The gay Swedish submarine defence system
A Swedish peace activism group has proposed a novel way to deter Russian submarines patrolling in Swedish waters: the gay defence. The group suggests dropping a neon sign of a topless sailor into the water near rogue submarines, sending out the Morse code message “this way if you are gay.” And to think, the Cold War could have been won so easily.
Read more at the Washington Post.
Michael Johnson HIV criminalization case goes to court
The trial of American college wrestler Michael Johnson on charges of spreading HIV began May 11. Johnson was accused of spreading HIV to one person and exposing five others, and has become a public face of the criminalization of HIV non-disclosure. Leading up to the trial, Johnson said he was being held in solitary confinement 23 hours a day.
The boredom of the modern gay
The precipitous slide of modern gayhood into boring normality reared its head again this week. At Slate, J Bryan Lowder mourns the decline of the gay culture that was, and in The Telegraph UK artist David Hockney complains that gay men are becoming “boring” and “conservative.”
Russia proposes bill to ban trans marriage
Last year, two Russian women, one cis and one trans, were able to marry because the latter’s passport still registered her as a man. Russian lawmakers now want to close that loophole, however, banning all trans or transitioning people from marrying altogether.
Vianna introduces gay-themed traffic lights
In preparation for the Eurovision Song Contest, Vienna has introduced traffic lights with images of stylized same-sex couples instead of gender-neutral walking figures. Last year, Eurovision made gay news when the winner was announced as flamboyant, bearded Austrian drag queen Conchita Wurst.
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