Fridae

Singapore gay site celebrates 7th anniversary with "Prom King" contest
Popular Singapore gay web site, Sgboy.com, is turning seven and they are having a "Prom King" contest and party this weekend.

Set up in March 1999 by Dominic Yeo who was then an undergraduate, the site was originally Yeo's personal web site and was known as "Singapore Boy Homepage" before it became known as Sgboy. Now known for its Singapore city guides, classifieds and online forums, it also traditionally hosts a birthday bash every year to commemorate its founding.

To be held at Why Not, the Sgboy Prom will include a "pageant" where one of 10 contestants will be crowned "Prom King."

Regarded as one of the most popular local gay sites, Sgboy boasts some 30,000 personals profiles in Singapore and the region. It is expected to launch a new regional portal later this year, announced Sgboy Director Salmon Lee in a statement issued in January. The statement also revealed that the site was visited by more than 108,000 Singaporean visitors in December 2005.

Surviving in Singapore has been a significant challenge for gay media groups. Manazine, a magazine targeted at gay readers ran into licensing problems with the Media Development Authority (MDA). In September 2004, it announced that it would move from being a free pick-up zine to one that would only be sent to subscribers or available to card-carrying members at selected outlets after discussions with MDA. Manazine, which published its first issue in October 2003, has since ceased publication.

SGboy too has been subjected to censure by the MDA, who have objected to "raunchy pictures" and explicit sexual language on the site. This led up to a fine of S$5,000 (US$2,940) in November 2005 and was asked to remove "offensive" content. Another site, Fluffboy.com, was also banned by the MDA, effectively blocking access by Singapore-based Internet surfers. Fluffboy.com is believed by many to be a spin-off from Sgboy after its first run in with MDA in September 2004, although Sgboy has officially denied any links.

Sgboy Prom will be held at whyNOT (58 Tras Street) on April 15. Tickets are available on sgboy.com.

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Charlize Theron, Melissa Etheridge, Transamerica win GLAAD awards
Actress Charlize Theron has been honoured by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's for increasing "visibility and understanding" in the gay community. The star was presented with the Vanguard Award at the GLAAD annual media awards last Saturday night at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. Her portrayal of lesbian serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster won an Oscar in 2004.

An outspoken supporter of gay rights, she once said that she would only tie the knot with actor boyfriend Stuart Townsend the day it becomes legal for gays and lesbians to wed in the US.

Rock icon Melissa Etheridge was presented with GLAAD's Stephen F. Kolzak Award, honouring openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender media professionals who have made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for our community.

"There's one thing I can tell you � the one thing that makes us stronger as a community is coming out," Etheridge said accepting her award. "[When] we put ourselves out there, we show people that we are gay and we're not going to hurt you. We live, we love, we have children, we get married. We are people. I love being a gay person � a lesbian in 2006."

Duncan Tucker's Transamerica, which stars Felicity Huffman, was named the outstanding film in limited release at the awards.

Showtime's hit lesbian series, The L Word, was honoured as outstanding drama series, while NBC's Will & Grace," which is in its last season, was presented the award for outstanding comedy series.

The pre-show VIP reception featured the first public appearance of Jack and Ennis' intertwined shirts from Brokeback Mountain. Purchased for more than US$100,000 in an online auction by actor and activist Tom Gregory, the shirts were displayed along with the film's actual postcards in a re-creation of the closet from the GLAAD Media Award-winning film's final scene.

Following is a complete list of GLAAD Media Awards presented on stage and the individuals that accepted the awards at the 17th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 8, 2006:

- Vanguard Award: Charlize Theron
- Stephen F. Kolzak Award: Melissa Etheridge
- Outstanding Film - Limited Release: Transamerica
- Outstanding Drama Series: The L Word (Showtime)
- Outstanding Comedy Series: Will & Grace (NBC)
- Outstanding Individual Episode: TIE: "Best Friends" Cold Case (CBS) and "Pilot" My Name is Earl (NBC)
- Outstanding Documentary: TransGeneration (The Sundance Channel/Logo)

For more photos and details on the 17th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, visit www.glaad.org.

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"Brokeback" inspires new gay slang in Hong Kong
"Dun bui," which literally means "broke-back," in Cantonese is fast becoming a new media slang to mean gay in Hong Kong. The term which is translated from Ang Lee's award-winning Brokeback Mountain is now being used by the media to refer to gay, and awkward relationships.

According to an Associated Press (AP) report, the Oriental Daily News recently described a gay cruising spot in southern China as "public toilet Brokeback Mountain" while the Ming Pao Daily News reported that two male pop stars held hands at a concert "Brokeback style."

The well-read Apple Daily tabloid labeled a pair of politicians prevented from forming a party due to circumstances "obviously a Brokeback couple." It is said it references the characters in the film for their inability to shun social convention to become a couple.

Whether or not the term is useful, local gay activists are divided. Gay activist Cho Man-kit said the new term provided a vehicle to discuss homosexuality while Roddy Shaw, another gay activist, said he considered most of the media's use of the term to be negative as it appeared aimed to exoticise gays.

''It's devolved into a derogatory term that doesn't sound as bad,'' Shaw said.

Cho hoped that "dun bui" would eventually have a positive influence.

"This word is very powerful. The movie is about breaking taboos, about the fluidity of sexual identity and physical love," he told AP. "It's about the high malleability of human sexuality and how a heterosexual and homosexual relationship can be equally deep."