PRIDE

Pride comes alive in La Crosse.

Once a year, professionals and amateurs alike have the opportunity to strut their stuff down the runway at the La Crosse Center, celebrating La Crosse community Pride with bright lights, glamorous garb and a some whole-hearted lip syncing. Traditionally, Pride Month is celebrated in June, but in La Crosse the festivities fall in September, and this weekend the fun kicks off with the fourth annual “So You Think You Can Drag” show at 9 p.m. Friday, one of three events hosted by The Center: 7 Rivers LGBTQ Connection.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Gay & bisexual black men are at a higher risk for contacting HIV.

HIV and AIDS are a rising concern in the U.S., but the majority of those affected are in Georgia – more specifically, in Atlanta. The statistical demographics are telling a particular narrative, one that shows that bisexual African American men who are having sex with other men (MSM) are the ones most likely to contract HIV.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Has science created a real gaydar?

An algorithm deduced the sexuality of people on a dating site with up to 91% accuracy, raising tricky ethical questions Artificial intelligence can accurately guess whether people are gay or straight based on photos of their faces, according to new research suggesting that machines can have significantly better “gaydar” than humans.

DESTINATIONS

Things to know about Patagonia.

Patagonia is a massive chunk of land on the tip of the America continent split between Chile and Argentina. It has a variety of landscapes ranging from the Andes mountain, desert, grasslands and ocean, making it perfect for adventure travellers. We spent a month travelling across this vast region and have set out our 5 highlights and interesting facts about Patagonia from our experience.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

High Times, The Advocate & Out are now part of the same family.

Oreva Capital, the Los Angeles-based investment firm that recently bought marijuana enthusiast magazine “High Times,” has funded a management buyout of a handful of media brands catering to the gay community. Oreva has backed a management-led buyout of Here Publishing, which owns such titles as “The Advocate” and “Out,” with plans to grow its online and events business, Oreva CEO Adam Levin told Reuters in an interview this week.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

LGBT people under attack in the UK.

The number of attacks on lesbian, gay and bisexual people in the UK has soared by nearly 80 per cent in the past four years, new data shows. More than one in five LGBT people have experienced a hate crime or incident due to their sexual orientation or gender identity in the last 12 months, compared with 16 per cent in 2013.

HEALTH

Hotline set up in Orlando to report LGBT discrimination during Irma evacuation.

The GLBT Center in Orlando is activating a hotline on Saturday so that individuals can confidentially report instances of discrimination at shelters, evacuation centers or when accessing emergency services. “Someone might be turned away or feel that they’re discriminated against, so we put this up so they know they can get to somebody in their community who can help them to get things cleared up,” said Terry DeCarlo, The Center’s director of communications. “We don’t want people to wait, wondering what they’re going to do, because this is an emergency situation.”