Fridae

Although they remain anonymous, some young gay men in Singapore are using social media to share their viewpoints on being HIV-positive. Fridae interviews “Zack”, a 24-year-old gay man who feels like he has been “given a second chance at life” after being disgnosed with HIV and a “full flush” of STDs.

Fridae's Melbourne-based writer Shinen Wong meets Nic and Tim, a couple who recently got married in Australia despite the lack of legal recognition and want to share their story to "put an Asian face to an issue that has been couched as a very ‘Western notion.'"

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer identities are commonly thought of as relatively recent, western, social constructs... but what do we know about non-heteronormative expressions of sexuality in historical Chinese, Korean, South Asian and Southeast Asian cultures?

Alex Au, who was part of a 3-member contingent from Singapore, reports on the Cambodia ASEAN Pride festival held last month that hosted activists from its neighbours in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which effectively made it the first ever ASEAN Pride event.

Hong Kong’s Tongzhi Community Joint Meeting (TCJM for short) has decided to adopt a working name called Pink Alliance for its activities whilst keeping the TCJM name for its legally established and registered non-profit NGO. Fridae's Hong Kong Correspondent Nigel Collett has more on the group's history and new developments.

LGBT diversity in the workplace is not only good for individuals and have a positive impact on the community but also spurs business growth at the same time, say speakers at the recent 'The Power of LGBT Diversity in the Workplace and Marketplace' conference in Bangkok that was organised by Fridae and sponsored by IBM.

Ng Yi-Sheng, a regular Fridae contributor and openly gay creative writing teacher at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, looks at the state of queer acceptance in Singapore’s universities – and wonders if the opening of the new Yale-NUS college will improve things.

From 4 to 18 May, rainbowartsproject is holding "Handsome: IVSG", an art exhibition about men and masculinity. Featured artists include filmmaker Bruce LaBruce, photographer Marcus Mok and young illustrator Faisal Husni.

Fridae’s Hong Kong reporter Tony Ed Lo investigates the story behind the Pink Dollar app that was conceived over a year ago by high profile entrepreneur and markets commentator Paul Ramscar.

Fridae's reporter in Hong Kong Tony Ed Lo meets Fan Popo, this year's HKLGFF Prism Award winner and one of the faces behind the Beijing Queer Film Festival; and John Badalu, the founder of the Q Film Festival in Indonesia who share the challenges of organising their respective festivals.