Media, Identity and Changing Times

It must have been back in 1999 or 2000 that I was travelling in the back of a cab from the Sheffield gay club Planet (long since closed).  I had a young man by my side, a copy of the magazine Boyz (with the infamous naked 'Backroom Boy' photo - which they no longer seem to do) and a copy of the newspaper Pink Paper.  I thought if this gay malarky means you end the night with an attractive male friend, a free magazine with soft porn and a free newspaper, this is my sort of sexual identity.

Scroll forward to the latter part of that decade, and I would provide copies of the Pink Paper to my Law and Sexuality students in a bid to immerse them in 'gay' news and events, and as a way around the apparent reluctance of straight students to visit 'gay' websites.  Then, in 2009, the Pink Paper suspended their hard-copy print run.  They suggested it could be temporary due to the decline in ad revenue but I observed at the time (as did many) that a print return was unlikely.

So it continued, with a reasonable website, but failing to replicate the experience of the newspaper edition.  Pink News continued to grow as an online news player, and did it better in a fresher, more responsive way than the Pink Paper.  Tris Reid-Smith - who I felt had been a dreadful editor at Gay Times causing it to have a weird personality disorder- ran both the Pink Paper and Gay Times until jumping ship and heading up a new venture - Gay Star News.  This new service - which launched at the start of the year - has demonstrated itself as having a fun, interactive, responsive and winning outlook on 'gay' news.  Reid-Smith has done a tremendous job, clearly assembling a terrific team and carving out a clear ethos which works with their readers.  The site is by all accounts going from strength to strength.   

So it is that Gay Star News served as perhaps a further nail in the coffin of the Pink Paper - increasingly lacking in energy and seeming to be on life support.  In September 2012, the decision was made to put the poor thing to sleep after 25 years.  

Consequently, earlier today I finally removed the RSS feed from my blog, and as part of my return to blogging, can pay my over-due tribute to an important publication, now sadly a part of history.  

As sad as the demise as something which evokes powerful memories is - at least for those of us in our early 30s and above - we can also rejoice in the continued operation of a range of online media services.  The Pink Paper was important as a free news-sheet, a way of obtaining 'our' news not contained elsewhere, of promoting a sense of community and identity.  Today, someone contemplating 'Coming Out' (and last week saw National Coming Out Day) can interact with people via countless sites such as LadsLads, Fitlads, Gaydar, Squirt and so on, and increasingly via Apps such as Grindr or Skruff.   They can explore how their identity is reported and formed in the mainstream media, specialist media and via blogs and social media.  

The Pink Paper's demise can arguably be seen as part of the process of a dramatically changing sexual landscape - arguably fuelled by unprecedented legal change -and a warning to other media outlets of the importance of recognising such a change, and responding to it, and an evolving use of media. 

Coming out at university

Freshers week kicked off for us today, but for some students starting Uni this week and in the coming weeks, the question of 'coming out' remains an important one.   Here's a nice short piece on coming out at University.

Schools OUT Conference

Readers with an interest in education may be interested in this event - particularly if you are a school teacher. As always the Schools OUT Conference will be held on the first Saturday of February 2012. It is entitled: Educating OUT Prejudice through the LGBT Lens. Featuring the Classroom, The Rainbow Project and presenters and speakers from the other protected characteristics, the Conference will be rich in resources and ideas for practitioners in the classroom and stakeholders in education.

To register call the Drill Hall box office: 020 7307 5060

Fees
Until Jan 26 2012 Student or Unemployed £10, Retired £15 Individual £40 Organisation £50
After Jan 26, 2012 Student or unemployed £15 Retired £20 Individual £50 Organisation £60 

EDUCATING OUT PREJUDICE THROUGH THE LGBT LENS

Celebrating our new website the Classroom Gender Intelligence, Mermaids and GIRES will explore how to challenge the concept of binary gender Disability History Month will explore challenging disability HMI/Ofsted will explore how we can use the curriculum to celebrate diversity Workshops will explore the lesson plans on the website and there will be an opportunity to view the Rainbow Project films and hear from young people how they are working on the issues ...plus the usual chance to network and Schools out AGM vote in the new committee

More information here.

Project Bolo

I want to share a truly moving and important project with you.  The India-based Project Bolo is an LGBT oral history project, but given it operates in a country that regards homosexuality as a taboo - and whose recent attempts at decriminalisation are still stuck in the courts -means that the people who appear in these film are incredibly courageous.  The Project describes itself in the following terms:

''Project Bolo' records and documents individual profiles of LGBT persons who have, in their own way, stood up for what they believed in and challenged norms and stereotypes loaded on them by the society. They are also persons who have made a significant mark in their own professional areas of work, be it literature, filmmaking, law, activism, healthcare, journalism, IT, media, etc. Through these recorded interviews, 'Project Bolo' hopes to serve as an inspiration to the LGBT community and offer real-life role models.

This multi-generational oral history project, 'Project Bolo', hopes to serve as an inspiration to the LGBT community and reconstruct the unique history and progress of the Indian LGBT movement from the early 40s to the present day. Project Bolo in its first phase Vol 1, carried out during 2010-2011, recorded and documented oral histories of 20 LGBT persons in four cities - Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi and Lucknow : Aditya Bandopadhyay, Ashok Row Kavi, Betu Singh, Bindumadhav Khire, Dalip Daswani, Gauri Sawant, Geeta Khumana, Giti Thadani, Hoshang Merchant, Jehangir Jani, Lachi, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, Manvendra Singh Gohil, Nisha, Parmesh Shahani, R Raj Rao, Ruth Vanita, Saleem Kidwai, Shivananda Khan, Sunil Gupta. Project Bolo is produced by The Humsafar Trust in association with Solaris Pictures and supported by UNDP (India).'

The project has a wonderful website with transcripts and videos of the individuals who took part in phase one of the project.  Check it out here.   The ever brilliant Indian gay magazine, Gaylaxy also includes a piece looking at the project in their latest issue which you can view or download here.  There's also a rather brilliant piece about gay students coming out on college campuses.  Moving stuff.

Guest Post: Coming Out at University

I'm delighted to present another guest post, this time from Verne Lewis who expands on the blog post I previously flagged up.  If you would like to write a guest post for this blog, give me a shout at: chris.ashford@sunderland.ac.uk

I recently wrote a blog post about coming out at university, based on my own experiences. The reason I wrote it was because I think university is a great place to make a fresh start in telling a whole group of new people if you couldn’t find the courage to tell the existing people in your life. I am however completely aware that coming out is personal choice, and the process is completely different for everyone and would like to respond to those who have highlighted this after reading the blog, particularly those who have highlighted that some people choose not to come out at all.

 The problem is, coming out is something we as gay people will have to do for the rest of our lives, if we want someone to know who we really are, because people continue to make assumptions about sexuality and what they consider ‘the norm’. Although most people know about me I still don’t choose to come out to everyone, and often my decision is based on how well I think I’ll end up knowing the person.

 If a shop assistant said something about my 'boyfriend' I'd nod and agree, knowing I'd probably never see them again, and it being easier to agree than to come out to a 16 year old shelf stacker in the middle of the cake aisle at Tesco. But say someone at work asks if I live with my 'boyfriend'? Perhaps it would be easier to say yes, and hope you don't see them too much in the future. But then you might see them again, and again, and then at what point do you say to them 'actually, I made that up, and this is who I really am'.

As non-specific gender terms such as 'partner' become more popular, it is becoming easier not to have to say anything until you're ready, without having to lie, and for that I'm sure many of us are grateful. Unfortunately, a large percentage of people have still not caught on to this.

 I don’t really think it’s an issue about homosexuality being all you’re about, but for someone to completely know you I think it’s important for them to know that part of you. I live with my girlfriend, so obviously it’s a massive part of my life, but even if you’re single I still see it as an important step, not just for others to understand you but also for your own self approval. I’ve known many people who have spent years not telling people, but as they keep it from others it also keep it from themselves, often meaning they live a completely different life just to cover something that they can’t admit. They end up doing things they regret and giving themselves unnecessary stress and upset as a result – keeping something to yourself often turns situations into much bigger problems than they need to be.

 Coming out to yourself is often a long and difficult process, with self-denial a big part of the initial stage, and then once you’ve gone through that you have the rest of the world to come out to for years to come. I completely understand making the choice not to come out to every single person you meet, but I do think it’s important to at least be honest with yourself and those closest to you.

Ricky Martin

The guardian carries an interesting article today with the singer Ricky Martin. A gay celebrity isn't that surprising, but a gay celebrity who is latino is. Read the full interview here.

Anton Hysén

The Guardian today carries a wonderful interview with Anton Hysén - the only professional footballer to be 'out'. More photos are included in the print edition (in the G2 section) with his mum and dad, which do add something to the story. The main picture (also online) left me pondering towels of all things - they do look rather random and manky in the background - I was expecting immaculate towels. This may seem a random observation but it left me wondering where it was shot and whether that was significant. I would expect his club's changing rooms (perhaps wrongly) to be turned out a little differently and thus is the photo a reflection of a lack of club support for this sort of story or what? It's probably my over-active mind but I did wonder if there was another aspect to the story.

The more obvious aspect of this story is the state of homophobia in football. One out footballer is a start but it's absurd to believe that Hysén is the only gay professional footballer. That others have yet to come out, tells us an awful lot about the limitations of the law, and the new protections and freedoms that have been introduced in the last ten years or so.

Read the Guardian story in full here.

Coming Out at Work

The Guardian offers great value today. First off, a piece on 'coming out' at work. The piece links to, and draws upon some interesting research by Stonewall and also recognises the important challenges that remain for people in 'coming out' in the workplace despite recent advances in legislation and legal protection.

The read the article in full here.