Arts & Entertainment
Gay South African couple become first to father triplets
Theo and Christo Menelaou are now parents to Joshua, Zoe and Kate
A gay South African couple has possibly become the first same-sex couple to father triplets born with both fathers’ DNA.
According to The Sun, Theo and Christo Menelaou each fertilized one egg of a surrogate with their DNA. The surrogate gave birth to twins and a third triplet. During the pregnancy, doctors discovered one of the eggs had split and recommended terminating two of the pregnancies. Instead, the Menelaous found a gynecologist who would work with them and decided to proceed with the pregnancy.
The triplets were born in July and the couple named them Joshua, Zoe and Kate.
“When you are gay, there is always the thought that it just may not be possible to be a parent no matter how much you would love to be,”Christo Menelaou told Sky News. “It’s very hard to be accepted for adoption and we were told we would always come after heterosexual couples. And then we just never thought we’d ever find a person who would want to be surrogate to a gay couple.”
The triplets were placed on breathing apparatus and consistentlyĀ monitored in the hospital for a few weeks after birth. The triplets were allowed to come home one by one and now are at home with their dads. Zoe will still need heart surgery in the coming weeks, and all three still struggle with breathing on their own. But the couple is still grateful.
“We have to gently massage their backs, or tickle their toes just to remind them to take a breath,” Theo Menelaou told The Sun. “We feel so blessed. We really do.”
Friday, November 1
Go Gay DC will host āFirst Friday LGBTQ+ Community Socialā at 7 p.m. at P.F. Changās. This event is ideal for making new friends, professional networking, idea-sharing, and community building. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Saturday, November 2
Go Gay DC will host āLGBTQ+ Community Brunchā at 11 a.m. at Freddieās Beach Bar & Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ+ community, including allies, together for delicious food and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
LGBTQ+ People of Color Support Group will be at 1 p.m. on Zoom. This peer support group is an outlet for LGBTQ People of Color to come together and talk about anything affecting them in a space that strives to be safe and judgment free. For more details, visit thedccenter.org/poc or facebook.com/centerpoc. Ā
Sunday, November 3
Go Gay DC will host āLGBTQ+ Community Dinnerā at 6:30 p.m. at Federico Ristorante Italiano Freddieās Beach Bar & Restaurant. Guests are encouraged to come enjoy an evening of Italian-style dining and conversation with other LGBTQ folk. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
AfroCode DC will be at 4 p.m. at Decades DC. This event will be an experience of non-stop music, dancing, and good vibes and a crossover of genres and a fusion of cultures. Tickets cost $40 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.Ā
Monday, November 4
Center Aging: Monday Coffee & Conversation will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of their choice. For more details, email [email protected].Ā
Tuesday, November 5
Pride on the Patio Events will host āLGBTQ Social Mixerā at 5:30 p.m. at Showroom. Dress is casual, fancy, or comfortable. Guests are encouraged to bring their most authentic self to chat, laugh, and get a little crazy. Admission is free and more details are on Facebook.
Universal Pride Meeting will be at 7:00p.m. on Zoom. This group seeks to support, educate, empower and create opportunities for people with disabilities. For more details, email [email protected].Ā
Wednesday, November 6
Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking ā allowing participants to move away from being merely āapplicantsā toward being ācandidates.ā For more information, email [email protected] or visit thedccenter.org/careers.
Virtual Training on LGBTQIA protections in D.C. will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Guests will learn about LGBTQIA rights and protections against discrimination and the ability to fail claims with the DC Human Rights Office. For more details, visit the DC Centerās website.Ā
Thursday, November 7
The DC Centerās Fresh Produce Program will be held all day at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. No proof of residency or income is required. For more information, email [email protected] or call 202-682-2245.Ā
Virtual Yoga with Sarah M. will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a free weekly class focusing on yoga, breath work, and meditation. For more details, visit the DC Center for the LGBT Communityās website.
The 37th annualĀ HighĀ HeelĀ RaceĀ was held along Frank Kameny Way on 17th Street, N.W. on Tuesday, Oct. 29. Thousands of spectators gathered to witness the parade of costumed racers pass by. Kenny Monroe of Maryland won theĀ race.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Giuseppe LoPiccolo)
Books
āThe Loves of My Lifeā is not for prudes
Edmund Whiteās thoughtful read about pursuing pleasure
āThe Loves of My Life: A Sex Memoirā
By Edmund White
c.2025, Bloomsbury Publishing
$27.99/256 pages
Celebrated author Edmund White is just as prolific with men as he is with books. āThe Loves of My Lifeā is a steamy memoir about his decades-long sex life. Now in his 80s, heās had, in his own words, āthousands of sex partnersā and this book recounts many of them, including some many amusing, some poignant, stories.
A warning: this book is not for prudish readers. White describes his encounters in lovingly explicit detail, fondly recalling his partnersā equipment and their skills. Some were shockingly creative: one partner belonged to a āfisting colonyā where another member once inserted a football into a man, requiring surgery.
White began early, as a teenager sleeping with other boys at his boarding school, neighbors, and the son of his motherās lover. Later, working for his fatherās business, he picked up male hustlers. He would take these predominately āstraightā men to cheap hotels for one-sided, quick affairs; many kept their socks on during. Some threatened violence afterwards, demanding more money or that White spend more time with them.
As an adult, a sex worker he took to a country home to help get clean spent nearly all his time alone in the bedroom, leaving only to pick up meals.
White lingers on his experience with Stan, āmy first husband.ā They met in college, at a play Stan starred in. Moving to New York, they lived together off and on as Stan found acting work. He became involved with a group led by a former Marine, who kept the party going with drugs and orgies. Thankfully, he would later leave and get clean.
White had many memorable adventures abroad. Visiting Puerto Rico, he and his partner went home with two men they met on the beach; the natives laughed during, speaking mostly Spanish. In a park in Spain, he encountered a man who robbed him after propositioning him. Because homosexuality was illegal, he couldnāt go to the authorities, although they had a quickie afterwards. Years later, he rented a house in Madrid with a younger, Spanish lover, who took him to āgeezerā clubs, but who threw tantrums if White spoke to any men there. He felt like a housewife, keeping the home spotless and prepared to satisfy his partner anytime, only once visiting a museum.
The bookās tone is generally humorous, although White recounts how, when he was a young man, many gay men saw themselves. Most only wanted to sleep with straight ātrade,ā which carried the threat of violence. Even successful professionals thought they were āsick.ā White saw a therapist hoping to become straight. While the communityās self-image has improved considerably, there are still plenty of hang-ups. Whiteās younger friend Rory, for instance, Asian, athletic, and intelligent, only loves white men and feels depressed if one doesnāt return his affections.
He surprisingly doesnāt talk much about his husband, Michael, apart from him walking in on White with a lover and an airplane encounter. It might be useful to hear how they met, and their arrangements with other partners. Perhaps their relationship was off limits.
Mixing self-deprecating anecdotes with insights into writing and literature, āThe Loves of My Lifeā makes for a fun, yet thoughtful read about pursuing pleasure.
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