Police Discretion

BBC News is reporting today on a possible move to give the police greater discretion in applying the law following a series of trials. The move is an attempt to replace targets and strikes me as potentially significant move. One BDSM discussion board is already covering the story today from an Operation Spanner angle with a variety of views. For me this has broader application - to possible HIV transmission/barebacking cases, public sex instances and thanks to the recent Criminal Justice and Immigration Act, violent pornography. Such a move palces greater responsibility on 'experts' and activists such as myself to ensure that the Police approach these issues in an informed and measured way. A story to watch.

Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference 2009

Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference, 7- 9 April 2009, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.

Gender, Sexuality and Law Call for Papers

Following feedback from international contributors last year I have brought the first call for papers forward this year. The intersection of gender, sexuality and law continues to be a major source of academic and activist focus internationally. The stream seeks to draw together socio-legal scholarship from across the globe, featuring scholars from a range of disciplines.Past papers have considered Civil Partnerships, gender and parenthood, sex work, domestic violence, religion and sexuality, international comparisons, and theories of gender but papers pertaining to any area of gender, sexuality and law will be considered.

All papers are eligible for consideration to be published in a special edition of Liverpool Law Review. The edition aims to ‘showcase’ a selection of contemporary socio-legal scholarship in the field of gender, sexuality and law. Publication is expected in early 2010. Please indicate in your submission if you would like to be considered for publication.I am happy to discuss any proposals prior to submitting an abstract. Abstracts and paper proposals (no more than 250 words) should be sent to chris.ashford@sunderland.ac.uk by January 31st 2009 though sooner submission is preferred and will help with conference and journal planning.

Sydney Leather Pride

Further to the last post, I just had to share this great poster with you...

Leather

Lots of leather news. International Mr Leather has been announced as you can see in the terrific picture on the right. The winner was Gary Iriza, Mr. Palm Springs Leather 2008 and the 1st runner-up was Bob Firth-Tessier, M. Cuir Montreal 2008. The 2nd runner-up: Scott Melton, Mr. Ramrod 2007. The new International Mr. Bootblack 2008 is: Bootdog, of the Alameda County Leather Corps in Castro Valley, CA.

Meanwhile, Australia is enjoying Leather Pride Week which can be viewed at: http://www.sydneyleatherpride.org/

Finally, I love this game that two leather guys have set up - you get to dress them in rubber and leather. Let's play dress up! http://www.cuirmale.nl/personal/gear-l.htm#

Montreal Update

Wouldn't you know it? The first time I have some free time at this conference and the sky opens, thunder and lightning and rain, lots and lots of rain. So here I am watching the Obama/Clinton DNC decision on CNN and taking the opportunity to update this blog before getting back to the conference. So far the conference has been really interesting and my panel this morning on sex work went really well though the audience could have been larger. As ever I felt so sick this morning as I prepared but it went OK. I could have been much better but as I ever I got a lot out of it and met some really great people. There was a fascinating panel yesterday on taxing and partnerships. It considered the issue of the Defence of marriage Act and issues of taxation. It gave me a fresh perspective on partnership rights and I'll certainly incorporate those ideas into my teaching next year. The other panel worthy of note. Dean Spade (who keeps a great blog) delivered a typically brilliant paper exploring gender in the bathrooms context. He did also offer some perspectives of prisons that I utterly disagreed with but that's off point. There was another paper that looked at bathrooms as forms of power and whilst flawed I found fascinating and I really look forward to seeing the final paper. Finally, there was a paper looking at public sex. The author had a new angle looking at intimacy that I thought was terrific and got me thinking about the online element (my own research) and how that might foster new intimacies in sex work.

Random thought - North American adverts - so strange - just had one proposing clean coal as a solution to global warming (yey, bun more fossil fuel) followed by one on a drug with the warning "If you have erections lasting more than four hours you should consult your doctor". Well know we know...lol. Sorry, rant over.

New Look

Regular readers will notice I've given the blog a new look and a bit of a Spring clean. As ever I'd welcome any feedback. I'm off to Montreal for the Law and Society Association Annual Meeting this week so the blog will probably not get updated for a little while. However, I will be 'twittering' my way through the conference so you should see updates posted down the right had side of this blog. Wish me luck with Terminal 5!

California Gay Marriage

Edward Lazarus provides a really interesting commentary on the recent California Supreme Court decision on marriage. You can read it at: http://writ.news.findlaw.com/lazarus/20080523.html

It offers an excellent constitutional analysis of the issue with the UK applicability.

Intergenerational Sex

A second story in the NOTW is a story about a relationship between 45year old Glyn Trowbridge and a 16 year old Lisa Wright. I can't imagine why, but they seem to have done an interview with the paper in which they talk about the number of times they have sex. Not that the NOTW would ever use that against them - oh no. lol. In principle I don't have an objection to inter-generational sex between consenting adults but I do wonder when the relationship began - given the girl is now 16 and regardless of her age, what are the power differentials? That said, in an age when British young people are increasingly street wise and are engaging in sexual acts at ever earlier ages they do appear to be able to consent. Even if it is to bugger up their lives.

Read the story at: http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/2505_trowbridge.shtml

Rent Boy Revelation

I hate to flag up the NOTW again this week but it does have a couple of sexuality stories (perhaps an indicator of the old saying that nothing sells quite like sex). The first story concerns TV presenter Craig Revel Horwood. Apparently, he has a new book coming out and so in a bid to stir up interest and potential sales he has revealed he was once a "rent boy" or male sex worker.

For me the story is significant in a number of ways. Firstly, the story works by playing into the public conception of sex work as a bad thing. That provides the shock value. Secondly, it sexualises a public figure and that engages us. Finally, despite the first, it highlights how sex work can be a transitional activity for some. An activity that people make an informed decision to do and an activity that enables them to achieve a goal in their life so they can then move on. If people spend more than a second thinking about this story, it actually puts a positive spin on sex work.

Read the story at: http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/2505_strictly_rentboy.shtml

Retox Attempts Detox

A story appeared in the Sunderland Echo this week that had a strange timing. A couple of weeks ago I was meeting a friend in Sunderland for coffee and walking there he flagged up a bar to me - Retox. In particular, a banner outside which stated "Retox under new management! Now straight! Top totty dancers on match days". Apparently, the bar had tried to be 100% gay but hadn't attracted enough punters for the venture to work. So what else to do? You turn straight. Now that's mildly interesting in itself but I was slightly horrified by the banner. I found it insulting but I wouldn't go further, certainly not as far as offensive. Yet the story in the Echo indicates that one person did find it offensive. Messages were left in gay chat rooms stating the banner was offensive and one person actually phoned the police to complain and in a statement to the Echo, Northumbria Police said: "Police are currently working with Sunderland Arch to find an appropriate solution to this complaint." Ironically this story is the best thing that could happen to retox. Manly straight boys can now enter without fear of encountering a homosexual. Hurrah!

Read the full story at:http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/Gay-bar-goes-straight.4106042.jp

The Retox website can be viewed at: http://www.clubretox.com/

Irina Palm: The Best Right Hand in London!

I'm very excited! When I was on a flight from Singapore last December I watched the most amazing film called Irina Palm. I hadn't heard of the film previously but it is now one of my favourite films. The film stars Marianne Faithfull as Maggie, a 50-year-old widow who desperately needs some money to pay for a medical treatment for her ill grandson. She finds herself working in Soho, masturbating men through a hole in order to make money. It is a gritty powerful film that gives an amazing insight into low level sex work, offering some fresh perspectives. I already knew it was due for cinema release on the 3th June in the UK (though I suspect it will be hard to find beyond London) but the reason for my excitement is that they've finally announced it will be released on DVD on the 12 August. Well worth a look!

You can check out the official website at: http://www.irinapalm-themovie.com/home.htm or take a look at the trailer below.

LLM Human Rights

Earlier in the week I blogged that Sunderland had been named number 1 new university to study law in the latest Guardian league table. Well yesterday we also had two new programmes validated for September. These are a masters programme in Human Rights and a 'General' law masters. On both programmes there will be a new module specifically focused upon Gender, Sexuality and Law so this blog will act as a resource for that module from October in addition to the existing undergraduate module Law & Sexuality.

For more information on studying law at the University of Sunderland contact 0191 515 3341 or email:emrteam@sunderland.ac.uk

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill

It was hard not to notice the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill passing the committee stage. Whilst much of the media focus was on the proposed changes to adoption rules, the Bill also removes the requirement upon doctors to consider the need for a father in providing fertility services. As such, the move offers new rights for lesbian mothers. I've previously noted that these measures do not go far enough, trapped as they are in an out-dated gendered and hetero-normative labelling framework.

A detailed analysis of the vote can be viewed at: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-7692.html

Dispatches: In God's Name

If you missed Dispatches: In God's Name earlier this week, you really should take a look at it. Terrifying stuff.

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Part 4



Part 5

Criminal Justice and Immigration Act

With the recent passing of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act , the campaign group Backlash has announced it will be changing (understandably) and it will be interesting to see how they evolve. For me as an outsider looking in, it has the potential to be group that may have a long evolving life just as Stonewall was born out Section 28.

On their website they have published some correspondence with Stephen Ruddell at the Ministry of Justice. He sort of confirms the violent pornography provisions will come into effect in January 2009. I am struck by one section of the letter which states:

'Taking first the new defence for participants in consensual activity, as you have noted, the amendment was introduced to address a possibly anomaly where, as the legislation was previously constructed, a person might have been at risk of committing an offence by possessing an image of certain acts which he or she had undertaken lawfully. The new defence will apply where a defendant proves that he or she was a participant in the act depicted in the image; and that no harm was caused to any participant, or if harm were caused, it was harm which was and could be lawfully consented to. '

Well that sounds reasonable you might think but thanks to the Brown case many BDSM acts can not be consented to and to my mind this so called defence amounts to none at all. It creates massive burdens upon the defendant to prove that "no harm was caused". I believe this will also criminalize the barebacking pornography that includes HIV positive guys having sex with a negative guy. Given this hasn't really been commented upon in this debate I suspect it is an implication yet to be realised and there are a lot of gay men who should be carefully reviewing their porn stashes on their PCs and on DVDs. You can read more on this and view a Newsnight item on this in one my earlier posts.

Another significant passage of the letter is:

'...it is the case that offenders will be subject to notification requirements under Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 if they are 18 or over but only if they are sentenced to two years’ imprisonment or more. This is towards the top of the scale for an offence where the maximum penalty is three years’ imprisonment, i.e. in respect of violent images, and at the very top in the case of an extreme image in the less severe categories i.e. bestiality and necrophilia.'

This sentence clearly underlines the severe penalties that accompany these new offences.

You can view the full letter here: http://www.backlash-uk.org.uk/ruddell.html

The full text of the Act can be viewed at:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2008/ukpga_20080004_en_1

Mr Gay UK Newcastle

I've previously blogged on Chris Boyce becoming Mr Gay UK Sunderland. Well now 26 year old Jon Carter has won the Newcastle round. The Mr Gay UK website doesn't have a pic but Powerhouse - the gay club that hosted the event - does via the 'Newcastlegay' website.

The powerhouse website can be viewed at: http://www.powerhouseclub.co.uk/

The Mr Gay UK website can be viewed at:

http://mrgayuk.co.uk/home/?folder=main

Public Sex in New York

Back in February I blogged on a NY Times piece discussing the 'Comfort Zone'. A 'gay' male sex venue. You can view that original entry here. According to Citylimits.org there is once again a debate in NY about the closing of venues such as the Comfort Zone by the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). For UK readers this is a puzzling move as our Saunas continue to operate in the margins of the gay community, unaffected by law enforcement and engaged with by safe sex charities. Marc E Elovitz and PJ Edwards also address the subject in a New York context in Policing Public Sex, edited by Dangerous Bedfellows and published back in 1996. Yes, folks these issues have been discussed for that long. According to Citylimits.org:

'Dr. Tom Farley, special advisor to the DOHMH Commissioner Thomas Frieden, argues that this approach is well-justified. “A commercial venue provides opportunities for people who have had many partners to come into contact with other people who have had many partners,” Farley said last week. This, he argues, facilitates the spread of HIV into the general population. “It creates a dense network of sexual connections and poses a risk for the entire gay community.”'

Quite right Dr Farley but do you not think that the same men will meet in alternative locations (most probably public sex locations) if you target these locations? Thus, you push the problem underground and increase risk?

A sensible memo on this has been put together by the Coalition for Public Health at Sex Venues . It can be viewed here. I for one wish them every success with their efforts. The full citylimits story can be viewed at: http://www.citylimits.org/content/articles/viewarticle.cfm?article_id=3552&content_type=1&media_type=3

California Marriage Breakthrough

Last week Ellen DeGeneres announced her intention to 'marry' her long term partner. It was the first time she could make such an announcement thanks to a decision of the Californian Supreme Court. The full judgement can be viewed as a PDF file at: http://courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S147999.PDF

According to Pink News 'the court ruled that lesbian and gay couples are entitled to the same fundamental right to marry as heterosexual couples as protected by the California constitution.' This is a major watershed judgment and was welcomed by many activists in the US. What I found fascinating about the judgment was the reliance it placed on academic discussion. Early on in the judgment the debate around terminology is examined - i.e what exactly is it we are seeking - domestic partnership etc. It struck me as a far better course than the one taken in the UK where there was virtually no discussion before the introduction of Civil Partnerships. The journey may be taking a long time in the US but the end product could be better than the European version.

Read the story on Pink news at: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-7653.html

Gordy Gets Serious?

About 30mins a go Gordon Brown finished delivering a sort of mini Queen's Speech. He rattled through the measures but through the wonder of technology the full document is now online. I heard him mention "equality" during the speech but he was going so fast that I couldn't work out what he was saying. This was further compounded by the confusion int he chamber as Tory members complained they did not have a copy of the speech. You do wonder about the effectiveness of these measures if the Government can't even get the proposals to MPs. Anyway, having now read the full doc, the Government does indeed intend to introduce a new Equality Bill. The doc states (p43):

• Making Britain fairer through a single equality duty which will require public bodies to consider the diverse needs and requirements of their workforce, and the communities they serve, when developing employment policies and planning services;
  
• Making public bodies more transparent. If inequality remains hidden, it can’t be measured and progress cannot be made;
  
• Improving enforcement;
  
• Allowing political parties to use all-women election shortlists until 2030;
  
• Making the law more accessible and easier to understand, by bringing together nine major pieces of legislation and around 100 other laws in a single Bill
  

What on earth does this mean? The All women shortlists is simply a measure to help Labour int he run up to the General election. The other measures are utterly meaningless as they stand. Improving enforcement? How?

The document goes on to state that the Government will also seek to:

• for the first time, a Government target to close the gender pay gap, included in the Equalities public service agreement;


• improved data collection on equality, providing a better evidence base to support further progress;


• work to increase the number of black and minority ethnic women councillors;


• work collaboratively with business, trade unions and the Equality and Human Rights Commission on ways to improve equality in the private sector.

More meaningless measures that don't require legislation. From an equality perspective the close of the pay gap is to be welcomed and does require legislation to be effective so why is it in the additional section? Pulling the equality measures into one document is a tidying exercise which is rather pointless. Finally we have the continued binary understanding of gender - men and women. If they introduce a new law that does indeed close the pay gap it will presumably do by defining the legislation in terms of men and women. Or will it be radical and bold (not words you generally associate with the current Gov) and go further? Will a new Equality Act seek to re-define existing measures in a more progressive framework that recognises intersex and transgender? I think we know the answer.


View the full document at: http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm73/7372/7372.pdf

Sunderland Top Post '92 for Law

The latest Guardian League Tables are out and Sunderland has come top for law out of the 'new' universities. Regionally, only Durham came higher. It's a fantastic result for the law team and we're really looking to further expand the Law programme for September. I'll be hopefully be blogging about some new programmes in the next couple of weeks. At the moment, the module this blog supports - Law & Sexuality is one of a variety of third year options that students an choose as part of your LLB. Anyway, Sunderland City Council have done a rather fab little promo video for Sunderland which I've also pasted below. The beach is only round the corner but I've never manged to hold a seminar/workshop there. Target for the next academic year I think!

The league tables can be viewed at:

http://education.guardian.co.uk/universityguide2009/0,,2276673,00.html

Brothers & Sisters

Having watched the latest UK episode of Brothers & Sisters earlier on E4 I was toying with blogging on the Sol storyline but then I read After Elton and I was stunned to read that Kevin and Scotty get 'married' in a series finale! After Elton takes the focus of looking at the small number of same sex marriages shown on the small and large screen. The piece provides an excellent overview and can be viewed at: http://www.afterelton.com/TV/2008/5/queerlybeloved

The trailer for the wedding episode and the 'wedding' are on YouTube and I've embedded them below.

International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO)

Next Saturday is International Day Against Homophobia and there are a couple of events in the North East. As you can see Newcastle has a fab noise making event planned which is bound to get some attention. Event starts at 12:30pm at Grey's Monument central Newcastle.

Meanwhile, South Tyneside is celebrating with a FREE event of music, poetry and prose by lesbian and gay writers and performers at 1pm on Saturday, May 17 in the theatre of South Tyneside Central Library on Prince Georg Square. Artists include, Fiona Sally Miller, Richard Bliss and Mary Lowe.

With friends like these...

Lord Levy (aka Lord Cashpoint) appeared on the Andrew Marr Show this morning and his lawyers must have been rushed to A&E as he made a series of rather unhelpful comments from the perspective of the Labour Party. His new book has been serialised in the Daily Mail and the story that has proven a gift to satirists is the story that European Commissioner and former Cabinet Minister Peter Mandelson spent a period of time alleging hat Brown was gay. Given Mandelson is gay it seems a curious rumour. The spin that Levy seems to have put on it is that it was to do damage to Brown but it seems equally fair that Mandelson was just thinking out loud. In any case it perhaps demonstrates the importance sexuality still has in political circles. Can we have a gay PM?

Poor Gordon...According to the Cherie Blair diaries (which are also out soon and current being serialised) Brown is still getting advice from Blair. The below clip would seem to support this! We're doomed!

Attack of the Munchies

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

AIDS Moral Panic?

Really interesting long comment piece on Poz by Tony Valenzuela. He caused a stir back in 1999 when he wrote about openly barebacking and it not being a terrible thing (yes, shock horror!). Given how a similar comment would go down today to an audience consisting of academics/campaigners/health workers/out reach workers etc, I can but imagine how horrendous the outpouring of opposition must have been. The truth is that if ever there was an example of there being no gay community, this issue would be it. You have some groups of individuals engaging in unprotected sex fully aware of the risks but choosing it, others bug chasing, others stealthing, others 100% safe sex, some unprotected in a relationship and so on. There is a mass of opinions and more and more gay men seem prepared to have unprotected sex but that's a view that can't be accepted by a sort of gay establishment. Anyway, that's perhaps for a longer piece and a longer piece of research I'm hoping to complete later this year that examines this very issue within a public policy legal framework.

For now, take a look at his excellent comment piece and on there you will also see a link to his original 1999 article: http://www.poz.com/articles/killer_gay_sex_hiv_401_14539.shtml

Beat Decline Down Under

I first encountered the Australian magazine Melbourne Community Voice (MCV) when I was down there last November. It's the best free community magazine I've ever seen actually and as a tourist proved fantastically useful. If I lived in Melbourne I'd certainly be a regular reader. At the time I blogged how it seemed tucked away in the Information Office there which seemed a shame but it was a fantastic magazine.

Anyway, this week they have an item on the decline of beats (cottages to UK readers and tearooms to North American readers). This Public Sex Environment is still important in rural and suburban areas though. It's a really interesting piece and worth a read at: http://mcv.e-p.net.au/featured-stories/counting-the-beat-3157.html

Am I Normal?

No I wasn't asking you. lol. This was the title of a BBC 2 show earlier this week which I've finally got round to watching. The programme was presented by Dr Tanya Byron and included a consideration of public sex in the form of dogging and cottaging. It included a couple of interviews with a cottager and a dogger. Both male and both interesting but the spin that seemed to be put on it by Byron was "the things I do for fame". Moreover, her general conclusion was that everyone was a little unhinged because of childhood experiences. Given she only interviewed two people and failed to take account of any of the research on public sex it was frankly shoddy. It's a shame as she did seem genuinely interested and did try to be objective for the most part and avoided being overly sensationalistic. It's a shame she didn't make greater use of the research and expertise of the academics who work in this field.

Politics and Legal Reform

Apologies for more politics on the blog but there is just so much going on at the mo. Obviously over in the States we have Clinton determined to derail the Democrats hopes of winning (and with it any hope for a more progressive policy and law agenda) as she drifts into megalomania. Over here we have the new London mayor who can be described as many things, though not I think a megalomaniac (feel free to comment below if you disagree!). He has now announced (or rather a rep has) that he will indeed be attending London pride this year and of greater importance for me, continues to make use of high profile out gay men. Pink News, reporting on this provide a link to the brilliant blog of Ian Dale (in my view a name everyone will be familiar with in the future as I'm sure he will eventually be a Cabinet Minister in a Tory government) who provided pics of Tory candidate for Brighton Dr David Bull (also bit of a media celeb) and his float at Brighton Pride last August along with some topless male dancers. Yes sexy gay men can now be Tories. Pink News speculates that the Tories might have a float at London Pride. I hope they will, but I hope even more they will adopt a genuinely progressive freedom based agenda.

Clearly, the Conservative party has changed, and is changing but the real test will be whether there is a shift in attitudes to an emerging rights agenda on transgender and other marginalised communities. For example, the Gender Recognition Act continues to rely on a binary interpretation of gender - you are male and become female or female and become male. Yet biology and psychology refuses to conform to this binary divide so why does the law (supposedly now reformed) insist on this. I've had a brilliant undergraduate dissertation student this year who has been exploring this very issue but there needs to be more debate at a national and international academic level.

Similarly, the Brown case remains in-force with regard to S&M behaviour, limiting consensual practices and the Tory party has given no clear sign that it would seek to repeal, if elected, the proposed new legislation on violent pornography. Both constitute an attack on a silent section of society, often unable to form large high profile political bodies for fear of encountering the prejudices of society. The work of groups like Outsiders, Backlash and the Sexual Freedom Coalition deserve credit for the campaigning they do.

Speaking of which the campaign group Backlash and their supporters planned to gather last night in Parliament Square with some planning to chain themselves to a headboard, to symbolise the state's unwarranted intrusion into people's private consensual activities. I've not seen any updates on the web about how the event went but I did flick through the news channels at 5pm (when it was scheduled) to see if anything was reported. Shock horror, not a sausage. I've also done a search through Lexis for all UK newspapers and media outlets and again nothing. It's a real shame that such an important community can not be heard when the miss-judged violent-pornography legislation will affect them the most. Madness.

Sexuality, Hatred and the Law

As you will have seen from earlier posts and my first attempt at using Twitter, I attended the Sexuality, Hatred and the Law Conference held at Durham University yesterday. It was free and just 12mins away from where I live so it was a rare example of a handy conference that looked very interesting. The day focused upon the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill (passed by the House of Lords on Third Reading yesterday) which contains a proposed new criminal offence prohibiting the stirring up of hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation. This follows the enactment of the Racial and Religious Hatred Act in 2006, prohibiting the same conduct in the context of religious belief.

The conference was organised jointly by three of Durham's research centres: the Human Rights Centre, the Centre for Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, and Gender and Law at Durham (GLAD). The key speakers included:

Professor Rosemary Auchmuty (Law, University of Reading);
Professor Helen Fenwick (Law, Durham University);
Professor Eric Heinze (Law, Queen Mary, London);
Abdurahman Jafar (Muslim Council of Britain);
Professor Ian Leigh (Law, Durham University);

Professor Gerard Loughlin (Theology, Durham University);
Professor Gavin Phillipson (Law, Durham University);
Maeve Sherlock OBE (Commissioner, Equality and HR Commission);
Professor Robert Wintemute (Law, King's College, London).

They were joined by a representative of the Christian Institute. The conference was an engaging and interesting day. I did feel that some of the papers contained flawed arguments but as in some cases these were accepted truths the conference didn't seem in a mood to debate them. There also seemed a pervasive middle class white attitude that perhaps seemed more acute due to the surroundings, I'm just not sure. Certainly I (as part of the audience) was attacked by the smart suited and eloquent Abdurahman Jafar from the Muslim Council of Britain for being rather posh, white and middle class. Given my grandma (paternal) spent part of her childhood in a workhouse and in service (yes I am 28, Lancashire had workhouses until the mid twentieth century) and we just don't know about my grandmother (maternal) as my mum was adopted though we suspect she may have been a prostitute. My adopted grandmother worked as a shop assistant and home help, living on a council estate. I attended a high school where drug use and violence was common (I had to appeal to get in because at the time of joining in 1991 it was the best school in the area - you can perhaps imagine the worse ones). I completed part of my history coursework locked in a room with some other students whilst a gun wielding drug dealer ran amok downstairs in response to one of my fellow students not passing on the appropriate amount of money from the drugs he sold that weekend. The History Boys it wasn't. You can perhaps therefore see why being cast as an elite middle class academic seemed rather insulting (especially coming from a man who appeared more affluent than me and spoke with a far posher accent). Maybe he had a point but maybe looks can be deceiving. This whole experience has left me feeling very introspective about academia.

This might prima facie seem a tangent but actually it was an undercurrent that proved fundamental in my own reflection after the event. There is a real risk that a generation of academics are getting on in the area of law and sexuality partly by who they know (which seems an increasing theme in academia) and also because they spout Orthodox theoretical positions. Whilst I firmly believe much of that theory (Butler, Sedwick, Foucault) has an important role I don't see it being used imaginatively and more crucially I see it and the debates dis-jointed and removed from aactivism and/or the practical operation of our society. As the House of Lords was passing this Bill we, a bunch of almost all white and predominantly academics, sat discussing how this fitted historically with the Weimar Republic, notions of democracy, rights and scripture. This is not to criticise the event -far from it - I enjoyed it very much. I'm just trying to work out on a personal level whether that's a good thing or not.

Thanks to Neil Cobb and Gavin Phillipson for organizing the event - it must have been a huge effort and it seemed very much appreciated by everyone I spoke to.

Mr Gay UK Sunderland

Some local news and a photo of the Sunderland heat winner has now been posted. The winner was 19 year old Chris Boyce (pictured right)who is apparently. Obviously the competition is a tribute to the modern image of the gay man, the intelligent thinking guy who make a real and important contribution to society. As clear proof of these lofty ambitions you can see a clip from the televised 2006 national competition below. The Newcastle round takes place next week (16 May) at Powerhouse. All details of the heats can be found at: http://mrgayuk.co.uk/home/?folder=37&offset=11

Cayman Arrest

The beautiful Cayman Islands are under scrutiny after a gay USA tourist was detained by Police after complaints were received that he had kissed his partner. I considered applying for a job out in the Cayman Islands a few years ago but once I looked into it the thought of having to hide my sexuality ruled out a move there. It continues to surprise me that incidents like this cause a surprise to the tourists who visit. Any brief googling will tell you that this amazing collection of islands has like many Caribbean islands, a very Conservative approach to a range of social issues and certainly has a homophobic under-current. Given that tourism accounts for 70-75% of the annual GDP of the Cayman Islands people who really want to see a change in attitudes there should simply stay away.

Read the full story at: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-7558.html

Politics - Russia

The final politics story for today is from Russia. Dmitry Medvedev will become Russia's third President later today. The BBC story on this is typical of the speculation that Putin will continue to wield the real power in his new capacity as Prime Minister. Putin has had a fairly poor record on gay rights and as I heard at a conference yesterday those engaging in the new gay rights movement in Russia can still expect limited support from the police (if not attack) and face huge pressure from those inside the country whether neo-fascists or to some extent mainstream opinion. The BBC story can be read at:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7386940.stm

Given one nationalist group is calling for the re-criminalization of homosexuality in Russia according to Pink News it will be important that activists continue to monitor the situation in Russia. I heard yesterday at Durham a pervasive view amongst younger gay academics that there isn't really much to fight for now with respect of gay rights. I happen to think there is a radical agenda that still needs to be seized in this country in terms of academic development - particularly around notions of how we view and define sexuality and gender (both currently done within a heteronormative framework) but there is an even bigger agenda at a European and global level. Read the Pink News story at: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-7570.html

Finally, Mr Medvedev has already been dogged by some political activism by one group of Russian performing artists who stripped off back in March at Moscow's Biology Museum in an act they called "Fuck For Medvedev!". You can read the full story and view pictures of the artists at the event (a safe shot of the artists is below) on the Russian/UK newspaper The Exile but please be warned the images are sexually explicit and some viewers may be offended: http://www.exile.ru/blog/detail.php?BLOG_ID=17377&AUTHOR_ID=

Politics - USA - YES WE CAN!

The UK is waking up to the news of a further twist in the US Presidential race. Whilst Obama won North Carolina as predicted and Clinton took Indiana (as predicted) the result was very close on Indiana and the mood from listening to he coverage suggests the momentum is back with Obama. You might therefore think that we can now draw a line under the Democrats knocking the hell out of each other while the Republicans stand by but don't be so silly. Clinton seems determined to stay in the race, bringing a legal challenge to win if necessary. Given some of the policies of the McCain camp threaten to turn the clock back on gay legal rights in the USA anyone who cares about gay rights must surely now want Clinton to stand down and let Obama take on the McCain in an election that can truly transform America.

Here is the Obama speech from North Carolina last night.

Politics Update - London

It's been an eventful few days in politics. The virtual collapse of the UK Government following the local elections last week will inevitably throw the focus on the Conservative Party. I was watching the Cameron monthly press conference live on Sky yesterday morning and he set out that one of his key areas of policy focus would be the family. It will be interesting to see how that area develops and what interpretation Tory party members put on it.

Of course the main man of the moment is the new mayor of London - Boris Johnson. American readers might be familiar with his from a recent piece in the New Yorker. The commentators are already saying the Tories will be seeking to demonstrate how they can govern via the London job. It will therefore be interesting to see how LGBT groups do under his Leadership - will funding be cut (as feared by some) for example. Certainly one to watch and to see the rationale behind reform.

Below you can see the first formal speech by Boris the day after election (sadly they cut off his stumble onto the stage at the start) and below that clips from his chairmanship of Have I Got News for You. The UK TV show that made him a household name.

The odd thing is his acceptance speech is actually funnier than the entertainment show clip. That said, I actually think a lot of the negativity hurled at Boris during the campaign by LGBT groups was the result of heavy left wing bias and I hope the LGBT community will judge him by what he does.

Twitter

I've just set up a Twitter profile and added the widget to this blog on the side-bar. This means that I can update the "twitter" section via my mobile from anywhere in the world. I was inspired by the recent 'Back Boris' mayoral campaign where it seemed to work well but I've not seen it used in this academic context before (any academic reading please comment on your use!) Later today I'll be attending the Sexuality, Hatred and Law conference in Durham and will be twittering my way through it. I'm aiming to do this for all future conferences so you can see what I'm up to and I can provide instant comment.

Audrey, Her Dad and the Meat Market

I'm off to Montreal later this month for the Law and Society Conference and one bar I might encounter is Le Stud. The bar is the focus of a little piece in The Chronicle (a Montreal paper). The piece focuses upon one woman's campaign to have access to a gay bar. My favourite paragraph in the story reads:

'This is a place that promotes itself as a "manly meat market" where "men love men" and where TV screens display gay porn around the clock. THIS, Audrey, is where you decided to take your dad for a drink? You're fighting for your right to drink here, and dragging your dad along for the ride as well? Rosa Parks would be proud! '

Read the full story at: http://www.westislandchronicle.com/article-208402-Le-Stud-ruling-lacking-in-le-logic.html

In the UK the legal position is complicated by the ill-thought out Equality Act.

Mystress Saffron and Bad Journalism

The News of the World is reporting today on a school teacher who also leads a life as 'Miss Saffron'. The story publishes a photograph taken from her website (which she appears to have now taken down). The general gist of the story is, "cor look at her and all that but isn't it a disgrace she's a school teacher'. It smacks of the usual NOTW double standards accompanied by smug school boy sniggers. I can't help but think that the teacher involved her is having her life ripped utterly apart in the name of careless journalism. Her private appears to have had absolutely no impact upon her job and if she performs that satisfactorily what she does with her private life must surely be her own affair.

I used to be a school governor at a primary school and I would have had no hesitation in supporting this teacher. I hope her school and head will ride out this tide of publicity and not seek to remove or undermine her because of this story and/or her private life.

Cruiser's Condom Kills Cow

Well so reports the Pink Paper this week. According to the site: 'A cow has died in agony after eating a discarded condom in a popular Gloucestershire cruising spot. The animal’s digestive system failed when the used rubber became entwined in its gut, forcing a vet to terminate the Hereford Cross’ life.' The story goes on to state that Condoms and other related litter, such as lube sachets, sex magazines and even clothing, are repeatedly left in the area and that now talks are taking place between Gloucestershire Constabulary and a number of interested parties such as Cotswold District Council, National Trust, English Heritage and sexual health workers. I'm pleased to see that such a coalition has been brought together to look at this and I hope it will mean that sensible and pragmatic solution will be found. After all, if a cow had choked on some litter left by one of the walkers who according to the site, also use this they would not be closely monitored by police. Instead, alternative strategies would be deployed to provide the walkers with somewhere to dispose of their rubbish and campaigns would be developed to persuade them from dropping litter.

I continue to be struck by the instances of cruising/cottaging stories that dominate the gay media. This remains a phenomena that affects our lives.

You can read the full story at: http://www.pinkpaper.com/pinkpaper/story.asp?aid=3226

I also blogged earlier in the week about Public Sex Environments and provided citations to some of my work in this area. You can view that post here.

Extreme Porn

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