Oldest gay bookstore in America to re-open as AIDS charity shop

When Ed Hermance, the owner America's oldest gay bookstore, announced earlier this year that after 35 years he was getting out of the book business, he said he would not leave Giovanni's Room or the building in Philadelphia to just anybody.

After decades of providing a safe haven both intellectually and physically for the gay community at 13th and Pine streets, he did not want it all to disappear just because of the demise of bricks-and-mortar bookstores.

Earlier this week, he signed a two-year lease with Philly AIDS Thrift, a charity shop that resells donated material to benefit AIDS and HIV programs. A few years ago, it successfully expanded into a double-wide storefront at Fifth and Bainbridge streets, becoming something of a retail and cultural phenomenon itself. Its owners say it raises about $20,000 a month.

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Seven Lesbian Web Series You Need To Binge Watch Immediately

Don’t get me wrong. I could watch Sex And The City reruns all day. I’m not even going to act like I’m embarrassed about it. Give me all the Mad Men, Game Of Thrones, Girls-level straight-people, implied PIV (penis-in-vagina) TV sex because I eat that shit up.

I have no shame.

But sometimes there are moments when I’ve already watched the first two seasons of Orange Is The New Black from start to finish three times, seen almost every episode of The Real L Word twice already and I just cannot deal with Hannah and Adam’s bullshit or the on-again, off-again Carrie and Big saga (so I’m emotionally invested, sue me). There aren’t a lot of other TV options for when you just want to watch some really lesbionic programming, and I really don’t need another web series about four straight girlfriends "just trying to make it in L.A." and maybe ask out the cute Starbucks barista guy one day. More

'Male Sex Work And Society' Examines Sex Work Throughout History

A compelling new book this week that examines the practice of sex work by men from both a modern day and a historical perspective hit the shelves.

Male Sex Work And Society is a collection of essays and studies that examines the role of male sex work from an interdisciplinary perspective, including fields of study like public health, sociology, psychology, social services, history and mental health. Read More

Arsenal record hilarious video to help campaign against homophobia in football

FA Cup winners Arsenal, Paddy Power, Stonewall and the Gay Football Supporters' Network have again teamed up to help tackle one of the toughest challenges in sport: homophobia in football. Rainbow coloured boot laces have been dispatched to every single professional player in the UK, including youth and women's teams, alongside deliveries to all MPs and leading political figures.

This Is Pakistan’s First Anti-Homophobia Children’s Book, And It Is Beautiful

Earlier this year, Toronto-based Pakistani blogger and artist Eiynah ‘Nicemangos’ wrote a blog post titled “My Chacha Is Gay”. 

The post was shared over 10,000 times in two days and hundreds of readers suggested that Eiynah start a crowdfunding campaign to publish it as a book. She met her crowdfunding goal quickly, and “My Chacha Is Gay” has since been released in print.

“My Chacha Is Gay” is about a little boy named Ahmed, his gay uncle, their family, and Pakistani and Muslim society as a whole. Read more

Russian political party slams ad depicting Russian poet kissing Kazakh composer

The Almaty-based advertising agency that produced a scandalous poster depicting Kazakh composer Kurmangazy and Russian poet Pushkin kissing has drawn a wave of discontent upon itself. The wave started in Kazakhstan and reached Russia. Now, a branch of Rodina (Motherland) political party has officially slammed the poster.

The St. Petersburg branch of the Russian party voiced its indignation with the smooch print of two cultural heavyweights and expressed solidarity with Kazakhstanis who intend to demand legal repercussions for the heads of the ads agency. Read More

Benedict Cumberbatch on 'The Imitation Game,' Homophobia, and How to Combat ISIS

Cumberbatch is getting rave reviews as Alan Turing, the math prodigy responsible for cracking the German Enigma code, thereby granting the Allied Forces access to once-indecipherable Nazi dispatches detailing the location and activities of the German navy. Turing was chemically castrated for "gross indecency"--being gay. Two years later, at the age of 41, the war hero ended his own life with cyanide. Read the interview here.

First gay couple in Italy allowed to adopt child

A woman whose partner gave birth has been allowed to adopt the child in the first case of stepchild adoption involving a same-sex couple. It's been described by a rights group as an historic step for Italy.

The five-year-old is the daughter of one of the two partners, who were married abroad. It is the first case of a “step-child” adoption involving a gay couple in Italy. Read more

Swiss gays recognized as parents of child

In a historic decision for Switzerland, a court in the canton of Saint Gallen has recognized a gay couple as the legal parents of a child born in the United States to a surrogate mother. Surrogacy is illegal in Switzerland but according to the administrative court ruling the wellfare of the child took precedence in this case. Read More

Egypt orders the arrest of nine men over gay wedding video

Egyptian prosecutor general ordered the arrest of 9 men, after a YouTube video depicting a gay marriage surfaced. The video, filmed in April but has only gone viral recently, entitled ‘Egypt’s First Gay Marriage’ shows two men appearing to have a ceremony on a Nile boat.

The two men hug and exchange rings, surrounded by male guests. Several charges have been levelled against the men including ‘inciting debauchery and violating public decency’. Read More

A multitude of celebrations

Two American 90-year-old women married after 7 decades together in a church of the town they moved to in 1947. Meanwhile a mass wedding in London saw 15 same-sex couples and 55 mixed-sex couples tie the knot across 6 ceremonies this weekend, part of Southbank’s Festival of Love programme, which celebrates the introduction of equal marriage earlier this year.