With decreasing global and local funding for HIV/AIDS programs, the Philippines has reported an 800 per cent increase in cases of HIV over the past eight years, leading to fears by the UN that the Southeast Asian country will struggle to meet its Millennium Development Goal of halting the spread of the disease by 2015.

For those of us lucky enough to live in the major cities, access to a myriad of nightclubbing and social opportunities is one of the things we often take for granted, along with a fabulous variety of international food, galleries and other such cultural experiences.

The Federal Government has been commended for listening to community concerns and reinstating rebatable mental health sessions under the Better Access program, however the National LGBTI Health Alliance has warned that the government’s timetable for increasing the capacity of new services targeting mental health by 2013 may not be realistic.

Maeve Marsden and Maya Newell both have two mums. As part of the Mardi Gras ‘Queer Thinking’ program they are presenting Growing up Other: Adult children of same-sex parents speak. Along with other ‘gaybies’, Marsden and Newell will discuss sperm donors, school bullies, siblings, privacy, the power of language and the meaning of ‘family’. They spoke to CHERRIE about the forum and about growing up in ‘culturally queer families’.

JD Samson may have once been best known for being part of seminal riot grrrl band Le Tigre, but these days Samson stands alone as a much sought after DJ and also for her new musical project, MEN. About to hit our shores yet again, the eternal collaborator, artist, musician and DJ, spoke to Rachel Cook about MEN, feminism and why Australia is her ‘second home’.