This
issue of the OGT was paid for by advertising from the following
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471-9000,
www.dunedin-direct.co.nz/presence
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Morris, Dunedin First National Real Estate
284
Stuart Street, Dunedin
467-7277
(wk), 456-2566 (hm), 025-228-7900
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Sport
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Dunedin
474-1211,
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477-7267
or 027-497-2337
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Health South
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474-1700
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183
King Edward Street, South Dunedin
455-3459,
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Club
284
Princes Street, Dunedin
477-8228
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Book Shop
378
Great King Street, Dunedin
477-6976,
www.unibooks.co.nz
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Bronx Bagel Co
134
Stuart Street, Dunedin
479-0209
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Crampton Smith, Celebrant & Counsellor
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Moray Place, Dunedin
477-6931
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Holland, Coaching, Management & Supervision
476-1479,
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,
Dunedin
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OUT!
Magazine
Private
Bag 92126
Auckland
by
Tor Devereux, Editor
The
last three months have certainly been interesting and busy ones. We’ve
had occasions to celebrate who we are and our LGBT/queer community with
the Out Takes film festival in June (see page 4) and Pride Week in July
(see page 3). These events provided opportunities to affirm in a somewhat
public way our LGBT identities - and to have some fun! A big thank you to
everyone who helped make them happen. We’ve also had some positive
coverage in the Otago Daily Times which has been very welcome and
encouraging.
During
the last few months our lives, our relationships and our rights as
citizens have been the subject of very public discussions and debates as a
result of the introduction of the Civil Union Bill and the accompanying
Relationships (Statutory References) Bill (see page 6). This legislation
is perhaps the most significant for our community since the Homosexual Law
Reform Bill in the 1980s. Although these Bills affect opposite-sex couples
as well as same-sex couples, the debate has centred around the rights and
recognition that same-sex couples will be granted under this legislation,
and much of the supportive lobby is being organised by the LGBT/queer
community. This makes sense because opposite-sex couples can currently
access rights and recognition through marriage, whereas we cannot. The
Civil Union Bill will give heterosexual couples a choice of legal
relationship status, while it will give gay and lesbian couples their only
option.
Interestingly
more MPs voted in favour of the Relationships (Statutory References) Bill
than the Civil Union Bill. Essentially this means that MPs who voted for
the Relationships Bill but against the Civil Union Bill accept that all
couples should have rights and be treated equally as far as legislation is
concerned, but they also believe that our relationships should not be
recognised or have a legal status. Presumably this is because they believe
we should remain marginalised within society – perhaps they think (or
hope) that if they ignore us for long enough we’ll simply cease to
exist. It astounds me that people can truly believe that this is an okay
stand to take. At least those who voted against both Bills are consistent
and steadfast in their opposition.
I
knew in my head that the pronouncements from opponents of the Civil Union
Bill would flood our media and that they would be full of the “we must
preserve marriage and traditional family values” type of sentiments, but
I guess there’s a difference between imaging the rhetoric and actually
hearing and reading it. And, I’ve been a bit taken aback by the ferocity
of some of it and the absolute lack of logic that some of it expresses.
But what’s scary in all of this is that a number of people believe it
fervently. However, it’s also been interesting to read many letters to
the editor in support of the Civil Union Bill in our local daily
newspaper, as well as an editorial and various independent opinion pieces.
Let’s hope that common sense, fairness and equality win out in the end.
This
issue of the OGT contains quite a few pieces from new contributors,
including stories about personal journeys. It’s always interesting and a
privilege to read about the experiences of others, and we can learn much
about the true diversity of our community through the sharing of such
stories. A very big thank you to all those who have been involved in this
issue – contributors (both new and “old”), those who assisted with
distributing the 1000 copies of the paper and all our wonderful
advertisers. Remember that this is a community newspaper, so you’re all
welcome to contribute, get involved or let us know about things that are
happening so we can be sure to include them in a future issue.
Until
next time, stay warm and keep the pressure on our MPs to ensure that they
vote in support of both the Civil Union Bill and the Relationships
(Statutory References) Bill.
Tor
Devereux, Editor
Top
of the Page
1. Where was
this year’s UniQ Conference held?
2. What award was Witi Ihimaera recently given?
3. Which Minister recently introduced the Civil Union Bill to
Parliament?
4. For how many years has the Out Takes gay and lesbian film
festival been coming to
Dunedin
?
5. What are the character names of the lesbian couple
currently on “
Shortland Street
”?
Top
of the Page
by
Sarah Noble
Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)
As a well behaved humanities student I should, I suppose, have been
very cultured and fallen for Virginia Woolf by reading Mrs Dalloway or
Jacob’s Room. But no. Rather, I was made aware one evening a
couple of years ago by a website with lots of triangles and rainbows on it
that I might enjoy reading Vita Sackville-West’s letters to
Virginia
. I had heard of Virginia
Woolf but never read a single word of her, and I hadn’t heard of Vita
Sackville-West until then. But the more I read about Vita, the more I
thought “have to read this book”. Luckily I found it at the trusty DPL
and devoured it in a week’s worth of study periods (this was my seventh
form year). And, what do you know, a funny thing happened: Vita was great,
but the excerpts of replies to her letters had me head-over-heels besotted
with Virginia Woolf.
Of course, the more I found about
Virginia
, the more fascinating
she became. She got married in 1912 at age thirty, and adored her husband
Leonard - but platonically. Really, her only sexual relationship,
essentially brief as it was, was with Vita, although later on she did have
advances made on her by the English composer Ethyl Smyth. Naturally none
of this was a surprise, though, as it was via the relationship with Vita
that I’d “discovered” her. But having already done things backwards
in a way, I carried on the theme: I read some more of her correspondence
and a volume or two of her diaries before one night, very late, I decided
it really was time I read some of her fiction. Thankfully I live in a
house ridiculously full of books. I searched the shelves, waded through a
million dusty Sue Graftons and finally found the only Virginia Woolf title
we owned, The Waves. So, I started it that night.
Ignorance is bliss, shall we say - it was only once I’d committed
myself to reading the thing that I learnt that it’s generally named as
Virginia
’s least accessible
book. And, in fact, it did take me several months (including a month long
lazy break where I re-read the correspondence with Vita) to finish it. I
was determined to get through it - and my reward was a book which now
shares honours with Carol as my favourite-ever:
Orlando
. It’s been described
by Vita’s son Nigel Nicolson as “the longest and most charming love
letter in literature”, and although he’s written some other things
about his mother that bother me intensely, on that point he’s quite
right - Orlando is a gorgeous and delicious tribute to and
celebration of Vita, and her relationship with Virginia. It also stands on
its own as one of the most brilliantly fun and original bits of fiction
I’ve come across. The movie with Tilda Swinton is also, in its own way,
equally fabulous.
I spent most of that year’s study periods with my nose in
something by Virginia Woolf - it was the only time in my life in which I
ever mastered the art of reading while walking too, a skill I’ve since
lost entirely. And, in the end, I suppose my debt of gratitude is owed to
Vita Sackville-West really, who introduced me not only to her own
fascinating life story but also to a woman I still adore and a writer who
is without a doubt my favourite ever.
Top
of the Page
UniQ Otago, OUSA's Queer* Student Support Service, is calling for
queer-friendly university staff to put themselves forward as being just
that - queer friendly! Queer students at
Otago
University
are reporting that they
are feeling isolated and unsupported in the University environment. This
project aims to change that by showing queer and questioning students that
it is actually safe to be queer at Otago no matter what you study, and
that queer staff and students are an accepted part of the University
community - a message that would be communicated to straight and queer
students alike.
Ideas
so far include queer-friendly staff being listed on the upcoming UniQ
Otago website along with the department they belong to and having a
special sticker on their office door or somewhere similarly visible that
indicates they are okay with people who are queer.
The aim of this notice is to firstly establish a network of queer-friendly
staff to develop this idea further. So, if you are interested in
supporting your queer students, email the UniQ Coordinator, Nathan Brown,
on [email protected] and register your interest in this idea even if you
have reservations about being identified, as no names will be published
anywhere without prior consent.
“Queer”
is a reclaimed word that acknowledges sexuality and gender diversity. It
is used as an inclusive term that encompasses, but is not limited to, gay,
lesbian, bisexual, transgender, takataapui, fa’afafine and intersex
identities.
Top
of the Page
by
Amy Prebble
The Pride Week Art Exhibition 2004 was held at the
Community Gallery on
Princes Street
. The exhibition closing
was the first event of pride week. The Dunedin Casino provided scrumptious
nibbles and flowing wine that were handed around by Alex Nicholls, a
former Mr Pride Dunedin. Alex said that the feedback during the eight-day
exhibition was positive with his favourite comment coming from an elderly
woman who said, "It’s good to see you finally out here!"
Miss
Ruby made a ravishing appearance thanking Pamela Poppins for her
performance and work as curator of the show. Miss Ruby acknowledged and
thanked the contributing artists and the volunteers of Pride Week in
general. Mayor Sukhi Turner officially opened Pride Week. Her speech was
warmly received as she spoke about people being treated with respect for
diversity, and she lamented that it would be a dull old world without
choice. She added that she hoped
Dunedin
to be one of the most
tolerant cities in the world.
The
art works in the exhibition were incredibly diverse including painting,
prints, photographic montage, ceramics and sculptural pieces. Although it
is usual at this point for the reviewer to comment on the works shown, I
decided to ask for comments from some of the people who attended the
closing since I was one of the contributing artists!
The
general consensus among the viewers was that the standard was high and the
works eclectic. Faith Mc Queen's "Constructed Binaries
Male/Female" were showcased in the window. The series of dolls were
described as "ugly, affordable and wonderful". John Robinson's
works in pencil were described as "Strong - addressing gay issues in
an almost classical way". This contrasted with Kim Swanson's
screaming graffiti styled works that were described as "Neon
angriness totally confronting fascism". Kare Grayson's untitled black
triangle drew attention for its graphic block colour and lesbian
symbology. Her colourful painting entitled "Identi-Kit" was said
to be “fun, well crafted and thoughtful”.
Place
and position were explored through landscape. Nic Dempster’s "
Tiered
Central
Lake
and Landscape"
brought together Rita Angus' stained glass window lines with McCahon's
palette. This contrasted with Annie Nevin’s landscape "Dashing
Rocks/Timaru" that appeared impressionistic with her light fresh
daubs in pastel tones.
A few people thought the show reflected that it was
organised or hung at the last minute - some artists were over represented,
while a couple of our major artists not included. It was also suggested
that the promotion of Pride Week this year was somewhat inadequate and
perhaps networks need to be strengthened. I am sure the organisers of the
Pride Week Exhibition would love to hear from enthusiastic volunteers. It
is easy to critique an event but more meaningful to help with the next one
so it can be even bigger and truly inclusive of us all.
Top
of the Page
Lucky by Melissa Etheridge
(
Island
Records, 2004)
Reviewed
by Tor Devereux
Melissa
Etheridge’s latest album, “Lucky”, contrasts strikingly with her
previous one, “Skin”. The latter dealt with the end of her
relationship of many years with Julie Cypher and, consequently, it was
rather dark, sombre and almost chilling in the pain it expressed. Much of
the material on “Lucky” is similarly autobiographical, and reflects
that Etheridge is now in a very different space being in a new
relationship with Tammy Lynn Michaels. As a result the music on this album
is much more upbeat, positive and, in a word, happy.
In
addition to the songs about love, there’s also a poignant tribute here
to Mark Bingham, the gay man on Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania on
the ill-fated 11 September 2001 who was one of the four people who
confronted the terrorists and ensured that the plane crashed into a field
rather than a building. This song. “Tuesday Morning”, is both a way of
honouring Mark and making a social commentary about the discrimination
that queer people continue to face:
“10:03
on a Tuesday morning/In the fall of an American dream/A man is doing what
he knows is right/On flight 93/He loved his mom and he loved his dad/He
loved his home and he loved his man/But on that bloody Tuesday morning/He
died an American …/Even though he could not marry/Or teach your children
in our schools/Because who he wants to love/Is breaking your Gods' rules
…/And the things you might take for granted/Your inalienable rights/Some
might chose to deny him/Even though he gave his life/Can you live with
yourself in the land of the free/And make him less of a hero than the
other three.”
“Lucky”
sounds like classical Melissa Etheridge - easy-listening rock with great
lyrics and melodies that reflect her personal situation, together with a
bit of political/social commentary thrown in for good measure.
Top
of the Page
by
Tor Devereux
Out
Takes Dunedin 2004 (June 10-13) was bigger than in previous years in terms
of the number of films being offered - 11 different screenings over four
days. However, it was a bit disappointing for those involved that the
overall attendance numbers were only slightly up on last year. Thanks to
the Reel Queer team for organising an awesome film festival once again and
to Andrea and Damian at the Academy Cinema for hosting the event for a
second time.
It’s
wonderful to have a whole weekend to indulge in queer cinema on the big
screen – kind of like an annual “fix” of queer culture. And it’s
not just the films themselves that make the festival so special, but the
atmosphere that’s created by being at a screening where you know so many
of the audience and where there’s a real sense of excitement and
anticipation because we so rarely get to experience the reality of our
lives and our very diverse community at the movies.
Gavin
Hamilton of Reel Queer had this to say about Out Takes down south:
"While we were disappointed with the audience numbers for Out Takes
in
Dunedin
,
we are still keen to continue in
Dunedin
next year. However, whether the festival returns to
Dunedin
depends largely on the willingness of venues to be involved. Presenting
the festival in each city around
New
Zealand
requires a partnership between Reel Queer and festival venues and everyone
involved has to recoup costs in order to make the festival sustainable.
Academy Cinema has been very welcoming of Out Takes and we hope that
Dunedin
's
queer community will support the cinema through the year.”
As
always there was a huge variety of films on offer at Out Takes, including
a couple of very interesting historical documentaries. It was wonderful to
see lots of old footage and to learn a bit more about our queer past which
is important to remember and reflect on given how far we’ve come in the
last 30-40 years. There were also some excellent and enjoyable feature
films on offer this year, including the opening night film “Goldfish
Memory” and “Latter Days”.
Here are a few comments from people who attended Out Takes:
·
“The film [“Goldfish Memory”]
gave a light-hearted but thought provoking view of relationships
irrespective of sexual orientation.” (Stuart & Robin)
·
“I really
enjoyed “No Secret Anymore”. Apart from Phyllis Lyon and Del
Martin’s amazing political activism and their lively and loving
relationship, it was wonderful to see old lesbians celebrated on the
screen in this way.” (Orma)
·
”It was with much anticipation that
we poured over the OGT and made our selections for another L&G film
festival at the Academy. As lesbians we look forward all year to this one
opportunity to see ourselves portrayed on the big screen in a way which
affirms, uplifts and delights our lesbian sensibilities! … Thank the
goddess for docos!! We loved the one with Phyllis & Del but wondered
where all the younger dykes were to share in celebrating our herstory.”
(Su & Leslie)
·
“While I would have loved to have
seen several more movies at the festival, caring for the boys meant
sharing the viewings between the two of us. For me it was really affirming
that two of the three I saw all had some lesbian/gay parenting content.”
(Barb)
Reel
Queer would like to hear from people who are interested in joining Reel
Queer and becoming involved in organising some aspects of the festival in
Dunedin
such as local promotion
and film selection. Reel Queer is a non-profit community group of
volunteers with members currently in
Wellington
,
Christchurch
and
Auckland
. The group works year
round to organise the festivals and would like to hear from potential Reel
Queers now. Reel Queer's website is www.outtakes.org.nz
Top
of the Page
by
Anna Chinn
There
will be men in tights. There will be divas. There will be an 80-year-old
farmer about to go into a home. Whatever you want in art, be it
performance or visual, you will surely be satisfied by the two arts
festivals about to grace
Dunedin
.
The
Otago Festival of the Arts (September 28 - October 10) will showcase many
wonderful talents, some of which they wouldn’t tell us about before the
programme launch - but we do know the Royal New Zealand Ballet will front
up with men in tights, choreographed by Dunedin’s own Daniel Belton.
London
’s
West End
will loan us the diva
Eva Peron, or someone who looks like her, in the touring Andrew Lloyd
Webber musical Evita, and the NZSO will retrieve man-diva Jonathan
Lemalu from the clutches of international fame for our aural amusement.
The Fortune Theatre is where you’ll find an 80-year-old farmer whose
kids are trying to place him in care in the play
Home
Land
, a specially
commissioned work by
Otago
University
’s resident playwright,
Gary Henderson.
Festival
organisers always conspire to mount at least one queer show because they
know that actually we rule the world, and so the Otago Arts Festival will
host Cherish, an award-winning, new
New Zealand
play by Ken Duncum. It
examines the lives of two gay couples; one pair female, one pair male. The
two women each have a child by one of the men. The men decide they too
would like to raise a baby, so one of the women agrees to be a willing
womb until the child is nearly due, when she starts to have issues about
giving it up. Indeed, all the characters start to have issues, and the
audience’s thoughts are thoroughly provoked - or so the rave reviews
foretell. In the Otago production, we’ll finally get to see Patrick
Davies playing a gay man - you may remember him as the het heart-throb in Love
Off The Shelf, Miss Julie, Netballers, A Perfect
Wedding and Paddy’s Bottomless Pit of Straight Roles*. So
that’s one bonus; another is the guy and his co-stars can really act. Cherish,
at the
Dunedin
Public
Art
Gallery
, will be a show not to
miss.
Now
to the
Dunedin
Fringe Festival
(September 24 - October 3). We’ll get our own mini Lilith Fair in
the form of an all-woman acoustic concert called The Sound of the Pearl,
which is being organised by Hannah Howes. Hannah has rounded up 12 friends
from as far away as
Auckland
for this four-hour gig
in the Botanic Gardens, and promises everything from guitar to harp to
body percussion. The latter involves “beating the chest and other
bits”. Hannah notes the concert is family-friendly.
Michael
Parmenter will be down with his theatrical new dance work, Tristan and
Isolde. (Need I say more, people? It’s Michael Parmenter!) This work
will deal with the subject of Aids, as will quirky local musical Famous
Violent. There’ll be comedy, street theatre, multimedia shows and a
dozen dancers from
Nepal
. Want to know more?
Official programmes for both fests will be appearing around town, soon.
*Not
a real play.
Top
of the Page
by
Anna Chinn
Michael
Parmenter began dancing in
Dunedin
, under Shona Dunlop
MacTavish, when he was a first-year student at Otago. About 25 years
later, he is one of
New Zealand
’s top choreographers
and lives somewhere up north. He discusses his new work, and a sensuous
delicacy between men, with Anna Chinn.
You’re
bringing your new work, Tristan and Isolde, to the
Dunedin
Fringe Festival.
There are many different versions of that myth. How does yours go?
Well,
really I’m taking off from Wagner. I’m a huge Wagner fan, so I have
had a great passion for the Wagner version. [To put words in Parmenter’s
mouth, that version goes: Tristan the medieval knight is sent by his
Cornish king, Mark, to collect Mark’s intended bride, Isolde, from
Ireland
. En route to
Cornwall
, Tristan and Isolde fall
in love. They get this idea that dying together would be blissful, so they
are sloppy about hiding their affair, and consequently, both are killed -
Tristan by the sword, Isolde by sadness.] But I also think that the Wagner
myth of love is a bit of a romantic fallacy. So this is sort of a
critique, really. It’s about a love that is so, um, supreme that it can
only be realised in death. Now, I think that’s a particularly
life-denying and unrealistic vision of what love is.
So,
obviously, mainstream audiences could expect to be challenged because
you’re not doing the soppy bit?
Oh
absolutely. Not only is there a critique of the romantic thing, but there
is also the gender ambiguity that I’m playing with because, of course,
I’m telling the story with two men. So even in that there’s a
challenging of the traditional romantic myth of what love is. The dancer
I’m dancing with is Taane Mete. He’s been in every production I’ve
done, basically, for about 10 years. And I find, when I’m dancing with
him, a very sympathetic sort of relationship that I’ve seldom had with
any other dancer … And it’s something that you don’t see that much
between male dancers. Often there’s this boysy thing between male
dancers - y’know, “Mayyte”. But the very sensuous delicacy that
Taane and I have as dancers is one of the things that I’m wanting to
deal with in this work.
A
dance form that you’ve focused on in your career is the Japanese style
butoh. In 2002,
Dunedin
audiences got to see Wilderness,
which used that style. At one point you took about five minutes to go from
crouching to standing, on a rock. It was very tense. Is Tristan and
Isolde going to involve butoh at all?
Very
good question. One of the things I’m playing around with in the piece is
taking quite a few different dance styles and trying to find a way of
melding them together. But certainly the third act of the opera, which
primarily, before Isolde returns, involves Tristan on an island by
himself, in some ways that section of the dance is definitely coloured or
textured by my butoh training and experience.
Publicity
material for the work mentions Aids. How does Aids figure into the story?
Well,
one of the things that has attracted me about the Tristan and Isolde
story is the way in which death and desire are intertwined with each
other, and this is something that I have experienced, and the gay
community in particular has experienced, since the Aids epidemic - that
love has become something that has this shadow of death cast upon it.
Do
you feel a certain obligation to be a spokesperson for other people with
Aids?
I
certainly did in the early ’90s when I made quite a stand of coming out.
It was a very conscious decision that I wanted to be visible because there
were so many people at the time, like Rock Hudson and Freddie Mercury, who
were denying up to the very bitter end that they had Aids. It felt like I
wanted to try and help reduce some of the stigma. But I think attitudes in
New Zealand have changed considerably since then and I don’t necessarily
now feel the need to identify myself as an HIV person explicitly … I
think it’s to do also with the way in which, through the new treatment
and that, it’s now just become something I have to deal with in the same
way that other people have to deal with cancer or depression, or whatever
they have to deal with.
Top
of the Page
by Tor Devereux
On
Monday June 21 David Benson-Pope MP, associate Minister of Justice, tabled
in Parliament the Civil Union Bill and the accompanying Relationships
(Statutory References) Bill. These Bills then had their first readings on
Thursday June 24. The Civil Union Bill was the first one to be read and
after a heated and often passionate two-hour debate it passed its first
vote (a conscience vote) by 66 to 50 (and three MPs didn’t vote). The
majority of Labour MPs supported the Bill, as did all the Green MPs and
the Progressive MPs. The majority of the National MPs voted against the
Bill, as did all of United Future while NZ First and Act were split on the
issue. Parliament adjourned on June 24 before the debate on the
Relationships (Statutory References) Bill could be completed, but this
resumed the following Tuesday and the Bill was then passed 77 to 42 (also
a conscience vote). Both Bills were then sent to the Justice and Electoral
Select Committee for consideration and submissions from the public. The
amount of time for written submissions was restricted to just over a month
with the closing date of August 6.
The
Civil Union Bill sets up a new, legally recognised relationship status
called a Civil Union that will be available to both opposite-sex and
same-sex couples. As outlined in the Civil Union Bill’s Explanatory
Note, “The Bill provides for civil union in
New Zealand
, and sets out the
requirements and processes to enter a civil union and for the appointment
of celebrants. It also provides for registration and dissolution of civil
unions.” The Bill outlines who is eligible to enter into a civil union,
the legal/formal process involved, responsibilities of civil union
celebrants and information about their appointment, and how civil unions
will be registered and dissolved.
While
the Civil Union Bill sets out the concept and practicalities of civil
union as a relationship status, it’s the Relationships (Statutory
References) Bill that actually makes the changes to legislation to ensure
that couples are not discriminated against on the basis of marital status
and/or sexual orientation. Basically this means that the Bill provides all
de facto couples and those in a civil union (both same-sex and
opposite-sex) with the same rights and responsibilities as married couples
(for example, next-of-kin rights). The Relationships (Statutory
References) Bill eliminates discrimination from more than 100 statutes
covering areas such as health, taxation, social assistance and education,
but the Bill does not cover legislation that is already being reviewed.
This includes laws around the guardianship of children (being addressed in
the Care of Children Bill – see separate article), adoption and
citizenship.
Even
though many of the opponents of these Bills and some media have described
this legislation as “gay marriage”, neither of these Bills will change
the Marriage Act and marriage will continue to be available exclusively to
opposite-sex couples. Furthermore, civil unions are not just for same-sex
couples.
Although
these Bills impact on both opposite-sex and same-sex couples, they are
very significant pieces of legislation for the LGBT/queer community
because a civil union will mean that for the first time our relationships
can be legally recognised (if we choose to enter into a civil union) and
civil union will bring with it all of the rights and responsibilities of
marriage, as well as protections for our relationships and our families.
I
listened to the entire Civil Union Bill debate in Parliament on June 24
and during the afternoon I experienced a whole raft of emotions:
excitement, sadness, anticipation, anger, joy, frustration, disbelief.
Those who spoke in support of the Bill talked about human rights, equality
under the law and the fact that Civil Union wouldn’t impact on
heterosexual couples who are married (to counter those opponents who were
claiming that civil unions would undermine marriage), and our queer MPs
(Chris Carter, Tim Barnett and Georgina Beyer) spoke on a much more
personal level about what this legislation will mean for them and others
in the queer community.
Those
who spoke against the Bill talked about civil union being just a cover-up
for gay marriage, and that passing this legislation was simply social
engineering and would contribute significantly to the moral decline of the
country. Much of their rhetoric was offensive, and blatantly and
unapologetically homophobic. While I listened to these opposing arguments
I was holding our four-month old in my arms and our toddler was napping in
his bedroom, and I was deeply saddened to have to acknowledge that there
are people in New Zealand in positions of responsibility and power who
sincerely believe that my partner and I don’t deserve to be treated
equally and that we are raising our children in an environment that is
decidedly not ideal. I know that homophobia exists out there, but I have
to say that I don’t encounter such unashamedly homophobic attitudes very
often, and so when I do they are quite shocking. In case you missed the
debate, here are some “choice” quotes:
·
“This
politically correct nonsense that preaches that homosexual and lesbian
relationships are the equal to marriage, and are a satisfactory
environment in which to raise kids, is an absolute disgrace.” (Brian
Connell, National)
·
“New
Zealanders are not ready for this.” (Peter Brown, NZ First)
·
“I will
be straight; this bill is an abomination to all mankind.” (Bill Gudgeon,
NZ First)
·
“If civil union were a human rights issue, I would be the
first one in there championing the cause, but I do not think it is. Nor do
I think that marriage is a human rights issue, because the moment it is,
then so is polygamy.” (Judith Collins, National)
There
are vocal opponents outside of Parliament too, including the Catholic
Bishops, the Maxim Institute and the
Destiny
Church
. In addition to voicing their opposition to civil unions
both verbally and in writing, the
Destiny
Church
is organising a gathering at
Parliament on August 23 to express their concerns about a variety of
issues, including civil unions. According to Pastor Brian Tamaki, “The present Government demonstrates time and time
again that it has absolutely no regard for the voice of the church and the
religious community. Our families are breaking down, the institution of
marriage is under unprecedented attack and laws that lower common sense
standards of living threaten the future for our children and
grandchildren.” To counter this, a silent vigil is being planned for
the same day at the same place to protest homophobia in all its forms.
While
the date for submissions on these two Bills will have passed by the time
you read this, there are still things that you can do to support the Bills
and ensure that they are passed into law. Once the Select Committee has
considered all the submissions (both written and oral) they then report
back to Parliament. Following this the Bills will then have a second and
third reading (which will also be conscience votes). So, we need to
continue to lobby MPs to make sure that they vote in favour of both Bills
– remember that some MPs may change their mind from one reading to
another (in fact, some have specifically said that they only voted for the
Civil Union Bill at the first reading because they wanted it to go to
Select Committee and be debated there) and lobbying can have a significant
impact on whether or not this happens. If you’d like more information
about what you can do, then please contact Tor and Barb (025-793-113 or
[email protected]). Also, check out the national civil union website at
www.civilunions.org.nz for copies of the Bills and lots of up-to-date
information.
Top
of the Page
by
Tor Devereux
The report on the Care Of Children Bill from the
Justice and Electoral Select Committee was tabled in Parliament on June
29.
The
Care Of Children Bill will replace the Guardianship Act 1968 and it
modernises the laws on the guardianship and care of children. Throughout
the Bill there is a recognition of the diversity of family structures that
exist now in
New Zealand
, including families with
same-sex parents, and the primary concept underpinning the Bill is the
best interests of the child.
When
this Bill was first introduced to Parliament last year the media and
discussions about the Bill focused predominantly on clauses that give
rights to same-sex parents/partners (especially the now infamous
“lesbian fathers” clause). However, the focus so far on the Select
Committee’s report has been on recommendations to make the Family Court
more open and making police checks compulsory for all step-parents
applying for guardianship.
To
date there has been a silence in the media to date around the issues of
same-sex parents and the rights and protections for their families.
However, these rights are still included in the Bill, although Clause
17(2) which referred to the lesbian partner of a birth mother as a
“father” has been removed.
Under
this Bill, same-sex partners of lesbian women who give birth to children
conceived using assisted reproductive procedures will be automatically
granted parental rights. Male partners in heterosexual relationships where
children are conceived using donor sperm are already automatically
afforded parental rights and so this change removes the discrimination
that currently exists and provides the children born to same-sex couples
with the security and protections that they should be entitled to.
The
Justice and Electoral Select Committee received 277 written submissions on
the Care Of Children Bill and heard 101 oral presentations. Following the
completion of the report, Tim Barnett, the committee’s Chair, said:
“This is a once-in-a-generation reform of key laws affecting many
thousands of New Zealanders and vital to the future of many of our
children … This is strong law which will improve the welfare of children
and work in their best interests.”
The
Care Of Children Bill now needs to go through its second and third
readings before becoming law.
Top
of the Page
by
Tony Weisstein
What
amazing times we live in. Just four short years ago, not a single national
government in the world would recognise same-sex marriages. The
Netherlands
broke that ground in
2001, followed by
Belgium
in 2002. Now the
governing parties in
Spain
and
Germany
want to bring it to a
vote, with
Canada
not far behind (in fact,
gay marriage is already legal in both
Quebec
and
British Columbia
). Could it be that
recognition of same-sex marriages will be the norm in Western countries
within the next ten years? It's not clear whether anything can stop it now
… though some will certainly try.
Even
here in the currently conservative
U.S.
political climate,
developments have been encouraging. Less than a year after the Supreme
Court decriminalised gay sex in the last 13 states that still banned it,
the state of
Massachusetts
played host to the first
legally recognised marriages this country has ever seen. (At the time of
writing this, thousands of couples who married in
San Francisco
earlier this spring are
still waiting for the courts to uphold or nullify their marriages.) The
Bush administration has not exactly tripped over itself in its haste to
extend federal recognition to these marriages, so the couples enjoy only
state-granted rights, but that was still enough to throw Republican
Governor Mitt Romney into a right tizzy. After fighting the process at
every step, he finally dug out an old 1913 state law that refuses marriage
to any out-of-state couple whose own state doesn't recognise the marriage.
The law was originally written to prevent interracial marriages and hasn't
been used in decades, but it's funny how those old discriminatory laws
sometimes find exciting new uses. So, with Romney threatening to fire any
state clerk who dares to defy him,
Massachusetts
is off-bounds as a
wedding destination. Good news for the
Quebec
tourist industry.
In
other developments, the effort to write a gay marriage ban into the U.S.
Constitution is turning out to be a complete flop. Surprisingly, many
voters just don't seem that interested and would rather talk about
Iraq
, the economy and why our
international reputation these days is mud. Be that as it may, many
right-wing Republicans (and some very wayward Democrats) simply cannot
shut up about gay marriage and its multitudinous evils. They don't seem to
have quite grasped that the
Netherlands
legalised gay marriages
years ago and remains largely unplagued by locusts, boils and other signs
of impending Apocalypse.
Without
doubt, the most unfortunate group in all this are the Log Cabin
Republicans, the nation's largest political organisation of gay
conservatives. For decades now, they have worked tirelessly toward two
ends: electing Republican candidates and leading the party to greater
acceptance of gays and lesbians. Goal #1 may be well in hand, but #2
simply isn't going well at all. When Bush came out for the anti-gay
amendment earlier this year, the Log Cabins took the highly unusual step
of disagreeing vehemently. Now they're running ads against the stated
position of their own party's President, the North Carolina Republican
Party has uninvited them to the state convention, and there are rumblings
of mass defections on Election Day. Meanwhile, Mary Cheney, the
Vice-President's openly lesbian daughter who headed the now-defunct
Republican Unity Coalition after the 2000 election, is working for her
father's re-election campaign and refusing all interview requests. That's
a lot of people who, whether you agree with their politics or not, are in
real pain. Another of this administration's shining legacies.
Top
of the Page
by
Paula Griannah
Local
woman, Dr Nancy Higgins, was reconfirmed as the Rainbow Greens
national spokesperson at the Green Party AGM in
Wellington
in June. Dr Higgins, a
Research Developer at the Dunedin College of Education, believes that the
Green Party has led the way in developing queer-friendly policy, and
stresses that the Greens are the only party which has all of its MPs
supporting the Civil Union and Relationships Bills currently before
Parliament. “Embracing diversity is a core value of the party.”
Paula
Griannah spoke to her recently about her politics, the Bills and just how
polychromatic a Green can be.
Tell
me about the Rainbow Greens – I haven’t heard too much about them.
It’s
been around since the Greens split from the
Alliance
, at least. There’s
always a rainbow caucus at our annual meetings. We probably make up about
10% of people that attend. One of my aims is to get a group active
locally.
When,
how and why did you become spokesperson?
In
January this year I was appointed spokesperson for the rainbow caucus and
that was confirmed at our AGM at Queen’s Birthday weekend. One of the
advantages of a smaller party is that it is easier to get your voice heard
and influence policy, to be given a role. I’m fortunate, too, that
personally and professionally I have no issues with being out publicly.
The Green Party itself is gay-friendly in all policies and structures.
You
don’t have any gay MPs though.
No,
we don’t. We had lesbian and gay candidates in the last election but
they weren’t high enough on the list to enter Parliament.
Have
you considered standing as a candidate yourself?
I
have considered it, but I think I’ll concentrate on my policy
development role at the present. As well as being the rainbow
spokesperson, I have a larger role as a policy co-convener and as such
I’m one of the six co-leaders of the Party. However, the Green Party has
gender and diversity balance in their list so that should assist me or any
other GLBT candidate in the future.
Let’s
talk about the Civil
Union
and Relationships Bills – the Green Party is supporting
both?
Yes,
all of our MPs are voting for them as it is our policy to eliminate
discrimination, not to deny equal rights. We did debate whether it was
buying into traditional norms, and the possible disadvantages, for example
to beneficiaries, but decided it was best to support the bills. We believe
everybody should be able to have legal recognition of their relationship
if they choose.
Do
you agree with Labour that same-sex marriage is a step too far?
No.
Personally I’m disappointed that the Bill seems to give gays and
lesbians a second rate recognition because marriage is only for
heterosexual couples. I think this legislation is a first step, then we
need to take a wider view and look beyond civil union. We would do
research into, and take action on, issues facing our communities such as
safety in schools and suicide. I think other parties can be nervous about
dealing with queer issues - did you see Gerry Brownlee’s response when
Pansy Wong tried to initiate a group within National?
Yes,
the less said the better! You mentioned to me earlier some personal
experience of discrimination. Can we talk about that?
Yeah.
When my partner, Virginia, was terminally ill we had to deal a lot with
the medical profession and I realised how reliant we were on the
individual’s acceptance, or not, of me as her partner. No one actually
questioned my position as next-of-kin but it could be awkward and that is
not what you need at a time like that. She died three years ago and I
bought a burial plot for both of us. It seems that the Burials Act states
that only families can be buried in the same plot, which was not mentioned
to me at the time. I’d really hate for that to be a complication for the
people dealing with my funeral. I don’t think that the general public
considers things like this when talking about civil unions.
Speaking
of the general public, are you optimistic for the next election?
Yes,
I’m looking forward to it. The Green vote has remained pretty
constant and I’m confident we can get a good result and maintain
pressure on a Labour government to keep to the left.
(See
the Gayzette/Dykrectory for contact details for the Rainbow Greens.)
Top
of the Page
Are You Feeling Left Out?
Has
coming out alienated you from your church family? If so you might feel at
home at Glenaven.
Glenaven
is a
Methodist
Church
with an ecumenical
congregation and a special ministry to the gay and lesbian community. Even
if you don’t think of yourself as Christian you can belong and be
valued. Theologically, Glenaven is at the cutting edge and our Sunday
sermons are followed by some pretty lively dialogue. Be prepared to be
challenged.
Try
us out on Sunday mornings. We have coffee and cookies from
10:40am
and our service is from
11am
to
12pm
. You’ll find Glenaven
in
Chambers Street
, just two blocks along
North Road
from the Garden’s
supermarket.
Top
of the Page
by Ian Stewart & Torsten Berndt-Stewart
April 2nd 2004
will remain forever
etched on our hearts. This was the day that my beautiful German partner
Torsten and I committed ourselves to a "Lebenspartnerschaft" or
"life-partnership". This is the official ceremony that formally
legalises gay and lesbian partnerships in
Germany
. It confers all the same
rights, duties and privileges as marriage, except for some tax benefits
and pensions. It is, however, kept quite separate and distinct from a
marriage. For us the "Lebenspartnerschaft" ceremony was the best
way to express our love and commitment to each other for the future. It is
a respected official ceremony and gives us a number of financial and legal
protections (when we are resident in
Germany
).
Marriage
and "Lebenspartnerschaft" registrars in
Germany
are also celebrants and
are employed by the local government. The celebrant in the chief town of
the area where Torsten lived was very excited at the prospect of
performing the ceremony for a German/Kiwi partnership. The documents I
needed to supply from
New Zealand
were a full birth
certificate, copies of the essential details from my passport and a
document known as a "Certificate of No Impediment" which
indicates that the records have been thoroughly searched and I am not
already married. These had to be accompanied by an "Apostille" -
a document that shows that Births, Deaths and Marriages is the official
body entitled to issue those certificates. We used my electoral roll
confirmation document to provide "official" proof of my
residential address. We were also required to decide on our partnership
surname. We chose Stewart, with Torsten attaching my surname to his own.
This resulted in a large amount of extra paperwork for Torsten for new
German identity cards, passport, etc.
On
applying for the documents I discovered the "Certificate of No
Impediment" assumes a heterosexual marriage and requires the name of
my (female) partner. Because gay and lesbian partnerships are not legally
recognised as marriages in
New Zealand
, this certificate cannot
be issued for a same-sex partnership. There is another certificate
available known as a "Certificate of Search" which shows that a
basic search of the records has been done and no impediment found. The New
Zealand Embassy in
Berlin
offered to write a
supporting letter to go with the documents to explain why the
"Certificate of No Impediment" could not be issued, which they
had done for a number of other Kiwi/German gay and lesbian couples.
Although I struck this technical hitch, all our dealings with the various
government departments in both countries were relaxed and totally
professional, and the staff were all very helpful.
In
mid-March I joined Torsten in
Germany
. Normally, we should
have met with the Registrar at least three weeks before the ceremony to
discuss the terms of the partnership, lodge any "pre-nuptial"
contracts and give sufficient time for the official notices of the
intended partnership to be published. Because I was travelling from
New Zealand
this requirement was
waived in our case, and we met with Mrs Stolpe (the registrar/celebrant)
two days before our ceremony. We were required to have a government
translator present (at our expense) who translated all the proceedings
into English for my benefit. At this meeting we had to sign papers
confirming that neither of us had ever been married before, that we
understood that it is our responsibility to take care of each other should
we become ill, that we were of sound mind and that we willingly agreed to
undergo the partnership process. We also had to pay all the fees.
I
was thrilled that some of my longest-standing kiwi friends were able to
make the trip to
Germany
to be part of the
ceremony. Because my parents were not able to be there we were allowed to
take photographs and a video of the ceremony, something which is not
normally permitted.
The
big day dawned bright, sunny and warm. A convoy of cars arrived just
before mid-day at the
Tostedt
Town Hall
. We were admitted to a
pleasant, wood-panelled room. At the front was a large wooden table, and
in front of the table were two throne-like wooden chairs for Torsten and
myself. The guests were seated behind us, and in front of us was Mrs
Stolpe. Torsten sat on my left and next to him his best friend Peter, who
was his witness. On my right sat Mr Peters (the translator) and my best
friend Bettina, who was my witness. On the table was a cushion with our
rings, a bouquet of flowers, a candle and a pile of paperwork.
Mrs
Stolpe welcomed everybody and said she was pleased the law in
Germany
allowed such
partnerships to take place and that she was thrilled to be performing the
ceremony for two people who had developed a partnership over such a long
distance. She wished us all the best in our lives, asked us to always
remember this day, and told our guests to always support our partnership
with love and friendship. She explained the terms of our partnership, read
out our personal details as entered in the records and we signed them to
confirm that they were correct. Mr Peters and I signed a document to
confirm that he had translated everything accurately into English. Torsten
then signed the documents which officially changed his name. Finally we
stood and Mrs Stolpe asked each of us if we wanted to have the partnership
with the other. Torsten said "Ja!" and I said "Yes!"
We exchanged the rings and kissed. That was the end of the ceremony,
except for the signing of the partnership agreement by ourselves, the
witnesses, Mr Peters and Mrs Stolpe, and a round of congratulatory hugs
and kisses from the officials and the guests. As we left the doorway of
the Town Hall, our guests threw rose petals over us.
Our
friends had rented out a picture theatre, and after champagne and canapes
we all settled down to watch the movie "In and Out". Torsten and
I were told we had to sit in the back row, and we couldn't understand why
no one else would come and sit with us :o)
Afterwards we adjourned to an outside courtyard (suitably
decorated) for the greatest of German traditions - fabulous dessert cakes
and coffee. We stopped the traffic in the main street of the rather
conservative town by hugging each other during the taking of the official
photographs. The party then moved back to Torsten's house for a
scrumptious Italian buffet and continued through until the small hours of
the next morning.
Aside
from the legal advantages of undertaking the ceremony, we have both gained
an enormous sense of strength, stability and security from the process.
Although our partnership is not recognised by the law in
New Zealand
, we have the confidence
to behave and live our lives as if it were because we have made a very
public statement and we are living in a legally binding contract in a
world sense. Being in
New Zealand
has an advantage - in
difficult moments neither of us can walk out on the other in a fit of
passion because our partnership can only be dissolved by both of us being
present before a judge in
Germany
.
At a
meeting about the Civil Union Bill in
Dunedin
in July David
Benson-Pope admitted that the question of whether to recognise
"foreign unions" had been placed in the "too hard
basket" for the moment. So, what still needs to be worked through is
what status union ceremonies (and same-sex marriages) conducted in other
countries will be given in
New Zealand
. Provided the Civil
Union Bill passes and becomes law, should overseas unions be automatically
given the same status within
New Zealand
as civil unions that
take place here? (A marriage conducted in one country is only
automatically recognised as a marriage in another country by an age-old
convention.)
Currently
there are controls within the Marriage Act to prevent bigamy and similar
restrictions will apply to civil unions. However, if people have undergone
civil union ceremonies overseas and these are not recognised in
New Zealand
, will they then still be
excluded from participating in a civil union ceremony in
New Zealand
and denied the benefits
of living in a civil union partnership in
New Zealand
? These are all issues
that will no doubt be raised in submissions about the Civil Union Bill and
hopefully the Select Committee will come up with a way of satisfactorily
resolving this so that those who enter into unions outside
New Zealand
are not disadvantaged if
they then choose to live here.
Top
of the Page
A Story
Of An American Family
by
Beth Ryan & Jenny O’Flaherty
Every once in a while people must examine their lives
to determine if they are living the life they want to be. My partner and I
had that experience two years ago when she spent a week in the ICU with a
sudden and nearly fatal illness. When she recovered about a month later,
we spent some time taking stock of our lives.
My partner and I and our three children (3, 5, and 8)
had lived in
Charlottesville
,
Virginia
for ten years. But since the children had been born, we had seriously
considered moving closer to family in
Massachusetts
(approximately 1500km away). We have been lucky to enjoy the unquestioning
love and support of our immediate and extended families. Moving home was
an obvious consideration in the aftermath of my partner’s near-death
experience. In the end, we both independently decided that we wanted to
re-commit ourselves to
Charlottesville
and give up the dream of moving home. For family and friends in
Massachusetts
this was sad and somewhat perplexing, given
Virginia
’s
long history of discrimination against gay people.
Virginia
ranks lowest in the fifty
United
States
on issues of gay rights.
Virginia
has a law (which was passed in 1997) which prohibits same sex marriage in
the state of
Virginia
,
or the recognition of same sex marriages performed in any other state or
country. Until a year ago sodomy was punishable by up to 15 years in
prison. Although the law applied equally to heterosexual as well as
homosexual conduct, it was only ever used to prosecute homosexuals (as
recently as two years ago, prompting the suicide of one of the men who was
arrested).
Virginia
is the only state in the country to prevent privately owned companies from
extending certain employment benefits to same sex partners. But earlier
this year the state further curtailed the rights of their gay citizens
when a law was passed which prohibits gay and lesbian couples in
Virginia
from drawing up any private contract which would duplicate any of the
legal protections of marriage.
This new law could prevent mutual medical directives,
mutual wills and mutual powers of attorney documents and have serious
effects on custody decisions, property arrangements and joint bank
accounts between any persons of the same gender.
Virginia
law makers sought to create a law making it impossible for same sex
couples to have any legal rights or obligations in their relationships. In
their fervour, Virginia law makers crafted a very broad piece of
legislation (for example, this law could prevent a mother and daughter
from establishing a joint bank account or two male business partners from
buying property together). Because of this (and not because of its extreme
anti-gay sentiment) this law is likely to be nullified when it is
inevitably challenged in court.
So, why would we choose
Virginia
over
Massachusetts
where gay marriage was recently legalised? The answer is the community and
network of friends we built over ten years. In
Virginia
we have many friends both gay and straight. Their out-pouring of support
when my partner was ill was overwhelming and moving, a message that one
would never take lightly. We belonged to a wonderful church. We belonged
to and led the parent association at our children’s school. We were
respected in the community, served on boards, hosted political
fundraisers, etc. We were living the middle-American dream - three
wonderful, happy, healthy children, two dogs, a volvo and a mini-van, a
house with a big section and two satisfying careers. We used to joke to
ourselves that it was a good thing that we were gay, otherwise we
wouldn’t be able to stand our own boring conventionality. In
Charlottesville
we found a tolerant niche in the state of
Virginia
.
There were dozens of other two mom or two dad families. They were
similarly heavily involved in and integrated into the community.
Ironically, just as we committed ourselves to
Virginia
despite the poor political and legal environment, we became victims of
that climate. At that time, my partner’s employer embroiled us in an
ugly legal battle over employment benefits, directly attacking our family
structure and threatening our financial security (with punitive damages of
up to USD 38,000). Her employer decided 7 years after our first
daughter’s birth that she was not in fact a child of my partner (because
I was our daughter’s birth mother) and would not be entitled to receive
health insurance through them. Because healthcare is not provided by the
government but as a benefit of employment, this left our daughter in a
very risky position should she suffer any accidents or become ill. I
eventually covered her on my insurance but rules of coverage, specifically
changing coverage, are onerous and complicated. More painful than the
fears we had was the realisation of the ease with which our family was
nullified. The state’s definition of family did not include ours, so as
far as the state was concerned we were not a family. All of a sudden
(perhaps we had been naïve) we realised that no matter how much you
contribute to and are valued by your community, if your legal system does
not value you, you are vulnerable.
In many ways
New
Zealand
was an obvious next step. (That is, of course, if you are willing to
accept that a move half way around the world is the best way to discover
where it is that your family should finally call home.)
New
Zealand
’s
laws are much more inclusive of gay people - which is not to say that
there isn’t still room for improvement.
But, we loved the way we were treated by the New Zealand Department of
Immigration - although my partner was the one with a job qualifying her
for a work permit, I was also granted a work permit through the family
stream. This would not be possible in the
U.S.
We all have access to
healthcare. And we can join anything (the gym, the pool, the video store)
as the family unit that we are - also not possible most places in the
U.S.
The television show “Queer
Nation” came as a wonderful surprise. Despite several
U.S.
sitcoms over the past few years which have featured gay characters, a
national news programme like “Queer Nation” is difficult to imagine in
the
U.S.
However, moving to
New
Zealand
as an openly gay family has not been as easy as we had imagined (perhaps
again we were naïve). We have felt more reluctant to be open about our
family, sensing some discomfort from work colleagues, other parents,
teachers and our church. We’re
just 6 months into our “OE.” It is far too soon to judge whether this
is due to normal challenges of moving to a new country and a new culture
or whether gay families live with a different level of social acceptance
here. In the end we are just thankful to be in
New
Zealand
,
one of a handful of countries in the world where an openly gay family can
indeed live and work as a family.
Top
of the Page
by Andrew Metcalfe
In
Britain, bullying and harassment have been much more prominent in the
media - from schools where bullies rule and authorities seem powerless to
act, to soldiers in Iraq tormenting prisoners while taking explicit
photographic records. Recently, the National Health Service organisation
that I work for held a series of seminars for staff to address bullying
and harassment in the workplace. The way they did it was interesting: they
found out what some of the real life stories doing the rounds were, and
then brought in a group of actors to play out some of the scenarios. We
had a consultant surgeon in an operating theatre laying into a junior
member of staff, a cleaner getting harassed by her immediate supervisor
and a gay health professional being tormented in a particularly nasty way
by a fellow workmate.
The
last one I found especially interesting - not just because it struck a few
cords in terms of what I have heard goes on in some places, but because of
the subtlety and nastiness of it. The perpetrator of the harassment made
out that he was just engaging in a bit of harmless banter, but it was much
more damaging than this. The scary thing was in the row behind me was a
tribe of typical Scottish males that I could well imagine would indulge in
this sort of behaviour!
The
actors demonstrated how people can get into situations where they are put
under extreme pressure and find themselves powerless to do anything about
it. You would think that we would not let this happen to us, but for a
variety of reasons it does. It can be due to “culture” - “that’s
the way it is and it can’t be changed” or the thinking that “if I
complain about what is going on no one will believe me, or I might even
lose my job”. What really struck home to me was how vulnerable and
powerless we can so easily become; we can be completely at the mercy of
others.
I’d
like to think that this sort of thing does not go on much “back home”,
but I know it still does, especially in places where small minds cannot
cope with the fact that people aren’t just like them.
So,
for those of us who are being hassled because we live and love in a way
that is different to the majority, we need to find the strength to say
“enough is enough”. We don’t have to accept this kind of behaviour,
and we need to make sure that our concerns are taken seriously. Our
employers, our politicians and neighbours need to know that our right to
be who we are without fear of violence is fundamental. And for all of us
in the LGBT community, we need to stand up for and offer solidarity to all
who suffer a loss of power and dignity.
Andrew
is currently working in
Perthshire
,
Scotland
. You can contact him
at [email protected]
Top
of the Page
More
Bells! More Whistles! And Yes, My Handbag Is On Fire!
by
John Z Robinson
And
now for a few words about James Mack (more recently known by his
grandfather's name, Galvin Kepler Macnamara) who has rightly been well
obiturised in the relevant dailies and by Hamish Keith in the Star Sunday
Times.
James
left the Palmerston North Rugby Museum/Art Gallery to work at the
Dunedin
Public
Art
Gallery
in June '68. His success
as a curator of must-see shows is legendary. One still encounters people
who remember the excitement of visiting the gallery, which was then, lest
we forget, tucked away at
Logan
Park
. It's a matter of public
record that James, young, gifted and gay, soon ran foul of the
Dunedin
city mothers and
fathers. They conspired, his three year contract ran out and it wasn’t
renewed.
I
was introduced to James at the time he was magically transforming another
small provincial gallery (the Dowse,
Lower Hutt
) into a most important centre for arts and crafts. He
regularly visited old friends in
Dunedin
. He was one of the most
outrageously gay men I'd ever met, amusing (and amused), intelligent,
generous and so alive, alivo. A man of superlatives.
In
1989 he was in
Dunedin
to officiate at the funeral of his long-term ally, Rodney
Kennedy. A couple of years later he was back to open the Gay and Lesbian
Show at the
Art
Gallery
. By then he had
discovered the felicities of the New Age and had us all holding hands
while he blessed the exhibition and the community that had created it.
Arohanui
Lux Galvin, the faeries have you all to themselves now.
Top
of the Page
Adaptation
by
Jane E Libeau
Sitting on the fringe
Dweller
of the dark
Listening
to the silence
Speaking
to who may hark
Placing
conversation
Onto
an open book
Pointing
to the obvious
Maybe
someone will look
Shifting
thoughts
Open
mind
Scattering
what conforms
Challenging
possibilities
To
what is perceived as norm
Watching
the motion
Of
human emotion
When
challenged by a thought
Of
all that we have been taught
Acceptance
of the different
To
see it dance across the face
Equal
opportunity
For
colour, creed, orientation or race.
Top
of the Page
Ao
Toa Earth Warriors by
Cathie Dunsford
(Spinifex
Press, 2004)
Reviewed
by Louise Billinghurst
Eco Thriller Poorly Written
I
enjoy reading thrillers and as a bit of a “Greenie” I felt quite
excited to be reading this book and was looking forward to being totally
enthralled by Cathie Dunsford’s Ao Toa Earth Warriors.
The
book is loosely based on a group of women who share a similar outlook on
life - i.e. they are strongly anti genetic engineering, are into herbal
medicine with a number of them being lesbian, and are in tune with their
environment. This is going to be great I was thinking.
But
after reading a few chapters I was wondering where the book was going to
lead me as it was highlighting issues that could be developed into really
good story lines. But then nothing would happen. The enduring thing
throughout the book was the emails between some of the characters, going
into great detail on the current “GE” issues of the day, even to the
extent of having excerpts from the Green Party thrown in for good measure.
I found myself speed reading and skipping the email correspondence waiting
for the action to start.
I
found that the plot was never fully developed, that the actual story line
did not flow, and that the author kept getting side tracked onto other
issues. When the finale finally arrived there were such huge gaps in the
build up, I was thinking is that it? But what about……..?
The
only positive thing that I can say about the book is that I found the
discussions on Maori traditional medicine very interesting, and I am going
to try some fresh manuka tea with white creamy pohutukawa honey.
Book Review
A
Chequered Past: My Visual Diary Of The ‘60s And ‘70s
by Peter Schlesinger and Manolo Blahnik
(
Thames
and
Hudson
, 2004)
Reviewed
by John Z Robinson
EVERYONE,
NOT ANYONE
Peter
Schlesinger, a New York-based painter and sculptor, is better known to us
as the boyfriend of David Hockney. The two (Peter, a student, and David, a
teacher) met at a Californian art school in 1966. They then moved to
London
where they lived
together. Until it fizzled out in 1971, theirs was a very productive
relationship. David created significant images of Peter in pencil and
paint, and Peter photographed everything and everyone in sight. It is a
selection of his photography that is presented in A Chequered Past: My
Visual Diary Of The ‘60s And ‘70s.
The
usual suspects are here - David in the bathroom bleaching his hair, Derek
Jarman at Yours Or Mine, Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy at Santa
Monica, Wayne Sleep posing nude, to mention a few. There are also holiday
snaps (those boys got around!) and the occasional still-life. They all
have a generous informality to them which the accompanying text picks up
on. For instance, alongside the picture entitled "David Hockney and
Cecil Beaton, Reddish House, 1970”, Peter writes, "Cecil was an
amusing, glamorous and sharp-tongued dandy who in his diaries said, 'The
boys were well-behaved', a great compliment."
About
half way through the 190 odd photographs we meet the lovely Eric Boman who
was to become Peter's partner. (The Peter/David break-up was documented in
the movie “A Bigger Splash”.)
A
Chequered Past
is a pleasant book ... sure we are familiar with all those famous faces
and figures, but Peter Schlesinger's photographs are interesting and they
do celebrate friendship. Put it on your coffee table or make room for it
on the drinks trolley - it's a real treat.
Top
of the Page
by
Nathan Brown
New owner, Howard, purchased
Dunedin
’s gay sauna & spa
venue Bodyworks in its last weekend of operation, saving it from
indefinite closure.
Bodyworks
has continued to run from its existing premises since the change of
ownership, but has just released plans to relocate the operation to Lower
Stuart Street in what was formerly known as The Leisure Centre.
The
recent sale of the
Princes
Street
Building
resulted in Bodyworks’
lease not being renewed. Howard says it has taken some time to finalise
arrangements for the shift to the new premises but he is excited by the
opportunities it creates.
“Venues
like Bodyworks have evolved over recent years, possibly connected with the
gradual acceptance of gay people in our communities. No longer are they
necessarily dirty and immoral places, and increasingly they are being
viewed as social places where men can meet, relax and connect with
friends. I will be looking to develop Bodyworks within this context in its
new space,” says Howard.
Howard,
who has been living in Dunedin for a year and has been a regular patron of
Bodyworks over that time, says that since taking over his main objectives
have been to stay open and continue to provide a service which creates
safe options for men-who-have-sex-with-men, to stabilise the business
itself and to find where the points of development are.
Peter,
the former owner of Bodyworks, originally opened the business seven years
ago on the first floor of the building now occupied by Southern Break;
from there the business moved to its present location at
284 Princes Street
.
The
move to the new premises is scheduled to take place sometime before or
during September after refurbishment of the new premises is completed. In
the meantime, Howard has reinstated a 7-day operation at the
Princes Street
location that will
continue at the new site. Entry to Bodyworks is $16 or $12 with Student
ID.
Top
of the Page
by
Kezia
It's
been another successful year for the Purple Passions soccer team. We've
strutted our stuff proudly against rivals such as the "Trouts"
where we drew in a heated game during graduation weekend, and today we
played against the “Frogs" - Fully Reliant on God Squad who gave
Lil a fair play award. Go Lil! In future games we are looking forward to
playing new rivals "NEV Pirates", which has recruited a few
Passions players.
The
Purple Passions have had only one loss in the eight games that we've
played! Twelve teams have entered the Unipol Sport for Fun Social League
which makes it an exciting and varied season. There have been no serious
injuries/bone breaks although the team is prepared with trainee ambulance
officers, medical students and the occasional doctor. We have enjoyed
being able to include international players from France, USA and UK to
have kick around during their visits to Dunedin, and they have enjoyed
being a part of a queer team where they can get to know new people and
make some new contacts.
Because
of our sponsorship from Grant - aka Bronx Bagel Co - our players have been
able to attend on a relaxed basis. The
Bronx
has also been a great gathering place where the team can get
refreshed and have a laugh about the game. Thanks to Grant for all the
support.
If
you want to get involved in the future with the Bronx Purple Passions
soccer team or social activities you can get in touch with Kezia on
467-2755.
Top
of the Page
NZAF
South - Te Toka in
Christchurch
provides the following
services:
·
Information
on HIV and AIDS.
·
Free and
anonymous counselling and HIV antibody testing for people who might be at
risk of HIV infection.
·
Individual
counselling and support for people living with HIV and people living with
AIDS.
·
Support and
counselling for families and friends of people living with HIV and AIDS.
·
Assistance
with maintaining safer sex and drug use.
·
Sexual
health counselling for men who have sex with men.
Appointments
are recommended and are available Monday to Friday between
9am
and
5pm
.
Contact Details:
NZAF
South - Te Toka
269
Hereford Street, PO Box 13-618,
Christchurch
Phone:
03-379-1953, Fax: 03-365-2477
E-mail:
contact.[email protected]
Top
of the Page
A
long, long, long time ago I was on the receiving end of information that
would bring me up to speed on some world news. My Mum and I were
discussing the distressing spread of a life threatening health issue
called “Aids”. Knowing of course (as one often did in those days) that
mothers knew everything, I felt powerfully and accurately informed as to
the cause of this horror. Our creator had in “His” wisdom found an
appropriate way to punish his gay flock for their not to be spoken of
digressions. (In all fairness to my Mum, I have no idea if she still
believes this and if she does there is never any outwards evidence of it!)
For
some reason this snippet of useless information came into my head as I sat
perusing the Out Takes movie options and deciding what my dearly beloved
and I would book for. Dearly beloved heads off to buy tickets and I find
myself once more reflecting on my life as a queer. Mmmm … back to the
computer and here I go tapping away for the OGT again. I’ve long since
known I’ve liked to write and my head is always full of reflections,
which as often as not are about being queer. Our paper is such a good
read, such a part of my journey, who knows I might be on to something
here. If you really stretched a point this could almost be called being
published! What a great stroke to my ego.
Anyway,
an essential part of my rocky, heart wrenching, courageous and at times
blissfully happy and lustful journey to my current “serenity”,
has been the existence of other journeys, before, alongside and after my
own. These other stories have been a huge part of my support system, given
me the strength, skills and wisdom to forge ahead. You become very skilled
at seeking out these stories, wonderful spoken narratives, great reading,
a movie here, a documentary there; here a queer, there a queer, every
where a queer, queer!! Other people’s stories are very important when
you are forging ahead on your own journey. Sooo, now I have justified my
second letter to the OGT it is onwards and upwards!
My
mind flicks between my first ever memory of homosexuality (as retold in my
first paragraph) and my current existence. What a huge gap, as one would
hope, after all I am a grown up now. (A grown up who is sure her own
offspring never took the wisdom of their mother’s words as gospel!) Sure
the narrow-minded view still exists, but alongside this so much has
happened in support of our cause, helping us slip further into the realms
of “normality”. The changes creep up, both on a global and a personal
level. Take the last three weeks in the life of “me” for example. When
I stop and think about it so many “normal” events have had a
“queer” aspect and no one has treated things as anything but usual.
Great stuff.
For
example, my dearly beloved graduated and we made the most of a chance for
a celebration. Some family and friends helped us celebrate, some meeting
each other for the first time, everyone very relaxed. Two women (we two, a
couple!) head the celebrations. No one cares. Of course there are others
to meet, fellow classmates, lecturers etc. I am introduced as “my
partner” to those I do not already know. No one bats an eyelid. A friend
mentions his mother’s female partner by name as he makes an official
speech, no problems there either.
I
frequently see two mums getting on with the task of parenting their baby
with no obvious father. Great job. We lunch with our male friends (a
couple) from out of town and we stay with our female friends (a couple)
out of town. We reply to an invite to an out of town party (different male
couple we have newly met). Still no problems, this all feels very normal.
We buy tickets to a gay film festival. We review a policy at work and the
group I am in discusses the need to include same sex relationships. A
colleague chats to me about her lesbian mother, my brother tells me about
a programme called “Queer Nation” he has discovered! We discuss
anti-bias in our programme at work and decide to actively seek out
children’s books portraying, among other things, same sex parents. Still
no probs.
We
reminisce about a child telling another child that girls can marry girls
because her mum said so. (See mothers do know everything!) Mum is
straight, great stuff. (Incidentally the boy she was telling became quite
concerned at this because his mum had married a boy and he hoped that was
ok, she assured him, to his great relief, that it was!!) We had dinner
last night at a table for ten, all lesbians, all couples, all motivated,
intelligent and happy people, a great night. Certainly no probs there.
What
you may notice (apart from the fact this surprisingly makes my life look
very full and exciting) is that these examples of brushes with “things
gay” are very ordinary, every day happenings really, just every day
people getting on with their lives. A long, long, long way from my first
ever memory!
So that is the end of my raving. Wherever you are on your journey, kia
kaha, be strong, remember to share your journey as it may just provide the
courage, wisdom or game plan another queer needs.
Take
care,
Sue
Top
of the Page
by Sue Thompson
PINK PARTY - PFLAG 5 years old
This year a colourful group met at
Bronx Bagels for a potluck Pink Party to celebrate five years since our
first meeting in the North East Valley Baptist Church Hall. In the early
days we were strangers to each other, all needing support, all needing to
learn to trust one another. Looking back we realise that we have come a
long way, with an office, website and library, and having written our own
leaflets and now being asked at times to speak to groups in the community.
Most of all, though, we have had five years of meetings when many families
have been helped by contact with the group, and new friendships have been
formed. This was what we celebrated with funny costumes and the cutting of
the cake - a lovely occasion. Special thanks to Grant who provided the
venue, and some beautiful food and drink.
COATS - COWARDICE and COURAGE
PFLAG has recently made the headlines. First, we
sponsored a page in the “Star” community newspaper, together with
Rainbow Families and Pride Dunedin Youth. As a result of this, two weeks
later, “June”, Erin and I were interviewed by the ODT. We were
thrilled with the final result and that our piece complemented what Emmie
and the other contributors said. The reporter said that pictures of some
PFLAG members would help to give the feature some credibility and lend
human interest to the stories. It took a bit of courage to let our names
and faces be published. Afterwards, our reactions were interesting,
especially about our coats! Two of us confessed to one another that for a
few days after our photos were published we felt like wearing something, anything,
different or a disguising hat, so that we would not be easily recognised.
Most of us felt somewhat apprehensive about what reactions we might get
from people we knew, after all the OGT did report earlier this year some
unkind reactions to Barb and Tor, two courageous women. (That was the
cowardly bit!) Feedback has been mainly good, though, and we seem to have
made at least some people think.
After the first article there was somebody waiting at
the office for
Erin
wanting leaflets. We have also had emails, one mentioning “how healing
the ODT article would be for many families”. Other people have stopped
us in the street and said they liked the page and had learned from it. On
the other hand, there were a few odd looks at church, though positive
reaction as welI. It has been wonderful to feel the support of our own
families, and also to have people from the gay community telling their
stories alongside ours. We are stronger working together, and we can
accomplish incredibly more than any of us could do alone.
We have noticed when we reach out to the community that
we can never plan what the effects will be, who we will reach or if we
will even get to hear about it. But it is still worth doing. Some of us
are out in a public way. Many others are wonderful positive gay role
models living and working amongst the straight community. This can produce
powerful change, also in unexpected ways. There is a verse in one of the
hymns at Glenaven which never fails to make an impression on me:
“Not by God’s finger, not by God’s anger,
Will our world order change in a day,
But by your people fearless and faithful,
Small paper lanterns, lighting the way.”
(Paper lanterns which shed a brilliant light, but are
vulnerable)
Stop Press: PFLAG
has been asked to speak at the Citizens Advice training course. We are
very pleased to be given this opportunity.
Top
of the Page
The
Rainbow Families group exists for all those in the queer community who
have, want or are trying to have children to get together for support and
social activities.
The
Rainbow Families group has been running for over a year now and there’s
a range in the ages of the children – babies, toddlers and older
school-aged children. The group runs very informally, but provides those
who are part of a rainbow family with the opportunity to talk about issues
and share ideas and information. It’s also great for the children to
grow up knowing that there are other families like theirs.
The
group meets on the first Saturday of each month. Below are listed the
events that have been planned for the next few months.
For more information about the Rainbow Families group,
contact Barb on 453-1108 or [email protected]
or Jacinda on 471-9495. And, if you have any suggestions for
activities for the Rainbow Families group, then please let Barb or Jacinda
know!
Sunday
September 5
(NOTE:
This one is on a Sunday rather than a Saturday!)
Kids Day at Arc Café (
135 High St
) -
11:30am
. Brunch/lunch
plus lots of activities for the kids, including Captain Cornflakes. Please
RSVP to Barb so that we can reserve a table.
Saturday
October 2
Otago Early
Settlers
Museum
(31
Queens
Gardens
) -
2:30pm
. Entry to the
museum costs $4 for adults ($3 concession), but children are free.
Saturday
November 6
Gardens - meet at the café in the Gardens at
2:30pm
. We can play at
the playground, feed the ducks and then return to the café for a coffee.
(And there’s always the option of walking up to the aviary for those who
want a bit more exercise!)
Top
of the Page
PFLAG
(Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) has an office. Here
are the details:
1st floor,
326 Moray Place
,
Dunedin
(within the offices of
the Dunedin Methodist Mission)
Office telephone: 477-2000
Help line: 025-686-9304
Email: [email protected],
Postal address:
PO Box 5266
,
Dunedin
Hours:
10am to 2pm
on Mondays, Wednesdays
and Fridays
Top
of the Page
Queer
Quiz Answers
1.
University
of
Waikato
2.
Distinguished Companion of the NZ Order of Merit
3. David
Benson-Pope
4. Four
years
5. Jay and
Maia
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of the Page
