The Republican National Convention is a gay mess
The American Republican National Convention, held this week in Cleveland, doesn’t know how it feels about gay people, simultaneously passing an historically anti-gay platform while also inviting openly gay entrepreneur Peter Thiel to speak. Gay Republicans criticized their own party for the new platform, while columnist Dan Savage slammed them for propping up the Republican brand. And in case you were wondering, yes, the RNC is awash in male escorts and gay hookup Craigslist ads.
Study: PrEP works, even though condom use goes down
New results from a study on the HIV prevention drug Truvada show that even though men who know they are taking Truvada use condoms less, HIV rates stay extremely low. The first stage of the study included a placebo group, while the second phase was “open label”, where all participants knew they were taking the real drug. In the second phase, condom use decreased, but only one in 336 participants contracted HIV, and he had stopped using the drug.
NBA pulls game from North Carolina
The NBA has pulled an all-star basketball game out of North Carolina next year over the state’s anti-trans legislation. The law, passed in March, bars trans people from using the bathrooms of their choice in public buildings.
Read more at the New York Times.
Eating disorders climbing among queer youth
A study at the University of British Columbia shows that while eating disorders among young people are declining as a whole, rates among queer youth are going up. The study found that gay boys were five times more likely to use diet pills, and that one third of bisexual girls practiced self-induced vomiting.
Oscar Wilde’s prison holds art show
The prison where celebrated gay writer Oscar Wilde was jailed for gross indecency is being turned into a temporary monument to his work. The now closed Reading Gaol will host an art show in Wilde’s honour this fall.
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