Maleforce

The UK government has proposed lifting the ban on gay civil ceremonies being conducted in religious buildings. Amendments to the Equality Act that will allow religious elements in civil ceremonies will come into effect by the end of 2011.

In addition to the announcement the equalities minister, Lynne Featherstone, has divulged that a consultation will take place on the "next steps" towards marriage equality within England and Wales.

"Over the past few months I've spoken to a lot of LGB and T people and campaign groups, and it quickly became clear that there is a real desire to address the differences between civil marriage and civil partnerships," the equalities minister said.

"I'm delighted to announce that we are going to be the first British government to formally look at what steps can be taken to address this."

Gay rights campaigners welcomed the announcement but have criticised the amount of time it has taken the government to address the imbalances between civil partnerships and civil marriage.

Veteran gay rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell said there is no excuse for the delay in permitting religious civil partnership ceremonies.

"Allowing religious partnerships is long overdue. It was agreed by parliament nearly a year ago. There is no excuse for the government's long delay in putting it into effect, "he said in response.

"Permitting faith organisations on making their own decision on whether to conduct same-sex civil partnerships is the democratic and decent thing to do. The current law prevents them from doing so, even if they want to."

A recent poll taken by gay news website PinkNews.co.uk found that an overwhelming majority of its readers want the right to marry. Ninety-eight percent of the 800 readers polled said they wanted gay marriage equality with 77 per cent agreeing that the choice of marriage or civil partnerships should be open to all couples regardless of sexuality.

The Home Secretary, Theresa May said: "No religious group will be forced to host a civil partnership registration, but for those who wish to do so this is an important step forward."

While none of us here in the gay chat team are planning on getting hitched anytime soon (we're having too much fun being single!) we're ecstatic about the announcement. It's another important step towards gay equality. Bravo!

Gary C. from The Gay Chat Team

Captain Jack will be ever so pleased! Doctor Who star Matt Smith steps away from the Tardis to star as iconic gay writer Christopher Isherwood in a new BBC film. Christopher And His Kind, due to be aired on British TV later this month, is being hailed as the best gay film you'll see this year.

Isherwood's classic memoir is being brought to life courtesy of the BBC and it's got the gay press, not to mention our very own gay chat team buzzing. Why? Well for starters it stars the phwoarsome Matt Smith as one our most beloved gay icons getting it on with a bevy of hot, brawny beefcake!

Said beefcake includes uber-hottie Douglas Booth - you might remember him playing Boy George in the excellent BBC 2010 drama Worried About The Boy. He also happens to be one of Burberry's hottest models. In Christopher And His Kind Booth plays Heinz, Isherwood's 17-year-old love interest.

The one-off drama, written by acclaimed playwright Kevin Elyot, chronicles Isherwood's journey of self-discovery within the decadent world of pre-war Berlin, where he met and partied with the people who inspired his most famous characters.

It may be a complete coincidence, but perhaps not so strange, that the star who plays our all time favourite time traveller should find himself transported into such a role. Doctor Who has a huge gay following and is scripted by Russell T. Davies, creator of Queer As Folk.

The hit TV series has featured openly gay characters, including the sexy bisexual Captain Jack, and has been peppered with camp innuendo regularly over the years. It's only since the show's revival in 2005 however that the doctor became desirable. Prior to Smith, David Tenant and Christopher Eccleston upped the show's fitty factor.

Fast becoming a gay pin-up, British actor Smith told Gay Times that the gay scenes in Christopher And His Kind didn't faze him at all, and quipped that he'd already kissed "lots of boys". He's currently dating model Daisy Lowe.

Christopher Isherwood's works have been adapted for film, television and theatre, inspiring the multi academy award winner Cabaret, starring Liza Minelli and more recently A Single Man for which Colin Firth won several Best Actor awards.

Christopher And His Kind is coming soon to BBC2.

Gary C. from The Gay Chat Team

The 80's eh? The decade that style forgot: huge hair, parachute pants, puffball skirts, lace gloves, fluoro eye shadow, dayglow leg warmers - and that was just the boys! But it was also a time of pure pop perfection. Prince, Madonna and Michael Jackson were all at their zenith producing mega hits that still get high-rotation radio play today.

Back then, George Michael was arguably the hottest pop star on the planet. After ditching his Wham! sidekick, Andrew Ridgley, however, Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (yes, really) became a worldwide pop phenomenon. The incredible "Faith", his first solo album, went on to sell more than 20 million copies and spawn six U.S top five singles.

And the rest, as they say, is history. A very colourful history if you factor in arrests in public conveniences, drug busts, jail, lawsuits, car crashes and, of course, coming out as gay. We must admit though, we're just slightly proud he's one of us!

Twenty-four years on "Faith" has been remastered and reissued in expanded form. Featuring the massive hits I Want Your Sex, Faith, Father Figure, Monkey, One More Try and Kissing Fool, it has been repackaged with bonus tracks, remixes and a DVD.

Included are rare B-sides, 7" and 12" remixes by the likes of Shep Pettibone and Jam & Lewis, two covers of the Stevie Wonder hits "Love's in Need of Love Today" and "I Believe When I Fall in Love" plus DVD featuring the "Faith" pop promos, a documentary and interview. Quite a package!

Speaking of which, who can resist the iconic, bejeaned and leathered up, stubbly George singing "Faith"? Forget 'Father Figure' - more like hot gay fantasy! Strangely, watching George shake his perfect derriere in that video has got the entire gay chat team drooling, and it's not even lunchtime yet!

Fab!

Faith - The Reissue is out now.

Gary C. from The Gay Chat Team

We reckon our Maleforce mobile app is one nifty little number! For starters we've already pipped the competition by being the first gay app to offer video & audio profiles, multi-platform access and personal numbers. And this is only the beginning!

Our mission is to bring you the best gay chat and dating app out there. So while you've been having loads of gay app fun we've been working hard to make Maleforce Mobile even better.

Check out our new app enhancements!

NEW! Extended Profiles - Show them how hot you look from every angle! Now you can add up to six photos to your Maleforce profile. Add more physical details like height, weight etc too!

NEW! Improved Map & Search Filters - Phased by all those thumbnails popping up? Tap the handy new List View button to organise the guys by distance, who's online, guys with photos and taking calls.

NEW! "Near Me" tab - The Maleforce GPS location search finds guys wherever you go. One tap of the "Near Me" tab and we'll show you the guys logging on back in your registered location.

NEW! Worldwide search - Planning a trip abroad? Tap the new Worldwide search option to find guys in New York, Paris, Sydney - everywhere! At the touch of a button we'll hook you up with guys at home or abroad.

And don't forget, you can check-in to your favourite gay venues, shops, saunas and gyms to see who's going where! All on the Maleforce app!

So what are you waiting for? Check out the new improvements and let us know what you think! And if you like what you see, please tell your friends. More guys on Maleforce means more fun for everyone!

Note! The above features are available on Android handsets now and will be available to iPhone users as soon as Apple approves! That should be any day now!

Gary C. from The Gay Chat Team

If there's one thing we like better than a hot, tattooed rock star, it's a hot tattooed rock star naked! And even better if it's for a good cause. We're extremely happy to report that Maroon 5 fitty, Adam Levine, has been snapped naked to raise awareness about male cancer.

The photos, taken in support of Everyman - The UK's leading prostate and testicular cancer campaign - appear in the February edition of Cosmopolitan magazine. Cosmopolitan UK has long been a supporter of the Everyman campaign, regularly featuring hot male celebrities in the buff.

Past centrefolds have included Lenny Kravitz, Ewan McGregor, Eminem and, the gay chat team's personal favourite, Welsh rugby hunk Gavin Henson. Amazing!

Most importantly, Everyman's mission is to stamp out testicular and prostate cancer. Launched in 1997, the charity seeks to raise awareness about male cancer and raise funds to research treatments. It runs a variety of campaigns, initiatives and adverts to remind men that regular self-examinations, and the early treatment of cancer are essential.

Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men aged 15-44. With treatment, it has an overall cure rate of 97%. The success rate is even higher if caught early enough - hence why awareness is key.

Prostate cancer kills one man every hour in the UK and has overtaken lung cancer as the most common cancer in men. Despite advances in research, little is known about what causes it or how it develops. We do know that the incidence of male cancer is rising rapidly, yet we don't know why.

So it's hats off to Adam for being the latest bit of buff to get his baubles out for the boys.

We've had a hot spot for the gorgeous Mr. Levine ever since "This Love" - a smash hit for his band Maroon 5 - way back in 2002! Since then, the group have gone on to sell millions of albums all over the world.

A staunch supporter of gay rights (can this guy get any more adorable?), he was one of the first celebrities to post a video to the "It Gets Better Campaign". And in 2008 when asked by LGBT news magazine The Advocate as to what kind of guys he'd like if he were gay, he quipped: "Oh, there are beautiful men out there... every male secretly wants to have sex with Brad Pitt, but that's a given." What-a-tease!

To find out more about prostate and testicular cancer we recommend visiting: http://www.everyman-campaign.org/

Maroon 5's latest album "Hands All Over" is available on iTunes. The February edition of Cosmopolitan Magazine is out now.

Gary C. from The Gay Chat Team