Name of movie: 365 Without 377
Date: 2011
Length (hrs): 53 mins
Film genre: Documentary
Characters: Beena, Pallav and Abhenna.
Director: Adele Tulli, who graduated in South Asian Studies and has worked on several activist projects in India and Europe
Setting: India
Plot information: A documentary following the decriminalizing of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalized any sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex.
When does the movie take place? July 2009
What happens in the movie? Imposed under the British colonial rule in 1860, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code criminalize any sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex, stigmatizing them as ‘against the order of nature’. On 2ND July 2009 the Delhi High Court passed a landmark judgement scrapping this clause, thus fulfilling the most basic demand of the Indian LGBTQ community, which had been fighting this law for the past 10 years. Three characters, Beena, Pallav and Abheena travel through the city of Bombay heading to the celebrations for the first anniversary of the historic verdict. ‘365 without 377’ is the story of their journey towards freedom. (IMDB)
What makes the movie interesting? The chance to see a different culture handling a British imposed culture, and how they developed as people and overcame the challenges of being ‘gay’ in India, where even though the law as been annulled by the Delhi High Court, for many they still believe it will take much more than this to change the mindset of the Indian community as a whole
What is the best part? The best parts for me was looking at the three main characters lives, and how just like ourselves they are ordinary, but have developed as people and are willing to stand up for their beliefs and rights.
How do you feel when the movie ended? Neither sad or happy, but I did feel that I wanted to learn more, and hope that another documentary will do a follow-up say in 5 years time.
Who will like this move? People with an interest in LGBT activism, people with an interest in humanity, people who like India
On a scale of 1 (don’t like) – 5 (like), how do you rate this movie? For me definitely a 4
Traditonal Values – is there such a thing?
Now I know that quoting Wikipedia is so blase, however in this case I feel the definition is worth looking at: Wikipedia defines “Traditional Values” as “those beliefs, moral codes, and mores that are passed down from generation to generation within a culture, subculture or community.”
However on investigation, Wikipedia cannot define where those beliefs, moral codes etc come from. There is no defining text, and what is also interesting is that this cultural phenomena is wildly held as fact, when even within family to family said ideas can be wildly different.
A colleague of mine, put his thoughts as:
Clearly this moron hasn’t heard of New Orleans – though as it is French / Irish / Italian Catholic maybe he is going to allow it to secede from the secession.
I will always respect another’s opinion, however for it to be acceptable it must be rational, and have at least a modicum of intelligent thought behind it. Mr MacKinnon has obviously not given this a deep enough thought process, as indeed we could say the same about his previous boss President Reagan with some of his actions and speeches. For Mr MacKinnon to say that ‘marriage equality’ is such a threat to personal liberty that states should risk a second civil war to preserve the right to discriminate against people, only goes to show how bigoted he is and how he has failed to research and understand that society has never stood still, it has always moved forward, and always will
Further reading:
A right-wing author has a plan for people who aren’t happy about shifting attitudes about LGBT rights.
Source: Conservative author wants states to secede over gay rights | MSNBC
Community – Parris says there isn’t a LGBT one!
Interesting comments, however Mr Parris has a habit of putting his foot in his mouth, and I believe he has yet again! It is fairly obvious to anyone with half a brain that ‘community’ is always made up of bodies with similar interests, and therefore you could using Mr Parris’s analogy say there is not such thing as community in the wider sense if applied to the population in the United Kingdom. The LGBT community is formed from liked minded individuals, and groups, who feel that they are being victimised or oppressed. To achieve the rights that we currently have we have had to fight both in court, at the ballot box and sometimes even in the streets. 
Where was Mr Parris during this – hiding behind (sorry in) the closet. He consistently has fought against LGBT rights, as can be seen by his various statements on gay marriage and how the church should oppose this.
Examples of that LGBT community which Mr Parris says doesn’t exist, and why we still need to fight for our rights:
- These brave LGBT activists are marching for equal rights in Montenegro
- Gay couple subjected to vile homophobic attacks on consecutive nights say ‘it just doesn’t make sense
Obviously I could continue to put up more links, but I believe the news and public opinion are enough of a reminder of why we need to continue to fight for civil rights for minorities, and not to allow small minded people to take a so called moral high ground, when in reality they don’t have one.
Former Tory MP Matthew Parris has said that the LGBT community does not exist.
Source: Gay former Tory MP: ‘There’s no such thing as the LGBT community’
Consign homophobia to history, urges ex-Irish president Mary McAleese
Jeff Dudgeon MBE, is part of the history of Northern Ireland, and with his court case made the case for homophobia to be abolished in N Ireland. Unfortunately until 1982 it was still a crime to be a homosexual in Ulster, indeed people were still persecuted under other laws for being gay, and their lives destroyed by what can only be called vindictive police cases which should never have ended up in court subsequent to this repeal.
Today, liFe has improved, but there are still problems; only within the last two weeks was a gay man attacked for challenging two men passing by who called him’queer’ and other words.
People are regularly still harassed in their homes. and probably more worrying is that fact that being young and gay is still open to abuse in schools, colleges and universities.
This is not acceptable in today’s world, and the more that we stand up against any form of persecution the more we as human beings earn the right to be called ‘human’.
President Barack Obama talks with Irish President Mary McAleese during a courtesy call in the Drawing Room of the President’s residence in Dublin, Ireland, May 23, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Mary McAleese has said homophobia should be consigned to history in Northern Ireland.
Source: Consign homophobia to history, urges ex-Irish president Mary McAleese – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk
LGBT History – Telling All Our Stories before they disappear!
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Heritage Initiative – US national park service
LGBT History is Important
For a number of years it has become clear that LGBT history is disappearing as our societies members have aged and their stories (which our our stories) disappear with their deaths or the onset of illnesses.
Our History is Disappearing
For Ireland this is compounded by the fact that so many of the LGBT community have had to leave the island to find work, relationships and just to be safe. Today these things have been reduced, but the economic crisis of the last few years, and the impending impact of Brexit may well see further departures.
The LGBT society in both parts of the island of Ireland need to start thinking
urgently on how we should capture and then make available our history. This will ensure our past, and also help our future, and will provide a wonderful resource for teachers and other groups/individuals.
A mechanism that might be considered is working with the museums in Ireland who have depositories to see if we can get access combined into a timeline – obviously this will take time and resources, but I believe that a small group could achieve a lot in this regard.
If you feel that you are interested then please get in contact and we can see if we can form that working group.
The American National Park Service has produced a wonderful book in two parts about LGBT History in the USA – the publication LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History is available for download in PDF format – this is just another example of what can be done with the right active group and money.
Source: Telling All Americans’ Stories (U.S. National Park Service)
Park service releases LGBT history study
History to everyone is important, but for those who have not been able to have their full identity because of family or societal pressures, or laws which punished their very existence, history can become a poison chalice. It is extremely comforting to know, that one country, which even though it still has its share of bigots and organisations which seek to continue this persecution, is moving forward and recognising the LGBT community and taking note of its history – in this case it is the National Park Service of America.
Positively, I have just heard that the Scottish Government is seeking to pardon all those LGBT people who have a criminal record due to draconian laws which punished you for being gay!
Unfortunately, due to government filibustering, England and Wales will have to wait for some time for Westminster to bring forward a possible legal instrument for doing the same job.
And for Northern Ireland, the political posturing of both the main parties, means that it is highly unlikely that any law will see the statue books within the next 5 years.
The laws were unjust within the UK, and because of them so much of our history has been lost, as people rightly seeked to protect themselves and their families; I hope that sometime soon we can stat to put together our own history and to have it incorporated into the mainstream history – it is jsut as valid, and when you consider people like Alan Turing and how he and others in other professions helped to win our freedoms, then we must strive to get equal.
Breaking news & opinion from the B.A.R.
Source: The Bay Area Reporter Online | Park service releases LGBT history study
IBM VP Claudia Brind-Woody
Claudia Brind-Woody, vice president and managing director IBM
Diversity Policies: A policy on workplace diversity: Makes a commitment to anti-discriminatory practices and fosters equal opportunity through the removal of systemic barriers. Can reinforce compliance with human rights legislation. Is a statement of an organization’s values
LGBT diversity policies, procedures, advocacy and impact – Business Insider
Claudia Brind-Woody, vice president and managing director, speaks to BI about LGBT and diversity and how it is shaping the wider tech and business community.
Calm down, the Tories haven’t abandoned Alan Turing – they have just ditched an SNP attempt to claim credit
It is a good thing that Theresa May’s Conservative government is introducing an Alan Turing Law to pardon gay men convicted of historical victimless sexual crimes – that is what I wrote for The Independent last month. No one should be criminalised for being gay. At the start of the century, I was still policing these sex crimes as a police officer until they were repealed by the Labour government.
It doesn’t surprise me that the government reneged on their promises – they have continuously done this across so many platforms, that the difficulty is in realising when they will actually tell the truth and stick by the agreed word and promises.
The article written above is clearly a white washing attempt to try and get them out of a hole that they have dug themselves into. The comment by Of Independent Mind immediately following this article is succinct and factual, and shows how two faced our Prime Minister and her government are in relation to the proposed law to pardon ‘gay’ people who have been done an injustice due to society’s inability to accept them!
I ask you to read the following article and understand why it shouldn’t just be a pardon; pardoning is only a piece of paper, it does not adjust the lives and balance the lives of those men and women who have suffered unjustly for crimes that ‘are not crimes’!
Visit ‘Pride’ in Spain – You Won’t Regret It!
Pride in Spain – Always!!!
What is it like being gay in Spain? Well like any question of this ilk, it depends on what you are looking for; but for any Spaniard it means one thing – BEING PROUD TO BE A SPANIARD. They have pride in their country and their culture. Some of the major cities have a thriving LGBT culture, with clubs and bars, and other venues, but most often you will find that in Spain being gay means you have to travel if you want to socialise. That is not to say you won’t find gay friends in the small towns and villages, but it is difficult unless you are using the internet and apps on your phone – and remember internet access can be expensive in Spain, but a lot of bars/restaurants/cafes offer free internet so the possibility is there.
The following cities run Pride events during the season:
Indeed this year the Benidorm Tourist Foundation, travelled to Stockholm, along with Turespana and the Valencian Tourism Agency for the Stockholm Pride 2016 LGBT Festival. The objectives of Visit Benidorm where two fold, firstly to promote Benidorm Pride, one of the resort’s most important LGBT assets; and secondly to demonstrate to Sweden’s gay community that Benidorm can offer year-round advantages including LGBT accommodation, beaches, food, sports and leisure opportunities.
Recruitment Drive
NIGRA is on a recruitment drive for you!
The law in Northern Ireland on gay relationships was changed through the actions of NIGRA and Jeff Dudgeon’s legal case which went through the legal system in the United Kingdom and then to the Europen Courts of Human Rights. NIGRA and Jeff did not do this on their own, it was through the efforts of many fundraiser throughout the UK and Ireland that this was managed. The case was won, but the fight still needs to go on to achieve full equality. If you have time and want to help then contact us through our website (http://nigra.org.uk/) – we have room for everyone!
So this is a recruitment plea asking you to give us some time and help us develop the various projects which we have in mind:
- An ‘Online’ LGBT Archive so that we can record our history, both the past and the current as it unfolds.
We need to interview the players in out history before they leave us, we also need to develop photographic evidence of artifacts before we arrange for them to be deposited in the Ulster Museum with whom we have now agreed a facility for depositing items like placards, photographs, home videos of historical moments, paintings etc. Documentation can be deposited with the PRONI (Public Records Office Northern Ireland), and we have already done this for items from Jeff’s case and also from PA’s archives - Monitoring of Stormont and Westminster, particularly now we are through the Brexit vote. We need to ensure that we know what is said and what is planned, and where necessary activate the community as required when we need to pressure our politicians.
These are only two of our projects, there are others, and off course we would welcome suggestions from you.
Please contact us and volunteer.
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