Tag: LGBTQ

I have been involved LGB&T issues for most of my adult life especially after coming out at 22 and going to my first gay-rights protest a few weeks after. I have always been very politically aware and concerned about equality.

Now we have made great strides in terms of equality in many countries. In the news recently, there was the SCOTUS decision in the USA legalising same-sex marriage in all the states and Ireland voting overwhelmingly in favour of marriage equality. However, while news like this is an encouraging-step in the direction of progress, many countries still face a struggle for equality.

Today in many countries including the UK, Europe and USA , LGB&T representation in the media is poor. Many programmes, films and series still don’t have LGB&T characters, let alone regular ones and when they do, they are often stereotypical characters. Even when Gay Prides are covered by the media, they go for the extremes.

This disparity has spurred a conversation between me and a good friend of mine. With the launch of a TV station in Manchester where I live, my friend and I said why don’t we make TV programmes about LGB&T people by LGB&T people and readjust the balance. And so LGBTv Manchester was born (the name being my idea). Shockingly, when we checked their license bid LGB&T communities weren’t mentioned, which is unusual because now Manchester has a sizeable LGB&T community. So my friend contacted a few of his friends and with skilled networking and a few weeks later, he had bought proper TV cameras and equipment needed for the programmes. We set up our social media coverage and introduced our mission statement:

“Our mission is to produce high-quality television programmes which represent the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered community in Manchester, the UK and further afield. Our aim is to inform, inspire, entertain, and portray LGBT peoples and communities, concerns, issues and events with respect, integrity, empathy, sympathy, intelligence and humour.  With professionalism and industry experience, we aim to remain positive, non-judgmental and unbiased in both the programmes we produce and the process of making them. We intend to take an upbeat, positive approach to our content depicting the best of LGBT life and events in Manchester “

We recorded our first piece a few months later. This was a bare event and it was a steep learning curve for many of us in terms of production. Very quickly, LGBTv was becoming recognised around the Gay Village in Manchester for we had covered Manchester Gay Pride, numerous community events as well political issues. We have built up a reputation for being the go to people for LGB&T issues in TV production. Last year, when we covered the biggest transgender pride in the world, some of the feedback we got about the piece was its just how trans communities wanted to be represented by the media

We hope to be offered commissioned work in the future so we can do this full time and be paid as well, as at the moment we are fitting this around our day jobs and other commitments. We’ve some exciting plans to cover some more meaty topics and issues affecting LGB&T communities. It’s been really hard work, yet very worthwhile to ensure that all our communities are covered in the media in the manner they deserved to be represented in the media.

Check us out at www.lgbtv.co.uk

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUKusi5VfTj44FFipUPYJWg/videos

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lgbtv.manchester

Twitter https://twitter.com/LGBTvManchester

June 26, 2015 will forever be a memorable day in history for millions of LGBT individuals in the U.S., as its Supreme Court announced the decision to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide. The news comes as a huge victory for the decades long gay rights movement, and it also marks the beginning of a more equal American society. However, many of you might wonder what does it mean to be a non-American like me.

First and foremost, it is simply exciting to see the seed of marriage equality blossoms anywhere in the world, since this growing trend will help diminish opposing forces in the rest of the world. And for gay men like me who spent an extensive period of adulthood in the states, we know how far their gay rights activists have gone to finally claim this historical victory. The United States is never the iconic LGBT friendly country in the world, as it possesses a sizable amount of anti-gay population. Plus their LGBT individuals are also no strangers to hate crimes or discrimination that comes in all kinds of forms. As a result, today’s announcement not only guarantees American same-sex couples a better future, it also helps to level the playing field for LGBT individuals. They can enjoy a more equal status in front of law, and they can ensure their partnership is recognized in public.

This gives us, non-Americans, hope to aspire for a similar future in our own Asian countries. Their experiences can let us know which is the right path to take, and also help us avoid getting into similar troubles. More importantly, it ensures our activists that the eventual success comes after countless attempts and decades of endeavor. If marriage equality can be achieved without struggles, then it may never last long. The process is for us to settle our differences and crystalize the central value of marriage equality. The American experience tells us that even in an almost evenly divided court room, the voice of justice always sounds louder to those who may be swinging between two sides. As long as we put in the work and remain patient, then one day, it can be our turn to celebrate.

So to all gay and lesbian friends back in the states, thank you for showing me your courage and determination. It is the belief in marriage that helps to legalize marriage equality in the United States. As for my fellow non-American gay rights activists, their success is paving the way for our success, as we continue to prepare for the right moment to shine. Only if we believe we deserve it, then we will be granted the equality that we are all yearning for.

An interesting phenomenon in the world of erotic fiction is the growth of gay erotic fiction among female readers. Many women, if given the choice between reading straight erotica or gay male erotica, prefer gay erotica; lesbian erotica, however, hasn’t enjoyed the same level of success among straight women. Straight women, unless they have a strong bisexual bent, don’t have an overwhelming interest in lesbian erotica and it continues to be a small niche literary market.

While lesbian pornography continues to stimulate straight males visually and has a huge worldwide audience, most men don’t seem interested in reading spicy Sapphic novels. Unlike lesbian erotica, male on male, i.e. M/M erotica, continues to engage a large following, and entices authors, some male, some female, to write their own novels. Ménage, another popular sub-genre, involves  two hunky guys sexually servicing one woman. The sexual situations go far beyond traditional “vanilla” boundaries, and include large amounts of kink and BDSM. Hungry readers gobble it up.

Along with male writers, a number of female authors, including Evangeline Anderson, K.A. Mitchell, Lorelei James, Emma Holly, T. A. Chase, J. L. Langley, and LB Gregg, write gay male erotica and have large female followings. Why you might ask? Blogger, Tori Benson, a straight female reader wrote an interesting post on her preference of M/M erotica over traditional male/female erotic romances. She tired of the trepidation and neuroses that often accompanies hetero works by authors like Sylvia Day, and switched to the gay erotic.

As Benson noted, “My number one reason (for loving gay erotica) is the lack of deep, dark emotional angst. Often when erotica involves a female, there is some sort of dark issue in her past that must be resolved in order for the relationship to progress. Often, the focus shifts to the issue and we spend an awfully long time working on that, and not enough time on the relationship. Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t just want meaningless sex. But I also don’t want a storyline that drags me into the abyss with the heroine.”

Writer Evelyn Shepherd, author of several gay romances, recently shared her views on the subject. “The first LGBT book I ever read was Christopher Rice’s A Density of Souls. That was the first time I realized there was an actual market for LGBT. I didn’t have any clue about erotica at that time, because that was back in high school. After a few failed attempts at writing urban fantasy and attempting to get it published, I picked up The Assignment by Evangeline Anderson. After I read it, I decided I wanted to write this. I’m a huge supporter of LGBT rights, I enjoy writing male characters, and at the time I didn’t know of any urban fantasy m/m authors. I thought, well shucks! I could be that author. I really can’t say why women enjoy M/M erotica. I think we all like erotica because it allows us to experience our fantasies (sometimes dark fantasies), which we don’t always have the ability to try. Books, no matter what genre, are an outlet for the imagination. I think the lure of M/M is that it’s something we’ll never have the power to try, and there’s something fascinating about it. There’s also the part of you that wants to see a happy ending for two men, which you don’t always get in real life. Plus, let’s face it, two guys going at it is hot as hell.”

The additional bonus for the female reader of gay erotica? She gets two hot men and possibly more for the price of one.

I’ve recently spoke to author, Jace Payne, author of hot gay erotic romances, is a proud New Englander living in the heart of the south. When other kids were involved in sports and gaming, Jace had retreated into literature. He discovered his love for writing when he entered college. His early works, short stories for class, escalated to a blog, featuring short erotic fiction.

Dark South: Shifter, a novel set in the Deep South, marked Jace’s entry into the world of homoerotic romance. Jace’s passions lie within the world of the supernatural: werewolves, feisty witches, and unpredictable ghosts. If they lurk in the shadows, you can safely assume they will appear in his writing. No creature is safe. Jace set his most recent novel, Equinox, (Secrets of Salem), in his native Massachusetts, and wrote about the mingling of witches and mortals.

The difference between Jace’s work and many writers of paranormal fiction is that he combines the paranormal with explicit gay sexuality. Dark South: Shifter and Equinox (Secrets of Salem) are prime examples of one of the hottest commodities in erotic fiction, M/M erotica. The sexual content is potent, dark, and not for those unaccustomed to novels dealing with ménage and unbridled sexuality. Dark South: Shifter moves deftly from paranormal to erotica and back again. Payne creates a universe peopled with personalities of all stripes and colors, characters that will eventually have their own novels in the future.

Q: You’ve been writing for quite a while. What made you switch from short pieces to novels? What writers do you read?

A: When I had my blog, quite a few of my readers suggested I write a novel. At the time, I was only writing short erotic stories that I posted on a weekly basis. So, one day, I decided to explore the available options in the erotic romance world—which is when I discovered Loose Id.

Currently, my favorite authors are Christopher Rice, Michael Craft, and Dan Brown. Although Brown writes in a different genre, I adore his ability to weave a complex story while maintaining the reader’s attention. Christopher Rice has been writing for many years, but he has just stepped into the world of erotic romance. I applaud him for his willingness to explore something new. He’s done a wonderful job, which continues to inspire me as a writer.”

Q: Every writer has a daily routine – What is yours?

A: My daily routine fluctuates. It’s never the same. However, I never write first thing in the morning. I give myself time to wake up, get this done around the house, and relax. I only begin writing when I feel that I can sit and devote 100% of my attention to the task at hand. Otherwise, I’ll just stare at the screen and get nothing done.

Q: You mentioned a love of the paranormal. Have you written a paranormal novel without elements of erotica? Might one be in your future? A: Not as of yet. The paranormal is my field of expertise, so it’s what I love to explore in my novels. Although this doesn’t mean I will never write a contemporary novel, or one of a different genre. I’ve always been one to branch out and try new things. Keeping myself isolated to a single area is a pet-peeve of mine. I see no reason in limiting myself with so many options available.

Q: Fifty Shades of Grey and e-book reading devices like the Kindle opened the world of erotica for a lot of women. M/M erotica seems to be a huge turn on for straight women. Can you talk to that?

A: Honestly, I think straight women are drawn to the intensity and raw sexuality of M/M erotic romance. It has a unique energy that sets it apart from M/F stories, for obvious reasons. While some don’t understand their interest in gay novels, I think it’s great that they can find pleasure reading stories that differ from what they experience, sexually, in real life.

Q: Which erotic writers do you read? What authors of the paranormal do you prefer?

A: Christopher Rice is my favorite erotic romance author—along with his mother, Anne Rice. In all honesty, even though I write in this genre, I haven’t read very many erotic romance novels. I have read The New Orleans Hothouse, which is a M/F novel by Lee Rene, and love it. The main reason for not reading more of my chosen genre isn’t from a lack of interest. Truthfully, I’d love to discover more erotic romance authors, but most of my time is spent writing. I’m a relatively new author, so I’m still focused on building my own career, which is quite time consuming—but in a good way.

Q: What is your advice to writers just beginning their careers?

A: Start with a positive attitude. You can’t become an author if you don’t believe in yourself. If you want to be a writer, the best thing to do is to write, every day. Also, don’t forget to read as often as you can. I don’t get to read as much as I’d like, yet I still find time to get lost in a book. The more you read, the easier the writing process becomes.

Find out more about Jace at http://www.jacepayne.com/

Follow him on twitter at https://twitter.com/thejacepayne

Order Shifter at http://www.amazon.com/Shifter-Dark-South-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00RWGKWYE

Order Equinox at http://www.amazon.com/Equinox-Secrets-Salem-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00WJCXQOO