Fridae

Fridae columnist Tan Chong Kee 'fesses up to being a bitch during testy Chinese New Year family interactions in his younger days and ponders what his comebacks would be to those all too familiar questions this year.

On this Valentine's Day, Fridae's Alvin Tan pays tribute to those special someones who, like our partners, are equally indispensable to our lives: our gay and lesbian friends.

Fridae's festive fairy, Alvin Tan, offers gay men and women some tips on how to outwit, outplay and outlast annoying relatives and family friends this Chinese New Year.

It is the time of the year where we find ourselves wanting to connect with and appreciate our friends; a time to have a conversation with them about things that really matters to us... Tan Chong Kee shares what he has learnt about the secret of love.

Christmas is a time where many gays and lesbians who are or were formerly Christians return to Church for the obligatory Christmas service, and some will inevitably contemplate the difficulty of reconciling their faith with their sexuality amidst the singing of Christmas carols. Fridae speaks to Rev Yap Kim Hao and highlights several gay affirmative churches in Asia.

We've all heard the old joke about lesbians and U-Hauls on the second date� could that be one of the chief reasons for the dismal number of lesbian attendees at the recent Nation party in Phuket and the lack of lesbian places compared to numerous gay male ones even in major cities? Dinah Gardner ruminates.

Do-good consumers can now make a socially conscious choice to purchase T-shirts, iPods, footwear, among other products where a share of profits to go towards the fight against Aids in Africa. Motorola is the first in Asia to launch a special handset under the (Product) Red label, a business initiative by major brands including Apple, Nike and Gap to raise awareness and funds for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS.

In part 2 of "Bangkok's MSM HIV explosion," Baxter discusses the Thai National AIDS Strategy and MSM, the gay community's response and the future of Bangkok - and elsewhere in Asia.

Don Baxter, the Executive Director of AFAO, writes about the astonishing increases in HIV seroprevalence among Thai gay men and MSM, and asks if the Thai capital is merely the precursor for similar HIV catastrophes among the MSM communities of Asia's other mega-cities? Part 1 of 2.

They're young, they're smart, and they're doing their bit for gay activism. Fridae talks to three groups of youths in Singapore, aged 16-22, who've started web-based initiatives to educate and support the queer community. Come meet the crews of Plume.sg and Queercast, plus a group of online film producers.