Started by four gay men in 1983, Sunday 15 May will mark the 33rd International AIDS Candlelight Memorial. With 33 million people living with HIV today, the Memorial serves as an important intervention for global solidarity, breaking down barriers of stigma and discrimination, and giving hope to new generations.

Today is International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) which commemorates the 26th anniversary of the World Health Organization’s decision to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.

Sex isn’t only a pleasurable experience the act also has health benefits that can be compared to those of exercise. In fact, the physiological response to sex is similar to that of exercise. Landmark studies in the 1960s showed people having sex had an increase in their respiratory rate, heart rate and blood pressure.

Great news for our brothers and sisiter in America this week. Same-Sex Couples Can Now Adopt Children In All 50 States of the United States. A federal judge ruled Mississippi’s ban on same-sex adoption is unconstitutional.

VIDEO : Thomas Morton a straight skinny guy teaches us some new slang he picked up while spending time with the gay subculture of bears during their meetup in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. Find out about all the fabulous and diverse sub-cultures of the bear community and so so much more... 

Over the past few weeks fear and loathing has reigned in the Safe Schools and same-sex marriage debates. Arguments around sexual diversity dominated the final week of the last parliamentary session before the budget, with bitter divisions over same-sex marriage and the Safe Schools Coalition.

Tony Abbott's public ballot on same-sex marriage, now embraced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, will cause major social harm and cost the economy more than $500 million in direct expenses and lost production.

Last night, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade brought the city to a standstill in a glittering explosion of pride. An estimated 200,000 people looked on as the biggest and longest parade in recent years, made up of 178 floats and 12,500 participants, marched, rolled and danced.

Petition Update : The Australian Greens are delighted to announce the petition calling for support for the Safe Schools Coalition has received more than 38,900 signatures in less than a week and is growing fast!  If you support keeping out LGBTIQ kids safe at school SIGN THE PETITION NOW!

An online petition by Family First calling for the Federal Government to stop a school-based anti-homophobia and anti-transphobia education program is garnering little interest.