Why Putting The Gay Into Gaming Is Important For 'Gaymers'

Ever since arcade games appeared in people’s homes, gaming has exploded into a multi-million pound industry. In fact, most new games create more revenue for their developers in their first few months on sale than many blockbuster movies do in their entire cinema and DVD run.

100,000 Rainbow Laces Show Homophobia In Football The Red Card

The beautiful game. So beautiful, it moves grown men to tears. And it’s OK to be all touchy-feely with your fellow supporters, because it’s football. 

But any other expression of emotion or affection – on or off the pitch – is unlikely to be met with quite so much approval. Because to be in touch with your emotions or to be forthcoming with affection – particularly between men – is, well, ‘gay’. And in the football world, there’s still a way to go before gay is okay. 

LGBT issues in comics are often portrayed as realistically as we come to experience them in real life and comic book writers tend to deal with sexuality and gender identity in their craft carefully and sensitively. With the recent news that Daryl Dixon, a hugely popular character from the hit zombie-filled TV show The Walking Dead (based on the comic of the same name) is actually going to come out soon as gay, we take a look at some LGBT characters from the world of comics who are very much out and proud.

19 year-old Daniel came out as gay to his family last October. The news didn't go down well with his religious parents and so they gathered, with his extended family, for a 'pray the gay away' intervention to 'turn' him straight. Daniel accepts his sexual orientation and so any such effort would have fallen on deaf ears. And it did.

Anticipating a confrontation and for his own protection, Daniel hit record on his phone and captured five minutes of abuse from his parents. I'll leave you to find the video, but be warned: it is not an easy watch. But the message is important, as the title of the video purveys: 'how not to react when your child tells you that he's gay'. Daniel has since been made homeless by his family.

Almighty God has spoken - and He has spoken loud. He loves gay people.

So much so, in fact, that 'God' is publicly declaring his love for the gay people of the world (and indeed lesbian, bisexual and transgender folk) - by slapping the pro-equality message on billboards across the American city of Topeka, Kansas.

A pro-gay organisation has raised over $80,000 for Robin Williams’ favourite charity in response to the Westboro Baptist Church plan to picket his funeral.

Westboro announced that they would picket the funeral and any memorial services for the actor, who famously starred as cross-dressing nanny Mrs. Doubtfire and as a gay man in cult classic The Birdcage. They have since labelled Williams a ‘fag enabler’ in another shameless attempt to use the death of prominent figure to promote their message of hate.

“If we want to make people comfortable with us, we need to tell them”.

David Weston, a former teacher, openly came out as gay to a full school assembly four years ago in 2010. However, at the time, he admits he wasn’t sure what effect, if any, this had had on the pupils. He only knew that he had received no negative reactions, but hoped that it might raise awareness and help closeted or confused students be more comfortable with themselves.

A Star Trek writer has hit out at a homophobic reader who has refused to read any more of his books.

David Mack, a freelance writer of licensed Star Trek novels published the email correspondence from an anonymous former fan on his blog in order to promote ‘love, equality and compassion’ – ‘not just for humanity but for all sentient beings’.

Ugandan LGBT Community Celebrate Pride In The Wake Of Anti-Gay Law

The LGBT community in Uganda have celebrated their third Pride event – days after the country’s anti-gay legislation was declared null and void.

A rainbow-striped games console has sold for over ten times its retail price at a charity auction to benefit LGBT refugees.

Today, several stars of the hit BBC dancing competition Strictly Come Dancing have come out in support of same-sex couples taking to the stage to quick-step, shimmy and shake together as the nation watches at home. If this ever happens, we will applaud the move, but others will undoubtedly tut in disapproval and spew their predictably exclusionary opinions left, right and centre.

Openly-gay professional Strictly dancer Robin Windsor told the Daily Star: “I spoke to producers about having a same-sex couple competing. I’m not sure if the British public are ready for it on the main show, but I think it would be a good idea to do it on a Children In Need special or the Christmas show.”

Stunning Photography Project Finds The Beauty In 10,000 LGBTQ People Across America

“Because we are all the same – completely different.”

“We are you.”

These are the words of Self Evident Truths, a project that aims to photograph 10,000 Americans who don’t identify as being 100% straight. Or, rather, they identify as being somewhere on the LGBT spectrum.

The editor of an online heavy metal magazine has spoken out against homophobia in the music genre.

Tom Dare, commissioning editor of Terrorizer magazine, said in a blog post that homophobia is ‘horrible in all its forms’ and that it is frequently the first stone to be thrown at any metal band that sing about love – and even girls.

An Act Of Kindness (And Cookies) Just Touched The Heart Of This LGBT Group

Shopping around for a competitively-priced specialist service can be a drag, so when staff at the rainbow-striped Equality House in Topeka, Kansas, were quoted $3000 to fix a broken air-conditioning unit, their hearts sank as temperatures soared to 90 degrees.

You may know the Equality House. It sits next door to the Westboro Baptist Church and was painted in the seven colours of the rainbow after being purchased by pro-social organisation Planting Peace last year. Ever since, the House has stood in the middle of a quiet town as a beacon of hope for the LGBT community in the face of adversity.

Here’s The Gay Romantic Comedy About Scottish Independence You’ve All Been Waiting For

The controversy over Scotland’s independence from the rest of the United Kingdom has been satirised in a new web series starring a bickering gay couple.

The clever sketch sees Scott, the Scottish owner of a bath oils company, and Adrian, his spend-all English boyfriend, humorously on the verge of splitting up over their differences.

“We’ve been together now for… Centuries,” tells Adrian.

Emily Rios, star of TV’s Breaking Bad and The Bridge has come out as gay.

In an interview at TCA’s FX day, the actress spoke of her love for her The Bridge character Adriana and how it is directly linked to her experiences as a gay woman.