Australia - land of the Gay and gay!

First there was this report:

Australia and the USA have the highest proportion of gay men and women in the world, according to the world's largest online sex survey.

Then came this one today:

Australians are the world's top users of the illegal amphetamine ecstasy, a new United Nations report has revealed.

Hmmm ... I'm not drawing any links ;-)

Considering the (albeit waning) popularity of the "faaaabulousss" annual dance parties around the nation, and the oppressive nature of the Howard regime (we can hardly call it a government) is it any wonder that there are a few Aussies (straight and otherwise) that keenly enjoy a bit of regular escapism?

I've always maintained that we should get the world leaders together in a warehouse, among the laser lights and mirror balls, tell them to pop an E and then watch them go to town developing a peace accord! Of course, I just can't bear the thought of what might go in the back room between Howard and Bush!!

See you at Sleaze next week !! ;-)

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LesFest = anti-maleness

I am yet to meet a woman (lesbian, bisexual, trans, or str8) that supports the separatist policies of Lesfest.

Women only spaces are important, just as safe spaces are also required for young people, transgender folk and a whole host of other groups. Even us guys need our own space sometime. I don't think anyone would dispute the need for organisations to provide such a service from time to time and many groups manage to do it regularly without having anti-male policies.

But the silent minority that support Lesfest go too far. They are separatists to the extreme by segregating, ostracising and discriminating against anyone associated with, or having a history of, maleness.

Lesfest frown on bisexual women, make life difficult for women with male children, despise transgender and transsexual folk, and at the end of the day appear no different to any other extremist group that has sought to create a "superior" community.

It has elements of apartheid and Nazism bundled together with a big dose of misandry. It simply turns my stomach.

The Cause of Sexuality

We should be wary about trying to find a "cause" for sexuality, be that homo-, heter-, bi-, or even asexuality!

It is not relevant whether sexuality is genetic, randomly natural, or caused by environmental influences. We simply are!.. and therefore we should be respected and treated equally before the law.

There is a big push from some sectors to try and find the "gay gene". I sincerely hope they do not succeed as it would lead to genetic screening or gene therapy to overcome the "condition". Similarly if it was discovered that another theory, that sexuality was linked with levels of hormones during gestation, held true medical science would step in to provide a preventative measure.

It is a dangerous road to enter this debate, even to try and dispel such arguments is raising the visibility of this spectre.

In this case I suggest that abstinence is _most_ definitely the best policy.

Societal or Legislative Change?

THE FOLLOWING WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN A EMAIL DISCUSSION FORUM AND PICKED UP BY VICTORIA'S "BNEWS" MAGAZINE

CHANGE in societal attitude vs CHANGE in legislation ... the question of the chicken or the egg?


by Collin Mullane

I could write a thesis on the principle of change. It is something we mortals are faced with repetitively and yet most of us cannot easily cope with its process. Many of us despise it, while at the same time desiring its benefits.

The change in attitude we seek from society needs to start with ourselves. Charity (and change) as they say, begins at home.

If the G&L community continues to discriminate, ignore or even ostracise bisexual, transgender, transsexual or intersex people then how is it possible for those groups to gain respect and visibility within the wider society.

I can cite many examples where the G&L community has done the above either accidentally or deliberately. It still does. And it isn't just non-G&L people that get the brunt of the attack. I am floored at the number of times I have heard gay men (some well respected community leaders too) say hateful or disrespectful things about lesbians and vice versa. A few years ago I may have been one of the guilty. Undoubtedly, this attitude is caused by ignorance or insecurity (of what I'm not sure).

The bickering and in-fighting that I have witnessed within the GLBTIQ community in the last 12 months, at least here in WA, is atrocious. The gay vs lesbian debates over the collapse of Mardi Gras (not to mention their anti-bisexual policies) were not pleasant either.

If there is one thing of which I am certain, it is that we do not (and will not) have a "community" until such time as we accept and completely adopt the three principles of diversity, respect and equality.

No exceptions. No Exclusions. No disclaimers.

Any argument against this philosophy is just bigotry in one form or another.

"Change will only occur when the pain of change is less than the pain of staying the same."

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