Gallery | Sizzle Miami 2012 for LGBT men and women of color opens at Hyatt Regency hotel

Sizzle Miami 2012, "for all men and women that love and adore people of color" has opened at the Hyatt Regency in Miami. Hundreds of attendees checked in Thursday during Memorial Day Weekend.

For more pictures of registration on Thursday, click here. All photos by STEVE ROTHAUS/ Miami Herald Staff.

From Sizzle's website:

Just What Is Sizzle Miami:
Sizzle Miami, conceived almost 11 years ago, has grown to become America’s most celebrated and anticipated urban gay event in an atmosphere unparallel to none.

Party-seekers from around the world convene in sunny Miami, Florida celebrating life, pride & liberty! Originally a one-day occurrence, Sizzle Miami has evolved into a 5-day smorgasbord of captivating day-time events, and pulsating nightlife.  Sizzle is also proud to be the largest and respected social gathering of the year.

When is Sizzle?
Sizzle Miami occurs during the Memorial Day. In the year 2012, Sizzle Miami will begin on Thursday 24th May and end the morning of Tuesday 29th May.

Who Can Participate At Sizzle?
Sizzle is open to all men and women that love and adore people of color. Although Sizzle participants are mostly comprised of African-Americans and Latinos, all races are welcomed and encouraged to participate.

Is Sizzle A Pride Event?
No we are not a pride in the traditional sense. We are about throwing the hottest, sexiest day and night events in the Nation. We don’t offer workshops, however Health & Wellness seminars and outreach initiatives are offered by our community partners.

Is there A Membership or Registration Fee?
Currently Sizzle does not charge a membership or registration fee to attend the events. Sizzle  events are open to all.

How Old Do I Have To Be To Participate At Sizzle?
As long as you can give or take a… well nevermind. All of our events are twenty-one (21) to plus.

Click here for a full schedule of events, including Babylon VIII at Mekka in downtown Miami; a pool party noon Saturday at Finnegan's River; and a day Sunday at Haulover Beach.

Brazil Senate committee OKs gay civil unions

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BRASILIA, Brazil -- A measure allowing same-sex civil unions passed its first legislative step in Brazil's Congress, where it has lingered for 16 years.

The human rights committee in Brazil's Senate approved a measure Thursday that would change law to say a civil union is between two people, without specifying gender. It doesn't approve gay marriage.

However, Brazil's judiciary has already cleared the way for gay marriage in the nation, setting national precedent.

Last year, the top court approved civil unions for same-sex couples. State courts have since allowed those unions to become full-fledged marriages.

The bill is sponsored by Sen. Marta Suplicy, who says legislators need to put into the penal code what courts are already allowing.

The bill must pass other Senate committees before going to a full vote.

Zimbabwe's president dismisses gay rights; says same-sex partners are 'lower than dogs and pigs'

BY GILLIAN GOTORA, ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Zimbabwe's president said Thursday that homosexuality doesn't belong in Zimbabwe and it violates women's rights by denying the union of men and women needed to bear children.

Robert Mugabe, 88, speaking at a women's HIV/Aids and gender rights conference in Harare, said the "gay world" goes against nature.

After earlier remarks by UN human rights chief Navi Pillay referring to the criminalization of homosexuality in some countries, Mugabe said Zimbabwe and Africa won't recognize same-sex marriage because it leads to human "extinction."

He said male homosexuality took away women's traditional rights of being mothers.

Homosexuality is illegal in Zimbabwe.

Mugabe, who has repeatedly described same-sex partners as "lower than dogs and pigs," has vowed not to allow gay rights to be included in a new constitution being drafted.

Click here to read the complete article.

Why 'Paperboy' director kept Zac Efron in his underpants: 'He's a good-looking guy. And I'm gay. What do you want?'

In his new film, The Paperboy, actor Zac Efron spends much of his time in his underpants, according to Associated Press:

"I don't think I was supposed to feel comfortable," the 24-year-old actor told reporters Thursday at the Cannes Film Festival. "It's like life. This character is supposed to be learning the ways of the world, and that can be very uncomfortable. But it's also exciting."

Director Lee Daniels had a shallower explanation for all the Efron flesh on display.

"He's a good-looking guy," the director said. "And I'm gay. What do you want?"

Click here to read the complete article.

In U.S., Castro's daughter focuses on gay rights

• Cuban-American gay activists in Miami protest Mariela Castro's visit to San Francisco, New York

BY LISA LEFF, ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO -- The daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro brought her fight for gay rights to a U.S. forum Wednesday, stressing the need to secure social equality for all, regardless of sexual orientation.

Speaking in Spanish through a translator, Mariela Castro addressed about 50 medical professionals and transgender advocates at San Francisco General Hospital on Wednesday.

She has an international reputation as an outspoken gay rights advocate and lobbied her father's government to cover sex reassignment surgery under the national health plan, which it has since 2008, and to legalize same-sex marriages, which so far it has not.

"If we don't change our patriarchal and homophobic culture...we cannot advance as a new society, and that's what we want, the power of emancipation through socialism," she said . "We will establish relationships on the basis of social justice and social equality...It seems like a Utopia, but we can change it."

Click here to read the complete article.