More to Me Than HIV

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More to Me Than HIV

First published in Gscene July 2020 For last years World AIDS Day I put together a public project of work joining other people living with an HIV+ diagnoses at Jubilee library.For last years World AIDS Day I put together a public project of work joining other people living with an HIV+ diagnoses at Jubilee library. For the project I spoke openly about my journey having being           Read more

More to Me Than HIV: GScene post Aug 2020

More to Me Than HIV is a project that aims to breakdown the stigma that has historically been attached to this virus.  When I saw my piece in last months Gscene to promote the More to Me Than HIV project, I was extremely proud, but a small part of me was filled with anxiety; but why should I feel this way? I have been on effective antiretroviral therapy since the Read more

More to Me Than HIV: first published in GScene July 2020

For last years World AIDS Day I put together a public project of work joining other people living with an HIV+ diagnoses at Jubilee library. For the project I spoke openly about my journey having being             diagnosed HIV+ 32 years previous. Back then there was no treatment and a lot of fear and misinformation concerning how HIV was transmitted. As such stigma was rife, Read more

LGBT

Love your Library

For many people who have not visited their local library for a long time, they may still have memories of places steeped in silence that should it be broken a stern librarian, wearing tweed and half rimmed glasses dishes out a severe, “SSSHHH!”th

 

 

 

 

The truth is many libraries are now far removed from this past image, anyone who visits Jubilee Library, Brighton (just up from the road from the Dome) will quickly realise just how much things have changed.

The award winning building, was built with energy efficiency in mind. As well as the building itself, Jubilee library’s collection of books are also diverse; from their rare books to the wide range of fiction and non fiction collections. You will find everything there from Africa, Animals, Anne Boleyn to Zombies, Zorro, to Zadie Smith.

As well as the physical books, there are also plenty of online material to get stuck into. All you need to do is to become a library member, which is free and then log into the Brighton and Hove Library website to have a plethora of information at your finger tips. What is your interest, newspapers, magazines, biographies, career help, Which magazine, (in libraries only), UK citizenship information, Academic research, it is all there waiting for you to discover it.
Fan of the graphic novel? not only is there a large collection of all your favourites along with a few hidden gems at Jubilee and Hove Library, but there are literally thousands of  comics and graphic novesl to download for free on to your device for you to view 24/7.

Libraries are all about diversity, In a town like Brighton, it would have been expected that such books would have always been on offer to the public, but it has only been in the last six years that this collection has . Of course, there have been LGBT themed novels available on the shelf, with the likes of Lesbian/gay classics, Radcliffe Hall’s Well of Loneliness and E.M. Forster’s Maurice, but now there are now a wide range of fiction, non fiction and a great collection of DVD’s aimed at the wide range of personalities that make up the LGBT communityth

There had been a consultation on whether in the 21 century if such book should just be absorbed within the libraries collection. I personally feel, that although we are living in a very forward thinking city, there is still a need for a dedicated LGBT collection that can be accessed easily.

In our city of Brighton it may be too easy to think that those within the LGBT community live their lives as if every day was a Pride celebration, but the fact is any one of us will at some point have to face up to any number of obstacles that can have an effect on our mental or physical health. Again, Jubilee and Hove Library, along with smaller collections in the branch libraries, have a fantastic collection of books shelved under, Books On Prescription.

th-3Books On Prescription are a carefully selected set of books, covering a wide range of health topics, including: anxiety, depression, phobias, eating/drinking/smoking addictions, sleep problems, dementia, that you can either access via the library or have recommended to you by your GP.
I’m guessing for those who have not been to their local library, be it Jubilee, Hove, Coldean, Hangleton, Hollingbury, Mile Oak, Moulscoomb, Patcham, Portslade, Rottingdean, Westdean Saltdean, Woodingdean and Whitehawk.

In a time when Libraries are closing across the country, Brighton and hove libraries are going from strength to strength, so go on, do yourself a favour and pop into your local library today to see what’s on offer.

Posted on by admin in Brighton, Brighton & Hove, Brighton and Hove Libraries, Gay, QueenSpark Books Leave a comment

Countdown to Brighton LGBT Pride.

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In just over a month’s time, Brighton will be awash with people from all over the LGBT community, celebrating what is set to be a fantastic LGBT Pride. With this year’s theme, Gay Icons, expect the parade to be filled with troupes of’ Marilyn’s; both seven year itch and 80’s icon variety, along with a few Madonna’s, Divines, and a smattering of Diana’s; Dors, Rigg, Princes.   

 

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The Long Winding Equality Road to Same Sex Marriage and Beyond.

Equal Marriage Bill On 27 July 1967, a bill was passed in the House of Commons, legalizing homosexuality between two men, over the age of 21, in private, with the proviso that when in public, homosexual men should:

“Show their thanks by comporting themselves quietly and with dignity… any form of ostentatious behavior now or in the future or any form of public flaunting would be utterly distasteful… [And] make the sponsors of this bill regret that they had done what they had done” (Lord Arran)

Although the bill was greatly received by gay men in the UK, the fact that the age of consent  was unequal to their heterosexual counterparts, gay men still encountered discrimination from their family,  in the work place and on the streets if they were identified as being gay.  

Since then, the road to equality has been long and slow but over the last few decades positive changes in the law have been made: from homosexuality no longer  being classed as a mental illness, (May 1990), civil partnerships rights for gay men and lesbians (December 2005),  same-sex couples given same adoption rights as heterosexuals, (June 2005), and most recently  the passing of the equal age of consent, act to 16 for homosexual and heterosexuals  (June 2008). Read more

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Equality Tidal Wave

Zachary QuintoA couple of weeks ago, I found myself watching the Jonathan Ross show, (not a regular habit as I find Ross’ style of interviewing a bit crass and a very self-absorbed). However, on this occasions I was pleasantly surprised to listen to the actor Zachary Quinto, (Star Trek, Heroes, American Horror Story) talking about being a successful actor in Hollywood, while being open and proud about being a gay man. Quinto spoke most eloquently about his need to come out two years ago, after hearing about a rash of young American teenagers had committed suicide because they were bullied for being gay. Read more

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Role Models & The New Normal….

For all of us, when growing up, regardless of our sexuality, we seek role models in a variety of ways, the most obvious place to start is with our parents or guardians and then our wider family and the friends we choose to be with. Beyond that we turn to the media, be it famous people in magazines pop stars or actors and personalities on the television, or world leaders, people in power….personally, with very few gay role models around when I was growing up, I settled on Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones as my perfect male icon.

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Thankfully, television and those that make the programs happen, have been more willing to embrace peoples differences; admittedly it has taken years, but at least this media is moving in the right direction.     Read more

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Right-wing Group One Million Moms Hate Campaign on Graphic Novels Backfires

There’s a gay hate group in America, dressed up with the rather fluffy name, One Million Moms. OMM is a right wing group in America whose main objective is to stir up fear and hatred about homosexuality. Their latest target is Marvel and DC comics who are both introducing positive storylines involving major characters. OMM main bone of contention runs along the line that with the upcoming copy of Marvel’s comics, Astonishing X-Men #50 there long running male characters, Northstar and Kyle are getting married in New York.

 

A quick peek at OMM website has lines like: “Can you imagine little boys saying, “I want a boyfriend or husband like X-Men?” To the Moms who subscribe to this group, such statements read, “When I grow up I want to be Satan.” Such thinking has a very good chance of their children either growing up afraid to come to their parents or leading to them having an inbuilthatred of all things homosexual.

 

On the flipside to these vile women spouting bile about homosexuality in graphic novels, has led to a huge interest in comics that have a positive gay storyline; a point that was picked up by bleedingcool.com. OMM turned their attention to mainstay comic Life with Archie. In copy number 18, the front-page splash was dedicated to the marriage of Kevin Keller to his long-term boyfriend. Before OMM got involved the comic was selling for $4.00. But once OMM got involved and the national press took up the storyline, instead of a mass outcry and people taking to the streets to burn copies of Life with Archie, the sales of the magazine sold out in shops and copies have been selling on EBay for $50.00. There has even been suggestion this price could increase to $100.00 as demands for this particular issue increases.

 

On the grand scale of things such actions may not seem hugely significant, but they are important in helping shift people’s attitudes from the ground up and more importantly it gives a positive message to people of all ages that being gay is not a sin.  Most recently Barack Obama has once again made clear his pledge for LGBT people, to not have more rights or better rights then anyone else but to have equal rights, which includes the right to get married to the person you love regardless of their sexuality.

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Church of the Poisoned Mind

Throughout the 1980’s schools were gagged from talking about homosexuality by the Conservative Government’s hated Clause 28. Fast forward to what many of us would like to think are enlightened times, with Clause 28 consigned to the history books and our knowledge of how HIV can be prevented through education and safer sex. David Cameron has apologised for the way the conservatives dealt with these issues in the past and now schools are legally obliged to condemn discrimination on the grounds of sexual-orientation, although there is still a long way to go with many schools not discussing enough but the issues of safer sex. However, last year Pope Benedict XVI has pulled off his blinkers to the AIDS crises and said that in exceptional circumstances, (male prostitutes ) condoms can be used. Hearing these things from such high power, one could almost believe things are getting better, but a report in the news recently has shown there are still those intent on peddling untruths and causing as much damage as they can with views on homosexuality. Last week it was reported that a US preacher has visited Catholic schools and peddling outdated hatred by distributing a booklet called: Pure Manhood: How to become the man God wants you to be. Within the pages the booklet suggest that feeling of homosexuality is a disorder against Gods wishes and that homosexual feelings in adolescence men may be a reaction to an unhealthy relationship with the young person’s father, an inability to relate to other young men, or even sexual abuse. The book goes on to say that “scientifically speaking, safe sex is a joke”. Returning to Cameron and his rousing words at the time of the last election promising that his government would be a fairer, inclusive Britain; it would be hoped that he would step up to the plate and condemn these preacher’s words and ban him from peddling such hatred in schools. After all, we have seen just how fiercely he has come down on other preachers who peddle hatred with the likes of Abu Qatada under house arrest with the backroom boys working day and night to have him extradited. But unsurprisingly Cameron’s government have proven they are as eager as ever to continue discriminating as they have always done with education secretary Michael Gove saying, “The education provisions of the Equality Act 2010 which prohibit discrimination against individuals based on their protected characteristics (including their sexual orientation) do not extend to the content of the curriculum. Any materials used in sex and relationship education lessons, therefore, will not be subject to the discrimination provisions of the act.” A further statement from the Department for Education added, “Any school engaging in the promotion of homophobic material would be acting unlawfully.” But the row highlights a grey area over the teaching of sex education. A review intended to offer new guidelines on what was right for schools to teach was kicked into the long grass when the last election was called.” This in other words translates that the government don’t see this as a vote winner and hope that the issue will get pushed aside, even though chief executive Ben Summerskill has said, “It would certainly be helpful if there was clarity as to what is appropriate for young people of all ages, the water could no longer be muddied by people pushing age-inappropriate sex material on the one hand and fundamentalist anti-gay religious materials on the other.” Church leaders are continuing to bemoan that their views are being marginalised. Perhaps for one moment the likes of the former archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey should take a look at how his religion is being used to frighten, misinform and ruin lives and then take stock at how the Christian faith can be used for the better and not hate.

Posted on by Glenn Stevens in Flash Blogs, Human Rights, LGBT, Zhoosh 1 Comment

Older

I think most gay men have the conversation at some point in their lives, were they discuss how they wish to spend their twilight years. Just like the fantasy game SIMS, gay men will construct a rest home, where the nurses are cloned from the genes of Brad Pitt, the loo seat are never cold and the food tastes first class. Of course most importantly all their LGBT friends will be at this rest home, sitting the south facing veranda in rocking chairs, watching the sun set, reminiscing about the good old days and how many more are yet to come.

Surprisingly, such projects, well the LGBT part, has been put in place in both America and Germany as health professionals identified that many LGBT elders entering the care system had found themselves going back in the closet for fear of being ostracised, persecuted or in some extreme cases, asked to repent for their sins against God; a very real issue that has been highlighted in Stu Maddux brilliant documentary Gen Silent.

However, the outcome from the documentary, and findings related to the exclusive LGBT care homes is that older LGBT people have no wish to live their lives in a gay ghetto, but prefer to be cared for by health professionals who understand and respect their chosen lifestyles. This same view is echoed in a report by Brighton and Hove Council who recognise that for many older LGBT people entering the care system may have reservations when discussing their sexuality. On this matter the council’s report does go on to point out that: “The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 make it unlawful for public authorities to discriminate when providing public services.” The report goes on to say: Research suggests that there is a need for specific services targeting the LGBT community but that staff training, displaying LGBT friendly signs, publicity and partnerships with LGBT organisations all improve access to advice.

Also recent news reports have highlighted at present there is a half a billion pounds short fall for the U.K. care system; so the guarantee that such projects will be implemented in the current climate is unclear.

With this in mind, I had a quick search on the internet to see what support there is for LGBT elders in Brighton and Hove. Age UK have a section dedicated to older LGBT people offering a whole range of support and information; one of the main issues highlighted is that of isolation. Groups like GEMS (Gay Elderly Men’s society) a social group for gay men over fifty have been running for the last twelve years offering practical support, friendship, and entertainment to their members. Other servicers like LifeLines, a volunteer service for people over fifty offers a buddy service, where younger LGBT people befriend an older LGBT person enabling them to join in one of the many groups and servicers listed in Gscene, RealBrighton and Zhoosh.

So instead of thinking my friends and I will be in rocking chairs, in the future I see us all cutting up the dance floor underneath a massive glitter ball, with Brad pitt on call just in case.

Posted on by Glenn Stevens in Brighton & Hove, Health, LGBT 2 Comments

George the Great!

Gays of a certain age will remember the furore Jason Donavan made way back in the 90’s when The Face magazine suggested he may not be straight. At this stage in his career Donavan was a bit of a heart-throb, with a good few many gay men buying his CD’s and spilling out their pink pounds to see him waltz around on stage in his amazing multicoloured dream-coat as he swished around as Joseph.

On hearing what the style icon magazine The Face had printed a story suggesting Donavan was gay, instead of giving a wink and moving on Donavan decided to take out a lawsuit against the magazine and sued them for £200.000 (with the magazine ordered to pay a further £100.000 in legal cost. The outcome was a bit tragic for all concerned, with the magazine asking its readers for donations so they could carry on printing, while Donavan tried his best with a damage limitation exercise by not taking the full amount owed him and spoke out saying  he was neither homophobic or suing for the money, the damage was done.

In hindsight it seems rather odd that The Face should have run with the story, but what was even more tragic was Donavan’s reaction which saw him wandering in celebrity obscurity for a good few years, getting messed up with cocaine use, until realty TV stepped in and offered him away back into the nation’s heart with a stint on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here and Celebrity Come Dancing. In his defence Donovan would later say that sueing The Face wa sthe biggest mistake of his life.

How refreshing it was then to read an interview with George Clooney in the American gay magazine The Advocate. Ever since his days as an actor, (we’ll make a surgical bypass Clooney’s early work with the likes of, Return of  the Killer Tomatoes and start with his role as Dr. Douglas “Doug” Ross in ER, men and women of all sexualities sat up and took notice and so began the question, “Is Clooney gay?” Unlike Donavan or the countless other people in the spot light who have gone Baltic at such a suggestion, Clooney has continuously ignored the question, until now. When asked why he hadn’t gone out of his way to say stamp out the gay rumours, he’s reply was:

“I think it’s funny, but the last thing you’ll ever see me do is jump up and down, saying, “These are lies!” That would be unfair and unkind to my good friends in the gay community. I’m not going to let anyone make it seem like being gay is a bad thing. My private life is private, and I’m very happy in it. Who does it hurt if someone thinks I’m gay? I’ll be long dead and there will still be people who say I was gay. I don’t give a shit.

At a time in America where the presidential race is being fought on the back of gay hate by far right Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, it is important that high-profile figures like Clooney stand up and say he defends gay rights as people who may not engage with or know anyone LGBT personally, will take notice of what people like Clooney are saying and listen.

Posted on by Glenn Stevens in film, Human Rights, LGBT 2 Comments

LGBT Sports: A Blog of Two Halves.

LGBT and Sport: A Story of Two Halves.

I really look forward to the day when words like, brave, shocked or courageous are no longer used when sportsperson tells the public that their sexuality isn’t heterosexual. Having watched the Channel Four programme, Britain’s Gay footballers (a misleading title as apparently there aren’t any) saw Amal Fashanu, niece of  Justin Fashanu, go out on the field to find out why there hasn’t been any ‘out’ gay footballer’s before or after her uncle.

Over the last twenty years this same question has been asked time and time again, with the same reason being reeled out that it is either fear of the fans chanting homophobic abuse, or that it is the footballer’s managers keeping the idea alive that an ‘out’ gay footballer would be less bankable. Of course this belief is only kept true while premier league footballers are discouraged from ‘coming out’; and as for the chanting? Well to a degree that is part and parcel of the game, something Amal witnessed when she went to a home game at Brighton football stadium. Here the chants were more tongue in cheek, with the Brighton football team hearing cries of “We can see you holding hands” and “Does your boyfriend know you’re out”. Neither of these battle cries were directed at a particular football player, and in reality, not homophobic. However, when Sol Campbell (a heterosexual footballer) defected from Tottenham to their bitter rivals, Arsenal United back in 2001, he found himself the target of an extremely vile chant from the Tottenham supporters: “Sol, Sol, wherever you may be, you’re on the verge of lunacy and we won’t give a fuck when you’re hanging from a tree, you Judas c**t with HIV. Campbell rightfully complained and said if this was shouted out on the street then that group would be arrested. At first the police said it would be impossible to make any arrests due to the vast number of the crowd, however, video footage was later used with several Tottenham fans receiving a fine and a three-year ban from all matches. With arrests now being made against fans who chant homophobic abuse from the terreaces, along with Premier footballers being slapped with huge fines for sending homophobic tweets, we can at last see gay hate within football being taken seriously.

Of course, chanting is all part of the game, it’s what makes football special, but there is no room for racial or homophobic abuse in sport in the Twenty-first Century. There has been a drive to bring up the issue of homophobia in football with Red Card Homophobia in a similar way that the  Kick it Out campaign tackles racism in football, but no high-profile (straight) football player has been willing to back the Red Card Homophobia campaign for fear of being thought of as gay. Although the PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association) are taking some notice of tackling Homophobia in football with a new poster campaign, but they seem to still be dragging their feet saying it will take many years for all those involved in football to change their views on there being an out footballer playing for a premier league.

This idea that all those involved in premiership football can keep saying the time isn’t right, maybe in five, ten fifteen years time we will see an ‘out’ footballer player is just allowing homophobia to continue to thrive. The majority of other sports people who have decided to stop hiding their sexuality and have ‘come out’ have said it’s the best thing they have ever done, simply because they can be themselves. Let’s hope that we don’t have to wait another twenty years for a footballer to come out. Who knows, a forward thinking manager may take the reins soon and see that a promising gay footballer player can be out and proud about his sexuality and when he does his sexuality will be secondary to his ability to play a great game of football.  

Second Half.

February 2012 is LGBT history month and to coincide with the upcoming Olympics for the second year running the focus is on sport. With only another 161 days to go, the world will be focused on London and the opening event. Even those who hardly give sports the time of day will surely have a sense of pride as we all come together and root for our UK sports men and women to gain as many gold medals as possible.

Of course there will be many LGBT people, myself included, who will be reminded that sometimes sport can make us feel excluded. I can still remember standing in the freezing rain on the school sport field, knowing that I will be last to be picked for the football team. A humiliation made all the worse as I watch Adrian Scarf being picked before me, even though he had chronic asthma and no sense of direction. But then I discovered I was rather good at other sports like hurdles, relay, discus and javelin. By achieving in these areas I was able to dismiss the idea that I didn’t like sports, I just didn’t like being singled out as being rubbish at contact sports.

Admittedly, when I left school and discovered the gay pubs and clubs I left all interest of sports behind me and would only mention the Adrian Scarf story, dismissing sports altogether, (let’s face it, a camp story will usually overide a converstaion about school sports!). I’m sure many other LGBT people have told simular tales, which have helped feed into the myth  that LGBT people have little or no interest in sport. However, over the last couple of decades this view has been challenged in a variety of ways. Back in 1982, San Francisco saw the start of the now hugely successful Gay Games, while here in the UK there are now  gay rugby teams including , the Kings Cross Steelers, Bristol Bisons RFC  football teams, London Romans Football Club, London Lesbian Kickabout and trans swimming group, Marlin Swimming Group  and more locally the LGBT sports organisation, BLAGS, showing  that there is a thriving LGBT sports community. Another important element in changing the perception that sport and LGBT people don’t mix is having high-profile sports men and women publicly ‘coming out’.

Away from the football stadium, it would seem that such rampant homophobia is not as prevalent in other sports, there are at least one LGBT sportsperson who is openly gay in their chosen sport. In the UK the most recognisable out sportspeople to recently come out include, International Rugby Referee, Nigel Owens, BBC sports presenter, journalist and jockey, Clare Balding, Welsh Rugby player Gareth Thomas, Power-lifter Chris Morgan and England’s cricket wicket keeper, Steven Davies. Premier footballers should take note; Rugby didn’t fall into disrepute, Cricket wasn’t swallowed into a pit of despair and most importantly, sports fans continue to love, praise and support their chosen game and sportsperson regardless of the players sexuality.

It may take a very long time for some people in sport and supporters, particularly football, to pull their knuckles off the floor, and raise their eyes to the light and see we are no longer living in the dark ages and that there are some fantastic sports people out there who just happen to kick, throw, lift, dive or even bat for the other team.

Posted on by Glenn Stevens in Brighton & Hove, LGBT, Zhoosh 8 Comments