In an article with the headline, 'Male fans of BBC newsreader Jane Hill, brace yourself for disappointment' (though possibly originally titled like the filename, BBC-newsreader-Jane-Hill-comes-gay.html), the Daily Mail is classy on so many levels.
Brace yourself for disappointment? As if a Daily Mail reader ever had a chance anyway!
I know it's the silly season, but repeating snippets from an in-house magazine is a poor excuse for news, even if you can make mentioning a partner into an OUTING STORY.
The comments are typically Daily Mail, though there was this moment of sense: "Funny that when a heterosexual talks of their partner it's 'making conversation' yet when a gay person does the same it's considered 'ramming it down people's throats'."
ATTORNEY-GENERAL Rob Hulls will today announce a controversial compromise struck with the state's religious groups that will allow them to continue to discriminate against gays and lesbians, single mothers and people who hold different spiritual beliefs.In a move that has delighted religious groups but angered gay activists and discrimination experts, Mr Hulls will protect the right of hundreds of church-run organisations - including schools, hospitals and welfare services - to refuse to employ or provide services to people who they believe may undermine their beliefs.
Under the deal, Mr Hulls will allow church groups to continue discriminating on the grounds of sex, sexuality, marital and parental status and gender identity. But they will be unable to discriminate on the basis of race, disability, age, physical features, political beliefs or activity, or breastfeeding.
The decision has dismayed groups that argued that the review was a chance to eliminate entrenched discrimination in Victoria, which has more exemptions to its equal opportunity law than any other state.
Leading discrimination law expert Professor Margaret Thornton said it was a win for fundamentalist religious groups. ''In terms of a person's private life ... their sexual preference or marital status really has nothing to do with their ability to perform a job. Being able to discriminate on marital status is particularly absurd. It is really out of date. It really amounts to the policing of women because the focus is on single mothers, not on men.''
From The Age, Government bows to religious right.
If you can't be bothered reading reports, this is a nice video summary.
Is Al Murray's gay Nazi homophobic?:
Insulting gay stereotypes are back in vogue in comedy, decades after properly being consigned to their graves alongside shabby and derogatory portrayals of other minorities. ... Gays aren't getting bashed physically, but verbally the onslaught is unremitting. "Stop being so gay." "That's a bit gay mate." "Don't be such a poof." All these crop up on chat shows and comedies with a knowing laugh. ... Just as it is on the school playground and just as it has been sanctioned by the BBC with presenters such as Chris Moyles and Jeremy Clarkson, "gay" has become an acceptable insult, and one we are all being invited to laugh along with. If we don't, we're accused of being "politically correct": a neat way to silence your critics.
There's the usual rash of anti-PC brigade rubbish in the comments section but there are also some really good comments: "It may be postmodern for "gay" to mean rubbish AND homosexual, but gay people no longer have a word to describe themselves which doesn't have a negative connotation. This is a triumph of homophobia."
I've been thinking about a guerrilla 'homophobia is gay' campaign, with stickers with QR tags that yield a summary of research that shows '80 percent of men who are homophobic have secret homosexual feelings', but I'm not sure how well it would work out there. I've found asking homophobes hassling me in real life whether they're one of the 80% has been effective in the past, but maybe that's just because they're not used to being challenged. Whaddya reckon?
"In Prof. Adams's test, homophobic men who said they were exclusively heterosexual were shown gay sex videos. Four out of five became sexually aroused by the homoerotic imagery, as recorded by a penile circumference measuring device (a plethysmograph)." (Source for quote, original reference 'Is Homophobia associated with Homosexual Arousal?', U.S. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, (1996, Vol. 105, no. 3, pp. 440-445)).
You can go read the article for the arguments 'for' at My sexual revolution, I'm going to stick with the reasons 'against':
The feminist writer Bea Campbell was one of LYE's many detractors, arguing that it was far more important to challenge men's behaviour in heterosexual relationships than to insist that women abandon hope altogether. "The notion of political lesbianism is crazy," she says. "It erased desire. It was founded, therefore, not on love of women but fear of men." Another feminist critic was the academic Lynne Segal, who has written in celebration of heterosexuality. "For me, coming into feminism at the beginning of the 70s, 'political lesbianism' was the main position advanced by a tiny band of vanguardist women," she says. "Its stance was tragic, because no, all men were not the enemy." She adds that the media used LYE to "trash" feminism in general. "That inevitably added to the bitterness we felt, both then, and ever since."...
Opponents of political lesbianism argue that "genuine" lesbians are motivated purely by lust towards women, rather than a decision to reject men and heterosexuality.
Well, der. Why base your choices on a negative instead of a positive? What kind of feminism tells women they have no choice? If Julie Bindel sees being a lesbian as such a wonderful, positive thing, why can't she see that straight women might feel the same way about heterosexuality?
One of the comments put it well:
I think of myself as very lucky that I don't have to negotiate with and through and round gender constructs in my own personal life with my same sex partner. At the same time, I think the woman who shares a bed with a (particular, individual!) man in the evening might have something very valuable to tell us about feminism and about how men and women might live together better, at home and in society (that old private/public thing again).
The worst of it is that this is exactly the kind of view that means women are reluctant to call themselves feminists, and leads to lesbians being tarred as 'man-haters'. Pah.
Perhaps I am a little obsessed with the weirdy obsession with blocking gay marriage, but this video does a good job of explaining why I'm so perplexed:
Special Comment on Gay Marriage ~ Keith Olbermann
Saxon grave 'couple' may have been two men, says the Telegraph.
The amazing discovery shows the "couple" lying side by side in the grave with one's arm across the other.But the discovery has left experts with a 1,000-year-old mystery.
They know that the body pictured on the right is that of a man, over 6ft tall but they believe that the body on the left is also that of a man as well.
First they thought the couple were a man and wife united in death. But now they believe they could be two men who were 'brothers in arms', possibly warriors, who died together and were buried in the one grave.
...
"There were no artefacts buried with them to give us any clues. It is a bit of a mystery really."
Is it really so difficult to countenance the idea that they might just have been a couple? Gay men aren't an invention of the modern era. If they looked like lovers, maybe they were lovers.
I do love the bit where they say 'They are exceptionally tall - both over 6ft. The one on the left has got some female traits to it but it does seem to be male'.
BBC: Church obsessed with gays - Tutu
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has accused the Anglican church of allowing its "obsession" with homosexuality to come before real action on world poverty."God is weeping" to see such a focus on sexuality and the Church is "quite rightly" seen by many as irrelevant on the issue of poverty, he said.
It may be good to "accept that we agree to differ" on the gay issue, he said.
...
However, and speaking outside the conference hall to the BBC, he said he sometimes felt ashamed of his fellow Anglicans as they focussed obsessively on trying to resolve their disagreement about homosexuality while 30,000 people died each day because of poverty.
"We really will not be able to win wars against so-called terror as long as there are conditions that make people desperate, and poverty, disease and ignorance are amongst the chief culprits," he said.
The man rocks.
Peter Tatchell writes in the Guardian on:
Sexual cleansing in Iraq
The "improved" security situation in Iraq is not benefiting all Iraqis, especially not those who are gay. Islamist death squads are engaged in a homophobic killing spree with the active encouragement of leading Muslim clerics, such as Moqtada al-Sadr, as Newsweek recently revealed.
And in Bosnia: Bosnian Mob Attacks Gay Festival
And generally: 2008 Hate Crime Survey
Hate crime continues to rise in many parts of Europe and North America according to our 2008 Hate Crime Survey, a second annual report examining bias-driven violence in 2007 and 2008.
From the Official Google Blog: Our position on California's No on 8 campaign
However, while there are many objections to this proposition -- further government encroachment on personal lives, ambiguously written text -- it is the chilling and discriminatory effect of the proposition on many of our employees that brings Google to publicly oppose Proposition 8. While we respect the strongly-held beliefs that people have on both sides of this argument, we see this fundamentally as an issue of equality. We hope that California voters will vote no on Proposition 8 -- we should not eliminate anyone's fundamental rights, whatever their sexuality, to marry the person they love.
I have new respect for Google.
And I'm still totally bemused by sheer amount of effort some people will put into stopping two people they've never heard of from getting married. Surely it's unhealthy to be *that* obsessed with the love lives of others. 'Homophobes are that way because they're repressing their homosexuality' is a glib line, but it would explain an awful lot.
[I learnt this lesson in Amsterdam - they tolerate foreigners, but they may never accept them. Anyway, this story was interesting because it's nice to know that these kids are going to have a slightly easier time, and because that level of validation of gender identity is pretty damn cool.]
BBC: Thai school offers transsexual toilet
With its spacious, tree-lined grounds and slightly threadbare classrooms, there is nothing obviously unusual about the Kampang Secondary School.It is situated in Thailand's impoverished north-east, and most of the pupils are the children of farmers.
...
But there is something else about them too. Between the girls' toilet and the boys', there is one signposted with a half-man, half-woman figure in blue and red.
...
The transgender boys in Kampang tend to stick together as a group, practising their somewhat exaggerated feminine mannerisms together and generally camping it up.They still have to wear male uniforms, make-up is not allowed (although some manage to sneak in a touch of lipstick and mascara), and of course sex-change surgery is out of the question at this age - the youngest self-declared transsexual is 12.
But they appear to be treated perfectly normally by other pupils and teachers alike.
I asked the headmaster whether they were not too young to be making decisions about their gender.
A transsexual pupil at Kampang Secondary School, north-east Thailand The pupils have to wear boys' uniforms, but use feminine accessories He said that, in his 35 years of working in the Thai education system, he had come across
many boys like this, and they never changed. Many go on as adults to have sex-change surgery, while others will live as gay men, he said.
...
The Kampang school's initiative, far from stirring up controversy, has instead prompted a discussion in other schools over whether they should be providing the same facilities.
...
Tolerance, said Suttirat, is not the same thing as acceptance.
Apparently Sir Ian McKellen recently quoted Thomas Jefferson, regarding the issue of fundamentalists using religion to justify homophobia:
We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.
in the Guardian: Paying to be discriminated against
Religious people already have a huge concession in that civil partnerships can't be performed in churches. It is unjust and unfair then that religious people now seek to colonise civil and secular spaces like council offices or magistrates courts demanding religious exemptions. The point of state-run facilities are that any citizen can make use of them and expect equal treatment and service. These are all taxpayer funded services - so, in effect, non-believers and gay people are paying to be discriminated against. If religious officiants who are willing to perform ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples are not allowed by law to opt in, in why should secular registrars be allowed to opt out?People are rightly protected from being discriminated against because of their religion, but the spirit of this law should not be perverted to allow religious people license to discriminate against others on the basis of their religious belief. Equality legislation is already undermined by numerous exemptions, practically all of them concessions to the religious.
...
We should be aware that the people behind this push to religionise our society are not the regular church-goers who generally wouldn't dream of behaving in this bigoted way. It is a small group of determined zealots who will not stop until we're all subject to their version of "religious freedom" (which seems to mean freedom for them, and restrictions for others). Often behind these apparently vulnerable individuals there stands a highly organised and well-funded pressure group.
More background at the BBC.
The same-sex marriages in California almost made me cry.
On the Age: California ushers in gay marriage era - the couple in their 80s are amazing.
And the BBC: California ushers in same-sex weddings
Why are the bigots so bothered about gay marriage? Surely they can't all be closet cases?
CNNN does it again.
"Gay scientists isolate the Christian gene"
BBC: Tutu chides Church for gay stance
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has criticised the Anglican Church and its leadership for its attitudes towards homosexuality.In an interview with BBC Radio 4, he said the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, had failed to demonstrate that God is "welcoming".
He also repeated accusations that the Church was "obsessed" with the issue of gay priests.
He said it should rather be focusing on global problems such as Aids.
BBC: "A church whose members cheered a soldier's death as "punishment" for US tolerance of homosexuality has been told to pay $10.9m (£5.2m) in damages."
BBC: Harry Potter author JK Rowling has revealed that one of her characters, Hogwarts school headmaster Albus Dumbledore, is gay.
She said she regarded her novels as a "prolonged argument for tolerance" and urged her fans to "question authority".
BBC: Plans to outlaw inciting gay hate
Plans to make inciting hatred against gay people a crime have been announced by Justice Secretary Jack Straw.The law would cover gay, lesbian and bisexual people and may be extended to cover disabled and transgender people.
Mr Straw said it was time for the law to recognise society was "appalled by hatred and invective" directed at people because of their sexuality.
Lesbian Pirates: Anne Bonny and Mary Read
Worth reading:
Globalising the fight for sexuality rights
Unfortunately in many parts of the world the decriminalisation domino hasn't fallen. In fact, in more than 70 countries homosexuality remains illegal. This consigns the vast majority of the world's gay men and lesbians to a life of criminality over which the have no choice. In twelve of these countries homosexuality is punishable by death.The temptation to believe that such laws are relics of a bygone past and aren't enforced was sadly dispelled with the public hanging in 2005 of two Iranian teenagers sentenced under Sharia law for the 'crime' of homosexuality.
Elsewhere the use of anti-gay laws to intimidate and silence lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people is alive and well.
"Civil unions between male couples existed around 600 years ago in medieval Europe, a historian now says.
Historical evidence, including legal documents and gravesites, can be interpreted as supporting the prevalence of homosexual relationships hundreds of years ago, said Allan Tulchin of Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania.
If accurate, the results indicate socially sanctioned same-sex unions are nothing new, nor were they taboo in the past."
MSNBC
In honour of Soho Pride, and because I love that an article about the issues around lesbian weddings was published in the mainstream press, The Lesbian Bride’s Handbook (called 'My big fat gay wedding' in the Observer Woman magazine).
But there was a medical condition recognized by medieval authorities that might cause normally heterosexual women to become lesbians. It was called ragadiae. According to Carolyn Dinshaw, who is your go-to scholar for weird medieval sexuality, William of Saliceto's 1285 Summa conservationis et curationis or "Bumper Book of Treatments and Cures" defines ragadiae as fleshy growths, often in the shape of a penis, caused by difficult childbirth, other abscesses of the womb, or sometimes friction from excessive sexual intercourse. Women who found themselves in possession of these growths would sometimes subsequently develop a desire to use them to have sex with other women.
http://gotmedieval.blogspot.com/2007/07/if-medieval-lesbians-dont-get-you-back.html
This was on the front page of the Age online: Divided in sport, united in love
First they played against each other, then they fell in love. Now two of the world's greatest women hockey players have had a baby together.That's the story of Australian Olympian Alyson Annan and her partner, former Olympic rival Carole Thate.
It's a charming story, and it's a great balance to Howard's homophobia which at this distance otherwise forms my opinion of Australia's attitude to all things gay.
Oh, and al-Qaeda can go fcuk themselves.
It's been raining and there have been car bombs in London but I hope that doesn't affect the day.
And here's why it's still important:
The Observer, Coming out of the dark ages
"For most people the Sixties was a time of sexual awakening and experimentation. But it wasn't until 1967 that gay and bisexual men could share that freedom. On the 40th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality, we revisit the appallingly repressive atmosphere of the Fifties and Sixties that ruined lives, destroyed reputations and finally sparked a campaign for change"
The situation might have changed in the UK - this has been the summer of Civil Partnerships - but Pride marches are attacked in Moscow, Riga and gay rights are still a dream in many places around the world.
Entirely randomly I came across this brilliant analysis of the different stages of coming out, whether as a feminist, a dyke, whatever, and also an insight into what it's like dealing with the queer community if you're disabled: SexAbility: Coming Out.
If I was still flying short-haul, I would have liked to have gone to Latvia to support their Pride march: Latvia: Celebrating rights -- fighting prejudice.
The glbtq (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer) encyclopedia looks like a really good resource (and a good random read).
"But perhaps the biggest advantages of being an archaeologist are that you get a tan, and are able to meet and impress girls ..." How to succeed in archaeology
I really liked this description of the difference between gay and homosexual from gay.com:
"However, there is a difference between being homosexual and gay. As you say yourself, you’re “not straight�…but you’re not gay. Yet.
‘Homosexual’ is a hard-wired hormonal tendency to be turned on by your own sex and not the opposite sex.
‘Gay’, however is not (just) about sexuality, it’s about identity. It’s an achievement, not a predisposition. It’s a label homosexual men initially chose for themselves and it’s still an identity you have to choose – or refuse – to embrace. That’s the stage you’re stuck at right now.
Because gay is a social identity, people piece it together out of a string of stereotypes. That can feel oppressive. Will I have to be camp? Will I have to like Eurovision/give a flying f*** about Big Brother/get a tattoo/take ecstasy/take it up the bum?
The answer to all those is NO, not unless you want to.
More importantly, there are questions about giving up things too. Will I lose my family’s love? My circle of friends? Being a dad? Getting married?
The answer here is also NO, not necessarily – but that yes, being gay may make some of these things harder to achieve."
And also, Moldovan gays defy pride ban
"It also contravenes a recent decision by the Moldovan Supreme Court, which robustly defends the right of all Moldovan citizens, including LGBT people, to freedom of expression, assembly and peaceful protest.
...
The mayor’s [Ken Livingstone] statement was in response to the municipal authorities of Chisinau banning an event planned by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organisation GenderDoc-M for 27 April as part of the 6th Moldovan LGBT Pride festival."
I wish I'd known closer to the time, I would have sent an email in support.
Disney are "...throwing open the gates of Cinderella's castle for same-sex partnership ceremonies. Gay and lesbian couples can, for the first time, stage their own commitment ceremonies anywhere on Disney property, a privilege heterosexual couples have enjoyed for decades.
"We are not in the business of making judgements about the lifestyle of our guests," said Donn Walker, spokesman for Disney Parks and Resorts. "We are in the hospitality business, and our parks and resorts are open to everyone.""
I've never had any interest in Disney or theme parks, but that makes me go 'awww'.
Fab.U.Lous: "Too often in the media, currency is given to the theory that everyone should be allowed to marry regardless of gender, outlook and whether the two people are creating a suitable family environment in which to bring up children.
Well, it is time to ask some hard questions about this attitude. The only way we will save marriage is to reclaim the institution for the mainstream. Marriage is for normal people who want to raise children in a healthy and secure environment. This is why we should ban religious fundamentalists from marrying." SMH
"Female koalas indulge in lesbian "sex sessions", rejecting male suitors and attempting to mate with each other, sometimes up to five at a time, according to researchers." NZ Herald
"Melbourne City Council has dipped its toe into the legal minefield of gay civil unions. As Kenneth Nguyen discovered, it may prove a catalyst for change across the state." The Age
A fascinating article at the 24 Hour Museum about Finding Lesbian History in the Archives.
"...opponents say the prospect of same-sex book-borrowing endangers the moral fiber of the country's most sacred reading traditions." Onion
See also Kansas Outlaws Practice Of Evolution.
I can't remember how I ended up there but I've just read You Don't Belong. Margaret Cho took a transgendered friend she describes as 'female bodied but masculine' to a fund-raiser, and when they went to the toilet they were hassled by other women there. I guess it's timely because I've just been reading Stone Butch Blues but as heart-breaking as that is, you'd hope that the world had moved on since then.
I thought this point was really interesting: "If it was really a man in there, I doubt they would have caused such a commotion, but since Ian was female bodied, these women felt they could punish, to lash out, because it was one of their own. They had somehow given themselves this permission to gang up, to shame, to rudely question, to unfairly and unduly punish. And for what? For the crime of being true to one's self? For not adhering to the strict rules of gender?"
His account is in a second blog post, Gotta Go, Gotta Go Right Now.
Apparently everyone who saw this on the recent trip to Berlin thought of me.
For the record, I won't fsck your girlfriend unless you both ask me very nicely. Your mother, on the other hand...
"The birds and the bees may be gay, according to the world's first museum exhibition about homosexuality among animals.
...
"Homosexuality has been observed for more than 1,500 animal species, and is well documented for 500 of them."" Reuters
Awww: Spanish air force privates wed in country's first known military gay marriage
A collection of articles about the gay marriage ban in Australia:
"Australia's conservative national government has overruled a local law allowing gay unions.
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) became the first part of the country to legally recognise gay relationships when it voted on the issue last month.
But now the federal government has stepped in to invalidate the new law."
Australia overrules gay union law, BBC.
The latest:
"The Australian Greens and Democrats tomorrow will seek to overturn the federal government's decision to block ACT laws allowing same-sex civil unions.
This morning Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock announced that Governor-General Michael Jeffrey had agreed to use his powers to disallow the ACT law, which would have allowed gay couples to have their relationships registered and legally recognised."
Minor parties fight gay marriage ban, The Age.
"Coalition Senators are being urged to cross the floor and over-ride the Government's move to disallow ACT civil unions laws.
...
ACT Attorney-General Simon Corbell has attacked the Governor-General's decision, calling it arrogant and undemocratic.
Mr Corbell says the issue of same sex unions will not go away and he will continue to push for legal recognition for gay couples.
"We will pursue all options to provide for equality under the law for people in same sex relationships," he said."
Senators urged to protect civil unions, ABC.
One reason Australia needs to allow gay marriage:
"Mr Walters said the inability of gay people to have their relationships formally and legally recognised caused great damage.
"The implication that (homosexuality) is in some way shameful or second class cannot be avoided when we treat people in this way," he said.
"We have a high rate of youth suicide in Australia - one of the highest in the world - and one reason for that is where people's sexuality is not accepted by the wider community and the message that sends is very damaging to those who are just finding out about their sexuality," he said."
Rights group slams gay marriage ban, The Age.
And a bit of a conspiracy theory:
"The federal government's decision comes just after a push by United States President George Bush for a constitutional ban on gay marriage."
Gay couples to lose right to say 'I do', The Age.
"Gay couples will be able to say "I do" in Canberra within two weeks, after the ACT yesterday fast-tracked its civil union laws in defiance of the Commonwealth's decision to scuttle them.
ACT Attorney-General Simon Corbell said the Government would reduce the notification period for people wishing to enter into civil unions, to enable ceremonies to begin within a fortnight.
The new laws — which would entitle same-sex couples to the same rights as married couples under ACT law, such as rights to property in the event of a relationship break-up and power of attorney — were intended to come into effect on August 1.
However Mr Corbell last night said the commencement date would be brought forward after Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said he would ask the Governor-General to disallow the laws on August 1, to "defend the fundamental institution of marriage"." Age
"The US Senate has blocked a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage." BBC
"Comic book heroine Batwoman is to make a comeback as a "lipstick lesbian" who moonlights as a crime fighter, a DC Comics spokesman has confirmed." (BBC)
"British Museum Explores Same Sex Desire In Ancient World" at 24 Hour Museum, and if you're in London you can see a small exhibition on the Warren Cup at the BM. Also on display is "a terracotta lamp featuring a female lovemaking scene".
In the 'well, der' science column, "Revealed: how scent of a woman attracts lesbians". Guardian.
I thought this was an interesting statement, from a page about the Bible and homosexuality:
"We have been unable to change the beliefs or actions of any of these hundreds of people on even one point related to homosexuality. Their views appear to be fixed. It is doubtful that much progress towards compromise on homosexual rights can be made by means of dialogue. We don't expect that the attached essays will change the beliefs of many visitors to this web site. However, the essays may help people understand opinions that are not their own."
My theory has always been that your politics are generally based on your emotional make up (unless they're a reaction to your parents' or culture, for example) and your views on the Bible are probably much the same. You can't change someone's mind if they don't want to change, but you can give them information that will let them make an informed decision. Unless they're a schoolkid in America, of course.
"The Australian government has said it will oppose any new laws legalising gay civil unions.
Prime Minister John Howard said he did not intend to allow the institution of marriage "to be in any way undermined".
...
The head of the ACT government, John Stanhope, said Mr Ruddock's reaction revealed homophobia in the Howard administration.
"One has to pose the question of whether or not the real reason (for Mr Ruddock's stance) is that there is no place in John Howard's Australia for homosexuals," he told ABC radio." (BBC)
It's rare to read anything that might acknowledge gender as performance in the mainstream press, so I really liked this quote from Felicity Huffman about preparing for her role in Transamerica:
"It made me think of my own femininity and my own lack of femininity, because I take it for granted. It became a lesson in learning femininity as if it were a foreign language. Everything was studied, unfamiliar, everything I had to practise. You become extraordinarily self-conscious." (Guardian Weekend)
Oh, if only:
"Gay marriage could be legally recognised in Victoria by the end of the year, with an independent MP preparing to introduce legislation into State Parliament." (Age)
"In the original ad, two well-dressed women engage in a lengthy round of violent kung fu fighting in a basement before sharing a passionate kiss, followed by a head-butt.
...
The true inspiration for the ad, he says came during a day at the park during a recent trip to San Francisco where “everybody was kung fu fighting. Those cats were fast as lightning!” In fact, he says, “it was a little bit frightening. But they fought with expert timing.”"
French Connection Replaces Lesbian Kiss in TV Ad with Beheading from my new favourite site, fakegaynews.com>.
Teddy girls: "A selection of over 30 of the photographs from this amazing shoot, the only known professional photo-documentation of early 1950’s Teddy Girls, most of which have never been published before."
Some belated reviews... on Tuesday I went to see one of the ""saint etienne present: popfiction" sessions at the Barbican with the fabulous Miss Jo. We saw "Three Minute Heroes" and "Ladies and Gentlemen...The Fabulous Stains".
"Three Minute Heroes" was interesting for its glimpse into life in the Midlands in the early 1980s, particularly how boring it was for teenagers. I always forget that most English people in London have also come from somewhere else, and I can see why they'd want to escape down to London. The scene set at what looked like an underage gig was almost like a social anthropology documentary - I'd forgotten how tribal it used to be. Compared to teenagers now, they seemed incredibly colourful and diverse. I'm not sure how it worked if you didn't have a group of your own, or if you were gay.
They say that anyone who saw "...The Fabulous Stains" the first time around formed a band, and I have been thinking about bass guitars lately so maybe it still works. Its tale of sudden, gimmick-led rise to fame, exploitation and even more sudden fall from grace should be shown to everyone who auditions for Pop Idol. It should probably also be shown to teenage girls, in the spirit of the Riot Grrls.
Last night I saw Beautiful Thing at the Sound Theatre. Written around the time Section 28 was introduced, it's already a period piece in some ways, but I bet there are still kids in council estates around the UK going through the same thing.
Via buggery.org: "The application form for an Australian passport is the latest official acknowledgment of the validity of same-sex relationships"
Rather unlikely headline from an Australian newspaper article today: Gay couples can register here for same-sex union
"The first legal registrations of same-sex unions in mainland Australia are set to take place next month.
Following new legislation in Britain that allows same-sex couples to have their unions legally recognised, British citizens in Australia in gay or lesbian relationships will be able to register their relationship at British high commission offices around the country.
...
But while the union will be recognised under British law, it will not be legally recognised in Australia federally."
(SMH)
Of course there's a 'but'. Obviously every 'traditional' family and every heterosexual marriage in Australia would fall apart if gay couples were allowed to even think about getting married. I don't know how British society has managed to cope in the past few weeks.
Inevitably, the Tom Cruise South Park 'come out of the closet' episode has made it onto the internet.
So it wasn't just me: "Researchers at Bath university found many girls aged seven to 11 subjected dolls to "maiming and decapitation"." BBC
"UK TV viewers will not get to see an episode of South Park which shows Nicole Kidman and fellow Scientologist John Travolta attempting to coax a fictional Tom Cruise character out of a closet, with Kidman saying: "Don't you think this has gone on long enough? It's time for you to come out of the closet. You're not fooling anyone."" (The Register)
WHAT!?!
"The Federal Government has moved to obstruct gay couples wanting to get married in countries that recognise same-sex nuptials.
The Attorney-General's Department last year told at least two of Australia's embassies in Europe to refuse help to citizens requiring proof of their single status for a same-sex marriage.
...
It stated: "Following the advice of the Australian Attorney-General's Department we herewith certify that Australian law does not allow the issue of a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage to persons wishing to enter into a same-sex marriage."" The Age
How DARE John Howard let his personal beliefs affect Australian citizens overseas?
Hooray!
"Three same-sex couples have made history by becoming the first in England and Wales to tie the knot and form civil partnerships." (BBC)
For Guy, not that he reads blogs: Libs take dim view of homosexuals
"Semi-pornographic displays of lesbianism - generally performed by straight girls for straight boys - have become so ubiquitous as to be almost unremarkable.
...
All this is, I suppose, an improvement on the bad old days of officially sanctioned homophobia. But I'm not sure that one could exactly call it progress. Queen Victoria famously refused to believe in lesbians - and, in its own way, so does modern popular culture." Guardian
Elton John in today's Observer: "I want our government, which has presided over many positive changes for gay people here in the UK to ensure that ending violations of gay people's fundamental human rights around the world becomes an explicit issue in its diplomatic relations with other countries."
The weather report this morning was really cute: "Murky start then showers likely". Murky?
Awww! And it's just in time for Madrid Pride.
Spanish MPs approve gay marriages
"Spain's lower house of parliament has voted in favour of allowing gay couples to marry and adopt children.
...
The new law puts same-sex and heterosexual marriages on the same legal footing, including the right to adopt children." (BBC)
I leave for Russia tomorrow. I'm a bit nervous about travelling by myself but I'm sure I'd get into as much trouble travelling with people as I would by myself, and I'll be with Sarah or Sergey for bits of the trip anyway. The only bit I really mind is arriving at Moscow train station at 5am, groggy after the overnight trip from Novgorod.
In other news, for some reason I have a really strong desire to hear the entire album of cover versions of Stairway to Heaven from The Money or the Gun.
Raah!
"Spain's lower house of parliament has approved the right of homosexual couples to marry and adopt children.
The government-backed bill now passes to the Senate, where it is expected to get final approval in the coming weeks." (BBC)
and Boooooooooooo:
"Pope Benedict XVI has responded firmly to the first challenge of his papacy by condemning a Spanish government bill allowing marriage between homosexuals."
(BBC)
"The Education Department is deserting gay students and teachers.
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An investigation by The Age has revealed a disturbing level of discrimination affecting teachers and students, with schools failing to meet their obligations under the state's equal opportunity legislation." Age
How long will it take to recover when the Howard era eventually ends?
"Homosexual marriages are part of "a new ideology of evil" that also includes abortion, Pope John Paul II says in a new book."
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"In one section about the role of lawmakers, the Pope takes another swipe at gay marriages when he refers to "pressures" on the European Parliament to allow them.
"It is legitimate and necessary to ask oneself if this is not perhaps part of a new ideology of evil, perhaps more insidious and hidden, which attempts to pit human rights against the family and against man," he writes."
n.c.a
"In a year marked by terrorism, natural disasters and culture wars, Pope John Paul II said lobbying against gay marriage was at the top of the Vatican’s agenda for 2005." (Rainbow network)
"The US military investigated building a "gay bomb", which would make enemy soldiers "sexually irresistible" to each other, government papers say.
Other weapons that never saw the light of day include one to make soldiers obvious by their bad breath.
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In a variation on that idea, researchers pondered a "Who? Me?" bomb, which would simulate flatulence in enemy ranks." (BBC)
People told me about this but it's taken me until now to follow it up.
"Plans by the Liberal Party in Western Australia to repeal homosexual rights reforms have prompted a gay rights group to call for a national bill of rights.
WA's Liberal Party leader Colin Barnett has been told to expect an election campaign backlash from gay rights groups, after he confirmed he intended to repeal reforms if elected premier next year.
Included in his plans are pledges to raise the age of consent for gay males from 16 to 18, ban adoption and IVF services for gay and lesbian couples, and deny them access to the Family Court.
The Equal Rights Network (ERN) has called for a national bill of rights, saying Australians deserved to have fundamental rights such as access to the courts enshrined in the constitution to protect them against "wayward political parties". " (n.c.a)
Interesting article about depictions of Alexander the Great's bisexuality in the new film, but the schoolyard tone is extremely irritating.
The BBC handled it better: "The "is he or isn't he?" mentality of moviegoers elevates the issue of sexuality beyond its relevance to the story. Early reviews have dubbed the film "Alexander the Gay" or "Queer Guy for the Macedonian Guy" - the ultimate trivialisation."
US questions Alexander's greatness
Oh, the irony. An article about a famous swimmer says: "He spoke about his desire to get married and have children, contradicting persistent rumours he is gay." There's no logical reason why that's a contradiction, except that he's Australian. Citizen of a country moving back into the repressed, oppressive past as quickly as it can.
"Glasgay’s Alan Miller examines what it’s like being gay in 21st-Century Scotland" (Sunday Herald)
"Cautionary tales for 'omelette makers'" (Guardian)
Anyone know Slovenian, Croatian or Hungarian for 'where are the lesbians?'?