The next pride parade we’re attending is:   Sydney - Feb. 27, 2010

Sydney 2010 Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras
http://www.mardigras.org.au/

Visiting the 2009 Manila Pride March was a hugely positive experience.  As you can see from the pics, the parade was full of energy and color.  Many thanks to all the members of the Philippines LGBT community who have made the experience so welcoming.

Even before the march, we’d been in contact with several individuals that helped us get connected with the community.  One of these persons was Bruce Portugal Amoroto, a gay activist living in Manila.  Bruce is the President-Coordinator of the Philippine Forum on Sports, Culture, Sexuality and Human Rights (TEAM PILIPINAS), Vice President of the Gay and Lesbian Asia Pacific Sport Association (GLISA Asia Pacific), and a member of the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association (GLISA) International Board of Directors.  And, most recently Bruce has been kind enough to answer some questions I posed him about TEAM PILIPINAS, the “I Am Not Immoral” project, and his thoughts on this year’s pride parade.

The Seal of TEAM PILIPINAS

1.  Can you tell us about Team Pilipinas, and the organizations’ work concerning human rights in the Philippines.

The idea for TEAM PILIPINAS began in 2001 when about 22 Filipinos came together to organize ‘Team Philippines’ for the 2002 Gay Games in Sydney, Australia. I was a member of Team Philippines, a delegate at the Amnesty International Global Human Rights Conference, and the lone Philippine table tennis player for the Sydney 2002 Gay Games. Then in the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago, USA, I took the lead in organizing the Philippine contingent which was named ‘Liga Pilipinas’. I was given a full scholarship for the Chicago Gay Games but the US Embassy here in Manila did not give me a visa despite having been given a Canadian visa for my participation in the 1st World Outgames and for the 1st International LGBT Human Rights Conference both in Montréal. I was part of the 5-member Philippine delegation to the Montréal Outgames and the Conference. During the 2002 and 2006 events as well as in the 2008 1st Asia Pacific Outgames in Melbourne, Australia, the main objective of the group was to promote, organize for and coordinate the participation of Filipino LGBTs in international sporting, cultural and human rights events like the Gay Games, the Outgames, and The Straits Games (TSG). However, in the process of preparing for the 2008 Melbourne Outgames, a need to formalize TEAM PILIPINAS into a non-stock, non-profit organization complete with vision, mission and goals was identified. There was a need to strengthen human rights, diversity, equality and peace through sports, culture and human rights and sexuality advocacy in the Philippines thus in October 2008, Philippine Forum on Sports, Culture, Sexuality and Human Rights Inc, also known as TEAM PILIPINAS, was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a non-stock, non-profit organization.

While Philippine Forum on Sports, Culture, Sexuality and Human Rights (TEAM PILIPINAS) still organizes and coordinates the participation of Filipinos in the Gay Games (Cologne in 2010), the Outgames (2011 Wellington 2^nd Asia Pacific Outgames), and TSG (TSG2010 in Hong Kong), the organization now aims to contribute to social change that is led and participated by young Filipinos from the grassroots who may or may not openly identify as lesbian, gay, bakla, bantut, bayot, bisexual, tomboy, transgender, transsexual, intersex, queer (LGBTIQ) or as another sexual or gender minority (SGM) and this shall be done through human rights and community development work. Through sports and athleticism, Philippine culture and arts, ICT, multimedia culture and traditional media, TEAM PILIPINAS aims to involve young Filipinos in the critical and integrative analyses of ‘human rights’ and ’sexuality’, drawing these from their everyday experiences, concretizing and localizing concepts and principles like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Sexual and Reproductive Rights, and the Yogyakarta Principles as well as collective issues like poverty, development, gender justice, sexual and gender diversity and equality, sexual and reproductive health, globalization, peace, and the environment, all towards the creation of community-owned and community-led action. TEAM PILIPINAS seeks to empower young Filipinos by equipping them with knowledge on human rights and sexuality and with skills on leadership, advocacy and livelihood.

2.  Can you also explain about the “I Am Not Immoral” campaign, and why it was started.

The ‘I AM NOT IMMORAL’ Photo and Video Project of TEAM PILIPINAS which took place on December 5 at G Hotel Manila is a brainchild of indie filmmaker-producer Jethro Patalinghug and renowned fashion photographer Niccolo Cosme and fully supported by social entrepreneur and TEAM PILIPINAS Ambassador Francis Martin Baraan. The Project is partly a response to the Commission on Elections 2nd Division’s recent decision to dismiss the petition of Ladlad LGBT Party to take part in the 2010 National Elections on the alleged grounds that “petitioner tolerates immorality which offends religious beliefs” and that “homosexuals are a threat to the youth.” TEAM PILIPINAS recognizes that there is a global rise in religious fundamentalism and extremism due to the multiple crises humans are faced with however the organization believes that society’s view on LGBTIs and SGMs as being mentally disordered, sinners or immoral people is wrong, oppressive and unjust and that there is a need to raise Filipinos’ and the world’s awareness on these issues and to mobilize public action against discriminatory views. The Photo and Video Project is TEAM PILIPINAS’ attempt at fulfilling those needs. The final output of this project will be released in January 2010.

The ‘I AM NOT IMMORAL’ Photo and Video Project complements the following campaigns and projects of TEAM PILIPINAS:

a.       The I LOVE P.R.I.D.E. / I love Pinoys who Respect Rights, Identity, Diversity & Equality which aims to affirm the universality of human rights and protect the equal human rights of Filipino LGBTIs at the United Nations system. The cause exists to convince the Representative of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations to sign statements that uphold and protect the equal human rights of LGBTIs. This campaign is located at facebook http://www.causes.com/affirmuniversalityofHumanRights and at the petition site http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/affirm-the-universality-of-human-rights-protect-the-equal-human-rights-of-filipinos-regardless-of

b.      VOTE FOR P.R.I.D.E. / Vote for Pinoys who Respect Rights, Identity, Diversity & Equality which aims to support the effort of Lesbian and Gay Legislative Advocacy Network Philippines (LAGABLAB Pilipinas) for the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Bill in both houses of Congress. With the National Elections taking place in May 2010, this campaign highlights the need for legislators and public officials who will champion the equal human rights of Filipinos who are stigmatized, discriminated and abused due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.

c.       The Survey on the Oppression and Violence against Filipino LGBTIs and other SGMs which aims to identify the types and levels of oppression and violence against them. This project goes well with the ‘I AM NOT IMMORAL’ Photo and Video Project as oppression and violence is not just physical but also economic, social, emotional and psychological.

d.      The May 17 International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) Philippine Action to promote and protect diversity and equality through the Manila Diversity & Equality Week Project which will include among others outreach, education and skills building, and popular action and mobilization.

3. What would you say are some of the factors that have influenced you personally in becoming an activist, and one that works to change views and attitudes about the gay community?

I came out of the closet rather late. In 1999, at age 21, while waiting for my graduation march in University of the Philippines, I was surfing online and there I met and had my first boyfriend and first (long distance) relationship with a Republican American who is 30 years older than me.   I suppose I have always had an activist streak and a questioning rebel in me but I only became a ‘hardcore’ activist when in 2000 I got employed first as a research and policy staff and then as a campaign staff at Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) Philippines working on debt, development, socio-economic justice and human rights-related issues. Through FDC, I came to know other justice activists especially human rights activists who also happen to be members of the LGBT community. I was slowly but surely coming out but I became more involved in the cause for equal human rights of LGBTIs and other SGMs through Task Force Pride (TFP) Philippines and Lesbian and Gay Legislative Advocacy Network Philippines (LAGABLAB Pilipinas). TFP is the official annual organizer of the Manila Pride March while LAGABLAB is the network that pushes for the passage of pro-equality legislations in both houses of Congress.

4. How many pride parades have you participated in?

All in all, and if my count is right, I have taken part in 13 Pride Marches. Aside from the recently-concluded 2009 Manila Pride March, I can think of three other memorable pride marches I have been part of. In 2005, instead of organizing the usual Manila Pride March, I and six colleagues and friends coordinated the organizing of the First Manila Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Freedom March to assert the freedoms and rights of all Filipino LGBTs at a time when the Arroyo Administration was faced with a political crisis and the possibility of another martial rule loomed. In 2006 in Montréal, Canada I took part in my first Pride March outside of the Philippines and just last July 2009, as part of the 2^nd World Outgames, I took part in the historic longest Pride March in Copenhagen, Denmark.

5. What were your thoughts on this year’s Manila Pride Parade? And, how did it compare to past parades?

This year’s Manila Pride March was one of the most memorable pride marches I’ve been part of. Last year and for the first time in Manila Pride March history we were picketed by homophobic, bigoted and radical Christians but when they showed up again this year, they added more color and excitement to the March which I think is now the longest and probably the largest we’ve had in Metro Manila. I tremendously enjoyed this year’s Manila Pride March not only because of the radical Christians but also because it was also very timely—the Commission on Elections 2^nd Division’s recent use of immorality in their decision to dismiss the petition of a LGBT party. I felt that suddenly many became activists and actively took part in the March this year because they believed that society’s view of LGBTIs as immoral people is downright wrong, oppressive and unjust. Albeit some organizational issues and concerns, I am still proud to have taken part in this year’s march because there was a strong emphasis on the equal human rights of LGBTs unlike in last year’s where pomp and pageantry totally took over and the march was basically a senseless, meaningless event. Lastly, I am especially proud of TEAM PILIPINAS’ participation because we carried the longest Philippine Rainbow Flag (30 meters long by 2.5 meters wide) in Manila Pride March history and some of those who carried it were heterosexuals and LGBTI-supportive people. The flag we got made is patterned after the logo and colors of TEAM PILIPINAS; it is a celebration of both sexual and gender diversity and equality and of the Filipino spirit. The TEAM PILIPINAS Philippine Rainbow Flag used the common colors of the rainbow—red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet, plus pink and brown. The brown celebrates the Filipino race, the lahing kayumanggi, and the 8 colors equate to the 8 rays of the sun in the Philippine National flag. The Philippine rainbow flag of TEAM PILIPINAS celebrates pride in being LGBTI and pride in being a Filipino.

6. What are your hopes for next year’s march?

My hope for next year’s march is that it will be a march of celebration and jubilation. I may be too confident in saying this but it would be nice if the Anti-Discrimination Bill gets passed into law next year. The ADB has been pending in the Lower House of Congress since 1999 but just recently I was invited to be one of the resource speakers in support of the bill and the main opponent legislator, who is also a Baptist pastor, walked out of the hearing in frustration and now the bill is up for the Technical Working Group phase. If the LGBT community sustains its involvement in the issues of morality and the human rights of LGBTIs (and here is where social networking sites and outreach to LGBTIs from the grassroots are helpful), we might just be able to convince both houses of Congress to approve the bill. And if the May 2010 National Elections becomes a huge success (with poll automation and the electorate voting on the basis of pro-human rights platforms and not on the basis of personality and popularity), we might just see the Anti-Discrimination Bill signed into law before the Manila Pride March in December. That is my hope.

7. What is the main obstacle you’d like to see the Philippines LGBT community overcome in 2010?

Aside from what I have mentioned above, with the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Bill, I would also like to see a Philippine LGBTI community that respects, promotes and protects the equality of all Filipinos regardless of whatever status. The Philippines is a Third World country; many LGBTIs and SGMs are actually living in poverty and this is because the State is not fulfilling its duty to uphold the equality in dignity, rights and freedoms of every Filipino. I would like to see the Philippine LGBTI community recognizing that the call for equality is not limited to sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity or for those who are able to join pride marches but that (the call for) equality is actually more relevant to those whose basic rights and fundamental freedoms are not protected and fulfilled. More than being stigmatized, oppressed and discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, many Filipino LGBTIs and other SGMs struggle daily with poverty—no food on the table, job insecurity, inadequate housing and living conditions, poor health, lack or poor quality of education etc. In addition to these, I would also like to see the Philippine LGBTI community recognizing that, aside from poverty, there are also other systemic and structural issues related to or compounding the stigma, oppression and violence against LGBTIs and they are heteronormativity/heterosexism, patriarchy, religious intolerance and religious fundamentalism, regionalism, and racism. These are the “obstacles” I would like the Philippine LGBTI community to realize and overcome not necessarily in 2010 but in time.

Bruce, second from left, with supporters of TEAM PILIPINAS at the 2009 Manila Pride March

Aside from the facebook group http://groups.to/teampilipinas/ TEAM PILIPINAS also have the following websites

http://diversityandequality.ph

http://teampilipinasorg.multiply.com

Thanks Bruce!!

Check out videos of the Manila Pride March 2009 on the WWPproject’s Youtube playlist!

http://www.youtube.com/theWWPproject

… and share with us any other videos you might have of the parade, we’re happy to add them to the channel.

Just under 4,000 photos were taken by Charles at this year’s Manila Pride March.  Images have already been uploaded to the main website (www.walkwithpridenow.com), and we are working to upload even more onto Flickr.  Expect to a see some additional blog entries about the parade, plus interviews with members in the Philippines’ gay community following within the next few days.

We’d love to see your pictures of the parade as well – if you have photos on Flickr you can share them by adding the WWP project as a friend.  Thanks!    http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkwithpride/

Team Pilipinas at the Manila Pride March, Dec. 5, 2009

On Wednesday night Chad left for Manila.  His leaving didn’t go quite as smoothly as I had hoped.

It was just over a month ago that I booked the flight.  Chad would be leaving Taipei at about 1:30, and arriving in Manila at 3:30 in the afternoon.  I really didn’t give the ticket much thought until this last Wednesday evening when Chad, after a day’s work, decided to confirm the time he’d be flying out the next day.  And then I heard, “Um, is this for 1:30 tomorrow afternoon, or 1:30 tonight?!”

This was a classic “oh shit” moment.  It was a bit frantic, as Chad still had to pack, but luckily all his camera gear was ready.  He took the little mix-up pretty well, but I don’t think he was too pleased to be getting into Manila at 3:30 in the morning.  The good thing is he didn’t miss his flight (phew), and now I will be obsessively double-checking before all future flights to see if they are in 12 hour or 24 hour formats.

While in Manila Chad will be getting a feel for the Malate district.  Chad’s guesthouse is right in the center of the area, about a block away from the parade’s starting point – Remedios Circle.  The parade will be ending in the nearby streets of Maria Orosa St. and Julio Nakpil St., known in the gay community for their lively nightlife.

Over the next few days Chad has plans to meet with some of the figures in the Philippines LGBT community.  This includes Reverend Ceejay Agbayani, the first Filipino clergy of Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) ordained in the Philippines, and head of the march’s parade committee.  With luck, Chad will also have a chance to meet with Bruce Amoroto, a Filipino gay activist and current president-coordinator of TEAM PILIPINAS (Philippine Forum on Sports, Culture, Sexuality, and Human Rights.  Stay tuned as write-ups on the march will be starting next week.

I have been travelling for the last week; Rochester, Toronto and Buffalo.  While in Buffalo I was asked to speak to a Buffalo Gay Men’s Group.  There were perhaps three dozen people in attendance.  While most do not consider themselves activists, they are prominent business owners and professionals from throughout Western New York.  Many of the men I met were charming, engaging and sociable.  But on this all important election eve in November 2009, no one but me seemed to be jonesing for election results!  What could be more important than the vote in Maine on Proposition One?  Or the re-election of Governors that support our rights to Federal Equality?

As it all turned out, Maine continued our nationwide disappointment.  It is one more example of how the Heterosexual majority does not see us as worthy of being married, having financial security or raising a family in America.  What was most astonishing to me is when I expressed my dismay to one of the leaders in the Buffalo Gay community, the unexpected response was, “That’s the problem!  Those FAG-gots want to have it all!”  I thought I had misunderstood the sentiments of my host and I asked him to repeat himself and he did: “Those FAG-gots [and when he used the word, he said it with such vitriol and animosity] they expect to have everything!”

To my thinking, being able to marry the love of my life is not expecting “it all.”  Having the same “freedom” as everyone else is not asking for too much in my estimation.  And “those FAG-gots,” it appears, is ME.  It is WE.  And it is reprehensible that a Gay man of adequate intellect and intelligence should so perfectly mirror the hateful speech one would expect from our enemies.  It is a unique brand of self-loathing that Gay men experience after having a lifetime of discrimination foisted upon them.  To hear the sentiment was disappointing.  Standing before a Gay brother who feels this way about our very being is sad.  I would not want to live in his skin nor walk in his shoes.  I can only imagine the discomfort his own life brings him.

I may be an old man.  I may be even older than my years.  But to my way of thinking there is no way one can tolerate the use of the word “faggot.”  To me it is as ugly as the “N” word.  I have heard that African Americans like to use it amongst themselves as a sort of empowerment.  I don’t buy it.  It is ugly and vile and using hate speech towards your own does everyone a disservice.  It merely perpetuates the humiliation and belittles a groups collective worth.

Neither do I like the use of “queer.”  I am old enough that in literature and speech, queer meant strange.  There is nothing “strange” about being a Gay man.  That I live my life to bring happiness to Mike and to build a nice home for our family in not — “strange.”  To call ourselves strange is wrong.  We may as well call ourselves freaks.  Our enemies and oppressors would like that just as much and using these words gives power to discrimination where it should be banished altogether. 

This is where the generation gap rears its head.  The twenty-something’s of today seem to find “queer” perfectly acceptable if not preferable and I can only hope they will outgrow this notion that self-deprecation equates to power.

The one other takeaway from my time with Buffalo’s Gay community is that divisiveness within the community can act like a poison.  Tensions between the Gay men and the more activist Lesbian community in Buffalo may spell doom to next years Gay Pride Parade in Buffalo and neither side seems willing to work and cooperate with the other in pulling it all together.  This would be a loss that would be felt throughout the region.  With a very long winter still to come to the good folks of Buffalo, I hope they can overcome their divisions and celebrate together come next spring.  Accept that their will be differences but do not turn our backs on our customs or traditions.

Deciding to develop a project that highlights the vibrancy of gay culture, while advancing a positive message concerning rights for homosexuals has prompted many family and friends to raise a few eyebrows. This is especially so as Chad and I acknowledge being a heterosexual couple. However, I don’t think it should.

Initially, for doing this project we were attracted to the colorfulness of many personalities in the gay community, and the festivity of the marches.  Pride parades are some of the most visible representation of gay pride and the beauty of diversity.  We also saw that underneath the pageantry lie some serious issues concerning equality.  As we both firmly believe that the subject concerning rights is not only a gay issue, but a human issue, it makes perfect sense to do this project.

We would like people, no matter their orientation, to similarly see the issues in this light.  In this way, our hope is to encourage even those who may feel at first removed from the topic of gay rights to become more aware, and distressed at the current state of inequality.

Walk with Pride

“Should we go?  Shouldn’t we go??”  These questions were floating in the air as we carefully considered whether or not to attend the 2009 Manila Pride march.

We’ve just begun the mammoth task of trying to organize, find funding, and setup the “Walk with Pride” project, not an easy task.  While Chad has taken part in lengthy photography assignments before, they’ve usually involved staying in one place, so the logistics of planning for 14 months of travel is … hm, what’s the right word, “interesting”.

The number of pride parades held each year is sizeable, with well over 400 large marches held, and parades ranging in size from less than 60 marchers, to the largest in São Paulo, Brazil, with over 3 million people attending the 2009 parade.  Many of the biggest pride celebrations are held in June, as it is principally recognized as Gay Pride month.  Additionally, a lot of the top parades are run during the same weekend, the last in June (June 26-27), which commemorates the Stonewall Riots of 1969.  However, with so many dates a rough itinerary is just beginning to fall in to place.  We’ve decided to officially start the project in May 2010, traveling to Minsk for the second annual Slavic gay pride parade, then moving into Europe during June, with a quick trip to the states for the San Francisco LGBT Pride on the weekend of June 26-27, followed by July and August back in Europe, September still unclear, but October has both the Hong Kong and Osaka parades.  Our rough plan goes on like this until June 2011, until we finally end the project at either the NYC or Washington D.C. pride gatherings.

But, what about this year’s Dec. 5, 2009 Manila Pride march?  Why not unofficially start now, visiting some of the parades that are closest to our base of Taiwan?  The Philippines gay community is supposed to be particularly vibrant, and despite being a predominantly Catholic country, it was Manila where the first ever gay rights parade in Asia was held in 1994.  Similar to others, the original parade date honored the Stonewall Riots, but in 2003 the march was moved from June to December in support of Human Rights month.  Since 1999 the parade has been organized by Task Force Pride a loose network of groups working to promote positive visibility for the gay community.

The decision: We should go

… at least that was our decision.  My work superior felt differently on the matter, so I will most likely be unable to leave the country until May when we officially start.  However, expect to see Chad (the red head with the camera) around Manila as of the 3^rd.  The march’s theme is “We Dare, We Care,” and will commence at 5pm in the lively Malate district.  Chad’s pictures of the march will be posted in the week following the parade, so check them out on the project’s main pride website: www.walkwithpridenow.com , and on our Flickr account.

Wathint abafazi!
Wathint` imbokodo uzo kufa!

Now you have touched the women!
You have struck a rock
 

(You have dislodged a boulder!)
You will be crushed!

The Federation of South African Women (1955)

 sistas in solidarity (SIS) is a working concept that grew out of Thursday’s  roundtable discussion on building solidarity within queer/trans afrikan communities.  (this is a living document). 

It is an intuitive and logical consequence to the big dreams we have for the liberation of ALL Afrikan peoples. It is our contribution to the struggle for Afrikan liberation. We are critically analysing our gaps and internal contradictions.

We are addresssing the intersections of our diversity, sharing resources, and building radical, sustaining and  sustainable coalitions.

It’s significant to note that there were only 3 (bio) brothas in the brainstorming session. And only one was over the age of 4. That would be Chris Harris from BADC. another comrade in the struggle for afrikan liberation, ase. and ase, to all the wo/mynthat came together to build solidarity.

We warn you! we have (not)  only just begun, en these issues are OUR stories…..

 For the next few weeks, we will be (mostly) sistas in solidarity, mobilising resources en working together to do more to support queer/trans activism on the continent. we’re working on our own unity first.

It’s official we’re recruiting. write an op-ed. bring it up wherever en whenever. Do something (more).

We will be talking with you on community radio.Verlia stephens is officially back on air this week en she’ll be telling you more about the bill and proposed actions in her next  show  on “Liming with Verlia in de African Diaspora”.

We will be circulating petitions and requesting folks to sit on advisory commitees.

We will support the implementation of 4 programs, to start….

AO101  workshops,

a womyn’s circle for healing en self recovery,

queer/trans youth arts collective &

queer/trans youth exchange program (Jun-Aug 2010), to be launched in East Afrika,

en spearheaded by The People Project with the collaboration of various Kenyan & Ugandan groups.

(much, much more will be shared in detail on the listserv)

We’re asking for donations of many kinds. 

we will be sending you our wish lists for the GALCK  resource centre

(and) we’ll be checking them twice.     

so check this space (soon).

to give you an idea. we’re looking for donations like books, videos & educational brochures for our library.

Binders, condoms, dams, lube, computers, cameras, printers, scanners, sound recorders, paper, STP’s, blank tapes, a boom & mic, hormones, technical support, volunteers, & MONEY.

we’re going to ship a container back to Kenya, with (some) necessary resources, for these groups in East Afrika.

MWA, TEA, IshtarMSM, Gay Kenya, AfraKenya, SMUG, FARug &  TITs

there are many possibilities to the ways you could support.

(be as creative en as revolushunary as you can, en get back to us with your ideas and suggestions)

We’re recruiting performers for our UNDERGROUND &  BIG LOVE  parties.

we promise a round up of the biggest celebrity talent (from the margins)

we got an after party, and our favourite DJ’s cherry picked alot.

yes. we have our wishlist. we want folks like  Ryan Hinds, Dainty Smith, D’bi Young.AnitAfrika, Amai Kuda,Troy Jackson, Laura Aidanblase,  Stacey Ann Chin, Imani Henry, Hanifah Walidah, Milo de Milo, Suzy Yim, Brescia Birdthroat Bloodbeard, LAL, zaki ibrahim, deb kirk pearce, ryli skelton, tenacious bryan, marie jolie, njeri damali campbell, truthIS …..the list is long.

we want U people

(to)

Book these dates. Nov 21st & Dec 18th.

we’ll be throwing you some (not-so) “UNDER-GROUND”  parties.

For now, we’ll spill jus’ a few juicy secrets. 

On Nov 21st,there will be spoken word/dub poetry, song en dance, en an after party.

There will be be many beautiful  QPOC en a silent auction.

It’ll be the kinda win-win situation we all looking for. come out, en raise money, for a revolushunary cause.

AND we’re looking for sponsors for raffle prizes for December’s   BIG LOVE  party……

the idea is that we get it all from the community, but we’re ready to exploit small en big businesses for our purposes. 

all a dis, en more,  is by, for, en from the community.

we are (the )  GRASSROOTS.

we are the power of (u) people.

We”re looking for other parties to donate part of their proceedings in events over the next 3 months.

would the (not so) usual suspects please stand up?

 Give us your ideas of who else we can get to donate part of their party funds to our cause.

Watch the streets and  join our group on FACE BOOK  for more details.

we need your support to realise our dreams.

Because we’re setting lofty goals, and THIS IS  the revolution.

Thinking global and starting local.

Join us!

  We are doing this not only because we can, but because it is necessary.

 We stand in resistance to all forms of imperialism.

and, to start, we petition the Prime Minister to release an official declaration condemning Bill 18! 

We will launch a queer/trans/pan/Afrikan activists listserv, hosted by Fahamu, that will serve as a forum to connect  Q/tPOC  and, activists of Afrikan descent from the continent en in the diaspora(s).

The official launch for the listserv will be, online, on Friday October 23rd.

And, we’re recruiting people for the cause.

Izwe lethu! I Afrika!

sis

[you tube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BpXhaDXp-c]

s.I.s(ta)

I don’t have a petition (yet) to present you in protest of the anti homosexuality bill, but in the spirit of building solidarity amongst queer/trans communities globally. I offer another presentation to reflect on. the volume on this video is low, and it’s only the first part of a longer panel discussion on global human rights for queers that was held before the Pride parade in June, in Toronto. But the content and message is the point of this blog.

and I offer you only more questions, what do you think the nomination of one of Afrika’s leading queer/trans activists, Victor Mukasa, symbolises for queer/trans activism in East Afrika?

 I’m still developing my critical analysis of the impact of this nomination on the community, I’m still waiting for more. and I’m in a particularly powerful place right now to assess the aftermath and some of the consequences of recognition such as this nomination in particular.

And what I’m interested is deepening that interest that a cross section of people have, and that enduring commitment to workign for queer/trans rights in Afrika. but we need more people, doing more. we need money, we need capacity building in our organisations.

we need to be able to earn a living wage while working. and we need to take care of ourselves. and pay attention to our safety. we need to address the abuse and violence not only from out/side, but most significantly, within our communities.

we need all the programs that folks are working on, with/in the gay and lesbian coalition of kenya (GALCK); ishtar MSM;  gay kenya; transgender education and advocacy;  minority women in action; sexual minorities uganda; freedom and roam uganda; transgender, intersex, transsexual; TALESA, all of these organisations and more…..I mention just the ones I know or have heard most about.

if you think there’s something you can help with, then follow up with whom/ever and whenever you wish. If you’re in Toronto, then I can meet up with you. Yes, I am shamelessy group promoting here, but who betta to do it? I may not have many answers but I’m working on finding them. and there are a few programs I’m working on that I need help with.

I’ve already posted the outline for one of those programs, A0101 workshops.

I am also building the curriculum for a womyn’s circle fo healing and self recovery (a space for afrikan womyn & trans folk to draw on the wealth of indigenous african knowledge to re/learn ways of living sustainably. where we can have a safe space to reclaim our sexuality and gender identity, and commune, reason and teach other)

and when I say I, I mean we, because there are a few of us, and we’re looking for more help.

we are also implementing a queer/trans youth arts collective next year. this will be a series of workshops that will teach media making skills to young people. because we need to take up space and tell our own stories. because we need to re/educate ourselves.

we have set up advisory committees for all 3 of these programs with a max. of 15 people on each of the organising committees. we are still recruiting more (necesssary) people.

and these are just the programs I’m responsible for. there are more activities and programs that we’re working on in MWA.. and there are different programs that all the organisations are working on.

yes, we are recruiting.

get involved.

Global Human Rights For Queers pt 1

So it’s October, and logically, the time for a celebration of Oktoberfest. In my area the best celebrations happen in Kitchener-Waterloo, where the sausages sizzle and the beer flows like, well, beer. I was thinking about it this morning, what a great way to celebrate fall, getting drunk and eating sausages.

And then another thought came into my head, unbidden, as they usually do.

“But what about the Gays? Where do they celebrate Oktoberfest?”

You see, one thing I’ve noticed is that whenever there is a cultural gathering the Gay Contingent (for the sake of brevity I’ll call them the GC from now on) generally try to have a little section of the parade / festival / event / rodeo–whatever, dedicated to them.

I first saw this at a St. Patrick’s Day parade a few years ago. It wasn’t enough to be Irish, but the GC wanted a Queer Irish marching group (“We’re here! We’re Queer! We’re Irish”). I was a little puzzled, becaue the other groups weren’t promoting their sexual orientation while marching, they were promoting their Irishness.

The same kind of thing happened at Caribana this year, when the GC felt that too much attention was being given to the heteros via the graphic depictions of sexual activity exhibited during the parade dances. They did actually want more gay representation. So apparently it wasn’t a festival about being black, or Caribean, or just having fun, it too was about sexual orientation.

I wonder if, at the Pride parade, there was also infighting over whose float exhibited the most “Gay-ness”. Could it be that the lesbians weren’t being gay enough, because they were more like butch lumberjacks? “How can they be gay when they like girls?” is a question I’m sure was pondered in many a secluded drinking hole. I’m sure I’m mistaken in this last supposition, as among themselves, even the GC couldn’t stoop to saying things like “I’m gayer than you are!”

But then why, to return to my original question, had there been no brou-ha-ha over gay recognition at Oktoberfest?

Why had there been no lisping radio interview saying, “Ve are proud to be German Gays, and ve deserve to enjoy the sausage also.”

And then it hit me–Large drunk men in leather booty-shorts with feathered hats, slapping themselves on their legs which were sheathed in long white socks! That is Oktoberfest! The GC could never hope to upstage that! How could they possibly show up there and demand that the organizers provide them a soap box when–well, it would make no difference!

Prosit!!

(And before anyone starts sending me hatemail about being homophobic or German-phobic or any other phobic, don’t bother. My mind goes where it will and sometimes it spills out here in what may possibly be a vain attempt at humour. If you were offended, you probably should have stopped reading after the third paragraph.)

so i’m a day late and many pictures short, but that’s okay. dee and i went to the dallas pride parade yesterday and it was a blast! we planned ahead this time and, while we still learned a lot about how to do it better next time, we got it a lot right.

so, things we learned at Pride:

#1 – be willing to get up in the middle of the night to take your car and park it on the route. this is the key element. we got up at 5am and took the prius down there. even at that crack-ass early hour, we only got a spot because the barriers were already up in some parts and we were able to park in a driveway that was blocked off. O_o all in all, though, SO much better than trying to park elsewhere and having to fight for a standing spot on the street or in a bar balcony. the spot is YOURS and no one can take it, even when you leave to pee.

#2 – make sure your car is easy to climb on! i was able to get on top, but dee couldn’t, and i’m not sure me sitting on top was the best thing either, as part of the roof still hasn’t popped back out. i didn’t know! all my prior cars were okay to sit on!

#3 – either drive elsewhere to get your ice, if you have another car, or get it the night before. we were lucky and got one of the last bags of ice at the kroger. we would have been SOL and had warm beers. YUCK!

#4 – wear sunscreen. i know, duh, and we did. but be sure you get ALL those little spots! i have the funniest looking splotch at my collar bone from where my shirt had a split collar!

and finally, #5 – eat a little before you go and HAVE FUN! we got food in our bellies pretty quickly, but we took off for the strip without it and were a little cranky by the time we had gotten there. it was HOT and we were walking without our sunglasses (#6, make sure you get them out of your car before you park and leave). but we were back on track as soon as we got into Hunky’s.

so, long story short, we had a blast and we’re going to do it bigger and better next year. i can’t wait!

The decision to call off the Belgrade Pride Parade represents a serious set-back for the liberal sector in Serbia and a significant victory for the darkest nationalist forces.

Only once has a LGTB Pride Parade been organized in Serbia, in 2001. The Milosevic regime had been overthrown some months earlier, in October 2000, and, led by Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, Serbia seemed to be experiencing, for the first time, an environment allowing the full expression of the liberal ambitions of one part of its society. The Parade was violently disrupted by extreme right youth groups, led by the clero-fascist organization Obraz. The violent attack and the failure of the state to garantee the security of the event, held only two days after Milosevic’s deportation to the Hague, revealed the height of the challenges that those committed into building a civic society in Serbia would have to face. It didn’t take long until hope in positive change started to be replaced by increasing scepticism.

For the LGTB community, the event highlighted the need to return to the semi-clandesitne status in which it had previously been living. To say semi-clandestine statues when refering to Serbia’s gays and lesbians is to mention only the small minority of gays and lesbians organized in NGO’s or informal associations. For most, being homosexual means to live in total clandestinity, hiding and denying one’s identity even from the closest friends, not to mention the family, and in the case of many men, to make a serious effort to look as macho as possible. Homophobia in Serbia is so widespread and homophobes feel so free to express their contempt towards those who don’t share their brutish way of being men that it is very frequent for heterossexual young men to be harrassed for not looking macho enough (this is not to say that all homophobes are men, but usually physical assaults are perpretrated by men). It’s also quite common to find civic-minded individuals being labeled as gay or lesbians as an attempt to discredit them, independently of their real sexual orientation.

Many people (and here I am not restricting myself to Serbia, but speaking generally) tend to dismiss the importance of Pride Parades, viewing them basically as gatherings of excentric people and even qualifying the participants as ‘freaks’ and exhibitionists. But the fact that such events get sucessfully organized all over the developed world reveals the level of adheasion towards the idea of tolerance and civic values more generally, and the fact that such events have been attracting an increasing number of participants, to the point that in some cities they are becoming valuable touristic attractions, reveals not only the level of tolerance, but above all, an important shift in mentalities in which differences no longer bother ‘normal’ people. Usually led and organized by LGTB activists as a way to claim their right to be different, the sucess of such events gives a clear signal to all homossexuals about their status in society, thus allowing them to claim also the right to indifference, meaning not only the right to be tolerated but the duty of society not to act in a discriminatory way.

Thus, Pride Parades and similar are nowadays a valuable measure of the level of autenticity of a given society towards civic values and a very important contribution to reinforce the freedom of expression of each of us, independently of our sexual orientation and of how we wish our sexual orientation to be known by others. This is a recent development, which has taken momentum in the last two decades. Since 2001, Serbia has been lagging behind, while in most european countries we have been witnessing the increasing recognition of equal rights for homossexuals.

The victory of the pro-european option in the elections in May 2008 provided a new opportunity for the civic sector to advance their causes. I had the opportunity to spend time in Belgrade last year in three different moments (February, July and September-October) and could observe how the political environment changed in a positive way once the new government was formed, but also how the reactionary nationalist forces were realigning themselves to face an unfavorable environment.

Clearly, it was in the interest of the government to project the image of positive change in Serbia. As I was told by a member of the NGO Youth Initiative for Human Rights while conducting a research on extreme right youth groups, everytime they thought of organizing any event, they had to bear in mind that there was a chance that it would be disrupted by extremists, but since the current government took office, the attitude of the authorities had changed completely, with real measures being taken to guarantee the security of such events.

The same message was given to LGTB activists, and, while homophobic incidents continued to be frequent, the approval, last March, of a law on non-discrimination which prohibited discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity gave strenght to the idea that Serbia was on the right track. Approved in face of strong opposition of the Serbian ortodox Church and other religious organizations, which unsuccessfully lobbied to have any mention to sexual orientation withdrawn, this law was crutial to meet the requirements of the European Union in order to fulfill the government goal of EU integration. This is a very relevant point. If Serbian citizens have been granted a Visa-free regime, it is, among other things, because the state committed itself to the fight against sexual discrimination. Minority rights don’t benefit only the minorities, they benefit society as a whole, including the sectors that oppose such rights.

During the last two weeks, I had been waiting with excitment for this event to happen. Everyday, Sladjana, my Serbian colleague, and I would engage in discussions about the importance of the Parade for Serbia’s european ambitions. Last week, a series of personalities had publicly given their support to the Pride Parade, and the serbian Ombudsmen declared he would be personally attending the event. While not openly supporting the Parade, the government declared, last Friday, “that state authorities should ensure the free expression of equality and diversity“, and President Boris Tadic reinforced this statement by saying that “the state will do everything to protect all its citizens regardless of their religious, sexual or political affiliation“.

Despite such statements, yesterday the government tried to relocate the Parade, due to be held today at the centre of Belgrade, to the area of Usce, on the periphery of the city, considering that it didn’t have the means to guarantee security otherwise. The organization refused this and instead preferred to cancel the Parade. Apparently, the government failed to grasp the meaning of relocating the Parade from the centre to the periphery of Belgrade. If the Parade aims to fight the marginalization to which the LGTB community is relegated, to have it on the periphery of Belgrade would completely undermine its goal.

The way the government in the end widrew its support reveals its essencial weakness and is paradigmatic of the commitment of the pro-european government towards the civic values that form the core of the european integration project.

The threat to disrupt the Pride parade had been publicly stated by the leaders of extremist groups like Obraz and ‘1389′. As one of  ‘1389′ leaders, Misa Vasic, declared to Osservatorio sui Balcani, “We all will be there, us, other patriotic movements like Obraz, the Red Star ‘Delije’, the Partizan ‘Grobari’, even the supporters of the smallest teams in the city (…) We’ll make a front of the ’sane and normal’ decided to stop the gay parade in Serbia“.  Belgrade’s walls were covered by graffittis and posters with threatening messages such as ‘cekamo vas’ (we are waiting for you).(Photo: Blic)

The extremist are not completely dumb and know, unlike the Serbian government that deterrence lies upon the credibility of the will to use force. So, to make sure the message was heard, nothing better than a ’small’ demonstration. Thus, last Thursday, a group of French supporters of the football club Toulouse were violently attacked by a group of hooligans supporters of Partizan. One of the victims, 28 year old Brice Taton, was seriously wounded and is in critical condition.

The failure of the police to garantee security in the Pride Parade would undoubtedly represent a serious blow in Serbia’s image, and it was better to recognize the state’s powerlessness upon such a threat than to allow violence to happen and people to get injured or killed. But the question is, why preventive measures were not taken?

Furthermore, why is it that a democratic government does not take measures against individuals, groups and organizations that openly threaten to use violence? B92 reports today that calls reemerge for banning extremist organizations, including by Belgrade’s mayor Dragan Djilas. But why haven’t these organizations been banned already?

If Serbia’s pro-european government is to take a meaningful lesson from this episode is that Serbia cannot progress into the european path as long it doesn’t tackle the roots of intolerance, and that means openly adressing and refuting the heavy legacy of nationalism upon which these groups build their strenght.

UPDATE: 28 year old french citizen Brice Taton died today from his injuries.

All right, as the weekend is getting closer and closer I get more and more nervous. Why you might ask? Hmm, well, Belgrade is getting ready to hold its very first pride parade this Sunday. O.K., technically, its second, but since the first one went so horribly wrong back in 2001 and hopefully without being disrespectful to the people who got hurt during that awful day I’m gonna call this one Serbia’s first.  

I have rather mixed emotions when it comes to the whole thing. As a gay man I support everything that has to do with gay rights/freedom/the fight against any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation. Serbia may not be my home country but I’ve lived here long enough and I can definitely sympathize with what gay men and women have to go through every day.  Granted, it could be worse, really worse but then again, Serbia is a european country and as such it should be a state where all its citizens are free to live as they wish while they enjoy the same rights and benefits under laws  that apply to all. In this context, yeah, I’m all for this pride parade and I feel encouraged by the fact that the government and the police have pledged their support and they are doing they’re best to help organize a safe and secure pride event. And to be honest, they’re facing a task which is both unpopular and tricky at the very best.

Why am I saying that? Hmm,’cause safe and secure seem to be the two most important words that come to my mind every time the pride parade is mentioned on TV.  I don’t really think people in  Serbia are exactly gay friendly. On the contrary. I wouldn’t expect them to be anyway and I am even tempted to find some good excuses for that.  Homosexuality has been treated as a psychiatric disease over here for so long and the Orthodox Church still treats it as an abomination and awful sin it’s no wonder every day people have such a negative view on it.  I’ve heard even funnier excuses and explanations why people are against homosexuals over the years. I try not to take them personally even though there were times I felt offended at the very least. Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion and I cannot expect people to change in one day (it would be nice though!). 

What worries me is the fact that men over here can turn really violent. I don’t know whether it’s a mentality thing or a sad result of what they’ve been through the past decade or so but whatever the reason, physical violence seems to be  part of everyday life. I’m not on a mission to badmouth Serbian men over here. Don’t get me wrong. There are so many good things to be told about them. No one is perfect after all.

Anyhow, my point is that guys over here when provoked will react pretty rough. And they might even get physical. I’ve heard somewhere football fans have started getting organized to hold their own anti pride parade in Belgrade the very same day.  Need I say more? Football fans seem to be the same all around the world with minor differences.  I expect people from other anti-gay, anti-pride organisations will join them in their rally this Sunday. It’s gonna be awkward and tense this Sunday. And my fear is it’s gonna turn violent and dirty as well.

It seems I’m not the only one who thinks so. Most newspapers and TV stations seem to agree.  This pride parade on Sunday is risky at the very best. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone gets beaten up or something equally awful happens.

I’m fresh out of surgery right now so I’m not even considering taking part. I don’t think I could manage the whole walking and standing thing. I’d rather follow it from the comfort of my home. It’s a pity though, ’cause otherwise I’d like to be present on the spot when it all happens, if nothing else but to show my support for those brave men and women. After all, I might have a Serbian partner one day, who knows?

One can’t stop hoping for the best, right?  I’m still hopeful everything will turn out better than expected and no major mishaps will take place during the whole parade thing. After all, Serbia deserves it. In the meantime, I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

This year’s Pride Parade in Budapest was calm and rather boring, as fewer people showed up compared to the previous year. Indeed, Pride Parade 2008 was rather violent with neo-nazis and average observers, apparently homophobes, throwing eggs, tomatoes and bottles into the participants of Pride Parade 2008.

Pride Parade.
Columbia SC
September 12, 2009

LGBTory Members before the Parade

This weekend saw another first for David Cameron’s modern Conservatives.  LGBTory, the Conservative Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans group, for the second year running took part in the celebrations of Manchester Pride – Manchester’s annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) festival, held over the August bank holiday weekend.  Not only did they have a stall throughout the whole of the Pride ‘Big Weekend’, the group also walked in the parade, with the now familiar rainbow tree logo and the slogan “Conservative and Proud”.  These efforts were to showcase the Conservatives as a Party interested in LGBT issues and in putting an end to homophobia and promoting equal rights for all, no matter what their sexual or gender identity.

The weekend was a tremendous success.  We had an excellent team in the parade and had loads of fun doing it.  We were flying the flag for the Conservatives and had lots of attention from the many thousands of people who lined the parade route through the city.

 Last year we had a stall at Manchester Pride for the first time ever and we built on that success this year with our presence in the parade too.  On the stall, we had a great deal of interest in both LGBTory and the Conservatives generally.  People were positive about us being there and were very happy to see us.

LGBTory stall at Manchester Pride

The successful Pride attendance follows news that a gay event is to be held at the party’s annual conference next month.  Conference Pride will be held at Spirit Bar in the heart of Manchester’s gay village on Tuesday October 6th.  Guests will include shadow equalities minister Theresa May, Conservative Party vice chair Margot James, Shadow Environment Secretary Nick Herbert, Chief Cxecutive of Stonewall Ben Summerskill and political blogger Iain Dale.

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“How many do you think we are?”, asked Anand Grover pointing out to the huge procession at the pride parade yesterday (16th August 09) as they started marching from August Kranti Maidan in Nana Chowk taking the road to Mumbai’s Chowpatty beach. Grover , by the way, is the one who heads Lawyers Collective and is the brain behind the Delhi High Court victory.

“I heard the police say in his wireless 500 people of which he said 100 belong to the tritya jaati ( third sex)”, I told Anand.

“500? No way just look properly.. may be 5000”, said Grover, looking distinctly pleased. And then I looked again properly, and realized that it could not be just 500. The riot of colours, placards and slogans were stretching at least half a km long.

And I had to revise my earlier estimates of 500. In my reckoning may be around two thousand.

And that’s huge. Never mind the muggy sweltery weather… Never mind the swine flue scare, never mind that it was a extended holiday, never mind that Central/Harbour Railway services had virtually shut down and were not moving an inch beyond Wadala and Dadar… both the places pretty far off from the parade venue. Never mind that many from Pune did not come because of the swine flue problem..

The weather was LOUSY. Yet, the hot and muggy weather did not stop the LGBT and their well wishers in Mumbai taking to street on Aug 16. They turned out in huge numbers. There were celebrities like Celina Jaitely, Alaque Padamsee, Model Carol Gracias, Professor Nandini Sardesai ( Rajdeep Sardesai’s mother)… There were many more. It was heartening to see so many non LGBT persons come out in support of the community. Celina came pretty late, some 45 minutes past 3 pm, when the procession was supposed to start at 3 pm. But she did make up for it… and gave a nice speech asking gays to march ahead and that she would be there for the LGBT community now and for ever. Right to the end till the procession reached Chowpatty, Celina danced , cheered and turned out to be a show stopper

The LGBT leaders too were out in full force. Ashok Rao Kavi, Prince Manvendra, Vikram Doctor, Dee, Swapan, Dibs –and all leading lights of Gaybombay, Vivek Anand and Nitin Karani of Humsafar, Anand Grover, Laxmi Tripathi… the list is indeed long.

So what did I see? Umm lots of plunging necklines ( as you can see In some of the pictures.. and no I am not a closeted heterosexual or bisexual), wigs and plumes and feathers of all shape, size and colour, colorful masks, hundreds of placards that had very creative slogans which would have made a copywriter proud. Those who participated had adorned themselves in all kinds of clothes.. from traditional Indian clothes to use of saplings and tree branches covering the body parts strategically. Fashion designers must have really worked hard for this parade because some of the dresses on display were the ones that you could only see on the ramp… and may be you and me would not have the courage to wear it outside… but people did and boy they carried it off with a panache!

And oh yes, the dance and merry making.. the loud beat of the drums and the swirling figures breaking into impromptu dance every few minutes .. with gay abandon.. it was proof enough to believe that the gay community is indeed happy and gay or may be vice versa. Even one good looking constable (oh well good looking for me at least) who was trying to guide the procession was breaking into a smile every few minutes even though his boss was yelling at him in Marathi and instructing him not to let the procession stop on the way. “I am not going to allow this procession next year if you guys stop every few minutes and start dancing”, the senior Inspector scowled in Marathi at me and Anand Grover . But, really who cared? It was our day.. the first pride parade in India after we were declared “legal”.. oh ok, the love making was declared legal if it was kept private and between two consenting adults by the Delhi High Court in July 09.

One look at the crowd and it was as if hundreds of rainbows had come together. The composition of the crowd was a mini India . And yes, class, creed , colour and religion took a back seat. The divide between the so called upper class gays and the so called lower class kothis melted in a show of solidarity.

For me the best part was towards the end.. when the procession had reached the shores of Chowpatty beach. The gentle waves of Arabian Sea seem to just amble up to the shore. In stark contrast, a few hundred meters from the beach was not so gentle, almost feverish dance going on.. a huge group of Karagattam transgender from Tamil Nadu were performing to beat of traditional music (Karagattam is a traditional folk dance performed in Mariamman (Devi) Temples of Tamil Nadu). Never mind the low-end garish make up, or their false braids.. the enthusiasm with which they danced to the ebb and flow of drums and nads, vowed the small crowd and made me believe that we can look forward to a better LGBT world because there are thousands out there who live for us and are willing to tell the world.. openly, defiantly and proudly… that we LGBT are as much human as the rest. ( see the last video.. I hope you like it as much I did).

Regards
Ketan
Moderator

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In their rush to demonize the Jewish state, gay protesters have turned on their only friend in the Middle East

By Gil Troy, The Montreal Gazette, Saturday, August 15, 2009
 

CREDIT: DAVID SILVERMAN, GETTY IMAGES An Israeli lesbian couple kisses during a Gay Pride rally in Jerusalem. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where homosexuals – both men and women – enjoy any kind of freedom or rights.

Some participants in tomorrow’s 2009 Montreal LGBTA Gay Pride parade will be wearing black in memory of Liz Trobishi, 17, and Nir Katz, 26, two Israelis murdered at a Tel Aviv counselling centre for gay teens on Aug. 1. In expressing their outrage, these marchers will join millions of Israelis, left and right, religious and non-religious, who have denounced this crime. Unfortunately, the killer is still at large, despite a massive manhunt.

Among other solidarity gestures, Israel’s President Shimon Peres led 20,000 mourners in a public rally in memory of the youths and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the small club to pay respects.

This national outpouring mocks the sorry spectacle that marred Pride Week in Toronto in late June, when 180 protestors from Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) marched in an attempt to “reignite Toronto’s queer community in the fight against apartheid,” which is the latest trendy accusation against Israel.

Calling yourself Queers Against Israeli Apartheid defies logic, perverts history, and distorts priorities. It reflects such hatred against Israel that maligning Zionism overrides all other causes, including gay liberation; it eclipses all identities including one’s sexual identity.

The dirty little secret QuAIA must suppress is that Israel is the safest refuge in the Middle East for persecuted homosexuals, including Palestinians. Every year, Israel’s government actually grants some gay Palestinians legal residency to avoid Palestinian homophobic oppression. Israel is one of the few Middle Eastern countries to repeal its anti-sodomy law – from British Mandate days. Israel’s Equal Employment Opportunity Act now prohibits discrimination against employees based on their sexual orientation or marital status. Israel has even banned discrimination in its army.

Israel’s tolerant, celebratory, live-and-let live, Mediterranean spirit, especially in Tel Aviv, disproves the caricature of the Jewish state as a dour, embattled garrison state or theocracy. Openly gay Israelis serve in parliament, others are popular celebrities. Out Magazine has deemed Tel Aviv “the gay capital of the Middle East.”

By contrast, throughout the Arab and Muslim world, including the Palestinian territories, gays are hunted down, blackmailed, imprisoned, tortured, and occasionally executed. Gay Palestinians are often treated as collaborators and have been maltreated in the most brutal ways.

Nearly two years ago, in September 2007, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad created a stir when, during a visit to Columbia University in New York, he said, “We don’t have homosexuals, like in your country.” Of course, gays found in Iran have been beaten badly – and face the death penalty. Ironically, Ahmadinejad’s calls to wipe out Israel – and the United States – did not offend as many people as his homophobia did, just as there are many more protests worldwide against Israel’s actions to defend itself than Ahmadinejad’s efforts to oppress his own people.

In addition to ignoring Israeli tolerance and Arab oppression, the QuAIA activists sloppily compare the national conflict between Israelis and Palestinians with the racial oppression South Africa’s blacks and “coloureds” once endured. The apartheid regime systematically discriminated based on people’s skin colour.

There are dark Israelis and light-skinned Palestinians. No Israeli law discriminates against race while many laws and strictures prohibit racism. Transplanting the term “apartheid” from the South African context into the Middle East distorts history and simply tries to libel Israel by positing a false parallel with one of the most heinous regimes of the 20th century.

Finally, these anti-Israel activists have an odd calculus for determining their priorities. Defining their gay activism and identity through the prism of fighting Israel distorts realities. It exaggerates Palestinian suffering, treating it as the most pressing human rights issue today, despite Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s recent declaration – “In the West Bank we have a good reality … the people are living a normal life” – and despite the economic boom Palestinians are experiencing in Jenin and Jericho, in Ramallah and Nablus. It invites the kind of side show the Queer Against Israel Apartheid activists created at Toronto’s Pride parade, and undermines their credibility as gay activists and as anti-Israel activists.

Alas, this is a sad but increasingly typical story. We see feminists overlooking Muslim and Arab sexism, as well as Israeli tolerance, in their zeal to bash Israel. We see academics overriding their primary professional obligation to tell the truth and acknowledge the world’s complexity in their rush to caricature Israel.

When gay activists, feminists, academics, and others violate their core identities and defining values to malign Israel, they indict only themselves. Israel is not perfect, as demonstrated by the violence in the teen counselling centre. Still, sacrificing integrity and credibility to demonize a democracy is an irrational act of bad faith. Anyone who ignored a commitment to human rights to bash gays would be called homophobic. Why are we afraid to label those who demonstrate such hatred for the Jewish state, anti-Semitic?

Gil Troy is a professor of history at McGill University.

I went to the Vancouver Pride Parade this past Sunday and I finally got around to uploading some of the photos.

This is probably my favorite photo of the batch:

He had to have been the best float performer I have ever witnessed.  He was so energetic and kept the crowd going.  What a star that man is.

A sneak shot of an adorable girl on her papi’s shoulders while the floats were passing by.

The marching crowd following the final float to sunset beach for the afterparty.

Booths, beer garden, stage performances and crowds at sunset beach.

It was my first time going and I loved it.  The floats were so much fun and I loved that so many diverse people went from seniors, to children to punk rock kids.  We ended the day by taking the ferry to Granville Island and went into the most amazingly charming hat shop, there was an adorable bowler hat that I wanted but was far from my price range at this non-existent income state.  I have always found them so sexy but it probably comes from the  romantization that associates itself with Sabrina from “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” by Milan Kundera.  Which reminds me, I should really see that movie sometime.

]]> http://daniellegruenphotography.com/2009/06/14/gaypride-parade-l-a/ Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:06:39 +0000 daniellegruenphotography http://daniellegruenphotography.com/2009/06/14/gaypride-parade-l-a/

Photographer Danielle Gruen works the gay pride parade running around taking pictures as usual.  A huge event, great energy, and lots of people made for some fantastic shots.