Fridae

December

celebrity photographer herb ritts dies
Openly gay fashion photographer, Herb Ritts, whose pictures helped define the image-conscious 1980s and '90s, died on Thursday from complications of pneumonia.

gay games company under investigation
Investigators have opened an inquiry into the finances of Gay Games Ltd, the company that put on the event in the Australian city of Sydney last month.

'faithful' gay relationships OK, says new anglican head
The new Archbishop looks set to spark a new round of controversy for saying that he could support blessing gay relationships; just days after announcing that he would no longer knowingly ordain gay priests.

November

study: brain differences may help explain sexual orientation
According to a new study, researchers have found differences between the brains of gay and heterosexual sheep.

UK gays win equal rights; gay sex laws abolished
Consensual sex between men no longer punishable as Britain sees "an historic change'' of the gay sex laws in the most radical overhaul of sex crime legislation in a century.

October

m'sian businesswoman to answer PM's call for lesbian proof
A Malaysian businesswoman, Ummi Hafilda Ali, will take up PM Mahathir Mohamad's call to prove her allegations that Puteri UMNO chief Azalina Othman is a lesbian.

sydney gay games to open in 3 days
Despite reports of financial difficulties, organisers maintain that the Sydney 2002 International Gay Games would go ahead on Saturday as planned.

new mardi gras for sydney
The world's largest gay festival has been rescued after Mardi Gras creditors voted to cut their losses, based on community interests instead of commercial interests.

September

man receives thailand's harshest paedophilia sentence
A Bangkok court has sentenced a member of a famous Australian-Thai showbusiness family to 7 1/2 years in jail for molesting boys; the harshest penalty ever for the offence in Thailand.

lesbian fertility centre opens in london
Europe's first fertility clinic for lesbians and single women opened in London on Monday, however the centre has yet to obtain a license to carry out any clinical procedures.

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August

sydney mardi gras: future uncertain
Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, one of the best-known gay pride festivals in the world, has placed itself into voluntary administration last Friday.

singapore GLBT community celebrates pride
Despite initial concerns that there may be government resistance to a 2nd Nation party, more than 2500 people including visitors from the region gathered in Sentosa on Thursday night for Singapore's second pride party.

July

loan saves sydney's mardi gras from possible cancellation
The annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has been saved from being cancelled after some members of the public and community groups agreed to guarantee the organisation's A$250,000 bank loan.

knoller sentenced to 4 years in dog-mauling death
A San Francisco judge sentenced Marjorie Knoller to the maximum four years in prison Monday for the dog mauling death of her neighbour in their apartment building last year.

June

2 men in s'pore jailed for having oral sex in public pool
A married man and his lover were sentenced yesterday to a month in jail for having oral sex at a public swimming pool in Singapore.

May

openly gay dutch politician shot dead
In the first assassination in modern Dutch history, openly gay politician Pim Fortuyn, accused of promoting racism, was shot at least six times by a lone gunman shortly after giving an interview.

celebrity makeup artist kevyn aucoin dies
Openly gay master makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin died on Tuesday at the age of 40.

April

male student allegedly posed nude; school investigates
A Singapore student who had allegedly posed nude in a gay magazine will face school's inquiry board.

lesbian couple's deaf designer baby causes furore
A deaf lesbian couple in the US has sparked a row about designer babies after admitting that they intentionally sought to parent deaf children by donor insemination.

creator of AIDS awareness ribbon dies
Frank C. Moore II, prominent painter and creator of AIDS awareness ribbon dies of AIDS-related complications.

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March

singapore man bashed at sydney mardi gras
While the Sydney Mardi Gras may appear to be the gay party event of the year, it also has a dark history of violent crimes towards gay men and women. Fridae speaks with Jack, a victim of gay bashing at the recent Mardi Gras Parade.

sharon smith: widow to gay activist
Since Whipple's death, Sharon Smith successfully challenged California state law to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the owners of the dogs that mauled her lesbian partner to death.

hong kong gay man and lesbian marry to protest unequal treatment
A gay man and a lesbian got married in Hong Kong in an attempt to pressure the government into giving same-sex couples equal access to social benefits.

February

US paediatricians endorse gay adoption
The influential American Academy of Paediatrics has endorsed homosexual adoption, saying gay couples can provide the loving, stable and emotionally healthy family life that children need.

charges dismissed in lesbian bathhouse case
Charges against two women who organised a lesbian bathhouse in Toronto, Canada, have been dropped; judge slams police officers who raided the establishment.

January

lesbians could soon 'father' babies
Scientists in the US have pioneered a new technique that allows lesbian couples to have a baby that shares both their genes.

homosexuality re-emerges in afghanistan
A recent controversial news article has revealed that besides television, kites and razors; young boys that have been groomed for sex have began to emerge in the Afghan city of Kandahar where 'birds fly over the city using only one wing.'