With a penchant for the colorful and bold, LGBT pride festivals around the globe bring out the best in cities. Glitter, glitz, and never-ending music fill the streets as hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of LGBT people and their allies unite to celebrate their differences and raise a voice of concern for those who cannot.

What’s most important to note about modern-day LGBT pride festivals is their all-inclusive nature, welcoming attendees from all walks of life to join in the celebration. From the birth of the modern gay rights movement on the streets of New York City’s West Village to a pride festival in Brazil that counts attendees by the millions, these are the world’s biggest LGBT pride celebrations.

NYC PRIDE

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Gay marriage was just legalized in the US.

That means that gay couples across America will be getting married in spades. And more weddings mean more honeymoons.

We asked travel experts to weigh in on what they think will be the hottest honeymoon destinations for newly married gay couples.

And while honeymooners may want to avoid places like Russia, there are plenty of awesome destinations that are just waiting to welcome gay newlywed couples with open arms.

Puerto Vallarta and Punta Mita, Mexico

Puerto Vallarta is a resort city on the Pacific coast of Mexico with great waves for surfing, an old Spanish feel, and a thriving LGBT scene. The city has several gay hotels, like the Hotel Mercurio.

However, Punta Mita, a quiet resort city about an hour drive from Puerto Vallarta, may be a better alternative for honeymooners, according to Ed Salvato, the editor-in-chief of gay travel magazine ManAboutWorld.

"Puerto Vallarta is extremely gay popular, but it may not be conducive to a honeymoon because you don't want your new husband to get picked up at a bar the first night," Salvato said. "Instead, couples might want to stay at a more secluded resort like the Four Seasons Punta Mita, which is right nearby."

Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Located at at the very tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown is a charming resort town that has been drawing in gay travelers for years.

"This is a gay Mecca, which makes it an obvious choice for gay honeymooners," Pauline Frommer, the publisher of Frommers.com, said. "It's famous for drag shows, restaurants, and a vibrant gay community that's been there for decades."

The town is chock-full of quaint guest houses, elegant restaurants, and has access to the incredible beaches of the Cape Cod National Seashore.

"Massachusetts was one of the first states to allow same-sex marriage in the U.S., and right away wedding bells were ringing in Provincetown," Ed Salvato, the editor-in-chief of gay travel magazine ManAboutWorld, said. "It has all the tourism infrastructure and the tolerance—no, the celebration of diversity."

There are dozens of charming gay-friendly guesthouses and inns, but the Crown Point Historic Inn & Spa and Surfside Hotel & Suites offer exclusive romance and honeymoon packages.

Tel Aviv, Israel

Tel Aviv is hands-down the most gay-friendly destination in the Middle East. With its raging nightlife, gorgeous beaches, and cool, laid-back vibe, it's no surprise that the Israeli city is attracting gay visitors.

"Israel has a very open and large gay community," Pauline Frommer said. "If you've ever wanted to travel to the Middle East, it's a cosmopolitan, fascinating city. It has fascinating museums, extraordinary restaurants, gay clubs and gay bars. It's very warm and welcoming to gay couples."

Frommer added that gay couples may want to take a side trip to Jerusalem, but may have to keep their relationships under wraps there since the ancient city is so religious.

Michael Martin goes to such a social-media-obsessed high school that when he wrote a coming-out essay that went viral among mainstream media outlets, his classmates still had no clue he was gay — until he posted on Instagram about the story 12 hours later.

Last December, Martin eased into the coming-out process by dancing with another boy at homecoming and telling his best friend he was gay. None of his classmates seemed to catch on.

Then, he wrote an essay for OutSports.com about being a gay athlete. It was shared 72,000 times on Facebook and written about by Seventeen Magazine, the Huffington Post, the Daily Mail and MTV — and his friends and family still didn't see it.

It wasn't until Martin posted a screenshot of the story on his own Instagram account that night that anyone he knew in real life took notice.

Neither his parents nor his West Virginia high school classmates were reading OutSports. Everyone he knew was oblivious to the fact that he was becoming a celebrity in the LGBT online community.

In his essay, he wrote about the difficulties of being gay in a rural West Virginia town, and fear he experienced as a secretly gay member of his school's football and soccer team.

"I live in isolated mountain area, so I didn't have any kids to hang around with when I was younger. I was alone but even at a young age I knew I didn't like girls and found boys attractive instead. I could never tell anyone since my family is really conservative and religious," he wrote. 

Martin's story went live at 8:34 a.m., and he went through the entire school day watching it go viral without his classmates knowing. Even his parents were in the dark.

He felt "pretty much every emotion you can think of" as his essay exploded online but those around him remained oblivious, he told Business Insider.

Martin recently shared his story with Fast Company as part of a larger feature on Instagram-obsessed teens. When you look at the data for how teens consume information, it's actually not surprising that Martin was becoming famous in the mainstream news media while the kids he spent his day with had no idea.

Although they're constantly consuming media, young millennials don't frequent news sites. Instead, data suggests they "spend more time on social networks, often on mobile devices," according to the American Press Institute. Most of the news that millennials consume comes through their Facebook wall or their Instagram feed. As a result, "their discovery of events is incidental and passive,"API says.

That's why Martin noticed barely any real-life reaction to his coming-out until he posted it on his own personal Instagram account around 7:30 p.m.

After the school day had ended, he decided to share a screenshot of the essay on his own account, @wvnatureboy. "That's pretty much how I came out to literally the entire school,"he told Sarah Kessler from Fast Company.

Once it was on their Instagram feeds, Martin's classmates were immediately aware that there was a global superstar among them.

"They would not have found it at all if I hadn't shared it myself," he told Business Insider. 

SEE ALSO: Meet the 'Spearfishing Huntress' who has lit the Internet on fire

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Cities around the world have been celebrating Gay Pride throughout the month of June, and most—like NYC, Paris, San Francisco, Seattle, and Barcelona, to name a few—are hosting their biggest events this weekend.

We're celebrating in our own way by taking a look at the best hotels designed for LGBT travelers. Here are seven standouts.

Casa Cupula, Puerto Vallarta

This destination for gay travelers is an eclectic, amusing, and comfortable little charmer.

With just 21 rooms built into four adjoining houses on a steep, winding street just south of Old Town, Cupula is unique among Puerto Vallarta properties; it's an eccentric yet comfortable collection of individual parts that add up to a totally inviting whole.

Throw in great views, two sexy pools, a popular restaurant, in-room spa treatments, and a modern well-lit fitness center, and you have a complete adults-only package that is hard to beat.

Pink Flamingo, Queensland

This small, adult-only hotel wins points for its distinctive style, quirky touches, and gay-friendly ethos. It's also gay-owned and operated, and provides a welcoming atmosphere for LGBT travelers.

The dozen rooms are packed with features like outdoor bathtubs and small kitchens, and each feels private and self-contained, thanks to the lush gardens on all sides.

The slightly out-of-the-way location and lack of big-hotel amenities may be off-putting to some, but those looking for a boutique mid-range option in the Port Douglas area should be pleasantly surprised. 

Mayafair Design Hotel, Cancun

The Mayafair Design Hotel features an odd combination of decor.

Housed in what appears to be a former, cheesy, Mayan-themed strip mall—complete with non-working escalators—the hotel now has modern touches like cool, new-age furniture in the lobby and rooms inspired by designers or fashion icons.

Rooms are spacious and sleek with sexy open bathrooms. This hotel is geared toward gay men and offers inexpensive rates, but visitors looking for more amenities can find other hotel options nearby at similar rates. 

Island House, Key West

Located in historic Key West, Island House is a 34-room boutique designed exclusively for gay men.

Many restaurants and tourist attractions along Duval Street are located within easy walking distance. Rooms are stylish, if small, and some have showers with multiple shower heads.

The outdoor pool and hot tub is surrounded by lounge chairs and lush foliage. The entire hotel (except the gym) is clothing-optional and the staff plans on- and off-site activities specifically for gay men. 

Axel Hotel Barcelona

This 105-room hotel in the heart of Barcelona bills itself as a "gay hotel" that is "hetero-friendly."

It is in the heart of the Eixample neighborhood, the city's dynamic gay area with great restaurants and nightlife. The theme here is seduction—nude photographs adorn the walls, naked mannequins hang out in the hallways, and see-through glass bathroom walls make for little privacy in the rooms.

The rooms are large here, and upgrading to a suite will get you a very nice private terrace. Amenities include a top-notch fitness center, rooftop pool and bar, and relaxing spa. This is a good choice for couples, gay or straight, looking for a sexy atmosphere and a modern scene.

Amaca Hotel, Puerto Vallarta

A boutique, adults-only option in the gay Olas Altas neighborhood, the Amaca Hotel is decorated in traditional Mexican style with bright white walls, peeping palm fronds, and tile floors.

The outstanding feature here is a rooftop lounge and small pool area with sweeping views of Banderas Bay below.

While the 22 rooms offer hammocks, balconies, and walk-in showers, some guests complain about a lack of free Wi-Fi and the absence of bathroom doors.

The Out NYC

The Out NYC opened as one of New York's first hotel specifically tailored for gay travelers, but it has rebranded to broaden its appeal.

Indeed, the 105-room boutique property hosts guests of all orientations, including many foreigners drawn by the hotel's central location, sleek design, gorgeous common areas, and hot nightlife. Business travelers also appreciate its proximity to the Javits Convention Center.

Rooms are small but filled with features such as natural beauty products, Internet-enabled flat-screen TVs, and absurdly comfortable beds. You won't, however, find any closets -- a cheeky reference to the fact that no one needs to be in the closet here.

Please Note: Some in the LGBT community are boycotting this property due to the owners' support of Ted Cruz.

More from Oyster.com:

• Four Great Vacations for LGBT Families
• 8 Gay Neighborhoods for Celebrating Pride Week
• A Shrine to David Beckham? Barbie Watching You on the Loo? These 17 Hotel Rooms Go to Extremes for Their Themes

SEE ALSO: The 12 best honeymoon destinations for gay couples

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YouTube star Shane Dawson came out as bisexual in an emotional video posted on his YouTube channel on Tuesday. 

The 15-minute video has already been viewed over 1.6 million times, E! Online reports. 

"I can't honestly say I'm gay. I can't honestly say I'm straight," Dawson explains in the video. "But I can honestly say that I am open to love in any way and I guess that makes me bisexual."

Dawson has spent years struggling with his sexuality. Prior to sharing the video, he says he had only come out to one person, his therapist. 

He says he often wished he was "100% gay," because being gay is more widely accepted than being bisexual, according to Dawson. 

In the video, Dawson explains despite having several long-term relationships with women, including one with fellow YouTuber Lisa Schwartz,  he always felt "sexually confused."

 After years of secrecy, Dawson says he just wants to live his life as openly and honestly as possible.

"I don't want to lie,"he says. "I just want to be happy."

Like many YouTube stars who have chosen to use social-media to publicly come out, Dawson hopes his story can inspire others. "I'm making this video because I feel like it could help a lot of people," he says. 

Check out Dawson's video here or below.  

SEE ALSO: The top 10 most viewed YouTube coming-out videos of all time will bring you to tears

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DALLAS (Reuters) - The Boy Scouts of America Executive Committee unanimously approved allowing gay adults to serve as leaders, officials said on Monday, in a major step toward dismantling a policy that has caused deep rifts in the 105-year-old organization.

The group's National Executive Board will meet to ratify the resolution on July 27, the Boy Scouts said in a statement.

"This resolution will allow chartered organizations to select adult leaders without regard to sexual orientation, continuing Scouting’s longstanding policy of chartered organizations selecting their leaders," it said.

The resolution approved by the Executive Committee on Friday follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June to allow same-sex marriage nationwide and a call in May from the Boy Scouts president, former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who said the ban on gay leadership needed to change.

The Boy Scouts said in the statement the move reflected "the rapid changes in society and increasing legal challenges at the federal, state and local levels."

The announcement was welcomed by an activist seeking an end to the long-standing policy.

"The Boy Scouts of America’s ban on gay adults has stood as a towering example of explicit, institutional homophobia in one of America’s most important and recognizable civic organizations," said Zach Wahls, an eagle scout and executive director of Scouts for Equality.

The Irving, Texas-based organization lifted its ban on gay youth in 2013 but continues to prohibit the participation of openly gay adults. The selection last year of Gates as president of the Boy Scouts was seen as an opportunity to revisit the policy.

Gates, as secretary of defense, helped end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that barred openly gay individuals from serving in the military.

Earlier, corporate sponsors such as Lockheed Martin and Intel dropped funding from the Boy Scouts in protest of policies considered discriminatory.

The Boy Scouts ban on gay adults received its first major challenge in April when the first openly gay adult was hired as a summer camp leader by the Greater New York Council of Boy Scouts.

Membership in the Boy Scouts of America has been steadily declining during the past decade, but the 2013 decision to allow gay youth contributed to a steeper drop of 7.4 percent from 2013 to 2014, according to organization figures.

 (Reporting by Marice Richter; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Peter Cooney)

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NEW YORK (AP) — The Boy Scouts of America on Monday ended its blanket ban on gay adult leaders while allowing church-sponsored Scout units to maintain the exclusion for religious reasons.

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JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Orthodox Jewish assailant stabbed and injured six participants of an annual Gay Pride march in Jerusalem on Thursday, police and witnesses said.

It was the worst attack in years on the event in Jerusalem, a city where the religious population is more prominent than in other parts of Israel.

"I saw an ultra-Orthodox youth stabbing everyone in his way," said Shai Aviyor, a witness interviewed on Israel's Channel 2 television.

"We heard people screaming, everyone ran for cover, and there were bloodied people on the ground," Aviyor said.

A paramedic with the Magen David Adom rescue service said at least six people had been injured, and at least two appeared to be in serious condition.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said a suspected ultra-Orthodox Jewish man had stabbed at least four of the marchers.

The march, which attracts thousands of participants, has long been a focus of tension between Israel's predominantly secular majority and the ultra-Orthodox Jewish minority, who object to public displays of homosexuality.

Oded Fried, the head of a leading gay rights group, said the march would go on despite the attack. "Our struggle for equality only intensifies in the face of such events," he said.

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(Reuters) - A first baseman for the minor league Helena Brewers, a rookie affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, has come out publicly as gay, a first for an active player connected with Major League Baseball, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper.

David Denson, 20, came out publicly to the newspaper with the help of former major leaguer Billy Bean, who last year was named MLB's first "Ambassador for Inclusion," the Sentinel reported on Sunday.

Only two major league players have ever come out publicly as gay - Bean and Glenn Burke - and both had already left the game, the paper reported.

Denson is not considered an elite prospect for the Brewers, but he is known as a power hitter who is batting .253 for the Helena, Montana, team, the paper said.

Other professional athletes who have disclosed their homosexuality in recent years include football player Michael Sam, who was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in 2014 but didn't make the roster.

Sam announced on Friday that he was stepping away from football and leaving the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes for mental health reasons.

National Basketball Association player Jason Collins because the first active player in a major professional team sport to come out publicly as gay in 2013. He has since retired.

A representative for Major League Baseball was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski, editing by Larry King)

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Think of Instagram and you probably imagine a stream of changing-room selfies, envy-inducing holiday snaps and an avalanche of smashed avocado on toast. But there’s another aesthetic which arguably defines the online social networking and photo-sharing platform which you may have missed if you’re straight.

Instagram is being made over by gay men and, to a lesser extent, gay women. Search for the hashtags #gay, #gaygirl or #instagay and you’re hit with more than 45 million posts.

Must-follows include: @thenexttopgay (buff guys who clearly don’t own any shirts); @lesbianfunhouse (honed girls with quiffs, tattoos and bow ties) and @thegaybeards (two guys who love to accessorise their whiskers). And recently a cluster of accounts have sprung up celebrating all things gay marriage, highlighted in a Buzzfeed listicle entitled 17 Beautiful Instagram Accounts That Will Bring Queer Love To Your Feed.

I’m a recent convert to Instagram (I tend to use Facebook for personal posts, Twitter to promote my novels and connect with readers) but I’ve found the photo network less riddled with trolls and a warmer, more welcoming space than Twitter. And, unlike Facebook, the “likes” and supportive comments you attract often lead to new connections. More simply, it’s just fun.

Simon Dunn is a member of the Australian Olympic bobsleigh team whose @bobsleighsimon account has more than 35,000 Instagram followers. Like me, he finds it fun but also uses it to build up his profile and attract sponsorship: “I tend to keep anything I need to say regarding gay rights on Twitter. But it’s hard to show you had a great day at training or a photoshoot you did in 140 characters or less.”

A wedding photo taken by “Queer Chicana feminist” photographer cisforcristal

But how has Instagram become such a hit with the gay community and, in particular, with gay men? Like other forms of social media, it offers users a sense of belonging, and if you’re growing up gay and feeling alone, searching for the hashtag #instagay, #homogram or #gaygirl allows you to connect with millions of people all over the world in a relatively safe space.

Most gay people, male and female, have grown up in a society that told them it was wrong. But while a boyish girl may merely be identified as a tomboy, manifestations of effeminacy in youngboys can prompt ridicule, or worse, bullying. Yet however much we may have learned to love our sexuality since our childhoods, many still carry a lingering feeling of not being acceptable or good enough, leaving us craving affirmation – which being part of a supportive community of strangers can provide.

One might even say that deep down a disproportionate number of gay men struggle with low levels of self-esteem. We’re often good at smartening up the surface and making ourselves – and everything around us – look more attractive. This might explain why we’ve traditionally been over-represented in fashion, hairdressing and interior design to such an extent it has become a stereotype. So it seems logical that so many of us have been seduced by the selection of reality-improving filters offered on Instagram. Juno, Perpetua, Mayfair; each offers us the opportunity to become better versions of ourselves.

Whatever the reason, there’s no sign of Instagram declining in popularity among the gay community. If you’re not already a member, log on and see for yourself. And while you’re at it, if you want to follow me, my Instagram account is @mattcainwriter. Please make sure you click “like” if I ever post a shirtless selfie.

Matt Cain writes for Attitude magazine and is the author of Nothing But Trouble, published by Pan Macmillan.

 This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

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An assistant basketball coach at Bryant University came out as gay in a first-person essay published by Outsports.com late Wednesday, making him the first coach of a top-level U.S. college program to do so, according to U.S. media.

The coach, Chris Burns, said this summer's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states made him decide to make his sexual orientation public.

"I thought of the people who never got to see that day, who fought for equal rights but didn't get their time," he wrote. "They deserve to be validated and recognized for their efforts and for their struggles."

Cable sports network ESPN said Burns was the first Division I college basketball coach to come out.

Few U.S. professional and college athletes have publicly identified themselves as gay, with one prominent exception. Michael Sam last year became the first openly gay athlete drafted by a National Football League team, though he was later cut.

Former National Basketball Association player Jason Collis came out as gay in 2013, toward the end of his 13-year playing career, and went on to play another season with the Brooklyn Nets before retiring.

A May study by the Repucom market research firm found that homophobia was more pronounced in U.S. sports than in other English-speaking countries, with 62 percent of respondents saying that homophobia was more common in team sports than other parts of society.

Burns said he was pleasantly surprised by the way colleagues reacted when he told them he is gay.

"My fears were far worse than reality," Burns wrote. "For a guy who's relatively cynical and can be negative, the reactions of people in my sport and in my life have shut me right up and re-energized my hope in the human spirit."

Burns has coached at the Smithfield, Rhode Island-based university's Division I team since 2013. He is an alumni of the school who played on the team from 2003 through 2007 and was named player of the game in the 2005 National Collegiate Athletics Association championship at a time when Bryant competed in Division II.

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Joel Simkhai is a single, gay man living in Los Angeles, and he's the king of Grindr. Well, technically, he's the CEO and founder of the dating app for gay and bisexual men. He created Grindr out of a "selfish desire" to meet more gay men, and he's still a very regular user of his own app. Find out what it's like to be the king of Grindr.

Produced by Will Wei

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Beards have never been more in style, and a new Instagram account is taking the male facial hair trend to a whole new level.

Meet "The Gay Beards," 25-year-old gay best friends from Portland, Oregon, who spend their days ornately decorating their luxurious beards.

After starting their Instagram account in July 2014, the duo have amassed over 103,000 followers and counting.

After checking out their colorful feed and talking to the men behind the beards, we get why.

SEE ALSO: Glorious beards and mustaches took Manhattan by storm this weekend

"The Gay Beards" is a beautiful new Instagram account with 103,000 followers and counting.

The account is run by Brian Delaurenti and Johnathan Dahla from Portland, Oregon.

They're 25-year-old gay best friends with luxurious, flowing beards.

Videos believed to have come from Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, document the gruesome practice of militants throwing men they suspect of being gay off rooftops.

Daniel Halaby, 26, is a gay activist from Syria who said he narrowly escaped being killed by the terrorist group. Daniel Halaby is a pseudonym the activist uses to protect his identity.

"The biggest catastrophe for gays was the arrival of ISIS. It was also a turning point in the methods of killing," Halaby said. "This is a very cowardly act because they are killing an unarmed person who has nothing, and most gays love peace, and love the people around them. This is a brutal and savage act."

Halaby was outed by a childhood friend who was radicalized by ISIS. In 2013, when ISIS  threatened to take the city of Aleppo, Halaby learned that his name was on a list of people that ISIS demanded be turned over to them.

He fled to Turkey, and now works as an activist keeping track of the horrific acts committed against gay men by ISIS.

"What breaks my heart most is that I feel helpless and cannot do anything to help those gays being killed," he said.

Story and editing by Andrew Fowler

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Thanks to the Supreme Court's decision to effectively legalize gay marriage, 2015 was a landmark year for the LGBT community.

But first comes dating, then comes marriage.

As part of its 2015 year in review, Match figured out the 20 best cities for same-sex dating in the U.S. They took into account how many new members of the LGBT community moved into each city in 2015, as well as how many "winks" were sent between gay and lesbian matches.

Read on to see which 20 cities made the cut.

2015's Best Cities for Men Looking For Men:

1. San Francisco, California

2. Los Angeles, California

3. New York, New York

4. Washington, DC

5. Miami, Florida

6. Atlanta, Georgia

7. New Haven, Connecticut

8. Boston, Massachusetts

9. Dallas, Texas

10. Lancaster, Pennsylvania

2015's Best Cities for Women Looking For Women:

1. New Orleans, Louisiana

2. Palm Bay, Florida

3. Tulsa, Oklahoma

4. Springfield, Massachusetts

5. Worcester, Massachusetts

6. Scranton, Pennsylvania

7. Austin, Texas

8. Dallas, Texas

9. Atlanta, Georgia

10. Toledo, Ohio

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Joel Simkhai is a single, gay man living in Los Angeles, and he's the king of Grindr. Well, technically, he's the CEO and founder of the dating app for gay and bisexual men. In 2009, he launched Grindr out of a "selfish desire" to meet more gay men.

More recently, he sold a majority stake of Grindr to a Chinese gaming company. Simkhai, still a very regular user of his own app, took us around LA last summer. He showed us what it's like to be the king of Grindr.

Produced by Will Wei

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The idea that homophobia in men is a counter-reaction to their own unwanted attraction to other men has its roots in psychoanalysis – where's it's considered a psychodynamic defense – and is possibly supported by anecdotal evidence, most recently in reports that the perpetrator of the horrific homophobic massacre at an Orlando gay club was himself gay.

But it's worth heeding the cautions noted on Science of Us yesterday where journalist Cari Romm noted that "internalized homophobia almost never manifests itself as violence" in her article headed The Myth of the Violent, Self-Hating Gay Homophobe.

However, if repressed gay impulses are a common motivator for homophobic attitudes, this would be useful to know from the perspective of combating homophobia, and for helping such people come to terms with their own sexuality. In fact the evidence is mixed.

For instance, supporting the theory, a study from 1996 involving dozens of men who self-identified as heterosexual found that some of those with homophobic attitudes got an erection in response to gay porn, but the men who weren't homophobic did not. On the other hand, a later study that measured time spent looking at images of men kissing found no evidence that some homophobic men are gay at a subconscious level – in fact, some of the homophobic men seemed to have an implicit aversion to such images.

Now a new, small study in The Journal of Sexual Medicine has combined a range of techniques, including eye tracking, to show that a subset of homophobic men who self-identify as heterosexual do seem to have an impulsive, automatic attraction to other men.

The researchers assessed the homophobia of 38 heterosexual young men – high scorers agreed strongly with statements like "Gay men should stop shoving their lifestyle down other people's throats". Then they tested their "impulsive approach tendencies" toward men (that is, their latent attraction to them) in a task that involved tapping keyboard keys rapidly, to move an on-screen manikin – a basic drawing of a human figure – as quickly as possible in a specified direction.

On half the trials, an image of a gay male couple subsequently appeared on the side of the screen toward which the participants were moving the manikin; on the other trials, a heterosexual couple appeared in this position. Relatively faster performance when the task involved moving the manikin toward the gay male couple was taken as a sign of implicit attraction, rather than aversion, toward homosexual men.

After that, the researchers tracked the eye movements of the participants as they looked at and rated the pleasantness of images of gay male and heterosexual couples. The men were told to look at the images for as long as necessary to make their judgments, and longer time spent looking specifically at the faces and bodies of the gay male couples was taken by the researchers as another sign of attraction to men.

The non-homophobic participants spent more time looking at the heterosexual couples than the gay male couples, as you'd expect. In contrast, the homophobic men spent just as much time looking at both types of image.

Also, whereas there was no link between the amount of impulsive attraction the non-homophobic men showed toward men (on the manikin task) and the time they spent looking at the images of male gay couples, there was a link among the highly homophobic participants – those who showed a greater impulsive attraction to men also tended to look longer at the images of gay couples than heterosexual couples.

This suggests the homophobic men's alleged impulsive attraction to men was also affecting their looking behavior, although whether it's fair to interpret this increased looking at gay men as attraction, rather than, say, curiosity, is debatable.

However, there was also evidence that it was filtering through to a lesser extent to their explicit ratings of the images. That is, among the highly homophobic men, those who showed signs of implicit attraction to men in the manikin task also tended to give higher pleasantness ratings to the images of gay male couples, but not to the images of heterosexual couples.

The researchers acknowledged their findings are limited by their small sample size, and that it would have been useful to measure stress and anxiety to see how this was affecting the results. For instance, it's possible that for homophobic men the stress of looking at gay imagery has the ironic effect of increasing the influence of their implicit attraction to men on their behaviour – a stress effect that would be absent in non-homophobic men, hence their implicit attraction not being relevant to their looking behaviour.

These limitations and complexities aside, the researchers concluded that their findings provide more evidence consistent with the idea that "some men high in homophobia indeed have a sexual interest toward homosexual stimuli, whereas others do not" and that they "provide a better understanding of the psychological processes involved in the processing of erotic gay material among men high in homophobia...".

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ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Sunday that Christians and the Roman Catholic Church should seek forgiveness from homosexuals for the way they had treated them.

Speaking to reporters aboard the plane taking him back to Rome from Armenia, he also said the Church should ask forgiveness for the way it has treated women, for turning a blind eye to child labor and for "blessing so many weapons" in the past.

In the hour-long freewheeling conversation that has become a trademark of his international travels, Francis was asked if he agreed with recent comments by a German Roman Catholic cardinal that the Church should apologize to gays.

Francis looked sad when the reporter asked if an apology was made more urgent by the killing of 49 people at a gay club in Orlando, Florida this month.

He recalled Church teachings that homosexuals "should not be discriminated against. They should be respected, accompanied pastorally."

He added: "I think that the Church not only should apologize ... to a gay person whom it offended but it must also apologize to the poor as well, to the women who have been exploited, to children who have been exploited by (being forced to) work. It must apologize for having blessed so many weapons."

The Church teaches that homosexual tendencies are not sinful but homosexual acts are, and that homosexuals should try to be chaste.

Francis repeated a slightly modified version of the now-famous "Who am I to judge?" comment he made about gays on the first foreign trip after his election in 2013.

"The questions is: if a person who has that condition, who has good will, and who looks for God, who are we to judge?" 

FORGIVENESS, NOT JUST APOLOGY

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said that the pope, by saying "has that condition", did not imply a medical condition but "a person in that situation". In Italian, the word "condition" can also mean "situation".

"We Christians have to apologize for so many things, not just for this (treatment of gays), but we must ask for forgiveness, not just apologize! Forgiveness! Lord, it is a word we forget so often!" he said.

Francis has been hailed by many in the gay community for being the most merciful pope toward them in recent history and conservative Catholics have criticized him for making comments they say are ambiguous about sexual morality.

He told reporters on the plane "there are traditions in some countries, some cultures, that have a different mentality about this question (homosexuals)" and there are "some (gay) demonstrations that are too offensive for some".

But he suggested that those were not grounds for discrimination or marginalization of gays.

The pope did not elaborate on what he meant by seeking forgiveness for the Church "having blessed so many weapons", but it appeared to be a reference to some Churchmen who actively backed wars in the past.

In other parts of the conversation, Francis said he hoped the European Union would be able to give itself another form after the United Kingdom's decision to leave.

"There is something that is not working in that bulky union, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water, let’s try to jump-start things, to re-create," he said.

He also denied reports that former Pope Benedict, who resigned in 2013, was still exercising influence inside the Vatican.

"There is only one pope," he said. He praised Benedict, 89, for "protecting me, having my back, with his prayers".

Francis said he had heard that when some Church officials had gone to Benedict to complain that Francis was too liberal, Benedict "sent them packing".

(This version of the story has been refiled to add dropped word "for" in paragraph 12, fix typos in "Francis" and "officials" in last paragraph)

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Kevin Liffey)

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Oh my.

Hikaru Sulu, the helmsmen for the USS Enterprise, is going to be openly gay in "Star Trek Beyond," the third film in the rebooted series. 

According to Australia's Herald Sun, the new film will reveal that Mr. Sulu is raising a daughter with his same-sex partner. He is the first openly gay character in the "Star Trek" film and television series, though there have been LGBT characters in other mediums and spin-off works. 

John Cho, the actor who has played the character since the 2009 film, said that the movie isn't going to hype up the reveal, but rather include it as a normal aspect of life.

“I liked the approach, which was not to make a big thing out it, which is where I hope we are going as a species, to not politicize one’s personal orientations,” he told the Herald Sun.

Sulu's sexuality is a tribute to George Takei, the actor who played him in the original series. Takei, who had to stay closeted during his time on the show, came out in 2005, and has become a vocal champion of LGBT rights. 

"Star Trek" has historically been a very progressive series, yet it never was too blunt with its message. The original 1966 series casually featured a Russian main character during the height of the Cold War, and saw the first-ever interracial kiss on television between Captain James Kirk (William Shatner) and Lieutenant Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols).

"Star Trek Beyond" hits theaters on July 21.

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In a small little milestone, Vice President Joe Biden officiated a gay wedding earlier this week.

The couple, Joe Mahshie and Brian Mosteller, are both longtime White House aides and they asked the VP to preside over their ceremony. Biden, who had never officiated before, needed to get a special temporary certification from the District of Columbia to make the marriage official. 

The intimate ceremony took place on Monday at Biden's residence at the Naval Observatory in D.C..

"Proud to marry Brian and Joe at my house," Biden tweeted along with a photo of the wedding. "Couldn't be happier, two longtime White House staffers, two great guys."

"Love is love!" added his wife Dr. Jill Biden added in a retweet. 

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