Viennese men will no longer dominate street signage, say Viennese officials who've unveiled new bigendered the city's public space.

In switching genders, so to speak, they hope to help change popular misconceptions of gender roles. Of the semiotic shift, City Councillor for Women's Affairs, Sonja Wehsely notes:

Language and picture language says a lot about social roles. We are used to seeing pictograms of men for everything, and only pictograms of women when it is to do with children. That's not reality.

Though the move garnered considerable praise, not everyone's so pleased. One woman thinks the government should worry about more pressing issues, The Advocate reports:

I'm a woman but I couldn't care less if there's a woman or a man on the sign. I'd prefer it if I got the same salary as my male colleagues.

(A note on the image: officials created dozens of mock-up signs, many of which don't comply with EU laws of conformity, like the one you see above. We have to say, it's a shame. Look at that shit, it's superb! That tag-line should read, "I don't care if you're wearing heels, there's a fire! Run, girl, run!")

Try to follow us here: Man marries woman. Man gets sex change while married to woman. Woman still loves man. Neither wants divorce.

The result, in case you didn't already figure it out, is a same-sex marriage. The government of Austria is still trying to sort out what exactly this means, since they have to accommodate the man's sex change and cannot force the couple to divorce. The government only recently rejected efforts to extend even meager domestic partnership rights to same-sex couples.

They're in quite the predicament and we look forward to seeing the aftermath. Thank goodness for trannies!

Austria Gets First Same-Sex Marriage [365 Gay]

What were some of the biggest headlines and news stories about the gay community this year? There were many important happenings this year. Here are our top So Gay! picks.

5. Hangings In Iran. It’s tough enough being openly gay in this world. But we can’t even begin to imagine living in a country where people are publicly executed for being gay. Absolutely revolting.

4. Sheryl Swoopes’ Coming Out. The bitch was so cool this year that she made not one but two of our So Gay! lists. No one in pro sports as popular as the WNBA’s Swoops has had the courage to come out of the closet while still an active player. We hope this is the start of a long overdue trend.

3. Schwarzenegger Same-Sex Marriage Bill Veto. Oh that Arnie. As seen as he found out about it, the former homo boy toy announced he would veto the bill that would have legalized gay marriage in California, the country’s most populated state. His follow through instantly disappointed committed queers in GLBT meccas San Francisco, Palm Springs, and LA. Guess who is up for re-election next year?

2. Vatican Ban On Gays. Though employing God only knows how many gays, the Catholic Church this year decided it wanted them banned from the Priesthood. The directive came out under newbie Pope Benedict. Why the need for the document? Because only gays abuse little boys, silly! Get rid of them and bammo! Problem solved. Well, not really.

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