— Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon tell the San Francisco Examiner that he wants his country to become the first in Asia to legalize marriage equality

Is anyone else feeling totally baffled about which states have marriage and which don’t? The rulings have been coming so fast, and states courts changing their minds so quickly, that it’s hard to figure out where you can get married and where you can’t these days.

As far as we can tell, if you want to mosey on down to a courthouse and get a marriage licenses right now (Monday, October 13), you can do that in 28 states (plus DC and 10 tribes). Does that sound right? There are a handful of states (Idaho, Kansas, etc) where things are murky, since different officials seem to have different opinions about what’s allowed and what’s required. And in other states (Alaska) courts have ruled against marriage bans, but the law remains on the books, so you still can’t get married yet.

But all in all, this sure was a winning week, wasn’t it? We added at least 27 million Americans to the total population with the freedom to marry, which is going to account for an awful lot of wedding registries. And that number could still tick up in the next few days.

So why are we still waiting in some states? Well, we haven’t gotten a sweeping national victory from the U.S. Supreme Court, and it looks like they won’t wade into the mess unless some dumb federal court actually upholds a marriage ban. That could happen soon, or it could happen in a few months, or it might happen never. The only thing that’s certain is that we’re unlikely to see the population with marriage equality ever decrease again.

The evolution of out gay closeted straight ambiguously gay action star Luke Evans has been nothing if not interesting, and this weekend Luke switched up his story yet again.

In an interview with Women’s Wear Daily for his new big-budget epic Dracula Untold, the Welsh actor was asked if he was setting a new precedent as an openly gay action star. That’s after Luke’s publicist specifically told the interviewer not to bring up Luke’s sexuality.

His response?

It’s good for people to look at me and think this guy is doing his thing and enjoying what he’s doing and successful at it and living his life. And that’s what I’m doing and I’m very happy.

Well, that doesn’t exactly scream gay pride, but it might mark a shift away from explicitly evading the “gay issue.”

Time magazine seems to think this is some sort of courageous tip-toe out of the closet — a closet they themselves note that Luke has slunk back into since becoming a box office commodity.

They write:

He may not be the gay action hero we want, but he’s the one we have, and one we can only hope grows still more comfortable. In Evans, gay people who’ve spent years trying to grow comfortable in the world can see themselves. He’s undergoing a process that’s often circuitous and halting. In struggling with how to define himself and ending up, for now, in a place of acceptance and the beginnings of openness, the musclebound vampire has never seemed more like an everyman.

Which seems like a pretty weird thing for a major publication to print in the same article in which they quote Luke in a previous interview with The Advocate saying:

“[E]verybody knew me as a gay man, and in my life in London I never tried to hide it.”

It begs the question — once you come out of the closet, can you really go back in? And if you can go back in, do you still deserve praise for tip-toeing your way back out?

We get that Hollywood can be an unwelcoming place for gay people looking to ride to the top of the fame coaster, but if Luke has already come out, what good does it do to crawl back to vague un-acknowledgments?

It’s not as if the Advocate was the only time he spoke about being gay, either.

There’s that time in 2004 when Evans chatted with GaydarNation about his role as a gay porn star in the play Hardcore. And also all these other instances. Here’s a telling snippet:

So, have you spent a long time researching gay porn?
Years and years. I bought my first film when I was 15 and now I have a good collection and I add to it regularly. I research it almost every night!!
What makes a good porn star?
An enormous big fat cock!

Really, queen?

The 13cm steel rod removed from Niu’s penis.

A Chinese man has learned the hard way why DIY penis enlargement surgery is not a good idea.

52-year-old Kang Niu was unhappy with his lovemaking abilities. His penis didn’t get as long, thick, or hard as he wanted. Rather than taking something like, say, Viagra, he came up with what we thought was a far better solution: Inserting a sharp steel rod down the center of his urethra to “reinforce” his manhood.

What could possibly go wrong, right?

How the man managed to insert the entire 13cm rod into his dong without passing out, we don’t know. (Nor do we want to.) But the results were truly horrifying.

Niu quickly found that when he tried having sex, the rod shot backwards into his body, stabbing him in the bladder.

Embarrassed by what he had done, Niu didn’t tell anyone for several months, hoping the rod would naturally pass from his body in his urine. When it didn’t, and when the pain because so severe he could hardly walk, he checked into a local hospital.

The x-ray showing the 13cm steel rod trapped in Niu’s urinary tract.

Doctors took an X-ray and were shocked by what they discovered. The 13cm-long steel rod had become deeply lodged in Niu’s urinary tract. When they asked him about it, Niu said he came up with the “genius” idea all by himself.

A hospital spokesman told the media: “He believed that using this would give him a prolonged sexual experience.”

Of course, Niu isn’t the only man unhappy with the length and girth of his dong. A recent survey by the U.K.’s Observer found that 21 percent of men are discontent with their penis sizes. As a result, “Penoplasty” has become a growing trend in England.

Earlier this year, Billy-Tom O’Connor went on a morning news program to talk about his penis enlargement surgery. He  told an interviewer he wanted “an absolute monster,” so he paid to have his penis pumped up to the size of a 10-inch hairspray bottle. (See the NSFW pictures here.)

So what’s going to happen to Niu? The hospital would not say whether he will suffer permanent damage as a result of the DIY surgery. But here’s hoping he never tries it again. (Though, honestly, we wouldn’t put it past him.)

Related stories:

A Lot Of Men Are Unhappy With Their Penis Size, So Here’s What Can Be Done About It

What Do Your Testicles Say About You?

Man Mortgages His House To Pay For $100,000 Penis Enlargement Surgery

Time magazine recently released their list of the 25 most influential teens of 2014, which is fitting since a 17 year old won the Noel Peace Prize last Friday (yes, she made the list). How’s that for making you feel unaccomplished.

It’s a veritable who’s who of the Twitterverse — actors, athletes and future startup CEOs — but one teen in particular caught our attention.

Jazz Jennings first came to the public eye when she released a series of videos on YouTube about her experience being transgender. Since then it’s been one media appearance after then next, and now she’s working on a children’s book aimed at teaching tots the basic concept of what trans means.

Here’s what Time has to say about the 14-year-old:

In a landmark year for transgender visibility in the media, Jennings stands out for how much she’s already accomplished. She’s been interviewed by Barbara Walters, met Bill Clinton and become the youngest person ever featured on the Out 100 and The Advocate‘s 40 Under 40 lists. She even co-wrote a children’s book, I Am Jazz, loosely based on her life (she started living as a girl at age 5), that aims to help other kids understand what transgender means. “I have a girl brain but a boy body,” Jazz says in the book. “This is called transgender. I was born this way!”

Here’s her heartwarming tete-a-tete with Babwa Wawa:

If you have big feet, shame on you! You’re more likely to cheat on your lover. At least according to a new survey by IllicitEncounters.com, a nefarious online dating website for married folks seeking hanky panky on the side.

Over 3,100 men participated in the survey, which matched gentlemen’s shoe sizes against the percentage of guys seeking extramarital affairs. What researchers found was that guys with feet larger than size 10 are three times more likely to cheat on their partners than than those with size seven to nine.

18 percent of dudes have size seven feet. Of that 18 percent, just 4 percent reported that they would cheat on their partner. By contrast, 22 percent with size 11 shoes and 16 percent with sizes 12 to 13 shoes said that they would consider being unfaithful.

According to David Perrett, a specialist in psychology and neuroscience at the University of St. Andrews, “Body proportions are related and big shoes will likely mean a bigger, taller body. Body stature will relate to personality. Size will enable individuals to dominate in social situations. Dominance itself may open opportunities for affairs.”

So there you have it, folks.

And what about the age-old myth that men with big feet have larger penises?

Well, researchers at University College London say there’s no evidence that links shoe size and penis length.

According to researchers: “Many believe that the size of a man’s penis can be estimated by assessing various other parts of his body, notoriously his shoe size, [but] the ability to predict the size of a man’s penis by observing his shoe size is a common misconception.”

Hand size, however, may be a different story.

Related stories:

How To Estimate A Potential Lover’s Package By Studying His Hands

Scientists Say Men With Big Balls Are More Likely To Cheat

PHOTOS: Sexy Studs And Their Feet Have Us Reconsidering Our Feelings About Foot Fetishes

This must happen all the time. A bunch of bros are kicking back, watching the game no doubt, when one of them has an idea.

“Hey, you know what would be tight?”

They set down their brews to listen. “So Tyler’s getting married soon. We should, like, choreograph an extended dance routine and totally surprise him.”

“Dawwww,” they excitedly exclaim in unison, already envisioning how sick it’s all going to go down.

But then one of them — let’s call him Edgar Allen Bro — breaks the chorus, suddenly concerned. “But guys, doesn’t that kind of make us seem…”

The sentence lingers, and for a second it looks like things might get awkward.

“…unprofessional unless we get it just right?” Ed continues. “I’m just saying, we’d better start practicing now — I’m thinking Destiny’s Child, maybe some Backstreet Boys am I riiiiight?!”

Well their hard work paid off. Take a look:

To paraphrase Valerie Cherish, well, he got it! Ellen’s sexy gardener Nick, noted for his perfect abs, will take it off (again) in the now-filming Magic Mike XXL. Who says dreams don’t come true. Nick, whose real name is Billy Reilich, and who sings with The Cream Pies, got some help from Ellen DeGeneres, who is obviously the most powerful woman in show biz (sorry, Oprah!). After getting the sexy lad an audition for the sequel to the 2012 stripper epic, Nick learned he’s been cast in an undisclosed role in the film, expected to be released sometime next year when he received a call from star/producer Channing Tatum during the live taping of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

So all that worrying about how the leak of full-frontal photos might stall his career momentum was completely unnecessary. We’re not saying it pays to take nude photos of yourself, but it’s certainly not the deal-breaker it used to be. Also: More please!

Watch Nick get the job offer below.

According to his bud Anderson Cooper, silver fox Andy Cohen is all top. But is this alone enough to earn him the coveted title of Top Dog Over 40 in the 2014 Queerties?

And what happens when you throw adult film stars/certified top dogs Jesse Jackman and Aidan Shaw into the mix?

Latin heartthrob Ricky Martin certainly heats up the competition.

But it’s underwear model/paragon of man Farhad Z who brings it to a 212-degree boiling point.

We’ve reported all year on these steamy silver foxes. Now it’s your turn to select your favorites for the world to see.

VOTING IN THE QUEERTIES IS EASY: Just head over to the ballot page and click on your favorite nominees. We promise it’s a lot easier than voting in the November elections — and we’ve got sexier candidates, too.

You can come back and vote once every day until the contest closes on November 02, 2014, at midnight Eastern.

Here it is, folks: Andrew Christian model Murray Swanby, proving that cleanliness is indeed next to godliness in a very special photo captured by photographer Paul Boulon.

Murray kindly offered the image first and exclusively to Queerty readers, before the rest of the world. The reason? The image commemorates his 100,000th follower on Instagram.

When he’s not modeling undies for Andrew Christian, Murray is a VIP host at The Abbey, the L.A. gay bar.

We’ve gathered some of Murray’s greatest Instagram hits here to help him celebrate the milestone. Congrats!

Scroll down to see all the pics…

Murray apprehends an internationally-renowned troublemaker, all in the course of his duties as a party host and underwear model. All in a day’s work!

Is that a meat cleaver in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Finally, the world’s first “erotic haunted house” is open for business. We know how long you’ve been waiting.

San Francisco’s Disneyland of taboo sex, the equal parts historic and imposing Kink.com Armory building in the Mission District, home of the “controversial” prison-themed circuit party and the subject of a James Franco documentary, is now welcoming visitors to an evening of sexy scares.

“We know that many people find Kink’s films scary, so we wanted to have a little fun with that,” said Andrew Harvill, the producer of the event. “The Armory building itself is actually haunted, so setting up a real haunted house tour using our dungeons and sets was a natural fit. It’s both terrifying and, depending on your kink, arousing.”

“The two emotions, fear and sex, are inextricably linked. We wanted to play off that and offer people a truly old school scare in an unexpected setting.”

The event, called Hell in the Armory, bills, “Over-the-top production featuring contortionists, nude models body painted by the city’s top talent, prosthetics, animatronics, interactive art and a menacing cast of characters.”

We’d like to hear more about those prosthetics.

h/t Accidental Bear

For the longest time, the Republican party relied upon the religious right to push it over the electoral finish line in presidential races. (See George W. Bush, 2004.) But the Supreme Court’s decision to let marriage equality sail along unchecked promises to unleash an epic battle within the GOP. If anything, the Court may have doomed the Republicans chances of winning back the White House in 2016.

Now it’s not like the GOP had a deep bench to begin with. It has no candidate of the stature of Hillary Clinton. Instead, it’s stuck with a bunch of retreads, like Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush,  governors with no shortness of weaknesses, and senators whose ideas are either offensive or just plain crazy.

But now the party is on the brink of a civil war. And marriage equality is the GOP’s Fort Sumter.

One segment of the party knows that the GOP needs to get over itself and accept (if not embrace) marriage equality as a legal fact. This viewpoint is epitomized by Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who told reporters, “For us, it’s over” and who suggested that there was no point in trying to amend the U.S. Constitution to prohibit marriage equality. This from a man who supported a legal challenge to the state’s domestic partnership law.

On the other side are the true believers, and they are making it abundantly clear that marriage equality is the hill they will die on and take the party with them if necessary. Ted Cruz is the loudest (and most obnoxious) among them, fueling the fires and his own presidential ambitions. “Unelected judges should not be imposing their policy preferences to subvert the considered judgments of democratically elected legislatures,” Cruz bellowed.

Cruz is not alone, though. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the down-home homophobe, is threatening to leave the Republican party altogether if it does not fight marriage equality with every fiber of its being.

“I am utterly exasperated with Republicans and the so-called leadership of the Republicans who have abdicated on this issue,” Huckleberry complained.  “I’ll become an independent. I’ll start finding people that have guts to stand. I’m tired of this.”

The issue promises to play out in campaigns. The National Organization for Marriage is targeting Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio because of his support for marriage equality. (Portman came around after his son came out.)

NOM has the electoral firepower of a cap pistol these days. But the bigger issue is that the GOP stands a good chance of losing a chunk of what little base it has in national elections. And the frankly homophobic arguments of defenders of traditional marriage will further alienate the younger voters it needs to get if it’s ever to win back the White House.

The GOP is in no shape to come out victorious in this fight. It’s lost two presidential elections in a row, and it needs for the stars to align perfectly if it’s to ever to win in 2016. This fight guarantees the stars will not align, particularly if the Supreme Court decides it needs to revisit marriage equality in time to make it an issue in the 2016 election.

The Cruz/Huckabee/NOM wing of the party prizes ideological purity over reality, and they will force an ugly debate on the party. Losing doesn’t bother them. If anything, they see electoral defeat as proof positive that the party isn’t conservative enough.

Ultimately, the pragmatists will have to win out. In the meantime, though, Republicans are in for a bloody war.

Photo credit: Americanvision.org.

— Benedict Cumberbatch explaining to NME why the sexual orientation of WWII codebreaker Alan Turing, who was eventually chemically castrated for being gay, doesn’t figure into his new biopic The Imitation Game

Is there such a thing as a kinder, gentler homophobia? It seems we’re about to find out. After decades of saying that gayness was “a disordered sexual inclination which is essentially self-indulgent,” the Catholic Church seems poised to make a major change in its attitude toward homosexuality. In short, the Vatican may actually think we’re human.

In an interim report released by the bishops attending the extraordinary synod in Rome, the Church has started to sing from a new hymnal when it comes to LGBT people. The report says that “homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community” and asked, “Are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a fraternal space in our communities?”

Even as a rhetorical question, that’s a remarkable statement. Who would have imagined that the Church wanted to welcome us, let alone say we have something to offer? That’s not the kind of rhetoric that Pope Francis’ immediate predecessor would ever have used.

Even more astonishing, the bishops tentatively acknowledge that maybe same-sex relationships aren’t quite the nonstop flight to hell that they’ve previously suggested.

“Without denying the moral problems connected to homosexual unions it has to be noted that there are cases in which mutual aid to the point of sacrifice constitutes a precious support in the life of the partners,” the bishops wrote.

Vatican observers said that the language was a dramatic turnaround for the Vatican and clearly reflects Pope Francis’ commitment to dialing down the Church’s condemnation of homosexuality.

“In pastoral terms, the document … represents an earthquake, the ‘big one’ that hit after months of smaller tremors,” wrote John Thavis, a journalist who has covered the Vatican for 30 years.

Needless to say, the conservative Catholics who delighted in the Vatican’s hardline are stunned and see Francis as a traitor.

“What will Catholics parents now have to tell their children about contraception, cohabiting with partners or living homosexual lifestyles?” asked Maria Madise, coordinator of the Voice of the Family, a conservative Catholic group. “This approach destroys grace in souls.”

Just as important, the document drives a wedge between the Church and right-wing evangelicals in the U.S. The Catholic hierarchy had formed an alliance with conservative Christians to fight all things lavender.

“Should we patiently love and offer the gospel to those who are refusing to repent of immorality, whether cohabitation of anything else?” said Russell Moore, who heads public policy for the Southern Baptist Convention. “Yes. Should we baptize and admit those into membership those who refuse to walk away from such things? No.”

Before you get too excited, just remember: the Church still sees a gay relationship as a sin, and the bishops made it abundantly clear that they are adamantly opposed to marriage equality. (Also, it would be nice if they abandoned their reliance on “homosexual” for something more 21st century.) But just stopping the endless, vehement condemnation would be a nice step forward. And Francis is clearly laying out the path that he expects the Church to follow as long as he’s pope.

There are equal doses fantasy and reality — and lots of queerness — this week in home entertainment, kicking off with a time-traveling mutant opus, X-Men: Days of Future Past.

A gay father reunites with his estranged child in dramedy My Straight Son, while documentary Corpus Christi chronicles the mounting of Terrence McNally’s controversial “gay Jesus” play. Finally, a cray cray orgy is the set-up for cinematic headtrip You And The Night.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

($49.99 3D Blu-ray, $39.99 Blu-ray, $29.98 DVD; Fox)

http://www.x-menmovies.com/

The casts of X-Men: First Class and Bryan Singer’s original X-Men films come together in this time-traveling, 3D mutant opus! In a dystopian future, the world has been leveled by mutant-hunting robots called Sentinels, so in a final bid to save mutantkind, Wolverine is sent back to the 1970s to try and change the course of the future — which he must do by convincing Professor Charles Xavier and the shady-assed Magneto to combine forces for a greater good. Amazing comic book action (Magneto’s prison breakout is a set piece for the ages), acting, and the franchise’s A-List cast including Patrick Stewart, Michael Fassbinder, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Nic Hoult, and more make this a must-own! Extras include deleted scenes, gag reel, making-of featurettes, and more.

My Straight Son

($24.99 DVD; TLA)

http://tlareleasing.com/films/my-straight-son/

Gay Venezuelan photographer Diego finds his world thrown into disarray when his partner ends up in a coma and his estranged teenage son shows up. Family dramz and handsome South American men, y’all!

Corpus Christi

($17.99 DVD; Breaking Glass Pictures)

https://www.facebook.com/corpuschristiplayingwithredemption

Terrence McNally’s play about a “gay Jesus” ignited a sh*storm of controversy amongst religious folks during its five-year journey, while also transforming the lives of its actors and creative team on deeply personal levels. This documentary, originally sub-titled “Playing With Redemption,” captures both sides — and of course McNally — during this tumultuous period.

You And The Night

($24.99 DVD; Strand)

https://www.facebook.com/StrandReleasing

Director Yann Gonzalez pulls out all the 80s’-inspired stylized stops with this tale of a couple, and their gender-bent maid, who throw an orgy for guests including “The Slut,” “The Stud,” “The Teen,” and “The Star.” Almodovar-ian strangeness follows, with a soundtrack by electromeisters M83.

ALSO OUT:

I’m A Stripper: Boylesque

The Last Supper

Persecuted

Right-wing commentator Erick Erickson is hardly known for his Churchill-like flights of oratory. After all, this is the man who said the retirement of Justice David Souter deprived the public of “the only goat fucking child molester to ever serve on the Supreme Court.” So it’s no surprise that Erickson is laying the lack of treatments to Ebola at the doorstep of lesbians.

In a post titled “Fat Lesbians Got All The Ebola Dollars But Blame the GOP,” Erickson insists that it was the federal government’s choice to fritter away taxpayer money on useless studies. Chief among them: a project “studying the propensity of lesbans to be fat.”

Erickson, who is himself pretty chunky but presumably not a lesbian, was responding to an ad accusing Republicans of cutting budgets so severely that the nation was left ill-prepared for the Ebola outbreak spreading through Africa. It’s an argument that’s been made by no less than the National Institutes of Health’s Director, Francis Collins. 

However, even a stopped clock is right once in a while. Following the accusations against Carl DeMaio, the GOP congressional candidate whom an ex-staffer said masturbated in front of him, Erickson said that DeMaio would have been dumped immediately if he wasn’t gay. Instead, the GOP establishment “likes to raise the diversity shield where it can.” That’s one observation that’s hard to argue with. It just doesn’t balance all the other loony ones.

H/t: Talking Points Memo

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore

Teen Wolf stud Tyler Posey revealed most of his tattoos on yesterday’s episode of Ellen, stripping down to a pair of bright pink boxer briefs before getting soaked in Ellen’s charitable dunk tank.

The 22-year-old actor was on hand to help raise money for breast cancer research in honor of his mother, a breast cancer survivor. In addition to stripping down and grabbing his bulge, Posey donated $10,000 to breast cancer charities after being dunked by singer P!nk, who runs right up to the dunk tank’s bullseye to make sure he didn’t leave it dry.

He says he “may have like 17 or 18″ tattoos, most of which are “below the waist.” See if you can spot them all in the clip below:

The anonymous Twitter sleuth who first identified the alleged assailants in last month’s horrific gay bashing in Philadelphia stopped by The View this week to explain how he outwitted Philadelphia police and, more importantly, to give this story a louder national voice.

Rosie O’Donnell sat down with @FanSince09 to first ask why he chooses to remain anonymous. He was interviewed facing away from the camera, and said he’s always operated the sports-related account under anonymity because his identity is not important.

“I did maybe about 45 minutes of work,” he went on to say, explaining how he used Facebook’s check-in feature and images from a surveillance video police released to identify suspects:

“When I saw the surveillance video, I thought, I had 5,000 people following me at the time, these people were in my demographic and I figured somebody knows somebody. I felt we could probably put a dent in this.

…

I had a bunch of people retweet it, including a friend of mine who’s a Pro Bowl offensive guard for the Eagles, Evan Mathis, he sent it out to 60,000, so we got this in front of about 100,000 eyes and I figured, the 15 people we’re looking for, somebody is going to recognize somebody and know somebody.”

The man’s detective work led police to suspects 24-year-old Kathryn Knott, 24-year-old Philip Williams, and 26-year-old Kevin Harrigan, who have been charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, and criminal conspiracy in connection to the crime. They’re currently awaiting a December court date when a judge will determine if there is enough evidence to convict them.

They are, of course, still maintaining their innocence. Check out the interview below:

The Yellow Cab company in Houston, Texas has issued a surprising statement in response to a gay couple who claims they were kicked out of one of the company’s cabs for kissing in the back seat.

Boyfriends Travis Player and Andres Orozco tell ABC 13 that they “thought [the driver] was joking until he actually pulled over,” asking them to vacate the cab several blocks from their destination.

They claim the driver was disgusted by their kissing, which they describe as “PG”:

“We gave each other a kiss and he told us to get out of the car. The man just turns back to us and tells us that he doesn’t give gay people rides, and he proceeds to tell us we’re going to hell for being gay.”

Yellow Cab says they “investigated” the driver following the allegations, but won’t reprimand him because he has the right to refuse rides to anyone for any reason, including passengers’ sexual orientation, skin color, and gender.

The company released the following statement to ABC 13:

“Yellow Cab immediately investigated this allegation of discrimination, including talking to the independent contractor driver. the driver stated that he would have taken the same actions if it was a man and a woman in the taxicab. Evidently, the driver was overly sensitive to passengers kissing. Yellow Cab does not have a policy about passengers showing affection in taxicabs. in fact, we encourage kissing in our taxicabs.”

But at the end of the day, it’s not about being kicked out of a cab. “We were expressing our love for each other and for someone else to jump in and clearly state it’s not right, that really did upset me,” Orozco said.

ABC notes that the couple would have been protected under Houston’s recently-passed equal rights ordinance, but since it’s being challenged in court, the taxi driver will remain free to discriminate.

Alien Princesses, Vampire Dandies and Ziggy Startdust descended upon Manhattan over Columbus Day weekend. Back by popular demand, Deryck Todd presented this year’s edition of Bowieball at New York City’s Le Poisson Rouge. The anything-goes charity celebration brought a live band headed by Blondie’s lead guitarist Matt Katz-Bohen, Tony Award Winner Lena Hall (Hedwig & The Angry Inch), Eric Schmalenberger (House of Yes), Shannon Conley, Mystsery of a Claywoman’s Michael Cavadias and burlesque diva Dirty Martini to the stage. Featured DJs at this year’s party included Westgay’s Frankie Sharp, Justine D and Miss Guy.

Photo Credit: Maro Hagopian