Fridae

A new book gives a picture of Indonesia that sets the sprawling country apart from its Asian sisters. Are queer things actually simpler in complicated Indonesia? Douglas Sanders checks out Tom Boellstorff's The Gay Archipelago.

A new book is out: The Rice Queen Diaries. Author Daniel Gawthrop looks at cross-cultural desire and says in an interview with Vancouver's Xtra West that "to really understand this stuff, you've got to go in there and be with those people, and talk to those people, and fuck those people." Fridae contributor Andy Quan gives us his review.

Rumoured to be a lesbian, 21-year-old Li Yuchun has become one of the most popular figures in China after winning an American Idol-style TV singing contest. Beijing-based Dinah Gardner ponders the importance of lesbian role models and how few of them there are in Asia.

Are gay men the only ones who watch gay porn? Apparently not, some lesbians are openly embracing this genre of erotica much to the dismay of other lesbians. Dinah Gardner wonders if lesbians are put off because of the belief that as dykes "we owe it to ourselves to spurn cock/sperm."

An increasing number of heterosexually married people are coming out and exploring their gay identity despite having taken marital vows. Ormond Cheong speaks to several gay men and a lesbian who are/were married about their struggles and journey.

Tired of trying to have decent conversations over loud music or dealing with those in an altered state of consciousness? Started by two women in Singapore, Women's Nite promises to be a safe space for women to meet, bond and have conversations about the issues that affect them.

Do genes make people gay? This question has prompted so much controversy and hand wringing by scores of conservatives, liberals, religious leaders and the LGBT community that most assume that a definitive answer would cause a seismic shift in our society�but would it?

Tan Chong Kee visits Glide Memorial in San Francisco and witnesses first hand how welcoming and pro-diversity the church - which offers everything from hot meals to free and confidential HIV testing to job training - really is.

Beijing-based Dinah Gardner chronicles her adventures in trying to acquire a sex toy or two in Beijing and on the Net, and examines the myths of lesbian strap-on sex in the second installment of her Read my lips column.

Fridae's Muscle Maiden, Alvin Tan, recounts his experience at a recent national bodybuilding competition and offers some tongue-in-cheek reasons as to why most gay men will not date bodybuilders.