No holding Singapore's queens back. The government may have banned the gay pride-flavored picnic at the Botanical Gardens, but about a hundred homies gathered there anyway. So, did Singapore sink into the earth? Did the four horsemen come charging from behind a dark cloud? Did women and children's heads explode at the sight of all the gays? No. In fact, things were surprisingly - gasp! - normal!

In between our blankets, other families set up their picnics and played ball; children came up to us and asked to play with our dogs. Grown men and women and little girls from other families would confuse us by wearing pink T-shirts – and not all of us queers were in pink, either; some of us dressed in brown and blue and black and white…

Sure, more than half of us wore pink, but the outsiders didn't bat an eyelid – as a straight friend commented, we just looked like a breast cancer benefit with an unusual number of supportive men.

Those gays, always trying to blend into the rest of society!

• Barack Obama's proud to have gay Bishop Gene Robinson's vote. Interfaith Alliance honcho, Reverend Welton Gaddy, however, isn't so pleased with Barack Obama's Robinson pride:

Today’s endorsement of Senator Barack Obama’s campaign for president by Bishop Gene Robinson is just the latest example of candidates misusing religious leaders for political gain.

Holy smokes!

• Picture it: America, 2035 - God has smitten costume-wearing sex fiends. Gays become national treasure.

• Can Singapore's homophobia get any more ridiculous? The Media Development agency has censored a short story reading which included a story by gay author Ng Yi-Sheng:

Ng's text was disallowed as it had gone beyond good taste and decency in taking a disparaging and disrespectful view of public officers.

Ng's got at least one theory as to why the government banned his story: it included a politician called "Lee Low Tar," which sounds somewhat similar to PM Lee Hsien Loong.

CONTINUED »

Singapore's having the best anti-gay week ever. First authorities shutter a gay photo show, now they've canceled an August 7th forum called "Sexual Orientation in International Law: The Case of Asia." Apparently Singapore isn't down with self-reflection.

The forum, which would have featured Canadian theorist Douglas Sanders, got the ax after officials rejected Sanders' visa and lashed out at the event's international flavor. The Home Affairs released a statement yesterday, which reads:

Our laws are an expression and reflection of the values of our society; the discourse over a domestic issue such as the laws that govern homosexuality in Singapore must be reserved for Singaporeans … foreigners should refrain from interfering.

Funny, because we thought Singapore's anti-gay laws were just a throwback to Britain's colonial era Section 377.

• Super Aryan model Joseph Sayers sat down with Connexion 247 for a bit of chat, including how he'd react to a gaggle of crazed fans: "I can't even imagine a crowd going wild, but if they did, I'd handle it well." Oh, we've got no doubt.

• Rhiannon O'Donnabhain declared her $25,000 same sex operation as a medical expense. The IRS told her to turn her head and cough up the dough. Now she's suing.

• Will Brooks-Brothers' Thom Browne gamble pay off?

• If this happened today, the seemingly helpful, zoo keeping penis guru would be in jail. Or a priest.

CONTINUED »

Singapore's slated to review its discriminatory penal law, Section 377A, which requests a two-year prison sentence for any gay person who "procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person." While gay activists and liberal politicians have been working to overturn this anachronistic little amendment, the National Council of Churches of Singapore has been putting a little pressure on the government, Fridae reports.

The group's website states: The NCCS commends the Government on taking a clear, unequivocal and bold stand of neither encouraging nor endorsing a homosexual lifestyle and opposing the presentation of the same as part of a mainstream way of life.” They go on to recommend the government extend the prohibition to women of the lesbianic variety:

Given that section 377A PC criminalises homosexuality whether done private or publicly, we are of the view that a similar prohibition ought to be enacted in respect of lesbianism, considering that lesbianism (like homosexuality) is also abhorrent and deviant, whether consensual or not.

Well, at least don't discriminate in their discrimination, right?

You now that the universe has been thrown out of wack (in a good way, of course) when a country where gay sex is punishable by getting tossed in the slammer for two years moving forward with screenings of Brokeback Mountain. Conservative Singapore (remember this is the same place that gave that poor American graffiti artist a spanking a while back- okay they caned the fuck out of the poor kid) doesn't mind seeing Heath and Jake perform some hot shirtless field wrestling. The country’s film critics are even going so far as to call the movie "not very controversial.”

Singapore's media content director said Ang Lee's film was passed as it did not "promote or glamorise the lifestyle".

Someone better inform those right-wingers in the U.S. They seem to think otherwise.

Singapore censor passes Brokeback [BBC]