Conscience Clause

17/04/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Stormont Building – What is a Conscience Clause worth?

Editorial: The Conscience Clause has been talked about and written about by many factions, both inside and outside Northern Ireland. Indeed we at NIGRA News have made our own comments on it, and the impact it may have on Northern Ireland.

However, I am now reprinting an article, which though written about Indiana, USA, has relevance to us in that it shows the impact that their ill thought out legislation had both on the economy and in a wider sense peoples perceptions of Indiana.

Please take the time to read the article and also the case study. We would welcome your comments and observations on these two items.

HRC – IndianaCaseStudy_Document

HRC -“Don’t Repeat the Mistakes of Indiana”

Reprinted from Echelon – APRIL 16, 2015

Today, the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, sent a new case study to state lawmakers across the country urging them to reject anti-LGBT bills like the religious refusal bill in Indiana that would put LGBT people at risk for discrimination. The case study comes after the Indianapolis Star reported this week that the state “plans to spend millions to repair [its] image after RFRA.”

The document will be sent to state leaders in 12 states: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas. It will also be sent to early 2016 states: Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
“The lesson from Indiana is clear. Voters are rejecting lawmakers who are willing to put their state economy at risk in an attempt to further discrimination,” said Fred Sainz, HRC’s Vice President of Communications. “Elected officials, and governors specifically, who continue to experiment with these anti-LGBT bills that allow businesses to discriminate are going to find out that a $2 million PR campaign only scratches the surface when it comes to the cost taxpayers will have to bear for bills that enable discrimination.”
View the full case study HERE. The document showcases a new poll of Hoosiers by the Human Rights Campaign. That poll showed that a stunning 75 percent of Hoosiers report that Gov. Mike Pence’s push for the “religious refusal” bill has damaged Indiana’s business climate. It also showed that, when asked, “Do you think businesses should or should not be allowed to refuse service to someone because of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” voters said businesses should not discriminate by an overwhelming margin of 70 to 24. A majority of Republican voters (58 to 36) said that businesses should not be allowed to discriminate.
The case study shows how the political environment has deteriorated significantly for Gov. Pence. More Hoosiers now think the state is on the “wrong track” than “right track,” – his personal approval ratings have plummeted – and he’s now tied with a potential democratic challenger, in a state that President Obama lost by 10 points in 2012. 53 percent of likely voters said the debate left them with a less favorable opinion of Pence

Election Fever

17/04/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Election Fever

Editorial:

We are currently in the thros of an election campaign, and what is interesting is to watch how the ‘papers’ side (and in some cases, change sides) with the political parties that they support.

In an online site ‘TV_tropes’ is an interesting synopsis on British Newspapers; and today I would like to have a look at the Daily Express which is owned by Richard Desmond, a porn baron. In the past the editorial slant of a paper could be gauged by The Daily Express seems to be in a quandary about whether it is far right conservative and with all that entails like being against porn, against ‘gays’, well anything that is not ‘family’ orientated, but whilst doing so it still promotes the porn channels programmes for Mr Desmond.

It also seems to be almost disappearing down the track which the National Enquirer has developed – sensationalism without necessarily accuracy.

Back on Jul 9 last year Ann Widdeombe, a former Tory minister, wrote on the ongoing legal case about Ashers’ and the request for them to make a cake which related to Marriage Equality. This article was updated Jan 19 this year.

I respect anyone who is willing to put their views forward, something which in a free country we are all entitled to do. However, where I do differ from Ms Widdicombe is I like to be accurate.

In her last paragraph she says:

“In a free country the baker should be able to refuse to take part in what is effectively PR for gay marriage in the knowledge that any customers who do not like that decision are free to buy their morning loaf elsewhere. But then it is a long time since Britain and freedom were synonymous.”

The part in this statement which I believe is incorrect, is that of ‘take part in what is effectively PR for gay marriage’. The request for a cake was not made to generate a court case, indeed it was a pure and simple payment and transaction, the same as any that you or I would do in any retail shop. It was not a setup stunt, with the intention of generating publicity – I know that both sides of this story would probably like it not to have happened in the way it has.

This is pure and simple a question of you pay and expect to receive the goods in question.

Young voters ‘fed up’ with Northern Irish politicians

17/04/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Editorial: Voting, if you are of the right age, is your right, Please don’t squander it, find out what your candidates stand for, and their parties. Do they reflect your rights and what you want out of life; if not challenge them to represent you properly

Repritned from BBC News bear:

By Declan HarveyNewsbeat’s Election Team in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is “stuck in the past” according to some young voters there.
They’ve told Newsbeat they feel a “disproportionate amount of time” is spent dealing with the country’s violent past instead of introducing “modern laws”.
Compared to the rest of the UK, Northern Ireland, for example, still has tight restrictions on abortion and has not legalised gay marriage.
It’s left some feeling “mortified” and considering leaving the country.
Between 1968 and 1998 a bitter conflict was fought in Northern Ireland between those who want to stay part of the UK and those who want to leave and join the Republic of Ireland.
Although there is now peace, the cultural and political divide can still be felt in some areas.
Read our beginner’s guide to politics in Northern Ireland
“Everything comes down to ‘protestant and catholic'” says Mary, 23, who is part of the BBC’s Generation 2015 project.
“Everything is looked at through a very religious lens here, in a way that it isn’t in the rest of the UK.
“And when you see places like England, Wales and Scotland moving forward on issues like abortion and LGBT rights, it’s incredibly frustrating.”
Newsbeat has previously reported how Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK which doesn’t have, and isn’t yet consulting on, specific laws to make revenge porn illegal.

Mary is “mortified” by how “far behind” Northern Ireland

“We’re being stuck in the past,” Mary says.
But the past is important to Gary, 23, from Belfast.
His family say they are still fighting for “justice” for his great uncle, who was shot dead by British soldiers in the 1970s.
He says families on both sides who have lost relatives have a lot of questions they want answered.
“We do need to move forward but I believe the only way to do that properly is to look at the past – deal with everything that happened.
“Then we can move forward with everybody and not just the people this didn’t affect.”

Gary, 23, believes politicians should “deal with everything that happened”

Billy-Jo, 20, grew up in care and says the system was designed to keep children with foster families of the same religious background.
It’s an example of how public services have been affected.
“If they took away that divide it will mean the prejudices for our generation aren’t going to be there,” she says.
In North Belfast, Gary, too, showed us examples of how the past can have an effect on modern issues.
He lives in a nationalist area, divided by a tall “peace wall”, from a neighbouring rival community.
He explains how in his area there is a lack of housing, however they are unable to move to where there is space in the next street.
“I would fear for my life,” he says.

“People want justice for their family members, but at the same time, it’s holding us back”

He agreed it would be the same in the reverse situation.
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive told Newsbeat there is no doubt “barriers get in the way of good housing solutions in Northern Ireland.”
But it says it is “working actively to support communities to remove those barriers and help areas become more welcoming, inclusive and accessible to people of diverse backgrounds.”
Despite his situation though, Gary believes the past must be “dealt with” before people in his community can move on.
Billy-Jo, whose aunt was killed by paramilitaries, said: “People want justice for their family members, but at the same time, it’s holding us back.”
Many people in Northern Ireland vote along their community and religious lines.
However, turnout has fallen over the last few decades as more and more feel their vote won’t have an impact.
Victoria, 24, from Scarva in Country Armagh, is happy for politicians to be religious and carry out their work accordingly:
“It’s very important for them, as individuals, to abide by their biblical standards and let that translate through the decisions they make.”

Victoria, 24, believes politicians should be religious

However she believes those who get elected in 2015 should make more of an effort:
“People here in Northern Ireland would like to see politicians work together more.”
“At the moment it’s a mess” said Billy-Jo.
The impact of having lots of unhappy young adults is that many could, and might, leave.
Last year a survey by the Belfast Telegraph suggested two-thirds see their future outside of Northern Ireland.
Mary said she “definitely” considers leaving because the system in Northern Ireland has not kept up with “modern” views.
“Which is very sad,” she said.
Follow @BBCNewsbeat on Twitter, BBCNewsbeat on Instagram andRadio1Newsbeat on YouTube and you can now follow BBC_Newsbeat on Snapchat.

Book Review: Smash Cut

15/04/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Brad Gooch and Howard Brookner in 1982. | Courtesy of Brad Gooch

Reprinted from Huffing Post: Gay Voices – Lila Shapiro – Posted: 04/14/2015 7:35 am EDT

In the first chapter of writer Brad Gooch’s new book Smash Cut, a vivid and searing memoir of gay bohemian life in New York City in the ’70s and ’80s, he visits the apartment of his soon-to-be lover, film director Howard Brookner. The year is 1971, the weather is warm, the mood heady, the real estate cheap.

They arrive on Brookner’s block — the last on Prince Street before the Bowery, “a burnt-out district, full of inky purple shadows tinged with even more of a sickly yellow cast than the West Village, and a smell of gas, rather than dog s–t, in the air. Few lived around here, except the street people, occupying empty eye sockets of windowless apartments across the street; the only business, a pizza shop one corner away.” Brookner’s “vast” loft apartment costs $100 a month in rent.
Today, a one-bedroom apartment on the same block goes for $5,650 a month, according to StreetEasy. On a recent visit to the block, I saw a willowy brunette examining a pair of leather “sweat pants” that retailed for $1,095 at Helmut Lang. In front of a candle shop across the street, the chalkboard advertised three varieties of flower-scented candles — Moroccan rose, Indian jasmine and Japanese peony.
Gooch says he can’t help but feel nostalgic for the old New York, despite its bad smells, its roaches and muggings. In Smash Cut, he seeks to unearth the ruins what he describes as a sort of lost Atlantis. The blocks and buildings still stand, but the spirit of that era was wiped out first by AIDS (which killed Brookner in 1989) and then, in essence, by progress — by the mainstream acceptance of gay life in America.
Gooch — now 63 and married to Paul Raushenbush, executive religion editor at HuffPost — recently sat down with me to talk about his latest work. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Why write this book now? What was your seed of inspiration?
We moved to Chelsea Gardens on 23rd Street [in Manhattan], Paul and I. And then every day when I would go to the gym down the street, I would look up at the Chelsea Hotel and see the apartment where Howard and I lived and where I had my 30th birthday party next to the ‘O’ in the ‘Hotel.’ When we moved there, I wasn’t really thinking about this. It wasn’t really weighing on me. I wasn’t thinking that Howard had died two blocks down the street at London Terrace. Somehow when we actually moved there, it sunk in.
Part of why it wasn’t sinking in was because everything was so radically different. It was like another planet. I mean, my life was completely different; Chelsea is unrecognizable from what it was. So I think the daily seeing these same locations and, at the same time, having the eerie feeling of being completely dislocated from them caught my attention.
I loved the line in the book where you write that “the ’70s had a romantic aura because of so much first love among grown men.” But I couldn’t help wondering, do you think that part of that romance becomes clear only in retrospect? That it was such a romantic time because of the AIDS crisis that followed it?
Well, possibly. Meaning that it’s the lost continent of Atlantis. It’s a very distinct time and it really ends, and it really now is history — and that’s so startling.
It’s true, as with great historical events, you wonder, “What if the South had won the Civil War?” What if Robert Mapplethorpe was alive? What if Keith Haring was alive? How would our culture be different? How would gay liberation have gone differently? And we don’t know the answers to these things. And because of what happened, which is like going through a war and all these people were killed, it just becomes its own moment.
I’d love to hear you talk a bit about the theme of “haunting” in the book. There are many references to ghosts and haunting. Was this a conscious decision? Did this happen organically?
I would like to say it was intentional because people have pointed it out and I think it’s wonderful, but I wasn’t really aware of it when it was happening. But that’s the thing of writing, too. All of this stuff, if you’re in the zone, there’s a natural structure and natural imagery to it. So there was always a feeling of being haunted, that’s true, and the Chelsea Hotel seems kind of haunted so it works. I didn’t contrive it.
Can you tell me more about your writing process and what objects and images you looked at while you were writing?
I hadn’t been precious about saving things particularly, so it was interesting to me that I had the chopsticks wrapper on which Howard had written his number the first night we met. At that point we didn’t have iPhones, so if you met someone, you’d write down their number. You would have some place in your house where you’d put all these numbers, and when you needed to call somebody, you’d go through them. There would be so many that you’d throw them away. But somehow I’d kept his number, and I had transferred it, and at this point it becomes almost amazing. And there was a poem I had written to Howard and ripped out and left out on the table, and it amazes me that these things somehow had made it to here.
Do you think you feel differently about this period of life now that you’ve finished writing about it?
In terms of Howard, I do. There was a sense of responsibility to write about him and to record him, and also in a way a responsibility to record that period and that time — because a lot of the people who were the eyewitnesses weren’t around and it was special, particular, an antidote to the present in a way.
Tell me more about that — “an antidote to the present”?
Not at all to be snotty about the present, but I just think in terms of gay history, gay culture. … Back then, there really wasn’t a gay identity yet and we were part of this first out generation. There was an intimacy to it.
Then it was very cheap and that’s why you could have artists and you could have underground clubs. Real estate was nothing. This allowed a lot to happen, but it was also very difficult. I was mugged; everyone was mugged, attacked, robbed. Apartments were full of roaches and the subways didn’t work. People didn’t have answering machines yet. Now it’s much safer and I’m benefiting from that because I’m older, but it’s not the same place. It can’t be.
Thankfully, now we have all these legal protections of gay people and marriage, which I’ve benefited from. And also a place like Chelsea — you have a gay identity to come to. There are gay gyms, gay restaurants, but identities can be confining. There’s a way that New York has become a brand now.
Some gay men who lived through the peak of the AIDS crisis in the ’80s and ’90s talk about survivor’s guilt. Have you experienced that?
I don’t think so. I wrote in the book that at the time, I told Howard I was HIV negative and I cried and he was so happy. To me, that was about separation, that I realized I was going to go on and that we were going to separate and I would face life without Howard. It took me a long time to recover from that.
What do you notice when you return to your old neighborhoods and streets?
It’s funny, you go to some fashion store and you know that that was the Mineshaft [an underground gay bondage club that Gooch once frequented]. People were being whipped where that purse is hanging. I guess there’s something about aging, but you know, it’s more than age because of the way it happened. It accelerated ages. People weren’t all supposed to die when they were 30, and I wasn’t necessarily supposed to still be here.
There are some great celebrity encounters in the book. Of those mentioned, who would you pick if you needed to chose three for a dinner party?
Certainly Robert Mapplethorpe I would really like to see and Andy Warhol. William Burroughs kind of scared me and creeped me out. I don’t know about him. Does Howard count as a celebrity? Those people would make a good dinner party.
If gay marriage had been legal and supported by society back when you met Howard, do you think he would still be alive and the two of you would be married and having kids?
We thought about it in the 1970s and I remember talking about it with my shrink. Howard had kind of a conservative side to him, too. He wanted to become his grandparents in some way. He definitely had a part of him that would have wanted to get married and he definitely wanted to have children.
Do you think society’s lack of acceptance of gay people played a role in Howard’s death?
A big part.
We’d all lived through this incredibly repressive “Leave It to Beaver” world. And very rare was the gay man who didn’t hide and lurk in his high school because of this. The cork pops in some way when you come to New York. It was part of the energy of the period — this extended adolescence and there was love and longing. But at the same time, there was a dark side to all of this. There was a danger to what we were playing around with.

Watch Aiden Leslie’s Video ‘I Just Go’

15/04/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Aiden Leslie

The singer-songwriter debuts his new single and video, a continual search for love and understanding

BY OUT.COM EDITORS

APRIL 13 2015 9:20 AM EDT

Photography by Giovanni Martins
For his latest single and video, “I Just Go,” gay singer-songwriter Aiden Lesliewanted to address that feeling when one is not living the life one is meant to be pursuing, one of the “most vulnerable songs” he’s every written.
“It’s a metaphor in many ways. The element of the relationship in ‘I Just Go’ is definitely one part of the story. But, the real truth of it all is my doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result,” Leslie explains. “It’s about struggling with unhealthy people and behaviors…and not living a life that is truly available to me. The relationship illustrates the struggle on how the chorus lyric says: ‘I should care, I could care / But, I just go / I keep on walking down this road of love.’ It’s all about keeping it moving forward no matter painful it gets.”
The video’s beach scenes were shot in a private location in Breezy Point, NY, and other locations include Buschwick, Brooklyn and lower Manhattan. If you’re curoius who the handsome man who plays Leslie’s lover in the video, it’s his friend, Rafaele Rivera.
“I wrote the song at a very dark time in my life,” Leslie admits. “I was hanging with the wrong crowd. It was very glamorous from the outside — jet-set, but completely out of control — partying a lot and losing myself in the process. So, I found myself asking many questions about life, mortality and, of course, love.”
“I Just Go” will be released on iTunes Tuesday, April 14. Watch the video premiere below:

Tags: POPNOGRAPHY, MUSIC

‘Conscience clause’ trading warning

15/04/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Reprinted from Belfast Telegraph – 14 APRIL 2015

MLA Judith Cochrane warned that a “conscience clause” could lead to a backlash

The adoption of a “conscience clause” into Northern Ireland trading legislation could trigger a boycott similar to one affecting a US state that adopted a similar law change, the Assembly has been warned.

Indiana’s “religious freedom” law, which critics claim discriminates against the gay community, has seen concerts cancelled, sponsorship for major technology conferences pulled, and the axing of a multimillion-pound company expansion, Alliance MLA Judith Cochrane told members.
She expressed concern over a similar impact on Northern Ireland’s ability to attract investment and major events if the DUP succeeded in passing its contentious amendment to the law.
The DUP’s Paul Givan is proposing a law change that would effectively allow traders to refuse business that they deemed contravened their religious beliefs.
The move comes in the wake of a high profile legal action against Christian bakers in Belfast who refused to make a cake bearing a pro-gay marriage slogan. A judge has reserved judgment in the case taken by the gay rights activist whose order was declined.
Sinn Fein has vowed to block the passage of the DUP’s Private Member’s Bill at Stormont.
During Assembly Question Time, Mrs Cochrane asked DUP Economy minister Arlene Foster if she was worried about the sort of backlash experienced by Indiana.
“Does the minister share my concern that the proposed conscience clause in Northern Ireland could have implications similar to the business and sport boycott of the state of Indiana following the introduction of similar legislation?” she asked.

Mrs Foster emphatically rejected the claim.

“No, I don’t share her concerns at all,” she told the chamber.
“I do have to say to the member, however, that what does concern me is the number of small businesses who have approached me individually and many of my colleagues in relation to the concerns they have about the provision of services in the future (in the wake of the gay cake row).
“It is a concern she would do well, and her party would do well to acknowledge because we aren’t just interested in foreign direct investment, we are also very much interested in our indigenous companies.”

Students and wrestling superstar slam down on prejudice

15/04/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Reprinted from GayTimes Blog

“…men in their underwear, cuddling angrily…”

Scotland’s first openly gay wrestler Christopher Saynt has joined forces with LGBT students last week in addressing major concerns about LGBT participants in the sport.
Taking place at the National Union of Students [NUS[ Scotland LGBT Conference on 10 April, it was found that young gay people find taking part in sport “intimidating” and “discriminatory” because of negative associated stereotypes.
A report, found by the NUS, found that homophobia still prevents many LGBT students from getting actively involved in sports activities, with only a third of students participating in organised team sport.
Lani Baird, NUS Scotland LGBT Officer, said: “So many young LGBTQI people still don’t feel like sports is for them. it’s great to see someone like Christopher Saynt challenge the negative stereotypes and assumptions that are still attached to sport, wrestling in particular.”
Christopher Saynt is going against the stereotype that has been attached to sports culture in Scotland and the rest of the UK. At the conference, he spoke of his own experiences in coming out to the sporting world….
“I can’t pretend it was easy coming out as gay to the wrestling community, and I worried about whether I’d be accepted by fans and fellow wrestlers.While my colleagues have been really supportive, some people have struggled to accept my sexuality.” Christopher has also received hate mail and negative responses, but he does not want that to deter wannabe sportsmen.
“When it comes down to it – wrestling is a bunch of men in their underwear, cuddling angrily. It would be hugely hypocritical to have homophobia within our sport. We need to stop judging others on outdated stereotypes. As a proud and openly gay wrestler – I hope I can play a big part in that.”
Go Chris!
Words Rebecca Peel, @BeccaPeel

Cameron Election Pledges

15/04/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Editorial: We are in the election fever, when much is promised, but often not delivered after the election is over. We as voters must always ask ourselves why is this being said now, as in March 2015, Downing Street had said it had no current plans to alter its policy towards gay men convicted of crimes under draconian gross indecency laws but will “consider” a petition put forward by the codebreaker’s family to pardon 49,000 men. Think carefully about your vote, and make certain you know what your candidates views on LGBT matters are, as well as their party’s!

Cameron Pledges Pardons for ‘Outdated’ U.K. Gay-Sex Convictions

Alan Turing was a pioneering computer scientist who received a royal pardon for his 1952 conviction in 2013, 59 years after his death.

Source: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images via Getty Images

Reprinted from Bloomberg:
byThomas Penny
3:35 PM BST
April 14, 2015

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to posthumously pardon people convicted of historic gay-sex offenses if his Conservative Party wins the May 7 general election.
The commitment, which closely matches one made by opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband in March, would erase the criminal records of people if their activities would no longer be offenses, the Tories said in their manifesto published Tuesday.
“We will build on the posthumous pardon of Enigma codebreaker Alan Turing, who committed suicide following his conviction for gross indecency, with a broader measure to lift the blight of outdated convictions of this nature,” according to the manifesto. The pioneering computer scientist received a royal pardon for his 1952 conviction in 2013, 59 years after his death.

The offense of gross indecency, which came into law in 1885, made sex between men illegal and was only overturned in 1967 when it became legal over the age of 21 without anyone else present. The age of consent was reduced to 16 — in line with heterosexual sex — in 2001.
The Protection of Freedoms Act in 2012 made it possible for living people convicted of “decriminalized consensual-sex offenses” to apply to the home secretary for their criminal records to be disregarded during checks by courts or on behalf of employers.
Thousands of British men still suffer from historic charges “even though they would be completely innocent of any crime today,” the Tories said. “Many others are dead and cannot correct this injustice themselves through the legal process we have introduced while in government. So we will introduce a new law that will pardon those people, and right these wrongs.”

Further reading:

Holy Sexuality Conference

15/04/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

.@ukhomeoffice Refuse visas for US ‘gay cure’ preachers & stop the ‘Holy Sexuality Conference’

Omar Kuddus
Blackpool, United Kingdom

Sign the petition

On 21st April The Seventh Day Adventist Church plans to bring three speakers from the US to London to run a 5-day conference‘for people that have struggled with same-sex attraction’.
This conference will promote the dangerous view that homosexuality is something to be cured. It should not be allowed to take place in the UK.
Speakers include Mike Carducci, Wayne Blakely and Danielle Harrison, who all claim to have been cured of their gay lifestyles and work to encourage others to reject homosexuality. Online videos show Mike Carducci describing gay people as‘sexually defiled’.
Now UKIP candidate Alan Craig has also signed up to speak – he recently claimed same-sex marriage is a ‘democratic disgrace’.
The US speakers will use the conference to promote the dangerous idea that being gay is something that can be cured, through so-called ‘conversion’ therapy.
The UK Council for Psychotherapy has described conversion theory as abuse. Just last week President Obama called for an end to ‘gay conversion therapies’, acknowledging the potentially devastating effects on the lives of transgender as well as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer youth.
And Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: ‘If anything needs curing, it is the outdated belief that being gay is wrong or something to be ashamed of. Sexuality is not an illness but an inherent part of who you are.’
The Government has refused visas for preachers promoting discrimination in the past. Last year the Home Office denied a visa for so-called pick-up artist Julien Blanc to stop him hosting sexist seminars that promoted violence against women.
The Government should give the same protection to gay men and women, and deny the organisers of this conference visas.
There should be no place in the UK for people to teach that being gay is something that is wrong and should be cured.
Please sign & share this petition to stop this ‘gay cure’ conference.

Sign the petition

Editorial:

NIGRA has written before about the dangers that being gay is something to be cured. President Obama has called for an end to gay ‘conversion’ therapies. We are looking for similar leads from our own local politicians ad indeed other politicians within the UK – we don’t need to be cured, we just need to have equality!

The Importance of LGBT Cinema with Ana Souza (Outfest)

13/04/2015 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Reprinted from ‘front row reviews’

Ollie.Charles

Published: April 10, 2015

As the glitter starts to fade on BFI Flare 2015, which some a great selection of features, documentaries and short films from around the world we decided to look forward and see what else we can expect from LGBT festivals for the rest of the year. We have recently caught up with Ana Souza, the latest recruit to the incredible Outfest team in Los Angeles. As the team prepare for the 2015 edition (July 9-19), Ana (who is working as the Programming Coordinator on their Programming team) sat down to chat with us about working on both the USA and UK circuit (and does she believe there are any profound differences) as well as looking at the importance of LGBT cinema today. Someone in her position, working to help exhibit and promote these films around the world (people from everywhere will visit LA during July to see what they have on offer), is integral in aiding LGBT filmmakers to tell their stories.
On the differences between the US and the UK Circuit
Ana Souza: This question definitely invites some generalizations so forgive these in advance! But it has been my experience that LGBT rights and the LGBT movement as a whole has been more accepted in the UK in the public sphere than in the US. Both countries still have a long way to go in terms of establishing and defending LGBT rights, the clearest example being the recent and outrageous Indiana Religious Freedom Bill. I think the two festival circuits have similar goals in bringing LGBT stories to prominence and giving them wider audiences, while still respecting the huge range of LGBT perspectives (and there are so many intelligent and wonderful stories to tell! – ed). I think that European and Latin American LGBT filmmakers in particular are taking some serious risks in their filmmaking lately and delivering some wildly original stories, while I’ve seen some incredible and thoughtful documentaries in particular emerging from the US. What I also love about Outfest is their Legacy Project initiative, which is one of the first archives in the world dedicated solely to preserving LGBT films, and that’s something that needs to be kept in mind – LGBT cinema has a long history that needs to be protected worldwide.
On the Importance of LGBT cinema
AS: I think LGBT cinema today is more crucial than ever for several reasons. It’s a marginalized group thatdeserves a voice and deserves equal rights, equal opportunity, and inclusion; these stories should be shared with people of all sexual orientations because above all they are human stories that deserve a wide audience. I find that the ‘othering’ of LGBT culture has readily tied it with independent cinema and alternative perspectives, and these are so unbelievably welcome and necessary, and I am so thankful for the festivals and distributors that are able to get these stories noticed and seen.
On the artist known as Franco
As much as I do have a self-aware soft spot for James Franco (Spring Breakers really brought this out in me somehow), I think it’s complicated for him to present himself as ‘gay in his art’ and ‘straight in real life’. I think he wanted to grab onto the fact that he has been portrayed as gay by various sources and run with that as a liberation of sorts that ascribes his art to a kind of openness and willingness to experiment. While I do think a lot of the work he does has this sensibility I think it’s problematic to equate that with homosexuality. When that is such a real, life-changing and life-defining sexual discovery for many it feels narcissistic that he would try to appropriate that. But then again, what did we expect from him?
On the Trends in the circuit
One trend in particular that I have increasingly noticed is a more complex take on bisexaulity, which has typically been lacking in cinema in general and even within LGBT films. I think it’s the kind of thing that requires serious treatment but often is represented in a light, almost flippant manner. I’m glad to see this change.