Gaydar Stereotypes?

Interesting story reported in Pink News which from what I can work out from the net is based on a research paper delivered in the Spring. Prof Ben Light at Salford Uni has accused the well known dating site, Gaydar, of using "vilage people stereotypes". The company behind Gaydar pointed out that people don't need to define themselves as a group to sue the site. I, like them don't really understand what Prof Light is on about and I'd certainly like to see his full paper. If people define themselves as a role that is self definition and though you could get into the issues around identity construction it seems clear that the site is not responsible (though arguably the online "community" is). I'm not sure I'd even accept that. Where Prof Light may have a point is in relation to the "Sexfactor" element of the site. This is where people can nominate and vote for people on the basis if their appearance and the number of votes given is shown. Now, there are fairly extensive categories and some of them perhaps conform to some "stereotypes" but I'd consider them subcultures. The full list is: Leather, Rubber, Skins & Punk, Muscle (18-30), Muscle (31+), Cubs, Bears, Young Guys (18-21), Young Guys (22+), Guy Next Door (18-30), Guy Next Door (31+), Older Guys, Alternative, Hip, Uniforms and Sports Gear. I'd be interested to know how widely these categories are understood beyond the "active" gay community.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-5221.html

Community Tensions

Probably one of the long running tensions within the LGBT "community" is between the voluntary activist and charity driven community and the commercial (not always gay) sector. This is never more so on display than at large commercial LGBT events. Wonder why Manchester Pride is called Pride? Well it wasn't always - it's gone under various names as factions have argued about how much should go to charity. The latest village rumble has been played out on local TV station (and available on Sky) Channel M. Community groups say the cost of a stall is just too high this year and I have to say I have a lot of sympathy. These are often groups that do amazing work on a shoestring and should be free!

National Student Pride

Earlier this year National Student Pride came to Manchester. You can see a video produced by Queer Youth Network TV about it below. You can find out more details about NSP on their homepage at: http://www.studentpride.co.uk/

Manchester Trip Video 2

Over the years Canal Street has featured on national TV as the embodiment of a "gay place". In these clips we see the first ever gay character in ITV soap Coronation Street, Todd Grimshaw go out to the village for the first time and then the kiss that was to dominate the next days tabloids. Eagle eyed viewers will also notice this is the first time we meet Sean Tulley (Anthony Cotton).

California Marriage Ban

A story to watch from over the pond. Briefs have been filed with the California Supreme Court. The American Civil Liberties Union, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Lambda Legal argue that California violates its own constitution by denying same-sex couples the freedom to marry.

The California Supreme Court agreed to hear the case last year after the California Court of Appeal reversed a decision by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard A. Kramer finding that barring same-sex couples from marriage unconstitutionally discriminates on the basis of sex and violates the fundamental right to marry.

Read more details and documents associated with the case on the ACLU website at: http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/relationships/31366prs20070817.html

Clifford Chance Payout

Interesting report from The Lawyer. Former competition partner Michael Bryceland has succeeded in his discrimination claim on grounds of sexual orientation. The claim was settled for an undisclosed sum. Bryceland said: "This means that not only did the firm have an allegedly discriminatory culture, but specific circumstances happened where the individual felt personally discriminated against". The claim was brought under the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003.

See the full story at: http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=127933&d=11&h=24&f=46

DIY Castration

I've jsut learnt about this story on a newswire but it was reported in The Sun newspaper last week. See: http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007360723,00.html

Apparently, Howard Shelly had been told he would have to wait two years for gender re-assingment surgery so he used the internet to find a DIY guide and then used a kitchen knife on himself. Now rather than suggesting (as the Sun seems to do) that this is a failure of the NHS this demsontrates the NHS safeguards. I find it deeply worrying that a section of the British media can take such a superficial, misguided view. Then again thes tory is headed 'Builder Loses Nuts and Bolts' so waht do you expect?

Canal Street Video 1

As I mentioned in the last post I'll also be posting videos in the run-up to the November Manchester Trip. This video gives you a feel for the massive club Essential. The video packs in quite a lot of gay cliches (identities?) with Twinks, Leather Men, Muscle Mary's and even a pair of Goths. Not sure about the strange lady with a big snake though...

Canal Street History

In the run up to the November Manchester field trip I'll be posting various bits of info about Canal Street, videos of its depiction on TV and clips to give a feel for "Village" life. Let's start with a bit of history. This is taken from http://www.canal-st.co.uk/ and this and more will be talked about when we go on our heritage trail around the city.

Manchester’s current ‘Gay Village’ developed alongside the Rochdale Canal, which still runs through the city centre. The canal was opened in 1804 and was the ‘M1’ of its time. This was the first canal to run from the Pennines through Lancashire, bringing raw materials to the city and then finished products to the docks at Liverpool on to the farthest corners of the British Empire. When the cloth trade declined in the early and mid 20th century, the area went into decline and the old warehouses became silent, dank and derelict. The area along the canal was perfect for gay men to meet as it was dark and unvisited, but was near to good transport links such as Oxford Rd and Piccadilly Station.
The years before the Village in the 1980’s were ones of repression, with relations with the local police at an all-time low. Even with the legalisation of homosexuality in 1967, only those over 21 and in private were legally allowed to express their emotions physically and many a young gay man exploring his sexuality along Canal Street like Nathan from ‘Queer as Folk’ was still prey for the authorities. Club raids were the norm, a particular example being that of the Mineshaft in the late 1980’s when several innocent men were hauled off to the police cells. These days, things have changed enormously, with a Police Liaison Officer for the gay community and the local police being cheered as they proudly march in the Pride parade through the city streets every year.
In recent years Manchester has started to take great pride in its gay and lesbian heritage and in 2003, when the Europride festival visited the city, it was decided to initiate walking tours around Manchester’s gay and lesbian history for the general public. These trails were so popular that extra ‘trails’ had to be laid on, and they were brought back again for the following year’s Pride Festival. Nowadays, they are run on a year-round basis and in 2005, the walks were literally ‘set in stone’, as Rainbow Tiles were commissioned from a local artist and set into flagstones around the city centre, following the route of the trail, including sites around the Canal Street area. Manchester was the first city in the world to so commemorate its LGBT past in this way.
The gay community once feared that the Village would lose its identity after it became a fashionable place for the ‘in-crowd’ to go during the 1990’s but this hasn’t happened and these days everyone comes to the Village – be they young or old, gay or straight, local or tourist. This is surely as it should be. The gay community never wanted to socialise in a ghetto – it was the early homophobia of society in general that created this set-up. Today the modern Gay Village is able to look back upon a proud history of queer culture and also forwards, toward a more diverse and tolerant future – one that it helped to inspire and create.Jon Atkin, 2007. http://www.purpleprince.co.uk/

Intersex Photos

Curtis Hinkle, at Organisation Intersex International (OII) has just published a series of photographs on his site to raise awareness about diversity in the Interesex community. He says he'll be adding more over time. Have a look at: http://www.intersexualite.org/besos_hermafroditas.html

Cruising & Sex Litter Bins

One letter in the recent Pink Paper really got my attention. It's from a caseworker at Camden LGBT Forum: (http://www.camdenlgbtforum.org.uk/index.shtml). The case worker writes in reply to the issues around George Michael and what seem to be local issues around the Heath. He writes: 'sex on the Heath is much less likely to be on the agenda if it's discreet; contained to the West Heath, not likely to be seen by the general public (ie at night), and if there aren't mounds of used condoms everywhere'. Interestingly he then mentions local authorities providing new 'sex litter bins'. It's a whole new angle on 'Keep Britain Tidy'.

Asian openion on 'immoral' homosexuality

Interesting story in the latest Pink Paper (9 August) (Ok it's taken me a while to post on it!). According to to a survey conducted for BBC Asian Network by ICM Research, five times as many young asians as white people believe homosexuality is immoral. 500 Asians aged 16-34 were itnerviewed and 235 whites aged 18-34. Asian was defined as people identifying themselves as Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Sri Lankan. This compared with 8% of young whites who think homosexuality is immoral.

Stonewall Awards

Stonewall has announced its annual awards will take place in November. Categories include: 'Hero of the Year', 'Bigot of the Year' and the 'Stonewall & Barclays Community Group of the Year' - being chosen by a vote among more than 6,000 Stonewall supporters from across Britain. The chosen Community Group of the Year will receive a cheque for £5,000 to support its work.

Seven other award-winners such as Journalist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year will be selected by a panel including BBC sports presenter Clare Balding and broadcaster Paul Gambaccini.

The 'Hero of the Year' nominees are:

• John Amaechi - former professional NBA basketball star, spoke powerfully earlier this year about life as a closeted gay athlete sparking debate on both sides of the Atlantic on homophobia in sport.
  
• Sgt Julie Barnes-Frank - one of the first openly lesbian or gay police officers, founded Greater Manchester Police Lesbian and Gay Staff Affiliation in 1998 which now offers 24-hour advice and support to LGB police staff.
  
• Beth Ditto - lead singer of rock band The Gossip and outspoken advocate of gay equality, combines non-conformity with mainstream appeal, penning an advice column for The Guardian and nominated NME Sexiest Woman 2007.
  
• Antony Grey - veteran equality campaigner. As Secretary of the Homosexual Law Reform Society played a key role in securing the 1967 Sexual Offences Act to partly decriminalise homosexual acts.
  
• Lisa Power - veteran of human rights campaigns for over 25 years, first as a writer and activist for lesbian and gay rights and since the 1980s, in HIV and sexual health. The first person to speak at the UN on gay equality.

Personally, I'd go for Antony Grey but I doubt he's "fashionable" enough to get the nomination though probably the name that academics and long term campaigners are familiar with. The shortlist for 'Bigot of the Year' is:

• Archbishop of Birmingham - spoke out against our new goods and services protections for gay people, threatening to close welfare services and adoption agencies unless the Government agreed to sweeping exemptions.
  
• Jeremy Clarkson - Top Gear presenter and journalist, refused to apologise after being reprimanded by BBC bosses for derogatory gay jibes on primetime TV.
  
• Bishop of Hereford - withdrew a job offer to a youth worker because he was gay, after subjecting him to a series of humiliating personal questions.
  
• Patricia McKeever - secretive editor of the Catholic Truth website and newsletter. Co-ordinates a relentless campaign to 'name and shame' gay Catholic priests, and has been widely condemned for conducting a 'witch-hunt'.
  
• Ian Paisley Jnr - minister in the new Northern Ireland Executive. Said he was 'repulsed' by lesbian and gay people - has since refused to apologise.

Now this one is a tricky one but for me it's between the Archbishop of Birmingham and the Archbishop of Hereford. I'm just waiting for the acceptance speech..."Unfortunately the Archbishop can't be with us tonight as he is busy campaigning against homosexuality but here's a little video he recorded for us"...

MOD Compensation

Another story in GT this month - MOD compensation. £3million has been paid out in compensation to service personnel sacked for being gay. The MoD has written to 60 former members of the Amred Forces, offering an average apyout of £50,000. Givena single cruise missle costs around £1 millino it isn't quite as huge amount as it may at first seem (and I'm now on some Home Office/FBI/CIA list for Googling how much a crusie missle costs). Anyway, as a general message this is clearly a strong signal agaisnt discrimintion even in the army. Now then drill sergeants, be nice!

Catholic Care

It's also reported in the latest GT that the Catholic adoption agency 'Catholic Care' is stopping finding parents for children in care due to the new Goods & Services Sexual Orientation Regulations. They found places for about 20 children each year so they weren't one of the big players but it's still a sad story.

The Death of Gay Media?

Interesting story in the latest issue of GT and on various online bulletins about the magazine Attitude. First launched in 1994, Attitude was always the younger orientated magazine. More about sexy men and decadent lifestyles than politics and campaigning (read Gay Times). It's interesting therefore that Attitude seems to have vanished from the shelves again amongst rumours that they've gone bust. According to GT the next issue will be out in August due to problems with the printers. Is there still a market for gay orientated magazine? I think so. I just don't know whether gay youth still see having a gay magazine as all that important. This could be another sign of the ever changing 'gay culture' that no longer sees the first gay magazine purchase as a significant event. The Beautiful Thing (play and film by Jonathan Harvey) depicts such a scene and it's long established in the gay mythology. As I think I've mentioned on this blog before - for me it was Manchester Piccadilly train station in 1999 on my way back to Uni. OMG I'm buying a magazine with the word "gay" on in big letters. Surely everyone in this line is looking? Does buying a magazine with "gay" on carry anything like the same stigma/prejudice today? I'd welcome peoples thoughts!

Clapham Junction - Really that Wide off the Mark?

I've been reflecting in the last few days on the programme 'Clapham Junction'. It seemed generally panned as an image of 80s "gayness". "We're not like that anymore", "I don't recognise that rather sad portrait of being gay" seemed the general consensus in discussion rooms/forums and television/reviews. During the Pride Season when every "cosmopolitan" city competes to host the biggest and most glam celebration of all things gay (a task Tyne & Wear has failed miserably in) it seems churlish to suggest that things might not be quite perfect. That these events are themselves rooted in gay liberation and political wars seems another fact forgotten. The latest edition of the Pink Paper brought this home to me. On page 6 we read about three twenty somethings facing life sentences after admitting to "gay bashing" a 57 year old man in Blackpool in January. The events took place at 2am when the victim had gone out looking for sex in well known cruising areas. The reluctance of gay groups such as Stonewall or television shows such as those we've seen on Channel 4 to discuss or defend this behaviour is striking. This is an image that people just don't want to discuss because it allows gay men to be portrayed as sex crazed lunatics sniffing about in bushes and toilets in the early hours of the morning for sex.

The very separation of the sexual act (i.e. buggery) from identity ("homosexual") in 1967 is responsible not only for the the "successes" of the last forty years but also for the limitations of the debate. Fear of "homosexuals" being portrayed as preferring a particular act means that those acts are dismissed. Cottaging and cruising (and indeed dogging) cuts across identities. The terms "gay", "straight" bi" all become too cumbersome and unhelpful and so rather than engage in a radical discussion about sexuality the leading organisations stay remarkably quiet.

The other slightly depressing story in the Pink Paper that seems to fly in the face of post Clapham Junction consensus is actually a couple of letters. The first is from a guy writing about being stopped on Old Compton Street in London. "Fit Guys" stopped the man and gave him a mark out of ten reportedly handing him a flyer and saying "dahling, you are an eight, you have just been selected". The flyer was for a dating site that proclaimed "no ugly guys, no fat guys and no trannies!". The reader was outraged and wrote in to the Pink Paper complaining. The response from Fit Guys was unapologetic saying "Fitguysonlinedating.co.uk is not about fighting prejudice or discrimination; we are about creating a community where gorgeous guys can interact with other gorgeous guys". See folks, gay men are no longer interested in sex, they have moved beyond that yet. Yea, right. lol.

How Gay Sex Changed the World

The final programme to comment on in Ch4's Gay Season is 'How Gay Sex Changed the World'. I actually found this a very easy and interesting viewing. It mixed a discussion of the evolving legislation with pop culture references and consequently involved the interviewing of a number of celebrities and politicians who were all gay. I thought it was nice to see such a varied portrait of the modern homosexual. It was also nice to see people expressing "rebellious" views. Both journalist Mark Simpson and the actor Simon Callow expressed ant-homosexual views. This queer analysis is one well established in the States but not something we see all that often here - at least on the media. It was the type of theme that this season should have explored - pushing the boundaries and exploring contemporary debates rather than reflecting on debates of the past. The programme flirted with another modern debate on the subject of Gaydar (the "dating" website). They explored the multi-functionality of the site - the chat space for the young kid coming out, the dating site for the modern day guy, the escort site for the guy wanting a rapid commercial sexual encounter or as seemed to be the consensus, the main function - a way of meeting lots of guys for sexual encounters. Some of the "talking heads" asked - is this a male thing? Is it a consequence of what happens when women aren't in the relationship mix? etc etc. Again, something that could/should have been explored much further. For what it's worth I think there's a lot of value in the "it's just men argument". Whilst I know of some guys who don't use Gaydar in that way of know of hundreds of others who do. Many in relationships but who just can't give up on at least "checking messages" on Gaydar. The continued search for another bloke, a better bloke or indeed several blokes all at once.