Entertainment and documentaries

Saturday 30th
BBC2 - 9.10pm: Have I Got Old News for You? Evan Davis guests
ITV1 - 12noon: Corrie Omnibus. Is Marcus playing away?
ITV2 - 6am: Corrie Omnibus
ITV2 - 6.10pm: An Audience with Neil Diamond
ITV3 - 5.30pm: Cadfael. Derek Jacobi plays a monk detective
Dave - 9.40pm: Stephen Fry: Guilty Pleasures
Dave - 10.20pm: A Bit of Fry and Laurie
Mainstreet - 10pm: Live fom Montreaux: Nina Simone
Biography - 6 and 11am: Marilyn Monroe
Biography - 12.30am: Sister Sledge

Sunday 31st
ITV2 - 4.30pm: Corrie Omnibus
ITV3 - 8pm: Profiling-Val McDermid
Sky 1 - 7pm: Hairspray: The Schools Musical. An Enfield school takes the Broadway musical on. Presented by Denise van Outen
E4 - 11pm: Shameless
More4 - 4.30pm: Come Dine with Me. Omnibus
UKTV Gold - 11pm: AbFab
Living - 9am: The Golden Girls
Living - 3.50am: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
Living - 4.35am: The Golden Girls
Bography - 10pm Barry Manilow

Monday 1st
ITV1 - 12.30pm and 12.30am: Loose Women. Dale Winton guests
ITV3 - 9pm: Profiling; Val McDermid
C4 - 12.30pm: Will and Grace
C4 - 5.30pm: Come Dine with Me. Birmingham
UKTV Gold - 3.20pm: The Thin Blue Line
UKTV Gold - 11pm: Gimme Gimme Gimme
Living - 7pm & 1am: Will and Grace

Tuesday 2nd
BBC2 - 7pm: Hadrian. Dan Snow examines the gay emperor. Repeat
BBC2 - 9pm: Maestro. Sue Perkins may still wield a baton. That would be maestra
BBC4 - 7.35pm: Batman. The camp ‘60’s one
BBC HD - 9pm: Maestro. As BBC2
ITV1 - 10.35pm: Kingdom. Stephen Fry plays the East Anglian lawyer (rpt.)
More4 - 9pm: Come Dine with Me
UKTV Gold - 4pm: Dr Who
UKTV Gold - 8.20pm: The Thin Blue Line
UKTV Gold - 11pm: Gimme Gimme Gimme
Living - 7pm and 1am: Will and Grace
Sky Arts - 6pm: Barry Manilow

Wednesday 3rd
BBC2 - 8pm: Natural World. Bears. Stephen Fry narrates
BBC2 - 9pm: God on Trial. Frank Cottrell Boyce’s drama is set in Auschwitz, where a bunch of inmates decide to try God for abandoning them to their fate. Antony Sher leads a superb cast.
BBC2 - 11.20pm: The Supersizers Go. Sue Perkins eats her weight in flesh for historic purposes (rpt). The Elizabethans
BBC4 - 7.35pm: Batman
ITV1 - 7.30pm: Coronation Street. Jonathan Harvey wrote this one
C4 - 5.30pm: Come Dine with Me
UKTV Gold - 4pm: Dr Who
UKTV Gold - 8.20pm: The Thin Blue Line
UKTV Gold - 11pm: Gimme Gimme Gimme
UK Living - 7pm & 1am: Will and Grace
UK Living - 3.50am: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
Biography - 6am: Tyrone Power
Biography - 8am: John Belushi
Biography - 12noon: Marlon Brando
Biography - 11pm: Being the Tartiest Men
UK TV History - 10pm: I, Claudius. Derek Jacobi plays the unlikely emperor

Thursday 4th
BBC1 - 11am: Open House. With Kristian Digby
BBC1 - 7.30pm: Eastenders. Is Whitney a lesbian? Bianca thinks so.
BBC2 - 11.20pm: The Supersizers Go. Sue Perkins stuffs her face for history (rpt)
BBC4 - 11pm: Maestro
E4 - 10.35pm: Alan Carr’s Celebrity Ding Dong
Dave - 10pm: QI
UKTV Gold - 3.20pm and 8.20pm: The Thin Blue Line
UKTV Gold - 4pm: Dr Who
UKTV Gold - 11pm: Gimme Gimme Gimme
Living - 7pm: Will and Grace
Biography - 7am and 12noo: Marlon Brando

Friday 5th
BBC2 - 10pm: QI
BBC3 - 9pm and 1.15am: Dawn Goes Lesbian. Dawn Porter examines lesbian stereotypes
BBC4 - 8pm: Castrato. An examination of the singing phenomenon
ITV1 - 8.30pm: Coronation Street. Marcus leaves Sean
ITV4 - 9pm: Freddie Mercury; Magic remixed. Tribute to the man on what would have been his birthday, followed by a recording of Queen in Rio
C4 - 12.45pm: Will and Grace
C4 - 3.25pm: Countdown. Anton du Beke guests
C4 - 5.30pm: Come Dine with Me
Sky 1 - 6pm: Hairspay; The School Musical
UKTV Gold - 7am and 4pm: Dr Who
UKTV Gold - 3.20 and 8.20pm: The Thin Blue Line
UKTV Gold - 11pm: Gimme Gimme Gimme
Living - 7pm and 1am: Will and Grace

Film and Drama
Saturday 30th
BBC2 - 11.50pm: Steptoe and Son Ride Again. Feature length from ‘73

Thursday 4th
Film4 - 7.10pm: Carry on Behind. Kenneth Williams in 1975 vulgar travesty.
Screen 2 - 5.15pm: Notes on a Scandal. Judi Dench plays lesbian bunny boiler
Sci Fi - 10.50pm Rocky Horror Picture Show. Damn it Janet…I love you

Pink Gold in Beijing

"Coming out publicly, that was a first," said his mother. "The highest score awarded to an Olympic dive ever, another first. How many more firsts can this child get? Can you find something else to be first in? He's just done so well. He deserves it."

Matthew Mitcham, 20, who was representing Australia at the recent Beijing Olympic Games was one of the only 10 openly gay athletes of the competition. There were 10,500 athletes competing in Beijing.

To read more about the openly gay and lesbian athletes who took part in the 2008 Games, click here.

To find out about Matthew Mitcham, read Out-and-out champion celebrates and A perfect 10.

The interview he gave after his victory in the company of his mother and partner can be viewed here. His winning dives are here.

In September 2008, the Australian postoffice released a stamp showing Mitcham holding his gold medal to commemorated his acheivements (more information here).

US Lesbian Pioneer Dies

Pioneering lesbian rights activist Del Martin, who married her longtime partner in June on the first day same-sex couples in California gained that right, died Wednesday. She was 87.
Martin died at a hospital two weeks after a broken arm exacerbated health problems, said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Her wife, Phyllis Lyon, was with her.

Along with six other women, they founded a San Francisco social club for lesbians in 1955. The group evolved into the nation's first lesbian advocacy organization.

Martin in 1970 wrote an influential article in the Advocate magazine that criticized what she saw as the gay rights movement's persistent chauvinism. She and Lyon together wrote "Lesbian/Woman," a 1972 book that argued lesbians should be seen for more than their sexuality and simultaneously offered a frank, no-nonsense account of lesbian relationships.

A year later, Martin became the first out lesbian to serve on the board of directors of the National Organization for Women.

Find out more about her life here (Word document) and here. Details about her recent marriage can be found here.

IGLFA World Championship

This August London is hosting the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association's World Championship. The final is to take place this Saturday at Leyton Orient FC in east London and the British team, Stonewall FC, which won the European Gay Football Championship last month, is strongly tipped to win.

The world title event has the official backing of the Football Association.

Forty teams from all over the world are competing (32 male and eight female); representing the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Uganda, Ireland, Iceland, Denmark, South Africa, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Japan and Australia.

The qualifying matches are played in Regent's Park and the finals at Leyton Orient's league ground, the Matchroom Stadium, on Saturday 30 August.

The Opening Ceremony on Sunday took place at the Shepherd's Bush Empire on Sunday 24 August, and the Closing Ceremony will take place at the Area nightclub in Vauxhall on Saturday 30 August.

Gay human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell is backing the London IGLFA 2008 championships: "Unlike mainstream football, in the gay championships the British teams are world beaters. We've just won the European Gay Football Championship and are on course to pull off the world title next week. It's great to see our gay teams bringing home the trophies.

"I'm confident that Stonewall FC will avenge England's dismal performance against the Czech's on Wednesday night by winning gold for Britain. This championship brings together lesbian and gay football teams from across the world, encourages more gay people to get involved in the sport and, through the spending power of visiting teams and spectators, benefits the London economy.

"It challenges the machismo and homophobia that is often associated with football in many parts of the world. Gay footballers help break down stereotypes and prejudice. They are ambassadors for gay inclusion and equality. Gay football enhances understanding and acceptance of gay and lesbian people," said Mr Tatchell.

The Football Association has been a supporter of London IGLFA 2008 from the very beginning, providing technical assistance and advice for the bid, and hosting the official launch in 2007 when London was announced as the host city.

The FA will also be providing the referees and officials for the event and will be hosting a reception for the Outreach teams.

The event has received a grant from the National Lottery "Awards for All" and the support of the Metropolitan Police Service, Camden Council, Aviva insurance group, Visit London, the anti-racist football campaign Kick It Out and Don Foster MP, the Liberal Democrats Shadow Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport. Nike is the official kit supplier.

The gay London football team, Leftfooters, is the host club for the world championships. A spokesperson said: "We have been spreading the word that football can be an inclusive and enjoyable sport regardless of ability, skill, technique or sexuality.
We attempt to mix a serious love of football, with a wish to promote a strong community spirit where taking part is more important than winning."

In 2006, Leftfooters FC was voted "Gay Sports Team of the Year" by the readers of the Pink Paper, while London 2008 Team Chair Mikey Collins was nominated for "Gay Sports Personality of the Year" in 2006 and 2007.

The successful bid to host the IGLFA World Championship was nominated for Stonewall Sports Personality of the year in 2007.

Leftfooters added: "The London 2008 team is dedicated to providing a world class event which will show that London can provide a safe and welcoming environment, which pushes the boundaries of tolerance and acceptance and which encourages gay men and women to promote themselves in a positive and healthy manner.

"We firmly believe that football should be enjoyable for all, free from discrimination on the grounds of sexuality and accessible to people of all backgrounds and all sporting abilities.

"We look forward to staging an event which can be both competitive and fun and hope to leave a lasting legacy, gaining the respect and recognition of the participation of gay men and women in sport and in the wider community," said Leftfooters.

For more information visit www.londonwc2008.co.uk

Leo Abse: an appreciation

Leo Abse died last week. He was a Cardiff lawyer who was a humanitarian and was ahead of his time.

In the 1960s men were not “gay”; they were “homosexual”, and homosexual men were perceived to be mentally disordered, subnormal and perverse. The partial decriminilisation of homosexuality among men that he played a major part in achieving in 1967 satisfied no one. Compromises never do. It criminalised men under 21 who carried out acts of same-sex affection; it outlawed any homosexual act not held behind closed doors and any homosexual act between more than two consenting adults. Where a homosexual act did take place and one participant was under 21 the act was legally a sexual assault and the elder party was the assailant and the younger was the victim; whatever the mitigating circumstances. More men were prosecuted for cottaging after 1967 than before. The law could be used retrospectively and was up until the 90s. It didn’t even apply outside England. But for many it was see as a perverts’ charter. The press vilified us and we had no gay media with which to fight back.

Abse put himself, as a politician with a great deal to lose, at great personal risk in seeking the new legislation and the compromises were there to make it work. He himself suffered a great deal of abuse as a result of the new legislation and his role in creating it.

To a young gay, bisexual, or for that matter straight, man the situation in 1967 and beyond may look Draconian. But Abse was a libertarian and he knew this was a stepping stone to greater freedoms in the future for a Britain that still looked to the Empire for its views on moral conduct. As to the fact that it took another 30 years to reduce the age of consent for gay men to 16; we might attack Wilson, Heath, Callaghan and Major for their feet dragging. We can certainly blame Thatcher for her outright homophobia and the introduction of the dreadful section 28. But we would be wrong to attack Leo Abse, who was a visionary who saw through the prejudice and did for us what he could given the conditions at the time.

We would do well to remember the struggle then. There are over 80 countries where same sex relations are illegal today and our hard won freedoms could disappear tomorrow if some people on our shores had their way. That is the importance of LGBT history and why we need LGBT History Month.

Tony Fenwick
Co-chair of LGBT History Month

A True Life Murder Story

In the Spring issue of Granta, Tim Lott investigated the background to the macabre murder of his friend the film agent, Rod Hall.

Hall was a well-known and popular London media figure, something of an aesthete and gourmand. He represented successful film writers such as Lee Hall (Billy Elliot), Jeremy Brock (Mrs Brown, The Last King of Scotland) and Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty). When Rod Hall met a young man, Usman Durrani, online, he thought he'd found the new love of his life. Little did he know he'd met the man who would kill him.

An abridged version of the Granta article was published in Arpil in the Observer. The article is available here. An Interview of Tim Lott by Granta associate editor Helen Gordon can be found here.

LGBT Related Radio and TV Programmes, 23rd - 29th 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 23rd
BBC Radio 2 -5-7pm: Paul Gambaccini. US hits
BBC Radio 4 - 10am: Excess Baggage. Sandi Toksvig presents
BBC Radio 7 - 10pm: Kenny Everett’s Radio Days

Sunday 24th
BBC Radio 2 - 2.30pm: London 2012 Party. Will Young Live
BBC Radio 4 - 8pm: For One Night Only. At the Drop of a Hat. George Martin talks to Paul Gambaccini about his recording with Flanaghan and Allen
Classic FM - 9pm: Paul Gambaccini’s Hall of Heroes

Monday 25th
BBC Radio 4 - 9am: Fry’s English Delight. First of a three-parter for language lovers by Stephen Fry. Metaphors.
BBC Radio 4 - 9.45am: (not LW): Book of the Week: Sissinghurst; an Unfinished History. Part 1 of 5. The House is bought by Harold Nicholson and Vita Sackville-West
BBC Radio 4 - 11.30am: Count Arthur Strong in Edinburgh. Features Sue Perkins

Tuesday 26th
BBC Radio 4 - 9.45am (not LW) and 12.30am (rpt): Book of the Week: Sissinghurst; an Unfinished History.
BBC Radio 4 - 1.30pm: 40 Years from Folsom. Matthew Bannister with Johnny Cash’s 1968 concert at Folsom prison
BBC Radio 4 - 4.30pm: Great Lives. Matthew Parris presents
BBC Radio 7 - 12noon & 7pm: The Navy Lark

Wednesday 27th
BBC Radio 4 - 9.45am (not LW) and 12.30am (rpt): Book of the Week: Sissinghurst; an Unfinished History.
BBC Radio 4 - 11.30pm: Kicking the Habit. Comedy, written by Christopher Lee
BBC Radio 7 - 12noon & 7pm: Beyond our Ken

Thursday 28th
BBC Radio 4 - 9.45am (not LW) and 12.30am (rpt): Book of the Week: Sissinghurst; an Unfinished History.
BBC Radio 7 - 1.15pm The Happy Prince. By Oscar Wilde

Friday 29th
BBC Radio 4 - 9.45am (not LW) and 12.30am (rpt): Book of the Week: Sissinghurst; an Unfinished History.
BBC Radio 4 - 1.30pm: For One Night Only. Leonard Bernstein’s concert in 1989 Berlin
BBC Radio 4 - 11pm: Great Lives. Matthew Parris presents (rpt)

Television

Entertainment and documentaries
Saturday 23rd
ITV1 - 9.35am: Corrie Omnibus. Sean’s boyfriend Marcus leaves him for Botox. Will he ever return?
ITV2 - 9am: Corrie Omnibus
ITV3 - 7.20pm: Cadfael. Derek Jacobi plays a monk detective
Living - 6pm: Will and Grace
Living 2 - 1am: Queer Eye for The Straight Guy

Sunday 24th
BBC1 - 3.15pm: London 2012 Party. Hot on the tail of the Beijing closing ceremony, London starts to party. Will Young sings live
BBC HD - 3.15pm: London 2012 Party. Hot on the tail of the Beijing closing ceremony, London starts to party. Will Young sings live
ITV1 - 4.50pm: The Unforgettable Kenneth Williams
ITV2 - 5.10pm: Corrie Omnibus
C4 - 7pm: Make Me a Christian. An experiment in which Christian Evangelists tell a lesbian that she’s abnormal and nobody comments on the fact that this is probably illegal in this country now
Sky 3 - 8pm: Cold Case. Rocky Horror Picture Show themed edition. That’s all I know.
E4 - 11pm: Shameless
More4 - 4.30pm: Come Dine with Me. Omnibus
Sci Fi - 6pm: Dr Who. Cybermen

Monday 25th
BBC3 - 7.45pm: Dr Who, followed by Dr Who Confidential
ITV3 - 9pm: Profiling; Val McDermid
C4 - 5.30pm: Come Dine with Me. Flamboyant interior designer Carlos invites 4 guests into his apartment (sic)
Dave - 9pm: QI
Living - 7pm & 1am: Will and Grace
Living 2 - 2am: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
Virgin 1 - 10.35pm: Room 101. Sue Perkins

Tuesday 26th
BBC2 - 9pm: Maestro. Sue Perkins may still wield a baton. That would be maestra
BBC2 - 10pm: Edinburgh festival Show. Features Joan Rivers and Matthew Bourne’s Dorian Gray
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who followed by Dr Who Confidential (rpt.)
BBC4 - 7.35pm: Batman. The camp ‘60’s one
BBC HD - 9pm: Maestro. ue Perkins may still wield a baton. That would be maestra
ITV1 - 10.40pm: Kingdom. Stephen Fry plays the East Anglian lawyer (rpt.)
ITV3 - 11pm: Profiling; Val McDermid
C4 - 12.45pm: Will and Grace
C4 - 5.30pm: Come Dine with Me
More4 - 9pm: Come Dine with Me
UKTV Gold - 4pm: Dr Who
UKTV Gold - 8.20pm: The Thin Blue Line
Living - 7pm and 1am: Will and Grace
Sky Arts - 6pm: Barry Manilow

Wednesday 27th
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who followed by Dr Who Confidential (rpt.)
BBC4 - 7.35pm: Batman
ITV3 - 8.20am & 4.20pm: Cadfael
C4 - 12.45pm: Will and Grace
C4 - 5.30pm: Come Dine with Me
C4 - 10pm: The Tooth Fairy Live. Alan Carr at the Hammersmith Odeon 2007
UKTV Gold - 4pm: Dr Who
UKTV Gold - 8.20pm: The Thin Blue Line
UK Living - 7pm & 11pm: Will and Grace
UK Livign - 3.50am: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy

Thursday 28th
BBC2 - 11.20pm: Edinburgh Festival Show. Extended version of Tuesday’s edition
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who followed by Dr Who Confidential
BBC4 - 11pm: Maestro
ITV1 - 11.40pm: Mika live. Well he might be…
ITV3 - 8.20am and 4.20pm: Cadfael
C4 - 12.45pm: Will and Grace
C4 - 5.30pm: Come Dine with Me
five - 10pm: Grey’s Anatomy. Double edition
E4 - 10.35pm: Alan Carr’s Celebrity Ding Dong
Dave - 10pm: QI
UKTV Gold - 3.30pm: What a carry on!
UKTV Gold - 4pm: Dr Who
UKTV Gold - 8.20pm: The Thin Blue Line
Living - 7pm: Will and Grace
Biography - 6 & 11am: Elizabeth Taylor. Profile of the world’s wealthiest fag hag

Friday 29th
BBC2 - 10pm: QI
C4 - 12.45pm: Will and Grace
C4 - 5.30pm: Come Dine with Me
UKTV Gold - 4pm: Dr Who
UKTV Gold - 8.20pm: The Thin Blue Line
Living - 7pm: Will and Grace
Sky Arts - 8.30pm: Nina Simone
Virgin1 - 10pm: Love Rat and Proud. Sue Perkins narrates tales of infidelity

Film and drama
Saturday 23rd
UKTV Gold - 3.05pm: Carry on Camping. Ping’s the word

Sunday 24th
ITV1 - 3.10pm: Carry on Jack. Sailor romp with Williams and Hawtrey in the cast
UKTV Gold - 2.10pm: Carry on Camping

Monday 25th
Drama - 12midnight: Boys Don’t Cry
Family - 8pm: She’s the Man

Tuesday 26th
ITV1 - 1.25am: Up Pompeii. Frankie Howerd as the indiscrete Roman slave

Wednesday 27th
Film4 - 9pm: Transamerica. Trans road movie

Friday 29th
Sky Indie - 8pm: Wilde. Stephen Fry and Jude Law

Leo Abse Dies

Leo Abse
1917 - 2008

Leo Abse was a lawyer and a Welsh Labour Member of Parliament for nearly 30 years. Though not gay himself, he was noted for promoting private member's bills to decriminalise male homosexual relations that would become the 1967 Sexual Offences Act.

Indian Gays Want British Apology for Sex Law

Thousands of gay activists gathered in a park in Mumbai on Saturday to call on the British Government to apologise for introducing anti-sodomy laws that still make homosexuality illegal in India today.

The call was during the first gay pride march in Mumbai for three years and is part of a wider campaign to abolish Section 377 of the Indian penal code which outlaws "unnatural sexual offences" and theoretically punishes anal or oral sex with up to 10 years in prison.

Find out more here and here.

Family Blame School for Son's Murder

The family of a gay teenager shot dead at school in the US are suing education officials for letting him wear make-up and feminine clothes which they say motivated his killer.

The parents and brother of 15-year-old Lawrence King, from Oxnard in California, are seeking damages because the school failed to enforce the school dress code.

The teenager was shot in February - his classmate, Brandon McInerney, 14, pleaded not guilty to the killing last week.

He was charged as an adult and also faces a charge of committing a hate crime.

LGBT History Month co-chair Tony Fenwick said, "My heart goes out to the King family and I am sure they seek justice for their terrible loss but the school's management should be sanctioned for its failure to tackle homophobia and transphobia within its community; not for letting its students assert their identity.

He also warned that "the worst thing about this turn of events is that it conjures up the dark days of empire when the murderer could claim 'gay panic defence'. If this family succeeds in this case, what is to stop Larry's killer claiming the school's failure to act 'provoked' him to carry out the killing? The situation is at best absurd and at worst very dangerous".

Find out more here.

E.O. Green School shooting on Wikipedia
Gay Panic Defence on Wikipedia

LGBT Related Radio and TV Programmes, 16th - 22nd 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 16th
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 17th
BBC Radio 2 - 1pm: Elaine Page. Barry Manilow
BBC Radio 2 - 2.30pm: Pick of the Pops. 1970 and ‘80 charts with Dale Winton
Classic FM - 9pm: Paul Gambaccini’s Hall of Heroes

Monday 18th
6 Music - 1am (i.e. Monday) New Music with Tom Robinson

Tuesday 19th
BBC Radio 4 - 11.30am: From the Ban to the Booker. Part 2. Val McDermid explores the development of lesbian literature
BBC Radio 7 - 12noon & 7pm: The Navy Lark

Wednesday 20th
BBC Radio 4 - 11.30pm: Kicking the Habit. Comedy, written by Christopher Lee
BBC Radio 7 - 12noon & 7pm: Beyond our Ken

Television

Entertainment and documentaries

Saturday 16th
BBC1 - 6.15 and 9.50pm: Last Choir Standing
BBC2 - 9pm: Have I Got Old News for You. Evan Davies guests
BBC HD - 6.15pm: Last Choir Standing
ITV1 - 10.50am: Corrie Omnibus. Includes Jonathan Harvey’s scripted edition
ITV1 - 7.30pm: X Factor. Should it be here? Let’s wait and see…
ITV3 - 7.20pm: Cadfael. Derek Jacobi plays a monk detective
C4 - 12.55pm: Will Young video exclusive. Changes promo
UKTV Gold - 9am and 1.35am: Dr Who
Living - 10pm: Hotel Babylon
Living 2 - 1am: Queer Eye for The Straight Guy
Biography - 11am: Deborah Kerr

Sunday 17th
E4 - 11pm: Shameless
More4 - 4.30pm: Come Dine with Me. Omnibus

Monday 18th
BBC3 - 7.45pm: Dr Who, followed by Dr Who Confidential
C4 - 12.30pm: Will and Grace
five - 9pm: Before they were famous. Includes David Tennant as a Glaswegian transsexual from ‘Rab C Nesbitt’
Dave - 9pm: QI
UKTV Gold - 4pm: Dr Who
Living - 7pm: Will and Grace
Living 2 - 2am: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy

Tuesday 19th
BBC2 - Maestro. Sue Perkins may still wield a baton. That would be maestra
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who followed by Dr Who Confidential (rpt.)
BBC4 - 7.35pm: Batman. The camp ‘60’s one
BBC4 - 10.30pm: Consenting Adults. Repeat of the drama doc about Wolfenden and the partial legalisation of male homosexuality
ITV1 - 10.40pm: Kingdom. Stephen Fry plays the East Anglian lawyer (rpt.)
C4 - 12.30pm: Will and Grace
Living - 7pm and 1am: Will and Grace

Wednesday 20th
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who followed by Dr Who Confidential (rpt.)
BBC4 - 7.35pm: Batman
BBC HD - 10.50pm: Joan Armatrading at Glastonbury
ITV3 - 8.20am & 4.20pm: Cadfael
C4 - 12.30pm: Will and Grace
UKTV Gold - 4pm: Dr Who
UK Living - 7pm: Will and Grace

Thursday 21st
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who followed by Dr Who Confidential
BBC4 - 11pm: Maestro
ITV3 - 8.20am and 4.20pm: Cadfael
five - 10pm and 1am: Grey’s Anatomy
E4 - 10.35pm: Alan Carr’s Celebrity Ding Dong
Dave - 10pm: QI
UKTV Gold - 8.20pm: The Thin Blue Line
Living - 7pm: Will and Grace

Friday 22nd
BBC2 - 10pm: QI
ITV1 - 8.35am: The Richard Arnold Show
UKTV Gold - 4pm: Dr Who
Living - 7pm: Will and Grace

Film and drama

Sunday 17th
UK TV Gold - 10.20pm: A Beautiful Mind. Russell Crow as the mathematical genius John Forbes Nash Jr. Nash’s schizophrenia is the focus of this movie, but his sexual orientation is ignored
BBC1 - 11.15pm: Scenes of A Sexual Nature. Dead cheap UK offering about sexual politics among 7 couples; one gay.
ITV1 - 2pm: The Great St Trinian’s Train Robbery. Frankie Howerd
ITV1 - 3.50pm: Carry on Cleo. Amanda Barrie, Kenneth Williams and Charles Hawtrey
ITV3 - 10.20pm: Rocky Horror Picture Show. Then a pelvic thrust…

Tuesday 19th
ITV2 - 9pm: X Men2. Ian McKellen as nasty mutant

Wednesday 20th
Sky Indie - 11am and 8pm: Volver

Thursday 21st
Film4 - 4.30pm: Carry on Doctor. Includes Frankie Howerd

Love Thy Neighbour - Homosexuality and Faith

Many faith leaders inadequately reflect their followers' religious objections to lesbian and gay sexuality, new research has found. Love Thy Neighbour - published by Stonewall and based on interviews with Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Christian participants from across the north of England - found that many hold significantly more moderate views of homosexuality than is often claimed on their behalf.

Participants suggested to researchers from the University of Leeds that when the perceived tension between faith and sexual orientation is discussed in public, the agenda often becomes so dominated by aggression and sensationalism that levels of respect between faith communities and gay communities are overlooked.

Find out more here. Download a pdf of the report here.

Black Prides

The second annual Outburst UK Black LGBTQ Pride Festival took place on Saturday at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre in north London and was dedicated to the memory of fashion designer, actor and model, Arthur Peters who died last month. The day ran from 12 Noon till 10pm with a fireworks display at 9pm.

Headlining on the main stage was US RnB recording artiste Michael Ashanti who was performing exclusively at the festival, plus Kym Mazelle, the well known American Dance-pop, Soul and House music diva, UK Lesbian Rapper Mz Fontaine, European dance sensation Shena, plus the UK’s answer to Destiny’s Child 4Flava, one of the UK’s top belly dancer Cassia, up and coming rapper MC Chewy, young R’n’B singer Cory McLeod, UK Reggae artiste Guess, and others. The host this year was TV presenter and director, Trevor Blackman.

For more information visit www.outburstfestival.org

If you missed this event, another chance of attending a black pride offers itself on Saturday the 16th


The party will be taking place at Regent College, Regent's Park and will feature the likes of Leon Lopez (Hollyoaks and Brookside), Souls of Prophecy, Mz Fontaine, Michael Anthony, Ms Kimberly. Music will be supplied by Biggy C, Jeffrey Hinton, Nubian Soul, Saj, Gina K, Goodaz, Flex, DJ G, Philly, MC Tyron, amongst others.

There will also be a UK Black Pride's Got Talent Showcase and a Caribana World Tent showcasing music from around the world with DJs and performers such as Desire, Marvin Madix (MDB), MC Chewy and Guess. Also at hand will be a chillout zone, crazy play area, market place and information stalls.

Visit www.ukblackpride.org.ukfor more information.

From the Ban to the Booker

Two programmes in which best-selling author Val McDermid examines the development of the lesbian novel. She looks at the furore surrounding Radclyffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness, banned in 1928 because of its lesbian content. Virginia Woolf's Orlando was published in the same year but escaped the censor. The programme includes a rare BBC recording of Vita Sackville-West, the inspiration behind Woolf's masterpiece. Contributors include Jeanette Winterson, Sarah Waters and Ali Smith.

From the Ban to the Booker
Tuesday 12 August and 19th august
11:30am - 12:00pm
BBC Radio 4

The programmes are available for listen again on the BBC iPlayer.

Dirk Bogarde's letters - part two

In public, Dirk Bogarde was shy, reserved, polite to a fault. But in private, he was far more entertaining. These extracts published in the Daily Telegraph from a new collection of his most intimate, wickedly funny personal letters, reveal Bogarde as he really was.

Read the first selection of letters here.

The second selection of letters dealing with Bogarde's volatile relationships with his directors - not to mention his friends and fans is here.

LGBT Related Radio and TV Programmes, 9th - 15th 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 9th
BBC Radio 2 - 5-7pm: Paul Gambaccini
BBC Radio 4 - 4pm: Weekend Woman’s Hour. Review should include critique of early 20th century lesbian literature: Woolf and Radlyffe Hall
6 Music - 12midnight: BBC Introducing… New acts presented by Tom Robinson

Sunday 10th
BBC Radio 2 - 1pm: Interview with Cameron McKintosh
BBC Radio 2 - 2.30pm: Pick of the Pops. 1968 and ‘79 charts with Dale Winton

Monday 11th
6 Music - 1am: New Music with Tom Robinson

Tuesday 12th
BBC Radio 4 - 11.30am: From the Ban to the Booker: Val McDermid examines the development of the lesbian novel and its transition from the margins to the mainstream.
BBC Radio 7 -12noon & 7pm: The Navy Lark

Wednesday 13th
BBC Radio 7 - 12noon & 7pm: Beyond our Ken

Friday 15th
BBC Radio 4 - 3pm: Ramblings. Clare Balding on walking holidays
6 Music - 7pm: New Music with Tom Robinson

Television

Entertainment and Documentaries
Saturday 9th
BBC1 - 7pm: Last Choir Standing. Brighton gay Men’s Chorus still in it. Leeds L and G choir also features in live show from Hull
BBC HD - 7pm: Last Choir Standing
ITV3 - 7.30pm: Cadfael. Derek Jacobi plays a monk detective
UKTV Gold - 9am: Dr Who
Living - 10pm: Hotel Babylon
Biography - 6 & 11pm: Raymond Burr

Sunday 10th
BBC1 - 6pm: Last Choir Standing. Singing to survive
BBC4 - 12midnight: Joan Armatrading at Glastonbury
BBC HD - 5.30pm: Neil Diamond at Glastonbury
E4 - 11pm: Shameless
UK TV Gold - 8am and 1.35am: Dr Who

Monday 11th
BBC3 - 7.45pm: Dr Who, followed by Dr Who Confidential
C4 - 12.30pm: Will and Grace
Dave - 11.40pm: QI
UKTV Gold - 4pm: Dr Who
UKTV Gold - 10.45pm: Fry and Laurie
Living - 7pm: Will and Grace
Living 2 - 2am: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
Sky Arts - 6pm: Simon Callow’s Classical Destinations (HD)

Tuesday 12th
BBC2 - Maestro. Sue Perkins wields a baton. That should be maestra
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who followed by Dr Who Confidential (rpt.)
BBC4 - 7.35pm: Batman. The camp ‘60’s one
ITV1 - 10.40pm: Kingdom. Stephen Fry plays the East Anglian lawyer (rpt.)
C4 - 12.30pm: Will and Grace
Living - 7pm and 1am: Will and Grace

Wednesday 13th
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who followed by Dr Who Confidential (rpt.)
BBC4 - 7.35pm: Batman
ITV1 - 7.30pm: Coronation Street. Jonathan Harvey (Beautiful Thing/Gimme, Gimme, Gimme)) wrote this one
C4 - 12.30pm Will and Grace
C4 - 10pm: Dangerous Jobs for Girls
UKTV Gold - 7am and 4pm: Dr Who
UKTV Gold - 10.45pm: Fry and Laurie

Thursday 14th
BBC2 - 11.20pm: Edinburgh Festival Show. Will they mention the LGBT acts?
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who followed by Dr Who Confidential
C4 - 12.30pm: Will and Grace
five - 10pm and 1am: Grey’s Anatomy
E4 - 10.35pm: Alan Carr’s Celebrity Ding Dong
Dave - 10pm: QI
Living - 7pm: Will and Grace

Friday 15th
BBC2 - 10pm: QI.
C4 - 12.30pm: Will and Grace
UKTV Gold - 4pm: Dr Who
Living - 7pm: Will and Grace

Film and drama
Saturday 9th
Sky Indie - 11.20am and 8pm: Wilde. Stephen Fry and Jude Law

Thursday 14th
Sky Indie - 4.25pm: Wilde. Stephen Fry and Jude Law

Absolut Rainbow

To mark the 30th anniversary of the Rainbow flag, Absolut vodka have released a limited edition of 311,000 bottles sporting rainbow colours. The bottle, which also features a message in support of diversity, comes with a cocktail recipe book with an introduction by Gilbert Baker, the San Fransisco activist who designed the Rainbow Flag all those years ago.

“Absolut Colors builds on our history as a brand that has always encouraged people to be who they are”, says Nina Gillsvik, International Brand Director Absolut at V&S Absolut Spirits. “Almost thirty years ago, when our company decided to do our bit in supporting the rights of the individual, we were considered bold. Today we can look back on those days and that decision with pride. For us, Absolut Colors is a natural way to continue to inspire people to let their true colors shine and be proud of who they are.”

Absotut have created a special microsite with a downloadable interview of Gilbert Baker and an opportunity for members of the public to record their own coming out stories.

In 1978, Gilbert Baker designed and made a flag with six stripes representing the six colours of the rainbow as a symbol of gay and lesbian community pride. Slowly the flag took hold, and today it is recognised by the International Congress of Flag Makers, and is flown in lesbian and gay pride marches worldwide. This year the flag acts as a symbol of progress made, and friends of the movement are invited to join the celebrations.

“There are few brands that can honestly say that they have helped to make a difference”, says Gilbert Baker, creator of the rainbow flag. “In my mind, and with my perspective, Absolut can definitely take pride in being one of few that supported lesbian and gay rights in times when support was needed. I am glad to see that the support continues and it is my sincere hope that Absolut Colors will help encourage people to let their true personality shine through.”

Over the last 25 years, Absolut has invested more than $20 million into the LGBT community, with some of those marketing dollars supporting LGBT organisations and events such as the GLAAD Media Awards, the 25th anniversary of the rainbow flag and the Gay Games. Absolut also has supported various gay and lesbian community centers, film festivals and pride parades.

“We are honored to be a part of the Absolut Colors initiative. Absolut has proven to be a longterm and reliable supporter of the LGBT community, says Russell Murphy, co-president of InterPride. “We will use the funds to support economically disadvantaged members of our organisation so that they can take part in our educational program and become better equipped for carrying out the Pride message on local level.”

The website (and its very annoying background "music") can be found at www.absolut.com/colors/
Read more about the Rainbow Flag here.

Please drink responsibly.

Bulletin No 49

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.

Dirk Bogarde's letters - part one

In public, Dirk Bogarde was shy, reserved, polite to a fault. But in private, he was far more entertaining. In the first of two extracts published in the Daily Telegraph from a new collection of his most intimate, wickedly funny personal letters, we reveal Dirk as he really was.

Read the first selection of letters here.

LGBT Related Radio and TV Programmes, 2nd - 8th 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 2nd
BBC Radio 2 - 5-7pm: Paul Gambaccini
6 Music - 12midnight: BBC Introducing… New acts presented by Tom Robinson

Sunday 3rd
BBC Radio 2 - 2.30pm: Pick of the Pops. 1974 and ‘81 charts with Dale Winton
BBC Radio 2 - 4.30pm: Richard Allinson. Features Amy LaVere

Monday 4th
6 Music - 1am: New Music with Tom Robinson
BBC Radio 7 - 1.15pm: Gielgud’s Letters. Read by Derek Jacobi

Tuesday 5th
BBC Radio 7 - 1.15pm: Gielgud’s Letters. Read by Derek Jacobi

Wednesday 6th
BBC Radio 7 - 8am & 7pm: Beyond our Ken
BBC Radio 7 - 1.15pm: Gielgud’s Letters. Read by Derek Jacobi

Thursday 7th
BBC Radio 7 - 1.15pm: Gielgud’s Letters. Read by Derek Jacobi

Friday 8th
BBC Radio 4 - 3pm: Ramblings. Clare Balding on walking holidays
6 Music - 7pm: New Music with Tom Robinson
BBC Radio 7 - 1.15pm: Gielgud’s Letters. Read by Derek Jacobi

Television

Entertainment and documentaries
Saturday 2nd
ITV3 - 7.30pm: Cadfael. Derek Jacobi plays a monk detective
UKTV Gold - 10.05am: Dr Who
UKTV Gold - 9pm: Muriel’s Wedding
Living - 10pm: Hotel Babylon
Living 2 - 1am: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy

Sunday 3rd
BBC3 - 7.10pm: Dr Who, followed by Dr Who Confidential (rpt.)
BBC4 - 12.40pm: Neil Diamond at Glastonbury
E4 - 11pm: Shameless
UK TV Gold - 8.50am and 1.40am: Dr Who
Biography - 6pm: Dolly Parton

Monday 4th
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who, followed by Dr Who Confidential
BBC3 - 10pm: Little Britain. The one with gay trekkies
C4 - 12.55pm: Will and Grace
Dave - 11.40pm: QI
UKTV Gold - 4pm: Dr Who
Living - 7pm: Will and Grace. Pilot episode
Living - 10pm: Hotel Babylon
Living 2 - 10pm: Exposed: Lindsay Lohan
Living 2 - 2am: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
Virgin1 - 10pm: Room 101. Stephen Fry
Sky Arts - 6pm: Simon Callow’s Classical Destinations (HD)

Tuesday 5th
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who followed by Dr Who Confidential (rpt.)
BBC4 - 7.35pm: Batman. The camp ‘60’s one
C4 - 12.55pm: Will and Grace
Living - 7pm and 1am: Will and Grace
Sky Arts - 12noon: Nina Simone

Wednesday 6th
BBC3 - 7pm: Dr Who followed by Dr Who Confidential (rpt.)
BBC4 - 7.35pm: Batman
ITV1 - 3pm: Daily Cooks Challenge. Guests gay icon Mica Paris
C4 - 12.55: Will and Grace
C4 - 10pm: Dangerous Jobs for Girls. Brit women have a go at being lumberjacks in Canada.
UKTV Gold - 7.10am and 4pm: Dr Who
Sky Arts - 8pm: Profile of Andy Warhol
Sky Arts - 9pm: A Very Peculiar Practice
Biography - 12midnight: Ricki Lake

Thursday 7th
BBC3 - 9.30pm: Snog, marry avoid?
C4 - 12.55pm: Will and Grace
Five - 10pm and 1am: Grey’s Anatomy
E4 - 10.35pm: Alan Carr’s Celebrity Ding Dong
Dave - 10pm: QI
Living - 7pm: Will and Grace
Virgin 1 - 9pm: Kinky and Proud
Sky Arts - 8pm: Andy Warhol
Biography - 8am: Ricki Lake

Friday 8th
BBC1 - 12.45pm: Olympics Opening Ceremony. Here we go…
BBC2 - 10pm: QI.
BBC4 - 10pm: Joan Armatrading at Glastonbury
ITV1 - 12.30pm: Loose Women. With Dame Edna Everage
C4 - 12.30pm: Will and Grace
UKTV Gold - 7.05am and 4pm: Dr Who
Living - 7pm: Will and Grace
Virgin1 - 9pm: Kinky and Proud
Sky Arts - 1pm: Andy Warhol
Sky Arts - 9.50pm: Salome. Oscar Wilde’s play produced as part of a Steven Berkoff special night

Film and Drama
Saturday 2nd
Sky Indie - 11.20am and 8pm: Wilde. Stephen Fry and Jude Law

Sunday 3rd
Drama - 10.10pm: Boys Don’t Cry

Tuesday 5th
Sky Indie - 8pm: Wilde. Stephen Fry and Jude Law
Sky Indie - 10pm: This Year’s Love. Rough and tumble romcom set in Camden. Some lesbian interest
BBC4 - 10.30pm: A Waste of Shame. William Boyd drama explores Shakespeare’s sonnets. Rupert Graves stars as the troubled bisexual bard. Originally shown in 2005
ITV1 - 10.40pm: Kingdom. Stephen Fry plays the East Anglian lawyer (rpt.)

Wednesday 6th
Sky Indie - 6.15pm: Fire. 1996 Indian drama about a lesbian relationship.
Screen 2 - 4.35pm: Rent

Thursday 7th
Drama - 8pm: Infamous. Toby Jones plays Truman Capote

Friday 8th
Sky Indie - 9am: Wilde. Stephen Fry and Jude Law