Fridae

Openly gay author and pastor Rev. Oyoung Wen Feng, who legally married his partner Phineas Newborn III on Aug 31 last year in New York, hosted a wedding banquet in downtown Kuala Lumpur last Saturday.

Of the 12,000 athletes at London 2012, only 23 are openly gay or bisexual, an increase from 11 at the Beijing Games in 2008.

From Aug 2-18, Toy Factory Productions presents Purple, a gritty drama based on the life of a Singaporean transgender woman. Fridae interviews the company director and playwright Goh Boon Teck.

Last month, Justice Minister Ha Hung Cuong announced that his ministry is considering legalising same-sex marriage. Fridae speaks with Le Quang Binh, head of iSEE, a not-for-profit research organisation that promotes understanding of LGBTs in society, about recent developments and societal acceptance of LGBTs.

Following an announcement that Vietnam's Justice Ministry is looking into legalising same-sex marriage, the country will see its first LGBT pride festival and "Cycle with Pride" parade on Sunday morning.

For its eighth edition, Singapore's LGBT pride season will throw the spotlight on things, situations and places that are special to Singapore's LGBT community.

Although they remain anonymous, some young gay men in Singapore are using social media to share their viewpoints on being HIV-positive. Fridae interviews “Zack”, a 24-year-old gay man who feels like he has been “given a second chance at life” after being disgnosed with HIV and a “full flush” of STDs.

A Hong Kong court has dismissed the case in which a complainant had sought to challenge the action taken by the police to prevent a dance programme performed on the street as part of the celebration of IDAHO in May 2011.

Over 300 representatives from LGBTQ-friendly churches, ministries and fellowships from 10 Asia-Pacific regions including Singapore, Taiwan, and China gathered in Hong Kong last month for a landmark meeting. Raymond Ko reports.

Hafidz Baharom, an openly gay social commentator in Malaysia, says anti-gay bashing by Malaysian politicians will likely continue as they battle for votes from the Malaysian Malay majority which makes up roughly 60 percent of the population.