Photos by Gerald Hurt.

Our Toronto friend (and Sholay Dancer) Shazad Hai shares his pride diet which includes a healthy dose of self esteem and common sense. Shazad is the MSM Outreach Coordinator at the Alliance of South Asians AIDS Prevention (ASAAP) in Toronto. He discusses his own body images and how he worked to overcome these issues and fears – very inspiring!

Check out the recent report on NY1, featuring SALGA and Sarah Kurian, which highlights the struggle for immigration rights within the LGBT community. The NY1 report notes that groups like SALGA (South Asian Lesbian and Gay Association) and Gay Asian Pacific Islander Men of New York (GAPIMNY) and QWave have been working for immigration reform, as well as safety.

With NYC pride kicking off, read the latest Paper Magazine interview with Justin Vivian Bond on Pride and “being an arrogant feminist”. We can relate to Justin’s comparison of Manhattan Pride today vs. SF Pride in 1989 (my first Pride), where “..you marched and at the end, everybody was there together and there was a show or whatever.” The march from Castro and Market to the Civic Center would end

A recent Mother Jones article highlights findings from a Pew Research Center study of gay tolerance in 39 countries where Pakistan appeared as the least tolerant nation (with 2% approval). The article also notes that Pakistan also ranks “second in the world (after similarly gay-intolerant Kenya) for volume of searches for the search term ‘gay sex pics.’” Very interesting, but not surprising, and that a majority of searches orginate, not

Be sure to check out this fab show at Clamp Art in Chelsea – “NYC C. 1985″ with some wonderful shots of New York City in the mid-1980s. The show is influenced by the newly-released portrait book by Jeannette Montgomery Barron, “Scene“, which showcases the creative, artistic and eclectic energy of that decade. The cozy Clamp Art exhibition also features exclusive photos taken by one of our faves, Linda Simpson.

Celebrate Pride and support the Astrea Foundation this Saturday, June 15th at Gowanus Loft in Brooklyn. The party will feature a special performance by Arooj Aftab. Find out more below and here: EVENT DETAILS Saturday June 15, 2013 Gowanus Loft 61 9th Street, Loft C8 | Brooklyn, NY 11215 | Venue is wheelchair accessible. 8 pm–9:30 pm Tickets $50/$75/$100 Performance by Arooj Aftab! Open Bar & Hors D’oeuvres 9:30 pm–1

Finally, there is a fashion blog for Sikhs! It’s called Singh Street Style and it’s from the UK and features some pretty sharp (and good-looking) Sardars modeling some nice (and not so nice) threads.