melbourne
Homophobic harassment still a problem within Victoria Police ranks, report finds
Warning: distressing language Homophobic and transphobic threats and jokes are still tolerated by some in Victoria Police ranks including senior officers, according to a new report released on Friday. The report, by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, found a lack of trust in internal reporting processes and “poor management responses” hindered LGBTIQ …
Australian soccer player Andy Brennan comes out as gay
Former A-League player Andy Brennan has reportedly become the first Aussie male soccer player to come out as gay, opening up about the mental burden he felt hiding his sexuality. The 26-year-old played for the Newcastle Jets A-League team in 2016 and now plays for the Green Gully Soccer Club in Melbourne. Brennan told the …
Melbourne drag queen cops vile online abuse over children’s story time event
A Melbourne drag queen who copped a barrage of online abuse for hosting a children’s storytime event at a Victorian library has said she won’t be deterred and the event will go on. A Facebook post by Whittlesea Library, north-east of Melbourne, announcing the “Rainbow Storytime” hosted by drag performer Annie Depressant was removed after …
Police apologise for bungled queer bookstore raid that injured innocent man
Victoria Police have admitted to “stuffing up” a bungled raid on Melbourne queer bookstore and bar Hares and Hyenas that left an innocent man seriously injured. Armed police broke in through the garage of the premises on early Saturday morning. Bookshop owners Crusader Hills and Rowland Thomson posted on Facebook that the heavily armed police …
REVIEW: Hannah Gadsby’s follow-up to ‘Nanette’ is an act of considered self-care
By Jana Perkovic, University of Melbourne Hannah Gadsby’s new show, Douglas, is not earth-shattering the way Nanette was; but then, nothing could be. Many of us watched with fascination as Gadsby’s tenth solo show, Nanette, took her from a local niche market in queer comedy to international superstardom, skipping quite a few steps in between. …
Melbourne man avoids jail for extorting money from engaged Grindr user
A Melbourne man has avoided jail time after he blackmailed and extorted money from an engaged Grindr user he threatened to “out” to his fiancee. On Friday, Timothy Ruge was ordered to serve a 24-month community corrections order and complete 220 hours of unpaid community work by a Victorian County Court judge, 9 News reported. …
Melbourne man Rad Mitic wins Mr Gay Pride Australia 2019
Melbourne man Rad Mitic has been crowned Mr Gay Pride Australia 2019 at Daylesford’s ChillOut Festival at the weekend. The 36-year-old Melbourne man won the annual competition, beating runners-up Liam Davies from New South Wales and fellow Victorian Prashant Bhatia. The competition’s participants competed in seven social media and face-to-face challenges, including interviews in front …
Hannah Gadsby was preparing to work in retail after ‘Nanette’
Hannah Gadsby was so sure that acclaimed stand-up show Nanette would kill her career, she was planning to work in a shop after it was released. Nanette was supoposed to be Gadsby’s swansong before quitting comedy, but when the acclaimed show was recorded and released on Netflix it instead made Gadsby a global star. In …
Melbourne man jailed for sexual abuse of 14-year-old he met on Grindr
A Melbourne man who gave a 14-year-old boy he met on Grindr the drug GHB and sexually abused him has been jailed for at least two years. Andrew Castles, 28, admitted he met the child, who prosecutors said was a vulnerable transgender boy in state care, in 2017 through the Grindr app, AAP reported. The …
New Australian study looks at body image and ‘bigorexia’ in gay and bi men
A landmark new study by researchers at the University of Melbourne, Gay Bodies Worldwide, will track attitudes to body image among gay and bisexual men in several countries. The conversation around eating and body disorders has long focused on females, but experts are increasingly conscious of men developing an unhealthy obsession with gaining muscle, Melbourne …