Fridae

Malaysia's top private radio operator says the words "gay, straight or bi, lesbian, transgendered" from Lady Gaga's latest track "Born this way" might violate "good taste or decency or (are) offensive to public feeling." Activist and writer Pang Khee Teik explains why gay anthems are important and why Malaysian radios are cowardly and hypocritical for censoring them.

Attitude is the best selling British gay magazine. Now we have a Thai language version. Is there really a market for a Thai gay ‘lifestyle’ magazine? Doug Sanders ponders the issues from his home in Bangkok, near a friendly Smile Book Store.

Australia's broadcasting regulator has determined that although Channel Seven's controversial expose that showed former NSW transport minister David Campbell's visit to a gay sauna had invaded his privacy, it did not breach television standards because the reasons that led to his resignation was ultimately of public interest – even though Campbell had resigned BECAUSE of the story.

Fridae's Bangkok correspondent Douglas Sanders notices that the country's two major English language newspapers, which are widely read by locals and not just expats, are devoting more space to LGBT-related news and lifestyle stories.

The US media watchdog Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has on Thursday started a petition to urge CNN to stop inviting 'experts' whose "only qualification is that they are anti-gay" to provide 'balance' to LGBT-related news topics.

Is the LGBT a marginalised community rather than a minority in Singapore because of its censorship policies? What is the role of the media and censorship? Singapore lawyer George Hwang argues that by censoring gay content indiscriminately, the authorities have breached or infringed the rights of the media and the public.

Keep the message short and simple. Keep it one that millions of gay and bisexual people can embrace, through their own personal experience, so that they can confidently go out to change minds.

The Blue Diamond Society in Nepal breaks new ground in LGBT publishing. Doug Sanders, fresh from a BDS conference, reports on an unique tabloid designed to deliver LGBTI news to an mainstream audience.

A censorship manager with Singapore's largest free-to-air channel warns that "(e)ven a cooking show can be dangerous" as just one remark can "normalise (the) gay lifestyle." Meanwhile, Singapore's newly appointed Attorney-General warns of human rights "fanatics."

In the academic setting of an Asian studies conference, Malaysian Muslim women academics could talk about sex and homosex. But any references in mainstream media remain taboo. Doug Sanders recalls impressions of the recent conference held in Kuala Lumpur.