Fridae

Nigel Collett reviews fashion designer-turned-director Tom Ford's debut film, A Single Man, ahead of the Hong Kong (Feb 27) and Singapore (Mar 3) fundraising galas to benefit Chi Heng Foundation and Fridae Community Fund respectively.

Fridae has been told that a total of 85 people including filmmakers Sun Koh and Royston Tan have lodged police reports over the long Chinese New Year weekend about pastor Rony Tan's offensive comments concerning gay men and lesbians in an online video.

Acclaimed British gay novelist Patrick Gale comes to Singapore this weekend for a book talk on Feb 19 and a writing workshop from Feb 20 to 21. Fridae chats to him about fiction, love and cattle farming.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit the Fridae Community Development Fund, which will for the first time invite applications from Singapore-based LGBT individuals or groups for grants.

One of the eight finalists is now in Oslo, Norway to represent China at the Mr Gay International pageant.

The Singapore pastor who was called up by the Internal Security Department for his offensive remarks has apologised personally to the Buddhist and Taoist federations but he shouldn't stop there, says blogger Kenneth Tan who noted that he had preached falsehoods about gays linking them with paedophilia and bestiality in a video which was online as early as July 2009.

Some of you may have heard about studies showing that male circumcision can help men protect themselves from HIV. But what is the potential role of circumcision as an HIV prevention strategy for gay men? Fridae's Men’s Sexual Health columnist Jan Wijngaarden has more.

Community Business, a non-profit organisation, is planning to produce a LGBT Resource Guide to help companies create inclusive workplaces for LGBT employees in Hong Kong. If you have any observations about issues relating to LGBT employees in Hong Kong, you can share your views in the online survey.

Malaysia's The Star newspaper on Feb 4 reported that police raided two gay joints, a massage parlour and a fitness centre, and arrested 19 men including a 65-year-old grandfather.

Les Peches founders Abby Lee and Betty Grisoni, who met in a straight club in Singapore before moving to Hong Kong in 2001, talks to Fridae.com's Hong Kong correspondent over lunch about community building and how they came to organise the two events that they currently run.