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An Openly Gay Man

19/05/2022 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

An Openly Gay ManDerek Byrne

Academic & Journalist

Irish Times.

Thu, Apr 14, 2022.

As an openly gay man, I am, of course, appalled at the idea that someone like me can be violently attacked on the street as an expression of vicious homophobia.

The recent horrific attack on a young gay man leaving the George bar in Dublin during the early hours of last Sunday morning left me wondering if it is indicative of a growing sense of resentment among some heterosexual men in Irish society towards their homosexual counterparts.

While there is admittedly a dearth of empirical evidence to support my thesis, even Tánaiste Leo Varadkar recently pointed to a growing sense of worry among the gay community in relation to a perceived increase in homophobic verbal abuse and physical assaults on our streets.

Research carried out by the Rainbow Project in Belfast between 2017 and 2019 highlighted a significant rise in homophobic attacks in Northern Ireland during this period from 163 to 281. However, it is understood that most homophobic attacks are not reported to the PSNI and, as a result, these figures are lower than actual incidents.

The research also showed that 150 of the attacks during 2019 were violent in nature. While it would not be wise to compare the attitudes towards the LGBT community in Northern Ireland, which had marriage equality thrust upon it by the Westminster government rather than by popular consent, it would be wise to acknowledge that homophobia remains a significant public health concern on this island.

An article published in the Journal of Homosexuality in January 2010, which explored heterosexual men’s anger towards male homosexuality, suggests that sexual prejudice most likely facilitates anti-gay aggression in men who are exposed to intimate or sexual interactions between two men. The article suggests that this supposition is consistent with the view that sexual prejudice and anti-gay aggression function to enforce gender and societal norms.

This would support the view that some heterosexual men in Irish society are feeling resentful at the increased visibility of openly gay men on the streets, in the media, online and occupying traditionally heterosexual normative roles; the office of the taoiseach and now Tánaiste by Leo Varadkar being a case in point.

It is clear that what we need is a greater understanding of how heterosexual men are responding to the liberation in recent years of homosexual lifestyles in Ireland. It is foolish to think that legislation alone changes attitudes, it doesn’t, it merely sets a standard for the kind of society we aspire to be. Changing attitudes can take much longer – generations in fact – and I would argue that what we are witnessing at the moment is evidence of the conflict that emerges as a result in the gap between legislation and the adjustment of attitudes regarding LGBT issues.

While advances in sexual tolerance have been hard won in Ireland, it could be argued that many of those who were not in favour of marriage equality, for example, may be feeling marginalised in a diverse modern Ireland. Far from ignoring and condemning these people, we would do well to understand them and to listen to their concerns so that we can respond to them with authority and, yes, compassion. This, I would argue, is equality in action.

Tolerance is a funny thing in that it has its limits. When we ask people to grant us equality it can come with a price tag. This price is an understanding that we will ultimately assimilate, not stand out in the crowd, not rock the boat too hard and not challenge gender and societal norms too much.

If the LGBT community are guilty of one thing, it is complacency and a false sense of security that the war has been won.

It is clear from the recent spate of horrific violence towards gay men that while we have come so far in Irish society, we are a long way from Kansas yet.Violence in all its forms must be vilified at every turn. Homophobic violence in particular assaults the very nature of our society in Ireland which in recent years has striven to be a beacon of inclusivity and diversity.

However, espousing these principles can also mean that we must constantly evaluate our values and, at times, hear those who may not agree with us and listen to those who may even wish us harm.

A truly equal society will address violence not only through condemnation but with an understanding that we may all be equal but we are definitely not the same.

Derek Byrne’s  article was triggered by two recent unrelated events in Dublin and Sligo on both of which the (Irish) & (London) Times report today…

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sligo-suspect-planned-to-kill-more-men-in-the-coming-days-33hlwh67d 
 
And…
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hate-crime-laws-must-have-teeth-to-protect-lgbt-community-33cmj9229 
 
Internal Link
  • Homophobia and Terrorism are not limited to Muslims

Filed Under: Anti-Bullying & Homophobia Tagged With: gay bashing, homophobia

Far Right

23/09/2021 By ACOMSDave 1 Comment

The ‘faFar Rightr right’ continue to use whatever methods work for them, and there is little reason to believe that an appeal on moralistic grounds will work, remember, they believe they are on the moral high ground. If we need to beat them then we need to adopt strong tactics within the law, but we have to be as smart if not smarter than them.

‘Conservative Candidates Promoted Petitions That Sent Personal Data to European Far-Right Group’

In an article by Philip Baldwin, in the Gay Times [now no longer a print-based magazine, I am sorry to say] he said that

…the British Government is increasingly moving towards an agenda which, in his view, is profoundly lesbophobic, homophobic, biphobic and transphobic…

[Are LGBTQ+ people under siege in the UK?] (dated 

Then we have William Koenig who claimed that the LGBTQ people are prepping children to be”groomed and sexualized” and that COVID is God’s “judgement” for U.S. being “so pro-LGBT”

You, no matter where you turn you can see what appears to be a backlash against the LGBTQ+ community and the affirmation of our rights. 

Tonight EMMA POWYS MAURICE , has reported in the Pink Paper ‘ Police are investigating after three people were reportedly whipped with belts by a group of men in a suspected homophobic attack.‘, and before this ‘The Independent‘ reported that attacks on LGBT people have surged by almost an 80% increase in the UK over last four years.

For so many in the LGBTQ+ community we have been living through what appears to have been an enlighten ‘rosy’ period; we have been legally recognised [though at different times in the various parts of the UK], different sectors have recognised us within the working world [i.e Gay and lesbian citizens have been allowed to serve openly in the Her Majesty’s Armed Forces since 2000], same-sex marriage has been recognised and performed in England and Wales since March 2014, in Scotland since December 2014, and in Northern Ireland since January 2020.

And because of these wins, we in the LGBTQ+ community have become complacent.  We go on our Pride Parades, and forget that these were originally Marches to fight for our rights!  IN the past we also had local magazines and Gay News was a fortnightly newspaper in the United Kingdom founded in June 1972 in a collaboration between former members of the Gay Liberation Front and members of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE), this ran until 1983.

We don’t have these resources anymore, we depend on social media outlets, but remember in the main these are written by ordinary people and not journalists.  It also means that we are limited often in the in-depth research articles that we need.

Protection of our community is down to you the community, you need to report things of consequence to our community, to take a stance against things that are wrong (and let others know about your stance), and lastly, yes enjoy Gay Pride when it comes around, but remember this is to show everyone that we are not going away and that we have a right live as equal people.

 

Links:

  • The Linenhall Library – bask issues of Gay News and local LGBTQ magazines Gay Star, update, upstart, NIGRA News
  • Homophobia and Terrorism are not limited to Muslims.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Community Journalist Tagged With: far right, gay attacks, Gay News, gay star, homophobia, LGBTQ, Linenhall Library, Pink Paper, The Independent, Update, Upstart

The Portsmouth Defence by Jeff Dudgeon

06/09/2021 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Portsmouth DefenceThe Portsmouth Defence – every solicitor and barrister knows the traditional defence to utilize when defending a client accused of murdering a gay man when there is no other legitimate defence available.  Its name indicates that it originated in medieval times in seaports when mariners were caught on rolling/robbing their homosexual clients or victims.

Brief Heroes

It is simply this – the deceased made a pass in the form of a smile, a word or a touch, at my client.  being a man he beat the pervert to death/strangled him/repeatedly stabbed him.  Judges especially, juries less so, are susceptible to this defence.  Sometimes killers have been acquitted, even become brief heroes, as in the George Brinham case in the 1960s when a Labour and Trade Union politician was butchered in London.

Macho Sentiments

Obviously, if females, subjected to unwanted attentions, disembowelled wolf-whistlers, the male population would plummet.  But judges, being men, instantly warm to the macho sentiments aroused at the notion of innocent heterosexual manhood threatened by oily homosexuals.

Fate Worse Than Death

Nowadays, acquittals would be rare, but the continued use of the Portsmouth Defence is designed to get the charge reduced from murder to manslaughter and the sentence reduced accordingly.  this still works even though in every other case a murder rap would hold unless it was self-evident that had the defendant not attacked the victim his own life would have been in jeopardy.  \but, to the conservative judiciary, being touched up or smiled at by a queer is a fate worse than death.  It is plain that in 99% of such cases the gay victim is offering no violence at all, just checking the other guy out or using a little verbal persuasion.

A Local Crop

In the recent Addis (Portadown) and Hagan (\belfast) murder cases the victims made a suggestion through porno pics and divesting himself of his clothes respectively.  \both were brutally done to death.  their killers received light sentences and the Portsmouth Defence was used.  this was in courts in Northern Ireland in the 1980s where the establishment continues to think of gays as less than human and their killers as less than criminals.  A test case will occur soon in a trial relating to a killing in Ballymena where the Portsmouth Defence has already been used in a bail application.

Casual Violence

It is important that the legal establishment is made aware of the new social and legal status that gays now enjoy.  And that we will no longer tolerate such frequent murders.  The Director of Public Prosecutions – who decides what charges to prefer – and whether to accept plea-bargaining to get a lesser charge preferred, has to take account of social change and modern literature*.  If for no other reason than that, anti-gay tugs (and their homosexual counterparts), will continue to use massive violence on gay victims in the sure knowledge that the courts will see their crimes as slight!

 

*Attacks on Gay People by Julian Meldrum (CHE) 1977 – A comprehensive and meticulously researched casebook (Currently out of Print)

 

 

Amazon Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Campaign for Homosexual Equality (1 Aug. 1981)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 48 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 095044295X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0950442952

Links:

  • Wikipedia – Gay panic defense
  • Gay and Trans Panic Defence Prohibition Act 2018
  • Play aired in 1966 – The Portsmouth Defence
  • Belfast Pride and Economics

 

This article was first printed in Gay Star No 10, a copy of which is held in the archive of the Linenhall Library

 

Filed Under: Anti-Bullying & Homophobia, Campaigns, Community Journalist Tagged With: courts, homophobia, Jeff Dudgeon, law, legal system, Linenhall Library, murder of gay men, Portsmouth Defence

1991 A Belfast Pride to be remembered!

29/07/2021 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

1991 A Belfast Pride to be remembered!1991 A Belfast Pride to be remembered!, happened.  An intrepid bunch of gays and lesbians marched through Belfast in the first Belfast Pride.  This was an auspicious day and has been rightly celebrated because it said we were more than just a court case (Jeffrey Dudgeon v the United Kingdom).  

In fact, we were and are!

But what people forget is that we didn’t just have a march (or in Belfast terms ‘a wee dander’) we also had a week of events. e.g.

 

  •  ‘Mixtures and Allsorts was in the Old Museum Arts Centre.  It was billed as a cabaret – we were required to bring our own refreshments – so we did! There was a vast range of performance styles:
  • large chunks of Martin Sherman’s ‘Bent’ done by the Gauntlet theatre group
  • the Confused Sisters juggled with flaming torches
  • Two women from Out and Out theatre company performed a dance, which was reminiscent of the beautifully choreographed love scenes from Desert Heart. 
  • Paul Johnston, of the Dublin based mandance did a beautiful angular solo, described as being based on dreams
  • The Hole in the Wall gang (Eamon Freil, Hugh Jordan, and Brian Lynch) did various pieces, including some risque jokes.
  • The Queen’s University Drama Society produced an inverted parlour-farce
  • There was Mary Scarlett’s 20-year-old ‘Insight in the life of the”Heterosexual” (A married (male) couple trying to talk their rebellious sone out of his obsession with …  wait for it … ‘het-ero-sex-ual-ity

All this was completed on a minuscule budget, and with the best-willed volunteers, you could imagine.

For a first attempt, it was good, indeed it was brilliant and excellent, and obviously, the current Belfast Pride is radically different and has grown.  But what mustn’t be forgotten is that this first Belfast Pride came on the back of a historic judicial judgment in the Europe Courts which had been brought by Jeff Dudgeon with the support of so many individuals and groups throughout all of Great Britain and Ireland – from fundraisers in Liverpool, Manchester, London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Dublin, to people who distributed flyers and distributed them in venues everywhere.

1991 A Belfast Pride to be remembered! 1991 A Belfast Pride to be remembered!

 

Belfast Pride is our pride – but remember we still have to continue and show who we are and therefore what we are marching for yearly.

 

The full write-up of the first Belfast Pride can be found in the Linenhall Library archives where copies of all the Gay Star, update, and upstart magazines have been placed for research.

 

Links:

  • Belfast Live  –  Pride: The story behind how Belfast’s first ever gay rights parade came about in 1991
  • Jeff Dudgeon MBE
  • Linenhall Library
  • Poems by Ian Duhig in Support of Belfast Pride

Filed Under: Community Journalist Tagged With: arts in Belfast, Belast Pride, Europen Courts, homophobia, jeffrey dudgeon, Linenhall Library, Old Museum Arts Centre, PRONI, United Kingdom

Out! – short gay movie 2020 – movie review

14/07/2021 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Out!

 

Title:  Out!

Date:   August 3, 2020 

Length:   9.59mins  

Genre:   Gay

Director:   Ben Hull

Actors:   Pauline McLynn and Paul Sloss

 

Out! - 3 - Pauline McLynn Out!-1 - Paul Sloss

Out! Takes place at the dinner table between the Mother and the son, with a noticeable gap at the table. It revolves around what was said, what wasn’t said and then finally with the son coming out.  It also puts straight into the open homophobia, or perceived homophobia, and how a mother always knows.

It covers family relationships, the fear of rejection and the desire for acceptance.

 

Funny line ‘I didn’t like curry until I tried it’

 

For me what makes the movie interesting is the interaction between the mother and son, it almost is a re-enactment of the typical Irish matriarchial mother.

 

‘Anyone that you want to bring here to this house is welcome, so long as they respect you and treat you well’

 

the film ends with a laugh (if not a downright snigger) – you will enjoy this movie, and I would rate it 4.5 out of 5.

 

Links:

  • IMDB – Out!
  • YouTube – Out!
  • A Silent Truth – Gay Short Film 2012 – Movie Review

 

Filed Under: Movie Reviews, Reviews Tagged With: Ben Hull, family, gay movie, homophobia, OUT, Paul Sloss, Pauline McLynn

Homophobia and Terrorism are not limited to Muslims.

13/07/2021 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

 

Homophobia and Terrorism

Homophobia and Terrorism are not limited to Muslims, history shows that and often what we do not understand and fear (often irrationally) we throw out words like terrorism, not our people etc.

Andrew Pulver wrote an impassioned article on how journalism in all its forms needs to stop the ‘Toxic portrayals of Muslims’!  I would suggest that we need in the West, and in other cultures, to take a reality check.  The portrayals of terrorists as being only from one side of the world’s population is disingenuous.  All the major maritime powers in Europe sponsored pirates to enact terrorism on their rivals!  Then we have terrorists/freedom fighters, for example,   in 1867 there was the Clerkenwell explosion in London by the Fenians / Irish Republican Brotherhood (proto – IRA), in 1903 there were the Thessaloniki bombings by a Bulgarian group from Veles, mostly young graduates from the Bulgarian Men’s High School of Thessaloniki. Terrorism and Homophobia The list is endless, go and have a look at the Wikipedia article ‘Terrorism in Europe’ as a starting point.

But and it is a large BUT, terrorism by its very nature is subjective; dependent upon where you are with your life, your family, your community, your society, One Man’s Terrorist Is Another Man’s Freedom Fighter

So, therefore, you must ask why am I Interested?  My interest lies in my knowledge of Muslims.  I have been lucky enough to work, live and make friends with Muslims within their society whilst working in the Middle East; I have also been able to have similar experiences in the Far East, Canada, South America, and Europe.  I have always found a welcome within these communities, and I have had many discussions covering all aspects of their and my own society over politics, religion, homosexuality, with these debates has come an understanding of the local fears, even the fear of loss of identity (the Northern Irish are not unique).

In an article published in LGBTQ Nation (commentary by Michael Jensen and Brent Hartinger) it highlighted the position that a few of the local queer Muslim’s had in Turkey, a country which is 97% Muslim and where LGBTQ rights have gone backwards in recent years.  But similar pressure is being placed on LGBTQ freedom in other parts of Europe, e.g., Hungary and Poland.  According to the European Union in 2020 43% of LGBTQ people, last year said they felt discriminated against, up from 37% in 2012.

So, you can from this short overview firstly that terrorism and homophobia are not just related to Muslim society.

We need to educate against toxic rhetoric and politics wherever it is shown.  We need to be vigilant locally and fight against what certain elements among the local politicians will repeatedly roll out – remember throughout history it has always been easy to use a minority as the whipping boy for society wrongs – the Jews when they no longer were willing financiers of the British Crown, and indeed with a number of European monarchies, the travellers, Jews, homosexuals by Nazi Germany, the travellers even today in the United Kingdom, and for certain parties in Northern Ireland politics the LGBTQ+ society.

 

Links:

 

  • EU launches LGBT rights plan to counter rising homophobia in eastern member states
  • Wikipedia – Terrorism in Europe
  • Amazon – The Terrorism Reader edited by Walter Laqueur (1979)
  • The Guardian – Actor calls for urgent end to ‘toxic portrayals’ of Muslims
  • Four queer Muslims in Istanbul didn’t have much to celebrate for Pride Month
  • Is “One Man’s Terrorist Another Man’s Freedom Fighter”?
  • Consign homophobia to history, urges ex-Irish President Mary McAleese

 

Filed Under: Anti-Bullying & Homophobia, Community Journalist, Editor to ACOMSDave Tagged With: Andrew Pulver, Brent Hartinger, Clerkenwell, European Union, homophobia, Hungary, Michael Jensen, Poland, terrorism, Thessaloniki, Walterf Laqueur

Gender-based violence and discrimination in Sport

14/01/2021 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Dear members,

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has been drawing attention to gender-based violence and discrimination for many years. The Assembly is now working on a report titled “The fight for a level playing field – ending discrimination against women in the world of sport”, which will result in a resolution to be adopted by the Assembly in 2021.

We, along with EL*C, TGEU, and OII Europe, are working to prepare a short submission on the specific needs and struggles of LBTI women in sports, and are looking for inputs to this submission.

Inputs can be:
– focused at the local, regional, or national level, or presenting a full Council of Europe perspective
– focused on LBTI women as a whole or on specific groups within the LBTI communities

The format for submissions is informal, and can include individual testimonies, statistical data, or descriptions of situations and practices affecting these communities.

Inputs are due by 31 January 2021. 

The questions on your email address and inclusion of reference to you or your organisation in the survey are mandatory; all other questions may be skipped if you choose.

Click here to share your inputs via an online form.

Sincerely,

Cianán B. Russell, Ph.D. (EN: they/them, ES: elle/le/*e)
Senior Policy Officer
ILGA-Europe
Mobile/WhatsApp: +32 478 12 0076
Rue du Trône 60, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
Tel.: +32 2 609 54 10 • Fax: +32 2 609 54 19 •  www.ilga-europe.org

Filed Under: Anti-Bullying & Homophobia, Campaigns Tagged With: Council of Europe, discrimination, gender, homophobia, sport, survey, violence

Amal Clooney Transcript of UN Speech on Trump and Journalism | Time

04/07/2020 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Source: Amal Clooney Transcript of UN Speech on Trump and Journalism | Time

I am writing as a community journalist, who in the past along with Sean McGoruan and others have tried to write and reflect about the LGBTQ community in Northern Ireland.  There were times when it felt an uphill struggle, as we fought censorship and bureaucracy, not to mention the establishment.

We wrote about murders, about police sting operations, about AIDS.

Even today we still have to write about homophobia, how the ‘lockdown’ has and is affecting people; but we are lucky now to not have people thrown into prison without trial.  Though I must say that the government’s current stance on ‘gay cure’ therapy beggars belief – is the Prime Minister trying to go back to the days of Margaret Thatcher?

Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney’s speech is thought-provoking, and also worrying, because only this morning I re-published on the NIGRA website about  the film ‘

Welcome to Chechnya: The Gay Purge, review: a heart-stopping account of those fleeing persecution

which was shown on BBC TV this week

Take time to read the articles and watch the film, if you haven’t already.  YOu won’t’ be disappointed.

Filed Under: Community Journalist Tagged With: attacks, big brother, Chechnya, free speech, homophobia, imprisonment, journalism, murder, Russia

Visions of Loveliness

28/01/2019 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Just short of two years I attended a number of events in Belfast Pride, the 2017 edition. There had been a raft of things to do, and that was by the end of the fourth day since its launch. Like I think most people in the community, I had picked and chosen what I wanted to see; I went along to The ‘Law’ event not realising I needed a ticket (my fault), then I took myself to watch Marquee which was on at the Queen’s Film Theatre (even though I knew it was also being shown on BBC4 on Monday night), and the day before I went along to see the ‘Visage’ exhibition of photographs of six of Belfast’s most formidable ‘Drag’ Queens (Visions of Loveliness), which was being held at the
Artcetera Studio in Rosemary Street, Belfast. This comprised of a series of portrait photographs with each of studies being depicted in both their male and drag identities, which resulted in 6 A1 sized hung photographs and then each photograph has been broken down into stip fitted onto a payramid. It was an interesting concept, which did force you to take your time and think about each photograph and character.

Within the Visions of Loveliness exhibition, each photograph was coloured in the 6 primary colours of the ‘rainbow flag’:-

  • Red – Matthew / Cherrie Ontop
  • Orange – Adam James Renshaw / Rusty Hinges
  • Yellow – Marcus Hunter-Neill / Portia Di’ Monte
  • Green – Michael Hillman / Misty Falls
  • Blue – Joshua Cargill / Blu Hydrangea
  • Violet – Robert McCready / Titti Von Tramp
Visions of Loveliness (1)

I really enjoyed this exhibition, but what would have possibly made it more interesting is possibly some audio interviews with each of the 6, or even if possible some video interview tapes – possibly generated pre-Pride from questions gathered within the community.

To this also a calendar maybe showing their forthcoming shows for the next 3-6 months would also have been a welcome addition.

This is an area which needs to be documented and explored more, to enable more understanding and acceptance and to move away from the judgemental.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: art review, black and white, drag, homophobia, politics, Pride, Pride Festival, Visions

Did the Independent Get It Right?

18/06/2018 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Did the Independent get it right?The Independent needs to realise that whilst any community welcomes the free and open debate that this article brings, it is difficult to see that a bias has not been shown by the choice of the photograph chosen to represent the LGBT community.

The Independent needs to realise that the LGBT community is a kaleidoscope of people and as such, it knows that finding a representative picture of the community is not always easy, however,  why was it that the only photograph which was chosen to represent the LGBT community was directed to two gay men’s genitals (obviously with the clasping hands in front)?

Politics Not At Work

An Independent ViewA continuing discussion has to be happening with both Stormont and Westminster and that is obvious; but the fact that the Conservative government can only continue to hang on with the support of the Unionist votes who have made it plain that marriage equality is not acceptable on ‘their watch’ only further highlights the limited political attitude in Northern Ireland.  Politics in Northern Ireland is a sham and the politicians in Stormont cannot be said to be truly representing the population when they are not in Stormont carrying on business.

The Independent Needs to Review

However, in going back to the article I would suggest that the Independent is more selective in its photograph choice for future articles.

Northern Ireland’s largest church votes to deny same-sex couples full membership

 

Same-sex couples have been denied full access to Northern Ireland’s largest Protestant church.   As a result of a new policy formally adopted by the Presbyterian Church at its annual meeting in Belfast, they will no longer be able to have their children baptised.

Source: Northern Ireland’s largest church votes to deny same-sex couples full membership

Filed Under: Editor to ACOMSDave Tagged With: homophobia, Independent, marriage equality, news

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